The Time Tunnel s01e28 Episode Script

Thats strange.
Whats wrong? I dont know.
Ray, what do you make of that? Well, they look like interference waves.
Thats what I thought, but we never use those frequencies.
Ill have it checked out.
This interference, is there any way it could affect Tony and Doug? - No, I dont believe so.
- Hello, this is Dr.
Swain.
Will you run an immediate check on channels 100 to infinity? Yes, its interference.
And make it quick.
- Look! - How did he get here? Dr.
Ann MacGregor Im here to take you with me.
Who are you? Now, wait a minute.
You cant- General! Hold your fire! Take him to the infirmary.
Ann- Ann is gone.
But where? General, weve got to do something.
Wevve got to find her.
Yes, but how? I wish I knew.
I wish I knew where he came from.
You know, he looked as though he mightve been a time traveler from the future.
- Look.
- What? Looks like one of our data cards.
Only its made of metal- a metal Ivve never seen before.
Ray, do you think our computer can handle this? Lets try it.
I hope this doesnt jam the machine.
- Anything? - These seem to be coordinates of some kind.
- It could be where hes taken Ann.
- I dontt know.
Theres something odd about these figures.
Ray, suppose we try switching Tony and Doug to these coordinates? - That would be too risky.
- Are you suggesting we do nothing? o, no.
But suppose he meant us to find these coordinates? Well make the switch, now.
If we do this, you realize we may never regain contact with any of them again? Switch them.
The Time Tunnel.
Its like nothing Ivve ever seen.
Well, its got to be the distant future.
Tony.
Look.
An ancient Roman.
Pardon me, sir? What century are we in? You were transferred out of your time too.
You are Roman, arent you? Can you hear me? Doug, he cant.
He cant see or hear.
He doesnt seem to have any sensation at all.
I know.
This whole place has a feeling about it that makes it seem unreal.
Obviously, hes from the third or fourth century and hes a citizen of ancient Rome.
All we know is what we see.
- He is Roman.
- otjust any Roman.
He is Marcus Tullius Cicero- Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, writer.
It was he who upheld the principles of the ancient republic during the civil wars which were destroying Rome.
Who are you? Where are you? I dont get it.
Were from the 20th century.
Here we are somewhere in the future.
ow, Ciceros from either the first or second century B.
C.
What are we doing in the same time and place? Doug.
He looks medieval.
He is Erasmus, who lived from 1469 A.
D.
to 1536.
He studied and lectured at the University of Paris.
His wide circle of friends included Sir Thomas More of England.
He corresponded with all the most learned men ofhis day.
Erasmus.
The Renaissance scholar.
That is right.
Erasmus, the humanist theologian.
Hes dead, and yet hess not dead.
Very good.
Both of them like vegetables.
I wonder where that voice is coming from? Where on earth are they? Theyre not on Earth at all, Imm afraid.
Take another look at the spatial coordinates.
- Another planet? - Clear out of our solar system.
- But youve got a fix.
- And a fairly good one.
- What about Ann? - No sign of her yet.
Ray, have I made a blunder sending them blindly to those coordinates? Honestly, I dont know, General.
If shes there, theress a chance theyllll find her.
Even so, can we retrieve them? If this fix remains stable, yes.
But first, theyve got to find her.
What are these things? What are their functions? Nothing makes sense.
Dr.
Anthony ewman.
- Dr.
Douglas Phillips.
- Whats that? I could swear that voice came from in here.
You will follow the light.
Follow the light at once.
! Well, I guess we might as well see what its all about.
- I dont get this.
- I dontt either.
But I doubt if were supposed to.
Come on.
You know our names.
How? I know much more than you realize.
Where are we? We need no roofs here.
We have achieved perfect climate control.
What year are we in? And where is here? A place from which you will never return.
The year is 110.
Why, thats impossible.
I will have it stated in terms of Earth years.
Theres your answer.
It is 8433 A.
D.
The year 8433.
I had the computer translate the coordinates.
- And the location? - You were right about another planet.
Theyre in the planetary system of the star Canopus.
Canopus.
Thats approximately a hundred light years away.
Its actually 8.
Tony and Doug are on a planet moving around that star more than 6,000 years from now.
But look at our fix.
Its strong.
Strong enough to bring them back when they find Ann? Easily.
If they find her.
Upon his graduation from high school in 1954 anno Domini ewman left Philadelphia for Boston to matriculate to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on scholarship.
While at this institution, he- - Yes? - Your presence is required in the dispatching chamber.
Very well.
Its incredible.
- They know absolutely everything.
- I know.
I dont know where we are or how werre gonna get out of here, but wevvve got to try.
Come on.
That way! Look out! It cant be that easy.
They wontt give up.
Oh, what difference does it make? Well, where do we go next? Maybe they have a fix on us back at the Tunnel.
They could move us.
Yeah, they could, but I doubt it.
Watch it.
Throw down your weapons and surrender.
This is absurd.
Surrender now.
Of course, if you want harm to come to her- Look, and youll understand.
Throw down your weapons.
Ann.
It really is you.
How did you get here? Doug? Tony? I- I was taken by force.
Kidnapped.
Well, how long have you been here? I dont know.
I- I dont- Hours, days.
They did something to me.
Drugged me.
Oh, let me go.
- Let her go! - Look, she cant harm you.
Please, let me go! Guards, release her.
Oh, Doug! I dont know what I wouldvve done without you.
Its all right.
General! Quick! They found her.
- Can we transfer them all back? - Yes.
Well be ready to start the countdown in 20 seconds.
Let me have the microphone, please.
- Ready.
- Ann? Doug? Tony? General? Have you got us located? Yes.
Stand by.
Well have you out of there in 30 seconds.
Maintain your present position.
Dont move.
- Let her go! - General, now! Now! - Hold your position! Hurry it up! - Weve started the countdown.
- just dont lose that fix.
- Wevve got them this time, General.
Fifteen seconds and counting.
Ten, nine eight, seven six, five, four three, two- One step toward any person in this complex, and youll be shot.
Stop, or theyll shoot! All right, fire! - The time-space converter! - Wait! What have you done with her? I promised you no harm will come to her.
- Then where is she? Why cant we see her? - You will.
You will.
We wanna see her now.
All right, have it your way.
You said she was all right.
I just said she was not ready to see you.
Youve done the same thing to her that you did to the others.
Nonsense.
The others are in what we call suspension.
There is nothing changed about her.
Look.
Ive just put her through a preliminary interrogation.
Oh, Doug! Oh, Doug! What has happened? Where are we? Youre all right.
Yeah, for the time being.
Oh, Tony.
Why are you all so apprehensive? I plan nothing shocking or horrible for you.
Suspension is nothing to be afraid of.
Ah, good.
Right on schedule.
Ann, did the Time Tunnel have a fix on us when you were captured? - Yes.
- Dont worry.
Theylll probably switch us.
Follow me, please.
This should be interesting for you.
This place has several functions.
We call it our teleport chamber.
Whats that there? It is our own time machine.
Simple, isnt it? But all truly great things are simple.
- How is it controlled? - That information is classified.
But youre about to witnesses a demonstration.
Step back, please, and watch.
This is the official time traveler attached to my project.
We call him Ott because of the initials of his title- O-T-T.
We no longer use surnames, of course.
Mission completed.
- Where did you get that? - This is the correct part.
Thats all.
Thank you.
Thats a space-time converter.
From our complex.
The Tunnel is useless without it.
Which is precisely why I sent for it.
Now that youre here, I dontt want your Tunnel taking you back - before Im through with you.
- What are you going to do now? - Probably kill us.
- By no means.
I must have you alive.
I need you for my project.
- And just what is this project of yours? - Later.
Take them to their quarters.
All right.
As fast as possible then.
- Right.
- Well? We have the replacements in stock, General, but- - But what? - Well, with a full crash program the testing, the adjusting, the tuning will take at least 10 days.
- Ten days? For one part? - Well, its hardly an ordinary part.
The time-spatial conversion unit is the most important single component in the entire operation.
- Youll have to do it faster than that.
- But I doubt if we can.
But in 10 days, Ann, Tony and Doug will be- be beyond reach.
Well never recover them then.
Never! Weve got to do something.
There must be some way to escape.
What about their time machine? - Do you have any idea how to operate it? - No.
I doubt that we could even get to it.
Whats this project of his? What did he call it? Suspension? What could that be? I dont know, but I have an idea were going to find out, and soon.
Now what? Now, what in the world do you suppose they are? I dont know.
By now,you have received your dinner.
I hope you enjoy it.
- Dinner? - Where did that come from? - He talks through walls.
- ot through the walls, Dr.
ewman.
Through space.
I can receive your voice communication.
over any distance.
- I find it most convenient.
Dont you? - Very.
About the dinner- I want you to consume it for your own good.
- Those cubes? - I apologize for the form.
On this planet, we have no organic food.
These nutrient cubes are made expressly for our guests.
Hes lying.
Its impossible for any animal form to exist without food of some sort.
ot at all.
We do.
Weve had to make a biological adaptation.
Theoretically, its possible.
Plants get their nourishment from the sun.
Maybe they do too.
Exactly.
ot from the sunlight, of course.
Our stars Canopus, not Sol.
Instead of sunlight, it is Canopian light.
But the principle is the same.
ow, eat your dinner and come to my office.
What do you think? - Well take them.
- Tony, how do we know whatss in them? We dont.
But we do know he can hear us.
And if we dont take them willingly hell find another way to get them down us, wontt he? Tony, youre right.
And besides, we could use the nourishment.
Are you two- For all we know, they could be poison.
Well, well just have to take that chance.
Oh, Tony, please! Ann, trust me.
They dont taste too bad.
All right, Ill take mine then.
There now.
That wasnt so bad, was it? A very wise decision.
ow, please come to my office at once.
Theres a guard stationed at both ends.
You take this one.
Ill take that one.
Hes gone.
- All right, lets go, Ann.
- Drop them.
Drop them! Move! Ive been waiting for you.
Why the weapon? They did not obey your order.
Im sorry you make us use force on you.
Itd be so much simpler if you submitted to our will.
You dont give us much choice.
Thats true, isntt it? All right, thatsss all.
Im going to answer your question about our project.
Youll find the concept fascinating.
One of our subjects.
Weve just extracted from him the sum total of his personality.
His memory, his knowledge, his motivation- everything.
And thats your project? We are gathering for the first time the full and complete data on every phase of the history of the planet Earth.
Wevejust completed our work on the subject.
We now have comprehensive information on the psychology of tyrants.
Fascinating.
You might even recognize the subject.
He was retrieved from a bunker in Berlin an instant before he attempted suicide.
Why are you doing this to us? Everything you know and sense and feel will also remain forever in our data files.
You should be pleased.
Actually, its a practical form of immortality.
Hes a madman.
Theres a very thin hairline between madness and genius.
Make everything ready for the next subject.
Why us? Were not geniuses.
No, and were not historical figures.
This project of yours, it doesnt need us.
You underestimate yourselves.
The first men in history to travel through time.
Your information can be invaluable.
What about her? Shes only a technician.
- Why did you kidnap her? - She was bait to bring you here.
All right.
Then shes done her job.
Let her go.
Yes.
Shes useless to you.
I think not.
She could also prove to be an interesting subject.
No, we shall continue according to plan.
Im afraid, right now, wevve run out of time.
Nothing more can be done till morning.
You should be feeling quite drowsy at this time.
- Why? - The cubes.
Theyre drugs.
Exactly.
Nothing to harm you, of course.
- just something to make you sleep quite peacefully.
- And then? In the morning, you will still be sleeping quietly at which time you will be immortalized.
My congratulations.
What happens to you at nightfall? Why, we rest, naturally.
You told us that you get your nourishment and energy from the sun.
No, not the sun.
Canopus.
But come to the point.
Time is short.
Well, then youre like plants.
When it gets dark, you go dormant.
It shouldnt matter to you.
By that time, youlll all be asleep.
- You were dishonest with me.
- Yes.
And you were dishonest with us.
You told us that that was nourishment.
Now when it gets dark, youll be helpless.
You do as we say, or well destroy your whole project.
- Quick.
What do you want? - First, the space-time conversion unit.
Second, the instructions to your time machine so that we can get out of here.
No, never! Tony! - Do you think he reached the alarm? - I dont know.
If it hadnt been for the force field, Idd have stopped him.
Its all right.
They cantt hurt us now.
The converter-weve got to find it.
They couldve put it somewhere in this room, but where? I know.
Now, this desk seems to control everything in this room.
Maybe we could figure it out.
Its all right, Ann.
He cantt hurt you now.
Ive never seen controls like this.
- Try some of these buttons.
- o.
! Tony, dont.
You dontt know what theyllll activate.
- Hey.
- What is it? Did you find something? I dont know.
Maybe.
It looks like a form of heat-sensor cell.
Look out! Anything? - Nothing.
- Its empty.
Weve got to find that part! How much time do we have left? Thats the big question.
It all depends on the rotating speed of this planet.
Well, at least we wont be interrupted until it gets light again.
Lets get to work.
The minute it gets light again, we wont have a chance.
Well, look, the intervals between light and dark should be relatively equivalent, right? No, not necessarily.
For all we know this place might be located near one of the poles of this planet.
Then night could last a matter of minutes.
All right, listen.
Tony, you and Ill split up and look for the missing part.
Ann, will you go in there and see if you can make any kind of sense out of that system of theirs? Dont worry.
Youlll be safe enough until the light comes back.
All right.
Ill try.
If I could just get it open.
He waved his hand obviously interrupting a beam somewhere.
All right, Ann, go to work on that machine.
- Ill search in there.
You cover this room.
- Okay.
No, no.
Retest.
Computer banks.
Microsecond.
Nanosecond.
Tunnel, youre off by a billionth.
Over again.
Testing.
One second.
Millisecond.
Microsecond.
Nanosecond.
o,youre off again.
Ive never felt so utterly helpless in my life.
Were doing everything we can, General.
It just takes time to tune the replacement unit.
All right, once more.
Towers.
Testing for time scale.
In seconds.
Oh.
You have no idea what you just did to me.
Im sorry.
I didntt mean to interrupt your concentration.
- Did you have any luck? - Not much, Im afraid.
You? Nothing.
No sign of that missing part yet.
Whats that? Well, Im not sure.
You know, there are no labels no power levels, nothing at all to designate any control functions.
- Except maybe plates like this.
- Let me see that.
Theyre attached to the machine by some sort of magnetic force.
Theyrre easy enough to remove.
You know, these punch holes reminds me of a data processing card.
Of course, Doug.
Only metal.
Indestructible.
- Lets show that to Tony.
- Right.
Tony.
Stop and think.
All the time weve been here, do you remember seeing any writing? Anything printed? Signs, whatever.
Now that you mention it, no.
Maybe they dont use writing anymore.
Just maybe these have replaced it.
Of course, Doug.
Thats gotta be it.
Do you remember when he was calculating the date? He put something like this into the side of his desk, and a voice gave him an answer.
Where? Yeah.
Heres a slot.
Try it.
Warning.
Only one person may be dispatched at a time.
Any number may return.
You were right.
Instructions.
And the rest are in there.
Ill be able to figure out the transmission process now.
Wed better hurry.
We dontt know how much time we have left.
All right.
Doug! Shh! Oh! How long will it take to get that machine in operation? - I dont know.
I need those instructions in there.
- Come on.
I thought they were all asleep.
Otts an exception.
He was carrying something on his hip.
It must be his power source.
Maybe because of his time travel work.
But hes gotta have a dormant period.
No human organism can stay active indefinitely.
Well, hes active now, and thatss all that matters.
- He could come busting in here at any second.
- Come on.
You got it? I think so.
Get back.
- Hes gone.
- Yes, but where? Thatss the question.
Come on.
Lets see if you have the right instructions.
Tony, when we play them back, hell hear it.
Were gonna have to take that chance.
Come on.
Spatial coordinates, planetary system Sol.
Planet.
Earth.
Continent.
orth America.
Target.
Time Tunnel Complex.
Its still set for our Time Tunnel.
To activate, stand on dais.
Depress red transmittal button.
- Thats all I have to know.
- All right, Ann.
Now, you go in there and send yourself back to the Time Tunnel.
- Well, what about you two? - Listen, only one at a time can go.
Youre first.
Suppose something happens.
Suppose you cant follow me.
Doug- Now, listen, Otts due back in here at any second.
- Now, come on.
Lets get going.
- Oh.
No, wait, wait! The medallion.
Get the medallion hes wearing.
- What for? - Its a weapon.
- A weapon? How do you know? - Ott used it when he kidnapped me.
Killed one of our guards.
You think hes still protected by that force field? I doubt it.
I think its some kind of emanation.
As long as hes dormant, it must be too.
Its all right.
He aimed it and twisted it someway.
- Im sure I can work it.
- All right.
Letss get going.
No! Wait, please.
The converter.
Weve got to find it.
If something goes wrong in there and you cantt follow me- The Tunnel can bring you back if we have the converter.
We must find it.
Are you searching for this? I couldve killed you then.
Dontt any of you try to approach me! - What are you gonna do? - My instructions are to keep you alive if possible.
It is your choice whether or not I kill you here and now.
And if you do keep us alive, we become permanent guinea pigs.
- Is that right? - That is correct.
How long do you plan to keep us standing here? Only until it becomes light again.
I am told you are potentially useful to us.
If it were left to me, I would rather kill all of you right now and be done with it.
Is it getting light, or is it my imagination? Ann, take this and send yourself back.
Hurry.
Oh, Tony.
Theyll be waking up soon.
Weve got to try to hold them off until she gets safely away.
Tony, look out.
You make one move, and youre a dead man.
Freeze! Put your weapons on the table.
All right.
Now back away.
Come on! All right, Tony.
Lets get out of here.
Hurry, Ann! Press it! Ann! - Ann! - Oh, General.
Ive got it.
Ivve got the converter.
Make ready for an immediate switch.
Weve got to get them out of there now! Right.
Disconnect test equipment.
Disconnect power.
Tunnel power units! Computers! Go ahead.
Activate all units.
Ray, activate controls.
Weve got it.
Wevve got it! Make the switch.
Immobilizer, quickly.
That one first.
Dont let him use the weapon! - British and Arabs fighting.
- Middle East or North Africa.
Judging from their clothing and weapons Id say it was late 1 th or early 20th century.
Well, whatever the time or place, its desert.
Wed better help ourself to some water and weapons.
Come on.
What is that? Whoever he is, hes got company.
Who are you? What are you doing here? What we are does not matter.
We are here to destroy you.