- Kirk and psychiatrist Helen Noel are trapped on a maximum security penal colony that experiments with mind control and Spock must use the Vulcan mind-meld to find a way to save them.
- After a psychologically disturbed patient from the Tantalus penal colony, Dr. Simon Van Gelder, manages to escape to the Enterprise, Dr. McCoy begins to suspect that something is amiss on the colony. Captain Kirk and Dr. Helen Noel beam down to the planet to investigate.—garykmcd
- Kirk and Dr Helen Noel (Marianna Hill) transport inside a maximum security penal colony after an insane madman transports himself in smuggled cargo aboard the Enterprise. The madman transports himself on the Enterprise inside one of the boxes that Enterprise was supposed to pick up and then reaches the bridge. He identifies himself as Van Gelder to Kirk and seeks asylum aboard the ship and a guarantee that he wont be taken back to Tantalus (the penal colony). Spock disables Van Gelder and Kirk returns the ship to Tantalus.
In the medical bay, Kirk questions Van Gelder, who is in pain every-time he reveals something about his identity to Kirk. Kirk contacts Tantalus director Dr Adams, and offers to returns Dr Van Gelder, who was Adam's associate. Dr Adams is known to have revolutionized penal colonies with his rehabilitation work with criminally insane minds. But McCoy is not sure about this, and wants Kirk to personally investigate this matter on Tantalus. Kirk decides to go with Dr Helen.
As Spock attempts to connect with Van Gelder's (Morgan Woodward) mind on ship (where he talks about a neural neutralizer on the surface), the amiable Dr Tristan Adams (James Gregory), at the penal colony, explains to Ms Noel, and to Kirk, that Van Gelder was once the head of the facility but is now mad. Kirk, in his command uniform, and Dr Noel, dressed in life science colors with black leggings, explore the facility, and stumble upon a' treatment room' with a powerful strobe-light device. Adams explains that this is the neural neutralizer where Van Gelder injured himself. Its an experimental treatment, which Ven Gelder used on himself before subjecting any human to it, and it went wrong, damaging his neural synapses. Spock mind melds with Van Gelder to find the truth if Kirk is in danger or not.
Exploring late at night, the two decide to see what the 'treatment room' is really about. Kirk goes into the chair, and from the control panel, Helen uses the microphone, and plants the innocent suggestion in Kirk's mind that at last year's Life Science Christmas Party, where he met her, they did more than just chat. That the night continued in his cabin. Dr. Adams at this point catches them with his goons, restrains Helen, and then turns the strobe up to full, and uses the mike to intensify the illusion in Kirk's mind - to the point where he will experience extreme pain unless he is near Helen.
Kirk is isolated in locked quarters, and when they throw Helen in too, Kirk madly kisses her and holds her. Helen says "Stop, they did this to you. We must find a way to stop them." Kirk regains his senses for a moment, and comes up with a plan. He boosts Helen into an air-duct, and leaves right away when the goons come to bring him for another 'treatment'. Helen reaches the control room, and shuts down the power, to open the security screen which blocks transporters. Kirk has disabled Adams and his goons and runs back to find Helen.
Helen crawls back into the room, and he takes her in his arms and begins kissing her passionately. Spock, who has beamed down with a phaser, sees them and coughs. "Captain" he says, and raises his eyebrow seeing the two of them hugging. Meanwhile, Doctor Adams, who was knocked unconscious by Kirk when the power went down in the 'treatment room' and collapsed in the chair, is in the chair when the power is restored. Alone, and with not even a tormentor for company, he dies. Don't use power to brainwash others. He got what he deserved. .
Spock performs a mind meld for the first time in this episode.
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