I tend to go with the Highlander explanation - he took over identities from babies who died.
Star Trek TOS Re-Watch
- Thread starter Commander Troi
- Start date
It was an idea he played around with for years. I read that he actually came up with the idea for The Man From Earth in the early '60s, so that was before he wrote "Requiem."
Kor
Has anyone read (or heard of) the 1953 story "Whatever Happened to Corporal Cuckoo" by Gerald Kersh? It is similar to Bixby's idea of an immortal individual. However, unlike Flint the title character does not grow in sophistication as the centuries go on but instead remains an unsophisticated soldier.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whatever_Happened_to_Corporal_Cuckoo?
"The Way to Eden" by Arthur Heinemann, based on a story by Heinemann and D. C. Fontana (using the pen name "Michael Richards").
Enterprise is pursues the righteously liberated space cruiser Aurora. In trying to escape a tractor beam, the Aurora overloads its engines and its six passengers are beamed aboard the Enterprise. The group includes Irina Galliulin, Chekov's ex, and is led by Dr. Sevrin, a noted electronics, acoustics, and communications scientist. The group calls Kirk a "Herbert" (and I adore Spock's discomfort explaining the term), but Spock reaches and the group let him lead them to Sickbay for checking out. Sevrin says they are seeking the planet Eden, which Kirk says is a myth.
SPOCK: There are many who are uncomfortable with what we have created. It is almost a biological rebellion. A profound revulsion against the planned communities, the programming, the sterilised, artfully balanced atmospheres. They hunger for an Eden where spring comes.
KIRK: All do. The cave is deep in our memory.
SPOCK: Yes, that is true, Captain.
KIRK: But we don't steal space cruisers and act like irresponsible children. What makes you so sympathetic toward them?
SPOCK: It is not sympathy so much as curiosity, Captain. A wish to understand. They regard themselves as aliens in their own worlds, a condition with which I am somewhat familiar.
I have a soft spot for this episode. I have a lot of Hippie in me. Part of me very much longs for an Eden.
Pavel and Irina obviously parted in a bummer. Each says the other left.
Sevrin turns out to be a carrier for a nasty virus. "Our aseptic, sterilised civilisations produced it." However, he tells Spock that Eden will cleanse him. Spock concludes (I'm not sure how) that Sevrin in insane. Sevrin is in denial, definitely, totally RFK Jr. about his condition, but I didn't see nuts at this point. They quarantine Sevrin and Spock promises to help find Eden if he'll convince the rest of the group to behave. Various members of the group rap with young crewmembers, trying to get them on their side.
Irina visits Chekov and learns about Auxiliary Control. Adam, the musician, visits Spock and checks out his Vulcan lyre. He asks permission to put on a concert and also asks Spock to jam with them. During the music, one of the group frees Sevrin from quarantine. The group take over Auxiliary Control and take the ship to the planet Spock found. Then they disable the crew with an ultrasonic jam and liberate a shuttle.
Kirk manages to shut off the sonics and he, Spock, McCoy, and Chekov beam down. The planet is very beautiful. However, the plants are full of acid (and not the fun kind) and burn. They find Adam dead from eating a poisonous fruit. Sevrin and the others are in the shuttlecraft, all with burns on their feet. Kirk says they must leave, but Sevrin runs, bites into one of the fruits, and dies.
Back on the ship, Irina and Chekov say goodbye.
SPOCK: Miss Galliulin. It is my sincere wish that you do not give up your search for Eden. I have no doubt but that you will find it, or make it yourselves.
I feel sorry for the space hippies. It makes sense that some people would want a less technological life - that's how you get colonists. They did some bad things under Sevrin's influence, but they just wanted a place that felt good to them. Eden may have been a fantasy, but having idealism isn't a bad thing.
Shoutouts to Skip Homeier as Sevrin, Mary Linda Rapelye as Irina, and Charles Napier as Adam (who I am far more used to seeing as a cop or military man!). All gave good performances and Napier had a pleasant singing voice.
I know this ep isn't well liked and is often made fun of, but I felt like the writers were really trying to understand the younger generation and they made me feel sympathy. I wish I knew why the prop department went with an egg with an infinity symbol as their logo though!
Enterprise is pursues the righteously liberated space cruiser Aurora. In trying to escape a tractor beam, the Aurora overloads its engines and its six passengers are beamed aboard the Enterprise. The group includes Irina Galliulin, Chekov's ex, and is led by Dr. Sevrin, a noted electronics, acoustics, and communications scientist. The group calls Kirk a "Herbert" (and I adore Spock's discomfort explaining the term), but Spock reaches and the group let him lead them to Sickbay for checking out. Sevrin says they are seeking the planet Eden, which Kirk says is a myth.
SPOCK: There are many who are uncomfortable with what we have created. It is almost a biological rebellion. A profound revulsion against the planned communities, the programming, the sterilised, artfully balanced atmospheres. They hunger for an Eden where spring comes.
KIRK: All do. The cave is deep in our memory.
SPOCK: Yes, that is true, Captain.
KIRK: But we don't steal space cruisers and act like irresponsible children. What makes you so sympathetic toward them?
SPOCK: It is not sympathy so much as curiosity, Captain. A wish to understand. They regard themselves as aliens in their own worlds, a condition with which I am somewhat familiar.
I have a soft spot for this episode. I have a lot of Hippie in me. Part of me very much longs for an Eden.
Pavel and Irina obviously parted in a bummer. Each says the other left.
Sevrin turns out to be a carrier for a nasty virus. "Our aseptic, sterilised civilisations produced it." However, he tells Spock that Eden will cleanse him. Spock concludes (I'm not sure how) that Sevrin in insane. Sevrin is in denial, definitely, totally RFK Jr. about his condition, but I didn't see nuts at this point. They quarantine Sevrin and Spock promises to help find Eden if he'll convince the rest of the group to behave. Various members of the group rap with young crewmembers, trying to get them on their side.
Irina visits Chekov and learns about Auxiliary Control. Adam, the musician, visits Spock and checks out his Vulcan lyre. He asks permission to put on a concert and also asks Spock to jam with them. During the music, one of the group frees Sevrin from quarantine. The group take over Auxiliary Control and take the ship to the planet Spock found. Then they disable the crew with an ultrasonic jam and liberate a shuttle.
Kirk manages to shut off the sonics and he, Spock, McCoy, and Chekov beam down. The planet is very beautiful. However, the plants are full of acid (and not the fun kind) and burn. They find Adam dead from eating a poisonous fruit. Sevrin and the others are in the shuttlecraft, all with burns on their feet. Kirk says they must leave, but Sevrin runs, bites into one of the fruits, and dies.
Back on the ship, Irina and Chekov say goodbye.
SPOCK: Miss Galliulin. It is my sincere wish that you do not give up your search for Eden. I have no doubt but that you will find it, or make it yourselves.
I feel sorry for the space hippies. It makes sense that some people would want a less technological life - that's how you get colonists. They did some bad things under Sevrin's influence, but they just wanted a place that felt good to them. Eden may have been a fantasy, but having idealism isn't a bad thing.
Shoutouts to Skip Homeier as Sevrin, Mary Linda Rapelye as Irina, and Charles Napier as Adam (who I am far more used to seeing as a cop or military man!). All gave good performances and Napier had a pleasant singing voice.
I know this ep isn't well liked and is often made fun of, but I felt like the writers were really trying to understand the younger generation and they made me feel sympathy. I wish I knew why the prop department went with an egg with an infinity symbol as their logo though!
"The Way to Eden," I like it. Hardly the bottom of the barrel.
Sevrin in sickbay and in the brig with Spock visiting, those are outstanding scenes for any episode.
The scene when they alter the circuits in auxiliary control while Adam sings "Headin' Out to Eden," it's beautiful, melancholy, and outstanding.
Very quotable episode, even for Herberts. Nice multilayered last line, "We reach, Mr. Spock."
Love it!
Sevrin in sickbay and in the brig with Spock visiting, those are outstanding scenes for any episode.
The scene when they alter the circuits in auxiliary control while Adam sings "Headin' Out to Eden," it's beautiful, melancholy, and outstanding.
Very quotable episode, even for Herberts. Nice multilayered last line, "We reach, Mr. Spock."
Love it!
I just could never really like "THE WAY TO EDEN". For me, it's the third worst episode of TOS.
I read a number of Kersh's stories when I was younger, but not that one. Good to know there's someone else out there who has heard of him. He wrote interesting, offbeat short fiction.
Not the bottom, but close. YMMV, as they say.
Identity theft. If Flint wanted to be seen as 30 when he was really 1000, he'd get documentation on a baby who died about 30 years ago and take that name. Then forge some papers to create his education and whatnot.
Historically, infant mortality rates were enormous for most of Flint's life. If he was a decent forger, the rest was a piece of cake.
Edit: I didn't read on after your question, and @Commander Troi had beaten me to it.
Just make sure to choose orphan identities, or move far enough away from the living relatives that nobody ever questions you.
He was probably a great forger; he was an artist, i.e. Leonardo da Vinci!
Flint: "In the late 20th century I had these special Metal Claws..."
Then I was accidentally resurrected by a woman who had been exposed to some kind of space time vortex...Flint: "In the late 20th century I had these special Metal Claws..."
Adam's great-great-great-great-great grandfather paved the way. Adam just had to follow it.
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