THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD Screenplay by Charles Lederer Based on the story WHO GOES THERE? by John W. Campbell Jr. RKO 1951 8/29/50 FADE IN 1 EXT. NIGHT The snow piled streets at Dutch Harbor, Alaska. A wind blows. The street is empty. A bundled figure moves through the street toward a low roofed lighted building. A sign outside the building reads: "OFFICER'S CLUB, DUTCH HARBOR, ALASKA" Someone has scribbled the words under the printing "No Penguins allowed". The figure stops in the doorway and looks at a long thermometer. It registers twenty-five below zero. The figure continues into the club. 2 INT. OFFICERS CLUB ROOM - MIDNIGHT This is the social center for U.S.A. flying men roosting in the polar regions. The air base is near Dutch Harbor, Alaska - a commuting hop from the Arctic Circle. It is early winter. The night in Dutch Harbor is long and dark. In the room two of the six gaming tables are occupied. At one sits a four handed bridge game. At the other sit five men playing poker. RADIO MUSIC - an American Service Broadcast - is coming a bit feebly into the room. All is cozy and steam-heated in the room. Among the five poker players are three men who are to be active in our story. One is W.O. Vic MacAuliff. He is a tough, taciturn radio man. He has seen service everywhere, heard nearly all the languages and drunk nearly all the different brews of the earth. The second is Captain Pat Henry, in his early thirties. Captain Henry has been a flyer since he shed his first stocking cap. He is a man of whimsey and temper and also mood. The third is Lieutenant Eddie Dykes, a tall, homely man under thirty. The overcoats, boots, ear-lapped military hats of the aviators lie on an unused table nearby. EDDIE DYKES (as he shuffles and deals) It was about a hundred and five in the shade in this place. The women didn't wear any clothes at all to speak of - which was very intelligent of them. You lay in a hammock and three of them stood there fanning you. When I die, I hope to go to Accra. MACAULIFF I was there. HENRY (looking at his hand) I open for one dollar. PLAYER I stay. PLAYER I'm out. MACAULIFF Going up. He puts two chips on the table. EDDIE Scotland strikes again. I'm in. Cards, gentlemen. Two other players add another chip each to the pot. HENRY Three. PLAYERS Three. MACAULIFF These'll do. The figure has entered the room and is surveying the poker players as it removes its wrappings. He is Ned Skeely, a newspaper correspondent. HENRY Hello, Skeely, how are you? SKEELY Faintly alive. Twenty-five below and going down. It's a night for brass monkeys. HENRY Care to join us? SKEELY As soon as I count my fingers. I may have lost some. HENRY I think you know everybody here. Players smile and say "sure." MACAULIFF I haven't met the gentleman, Captain. HENRY Ned Skeely - Angus MacAuliff. MACAULIFF How do you do, sir. EDDIE Mr. Skeely's a newspaper man, Mac. We're going to put on a snow ball fight for him tomorrow. Skeely takes a seat next to Eddie. HENRY (returning to the play) One dollar is bet. EDDIE Against a pat hand hald by a Scotchman. Captain Henry, your decorations for valor have gone to your head. I'm folding. MACAULIFF Call. HENRY A pair of aces. MACAULIFF Beats two queens. EDDIE (to MacAuliff) You ought to know better than to try fooling my pal. Only dames can do that. HENRY (quietly) I promised you a kick in the belly. EDDIE (mockingly) Forgive. Forgive. A slip of the tongue. HENRY (to Skeely) How'd you make out with General Fogarty? SKEELY Your general is nursing his secrets like a June bride. MACAULIFF Deal 'em out, lieutenant. EDDIE You in, Mr. Skeely? SKEELY Yes. I am always interestad in pauperizing the air force. EDDIE (dealing) I've got a big idea that involves you, Mr. Skeely. You're not going to get any story out of this post. Forgarty has given us all instructions to treat you like a Russian spy. SKEELY General Fogarty is going to end up on his knees begging for my attention. EDDIE (intently) This is more practical, Mr. Skeely. There's a man in Edmonton who can give you the whole Radar defense story. Loves to talk. General MacLaren. You tell the General you want to get to Edmonton - and Pat and I'll fly you there. SKEELY I know General MacLaren. He bores me. EDDIE (desperately) Don't be like that! It's warm in Edmonton! They've got girls in Edmonton! Without fur pants on! SKEELY (to Henry) How about it, Captain? HENRY Let's play cards. MACAULIFF (to Eddie) Ye ought to know better than to try and shoo our captain southward - with his heart wrapped around the North Pole. HENRY That'll do, Mr. MacAuliff. MACAULIFF (grinning) I open - for two dollars. SKEELY (casually, as they play) What's going on at the North Pole? EDDIE Some scientists are holding a convention there. Looking for Polar bear tails. Ever hear of Dr. Carrington? SKEELY The fellow who was at Bikini? EDDIE The same. HENRY They're holed in about two thousand miles north of here, a lot of botanists and physicists. EDDIE (solemnly) Including a pin-up girl. Very interesting type. Captain Henry can give you any data on her you want. HENRY (looking at his cards and speaking quietly to Eddie) Someday I hope to have a co-pilot a cut above a high school boy - or at least dry behind his ears - A voice comes over the P.A. speaker. VOICE Captain Henry. Captain Pat Henry. Report to General Fogarty's quarters at once, please. Henry rises from the table. SKEELY (frowning and serious) Twelve thirty and a general yelling for his troops. Sounds like the old days. Henry starts putting on his overcoat. DISSOLVE TO: 3 INT. GENERAL FOGARTY'S QUARTERS. NIGHT A living room with a fire going in the fire place. The room is fairly well furnished. Some war trophies are on the wall, including a piece of a Japanese aeroplane, a Jap sword, and other important war souvenirs. Three men are in the room. One is General Fogarty, in his forties; the second is the adjutant of the post, Major Smith. The third is Corporal Hauser from the post's communication center. FOGARTY (to Corporal Hauser) If any more messages come in from that base I want to be notified personally, no matter what time. Tell the O.D. CORPORAL Yes, sir. There is a knock on the door. FOGARTY Come in. The door opens and a blast of freezing air hits the room as Captain Henry enters. He closes the door. HENRY Good evening, sir. Corporal Hauser opens the door and exits, letting another blast of cold into the room. The General shivers, scowls and grumbles. FOGARTY (shivering) Freddie, any chance of the Pentagon sending us a revolving door? MAJOR Could be. We got a gross of pith helmets last week. FOGARTY (to Henry) I've go something queer here from your picnic party up north. Just came in. (he reads from a paper) Believe air ship unusual type crashed in our vicinity. Please send facilities to investigate. Most urgent. (he looks up) It's from Dr. Carrington. What's it sound like to you, Pat? HENRY I think I'd better hop up. FOGARTY (dryly) I knew you'd say that. But what do you think you'll find, besides your lady friend? HENRY (quietly) I don't know. Any of our ships reported missing? MAJOR Not a one. HENRY Could be a Russky. They're all over the Pole, like flies. FOGARTY (smiling) Don't get nervous. You're going. When a double dome like Professor Carrington says "most urgent", small people like us have to jump. Better take a dog team and everything you might need for rescue work. HENRY I'll take off at 4:30. MAJOR What's the weather, Pat? HENRY There's a bad front moving in. But I think there's enough time to get there and back without bumping into it. FOGARTY You can do me a favor, Pat. HENRY Yes, sir. FOGARTY Take that newspaper fella up with you - and maroon him there. HENRY I'll invite him. FOGARTY And don't get me wrong about who gets marooned, Captain Henry. I would appreciate it if you didn't smash a landing ski and find it necessary to twiddle your thumbs for a week while it's being repaired. HENRY (coldly) That accident was unavoidable, sir. FOGARTY So was Romeo and Juliet. I'll expect you back tomorrow night - with or without Mr. Skeely. Good luck. DISSOLVE TO: 4 INT. C-54 PLANE. IT IS FLYING THROUGH A DIMLY LIT SKY. BELOW ARE CLOUD BANKS. In the plane are W. O. MacAuliff, Ned Skeely, Navigator Lieutenant Ken Ericson and Light Engineer Corporal Barnes. Captain Henry is flying the ship, Lieut. Dykes is beside him. MacAuliff is at his radio instrument. A dozen huskies and several sleds are in the plane, plus a pile of other cargo tied down under tarpaulin. SKEELY How far are we from camp? HENRY Three hours. We've slowed down. There's a breeze blowing. EDDIE DYKES (grimly) A breeze, he says. It's hitting forty miles. But you'll find that our captain has some funny ideas about the North Pole. He thinks it's a garden spot. Come and bring the kiddies. HENRY (grimly) You're yapping is out of order, Eddie. I'm not going to tell you again - EDDIE Always squawking - that's me! And for no reason! Shackleton went to the North pole once - and retired with a bag full of medals. I get to go there every three weeks - like it was lover's lane. HENRY (coldly) I'd like you to get this straight, Mr. Skeely, if you write anything. I'm liaison officer between our post and the Carrington outfit. These flights are strictly official. Usually bring in supplies. They're charting magnetic currents, growing new kinds of polar plants, looking for minerals. EDDIE That's right, Skeely. I was only kidding. It's a terrific outfit. The biggest collection of double domes ever got together on an ice cake. MACAULIFF (to the talkers) Something's coming through. Henry, Eddie and Navigator Ericson put on their head phones and listen. EDDIE (listening to the ear phones) Somebody's gooped up! HENRY (removing ear phones) Give me a new reading, Ken. KEN I can't understand it. SKEELY Who was that? HENRY The radio man, Hendrix - talking for Carrington. He wants us to correct our compass reading twelve points East. A magnetic disturbance is whacking away at everything. KEN (working) This is no place to make a mistake, Pat. We were bee-lining for the place. Hadn't we better get them back. HENRY No. Carrington doesn't make mistakes. We'll follow ground instructions. DISSOLVE TO: 5 INT. PLANE. A VIEW FAR BELOW OF THE SPRAWLING POLAR SETTLEMENT. Small dots of roofs on a flat expanse of snow. The plane starts descending. DISSOLVE TO: 6 EXT. POLAR PROJECT CAMP - DAY The C-54 makes a landing on skis some two hundred feet from the largest of the low looming buildings. The arrivals drop out of the plane door. A half dozen Eskimo workers belonging to the camp hurry toward them. DISSOLVE TO: 7 INT. LARGE ASSEMBLY ROOM OF POLAR EXPEDITION It is 60 per cent underground. It's windows are near the ceiling and function as transoms for light. The room is comfortably furnished and warm. It's steam pipes run along the wall. In the room are Dr. Chapman, Dr. Algari and Mrs. Chapman. Chapman is a forceful looking man in his forties. His wife is a good looking woman of forty who is also his assistant. Chapman is a minerologist. Algari is an elderly man, white haired. He is a botanist. A male cook stands at a large electric stove. He is cooking coffee and a hot lunch in a number of pots. Chapman walks up the stairs to the door, which is near the top of the room. He opens it. Captain Henry and his group come down the stairs. CHAPMAN Very pretty landing, Captain. We watched it. How was the trip? HENRY Nice ride. This is Mr. Skeely, Dr. Chapman, Mrs. Chapman, Dr. Algari. Mr. Skeely's a newspaperman. SKEELY Glad to know you. CHAPMAN (smiling) Glad to have a newspaperman drop in on us. We're a bit off the beaten track. SKEELY (looking around) Don't tell me I'm practically at the North Pole! Looks more like my old Kentucky home. HENRY Any further information, Dr. Chapman? CHAPMAN I'm convinced it's some sort of Russian air craft. Probably some new jet propelled rocket. ALGARI I very much doubt that, Hugo. I don't understand Russian science, but it can't be as far advanced as the indications we have from the crashed ship. CHAPMAN If it is a ship. We're all quite excited, Captain. HENRY Where's Dr. Carrington? CHAPMAN In the lab. MRS. CHAPMAN They'll all be here for lunch. It's ready - if you'd like to eat first. Fresh vegetables. HENRY (to Skeely) From their own garden. SKEELY Garden? MRS. CHAPMAN (smiling) Hothouse. SKEELY You have a hothouse! At the Pole! EDDIE (winking at Skeely) They've got everything here. Wait till you see. HENRY I'll join you in a few minutes. ALGARI I'll take you to the lab, Captain. HENRY Thanks. I know the way. He starts out of the room. MRS. CHAPMAN Please sit down, everybody. The group moves toward a long refectory table set with twenty places. We follow Captain Henry out. 8 INT. A CONNECTING UNDERGROUND CORRIDOR BETWEEN TWO OF THE CAMP BUILDINGS Henry, enters it and walks toward a steep stairway. He climbs it and knocks on a door. A voice calls. VOICE Come in. He opens the door. 9 INT. NIKKI'S OFFICE AND SLEEPING QUARTERS A small office-like room, lined with filing cabinets, holding a desk, a typewriter stand, a voice recording machine, and a couch that serves as a bed, is revealed. Sitting at the desk, typing, is a vivid, young woman, Alberta Nicholson. She is called Nikki. She stops typing and rises. NIKKI Pat! Welcome to our igloo! HENRY (smiling) Hello, Nikki. You look like seven million dollars. How are you? NIKKI Wonderful. Sit down. HENRY I talk better standing. He steps up to her and embraces her ardently. She pulls out of his embrace, calmly, and without alarm. NIKKI Please. (she straightens her hair) I think Dr. Carrington is waiting for you. HENRY Dr. Carrington will have to wait. I'm busy. He tries to embrace her again. NIKKI (evading him) No, you're not. HENRY (frowning) What's the matter? NIKKI Now, don't act surprised. We've been all through this before. I don't like promiscuous love making. It's meaningless. HENRY Who's promiscuous? We're alone, aren't we? NIKKI Pat, last time you were here, I spent three days wrestling with a typical air corps wolf. It was like playing puss-in- the-corner with Bluebeard or somebody. You even invaded my bedroom, claiming you were looking for a lost pocketknife. Now, I'm fond of you, Pat, but this time, if you don't keep your hands to yourself, we're through. HENRY You're fond of me, eh? Well, I'm fond of you, too. What are we waiting for? NIKKI We're waiting until we get to know each other. HENRY (grinning) Now you're on my side. Come here. You'll get to know me. NIKKI (pushing him away) Not that way. HENRY What other way is there? NIKKI (desperately) Didn't you ever hear the word "conversation"? Didn't you ever read a book, or see a movie - or - or think about anything? HENRY Yeah. But you don't want to talk about what I'm thinking. NIKKI No, I don't. If that's all you can think! HENRY I got other thoughts. NIKKI It would be an entrancing diversion to hear one. HENRY Well, try this one. Dames are all alike. NIKKI That's not a thought. It's a cliche. And a stupid cliche. HENRY All dames want to get married. If you ask them to marry you, you're sincere. If you don't you're Bluebeard, and a wolf. NIKKI (dangerously) Are you saying I want you to ask me to marry you? HENRY Never could figure them out. If you buy a dame one meal and try to kiss her, you're a wolf and a Bluebeard. But if the same fellow promises to buy her thirty thousand meals, then he's a prospective husband and he couldn't beat her off with a stick. NIKKI Yes, and tell a fellow your garter belt is your own business, and he'll think of every mean, stinking thing in the world to say back to you! HENRY (calmly) That's the war of the sexes, I guess. NIKKI Well, I hate war! HENRY On the other hand, it's my business. I got a commission. Gimme a kiss, Nikki. NIKKI I'm tired of you. Now, come on. Doctor Carrington's eager to see you. HENRY (gloomily) Okay. Lead on, Miss Nicholson. I guess I came to the wrong Pole. He follows her out. DISSOLVE 10 INT. DR. CARRINGTON'S LABORATORY This is a large chamer in a separate building. Here are concentrated the instruments used by the various scientists in their astronomical, mineralogical and botanical experiments. At a large flat-topped table in the room sits Dr. Arthur Carrington. He is a man of 43 with an alert, cheerful face. He is good looking, well built, soft spoken. His dominant characteristic is a smile that seems never to leave his lips. It is present always on his face like an extra feature. He is a genius of science and a man whose brain is focused like a microscope on the secrets of nature. But the intensity of his preoccupa- tion with science is not to be heard in the easy tones of his voice. It will be seen in the things he does, in his point of view - but never in his manner. Outwardly, he seems only a good looking man full of child-like enthusiasm for a task and with a soothing, amiable way for his fellow man. In the room with Dr. Carrington is a lean young man named William Stone, in charge of the camp's photographic work and equipment. Captain Henry stands silently in the doorway, his eyes moodily on his scientific rival. The doctor is studying the indicator dials of a complex instrument on the table. Bill Stone greets the arrivals. STONE Hello, Nikki. Hello, Captain Henry. How was the trip? HENRY (shortly) O. K. He remains staring at the preoccupied Carrington who seems aware neither of his or Nikki's presence. NIKKI (quietly) Captain Henry is here, doctor. CARRINGTON (without looking up, his voice amiable) Yes, I know. (his eyes stay on the indicator dials and he continues softly) Would you take these notes, please. (he dictates to Nikki quietly. She writes as he speaks) November second, 2 p.m. Deflection on screen nineteen continues - twelve point three. No lessening or wavering of disturbing element. (he looks up and smiles at Henry and adds softly) Can we start now, Captain Henry? HENRY (coolly) Mind telling me where we're going? CARRINGTON Forty-eight miles due east. HENRY Your message said an aeroplane had crashed. Is that what we're looking for? CARRINGTON (smiling) I don't know, Captain. HENRY (covering his irritation with difficulty) I'd like to know what I'm supposed to go looking for, Dr. Carrington. CARRINGTON (gently) So would I. (eagerly) I think we should start while the light holds. HENRY (without moving) We'll start after you've given me what information you've got. CARRINGTON (softly) Is that necessary, Captain? (he sees Henry's scowl and is quickly contrite) I'm very sorry. I was thinking only of the vagueness of my information. I dislike being vague. Will you please read Captain Henry my first notes, Nikki? NIKKI (opening the note book in her hand and reading from it) November 1, 11:15 p.m. Sound detectors registered explosion due east. 11:18 p.m. magnetic dial revealed twelve point three deflection. Such deflection possible only if a disturbing force equivalent to 20,000 tons of steel or iron ore had become part of the earth within fifty mile radius. HENRY That sounds like a meteor, doesn't it? CARRINGTON (amiably) Yes, very much. Except for our photographic plates. Our telescopic cameras were working last night. Here is the film taken between 11:12 and 11:15. Let Captain Henry see it, Bill. Stone switches on a light in a moviola box and runs a strip of film slowly through it. Captain Henry looks into the box. CARRINGTON You will note the small dot low on the film. It is moving from west to east. At 11:14 the dot moves upward. At 11:15 it drops to the earth and vanishes. A meteor might move almost horizontally from west to east, but never upward. If the traveling object caused the explosion we picked up, it is in the ice 48 miles from here. The sound reached us four minutes after the object's disappearance. This gives us the approximate distance from here. HENRY (frowning) Twenty thousand tons of steel is a lot of metal for an aeroplane. CARRINGTON For the sort of aeroplane we know, Captain. HENRY (abruptly) Come on, let's get going. He walks out followed by Carrington, Stone and Nikki. DISSOLVE TO: 11 INT. C-54 PLANE Captain Henry and Lieutenat Dykes are at the controls. The rest of the crew are in their accustomed places. A dog sled and a dog-team occupy the rear of the passenger cabin. Flight Engineer Barnes is scanning the snowscape below. So are Photographer Stone and the scientists Olson, Chapman, Vorrhees, Laurenz and Redding. Skeely is also peering avidly out of the window. There is an air of tension to the silence. Only Dr. Carrington seems relaxed. He shares a seat with Nikki. From time to time Captain Henry turns around to scowl at Nikki and Carrington. NIKKI (eagerly to her companion) I'm terribly excited, Arthur! I'm jumping up and down inside! CARRINGTON (softly) So am I. NIKKI (laughing) If the world were coming to an end, I don't think you'd change your expression, Arthur. You'd keep smiling - and dictating notes - and expect me to take them down accurately. CARRINGTON (nodding) And you would. Captain Henry has risen and left Dykes at the controls. He has walked back to Carrington and stood there waiting grimly for their talk to end. He speaks up now with irritation. HENRY We're fifty miles out, Doctor, and not a sign of anything. Those gadgets of yours must be screwy. CARRINGTON (amiably) I doubt it, Captain. They've exhibited no signs of lunacy in the past. NIKKI (to Henry) You must be off your course. HENRY (to Carrington, insistently, ignoring Nikki) We haven't seen anything, have we? What does that mean? CARRINGTON (amiably) It means we haven't seen it. It doesn't mean it isn't there. Henry's response is interrupted by a cry from Dykes. DYKES Hey, Pat! Look at this! The compass is turning around! HENRY (starting forward) What the holy -- CARRINGTON (calmly) We've passed it. (calling to Dykes) When did it start turning, Lieutenant? DYKES Just now -- fifteen seconds ago. CARRINGTON (to Nikki) Mark the time, please. (to Dykes) Is it a complete revolution? DYKES Yep. Hundred and eighty degrees. CARRINGTON (to Henry) Then we flew right over it about a mile and three eighths back. HENRY (curtly) Thanks. (he calls to the cockpit) Spin it around Eddie, and take her down low. Henry returns to the cockpit. Carrington follows him and stands gazing out over his shoulder. 12 LONG SHOT OF ICE FIELD FROM SHIP'S POINT OF VIEW A dark patch in the ice appears. 13 INT. COCKPIT CARRINGTON AND DYKES (together) There - I see it - over there! DYKES It's buried in the ice. HENRY (peering at the ground) What do you think, Eddie? DYKES (pointing) Looks pretty smooth over there - HENRY (nodding) Fasten your seat belts, folks. We're going to land. DISSOLVE TO: 14 THE ICE PLANE The C-54 lands gracefully on its skis. Its occupants disembark. Barnes and Dykes start hitching up the dog team. NIKKI (standing on tiptoe) I can't see it from here. HENRY It's that way. About a half mile. CARRINGTON A little more south, I believe. NIKKI Oh, I hope we don't lose it. CARRINGTON (smiling at her eagerness) Hardly. MACAULIFF This'll lead us right to it. He holds up a Geiger counter. CARRINGTON (surprised) A Geiger counter. But there's no reason to suppose it's radioactive. MACAULIFF It is, though. I noticed in the plane. See? He holds up the counter. It clicks steadily. DYKES All set, folks. HENRY (to Nikki) You ride on the sled. Nikki gets on the sled. It starts off, the rest of the party trotting along in its tracks. DISSOLVE TO 15 THE ICE PLAIN NEAR THE DARK PATCH The sled stops. Nikki gets off and runs with the others to the dark patch. They stand looking down at it from a little hillock of snow and ice. BARNES That's no aeroplane. OLSON It's certainly not a meteor. MACAULIFF Whatever it is, how in the holy name of Aberdeen, did it get in there? Look, the ice is smooth as glass. There is a little chorus of agreement and wonder. HENRY This is the craziest thing I ever saw! CARRINGTON Not really. HENRY (over polite) Perhaps you'll be good enough to explain the little mystery to all us ordinary people. CARRINGTON (staring at the dark patch) Anything hitting the earth's atmosphere at an astronomical speed would be white hot in an instant. It would melt its way into the ice which would then freeze over it again. Skeely and Barnes have moved to another hillock to get a better view of the buried object. Suddenly Skeely lets out a yell. SKEELY (at the top of his lungs) IT'S A SAUCER! IT'S A FLYING SAUCER! There is an instant's silence. They all stare into the ice. OLSON (softly) Bless my soul, that's what it is! AD LIB A saucer! A flying disc! Sure, look from over here - see? A real, honest-to-God saucer! See the direction vanes... They said there were no such things... D'ya suppose there's anyone in it? Must be ... Sure... SKEELY (jumping with excitement) Axes! Get some ice-axes! Barnes and Dykes run for axes. STONE Stand back, everybody! Let me get some pictures! SKEELY (wildly, as Stone starts photographing) Where's the radio generator! Hey, MacAuliff! (MacAuliff turns to him) Scotty, come on, quick! I want to send a message! HENRY (interrupting) Nothing doing. No private messages. SKEELY What do you mean, private! I'm going to send it to the whole world! HENRY Sorry, Skeely. This is army information. I'll have to wait for authority to let you file a story. SKEELY (beside himself) You've got your authority from the Constitution of the United States! It's called freedom of the press! I'm sending my story, Captain! HENRY All right, send it. But not from my ship. Skeely glares at him in frustrated fury. Henry ignores Skeely's rage, and turns to MacAuliff. HENRY (cont'd) Call Hendrix..Have him wire Fogarty we've found a flying disc - intact - imbeaded in the ice - and we're going to get it out! MACAULIFF Yes, sir. He starts for the plane - Skeely at his heels. SKEELY (urgently) Looky, Scotty! This is the biggest story since the Red Sea! A ship from another planet! You can't cover it up! Have a heart! Think what this means to the world! MACAULIFF I'm not working for the world. I'm working for the army, and I've got my orders. SKEELY (furiously) Even the Russians wouldn't act like this! He starts back toward Captain Henry. OLSON (to Carrington) What do you make of that, Arthur? It certainly doesn't look like 20,000 tons of steel. CARRINGTON Not even a ton, I'd say. During the above, axes have arrived. Five of the men start hacking feverishly through the ice. Nikki stands beside Carrington. Captain Henry joins the men chopping on the ice. The little group on the wind-swept snow work silently and desperately to remove the four feet covering of ice from the saucer. CHAPMAN (coming up to Carrington) What do you think it's made of, Arthur? CARRINGTON No element we know on this earth. NIKKI (excitedly) I don't see any door or windows in it. CARRINGTON They must be underneath. OLSON (peering) I can't make out any engine. CARRINGTON I doubt if we'll find anything we call an engine. SKEELY (arriving out of breath) What planet do you figure it's from, Doctor? CARRINGTON Not this one. SKEELY Must be Mars. That's the only one that's supposed to be inhabited, isn't it? CARRINGTON I'll be able to answer your questions a little more accurately after I've examined the interior of the craft and its occupants, if any. Skeely grabs an axe and runs toward the chopping group. NIKKI Occupants! They must be dead, though! CARRINGTON Dead or alive - we'll learn a great many things we don't know in the world, now. The group is swinging axes. Captain Henry suddenly stops digging. He looks up at the sun looks at his watch. HENRY (to Dykes) We can't make it, Eddie. The light'll be gone in an hour. The temperature's dropping, too, I think. EDDIE (looking toward the horizon) That storm front's moving in fast. But we can't quit. We've got to keep going! It's from Mars! HENRY I'm not going to try an instrument landing on skis in the dark - and kill off everybody. EDDIE (eagerly) We can dig for another half hour, Pat. HENRY If they get that close - I'll never get them back in the ship. They're so excited now they don't know they're half frozen. EDDIE (excitedly) Look, Pat - I feel fine. I'll stay here all night. Just leave me a sleeping bag and some whiskey. HENRY (suddenly) I got a thermite bomb on the sled. Go get it. We'll melt the ice away. EDDIE (axe in hand) Wonderful! What a brain! He runs toward the sled. At the same moment one of the diggers cries out. BARNES (axe in hand) Here's a piece in the open! We've uncovered it! The scientists and the axe wielders run over to Barnes. Captain Henry comes over. Dr. Carrington drops to his knees and examines a two foot metal edge protruding from the ice. CARRINGTON May I have a file, please? BARNES Here's one. He removes a file from his heavy clothes. The group watches as Dr. Carrington starts using the file on the protruding edge of the saucer. CHAPMAN What's it look like, Arthur? CARRINGTON (hitting the file against it) I don't know. Probably an alloy. I'll try and get some filings. We can analyze them tonight. (he looks up and smiles at the group watching him) We haven't much time. I suggest you all continue with your excavating. HENRY No need to. We've got a thermite bomb. CARRINGTON (pleased) Thermite! Oh, excellent! He stops filing and rises. He stands staring down at the machine in the ice. Lieut. Dykes arrives with a thermite bomb, a length of wire and a plunger. MacAuliff comes running up at the same moment. MACAULIFF (panting) They're relaying the message to Fogarty now. We ought to have an answer in an hour. I got some news back from Hendrix. The barometer fell down to the cellar and a freeze is coming up like nobody's business. He says to watch out. HENRY I'm watching. Drill a hole for that bomb, Eddie. SKEELY (moving in to the group in time to hear the last ramark) A bomb? Is that safe? DYKES (as he digs the hole, Barnes assisting) It's S.O.P. Standard Operating Procedure for removing ice. It just melts it. BARNES It'll uncover the whole saucer in thirty seconds. NIKKI I'm so excited, I'm almost sick to my stomach. HENRY (to Dykes) That's deep enough, Eddie. The light's going fast. CARRINGTON (softly, as he continues to stare at the metal mass at his feet) Five minutes from now we may have the key to the stars. A million years of history are waiting in that ice for us. DYKES All set, Pat. HENRY Clear the field, Mac. MACAULIFF (calling) Over here - everybody. Keep together. The crew and scientists and Nikki move across the ice, led by MacAuliff. Eddie uncoils a hundred feet of wire and walks with it. Captain Henry stands in the increasing wind - surveying the dimly outlined ship in the ice. HENRY (raising his arm) Let her go, Eddie. Eddie presses the plunger. There is the normal thermite bomb explosion. A glow of the thermite flares and dies. EDDIE (calling out) O.K., folks. She's clear. Before anyone can move there is a muffled exlosion. And a second flare starts under the ice. Gradu- ally the glare builds up. The whole ice field becomes illuminated from beneath by an unbearable light. The onlookers are forced to turn their eyes away, all save Carrington, and Henry who continue to stare at it. A chorus of exclamations and queries rise from the group. AD LIB What is it? What happened - Secondary explosion? Don't look - Shield your eyes! How can it burn - in the ice? Chain reaction - from the thermite! Etc. SKEELY (grabbing Chapman's arm) What's happening to it. Tell me, Doc! CHAPMAN (slowly) I'm afraid it's disintegrating - totally. CARRINGTON (his face tense) Secrets - that might have given us a new science. Gone! Captain Henry stands aghast as the wild burning consumes the ship under the ice. He sees its outlines run and vanish. Skeely comes up to him. SKEELY (raging) Standard Operating Procedure, you blind ape! You've destroyed it! CARRINGTON I should have thought - I should have thought... SKEELY You sure should! The greatest discovery in history up flames! Fine work! (he wheels on Henry) The army can be proud of itself - turning a whole civilization into a Fourth of July piece. Even the Indians acted smarter toward Columbus! CHAPMAN Not a shred left. Every bit of it gone - and we know nothing - nothing. CARRINGTON We know one thing...what it was made of. Obviously a magnesium alloy. CHAPMAN That's right. Only magnesium would react to heat that way. SKEELY (bitterly) Splendid! There's a story for me. (quoting) Scientists learn magnesium burns! DYKES (to Henry) Want me to mark the spot - so we can find it after the storm? Captain Henry has been staring into the wind-swept ice. He has stood silent under Skeely's abuse. HENRY (to Dykes) Later, Eddie. First, I want you to bring up all your picks and axes. Mac, I want your Geiger counter. And bring the dog sled. MACAULIFF Where to? HENRY I saw something under the ice about fifty feet from here. The flare lit it up. He holds the Geiger counter in front of him and starts walking slowly. Carrington, Ericson, Barnes, Dykes and Skeely move along at his side. The others straggle behind, MacAuliff leading the dog team. CARRINGTON What was it, Captain? HENRY I don't know. It was shaped like a man, but it might have been a piece of the disk. DYKES A man! You mean somebody got out of that saucer? HENRY Probably thrown out when it crashed. If it is a man. CARRINGTON (gesturing toward the counter, which is clicking) It's radio active. I imagine it must be a fragment fron the saucer. HENRY Maybe. It was sure man-shaped, though. CARRINGTON (with growing excitement) Good work, Captain. We may salvage something yet. SKEELY (pointing at the counter) It's getting louder. More to your left, I think. DYKES (pointing off) There it is! There! He points to an ice bank. Dimly visible in the ice is a two legged shape. SKEELY Is this a story! The man from Mars! MACAULIFF (excitedly) It's got legs - and a head. I can see 'em. NIKKI It is! It's a man... It really is! There is an ad lib chorus of excited remarks from the others. AD LIB There - see it? Look - right by that boulder! It's an animal. No - it's a man. Must be eight feet long. Etc. EDDIE How come it's frozen in the ice - if it was thrown clear? HENRY (chopping at the ice) Same as the saucer. Got melted in. SKEELY (chopping at the ice) How about using some thermite? HENRY Shut up! The men continue to swing their axes. MacAuliff has stepped into a small depression in the ice and is closest to the figure they are trying to extricate. The ice surrounding it has become flawed from their blows, and the figure it contains is practically invisible. BARNES (chopping) I can't see it at all now. SKEELY Hurry up, boys. I can't wait. (to Henry) Sure hope it isn't a mirage. HENRY No mirage. It's there all right. BARNES What did it look like in the flare? HENRY You'll believe it when you see it. MACAULIFF (from below) Hey - HENRY What's wrong, Mac? MACAULIFF (staggering away from the block they have carved out) I'm sick to my stomach. I sunk my pick right into its skull - something green oozed out. EDDIE No harm done. It was dead anyway. ERICSON The light's going, Pat. We haven't got time. HENRY You're right. BARNES Hey, look. The whole block's coming loose! CARRINGTON (nodding) Recently formed ice. Separates easily. HENRY All right -- everybody on it. We'll load the whole slab onto the sled. They load the block onto the dog sled, and start hauling it across the ice field. DISSOLVE TO: 16 EXT. POLAR CAMP. THE LIGHT IS ALMOST GONE The C-54 appears in the lowering sky. It flies erratically in the increasing wind. The plane makes a precarious landing on its skis, the rising gale buffeting, and almost overturning it. A half dozen bundled Eskimos come out of the camp and move toward the plane. Barnes, Eddie and MacAuliff pile out. They help Nikki and the scientists alight. In the half dark, the pessengers start across the wind-blasted snow toward the camp. They move with difficulty. Words are inaudible in the gale. MacAuliff gestures the Eskimos toward the plane. They climb in. Captain Henry and Eddie bring out the dogs and a sled. The block of ice, half covered by a tarpaulin, is dropped from the plane's door. Working in the icy blasts now sweeping the dark, the men move the ice-block onto a sled. Others tie the plane down, tethering it to stakes pounded into the ice. With the plane tied down, the party starts for the camp. The dogs draw the sled with the ice-block on it. DISSOLVE TO: 16A EXTERIOR ENTRANCE TO STOREROOM A series of steps have been cut through the snowbank outside the storeroom entrance. The ice-block is unloaded from the sled and bumped down the steep steps. 17 INT. STORE ROOM It is a dimly lit room, piled with barrels of scientific equipment. It has the look of a gloomy well stocked cellar. The ice-block is slid into a clear space in the middle of the room. Barrels and boxes are moved to make more room around it, all the group assisting. HENRY (to Eddie) Send the Eskimos away. EDDIE They've hot footed it already. It's going to take a lot of coaxing to get them back. MACAULIFF Anyone got some whiskey? EDDIE (poking among some boxes) Here's a whole bar room. He removes a bottle and starts opening it. BARNES (to Henry, nervously) What do we do now, unveil him? HENRY Nothing to see through the ice. (to Carrington) Can you turn off the heat in this room, Doctor? CARRIGTON (softly) If it's necessary. EDDIE What d'you meen, turn off the heat. It's fifty below outside. CARRINGTON I suggest we discuss our procedure before we take any further steps. HENRY (to Eddie) Open the window, Eddie. Eddie stares at him and climbs up to the window. LAURENZ (full of tension, his eyes on the tarp covered block of ice) We're wasting time, Captain! We must melt it out. Investigate! Examine! HENRY We're not melting it out. EDDIE (from the ladder top) The window's closed. HENRY Punch a hole in it. Eddie breaks the window. LAURENZ This is stupid! Criminal! The secrets of a universe are in there. We are scientists! CARRINGTON (quietly) It's almost certain that we'll be called in by the army to make a study of it later, Captain. LAURENZ You can't fly the thing to Dutch Harbor! This storm may last for weeks. No human can walk in it. HENRY I'm sorry, gentlemen. I'll wait instructions from General Fogarty. SKEELY (quietly) I think you're making a crazy decision. There's no army precedent for how to treat a Martian. And nobody is better qualified to take our visitor apart than these gentlemen of science. You couldn't ask for more geniuses at an autopsy. HENRY It's staying in the ice. LAURENZ You're behaving like a meddlesome sophomore, Captain Henry! There are organisms that survive after death. Cold may destroy them. REDDING (quietly) They may be dangerous organisms. Disease germs from another planet. We're not prepared medically to cope with them. LAURENZ That is absolute nonsense, Redding! REDDING Nor do we know what effect the air of our earth may have on the creature's remains. HENRY Yes, I'd feel kind of foolish if this thing disappeared in a cloud of smoke like that saucer did. LAURENZ (to Carrington) Arthur, you are in charge of this post. VORHEES We have every right to proceed scientifically. CARRINGTON (controling himself) Captain Henry, I can only urge you in the interest of human knowledge to permit us to examine the body in there - LAURENZ (excitedly) We don't have to be permitted! We have thirty men in this camp - all armed. HENRY Your request is denied, Dr. Carrington. That ice-block and what's in it is army property. And this is a military installation. As head of the military here, I'm taking over. SKEELY Martial law, eh! HENRY Until I receive instructions from my superior officer on what to do - we'll mark time. I'm posting a guard to keep everybody out - and everybody's hands off - in the meantime. CARRINGTON (softly) Captain Henry is doing what he considers right. (to Henry) It's difficult for me to mark time - with such amazing information waiting for us - but I accept your decision. I suggest that your guard use one of our electric blankets to keep warm. Will you get him one, Fred. A mechanic present nods. HENRY Thanks. How do we get to your radio room? CARRINGTON I'll show you. (he starts out) SKEELY (excitedly) The radio room! I'm getting senile! I forgot all about it. Skeely starts out. EDDIE Mind if I have a last peek at our pal -- He goes to the ice-block, and pulls off the tarpaulin. The dim two-legged shape is blurringly visible inside the block. HENRY Come on, Eddie. EDDIE (staring at the frosted ice-cake) I can't quite make it out yet, but I know one thing. They don't bread 'em for beauty on Mars. The rest of the group leaves through the inner door. We stay with Ken. He stands alone in the cellar, leaning against a barrel. He picks up a whiskey bottle and takes a swig. Then he approaches the block of ice. He stares into it for a moment and backs away. He removes his gun from its holster, and resumes his place leaning against the barrels, his eyes nervously on the ice-block. 18 INT. UNDERGROUND CORRIDOR - CONNECTING CELLAR AND RADIO BUILDING Led by Dr. Carrington, the group moves down the shadowy length. Skeely is talking as he walks beside Captain Henry. SKEELY (his excitement a contrast to the silence of the scientists and army men) Can you imagine what's going to happen when this story hits the headlines! Everybody who owns a sled is going to start for the North Pole for a look at the man from Mars. Gentlemen, you'll be doing a bigger business than Coney Island in a week! What a shame, he's dead! An interview with a live Martian! That would have been something, eh? Look, Captain, you've got to let these boys get at that corpse as soon as possible. Our readers will be waiting for details. You're liable to give the whole nation a nervous breakdown. 19 INT. RADIO ROOM The entire communication equipment of the post is housed here. A step-ladder leads to a trap-door which in turn leads to a small observation tower above the radio room. Sitting at, the radio controls is Ezra Hendrix, the operator. The group enters. Ezra is a stocky young man. He is full of excitement as he turns to the arrivals. EZRA I'm using full power. The lousy pole is shooting electricity all over the place. HENRY I'm Captain Henry. Any messages for me? EZRA Yes. Came through a few minutes ago. (he reads from a piece of paper) Fogarty to Henry. Remove flying saucer from ice at once. Use thermite bomb to melt her out. Erect temporary structure to protect find until my arrival with staff chiefs. SKEELY (beaming) That's what I like about the army. Smart - all the way to the top. (to Henry) Well, Captain, that gives you a chance to pass the buck on that thermite deal. HENRY (ignoring him) Will you send this to General Fogarty? SKEELY Make it short, will you, Captain? There's a hundred and fifty million people holding their breaths - HENRY (to Ezra) Henry to Fogarty. Flying saucer completely destroyed by thermite bomb, due to unforeseen composition of ship. Have removed dead passenger from wreck... EZRA (as he taps the key) You got a Martian? Where is he? SKEELY On ice, buddy. Hurry it up - I've got a flash for you. EZRA (tapping) The static's knocking us out of the air. HENRY Keeping dead body in block of ice. Carrington wants permission to remove and examine. Waiting your instructions before further action. That's all. SKEELY (eagerly) O. K. Cosmopolitan Press Office, New York City. You can clear through Edmonton. Try our bureau there. (he dictates) With Carrington expedition. North Pole - The world has a new visitor today, a two legged creature from Mars. CARRINGTON You are being a little premature, Mr. Skeely. That has not been established. SKEELY You can un-establish it - if I'm wrong, Doctor. EZRA It's dead. SKEELY (angrily) I know it's dead. EZRA I mean the sender. Nothing's going out. SKEELY Keep clicking, man! It can't quit on you now! Another telegraph clicking sound comes through. EZRA Something's coming in. He starts writing. CARRINGTON It will alter our situation, Captain - if we can't get through to your General. HENRY The situation remains as it is - until we do. EZRA (reading from the paper on which he has been writing) Everything grounded - can't join you. Want you to - (he looks up) The rest is scrambled, Captain. Can't pick it up. HENRY He didn't get my message? EZRA Doesn't look like it. We're a weaker station than the one at your base, Captain. I may be able to pick them up - if they keep sending - but our outgoing stuff is hopeless. SKEELY Lookie! You can't stop! I've got to get this story through. Send it anyway. Some ham may pick it up - there's millions of them. Send it! (to Henry) Pat, how about heading back for Dutch Harbor? HENRY I don't think we can get as far as the plane - in this wind. SKEELY (desperately, as he leans over Ezra) Keep hitting it, pall! Somebody'll get it - somewhere. Keep clicking... Ezra clicks desperately away on his instrument. The group stands waiting and silent. DISSOLVE TO: 20 INT. BEDROOM OF THE POST. NIGHT This is a large dormitory with cot beds in it, lining the walls. Henry, Eddie, Barnes and Skeely are in the room. Skeely is walking up and down, peering out of the window at the storming night. Eddie sits on a cot. Barnes is curled up on another cot. Henry is at a window, looking out. EDDIE You know something? These scientists here remind me of the time I was stuck on Bulan Island with the Hundred and Sixteenth. An army nurse came ashore one day and created a disturbance similar to this Martian. BARNES (from his cot) What happened to her, Lieutenant? EDDIE Nothin' she didn't like. I'm just wondering if the professors will try to rush us, Pat. HENRY (grimly) Might relieve the monotony if they did. EDDIE I'd hate to have to shoot down seventeen of the world's greatest geniuses. You know somethin? HENRY What? EDDIE They're kids, all of them. Nine year olds drooling over a new fire engine. Scientists! Did you notice those two double domes who started crying - when we left the table? SKEELY (suddenly) This storm is getting worse, Captain. HENRY Yes, it's tossing around some. SKEELY There's only one thing we can do - dog sleds! We can wrap General Fogarty up and take him along. EDDIE Fogarty? SKEELY That's my name for our pretty boy from Mars. He has the same dubious relation to a human being as that pot-bellied clam in Dutch Harbor. Dog sleds, Captain, are our only solution. HENRY Solution to what? SKEELY Getting out of here - we could make the base in five days - HENRY Cut the yammering, will you. I've got enough on my mind. It's death outside. The storm will knock off even the Polar bears. The door opens and MacAuliff enters. MACAULIFF He's going crazy. EDDIE Who? MACAULIFF Fogarty. EDDIE Which one? MACAULIFF Are you nuts? There's only one Fogarty. EDDIE There's two now. Skeely's baptized our Martian with the same name. HENRY What about the General? MACAULIFF Incoming stuff is pretty jammed. But I've figured it to read there's been a leak in Washington. News of our find has made the papers. Congress and the President and a lot of other top brass want further details. HENRY They're not picking up anything from us? MACAULIFF Not a crackle. SKEELY laughs. HENRY (frowning) What's the joke, Skeely? SKEELY (chuckling) A picture of my editor just came to me...tearing up and down his office - breaking windows and yelling for Skeely. I can almost hear him. He's liable to shoot himself by mid- night. The door flings open. Navigator Ken Ericson enters. He is in a high state of agitation. KEN (loudly) Where's Barnes? BARNES (sitting up) What's up, Ken? KEN (violently) It's eleven five. You're supposed to relieve me at eleven. HENRY (sharply) You've left your post! KEN (wildly) He's late. He was supposed to come at eleven. HENRY Shut up! KEN (desperately) I can't take it any longer, Captain. HENRY Take what? KEN You can see it now! The ice has cleared up. It's got crazy hands. No ears, and a lot of eyes. They're all open! I turned a flash on it - and it looked like it was moving. And I lit out. HENRY Get back to your post. KEN (slowly) O. K. HENRY Barnes will be right along. KEN O. K. HENRY Get going! KEN Yes, sir. He turns and walks slowly out of the room. SKEELY I'm going to have a look. HENRY You're staying out of there, Skeely - along with everybody else. Put on your flightsuit, Barnes. And get in there before Ken starts having kittens. BARNES (pulling on his electrically heated flying suit) That's the first squawk I've heard out of Ken since Ploesti. I don't like it. SKEELY All I want is to verify what I know - about it's being four-eyed. EDDIE He didn't say four eyes. He said - HENRY Never mind what he said. I'm barring all civilians. SKEELY You're being a little stuffy about this whole thing, Captain Henry. BARNES I won't need the electric blanket - if I got this suit plugged in. So in case you care to send me any company, I could make them comfortable, Captain. HENRY I'll relieve you myself at 2 a.m. And don't leave your post. EDDIE Pat's right, Barney. If you give them a chance, those scientists will have him out - waltzing with him. BARNES O.K., Captain. I'll expect you at 2 a.m. HENRY Right. Barnes opens the door. Nikki is in the doorway. She is dressed in a fetching looking outfit. BARNES (passing her) Good evening, Miss Nicholson. NIKKI Hello. May I come in? HENRY (coolly) We're a bit untidy. NIKKI (smiling at him) Dreadfully unsocial atmosphere around, even for the North Pole. HENRY I'm sorry to have contributed to your gloom, Miss Nicholson. NIKKI Miss Nicholson! Is that what happens under martial law - everybody loses their nicknames? HENRY (stiffly) Did you want to see me about anything in particular? NIKKI No. I was having a drink - all by myself in my room...and playing the phonograph. And I suddenly felt I was being very selfish. All that lovely music, only for me. HENRY (smiling at her) Want company? NIKKI That's what I'm hinting at, Mistah Henry. HENRY (to Eddie) I'll be in Miss Nicholson's quarters if anything comes up. SKEELY I take it Miss Nicholson's quarters are also out of bounds for civilians. HENRY During army occupation only. He moves Nikki through the door. 21 INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE NIKKI'S ROOM Nikki and Captain Henry approach it. They walk in silence. Nikki opens the door. 22 INT. NIKKI'S ROOM AND OFFICE HENRY (a bit sarcastically) You sure you trust me with little you all alone in your bedroom? NIKKI Yes, I think I can. HENRY Very manly. You ought to wear pants. NIKKI (giggling) I do. HENRY (handing her a drink) Outside of that news, what's on your mind. NIKKI I want a favor. HENRY Uh - huh.. NIKKI (producing a bathrobe cord) I want to tie your hands behind your back. HENRY (in a sudden temper) Oh, for - Look, you asked me in here - I didn't break down the door - why make a production of - NIKKI Please, Pat. I said it was a favor... HENRY (grudgingly) All right, then. But no practical jokes. Promise? NIKKI I promise. (indicating chair) Here. Sit here. And put your hands around the back. HENRY (obeying) The Secretary of Defense will never understand this. NIKKI (as she ties) It's all very simple. First there's a boogyman in a cake of ice down in the cellar. I've got a small case of jumps, and I want company. HENRY Is this the way you usually entertain your company? NIKKI (she has finished tying his hands) How about a drink. HENRY I'd love it. And a long straw, please. NIKKI (picking up a glass and holding it for Henry while he drinks) Second, I want you to know that out on the ice today, I noticed the way you jumped in between me and the exlosion... HENRY (patiently) Could we get to the point? Why am I tied up? NIKKI Because I want to tell you how much I admire you without getting fingerprints all over my clavicle. HENRY (sourly) Thanks for the compliment. Both of them. NIKKI Another drink? HENRY After you. NIKKI I'm going to have a straight one. But don't get your hopes up. Liquor doesn't make me amorous. HENRY (as she tosses off a drink) It ought to. Nothing else does. NIKKI (eyeing him steadily) I liked the way you handled yourself today, Pat. And I liked the way you stood up to all the big wigs, and refused to let them play around with the - with the thing. HENRY You like everything about me, but me, is that it? NIKKI No. I like you, too. In fact, I'm going to kiss you. HENRY Untie me, honey. NIKKI No. I'm going to kiss you, not wrestle you. HENRY (muttering) Talk about Japanese tortures - Nikki kisses him briefly and precisely. NIKKI That was very nice. HENRY Was it? NIKKI Very. (she pours herself another drink) See what a good time we can have when you're forced to behave yourself. HENRY Nikki, what you don't know about making love would populate the whole interior of Australia. NIKKI I'll learn. When I'm good and ready. (giggling) They say it comes naturally. HENRY Untie me now? NIKKI Not on your life. (she kisses him again) Admit it, Pat. This was a great idea. Look at you - sitting talking to me like a civilized man instead of grabbing around like a throwback. Why, if you weren't tied up, I wouldn't have dared tell you how much I liked you... HENRY (producing a cigarette) Got a light? NIKKI (automatically striking a match and lighting his cigarette) You see, your trouble is you don't know anything about women. You have no - no technique. What a woman likes is to - She stops and stares at Henry's hands, which are resting quietly in his lap. HENRY Among other things you don't know is how to tie a knot. (he stands up and grins at her) It's very likely because the only knots you have on your mind are marital ones. Good-night, Miss Nicholson. He goes out. DISSOLVE 23 INT. STOREROOM A faint light from the underground hallway comes through a transom. Barnes enters. The electric blanket discarded by Ken lies on a nearby packing case. It is plugged into the electric light socket, hence no light in the room. Barnes snaps on his flashlight and gets a bottle of whiskey out of another case, opens it, and takes a long swig. He leans over and plugs his flying suit into the other half of the double-socket shared by the electric blanket's plug. He takes another drink and, sitting in the semi-dark, starts whistling "Ragtime Cowboy Joe." Suddenly he stops whistling and laughs. BARNES (self-mocking) Whistling in the dark, aren't you, Barnes?.. He lifts the whiskey bottle again, then sits staring toward the ice-encased mummy. BARNES (cont'd) (suddenly) All right, let's ses what you look like, sonny boy - He switches on his flashlight, and centers its beam on the ice-block. As Ericson said, the ice is now almost transparent. Through it, only partially distorted, can be seen an unearthly horror. It has a bulbous head, a tiny suck-hole for a mouth, multiple eyes, no ears. Its arms are extra-long, ending in thorny clusters, rather than hands. It stares malevolently through the ice. Barnes lets out a grunt of dismay, and turns the flashlight away. BARNES Whew! He drinks again, and then starts making himself comfortable. He uses a bag of flour for a pillow, and prepares to stretch out on the floor. Abruptly he shines the flashlight on the ice again. BARNES (angrily) Quit staring at me! He sees the blanket lying on the nearby packing case. He picks it up, and throws it over the ice-cake. BARNES I could go nuts looking at you... He lies down, puts his head on the flour sack and taking a magazine from his pocket prepares to read. The camera moves to the electric blanket now covering the ice-cake, then follows the electric connection down to the indicator affixed to the cord. The indicator hand points to the "full on" position. After a moment, the camera moves back to the floor beneath the ice block. A slow dripping has commenced. The sounds of the rising storm outside obscure the pit-pat of the drops hitting the floor. A small puddle starts to form. DISSOLVE TO: 24 THE PUDDLE It is now a large puddle, very large. The camera pans across the wet floor, and discovers the puddle is close to Barnes' legs. 25 CLOSE SHOT - BARNES He is having difficulty reading. His flashlight has started to wane. He snaps it on and off, experimentally. The battery is nearly dead. Barnes aims it at the printed page once more, then decides it is useless for the time being. He snaps it off, and stretches himself out more comfortably. A splinter of light from the hallway outside still illuminates the scene. 26 CLOSE SHOT OF PUDDLE It continues to grow. The howl of the storm outside does not lessen. DISSOLVE TO: 27 STAIRWELL OUTSIDE STOREROOM The form of a sled dog appears. It stands poised at the top of the steps for an instant, pointing eagerly at the storeroom window. It is joined by three or four more sled dogs. They start to bark angrily, their snouts still aimed at the storeroom window. They run down the stairwell and press their muzzle against the storeroom door. 28 INTERIOR STOREROOM CLOSE SHOT OF BARNES He is sleeping. The barking and eager whining of the dogs can now be heard over the storm noises outside. The CAMERA PANS down to Barnes' legs. The puddle has reached them, and, as we look, they stir slightly, causing a little splatter of water. Barnes abruptly sits up into the picture. BARNES (staring into the darkness at his feet) What the -- At this moment, a moving shadow falls across his face. He looks up quickly. An expression of pure terror appears on his face. He screams eerily, springs to his feet, and jerks out his revolver. He fires six times, then, still screaming, jumps for the storeroom door, the cord from his flying suit snapping out of the fixture and trailing behind him. He yanks open the door and runs into the corridor. 29 INT. CORRIDOR Barnes races down the corridor, yelling at the top of his lungs! BARNES It's alive! It's alive! It's alive! 30 INT. MAIN CORRIDOR As Barnes appears, still yelling, doors have begun to pop open. Captain Henry, pyjama-clad, gun in hand, comes running out of his room and grabs Barnes. The other inmates, in various stages of undress, tumble out into the hallway only minutes later. Barnes continues to shriek incoherently. HENRY (shaking Barnes) Shut up! Cut it out! (he slaps Barnes, who stops screaming, and stands sobbing with terror) Now! What is it? What happened? BARNES (almost in shock) It - it - it came after me! It's alive, I tell you! HENRY (sharply) Did you fire those shots? BARNES (staring past him) I shot it - six times - it kept on coming at me. HENRY (releasing Barnes and wheeling to Dykes, Ericson and MacAuliff) Sounds like some joker's loose. Come on. Bring your guns. He starts for the storeroom, Eddie, Ken, and Mac following. CHAPMAN (to Mrs. Chapman, indicating Barnes) Esther, better give this lad a sedative. I'll be right back. He starts up the hall. Carrington appears in his doorway. CARRINGTON (joining Chapman) Did I hear right? The boy said it was alive? CHAPMAN (nodding) Probably had a bad dream. NIKKI (calling after Carrington) Wait for me, Arthur. CARRINGTON You stay here, Nikki. (he stops and faces the group in the corridor) I'd appreciate it if you'd all wait in the living room until we can check this nightmare. Thanks. He continues down the corridor, Chapman following. 31 INT. STOREROOM. Henry leads the way into the room. He snaps on a light, and stands staring at the electric blanket in the puddle of water. HENRY (blankly) Gone - DYKES Those double-domes! They stole it. ERICSON No. The kid said it was alive! I knew it - all the time I was here - I could feel it! DYKES Nuts! How'd it get out of the ice? For answer, Pat indicates the electric blanket. HENRY Somebody threw a hot blanket on it. DYKES I know who. Those six-year old Einsteins, that's who. Carrington and Chapman have appeared in the doorway. CARRINGTON What did we do, Lieutenant? DYKES (furiously) Swiped the freak. Hustled it off somewhere to take it apart, that's what! CARRINGTON I assure you, Lieutenant -- CHAPMAN (suddenly) Sh - h. Listen! All heads are turned toward the open door. Over the whine of the wind they hear a chorus of savage barking and growling. HENRY The sled dogs - ERICSON He's out there - CHAPMAN They'll tear him to pieces! Abruptly, Carrington brushes through the group, and darts out into the howling night. He is clad only in his pajamas and bathrobe. DYKES Doctor! Stop! CHAPMAN Arthur - are you mad! Henry curses under his breath and charges in pursuit. Locating Carrington with his flashlight, he brings him down with a flying tackle. Carrington struggles to escape Henry's grasp, but Henry succeeds in leading him back into the storeroom. The storm noises have made their exclamations inaudible. HENRY (panting) Mac - get flying suits - hurry - MacAuliff runs out. CARRINGTON (also winded) If you please - Captain - you may release me now - HENRY (doing so) That was a pretty stupid move - for a genius. DYKES You'd have been frozen to death in five minutes! CARRINGTON (apologetically) Too much zeal, I'm afraid. Forgive me, gentlemen. CHAPMAN (peering into the night) Over there - I see something! HENRY Put out the light. Dykes snaps off the storeroom light. The four men gaze intently into the dark night. Henry turns on his flashlight. Skeely enters the storeroom. SKEELY (excitedly) Where is it? Is it really alive? Can it talk? Who else saw it beside Barnes? What are you doing? Is it out there? Speak to me, somebody! HENRY Shut up. (he listens and looks for another moment) They're still barking. CARRINGTON (speaking through numb lips - his voice shivery) If only the dogs follow it. We'll never find it otherwise. SKEELY (a howl of dismay) Don't tell me you've lost it - you bungling army boob. This is worse than Pearl Harbor! MacAuliff enters, carrying flight suits. MACAULIFF Here you are, Pat. HENRY Grab one, Eddie. CARRINGTON May I have one, Captain? SKEELY Me, too! HENRY (dressing hurriedly) Army personnel only. SKEELY (through his teeth) Wait till you see what I write about you! You'll shoot yourself! HENRY (zipping his suit up) Snap it up, boys. He grabs his flashlight, and runs out into the storm. MacAuliff and Dykes follow a second later. Skeely, Carrington, and Chapman remain staring after them. 32 EXT. STOREHOUSE The army officers, leaning against the iron wind, grope their way toward the barking dogs. Their flashlights are almost useless in the snow flurries raised by the gale. They stop and confer for a second, their words carrying no further than the ear they are shouted into. Henry points with his flashlight, and the trio alters course accordingly. Suddenly a flashlight beam picks up some moving forms. All three flashlights center on the activity, but snow flurries continue to intervene. Dimly, a struggle can be discerned. The officers move toward it. A sudden increase in the wind knocks them down. They continue toward the barking and struggling, crawling on their hands and knees. 33 MEDIUM SHOT OF DOG PACK FROM HENRY'S POINT OF VIEW The dogs are tearing at a figure in their midst. A sheet of flying snow blots out the scene. When it reappears, the figure is gone. Henry, MacAuliff, and Dykes crawl into the scene. Two dogs lie dead in the snow. A third is wounded so hideously that Dykes shoots it. Henry signals his pals to pick up the dead dogs. They each take one. Henry stops and examines the ground. He picks up two objects, looks around, then starts back to the camp. DISSOLVE TO: 34 INT. DR. CARRINGTON'S LABORATORY It is crowded with nearly all the members of the expedition. The scientists are ranged around Carrington's table. The others stand behind him. Carrington is bent over the table. Captain Henry, MacAuliff and Eddie are immediately around him. A bright beam of light is focused on the table center, hidden from our eyes as we come on the scene. The crowd around the table is silent and tense, as at some overwhelming dramatic performance. Nikki stands beside the doctor. She is dressed in pajamas and a woollen robe. All the others in the laboratory are also hastily dressed, some in bath robes and slippers, some in sweaters and work pants. Skeely's large bulk is crowded behind Captain Henry, peering over his shoulder. CARRINGTON (as he works) Can you describe what you saw, Captain? HENRY (quietly) The dogs had him down, tearing at him. MACAULIFF I saw him get up, with three dogs on his throat. HENRY The cold's blinding. I couldn't make out the action. But when we got there two of the dogs were dead. EDDIE They looked like they'd been through a chopper. Mince meat! HENRY I found the hand under one of them. They must have torn it off. SKEELY How could dogs tear off a hand? CARRINGTON (softly) This kind of a hand. He is bent over the object on the table, looking at it through a powerful lens. 35 TABLE TOP On it lies a hand and part of a forearm. The hand has ten stringy looking fingers, twice the human length. They are stiffened and resemble a slightly arced set of thin knives more than fingers. OLSON Sharp as razors, aren't they? CARRINGTON (studying the knife fingers) Yes - a sort of chitinous substance. SKEELY (tensely) Speak English - will you! CARRINGTON Something between a beetle's back and a rose thorn. SKEELY Thorn fingered, eh? CARRINGTON (trying to bend one of them) Amazingly strong. CHAPMAN They may be frozen. CARRINGTON I don't think so. SKEELY Well, we know one fact about him. He's dead now. CARRINGTON What is your opinion, Captain? HENRY I don't know. He stayed alive in a block of ice for twenty-four hours. MACAULIFF After I'd sunk a pick into his skull. HENRY And he got up - with twelve dogs on him. OLSON (bending over the table) That's blood on the arm, isn't it, Arthur? CARRINGTON Yes - but not his blood. OLSON From the dogs? Carrington has been working on the arm with a scalpel. CARRINGTON There's no blood in the arm. No animal tissue. Have a look at this under the microscope, George. He hands a bit of material to Dr. Auerback, who adjusts it under a microscope. CARRINGTON (his voice soft as he continues his examination) I doubt very much if it is dead. I doubt if it can die - as we understand dying. SKEELY It's bound to freeze to death outside. EDDIE It got along all right in a block of ice - for twenty-four hours. AUERBACK (from the microscope) No arterial structure indicated, Arthur. No nerve endings visible. Porous, unconnected cellular growth. CARRINGTON I imagined that. SKEELY Sounds like you're trying to describe a vegetable, doctor. AUERBACK I am. CARRINGTON (hunched over the hand, his eye peering through his lens) Are you getting all this, Nikki? NIKKI (who has been writing in her pad) Yes, doctor. CARRINGTON That's why the bullets fired into it by Corporal Barnes had no effect. They merely punchcd a few holes into some vegetable matter. MACAULIFF What about the green stuff I saw ooze out of its head? CARRINGTON There is some of it in the hand. I think we will find it has a sugar base. HENRY Like - plant sap? CARRINGTON Yes. SKEELY (excitedly) You mean - its some kind of a super carrot, doctor? CARRINGTON A carrot that can construct a ship beyond our terrestrial intelligence, of materials we have not yet created - and guide it sixty million miles or more through space. MACAULIFF But you don't think it has any feelings, eh? CARRINGTON It has an intelligence beyond ours - and possibly feelings equally refined. HENRY (softly) A vegetable with a brain - SKEELY An intellectual carrot! The mind boggles! CARRINGTON It shouldn't. Imagine how strange it would have seemed in the pliocene age to forecast that worms, fish, and lizards that crawled over the earth were going to evolve - into us. On the planet from which our visitor came, vegetable life underwent an evolution similar to that of our own animal life, which would explain the superiority of its brain. Its development was not handicapped by emotional or sexual factors. SKEELY Dr. Carrington, you're a man who's won the Nobel prize. You've received every kind of international kudos a scientist can attain. If you were for sale I could get a million bucks for you from any foreign government. I am not, therefor, I going to stick my neck out and say that you are stuffed absolutely clean full of wild blueberry muffins, but I promise you that my readers are going to think so. CARRINGTON (smiling) Not for long, Mr. Skeely. In fact, not even for a moment if they happen to know anything about the flora of their own planet. SKEELY You mean there are vegetables right here on earth that -- that can think? CARRINGTON A certain kind of thinking, yes. Did you ever hear of the Telegraph Vine? Or the Acanthus Century Plant? SKEELY Not recently. CARRINGTON The Century plant catches mice, bats, squirrels -- any mammals small enough to evade its privacy. It lures them with a bait of sweet syrup then it closes like a fist and feeds on the corpse of its catch. It is only a plant but its brain can obviously outwit a species far above it in the scale of minds as we measure them. SKEELY (scribbling) Thanks, doctor. And what's a Telegraph Vine? CARRINGTON A vine that has proven beyond doubt that it can signal to other vines of its species twenty or one hundred miles away. If an insect migration, for instance, is moving in a certain direction, it will devour the first vine but the second