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

"The cradle rocks
above an abyss

"And common sense tells us
that our existence

"is but a brief crack of light

between two eternities
of darkness."

Yes, the cradle rocks,

and, I think you'll agree,
so does vladimir nabokov...

( laughter )

Every time he sets pen to paper.

But whether
old vlad's description

of the human condition is born
of hope or of dire pessimism...

( watch beeping )



is the question...

3:56 P.M.

Is, is the question
we will come back to

when I return from my leave.

Now, before you go,
no doubt a lot of you

have heard the rumors
circulating around campus

about my upcoming operation

and I figured I'd better
set the record straight.

The next time I see you,
I may actually see you.

Dear sweet Molly Bloom here
may be out of a job.

I know that sounds

kind of crazy, but I volunteered
to be a guinea pig

in a medical procedure
that I and my doctors Hope

will allow me to see
for the first time



since my childhood accident.

I could give you
the hard science,

but, uh, there's a reason
I teach the humanities.

I can tell you that it involves
a combination of an implant

of some state-Of-The-Art
micro-Electronics

and the use
of a sophisticated drug --

Get this --
That could only be manufactured

in the zero gravity
of outer space.

So if, uh, if anyone asks me

what the hell good all those
space shuttle missions are for,

you can tell them...

they may have just made
a Miracle possible.

You're looking at areas B-1
and 17 of the occipital lobe,

better known as
the primary visual cortex.

By removing
the damaged portion

of the necrotic area

and replacing it
with our neural prosthesis,

we expect to fully restore

the patient's visual circuitry.

Syringe.

I'll now be injecting
the cerebral sheath

with the same
iridium suspension

which has been
part of the patient's

pre-Surgery drug therapy
for the last seven days.

Ready for the implant now.

Patrick?

How are you feeling?

Like I parted my hair
with a jackhammer.

We've cut down
on the painkillers

until we can assess
the results of the surgery.

Are you going to take
the bandages off now?

Before we do that,
I want to introduce you

to dr. Louise Burrows,
the consulting psychologist.

You're still convinced
I'll need therapy?

Regardless of the results,

you will be facing
a period of Adjustment.

Hi, Patrick.

It's a pleasure
to finally meet you.

Are you as attractive
as you sound?

Let's hope you'll be able

to answer that question
yourself, Patrick.

Okay.

Oh, my god, there's light.

I can sense light, doctor.

That's wonderful, Patrick.

Just take it easy.

Oh, my god, there's light.

Oh, my god.

Oh, I can see your face.

I can see your faces.

Oh, it's incredible.

It's incredible.

Thank you, doctor.

Thank you.

What is it, Patrick?

What is that?

What is that? Oh, my god!
Who are you?

Oh, my god.

What are you--

Patrick,
what do you see?

( 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.

It is said that
what we behold

with our eyes is merely
the surface of reality.

But if we could see

beneath that facade,
what would lie within?

( knocking )

Come in.

Louise, I was hoping
it was you.

Remember, you promised,

no more jokes about
"a sight for sore eyes."

All right, I'll try
to restrain myself.

Have you talked
to Dr. Lennox?
Yes.

He can't keep you
in the hospital

against your will,

although it is
his strong preference.

I did manage to convince him

that what you experienced is
not likely to recur.

So what happens now?

I get remanded to the custody

of my personal
shrink?

No, Patrick.

I'm only here when you need me.

Just like Molly.

Louise, do you still think
it was all a hallucination?

This was the first use of your
eyesight in almost 20 years,

and they tell me

your brain's
visual cortex

is actually
being retrained.

It was so damn real.

Yeah.

Tell me again,

what did she
look like?

Red eyes.

Red hair.

The rest...

her skin, it was,

it was so pale,
it was strange,

almost like a ghost.

Is that what you think
you saw then, a ghost?

You just got finished

with a perfectly
plausible explanation.

When you were a child

when your vision
was still intact,

did you ever see anything
like, like this woman?

You mean like the bogeyman?

Give it any name you like.

I had fantasies, phobias,

like any kid.

Such as?

Well, um, I remember
lying in my bed

staring at the half-Open
closet door.

I swear the door
started to move.

It doesn't mean we're crazy
when we see something

that's not there.

Well, I think I'm ready
to face the world.

Do you mind
if I accompany you?

Twist my arm.

The trees, the sky --
Everything is so beautiful.

So they tell me

you lost your sight
in an accident

when you were,
what, 7?

Going blind was
the least of it.

I lost my parents
in the same accident.

I'm sorry.

It was a single-Engine
plane crash.

We were on our way to alaska.

They wanted me to see
the Aurora borealis,

the northern lights.

My father was at the controls
when we lost power

over Fort yukon
in the arctic circle.

So who raised you?

My aunt --
My mother's sister.

She never let me
wallow in self-Pity.

If it wasn't for her,

I don't think I would have
gone on to college or teaching.

She died of cancer
a little over a year ago.

That certainly puts things
in perspective.

How do you mean?

Uh, it's just
those kinds of losses,

the emotional trauma
can affect us

in ways that are, well,
sometimes unpredictable.

That's psychoanal-Ese
for "This guy's a whack-Job"?

I'm not here
to make judgments.

I thought that's exactly--

What is that?
What do you see?

Patrick,
talk to me.

Did you--

She's gone.

Who's gone?

The girl.

You didn't see
a girl right there?

No headaches
or dizzy spells?

No.

Any discomfort
associated with

shifting focus
from near to far?

No.

Any halos
around objects?

I don't think so, no.

Artifacts.

I'm sorry?

Oh, um, spots
of light or dark

that seem to float
over your field of view.

Not really, no.

Well, everything looks Good.

Very good.

No evidence of rejection,
no brain swelling.

Except for the restricted
peripheral vision, Patrick,

you're doing better

than we could have
ever hoped for.

So there's...
there's nothing abnormal.

Physically, I don't see
anything anomalous.

Why, is there something
that doesn't feel normal?

No, I just...

you know, when the bandages
first came off.

You experience
anything like that again?

No.

Uh, no, dr. Burrows
explained how that was

just a figment
of my imagination.

Vivid as hell
from the sound of it.

Yes, it was.

I'm going to give you
another injection

of the iridium suspension.

Are you
all right?

Yeah.

Not my favorite part
of the process.

Yeah.

Look, Patrick...

we're going
to have to hope

that your body
becomes acclimated

to the side effects,

because
without the drug,

the bridge to
your neural prosthesis

would quickly
disintegrate.

Well, like I said,

best feeling in the world.

You didn't say anything
to dr. Lennox?

I did, actually.

He pretended
he hadn't heard a thing.

Maybe he wanted you
to volunteer it.

Why are you all
playing games with me?

No one's playing games
with you.

I think
dr. Lennox just feels

it's best dealt with
in a therapeutic realm.

Can you go back there?

Do you remember
what you saw?

She's trying to talk to me.

I can't hear her,

but I can make out
what she's saying.

She's crying for help...

over and over and over
and over and over.

Would you like to help her?

I'm not a child, Louise.

I know what you're driving at.

Which is?

Wish fulfillment,
unconscious cravings.

I've created
an imaginary girl

to fulfill some twisted need.

We do that routinely
in our dreams.

Both times I wasn't dreaming.

You were there.

Why would my mind
fantasize

something
so terrifying?

Patrick, listen to me.

For 20 years you were blind.

You lived in a world
that was cloaked in darkness.

And then as sudden
as turning on a switch,

your senses are
flooded with light.

How can it not be overwhelming?

When does it stop?

I don't think anyone Can
answer that question but you.

This is everything
we could have hoped for

and more.

I'm still
not persuaded

that it is
anything more

than an EMOTIONALLY
inspired vision --

Like the Madonna
appearing

in the reflection
of an office building.

Listen to the tape
of Dr. Burrows' session.

I defy you to write that off
as a fantasy, a mirage.

Maybe you're just seeing
what you want to see.

Joseph,
I don't have to remind you

that without the iridium
we supplied, your experiment

would have had no chance
of succeeding.

I would like to be able
to report

your continued cooperation
to my superiors.

It'd be a shame to have

as precious a gift
as your patient's snatched away.

( screeching )

Help me, Patrick.

( screaming )

This isn't happening.

This isn't happening.

This isn't happening.

( growling )

You're not real.
You're not real.

You're not real.
You can't be.

I'm not dreaming, am I?

Who are you?

Kyra.

That's beautiful.

You said you wanted me
to help you.

How could I help you?

You're not alive, are you?

You're some, you're some...

( whimpering )

No.

No...no, Kyra,
wait, please.

Kyra.
Kyra, don't go.

Will I see you
again?

Just tell me that.

All right.

Let's take it
at face value then.

This girl--

Kyra.
She told me her name.

Okay.

She appears to you
and no one else.

She can't be heard,

so she communicates
by writing in the air.

And she tells you

she's from
another planet?

Another world.

I never should have said
anything.

Your mother had red hair,
didn't she?

Who told you that?

I read about it
in the story of the accident.

She looks nothing like
my mother, Louise.

Please stop twisting
what I say.

I am just trying
to make sense of it.

I won't be able
to help you

if you don't meet me
halfway.

Patrick, is it happening?

Kyra, Kyra.

Kyra.

I'm sorry, I thought
you were someone else.

I'm sorry.

It's all right.

Leave me alone,
okay?

Get the hell
away from me.

All right.

Oh...

I wasn't dreaming.

Both times I wasn't dreaming.

You were there.

Why would my mind fantasize
something so terrifying?

Patrick,
listen to me.

Where did you get
that tape?

Oh, Louise.

I never recorded that session.

And if I had, it would
have been for my own use.

You were told
from the moment you came in

how important
this experiment was.

I feel like I've already
betrayed Patrick's trust.

He opened up to me
with the understanding

that it would be
strictly confidential.

Louise, please understand
that your participation in This

is just one part
of a larger picture.

Well, if you expect me
to continue to participate

I won't have you spying on me
or my patient.

With all due respect,
you won't lay the ground rules.

If you choose
to withdraw from
this project,

there are other
mental health professionals

who would jump at the chance.

I have a connection
to this young man.

I'm not walking.

After all, this is a case
that could make one's career.

Or am I reading
between the lines?

Besides, he's not
just your patient.

He's our patient too,
and something of a milestone.

He's a human being,
Joseph.

And a very troubled one.

He insists on going back
to the classroom.

He's clearly
delusional.

And if he deteriorates
any further,

it might develop
into a serious psychosis.

If in fact his symptoms
Truly are signs of a psychosis.

Joseph, I have
the strongest feeling

I haven't been thoroughly
briefed on this case.

You know as much
as you need to know.

No, that is
not good enough.

I want to know what the hell
is going on here.

Louise, have a seat.

Please.

You know the iridium
that has been an integral part

of Patrick's
post-Operative therapy?

The synaptic
stimulant,

the one that helps
stroke victims.

There's compelling
scientific evidence

that it doesn't just enhance
the brain's receptivity.

But it enhances perception,
heightens the senses,

even in Faculties sometimes
referred to as extra-Sensory.

What are you trying to tell me?

That what Patrick is
experiencing...

it just might be real.

Aside from their
immeasurable genius,

what Virginia Woolf,
William Faulkner, James Joyce

all had in common was their use
of a literary technique

that we've come to know
as stream of consciousness,

in which the characters'

thoughts, their actions,
their emotions

all have an associative pattern
rather--

No.

No.

Uh...

uh, stream of consciousness,
right, where...

the characters, their thoughts,
their act--

Is everything okay?

If I had a trophy room,

I'd probably hang a picture
of your brain scan in it.

You are the real-Life
six million dollar man.

So is that it
for today?

Not yet.

I'll be giving you
another injection.

In fact,
I'd like you to come in

every day this week
for a treatment.

I don't know if my body
Can handle that.

You don't want
to backslide.

Of course not.

It's just...the drug wreaks
havoc on my system, doctor.

I can't eat for hours
afterwards.

The headaches are
unbearable.

Something's wrong,
isn't it?

No, nothing is wrong.

I don't
believe you.

Patrick, you're proof
that the treatment is a success.

It's the drug, isn't it?

The iridium is
allowing me
to see her.

See who?

Oh, I know Louise has told you
everything.

Why won't you tell me
the truth?

He's right.
We should.

It's time you were told
the truth.

Oh.

Mr. Borden, I didn't know
that you were observing.

What truth?

I wasn't aware there was
more than one.

Who are you?

Forgive me --
Dwight Borden.

I work with
British intelligence

and the national
security agency.

National security?

The iridium drug that was
produced on the shuttle,

Mr. Borden's agency
made it possible.

Rarer than
a flawless diamond.

And far more costly.

It wasn't developed

for your procedure
per se.

It's used in your case
as one of those

unexpected byproducts
of scientific research.

What
was
--It produced for?

Actually, Mr. Tarloff...
may I call you Patrick?

Patrick, eight years ago

a small group of scientists
within the government discovered

that a drug originally developed
for stroke victims

had some extraordinary
properties.

It allowed certain subjects
to perceive

faint but consistent signs
of what we could only call

a non-Visible lifeform.

Now, we surmised
that if we refined the drug

and found
the right person,

we could track these signals,
amplify them...

that he might become
a receiver of sorts.

A receiver?

We tried it on hundreds of
volunteers in a dozen studies.

We never got further
than trace evidence.

Until now.

Patrick, these visions
you've been experiencing.

We believe they are
the first corroborative proof

of the lifeform
I'm talking about.

It's...I can't...
it's too bizarre.

You are that human receiver,
Patrick.

Are you all right?

I can hear you.

That's what I'd hoped.

What was that thing?
What did you do to me?

It's something I salvaged
from my craft.

I can only use it
in limited areas like this one.

Magnetic nodes,
where currents cross.

I'd hoped it would break down
the remaining barriers.

But you're still visible
only to me?

I can feel you.

I can really feel your hand.

It's been so long
since I felt another's touch.

I don't know how long
this will last.

We were warned about
COMING too close

to the magnetic field
of your planet,

but my father wanted
a better look.

I was the only survivor
of five.

It was almost seven years ago.

I was orphaned

in a craft
that crashed too.

It was just
a single-Engine plane.

All these years, I've wandered
your planet, seeing everything.

But unable to be seen.

Until you.

I still don't
understand

how you found me,
how you knew.

The system,

the substance that was
created in space.

The iridium drug.

As soon as it was
returned to earth,

I found myself
drawn to it,

drawn to the people
who were treated by it.

I was scared though.

I'd seen so much
cruelty here,

so much darkness
and suffering.

But when
it was used on you,

it was so intense,

became irresistible.

And like a moth
to flame...

why do you say
that?

Because I could pose
a danger to you.

I don't understand.

The people
who created it,

they know about you.

They used the iridium
before I even saw you

to somehow detect
your presence.

The worst...

the worst of it is,

now they think I have
a way to reach you.

Through you.

I can't go back
to being alone.

You have no idea
what it's been like.

To have no one to talk to,

share my feelings, my thoughts.

To touch, to embrace.

It's still so hard
to fathom.

We need your help,
Louise.

We want him to bring
the alien to us.

How can you be so certain
that this energy phenomenon

is an alien?

We've heard them
communicate.

Of course,
all we hear is his side

of the conversation.
They speak?

Yes, it's a recent development.

They were up half the night,
talking, laughing.

Sensory exchange is

even...tactile.

It's quite astonishing,
really.

You bugged
his apartment.

Louise, you must realize

the importance
of what we stumbled upon.

Oh, I do, but--

Louise, it seems Patrick
trusts you.

We want you to assure him
that we mean this being no harm.

On the contrary, we want
to learn all we can from her.

Eventually we might be able
to return the favor.

Our telemetry might be used
to signal her world.

We know
she wants that.

I just don't know.

Louise, Patrick's
psychological state Depends

on his being able
to help this creature.

You thwart that

and he may never
recover.

I don't know, Louise.

Bringing Kyra to meet them,

it scares the hell out of me.

What's scary is making

the scientific discovery
of the century

and not being able to share it
with the world.

And you really believe that
Borden is willing to help her

make contact
with her home planet.

All they want is to be able
to ask her questions

and you'd serve as interpreter.

You're in love with her,
aren't you?

You must really think
I'm crazy now.

No.

On the contrary.

It's enough to make a cynic
believe in fate.

Welcome...

to both of you?

What's all this?

Some
instrumentation.

Measuring devices.

She is with you, yes?

She's right here.

Would you direct her
to take that seat?

She can hear you.

She can understand
everything you say.

Kyra, please.

Let's start, shall we?

Ask her where
she comes from.

Beyond your reach.

Could she be
a little more specific?

You would call it
a neutron star.

How is that possible?

The temperatures
are unthinkable.

Only by your measure.

What are the coordinates

of the star?

Something's wrong.

Something's very wrong.

She's not comfortable
giving you that information.

Tell her we've been
to a lot of trouble

on her behalf.

Patrick, please.
I want to go.

We're not doing this right now.
We're leaving.

( screaming )

Don't!
What have you done?

My god, Kyra!

Patrick.

( Borden )
Do you really think
that We would harm her?

This is a strong magnetic field.

Nothing more.

She can't pass
through it.

Once she's over
her skittishness,

we will switch it off.

You can both go.
That's a promise.

If she's still alive.

Turn it off now!

Borden, maybe he's right.

I want you to consider where
your allegiance lies, Patrick.

With the scientists

who gave you back your sight,

or with An INTERLOPER

whose agenda
you don't really know.

No, when she's ready
to talk to us,

we will be ready to listen.

She's not the enemy --
We're the enemy!

This is all my fault.

I never should have
brought you here.

It's the nature of your kind.

Fear what
you don't know.

We don't have any choice,
you know.

You have to tell them
everything.

You know better than that,
Patrick.

I'm a trophy now.

They'll never let me go.

How much time
do we have?

I don't know.

Hours, maybe less.

Kyra...Kyra.

Kyra, no.

Kyra, you can't.
Kyra!

No, no, Kyra.

You can't!

Kyra,
you need help.

( Louise )
Patrick, I have to talk to you.

Just for a moment.

Patrick, I swear,
I knew nothing of Borden's plan.

I'm as appalled as you are.

You expect me
to believe that?

It's the god's truth.

All right.

All right, you told me.

Now go.

I, uh, wanted to leave you
with this.

What is "This"?

it's the remaining stores
of iridium suspension.

It's all that's standing
between you and total blindness.

So you struck a deal
with the devil?

Patrick.

As long as there's iridium
pumping through my veins

they've got
the perfect bait

to lure Kyra back.

They knew about her

before you gained
your eyesight.

She was only a shadow.

She was a whisper
in the void.

She was free.

Thank you.

I better go.

Goodbye, Patrick.

Kyra!

Kyra!

Kyra!

No!

You can't.

I didn't think
I'd see you again.

You're the only thing
I have in this world.

The only thing that matters.

I thought going home mattered.

It's never going to happen.

The only people who can help me
are so ignorant

they'll wind up
killing me first.

That's why
I'm doing this.

Patrick, please.

The iridium is preventing you

from being consigned
to darkness.

It's also the only thing
that's guaranteeing your doom.

If there's a Link between us,
they can track you,

they can hunt you down
and imprison you.

I made
that mistake once

and I won't let it
happen again.

You'd rather lose
your sight?

Not meant to see something
so wondrous

picked at and prodded
by their damn machines.

We have no right.

I have no right.

I love you.

That's enough for me.

( voices shouting )

I knew I'd be followed.

There isn't enough time.

You have no idea

what you've done.

In closing, for those of you

who've expressed concern
about my condition,

I refer you to Victor Hugo's
Les miserables.

"Possessing love,
he is not deprived of light.

"a love, moreover,
that is wholly pure.

"There can be no blindness

where there is this certainty."

Well...

see you next time.

( control voice )
of all the gifts his maker
has bestowed upon man,

none is more precious than
his ability to love another.

Captioning performed by

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