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"Old Flame" | Episodes of Earth: Final Conflict | "Resurrection"


Float Like a Butterfly
Butterfly 07
Death of Abraham
Overview
Series Earth: Final Conflict
Season Season One
Production
Original Air-Date November 10, 1997
Written By Paul Gertz
Directed By Jeff Woolnough
Episode Chronology
Order in Series 6th in Series
Order in Season 6th in Season
Previous Episode "Old Flame"
Next Episode "Resurrection"
Title Image
Butterfly title

Summary[]

Teaser[]

In an Amish community called Paradise, three children visit a barn where they have stored a "Metal Scarecrow." After the children leave, a butterfly lands on the object and is taken inside. Then, a beam of light pours from the object and a large swarm of identical butterflies emerge.

Act One[]

In Paradise, a man named Lucas Graf inexplicably pours gasoline on himself and lights himself on fire. In William Boone's office at the Federal Building, Lili and Boone are visited by an Amish man asking for help. It is Elijah Good, a Harvard-trained doctor. He believes the aberrant behaviour among his people is a result of Companion Reaction Syndrome or CRS. Good tells Boone that in the past 200 years in his community there has never been a suicide but in the past two weeks there have been three. Boone assures Good that he will personally investigate.

Da'an tells Boone that he has researched the Amish and finds their ways of peace and non-interference unique among Human cultures.

In Paradise, Elijah Good returns home and tells his children he will pray with them shortly. He and his wife, Sarah, discuss how the rest of the community will feel about asking for outside assistance. Elijah tells his wife that Bishop Amos Hagen is very much against doing autopsies of the suicide victims but Elijah feels he must in order to prevent further deaths. Amos may enforce the Meidung against Elijah.

In a Taelon Shuttle en route to Paradise, Lili and Boone discuss the fact that Amish settlements may not be able to remain secluded from Taelon influence for much longer. When they land, they meet Sarah and Jedediah Good. Boone asks Jedediah if he might show him a good fishing spot sometime. Elijah informs the investigators that another death occurred when he was with them yesterday.

The children pay another visit to the Scarecrow. Jedediah feels they should tell the Elders about it. Apparently they have kept it secret until now. His sister, Rachel and friend, Samuel Schmidt convince him to keep it secret for one more day. After the children leave, the butterflies return to the Scarecrow.

Elijah, Boone and Lili are examining the bodies when Amos enters and tells Elijah he is betraying the word of God. Just then, there are screams for help from outside. A man named Abraham has locked himself in a cold storage room. Elijah tries to resuscitate him but it is too late. They cover the body but suddenly it begins to move! A butterfly flies out of the corpse's mouth.

Act Two[]

Elijah appears in a trial before the elders and Amos says there is no choice but to sanction him with the Meidung. Now, no one in Paradise may speak with Elijah. He is forbidden from removing the bodies to perform an autopsy but Boone offers to bring the equipment to Paradise. Using an MRI, they discover a strange trail in a body that leads from a contusion to the mouth.

Meanwhile, Jedediah and Samuel are playing in the fields. They capture a butterfly which Jedediah describes as "perfect." In the night, the butterfly drills itself out of the jar and flies off into Elijah and Sarah's bedroom.

In the morning, Sarah is quiet and acting strangely. Suddenly, she drinks a jar of homemade cleaning product and collapses to the floor. Elijah runs to her and takes her to their bedroom.

Act Three[]

Jedediah and Rachel tell Boone and Lili what happened to their mother. When the investigators ask the children if anything unusual has happened in the village lately, the children tell them about the metal Scarecrow. They go to the barn but the object is missing.

Amos is searching for his dog and discovers the object deep in the woods. Just as with the butterfly, the object glows and Amos disappears into it.

In the barn, Boone and Lili are attacked by butterflies and are both cut by their razor sharp wings. When they examine a dead butterfly with a small scanner they find that it is artificial! Lili and Boone deduce that the butterflies were designed to gather information on the human body. The suicides were all ways of testing the extremes that a body can endure.

Boone asks Lili to contact Jonathan Doors and have him send a team to investigate. He heads back to check on Sarah who is in stable condition. Sandoval and Da'an contact Boone on his Global to ask about his status. Boone reports that based on his evidence, CRS appears to be the cause of the problems.

Lili reports that she has a Resistance team on the way.

Act Four[]

In her shuttle, Lili is besieged by a swarm of butterflies. Boone runs to her aid and finds the shuttle entirely covered with butterflies. He tries to blast them off with his Skrill but he can't use a strong enough blast without destroying the shuttle. Boone recalls that the butterflies have only attacked living beings and deduces that they may be attracted to the shuttle's energy. Lili powers down the shuttle and the swarm flies overhead.

The Scarecrow has moved nearby and the butterflies flock around the the energy it releases. Boone discovers that a Skrill blast will melt the butterflies. He blasts the entire swarm while it is above the Scarecrow. The molten metal seals the top of the object stopping its energy from emerging.

Coda[]

Lili informs Boone that the Resistance is examining the object and that Doors is very excited. They believe this is a dangerous Taelon experiment but aren't sure why Da'an doesn't know about it.

The Elders lift the Meidung from Elijah and thank him for helping to safeguard Paradise. Boone gives Jedidiah his father's old fishing rod on the condition that he use it to teach Elijah how to fish.

Gallery[]

Cast[]

Guest Starring[]

Other Cast[]

Trivia[]

  • The image of the butterfly flying out of Abraham's mouth is one of the most memorable of the series. It remains in the opening credits sequence for the length of the series.
  • Michael McMurray was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding series cinematography for this episode in 1998.

References[]

Season Navigation[]

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