" "A" circuits?" " Check." " Primary boosters." " Check." "'Ship 534 to Moonbase commander." " Go ahead, 534." " Approaching earthly re-entry and feeling blue." "All right for Saturday night, darling?" "'Your communication's against standard procedure.'" "And yes, it's still all right for Saturday." "Now that's more like it." "Ship 534 from Moonbase approaching re-entry." "Normal pattern." "534." "That's Craig Collins, isn't it?" " Yes, sir." " Have him call me when he gets down." "Yes, sir." " Pilot reports fire in cabin, sir." " Let me in there." " Craig, this is Ed." "How bad is it?" " I can't tell." "It's just a lot of smoke and it seems to be getting worse." "Try cutting your "Q" circuits." " SID reporting three alien craft." " No good, the heat's building up." " Sighting confirmed." " 'Warning lights are on.'" "'Aliens five million miles, closing at SOL 8.'" "Hold on, Craig." "Back in a minute." "Stay with him." "Yes, sir." "'Range 4 million miles, closing.'" " Launch Interceptors." " 'Trajectory northern Europe." "'Range 3 and a half million miles, closing.'" "'2 million miles, closing." "Speed reducing to SOL 6.'" "'The main warning lights are on." "Repeat, alarm lights are on." "'Seems to be getting worse.'" "'One UFO has changed trajectory." "'Predicted target: this satellite.'" "Interceptor 2, lock onto new bearing 330." "'I've been hit." "'I've been hit." "'Stop operations.'" "Morning, Miss Holland." "Good morning, Mr Strake." "Miss Holland!" "Yes, sir." "I ordered this file transferred to the morgue." " Why is it still here?" " Sir, it isn't certain." "You know space personnel are presumed dead 48 hours after failure to re-enter." " But it..." " Miss Holland!" "Craig Collins was one of my closest friends." "We were astronauts together." "We have enough to worry about without trying to keep the dead alive." "Please get it out of here." "Let's get this straight before he gets here." "When it comes to SID's brains, Craig knows more than anybody, so as of now, he's on the project." "All I'm saying is that Craig Collins and I..." "Your feelings for him are your own problem." " Just tell me who's in charge." " Well, overall, you are." "But when it comes to SID's engineering, Craig is God." "Straker." " 'Colonel Collins to see you, sir.'" " Send him right in." " Craig!" " Hi there, Ed!" " Good to see you." " It's good to see you, too." "Mind you, it's good to see anybody after 8 weeks of jungle cats." " John." " Craig." " Well, come on." "What happened?" " I don't know." "I sort of lost consciousness on re-entry and then I came to and I was floating down over the sea." "We went smash into the sea and I got out and swam ashore before she sank." "Tell your boffins that their survival course really works." "Colonel Grey, thank you." "See you later." "You heard what happened, Craig." "I had no choice." "Yeah." "I would have done exactly the same." "Sure." "Hello, master!" "I'm just off to Moonbase to get things started." "What?" "I thought we'd go together tomorrow." "There's a lot to do here." "I thought I'd be more use up there, and besides," "I have, shall we say, a little unfinished business to attend to." "So if you'll excuse me, I'll see you later." " Hi, Craig." " Hi, Nina." " Good to see you, Craig." " Thank you." " Missing the jungle, Craig?" " Not with you tigers around!" "Craig." "I was so glad when I heard." "It takes more than a little barbecue to fry me." "Oh, dear." "I'm sorry." "I do hope I haven't cracked a rib." "I just don't know what came over me." "Well, Foster." "Nice to see you again." "I'm glad you've been keeping an eye on things for me" " while I've been away." " I can't say I know what you mean." " Come on, course you do." " Craig!" "How about getting this old jungle cat a cup of coffee," " now that he has returned?" " All right." " If it's all right with you, Foster." " Yeah." "See you later." "Still making it with moon dust, I see." "I wanted to say... that there's, um, no reason to feel guilty about anything." "I don't feel guilty, Craig." "I cried a little when I thought you were dead." "After a while, I stopped crying." " People do." " Yes, they do." "And we weren't exactly Romeo and Juliet." "Virginia..." "Ginnie, you make it..." "I mean, you make it very hard for a man." "All he wants to say is, no hard feelings." "I'm sorry." "If that's what you're really trying to say." "What else would I do?" "How was the jungle?" "I tell you one thing, there was no one there who looked like you." "You know, I used to lie there at night and look up at the old moon and I'd say to myself, "You know something?" ""Old Ginnie's up there"." "I did think about you." "Did you?" "You mean there's still a chance for this singed old astronaut?" "I never said there wasn't." "It's just that I resent you looking upon me as your property." "Now you know..." "I'd never do that." "You didn't leave the jungle." "You brought it back with you!" "You wanted to see me, master?" "What's this request for a two-man mission?" "Fixing SID is a two-man job." "I need a partner." "I want Foster." "Why Foster?" "He's the only man available with the necessary know-how." "Also, he's got the basic astro-training." "I know he's rusty but I reckon I can lick him into shape in time." " Is that the only reason?" " Why else would I want him?" "All right, you've got him." "Thank you, sir." "Yes, sir." "Please, sir." "You ran a computer check on my relationship with Craig" " a long time ago." " I know." "The read-out said it would not affect my efficiency." "And two weeks ago we ran one on you and Foster" " and it said the same." " So why the inquisition?" "Yesterday we ran one on you and Craig and Foster." "The computer seemed to think a triangle was the nastiest emotional shape there is." "You can tell the computer to relax." "There is no triangle." "Who got dropped?" " Craig." " May I ask why?" "That is my business." "Come on, old man." "You can do better than that." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." " 15?" " Oxygen." " 16?" " Altitude!" " 17?" " Boosters!" " 1,014?" " Cooling system." " 33?" " Digital count." " 943?" " Retro rockets." " 5?" " Helium ratio." " 517?" " Abort button!" "Wrong, wrong, wrong!" "Sorry." "Sorry's just not good enough, old man." "Sorry can kill." "When we're up there, I don't want to be sorry." "I want you to be right." "Let's try that again." "All right?" "All right." "Come on, come on." " 200!" " Manual control." " Is Ginnie in there, darling?" " Yes, she is." "Thank you." "Good evening, my lord." "How about a little game of chess?" "You're a glutton for punishment." "You've never won a game with me." "How about a little bet?" "You want to throw your money away?" "Shall we say... 50?" "If that's what you want." " You take the white." " All right." "You ready?" " You really wanna play that move?" " Just get on with it, Collins." "Checkmate." "That's 50 I owe you." "I'll let you have your revenge tomorrow." "We're due on earth tomorrow." "I'll..." "I'll take my revenge when we get back here." "Anything you like." "I thought we'd been through all this yesterday." "You told me you dropped Collins." "You didn't tell me you hated him." "Who says I hate him?" "Virginia, I was watching your face when he came in." "People do move away from each other sometimes, you know?" "Look, Collins is on a vital mission." "If there's..." "If there's anything you know about him, his attitude, state of mind, anything." "It's your duty to tell me." "He's different." "You're trying to tell me that because he beat you at chess he's a psychotic?" "Come on, John." "What are you, a sore loser?" "No, it's not just that." "It's the way he's been riding Foster." "He's training Foster for a tough mission, not for a game of ping pong." "Foster has to shape up." "And Virginia Lake?" "Virginia Lake is a girl who fell out of love." "Look, I know he's a friend of yours, but all I'm saying is that what he went through in that jungle." "Dr Adams: full clearance." "Dr Jackson: full clearance." "Dr Blouden: full clearance." "All those reports have been computerised." " Full clearance." " Computers aren't God." "Are you, John?" "I just have an instinct about him." "Just now you implied my friendship with Craig could warp my judgment." "Just make sure that your personal feelings don't bend yours." "Blastoff for SID's in 5 days." "You going to be ready?" "I've just about finished down here." "I've got one or two things still to do at Moonbase." " We go back there tomorrow." " Right." "Excuse me, can you direct me to "D" stage?" "Yes, of course." "It's over there." "Take the second turning on the right." " Oh, thanks." "Mr Grey, isn't it?" " That's right, Sir Esmond." "Yes." "I never forget a voice." "And who..." " Come along, Charles." " Yes, sir." "Can't have you standing about all day." "There's something I've forgotten to do." " I'll catch up with you later." " Very well, master." "Sir Esmond!" "Excuse me!" "Excuse me, Sir Esmond, I couldn't help noticing." "Something seemed to upset you back there." "It was nothing." "It was just one of those inexplicable moments, like walking over a grave." " Well, if there's nothing I can do." " That's very kind." "How about that game of chess?" "No, thanks." "I'm tired." "I'm going to turn in." "All right." "See you tomorrow, master." "Get me Straker." " Where's Commander Straker?" " 'He isn't in the building, sir." "'I can put out a trace for him if it's urgent.'" ""'...warp my judgment."" ""Just be careful, John, that personal feelings don't bend yours."" "'Shall I put out a trace for him, sir?" "'" "No." "No, don't bother." "Central computers, please." " Control panel, terminals 4 and 5?" " Power supply." " 11, 12?" " Cooling system." " 21, 22?" " They stop at 20." "You know something, old man, I think you're gonna make it." "I know I'm gonna make it, old man." "You didn't invent efficiency." "Oh, dear." "We're getting uptight, are we?" "I know just the thing for that... old man." "Nothing like heaving a few... weights around... for sweating out the tension." "After you've lifted a couple of hundred, it makes even you begin to look human." "Well, why don't we try 225?" "All right." "But that's my lot." "I'm not pushing for the bandiest astronaut title." "Look out!" "Are you all right?" "What do you think?" "You clown." "How bad is it?" "There's a rib gone." "The right tibia's cracked." " He'll be strapped up a fortnight." " No!" " What the hell were you doing?" " It was a mistake." "The mission goes in two days and you knock out the only man qualified to fly with you... some mistake!" "There is another man equipped to fly the mission with me." "Who would that be?" "Ed Straker." "He and I put SID out there in the first place." "You can't go with a man who's unstable!" "He's only unstable in your mind!" "What can I do?" "Cancel the mission?" " Leave earth undefended?" " Train somebody else to go with you." "There isn't time!" "Collins is right." "I'll go." "I said I'll go!" "Two nights ago he tried to kill me." "He what?" "He blew the pressure in my sleep sphere." "That incident was reported as a mechanical failure." "And why didn't you tell me immediately that happened?" "Because I can't be completely certain." "Do you have one piece of tangible evidence?" "No, not yet." "All right." "My top priority is to get SID back into commission." "I've no alternative and..." "that's what I'm gonna do." "You'll have to look after things while I'm gone." "I've doubled the alert readiness on Moonbase and I suggest you do the same thing here." "The weather at the Cape is clear, the countdown looks good." "I hope they've got those transducers I asked for." "Yes, Colonel Grey is taking care of it." "Say, Craig, what is it with you and him?" "I don't know." "It's, you know, chemical." "Just one of those things." "I just wanted to check and make sure there's nothing we've overlooked in Collins' clearance tests." "No." "He passed all the regulation tests perfectly." " All the regulation tests?" " Yes." "Are there any others?" " Officially, no." " But?" "I've been pursuing a line of research." "Nothing official." "Just an idea of my own." "I call this an isolator." "What does it do?" "It cuts you off from all outside influences:" "sound, heat, light, microwaves, even cosmic rays." "I wanted to study the effect on the brain of a total absence of stimuli." "What has this got to do with Collins?" "One of the things I do is record the brain's electrical patterns, both inside and outside this cabinet." "Well?" "Usually, there is very little difference." " Doctor, please get to the point!" " All right." "Now, that's the kind of pattern I usually get." "That's one of my colleagues." "That's the pattern outside the isolator, that's the pattern inside." "Now I'm going to show you Collins." "That's Collins outside the isolator, that's Collins inside." " What's your conclusion?" " It's too early to have one." "I've got central computers on it now." "Have you told anyone else?" "There's nothing to tell." "It's a purely unofficial experiment." "When do you expect your computer analysis?" " Probably late tonight." " Call me as soon as you get it." "If I'm not at home, I'll be at Collins' apartment." "Hello, Craig." "Hello, master." "Please enter." "I'm afraid I can't spare you much time." "Ed and I are flying off to the Cape in an hour." "Did you know we still haven't located your ship?" " The one you crashed in." " Really?" "Are you sure the map reference you gave us was the right one?" "I was pretty groggy." "Could have been one mile, two miles either way." "Do you remember anything more about what happened?" "No." "My mind is very much of a blank still." " Don't you find that worrying?" " No!" "No." " I'm still the same fella, you know." " Are you, Craig?" " What's that supposed to mean?" " Virginia thinks you've changed." " Virginia's just..." " And you give blind men the creeps." "Are you out of your mind?" "And you tried to kill me." "Now, what the devil are you talking about?" " Jackson did a test on you." " He does lots of tests." "One in particular, where he put you in a cabinet." "Yes." "What about it?" "When you were inside that cabinet, you were isolated from all communication of any kind," " even radio waves." " Really?" "Inside that cabinet, your brain pattern stopped." "You were inert." "A nothing." "A body without a will." "Now, look." "I know that you have never liked me." "I think the aliens snatched you out there." "I think they burned out the personality centres of your brain and then programmed you so that they could control you with radio waves." "I think they sent you back here as a kind of guided missile... to kill Ed Straker." "Now, if that is really the case, master, then you're wasting your time, aren't you?" "I mean, you can't reason with a robot." " 'Colonel Grey?" "'" " Speaking." "The computer confirms:" "Collins has had surgery." "I'll be right over." "# Dum-da-dum" "# Here we go into the bright blue yonder" "# Dum-da-dum, da-da-dum...#" "Here we go again, old man." "Not so much of the old, if you don't mind." " After you." " Thank you." "'We have a range of 1, 2, 3...'" "'Roger." "'Data correct." "Count continues.'" "'Countdown proceeding normally." "'Liftoff: minus five.'" "'Coordinates correct." "Shut down inner valves...'" "I hope I can still drive one of these things." "Yes, so do I." "'We have retract on 1 and 2.'" "Mr Collins?" "Mr Collins!" "Mr Collins!" "'Will you confirm your link is correct?" "'" "'B link correct.'" "'Liftoff minus 120.'" "'Closing inlet valves." "Onboard computer exciting 109." "'We are counting.'" "'We have go on all internal systems at minus 50.'" "Sometimes he will not tell me he is not coming back, but always he leaves the key over the door!" "Silly thing to do." "It's the first place burglars look." "But he likes the place left clean and ti..." "'We have ignition." "We have liftoff.'" "'A-OK from here." "How about you boys?" "'" "Thank you, Houston." "This is SID 2 reporting: all systems go." "How long now?" "7 hours, 19 minutes, 27 seconds." " He said anything intelligible yet?" " No, Doctor." "No identification on him." "There she is, there's old SID." "Not only old but..." " Must warn..." " Get the doctor, nurse." " Please..." " It's all right." "Sedate him please, nurse." "Hold him down." " It's all right." "Lie down." " No." "Don't." "No, please." "Come on." "No." "No, please." "Please, no!" "Please..." "Well, time to go for our walkies, old man." "'We have satellite on positive track." "Lunar orbit is correct.'" "'Hawaii has just confirmed position.'" " Time..." " Lie down." " What's the time?" " Lie down, sir." "Lie down." "You've had a nasty concussion." "If you didn't have a concrete skull, you wouldn't be with us now." " Get me a telephone." " Nurse." "We can do all that later." "Get me a bloody telephone!" "'We are 5 hours and 7 minutes into mission.'" "'All systems OK.'" "'A-OK from here.'" "'Commander!" "Collins!" "Collins is trying to kill you!" "'" "So Grey was right." "Listen, Craig." "You can beat this thing." ""They burned out the personality centres of your brain..."" "Craig, listen to me." "Listen." "We can help you." ""...to control you by radio waves."" "They may have your mind, Craig, but they can never get your soul." "'Craig, listen to me." "Craig!" "'" "Commander!" "Commander Straker." "Are you receiving me?" "'Commander, come in, please." "'Come in, Comm." "Straker." "Are you receiving me?" "'" ""You were inert." "A nothing."" ""A body without a will."" "Ed." "Come in!" "Are you receiving me?" "'Are you receiving me?" "'" "Receiving." " 'Are you all right?" "'" " Yes." "Thank God." "What about Collins?" "He's..." "He's out of it." "He could have killed you." "Yes..." "He could have killed me."