The Outer Limits (1995–2002): Season 1, Episode 21 - The Voice of Reason - full transcript

I have a few visual aids
for my presentation.

Should I set them up now?

I'll just go ahead and do that then.

Where's my videotape?
It was here.

It was taken from me during
the security scan. I knew it!

It's in the machine just over there, sir.
All ready to go.

The controls are by your left hand.

Oh.
So, it's ready to go?

Yes, sir.

That's fine.

I don't know what your
security clearance is, soldier...



but if you knew what I was
briefing the committee about...

you'd understand
why I'm so paranoid.

I wouldn't know, sir.

Mr. Randal Strong.
Welcome.

I trust you will forgive us
the lateness of the hour.

- We are very busy men and women.
- Yes, sir. Of course.

Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for-

I'm grateful that the committee
has granted me a hearing.

I feel that it's of
the utmost importance-

I'm sure you do, Mr. Strong.

Please sit down.

You must have powerful friends in this
building to have been granted a hearing...

with a committee
that does not even officially exist.

Yes, sir.



You've had the privilege of
serving your country.

Vietnam, sir.
'71 to '74.

Army Intelligence.
Two commendations.

Purple Heart,
if I'm not mistaken.

That was a long time ago.

Oh, it's abundantly clear, sir,
that it was a long time ago.

Otherwise,
you would surely remember...

that the military
does not take kindly...

to civilian demands
that they be heard.

With all due respect, sir...

I was hoping to have the ear
of the president himself.

Mr. Strong, in these matters
we are the ear of the president.

At least this committee
is as close as you're ever gonna get.

Now, as you were saying?

Yes.

I was saying...

Mr. Chairman,
in the past several years...

I've been conducting research.

I've come to the
inescapable conclusion...

that the United States...

and quite possibly the entire world...

is being overrun by aliens.

And by aliens, you mean-

Extraterrestrials, ma'am.

I believe this is the greatest threat
that we've ever faced as a nation.

We have to act,
and we have to act now...

before it's too late.

You actually sound frightened,
Mr. Strong.

I'm scared to death.

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.

What is our last line of defense?

Is it the military with
all of their power and might?

Or is it the courage of a solitary man?

Mr. Strong, if you are
aware of this committee...

then you must be aware
of its purpose.

Sir, this committee
was formed to investigate...

unforeseen external threats
to the United States.

That's exactly correct.

Suffice it to say...

that we have not come to the same
conclusions that you apparently have.

Then it will be up to me
to convince you.

And excuse me, Mr. Chairman,
for jumping in.

As the newest member...

I haven't yet been able to go over all
the material gathered for this committee.

But I haven't come across anything
that even remotely resembles a threat...

and that's using
information gathered...

through the intelligence and resources
of the United States military.

What about the M-7 biotics?

You don't perceive them as a threat?

I'm sorry.
The what?

An organism brought back
with the Mars Lander just over a year ago.

Microscopic eggs of some kind.

But the program was discontinued.
The organic material was destroyed.

You know that's not true.

Dr. Kress managed to take home
a sample of the soil.

For cryin' out loud.
Kress was nuts.

When the program was discontinued,
he raised bugs on his own.

Claimed they were from Mars.
It was a hoax, pure and simple.

It was no hoax.

He reproduced the conditions of
the laboratory in his own barn.

He raised generation after generation
of the M-7 biotic.

And they're more than simply "bugs," sir.
They're intelligent.

- Intelligent?
- Yes.

Kress proved this.

He called them Sandkings.

We know all about Kress.

It was not proved...

there was any connection
between the Martian organism...

and what he developed in his barn.

Whatever it was
he grew in his backyard...

is not now, nor has it ever been,
a threat to this country.

Sir...

I have videotape
of Kress's own experiment.

Mr. Chairman,
we've gone over this ground.

If I might be allowed
to show the tape-

I'd like to see it, sir.

I mean, if that's okay with you.

Proceed, Mr. Strong.

Thank you, sir.

I've pieced some of the more telling
portions of the tape together.

Kress recorded hours and hours of it.

I was under the assumption
that you would be familiar...

with this material.

Could you get the lights, please?

Organisms have been
denied food for 36 hours.

The first conflict erupted 40 minutes ago.
Five white mobiles attacked a red.

It was dismembered
and fed to the white queen.

Red retaliation
occurred almost instantly.

War has been constant.

Battle maneuvers
extremely sophisticated.

I estimate total losses
on both sides at 20%.

Only the- the strongest
and smartest survive.

Entry number 17.

They've displayed an ability
to mimic terrestrial formations.

Now, while this could indicate
some form of intellect at work...

it does not necessarily demonstrate
the ability to reason.

I feel as if the organisms could leave
the habitat whenever they desired...

and yet they stay,
as if to perform for me...

or communicate with me.

I know and feel that...

as soon as regular feedings resume
there will evolve a deepening trust.

Oh! Shit! Ow!
Little bastard!

Entry 51.

The presence of infection...

confirmed.

I will attempt to retard
the spread of the microorganisms...

with use of
conventional antibiotics...

but their-

their effects are-
are greatly in doubt.

The experiment has taken on
a life of its own.

And this demonstration is
intended to prove?

The threat of this kind
of extraterrestrial in our ecosystem.

See, the Sandkings
are not only poisonous...

they can eat three or four times
their own weight...

in less than an hour.

What are you talking about?
Kress went insane and killed them all.

No, but they weren't all killed.

No, I've had reports from as far as
900 miles away from Kress's home...

of- of- of cattle
mysteriously gone missing...

of people in remote areas
disappearing...

sand castles sprung up
in the middle of the forest!

Mr. Strong, the army went in and swept
the entire area. They found no evidence-

In trying to eradicate them...

the Army Corps of Engineers never gave
the Sandkings the respect they deserved.

Respect?

I think this has gone far enough.

Just wait.
Just consider this.

Kress lived in the Pacific Northwest.

Now, there are miles and miles...

of forests all around...

where the Sandkings
could be proliferating.

There are two
mountain ranges alone...

within a hundred miles
of where Kress lived.

The very fact that their eggs
were found intact on Mars...

is proof
that the Sandkings can live...

in a low-oxygen,
cold-temperature environment, until-

What are you saying, Mr. Strong?

Martian bugs are creating colonies on this
planet without our being aware of it?

There's evidence there
to suggest that is happening.

See, what you're overlooking
is the fact...

that they're intelligent enough
not to be found.

They move in small numbers.

They move at night.

They reproduce
virtually underground.

They know now...

that they're vulnerable...

and they will remain
in relative obscurity...

until their numbers
are overwhelming.

We must set up a task force-

- Mr. Strong.
- Yes, Mr. Chairman?

There's a full moon tonight.
Did you know that?

No, sir.

In my experience...

people say and do strange things
on nights when there's a full moon.

Bizarre things.

I'm told statistically that's untrue.

But I'm afraid you've gone out of your way
to prove my point here tonight.

- I don't follow.
- I don't either.

I've given you the benefit of the doubt.
I have.

But the hour is late and I'm very,
very tired of listening to all this.

There are even more serious threats.
I have evidence.

- Submit it through the proper channels.
- You have to let me finish!

I will not waste one more minute
of this committee's precious time!

If there are no objections.

Actually, I'd like to hear more.

Would you?

Yes, sir.

I'm not convinced these
Sandkings are a threat...

but I think we should see
what else Mr. Strong has to say.

This is your first hearing as a member
of this committee, is it not, Mr. Waters?

Yes, sir, it is.

Then I can hardly fault
your enthusiasm, can I?

I suppose I should call my wife and
tell her I'll be very late, Mr. Strong?

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Perhaps you should.

If the committee members will turn to
page three of the brief I've given you.

I've already skipped ahead.
It's a bad habit. Sorry.

You submit that the destruction of the
last Mars landing probe was no accident?

Yes, ma'am.

Mr. Strong,
the death of those three astronauts...

was a tragic accident,
pure and simple.

This has been investigated
and reinvestigated to the nth degree.

It was no accident. The ship was destroyed
by one of the astronauts.

Mr. Strong, let me
tell you something right now.

I knew those three men-

You said I must have friends in this
building, Mr. Chairman, and you're right.

Apparently, a flight
data recorder was found...

close to the site where the capsule
was supposed to splash down.

Well, that's true, but
it was damaged beyond repair.

- There was nothing on that tape but noise.
- Not true, sir.

You must know that one of your teams
managed to reconstruct some of it.

I have a portion of the reconstructed
recording here with me now.

- How did you get ahold of that?
- Doesn't really matter, sir.

Pete?

What the hell's going on?

- Ed! Ed! What are you doing?
- It's not Wells.

Pete, he's crazy!
Let me outta here!

Ed,
don't do anything stupid.

Pete! He's crazy!

- You got hit. You're imagining things.
- It's not Wells.

- Don't do this! Let me out of here!
- It's not Wells!

Is it possible that one of them
actually killed the other?

Oxygen deprivation.
It affects the mind.

An alien organism infected
two of the crew, took over their bodies.

The surviving astronaut
sacrificed himself...

to keep the organism
from reaching Earth.

Assuming that is true, and I do so
only for the sake of discussion...

where is your threat, Mr. Strong?

The story you tell shows...

that the courage of a single man
defeated these aliens...

before they even had a chance
to set foot on our soil.

What if he didn't defeat them?

Here we have a life-form capable
of taking on human form...

as well as the personalities
of its victims.

Aren't you speculating?

You heard it on the tape.

Claridge accused Barkley
of ejecting Wells out of the air lock.

But it wasn't Wells.

I'll bite, Mr. Strong.

What if the alien
had reached the Earth?

Then it continues
taking over bodies...

converting human to alien
with no way to tell them apart.

Then each goes out
and converts more...

until finally there are thousands,
and then millions in our midst.

That didn't happen.

- What if it did?
- What if it did? What if?

What if the world...

went spinning off into space?

What if the ground opened up
and swallowed us whole?

This committee is interested
only in the facts.

As am I, sir.

The sky is not falling, Mr. Strong.

Mr. Chairman,
with all due respect, look again.

You know, it's a funny thing,
Mr. Strong.

When the chairman
of theJoint Chiefs asked me...

to allow you to appear before
this committee, I said, "Yes, sir"...

because even though
my years of military service are over...

I remain a good soldier.

Still, the chairman
of theJoint Chiefs of Staff...

does not like making such requests.

Not because he is above such things...

or because he thinks
these matters are unimportant...

but because he believes
in the chain of command.

You, sir...

have leapfrogged
your way into this room...

by calling in a favor.

If I were a betting man, I'd guarantee
that you've used up your lot.

You'd win that bet.

I called in a favor of my own.

I got ahold of
your military service record.

It is no secret, sir.

You were discharged before
your tour of duty was complete...

because of severe
post-traumatic stress syndrome.

My helicopter went down in enemy territory
on the way back from a spy mission.

- It took me a month to get back out.
- Alone?

- Yes, sir.
- Very impressive.

Upon your return...

you were under the delusion
that the enemy was all around you.

There was no safe place to hide,
even when you got home.

I felt that, yes, sir.

You slept with a gun
under your pillow.

- Like I said, that was a long time ago.
- Was it?

If you're saying I'm suffering because
of what happened to me during the war...

I'll give you no argument.

A day doesn't go by
without my thinking about it.

If you're saying what I went through 20
years ago is clouding my judgment now...

then you're dead wrong.

- You're paranoid.
- No, sir.

- Understandably distressed.
- I see a threat from-

- You see delusions.
- I beg your pardon, sir!

Sit down, Mr. Strong.

You're right. I know what it's like
to be surrounded by the enemy.

I've been in places where every move
I made should have been my last.

If anything...

it's taught me about what may come to pass
for all of us if we do nothing.

I've seen bombs fall on villages...

from planes so far away
you can't even hear them coming.

I've seen survivors
look to their unseen enemy in the sky...

and know that they could
never strike back.

You're overlooking one thing.

Those helpless villagers
that you witnessed 20-some years ago...

ended up winning the war.

You're right, sir.

That's why I'm here.
So can we.

May I continue?

If you must, Mr. Strong.

If you must.

I tend to agree
with the chairman.

You present us scenarios that are, for the
most part, products of your imagination.

What if the Sandkings...

were spreading throughout the country
without our knowing it?

What if the astronauts of Mars II
hadn't destroyed their ship...

and brought an alien organism
back to Earth?

If you don't have any further
examples of alien belligerence-

But I do.

Here.

Is that an artifact of some sort?

No, sir.

An artifact, by definition,
I think, is made by human hands.

- That's organic.
- It looks metallic.

- It is.
- But I thought you said-

That object was recovered from the floor
of a house in the Midwest.

It's been examined by
metallurgists and biologists...

and so far all they agree on...

is that it was grown
to suit a purpose.

It's scorched.

From passing
through the atmosphere.

Oh. So this is
a tiny alien spaceship, I imagine.

- Somehow, I don't feel threatened.
- Well, you should.

That object you're looking at...

carries a parasite that becomes
absorbed into the body...

of whoever finds the object.

And then what?

Well, the parasite
takes control of the host...

and then it begins to search for
a source of energy.

And what kind of energy might that be,
Mr. Strong? Nuclear? Chemical?

Sexual.

You're honestly saying
that this alien parasite...

completely absorbs the victim
during the act of sex?

It's happened half a dozen times
in this century alone.

An object falls.

Ayoung woman's behavior radically
changes. Men begin disappearing.

Mr. Strong, I find the subject matter
of this particular discussion absurd.

The biologist
who wrote the paper...

on the object
that you're looking at...

theorizes that this process
is part of this being's life cycle.

It uses the energy
it absorbs to...

achieve a sort of metamorphosis.

Where are they?

As I said, it's-
it's part of a life cycle.

The host is only affected
until the alien can change form.

Usually within a matter of days.

And this is supposed to be the greatest
threat the nation's ever faced?

Mr. Chairman, I beg your pardon,
but this is...

very similar to the case
we investigated in Michigan.

Michigan.
The house!

Yes! Yes!
L-I was gonna bring that up.

- I'm sure you were.
- Forgive me.

Again, this was before
my time on the committee.

An otherwise ordinary house...

was alleged to be composed
of nonterrestrial organic material.

The committee looked into the matter,
examined the facts.

The evidence was insubstantial.

The evidence was overwhelming.

Thanks, Warren.

What the hell was that?

Warren? Mike?

I'm getting the hell out of here.

No!

Mr. Strong, I had proposed we bring this
to theJoint Chiefs as a class-one threat.

I was overruled.

Outvoted, Mrs. Perry.
Four to one, as I recall.

At least six people who went into that
house are missing and presumed dead.

You insisted
they were going to turn up.

- What happened to them?
- The house absorbed them.

It's the house!

No!

Mr. Strong, the committee has already
discussed this matter at length.

I'm not sure they have.
I think you have.

Look...

you can't go blaming aliens for everything
that happens that you don't understand.

A girl kills her lover.

It's a terrible thing, I know,
but these things happen.

Nobody thinks she's capable of
murder, and there's no body...

so you UFO types...

jump to the conclusion that aliens
have used her to absorb the human race.

- I never said that, sir.
- And the house!

Some people disappear...

and suddenly it's eating them.

Did anybody bother to check to see
if the place had a back door...

for cryin' out loud?

Folks, we're gonna take
a five minute break here.

I need to put-
put in my eyedrops.

But when I come back,
I want this hearing over with.

Tilting at windmills, Mr. Strong.

I'm sorry?

I was making an analogy.

To what I'm up against?

You tell me.
Am I wasting my time?

- Where were we?
- We were just about to wrap this up.

As a matter of fact...

I have a lot more material
to go over.

To what purpose, Mr. Strong?

What do you mean?

I think the committee member is expressing
is the fact that we as a group...

interpret events differently.

It's not a question of perception.

If you met a man with eyes
in the back of his head, gills...

and a poisonous, stinging membrane
all over his body...

would you be inclined
to think he was an alien?

- I might.
- You'd be wrong.

What in the name of God?

Have there been more changes?

Oh, God, I'm not sure.

I have this intense pain in the back
of my head. It's kept me up all night.

Let me look.

Do you see anything?

Just two small bumps.

- Damn it, that hurts!
- Sorry.

They appear to be filled
with some kind of fluid.

- What is it?
- They're moving.

- What is it?
- Oh, my God!

They're eyes.

Here was a case,
Mr. Chairman...

where the evidence
points to aliens.

It was, in fact,
a scientific experiment gone awry.

You see, Mr. Strong, l-

This better be important.

- You asked me to send those case files.
- Yes, yes. You brought them?

Well, that's just it, sir.
They're missing.

And there's no sign
of any of them.

I haven't the foggiest idea
where those files are, Mr. Horner.

Sir, you and I are the only ones
that have access to your computer.

I'll tell you what:
We'll discuss this in the morning. Okay?

That's all.

I had hoped to show you information
that we ourselves have gathered...

on those cases that
you've discussed thus far.

But apparently,
our bureaucracy's falling down.

Perhaps you'll take my word...

when I tell you that the lion's share
of our work here...

has been investigating those claims...

that bear very little resemblance
to reality.

I know there are hoaxes out there.

Most stories, I've found...

are at best imaginary,
at worst out-and-out lies.

Finally we agree on something.

But that doesn't mean there
aren't real threats out there.

Well, how do you tell the difference
between the real and the imaginary?

Between those who are human
and those who appear to be human?

Chairman Thornwell,
do you believe in God?

- I don't see what that has to do with-
- Do you?

- I do.
- On the basis of what evidence?

On faith, Mr. Strong.

Do you believe the existence of God
precludes the existence of aliens?

- If this is headed where I think it is-
- Do you recall the name...

of FatherJonascu?

He was a priest who performed miracles,
healing the sick.

Poor child.

Now it's time to exercise your powers.

Come, Father.

Will her back to health.

You can do it, Father.

To this day, there's no explanation
as to how he did it.

Hundreds of witnesses saw him,
doctors among them.

Do you think such power
comes to you at no cost?

But the power wasn't given to him
by either God or the Devil.

It was an Alien advance force
that had given him healing powers...

only to provide a front
for their invasion plans.

What kind of invasion plans?
Why would they go to a priest?

If they wanted to take over the world, why
wouldn't they go after someone in power?

Yes, that would make
the most sense, wouldn't it?

To take the places of those in power.

It doesn't have to be
the White House.

But a young senator on his way up
could pave the way.

You're referring to Senator Adams,
I presume?

Yes, sir, I do.

- How much do you know about him?
- Enough to know he wasn't human.

That was never proved.

I have the M.R.I. They made
the night of his accident.

It's almost inconceivable.

Those X-rays were right.

- Then I'm not crazy?
- No. But you're different.

Very different.

Oh, my God.

What is it? What is it?
What's wrong with me?

- I don't know.
- What else do you know?

I know aliens control
the Sendrax Corporation...

how Senator Adams tried to pass a bill
that would have allowed them...

to poison the atmosphere
to humans.

I know about this methane-based supplement
they had to take to stay alive.

I even know how they
make themselves look like us.

What's this thing, Dave?
What's in there?

Don't you recognize him?

That's your replacement.

Are you telling me
that thing is alive?

Come on, Richard.
You know it's one of us.

Don't you understand?

You're betraying your own kind.

What kind?
What am I?

You were transformed
in a tank like this one.

So was I.

And all the others that have come
to resettle this planet.

I understand your concerns,
Mr. Strong.

Suffice it to say,
the government is aware...

of these potentially catastrophic
terrorist activities...

though we may disagree
on who's responsible.

But you admit
something's going on.

As I said, we are concerned.

That's all I have,
Mr. Chairman.

All I can say is,
it's now or never.

You can wait outside. We'll call you
back in when we've come to our decision.

All right.

Why don't you have a seat, Mr. Strong.
It's been a long night.

I prefer to stand, sir.

You should know that you've made
an impression, sir, on this committee.

Now, for myself, I consider it
to have been time well spent.

I admire both your service record
and your dedication to this cause.

- You won't do it, will you?
- Let me finish, now.

I think you should also know that
a vote was taken by this committee...

as to whether or not to propose
to the president and theJoint Chiefs...

full disclosure of these events
that you've outlined.

And finally, I think you should know
that the vote was very close.

You son of a-

Unfortunately,
those of us who voted "no"...

weren't convinced that the threats
you outlined merit this kind of response.

The truth is staring you in the face.
You're shutting your eyes.

It was also noted you are,
by nature of your own war experience...

predisposed to be fearful
of such matters.

It's happening right now, in your own
government, and you won't act!

I want you to know that this committee
appreciates your hard work.

This hearing is over.
Good-bye.

- No.
- Come with me, sir.

The rest of you can't
let him get away with this.

Eyedrops.

He needed eyedrops.

That's not Chairman Thornwell!

The aliens in the government used special
eyedrops along with the supplement...

to survive in our atmosphere.

He excused himself from the meeting
to put in eyedrops!

This is blood, Mr. Strong.

Human blood.

No. It can't be.
I was certain.

He voted "yes" with me.

You convinced him.

Let me go back in there!
There's something going on!

Let me go!
Let me go back in there!

I'll get help.

I'll go with you.

So...

the next logical choice
for chairman is?

Callahan.

Good.

You know...

Strong was right
about those Sandkings.

They could be a real problem
in 20 or 30 years.

You think they can survive
in a methane atmosphere?

I don't know.

But I suppose
anything is possible.

Sleep soundly in the knowledge
that the dawn will come.

Rest assured that our leaders
are watching over us.

But beware, for it is only
their vigilance...

that stands between
our restful slumber...

and the end of the world.