There's plenty of volcanic action down there.
Looks good. How about it, Wilma? Anything on your readout?
The planet is called Phibocetes.
My information tells me that it's uninhabited.
If Dr. Goodfellow's theory is correct...
We're almost certain to find Therbidian crystals in all that lava and ash.
Let's hope the good doctor knows what he's talking about.
Searcher, this is Rogers.
Go ahead, Captain Rogers.
Phibocetes looks promising. We're going to touch down and check it out.
How's everything going up there?
Well, the ship is still without power, Buck,
although we're not drifting anymore thanks to the retrostabilizers.
But, as you know, their fuel supply is limited.
They can't last forever.
Looks like we're coming up on somejungle. Taking her in for a landing.
Rogers out.
It's like a fairyland...
beautiful, yet strange.
This must be how the Earth looked before the dawn of animal life.
I will look over there. As good a place as any.
This entire area is heavily covered with volcanic ash.
We must look carefully.
The ground fog may obscure the crystals.
Over here.
Oh. Wonder what we've got here...
Therbidian? Well, we'll see.
Ha. Therbidian crystal. No doubt about it.
I see no more.
Yeah, but at least we know they're here. Yes. Probably under the ash.
We'll set up a mining operation... uh, camp over here.
What's that over there?
What in the world?
Any idea what this is? A mummy?
Whatever it is now, it had to be a humanoid of some kind once. Yeah.
Well, we won't know anything for sure until we get this back aboard the Searcher and let Dr. Goodfellow look at it.
Buck, look at these. More Therbidian crystals.
Well, that settles it. Let's get this thing back onboard the Searcher and get this mining operation set up.
We can build a travois out of tree limbs.
That's a good idea. Let's do it.
In the year 1987,
NASA launched the last of America's deep space probes.
Aboard this compact starship,
a lone astronaut, Captain William "Buck'"Rogers,
was to experience cosmic forces beyond all comprehension.
In a freak mishap, his life-support systems were frozen...
By temperatures beyond imagination.
Ranger 3 was blown out of its planned trajectory...
Into an orbit 1,000 times more vast,
an orbit which was to return Buck Rogers to Earth...
500 years later.
Can you imagine how Dr. Goodfellow's gonna react when he takes a look at this?
Yeah. He'll flip. Flip?
Means he'll be delighted. Twentieth-century jargon.
Are you ready?
Do you think the recent volcanic eruptions brought this thing to the surface?
It's a possibility. I'd like to know where this thing came from in the first place.
You don't suppose that poor mummy...
Was an ancient ruler who chose this planet for his tomb, do you?
I don't know. It could be. Shh.
What is it?
In the trees... something moved.
But Phibocetes is supposed to be uninhabited.
I am certain I saw movement.
Let's go have a look.
Did you hear that?
Perhaps my eyes were deceiving me.
I don't think so. Take a look at this.
It's freshly broken. Something was here.
Something very shy...
Or very cunning.
Yeah. Well, whatever it was, it's outfoxed us.
Let's get on back to the shuttle.
All right.
What the...
It's unbelievable. The door's just ripped open.
The mummy's gone.
Someone broke in. No. The door was forced from the inside.
You know the strength it took to break that door out like that?
It must have injured itself getting out. Look at this.
- Blood. - We better take a sample for Dr. Goodfellow.
That's a good idea.
Maybe it'll give us some kind of clue as to what we're up against down here.
Hawk, we're gonna need a crew for the mining operation anyway..
Why don't you take these blood samples back to Dr. Goodfellow on board the Searcher...
And also the... Crystals.
They're gone.
Let us go outside and look.
The harness... it's been torn to shreds.
How?
You are not planning on staying behind while we return to the Searcher.
Sure. That way I can get everything set up...
And we can get started as soon as you get back.
Look, we don't have time to waste. The Searcher is hanging up there with dead engines.
But, Buck, it'll take a full day to get the team and equipment together.
You'll be all alone.
Not quite. The thing that tore through the door will be here with you.
Hawk's right. You can't stay.
Look, I'll be just fine, all right?
Now, um, get moving, will ya? Time's a-wastin', as they say.
Be aware, Buck.
- Where'd you come from? - Are you angry because I am here?
No, no. I'm not angry, just surprised.
Oh.
Uh, who are you? What's your name?
What is your name? My name is Buck Rogers.
My name will be Buck Rogers too. All right.
Uh, where'd you come from? How'd you got here?
Look! Aren't they beautiful?
Do you like them, Buck Rogers?
Yes. They're very pretty.
I give it to you.
Thank you. What do I do with them?
Look at it.
All right.
Now you can look at it as much as you like.
Ah. That's very pretty,
but you still haven't told me how you got here or where you came from.
I do not know.
You mean you don't remember?
Oh, it's all right. Just, uh, why don't you tell me what you do remember?
I remember walking through the trees...
And how cold I was when it was dark.
I found some berries! Do you like berries, Buck Rogers?
How long have you been here? Can you remember that?
- Two days. - Two days, huh?
You are displeased with me. No, no. No. No, of course not!
No, no. No, it's just, well,
you had two days with no memory of them.
Uh, it sounds a little like amnesia.
Now, look, um, maybe you crashed on this planet,
and you... you walked away from the wreckage before you had regained your senses, huh?
- That is what happened. - You mean you remember now?
I remember as you tell me how it was. That pleases you, does it not?
Well, I was just guessing.
Now that we have found each other, you will tell me many things, Buck Rogers...
and I will listen and learn, for that is the way it is ordained.
You know, I can't go around calling you "Buck Rogers" all the time. I'm gonna have to find a name for you.
How about "Laura"? Yes! Laura!
Right. How about "Susan"? I bet you like that too, right?
Yes! Susan. You're gonna have to choose.
Now which is it gonna be, Laura or Susan?
You choose for me. I want the one you choose.
All right. Um... Laura.
Oh, thank you, Buck Rogers!
Ask me what my name is.
What's your name, stranger?
My name is Laura. Isn't it a beautiful name?
It's the prettiest name I ever heard.
Remarkable.! Look. Isn't that amazing?
I can't even read it. The patterns are changing so fast.
Precisely the point, my dear. Do you know, at first, I thought the mummy creature's blood...
Was simply a genetic variant on human blood.
But not so. Not so at all. It's fairly exploding with evolutionary development.
But at that rate of change... It doesn't seem possible.
Indeed.
But the hemokinesis behind that rate of change is astounding.
- Oh, Crichton. - Yes, Dr. Goodfellow?
Would you kindly do something for me?
Interface with the ship's archives...
And research the distant past of the planet Phibocetes.
Oh, really, Doctor.
That section of the archives is like an old, dusty attic, electronically speaking.
All that ancient material stored away in binary code... so cumbersome!
He's his usual miserable self this morning.
Crichton!
Oh, very well, Doctor.
Doctor. Huh?
What kind of creature would display such a rapid rate of genetic change?
Oh, I have no idea, Hawk, but it's going to be fascinating to find out.
Launch bay, how's the loading coming?
All mining equipment has been stowed, Colonel.
The field lab is being loaded now. You can launch in three minutes.
We're on our way. We'll keep in touch, Doctor.
Thank you. Thank you.
I wish I could go with 'em.
Oh, my dear fellow, we need you to keep Crichton in line, so to speak.
- He does listen to you on occasion. - But very few occasions.
He's far from an obedient son.
Obedient son? Oh, yes. I see. Yes. Good for you, little fella.
So, have you been able to remember anything else?
I'm trying.
I'm sorry, Buck Rogers. There's no need to be sorry.
Give it some time. You'll get your memory back.
Oh. I'm so happy.
Now that we are together, everything will be wonderful.
I think I've created an optimist here.
What on earth?
Laura, this is Wilma and Hawk.
Hello. My name is Laura. Buck Rogers gave it to me.
I think she has amnesia. She doesn't remember who she is or how she got here... nothing before two days ago.
She was who you saw in the woods yesterday.
- What about the mummy? - Oh, we heard it last night, but we haven't seen it.
If she does have amnesia, maybe we can help.
Hawk, would you mind taking the shuttle back to the Searcher...
And asking Dr. Goodfellow to assemble an optical imager.
Optical imager? Yes. It's an instrument that will help us probe her memory.
- Yeah. All right. - Consider it done.
But I am not at all sure I like leaving you here. We'll be fine, Hawk.
We have a small army here. We're all armed. We can cope.
Very well.
I will also ask the admiral to run a verification on ships lost in this area. Good idea.
I know it's scary not being able to remember, but you really shouldn't worry.
Amnesia is almost never permanent, Laura.
At least that's what I remember from my medical courses at NavCom.
NavCom?
It's a school where astro-officers are trained for space flight.
We all have to depend on one another in so many different situations, some medical knowledge is a must.
But let's talk about you, your family.
- Family? - Yes, your family.
They must be terribly concerned about you.
But what is a family?
Well, how's the checkup coming?
Uh, so far, so good. I've taken a blood sample...
And we should have an analysis in a minute.
Mm. How about you, huh? How's your memory? Has it come back?
Uh, not yet, but once we do an O. E. L. On Laura,
we should pretty well know who she is and where she comes from.
O. E. L.? Oh, hey. There's nothing to be afraid about.
O. E. L. May sound terrible, but the worst it can do is give you a bit of a tickle.
Mm. Smile now.
Excuse me a second.
Is, uh, something wrong?
Um, I'm not sure, Buck. The results of the analysis...
Hey.! Stop.!
What happened? It tried to grab me... jumped at me from behind.
I spotted a cluster ofTherbidian crystals, bent down to dig them up,
and something grabbed me.
What did it look like? I never saw its face,
but it's grotesque.
Whatever it was, I sure don't want to see it again. It ran off that way.
All right. Wilma, take Laura back to her tent, make sure she's well guarded.
Johnson, come with me.
Well, Crichton.
Crichton...
Now, what's the matter with you? Crichton!
Listen to me. Have you made any progress? I've got to report back to Buck and Colonel Deering.
Really, Doctor. I am sifting this mountain of moldy minutiae...
Just as fast as possible.
This is exacting research and as such,
it must not be rushed.
Well, there's no need to be officious about it.
Humans! Hmph!
You really do try my patience at times.
Nothing. Just a few broken branches.
How's everything around here? Quiet? Mm-hmm.
Okay. I want an armed guard around the perimeter of the camp at all times.
Lee, you start first. Yes, sir.
- Hall, you feel like going back to work? - I'm okay. Let's go.
Okay.
By the way, how are you getting along with Laura? Well, I can't seem to reach her.
You do seem to be her favorite. Well, I've known her longer.
And don't worry. You'll win her over.
Yeah. You were gonna tell me something about this analysis before all that happened.
I don't know.
I can't seem to accept what I find here.
Now, why is that?
Well, Laura's blood sample and the creature's...
they analyze precisely alike.
What? Well, you better have that analyzer fixed.
There's no way that Laura's blood and that creature's could be the same.
The analyzer's fine.
Their characteristics... they're identical, right down to the D. N. A. Structure.
If that's right, then...
Well, then how could Laura look different than the creature?
I don't know.
Technically, it shouldn't be possible.
Dr. Goodfellow has Crichton searching the archives. Maybe they'll come up with something.
It's true.
Wait.! Don't shoot.! You might hit the girl.!
Come on!
Keep after him. Move!
You're all right. You're all right.
You're safe.
Okay. I'll take you back to camp.
Johnson!
You all right? I think so.
That thing... some kind of of monster.
Let's get him to the medical tent.
Here we are. This will help calm you.
Drink it up. That's enough.
He was out, Captain. That thing almost crushed him.
He may have some broken ribs.
Hall, we need two men on alert from now on.
- Right, Captain. - Take him over there.
Wilma. Captain.!
The crystals are gone. It took the box.
All of'em we'd mined? Yes, sir. Every last one.
All right. All right, get back on guard duty.
Yes, sir.
Admiral Asimov. Yes?
Should I call Captain Rogers?
No. If he has any news, he'll call us.
The retrostabilizers are beginning to waver.
They're going to give out, and we'll be drifting again.
Even if they worked forever, Admiral,
without the crystals, we would still be hanging here,
dead in space.
I know, Hawk, I know.
We've got to have those crystals.
Oh, does Dr. Goodfellow have the optical imager assembled yet?
He predicts by morning.
Tsk. Uh, let me see how far he has progressed.
Yeah.
I don't understand.
The monster let her go, but took the crystals.
Why? Look at the risk it took.
It's almost an obsession. Hmm.
Sir. Yes?
The Federation Tracking Command reports no lost ships anywhere in the vicinity of Phibocetes.
Well, then how could the girl have gotten there? She had to come from someplace.
And records for the last three centuries show Phibocetes to be uninhabited.
Now hear this.
I have a significant announcement to make.
I have discovered a lost race on Phibocetes.
We should simultaneously transmit what I am about to show you...
To Captain Rogers and Colonel Deering,
since it bears directly on their situation.
Lieutenant Martin.
I'll raise them. Yeah.
Buck? Colonel Deering?
- Yeah, Admiral. Go ahead. - Crichton has a report to make.
I have uncovered evidence of a lost race on Phibocetes. Observe.
You are looking at a Phibocetes male...
Of an indeterminate period preceding the 22nd century...
Taken from ancient microtransparencies.
This is the first of two stages ofhis devolution.
The second stage...
And the final.
A remarkable catagenesis through which they degenerate.
It looks exactly like the creature that invaded our camp.
It is possible the degeneration is produced...
By a factor peculiar to Phibocetes...
a virus, perhaps.
Crichton, if these people disappeared from Phibocetes over 300 years ago,
how do you explain this one apparently coming back to life?
I do not have that information.
Well, then would you please go back to the archives and get it?
We need all the information we can on this planet.
I hear. I obey.
Is there anything else either of you want or need from the Searcher?
Yes. When is the O. E. L. Arriving, sir?
It is being assembled, and Hawk will no doubt arrive with it first thing tomorrow morning.
Oh, and incidentally, Buck, there have been no ships lost in your area.
Okay, Admiral. Thanks. Rogers out.
So Laura didn't crash here,
and her blood matches the other creature's.
Does that mean she's gonna change too... turn into some kind of monster?
What about us?
If it is a virus that's responsible, are we going to catch it?
Degenerate into a thing like the one out there?
There's nothing to be afraid of.
This is an electronic scan that's going to help us bring your memory back.
Isn't that wonderful?
Oh, Buck Rogers. I'm glad you are here.
Well, so am I. I wouldn't miss this first step toward getting your memory back for anything.
Wilma will take very good care of you, and I'll be sitting right over there, okay?
Okay. You all right?
All right. We'll get started now. Here we go.
Think about the very first time you saw each of us.
Very good, Laura. And now, later on.
Now, let's go back to the day before our ship first arrived.
Fine, Laura. Fine. And three days before that?
Now think of people you went to school with.
All right, Laura, um,
try thinking about someone you were very close to when you were a little girl,
um, like a friend or a sister.
How about your mother?
My mother? Yes, that's right.
The lady who took care of you when you were a little girl.
Why are you all looking at me like that?
Get them out of here.
All right. Let us go. Let us go.
Don't worry about it. It was just a malfunction of the machine.
It's okay.
There's nothing... nothing wrong. It's all right.
Laura, no!
Let go of it. Laura, let go of it.
- What happened? - She tried to attack Hall with this.
She seems to be in some kind of a trance.
I don't think she's conscious of what's going on.
Take her back to your tent, Wilma... quickly.
- Hall, you all right? - Yes, Captain... thanks to Hawk.
Take those crystals to the shuttle, all right? Yeah.
Get those crystals back on board the Searcher as quickly as possible.
Is she all right?
Well, she fell asleep instantly...
not even aware of what she tried to do.
What are we gonna do with you, Laura? What are we gonna do?
I don't understand how the crystals could exert such an influence over her.
I don't think the crystals have anything to do with it.
They don't affect us that way, and we're exposed to them every day on the ship.
Buck Rogers?
How do you feel?
I feel strange. What is happening to me?
I think you know something about me that I don't know myself.
I am frightened.
You are the one to tell me. I have no one else.
- Please? - Laura, don't be frightened.
We'll help you.
I heard you talking before about my blood.
And those men talking...
Is it true, Buck Rogers?
Am I the same as that thing in the trees?
Is it ordained I am to become like that?
No!
Oh, Buck Rogers, I will lose you if I become one of them!
I can't bear to lose you!
I won't let it happen! I won't! I'd rather die!
Laura! Laura!
Sir, Crichton, uh, said he's on his way up. He has something important to say.
Crichton considers everything he says to be important.
I just can't believe he's my son.
What's the matter, Crichton?
Cat got your enunciator circuits, hmm?
Twiki, what I am about to say will be humiliating enough...
Without having to endure your feeble attempts at wit.
Skip the preamble. What is it you wanted to tell us?
I have made a mistake.
I don't believe it.
I reversed the evolutionary process of the Phibocetes male.
The images which I screened for you were in reverse order.
You mean they start out as a sort of monster and then evolve to the normal man?
Precisely, Admiral.
You see, I discovered that the colony established on Phibocetes 400 years ago...
Came originally from Earth.
An Earth colony?
That is correct.
Genetic engineers altered the D. N. A. Structure of the colonists...
And used light refracted through Therbidian crystals...
To activate their life force.
- But why would they do that? - To ensure an efficient means of reproduction...
That would do away with such vulnerable stages...
As pregnancy, infancy and childhood, Admiral.
Twiki, see if you can find Dr. Goodfellow. We need him up here at once.
Yes, sir.
Laura!
I won't turn into that creature, Buck Rogers! I won't! I'd rather die!
Hush. Now, hush.
Now, just take a look at yourself. Look at yourself.
Look at your hands. Look at your body. You're beautiful.
And you'll always be beautiful.
But the machine said... Never mind what that machine said.
You once said it was ordained...
That whatever I told you, you'd listen.
Well, I'm telling you something right now.
Everything's gonna be all right. Mm?
Come on. Come on.
Mm?
Oh, I see.
Then it was a massive volcanic eruption that destroyed the colony,
not the genetic engineering?
That is correct, Doctor.
Oh, no.
Crichton, I've got an idea.
Show us those transparencies again if you please.
Yes. And get them in the right order this time.
This was the early stage of their existence.
Since they had superhuman strength and tended toward violence,
during this phase they were intended to be supervised.
This is the final form in which they remained throughout their life span.
They were fabricated, full-sized, from D. N. A...
With all cultural information encoded in their genes.
They were packaged, so to speak, in this form...
To await activation by light from the Therbidian crystals.
Did you hear that, Admiral?
You know, that exactly matches Buck's description...
Of the mummy they found their first day on Phibocetes.
And that also explains why the creatures want the crystals.
Crichton, how long could it survive in that form?
Indefinitely.
- 300 years? - Easily.
Raise the mining camp.
Buck and Colonel Deering must know about this.
Buck Rogers, watch out!
Buck Rogers, look out.!
Buck Rogers, he'll kill you.!
Stop! Stop it! You'll kill him.
Buck Rogers, wait.! Don't hurt him, please.
Please, don't hurt him.
Crichton had the pictures in reverse. He is evolving into a man.
- What? - The mummy is just the beginning, not the end.
Crichton had it backwards.
Don't be afraid. I'll help you.
We are of the same race, you and I.
We belong together. It is ordained.
It was programmed into our being a long, long time ago.
I didn't know until I saw you changing,
but now I know it is all as it should be.
Everything will be fine. I knew it would be.
I am an optimist. You told me so, didn't you, Buck Rogers?
The admiral informs me the fusion reactors are operating full power.
This last load of crystals will serve as surplus for future emergencies.
That's wonderful, Hawk.
In a way this reminds me of Adam and Eve.
Adam and Eve? Yes, uh,
the beginning of the human race, according to some beliefs.
According to Dr. Goodfellow, we're witnessing the awakening of a race of people who've been slumbering for over 300 years.
We are remembering with each passing minute.
Forgive me for being violent.
That's all right. You couldn't help yourself.
Every instinct programmed into you told you that those crystals were essential to the existence of your people.
Excuse me for a second. Here.
I just wanted to say good-bye, Laura.
Buck Rogers, my name was not to be Laura.
Oh? What was it meant to be?
But I think I will keep the "Laura" to remember you by.
Okay.
Bye-bye.
I must say you look awfully pleased for a man who's just been jilted.
Who, me?
Well, of course, it must've been very hard on Laura to give you up.
Oh, yes. Well, I hated to do it to the kid, really,
but, uh, well, she has her newly evolved friend to keep her company, and besides,
I didn't have the heart to deprive certain, uh, others of my companionship.
Oh, Buck Rogers!
Does that mean that we will be together for always?
Well, it does seem to be ordained, doesn't it?