Awakening (The Outer Limits)

Infobox Television episode
Title = Awakening
Series = The Outer Limits


Caption =
Season = 3
Episode = 10
Airdate = 14 March, 1997
Production = 54
Writer = James Crocker
Director = George Bloomfield
Photographer =
Guests = Lela Rochon as Beth Carter, Roger R. Cross as Kevin Flynn, Gordon Pinsent as Dr. Steven Molstad, Michele Greene as Joan Garrison
Episode list = List of "The Outer Limits" episodes
Prev = Tempests
Next = New Lease

"Awakening" is an episode of "The Outer Limits" television show. It first aired on 14 March, 1997, during the third season.

Introduction

Beth Carter suffers from a condition known as alexithymia — she cannot feel emotions or understand their effects on others. A revolutionary brain implant changes this, and for the first time she experiences the world the same way as everyone else: Friendship, attraction, happiness and even fear.

When she begins to have strange experiences, she realizes that something is wrong.

Opening narration

"It is said that emotions are the language of the soul. But what happens when that expression is muted? What becomes of feelings... that have no voice?"

Plot

Beth, a woman with alexithymia is a test experiment for a chip that could restore emotion in alexithymia 'sufferers'. Upon having the chip implanted and experiencing emotion for the first time, Beth begins to hear voices, and even sees space aliens who make experiments on her. The doctors suspect that this is a result of the implant and want to remove it.

Beth escapes from the hospital and returns to the house where she was before. She discovers a secret room with space alien props. Beths friend and love interest get into the room and reveal that it was all a big show to discredit the implant as a favor for a competing company. Beth is hiding and hears all. Beth comes out and kills the two of them by pushing them out of a window with a drawer. Given the unusual nature of the case, Beth is not given any prison time and because she appears to have returned to her previous unemotional state, it is assumed that the chip has burnt out and painful surgery would be pointless. Days later, Beth is seen at home, stroking Mulligan (her cat) and a slow smile ascends on her face, implying that she was just acting unemotional in order to avoid having the chip removed and going to prison.

Closing narration

"Errant computers can be reprogrammed, imperfect machines redesigned... but human beings are another matter."

External links

*
* [http://www.scifi.com/outerlimits/episodes/season3/310awakening.html "Awakening (The Outer Limits)"] at Sci Fi