- Kirk and a sub-skeleton crew are ordered to test out an advanced artificially intelligent control system - the M-5 Multitronic system, which could potentially render them all redundant.
- Captain Kirk replies to an urgent (yet brief) message from Commodore Enright, which only tells him to report to the nearest space station. Once there, most of the crew is removed - held in a security area, leaving only a minimal skeleton crew on-board. Commodore Bob Wesley arrives, and informs the captain he's the unwitting 'fox in the hunt;' of simulated war games to be played. The purpose? To put the so far only-rumoured-to-exist M-5 Multitronic unit - through its paces. The M-5 computer is the latest invention of the brilliant Dr. Richard Daystrom, creator of the Duotronic computer systems, which power Enterprise, and many other high-end systems. Daystrom is confidant his unit can not only take control of the starship, but do a better job than humans can. At first, the Enterprise under M-5's control easily defeats two other starships, but, quickly begins to act independently of its human masters, Daystrom has little interest in disconnecting the M-5 and treats it more like an errant child than a machine. For Kirk and the few crew members still aboard, it becomes a matter of life and death when Starfleet Command orders the Enterprise destroyed.—garykmcd
- Imagine if, as a young man, you were responsible for inventing and developing a new technology that created an entirely new and powerful and efficient method of powering interstellar craft, all before you turned twenty. Imagine being hailed as a genius, praised by the entire Federation, and your writings becoming almost textbooks in the Federation Academy. Well, this is what happened to Richard Daystrom (William Marshall). His theories and the duotronic computer system that he developed have become the standard operating system for Starfleet. His name had become synonymous with brilliance and technical expertise.
It is is more than twenty years since Daystrom perfected the duotronic unit, and his fantastic accomplishments have started to fade in the memory of the academic community. His colleagues now see him as an unimaginative technician who stumbled upon duotronics by pure chance, and reaped undeserved fame for what his colleagues now consider a fluke. Daystrom, over the course of time, has become embittered at this lack of recognition and respect, but that is all about to change, as Commodore Bob Wesley (Barry Russo), an old friend of Kirk's, and his superior, informing our intrepid captain that the Enterprise has been assigned to a war games simulation. The Commodore is assigned to simulate an attack on the Enterprise utilizing four star-ships, while the Enterprise is assigned to defend itself, utilizing only a skeleton crew.
The Enterprise will not be using the standard duotronic computer controls, but rather a brand new system, known as the M-5, which employs Multitronic power and defense and weapon controls. Dr Daystrom will join Kirk, who has recently developed Multitronics, which employs elements such as intuition, and unpredictable thinking, to achieve results more rapidly, yet more accurately. M-5 essentially thinks like a star-ship commander with years of experience, but the M5 is not subject to human error. Kirk is clearly skeptical and worried about turning over his Galaxy-class star-ship to a machine while he and Spock sit idly by and serve only as mobile technicians in the event of an emergency. McCoy has always hated anything computerized, and Kirk is not fond of computers either, but he comments that Spock must prefer to have a computer running the ship. From the moment he steps on board, Daystrom worries Kirk. He is a giant of a man, over six feet tall, African American by race, and very intense in his manner of speech. He laughs at Kirk's doubts about the M5.
The M5's first assignment is to designate the personnel for a landing party to a new planet. Daystrom challenges Kirk to make his recommendations for the landing party first. Kirk names himself, Spock, McCoy and a geologist and a botanist from the life sciences department. Then Daystrom asks M5 for his recommendations, The computer voice names, Spock, The botanist, and a geologist, but a different geologist than Kirk recommended. Kirk asks the computer why, and it answers in a dull monotone "Geologist Carstairs has had extensive experience with class M planets in this sector." Kirk says to Daystrom "Well, anyone can make that mistake." Daystrom responds "M5 didn't. Come, Captain, aren't you really curious as to why you and Doctor Mccoy were left out of the landing party? Ask M5." Kirk does so, and the computer replies "Non-essential personnel."
Now a message comes in from the Lexington, Commodore Wesley's star-ship, which heads a mini fleet also containing the Hood, Potemkin and Exeter. He asks Kirk to prepare for simulated battle in one hour. As the Enterprise is returning from the landing party exercise and preparing for the simulated war games, the ship encounters an unmanned ore freighter. M5, within moments, incorrectly identifies the freighter as a threat, sets weapons on it, and destroys it, quicker than anyone on board can stop it. What if that were a ship in the war games simulation? says Kirk. He grabs Daystrom "Unplug that thing." He demands. But when Spock and the crew try to unplug the M5, it kills a crewman, sets up a force field and diverts any attempt to shut it down.
This is no game anymore. Kirk demands answers from Daystrom, who confesses that in order to give the computer system human response ability, he impressed human engrams onto the main circuits, and not just human engrams, but his own. A powerful computer with the mind of this paranoid genius in control. The war games have begun, and M5 is winning. It has crippled two of the ships in the opposition force, and it has shut down all outgoing communication from the Enterprise. Wesley's only choice will be to destroy the Enterprise. Kirk, helpless on his own ship, knows that the Enterprise will destroy the entire opposition force, unless it is shut down. Kirk uses the fact that Daystrom is a moral, ethical man, to talk to the M5, which has Daystrom's human engrams, and convince it that it has committed multiple murders. The M5 realizes its sins, and decides to shut itself down, to commit suicide, to atone for its murders. Now the Enterprise is powerless. Scotty can restore partial power, but Kirk says "No, stay dead." Kirk is banking on the humanity of Bob Wesley to not destroy a helpless victim, even though that is a trick that the M5 might actually employ. Wesley does not fire, and the ship is saved. Daystrom is removed for medical psychiatric treatment. Spock asks Kirk how he knew that they would be safe. Kirk says "I knew Bob Wesley, and I knew he would not fire. An advantage of man vs machine."
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