The Puppet Masters

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I thought we were gonna play ball.

Come on.

Come on!

Stay, Bo-jay

Hey, Mr Higgins.

Did you see something come down

ten minutes ago?

Yeah. It's in the clearing.

It's really incredible.

Come on, you have to come see it.

It's just through here.

- Sam. Great to see you. How are you?

- Mr Jarvis.

This is Dr Sefton.

- Mary. Hi.

- Sam. Hi.

- What the hell's he doing here?

- This is important, Sam.

- Sorry about the short notice.

- No problem.

They have their IDs?

So I'm a Cavanaugh now.

We're tourists. If anyone asks,

I'm Charles Cavanaugh.

Dr Sefton is your sister.

My sister?

Of whom you are extremely fond in a

clean-cut, healthy, all-American way.

- Where's my sister been all my life?

- Dr Sefton is on loan from NASA.

Jarvis, get the trunk for me,

will you?

Since when did the office

start drafting civilians?

All you need to know

is that in the scheme of things,

she is much more valuable to us

than you are.

I take it you're as valuable as ever?

Naturally.

So if you two are being shot at,

which bullet do I take?

You must try for both, of course.

What's so important to draw you out

of your office and into the field?

Something unusual was reported

entering our atmosphere last night.

One of our Keyhole satellites

picked this up.

- You wanna give me a hint?

- See the little blur, top left?

Yeah.

The analysts speculate

that's where the UFO may have landed.

- That's all we have?

- We immediately sent in two agents.

Deitman and Truly.

They have not reported back and we

have not been able to contact them.

Peripheral reports?

The usual ground sightings.

Reports of a landing.

Then a local TV station sent

in a mobile unit to do a spot-cast.

And they reported

that indeed a UFO had landed.

An hour later they changed

their tune.

Claimed it was a hoax.

A fraud perpetrated by a couple of

farm boys who built this spaceship.

Nice sign.

- You go ahead. I'll catch up.

- OK.

Tell me, Mary,

what exactly do you do for NASA?

- My speciality's exobiology.

- Exobiology?

It's the study of what alien life

forms might be like.

You make a living at that?

Seems it'd be mostly guesswork.

We used to joke in school

that ours was the only science

without a subject matter.

So you people are with the office

of scientific intelligence.

Till two days ago

I hadn't heard of it.

You wouldn't have.

Our existence isn't public knowledge.

Eisenhower started O-SCI back in '59.

We're an offshoot of the CIA,

but the old man runs it

like his own private dictatorship.

- Pay for this, will you, Sam?

- Sure, Charles.

Three for the... flying saucer.

What do you hear, Sam?

No birds.

Right. No birds.

Care to see inside, sir?

Only a buck more.

That's a bargain.

Let's have a look, shall we?

Sure.

Hi.

Let's see... Three dollars.

There you go.

How much have you made so far?

About $320.

I'll go first.

Thanks.

Could you help me here?

Thanks.

Thank you.

Let's go, lady.

I'm trying to run a business here.

It doesn't look safe.

It is. We've been taking people

through all day.

She balked

at the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Come on.

Keep the money, guys.

We're running late.

Come on.

Come on.

Thanks, guys.

- Well, Charles?

- Wait a minute.

Couldn't see anything,

but there was definitely

something strange going on.

What about the burn marks?

The burn marks were real.

Something landed there,

but not that thing.

Why that thing?

Why the cover-up? Go on, Mary.

There was something odd

about those boys. And the men.

What, precisely?

I know this doesn't necessarily

qualify as scientific evidence,

but a woman is used to

a certain response from men,

and from those boys

I didn't even get the automatic...

When I was introduced to Sam,

he did this.

I did not do that.

Based on what I was doing

with my blouse,

they should have tried

to look down my top...

Wouldn't have had to try very hard.

We'll go to the TV station that

broadcast those conflicting reports.

Try something and let me know

if you get the same reaction.

- Yes.

- Let's go.

- I did that when we first met?

- You're still doing it.

- Stay by the car.

- I'll keep it up there and wait.

That's fine.

The FCC does not take

misrepresentation lightly, Mr Barnes.

We made an explanation over the air.

What else do you want?

We fell victim to a practical joke.

It was a mistake.

We're only human, after all.

Damn. Could I borrow your pen?

Well, I've seen the site.

I find it difficult to imagine

that a couple of farm boys

could have pulled off

a hoax like that on their own.

Are you implying

that my station was in on it?

Be realistic.

Hold it!

He's still moving.

- My God!

- Well, well, well.

- What the hell is that?

- Our visitor, I presume.

Careful.

No! Sam!

I want to take it back.

Give me that case.

Thank you for your cooperation,

Mr Barnes.

We will be in touch with you as soon

as I complete the investigation.

They're on their way right now.

Let's go, Sam.

Sorry.

This way.

Billy, they're coming through.

Stop them, Billy.

... you can stay calm,

those around you will react...

Especially if you have children.

Once...

Could I see some ID, please, sir?

Sam, you drive. Jarvis,

get in the car.

Get away from the car, officer.

Get in the car.

He's on the car, Sam!

Get out!

- Get out.

- Get him off!

Get him off.

It's the kid from the spaceship.

- Get him off the car.

- Jarvis, help him.

My God.

- Sam. You all right?

- Yeah, I'm all right.

Make sure Langley understands we must

stop this before it spreads.

I want that town sealed up

completely.

Put up perimeter roadblocks...

Not local police.

They have been compromised.

Right?

The troops you send in

must put up a challenge at 100 yards

and shoot anyone

who comes closer than 50 yards.

Get Holland

to take a hazard response team

and investigate the landing site.

There is no time to waste...

- Thanks.

- Sure.

We should exercise

extreme caution.

It wasn't supposed to happen

like this.

What wasn't?

First contact.

What did you expect? ET?

No, but it would have been nice.

I never liked that little troll.

He's in his element. He's only

really happy during a crisis.

Yeah. Alive.

A little tense between you two?

Yeah, well, he's my father.

This is incredible.

- Graves.

- Quite incredible.

Plenty of time for amazement later.

Right now I need facts.

OK, here's one. It's dead.

Are you sure?

No body heat, no electrical activity

and no movement.

If we vented the chamber,

it'd be pretty ripe in there.

We gave it quite a jolt of

electrical current.

Probably vascular collapse, although

most parasites, when separated...

Dr Sefton will define

what we're dealing with.

Right. How do you

want to handle this?

We need to know how the creature

interfaces with our nervous system.

We should split into teams,

each focusing on a different aspect

of the alien.

Biochemistry, physiology,

reproduction.

- Endocrinology...

- Wait a minute.

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