The Alphans' sensors detect a chamber with what appears to be an atmosphere buried within a passing asteroid. They go out to investigate, and have to blast through the outer surface to reach it. When they enter the cave, they find a door with alien markings in the rock. With no visible means of
	entry, Koenig fires a stun gun at the door with no effect. As he steps away to gather explosives, the door explodes, throwing astronaut Mike Baxter. He does not appear to be seriously injured, so they continue on into the chamber. Looking around, they find the body of a man
mutilated by the explosion. They bandage his wounds the best they can, and take him back to Alpha, although they think little of his chances for survival. When they arrive at the base, he is rushed to Medical Centre, where he dies, and Mike Baxter is examined for any
	injuries. When Helena begins her autopsy of the alien man, she is shocked to discover that he is alive, with no visible wounds or scars! Tests reveal that his cells are replenishing themselves at an incredible rate. John posts guards outside Medical Centre as a
precaution though the alien is still unconscious. He wakes to find himself alone in a strange place. He tries to get out and forces open the doors to Medical Centre to find himself confronted by two guards. When he tries to leave they grab him and a fight ensues. He quickly
	overcomes them, due to his superior strength and large stature. He wanders around the base and is attacked by several more Security personnel, which he dispatches prior to Koenig and Alan arriving. Alan attempts to stun, then kill him to no avail. The alien asks them to
stop, and talk, to end the violence. He tells them that his name is Balor, and that his people had achieved immortality by artificial means, and over time their society became corrupt and started to decay. He had tried to reverse the process and help them to find the
	meaning of life, but how could they respect life without the fear of death? His people turned on him and condemned him to an eternity of solitude within an asteroid of living rock. Koenig has to tell Mike Baxter that he can't fly because his optic nerve was damaged in the
explosion. Baxter is very upset by this and asks Koenig to leave him alone. He is soon visited by Balor who claims that he can help him. When Koenig finds out that Balor was there, he visits Baxter to find out what they talked about. Baxter attacks Koenig with a model plane,
	and nearly kills him, before he collapses and dies with a horrified look on his face. Balor returns to heal Koenig's wounds and then disappears. When Koenig awakes, he recognizes the look on Baxter's face as similar to paintings he found in Balor's cell on the asteroid.
He asks Balor to meet him in his office to confront him. Balor tells him that torture was his solution to his people's problems, and that now he is going to continue his work on Alpha. Koenig tells him that they will resist, and Balor says that he will rip Alpha apart until they
	acquiesce. Koenig must find a way to stop him, but how do you kill someone who is immortal? Koenig decides to blow him out an airlock. First he removes the airlock warning label and then, using himself as bait, guides Balor there by closing off sections of Alpha as
he passes through. But getting out of the airlock, with Balor still inside, is not an easy feat. Koenig finally attacks Balor, who picks him up and throws him into the hall outside the airlock. Paul who is monitoring the situation form Main Mission shuts the door and depressurizes it.
	Helena thinks that they paid the price for meddling in another culture's justice, and that they should learn to leave some things alone. Alan destroys the asteroid with his Eagle's laser, Only for it to reintegrate and continue along its way.

This Episode

Random Thoughts

This episode has a terrific premise. How do you kill (or stop) an immortal being, bent on your destruction? While the answer is not a bad one, it begs even more questions. If Balor were blown out an airlock on Alpha, then realistically, his body would still be on the lunar surface. While the Moon's gravity is one sixth or Earth's, it would still keep a person from floating into outer space. And is Balor really dead? I think not. If he could recover from being blown to bits by an explosion, I certainly think he could survive suffocating in a vacuum... Well, there is the matter of internal pressure causing him to explode... but I am not certain to what extent. But I imagine that if his body was brought into a place where there was an atmosphere, that he would regenerate.

I have heard the episode's title raise a few questions as well. End of Eternity? I have heard some speculate that this suggests that Balor is dead; I disagree for the reasons I have just stated. I suspect that it refers to his line about being imprisoned to "suffer eternal solitude", a situation that came to an and when the Alphans released him

I often wonder if he was somehow returned to the asteroid when it reintegrates at the end of the episode, but there is really nothing to confirm this idea.

There is a small goof in this episode when they are trying to get into Balor's chamber. After Koenig's stun gun fails to open the door, he goes to get some explosives. As he passes Mike Baxter, he says, "Excuse me, Jim." using the actor's real name.

One of my favorite scenes from this episode is when Balor tells Helena that her services are obsolete. Though obviously terrified, she stands up to him. I much prefer that, to her fainting, or otherwise whimping out. You go girl!

Over all, I think this episode is well acted. Peter Bowles does an admirable job of playing a psychotic. And Jim Smilie does a wonderful job with the scene where he attacks Koenig.

For anyone interested, I thought I would post the dark, but very interesting, artwork used to remind Balor of his torturous past.

As always, any comments or responses are welcome. Please use the commlock in the Communication Centre to e-mail me.

Wallpaper

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