Big Miracle Page #3

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One can hear the sound of

panic as they surface to breathe.

Temperatures

are well below zero.

The hole has gotten smaller,

the ice has gotten thicker.

The three whales

have nowhere to go.

It's five miles

from here to open water.

And they can't swim that far

underwater without breathing.

Groups like Greenpeace are scrambling

to figure out how to save the whales,

but the local Inupiat tribe is

considering an alternative plan.

Harvesting

the whales for food.

KABC Studios, Los Angeles

Okay. One last thing. This

whale story is heating up.

I need to send someone.

Don't everybody

jump at once.

I'll go.

I've spoken to a marine

biologist about the situation

and I've already been in contact

with the mayor's office in Barrow.

Uh-huh. It's yours

if you want it, Wes.

Oh, it's a cat-in-a-tree.

I think I'll stick around here

and do the stories that matter.

Really, and what is it that

makes a story matter, Wes?

What makes a story matter

is that I cover it.

Now, if those whales go on a

killing spree, or run for office,

give me a call.

We've secured

the hover barge

and now all we need is the

cooperation of the National Guard.

But that has to come down

from the governor, and so far,

the governor has basically

turned his back on the whales.

Next question.

I hate her so much.

And we will do everything we

can to help these poor creatures.

Yeah.

Nine. Ten.

Eagle River, Alaska

Eleven.

You got it.

Finish it, Boyer!

Colonel Boyer.

Yes, General.

Now, the ice-breaking

hover barge

is up in my Prudhoe Bay

drilling complex.

So, all you have to do

is hook a line to it,

take your chopper and pull

it across the ice here,

all the way

up to Barrow.

It's 270 miles

as a crow flies.

Right.

Are these whales

posing a threat to anyone?

How many lives

are in danger?

None. Just the whales.

Are they at least

killer whales, sir?

Relax, Scotty.

This is purely

a PR thing on our end.

Right, yeah.

More like that.

Come on back here

for a sec.

The pull

will take two days, max.

Maybe another day in Barrow,

breaking the ice.

You'll be home

before the weekend.

So, who am I taking my

orders from then, General?

We're all in this

together, Scotty.

Yeah. Look, Colonel,

hell, if it was up to me,

I'd drop a bunch of bombs

to break up the ice.

But the experts say that would kill

pretty much every other critter up there.

So, it's the hover barge.

The good news is that the

pull should be a piece of cake.

With all due respect,

Mr. McGraw,

nothing is that simple

in the Arctic.

That's why you're paying

high-school dropouts

$200,000 a year

to work your rigs up there.

Colonel, if J.W. says

it's doable, it's doable.

Yes, sir.

Good.

This is insane.

Hey, Pat.

Hi, Rachel.

Hi, Adam.

Hey.

I brought you something.

Oh...

It's a birthday present,

but you dumped me before I had

the chance to give it to you.

Well, that's not really

what happened, but thank you.

It's a robe.

Surprise!

I figured you could use something

up here to keep you warm.

Absolutely.

No. Thank you, this is

really sweet of you. Thanks.

So, what's your plan?

Stop the Inupiats.

Mmm-hmm.

Use the media to show the world

what heartless hunters they are.

- Adam?

- What?

Are you even

listening to me?

Yes. Yes, I definitely am.

You know, the Inupiats

are very good people.

They're killers, Adam.

And I'm the only thing standing

between those whales and their harpoons.

But when I'm done,

the press is gonna want to

hang them from the rafters.

So, happy birthday.

Five hundred a night?

- Yep.

- For this?

Yes.

Okay, I'll be with you

in one minute.

Excuse me,

are there any other hotels?

Nope.

Take it or leave it.

Sorry, no credit cards.

Cash only.

Okay, can I help

whoever is next?

Right here.

I have cash.

This machine

was built in 1970.

Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

The next year it enters

the record books,

making an ascent

straight up to 36,000 feet

in under six minutes.

That's a faster climb rate

than an F-14 Tomcat.

So, my old girl here

and her sister

will be pulling 75,000

pounds of hover barge

from here all the way to those

three whales stuck off Point Barrow.

Now, the hover barge

is 40 by 60 feet.

We have jet-fueled turbines.

These massive engines create

a cushion of air right here,

underneath the barge.

And this causes

the hover barge

to lift off

the ground four feet,

enabling us to move at will,

pulverizing any ice in our path.

How long do you...

I'm sorry, we're going to get back

to work now, if you don't mind.

- Thank you.

- Thank you, sir.

Thanks, Colonel.

Thank you.

Thank you.

If you went back 10,000

years, our ancestors would be

mending their umiak frame

right here,

just like this.

You know they have motor

boats now, right, Grandpa?

Oh, boy.

Look what I got,

fresh off the cargo plane.

What?

What are they?

- The next phase in your training.

- Awesome.

Def Leppard, Hysteria.

Rattle and Hum by U2.

And Guns N' Roses,

Appetite for Destruction.

Wow! Thank you so much.

And for your Walkman.

Batteries. Yes.

I gotta go. I got batteries.

I'll be right back.

If we all got that excited

about batteries, right?

Hey, so you going to this

Whaling Captains meeting tonight?

Seems like there's a lot

riding on the outcome.

I put Roy in charge.

Roy?

Roy and Rachel,

that's going to get ugly.

Malik, you know there's

a lot of press here now.

And they don't

understand your people,

or what it takes

for you to survive.

We don't need them

to understand us.

You may need them

more than you think.

I have work to finish.

Okay.

Why won't you give us

a chance to get them out?

I have a barge

that's just days away,

but instead

you want to kill a family?

A baby, for God's sake!

For sport!

Hold on.

It's what I feed my family.

And it's what

we feed our babies.

The whale chooses the whaler

and they have chosen us.

The whale told you this?

Did it write you a letter?

"Dear Roy, I'd be honored if you

would drag me up to the beach,

"harpoon me

and slice me up."

Hold on, here.

Hold on.

"Best wishes, the whale."

No, no.

What you're saying

is ridiculous.

You're a white girl from out

of town. You don't belong here!

This is Inupiat country.

Roy, every Inupiat

gets a huge stipend

for the drilling rights

to the oil for their land.

You can buy all the food that you want.

Rachel, we have to hunt!

One day,

that oil's going to run out,

and when it does,

the money will stop coming.

If we don't teach our children

how to feed themselves,

they're going to starve.

And who's going

to feed them then?

Are you?

Let's take

a five-minute break.

Hey, guys. Hey, guys.

Guys. Listen to

what I have to say.

You know the world has

gotten bigger for us.

And the outsiders

have taken away so much.

They move to our land.

They've even

changed our way of life.

But we still survive, right?

Right.

But if we give them pictures

of us killing those whales,

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