"The 487th day of space flight" "The 'Prometeus' space ship heading to Alpha Aquarii throttled back to launch a shuttle to the scientific station on the orbit of the planet Solaris." "The shuttle was to take off at 12 o'clock at ship time." "Chris Kelvin!" "Chris Kelvin!" " Ready to go?" " Ready!" "We warned the station you're coming." "The touchdown will be a nick." " Have a nice flight." " And a lucky touchdown." "Thanks" "Here we go." "Attention!" "Start the countdown." "Five, four, three, two, one Go!" " Good luck, Chris!" " Remember us to the guys on the station, see you." "SOLARIS" "Based upon the novel by Stanislav Lem" "Script:" "Nicolai Kemarsky" "Director:" "Boris Nierenburg" "Part one" "Back then it seemed to me I was going to the world I knew and got used to." "My best friend Gibaryan was to meet me on Solaris with my other collegues - doctor Snout and doctor Sartorius for a company." "We'd celebrate my visit and our long space watch would begin." "The only thing I worried about was the schedule time for radio contact" "Solaris Station, Call Solaris Station." "I'm Kelvin, I'm Kelvin Entering the deceleration area." "Watch my power field stabilization." "I'm Kelvin." "Can you hear me?" "It's Solaris Station." "Everything's OK, we're controlling you." "It's Solaris Station." "Get ready for touchdown." "I'm Kelvin." "I'm Kelvin." "Ready for touchdown." "It's Solaris Station." "Touchdown complete." "You can switch the power off and open the airlock." "End of communication." "Who controlled the shuttle?" "The touchdown was under control of the computer responsible for shuttles launching and touchdown." "Where are all the people?" "They are aboard the station." "Is it you idea of a hearty welcome?" "Touchdown succesfully complete." "Touchdown control: 0.00 seconds." "Stabilization: normal." "Microreactor: off." "Snout?" "Doctor Snout?" "I dunno..." "I don't know you!" "I don't!" "Are you all right?" "So caring, are you?" "You'll take care of me, won't you?" "But why?" "I don't know you, I don't." "What is that gibberish about?" "What do you want?" "Where's Gibaryan?" "You... ..you've come to visit Gibaryan?" "Not me?" "Gibaryan?" "Where's he?" "Don't you know that?" "God, Snout!" "Come to your senses!" "How I'm supposed to know that, I'm right from the shuttle!" "From the shuttle?" "And where did you come from?" "From Earth." "Does it ring a bell?" "From Earth?" "So, you are... you are..." "Kelvin?" "My name brings it home at last!" "What are you staring at?" "What's queer about me?" "No, no, no... it's nothing..." "I just..." "I..." "I was just taken afright." "I didn't expect you to come." "Didn't you, Snout?" "You were to get the notice of my visit long ago." "Before I left 'Prometeus'." "the radio operators were to confirm it again." "Even the computer knew about the flight." "Is it your usual way of welcoming the newcomers?" "You're right, it all went an awkward way around." "We've got a bit of a mess here on the station." "I can see that." "I can see that." "It's hard to miss." "Chris Kelvin." "Are you tired then?" "Want to take a bath?" "Or are you hungry?" "Want a snack?" "Or a drink?" "No, I don't." "I'm OK, Snout." "Where's Gibaryan?" "Look..." "The point is..." "Well, I'm to be your only company for a while." "But don't trust your first impression." "On a whole, I'm a good guy, nice to have fun with." "Where's the station commander professor Gibaryan?" "You shall learn it soon." "I'm terribly sorry..." "I'm terribly sorry, Kelvin, to have welcomed you that way, but you see.." "It is not... it was not just my fault." "Loads of things happened here, that's why I've completely forgotten you're coming." "Well, it's OK, it's OK, Snout, take it easy." "Still, what happened to Gibaryan?" "Where's he?" "Did he leave?" "No, he didn't." "He didn't leave and he never will." "Because he..." "He what?" "What do you mean?" "Was there an incident?" "Kind of..." "Was that an accident?" "When?" "Yesterday." "In the morning." " Who is it?" " Wait?" "Look..." "There were three of us... including Gibaryan." "I mean, humans." "Now you make three again." "Do you know doctor Sartorius?" "The way I know you." "I've seen his picture." "I guess, you'll recognize him." "He is in his lab at the moment." "Now, look..." "If you... if you meet someone..." "Get it?" "Someone but Sartorius and me..." " Then what?" " Don't do anything!" "Who can I meet here, a ghost?" "Do you think, I'm mad?" "Not yet." "I just can't explain you everything." "Not now." "Perhaps, nothing will happen." "But I warn you to be on the safe side." "Warn against what, Snout?" "Don't go wild, control yourself." "Watch out for everything." "It is the only thing we can do under the circumstances." "What do you mean, Snout?" "What shall I see?" "I got no idea." "It depends on you." "Do you mean psychosis?" "Hallucinations?" "No, they're real." "So, watch out for everything." "I warn you." "Real?" "Living creatures?" "I don't understand, Snout." "You'll do, you'll do, later." "Well, OK, but you haven't still told me what happened to Gibaryan." "Where did you find him?" "In the wadrobe." "Was he dead?" "His heart was still beating..." " Did you try to save him?" " We were late." "In the wadrobe?" "!" " Why?" " I got no idea." "He stood there between the overalls." "I've compiled a preliminary protocol." "Cause of death: a lethal dose of Pernosthal." "A suicide..." "What reasons could he have?" "Nervous breakdown, depression." "You're a better expert than me." "I know just one thing for sure:" "Gibaryan took in the lethal dose of Pernosthal and then hid himself in a wadrobe." "He got neither nervous breakdown nor depression." "He got brain-waves, kind of paranoia..." "But what could frighten him to death?" "And why didn't Sartorius sign the protocol?" "He doesn't show up." "He keeps his labs." "Have you come to see him?" "He has locked the door." "Has locked the door?" "And built some barricades, didn't he?" "Probably so." "Have you all gone bananas, Snout?" "I wish we were that lucky." "If Gibaryan had thought he was mental, he wouldn't have commited suicide." "He would have lived." "So, the protocol conclusion about the nervous breakdown is a fake, isn't it?" "Sure, it is." " Why didn't you write down the truth?" " What did I have to write about?" "Stop wriggling, Snout." "You've already messed everything up." "Tell me the truth." "I take it, you won't?" "I can't." "Honestly, I can't tell it." "I'm going to Sartorius' lab." "Will you stay put here?" "Watch out." "Remember, you've got to control yourself." "Snout's talking, these footfalls..." "Everything was complicated and hard to understand." "I tried to comfort myself." "The station was high over the planet, hermetically sealed and armoured." "Who could penetrate inside?" "I didn't want to surrender to my fears, but I was helpless about it." "Doctor Sartorius!" "It's Kelvin." "I'm a new employee, I have to see you." "Doctor Sartorius!" "It's Kelvin, 'Prometeus' brought me 2 hours ago." "There's nobody here, I'm alone." "Open the door!" "Doctor Sartorius!" "I know you're over there!" "Open the door!" "Damn it, I'll count to ten and then just break in!" "One, two..." "No, no, I'll open the door if you promise to stay out." " Why do you need to open it at all then?" " I'll go out to you." "OK, I promise." "What do you want?" "How do you do?" "My name is Kelvin." "You have to have heard about me." "Gibaryan is... was my collegue." " But I've learnt that he died." " He did." "Who was the first to find him, you or Snout?" "Why do you ask me about it?" "Didn't doctor Snout tell you everything?" "I'd like to hear your version of this story." "Do you have something else to tell me?" " Are you a scientist, doctor Kelvin?" " I am." "I was almost sure you're a cop from the way you interrupt an important experiment in my lab, threaten to break the door if you aren't let in and interrogate me about my collegue." "Yes, I do suspect you, and you know very well, why If you don't apologize right now,I'll file a complain as soon as we'll communicate with Earth." "Is it me, who must apologize?" "!" "The one is boozed, the other is all secrets..." "A nice hearty welcome, indeed." "I see, you're having great time here." "Scientists as you may think yourselves to be..." "Please!" "Go away!" "I'll come to see you later..." "I'll do everything you want." "Just go!" "Hurry up!" "Well, how did it go on?" "Have you met him?" "He's not alone." "So, he got "visitors"." "Snout, tell me what it is!" "I'm to learn it myself sooner or later." "Why are you fooling me and concealing everything?" "You'll perceive the truth, when they come to you." "WHO?" "Who will come?" "I don't know." "I'm so tired today." "We're all tired." "Come, have a rest." "Your cabin is ready." "Harrie?" "!" "I must be still dreaming if you're here." "I'm still dreaming." "NOOOO!" "No!" "It can't be!" "You're... you've been..." "10 years since..." "What can't be, honey?" "What are you doing here?" "I don't know." "For how long are you here?" "I don't know." "Is it important?" "Where have you come from?" "How did you know where I am?" "I don't know." "I've just come, that's all." "Are you pleased?" "But you..." "Harrie, you..." "You mean this?" "Looks like an injection mark." "I don't remember." "You don't remember, do you?" "She doesn't remember!" "But it was the mark of the lethal injection, that killed Harrie..." "I buried her on the Earth 10 years ago." "So, who was that next to me?" "I didn't understand who it was, but I was sure: this creature could not be Harrie!" "It was a replicant, a fake." "Her look, her voice, her intonations, even her age were like when she died 19 years old." "It hurt insufferably to look at her though I couldn't help looking." "I was looking and thinking, what this creature knew about herself, me and our relations in the past." "Was there anything at all it could knew?" "Where are your things?" "My things?" "I don't know." "Have you got nothing more but this dress?" "I don't know." "May be, my things are in the wadrobe." "There are just overall there." "Chris, you know..." "I've got a feeling like something happened." "Like I've forgotten something." "Forgotten a lot of things." "I can remember you and me." "Nothing else." "Tell me, had I got an amnesia?" "Yes, you may put it this way." " So that is why I can remember nothing, can't I?" " Probably." "What are our relations now?" "Good or bad?" "They are just great!" "If you talk like this everything is bad, isn't it?" "Come, come!" "What the ideas!" "Harrie, pour me a drink, please." "I have to be off, Harrie." "You wait me here, ok?" " Are you hungry?" "Shall I bring you something to eat?" " No, I don't need anything." " How long will it take you?" " Not too long." "About an hour, I guess." "No!" "I'll come with you!" "You can't, Harrie." " I've got things to do." "You'll stay here." " No!" "Why not?" "I don't know." "I just can't." "Why can't you?" "I don't know." "I can't." "I got a feeling... as if I must be with you all the time, see?" "All the time?" "It's ridiculous." "Want a drink?" "I'll bring you one." "I'll put some ice in it." "First thing, I was afraid she would be reluctant to drink, or that the sleeping pills wouldn't work." "I badly wanted just one hour off to recover and to talk to Snout." "I had to get rid of her by any means I got at hand." "Are you cross with me?" "Would you like to rest a little?" " Yes, I would." " Come, lie down." "Do you remember?" "I do." "It's our song." "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "Now!" " What are you laughing at?" " I don't know." "I'm a bit loony, am I not?" "Your look back then was so gloomy and full of concern like that of an astronaut before the start." " How do you call me?" " An astronaut." "You gave me a great idea." "Harrie, I've got to go." "Come with me if you want to." "Wow!" "We'll go together!" "Yeah, but you've got to put on a pilot's overall." "We'll go by shuttle." "By shuttle?" "You and me!" "So cool!" "Help me." "Now, do!" "Have this." "How do you like it?" "Come on." "Come on." "Is shuttle ready to take off?" "Ready." "Microreactor charge: 100%" "Control system diagnostics..." "Successfully complete." "Oxigene level..." "Climatic facility..." "Normal." "Switch the shuttle control to remote mode." "Well?" "Have had a talk?" "You've been visited, haven't you?" "Right." "A quick riddance that was." "Kind of..." "You don't fuss around!" "One, two, go!" "Shuttle.. ignition...and 'see you later, alligator'." "I guess, we'll have 2 or 3 hours for ourselves." "Now, tell me evertything." "Are you cross with me?" "Would you believe me had I told you everything from the beginning?" "Answer, would you?" "Forget it." "Let's discuss it thouroughly." "Go on with the story." "It happened to Gibaryan first." "He locked himself up in his cabin and talked from behind the door." "Well, we thought, he had gone mad, crying voices, breaking things, demanding us to keep out." "He wanted us to give him the chance to... sort it out in a way." "He was a genuine scientist." "He experimented, he wanted to learn the issue." "And what about you?" "We..." "We were waiting." "5 days later we decided to break in." "We wanted to help him." "And then he... he didn't want you to see his visitor.." "Right, at this very moment." "Now you see." "Everyone's got one's own haunt." "No one wants other people to witness." "The thing he didn't knew was that we had also been visited by that time had had our own guests." "He thought he was the only person to suffer this." "So he hurried a bit." "And we didn't know much back then." "But what's use of our knowledge?" "Hard to say what would you've done, had I not warned you." "You see, I didn't know who would come." "It's impossible to predict." "But I told you to be ready for everything." "Look, if you've experienced this before," "tell me..." "She... the creature in the shuttle..." "What will happen to her?" "Do you wonder if she comes back?" "She will and she won't." "Don't speak in riddles!" "We must be frank with each other." "Obviously you've missed the clue what is happening here." "I'll explain." "Can you tell me, who it was?" "My wife." "We, me and her..." "She killed herself." "Made a lethal injection in her arm." "Suicide?" "Yes." "Is that all?" "No, that is not all." "Tell me the whole truth." "All right." "We had got a fight." "I called her nasty things." "She drove me half-mad, I was wild..." "I took all my things and left." "She said, she would commit suicide." "But I didn't belive her, of course." "I thought, she would be too scared to do that." "She couldn't stand the sight of blood." "Then I remembered, that I left my poisons in the case." "I had brought them home from the lab for some tests." "First, I wanted to come back but then it occured to me she would consider it as my weakness." "I came back in two days." "And I saw her dead." "She lay in a fetal position..." "Her face was calm and peaceful, as if she was dreaming." "That is the end of the story." "She wrote a letter to me." "I've had it with me for 10 years." "This is the only thing left from her." "My sympathies." "It's hard to consider oneself a reluctant murderer." "But this is not the most terrible thing." "What happened was terrible by itself," "But what DIDN'T happen is more dreadful." "I mean, never-happened-things." "I don't understand." "A man is considered normal if he did no evil." "Can we be sure, he has never thought evil?" "Well, not him, but his subconsciousness?" "He forgot it in a moment as he knew he would never do it." "And then just think... think of facing THIS..." "Something born from those evil thoughts, their flesh and blood, chained to you." " Immortal." " What the damn is it?" "It is what we've been waiting for for so long." "An alien contact." "Arranged this way..." "Do you think it's the Solaris plasma ocean?" "What does it want?" "I know just one thing." "First visitors came in 7-8 days following our gamma-rays experiment." "We sent the the thickest radioactive beem into the Solaris plasma..." "Obviously, this was Ocean's answer." "I guess, it explored our minds and revealed various fragments of our unconscious memories or psychic." "Psychic?" "Fragments?" "Exactly." "Some dark memories, dim recollections we did our best to forget, block out." "Ocean downloaded them, replicated, played back and began to send its creatures here." "How did they get in?" "The station is hermetic and has its own protective field." "Haven't got the slightest idea." "More often they come when we awake from our dreams." "But we can't go without any sleep at all." "Tell me, Snout, these visitors... can they be killed?" "We can be killed, they cannot." "Damn." "What kind of creatures are them?" "Subjectively, they're human." "But they don't know and understand where they came from." "In other aspects their behaviour mirrors our expectations about them." "What about Sartorius?" "What about him?" "Sartorius tried hard to stay normal." "For him it means to be prim." "Once we ran into trouble, there were 8 of us and only emergency supply of oxigen left." "Many people panicked, and he shaved himself and cleaned his shoes everyday." "Imagine that, he kind of cheered others up by his habits." "What shall you do?" "I'll be straight " "I've got no idea." "I'm tired as hell of everything." "Sometimes I'm about to crack up and sometimes I think I end like Gibaryan." "I guess we should destroy the station." "We should blow it up and take shuttles to Earth and send mayday." "Back on Earth they'll probably think we're all mad, such things happened before on other stations." "And then they'll lock us up in a funny farm." "Probably this is the best way out." "Peace." "Silence." "White p." "So, our issue should be thoroughly discussed." "On the one hand we achieved the goal people had striven for." "We contacted the alien form of life." "On the other hand we are the objects of a misterious experiment we haven't agreed to, we're violated." "Let's discuss this aspect of the issue, collegues." "We should stop the violence against the representatives of Earth." "It's an awkward position for the mankind." "What is your proposal, doc?" "We should temporarily stop the station function until the living conditons turns back to normal." "Do you mean until the contact with Ocean is over?" "I meant, "until the living conditons turns back to normal"." "You see, Chris, our wishes doesn't matter, but our options still does." "Do you want to flee?" "I see, you're the bravest of us all, aren't you?" "I'd look at you had you spent here all the time like we have." "But the visitors are our only contact with Ocean!" "And you want to cut it!" "I presume, we'll learn nothing of Ocean, but it will learn a lot about us!" "Exactly!" "Our dark past, all human vices, our terrible shame." "Stop it." "I don't think Ocean's intentions are bad." "I believe, it hardly worries about this aspect of the experiment." "It's beyond its scope." "Probably, you're right." "But I don't agree to be a test animal!" "It's humilating!" "What's humilating?" "Recall how many great scientists experimented over themselves." "They risked their lives and nobody thought oneself a test animal." "Don't forget, it is not we who control the experiment!" "What if these creatures will become aggressive soon?" "Mind it, we can't kill them, they can kill us." "We cannot use our shuttles every time." "At this rate we'll soon run short of them." "Ok, what if we can change the situation?" "Find way to understand the structure of these creatures?" "Find the way to get rid of visitors any moment we want to?" "Should we suffer this nightmare every day, every hour until then?" "Colleague Snout's right." "Exactly my thoughts." "I can hardly persuade you." "I don't know who your visitors are." "Snout told everyone's got one's own haunt and I can hardly judge you." "But trust me, when the person long dead, who died by your fault comes, it is not that easy." "But we shouldn't look for easy ways." "When we go to the space, we're prepared for everything:" "for solitude, death, for struggle and pain." "It turned out, it's not enough." "We aren't prepared enough." "We forgot, we can run into something strange, mysterious, inexplainable among the stars." "We forgot, the space is not a galaxy large Earth." "It's a brand new world." "It's the completely foreign level." "The foreign world is before us." "And we must discover its secrets." "A lot of time, expenses, victims may be needed for that." "But if we refuse to research this new world we'll never again be scientists." "As far as I get you, doctor Kelvin, you ask us to stay, don't you?" "I'm not sure... not sure..." "May be, like Gibaryan..." "He locked himself up." "That's why he cracked up." "But now there are three of us!" "And we're aware of what we'll meet." "One more thing." "If we walk away and flee, the station will be left behind." "They'll send other scientists who'll have to study the issue." "And all that just because we didn't stand it and fled!" "Looks like we shift our responsibility to others." "Formally speaking, you're right, collegue." " Of course, I am." " I have other things to say, though." "Suppose, you're right." "Are you sure we'll succeed if we stay?" "This is the only way." "Under the normal circunstances I'd consider you offer unaccaptable." "But considering the specific nature of the cituation in question" "I'll make an exception." "I agree to stay, doctor Kelvin." "Let's toast three new victims of science!" "Cheers, collegues." "We're meeting tomorrow to compare our surveillance and change the results." "What about guests?" "Have you forgotten them?" "We've got an intercom, call if anything happens." " Ok, see you in the morning." " Good night." "Chris, is it you?" "Where have you been?" "I've been waiting for you!" "Oh, my God, what's with you?" "I burnt my hand a bit." "How?" "There were troubles with the shuttle launch." "Sometimes you behave like a little boy!" "Why didn't you close the exhaust ports?" "I forgot." "I was in a hurry." "Chris, come on, I'll take care of you." "Lie down." "Where's your burn oilment?" "Oh, here it is!" "Well, OK, some swabs will do as well..." "I still can remember her fingers' touch." "It seemed to make me see my lost Harrie in this creature, believe in miracle." "It was a real miracle." "Her fingers, eyes, hair, smell were brought back by my memories." "My long grieving and my love called her to life." "It was a bliss to have her around." "Is it OK?" "Does it hurt?" "You were too careless." "It's a sheer luck your hair wasn't scorched bald." "Do you recall a dude we once met... the funny, tall and bespectacled one?" "What was the place?" "Have you forgotten?" "Forgotten our park?" "Forgotten our time there?" "I didn't." "You're lucky then, or I woudn't forgive you for ages on." "Do you recall also the words you said back then?" "Let me see... 'honey' or 'babe'?" "You forgot." "You said back then, "Damn these gnats!"" "You don't say so." "Chris, oh, Chris..." "I wish you always remained the same..." "It was the happiest evening in my life!" "Only one?" "I am happy now, when you're so gentle and kind." "And then your ill temper will be back and you'll start picking at me, quarelling with me..." "Tell me, why does it have to happen?" "We've got such a great time together." "I woke up that morning with the long forgotten feeling of BLISS." "I was happy and a bit sad, my heart was light." "Suddenly, I realized, that Harrie was the reason!" "She will stay with me forever!" "MY HARRIE!" "Get up,lazy bones!" "Do you know what the time it is?" "I don't want to know." "Wow!" "Who's to get up, then?" "You are." "And don't forget to bring me a cup of coffee to bed." "Do you call it fair?" "It's for you." "Get up." " Hello!" " Hello, how are you?" "You..." "You've got a visitor, haven't you?" "Yeah." " Are you busy?" " Yes." "Sartorius suggests we should meet." "Is he... alone?" "I put it wrong..." "He'd like to talk to us." "I can switch on the video conference mode." " Is it a go?" " OK." " In an hour then, OK?" " Done." "How are you?" "I'm fine." "And you?" "I thought it would be worse." "I was sure about it." "Would you like to call in?" "Drop it!" "Stop, I told you!" "Stop!" "No, I can't come for the moment." "Perhaps, later." "Who called?" "Doctor Snout." "He's a xenobiologist and a cybernetist." "Do you know him?" "No, I don't..." "What visitor did he talk about?" "It's an inside joke." "I see." "Where are my things?" "I cut my dress yesterday, as I couldn't unzip it." "I'm sorry." "I forgot to put your things in places." "That memory of yours!" "You can't imagine..." "what kind of MEMORY I've got." "Is it over?" "Are you bored?" "Not yet." "What can one do with my blood tests for so long?" "Just a little bit." "Let me finish." "We haven't got too much fun aboard the station." "So, if you feel like seeking... seeking for other company besides myself, you'll be bad." "How are the tests?" "what's wrong with my blood?" "Nothing." "You blood is as good as it can be." "Chris, you've got an incoming call." "Thank you." "Turn on the second monitor for the conference." "Greetings for you, doctor Kelvin." "How do you do, doctor?" "I'd like to share my thoughts  about the 'Phantoms'." "Let's term them Ph-things for short." "Accepted." "Then I presume you should introduce us into the results of your research and then I'll inform you about my own experiments." "Would you start, doctor Kelvin?" "Me?" "All right." "Though I managed to do only a couple of tests," "I've got an impression..." "To cut it short, I think she is a very good replicant." "And she's much better than the original." "We thoroughly know the human body anatomy, but in this case we should percieve the matter much wider beyond the atomic structure." "I can't quite grasp you point." "The human body consists of atoms..." "I guess the ultimate basic elements of the Ph-things are particles" "which are much smaller than atoms." " Do you mean mesons?" " No, I don't." "Otherwise I could have detected the mesons." "I guess, these are neutrinos." "It's impossible!" "The neutrinos structures are volatile." "Right, but they can be stabilized by some power field." "I'm not a physicist to further speculate on the issue." "Cells and their cores  it's just a camouflage." "Their bodies anatomy is much more complicated." "Doctor Sartorius, I think this theory may be true." "Yeah... it's interesting." "The field source can be hidden deep in Ocean." "We should contemplate this." "It's also important to learn what the Ph-things really are." "To my opinion, this is the materialized information our brain stores about the object." "Yes, Snout and me have decided this already." "There's only one thing uncertain:" "why do they come back?" "If Ocean experiments with us, it must have aborted the procedure after the elimination of the first visitors, or tried to protect them in a way." "Right, but, perhaps, it's an automated cycle on." "Let's come back to our main issue." "I presume, some points by doctor Kelvin are true." "I mean his neutrino bodies theory." "If so, we must find the way to destroy the power field that makes the neutrino structures stable." "I think..." "Go away!" "Leave me alone!" "So, have we discussed everything?" "Yes." "Snout..." "Call in as far as you can." "I'll come when I can." "Go away!" "Go away!" "Harrie, I told you to go away!" "Everything's a lie!" "Go away, now!" "Go away!" "My love," "I can't go on like that." "I know, you're good and kind, but you're killing me." "I can't live like that any more." "neither can I live without you." "So, I've decided to do the only thing left to me." "Kiss you for the last time." "Yours, Harrie." "You shouldn't pretend." "Go away." "Don't torture me, go away!" "Go away!" "I know who you really are." "Go away." "What are you talking about?" "!" "Go away." "Harrie," "Calm down, honey." " Come, come, my girl." " Don't call me 'my girl' !" "Calm down, come on!" "What happened?" " I've heard everything!" "You don't love me!" " What have you heard?" "I was dreaming, Harrie!" "No!" "You called me a liar." "You told me to go away!" "But I can't go away!" "Is it my fault that I've got too much up to you?" "Honey," "I'm so sorry for this stupid dream!" "One can dream all kinds of things." "No!" "You don't really love me." "First, I seemed to doubt it... but then I understood." "Your attitudes have changed." "You don't take me for serious, you have your own secrets." "And in your dream you told me to go away!" "But why?" "!" "What have I done?" "!" "Look, Harrie," "I'll tell you the truth." "Honestly?" "Yes," "I give you my word on it." "You... shouldn't worry." "It's a good thing you can't live a single minute away from me, Harrie!" "I can't live without you, either." "It's great, Harrie!" "No, Chris!" "Something is wrong with me!" "I can feel it." "What's wrong?" "I don't know." "I forgot the most ordinary things." "Why?" "Am I ill?" "I close my eyes and very queer thoughts occur to me." "As if not mine." " Where do they come from?" " What thoughts?" "Hard to explain..." "They are from far, far away..." "As if not mine at all." "I can't explain it." "You don't have to." "Don't explain anything, Harrie." "Enough stupid talks." "Try to sleep a bit, Harrie." "Now, sleep..." " Chris!" " What?" "I love you so much!" "What the sound is it?" "A shuttle took off.'" "Hello, mate!" "Meet my wife." "Here's doctor Snout." "And here's my beautiful wife Harrie." "I... haven't got any idea..." "Excuse me, I..." "Kelvin, can I share a word with you?" "Honey, Doctor and I will be in my study discussing our work." "What happened?" "I got divorced." "Sent her away on shuttle." "Yesterday seemed to last for a couple of years." "How are you?" "Great." "If you put it that way..." "Having fun together?" "Kelvin, what are you going to do?" "The thing we agreed upon." "I'm now developing the neutrino systems theory." "All right." "Look..." "Sartorius got an idea." "He wants to transmit our thoughts to Ocean." "Get it?" "How?" " Via telegraph?" " Stupid joke." "He wants one of us to record one's brain neurons potentials and to send the record to the ocean by means of a hard radiation beam." "It will be some sort of... an X-ray discourse about the inhuman experiments, won't it?" " Do you like the idea?" " And do you?" "I've got the plan of my own." "But we'll have to re-engineer some of our machines..." "We'll create an anti-neutrino field." "I've built up a computer model." "We've got enough resources." "Wait, wait, how will it work?" "The ordinary substance will remain untouched, while the Ph-things' neutrino structures will be destroyed." "Do you see now?" "I see." "Ph-things will be destroyed." " So, are you in?" " Not quite." "Don't hurry, we must give it another thought." "Please, you can smoke." "I was lost." "On one hand I had to be with my friends." "But on the other I could lose Harrie forever, if the experiment succeded." "I couldn't let it happen." "I was afraid I would lose Harrie, so I made up my mind to play for some time." "Snout!" "Are you sure your project is safe for the station?" " My calculation says so." " Yours..." "But there can be other results..." "Your device may well blow the station up when activated." "You should double check you calculations." "Naturally, it'll take up some time, but... to turn into the star dust is the last thing we want." "Meanwhile, we can go in for Sartorius' project." "Let's try to send our record to the ocean." "It can listen to us." "Do you believe it?" "It doesn't matter, it'll do no harm, anyway." "All right," "I'm in." "I have to go and work while I've still got my time." "Are you absolutely sure you've done no miscalculations?" "Could be so, that's why I'd like to double check everything." "I'll be in my lab." "Call me on emergency," " Chris!" " Yes, honey?" "Who's that man?" "It's doctor Snout, I told you." "Why do you ask?" "He gave me a queer look." "He just liked you." "He didn't." "He gave me such a foul look." "Don't talk rubbish, Harrie." "He just got it around him." "No." "He didn't even say good bye to me." "I just couldn't make myself shake hands with her." "And she didn't fail to notice that!" "How's doctor Kelvin?" "He's fine for the moment." "But I don't think he'll stand it for long." "What do you mean?" ".." "Mind and emotions do not always get on well together." "But he knows very well she's inhuman." "It was Kelvin who discovered their bodies anatomy." "And he was the first to propose the elimination of the power field." "I bet, he's very sorry about it right now." "Are you sure?" "Doctor Kelvin is a bit emotional, but he's got a scientist's mind as well." "You see, Sartorius, he's got the hardest challenge of us all." "While we're more or less determined about our visitors," "Chris feels guilty of the wife's death." "And now he has to murder her again." "This is the hardest thing about it." "But it's not his wife." "It's a P-thing, a replicant." "For us, not for Chris." "He got the hard time." "I can understand him." "But he has approved the experiment." "Now he shall do anything to play for time." "You do understand, it's impossible to blow up the station." "We must go to him and explain everything." "We've already gone down that path with Gibaryan." "Do you recall how everything turned out?" "We should try another approach with Chris." "I seem to have an idea." "We must talk to Harrie straight from the shoulder." "Kelvin, I'm leaving my surveillance reports about the Ocean's creature to you." "I'll hide them at your apartment because I'm afraid it can erase them." "Perhaps, you'll find these reports useful later on." "Your friend, Gibaryan." "What is on there?" "You've messed all your things up!" "Have you ever tried to put everything in place?" "Isn't it your job after all?" "It's not funny." " Chris!" " What?" "Tell me, is Gibaryan a friend of yours?" "He's thin and dark-haired, isn't he?" "He's also here, in the station, isn't he?" "No, he's dead." "Why on earth have you mentioned him?" "Oh, it's nothing..." "Just a twist of my memory..." "Chris." "What?" "How're you?" "I'm all right." " I'd like to talk to you." " You're welcome." "Not like that..." "I've got my work to do, you see." "Give me just 5 minutes." "OK, honey, I'm all ears." " But don't lie me!" " Why on earth should I?" "Don't know, perhaps, you've got your own reason." "I don't know a lot of things and I forgot a lot." "I've found my letter in your papers, but I can't remember to have written it." "It's a very queer letter." "You were ill." "Probably." "But still, it's queer all the same." "OK, it doesn't matter..." "I'd like to ask you a question, but answer honestly, will you?" "I can't remember how I arrived here." "Do you know that?" "Wait, you may not know the answer." "But if you know and can't tell me right now, promise to do it later." "What do you mean, Harrie?" "Chris, whatever I might be..." "just tell me." "I'll understand." "I've got no secrets." "You do known well..." "Harrie, you do know, I love you!" "Love me?" "I'd prefer being hated." "Chris, you have no idea about the way these circumstances depress me." "My dear friend Chris, I doubt if you find me still alive..." "If you don't this record will be my farewell letter to you." "Now I can say this for sure:" "You were my best friend ever." "Though, we didn't see much of each other after Harrie's death you will remain my best friend." "I guess, we haunt ourselves." "Ocean uses an amplyfied mode of our thinking." "It's stupid and useless to look for any motives of its act, so, we should either stop thinking, or destroy our thoughts materiazation, that is, we should destroy the ocean's offsprings to go on with our researches." "The first alternative is practically impossible, while the second one is very close to murder..." "Harrie!" "Harrie!" "What?" "Did you fail?" "Why?" "Why do you look at me like that?" "Harrie." "It's not me you love." "You love the girl from Earth." "That part of my life died with her." "Now I love you." "You're kind." "You did your best." "But even you can't help about it." "When I appeared here, I knew nothing, understood nothing," "but then I started thinking about you and me, hearing your talks with Snout over." "I found the postcard." "And today, after I listened to the Gibaryan's record, I understood everything!" "Everything!" "I'm not human!" "Harrie, you're a living human." "Chris, please, tell my everything you know." "I know nothing..." "I just..." "You're the precious thing I've got in this world." "I love you." "I don't know, what awaits us, we're helpless here, but please, Harrie, let's be together forever." "One more thing..." "Do... do I look pretty much like her?" "You did before, but now I don't know..." "You mean?" "You're bigger than her." "And one more thing..." "If you were her, I wouldn't have been able to love you." "Why?" "Because I did something terrible back there on Earth..." " To her?" " Yes." "Don't tell me." "Why?" "I want you to know..." "I am not her, I'm different." "She knows everything about herself." "Yesterday she wanted to commit cuicide." "Why do you tell me this?" "I just want you to know where we are." "I expected something of this kind to happen." "I've said already that the new comer is, in a way, void of everything... except the chaotic collection of memories from his or her past life." "The more the visitor stays with you, the more human qualities she or he acquires." "That's why the longer they stay the harder they are to get on with." " So, she knows everything, doesn't she?" " Yes, she does." "Every single thing?" "And about her previous stay and how you..." "NO!" "What's your plan?" " Do you plan to leave the station?" " Yes, I do." " With her?" " Yes." "I won't interfere." "I just tell you that you... try to act like a human under inhuman circumstances." "Perhaps, it's a heroic act, but also a pointless one." "Yet, heroic is not a word, for there's nothing heroic in cowardice, but it doesn't matter..." "I take it, you've given up our experiment, haven't you?" "You want to leave and take her with you, don't you?" "Exactly." "But it will be an experiment all the same?" "Have you thought about it?" "She will be safe with me." "It seems to me, you're just scared and have made up you mind to flee." "We're all in one boat." "Sartorious and me realize it, though." " ...and we don't play noble." " I don't play noble, Snout!" "OK, I take my words back." "But again: you're a coward to flee from the station." "You delude her and more - you delude yourself." "Do you know the conditions crucial for Ph-things life?" "No, I don't." "Neither do you." "Nobody knows, come to that." "You're wrong." "Sartorius knows." "He explained the principle to me." "They can live on constant flow of energy." "The energy builds up the stabilization field." "But the field source location is a problem." "It's either in the visitor's body or out there, in the ocean." "Do you see the difference?" "If the source is external, then... when away from Solaris the system became volatile..." "If you doubt, it's easy to proove." "The shuttle you've launched, is still in the orbit." "We can go there and see what happened to the passenger." "You're crazy!" "Or we could bring the shuttle here by remote control." "OK, let's call her by radio." "If she survived, she'll answer." "Snout, Snout." "Kelvin, Kelvin." "Think, what are you going to do?" "Who do you want to save and make happy?" "Is it you?" "Or her?" "Which one of hers?" "This or that one?" "I repeat once more - it's beyond any moral." "What should I do?" "Kill her?" "The other she will appear tomorrow." "Is that one to be killed as well?" "And thus on every day to come?" "Why?" "Why should I, or you, or Sartorius?" "Snout, does she bother you both?" "Answer me first!" "Let's assume, you two will take a shuttle and fly away from the planet, and in several minutes you'll see..." "Come on, what is it I will see?" "God, Devil, who?" "The agony." "What will you do, then?" "Will you come back for the back-up?" " Stop it!" " Shall I?" "!" "I'm sick with talking." "I can't see what bothers you so much?" "That killing her is a mean thing to do?" "What if this is the ONLY way out?" "I love her." "Who?" "Your memories?" "No, her..." "Her." "I hate discussing your privacy, but you were the first to start it..." "You love her, she loves you, you'd die for her, so would she..." "It's great and noble but the problem is there's no place for such stuff HERE." "We are into the things we can't control." "This is a closed cycle, she's just a tiny part of." "Put on a scientist's hat!" "What do you want me to do, Snout?" "Do you want me to kill her?" "I asked you why and got no answer." "Do you see, why you're here?" "You can't make up your mind and that's why you fight with me, but in fact, you fight with yourself." "No, I don't." "I've come to tell you that we're leaving the station." "Good afternoon, Snout." "Hello, Kelvin." "Are you ready, Snout?" "Take your seat here, it won't take long." "Don't worry, I'll wait." "Come on." "Listen to me, doctor Kelvin." "I'll give you no orders for they are useless." "You should stop thinking about yourself, me, Snout..." "And about... other people." "Concentrate on the following point:" "planets Earth and Solaris." "The efforts people have undertaken to find alien civilizations." "The hardworking and persistent character of people." "Our peaceful intentions." "The contact with Solaris." "If you can't concentrate from the start, Snout will repeat the recording session." "We've got plenty of time." "Everythig's ready!" "Fine!" "Well, shall we start, then?" "While I was listening to Sartorius it occured to me that I might try and ask Ocean to free Snout and Sartorius of their phantoms." "Then they wouldn't press it so hard on me to kill Harrie." "Then we'd be able to stay aboard the station and live as before." "I began to repeat the line:" ""Take away the visitors of Snout and Sartorius"" ""Let only Harrie stay, let Harrie stay..."" "I'd like to talk to you." "What about?" "About Chris, you..." "But let this talk be our secret!" "I don't know." "We do everything together..." "I can't without him." "I see..." "We can have a talk in your cabin, when he's asleep." "Do it for Chris' sake." "So, what do you say?" "All right." "Though I hoped Ocean would understand me, considering the ease it had accessed our memories with," "I was afraid, the giant, mystic monster like it was wouldn't understand my fear to lose Harrie." "At the moment I strongly believed Ocean would fulfill my plea." "That's why I kept on repeating:" ""Leave Harrie alone!" "Do Harrie no harm"." "Kill the transmission." "We've sent enough messages." "Have we succeded, doctor Kelvin?" "What's your opinion?" "We have." " Are you so sure?" " I am." " Will you tell us what you and Ocean chattered about?" " Forget it." "Have you started mounting the field destroying device?" "Why?" "I've checked." "Sartorius was right." "It's safe for the station." "I see what you mean..." "You sure read and believed in Koe's theory, but..." "Chris, have you changed your mind?" "No." "At the X time we'll leave the station for a couple of days." "I'll take the surveillance capsule." "You want to save you phantom, don't you?" "Yes, I do." "So, when are you leaving?" "Tommorow." "Come on." "Come on." "We'll switch the device on tonight." "Harrie!" "Remind me to take an extra oxygen reserve less some emergency turns up." "OK." "We'll be back in a week." "By the time the starship "Prometeus" that brought me here will come." "We'll go to Earth by it." "To Earth?" "Aren't you happy?" "Doesn't the station bore you?" "As does this black, gloomy, shoreless Ocean?" "Have you forgotten how beautiful Earth is?" "I haven't." "I remember everything." "I'm often imagining the blue sky, the trees..." "The smell of grass and flowers, the water-lilies in the pond." " And clouds?" " Clouds?" "Let's avoid large cities when we're back." "I'll ask for a country house." "We'll plant a garden there." "There will be flowers and berries..." "Chris, no berries." "Let's have a soft velvet lawn and a little glass and plastic swimming pool." " Please, there can't be any garden without berries, Harrie!" " We'll buy them from the farmers." " Just one little cabbage patch!" " No patches!" " One patch is a must-have!" " No!" "Earth..." "We're looking forward to see it when back from the stars, but soon get used to its beauty again." "We're quick at at." "Even love can become a mere habit." "Imagine, how dreadful such love can be!" "The only thing I know is that we aren't that kind of people." "God, it's so late!" "There will be a hard day tomorrow, we're to get up early." "Go to bed, Chris, I'll wake you up." "I've heard, you and Chris are leaving the station, aren't you?" "Yes, we are." "Is Earth your next destination?" "Yes." "It's impossible." "Why?" "Only humans can come to the Earth." "The first serious test will interrupt your voyage." "But the point is different." "How exactly?" "Your existance is connected with the flow of energy, controlled by Ocean." "The moment you leave the station you'll die." "Thank you for the warning." "We'll stay here." "This is not an alternative either." "Ocean can stop its experiment..." "at any moment." "And then you will..." "Disappear?" " All of a sudden like I came?" " Yes." " Does Chris know about it?" " He does." "Poor Chris..." "It's so terrible to love and wait for the grievious moment to come." "It's not you he loves, but his memories about the long gone Harrie from Earth." "It's not true!" "I am his memories!" "He loves me!" "Me alone!" "Look, Harrie, it's a dreadful thing to say." "but your life is to end whatever comes." "If you go and die, Chris will accuse himself of your death." "Do you want him to?" "I don't." "Staying aboard the station is no alternative either." "If Ocean saves you... imagine, what life will you doom Chris for?" "The moment he realizes, he'll be the eternal captive here, he will curse both the station and you for your fault." "Chris is the son of Earth and he will long to come back for all his life." "Trust me, Harrie!" "He loves you now, but the things to come may easily destroy this love." "What shall I do?" "I know, you've already tried to put an end to the lies..." "I can hardly give you an advice, but Sartorius and me can help you." " You?" " Yes." "We've tuned the device." "It will be like a gust of wind." " When?" " Right now." "What if Chris wakes up?" "Give him some sleeping pills." "Make your choice now, Harrie!" "You're the clue." "I have to consider it over." "I'd like to do it myself..." "Give me some more time!" "Just a half of an hour!" "I want to stay with him a bit more." "I'll be waiting for you upstairs." " Are you here?" " Yes." "It seems to me you were out." " Some voices in the corridor..." " It's just your imagination." "Chris, I'm thirsty." "There's a glass of wine over there on the table." "Will you bring it to me, my love?" "On my way." " Would you like to have some?" " No." "To me." "Well, I'll drink to you, kid." "Chris..." "Would you... get married again, but for me?" "I wouldn't" " Never ever?" " Never." "Why?" "Well..." "I've been alone for 10 years, and still haven't married." "Let's skip it." "And if I asked you?" "Asked me to marry?" "What rubbish!" "I want only you," "Put it another way." "I love you." "Are you all right, Harrie?" "What's up?" "Nothing.'Everything's OK." "Harrie!" "Harrie!" "Harrie!" "Kelvin..." "It was you!" "It was you!" "You talked to her this night!" "You told her to give me the sleeping pills, so that I wouldn't interfere!" "What did..." "What did... you do to her, Snout?" "!" " Come on!" " Calm down, Kelvin!" "My love!" "I asked them to do it myself." "I'm sorry, I had to cheat you." "But it was the only thing to do." "Please, don't do yourself any harm." "You were a great husband..." "Harrie... kind... gentle..." "What on earth is going on?" "!" "How did it happen?" "Calm down, Kelvin." "I'd better postpone my story." "I am calm." "I'm calm." "Tell me!" "I pressed the button, then came the flash of light and in a second she was no more." "The flash of light?" "It seems to me... she'll be back." "She shall come back." " She won't." " Why not?" "She'll be back." "She must be back." "No." "Kelvin." "We sent your messages to Ocean yesterday." "There have been no visitors since then." "No visitors?" " Since then?" " No." "Has she left any message to me?" "No, nothing." "Kelvin." "Kelvin, man yourself." "Yeah, you're right." "I'm OK." "You all are so good... so kind..." "But why did you do this?" "Why, Snout?" "What has she done to you?" "Has she been so great a bother?" "What did you tell her?" "The truth." "We must report the events that took place here." "We have to clean the station, to make up a working schedule." "I want to stay." "So does Snout." "Do you join?" "What about me?" "What it was I wanted?" "To come back to Earth?" "What for?" "I've got neither home nor family." "Still, I decided to come back." "We all return to Earth from the stars." "Or shall I stay here with Snout?" "We don't know for sure if the ocean gave up the idea of the contact with humans." "It did have it's own goal." "Did it succeed or not?" "Will it repeat the experiment?" "No, I can't fly away and leave it behind." "I'll stay on Solaris!" "What for?" "Do I hope for Harrie to come back?" "There's no such hope any more." "But I'm waiting." "What else will the alien mind show us?" "I've got no idea..." "But the only thing I know is:" "there're more cruel miracles to happen."