The Thing from Another World Page #3

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to let you file it.

You got your authority in the Constitution!

It's called freedom of the press.

- I'm sending a story!

- Not from our ship.

- Where do you want the bombs?

- One by the stabilizer...

...another over in the far side

if we need it.

It's the biggest story since the parting

of the Red Sea. You can't hide it!

- Think what it means to the world.

- I don't work for the world.

- Look...

- No, Scott. I'll take that.

- Here's the detonator.

- Get back to the ship and call the camp.

Have Tex radio we've found a flying saucer

in the ice. We're gonna try to get it out.

- What about me?

- Also, ask if Scott can send his story.

- That's all I can do.

- You're gonna grow up to be another Fogarty.

- Where we gonna touch this off?

- Over there.

Have you looked to the west?

That front's moving fast...

...and the temperature's dropping too.

- We don't have more than an hour.

- Where do you put those, Bob?

- Right on the surface.

- Tell Stone. Will you, sir?

- Right.

Say, what will this thermite do?

This is S-O-P, standard operating

procedure for removing ice.

Hook this wire up, will you, lieutenant?

It just melts it.

How fast does it work?

It'll uncover the whole saucer

in 30 seconds.

- All ready over here!

- Be right with you!

Better clear the field! Over near the dog

sled! Gonna get pretty hot here in a minute.

Hook her up. We'll try the stabilizer

first. Use the other one if we need it.

A few minutes from now

we may have the key to the stars.

A million years of history

are waiting for us in that ice.

- Say when. I wanna get a picture.

- All ready, sir.

- Ready here.

- Let her go, Bob.

- Okay, all clear.

- Wait a minute, everybody. Stay back.

- It's burning under the ice.

- Careful, captain.

What's happening?

Tell me, doctor.

Get down on the ground, everybody!

Everybody all right?

That last explosion was the engine.

Sergeant, will you try your Geiger counter?

- Only a trace.

- That's just residual.

It's all gone.

Secrets that might have

given us a new science.

- Gone.

- That's just dandy.

Standard operating procedure.

- I should've thought...

- You sure should.

Greatest discovery in history up in flames.

Turning a new civilization

into a 4th of July piece.

Captain, I'm getting something

over here.

- Probably a fragment from the saucer.

- We may salvage something yet.

Hold it, everybody.

I'm getting a reaction.

Let me get a reading.

Getting warm.

Hotter now.

Here's where it's coming from.

- What is it?

- Looks like a man.

It's got legs and a head.

I can see them.

Yeah! He must be over 8 feet long.

- Somebody got out of that saucer.

- Or was thrown out.

And frozen fast before he could get clear.

- Man from Mars.

- How do you propose getting him out?

- I don't know.

- Use more thermite.

Whatever's quickest.

We don't have much time.

Here's axes. You could chop around

and put the block on the plane.

- I agree.

- Get started.

- Give me room.

- Bob, clear the sled and bring it over here.

Eddie, get the ship warmed up.

And be ready to get out

of here in a hurry.

- Pat, I think we made a mistake.

- What do you mean?

You ever read this? "Department

of Defense, Office of Public Information.

Washington, D.C.

December 27, 1949.

Bulletin 629-49 regarding item 6700...

...extract 75,131.

The Air Force has discontinued investigating

and evaluating reported flying saucers...

...on the basis that there

is no evidence."

Probably make you a general

for destroying evidence that they're wrong.

"The Air Force said that all evidence

indicates that the reports...

...of unidentified flying objects

are the result of:

One:
Misinterpretation of various

conventional objects."

Didn't look very conventional to me.

"Second:
A mild form

of mass hysteria."

That'd be when General Fogarty got

to shaking hands with that thing in the ice.

What are the other reasons?

"Third:
That they're jokes."

What did you say the number

of that bulletin was?

"629-49, item 6700,

extract 75,131."

Oh. Oh, that one.

- Get on that rope, professor.

- I need a hand over here.

Watch your feet.

Let me tie another rope

to go down.

- Hold it!

- Hold it back now.

Hold it!

Pull, back there!

Keep tight on those ropes!

- Easy.

- Here we go.

- Keep it going.

- Keep it going!

Whoa! Take it easy.

Can't see through the ice too good.

Good enough to know that where he came

from, they don't breed them for beauty.

Well, what do we do now, defrost him?

This ice will melt pretty soon.

- Can you control the heat in this room?

- No, captain. This is our storeroom.

The temperature's constant here.

We don't need to melt it.

We can chip it away.

We're not going to melt it

or chip it. Eddie, open that window.

- We're not allowed to examine it?

- I mean just that.

- This is stupid.

- We're scientists.

- And Dr. Carrington's in charge here.

- Hey, Pat, these windows don't open.

It's practically certain we'll be asked

by your superiors to study it.

- Probably, but we can't permit it now.

- We don't need permission...

- Eddie, break that window.

- All right.

Sorry. We already pulled one boner

out in the ice.

We may not know anything about this...

...but until I receive instructions from my

superior officer, we'll have to mark time.

- You have no authority...

- lf you want to talk, do it in the corridor.

- It's gonna get cold in here.

- At last a sensible suggestion, captain.

- Mac.

- Yeah?

Please stay here.

And take four-hour shifts.

- It's hands off for everyone.

- Yes, sir.

- Gonna be warm enough?

- Lf not, you'll hear me squawk.

- Bob will bring you dinner.

- I could use something to read.

- A nice, quiet horror story.

- Might be kind of tame for you, sir.

- Well, gentlemen?

- Capt. Hendry...

- Excuse me, doctor. May I?

- Certainly.

In relation to removing the body

from the ice, I'd like to point out...

...there are organisms that survive

after death, but cold can destroy them.

- In view of that...

- I don't know...

But these organisms may be dangerous. They

may be carrying germs from another planet.

- Germs we couldn't cope with medically.

- Thank you.

- I can't agree with you, Dr. Chapman.

- I don't either.

Here's another:
We don't know

what effect the air of our Earth...

...may have on this creature's remains.

- Sort of go up in smoke, like the saucer?

- Nonsense.

- Isn't that far-fetched?

- So is a man from Mars.

- We're getting nowhere.

I suggest that Capt. Hendry communicate

with his superior at once.

I'm getting senile.

We should have done that first thing.

I'm surprised, captain, that you didn't try

to reach your general on our way back here.

We did. Barnes.

I tried through your radio operator.

Couldn't get through. Too much interference.

- I see. My apologies, captain.

- Yes, doctor.

- Hi, captain.

- Hi, Tex.

You sure stirred up a lot of trouble...

- Did you send out my message?

- Sure did.

- Get an answer back?

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