"'Mac, come in." "Do you hear me?" "'Where are you?" "'" "I hear you fine." "We're just buzzing around Manhattan." "What's bugging you?" "Radio 'Got a job for you." "It's urgent." "'You've got a ship, The Caribbean Lady 'heading towards the Verezzano Bridge." "'It's not answering our radio calls." "'Check it out, will you?" "'" "Yeah." "Will do." "We're heading for the harbour now." "En route." "Going UP" "'Look, haul ass, will you, Mac?" "'The old man's called me six times already.'" "We're over Lady Liberty." "What's the background, please?" "'You have no background." "'The harbour master spoke to the captain last night 'and told him to wait for permission to enter the harbour." "'Since then, we haven't had a word." "'And now they're just heading right up the straits.'" "Maybe the radio's busted." "'Maybe." "But the captain knows the rules." "'He should've stopped in the bay." "'Instead, he's coming in like gangbusters.'" "Ah, they must've smoked the stuff they're smuggling." "I'll go wake 'em up." "'Do that.'" "There." "There's the ship." "We got a sighting." "You're right." "She's coming in fast." "That's against every regulation in the book." "The captain's a real turkey." "We're going in for a closer look." "I'll get back to you." "'Mac, the suspense is killing me." "What do you see?" "'" "There's not a soul in sight." "Really weird." "'No signs of damage or fire?" "'" "Nah... nothing." "Whatever happened to the crew, it was sudden." "'What the hell do you mean by that?" "'What about the lifeboats?" "'" "Well, they're all there." "I guess you'd better send a tug right out." "'Gotcha, Mac." "Will do.'" "Alert the doctors." "Put the ship in quarantine at an isolated dock." "'Right." "We'll follow standard emergency procedure.'" "Understood." "'Tug's on its way." "How much time have we got?" "'" "Hurry UP" "Sorry, this is a restricted area." "They told me to come here." "I'm Dr Turner, of the health department." "Ah, right." "The lieutenant's waiting for you over there." " Lieutenant?" " Ah, Doctor." "Thanks for getting here so quickly." "I'm Lieutenant Arras." "Pleasure to meet you." "So, this is the mysterious vessel." "Right, the Caribbean Lady." "A tug caught up with her in the straits." "Put a man on her and he shut down the engines." "The captain, the crew?" "There wasn't a soul on board." "Just this weird smell." "Like something rotting." "Sounds right out of Conrad." "Where was she coming from?" "The tropics." "We're checking on it now." "We'll have to make a hygiene check on the cabins." "Lieutenant, I can't work without witnesses." "You'll be coming with me?" "Where's that?" "On the vessel!" "Well, I'd rather go ice skating at Rockefeller Center, but the captain said I was to take my orders from you, which doesn't leave me much choice." "Let's get into protective clothing." "I wanna go home." "The sooner the better." "Let's go and see what this mystery's all about." "Lead on, Doc." "We might as well split up." "Charlie, you and the officer with you, stay at the front end of the ship." "We'll check the bridge." "Doc, it's like something out of a movie." "It's a ghost ship." "This doesn't make any sense." "Didn't you tell me that the captain radioed in last night that everything was normal?" "The whole crew just doesn't disappear into thin air." "Ah, here's the logbook." "Let's see what it says." "Here we are..." "The last entry's dated last night." "It says they're 15 days out of home port and expect to dock in New York within 24 hours." "Visibility is good, mild south-easterly wind, about seven knots, sea moderately calm." "No mention of the crew." "And it's signed by the captain, P..." "I don't get it." "Where is everybody, then?" ""Signed, Pedro Mendez"." "Whatever happened, it must've happened all of a sudden." "Otherwise, it'd be written here in the log." "Looks like it might be the officers' mess." "What do you say we check it out?" "That's what we're here for." " Me first?" " You first." "That's what I thought you'd say." "Well, here goes." "There's nobody here, Doc." "Let's try the next one." "I think we'd better take a closer look." "We'll be here all night, at this rate." "What the hell happened to these people?" "Well, from the evidence, they stopped eating in the middle of their meal and jumped overboard." "Next you'll be saying it was something they ate." "Funny, Doc." "I wonder where this door leads to." "Shall we try it?" "That's what we're here for." " You wanna go first?" " Come on." "Come on, open it." "It's stuck." "Ugh..." "Judging by his uniform, that's our friend Mendez." "The captain." "Yeah, he hasn't been dead for long either." "The way he was closed in there, it's as if he was trying to hide from something." "He looks... as if he was..." "completely torn apart." "Who do you think could have done that to him?" "I wish I knew, Lieutenant." "But look at the way his skin and clothes are torn." "It's almost as if..." "I don't know, it's almost as if he exploded." "E-exploded?" "Yeah, but not because of a bomb." "It's more like he exploded from inside." "Look at his stomach and his chest..." "It's as if some force inside just let loose." "Ugh." "Let's search the rest of the boat." "Come on." "Nothing here." "This one's empty." "What's in here?" "Hey, Doc." "Come here!" "I've found some more." "My God." "Look at 'em!" "Completely torn apart!" "I'll tell you one thing, Lieutenant:" "No disease or virus can reduce a man to this state in such a short time." "I mean, according to the logbook, up until last night, everything on board was normal, right?" "Harvey, call headquarters and tell them we may have an epidemic on our hands, and hurry!" "Yes, sir." "You see that?" "He's just like the other two." "Harris was right." "This wasn't caused by any virus, that's for damned sure." "What the hell could it have been, then?" "I mean... down below... and, man, it's really weird." "It looks like they blew up or something." "He's right, Lieutenant." "And there's this trail of green gunk that leads into the hold." " Green gunk?" " Sure." "We didn't want to follow it without telling you first." " Is the door open?" " Sure." "Let's go and have a look, then." "This hold's full of coffee." ""UNIVERX"." "Strange name for Colombian coffee." "What do you think, Lieutenant?" "What do I know from coffee?" "I never drink the stuff." "What is strange is this." "It's a different lettering." "Doesn't seem strange to me." "It's probably just a trademark." "Of course." "This place gives me the creeps." "Right." "What about those 20 bodies upstairs?" "Let's go." "Whatever killed those men, it certainly wasn't coffee." "Hey, wait a minute." "What's that over there?" "That's not coffee." " What are they, Doc?" " I don't know." "But whatever they are, they came out of this case of coffee." "Do you think the rest of these cases are filled with those things?" "You won't know until you look, but at last we've found something, besides the missing crew, that doesn't add up." "Well, what do you think they are, Doc?" "They could be something like, er..." "Like a giant squash or... avocado or..." "or some kind of mango." "They look like big green eggs to me." "Doc, there's one over there, look." " Where." " Under the pipes." "It's bigger than the other ones." "And it's pulsating." "As if it had a heartbeat." "They're hot." "Most likely these pipes carry steam or hot water." "I'm only making a guess, of course, but heat must have an effect on these things, causing them to ripen." "That would explain why the others are still green... and smaller." "Hey, like in a hothouse." "Think these have anything to do with those guys being killed, huh?" "I really don't know." "We'd have to examine them in a lab to be sure." "I'll go get you one." "Don't touch them!" "It could be dangerous!" "Hey, don't worry." "And as soon as I was informed, I gave orders to totally isolate the pier and place it under absolute maximum security." "Good." "Put emergency plan number seven into effect." "Was General Hazon informed?" "Yes, and a group of experts is already airborne." "They should be here in a couple of hours." "What about the man who survived?" "I believe he's just about to be released from decontamination." "He identifies himself as Lieutenant Arras of the police department." "He's the one who informed us." " I see." " After you, ma'am." "Have all decontamination procedures been completed?" "Another five minutes, ma'am." "Colonel, he's undergone all the necessary preliminaries." "At this point, he shouldn't have any abnormal or active microorganisms on his body." "Right." "If the type we're dealing with is something we already know about." "I don't know what I'm doing in this stinking place, but I swear that when I get outta here, you're all gonna pay for the way you're treating me!" "Control yourself." "You can hear me?" "You can hear me!" "You have the nerve to come in here and tell me to control myself!" "They've been giving me a smoke cure." "Wearing me out, washing me down for six hours." "Then they leave me here to freeze my balls off!" "And now you come in and dare to tell me to keep myself controlled, baby?" "Don't call me "baby", young man." "And you don't call me a "young man", babe." "It might not show right now, but I'm a police lieutenant." "Got that?" "And I'm a colonel." "Internal Security, responsible directly to the president." "Special Division Five." "Any other comments, Lieutenant?" "No, sir." "Er..." "No, ma'am." "At ease, Lieutenant." "Yes, ma'am." "I'm sorry." "There is no reason for you to salute me." "Thank you." "As of this moment, I am in complete charge of the Caribbean Lady case." "Now, exactly what did you see on board?" "You talked about eggs." "Is that correct?" "Er, well..." "As a matter of fact, they did look like eggs." "But the size of pumpkins." "Kinda like footballs, and..." "there were all these cases... with 'UNIVERX' written on the side of them, hundreds of 'em." " The whole of the ship's cargo?" " Yes, sir." "Er, yes, ma'am." "I think so, I..." "One of the cases had dropped to the ground and one of the eggs had rolled just under a large pipe." "And then..." "Well, it was ripening." "What do you mean?" "Well, it was different from the others." "It was..." "Well, it was almost like... alive." "It wasn't as green, and... and that was the one which sprayed all its substance on the poor doctor, and made him all..." "I need one of those eggs immediately." "But we'll have to be very careful how we do it." "Squad Two." " Hey, you're going to freeze it?" " Yes." "And the whole cargo with it." "I don't know what..." "what kind of organism we're dealing with, but, er... whatever substance there is in these eggs will be neutralised by deep freezing." "Then, we'll... we'll see." "Yes, well, I'll take care of that immediately." "Hey..." "Er..." "Talking about deep freezing, can I have my clothes?" "For security reasons, your personal effects were destroyed." "You'll be issued an overall." "Overalls?" "Overalls?" "What about my credit cards?" "My Gucci watchstrap?" "My wallet?" "My badge?" "My badge?" "I gotta pay..." "Make sure he gets dressed and give him a room in the officers' quarters." "There." "That must be the thing that killed those men." "Macmillan." "The tongs, ma'am." "Young, you do it." "The first examinations all show the same results." "This is not an egg but an intensive culture of unknown bacteria." "Pathogenous, perhaps, but definitely deadly." " Artificial?" " I still don't know." "But what we might define as the egg's yolk is a preset materialization culture." "It reacts to heat." "When the temperature is raised, it undergoes a cell mutation and becomes deadly." " How?" " Come over here." "Now watch." "As you can see, I am extracting a sample of the substance from the interior of the egg." "What is that stuff?" "That stuff's what caused those deaths, right?" "Right." "It's 100% active." "Now watch." "I am now going to inject some of the fluid into this white rat." "Now all we have to do is wait." "It takes effect almost immediately." "My God," "I saw it happen to human beings." "It was horrible." "Do you have any idea... why and how this happens?" "I need more time for tests." "If you need any help, there's no problem." "The Defense Department can open any door." "I could use Hilton, at the University of Michigan." "He's the top expert on artificial bacterial culture and mutations." "We can get him here in three hours." "Put the wheels in motion, Young." "I'll see what I can do." "I feel responsible." "If I had only notified you when that ship was being towed in... there would've been..." "three deaths less." "And you would've had more time to investigate." "I don't think it was your job to notify me, Lieutenant." " Can I go?" " No." "You stay here." "What else can I do?" "Don't sell yourself short." "You're not going home." "I need you." "Well, if I'm really that necessary..." "Of course, I could get much better collaborators than you." "But... you've been involved in this since the very beginning and I'm sure you'll understand, it has to be kept absolutely secret." "Is that clear?" "Yes." "I'm afraid so, yes..." "Where do we start?" "First, we have to find out who was supposed to receive this lethal cargo." "I've already checked it out." "It's an import-export company." "No offices." "Just a warehouse in the Bronx." "I think they planned to put them in the sewers." " Sewers?" " Yes, sewers." "They're just as warm, damp, and comfortable as an enormous incubator." "Imagine a hundred of those eggs scattered in the New York sewers." "It would blow up the city in one night!" "Wait a minute." "The ship wasn't to unload until tomorrow morning." "Right." "Whoever's receiving this cargo may not know yet." "We might still catch them by surprise." "Da Silva." "You go first." "Open up!" "Open up!" "There's somebody in there." "I'm sure of it." "It's probably a... a watchman." "What's all the racket?" "Who is it?" "Open up." "We have a warrant to search these premises." "OK..." "OK, OK." "Young!" "Fire!" "Drop your guns!" "You're surrounded." "There's no way out." "Keep moving!" "No." "You stay here." "Call in the flamethrowers." "Flamethrowers?" "Why?" "It's the best way to destroy all those eggs." "I want you to burn everything." "First you freeze the ones on the ship, now you're burning these." "You don't believe in half measures, do you?" "I'm only doing my job." "You must know by now that national security is at stake." "And possibly even more than that." "Since I last saw you, Dr Hilton and I have successfully analysed the yolk of the egg." "There." "These are segmented dodecahedric cells." "You know, they never showed us anything like that, back in school." "In fact, they don't exist in nature." "Not in our nature." "Nor in the mutations we have been able to achieve, up till now." "The cells of the eggs in question have structures based on silicon, whereas all Earth organisms have cells that are based on carbon." "Earth organisms?" "I don't believe these belong to our planet." "Do you mean..." "they come from outer space?" "Why not?" "How many worlds are there in the universe?" "Millions." "Perhaps billions." "True, they're millions of light years away." "But perhaps a form of life like this doesn't have the same concept of time as we do." "It stays inactive." "Passive." "As long as it's in the absolute freezing temperature of sidereal space." "Then, once it falls into an atmosphere like ours, the seeds germinate and the eggs grow." "If you're talking about cells wandering in infinity, they have one chance in several billion of falling on our planet." "That's practically impossible." "Unless..." "Unless they come... from much closer, but..." "Of course!" "Of course." "Try to imagine it had all happened, not because... the seeds to create the eggs came to us, but because we went to them." "A man could quite easily have brought the seeds here." "But a man would never do anything like that." "Well, those Bronx warehouse guards might have been crazy, subjugated, but they were men." "They're not even astronauts!" "They couldn't have gone into space and come back without anybody knowing." "But we have known about it." "We've always known about it." "Don't you remember?" "The Mars mission." "Hubbard, the English astronaut in the international project which first investigated the red planet, came back to Earth a little crazy." "He said strange things had happened at the Martian Pole." "But the other astronaut, Hamilton, said that Hubbard dreamt it up." "Do you remember what else Hubbard said?" "He spoke of..." "My God, now I remember!" "He talked about eggs." "Eggs." "Oval..." "longish... eggs." "Eggs like footballs." "Like that one over there." "I believe Hubbard was not as crazy as we all thought he was." "Me included." "Now... we have to find Hubbard as quickly as possible." "Are you sure this is the house?" "Yes." "This is the last address we have in our police files." "I'd rather go up alone." "You wait for me here." " All right." "If you need me, just whistle." " OK." "Why did she want to go up alone?" "Well, Colonel Holmes was on the committee that interrogated Hubbard after his space trip." "And, er..." "Well, she was the one who actually suggested that he was crazy." "Maybe she just feels responsible." "Almost a human reaction." "We've met before, Commander Hubbard." "I'm Stella Holmes." "Colonel Holmes." "Special Division Five." "You're exactly what I need." "Well, what do you want with me?" "Haven't you put me through enough already?" " Oh, shut up, Hubbard." "That's enough." " You goddamn..." "Your bitterness is quite understandable." "Considering I was on one of the commissions that interrogated you." "Interrogated?" "You mean "judged and convicted", don't you?" "Kicked out of the service like some... some crazy, lying visionary." "Well, what are you doing here anyway?" "Idle curiosity?" "Well, come on, Colonel." "What is it you want to know?" "How many times a week I screw?" "If you're always in this condition, it's quite obvious you couldn't get it up, even if you used a crane." " What do you want?" " Information." "And we need it immediately." "Because time is of the essence." "This is a very serious matter." "Here." "Do you recognise these?" "Why are you bothering to torment me?" "I thought this case was over and done with long ago." "It's closed!" "These are your drawings." "This is what you claim you saw on Mars." "Right?" "Why don't you just leave me alone?" "I never saw anything." "I don't know what Mars is and I was never there." "I know what you went through." "Shame, dishonour..." "Everybody was against you and treated you like you were a hallucinating madman." "And you were with them." "Right in the front row." "Yes, I remember you, Dr Holmes." "I remember you really well." "With your... ironic, head-of-the-class attitude." "Always so sure of yourself." " Always so goddamn..." " Presumptuous and idiotic." "You're right..." "Now I know." "You were... telling the truth." "All along." "Does this resemble what you saw?" "But..." "But these are photographs!" "But there hasn't been another expedition to Mars." "No..." "These were found here." "On Earth." "Thousands of them." " Here?" " Yes." "In the United States." "We found them by chance." "And burned them." "But... how many of them are left, where, exactly what they are, we don't know." "Hubbard, you're the only one who can help us." "You said you saw them on Mars." "You do remember, don't you?" "It was all... it was all such a long time ago." "What happened on Mars two years ago?" "You knew our mission." "'When we reached Mars, we landed at the polar ice cap." "'Hamilton and I decided to look around, 'and after a while, we... 'we came to a... an opening." "'A cave, in a mountain of ice.'" "And... and then..." " We..." " What happened after that?" "It's... it's confused." "It's..." "It's difficult to remember." " 'Come on..." " 'We went into the cave and... 'it was dark and... strangely humid and... 'it was there we saw the eggs." "'God, there were so many." "'They were green." "Just like the one in your photograph." "'And, then... from the back of the cave, 'we heard a noise, 'as if something was approaching." "'Something ominous." "'And it radiated a light." "'As it moved towards us, 'it was slowly filling the cave 'with this... blinding, hypnotic light." "'As it came towards us I... 'looked at Hamilton and... 'his eyes..." "'He... he was beginning..." "'Hamilton was beginning to..." "'Hamilton!" "'" "'Mars has always stimulated man's imagination." "'It is a common belief that if there was other life in our solar system, 'that it would be on Mars." "'H.G. Wells imagined Martians as flying monsters, 'which invaded Earth." "'Others have pictured them as little green men." "'But as far as that cave was concerned, 'there was absolutely nothing in there." "'No life forms." "'Only rock and ice, like everything else we found up there." "'Therefore..." "'I'm sorry to contradict my colleague Hubbard." "'Our mission..." "'Our mission was almost beyond human limits." "'I came close to a nervous breakdown too." "More than once." "'I was..." "'I was just luckier than my poor friend." "That's all.'" "Son of a bitch." "He even convinced me." "Now we know that Hamilton lied." "But I don't understand." "If he did see those eggs, why didn't he confirm it?" "I think it's best we question Hamilton." "Er... we would if we could." "I only wish it was possible, but I..." "I don't have the gift of bringing corpses back to life." "Hamilton died six months ago." "What?" "Yes." "His private airplane crashed off the coast of Florida." "In that case, Colonel, what the hell does that leave us with, then?" "Hubbard?" "You saw the state he's in." "And we know now he actually saw the eggs." "Only, I have the feeling we have to take this investigation in another direction." "What are you gonna do?" "Well, I have one plan." "If I can get the Pentagon to..." "to give me the authorisation." "Call the airport." "Reserve three seats on the first flight." "Tourist class." "We're like regular passengers." "Invent three names and have three passports ready." "Got it." "Washington okay it'?" "Yes." "But with strings, as usual." "They gave me 72 hours to solve the case." "Then they'll blow the whistle with a general alarm and call a special session of the Security Council." "That means that the... people who have the eggs will have plenty of time to..." " ...find another nest." " Right." "We've got to get to them first." "Luckily, we already have one lead." "You mean, er... the coffee company in South America?" "Very good." "Well, I'm glad to know that you're not such an idiot, after all... since I've decided to take you along with me..." "Hmm..." "It's great to hear your superior's appreciation." "Really." "We're leaving right away." "Go get ready." "Oh, no problem." "I travel light." "Go up and your hairbrush." "OK?" "Oh, I get it..." "You two would prefer to be, er... alone." "See ya later." "And, oh... have fun." "What about you?" "Do you want to come?" "Mmm..." "I dropped out a long time ago." "Didn't you put your signature on my discharge too?" "I've already had you reinstated in full." "Doesn't that salve the wound?" "Oh, I don't give a damn!" "What do you want from me?" "With all my diplomas and official recommendations," "I'm still a wreck." "OK." "Then you can just go stew in your own juice." "Wallow in self-pity." "But I thought that... under that wreck there was still a man." "A man who had the guts to go to Mars." "A man who fought to the end for what he believed was right." "A man who could help us save this frail planet from a fate worse than death." "But that man remained on the glaciers of Mars and this whiskey-soaked wreck is just empty..." " If you were a man, I'd..." " What would you do?" "Nothing." "You'd do nothing, Hubbard, because you're incapable of doing anything." "You're too soft." "You're half a man." "That's just so that we understand one another." "Yes..." "I believe we do understand one another." "Now... what about that little trip to South America?" "They've arrived." "They're at the Grand Hotel." "In three separate rooms." "On the second floor." "I don't know who the guy in the middle is, but he looks like a cop." "The woman is Stella Holmes." "A first-class mind." "Too bad." "And then..." "Well, what do you know?" "My old friend Hubbard, the last survivor of the Mars expedition." "He's the only one we haven't gotten, up to now." "But his turn will come." "What do you intend to do?" "Don't worry, dear." "They haven't found anything out yet." "We're running this game." "They're on our territory, so let's start by sending a little welcoming gift." "Miss Holmes is first." "This is the location of the coffee factory." "If this is their headquarters, the egg plantation should be somewhere in this area." "Well, if they are there, I'll find them." "Right." "You fly over the area tomorrow morning." "Arras and I will inspect the coffee factory." "But don't take anything for granted." "Remember, we're dealing with something from beyond our planet." "And we've already lost a whole day, travelling." "Well, we can make up for it tomorrow." "Well, we're in big trouble if we don't, and the rest of humanity along with us." "Well, this particular piece of humanity is gonna be in trouble if it doesn't get something to eat pretty soon." " Let's say in half an hour." " Why not now?" "I want to change and wash before." "Jesus Christ." "The whole world is gonna be wiped out and all this broad's worried about is getting changed!" "Listen, Arras." "If I have to die with the rest of the world, then I want to have a proper dress on and clean underwear." "Hmm..." "I think what the colonel's trying to tell you is that there are some people who travel with more than just a comb and a pair of pyjamas." "But..." "I don't wear pyjamas!" "Out!" "I want to have a shower." "Gut!" "Gut!" "Both of you!" "What a waste of a good-looking woman." "Is something wrong with her or is she just, erm, married?" "Yeah." "To a test tube and a whip." "You know, I don't think the colonel would've been out of place in that snow cave on Mars." "You know, all women are alike." "All over the world." "It's just a question of handling them properly." "Now, I treat all women gently." "Don't worry." "I have no intention of trying." "I'm, er, warm-blooded." "I don't like the cold." "Well, I'll see you at dinner." "In half an hour." "Good." "Bye!" "I thought you didn't like the cold..." "Hey, you were right." "I'd better turn off the air conditioner." "That's not the only thing you should turn off." "OK, OK." " I'll come and get you when I'm ready." " Right." "Hey!" "Who's there?" "Oh, my God!" "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "Hello?" "Erm..." "Could you give me the number of the local airport, please?" "Help!" "Ah, yes." "Operator?" "Please..." "Miss Stella Holmes, Room 227." "Thank you." "Help!" "Help!" "Get me out of here!" "There's an 699!" "Hubbard!" "I'm sorry, sir." "That room does not answer." "Well, it doesn't matter." "All right." "Thank you." " Ready?" " Yes." "I was just waiting for you." "Are we going to eat here, in the hotel?" "Or do you think we'll go somewhere else?" "Well, I expect it will be exactly what the colonel decides." "Weren't we supposed to meet her here?" "Oh, come on, we'll eat by ourselves." " Yeah, but she..." " No, no, no." "Come on, Casanova." "She can order something for herself on room service." "What?" "An ice cream?" "It's not her style not to keep an appointment." "Yes, when I put up a "Do Not Disturb" sign," "I usually intend to do more serious things than just take a shower." "What's the matter, huh?" "I'm not sure, but..." "Maybe we had better knock." "Hey, come on." "What if she's sleeping?" "Don't worry." "I'll take the blame." "Help!" "Help!" "Get me out of here!" "There's an 699!" "Hubbard..." "Help!" "Get me out of here!" "Just a little." "Bon appétit." "Thank you." " This is a local specialty." " Oh?" "I had them make it up as a treat for you." "To celebrate the unfortunate demise of Miss Holmes." "What's wrong?" "The egg..." "The egg!" "But..." "What happened to the egg?" "I can feel it inside me, like before." "Another one of our creatures has been sacrificed." "It was completely useless." "That woman is still alive!" "But... that's impossible!" "I know she is!" "I can feel her." "She's alive." "The egg failed to kill her!" "Out!" "Everyone out!" "Leave me alone!" "You too!" "Out!" "This place is so goddamn sinister." "I feel like... somebody is scratching my head, but from the inside." "That could mean we're on the right track." "Yeah..." "It could also mean that we're heading straight into a goddamn trap." "Would you feel any safer if we had the whole Marine Corps to help us?" "What you don't understand, Colonel, is that I'm no hero." "Just your average Brooklyn cop." "Hello." "We're the ones who phoned earlier." "Are you Mr Gomez?" "No, senor." "Mr Gomez is over there." "Hey, Mr Gomez." "These are the Americans who called you about the coffee." "This is Mr Gomez." "Hi." "Name's Arras." "Pleased to meet you." " Hello, Mr Gomez." " Where do we go?" "Inside?" "Right this way." "As you can see, we use the most modern equipment." "And now... the plant is separated into several departments," "Each with its own responsibility." "You know, in here is where we toast the coffee to different degrees, according to where we export it." "And what is this?" "Why this is a toasting oven." "Three tons at a time." "Imagine that." "You know, three tons of coffee can make a lot of people very nervous." "Er... senora..." "This gentleman and lady would like information about our coffee." "Yes." "I was waiting for them." "You can go." "I'm Perla de la Cruz, the owner." "How can I be of help?" "Oh, yes." "We would like to buy a large amount of your coffee." "You know... somebody told us that here you toast a very special brand of coffee." "Yes." "A very, very special kind." "You just sent some to New York." "On a cargo ship called the Caribbean Lady." " Yes." " Really?" "Yes." "Doesn't that name mean anything to you?" "Frankly, no." "We send shipments all over the world." "However, if you would like to see the various kinds of coffee we produce, please follow me." " All right..." " Then you can choose the one you like." "Great idea." "We have a complete production operation here." "From picking to packaging." "Including instant and decaffeinated coffee." "Everything is controlled by computers." "Each unit is vacuum-packed and contains exactly two hundred grams." "This way, please." "This where the bulk coffee is unloaded and stored before processing." "We have our own coffee plantation nearby." "Fascinating, isn't it?" "And now... we have arrived." "Arrived?" "What does that mean?" "All your questions will be answered here." "Now it's clear who cultivates those eggs." "It's you, isn't it?" "Yes." "But I'm not alone." "I'm the head of the operation." "Hamilton!" "Alive!" "It's pity you won't be able to tell anyone." "One map... and one... flare pistol." "Arras..." "Yes, Colonel Holmes." "You can call me Stella." "Thanks." " My name is Tony." " OK." "Well, Tony..." "If you had listened to your good old cop instinct, instead of my MIT-educated calculations..." "I told you I felt something scratching inside my head, from the inside." "ESP." "I'm the perfect subject." "Maybe it's because I'm not too smart." "Hm?" "You know something?" "Now I can tell you." "You've always made me feel like a caveman." "You're the first woman I ever went after that I couldn't get past the first base with." "I'm sorry." "Well, imagine how I feel." "Turn around a little bit." "That wasn't much, I know." "It's the most fantastic thing... that's ever happened to me in my whole life." "Who did this?" "White zom... zom..." "White... zom... zombies!" "White zombies?" "Come on!" "Follow me!" "Come on." "Hurry up!" "Section A, take this cluster here." "Section B, only pick the ones that are ripe." "White zombies." "Hurry up!" "Hurry up!" "Move it!" "Pick those ones there." "Get up." "It's time for you to come." "Where?" "To the Cyclops." "Cyclops?" "Yes." "The Cyclops." "Hey, you!" "What are you doing?" "You were assigned to ride in front." "Come on, come on, get in." "We're leaving." "Hundreds more are being picked right now." "Everything will be ready in a few days." "Then the eggs will be shipped, sent around the whole world." "There won't be any mistakes this time." "No one will stop us." "What's the reason behind all this, Hamilton?" "It doesn't make sense." "What's the purpose behind any living being?" "To grow." "To multiply." "Survive." "Eat in order not to be eaten." "Kill in order not to be killed." "The strongest creature shall crush the weakest." "That's the purpose of this." " You're not talking like a human being." " He's not a human being." "He was once, but... he's not any longer." "You can't understand me." "A superior being speaks through me." "It can wipe you outwith the mere power of its mind." "No, not so superior." "You were wiped out, Hamilton." "Hubbard wasn't." "His mind resisted on Mars, and he can do it again." "Here." "And crush you and your damn master, whoever that monster is." "He might have done it again." "But his mind no longer exists, Colonel Holmes." "All we had to do was crash his small plane." "Hubbard is dead." "Dead?" " Did everything go all right?" " Yes." "We collected 240 eggs." "Excellent." "Let me see the checklist." "It is my master who creates the eggs." "He grew out of a tiny seed that I brought back from Mars." "He creates the eggs and then the heat develops them to maturity." "Go on..." "He's calling you." "He wants you." "Go!" "Tony..." "Tony..." "Arras..." "No!" "Shut up!" " It's useless." " Tony!" "TOW. no'.!" "Resist it!" "TOW. no'.!" " Shut up!" " No!" "You can't do anything." "Stop!" "Tony!" "Help!" "Do not resist." "Hubbard!" "So, you know who I am." "Then you also know that I've got nothing to lose." "Now, where do you incubate those eggs?" "It's too late." "Hamilton has got your friends." "Hamilton?" "Yes... your old friend Hamilton." "Where are they?" "Where?" "In the forbidden room." "Take me there." "No!" "Tony!" "No!" "No!" "Oh, God..." "Look." "Look!" "Look!" "Go to it." "It's your turn." "One word out of you and you're dead." "He's a spy!" "Kill him!" "Stop!" "Hamilton!" "Watch out!" "You shoot and you'll get her!" "No, Hamilton." "Don't shoot." "Don't do what the Cyclops wants!" "Don't shoot!" "No!" "Stella!" "Damn you!" "A Squad over there." "C Squad go to the front." "B Squad in the rear." "We're safe now." "It's finished." "Come on." "Hubbard!" "OK, let's go." "Out." "Move along, move along." "It wasn't his fault." "Hamilton." "No, the man you met, he was just an extension of that monster." "Completely under its power from the moment that they first met one another in that Martian cave." "So much so that they both died at the same time." "But the real Hamilton..." "He never returned to Earth." "Yes, he's still up there..." "On Mars, the Cyclops star." "From now on, it'll be difficult to look at the sky... without thinking that..." "maybe somewhere... up there... there's something waiting."