SS Columbia

The SS Columbia was an Earth-based scientific research vessel employed by the American Continent Institute. Among its crew members was a scientist named Doctor Theodore Haskins and a young woman named Vina. In the year 2236, the Columbia crash-landed on the planet Talos IV. All hands aboard were killed in the crash, save Vina, who had been seriously injured. The planet's dominant race, the Talosians, were able to save Vina's life, but with no prior knowledge of human anatomy, they were not able to heal her injuries correctly, leaving her severely disfigured.

Eighteen years later, the Talosians used their powers of illusion and telepathy to create the setting of an encampment, in which several members of the Columbia crew appeared to be alive and thriving. The USS Enterprise came to Talos IV in search of the missing crew and found their encampment. They even met a facsimile of Doctor Haskins, who explained their predicament to Captain Christopher Pike. The ship's Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Philip Boyce, immediately began to suspect that something was amiss when he noted that the Columbia survivors were in peak, physical condition, with no ill side effects of living in such unhealthy conditions for the past eighteen years. The Talosians soon lifted the veil of illusions and the crew of the Enterprise learned that with the exception of Vina, the crew of the Columbia had perished in the crash.