In the twenty-fourth episode of the second season of Star Trek, the crew of the Enterprise worries that a new computer development will put them out of a job. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.
Ah, nothing like a fantastic, thrilling episode of Star Trek to wash the taste of “The Omega Glory” out of my mouth.
This really was a solid episode of the show, and I definitely had a moment where I wondered if this was the first aired example of the evil supercomputer trope. And while “The Ultimate Computer” does qualify under that archetype, there’s still a lot here that makes it a remarkably unique story. Ironically, that’s because this supercomputer is… well, it’s human.
Before we get to the inevitable twist that the M5 has taken over the Enterprise, though, the writers give us this beautifully introspective story. Unlike most of this show, the first twenty-odd minutes of the episode is quite slow, and I liked that a lot. There’s really not a conflict aside from the personal one until the ore freighter is destroyed, and then we get a relentless thriller. BUT I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT WHAT CAPTAIN KIRK AND THE OTHERS GO THROUGH IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS EPISODE. It’s just refreshing to see Kirk analyze what it means to be the captain of a Starship, to try and determine if he’s being petty and unfair towards the Federation and Dr. Daystrom.
Understandably, it’s frustrating and scary to find out that a machine can replace a person in the workforce, and I imagine that there’s an element to this episode that must have reflected the fears of the American populace in the late sixties. But even without that sort of historical context, we can understand how upsetting this is once Commodore Wesley reveals that the Enterprise crew will be reduced from over 440 people to TWENTY. This is not a small downsizing; it’s traumatic for Captain Kirk, who has become used to not just his power, but to a specific structure in his life. I also think that a certain part of his identity is tied to his job in the Federation. Who would he even be if he weren’t a captain?
Cue Spock and Bones being so mushy and cute and loyal and I CAN’T DO THIS. Y’all, both of the scenes where these men validate Kirk’s importance and their friendship with him are MY FAVORITE THINGS THIS WHOLE SEASON. Okay, well, maybe after Tribbles and Spock’s parents, but still. They ensure Kirk that he’s important to them and to the crew, that he’s irreplaceable, that loyalty matters, and then they crush my heart. THEY CRUSH IT.
So how did “The Ultimate Computer” exceed my expectations and surprise me? LET US DISCUSS THOSE THINGS.
Humanity
It’s very common for this trope to proceed in one way: the computer is hyperlogical, and thus, because it lacks any humanity or concept of it, it does what is most efficient and practically without regard for human life. Often, this includes some big twist where it protects itself at the cost of life and safety to others, and the M5 veers very close to this trope a couple of times. However, the M5 is not actually a logical computer: IT’S A FUSION OF DR. DAYSTROM’S MIND AND COMPUTER SYNAPSES. I don’t even care that this probably isn’t all that sensical because it’s the coolest idea ever. And it direct subverts and destroys the trope, even if that wasn’t an intentional thing.
On top of that, Dr. Daystrom’s characterization is integral to our understanding of this computer. (And holy shit, William Marshall is so good here as Daystrom.) Since it’s his mind and his biases in that machine, the context of his own motivations helps us comprehend what’s going on here. There’s a combination of intellectual rage and a desire to save life at work here, and I loved how complex this was represented. At times, Daystrom viewed the computer as a child; others, it was like a colleague; at others, it was a projection of his hopes and dreams. That changed based on the outside factors affecting him, too. Given his own irritation with being ignored or having his work stolen or uncredited, it makes sense that he’d be particularly protective of the machine. It had to succeed or he’d slip back into obscurity again, just a footnote in history. But he also wanted this to succeed for a noble reason: he wanted humanity to stop risking their life, dying on distant planets or in the loneliness of space, by giving them a computer that could do all the risky work for them. AND THAT’S ADMIRABLE. And sad. Oh god, I feel like there was a strong hint that there was some personal story left unsaid here, that Dr. Daystrom had lost someone to space exploration. Right???
So even though you could technically say that Kirk shuts down the M5 with a logical contradiction, I don’t know that this feels all that similar to that trope. Because it’s an illogical thing, Kirk has to appeal to what humanity it does possess. He has to appeal to the moral core within the M5 to point out that its programming has led it to do something horrible.
Which brings me to my other point!
Death
Look, lots of characters die on Star Trek, but there’s something horrifically disturbing about how far this episode goes in depicting M5’s power. I absolutely expected some last minute twist as the war games commenced that would prevent the other Federation ships from suffering much damage. AND THEN M5 KILLS AN ENTIRE STARSHIP AND A TON OF OTHER PEOPLE ARE DIE AND INJURED AND WHAT THE FUCK, THIS ISN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. William Shatner adds to the intensity by playing Kirk as both enraged and terrified by watching his own people be destroyed before his eyes. And if “The Ultimate Computer” has taught us anything, Kirk does not like feeling helpless. This is his worst nightmare!
I’m very pleased that this came after “The Omega Glory.” It’s a nice reminder of just how good Star Trek can be when it’s not… well, awful.
The video for “The Ultimate Computer,” complete with reproducing tribbles, can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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