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This article is about the TOS episode and novelization. You may be looking for the IDW TOS comic story, Operation: Annihilate.

"Operation -- Annihilate!" was the 29th episode of Star Trek: The Original Series in the show's first season, first aired on 13 April 1967. The episode was written by Steven W. CarabatsosMA, directed by Herschel DaughertyMA and novelized as Operation—Annihilate! in Star Trek 2 by James Blish.

Summary[]

Captain's log, stardate 3287.2.

The USS Enterprise approaches Deneva. Captain Kirk is concerned; Uhura has been unable to contact any transmitter on the planet. Spock's research has revealed that a pattern of mass insanity has been spreading in a straight line through this part of the galaxy, and Deneva is next.

Sulu picks up a spacecraft on sensors. The small craft is on course directly for the Denevan sun, and does not appear to be out of control. Kirk orders a warp 8 interception course. The ship is out of range of the tractor beam; the Enterprise pursues. Finally, they make contact: seconds before the ship burns up, the pilot suddenly cries out, "I did it! It's finally gone! I'm free!!"

Kirk forms a landing party consisting of him, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Yeoman Zahra Jamal and Robert Abrams. Once on the planet, they are struck by the curious lack of people; in a city of 100,000 people, no one is visible – until, a few minutes later, they are attacked by four men who, even as they charge, scream, "Go away! We don't want to hurt you!" But, with their crude clubs, they try anyway, forcing the landing party to stun them, an attitude inconsistent with their actions. Then McCoy discovers that the unconscious men's nervous systems are violently active – as if these are somehow still being stimulated.

A scream draws them next to Kirk's brother's laboratory. Captain Kirk's brother, Sam Kirk, lies dead on the floor. Aurelan, Sam's wife, is hysterical, and their child Peter is unconscious nearby. Evidence suggests something has been trying to force its way in, despite the fact that the sensors showed nothing on Deneva that did not belong there.

Aurelan, in terrible pain, tells Kirk that "things" came, eight months ago, on a ship from Ingraham B. As she tries to answer Kirk's questions, she experiences more and more pain, until McCoy is forced to sedate her. The creatures use the Denevans as their arms and legs, and are forcing them to build ships. They control their hosts with pain. Aurelan's last act is to implore Kirk not to let the things go any further; this effort costs her everything she has left, and she dies.

Kirk rejoins the landing party; he knows there is some sort of creature present, but the landing party has not yet discovered anything beyond a curious buzzing. Entering a building where they heard this sound, the landing party discovers strange lifeforms. Looking like little more than jellyfish, the blastoneurons emit a bizarre buzzing noise, and employ a crude, wingless flight. A phaser at force 4 – sufficient to destroy most organisms – barely affects these creatures, even after several seconds of exposure. And the creatures do not register on Spock's tricorder.

Kirk orders the landing party out of the infested area; as they leave, a creature strikes Spock, leaving a strange puncture wound. McCoy removes a small strand of tissue, and then, over Nurse Chapel's objections, he closes the wound. The creatures attack by stinging; the neural parasites leave behind a piece of this tissue that rapidly infiltrates the victim's entire nervous system, far too completely for conventional surgery to remove it.

Spock recovers consciousness, charges out of sickbay and storms the bridge. His goal: to take the ship out of orbit. Spock is ultimately overcome and returned to sickbay, where McCoy makes another grim discovery. The K3 indicator, described here as being a measure of pain, is very, very high. The reason for the madness is confirmed: victims are in such agony that their minds eventually break under the stress. Spock, recovering consciousness, now claims the ability to control the pain. But after his visit to the main bridge, Kirk is less sure.

Spock, conquering the pain, breaks out of sickbay and plans to visit the planet's surface. Scotty, acting on Kirk's orders, refuses to transport him. A scuffle breaks out, and when Kirk appears, Spock explains that his plan is to retrieve a creature for study. He believes that since his nervous system has already been infiltrated, there is little more the creatures can do to him. Kirk is convinced, and over McCoy's objections Spock beams down to collect a creature for study.

Spock returns with a creature and begins to study it. Immediately, he realizes that the creature resembles, more than anything, an enormous brain cell. Kirk catches on immediately: these creatures are not separate animals, but instead all of them are parts of a single entity, connected in some mysterious fashion; this fashion appears to be telepathic, though whether it actually is telepathic is not made clear. This is how it resists phaser fire: each part draws strength from the whole.

McCoy's efforts to find some method to kill the creatures fail. Not heat, not radiation - nothing kills it. Kirk knows that if they cannot find a way to kill these creatures, he will be forced to destroy Deneva to prevent their spread. A million people will die if nothing can be done. Kirk cannot let the creatures spread, and has no wish to kill the Denevans, including his nephew. He demands a third alternative.

The key lies in exploring the properties of the sun. The Denevan was free of the creature moments before he died; something in the sun killed it. It is neither radiation nor heat – could it be light? Kirk thinks it is. McCoy rigs a test cubicle, puts the sample creature inside, and confirms the theory: high intensity light is fatal to these creatures. Spock enters next; it is necessary to see what will happen to tissue that has infiltrated a victim. Spock volunteers to enter the cubicle. This test, too, succeeds: the blinding light frees Spock of the creature and the pain – at the cost of his eyesight. Spock, exiting the cubicle, remarks that it is an equitable trade – the closest he comes to revealing how much pain he has been experiencing. And then the true tragedy is revealed: lab tests indicate that the creatures are vulnerable only to a specific subset of the light spectrum: ultraviolet light is its Achilles heel. McCoy is chagrined to realize that Spock need not have been blinded at all.

Despite this, the answer is at hand. Kirk orders satellite control to deploy a formation of 210 ultraviolet satellites at 72 miles altitude, in a permanent orbit. The satellites are turned on; the creatures begin to fail, to fall, to smoke and to die. Ground stations on Deneva quickly make contact; the creatures are dying everywhere.

Spock returns to the bridge; he can once again see. It seems that an inner eyelid, a hereditary trait of Vulcans which they tend to ignore as a Human does his or her own appendix, had automatically protected his eyes.

References[]

Characters[]

Episode characters[]

Robert AbramsClifford Brent[1]Christine ChapelBill HadleyBlastoneuronsHarrison (Lieutenant)KartanAurelan KirkGeorge Samuel Kirk, Jr.James T. KirkPeter KirkRyan LeslieLeonard McCoyMontgomery ScottSpockHikaru SuluNyota UhuraVinci[2]Zahra Jamalunnamed Denevansunnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) personnel (USS Enterprise personnelroster) • Kirk family

Novelization characters[]

Robert AbramsAmesAnhaltAurelanDenevan neural parasitesKartan (Denevan)James T. KirkLeonard McCoyMenenNobanMontgomery ScottSpockHikaru SuluNyota UhuraZaharaUSS Enterprise personnel (roster) • Kirk family
Referenced only
God

Starships and vehicles[]

USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • class J cargo ship (Denevan starship)

Locations[]

Deneva (Deneva system, Fornax constellation, the galaxy's Beta Quadrant) • blastoneuron homeworld (Orion sector, Sirius sector block, Orion constellation, the galaxy's Beta Quadrant)
Referenced only
Aldebaran Magnus V (Aldebaran Magnus system) • Cygni Theta XII (Cygni Theta system) • Ingraham BOrion ComplexEarthOrion sectorOrion NebulaNew Orion NebulaLevinius V (Levinius system) • Beta Portolan

Shipboard areas[]

USS Enterprise
bridgelaboratorysickbaytransporter room
Referenced only
arms controlsatellite control

Planetary locales[]

Deneva
Sam Kirk's home/laboratoryDenevan ground stations

Races and cultures[]

Human (Denevan) • Vulcan

States and organizations[]

FederationStarfleetStarfleet Command

Science and classification[]

astronomybeamingcommunicationselectromagnetismenergylaboratorylifeformlightmagnetismmattermeasurementmedicinephaser force 4phaser stunradiationsolidtechnologytelepathytimeuniversewarp 8ultraviolet lightultraviolet radiationweapon

Astronomy[]

orbitplanetspacestarstar system

Communications[]

captain's logcaptain's log, USS Enterprise, 2267languagelog entryship's logship's log, USS Enterprise

Lifeforms[]

animalbeeblastoneurongermhumanoidjellyfishorganismparasitemicrobemicroorganismtermitevirus

Materials and substances[]

atmospherebloodgasmetaloxygen

Measurement[]

coordinateshourmilemonthquadrantstardateyear

Medicine[]

anatomydiseasedolorimetergermK3 indicatormedical kitmicrobemicroorganismphaser stunsedativevirus
Anatomy[]
appendixarmbrain cellcelleyefingerinner eyelidnervenervous systemneuron

Technology and weapons[]

citycommunicatordolorimeterground stationintercomK3 indicatormedical kitmedical tricorderphaserplanet-wreckersatellitesensorsspacecraftstarshiptractor beamtransmittertransportertricorderultraviolet satellite

Occupations and titles[]

captainchief engineerchief medical officercommand divisioncommandercommanding officercommunications officerdoctorengineerFederation Starfleet ranksFederation Starfleet ranks (2260s)first officerlanding partylieutenantlieutenant commanderhelmsmanmedicmedical practitionernavigatorofficeroperations divisionphysicianpilotrankscientistscience officersciences divisionsecond officerweapons officer

Other references[]

Achilles heelBonesbootclothingFederation membersfive-year missiongovernmenthomeworldinsanityinsigniajumpsuitlifeformlogicmissilenation-stateorbitpantspopulationraces and culturesrank insigniared alertscienceStarfleet uniformStarfleet uniform (2260s)suicidetitletunicuniformuniverseVulcan neck pinch

Chronology[]

years prior to 2267 (2250s chronology)
Ingraham B becomes infested. (prior to episode/novelization)
stardate 3287.2, 2267 (2260s chronology, Enterprise voyages)
Enterprise travels to Deneva.

Appendices[]

Related media[]

Novel adaptations[]

Video releases[]

Background[]

Novelization[]

  • There was no reference to James T. Kirk's family in the novelized version of this episode, Operation—Annihilate in Star Trek 2 by James Blish. In the novelized version, it was magnetism, not light which killed the parasites. In the episode, Spock was the first to try the cure for the parasites, in the novelization, Kartan was first cured. Additionally, the book has the USS Enterprise travel to the home planet of the "mother" parasite and destroys that entire world, while it was the episode that involved satellites and ultra-violet light.

Images[]

Episode images[]

Adaptation images[]

Connections[]

Timeline[]

published order
Previous episode:
The City on the Edge of Forever
TOS episode produced Next episode:
Catspaw
Previous episode:
The City on the Edge of Forever
TOS episode aired Next episode:
Amok Time
Previous story:
Court Martial
Star Trek 2
Blish2
Next story:
The City on the Edge of Forever
chronological order
Previous Adventure:
Final Frontier (framing story)
Pocket Next Adventure:
The Winged Dreamers
Previous Adventure:
Final Frontier (framing story)
Voyages of the
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
(2264 to 2270)
Next Adventure:
The Winged Dreamers


Production and publication history[]
Translations[]
1969
Japanese language: 謎の精神寄生体, translated by Makoto Sawa. (Hayakawa)
1972
German language: Unternehmen Vernichtung, translated by Hans Maeter. (Williams)
1973
Turkish: Çıldiran insanlar, translated by Reha Pinar. (Altın Kitaplar)
1975
Dutch: Operatie Roei-Ze-Uit!, translated by Jan Koesen. (Luitingh)
1978
Italian language: Operazione annientamento, translated by Rosella Sanità. (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore)
1991
French language: Opération destructrice, translated by Paul Couturiau. (Lefrancq)

References[]

  1. The character of Clifford Brent was not named in the episode but the same actor, wearing an officer's Starfleet uniform, was addressed as Brent in TOS episode: "The Naked Time". The same actor also played the character of Vinci.
  2. The character Vinci was not named in the episode but the same actor, wearing the same operations division Starfleet uniform, was addressed as Vinci in TOS episode: "The Devil in the Dark". The same actor also played the character of Clifford Brent.

External links[]

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