( man) There is no limit to the extension of the curious mind.
lt reaches to the end of the imagination , then beyond into the mysteries of dreams, hoping always to convert even the dreams into reality for the greater well-being of all mankind.
(crickets chirping) Franklin Karlin , 3-6-Q-2-1 .
(whirring static) ( humming) (whirring static) Ah, there you are.
- Working late again .
- Obviously.
How's it going? - l don 't know.
- You've been on it a year, Eric.
his s a rosea rch labo ratory , not a sa u sage factory One more equation .
- Maybe two.
- Get off it for a while.
l know what l'm doing! Will you leave me alone? - Hunt's coming out tomorrow.
- What's that to me? He's not happy about the money we're spending on your project.
l've got to tell him something encouraging.
Then you tell him tell him l'm two equations away from a power source infinitely beyond atomic energy.
That ought to be good for a few more dollars.
Eric ( man) There is nothing wrong with your television set.
Do not attempt to adjust the picture.
We are controlling transmission .
For the next hour, we will control all you see and hear.
You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to The Outer Limits.
You gain nothing by su1c1de.
l'm tired.
Too tired.
l can 't Boy, oh boy, oh boy.
- Hi.
- Hi, Janet.
What are you doing here? Showing you how nice l am to come home to after a hard day's work at the office.
Thank you .
The complete wife, huh? When you find the time to marry me.
- This is bait.
- Are you expecting someone? My over.
A ro yo u joa o u s? l'll k*ll him.
Oh, please, don 't k*ll him, Eric.
l hardly ever see him any more.
He's busy doing brilliant things that l just don 't understand at all.
Having a little difficulty understanding them himself.
Oh, Eric.
- l was talking to myself out loud.
- Well, you're tired.
You're worn out.
- Come on , try to relax.
- Stop it.
You're beginning to imagine things.
You should take about a week off Will you please stop it? You , Karlin , all the others always telling me what to do! l know what l'm doing.
l'm a grown man .
Good night.
Eric? (Janet l'm sorry.
Why are you so tired, Mr Plummer? You're young.
Of all the stupid, senseless - How did you get in here? - lt's not important.
Ask me why.
(scoffs) Because l'm losing my mind, that's why.
- Unless you were here before me.
- l drove here from the lab with you .
You gain nothing by su1c1de, remember? l thought l was talking to myself.
Which is probably what l'm doing right now.
Look, you're probably something right out of my own sick mind.
Just go away.
Go on , get out of here! You heard me.
l said get out of here! You humans are all alike.
Disorganised, undisciplined, wasteful of time and energy - Who the devil do you think? - .
.
disorderly, illogical (Janet Eric, are you all right? Eric? ( knocking) Open the door.
(Janet Eric? Eric? Eric, l heard you shouting, and l knew you were alone And you thought l was talking to myself out loud? l don 't know what l thought.
l was just worried.
Well, l'm not alone.
l'm not talking to myself.
l'm with an old friend.
See? Oh, l'm so sorry.
l didn 't mean to interfere.
- You do see him.
- My name is lkar.
Hello.
l'm Janet Lane.
- l know.
- All right Now, will the two of you please get out of here and leave me alone? You're wasting energy, Mr Plummer.
Relax.
What did you do to him? He's a scientist.
He knows energy must not be wasted.
And time Energy and time, our two most precious possessions.
You don 't have to worry about me, Janet.
l'm fine now.
Well, are you hungry? Would you like the sandwiches l made? We're not hungry.
Good night, Janet.
l don 't think l like you very much, Mr lkar.
l don 't live to be liked or disliked.
Who is this man , Eric? Oh, this gentlemen is We have some business to talk over.
l'll be perfectly all right now, Janet.
Go home.
Sorry l lost my temper.
l'll call you in the morning.
Good night.
Love you .
All right.
She saw you .
Wait.
(car engine starts) ln an orderly society, women have but one function .
To produce children .
ln your society? Those who do not fulfil their function are eliminated.
- Where is your society? - Each has a job and a place.
For the love of heaven ! Where are you from? That's the second time you've used that word.
What does it mean ? Love? - You don 't know? - lt's a new word to me.
- Well, it's the opposite of hate.
- That is also a new word.
These are the two most profound emotions of all mankind.
- Emotions? - Don 't tell me you don 't know that.
- ln heaven 's name, what do you live for? - Accomplishment.
Without satisfaction ? - Knowledge.
- Without pleasure? - Conquest.
- Without hate? - Energy.
- For what? For control.
- How did you do that? - You may know in a thousand years.
Please.
l am working right now on a theory of anti-magnetic disintegration .
- l need two more equations.
- What would you give me for them? - What could l give? My life? - Understanding.
- Of what? - Your probes into space are closer every day.
Soon we'll make contact.
We must be prepared for you .
To us there's no pattern to your thinking.
You act without reason .
You seem to be driven by impulse rather than logic.
We must understand why.
ls it because of that thing you were talking about emotion ? Probably.
l am so sick of hate, fear, anger and frustration , all the things that grab at my stomach.
l don 't even know happiness without wondering if it's true.
Give them to me.
- Them? - Your emotions.
- Gladly, if l could.
- You can .
And you'll give me the two equations l need in return ? - l will.
- lt's a deal.
( low humming) ( Eric) When do we begin ? We have already begun .
- ( Eric) The equations? - They're waiting on your office desk.
l'll also give you information to construct the disintegrator.
Thank you .
Good night.
( lkar 's voice) The woman who was here You said you loved her.
l have no more love to give her.
( lkar) How much did she take from you? l have no way of measuring.
( lkar) Than you can 't say you gave me all this emotion .
l cannot say yes or no.
(clattering) You will make no noise.
You will listen and answer for Eric's sake.
Try to understand what l'm going to say.
l have taken possession of all Eric's emotions, except one.
The one he calls love.
He said he gave it to you .
lf you have any part of it, give it to me.
- What do you think love is? - l don 't know.
Tell me.
May l get out of bed? May have my robo , please ? Thank you .
- How many children have you produced? -None.
l'm not married yet, you see.
ln an orderly society, woman only serves one purpose.
To produce children .
Well, what happens to love? - That word again .
Please define it.
- But there are many different kinds of love.
There is the love of a man and woman , and love of children .
.
and God and nature, and all sorts of beautiful things.
There's so many different kinds.
lt'd take a long time to show them all to you .
- l want the love which belongs to Eric Plummer.
- Oh.
Well, l've l've given that away to others.
- Why? - Because that's what love is for.
- Then we must get it back now.
-No, it's impossible.
The others are asleep.
That's true.
Now all good people are asleep and dreaming.
l'll come back in the morning.
You'll be here.
Tell no one you've seen me.
Not even Eric.
Even the science barrel has a bottom, Frank.
We're there as far as Eric's project is concerned.
- He claims he's almost got it licked.
- You're the director here.
You must see to it that the money isn 't wasted on wild-goose chases.
Good morning, gentlemen .
Eric, l don 't want you to misunderstand.
l want to help you keep going with this.
- And maybe l can if - l have the other two equations.
After you've checked them over, l'd like to talk about a construction appropriation .
- How much will you need? - Roughly 50 million dollars.
- 50 million ? - lt may run up to another 50 million .
lf you have any questions, call me at home.
Six months he's been b*ating his brains out over this.
l thought he was losing his mind.
-Now he hands it to me like a - A dead salmon .
l'd be climbing the walls, calling for drinks for everybody.
- What's gotten into him? - He's in shock, that's what l think.
l hope it's worth the agony it's cost him.
l've been looking all day at this love you've been telling me about, and l find it dangerous.
l'd be afraid of it.
- How do you know the word ''afraid''? - l learned it from you .
- l don 't remember saying l was afraid.
- But you were.
Tell me about hate.
No Why not? Because you will learn about that soon enough yourself.
- (door opens) - Excuse me.
Eric? l'm so glad you came home early.
l came over to fix dinner.
l fixed a marvellous Eric? - Where have you been all day? - With her.
We've no time to waste.
Karlin and Hunt have been together.
Karlin will give us no trouble, but Hunt is only money, nothing else.
Build me a practical model of the anti-magnetic disintegrator, just large enough for demonstration purposes.
He'll put up the money when he sees it work.
- Are you gonna take credit for lkar's work? - Janet, you're interfering.
Did he do your equations? Are you gonna let him win the Nobel Prize for you? - Janet, go home.
-Not until you answer me.
l love you , Eric.
You serve no purpose, Janet.
l have no use for you .
Look at me.
What's happened to the gentle, good man l fell in love with? Eric, look at me.
l love you .
Look at me.
Listen to me, l Eric? Eric? Oh! Oh, my God.
Don 't just stand there! Come and help me! (Janet gasps) - How did you do that? - Enough that it's done.
We'll go to my lab now.
What's happened to him? lkar, no.
Tell me what's happened to him.
You know.
You wanted him to live even though he tried to k*ll you? - What purpose does he serve you? - l never thought of him as a purpose.
- Then why do you want him to live? - Because l love him.
( low droning) What happened to it? - lt no longer exists.
- Why not? What did you do to it? You aren 't a scientist, Mr Hunt.
You wouldn 't understand.
But Mr Karlin does.
Perhaps he'll explain it to you .
- lt's big, Frank, really big.
- We'll talk in my office.
- l want no part of it.
- Why? - lt must be destroyed.
- What are you talking about? - This horrendous, diabolical thing.
- That's rough talk.
l won 't approve of one cent more for this monstrosity.
Why not? lt destroys the magnetic forces that hold matter, any matter, together.
You saw what that small instrument did.
This pile of paper's covered with neat, harmless writing which would evaporate in one second everything it took God and us millions of years to build.
l'm not defending it, but l'm not knocking it.
Somebody else might have it.
lt'd become a standoff.
- Maybe we need it to save the world.
- Hunt, try to understand.
Release this and it destroys everything.
Our side, their side, everybody's side.
lt can 't be controlled.
You scientists are all the same.
You figure out how to make these things, then don 't want them made.
Because fools use them to destroy instead of build.
lf there weren 't practical people to make the decisions, there'd never be any progress.
Frank, you worry too much.
You've got to learn to take it easy.
l'll call you tomorrow.
Good night.
Lunch is ready.
There's no activity, no purpose.
There's nothing here.
- But it's beautiful.
- l get a feeling of wasted time.
- Why did you bring me here? - Because it's peaceful and beautiful.
To get away from people and things.
Here, try a piece of this.
- What is it? - Chicken .
l fixed it myself.
- Do you like it? - lt's a new taste to me.
l don 't understand you people.
You eat different foods, wear different clothes, live in different houses.
- We don 't all have the same tastes.
- That's wasteful.
- lt's unintelligent, unscientific.
- lt's also very human .
- Yes, that's why - Why what? - ln an orderly society, each individual - Oh, lkar.
Your orderly society begins to sound more and more dull.
Next you'll be telling me people there dress and think and look exactly alike.
No , not exact y We are different according to our accomplishment classification .
You say ''we are'' as though the society already existed.
lf l were to go there, would l see thousands or millions of men exactly like you? No, not exactly.
We are different according to our accomplishment classification .
A scientist for greater brain .
A labourer for strength.
A soldier for k*lling.
Different, and yet basically the same.
And women ? What about women ? Are there thousands, millions of women who look exactly alike? lt takes controlled breeding to produce a body capable of doing what the brain tells it.
lntelligent beings do not deviate from perfection .
And this brain , does it do exactly what other brains tell it to do? The brain is one cell of many of the control brain , - activated by collective impulse.
- You must be joking.
- What is joking? - Oh, lkar.
Just when l'm beginning to understand you , you say something like, ''What is joking?'' You say so many strange things.
ke , Orderly soc ety , ''Perfect body'', ''Same brain ''.
What are you trying to make of us? A race of insects like those? They're ugly! Mindless and soulless, moving dirt from one place to another.
- They serve a purpose.
- Well, true, but whose? Certainly not their own , since they don 't accomplish anything to help themselves.
Years and years of industry, and they're still insects.
Well, surely you wouldn 't like to see us like that, would you? - lkar, you're angry.
- l could k*ll you for what you've done to me.
- Do you hate me? - You're the enemy, and you must - l think you're beginning to feel love.
- l don 't want to feel it.
l don 't understand.
Something's changing me, taking possession of me.
- Just as you took possession of Eric's emotions.
- To serve a purpose! Do you think you can have emotions without feeling them? Emotions are feelings.
You have to feel in your life with your whole heart.
They're dangerous.
l have to stop them.
You can 't do that as long as you have emotions.
There's only one thing you can do.
Give them back to Eric.
-No, he has work to do for us.
- What kind of work? - Go away, you interfere! - What kind of a job, lkar? Where are you from? Who are you? What are you? This is what l am.
l've always believed in your genius, Eric.
That's why l brought you here with me.
We're more than just colleagues.
l almost feel as if you were my son .
l'm not your son .
What is it you want? - l want you to withdraw your paper.
-No.
Eric, those last two equations are the keys that release this fantastic energy.
For the sake of humanity, throw them away.
Control this energy so it may be useful.
Take a year, five years, ten years, a lifetime.
Find this and you'll sit with the great heroes of science.
Has Hunt approved my appropriation ? - He will.
- When can we start? - You didn 't hear me.
- l'll need Don 't disregard me, Eric.
Listen closely.
l'm still the director.
l will make them listen to me.
lf they fire me, l'll go to the press, appeal to the world.
l'll warn them this is total destruction , su1c1de.
There is Eric, what? What are they? lkar, don 't k*ll him.
We may need him.
Just take his mind.
( low humming) Go back to the planet now.
Go.
l don 't need soldiers any more.
Get me Mr Hunt's hotel, please.
(rings) Hunt.
Well, hello, Eric.
No, not at all.
No, when ? Overworked, that's what l say.
Get him to a hospital right away.
A great man , Karlin Takes everything to heart.
( Hunt l told him - Will we go ahead with my project? - ( Hunt Yes, of course.
Thank you , sir.
Yes, sir, l understand.
(tyres screech) - l'm not questioning your truthfulness.
- But you think l'm sick, or drunk or insane.
(signal) Mr Eric Plummer, please.
(clunk) Hello? Hello? Eric, are you there? This is Hunt.
Whoever picked up that phone, answer it.
This is Hunt speaking.
Answer the telephone, or l'll have you fired.
- Somebody picked up the receiver.
- Mr Hunt, call the police.
- The police? We've got security guards.
- Please call the police! l tell the police your story, we'd end up in straitjackets.
- l don 't believe it.
- Why are you going there? - To see why Eric wouldn 't answer.
- Please, let me drive you .
( low droning) (door opens) Someone's coming.
- Eric - Good evening, Mr Hunt.
Eric, listen - l didn 't expect you , Mr Hunt.
- (Janet l know about lkar! - Aren 't you feeling well, Janet? - You're possessed.
- Mr Hunt, he's possessed! - Please control yourself.
Let me handle this.
l telephoned tonight.
- Someone was there but didn 't answer.
- l didn 't want to be disturbed.
- Even by me? - l didn 't know it was you .
- You heard my voice.
- l didn 't listen .
Tell the truth! lt was lkar, wasn 't it? He wouldn 't let you answer.
Would you mind waiting outside? Mr Hunt and l have some business.
No.
l won 't be alone.
Mr Hunt, you mustn 't be alone either.
- Miss Lane, l'm afraid you need a doctor.
-No, please, you must believe me.
lkar - l'm afraid she's quite ill.
- Take her to the infirmary.
- l never saw him before.
- l engaged him yesterday.
This is top-secret work.
Does he have a security clearance? - My project hasn 't been classified yet.
- Oh, that's right.
The faster we go, the more money we save.
But keep him away from other projects.
And get that girl a doctor.
She's very sick.
- Yes.
- l'll be running along.
Keep up the good work, and keep the budget down .
- Good night.
- Good night.
(chiming drones) All the horror is gone out of me, lkar.
lt's better for you .
Are you going to k*ll me now? - You'll all die soon .
- Why? We need your world for our overpopulated planet.
A world of ants? - Cells in an interplanetary brain .
- ls that what Eric has become? What is he doing for you? - Building a w*apon for us.
- Using his genius to destroy his own kind? - We gave him that genius.
- Why? The w*apon 's too big to transport.
We had to build it here.
Poor monster You've learned nothing from our Earth.
l learned too much.
l'm going where you took me to say goodbye to all l learned.
lkar, you can help us.
lkar, you can help us! lkar! lkar, it's not too late.
Please help us! lkar? - Before you go, set Eric free.
- l can 't.
Please, lkar.
Love, fear, joy You know what they are now.
-No human being can live without them.
- Well, l'm not a human being.
You've broken your pattern .
You know what love is now.
- And the unhappiness it brought.
- And the compassion .
- And hate and confusion .
- What did you have before? - Accomplishment.
- What did it bring you? You're nothing.
You're like a link, like any other link in a chain .
And you're bound together endlessly like slaves.
- We have perfection .
-No, you have nothing.
Not even a face that's different from any other face.
- We will be the rulers of the universe.
- Without the freedom to rule yourselves? You have no use for Eric's emotions.
Please give them back to him.
So that when we die, he can love me as much as l love him.
That's all l ask.
- Would there be pity for me when l die? - Yes, pity and love.
Get in your car.
Go on .
There's nothing more to say.
Go.
(engine starts) Appear and say what you have to say.
- You've broken away from the planetary brain .
- That's true.
- Return to the planet immediately.
- l'll go when l'm ready.
- Then we must take you back now.
-Not until l'm ready.
You're no longer a part of us.
You've taken back the perfection of unity.
Your body no longer obeys your brain .
You'll remain as you are, visible at all times until you die.
( loud zapping) Eric, listen to me.
l tricked you out of your emotions for control and destruction .
l tricked you out of your emotions.
l thought l was immune to them, but l was wrong.
Because of how l feel, l must give them back.
Stand up.
- l give you back that which l took.
- ( high -pitched buzzing) Behind you ! ( low droning) ( man) The curious mind cannot be chained.
lt is a free mind, endlessly searching for the greater freedom that must eventually make every living being joyfully complete within himself, therefore at peace with himself and his neighbours.
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 .