The AB Chrysalis

The moon is moving into a
region of space where explosions,
causing massive shock waves,
occur at 12 hour intervals. As
Alpha moves closer, it begins to
suffer more damage and sustain
more casulaties. To avoid
unnecessary loss of life, the

bulk of Alpha's population is
evacuated to a holding position
on the far side of the moon, to
shield them from the force of the
shock wave. The command staff
along with some medical and
technical crew remain on Alpha
to keep the base operational

and monitor incoming data.
The shock wave hits, causing
damage to vital systems. With
12 hours before the next one,
Koenig leads a mission to the
planet at the heart of the shock
wave, to see what is causing
the blasts, and if they can

be stopped before Alpha is
destroyed. Detecting high
energy levels on the moons that
surround the planet, they decide
to investigate the closest one.
Homing in on the energy source,
they find a small installation
consisting of five metallic

structures. They land in their
midst, and Koenig goes out
to look around. He enters one of
domes and is taken undeground
by an elevator. He exits into a
room filled with black and white
globes on pedestals of varying
heights. He is struck by

an bolt of energy and knocked
unconscious. Maya alerts Alan
who goes in after him. Alan finds
Koenig lying unconscious on the
floor, but is able to rouse him.
One of the globes begins to move
from pedestal to pedestal, ending
up by a communications

device, where it attempts to
communicate with them. It begins
with a series of geometric shapes,
then moves on to star charts.
Koenig draws a representation
of our solar system and points
to the third planet. The probe
recognizes it as Earth and.

provides a suitable atmosphere.
Koenig asks to speak to someone
of authority to see if he can get
them to stop the shockwaves. The
probe responds that that is not
possible, as it's masters have yet
to be born. It then suggests
that they leave the dome,

stating that they are in danger.
Maya contacts them to tell them
that the energy is building to a
critical level. They return to the
Eagle, but before they can lift off
it is struck by a wayward energy
bolt. They manage to get the
circuits back online and

lift off before their ship can
be damaged any more. Koenig
decides to visit the planet below.
They land, and without warning,
the Eagle is lowered beneath the
planet's surface. The voice of
another probe, tells them that
they are being taken to a

place of safety. When the Eagle
comes to rest in a subterranean
cavern, the probe tells them that
a suitable atmosphere has been
arranged. They leave the ship,
and the probe greets them. They
find out that it's masters have a
unique life cycle in which

they grow old, but instead of
dying, enter a chrysalis and are
reborn. They learn that one of it's
masters has not entered the
chrysalis and ask to speak to him.
The probe sets up a chamber for
them to talk to the guardian.
The probe translates Koenig's

plea to stop the next shock
wave but it's too late. The guardian
has gone senile and must enter his
rejuvination chamber. Alan panics
and tries to stop the guardian
from being taken out of the room
and breaks the seal on the casket.
The probe has to seal the

room so that the guardian can
have the chlorine gas environment
that he needs to survive. Alan gets
trapped and starts to suffocate.
Maya transforms into a creature
capable of breathing chlorine gas
and the probe lets her enter. She
pulls Alan out with Koenig's

help, and they return him to
the Eagle. Koenig decides to force
the probe into stopping the blast
by telling it that he will give the
order to destroy it's master's
rejuvination chamber, with the laser
on the Eagle, if it does not comply.
It stuns him to prevent him

giving the order. Alan wakes
to find Maya uncertain as to how
she should proceed. Alan suggests
firing the laser, but Koenig wakes
in time to stop her. He offers his
ultimatum again, and is stunned
again. Alan tells Maya to fire,
but is stopped by the voice of

one of the first aliens to be
reborn. Koenig orders the laser
disarmed, and is lead, by the
probe, to meet with it's masters.
With no human equivalent for their
names, they introduce themselves
as 'A' and 'B'. Koenig makes his
plea again. 'A', who finds

him attractive, votes in his
favor. 'B', Who finds 'A''s reasons
foolish, votes against. With a
tie, they must await the birth
of another, deciding vote. 'B'
informs Koenig that the next to
born will be the brother of the
guardian, that Alan almost

killed. She doubts that he
will be inclined to vote in their
favor. When he emerges from his
chrysalis, he does deny Koenig's
request to stop the blast, but offers
to let them stay with them, where
it is safe. Even with the knowledge
that Alpha has now moved out

range, Koenig declines. He tells
them that there are things more
important than safety, "loyalty is
better than logic. Hope is better
than dispair... and creation is
better than destruction." He leaves
the chamber to find Maya and
Alan ready to face an

uncertain future at his side.
'A', 'B', and 'C' discuss Koenig's
motivations. 'B' and 'C' are baffled
but 'A' seems to grasp them. Alan
manages to fly the Eagle up the
narrow elevator shaft that leads to
the surface. They head towards
Alpha with no real hope of

either reaching it, or surviving
the impending shock wave. John
contacts Alpha. He tells Helena
that they will not be able to make
it back. He asks to be patched
into the interbase system, and
warns the base of the gravity of
their situation. He commends

them for their devotion to
duty since they left Earth orbit.
The shock wave comes, but to
their surprise, it does not destroy
their Eagle, but increases it's
speed enough to reach Alpha,
which the shockwave passes
over with minimal effect.

When they get back, Helena
asks John about the alien women.
She had heard from Alan that they
were "beautiful, naked and green".
John starts to tell her that he could
barely see them, but when pressed,
tells Helena that he hadn't noticed that they were green.

Screenplay......................................................................Tony Barwick

Director..............................................................................Val Guest

Guest Stars

A.......................................................................................Ina Skriver

B.................................................................................Sarah Douglas

C (Guardian's Brother)..........................................David Sebastian Bach

Additional Cast

Sphere (Probe) Voice.........................................................Robert Reitty

Bill Fraser............................................................................John Hug

Yasko Nugami.........................................................Yasuko Nagazumi

Kreno Creature..............................................................Albin Pahernik

Operative Kate................................................................Sarah Bullen

This is, visually, one of my favorite episodes of the series. I just love the look of the sets and miniatures used for it. I don't even like the color orange that much, but the orange rock walls look great in contrast to the smooth white walls and doors. Don't ask me why, but I have always had a strange fascination for doors in science fiction, from a design standpoint. And I just love the hexagonal door leading from the elevator into the chamber beneath the domes.

I also like the design of the energy domes on the alien moons. They remind me, a little, of the miniatures for Texas City and the other domed cities of "Journey to Where" They create a dramatic locale, which dwarf's the Eagle as it lands amongst them, and also provide drama when

the Eagle gets struck by an energy discharge as they power up for the next shock wave. The probes were an interesting study in simplicty. The use of a rubber ball to suggest a high tech computer works surprisingly well.

The fact that they mirror the look of the energy domes, creates a unified look to the aliens' design and technology. The actual effect of the probes bouncing from pedestal to pedestal (created by blowing air up the pedestal to launch the ball, and then played in reverse for it to land atop the next one) reminds me of the "Rover" (the giant balloon thing) in The Prisoner.

This episode contains a fascinating premise. Delivered in a line by Voice Probe 248, when Koenig tells him that they need to stop the blast, and needs to speak to someone capable of making a decision, the probe replies that his masters are not yet in existance. Subtle but cool! It sets your mind reeling with possibilites. Who are his masters, and how can all this exist, if they are not yet born? Is this going to be about time travel? The answer is a decent one, despite a little trickery on the writer's part, using the word "born" here, and then "reborn" later. But this can be chalked up to an unfamiliarity with the language on the part of the alien Voice Probe. I do find it amazing that it could identify Earth from the drawing Koenig made showing only four planets in our solar system!

It's a miracle Koenig and Carter weren't poisoned by some alien atmosphere from the third planet of a solar system with only four planets!

I do wonder why Koenig did not try to be slightly more ingratiating to A and B when he finally meets them, especially in light of the fact that Alan almost killed one of their kind. I understand he was desperate, but he really wasn't helping his cause any by snapping at them. And why did A and B have to learn English? The Voice probe was already able to translate for the Guardian. Why make Koenig wait the extra hour?

I do think it was rather progressive thinking of the writers to have the aliens move beyond the need to wear clothes. I guess in a world where everyone is reborn with a perfect body, in a climate controlled

atmosphere (no one appears to live on the surface of the planet) clothes are no longer a necessity. After all, you can grow your hair to cover anything you want!

Overall I really enjoy this episode. There aren't many real standout performances, although there are a few nice scenes with Helena in Command Center. I especially like when she smiles at Fraser trying to look positive, when you can tell she feels anything but. And her reserved but tortured, "understood" when John tells her he is not making it back to Alpha. These are two that do come to mind.

Any replies to comments made here are always welcome. You can contact me by using the commlock in the Communication Centre.

	The ubiquitous Operative Kate speaks!
	"Moonbase Alpha status report, Doctor Helena Russell recording..."
	The Alphans find the source of the shock wave and try to unravel it's mystery.
	Koenig's plea and Voice Probe 248's enigmatic response.
	Koenig, Maya, and Alan theorize on the purpose of the domes and it's dire implications for Alpha.
	Voice Probe 748 clarifies.
	Koenig threatens to use force to get what he wants but 748 stalls for time.
	'A' comes on to Koenig, who is less than charming.
	'A' votes in Koenig's favor, 'B' does not, resulting in a deadlock.
	'C' breaks the tie, and politely refuses Koenig's request.
	'C' offers the Alphans safe haven, and Koenig offers platitudes.
	Koenig breaks the bad news to Helena, then addresses the base.
	Koenig, Maya, and Alan realize that they will make it home.
	Helena asks John about the aliens, and he admits to being colorblind.
	Background sound