"Subtitles by Renatinha Tankinha." "BEGINNING OF THE END" "This is 254 on the Ludlow's lane." "Boarding in 984-2." "We'll be checking in in 45 minutes." "10-4, car 254." "KLB 646." "Pull over." "I saw something." "I'll report in." "Car 254 to Champagne Havana." "254 go ahead." "Car 254 to Havana." "We're investigating an accident at Junction 45 and Ludlow cutoff." "Foul play suspected." "Send homicide details." "Oh yeah, the driver may have been William Summerfield." "177 Dakata street, Ludlow Illinois." "One of you stay on the scene, the other investigate the Ludlow address." "10-4, car 254." "KLB 646." "You heard the man." "Yeah." "Looks like a girls' sweater." "Bloody." " Car 88." "Come in, car 88." " Car 88 to Havana." "Mackenzie here." "Go ahead." " Car 254's failed to report." "Is that car in your area?" "No, not here." "10-4, car 88." "This is KLP 646 Havana calling car 254." "Come in, car 254." "Havana to car 254." "Come in car 254." "Havana to car 254." "Come in car 254." " Hello, I'm at Ludlow, the whole town's destroyed." "Everybody's gone!" "You gotta do something!" "You won't believe this!" "Send help, lot's of help, quick!" "Alright, lady." "Just follow the arrows." "Any chance of getting through?" " Nope." " What happened?" " Look, lady, just stick to it, will you please?" " Tell them to take that detail out of there." "The old man is sending a replacement." "Alright." " I'm sorry, soldier, I should have explained." "I'm Audrey Aimes, National Wire Service." " Yes, ma'am." " How do I get there?" " Sorry, my orders are to let no one through." " That surely doesn't include the press." "I'm sorry, ma'am." "No one is what the old man said." "Was it very bad?" "Many get hurt?" " Look, lady, you're not gonna fish any information out of me." "Now, why don't you go back on the main road?" "it's about a mile south." " I'll take the camera, ma'am." " Oh!" "No pictures allowed." "Look, you have no right to do that." "Sorry, ma'am." " I'd like to see your commanding officer, please." "Where could I find him?" " You'll find him in Paxton." "He headquarters there." "I'll leave your camera at the roadblock." "Until further notice, all traffic will continue to be rooted around the Ludlow area according to special orders." " Good morning." " I'd like to see your commanding officer, please." "Oh, I'm sorry, but the Colonel's busy." "Perhaps Capt. Barton can help you." " Send her in." " OK..." " This will cover the whole situation you asked for, sir." "Thanks, Lieutenant." "Sit down, please." "Are you the Audrey Aimes that covered" "Korea for that picture magazine?" "That's right." " I read the book you wrote after the war." "Liked it very much." " Well, thank you." "You're with National Wire Service now?" " I was on my way to Chennault field to do a picture story on a new jet plane they're unavailing, and..." "I ran into a roadblock." " So?" " Well, captain, there was a town beyond that roadblock." "A town that isn't there anymore." " Until we find out exactly what happened, we'd like to avoid publicity." " Do you have any idea of what happened?" "I'm sorry, miss." " Captain, you can't suppress a story like this." " We're not trying to, Ms. Aimes, but until we have more facts... if... would you give us your word not to release the story until we give the go ahead?" "You have my word." " Some time during the night, the town of Ludlow was completely demolished." "The town's population, about 150 people, vanished." " Vanished?" " No bodies, nothing." "Well, there must be some trace." " I know it's hard to believe, Ms. Aimes, but a special detail's gone through the wreckage for two solid hours and couldn't find a thing." " Was it an explosion?" " We don't know." " A hundred and fifty people just don't vanish into thin air." " We're still trying to find out what happened." "If you'd like to sit in." " Yes, thank you, I would." " Dave, what time did you leave Ludlow last night?" "Roughly at night after eleven o'clock." " My son-in-law was watching television news at 10:30, so I sat down and watched that." "And my daughter wanted me to sit there and talk about it." "And then I got to thinking that I had to get up early." "So I took off." " Did you notice anything strange or unusual about the house or about the way the family acted?" "No." "Same as always." " When you were driving out of town, nothing out of the way in the street, the building or the sky?" "No unusual light, some sound or movement?" " Well, I heard something that sounded like thunder." "And about midnight a plane went over it." "Alright, Dave." "I can call you again if I need you?" " Oh, yeah, sure." "Edna?" "Is that the telephone company's official transcript?" " I put through the last call to Ludlow at 11:59 PM." " And when did you first notice anything wrong with the Ludlow connection?" "4:45 this morning." "I phoned the company lines' men to go out there right away." " So, the telephone lines could have gone down anywhere between 11:59 and 4:45." "Alright, Edna, thanks." "You've been very helpful." "Oh, Colonel Sturgeon," "Ms. Aimes, National Wire Service." " How do you do?" " Audrey Aimes," "I've read a lot of your stuff, seen a lot of your photographs." "Yes?" " Set to go, sir, whenever you're ready." "I'll be right there." "I hope you understand our problem, our need to keep this quiet." "Yes, the Captain's briefed me." " If anyone wants me, I can be reached in Ludlow by radio." " Yes, sir." " How's chances of me going along?" "Not this trip." "Maybe later." "In any case, not until we know what's out there." " Oh, by the way, Colonel, my camera was taken from me at the road block by one of your men." "I'll give orders to have it released." " Oh, there has to be a logical explanation for this." "A town of 150 people just doesn't disappear." "This one did." "Chicago mobile service operator." "I'd like to place a person-to-person call, please, to Mr. Norman Taggart," "Editor-in-chief of National Wire Service." "The number is Murray Hill 44836." " In what city, please?" " New York." " Aud, you wind up that jet plane story already?" " I'm not on the jet story." "Norm, listen, I'm on to something I think can be real big." "Uh-huh." "Where?" "Oh." "Brother..." "Huh?" "What do you mean we can't print it?" " I've given my word to hold off for a while." "Now, listen, Norm." "A plane flew over Ludlow last night about midnight." "Just about the time the lid blew out." "Check on it." "And... check Washington." "See if they had an atomic installation in the Ludlow area." "Okay." " Call me back as soon as you have anything, alright?" "Goodbye." " Sorry, miss, you can't... oh, it's you again." "I know I can't." "But I'd like to have my camera back, please." "Col. Sturgeon said he was going to speak to somebody." "Hey Corporal!" "Mathias!" "She wants her camera back." "Hello, Norm?" "What's the score?" "Wrong track, baby." "The airlines confirmed a commercial liner over Ludlow at 12:03 last night." "And there are no atomic installations, secret or otherwise, within 75 miles of Ludlow." "Well, it was a possibility." " The only people who've been playing around with the radioactive materials in your vicinity is the U.S. Department of Agriculture." "Department of Agriculture?" " Yeah, they've got an experimental project just outside Paxton." " U.S. Department of Agriculture," "Illinois Experimental Station." "OK, I've got that." "I'll..." "I'll keep in touch." "U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE" "ILLINOIS EXPERIMENTAL STATION" "Excuse me." "I beg your pardon." "I beg your pardon!" "Oh!" " Hello." " Oh, hello." "I..." "I spoke to him, but I guess he didn't hear me." "Oh, he's a deaf mute." "Working with radiation can be dangerous." "An accident last year caused him his speech and his hearing." "Oh, I'm sorry." "I'm looking for the project director." " I am the project director." "My name is Ed Wainwright." "What can I do for you?" "Oh, excuse me a minute." "I'm sorry, Frank." "Nothing to worry about." "Just a slight catastrophe." " Do you have these catastrophes very often?" "All the time." "It's hard to keep these little things from getting in." "These are snails." "Last summer it was caterpillars." "And after that it was grasshoppers by the droves, and, just last week it was beetles." "Now, what can I do for ya?" " Oh, Mr. Wainwright, I'm Audrey Aimes," "I'm with the National Wire Service." "I suppose you heard what happened at Ludlow." "Yes." " I'm trying to find out what was responsible, and it occurred to me that radiation of some sort might have caused the destruction out there." "No, I don't think so." "Here." "We're the only people around here using radioactive materials." "An isotope is nonexplosive." "So, I'm afraid your answer isn't here." "Oh, I see." "Now, tell me, is this thing really a strawberry?" "Yes." "And these are tomatoes." "This, we hope, is the future of the American farmer." "And, for that matter, all farmers everywhere." " Can you eat them?" " No, not yet." "But we hope to develop one day a hybrid that can be eaten." " How is it there hasn't been any publicity on this?" " Oh, there have been a few stories in farm journals, but to the laws, to the public, these giants are just freaks of nature." "No practical value." "Well, how do they get so big?" " Well, radiation causes photosynthesis, that is the... the growing process to continue night and day," "Radio isotopes act as a..." "sort of artificial sun, a sun that never sets." " That's fascinating." "But, tell me, what's he doing?" " Well, that's plant food." "Essential minerals." "Keeps the plants from burning themselves out." "They have to be fed constantly." "Actually, the fruit would grow much larger if we didn't limit the stimulation." "Maybe you'd like to do a story on us." "I'd be glad to tell you more about the work." " Thank you very much." "I'd be very interested, but, well, right now I'm working on this Ludlow story." "Thanks again." " Right." "Goodbye." " Goodbye." "Colonel!" " You here?" " Well, he wouldn't let me inside, so..." "Colonel!" "Springfield is on the line." "Colonel, you just got back from Ludlow." "You said after you got back, I could go." " I said maybe." "Well, how about it?" "Tomorrow it will be open to the press." " Oh, Colonel, be fair." "I've played ball with you." "You'll give me the jump on the other reporters that will be in here." "At the least let me take some pictures at Ludlow." "I promise I won't put on the wire until tomorrow." "Well, I guess you rate that." "For effort, anyway." "Capitain, take Miss Aimes to Ludlow." "And I hope you have a strong stomach." " We're gonna take some pictures in Ludlow." "If... uh... we're not back in fifteen minutes, better come in after us." "Yes, sir." "Let 'em through." "I've got enough." "Some people use calendars to tell age." "I could use ruins to count mine." "I was twenty-five when I went through soul left after Brussels." "I was 20 when I took my camera into" "Cologne and Berlin after World War II." "Must be used to it by now." " Captain, there are some things you never get used to." " How about a drink to wipe away some memories?" "Good way to get rid of the jitters." "I know a little place..." " How do 150 people vanish into thin air?" " Well, around this part of the country things seem to have a way of vanishing." "Only a couple of months ago it was a warehouse." "Kind of fell apart overnight, just like Ludlow." "Hello, Frank." " Hi!" "Did you decide to come back and do a story on us?" " Oh, no." "As a matter of fact, I came back for some help." "I'd like you to do me a favor." "Anything I can." " Remember the warehouse that was destroyed about three months ago?" " Uh-huh." " I want you to take me to see it." "Oh, I, uh..." "I'd like to, but I've got too much work on my hands right now." "How about tomorrow?" " Three months ago a warehouse was destroyed." "And the one person it vanished." "This morning, Ludlow was destroyed." "All the people in it vanished." "Don't you see a possible tie-up?" " It's possible, I suppose." "What do you want me to do?" " Just ride out there with me and take a look at it." " I don't understand how good it will do." "The authorities investigated it thoroughly." " The sheriff thinks in terms of crime and publicity." "You're a scientist." "You think in terms of cause and effect." "Maybe you will see something that the sheriff missed." "That shouldn't be too difficult." "Still, I..." "I don't know." "What's he saying?" " He says that... that your lips are easy to read, that your theory makes you a very bright girl in his book and that he'd like to go along with us." "Good." " When you barge into peoples' lives and drag them off to places they don't really want to go, aren't you... sort of in danger of becoming unpopular?" "That's an occupational hazard." "How do you pick such an occupation?" "I think it sort of picked me." "I guess I was just born inquisitive." "Ever since I can remember I've wanted to know the why and where for just about everything I saw." "I inherited my knack with the camera from dad." "My curiosity supplied the nose for news and the camera supplied the memory." "So there you have it." "What about you?" "Have you always been interested in science?" " Oh, I guess I have always been, one way or another." "I used to fool around with radios and anything electrical when I was a kid." "I was a radar officer during the war and then I got into this when I got out." "Ah, yes, I remember now, that every time I read one of your articles it was dateline from some are of flood or famine or war..." "Made me realize what a sheltered life we scientists really lead." "Sheltered?" "Look what happened to Frank." " Looks to me as some force had to push these walls out from the inside." "You think it was an explosion?" "No. it couldn't have been." "Any explosion big enough to destroy this warehouse would certainly be heard at Ludlow." "What was it they kept stored here?" "Wheat." "Almost a million bushels." "That's a lot of wheat." " It was a surplus to keep the market from being oversupplied." " Does it strike you as a little strange that out of all that wheat there's not a grain left anywhere?" " No, that's nature's way, Audrey." "Birds probably cleaned up the leavings." "I see what you mean, Frank." " What is it, Ed?" "You see how barren this ground is?" " I don't know." "I've seen horses leave it like this." " No, this is deeper than the horses go and much more thorough." "Pratically down to the roots." "The horses pick and choose, they leave patches." " Hmm..." " But this is completely barren." "Well, leave it to Old Frank." "He'll make a botanist out of me yet." " You're head of a government lab and you need lessons in botany?" " Well, I try to teach him what I can about my field of study and he tries to teach me what he can about his." " Aren't you a botanist?" " No, no, I'm an entomologist." "The study of insects." " Well, then how come you're working with plants?" " Well, the... the existence and development of plants and insects are very closely related." "They're highly dependent on one another." "As a plain matter of fact one couldn't live without the other." "And that's what I can't understand." "Ground like this is usually teeming with insects." "This area is completely devoid of it." " I think I'd like to get some shots of this." "I'm going back to the car for my camera." "Alright." "Here, let me help you." "What was that?" "I don't know." "Oh, my god!" "No, Frank's gone." "You can't save him." "Get in the car!" " The Geiger counter showed no radioactivity to speak of, sir." "Only background." "There's got to be an explanation somewhere." " I got your explanation for you, Tom." " Ed!" "Now, listen." "You've known me ever since I came to Paxton." "You know I'm not given to hysteria, and you've got to listen to me with an open mind." " Take it easy, Ed." " Locusts." " What are you talking about?" " I'm talking about giant locusts." "Giant locusts are responsible for all of this." "Are you nuts?" "No evidence of any explosion, Colonel." "Gullies look more like they're reeled with a battering ram." "We found these guns at the scene." "The kind people keep in their homes." "They've been fired." "Okay." "Lieutenant!" " Now, listen, Tom." "These are eight feet tall, some are even bigger." "They're vicious, merciless killers." " Now, Ed..." "Lieutenant!" "Lieutenant, phone Springfield again." "Tell him I'm still waiting for those specialists." " Yes, sir." " Frank Johnson is dead." "He was killed not half an hour ago." " It was horrible." " Obviously you are both under a strain..." " Won't you listen?" "You've got to get more soldiers out there before more people are killed." "Miss Aimes!" "The governor asked me to exercise discretion when dealing with you." "Please don't make it any harder for me than it is." "You have to believe us!" "Listen, you've seen the giant plants out at the lab." " Are you trying to tell me you breed these things?" "In a sense I did, yes." "Some locust must have gotten into the lab and they ate some of the plants or some of the radioactive plant food." "Well, their cell division accelerated immediately." "That is, they started to grow abnormally fast." "Well, they had to have a constant food supply to sustain this growth." "So, a couple of months ago, they wandered into the grain elevator outside of town." "When they grew to this giant size, they pushed their way out." " Or we'll just push the building down." " Yes!" "Each one of them has the strength of ten men." "There are probably two or three hundred of them." " So, last night not satisfied of eating grain, they came to Ludlow?" "Yes." "Even if I went for your story about the size, it would be hard to believe that it attacked people." "Sargent!" "That report come in from the chemists?" " No, not yet, sir." " Why won't you listen?" " I am listening." " We saw Frank Johnson Killed by a giant locust." " Sure, and there have been reliable people who've also seen flying saucers and weird little men from Mars." " I'll take another look at that town out there." "Or have you found the answer?" " Lieutenant?" " Yes sir?" " I'm taking the detail out for a look around." "You're to keep radio contact." "I want ten men." "Get 'em on the truck." " Yes, sir." "Alright, Ed, you can show me the exact spot where you saw... well, whatever it was you saw." " No..." " Well, after all, let's see this grasshopper." " Alright." " Alright, grasshopper, he is allright." " Man, we're gonna dig up some crazy grasshoppers." " Why didn't they give us nets instead of rifles?" " Alright, I can't do much without them." "Alright, men, clear out!" "Here's the spot, Tom." "Where's the body?" "There isn't any body." "Just like Ludlow." "Alright, men, into the woods." "Hey, Frank!" "Maybe we could train one of these giant locusts to pull a plow, huh?" "Struck?" " Yeah?" " I don't like this thing." " Ah, take it easy." " You know, grasshoppers are good eating," "Yeah, Mustard and ketchup." "No, no kidding." "I had once on Mexico." " Well, you better watch your step." "The lava will get even." "They must have seen something." "Mr Wainwright assing it." "Stay up to see things right." " Well, these days they blame atom for everything." "Bad health, bad crops, bad weather..." "Now it's grasshoppers." " They couldn't have just dreamed up this guy Frank being knocked off." "Ah!" "Oh!" "Oh, my God!" "Get back in the truck!" "And every available man." "Also get some air support." "We'll pummel out of that forest!" " What are you gonna do?" " Go in there and wive out every last one." " They'll slaughter you." " Not this time." "I want light artillery brought up with company eight." "You don't have enough men." " There will be three regiments out there tomorrow by 0300." " You don't understand; you still don't have enough men." " Not enough men for a couple hundred locusts?" " There are more than a couple hundred." " But you said before..." " That was before I heard them screech." "The noise they made convinces me there are more." "How many are there?" " I don't know." "There could be countless numbers." "I think you better call in a regular army, Tom." " What would I get off for a regular army to handle some oversized grasshoppers?" "Why, they'd sectionate me right out of the service." " Lieutenant, take charge of the east sector." " Yes sir." " You're making a mistake, Tom." "I'm afraid he doesn't understand how serious this is." " After all, he knows what the military is capable of." " Well, that's just it." "He has faith in regimental fire power because he's seen it work." "But he's never come up against an enemy like this before." "Now, you've done all you can." "No, no I haven't." "In a way I feel responsible, Audrey." "The country is in deadly danger if these locusts break out in the forest." "What are you gonna do?" " I'm going to Washington." "Maybe the army people will listen to me." " I'll go with you." "Maybe I can help." "I saw them, too." "Alright." "I've got to convince them, Audrey." "We may be witnessing the beginning of an era that will mean the complete annihilation of man." "Annihilation?" "Annihilation." "The beginning of the end." "This, gentlemen, is the enemy." "This locust, more commonly known as the grasshopper, is almost identical to the giant locust of Ludlow except for its size and the fact that the giant's wings failed to develop." "They cannot fly." "The Locust is intelligent." "It's strong." "Locusts follow a leader." "Like the bee and the ant they are able to communicate with each other." "This communication or call is produced by the hind legs." "This is the 1956 Australian locust plague." "Covered an area of 400 square miles." "We've been plagued by locusts since biblical times." "We've tried various forms of combating them." "As a matter of fact, in our own country, the early settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony armed themselves with bundles of brush and drove millions of locusts into the sea." "Now, today, despite the fact that we've developed powerful insecticides, the locust still inflicts damages to the tune of $25,000,000 in the United States alone." "California..." "Colorado, Texas." "Even this small locust will attack a man." "It has two powerful jaws with a very sharp teeth," "It will kill other insects and devour them." "If no other insects are available, it becomes a cannibal." "Turning on its own kind." "Now, you've seen what a locust can do in its normal size, smaller than your thumb." "Imagine if you will, a locust that's grown bigger than a man, and is continuing to grow." "x de 1956 than others, but each one a deadly killer." "I hope you realize we haven't much time." " You are a scientist, Mr. Wainwright." "You know what locusts can do." "I'm a soldier." "I know what guns can do." "I feel secure the Illinois National Guard can handle this situation." "Did you want to say something, General Hanson?" "No, sir." " I was greatly impressed with your presentation, Wainwright." "I'm sure all of us were." "Thank you very much for coming." " I'm afraid my presentation didn't impress you quite enough, General." "I don't understand you." " I mean that when the locusts start to move out of that forest, I'm not sure that you'll be able to stop them." " What are you suggesting we do, Mr. Wainwright?" " Get them with everything you've got." "Now!" "You need more men, a lot more men." "You need tanks and heavy artillery..." " As of now, the full strength of the Illinois National Guard is in alarm, surrounding the Ludlow Illinois Forests." "As I said before, Mr. Wainwright, you are a scientist." "Why not leave the fighting to the military?" "Urgent call from Paxton, Illinois, sir." "General Short here." "Yes." "Yes, I see." "Thank you." "Matt will fly to Paxton with Mr. Wainwright." "He'll take charge of operations." "Mr. Wainwright?" "I owe you an apology." "The locusts have broken through our defense lines." "Thousands of pastures." "Our troops are reorganizing to prevent Paxton itself from being overrun." " The hill position in the suburbs of Paxton must be held." "Otherwise, the 100 miles between Paxton and Chicago will lie open." "General?" "We can't land in Paxton, sir." "Why not?" "It just came over the radio, sir." "Giant locusts have overrun Paxton at 1400." " Head for Chicago." " Yes, sir." " Captain, I want these positions held and I want them all held at all costs if humanly possible." " Captain, have your map people immediately turn out two overlays." "Showing the Chicago defense lines as tendered reset." "Yes?" "General Hanson, Army H.Q. Chicago Ill." "GIANT LOCUST MOVING NORTH." "ILLINOIS TOWNS OF PEORIA," "PONTIAC, AND JULIET DESTROYED." "DEFEND CHICAGO AT ALL COSTS." "GEN." "JOHN T. SHORT, CHIEF OF STAFF, U.S. ARMED FORCES, WASHINGTON D.." "C. Major Everett" " What about squadron 12?" " They haven't reported yet, General." " Well, then let me know once you hear." " Yes, sir." "I'll be with you in a moment." "Hale." "You'll proceed at once to temporary GHQ of central sector and assume command." "Norm." "You will order the 81st army division to proceed without delay to Chicago." "Have the CG report to me upon arrival." "Request the Defense Department to alert the following divisions, Dave." "First armory, Deportia." "The first airborne." "The 92nd, and the 76th." "Now, what's your problem?" " Food." "At the rate refugees are pouring into Chicago, General, our emergency stocks won't last long." " Thyroxine is one we haven't tried." " How good is it?" " Almost as powerful as Chlorine." " Alright." "Ship 2,000 gallons out to the base." "Excuse me." "Hello?" "He's speaking." "Squadron 12 just reported." "They say they came down in a day." "And pratically drowned the enemy in insecticide." "The Chlordane didn't even slow them down." "You'll have to come up with something stronger." "I'll do my best, General." "Goodbye." "The stuff's no good." "Forget it." "Looks pretty bad, doesn't it?" "I thought you went back to New York." "Well, the big story's here." " Look, your editor called you back because it was too dangerous." "I wanted to be here." "Nothing we've done so far, insecticides, fire bombs, nothing has done any good, in so little time." "Well, you're doing everything you can." " Well, everybody is, but it's not good enough." "The time will come when the beasts will inherit the earth." " No, there's no sign of the locust yet, General." "Out." " and with a lark of five divisions to the west and south of Chicago." "General Hansen is confident that he can keep the menace at bay." "Units of the air force and marines are moving into position to back up those forces already deployed by the army." "But the one advantage our forces hold over the enemy is that they always reveal their intention to attack." "Before every attack, the locust sent forth this warning in the form of a high pitched screech." "Now, this screech increases in intensity until it reaches ear-shattering proportions." "And it's when this screech reaches its full intensity that the locusts attack." " You got every available men in line, major, and" "I think there's no question at what it will do." "Hold your fire, men!" "Fire!" " They keep coming, General!" "They seem to be gathering in a formation." "They're hammering in a single point in our line." "They keep coming, general." "Inch by inch they're moving closer." "Still they come, wave after wave." "They're going through a breech in their line." "Turn around." "Repeat, turn around." " We interrupt this program for an important announcement." "The giant locust have reached the Chicago south side and nearby suburbs." "I repeat, the giant locust have reached the Chicago south side and nearby suburbs." "Keep calm." "Take shelter in the basement." "Take shelter in the basement." "Do not panic!" "Attention, please." "Attention, please." "Keep moving." "Do not block the highway." "Push stowed cars off the road at once." "Keep all traffic moving." "Do not panic." "Do not panic." " General." " Ed, Miss Aimes, grab a chair and sit down." "I sent for you because of a new development that may be favorable to us." "The locusts have stopped their advance." "They're huddled in the alleys and buildings just outside the loop." "The locust got cold." "When the temperature drops below 68 degrees, they just stop moving." " Well, maybe now is the time we can move in and destroy them." "Well, they aren't in hibernation, sir." "They'll move if they're provoked and they're as deadly as ever." "When the sun comes out tomorrow, they'll be active again." "The air force is standing by with a B-52 loaded with an atom bomb." " You can't drop an atom bomb on Chicago!" " Washington has given me authority to do just that." "As a last contingency." "If the bomb is dropped early tomorrow, there'll be no loss of life." "The city will be evacuated by then." "But what about the property?" "We'll get billion dollars of damage in a site that's too contaminated to build on." "I realize that." "But if we don't drop the bomb, Chicago will most certainly fall." "The bomber crew is alerted." "We'll drop at dawn." "If we don't come up with something by then," "I'll make a final check with Washington and relay their okay." "Isn't there a chance the..." "locust could die in the night?" "Of the cold?" " No." "Not at this time of year." "It takes 24 hours of exposure at 14 degrees." "Isn't there some way you could... drive them into the lake?" "In Washington you said the settlers did that." "Settlers?" "Hmm?" "Oh." "Oh, the early settlers in Massachusetts, they did literally drive them into the sea." "But they weren't dealing with giants." "Wait a minute." "We can't drive them." "Not drive." "We could attract them." "Attract." "If we could reproduce their call, General, it just might work." "It just might work." "A call for insects?" "Have you ever been duck hunting, General?" " The duck call?" " Yes." "There's one for bees, too." "They use it in apiaries." "It might work." "What do you need?" "Well, let me see." "I need a..." "I need a oscil oscillator," "I need an audio tube, two audio amplifiers, the most powerful you can get." "I need an oscilloscope," "I need some high frequency radio equipment." "And a boat." "A fast boat." "Whatever you need, we'll get." " Well, there's one thing I have to get myself." "Something that will tell me when I've succeeded." "What's that?" "A live, giant grasshopper." " Now, they gotta be around here somewhere." "Alright, men, off the truck." " Major, I'd suggest you send some of them that way and some down there and you and I try the alley." "O.K. You four men go that way, you men that way." "Let's go." " Come on, men." "We found one in here!" "Come on!" "It's lucky we got one of the smaller grasshoppers." "Not too close, major." "We put that cage up in a hurry, We don't know how strong it is." "A month ago I was teaching my engineering class at the university." "It was safe and secure." "Look at me now." "You know, I'm 37 years old." "And all of a sudden I realized for the first time how much I've taken life for granted." "I guess that's something you can't take for granted, Major." " Ed, how will you know when you've got the right sound?" " He will tell us." " How?" " He'll react to it." "And this polygraph will record his reactions." "How long will it take?" "It's a matter of trial and error." "It could take ten minutes or ten hours." "We don't have ten hours." "We're dropping that bob at dawn." "How does this work?" " Attach these wires to the polygraph to the two copper strips at the base of the cage." "Now, the locust, like the other living thing has galvanic reflexes or electrical charges in direct ratio to its activity or emotional stimulation." "I don't understand." " Well, in other words, when we hit the correct sound or signal, the grasshopper will react to it and the polygraph will record the change." "Now, you notice how steady and regular the movement of the needle is now?" "When we reproduce the grasshopper's call, the lines will become longer and highly irregular." " It's like a lie detector test, isn't it?" " Uh-huh." "That is the first time a grasshopper ever got one." "Now, if you'll keep your eye on the needle for any unusual jumps or dips, we'll get to work." " Wainwright, you've had your chance." "Now it's the air force's turn." "Operator." "Operator, this is a top priority call." "Get the general Wagner at the base." "Look, general, the locusts outside will stay put until the temperature reaches 68 degrees." "That's about an hour and a half from now." "Wagner." "Chicago has been evacuated." "Unless you receive instructions on the contrary by 0616, that is..." " That's 90 minutes from now." "You allow the B-52 crew to look at the bottom of the designated target." "Repeat the instructions back to me." "Correct." "There's no time to fool with that now." "Major, get detail of men to move that stuff." "And bring some extra grenades." "There's some in my staff car." "There's a new lab set up for you at my new HQ outside the city." "I can't move now." " Well, you can't stay here." "Not with an atom bomb hanging over your head." "I don't have any choice!" "Look, up till now, we have been using a filtered signal and it hasn't worked." "But it's just possible that the hearing apparatus of the locust can detect harmonic frequencies above the human range." "Well, to test these frequencies, I need every minute that's left." "If you'll just give me one man to replace Miss Aimes." "I'm staying." " Well, look, this is no time to be worrying about a big story." "I'm not worried about a story." " Will you please leave before it's too late?" "No." " Major, you and a detail of two men will remain here with Mr. Wainwright." "I will station men at three observation posts." "One in the suburbs, one near the art institute, and one on top of the downtown hotel." "Also, a helicopter will spot from above." "There will be a getaway car parked downstairs at the main entrance." "I suggest you use it by... by 5:45 at the very latest." "If you are successful, contact me at once, so I can stop the bomb." "Ed." "Ed, look at this." "I think you've got it!" "That's good, Audrey." "We've got it!" "The cage is yielding." "Cover him up." "And get that thing out of here." "Emergency lab at Chicago to GHQ." "Emergency lab at Chicago GHQ." "Come in General, are you there?" "Now, listen to me, Wainwright." "We found it, General." "We've found the frequency." " Good." "Now stand by." "I've got to stop that A-bomb." "I'll get right back to you." "Chicago GHQ to double B." "Chicago GHQ to double B." "Chicago GHQ to double B." "Over." " This is double B. Come in, Chicago GHQ." "Over." " Hanson here." "Your mission is canceled." "Return to your base." "Repeat the the message." "Over." "Mission canceled." "Return to base." "Over." "Chicago GHQ to Emergency Lab." "Right here." "The show is yours, Wainwright." " Alright." "Get that equipment on the lake in a boat." "And I'll be your Pied Piper." "I still don't understand." "Why didn't you put the oscillator in the boat in the first place to send out the call?" "Why attract them here?" " Because we'd never get them all." "Here, look." "Here we are in Downtown Chicago near the lake." "Now, the locusts have scattered all through the suburbs on the south side." "And we'll send out the call from here." " Yes, but that's going to attract them to us, not into the water." "Well, first of all, it's imperative that every last one of the locusts hear the call." "Now, in order to do that, we've got to get our amplifier speaker at the highest possible point to get the maximum range." "Now, we've got ours on the roof of this building, which is one of the tallest in Chicago." "Now, once we get them here..." "Well, I say then boat will take over." "Exactly." "Once we have them at the heart of the loop near our location, they'll be within range of the amplifier on the boat." "I will then radio our oscillator signal out to the boat, and they in turn will rebroadcast it over their amplifier directing the locusts to them and... into the lake." "We hope." "We hope." "Now, will you check and see about the temperature?" "How can we be sure, sir?" "Hmm?" "What to you mean?" "How can you know that we'll get them all?" "Well, that's where our observation posts and the helicopter come in." "From air reports, we'll know the exact location of the locusts at all times." "And if it's working." "It's 70 degrees out." "they're probably starting to move." "Emergency Lab to all Observation Posts." "Emergency Lab to all Observation Posts." "Report in." "Over." "Observation Post number Two to Emergency Lab." "Over." "What is your location?" "Over." "I'm situated in a store across from the Art Institute on Michigan Boulevard." "The street is empty." "Nothing in sight." "Out." "Observation Post number three to Emergency Lab." "I'm on the roof of the Drayton Hotel." "Don't see any grasshoppers in this area, but the south side is getting some action." "Out." "Emergency Lab to Observation Post One." "Emergency Lab to Observation Post One." "You did not report in." "What's your location, Post One?" "Over." "This is Observation Post number One." "I'm right in the middle of them." "I'm just south of 73rd and South shore drive." "Hot." "Emergency Lab to Helicopter." "Over." "Helicopter to Emergency Lab." "The locusts are active in the south side of Chicago." "There's yet another in the downtown area." "Out." "Can you read me, Emergency Lab?" "Over." "Yes, we can read you fine, General." "Are you all set?" "Over." "Oh, we're not quite ready, yet." "I think you'd better hold off a few more minutes." "Over." "I think we'd better start now, General." "If they should change their direction and start moving away from Chicago, we may not get them all." "Over." "I don't like you starting until we're completely ready." "This boat has to draw them away from you at a split second's notice." "Over." "I'd like to start, sir." "Then go ahead." "Sargent?" "Yes, sir?" "Is that the wire that leads to the speaker on the roof?" "Yes, sir." "Well, plug it into the amplifier, will you?" "Yes, sir!" "Post Number One to Emergency Lab." "The locusts are leaving this section." "They're heading towards Chicago's Downtown." "Helicopter to Emergency Lab." "The locust are moving on the downtown area." "Observation Post Number Three to Emergency Lab." "The locust are everywhere!" "They're moving toward your location." "I repeat:" "The locusts are moving toward the Emergency Lab." "They're everywhere!" "Emergency Lab to Boat, Emergency Lab to Boat." "It's working, General, it's working." "I heard the reports." " Ah, Help!" "Help!" "Here they come!" "They're coming down the street." "Oh, they're climbing the building!" "Wainwright to boat, Wainwright to boat, come in, please, come in." "Come in, Wainwright." "How soon are you ready?" "We're ready as soon as we get clearance from observation posts." "Now, check them immediately." "Out." "Boat to helicopter." "They're still going in, sir, but it will be a while before they all reach the downtown sector." "Wainwright." "You'll have to hold out a bit longer." "All the locust haven't reached the downtown sector yet." "Alright, we'll try." "We can't hold out much longer!" "Boat to Observation Posts." "Report." "Go on." "Post number One." "All clear, sir." "Post number two." "All clear, sir." "Helicopter reporting." "All clear, sir." "Whenever you're ready, general!" "Then let's have it." "Okay, go ahead, Audrey." "Throw the switch." "Fire!" "Helicopter to boat." "General, they're responding." "They're responding!" "They're swarming toward the water." "They're climbing all over each other!" "Going into the water!" "Head for shore." "THE END"