Fail-Safe Page #8

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I need your help.

Get out to Andrews Field

right away.

Orders will be

waiting for you there.

Yes, sir.

Blackie, are Katherine

and the kids in New York?

Yes, sir.

I may be asking

a great deal of you.

I'll do whatever you say.

Good luck, Blackie.

General Bogan.

Yes, Mr. President?

I've activated the Touch Phone

between you and the Soviet command.

- Will you test it, please?

- Yes, sir.

This is General Bogan,

Strategic Air Command, Omaha.

I am the translator

for Marshal Nevsky.

Marshal Nevsky

sends his greetings.

The same to him.

Our reception is five-by-five.

How do you read us?

We read you five-by-five.

One moment, please.

Mr. President...

we're through to them.

Thank you, General.

Put me on your public address system

so everyone can hear what I say.

I want the Russians to be able

to hear as well.

Yes, sir.

Ready, sir.

Gentlemen, this is the president

of the United States.

Whatever orders I give

to American personnel...

are to be considered direct orders

from the commander in chief.

They are to be obeyed fully...

without reservation

and at once.

We must do

everything we can...

to prevent our planes

from attacking Moscow.

The Soviet premier has behaved

as I believe I would...

under similar conditions.

He has delayed retaliation.

I think he believes

this is an accident...

but we must convince him

and his chief advisors that it is.

I therefore order

every American...

to cooperate fully...

with Soviet officers...

in shooting down

our invading planes.

You are to give

whatever information they request.

Any hesitation,

any withholding of information...

can have

the most tragic consequences.

I cannot emphasize this

too strongly.

Are there any questions?

Gentlemen, I expect you

to conduct yourselves as patriots...

and I wish you success.

Do the missiles on these bombers...

have both infrared

and radar homing capabilities?

A number of our fighter planes

have been destroyed...

by a missile that seems to home

not on the infrared source...

but on the radar transmitter.

Is it possible?

Colonel Cascio

will answer your question.

Answer the question, Colonel.

That is a direct order.

An order, Colonel!

Colonel!

Just a moment, please.

Major Handel.

General Bogan...

Sergeant Collins, on the double!

You're backup man

on fire control, aren't you?

Yes, sir.

Do our Vindicator missiles have both

infrared- and radar-seeking capacity?

Yes, sir.

Loud and clear! They've got

to know we're on the level!

It has both capacities, sir.

Can the radar-seeking mechanism

be overloaded...

by increasing

the strength of the signal?

Tell them!

Yes, sir.

It can be overloaded...

but by increasing the power output...

and sliding through radar frequencies

as fast as possible...

what happens is

the firing mechanism...

reads the higher amperage

as proximity to the target...

and detonates the warhead.

Thank you, General Bogan.

We will be back to you.

That's all, Sergeant.

What does it mean?

We've told them how to blow up

our air-to-air missiles...

and with them, our planes.

They're picking us up.

Thomas, send out the code

for the alternate flight plan.

We're going down to the floor.

They're trying to avoid the fighters

by going too low for their radar.

I'm sorry, General, I...

I don't know what happened.

I just couldn't do it.

It was like a...

I don't know, a fit or something.

Colonel, I...

Forget it.

Who could have expected

this situation?

General, I...

I think this is all a trap.

They wanted this to happen.

We know they've been trying

to foul up our fail-safe signal.

I think we should tell

the president it's a trap.

They're just using the time

to get their missiles ready...

and fly their bombers

into position.

We have no evidence of that.

They could be flying their bombers

in the grass.

They could have

fired missiles already...

and put them up in the orbit

of known satellites...

where we couldn't detect them.

We computed that problem. Satellites

could be used to mask missiles.

We computed

a lot of problems.

I'm not reporting anything

I don't know for sure.

I think we should recommend

a full-strength attack.

That is not our decision!

The Pentagon...

They don't know what we know.

They're not soldiers anymore.

They're politicians.

They don't care

what happens to us.

They make a mistake,

that's politics.

They send out men

to be killed. For what?

To make some lousy deal,

to sell us out.

Save the world, save us.

Save our country

before they destroy it...

with their stinking politics.

Order a first strike, General.

Put an end to it once and for all.

You have the power.

You can do it!

Colonel!

You are talking treason. Stop it now,

or I'll have you put under arrest.

General Bogan,

this is Marshal Nevsky.

Yes, Marshal.

Can you give us

the longitude and latitude...

of the three remaining planes.

Yes, but we can't give you

their altitude.

The signals we're getting

are too distorted.

Will you please give us

the position of the three planes?

We can fly fighters

at various altitudes.

Can do.

Gentlemen, I am taking over

command of this post...

at the specific order

of the president of the United States.

He has long been aware that

General Bogan is mentally unbalanced...

and has warned me

to observe him closely.

The negotiations which General Bogan

has been conducting with the enemy...

are the acts of a lunatic.

By the direct authority

of the president...

I now command you

to take all orders from...

Colonel?

We got orders, Colonel.

You make a fuss, we'll kill you.

You're a traitor.

You're worse than anybody.

You wear the uniform.

You have men under your command.

You're in the field, but you want them

dead before they find you out!

You want me dead!

I saw it this morning

when you found me with those people.

I'm better than you are!

It's a mistake!

You're betraying us all!

You're making a mistake!

I'm better than you are.

You're a traitor.

You're betraying us all!

Marshal Nevsky?

Yes, sir.

I am prepared to give you

the longitude and latitude...

of our bombers

in accordance with your request.

I was aware of your difficulty,

General Bogan.

We have had

such problems ourselves.

I await your information.

Major Handel.

General,

you better have a doctor...

They've got another one.

Sit down, anyway.

That was a bad knock.

Anyone could crack

under the strain.

If you ask me,

he was on the edge...

He was a good soldier.

The Soviet premier

is coming back on the line, sir.

The ambassador and

the Soviet delegate are already on.

- Have they been told?

- Yes, sir, as you said.

Good.

Jay, where are you?

On the top floor of the embassy

in Moscow, Mr. President.

Where are you, Mr. Lentov?

In the U.N. Building in New York.

I suppose there is a reason...

for your ambassador

and Comrade Lentov to join us.

There is, Mr. Chairman.

Then let's get on with it.

His voice is firmer, sir.

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