The Outer Limits (1963–1965): Season 2, Episode 2 - Cold Hands, Warm Heart - full transcript
Following a mission to Venus, an astronaut finds himself constantly cold and has strange dreams about encountering an alien outside his spacecraft.
The most brilliant planet
in our solar system is Venus,
named for the goddess
of love.
It is closer to earth
than any other planet,
28 million miles away.
Until sometime in the last
half of the 20th century,
it is still a planet
shrouded in mystery,
enveloped in a heavy blanket
of clouds and steam.
Because its surface
temperature was believed to be.
Several times that of earth's,
it was not thought possible for
man to reach Venus and come back,
until one day somebody did it.
This was the opportunity,
5 days after his return
from orbiting Venus,
for the world to see
col. Jeff Barton,
the man of the hour.
And, of course, hardly had he
returned to earth.
From his brilliantly
successful.
First step
in the overall project,
when the combined minds of our
leading scientists and statesmen.
Began to explore
the next step,
namely, the ultimate
colonization of Mars.
All of us who behold col.
Jeff Barton are impressed,
I might say awed,
by the outer calm.
And inner courage
of this man.
Who will head up
and carry out.
What is probably the greatest
adventure of all time.
The next day,
they had their opportunity
to hear this national hero.
As he described
his epoch-making voyage.
Now that we've been
able to orbit Venus,
we're a lot closer
to our ultimate goal, Mars,
the next stage
of project Vulcan.
And none of us is gonna rest
very much until it is completed.
In fact, I look forward
to a good, long rest
in one of the houses
we'll be building
on Mars as part
of the project.
I wanna thank you
for your...
Prayers,
your good thoughts,
and your wonderful
down-to-earth welcome.
I think they love you
as much as I do.
Oh, it's good
to have you back again.
I was getting awful tired
of my own cookies.
All right,
I'll get the salad.
My steaks.
Jeff? Jeff!
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.
That reaches
from the inner mind to...
The outer limits.
Not here, Jeff,
over there.
Here they are!
How does it feel
to be a General, Colonel?
Wrong question.
That should be,
"how did it feel to
be a Colonel, General?"
I'll sum it up
in 2 words: Way out.
Can you tell us, General
Barton, who else
is going to be involved
in project Vulcan?
Several men, all specialists in
their own fields of science.
You'll get a printed list
of their names.
Is it definite that Venus
will not sustain human life?
I can't
answer that yet.
Well, isn't that why
you made the trip?
Not entirely. Although
Venus is close to earth,
it has always
been a mystery to us,
and you can't take chances
with mysteries
when you're planning
the colonization of Mars.
Will you have the answer
in time
for the appropriations
committee hearing next week?
I intend to.
He won't if he spends any more
time with you, gentlemen.
Are you carrying the ball
to the committee?
No, General Barton will do the talking. He
knows more about it than anyone else.
Project Vulcan
is his baby.
By "project Vulcan," you still
mean the colonization of Mars?
Exactly.
What if they
turn you down?
Well, we might try
to raffle off General Barton.
Hey, there's
the General.
Hey!
Well, congratulations,
General.
Welcome home.
Come here,
I wanna show you something.
Well, there she is, Jeff.
The new space environment
test chamber.
We finished her while you were, uh,
cavorting around up there in outer space.
What would she do?
315 degrees below
zero, Fahrenheit,
to, uh, 275 above.
And create
a vacuum equivalent
to 700,000 feet altitude.
Jeff, I noticed something on
your report about vibration.
I was wondering if it happened
again after orbiting.
No, that's something I wanna
talk about with construction.
I'll be curious to see
what kind of vegetation.
Your cameras picked up.
Did you notice
any equipment failure.
During the 8 minutes
we lost contact with you?
I'm afraid I wasn't paying
much attention at the time.
Ah, chill.
Maybe I'm allergic
to planet earth.
Not until after
the committee meeting.
Let's get to work.
See you later.
Coffee break!
Pour it on.
You mean in, not on.
Do you know that your rate of
coffee consumption is astounding?
Fuel, sweetie,
I've got a long way to go.
How long?
All the way till
next Tuesday.
What're you doing?
Well, I'm gonna figure out
how much coffee I have to buy.
Let's see,
your time of flight
is 6 days,
and there are 24 hours
in a day,
and your rate of
"fuel consumption"
is about, oh,
a gallon an hour.
Well, that would make
total fuel...
Too much.
Crazy.
I love you anyway.
Hey, watch it,
that's hot.
It's lukewarm to me.
Thanks, honey. Look, I've
got a lot of work to do.
Good night.
Sleep well.
Jeff!
You gulped that down
as if it were iced coffee.
You sound just like
my mother.
I'm not your mother.
You've been away
from me a long time.
Terribly long.
A lonesome time.
You haven't come home
to me yet.
Yeah.
I love you.
I love you more than
anything in this world.
More than anything in all
those other worlds, too?
You're the only world I can
discover over and over again,
every time
I come home to you,
every time
I'm close to you.
You're the best
of all possible worlds.
Did you say you have
to go back to work?
Uh-huh.
You're sure of that?
Uh-huh.
You think you can?
Uh-uh.
Mmm.
Come on, get out
of here. Beat it.
Mr. Moon,
Mars,
Arcturus,
Saturn, Jupiter,
Neptune,
Venus,
all of you planets and stars,
whatever you call yourselves,
did you hear
what he said?
Did you hear what
my husband said?
He loves me
better than you!
I'm his favorite world.
You better remember that.
I'm his best world.
What're you doing?
Why are you turning up
the heat?
I'm cold, that's why.
Why else would I turn it up?
I don't understand.
Why are you so cold?
It's roasting in here.
Why did you faint
the other night?
How do I know?
Summer flu or something.
I haven't got time
to worry about it.
Now get out of here
and let me go to work.
6 days before
the hearing,
hardly enough time to get my
notes together. Good night!
Well?
Go on, get dressed.
Your medics check you out
all the time, don't they?
Affirmative.
Come on,
answer in English.
Yes.
Why haven't you seen them
about this?
Maybe I'm just sort
of used to you, Mike.
We're old friends.
I'm no specialist, Jeff.
I'm tired.
Maybe my brain is too small
for the big job we have to do.
Maybe it's psychosomatic.
Will you stop trying
to be your own doctor?
Go to your medics!
Give me something,
anything,
it's just for a few days.
It's too dangerous.
Go to your own medics.
I will, later!
Hey, hey, hey.
Jeff, tell me,
did something happen up there
that you don't want them to...
Don't ask
so many questions.
Just give me a pill,
some kind of pill.
I've got a job to do.
Keep me going.
Not until we have
some lab work done first.
Blood tests.
No blood!
No pill!
All right.
And in the meantime, keep
warm and get plenty of rest.
Look, I wouldn't ask
for any additional work,
especially at this time, if I
didn't think it was necessary.
Nothing in your
reports indicates
faulty soundproofing
of the capsule.
Give me something
to go on!
Just do it!
Are we working with each other
or against each other?
Sorry, I didn't mean...
I know you're under
a strain, Jeff.
It's hot in here,
isn't it?
Isn't that
air conditioner working?
No.
Give me some
good reason.
I'll tear the capsule apart
with my bare hands.
I know. I know.
I'll talk to you later.
All right.
No wonder
it isn't working.
It's turned off.
Wake up, Jeff!
Wake up!
Wake up!
You're all right!
You're all right,
Jeff, you're home now.
You're home now,
wake up. Wake up.
What happened?
You were having
a nightmare.
Your hands are
as cold as ice.
I'll get you
some warm milk.
No, no,
never mind.
What're you doing?
I'm gonna take
your temperature.
Who said?
Mike said. Open.
All right.
All right.
Better?
Mmm.
Good.
It's OK.
All right?
Uh-huh.
What's it say?
91 degrees.
These photos
don't show me a thing.
Phil,
what kind of vegetation would
you expect to find on Venus?
From what
little we know, none.
Considering the composition of
the surface, could there be a...
A tall,
tall, lush growth?
Thin leaves,
long and slender,
immensely long...
And waving.
Reaching into the air.
That's certainly different
from what I'd expect.
What's the matter?
Uh, short of breath.
These desk jobs,
whenever I stand up,
the altitude gets me.
Talked to the medics
about it?
Oh, they keep
tabs on me.
I just need rest.
Jeff, Mike called.
Does he want me
to call him back?
No, he wants
to see you.
Tomorrow morning
at 10:00.
Jeff.
Jeff, what is it?
Nothing.
Oh, it's not nothing!
I'm not unconscious,
I'm not blind!
Is it something serious?
Ann.
Honey.
Remember my first
inter-orbital flight?
The dizziness
when I came back?
And then, satellite duty.
The effects of that
lasted several months.
My body adapts, Ann,
to... to weightlessness,
conditions in space, and then it has
to re-adapt when I get back to earth.
This was a much longer flight.
It'll take me a little longer
to get over it, that's all.
Why did you see Mike,
instead of
these space doctors?
Oh, they mess around too much.
Take too much time.
I wanted something
to give me a lift, that's all.
Well, I don't like it.
You shouldn't be driving yourself
like that when you're sick.
It's just for
a few more days.
For what?
Some wild scheme?
It would be just
a headline to me,
if I weren't
married to it.
You married a man,
not a headline.
But, uh...
A man with certain...
Peculiarities.
Even as a boy,
he'd spend hours
watching the leaves
fall from the trees,
studying how they fell.
His head was always up
looking at the birds.
He even made himself
a pair of wings
and jumped off the barn.
It darned near broke his neck.
That's how much
he wanted to be a bird.
So...
He became a bird.
He started flying
higher and higher...
August 6, 1956, remember?
And one day,
he broke through
the troposphere,
right into the stratosphere.
And right then,
for the first time,
he understood the purpose
of his life.
It was to lead the way to...
To new worlds,
new life...
New knowledge.
That's the headline, Anne.
That's project Vulcan.
Just a few more days?
That's all.
And then a long rest.
Mmm.
Promise?
Promise.
Well, go on.
Get back to work.
Slave driver.
Venus one to Vulcan control.
Do you read me? Over.
Vulcan control to Venus one,
read you loud and clear. Over.
Approaching moon,
moving to dark side. Over.
Venus one to Vulcan control.
Do you read? Over.
Vulcan control to Venus one,
read you loud and clear.
We track your orbiting
objective at 40,000 feet.
Confirm. Over.
Right on the nose.
Counting down, now.
Altimeter reading 30,000 feet
and dropping. Confirm. Over.
Affirmative.
We track you at 30,000
over Venus and dropping.
What is your external...
Say again, General.
What happened?
Radio failure.
Please go ahead.
We read your
external temperature.
At 440 degrees.
Is that correct?
Affirmative.
It's getting
pretty dim in here.
I wish somebody would
put on the streetlights.
You're not going
much further.
You'll pull out
at 20,000 feet.
Repeat, 20,000 feet.
Make certain you're recording
carbon dioxide.
And oxygen content
in atmosphere.
No, Jeff. No!
You're too close!
Climb out now!
Climb out! Climb...
Man, it's damn solid!
Yeah, if we don't get in there
soon, he's going to fry.
I'm going to call
the fire department.
Wait, maybe it's coming. Come
on, pull, let's give it a yank.
Well, I guess he must've passed
out before he could turn it down.
Maybe a heart attack,
or something.
It's the steam valve.
Turn it off!
What happened?
Are you all right?
I've just come
from a steam bath.
I had the temperature
up past 150 degrees.
Didn't bother me.
Didn't bother me a bit.
I didn't even perspire.
Go on.
My mind seemed to wander.
I had a horrible dream.
What about?
I don't remember.
I just know it was horrible.
What's happening to me, Mike?
Why am I so jittery, so weak?
I don't know.
But I can tell you this:
Your blood count shows there are
hardly any white cells left,
and the red corpuscles are distorted.
So are the platelets.
The whole chemistry
of your body is changing.
Something's happening to you.
Something I can't explain. I've
never seen anything like it before.
What about this?
What is it, Mike?
Look at it.
Look at it.
Touch it, scrape it, do something!
You're a doctor, do something!
You better see
your people, Jeff.
Your space medics. I suggest
you go to them right away.
Don't waste a minute.
Let's go together.
I don't need you for that.
I can go myself.
OK, OK.
You'll
see them right away, right now.
And take this with you.
Thanks, Mike.
I realize this is
a great sum of money.
That we're asking for.
I also realize
that it your responsibility
to the people
to determine whether or not
the money we're asking
for will be wasted
on an impractical dream.
It will not be wasted,
unless you consider
knowledge wasteful.
Knowledge is progress!
Without progress, we would still
be in some prehistoric darkness,
shambling about like animals.
Struggling only for...
Struggling only f...
For survival,
and...
Fighting...
Like animals...
Against anything
that threatens our survival.
We cannot put a price
on the knowledge that has moved
us this far from the jungle.
Many men have risked
their lives to gather and...
And...
Test this knowledge.
Many men have died.
They did not...
Evaluate...
Their lives in terms of money.
They spent what
they had themselves,
their lives...
Willingly,
eagerly.
Why?
They can't tell you why.
Jeff!
Jeff!
What's happening to you?
Jeff!
Oh, oh, Jeff.
Something terrible's happening to
your hand. Oh, Jeff, come back to me.
Come back to me!
Oh, come on!
Jeff!
Oh, Jeff!
One moment, General.
I'm sorry, sir, but my orders
are to allow no...
Give me security,
quick, on the double!
Looks like he tried to destroy
everything in his files.
Easy now, Jeff, easy now. It's just
a tranquilizer. It won't hurt you.
What is it, doctor?
I haven't
the slightest idea.
I must ask you both to keep
absolutely quiet about what happened.
Of course.
Do you suppose something
happened to his mind?
How should I know?
The man comes to me,
a friend,
and he says, "please, Mike, help me.
Give me a pill."
You should've
sent him to us.
I did.
He wouldn't go.
He said there
wasn't enough time.
He had to
finish a job first.
What did you find out?
More than I know
anything about.
Lab report,
blood analysis,
one human being
named Jeff Barton.
Only, the test says
his blood isn't human.
Nor is it animal,
fish or reptile.
It doesn't fit into any
blood type known to exist.
Fantastic.
I sent him over
to you earlier today.
I even telephoned,
but you were all out.
What will you
do to him?
I don't know.
Start making tests.
What kind of tests?
I'm not sure.
I have nothing
to go on, no precedent.
Do you mean you don't know
how to stop this thing?
We don't know what
it is, Mrs. Barton.
We'll need to start
at the beginning.
What beginning?
I'm afraid we
don't even know that.
Will you go back to Venus?
Will you do what he did?
We don't know
what he did.
He left the prescribed flight
pattern, disregarded procedure.
We lost contact with him
for 8 minutes, 12 seconds.
Well then, talk to him!
Find out!
What do you think?
We might try.
He's under
heavy sedation now,
shot full
of barbiturates.
Yes, yes, he...
He may answer questions.
Venus one.
Do you read me, Venus one?
This is Vulcan control.
Jeff, come in, Jeff.
This is
General Claiborne, Jeff.
We read that you've gone
under that cloud cover.
You're not going
much further, Jeff.
You'll climb out
at 20,000 feet.
Repeat, 20,000 feet.
Come in, Venus one.
Jeff, what's happening?
We do not receive you.
What's happening?
Jeff. Jeff, you're home.
You're home.
Darling, you're home.
Oh, Jeff, I was so happy
when you came home.
Remember? And you said to me,
"you're my best world."
I looked up at all those
shining things in the sky
and I said, I said, "he loves
me more than he loves you."
I am his favorite world."
Oh, Jeff!
Jeff, come back to me now.
Don't let them take you away.
Ann...
Ann.
Where are you?
I'm here, darling.
Strange.
Darkness.
Had to go closer, had to.
Then the sounds began,
and the thing stared at me
through the porthole.
The sound.
It's doing something to me.
It's gotten inside me.
Ann!
Ann!
Ann.
I'm so cold.
I'm holding you, darling.
Your hands...
Feel so good, dearest.
What now?
Well, the sedative
seems effective.
Gentlemen, I've got a problem.
The appropriations committee meets
tomorrow. What do I tell them?
Is that all
you care about?
I care about him,
but we both care
about project Vulcan.
It's his baby, his dream. He
made you feel it could be done.
That's what the congress
needs, confidence.
The feeling that
it could be done.
Without him,
project Vulcan is dead.
Or maybe
it should be.
Are you saying, then,
that Jeff is dead?
I know better than you what
project Vulcan meant to him.
I shared it with him.
He wasn't as afraid
of the unknown as you are.
He didn't give up
when he thought
that there was no one that could
follow him. He did something.
He went ahead, he tried.
Why aren't you helping him,
instead of burying him?
Doctor, when Jeff came into my
office after the steam bath,
his temperature
was almost normal.
How do we know the heat didn't
cause the skin transmutation?
We don't
know anything.
If you want to experiment
with the skin, OK,
but I want
to work with the mind.
First, I'll need whole
blood for a transfusion,
and then we'll have to put him under
heavy sedation, and in lots of heat.
And you, you should be near him
all the time, talking to him,
pulling him back from whatever it
is that's gotten into his mind.
Where's the nearest
steam bath?
What about the space environment
chamber downstairs?
Excellent.
Get ready, Ann.
Speak.
I'm here with you, darling.
I'm waiting for you.
Jeff, I'm thinking
of something you once told me.
I see you as a boy, Jeff,
watching the leaves falling,
always looking
up at the birds.
I wish I could've
been with you then, Jeff.
I would've helped you
to make those wings.
That you used to
fly off the barn.
It must've been fun.
I wish I could've helped pick
you up when you fell down.
I wish...
Mike, let me go
in there with him.
It's too hot in there.
You couldn't stand it.
It's 205 degrees in there.
Are we getting
anywhere, doctor?
I haven't the
slightest idea.
The committee meets
in exactly 10 hours.
What about the postponement?
Indefinite?
General Claiborne, don't do anything
about that postponement yet.
We owe him every
minute until then.
All right.
It's midnight now.
We have until 8:00.
Ann?
Talk, Ann, talk.
I heard you
dictating your speech.
I heard you
dictating your speech, Jeff,
and it was wonderful.
And I was so proud of you!
And... and I thought, this is no ordinary
man, this is a man who had a dream,
and he's making
that dream come true.
Don't stop, Ann.
Go on, go on.
I thought...
This is a man who
has made himself.
A part of the history
of all people.
And of all time.
A man who...
A boy who learned
to fly into the future.
My husband.
My love.
He hasn't stirred yet.
Just normal sleep.
There's not much time left.
Normal, Mike?
What does that mean?
Don't build yourself up, Ann.
We knew Jeff's
body craved heat,
so he's getting
what he needed.
After he wakes up, the General
may get what he needs,
or he may not.
But Jeff's body can't maintain
normal human temperature.
Even now, he's not perspiring.
After he's out of
there awhile, well...
Anybody got any
coffee out there?
Hello, my darling husband.
Hello, wife.
Oh, how good you sound.
I heard you, Ann.
I heard every word.
I join with the other
members of this committee
in giving you
our most Sincere welcome.
This country has much for
which to be thankful to you.
Well, I have much for which
to be thankful to my country.
Don't you want
to hear the speech?
I've heard it.
Think he'll get the money?
Well, didn't you
see their faces?
The way they
smiled at him?
They love him.
He's so brave and
handsome, and so right.
Yes, I think they'll give
him everything he wants,
except...
Doctor,
is this the way
it will always be?
Heat, and more heat
for strength, and then,
heavy sedation
to hold back this thing?
For the rest
of his life?
Who knows, Ann.
Oh! My poor Jeff.
What's wrong?
Did you hear
them laughing?
Why?
He held up his... his hands
for everybody to see.
He asked them if they were wondering
why he was wearing gloves.
He said, there he'd been all these
years, flying airplanes, spaceships,
taking all kinds of risks,
and the first night
he's home, safe on earth,
he spills a whole pot of
boiling hot soup on his hands.
They listened to
every word, General.
They didn't ask
a question.
I think we made it.
I think they're going
to give us the money,
every penny we asked for.
I love you so much.
I love you so much.
Say it again, baby.
Again and again, and I'll repeat
it back to you every time.
But you ought to have
the proper respect for me,
it's not every husband who can
loosen a zillion billion.
Jeff?
What?
You... you
wiped your face.
Perspiration.
Is it warm in here,
Jeff? Very warm?
Yes, it is warm,
isn't it?
He's coming around.
He's coming around
by himself.
Hello? Col. Hunt, fast.
Hello, this is... yeah, that's right.
Now, look.
I want 2 private rooms on
the 4th floor, right away.
Call the air surgeon General's
office and tell him I want
the top men
in pathology, etiology,
toxicology, semiology...
The eternal,
never-ceasing search for knowledge.
Often leads to dark
and dangerous places.
Sometimes it demands risks, not
only of those who are searching,
but of others who love them.
These,
in their own special way,
know that
knowledge is never wasted,
nor is love.
We now return control
of your television set to you.
Until next week,
at the same time,
when the control voice
will take you to...
The outer limits.
in our solar system is Venus,
named for the goddess
of love.
It is closer to earth
than any other planet,
28 million miles away.
Until sometime in the last
half of the 20th century,
it is still a planet
shrouded in mystery,
enveloped in a heavy blanket
of clouds and steam.
Because its surface
temperature was believed to be.
Several times that of earth's,
it was not thought possible for
man to reach Venus and come back,
until one day somebody did it.
This was the opportunity,
5 days after his return
from orbiting Venus,
for the world to see
col. Jeff Barton,
the man of the hour.
And, of course, hardly had he
returned to earth.
From his brilliantly
successful.
First step
in the overall project,
when the combined minds of our
leading scientists and statesmen.
Began to explore
the next step,
namely, the ultimate
colonization of Mars.
All of us who behold col.
Jeff Barton are impressed,
I might say awed,
by the outer calm.
And inner courage
of this man.
Who will head up
and carry out.
What is probably the greatest
adventure of all time.
The next day,
they had their opportunity
to hear this national hero.
As he described
his epoch-making voyage.
Now that we've been
able to orbit Venus,
we're a lot closer
to our ultimate goal, Mars,
the next stage
of project Vulcan.
And none of us is gonna rest
very much until it is completed.
In fact, I look forward
to a good, long rest
in one of the houses
we'll be building
on Mars as part
of the project.
I wanna thank you
for your...
Prayers,
your good thoughts,
and your wonderful
down-to-earth welcome.
I think they love you
as much as I do.
Oh, it's good
to have you back again.
I was getting awful tired
of my own cookies.
All right,
I'll get the salad.
My steaks.
Jeff? Jeff!
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.
That reaches
from the inner mind to...
The outer limits.
Not here, Jeff,
over there.
Here they are!
How does it feel
to be a General, Colonel?
Wrong question.
That should be,
"how did it feel to
be a Colonel, General?"
I'll sum it up
in 2 words: Way out.
Can you tell us, General
Barton, who else
is going to be involved
in project Vulcan?
Several men, all specialists in
their own fields of science.
You'll get a printed list
of their names.
Is it definite that Venus
will not sustain human life?
I can't
answer that yet.
Well, isn't that why
you made the trip?
Not entirely. Although
Venus is close to earth,
it has always
been a mystery to us,
and you can't take chances
with mysteries
when you're planning
the colonization of Mars.
Will you have the answer
in time
for the appropriations
committee hearing next week?
I intend to.
He won't if he spends any more
time with you, gentlemen.
Are you carrying the ball
to the committee?
No, General Barton will do the talking. He
knows more about it than anyone else.
Project Vulcan
is his baby.
By "project Vulcan," you still
mean the colonization of Mars?
Exactly.
What if they
turn you down?
Well, we might try
to raffle off General Barton.
Hey, there's
the General.
Hey!
Well, congratulations,
General.
Welcome home.
Come here,
I wanna show you something.
Well, there she is, Jeff.
The new space environment
test chamber.
We finished her while you were, uh,
cavorting around up there in outer space.
What would she do?
315 degrees below
zero, Fahrenheit,
to, uh, 275 above.
And create
a vacuum equivalent
to 700,000 feet altitude.
Jeff, I noticed something on
your report about vibration.
I was wondering if it happened
again after orbiting.
No, that's something I wanna
talk about with construction.
I'll be curious to see
what kind of vegetation.
Your cameras picked up.
Did you notice
any equipment failure.
During the 8 minutes
we lost contact with you?
I'm afraid I wasn't paying
much attention at the time.
Ah, chill.
Maybe I'm allergic
to planet earth.
Not until after
the committee meeting.
Let's get to work.
See you later.
Coffee break!
Pour it on.
You mean in, not on.
Do you know that your rate of
coffee consumption is astounding?
Fuel, sweetie,
I've got a long way to go.
How long?
All the way till
next Tuesday.
What're you doing?
Well, I'm gonna figure out
how much coffee I have to buy.
Let's see,
your time of flight
is 6 days,
and there are 24 hours
in a day,
and your rate of
"fuel consumption"
is about, oh,
a gallon an hour.
Well, that would make
total fuel...
Too much.
Crazy.
I love you anyway.
Hey, watch it,
that's hot.
It's lukewarm to me.
Thanks, honey. Look, I've
got a lot of work to do.
Good night.
Sleep well.
Jeff!
You gulped that down
as if it were iced coffee.
You sound just like
my mother.
I'm not your mother.
You've been away
from me a long time.
Terribly long.
A lonesome time.
You haven't come home
to me yet.
Yeah.
I love you.
I love you more than
anything in this world.
More than anything in all
those other worlds, too?
You're the only world I can
discover over and over again,
every time
I come home to you,
every time
I'm close to you.
You're the best
of all possible worlds.
Did you say you have
to go back to work?
Uh-huh.
You're sure of that?
Uh-huh.
You think you can?
Uh-uh.
Mmm.
Come on, get out
of here. Beat it.
Mr. Moon,
Mars,
Arcturus,
Saturn, Jupiter,
Neptune,
Venus,
all of you planets and stars,
whatever you call yourselves,
did you hear
what he said?
Did you hear what
my husband said?
He loves me
better than you!
I'm his favorite world.
You better remember that.
I'm his best world.
What're you doing?
Why are you turning up
the heat?
I'm cold, that's why.
Why else would I turn it up?
I don't understand.
Why are you so cold?
It's roasting in here.
Why did you faint
the other night?
How do I know?
Summer flu or something.
I haven't got time
to worry about it.
Now get out of here
and let me go to work.
6 days before
the hearing,
hardly enough time to get my
notes together. Good night!
Well?
Go on, get dressed.
Your medics check you out
all the time, don't they?
Affirmative.
Come on,
answer in English.
Yes.
Why haven't you seen them
about this?
Maybe I'm just sort
of used to you, Mike.
We're old friends.
I'm no specialist, Jeff.
I'm tired.
Maybe my brain is too small
for the big job we have to do.
Maybe it's psychosomatic.
Will you stop trying
to be your own doctor?
Go to your medics!
Give me something,
anything,
it's just for a few days.
It's too dangerous.
Go to your own medics.
I will, later!
Hey, hey, hey.
Jeff, tell me,
did something happen up there
that you don't want them to...
Don't ask
so many questions.
Just give me a pill,
some kind of pill.
I've got a job to do.
Keep me going.
Not until we have
some lab work done first.
Blood tests.
No blood!
No pill!
All right.
And in the meantime, keep
warm and get plenty of rest.
Look, I wouldn't ask
for any additional work,
especially at this time, if I
didn't think it was necessary.
Nothing in your
reports indicates
faulty soundproofing
of the capsule.
Give me something
to go on!
Just do it!
Are we working with each other
or against each other?
Sorry, I didn't mean...
I know you're under
a strain, Jeff.
It's hot in here,
isn't it?
Isn't that
air conditioner working?
No.
Give me some
good reason.
I'll tear the capsule apart
with my bare hands.
I know. I know.
I'll talk to you later.
All right.
No wonder
it isn't working.
It's turned off.
Wake up, Jeff!
Wake up!
Wake up!
You're all right!
You're all right,
Jeff, you're home now.
You're home now,
wake up. Wake up.
What happened?
You were having
a nightmare.
Your hands are
as cold as ice.
I'll get you
some warm milk.
No, no,
never mind.
What're you doing?
I'm gonna take
your temperature.
Who said?
Mike said. Open.
All right.
All right.
Better?
Mmm.
Good.
It's OK.
All right?
Uh-huh.
What's it say?
91 degrees.
These photos
don't show me a thing.
Phil,
what kind of vegetation would
you expect to find on Venus?
From what
little we know, none.
Considering the composition of
the surface, could there be a...
A tall,
tall, lush growth?
Thin leaves,
long and slender,
immensely long...
And waving.
Reaching into the air.
That's certainly different
from what I'd expect.
What's the matter?
Uh, short of breath.
These desk jobs,
whenever I stand up,
the altitude gets me.
Talked to the medics
about it?
Oh, they keep
tabs on me.
I just need rest.
Jeff, Mike called.
Does he want me
to call him back?
No, he wants
to see you.
Tomorrow morning
at 10:00.
Jeff.
Jeff, what is it?
Nothing.
Oh, it's not nothing!
I'm not unconscious,
I'm not blind!
Is it something serious?
Ann.
Honey.
Remember my first
inter-orbital flight?
The dizziness
when I came back?
And then, satellite duty.
The effects of that
lasted several months.
My body adapts, Ann,
to... to weightlessness,
conditions in space, and then it has
to re-adapt when I get back to earth.
This was a much longer flight.
It'll take me a little longer
to get over it, that's all.
Why did you see Mike,
instead of
these space doctors?
Oh, they mess around too much.
Take too much time.
I wanted something
to give me a lift, that's all.
Well, I don't like it.
You shouldn't be driving yourself
like that when you're sick.
It's just for
a few more days.
For what?
Some wild scheme?
It would be just
a headline to me,
if I weren't
married to it.
You married a man,
not a headline.
But, uh...
A man with certain...
Peculiarities.
Even as a boy,
he'd spend hours
watching the leaves
fall from the trees,
studying how they fell.
His head was always up
looking at the birds.
He even made himself
a pair of wings
and jumped off the barn.
It darned near broke his neck.
That's how much
he wanted to be a bird.
So...
He became a bird.
He started flying
higher and higher...
August 6, 1956, remember?
And one day,
he broke through
the troposphere,
right into the stratosphere.
And right then,
for the first time,
he understood the purpose
of his life.
It was to lead the way to...
To new worlds,
new life...
New knowledge.
That's the headline, Anne.
That's project Vulcan.
Just a few more days?
That's all.
And then a long rest.
Mmm.
Promise?
Promise.
Well, go on.
Get back to work.
Slave driver.
Venus one to Vulcan control.
Do you read me? Over.
Vulcan control to Venus one,
read you loud and clear. Over.
Approaching moon,
moving to dark side. Over.
Venus one to Vulcan control.
Do you read? Over.
Vulcan control to Venus one,
read you loud and clear.
We track your orbiting
objective at 40,000 feet.
Confirm. Over.
Right on the nose.
Counting down, now.
Altimeter reading 30,000 feet
and dropping. Confirm. Over.
Affirmative.
We track you at 30,000
over Venus and dropping.
What is your external...
Say again, General.
What happened?
Radio failure.
Please go ahead.
We read your
external temperature.
At 440 degrees.
Is that correct?
Affirmative.
It's getting
pretty dim in here.
I wish somebody would
put on the streetlights.
You're not going
much further.
You'll pull out
at 20,000 feet.
Repeat, 20,000 feet.
Make certain you're recording
carbon dioxide.
And oxygen content
in atmosphere.
No, Jeff. No!
You're too close!
Climb out now!
Climb out! Climb...
Man, it's damn solid!
Yeah, if we don't get in there
soon, he's going to fry.
I'm going to call
the fire department.
Wait, maybe it's coming. Come
on, pull, let's give it a yank.
Well, I guess he must've passed
out before he could turn it down.
Maybe a heart attack,
or something.
It's the steam valve.
Turn it off!
What happened?
Are you all right?
I've just come
from a steam bath.
I had the temperature
up past 150 degrees.
Didn't bother me.
Didn't bother me a bit.
I didn't even perspire.
Go on.
My mind seemed to wander.
I had a horrible dream.
What about?
I don't remember.
I just know it was horrible.
What's happening to me, Mike?
Why am I so jittery, so weak?
I don't know.
But I can tell you this:
Your blood count shows there are
hardly any white cells left,
and the red corpuscles are distorted.
So are the platelets.
The whole chemistry
of your body is changing.
Something's happening to you.
Something I can't explain. I've
never seen anything like it before.
What about this?
What is it, Mike?
Look at it.
Look at it.
Touch it, scrape it, do something!
You're a doctor, do something!
You better see
your people, Jeff.
Your space medics. I suggest
you go to them right away.
Don't waste a minute.
Let's go together.
I don't need you for that.
I can go myself.
OK, OK.
You'll
see them right away, right now.
And take this with you.
Thanks, Mike.
I realize this is
a great sum of money.
That we're asking for.
I also realize
that it your responsibility
to the people
to determine whether or not
the money we're asking
for will be wasted
on an impractical dream.
It will not be wasted,
unless you consider
knowledge wasteful.
Knowledge is progress!
Without progress, we would still
be in some prehistoric darkness,
shambling about like animals.
Struggling only for...
Struggling only f...
For survival,
and...
Fighting...
Like animals...
Against anything
that threatens our survival.
We cannot put a price
on the knowledge that has moved
us this far from the jungle.
Many men have risked
their lives to gather and...
And...
Test this knowledge.
Many men have died.
They did not...
Evaluate...
Their lives in terms of money.
They spent what
they had themselves,
their lives...
Willingly,
eagerly.
Why?
They can't tell you why.
Jeff!
Jeff!
What's happening to you?
Jeff!
Oh, oh, Jeff.
Something terrible's happening to
your hand. Oh, Jeff, come back to me.
Come back to me!
Oh, come on!
Jeff!
Oh, Jeff!
One moment, General.
I'm sorry, sir, but my orders
are to allow no...
Give me security,
quick, on the double!
Looks like he tried to destroy
everything in his files.
Easy now, Jeff, easy now. It's just
a tranquilizer. It won't hurt you.
What is it, doctor?
I haven't
the slightest idea.
I must ask you both to keep
absolutely quiet about what happened.
Of course.
Do you suppose something
happened to his mind?
How should I know?
The man comes to me,
a friend,
and he says, "please, Mike, help me.
Give me a pill."
You should've
sent him to us.
I did.
He wouldn't go.
He said there
wasn't enough time.
He had to
finish a job first.
What did you find out?
More than I know
anything about.
Lab report,
blood analysis,
one human being
named Jeff Barton.
Only, the test says
his blood isn't human.
Nor is it animal,
fish or reptile.
It doesn't fit into any
blood type known to exist.
Fantastic.
I sent him over
to you earlier today.
I even telephoned,
but you were all out.
What will you
do to him?
I don't know.
Start making tests.
What kind of tests?
I'm not sure.
I have nothing
to go on, no precedent.
Do you mean you don't know
how to stop this thing?
We don't know what
it is, Mrs. Barton.
We'll need to start
at the beginning.
What beginning?
I'm afraid we
don't even know that.
Will you go back to Venus?
Will you do what he did?
We don't know
what he did.
He left the prescribed flight
pattern, disregarded procedure.
We lost contact with him
for 8 minutes, 12 seconds.
Well then, talk to him!
Find out!
What do you think?
We might try.
He's under
heavy sedation now,
shot full
of barbiturates.
Yes, yes, he...
He may answer questions.
Venus one.
Do you read me, Venus one?
This is Vulcan control.
Jeff, come in, Jeff.
This is
General Claiborne, Jeff.
We read that you've gone
under that cloud cover.
You're not going
much further, Jeff.
You'll climb out
at 20,000 feet.
Repeat, 20,000 feet.
Come in, Venus one.
Jeff, what's happening?
We do not receive you.
What's happening?
Jeff. Jeff, you're home.
You're home.
Darling, you're home.
Oh, Jeff, I was so happy
when you came home.
Remember? And you said to me,
"you're my best world."
I looked up at all those
shining things in the sky
and I said, I said, "he loves
me more than he loves you."
I am his favorite world."
Oh, Jeff!
Jeff, come back to me now.
Don't let them take you away.
Ann...
Ann.
Where are you?
I'm here, darling.
Strange.
Darkness.
Had to go closer, had to.
Then the sounds began,
and the thing stared at me
through the porthole.
The sound.
It's doing something to me.
It's gotten inside me.
Ann!
Ann!
Ann.
I'm so cold.
I'm holding you, darling.
Your hands...
Feel so good, dearest.
What now?
Well, the sedative
seems effective.
Gentlemen, I've got a problem.
The appropriations committee meets
tomorrow. What do I tell them?
Is that all
you care about?
I care about him,
but we both care
about project Vulcan.
It's his baby, his dream. He
made you feel it could be done.
That's what the congress
needs, confidence.
The feeling that
it could be done.
Without him,
project Vulcan is dead.
Or maybe
it should be.
Are you saying, then,
that Jeff is dead?
I know better than you what
project Vulcan meant to him.
I shared it with him.
He wasn't as afraid
of the unknown as you are.
He didn't give up
when he thought
that there was no one that could
follow him. He did something.
He went ahead, he tried.
Why aren't you helping him,
instead of burying him?
Doctor, when Jeff came into my
office after the steam bath,
his temperature
was almost normal.
How do we know the heat didn't
cause the skin transmutation?
We don't
know anything.
If you want to experiment
with the skin, OK,
but I want
to work with the mind.
First, I'll need whole
blood for a transfusion,
and then we'll have to put him under
heavy sedation, and in lots of heat.
And you, you should be near him
all the time, talking to him,
pulling him back from whatever it
is that's gotten into his mind.
Where's the nearest
steam bath?
What about the space environment
chamber downstairs?
Excellent.
Get ready, Ann.
Speak.
I'm here with you, darling.
I'm waiting for you.
Jeff, I'm thinking
of something you once told me.
I see you as a boy, Jeff,
watching the leaves falling,
always looking
up at the birds.
I wish I could've
been with you then, Jeff.
I would've helped you
to make those wings.
That you used to
fly off the barn.
It must've been fun.
I wish I could've helped pick
you up when you fell down.
I wish...
Mike, let me go
in there with him.
It's too hot in there.
You couldn't stand it.
It's 205 degrees in there.
Are we getting
anywhere, doctor?
I haven't the
slightest idea.
The committee meets
in exactly 10 hours.
What about the postponement?
Indefinite?
General Claiborne, don't do anything
about that postponement yet.
We owe him every
minute until then.
All right.
It's midnight now.
We have until 8:00.
Ann?
Talk, Ann, talk.
I heard you
dictating your speech.
I heard you
dictating your speech, Jeff,
and it was wonderful.
And I was so proud of you!
And... and I thought, this is no ordinary
man, this is a man who had a dream,
and he's making
that dream come true.
Don't stop, Ann.
Go on, go on.
I thought...
This is a man who
has made himself.
A part of the history
of all people.
And of all time.
A man who...
A boy who learned
to fly into the future.
My husband.
My love.
He hasn't stirred yet.
Just normal sleep.
There's not much time left.
Normal, Mike?
What does that mean?
Don't build yourself up, Ann.
We knew Jeff's
body craved heat,
so he's getting
what he needed.
After he wakes up, the General
may get what he needs,
or he may not.
But Jeff's body can't maintain
normal human temperature.
Even now, he's not perspiring.
After he's out of
there awhile, well...
Anybody got any
coffee out there?
Hello, my darling husband.
Hello, wife.
Oh, how good you sound.
I heard you, Ann.
I heard every word.
I join with the other
members of this committee
in giving you
our most Sincere welcome.
This country has much for
which to be thankful to you.
Well, I have much for which
to be thankful to my country.
Don't you want
to hear the speech?
I've heard it.
Think he'll get the money?
Well, didn't you
see their faces?
The way they
smiled at him?
They love him.
He's so brave and
handsome, and so right.
Yes, I think they'll give
him everything he wants,
except...
Doctor,
is this the way
it will always be?
Heat, and more heat
for strength, and then,
heavy sedation
to hold back this thing?
For the rest
of his life?
Who knows, Ann.
Oh! My poor Jeff.
What's wrong?
Did you hear
them laughing?
Why?
He held up his... his hands
for everybody to see.
He asked them if they were wondering
why he was wearing gloves.
He said, there he'd been all these
years, flying airplanes, spaceships,
taking all kinds of risks,
and the first night
he's home, safe on earth,
he spills a whole pot of
boiling hot soup on his hands.
They listened to
every word, General.
They didn't ask
a question.
I think we made it.
I think they're going
to give us the money,
every penny we asked for.
I love you so much.
I love you so much.
Say it again, baby.
Again and again, and I'll repeat
it back to you every time.
But you ought to have
the proper respect for me,
it's not every husband who can
loosen a zillion billion.
Jeff?
What?
You... you
wiped your face.
Perspiration.
Is it warm in here,
Jeff? Very warm?
Yes, it is warm,
isn't it?
He's coming around.
He's coming around
by himself.
Hello? Col. Hunt, fast.
Hello, this is... yeah, that's right.
Now, look.
I want 2 private rooms on
the 4th floor, right away.
Call the air surgeon General's
office and tell him I want
the top men
in pathology, etiology,
toxicology, semiology...
The eternal,
never-ceasing search for knowledge.
Often leads to dark
and dangerous places.
Sometimes it demands risks, not
only of those who are searching,
but of others who love them.
These,
in their own special way,
know that
knowledge is never wasted,
nor is love.
We now return control
of your television set to you.
Until next week,
at the same time,
when the control voice
will take you to...
The outer limits.