The Star Trek Gospels - Metamorphisis

The star trek episode "Metamorphisis" shows the interaction betweeen the important human concepts of companionship, love, sacrifice, freedom and loneliness.

A great man honored for his life long achievement is dying of old age and goes out far away from his people to die with his dignity intact. In his journey, an energy being wrecks his ship, marooning him in a new land, but restoring his health and youth. In this new place the only beings are "the man" and "the companion". After more than a century alone with "the companion" he tells the creature that he will die of loneliness if he does not have other beings like him for companions, hoping it will let him leave.

The companion finds another ship, and maroons another six people on the planet to alleviate the man's loneliness. But these are people with duties to perform and have with them an official with a diesase the companion cannot heal. The companion foils their every attempt to escape. Eventually they find a way to communicate with "the companion" on its level and find that it is "in love" with the man. The group explains to "the companion" that humans need freedom, not just love and further, that the man and it can never be together in the way the companion really wants because it is not human.. At the same time, the official is about to die and is overcome that she has wasted her life in her duty to the expense of never having loved.

The companion joins with the official, giving up its powers and immortality, to save the official's life and so that together they will have a chance at true love, if even for but a moment. The man offers to take her with him, to explore the universe with him. Her power ends in this land, though, and so the man stays with the woman/companion to live out the rest of his days alone with her in love. The group is freed to go but take with them the wisdom that there are more important things than duty.

The companion is lonely... That is why it brings the man to it. The man is lonely, and that is why the companion brings more men. We find out that what loneliness really is is a longing to love. She longs to love, to be someone's true companion, but does not understand what that means. She knows only that her emptiness is filled by the man. After 150 years she finally finds out that the MAN'S emptiness is not filled by her. To love him, she cannot be his jailor, no matter what riches or youth she provides.