01x05 - The Sixth Finger

Episode transcripts for the TV show "The Outer Limits". Aired: September 16, 1963 – January 16, 1965.*
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Anthology of self-contained episodes, sometimes with plot twists at their ends.
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01x05 - The Sixth Finger

Post by bunniefuu »

Your ignorance makes me ill and angry.

( man ) There is nothing wrong with your television set.

Do not attempt to adjust the picture.

We are controlling transmission .

We will control the horizontal.

We will control the vertical.

We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity.

For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all you see and hear.

You are about to participate in a great adventure.

You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to The Outer Limits.

( man ) Where are we going? Life, the timeless, mysterious gift, is still evolving.

What wonders or terrors does evolution hold in store for us in the next 1 0,000 years, in a million , in six million ? Mrs Ives? Mrs Ives? ( man ) Perhaps the answer lies in this old house in this old and misty valley.

- What are you doing here? - l'm Cathy.

Oh.

lndeed? l brought bread and was looking to be paid by Mrs lves.

She's never around when she's needed.

lt's impossible to find good help.

l can 't even find an assistant.

Fresh bread, did you say? Give it here.

Ah.

- One and tuppence, please.

- Oh, yes.

l didn 't take time out for breakfast.

l've been working all night.

- One and tuppence.

- Thank you .

- What kind of work is it you do here? - l'm a professor of genetics.

- This bread is good.

Do you have more? - That was the last.

- l can bring you more if you can wait.

- Hurry.

l can 't wait very long for anything.

Hurry up.

Genetics? Genetics.

Ah, Darwin .

You're hungry too, eh? Well, you've had a hard night.

There.

- Have you teached him any tricks? - More than that.

He earns his keep.

Here, file these under MG.

(chimp whoops) Oh.

Molecular Genetics.

However did he become so smart? l made him that way.

- Can you do that with people too? - That, my dear, is what l want.

Why do you ask? l'd like to be smart.

There's someone l'd like to be smart for.

- Who are your parents? - l don 't have any.

Could you make me halfway smart? l'd like a sample of your blood.

lt's all right.

lt won 't hurt.

Now, extend your arm.

There we are.

Now make a fist.

(whimpers) Twelve loaves at one and tuppence, and all you bring home is twelve and threepence.

- You're holding back one and nine! -No, Gert.

Little Miss lnnocent Eyes herself.

Thievin ' from her sister! Give it to me! The professor give me the wrong change.

l'll teach you to count if l have to b*at it into you ! l'll get the right change! l've got to go back! Miss Witch.

Leave that helpless child be.

My customers cheat her and she isn 't bright enough to know.

Beatin ' up never made anybody bright, girl.

Love and fondness makes ladies think the right way.

Now, you know that, don't you, Gert? - Please, Wilt! - l'll let you go if you give me one kiss.

- Knock it off, Wilt.

- Distract my friend, Gert.

He annoys me terrible.

Ain 't this town dirty enough? Thanks, Gwyllm.

Well, if the professor wants another loaf, take it to him.

l'm goin ' that way.

l'll walk with you .

The foreman told the manager l've been makin ' trouble among the miners.

Spreadin ' discontent and actin ' myself superior.

The manager asked me if l thought l was too good for the job.

So l told him that maybe l was.

So it's down tools for me and l'm out of a job.

- Well, that's it, isn 't it? - Yes, Gwyllm.

- l'll wait for you here.

-No.

Come on .

One good thing: l'll be able to turn my back on that mine.

l wish l could turn my back on that whole town .

Life should go forward, not backward like here.

How can a man go forward here? Where would you go, then ? Anywhere, to get out from under.

Away from all this dirt and stupidity.

And away from that black mine that's to blame for it all.

lt would give me great pleasure to see this whole town utterly destroyed.

You'll go forward, Gwyllm.

You're smarter than the others.

Too smart to eat coal dust for the rest of my life.

- l wish l was smart.

- Well, you're not stupid.

That's the big difference between you and them others.

All l need's one lucky break.

A job where l could use my head and l'd show them! l'd ride round in a sports car and wear a big gold ring.

- So that's him? - Who? - The professor from London .

- Oh.

- Ask him for a job.

- Don 't be ridiculous.

Professor Mathers, young Cathy's come to see you .

Oh, Cathy.

Show her in , Mrs lves.

l'm sorry l have to disappoint you .

l'm afraid your blood is the wrong type.

lt wasn 't for that l've come.

Here's my friend, Gwyllm Griffith.

Cathy here tells me you're in need of an assistant.

l've come to apply for the job.

Oh? Do you think you're eligible for this particular job? l can do anything another man can do, and better maybe.

l work here on high-frequency electronics on a molecular level.

Are you familiar with solid state circuitry? Any experience in ordinary lab techniques? Microscopy, biopsy, protein analysis and synthesis? Know anything about the mechanical side of office work? Computer technology? - Filing procedures? Stenography? - Are you trying to make a fool of me? l'm merely suggesting you are best adapted for what you've been doing.

Wait.

lf you could teach that monkey, couldn 't you teach Gwyllm, who's smarter than anyone in town ? l'm afraid it isn 't that simple.

Learning is worthless without the brain capacity to use it.

That's what l'm working on .

Racing against time.

Trying to speed up the slow process of evolution by a molecular approach to genetics.

l've already succeeded with that ape.

He's almost human .

lf l could do it with a man , create the man of the future, who could rise above the animal passions which lead to v*olence and self-destruction and develop the intelligence that's necessary for a peaceful and civilised coexistence Will you do it with me? You? Yes.

You realise an experiment always has its dangers.

l'm game for anything, sooner than go crawling back to that mine and spend my life like an animal in the dark.

M rs ves! Take him out and clean him up, Mrs lves.

Would you take your jacket off and sit down over there? lneed to take a sample of your blood.

Extend your arm.

When the physical test is completed, and if it's successful, well Now Make a fist.

Have l passed the tests? - You'll do.

- Let's get on with it, then .

lmmediately.

What'll we do then ? Use selective wavelengths and l can stimulate your genes so that the superior genes become stronger than the backward ones and eventually dominate them, whereby accelerating the inborn mechanism of evolution to a fantastically high speed.

These generators are directed into this chamber.

They're controlled by this panel.

This lever encompasses the entire evolutionary history of the human race.

Backwa rd to the pr otozoa Forward to what? Each degree on this dial represents You'll be the first man ever to go forward into our biological future.

You're still determined to go through with it? (whirring ) You're praying that your experiment may be a blessing and not a curse on mankind.

You're hoping you may be forgiven for what you did a few years ago, when you helped to invent an atomic b*mb so powerful it could destroy all life on this planet.

lt's this sense of guilt that's made you bury yourself down here .

.

trying desperately to find a way of making w*r impossible.

How do you know that? lt's your dinner tray, for you and the young man .

Leave it, Mrs lves.

We can 't be disturbed now.

As you like, sir.

- Don 't let it get cold now, sir.

- All right.

Good night, Mrs lves.

lt would be unwise for her to see you at this stage.

You didn 't tell me my body would change.

l wasn 't prepared for a physical mutation in the man of 20,000 years from now.

However, it's understandable, since we evolved from the caveman in less time.

Why didn 't he change? Not all species of monkey evolved into man .

His obviously lacked that potential.

Your heightened forehead indicates more currents in your neuronic synapses required for greater intelligence and telepathic function .

Your eyes have developed a wider field of vision and a power of charged concentration .

Your hand reveals the bud of a sixth finger, which suggests an additional dexterity will develop in the man of the dim future.

lt is a high price to pay for power over other men .

Misgivings, Professor? Afraid you maybe gave power to the wrong man ? What makes you say that? You should have realised by now that l can read your mind.

Pro fessor? - Yes, what is it? - Are you all right? You've not touched your dinner.

lt stood here all night.

Too busy to stop.

Take it away, Mrs lves.

Very good, sir.

Useless, like the others.

Our tests aren 't sufficient to measure your mind in its advanced state.

What good is intelligence without knowledge? l'm hungry to know things, learn everything.

Fetch me books.

Books about everything.

All the books you have! l want to read them all! Do you understand? (slams door) Two loaves, two and fourpence.

- Here you are, love.

- Thank you , Mrs lves.

- How is Gwyllm keepin ' himself? - l ain 't seen hide nor hair of him.

Somethin ' peculiar's goin ' on and it can 't be good.

Look what the professor done with that monkey.

lt ain 't natural! - lf you was to tell - Won 't do no good.

- l'll get to the bottom of it.

- Maybe he'd see me.

Please.

lf you don 't believe me, come.

- You have a visitor.

- l can 't see anyone.

- Tell him it's me.

- lt's Miss Cathy come to see you .

Get away.

Don 't bother me.

He's right, he is not wanting the likes of me breaking in on his studies.

(folk music on accordibn ) Come on .

Sing, Gert.

lt's years since l heard your tender voice.

Don 't be daft.

What have l got to sing about? The funeral dirge, l'd be singing.

For all the lost things.

Speaking of lost things, where have you been ? - Delivering the bread, Gert.

- All this time? What do you do with a plain -faced liar? Plain -faced? l'd not say a plain face.

l'd say punchy.

Aye.

Maybe even pretty.

ln a sad way.

Go on .

Get a move on .

Speak to her gentle, Gert.

She's hurtin ' enough these days.

- That's true, ain 't it? - Please, Wilt.

Not seen handsome hide nor golden hair of your precious Gwyllm.

That must be hurtin ' you deep.

Leave her be, Wilt.

He isn 't her precious anything.

He's busy.

He's very busy doing very important work and trying to make himself better than any of us will ever be! ( laughs) Now is that typical? The little thing finally speaks her piece, and who for? A worthless rotter who can 't even hold down a job.

You can laugh at me but not at him! He's not to be laughed at! ( Bach prelude played on piano ) ( Bach prelude continues) Come in , Professor.

l'm grateful to you for giving me the ability to observe your culture through the eyes of a man Amazing, isn 't it, the things that endure the ravages of time and taste? This simple prelude, for instance.

Bach will quite probably outlive us all.

Have you always played this well? l have never before touched the keys of a piano.

But playing the piano is only a matter of mathematics and, to a certain degree, of manual dexterity.

Man produces little that is lasting.

Truly lasting.

lt's understandable.

lt is? Fear, conformity, immorality.

These are heavy burdens, great drainers of creative energy.

When we are drained of creative energy, we do not create.

We procreate, but we do not create.

- l must get some sleep.

- Yes, you must.

Your playing won 't disturb me.

sha stop soon, a nyway Good night, then .

Good night, Professor.

l've finished these books.

lt's almost dawn .

Why aren 't you asleep? lno longer have any need for sleep.

You've continued to evolve.

Your hand.

The sixth finger.

- When did it develop? - Sometime during the night.

l was too absorbed in reading to notice.

- How is it possible? - Must the pupil explain to the teacher? lt's really quite simple.

You released the mechanism of evolution , a self-generating force.

lt is now mutating under its own impetus.

l am now where man will be approximately one million years from today.

- Why are you laughing? - l am laughing at what is in your mind.

You think that l've become a monster.

But everything is relative.

To me, you look as monstrous as the missing link.

We'll stop this self-generating process before it's too late.

You must return to the chamber.

l'll set the dial back nearer to man .

Would you be willing to go back to an ape? (Gwy m) Who s thero ? Mero books for yo u - Leave them outside.

- Very good, sir.

(door opens) (gasps) Wait! No , please She's dead.

Was it an accident? Your race is too prejudiced to tolerate any differences from its own kind.

She saw me as a monster and was going to arouse the villagers.

They'd have come with their primitive weapons to obliterate me.

l wanted to stop her and .

.

l stopped her heart.

You feel no remorse? Well, would it bring her back? She was, after all, a human being, the same as ourselves.

The same as you , Professor.

To me, she was no more advanced than a monkey.

She wouldn 't have become civilised for another million years.

(sombre organ music ) Heart att*ck! Hmph! She was strong as an ox.

That woman 's heart stopped because somebody put the fear of the devil in her! And Gwyllm Griffith is just the one.

(priest clears throat Yesterday she said there was something very peculiar going on up there and she was going to get to the bottom of it, and look at her now.

Poor soul.

Here l am telling all of this to you when it's Constable Wicks l should be talking to.

( Gwyllm ) Come in , Cathy.

lt is no longer possible for me to hide.

- l've come to warn you .

- l know.

The constable's already sent two men down here.

lgnorance breeds fear.

Why aren 't you afraid of me? We're friends, Gwyllm.

You've always been kind to me.

Are you still not afraid of me? - What happened? - l saw him! What terrible thing have you done, you rotten old man ? Bring him back.

Please, sir.

Bring him back to me the way he was.

My Gwyllm.

(whooping ) Where are you going? The whole town must be utterly destroyed.

An example must be made.

You're wrong! The human race has a gift, Professor, a gift that sets it above all the other creatures that abound upon this planet.

The gift of thought, of reasoning, of understanding.

The highly developed brain .

But the human race has ceased to develop.

lt struggles for petty comfort and false security.

There is no time for thought.

Soon there will be no time for reasoning and man will lose sight of the truth.

The whole town must be utterly destroyed.

An example must be made.

Stand back.

Are you hurt? No.

All that is left of my Gwyllm is is his hatred of the town .

Your ignorance makes me ill and angry.

Your savageness .

.

must .

.

end.

- What happened? - lt was just like a blinding light.

But he didn 't hurt me.

lt was as if he suddenly changed his mind.

- (door closes) - Don 't be afraid.

l knew you were here.

What have you done? l was going to destroy everyone.

And suddenly .

.

it no longer mattered.

l evolved beyond hatred or revenge .

.

or even the desire for power.

l could feel myself reaching that stage in the dim future of mankind .

.

when the mind will cast off the hamperings of the flesh and become all thought and no matter.

A vortex of pure intelligence in space.

lt is the goal of evolution .

Man 's final destiny is to become what he imagined in the beginning, when he first learned the idea of the angels.

But that is far ahead and l'm impatient to go the whole way.

That is why l need your help.

- My help? - You're the only one l can trust.

Will you help me to go forward? l shall return to that chamber, and you must turn this dial to its furthest limit, all the way into the future.

lnto infinity.

Do you understand? - You're crying.

- You mustn 't go any further.

Come back to me the way you were.

Cathy lt was you who took me out of the blackness.

lt was you who helped me to come this far, make it possible.

Won 't you help me now .

.

to achieve the ultimate? Come, Cathy.

We haven 't much time.

As soon as l enter the chamber, push this to the word ''Forward'', All the way.

Do you understand? Not backward.

That's into the past.

And that operates the door.

Open the door.

Now must l break the last barrier between the flesh and the spirit.

Goodbye, Cathy.

l can 't let you go.

(inaudible ) l brought him back.

And he's glad.

He he touched me.

( man ) An experiment too soon , too swift, and yet may we not still hope to discover a method by which within one generation the whole human race could be rendered intelligent, beyond hatred or revenge or the desire for power? ls that not, after all, the ultimate goal of evolution ? We now return control of your television set to you until next week at this same time when the control voice will take you to .
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