Starman (1984) Movie Script
Come on, honey.
Take that stand.
Count!
- Ten, nine, eight, seven...
- Ignition.
...six...
- Prepare for lift-off.
- Main-stage.
...five, four, three,
two, one, zero.
And so Voyager II is now a part of history.
Rocketing into space from its launch pad
here at Cape Kennedy
on this historic date, August 20, 1977.
Onboard the space probe
are photographic images of Earth,
verbal greetings
and a medley of musical compositions.
Voyager II is our invitation
to other intelligent species in the universe.
"Please come and visit our planet Earth."
As the Secretary General
of the United Nations,
an organization of 147 member states,
who represent almost all of
the human inhabitants of the planet Earth,
I send greetings on behalf of the people
of our planet.
Hello from the children of planet Earth.
I love you.
Don't do this to yourself, Jenny. Go to sleep.
That's very good, General.
- Mr. Director.
- Yes.
Would you excuse me, please?
- Sounds like Soviet space garbage.
- The MOLINK people say no.
Well, what does the Kremlin say?
They don't know from nothing.
This is Delta Yankee,
two miles and closing, locked on target.
- Permission to launch.
- Permission granted.
Delta Yankee executing launch.
Missiles away.
Interceptor Delta Yankee reports a hit, sir.
No change in speed,
but we've got another alteration of course.
New estimated point of impact,
Northern Wisconsin,
someplace up by Chequamegon Bay.
Get Mark Shermin.
Tony takes a pass,
Murray drives to the left, he blows it.
He's down. No harm, no foul.
Just under three minutes left to play.
Cheeks picks up Johnson at mid-court.
Frank is looking to go to Greeney.
He's been red hot for this pass.
Now he's into the top of the key
and he finds Johnson all alone.
He's up and in for a deuce.
And he was fouled on the play.
Call me back in 20 minutes, will you? I'm...
Yes, sir. Sorry about that.
What?
Chequamegon Bay? Yes, sir.
No, no, no, no problem.
Oh, damn!
Scott?
You're not Scott.
Scott.
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
"As the Secretary General
of the United Nations
"an organization of 147 member states,
"who represent almost all of
the human inhabitants of the planet Earth,
"I send greetings."
Who is that handsome guy?
- Oh, God, what a day, huh?
- Yeah.
Here she comes, ladies and gentlemen.
Look at that gorgeous car. And off we go.
Don't worry, it's not going to go off
until the hammer's back.
Now, what we want to do
is we want to squeeze
and squeeze.
One more time.
Not bad.
Actually, you should probably, you know,
steady with your other hand here.
You'll get more accuracy,
probably, this way.
Here. Here.
Yeah, come here. Come here.
Don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid.
I mean you no harm.
Oh, this is great.
Yeah.
Boy, what a weird dream.
Who are you? What do you want?
We go.
I can't get the engine started.
Scott?
Where?
Which way? Left, right?
Here.
You know where that place is?
If this is California and down here is
Texas, that must be, like,
- Arizona, maybe.
- Want to be driven.
Arizona maybe.
Ten minutes.
About that time, Mr. Shermin.
- Okay.
- Coffee?
Yeah.
Hey, Sergeant, can you get police bands
on that thing?
No problem. Why?
I'm interested in anything weird.
You know, freaky, bizarre.
- Hi there.
- Hi.
- I'm Major Bell.
- Hi, Mark Shermin. Is it clean?
Well, no radioactivity.
No readings on bacteria.
You attached to National Security?
Not very. I just work for them.
On loan. Sort of like a library book.
No, actually I'm with SETI.
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
So they're sending you guys out
on meteorites now?
- Only when they change course.
- Change course?
- Can they do that?
- This one did.
So they tell me. Twice.
Either that or some airhead over at NORAD
misread a glitch on his monitor.
It also came down slower
than suborbital speed.
So, naturally, they decided to fire
some missiles at it.
- Hey, what the hell are they doing?
- Trying to take a core sample.
- Nobody authorized that.
- Damn thing sounded hollow to me.
Hollow? There's no such thing as a hollow...
Jesus Christ!
You were about to say?
Up and at 'em, folks, this is station WDLU,
at Madison, Wisconsin,
bringing you the 6:00 a.m. News.
No, folks, all of you that saw that flash
in the sky last night,
it wasn't the end of the world
and it wasn't a burning airliner.
No, sir. According to the A.P. Wire,
one of the biggest meteorites
to strike the planet Earth
in the past 80 years
hit last night near Ashland,
not far from Chequamegon Bay.
So you folks who called in
to say you saw a flying saucer land...
That's about you, isn't it?
You really are some kind of Martian
or something, aren't you?
What do you want here?
What are you doing?
What do you want with me?
Where are you taking me?
Why do you look so much like Scott?
I can't get no
satisfaction
That does it.
Help!
You crazy sons of bitches.
What's the matter with you?
Help!
Help me!
Help me, please.
I'm being kidnapped.
I send greetings.
What the hell's going on here?
I'm being kidnapped.
Greetings.
You'd better let her go, pal.
I'll give you some greetings.
How'd you do that?
Those little gray jobs?
Mr. Shermin!
Communications Central,
this is Project Visitor
at the Chequamegon sighting.
I have Mr. Shermin for you.
The director's on the line.
All right, Shermin, what is it?
I'll know more in a couple of hours.
We're taking it out of here now
and having a lab set up in Madison.
This meteor, the Chequamegon sighting,
appears to be hollow?
No, not "appears to be." It is hollow.
I think the balloon has just gone up, sir.
Do you have to keep that thing
on your lap like that?
Those things...
Guns make me a little bit jumpy.
Define "little bit jumpy."
That's a little bit.
And jumpy's like nervous, afraid.
You know that word "afraid"?
"Afraid." Yes.
How much English do you understand?
I understand greetings
in 54 planet Earth languages.
I understand English language little bit.
Nothing much in there. It's just a lot of junk.
That's my wallet.
That's my driver's license.
That's me. My name, Jenny Hayden.
"Jenny Hayden."
What do you want, anyway?
Why did you come here?
Oh, my God.
I look like Scott.
Yeah, you do.
I look like Scott,
so you do not be little bit jumpy.
Mr. Shermin.
Listen, about those police calls,
you did say anything weird, right?
- Yeah, you got something?
- Yeah, just picked up one from Ashland.
Happened sometime this morning.
A guy name Heinmuller had a collision
with an orange and black '77 Mustang.
Now the gal who was driving claimed
she was being kidnapped.
But when this Heinmuller went to help her,
the guy who was with her, the kidnapper,
yelled, "Greetings,"
and melted his lug wrench.
Yelled, "Greetings,"
and melted his lug wrench?
Weird you want, weird you get.
How do you melt somebody's lug wrench?
Hey, I just copy them down,
I don't explain them.
I don't suppose anybody
got a license number?
Yeah, Wisconsin plates,
Papa X-ray Victor 2-3-7.
We're checking the owner
through DMV now.
Mark!
What the hell is that thing?
Well, it's sort of an invitation, Major.
You remember that package
we sent up with the Voyager probe?
There was a gold anodized disk
with greetings from Earth
in 54 different languages.
Complete with a nice little speech
from Kurt Waldheim,
"To whom it may concern.
Come and see us sometime."
We're coming to a gas station.
- We're gonna need some gas. Okay?
- "Gas"?
Gas.
For the car. Fuel.
Energy.
I step on the gas, the car goes,
I take my foot off the gas, the car stops.
Understand?
No. I do not understand.
How can car need energy so soon?
I don't know.
I'm just telling you, this is the gas gauge.
When that needle gets to E, that's "Empty."
No gas. The car stops. Period.
Okay.
Get gas.
- Here you go.
- Take it easy.
Yeah. Take it easy.
Hi.
- Hi. Fill her up, unleaded.
- Gas.
Gotcha.
Yeah, I know.
I have to go to the bathroom.
The ladies' room. The restroom.
It's when a person has to...
The hell with it,
you figure it out for yourself, I'm going.
"Women." Me.
"Men." You.
Understand?
Can't get her out, huh?
Gas.
Yeah, well, I know just how she feels.
Every goddamn place you go.
Take it easy.
Up yours.
Take it easy.
Up yours.
Hi, let's go.
Nothing of interest in here.
Okay, you wanna sign that for me,
Miss Hayden?
Kidnapped.
What?
What is
"kidnapped"?
You want to know what kidnapped is?
It's being dragged out of your house
in the middle of the night
by some... Whatever you are.
Being forced to drive all night
with a gun pointed in your side
and not knowing where you're going
or what's going to happen to you
when you get there.
So if you're going to shoot me, go ahead.
Because I'd rather be shot
than go on being scared to death.
Go ahead.
I mean you no harm, Jenny Hayden.
Here's OI' Blue Eyes, Francis Albert.
Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it
New York, New York
I am sorry.
I did awaken you.
Do they sing a lot where you live?
Yes. We sing.
Do you ever get hungry?
Empty here?
Like a car needs gas?
Yes.
This body has a terrible emptiness.
This is called "hungry"?
Yeah, and when people get hungry
they have to eat food.
Eat. Yes, we must do that.
We will stop at food station.
You have hungry, too?
I'm starving.
I haven't eaten since...
Oh, my God.
Look out! What are you doing?
Okay?
Okay? Are you crazy?
You almost got us killed.
You said you watched me.
You said you knew the rules!
I do know the rules.
For your information, pal,
that was a yellow light back there.
I watched you very carefully.
Red light, stop. Green light, go.
Yellow light, go very fast.
- You better let me drive.
- I will drive.
Do you seriously expect me
to tell the President
that an alien has landed,
assumed the identity of a dead
housepainter from Madison, Wisconsin,
and is presently out
tooling around the countryside
in a hopped-up
orange and black 1977 Mustang?
We have the following givens. Look.
That man, Scott Hayden, died last April.
He's dead and buried, that's verified.
He has no brothers, no look-alike cousins.
But still, this morning,
at approximately 6:00...
All right, we have been through all of that.
I'm going to ask you now,
how could it happen?
We think it might be
some kind of a cloning deal,
replication of an entire organism
from a single cell.
We found some hairs
from Scott Hayden's head.
But is that possible?
I mean, can you clone a living organism
from the hair of a dead man?
Well, human hair
consists of keratinized cells.
Although, I suppose, in order to determine
whether replication is possible, you have...
Mark, I asked you a question.
You mean us?
- In our present state of technology?
- Yes.
- No.
- Well, what the hell are we talking about?
We're hypothesizing a technology
that's probably 100,000 years ahead of us.
We're the ancients, Mr. Fox.
Ancients?
Technologically, yes. We've just started.
Yeah, but even if you're right,
I still have problems.
I mean, his knowledge of English.
Okay, listen to this.
I helped put this package
together, you know.
This was designed
so that an intelligent species
could get a working knowledge of English.
Enough to get by, anyhow.
A couple-hundred-word vocabulary,
a rough idea of syntax.
Think of what it would mean to talk
to a being from a civilization like that.
Think of what we could learn.
...of 147 member states
who represent almost all
of the human inhabitants of the planet Earth,
I send greetings...
"Greetings," there. See, that's what he said
to Heinmuller out on the road.
It's also what the cannibal said
to the missionary just before he ate him.
Now, well, the question in this case is,
who is the missionary
and who are the cannibals?
When do you have to be there?
What?
In Arizona. When do you have to be there?
Do you see this little star?
Star? What star? Where?
There.
We call that the sun.
When this little...
When the sun
appears mid-sky three more times,
I must be at Arizona.
You mean, 12:00 noon,
three days from now?
Yes.
What happens if you don't get there in time?
Then they will go.
- Without you?
- Yes.
What will you do then?
Then I will die.
Die?
Understand?
You look for food station.
What?
A deer.
A dead deer.
Dead deer, why?
People hunt them to eat for food.
Do deer eat people?
No.
Do people eat people?
No, of course not.
What do you think we are?
I think you are a very primitive species.
What are you, softhearted?
Cry when you saw Bambi?
Define "Bambi."
He doesn't understand.
He's not from around here.
You don't speak any English, huh?
Steer clear of that bozo.
Define "bozo."
Jerk.
Now,
from Denver, here...
It's south on Interstate 25.
Then you pick up I-40 westbound
at Albuquerque.
Hey, will you forget about that deer
for a second?
I'm trying to show you something.
Now, where exactly in Arizona
are you supposed to meet your friends?
Here.
West of Winslow.
I see a little speck on the map, but there's...
Crater?
Is that where you're supposed to meet them?
Where that meteor hit?
Why do you do this?
Well, better safe than sorry.
Just in case something
should happen to me.
Now, there's one more thing.
The credit card, for the gas.
- You know how that worked?
- Why should something happen to you?
Who knows?
The way you drive, traveling with you
could be detrimental to the health. Now...
That's me and Scott on our honeymoon.
A honeymoon is what you call it when
two people first get married and they
go off together after they've fallen in love.
Define "love."
Love is...
It's when you care
more for someone else
than you do for yourself.
But it's not just that, it's...
It's when someone is a part of you.
And when they...
What?
Scott is dead.
He was killed in an accident.
When someone you love dies...
Oh, shit.
Shit.
Define "shit."
Don't say that, that's not a nice word.
Shit.
Don't mind him,
he's just learning to speak English.
Well, he's got a hell of a start on it.
Who's the deviled egg on white toast?
His.
Right. And a superburger.
Two orders of fries, two choc malts
and two Dutch apple pie
with whipped cream.
I had a wedge of it myself. It's terrific. Enjoy.
Well, dig in.
What... Wait. No. No, no.
That's your dessert.
You eat that with a fork.
This thing. Here.
Like this.
No, but you eat that last.
Sandwich first, dessert last.
Why?
I don't know, that's just how it's done.
What's the matter?
Dutch apple pie.
Good?
It's terrific.
For a primitive species, we have our points.
Anybody for Lincoln, Omaha or Chicago,
the bus leaves in five minutes.
Look, I've got to go to the...
I'll be right back.
Excuse me, is there a back way out of here?
Yeah, sure, through the kitchen. But why?
- You know that fellow I came in with?
- Yes.
Could you give these things to him
after the bus leaves?
It's just a map and some car keys
and a credit card.
- You sure, honey?
- Yeah, I'm positive. Thanks.
Hey, honey.
I wouldn't go out
through the back door right now.
That friend of yours,
he's out there in the parking lot.
Thanks.
Excuse me, miss.
You strike me as a meat-eater.
I could fix you up
with a nice haunch of venison.
Maybe even a shot of pork if you could...
Why, that son of a bitch.
No!
Hey, what happened to the goddamn deer?
She went there, to the woods.
Okay, comedian.
Bingo.
Stop it. You leave him alone!
- Butt out, girlie.
- He doesn't understand.
- He's a foreigner and doesn't speak English.
- So what?
Hey!
"Bingo."
Hey, you're losing your engine, boy.
Pick up your garbage and get going.
Oh, Jesus. You okay?
I thought guns make you a little bit jumpy,
Jenny Hayden.
You make me a little bit jumpy.
I thought I told you to stay away
from those bozos.
It's okay. I think I understand.
It looks better that way.
Thank you, Jenny Hayden.
All part of our friendly service.
- You okay, honey?
- Yeah, I'm all right.
Well, I wanted to tell you
that eastbound bus is about to go.
Want me to try to hold it?
No. No, thank you. Never mind.
Thanks, but never mind.
Good luck.
I'm gonna get that bastard, Donnie Bob.
Right now.
- Hey, look out!
- Look out.
Take it easy!
Up yours.
I'm gonna get that son of a bitch.
It's their fault, the Mustang.
Son of a bitch hit me and just took off.
Anybody get his number?
No, but it shouldn't be too hard to pick up.
'77 Mustang, Wisconsin plates on it.
Hey, that Mustang them State boys wanted,
that was orange and black '77,
- with Wisconsin plates?
- Yeah.
Yeah. Well, kick her in the ass,
I think we got the bastard.
Damn it, Sergeant,
we've been here since 6:30 this afternoon.
Now, when can we leave?
As soon as the Federals say so,
and not one damn minute before.
Everybody tells it pretty much the same way.
She had every chance in the world
to get away from him,
but they left together with her driving.
Now, does that sound like any kind
of kidnapping you ever heard of?
Mr. Shermin!
They spotted an orange and black
Mustang, Wisconsin plates
- going west near Big Springs.
- Great.
Scott and I met two winters ago
up at Iron Mountain, ice skating.
I had on this little tight skating outfit.
I was showing off. He kept staring at me.
One thing led to another,
a few months later
we were on our honeymoon.
Honeymoon is nice?
Yeah, ours was beautiful.
Define "beautiful."
Beautiful is better than terrific,
better than Dutch apple pie.
The best.
The best.
Gotta get a couple of hours sleep.
Just a couple, okay?
You're not to approach them.
Keep them under surveillance
till the Feds get there.
But what if they approach us?
If you're in some kind of life-threatening
situation, defend yourselves.
Otherwise, wait for the Feds.
Wait for the Feds.
They get the 6:00 news,
and we get the shit end of the stick.
That's the way it is.
Yeah, well, it doesn't have to be that way.
I got a hunch this might just develop
into a life-threatening situation.
Hi. We'd like a room for the night
as far away from this as possible.
Boy, am I whipped.
My mom always said there wasn't a thing
wrong with the world that a hot bath
and a good night's sleep couldn't fix.
What am I doing?
I must be getting punchy.
It's just that in that light
you look so much like Scott.
- I wasn't thinking.
- You said the nose is different.
What?
You said, "Your nose is different.
"He broke his twice,
"and there's something else, I don't know,
something spooky about your eyes."
That's word for word.
You remember everything you hear
word for word?
Everything I hear, everything I see.
Everything I...
Everything this body feels.
The tub.
Thirty points apiece
is what the questions will be worth.
So, Jane Nelson, tell us about it.
Your final category today is...
Believe me, General.
I know what went wrong.
The X-factor wasn't red.
I never knew it could be like this.
Nobody ever kissed me the way you do.
Nobody?
No, nobody.
Not even one?
Out of all the men you've been kissed by?
Well, that'll take some figuring.
How many men you think there've been?
I wouldn't know.
Can't you give me a rough estimate?
Not without an adding machine.
You have your adding machine with you?
I forgot to bring it.
Then I guess you won't find out, will you?
Hey there, buddy. Are you in there?
Hey, buddy. It's none of my business,
but if that's your orange Mustang
out in the parking lot,
there's a couple cops
trying to jigger the lock.
The bastards ran one on us!
Papa Charlie 3.
Suspects in orange Mustang are
headed south on Big Springs' bypass.
We are in pursuit.
He's got a gun.
No!
Jenny Hayden?
Jenny Hayden?
Papa Charlie 3. Papa Charlie 3.
Suspects on I-80 proceeding northbound.
Still in pursuit.
I know it sounds impossible,
but I have a couple of people that say
they saw him carrying her out
of the burning wreckage.
And then they just disappeared
in the smoke.
I've had the police check the entire area
and there are no bodies.
Thanks.
Anyway, I can only assume that they're
still alive and they're probably headed west.
I'm going down
to Grand Junction, Colorado.
The Army is setting up some kind
of a roadblock on I-70 and I'm going.
Go.
Hey, Mark!
- You're wanted on the horn. Urgent.
- Okay.
Hello? I've probably been cut off. Hello?
Yeah... Hello, I was talking to the police.
I'm not the police, Mrs. Hayden.
My name is Mark Shermin,
I'm with National Security.
I understand you wanted
to talk to somebody about kidnapping?
Yeah, that's why I'm calling.
You see, there's been a mistake.
There hasn't been a kidnapping.
We're worried about you, Mrs. Hayden.
I'm fine. Really, I'm fine.
I just wanted to clear it out.
There hasn't been a kidnapping.
Where are you talking from?
I don't know. A truck stop somewhere.
Can I pick you up?
I really got to ask you some questions.
- Miss?
- Hold on a second.
You looking for a fellow?
About yea tall, red plaid shirt
and kind of nice looking?
Yeah. Have you seen him?
He hitched a ride west with our night cook
about half an hour ago.
Thank you, thank you very much.
Look, I'm hanging up now. I've gotta go.
If you want to talk to me,
you can call me in Madison in a few days.
- I'm in the phone book.
- Wait, wait, Mrs. Hayden.
Do you know who or what
you were kidnapped by?
He doesn't want to hurt anybody.
Really, can't you just leave him alone?
Hello? Hello? Damn it!
I need a ride west, fast.
Hey. I'll take you. Come on, let's go.
What's your line?
- Line?
- Work.
What do you do
when you're not hitching rides?
I make maps.
Make any money?
I make maps.
You don't get rich cooking, either,
believe me.
I got a girl, she's getting ready
to go to college this fall.
My wife had to go back nursing
just to help me pay for it.
Here, you wanna smoke?
Yeah, my little baby.
Says she wants to be a doctor. I don't know.
Costs an arm and a leg
to raise up kids these days.
An arm and a leg?
Bread. Geetus. Money. And lots of it.
Hey!
You all right?
You're not from around here, are you?
What the John?
Some kind of roadblock, I guess.
"Roadblock, I guess."
You got to keep these people in line.
They're starting to slip around the end.
Yes, sir. Sergeant, you heard the man.
Right away, sir. Get in line. Line up.
Move to the right and stay in line.
Stay in line. All you pedestrians, line up.
Line up. Move to the right and stay in line.
Oh, no.
You gotta help me, okay?
- Stop him!
- After that car! After him! After that car!
Thank God! How did you get here?
I hitched a ride with a cook.
It is good to see you, Jenny Hayden.
We got to get out of here. Come on.
Come on.
Hey! Hey!
I've done something wrong, Jenny Hayden?
I wake up alone. You're gone.
Not a word. Nothing.
You were right.
To be with me is not good for your health.
You could have at least told me
where you were going, said goodbye.
Goodbye?
Goodbye.
You don't know what...
Teach me this.
Well, I don't know. It's a custom.
It's
how you tell somebody
that you'll miss them,
that you wish them well.
That you hope...
Her tooth coming in.
Can anyone have babies?
Just women.
I understand the reproductive process
as you know it.
As we know it?
You have a baby?
No.
No babies.
Why not?
Scott and I wanted to have a baby.
It just turned out I couldn't.
I'm one of those lucky ladies that just
can't have one.
Here, a blanket! It's dry.
You better get out of those wet clothes.
Better get warm.
You know what pneumonia is? No?
Well, you're gonna find out
unless we get you dry in a hurry.
Here, put this on.
Hi there. Mr. Fox asked me to tell you
he has been delayed getting out of Madison.
- He's going to be late.
- What's going on here?
Well, according to our best estimates,
speed course and trajectory,
that object was headed for someplace
in Arizona.
And now Intelligence thinks that the visitor
is on his way here
to make some sort of a rendezvous.
Go on inside. Make yourself at home.
Welcome to planet Earth.
Where are we?
I think we are coming to Winslow soon.
- Why didn't you wake me?
- I like to watch you sleep.
I don't know why.
It's strange.
I think I am becoming a planet Earth person.
Do you have to go back?
Isn't there some way you could stay?
No. I must go back.
But there is something I must tell you.
I gave you a baby tonight.
No.
That's impossible. I can't have a child.
I've been to a doctor, a couple of them.
Believe what I tell you.
A boy baby.
He will be human, a baby of your husband,
but also he will be my baby.
He will know everything I know and when
he grows to manhood he will be a teacher.
If you do not want this baby,
tell me now, I will stop it.
Which is your star?
Can you see it from here?
Why?
I want to show him
where his father came from.
There.
No.
Wait.
There, low in the sky.
There.
I see it.
You'd better get dressed.
We are coming to Winslow.
I hope to God we're on the right train.
I don't know,
that looks awful big for Winslow, Arizona.
Oh, no.
Las Vegas!
What?
I think we've gone
about 300 miles past Winslow.
We're still going to be okay.
All we gotta do is rent a car,
and with a little luck
we'll be back there before noon tomorrow.
Just try not to be too conspicuous, okay?
Come on.
Half a million dollars, folks!
Who's gonna take it home?
Hit the giant jackpot
and your troubles are over!
Half a million dollars, folks.
Define "giant jackpot."
A giant jackpot is a lot of money.
Money? Geetus, bread, an arm and a leg?
Where did you get that?
We don't have time
to fool around with the slot machines now.
We gotta find a rent-a-car place and...
Where's my wallet?
- My wallet.
- What is wrong?
Where the hell is my wallet?
What are we gonna do now?
Is all right.
But you don't understand.
No credit card, no money, no car.
No car.
We're never going to get there on time.
Is all right.
Now.
Damn!
That's a handy little talent you got there,
but you better spread it around a little.
These guys get kind of curious
if you hit too many jackpots at once.
Choppers from the Air Cav
will search the area on a quarter-mile grid.
- Good, I'm glad you're here.
- What the hell is this about?
You're a man of some scientific attainment.
You mean to tell me you don't recognize
an emergency autopsy room
when you see one?
With leather tie straps?
You behave yourself, Mark.
Is this your latest update?
According to NORAD,
his original course and rate of descent
would have taken him here,
- south of Winslow.
- I see. Anything else?
The Cobra guys
were asking about ammunition.
Helicopter attack units
will carry live ammo at all times.
- This is to be considered a combat mission.
- Right.
Listen, Mr. Fox,
I'd like to be a team player and all of that,
but there's something that I want
to call to your attention.
If there's one thing I don't need from you,
it's a lecture on morality.
All right, okay, screw morality.
What the hell ever happened
to good manners?
We invited him here.
- I don't have time for this, Shermin.
- I'm trying to make a point.
So am I, damn it.
You make a great show of being a rebel,
but the fact is this,
you are a GS-11 public servant.
Anytime that becomes
too much of a burden,
you can go back to Cornell, or wherever
the hell it was that we found you.
And let's see you make it through
on an instructor's salary.
Now shape up or get out.
Is that clear?
Mr. Fox, there's been
a possible sighting in Las Vegas.
They're probably headed in this direction.
Well, let's establish a command post
at Winslow.
You'd better get out there,
providing of course you still want
to be a member of the team.
You do, don't you?
- Yes, sir.
- All right, then get going.
Get rid of that damn cigar.
We ought to be coming
to the crater anytime now.
You're gonna make it.
You're gonna go home.
You want to, don't you?
Yes, of course.
What's it like up there?
It is beautiful.
Not like this, but it is beautiful.
There is only one language.
One law. One people.
And there is no war, no hunger
and the strong do not victimize the helpless.
We are very civilized,
but we have lost something, I think.
You are all so much alive. All so different.
I will miss the cooks
and the singing and the dancing.
And the eating.
And the other things.
Morning, folks. What'll you have?
Coffee.
Dutch apple pie?
- How about some nice cherry cobbler?
- That'll be fine.
- And whipped cream.
- Coming right up.
How long does it take
to get to the crater from here?
Driving? Not long. Five, six minutes is all.
I want you to try this cherry cobbler.
And if you don't like it,
you don't have to pay for it.
It's delicious.
My wife made it.
Is very good.
Do you have somebody?
A wife-like up there?
No.
No?
I wish...
I wish...
What?
Good morning, folks.
Is that your Cadillac outside?
All right, go ahead.
Yeah, hold it. Yeah, okay.
I'd like to talk to these people alone.
- I'll be right outside if you need me.
- All right.
George Fox just called in on the radio,
said to say they're on their way over.
I'm Mark Shermin, SETI,
the Search for Extraterrestrial...
Mrs. Hayden, we talked on the phone.
This is just such a...
Do you mind if I sit down?
There's so many questions
that I'd like to ask you,
I hardly even know where to begin.
Is there anything I can do for you?
You can let him go.
I can't.
Really, I can't. I'm sorry.
Is it...
Are you supposed to meet someone here?
Is that it?
Yes.
You don't understand,
there isn't much time, please.
Why here? Why the crater?
Have people from your world
been here before?
Before, yes.
We are interested in your species.
You mean you're some kind
of an anthropologist?
Is that what you're doing here?
Just checking us out?
You are a strange species,
not like any other.
And you would be surprised
how many there are.
Intelligent, but savage.
Shall I tell you
what I find beautiful about you?
You are at your very best
when things are worst.
Let him go, Mr. Shermin, please.
If he stays here,
he'll die.
Can't you see he's dying now?
Thank you.
Thank you.
Wrong ones?
They sure as hell fit the description.
No, no.
The guy we're looking for is a lot older.
Where are they?
What have you done with them?
- Trooper, where are your prisoners?
- Wrong ones. We had to let them go.
You what?
Shermin, you are finished.
I will have you eviscerated for this.
Well, as much as I hate
to stoop to symbolism.
I hear something.
Give me your hand.
All units, this is Fox.
I want warning fire only.
When ready, roger that.
I copy. Here we go.
Mrs. Hayden, you and your companion
must stop immediately.
Stop where you are or we will open fire.
I repeat, stop where you are.
We have orders to open fire.
Last warning, Mrs. Hayden.
You and your companion
must stop immediately.
We have orders to open fire.
Last warning, Mrs. Hayden.
For your own safety,
you must stop where you are.
What the hell is that?
I must go.
Take me with you.
- I cannot.
- Please.
- You will die there.
- I don't think I care.
I care.
Now,
tell me again how to say goodbye.
Kiss me.
And tell me you love me.
I love you.
I'm never going to see you again, am I?
No.
I love you.
Tell the baby about me.
I will.
What should I do with this?
The baby will know.
Goodbye, Jenny Hayden.
Goodbye.
Take that stand.
Count!
- Ten, nine, eight, seven...
- Ignition.
...six...
- Prepare for lift-off.
- Main-stage.
...five, four, three,
two, one, zero.
And so Voyager II is now a part of history.
Rocketing into space from its launch pad
here at Cape Kennedy
on this historic date, August 20, 1977.
Onboard the space probe
are photographic images of Earth,
verbal greetings
and a medley of musical compositions.
Voyager II is our invitation
to other intelligent species in the universe.
"Please come and visit our planet Earth."
As the Secretary General
of the United Nations,
an organization of 147 member states,
who represent almost all of
the human inhabitants of the planet Earth,
I send greetings on behalf of the people
of our planet.
Hello from the children of planet Earth.
I love you.
Don't do this to yourself, Jenny. Go to sleep.
That's very good, General.
- Mr. Director.
- Yes.
Would you excuse me, please?
- Sounds like Soviet space garbage.
- The MOLINK people say no.
Well, what does the Kremlin say?
They don't know from nothing.
This is Delta Yankee,
two miles and closing, locked on target.
- Permission to launch.
- Permission granted.
Delta Yankee executing launch.
Missiles away.
Interceptor Delta Yankee reports a hit, sir.
No change in speed,
but we've got another alteration of course.
New estimated point of impact,
Northern Wisconsin,
someplace up by Chequamegon Bay.
Get Mark Shermin.
Tony takes a pass,
Murray drives to the left, he blows it.
He's down. No harm, no foul.
Just under three minutes left to play.
Cheeks picks up Johnson at mid-court.
Frank is looking to go to Greeney.
He's been red hot for this pass.
Now he's into the top of the key
and he finds Johnson all alone.
He's up and in for a deuce.
And he was fouled on the play.
Call me back in 20 minutes, will you? I'm...
Yes, sir. Sorry about that.
What?
Chequamegon Bay? Yes, sir.
No, no, no, no problem.
Oh, damn!
Scott?
You're not Scott.
Scott.
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
"As the Secretary General
of the United Nations
"an organization of 147 member states,
"who represent almost all of
the human inhabitants of the planet Earth,
"I send greetings."
Who is that handsome guy?
- Oh, God, what a day, huh?
- Yeah.
Here she comes, ladies and gentlemen.
Look at that gorgeous car. And off we go.
Don't worry, it's not going to go off
until the hammer's back.
Now, what we want to do
is we want to squeeze
and squeeze.
One more time.
Not bad.
Actually, you should probably, you know,
steady with your other hand here.
You'll get more accuracy,
probably, this way.
Here. Here.
Yeah, come here. Come here.
Don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid.
I mean you no harm.
Oh, this is great.
Yeah.
Boy, what a weird dream.
Who are you? What do you want?
We go.
I can't get the engine started.
Scott?
Where?
Which way? Left, right?
Here.
You know where that place is?
If this is California and down here is
Texas, that must be, like,
- Arizona, maybe.
- Want to be driven.
Arizona maybe.
Ten minutes.
About that time, Mr. Shermin.
- Okay.
- Coffee?
Yeah.
Hey, Sergeant, can you get police bands
on that thing?
No problem. Why?
I'm interested in anything weird.
You know, freaky, bizarre.
- Hi there.
- Hi.
- I'm Major Bell.
- Hi, Mark Shermin. Is it clean?
Well, no radioactivity.
No readings on bacteria.
You attached to National Security?
Not very. I just work for them.
On loan. Sort of like a library book.
No, actually I'm with SETI.
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
So they're sending you guys out
on meteorites now?
- Only when they change course.
- Change course?
- Can they do that?
- This one did.
So they tell me. Twice.
Either that or some airhead over at NORAD
misread a glitch on his monitor.
It also came down slower
than suborbital speed.
So, naturally, they decided to fire
some missiles at it.
- Hey, what the hell are they doing?
- Trying to take a core sample.
- Nobody authorized that.
- Damn thing sounded hollow to me.
Hollow? There's no such thing as a hollow...
Jesus Christ!
You were about to say?
Up and at 'em, folks, this is station WDLU,
at Madison, Wisconsin,
bringing you the 6:00 a.m. News.
No, folks, all of you that saw that flash
in the sky last night,
it wasn't the end of the world
and it wasn't a burning airliner.
No, sir. According to the A.P. Wire,
one of the biggest meteorites
to strike the planet Earth
in the past 80 years
hit last night near Ashland,
not far from Chequamegon Bay.
So you folks who called in
to say you saw a flying saucer land...
That's about you, isn't it?
You really are some kind of Martian
or something, aren't you?
What do you want here?
What are you doing?
What do you want with me?
Where are you taking me?
Why do you look so much like Scott?
I can't get no
satisfaction
That does it.
Help!
You crazy sons of bitches.
What's the matter with you?
Help!
Help me!
Help me, please.
I'm being kidnapped.
I send greetings.
What the hell's going on here?
I'm being kidnapped.
Greetings.
You'd better let her go, pal.
I'll give you some greetings.
How'd you do that?
Those little gray jobs?
Mr. Shermin!
Communications Central,
this is Project Visitor
at the Chequamegon sighting.
I have Mr. Shermin for you.
The director's on the line.
All right, Shermin, what is it?
I'll know more in a couple of hours.
We're taking it out of here now
and having a lab set up in Madison.
This meteor, the Chequamegon sighting,
appears to be hollow?
No, not "appears to be." It is hollow.
I think the balloon has just gone up, sir.
Do you have to keep that thing
on your lap like that?
Those things...
Guns make me a little bit jumpy.
Define "little bit jumpy."
That's a little bit.
And jumpy's like nervous, afraid.
You know that word "afraid"?
"Afraid." Yes.
How much English do you understand?
I understand greetings
in 54 planet Earth languages.
I understand English language little bit.
Nothing much in there. It's just a lot of junk.
That's my wallet.
That's my driver's license.
That's me. My name, Jenny Hayden.
"Jenny Hayden."
What do you want, anyway?
Why did you come here?
Oh, my God.
I look like Scott.
Yeah, you do.
I look like Scott,
so you do not be little bit jumpy.
Mr. Shermin.
Listen, about those police calls,
you did say anything weird, right?
- Yeah, you got something?
- Yeah, just picked up one from Ashland.
Happened sometime this morning.
A guy name Heinmuller had a collision
with an orange and black '77 Mustang.
Now the gal who was driving claimed
she was being kidnapped.
But when this Heinmuller went to help her,
the guy who was with her, the kidnapper,
yelled, "Greetings,"
and melted his lug wrench.
Yelled, "Greetings,"
and melted his lug wrench?
Weird you want, weird you get.
How do you melt somebody's lug wrench?
Hey, I just copy them down,
I don't explain them.
I don't suppose anybody
got a license number?
Yeah, Wisconsin plates,
Papa X-ray Victor 2-3-7.
We're checking the owner
through DMV now.
Mark!
What the hell is that thing?
Well, it's sort of an invitation, Major.
You remember that package
we sent up with the Voyager probe?
There was a gold anodized disk
with greetings from Earth
in 54 different languages.
Complete with a nice little speech
from Kurt Waldheim,
"To whom it may concern.
Come and see us sometime."
We're coming to a gas station.
- We're gonna need some gas. Okay?
- "Gas"?
Gas.
For the car. Fuel.
Energy.
I step on the gas, the car goes,
I take my foot off the gas, the car stops.
Understand?
No. I do not understand.
How can car need energy so soon?
I don't know.
I'm just telling you, this is the gas gauge.
When that needle gets to E, that's "Empty."
No gas. The car stops. Period.
Okay.
Get gas.
- Here you go.
- Take it easy.
Yeah. Take it easy.
Hi.
- Hi. Fill her up, unleaded.
- Gas.
Gotcha.
Yeah, I know.
I have to go to the bathroom.
The ladies' room. The restroom.
It's when a person has to...
The hell with it,
you figure it out for yourself, I'm going.
"Women." Me.
"Men." You.
Understand?
Can't get her out, huh?
Gas.
Yeah, well, I know just how she feels.
Every goddamn place you go.
Take it easy.
Up yours.
Take it easy.
Up yours.
Hi, let's go.
Nothing of interest in here.
Okay, you wanna sign that for me,
Miss Hayden?
Kidnapped.
What?
What is
"kidnapped"?
You want to know what kidnapped is?
It's being dragged out of your house
in the middle of the night
by some... Whatever you are.
Being forced to drive all night
with a gun pointed in your side
and not knowing where you're going
or what's going to happen to you
when you get there.
So if you're going to shoot me, go ahead.
Because I'd rather be shot
than go on being scared to death.
Go ahead.
I mean you no harm, Jenny Hayden.
Here's OI' Blue Eyes, Francis Albert.
Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it
New York, New York
I am sorry.
I did awaken you.
Do they sing a lot where you live?
Yes. We sing.
Do you ever get hungry?
Empty here?
Like a car needs gas?
Yes.
This body has a terrible emptiness.
This is called "hungry"?
Yeah, and when people get hungry
they have to eat food.
Eat. Yes, we must do that.
We will stop at food station.
You have hungry, too?
I'm starving.
I haven't eaten since...
Oh, my God.
Look out! What are you doing?
Okay?
Okay? Are you crazy?
You almost got us killed.
You said you watched me.
You said you knew the rules!
I do know the rules.
For your information, pal,
that was a yellow light back there.
I watched you very carefully.
Red light, stop. Green light, go.
Yellow light, go very fast.
- You better let me drive.
- I will drive.
Do you seriously expect me
to tell the President
that an alien has landed,
assumed the identity of a dead
housepainter from Madison, Wisconsin,
and is presently out
tooling around the countryside
in a hopped-up
orange and black 1977 Mustang?
We have the following givens. Look.
That man, Scott Hayden, died last April.
He's dead and buried, that's verified.
He has no brothers, no look-alike cousins.
But still, this morning,
at approximately 6:00...
All right, we have been through all of that.
I'm going to ask you now,
how could it happen?
We think it might be
some kind of a cloning deal,
replication of an entire organism
from a single cell.
We found some hairs
from Scott Hayden's head.
But is that possible?
I mean, can you clone a living organism
from the hair of a dead man?
Well, human hair
consists of keratinized cells.
Although, I suppose, in order to determine
whether replication is possible, you have...
Mark, I asked you a question.
You mean us?
- In our present state of technology?
- Yes.
- No.
- Well, what the hell are we talking about?
We're hypothesizing a technology
that's probably 100,000 years ahead of us.
We're the ancients, Mr. Fox.
Ancients?
Technologically, yes. We've just started.
Yeah, but even if you're right,
I still have problems.
I mean, his knowledge of English.
Okay, listen to this.
I helped put this package
together, you know.
This was designed
so that an intelligent species
could get a working knowledge of English.
Enough to get by, anyhow.
A couple-hundred-word vocabulary,
a rough idea of syntax.
Think of what it would mean to talk
to a being from a civilization like that.
Think of what we could learn.
...of 147 member states
who represent almost all
of the human inhabitants of the planet Earth,
I send greetings...
"Greetings," there. See, that's what he said
to Heinmuller out on the road.
It's also what the cannibal said
to the missionary just before he ate him.
Now, well, the question in this case is,
who is the missionary
and who are the cannibals?
When do you have to be there?
What?
In Arizona. When do you have to be there?
Do you see this little star?
Star? What star? Where?
There.
We call that the sun.
When this little...
When the sun
appears mid-sky three more times,
I must be at Arizona.
You mean, 12:00 noon,
three days from now?
Yes.
What happens if you don't get there in time?
Then they will go.
- Without you?
- Yes.
What will you do then?
Then I will die.
Die?
Understand?
You look for food station.
What?
A deer.
A dead deer.
Dead deer, why?
People hunt them to eat for food.
Do deer eat people?
No.
Do people eat people?
No, of course not.
What do you think we are?
I think you are a very primitive species.
What are you, softhearted?
Cry when you saw Bambi?
Define "Bambi."
He doesn't understand.
He's not from around here.
You don't speak any English, huh?
Steer clear of that bozo.
Define "bozo."
Jerk.
Now,
from Denver, here...
It's south on Interstate 25.
Then you pick up I-40 westbound
at Albuquerque.
Hey, will you forget about that deer
for a second?
I'm trying to show you something.
Now, where exactly in Arizona
are you supposed to meet your friends?
Here.
West of Winslow.
I see a little speck on the map, but there's...
Crater?
Is that where you're supposed to meet them?
Where that meteor hit?
Why do you do this?
Well, better safe than sorry.
Just in case something
should happen to me.
Now, there's one more thing.
The credit card, for the gas.
- You know how that worked?
- Why should something happen to you?
Who knows?
The way you drive, traveling with you
could be detrimental to the health. Now...
That's me and Scott on our honeymoon.
A honeymoon is what you call it when
two people first get married and they
go off together after they've fallen in love.
Define "love."
Love is...
It's when you care
more for someone else
than you do for yourself.
But it's not just that, it's...
It's when someone is a part of you.
And when they...
What?
Scott is dead.
He was killed in an accident.
When someone you love dies...
Oh, shit.
Shit.
Define "shit."
Don't say that, that's not a nice word.
Shit.
Don't mind him,
he's just learning to speak English.
Well, he's got a hell of a start on it.
Who's the deviled egg on white toast?
His.
Right. And a superburger.
Two orders of fries, two choc malts
and two Dutch apple pie
with whipped cream.
I had a wedge of it myself. It's terrific. Enjoy.
Well, dig in.
What... Wait. No. No, no.
That's your dessert.
You eat that with a fork.
This thing. Here.
Like this.
No, but you eat that last.
Sandwich first, dessert last.
Why?
I don't know, that's just how it's done.
What's the matter?
Dutch apple pie.
Good?
It's terrific.
For a primitive species, we have our points.
Anybody for Lincoln, Omaha or Chicago,
the bus leaves in five minutes.
Look, I've got to go to the...
I'll be right back.
Excuse me, is there a back way out of here?
Yeah, sure, through the kitchen. But why?
- You know that fellow I came in with?
- Yes.
Could you give these things to him
after the bus leaves?
It's just a map and some car keys
and a credit card.
- You sure, honey?
- Yeah, I'm positive. Thanks.
Hey, honey.
I wouldn't go out
through the back door right now.
That friend of yours,
he's out there in the parking lot.
Thanks.
Excuse me, miss.
You strike me as a meat-eater.
I could fix you up
with a nice haunch of venison.
Maybe even a shot of pork if you could...
Why, that son of a bitch.
No!
Hey, what happened to the goddamn deer?
She went there, to the woods.
Okay, comedian.
Bingo.
Stop it. You leave him alone!
- Butt out, girlie.
- He doesn't understand.
- He's a foreigner and doesn't speak English.
- So what?
Hey!
"Bingo."
Hey, you're losing your engine, boy.
Pick up your garbage and get going.
Oh, Jesus. You okay?
I thought guns make you a little bit jumpy,
Jenny Hayden.
You make me a little bit jumpy.
I thought I told you to stay away
from those bozos.
It's okay. I think I understand.
It looks better that way.
Thank you, Jenny Hayden.
All part of our friendly service.
- You okay, honey?
- Yeah, I'm all right.
Well, I wanted to tell you
that eastbound bus is about to go.
Want me to try to hold it?
No. No, thank you. Never mind.
Thanks, but never mind.
Good luck.
I'm gonna get that bastard, Donnie Bob.
Right now.
- Hey, look out!
- Look out.
Take it easy!
Up yours.
I'm gonna get that son of a bitch.
It's their fault, the Mustang.
Son of a bitch hit me and just took off.
Anybody get his number?
No, but it shouldn't be too hard to pick up.
'77 Mustang, Wisconsin plates on it.
Hey, that Mustang them State boys wanted,
that was orange and black '77,
- with Wisconsin plates?
- Yeah.
Yeah. Well, kick her in the ass,
I think we got the bastard.
Damn it, Sergeant,
we've been here since 6:30 this afternoon.
Now, when can we leave?
As soon as the Federals say so,
and not one damn minute before.
Everybody tells it pretty much the same way.
She had every chance in the world
to get away from him,
but they left together with her driving.
Now, does that sound like any kind
of kidnapping you ever heard of?
Mr. Shermin!
They spotted an orange and black
Mustang, Wisconsin plates
- going west near Big Springs.
- Great.
Scott and I met two winters ago
up at Iron Mountain, ice skating.
I had on this little tight skating outfit.
I was showing off. He kept staring at me.
One thing led to another,
a few months later
we were on our honeymoon.
Honeymoon is nice?
Yeah, ours was beautiful.
Define "beautiful."
Beautiful is better than terrific,
better than Dutch apple pie.
The best.
The best.
Gotta get a couple of hours sleep.
Just a couple, okay?
You're not to approach them.
Keep them under surveillance
till the Feds get there.
But what if they approach us?
If you're in some kind of life-threatening
situation, defend yourselves.
Otherwise, wait for the Feds.
Wait for the Feds.
They get the 6:00 news,
and we get the shit end of the stick.
That's the way it is.
Yeah, well, it doesn't have to be that way.
I got a hunch this might just develop
into a life-threatening situation.
Hi. We'd like a room for the night
as far away from this as possible.
Boy, am I whipped.
My mom always said there wasn't a thing
wrong with the world that a hot bath
and a good night's sleep couldn't fix.
What am I doing?
I must be getting punchy.
It's just that in that light
you look so much like Scott.
- I wasn't thinking.
- You said the nose is different.
What?
You said, "Your nose is different.
"He broke his twice,
"and there's something else, I don't know,
something spooky about your eyes."
That's word for word.
You remember everything you hear
word for word?
Everything I hear, everything I see.
Everything I...
Everything this body feels.
The tub.
Thirty points apiece
is what the questions will be worth.
So, Jane Nelson, tell us about it.
Your final category today is...
Believe me, General.
I know what went wrong.
The X-factor wasn't red.
I never knew it could be like this.
Nobody ever kissed me the way you do.
Nobody?
No, nobody.
Not even one?
Out of all the men you've been kissed by?
Well, that'll take some figuring.
How many men you think there've been?
I wouldn't know.
Can't you give me a rough estimate?
Not without an adding machine.
You have your adding machine with you?
I forgot to bring it.
Then I guess you won't find out, will you?
Hey there, buddy. Are you in there?
Hey, buddy. It's none of my business,
but if that's your orange Mustang
out in the parking lot,
there's a couple cops
trying to jigger the lock.
The bastards ran one on us!
Papa Charlie 3.
Suspects in orange Mustang are
headed south on Big Springs' bypass.
We are in pursuit.
He's got a gun.
No!
Jenny Hayden?
Jenny Hayden?
Papa Charlie 3. Papa Charlie 3.
Suspects on I-80 proceeding northbound.
Still in pursuit.
I know it sounds impossible,
but I have a couple of people that say
they saw him carrying her out
of the burning wreckage.
And then they just disappeared
in the smoke.
I've had the police check the entire area
and there are no bodies.
Thanks.
Anyway, I can only assume that they're
still alive and they're probably headed west.
I'm going down
to Grand Junction, Colorado.
The Army is setting up some kind
of a roadblock on I-70 and I'm going.
Go.
Hey, Mark!
- You're wanted on the horn. Urgent.
- Okay.
Hello? I've probably been cut off. Hello?
Yeah... Hello, I was talking to the police.
I'm not the police, Mrs. Hayden.
My name is Mark Shermin,
I'm with National Security.
I understand you wanted
to talk to somebody about kidnapping?
Yeah, that's why I'm calling.
You see, there's been a mistake.
There hasn't been a kidnapping.
We're worried about you, Mrs. Hayden.
I'm fine. Really, I'm fine.
I just wanted to clear it out.
There hasn't been a kidnapping.
Where are you talking from?
I don't know. A truck stop somewhere.
Can I pick you up?
I really got to ask you some questions.
- Miss?
- Hold on a second.
You looking for a fellow?
About yea tall, red plaid shirt
and kind of nice looking?
Yeah. Have you seen him?
He hitched a ride west with our night cook
about half an hour ago.
Thank you, thank you very much.
Look, I'm hanging up now. I've gotta go.
If you want to talk to me,
you can call me in Madison in a few days.
- I'm in the phone book.
- Wait, wait, Mrs. Hayden.
Do you know who or what
you were kidnapped by?
He doesn't want to hurt anybody.
Really, can't you just leave him alone?
Hello? Hello? Damn it!
I need a ride west, fast.
Hey. I'll take you. Come on, let's go.
What's your line?
- Line?
- Work.
What do you do
when you're not hitching rides?
I make maps.
Make any money?
I make maps.
You don't get rich cooking, either,
believe me.
I got a girl, she's getting ready
to go to college this fall.
My wife had to go back nursing
just to help me pay for it.
Here, you wanna smoke?
Yeah, my little baby.
Says she wants to be a doctor. I don't know.
Costs an arm and a leg
to raise up kids these days.
An arm and a leg?
Bread. Geetus. Money. And lots of it.
Hey!
You all right?
You're not from around here, are you?
What the John?
Some kind of roadblock, I guess.
"Roadblock, I guess."
You got to keep these people in line.
They're starting to slip around the end.
Yes, sir. Sergeant, you heard the man.
Right away, sir. Get in line. Line up.
Move to the right and stay in line.
Stay in line. All you pedestrians, line up.
Line up. Move to the right and stay in line.
Oh, no.
You gotta help me, okay?
- Stop him!
- After that car! After him! After that car!
Thank God! How did you get here?
I hitched a ride with a cook.
It is good to see you, Jenny Hayden.
We got to get out of here. Come on.
Come on.
Hey! Hey!
I've done something wrong, Jenny Hayden?
I wake up alone. You're gone.
Not a word. Nothing.
You were right.
To be with me is not good for your health.
You could have at least told me
where you were going, said goodbye.
Goodbye?
Goodbye.
You don't know what...
Teach me this.
Well, I don't know. It's a custom.
It's
how you tell somebody
that you'll miss them,
that you wish them well.
That you hope...
Her tooth coming in.
Can anyone have babies?
Just women.
I understand the reproductive process
as you know it.
As we know it?
You have a baby?
No.
No babies.
Why not?
Scott and I wanted to have a baby.
It just turned out I couldn't.
I'm one of those lucky ladies that just
can't have one.
Here, a blanket! It's dry.
You better get out of those wet clothes.
Better get warm.
You know what pneumonia is? No?
Well, you're gonna find out
unless we get you dry in a hurry.
Here, put this on.
Hi there. Mr. Fox asked me to tell you
he has been delayed getting out of Madison.
- He's going to be late.
- What's going on here?
Well, according to our best estimates,
speed course and trajectory,
that object was headed for someplace
in Arizona.
And now Intelligence thinks that the visitor
is on his way here
to make some sort of a rendezvous.
Go on inside. Make yourself at home.
Welcome to planet Earth.
Where are we?
I think we are coming to Winslow soon.
- Why didn't you wake me?
- I like to watch you sleep.
I don't know why.
It's strange.
I think I am becoming a planet Earth person.
Do you have to go back?
Isn't there some way you could stay?
No. I must go back.
But there is something I must tell you.
I gave you a baby tonight.
No.
That's impossible. I can't have a child.
I've been to a doctor, a couple of them.
Believe what I tell you.
A boy baby.
He will be human, a baby of your husband,
but also he will be my baby.
He will know everything I know and when
he grows to manhood he will be a teacher.
If you do not want this baby,
tell me now, I will stop it.
Which is your star?
Can you see it from here?
Why?
I want to show him
where his father came from.
There.
No.
Wait.
There, low in the sky.
There.
I see it.
You'd better get dressed.
We are coming to Winslow.
I hope to God we're on the right train.
I don't know,
that looks awful big for Winslow, Arizona.
Oh, no.
Las Vegas!
What?
I think we've gone
about 300 miles past Winslow.
We're still going to be okay.
All we gotta do is rent a car,
and with a little luck
we'll be back there before noon tomorrow.
Just try not to be too conspicuous, okay?
Come on.
Half a million dollars, folks!
Who's gonna take it home?
Hit the giant jackpot
and your troubles are over!
Half a million dollars, folks.
Define "giant jackpot."
A giant jackpot is a lot of money.
Money? Geetus, bread, an arm and a leg?
Where did you get that?
We don't have time
to fool around with the slot machines now.
We gotta find a rent-a-car place and...
Where's my wallet?
- My wallet.
- What is wrong?
Where the hell is my wallet?
What are we gonna do now?
Is all right.
But you don't understand.
No credit card, no money, no car.
No car.
We're never going to get there on time.
Is all right.
Now.
Damn!
That's a handy little talent you got there,
but you better spread it around a little.
These guys get kind of curious
if you hit too many jackpots at once.
Choppers from the Air Cav
will search the area on a quarter-mile grid.
- Good, I'm glad you're here.
- What the hell is this about?
You're a man of some scientific attainment.
You mean to tell me you don't recognize
an emergency autopsy room
when you see one?
With leather tie straps?
You behave yourself, Mark.
Is this your latest update?
According to NORAD,
his original course and rate of descent
would have taken him here,
- south of Winslow.
- I see. Anything else?
The Cobra guys
were asking about ammunition.
Helicopter attack units
will carry live ammo at all times.
- This is to be considered a combat mission.
- Right.
Listen, Mr. Fox,
I'd like to be a team player and all of that,
but there's something that I want
to call to your attention.
If there's one thing I don't need from you,
it's a lecture on morality.
All right, okay, screw morality.
What the hell ever happened
to good manners?
We invited him here.
- I don't have time for this, Shermin.
- I'm trying to make a point.
So am I, damn it.
You make a great show of being a rebel,
but the fact is this,
you are a GS-11 public servant.
Anytime that becomes
too much of a burden,
you can go back to Cornell, or wherever
the hell it was that we found you.
And let's see you make it through
on an instructor's salary.
Now shape up or get out.
Is that clear?
Mr. Fox, there's been
a possible sighting in Las Vegas.
They're probably headed in this direction.
Well, let's establish a command post
at Winslow.
You'd better get out there,
providing of course you still want
to be a member of the team.
You do, don't you?
- Yes, sir.
- All right, then get going.
Get rid of that damn cigar.
We ought to be coming
to the crater anytime now.
You're gonna make it.
You're gonna go home.
You want to, don't you?
Yes, of course.
What's it like up there?
It is beautiful.
Not like this, but it is beautiful.
There is only one language.
One law. One people.
And there is no war, no hunger
and the strong do not victimize the helpless.
We are very civilized,
but we have lost something, I think.
You are all so much alive. All so different.
I will miss the cooks
and the singing and the dancing.
And the eating.
And the other things.
Morning, folks. What'll you have?
Coffee.
Dutch apple pie?
- How about some nice cherry cobbler?
- That'll be fine.
- And whipped cream.
- Coming right up.
How long does it take
to get to the crater from here?
Driving? Not long. Five, six minutes is all.
I want you to try this cherry cobbler.
And if you don't like it,
you don't have to pay for it.
It's delicious.
My wife made it.
Is very good.
Do you have somebody?
A wife-like up there?
No.
No?
I wish...
I wish...
What?
Good morning, folks.
Is that your Cadillac outside?
All right, go ahead.
Yeah, hold it. Yeah, okay.
I'd like to talk to these people alone.
- I'll be right outside if you need me.
- All right.
George Fox just called in on the radio,
said to say they're on their way over.
I'm Mark Shermin, SETI,
the Search for Extraterrestrial...
Mrs. Hayden, we talked on the phone.
This is just such a...
Do you mind if I sit down?
There's so many questions
that I'd like to ask you,
I hardly even know where to begin.
Is there anything I can do for you?
You can let him go.
I can't.
Really, I can't. I'm sorry.
Is it...
Are you supposed to meet someone here?
Is that it?
Yes.
You don't understand,
there isn't much time, please.
Why here? Why the crater?
Have people from your world
been here before?
Before, yes.
We are interested in your species.
You mean you're some kind
of an anthropologist?
Is that what you're doing here?
Just checking us out?
You are a strange species,
not like any other.
And you would be surprised
how many there are.
Intelligent, but savage.
Shall I tell you
what I find beautiful about you?
You are at your very best
when things are worst.
Let him go, Mr. Shermin, please.
If he stays here,
he'll die.
Can't you see he's dying now?
Thank you.
Thank you.
Wrong ones?
They sure as hell fit the description.
No, no.
The guy we're looking for is a lot older.
Where are they?
What have you done with them?
- Trooper, where are your prisoners?
- Wrong ones. We had to let them go.
You what?
Shermin, you are finished.
I will have you eviscerated for this.
Well, as much as I hate
to stoop to symbolism.
I hear something.
Give me your hand.
All units, this is Fox.
I want warning fire only.
When ready, roger that.
I copy. Here we go.
Mrs. Hayden, you and your companion
must stop immediately.
Stop where you are or we will open fire.
I repeat, stop where you are.
We have orders to open fire.
Last warning, Mrs. Hayden.
You and your companion
must stop immediately.
We have orders to open fire.
Last warning, Mrs. Hayden.
For your own safety,
you must stop where you are.
What the hell is that?
I must go.
Take me with you.
- I cannot.
- Please.
- You will die there.
- I don't think I care.
I care.
Now,
tell me again how to say goodbye.
Kiss me.
And tell me you love me.
I love you.
I'm never going to see you again, am I?
No.
I love you.
Tell the baby about me.
I will.
What should I do with this?
The baby will know.
Goodbye, Jenny Hayden.
Goodbye.