The Puppet Masters Page #4

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infinitely more than anticipated.

We've lost a town, sir.

Now we've lost an army.

They're capable of transmitting

not just intelligence but memory

from one body to the next

by coming into physical contact.

The new one knew Sam as if

it had been the one on his back?

Yes.

How long does it take it

to prepare for division?

12 hours. Let's assume

we started with 1,000 of them.

We'll be conservative.

That's one day, 4,000.

Two days, 16,000.

- In two weeks there would be...

- More than 250 billion.

You OK?

I don't know why your father

picked me.

- I won't be able to find the answer.

- Wait.

He knows what he's doing.

You'll find something.

No, Mary, you will.

Thanks, Sam.

He's given everyone

a few hours off to recuperate.

I don't have time to go to the hotel.

I'll go back to the lab.

No, I...

I just live a few blocks from here.

OK.

That wasn't very friendly.

I wouldn't take it personally.

He's kind of a prima donna.

- How about if I make a fire?

- That'd be great.

Is that OK for him

to go out like that?

Yeah, yeah. He comes and goes.

- Is this your mom?

- Yeah.

She's pretty.

She died about a year

after that picture was taken.

What was it like growing up with him?

- Boot camp.

- I'll bet.

Whenever he was working at home,

he'd give me a quarter

for every hour I could keep quiet.

One day, I remember it was...

it was a Saturday morning.

I decided I wouldn't say anything

untiI he did,

even if it took all weekend.

But he never said anything.

I don't think he even noticed.

So how much did you make?

About 12 bucks.

Sh*t.

It's the old man.

Yeah.

Yeah, she's here with me.

Yeah. OK.

- Are you all right?

- Yeah, I just dropped the phone.

Look who turned out

to be a sweetie after all.

So?

So we have to go back.

Maybe we could stay

another... ten minutes.

Don't move.

Why did you do that, Sam?

What's the matter, Sam?

Isn't this what you wanted

from the day we met?

You and I together.

You can't hurt her, can you?

But I can.

Mary got it off your cat? Jesus.

They've taken her back to their hive,

I'm positive.

If they've taken her back there,

there's nothing we can do about her.

I'm going after her.

No, you're not.

It's a suicide mission.

You don't understand the enemy.

I won't have you

on the casualty list.

I have to find the hive,

get inside and get information.

In 12 hours that area will be a war

zone. You're not thinking rationally.

Dad, I'm sick of thinking rationally.

I'm going after her!

Do you intend to help me or not?

It's receiving OK.

Minneapolis has been invaded.

Civil authorities are fighting

to keep the situation under control,

but they are not having much luck.

It's good, but the frequency

still isn't matching.

What safeguards can be taken

to protect you and your family?

Keep your doors and windows locked.

Don't let anyone into your home,

even if they appear to be a friend.

If you absolutely have to

venture outside...

OK, can we get started?

Stay tuned to this station

for further updates.

There's some sort of a hive that

they have to go back to regularly.

Central source.

Intelligence replenishing.

Exactly.

OK, let's run this.

I've had the analysts sort through

the thermal image data we've gathered

in order to plot the expansion

of the alien colony.

This is a satellite picture of lowa

when the UFO was sighted.

Here. Day 1. Now watch.

The orange shape represents the

spread of the colony over five days.

Now, what you'd expect,

if it's necessary to stay close to

the hive, with lowa's topography,

is that the shape would be

roughly circular.

So we rationalised it

into three overlapping circles.

Could you do that, please?

If we shrink these circles back,

we find the location of the hive

at different times.

Each time the hive is on the river.

That could be how they moved it.

All right. This is where

it all started.

This is where the hive is now.

Des Moines.

Makes sense. High population density.

And it'd be easier to defend.

We've narrowed its location to a

ten-block radius in the city centre.

That's where Mary is. I know it.

Show me the projected size of

the colony in the next 24 hours.

We'll parachute in tonight.

- We have six hours.

- We'll need eight.

You've got eight hours.

You've got a very tight eight-hour

window to pull this off.

- After that you're on your own.

- Yes.

- Opening drill.

- Look, reach, pull.

Good.

Wait up!

I just want to tell you

we jerry-rigged these transmitters

so they send out

the same frequency as the aliens.

It's how they recognise each other.

If you don't get too close,

they'll think you're one of them.

- Beautiful.

- Nice.

- Thanks, Graves.

- Thanks.

Hey, Graves, I think you're a genius,

man.

I just want to apologise for that

comment I made back in the room.

About you f***ing the thing.

- Let's go!

- I didn't mean it.

- Thanks. Thanks.

- Good luck.

...choppers. We'll have to use

army vehicles and supply them here.

We have to cover this terrain...

Danny?

Somebody help!

Forget it, Alex.

No!

Jesus, I don't wanna end up

like that.

- Trapped inside my own body.

- Come on.

He wants to merge.

Remind me to thank Graves.

The president's announcement has sent

shock waves throughout the country.

They should be at the city centre

now, sir.

... have been filtering in

from virtually every state.

In response, the president has

declared a state of emergency,

instituting martial law

in all major urban centres.

In related news,

the financial world...

All units designated primary

and secondary to proceed to level P2.

All other units

should assemble on the first floor.

- This has to be it.

- Let's go around back.

It's down there.

- I should be going with you.

- Just give me 20 minutes.

How will I know it's really you?

If it's not, you know what to do.

Share information... with the others.

Sam, why are they here?

What do they want?

My thoughts, my fears.

My memories.

You won't be lonely

when you're one of us.

No-one will be.

It's everything

you try to hide from yourself.

Isn't this what you always wanted?

You wouldn't need the fantasies

that life was just about you.

You and I, together.

You can't hurt her, can you?

- It's not on him.

- Get it off me!

But I can.

Get it off me!

Don't move, don't move.

F***.

You all right?

There's something you've gotta see.

It's important, Sam.

Wait.

Stay close to me.

This is why they wanted me.

Jesus, Mary, what is this place?

While we've been studying them,

they've been studying us.

More dead bodies. Great.

Can we get out of here?

He's alive!

Get him out of there!

This is what we want. Something

killed the parasite but not the boy.

Why did it die?

He must have contracted

something fatal to his parasite.

He was sealed off in here

so he wouldn't infect the others.

This is it.

Come on.

That's Alex. Take the kid.

Alex! I got him! Let's go!

Help!

Come on!

We can't help him. Come on.

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