The Outer Limits (1995) s02e15 Episode Script

Afterlife

1 (priest) Linden, there's no more time left, Please, for the sake of your immortal soul, confess your sins, My soul is safe, father, But if your murdered those people, Linden I didn't, God knows that, (priest) "The lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want, "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, "He leadeth me beside still waters, "He restoreth my soul, "He leadeth me in the path of righteousness "for his name's sake, [alarm beeping.]
"Yea, though I walk "through the valley of the shadow of death, "I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, "Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me, "Thou preparest a table before me "in the presence of mine enemies, "Thou annointeth my head with oil, "my cup runneth over, "surely goodness and mercy will follow me "all the days of my life, "And I shall dwell in the house of the lord forever," The state pronounces Inmate 47-5662 deceased, The official time of death: 12:11 A, M, [gasping.]
(maculhaney) Welcome back, Sgt, Stiles, Am I alive? In deference to your once distinguished military career, we have been authorized to offer you a choice, You can either submit to a medical experiment vital to the security and interests of the United States, or we can conclude your execution, (Maculhaney) Take your time, sergeant, We understand, This is a big decision, (male narrator) There is nothing wrong with your television, Do not attempt to adjust the picture, We are now controlling the transmission, We control the horizontal and the vertical, We can deluge you with a thousand channels or expand one single image to crystal clarity and beyond, We can shape your vision to anything our imagination can conceive, For the next hour, we will control all that you see and hear, You are about to experience the awe and mystery Which reaches from the deepest inner mind to The Outer Limits, [whooshing.]
(narrator) When the machinations of fear collide with man's inventive genius, the result can be both irreversible and terrifying, (Stiles) What kind of medical experiment? If you survive the program, You'll be given a new I, D, , a place to live outside the U, S, And a sizeable cash deposit, What are you? State Department? C, I, A,? (maculhaney) You're wasting time, sergeant, Black ops, Am I right? What's it gonna be? I'll give you another 30 seconds, You act as if I had a choice, You do have a choice, You can say no, By saying no, I would be committing suicide, And that would fly in the face of your religious beliefs, wouldn't it? Yes, it would, But you knew that, I'll take that as a yes, What kind of medical experiment? You'll find out soon enough, Oh, A Dr, Kursaw will be by to examine you later, Welcome aboard, sergeant, Lock it up, [alarm buzzing.]
[alarm buzzing.]
Sgt, Stiles, I'm Dr, Kursaw, I have orders to take some blood, some hair, and a small skin sample, That's all? I cut myself quite a deal then, That's a joke, doctor, Here, It's all right, I won't hurt you, (man) Roger? What are you afraid of? You killed 11 people in cold blood, Oh, I have killed people, Many more than that, But in war, I was a soldier then, following orders, just like you are now, And I swear to you, before god, that I did not commit the murders of which I am accused, I followed the trial on television, sergeant, It was quite public, Yes, I was framed, Probably by the same people you're working for, Why would they do that? I was ordered to gun down a foreign national for purely political reasons, I refused, For that, I was dishonorably discharged, I publicly denounced the government and the military, and for that, I am being punished, You probably don't think that that can happen in this country, but if the right people want you silenced There were witnesses, All military personnel, The D, N, A, evidence was irrefutable, And that is your particular area of expertise? Yes, it is, And that is what you're collecting from me now, D, N, A,? You know, if you're gonna be the one conducting these experiments, whatever they may be, I'd like you to believe that I'm not the monster that they've painted me to be, Whether I believe you or not won't change anything, It might stop your hand from shaking, When does it begin? I wouldn't know, You are a better soldier than I, kursaw, If they've gone to all this trouble to get me here, if that's what this really is all about, then I can only assume that it's another death sentence, Can you at least tell me that much? No, Let me guess, You've just been transferred here, You got your orders last night at midnight, and you're more than a little surprised that your first assignment is to draw blood from someone that you think is executed, See, I know the way these people work, Information is dispensed on a "need to know" basis, Doctor, I need to know, Get some rest, You may need it, [alarm Buzzing.]
How's your patient? Apparently alive and Well, sir, So, you know who he is, And you were never afraid for your life or concerned that he might harm you in some way? No, sir, Do you feel sorry for him? Sir, I don't think of him one way or the other, I did the job I was asked to do, Good, What's your security level, doctor? 2, Consider yourself upgraded to 5, What you're about to see is classified top secret, You will speak to no one about it in any way under penalty of court martial, understood? Yes, sir, Open it up, Oh, my god, We want you to find out if it's compatible, If necessary, we want you to make it compatible, (Ellen) With what? Human D, N, A,? More specifically, with sgt, Stiles', they came a little over a year ago, There was an a, W, A, C, S, sighting in canyonlands, utah, followed by an interception, One of our fighters was illuminated by something like a radar, The pilot thought He was under attack, Why don't you take your sample, doctor, You don't want this to thaw, Believe me, the stench is I can imagine, He fired a sidewinder into the alien craft from POINT Blank range, Our response team was able to recover all traces of the wreckage, which is now under reconstructive study at S4, Lacking an interstellar drive, we believe what crashed originated from a much larger ship, Which is still out there? These parts appear to have come from 2 different aliens, The explosion left little of the craft and even less of them, as you can see, Are you going to be able to construct a computer model of what they might have looked like from this? [sighing.]
we tried that, Insufficient data, However, this is the sum total of what we know about them, Basically, they're a carbon-Based life form With a D, N, A, Helix very similar to our own, Incredible, And you want me to combine this with Stiles' D, N, A,? It could change him in ways we can't imagine, One small step for man, one giant Leap for mankind, I see, I assume you've tried this with primates, It's in the back of your report, The alien D, N, A, appears dominant, begins overriding that of its terrestrial Host fairly quickly, One ape managed to survive for a period of about 3 weeks before Increasing cranial pressure caused a massive hemorrhage, It was quite violent, How can you be sure the same thing won't happen to a human? We can't, But take a look at this, Tell me what you see, The left is human D, N, A,, the right is from our alien sample, (maculhaney) Close, isn't it? The right is alien? Yes, Something falls from the stars, It turns out to be closer to man than anything else on earth, So, ,, uh, I I need to study the helical structures, see if there are enough proteins to bind with Stiles' But, uh, it's possible, Reservations? We may be condemning a man to a long and painful death, Hopefully, we're condemning him to a new life, As one of these aliens? If all goes well, And the point of the experiment? Look, we have to know what we're up against if we ever have to defend ourselves against these creatures, My god, I think in this case, the end justifies the means, [alarm buzzing.]
Good morning, Good morning, Another day of fasting, another night of cleansing, that can only mean one thing, Another bone Marrow biopsy, No, That's all behind you now, What's ahead? [soldier yells.]
(post) Stiles, Sir! At ease, sergeant, You're a civilian now, Yes, sir, Thank you, sir, Good to see you, sir, Is it? Been a long time, Last time I saw you, we were flying out of iraq in the back of a shot-up chopper, Yes, sir, A lot of innocent people were dead, I remember, Not exactly our finest hour, No, sir, You do realize, don't you sergeant that by going public with the details of that Covert mission that you brought all this upon yourself, So I could live with myself, You shouldn't have done it, Linden, You refused a direct order, It was in good conscience, sir, The U, S, Military can't allow The U, S, Military shouldn't be in the assassination business, The man that you let go put back the peace process in that region by years, That doesn't justify murder, That's not up to you, damn it! Apparently not, Perhaps you could tell me what is, sir! Tell him, We intend to inject you with genetic material, Of what? Of extraterrestrial origin, Extraterrestrial? As in, not of this earth? That's right, I've been trying to guess what this experiment was about, but I must admit, that one never crossed my mind, [Stiles Laughing.]
Where did you get this extraterrestrial genetic That's all you're required to know, What are my chances of coming through this? The genetic match is close, Much closer than I thought possible, There's a strong chance that you'll survive in some form, In some form? Yes, Interesting choice of words, Time to begin phase 1 of the experiment, You ready? General post, sir? Back when I was still trying to defend myself in earnest, sir, in that charade of a trial, my council asked me if there was anyone who could attest to my character, sir, a man who would stand alongside me in the face of those heinous crimes and state that sgt, Linden Stiles is not a murderer, I told them, sir, that you were that man, sir, Yes, sir, I am ready, sir! Goodbye, Linden, Proceed, (Ellen) Yes, sir, I hope your hands have stopped shaking, doctor, Please disrobe, Mr, Stiles, and lie down, Yes, ma'am, I'm going to give you a series of injections, I expect them to be quite painful at first, Wait, I want to forgive you for what you are about to do, in case I don't get the chance later, [whispering.]
I forgive you, doctor, [Stiles shouting.]
[gasping.]
[retching.]
[Stiles sobbing.]
[Stiles whispering.]
they can change your body, But they cannot touch your soul, They can change your body, But they cannot touch your soul, They can change your body, But they cannot touch your soul, They can change your body, But they cannot touch your soul, [alarm buzzing.]
(Stiles) No, no, no, no! Good morning, Linden, I can't, Please, No more, doctor, There won't give be any more injections, I just want to take a few tissue samples, That's all, Could you please allow me the dignity of some clothing? We need to monitor your physiological [shouting.]
I'm not a rat in a cage! I'm a human being, Please, Give me that much dignity, Get him some clothing, Thank you, They said I killed those people, I know, I didn't kill anyone, I wasn't even there, I didn't even know who they were, They said I walked into that army recruitment office and gunned them all down, But I didn't even know where I was, No, why would they say that, doctor? I didn't know, That doesn't matter now, 11 people had to die, so they could call me a killer, I'm not a murderer, Dr, Kursaw, You're delirious, Why? Let me take the sample, Then you can get dressed and lie down and I won't bother you any more, Why is there blood on my hands? Do you see the blood on my hands? Why? I didn't kill anyone! Do you hear me? I'm not a murderer! You can't turn me into one, I'm innocent, Is the alien D, N, A, physically affecting his mind? The M, R, I, shows that his brain is expanding at a rate his skull can't accommodate and there are masses Growing throughout his body I can't identify, The pain is making him delirious, (Ellen) I could give him something for it, even something to lower his blood pressure, It's through the roof, (maculhaney) That'd change the conditions of the experiment, Might keep your subject alive, Maybe, But maybe we're seeing how the alien mind operates, I doubt that very much, sir, You're guessing, I know my patient, Any other man would be dead by now, He keeps saying over and over again that he's innocent, He's fixated, Yes, yes, He said it at the trial, So maybe he wants us to admit it, Then why don't you? For his sake, Because I think it's what's keeping him alive, (Stiles) you can't change the truth, You can't touch my soul! God knows! God knows! [Beeping.]
[alarm buzzing.]
Set it up, (lab tech) Adrenaline, (lab tech) No signs at all, 200, (lab tech) 200 stat, (Ellen) clear, I'm not getting anything, Clear, 400, (lab tech) 400 stat, (Ellen) Clear, (lab tech) Clear, Nothing at all, [beeping.]
Damn it, I'm sorry, Stiles, [gasps.]
[shouts.]
(Stiles) Ugh, (lab tech) Check for pulse, There There is no heartbeat, [Stiles whispering.]
Here, You've grown another heart, A man is supposed to die when his heart stops, What does that make me? Tell me about the pain, Is it still bad? No, Not so bad any more, It's all right, doctor, You can admit it now, Admit what? That you believe me, I'm innocent, You did believe me, doctor, [screaming.]
Ugh, I'm sorry, Doctor, you all right? [breathing deeply.]
How much more am I gonna change? I don't know, I, ,, I think you've lived through the worst of the transformation, You have a powerful survival instinct, sgt, Stiles, Lift him up, What is your name? Dr, Kursaw, No, No, Your given name, Ellen, Ellen, (Ellen) What is the dive pressure equal to now? (lab tech) 40 atmospheres, (post) Shouldn't we convert to a nitrox mix? Regular Air is Lethal after 160 feet, isn't it? He's already passed the 1000 foot mark in our dive simulation, general, with no visible signs of respiratory distress yet, Whatever landed here is 3 times more biodiversified and adaptable than anything we've got on earth, What about his strength? At least 5 times that of an average man, More, I suspect his hearing and sight have improved dramatically, (maculhaney) That'll be all for today, Dismissed, Stiles, they tell me you've developed extraordinary Sensory acuity, Your hearing is that good, Why didn't you tell Dr, Kursaw? Never show your advantage to the enemy, You know, we're both on the same side of history here, Stiles, We're just playing different roles, Yours is the martyr, And what is yours? Just one of the Romans, Have a good night, Stiles, [siren blaring.]
(maculhaney) Don't shoot! Don't shoot! [Crashing.]
Go, go, go, go, He got out, Imagine that, Excuse me? Call out your unit, general, It's time to implement phase 2, Delta, The Fox is running and the hunt is on, I repeat, the hunt is on, The hunt is on? What's going on? A field test, doctor, (Ellen) You let him go on purpose, Why? What if one of those creatures that crashed got away? We've to know that we'd be able to stop them, That's what this is all about? You turn him into some kind of alien creature, so you can hunt him down and kill him? First rule of engagement, doctor, Know your enemy, What if they're not our enemy? What if they're benevolent creatures? I hope they are, But what if they aren't, doctor? My job and yours is to make sure we don't find out the hard way, "The lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want, "he leadeth me beside still water, He restoreth my soul," They can change my body, But they cannot change my soul, They can change my body, But they cannot touch my soul, This is not an exercise, gentlemen, One of our f-117's just shot down a u, F, O, On the other side of this canyon, Containment is in progress but we do have a hostile extraterrestrial incursion, I repeat, A bona fide H, E, I, Somewhere in the vicinity of this canyon, You are authorized to terminate with extreme prejudice, gentlemen, Let's send them a message, (post) Move out, (Hawkes) Sector 6, clear, Proceeding to coordinates April-Victor-7, Over, (man) Roger, Aah, [yells.]
[yells.]
base frequency, What is it? (Stiles) General post, this is Stiles, Stiles is dead, What is this, some kind of a trick? (Stiles) Corporal Hawkes is alive and well, Get a fix on him, Now! [Stiles laughs.]
I'll be long gone from here by the time you can get here, You give yourself up, (Stiles) Oh, that's not what this experiment is about is it, general? You see, I know you wanted me out here, Escaping was too easy, (Stiles) But if you're trying to bait me, it won't work, I will not kill anyone, I understand more about humankind than I ever did when I was a man, Hello? Hello? (man) Unit g, return to sector 3, We have a partial radio triangulation, Roger, [Hawkes yelling.]
(Taylor) Hold your fire! Hawkes is dead, If you back a wounded animal into a corner, he'll strike, Do I detect a cheer from Stiles' corner? This test won't tell you anything, It won't tell you what kind of weapons they might have, It won't tell you what their belief is about killing, What their methodology is, The only thing it will show you is how Stiles, the man, would react, Your opinions will be welcome once again, Dr, Kursaw, at the autopsy, I'm goin' out there, [high-pitched whining.]
forward, (Taylor) You too, [gasps.]
[panting.]
tell them who I am, This is sergeant Linden Stiles! I am not a murderer, Tell them, He is not a murderer, (Stiles) go on, He never killed those 11 people, He was framed by the military and the government, Thank you, general, (soldier) ,, ,in the hole! Doctor, [tent opening.]
[muffled cry.]
Don't make a sound, Stiles, ,, I used to be, I didn't know they were planning to do this, I found out after you escaped, I swear it, I believe you, I don't care what they think anymore, Linden, they used me, too, But you're still human, Am I? I did that to you, They made monsters of us both, If I knew Ellen, do you think I killed those people? No, Not any more, I wanted to hear you say that before I went away, Wait, Let me try and reverse it, [whispering.]
Stiles, ,, (Ellen) Let me try and reverse the process, We're beyond that, No, We're not, I only had time for one initial trial, but I managed to inhibit the proteins that make the alien D, N, A, dominant, Do you understand what I'm saying, Stiles? That you can make me human again? I can't promise that, but I can try, I'm not sure I wanna be, Please, It should only take an injection, The human D, N, A, will become dominant again and you'll Meet me at coordinates alpha-Charlie-2-3 at 07:30 tomorrow, Can you find it alone? You said so yourself, sergeant, I'm a good soldier, Ellen, Did you bring the injection? (Ellen) Yes, it's, um, it's here, I can give it to you now, I don't know how long it'll take to work but it shouldn't be Your hand is shaking, Why? I'm afraid that it might not work, It already has, I don't understand, Right now there are probably 20 sharpshooters in Concealed positions setting up a kill zone around us, They made me do it, Linden, Please don't hurt me, I would never hurt you, Ellen, Would this have made me human again? No, There is no cure, This is a strong sedative, So I wouldn't put up a fight, So you wouldn't feel anything, General! Let the doctor walk away, I won't resist, (post) Agreed! Walk slowly, Keep your eyes front, Remember you are expendable to them, Linden, I Don't, One betrayal is enough, The experiment is over, sergeant, You failed, I've succeeded, I'm still not a murderer! I still have my soul, Ready! (post) Take your aim, [high-pitched whining.]
[all shouting.]
[high-pitched whining Intensifies.]
[all groaning.]
[whining stops.]
[yelling.]
My God, Relax, doctor, They've gone, You don't get it, do you? Get what? We failed the test, Mr, Maculhaney, What are you talking about? We failed the aliens' test, They were testing us, (Ellen) They set us up, (Ellen) They put the bodies in there to see what we would do, Do you understand? They were testing us, (male narrator) Can the true reason we so fear the unknown be that we know
Previous EpisodeNext Episode