The Outer Limits (1963–1965): Season 1, Episode 10 - Nightmare - full transcript
A stranded team of soldiers are captured and experimented on by demonic looking aliens.
No!
Dixx! Dixx! Dixx!
Get away from me!
Halt!
Don't touch me!
Don't touch me!
There is nothing wrong
with your television set.
Do not attempt
to adjust the picture.
We are controlling
transmission.
We will control
the horizontal.
We will control
the vertical.
We can change the focus
to a soft blur,
or sharpen it
to crystal clarity.
For the next hour,
sit quietly,
and we will control all
that you see and hear.
You are about to participate
in a great adventure.
You are about to experience
the awe and mystery
which reaches from
the inner mind to...
A war between worlds
has long been dreaded.
Throughout recent history,
man, convinced that life
on other planets would be
as anxious and belligerent
as life on his own,
has gravely predicted
that some dreadful
form of combat
would inevitably take place
between our world
and that of someone else.
And man was right.
To the eternal credit
of the peoples
of this planet earth,
history shall be able
to proclaim loudly and justly
that in this war
between unified earth
and the planet Ebon,
Ebon struck first.
Ebon...
It's form of life unknown,
it's way of life
unpredictable.
To the fighting
troops of earth,
a black question Mark
at the end of a dark,
foreboding journey.
We have no
way of knowing
what to expect
of the enemy.
We have never
seen him before.
All of the troops that
have gone on before us
have either been destroyed
or captured...
Or have simply been
unable to remain
in communication
with earth.
But we are going
to land on Ebon,
and we are going
to fight on Ebon.
Now, whatever
the Ebonites are,
and however
they live or die,
win or lose...
We are going to remember
at all times
that we are human beings.
Now, if we...
If we are captured...
Face right, step forward,
and identify yourselves.
Your name alone will do
for the moment.
Luke Stone, colonel,
United States Astral Force.
Your name alone.
Ezra Kreug, lieutenant,
German Europa task force.
Terrance Brookman, captain,
Stellar Intelligence Corps,
Great Britain.
Your name alone!
Jong.
James P. Wilimore,
lieutenant,
Free Africa Astral Service.
Arthur Dixx, private,
United States Astral Force.
In your own
earthly phrase,
you are prisoners of war.
You will cooperate
in all ways,
resist in none.
Do not hope to escape.
Your ship is destroyed,
as are those
that came before yours.
At my command,
proceed at once
to compound zero-3.
Face left.
Face left.
March.
Forward march.
No!
Stay away from me!
Dixx! Dixx!
Get away from me!
Halt!
Don't touch me!
Don't touch me!
Now, Dixx,
do you have any pain?
I'll stay with him.
Welcome to compound zero-3.
I am your interrogator.
We met upon your arrival,
and we shall soon meet again
more intimately.
Have you appointed
a spokesman
for your unfortunate group?
Luke Stone, colonel,
United States astral forces.
We will need beds,
water, and food.
And the proper
sanitation facilities...
Your needs are known.
The troops
that came before you
whose cooperation enabled us
to control your arrival
have taught us the needs and
desires of earth creatures.
They, too, made demands,
and once they met ours,
theirs were met.
They are
a contented lot now.
Perhaps you will be
permitted to join them.
Also, immediate medical
attention for private Dixx.
Each of you will be
invited to participate
in an exploratory
interview.
I shall conduct it.
Private Dixx
will be the first
to accept my invitation.
I demand that privilege.
Your demands
shall be honored
when ours are satisfied.
Private Dixx.
Guards,
escort private Dixx
to my quarters.
Wait a minute, Dixx.
Listen, Dixx,
go with him. He's
not gonna hurt you.
Listen, they're
not gonna hurt you.
Now, don't hurt him.
He's going to go with you.
Aah! My eyes!
Aah! Aah! Aah!
I can't see!
Oh! Oh. Oh, my god.
My eyes. I can't...
I can't... oh. Oh...
Jimmy. Jimmy.
Oh, oh, oh...
Sit down,
private Dixx.
Perhaps it is nothing
more than thirst
that prohibits the use
of your voice.
Guard, bring him water.
Drink, private Dixx.
Now, private Dixx,
tell us true things.
That won't do, Dixx.
Your name, your rank,
your serial number
are useful only
to those earthly relatives
who will apply
for your insurance.
I want my son,
not his insurance.
I demand
to see the prisoner!
You promised me
I could see
the new prisoners!
You may come in, doctor.
I'm doctor Wharf,
compound zero-one.
A friend.
Not... not feeling
any pain, are you?
The Ebonites can control
the senses...
All 5 of them.
They can give you back
your voice
any time they choose.
You don't remember me,
but I tested you
when you were inducted.
Camp Clifford, remember?
You were very resentful
of being examined by a...
"a head shrinker,"
I think you called me.
I remember you.
I can still recall
the results
of your
psychological tests.
Shocking.
Shocking
in someone so young
and seemingly normal.
But there it was...
The most classic
self-destruction complex
I've ever come across.
You're bound to destroy
yourself, you know?
Bound and determined.
For example...
You probably refused
to cooperate
with the Ebonites,
as you've been
trained to do.
And of course, they'll,
uh, torture you.
And I have no doubt
that you'll die
rather than talk.
But don't you see?
There's nothing heroic
about that.
You want to die.
Unconsciously, of course.
Don't let
those unconscious drives
win out, Dixx.
Fight them.
Fight them and live.
And you will live
if you cooperate.
And it's so easy
to cooperate, really.
That will be all, doctor.
Watch that complex.
Are you ready
to talk, Dixx?
Perhaps you could speak
if there were someone here
you really wanted
to speak to.
Arthur?
Arthur, you can
talk to your mom,
can't you, baby?
Mom?
You can talk.
Tell me what
they want to know.
Then whisper it
to me, baby.
Whisper
all about it.
Private Dixx?
You may go.
Hey!
Ha ha ha ha!
I can talk again.
Hey, Dixx, they made
you talk again.
What happened?
I'm not sure, sir,
but my mother said,
"why didn't I whisper?"
Probably a hallucinatory-
inducing drug.
It may be, but...
But I didn't
say anything to her.
I didn't
tell her anything.
I didn't say a word.
Lieutenant Kreug,
proceed at once
to my quarters.
No! Me!
Wilimore, please!
Lieutenant Kreug.
I want to see!
Lieutenant Kreug.
Ezra Kreug.
I can't stand it, colonel.
I feel like I'm suffocating.
When I was
a very little child,
I did something very bad.
My nurse would threaten
to tell them.
The Nazis?
Yes.
Tell them what?
That I was...
That I was not
a pure Aryan!
My grandfather...
My mother's father was.
Ezra!
You have been crying.
Your displays of
congenital weakness
convince me
more and more
that you are not.
No!
Tell them and get it
over with, soldier.
Your buddies
will understand.
You turned in
your grandfather,
didn't you?
Ahh...
He forgave you.
Ahh...
Well, if any of us talks,
it won't be me.
Have you heard tales
of the methods
of extracting information
during the Korean war?
But then,
the Chinese communists
couldn't control
the 5 senses.
Which makes me wonder
about the Ebonites.
It seems to me
that a totally different
form of life
would have developed
a totally different
form of death.
Oh, shut up.
You know...
Death here will truly be
a mysterious adventure.
You may go,
Colonel Stone.
Colonel...
Colonel, you won't forget
to inform your men
of the fate
of poor lieutenant Kreug.
Kreug is dead.
They said he went mad.
They do not permit madness
on the planet Ebon.
They destroy the mad.
How was your interview?
It was routine.
When's the next
troop ship arriving,
what entrance pattern?
I fell asleep.
Colonel?
I'm here, Jimmy.
I'm thirsty.
Then you may
as well drink it.
They make you
drink it out there.
Come on.
No, over here.
Down.
Do we have to put
our hands in it, colonel?
Lieutenant Wilimore.
The guard will lead you.
Thank you.
I'll see you
when I get back.
I mean
really see you.
Jim, listen.
Yes, Colonel?
Don't let them seduce
you with a promise.
No, sir.
Promises just
roll off my back.
All right. Fine.
Going to sleep while being
interrogated by the enemy,
an especially
exotic enemy at that,
is a bit much, isn't it?
I mean, even for
a professional soldier?
Brookman,
I almost married
the most beautiful
woman in the world.
I didn't because she said
"professional soldier"
in the same tone of voice.
I just couldn't marry
anyone that unfriendly.
As the hours go by,
we are all apt to become
increasingly unfriendly.
And suspicious.
We'll muddle through
with Major Jong's
sense of humor
to guide us.
Don't misjudge
the laughter, Colonel.
It's not always
a sign of humor.
At the moment,
I was laughing
because I felt
sudden confidence.
Confidence tickles.
And what do you base
your confidence on?
Unfriendliness,
suspicion...
Normal, earthbound,
basic human emotions.
We're behaving
like human beings,
and as long as we continue
to do so, we'll survive.
Is that all you're thinking
about, major, survival?
That...
And the smell of fog
in the San Francisco night.
They said...
My blindness...
Spoiled their fun.
They said...
Would I like to have
my eyes back...
And I said...
Yes. Yes. Yes.
And... they said...
Would I be willing to look
at lieutenant Kreug's body...
Uh, his corpse.
And I wanted to see so bad
I said I'd look at anything.
And I said yes.
And I lost it...
Think of it this way, Wilimore.
Kreug would have wanted
some member of his race
to look upon him
in death.
He...
He had no heart!
He had...
A big hole in his chest!
They took his heart out!
Terry.
Terry Brookman.
They told me you were here.
I couldn't believe it.
Won't the hallucination
break down if we touch?
Good heavens, Terry.
Do believe that I'm not real?
Are you?
I was captured on
the ship before yours.
We lost
a great number of men.
A great many
good young men.
So did we, sir.
I tell you, Terry, I...
I tasted tears.
Well, Lillian was right.
She told me I was
too old for this war.
Nonsense, sir. You're
doing beautifully.
I tell you, Terry,
war is outmoded.
Well, it used
to be fairly decent
when it was a question
of man fighting against man,
but now it's just computers
and technical magic.
It's pointless to fight
against brain work, Terry.
Pointless. You can't win.
Did you try to, sir?
I... I tell you...
I... I taste guilt.
I... I can taste it.
But if I hadn't been trained
to save the lives of my men,
trained like Pavlov's dogs,
I would never have told
those bastard Ebonites
a blasted thing.
Training always
tells, General.
Well, Terry,
I'm an old friend
of the family.
I owe it to your mother
and father to see
that you don't break
their hearts.
My father's heart
is already broken,
and my mother's
is unbreakable.
Terry...
Please.
General.
Oh, here's
the interrogator.
He's not unlike
we earth types.
He demands a great deal
of cooperation
and raises the very dickens
if he doesn't get it.
Leave him to me, General.
He'll be very helpful, sir.
His father and I went
to the same school.
My name is
Terrance Ralph Brookman.
I am a captain in
the stellar intelligence corps.
My serial number
is zero-4-8-zero-zero-7.
My patience
grows short, Captain,
and time grows shorter.
Another earth troop
is advancing upon us.
We read its signals,
but we do not
read them usefully.
The scrambled code
devised by your race
is highly successful
and entirely frustrating.
We must know when
and by which astral path
the ship will attack.
Tell us, Brookman.
My name is
Terrance Ralph Brookman.
Stop it!
Guard!
Prepare a chamber.
Ready?
Ready.
Stone.
Next.
May he rest in peace.
Next.
No, I don't think so.
Perhaps.
Recites poetry.
He's my choice.
I've seen these
apple pie boys hold up
under almost
unendurable stress.
There's too much, uh,
mom in those eyes.
He's my choice.
Yours?
Mine.
I thought it was for me.
The interrogator ran
out of patience.
He said,
"prepare the chamber."
The way he said it,
he might as well have said,
"open hell."
He must have meant it
for Jong.
Aah!
Oh, my friend, grasshopper,
will you play the kids
again to my little grave.
Do not fear
or suspect the nourishment.
Its properties are similar
to those edibles
you consume on earth.
There is no longer
any reason
why we should deny you
the basic necessities
you requested.
Henceforth, you will
be treated with the honor
and respect due
a conquered enemy.
You shall even
be unguarded.
Jong must have talked.
Well, maybe Kreug.
They continued to
interrogate us after Kreug.
You don't think Jong
would talk?
I don't know.
Why not any one of us?
They tortured Jong.
They must have.
Immediately afterwards,
we were entitled
to honor and respect.
A nice, neat,
quick solution.
I would have thought
Jong would die first.
For heaven's sake, why?
I don't know.
I just did.
Jong didn't want to die any
more than you did, Wilimore.
I would have, gladly,
rather than talk.
And rather than see?
Yes! Yes!
Ha!
Jim! Jim!
You waited dinner
for me?
Is it tasty?
Well, it's better
than nothing, Major.
We wouldn't
even have this
if it weren't
for you, would we?
Traitor!
Dixx!
I never got
the chance to be.
I was not brought
before the interrogator.
I was taken to a room
with ropes and strung there.
I was outraged, of course.
I wanted the opportunity to
not answer their questions.
Someone answered them.
Kreug, probably.
Why Kreug?
Why not Kreug?
The dead make
such lovely scapegoats.
They strung you up and?
One of them ran a rod
up and down my arm gently.
In the opinion
of a layman,
the bones
were pulverized.
Reminds me of a little
rag doll my sister once had.
I wish to congratulate
you gentlemen.
Your decision to cooperate
was intelligent and brave.
Did you draw straws?
That is how
the men of 02
selected their traitor.
There are no
traitors here.
The troop ship
advancing on Ebon,
ship number X-16,
carries 2 complete
battalions,
is commanded by
Astro Marshal Henry Keller.
German Europa
astro flight command
is automated
in an entrance pattern
known as astro path 004...
But why go on?
You know we are not
pretending.
It is due momentarily.
We are ready for it.
I say it could only
have been Major Jong.
What did I have to gain?
Your left arm!
Surprisingly enough,
when the bones in my right arm
began to pulverize,
I slipped off
into unconsciousness.
They could have had
my left arm for the taking.
And I regained consciousness
only moments before
they returned me here
to my friends.
So, I had nothing to gain.
Now, let us consider
private Dixx.
They had demonstrated
that they could
return his power of speech
if he talked.
An uneducated man
rarely refuses
the opportunity to speak.
And Lieutenant Wilimore,
he had his sight to gain.
A very precious thing.
Especially to a man who's
had to endure the blindness
of other people's minds.
And Colonel Stone,
who thought he slept,
but who might have been
in a hypnotic trance.
A man who chooses
men and arms
over the arms
of a beautiful woman
is not a particularly
natural man.
Perhaps he loves
his men so fervently
because he cannot face
his hatred of them.
That's Sunday supplement
psychology, Colonel.
But what spiteful,
damaging things
might such a man
say under hypnosis?
I have not noticed
that you are an impulsive man,
but no one
has a greater need
for swift,
settling solutions.
If I had talked, why would
they have tortured you?
To see if my information
checked with yours.
If I had said
troop ship X-16,
astro path 0014,
and if that information
checked with yours...
But they never
questioned you!
They never even
brought you
before
the interrogator!
Do you think he talked?
Yes.
We all had
certain information.
I don't quite
understand why, but we did.
But the one thing
none of us knew,
not even I,
was the precise
entrance pattern
our next troop ship
would be using.
And yet,
you just named it.
Astro path 0014.
The interrogator
named it a moment ago
when he was in here.
Did he?
I heard him, sir.
He said the X-16
is automated
into the entrance
pattern
known as astral path
004,
and then
he broke off.
I thought I heard 14...
You thought.
I'm also aware
that there is no such
astral path coded 004.
It would
have to be 14.
Why not 40?
If I said 4 and then
broke off,
I could have been
going to say 4-0.
We'll draw.
For what, sir?
One of is is going
to have to kill Major Jong.
Colonel, what
would it accomplish?
I could almost understand
killing him before he talked,
when we thought he might
be a traitor, but why now?
There's no leniency
for a traitor.
None at all.
He earned
the death penalty
all by himself.
There's no reason why
we should handle Major Jong
any differently here than
if he were down on earth.
I told you all
before we were captured
the only laws
we would have here
are those
we brought with us.
We need those laws.
Even the questionable ones,
even the painful ones.
We need them.
They reminds us that we
were civilized enough
to make them
in the first place.
Or perhaps to remind us
that we are not as civilized
as we should be?
Go on. Pull.
The short one's
the killer.
God help them.
Go on. Pull.
My bare hands?
We have
no other weapons.
Well, go on.
What are you
waiting for?
Thank you for waiting,
Captain.
I'm finished eating.
No! No!
We must not let them
do this to us.
We must be human beings!
We must hold onto that!
Human beings kill.
Or aren't you
convinced of my guilt?
Well, what difference
does that make?!
The guy that
pulls the switch
in the death house
doesn't have to be
convinced of anything!
I am not an executioner!
You pulled
short straw!
Short straw is not
an order from the court!
Where's my order
from the court?
Where are the 12 men
who decided
he should be executed?
Are you suggesting
that we wait
until we get back
to earth, and then
let a military
court handle it?
Why not? Yes, that's
the civilized way.
Oh, great.
Well, what are we
supposed to do until then,
just stare at him?
Dixx...
What did you
whisper to your mother?
What did you say?
What did you whisper
to your mother, Dixx?
I didn't say anything.
I told you before I didn't
say anything to her.
Didn't you?
No!
No, I didn't.
I... I know I didn't.
I mean,
I couldn't have.
They told me that I
could give it to you
in return
for telling them
what you told me.
Oh, no, no.
No, no, mommy. Please.
No, mommy. Please.
No, tell me that I didn't
tell you anything.
Oh, please help me.
Tell me I didn't
say anything to you!
Please, Mommy!
Please help me!
Please!
Dixx...
Dixx...
Oh, make her
admit it, Colonel.
Make her.
Kill her, Colonel.
Please! Torture her!
Colonel, please!
Get up, Dixx.
Get up!
You believe her,
don't you?
Yes,
you always have.
You never
believed me.
Come back, Dixx!
Aah!
Yes? Come forward.
Private Dixx
has suffered
a complete
mental breakdown.
Major Jong will not
recover the use
of his right arm
for a year or more,
in your measure of time.
Lieutenant Kreug is dead.
Natural causes.
We couldn't
have foreseen
that one of the members
would suffer a...
There must be
no more incidents,
unforeseen or otherwise.
The charade must end.
Those men shall be
told the truth.
They must be.
How dare you
interfere?
You spoiled
the whole game!
Game?
Game.
I'm sorry, Colonel,
but I do not apologize.
I couldn't allow
a single one of you
to be in on it,
not even you.
But all this...
All this agony.
I mean,
lieutenant Kreug's dead!
From a heart attack.
And the Ebonites used
their most advanced methods
to try and save him.
But they failed.
This...
This is a nightmare.
I mean,
is this part of it?
Is this
an hallucination?
It is all too real.
It was scheduled to last
only a few more days, Colonel.
Then, of course, we would
have explained it all to you
and allowed you to join
the other fighting men
of unified earth.
We have 3 squadrons
here, you know.
I'm afraid
we'll have to ask you
to cooperate, Colonel,
if we're to continue.
Continue?!
We must Colonel.
We must!
Do you realize
that before this war...
We are not
at war here.
The grief and loss
we caused your planet
was an accident.
We promised
we would do anything
to rectify
this unforgivable mistake.
But we cannot sanction
the continuation
of such immoral
and inhuman experimentation.
Inhuman?
What do you know
of humans, sir?
Have you ever
seen the humans
in prisoner of war camps
on earth?
I have.
Then you know.
Tell him about the P.O.W.s
in the Korean war.
Then I shall tell him.
It's a matter
of shameful record
that in the Korean war
no prisoner
successfully escaped.
There was no
organized resistance.
One out of every group
of 10 prisoners was an informer.
A total of 38%
of our prisoners died,
many of what the psychiatrists
call psychological surrender.
Now, maybe your attack
was a mistake.
But what if the next
planet attacks deliberately?
How do we defend our planet
if we don't know
what to anticipate
from our fighting men?
We must know how they will
behave or misbehave
under conditions
like the ones
we're artificially
inducing here.
Then you haven't
learned enough yet.
We're interested
in how your men
will resolve the problem
of Major Jong.
We were going
to kill Major Jong.
We will try
to prevent that.
And if you can't,
an innocent man dies?
At the proper time,
we'll tell your men
what we've been doing.
We'll free them to join
the other troops up here.
Maybe even let them
go back to earth for a rest.
And a citation.
No. I'm not gonna let them
suffer another minute. No.
No! No!
No!
He saw his mother.
He actually saw her.
How do they do it?
Drugs.
In the water.
Perhaps
in the very air.
Private Dixx
is dead by now.
They're gonna
kill us all, one by one.
And we're gonna
sit here and do nothing
and let them do it.
We might pass the time
by planning an escape.
But then, there's
the other time killer.
The vengeance game.
We keep talking about
how many of the enemy
we're going to kill.
We pick out our victims,
and we spend weeks
waiting for the chance.
I'd like to kill
an Ebonite.
With your bare hands?
Yes. An Ebonite
isn't a human being.
I really
think I could.
Wilimore?
I regret
that I have but one arm
to give for my planet,
but I shall give it.
Now, I shall kill
the next Ebonite that...
Gentlemen.
You mustn't tell them!
You mustn't spoil it!
Stop it!
Stop it now! No!
Let him go.
That's an order.
Major, if you don't obey,
I'll kill you.
No, wait! Don't!
I thought he was...
He wasn't. He was real.
The exploration
of human behavior
under simulated
conditions of stress
is a commonplace component
of the machinery called war.
So long as man anticipates
and prepares for combat,
be it with
neighboring nations
or with our
neighbors in space,
these unreal games
must be played,
and there are only
real men to play them.
According to established
military procedure,
the results
of the Ebon maneuvers
will be recorded in books
and fed into computers
for the edification
and enlightenment
of all the strategists
of the future.
Perhaps they will
learn something.
We now return control
of your
television set to you
until next week
at this same time time,
when the control voice
will take you to...
Dixx! Dixx! Dixx!
Get away from me!
Halt!
Don't touch me!
Don't touch me!
There is nothing wrong
with your television set.
Do not attempt
to adjust the picture.
We are controlling
transmission.
We will control
the horizontal.
We will control
the vertical.
We can change the focus
to a soft blur,
or sharpen it
to crystal clarity.
For the next hour,
sit quietly,
and we will control all
that you see and hear.
You are about to participate
in a great adventure.
You are about to experience
the awe and mystery
which reaches from
the inner mind to...
A war between worlds
has long been dreaded.
Throughout recent history,
man, convinced that life
on other planets would be
as anxious and belligerent
as life on his own,
has gravely predicted
that some dreadful
form of combat
would inevitably take place
between our world
and that of someone else.
And man was right.
To the eternal credit
of the peoples
of this planet earth,
history shall be able
to proclaim loudly and justly
that in this war
between unified earth
and the planet Ebon,
Ebon struck first.
Ebon...
It's form of life unknown,
it's way of life
unpredictable.
To the fighting
troops of earth,
a black question Mark
at the end of a dark,
foreboding journey.
We have no
way of knowing
what to expect
of the enemy.
We have never
seen him before.
All of the troops that
have gone on before us
have either been destroyed
or captured...
Or have simply been
unable to remain
in communication
with earth.
But we are going
to land on Ebon,
and we are going
to fight on Ebon.
Now, whatever
the Ebonites are,
and however
they live or die,
win or lose...
We are going to remember
at all times
that we are human beings.
Now, if we...
If we are captured...
Face right, step forward,
and identify yourselves.
Your name alone will do
for the moment.
Luke Stone, colonel,
United States Astral Force.
Your name alone.
Ezra Kreug, lieutenant,
German Europa task force.
Terrance Brookman, captain,
Stellar Intelligence Corps,
Great Britain.
Your name alone!
Jong.
James P. Wilimore,
lieutenant,
Free Africa Astral Service.
Arthur Dixx, private,
United States Astral Force.
In your own
earthly phrase,
you are prisoners of war.
You will cooperate
in all ways,
resist in none.
Do not hope to escape.
Your ship is destroyed,
as are those
that came before yours.
At my command,
proceed at once
to compound zero-3.
Face left.
Face left.
March.
Forward march.
No!
Stay away from me!
Dixx! Dixx!
Get away from me!
Halt!
Don't touch me!
Don't touch me!
Now, Dixx,
do you have any pain?
I'll stay with him.
Welcome to compound zero-3.
I am your interrogator.
We met upon your arrival,
and we shall soon meet again
more intimately.
Have you appointed
a spokesman
for your unfortunate group?
Luke Stone, colonel,
United States astral forces.
We will need beds,
water, and food.
And the proper
sanitation facilities...
Your needs are known.
The troops
that came before you
whose cooperation enabled us
to control your arrival
have taught us the needs and
desires of earth creatures.
They, too, made demands,
and once they met ours,
theirs were met.
They are
a contented lot now.
Perhaps you will be
permitted to join them.
Also, immediate medical
attention for private Dixx.
Each of you will be
invited to participate
in an exploratory
interview.
I shall conduct it.
Private Dixx
will be the first
to accept my invitation.
I demand that privilege.
Your demands
shall be honored
when ours are satisfied.
Private Dixx.
Guards,
escort private Dixx
to my quarters.
Wait a minute, Dixx.
Listen, Dixx,
go with him. He's
not gonna hurt you.
Listen, they're
not gonna hurt you.
Now, don't hurt him.
He's going to go with you.
Aah! My eyes!
Aah! Aah! Aah!
I can't see!
Oh! Oh. Oh, my god.
My eyes. I can't...
I can't... oh. Oh...
Jimmy. Jimmy.
Oh, oh, oh...
Sit down,
private Dixx.
Perhaps it is nothing
more than thirst
that prohibits the use
of your voice.
Guard, bring him water.
Drink, private Dixx.
Now, private Dixx,
tell us true things.
That won't do, Dixx.
Your name, your rank,
your serial number
are useful only
to those earthly relatives
who will apply
for your insurance.
I want my son,
not his insurance.
I demand
to see the prisoner!
You promised me
I could see
the new prisoners!
You may come in, doctor.
I'm doctor Wharf,
compound zero-one.
A friend.
Not... not feeling
any pain, are you?
The Ebonites can control
the senses...
All 5 of them.
They can give you back
your voice
any time they choose.
You don't remember me,
but I tested you
when you were inducted.
Camp Clifford, remember?
You were very resentful
of being examined by a...
"a head shrinker,"
I think you called me.
I remember you.
I can still recall
the results
of your
psychological tests.
Shocking.
Shocking
in someone so young
and seemingly normal.
But there it was...
The most classic
self-destruction complex
I've ever come across.
You're bound to destroy
yourself, you know?
Bound and determined.
For example...
You probably refused
to cooperate
with the Ebonites,
as you've been
trained to do.
And of course, they'll,
uh, torture you.
And I have no doubt
that you'll die
rather than talk.
But don't you see?
There's nothing heroic
about that.
You want to die.
Unconsciously, of course.
Don't let
those unconscious drives
win out, Dixx.
Fight them.
Fight them and live.
And you will live
if you cooperate.
And it's so easy
to cooperate, really.
That will be all, doctor.
Watch that complex.
Are you ready
to talk, Dixx?
Perhaps you could speak
if there were someone here
you really wanted
to speak to.
Arthur?
Arthur, you can
talk to your mom,
can't you, baby?
Mom?
You can talk.
Tell me what
they want to know.
Then whisper it
to me, baby.
Whisper
all about it.
Private Dixx?
You may go.
Hey!
Ha ha ha ha!
I can talk again.
Hey, Dixx, they made
you talk again.
What happened?
I'm not sure, sir,
but my mother said,
"why didn't I whisper?"
Probably a hallucinatory-
inducing drug.
It may be, but...
But I didn't
say anything to her.
I didn't
tell her anything.
I didn't say a word.
Lieutenant Kreug,
proceed at once
to my quarters.
No! Me!
Wilimore, please!
Lieutenant Kreug.
I want to see!
Lieutenant Kreug.
Ezra Kreug.
I can't stand it, colonel.
I feel like I'm suffocating.
When I was
a very little child,
I did something very bad.
My nurse would threaten
to tell them.
The Nazis?
Yes.
Tell them what?
That I was...
That I was not
a pure Aryan!
My grandfather...
My mother's father was.
Ezra!
You have been crying.
Your displays of
congenital weakness
convince me
more and more
that you are not.
No!
Tell them and get it
over with, soldier.
Your buddies
will understand.
You turned in
your grandfather,
didn't you?
Ahh...
He forgave you.
Ahh...
Well, if any of us talks,
it won't be me.
Have you heard tales
of the methods
of extracting information
during the Korean war?
But then,
the Chinese communists
couldn't control
the 5 senses.
Which makes me wonder
about the Ebonites.
It seems to me
that a totally different
form of life
would have developed
a totally different
form of death.
Oh, shut up.
You know...
Death here will truly be
a mysterious adventure.
You may go,
Colonel Stone.
Colonel...
Colonel, you won't forget
to inform your men
of the fate
of poor lieutenant Kreug.
Kreug is dead.
They said he went mad.
They do not permit madness
on the planet Ebon.
They destroy the mad.
How was your interview?
It was routine.
When's the next
troop ship arriving,
what entrance pattern?
I fell asleep.
Colonel?
I'm here, Jimmy.
I'm thirsty.
Then you may
as well drink it.
They make you
drink it out there.
Come on.
No, over here.
Down.
Do we have to put
our hands in it, colonel?
Lieutenant Wilimore.
The guard will lead you.
Thank you.
I'll see you
when I get back.
I mean
really see you.
Jim, listen.
Yes, Colonel?
Don't let them seduce
you with a promise.
No, sir.
Promises just
roll off my back.
All right. Fine.
Going to sleep while being
interrogated by the enemy,
an especially
exotic enemy at that,
is a bit much, isn't it?
I mean, even for
a professional soldier?
Brookman,
I almost married
the most beautiful
woman in the world.
I didn't because she said
"professional soldier"
in the same tone of voice.
I just couldn't marry
anyone that unfriendly.
As the hours go by,
we are all apt to become
increasingly unfriendly.
And suspicious.
We'll muddle through
with Major Jong's
sense of humor
to guide us.
Don't misjudge
the laughter, Colonel.
It's not always
a sign of humor.
At the moment,
I was laughing
because I felt
sudden confidence.
Confidence tickles.
And what do you base
your confidence on?
Unfriendliness,
suspicion...
Normal, earthbound,
basic human emotions.
We're behaving
like human beings,
and as long as we continue
to do so, we'll survive.
Is that all you're thinking
about, major, survival?
That...
And the smell of fog
in the San Francisco night.
They said...
My blindness...
Spoiled their fun.
They said...
Would I like to have
my eyes back...
And I said...
Yes. Yes. Yes.
And... they said...
Would I be willing to look
at lieutenant Kreug's body...
Uh, his corpse.
And I wanted to see so bad
I said I'd look at anything.
And I said yes.
And I lost it...
Think of it this way, Wilimore.
Kreug would have wanted
some member of his race
to look upon him
in death.
He...
He had no heart!
He had...
A big hole in his chest!
They took his heart out!
Terry.
Terry Brookman.
They told me you were here.
I couldn't believe it.
Won't the hallucination
break down if we touch?
Good heavens, Terry.
Do believe that I'm not real?
Are you?
I was captured on
the ship before yours.
We lost
a great number of men.
A great many
good young men.
So did we, sir.
I tell you, Terry, I...
I tasted tears.
Well, Lillian was right.
She told me I was
too old for this war.
Nonsense, sir. You're
doing beautifully.
I tell you, Terry,
war is outmoded.
Well, it used
to be fairly decent
when it was a question
of man fighting against man,
but now it's just computers
and technical magic.
It's pointless to fight
against brain work, Terry.
Pointless. You can't win.
Did you try to, sir?
I... I tell you...
I... I taste guilt.
I... I can taste it.
But if I hadn't been trained
to save the lives of my men,
trained like Pavlov's dogs,
I would never have told
those bastard Ebonites
a blasted thing.
Training always
tells, General.
Well, Terry,
I'm an old friend
of the family.
I owe it to your mother
and father to see
that you don't break
their hearts.
My father's heart
is already broken,
and my mother's
is unbreakable.
Terry...
Please.
General.
Oh, here's
the interrogator.
He's not unlike
we earth types.
He demands a great deal
of cooperation
and raises the very dickens
if he doesn't get it.
Leave him to me, General.
He'll be very helpful, sir.
His father and I went
to the same school.
My name is
Terrance Ralph Brookman.
I am a captain in
the stellar intelligence corps.
My serial number
is zero-4-8-zero-zero-7.
My patience
grows short, Captain,
and time grows shorter.
Another earth troop
is advancing upon us.
We read its signals,
but we do not
read them usefully.
The scrambled code
devised by your race
is highly successful
and entirely frustrating.
We must know when
and by which astral path
the ship will attack.
Tell us, Brookman.
My name is
Terrance Ralph Brookman.
Stop it!
Guard!
Prepare a chamber.
Ready?
Ready.
Stone.
Next.
May he rest in peace.
Next.
No, I don't think so.
Perhaps.
Recites poetry.
He's my choice.
I've seen these
apple pie boys hold up
under almost
unendurable stress.
There's too much, uh,
mom in those eyes.
He's my choice.
Yours?
Mine.
I thought it was for me.
The interrogator ran
out of patience.
He said,
"prepare the chamber."
The way he said it,
he might as well have said,
"open hell."
He must have meant it
for Jong.
Aah!
Oh, my friend, grasshopper,
will you play the kids
again to my little grave.
Do not fear
or suspect the nourishment.
Its properties are similar
to those edibles
you consume on earth.
There is no longer
any reason
why we should deny you
the basic necessities
you requested.
Henceforth, you will
be treated with the honor
and respect due
a conquered enemy.
You shall even
be unguarded.
Jong must have talked.
Well, maybe Kreug.
They continued to
interrogate us after Kreug.
You don't think Jong
would talk?
I don't know.
Why not any one of us?
They tortured Jong.
They must have.
Immediately afterwards,
we were entitled
to honor and respect.
A nice, neat,
quick solution.
I would have thought
Jong would die first.
For heaven's sake, why?
I don't know.
I just did.
Jong didn't want to die any
more than you did, Wilimore.
I would have, gladly,
rather than talk.
And rather than see?
Yes! Yes!
Ha!
Jim! Jim!
You waited dinner
for me?
Is it tasty?
Well, it's better
than nothing, Major.
We wouldn't
even have this
if it weren't
for you, would we?
Traitor!
Dixx!
I never got
the chance to be.
I was not brought
before the interrogator.
I was taken to a room
with ropes and strung there.
I was outraged, of course.
I wanted the opportunity to
not answer their questions.
Someone answered them.
Kreug, probably.
Why Kreug?
Why not Kreug?
The dead make
such lovely scapegoats.
They strung you up and?
One of them ran a rod
up and down my arm gently.
In the opinion
of a layman,
the bones
were pulverized.
Reminds me of a little
rag doll my sister once had.
I wish to congratulate
you gentlemen.
Your decision to cooperate
was intelligent and brave.
Did you draw straws?
That is how
the men of 02
selected their traitor.
There are no
traitors here.
The troop ship
advancing on Ebon,
ship number X-16,
carries 2 complete
battalions,
is commanded by
Astro Marshal Henry Keller.
German Europa
astro flight command
is automated
in an entrance pattern
known as astro path 004...
But why go on?
You know we are not
pretending.
It is due momentarily.
We are ready for it.
I say it could only
have been Major Jong.
What did I have to gain?
Your left arm!
Surprisingly enough,
when the bones in my right arm
began to pulverize,
I slipped off
into unconsciousness.
They could have had
my left arm for the taking.
And I regained consciousness
only moments before
they returned me here
to my friends.
So, I had nothing to gain.
Now, let us consider
private Dixx.
They had demonstrated
that they could
return his power of speech
if he talked.
An uneducated man
rarely refuses
the opportunity to speak.
And Lieutenant Wilimore,
he had his sight to gain.
A very precious thing.
Especially to a man who's
had to endure the blindness
of other people's minds.
And Colonel Stone,
who thought he slept,
but who might have been
in a hypnotic trance.
A man who chooses
men and arms
over the arms
of a beautiful woman
is not a particularly
natural man.
Perhaps he loves
his men so fervently
because he cannot face
his hatred of them.
That's Sunday supplement
psychology, Colonel.
But what spiteful,
damaging things
might such a man
say under hypnosis?
I have not noticed
that you are an impulsive man,
but no one
has a greater need
for swift,
settling solutions.
If I had talked, why would
they have tortured you?
To see if my information
checked with yours.
If I had said
troop ship X-16,
astro path 0014,
and if that information
checked with yours...
But they never
questioned you!
They never even
brought you
before
the interrogator!
Do you think he talked?
Yes.
We all had
certain information.
I don't quite
understand why, but we did.
But the one thing
none of us knew,
not even I,
was the precise
entrance pattern
our next troop ship
would be using.
And yet,
you just named it.
Astro path 0014.
The interrogator
named it a moment ago
when he was in here.
Did he?
I heard him, sir.
He said the X-16
is automated
into the entrance
pattern
known as astral path
004,
and then
he broke off.
I thought I heard 14...
You thought.
I'm also aware
that there is no such
astral path coded 004.
It would
have to be 14.
Why not 40?
If I said 4 and then
broke off,
I could have been
going to say 4-0.
We'll draw.
For what, sir?
One of is is going
to have to kill Major Jong.
Colonel, what
would it accomplish?
I could almost understand
killing him before he talked,
when we thought he might
be a traitor, but why now?
There's no leniency
for a traitor.
None at all.
He earned
the death penalty
all by himself.
There's no reason why
we should handle Major Jong
any differently here than
if he were down on earth.
I told you all
before we were captured
the only laws
we would have here
are those
we brought with us.
We need those laws.
Even the questionable ones,
even the painful ones.
We need them.
They reminds us that we
were civilized enough
to make them
in the first place.
Or perhaps to remind us
that we are not as civilized
as we should be?
Go on. Pull.
The short one's
the killer.
God help them.
Go on. Pull.
My bare hands?
We have
no other weapons.
Well, go on.
What are you
waiting for?
Thank you for waiting,
Captain.
I'm finished eating.
No! No!
We must not let them
do this to us.
We must be human beings!
We must hold onto that!
Human beings kill.
Or aren't you
convinced of my guilt?
Well, what difference
does that make?!
The guy that
pulls the switch
in the death house
doesn't have to be
convinced of anything!
I am not an executioner!
You pulled
short straw!
Short straw is not
an order from the court!
Where's my order
from the court?
Where are the 12 men
who decided
he should be executed?
Are you suggesting
that we wait
until we get back
to earth, and then
let a military
court handle it?
Why not? Yes, that's
the civilized way.
Oh, great.
Well, what are we
supposed to do until then,
just stare at him?
Dixx...
What did you
whisper to your mother?
What did you say?
What did you whisper
to your mother, Dixx?
I didn't say anything.
I told you before I didn't
say anything to her.
Didn't you?
No!
No, I didn't.
I... I know I didn't.
I mean,
I couldn't have.
They told me that I
could give it to you
in return
for telling them
what you told me.
Oh, no, no.
No, no, mommy. Please.
No, mommy. Please.
No, tell me that I didn't
tell you anything.
Oh, please help me.
Tell me I didn't
say anything to you!
Please, Mommy!
Please help me!
Please!
Dixx...
Dixx...
Oh, make her
admit it, Colonel.
Make her.
Kill her, Colonel.
Please! Torture her!
Colonel, please!
Get up, Dixx.
Get up!
You believe her,
don't you?
Yes,
you always have.
You never
believed me.
Come back, Dixx!
Aah!
Yes? Come forward.
Private Dixx
has suffered
a complete
mental breakdown.
Major Jong will not
recover the use
of his right arm
for a year or more,
in your measure of time.
Lieutenant Kreug is dead.
Natural causes.
We couldn't
have foreseen
that one of the members
would suffer a...
There must be
no more incidents,
unforeseen or otherwise.
The charade must end.
Those men shall be
told the truth.
They must be.
How dare you
interfere?
You spoiled
the whole game!
Game?
Game.
I'm sorry, Colonel,
but I do not apologize.
I couldn't allow
a single one of you
to be in on it,
not even you.
But all this...
All this agony.
I mean,
lieutenant Kreug's dead!
From a heart attack.
And the Ebonites used
their most advanced methods
to try and save him.
But they failed.
This...
This is a nightmare.
I mean,
is this part of it?
Is this
an hallucination?
It is all too real.
It was scheduled to last
only a few more days, Colonel.
Then, of course, we would
have explained it all to you
and allowed you to join
the other fighting men
of unified earth.
We have 3 squadrons
here, you know.
I'm afraid
we'll have to ask you
to cooperate, Colonel,
if we're to continue.
Continue?!
We must Colonel.
We must!
Do you realize
that before this war...
We are not
at war here.
The grief and loss
we caused your planet
was an accident.
We promised
we would do anything
to rectify
this unforgivable mistake.
But we cannot sanction
the continuation
of such immoral
and inhuman experimentation.
Inhuman?
What do you know
of humans, sir?
Have you ever
seen the humans
in prisoner of war camps
on earth?
I have.
Then you know.
Tell him about the P.O.W.s
in the Korean war.
Then I shall tell him.
It's a matter
of shameful record
that in the Korean war
no prisoner
successfully escaped.
There was no
organized resistance.
One out of every group
of 10 prisoners was an informer.
A total of 38%
of our prisoners died,
many of what the psychiatrists
call psychological surrender.
Now, maybe your attack
was a mistake.
But what if the next
planet attacks deliberately?
How do we defend our planet
if we don't know
what to anticipate
from our fighting men?
We must know how they will
behave or misbehave
under conditions
like the ones
we're artificially
inducing here.
Then you haven't
learned enough yet.
We're interested
in how your men
will resolve the problem
of Major Jong.
We were going
to kill Major Jong.
We will try
to prevent that.
And if you can't,
an innocent man dies?
At the proper time,
we'll tell your men
what we've been doing.
We'll free them to join
the other troops up here.
Maybe even let them
go back to earth for a rest.
And a citation.
No. I'm not gonna let them
suffer another minute. No.
No! No!
No!
He saw his mother.
He actually saw her.
How do they do it?
Drugs.
In the water.
Perhaps
in the very air.
Private Dixx
is dead by now.
They're gonna
kill us all, one by one.
And we're gonna
sit here and do nothing
and let them do it.
We might pass the time
by planning an escape.
But then, there's
the other time killer.
The vengeance game.
We keep talking about
how many of the enemy
we're going to kill.
We pick out our victims,
and we spend weeks
waiting for the chance.
I'd like to kill
an Ebonite.
With your bare hands?
Yes. An Ebonite
isn't a human being.
I really
think I could.
Wilimore?
I regret
that I have but one arm
to give for my planet,
but I shall give it.
Now, I shall kill
the next Ebonite that...
Gentlemen.
You mustn't tell them!
You mustn't spoil it!
Stop it!
Stop it now! No!
Let him go.
That's an order.
Major, if you don't obey,
I'll kill you.
No, wait! Don't!
I thought he was...
He wasn't. He was real.
The exploration
of human behavior
under simulated
conditions of stress
is a commonplace component
of the machinery called war.
So long as man anticipates
and prepares for combat,
be it with
neighboring nations
or with our
neighbors in space,
these unreal games
must be played,
and there are only
real men to play them.
According to established
military procedure,
the results
of the Ebon maneuvers
will be recorded in books
and fed into computers
for the edification
and enlightenment
of all the strategists
of the future.
Perhaps they will
learn something.
We now return control
of your
television set to you
until next week
at this same time time,
when the control voice
will take you to...