"Lithia" is an episode of The Outer Limits (new series) television show. It was first aired on 3 July, 1998, during the fourth season.

Introduction

Major Jason Mercer wakes from a cryogenically frozen state to find that he is the only male left alive.

Opening narration

"Evolution teaches that the failure of a species to adapt will result in extinction. But could an entire gender fall victim to the same immutable loss?"

Plot

Lithia is set in 2055, in a world populated only by women. The men were killed years earlier in a war.

The women are living in a commune, and seem to be living full and happy lives, although they lack some of the technology of the past. Neighboring villages are in control of many of the resources, which makes Mercer jealous. He tries to tell the women living in the commune that they must make sure that they have enough resources for themselves. Their leader tells him that kind of thinking is what led to war.

Mercer becomes aggressive and proceeds to steal electricity from a rival village. Unfortunately, this leads to the deaths of several different women. It is revealed that the women were responsible for unfreezing eleven other men and attempting to integrate them into their society, but each attempt resulted in a similar tragedy. Mercer is then condemned to being refrozen as punishment. Also, the leader of the women's village happens to be a former love interest of Mercer's before he was frozen.

Closing narration

"The differences between men and women have been debated among philosophers since recorded history began. If indeed males are, by their nature the aggressor, it is this quality that may one day be their undoing."

External links