"Plato's Stepchildren" Trivia Quiz

Answer: A simple scratch on his leg

A distress call from an unknown planet brings Kirk, Spock and McCoy down to investigate. They find a small group of people who have modeled their society on the teachings of Greek philosopher Plato, calling themselves "Plato's Stepchildren". Their leader, Parmen, has obtained a simple scratch on his leg that has become very infected. Dr. McCoy wonders why a minor injury such as a scratch would turn into a big medical emergency.

Answer: Psychokinetic

When Dr. McCoy attempts to inject Parmen with a hypospray, the device flies out of his hand and Parmen asks him where to inject it. McCoy replies "in the arm" and the hypospray administers the medicine seemly all by itself. Parmen's spouse Philana explains the Platonians developed psychokinetic abilities shortly after arriving on the planet.

Their powers are transmitted via brainwaves.

Answer: Due to a lack of physical movement

As a result of a mass eugenics program, the population of their original home world was trimmed down to the thirty-eight that now inhabit Platonius. Although they stopped aging thousands of years ago, their lack of physical movement due to overuse of their mental abilities has caused their immune systems have no resistance to common infections. Before McCoy's medicine has a chance to kick in, Parmen temporarily loses control of his psychokinetic powers and everyone has to take cover as objects fly around the room.

Answer: He forces Kirk to slap himself in the face repeatedly.

Instead of getting the heck out of there while they can, McCoy convinces Kirk they should wait until Parmen's fever has broken. Big mistake. Once he is feeling better, Parmen locks the Enterprise into orbit around Platonius. This infuriates Kirk and he yells at Parmen for not treating him like a guest. Parmen shows Kirk who is boss by making him slap himself across the face over and over again. Only a commercial break can save Kirk from any further punishment.

Answer: A collection of ancient Greek cures

Although Kirk, Spock and McCoy are forcefully dragged back to Parmen's chamber, it seems Parmen and Philana want to play nice now. They present the trio with gifts as tokens of their appreciation for helping Parmen to heal. Kirk gets the shield of Pericles, Spock gets a kithara and McCoy gets some old scrolls containing ancient Greek cures. Hopefully, McCoy has some better 23rd century cures to rely upon.

The catch is they expect McCoy to stick around indefinitely.

Answer: His pituitary gland blocks the kironide from metabolizing.

Hoping to convince McCoy to stay on Platonius willingly, Parmen subjects Kirk and Spock to a number of embarrassing acts. They sing and dance around. Spock laughs and then cries. Alexander rides Kirk like a pony. Later on, McCoy figures out the reason Alexander does not possess these abilities is because his pituitary gland, the same thing that makes him a dwarf, does not metabolize the kironide. McCoy pumps Kirk and Spock up with a butt-load of kironide and they wait for their abilities to amass.

Answer: Lt. Uhura and Nurse Chapel

While planning their revenge against Parmen, the landing party is interrupted by two Enterprise crew members beaming down. It's Uhura and Chapel. Like puppets, they turn and head out of the room.

Answer: Nurse Chapel

All the Platonians gather for a show. Parmen wants McCoy to watch as he embarrasses his friends hoping to persuade him to stay. Kirk, Spock, Uhura and Chapel are all decked out in fancy Greek garb. Before Spock is forced to plant a big one on Chapel's lips, she confesses to him how she has longed for this moment for years. Oh, and Kirk kisses Uhura, although it doesn't seem as if he likes it too much.

Answer: Captain Kirk

While Parmen is busy pulling everyone's strings, Alexander grabs a knife and attempts to attack him. Philana sees this and makes Parmen aware. Parmen then turns his attention to Alexander and it seems Alexander will be forced to stab himself. Just in the nick of time, Kirk's kironide induced mental powers kick in and he puts a stop to it. For a moment, Kirk and Parmen battle it out "mano a mano" with their minds and poor Alexander is caught in the middle. Kirk wins out having a greater concentration of kironide and therefore stronger mental abilities over Parmen.

Answer: He's bringing Alexander along with them.

Having no backbone whatsoever, Parmen grovels at Kirk's feet begging for mercy. He promises he'll be a good boy now but Kirk and Spock are not buying it. Kirk reminds Parmen that future starship crews who may visit can replicate the Platonian's abilities ten-fold, so he'd better be on his best behavior from now on. Alexander has made it known he wants to get the heck away from these people, so Kirk agrees to take him along with them when they leave.