The Time Tunnel s01e18 Episode Script

Two American scientists are lost in the swirling maze of past and future ages during the first experiments on Americas greatest and most secret project- the Time Tunnel.
Tony ewman and Doug Phillips now tumble helplessly toward a new, fantastic adventure somewhere along the infinite corridors of time.
Its a control complex of some kind.
But where? And when? Well, if its Earth, we must be a hundred- maybe hundreds of years into the future.
Photon electronics.
This equipments as far ahead of us as werre ahead of Newton.
About 300 years.
That would put us ahead in time until the year 2268.
What was that, an earth tremor? I dont know.
Could be.
Wed better find out who runs this complex before they find us.
The Time Tunnel.
Did it get you too? - Sort of a paralysis.
- Yes.
We dont understand you.
We mean no harm.
Who are you? What is this place? You are now in a translation circuit.
You are intruders from another dimension.
- From which planet do you come? - Were from the planet Earth.
We did not know you had the capacity for teleportation.
Were time travelers.
We landed here completely by accident.
That is of no concern to us.
Test them against our remote data on the composition of Earth beings.
- Stay.
- Wed better do as he says.
Muscle and bone structure corresponds to our remote data.
Internal organs same.
Glandular system same.
All present physical data corresponds to our remote data.
Well, now that you know all about us who are you? We are from Alpha 1 operating under space directive Lentos for a test raid against primitive Planet 1-6.
Our terminology is different.
Can you show us Planet 1-6? Our landing is imminent.
Tony.
Theyre going to attack Earth.
- Tell him to resume his position.
- Get back.
We havent got a chance against them, not here.
We cant let them do it.
Resistance is impossible.
You said you were time travelers.
Yes.
Thats how we got aboard your spacecraft.
From which Earth year do you come? Then you are in your early stage of development.
You have brought with you no capability to resist our invasion.
We have a few space weapons that might surprise you.
For example? Were already in the technology of time.
Our being here proves that.
That was a primitive teleportation.
Observe.
We of Lentos have passed far beyond you.
- Do you accept this? - Yes.
You are now under restraint.
We are now entering atmosphere.
- I cant move.
- Neither can I.
What do you suppose their plan of attack is going to be? I dont know.
But I do know one thing- that somebodys air force is gonna be swarming all over us as soon as we get in close.
What are they doing now? They seem to be taking on some sort of electrical charge.
Take the controls out of automatic, Taureg.
You speak our language more fluently now.
This was programmed on Alpha 1 for our use.
We know your language your customs, all about you.
Then you also know you wont be able to take over the Earth without a fight.
We come from a hungry planet where all protein was exhausted centuries ago.
As a matter of survival, we raid other planets and extract the protein from them for our own people.
- What happens to these planets you raid? - They dont concern us.
Our only morality is survival.
If necessary, when we leave the Earth we will leave no life on it.
It will be a dead planet.
Why, its impossible.
Check the circuits.
The circuits are all go.
Thats a true image.
- I still dont believe it.
- We dontt have any choice.
We have to believe it.
That spaceship is there, and Tony and Doug must be on it.
But its impossible.
We dontt even have a time fix.
- Thats incredible.
- No, itss not so incredible, Ray.
There have been reports of unidentified flying objects all the way back to the Bible.
Yes, thats true.
You check with the computer, and youlll see Immm right.
But nobody was able to prove they existed.
Not until now.
- Can you fix the location? - Approximately.
Theyre landing at longitude 112 degrees west, latitude 34 degrees north.
That will put them in Arizona.
Ann, get me the Arizona surveys, please.
Yes, sir.
We have studied the Earth from a distance and know its vulnerable points.
From this moment on you exist only as a convenience to us.
- We wont help you.
- On other planets we have learned that there are three alternatives.
Some of the inhabitants cooperate willingly.
These are most valuable to us.
Others have to be converted into creatures who can be controlled.
If an inhabitant cannot be controlled he is destroyed.
Have you located our primary test objective? No.
I am scanning the terrain.
What year is this? This is the Earth year 1885.
The primary test objective has been located.
Whats goin on here? - What kind of crackpots are you? - Destroy him.
No, wait! Destroy him, and you destroy yourselves.
Your programming is incomplete, or youd know what kind of people yourre up against.
You start by killing, and these people will destroy everything they have before you can get to it.
Very well.
You are wise to cooperate with us.
Still, I want you to know our power.
- Are there other humans in the house? - No.
You will stand where you are.
By authority of space directive Lentos 1-6 you will now consider yourself my prisoner.
This is now Test Base 1, Alpha 1.
What kind of nonsense you talkin? All of you, get off my property! Get out! Cooperate with him, please.
Ill explain it all to you later.
- Not later- now! - Your house will be turned over to us.
You will likewise gather up all livestock, grain, foodstuffs.
They will be turned over to us as well.
The Apaches run off my stock.
The drought ruined my crops.
Ive had a bellyful, mister.
ow,youve got one minute to get off my place.
Take him into the house.
You will remember, there is no possible escape.
You! Stay.
Thats your conditioning, isntt it? To kill anybody who gets in your way.
We kill only when it is necessary.
We keep you alive to work for us Just as we will spare other lives to help us gather the protein material.
Have you located the second test objective? Yes.
The name of the town is Mullins.
Mullins, Arizona, U.
S.
A.
You will go into that town to deliver an ultimatum.
In one hour, unless a delegation of leaders comes here to meet with us I will destroy part of that town.
And suppose they do come? What then? The town will be turned over to us complete with all edible protein intact.
The leaders will comply with that order.
I cant guarantee that theylll do anything like that.
- And an hour isnt enough time.
- It will be enough.
Further, if you have not returned here within two hours the humans here will be destroyed.
The time begins now.
Well, how do I find the town? You will ride due east until you come to a road.
You will follow the road south into the town.
Now.
Well, get down to the saloon and tell him again.
- Sheriff.
- just a minute.
You tell him theres one company of cavalry standing between those Apaches and this town.
- Yes, sir.
- Now, what can I do for you? Sheriff, this town is being threatened.
I appreciate your interest, but the army warned us about the Apaches three days ago.
- Weve evacuated the women and children- - Imm not talking about Indians.
- Go on.
- Theres a ranch north of here run by a tall, white-haired man.
- jess Crawford.
I know the place.
- Its been taken over by two raiders.
Theyre holding Crawford and a friend of mine.
Theyve sent me here to bring back the leaders of the town.
- What do they want with us? - They want the immediate surrender of this town.
Otherwise, theyre gonna destroy part of it as proof of their powers.
Now, these are not just two men.
Theyre supernatural creatures.
Believe me, they have the powers to do what theyve threatened.
- And theyre supernatural creatures? - I know how that sounds.
You know what I think, mister? I think youre out of your mind.
Sheriff, I dont know how to convince you- You couldnt convince me if you had witnesses! Now get out of here.
- I got enough trouble on my hands.
- Wheres the telegraph office? The Indians cut the lines two days ago.
Oh, and one more thing, mister.
You panic this town any more than its already panicked, Imm gonna throw you in that jail.
ow get out ofhere.
I have an approximate location.
As near as I can tell, theyre in the town of Mullins, Arizona.
I have the computer study on unidentified flying objects.
Thank you.
According to Look magazine for October, 166 a couple saw and entered a flying saucer.
The same magazine reported that more than 60 people saw a flying saucer near Kensington, ew Hampshire, on September 3, 1965.
Life magazine on April 1, 166 published a picture of an unidentified flying object taken at Perth, Australia.
You know, there have been literally hundreds of sightings of U.
F.
O.
s in the past few years by sober, responsible, intelligent people.
Enough of them so that the air force is subsidizing an independent university study of the subject.
Well, General, is there any mention in there of Mullins, Arizona, during 1885? Nope.
Nothing.
How can something like this happen and not leave a trace of a report? Maybe nobody saw the spaceship land.
Maybe it was interpreted differently.
I dont know.
Ann, run Mullins, Arizona, through the computer, please.
- See what you can find.
- Yes, sir.
How much time has passed since the aliens issued their ultimatum? Almost an hour.
I am tellin yaall, the cavalrysss gone to fight them Apaches at Smithssss Flat and Im tellin yaaall, there aintttt enough soldiers to hold eeeeem back.
Now, if we dont get some men together here and take to the field them Indians are gonna run all over us.
I say we give em a few beeves, buy eem off.
I need some men to go with me to the Crawford ranch.
Hes in trouble.
The Apaches? Get to the firehouse! Freeze, mister.
I dont know what kind of game yourre playin but itssss over now.
Look, Sheriff, Im not playing any game.
And neither are those aliens.
You can see that for yourself.
Now, wed better get to the Crawford ranch before they kill those two men.
Youre not goin anyplace.
Sam! - Lock him up, Sam.
- But Ive gotta get- - And see he stays put! - All right, mister.
Move.
I have Control.
Report, Alpha 1.
Primary test base established.
Secondary test base under attack.
Your test will be completed within eight hours.
You will then report landing coordinates to the rest of the raiding fleet.
It will be done.
Now, listen.
Their whole control system the heart of their power, is in that weird gun.
- We have to find a way to destroy it.
- How can I trust you? - If your friend hadnt stopped me, I couldvve- - Yes.
Yes, you wouldve been killed right there on the spot.
You got any ideas how to destroy the gun? I think so.
You give me one minute to get out the front door and around the side of the house - and then you fire this shotgun.
- What good will that do? The only advantage we have over them is unpredictability.
If they hear a gunshot, one of them will have to come in here to investigate.
Tell him it was an accident.
Tell him anything.
The other one may be distracted long enough to give me a chance at that gun.
- And then what do you want me to do? - Just stall for time.
But no matter what happens, stay here.
All right.
Ill give you one minute.
Good luck.
Hes dead.
- The human is very resourceful.
We can use him.
- Yes.
Its time to change him.
You will take care of it.
Any luck, Ray? - Not yet.
- I may have something.
The jail is still standing.
Its part of the Mullins Ghost Town National Monument.
- Ghost town? - Yes.
It was abandoned in 1885.
Completely deserted for no apparent reason.
Its still a mystery what happened to the town.
Perhaps thats why there was never a report from there about unidentified flying objects.
I have the feeling were about to see that mystery solved.
Well, this could do it.
We can locate the jail geographically.
All we have to do is hope that Tony will stay put until we can get him out.
- Look, Ive got to get out of here! - Not a chance, friend.
Sheriff told me to keep you here and watch you, and thats just what Imm gonna do.
Your sheriff sure doesnt like reporters, does he? Im only trying to do my job.
Say, are you really a reporter? Work for the Harpers Weekly.
They sent me out to cover the Indian scare.
- Well, Ill be.
- Illl tell you what.
You let me out to cover the fire, Ill give you five dollars.
Uh-uh, friend.
Not a chance.
What about if you get the facts for me and let me write them down as they happen? There cant be any harm in that.
Well, I guess not.
But when would I get that five dollars? As soon as I get the story.
Im gonna need some, uh, paper and a pencil.
All right.
My names Sam.
Sam Colt.
There aint a chance in the world of you spellin that wrong.
One thing though.
The sheriff s not to know about this.
He wouldnt take kindly to me giving a prisoner extra privileges.
You can count on me.
The fires gonna burn itself out if the wind dontt shift.
Well keep the men handy though just in case.
You got any idea how it started? I got a good idea how it started.
- Get back to your saloon.
Ill see you later.
- All right, Sheriff.
Let it drop.
I said drop it! Lets go.
Yourre coming with me.
Whats the point? You can get away by yourself.
I need you.
We have a long ride ahead of us, Sheriff.
Look, mister.
You take me out of this town that needs every man its got Im gonna kill you first chance I get.
Move out.
Come on! Move! All right, hold it.
Mister, youre out of your mind with all this talk about superhuman creatures.
Come on.
Keep moving.
Wait a minute.
Mister, I dont think yourre gonna have a chance to show me anything.
Lets have a look at this.
Thats Smith Flats down there, mister and thats the last company of cavalry between those Apaches and the town.
Youre only condemning everybody in that town to death by not coming with me.
All right, hold it right there.
I said hold it, Sheriff!.
Mister, you can shoot me if you want.
But if you do, youre gonna bring every one of those Indians right down on top of both of us.
Youre coming back to the Crawford ranch with me.
No, Im not.
Theress nobody protecting that town now and Im not gonna see it overrun by a bunch of Apaches to go riding cross-country with a madman.
The leaders would not come, even after the example? When you blew up those buildings they thought I did it.
- Then they will not cooperate? - No.
You will accompany us to assist in their persuasion.
Prepare the projector.
Whats going on? Wheress Crawford? He had to be destroyed.
- What? - He attacked them.
They are not the evil creatures we thought they were.
Doug, you should see what theyve done to that town.
They gave them warning first.
- Whats the matter with you? - You will stand here.
When I speak, you will obey immediately.
You will make the transfer now.
They slaughtered the cavalry, I tell ya.
I saw it.
The cavalry provoked them.
You all know that.
We fight, theyll slaughter us too.
But if were reasonable and give them what they want were- This town is now the property of Alpha 1.
I want all livestock within 10 Earth miles and all the protein material in town.
Who is in command here? Im the sheriff here.
You will be wise to cooperate with them, Sheriff.
Johnson drew on them first.
- Thats a fact.
- Shut up, Williams.
Before I cooperate with these strangers I wanna know why they burned a quarter of this town.
And wheres Crawford? They went to his ranch in peace.
He attacked them.
They had to defend themselves.
Jess Crawford never attacked a man unless he was attacked first.
He was the slowest man to anger I know.
You did set off that explosion, didnt you? Those who cooperate will not be harmed.
The sheriff dont speak for all of us.
We dont want any trouble here.
This townss in trouble already with the Apaches.
Well do anything you ask.
Those who cooperate will be protected.
Those who resist will be destroyed.
I want all protein materials.
You will provide them.
This is my place, and youre welcome to it.
Anything I can do.
- Do you have food here? - Yes.
You will bring all protein material here immediately.
Yes, sir.
Right away.
Anything you say.
You will stay here.
You will see to it that everyone moves all the food into the streets for collection.
Remember, we still hold your friend as hostage.
Go! Theyve taken his mind away.
- Ann, havent you got those locations yet? - Wevve just gotten them.
- When do we get the plans? - Were feeding them into the computer by remote.
We should have them within five minutes.
There.
Thats everything I have.
I told you Id cooperate, but the proof s in the pudding as I always say.
Its all there- everything complete.
Are you sure thats everything? Oh, I wouldnt lie to you.
Is he telling the truth? Oh, no, no, no.
! o, hes lying.
Hes lying! Hess- No! No! I sense he is one of those humans whose fear can be useful to us.
Bring the rest of it.
Oh, please.
Im cooperating with you.
You can see that.
But leave me something.
Move back! Youre running out, Sheriff? I thought you were crazy before, mister.
I gotta apologize to you for that.
Indians are one thing, but these- these creatures, theyre another thing.
Theres nothin I can do about eeem here.
I figured if I could get to Tucson, send a wire to Fort Whipple I might get the army after em.
Itll be too late by then.
They keep gaining strength.
Theyve already made Doug one of them, and theylll do the same thing to everyone else in this town unless we stop them now.
You know a way to stop em? Look, Im not sure, but I think that- that thing they carry keeps supplying power for them.
What we have to do is find a way to get to it and destroy it.
- Can the two of us do it? - No, itll take three.
They arent gonna harm us.
Will you put that rifle down! Hes one of them.
Watch out! You were right.
They gotta be stopped now.
- We still need a third man.
- Well get one.
One thing.
About your friend.
If it comes down to the town or him, what do you do? - The aliens have to be stopped.
- All right.
Is this the last of the herds? Yes.
We will have them placed in the proper coordinates.
They will be sent to my planet.
Activate and stand by.
Activated and standing by.
Now.
I will leave them suspended for now.
I must report the securing of the second test objective to Control.
I dont know, Sheriff.
I agree with you somethingss gotta be done.
- But why me? - Youve got no choice.
None of us do.
Well, I can clear out, hide.
Theres no place to hide.
Welll be taking the bigger part of the risk.
Were asking you to serve as lookout, nothing more.
- Well, all right.
- Take this.
Now, whats your plan? - Do you have any food? - What? Look, I need a reason for talking to the alien.
I got a weeks supply of dried beef.
Okay, thatll do.
And, remember when I get the alien away from that machine, you fire at it through the saloon window.
- Can it be destroyed? - Well soon find out.
- What do you want me to do? - Stay in the street.
If you see the other alien coming, fire a warning shot.
All right.
- You set? - Lets go.
- Do you have a fix on Tony? - Were locked on him and tracking, General.
But I cant locate Doug.
Could they have killed him? Give me a chance to get clear.
But if you see Im not gonna make it, fire anyway.
The important thing is to put that machine out of commission.
I found some food that hasnt been turned over to you.
- Where? - At thejail.
Its all protein.
You will wait.
I will investigate.
This is Alpha 1.
We are awaiting your report, Alpha 1.
- It will be delivered soon.
- Time is growing short.
The signal will come as soon as Centauri returns.
What do you want? I can save you a lot of trouble.
Thats what I can do.
But what I figure is, one good turn always deserves another if you get my meanin.
No bargains.
Tell us what you know.
Theyre after that machine- the sheriff, the stranger.
There.
I helped you, didnt I? That proves somethin; dont it? Look, I couldve warned them.
I couldvve betrayed you.
I- Just let me go, please.
Just let me go.
Thats all I ask.
Put the projector on the table.
Not a chance.
Youre helpless without this.
The projector cannot save you.
Well see about that.
You are being monitored, Alpha 1.
What is happening? Report.
Now, you restore everyone to their original condition.
That cannot be done without the projector.
Return the projector to me and I will satisfy your demands.
Smash that thing! You all right? Yeah.
Theyve lost their power.
Theyre probably being brought back to the spaceship.
Oh.
Dougs all right.
- And the battles over.
- Welll try for a transfer.
- Are they the same as- - No.
Your alarm will not operate.
- We are in control of this room.
- What do you want here? We come in peace to investigate the disappearance of one of our spaceships during Earth year 1885 while on your planet.
We have received a signal from your time machine that you have located it.
We demand your cooperation.
You have no right to demand anything.
Computers- ancient.
Data processors- primitive.
Molecular electronics- entering elementary stage.
Time control- early development.
Our information is that you Earth beings have finally reached your moon.
- What can we do? - I dont know.
If that 1885 spaceship was destroyed on Earth, will they retaliate? They could destroy us.
If our spaceship was destroyed on this planet this planet will be destroyed.
We didnt destroy it.
We had nothing to do with its coming or going.
The last we saw of your two beings, they were returning to their ship.
Prove this to us- now.
Prove it? Weve told you the truth! Prove it! - Prove it.
! - How? How can we? Youve got to take our word for it.
Ann, Ray, Mullins, Arizona.
Get it on the image area.
Same coordinates, same time.
Everybody, back to your posts! Its our only hope.
Hurry it up! - Ray! - Were doing the best we can, General.
We dont seem to zero in on it.
I demand proof now! Were trying! Now! Now! I cant! I cantt! Ray, keep at it! Your spaceship- safely on its way.
Now do you believe us? It is our spaceship.
We are satisfied that you have told us the truth.
We frequently pass through your solar system but we no longer have a need for materials from primitive planets.
Back to work, everybody.
Well, theyre gone, and I dontt think youll have to worry about them coming back here.
You bet I dont.
Imm clearing out of here just like everybody else.
As far as Im concerned, Mullins, Arizona, is a ghost town.
Youre gonna make a report of what happened, arentt you? And have em call me loco? No, sir.
Im not gonna spoil my chances of getting another job.
Looks like World War I equipment.
The Alps.
Northern Italy or Austria.
Lets get out of here.