Prophets of Science Fiction (2011–2012): Season 1, Episode 2 - H.G. Wells - full transcript

Narrator: H.G. WELLS ENVISIONED
MIND-BLOWING ADVANCES

IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
IN TERRIFYING DETAIL

AND BECAME HAUNTED
BY ONE QUESTION...

WILL MANKIND ANNIHILATE ITSELF?

ARE WELLS’ NOVELS PROPHESIES
OF AN ADVANCED HUMAN RACE

OR PREDICTIONS
OF ITS EXTINCTION?

HE TOOK VICTORIAN SCIENCE AND
PROPELLED IT INTO THE SPACE AGE.

Carroll: HE ALWAYS HAD IN ALL
OF HIS STORIES A BACKDROP

NOT ONLY OF WHAT SCIENCE WILL DO
IN THE FUTURE,

BUT WHAT HUMANS WILL DO
WITH SCIENCE.

[ PEOPLE SCREAMING ]



Scott: TOMORROW BEGINS
WITH A SPARK OF IMAGINATION,

A FLASH OF INSIGHT

THAT DEMOLISHES
YESTERDAY’S LIMITATIONS

AND INSPIRES TECHNOLOGIES
TO CREATE NEW WORLDS.

I’M RIDLEY SCOTT, AND THESE ARE
THE PROPHETS OF SCIENCE FICTION.

YOU’VE GOT TO BE
LOOKING AT A MAN

WHO’S COMING OUT OF INDUSTRIAL,
VICTORIAN ENGLAND.

WHAT A VISION TO HAVE
AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME.

TO PUT THAT TOGETHER,
THOSE IMAGINARY WORKS TOGETHER,

I THINK
WAS ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE.

HIS PREDICTIONS THAT HE STARTED
PROBABLY IN THE 1890s

WERE ALL COMING TRUE.

Narrator: 29-YEAR-OLD H.G. WELLS
IS SEARCHING FOR INSPIRATION

FOR HIS LATEST STORY.



HE LIVES IN A WORLD

WHERE THE FIRST MOTION-PICTURE
CAMERA HAS JUST BEEN INVENTED,

AND THE LATEST IN TRANSPORTATION
TECHNOLOGY IS A BICYCLE

WITH CHAIN DRIVE
AND PNEUMATIC TIRES.

BUT WELLS IMAGINES
SOMETHING MORE ADVANCED.

SCENES APPEAR BEFORE HIM
FROM HIS NOVEL IN PROGRESS.

FUTURISTIC IMAGES
OF WORLD DESTRUCTION...

[ WHIRRING ]

"THE WAR OF THE WORLDS."

[ WOMAN SCREAMS ]

HE WENT BICYCLING
AROUND THE COUNTRYSIDE IN SURREY

MARKING OUT VARIOUS SITES
FOR DESTRUCTION BY THE MARTIANS

AND INVENTING WHAT HE CALLED

"PAINFUL AND ECCENTRIC WAYS
IN WHICH TO KILL MY NEIGHBORS."

Narrator: AS POWERFUL STORIES
TAKE SHAPE IN WELLS’ MIND,

HE DRAWS ON A LIFELONG INTEREST
IN SCIENCE TO FUEL HIS FICTION.

HERBERT GEORGE WELLS
WAS BORN IN 1866

IN THE TOWN OF BROMLEY
NEAR LONDON.

Narrator: THE YOUNGEST CHILD
IN A LOWER-MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILY,

HE IS PULLED FROM SCHOOL AT 13
AND PUT TO WORK,

BUT WITHIN THREE YEARS,

HE EARNS A SCHOLARSHIP
TO CONTINUE HIS EDUCATION.

Wells:
HE STUDIED SCIENCE AT COLLEGE,

WENT ON TO BECOME
A SCIENCE TEACHER,

BUT THEN BECAUSE OF ILLNESS,

ACTUALLY DISCOVERED HE COULDN’T
CARRY ON BEING A TEACHER,

AND SO HE TURNED TO WRITING.

VERY INTERESTING KIND
OF DICHOTOMY IN H.G.

BECAUSE HE WAS BOTH A CREATIVE
MAN AND A MAN OF SCIENCE.

Narrator: WELLS CONJURES
VISIONS OF SCIENTIFIC HORROR

THAT WILL BECOME THE HALLMARK
OF AN EMERGING LITERARY GENRE.

Kaku: I WOULD SAY
THAT H.G. WELLS WAS PERHAPS

A CENTURY AHEAD OF HIS TIME.

IN FACT, HE HELPED TO CREATE
SCIENCE FICTION.

HE ALWAYS HAD IN ALL
OF HIS STORIES A BACKDROP

NOT ONLY OF WHAT SCIENCE WILL DO
IN THE FUTURE,

BUT WHAT HUMANS WILL DO
WITH SCIENCE...

THE DIRECTION
IN WHICH HUMANITY WAS GOING.

HE WASN’T JUST WRITING THINGS
’CAUSE THEY WERE COOL.

HE REALLY WANTED TO KNOW
WHAT THE IMPLICATIONS WERE.

Narrator: WELLS LIVES AT A TIME

OF EXCITING
SCIENTIFIC SPECULATION.

IN 1877, MARS IS POSITIONED
ESPECIALLY CLOSE TO EARTH.

ITALIAN ASTRONOMER
GIOVANNI SCHIAPARELLI

REPORTS SEEING CANALI ON MARS.

HE MEANS "CHANNELS,"

BUT THE TERM IS MISTRANSLATED
AS "CANALS."

WELLS’ IMAGINATION IS IGNITED

BY THE IDEA OF LIFE
ON THE RED PLANET,

BUT IT IS HERBERT’S BROTHER
WHO PROVIDES INSPIRATION.

ONE DAY HE WAS HAVING
A CONVERSATION

ABOUT THE BRITISH EMPIRE
WITH HIS OLDER BROTHER FRANK,

AND, IN PARTICULAR,
THE TWO OF THEM WERE RECALLING

THE GENOCIDE OF THE NATIVE
TASMANIANS BY BRITISH SETTLERS

IN THE 19th CENTURY.

HIS BROTHER SAID TO HIM,

"SUPPOSE SOMEBODY WERE TO DROP
OUT OF THE SKY RIGHT HERE

"AND START LAYING ABOUT US

THE WAY WE LAID
ABOUT THE TASMANIANS."

AND THAT SPECULATION
BY HIS BROTHER GAVE WELLS

THE GERM OF THE IDEA
FOR "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS."

Narrator:
IN WELLS’ MOST FAMOUS NOVEL,

HUMANITY IS ON THE VERGE
OF ANNIHILATION.

Crossley:
"THE WAR OF THE WORLDS" DEPICTS

A SUDDEN, TOTALLY UNEXPECTED
INVASION OF THE EARTH

BY MARTIANS, WHICH LAND

ALL AROUND THE COUNTRYSIDE
IN GREATER LONDON.

Narrator:
MARTIANS STALK THE EARTH

INDISCRIMINATELY TARGETING
HUMANS WITH DEADLY HEAT RAYS.

IT IS A BLEAK VISION
OF SCIENCE PERVERTED

THAT WILL RESONATE
DOWN THE DECADES.

WELL, MY CONFRONTATION
WITH H.G. WELLS

WAS REALLY WHEN
I WAS REALLY YOUNG...

PROBABLY 12, 13, OR 14,
SOMETHING LIKE THAT...

WHEN I SAW "WAR OF THE WORLDS."

I WAS COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY
BY THAT,

AND THAT WAS FOR ME,
FOR 10, 15 YEARS,

PROBABLY THE MOST
IMPORTANT MOVIE

THAT I’D EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE.

AFTER I SAW THE ORIGINAL
"WAR OF THE WORLDS"...

I WAS QUITE YOUNG, OF COURSE...

MY REACTION WAS TO BE SICK
ALL NIGHT.

I WAS SO TERRIFIED.

THE IDEA THAT THERE
COULD BE LIFE OUT THERE

THAT WAS SUFFICIENTLY INTERESTED
IN OUR PLANET

TO MOUNT AN INVASION...
WHAT AN IDEA THAT WAS.

Narrator: BUT WELLS HAD NOT ONLY
CREATED A NEW TYPE OF FICTION,

HE HAD ACCURATELY PREDICTED
A NEW TYPE OF WARFARE.

WELLS DEPICTS WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN AN ENTIRE URBAN POPULATION

IS SUDDENLY UNDER THREAT
FROM INVASION AND MASSACRE.

THAT ENDS UP PREFIGURING
TO A REMARKABLE DEGREE

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WHEN CIVILIANS
BECAME THE TARGETS

IN GLOBAL WAR.

Narrator:
WELLS FEARS THE ABUSE OF SCIENCE

WILL HAVE
APOCALYPTIC CONSEQUENCES.

HE FORESEES CHEMICAL WARFARE,
TANKS, AND LASER WEAPONS.

THE HEAT RAYS
THAT H.G. WELLS IMAGINES

IN "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS"

ARE DIRECTED
FROM ROTATING LENSES,

AND THESE LENSES FOCUS A BEAM
OF LIGHT INTENSELY

ON WHATEVER TARGET
IT IS DIRECTED AT,

AND THAT TARGET WILL IMMEDIATELY
BURST INTO FLAMES.

Narrator: IN WELLS’ TIME,

THE IDEA OF A HEAT RAY
IS PURE FICTION,

BUT 19 YEARS AFTER "THE WAR
OF THE WORLDS" IS PUBLISHED,

ALBERT EINSTEIN IDENTIFIES

THE THEORETICAL BASIS
OF LASER TECHNOLOGY.

WITHIN DECADES, SCIENTISTS
SUCCESSFULLY AMPLIFY

ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
TO A SPECIFIC FREQUENCY

AND BREATHE WELLS’ IMAGINATION
INTO LIFE.

TODAY LOW-WATTAGE LASERS
ARE EVERYWHERE...

FROM POINTERS TO DVD PLAYERS

TO INDUSTRIAL
AND SURGICAL CUTTING TOOLS.

DEFENSE CONTRACTORS CONTINUE
TO DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY

TO CREATE A REAL HEAT RAY
FOR THE MILITARY.

I DID READ H.G. WELLS
WHEN I WAS A KID.

I READ HIS
"THE WAR OF THE WORLDS."

THE IDEA OF ALIENS COMING DOWN
WITH HEAT RAYS...

IT WAS A TERRIFYING CONCEPT
BUT ALSO A COMPELLING CONCEPT

IN TERMS OF
"CAN THAT REALLY BE DONE?"

Narrator: ROB GREGORY IS NOW
DIRECTOR OF LASER TECHNOLOGY

AT TEXTRON SYSTEMS
IN MASSACHUSETTS.

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
FUNDS MULTIPLE PROGRAMS

TO DEVELOP LASER WEAPONS.

IN ONE VERSION,
LASERS WOULD BE USED

TO ZAP INCOMING MISSILES
AND MORTARS OUT OF THE SKY.

THE TERMINOLOGY YOU’LL HEAR
IS "SPEED-OF-LIGHT ENGAGEMENT."

IF YOU CAN ENGAGE AN OBJECT
OF INTEREST OR A TARGET

WITH THE SPEED OF LIGHT,

THEN THERE’S ESSENTIALLY
NO DELAY

BETWEEN WHEN YOU DECIDE TO FIRE

AND WHEN YOU START TO ENGAGE
THAT TARGET.

A LASER’S EFFECT
ON ALMOST ANYTHING

IS TO PUT AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT
OF ENERGY IN A VERY SMALL AREA.

Narrator: TEXTRON HAS DEVELOPED
AN ADVANCED PROTOTYPE

THAT IT TESTS
IN A HIGH-SECURITY ENVIRONMENT.

Man: THE LASER POWERS
THAT WE’RE INVOLVED WITH

ARE DANGEROUS.

IT’S SOMETHING
THAT YOU WANT TO DO

UNDER VERY CAREFULLY
CONTROLLED CONDITIONS,

SO WE’RE USING TV CAMERAS

SO THAT WE CAN KEEP AN EYE ON
WHAT’S GOING ON THERE.

Narrator: THE LASER IS AIMED
AT A SPECIAL TARGET

CAPABLE OF ABSORBING
THE HIGH ENERGY.

THE LASER FIRES OVER 100
KILOWATTS OF DIRECTED POWER...

ENOUGH ENERGY TO SHOOT A PLANE
OUT OF THE SKY.

THERE ARE ALREADY LASERS IN USE

THAT CAN DISABLE
SLOWER TARGETS...

...BUT TEXTRON ENGINEERS PREDICT
THAT IN AROUND FIVE YEARS,

LASERS WILL BE READY TO PICK OFF
ENEMY MISSILES IN MIDFLIGHT.

WHEN H.G. WELLS WROTE
"THE WAR OF THE WORLDS,"

THE GATLING GUN,
THE MACHINE GUN

WAS, PERHAPS, THE MOST ADVANCED
FORM OF MILITARY HARDWARE.

100 YEARS AFTER
"THE WAR OF THE WORLDS,"

WE NOW HAVE MILITARY LASERS
EVERY BIT AS POWERFUL

AS THE HEAT RAYS
IN "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS."

Narrator:
BUT IN "WAR OF THE WORLDS,"

IT IS NOT OUR WEAPONS THAT
ULTIMATELY DEFEAT THE MARTIANS.

IT’S OUR BIOLOGY.

WELLS DOES A SURPRISING THING.

THE MARTIANS, WHO HE’S TREATED

AS THESE MONSTROSITIES BENT
ON TAKING OVER THE EARTH,

ACTUALLY BECOME QUITE MOVING
AND TRAGIC FIGURES

AS THEY BEGIN TO DIE.

Narrator:
THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR...

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY DOES NOT
NECESSARILY EQUAL INVINCIBILITY.

ONE CAN STILL SUFFER
ANNIHILATION

FROM THE UNEXPECTED.

IN MOST WELLS’ TALES,

DESTRUCTION STEMS
NOT FROM AN OUTSIDE ALIEN FORCE,

BUT FROM OUR OWN DARK NATURE.

WELLS WRITES
OF HOW WE ARE CAPABLE

OF CREATING
EXTRAORDINARY INVENTIONS

AND, YET, WE ARE ALSO
LITTLE MORE THAN ANIMALS.

IT IS A PROPHETIC PARADOX WELLS
WILL EXPLORE IN HIS STORIES

AND DRAMATICALLY CONFRONT
IN HIS OWN LIFE.

Narrator: IT’S 1891,
AND H.G. WELLS IS RUNNING LATE.

HE’S SCHEDULED TO MEET
FRANK HARRIS,

PUBLISHER OF THE PRESTIGIOUS
JOURNAL "FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW."

THANK YOU FOR AGREEING
TO SEE ME.

SURE.

HARRIS IS PERPLEXED
BY WELLS’ LATEST SUBMISSION,

A SCIENTIFIC ESSAY TITLED
"THE UNIVERSE RIGID."

FRANK HARRIS WAS NOT GOING
TO ACCEPT THE SECOND ESSAY

AND TOLD WELLS, "I DON’T
UNDERSTAND SIX WORDS OF IT."

Narrator:
WELLS HAS ATTEMPTED TO DESCRIBE

A FOUR-DIMENSIONAL
TIME/SPACE UNIVERSE...

THREE PLANES OF SPACE
AND A FOURTH, TIME.

THIS IS A PROOF OF CONCEPT
OF A FOURTH DIMENSION...

THAT’S TIME.

Carroll: TIME AS A FOURTH
DIMENSION JUST MEANS

THAT IN ORDER TO LOCATE
SOMETHING IN THE UNIVERSE,

YOU HAVE TO TELL ME THREE
NUMBERS FOR WHERE IT IS IN SPACE

AND A FOURTH NUMBER
FOR WHEN IT IS IN TIME.

YOU LOOK FORWARD...

Narrator: BUT WELLS IS TOO FAR
AHEAD OF HIS TIME.

THIS IS 10 YEARS BEFORE EINSTEIN

WOULD PUBLISH HIS SPECIAL THEORY
OF RELATIVITY.

MR. WELLS...
I-I-IT’S...

I WISH YOU LUCK ON THIS...

THIS IS AN IDEA,
WHICH COULD SPAWN...

WELLS’ EFFORTS TO EXPLAIN
HIS ESSAY ARE FUTILE.

Crossley: AT THAT POINT,

WELLS BEGAN TO REALIZE
THAT, FOR HIM,

THE BEST WAY TO CONVEY IDEAS WAS
REALLY IN THE FORM OF FICTION.

Narrator: THE FOURTH DIMENSION
BECOMES THE FOUNDATION

OF WELLS’ DEBUT NOVEL,
"THE TIME MACHINE."

Carroll: IT IS INCREDIBLE THAT WELLS
WAS ABLE TO WRITE A BOOK LIKE THIS

IN THE 1890s.

WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT RELATIVITY.

IN 1890s, PHYSICS WAS STILL
ACCORDING TO ISAAC NEWTON.

"THE TIME MACHINE" IS ONE

OF THE GREATEST WORKS
OF SCIENCE FICTION OF ALL TIME.

NOT ONLY DID IT SPIN OFF

A THOUSAND OTHER NOVELS
AND MOVIES,

IT ALSO REACHES RIGHT
INTO OUR HOPES AND DREAMS.

EVERYONE HAS ASKED
THAT QUESTION.

"WHY AM I A PRISONER OF TIME?"

Narrator:
IN WELLS’ 1895 MASTERPIECE,

A MAN JOURNEYS MANY MILLENNIA
INTO THE FUTURE.

THERE HE DISCOVERS

THAT HUMANS HAVE EVOLVED
INTO TWO DISTINCT SPECIES...

THE IDLE ELOI
PURSUE A CAREFREE EXISTENCE,

THE SUBTERRANEAN MORLOCKS
BREED ELOI LIKE CATTLE

FOR THEIR OWN CONSUMPTION.

FOR WELLS,
THE STORY IS A COMMENT

ON BRITAIN’S WIDENING GAP
BETWEEN THE SOCIAL CLASSES.

WHAT WE FIND
IN "THE TIME MACHINE"

ARE ESSENTIALLY THE DESCENDANTS
OF UPSTAIRS AND DOWNSTAIRS

FROM THE 1890s,

EXCEPT THAT IN MANY WAYS,
THE ROLES HAVE NOW SWITCHED,

AND IT’S THE MORLOCKS

WHO ARE CALLING THE SHOTS
IN THE FAR FUTURE.

Narrator:
COULD WE EVER BUILD A MACHINE

THAT COULD REALLY TRAVEL
THROUGH TIME?

SURPRISINGLY,
MANY PHYSICISTS NOW SAY YES.

ONE WAY WOULD BE TO FIND
OR CREATE A WORMHOLE.

A WORMHOLE IS A SHORTCUT
THROUGH SPACE AND TIME.

LET’S SAY I TAKE
A SHEET OF PAPER

AND I MARK TWO POINTS ON IT.

USUALLY, YOU HAVE TO GO
ACROSS THE PAPER

TO GO BETWEEN THESE TWO POINTS.

BUT NOW IF I WARP THE FABRIC
OF SPACE AND TIME,

I CAN HOP ACROSS

AND THEREBY TAKE A SHORTCUT
THROUGH SPACE AND TIME ITSELF.

Narrator: ANOTHER SOLUTION

LIES IN TRAVELING CLOSE
TO THE SPEED OF LIGHT.

THERE’S ONE FORM OF TIME TRAVEL

THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY EXECUTE
EVEN TODAY.

THAT IS TAKE AN ASTRONAUT,
PUT HIM IN A ROCKET SHIP,

AND SPEED HIM
TOWARD THE SPEED OF LIGHT.

IN A ROCKET SHIP,

TIME BEATS SLIGHTLY SLOWER
THAN ON THE PLANET EARTH.

AS HE ORBITS THE EARTH
AND COMES BACK,

HE’S ACTUALLY A FRACTION
OF A SECOND YOUNGER

THAN HE WOULD HAVE BEEN
ON THE EARTH.

THE FASTER YOU’RE GOING,
THE LESS TIME IS BEING ELAPSED,

SO, YES, YOU CAN MAKE ONE YEAR
TO PEOPLE BACK HERE ON EARTH

LAST A DAY FOR YOU...
OR A MINUTE OR A SECOND.

IT’S JUST HOW CLOSE YOU CAN GET
TO THE SPEED OF LIGHT.

PHYSICISTS AREN’T ABLE TO PROVE
ONE WAY OR THE OTHER

WHETHER OR NOT IT’S POSSIBLE

TO ACTUALLY TRAVEL BACKWARDS
IN TIME.

WE SUSPECT IT’S NOT POSSIBLE,
BUT IT’S AN OPEN QUESTION.

Narrator: IF IT WERE POSSIBLE
TO GO BACKWARDS IN TIME,

WE MIGHT OPEN UP
A METAPHYSICAL PANDORA’S BOX.

IT’S KNOWN AS
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT.

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT IS WHEN

THE FLAPPING OF THE WINGS
OF A BUTTERFLY

CREATES A GENTLE WIND

WHICH THEN EVENTUALLY CASCADES
INTO A THUNDERSTORM.

SO, WHAT HAPPENS
IF YOU GO BACKWARDS IN TIME

AND AFFECT BUTTERFLIES?

THEY CAN HAVE A RIPPLE EFFECT

WHICH THEN CREATES A SITUATION
WHERE THE PRESENT IS IMPOSSIBLE.

Narrator: THEN, THERE’S
THE GRANDFATHER PARADOX.

SIMON WELLS DIRECTED
THE 2002 FILM VERSION

OF HIS GREAT-GRANDFATHER’S
NOVEL.

Wells:
THE PROBLEM WITH TIME TRAVEL

IS WHAT’S KNOWN
AS THE GRANDFATHER PARADOX.

AND I CAN ILLUSTRATE THAT
BY SAYING,

"IF I WENT BACK TO THE 1890s

AND KILLED H.G. WELLS
BEFORE HE HAD CHILDREN..."

THEREFORE, HIS SON
WOULDN’T HAVE A SON,

AND HIS SON
WOULDN’T GIVE RISE TO ME...

"THEN HOW WOULD I EXIST

IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO GO
BACK AND MURDER HIM?"

Narrator: "THE TIME MACHINE"

IS WELLS’ FIRST IN A SERIES
OF BEST SELLERS,

BUT AS HIS FAME
AND FORTUNE GROW,

HIS PERSONAL BEHAVIOR SHOCKS
HIS VICTORIAN PEERS.

WELLS MARRIES HIS FIRST COUSIN
ISABEL AT AGE 25.

IT WAS A DISASTROUS MARRIAGE,
AND HE ALMOST IMMEDIATELY BEGAN

TAKING UP A RELATIONSHIP
WITH A STUDENT OF HIS

NAMED AMY CATHERINE ROBBINS.

Narrator: IT’S ONLY THE FIRST

OUT OF SCORES
OF NOTORIOUS AFFAIRS.

HE CAUSED SCANDALS
WITH HIS NUMEROUS LOVE AFFAIRS,

SOME OF WHICH WERE QUITE PUBLIC.

HE FATHERED THREE
ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN.

SO, IN HIS PRIVATE LIFE, WELLS
WAS TRULY A SCANDALOUS FIGURE.

Narrator: THE TENSION

BETWEEN PUBLIC VIRTUE
AND PERSONAL MORALITY

IS A PREOCCUPATION OF WELLS.

WHEN FREED FROM THE NORMAL
CONSTRAINTS OF SOCIETY,

WILL MAN TURN TOWARDS
GOOD OR EVIL?

IT IS A QUESTION
WELLS ASKS OFTEN IN HIS LIFE

AND MOST FAMOUSLY IN HIS 1897
NOVEL "THE INVISIBLE MAN."

LONG CONSIDERED ONE OF WELLS’
GREATEST UNFULFILLED PROPHESIES,

INVISIBILITY IS NOW BEING
REALIZED RIGHT BEFORE OUR EYES.

Narrator:
IN THE SUMMER HEAT OF 1895,

WELLS IS WRITING
"THE WAR OF THE WORLDS,"

BUT A NEW WORK IS FORMULATING...
ONE WITH A PROVOCATIVE THEME.

WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING,
DO GOOD MEN BECOME EVIL?

WHAT WOULD PEOPLE DO
IF THEY COULD BECOME INVISIBLE?

WELLS FINDS HIS INSPIRATION
UNDER THE SEA,

A WORLD TEEMING
WITH STRANGE CREATURES.

SOME ARE TOO SMALL TO BE SEEN
BY THE NAKED EYE.

OTHERS, SUCH AS THE JELLYFISH,
ARE SIMPLY TRANSPARENT.

THE STORY WELLS WILL TELL

EXPLORES THE SCIENTIFIC
PHENOMENON OF INVISIBILITY,

BUT IT IS ALSO A MORALITY TALE.

"THE INVISIBLE MAN"
IS A DARK STORY.

THE GUY WHO MAKES HIMSELF
INVISIBLE

IS A VERY ANGRY
AND VIOLENT CHARACTER.

LET’S FACE IT.

THAT’S A SUPER POWER WHICH
IS GIVEN TO SNEAKING AROUND

AND DOING UNDERHAND STUFF.

Narrator:
IN "THE INVISIBLE MAN,"

A FORMER MEDICAL STUDENT
NAMED GRIFFIN

DISCOVERS THAT BY MODIFYING

THE REFRACTIVE CAPABILITIES
OF LIGHT,

OBJECTS SEEM TO DISAPPEAR.

INVISIBLE, GRIFFIN IS FREE

TO MOVE THROUGH THE WORLD
UNDETECTED

AND PLOTS A REIGN OF TERROR
OVER HIS NEIGHBORS.

THAT DIDN’T JUST DEAL

WITH "HOW COOL WOULD IT BE
TO BE INVISIBLE?"

IT DEALT WITH A LOT OF NEGATIVES

OF "IF YOU’RE INVISIBLE, CHANCES
ARE YOU’RE GONNA GO LOONY."

HE GOT IN ALL SORTS OF TROUBLE
BECAUSE, BASICALLY,

HE WAS SUGGESTING

THAT IT’S NOT GONNA BE
A GOOD THING NECESSARILY

IF A PERSON HAD THE ABILITY
TO BE INVISIBLE.

Narrator:
DESPITE WELLS’ WARNING,

SCIENTISTS ARE DEVELOPING
NEW SYNTHETIC MATERIALS

THAT MAY MAKE TRUE INVISIBILITY
A REALITY.

THE PENTAGON IS NOT STUPID.

THEY’VE DUMPED
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS

PERFECTING WEAPONS SYSTEMS
LIKE STEALTH BOMBERS,

AND THEY’RE NOT EVEN INVISIBLE
TO ORDINARY LIGHT.

NOW WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
THE REAL McCOY...

AN OBJECT THAT
WILL TOTALLY DISAPPEAR

EVEN UNDER VISIBLE LIGHT.

Narrator: THE U.S. AIR FORCE
IS FUNDING PROFESSOR XIANG ZHANG

AND HIS COLLEAGUES
AT U.C. BERKELEY.

THE BERKELEY TEAM
HAS PERFECTED A METHOD

FOR MAKING OBJECTS INVISIBLE
TO THE EYE

USING A NEW TECHNOLOGY
CALLED "METAMATERIALS."

METAMATERIALS CAN BE USED
TO MAKE THING INVISIBLE

OR PARTIALLY INVISIBLE
BY VIRTUE OF CONTROLLING

HOW LIGHT IS REACHING
THAT OBJECT

AND COMING BACK TO OUR EYES.

NOW, IMAGINE YOU USE
A METAMATERIAL CLOAK DEVICE

ON TOP OF THAT OBJECT,

AND WHAT HAPPENS
IS THAT THE LIGHT,

AS IT’S APPROACHING THAT OBJECT,

YOU JUST DIVERT IT,
AND WITHOUT HITTING THAT OBJECT,

IT COMES BACK TO YOUR EYES
AS IF NOTHING EXISTED THERE.

Narrator: LIGHT IS DIVERTED
AROUND A MINISCULE OBJECT

THAT IS COVERED WITH A
METAMATERIAL CARPET CLOAK...

A SILICON MATERIAL
THAT IS PERFORATED

WITH A SPECIAL PATTERN
OF TINY HOLES.

THESE HOLES ALTER THE SPEED
AT WHICH LIGHT TRAVELS

SO THE LIGHT IS REFLECTED
IN SUCH A WAY

THAT THE OBJECT COVERED BY THE
CLOAK IS INVISIBLE TO THE EYE.

THIS IS A ZOOMING
OF HOW THE CLOAK ARE MADE,

AND THE LIGHT COMES IN HERE

WHERE THE LIGHT’S SPEED CAN BE
ACCELERATED OR DECREASES,

AND THEN WHEN THEY COME OUT,
THEY ARE ALL IN THE SPEED AGAIN.

SO, THAT’S HOW WE ACTUALLY
HIDE THINGS UNDER HERE

AS A CLOAKING DEVICE.

Narrator: PRESENTLY,
THE CLOAK IS VERY SMALL.

IT CAN ONLY HIDE AN OBJECT

100 TIMES THINNER
THAN A HUMAN HAIR.

USING A MICROSCOPE,

THE TEAM CAN WATCH THEIR CLOAK
MAKE AN OBJECT INVISIBLE.

Zhang: WE’RE NOW ACTUALLY
CONDUCTING A CLOAKING EXPERIMENT.

MAJID IS ROUTING A LASER
INTO A MICROSCOPE

INTO THE CLOAKING DEVICE.

Narrator: WHEN A LASER BEAM
FIRST STRIKES A FLAT MIRROR,

IT REFLECTS AS A SINGLE POINT.

AN OBJECT PLACED
IN THE LASER’S PATH

CAUSES THE LASER LIGHT
TO SCATTER.

AN OBJECT PLACED
AS A SINGLE POINT

BUT RATHER AS SEVERAL
INDISTINCT POINTS.

BUT WHEN THE TEAM

COVERS THE OBJECT WITH
THEIR INVISIBILITY CLOAK,

THE LIGHT IS SLOWED
AND DIVERTED,

AND THE LASER AGAIN APPEARS
AS A SINGLE POINT,

AS THOUGH IT WERE REFLECTING
OFF THE FLAT, EMPTY MIRROR.

SO, CHRIS IS WORKING
ON MONITORING

WHAT LIGHT COMING OFF
FROM THE CLOAK.

THIS IS WHAT HE SEE...

A SINGLE LIGHT SPOT
AS IF FROM A FLAT MIRROR.

FOR NOW, SCIENTISTS

ARE ONLY ABLE TO CONSTRUCT
TINY INVISIBILITY CLOAKS,

BUT IF XIANG ZHANG
AND HIS TEAM

SUCCEED IN SCALING
THE TECHNOLOGY,

THEY WILL HAVE CREATED
A NEW KIND OF WEAPON

UNLIKE ANYTHING BEFORE IT...

ONE THAT COULD BE USED
BY SPIES AND SPECIAL FORCES

OR BY BANK ROBBERS
AND TERRORISTS.

THE ONLY CONCERN WOULD BE
THE ABUSE THAT MAY GO WITH THIS,

AND THAT’S SOMETHING THAT
SCIENTISTS NEED TO PREVENT.

IT’S GONNA CHANGE A LOT
OF THINGS IN OUR LIVES.

AS MANY OF THE TECHNOLOGIES,

THERE’S ALWAYS THE PLUS SIDE
AND THE MINUS SIDE.

WE JUST HAVE TO BE VIGILANT
OF WHAT WE ARE DOING.

Narrator: THE POSITIVE
OR NEGATIVE IMPACT OF A NEW TOOL

DEPENDS ON THE USER.

WELLS’ STORIES LEAVE LITTLE
DOUBT ABOUT WHICH PATH

HE BELIEVES HIS FELLOW MAN
WILL TAKE.

The Invisible Man: INVISIBLE MAN
CAN RULE THE WORLD.

HE CAN ROB AND RAPE AND KILL!
[ LAUGHS MANIACALLY ]

Narrator: WELLS’ OUTLOOK
MAY HAVE BEEN COLORED

BY HIS UPBRINGING
IN INDUSTRIAL ENGLAND.

THOSE FACTORIES BELCHING FILTH
INTO THE STRATOSPHERE

IS NOT A PRETTY SIGHT.

AND SO, ANY STORYTELLER HAS
A BIG STREAK OF ROMANCE IN HIM,

BUT THE ROMANTIC SIDE
CAN BE VERY DARK.

I THINK, YEAH, HE LOOKS
TOWARDS A DARK FUTURE.

Narrator: ON THE HINGE
OF THE 20th CENTURY,

WELLS TURNS HIS DARK IMAGINATION
TO MEDICAL PROGRESS.

HIS DISTURBING PREDICTIONS
IN "THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU"

ARE TRULY HORRIFYING,

BUT MANY OF THEM
ARE COMING TRUE TODAY.

Narrator: IT IS 1896.

H.G. WELLS IS WORKING ON A
DISTURBING AND CAUTIONARY TALE.

"THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU"
IS A DARK VISION OF NATURE

CORRUPTED BY AMORAL SCIENCE.

THE STORY IS
ABOUT ANIMAL EVOLUTION

MANIPULATED AND PERVERTED
BY A MADMAN.

THE IDEA IS BORN WHEN WELLS
IS STILL A STUDENT

NOT LONG AFTER CHARLES DARWIN

INTRODUCES HIS THEORY
OF NATURAL SELECTION.

HE STUDIED UNDER T.H. HUXLEY
KNOWN AS DARWIN’S BULLDOG,

A GREAT DEFENDER OF THE THEORY
OF EVOLUTION.

Narrator: WELLS COMES OF AGE

AT A TIME WHEN OUR UNDERSTANDING
OF BIOLOGY

IS EXPANDING BY OUR OPERATING
ON LIVING ANIMALS

STRAPPED DOWN
AND SOMETIMES AWAKE.

IT IS A MORALLY CONTROVERSIAL
PRACTICE KNOWN AS VIVISECTION.

MOREAU
IS A DISGRACED PHYSIOLOGIST

WHO FLEES ENGLAND
FOR A REMOTE ISLAND.

IN AN OPERATING ROOM,
MOREAU VIVISECTS ANIMALS

IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE THEM MORE
HUMAN, SHOCKING HIS DETRACTORS.

THE SCIENTIST IS ADAMANT THAT
HIS WORK IS ADVANCING SCIENCE,

BUT THE RESULTS ARE MONSTROUS...

A DOGMAN CRAFTED
FROM A ST. BERNARD

AND A HYBRID OF A HYENA
AND A PIG THAT CAN TALK.

IN "THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU"
H.G. WELLS MODIFIES ANIMALS

TO GIVE THEM THE PROMETHEAN GIFT
OF INTELLIGENCE,

BUT HE ASSUMES,

AS PIERRE BOULLE DOES
IN "THE PLANET OF THE APES,"

THAT WE’LL DO IT BADLY,

THAT WE’LL OPPRESS
AND ENSLAVE THESE CREATURES

INSTEAD OF MAKING THEM
FELLOW CITIZENS.

HE DOES THIS IN ORDER TO DO
THE CAUTIONARY TALE.

Narrator:
"THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU"

IS WELLS’ SCIENTIFIC TAKE

ON THE ANCIENT MYTH
OF CHIMERAS...

HUMAN/ANIMAL HYBRIDS.

TODAY CHIMERAS
ARE MYTH NO LONGER.

DR. ESMAIL ZANJANI

IS HARD AT WORK AT HIS
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA LAB

CREATING HUMANIZED SHEEP.

WHEN WE FIRST OBSERVED
THE HUMANIZATION

OF SOME OF THESE ORGANS,

IT WAS REALLY
LIKE SCIENCE FICTION TO US.

Narrator: ZANJANI’S GOAL
IS TO CREATE SHEEP

WITH ORGANS SUITABLE
FOR TRANSPLANT INTO HUMANS.

TO INDUCE THIS HUMANIZATION,

ZANJANI INJECTS HUMAN STEM CELLS
INTO AN UNBORN SHEEP FETUS.

THE HUMAN CELLS GESTATE,
AND THE LAMB IS BORN

WITH ORGANS PARTIALLY COMPRISED
OF HUMAN CELLS.

WE FOUND ALMOST EVERY TISSUE
WE LOOKED AT

WAS PARTIALLY HUMANIZED.

BY INCREASING THE DOSE OF STEM
CELLS WE PUT IN

AND THE NUMBER OF TIMES
WE INJECTED THE FETUS,

WE WERE ABLE TO GET INCREASED
AMOUNT OF DONOR HUMAN CELLS

INTO THESE ORGANS.

WE FEEL THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY
INCREASE THE LEVELS

ABOUT 26%, 27%, MAYBE 30%.

Narrator: ON THE SURFACE,

ZANJANI’S CHIMERAS LOOK LIKE
REGULAR SHEEP...

Zanjani: THIS IS
THE EXPERIMENTAL FARM FACILITY

OF WHERE WE KEEP OUR SHEEP.

THESE ANIMALS HAVE LARGE AREAS
TO WALK AROUND IN THE PASTURE

AND ENJOY THEMSELVES.

Narrator:
...BUT BIOLOGICAL TESTS

REVEAL THE ANIMALS’
TRUE CHIMERIC NATURE.

Zanjani: WHAT YOU SEE HERE
ARE GROUPS OF ANIMALS

THAT WERE TRANSPLANTED IN UTERO
WITH HUMAN STEM CELLS.

AFTER BIRTH, YOU LOOK
AT THESE ANIMALS

TO MAKE SURE
THAT THEY ARE CHIMERIC.

IF YOU NOTICE,
ON THE BACK OF EACH ANIMAL,

YOU CAN SEE A SITE WHERE
WE’VE TAKEN BONE MARROW CELLS

TO DETERMINE WHETHER
HUMAN BLOOD CELLS EXIST.

Narrator: IN SOME EXPERIMENTS,

A SHEEP’S BRAIN
IS PARTIALLY HUMANIZED,

WHICH LEADS TO THE QUESTION
ZANJANI IS ASKED MOST...

DO HUMAN CELLS CAUSE THESE SHEEP
TO ACT LIKE HUMANS?

Zanjani:
IN THE SCIENCE-FICTION PART

OF "THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU,"

IT SEEMS THAT THE ANIMALS
HAVE TRANSFORMED,

WHEREAS, ACTUALLY, IN THESE
STUDIES, THERE IS NO CHANGE

IN THE OVERALL BEHAVIOR
OF THESE ANIMALS.

THEY REMAIN SHEEP
FOR THE LIFE OF THE ANIMAL.

Narrator: ZANJANI HOPES
TO EVENTUALLY USE

A PATIENT’S ACTUAL STEM CELLS

TO CUSTOM-GROW HUMANIZED ORGANS
INSIDE SHEEP.

THE THEORY IS THAT THESE ORGANS

WILL BE LESS LIKELY TO BE
REJECTED AFTER TRANSPLANT.

EVEN BEFORE BIRTH,
THESE ANIMALS HAVE LIVERS

THAT ARE READY
FOR POSSIBLE TRANSPLANT.

THE QUESTION IS WHETHER
THESE ORGANS CAN BE USEFUL

IN A CLINICAL SETTING

AND TO START TREATING PATIENTS
WITH DIFFERENT NEEDS.

Narrator: ZANJANI IS AWARE

OF THE ETHICAL COMPLEXITIES
OF HIS WORK.

GENERALLY, IF A SCIENTIST
CAN DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS,

SHOULD THEY GO AHEAD AND DO IT?

I THINK THESE ISSUES HAVE TO BE
ADDRESSED AT SOME POINT

BY THE SOCIETY AS A WHOLE.

Narrator: IT’S POSSIBLE
THAT WELLS WOULD AGREE.

WELLS OFTEN DRAMATIZED
THE BAD CHOICES

IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE
TO REALIZE

THAT THEY DO, INDEED,
HAVE CHOICES

ABOUT HOW THEY WILL USE
THIS NEW SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE.

HE NEVER WANTED
TO DISCOURAGE RESEARCH,

BUT HE ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW
"TO WHAT END?"

Narrator: THE SCIENCE
IN "THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU"

IS SHOCKINGLY PRESCIENT,

BUT ON THE EVE OF WORLD WAR I,

WELLS’ BLEAK VISION OF
SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENT MISUSED

MANIFESTS IN THE MOST TERRIFYING
PREDICTION IN HUMAN HISTORY.

WELLS WAS THE FIRST
TO TAKE THE APOCALYPTIC NOTION

THAT HUMAN BEINGS MIGHT BRING
ABOUT THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION

AND WE MIGHT DO IT
WITH OUR OWN DARN TOOLS.

Narrator: BETWEEN 1895 AND 1898,

H.G. WELLS WRITES
FOUR NOW-CLASSIC NOVELS

EXPLORING FANTASTIC
POSSIBILITIES...

FROM MARTIANS TO TIME TRAVEL
TO INVISIBILITY.

BUT AT THE DAWN
OF THE 20th CENTURY,

A MATURING WELLS GROWS CONSUMED
WITH A PRESSING REALITY...

CONFLICT BETWEEN NATIONS.

Scott: I THINK THERE’S A LOT
OF FORESIGHT REALLY GOING ON.

YOU HAD TO BE LOOKING

AT THE INDUSTRIAL EMPIRES
THEN OF ENGLAND, CERTAINLY,

HEADING TOWARDS ITS PEAK AND THE
INDUSTRIAL EMPIRES OF GERMANY.

SO, YOU HAD TO BE LOOKING
AT THAT, AS WELL,

AND LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW,
GLOBAL DOMINANCE.

Narrator: WELLS’ STORIES
BEGIN TO FORESHADOW

THE MECHANIZED BRUTALITY
OF WAR IN THE 20th CENTURY.

Crossley: H.G. WELLS TOOK CREDIT

FOR INVENTING THE IDEA
OF THE TANK,

WHICH HE DID IN A SHORT STORY
CALLED "THE LAND IRONCLADS"

PUBLISHED IN 1903.

Narrator:
HE EXPANDS HIS PREDICTIONS

IN A BOOK CALLED
"THE WAR IN THE AIR."

HE FORESEES
THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

SIX YEARS BEFORE THE DOGFIGHTS
OF WORLD WAR I.

IN MANY WAYS, WELLS WAS
ANTICIPATING IN THAT 1908 NOVEL

THE WIDESPREAD USE
OF AERIAL WARFARE.

Narrator:
BUT WELLS’ DARKEST PROPHESY

WILL CHANGE THE COURSE
OF HUMAN HISTORY.

Kaku: THE BIGGEST PROPHETIC HIT
IN ALL OF SCIENCE FICTION

TOOK PLACE IN 1914
WITH "THE WORLD SET FREE."

H.G. WELLS PREDICTED
THAT, IN 1933,

A PHYSICIST WOULD COME UP WITH
THE IDEA OF AN ATOMIC BOMB.

THE DECAY OF RADIUM
WAS ONLY JUST DISCOVERED.

THE NOTION THAT THIS COULD
RESULT IN POWER,

THAT THIS COULD RESULT
IN A WEAPON...

THAT’S AN AMAZING HIT.

THAT’S THE SORT OF THING THAT
MAKES A GUY LIKE ME JEALOUS.

Narrator: WELLS’
PROPHETIC SCIENCE FICTION

IS FIRMLY ROOTED
IN SCIENCE FACT.

Rhodes:
WELLS HAD BEEN AN ASTUTE READER

OF THE LATEST SCIENCE JOURNALS
AND PAPERS,

AND HE KEPT UP
WITH WHAT WAS NEW.

AND HE WAS PARTICULARLY
INTERESTED IN THE WORK

OF AN OXFORD UNIVERSITY-BASED
CHEMIST, ACTUALLY,

NAMED FREDERICK SODDY.

Narrator:
ON THE EVE OF WORLD WAR I,

THE 48-YEAR-OLD WELLS READS

FREDERICK SODDY’S
SCIENTIFIC TREATISE

"THE INTERPRETATION
OF RADIUM."

RADIUM IN ITS METALLIC FORM
GLOWS IN THE DARK,

SO THE QUESTION IN EVERYONE’S
MIND IMMEDIATELY WAS

"THIS THING ISN’T PLUGGED
INTO A WALL,

"DOESN’T HAVE A GAS PIPE
LEADING INTO IT.

WHERE’S ALL THE ENERGY
COMING FROM?"

Narrator: SODDY POSITS
THAT ATOMIC ENERGY

COULD SOMEDAY SUPPLY
ALL THE WORLD’S POWER.

Rhodes: BUT WELLS WAS
A DIFFERENT KIND OF PERSON.

WELLS WOULD START THINKING
ABOUT, "WELL,

WHAT’S THAT GOING TO CHANGE
IN THE HUMAN WORLD?"

Narrator: WELLS FEARS THAT ONCE
MANKIND TAPS THE POWER OF RADIUM

AND HARNESSES THE ENERGY
THAT FUELS THE SUN,

HUMANITY WILL INEVITABLY
USE THAT POWER

TO DESTROY RATHER THAN CREATE.

IN "THE WORLD SET FREE,"

WELLS WRITES OF A WEAPON
FUELED BY RADIOACTIVITY.

"THE WORLD SET FREE"
DEPICTS A GLOBAL WAR

IN WHICH ENTIRE CITIES
ARE ANNIHILATED BY ATOMIC BOMBS,

AND WELLS INVENTED THE TERM
"ATOMIC BOMB" FOR THIS NOVEL.

Narrator: HAVING SEEN
MANY OF HIS OWN PREDICTIONS

VIOLENTLY REALIZED
IN WORLD WAR I,

H.G. WELLS BECOMES A LEADING
VOICE FOR PACIFISM.

IN 1920, WELLS TRAVELS TO RUSSIA

AS AN ADVOCATE
FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE,

BUT HIS EFFORTS ARE TO NO AVAIL.

Crossley:
WELLS’ "THE WORLD SET FREE"

IS A FASCINATING EXAMPLE
OF A BOOK

THAT ACTUALLY CHANGED
THE COURSE OF HISTORY.

Rhodes: THE LITTLE-KNOWN
HUNGARIAN PHYSICIST

NAMED LEO SZILARD

EARLY ON WAS FASCINATED
WITH H.G. WELLS’ BOOK.

HE REALIZED THAT
IT WAS REALLY PROPHETIC,

BUT THE QUESTION IN HIS MIND
AS A PHYSICIST WAS

"WAS THERE A REACTION THAT COULD
MAKE AN ATOMIC BOMB?"

Narrator: SZILARD DETERMINES

THAT A CHAIN REACTION
OF SPLITTING ATOMS

CAN CREATE A BOMB OF
UNPARALLELED DESTRUCTIVE FORCE.

Rhodes:
IT SUDDENLY DAWNED ON HIM

THAT IF YOU COULD FIND A PROCESS

WHERE YOU GOT ENERGY OUT
OF ONE NUCLEUS OF AN ATOM

BUT ENOUGH PARTICLES
TO HIT 2 MORE NUCLEUSES

AND BREAK THEM UP AND THEN 4
AND THEN 8 AND THEN 16

AND 32 AND THEN 64, THAT’S
THE CHAIN REACTION PROCESS.

IF YOU COULD DO THAT,

YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO MAKE A BOMB
OF UNSURPASSED ENERGY

AND DESTRUCTIVENESS.

Narrator: BY THE SUMMER OF 1939,

ADOLF HITLER HAS SEIZED CONTROL
OF AUSTRIA AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA

AND IS DEMANDING MORE TERRITORY.

FEARING WHAT COULD HAPPEN

IF THE THIRD REICH CONCEIVES
AN ATOMIC WEAPON,

SZILARD WRITES A LETTER
TO WARN PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT.

ALL RIGHT, HOW COULD HE GET
TO THE PRESIDENT?

WHO KNEW THE PRESIDENT?
AH, HIS FRIEND ALBERT EINSTEIN.

SO, HE WENT TO SEE EINSTEIN,

AND EINSTEIN AGREED
THAT THIS WAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM

AND AGREED THAT HE AND LEO WOULD
DRAFT A LETTER TOGETHER

THAT THEY WOULD MANAGE
TO FIND A WAY

TO GET TO PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT,
AND THEY DID.

Crossley: AND THE RESULT
OF THAT LETTER TO ROOSEVELT

WAS THE BEGINNING
OF THE MANHATTAN PROJECT

AND THE U.S. DEVELOPMENT
OF THE ATOMIC BOMB.

Narrator: 1945.

AMERICA DROPS TWO ATOMIC BOMBS
ON GERMANY’S ALLY JAPAN.

WELLS’ PREDICTION
OF THE NUCLEAR AFTERMATH

IS HORRIFICALLY ACCURATE.

HE ENVISIONS RADIOACTIVE VAPOR

DRIFTING MILES
FROM THE BOMBSITE,

SCORCHING ALL IT TOUCHES.

JUST AS WELLS IMAGINES
AN UNINHABITABLE NO-MAN’S LAND

SURROUNDING THE TARGETED CITIES
IN "THE WORLD SET FREE,"

HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI
ARE DOOMED TO SPEND YEARS

AS A RADIOACTIVE WASTELAND
AFTER THE A-BOMB.

BUT THE THREAT OF ATOMIC FALLOUT

IS STILL YEARS AWAY
FROM THE 1920s

WHEN WELLS TURNS HIS ATTENTION
FROM DESTRUCTIVE

TO CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY...
THE EMERGING FIELD OF CINEMA.

HE DECIDES TO ADAPT HIS OWN WORK
INTO A MOVIE SCRIPT,

AND FROM THE SILVER SCREEN,

H.G. WELLS ONCE AGAIN
PROPHESIZES WORLDWIDE HAVOC,

BUT THIS TIME, HE SEES A LIGHT
AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL.

Narrator: THE YEAR IS 1927.

THE BIGGEST BOX-OFFICE DRAW
IS A SCIENCE-FICTION FILM,

FRITZ LANG’S SLEEK VISION
OF THE FUTURE, "METROPOLIS."

H.G. WELLS DOES NOT SHARE
THE PUBLIC’S ENTHUSIASM.

HE IS UNIMPRESSED
BY THE FILM’S EFFECTS

AND CHIDES IT
FOR LACKING ORIGINALITY.

WELLS SETS OUT TO CRAFT
HIS OWN CINEMATIC FUTURE,

SCRIPTING THE 1936 FILM,
"THINGS TO COME."

HE WAS THEN 70 YEARS OLD
AND DELIGHTED IN THE NOTION

THAT HE COULD BRING HIS MESSAGE
TO THE MASSES

THROUGH A CINEMATIC VERSION OF
"THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME."

Narrator: 1940,
AN UNNAMED ENEMY AIR FORCE

DROPS BOMBS OVER LONDON, CAUSING
THE OUTBREAK OF A NEW WORLD WAR.

WELLS’ PREDICTION OF A NEW WAR
BEGINNING IN 1940...

OF COURSE, COMES VERY CLOSE
TO THE TRUTH

ABOUT THE ORIGINS
OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

HIS DEPICTION IN THE FILM
VERSION "THINGS TO COME"

OF BOMBERS IN THE SKIES
OVER LONDON

CERTAINLY REVERBERATED
A FEW YEARS LATER

DURING THE LONDON BLITZ.

Narrator: EVENTUALLY,
THE ENEMY USES ITS AIRPLANES

TO SPREAD A PLAGUE THAT
ANNIHILATES MUCH OF HUMANITY,

FORESHADOWING THE CAPABILITIES
OF MODERN BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS.

THE GLOBAL WAR LASTS DECADES

AND RESULTS IN THE COLLAPSE
OF CIVILIZATION.

BUT EVEN THOUGH TECHNOLOGY
CREATES THE GLOBAL DESTRUCTION,

IT ALSO PROVIDES A SOLUTION.

WITHIN A CENTURY, A COUNCIL
OF ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS

ESTABLISH
A ONE-WORLD GOVERNMENT,

AND EARTH’S POPULATION THRIVES.

WE SEE THE DEVELOPMENT
OF A KIND OF TECHNOCRACY

THAT WELLS ALWAYS FAVORED

BUT THAT MANY OF HIS CRITICS
FOUND CHILLING

AND HEARTLESS AND FRIGHTENING.

Narrator: H.G. WELLS

SEES SCIENCE
AS MAN’S MOST POWERFUL TOOL

BUT WARNS USE TO USE IT
WISELY... OR ELSE.

ON AUGUST 13, 1946,
AT THE AGE OF 79,

HERBERT GEORGE WELLS
DRAWS HIS LAST BREATH.

HE LEAVES BEHIND A RICH LEGACY
OF SCI-FI TALES

THAT CONTINUE TO ENTERTAIN,
INSPIRE, AND TO WARN HUMANITY

THAT AT ANY MOMENT,
WE COULD SELF-DESTRUCT.

H.G. WELLS ACTUALLY CONSIDERED
HIMSELF MORE OF A SOCIAL CRITIC

AND HISTORIAN
THAN A FICTION WRITER

BECAUSE THERE’S A HIDDEN MESSAGE
IN ALL OF HIS NOVELS.

WHOEVER HE WAS WITH...
THIS IS WHY I LIKE HIM...

HE WAS CONTRARY.

IF HE WAS AROUND OPTIMISTS,

HE’D POINT OUT THE DEVASTATING
FLAWS IN HUMAN NATURE,

AND WHEN HE WAS AROUND CYNICS,

HE WOULD TALK ABOUT
THE POSSIBILITIES

THAT WE WOULD OVERCOME
OUR RACISM, OVERCOME OUR SEXISM,

AND ALL THESE THINGS.

Carroll: H.G. WELLS WANTS TO
PUSH THINGS TO THE LIMIT, RIGHT?

HE WANTS TO SAY, "IF WE KEEP
GOING DOWN THIS PATH,

HERE’S WHERE
WE’RE GOING TO END UP."

AND IT CAN BE A SHOCKING PLACE,

SO WELLS WANTS TO PROVOKE YOU
A LITTLE BIT.

HE WANTS TO SAY, "LOOK,
HERE’S WHERE WE COULD GO...

"NOWHERE CLOSE
TO WHERE WE ARE NOW.

"BUT IF YOU WANT TO BE THERE
OR DON’T,

YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING
ABOUT IT."

Scott: H.G. WELLS WROTE THAT
MANKIND CAN’T ALWAYS BE TRUSTED

WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY.

WELLS WEAVED A CAUTIONARY TALE.

HE BELIEVED IN THE GREATNESS
OF SCIENCE

BUT IN THE WEAKNESS OF MAN.