When the boundaries between Science and Religion are muddied rather than observed, the most heinous acts of cruelty toward one another can become commonplace. In Strange New Worlds’ latest episode we see the inhabitants of planet Majalis expressing their particular right to freedom of religion through the art of child sacrifice to appease their digital god whose creators designed it to keep the planet alive and habitable but with one little, tiny quirk, you have to attach a fresh child to it every so often to keep things running optimally. There was apparently some fine print in the terms and conditions that the original inhabitants skipped over.
The episode opens with a distress call from a nearby ship that was being attacked by an unknown vessel. The Enterprise accidentally destroys the attacking vessel (let’s just agree that mistakes were made on both sides) but rescues the three individuals that were on the receiving end of the attack. When all three (Alora, Elder Gamal, and a young child named First Servant) are beamed aboard the Enterprise and treated for minor injuries a lot is discovered about the ship’s new guests. This particular family are political/religious figures on planet Majalis who are en route to a festival on the planet’s surface in honor of the First Servant who is considered to be both a holy child of science and a savior to his people. The attacking ship was believed to be from a nearby planet whose inhabitants are considered to be less than upstanding and who most likely wanted to kidnap the child and hold him for ransom because the people of Majalis would pay anything for the safe return of the First Servant. Oh and Captain Pike had a real thing for Alora back in the day, and apparently still does.
While the Enterprise crew are busy trying to figure out the who’s and why’s of the attack, Captain Pike, Alora, and the First Servant beam down to the planet’s surface for the festival. When they arrive, Captain Pike learns just how seriously the people of Majalis take sacrificing kids for their planet, and while he is unable to stop the inevitable he is privy to the most sanctimonious gaslighting job by Alora, one that doesn’t convince Pike that what they’re doing is right but one that gets him to think on it, deeply, and one that just might help make the Captian’s own prophecy of death come true.
Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach is available to stream, along with all previous episodes of Strange New Worlds, right here on Paramount +.