"Dawson, Medical Technician, SHADO HQ." "I'll be on duty in an hour." "Earth blast-off, 15 minutes precisely." "All personnel for leave report to Control Sphere immediately." "'Will Paul Roper report to Control Sphere immediately?" "'Countdown is proceeding.'" "'Liftoff complete." "All read-outs are go.'" " 'Have you made a decision?" "'" " The answer's no." "I won't do it." " 'You're being stupid.'" " I can't." "Do what you want to." " 'Temper, temper.'" " God, I won't tell you anything!" " 'There's always Carol.'" " My wife?" "Leave her out of it." "Paul?" "Paul, is that you?" "Paul?" "Paul?" " Carol!" " Oh, Paul!" " What happened?" " Oh, it was horrible." "When you came in the door, I thought he'd come back." "It's all right, darling." "Come on." "It's all right." "Come on." "Come on." "It's all right, darling." "It's all right." " Sit down." " I'm sorry..." "Now, calm down, darling." "It's all right." "I'm here." "Look, look." "Take one of these." "Yes." "Shouldn't we phone the police or something?" "The police?" "Yes, yes." "I'll phone them right away." "All right, darling?" "Leave the door open!" "'Hello, Roper." "How's your wife?" "'" "You swine!" "All right." "You've convinced me." " I can't talk now." " 'I'll call again.'" "No." "Tomorrow night." "12 o'clock." "My car." "I'll give you all you want." "But if you come near my wife again..." "Carol?" "Hello, darling." "How do you feel?" "Fine." "Ooh, that pill certainly did the trick." "Listen." "You mustn't worry about last night." "It's all right now." "Thank you, darling." "Tea?" " You phoned the police?" " Yes." "They came round." "You were asleep." "They think your scream frightened him off." "You did scream?" " Oh, yes." " Well, you can forget it." "They caught him a few miles along the road." " What did he want?" " Just an intruder." " They've been after him." " Will they want a statement?" "I don't know." "Maybe not." "It's an open-and-shut case." "Look, darling, I've got to go." "I'll ring you." " Are you sure you'll be all right?" " Yes, really." "Bye." "Bye, darling." "Drink your tea." "807 Roper for debriefing tests, Doctor." "Thank you." "This way, Roper." "I assume you're familiar with this test?" "It measures how much strain goes into your decisions." "Yes." "It's amazing how hard we work, even on simple decisions, like whether to have a cup of coffee." "This is your monitor here." "On big decisions, the stress can render a man useless." "Right." "All set?" "Start the test." "Stop!" "Thank you, Roper." "Paul!" "Just the man I was looking for." " Me?" " To ask you to come for a drink." "Oh, no, I..." "I'll take a rain check on that." " Something on your mind?" " Oh, these kid's games." " The debriefing tests?" "That's not like you." " Maybe I'm getting old." " They're not for amusement." " Forget it." "I've got to ring Carol." " How is she?" " She's fine." "Fine." "Look, I'll see you later for that drink, Alec." "OK?" "Sure." "See you." "Oh, Doctor, how did Roper make out in the decision stress?" "Too early to say for certain, but he seemed..." "Well, he seemed a bit strung out." "Indications of supernumerary stress during his last tour of duty." " Any ideas?" " Not at this stage." "Could be anything:" "boredom, misses his wife..." "See you." " Ready?" " Ready." "Hold it." "I can't take you out looking like that!" "What do you mean?" "!" "People might say, "Why's that beautiful girl with that old wreck?"" "Well, don't worry." "I'll tell them I married you for your money." " They didn't ring." " Who?" "The police." "Come on, cradle-snatcher." "I'm hungry." "Well, what do they say?" "Not good." "The stress decision tests are positive." "Signs of anxiety, traces of tension and traces of neurosis." "The observers report similar findings." "Decision-making below par, reflexes bad, impetuosity, nervousness." " I don't believe it." " It's all down here." "He's an out-and-out risk, Alec." "We can't take chances." " I've known Paul Roper for years." " Look at the facts, Alec." "The man's a mess." "I don't know why." "Check him." "Lovely evening, darling." "Thank you." " Hey, I'm not Cinderella, you know." " What?" "Don't drive so fast." "I don't have to be home by tonight." "Sorry." "Don't be long." " I thought I saw someone." " What?" "It's nothing." "We're both tired." "It's nothing." "Come on, I'll see you into the house." "All right?" "Come on." "All right now?" "Yes, fine." "Thanks, darling." "I'll put the car away." "All right to close the door?" " 'Roper?" "'" " Yes." " 'The calculations?" "'" " All right." " But you must never contact me or my wife again. " " OK, on those conditions." " Ready?" " Begin." "42 degrees, 2 minutes, angle 84." "58 degrees, 7 minutes, angle 65." "Go down 2." "'68 degrees, 7 minutes..." "'Position, 33 degrees." "'Down 2." "'Alternate coordinates: 2742." "'Now down 3...'" "'For the last time, Roper, I want answers." "'Who are they?" "What did you tell them?" "'What do they want?" "'Come on, come on.'" "You're pushing him too hard." "We've got to make him talk, Alec." "Let's try another angle." "Money?" " No." " Blackmail?" " I don't see it." " Threats, violence?" " His wife, maybe." " All right." " Tell me about her." " Carol?" "She's young, attractive." "Roper's crazy about her." " I could understand..." " Understand?" "!" "Can't you see...?" "That he's a traitor?" "I know that." "But it's a matter of degree." "Degree nothing." "It's what he told them that matters, not why." "Well, you say he's crazy about his wife." "We'll see just how crazy." "'OK, Roper, take it from the beginning." "Just a moment, Doctor." "'All right, Roper, so it's your wife." "'Naturally, you don't want to see her get hurt." "'You think by keeping quiet, you'll be able to protect her." "'You tell us what we want to know, 'that's the best way to give her protection.' '... 7 minutes." "Position, 33 degrees." "'Go down 2." "'Alternate coordinates: 2742." "'Now go down 3...'" "Numbers, angles..." "What do they mean, Roper?" "I was given programme numbers for SID, told to feed in information, memorise the results." "So, we've got a batch of data, but how do we apply it?" "I can give you the data, not the significance." "You didn't know what you're doing when you gave those figures?" "!" "No." "Then we're going to have to put everything into finding out." " Get me Commander Straker." " Yes, Lieutenant." "Keep working on it, Lieutenant." "Is there any deal from SID?" "So far, we've got a series of 3-D direction indicators." "What does that mean?" "It's a navigation course in three dimensions, for some sort of space vehicle to steer." " 'A UFO?" "'" " Could be." "Well, as you say, Lieutenant, it's not much, but maybe it's a start." "Let me know the moment you have anything." "Flight path..." "But to where?" "Now, let's see what we've got." "Some sort of a flight path..." "And the fact that they chose Roper to do their dirty work." "Why?" "1) because he had access to SID and understood its operation." "2) they knew he was vulnerable where his wife was concerned." "He's told us all he knows." "Except who his contact was." "Who was on the other end of that phone?" "I want a yellow alert on all SHADO installations." " 'Yes, sir. '" " Let him go, Alec." " What?" " Let Roper go in one hour's time." " 'Your key is still down.'" " Oh, thank you." "Neat." "You've let the whole base know we're releasing Roper in an hour." "Yes." "I've been thinking about Roper's contact, Alec." "Whoever he is, he would have to be able to radio Moonbase." "He'd know Roper's movements on earth, have access to his records." "There's only one answer." "You mean someone on this base?" "Yes." "Someone on this base." "Let him go, Alec." "We must draw them out into the open." "OK." "Roger, I've got that." "One moment, Moonbase." "Lieutenant Ellis for you, sir." " Straker." " I've had Joan work on the figures." "'What does she make of them?" "'" " They're planetary positions." " 'For which planets?" "'" "Considering the urgency, we had to make an educated guess." "All right, educate me." "The relative position of the sun, moon and earth fits Roper's figures." "One snag: the last set of information is a time reference, but still doesn't make sense." "It's enough to scare the daylights out of me." "Keep working on it." "Out." "Did you swing this?" "It seems suspect." "If Straker says you can go, don't ask questions." " But he's not the forgiving type." " Don't push your luck." "Just go." "Sir, you wanted to know when Roper left." " Do you mean he's gone already?" " Yes, sir." "My orders were to release him in one hour's time." " Yes, but Colonel Freeman..." " I see." "Signal a maximum security alert and get Carlin on Skydiver." "Right, sir." "Attention, all defence systems." "This is a maximum security alert." "Attention, all defence systems." "'This is a maximum security alert, condition red.'" "'Instructions received and understood." "Standing by.'" "'This is Straker." "We are faced with a probable UFO attack 'against an unknown target." "'Until further notice, all SHADO defensive vehicles remain on alert.'" "Maximum security alert operational." "Captain Carlin is standing by." " Captain Carlin?" "Straker." " Carlin." "Reading you." "'Launch Sky 1 for possible interception.'" " Area?" " 'Green, 0B." "'Make a 20-mile radius sweep around SHADO HQ.'" "Sounds close to home, Sr. What's going on?" "'That's our problem, Captain." "Concentrate on being ready." "Out.'" " Launch stations." " Yes, sir." "Clear 1." " 1 clear." " Clear 2." "Check boosters." "'Have relocated UFO in area 427 blue." " Get me Captain Carlin immediately." " Yes, sir." "SHADO Control to Sky One." " 'Carlin, it's Straker. '" " Receiving you." "'Suspect driving east on Route 4 in SHADO car." "Follow and observe.'" "Roger." "Out." "Sky 1 to SHADO Control." "I'm positioned over target area." "'Building below destroyed." "Can see no sign of life.'" "Request UFO fix, attack coordinates." "'Roger, Sky 1.'" "Right." "Right." "They're bringing him in now, sir." "Thank you." "Hold it a moment." "All right, Paul?" "Yeah." "I'm fine." "'Maintain surveillance for SHADO medic Dawson.'" "This is a war, Alec." "People have to be at risk." "I don't buy that and I never will." "It's too complicated for people like me." "And too simple for people like you." "Well, how is Roper?" "Conscious." "He'll be all right." " He gave us two wrong figures." " Two wrong figures?" "Yes." "Must have been a memory lapse due to the strain he was under." "We got our figures from the tape." "That means the aliens have the same false information." "Yes." "We finally managed to sort it out about an hour ago." "Would have taken them about... five minutes?" "I realise that." "But they obviously thought he did it on purpose." " It could have cost him his life." " It could cost him his wife." "Carol." "Stay here." "I'll send guards to his house." "We've just passed the Rampton Flyover." "ETA Roper's house, 6 minutes." "'Data and figures from flight plan 'passed to aliens by Roper have been analysed." "'Input information incorrect." "'Result negative.'" " What do you make of it, Joan?" " Nothing." "Straker won't buy that." "Re-run it." "It won't alter the result, Lieutenant." "Permutate it differently." "If you insist, Lieutenant." "Dawson died 10 minutes ago." "Yes." "Shotgun makes quite a mess." "The doctors found this." "It's some sort of electronic probe." "It had been inserted into his temple." "Well, I think the picture is almost complete." "Come over here, Alec." "Watch this." "Here." "There!" " Sunrise on the moon." " Exactly." "That's how they plan to make the attack." "Flying across the lunar horizon at sunrise, keeping between Moonbase and the sun." " Visually undetectable." " Totally." "But it would be picked up by radar as soon as it crossed the horizon." "Not if the attack coincided with heavy sunspot activity, like that predicted in two days' time and with Roper's flight plan to guide the attacker." " Moonbase wouldn't stand a chance." " Chance?" "We have Roper's flight plan too, remember?" " I don't see how we can stop it." " One man on his own at a pre-determined position on the moon surface, a rocket launcher, polarised visor..." "It'd be suicide." " Possibly." " You can't expect a man..." " I don't need a volunteer, Alec." " You mean Roper?" "And I suppose you used this to twist his arm." "I didn't have to." "He's doing it to try and even the score." " When are you going to tell him?" " Maybe he'll never need to know." "Right." "One hour." "Now, once you're outside, maintain radio silence." "One favour." "I couldn't tell Carol, my wife." "If you could book an earth call, either way..." "You know what I mean." "I'll sort things out when you get back." " 'All set?" "'" " All set." "'Good." "Begin stage one." "Oh, Roper, good luck.'" "Safety check 1." "Safety check 1." "Prepare for exit procedure." "Good luck, Paul." "Depressurized." "Open outer doors." "Stand by for exit." "Is there any chance of the radar trackers operating?" "Not with this sunspot activity." "'The time is now 075,49." "'Sunrise is in 10 minutes." "'This is Moonbase timecheck at 07,6 precisely.'" "Roper's on his own." "23 seconds since sunup, Lieutenant." "UFO destroyed." "He's done it." "Get a Moon Hopper out there fast." "Right." "Losing a little air." "'Damage... only slight.'" "Paul, is everything all right?" "'Yeah..." "Sure.'" "Listen." "A Moon Hopper is on its way." "It'll be with you in minutes." "'Fine.'" "Tell..." "Tell Straker..." "Tell..." "I hope..." "this evens things up." " Paul..." " 'Tell...'" "Car..." "Car..." "Carol..." " 'Carol...'" " Paul?" "Roper!" "Roper?" "!"