The Outer Limits (1995–2002): Season 1, Episode 15 - The Voyage Home - full transcript
On the last day of their mission to Mars, three astronauts - Ed Barkley, Alan Wells and Pete Claridge - discover a cave with hieroglyphics on one wall. They also find a pod-like object but they are knocked out after trying to move it. They make it back to their ship and begin their voyage home. Five months into that return trip they begin to have equipment malfunctions and find a small growth of alien origin. Soon, one of the astronauts begins to believe that the others are aliens who have taken over the bodies of his shipmates.
Guys, come on.
It opens up down here.
Oh, my God.
Guys, over here.
What do you got?
I don't know.
It's some kind of writing.
After three months' exploring,
it'd be only fitting...
to make a discovery like this
on our last day.
Definitely man-made...
by some other kind
of intelligent creature.
Unbelievable.
- So there is intelligent life out here.
- Or was.
You know, maybe there is something
to this "face on Mars" theory.
I mean, the writing's here.
Why can't the face
be real?
I mean, maybe some
ancient civilization just left it here...
as some sort of beacon.
Dear God.
Barkley, Claridge.
Look at this.
What is it?
I have no idea.
Looks like some sort of pod.
Think we can take it
back to the ship?
It's too heavy.
There is nothing wrong
with your television.
Do not attempt
to adjust the picture.
We are now controlling
the transmission.
We control
the horizontal...
and the vertical.
We can deluge you
with a thousand channels...
or expand one single image
to crystal clarity...
and beyond.
We can shape
your vision...
to anything
our imagination can conceive.
For the next hour...
we will control
all that you see and hear.
You are about to experience
the awe and mystery...
which reaches from
the deepest inner mind to...
The Outer Limits.
The Book of Job tells us...
that he who discovereth
deep things out of darkness...
bringeth out to light
the shadow of death.
Will man's unquenching thirst
for discovery...
ultimately be his undoing?
- Everyone okay?
- How long have we been unconscious?
Looks like almost an hour.
We only have enough oxygen left
to get us back to the capsule.
So that means we have four hours
to liftoff before we miss the window.
We're not gonna
be able to come back.
We have the find of the ages...
and we have to leave before
we can document it properly.
Let's go back to the ship.
...to win a national
championship in his first year.
Go for it. Go for it.
Come on, NU.
Hold the line.
Defense, come on.
Go for it. Go for it!
The NorthAm Bowl
hangs on this play.
Everyone in the country,
including the Mars III astronauts-
Come on, NU.
Come on, hold the line. Defense!
- Come on, last play. Come on, come on.
- Go for it. Go for it!
- Hold 'em. Defense!
- All right, all right, all right. Oh, no!
Yes! Yes! Interception!
Yes! Man, ever since Northwestern left
the Big Ten, they have kicked butt.
- Who would have thought?
- Don't worry. Wait till next year.
Maybe, but in the meantime you owe me
a hundred bucks, payable when we get home.
- Just don't tellJenny. She'll kill me.
- Hey, Jenny loves me.
She'll be glad to hear you contributed
to my retirement fund.
Okay, fellas, it's time.
Let's see if Houston's home.
Houston, this is Mars III.
Come in, Houston.
This is Mars III.
Come in.
Houston, this is Mars III.
Come in.
Houston, this is Mars III.
Come in.
This is Houston.
We're reading you loud and clear.
Hello. How's everybody
feeling today?
Well, you try waking up to these two
morons every day for a year and a half.
- See how you feel.
- Aw, come on.
We're three days
away from home.
My alma mater just kicked UVA's asses
all over the field.
This is perfect.
We're on an open channel
here, Mr. Barkley.
Please restrict
your language.
I'm sorry.
Stomped their asses.
- That better?
- I believe I speak for all of NASA...
when I say we'll be very happy
to have you back on terra firma.
I'll make you a deal.
One date, and I'll be a good boy.
Afraid that wouldn't wash very well
with my husband.
Houston, this is Claridge.
How are my wife and child?
They're fine, Doctor,
and looking forward to seeing you.
Well, tell them
that I miss them...
and that I love them very much.
Come on, Pete, everybody knows- especially
them- how much you care about them.
Yeah. You don't know.
You don't even have a family.
What? Three ex-wives
don't count as a family?
We're ready
for your status report.
Yeah, okay. Checklist-
We lost comms.
Okay, go to the bridge.
I want reports now!
- What the hell was that?
- Best guess, something hit us.
Could be a micrometeorite.
Okay.
Eddie, give me numbers.
I have telemetry. Give me some numbers.
Give me a status report.
Pete, get that fire!
Ed, I need numbers. Let's go.
We're off course.
Primary guidance system down.
Okay. Let's go to manual.
Down to 35,000 miles per hour.
Off course 21.01 degrees port.
Get ready to manually
fire the boosters.
Okay, go.
Give me the numbers.
Give me the numbers now.
Okay, give us a 12-second burn
on number-three booster.
Twelve seconds, number three.
Get ready for a four-second burn
on number two.
On number two.
Pete, come on!
Ed, stay with me now.
Come on!
Booster number two.
Now!
Come on.
Come back. Okay.
Okay. She's back.
We're locked.
Okay. Good job, guys.
Let me take a look at that head.
- It can wait. It can wait.
- Give me a status report.
Good news and bad news.
Hull integrity seems to have held.
And the bad news?
Communications are out.
One power cell down.
And our external oxygen tank
is reading zero pressure.
We've lost half our oxygen.
The impact must have
caused the tank to leak.
- What the-
- Hey, don't touch it.
- What is it?
- I have no idea.
Where'd that come from?
Take a look at this.
- Okay. So what is it?
- Never seen anything like it before.
Probably some of that gel
they use in the insulation.
Must have fallen from the ceiling panels
when we got hit.
Except there's no trace
of it in the ceiling.
No, this isn't insulating gel.
It's living matter,
and it's multiplying and changing form...
faster than I've seen
anything change before.
Which means?
Well, I've seen just about every type
of microorganism on Earth.
I'm trying to tell you guys,
this ain't one of them.
Oh, my God.
We must've picked up
some microscopic organism...
down on the planet
and brought it aboard with us.
We must have got it
from that thing in the cave.
It got into our space suits
when we were unconscious.
We decontaminated our space suits
and our tools.
We sealed all our samples.
That's impossible.
And why is it
showing up now?
We've been on this return leg
for more than five months.
You said it was multiplying
really fast.
Maybe it started as just one
and multiplied to this point.
There's a short in the passive
thermal control unit.
- We've lost capsule rotation.
- I thought it was hot in here.
- Check thermostat.
- Seventy-eight degrees and rising.
If we don't get this crate rolling over
again fast, we're gonna fry.
- I'll get down and get on it.
- Hey, wait a minute. What about-
Forget that, okay? If we don't do
this right now and fix this, we're dead...
so that's not gonna matter.
Ed, are you all right?
Give me the tools. I'll go.
I'm sure you can do it, Doc,
but I can do it faster, right?
Somebody do it.
It's 86 degrees in here and rising.
Hey, buddy,
don't worry about me, huh?
There'll be plenty of time to relax
as soon as we get home.
A little relaxation and a lot of scotch,
I'll be as good as new.
All right, I'm at the service module...
approaching the unit.
Man, this is a mess
down here.
- At the unit.
- How badly is it damaged?
I don't know yet.
The door is wedged shut.
The walls must have gone out
of alignment during impact.
It just went
from warm to hot.
It's 94 degrees and rising
up here, Ed.
It's not exactly
snowing down here, guys.
I think I've got it.
Okay, beautiful.
What's the PTC unit look like?
Barbecued.
I think I can fix it,
but it's gonna take a while.
Hey, shut off
the secondary electrical unit.
We'll burn up.
We'll burn up!
I need it off to work on it
or it'll fry me. Shut it down.
That'll turn off what little
air conditioning we're getting.
It's gonna be
like an oven in here.
I'm going in.
It better be off when I get to it.
You got it.
Secondary unit's shut down.
Okay, Al, you keep an eye
on our levels...
and get ready to give me thejuice
the second I've got this going.
Okay, brother.
All right, stand by
and try to think cool.
Where are we?
Cabin temperature is 123
and rising.
You okay?
Yeah, I'm fine.
I don't know how you do this.
Up in Alaska we don't
get weather like this.
Being raised
in North Carolina...
you learn to adapt
to all kinds of weather.
Don't worry.
Everything will be fine
as soon as Barkley...
gets that PTC unit
back on line.
It better be quick.
We've come too far to fail.
Somewhere out there it's cold.
Give me a reading.
Give me a reading.
- What's going on?
- Al, get back into your chair.
You've got to monitor
the telemetry.
When this ship...
heats up another 30 degrees,
we'll die.
Eventually the capsule
will crack...
and our bodies-
our bodies will be swept...
out into infinity.
Sit down and do your job.
Even in death
there'll be no rest.
Our bodies will explode into...
a million minute fragments...
each molecule...
floating off into...
eternity.
It's been a long trip.
It's perfectly understandable,
you feeling this way...
but you gotta hold on
just a little while longer.
In a few days
we'll be back on Earth...
at my cabin on the lake...
reeling in a striped bass.
You don't have
a cabin on a lake, do you?
How's everything in there?
Levels in telemetry are holding...
but it's hotter than hell up here.
- What's your status?
- Making progress.
By the way, I've been to hell-
my second marriage.
It was hotter than this.
How much longer?
A few minutes.
Do me a favor.
Have a cold beer waiting for me...
when I get back.
Just try to relax. He'll have us
back on line in a few minutes.
L-
I can't breathe.
All right,
I'm almost there.
See?
Cut the power.!
What is going on?
Kill the damn power!
What the hell is going on up there?
Kill the goddamn power!
You may have a death wish,
but I plan on making it home.
Barkley, are you all right?
My hand is toast,
my head hurts...
and I have
heat prostration.
Aside from that, I'm great.
What happened up there?
We had a temporary
malfunction in the system.
I think we've got it
under control.
- What's the cabin status?
- Temperature is at 116.
All other levels are red-lining
because of the heat.
Be ready to go back on line
the minute I give you the word...
- but not a second before.
- Roger.
All right.
Hold on.
Okay. Power up.
Okay.
I gotta re-insulate the wiring down here
so we don't short up again.
I'll be up in a while.
- We're gonna make it.
- No thanks to you.
Hey, look, I don't know
what happened, okay?
Must have been the heat.
Did you touch
any of that stuff?
What stuff?
The organism. The ooze.
Did you touch any of it?
No. Why?
You're not acting
like the Al Wells I know.
Well, you're not acting like
the Pete Claridge that I know.
I'm not the one who freaked out.
Oh, I see, so I swallowed some
of that stuff or something...
and now I'm infected
with a Martian bug.
I don't know what to think.
All I know is, the Al Wells I knew
on Earth wouldn't have reacted like that.
This is a joke, right?
Humor me.
Let me check you out,
run some tests.
You know you're acting
incredibly paranoid?
You may be right...
but you can allay
my suspicions...
with a few drops
of blood.
You know, I think the heat's
gotten to you too.
But... okay...
if it's gonna make you
feel better.
Pete was feeling dizzy, so I sent him
down to lay down for a while.
- I think the heat got to him.
- How are the readings?
All levels are in the black zone.
We're out of the woods.
Not yet.
Shutting down
all nonessential systems.
We gotta cut
power usage by half.
We also have to reduce
our water intake to two ounces a day.
That's a quarter
of what we need.
Up here water deprivation
can be fatal.
We have no choice.
Next 60 hours or so
are gonna be tough...
but we'll make it,
we'll make it.
We'll make it.
You know, I think
when Pete comes back up...
you should go down
and rest for a while.
You know,
a lot of the skeptics...
said I was pushing my luck,
going up for a third time.
Hey, they were almost right.
But I'm still here.
And I'm making it.
I'm gonna be able to write
my own ticket when I get back home.
The first man
to set foot on Mars.
Come on, that's gotta be worth
a few million in endorsements alone...
not to mention the book deal,
the lecture circuit...
the fact that we found evidence
of life on that planet.
Whoa! Bingo.
We hit the old lottery.
I would like to think that our discovery
will be of more value...
than to serve as your personal platform
for wealth and fame.
The beauty of it?
On the surface, we are the most
altruistic people on the planet.
We've sacrificed a year and a half
of our lives on this mission...
and made the most important scientific
breakthrough in space travel history.
In the meantime, hey,
we'll just happen to get filthy rich.
You're missing the big picture.
There's life out there.
Right.
Well, the scientific ramifications
will take care of themselves, I think...
but I worked my ass off
for the ASA for 20 years.
You know what, Al?
It's time
for a little payback.
- What's that?
- Nothing.
Roll up your sleeve.
I just brushed up
against something, that's all.
Come on, Al.
Roll up your damn sleeve.
It's not what you think.
Pete, wake up!
Pete! Get up!
What the hell is going on?
- Ed! Ed! What are you doing?
- It's not Wells.
Pete, he's crazy!
Let me out of here!
Ed, don't do anything stupid.
He's crazy.
You got hit on the head.
You're imagining things.
It's not Wells.
Don't do this!
Let me out of here!
It's not Wells.
I know, I know, I know.
I know it seems crazy, man.
I know I don't know how to explain this,
but it was real. It was real.
It had that- that alien goo
oozing out of the cut on his arm...
and that's wh-
the first time I realized.
Like, I saw it in his arm, and then
the next thing I knew...
it had started to transform
into this huge thing-
this- this thing that-
this alien thing.
What ha-What happened to-
What happened to Al?
He was like my brother.
What did it do to the real Al Wells?
Pete, where's Al?
Ed, you ejected him
into space.
- No, you're not hearing me, Pete.
- You killed him.
- That wasn't him.
- Now, listen to me.
- That was real, Pete.
- Okay, whatever.
What's important now
is that you let me help you.
There's nothing wrong with me.
There's nothing wrong.
Okay?
It was real.
It was some kind
of chameleon, like-
No, it was more than a chameleon,
'cause it didn't just look like him.
It was like it knew everything
there was to know about Wells.
It's like it had downloaded
everything out of Wells's brain...
like, right out of his brain.
Ed, you're not making any sense.
- Let me take a look at that head.
- You stay away from me.
How do I know
you're not one of them too?
Take mine.
Don't tell me
you're not thirsty.
No, I'm parched.
You need to stay hydrated.
So do you. We got over 36 hours
left in this can.
I can live without it
for a while.
It's more important
that you stay sharp.
I mean, if something
ever happened to you...
I'd never be able to get
this ship home by myself.
It takes two of us
to pilot it.
We'll share it later.
We lost another power cell.
We're down to one.
Operating at one-third power
and less oxygen.
We can keep the oxygen level
in here stet if we seal off...
the rest of the ship.
Terminating circulation
to isolated rooms.
All available air will be
restricted to main cabin.
Service area.
Look, Pete-
if you are Pete-
I'm sorry
for the way I'm acting...
but if you saw what I saw,
you'd understand.
But I didn't see it, Ed.
I'm gonna go check the O2
levels and the power cell levels...
down in the service module.
Make sure the readings jive
with what we're getting up here.
We didn't have time
to eject the body.
All right, give me a chance
to explain.
Ed, I know this is a shock...
but you've gotta understand, the last
thing I want to do is hurt you.
Right, you just wanna kill me
and duplicate me.
I can only proliferate
once every 30-day cycle.
Proliferate?
Is that what you call it?
That's an awfully polite word
for sucking somebody's brains out...
or whatever it is you do.
Actually, I introduce a spore
into the body...
which leaves the body
and replicates it.
I assure you, Neither one
of your friends felt any pain.
Oh, no pain, just death.
That's a relief.
Ed, relax. You have nothing
to worry about.
We only produce one spore
every 30-day cycle.
Oh, that makes me
feel better.
Who are you?
Where are you from?
I'm from a planet...
many light-years
from your solar system.
When our sun died out,
we had to find a new home.
So you chose Mars?
A few of us were put in cryo-hibernation
with the hopes that one day...
we would have the opportunity
to begin again.
We are a peaceful species.
Once we get to Earth, I promise you.
There will be no more taking of lives.
What is it?
There's a vapor stream coming
from the starboard side, aft section.
We're venting.
There's a breach
in the integrity of the ship.
I guess I won't
have to kill you.
If we lose pressure,
our lungs will explode instantly.
You don't want to die up here.
Think of what awaits you
back on Earth-
the fame, the riches.
Living out the rest of your life
as a national hero.
Ed, you can't deprive your world
of the gifts I bring.
Your mother died of cancer,
did she not?
I can give your doctors
the cure for cancer.
I have the solutions
to the problems...
your world has
been pondering for years.
You can go back and be the hero
you always wanted to be...
but, Ed, I cannot
repair the ship by myself.
Well, neither can I,
with one hand.
Then I think
we should do it together.
I'm coming up.
The valve in the back-
you have to tighten it.
Just tell me what to do.
Go on under. I'll-
I'll be above, watching.
Be careful. Gently.
If you snap that off,
we're both dead.
That's it.
Tighten it until the point
around the torque meter goes to red.
There you go. Slowly.
That's it. Slowly. Slowly.
More. Little more, little more.
That's it.
See? I told you
we'd make a good team.
It won't be much longer, Ed.
You just have to hold on and get us home.
It's not your damn home.
Is the AC down again?
Cabin temp is stable
at 80 degrees.
You probably have a fever.
Is that what it is?
Or is this one of your spores running
around my body? What does that feel like?
It's painless.
You wouldn't feel it at all.
Whatever you're feeling
has nothing to do with me.
A few more hours till splashdown.
We're gonna make it, Ed.
Just think of how good it's gonna be
to see home again.
Houston calling Mars III.
Mars III, this is Houston.
Do you read?
Houston, thank God.
I thought our comm was out completely.
You had us
a little concerned there.
It's great to see your face,
Mr. Barkley.
It's great to be seen, Houston.
We have somebody here
who'd like to say hello to Dr. Claridge.
- Just look right in there, sweetheart.
- Hey, honey, are you okay?
I'm doing just fine, sweetheart.
Daddy, I lost my front teeth.
That's terrific. You can tell me all
about it when I see you.
We have so much
to catch up on.
We'll be home soon.
I love you.
I love you too.
So, do you want to tell me
what happened up there?
And where's
Commander Wells?
Just a moment, Houston.
You're breaking up.
If you tell them about me,
they will abort the landing.
They don't know me
like you know me.
They don't know
my good intentions.
Ed, don't you want this
to be your decision...
about whether
we should abort or not?
If you tell them about me,
they will leave us out here to die.
Houston, you there?
I'm reading you, Mr. Barkley.
You were saying?
Yes, I was saying...
that the best we could tell,
we were hit by a micrometeorite.
- Something's happened to Al.
- Al's injured.
Well, where is he?
Is he all right?
He's incapacitated, but don't worry.
He's stable.
All right. What's the extent
of your damage?
Substantial. We're praying that
this bucket holds together.
All right, we're tracking
you now on the big screen.
Do you want to switch your primary
guidance systems over to auto-
- leave the driving to us?
- No can do, Houston.
That system's down.
We're gonna have to bring her in manually.
All right. I'll be back
at you in a few minutes...
with your reentry vectors.
You know,
as soon as we touch down...
I'll tell them about you.
Of course.
I would expect nothing less.
They'll probably isolate you
and study you.
I'm prepared for that.
All right, your trajectory
is almost perfect.
You need to trim your burn five percent
and hold your speed constant.
That's it. Splashdown
will occur at 0530...
200 miles
northwest of Hawaii.
Thanks, Megan.
I could use a few months on the beach.
Roger that. So could we all,
Mr. Barkley, so could we all.
Okay, boys.
You're drifting out ofline.
Engage right booster.
Five-second burn.
Five-second burn,
right booster. Go.
Try and hold it, Ed.
Come on. Come on.
Great. Thirty seconds
to reentry...
- then gravity will do the rest.
- We're gonna make it.
- Twenty-eight...
- I knew you could do it.
Twenty-seven, twenty-six,
twenty-five, twenty-four...
twenty-three-
You're almost home, boys.
That's it.
Nineteen, eighteen,
seventeen-
Greatjob.
Fifteen seconds to reentry.
- The capsule is offline.
- What are you doing?
I repeat,
the capsule is offline.
Barkley, Claridge, please respond.
- You don't know what you're doing.
- I know exactly what I'm doing.
The moment we splashdown
you want to proliferate me...
and throw my dead body
into the ocean.
I have no intention
of doing that.
Come in.! This is Houston.
The capsule is offline.
You convert ten people,
and they convert ten.
Please respond. This is Houston.
You're off course.
What is going on?
Barkley, Claridge, please respond.
That'll depressurize the cabin.
We'll be blown to pieces.
- That's right.
- Do you read?
Our species is millions
of years old.
It is our right to take lives
in order to continue.
Then you better find someone else
to carry the torch...
'cause your existence
has just been discontinued.
The true measure of a hero...
is when a man
lays down his life...
with the knowledge
that those he saves...
will never know.
It opens up down here.
Oh, my God.
Guys, over here.
What do you got?
I don't know.
It's some kind of writing.
After three months' exploring,
it'd be only fitting...
to make a discovery like this
on our last day.
Definitely man-made...
by some other kind
of intelligent creature.
Unbelievable.
- So there is intelligent life out here.
- Or was.
You know, maybe there is something
to this "face on Mars" theory.
I mean, the writing's here.
Why can't the face
be real?
I mean, maybe some
ancient civilization just left it here...
as some sort of beacon.
Dear God.
Barkley, Claridge.
Look at this.
What is it?
I have no idea.
Looks like some sort of pod.
Think we can take it
back to the ship?
It's too heavy.
There is nothing wrong
with your television.
Do not attempt
to adjust the picture.
We are now controlling
the transmission.
We control
the horizontal...
and the vertical.
We can deluge you
with a thousand channels...
or expand one single image
to crystal clarity...
and beyond.
We can shape
your vision...
to anything
our imagination can conceive.
For the next hour...
we will control
all that you see and hear.
You are about to experience
the awe and mystery...
which reaches from
the deepest inner mind to...
The Outer Limits.
The Book of Job tells us...
that he who discovereth
deep things out of darkness...
bringeth out to light
the shadow of death.
Will man's unquenching thirst
for discovery...
ultimately be his undoing?
- Everyone okay?
- How long have we been unconscious?
Looks like almost an hour.
We only have enough oxygen left
to get us back to the capsule.
So that means we have four hours
to liftoff before we miss the window.
We're not gonna
be able to come back.
We have the find of the ages...
and we have to leave before
we can document it properly.
Let's go back to the ship.
...to win a national
championship in his first year.
Go for it. Go for it.
Come on, NU.
Hold the line.
Defense, come on.
Go for it. Go for it!
The NorthAm Bowl
hangs on this play.
Everyone in the country,
including the Mars III astronauts-
Come on, NU.
Come on, hold the line. Defense!
- Come on, last play. Come on, come on.
- Go for it. Go for it!
- Hold 'em. Defense!
- All right, all right, all right. Oh, no!
Yes! Yes! Interception!
Yes! Man, ever since Northwestern left
the Big Ten, they have kicked butt.
- Who would have thought?
- Don't worry. Wait till next year.
Maybe, but in the meantime you owe me
a hundred bucks, payable when we get home.
- Just don't tellJenny. She'll kill me.
- Hey, Jenny loves me.
She'll be glad to hear you contributed
to my retirement fund.
Okay, fellas, it's time.
Let's see if Houston's home.
Houston, this is Mars III.
Come in, Houston.
This is Mars III.
Come in.
Houston, this is Mars III.
Come in.
Houston, this is Mars III.
Come in.
This is Houston.
We're reading you loud and clear.
Hello. How's everybody
feeling today?
Well, you try waking up to these two
morons every day for a year and a half.
- See how you feel.
- Aw, come on.
We're three days
away from home.
My alma mater just kicked UVA's asses
all over the field.
This is perfect.
We're on an open channel
here, Mr. Barkley.
Please restrict
your language.
I'm sorry.
Stomped their asses.
- That better?
- I believe I speak for all of NASA...
when I say we'll be very happy
to have you back on terra firma.
I'll make you a deal.
One date, and I'll be a good boy.
Afraid that wouldn't wash very well
with my husband.
Houston, this is Claridge.
How are my wife and child?
They're fine, Doctor,
and looking forward to seeing you.
Well, tell them
that I miss them...
and that I love them very much.
Come on, Pete, everybody knows- especially
them- how much you care about them.
Yeah. You don't know.
You don't even have a family.
What? Three ex-wives
don't count as a family?
We're ready
for your status report.
Yeah, okay. Checklist-
We lost comms.
Okay, go to the bridge.
I want reports now!
- What the hell was that?
- Best guess, something hit us.
Could be a micrometeorite.
Okay.
Eddie, give me numbers.
I have telemetry. Give me some numbers.
Give me a status report.
Pete, get that fire!
Ed, I need numbers. Let's go.
We're off course.
Primary guidance system down.
Okay. Let's go to manual.
Down to 35,000 miles per hour.
Off course 21.01 degrees port.
Get ready to manually
fire the boosters.
Okay, go.
Give me the numbers.
Give me the numbers now.
Okay, give us a 12-second burn
on number-three booster.
Twelve seconds, number three.
Get ready for a four-second burn
on number two.
On number two.
Pete, come on!
Ed, stay with me now.
Come on!
Booster number two.
Now!
Come on.
Come back. Okay.
Okay. She's back.
We're locked.
Okay. Good job, guys.
Let me take a look at that head.
- It can wait. It can wait.
- Give me a status report.
Good news and bad news.
Hull integrity seems to have held.
And the bad news?
Communications are out.
One power cell down.
And our external oxygen tank
is reading zero pressure.
We've lost half our oxygen.
The impact must have
caused the tank to leak.
- What the-
- Hey, don't touch it.
- What is it?
- I have no idea.
Where'd that come from?
Take a look at this.
- Okay. So what is it?
- Never seen anything like it before.
Probably some of that gel
they use in the insulation.
Must have fallen from the ceiling panels
when we got hit.
Except there's no trace
of it in the ceiling.
No, this isn't insulating gel.
It's living matter,
and it's multiplying and changing form...
faster than I've seen
anything change before.
Which means?
Well, I've seen just about every type
of microorganism on Earth.
I'm trying to tell you guys,
this ain't one of them.
Oh, my God.
We must've picked up
some microscopic organism...
down on the planet
and brought it aboard with us.
We must have got it
from that thing in the cave.
It got into our space suits
when we were unconscious.
We decontaminated our space suits
and our tools.
We sealed all our samples.
That's impossible.
And why is it
showing up now?
We've been on this return leg
for more than five months.
You said it was multiplying
really fast.
Maybe it started as just one
and multiplied to this point.
There's a short in the passive
thermal control unit.
- We've lost capsule rotation.
- I thought it was hot in here.
- Check thermostat.
- Seventy-eight degrees and rising.
If we don't get this crate rolling over
again fast, we're gonna fry.
- I'll get down and get on it.
- Hey, wait a minute. What about-
Forget that, okay? If we don't do
this right now and fix this, we're dead...
so that's not gonna matter.
Ed, are you all right?
Give me the tools. I'll go.
I'm sure you can do it, Doc,
but I can do it faster, right?
Somebody do it.
It's 86 degrees in here and rising.
Hey, buddy,
don't worry about me, huh?
There'll be plenty of time to relax
as soon as we get home.
A little relaxation and a lot of scotch,
I'll be as good as new.
All right, I'm at the service module...
approaching the unit.
Man, this is a mess
down here.
- At the unit.
- How badly is it damaged?
I don't know yet.
The door is wedged shut.
The walls must have gone out
of alignment during impact.
It just went
from warm to hot.
It's 94 degrees and rising
up here, Ed.
It's not exactly
snowing down here, guys.
I think I've got it.
Okay, beautiful.
What's the PTC unit look like?
Barbecued.
I think I can fix it,
but it's gonna take a while.
Hey, shut off
the secondary electrical unit.
We'll burn up.
We'll burn up!
I need it off to work on it
or it'll fry me. Shut it down.
That'll turn off what little
air conditioning we're getting.
It's gonna be
like an oven in here.
I'm going in.
It better be off when I get to it.
You got it.
Secondary unit's shut down.
Okay, Al, you keep an eye
on our levels...
and get ready to give me thejuice
the second I've got this going.
Okay, brother.
All right, stand by
and try to think cool.
Where are we?
Cabin temperature is 123
and rising.
You okay?
Yeah, I'm fine.
I don't know how you do this.
Up in Alaska we don't
get weather like this.
Being raised
in North Carolina...
you learn to adapt
to all kinds of weather.
Don't worry.
Everything will be fine
as soon as Barkley...
gets that PTC unit
back on line.
It better be quick.
We've come too far to fail.
Somewhere out there it's cold.
Give me a reading.
Give me a reading.
- What's going on?
- Al, get back into your chair.
You've got to monitor
the telemetry.
When this ship...
heats up another 30 degrees,
we'll die.
Eventually the capsule
will crack...
and our bodies-
our bodies will be swept...
out into infinity.
Sit down and do your job.
Even in death
there'll be no rest.
Our bodies will explode into...
a million minute fragments...
each molecule...
floating off into...
eternity.
It's been a long trip.
It's perfectly understandable,
you feeling this way...
but you gotta hold on
just a little while longer.
In a few days
we'll be back on Earth...
at my cabin on the lake...
reeling in a striped bass.
You don't have
a cabin on a lake, do you?
How's everything in there?
Levels in telemetry are holding...
but it's hotter than hell up here.
- What's your status?
- Making progress.
By the way, I've been to hell-
my second marriage.
It was hotter than this.
How much longer?
A few minutes.
Do me a favor.
Have a cold beer waiting for me...
when I get back.
Just try to relax. He'll have us
back on line in a few minutes.
L-
I can't breathe.
All right,
I'm almost there.
See?
Cut the power.!
What is going on?
Kill the damn power!
What the hell is going on up there?
Kill the goddamn power!
You may have a death wish,
but I plan on making it home.
Barkley, are you all right?
My hand is toast,
my head hurts...
and I have
heat prostration.
Aside from that, I'm great.
What happened up there?
We had a temporary
malfunction in the system.
I think we've got it
under control.
- What's the cabin status?
- Temperature is at 116.
All other levels are red-lining
because of the heat.
Be ready to go back on line
the minute I give you the word...
- but not a second before.
- Roger.
All right.
Hold on.
Okay. Power up.
Okay.
I gotta re-insulate the wiring down here
so we don't short up again.
I'll be up in a while.
- We're gonna make it.
- No thanks to you.
Hey, look, I don't know
what happened, okay?
Must have been the heat.
Did you touch
any of that stuff?
What stuff?
The organism. The ooze.
Did you touch any of it?
No. Why?
You're not acting
like the Al Wells I know.
Well, you're not acting like
the Pete Claridge that I know.
I'm not the one who freaked out.
Oh, I see, so I swallowed some
of that stuff or something...
and now I'm infected
with a Martian bug.
I don't know what to think.
All I know is, the Al Wells I knew
on Earth wouldn't have reacted like that.
This is a joke, right?
Humor me.
Let me check you out,
run some tests.
You know you're acting
incredibly paranoid?
You may be right...
but you can allay
my suspicions...
with a few drops
of blood.
You know, I think the heat's
gotten to you too.
But... okay...
if it's gonna make you
feel better.
Pete was feeling dizzy, so I sent him
down to lay down for a while.
- I think the heat got to him.
- How are the readings?
All levels are in the black zone.
We're out of the woods.
Not yet.
Shutting down
all nonessential systems.
We gotta cut
power usage by half.
We also have to reduce
our water intake to two ounces a day.
That's a quarter
of what we need.
Up here water deprivation
can be fatal.
We have no choice.
Next 60 hours or so
are gonna be tough...
but we'll make it,
we'll make it.
We'll make it.
You know, I think
when Pete comes back up...
you should go down
and rest for a while.
You know,
a lot of the skeptics...
said I was pushing my luck,
going up for a third time.
Hey, they were almost right.
But I'm still here.
And I'm making it.
I'm gonna be able to write
my own ticket when I get back home.
The first man
to set foot on Mars.
Come on, that's gotta be worth
a few million in endorsements alone...
not to mention the book deal,
the lecture circuit...
the fact that we found evidence
of life on that planet.
Whoa! Bingo.
We hit the old lottery.
I would like to think that our discovery
will be of more value...
than to serve as your personal platform
for wealth and fame.
The beauty of it?
On the surface, we are the most
altruistic people on the planet.
We've sacrificed a year and a half
of our lives on this mission...
and made the most important scientific
breakthrough in space travel history.
In the meantime, hey,
we'll just happen to get filthy rich.
You're missing the big picture.
There's life out there.
Right.
Well, the scientific ramifications
will take care of themselves, I think...
but I worked my ass off
for the ASA for 20 years.
You know what, Al?
It's time
for a little payback.
- What's that?
- Nothing.
Roll up your sleeve.
I just brushed up
against something, that's all.
Come on, Al.
Roll up your damn sleeve.
It's not what you think.
Pete, wake up!
Pete! Get up!
What the hell is going on?
- Ed! Ed! What are you doing?
- It's not Wells.
Pete, he's crazy!
Let me out of here!
Ed, don't do anything stupid.
He's crazy.
You got hit on the head.
You're imagining things.
It's not Wells.
Don't do this!
Let me out of here!
It's not Wells.
I know, I know, I know.
I know it seems crazy, man.
I know I don't know how to explain this,
but it was real. It was real.
It had that- that alien goo
oozing out of the cut on his arm...
and that's wh-
the first time I realized.
Like, I saw it in his arm, and then
the next thing I knew...
it had started to transform
into this huge thing-
this- this thing that-
this alien thing.
What ha-What happened to-
What happened to Al?
He was like my brother.
What did it do to the real Al Wells?
Pete, where's Al?
Ed, you ejected him
into space.
- No, you're not hearing me, Pete.
- You killed him.
- That wasn't him.
- Now, listen to me.
- That was real, Pete.
- Okay, whatever.
What's important now
is that you let me help you.
There's nothing wrong with me.
There's nothing wrong.
Okay?
It was real.
It was some kind
of chameleon, like-
No, it was more than a chameleon,
'cause it didn't just look like him.
It was like it knew everything
there was to know about Wells.
It's like it had downloaded
everything out of Wells's brain...
like, right out of his brain.
Ed, you're not making any sense.
- Let me take a look at that head.
- You stay away from me.
How do I know
you're not one of them too?
Take mine.
Don't tell me
you're not thirsty.
No, I'm parched.
You need to stay hydrated.
So do you. We got over 36 hours
left in this can.
I can live without it
for a while.
It's more important
that you stay sharp.
I mean, if something
ever happened to you...
I'd never be able to get
this ship home by myself.
It takes two of us
to pilot it.
We'll share it later.
We lost another power cell.
We're down to one.
Operating at one-third power
and less oxygen.
We can keep the oxygen level
in here stet if we seal off...
the rest of the ship.
Terminating circulation
to isolated rooms.
All available air will be
restricted to main cabin.
Service area.
Look, Pete-
if you are Pete-
I'm sorry
for the way I'm acting...
but if you saw what I saw,
you'd understand.
But I didn't see it, Ed.
I'm gonna go check the O2
levels and the power cell levels...
down in the service module.
Make sure the readings jive
with what we're getting up here.
We didn't have time
to eject the body.
All right, give me a chance
to explain.
Ed, I know this is a shock...
but you've gotta understand, the last
thing I want to do is hurt you.
Right, you just wanna kill me
and duplicate me.
I can only proliferate
once every 30-day cycle.
Proliferate?
Is that what you call it?
That's an awfully polite word
for sucking somebody's brains out...
or whatever it is you do.
Actually, I introduce a spore
into the body...
which leaves the body
and replicates it.
I assure you, Neither one
of your friends felt any pain.
Oh, no pain, just death.
That's a relief.
Ed, relax. You have nothing
to worry about.
We only produce one spore
every 30-day cycle.
Oh, that makes me
feel better.
Who are you?
Where are you from?
I'm from a planet...
many light-years
from your solar system.
When our sun died out,
we had to find a new home.
So you chose Mars?
A few of us were put in cryo-hibernation
with the hopes that one day...
we would have the opportunity
to begin again.
We are a peaceful species.
Once we get to Earth, I promise you.
There will be no more taking of lives.
What is it?
There's a vapor stream coming
from the starboard side, aft section.
We're venting.
There's a breach
in the integrity of the ship.
I guess I won't
have to kill you.
If we lose pressure,
our lungs will explode instantly.
You don't want to die up here.
Think of what awaits you
back on Earth-
the fame, the riches.
Living out the rest of your life
as a national hero.
Ed, you can't deprive your world
of the gifts I bring.
Your mother died of cancer,
did she not?
I can give your doctors
the cure for cancer.
I have the solutions
to the problems...
your world has
been pondering for years.
You can go back and be the hero
you always wanted to be...
but, Ed, I cannot
repair the ship by myself.
Well, neither can I,
with one hand.
Then I think
we should do it together.
I'm coming up.
The valve in the back-
you have to tighten it.
Just tell me what to do.
Go on under. I'll-
I'll be above, watching.
Be careful. Gently.
If you snap that off,
we're both dead.
That's it.
Tighten it until the point
around the torque meter goes to red.
There you go. Slowly.
That's it. Slowly. Slowly.
More. Little more, little more.
That's it.
See? I told you
we'd make a good team.
It won't be much longer, Ed.
You just have to hold on and get us home.
It's not your damn home.
Is the AC down again?
Cabin temp is stable
at 80 degrees.
You probably have a fever.
Is that what it is?
Or is this one of your spores running
around my body? What does that feel like?
It's painless.
You wouldn't feel it at all.
Whatever you're feeling
has nothing to do with me.
A few more hours till splashdown.
We're gonna make it, Ed.
Just think of how good it's gonna be
to see home again.
Houston calling Mars III.
Mars III, this is Houston.
Do you read?
Houston, thank God.
I thought our comm was out completely.
You had us
a little concerned there.
It's great to see your face,
Mr. Barkley.
It's great to be seen, Houston.
We have somebody here
who'd like to say hello to Dr. Claridge.
- Just look right in there, sweetheart.
- Hey, honey, are you okay?
I'm doing just fine, sweetheart.
Daddy, I lost my front teeth.
That's terrific. You can tell me all
about it when I see you.
We have so much
to catch up on.
We'll be home soon.
I love you.
I love you too.
So, do you want to tell me
what happened up there?
And where's
Commander Wells?
Just a moment, Houston.
You're breaking up.
If you tell them about me,
they will abort the landing.
They don't know me
like you know me.
They don't know
my good intentions.
Ed, don't you want this
to be your decision...
about whether
we should abort or not?
If you tell them about me,
they will leave us out here to die.
Houston, you there?
I'm reading you, Mr. Barkley.
You were saying?
Yes, I was saying...
that the best we could tell,
we were hit by a micrometeorite.
- Something's happened to Al.
- Al's injured.
Well, where is he?
Is he all right?
He's incapacitated, but don't worry.
He's stable.
All right. What's the extent
of your damage?
Substantial. We're praying that
this bucket holds together.
All right, we're tracking
you now on the big screen.
Do you want to switch your primary
guidance systems over to auto-
- leave the driving to us?
- No can do, Houston.
That system's down.
We're gonna have to bring her in manually.
All right. I'll be back
at you in a few minutes...
with your reentry vectors.
You know,
as soon as we touch down...
I'll tell them about you.
Of course.
I would expect nothing less.
They'll probably isolate you
and study you.
I'm prepared for that.
All right, your trajectory
is almost perfect.
You need to trim your burn five percent
and hold your speed constant.
That's it. Splashdown
will occur at 0530...
200 miles
northwest of Hawaii.
Thanks, Megan.
I could use a few months on the beach.
Roger that. So could we all,
Mr. Barkley, so could we all.
Okay, boys.
You're drifting out ofline.
Engage right booster.
Five-second burn.
Five-second burn,
right booster. Go.
Try and hold it, Ed.
Come on. Come on.
Great. Thirty seconds
to reentry...
- then gravity will do the rest.
- We're gonna make it.
- Twenty-eight...
- I knew you could do it.
Twenty-seven, twenty-six,
twenty-five, twenty-four...
twenty-three-
You're almost home, boys.
That's it.
Nineteen, eighteen,
seventeen-
Greatjob.
Fifteen seconds to reentry.
- The capsule is offline.
- What are you doing?
I repeat,
the capsule is offline.
Barkley, Claridge, please respond.
- You don't know what you're doing.
- I know exactly what I'm doing.
The moment we splashdown
you want to proliferate me...
and throw my dead body
into the ocean.
I have no intention
of doing that.
Come in.! This is Houston.
The capsule is offline.
You convert ten people,
and they convert ten.
Please respond. This is Houston.
You're off course.
What is going on?
Barkley, Claridge, please respond.
That'll depressurize the cabin.
We'll be blown to pieces.
- That's right.
- Do you read?
Our species is millions
of years old.
It is our right to take lives
in order to continue.
Then you better find someone else
to carry the torch...
'cause your existence
has just been discontinued.
The true measure of a hero...
is when a man
lays down his life...
with the knowledge
that those he saves...
will never know.