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148			  THE ULTIMATE COMPUTER
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WRITER: Dorothy Fontana

GUESTS: William Marshall (Richard Daystrom)
	Barry Russo (Admiral Wesley)
	Sean Morgan (Harper)

AIRED:  March 8, 1968

HACK-MAN rating: .250
Usenet rating:   .579

QUOTES:
=======
 - "[Unfortunately] there  is  nothing  currently  to  replace  the  ship's
   surgeon." --Spock.   "[If  they  could,  they]  wouldn't  have to.   I'd
   resign." --McCoy
 - "There are certain things men must do to [remain] men." --Kirk
 - "Only a fool would stand in the way of progress." --Kirk
 - "You  have my  psychological profile.  Am I afraid of [losing control]?"
   --Kirk
 - "Why don't you ask James T. Kirk. He's a pretty honest guy." --McCoy
 - "What are you doing here Bones?" --Kirk
 - "Computers make [efficient and practical] servants, but I do not wish to
   serve under them. --Spock
 - "This isn't chicken soup.  I make a Finibal's  Folly  [that's known from
   here to ___]" --McCoy
 - "Do you know the one: 'All I ask is a tall ship...'" --Kirk
 - "[It's]  not acting logically."  --Spock    "Do me a favor  [Spock, and]
   don't say it's  fascinating." --McCoy    "No, but  it  is  interesting."
   --Spock
 - "I've been updating that course for hours." --Sulu
 - "Pursuing a wild goose." --Spock
 - "You are great; I am great." --Daystrom to M5
 - "Murder is contrary to the laws of man and God." --M5
 - "Daystrom felt that such an act was an  offense  against the laws of God
   and man, and the computer that  carried his  engrams also  believed it."
   --Kirk
 - "Compassion?  That's the one thing no machine ever had.   Maybe it's the
   one thing  that keeps  men ahead of them.  Care to debate that,  Spock?"
   --McCoy    "No,  doctor,  I  simply  maintain  that  computers  are more
   efficient than human beings, not better." --Spock
 - "It would  be  most interesting  to  impress  your  memory  engrams on a
   computer, doctor.    The  resulting torrential flood of illogic would be
   most entertaining." --Spock


			  THE ULTIMATE COMPUTER

PLOT:
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Star Fleet  Command  puts  the  Enterprise  under  total control  of the m5
multitronic unit, a new computer that can do everything the entire crew can
do, and much faster.  (Seeing that  this obvious  improvement would obviate
the need for any actors, Roddenberry decided to make believe that computers
err more often than humans.)

Kirk is called "Captain Dunsel" by Admiral  Wesley (quite  out of character
for high officials).  A dunsel is a useless piece of machinery.

M5 can run the ship with a crew of 20.

M5 refuses to relinquish control, and starts firing on any  ship, manned or
unmanned, friend or foe.   M5's creator  (Richard Daystrom,  who has fallen
from the spotlight of his bright, intelligent  youth) also  refuses to have
m5 relinquish control.

FACTS:
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 - Commodore Enright.
 - Commodore Bob Wesley.
 - Wargames.
 - Federation ships  USS Excalibur, USS Lexington, USS Potempkin and an ore
   ship.
 - Spock holds an A7 [______]  computer [rating],  which is why he knows so
   much about ___.
 - One Enterprise crew dead.
 - Daystrom made the duotronic breakthrough when he was [25].
 - Full phasers on an unshielded ship only shakes it a little?
 - Kirk talks M5 into killing itself.

OPINIONS:
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How stupid are all these high-ranking Federation officers?