The Devil in the Dark story
Dispatched to the mining colony on Janus VI, the Enterprise is tasked to investigate rumors of a strange, subterranean creature responsible for destruction of equipment and the deaths of fifty miners. Kirk and Spock discover a silicon-based life form , a Horta, which lives in the surrounding rock. After Kirk and his Vulcan first officer find the strange creature, Spock performs a mind meld , discovering the reason behind the Horta's attacks.
21 total · 4 choice · 3 major · 14 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| colonization | choice | The Horta's planet had been colonized by a Federation mining operation. |
| endangered species | choice | Horta :: the horta was the last of it's species |
| sentient rights | choice | Horta :: the horta had none according to the miners |
| silicon-based being | choice | Horta :: the horta |
| diplomacy | major | Kirk negotiated a compromise between the Horta and the human miners who'd colonized its homeworld. |
| exploiting another society | major | Would the Federation be justified in killing the Horta in order to secure access to the valuable mineral deposits on Janus VI? |
| parent and child | major | The horta caring for its eggs. |
| alien point of view | minor | The (distinctly repulsive) Horta thought humans were patently ugly. |
| anger | minor | miners |
| attachment to one's livelihood | minor | A group of dilithium miners with clubs in hand were not going to let the Horta chase them away from their mining operation without a fight. |