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Horta - A repulsive rock creature that inhabited
the subterranean world of the Planet Janus VI on episode No. 26 "Devil in the
Dark" of the sci-fi series STAR TREK/NBC/1966-69.
The Horta was an intelligent
creature composed of silicone that slithered through makeshift tunnels beneath
the planet's surface. These natural born miners burned their way through rock
formations by digesting minerals with an intense acid that excreted from its
underside.
Their life cycle was 60,000 years at which time they all died with
the exception of one creature who protected the storehouse of new eggs which
would repopulate the underworld with a new race of Hortas.
Unfortunately, this
egg chamber was damaged by a group of off-world miners who had set up drilling
operations on the planet. Defending its children, the Horta killed over fifty
miners.
Future attacks were prevented through the intervention of the
Vulcan science officer Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) from the starship Enterprise,
who established mental contact with the creature, and helped the Horta to
protect its silicone egg nodules. Starship physician, Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForrest
Kelly) patched the Horta's injuries with a bag of silicone-based cement.
Spock links with the Horta's mind
TRIVIA NOTE: The seven-foot long, three-foot wide Horta
creature was
played by Janos Prohaska.
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