- Primitive inhabitants of Gamma Trianguli VI worship a god who orders them to kill visitors from the Enterprise.
- Kirk and a landing party beam down to what seems to be an ideal, Eden-like planet. They soon find however that the planet is ruled by a powerful computer that keeps its local inhabitants - primitive and simple tribesmen - happy and healthy. With the Enterprise locked in a tractor beam and slowly being dragged into the planet's atmosphere, Kirk and Spock must find a way to disable the computer. Realizing the threat to its existence, the computer orders the tribesmen to kill the visitors.—garykmcd
- An Enterprise landing party finds a planet biologically paradise-like, but soon a crew member is killed by something lurking around. An unidentified, irresistible force from the planet keeps the ship caught and blocks the transporters function. Suddenly a sort of spore eruption knocks Spock out, but only temporarily. They find a primitive village near the power source, devoted to the service of a certain Vall they seem to consider their divine creator; McCoy finds them completely free of disease, aging and natural dangers. They observe them sacrificing food to a temple, apparently housing the machine, which blocks out all other life forms, and instructs the villagers to learn to knock the intruders on the head with lethal force. Their plan is to attack it when in need of another feed.—KGF Vissers
- Beware of false gods, especially snake shaped ones. Kirk beams down to a planet GAMMA Trianguli VI along with Chekov and a lovely Yeoman named Martha Landon (Celeste Yarnall), who is blond and Spock and four red-shirts, good friends of Kirk.
Scott is in charge of the ship and reports abnormal magnetic fields around the planet causing their anti matter drives to weaken. The whole surface of the planet is covered with subsurface vibrations, which are artificially produced.
The planet is like a paradise, but Wait, there are booby traps (poison dart shooting flowers, landmines that look like rocks, thunderbolts from the sky) everywhere. Redshirts are getting zapped left and right, and Spock too, but he is strong enough to survive. They cant transport back up to the ship.
They meet Akuta (Keith Andes) who has an antenna in his neck, to hear Vaal, the god of the planet. Akuta had been spying on the landing party and Kirk is able to double back and capture Akuta. Meanwhile a tractor beam from the planet captures the Enterprise.. The warp drives are still out and the ship is barely maintaining orbit by using impulse power. They can remain in orbit for 16 hrs before burning.
Vaal tells Akuta when it is hungry, then Akuta's people bring Vaal energy food as an offering. Akuta takes the landing party to the entry of Vaal's temple, but it is protected by a force field. Spock estimates that the power center of the planet is accessible through this entry, but the center itself lies deep beneath the surface.
McCoy does an examination of the natives and finds that they are not growing old. Spock reckons Vaal is a machine with some rudimentary intelligence and immense power that it can control the entire planet. By measuring the energy exerted on the Enterprise, Kirk gathers that Vaal's energy comes down around feeding time. The machine has no power banks and needs to eat to maintain its energy levels.
Spock argues against interfering as the people of the planet have a system that works. Meanwhile McCoy argues that humanoids have a right to grow and this Vaal has kept that from happening for 1000's of yrs.
Vaal is not happy that the Enterprise is there. Two of Akuta's people, a blond man and woman, see Chekov and Yeoman Landon kissing, and they like it and try it. Vaal is displeased as he has forbidden reproduction on the planet. Vaal tells Akuta to gather the natives and kill the landing party, while he destroys the Enterprise. Kirk is alert and thwarts the attack and captures all natives.
Now Vaal is crippling the enterprise. They must keep Akuta's people from feeding Vaal, at all costs.
Then Kirk turns the Ship's phasers on Vaal until it is dead. It was not really a god, just a machine. Akuta's people are happy now because they can kiss and make children. Even Akuta accepts the new way of life. "Man was not meant to live in Eden, Mr Spock." says Kirk.
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