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Half a century ago, a television show told young people that space travel would be the coolest thing ever. Some have even been inspired to work towards this goal. Sci-fi met reality Wednesday when one of the fans, now one of the richest people in the world, took a short trip to the show’s lead actor.

Mission went according to plan. Afterwards, the script looked like it wasn’t written and it got better for it.

William Shatner, forever known as Captain James T. Kirk in the original “Star Trek,” has returned to Earth, apparently fascinated by experience beyond measure. Jeff Bezos’ rocket ride may have been intended as a publicity stunt, but brushing the edge of the sky filled the actor with a mixture of uneasiness and curiosity:

It was incredible… to see the blue veil pass by. And now you’re looking into the dark That’s the thing. The blue blanket around us, this sheet, this blanket, this blue quilt. We say ‘oh this blue sky’. And then suddenly you shoot and suddenly you look into the darkness, as if you were tossing the sheet over you while you were sleeping.

Mr. Shatner was talking to Mr. Bezos just after he got out of the capsule with the other three passengers. Others greeted their families and friends. Champagne corks burst. It was a lot of laughter, an exuberant relief. But Mr Shatner, 90 and standing in the West Texas dust, spoke about the “suddenness of life and death.”

You look down, there’s blue and there’s black. There is Mother and Earth and there is comfort and there is… Is there death? I do not know. Was this death? Is this how death is? Hop and go. Jesus. It felt very moving to me.

Mr. Bezos was still listening like a statue. Perhaps he was giving Mr. Shatner some space, but that was in stark contrast to his appearance after his own brief spaceflight in July, when he flew the same spacecraft as Mr. Shatner. Then he stretched forward from one scene, condemnation from the critics of the great company he founded He thanked Amazon’s employees and customers for making it possible to fund the private space initiative.

Or maybe Mr. Bezos was just acting naturally. His role model has always been the cool, passionate Mr. Spock, rather than the emotional, impulsive Captain Kirk. Rewarding efficiency above all else, Amazon has been designed and operates with this in mind.

When he acted in “Star Trek” as a kid, Mr. Bezos saidsometimes assumed the role of the ship’s computer. Amazon’s voice-activated speaker, Alexa, was designed as a home version of the “Star Trek” computer, always answering any question.