"Come in, Eagle 6!" "Come in, Eagle 6!" "Report your situation!" "'Main Mission to Reconnaissance Party, come in." "'Come in, Eagle 6!" "Report your situation.'" "Eagle 6, you're ordered to return immediately." "Why don't they answer?" "What about the on board systems?" "Do they check out?" "All systems are working." " All right, keep trying." " Come in, Eagle 6!" " Come in, Eagle 6!" " What's happened?" "I know what hasn't happened." "Reconnaissance Party should've been back hours ago." " They haven't checked in." " Well, John..." "Wait a minute." "Paul..." "Can you bring Eagle 6 back by remote control?" " Yes, Commander, I can." " Do it." "Helena, Victor, let's go." "Well, no signs of a struggle." "Nothing." "John..." "This is a rescue operation." "I want Eagles 1 and 2 ready immediately." "Yes, sir." "Helena, I want a medical team." "Who do you want to take?" " One orderly, two nurses." " Dr Mathias?" " He's busy with the autopsy." " All right." "The Ground Search Party will be me, the copilot, one guard and Helena's medical team." "We'll take Eagle 1." "Alan, take Eagle 2." "You'll conduct an aerial search." "Cover every inch within 100 miles of where that Eagle went down." " Got it?" " Yeah." "I'll need close photographic data, so take Sandra, if that's all right?" "Yeah, all right." "But remember, first, search." "Second, photographs." "And third... record any sightings of people, where they are and how many." "All right." " I suppose you want me to stay?" " Yeah, I want you in command." "You'll get a chance to explore, but first things first." "We've got to find the Reconnaissance Party." "Look lively, sweetheart, you're coming with me." " Where to?" " Down there, aerial search." "Come on." " Now?" " Mmm, now." "Right, that's yours." "Make yourself comfortable." "Eagle 1, ready for liftoff." "'Eagle 1, go.'" "'Eagle 2, ready for launch.'" "Eagle 2, go." "I wonder what happened down there." "Will they find the Reconnaissance Party?" "They haven't got long." "Three days and we'll be past Ritha." "If we're going to settle we have until then." "Looks good, doesn't it, Ritha?" "It did look good." "I'm gonna check with Bob Mathias about our Stone Age man." "Eagle 1 to Base, landing all OK, moving out with the Search Party." "'Check.'" "Eagle 2 to Base, I'm centring my search from Eagle 1's position." "I'm going north on the northern sector." "Base to Eagle 2, check." "Eagle 2?" "Love to Sandra." "You'll be lucky." "Here it is, their first marker!" "From here on we walk." "I knew it was too good to last." "Eagle 2 to Base." "Just completing first leg of the north-eastern sector." "Returning south on a parallel course." "Base to Eagle 2, check." "What's it look like?" "Well, it looks like the jungle in Brazil." "Where the nuts come from" " Any sign of life?" " No, not yet." "There's one or two small patches of mist, they just could be smoke." " 'Keep in touch.'" " Will do." "Look at the size of it." "John..." "I think we're being watched." "Let's go." "Search Party to Eagle 2, we're moving into an area of mist." "We'll try and reach the Commander before dark." " 'See you tomorrow.'" " Check." "Call up Commander Koenig, will you, Paul?" "I'd like to keep him up to date on the autopsy." "Base to Commander Koenig." "Base to Commander Koenig, come in." "'Base to Commander Koenig, come in, please.'" "Base to Support Party, come in, please." "Base to Support Party, come in." "Base to Eagle 2, come in, please." "Base, I've lost the Commander." "Can you try him?" "We've lost contact as well." "What was your last message?" "Support Party wanted to catch up before dark." "They were approaching some mist." "Nothing from the Commander." "'How long does the night last?" "'" "Just over two hours." "'Right." "Well, I'll join Eagle 1." "'If you hear from the Commander, let me know. out.'" "Alan, down there!" "I saw something moving!" "I can't see anything, but there is something odd about this place." "Hold tight, I'm going down." "Alan?" "Alan!" "Alan?" "'Where are you?" "You gave me a fright.'" "I'm having a look around." "I'm at the moon buggy." "I'm gonna follow them." "'Don't be long, and be careful.'" "Hey, all this concern." "Paul's gonna get jealous." "Eagle 2 to Carter." "Eagle 2 to Carter." "Alan, where are you?" "Eagle 2 to Carter." "Don't play tricks on me, Alan, please!" "Alan, where are you?" "Eagle 3, ready for liftoff." "'Eagle 3, go.'" "'Eagle 2 to Base." "Eagle 2 to Base.'" "Good morning, Eagle 2." "What's the news?" "I've lost contact with Alan." "He went out to have a look around and now... nothing." "Bergman's coming down with David." "'We haven't heard from the Commander or the Support Party." "'They'll be there soon." "Sit tight.'" "Don't worry, wild horses wouldn't drag me out of here." "'Alan!" "'Is that you, Alan?" "'I've been trying to reach you." "'Professor Bergman and David are coming down." "'They haven't heard from the Commander either.'" "I'm sorry to go on like this but I've been so scared out here on my own." "Still, it's good to talk to you, Alan." "Alan?" "'Eagle 2 to Carter, 'are you receiving me?" "'Come in, Carter!" "'Alan?" "'Please...'" "Er, 10 minutes to landing?" "I'll let Sandra know." "Tell her to put some lunch on." "Eagle 3 to Eagle 2, come in, please." "Eagle 2 to Eagle 3, receiving you." "'We'll arrive in 10 minutes.'" "Kano says put some lunch on, he's hungry." "I'll be glad to." "Hurry on down." "I don't want it to get cold." "Sandra?" "Sandra!" "She's got lunch ready." "She's not here." "We were talking to her 10 minutes ago." "Dr Russell?" "Commander?" "Oh, God, what has happened?" "What is happening to me?" "You... must... know me." "Please... help me!" "'Professor Bergman, report, please.'" "Bergman to Base, it's only just daylight." "We'll be moving on right away." "There are some markers so we can see what we're doing now." "'What news from Dr Mathias?" "Any information would help.'" "I'll chase him up." "As soon as we have anything, I'll let you know." "Any news of Sandra?" "'No, nothing yet." "But don't worry, we'll find her.'" "Kano, stop!" " What's wrong?" "!" " Avoid the mist!" "I hate back-seat drivers." "We've got lights!" " The markers lead straight in." " I know." "They've all gone into that mist, the Reconnaissance Party, everyone." "It was the last message." "We're moving into some mist." "We'll try and reach them before dark." " They all went in?" " Right." "And none of them came out." "Let's go round on foot." "Professor!" "Be careful!" "Over here!" "Look." "My God, look at the condition he's in." "He's covered with blood." "He's half dead." "John?" "John?" "John!" " What the hell are you doing?" "!" " No, don't!" " Are you out of your mind?" " I'm beginning to wonder." "Professor, look!" "It's a yellow sleeve, it's Sandra's." "Look at it." "Look at it!" "It's got blood all over it!" "What have they done to her?" "Those murdering savages!" "I'm gonna search this cave, every inch of it." "By God, if they've hurt her...!" "Sandra!" "Sandra!" "Kano, I can't explain but I think that was John Koenig." " The Commander?" " We must go after him." "We've got to find him." "You go that way, I'll go this way, meet round the other side." "Get through to Dr Mathias," "I want everything prepared for the Commander." " Have the operating theatre ready." " Yes." "He's lucky to be alive." "Whoever hit him meant business." "Sandra!" "Sandra!" "Sandra?" "Sandra!" "Sandra?" "Sandra?" "Sandra!" "We found you down on Ritha, thought we might have to operate." "Lucky for you, you've got a thick skull." "What about the others?" "Helena...?" "No sign of them at all." "Just markers going into the mist." "The mist..." "Yes." "We found a big cave down there where a tribe of cavemen seemed to live." "Very interesting." "They were going to bury one, and he wasn't dead." "But he was in pretty bad shape." "The light wasn't much good but I got a good look at him and for a moment I really thought it was you." " Family resemblance." " Uh-huh" "We've got to go back down there." "Oh, yeah." "Got to find our people." "You're not going back down there." "You're confined to bed for at least a week." "And in two days we'll be out of range." "Professor Bergman..." " Professor Bergman, Commander..." " Excuse me." "The autopsy report." "What?" "He was a Stone Age man, all right, similar to our Cro-Magnon period, say 40,000 years ago, but he died of shock, his heart stopped, nothing else is wrong." "But he had caps on his teeth." "Caps on his teeth?" "On the basis of this I made further tests." "He's one of ours." "Sandoz." "Sandoz was the Eagle pilot on the first reconnaissance flight." "Skin type, blood group, fingerprints, everything checks out." "I don't understand it." "Wait a minute, I think I'm beginning to understand." "If one Stone Age man turns out to be Sandoz, then maybe the one you thought was me... was me." "Oh, how?" "How could it possibly...?" "Don't ask me how but..." "if it was me... then maybe Helena and the rest of the Alphans are... are also Stone Age people." "It's our own people who've got Sandra..." "My God, Carter." "What?" "Tell me?" "Carter's got a ray gun." "If anything happens to Sandra..." " We've got to go down there!" " We'll go!" "Bob, get my clothes." "Sandra!" "No!" "No!" "This way!" "No!" "No!" "Alan!" "They're going to kill me!" "No!" "Helena!" "Alan!" "NO!" "No, Alan!" "Sandra." "Back to the entrance!" "Keep going." "All right, run for the mist!" "You three are decoys, but don't go in the mist!" "Victor, behind that rock." "I'm here." "Force them into the mist!" " John, what are you doing?" " The answer's in that mist!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "John...?" "Round the other side, quick!" " Helena?" " Victor?" "John!" "Oh!" "We nearly lost you." "Likewise." "How are they?" "Any ill effects?" "Not at all." "They're all as fit as before we left." "And no one remembers anything, I suppose?" "Not first-hand." "Only what Sandra's told us." "Damn!" "An experience like that and no first-hand information." "You go back 40,000 years and no one knows what it felt like!" "Sorry, Victor." "Oh, well, we're out of range of Ritha now so we'll never know." "I wish I could remember." "I'd like to know how much we really have changed." "Our instincts, basic emotions, feelings." "By the sound of it not all that much." "It seems cavewomen felt jealousy for the same reasons I would." "I was quite flattered when I heard about that." "Hmm." "Victor, were there any other cave people besides us?" "No, just you." "Because we couldn't speak, couldn't communicate, we... we misunderstood." "We got frightened, angry, jealous..." " vengeful." " Yes, vengeful." "To the point of killing." "And yet it was only us there." "Do you think we've changed all that much in 40,000 years?" " You think we ever will?" " Maybe." "Just maybe." "I'll let you know in 40,000 years."