Stardate not given: On the planet Kaminar, the Kelpien race ekes out a simple but productive existence, each of them knowing that they will die, and soon: adult Kelpiens are required to “maintain the great balance” by submitting themselves to the harvesting of an alien race called the Ba’ul. The Kelpien priest, Aradar, leads Kelpiens who have reached a certain age to a stone circle where they are sacrificed to a Ba’ul ship. Aradar’s son, Saru, does not understand the great balance, and does not heed his father’s instructions to dispose of a scrap of Ba’ul technology that fell off of one of their ships. Instead, Saru studies and reverse-engineers the device, sending a simple greeting into space. When that greeting is answered by a human Starfleet officer from the Federation, offering Saru the chance to leave Kaminar and see the stars, can he leave behind everything, including his sister Siranna, to see them?
written by Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt
directed by Douglas Aarniokoski
music by Jeff Russo
Cast: Doug Jones (Saru), Hannah Spear (Siranna), Robert Verlaque (Aradar), Michelle Yeoh (Lt. Philippa Georgiou), Lisa Auguste (Female Villager #5), Krista Deady (Female Villager #4), Clayton Scott (Male Villager #3), David Benjamin Tomlinson (Male Villager #1), Adam Winlove-Smith (Male Villager #2)
Notes: Saru mentions Siranna in the second season Discovery episode Brother, noting that there is “terrain” between them that cannot be crossed, referring to Lt. Georgiou’s insistence that Saru cannot be returned to Kaminar without contaminating the natural development of his pre-warp society. David Benjamin Tomlinson appears in Discovery’s second season as Saurian crewman Linus.
LogBook entry by Earl Green