Marooned Page #5

On my mark, first Delta V burn.

Three, two, one, ignition.

Roger, I have ignition.

Timer on and counting.

We have a new APT,

and it's not good.

- It's turned.

- Sure has.

How soon will it get here?

What do you think?

Eight hours, major.

Seven, maybe eight.

It's gonna be a tight fit.

All right.

Keith speaking.

Yes, okay. Okay.

- Hello, Mr. President?

- The hurricane.

Well, it changed course.

Eighty-mile winds heading straight

for us.

Well, we can launch in winds

up to 45 miles per hour.

Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure, sir.

I wrote it.

No, they can't help us.

I've already talked to them.

I know Kashvin pretty well.

You see, their Voshkod's

in the wrong orbit, won't wash.

We can't launch any earlier, sir.

We have to go precisely at 8:48.

Well, what are you gonna do?

We just keep going.

Keep plugging.

Deep, dreamless sleep.

That's a nice adjustment.

Nightmare?

He's an angry, active guy.

Frustrated. He's helpless.

- Can we give him something to do?

- No.

He's not taking his pills.

He's got a lot to think about.

The sleep period

should be terminated.

All right, but tell mission control

not to keep him busy.

- Kid him along, keep him informed.

- Yes, sir.

Houston CapCom, this is Courtney.

This is Houston, CapCom, Frank Piro.

Frank, wake them up.

And, Frank, Mr. Keith does not want

you to try to keep them busy.

Just keep them informed,

kid them along.

Understood.

The sleep period is terminated.

Hi, fellas! We see you're awake now.

Thought we'd bring you up to date

on mission status.

The solid stacks

are being strapped on...

...and we'll be moving the bird

on the pad in about nine hours.

Say, here's a little item

of space news.

The Russians have just launched

another Voshkod.

Would you believe it's carrying a

Red Army all-girl marching band?

Say, you guys still asleep?

No, we're having a wild party.

Hey, that's pretty funny.

You sure you're taking

your quiet pills?

We are, but the girls aren't.

Well, have fun.

Roger, Houston.

You never wind down,

do you, Stoney?

No, never do.

I just do the job I was trained for:

I observe systems under stress.

Okay.

I'll give you some data points.

You know what I'm thinking now?

I'm thinking I never made

enough money in this business.

How do some of those pilots

make so much money?

I don't have a dime.

Are you getting all that?

Yeah. Yeah, getting all that.

I'll tell you something else.

I'll never get the Mars shot.

You know why? I'm too old.

How about that?

Why are you doing that?

- Relax, Buzz.

- Don't tell me what to do.

Hey, Buzz, you...

You remember that psychologist

at Brooks?

The one with the blank sheet

of paper?

I don't remember.

Sure. Sure, you remember.

He held up a blank sheet

of paper and said:

"What do you see?"

- I don't remember.

- What did you see?

Who, me?

I saw a blank sheet of paper.

No imagination.

No, no. Devotion to truth.

Why don't you take that Ph.D.

And shove it?

What are you gonna do

when you finish that?

Drop it out the window in a bottle?

No, I'm the scientist.

I rely on the pilot to get me places.

If we'd had a couple more pilots, we'd

be out there instead of laying here.

Jim, what did you see when the

psychologist held up the paper?

They didn't have all that jazz

when I came in.

I saw a field covered with snow.

And underneath, there was new oats.

And then the snow melted,

and the field turned to green.

But the psychologist said I was wrong,

it was just a blank sheet of paper.

They took you anyway?

Yeah, I guess they made a mistake.

No, no. They don't make mistakes.

That's right, I forgot.

They don't make mistakes, do they?

Ironman One.

Ironman One, Goldstone,

do you read?

Yeah. Go, Goldstone.

You might want to look

out your window, Jim.

What for?

There's somebody down there

that wants to say something to you.

Say again?

Why don't you look

out your window?

That's San Diego, Jim.

Your hometown, saying hello.

Suspended beneath

the Air Force CA3 helicopter...

... the XRV is on its way

to the launch pad.

A flying wedge,

shaped much like a thick arrowhead...

... the XRV has never before been

in space.

When it makes its first flight, Col.

Dougherty will be going it alone...

... because that bird was designed

for two men...

... but now has been modified,

of course, to carry four men.

Col. Dougherty will be

on his way to bring home...

...the three astronauts

of Ironman One.

That XRV will plunge

into the atmosphere...

... at 17,000 miles per hour, a

flaming meteor coming back to Earth.

When it breaks down

into the lower atmosphere...

... the speed will drop to only

a few hundred miles per hour...

... and Dougherty will be flying

a high-speed glider...

... an airplane without power.

He'll take that bird straight in towards

Edwards Air Force Base...

... to land on the long runway out there

in the California desert.

Hello, Ted.

Thirty-six hours and 15 minutes.

Great, Ted.

- What about the hurricane?

- Heading straight for us.

- When did it turn?

- About six hours ago.

- When do we get it?

- 75-knot winds by 9:00.

- They said it was headed to sea.

- They were wrong.

How in the hell can they make

a mistake like that?

Stop wasting your energy. It changed

course once, it can change again.

How are the children, Teresa?

Fine.

Mine are home studying for exams.

Boy, they sure are putting

the pressure on at school these days.

It'll just be a minute.

I should caution you.

You're going to notice

some degeneration.

But it's important to show them

how confident you are.

We understand, Dick.

We won't let you down.

You want us to be confident?

The more relaxed they are,

the less oxygen they use.

I know why we're here.

You're letting us say goodbye.

Wyman's report to contact.

Celia?

- Hi, Celia.

- Hi, Frank.

Celia?

It's Jim.

- Frank, take it off for a minute.

- All right.

Celia?

Celia.

Celia, we're gonna talk to him

on the monitor up here.

Celia.

Well, here I am again.

Celia?

Well...

...everybody's been so nice.

I spoke to your father today.

And he says to say hello.

His cold, it seemed better.

I bought some new shoes.

They hurt.

And the kids?

Oh, fine, fine.

I lost the bill to the insurance.

I thought I had it paid, and then

just this morning, I got a letter.

Listen, babe, I...

I just want to tell you

that I love you.

What?

I said, I love you.

I just wanted you to know.

I know that.

I just wanted to make sure.

Is it very Ionely where you are?

No, not for long.

We all have great confidence.

Celia, if you have any more

problems with the insurance...

... or the house

or anything like that...

... you can talk to Dougherty.

He's a good guy.

You can depend on him.

I gave him a kiss to give you

when he sees you.

Yeah, that's just what I need.

You never can tell.

- Well, I gotta go now.

- No, not yet.

Celia, I...

I had a real good day today.

And...

...you know,

when you think about this...

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