"(tires squealing)" "Unit 21 reporting a 618, Highway 34." "Maroon sedan heading north, license UTP-725." "Repeat, UTP-725." "Out." "(siren blaring)" "Are you trying to kill yourself?" "Look, I'm sorry, Officer, but we've got to get to the hospital." "My uncle's had a heart attack." "Follow me." "What is that?" "(gunshot)" "NARRATOR:" "Starring Roy Thinnes as architect David Vincent." "The invaders... alien beings from a dying planet." "Their destination... the Earth." "Their purpose... to make it their world." "David Vincent has seen them." "For him, it began one lost night on a lonely country road looking for a shortcut that he never found." "It began with a closed, deserted diner and a man too long without sleep to continue his journey." "(eerie whirring)" "It began with the landing of a craft from another galaxy." "(whirring intensifies)" "Now David Vincent knows that the invaders are here." "That they have taken human form." "Somehow, he must convince a disbelieving world that the nightmare has already begun." "The guest stars in tonight's story:" "R.G. Armstrong," "Diana Muldaur," "Arthur Franz," "Kent Smith and special guest star Barry Morse." "NARRATOR:" "A critically wounded officer;" "a garbled account of glowing, vanishing assailants;" "a phone call from a physician who has come to believe in invaders from space and David Vincent moves into the center of a widening dragnet." "May I have your keys, please?" "Can I see your license?" "Where are you headed, sir?" "Redstone." "Fine." "Thank you." "Okay, let him through." "Just give us a few minutes." "Joe, this is, uh..." "David Vincent." "I asked you not to bring him here." "He can help find who shot you." "Battersea will find them." "Well, the police don't know what they're looking for." "Two people who don't want to be brought in." "But, Joe, everything you discussed when you regained consciousness..." "I was delirious." "I didn't know what I was saying." "Well, the old man's condition-- the glowing you were talking about means there's a facility nearby for what they call regeneration." "Now, we can find that facility..." "Yeah, I have nothing to say, Mr. Vincent." "Now, butt out." "Morning, Doctor." "Morning, Captain." "How's it coming, Joe?" "Ah..." "I'm making it." "Captain Battersea, this is David Vincent." "I know who he is." "Why do you think I put a 24-hour guard on this room?" "I'd like to help if I can." "Listen, Vincent, I'm running a manhunt not a three-ring circus." "You're not going to jam my switchboard with crank phone calls and send my officers out after Buck Rogers." "I'd like to speak to Joe alone." "And don't give me any medical reasons why I can't have it." "I'm not some crank you've dragged in here." "I'm like his next of kin." "Two minutes." "Joe... if you change your mind," "I'll be at the hotel." "Nash is lying." "I know." "What did the captain mean by next of kin?" "He brought Joe up after his father was killed." "What'd you tell Vincent, Joe?" "I told him to leave me alone." "You said some things when you were brought in." "I was out of my mind." "You sure?" "Why would I lie about it?" "I can think of a couple of reasons." "You mean the Tanner kids, don't you?" "Forget it, Bill." "'Cause if you're doing this to protect me," "I don't need any help, Joe." "Just find the people that shot me." "All right." "We'll find them." "We got the plate number, make of the car." "We got the prettiest dragnet going you've ever seen." "Roadblocks on every road out." "We got dogs coming and I've asked the state police for choppers." "I promise you we're going to search every square yard in this county." "You give them the devil." "You, too." "Now, get well, won't you?" "Yeah." "RADIO ANNOUNCER:" "Although Vincent would not comment for the press, it was clear that he means to stay in Redstone until the manhunt is concluded." "Meanwhile, in Washington... (turns off radio)" "Try him at the hotel." "I said, try him." "Now, you know that I've never disagreed with you before, but this is a mistake." "If it were anyone but Vincent." "This would only work with Vincent." "Now, Claire..." "Mr. Vincent, please." "(phone rings)" "Hello." "Yes." "My father and I, we heard about you on the radio." "Mr. Vincent, we were hiking and we came across this... this terrible thing." "It seemed to be almost half... half human and half something awful." "Have you called the police?" "They thought I was insane." "Mr. Vincent, this monster... is it one of those aliens you talk about?" "Well, I don't know." "Who are you?" "Where are you?" "All right." "Captain Battersea?" "Yes." "Jim Trent, State Police." "This is Lieutenant Rawlings." "Captain." "Came down to see if we could help out." "Appreciate it." "You want to check the map?" "Good." "Oh, your request for helicopters came through." "We could sure use them." "Any dogs?" "Whatever..." "I'm not too proud to ask." "Oh, I can put 20 men into ten cars and maybe nail them, but Lord help me if a cat gets stuck up a tree today, so whatever you could do..." "Yeah, will do." "You know, we don't think very much of people who shoot cops, no matter where in the state it happens." "This boy," "Joe Nash..." "he going to be all right?" "If praying helps." "Now, we closed off all roads within minutes after it happened." "So we have to believe they're still within the perimeter." "Now, I've got roadblocks at each of these points." "There, there, there and there." "Mr. Vincent?" "Yes." "Thank you for coming." "Get in." "Now, where's this, uh... thing?" "It's a dirt road just off the highway." "I'll show you." "What are you going to do with this creature, Mr. Vincent?" "I hope to keep it alive." "That's why I brought oxygen." "Oxygen?" "But oxygen can kill..." "(coughs)" "MAN:" "I'm not armed, Mr. Vincent." "Neither is she, or you'd probably be dead by now." "Keith, he won't listen to you." "We need you, Mr. Vincent." "For what?" "To help us in our search for peace." "You mean surrender, don't you?" "We're hardly in a position to dictate terms, are we?" "No." "Claire and I are fugitives from our own alien compatriots as well as from your police." "We're marked for death because we favor the abandonment of Earth as an objective." "Keith, don't trust him." "We have to." "But I don't have to trust you." "Mr. Vincent, we don't have any time." "This cellar has a primitive regeneration system-- one of our first on Earth." "It saved my life." "But my compatriots knew that I needed regeneration and they'll be coming here soon." "Now, will you listen to me?" "Then shoot!" "I'll listen to you first." "Three miles." "KEITH:" "Yes, we used gasses before we brought regeneration tubes down." "Oh, they're quite harmless to you-- somewhat similar to what you'd find in your own deep sea decompression chambers." "I was one of six leaders who came here to plan the final assault." "I hadn't been on Earth a month before I realized that we'd been deceived by the expeditionary forces." "The human brain is a supple, complex, highly efficient organ." "It would be a crime against creation to destroy it." "With ten billion planets to choose from, it would be lunacy to continue our fight against this world." "As soon as I saw that, I planned to return home to fight against the coming slaughter." "That was when they decided to kill me." "What would stop them..." "from killing you at home?" "I have many friends there-- powerful friends..." "leaders." "And I have this." "This is a memory bank." "It contains a million facts about man." "His philosophy, his science, his civilization, his world." "It could change a great many minds." "We finally made contact with a spacecraft commander who agreed to take us home." "We were to meet at 9:00 tomorrow morning, then..." "You're not asking me to help you through the dragnet after all the nice things you said about the human mind?" "I told you-- he's obsessed." "He doesn't want peace." "If you want peace, you'll let me arrange your surrender to the authorities." "And bring about the catastrophe I'm trying to avoid?" "With the Earth aware of our plans, our forces would be compelled to attack." "Your planet would be destroyed." "(rhythmic beeping)" "My compatriots are here." "Do you want to witness an execution... or are you willing to help us, Mr. Vincent?" "We've been authorized to spare your lives if you'll give us the time and place of your rendezvous tomorrow and the names of your collaborators." "We are quite ready to die." "Claire?" "There's no need for you to die, too." "Get it over with." "Thank you, Mr. Vincent, but I'm afraid it's only a reprieve." "They won't stop trying." "Let's get inside." "If you're absolutely sure that there's no way to get out of here, Mr. Vincent," "I'd like you to have this attaché case." "No." "He'll take it to the authorities." "That in itself will convince them of nothing." "There are others of us who think as I do." "If they contact you, give it to them." "Say that it came from a leader." "I assure you, it will be to your benefit." "How much of a chance are you willing to take?" "To do what?" "To get through the roadblock and meet the saucer tomorrow." "Keith, he's leading you into a trap." "That whole scene outside could've been staged for my benefit, but there are several billion lives at stake, so I'll go along with you." "If you don't want to try... that's all right, too." "Of course I see the implications, David-- we could win with one big play, but you'll never make it." "There's no other way." "The farmhouse is in the center of the search area." "We can't go four miles in any direction without running into a roadblock." "Isn't there any way you could get the police on your side?" "Eh, the chief of police down here won't even listen." "And I've told you about Officer Nash." "There's something going on here, and I don't understand it... but I have to make a move." "I'm going to catch a plane." "I'll be in Redstone before midnight." "As soon as they finish at the riverbank," "I want the main force to spread out... in this direction-- up toward the Old Mill Road." "Okay?" "Anybody wants me, I'll be in the photo lab." "Vincent, get out of my way." "I have something I think you'd like to see." "What's this?" "Aren't you looking for that license number?" "Where'd you get this?" "Well, if it told you, you wouldn't believe me." "But I'll take you there... alone." "Don't give me that "alone" baloney or I'll have you behind bars for obstructing justice." "That won't solve your case, will it?" "Even the greenest rookie wouldn't walk into a situation like this by himself." "Either you come with me alone, or you don't come at all." "Okay, let them through." "All right, where do we go to now?" "The Mill Road." "There's a farmhouse down this way." "That's not where we're headed, is it?" "Is there something wrong, Captain?" "(beeping)" "* *" "* *" "Hold it." "Inside." "Now, don't make a move and you won't get hurt." "CLAIRE:" "Captain Battersea... you will remember nothing of what is about to happen." "You will remember nothing." "Is that clear?" "Yes." "My name is Trent." "I'm Special Assistant to the State Chief." "This is Rawlings, my aide." "I bet the captain was glad to see you." "Joe, the captain left his office with David Vincent." "Can you think of any reason why?" "Vincent?" "He doesn't buy what Vincent's spouting, does he?" "You know better than that." "I understand you met with Vincent earlier today." "Yeah." "RAWLINGS:" "What could you tell him?" "Just that, uh... he's bad news, that's all." "Well, whether we like it or not, he's gotten himself involved." "Joe... if you think of anything would you give us a call?" "Yeah, sure." "The captain's not in trouble, is he?" "I hope not." "A Sergeant Thompkins called." "Said there's a Captain Trent down from State Police headquarters." "I know him." "He's a good man." "Is everything all right, Captain?" "Fine." "What's holding us up?" "BATTERSEA:" "I don't know." "Leeds, we've got to get going." "Okay." "Why are we stopping here?" "That's your car, isn't it?" "David." "(whirring)" "(crystal shattering)" "We're going to have to take him with us." "You're going to do what I say." "Get in that car." "Vincent, do you know what you're doing?" "The penalty for something like this-- they'll throw away to key." "Get in." "(rotors whirring overhead)" "Better get off the highway." "We'll have to stay out of sight until we get to a phone." "I've alerted every peace officer in the northern half of the state." "How many units have you transferred up there?" "40, Captain." "What about choppers?" "Four." "They'll be up again with first light." "Good." "Captain Trent." "Yes?" "Edgar Scoville." "Chief Kusick and I are pretty good friends." "Oh, yes, Mr. Scoville." "I've heard him mention your name." "What can I do for you?" "Captain, I think you're setting the stage for a tragic mistake in regard to David Vincent." "Oh?" "I know him." "What I think of his theories is beside the point, but he is neither a criminal nor dangerous to your men." "Well, then just what are you afraid of, sir?" "That in this atmosphere, you're building to shoot first and ask questions later." "I can assure you that that will never happen on this police force." "Good." "Thank you for your time, Captain." "Good night." "Watch him." "Right." "We have adjoining cabins." "Come on, Captain, out." "Come on, move." "I don't know what you think you're doing." "Just hope you know what the ante is." "I guess I was wrong about Vincent." "Now they'll kill him." "We can't concern ourselves with that." "Can't we?" "Isn't he as good an argument for humanity as that case you're carrying?" "Vincent, she's quite a dame, I'll have to admit." "But she's not worth the price you're paying for her." "You think we're kidnappers, don't you?" "(knocking)" "Who is it?" "Claire." "David, I came to see if I could help." "If you two want to be alone, why don't you just..." "Captain!" "You've been chief of police in Redstone a long time, haven't you?" "Remember the Tanners, Captain?" "You remember the Tanner children?" "Twins, 16 years old, a boy and a girl?" "One day, they came to you with a story." "Outside that farmhouse, they saw a man burn up and disappear." "Men had shot at him as he ran through the woods." "They imagined it." "That's what you told them because you investigated and found nothing." "We're very good at covering our tracks, Captain." "That farmhouse hasn't been used in years." "But the real trouble didn't start until the children read about David Vincent and decided that what they'd seen were aliens." "You laughed at them." "But they insisted." "And then one night, the Tanner house burned down." "No one escaped." "Aliens set that fire, Captain, to keep them quiet." "Garbage." "A lot of garbage." "Yes, that's what you've been telling yourself for a year, because if we exist and you didn't care enough to find out, then you're responsible for their deaths." "Well, we do exist." "No." "There's no pulse in that arm." "There's no heart in here... and no blood, Captain." "No blood." "Vincent, get her out of here." "Get her out of here!" "Vincent, how could you... how could you help them?" "These two are different." "All they want to do is get to their own planet and stop their people from making war with us." "Vincent, you've got to kill them." "Do you understand?" "You've got to kill them." "Kill them!" "Thanks for coming down again, Captain." "What is it, Joe?" "I, uh..." "I think we'd better be alone." "Police business, Doctor." "Would you excuse us?" "Any word on the captain?" "No." "There's something I think I'd better tell you." "I wasn't delirious." "That first story I told-- that's the way it really happened." "About the glowing man who disappeared when you shot him?" "That's right." "See, the captain... the captain couldn't live with that." "Something that happened about a year ago." "If he knew there really were aliens, he'd..." "And there really are, huh?" "And they may have the captain." "I see." "What's that?" "What is that?" "What is...?" "(phone ringing)" "Hello." "David." "Are you all right?" "They almost spotted us twice." "We'll need another car." "Where are you?" "A motel-- the other side of Travistock." "I'll get started right away." "So long." "You have a minute?" "For what?" "Just to sit and talk." "Sure." "What's going to happen to you if we do get away?" "I don't know." "Nothing good." "Police captains don't like to be kidnapped." "Then why help us?" "You're a chance worth taking." "You can stop your people from making war with us." "That's all that matters." "If you spend the rest of your life in jail?" "Is it that important?" "Why?" "Why don't I butt out?" "I don't know." "You know what your people are like." "What will happen if we don't fight back?" "Sooner or later, you'll be killed." "Or wind up in Captain Battersea's jail." "Is that any better?" "Anyway, what else would I do?" "You've been told we have no feelings, haven't you?" "I've seen it." "No." "You've see the murderers, the executioners." "David... some of us are able to feel with our minds as... as deeply as you feel with your heart." "You're a woman here on Earth... but, uh... are you...?" "A woman where I come from?" "Well, its equivalent, anyway." "Does that make a difference, David?" "Rawlings here." "He's still on the main highway." "Either he knows he's being followed or he just likes to drive fast." "TRENT:" "He must have seen you." "Pull him over." "See if you can get any answers." "Then lock him up for six hours." "Reckless driving." "Right." "(siren wailing)" "MAN ON RADIO:" "We interrupt to bring you a late news item." "Officer Joe Nash died suddenly tonight at Redstone General Hospital of wounds received in a gun battle some 30 hours ago." "Details on our 11:00 newscast." "Hello?" "Hello?" "This is Captain Battersea-- the one they're looking for over in Redstone." "You got to make a call for me." "They can't stop us now." "My friend will be here any minute with a car." "From then on in, it's all downhill." "For us." "Not for you." "Oh, I don't know." "Battersea will see the saucer tomorrow." "If that doesn't convince him, maybe I'll hitch a ride with you." "Good night, David." "Good night." "That's right." "Riverview Motel, outside of Travistock." "They..." "It's going to be tough during daylight." "I wish Scoville could have arranged a car last night." "(rotors whirring overhead)" "David." "Police." "Can we stay clear of them until 9:00?" "Depends where their ground units are." "We're talking about exactly 9:00." "The ship won't wait five minutes in daylight." "You'll all be out of action by 9:00." "I got it." "Captain." "One of the 'copters spotted them." "Where?" "Route 10, headed north." "Uh-huh." "The chopper still with them?" "Needed fuel." "We've got them." "There's no way out until they reach this cutoff." "Unit 22." "Right." "Unit 22." "Come in, Unit 22." "Unit 22." "Subject car headed north on Route 10." "Set up a block at the Bitter Creek intersection." "Roger." "(siren wailing)" "Only another half hour." "(tires squealing)" "Hey!" "Hold it!" "Listen, Battersea, millions of lives depend upon whether these people get to that spacecraft or not." "Get us through this roadblock." "After what they did to Joe and the Tanners?" "All right, out!" "If you want your captain alive, move back." "Don't listen to him." "Back off!" "All right, back off." "Drop the guns." "Keep moving." "Get out." "Get out!" "Go on." "We'll take their car." "Come on." "Move!" "Go on!" "Move!" "Look out!" "What's that?" "That's what this is all about." "How could they?" "All right." "Here." "Take it." "Let's go." "Come on!" "* *" "* *" "* *" "Well... there's eight minutes." "Let's see if we can get to that spaceship." "David, Captain, we're going to try." "Will you come back?" "No, David, I..." "I won't be back." "NARRATOR:" "For David Vincent and his new ally sadness for what they have lost and hope for what they may have gained." "Already, tens of thousands of miles away, an alien saucer speeds through the void on a mission not of death, but of life."