"Peter, please." "Take Jean back to the car." "I must get this." "Run!" "Run!" "Minister, Colonel Straker." " How do you do?" " A shattering business, Colonel." "The Prime Minister's already at Chequers." "We'll be there in 30 minutes." "We've been in communication with Paris, Moscow and Bonn during your visits." "I think the British Government's approval will be a formality." "The evidence is conclusive." " If I might..." " Surely." "Colonel." "It may speed things up." "My God." "The clincher is at the back." "It's an enlarged frame from the cine film, sir." "It couldn't possibly be a fake?" "The film was found undeveloped, still in the camera." "It's genuine." "Take my word for it." "Keep pace with the escort." "I'll take the file, sir." " Good morning, sir." " Good morning." " Good morning, sir." " Good morning." " Good morning." " Miss Ealand." " The report." " Thank you." "Messages?" "Information." "Q21, answer negative." "Q46, satellite link effective." "Q97, 00." "The computer read-outs available from today." " Put them straight through to me." " Yes, sir." "Mr Freeman to see you, sir." "All right, Mr Freeman." "The girl in reception calls me Alec." "So?" "Doesn't that inflame you with jealousy?" "Obviously it doesn't." "But, soft!" "What light through yonder window breaks?" "It is the east and Juliet is the sun." "'Voice-print positive identification 9-7." "'Freeman, Alec E.'" " Good morning, sir." " Good morning." "You're new, aren't you?" " Must have passed all the tests." " All of them." "I bet." "Patrick." " Morning, Alec." " Morning, Pete." "Won't keep you a moment, Alec." " Trouble?" " Why else would I send for you?" "Take a look at this." "That's Westbrook Electronics." " Yeah, what's left of it." " What happened?" "For ten years there have been setbacks." "We've had accidents, miscalculations, errors of judgement and other mishaps." "Let's put Westbrook Electronics down to other mishaps." " You mean a UFO?" " Well, there's no proof." "Bang goes the Utronic project, just as we had something to locate them." "The Utronic equipment is safe." "It wasn't in the building." "It's intact, fully tested and ready for shipment." "The breakthrough." "SHADO have had Moonbase and the other satellites operational for the past few months." "There have been sightings, but no interceptions." "We've got the teeth." "Soon we'll have the eyes." "Freeman, you know how important this is to our whole organisation." "The Utronic design team and equipment are ready in LA to be flown here to England." "I'm making you responsible for the security of the entire operation." "I mean you." "Personally." "Right." "It must be a while since you landed an SST." "Let's say it's part of the personal service." "SHADO Control, this is Seagull X-Ray, confirm arrival Stevenson Base, Los Angeles, 08:35." "'Take-off scheduled 1100 hours.'" "Roger, Seagull X-Ray." " Call Moonbase, will you?" " Yes, sir." "Status check." " Target." " Affirmative." " Magnetic field?" " Check." " Saturation density?" " Green." " Resonator?" " Affirmative." " Code." " OK." " Displacements?" " Go." " Filters?" " Check." " Fluctuation?" " Affirmative." "Reflex?" "Excuse me." "Right." " SHADO Control for you, Lieutenant." " Right." " Lieutenant Ellis." " 'Good morning, Gay." "'I have some action for you." "'I want Moonbase put on yellow alert from 10:45 'to track Seagull X-Ray." "'It's carrying SHADO VIPs and the Utronic equipment." "'Let's keep everybody on their toes." " 'Can't afford to take chances.'" " Roger." "Joan, announce a yellow alert for 10:45." " Yes, Lieutenant." " And complete the status check." "I think this will be for real." "I'm going to take a break." "I'll be back about 10:30." "OK." "Moonbase will be on yellow alert from 10:45, earth elapsed time." "'Repeat 10:45, EET." "'All space trackers to be fully operational by 10:45 EET." "'Astronauts to be on stand-by.'" " Joanna?" " Be right with you, Lew." "No hurry." "I want to run a computer check on the interceptor systems in ten minutes." " Hi, Gay." " Hello, Lew." "D'you think this could be it, Lieutenant?" "Looks like it, Lew." "An SST travelling at Mach 4 is a pretty tempting target, particularly as it's carrying the new Utronic equipment." " Hello, Ken." " Hi." " Hi." " Hi, Mark." "Gay, this alert, what do you think?" "Another false alarm?" "Don't think so, Mark." " So this time it could be real." " Could be." "I guess we could all do with a bit of action." "I could do with a cup of coffee." " Sure." " Thanks." " Put Skydiver in the picture." " Yes, sir." "'Message from SHADO Control, sir." "Yellow alert at 10:45.'" "Right." "That last entry." " Did you send it?" " Yes, sir." "A refuelling schedule transmitted" " on security code B?" " Sorry, sir." " How long have you been here?" " 2 years, sir." "2 years." "Long enough to know how important security is to SHADO." "Look, this headquarters, controlling Moonbase, the satellites and a fleet of submarines is 80 feet below a film studio, right?" "Now, 400 people work up there and not one of them knows all this exists." "I have to play games, pretending to be the studio's chief executive." "No one even dreams what my real function is." "That's what security is all about." "I'm sorry, sir." "Sometimes it's pretty difficult." "Difficult!" "So you think it's difficult, huh, Ford?" "Well, I'll tell you when it gets difficult." "Have you ever thought about the victims of UFO incidents?" "Have you ever considered their parents, brothers, sisters?" "What do we tell them?" "They can never know the truth, so they live in agony for years, praying that some day their loved one may turn up, clinging to a thread of hope." "Don't ever tell me that security's difficult." "Sometimes it gets pretty close to home." "'Yellow alert starts in two minutes, sir.'" "Be right with you." "Stevenson Base, this is Seagull X-Ray." "Liftoff check complete." "'Liftoff clearance?" "'" "'Roger, Seagull X-Ray." "You are clear to go.'" " Nina. 10:45." " Right." "Brakes off." "Airspeed building." "130... 140... 160 V1." "VR." "Rotate." "This is Moonbase calling SID." "'This is Space Intruder Detector." "'Pass your message.'" "'Seagull X-Ray carrying VIPs and Utronic equipment is airborne." "'Track progress of aircraft until further notice." "'Keep sharp look-out for UFO.'" "'Please pass your code so your instructions can be complied with.'" "'Stand by to receive code.'" "'Standing by.'" "'Thank you, your code is correct." "'I have Seagull X-Ray on scanners." "'It is on course." "'Speed: 1500 knots.'" "Moonbase computers confirm course correct." " Air speed: 1500 knots." " Right." "Maintain tracking." " Hydroplanes check complete, sir." " OK." "Steer 042." " Steer 042." " 042." "Maintain present speed." "Maintain speed. 40 knots." "Take over, Bill." "I have to do my stuff with the passengers." "Right." "Herr Mahler." "Good morning." " Colonel Alec Freeman." " Ah, Colonel." "I'd like to congratulate you and your team." "This could be the breakthrough we were waiting for." "Not my team, Colonel." "May I introduce our chief designer," "Virginia Lake?" "How do you do, Colonel?" "For the first time, I wish I was flying subsonic aircraft." "The trip would take longer." "Just in case anyone's interested, I'm Phil Wade." "How are you?" "Well, looks like you're the answer to all our prayers." "Would you like to see the Utronic equipment, Colonel?" "I think your equipment is fabulous, but I am familiar with it." " Really?" " Yes." "I know that a Utronic beam travels instantaneously." " Almost instantaneously." " We'll be able to detect UFOs flying many times the speed of light in deep space." "Go on." "So our Moonbase Interceptors will have a chance to destroy them" " before they reach the earth." " Very good." "I could tell you more over dinner." "Hadn't you better get back to your little seat up front?" "I suppose so." "I'll be seeing you." "Colonel?" "You were right." "You are familiar." "With the equipment." " Everything OK?" " Yes, sir." " No sign of any activity." " Good." "'... in 5 seconds." "'4, 3, 2, 1, 0.'" "'Can we have a read-out on pressure fuel gauge?" "'" "'Your reading...'" " I'll be in my office." " Right, sir." " 'EOI?" "' - 'Affirmative.'" "'That indication is positive.'" "'Roger.'" "'We estimate turbo 8490, 'wave band 404.'" "'Red alert." "'Red alert." "UFO 428-146 green.'" "Got it." "428-146 green." " Speed?" " SOL 8." "Trajectory termination?" "Coming up." "This is Moonbase to SHADO Control." "Predicted trajectory termination North Atlantic." "Speed SOL 8." "Going for intercept." "Out." "'Interceptors immediate launch.'" "'Interceptors immediate launch.'" " Interceptors go." " Right." "This is Moonbase to all SHADO stations." "Moonbase to all SHADO stations." "UFO sighted: 428-146 green." "Will report." "Attention all defence systems." "This is a maximum security alert." "Attention all defence systems." "I say again, this is a maximum security alert." "Condition: red." "'Speed 1 and a half million miles per second." "'Range 75 million miles.'" "Right." "OK." "Yes." "'70 million miles.'" "Maintaining SOL 8." "Red: 129-046." " Trajectory?" " Still as predicted." "Lieutenant, I have green on Interceptors 1, 2 and 3." "Moonbase to Interceptors." " 'Set missile control computer.'" " Right." "NTC reading... 101264110." "Missile timing 2496." "Missile programme completed." "'Range: 8 million miles, closing." "'7 million miles.'" "Missile firing: 5,4 seconds." "'Roger.'" "'Detonation confirmed.'" "Negative." "It's through." "Don't just sit there." "Warn Skydiver." " And get me Alec Freeman." " Yes, sir." "Gentlemen, Miss Lake, SHADO Control have informed me that a UFO is approaching the North Atlantic." "We must assume that this aircraft is its target." "We're reducing height to take advantage of cloud cover." "This means we have to reduce speed, but in the dense atmosphere, so will the UFO." "That must increase SHADO's chances of intercepting it." "Yes, it does." "I suggest you fasten your seatbelts." "Look, don't worry." "It'll be OK." "Anyway, we have a dinner date." "I wouldn't let anything interfere with that." "Thank you." "'UFO entering visual speed range.'" "Radar on visual alert!" "UFO on radar, track speed:" "Mach 5." "Thank God for the atmosphere." "It's the best protection we have." "Positive radar fix." "Well, it's up to Skydiver now." " In position, sir." " Right." " Stand by!" " 5, 4, 3, 2, 1," " 0." " Launch stations." "Launch stations." " Clear 1." " 1 clear." " Clear 2." " 2 clear." " Ready for take-off, sir." " Liftoff stations." " Liftoff stations." " Checking boosters." " Circuits." " Cut boosters." " Circuits OK." " Cutting boosters." " Relays OK." " Good luck, Skipper." " Interlocks engaged." " Stabilise gyros." "Trigger circuits OK." "Right." "Stand by for liftoff." "SHADO Control from Sky 1." "Airborne." "Position 020 red." "'Roger, Sky 1.'" "Air speed down to 600 knots." " Right." "Lower heat shield." " Right." "These clouds give about as much cover as a G-string on a belly dancer." " 'Sky One to Seagull X-Ray.'" " Peter, I'm glad to hear you!" " What's your position?" " Right above you at 20,000." "Sky 1 to Seagull X-Ray, have UFO on screen." "Closing rapidly." " Roger. 10 degrees port." " Right." "UFO at 12 o'clock." "You are the target!" "Coming in to attack." "UFO in clouds." "Keep a sharp lookout." "Roger." "Hold her!" "Hold her steady." "Sky 1 to SHADO Control." "Reporting direct hit on UFO." " 'It's gonna crash into the sea.'" " Good shooting." "Come in, Seagull X-Ray." "Alec, are you OK?" "I've aged about five years but we're in one piece." "Hello, Sky 1." "Follow it down, Captain." " 'Use your reconnaissance cameras.'" " Roger." "Will do." "It went straight under." "It seems to be breaking up." "Hold it!" "There's a body!" "Please confirm." "Did you say body?" "Yes." "It's a body." "How's it going, Alec?" " Everything's fine." " Good." "Good." "Moonbase and the other stations will have the Utronic system operational within a week." "That's great." "You look tired, Alec." "Why don't you help yourself to a drink?" "Thanks." "Think I will." " You never touch it, do you?" " Self-control." "Maybe drinking needs more self-control." "When does... it arrive?" "Any time now." "We've waited a long time for this." "Yes, 10 years." "It's been 10 years since we had the first confirmed UFO landing on earth." "That was after a decade of speculation, reports," " official denials." "You name it." " You know, Alec, when I was made commander of SHADO, I thought it was all going to happen." "You've done a good job, the best." "Well, I've tried." "But how far have we progressed?" "I mean, what do we really know about UFOs?" "What are they?" "Where do they come from?" "What do they want?" "Yes." "'Mayland Hospital, SHADO section." "'Your special patient has arrived, sir." "'We will use underground corridor 32 to SHADO medical centre.'" "Right." "Well, maybe some of the answers are coming in now." " Well done, Peter." " Thanks." " You're wanted in debriefing." " Right." "See you later." " What's the position, Doctor?" " Alive but in a critical condition." "What are the chances of survival?" "He was equipped with an advanced apparatus that enabled him to breathe liquid." "The helmet was removed when he was picked up." "An attempt was made to restore normal breathing, but there's still liquid left in his lungs." "So it's too early to say yet." "Excuse me." "Space travel in a liquid environment, just what we're experimenting with." "Apparently they've done it." "I must ask you to leave now." "Right." "Let me know the moment you have anything, Doctor." "Commander Straker." " Is he alive, Doctor?" " Yes." "Well?" "The general analysis shows that he is humanoid." "You mean..." "like us?" "More or less." "Body temperature three degrees paranormal, blood pressure low, muscular development poor." "The skin is an artificial green colour, probably from the liquid." "However, the hair hasn't picked up this tint, suggesting the liquid may contain bioaquaphilic compound." "That the eyes were protected by plastic shells supports this theory." "We'll know more when we get the computer read-out from the first electro-medical check." "It'll be a few minutes." "A man... from a solar system perhaps a hundred million million miles from earth." " It's incredible!" " What is?" "We can't be certain yet, but this test shows organ and gland transplants." "Heart, liver, left lung, thyroid." "D'you realise what this could mean, Alec?" " It's still theory." " Theory." "Fact." "After almost ten years of possible, probable, and confirmed UFO incidents." "Fact." "On a number of fully documented occasions, mutilated bodies found after UFO attacks." "Organs missing." "Fact." "An electro-medical examination on the first alien we get shows organ transplants." " The doctors aren't certain." " No." "Not yet." "But I bet that our proof lies at the end of that corridor." "Dr. Shroeder?" "Intensive care unit." "We have an emergency." "I'm afraid he's dead." " When can I have a postmortem?" " 48 hours." "Make it 24." "Not the details." "Just what really matters." "The rapid ageing isn't documented in the report." "We're not sure, but it's connected with the reaction of earth's atmosphere on the body." "Gentlemen, let's concern ourselves with the three main questions regarding UFOs." "One, where do they come from?" "The fact that the lungs were filled with an oxygenated liquid seems to indicate a subjection to phenomenal acceleration and fantastic speed over a long period." "Long enough for the skin to pick up the green colouration of the liquid." "All this would appear to add up to an extended journey through space, perhaps several months at many times the speed of light." "Question number two, who are they?" "Obviously, in science and technology, several hundred years in advance of man." "But everything in this report seems to add up to a dying race." "Hereditary sterility was evident." "But by using drugs and advanced transplant techniques, they could have found a way to stop the natural ageing process." "They're also highly intelligent, so they come to earth knowing the risk of contact with our atmosphere." "Which brings us inevitably to question number three... why do they come?" "This report indicates five major organ and gland transplants." "In the case of the heart, tissue compatibility tests show that it was human in origin." "It came from earth, gentlemen." "Therefore one of the reasons they must obviously come is to obtain organ replacements." "But there may be other reasons." "Imagine a dying planet in some distant corner of the universe, its natural resources exhausted, its inhabitants sterile, doomed to extinction." "A situation we may one day find ourselves in, gentlemen." "So they discover earth, abundant and fertile, able to satisfy their needs." "They look upon us not with animosity but with callousness, as we look upon our animals whom we depend on for food." "Yes... it would appear they are driven by circumstance across a billion miles of space, driven on by the greatest force in the universe:" "survival." "The check on the test, sir." " There's no possible doubt?" " No, sir." "Electronic tissue analysis is as positive as a voice-print." "Right." "You wanted to tell me something." "Yes." "I wanted to have a word with you before you flew out." " It's about my sister, isn't it?" " Yes." "I'm afraid she's dead, Peter." "There's no longer any doubt." "I think you know how sorry I am." "What happened?" "I don't think you'd like to know the details." "I think I'd like to know." "Your sister was last seen in the vicinity of a UFO incident nearly ten years ago." "The alien recovered from the sea underwent intense medical examination." "The heart was a transplant." "The donor was Leila Carlin." " What will you tell your parents?" " I don't know." "You realise, of course, that they can never know the truth." "'A funeral without a body." "'A symbol of human compassion." "'The long finger of tragic coincidence 'stretching across a billion miles of space." "'Is this the end or the beginning?" "'Where does the universe end?" "'Where does it begin?" "'"