The Outer Limits (1995–2002): Season 6, Episode 4 - Manifest Destiny - full transcript

Just a minute.

Got it.

I keep telling you,
machines and women --

If you're too gentle
with them,

you're asking
for trouble.

Oh, another
pearl of wisdom

from Franklin
the knuckle scraper?

Put a lid on it,
people.

Okay, here we go.

Uh, 7/17/63, 1800 hours,
per s.O.P.

This is the visual log of
science Officer William olsten



of the U.F.S.
Mercury.

We were
en route
to the planet trion

when we received
a distress signal

from the U.F.S.
Rhesos,
a c-Class battleship

which was returning
from the planet.

We are preparing to board.

Captain Abbott, anything else
you'd like to put on Record?

Uh, no,
that's good.

Take a seat,
prepare to dock.

( Hannah )
U.F.S.
Rhesos,
this is U.F.S.
Mercury.

Just put this thing on.

Is this straight?

Did your mom have to dress you
when you were a little kid?

You've seen my closet.



I need all the help I can get.

Yeah, you need
to work on that.

U.F.S.
Rhesos,
this is U.F.S.
Mercury.

Do you copy?

Slow and easy, Hannah.

Piece of cake.

Cuing the zoom.

Look at the size
of that mother.

Still no response
from the
rhesos,
--Captain.

Okay, let's go in.

Okay, docking on my mark.

10, 9, 8,

7, 6, 5,

4, 3, 2, 1.

Mark.

Nice landing.

Think you can do better?

Come grab the stick.

I got your stick,
baby.

Hey, stow it.

It was a good landing,
Hannah.

Umbilical locked.

Seal integrity high.

Taking Air sample
from
rhesos.

Scrubbers functioning,

air is breathable
and sterile.

All right, let's do it.

50 Rounds per second.

Turn a horse
into puppy Chow

before you can say
"Fetch."

All right, let's do this
right and tight, huh?

Hannah,
you hold the Fort down.

Will, Megan,
you come with me.

Franklin,
bring up the rear.

Hey, why don't you also stay
on board with Hannah?

What, why?

Because we're
civilian consultants.

We're not here to become
involved in military missions.

I was trained in
military engagements

before I came
on board, will.

Sorry, doc.
I need every hand.

All right, let's keep the volume
low and controlled.

All right?

No action without verification.

I don't want to put a hole
in one of our own.

Did you hear that, Franklin?

All right, clear the Hatch open.

I love you, will,

but I do not need you
thinking for me, okay?

Keep the motor running
and the beer cold, sweetheart.

Try not to shoot
yourself, sport.

( buzzer sounding )

Mercury Hatch
sealed, sir.

This is the fun part.

All right, let's go in.

Well, hell.

Hannah, we just lost the light
in the umbilical.

( Hannah )
My board's green, captain.

I can't explain it.

Just give me a sec.

Hey, Franklin.

See what you can do

about Getting some lights on
in here, would you?

At least the generator's
still on line.

Circuit override
for the main lights

is probably
on the bridge.

We're entering the
rhesos
now, Hannah.

Franklin.

Doc and I are going to head
for the bridge,

see if we can gear up the ops.

You take Megan,

check out the crew's quarters,
engineering.

Yes, sir.

Keep your heads, people.

Don't assume the worst.

Just find the crew
and report.

I want to maintain
constant radio contact.

Do you got that?

You got it, sir.
Yes, sir.

Olsten,
you're with me.

Let's go.

Olsten, let's go.

Where in the hell's the crew?

Doesn't make sense.

Should be 35 people here.

Franklin, report.

We're almost at engineering.

No one in Sight.

Everything seems to be
in place.

No signs of struggle.

It's quiet as a damn grave.

Something about this
doesn't quite feel right.

Bridge seems intact.

Everything seems to be
operational.

Just in shutdown mode.

Captain?

Yeah.

Somebody didn't finish
their lunch.

Or wasn't given the chance to.

( Megan )
Oh, my god! Will!

Franklin, report.

What is it?

Oh, god.

( control voice )
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.

Human history is marked
by our desire

to expand our boundaries.

But what happens when our reach
exceeds our grasp?

It's been about half an hour
since we discovered engineering,

so far the only sign
of the
rhesos'
--35-Person crew.

The remains are so small
that only a dna analysis

will be able
to accurately determine

exactly how many people
actually died in that room.

Whether it was an accident
or an act of violence

is also unclear.

There's no detonation device
Nor residue

That would suggest an explosion.

Not quite what
you expected

when you signed on
to terraform trion,

huh, doc?

You okay?

Thanks.

We may be civilian consultants,
captain,

but this is hardly
our first jump to a new planet.

I don't doubt your ability,
doctor,

it's just that military
procedures can be unpredictable.

Franklin, what do you got
on the logs?

I've skimmed over
the official versions.

I haven't gotten
to the personal entries yet.

Their mission seems to be
a textbook dust-Off.

Dust-off?

You throw in some
three-Megaton neutrons.

Bye-Bye to Bambi
and his little friends.

Basically wipes out
every living thing.

Not standard operating
practice, I know,

but in this case
it was necessary.

Apparently the indigenous
wildlife on the planet

was what you'd call
rather Ferocious.

What else you got,
Franklin?

Everything on the
rhesos
was done by the book

until two days ago.

Then transcripts, crew data,
they just stop.

That's when
the distress signal
came in.

But check this out.

Every Officer is required
to keep a log, right?

It's pretty dry stuff.

We've just taken off
from Planet trion

after
our last bombing run.

This is
rhesos'
first Officer.

Yeah,
Virgil Mason.

The mission was
a complete success.

No bio readings
from the planet.

The trionids proved to be
far more frail than we thought.

Captain O'Brien has ordered
the cooks to pull out the stops

for a special celebration.

Okay, he goes on to describe
a routine system check,

what they had for dinner --
Very exciting stuff.

But look at this next entry.

It's two days later.

I've ordered a search
for captain O'Brien.

He's gone missing.

I keep...

I keep thinking about
my '44 vette.

It's in pristine condition,

no different from the day
my father bought it.

Driving along the coast
with the top down.

Sunsets.

My head feels like
there's this...

what?

Okay.

Is that all
there is?

That's it.

Run it back
four frames.

Right there.

So he was pulled off.

Right.

I want you to pull up
the off-Mic line.

( distorted voice )

Clarify it
with the computer.

( distorted voice )

Sounds like
"Core-Test."

Again.

( distorted )
Cortez.

Cortez.

There's no crew member
on board named Cortez.

Could have been a stowaway.

Or someone
boarded the ship
to kill the crew.

Space Pirates?

Yeah, space pirates.
It happens.

If that's what's going on
on this ship,

why didn't they
plunder the ship?

Normally They steal everything
that isn't nailed down.

What about
the Hatch openings?

The ship has
an onboard computer

that records
all Hatch activity.

Okay, here we go.

The Hatch was opened only once
in the last week.

It was by us.

Before that?

Back up,
more, more.

Okay, we got a half a dozen
times in 3 1/2 hours.

Before that, nothing else
since the trion.

Six times
in three hours.

Why?

Might explain what we saw
in engineering.

No, no,
explosive decompression

doesn't turn a body
into confetti.

Yeah, besides, nothing else
on the ship was disturbed.

You open a Hatch,
the place is going to be messy.

So why was
the Hatch opened?

Bodies.

Someone was doing
some house-Cleaning.

Flushing the crew
into Space.

Yeah, but if somebody
cleaned up,

then that person
or persons,

they're still here.

Ah!

It's okay, it's all right.

It's just a grounding discharge.

The son of a bitch is
supposed to be shielded.

All the Hatch activity
has to be authorized.

Can you tell me who
opened the Hatch last?

Captain milius O'Brien.

You want to bet
he's still aboard?

If he is aboard, we're going
to find the good captain,

but this time
we all stay together.

Stay close to me, please.

What if something
got on board
when it landed?

Like one of these trionids.

Especially if they're as wild
as They would indicate.

No, the
rhesos
--Didn't land until
After they dropped the bombs

and no biologic can survive
a neutron blast.

What if it wasn't an alien?

What if o'Brien just lost it?

I served under the man
for five years.

He was solid
as a rock.

There are lots of cases
of hysteria

and paranoia in space.

This ship wasn't out
long enough

for that, Megan.

I heard a story once about
a ship in the riga system.

They found it adrift,
every crew member gone.

Even found their meals
on the table in the galley.

Like they'd been snatched
while they were eating lunch.

I heard the same story.

It's apocryphal,
and you know it.

Yeah, even Fairy Tales
start somewhere.

( sighing )

this one.

This is O'Brien's quarters.

Watch my back.

Holy...

( Megan )
What does it mean?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Oh, yeah, cop.

You're right --
This guy is a rock.

Guess we found our killer.

You don't want
to piss me off

right now,
Franklin.

Trust me.

Captain, I'd like to check
O'Brien's personal log.

There might be
something there.

You do that.

Megan,
stay with him.

Franklin,
you come with me.

Right behind you, captain.

Over here, Megan.

Let's see what we can see.

Look at this.

The captain's log postdates
the official ship's log.

They're not dead.

I can feel them while...

going to get us all.

I can't let them...earth...
can't get there.

Only one way.

He's either lost it,
or someone's driven him to this.

Either way,
we can't assume he's alone.

There appears to be
a portion of the log

that can only be accessed with
a beta-Level encryption code.

( banging )

Open the door.

( breathing heavily )

( Megan screaming )

is it going to work?

Looks that way.

Hey, you okay?

I'll live.

You're sure it was O'Brien?

Yeah, he was a mess,
but it was definitely him.

The guy's a nut.

He cut his crew up
into little pieces

And shot them out
the airlock.

Either that
or he ate them.

I doubt he was a cannibal,
Franklin,

but there is something
very strange here.

Hmm, stranger than this?

Well, if psychotics
clean up a murder scene

they'll obsessively
scrub it down, right?

Well, O'Brien got rid
of the bodies

but then left blood everywhere,
so he wasn't cleaning up.

He had another agenda.

How do you explain
the writing, doc?

Well, looks latin.

I only read
cicero.

He studied it.

Mundus est intermea.

Hannah.

Hannah, you watching this?

Yes, captain.

Can you give me a translation,
please?

Okay, just a moment.

Damn it.

Okay, here it is.

"The world is within me."

"The world is within me."

What the hell's that mean?

It means
he's a nut.

Or it could be a clue
to what's going on.

Hannah, shut down
the access code

to the Hatch on the
mercury.

I don't want O'Brien
to be able to get to you.

Hannah, did you copy?

Affirmative.

Entry code's locked out.

All right, keep in touch.

Safeties off.

Going to try
and take O'Brien alive,

but we protect ourselves first

till we make
a clean sweep of the ship.

We don't know
if anybody else is on board.

Let's go, Franklin.

Franklin, move!
Let's go.

Right behind you.

Will, what if they picked up
some kind of foreign virus

from the planet?

Could they transmit it
other ways besides the air?

No, no, not likely.

There would have been
a total scrubdown

After Every recon mission
outside

and any standard Scan
would turn up an alien virus.

It could be food poisoning,
lead or mercury.

We need to check
the medical records.

It wasn't poisoning
or a virus.

You want to know
what it was?

Yeah, what?

Ghosts.

Ghosts in the machine,
Willie-Boy.

Ghosts.

That's, uh, that's very funny,
Franklin.

There he is!Where?

I saw him.

Franklin,
get back here!

He went through here.
I saw him.

I gave you
a command, soldier.

Franklin!

I'm not crazy.

I saw him.

Nobody said you were
crazy, all right?

Nobody said that.

If he was here,
he's not here now.

But we'll find him,
all right?

Now let's go.

What are you looking at?

Captain, I'd like to get
to the infirmary,

check the crew's medical charts.

Might give us
a better idea

of whether
O'Brien's breakdown

was an isolated illness
or something bigger.

We'll go,
but we stay together.

No running off.
You got that?

You got it?

Ah!

Damn it.

All right, stand clear.

It's O'Brien.

He's here.

Hey, milius.

It's me, Sam.
Sam Abbott.

Vox Clemantis en deserto.

Nobody's going
to hurt you, Milius.

Look.

Have a sedative
ready, doc.

It's me.
It's Sam.

Nobody's going
to hurt you.

Vox Clemantis
en deserto.

Franklin, be ready.

Nobody's going
to hurt you.

It's me.

Franklin.

He was right behind us.

( yelling )

Tie him to the bed.

God, he bit me.

Son of a bitch.

That son of a bitch bit me.

Looks like he broke the skin.

I'm going to give you
an antibiotic injection.

Ah!

Where the hell's Franklin?

Franklin!

Hannah.

Hannah, is Franklin with you?

Hannah, do you copy?

( gunshots, alarm sounding )

( Megan )
it's coming from the bridge!

Lieutenant, hang on.

Franklin,
what are you doing?

Lieutenant, I command you
to stand down!

Can't you see them?

Can't you see
the little bastards?

They're everywhere!

They're everywhere!

I can't stop them.

I can't stop them.

Stay here.

I can't --
my god, they're everywhere.

Franklin! Franklin! Franklin!
Franklin!

Franklin, put
your weapon down.

Franklin, calm down,
just calm down, Buddy.

Franklin, I see them too.
I see them too.

Just calm down.
Just put the weapon down.

Thatta boy.

Just set
your weapon down.

Everything's going
to be all right.

It's okay.

Jesus!

I got shot.

Ghosts in the machine...

Franklin!

Franklin, talk to me.

Stay with me, Buddy.

Stay with me.

Franklin, Franklin.

He's dead.

I don't understand it.

Franklin could be
a pain in the ass

but he was not psychotic.

It's bad.

Long-Range communications
are down.

Rhesos
--is still
on a course for earth,

but the navigational system
needs heavy repairs.

I rerouted life support,
so that's working.

Main Power grid seems intact,
so does propulsion,

but without navigation,
it's useless.

I thought you said
it was bad.

All right, doc,
it's your turn.

First O'Brien,
now Franklin.

Well, it's not my field,

but Franklin seemed
schizophrenic.

So does O'Brien.

Yeah, but one couldn't have
caught it from the other.

Schizophrenia's
not a contagious disease.

If that's even
what we're dealing with.

I'd like to test
Franklin's blood.

In the meantime,
nobody leaves this ship.

If there's some bug
trying to make us crazy,

I don't want it to infect
the
mercury.

I'm going to try Hannah
through the Hatch com.

Franklin's blood has
an extremely high level of nts.

English, doc.
English, please.

Neurotransmitters.

Uh, an extremely high level
means that impulses

keep firing across synapses.

The brain literally
short-Circuits.

But in order for the sym
to be so acute,

something must be causing...

I'd like to inject us all
with l-Thora.

It's an anti-Psychotic.

Go on.
Do it.

There's no response,
captain,

and she's disabled
the outer Hatch.

Get in there,
it's your turn.

Trust me.

Till we find Hannah, we have
to assume that we're alone.

I'm going to head down
to engineering

and try to get
the navigation system running.

You two head to the infirmary,
do your tests on O'Brien.

Wait a minute.

Megan is rated
for Delta 9 electronics.

If she stayed here
and got the com Patch working

then we'd have
communications again.

Do it.

Any sign of threat at all,
shoot to kill.

O'Brien.

( muttering )

Hold still.

Raised Nts
just like Franklin.

I'll give you
a dose of l-Thora

and a stimulant,
captain.

It should help.

Who are you?

I'm Dr. William olsten
of the U.F.S.
Mercury.

Can you tell me anything
that you remember

about
what happened, sir?

Trion, bomb, planet,
lives, bodies...

all bodies.

Lives, then darkness.

A darkness...

Ex spiritus sanctus --
the darkness.

Did anything
get on the ship, sir?

Yeah.

We took some of them on.

Froze them like popsicles.

Trophies for the big boys.

Trophies, trophies,
Cortez, Cortez--

Beware Cortez, beware.

Conquistadors March.

Time marches on.

Ides of March.

Just rest for now.

Rest for now.

Yeah, rest.

Rest.

Froze them.

What the hell?

( banging )

( ship's voice )
Warning --

Outer Hull stress levels
exceed maximum allowance.

Hannah, it's Megan.
Can you hear me?

Come on, Hannah, listen to me.
It's Megan.

What the hell's
going on?

Shut up!

Hannah, turn off
the engines!

No, no lies.
I know what you are.

I've been listening.

You've all been infected.

You want to kill me,
I know.

Don't deny it!
I know!

( engines rumbling )

Hannah, listen to me.

You have got to disconnect
the umbilical.

You're going to tear
the Hatch off the
mercury.

( banging )

We've lost the
mercury.

Hannah and Franklin are dead.

The lower three decks
of the
rhesos
--Were compromised

when the
mercury
--Hit us,

but so far the emergency
bulkheads are holding

and we're still on course
for earth.

I'm still not sure
what's affecting us

or what killed
the
rhesos
--Crew,

but the l-Thora injections
seem to have stabilized

our mental degradation.

And I found something.

Something terrible.

How's O'Brien?

He's sleeping.

You wanted to talk to me
about something?

Yeah.

Over here.

That's an ugly mother.

Yes, we were told that
the indigenous population

of the planet were all
vicious, predatory creatures.

But look -- a humanoid.

Opposable Thumbs
and other bipedal qualities.

So?

So...

so we just committed wholesale
murder of this species,

one which actually showed signs
of advanced evolution.

I know what this is.

Our leaders found
the easy solution

to earth's
overpopulation.

They wipe out this species
and they move on in.

Not that that would be
the first time.

O'Brien told me a little
something about Cortez.

No, we already
established

that there was
no crew member
named Cortez.

Cortez was
a conquistador.

His army killed thousands
and thousands of indians,

conquered a continent
because they thought

it was their right,
their manifest destiny.

Listen, I appreciate
the history lesson.

I'm a little more
concerned

with the safety
of my crew right now.

I found
something else,

something I think
you will be interested in.

( sighing )

Now, like I said,
this creature

is on the evolutionary scale
of early man,

which means it should have
an advanced brain, right?

Well, look what I found
during the autopsy.

Yeah, I'd say
that's a brain,
all right.

Look at
the convolutions.

The cerebral cortex
is smooth.

It's too smooth.

Oh, come on, doc.

This brain hasn't passed

the evolutionary level
of a house cat.

I did analysis
on the blood.

See this yellow tint

and how it turns green
as it dries?

That means
it's rich in copper.

The blood is
rich in copper.

This creature's
entire body is

highly conductive
of electricity.

Now, I asked myself how Hannah
could have been infected

since she wasn't
breathing our air.

Then I remembered
all these electrical shocks

we've been getting,

so I pulled up the record
of our conversation

with Hannah
in O'Brien's cabin.

Yes, captain.

Okay, just a moment.

Damn it.

There.

When she first said that,

I thought it was
her frustration

at not being able to find
the translation,

but what if she...

She got shocked.

She got shocked,
like the rest of us.

Exactly.

I think that this illness
is somehow transmitted

through the electrical
circuitry.

It's as if the trionids are
able to transfer

their neural engrams
into electrical Impulses

and then somehow infect
our nervous system.

We shut down
the main power grid.

We shut it down
and then we isolate--

We should be able to stop
our mental degradation.

It's worth a try.

All right, here's what we do.

You get to the main bridge,

shut down the main power supply,
all right?

Switch it over
to Manual override.

I'll go to engineering,

I can shut it down
the rest of the way from there.

Now, when it's down,

we'll get the emergency
power packs,

we'll try firing it up then.

If it works, if it works...

Wait, wait, wait.

Here, take these.

They're insulating gloves.

We should avoid contact

With anything that harbors
electrical current.

What are you doing here?

We're going to shut down
the main power grid.

Here, put these on.

Will...

they're insulating gloves.

If you shut down the power,

how are we going to run
communications?

We're going to run it through
emergency POWER packs

once you've got the com
repatched.

Captain Abbott, you can start
your shutdown of the grid.

Captain Abbott.

( yelling )

That sounded like O'Brien.

Where's your gun?

My gun?
I...I have no idea.

Here, just take mine.

Close this bulkhead door
behind me, understand?

And don't open it for anyone,
you understand me?

I'll be back.

It's O'Brien.

I heard him scream.

By the time I got back here,
he was gone.

Come on, what are you
waiting for?

He'd tear the whole ship up.

He could make the ship explode.

Where's your gun?

I, uh, I left it with Megan.

All right, here, take this one.

What are you waiting for?

Come on, soldier.

O'Brien, he's one hell
of an Officer.

He's smart, cagey.

Under the influence
of these creatures,

there's no telling
what he's capable of.

I think we should go back
and get Megan.

You don't have to worry
about Megan.

She's solid as a rock.

What you got to worry about,
boy, is the situation.

Yeah, one situation at a time,
soldier.

Sir, what situation
are you talking about?

I know that you and O'Brien
talked.

Now, what I want you to do is
I want you to tell me

exactly what you talked about.

Do it right now.

Sir, I already told you--

don't lie to me!

Don't you lie to me.

From the very start

it's been lies
and insubordination.

Oh, god.

Sir?

Drop the gun, sir.
Please just drop the gun.

You're not well,

and I don't want to have
to hurt you.

You don't want to hurt me.

You think you're man enough
to hurt me?

You think you're
soldier enough to hurt me?

Well, then do it.
Go ahead.

Shoot me.

I said, shoot me!

They work better
when they're loaded.

You're not dying so easy,
traitor.

I want some answers first.

Captain, please, listen to me!

I know what you really are

ever since I got bit

and you infected me.

Now you're trying
to get inside my head,

aren't you?

You're trying
to get inside my head.

You're one of them.

what?

No, captain.

Please just...

what did you think
I was going to do?

Did you think I was going
to let you and your filthy race

take over the earth?

Huh?

Did you think I was going
to let you take over my mind

like you did Hannah
and Franklin and olsten?

What?

No, please, captain,

captain, just listen to me
please, okay?

Look, I am olsten.

Okay?

You're very, very sick.

Shut up.

There's some sort of
electrical--

Shut the hell up!

What are you doing to me?

( panting )

Megan, if you can hear me,
captain Abbott...

captain Abbott's gone crazy.

Do you hear me?

He's gone crazy.

Whatever he says,
whatever he does,

do not let him onto the bridge.

Don't let him onto the bridge.

Will?

Will, I know you're here.

Whatever you are...

whatever you are...

O'Brien!

Enough of this!

( gun firing )

Megan!

Megan, if you can hear me

Megan,
if you can hear me,

I'm on my way
back to the bridge.

( panting and gasping )

( gasping and groaning )

I...I understand it now.

I can hear them --

they're in my head like voices.

No, not voices.

Like some sort of basic
consciousness driven by revenge,

spinning around in my head
like bees -- Desperate, angry.

They fear, anger.

Millions...
we killed millions of them

and now, now,
now they fight to the death

like some sort of,
some sort of doomsday virus,

and now they're in our heads.

In our heads and in our ship.

Megan, we've got to warn them,

we've got to warn them
away from the ship.

Megan,
we've got to call earth.

Fixing the com
may be our only hope.

I heard you, will.
Don't you trust me?

Always treating me
like some delicate doll,

watching...watching
over my shoulder!

What are you...
what are you doing, Megan?

It's done.

( screaming )

no! No! No!

No!

No, no, no, no.

No, no,
no, no, no.

Will.

No, you're okay.

Everything's going
to be okay.

Everything's going
to be okay.

I'm sorry.

No.

No.

No.

( crying )

No!

Everyone's dead now.

All dead.

And I'm on the devil's chariot.

And they're going round
and round inside my head...

like rats.

No, like bees.

Buzzing.

The conquistadors killed
the indians,

but the indians got them back.

The indians infected them
with syphilis.

Gave them a little
going away present.

And we killed millions
and millions of trionid bodies

and now their consciousness is
here inside our heads,

infecting us.

Another little
going away present.

One that Fries our brains

and makes us crazy.

Oh, Megan.

I loved you.

And I failed you.

And now there's only one thing
left to do.

Our arrogance,
our manifest destiny,

masters of the universe,

whatever you do,

don't touch anything
on this ship.

Don't touch it.

The trionids are here.

They're waiting.

They're waiting to run.

Stop there.

Lieutenant,
have we...

sir.

We've already downloaded
everything

from the
rhesos
--to earth.

No.

( control voice )
Ultimately, our survival
May depend less

on our ability to overcome
our enemies

than the weakness
of our own character.

Captioning performed by

Western captioning service ltd.
Vancouver, B.C. 2000