EPISODE

23. A Taste of Armageddon

Kirk and the Enterprise have been sent to establish diplomatic relations with the planet Eminiar VII, a planet that decidedly does not wish such relations! But Ambassador Fox insists they make the attempt. Planetside, they learn Eminiar has been fighting a war with Vendikar, another planet in the same system, for five hundred years - a war fought entirely by computers, with casualties required to report to disintegration machines for tidy disposal. And the Enterprise has been declared a casualty of a "tricobalt satellite explosion"; her crew must likewise report for disintegration so their deaths may be recorded and reported to Vendikar.

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The story

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Plot summary

On Eminiar VII, the Enterprise finds a civilization at war with its planetary neighbor. Unable to discern any signs of battle from orbit, Captain Kirk leads a landing party to the surface, where he discovers the entire war is fought by computer. Though the war is simulated, citizens who are listed as virtual casualties still report to termination booths to be killed for real. After the Enterprise is destroyed in an attack simulation, Kirk must fight to keep his crew from death.

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