Fantastic Voyage Page #3

They arrive at the root of the escalator, leave the scooter and board

the moving stairway.

76WITH ESCALATOR

As they ride up:

GRANT:

I assume Benes knows how to control

it.

CARTER:

That's right. He wanted us to have

the secret, and not them. Which is

why they tried to kill him.

GRANT:

They're bound to try again. No

wonder they want me to stand by

during the operation.

CARTER:

And take a little trip with them...

GRANT:

(bewildered)

Trip? Where to?

CARTER:

(matter-of-fact)

Well, the only way to reach that

clot is from inside the Brain. So

we've decided to put a Surgical Team

and a Crew into a submarine --

reduce it way down in size, and

inject it into an Artery --

GRANT:

(jolted)

You mean going along?

CARTER:

As part of the Crew.

GRANT:

Wait a minute! They can't shrink

!

CARTER:

(assuringly)

Grant, our Miniaturizer can shrink

anything.

GRANT:

But I don't want to be

Miniaturized -- !

CARTER:

It's only for an hour --

GRANT:

Not even for a minute! General

Carter, sir, I'd like you to

reconsider your choice. I'm just not

the right man for a mission of this

kind.

He starts walking against the direction of the escalator, thus

remaining in the same place.

CARTER:

(taking his arm)

Come on, Grant. You're going to a

Briefing.

They have reached the top of the escalator. Nearby is a door marked:

Carter opens the door, waves him in.

77INT. CONFERENCE ROOM

Grant and Carter enter in the middle of what is evidently a heated

argument between COLONEL DONALD REID and Duval. Reid is in the uniform

of the , with a cadaceus which indicates he is the Medical

Division. Also present is CAPTAIN BILL OWENS, in Naval uniform, and

Michaels. Cora stands beside Duval, rather abashed, since she is the

cause of the vociferous disagreement.

DUVAL:

(irascibly)

Miss Peterson volunteered to come

along!

REID:

So did every male Technician in the

Unit. A woman has no place on a

mission of this kind.

DUVAL:

(brooking no rebuttal)

I insist on taking my Technician.

REID:

You'll take whoever assign!

DUVAL:

(angrily)

Don't tell me whom I'm to work with!

Not on this operation or any other!

I'll do what think is best,

without any interference from

anyone!

Before Reid can reply:

MICHAELS:

(diplomatically)

Dr. Duval has relied on Miss

Peterson for years. And since she

wants to come along, I'm sure it's

for the best, Dr. Reid.

REID:

(making best of defeat)

I don't agree with you -- but since

you're in charge, you can do as you

please. But I want to go on record

as being against it.

CARTER:

Grant -- Colonel Reid, Operation

Commander.

(they nod; of Michaels)

You've met our Medical Chief.

Grant and Michaels shake hands, in effect their first meeting vis-a-

vis.

CARTER:

This is Dr. Duval, our Head Surgeon.

GRANT:

Oh yes, I've heard of you, Doctor.

With the attitude of the completely dedicated professional, Duval

throws him a cursory glance, nods, sits down, quickly opens up a

folder containing the latest lab reports on Benes, which he scans

during:

MICHAELS:

Miss Peterson, his Technical

Assistant.

GRANT:

(the charmer)

How are you, Miss Peterson?

She responds with an impersonal nod, sits down beside Duval and opens

up her sheaf of lab reports, handing him the pertinent ones during:

CARTER:

This is Captain Bill Owens, designer

of an experimental submarine for the

Navy's 'Oceanographic Research and

Development Program.'

As they shake hands:

GRANT:

Out of your element, aren't you,

Captain?

OWENS:

Sort of.

GRANT:

That makes two of us.

CARTER:

Grant's uniquely qualified for this

mission. He's a Communications

Expert and was a Frogman during the

War. Besides, he brought Benes into

this country, and the fewer people

who know about him, the better. At

any rate, you'll find Grant

invaluable, should anything go wrong

once you're under way.

(to Reid)

Okay, Don.

REID:

Here's the overall Target Area...

Reid presses a switch. A large anatomical map of a Brain flashes on a

central screen. The ganglia and dendrites form a network, much like

intersecting roads, in a detailed war map. The clot is a solid

obstruction in the center. Grid lines cross the map vertically and

horizontally as points of reference. The entire projection has a

three-dimensional effect, since it is drawn in perspective.

DUVAL:

Benes' brain...near as we can map it

stereotaxically...

He switches on a flashlight arrow, points to the clot.

DUVAL:

The clot's right here...

He switches off the arrow and quickly flashes it on again, this time

on the edges of the map. The arrow now probes and with draws from the

base, center and top of the brain, like the animated technique of

showing an attack which is repulsed at the perimeter.

DUVAL:

Impossible to get at --

(arrow makes vertical

penetration to give

impression of wide cut)

-- without damage to the intervening

tissue...which would prove fatal to

Benes.

He presses another switch. A startling OVERLAY OF THE BLOOD VESSELS OF

THE HEAD AND NECK appears over the anatomical drawing of the brain,

encasing it. The red-colored arteries and blue-colored veins form such

an intricate maze, that finding one's way through it seems virtually

impossible.

DUVAL:

The only way to reach it is via the

Arterial System.

Grant looks at Cora. She is busy making notes from the projected map.

Owens is showing no undue reaction, apparently having been apprised.

REID:

Phase One calls for Miniaturizing a

submarine, with Crew and Surgical

Team, and injecting it into the

Carotid Artery.

He points with the arrow to the exact spot.

OWENS:

How small would that be?

REID:

About the size of a microbe.

GRANT:

Colonel, I'm sure that's quite a

comfortable size, but --

REID:

Reduced proportionately, you won't

find it too strange --

GRANT:

All in a day's work, sure. But I was

thinking of the speed of the

Circulatory System.

MICHAELS:

About forty miles an hour.

GRANT:

Well, it seems to me if you reduce a

ship to microscopic size -- and the

stream remains constant -- we'd take

quite a beating.

OWENS:

(very worried)

I hope you've taken that into

account --

CARTER:

We have.

REID:

You won't be going anywhere near

that fast. We're putting Benes in

deep Hypothermia -- that is,

freezing him low as compatible with

human life. It'll slow down his

heartbeat, Circulation, and all

other physical processes.

Owens begins polishing his glasses, indicating his inner qualms.

OWENS:

Even so, because of our size -- I

mean lack of it -- we'll still be

cruising mighty fast. We'll be

smashed to bits if there's any

turbulence --

MICHAELS:

(pointing with flashing

arrow)

The only danger of turbulence is in

the Heart -- and we're not going

through it.

(flashing arrow)

Once in the Carotid Artery, we'll

remain in the Arterial System...

until we reach the point of

damage --

(flashes around clot)

-- where Dr. Duval will attempt to

dissolve the clot with a laser beam.

After the operation, we'll return by

way of the Venous System --

(coursing down with

arrow)

-- until we reach the base of the

neck --

(arrow stops)

-- where we'll be removed right here

-- with a hypodermic.

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