"'Moonbase Alpha status report, '2,515 days since leaving Earth's orbit." "Dr Helena Russell recording." "'Commander Koenig has not responded to treatment 'since becoming irrational and crashing his Eagle." "'It is possible that the use of the cerebral wave machine 'has worsened his condition." "'He reacted psychotically to the arrival of a rescue party from Earth 'and remains convinced that it's appearance is sinister 'and that evil forces are at work.'" " John, darling." " Stay away from me!" "John, this is my brother Guido." "Tony..." "Alan..." "Maya, what's the matter with YOU?" "!" "'He refuses to believe they are friends from Earth 'and insists that they are monsters determined to kill him 'because he's the only one who stands in their way.'" "Why won't you listen to me?" "You're all blind!" "'The Commander remains in the Medical Centre 'where my old teacher, Dr Shaw, 'has promised to check on his condition." "'I feel helpless and frustrated because I can't free John 'of the delusion that there is a plot to kill him.'" "No!" "Dr Shaw, what's your opinion?" "His vital signs are very erratic." "This could be causing his mental instability." " If there's anything more I can do." " I'll ask, thank you." "All right, Maya, let's see if he'll respond." "John..." "John?" "John, Maya's here." "She has something to show you." "It's a recording." "That's the pilot ship." "That's an Eagle." "(Ehrlich) 'I can see Earth." "'It's blue and beautiful and we're getting closer by the minute.'" "They're in an Eagle." "Why can't you accept what we all tell you?" "Maya, what do you see out there in the Command Centre?" "People from Earth." "Oh, I was hoping..." "I thought your different brain structure would have resisted their telepathic control." "Whose telepathic control?" "Maya, when you look, you see people from Earth." "When I look..." "I see monsters from a different dimension." "One of us is wrong." "Will you accept that it could be you?" "Well, that would mean, of course, that everyone else is wrong." "I'm the only one on this base who is hooked up to that machine." "Either the machine has distorted your consciousness..." "Or protected it." "Telepathic control..." "'It's...possible." "'I find it odd that everyone from Earth is somebody's friend." "'It's against probability.'" "(Koenig) 'That's because everyone is out of someone's memory.'" "(Maya) 'Yes, they could have tapped everyone's mind 'and projected what they needed out of what they found there.'" "'It couldn't project strangers as they can't be in our memories.'" "Wait, Maya sees these people, too, and they can't be in her memory." "It is possible that they could project images from other people's minds into my mind." "If they have control over our minds, why are they letting us have this conversation?" "Perhaps it's for a purpose." "Maybe they have to be present to control." "(Helena) 'Ben did say that he knew Sandstrom was trying to kill you 'but he couldn't do anything about it." "'When Alan took Louisa away from him, he regained control of himself.'" "(Maya) 'And in the records lab - Kander - they took him over... 'controlled his mind." "'He must have made a discovery which threatened them." "'He didn't go berserk - they made him release the oxygen 'causing the explosion which killed him." "'If only we knew what it was that he'd found out.'" "We've been in space for months, in Earth time that's generations." "If they are from Earth, they'd be hundreds of years older than us." "That should have occurred to me." "But they wouldn't let it." "They haven't been able to control my mind because..." "I was hooked to that machine." "There may be no causal effect but...it is a tenable theory." "Helena... please, unstrap me." "Do we tell Tony?" "No." "Our best weapon is surprise." "If we tell Tony, they may probe his mind and take away the one advantage we've got." "Maya, would you let Helena give you the same treatment I had?" " The brain complex?" " Yes." "I don't know if she can stand that." "I'm willing." "If the Commander's right..." "It should be me, not Maya." "But you can handle the machine, we can't." "Helena, if I'm right, there are things Maya can do that you can't." "You little beauty!" "What's the first thing you're gonna do, Joe?" "Find a golf course where I don't hit a mile." "You?" "Me?" "Her name's Jeannie." "How about you, Jack?" "Her name's Caroline." "She's five years old." "She's got her mother's eyes." "(Ehrlich) 'San, what would you and Peter like 'as a wedding present from Earth?" "'" "Just to be there." "(Carter) 'Look at that weather pattern!" "It's snowing in California.'" "Hey!" "Smile when you say that, man." "Maya?" "Maya?" "How do you feel?" " Normal." " Wait a minute." "Well, here we go on the carousel." "(Carter) Earth Control, this is Swift Pilot Ship 2." "Do you read me?" "Do you want me to fly this crate in?" "'This is New York Control reading you loud and clear." "'You're locked into the computer, you don't have to do a thing." "'Just sit back and enjoy the ride.'" "I hear you, Oh, Earthman!" "Alan Carter to Moonbase Alpha." "'We're now going into Earth orbit then on down for a landing.'" "Well?" "Ticking over like a flawless machine, as always." "Good." "(Koenig) Helena." "What do you see out there?" "Dr Shaw and San's fiance Peter." "Maya?" "Oh!" "They look like the plasma that forms on some organic matter when it begins to decompose." "Boy!" "Don't they look beautiful?" "!" "You got your historic lines ready?" "How about, "It's a small step for..." " It's been done." " Who said it had to be original?" "What are you going to say, Alan?" "Where is the nearest john?" "That will make the history books!" "'This is New York Control." "We have you on automatic pilot." "'You're about to touch down in New York.'" "(Carter) Let's get this luggage into the hotel." "(Bartlett) I hope we get a room with a view." "(Ehrlich) Forget the view, I want to get to a telephone." "(Carter) In the old days, they used to call this town the Big Apple." "Everything going according to plan?" "Yes, one of them will stay here to prime the domes." "I'll send the other two for the nuclear trigger." " What do they want?" " There's one way to find out." "Oh, I think I know!" "I really hate to ask you, Maya, but..." "Oh, they're so... repulsive." "If there was any other way..." "(Koenig) Maya, remember, they know you're a Metamorph, so be careful." "We haven't much time." "We're beginning to lose energy rapidly." "Two aliens have been dispatched for the nuclear trigger." "Once they energise it, we will take our fill." "All the alien creatures will die." "They are of no consequence, they are so ugly." "Naturally they are of no consequence." "Nevertheless, they will be happy before they die." "Which of our number is that?" "It has our shape, but it is not of our species." "Come here!" "Stop that one!" "Oh, don't ever ask me to do that again." "They had the minds of geniuses and the instincts of vultures." "What do they want?" "They're a species that live on radiation." "Radiation?" "It's the only kind of energy they can assimilate." "What do they want here?" "Their planet ran out of radiation." "They're starving." "Unless they get a huge intake soon, they're gonna die." "They want our nuclear waste dumps..." "Wait a minute, that could benefit us." "Let's give them our nuclear waste." " It's not that easy." " Why not?" "They need the intense radiation they will get from blowing up the dumps." "Blow up?" "That would destroy us." "They've got control of our minds so that we'll blow them up." "Why haven't they blown up the dumps themselves?" "They have little kinetic energy." "They can't handle physical activity." "They plan to manipulate us to explode them." "How?" "By making us think we're doing one thing when we're doing another." "That's what they did to me in the Eagle." "Alan, Bartlett and Ehrlich!" "That's where they really are." "They're still on the surface." "And they were flying in an Eagle." "I still see the pilot ship." "They're at the atomic waste dumps." "They're going to detonate them." "They can't do that without atomic fuel." "(Koenig) There's your atomic fuel." "That's the trigger to blow up the dumps." " They won't do it." " They won't know they're doing it." "Computer, lock entrance to atomic fuel store." "(Koenig) I've got to get to an Eagle." "Hold it, John!" "Where do you think you're going?" "Tony, I must have an Eagle." "Listen to me." "Stay back." "Helena..." "How did he get out of Medical Centre?" "He just broke loose." "Then why didn't you give the alarm?" "He could've hurt himself and us." "I'm sorry, Tony." "I'll keep him under restraints." "Yeah." "You do that." "Stay with the commander." "Make sure he's taken care of." "Coming, Dr Shaw?" "Helena!" "Commander!" "Helena." "John." " Alan?" " Still in the atomic fuel store." "How long would it take to process our people, make all of them immune to the aliens?" "It would take days, John." "Unless we can break the aliens' hold on our people," "I'll never save Alpha." " There may be a way." " What?" "I sometimes use a sonic anaesthetic." "It's called White Noise." "It works by blocking nerve pads in the brain." "That would obstruct the telepathic input of the aliens." "Amplify it and transmit it to all of our people." "Let's go." "Helena, stay away from those aliens in Command Centre, or they'll take you over again." "Make sure these things are set to stun." "Let's hope the aliens don't read your mind, Helena." "They'll try and use our people to stop us." "Hold it!" "It was set to kill." "Don't, Tony!" " What's going on here?" " Shut up!" "Helena!" "(High-pitched whirring)" "(Grows gradually higher)" "That's as much as I can give it." "What about Alan and the others?" "Will the sound reach them?" "They'll get it through their helmets." "But it won't be powerful enough if the aliens choose to block it." "(Whirring stops)" "Kill them!" "No!" "They get their power from energy." "They've disappeared." "Vanished." " We've won." " The atomic fuel store." "We haven't stopped them." "They're going to Bartlett with the trigger." "Tony, Maya." "(# Beethoven's 5th Symphony)" "The aliens know about White Noise." "They must be concentrating on Alan, Ehrlich and Bartlett." "Where are they getting their strength?" "All electrical equipment on Alpha emits a minute amount of radiation." "They must be getting it from that." "Helena, cut all non-essential power, all except communications." "Out." " (Tony) I can't see them." " They're there somewhere." "Alan, this is Commander Koenig." "Do you read me?" "Alan?" "'Alan, are you receiving me?" "Come in, Alan." "Answer, Alan!" "'This is Eagle 1 to Alan Carter." "Are you receiving?" "'" "(Tony) There, on the left." "(Koenig) Switch on scanners." "(Tony) There they are!" "Alan!" "Ehrlich!" "This is Koenig." "Do you read me?" "'Alan, do you read me?" "'Alan, do you read me?" "Come in, Alan.'" " Touch down in front of them." " No, Commander." "The terrain is too crumbly, we'd go straight through." " Drop me in front of them." " All right." "Maya, prepare to depressurise." "(Koenig) 'Decompression complete." "Lower away.'" "Alan, stop!" "Alan, stop." "You don't know what you're doing." "Ehrlich, stop him." "Ehrlich!" "Alan, stop!" "(Maya) 'Decompression complete.'" "(Tony) All right, now move it, Maya!" "No, Ehrlich." "Ehrlich!" "Alan, it's me, John." "Ehrlich, listen to me." "Listen to me!" "Ehrlich, you don't know what you're doing!" "Aagh!" "(Air hissing)" "(Air still hissing)" "(Maya) Commander, Ehrlich's losing air." "His pack is punctured." "Tony, we've got to get Ehrlich back to Alpha fast." " 'He needs depressurising.'" " Coming in now, John." "Alan!" "Alan, wait!" "Alan!" "Alan, WAIT!" "Alan!" "ALAN!" "ALAN!" "(Maya) 'Tony, take him up.'" "Bartlett, come out here and give me a hand." "(Alien) When you're inside, you will seal the door." "Maya." "Yes, Commander?" "'There are aliens everywhere." "All over the place.'" "They can't harm you." "They need their energy to control Alan and Bartlett." "He can't get through." "They've got the door sealed." "They have reached the nuclear core." "Soon we will have all the radiation we need." "He has broken through!" "It doesn't matter." "They will resist him." " Maya." " 'Yes, Commander?" "'" "How come the aliens are still controlling them?" "Everything's off." "Where are they getting the energy?" "The human brain generates electrical activity." "There may be enough to keep them going at survival level." "When people are unconscious, their brain activity is reduced, right?" "'Very greatly.'" "'Knock everyone out except you and the chief engineer.'" "Unconscious?" " Unconscious." " 'John...'" " Don't argue." "Can you do it?" " Yes, I can, but..." "Just do it!" "Out." "(Hissing)" "Alan!" "Bartlett!" "It's atomic fuel!" "You were about to plug it into the core." " We'd have blown up the planet!" " Right." "You and Alan have been living an illusion!" "But you've broken the aliens' control." "Now help ME!" "Maya, Bartlett's returned to normal." "'Careful." "They're running out of energy." "'The little they have left will be focused on Alan.'" "Bartlett, they're still controlling him." "Alan, it's all right." "It's all over." "(Alien) Is it?" "No, that won't help." "You learn quickly, John Koenig." " That is hopeful." " Hopeful for whom?" "Yes, it's true, Bartlett, you have been living in an illusion." "But haven't you been happier than you've ever been on Alpha?" "Living your life reunited with your loved ones, living, as it were, back on Earth." "Yes, but it's not real, you've been living a dream." "(Alien) Isn't a dream of happiness better than a reality you hate?" "Bartlett, help me." "(Alien) Can you really face growing old and dying on this piece of debris?" "How long can the dream last?" "When the nuclear waste is triggered, all...all human life..." "on the moon will be wiped out." "(Alien) 'How long' is a meaningless term." "A pygmy's phrase." "Time is relative." "A butterfly lives a gloriously full life in a day, a single-celled organism in a microsecond." "So long as one is fulfilled, time is irrelevant." "(Koenig) Bartlett, don't listen." "Help me!" "We can offer the people of Alpha a complete life, as it would be with your loved ones in your homes on Earth." "A life without pain or sorrow, without fear or loss." "This is what we offer." "Bartlett, use your laser." "Stun Alan." "Now, put the trigger in the atomic core." "(Bleeping)" "(Koenig, panting) Stop him!" "Stop him, Bartlett." "It's futile to call on Bartlett for help." "He's immobilised." "Alan, listen to me!" "It's Koenig." "It's Koenig!" "You're a truly primitive organism, Commander." "We could have given you an eternity of happiness in an instant of time." "Now your life will be what the life of your species has always been - cruel and futile." "It's better to live as your own man... than as a fool in someone else's dream." "So much for illusions." "Maya, what was that creature that you transformed into?" " A laren." " A what?" "A laren." "Its natural habitat was a moon of Psychon." "How does it survive?" "It can store oxygen like a camel can store water." " And it's very strong." " Maya, put me down." "Maya, quit fooling around." "Put me down!" " How long before they wake up?" " About ten minutes." "Can't you speed it up?" "No!" "How am I supposed to run a base of Sleeping Beauties?" "It was your idea." "She might have been an illusion but..." "I said it was your...idea."