The Angry Red Planet Page #5

Close the door.

Hold it!

Aiy eee!

Close the door.

Sam,

he just...

Easy, Irish, easy, huh?

I'll open the view ports.

Look!

Try the screens.

It's all around us.

Tom, your arm.

Part of that creature

touched you.

It's eaten right

through the suit.

Like-- like Sam.

You'd better get

out of that suit.

I'll get some niacin compound,

just in case.

Give me that suit, Tom.

We'll put it in the

disposal unit.

Iris,

what is your opinion

of that creature?

Well, I'm sure it's a

unicellular animal.

Those 2 areas inside it must be

the nucleus and the

contractile vacuole.

Now, wait a minute. Whoa. Heh.

Let me in on it, Irish, huh?

It's like an amoeba, Tom...

A giant amoeba,

one single cell,

without intelligence,

without a nervous system at all.

It reacts completely on

instinct to external stimuli.

Ah, we must be safe in here.

The amoeba engulfs its prey

and digests it with

extremely strong acids.

It's trying to get to us.

It's incredible.

I wouldn't say that, Tom.

Not after what we saw

it do to poor Sam.

Yeah.

It'll take time,

but it probably can eat

right through the ship.

Well, we've got to get

rid of it someway.

But how?

It can't even be touched

with anything we have.

Iris, you've experimented

with amoeba on earth.

What sort of thing affects them?

They're almost

impossible to kill.

Even if you cut them in

half, both parts will live.

Now, there's got to be

some way to get at it.

It can encyst, Tom.

That is, secrete and form a

sort of protective envelope.

That's how it withstood

the sonic gun.

Heat! Fire!

I could turn on the rocket.

You can't do that, Tom.

With that creature clogging

our thrust chamber

we'd have an internal explosion.

Well, we've got to do something!

I can't think of anything.

Hey, wait a minute.

I do remember.

We experimented

with electricity.

What happened?

Well, th-the power from a

small flashlight battery

killed thousands of amoeba.

That's it! Electric shock!

I can generate half

a million volts.

But how are you going to get

to it to electrocute it?

You can't go outside, or

even open the airlock.

I won't have to.

But what I have in

mind could backfire.

If you both don't agree, I

won't go through with it.

What is your plan, Tom?

I'll need your help.

Check me out.

This ship has a

double hull, right?

That's correct.

The outer hull acts

as a meteor bumper.

And the outer hull is

completely insulated

from the inner one?

Quite effectively.

Good.

Now, is there any way I can

get to the outer

hull from in here?

One place only--

the detector instrument

cable access channel.

I want to feed the radar power

through the outer hull.

Can it be done?

It would take a lot

of rewiring, but,

yes, we can do it.

You see, what I have

in mind is to feed

the current through

the outer hull,

without it spilling back

into the inner one.

What do you think?

And if there is a spill?

Then we won't have to wait

for that thing to

eat through to us.

Well, I'm for it.

So am I.

Good. Let's go.

Almost through.

Uh-huh.

Open the view plates.

Well, that's it.

Cut in the generators.

Go ahead, Tom.

Gettell.

Gettell.

What is it?

It's all right. I was j--

it's all right.

Just a little pain, that's all.

The exertion, I suppose.

Aw, c'mon.

Take it easy, Professor.

I'll start rewiring

it just in case

whatever's holding us here

decides to let us

blast off in a few days.

The radio works.

The force field must be off.

Turn on the recorder, Irish.

Men of earth, we of

the planet Mars,

give you this warning.

Listen carefully and remember.

Professor Gettell!

Oh...

Iris,

I'm sorry.

The takeoff,

the acceleration pressure...

Don't talk now.

Let me help.

No, no.

Wait, Iris.

The ship,

the wiring...

You--you must try...

Tom...

In the cabin...

The cabin...

Ahh!

Tom!

Dr. Ryan,

is that all of it?

What was the warning?

What else did the voice say?

Try to remember.

I don't know.

Tom...

He had me turn on

the tape recorder.

Maybe the last tape...

Nurse, light, please.

Here you are, doctor.

What is it?

Exhaustion.

Will she be all right?

With a lot of rest.

A giant amoeba.

She told us what we had to know.

About Tom?

Yes.

It's an enzymatic infection.

A minute part of the

amoebic creature

must have reached Tom's skin.

And it's growing,

literally eating his tissues.

Can you save him?

Now we know what we're fighting.

At least we have a chance.

Dr. Gordon.

All right now.

3 CCs.

All right.

Call me immediately

if there's any change.

Yes, doctor.

Dr. Gordon tells me

it has resisted

everything we've tried.

We have slowed down its growth,

but that's all.

You know more about this

creature than anyone.

- We thought that--

- General Treegar,

there is a biological

laboratory here, isn't there?

Yes, of course.

Dr. Ryan,

Dr. Ryan!

Dr. Gordon, I think we've

found the solution.

What can we do?

I'll show you.

Electricity.

We have already thought

of that, Dr. Ryan.

But any kind of electric

shock strong enough

to kill the amoeba

will also kill Tom.

I know.

Then how?

We've been attacking

the alien amoeba

as if it were a disease.

But it isn't. It's an animal,

an animal with instincts,

and most important of all,

a will to act.

It only makes it

harder to destroy.

And gives it a vulnerability

we also have--

that of making a wrong choice.

Look.

We have 2 identical

tissue cultures there.

Both infested with our

own microscopic amoeba

and placed very close

to each other.

One we left alone.

The other we subjected

to light periodic

electric shocks.

Before long, all the amoeba

on the irritated culture

had made their choice.

They moved to the nearby

undisturbed culture.

Then that is what we have to do.

We will prepare a

large tissue culture

and place it next to

the infected arm,

then, subject Tom

to electric shocks,

just short of being

harmful to him.

Better hurry and get out

of that bed, colonel, sir.

Broadway's waiting.

Broadway?

Just like to know if I

can cash my rain check?

It's up to you,

Iris.

Tom, Iris, I have something

I want you to hear.

You were right.

The whole speech was

on the recorder.

The last tape--

I think you should listen to it.

Sounds important.

Judge for yourself.

Professor Weiner...

Men of earth, we of the planet

Mars give you this warning.

Listen carefully and remember.

We have known your planet earth

since the first creature

crawled out of the

primeval slime

of your seas to become man.

For millenia, we have

followed your progress.

For centuries, we

have watched you,

listened to your radio signals

and learned your speech

and your culture.

And now, you have

invaded our home.

Technological adults,

but spiritual and

emotional infants.

We kept you here,

deciding your fate.

Had the lower forms of life

of our planet destroyed you,

we would not have interfered.

But you survived.

Your civilization

has not progressed

beyond destruction,

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