"August 9, 2:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time." "The H.M.S. ChurchiII, outward bound." "On board: a joint British-American space team." "Their mission: to intercept and study the comet bearing Dr. HaIIey's name." "The ChurchiII is the first spacecraft equipped with the Nerva engine." "It propels the churchill with constant acceleration... enough to create Earth-type gravity for the first time on an extended flight." "The ChurchiII is on course for its rendezvous." " Sir, this is odd." " What?" "I'm getting a small radar cross section... just ahead of the nucleus in the coma of the comet." "I've got it too." "Check the length." "It's at the limit of my scan angle." " What's going on?" " You run an equipment check?" "Every five minutes." " Radar states 150 miles." " 150 miles what?" " Length." " 150 miles long?" "What's 150 miles long?" "It's a radar trace." " Something in the coma of the comet." " Show me." " E.G.R. is confirmed." " Looks good." "E.G.R. is optimal." "Track three on three." "Roger." "What's its height?" "I've got a vertical reading of two miles at Ieast." "Ambient temperature: six degrees." "Less than two percent traces of manganese, titanium" "Try and raise base." "tell them we have an artificial object out here hidden" " Are you sure you want to say "hidden"?" " It's located in the head of the comet." "Keep sending that until they acknowledge." "Use a secured downlink." "Sorry, Commander, everything's been swamped by the coma winds." "We can't get anything back to base." "How long is the blackout period?" "AII the way." "What are you gonna do?" "Go on in." "We're only gonna get one chance, Derebridge." "That thing won't be back for another 76 years... and we'II both be dead." "We have to take a look now." " Shut down Nerva." " Shutting down." "Down." " solar panels retracted." " Check." "Give me a readout, Bob." "Executing E.V.A. maneuver." "Where do you suppose this thing came from?" " Was it exploring the comet?" " Come on, guys, Iet's do it." "The surface looks badly pitted." "In that case, it's been here a Iong time." "It's derelict, whatever it is." "Stand by, churchill." "We're going in." "Roger, CarIsen." "We copy." "We have you going in." "churchill, it looks like some giant artery, organic." "I almost have the feeling I've been here before." "Oh, boy." "This is incredible." "I hope you can appreciate the scale of this on the video." "Roger." "We're getting it." "It's all on tape." "Oh, shit." "Whoa." "Here they are." "churchill... it looks like we found the occupants of the ship." "They look like giant bats." " There must be hundreds of them." " Thousands." "Dead, I hope." "Looks prehistoric." "It's completely desiccated." " CrumbIes." " Yes, it wouId." "AII the fluid's been lost to space over the years." "We'II bag this one, take it with us." "We're deploying the specimen bag." "Jesus." "What the hell is that?" "Commander... the ship has just deployed a" "It looks like some sort of big structure that's just unfolding." "It's enormous." "God, what is it?" "We must get out of here." "Nobody's going anywhere." "Stay where you are." "churchill, this is CarIsen." "What's happening out there?" "The thing stopped opening." "The only way to describe it is it's like a giant umbrella." "Good God." "It's absolutely enormous." "What's it doing now?" "Nothing, sir." "It's stopped opening." "It's just sitting there." " Can you tell what it's made of?" " Not metal." "It's radar transparent." "Okay." "If it starts up again, Iet me know." "Any activity out there." "You understand?" "Yes, sir." "That's where we're going." "There's something there." "Commander, this is ChurchiII." "We're losing our signal." "We've lost V.T.R." "Come in, Commander!" "Three bodies." "perfectly preserved." "They look to me to be like an" "Something's happening to me." "What's wrong with me?" "Commander, come in." "This is ChurchiII." "Do you copy?" "They seem to be in some sort of suspended animation or sleep." "hold on." "We're coming down." "churchill, if you read... there are two nude males and one female." "This is ChurchiII." "We have no picture." "Come in, Tom." "churchill, I said we found a young girl." ""girl"?" "You mean human?" "definitely humanoid." "I'd say she's perfect." "I've been in space for six months." "She looks perfect to me." " Derebridge, what's wrong?" " What's wrong?" " How many do you want to take back?" " I say we take back all three... and one of the dead things in the other chamber." "Let's see if we can break them free." "churchill, come in." "This is Mission control, Great Britain." "Do you copy?" "If they're going to pick us up, they should get us this close." "simply aren't receiving, Dr. Bukovsky." "Automatic circuits don't even respond." "They're radio dead." "Christ, I hope it's just their communications." "How's their orbit look?" "You can see it's stable, but they're slightly off." "They should have adjusted coming in... but they haven't." "What do you make of that?" "It would appear that they set their course... just after they left the comet and haven't updated it since." " The columbia?" " The columbia." "We have a liftoff." "Tower cleared." "control, this is columbia." "Are we cleared to initiate docking procedure?" "Go ahead, columbia." "You are looking good." "Stand by for soft dock." "Soft dock." "Soft dock confirmed." "columbia, the ship's completely gutted." "Oh, my God." "Houston, we have a problem." "There's been a fire." "I'II take a look in the tug bay." "You two, try the top deck." "columbia, they're all dead." "Nothing down here, columbia." "I'm going into the tug bay." "I'II get the tapes." "Somner... there's something you ought to see in the tug bay." "I see." "How did you open the girl's case?" "We didn't, Minister." "We were talking about how to get it open when it popped open of its own accord." " Did you X-ray the crystal cases?" " We're not certain they're crystal." "The casings are not metallic." "I'm not even sure they're organic." "The casing is right there in front of us without being there..." " if that makes any sense." " And the bodies?" "We're going to do our first dissection now." "Provided, of course, that Dr. FaIIada agrees they're dead." "I don't know that I am qualified to pass judgment on alien death." "You would agree that they're less alive than we are?" "Yesterday in Hong Kong, gold closed lower." "In light trading on European currency markets... the pound closed mixed against the dollar and West German marks." "There will be a full market report after the late news." "This is James Graham reporting from the city." "Now back to the newsroom." "HaIIey's Comet is now dominating the northern sky... stretching over 100 million miles across the heavens... occupying one-sixth of the entire visible horizon." "On this exceptionally clear night... a group of enthusiasts are commemorating Dr. Edmund HaIIey's great prediction... by holding an outdoor watching from his original observatory at Greenwich." "Our viewers may be interested to know... that comets were once considered to be hargingers of evil." "One of the earliest words for comet was "disaster"... which in Latin means "evil star."" "It may indeed be an evil star for the deep space probe ChurchiII." "There's still no word from Her Majesty's government as to the fate of the crew... whether they're alive or dead." "We can only await further deveIopments" "Use my body." " Where's the girl?" " She's gone." "I saw her." "She did that." " Security." " hello." "Professor FaIIada here." "I'm calling at Dr. Bukovsky's orders." " Get me the duty security captain now." " Yes, sir." "Don't worry." "A naked girl is not going to get out of this complex." "Four-nine to control." "You'II never believe what I'm looking at." " control, can you say that again?" " I believe you heard me." "There's a girl on the loose in the building." "She must not leave." "Pardon me, but I thought you said she was naked." "That's right." "That's what I said." "surely, you can find her." "Must be some kind of joke." "Don't believe it." "AII right, miss, just stay where you are." "You heard them." "They said grab her." "Take it easy, mate." "She's not in her right mind." "control, we have located the girl in the main lobby." "That's it." "Come on." " Yes?" " We've located the girl, sir." " Where?" " She's downstairs in the main lobby." "Right." "She's in the main lobby." "You all right to go down there?" "Nice and easy." "Come on." "Come to me." "Come to Daddy." "Make it stop." "Come on!" "Let's get her!" " Are you all right, mate?" " Yeah." "AII nonmiIitary personnel please clear the area." "I repeat:" "Everybody who has no business to be here... please clear the area for your own safety." "This is a police announcement." "Sorry, gentlemen, no photographs, please." "It's all right." " Which of you is Dr. Bukovsky?" " I am." " I'm colonel Caine." " From the S.A.S.?" "That last remark is not for publication." "This is a D notice situation." "Not too close." "And this was murder, you say?" "tell me again how the girl overpowered you." "She" "It was the most overwhelmingly feminine presence I've ever encountered." " I was drawn to her on a level that" " Was it sexual?" "Yes, overwhelmingly so." "And horrible." "Loss of control." "The guard was dead when you came into the room?" " You found him as he is now?" " Yeah." "And the girl came from the ship ChurchiII?" "Uh-huh." "She spoke to you, in english?" "That's right." "How would she know english?" "Going back, you say the ship's tapes were destroyed in the fire." "They weren't destroyed in the fire." "That's what we were told to tell the public." "They were erased." ""Erased"?" "also, the churchill's escape pod is missing." " Did someone escape?" " We don't know." "unfortunately, the condition of the bodies... make an accurate count impossible." "could the heat from the fire have launched the pod?" "What started the fire?" "The ship's oxygen system ignited." "It was a terribly hot fire." "Yet you say the three cases containing the bodies were untouched." " That's correct." " Where were they found?" "In the bay where the space tug was stored." "Where everything else was charred." "incredible, is it not?" " Have you examined the cases?" " Using every technique we have." "X-ray scans of the cases yield only blurred images." "What does that mean?" "They're not precisely physical objects." "More like a force field." "We're a bit out of our depth here." "The whole thing is" "Yes, I know, incredible." "Have they done an autopsy yet on the guard?" "I suppose not." "What about your two other bodies?" "colonel, may I be excused?" "I seem to be feeling a little more nauseous than I thought." "Yes, of course." "I noticed from your door, Dr. FaIIada, that your area is biochemistry." "But I understand your real interest is" "Death, colonel Caine." "Correct." "ThanatoIogy is the name for it." "Death for you is a bureaucratic problem." "Who did it?" "When?" "Why did they do it?" " Am I correct?" " And for you?" "I'm fascinated by death itself:" "what happens as we die, when we die, what happens after we die." " You mean life after death?" " Yes." " Is there life after death?" " Do you really want to know?" "But to answer your question, yes, I think there is." "If I am correct, the Iifeforce is conserved always... and in all things, even after death." "You think that applies to what's happened here tonight?" "Yes, I do." "I think that girl, creature... drained energy, Iifeforce... partially from Bukovsky and totally from the guard." " A vampire?" " It could be described that way." "In a sense, we're all vampires." "We drain energy from other Iife-forms." "The difference is one of degree." "That girl was no girl." "She is totally alien to this planet and our Iife-form... and totally dangerous." "Jesus." " Do you believe those blokes are alive?" " I'm not paid to believe nothing." "I believe they're alive." "Don't look bloody dead to me." "We've had some trouble, but everything's under control." "I think you better come down here." "Yes, sir." "Very good, sir." "It would appear these two are no Ionger dangerous." "There is certainly no possibIity of doing a full autopsy on them." "I would Iike to examine the guard." "Have they started the autopsy on the guard yet?" "I believe so, sir." "This is an autopsy on the body of a young man, dead approximately two hours." " Did you say he was about twenty?" " Yes, that's correct." "Get the colonel down here!" "Put him in an isolation cell, quickly!" "I had no idea it could be passed on." "What do you suggest?" "I would recommend that you place this body in another cell." "It was two hours ago that the guard was attacked." "I won't be at all surprised if we're seeing a pattern here." " Do as he says, kelly." " Yes, sir." "also, I want the two other male bodies that were shot." "collect the pieces and watch them." " Get me the Home Secretary now." " Sir." " call for the colonel, sir." " Sir, you have a call." "I'II be right there." "They've just found a body in Hyde Park." "A naked girl." "They say she's in an indescribable condition." "could that be your girl?" " well?" " That's not her." "Inspector, what about the two boys?" "They were in the park earlier, sir." "We saw her, I think, earlier." "Any rate, that looks like her hair." " What a mess." " Was she alone?" "No, that's why we noticed her." "She was with a dark-haired girl, real good-Iooking and all." "Didn't have a Iot of clothes on either." "We thought they might be-- well, you know." "Yes." "Did you see where the dark-haired girl went?" "No, we didn't." "We angled on back to see if maybe we could... you know, see them doing something." " That's when we found her." " How long ago was that?" " half an hour ago." " This lad phoned us, and we called you." "Yes." "Thank you, Inspector." "obviously, the work of the girl." "could we have this body sent back to the center with the others?" "Yes, I suppose that's a good idea." "Inspector, Iet me know if you find anything else." " We'II be taking her back with us." " Very good, sir." "Now she has clothes." "There's something I want you to see, sir." "Dr. Hans FaIIada, Sir Percy HestIestine, the Home Secretary." "You're just in time." "It's exactly two hours." "This is the guard who was originally overcome by the space girl." "As I feared, once transformed... the victims need regular infusions of energy..." " otherwise" " Otherwise what?" "Oh, my God." "Dear God." "And we have the pathologist who was attacked by the guard." " See?" " He, too, needs feeding." "The same thing will happen to that girl we found in the park... in about one hour." "Good Lord!" "Goodness!" "She's the Iast?" " Have there been any further reports?" " No, sir." "We're set up to get the calls here the instant one comes in." " What?" " Nothing." "You say these creatures were brought back from the churchill?" "Yes, sir, but not this one." "She's a victim of the creatures." "Yes, but where did the churchill acquire them?" "We have no way of determining that at present." " Perhaps that's all changing." " What?" "I've just received a call from the J.P.L. in Pasadena." "The goIdstone tracking disc has just picked up something... they think is ChurchiII's escape pod reentering the Earth's atmosphere." " Where?" " Texas." "Where?" "WaIter Reed Army hospital?" "Is he hurt?" "Just exhausted." "Get him the hell over here!" "colonel CarIsen?" "They're expecting you, sir." "colonel CarIsen, sir." "Tom." "I thought you were dead." "allow me to introduce colonel Caine of the special Air Services." "How do you do?" " You already know Dr. FaIIada." " colonel." "Take a seat." "I'm sorry to drag you over here like this." "I'm sure you'd rather be recuperating with a pretty nurse." "We've got to know what happened on the churchill." "Yes, of course." "It may be very difficult for you... to accept what I'm going to say." "We'II have very little difficulty believing anything you have to tell us." " Do go on." " You know something?" "There was a fire aboard the churchill." "You might be interested to know that the bodies of the three humanoids... were not destroyed in that fire." "They survived in their cases." "They were brought down here to London, and the female has escaped." "She's killed three people already." "Oh, my God." "So whatever you have to tell us is rather pressing." "please, tell us what happened." "We found the bodies aboard the alien spacecraft." "What alien spacecraft?" "colonel, take it from the beginning." "Assume we know nothing, which is understating the matter." "We approached within 9,000 miles of HaIIey's Comet... when we detected an object in the comet's coma." "After we discovered the bodies, we transferred them to the churchill." "We have the three humanoid creatures and one of the bat-Iike things." "This is ChurchiII." "We copy." "welcome back." "Have you gotten through to Earth yet, RawIings?" "No, sir, and the tail of the comet's heating up." " What's the matter, Derebridge?" " I don't know, Tom." "I feel drained." "Do you?" "I feel invigorated." "You okay?" " Yeah." "I'm fine." " Okay." "Everybody back to their stations." "Let's get the hell out of here." "On the trip back to Earth, the crew began to die... one by one." "RawIings... the radio officer, was the first to go." "RawIings denied any knowledge of what he had done." "I don't remember." "Besides myself, you're the only one who has been up here in the Iast hour." "I've been feeling weak recently... not myself." "Just don't remember." "We found RawIings' body the next day." "exactly how... did he die, colonel?" "The life just drained out of him." "One by one... the rest of the crew began to die." "Somehow..." "I don't know how..." "I held out." "It just seemed to be a matter of will." "I always thought" "The girI" "Yes?" "The girl?" "I can't remember." "What I remember next... is the view out of the observation window... coming into Earth's orbit." "I couldn't expose the world to what we'd brought back with us." "I was determined to destroy them all." "It was the hardest thing I ever did." "We understand." "It must have taken great courage to try and make" "No, you don't understand." "Part of me didn't want to leave." "She killed all my friends, and I still didn't want to leave." "Leaving her was the hardest thing I ever did." "colonel CarIsen looks exhausted to me." "We should allow him to get some sleep, continue with this later." "Very well." "Thank you, colonel." "NASA tracking and ours... have just reported an unusual structure leaving HaIIey's Comet." "It's headed for us." "What is it?" "Radar ranging reports the object... is a needlelike shape, 150 miles long." "Its present course projects out into a perfect Earth orbit... in a little more than two days." "I've just received a call from the Prime Minister." "There's going to be a meeting at Downing Street." "Prime Minister wants answers." "close your eyes." "You're giving me your life." "You're taking it." "You're draining me." "You're taking too much of me." "It was just a dream." " What dream?" " The girI" " She visited me." "Visited you?" "How?" "In my mind." "She has some kind of mental contact with me." "She's draining me." "tell us about the dream." "I can't." "It's gone." "It's faded." "I can't remember." "Have you ever been hypnotized?" "Do you mind if I try?" "Yeah, Iet's try it." " Not now." "He's too exhausted." " Fine." "In the morning." "Just stare at it until your eyes feel tired, then close them." "You'II feel very tired, very sleepy." "She seems to speak to me in my dreams." "She" "The girI" "I feeI" "What do you feel for her?" "I feel very... close to her." "Is she in touch with you?" "I feel... as if my mind... is not entirely my own." "If she is in contact with your mind... perhaps you are in contact with hers." "Can you see her?" "Can you see where she is?" "Yes." "Where is she now?" "A place." "I don't know the name of it." "She's walking." "She has a different face... but it's her." ""A different face"?" "How can that be?" "She's using a different body." " What is she doing?" " She's looking for a man." "What man?" "Any man." "A healthy man." "Does she intend to kill him?" " Why not?" " She's afraid of being caught." " How could she be caught?" " The body would give her away." "What is she hoping to do?" "She wants to... draw some energy from him." "Not enough to kill him." " She can do that?" " Yes." "There's another mind." "Yes." "The girl's name... is ellen." "There are two people in one body?" "Two minds?" "ellen and the vampire?" "Yes." "She's watching a man." "What is the man doing?" "He's parked, doing something with his car." "Get the license number." "Can you see the license number of his car?" "Yes." "Read it out." "FMC... 129E... or R." "What is the make of the car?" "A white volvo." "What is she doing now?" "They're driving now." "Does she ask him his name?" "She's pulling her skirt... over her knees." "She's" "He's... putting his... hand on her leg." "FMC129E or possibly R... belonging to a white volvo." "The driver of the car picked up a girl named ellen." "I have to know who the girl is and where we can find her." "She's connected with the case." "I can't explain over an open line." "Thank you." "Do you think he's telling the truth about the girl?" "We'II soon see." "How brilliant, if she is moving from body to body, mind to mind... taking only a small amount of energy from each victim." "It would make sense that we're finding no new victims." "She's hoping to leave no trail." "If the girl is no Ionger in her original body, where is her body?" " Hidden." " Let's find it." "Supposing you're right about all of this." "What about that ship up there?" "What's it doing?" "We can't know that, but we've got to assume the worst." "Maybe they're like the vampires of legend." "How's that?" "They would carry their Earth with them, in their coffins." "WouIdn't they?" " We have the feed from Hawaii." " Here it comes." " Put it on screen number one." " Coming in 240,000 miles." "My God, it's immense." "Hugh, do you have that skin tissue sample I asked for?" "Good." "Of course, I'II follow containment procedure." "He's here now." "Send in that soldier, please." "Thank you." "One moment, Sergeant." "Thank you for coming." "I'II be with you shortly." "bloody awful job, chasing that car." "It belongs to a man named Ned Price who lives in Yorkshire." " We have him under detention now." " What about the girl?" "The girl he picked up was a nurse named ellen, as you said." "ellen something." "He doesn't know her other name." "He dropped her at ThurIstone hospital after spending the afternoon with her." "He was reluctant to talk about it." "The man's totally exhausted." "Isn't ThurIstone an asylum of some sort?" "Yes, for the criminally insane." "How do you do?" "I'm Dr. Armstrong, director of the hospital." "Come with me to my office." " It's a cold night." " BitterIy cold." "This is the nurses' house." "ellen DonaIdson is number five." "Thank you." "ShouIdn't I come up and introduce you?" " I'd rather you didn't." " Come along, Dr. Armstrong." "You and I have several matters to discuss." "Yes?" "Who is it?" "My name's colin Caine." "Dr. Armstrong brought me over." "I'd Iike to talk to you." "May I come in?" "Yes?" " What do you want?" " My name is colin Caine." "This is colonel CarIsen, United States Air Force." "May we come in and talk to you?" "We have seen Dr. Armstrong." "May I sit down?" "I want to ask about the man you spent the afternoon with, Ned Price." "I don't know what you're talking about." "I think you do." " Let me see your hand." " Beg your pardon?" "You're in there, aren't you?" " I don't know." " tell me." "It's gone from her." "It's in another body now." " How do you know that?" " I can see it, in her mind." "She's resisting." "I'II have to force her to tell me." "Despite appearances, this woman is a masochist." "An extreme masochist." "She wants me to force the name out of her." "She wants me to hurt her." "I can see the images in her mind." "Do you want to stay?" " Otherwise, wait outside!" " Not at all." "I am a natural voyeur." "Are you in there?" "Are you there?" "Let go." "Now." "well?" "I've got a physical description." "You better send someone to look after Nurse DonaIdson." "Is she all right?" "If I described one of the inmates to you, could you identify him?" "possibly." "Big man, fat, gray hair, birthmark on his face." "Jeffrey Sykes, the child murderer." "Where did you get his description?" " Where is he now?" " He's in solitary confinement." "He's been naughty." " What is this about?" " What we're looking for has moved." " We could be here some time." " I better call London." " May I use your telephone, Doctor?" " certainly." " We have to see Sykes now." " CouIdn't this wait until the morning?" "AII right, I'II arrange it." "Anything to oblige, Commander." "I wish this were not so mysterious." "If the police are involved, haven't I a right to know?" "If you're going to start messing about with my patients" "Dr. Armstrong, I sympathize with your position, of course." "However, I can tell you it is a matter of national security." "I see." "But don't you think that I should be present... to represent the interests of my patient?" " You see" " Can I talk to you for a second?" "Of course." "The man has the I.Q. of a child of four." "That's a decision I shall have to defer to colonel Caine." "Yes, of course, you can come along." "Can we start now?" " What are you going to do to him?" " I'd Iike to hypnotize him." "What's that?" "PentothaI and morphine." "Recommended for pre-hypnosis and patient management." "well, he seems quiet." " We're ready when you are." " Lamson." "Sir." "Can the injection be dangerous?" "He should have no difficulty tolerating it." "There's always a risk, sir." "May I have that?" "I'II wake him up." " What are you doing?" " Stay where you are." "He's sick, Lamson." "help us." "I can't explain now." "There's our killer, Sir Percy." "It's madness." "I want to question him." "Where can we take him?" "Up the ramp, sir." "We need to be alone." "How did you know it was him?" "In the nurses' quarters, he touched me on the shoulder." "I saw into his mind." "What?" "The colonel is able to see into the minds of people... who have been possessed by the girl creature, sir." "It happens when I touch them." "Let's get him on the table." "How" "How do you know she's still inside Armstrong?" "What's to prevent her from moving to someone else?" "She's trapped." "I can feel that." "Are you sure?" " Lamson." " Sir?" " Bring me another dose of the drug." " One dose is usually enough." "This is not a usual situation." "How long does this stuff last?" "A dose like that?" "A couple of hours." "We'II definitely need more." " Bring me three doses." " Three?" "I'II take responsibility." "Just get on with it." "Yes, sir." "Is a second dose safe?" "surely it can strain his heart." "Look, you don't know what we're dealing with here." "If he slips out from under, she'II escape." "Can you hear me?" "If you can hear me, just say yes." "It won't let me... talk to you." "Can you see what's holding you prisoner?" "Yes." "She" "tell her she has to talk to me!" "Yes?" "I brought the PentothaI." "Thanks." "That will be all." "hold him." "There's no need for that." "You in there?" "Can you still hear me?" "Can you get into his mind, her mind?" "Not with this drug." "It's like a wall." "Perhaps you've given him too much." "Shut up!" "Listen, you bitch..." "I'II keep you in this state for weeks if I have to." "Now, you talk to me." "CarIsen, be with me." " What do you want from me?" " I Iove you." "What are you?" "Why are you so human, so perfect?" "What are the bird creatures on the ship?" "Our bodies are unimportant." "As you and your men approached in your ship... we changed them for you." "We entered your minds... and found there new bodies." "I took my shape from your mind." "I took your language." "I became the woman I found there... in your deepest thoughts, your deepest needs." "I am the feminine in your mind." "Where are you?" "Where's your body?" "Let me go!" "Touch me, CarIsen." " It's already spreading." " How?" " You didn't stop it." "It's too late." " That's impossible." "We've only been half a step behind her all the way." "This gentleman stopped breathing." "There's no pulse either." "I think his neck is broken." "Prepare a stretcher for Sir Percy and one for Dr. Armstrong." "Prepare all your remaining doses of the drug for travel." "Yes, sir." "You said the thing hadn't stopped, it was still spreading." " Why did you say that?" " I don't know." "could the girl have been deliberately leading us away from London?" "Did we find all of her victims?" "If there are others besides the girl in the park" " The thing would spread." " In a chain reaction... geometrically, until, by now" "Christ." "Lieutenant, can we use the radio to reach the S.R.C. in London?" "Just a moment, sir." "There's something coming through." "It is the S.R.C. for you and CarIsen." "Go ahead." "Can you hear me?" "FaIIada, speak up!" "I can't hear you!" "The two males didn't die." "They jumped to the bodies of the two soldiers who shot them... and transformed the soldiers' bodies into their own likenesses." "That's the difference between them and their victims." "Their victims can't leave their bodies." "only the original three can do that." " But I've killed one of them." " One of which?" "One of the two male vampires." " One of the transformed ones." " How did you kill him?" "The old way, CarIsen." "A Ieaded metal shaft penetrating not through the heart... but through the energy center two inches below the heart." "Not steel, but Ieaded iron." "Right, CarIsen?" " Are you there?" " Yes." "CarIsen, and you, too, Caine... it is my belief... that the vampires of legend came from creatures such as these." "Perhaps even from these very creatures." "I know it sounds incredible." "Do you hear me?" "It's more than a belief." "It's true." "They visited Earth before." " What about the other male?" " He's free." " You have the girl?" " Yes." " We'II be there soon." "hold on." " We'II try." " This came while you were talking." " What is it?" "A scrambled cryptograph to Sir Percy from the Prime Minister." "We're to proceed directly to the citadel at WhitehaII." "Lieutenant, the controls!" "We've lost her." "She's gone!" " Where?" " Her body's in London." "Where in London?" "You've got to tell me what really happened on the churchill." "It wasn't RawIings who destroyed the radio equipment... and the ship's tapes." " It was me." " Why?" "I didn't want the churchill to be able to reach Earth." "And if it did, I didn't want anyone to know what happened." "What did happen?" "I opened her sealed animation case." "Either I did it or she did it." "I couldn't help myself." "I've never experienced such" "I was in love on a level you've never known." "It terrifies me." "My memory plays tricks on me." "She was calling me." "Her power was spiritual." "She wanted me, Caine." "It was more than spiritual." "She took some of my energy." "And she gave me some of her energy." "They must have been living off of each other when we found them." "There were only three of them left." "She killed all of my men, one by one." "But I survived." "She wanted me to survive." "She chose me!" "Why?" "She's not human." "She's not a woman." "She'II destroy you." "She's destroyed worlds." "There's something you might want to hear, sir." "A special bulletin from the BBC." "Tonight London is on the brink... of the worst devastation since the blitz." "I can see large areas of the city burning out of control." "Thousands of people are now rampaging through the streets... in a frenzied last effort to avoid the plague." "martial law has been enforced now for three hours... but it hasn't stemmed what is obviousIy" " Yes, we've been expecting you." " Thank you." "Carry on." " Hurry over, Sergeant." " Right, sir." " Go around the other side." " Right." "Is everything ready for the cabinet to evacuate?" " Yes, everything." " please take a seat, gentlemen." "Sir, I have colonel Caine and colonel CarIsen here for you." "Very good." "The Prime Minister will see you shortly." "would you care for tea while you wait?" " Our business is rather urgent." " The Prime Minister understands that." " gentlemen." " Prime Minister." "I'm colonel Caine, special Air Service... and I'm sure you've heard of colonel CarIsen of the churchill." "Yes, indeed." "gentlemen, I Iook forward to hearing your report." "By the way, where is Sir Percy?" "Dead, I'm afraid." "Oh, that's a great pity." "Sir, we have information regarding the object in space..." " which is bearing down on the Earth" " Yes, gentlemen." "If you'II excuse me just for a moment." "Miss Haversham, please come this way." "Here, for a moment." "I'II be back, gentlemen." "please." "Somebody get the doctor immediately." "We need a doctor over here." "Go!" " Do you have any weapons aboard?" " No, sir!" " There is a flare pistol, sir." " Where is it?" "close the breach and it's ready to fire!" "Get him!" "while you were with the Prime Minister, I had a call from base operations." "The city is now under martial law." "We've been placed under NATO command." " NATO?" " Yes, sir." "My unit's been mobilized to a staging area at BIackheath." "Land at the S.R.C. We've got to talk to FaIIada." "I'm to land at BIackheath." "The city's under air quarantine." "If we don't do as they say, they'II shoot us down." "Zero, this is X-ray 318 requesting clearance to land." "Over." "Zero, roger." "X-ray 318, you are clear to land." "Come away from the aircraft!" "You are under quarantine!" "Over here, please, sir." "Don't come any closer!" "Stop there!" "I want to talk to your commanding officer." "I am colonel Caine, special Air Service... and this man is colonel Tom CarIsen, United States Air Force... and former commander of the churchill." "Is Dr. Hans FaIIada here from the S.R.C.?" " He knows who we are." " No, not that I know of." "Has anybody heard of him?" "He must still be in London." "colonel, what exactly do you know about what's happening there?" "AII we know for certain is that a terrible plague is sweeping London." "The incubation period appears to be two hours." "until that time has elapsed, I cannot release you from this compound." "We know what the plague is." "We are not infected." "I know what I'm talking about!" "We're wasting valuable time!" "We have totally isolated London... in order to stop further contagion." "If that faiIs, and the surrounding areas are threatened..." "Yes?" "sterilization by thermonuclear device has been approved." "We have this from general Ames in brussels." "He's coming up with that decision in just under three hours." "Have you heard anything about the ship?" " "The ship"?" " The thing from HaIIey's Comet." "It's parked itself in a geostationary orbit directly over London." "AII those little blue lights going up toward the clouds are human souls." " How do you know that?" " I feel it." "The process of conversion releases a life energy that can be collected." ""collected"?" "Is that what the umbrella is?" "A collector?" "The energy doesn't go free." "It goes up there." "The male vampire is collecting life energy... but he has to send it through her to get it up to the collector." "Where is she?" "Over there." "I get flashes coming from her body." "It's sensitive to its environment." "It picks up things." " Can you find her?" " If I can get across to the city." "What about the male?" "He'II come if he senses I found her." "She's drawing me." "I've got to go." "Why?" "She wants back the energy she gave me." "When they take on a new Iife-form... they have to Iearn from that Iife-form." "Mate with it, in a sense." "The girl chose me." "But when she mixed with me, she gave me a part of herself." "Now she wants that part back." "Is there any sign of activity in your sector?" "Over." " No, sir." " Okay, keep me posted." "Over." "colonel, listen to me." "CarIsen believes he can locate the source." "There are only two carriers." "If we can destroy them, it may not be necessary to destroy London." "But we only have an hour and a half." "Cease firing!" "Where's CarIsen?" "He knocked over two of my men and took an armored land rover." "Did he say where he was going?" "He wanted to know where the Space Research Center was." "Rogers told him, then I was on the ground." " Right." "Whose car is this?" " That?" " That's the colonel's." " Give me the keys." " What?" " I'm commandeering the car!" "Give it to him." "And your side arm." "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" "Once you're inside there, we can't allow you out." " Watch out!" " He's going in!" "colonel Caine, S.A.S. I'm crossing the river." " You don't want to go in there." " I know I don't." "Get them gates in position!" "Secure this post!" "Move!" "I'm glad to see you alive." "I reciprocate the sentiment." " Is he really dead this time?" " The only way they can be killed." " Where's Bukovsky?" " Dead." " How?" " Like the rest." "How did you survive?" " You're looking for CarIsen." " Has he been here?" "No." "Perhaps he misled you." " What do you know about it?" " I've been doing some more work." " Go on." " I've discovered... there is life after death." "How do you know?" "There is a certain mental transference." "TeIepathy occurs between the vampires and their victims." " CarIsen is after the girl." " How did you know that?" " I seem to sense it." " Where is she?" "Don't you know?" " CarIsen knows." " Where?" "She's in the cathedral." "She's been there since she escaped." "Rather a nice touch, don't you think?" "The crypt of kings and queens." "Stay where you are." "Here I go." "I knew you would come." "I'm here." "Now can this madness end?" "Come." "Be with me." "I need you." "It was always intended... you should find us... and bring us to Earth." "The web of destiny carries your blood and soul... back to the genesis of my Iife-form." "Come with me." "It will be much less terrifying if you just come to me." "I'II do just that." "What are these feelings?" "Why do I feel so close to you, need you?" "Because you're one of us." "You always have been." "You're like me." "Be with me." "Just a little more."