The Outer Limits: Stasis

Work Title: The Outer Limits: Stasis
Medium: TV Episode
Episode Title: Stasis
Year: 2000
Writer(s): Lawrence Meyers
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: No
Summary:

In the distant future, the worker population is split in half, in order to conserve resources. Each half of the population has a partner with whom he or she shares a job and apartment. While one worker is awake, the other is in stasis.

  • Self-Written?: 1
  • Source Name:
  • Source URL:
Era/Year of Portrayal: distant_future
Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

In the distant future, resources such as food and water are limited. Technology has advanced so that workers spend half of thier lives in stasis, to conserve resources. Also, the world has a strict class system composed of workers and elites.

Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: hologram
  • Description of the technology: The main characters communicate through holograms. They are never awake at the same time. Each records themselves talking, answering questions, and thus keep an ongoing conversation. The hologram is a reliable image of the person, but clearly is a projection. It is vivid and realistic, but akin to a three dimensional television.
  • Nature of task or activity: communication.
  • Performance of the Technology: It works well.
  • Description of creator(s): unknown
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): to communcate primarily about work.
  • Description of users of technology: The couple are male/female, attractive, white, in their 20's, and engineers.
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: social_presence
  • Description of presence experience: It is nice - they get to see each other and commmunicate, talk.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: yes
  • Valence of experience: they enjoy it, but want to be together.
  • Specific responses: the communication and presence helps create a more intense parasocial relationship.
Long-term consequences:

the consequencse are good. they realize she is going to die in a nefarious scheme to use half the workers as sources of energy. He joins the resistance and wakes her up. They succeed in overthrowing the ruling powers and stasis ends for everyone.

Other:

Coder name: Amanda Scheiner
Coder email: amandags@temple.edu
Coder affiliation: Temple University