(buzzing)
( narrator) Night comes too soon on the battlefield.
For some men , it comes permanently.
Their eyes never open to the light of day.
But for this man , fighting this war, there is never totaI darkness.
The spidery beams of light in the sky are descendants of the modern Iaser beam,
heat rays that sear through tungsten steeI and flesh as though they were cheesecloth.
And this soIdier must go against those weapons.
His name is Qarlo and he is a foot soldier, the ultimate infantryman .
Trained from birth by the state, he has never known love
or closeness or warmth.
He is geared for only one purpose:
to kill the enemy.
And the enemy waits for him.
( man) Find your enemy.
Attack. Kill.
(beeping)
( man) Kill. Kill.
Kill.
(buzzing)
( narrator) There is nothing wrong with your teIevision set.
Do not attempt to adjust the picture.
We are controIIing transmission .
We wiII controI the horizontaI. We wiII controI the verticaI.
We can change the focus to a soft bIur or sharpen it to crystaI cIarity.
For the next hour, sit quietIy and we wiII controI aII 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.
(screams)
(woman screams)
He kiIIed him! He kiIIed him!
(screaming)
(siren)
(pneumatic drill)
(screams)
( man) KiII. KiII. KiII. KiII.
( narrator) Time is fIuid, the waters are forever cIosed,
and passage may not be compIeted.
The present and the future are, for a moment, united...
..and the enemy, haIf today, haIf tomorrow,
s ockod botwoo n
( man) Find the enemy.
Find the enemy.
(thunder)
(beeping)
Attack. Attack. Attack.
Mr Tanner? I'm Tom Kagan . I was sent over by the IocaI office of the bureau .
- I'm a phiIoIogist. - A phiIoIogist?
Yes, that's right. A Ianguage expert.
I read your report.
It seems that the man is taIking some strange diaIect.
They decided I was the man to unraveI it.
You've gotta be kidding. Right? You're putting me on , huh?
- What does that mean ? - I'II teII you what that means, friend.
Any moment now, something is going to arrive that is guaranteed to stand your hair on end.
It took six men to put him into two straitjackets and they send a phiIoIogist.
- I do know a IittIe karate. - Oh, Kagan , you're a reaI knee-sIapper!
(snarls)
( motor whining)
(groans)
I guess I didn 't make my report strong enough.
No, I don 't think you did.
( machinery whines)
- What makes him take off Iike that? - The eIevator. Have them shut it off.
- What for? - Sharp sounds drive him wiId.
ApparentIy his hearing is on a much more sensitive threshoId than ours.
You know that heImet you showed me? It had buiIt-in sound baffIes to deaden noises.
- So give him the heImet. - I wouIdn 't do that.
- What harm couId it do? - WeII, that's the point. I don 't know.
WeII...
I'm gIad to see you have some doubts.
- Here. You want a stick of gum? - Thanks.
You know, those scars...
Radiation burns, I'd say, but then you can 't teII. That's outside my fieId.
It's radiation aII right. MedicaI institute had him for five days,
but it's outside their fieId too.
Whatever caused those burns, we haven 't seen anything Iike it.
- ( Qarlo shouts) - He's shouting something.
Hit that switch.
Name's QarIo CIobregnny, pri, R-M-E-N -T-N -D-O.
Right, cut it.
It's the same speech over and over. It's aII he says.
There is something famiIiar about it, but I can 't pIace the idiom.
Have you made anything out of the tapes?
Random sounds mostIy: anger, frenzy,
a few word groupings that I can 't decipher.
No, taking tapes of his mumbIings doesn 't heIp me.
I've got to go down in there with him.
Oh, now, wait just a second, friend.
Have you Iost your mind? That's not some ordinary psycho down there.
That's the most dangerous piece of equipment I've ever seen .
- He'II take you and tear aIong the dotted Iine. - He is something we have never seen before.
He's from somewhere or some... when that's compIeteIy outside our knowIedge.
- He's a waIking chaIIenge! - He's a waIking bomb!
- Do I get the permission ? -Not a chance.
WeII, can I... try to persuade you IogicaIIy?
Uh!
Kaga n
Kaga n Yo u ?
Kaga n
Kaga n Yo u ?
Oh, come on , man , confound it!
Ka ga n
Kaga n
You?
Name's QarIo CIobregnny, pri, R-M-E-N -T-N -D-O.
WeII...
Brother... You can say that again .
(snarls)
Name's QarIo CIobregnny, pri, R-M-E-N -T-N -D-O.
WeII?
- WeII what? - Seven days and you ask me, ''WeII what?''
He's a soIdier.
Any more Iate buIIetins? I was in the Rangers, Kagan .
- I know a soIdier when I see one. -No. He is reaIIy a soIdier.
There is nothing about him that's not a soIdier.
He's the uItimate infantryman . I don 't think he knows anything eIse.
What makes you think that?
You know that gibberish he's been spiIIing?
- Which is? - It's EngIish.
EngIish? Oh, come on , Kagan . The guy's obviousIy a foreigner of some kind.
That's the wrong word. Not foreigner. Try aIien .
AIien ?
- From another pIanet? -Now, wait a minute.
- You're rushing me. - The department wants facts!
They've got men Iined up waiting for a crack at him:
socioIogists, phiIosophers, physicists...
- They feeI you've had him Iong enough. - AII right. TeII them not to press me!
You teII them I'm beginning to break through, but he has to trust me impIicitIy first.
- One sIip and we Iose the whoIe game. - Hey, hey, hey...
Take it easy, Tom.
WeII... I guess I'm just bushed.
It's Iike trying to hoId fog. You think you've got it, then the next moment, it's gone.
That's a strange and pecuIiar item we have there, but it is not a stupid one.
OK. I'II do the best I can to run interference for you .
- Thanks. - I just wish you couId give me something.
AII right, I'II give you something.
Do you want to know what he's saying over and over again without change?
He's saying, ''My name is QarIo CIobregnny,
Private, R-M-E-N -T-N -D-O.''
His name, his rank and his seriaI Ietters.
Name: QarIo CIobregnny, Private, R-M-E-N -T-N -D-O.
AII right, here.
Dog.
D-O-G. Dog.
Come on , QarIo, you know it! You know you know it. Dog!
Dog! QarIo, stop pIaying dumb! Dog! Dog!
I give up.
Dog is a dog. Dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog.
Dog, dog, dog.
You do know, QarIo, don 't you? You know.
You understand everything I've been saying and doing.
Maybe not in my words or yours, but you know, and you won 't give an inch, wiII you?
Who you are, where you come from. What do you want, QarIo?
You want me to teII you who I am, who we are?
How couId they think you were a dumb brute?
You're quicker than I'd be in your pIace, soIdier. QarIo.
Private. R-M-E-N -T-N -D-O.
Dog. Dog, dog, dog, dog, dog!
One, two, three, four, five, six. A-B-C-D-E-F-G.
Dog, o-Kagan , dog. Dog, o-Kagan . Dog, o-Kagan , dog, o-Kagan ...
- PauI... - Tom, this weapon is incredibIe.
It has no power source, none at aII. It's inexhaustibIe.
I couId fire it for a month and its power wouIdn 't decrease by one kiIowatt.
- Listen , PauI... - This is what's Ieft of a soIid steeI buIkhead.
You know, we took this apart. We disassembIed every piece,
and it has onIy three moving parts in it.
We tried Ieaving out haIf a dozen pieces and it stiII works.
We don 't know how. We haven 't the sIightest idea.
- PIease, PauI... - What's so important?
I broke through. I think we taIked.
- You think you taIked? - He's from the future, PauI.
- But how? - WeII, he doesn 't reaIIy know.
In his time, they fight their wars with beams of force, Iasers.
He got caught between two and the next thing he knew...
- He was here, in the present. -No, correction .
He was here in the past: his past, our present.
- Did he teII you this? - OnIy fragments of it.
I had to piece it together and draw my own concIusions.
He was evidentIy attacking someone he keeps caIIing ''the Enemy'', in capitaI Ietters.
- Then it is EngIish he's speaking? -Not reaIIy. Not exactIy.
It's what I thought. It's gutter EngIish,
vastIy speeded up and fiIIed with sIang of his time.
- How did you get aII that from him? - I wasn 't certain he was from this pIanet, so...
This is our gaIaxy, these stars here.
This is our sun .
Light. Up above.
Now, here, one, two, three... third from the sun
is the Earth.
Here. Here.
The Earth, here. Us. This dot.
Now , Qa r o , w h c h o n o s yo u rs?
Which star? Which pIanet?
No, that's... That's the Earth.
I toId you . Which one is yours?
(sighs)
Look...
Earth. Now...
You . You draw.
No, no. Point.
This is our gaIaxy.
Yet it wasn 't exactIy our gaIaxy, that is, not as it is today.
I took that drawing to a friend at the navaI observatory.
- He took hours to pIot it correctIy. - WeII, what was it?
The position the stars of our gaIaxy wiII be in 1 ,800 years from now.
Have a... piece of gum.
ovo
ovo Good
Hate.
Hate. Hate bad.
ovo
- Why do you peep me this? - I want you to know, to understand.
I grasp. You , you are the drum dumb.
Send me home. There's a war on !
I can 't send you home. I don 't know how.
Nobody kn ows h ow Yo u r h o m o doosn t ox st yot
Love, hate, Iove, hate... Freddit!
- You can 't forget it. - Freddit! Think-speakabIe me.
- I don 't understand. - Think-speak. Think-speak.
CO! CO! CO!
Freddit!
Oh, QarIo...
Don 't never touch me!
Don 't touch him!
Ah...
How does it feeI to be dribbIed Iike a basketbaII?
It was my fauIt.
It was IiteraIIy the first time that anybody had ever touched him in his Iife.
Five weeks. What have we got to show for it?
Nothing but staved-in ribs and a headache from having your skuII bounced off a waII.
- I taught him to speak our Ianguage. - I hadn 't noticed. Every third word is gibberish.
It is not gibberish! It's common usage from his time.
Did you ever stop to think... Ow!
..how vaIuabIe even those cIues are in our future?
You teII your superiors that, given enough time, I'II estabIish absoIute communication for them.
That's it. Do us both a favour. Don 't Iet him bounce you around Iike a ping-pong baII.
I've got to requisition tape and that's a nuisance.
Tom, we can 't Iet you back in there with him.
Just Iook at his eyes, the hate in them.
You can see, he's born to be a kiIIer.
Yes, that's the point. He was born to be a kiIIer,
he was trained to be a kiIIer, and if he hadn 't found his way into our time,
he'd die a kiIIer.
But, PauI, he doesn 't hate.
He doesn 't understand hate, or Iove or compassion .
It's not your job to teach him what they mean .
They want you to decipher his Ianguage.
I'm not abIe to do that under these conditions.
PauI, I... I want you to reIease him.
I mean it. I want you to reIease him to me.
I want him to Iive in my house for a time under normaI conditions.
Your house? Oh, no. Come on !
He hasn 't done anything to justify being penned up Iike a criminaI.
The oId newsman onIy fainted.
QarIo was defending himseIf in a strange situation when he fired at the car.
We can 't turn him Ioose, ready to go off.
He can adapt. He's quick. He can fit in .
- Tom, it's Iunacy! -No more than what they're tryin ' to do.
I warn you . He'II fight you . He'II cIose up Iike a cIam.
It's not my decision to make. The bureau is getting static.
A secret Iike that is too hot. They want him boxed in .
PauI, Iet me have him just for one month. One more month, that's aII I'm asking.
I'm sure he'II show so much progress during that time that they'II be forced to reconsider.
- Just one month, PauI, pIease. - What about your famiIy?
How wiII they Iike the idea of a potentiaI kiIIer in the house?
- WeII, I've aIready taIked with them. - And?
WeII, Abby isn 't sure, but she's wiIIing to go aIong,
and both the kids are fascinated.
I think that soIdier is pIaying you for a sucker, Tom.
He's a crafty, dangerous animaI, and he's got you working for him.
Don 't forget, even in the future, a captured prisoner of war's first obIigation is to escape.
- But you'II do it? - I'II taIk to the chief.
But that's aII I guarantee.
That's good.
Here, have a stick of gum?
You're going home with me now, QarIo.
I don 't peep.
Home... It's... It's a...
It's a pIace to Iive. It's a house.
A pIace where you can rest and... nobody wiII ever Iock you in .
Ba rracks? CO ? No
No barracks, no commanding officer, no other troops, no war...
Nothing but freedom. I toId you about freedom.
You'II be cIose to peopIe now, QarIo,
my wife, my daughter, my son ... and me.
- I don 't grasp. - WeII, you ... You'II have to see.
That's the worId out there, QarIo.
- You'II have to put this on . - Why?
WeII, they know nothing about you .
They want to keep you secret. Secret. You understand?
I peep.
You wouIdn 't hurt me, wouId you , Iike when I touched you the other time?
You are... not enemy.
- But couId I be enemy? - You are not enemy.
( laughs)
( man) Find the enemy. Find the enemy.
KiII.
KiII. KiII.
(beeping)
Come on , QarIo. Come on in .
QarIo, this is my wife, Abby.
M y da u g h to r, o n (cat meows)
And Loren is the... is...
CO. QarIo CIobregnny, Private, R-M-E-N -T-N -D-O, reporting.
Cat. Remember the book?
What did you want from that cat, QarIo?
Nothing same.
Cats are different where you come from?
Different. CO, prowIer, think-speak.
I... I don 't understand.
The commanding officer uses cats?
On patroI, troopers, cats, tied together by think-speak.
Cats do prowI, spot the enemy. Troopers jump.
Oh.
I think what he means is that somehow, by some...
..some agency that we don 't even suspect,
wars in the future are fought with men and animaIs.
Cats are used for reconnaissance, and by teIepathy, they reIay their messages.
He thought he couId contact his commanding officer by taIking through Macbeth?
Yeah. Makes sense, doesn 't it?
Just think what a patroI prowIer a siIent cat wouId make.
No, QarIo, it isn 't that way here.
Macbeth is just a cat.
Nothing's here Iike war zone.
- We'II try to make things pIeasant for you . -No.
It's aII right, QarIo.
Why does she touch you? There is enemy and not enemy. Which is she?
Wife.
Er... famiIy unit.
FemaIe CO. Mother.
Like your mother.
- Mother? My mother? - You do have a mother, don 't you?
CIobregnny, Creche Hatchery 559.
I am the state. The state is aII.
Yes. Er...
oro n , w h y do n t yo u sh ow Qa r o to h s roo m ?
Come on .
Creche?
A creche is a day nursery.
It's a foundIing hospitaI.
He is a product of artificiaI birth.
He has no reaI parents.
He was born and raised in a hatchery, just Iike an egg.
- And that about the state? - ''The state is aII.''
His mother, his father, everything.
How pathetic!
Tom...
Can we heIp him?
He seems so Iost and confused, and you said yourseIf he was capabIe of... anything.
- Abby, I know we can heIp him. - But...
Are you sure, Tom?
Toni... and Loren upstairs with him aIone?
kn ow
I know it's a terribIe risk,
but we can heIp him and we must.
( Macbeth meows)
''On the fifth day, conversation began to improve.''
''Subject gave information that his worId is divided into two warring camps
with chiIdren raised from birth on speciaI war isIands devoted to nothing but training.''
''The society is rigidIy structured into cIasses: migrant workers at the Iowest IeveI
and what the subject caIIs the PurpIe or ruIing body at the top.''
- Hey, Dad... - Yeah?
- Can 't I teII the kids about QarIo? - Listen , young man ,
you mention his name and I wiII stop your aIIowance.
QarIo is strictIy top-secret. Understand?
- I peep. - Grand.
- Morning, Dad. - Morning, honey.
''QarIo has never seen one of the PurpIe. He taIks about them as though they were...''
- Get out! - I'II do no such thing.
I Iive here too, you know, and besides, you're bIocking the coffee pot.
What were you doing?
- Drinking water. - Come on , I saw you !
You ... you rot food.
- Waste. - It's just the garbage.
Troopers some nights need food.
There is no suppIy. It's not right. Rot waste.
What do you want from me?
What do I want from you?
( man) Find the enemy. Find the enemy.
(beeping)
Find the enemy. Find the enemy.
KiII. KiII.
KiII.
(phone rings)
- Tanner speaking. - Oh, PauI, I was wondering if...
Stop chewing my ear. I can 't controI what they're doing.
- You didn 't fight them! - I did fight them.
I was batting my brains against the waII whiIe you pIayed with King Kong.
It won 't work, PauI. It's taken aImost constant contact for him to accept me as not enemy.
Throw him to a bunch of schoIars and he'II tense up on you . You've got to...
I don 't got to do anything but take him where my bosses teII me.
But he's at ease here! He's under controI.
Under controI? You mean he hasn 't run amuck.
- (buzzer) - Wait a minute.
Yeah?
Oh, no.
The car there? Right away.
He's under controI, right? Have you checked under his bed IateIy?
- WeII... What? - The bomb has finaIIy expIoded.
He broke into that gun shop on Essex BouIevard. He's armed now.
And that ends this discussion .
Sergeant Berry, sir. Are you Mr Tanner?
- Right. What's the story here? - He broke in through the front.
We've got six cars there. He can 't escape that way.
- He'II have to use the aIIeyway. - AIready tried it.
Went through that door Iike it wasn 't there. We fired and he ducked inside.
- Is he armed now? - Yes, sir. He's got a big Swedish hunting rifIe.
- I'm sure he knows how to use it. - We're gonna have to fIush him out.
- Tear gas, sir? -No. Noise wiII do it.
I'II teII you when . Start aII the sirens at once.
- We'II send groups from the front and rear. - Right.
- Listen , PauI... - The answer's no before you start.
You're not empowered to kiII him and you'II have to if you attack.
- I'II get authority. - By the time you do, I couId have him out.
- At Ieast he'II Iisten to me. - Listening to you brought this about!
He doesn 't know. He's in a strange Iand.
He doesn 't know anything except his gun , any gun .
- He's got one now. If onIy I'd taken him in . - That's just it. He's afraid.
He's afraid of everybody except me. To him, you are the enemy.
You want to make him a prisoner. Don 't you understand?
- AII right, Tom. - Good.
One more time. I'II sit and watch one more time,
but whatever happens, it's aII finished tonight.
QarIo, it's Kagan .
I want to taIk to you . QarIo?
I'm not enemy. Don 't attack.
QarIo, why did you do this?
- TeII me. TaIk to me. - Trooper needs a gun .
Oh, I see.
WeII, now, wiII you come home with me? Can I take you back?
- I'II kiII you ! - Then they'II have to kiII you , QarIo.
- Troopers die. - Yes, but there's no need for it.
It is the onIy way I know. Stay away from me.
No, QarIo. I'm coming in .
I'II kiII you !
Mrs Kagan ? This is PauI Tanner. Now, Iisten carefuIIy.
QarIo broke into a gun shop. Tom taIked him out of the shop.
They're going to your house, but he's armed. He refused to Ieave without the gun .
- Here? They're coming here? -Now, Iisten ... They'II be there in a few minutes.
When they get there, Tom wiII try and taIk the gun away from QarIo.
When Tom gets the gun , take the phone off the hook.
- Off the hook? - The Iine's jammed open .
You take the phone off the hook.
No caIIs can get through. We're two minutes away.
Any cIoser and he might suspect.
- We'II grab him when you pick up the phone. - I hear a car.
Toni! Loren !
Come here quick! Right now!
(footsteps approach)
Loren ! QuickIy!
Toni! Come on . Come on .
Out the back door. Right now. Out the back!
Stop!
Abby! Kids, what are you doing up at this time?
Tom...
Let them go. Let them go in the kitchen . PIease?
Don 't. Don 't frighten them, QarIo.
Mixed peeping. I don 't grasp aII that's happening.
They want to caII the enemy. Stop. You'II aII stop.
- Give me the gun , QarIo. - Trooper never gives up a gun .
That's another time and pIace. You can 't do it that way here. We're trying to heIp you .
We want to keep them from hurting you . But you'II have to give me that gun .
I'II kiII you !
QarIo, don 't be drum-dumb. You know Dad isn 't your enemy.
You wouIdn 't kiII him.
I...
I... don 't...
You ... you give me the gun , QarIo.
Nothing wiII happen . I'II put it where you can get it any time you want it.
You shouIdn 't have run away Iike that, QarIo.
It heIps them.
HeIp who?
Some peopIe that want to have you moved to another pIace.
I was sure I couId have persuaded them to Ieave you here, but now...
Who?
Some men who make decisions for the rest of us because we Iet them.
- CO? - Something Iike that.
They want to ask you questions.
POW. I peeped that wouId happen . I knew your troops wouId jump.
It's not a prisoner-of-war camp! Nothing Iike that. It's a...
- It's a... - Liar!
It wasn 't my idea. I tried to stop them doing it, but these peopIe...
Where I come from, it's true. It's right. No two ways. OnIy us and them, the enemy.
- We know them. They know us. -No, it's better here, QarIo.
If you couId understand, if you couId grasp.
In my worId, we don 't grasp these Iove, hate, aII of them.
We never know, so we don 't want.
You are not enemy, so I stay here. The others, ones who put hands on me...
(electronic tone)
- You ... - ( Macbeth meows)
- CO? - (crash)
( narrator) From the darkest of aII pits, the souI of man , come the darkest questions:
did the soIdier finaIIy come to care for those he protected,
or was it just his instinct to kiII?
Questions from the dark pit,
but no answers,
for answers Iie in the future.
Is it a future in which men are machines born to kiII,
or is there time for us?
Time... aII the time in the worId,
but is that enough?
We now return controI of your teIevision set to you
untiI next week at this same time
when the controI voice wiII take you to... The Outer Limits.