- Buck Rogers visits the planet Phibocetes with a landing party, hoping to gather some thurbidian crystals to power the Searcher. Though the planet is believed to be uninhabited, the landing party soon comes across a "mummy" that mysteriously comes to life and wanders off into the bushes. Buck soon meets another life form - a young girl - who has no memory of who she is or where she came from. The crew is puzzled when blood samples from the girl match that of the creature and assume the girl will eventually become one of the mummy-like beings. Both life forms also seem strangely affected by the thurbidian crystals, and it's not long before the "mummy" makes off with their entire supply.—Twenty Penguins
- The Searcher is adrift without fuel and only stabilized. Buck Rogers goes with Hawk and Wilma in a shuttle to look for crystals to power the Searcher on the uninhabited planet Phoibocetes. However, they stumble upon a mummy first and with a gorgeous young woman later and Buck calls her Laura. Wilma and Hawk return to the planet with a mining crew to explore the crystals from the planet while Crichton researches more about the creature. Soon he informs Buck that the creature is an evolution of Laura's shape and she will turn also into another creature.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Buck, Hawk and Wilma are piloting a shuttle down to a planet known as Phibocetes, that is believed to contain a supply of thurbidian crystals, which will act as fuel to re-power the Searcher, which has run dangerously low on its current fuel supply and is in danger of becoming dead and adrift in space. Phibocetes is a volcanically active planet with a lot of ash from recent eruptions, but the crystals are most likely to be found among craters and fissures containing magma and volcanic ash.
Landing on the planet, the trio begin to search about the immediate area. Hawk finds a crystalline stone that Wilma examines and elatedly announces is a thurbidian crystal. They begin to discuss plans to have Searcher assemble a mining team to collect as many crystals as they can to re-power the Searcher. As Buck begins looking about to plan the layout of the mining camp, he notices an odd sight. Among a small pile of volcanic ash is what appears to be a mummified humanoid, although a little larger than a standard human male. Around the mummy are more crystals. They decide to fashion a gurney to carry the mummy on board the ship and take the crystals with them as well. Wilma theorizes that the mummy might be the remains of a ruler of a distant planet who chose Phibocetes as a burial place.
As they forage around to fashion the gurney, light from the sun shines through the crystals around the mummy, and the sound of heavy breathing is heard.
Buck and Hawk bring the mummy aboard the shuttle and place the crystals on a shelf above it. What appears to be a slim female humanoid watches them from the trees. As Buck, Hawk and Wilma step outside the shuttle again, Hawk's keen vision spots a blur of movement from the trees, and the three of them head to investigate. But they cannot find whatever or whoever was there, although they do find a freshly broken branch that is proof that someone or something was watching them.
When the three return to the shuttle they find an amazing sight. The door to the cargo bay where they had placed the mummy was ripped open, and the mummy and crystals are missing. More puzzing is evidence that the door was forced open from the INSIDE, not the outside-- and there is a trickle of blood along one side of the doorframe; further proof that the mummy is alive and broke out of the shuttle. The door's composition is such that the mummy, in order to break out, must possess superhuman strength far, far in excess of a human. Buck tells Wilma to collect a sample of the blood and return to the Searcher with Hawk to assemble the mining crew. Hawk and Wilma realize Buck intends to camp on the planet's surface alone in the meantime, and worry about the mummy. Buck assures them he will be fine. They are still reluctant but do as he says.
On the Searcher, Dr. Goodfellow analyzes the blood sample and is astonished at the genetic encoding. The DNA is packed with explosive evolutionary activity allowing the creature possessing such blood to change at incredibly fast rates. He order Crichton to research the ship's archives on the planet
On Phibocetes, Buck walks through the woods and finds a crystal. Suddenly he realizes something is behind him and whirls around, blaster drawn. Standing there is a young, pretty blonde woman (Amanda Wyss), looking at him curiously. She is able to speak articulately, but behaves somewhat childlike, very innocent and curious of the world around her, and she immediately takes a strong liking to Buck. He asks the girl about herself and she doesn't know how she got to be on the planet, or anything more recent than the past few days... nor why her lack of memory is a bad thing. The girl having no idea what her name is, or even should be, she elatedly agrees to Buck calling her Laura. She snuggles happily against his arm, innocently prattling about how she will learn so many things from Buck, "for that is the way it is ordained," as she puts it.
The Searcher is keeping itself from drifting through retro-stabilizer pulses, but they have to use them very sparingly. The data archives regarding Phibocetes is a virtually archaic form of data encoding that is cumbersome and tedious to research, especially for an advanced robotic creation like Crichton. Hawk and Wilma are conferring further with Dr. Goodfellow when they are alerted that the mining shuttle is ready and the crew will be able to depart shortly. They hurry to meet the crew at the launch bay.
The shuttle lands and Wilma and Hawk are amazed at the sight of Laura standing beside Buck. Laura pays little attention to any of the crew; except when they are interacting directly with Buck. Buck asks Laura to go with Wilma so she can take a sample of Laura's blood and do a medical exam that might help with Laura's amnesia. Wilma also asks Hawk to return to Searcher and ask Dr. Goodfellow to assemble an Optical Imager, which will further help uncover Laura's memories. Finally, she asks Hawk to see if the Searcher can find any logs of other ships passing through the system recently. The most likely explanation for Laura's presence on Phibocetes is that she was on board a ship that crashed on the planet, even though there is no sign of wreckage anywhere that anyone has looked. As the crew begins to set up the camp, the mummy creature watches from the trees.
Wilma starts to look at the analysis of Laura's blood a computer monitor, and quickly her expression becomes one of deep concern. But before Buck can ask her about it, they hear the sound of a blaster firing and a brief scuffle, and have to rush outside. One of the mining crew, CPO Hall (Sandy Alexander Champion) was picking up some crystals when a creature of some kind grabbed him from behind. Hall was unable to get a square look at the creature other than it was grotesque and incredibly strong. Buck takes another mining crew member, Johnson (Gary Bolen) with him to investigate while the others guard the camp.
Buck can find no further signs of the creature and returns to camp where the miners have managed to gather up some crystals. He assigns guard duty among the crew and goes into the main tent to confer with Wilma, who shows him the analysis of Laura's blood... it is a perfect match for the mummy-like creature they'd found. Buck cannot bring himself to accept this finding. As he and WIlma speak, Laura approaches the tent from the outside and puts her ear to it, listening briefly.
On board the Searcher, Admiral Asimov is receiving a report that no ships of any kind have been reported to have passed through the star system in many years, which baffles him because Laura had to have gotten onto the planet from 'somewhere.' Just then, Crichton enters with what might be the answer-- he has found archives of a lost colony of people on Phibocetes. Admiral Asimov raises Buck and Wilma on the comm systems and Crichton shows them what he's found: images of a male humanoid undergoing a startling catagenesis through which he de-evolves from a human-looking humanoid into a creature looking very much like the mummy that had been found. Crichton is unsure what causes the colonists to undergo this de-volutionary process, theorizing that it comes from an agent native to the planet, although Wilma knows it can't be the crystals because of the extensive contact the mining crew has had with them. Buck asks him to go back into the archives to see if they contain more information on this agent, and Asimov gives Buck the report about no ships having been in the area before signing off. Buck and Wilma speak further, much more concerned. Buck is deeply worried about Laura; is she destined to transform into one of these creatures? And worse, Wilma wonders if the crew will succumb to the process if a viral agent is causing it.
At nighttime, the mummy makes its way to the camp as Buck and most of the crew sit around a campfire. The mummy incapacitates the crew member standing guard and picks up the container of thurbidian crystals, starting to carry them off. It passes by Laura as she sleeps under a canopy. It grabs Laura and starts to drag her off with it. Buck and the others hear her blood-curdling scream and rush in pursuit. A blaster shot spooks the mummy and it lets go of Laura, but carries off the container of thurbidian crystals.
The mummy carries the crystals to a field of volcanic ash. It places a number of the crystals on top of the field, and sits and watches.
Buck carries the terrified Laura back to the tent and Wilma gives her a sedative so she can sleep. Kovick, the crew member who had been attacked, is brought into the tent, injured. Buck decides two guards need to be on shifts at all times now. Conferring again with Wilma, Buck is puzzled why the mummy grabbed both Laura and the crystals, but only let go of Laura and kept the crystals when spooked off. Wilma points out that the mummy most likely sensed the great risk to itself in raiding the camp in the first place-- it has an unexplained fixation on the crystals that borders on obsessive.
Back at the field of volcanic ash, the mummy continues to watch the small cluster of crystals it had placed. The ash stirs and something comes to the surface from underneath... it is a hand, looking very much like the mummy's own.
Hawk arrives back on the planet with the Optical Imager. He watches Wilma set the Imager up as Buck sits nearby as a comforting presence for Laura. Wilma slowly guides Laura through her most recent memories-- watching Buck, Hawk and Wilma as they first landed on the planet, and then being with Buck. Wilma suggests Laura go back a few days, and the image monitor shows a first-person view (from Laura's perspective) of her walking through the trees. Further back than that, the monitor only shows dark swirls. Wilma asks if Laura can remember her family-- the same dark swirls, and Laura has no conscious recollection of what a family even is. Several crew members have entered the tent and begun watching as Wilma asks Laura if she can remember her mother-- another concept that puzzles Laura-- and when she tries to concentrate on the description Wilma gives, the monitor shows a hazy image of the mummy-like creature. Everyone's expressions turn shocked and grim at the image, and Laura quickly notices and grows very upset. Wilma gently tries to reassure her that the Imager simply malfunctioned, and everything is okay.
Later, the crew has gathered another large batch of thurbidian crystals. As they go about their business, Laura walks through the camp, offering only a polite smile to any crew member she passes. She happens to pass by the largest container of crystals and stands there, staring at them as if she is mesmerized. Just then, CPO Hall goes up to the container and closes it up to carry it away. As he turns, Laura gets a shocked look and grabs up a heavy instrument, raising it above her head to club Hall from behind. Hawk quickly spots her from the corner of his eye and rushes to her, gently but firmly pulling the instrument out of her grasp. Wilma quickly notes that Laura appears to be in a hypnotic trance and is very likely not conscious of what is going on around her. She gently guides Laura back to the main tent, as she and Buck ask Hawk to quickly bring the crystals back to the Searcher, which is on its very last vestiges of retro-stabilizer energy and is on the point of becoming adrift again.
In the tent, Laura quickly falls asleep, completely oblivious to what she had tried to do. Buck and Wilma watch her sleep with compassion and worry.
On board the Searcher, Asimov is alerted that Crichton is en route to the bridge with an important announcement. At first, Asimov is dismissive, as Crichton considers everything he says to be extremely important. But as Crichton arrives, they find that his information truly is important, especially to the matters at hand. Crichton's voice modulator speaking in terse, clipped tones, he announces that, much to his great humiliation... he's made a mistake. His analysis of the Phibocetes colony members was reversed-- they BEGIN as mummy-like creatures and evolve into humanoids. In fact, Crichton has found that the colony on Phibocetes came originally from Earth.
As Crichton explains, genetic engineers in the colony modified the colonists' DNA to allow for an efficient means of reproduction that bypassed vulnerable stages of pregnancy, infancy and childhood. Through the engineering process, offspring were produced fully grown in the mummy-like state, with all knowledge of their people's culture encoded in their genes, and were "activated" by light refracted through the thurbidian crystals. The crystals, essentially, are their very life-source.
Back on the planet, Laura awakens, very frightened. She is beginning to understand more of what is going on around her, including that Buck and Wilma know more about her than she herself knows. She tells them she overheard them speaking about the analysis of her blood. Laura begins to break down in tears as she begs to know if she truly is the same as the creature in the trees--- is it 'ordained' that she is to change into the same type of creature? Buck and Wilma are unable to answer. Laura starts to become hysterical as she cries that she would rather die than lose Buck forever, and she rushes out of the tent into the woods. Buck starts to follow her.
Dr. Goodfellow arrives on the bridge of the Searcher and is filled in on the new information Crichton has uncovered. The reason for the colony's disappearance was that it was wiped out in a massive volcanic eruption 300 years ago. Crichton shows the images again, in the correct order, and further explains that the mummy form is how colony offspring were 'packaged' through the genetic engineering process. They needed close supervision due to their immense strength and natural tendency toward violence. The human form is the final stage of their change, once their genes are 'awakened' by light refracted through the thurbidian crystals. It explains why the mummy raided the camp for the crystals-- it understood how badly it needed them. The last piece of the puzzle is, how long could the colonists survive while partially dormant in the mummy form? 300 years? Crichton says that the mummies could survive that long very easily-- they could survive virtually indefinitely. Asimov knows that Hawk needs to return to Phibocetes immediately and that Buck and Wilma must be informed.
Buck searches for Laura in the woods, He finds her crying bitterly as she lays among some brush. His voice growing a little stern to try and calm her hysterics, he tells her not to mind the machines. Laura always listened to Buck himself above anything else, and he asks her to do that now--- he promises her that everything will be okay. Laura finally smiles again and snuggles against Buck as he starts to bring her back to camp.
At that moment, the mummy rushes out to confront them, and starts to attack Buck. Although Buck's strength is far from a match for the mummy's, he is able to use his fighting ability to keep the mummy off balance and at a distance. But as he starts to grapple with the creature, its outer skin starts to break away... revealing human-like skin underneath.
Laura's frightened cries suddenly change from, "Watch out, he'll kill you!" to, "Stop! You'll kill him! Please don't hurt him!" as she rushes back toward Buck. Buck lets go of the mummy and sees a very human-like face emerging from where the outer mummy-like skin had been torn away. Hawk and Wilma arrive on the scene to announce what they've learned about the mummy being the first stage in the Phibocetes colonists' life span, not the last. The mummy was changing into a man. As they watch, Laura quickly takes charge of the creature, speaking gently to it with far more knowledge than she'd displayed since they first encountered her. She understands now that she and the mummy-man are the same race, and she is meant to be with him. She didn't realize it until she saw the human-like features emerge from under the mummy-like outer skin. Seeing that jarred the knowledge from deep in her genetic coding, bringing more of her people's way of life to her conscious memory.
The mining operation is completed, and the Searcher is back at full power. Some extra crystals will serve as surplus in case of another emergency. The crew is preparing to leave the planet.
Laura and the mummy stand nearby; the mummy has completed its transformation into a man (Hubie Kerns, Jr.). They are there to see Buck off. Continued exposure to the crystals is allowing them to rapidly remember more and more of their people's way of life, with each passing moment, and they are prepared to begin rebuilding their race and colony, after it had awoken from a 300-year slumber. Buck sees Laura and her new mate as akin to Adam and Eve.
Laura has finally remembered what her name was supposed to be; it was part of her genetic coding when she was produced. But instead of telling Buck the name, she says that she is going to keep the name Laura in order to remember Buck by. She smiles as Buck kisses her goodbye and returns to the shuttle.
The episode closes with a short, teasing exchange of words between Buck and Wilma, copying Laura's 'native jargon,' and they both laugh.
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