Ruth was a highly sophisticated robot copy of a former lover of James T. Kirk created by the Shore Leave Planet upon reading Kirk's thoughts of her. The first time she appeared, Kirk was distracted by other problems, and could not spend time with her. After his discussion with the Caretaker, Kirk planned to beam back to the Enterprise, but Ruth appeared again, and this convinced him to remain on the planet for a day or two. (TOS: "Shore Leave" )