The Outer Limits (1963) s02e08 Episode Script
Wolf 359
( man) Outwards stretches the quest for truth.
Stars without end, timeless infinities.
A billion billion galaxies.
Man 's imagination reaches out and out, while betimes, the farthest reaches of knowledge are found in the smallest places.
- ls it sealed? - Well, yes, hermetically.
Same climate, same atmosphere as the planet.
Yes, and density and gravity and soil and temperature.
And as accurate as biometry and spectrography and radiography and a dozen other sciences can make it.
You see that light, that sun ? Looks as though it's on steady, doesn 't it? Actually, it's blinking so fast that you can 't see it.
One blink, one day.
ln there.
This whole thing is really fantastic.
As l understand it, your grant from the Dundee Foundation was for gathering information about the planet and the star system Wolf 359.
That's right.
lnstead of writing up a report, you used it to create in your own laboratory in the middle of the desert, a piece of a planet.
Actually, an authentic piece of planet eight light years away.
Yes, that's right.
l've taken the liberty of calling it ''Dundee'' planet.
- ln your honour.
-Not after me.
After the foundation .
Why not? We've spent so much money, we could buy that planet.
What about that lichen ? ls it moss? Yes, l introduced the DNA factor there several weeks ago.
That's the basic component of life.
There's plant life growing just as it's growing on the planet in Wolf.
Speeded up by the miniaturisation .
The attachment's hooked up, Professor.
lt's much better.
Much better? What? This is tremendous.
This new attachment and your camera are going to make all the difference.
Here, take a look.
lt's fascinating.
You've started an evolutionary process.
Yes, under that planet's conditions.
John , do you suppose? Do you suppose that some form of animate life will develop? l wouldn 't even dream of anything like that.
lt's a great achievement.
No wonder Mr Dundee was so excited.
Within a decade we'll be on our way to planet Dundee in Wolf 359.
( man) There is nothing wrong with your television set.
Do not attempt to adjust the picture.
We are controlling transmission .
For the next hour we will control all you see and hear.
You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to The Outer Limits.
You're welcome to stay overnight.
Peter never uses that spare room.
He drives into town overnight.
He wants a social life.
l can 't blame him.
He is a bachelor.
lf he isn 't, he acts like one.
Oh, thank you , dear.
Who said the martini was the only civilised drink? l think it was a reformed bourbon man , wasn 't it? Deboto wrote an entire book about the martini.
- John - Mm-hm.
That attachment that we brought, what does it actually do for you? Well, it gives us a magnification of over 200,000 diameters, which means we can examine all the extraordinary things going on in that greenhouse.
ln one of your taped reports you mentioned something to the effect that one second equals eleven and a half days on the planet.
Yes, there's a tremendous evolutionary speed-up.
For instance, suppose it rained on that section of forest that you looked at.
Suppose it rained, say, half an hour.
What would you see in our time if that lasted less than 1 /500 second? -Nothing.
- Exactly.
That's what the new attachment and the camera are for.
We've noticed that there are changes taking place in there.
hero s seaso ns a nd? oods a nd vo ca noes We can 't see what's happening while it's happening.
After, we see the result.
The camera can take a picture while it's going on .
Right, right.
lt can stop the action .
Well, at least that's the theory.
We should get some results pretty soon .
- How long, darling? - Oh, tomorrow, l hope.
- The steaks? - Three or four minutes.
Time is relative.
Quite apart from the fact that you're industrious and dedicated, you're lucky.
To have Ethel follow you like this into the middle of a desert.
Keep telling him, Mr Dundee.
Perhaps we're all lucky with our projects.
We have men from Maine to Southern California, each one working in seclusion and giving far more than the foundation could possibly hope for.
At first all we wanted was to take part in the space pioneering effort.
Now we're going to make a major contribution to science.
That Oh, no, no, thank you , Ethel.
lf l have another, l wouldn 't find my way back.
Especially at night.
That was a pretty fair dinner.
- Like it? - Mm.
So did the company.
Do you realise we've had company twice now in 1 4 months? lf we keep this up, l'll need a social secretary.
- lt's been rough on you , hasn 't it? -No.
Yeah, but you're a good kid.
Another three or four months, it'll all be wrapped up and back to civilisation .
- Civilisation ? - Mm-hm.
What's that? Oh, bright lights, champagne and dress shops.
- Diamonds.
- l like it.
- Mink coats, yachts, Monte Carlo.
- Good night, you silly fool.
- Those martinis were good, weren 't they? - Mm-hm.
Nobody makes martinis like you .
( howling) ( howling) ( howling) ( howling) ( howling) (squeaking) - Morning, darling.
- Morning.
- How did you sleep? - Fine.
You? - l must have had a bad dream.
- Hmm? l know it sounds silly, but oh, l had the funniest feeling Pete's here already.
l've got to go in .
OK.
- Morning.
All set up? - All ready.
Professor, have a look at this.
- What am l looking at? - The first culture of lichen .
l've been studying it for the past week.
- They're dead.
- Yes, sir.
lt was thriving when l went home.
We can 't expect it to live too long out of its own atmosphere, Pete.
Sir.
Even the ants.
Yeah, dead.
lnoticed them when l came in .
Sometimes a whole colony can go at once.
Disease, blight, air circulation .
Let's go.
Morning, Mildred.
Wanna get out? With the strobe we should get one shot every 1 5 minutes of the planet's time.
Mm-hm.
Well, we mustn 't expect too much the first time, Pete.
- ls the dark room all set up? - Yes, sir.
All right.
Let's go for our first roll of film.
(beeping) - Hm, that's odd.
- Hm.
What do you make of that, Pete? - Looks out of focus.
- But what is it? l don 't know.
Hm.
l guess it's some sort of plant or tree.
Hey, you guys.
lt's after six o'clock.
Oh, Ethel.
Come here.
What does that look like to you? - The inside of a tiger's mouth.
- Hm.
- When are you going to close up shop? - We have a few shots left.
OK.
Well, don 't be long.
Pete Suppose we were we were in too close.
lf we were focused on the ground ln the middle of the shot, suppose something .
.
something went between the lens and the ground.
- lt would be out of focus, of course.
- Something like what? You mean something moving? Life? Look.
Just that part.
Look at it.
Now what does that look like? Just right there, that line.
A tooth? - Well - Right here, look at this one too.
Now, another tooth? - Those teeth would be at right angles.
- Yes, they would be, wouldn 't they? Oh, but suppose there were two animals of some kind.
Actually, Pete doesn 't that look like .
.
like the open jaws of some kind of prehistoric beast? - lt would have to be so huge.
- Yeah.
Like our Mesozoic Age.
Oh, that's fantastic, isn 't it? l mean , to think that life would begin in there .
.
like it began on our planet.
Let's finish that roll of film.
lt might sound crazy, but .
.
well, it could be that the evolution on planet Dundee is the same as ours.
At least up to this point.
Even without the life form.
Of course, the atmosphere is pretty high in nitrogen in there.
But adaptation is the basic require Pete, look! - What is it? - l don 't know.
Whatever it is, it seems He knows we're here, Professor.
That's nonsense.
How could he know we're here? l mean , assuming it's a ''he''.
Finish that roll.
Yes, sir.
(beeping) Get that developed right away.
Come here.
How could he stay in one place for so long? Eleven and a half days for every second lt was several seconds.
He seemed He seemed to be looking straight up at me.
Nothing.
And this is the last shot.
That's impossible.
l took those shots myself.
You took two.
lt had to be a living creature.
That's impossible.
We're both seeing something that doesn 't exist.
lt's real enough, Professor.
You know, the only thing l can think is that, well, that .
.
it could be visible only in its own atmosphere, not in ours.
You mean the difference in light refraction , optical aberration , and so on ? - We can only see it under the microscope.
- Yes.
l don 't know.
l don 't know.
Maybe it was an hallucination .
- Oh, Pete - Yes, sir.
This thing that doesn 't photograph, let's keep it to ourselves for a while, shall we? Until we know more about it, OK? Of course.
Well, l'll be finishing up in here.
(tranquil music from gramophone) What's the matter? You're shivering.
What is it? - lt's nothing.
- Working too hard.
Too late, too.
l should have nagged you .
- l didn 't hear Peter go.
-No, he's he's still finishing up.
- John ? - You know l was frightened.
Of what? l don 't know.
The dark, maybe.
No, it was something else.
l don 't know.
Don 't you think you're working too hard, John ? You know, there's so many extraordinary things going on in there.
A piece of a planet from a faraway star system is developing its own evolution , tremendously speeded up, and we're watching it.
Those pictures aren 't perfect, but it's astonishing what we're getting, like the one l showed you .
You mean the one l said looked like a tiger's mouth? - But, John , l was only kidding.
- l know.
But it did, didn 't it? And l've seen more.
They're even closer to what we could call creatures.
Here, look.
Well, it's a lot closer, l must admit.
Why can 't you see this through the microscope? The world in there is infinitesimal.
A million miniaturisations of a miniaturisation .
Everything is happening too fast to see, too fast for even the camera to stop completely.
- Too fast to stop for dinner? - Hm.
l know, l should be dressing.
- Maybe l shouldn 't if you're hungry.
-No, go shave and shower and dress.
l like you when you're prettied up.
We must keep this our civilised oasis in the desert.
John ! Oh! John ! Ethel? What's wrong? What happened? l saw something in there.
- What is it, darling? - Oh! Well - Sir, she - Shh.
lt's all right, dear.
Let's go.
You'll be all right.
All right.
Come with me.
lt's all right, John .
l'm all right now.
You looked in the microscope? l didn 't touch any of the dials or anything.
- l had it focused where l saw something.
- l saw it.
What? l don 't know.
l saw something.
Something not human .
Suddenly, l got a feeling from it.
- What is it, John ? - l don 't know.
- Some monstrous thing.
- Yes.
- Then you saw it too? - l saw a flash of some thing .
.
a creature, not human , and that feeling, l felt that too.
- You better destroy it, John .
- Destroy it? Destroy what? The whole thing.
Dundee planet.
The project? lt's a monstrous thing.
lt's not of this world.
You don 't know what we've got.
We're looking at a planet eight light years away.
That's so far that the finest telescopes we have can 't pick it out.
We've had to use second-hand information .
We've had to make assumptions.
But now, right here, we can see what's going on up there.
Why, we can watch evolution at work.
Why don 't we take the night off, hm? Let's go into town , have dinner.
Pete can mind the store.
- lt'd be good for both of us, OK? - l'm for that.
(big band jazz) You're not the greatest dancer, but l enjoy it.
- Well, l aim to please.
- You know something? You do.
You wanted me to have a change and you took yourself away from what you really want to be doing.
l know your work is terribly important, John .
So l won 't say anything about it again .
OK? Not after right now, that is.
You said you've been frightened.
John , l've been petrified.
For a second there, l felt such pure evil.
That creature makes me afraid in a way l've never been afraid before.
lt's the most awful feeling.
All hollow and achy.
Like death is near.
A kind of death that has no peace.
We should run as fast as we can .
lt's not the kind of l won 't say anything about it again .
Tomorrow, l'm going to pack you off back east.
Three or four weeks at home is what you need.
Come on .
Let's have one more dance.
l told Pete we wouldn 't be too late.
(animals squeaking) Hey, Pete's car is gone.
That's funny.
He knows not to leave the lab unattended.
l wonder where he went.
( Ethel) John ! John ! What happened to him? He was so alive when we left.
What's the matter with me? l'm so emotional lately.
Honey, why don 't you lie down ? l'll make you a drink in a minute.
John , will you please tell me what happened in there? Why do you have to spirit me off at this time of night instead of tomorrow? - What did you see? -Nothing.
l just think it's a good idea.
lf you're gonna go, why not now? - That's what you said before.
- lt's the truth.
-Not all of it.
- Of course all of it.
- l don 't want to get into semantics.
- Then don 't.
Neither do l.
l've got work to finish.
Good afternoon , Professor.
- What happened last night, Pete? - l'm sorry.
- And this morning? - l stayed in town .
Obviously.
Last night here all alone l got frightened Of what? What frightened you? Something you saw in there? - l don 't know.
- So, that's why you didn 't bother? Nothing wrong with being frightened, but you can 't run out on responsibilities, leaving the door wide open , leaving our work unprotected.
l'm sorry.
l won 't let it happen again .
No, Pete.
l won 't let it happen again .
l'll send you a cheque bringing your salary up to date and add a week's pay.
ls that satisfactory? - You're letting me go? - l'm sorry, Pete.
Well, this project has become very important to me.
- Or working here with you .
- Mm-hm.
(John) l sent my wife away.
l sent Peter away.
l can 't expose them to the dangers of this creature.
l wouldn 't do it myself except that it appears that the evolution going on on Dundee planet is the same as ours, and my observations here could be of fantastic importance.
There's that that creature.
When l opened the laboratory door and went back inside, the light must have affected it.
lt has form and a kind of a kind of substance.
Yet it's not like a creature of Dundee planet, not in the sense of being an inhabitant.
Rather it seems to be the spirit of the place.
A creature apart from its animal life.
And it appears to be gaining in strength and abilities.
Witness its predatory progression .
lnsects, plants, a bird, guinea pigs.
Then attacking me.
l'm tired.
l haven 't been to sleep.
This creature on Dundee planet must be in some way responsible for what l see there.
Violence, death, destruction .
A place of indescribable malevolence.
A place of death and hate.
A place without a god.
Perhaps that's why the light of day or any light is an anathema to it.
At this time tomorrow Dundee planet will have caught up with the 20th century here on Earth.
And at that time l'll be able to see our future by watching it unfold on Dundee planet.
lf l survive.
(rings) And now it's like our medieval times.
Killing, senseless cruelties .
.
even in the normal course of living.
The brutality is always there.
(car pulls up) (doorbell ringing) ( knocking on door) Pro fessor? Pro fessor? Pro fessor? Pro fessor! Pro fessor! What? What is it? We were worried, Professor.
He was here.
Who was here? He was here in this room.
My headlights are l forgot to turn them off.
- What are you doing here? - l called Mr Dundee.
- Why? - l had to, Professor.
l was worried.
- Oh, you fool.
- Peter deserves better than that.
He's worried to see you like this.
When did you last sleep? - Take Peter and go back to town .
- Well, l think Don 't think! l don 't want interference.
That's why l sent my wife away.
SS r.
Xo , yo u sent yo u r w fe away boca u se yo u wero afra d? o r h e r Jonathan .
You've pushed yourself too far.
Nothing will happen that's more important than rest for you .
Go on ! Go on ! Go! l don 't want or need your help! You're out on your feet.
You do need help! Shut up.
How plain do l have to make it? Get out, both of you .
Go on ! Get out! Go on ! l know you're here.
l'm gonna go on .
l'm going to finish as much of my work as l can .
You're not going to stop me.
Where are you? Where are you? The refinement of evil.
Scientific warfare.
And now it's the present.
The atom bomb.
The ability to destroy ourselves.
And in a few minutes, the future.
l'm going back to the microscope and then we'll know what's going to happen here on Earth.
Help! Ah John ? (John screams) Agh! (screams) Destroy it! The planet! Break the glass! Oh! - lt's gone? - Yes.
lt's gone.
You destroyed it.
That was kind of a madness and obsession .
l wanted to see into the future.
Well, maybe it's just as well l didn 't.
How did you know l needed you? - You told me.
- How? You didn 't answer when l phoned you last night.
Final report.
Dundee planet, star system Wolf 359.
The experiment is finished.
My planet is destroyed.
My recommendation to the Dundee Foundation : Change the planet selected.
lt's not a place we can land our spacemen .
But the project is feasible.
A planet can be recreated in a laboratory.
The odds are The odds are, Mr Dundee, that the next time The next time, it will be a place of some love and warmth like our planet Earth.
( man) There is a theory that Earth and sun and galaxy and all the known universes are only a dust mote on some policeman 's uniform in some gigantic superworld.
Couldn 't we be under some supermicroscope, right now?
Stars without end, timeless infinities.
A billion billion galaxies.
Man 's imagination reaches out and out, while betimes, the farthest reaches of knowledge are found in the smallest places.
- ls it sealed? - Well, yes, hermetically.
Same climate, same atmosphere as the planet.
Yes, and density and gravity and soil and temperature.
And as accurate as biometry and spectrography and radiography and a dozen other sciences can make it.
You see that light, that sun ? Looks as though it's on steady, doesn 't it? Actually, it's blinking so fast that you can 't see it.
One blink, one day.
ln there.
This whole thing is really fantastic.
As l understand it, your grant from the Dundee Foundation was for gathering information about the planet and the star system Wolf 359.
That's right.
lnstead of writing up a report, you used it to create in your own laboratory in the middle of the desert, a piece of a planet.
Actually, an authentic piece of planet eight light years away.
Yes, that's right.
l've taken the liberty of calling it ''Dundee'' planet.
- ln your honour.
-Not after me.
After the foundation .
Why not? We've spent so much money, we could buy that planet.
What about that lichen ? ls it moss? Yes, l introduced the DNA factor there several weeks ago.
That's the basic component of life.
There's plant life growing just as it's growing on the planet in Wolf.
Speeded up by the miniaturisation .
The attachment's hooked up, Professor.
lt's much better.
Much better? What? This is tremendous.
This new attachment and your camera are going to make all the difference.
Here, take a look.
lt's fascinating.
You've started an evolutionary process.
Yes, under that planet's conditions.
John , do you suppose? Do you suppose that some form of animate life will develop? l wouldn 't even dream of anything like that.
lt's a great achievement.
No wonder Mr Dundee was so excited.
Within a decade we'll be on our way to planet Dundee in Wolf 359.
( man) There is nothing wrong with your television set.
Do not attempt to adjust the picture.
We are controlling transmission .
For the next hour we will control all you see and hear.
You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to The Outer Limits.
You're welcome to stay overnight.
Peter never uses that spare room.
He drives into town overnight.
He wants a social life.
l can 't blame him.
He is a bachelor.
lf he isn 't, he acts like one.
Oh, thank you , dear.
Who said the martini was the only civilised drink? l think it was a reformed bourbon man , wasn 't it? Deboto wrote an entire book about the martini.
- John - Mm-hm.
That attachment that we brought, what does it actually do for you? Well, it gives us a magnification of over 200,000 diameters, which means we can examine all the extraordinary things going on in that greenhouse.
ln one of your taped reports you mentioned something to the effect that one second equals eleven and a half days on the planet.
Yes, there's a tremendous evolutionary speed-up.
For instance, suppose it rained on that section of forest that you looked at.
Suppose it rained, say, half an hour.
What would you see in our time if that lasted less than 1 /500 second? -Nothing.
- Exactly.
That's what the new attachment and the camera are for.
We've noticed that there are changes taking place in there.
hero s seaso ns a nd? oods a nd vo ca noes We can 't see what's happening while it's happening.
After, we see the result.
The camera can take a picture while it's going on .
Right, right.
lt can stop the action .
Well, at least that's the theory.
We should get some results pretty soon .
- How long, darling? - Oh, tomorrow, l hope.
- The steaks? - Three or four minutes.
Time is relative.
Quite apart from the fact that you're industrious and dedicated, you're lucky.
To have Ethel follow you like this into the middle of a desert.
Keep telling him, Mr Dundee.
Perhaps we're all lucky with our projects.
We have men from Maine to Southern California, each one working in seclusion and giving far more than the foundation could possibly hope for.
At first all we wanted was to take part in the space pioneering effort.
Now we're going to make a major contribution to science.
That Oh, no, no, thank you , Ethel.
lf l have another, l wouldn 't find my way back.
Especially at night.
That was a pretty fair dinner.
- Like it? - Mm.
So did the company.
Do you realise we've had company twice now in 1 4 months? lf we keep this up, l'll need a social secretary.
- lt's been rough on you , hasn 't it? -No.
Yeah, but you're a good kid.
Another three or four months, it'll all be wrapped up and back to civilisation .
- Civilisation ? - Mm-hm.
What's that? Oh, bright lights, champagne and dress shops.
- Diamonds.
- l like it.
- Mink coats, yachts, Monte Carlo.
- Good night, you silly fool.
- Those martinis were good, weren 't they? - Mm-hm.
Nobody makes martinis like you .
( howling) ( howling) ( howling) ( howling) ( howling) (squeaking) - Morning, darling.
- Morning.
- How did you sleep? - Fine.
You? - l must have had a bad dream.
- Hmm? l know it sounds silly, but oh, l had the funniest feeling Pete's here already.
l've got to go in .
OK.
- Morning.
All set up? - All ready.
Professor, have a look at this.
- What am l looking at? - The first culture of lichen .
l've been studying it for the past week.
- They're dead.
- Yes, sir.
lt was thriving when l went home.
We can 't expect it to live too long out of its own atmosphere, Pete.
Sir.
Even the ants.
Yeah, dead.
lnoticed them when l came in .
Sometimes a whole colony can go at once.
Disease, blight, air circulation .
Let's go.
Morning, Mildred.
Wanna get out? With the strobe we should get one shot every 1 5 minutes of the planet's time.
Mm-hm.
Well, we mustn 't expect too much the first time, Pete.
- ls the dark room all set up? - Yes, sir.
All right.
Let's go for our first roll of film.
(beeping) - Hm, that's odd.
- Hm.
What do you make of that, Pete? - Looks out of focus.
- But what is it? l don 't know.
Hm.
l guess it's some sort of plant or tree.
Hey, you guys.
lt's after six o'clock.
Oh, Ethel.
Come here.
What does that look like to you? - The inside of a tiger's mouth.
- Hm.
- When are you going to close up shop? - We have a few shots left.
OK.
Well, don 't be long.
Pete Suppose we were we were in too close.
lf we were focused on the ground ln the middle of the shot, suppose something .
.
something went between the lens and the ground.
- lt would be out of focus, of course.
- Something like what? You mean something moving? Life? Look.
Just that part.
Look at it.
Now what does that look like? Just right there, that line.
A tooth? - Well - Right here, look at this one too.
Now, another tooth? - Those teeth would be at right angles.
- Yes, they would be, wouldn 't they? Oh, but suppose there were two animals of some kind.
Actually, Pete doesn 't that look like .
.
like the open jaws of some kind of prehistoric beast? - lt would have to be so huge.
- Yeah.
Like our Mesozoic Age.
Oh, that's fantastic, isn 't it? l mean , to think that life would begin in there .
.
like it began on our planet.
Let's finish that roll of film.
lt might sound crazy, but .
.
well, it could be that the evolution on planet Dundee is the same as ours.
At least up to this point.
Even without the life form.
Of course, the atmosphere is pretty high in nitrogen in there.
But adaptation is the basic require Pete, look! - What is it? - l don 't know.
Whatever it is, it seems He knows we're here, Professor.
That's nonsense.
How could he know we're here? l mean , assuming it's a ''he''.
Finish that roll.
Yes, sir.
(beeping) Get that developed right away.
Come here.
How could he stay in one place for so long? Eleven and a half days for every second lt was several seconds.
He seemed He seemed to be looking straight up at me.
Nothing.
And this is the last shot.
That's impossible.
l took those shots myself.
You took two.
lt had to be a living creature.
That's impossible.
We're both seeing something that doesn 't exist.
lt's real enough, Professor.
You know, the only thing l can think is that, well, that .
.
it could be visible only in its own atmosphere, not in ours.
You mean the difference in light refraction , optical aberration , and so on ? - We can only see it under the microscope.
- Yes.
l don 't know.
l don 't know.
Maybe it was an hallucination .
- Oh, Pete - Yes, sir.
This thing that doesn 't photograph, let's keep it to ourselves for a while, shall we? Until we know more about it, OK? Of course.
Well, l'll be finishing up in here.
(tranquil music from gramophone) What's the matter? You're shivering.
What is it? - lt's nothing.
- Working too hard.
Too late, too.
l should have nagged you .
- l didn 't hear Peter go.
-No, he's he's still finishing up.
- John ? - You know l was frightened.
Of what? l don 't know.
The dark, maybe.
No, it was something else.
l don 't know.
Don 't you think you're working too hard, John ? You know, there's so many extraordinary things going on in there.
A piece of a planet from a faraway star system is developing its own evolution , tremendously speeded up, and we're watching it.
Those pictures aren 't perfect, but it's astonishing what we're getting, like the one l showed you .
You mean the one l said looked like a tiger's mouth? - But, John , l was only kidding.
- l know.
But it did, didn 't it? And l've seen more.
They're even closer to what we could call creatures.
Here, look.
Well, it's a lot closer, l must admit.
Why can 't you see this through the microscope? The world in there is infinitesimal.
A million miniaturisations of a miniaturisation .
Everything is happening too fast to see, too fast for even the camera to stop completely.
- Too fast to stop for dinner? - Hm.
l know, l should be dressing.
- Maybe l shouldn 't if you're hungry.
-No, go shave and shower and dress.
l like you when you're prettied up.
We must keep this our civilised oasis in the desert.
John ! Oh! John ! Ethel? What's wrong? What happened? l saw something in there.
- What is it, darling? - Oh! Well - Sir, she - Shh.
lt's all right, dear.
Let's go.
You'll be all right.
All right.
Come with me.
lt's all right, John .
l'm all right now.
You looked in the microscope? l didn 't touch any of the dials or anything.
- l had it focused where l saw something.
- l saw it.
What? l don 't know.
l saw something.
Something not human .
Suddenly, l got a feeling from it.
- What is it, John ? - l don 't know.
- Some monstrous thing.
- Yes.
- Then you saw it too? - l saw a flash of some thing .
.
a creature, not human , and that feeling, l felt that too.
- You better destroy it, John .
- Destroy it? Destroy what? The whole thing.
Dundee planet.
The project? lt's a monstrous thing.
lt's not of this world.
You don 't know what we've got.
We're looking at a planet eight light years away.
That's so far that the finest telescopes we have can 't pick it out.
We've had to use second-hand information .
We've had to make assumptions.
But now, right here, we can see what's going on up there.
Why, we can watch evolution at work.
Why don 't we take the night off, hm? Let's go into town , have dinner.
Pete can mind the store.
- lt'd be good for both of us, OK? - l'm for that.
(big band jazz) You're not the greatest dancer, but l enjoy it.
- Well, l aim to please.
- You know something? You do.
You wanted me to have a change and you took yourself away from what you really want to be doing.
l know your work is terribly important, John .
So l won 't say anything about it again .
OK? Not after right now, that is.
You said you've been frightened.
John , l've been petrified.
For a second there, l felt such pure evil.
That creature makes me afraid in a way l've never been afraid before.
lt's the most awful feeling.
All hollow and achy.
Like death is near.
A kind of death that has no peace.
We should run as fast as we can .
lt's not the kind of l won 't say anything about it again .
Tomorrow, l'm going to pack you off back east.
Three or four weeks at home is what you need.
Come on .
Let's have one more dance.
l told Pete we wouldn 't be too late.
(animals squeaking) Hey, Pete's car is gone.
That's funny.
He knows not to leave the lab unattended.
l wonder where he went.
( Ethel) John ! John ! What happened to him? He was so alive when we left.
What's the matter with me? l'm so emotional lately.
Honey, why don 't you lie down ? l'll make you a drink in a minute.
John , will you please tell me what happened in there? Why do you have to spirit me off at this time of night instead of tomorrow? - What did you see? -Nothing.
l just think it's a good idea.
lf you're gonna go, why not now? - That's what you said before.
- lt's the truth.
-Not all of it.
- Of course all of it.
- l don 't want to get into semantics.
- Then don 't.
Neither do l.
l've got work to finish.
Good afternoon , Professor.
- What happened last night, Pete? - l'm sorry.
- And this morning? - l stayed in town .
Obviously.
Last night here all alone l got frightened Of what? What frightened you? Something you saw in there? - l don 't know.
- So, that's why you didn 't bother? Nothing wrong with being frightened, but you can 't run out on responsibilities, leaving the door wide open , leaving our work unprotected.
l'm sorry.
l won 't let it happen again .
No, Pete.
l won 't let it happen again .
l'll send you a cheque bringing your salary up to date and add a week's pay.
ls that satisfactory? - You're letting me go? - l'm sorry, Pete.
Well, this project has become very important to me.
- Or working here with you .
- Mm-hm.
(John) l sent my wife away.
l sent Peter away.
l can 't expose them to the dangers of this creature.
l wouldn 't do it myself except that it appears that the evolution going on on Dundee planet is the same as ours, and my observations here could be of fantastic importance.
There's that that creature.
When l opened the laboratory door and went back inside, the light must have affected it.
lt has form and a kind of a kind of substance.
Yet it's not like a creature of Dundee planet, not in the sense of being an inhabitant.
Rather it seems to be the spirit of the place.
A creature apart from its animal life.
And it appears to be gaining in strength and abilities.
Witness its predatory progression .
lnsects, plants, a bird, guinea pigs.
Then attacking me.
l'm tired.
l haven 't been to sleep.
This creature on Dundee planet must be in some way responsible for what l see there.
Violence, death, destruction .
A place of indescribable malevolence.
A place of death and hate.
A place without a god.
Perhaps that's why the light of day or any light is an anathema to it.
At this time tomorrow Dundee planet will have caught up with the 20th century here on Earth.
And at that time l'll be able to see our future by watching it unfold on Dundee planet.
lf l survive.
(rings) And now it's like our medieval times.
Killing, senseless cruelties .
.
even in the normal course of living.
The brutality is always there.
(car pulls up) (doorbell ringing) ( knocking on door) Pro fessor? Pro fessor? Pro fessor? Pro fessor! Pro fessor! What? What is it? We were worried, Professor.
He was here.
Who was here? He was here in this room.
My headlights are l forgot to turn them off.
- What are you doing here? - l called Mr Dundee.
- Why? - l had to, Professor.
l was worried.
- Oh, you fool.
- Peter deserves better than that.
He's worried to see you like this.
When did you last sleep? - Take Peter and go back to town .
- Well, l think Don 't think! l don 't want interference.
That's why l sent my wife away.
SS r.
Xo , yo u sent yo u r w fe away boca u se yo u wero afra d? o r h e r Jonathan .
You've pushed yourself too far.
Nothing will happen that's more important than rest for you .
Go on ! Go on ! Go! l don 't want or need your help! You're out on your feet.
You do need help! Shut up.
How plain do l have to make it? Get out, both of you .
Go on ! Get out! Go on ! l know you're here.
l'm gonna go on .
l'm going to finish as much of my work as l can .
You're not going to stop me.
Where are you? Where are you? The refinement of evil.
Scientific warfare.
And now it's the present.
The atom bomb.
The ability to destroy ourselves.
And in a few minutes, the future.
l'm going back to the microscope and then we'll know what's going to happen here on Earth.
Help! Ah John ? (John screams) Agh! (screams) Destroy it! The planet! Break the glass! Oh! - lt's gone? - Yes.
lt's gone.
You destroyed it.
That was kind of a madness and obsession .
l wanted to see into the future.
Well, maybe it's just as well l didn 't.
How did you know l needed you? - You told me.
- How? You didn 't answer when l phoned you last night.
Final report.
Dundee planet, star system Wolf 359.
The experiment is finished.
My planet is destroyed.
My recommendation to the Dundee Foundation : Change the planet selected.
lt's not a place we can land our spacemen .
But the project is feasible.
A planet can be recreated in a laboratory.
The odds are The odds are, Mr Dundee, that the next time The next time, it will be a place of some love and warmth like our planet Earth.
( man) There is a theory that Earth and sun and galaxy and all the known universes are only a dust mote on some policeman 's uniform in some gigantic superworld.
Couldn 't we be under some supermicroscope, right now?