Dr. Richard Nicholson stops by Starlab en route to an award ceremony on Earth, where he will be honored for a major biomolecular breakthrough. But his celebration is short-lived: a toxic fuel leak aboard the shuttle due to carry him to Earth kills Nicholson as his wife, who had been speaking to him via radio, listens. Nicholson is deemed worthy of being buried on the artificial mortuarty satellite, Lethe, whose administrator, Simon Toddmaster, invites Nicholson’s widow to Lethe, with an unusual promise that she will see her dead husband live again.
written by Ron Thompson
based on an original story by Betty Yulius
directed by Lee Hansen
music by Jim KirkCast: Roger Dressler (Narrator / Commissioner), Linda Gary (Maura Cassidy), Bruce Phillip Miller (Captain Jon Graydon), Corey Burton (Jerry Lyden), Chuck Olsen (Captain Buddy Griff), Hans Conreid (Simon Toddmaster), Susan Brown (Ann Nicholson), George DiCenzo (Dr. Richard Nicholson), Cliff Norton (Burkey), Jack Lukes (Carl), Sally Smaller (Mr. Thorndancer)
Notes: Prior to his stint as the head of the Lethe satellite, Toddmaster had previously served prison time for smuggling glowstone (Night Riders Of Kalimar). From the “vintage 1970s humor” file: former President Richard Nixon is apparently interred on Lethe, and left an “18 minute last will and testament tape”…which Toddmaster is unsurprised to discover is blank. Unusually for Alien Worlds, an exact date is given for this episode (April 28, 2026).
LogBook entry by Earl Green