A planet eating space blob terrorizes the galaxy and the Enterprise must intercept it before it reaches a densely populated Federation colony. Comprising an unusual combination of matter and energy, the deadly space cloud at first appears to be some natural formation with an undesirable planet-destroying effect. Without much evidence, Spock concludes that the mass must be a living organism…after it ‘swallowed’ the Enterprise. He notes that it is made up of biological components, and it is ‘digesting’ the ship, but do these characteristics really indicate that it is alive? We are meant to take his presumption at face value, because he is Spock and always right, but it is hard to make assumptions this early as we don’t have enough information on this space phenomenon.
The biological components that the crew sensed are not necessarily part of a greater living organism. It would be similar to finding the building blocks of life, such as proteins or amino acids, in some primordial soup, but that doesn’t mean the lake is alive. A tornado devours and destroys anything it comes into contact with, and maybe if it picked up a few cows along the way, the Enterprise would detect some organic compounds in it as well. With its dynamic movement and consuming behavior, is a tornado alive? Biologists typically require several characteristics to be fulfilled before a thing can be considered a living organism. These are homeostasis, or the ability to regulate internal stability, the organization of cells, tissues, etc., metabolism, growth, adaptation, response to stimuli, and reproduction. As frightening as it would be to see a huge tornado give birth to a litter of smaller tornadoes, the only characteristics on this list that a tornado fulfils is consumption and growth. Perhaps the twister responds to stimuli and adapts to its environment if we are being really generous, but the lack of any capacity for reproduction would exclude tornadoes from the evolutionary forces which give rise to an adaptable and thriving species. Absent of any other characteristics, the giant space blob terrorizing Kirk and crew may be no more complex than a space tornado.
The Enterprise crew must work fast to stop the space blob from destroying the Federation planet, but this necessitates a better understanding of what the thing even is. There was never any doubt in Spock’s mind that it was living, and new evidence allows the crew to draw comparisons between different structures functioning as its teeth and digestive system. It is now starting to sound more like an amoeba, or an amorphous but technically living blob concerned only with finding food and avoiding danger. Being a single cell, this is the most rudimentary and fundamental form of life. The amoeba regulates its body and metabolism, grows, reacts to stimuli, reproduces, and adapts to its environment. If we could give the barest minimum check against each thing on the list, an amoeba, though simplistic, is a living organism. Amoeba or not, it is still carving a destructive path toward a planet whose citizens are probably not concerned whether this tornado has a pulse.
Evacuation of the planet would be difficult, with only the children saved if it came to that. Captain Kirk’s best option is to kill the planet destroying organism. Spock notices that the creature changed course to consume another planet, and speculates that it may be intelligent. However, even an amoeba will change directions in search of food. The reproductive and adaptive nature of living organisms can give rise to species which are well suited to their environment and feeding preference, in this case planet eating, but that is a far leap from self-aware intelligence. The ethical implications of killing sentient life would not be lost on Spock either, but he would likely favor the many inhabitants of the planet over the few, or the one…planet eating blob. Nevertheless, Spock believes if he can reason with the creature, he may be able to convince it not to consume the Federation colony. He mind melds with the life form, and although a little childlike, the blob was capable of reason. The next challenge was to convince it not to eat the planet by reasoning that the colony was populated with intelligent beings just like it.
Kirk is still ready to kill the space blob if Spock runs out of options. He reflects on his belief that humanity rose above their inherent primitiveness when they declared ‘I will not kill today’, but would the creature feel the same? Spock is undeterred, and tries to convince the creature that there is life on the planet, which was difficult because the entity observed that the life was ‘too small’. Self-reflective sentience allows one to see the self in the other, recognizing the value of life and making choices to promote harmony. In the end, the space blob learns about lifeforms different from itself just like the Enterprise crew learned about it, and it turns away. Like a tornado, it continues to destroy in order to grow. Like an amoeba, it responds to its environment and seeks out stimuli. However, a truly conscious being has achieved the highest level of awareness when the thought of causing harm to another sentient being, no matter how small, is considered undesirable.
Hopeless Trekkie 