Dave Lister and Arnold Rimmer have been assigned to fix the chicken soup machine as it has been on the fritz again. After a successful mission, they meet up with Todhunter, a superior officer, who checks up on Rimmer's constant reports on Lister, then leaves.Soon, Todhunter arrives at a funeral commemorating the death of MacIntire, whose remains are fired off into space. Everyone is brought to the hall for the "Welcome Back, George MacIntire" service.
Everyone is sitting at tables, Lister with his group of friends, Petersen, Selby and Chen, while Rimmer sits alone. George, Todhunter and Captain Frank Hollister are seated at the desk at the front of the hall, celebrating the return of George as a hologram. The cake is cut and everyone cheers.
Rimmer starts to worry about his upcoming astro-navigation exam and schemes to cheat on it by writing all over his body. He leaves, and it is then that Lister climbs out of his bunk bed and his caring side is shown. He has a cat which is given milk and cared for, and is seemingly pregnant.
At the examination hall, Rimmer prepares to cheat, but the ink on his arm has stained and been smudged. He ends up with ink on his hand, which he then proceeds to put onto the exam paper, sign it, salute, and then faint.
Lister is about to be seen by the Captain, but beforehand he talks to Kristine Kochanski, a navigation officer and love-interest of Dave. Unfortunately the conversation is cut short as the Captain has an urgent discussion. It turns out that Lister's cat, named Frankenstein, has been discovered by accident when he sent the photographs of himself with the cat to be processed in the ship's laboratory. Therefore, he is given an ultimatum: go to stasis for eighteen months and lose his wages, or give up Frankenstein to be cut up and have tests done on it. He chooses the former.
Going to stasis and being guided by Todhunter, he meets with Rimmer, who is on a stretcher after failing his examination. Rimmer is taken away as Todhunter explains the rules of stasis. Then, Lister enters the chamber, and is left, seemingly for the time set.
However, when he comes out, he discovers that no one is around, and is constantly told by Holly, the ship's computer, that everyone is dead. He reaches the navigation area where Rimmer, as a hologram, enters the room. The former crewmember blames Lister for his death, although it was his own fault for failing to fix the drive plate. As the two explore Red Dwarf, a being known as the Cat appears, making himself "look big" to frighten the perceived intruders.
In the quarters, Lister mentions Frankenstein, which sparks a religious statement from Cat, who labels Frankenstein as the "holy mother" with the "virgin birth", who was saved by "Cloister the Stupid" (who himself will return and lead them to "Fuchal"). Lister instinctively figures out that Cloister is himself, and promises to bring the Cat race to Fiji.
