TOS - Episode 72 - Addressing Unknown Risks: Compliance Lessons from That Which Survives

Trekking Through Compliance

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode That Which Survives, which aired on January 24, 1969, and occurred on Star Date Unknown.

McCoy, Sulu, Kirk, and senior geologist D’Amato beam down to investigate a strange planet the size of the Moon but with the mass of the Earth. The planet has no magnetic field but a well-developed atmosphere and plant life, even though it is only 1000 years old. As the landing party is beaming down, a strange woman appears, says, “Wait, you must not go,” and kills the transporter operator.

While this is going on, the woman kills Engineer Grade 4 John B. Watkins on the Enterprise while he is checking the bypass circuit, but not before he has warned Scott that a strange woman is on board. On the Enterprise, the woman rigs the engines to explode by fusing the emergency bypass circuit on the matter/antimatter integrator. The Enterprise begins accelerating out of control, and Spock estimates that the Enterprise will explode in 14.87 minutes, with no way to stop it. Scotty saves the Enterprise from exploding by reversing the polarity on the magnetic probe and returning the magnetic flow to normal.

Spock rescues the landing party at this juncture when he beams down and destroys the computer projecting the image of the woman, Losira. When a recorded tape is automatically played, they find out that the planet they are on is a space outpost built by the Calandans, who were all killed by a disease they created while building the Earth. The outpost was left on automatic, with the computer attempting to fend off all explorers but the expected Calandan ship. As Kirk prepares to return to the Enterprise, he comments in response to a statement by Spock that beauty such as Losira’s is transitory, that “beauty survives.”

Commentary

The narrative follows the Enterprise crew as they explore a mysterious planet and face unexpected dangers, including a lethal woman named Losira. Fox uses this episode to draw parallels with compliance frameworks, discussing effectively addressing unknown risks through scenario planning, risk-based thinking, continuous monitoring, collaboration, and agile compliance. Compliance professionals can better navigate and mitigate unforeseen challenges by implementing these strategies.

Key Highlights

• Key Plot Points and Developments
• Fun Facts and Continuity Issues
• Compliance Lessons from the Episode
• Frameworks for Addressing Unknown Risks

Resources

Excruciatingly Detailed Plot Summary by Eric W. Weisstein

MissionLogPodcast.com

Memory Alpha

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