Original subtitles

Captain's log, stardate 1 533.6.

We are manoeuvring alongside cargo vessel Antares.

lts captain and first officer are beaming over to us

with an unusual passenger.

All right, Chief. Begin materialisation.

Captain Ramart, l'm Captain Kirk.

- My navigator, Tom Nellis. - Hello.

And our young castaway, Charlie Evans. His dossier.

Mr Evans.

We've heard a great deal about you. Welcome aboard.

Wonderful boy, Charlie...

lt's been a pleasure having him aboard. The things he's learned...

Absolutely. To think he was alone on that planet, everyone killed...

How many humans like me on this ship?

Like a whole city in space, Charlie. Over 400 in the crew, Captain?

428 to be exact.

Anything we can do? Medical supplies, provisions...

Hundreds. All human like me.

- That's exciting. ls that the right word? - That's perfect. lt's the exact word.

You see? We'd like to keep Charlie with us,

but with his relatives on Colony V, and you going that way...

l'd like to see your ship now. All of it. The people and everything.

You keep interrupting.

- That's considered wrong. - l'm sorry.

We have a large supply of entertainment tapes.

No, we have a tight schedule to make, Captain.

This must be a space first. A transport ship that doesn't need anything?

- Not even Saurian brandy? - We're fine.

- Pleasant journey, Captain. - Thank you.

Yeoman Rand, this is Charles Evans.

Show him to his quarters, and drop his records to Dr McCoy.

Yes, sir. Come with me, please.

Are you a girl?

- ls that a girl? - That's a girl.

Space - the final frontier.

These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise.

lts five-year mission, to explore strange new worlds,

to seek out new life and new civilisations,

to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Captain's log, stardate 1 533.7.

We have aboard an unusual passenger for transport to Colony Alpha V.

Charles Evans, the sole survivor of a transport crash 1 4 years ago.

The child, alone from age three, has not only survived,

but has grown to intelligent, healthy adolescence.

Tell me, the ship's supply of food couldn't have lasted 1 4 years...

After that, l found other things to eat, just growing around.

You learned to talk by listening to tapes?

The memory banks still worked. They talked to me and l talked back.

- You're 4-0. - Four?

4-0, 1 00% . Sound of wind and limb.

- That Captain... Kirk? - Yeah.

Why does he call me Mr Evans?

Cos that's your name.

He's not... He isn't like Captain Ramart.

No, Captain Kirk is one of a kind, Charlie.

- Do you like me? - Why not?

Some... The other ship, they didn't like me.

l tried.

l'm trying to make people like me. l want them to like me.

Most 1 7-year-olds do.

Come on, let's go. l'll show you to your quarters.

l'll put the equipment away.

- You have a deal, friend. - All right.

Hello.

l brought you a present.

Oh, thank you.

l really appreciate it. But l have to go. l'm on duty.

- Do you like that kind? - Yes, l...

lt's my favourite. Where did you get it?

They don't have it in the ship's stores.

lt's a present.

l know, but where did...

- Gee, l'm late. l really have to go. - Can't you stay and talk a little more?

Look, l'm off duty at 1 400.

Why don't you join me in recreation room 6, deck 3?

You got a deal, friend.

Charlie!

l thought... Don't be angry. l didn't... l wanted...

Charlie, you...

You just don't go around slapping girls on the...

lt's OK, but just don't do it again.

Don't be angry.

Look. Why don't you tell Captain Kirk or Dr McCoy what you did?

They'll explain it to you. OK?

- l will. - OK.

What reason would he have to lie if there are Thasians?

That is a very intriguing question.

Scanners show no disturbances, Captain.

Good. Dr McCoy, Mr Spock is working...

- Status report... - Thank you.

He's working out a training program for Charlie.

Earth history, his own background, that sort of thing.

l'd like you to give him medical orientation on the problems of...

...adolescence.

Why not a strong father image, like you? He looks up to you.

The job is yours, Bones. Flattery will get you nowhere.

Doctor, didn't the boy make any reference at all to Thasians?

Do you believe the legend that Thasians still exist on that planet?

Charlie's very existence proves there must be intelligent life on Thasus.

He could not have survived alone. The ship's food would have been gone.

He ate fruit, vegetables...

- Probes of Thasus indicate... - Probes can be wrong.

Are you speaking scientifically or emotionally?

Gentlemen. The fact is the boy is here and he's alive and needs our help.

And he needs a guide and he needs a father image, Jim.

l'll depend on your astute abilities to supply him with that,

or find him one.

l'm sorry. l did it again, didn't l?

Oh, on the starship Enterprise

There's someone who's in Satan's guise

Whose devil ears and devil eyes

Could rip your heart from you

At first his look could hypnotise

And then his touch would vaporise

His alien love could victimise

And rip your heart from you

And that's why female astronauts

Oh, very female astronauts

Wait terrified and overwrought, to find what he will do

Girls in space be wary, be wary, be wary

Girls in space be wary

We know not what he'll do

One more time.

From a planet out in space

There comes a lad not commonplace

Seeking out his first embrace

He's saving it for you

Oh, Charlie's our new darling

Our darling, our darling

Charlie's our new darling

We know not what he'll do

Want to see something?

Turn them over.

Well, how did you do that?

l can do a lot of card tricks.

One of the men on the Antares showed me.

l don't believe it.

On Earth, it's Thanksgiving.

lf the crew has to eat synthetic meatloaf, l want it to look like turkey.

- Charlie. - Captain?

l'm supposed to ask you something. Why shouldn't l... How do l explain it?

Say it right out. That usually works.

ln the corridor l saw...

When Janice... When Yeoman Rand...

l did that to her. She didn't like it.

- She said you'd explain it to me. - Me? l see. Well, um...

Er... There are things you can do with a lady, Charlie, that you...

Er... There's no right way to hit a woman. Man to man is one thing...

But a man and a woman, er... lt's, er...

Er... Well, it's another thing.

- Do you understand? - l don't know.

- Captain Kirk. - Excuse me. Kirk here.

Captain Ramart is on D channel.

- l'm on my way. - Can l come?

- l don't think so. - l won't get in the way.

Antares, we're barely reading your transmission.

We are at full output, Enterprise. l must speak to Captain Kirk.

Kirk here, Captain Ramart.

We're barely in range. l've got to warn...

- Re-establish contact. - l can't.

Try.

lt wasn't very well constructed.

Sweep the area of the transmission with our scanners.

Affirmative, Captain.

Do you think something happened to the Antares?

l don't know.

- Picking up debris on our scanners. - What about the Antares?

The debris is what's left of the Antares.

- Captain Kirk from ship's galley. - Kirk here.

Sir, l put meatloaf in the ovens. There's real turkeys in there now.

Chief, have you...

Captain's log, stardate 1 535.8.

UESPA headquarters notified of the mysterious loss of vessel Antares.

Your mind is not on the game, Captain.

Check. The Antares?

A survey ship with 20 men aboard, lost. No reason.

Obviously, Captain Ramart was not aware of any trouble. l can't figure it.

My own concern is more immediate. The boy.

l usually follow you, but this time...

He seemed to know what happened to the Antares before we did.

l'd call that a pretty long reach for evidence. Come in, Charlie.

And again. Check.

Checkmate.

Your illogical approach to chess does have its advantages on occasion.

- l prefer to call it inspired. - As you wish.

At any rate, the game is yours.

You play chess, Charlie?

l watched them play on the Antares. Can l try it?

l place you in the hands of our chess master.

The principles of three-dimensional chess are mathematic.

You put the white here, and the black...

l know what it is. Let's play.

Very well.

That was a mistake, Charlie.

No, it wasn't.

Checkmate.

No, it isn't.

lf you'll excuse me...

Charlie, l was looking for you. l'd like you to meet Tina Lawton.

- Charlie Evans. - Hello, Charlie.

You might enjoy meeting someone your age.

Can l talk to you? Alone.

Charlie, Tina's...

Excuse me, l must be wanted somewhere.

That was... That was rude. And completely uncalled for.

- l don't need her. l want to talk to you. - That's no excuse.

You better learn that right now. You have to live with people.

- You are not alone anymore. - But she's not as... She doesn't...

She's not the same. Not like you.

She's just a girl.

You're... You smell like a girl.

All the other girls on the ship, they look just like Tina.

You're the only one that looks like you.

You can understand, can't you? You know, about being with somebody.

Wanting to be.

lf l had the whole universe, l'd give it to you.

When l see you, l...feel like l'm hungry.

All over. Hungry.

Do you know how that feels?

- What? - l wasn't sure l should talk to you.

- Charlie's a 1 7-year-old boy. - Exactly. And he's...

- l've talked to him about the swat. - lt's not that.

Captain, l've seen the look before, and if something isn't done,

sooner or later l'm going to have to hurt him,

tell him to leave me alone, and that wouldn't be good for him right now.

You see, l'm his first crush, his first love and his first...

Yes, Yeoman. l'll talk to him. l'll look into it.

Thank you, sir.

Come in, Charlie.

Charlie...

Do you know anything about this chess piece?

Did you notice anything peculiar...

- ...when we were using them? - No, sir. ls that all?

No, no.

Sit down.

Being 1 7 is more than how many years you've lived. lt's a whole other thing.

Dr McCoy could probably explain the biological conditions.

Let's use a specific. Yeoman Rand is a woman...

- l won't hit her like that anymore. - No, there's more to it than that.

Everything l do or say is wrong.

l'm in the way, l don't know the rules. l learn something, try it, and l'm wrong.

Wait.

l don't know what l am, or what l'm supposed to be,

or even who.

l don't know why it hurts so much inside all the time.

You'll live, believe me.

There's nothing wrong with you

that hasn't gone wrong with every other human male.

When you care for someone, what do you do?

You go slow.

Be gentle.

lt's not a one-way street. How you feel and that's all.

lt's how the girl feels, too.

Don't press, Charlie.

lf the girl feels anything for you at all, you'll know it.

You understand?

You don't think Jan... You... She could love me.

She's not the girl, Charlie.

The years are wrong, for one thing. And there are other things.

- She can. She is. lf l was gentle! - No!

There are a million things you can have, and a million you can't have.

lt's no fun facing that but that's the way things are.

Then what am l going to do?

Hang on tight and survive. Everybody does.

- You don't. - Everybody, Charlie. Me too.

l'm trying, but l don't know how.

Kirk here.

You asked to be notified when we were to make our course adjustments.

Ask Mr Spock to see to it.

Charlie, come on with me.

You've got to slap the floor to absorb the energy. Go ahead.

Like everything else, it takes practice. Try again.

Good, that's much better. Now, l'll show you a shoulder roll.

Try that.

- l don't want to do that. - l can't...

l don't want to do that!

- Lesson is over for today. - You were going to teach me to fight.

You have to learn to protect yourself first.

lt's more than just teaching you how to defend yourself. Charlie?

l want you to learn... Charlie.

Sam, let me borrow you for a couple of easy throws.

-Right. - Watch this, Charlie.

lt wasn't so bad, was it? Now, l'll throw him.

Here we go, Sam.

- That looks hard. - Come on Charlie, try it.

Atta boy, let's go.

lt wasn't so bad, was it?

- Who laughed? - Cool off.

Don't laugh at me!

- Charlie? - He shouldn't have done that.

lt's not nice to laugh at people.

- What happened to him? - He's gone.

- That's no answer. - He's gone.

l didn't mean to do that, he made me do it. He laughed at me.

- Bridge. - Kirk here.

- Two men from security. - Affirmative.

- What are you going to do to me? - l'm confining you to quarters.

l won't let them hurt me. l'll make them go away, too.

They won't hurt you, Charlie.

They'll take you to your quarters. Go with them.

No!

Go to your quarters.

He was going to hurt me.

Go, or l'll pick you up and carry you.

- l won't let you. - That's your choice.

- l won't let them hurt me. - They won't hurt you.

Captain Kirk?

Kirk here.

All phaser weapons have disappeared.

Shall l repeat, Captain?

No, l heard you.

Have Dr McCoy and Mr Spock meet me in the briefing room.

Thasians have been referred to as having the power to transmute objects,

or render them invisible.

lt's regarded as legend, but it seems Charlie has this power.

Maybe Charlie isn't an earth being, but a Thasian.

l don't think so. Unless they are exactly like earthlings.

The development of his fingers and toes exactly matches man's on Earth.

We have some idea of his power. l know what l saw in the gymnasium.

Considering a normal adolescent's effect, the power Charlie has...

He's short-tempered. He needs, he wants. Nothing happens fast enough.

Probability is, he's responsible for the destruction of the Antares,

which would indicate a total disregard for human life.

He doesn't understand what life is. He's a boy.

What do we do with this boy? How do we keep him caged up?

lt goes even further than that. We can't take him to Earth Colony V.

lmagine what he would do in an open, normal environment.

Talk to him, listen to him.

He's a boy, trying to be an adult. The adolescent in him is getting in the way.

And with a weapon in him which could destroy anyone,

anywhere on this ship.

Well, for the moment he's stopped. You're an authority he respects.

The struggle must remain between you and him. Should any of us interfere...

You wanted to ask me something?

Are you responsible for what happened to the Antares, Charlie?

- Why? - Answer me.

Yes. There was a warped baffle plate on their shield. l made it go away.

lt would have blown up anyway.

Well, they weren't nice to me. They wanted to get rid of me.

They don't now.

What about us, Charlie?

l don't know.

We're in the hands of an adolescent.

Lieutenant, raise Colony V. l want to speak to the governor.

Navigator, lay a course away from Colony V. Buy me some time.

Spock, get the doctor up here. How bad is it?

l think it's all right, sir.

There's no reason for that to cross-circuit.

l checked it over myself, not 1 5 minutes ago.

Captain! l can't feed any course coordinates into the panel.

Helm doesn't respond.

Mr Spock, you getting any readings?

Tiger, tiger burning bright, in the forest of the night...

- Spock. - l'm trying...

Saturn's rings around my head, down a road that's Martian red.

Trying to change course, Captain?

You can't do that. l want to get to Colony V as soon as we can.

- Release the transmitter. - You don't need that subspace chatter.

What's going on? Spock calls me, then goes into poetry.

See to her, Doctor.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while l pondered, weak and weary.

Very nice, Mr Ears.

l can make him do anything - whirl around, laugh.

- That's enough, Charlie. - Don't you think he's funny?

Leave my crew alone.

He'll soon reach a point where he won't back down.

l know.

Charlie, what's wrong?

l have something for you.

Pink is your favourite, isn't it?

You don't walk into a room without knocking.

Don't ever lock your door on me again, Janice. l love you.

l'll lock it when l please. What is it you want, anyway?

You.

l only want to be nice to you. l can give you anything.

- Just tell me. - Get out.

- l only want to be nice. - Get out, Charlie.

- Spock. - l can't make it any plainer than that.

- l love you. - You don't know what that means.

- Then show me. - No!

Why did she do that?

l loved her. But she wasn't nice at all.

What you did wasn't nice either.

But l still need you, Captain. The Enterprise isn't like the Antares.

Running the Antares was easy.

You have to be nice.

All right?

- Mr Spock? - My legs. They're broken.

- Let him go, too. - Why?

Because l'm telling you to.

Because you need me to run the ship and l need him.

lf you try to hurt me again, l'll make a lot of people go away.

And what about Yeoman Janice? ls she dead, gone, destroyed?

l won't tell you.

Growing up isn't so much. l'm not a man and l can do anything.

You can't.

l'll activate the force field. Return to your section.

He had a mean look. l had to freeze him. l like happy looks.

Aren't you coming in?

That wasn't nice.

You'll be sorry. You wait, you'll be sorry you did that.

You will.

No. No laughing!

Captain, my instruments show we're receiving a message.

lt's on subspace frequency 3. Ship to ship.

l can't hear it, sir.

Are you creating that message or blocking one?

lt's my game, Captain. You have to find out.

Like you said, that's how the game's played.

You can have it now. lt's locked on course for Colony V again.

l've waited long enough. l'm going to take him on.

You don't have any special immunity.

Pushed far enough, he'd send you to oblivion, too.

Out of the question.

Wait a minute. ls Charlie...

Spock, has he done away with anybody since he took over?

Not so far as we know.

Maybe he can't.

Could be he's overreached himself. lt's a big ship. He's taken full control.

lf we could tax his power, turn on every device on the ship,

every circuit, all of it,

while he's fighting that, if l could distract him, maybe you could tranquillise him.

Keep him under until we reach Colony V.

Risky, Jim.

lf we don't try, Doctor, he'll get rid of us anyway.

There's no choice, gentlemen.

l can make you all go away, anytime l want to.

- Get out of my chair. Now. - l've got your ship, Captain.

Maybe, but l don't think you can handle any more.

You've reached your limit and can't take on one more thing.

But you're going to have to.

- l didn't send you away before... - You're going to have to take me on.

- Don't make me do it now. - You've got my ship and l want it back.

l want my crew back. Whole.

lf l have to break your neck to do it.

Don't push me.

Sorry.

l'm sorry, but...

Stop that.

l said, stop it!

Captain, navigation console is clear. Ship is answering the helm.

Something off our starboard bow. The message says they're from Thasus.

No...

- How did... - lt's all right, Yeoman.

Sensors show something. Deflectors indicate nothing.

No!

No, please.

Don't let them take me. l can't live with them anymore.

My friends.

You said you were my friends, remember?

When l came aboard.

Please.

l want to go home.

Take me home.

l have taken my form of centuries ago, so that l may communicate with you.

We did not realise until too late that the boy had gone.

We are saddened that his escape cost the lives of the first ship.

We could not help them.

But we have returned your people and your ship to you.

Everything is as it was.

l won't do it again. Please, l'll be good. l won't ever do it again.

l'm sorry about the Antares. l'm sorry!

When l came aboard.

Please. l want to go with you.

Help me!

- The boy belongs with his own kind. - That will be impossible.

We can teach him to live in our society, if he can be taught not to use his power.

We gave him the power so he could live.

He will use it, always. And he would destroy you and your kind.

Or you would be forced to destroy him.

ls there nothing you can do?

We offer him life. And we will take care of him.

Come, Charles.

Oh, please. Don't let them take me.

l can't even touch them.

Janice, they can't feel.

Not like you.

They don't love.

Please. l want to stay.

Charlie's back on board the Thasian ship, sir.

They signal they're leaving.

lt's all right, Yeoman. lt's all over now.