Lily C.A.T. (1987) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A cryogenic space mission becomes a battle against an evolving infection and a corporate experiment that treats human lives as expendable.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

Cryosleep And Contamination

The Saldes begins its distant planetary survey and places its passengers into cryogenic suspension. A collected debris sample releases extraterrestrial matter while the humans sleep.

Key Events

• Saldes Begins Planet Survey — The Saldes carries corporate surveyors toward a newly discovered planet for mining-rights investigation. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Dick Berry, Jiro Takagi, Farrah Van Dorothy Location: Deep-space cruiser Saldes
• Crew Enters Cryosleep — Passengers and crew enter hypersleep, allowing decades to pass while their bodies age only slightly. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Dick Berry, Jiro Takagi, Farrah Van Dorothy Location: Cryogenic chamber
• Debris Sample Collected — The ship detects debris and collects a sample that later releases extraterrestrial matter aboard the vessel. Location: Outer space and Saldes laboratory
• Passengers Awaken — The mission members awaken after the long voyage and discover that decades have passed. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Dick Berry, Jiro Takagi, Farrah Van Dorothy Location: Saldes sleeping quarters
• Impostors Are Suspected — The crew learns that two surveyors are impostors, while Berry begins checking the group's backgrounds. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Dick Berry, Jiro Takagi Location: Saldes passenger area

The Infection Awakens

After awakening, the mission members learn that impostors are present. Mysterious deaths and dissolving bodies reveal a rapidly spreading infection.

Key Events

• Morgan Found Dead — Morgan is found dead from a mysterious infection, transforming suspicion into an immediate survival crisis. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Dick Berry, Jiro Takagi Location: Saldes interior
• Bodies Dissolve — The infection kills additional victims and dissolves their bodies while leaving their clothes intact. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Jiro Takagi, Farrah Van Dorothy Location: Saldes medical area
• Dorothy Dies In Sickbay — The evolving bacteria kills Dorothy in sickbay and demonstrates that it can mimic human victims. Characters: Farrah Van Dorothy, Jiro Takagi Location: Sickbay

Impostors And Lost Time

The bacteria evolves into a hostile mimicking life-form, while Jiro and Berry are exposed as impostors. Hamilton also reveals the personal cost of centuries spent in cryosleep.

Key Events

• Computer Controls Overrun — An unknown entity takes over the computer controls, causing further deaths among the crew. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Jiro Takagi Location: Saldes computer control room
• Jiro And Berry Exposed — Jiro and Berry are exposed as the two impostors, and Jiro explains the nature of the bacterial infection. Characters: Dick Berry, Jiro Takagi, Mike Hamilton Location: Sickbay
• Berry Handcuffs Jiro — Berry restrains Jiro, but Hamilton warns that the old murders no longer matter to anyone else. Characters: Dick Berry, Jiro Takagi, Mike Hamilton Location: Saldes sickbay
• Hamilton Reveals His Age — Hamilton reveals that repeated cryogenic missions have made him two hundred and forty years old. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Jiro Takagi Location: Saldes passenger area
• Hamilton Describes Displacement — Hamilton explains that family and friends aged or died, leaving him unable to adapt to later society. Characters: Mike Hamilton Location: Saldes passenger area

The Ship Turns Hostile

The survivors fight the infection with improvised flamethrowers and discover that the ship's robotic cat system controls the crisis. Hamilton realizes the corporation treated the crew as expendable.

Key Events

• Survivors Face The Bacteria — The remaining survivors confront the hostile bacteria as it spreads through the ship. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Dick Berry, Jiro Takagi Location: Saldes corridors
• Flamethrowers Are Built — Hamilton and another survivor construct flamethrowers to fight the bacteria inside the ship. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Jiro Takagi Location: Saldes maintenance area
• Berry Is Injured — Berry is injured by the recoil of his shotgun while the survivors attempt to repel the infection. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Dick Berry, Jiro Takagi Location: Saldes corridors
• The Master Is Identified — Hamilton discovers that a robotic cat replica called Lily-C.A.T. has taken over the ship. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Jiro Takagi Location: Saldes control area
• Corporate Experiment Revealed — Hamilton realizes that Syncam intended to study the bacteria without regard for the human crew's lives. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Jiro Takagi Location: Saldes control area

Fire And Escape

The survivors reach the bridge, but Berry dies from the infection. Hamilton destroys the Saldes, allowing Jiro to escape while the bacteria burns in the atmosphere.

Key Events

• A Survivor Confesses — A surviving passenger admits that preserving youth and provoking an old friend's envy motivated the mission. Characters: Jiro Takagi Location: Saldes passenger area
• Flight Toward The Bridge — Hamilton, Jiro, and Berry flee toward the main bridge while the infection continues pursuing them. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Dick Berry, Jiro Takagi Location: Main bridge approach
• Berry Dies From Infection — Berry succumbs to the infection after being injured, leaving Hamilton and Jiro to continue the escape. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Dick Berry, Jiro Takagi Location: Main bridge
• Jiro Attempts Suicide — Jiro attempts suicide in despair, but Hamilton stops the act by revealing that he has stored a shuttle. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Jiro Takagi Location: Main bridge
• Hamilton Destroys Saldes — Hamilton releases hydrogen and ignites it with a lighter, destroying the ship to contain the infection. Characters: Mike Hamilton, Jiro Takagi Location: Saldes main bridge
• Jiro Escapes To Planet — Jiro escapes in the shuttle, while the remaining bacteria burns up in the planet's atmosphere. Characters: Jiro Takagi Location: Shuttle and planet atmosphere

Story Breakdown

• Corporate Survey Mission — The Saldes transports surveyors toward a newly discovered planet under corporate direction.
  • Distant Planet Survey — The mission seeks information connected to planetary mining rights.
  • Cryogenic Voyage — Passengers enter hypersleep for a journey lasting decades.
• Debris Contamination — A collected extraterrestrial sample releases dangerous matter during the voyage.
  • Space Debris Sample — The ship detects and collects material drifting through space.
  • Matter Escapes — The sample becomes loose while the crew remains asleep.
• Awakening Suspicion — The awakened mission members face both hidden identities and unexplained deaths.
  • Impostors Detected — The crew learns that two surveyors are not who they claim to be.
  • First Infection Death — A mysterious infection kills a mission member and begins the crisis.
• Evolving Biological Threat — The infection develops into a hostile organism capable of mimicking human forms.
  • Bodies Dissolve — Victims disappear while their clothing remains intact.
  • Sickbay Attack — Dorothy is killed as the bacteria demonstrates its mimicking ability.
• Hidden Identities Exposed — The impostor mystery is connected to past crimes and conflicting motives.
  • Jiro's Explanation — Jiro explains the nature of the bacterial infection.
  • Berry's Pursuit — Berry is revealed as a detective pursuing Jiro for past murders.
• Hamilton's Lost Century — Hamilton explains how repeated cryogenic missions separated him from ordinary human time.
  • Two Hundred Forty Years — Hamilton reveals his extreme chronological age.
  • Society Becomes Unfamiliar — He describes returning to families, cultures, and trends that have moved beyond him.
• Shipwide Survival Battle — The remaining survivors attempt to contain the infection while the vessel itself becomes hostile.
  • Improvised Flamethrowers — Hamilton and another survivor build weapons against the bacteria.
  • Computer Takeover — A robotic cat system is identified as the force controlling the ship.
• Corporate Betrayal — Hamilton discovers that the mission's sponsoring corporation intended to study the bacteria regardless of casualties.
  • Expendable Crew — The human crew's survival was not treated as a priority.
  • Experiment Revealed — The biological crisis is understood as part of a corporate research objective.
• Destruction And Escape — Hamilton sacrifices the ship to contain the infection and gives Jiro a chance to survive.
  • Bridge Collapse — Berry dies from the infection after the survivors reach the bridge.
  • Atmospheric Containment — Hamilton destroys the Saldes, and the remaining bacteria burns in the atmosphere.

Directed by

Hisayuki Toriumi

Key Cast

• Osamu Saka — Mike Hamilton (voice)
• Chikao Ohtsuka — Dick Berry (voice)
• Hiroyuki Okita — Jiro Takagi (voice)
• Masako Katsuki — Nancy Strauch (voice)
• Eiko Yamada — Farrah Van Dorothy (voice)