A FOR ANDROMEDA
Subtitles: Project H (2012)
THIS STORY UNFOLDS IN ENGLAND, NEXT YEAR
PART ONE
It's the most powerful in the world, right?
Let's wait till tomorrow to be sure of that.
- Pardon my ignorance... - Go on
Telescope and radiotelescope - what difference is there?
Well, with the telescope you look physically at the celestial bodies.
And with the radiotelescope?
No, no, it receives electric impulses. The stars emit radio waves, and we pick them up.
What they call the music of the stars.
Yes, yes, but it's a very disturbed music.
Interstellar gas, magnetic storms, the Earth's atmosphere.
Ah, look at that!
Fantastic! And that, what is it?
It's a parabolic antenna.
It receives waves from space, collects them and directs them to a device inside that records where they've come from.
And inside we have the control centre. There are all the instruments for the true and proper birth of our firstborn.
Not bad, your firstborn!
Ten years of labour.
Will it work tomorrow?
We hope so.
Fantastic!
Come, come, let's enter the heart of the monster!
BOULDERSHAW FELL OBSERVATORY
Your card, please.
Good evening, professor.
Good evening, Harries.
Ah, look, Liz! Liz, this is Judy Adamson.
Hi.
Excuse me.
Of course! She's very, good, is Liz. Also cute, don't you think?
Look, the ceremony will take place here. The Minister, to switch on the radiotelescope.
Look, look how beautiful it is!
He'll press a button on the control panel.
Can you receive from sources that the other observatories can't detect?
I hope so but I can't wonder how. There's a group that is working on it.
And Doctor Fleming, and Doctor Bridger.
Bridger?
Yes, but the brain is Fleming. John!
Hi!
- If you have a moment, John. - Yes
Doctor John Fleming. Miss Adamson - Judy Adamson
Turn that racket down a bit!
But what is it?
Interstellar whispers. The universe is full of material charged with electrical energy.
The background music of the stars!
Very good, professor! Keep the phrase in mind. You can give it to Jackson for the newspapers.
Jackson... Jackson won't be coming back. The substitute is Miss Adamson.
She's our new press agent.
Oh, good. They come and go, right?
Well, er...
She's covering the ceremony.
We're having a ceremony?
Tomorrow's inauguration, right?
Oh, now, the official inauguration.
All the coloured lights will be working, and I won't be going for a drink.
I hope that you'll be here, John, and that everything will be in order, right?
Everything will seem to be in order,
the minister won't understand if it's working or not,
and nor will those nosy journalists, I hope.
I would prefer that it all worked well.
Me too. Oh, fine, fine.
I'll demonstrate the radiotelescope,
I'll say that it's a miracle of British science, a miracle of British sweat, of British effort,
in sum, how British all the way through, eh?
Do you like bowling?
See you later at bowling, eh?
Difficult character?
Maybe we've pushed him a bit too hard, but
he's the most capable cyberneticist that I know.
A genius? Unpredictable? We depend on the young, you know.
He's made the whole project, him and Bridger.
What's that?
The great nebula of Andromeda. M31, to us.
We get a faint signal, a whisper.
Ah, look, Whelan - he's our expert on reflected waves. How's it going, Whelan?
Good, good, professor.
Miss Adamson.
Haven't we met before?
I don't really think so.
Still, I would say yes.
In fact, I'm sure. In Australia, at Woomera, it seems to me.
No. I'm sure not.
Ah, excuse us, Judy. Whelan, the frequency of probe L-15...
Get Whelan moved.
I've an idea we've got to the breakaway stage in the physical sciences.
At a certain moment - wham! - we'll find ourselves in new territory.
What do you think of that?
Good shot.
It could happen right here, in our field of research.
Your turn.
But I'm a disaster.
Go on!
"Philosophy is written in that vast book which stands forever open before our eyes."
"I mean the universe."
Who said that?
Winston Churchill?
"It is written in mathematical language." It's something Galileo said.
Oh, now Galileo!
Is it any use for a news report?
No, I don't think so.
One day, when nobody's noticing, just talking about politics, football and money
suddenly all the barriers that we know will be knocked down - like this!
You believe that the new radiotelescope could demolish some barrier?
I don't know. We'll see the results.
In reality it's not a special observatory, but since it's big and costs a fortune they want to poke their noses in.
Oh, they get on my nerves! The inauguration, that bunch from the Ministry who torment everybody, and now the military too.
Just because they've put a few pennies in, they feel entitled always to get under our feet.
But the project is yours?
Mine, and Dennis Bridger's.
Who is Bridger?
A friend. We were together at Birmingham University.
I became a physicist and Dennis a project engineer.
I have the ideas and Dennis makes them real.
How the hell can you make a shot like that?
According to the probability calculus I had to succeed.
Look, this is Dennis Bridger.
Greetings.
Judy Adamson, our new public relations person.
Hi. This is Grace. Go and play, Grace, go.
Does she work with you?
No, no. Local talent, private property of Dennis. Excuse me.
I've heard talk about you.
What have they said about me?
That you work for Doctor Fleming.
It's not my greatest aspiration.
What would you like to do?
In private industry I could earn five times more.
And that's what you want?
As soon as the complex is up and running, I cut the cord.
Do you think Dr Fleming will go too?
No, John has decided to stay and wait for the good times.
But before he succeeds in getting anything, he'll be old, respected and poor.
And maybe happy?
No, he'll never be happy. He swallows too much.
Who swallows too much?
You
It's true, I drink too much, but my friend, you need to have something to hold on to.
Watch out, animal!
Excuse me.
I'm sorry, Miss Adamson.
Judy! She's called Judy!
Doctor Fleming to the telephone!
I'm worried the stain won't come out.
It doesn't matter.
Dennis! Dennis! They want us!
What is it?
Keep listening.
Morse code.
It's not in groups.
Where's it coming from?
From some part of Andromeda.
We're exploring the region.
Short and long - that's it.
How long has it been going on?
About half an hour.
OK, now we're at the maximum.
Can you move the detector?
I think so.
We shouldn't do that. We're not authorised to do experiments.
Is the servomechanism working?
Yes, Doctor Fleming.
Then let's follow it.
No, John, listen!
It could be a space probe.
Why?
Is there anything new in orbit?
Not that I know.
Somebody could have launched something new into orbit.
Dennis, go and get a tape recorder working, eh?
A printer, too!
We won't be able to check.
Let's check later.
Good!
The motors have started working!
But can't we hear it better?
It's not a very distinct signal.
Then it's not something in orbit.
I would say not.
Five minutes ago we received signals from space station L-15.
But the signal from the space station was well distinct from this. At least ten times stronger.
Now the signals of the station in orbit have stopped.
While these continue.
Andromeda, you said?
I hope I haven't alarmed you for nothing.
Andromeda! As they say, a hundred billion stars.
Have you heard?
Yes, another frequency. But I don't understand.
Nor do I. There could be two different speeds of signalling. Dennis!
Dennis! We are in front of something.
But what?
- Possibly we could slow it by ten times. - I agree. - By a hundred times if necessary!
Dennis!
Your first impression?
It's something unusual. But it doesn't make any sense.
It could be that we'll have it by morning.
I have to get an idea of the distance.
What do you think?
I think it comes from very, very far away.
In your opinion, what kind of signal is this?
I said message, not signal.
OK, but what kind?
Dots and dashes.
Isn't that so, Harries? Harries! Dots and dashes, isn't it?
Yes, it seemed that way.
And when the Andromeda Nebula goes below the horizon, the signals stop.
Could we try again this evening?
Many radioastronomers have believed they received messages from the stars. Give it a rest!
Or it's everything (??), or it's explained by an ordinary signal from a quasar or a pulsar.
But this time it's not like that. It stayed there all night, in the middle of the constellation of Andromeda.
Could it be something, John?
I'll have many flaws, but I know my trade, don't I?
I agree, don't take offence now.
And when I encounter a message I know how to tell.
And Whelan?
He's going. Cape Kennedy called with an urgent job.
This Whelan is American. And he just wasn't sympathetic to me.
Excuse me, I'm... I'm tired. We'll talk again later.
Professor - is it the inauguration?
What inauguration? Ah, now!
To hell with the inauguration. This voice - it's come from billions of billions of kilometres away.
A voice?
It's taken two million years to get to us. The minister can wait for a day, can't he?
Let's suspend everything. Miss Adamson, block the journalists, the invitees from the agencies, the TV people, immediately.
But what will I say to the press?
Nothing.
What do you mean, nothing?
But what the hell are we, a secret society?
Say there's been a technical hitch, a snag.
In sum, say what you like but don't talk about signals.
Very well, professor.
Hello? I'd like to speak to the Science Minister immediately, on the reserved line.
OK - pass it through to my office as soon as possible.
John. If there's something that's intelligent, that's trying to communicate with us... If there are... other creatures...
Not other creatures - other intelligences! It's not necessarily little green men.
It's not necessarily something organic... just... intelligence.
LONDON, MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, 2ND MAY
It's incredible that we English never manage to have an inauguration punctually. There's always some... some...
Snag.
Exactly!
And... of what kind was it, this...?
The snag.
No, the damage.
Ah! With the parabolic antenna. It's a very delicate gadget. Unique in the world, of that size.
Ah, I understand.
No! There's something else, underneath.
I wouldn't know what.
Neither do I. Maybe it's better this way.
If you don't know, you don't take a risk when you talk.
About this Fleming - what type is he?
Fleming?
Yes, Doctor Fleming.
Ah. Young. New generation. He's the type who'll go to Stockholm to recieve the Nobel Prize by the time he's forty.
OK, good. Indeed, very good. But tell me, what type is he?
Susceptible, independent, a stubborn rebel.
An Englishman, evidently.
Yes?
General Vandenberg is here, Sir.
Send him in.
And now let's get ready, indeed prepare to submit to the American critics.
Minister, sir. Undersecretary, sir.
Please.
Welcome.
Thank you.
Beyond welcome, I hope that you will furnish me with explanations for this missing inauguration.
The stars can wait. They've waited plenty.
But the Inter-Allies Defence Committee can't wait. There's talk of something not working at the radiotelescope.
There, exactly. Quite so.
Yes, but I'm not convinced.
Generale Vandenberg, don't see traitors in every corner, please.
I am empowered to caution the men who direct the Bouldershaw Fell observatory.
Sir!
Aside from Reinhart, who takes service at the radiotelescope?
Doctor... Fleming and the engineer Bridger.
I have precise information here about them.
Fleming, Dr. John. Since 1965, anti-NATO demonstrations, pro-African, civil disobedience, pro nuclear disarmament...
Do you call that a person we can count on?
He's a scientist. He's not an applicant for the post of Commissioner of Police.
Bridger, Dennis, engineer. Member of the Communist Party until '73. Since has slipped to the right. Now unclassifiable.
As regards my Ministry, they're perfectly responsible people.
Really? Good! We're beginning to see the results.
Generale, please don't...
But don't you have one of your own agents up there at the observatory?
Us?
If you have, then you can all keep calm. Wouldn't you say?
I don't know who you're talking about.
Who are we talking about?
A certain Whelan?
There!
Whelan. Ah, yes, Whelan. He's a technician, a scientific collaborator.
Quite. You wanted him at Bouldershaw Fell. Aren't you satisfied with him?
He's no longer at the observatory.
Ah, no?
No! He's been transferred to Cape Kennedy.
I don't know by whose orders, and I don't know why.
BOULDERSHAW FELL OBSERVATORY, 11TH MAY
Do you know what it could be?
I don't have the faintest idea.
Binary arithmetic. Zero and one. Dot and dash, dot and dash. But of course!
Binary arithmetic - what's that?
"The great book of the universe is written in the language of mathematics." Remember?
Binary arithmetic is a language they could understand, also over there in Andromeda. Why not?
It's expressed only with the digits zero and one, instead of the digits one to ten.
But our system is arbitrary while the binary system is universal.
I don't understand any of it.
Zero and one. A language based on positive and negative.
Just the same as our computers. Dot and dash. Yes and no.
You could design the whole universe with this type of arithmetic. Harries! Harries! OK then.
It's a kind of game of chance.
We state a probability calculus based on the large numbers.
With the problem that to do it by hand seems like a return to the prehistory of cybernetics.
Why don't you put it in the computer?
First I would like to understand something on my own.
Look, professor, these constants are interesting. Every thirty numbers, 00001 returns regularly.
It seems to me to be a labyrinth without logic.
Dr Elizabeth, there's never a logic except what's put there by Man.
Dr Fleming, here Man doesn't come into it. If this message comes from space...
But it has to be me who finds the logic.
Me, or someone else. Yes, it's best to begin with the computer.
There! At worst, we won't understand it at all, exactly like now.
BOULDERSHAW FELL VILLAGE, BETTING SHOP, 14 JUNE
Come in!
Give me the teleprinter again.
OK, payment in advance.
Fifteen pounds.
You're a thief, Olboyd.
The price of discretion has risen.
Do it quickly, it's nearly cooked.
Goodbye, you old crook.
See you soon. But not at breakfast time.
LONDON, HYDE PARK, 25 JUNE
Miss, do you like astronomy?
Yes. But I don't see what the stars have to do with the army.
Goodness! To start with, they have to do with rank.
The more stars there are on your cap, the more power you have.
Yes, but this is about a nebula, it seems to me.
Millions of stars.
Think a little, dear young lady, leaving the metaphor aside.
If the Ministry of Defence is so interested in what happens up there, it's because there are not only stars in the sky.
Lots of little objects turn around us, that need to be carefully watched, because, if one gets distracted, they can play nasty tricks.
Have you uncovered anything concrete?
No.
Fleming?
I would say not.
Bridger?
Maybe.
But Harries - is he following a lead?
Take Harries off the job.
Why?
I think he's blown his cover. He's a worn out man.
Forebodings? In our business they don't exist.
I am enough!
Miss, the activity of the radiotelescope touches interests you don't even imagine.
Good day.
Good day, General. Margaret, greet General Watling.
Good day.
Professor, look here!
And here. And here.
Is Harries here?
He's free to go, I believe.
Listen, John. I'm cutting the cord.
What does that mean?
I resign. The project is finished. There's nothing more for me to do here.
But for you, there's everything to do.
I would prefer to leave.
But don't be silly. And this?
There could be all sorts of things. Work on it. Go on, work on it.
I'm late, guys.
It's tea time.
We'll work together, won't we?
We'll work together?
Which of you two has talked to the press?
Excuse me, what are you saying?
Someone has passed the news to the press, the message from Andromeda, the incomprehensible code, everything!
Why are you looking at me?
It certainly wasn't Reinhart and it wasn't me. Harries and the boys don't know enough. Therefore it's about you two.
Fair, and probably both, eh?
How much did they pay you, Dr Bridger?
What? But, in your opinion, is she a bit crazy?
Is it your concern?
Yes! The responsibility for press reports is mine.
All the papers are reporting the news.
I've had the biggest trouble of my life!
I'm so sorry!
Oh, listen to yourself!
Leave my friend Dennis alone, it was me who contacted all the journalists.
You?
Me, me.
But are you drunk?
Yes. That's to say, just a little bit drunk, but even if I'd been sober the thing wouldn't have gone any differently.
I'm for freedom of information, me!
Ah! And they didn't pay me, either.
Miss Adamson, lost an idol, have you?
LONDON, MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, 30 JUNE
A spokesman from the Ministry of Science has declared to newspapers...
- ...that even if it's true that the new giant radiotelescope... - Yes?
- ...at Bouldershaw fell has received a message, - Dr Fleming is here, sir.
- in any case they deny the news... - Send him in at once.
Dr Fleming.
Dr Fleming... General Vandenberg.
Hello, John.
Sit down.
What is this, a commission of inquest?
Did you know your work necessitates particular security measures?
I'm completely soaked in my sense of duty.
But I don't side with those scientists who allow themselves to be gagged.
Try to calm down, John.
Have you seen the newspapers?
By now half the world is convinced that green men with antennae are about to land in their gardens.
General Vandenberg, please, no green men!
Dr Fleming, we want the truth.
The truth is that what I have communicated to the press, the scientific truth, has been misrepresented.
The fact is that communicating it wasn't your concern, Dr Fleming.
And then?
We've been forced to order a complete report for the Defence Co-ordination Committee.
and the Prime Minister is preparing a declaration for the United Nations.
It's all fine, then.
We don't like to find ourselves in this position.
Now our problem is to avoid the spread of panic.
It's been you who forced our hand.
What I do with my findings is my own business.
England is still a free country. Or not?
Somewhat free.
For us, stop your personal declarations, Dr Fleming. A formal denial.
Aha, what use will that be?
Anything that can help calm the public, is useful.
Above all, if you can discredit the source...
Don't make it a personal matter, John.
Why, isn't it? And then, why would I be here?
If I make a declaration to say that I spoke in a moment of mental aberration, then... then what happens?
I fear that... is it, Osborne?
Professor Reinhart, you didn't choose this.
They want you to leave the observatory.
I understand. It's simple, isn't it?
I don't want to lose you, John.
I'm sure you don't.
There's an inconvenience, though.
And that would be?
You can't go forward without me.
I wouldn't be so sure. There are other scientists - Americans, for example.
True. But only I can say what it's about.
Do you want to say you've deciphered the message?
I want to say I know what it is.
What is it, John?
Can I stay at the radiotelescope?
Remain at my post?
Yes, Dr Fleming.
So, what would this message be?
It's a construction set. And it's not of human origin.
Namely?
Come and we'll talk tomorrow, at the astronomy centre.
Hm, ever more irritating!
It seems much better to me.
The hazards of the trade.
Or at least they would be if this was my trade.
You should apply a compress.
It's not the eye that bothers me. It's this job of tailing assignments.
They call it counterespionage.
My job is in there. I'm a technician.
You're also an Air Force officer.
I was a radar operator. In fact I'm an electronics expert and not of the secret service.
And now I have to protect our discoveries and our equipment.
You manage it very well.
Well, I don't know. Have you spoken with the boss?
Yes. He's dying to know what's going on in there.
You'd need to be clairvoyant.
Above all, to know what role Bridger has.
It's something to do with Olboyd's betting shop. Who's he meeting?
And what if he really goes there to bet on the horses?
Have you been able to work anything out?
Nothing. I was about to enter the office when I was attacked.
It'll go better the next time, Harries, have courage!
It's not courage that I lack.
You'll see, we'll get to the bottom of it.
But the bottom of what? We work on nothing, do you realise that?
I know.
I don't feel comfortable in the role of secret agent, or pretending to be one.
Do you remember what our instructor used to say?
When you must pretend to be someone, you need to be that someone. Have you already forgotten?
No. But I'm afraid I'm a marked man.
Judy, I like your certainty.
It's not that I'm so certain. I try.
You're good because of that. I feel squashed by things that are too big.
Explain to me how a nice girl like you has chosen to follow this profession.
Passion? Or taste for adventure? Patriotism?
Oh, yes! It would be best for us to go back.
Sure.
- Harries, I recommend... - What?
The compress for the eye. Put a beef steak on it, before you cook it.
John, we're all here.
I'm excited. These representatives of power intimidate me.
Dr Fleming, we want to get started.
Of course, General. Now, we pull the rabbit out of the hat.
Here we have the recorded message.
Complete?
In principle we were not able to capture it all, but from last Wednesday it's been repeating several times.
Always the same?
Identical. And now we have completed it.
It's a very long message, as you see. Dennis, your numbers.
About seven million groups of ciphers. For a total of fourteen billion. About.
But do they make sense?
I think so.
Oh, good! What is it about?
It's about... a design for a computer.
Are you completely sure?
From the Andromeda Nebula, has come the design for an electronic computer.
Why exactly, a computer?
They didn't explain why.
Have you put these codes in our computer?
I've tried, but the computer isn't powerful enough to handle it all.
And this one isn't very ample.
You seem to be very sure of what you're saying.
I am.
I would like the possibility to... I don't say you're wrong, but I'd like our signals technicians to check your methodology.
Go ahead!
But seriously, you're claiming there's the possibility that other beings, from a remote region of another galaxy,
are specifying a design for the construction of a type of electronic machine?
Yes.
Which, in any case, we already have on Earth.
No. We don't have this.
Ah, no? But the type, yes, even if not the model.
Dr Fleming, I ask you, is it possible?
It's what happened.
Reinhart, what do you say?
Arithmetic is universal. It could easily be that the electronic calculator is too.
I doubt it.
Listen, the message is being continually repeated. If you've got a better idea, you go and work on it.
All right, all right. I should add... General!
Yes?
I should add that the message is composed of two sections.
The first section is a mathematical specification that can be interpreted as the design for... for a supercomputer.
Our most recent computers still work in microseconds. What's required is a machine that works in nanoseconds.
Could you be simpler?
I'm very simple! The second section is the program to load into the supercomputer, always assuming we manage to build it.
To get what?
I'd like to know that too.
Could I have a look?
Be my guest.
Interesting!
Interesting? But it's the most important event in the evolution of the human brain until now!
John, what are you thinking of doing now?
Follow the message. First, construct a supercomputer according to these data, and then run this program.
Let's go.
Dr Bridger, two weeks ago, you sent me a message by teleprinter. From Stockholm, apparently.
Yes.
Since then, nothing more.
I've changed idea.
Now may be the moment of change to the new, wouldn't you say?
We've been very perplexed, the last weeks.
Don't you have anything to say?
Yes? I'm Barnett. Ah, yes, I'm just talking with him.
But of course. The essential problem is one of connections. Perfect, good.
I was waiting for this call. Now we can speak with a much vaster range of action.
So, this extraordinary news... Has there really been a message from Andromeda?
It seems to have come from very far away.
A message has been received here at Bouldershaw.
But is Dr Fleming sure?
He is, yes. He's got more imagination than me.
I would want to be able to check it first.
Why don't you do that?
No computer exists that's capable of processing all these data.
I'm thinking of giving my resignation to the observatory.
I would have done it already. I stayed out of friendship for Fleming.
And what would you want to do?
Not to keep working for the state all my life.
You would like a more lucrative job in private industry?
In that case, what is there better than Intel?
Intel? What's Intel?
It's an abstraction. An empty name.
Let's say that Intel is the biggest of the things that don't exist.
Because Intel is prohibited by law.
And why would I work for a 'trust' outside the law?
It won't be forever, believe me.
Go on.
LONDON, MINISTRY OF SCIENCE
General Watling.
Delighted.
It's a pleasure.
Therefore you would be the Wizard of Oz, right?
General Watling is our guard dog.
Do you want to search me?
Never in public.
"I have nothing to declare except my genius." Oscar Wilde.
"Better a witty fool than a foolish wit." Shakespeare.
Gentlemen, the Science Minister.
I hope I'm not late.
The intelligence that has sent the message is much more advanced than us.
We don't know why it's been sent, nor to whom. But it's a thing we wouldn't ever have been able to do.
We are only Homo Sapiens, who tread a difficult path.
If we want to decipher the message, if we want...
But is it just a theory, or...?
It's an analysis.
Do you think it can be demonstrated?
I can demonstrate.
I'm asking the professor.
I can demonstrate by building a supercomputer big enough to process these data.
You, Professor, what do you think?
Certainly, it will need a lot of time, and a lot of money.
But is it really necessary to construct this...?
Maybe.
We could make available university computers.
Do you really think universities have the best equipment today?
Ask your military friends where in this country the only decent computers can be found.
General Vandenberg.
I would have needed some time to take advice before responding.
You don't need to. I'll tell you. Suitable computers can be found at Thorness Missile Base.
But that's reserved for defence.
Good point.
My dear Vandenberg, today everything is reserved for defence. Even science.
OK, I agree. See you in the morning. Goodbye.
It's free.
Are you sure?
Now, on the basis of your phototography, the probability of error is minimal.
It's him. Barnett, of the international cartel Intel.
I'll have to go to London to take the photos. Can I take your car? It's faster.
Of course.
Good evening.
And Mr Barnett?
Engagements. He's sent me. Hello.
I must only report: will you respond yes or no?
I preferred to talk to Barnett.
The substance is unchanged.
In future, it will be necessary to be much more prudent. Someone has seen you with Mr Barnett.
Someone? Who?
That doesn't concern you. What's important is that it won't happen again.
Therefore, first of all you won't resign.
I'm free to say yes or no, right?
But you'll continue to work as part of Fleming's team, at Thorness.
Where?
At Thorness. The team will transfer to Thorness missile base.
And how do you know that, when I still don't? Who decided it?
You will continue to supply all the news on Fleming's work.
But I...
You have only one way to retire.
What?
You'll finish the operation. Afterwards, you will be free. Afterwards. Clear?
I'll report to Barnett that you accept.
Good evening, sir.
Fill it for me, please.
Excuse me sir, could you help?
How much do I owe you?
Two pounds one shilling, sir.
But you're not...
My friend has gone with the ambulance because his wife is ill, and I have to follow with his car.
OK. Let's hope it's something minor.
I fear, instead, that it could be a very serious condition.
Slow down. I have to make an injection.
Alex! Documents! Secret, of course!
It's gone through!
Gone through?
The barbed wire has opened for us! We'll have a serial number!
Fingerprints will be taken and brains will be washed.
That way we'll be ready to use precious taxpayers' equipment reserved for playing soldiers.
Dennis! We're leaving.
Don't tell me you've already resigned?
No, I'm staying.
Good.
I'm coming to Thorness.
You're already up to date! But look here, the news is spreading even before it's announced.
How do you know we're going to Thorness?
I know.
Listen, Dennis. I don't understand you any more. Recently you've changed.
But, no!
We're good enough friends to talk about everything, aren't we?
Yes, of course. But I wouldn't know what to say to you.
What a twisted personality, my brother. First you're enthusiastic for the work.
Then you blather that you could earn ten times more in industry. Now you stay.
Don't you stop?
No. You're hiding something from me. What is it?
Dr Fleming!
What's happening?
Come quickly, please!
Worse than a prison!
But do you want to explain?
There.
He's dead.