The Eye of the Beholder ( episode ) Beaming down to a planet to search for the crew of a missing ship , the crew is captured by its alien inhabitants . Summary . Their computer intones , " " It is now 32 minutes since our last contact with the three members of our crew on the planet ' s surface . As the senior officer aboard I , Lieutenant Commander Markel , have made the following decision . The three remaining crew members , myself included , will beam down to effect a rescue . If for any reason we do not return , be it known that . . . " " Kirk cuts off the log while the senior staff sits around the briefing room ' s table and says , " " It was against all orders . " " McCoy claims , " " The crew was apparently desperate . " " Kirk states , " " The captain of a ship , no matter his rank , must follow the book . " " Spock remarks , " " A capability , I ' m afraid , out of the reach of most Human s . " " Kirk wants a landing party to beam down to the last known coordinates the crew used . " " Gentlemen , we ' ll travel light . Phaser s , tricorder s , communicator s and medical kit . " " Kirk , Spock , and McCoy assemble in the transporter room and are beamed down to Lactra VII by Montgomery Scott . Their communicator picks up a short signal , but there is no trace of sentient inhabitants . They are attacked by a gigantic beast that seems similar to one on Canopus III , which is many light year s away , but the desert area they now occupy is the same . As they continue walking the environment changes . Spock doesn ' t think that two such disparate ecologies could co - exist so closely . Scott communicates to the landing party that ship ' s sensor s have discovered a large concentration of lifeform s 98 . 5 kilometer s north east . Apparently a city or some sort of central gathering place . Spock ' s has a theory that they have found a plethora of different habitats and their inhabitants . The various environments have been manufactured , not created by nature . They are attacked by other creatures , but before any harm can befall them the creatures are stopped by a force field . The crew meets the Lactran s , a group of twenty - foot slugs who capture them . Spock discovers the Lactrans are telepathic , but the speed at which their thoughts flow is too difficult for him to comprehend , except for the most fleeting image . He realizes that they are advanced as much beyond Kirk as he is to a colony of ants . They are taken to an environment like Earth and imprisoned along with the three remaining " Ariel " crew members , Lieutenant Commander Markel , Lieutenants Randi Bryce , and Nancy Randolph . They have become exhibits in a Lactran zoo . The Lactrans are unaware " Ariel " s Lieutenant Randolph has become ill , and they were too late to save the first landing party . They have tried every means of escape they could . They have attempted communication with the Lactran life forms but only aroused a quivering motion . Kirk asks Spock to try to make contact but he can ' t . His impression is that they are laughing at him . They all concentrate their need to have McCoy ' s medical kit that is located outside a force field and ultimately succeed . Spock notices that the Lactrans can pick up specific thought transmissions from them if they care to go to the trouble . He suggests that one of them should appear to be ill and the rest of them should put strong thoughts in their minds that a communicator is needed for recovery . A child responds , gives them the communicator and Kirk quickly flips it open and contacts the ship , ordering to be beamed up immediately . However , the child snatches the communicator from Kirk ' s hand and dematerializes up to the ship . The elders are worried about the child and think Kirk made the child disappear . The child ' s parents are worried and almost kill Kirk in an attempt to contact him . On the starship , the child enters the bridge carrying Scott and reads the chief engineer ' s brain , all the information contained in the library computer , and sends the " Enterprise " flying out of orbit . Scotty convinced the child that Humans are not pets and to return and let his parents know what he has learned . The child does so and the Lactrans release the crew from their confinement and allow them to leave because the Lactrans do not feel the crew belongs in their zoo . They send a final telepathic message to Spock – that Federation visitors will be welcome back in 20 or 30 Lactran centuries . Spock adds that it will take " " some time to figure out how long that is . " " Kirk replies , " " Either way Mr . Spock , it will hardly be our problem . " " Memorable quotes . " " You Vulcans are the most impossible , unimaginative . . . " " " " Bones , that ' s not helping the situation . " " " " Sorry , Jim . " " " " Jim , if the others are lost , why take the risk ? " " " " Because they may not be dead . We have to find out . " " " " It ' s still a risk . " " " " That ' s why we ' re here , Bones . " " " " My shoes are full of sand . " " " " Doctor , your lack of scientific interest is amazing . " " " " I ' ll be happy to discuss that with you , Mr . Spock , next time you drop in to my medical lab . " " " " They don ' t seem very interested in communicating with us , if they can communicate at all . " " " " Perhaps not in a way we understand . I keep receiving impressions . " " " " Any ideas , doctor ? " " " " Well , I ' ve got one and I definitely don ' t like it . I ' d guess they ' re doing exactly what we would do . " " " " Which is ? " " " " Well , if we came upon an alien creature we ' d never seen before , the first thing we ' d do is to make sure it was free of harmful bacteria . Then we ' d see if it was intelligent . " " " " Congratulations , Doctor . A most logical assumption . " " " " Are the aliens telepathic ? " " " " I ' ve come to the conclusion they are , captain , but the speed at which the thoughts flow is too great for me to comprehend , except for the most fleeting image . " " " " Surely we can communicate with them someway . " " " " They appear to be as advanced beyond Earth civilization as you are from a colony of ants . " " " " We are considered simplistic , but in the process of evolving into a higher order . " " " " Even Vulcans ? " " " " Yes . Even Vulcans . " " Links and references . References . ant ; apple ; ; " Ariel " landing party , USS ; banana ; bacteria ; " Bones " ; biologist ; Canopus III ; Canopus III dinosaur ; city ; city cluster ; class M ; ; curator ; desert ; Earth ; earth normal ; ecology ; evolution ; exhibit ; fever ; force field ; grape ; grass ; insect ; IQ ; jail ; kilometer ; Lactra VII ; Lactra VII insect ; Lactra VII zoo ; Lactran city ; Lactran s ; logic ; Malaria - like disease ; malaria ; mattress ; Maravel ; Maravel dragon ; medikit ; orange ; pear ; phaser ; physician ; platter ; rain forest ; sand ; shoe s ; table ; telepathy ; terraforming ; toy ; tunnel ; Vulcan s ; water