Post by Z451 on Sept 29, 2016 3:05:00 GMT
Kanamits
As the episode opens, Michael Chambers is seen lying uncomfortably on a cot in a spartan interior.
A voice instructs him to eat, but he refuses.
He asks what time it is on Earth, and begins to tell the story of how he came to be here (aboard a spaceship) in flashback.
The Kanamits, a race of 9-foot-tall (2.7 m) aliens, land on Earth.
One of them addresses the United Nations via telepathy, vowing that his race's motive in coming to Earth is solely to aid humanity.
The most skeptical UN delegate is from the Soviet Union, who asks if the Kanamits come with any ulterior motives.
After answering questions, the Kanamit departs and leaves a book in the Kanamit language without comment, which leads Michael Chambers, a US government cryptographer, to be pressed into service.
Initially wary of the intentions of an alien race who came "quite uninvited", even skeptical international leaders begin to be persuaded of the aliens' benevolence when the Kanamits share their advanced technology, quickly putting an end to many of Earth's greatest woes, including hunger, energy shortages, and nuclear proliferation.
The aliens even transform deserts into large, blooming fields.
Trust in the Kanamits seems to be justified when Patty, one member of the cryptography staff led by Chambers, cracks the title of a Kanamit book the spokesman left behind at the UN.
Its title, she reveals, is To Serve Man.
The Kanamits submit to interrogation and polygraph, at the request of the UN delegates.
The film of the interview depicts the Kanamit purposefully answering control questions both truthfully and falsely to show the process can be trusted.
The Kanamit goes on to discuss their benevolent intentions; the polygraph indicates that the Kanamit is speaking the truth.
Soon, humans are volunteering for trips to the Kanamits' home planet, which is portrayed as a paradise.
Kanamits now have embassies in every major city in the world.
With the Cold War ended, the code-breaking staff has no real work to do, but Patty is still trying to work out the meaning of the text of To Serve Man.
The title was simple to decode; however, the Kanamit's alphabet has different uppercase and lowercase letters, as in some human languages, which makes decoding the rest of the text much more difficult.
The day arrives for Chambers's excursion to the Kanamits' planet.
Just as he mounts the spaceship's boarding stairs, his staffer Patty appears.
He waves, smiling, but she runs toward him in great agitation.
While being held back by a Kanamit guard, Patty cries: "Mr. Chambers, don't get on that ship! The rest of the book To Serve Man, it's... it's a cookbook!" implying that the book is not an instructional book on how to assist men, but rather on how to properly cook man for consumption.
Chambers tries to run back down the spaceship's stairs, but a Kanamit blocks him, the stairs retract, and the ship immediately lifts off.
Chambers is once again seen aboard the Kanamit spaceship, now saying to the audience: "How about you? You still on Earth, or on the ship with me? Really doesn't make very much difference, because sooner or later, all of us will be on the menu...all of us."
The episode closes as he gives in and breaks his hunger strike; as Chambers tears at his food, Rod Serling provides a darkly humorous coda in voice-over, noting man's devolution from "dust to dessert" and from ruler of a planet to "an ingredient in someone's soup".
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Aliens Wiki
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CBS Television
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A voice instructs him to eat, but he refuses.
He asks what time it is on Earth, and begins to tell the story of how he came to be here (aboard a spaceship) in flashback.
The Kanamits, a race of 9-foot-tall (2.7 m) aliens, land on Earth.
One of them addresses the United Nations via telepathy, vowing that his race's motive in coming to Earth is solely to aid humanity.
The most skeptical UN delegate is from the Soviet Union, who asks if the Kanamits come with any ulterior motives.
After answering questions, the Kanamit departs and leaves a book in the Kanamit language without comment, which leads Michael Chambers, a US government cryptographer, to be pressed into service.
Initially wary of the intentions of an alien race who came "quite uninvited", even skeptical international leaders begin to be persuaded of the aliens' benevolence when the Kanamits share their advanced technology, quickly putting an end to many of Earth's greatest woes, including hunger, energy shortages, and nuclear proliferation.
The aliens even transform deserts into large, blooming fields.
Trust in the Kanamits seems to be justified when Patty, one member of the cryptography staff led by Chambers, cracks the title of a Kanamit book the spokesman left behind at the UN.
Its title, she reveals, is To Serve Man.
The Kanamits submit to interrogation and polygraph, at the request of the UN delegates.
The film of the interview depicts the Kanamit purposefully answering control questions both truthfully and falsely to show the process can be trusted.
The Kanamit goes on to discuss their benevolent intentions; the polygraph indicates that the Kanamit is speaking the truth.
Soon, humans are volunteering for trips to the Kanamits' home planet, which is portrayed as a paradise.
Kanamits now have embassies in every major city in the world.
With the Cold War ended, the code-breaking staff has no real work to do, but Patty is still trying to work out the meaning of the text of To Serve Man.
The title was simple to decode; however, the Kanamit's alphabet has different uppercase and lowercase letters, as in some human languages, which makes decoding the rest of the text much more difficult.
The day arrives for Chambers's excursion to the Kanamits' planet.
Just as he mounts the spaceship's boarding stairs, his staffer Patty appears.
He waves, smiling, but she runs toward him in great agitation.
While being held back by a Kanamit guard, Patty cries: "Mr. Chambers, don't get on that ship! The rest of the book To Serve Man, it's... it's a cookbook!" implying that the book is not an instructional book on how to assist men, but rather on how to properly cook man for consumption.
Chambers tries to run back down the spaceship's stairs, but a Kanamit blocks him, the stairs retract, and the ship immediately lifts off.
Chambers is once again seen aboard the Kanamit spaceship, now saying to the audience: "How about you? You still on Earth, or on the ship with me? Really doesn't make very much difference, because sooner or later, all of us will be on the menu...all of us."
The episode closes as he gives in and breaks his hunger strike; as Chambers tears at his food, Rod Serling provides a darkly humorous coda in voice-over, noting man's devolution from "dust to dessert" and from ruler of a planet to "an ingredient in someone's soup".
Links:
Wikipedia
Aliens Wiki
Copyright Owner
CBS Television
Record:
W:
L: