"The Empath" is a third season episode of the American science fiction television series, Star Trek, and was broadcast December 6, 1968. It is episode #67, production #63, written by Joyce Muskat and directed by John Erman. It was not without controversy and, for many years, was one of a handful of episodes of the series not screened in the United Kingdom by the BBC owing to its perceived disturbing content. It was not broadcast by the BBC until a repeat run in January 1994.

In the episode, while visiting a doomed planet, the landing party is subject to torturous experiments by powerful aliens.

The Enterprise arrives at Minara II to recover research personnel as its star is about to go supernova. Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, and Science Officer Spock beam to the surface but find the research station deserted and begin a search, while Chief Engineer Scott moves the Enterprise to a safe distance to protect it from being bombarded by a solar flare.

The landing party is suddenly transported into an underground chamber and encounter a beautiful, mute woman McCoy names "Gem" who is trapped with them. The landing party is attacked by aliens known as the Vians, who injure Kirk. Gem proves she is an empath by absorbing Kirk's injuries, briefly taking them on herself before they are healed. They search the nearby chambers and find machinery and computer systems, along with glass cylinders, some containing the missing research personnel in grotesque poses, and three empty ones labeled with the landing party's names. A Vian arrives, but Spock subdues him with a Vulcan nerve pinch and allows the group to escape to the surface. They are surprised to see Scotty and a landing party waiting for them, but soon discover they are only a mirage. Two Vians arrive and transport Gem and Kirk back into the underground complex, where they begin torturing Kirk with Gem only able to watch. During this, the Vians explain that they had tested the research personnel (Linke and Ozaba) similarly, but both men died from their fears.

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