- The tall and imposing Magus arrives on board the ship. He claims godlike powers, namely that he effected the Creation. But he is now disillusioned with the way that Life has progressed and wishes to start again. He plans to mate Helena and Tony and Maya with Koenig. But of course he is not God but a renegade cosmic sorcerer, and quite illogical at that, who needs to be controlled.—don @ minifie-1
- Alpha's scanner and sensor systems are going haywire, projecting an ominous turbulence whose source, according to Maya, is magnetic. Suddenly various personnel are being affected by physical weakness and acute points of pain, and a female technician even faints. Just as suddenly, Maya announces that the turbulence is decreasing; the screen's mish-mash forming a kaleidoscopic pattern accompanied with an ambient choral soundscape. The screen's pattern is soon replaced by a figure of a man which draws closer. When its face fills the screen, Commander Koenig asks "Who are you?". Astonishingly, the man announces "Your creator".
Instantly, the majestic figure materializes within the Command Center; tall, robed, with a long curled mustache. Most of the Alphans appear skeptical, particularly the Commander, who retains a hard, condescending attitude as the somewhat soft-spoken "creator" assures them that he is the genuine article. Suggesting they discuss the matter over a meal, he causes an elaborate buffet table to appear. When Koenig snarkly remarks "That went out with Nero", their visitor agrees, replacing the table with a serving girl carrying a tray of glasses. Their "creator" explains that each glass contains pure protein that tastes like nectar and is food for a month. As Alan reaches for one, Koenig orders him to leave it alone. The girl and the tray then disappear. Realizing that the Alphans - particularly Commander Koenig - require a show of force, their visitor raises his hand, bringing up the view of an Eagle sitting on a launch pad on the Big Screen. It suddenly transforms into a smoking pile of rubble, which explodes. Koenig quickly approaches him, asking him what he wants. Introducing himself as "Magus", he explains that he wants to help them. When Koenig asks how, Magus expresses his disappointment of mankind's development, particularly their warring ways and detrimental treatment of the planet he'd given them. He offers the Alphans a second chance.
A planet appears on the Big Screen which Magus has named "New Earth". Views of lush landscapes fill the screen as Magus explains that New Earth is the size of the moon and its sun the same proportion to its size as the original Earth's. Magus suggests a reconnaissance team visit its surface, but irritates the Commander by announcing that the landing party will consist of Koenig, Helena, Tony Verdeschi and Maya. Koenig begrudgingly agrees, but when Magus is about to transport them all to the planet, Koenig insists on taking an Eagle. As soon as the ship is boarded, Magus instantly materializes it onto the surface of the planet.
When Commander Koenig attempts to contact Alpha to inform the crew that the Eagle is now situated on the planet, they realize they're unable to raise the base. Magus excuses it as temporary, brushing it off as the result of his means of transporting them. After disembarking, the party is led to a small clearing Magus has named "the Glade". The Alphans proceed to marvel at their instrument readings, declaring the habitat as perfect for them. Koenig asks about animal life; their host claiming that there are enough cattle, boar and horses to start breeding from. Magus assures them that food and water are plentiful; christening the planet as the Garden of Eden Mark II.
Koenig's plan to send down a major task force from Alpha to survey the entire planet before deciding whether to settle here is thwarted when Magus announces that no one else will be arriving here; the four of them are to be his new Adams and new Eves. He explains that after a while, he'll send the moon on its way. Attempting to send for reinforcements, the party discovers that their lack of communication with the base is permanent. Magus tells them that Alpha is their past; they should be happy here, as it is their new home - mankind's second chance. When the fed-up Commander draws his laser, their host causes it to disappear from his hand, appearing in his own. Magus then aims the weapon at his own head and fires. He seems to have absorbed the energy. Magus then lays out his plans; announcing that he's arranged their "pair-bonding" with Helena as Tony's mate and Maya as the Commander's. The qualities they possess between them will produce remarkable offspring. Ignoring their protests, Magus instructs them that they're not to leave this glade - pointing out a line of rocks surrounding the area which represents the boundary that's not to be crossed. A tray of food appears to them on the ground as their host states that they'll have everything they need to sustain them.
As sunset is under way, Magus informs them that the moon's light will extend the same magical and romantic qualities associated with it on old Earth. He disappears in an eerie wind. The sky quickly grows darker as the Alphans approach the Eagle, now having the opportunity to return to Alpha. However, the ship suddenly dematerializes. Maya informs them that the ship is still there somewhere, but Magus has exercised a form of atomic dispersal, which is like a powder dissolving in a liquid. This leads to a discussion of whether or not he actually could be God; the general conclusion being that it's doubtful.
Back at Alpha, Alan boards an Eagle, having decided that the only place their missing party could be is on the planet. He soon finds himself struggling with the ship's controls, unable to perform a launch.
As the landing party prepares to eat, they discover that each of them receives a painful shock when coming into physical contact with a member of the opposite sex that they haven't been sanctioned to mate with. As the moon rises in the sky, much bigger to the eye than it had been on Earth, romantic music fills the air and each of the party feels drawn to their designated mate. Although they're aware that they're being manipulated, they're compelled to "get down to business". However, a loud shriek breaks their spell, coming from outside the glade. Investigating, they observe a scuffle in the darkness between two aliens of differing species. A large ape-like creature is tossing around a smaller disfigured humanoid being in front of a cave entrance. Approaching with lasers drawn, Koenig fires at the larger one, killing it. As he and Tony observe the corpse, Helena walks toward the cave to check on the smaller alien and is ambushed by a second ape creature that had been lurking behind shrubs. Her cries cause Maya to transform into a bipedal lizard creature and fights off the attacker. The Alphans take the opportunity to follow the foot tracks of the smaller alien towards the cave, but are interrupted by the image of Magus' face in the night sky, commanding them to go back to the glade. Energy beams fire out of his eyes, exploding around the party, forcing them away from the cave, back toward their campfire.
At daybreak, the wind accompanying Magus' arrival at the glade awakens the four Alphans from their sleep on the ground. Commander Koenig immediately berates their host, accusing him of holding them here so they'll be unable to learn anything he doesn't want them to know, particularly from the alien beings. Magus claims to be confining them within this area to keep them safe, not wanting harm to come to them before they'd even "begun". Koenig resents that they're being held like animals, insisting that humans prefer to possess free will. Magus challenges the Commander to walk out of the glade if he wishes. Koenig does so without hesitation and is painfully thrown back by a newly-constructed forcefield placed over the line of rocks. As Magus continues the argument, complaining about how humans feel compelled to challenge any kind of barrier put in front of them, Maya slips behind their host, giving him a thorough going-over with her mini-scanner while he's distracted. Magus wishes for them all to coexist in peace and zaps up a tray of glasses of protein. Koenig immediately knocks them over, resulting in Magus' departure.
Maya informs the others of the results of her covert scanning, declaring that there's an artificial power source implanted somewhere in Magus' body, proving he's not the supernatural being he claims to be. Koenig's confident that his powers must have a limit, and that he's already constantly exerting it. They all agree that he's holding this planet together against the pull of their moon, which Magus has placed much closer to the planet than it had been around Earth. Tony points out that Magus is probably also keeping anyone from leaving Alpha. Determined to find a way around the forcefield to follow the alien's foot tracks, determined to know whatever it is that Magus is trying to prevent them from learning, Koenig tests the forcefield by throwing rocks, discovering that it has a height limit. Taking her cue, Maya transforms into an owl and escapes the glade.
Meanwhile, Alan Carter is preparing another launch attempt after his Eagle had been fitted with additional booster rockets. His ship, however, fails to leave the pad even with the boosters. It turns out that Magus is using his powers to prevent the launch, and is breaking into a sweat, struggling against the power of the Eagle's four booster rockets. Finally, Carter gives up, greatly relieving Magus, who stands on the planet, soaking up the sun's rays. High in the sky is an owl which Magus is surprised to see. He forces it to come down and perch on his outstretched arm, remarking that he'd thought they had become extinct down here. After a moment, he sets it free.
When Maya returns to the glade, she informs the others that Magus had thought that she had been a real owl, again proving that he's not the supernatural being he claims to be. From the air, she had observed more alien foot-tracks both inside and outside their glade. They quickly locate the tracks behind some bushes that lead to a cave entrance that's blocked by a large mound of rocks and boulders. Commander Koenig hopes that the cave is a tunnel connected to the cave they had seen outside the glade the previous night. Using their lasers, the party creates a fissure in the rubble that allows them to enter, discovering that it is indeed a tunnel.
Strange animal noises lead to a family of giant reptiles emerging from large holes in the tunnel wall. As the creatures advance on the Alphans, they're subdued by lasers one by one. Koenig then scouts further down the tunnel and is assailed by one of the humanoid mutants they had seen attacked by the ape creature the previous night. After the Commander flings the alien away, slamming into the cave wall, he pleads with Koenig to shoot. The alien explains to the confused Commander that they wish to die which is why they sometimes attack the ape creatures. The other Alphans had gathered, so the mutant informs them all that Magus won't let them die. Apparently Magus is the last of a line of cosmic magicians who can achieve miracles through physics, who above all else is anxious to learn the secret of creating life. The mutants are offspring of other species Magus had captured and brought to the planet; their condition being the result of Magus' manic probing of their earliest fertilized cells. Magus won't even let them die, hoping to learn something further from their mutilated genes. The mutants remain in the caves, where Magus never goes. Koenig asks for directions back to the glade, then they part company. As soon as the Alphans emerge from the cave, they find Magus standing there waiting for them. Outraged at their disobedience of leaving the designated area, he vengefully sends a light beam toward Tony, who crumples to the ground.
When the Alphans observe Tony beginning to recover, they verbally lash out at Magus, who explains that they've been taking him too lightly and needed a lesson. He then confessed to Maya that he'd temporarily forgotten about her "molecular tricks" when encountering the owl. Koenig accuses Magus of being a bungler (referring to the existence of the mutants), angrily stating that he's aware he was planning on using them as laboratory animals. Magus confesses his more noble purpose of utilizing the strong characteristics the four of them possess to create a new species of mankind who he will team up with so they can learn the secret of creation together, having realized he can't do it on his own. He admits he's known and admired humankind for a long time, having lived among them many times in the past in the guise of various mystical figures including Merlin and Nostradamus. He informs them that when the time comes, he will endow their offspring with the powers he presently possesses and they'll become a powerful team. When Koenig refuses to assist him with his plans, Magus sternly threatens to destroy the Moonbase if they continue to defy him. He brings up a view of Alpha in the sky and begins bombarding the base with energy bolts. Koenig desperately stops him, reluctantly agreeing to discuss things. Expecting Magus to start issuing demands, the party becomes surprised when he instead announces that they'll discuss it tomorrow. Magus disappears, then Koenig notices that sunset is approaching. It suddenly hits him that Magus is afraid of the dark. He points out that Magus always disappears before nightfall; he won't go into the caves; and he drew strength from firing a laser at himself. Maya perks up, realizing that he gets his power from light. Tony confusingly reminds them that Magus had confronted them the previous night, but the Commander states that it had been a hologram. Helena points out that Magus must be on the other side of the planet right now where the sun is shining. Maya surmises that the implant she had detected inside of him is a "light decelerator", allowing him to harness the energy of light, giving himself almost unlimited power. Koenig states that they have to find a way to cut off his source of power, and doing it by primitive means would be the last thing Magus would expect.
During the night, the Alphan party had succeeded in excavating a deep pit using lasers and rudimentary implements, careful not to soil their clothing as it would expose their activity. At first light, Commander Koenig has the others lower him into it on a vine, then block off the top with the large mat-like cover, woven together using various vegetation. Koenig confirms that it's pitch black down there.
Soon afterwards, Magus appears, anxious to learn whether the Alphans have truly relented. Commander Koenig immediately begins making demands as a condition of assisting him, attempting to distract him from noticing the obvious mat-like form stretched across the ground between them. Among the demands are for Magus to cease any further experiments on the mutants; Magus trying to explain that there are still things to be learned from them. Koenig continues to taunt Magus until he's finally fed up, furiously approaching the Commander with intent to throttle him, plunging into the pit. The Alphans then start covering it over with vegetation to finally cut off their host's source of power. Magus cries out that without his power, the planet will break apart (from the moon being situated so close to the planet) and they'll all die. Tidal forces immediately start disrupting the planet's previous serenity. As the ground shakes, fissures appear in the landscape, followed by explosions. The Eagle materializes, and as the Alphans begin making their way to it, they witness the mutants starting to emerge from the caves. Koenig calls out to to the humanoid the Alphans had spoken with the night before, offering to rescue them, but the mutant insists this is the best thing for them. They hurriedly board the ship, with a fissure growing underneath it, and hastily lift off.
As the Eagle zooms away from New Earth, the planet completely explodes behind them, presumably destroying the last cosmic magician.
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