ÿþ1 ( 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.
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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.
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The Outer Limits.
( man ) ln man 's dark and troubled history there are vestiges of strange gods.
This stone statue was once such a god a thousand years gone by in the central mountains of pan -America.
Today new gods have emerged.
The god of power, the god of money.
The republic of San Blas lies west of the Orinoco Basin , north of the equator.
lts principal exports are coffee, copra, mahogany, mace and saffron .
The reigns of government have changed many times in blood and fire and death.
The last revolution was led by General Juan Mercurio, the most absolute and powerful ruler of them all.
Only the lndians who live close to old gods in the volcanic uplands are unimpressed.
They have seen conquistadors with the power of their g*ns and flashing flags, the revolutionaries with the power of their zeal and willingness to die, the Americans with the power of their money and bulldozers, with their summer houseboats in the crater lake of Aripana, with their gadgets and machines and devices.
This is our deep-water research centre, Mr Dexter.
Closed-circuit TV, hydrophone.
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Oh, and this is the sounding gear.
Ceramic transducer capable of sending out half-millisecond pulses.
Now, each pulse can be traced on this precision graphic recorder.
- The principle is pretty much like.
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- Yeah, l understand the principle.
- Let's see how it works.
- OK.
All right, Skipper.
Let's get it in the water.
Hey, who does a lady see around here about getting her back oiled? Evans, give her a hand, huh? Well, sure, Mr Dexter.
(regular bleeping ) ( more rapid bleeping ) (gulls cry) Evans, come here! - You're going down ? - l just saw something.
Like what? l didn 't get too good a look at it, but it had hands and feet.
- l just saw it, Mr Dexter.
- What is it? l don 't know exactly.
A lung fish.
Get me my spear g*n .
A lung fish won 't bother you .
- Are you a betting man ? - Yeah, l could use a nice hat.
lf the thing l saw is a lung fish or any fish you ever saw, you've got yourself a brand new Panama hat.
(water splashing ) There he is.
(woman ) How long have you known him? About a week.
He sent a lawyer to buy me out, but l wasn 't about to sell.
One day he came himself.
Next thing l know, he was the boss and l was the manager.
Little birds have been known to fly right into his pockets.
l'm really not a businessman anyway.
- What are you? - l'm a marine biologist.
You must be good if he kept you on .
John Dexter only keeps the cream of the crop.
And what crop are you cream of, Miss Arthur? Me? Oh, well, l came with a little magazine he bought up last year.
And anybody who rubs my back with suntan oil automatically is entitled to call me Lynn .
Rules of the house.
More, please.
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l didn 't know he had a magazine.
He doesn 't.
Not any more.
We did an article on him.
He didn 't like it, so he bought the magazine and canned everybody.
Everybody but you? Well, l was a special case.
l wrote the article.
He told me this job was open , so l took it.
Well, what do you do down here? Resident secretary.
That's sort of a den mother with shorthand.
l live here, keep the house running, send in weekly reports of all of his southern -hemisphere companies and generally await his pleasure.
( man ) Moving through the deeps, protected only by a hunting spear, the scientist explorer descends beyond the San Blas shelf.
But unknown to him, the observer is himself observed.
Hidden in the rills of seaweed, sightless eyes, blind for centuries, stare out of the abyss.
The legendary creature of the deep, sensing through nerve receptors in its skin , becomes aware of the alien invader: man .
- Have we got another bottle of air? - We're due at the general's at seven .
- l forgot about his nibs.
- You too, Tom.
lt's cocktails.
- Hope you brought your drinking shoes.
- Sorry.
l got a date.
- With who? - Professor Arrivelo at the university.
Don 't stay out late.
Early start in the morning.
l'm gonna find that thing, whatever it is.
Tell him to hang on .
l'll leave here in the morning and be in Rome tomorrow.
No, l've got the prop jet down here with me.
Bye.
Leaving so soon , Señor Dexter? - Yeah, a little trouble.
- But you only arrived last night.
You should stay here for a while, relax, see General Mercurio's worlds fair.
Ten years of Mercurio progress.
Very beautiful.
- How's it doing? - Just between you and me, it is empty.
wo who e ment ns now , nobody comes Where are the turistas? What is the matter? Get rid of General Mercurio and maybe somebody will come.
Please, señor ! You must never say such things, even joking.
- Who's joking? - Please, believe me, señor Even here, General Mercurio has big ears these days.
My own brother-in -law last month, just talking, criticising, but pleasantly.
Of course, everybody knows General Mercurio does a lot of good but does it badly.
Did you know that the dam he built for San Blas, it's already crumbling here and there? And the university, such a spies.
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spies-on -spies system.
My brother-in -law was merely making conversation .
How's Miss Arthur making out? ls she behaving herself? Well, tell him.
Don 't just stand there.
Throw something.
Don 't get too close.
Looks like a middleweight.
Señorita No, thank you .
- The invitation is for seven .
- Yeah.
Let's go.
What's the trouble with you? ''ls she behaving herself?'' Well, now, just think that one over.
Do you think l'm worried about these five-and-dime Valentinos down here? Behaving means getting plenty of sleep and three meals a day.
Do you know how many times you've been here in six months? Twice.
Once for two days and once for a day and a half.
And now you're going to Rome.
This is business.
Sometimes l wish l'd never heard of you .
You or your job.
lf you want a pink slip, write it yourself.
l'm not going to help you out.
( lively fiesta music ) ( laughter) And then l turned around and they knew it was Mercurio.
Señor Dexter.
Señorita Arthur.
- Señor Dexter.
- General.
Lovely one.
What brings you to San Blas? Underwater research.
Just bought up a little firm.
Sort of a hobby.
You've come a long way to practise your hobby.
But, then , why not? Permiso Señor Dexter, it has been far too long since we have spoken .
l think l can make it myself, General.
l forget.
North American men do not like to be touched.
Latins are different.
We do not feel it is unmanly to show friendship or emotion .
l kissed my father until the day he d*ed.
- You didn 't know my father.
-No.
No, of course not.
Once he told me, ''Juanito, beware of jewelled men .
'' And now l myself am bewejelled.
But, of course, he meant rich.
Like you , señor And you .
l would be happier in a barrib Believe it.
l only live this way because my people want it so.
There is nothing that l will not do for my people.
Nothing.
Clean streets, electric lights.
And a beautiful worlds fair.
Ten years ago who would have dreamed it? emyea rs of prog ross s not just a memety pr a se , señor See for yourself what l have done.
A city in Latin America second to none.
Auniversity.
Now, this very palacib rebuilt from ashes.
And here, my dam.
Mercurio Dam.
To supply power and to hold back the flood waters.
l did these things for my people.
- Do you believe that? - lf you say so.
You're a liar, señor You think l'm a tyrant.
All Yankees do.
True? Not true? Why do Yankees not come to San Blas, to my beautiful worlds fair? - Why? - What do you want from me? You're a man of great influence.
l was thinking perhaps a word to a publisher or two, a pleasant article about San Blas, even myself.
That's impossible, Mercurio, and you know it.
We are very much alike in many ways.
- Here's Señor Dexter.
- Hi.
Señor - What is this thing? - A very old god, señor Very old and very prominent in the folklore of our country.
lt is said that the ancient ones could speak with him.
Has anybody ever seen anything like that? Occasionally, lndian fisherman in Lake Aripana have come back with stories.
Let's go.
l'm gonna be diving all day tomorrow.
- What about Rome? - Forget it.
Something else came up.
(regular bleeping ) That's deep enough.
(regular bleeping ) All right, Evans, let's go.
Must be down there.
That's the sound it made.
That sounds like a dolphin .
lt can 't be.
Not here.
Let's go down and find out, then .
Tom? Tom, are you all right? Where's Mr Dexter? We saw something.
Something horrible.
- Evans, what is it? - l don 't know.
About that bet: l like a loose weave with a broad brim.
Skipper.
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Hold it.
Evans.
Come on .
Get this in the cold box.
Set it at freezing.
We've got to take this to the marine lab.
Wait a minute.
Here.
Keep your eye on that.
lt'll make a nice little souvenir.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, please may l have your attention ? l am Professor Arrivelo, marine biology department, University of San Blas.
Now, a few words of explanation regarding the being that you are all waiting to see.
ln 1 938, off the coast of Africa, a native fisherman pulled in his net one day and astounded the world with the discovery of the coelacanth, a fish thought to be extinct some 50 million years.
ln that room is a creature whose line, in my opinion , is half as old as the world itself.
Please, Señor Evans.
The one that we are most interested in , the ichthyosaurus, or fish lizard.
Part crocodile, part whale or dolphin .
lt is my opinion that the creature in the next room evolved directly from.
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(banging ) Well? Where is the thing? ln the cold room, General.
Señor Dexter was wise enough to freeze it instantly.
The press will also be welcome.
You may bring your cameras.
Well, he didn 't waste much time cashing in .
We've got to fly that thing to the States frozen .
That means a big insulated box.
Plenty of ice.
Tell my pilot.
And find out when we can get out of this place.
The creature seems to be mainly aquatic, but it has reached a stage of evolution where it can live on land for short periods.
Notice what you might call the fingers.
lt is a wonder Mr Dexter was not torn to shreds.
- My spear was in its shoulder.
- There is no sign of a wound.
l want a man watching this thing.
No one is to move it or touch it.
Understand? Yes, Your Excellency.
You may now take your photographs.
Enough.
The pilot'll be fuelled and ready to go by eight in the morning.
Paco , have a very spee a job f or yo u You are to stay in this room all night.
And do not let anyone enter that room for any reason .
No one.
- Orders from the General.
- Oh! Now, l want to show you something very important.
Paco, this is the thermostat for the cold room.
lt is set at freezing point.
l do not want the temperature to go below nor above.
Do you understand? Yes, Professor.
No touch.
( knocking ) ey , Paco Ma rio What do yo u say ? What l say? l come to keep you company.
Checkers.
Vino Fine.
Good.
Good.
One, two, three, king.
( vibrating banging ) ( high -pitched buzzing ) Help.
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Help! Somebody come here quick! Help! Help! Somebody come here quick! Help! (growling ) ( high -pitched buzzing ) - What's going on here? - That thing, it got loose.
Don 't sh**t! lt won 't hurt you .
lt could have k*lled me but it stopped.
lt tore a hole right through that door.
Come on , use the nets! Keep away from its head.
lt's like a stingray.
Call Professor Arrivelo.
Go! Get him! Quick! ( high -pitched buzzing ) ( low growling ) - How did it get out? l thought l k*lled it.
- The temperature went wrong.
- Paco says it tore open the door.
- Tore? - Pulverised it.
This is powdered iron .
- Did you say powdered iron ? lt has been subjected to a tremendous pressure.
l would say it was a concussion force.
But there was no burn place and Paco said there was no expl*si*n .
They say it gave out some kind of high-pitched scream.
- Like that sound it's making now? -No.
They say it was different.
This sound was loud enough to break things.
l figure some kind of supersonic impulses concentrated into a beam.
We've set up an oscilloscope to try to read the frequency.
- Does it give off any pattern ? - Very definitely.
lt's like the distress cries of certain species of dolphins.
l'd say it's signalling.
You say it's giving off a definite pattern of sounds.
Like words? Well, you could call it that.
Then it might be possible to talk with this thing? lt might be.
We've established certain speech patterns with dolphins.
A sound for come, go, danger, distress and so on .
We take these and play them back in underwater amplifiers.
Now, the dolphins do respond.
And as our taped vocabulary increases, so will our ability to communicate with them.
And this thing's like a dolphin ? As far as sound goes.
The dolphin gives a single tone burst as an information carrier.
The harmonic pattern with this one is a lot more complex.
Professor Arrivelo, what is your opinion of this? For the record, sir.
lf we can establish communication with this creature, it will be beyond doubt one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of the century, if not of all time.
General Mercurio has stated his belief that this thing will make his fair the success it deserves to be.
Do you agree with him, sir? Well, l would not disagree with the general.
However, l must add that to think of this marvellous discovery as a tourist attraction is to degrade and belittle the world of science, and it is to that world alone that this discovery belongs.
lt took a lot of guts his expressing those anti-Mercurio sentiments to the press.
Not to mention in the presence of you , Mr Dexter.
Me? Why ? Well, you seem to be a friend of Mercurio's.
What do you know about guts, Evans? l get the feeling you don 't really fit in .
- Am l fired? - You're fired.
Why? Just because he thinks you're a friend of Mercurio's? He knows why.
All right! l froze down there this morning.
Anybody can freeze.
( Dexter) You can 't freeze and work for me.
What about Professor Arrivelo? He's expecting me to work with him.
Go ahead.
But l won 't pay you .
When l look at you , l won 't even see you .
Can you take that kind of arrangement? l can try.
lt took courage for him to say that.
Women like that in men , don 't they? They admire it.
That's all.
He'll be back in the States by morning.
Does it make you feel extra powerful to think that people more human than you are less magnificent than you? - Lay off, Lynn .
- Don 't tell me l've touched something? A lot of people would be glad to give me a bad time for nothing.
l don 't need it from you .
lt wasn 't part of our deal.
Oh, yes, l forgot.
That's your life story, isn 't it? Every relationship is a deal.
- l've been holding out on you in this deal.
- Holding out what? Just a few little things that l couldn 't bargain with even if l wanted to: love, pity, tears.
Exception noted.
Love, pity, and tears, they're all yours, Lynn .
l don 't need 'em.
You know, Dex, once, about five million years ago.
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l had this silly notion that l was in love with you .
But it isn 't possible to love a beautiful machine that's self-sealing, non -flammable, impervious to wind or weather.
You may not need love, pity, or tears.
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but l need to give those things.
( low growling ) How soon can l move him, Professor? - Move him? Where? - l'm flying him to the States.
We've got a t*nk welded.
They're putting it aboard now.
Don 't worry, it's for science.
l'll handle Mercurio.
lt is not that.
The experiment, to interrupt it now.
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lt has been talking to us.
Listen .
Show him, please.
- We set up a microphone at the dam.
- We are hoping another creature will.
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(clicking ) - lt's ranging noises.
- What's the matter? - lt sounds like a school of them.
- School of those things? Dolphins will try to rescue a member of their species.
That's true of most species.
A school of them, and they're getting louder! (banging ) This wall must come out.
- We can move the t*nk on rollers.
- Yes, Your Excellency.
This discovery has been declared a national treasure.
lt will be called lchthyosaurus Mercurius.
-Now, the people of San Blas.
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- lt belongs to me, General.
And l've already made other plans for it.
Guard! lf anyone touches this creature without my permission , your orders are to sh**t to k*ll.
- The truck's outside.
We're ready to go.
- (guard) Stop! Get that thing out of here! We're taking it to the plane right now! ( low growling ) - Listen .
- What is it now? (grunting ) Let it go.
Let it go back into the lake! l think they're gonna try to rescue him.
- We can 't tell what they'll do.
- They won 't do anything.
Listen to him! Who knows what will happen to this town ? - That's Mercurio's problem.
- You brought that thing here.
- lt's your problem, too! - lt's my problem and l'm handling it.
Let's go.
OK, José, untie the net first.
Carlos, get the other side.
- Dex! - (g*nf*re ) ( high -pitched buzzing ) Cut it loose! ( man ) Stressed and strained by constant drilling of ultrasonic beams, the concrete face of the dam cracks and faults.
Ten million tons of pressure builds toward ultimate collapse.
You looked pretty good in there today.
To you? That isn 't the compliment it used to be, Evans.
- You really think he's a coward? - He does.
And if he doesn 't come back here and face you , so do l.
And so will you .
Don 't get too close.
- Rome? - What's the deal? Let's play it by ear.
( man ) The forces of nature will not submit to injustice.
No man has the right, nor will the checks and balances of the universe permit him, to place his fellows under the harsh yoke of repression .
Nor may he place the forces of nature under the triple yoke of vanity, greed, and ambition .
ln the words of Shelley, ''Here lies your tyrant who would rule the world immortal.
'' 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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