Hearts and Minds (The Outer Limits)
| "Hearts and Minds" | |
|---|---|
| The Outer Limits episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 3 |
| Directed by | Brad Turner |
| Written by | Naren Shankar |
| Production code | 65 |
| Original air date | February 6, 1998 |
| Guest appearances | |
| Miguel Fernandes as Cpt. Taverner Christine Elise as Lt. Rosen Dylan Walsh as Sgt. Eldritch | |
"Hearts and Minds" is an episode of The Outer Limits television show. It was first broadcast on 6 February 1998, during the fourth season.
Introduction
A squad of soldiers is sent on a search and destroy mission against alien raiders to safeguard a vital source of profit for the North American Federation.
Opening narration
In order to survive, a soldier must fight many battles, physical as well as mental. But in the heat of the struggle, reality can sometimes fade, like memory, until only one thing remains certain...the first casualty of war is truth.
Plot
All soldiers of the team have drug injectors to protect them against an "alien virus". After a drug injector malfunction, the soldiers slowly realize that the drug is designed to cause hallucinations of disgusting looking aliens. The "aliens" are humans as well, but from another federation. The team tries to make contact with the "alien team" to explain the situation and ask for peace. But their drug injectors work properly and they kill everyone from the team, believing that they are the aliens. The final scene shows all the soldiers dead on the floor.
Closing narration
Humans kill for love, for revenge, for survival, and even for ideas. Perhaps the capacity to kill then is a very true part of our nature. But within this behavior, defined by fear, must we also be taught to hate?
See also
- "Men Against Fire" – a 2016 episode of the anthology series Black Mirror with a similar premise