“The Testament of Arkadia” is episode twenty-three of season one of Space: 1999.
The commander is in his office writing about the recent events on Planet Arkadia and how they’ve forced the Alphans to re-evaluate the accident that hurled them from orbit and their purpose. Two people are doing kendo, when Paul contacts the commander. An emergency.
Koenig arrives in Main Mission. The Moon’s course is altering towards a planet. It’s too far away for a gravitational effect and Victor says it isn’t gravity, or magnetism, anyway. The long-range scanners malfunction and David reports a problem with the generators. Power is being lost and then the Moon comes to a halt.
The commander is talking with Dr Russell and Victor about what stopped them when David contacts Koenig. There’s nothing wrong with the generators but they’re still losing power. Computer says an external force is responsible. The commander thinks that isn’t helpful. David reminds him computer needs data. The commander contacts Paul, who says the energy loss is gradually affecting Alpha.
Koenig re-enters Main Mission. Sandra tells him they will be out of power in 38 hours, plus another ten with rationing. The commander asks Alan for flight time to the planet. 30 hours, round trip. Koenig orders an Eagle prepped for take-off with a team.
The Eagle lifts off, heading towards a planet that they already know is dead. Amongst the crew are the man Koenig was doing kendo with, Luke, and a woman, Anna. Koenig tells everyone to get some sleep; it will be a long ride. He joins everyone later. They’ve orbited the planet twice and found no sign of life or habitation. Victor says it used to support life, but there was a catastrophe. Dr Russell says it is inhabitable, though.
The Eagle lands and Luke and Anna find something. Victor and the doctor discover the planet isn’t dead, just waiting for bacteria to restart life. Those two then made an even more incredible discovery. A cave with skeletons around a table.
Inside the cave, Victor calls the commander over. He has found an inscription that he thinks is in Sanskrit. Dr Russell says that Anna is a trained philologist. She and Luke are called to come. Anna confirms it is Sanskrit, but different. Perhaps an earlier form. She can decipher it, but without computer it will take some time.
Anna is working on the translation and the commander hasn’t found what’s affecting Alpha. The doctor says the skeletons are humanoid, very similar to them, and died from radiation poisoning nearly 25,000 years ago (more than enough time to go to dust).
Anna has a translation. She recounts how it says their civilisation is dead and their world is dying, due to what sounds like a nuclear war. Yet Arkadia lives on, because of those few who took the seeds of a new beginning with them to a distant region of space. Heed the Testament of Arkadia. She can’t understand a passage, and then says that it continues. They were guided here to help make the world fertile and live again. Koenig wonders how people got here from Earth so long ago. Luke says it’s the other way around. He tells Anna to explain the trees. She says that she’s found over 40 species native to Earth.
Alpha is running out of power, having to turn down heat and light as well as non-essential systems. On the planet, they can’t find out what’s causing this. They could rejuvenate the planet, but they’d be out of supplies before they got any crops. But Alpha has less than a day left. And then Anna and Luke are affected by something.