#phaistor

[pinkdogplushie]

I'm just gonna throw this out there

Return to Tomorrow is a genuinely good episode (Roddenberry's interference because he was one of Those Atheists aside). But I think it would have been more notorious if Scotty had been one of the chosen descendants for the minds to occupy.

Why should the aliens content themselves with possessing bodies to aid the crew in building mechanical bodies when they could possess the actual engineer and build them themselves? If they wanted Kirk to have his big speech and be a protagonist, he could still be Sargon's descendant. However, Sargon's area of expertise would be more along the lines of diplomacy or education, meaning he wouldn't know how to build a mechanical body but would be able to instruct Kirk on their purpose and the benefits of the possesion with no problems.

Scotty's ancestor, then, would probably be Sargon's advisor and/or best friend. Pretty much the same role Spock has with Kirk. Spock could still get Henoch, and Ann Muldaur Thalassa, but Scotty's ancestor -let's call him Phaistor- would be Sargon's more excitable foil whose curiosity for the human ways knows no bounds, and who would be quite easily tempted to take over Scotty's body forever so he would not lose the sensations he had missed. Sargon would have to convince him to give back the body, but once he does, Phaistor accepts that there's still much to explore in the universe even as an energy being and departs Scotty just before Sargon and Thalassa say their final goodbye.

Idk bro, it would have made an already good episode a bit more interesting.

(Bonus points for some subtle flirting between Phaistor and Uhura, and Scotty later admitting he was partially to blame)