Synopsis: The first days of the exile of Khan Noonien Singh and his followers on Ceti Alpha V are revealed through recordings made by Marla McGivers which were discovered by Dr. Lear.
This episode can be seen as an illustration of what Carl (C. G.) Jung called inflation—the puffed up feeling when the conscious ego identifies too closely or for too long with the god-like power of unconscious archetypes.
“Paradise” began at a hearing before the Starfleet Civilian Resource Allocation Committee, where Dr. Rosalind Lear petitioned to be transported to Ceti Alpha V. She told the committee that six years ago she was sent some of Marla McGivers’s logs and that they may contradict the official record of what happened to Khan Noonien Singh and his followers. After a snippet of McGivers’s logs are presented, Captain Hikaru Sulu volunteered to take Lear to Ceti Alpha V on the U.S.S. Excelsior. On Ceti Alpha V, a hidden alcove with over 100 recordings in it was found. On the recordings was the narrative of how Khan and his followers arrived on the planet and set up camp. Khan was enthusiastic about the new world that was his for the conquering and started ordering his people around, telling them that they are superior. One individual, Hugo, has an issue with Khan’s leadership. Hugo saw the planet as hell, Khan saw only its possibilities. Hugo called Khan mad. Khan told Hugo that he could not see beyond his present disappointment. Khan took Hugo for a walk and told him that Hugo must either obey him or leave and build his own fiefdom. And if he stays he cannot challenge Khan again. Meanwhile McGivers went to the medical lab and learned that Khan’s people, augmented humans, were not allowed to procreate on Earth. That the eggs from the female augments were taken away at birth. Ursula, the individual in charge of the medical lab informed McGivers that Khan brought her to the planet because she was fertile. Once learning this, McGivers confronted Khan. She told him that she did not come there to be his woman but to make her mark on history by studying him. She tried to contact the U. S. S. Enterprise with a communicator that she had brought with her, but Khan destroyed the device. There was no going back.
In this episode, both Khan and McGivers are identifying too closely with the god-like power of an archetype, however, at this point only McGivers also must deal with the aftermath of inflation, deflation—when her link to the archetypal was severed. When they arrive on the planet, Khan saw it as a new world to rule and McGivers saw it as her chance to do something no one else has ever done before—observe and report in real time how a world is conquered. At this point, McGivers felt that she had an advantage—knowledge and the tools of the current century, which made her more than just a mere female able to produce children to Khan. But this advantage was shattered when her communicator was. Similarly, Lear was also experiencing inflation when she found McGivers’ recordings, but now she must deal with the fact that there will be an end to the gathering of her newfound treasure trove of historical records.
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