There is no limit.
To the extension of the curious mind.
It reaches to the end of the imagination,
then beyond, into the mysteries of dreams,
hoping always to convert even the dreams into reality.
For the greater well-being of all mankind.
Franklin Karlin, 3-6-Q-2-1.
Ah! There you are.
Working late, again.
Obviously.
How's it going?
I don't know.
You've been on it over a year, Eric.
This is a research laboratory not a sausage factory.
1 more equation. Maybe 2.
Get off it for a while. Give your mind a...
I know what I'm doing. Will you leave me alone?
Hunt's going out tomorrow.
What's it got to do with me?
He's not happy about the money we're spending on your project.
I've got to tell him something encouraging.
Well, then you tell him...
You tell him this.
Tell him I'm 2 equations away from a power source
infinitely beyond atomic energy.
That ought to be good for a few more dollars from him.
Eric...
There is nothing wrong with your television set.
Do not attempt to adjust the picture.
We are controlling transmission.
For the next hour,
we will control all that you see and hear.
You are about to experience the awe and mystery.
Which reaches from the inner minds to...
The outer limits.
You gain nothing by suicide.
I'm tired. Too tired.
I can't...
Phew!
Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy!
Hi!
Hi, Janet. What are you doing here?
I'm just showing you how nice I am to come home to,
after a hard day's work at the office.
Thank you.
The complete wife, huh?
When you find the time to marry me.
This is bait.
Are you expecting someone?
My lover.
Are you jealous?
I'll kill him.
Oh, no, please don't kill him, Eric.
I hardly ever see him anymore.
He's busy doing brilliant things
that I just don't understand at all.
Having a little difficulty understanding them himself.
Oh, Eric!
Why, I was talking to myself out loud.
Well, you're tired. You're worn out.
Now, come on. Try to relax.
Stop it.
Well, you're probably beginning to imagine things.
You know what you should do? You should take about a week...
Will you please stop it!
You and Karlin and all the others.
Always telling me what to do!
I know what I'm doing. I'm a grown man!
Good night.
Eric?
I'm sorry.
Why are you so tired, Mr. Plummer? You're a young man.
Of all the stupid senseless...
How did you get in here?
It's not important.
Ask me why.
Because I'm losing my mind, that's why.
Unless you were in the room before me.
I drove here from the lab with you.
You gain nothing by suicide, remember?
I thought I was talking to myself.
Which is probably what I'm doing right now.
Look, whatever you are,
and you're probably something right out of my own sick mind,
just go away. Go on. Get out of here!
You heard me, I said get out of here!
You human beings are all alike.
Disorganized, undisciplined, wasteful of time and energy.
Who the devil do you...
Disorderly, illogical...
Eric, are you all right?
Eric?
Open the door.
Eric? Eric?
Eric, I heard you shouting,
and I knew that you were all alone.
And you thought I was talking to myself... out loud.
Oh, Eric, I don't know what I thought.
I was just worried about you.
Well, I'm not alone.
I'm not talking to myself.
I'm with, uh, an old friend. See?
Oh, I'm so sorry.
I... I didn't mean to interfere.
You do see him.
My name is Ikar.
Hello, I'm Janet Lane.
I know.
All right.
Now, will the two of you
please get out of here and leave me alone?
You're wasting energy, Mr. Plummer.
Relax.
What did you do to him?
He's a scientist. He knows energy must not be wasted.
And time.
Energy and time, our 2 most precious possessions.
You don't have to worry about me, Janet. I'm fine now.
Oh!
Well, are you hungry?
Would you like me to bring in sandwiches that I made for you earlier?
We're not hungry.
Good night, Janet.
I don't think I like you very much, Mr. Ikar.
I don't live to be liked or disliked.
Oh!
Who is this man, Eric?
This gentlemen is...
We have some business to talk over.
Look, I'll be perfectly all right now, Janet.
You, uh, go on home. I'm sorry I lost my temper.
I'll call you in the morning, hmm?
Good night. Love you.
All right.
She saw you.
Wait.
In an orderly society, Mr. Plummer,
women have but one function: To produce children.
In your society?
Those who do not fulfill their function are eliminated.
Where is your society?
Each has a job. Each has a place.
For the love of heaven, whatever you are, where are you from?
That's the 2nd time you've used that word. What does it mean?
Love.
You don't know?
It's a new word to me.
Well,
it's the opposite of hate.
That is also a new word.
Oh, these are the 2 most profound emotions of all mankind.
Emotions?
Don't tell me you don't know that.
In heaven's name, what do you live for?
Accomplishment.
Without satisfaction?
Knowledge.
Without pleasure? Conquest.
Without hate? Energy.
For what?
For control.
How did you do that?
You may know in a thousand years.
Please, I am working right now
on a theory of antimagnetic disintegration.
I need 2 more equations.
What would you give me for them?
What could I give? My... my life?
Understanding.
Of what?
Your probes into space are coming closer everyday.
Soon we'll make contact.
We must be prepared for you.
You see, to us, there's no pattern to your thinking.
You act without reason.
You seem to be driven by impulse rather than logic.
We must understand why.
Could it be because of that...
Thing you were talking about, emotion?
Probably.
I am so sick of hate and fear and anger and frustration,
all the things that grab at my stomach.
I don't even know happiness anymore, without wondering if it's true.
Why don't you give them to me?
Them?
Your emotions.
Gladly, if I could.
You can.
And you'll give me the 2 equations I need, in return?
I will.
It's a deal.
When do we begin?
We have already begun.
The equations?
They are waiting for you on your office desk.
I will also give you the information you will need
to construct the disintegrator.
Thank you. Good night.
The woman who was here,
you said you loved her.
I have no more love to give her.
How much did she take from you?
I have no way of measuring.
Then you can't say that you gave me all this emotion.
I cannot say yes or no.
You will make no noise.
You will listen and answer, for Eric's sake.
Now, try to understand what I'm going to say to you.
I have taken possession of all of Eric's emotions,
except one.
The one he calls love. He said he gave it to you.
If you have it or any part of it, give it to me.
What do you think love is?
I don't know. Tell me.
Um, may I get out of bed?
May I have my robe, please?
Thank you.
How many children have you produced?
None.
I'm not married yet, you see?
In an orderly society, woman only serves one purpose:
To produce children.
Wh-what happens to love?
That word again. Please define it for me.
But there are very many different kinds of love.
There is the love of... of a man and woman, of course,
and there's love of children,
and god and nature,
and all sorts of beautiful things.
There are so many different kinds of love.
It will take me a very long time
to... to show them all to you.
Well, I want only that love which belongs to Eric plummer.
Oh.
Well, I've, uh...
I've given that away to others.
Why?
Because that's what love is for.
Then we must get it back now.
Oh, no.
It's impossible.
The others are asleep.
That's true.
Now, all good people are asleep and dreaming.
Then I will come back in the morning.
You will be here.
You will tell no one you've seen me, not even Eric.
Even the science barrel has a bottom, frank.
And you've gotten there, as far as Eric's project is concerned.
He claims he's almost got it licked.
Frank, you're the director of this laboratory.
We depend on you to see to it
that the money isn't wasted on wild goose chases.
Good morning, gentlemen.
Eric, I don't want you to misunderstand what I'm about to say.
I'm on your side, and I want to do all I can
to help keep you keep going with this project. And maybe I can if you'll...
I have the other 2 equations, frank.
After you've checked them over,
I'd like to talk to you about a construction appropriation.
How much would you need?
Roughly about $50 million.
$50 million?
It may run up to another $50 million before I'm through.
If you have any questions, frank, call me at home.
6 months, he's been beating his brains out to complete this theory.
I thought he was losing his mind.
Now he completes it, and he hands it to me like, uh, like, uh...
A dead salmon.
I'd be climbing the walls. Calling for drinks for everybody.
What's gotten into him?
He's in shock. That's what I think.
I hope it's worth the agony it's cost him.
I've been looking all day at this love
you've been telling me about, and I find it very dangerous.
I would be afraid of it.
I didn't think you knew the word afraid.
I learned it from you last night.
I don't remember saying that I was afraid.
But you were.
Hmm.
Tell me about hate.
No.
Why not?
Because you will learn about that soon enough yourself.
Excuse me.
Eric?
I'm so glad you came home early.
I came over to fix dinner for you.
I fixed a marvelous...
Eric?
Where have you been all day?
With her.
We have no time to waste.
Karlin and Hunt have been together all day.
Karlin will give us no trouble,
but hunt is only money. Nothing else.
I want you to build me a practical model of the antimagnetic disintegrator.
Just large enough for demonstration purposes.
He'll put up the money when he sees it work.
And you take credit for Ikar's work?
Janet, you're interfering.
Did he do the equations for you, too?
Are you gonna let him win the Nobel prize for you?
Janet, go home.
No. Not until you answer me. I love you, Eric.
You serve no purpose, Janet.
I have no use for you.
Look at me.
What's happened to the gentle, good man
that I fell in love with?
Eric, look at me.
I love you.
Look at me. Listen to me, I...
Eric?
Oh! My god! He's got...
Don't just stand there, come and help me!
How did you do that?
Enough. It is done.
We'll go to my lab now.
What happened to him?
Ikar, no.
Tell me what's happened to him. You know.
You wanted him to live even though he tried to kill you.
What purpose does he serve you?
I never thought of him as a purpose.
Then why do you want him to live?
Because I love him.
What happened to it?
It no longer exists.
Why not? What did you do to it?
You aren't a scientist, Mr. Hunt.
You wouldn't understand.
But Mr. Karlin does.
Perhaps he'll explain it to you.
It's big, frank. Really big.
We'll talk in my office.
I want no part of it.
Why?
It must be destroyed.
What are you talking about?
This horrendous, diabolical thing.
That's rough talk.
I won't approve of one cent more being spent on this monstrosity.
Why not?
It destroys the magnetic forces that hold matter,
any matter, together.
You saw with your own eyes what that small instrument did.
This pile of papers, covered with neat, harmless writing,
if built into the size it calls for,
would evaporate in one second.
Everything it took god and the rest of us millions of years to build.
Frank, I'm not defending it,
but I'm not knocking it, either.
How do we know somebody else doesn't have it?
And if they know we also have it, it becomes a standoff.
Maybe we need it to save the world, not destroy it.
Hunt, try to understand.
Release this and it destroys everything.
Our side, their side, everybody's side.
It can't be controlled.
You scientists are all the same.
First you figure out how to make these things,
then you call them monsters and don't want them made.
Because fools use them to destroy instead of build.
It's a good thing
there are practical people around to make final decisions.
Otherwise there'd never be any progress.
Frank, you worry too much.
You've got to learn to take it easy.
I'll call you tomorrow. Good night.
Lunch is ready.
There's no activity. No purpose. There's nothing here.
But it's beautiful.
Well, I get a feeling of wasted time.
Why did you bring me here?
Because it's peaceful and beautiful.
To get away from people and things.
Here, try a piece of this.
What is it?
Chicken. I fixed it myself.
Do you like it?
It's a new taste to me.
I don't understand you people.
You all eat different food,
you wear different clothes,
you live in different kinds of houses.
We don't all have the same tastes.
But that's wasteful.
It's unintelligent. Unscientific.
It's all so very human.
Yes, that's why...
Why what?
In an orderly society, each individual...
Oh, Ikar,
your orderly society begins to sound more and more dull.
Next, you'll be telling me
that people there dress and think and look exactly alike.
No, not exactly.
We are different in size and color,
according to our accomplishment classification.
You say "we are" as though the society already existed.
If I were to go there,
would I see
thousands or millions of men exactly like you?
No, not exactly. We are different,
according to our accomplishment classification.
A scientist for greater brain.
A laborer for strength.
A soldier for killing.
Um, different and yet basically the same.
And women?
What about women?
Are there thousands, millions of women who look exactly alike?
It takes thousands of years of controlled breeding to produce a body
that is capable of doing what the brain tells it to.
Intelligent beings do not deviate from perfection.
A-and this brain,
does it do exactly what other brains tell it to do?
The brain is one cell of many cells of the control brain.
It's activated by collective impulse.
Well, you must be joking.
What is joking?
Oh, Ikar,
just when I think I'm beginning to understand you,
you say something like, "what is joking?"
You say so many strange things.
Like orderly society, perfect body,
same brain.
What are you trying to make of us?
A race of insects, like those?
They're ugly creatures.
Mindless and soulless,
rushing about moving dirt from one place to another.
They serve a purpose.
Well, true. But whose?
Certainly not their own,
since they don't accomplish anything to help themselves.
Year and years of industry,
and they're still insects.
Well, surely you wouldn't like to see us like that, would you?
Ikar, you're angry.
Oh, I could kill you for what you've done to me.
Do you hate me?
You're the enemy, and you must...
I think you're beginning to feel love.
I don't want to feel this love.
I don't want to feel what's happening to me.
I don't understand, something's changing me,
something's taking possession of me.
Just as you took possession of Eric's emotions.
To serve a purpose.
Do you think you can have emotions without feeling them?
Emotions are feelings.
You have to feel in your life,
with your whole heart.
But they're dangerous.
I have to stop what they're doing to me.
You can't do that as long as you have emotions.
There's only one thing that you can do.
Give them back to Eric.
No, he has work to do for us.
What kind of work?
Go away. You interfere.
What kind of a job, Ikar?
Where are you from?
Who are you?
What are you?
This is what I am.
I've always believed in your genius, Eric.
That's why I brought you here with me.
We're more than just colleagues.
I almost feel as if you were my son.
I'm not your son.
What is it you want?
I want you to withdraw your paper.
No.
Eric,
those last 2 equations...
They're the keys that release this fantastic energy.
For the sake of humanity, throw them away.
Find a way to control this energy,
so that it may be used usefully.
Take a year, 5 years, 10 years, a lifetime.
Find this, and you'll sit with the great heroes of science.
Has hunt approved my appropriation?
He will.
How soon can we start?
You didn't hear what I said, Eric.
I will need...
Don't disregard me, Eric.
Listen closely.
I am still the director of this laboratory.
I will make them listen to me.
If they fire me, I'll go to the press.
I'll appeal to the world.
I'll warn them, this is total destruction.
This is suicide. There is...
Eric, what...
What is it?
Ikar, don't kill him.
We may need him. Just take his mind.
Go back to the planet now.
Go.
I don't need soldiers anymore.
Get me Mr. Hunt's hotel, please.
Hunt.
Well, hello, Eric.
No, not at all.
No. When?
Overworked, that's what I say.
Get him to a hospital right away.
A great man, Karlin.
Takes everything to heart.
I must have told him a thousand times, I said...
Will we go ahead with my project, Mr. Hunt?
Yes, of course.
Thank you, sir.
Yes, sir. I understand.
I'm not questioning your truthfulness.
But you think that I'm sick or drunk or insane.
Mr. Eric Plummer, please.
Hello?
Hello.
Hello, Eric, are you there? This is hunt.
Whoever picked up that phone, answer it.
This is hunt speaking, answer the telephone, or I'll have you fired.
Somebody picked up the receiver.
Mr. Hunt, call the police.
Police? We don't need police.
We've got security guards all over the place.
Please, call the police.
Look, young lady,
I tell the police the story you told me,
we both end up in straitjackets.
I don't believe it anyhow.
Well, then why are you going out there?
To find out why Eric wouldn't answer the telephone.
Please, let me drive you.
Someone's coming.
Eric.
Good evening, Mr. Hunt. Good evening.
Eric, listen to me.
I didn't expect you this evening, Mr. Hunt.
Eric, I know about Ikar. I saw it myself.
Aren't you feeling well, Janet?
You're possessed.
Mr. Hunt, he's possessed.
Please, miss Lane, control yourself. Let me handle this.
I telephoned tonight.
Someone lifted the receiver off the hook but no one answered.
I had lot a lot of work to do,
I didn't want to be disturbed.
Even by me?
I didn't know it was you.
You heard my voice.
I didn't listen.
Eric, tell the truth.
Please tell the truth. It was Ikar, wasn't it?
He wouldn't let you answer the phone.
Would you mind waiting in the outer office, please,
Mr. Hunt and I have some business.
No.
I won't be alone.
Mr. Hunt, you mustn't be alone, either.
Please, miss Lane, I'm... I'm afraid you need a doctor.
No, please, you must believe me.
Ikar!
I'm afraid the young lady is quite ill.
Take her to the infirmary.
I never saw him before.
I just engaged him yesterday.
You're involved in top secret work here,
has he been through a security clearance?
My project hasn't been classified yet.
Oh, that's right.
Well, the faster we go, the more money we save.
But keep him away from any of the other projects we're working on.
And get that girl a doctor as soon as possible, she's very sick.
Yes.
I'll be running along.
Keep up the good work.
And keep the budget down.
Good night.
All the horror has gone out of me, Ikar.
It's better for you.
Are you going to kill me now?
You'll all die soon.
Why?
We need your world for the millions of us that overpopulate my planet.
Another world of ants?
Cells in an interplanetary brain.
Is that what Eric has become?
What is he doing for you?
He's building a weapon for us.
Using his genius to destroy his own kind?
We gave him that genius.
Why?
The weapon's too big to transport from our planet.
We had to have someone here to build it for us.
Oh, poor monster.
You've learned nothing from our earth.
I learned too much.
I'm going to the place that you took me to now,
to say goodbye to all I learned from you.
Ikar, you can help us.
Ikar!
Ikar, it's not too late.
Please help us.
Ikar?
Before you go, set Eric free.
I can't.
Please, Ikar. Love, fear, joy,
you know what they are now.
No human being can live without them.
Well, I'm not a human being.
You've broken your pattern.
You know what love is now.
Yes, and the unhappiness it brought.
And the compassion.
And the hate for the confusion it brought me.
What did you have before?
Accomplishment.
What did it bring you?
You're nothing. You're like a link.
Like any other link in a chain.
And you're bound together endlessly like...
Like slaves.
We have perfection.
No, you have nothing.
Not even a face that's different from any other face.
We will be the rulers of the universe.
Without the freedom to rule yourselves?
You have no use for the emotions that you took from Eric.
Please give them back to him.
So that when we die,
he can love me as much as I love him.
That's all I ask.
Would there be pity for me when I die?
Yes, there would be pity...
And love.
Get in your car. Go on.
There's nothing more to say, go.
Appear and say what you have to say.
You've broken away from the planetary brain.
That's true.
You will return to the planet immediately.
I'll go when I'm ready.
Then we must take you back. Now.
Not until I'm ready.
You're no longer a part of us, Ikar.
You've taken back the perfection of unity.
Your body will no longer obey your brain.
You will remain as you are, visible at all times, until you die.
Eric, listen to me.
I tricked you out of your emotions.
Not for your purposes, or even mine,
but for control and destruction.
I tricked you out of your emotions.
I thought I was immune to them,
but I was wrong.
They've become a part of me.
Now, because of the way I feel, I must give them back to you.
Stand up.
I give you back that which I took from you.
Behind you!
The curious mind cannot be chained.
It is a free mind,
endlessly searching for the greater freedom.
That must eventually make every living being.
Joyfully complete within himself.
Therefore, at peace with himself.
And his neighbors.
We now return control of your television set to you.
Until next week, at this same time,
when the control voice will take you to...
The outer limits.