" Paul, Sandra, I'm turning in." " Lucky you." "Four hours, 52 minutes and 20 seconds." "Congratulations." "I thought no one would break the five-hour barrier." " It's time we had a new puzzle." " Time we had a new world." "Keep your eyes peeled. 'Night." "Good night." "Paul?" "Paul!" "Paul?" "What the hell is that?" "What's happening here?" "I don't know." "It's either a joke or something interesting." "It's coming in on every channel." "Track it, Paul." " Did you see anything?" " No." "But someone is trying to talk to us." "Commander, it's coming from somewhere along coordinate line 397." "Kano, see what Computer makes of it." "Alan, Eagle crew on standby." "Yes, sir." "Wayland and Costo ready to go." "Have them fly along 397 and see what they can see." "Wayland and Costo, you're on Eagle 1." "Move it." "Sandra, keep the scanners on the Eagle." "Helena, monitor the life signs, It's our only contact with them." "Well, it's certainly eager to talk." "I'd like to know what Wayland has to say." "It's not gonna let us get a word in edgeways." "Well, let's hope it has a pretty face." "'Eagle 1 to Main Mission." "Commander, it's...'" "It's like a giant space anemone." "It's pulsating!" "'I've never seen anything like it before.'" "Computer must be getting something from Eagle 1." "We're getting continuous data from their instruments." " Well?" " There's no analysis yet." " Eagle 1!" " 'Commander?" "'" "Commander, it's incredible!" "Outside temperature's increasing." "There are strange shapes forming all around us." "'Commander, I...'" "Boost to interstellar strength." "Wayland, pull away!" "Pull away!" "Do you hear me?" "Boost scanners." "All transmission from on board computer has ceased." "John, their life signs have disappeared." "Commander." "Go, Alan." "Kelly, Rescue Eagle to Pad Three." "I'll meet you on board." "Sandra, keep searching for them with long-range scanner." "It could just be a fault on Wayland's ship." "Victor, they've stopped trying to talk to us and one of our Eagles has disappeared." "I don't like it." "What the hell was that?" "Meteorite!" " Activate screens." " Activated." "It's got through!" "Meteorite strike!" "Section six, red alert!" "Thank you." "Fortunately, no casualties." "Just impact damage." " What puzzles me is where it's from." " And how it got through our screens." "They're setting it up for analysis, I'll check it out." " Paul?" " Nothing." "They've just disappeared." "No radar trace, no radio signals." "It's as if Wayland's Eagle vaporised." "Commander, the meteorite." "Computer estimates it came from between references 350 and 400." "The last reported reference point for Eagle 1 was 397." "It's just possible that Eagle 1 was hit by that meteorite." "Alan, it's possible the meteor may have collided with Eagle 1." "Is there any sign of wreckage?" "'I can't tell, I'm picking up electrical disturbance.'" "Then let's check it out visually." "Have Kelly take a space walk." "'Right.'" "I'll be in Technical." "What do you suppose that is out there?" "I have no idea and I wouldn't wait around long enough to find out." " Just look for Eagle 1, OK?" " Sure." "Hey, Kelly?" " Good luck." " You bet." " 'Depressurisation complete, Kel.'" " Right, Alan." "OK, Kelly." "Go!" "Well, John, it may not look like much, but it's very dense." "And it's very heavy." "We had to turn the gravity control right down to get it in here." " How dense?" "How heavy?" " Computer's finding out now." "Any surface marks?" "Any indication it may have hit Eagle 1?" " Huh?" " It's possible." "I've got some early findings on this stuff." "It's a piece of the coating from the surface of this meteorite." "It's organic." " Alive?" " Definitely." " It's nothing we'd recognise..." " John." "Here it is." "Weight, 328 tons." "Constituent elements, titanium, stainless steel, aluminium, glass, carbon fibres, plastics, nuclear fuel cells... and a small amount of human tissue." "Human tissue?" "We've found Eagle 1." "Lee, recall Carter immediately." "'But sir, Kelly's out in space.'" "Get him back immediately!" "Kelly, abort." "We've been recalled." "Kel, do you read me?" "Kel?" "Are you receiving?" "Kelly, signal if I'm getting through to you." "Main Mission, Eagle 4 here." "Receiving you, Eagle 4." "Paul, check our communication line." "I'm getting no response from Kelly." "'No fault registering, Alan.'" "Then Kelly's in trouble." "I'm going out after him." "Stop him." "Alan, get away from that area." " 'Right now.'" " Commander?" " Get away from there, now!" " You can't expect me to leave Kelly." "Kelly?" "Kelly, can you hear me?" "Kelly, I'm not receiving you." "Kelly, are you receiving me?" "Kelly?" "Hey, Kel." "Hey, come on, buddy." "Right, gotcha." "Let's get you back to the Eagle." "Those brain patterns are fantastic for a man who's totally anaesthetised." "His brain activity's phenomenal." "But his breathing is normal." "His heart and lungs have adjusted to what's going on inside his brain." "But what IS going on inside it?" "Well, he's suffering this non-stop flow of impulses and ideas, because that part of the cerebellum which controls his will is failing." "My hope is to stimulate the cerebellum and restore balance." "Now, if we don't achieve that, very soon, he'll burn himself up." " Melita." " Where is he?" "What has happened?" " Melita?" " They're going to operate." " What's wrong, Commander?" " Look, Melita." "Your husband's OK." "He's in good hands." "His heart and lungs are fine." "When there's news, we'll tell you." "Try not to worry." "How can I?" "This isn't the best place, is it?" "Nurse, take Melita to her quarters." " Commander, I want to stay." " I know, but you can't." "Please." "John..." "Mathematical formulae." "That monitor only gives electronic indications of brain activity." "Those are computer traces, Victor." "They're certainly not Kelly's brain patterns." "Kano, what's with Computer?" " 'I can't understand it...'" " Just tell me." "'I've checked everything." "'Computer is sending data into Kelly's brain.'" " To his brain?" " 'Into him." "'And through him, it's being beamed towards orbital reference 397.' 397..." "That's the point where Kelly was affected and Eagle 1 was crushed." "Kano, shut down transmitters immediately and analyse all data that's already gone out." "Victor, whoever was trying to talk to us before Eagle 1 was crushed is now using Kelly as a link to Computer, and is sending information out into space through Kelly." "It's trying to communicate again." "'The process is now reversed." "Computer is now receiving data." "'It's coming from the same area and reaching Computer via Kelly's brain.'" "Kano, let's shut him off." "Close down receivers." "Analyse all incoming and outgoing data immediately." "Whoever was trying to talk to us is now talking to Computer." "Maybe he couldn't get through to us and needed Kelly as an interpreter." "Yeah, but whatever it's doing, it might be reprogramming Computer against us." "Increase anaesthesia two points." "Two points." "He's still feeling pain." "He could die of shock." "I'll induce neuronic concussion." "What's happening?" "You must not touch my brain!" "Arrrgh!" "Bob, no!" "Let him go." "Follow him." "Let me know where he goes but don't restrain him." " Helena, you all right?" " I'm all right." "John, we can't just let him go." "Victor, whatever it wants, it's using Kelly." "So let's let Kelly lead us to it." "Commander, Kelly's in the computer room." "'Good." "Get Kano there." " 'But don't go in until I arrive.'" " Right." "OK, I want to try to talk to him." "If he gets violent, we'll stun him." "What's the update?" "He's reprogramming so fast I can't get any details." "You two come with me." "Kelly?" "Kelly?" "Kelly!" "Kelly, I want to talk to you." "Who are you transmitting to?" "Who's talking to Alpha?" "Look, answer me, damn it!" "No!" "No!" "Let's see where he goes." "His neuronic concussion, the effect should be immediate." "He's building a resistance to it." "Melita!" "Melita!" " Melit..." " Kelly!" "Help me." "Help me!" " My darling..." " I've got to do it." "I've got to..." "And they won't let me!" " What is it, tell me?" " I've got to!" "You must make them understand." "Make them understand!" "Whatever that is out there, it's crushed Eagle 1, it's done something to Kelly and taken over Computer." "By my calculations, we'll be where Eagle 1 disappeared in four to six hours." "Which is how long we have to act." "We're back to trying to drive this moon the way we want it to go." "Only two schemes for that - shock waves and anti-gravity screens." "Both reduce gravitational pull from another planet." "This is neither a sun, star or planet we're dealing with." "From the data we have, Computer says that the energy field has no mass." "Sir, we can't change course." "What next?" "Well, we know it's organic and intelligent." "So if we load an Eagle with nuclear charges and aim it at the centre, we might just be able to weaken it a little, enough to reduce its crushing effect and get through." "I'd better get started on that right away, Commander." "All right, Alan, do it." "Helena, we need all the information we can get from Kelly." " He's on life support." " I know." "Victor, try to find exactly what Computer's transmitting." "John, about Kelly's condition..." "Helena, we've got to try it." "Alan, how's it going?" "All the charges are fused, checked and ready to go." "Good." "The best calculation we can get without asking Computer is that all on-board systems should be blown at 18:45." "Destruct mechanism set for 18:45." "By then the ship should be locked on target, nothing can divert it." "Well, I feel a lot happier now we've done something." "All right, Paul, lift her off." "It's gonna get one hell of a headache when it squeezes that little bundle." "I don't like a pre-emptive strike against an enemy I don't understand." "They crushed Eagle 1 to a pulp, Commander." "I don't doubt they'll do the same to us if they can." "'John, can you come to Technical section right away?" "'" " Foam." " Yeah, that's what it looks like." "It's also what the pilot saw." "Where did it come from?" "It's the same material we found encrusted onto Eagle 1." "Except it's reverting back to its original form." "Looks harmless enough." "Looks, yes." "But it's highly unstable." "We don't know why, but its chemical structure changes." "It gains incredible weight and density." "Are you saying this foam crushed Eagle 1?" "In a sufficient quantity, John, this... foam, as you call it, could crush anything." " What did he say to Melita?" " He was trying to get something out." "There was something he had to do." "He asked her to make them understand." ""Them" meaning us." "We won't find out what he had to do unless he can tell us." "He's weakening fast." "An orthodox diagnosis now, a decline due to brain damage." "Strange, isn't it?" "That decline began as soon as Computer was shut down." "And that's when the hyperactivity in his brain stopped." "You mean he was dependent on Computer?" "John, something interesting here." "Kelly transmitted an astonishing amount of information." " Chances are I'm on the wrong track." " It's some track." "Go ahead." "A lot of data is physical information about the moon itself." " Weight, density, dimensions." " Trajectory?" "It's got information about the gravitational pull, about every change of course since we left Earth's orbit!" "Wait a minute." "Wait a minute." "I think it's trying to find out if we can change course now." "Right." "'John, if we're going to save Kelly, we must restart Computer.'" "And leave Alpha wide open." "Whatever that thing is, maybe, just maybe, it's trying to help us." "Help us to avoid a collision that'll destroy Alpha." "We've got to find some way to make contact." "Well, contact's already been made, through Kelly." "That's it. of course, through Kelly!" "Symbiosis!" "'John, if you want me to link your mind to Kelly's 'so you can read his thoughts, no." "'The results could be catastrophic.'" "If our moon hits that force field, it'll be a catastrophe for all of us!" "How long before that remote-controlled Eagle detonates?" "One hour 35, Commander." "Kano, restart Computer." "We don't have too much time." "Symbiosis." "I don't think you should be doing this, John." "I know what I'm doing." "I've experienced it myself during advanced psychoanalysis." "That was under very different conditions." "To link you and Kelly..." "Kelly's mind is connected in some way to this... thing." "We can't be sure yours won't be affected in the same way." "We've got to do it, Victor." "We'll be monitoring your physical signs." "If there are any changes, we'll have to stop." "All right, let's get on with it." "Connected here." "Connected here." "It's a living organism." "Like a brain." "Pulsating with life... and light." "It's the centre of our whole galaxy." "Maybe even hundreds of galaxies... planets... stars... strange life forms..." "And in the middle of it all... is this brain." "Are you all right, John?" "Yeah, I'm all right." "I think it worked." "I think it worked." "Hurtling towards that brain is our moon." "Now, the Eagle was just a fragment, so the brain surrounded it with antibodies and rejected it." "But our moon is a million times bigger than that Eagle." "That's right." "But the brain is a million times bigger than the moon." "Make no mistake, John." "It would crush us in the same way that it crushed Wayland's Eagle." "Commander?" "It is trying to help us." "It's working with Computer." "We must go to Main Mission." "Give these to Kelly." " It's possible." " What's possible?" "We can divert the moon away from the brain." "The plan is to increase the moon's rate of spin, by providing a series of forces at tangents to its axis." "This will give the moon an eccentric rotation and cause it to curve away from the centre of the brain." "We haven't much time." "Computer has plotted precisely the points at which the series of charges should be placed along the equatorial line." "It is trying to save us." "Paul, if we're going to carry out that brain's instructions, we'll need every nuclear charge we've got." "So bring that nuclear Eagle back to Alpha." "Remote-controlled Eagle now heading back for Alpha." "Good." "What's its position?" "Approximately... halfway between the moon and the brain." "Which means those charges will explode the moment it arrives here." "Paul, reprogram the on-board computer and cancel the detonation." "We're gonna have to act fast." "Alan, I want every single man standing by." "As soon as the ship lands, place the charges on the surface as per the brain's instructions." "Victor, oversee the operation." "Sandra..." "Kelly." "Kelly!" "Kelly..." "Commander, trouble - a fault on the on-board computer." " What kind of trouble?" " Everything's dead." "Which means it's locked on a course for the centre of Moon Base Alpha, where it will explode." "An accident?" "or is the brain intentionally going to destroy us?" "No, Victor, I don't think it is intentional." "Paul, get the fastest Eagle we've got ready for immediate lift-off." "Clearing out, Paul." "Check course and closing speed." "Kelly." "Kelly, is there anything you can do?" "We've got to get him to intensive care." "Paul, I'm docking now." "You're running out of time, Commander." "Good luck." "Three minutes to detonation." "Docking complete." "I'm going to defuse the nuclear charges now." "Nuclear charges defused." "I'm trying to alter the course of the Eagle so that it misses Alpha." "I can't divert it!" "I've got no control!" "I can't hold it!" "I've gotta let it go!" "Stand by strike." "Strike at Pad Four." "Victor, we've just lost our nuclear charges." "Alpha's headed for that brain." "There's nothing we can do." "'We could increase the atmospheric pressure inside Alpha.'" "You mean to counteract the crushing forces?" "Would it work?" "'It's a long shot, but it might give us a chance, yes.'" "OK, Victor." "I buy it." "Set it up." "'I already have.'" " Well done, John." " Good to see you." "What's the situation?" " Pressure sensors ready for testing." " Readings?" " Sections A, B and C normal." " Section D coming through now." " D ready to test." " D checked and functional." "Attention all Alpha personnel." "This is Commander John Koenig." "We are about to enter the area of the space brain." "As a result, we are faced with a grave crisis." "I want you all to know that we will do everything in our power to prevent the destruction of Alpha." "Please remain calm." "We cannot predict the final outcome." "But with luck and the measures we are taking, it is my belief that we will survive." "Good luck to you all." "John, if we increase pressure too quickly, our people will be in trouble." "Right." "We'll do it gradually." "Paul, raise pressure two points now and distribute pressure suits." "External pressure reading up two points in Section B." "Raise internal pressure, Paul." "Attention!" "All surface sections close down!" "Total evacuation." "Emergency services only, in one minute." "Seal bulkheads in two minutes." "All right, go." "'Dr Russell, I need help.'" " Kano." " Helena!" "Don't go!" "Helena!" "Sensors indicate a burst on Launch Pad Four." "No one in there?" " It's all clear." " Seal it off." "We can't evacuate." "If we disconnect him, he'll die." "Switch to emergency services." " Bulkheads." " Bulkheads sealed." "'John, we must have power.'" "Damn it!" "Get out of there." "Keep it moving, down to the shelters." "Hurry up, not much more time." "Come on, hurry up!" "Down to the shelters!" "Bob, get out of here, come on." "Helena, out, out!" "John, we can't leave Kelly!" "Victor, it's burst through Medical." "Pressure holding." "When I'm clear, seal the bulkheads." " 'There are still men coming.'" " Re-route them." "Section D, anyone there?" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Get down there." "Go ahead." "Come on, this way!" "Come on!" "Sandra, work up there on panel four." "Section D under severe stress." "Helena, panel five." " Eagle maintenance areas flooded." " Transfer readout." " Atmospheric pressure?" " Easing." "How's the pressure now?" " No increase." " Good." "The computer?" " Linked through here." " Hold out as long as you can." "All right, visors down." "Victor, shut down main computer!" "Shut down these controls, switch down the other system!" "Helena, get upstairs on the balcony, quickly!" "You too, Sandra." "It's stopped." "John, it's stopped!" "I think we've come through." "It's a miracle we're alive, John." "Tore through it like a bullet." "Complex as the human brain." "And just as vulnerable." "Helena, don't make it hard on yourself." "John, I deserted Kelly." "I just keep thinking that maybe we could have saved him." "Helena, you can't assume the responsibility for Kelly's death, no more than we can assume it for the death of that cosmic intelligence." "Now, yes, we've lost Kelly." "But think of those worlds out there that depended on that brain." "Think what they've lost." "If only... we could have communicated."