The Wild Wild West (1965) s01e14 Episode Script
The Night of the Howling Light
Isn't there anything more you can tell me? All I know is that Mr.
Gordon has been seriously injured.
We tried to reach you earlier, but were told that you were on your way back from Washington.
I was.
I was on the train when I got the message.
Where is he? Here.
Mr.
West? I was told, Doctor, that Artemus Gordon is here.
I'm sorry, but you're too late.
I don't like to ask you this, but it is necessary to identify the body.
Would you mind? This isn't Artemus.
Are you sure? I'm positive, Doctor.
Artemus Gordon is a much younger man.
Amazing but I think you'll find you are quite incapable of firing that gun.
In fact, I find it difficult to believe that you're still holding it.
Gentlemen.
Very fancy shooting.
You should see me perform with a bow and arrow or a tomahawk.
Will you, uh, join me? Don't you realize it's a federal offense to offer firewater to an Indian? Forgive me.
Four years of college taught me many things- a respect for calculus, Blackstone and Shakespeare.
And nothing but contempt for the white man's vices.
There's one thing your four years at college didn't teach you, Mr.
Ahkeema.
What is that? Good manners.
Old Indian proverb: "Insult an Osage brave only when you are weary of life.
" Old white man's proverb: "Fish and bad-tempered guests stink in a very short time.
" Bravo, Mr.
Gordon.
So I've been behaving badly, have I? Perhaps my manners would be better if your Mr.
West had arrived on schedule.
I see that, uh patience isn't one of your virtues either, is it? The future of my people rests on the word that Mr.
West is bringing from your president.
Let me show you.
Look.
Here live my people, the Osage.
Here are the Pawnee, the Cherokee, Comanche, Arapaho, Apache.
We are primarily occupied in a mass suicide.
You see, before the white man came, Arapaho fought the Comanche to the death.
The Osage slaughtered the Pawnee.
After your bluecoats came, we tried matching arrows with your Gatling guns.
We are exotic beyond understanding, a nation of lemmings.
Didn't Ho-Tami change all that? You know of Ho-Tami? Mr.
Ahkeema, several years ago, Mr.
West and I had occasion to be of some service to the Chief.
He gave us that in appreciation.
In a world of pygmies, he is a giant.
Only a giant could have persuaded our tribes to lay down their arms and join together in one great confederation as a first step toward peace.
I know the President, and I'm sure that you and Ho-Tami will have the answer you want when Mr.
West returns.
Returns from where? Where is he? At the moment, I don't know.
He was to have been here at noon.
Well, I'm certain he got back from Washington.
Otherwise the train wouldn't be on the siding.
But something much more important than the lives of my people took him away.
I will wait no longer.
I don't suppose you'd know anything about that.
I thought you were informed, Mr.
Gordon, that there are those who would prefer it that Mr.
West's message never reached Ho-Tami.
Where do we find you? One week from today, I will be in St.
Louis with Ho-Tami.
If we have received no word from your Mr.
West by that time, a great many men are going to die.
Good morning, Mr.
West.
I am Dr.
Arcularis.
I can't say it's a pleasure, Doctor.
No ill effects, I trust? What was that gas, one of the methyl group? Silicane.
How did you know? All the classic symptoms: impaired functioning of the optic nerve, lack of muscular control.
Excellent diagnosis, Mr.
West.
It's quite useless to look for a way out.
There isn't any.
No harm in trying.
If it amuses you, no harm at all.
Thank you for joining us so promptly, Mr.
West.
It's my pleasure.
You were unfortunate enough to stumble into the path of a concentrated beam of light.
The power of 250,000 candles, to be exact.
Course.
A lighthouse.
A poor thing, but my own.
I thought the government owned lighthouses.
Ah, but you see, I own the lighthouse keeper.
Meet Joshua Trowbridge.
Not very long ago, I chanced to pay a visit to his lighthouse and was impressed by its quiet, isolated charm and, uh- how shall I put it? uh, persuaded Mr.
Trowbridge to allow me to move in with him.
What have you done to him? And to the others? What is your theory? It's almost like they have no feeling.
Very perceptive, Mr.
West.
Let us simply say that I have desensitized them.
Look.
And here.
You see? And take Indra, this most delicate, ethereal creature.
Watch.
Why did you do that? Seemed like a pretty good idea at the time.
Ah! Indra, that that was chivalry.
The gentleman was defending you with his very life, if necessary.
And all for nothing, Mr.
West.
I assure you she felt no pain.
All right, gentlemen.
Be gentle with him.
Be gentle.
Now then as a student of knighthood, you must be familiar with the ordeals those worthy gentlemen endured to purify themselves.
Well, Mr.
West, this will be your ordeal.
At first the enforced exposure to the lights will be almost unendurable.
But then you will find out that it gets worse.
Much worse.
All right, that's enough.
Gentlemen, release him.
I can't understand how he's managed to last as long as he did.
Try courage, pride.
Nonsense.
Mr.
West happens to be a superb physical specimen.
Nerves, tissues and metabolism of the highest order, that's all.
You reduce everything to the test tube, don't you, Doctor? Do I detect a note of regret? I hope your admiration for West's courage will not cancel a very important experiment that Remember, Doctor I planned this whole undertaking, and I am running the show.
Is that understood? Understood.
Good.
One week from now, I am taking Ho-Tami to St.
Louis.
Will Mr.
West be ready? One week? So soon? So soon.
Well? It will be necessary to condense a little, but, uh yes, Mr.
West will be ready.
Ah, good morning, Mr.
West.
Let us start off with a tour of my laboratory, shall we? I can hardly wait.
There's a brilliant, young European scientist whose research interests me greatly.
He's been doing some fascinating things with mice.
Mice? Yes.
By subjecting them to unpleasant stresses, he has taught them to respond blindly and instantly to an object or a signal, which they have learned will remove the stress.
I find that very interesting, but mice are hardly the most intelligent of animals.
No, that's true, Mr.
West, but he has discovered that it also works with guinea pigs, cats, dogs and apes.
And I have discovered that it also works with people.
Please, please For the love of heaven, please.
It's called a conditioned reflex.
What does this man want? A considerable number of days have passed since he last drank, so I rather imagine it's water he wants.
No, no, no, no! Mr.
West is a knight, and knights always rescue people from disagreeable situations.
Please, go ahead.
Quite an interesting reflex, wouldn't you say? And it's all triggered by a simple little whistle.
It's too bad you weren't around during the Inquisition.
You would've been very good at it.
Yes.
I've often regretted that.
Oh, I almost forget- another unique exhibit.
Look here.
Ho-Tami.
You almost had me fooled for a moment.
That's an excellent double.
Yes, isn't it? I must tell you an amusing story.
A friend- no need to mention names- has decided that Ho-Tami must die.
That's not amusing.
Everybody must die.
Ah, true, but here's the part of the story I left out: Ho-Tami must die by your hand.
That is amusing.
Any particular reason why? Ho-Tami has told his people that James West, the man he sent to Washington to ask the President for an honorable peace, is a friend to their cause.
So what happens when West cold-bloodedly guns down Ho-Tami in full view of everyone? Your friend wins the whole pot.
Shoot.
Shoot, Mr.
West, three or four well-placed bullets.
Shoot.
Me? You would shoot down an unarmed man? Why not? After what you've done to that girl and these innocent people? Not to mention the fact that you're going to destroy Rhetoric, Mr.
West.
I will believe you when you pull that trigger.
You're a strong man, Mr.
West.
Yet strong as you are, I promise you that in less than ten days' time, you will unhesitatingly fire three or four real bullets into the clay Ho-Tami and then into the real one.
One other thing.
People and emotions are my business.
My guess was that you would fire three bullets before you concluded the gun was loaded with blanks.
Watch.
I have told you that no one by the name of West or anyone answering to his description has come to this hospital today or any other day.
Now, do you leave quietly, Mr.
Gordon, or shall I, uh, ask Alex to assist you? You know that might be very interesting.
I'm afraid I haven't the time.
Hmm.
LeFarge, Madame LeFarge.
Heads will roll.
Heads will roll on the guillotine.
Heads will roll.
Your head will roll.
Thank you.
You're a great help.
Still worried about him, aren't you? About whom? Worried when you came in, worried now.
Lots of reasons.
Heads will roll.
Heads will roll.
You saw me come in? I see everybody, see everything.
I write it all down here.
It's all right in here.
Did you see a young man come in here sometime yesterday, Grandma? Saw him.
Worried, just like you.
West.
James West.
Yes.
What happened to him? It's all right in here.
Yes.
Take me out? Take you out? Oh, take me out of here.
I'll tell you what happened.
I'll tell you where they took him.
I heard it all.
It's all right in here.
Hey Grandma.
Now you promised you were going to tell me about James West.
I've never heard of him.
Oh Listen.
How'd you like a great big box of candy, huh? Great big bonbons.
Thick gooey centers.
Nuts marshmallows, caramels? How many? As many as you can eat in a whole month.
Madame De LeFarge! You're being very naughty.
Now, you know you're not allowed out of your room.
I am not going to tell you, again.
Grandma bonbons.
Heads will roll.
Heads will roll.
Six hours, Mr.
West.
A long time to listen to bells.
I almost like them.
Good.
You'll hear them more.
Now just in case you tire of the bells, there's a way to turn them off.
Shoot Ho-Tami, Mr.
West.
Shoot the bad, bad Indian, and the bells go away.
Mr.
West.
You talk.
Mr.
West, please.
Do what he wants you to do.
You don't make much sense, but you talk.
He'll win in the end.
You know he will.
He? You mean the wicked doctor that's locked us up in this enchanted tower? Mr.
West, please.
He holds the high cards.
Maybe he'll win the pot, but I'm going to give the good doctor a run for his money.
Indra? Didn't you feel anything when the doctor twisted your arm? I felt nothing.
You must feel something.
You came here to tell me to do what the doctor wants, not because of him, because you didn't want to see anyone else hurt.
Isn't that right? I don't want to see you hurt.
Then help me.
I can't.
You can, but you won't.
I can't.
I don't know why, but I can't.
How long have you been here? I don't know.
Do you do everything he tells you to do? Even though you know it's wrong? You've got to try hard to disobey.
You must try, Indra.
You must.
You display an amazing resistance to being indoctrinated, Mr.
West.
But hunger, pain, exposure to cold all these traumas should make you considerably more receptive.
You do understand, don't you, Mr.
West? Ah, two hours already.
Gentlemen, release him.
We mustn't overdo things.
You are a very stubborn man, Mr.
West.
Too stubborn for your own good.
But you will learn.
It simply takes a little longer, that's all.
It's no good.
They'll have that door down in five minutes.
Let's see how much damage I can do in five minutes.
Get up there! You said this lamp had the power of 250,000 candles.
Well, let's see what kind of signal it can make.
Captain, this is strange.
I've picked up a blinker SOS.
What's so strange about a ship in distress, Mr.
Hale? It's not from a ship, it's from the lighthouse at Barrows Point.
Have the signalman contact the Naval Station at Barrows Point.
Aye, sir.
It just beats me how in spite of a badly broken arm and all, you managed to set up that blinker system.
The human mechanism under stress is capable of almost anything, Commander.
I guess so.
An ingenious stunt, Mr.
Trowbridge, summoning help the way you did.
And mighty lucky that you saw that signal, Doctor.
Yes, it was.
Well, I guess everything's under control here.
Good evening, gentlemen.
Good evening.
Press the trigger, Mr.
West.
Kill the bad Indian, and it will all be over.
No more light.
Darkness.
Peace.
No more bells.
Quiet.
Go on! Shoot! Ho-Tami will be in St.
Louis tomorrow morning.
You guaranteed me that West would be there waiting.
Now will he be? I don't know.
I just don't know.
The man isn't a human being.
He's a So, we win after all.
Is he all right? Of course, he's just unconscious, that's all.
How wonderful.
The triumph of science over bravery.
Bravery? To a scientist, that is a sentimental term signifying nothing.
So far as I'm concerned, West is simply a vehicle with certain useful preconditioned reflexes programmed into his central nervous system, that's all.
What do you want? Information, friend.
About what? A man called James West.
I never heard of him.
Sikes.
How'd you know my name? I not only know your name, Sikes, I know you have James West, or you had him.
He was brought here to you.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I have a great deal of money here, Sikes.
Would that be of any interest to you? Well, maybe it just might.
It depends on what you mean by a lot of money.
Mm-hmm.
Now where is he? He'll kill me if I tell you.
And I'll kill you if you don't.
The only difference is, I'll do it now.
All right, all right.
They got him at the lighthouse.
You will be leaving here quite soon, Mr.
West.
It may interest you to know that your friend, Mr.
Gordon, has been making quite a nuisance of himself trying to find you.
Mr.
Gordon? Yes.
We expect him to turn up at any moment.
It will be interesting to see if he's as difficult to condition as you have been.
Now, let's run through it just once again, shall we? After you leave here Find Ho-Tami.
And where is that? Traveler's Hotel, in St.
Louis.
Very good.
Now, let's just try it one more time.
After you leave here I will go find Ho-Tami.
Excellent.
And what will you do when you find him? I will kill him.
Almost time, Mr.
West.
No.
Not now, Mr.
West.
This is to be a public execution, remember? You will now begin to count very slowly.
When you have reached 25, you will come downstairs.
Understand? He is here? He is here.
And the answer from the president? I felt he should give it to you.
Mr.
West I'm glad you're here.
You have good news? West! You have business with the chief, Mr.
West.
Mr.
West, what is your business with the chief? What is your business with the chief, Mr.
West? Ahkeema, no.
No Ho-Tami.
Bury the knife in me.
Not in West.
He's a a brave man.
His death will serve no purpose now.
Brave? It was I who wanted you dead.
By his hand.
Why? To-To stop you from delivering our people into slavery.
No.
Not slavery.
Peace.
A just and honorable peace for all.
Ah, yes.
It will start that way, yes.
And then they will begin their whittling down of everything granted us at the peace table.
And in the end nothing nothing but wretched little reservations where our proud people can starve in peace and rot in peace.
Can there still be talks of peace between us? There is peace.
The president welcomes your overtures.
He's sending a special honor guard to escort you to Washington.
I I want you to know, Mr.
West, that that this plan was his alone.
No.
No, it wasn't.
Welcome back, Mr.
West.
Where is he? Mr.
Gordon? Second floor.
First door to your right.
He's been waiting for you.
One cartridge left, Mr.
Gordon.
Don't waste it.
Mr.
Gordon, too, has been a difficult subject for programming.
But as you can see, he, too, has responded beautifully.
Bravo, Mr.
West.
Bravo.
A difficult situation neatly handled.
And now, what are those lovely words from Ecclesiastes? I always forget them.
"A time to weep and a time to laugh.
" Ah.
My favorite is, "A time to be born and a time to die.
" Look around you, Mr.
West.
Programmed to kill.
You're wonderfully perceptive, as usual.
Programmed to kill who? Me? Mr.
Gordon? Or you? Remember, Mr.
West, I am the one who does the programming.
Well, maybe you're slipping.
It didn't work with me.
What? Ho-Tami is still alive, and your friend Ahkeema is the one that's dead.
You're lying.
It couldn't fail.
A particularly stupid lie which I shall ignore.
I'll prove it to you.
Indra, remember what I told you in the cell? That you have to fight, and fight hard if you want to be free? You don't seem to be doing very much good, do you? Don't I, Doctor? Look into her eyes.
She's not a vegetable anymore.
Indra, fetch my casebook.
I want to record to the second the exact length of time it takes for Mr.
West and his friend Indra? You are slipping, Doctor.
The program doesn't work if you fight.
It doesn't stick if you don't want it to.
All you have to do is resist and fight it.
They don't hear you, Mr.
West.
Trowbridge, this was your lighthouse.
Take it back.
Convinced, Mr.
West? And what did he take from you? If you want it back, you can have it back.
If you fight and really want it.
You're through, Mr.
West.
Do you hear? Get him! Now! Right now! Kill him, don't you hear me? Kill him! Try blowing a whistle, Doctor, or maybe ringing a bell.
Trowbridge! Don't you hear me? Trowbridge! Stop! What are you doing? Don't you hear me? I'm Dr.
Arcularis! It's them you must stop! Don't you hear me? No! Them! Jim! Hey what's that for? Nothing.
Hey, that's funny.
Here.
Oh.
I remember coming in here, but I can't seem to remember much else.
It feels like I've been through a terrible dream.
I had a ticket on that same train.
What are they doing? They're trying to break out and get to the doctor.
I guess they want to kill him.
We'd better go down and stop them.
Ah.
Why? Well, there must be some reason.
I can't think of any.
It is a problem.
Mm-hmm.
No! Say, uh Do you suppose that a woman could be conditioned so that she'd never nag, never complain or be anything but sweet and warm and understanding and kind? You got a reason.
Gordon has been seriously injured.
We tried to reach you earlier, but were told that you were on your way back from Washington.
I was.
I was on the train when I got the message.
Where is he? Here.
Mr.
West? I was told, Doctor, that Artemus Gordon is here.
I'm sorry, but you're too late.
I don't like to ask you this, but it is necessary to identify the body.
Would you mind? This isn't Artemus.
Are you sure? I'm positive, Doctor.
Artemus Gordon is a much younger man.
Amazing but I think you'll find you are quite incapable of firing that gun.
In fact, I find it difficult to believe that you're still holding it.
Gentlemen.
Very fancy shooting.
You should see me perform with a bow and arrow or a tomahawk.
Will you, uh, join me? Don't you realize it's a federal offense to offer firewater to an Indian? Forgive me.
Four years of college taught me many things- a respect for calculus, Blackstone and Shakespeare.
And nothing but contempt for the white man's vices.
There's one thing your four years at college didn't teach you, Mr.
Ahkeema.
What is that? Good manners.
Old Indian proverb: "Insult an Osage brave only when you are weary of life.
" Old white man's proverb: "Fish and bad-tempered guests stink in a very short time.
" Bravo, Mr.
Gordon.
So I've been behaving badly, have I? Perhaps my manners would be better if your Mr.
West had arrived on schedule.
I see that, uh patience isn't one of your virtues either, is it? The future of my people rests on the word that Mr.
West is bringing from your president.
Let me show you.
Look.
Here live my people, the Osage.
Here are the Pawnee, the Cherokee, Comanche, Arapaho, Apache.
We are primarily occupied in a mass suicide.
You see, before the white man came, Arapaho fought the Comanche to the death.
The Osage slaughtered the Pawnee.
After your bluecoats came, we tried matching arrows with your Gatling guns.
We are exotic beyond understanding, a nation of lemmings.
Didn't Ho-Tami change all that? You know of Ho-Tami? Mr.
Ahkeema, several years ago, Mr.
West and I had occasion to be of some service to the Chief.
He gave us that in appreciation.
In a world of pygmies, he is a giant.
Only a giant could have persuaded our tribes to lay down their arms and join together in one great confederation as a first step toward peace.
I know the President, and I'm sure that you and Ho-Tami will have the answer you want when Mr.
West returns.
Returns from where? Where is he? At the moment, I don't know.
He was to have been here at noon.
Well, I'm certain he got back from Washington.
Otherwise the train wouldn't be on the siding.
But something much more important than the lives of my people took him away.
I will wait no longer.
I don't suppose you'd know anything about that.
I thought you were informed, Mr.
Gordon, that there are those who would prefer it that Mr.
West's message never reached Ho-Tami.
Where do we find you? One week from today, I will be in St.
Louis with Ho-Tami.
If we have received no word from your Mr.
West by that time, a great many men are going to die.
Good morning, Mr.
West.
I am Dr.
Arcularis.
I can't say it's a pleasure, Doctor.
No ill effects, I trust? What was that gas, one of the methyl group? Silicane.
How did you know? All the classic symptoms: impaired functioning of the optic nerve, lack of muscular control.
Excellent diagnosis, Mr.
West.
It's quite useless to look for a way out.
There isn't any.
No harm in trying.
If it amuses you, no harm at all.
Thank you for joining us so promptly, Mr.
West.
It's my pleasure.
You were unfortunate enough to stumble into the path of a concentrated beam of light.
The power of 250,000 candles, to be exact.
Course.
A lighthouse.
A poor thing, but my own.
I thought the government owned lighthouses.
Ah, but you see, I own the lighthouse keeper.
Meet Joshua Trowbridge.
Not very long ago, I chanced to pay a visit to his lighthouse and was impressed by its quiet, isolated charm and, uh- how shall I put it? uh, persuaded Mr.
Trowbridge to allow me to move in with him.
What have you done to him? And to the others? What is your theory? It's almost like they have no feeling.
Very perceptive, Mr.
West.
Let us simply say that I have desensitized them.
Look.
And here.
You see? And take Indra, this most delicate, ethereal creature.
Watch.
Why did you do that? Seemed like a pretty good idea at the time.
Ah! Indra, that that was chivalry.
The gentleman was defending you with his very life, if necessary.
And all for nothing, Mr.
West.
I assure you she felt no pain.
All right, gentlemen.
Be gentle with him.
Be gentle.
Now then as a student of knighthood, you must be familiar with the ordeals those worthy gentlemen endured to purify themselves.
Well, Mr.
West, this will be your ordeal.
At first the enforced exposure to the lights will be almost unendurable.
But then you will find out that it gets worse.
Much worse.
All right, that's enough.
Gentlemen, release him.
I can't understand how he's managed to last as long as he did.
Try courage, pride.
Nonsense.
Mr.
West happens to be a superb physical specimen.
Nerves, tissues and metabolism of the highest order, that's all.
You reduce everything to the test tube, don't you, Doctor? Do I detect a note of regret? I hope your admiration for West's courage will not cancel a very important experiment that Remember, Doctor I planned this whole undertaking, and I am running the show.
Is that understood? Understood.
Good.
One week from now, I am taking Ho-Tami to St.
Louis.
Will Mr.
West be ready? One week? So soon? So soon.
Well? It will be necessary to condense a little, but, uh yes, Mr.
West will be ready.
Ah, good morning, Mr.
West.
Let us start off with a tour of my laboratory, shall we? I can hardly wait.
There's a brilliant, young European scientist whose research interests me greatly.
He's been doing some fascinating things with mice.
Mice? Yes.
By subjecting them to unpleasant stresses, he has taught them to respond blindly and instantly to an object or a signal, which they have learned will remove the stress.
I find that very interesting, but mice are hardly the most intelligent of animals.
No, that's true, Mr.
West, but he has discovered that it also works with guinea pigs, cats, dogs and apes.
And I have discovered that it also works with people.
Please, please For the love of heaven, please.
It's called a conditioned reflex.
What does this man want? A considerable number of days have passed since he last drank, so I rather imagine it's water he wants.
No, no, no, no! Mr.
West is a knight, and knights always rescue people from disagreeable situations.
Please, go ahead.
Quite an interesting reflex, wouldn't you say? And it's all triggered by a simple little whistle.
It's too bad you weren't around during the Inquisition.
You would've been very good at it.
Yes.
I've often regretted that.
Oh, I almost forget- another unique exhibit.
Look here.
Ho-Tami.
You almost had me fooled for a moment.
That's an excellent double.
Yes, isn't it? I must tell you an amusing story.
A friend- no need to mention names- has decided that Ho-Tami must die.
That's not amusing.
Everybody must die.
Ah, true, but here's the part of the story I left out: Ho-Tami must die by your hand.
That is amusing.
Any particular reason why? Ho-Tami has told his people that James West, the man he sent to Washington to ask the President for an honorable peace, is a friend to their cause.
So what happens when West cold-bloodedly guns down Ho-Tami in full view of everyone? Your friend wins the whole pot.
Shoot.
Shoot, Mr.
West, three or four well-placed bullets.
Shoot.
Me? You would shoot down an unarmed man? Why not? After what you've done to that girl and these innocent people? Not to mention the fact that you're going to destroy Rhetoric, Mr.
West.
I will believe you when you pull that trigger.
You're a strong man, Mr.
West.
Yet strong as you are, I promise you that in less than ten days' time, you will unhesitatingly fire three or four real bullets into the clay Ho-Tami and then into the real one.
One other thing.
People and emotions are my business.
My guess was that you would fire three bullets before you concluded the gun was loaded with blanks.
Watch.
I have told you that no one by the name of West or anyone answering to his description has come to this hospital today or any other day.
Now, do you leave quietly, Mr.
Gordon, or shall I, uh, ask Alex to assist you? You know that might be very interesting.
I'm afraid I haven't the time.
Hmm.
LeFarge, Madame LeFarge.
Heads will roll.
Heads will roll on the guillotine.
Heads will roll.
Your head will roll.
Thank you.
You're a great help.
Still worried about him, aren't you? About whom? Worried when you came in, worried now.
Lots of reasons.
Heads will roll.
Heads will roll.
You saw me come in? I see everybody, see everything.
I write it all down here.
It's all right in here.
Did you see a young man come in here sometime yesterday, Grandma? Saw him.
Worried, just like you.
West.
James West.
Yes.
What happened to him? It's all right in here.
Yes.
Take me out? Take you out? Oh, take me out of here.
I'll tell you what happened.
I'll tell you where they took him.
I heard it all.
It's all right in here.
Hey Grandma.
Now you promised you were going to tell me about James West.
I've never heard of him.
Oh Listen.
How'd you like a great big box of candy, huh? Great big bonbons.
Thick gooey centers.
Nuts marshmallows, caramels? How many? As many as you can eat in a whole month.
Madame De LeFarge! You're being very naughty.
Now, you know you're not allowed out of your room.
I am not going to tell you, again.
Grandma bonbons.
Heads will roll.
Heads will roll.
Six hours, Mr.
West.
A long time to listen to bells.
I almost like them.
Good.
You'll hear them more.
Now just in case you tire of the bells, there's a way to turn them off.
Shoot Ho-Tami, Mr.
West.
Shoot the bad, bad Indian, and the bells go away.
Mr.
West.
You talk.
Mr.
West, please.
Do what he wants you to do.
You don't make much sense, but you talk.
He'll win in the end.
You know he will.
He? You mean the wicked doctor that's locked us up in this enchanted tower? Mr.
West, please.
He holds the high cards.
Maybe he'll win the pot, but I'm going to give the good doctor a run for his money.
Indra? Didn't you feel anything when the doctor twisted your arm? I felt nothing.
You must feel something.
You came here to tell me to do what the doctor wants, not because of him, because you didn't want to see anyone else hurt.
Isn't that right? I don't want to see you hurt.
Then help me.
I can't.
You can, but you won't.
I can't.
I don't know why, but I can't.
How long have you been here? I don't know.
Do you do everything he tells you to do? Even though you know it's wrong? You've got to try hard to disobey.
You must try, Indra.
You must.
You display an amazing resistance to being indoctrinated, Mr.
West.
But hunger, pain, exposure to cold all these traumas should make you considerably more receptive.
You do understand, don't you, Mr.
West? Ah, two hours already.
Gentlemen, release him.
We mustn't overdo things.
You are a very stubborn man, Mr.
West.
Too stubborn for your own good.
But you will learn.
It simply takes a little longer, that's all.
It's no good.
They'll have that door down in five minutes.
Let's see how much damage I can do in five minutes.
Get up there! You said this lamp had the power of 250,000 candles.
Well, let's see what kind of signal it can make.
Captain, this is strange.
I've picked up a blinker SOS.
What's so strange about a ship in distress, Mr.
Hale? It's not from a ship, it's from the lighthouse at Barrows Point.
Have the signalman contact the Naval Station at Barrows Point.
Aye, sir.
It just beats me how in spite of a badly broken arm and all, you managed to set up that blinker system.
The human mechanism under stress is capable of almost anything, Commander.
I guess so.
An ingenious stunt, Mr.
Trowbridge, summoning help the way you did.
And mighty lucky that you saw that signal, Doctor.
Yes, it was.
Well, I guess everything's under control here.
Good evening, gentlemen.
Good evening.
Press the trigger, Mr.
West.
Kill the bad Indian, and it will all be over.
No more light.
Darkness.
Peace.
No more bells.
Quiet.
Go on! Shoot! Ho-Tami will be in St.
Louis tomorrow morning.
You guaranteed me that West would be there waiting.
Now will he be? I don't know.
I just don't know.
The man isn't a human being.
He's a So, we win after all.
Is he all right? Of course, he's just unconscious, that's all.
How wonderful.
The triumph of science over bravery.
Bravery? To a scientist, that is a sentimental term signifying nothing.
So far as I'm concerned, West is simply a vehicle with certain useful preconditioned reflexes programmed into his central nervous system, that's all.
What do you want? Information, friend.
About what? A man called James West.
I never heard of him.
Sikes.
How'd you know my name? I not only know your name, Sikes, I know you have James West, or you had him.
He was brought here to you.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I have a great deal of money here, Sikes.
Would that be of any interest to you? Well, maybe it just might.
It depends on what you mean by a lot of money.
Mm-hmm.
Now where is he? He'll kill me if I tell you.
And I'll kill you if you don't.
The only difference is, I'll do it now.
All right, all right.
They got him at the lighthouse.
You will be leaving here quite soon, Mr.
West.
It may interest you to know that your friend, Mr.
Gordon, has been making quite a nuisance of himself trying to find you.
Mr.
Gordon? Yes.
We expect him to turn up at any moment.
It will be interesting to see if he's as difficult to condition as you have been.
Now, let's run through it just once again, shall we? After you leave here Find Ho-Tami.
And where is that? Traveler's Hotel, in St.
Louis.
Very good.
Now, let's just try it one more time.
After you leave here I will go find Ho-Tami.
Excellent.
And what will you do when you find him? I will kill him.
Almost time, Mr.
West.
No.
Not now, Mr.
West.
This is to be a public execution, remember? You will now begin to count very slowly.
When you have reached 25, you will come downstairs.
Understand? He is here? He is here.
And the answer from the president? I felt he should give it to you.
Mr.
West I'm glad you're here.
You have good news? West! You have business with the chief, Mr.
West.
Mr.
West, what is your business with the chief? What is your business with the chief, Mr.
West? Ahkeema, no.
No Ho-Tami.
Bury the knife in me.
Not in West.
He's a a brave man.
His death will serve no purpose now.
Brave? It was I who wanted you dead.
By his hand.
Why? To-To stop you from delivering our people into slavery.
No.
Not slavery.
Peace.
A just and honorable peace for all.
Ah, yes.
It will start that way, yes.
And then they will begin their whittling down of everything granted us at the peace table.
And in the end nothing nothing but wretched little reservations where our proud people can starve in peace and rot in peace.
Can there still be talks of peace between us? There is peace.
The president welcomes your overtures.
He's sending a special honor guard to escort you to Washington.
I I want you to know, Mr.
West, that that this plan was his alone.
No.
No, it wasn't.
Welcome back, Mr.
West.
Where is he? Mr.
Gordon? Second floor.
First door to your right.
He's been waiting for you.
One cartridge left, Mr.
Gordon.
Don't waste it.
Mr.
Gordon, too, has been a difficult subject for programming.
But as you can see, he, too, has responded beautifully.
Bravo, Mr.
West.
Bravo.
A difficult situation neatly handled.
And now, what are those lovely words from Ecclesiastes? I always forget them.
"A time to weep and a time to laugh.
" Ah.
My favorite is, "A time to be born and a time to die.
" Look around you, Mr.
West.
Programmed to kill.
You're wonderfully perceptive, as usual.
Programmed to kill who? Me? Mr.
Gordon? Or you? Remember, Mr.
West, I am the one who does the programming.
Well, maybe you're slipping.
It didn't work with me.
What? Ho-Tami is still alive, and your friend Ahkeema is the one that's dead.
You're lying.
It couldn't fail.
A particularly stupid lie which I shall ignore.
I'll prove it to you.
Indra, remember what I told you in the cell? That you have to fight, and fight hard if you want to be free? You don't seem to be doing very much good, do you? Don't I, Doctor? Look into her eyes.
She's not a vegetable anymore.
Indra, fetch my casebook.
I want to record to the second the exact length of time it takes for Mr.
West and his friend Indra? You are slipping, Doctor.
The program doesn't work if you fight.
It doesn't stick if you don't want it to.
All you have to do is resist and fight it.
They don't hear you, Mr.
West.
Trowbridge, this was your lighthouse.
Take it back.
Convinced, Mr.
West? And what did he take from you? If you want it back, you can have it back.
If you fight and really want it.
You're through, Mr.
West.
Do you hear? Get him! Now! Right now! Kill him, don't you hear me? Kill him! Try blowing a whistle, Doctor, or maybe ringing a bell.
Trowbridge! Don't you hear me? Trowbridge! Stop! What are you doing? Don't you hear me? I'm Dr.
Arcularis! It's them you must stop! Don't you hear me? No! Them! Jim! Hey what's that for? Nothing.
Hey, that's funny.
Here.
Oh.
I remember coming in here, but I can't seem to remember much else.
It feels like I've been through a terrible dream.
I had a ticket on that same train.
What are they doing? They're trying to break out and get to the doctor.
I guess they want to kill him.
We'd better go down and stop them.
Ah.
Why? Well, there must be some reason.
I can't think of any.
It is a problem.
Mm-hmm.
No! Say, uh Do you suppose that a woman could be conditioned so that she'd never nag, never complain or be anything but sweet and warm and understanding and kind? You got a reason.