"All right." "Okay." "Here we go." " How are you doing, Rick?" " I'm doing good." "You?" "Fine." "I like the spring." "I think I want to die in the spring." "When the world is celebrating the fact that life keeps going on." "You're a little young to be thinking about punching out." "I'll be 71 come November 28th." "That's not too young." "Yeah, but..." "You'll bury us all." "You want to sign in?" " Do I have any choice?" " Not on this ship you don't." "Good morning, Mr Williams." "Please press "enter"." "Machines that say "please" make me nervous." "Enter thumbprint, please." " Thank you, Mr Williams." " Guess I'm still me." "Have a good one, Rick." "Falco employees are invited to take their cars through the disinfectant wash at the end of each day." "Thank you." "Tell me when you're clear across the board." "I will, Dr Todhunter." " He's like a kid on prom night." " Yeah, with Uncle Sam's car." "Two billion dollars for a date with a virgin particle accelerator." "The least he could do is buy us a corsage." "Enough already." "Get serious." "You know what we're playing with." "I know it." "You know it." "I just wonder if he knows it." "Soon..." "Voice identification, please." "Harlan Williams, tech number 10884." "Custodian third." "Just like yesterday." "Thank you, Mr Williams." "Uh-oh." " It's a secondary override." " I know what it is." " Dr Todhunter." " What is it?" "I've got a red light on a secondary override." " Now you've done it, Ollie." " Shut up." "Dear God." " Dr Todhunter, I..." " Be quiet!" "Gentlemen, we have a green board." "I'm sorry, Sir, but we don't." "For the record, Sir, we have a red on secondary override delta." "Secondary delta override is fine." "We have a green board, I tell you." "But Dr Todhunter, you can see for yourself." "Shut up, Redding." "You're an intern." "That means you keep your eyes open and your mouth shut." "Understand?" "Yes, Sir, Dr Todhunter." " Dr Todhunter, the regulations..." " This is a secondary override switch." "Do you follow me?" "There." "You see?" "A bad wire in the go/no-go." "Twenty-nine cents worth of trouble." " Yes, but the regulations..." " I know the damn regulations, Jackson." "There." "You see the light flicker green when I tap it?" "A symptom one would associate with a faulty go/no-go?" "Do you believe I might just have a point here?" "Yes, I agree." "Chances are 99 in 100 you've got a faulty switch." "For the record, I am willing to accept full responsibility for proceeding as scheduled." "That's fine, Sir." "This is an untested process that requires a great deal of power." "And..." "Very well." "We'll abort." "But in my report of this particular Gold Series test, this Gold Series non-test, I should say," "I'll be careful to spell your name right, Dr Jackson." "Very well." "Back to work." "14... 23... and 2." "It's 32. 32." "Not 23." "And 2." "Hey, Harlan." "How are you doing?" "Fine, Billy." "How are you?" "I signed up for this mail order taxidermy class." "Figured I can practice on all them animals zapped by the fence." "People pay good money for well-mounted specimens." "That's what the book said." "That's good, Billy." "Everybody should have a hobby." "We're still gonna do the floor in the rec area, ain't we?" "I've got the seal." "Sure." "Yeah, we are." "I opened the windows, like you said." "You know, because of the fumes." "Good, Billy." "That's good." "Sounds like the mad scientists finally got it working." "Whatever it is." "You want me to wait for you?" "I'll..." "I'll see you there." "See ya." "Harlan Williams." "This is for Harlan Williams." "10884." "Please locate." "Williams here." "Employee locker room, level four." "Please report to administration immediately." " As soon as I finish changing." " Thank you." "It is just the light, Tommy." "Fine." "It's the light." "Scientific history, gentlemen." "You were here in the year zero." " Correction. "Ground zero"." " Not funny." "Not trying to be." "Hello, Mrs Rogers." "You wanted to see me?" "Major Moreland wants to see you." "Major Moreland?" "Immediately, Mr Williams." "Yes, Sir." "Come." " Major Moreland." " Sit down, Williams." "What did you want to see me about?" "This." "I don't understand." "It means that when you took your last physical, you flunked the eye test." "Your vision is now below the level set by the Department of Defense for civilian workers." " How much below?" " Just over 6%." "6%?" "It falls outside the acceptable range." " So I'm afraid..." " I'll get new glasses." "It wouldn't matter." " You're 71, you know." " 70." "Mr Williams..." "Your vision is deficient, even with the glasses." "The regulations on this point are clear." "Damn right they are." "That's why you haven't seen the end of it." " What do you mean?" " I mean I can read." "I follow all the employee updates." "I can retake the eye examination if I want to." "Retake the eye exam by all means." " Be my guest." " No, I don't need to be your guest." " It's the law." " Ah, yes. "The law"." "Commence primary sequence, gentlemen." " What if it's not just the light?" " Go on, Tommy." "Go on!" "In three, two, one." "Initiate." "It was cleaner in the old days." "You turned 65 and..." "Chop." ""Chop"." "I see." "But the real reason, Mr Williams, is that people get stale." "Young blood is the key to success in any business." "When I was a kid, my mom would buy a beef roast at least once a month for Sunday dinner." "It really cost too much for her budget." "But my dad..." "He loved a good beef roast more than anything in the world." "She would take that roast and she would bring it to the table." "And my dad would carve it." "I can just see him now." "I..." "As clear as day." "On Monday, my two brothers and I would have cold beef sandwiches in our lunch pails." "On Tuesday, we'd have casserole." "Wednesday... chipped beef on toast." " And on Thursday..." " Major Moreland, I..." "I haven't the foggiest idea what you're talking about." "On Thursdays, Mr Williams, if there was anything left of that roast, my mother threw it away." "And we were glad to see it go." "Now, my dad didn't make enough money that we could just chuck beef into the garbage, but..." "My mom knew." "My mom knew that meat only keeps so long." "After a while, it gets randy." "And randy meat can make you sick." "You're a jerk." "Do you know that?" "A total worthless jerk." "It's been my experience when people say such things, Mr Williams, meaningful discussion has come to an end." "I am not a roast of beef!" "Secondary sequence!" "Go on, Tommy." "More power than a supernova." "God help us if it goes wrong." "Nothing's going to go wrong." "Tertiary sequence, right now!" "Dr Todhunter, I've got reds on primary overrides!" "Dr Todhunter!" "Dr Todhunter!" "Overload across the board!" "Shut it down!" "He's on another planet." "Shut it down!" "You want to die?" "Shut it down!" "No response on the primaries." "We burned out busses as well as overrides." "Then shut it all down." "Pull the plug!" "Don't do that!" "Do you know how long it will take to power up?" "Don't you get it?" "This place will go sky high!" "Help us, for God's sake!" "You son of a bitch!" "Now you've done it." "Calling him names." "We're fired for sure." "No need to panic." "Everyone remain calm." "Stay at your stations!" "I think we got it." "I think maybe we did." "Wait a minute." "A local news bulletin." "A grain silo exploded at Falco Plains Agricultural Testing Station." "A spokeswoman for the facility said there were no injuries." "An update on the hour." "Falco Plains." " Hello." "I'd like to..." " Sorry, all our circuits are busy." "Please try again later." "Thank you." " Mrs Williams?" " Yes." "I'm Terry Spann, Head of Security at Falco Plains." "May we come in?" "Is my husband all right?" "I heard on the radio..." " Are you alone?" " Yes." " Only you and your husband live here?" " Yes." "Is my husband all right?" "All I know is that he was injured in an accident." "Please, Mrs Williams, we'd like you to come with us." "No." "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's happened to Harlan." "I don't know all the details." "I was told to come get you and bring you to the hospital." "But don't you know...?" "Can't you tell me...?" "Is..." "Is Harlan dead?" "Do you have a purse?" " I want this place wired." "Tonight." " You got it." "All emergency personnel must report to Annexe M for sani-wash before leaving the facility." "Thank you." "Lieutenant McGiver, we've got a body over here." "Is it Dr Jackson or Dr Redding?" "I can't tell, Sir." "All right." "Bag him." "Holy Mother, the power is still on!" "What are they trying to do?" "Blow us up?" "The panel is over there." "What's your reading?" "It's negative radiation, Sir." "That wasn't what they were playing with." "What were they playing with?" "Non-lethal biological material." "Then why are we wearing these freaking suits?" "You can take yours off if you'd be more comfortable, Private." "Let's spread out." "There's another one in here somewhere." "Coming through, little fella." "Come here." "Here, Sir." "I found this." "Maybe he can tell us what happened." "Take him to the clean room." "They'll want to run some tests." "Over here, Lieutenant McGiver." "I've got a live one." "Who is it?" "It's Dr Redding, Lieutenant." " How do you know?" " I found his ID tag." "Secondary delta override..." "We had a no-go light." "Dr Todhunter..." "What about Dr Todhunter?" "I can't quite hear you, man." "What about Dr Todhunter?" "Told us to go ahead anyhow." "Ordered us." "I want to make absolutely sure I'm understanding you, mister." "You had a red light, and Todhunter told you to go ahead anyway?" "Ain't that a bitch?" "That's affirmative." "Alert the hospital, soldier." "We have a possible Alpha One hazard." "General Crewes," "I've received word that Miss Spann's car is approaching the gate." "Slow down!" "Smart girl." "I'm going down in the infirmary." "Let me know when Todhunter shows up." "Yes, Sir, General." "Infirmary personnel," "Emergency Procedure 721A is now in effect." "I'll arrange a room for you, if you like." " A room?" "What for?" " You might want to spend the night." "Right now, all I want is to see my husband." "Why don't you sit down there and I'll see what I can find out." "What's the situation here?" "Never used to be able to sneak up on you like this, Terry." " That her?" " How's her husband?" "Mrs Williams, I'm the boss here, General Crewes." "This place is my responsibility." "Would you please sit down?" "Relax." "Your husband's alive." "There's nothing for you to worry about." "This is a first-rate hospital." "Your husband's getting the best of care." " How bad is it?" " Nothing serious." " Can I see him?" " Well, he's resting now." "I don't need to talk to him." "I just want to see him." "If you want to wait a couple of hours, when the doctors say you can see him." "He's really all right." "I've seen him myself." "There's nothing for you to worry about." "Are you hungry?" "I can have some food sent down." "We have a good restaurant in the building." "What was that?" " What?" " That space suit." "It's just a precaution against..." "infection." "Mrs Williams, would you excuse us for a moment?" "General Crewes." " You want to level with me?" " About what?" "I get an emergency call on my way to Washington." "What's going on?" "There's really nothing to say." "Great, Louis." "I tell the press we've got a grain silo explosion." "You've got guys running around in doomsday suits." "We're running some tests." "So far, there's nothing to worry about." "We're just playing it safe." "Okay?" " You're sure?" " Trust me." "You're all right?" "You need something?" " I'm looking for the bathroom." " It's that way." "Somebody stop her!" "Wait." "Wait!" "Stop!" " Is it safe?" " Don't move." "I'll check." "Harlan?" "Can you hear me?" "It's me." "Gina." "Over here." "You're not allowed in here!" " Oh, Harlan!" " I'm all right." "Oh, my sweet." "I'm fine." "What's wrong with my husband?" "Nothing, Mrs Williams." "Nothing at all." "What time do you have?" "It's five minutes later than the last time you asked." "I thought I had an appointment." "I'm sure the General will see you as soon as he possibly can." "Why don't you buzz him?" "Let him know I'm waiting?" "He knows you're here, Dr Todhunter." "When the General wants you, he'll buzz you." "Would you like a magazine?" "I don't appreciate being treated this way." " What way?" " Being lied to." "You son of a bitch." "You owe me an explanation." "If we'd spent more time together, this wouldn't have happened." "What about dinner tonight?" "I bet you have a big appetite." "This is serious, Louis." "I can't do my job if I don't know what's going on." "Talk to me." " You want to go non-reg for a minute?" " Yeah." " This is a mess." " I'll drink to that." "I'm sorry." "I've been out of the loop on this one." "He's the only guy that knows what we've got." "Great." "Where do they find these lunatics?" "I think he's from Stanford." "All right." "Tell me what you do know." "Last year, before you came on board, the DSA dropped two Black Budget projects in my lap." "The Gold Series was given carte blanche." "Todhunter runs it." "It has some military application." "What exactly, I'm not sure." "That's all I know." "So what's the green stuff?" "You'd have to ask him." "How do we know if he's telling the truth?" "This is how." "Arlington gave me the clearance to open the file." "Darla, tell the doctor we'll be a few minutes more." " And that I appreciate his patience." " Yes, General." "This makes me hungry." "I thought it would." "That's the stuff that came out when the lab exploded." "God had his hand on you, Harlan." "God ran over me." "Somebody did." "Knocked me over trying to get away." "That's why I was in the hallway when the lab blew." "If I'd made it inside, I'd be looking like my friend over there." " You've always been lucky." " Yeah." "A lucky man who gets blown up and fired, all on the same day." " Fired?" " I flunked the eye exam on my physical." "Maybe it's time you thought about retiring." "I'm not ready to hang it up yet." " I've a right to retake that eye exam." " All right." " A man's got to have his work." " All right." "Let's talk about this later." "Mr Williams, I need to wash the rest of you now." "Yes, fine." "Wait a minute." "You're not going to wash that, are you?" "Yes." "Excuse me, but there's some things I'm sort of used to washing myself." "I can get the male nurse, if you'd be more comfortable." "No." "No, that's..." "That's all right." "I'll do it." "I..." "You give me the sponge." "I'll manage." "I'm afraid there are some places you can't reach." "Well, I guess it's you and me, then." "I'll handle this." "It's all right, Mother." "She's trained to do it." "I've had more experience cleaning dirty old men than this young thing." " Will you excuse us?" " Call if you need any help." " Don't scrub so hard." " Sorry." "You always had the funniest legs." "And am I glad to see them again." "Oh, hey..." "I love you." "I'm increasing the dose to 10 ccs." " I want you to call if anything changes." " Yes, Sir." "Infirmary staff, please note." "The annual picnic will be held on July 17th." "Rain or shine." "Thank you." "I don't appreciate being kept waiting." "I don't have time to waste." "I should be in my lab now, assessing the damage." "We won't be too long, Dr Todhunter." "I just want to ask you a few questions." "There's going to be a formal enquiry." "Why repeat myself?" "This is an informal enquiry." "You'd be more comfortable talking about it with us instead of to a roomful of bean counters." "Why this woman is attending is beyond my comprehension." "Well, let me see if I can simplify it for you." "I'm Head of Security at Falco Plains." "Your lab blew up." "It's my job to find out why." " You can comprehend that." " The Gold Series is classified." "I'm not at liberty to discuss it with just anyone." "You're not a liberty not to discuss it." " You're recording this." " On three different machines." "What is it you want to know in advance of my official report?" "We want to know the things that won't be in your report." "I have nothing to hide." "Everybody's got something to hide." "The talk I hear about you is..." "Why don't we just start with the simple facts, Richard." "What have you been up to lately?" "Experimenting with regeneration." "Attempting to accelerate the healing process in living tissue." " What's the military interest?" " The battlefield." "Wounded soldiers return to the front in record time." "Lose a finger and grow it back." " Just like a frog." " Terry." "On the humanitarian side, it could mean the end of disease." "The postponement of death." "Truly a new world order." "May I have a glass of water, please?" "So..." "What's the green stuff?" "I call it KR3." "It's the by-product of a harmless chemical reaction." "Harmless?" "Completely." "May I have another glass of water, please?" "You're sure we ought to be doing this?" "It'll take forever with that little sponge." "If you're strong enough to kiss me like that, you're strong enough to shower." "There's no..." "What are you doing?" "I'm joining you." "To get those places you can't reach." "Well, there's lots of places I can't reach." "Ready or not, here I come." "He's losing it." "I'm supposed to be doing your back." " Oh, God." "I'll get the crash wagon." " Don't bother." "He was dead when the GIs brought him." "He just hadn't stopped breathing." "Let's get him out of here." "The autopsy's going to have to wait until the investigatory team arrives."