The Apple ( episode ) The " Enterprise " crew discovers an Eden - like paradise on Gamma Trianguli VI , controlled by a machine that is revered by the local humanoid primitives as a god . Summary . Teaser . On stardate 3715 . 3 , the starship orbits the planet Gamma Trianguli VI . A landing party comprised of Captain Kirk , Commander Spock , Ensign Chekov , Yeoman Martha Landon , and two security officer s , and Marple , beam down to the planet to scout the area , followed shortly after by Dr . McCoy and two more security officers , Hendorff and Mallory . Spock notes that the soil on the planet is rich and fertile and that there is very little variation in temperature , even at the poles , with a planet - wide average of 76 degrees . Chekov says that it makes him homesick , because it is " just like Russia " . When McCoy corrects him that it is more like the Garden of Eden , Chekov claims that the Garden of Eden was " just outside Moscow " . However , almost immediately , one of the crewmen , Hendorff , is shot and killed by a pod plant . " " What did somebody say ? That paradise must have looked like " this ? " , Kirk says . Act One . Kirk contacts Montgomery Scott on the bridge of the " Enterprise " , who reports that they are encountering a minor problem with the antimatter pod s and that the readings on the planet ' s electromagnetic field are " a wee bit abnormal " . At this point , it does not appear to be a major problem , but Kirk asks him to keep an eye on the situation . Spock reports that his tricorder has detected strong subsurface vibrations , coming from miles in all directions , that are " quite strong , fairly regular , [ and ] artificially produced " . Kirk orders two of the remaining security officers to make a full reconnaissance of the area , but to avoid contact with humanoid s , be wary of other dangers , and stay in constant communication . Spock detects a humanoid lurking in the bushes nearby . Kirk goes off to investigate , and reports that " " whatever it is , it moves like a cat " " . He advises the other members of the landing party that they are being watched , and they start heading through jungle for a nearby village in formation L . Spock discovers a rock that has a low specific gravity , and is very brittle . After breaking it in two with his bare hands , he casually tosses aside one of the pieces , and it violently explodes . Kirk asks him to be careful when tossing his rocks from now on . Back aboard the " Enterprise " , Scott contacts Kirk to report that the antimatter pods are completely inert because of something on the planet ' s surface that is acting " like a pail of water on a fire " . Spock surmises that it may have something to do with the vibrations his tricorder picked up earlier . McCoy shows Kirk some of the plant darts and notes that they have an extremely strong poison on the tip . While he and Kirk are talking , Spock notices one of the pod plants turning slowly and preparing to shoot , just in time to step in front of it and take a chestful of darts himself instead of Kirk . He falls to the ground and the captain fears the worst , but Spock is still alive and McCoy quickly begins treating him . Realizing there is too much danger , Kirk orders a retreat . However , Scott reports that the ship ' s power systems are being drained . An attempt to transport the landing party fails ; the " Enterprise " s transporters don ' t have enough power to even beam up a fly , Scott reports . Act Two . After Kirk realizes he and his party are trapped on the planet , Spock regains consciousness , reporting that the injection McCoy had used to revive him turns his stomach , but that he is otherwise " quite well " ( possibly spared by his Vulcan physiology ) . Kirk chastises him for stepping in front of the plant and tells him to " just yell " next time . Suddenly , an electrical storm starts and Lieutenant Kaplan is struck by lightning and vaporized . The rest of the party runs for cover . Meanwhile , security officer Mallory ( who was not with the landing party when it was discovered that there were exploding rocks on the surface ) has reached the village and contacts Kirk to tell him the coordinates , but his and Kirk ' s communicator stops working shortly afterward . Concerned for his safety , Kirk and the others rush to find him , just in time to see him step right onto an exploding rock . He is killed instantly . Kirk remarks that he knew Kaplan ' s family , and that helped him get into the Academy . Kirk has become increasingly distraught over the now multiple death s of his crewmen . Spock and McCoy try to console him by telling him that he couldn ' t have foreseen any of the accidents that have happened while they were on the planet and that he was given orders to explore the planet , but Kirk is convinced that he could and should have done more to prevent the deaths . While they are talking , Spock notices that the humanoid who was spying on them before has returned . Kirk orders Spock , Chekov , and Marple to create a diversion while he ambushes the humanoid . Kirk successfully comes up behind the humanoid and punches him in the face , but is surprised when the planet native starts to cry . Kirk assures the humanoid that he won ' t hurt him again , and asks him why he has been following them . He says , " " I am the eyes of Vaal . He must see , " " and introduces himself as " " Akuta , the leader of the feeders of Vaal . " " Spock notices antenna on the back of his head , and Akuta responds they are Vaal ' s ears , given to him in the " dim time . " Kirk asks to speak to Vaal , but Akuta says that he is Vaal ' s representative and that only he speaks to Vaal . Akuta offers to take Kirk and the others to the village . Meanwhile , Scott hails Kirk to inform him that the " Enterprise " is being held in orbit around the planet by an unknown source , and is unable to break free . Kirk asks again to be taken to Vaal and this time , Akuta agrees , but says that Vaal will speak only to him . Akuta takes the landing party to Vaal , which is a large cave with a mouth that resembles the head of a serpent . Act Three . Spock ' s tricorder reads that Vaal ' s opening leads beneath the planet ' s surface and Kirk believes it may be the source of the field that is affecting the " Enterprise " . When he tries to approach Vaal to get a closer look , he is repelled by a powerful force field . Kirk asks Akuta how he talks to Vaal , and he says that Vaal calls him when he has something to say and that Vaal might be willing to talk when he is hungry . Akuta leads the landing party to the village for food , drink , and rest and introduces them to the " people of Vaal " who are smiling and friendly to the landing party . A female native introduces herself as Sayana , and she and the others seem much amused upon learning Spock ' s name . Kirk points out that the tribe doesn ' t seem to have any children and asks Akuta why . Akuta at first doesn ' t know what a child is , but finally realizes Kirk is talking about " replacements " , and replies that Vaal has forbidden love and marriage . McCoy scans the people and sounds surprised when he discovers they are in perfect health and that they don ' t seem to be aging at all . Suddenly , the villagers all begin to congregate around Vaal . Kirk and Spock follow , and spy on them from behind a bush . After observing that the villagers are able to approach Vaal , Kirk decides to try his luck . When Kirk and Spock start to get up from behind the bush , Vaal immediately notices , as apparent from suddenly glowing eyes , so they decide against it And resume their attitude of observing only . Kirk wonders whether Vaal gets weaker around feeding time and asks Spock to get an estimate from the " Enterprise " s astrophysics lab of the total amount of energy Vaal is expending against the ship on an hourly basis . McCoy joins them and complains to Spock that Vaal is depriving the planet ' s inhabitants of their right to " a free and unchained environment " and an opportunity for growth . Spock argues that McCoy is unfairly applying Human standards to non - Human cultures , and that humanoids also have the right to choose a system that works for them . Scott contacts Kirk to report that Vaal ' s power output has been slowly decreasing , and that they are working on increasing power to the ship ' s impulse engine s , but the work will take eight hours to complete . Kirk notes that they don ' t have much longer than that to break orbit before they get pulled into the planet ' s atmosphere . Back in the village , Kirk wonders what would happen if one of the villagers died . Yeoman Landon agrees that they would need a replacement , but she wonders where this replacement would come from , since they don ' t have any concept of love or sex . Spock postulates that in that case , Vaal would provide the " necessary instructions . " McCoy remarks that he would like to see that . Out in the jungle , two of the villagers , Sayana and Makora , see Landon and Chekov embracing and kiss ing , become curious and decide to try it themselves . Vaal reacts by shaking the ground as Akuta catches them in the act . Vaal communicates to Akuta through his antennae , apparently telling Akuta that Kirk and the others are dangerous to the planet ' s inhabitants . He calls a village meeting at the clear place of the male " children of Vaal " to take place while the landing party is asleep . Akuta tells the male villagers that Vaal has ordered them to kill the strangers . The villagers don ' t understand what the word " kill " means , so Akuta explains that " " it is a thing to do , like feeding Vaal , " " and demonstrates by smashing a piece of fruit ( representing a stranger ' s head ) with a stick . Act Four . In the hut , while the others sleep , Kirk and Spock discuss the situation . Kirk has decided that he agrees with McCoy : the villagers ' society is completely stagnant and exists only to serve Vaal . Spock warns that interfering with Vaal would violate the Prime Directive but Kirk sees no other choice . " " These are people , not robots . " " Spock does not believe Starfleet Command would agree with Kirk ' s interpretation , but the captain decides to take his chances . Kirk contacts Scott and asks for a progress report . Scott still needs half an hour to complete the modifications to the engines , but he only has 47 minutes until the " Enterprise " is pulled into the planet ' s atmosphere . Spock announces that the people of Vaal seem to have disappeared . Kirk and Spock go to Vaal and Spock determines that the force field is down . Kirk tries to talk to Vaal , but Vaal starts another lightning storm . Spock is stunned by a bolt of lightning , and Kirk carries him back to the village , where McCoy diagnoses him second - degree burn s – painful , but not serious . Suddenly , the villagers return and successfully ambush and kill Marple but the others are able to fight off the rest of the villagers . Kirk orders Chekov , Landon , and McCoy to imprison the villagers in one of the huts . With twelve minutes left before the ship enters the atmosphere , Scott has transferred all available power to the impulse engines and is ready to try to break orbit . He orders Kyle to apply full reverse and the ship begins to pull away enough to gain another hour but most of the ship ' s systems have been heavily damaged and Scott will not be able to try it again . Kirk becomes distraught at the idea of the " Enterprise " s entire crew of over four hundred dying because he didn ' t realize the danger early enough and orders McCoy and Chekov to prevent any of the villagers from feeding Vaal and Scott to concentrate all of the " Enterprise " s phaser power on Vaal ' s coordinates . The ship begins firing phasers at Vaal . Trying to defend itself against " Enterprise " s phasers forces Vaal to exhaust all of its energy reserves . Spock determines that Vaal is no longer generating any power and pronounces it dead . Scott reports that potency is starting to return to the ship ' s antimatter pods and that engineering will be able to start repairs immediately . Kirk orders him to send an engineering detail down to the surface as soon as the transporters are fixed and then tells Chekov and McCoy to release the villagers . Later , in front of a lifeless Vaal , Akuta is at a loss as to how he and his people will survive without Vaal . Kirk tells Akuta and the rest of the natives that they will now have the freedom to live their lives as they see fit and to love . Back aboard the " Enterprise " , Spock expresses his concern in one of the ship ' s corridor s that the people of Vaal have been " driven out of paradise " , as in the Biblical story of " " . Kirk asks if Spock is casting him in the role of Satan , which Spock denies and then rhetorically asks Spock whether he knows of anyone on the ship who looks like Satan , while he and McCoy circle him . Spock replies , " " I am not aware of anyone who fits that description , captain . " " Kirk says , " " No , Mr . Spock , I didn ' t think you would . " " Memorable quotes . " " What did somebody say ? That paradise " must " have looked like this ? " " " " The Garden of Eden was just outside Moscow . A very nice place . It must have made Adam and Eve very sad to leave . " " " " Garden of Eden , with land mines . " " " " Doctor McCoy ' s potion is acting like all his potions – turning my stomach . Other than that , I am quite well . " " " " If your blood were red instead of green , you wouldn ' t have an upset stomach . " " " " Trying to get yourself killed . . . Do you know how much Starfleet has invested in you ? " " " " One hundred twenty - two thousand , two - hundred . . . " " " " Never mind ! " " " " Mister Chekov , your tricorder readings are totally inefficient ! " " " " Uh , mind your own business , sir ! For your information , I have a very high efficiency rating ! " " " " Ensign , I will not have you address me in that tone of voice ! " " " " What do you want , violins ? " " " " It , ah , does something for you . " " " " Yes , indeed it does , captain . It makes me uncomfortable . " " " " Little ones like yourselves . They grow . " " " " Well , there goes paradise . " " " " There are certain absolutes , Mr . Spock , and one of them is the right of humanoids to a free and unchained environment ; the right to have conditions that permit growth . " " " " I mean , how is it . . . done ? " " " " Mister Spock , you ' re the science officer . Why don ' t you explain it to the young lady ? " " " " Well , I believe it ' s safe . . . " " " ( Spock coughs ) " " " . . . safe to assume that they would . . . receive the necessary . . . instructions . " " " " From a machine ? That I ' d like to see . " " " " It is a . . . thing to do , like . . . like feeding Vaal . " " " " Second - degree burns . Not serious , but I bet they smart . " " " " Doctor , you have an unsurpassed talent for understatement . " " " " The good doctor was concerned that the Vaalians achieve true Human stature . I submit there is no cause for worry . They ' ve taken the first step . They ' ve learned to kill . " " " " Little ones , look like you . . . just go on the way you ' re going , you ' ll find out . " " " " Is there anyone on this ship . . . who even remotely . . . looks like Satan ? " " Background information . Remastered information . Minimal changes were made to the special effects in the remastered version of this episode . Most notable was the new appearance of Gamma Trianguli VI and the phaser color and its effect while hitting Vaal . The sky color surrounding the storm clouds ( taken from stock footage ) was tinted red and orange in the DVD version , to match the red colored sound stage backdrop . In the remastered version , it ' s reverted to the original blue - gray and black . Links and references . References . Adam and Eve ; antenna e ; antimatter pod ; apple ; arteriosclerosis ; astrophysics lab ; atmospheric analysis ; bacteria ; bearing ; Bible ; biology ; biological reproduction ; " Bones " ; casting ; cat ; cleavage ; cloud ; condition red ; credit ; decalcification ; degeneration ; diet ; dim time ; efficiency rating ; electromagnetic field ; electromagnetic section ; energy cell ; explosive mineral formations ; Fahrenheit ; Federation scoutship ; fertility ; fly ; flypaper ; force field ; Formation L ; Gamma Trianguli ; Gamma Trianguli VI ; Gamma Trianguli VI pod plant ; Garden of Eden ; " " ; handspring s ; hornblende ; husbandry ; Kaplan ' s family ; kilometer ; kitchen sink ; land mine ; lightning ; logic ; love ; Masiform D ; mess call ; mile ; Milky Way Galaxy ; nightmare ; Moscow ; Noninterference Directive ; planetary defense system ; poison ; power generator ; quartz ; " replacement " ; Russia ; saponin ; Satan ; saucer separation ; scout ; second - degree burn ; soil ; social evolution ; specific gravity ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet Command ; stomach ; transporter system ; tractor beam ; tribe ; tricorder ; uraninite ; Vaal ; Vaalian s ; violin ; Vulcan ; Wortham unit s