Fantastic Voyage (1966) Movie Script
Sorry we gotyou up at this hour, Mr Grant.
I thought I was on vacation.
What's it all about?
I can't tell you.
- Where are we goin'?
- I can't tell you that either.
You're to stay inside, Mr Grant, and wait.
Your ID card, please.
Thank you.
- Hello, Grant.
- General Carter.
- Good to see you again.
- The Pentagon, wasn't it?
Come on.
Benes! What the devil happened?
The other side got to him.
- How bad off is he?
- Brain injury. He's in a coma.
Before or after what he wanted to say?
Before he could breathe a word. He's the only
scientist who knows what we're after.
That's why we have to operate.
And why we need you.
Me? I can't even
put a Band-Aid on my finger.
Here's the surgeon. Duval.
Dr Peter Duval. Top brain man in the country.
Ever hear of him?
- I'm rusty on surgeons. Who's the girl?
- Cora Peterson, his technical assistant.
- You'll be joining Duval and the others.
- What can I do? Except pass out.
Mike?
Yes, Alan.
Meet Grant.
Dr Michaels, chief of the medical section.
- Glad to have you with us.
- I wish I knew why.
Tell him where he fits in.
I've got a fewthings to check out.
We need youfor security purposes, Mr Grant.
- At an operation?
- They know they failed to kill Benes.
Security thinks they'll try again. We're afraid
of sabotage: surgical assassination.
- Surgical assassination? You suspect...?
- Duval. That's right.
I don't agree. Just because he's diffiicult...
- He's impossible.
- It's no reason to suspect disloyalty.
There must be other doctors.
Duval's the most skilful brain surgeon
in the country - and he's right here at hand.
- I wouldn't know if he's trying to kill him.
- I'll be standing by. I would know.
You're to take orders only from Dr Michaels.
Understand?
- Right, sir.
- Come along. They'll be operating shortly.
See you later, Mike.
His technician OK? In addition to the looks?
No question of her loyalty.
- I'll take that, Corporal.
- Yes, sir.
I don't mean to be inquisitive, but this CMDF.
For all I know, it could stand for Consolidated
Mobilisation of Delinquent Females.
Combined Miniature Deterrent Forces.
Say that again.
We can reduce anything down to any size.
People, ships, tanks, planes.
I've heard some wild ones, but this takes it.
We can shrink an army.
Put it in a bottle cap.
That's why we call it
Combined Miniature Deterrent Forces.
If the other side gets that...
They have.
But we both have the same problem:
lack of control.
They can only miniaturise things
for exactly 60 minutes.
After that everything starts growing
back to its original size.
- I assume Benes knows howto control it.
- Yes. He wanted us to have the secret.
- That's why they tried to kill him.
- They'll try again.
No wonder you want me to stand by
at the operation.
And take a little trip with him.
Trip? Where to?
The only way we can reach that clot
is from inside the brain.
So we'll put a surgical team
and crew into a submarine,
reduce it way down in size
and inject it into an artery.
- You mean I'm going along?
- As part of the crew, yes.
Wait a minute. They can't shrink me.
- We can shrink anything.
- I don't want to be miniaturised.
- It's just for an hour.
- Not even for a minute.
Sir, I really think you should reconsider.
I just don't think I'm right for this job.
Grant, you're going to a briefing.
Miss Peterson volunteered to come.
So did every male technician. A woman
has no place on a mission of this kind.
- I insist on taking my technician.
- You'll take along who I assign.
Don't tell me who I'm going to work with -
not on this operation.
I'll do what I think is best
without interference!
Dr Duval has relied
on Miss Peterson for years.
And since she wants to come along,
I think it's for the best, Dr Reid.
Well, I disagree with you.
Since you're in charge, do as you please.
But I want it on record I'm against it.
Grant, Colonel Reid, operational commander.
You met our medical chief.
- Dr Duval, head surgeon.
- I've heard of you.
Miss Peterson, his assistant.
And Captain Bill Owens,
designer of an experimental submarine
for the Navy's research programme.
- Out of your element, Captain?
- Sort of.
- That makes two of us.
- Grant is uniquely suited to this mission.
He's a communications expert
and he was a frogman during the war.
Besides, he brought Benes into this country.
The fewer people who knowthat, the better.
You'll find Grant invaluable should anything
go wrong once you're underway.
OK, Don.
Here's the overall target area.
Doctor?
Benes's brain.
As near as we can map it stereotaxically.
The clot is right here.
It's impossible to get at
without damage to the intervening tissue,
which would prove fatal to Benes.
The only way to reach it
is via the arterial system.
Phase one calls for
miniaturising a submarine,
with crew and surgical team,
and injecting it into the carotid artery.
How small will it be?
About the size of a microbe.
We're putting Benes in deep hypothermia.
What?
That's freezing him
as low as is compatible with human life.
It'll slow down his heartbeat, circulation
and all other physical processes.
Even so, Colonel, because of our size -
I mean, the lack of it -
we'll still be cruising pretty fast.
We'll be smashed to bits
if there's turbulence.
The only danger of turbulence
is in the heart,
and we're not going through it.
Once in the carotid artery,
we remain within the arterial system
until we reach the point of the damage,
where Dr Duval will attempt
to dissolve the clot with a laser beam.
Thank you.
After the operation,
we return by way of the venous system
until we reach the base of the neck,
where we'll be removed
right here. With a hypodermic.
How will you know
where the sub is at any moment?
Dr Michaels is a circulatory specialist
and will act as your navigator.
He'll know where you are and you can
communicate directly with us by wireless.
Also the sub is nuclear powered. We'll track it
just as we would any radioactive tracer.
There'll be surgeons standing by
to remove you immediately
should anything happen.
In any event,
you must be out within 60 minutes.
After that, you're in danger of attack.
Attack? Who? Or should I say what from?
Benes's natural defences.
White corpuscles, antibodies.
You see, once you begin to grow,
you become a menace to the body
and you'll trigger them off.
And there may be other, unknown, factors.
We can't be certain of anything.
Any further questions? Anybody?
- Just one, General.
- What's that?
Where do I get a cab backto town?
Dr Michaels,
proceed to the sterilisation section.
Yes, sir.
Will you follow me?
How much can a man give to his country?
Your attention, please.
Make the final preparations.
Heart.
How's it look, Henry?
Holding steady. 32 per minute.
Respiration.
Jack, what's the report?
Respiration is down to six a minute.
I wouldn't take him down any further.
Hypothermia.
Any problems, Dr Sawyer?
No, sir.
We're holding him at 28 degrees Centigrade.
- How do we stand?
- Ready.
They're now entering
the sterilisation corridor, sir.
Please board and check
all your equipment immediately.
Here's the particle, sir.
- Everything aboard?
- All squared away.
Dr Michaels.
- Yes?
- Here's your chart table right here.
All the maps and charts
are in sequence from left to right.
- And here's your checklist.
- Dr Duval and I will checkthe charts.
Fine. Mr Grant?
- This is your wireless station here.
- Good.
- Ocular motor nerve.
- I see.
- Need any help, skipper?
- Oh, yeah. We'll save some time.
Open this, would you? Set it down there.
- Where? On the deck here?
- Yeah, right there.
- That's radioactive material.
- It's atomic fuel.
- Is it all right to open it?
- Perfectly safe.
There's a microscopic
radioactive particle inside.
Nothing big enough
to be seen with the naked eye.
If it's no military secret, how can a sub
run on a microscopic particle?
They can't reduce nuclear fuel.
But once the reactor's been miniaturised,
a microscopic particle should put out
enough energy to activate it.
That's cutting it close for a perfect fit.
Well, it should work, theoretically.
If it doesn't, the whole mission's off.
You see, this craft is nuclear powered.
All except for your wireless.
All in all, quite a canoe.
Designed for piscatorial research:
spawning habits of deep-sea fish.
That reminds me,
I'd better spawn a radio message.
Test message from the Proteus, sir.
"Miss Peterson has smiled."
Well, that's an auspicious sign.
Confirm receiving.
Captain?
How will you be able to follow my charts
from up there?
There's no power on now,
but once there is...
May I have this chart, please?
You just place the chart here and it
will come through on that repeater.
- Repeater?
- Yeah, the devi...
Come on, I'll show you.
- There, that's it.
- Oh, yes.
It all seems quite simple to operate.
Actually, it is, although the controls
are highly sophisticated.
Look here.
There's a button and a switch for everything.
Bet you're pretty handy around the house.
Can you cook?
We're pushing oxygen today.
I'll have some laughing gas.
You're not looking forward to it?
It's not exactly a pleasure cruise.
I think it's very exciting.
We're going to see things
no one has ever seen before.
Not just something under a microscope.
- Think about it.
- That's the trouble, I am.
- Being shrunk!
- You may learn to like it.
Excuse me.
For a nice young lady, you play
with the damnedest toys, Miss Peterson.
That'll teach you where to keep your hand.
Now I know.
That could be quite a lethal weapon.
It could kill, not cure.
Not in the hands of a great surgeon
like Dr Duval.
The beam from this laser can be regulated
to one millionth of a millimetre.
You've been Dr Duval's assistant
for some time.
- He must have snatched you out of a cradle!
- I've been with him since I got out of school.
He brought me into the CMDF
over five years ago.
- That's a long time with one man.
- Not working with someone like Dr Duval.
He's...
Well...
- Prepare for miniaturisation.
- Positions, please.
- I still have something to check.
- Right. Mr Grant?
There are two seats under the chart table.
Would you pull them out, please?
Secure your safety belts.
Miss Peterson, this is your chair right here.
- Doctor, let me help you.
- No, it's all right. I can manage.
- Doctor?
- Yes, Cora.
I...
I wanted to say that...
What is it? Is anything wrong?
No, nothing. I...just wanted to say...
thank you for taking me along.
Thank you for volunteering.
Right, Mr Grant.
You can tell them the Proteus is ready.
- The Proteus? What's that?
- The name of this vessel.
Sounds better than calling it the U-91035.
Proteus reports all secured, sir.
Miniaturiser.
All stations, stand by.
All medical posts, stand by.
Check scanner. Computer 9-5.
Checks out on radar.
Instruct computer for a plus 6-0-9.
Phase one.
- Colonel?
- OK to proceed.
Phase two.
Elevate zero module.
Lower zero module.
Halt and transfer.
HDR in order.
Elevate zero module.
We'll submerge manually.
Mr Grant, open induction valves one and two.
- Where are they?
- There's one port and one starboard.
On the bulkhead right behind you.
- I'll get the other.
- Fine.
- You ready?
- Yeah.
Induction valve open.
Valve open.
Close valves.
Valve closed.
Right. That's all for the present.
- I can't breathe.
- Dr Michaels.
- Dr Michaels!
- I've got to get out.
It's too late for that.
Now, we must go on.
I'm sorry. I...
I've got claustrophobia. I was...
I was buried alive in an air raid in England.
Two days.
I thought I'd got over it.
Please forgive me.
I'll really be all right now.
Come on.
You'll feel better once we're underway.
Thank you.
Lock and hold.
- OK, Colonel.
- OK.
Phase three.
All stations, 60 and counting.
- Inform Proteusthey are at full reduction.
- Yes, sir.
- At full reduction.
- Right.
- That air feels good.
- Yes.
- Are you all right?
- Yes, I'm OK.
Mr Grant, tell them the Proteus is on power.
- Proteus on power, sir.
- OK, Don, it's all yours.
Phase four.
Elevate zero module.
Check thermal blanket.
Tracking.
Contact Proteus.
- Stand by for injection.
- Right.
Inject.
Tracking post.
The medieval philosophers were right.
Man is the centre of the universe.
We stand in the middle of infinity,
between outer and inner space.
And there's no limit to either.
I never imagined
it could be anything like this.
- No, I always thought it was nothing but red.
- Only to the naked eye.
Those corpuscles carrying oxygen
give the stream its colour.
The rest of the plasma's
very much like sea water.
- An ocean of life.
- End to end, 100,000 miles long.
Dr Duval?
What could those be?
That looks like
the molecular structure of proteins.
I don't agree.
- We should stop and investigate.
- I'm afraid we haven't time.
Captain, keep your present heading
until we're in the clear.
Arterial wall to the left.
- What's our speed?
- 15 knots.
You should reach
the main branching artery in two minutes.
Keep the wall at this distance
when you turn.
That should bring you safely
into the middle of the branch.
- Captain, correctyour course and speed.
- She won't respond. We're in a current.
- That isn't possible.
- Not in a sealed vessel like an artery.
There's something wrong with your controls.
No, it's a current. It's too strong.
I can't seem to break out of it.
Whirlpool. Strap yourselves in.
Anyone hurt?
Cora?
I'm all right. Thank you, Doctor.
Where are we?
The corpuscles are blue.
Captain, what's your compass heading?
Proteus off course.
They've... they've crossed over
into the jugular vein!
That can't be. There's no direct
connection between the two.
Well, normally not.
Unless there's an arteriovenous fistula.
A what?
It's a forced joining of a vein and an artery.
It must have happened when Benes was hurt.
Yes, a fistula too small
to show up in the tests.
- But big enough for us.
- Can you head back into the artery?
No, we can't fight that current.
It's impossible.
Well, try not to drift down any further.
I'll do what I can.
Is there an alternate route?
We can go forward on this course but...
that means going directly through the heart.
No, we can't do that either.
We decided in the briefing.
This craft couldn't stand the turbulence.
It would be a hundred times worse
than the whirlpool.
That's just dandy!
We can't go forward and we can't go back.
There's only one thing we can do.
Call off the mission.
We've no choice. We've got to take them out.
No. We've still got 51 minutes. Leave 'em in.
But it's hopeless.
They can't go back and they can't go on.
There's no choice but to remove them.
Not until the last second. We gotta
think of something to save the situation.
Proteus reports trapped in venous system.
Requests removal, sir.
Well, there it is.
What do I tell them, General?
Doctor...
Without killing him,
how long could we stop his heart?
- The less time the better.
- I know, but what's the maximum?
In his comatose state and
everything slowed down,
no more than 60 seconds.
At top speed, adjusting distance
for degree of miniaturisation,
that sub should get through the heart
in exactly 57 seconds.
That's only three seconds to revive him.
What are the problems involved
in stopping the heart?
Nothing - compared with starting it up again.
We're wasting time. Let's get on with it.
Message to Proteus.
- Cardiac red alert.
- Maintaining maximum speed,
the sub should get through the heart
in 57 seconds.
This will allow us three seconds to spare
in which to revive him.
To minimise the turbulence
we will have to arrest the heart.
Prepare for cardiac shock. Remove the radar.
The Proteus will proceed
to the entrance of the right atrium,
at which point the heart will be stopped -
by electric shock.
And if it takes longer to get through?
We can't take a second more.
Captain, head in the direction of the flow
and then drift with it.
Well, that looks pretty complicated.
I shall be able to guide you once we're inside.
Ready for cardiac shock.
Cardioscope.
Tracking.
Listen. The heart.
- Yes. It's slowed down a great deal.
- Sounds like heavy artillery.
It lays down quite a barrage.
Over 40 million beats in a year.
And every beat separates a man from eternity.
Stand by.
They're about to stop the heart.
Full power when we enter the valve.
Hit it!
The semilunar valve
should be on our left any second now.
Stand by to revive.
- There it is.
- Bear to your left.
- Can you see it, Captain?
- Yes. I see it now.
Brace yourselves. There'll be a tremendous
surge when the heart starts up again.
If it does.
Eight seconds left.
Now!
They're in the pulmonary artery.
They'll make up time once they get
through that and reach the pleural cavity.
Respiration post.
- What's his rate, Jack?
- Back to six per minute.
Dammit! I just had them cleaned.
They all lead to the same place:
the lungs.
Dr Michaels,
the channel is getting awfully narrow.
Yes, we're entering a capillary.
Try to stay in the middle.
The wall's transparent.
It's less than one ten-thousandth
of an inch thick. And porous.
Doctor, just think of it.
We're the first ones to actually see it happen.
The living process.
Mind letting me in on
what's going on out there?
It's just a simple exchange, Mr Grant.
Corpuscles releasing carbon dioxide
in return for oxygen
coming through on the other side.
- Don't tell me they're refuelling!
- Oxygenation.
We've known it exists
even though we never saw it.
Like the structure of the atom.
But to actually see
one of the miracles of the universe,
the engineering of the cycle of a breath...
I wouldn't call it a miracle.
Just an interchange of gases.
The end product
of 500 million years of evolution.
You can't believe all that is accidental? That
there isn't a creative intelligence at work?
Well, the creative...
- Mr Grant?
- Yes, skipper?
I'm losing pressure in the flotation tanks.
Check the manual control panel.
It's aft on the starboard side.
The left tank's losing pressure.
There must be a short
in the electrical valve circuit system.
Yeah.
That takes care of the valves. I suppose it
happened because of that electric shock.
- Is there any damage?
- Not to the valve.
But we've lost so much air
we can't make it the rest of the way.
What do you propose to do, Captain?
There's nothing we can do.
We can't continue without full tanks.
- Any reserve air?
- Enough to breathe, but that's all.
Just a few cells away from a vast air chamber,
one of the countless alveoli of the lung,
and we can't get enough air
to fill a microscopic tank!
Maybe we can.
- Skipper, is there a snorkel on this sub?
- Yes, there is.
Could I run a tube through that wall
without harming Benes?
At our present size, I should think so,
certainly.
If those corpuscles can take on air,
there's no reason why we can't.
All we have to do is
hook up the snorkel to that air chamber,
and when Benes inhales,
there should be plenty of pressure
to force the oxygen into the tank.
- How's that sound to you, skipper?
- Well, it's a dangerous procedure.
If I miss the timing
we could explode the air tanks, but...
I'm willing to try it.
I think we should.
Yes, of course. We must try it.
One more thing. It'll be safer
if everybody leaves the sub but me.
I'll get the equipment.
Cora?
- You didn't fasten it down too well.
- But I did! I'm positive.
- Then how come it worked loose?
- I've no idea.
How badly is it damaged?
I don't know. We'll have to test it.
That'll have to wait until after we're refuelled.
I can't imagine how it could have happened.
I distinctly remember fastening it down.
Must've been jarred loose
during the whirlpool.
Better get these on as quickly as possible.
They've stopped on
the outer limits of the left lung.
Another delay, with only 42 minutes left.
It'll be close
but there's still a margin of safety.
Let's find out what's holding them up.
Contact the Proteus.
Must be some kind of mechanical difficulty.
I told you to cut down on the sugar.
Oh, I can't help it. I'm just weak, I guess.
- Shouldn'tyou answer that?
- Not now. We need air, not greetings.
- It's full of rocks.
- Those are impurities embedded in the lung.
Carbon from smoke and specks of dust.
Well, we'd better get on with it.
Careful! There's a tremendous air pressure
in there in relation to our size.
I'll hold her from the other side of the wall.
Maybe that will do it.
- Tie my safety line to the sub.
- Here. Let me have it.
All right, now. Push the snorkel through
as soon as I get inside.
Wait for the lull -
between the time he inhales and exhales.
Now!
Full.
He's gone!
What can we do?
"Delay caused by stop to refuel air."
"Proceeding through pleural cavity."
"Refuel air"?
Why not?
They had a choice of over a billion alveoli.
And a broken trigger wire.
A smashed transistor.
No way to fire the lamp.
Well, that's the end of the laser.
- You must carry spare parts.
- Nothing that's built into the chassis.
- If it only hadn't come loose!
- That's beside the point now.
- Isn't there another operation you could try?
- No. No, there's no other way.
I don't see the sense in going on with this.
- But we must!
- With no laser?
If you had a transistor about this size
and power output
and a thin enough wire, could you mend it?
Yes, but it requires absolute precision.
A surgeon might.
Yes. Yes, I could do it.
Well, if I had the parts!
I've got a source. All we have to do is tap it.
Grant, just a minute. You're surely
not going to dismantle the wireless?
It's just one transistor and a circuit wire.
That'll knock out our communications.
We'll be cutting ourselves off.
They'd still be able to track us by radar
because of the radioactive fuel.
What's it to be? The wireless, or Benes's life?
Send a message to the control tower.
Message from the Proteus, sir.
"Cannibalising wireless to repair laser."
- They're what?
- "This is our last message."
Incommunicado!
Now they're really on their own.
We can track 'em, but that's all we can do.
Something told me I got into
the wrong end of this business.
Inner space...!
The transistor will do,
but the wire is much too thick.
- There's nothing closer.
- Let me see.
I might be able to scrape it thin enough.
Cora, would you bring me
a number 11 scalpel, please?
Yes, Doctor.
Looks like the sea at dawn.
We're safe as long as it remains that colour.
We're in the pleural sac.
It keeps the lungs from rubbing against
the wall of the chest. Up there.
When those membranes become inflamed
we get pleurisy and a racking cough.
Cough? If he can kick up a storm
by just breathing...!
His pleura's in fine condition.
Should be plain sailing from here on.
Let's hope so.
So far, someone's tried to sabotage
this mission twice.
Sabotage?
I don't quite understand.
I sawthe laser before we started.
It was fastened down securely.
What happened was no accident.
Any more than my safety line snapping
after it was tied off to the sub.
- Surely you don't suspect Duval.
- That line was tampered with.
I don't know what to say.
I know he's under a cloud, but...
there's not a more dedicated man
in medicine.
We still never know anyone's mind.
I don't believe it. It was an accident.
- Two in a row?
- It's possible.
Look at those walls up ahead.
We're entering the lymphatic system.
Those are nuclei of cells lining a duct.
I always had an idea
there was only one system: the circulatory.
The lymphatic system
drains off excess fluid from the tissues.
Without it, we'd all blow up like balloons.
- Looks like quite a navigation problem.
- Only until we get through the nodes.
The lymphatic glands.
- Keep your present compass heading.
- Right.
We're picking up seaweed,
or whatever that is.
Reticular fibres.
We ought to be clear of them soon.
Well, I hope so, Doctor.
Because if that stuff clogs the vents,
the engines will overheat.
What's causing all this?
- Looks like somebody declared war.
- That's exactly what it is.
Antibodies destroying bacteria or any other
foreign invader that threatens the system.
Look! It's taken on its exact shape.
- It's like hand in glove.
- Much closer. Like two atoms.
We'll never get there in time at this rate.
Isn't there another route to bypass all this?
- No.
- Yes!
- There's no other suitable route.
- Yes, there is.
We can transfer to the inner ear.
And go by way of the endolymphatic duct.
- Why don't we take it?
- Because it's more hazardous
than the route we're following now.
You see, once in the ear,
any noise at all in the operating theatre
would be disastrous.
At our reduced size, any vibrations inside
the ear would have a shattering effect.
Well, they're tracking us. Once they see
where we're going they'll take precautions.
All right.
Let's hope they realise the danger.
Captain, I'll give you a new heading.
Proteus turning, in quadrant 7-3.
Finally. They're heading for the inner ear.
About time they realised they'd never
make it the other way.
Your attention, please.
Proteus is about to enter the inner ear.
You are not to walk, talk,
or make a sound of any kind.
Absolute silence must be maintained
until they are out of the danger area.
- What's wrong, skipper?
- What I was afraid would happen.
That stuff we passed through
that looks like seaweed?
Yes, reticular fibres.
It clogged the intake vents.
We're not getting any propulsion.
Well, there's only one thing to do.
What?
I'll see if maybe there's some way
I can clear those vents.
How long do you think it'll take?
Quite some time.
- Wouldn't it be quicker if we all helped?
- You're right. We haven't a minute to spare.
- Would you...?
- Oh, yes.
I'll stay behind.
I'd better use the time
to finish repairing the laser.
Why don'tyou start on the engines?
Report no movement of the Proteus
since entering quadrant 7-4 at level D.
This is just what we need. Another delay.
You'll wind up a Hindu.
They respect all forms of life, however small.
Help!
Please help!
There she is.
She's damaging those fibres.
Antibodies will attack any moment.
Grant?
The pressure. I...
- I can't...
- Get backto the sub. I'll get her out.
Hurry!
- Where are they?
- They're belowthe cells of Hensen.
If the antibodies reach her,
they'll attack as if she were bacteria.
Open it! Open it before they get here.
I can't till the hatch is flooded.
They're tightening!
Please! I... can't... breathe.
I can't...
They've crystallised.
It's all right, Cora. It's all right.
They're on their way again.
What a time to run out of sugar.
Looks like quite a way.
We'll reach the base of the brain soon.
From there it's not far to the site of the injury.
But we're running out of time.
Where's that light coming from?
It's from the outside world.
Filtering in through Benes's eardrum.
That puts us right here.
Which means we can head for
the subarachnoid cavity.
The Proteus has passed the inner ear and
is now in the channel leading to the brain.
I thought I'd die when the scissors
dropped on the floor.
- It's against my better judgement.
- To wait until it may be too late?
- I've done all I could with the laser!
- All I ask...
I'm only asking him
that he test it beforehand.
If it doesn't work,
it's beyond my power to fix it.
But if it does, there's no telling
how long it'll stand up.
It's a jury rig at best and we'll need
every second of use we can get out of it.
That's why I don't want to put extra
strain on it by running unnecessary tests!
- Dr Duval, I insist thatyou test the laser.
- I'll do nothing of the sort!
The operation is my responsibility.
I won't do it.
All right. As usual you want ityour own way.
Only this time there's more at stake.
I know what's at stake, Dr Michaels.
Imagine! They're in the human mind.
"Yet all the suns that light
the corridors of the universe
shine dim before the blazing
of a single thought,
proclaiming an incandescent glory:
the myriad mind of Man."
Quite poetic, gentlemen.
Let me know when we pass the soul.
The soul? The finite mind
cannot comprehend infinity,
and the soul which comes
from God is infinite.
Yes, but our time isn't.
- If my calculations are correct...
- Doctor, what's that up ahead?
That's it. That's the site of the injury,
that dark spot.
- We'd better get prepared.
- There isn't time.
I don't see how you could operate
and get out of here before the hour's up.
Captain, head for the removal point.
Removal point? What are you talking about?
We've only six minutes left.
Hold it, skipper.
- What happens if we overstay?
- Once time's up, deminiaturisation begins.
Then, within seconds, this ship will grow big
enough to become a danger to the system.
Then white corpuscles will destroy it
as they would any other invader.
How long will it take
to get from here to the removal point?
- About two minutes.
- That still leaves me four minutes to operate.
All you'll succeed in doing
is getting us trapped.
I simply won't hear of it.
Captain, return to the removal point.
All right.
Grant, what are you doing? My power's gone.
Dr Duval, get the laser.
I'm in charge. You were instructed
to take orders, not to give them.
- The situation has changed.
- Nothing has, so far as my authority goes.
We've got to get out of here now.
It's suicide. I'm not going to let him operate.
You're in no condition to make any decision.
You're not going through with this. I forbid it.
- I won't allow anyone to leave this ship!
- I'm going to do all I can to save Benes.
Don't you see whatyou've done? You've
given him a perfect opportunity to kill Benes.
- I don't believe that.
- Because of all his gibberish about the soul?
Camouflage, that's all that is, to blind
the gullible and cover up his real identity.
A fanatic whose only purpose is to kill Benes!
And now you've made it possible.
I've come up against fanatics before
and Duval doesn't fit the pattern.
Skipper, I'm going out there to help.
Remember,
we need at least two minutes to get out.
How does it look, Doctor?
If I can relieve the pressure
on a few key vessels...
Doctor, we've had it.
If I can clear this central nerve,
that may be enough.
Captain, there's something wrong
with the escape hatch.
- What do you mean?
- Fluid is seeping through. Have a look at it.
Fluid? There shouldn't be any fluid...
Yes, you'll see it underneath the door.
That should do it.
Look!
- It's heading for the nerve!
- I don't understand.
The laser. Let me have the laser!
Give me your widest beam.
Full power.
The ship's finished.
We'll have to get out on our own.
Is there a quick way out?
- What about Dr Michaels?
- White corpuscles!
We've got to get them out.
They'll ingest the ship and everything in it.
Stay here, both of you.
Hold them off if you can.
What happened?
Dr Michaels... went berserk.
- Berserk, nothing!
- Get me out!
Get this on, quick.
If a window blows we'll lose this airlock.
Grant, help! I'm trapped! Help me!
Grant, can't get my...
Can't get my hands out. Get me out of here.
My hands are trapped.
I can't move... can't move my hands.
I can't move my hands.
I can't move my hands.
Get me out! Get me out of here!
Get me out!
Come on, it's no use.
- That's the end of the laser.
- You said there was a quick way out.
We could followthe optic nerve
to the corner of the eye.
Time's up.
We'll have to take them out immediately.
It means killing Benes. For all we know,
they may have completed the operation.
Damn it to hell!
Attention, please.
You will remove the Proteus immediately.
Remove the radar.
Prepare for trephination.
Light impulses. On the way to the brain.
We're nearing the eye.
Hold it, Doctor.
What is it?
That blip we're picking up
might only be a radioactive particle.
The Proteus may already be destroyed.
- What are you getting at?
- If I were in their place, running out of time,
I'd abandon ship
before I grewto dangerous size
and use the extra minutes
to get out the quickest way possible.
On my own.
Along the optic nerve to the eye.
Wait 30 seconds.
Glass slide, quick.
Open that door, please!
I thought I was on vacation.
What's it all about?
I can't tell you.
- Where are we goin'?
- I can't tell you that either.
You're to stay inside, Mr Grant, and wait.
Your ID card, please.
Thank you.
- Hello, Grant.
- General Carter.
- Good to see you again.
- The Pentagon, wasn't it?
Come on.
Benes! What the devil happened?
The other side got to him.
- How bad off is he?
- Brain injury. He's in a coma.
Before or after what he wanted to say?
Before he could breathe a word. He's the only
scientist who knows what we're after.
That's why we have to operate.
And why we need you.
Me? I can't even
put a Band-Aid on my finger.
Here's the surgeon. Duval.
Dr Peter Duval. Top brain man in the country.
Ever hear of him?
- I'm rusty on surgeons. Who's the girl?
- Cora Peterson, his technical assistant.
- You'll be joining Duval and the others.
- What can I do? Except pass out.
Mike?
Yes, Alan.
Meet Grant.
Dr Michaels, chief of the medical section.
- Glad to have you with us.
- I wish I knew why.
Tell him where he fits in.
I've got a fewthings to check out.
We need youfor security purposes, Mr Grant.
- At an operation?
- They know they failed to kill Benes.
Security thinks they'll try again. We're afraid
of sabotage: surgical assassination.
- Surgical assassination? You suspect...?
- Duval. That's right.
I don't agree. Just because he's diffiicult...
- He's impossible.
- It's no reason to suspect disloyalty.
There must be other doctors.
Duval's the most skilful brain surgeon
in the country - and he's right here at hand.
- I wouldn't know if he's trying to kill him.
- I'll be standing by. I would know.
You're to take orders only from Dr Michaels.
Understand?
- Right, sir.
- Come along. They'll be operating shortly.
See you later, Mike.
His technician OK? In addition to the looks?
No question of her loyalty.
- I'll take that, Corporal.
- Yes, sir.
I don't mean to be inquisitive, but this CMDF.
For all I know, it could stand for Consolidated
Mobilisation of Delinquent Females.
Combined Miniature Deterrent Forces.
Say that again.
We can reduce anything down to any size.
People, ships, tanks, planes.
I've heard some wild ones, but this takes it.
We can shrink an army.
Put it in a bottle cap.
That's why we call it
Combined Miniature Deterrent Forces.
If the other side gets that...
They have.
But we both have the same problem:
lack of control.
They can only miniaturise things
for exactly 60 minutes.
After that everything starts growing
back to its original size.
- I assume Benes knows howto control it.
- Yes. He wanted us to have the secret.
- That's why they tried to kill him.
- They'll try again.
No wonder you want me to stand by
at the operation.
And take a little trip with him.
Trip? Where to?
The only way we can reach that clot
is from inside the brain.
So we'll put a surgical team
and crew into a submarine,
reduce it way down in size
and inject it into an artery.
- You mean I'm going along?
- As part of the crew, yes.
Wait a minute. They can't shrink me.
- We can shrink anything.
- I don't want to be miniaturised.
- It's just for an hour.
- Not even for a minute.
Sir, I really think you should reconsider.
I just don't think I'm right for this job.
Grant, you're going to a briefing.
Miss Peterson volunteered to come.
So did every male technician. A woman
has no place on a mission of this kind.
- I insist on taking my technician.
- You'll take along who I assign.
Don't tell me who I'm going to work with -
not on this operation.
I'll do what I think is best
without interference!
Dr Duval has relied
on Miss Peterson for years.
And since she wants to come along,
I think it's for the best, Dr Reid.
Well, I disagree with you.
Since you're in charge, do as you please.
But I want it on record I'm against it.
Grant, Colonel Reid, operational commander.
You met our medical chief.
- Dr Duval, head surgeon.
- I've heard of you.
Miss Peterson, his assistant.
And Captain Bill Owens,
designer of an experimental submarine
for the Navy's research programme.
- Out of your element, Captain?
- Sort of.
- That makes two of us.
- Grant is uniquely suited to this mission.
He's a communications expert
and he was a frogman during the war.
Besides, he brought Benes into this country.
The fewer people who knowthat, the better.
You'll find Grant invaluable should anything
go wrong once you're underway.
OK, Don.
Here's the overall target area.
Doctor?
Benes's brain.
As near as we can map it stereotaxically.
The clot is right here.
It's impossible to get at
without damage to the intervening tissue,
which would prove fatal to Benes.
The only way to reach it
is via the arterial system.
Phase one calls for
miniaturising a submarine,
with crew and surgical team,
and injecting it into the carotid artery.
How small will it be?
About the size of a microbe.
We're putting Benes in deep hypothermia.
What?
That's freezing him
as low as is compatible with human life.
It'll slow down his heartbeat, circulation
and all other physical processes.
Even so, Colonel, because of our size -
I mean, the lack of it -
we'll still be cruising pretty fast.
We'll be smashed to bits
if there's turbulence.
The only danger of turbulence
is in the heart,
and we're not going through it.
Once in the carotid artery,
we remain within the arterial system
until we reach the point of the damage,
where Dr Duval will attempt
to dissolve the clot with a laser beam.
Thank you.
After the operation,
we return by way of the venous system
until we reach the base of the neck,
where we'll be removed
right here. With a hypodermic.
How will you know
where the sub is at any moment?
Dr Michaels is a circulatory specialist
and will act as your navigator.
He'll know where you are and you can
communicate directly with us by wireless.
Also the sub is nuclear powered. We'll track it
just as we would any radioactive tracer.
There'll be surgeons standing by
to remove you immediately
should anything happen.
In any event,
you must be out within 60 minutes.
After that, you're in danger of attack.
Attack? Who? Or should I say what from?
Benes's natural defences.
White corpuscles, antibodies.
You see, once you begin to grow,
you become a menace to the body
and you'll trigger them off.
And there may be other, unknown, factors.
We can't be certain of anything.
Any further questions? Anybody?
- Just one, General.
- What's that?
Where do I get a cab backto town?
Dr Michaels,
proceed to the sterilisation section.
Yes, sir.
Will you follow me?
How much can a man give to his country?
Your attention, please.
Make the final preparations.
Heart.
How's it look, Henry?
Holding steady. 32 per minute.
Respiration.
Jack, what's the report?
Respiration is down to six a minute.
I wouldn't take him down any further.
Hypothermia.
Any problems, Dr Sawyer?
No, sir.
We're holding him at 28 degrees Centigrade.
- How do we stand?
- Ready.
They're now entering
the sterilisation corridor, sir.
Please board and check
all your equipment immediately.
Here's the particle, sir.
- Everything aboard?
- All squared away.
Dr Michaels.
- Yes?
- Here's your chart table right here.
All the maps and charts
are in sequence from left to right.
- And here's your checklist.
- Dr Duval and I will checkthe charts.
Fine. Mr Grant?
- This is your wireless station here.
- Good.
- Ocular motor nerve.
- I see.
- Need any help, skipper?
- Oh, yeah. We'll save some time.
Open this, would you? Set it down there.
- Where? On the deck here?
- Yeah, right there.
- That's radioactive material.
- It's atomic fuel.
- Is it all right to open it?
- Perfectly safe.
There's a microscopic
radioactive particle inside.
Nothing big enough
to be seen with the naked eye.
If it's no military secret, how can a sub
run on a microscopic particle?
They can't reduce nuclear fuel.
But once the reactor's been miniaturised,
a microscopic particle should put out
enough energy to activate it.
That's cutting it close for a perfect fit.
Well, it should work, theoretically.
If it doesn't, the whole mission's off.
You see, this craft is nuclear powered.
All except for your wireless.
All in all, quite a canoe.
Designed for piscatorial research:
spawning habits of deep-sea fish.
That reminds me,
I'd better spawn a radio message.
Test message from the Proteus, sir.
"Miss Peterson has smiled."
Well, that's an auspicious sign.
Confirm receiving.
Captain?
How will you be able to follow my charts
from up there?
There's no power on now,
but once there is...
May I have this chart, please?
You just place the chart here and it
will come through on that repeater.
- Repeater?
- Yeah, the devi...
Come on, I'll show you.
- There, that's it.
- Oh, yes.
It all seems quite simple to operate.
Actually, it is, although the controls
are highly sophisticated.
Look here.
There's a button and a switch for everything.
Bet you're pretty handy around the house.
Can you cook?
We're pushing oxygen today.
I'll have some laughing gas.
You're not looking forward to it?
It's not exactly a pleasure cruise.
I think it's very exciting.
We're going to see things
no one has ever seen before.
Not just something under a microscope.
- Think about it.
- That's the trouble, I am.
- Being shrunk!
- You may learn to like it.
Excuse me.
For a nice young lady, you play
with the damnedest toys, Miss Peterson.
That'll teach you where to keep your hand.
Now I know.
That could be quite a lethal weapon.
It could kill, not cure.
Not in the hands of a great surgeon
like Dr Duval.
The beam from this laser can be regulated
to one millionth of a millimetre.
You've been Dr Duval's assistant
for some time.
- He must have snatched you out of a cradle!
- I've been with him since I got out of school.
He brought me into the CMDF
over five years ago.
- That's a long time with one man.
- Not working with someone like Dr Duval.
He's...
Well...
- Prepare for miniaturisation.
- Positions, please.
- I still have something to check.
- Right. Mr Grant?
There are two seats under the chart table.
Would you pull them out, please?
Secure your safety belts.
Miss Peterson, this is your chair right here.
- Doctor, let me help you.
- No, it's all right. I can manage.
- Doctor?
- Yes, Cora.
I...
I wanted to say that...
What is it? Is anything wrong?
No, nothing. I...just wanted to say...
thank you for taking me along.
Thank you for volunteering.
Right, Mr Grant.
You can tell them the Proteus is ready.
- The Proteus? What's that?
- The name of this vessel.
Sounds better than calling it the U-91035.
Proteus reports all secured, sir.
Miniaturiser.
All stations, stand by.
All medical posts, stand by.
Check scanner. Computer 9-5.
Checks out on radar.
Instruct computer for a plus 6-0-9.
Phase one.
- Colonel?
- OK to proceed.
Phase two.
Elevate zero module.
Lower zero module.
Halt and transfer.
HDR in order.
Elevate zero module.
We'll submerge manually.
Mr Grant, open induction valves one and two.
- Where are they?
- There's one port and one starboard.
On the bulkhead right behind you.
- I'll get the other.
- Fine.
- You ready?
- Yeah.
Induction valve open.
Valve open.
Close valves.
Valve closed.
Right. That's all for the present.
- I can't breathe.
- Dr Michaels.
- Dr Michaels!
- I've got to get out.
It's too late for that.
Now, we must go on.
I'm sorry. I...
I've got claustrophobia. I was...
I was buried alive in an air raid in England.
Two days.
I thought I'd got over it.
Please forgive me.
I'll really be all right now.
Come on.
You'll feel better once we're underway.
Thank you.
Lock and hold.
- OK, Colonel.
- OK.
Phase three.
All stations, 60 and counting.
- Inform Proteusthey are at full reduction.
- Yes, sir.
- At full reduction.
- Right.
- That air feels good.
- Yes.
- Are you all right?
- Yes, I'm OK.
Mr Grant, tell them the Proteus is on power.
- Proteus on power, sir.
- OK, Don, it's all yours.
Phase four.
Elevate zero module.
Check thermal blanket.
Tracking.
Contact Proteus.
- Stand by for injection.
- Right.
Inject.
Tracking post.
The medieval philosophers were right.
Man is the centre of the universe.
We stand in the middle of infinity,
between outer and inner space.
And there's no limit to either.
I never imagined
it could be anything like this.
- No, I always thought it was nothing but red.
- Only to the naked eye.
Those corpuscles carrying oxygen
give the stream its colour.
The rest of the plasma's
very much like sea water.
- An ocean of life.
- End to end, 100,000 miles long.
Dr Duval?
What could those be?
That looks like
the molecular structure of proteins.
I don't agree.
- We should stop and investigate.
- I'm afraid we haven't time.
Captain, keep your present heading
until we're in the clear.
Arterial wall to the left.
- What's our speed?
- 15 knots.
You should reach
the main branching artery in two minutes.
Keep the wall at this distance
when you turn.
That should bring you safely
into the middle of the branch.
- Captain, correctyour course and speed.
- She won't respond. We're in a current.
- That isn't possible.
- Not in a sealed vessel like an artery.
There's something wrong with your controls.
No, it's a current. It's too strong.
I can't seem to break out of it.
Whirlpool. Strap yourselves in.
Anyone hurt?
Cora?
I'm all right. Thank you, Doctor.
Where are we?
The corpuscles are blue.
Captain, what's your compass heading?
Proteus off course.
They've... they've crossed over
into the jugular vein!
That can't be. There's no direct
connection between the two.
Well, normally not.
Unless there's an arteriovenous fistula.
A what?
It's a forced joining of a vein and an artery.
It must have happened when Benes was hurt.
Yes, a fistula too small
to show up in the tests.
- But big enough for us.
- Can you head back into the artery?
No, we can't fight that current.
It's impossible.
Well, try not to drift down any further.
I'll do what I can.
Is there an alternate route?
We can go forward on this course but...
that means going directly through the heart.
No, we can't do that either.
We decided in the briefing.
This craft couldn't stand the turbulence.
It would be a hundred times worse
than the whirlpool.
That's just dandy!
We can't go forward and we can't go back.
There's only one thing we can do.
Call off the mission.
We've no choice. We've got to take them out.
No. We've still got 51 minutes. Leave 'em in.
But it's hopeless.
They can't go back and they can't go on.
There's no choice but to remove them.
Not until the last second. We gotta
think of something to save the situation.
Proteus reports trapped in venous system.
Requests removal, sir.
Well, there it is.
What do I tell them, General?
Doctor...
Without killing him,
how long could we stop his heart?
- The less time the better.
- I know, but what's the maximum?
In his comatose state and
everything slowed down,
no more than 60 seconds.
At top speed, adjusting distance
for degree of miniaturisation,
that sub should get through the heart
in exactly 57 seconds.
That's only three seconds to revive him.
What are the problems involved
in stopping the heart?
Nothing - compared with starting it up again.
We're wasting time. Let's get on with it.
Message to Proteus.
- Cardiac red alert.
- Maintaining maximum speed,
the sub should get through the heart
in 57 seconds.
This will allow us three seconds to spare
in which to revive him.
To minimise the turbulence
we will have to arrest the heart.
Prepare for cardiac shock. Remove the radar.
The Proteus will proceed
to the entrance of the right atrium,
at which point the heart will be stopped -
by electric shock.
And if it takes longer to get through?
We can't take a second more.
Captain, head in the direction of the flow
and then drift with it.
Well, that looks pretty complicated.
I shall be able to guide you once we're inside.
Ready for cardiac shock.
Cardioscope.
Tracking.
Listen. The heart.
- Yes. It's slowed down a great deal.
- Sounds like heavy artillery.
It lays down quite a barrage.
Over 40 million beats in a year.
And every beat separates a man from eternity.
Stand by.
They're about to stop the heart.
Full power when we enter the valve.
Hit it!
The semilunar valve
should be on our left any second now.
Stand by to revive.
- There it is.
- Bear to your left.
- Can you see it, Captain?
- Yes. I see it now.
Brace yourselves. There'll be a tremendous
surge when the heart starts up again.
If it does.
Eight seconds left.
Now!
They're in the pulmonary artery.
They'll make up time once they get
through that and reach the pleural cavity.
Respiration post.
- What's his rate, Jack?
- Back to six per minute.
Dammit! I just had them cleaned.
They all lead to the same place:
the lungs.
Dr Michaels,
the channel is getting awfully narrow.
Yes, we're entering a capillary.
Try to stay in the middle.
The wall's transparent.
It's less than one ten-thousandth
of an inch thick. And porous.
Doctor, just think of it.
We're the first ones to actually see it happen.
The living process.
Mind letting me in on
what's going on out there?
It's just a simple exchange, Mr Grant.
Corpuscles releasing carbon dioxide
in return for oxygen
coming through on the other side.
- Don't tell me they're refuelling!
- Oxygenation.
We've known it exists
even though we never saw it.
Like the structure of the atom.
But to actually see
one of the miracles of the universe,
the engineering of the cycle of a breath...
I wouldn't call it a miracle.
Just an interchange of gases.
The end product
of 500 million years of evolution.
You can't believe all that is accidental? That
there isn't a creative intelligence at work?
Well, the creative...
- Mr Grant?
- Yes, skipper?
I'm losing pressure in the flotation tanks.
Check the manual control panel.
It's aft on the starboard side.
The left tank's losing pressure.
There must be a short
in the electrical valve circuit system.
Yeah.
That takes care of the valves. I suppose it
happened because of that electric shock.
- Is there any damage?
- Not to the valve.
But we've lost so much air
we can't make it the rest of the way.
What do you propose to do, Captain?
There's nothing we can do.
We can't continue without full tanks.
- Any reserve air?
- Enough to breathe, but that's all.
Just a few cells away from a vast air chamber,
one of the countless alveoli of the lung,
and we can't get enough air
to fill a microscopic tank!
Maybe we can.
- Skipper, is there a snorkel on this sub?
- Yes, there is.
Could I run a tube through that wall
without harming Benes?
At our present size, I should think so,
certainly.
If those corpuscles can take on air,
there's no reason why we can't.
All we have to do is
hook up the snorkel to that air chamber,
and when Benes inhales,
there should be plenty of pressure
to force the oxygen into the tank.
- How's that sound to you, skipper?
- Well, it's a dangerous procedure.
If I miss the timing
we could explode the air tanks, but...
I'm willing to try it.
I think we should.
Yes, of course. We must try it.
One more thing. It'll be safer
if everybody leaves the sub but me.
I'll get the equipment.
Cora?
- You didn't fasten it down too well.
- But I did! I'm positive.
- Then how come it worked loose?
- I've no idea.
How badly is it damaged?
I don't know. We'll have to test it.
That'll have to wait until after we're refuelled.
I can't imagine how it could have happened.
I distinctly remember fastening it down.
Must've been jarred loose
during the whirlpool.
Better get these on as quickly as possible.
They've stopped on
the outer limits of the left lung.
Another delay, with only 42 minutes left.
It'll be close
but there's still a margin of safety.
Let's find out what's holding them up.
Contact the Proteus.
Must be some kind of mechanical difficulty.
I told you to cut down on the sugar.
Oh, I can't help it. I'm just weak, I guess.
- Shouldn'tyou answer that?
- Not now. We need air, not greetings.
- It's full of rocks.
- Those are impurities embedded in the lung.
Carbon from smoke and specks of dust.
Well, we'd better get on with it.
Careful! There's a tremendous air pressure
in there in relation to our size.
I'll hold her from the other side of the wall.
Maybe that will do it.
- Tie my safety line to the sub.
- Here. Let me have it.
All right, now. Push the snorkel through
as soon as I get inside.
Wait for the lull -
between the time he inhales and exhales.
Now!
Full.
He's gone!
What can we do?
"Delay caused by stop to refuel air."
"Proceeding through pleural cavity."
"Refuel air"?
Why not?
They had a choice of over a billion alveoli.
And a broken trigger wire.
A smashed transistor.
No way to fire the lamp.
Well, that's the end of the laser.
- You must carry spare parts.
- Nothing that's built into the chassis.
- If it only hadn't come loose!
- That's beside the point now.
- Isn't there another operation you could try?
- No. No, there's no other way.
I don't see the sense in going on with this.
- But we must!
- With no laser?
If you had a transistor about this size
and power output
and a thin enough wire, could you mend it?
Yes, but it requires absolute precision.
A surgeon might.
Yes. Yes, I could do it.
Well, if I had the parts!
I've got a source. All we have to do is tap it.
Grant, just a minute. You're surely
not going to dismantle the wireless?
It's just one transistor and a circuit wire.
That'll knock out our communications.
We'll be cutting ourselves off.
They'd still be able to track us by radar
because of the radioactive fuel.
What's it to be? The wireless, or Benes's life?
Send a message to the control tower.
Message from the Proteus, sir.
"Cannibalising wireless to repair laser."
- They're what?
- "This is our last message."
Incommunicado!
Now they're really on their own.
We can track 'em, but that's all we can do.
Something told me I got into
the wrong end of this business.
Inner space...!
The transistor will do,
but the wire is much too thick.
- There's nothing closer.
- Let me see.
I might be able to scrape it thin enough.
Cora, would you bring me
a number 11 scalpel, please?
Yes, Doctor.
Looks like the sea at dawn.
We're safe as long as it remains that colour.
We're in the pleural sac.
It keeps the lungs from rubbing against
the wall of the chest. Up there.
When those membranes become inflamed
we get pleurisy and a racking cough.
Cough? If he can kick up a storm
by just breathing...!
His pleura's in fine condition.
Should be plain sailing from here on.
Let's hope so.
So far, someone's tried to sabotage
this mission twice.
Sabotage?
I don't quite understand.
I sawthe laser before we started.
It was fastened down securely.
What happened was no accident.
Any more than my safety line snapping
after it was tied off to the sub.
- Surely you don't suspect Duval.
- That line was tampered with.
I don't know what to say.
I know he's under a cloud, but...
there's not a more dedicated man
in medicine.
We still never know anyone's mind.
I don't believe it. It was an accident.
- Two in a row?
- It's possible.
Look at those walls up ahead.
We're entering the lymphatic system.
Those are nuclei of cells lining a duct.
I always had an idea
there was only one system: the circulatory.
The lymphatic system
drains off excess fluid from the tissues.
Without it, we'd all blow up like balloons.
- Looks like quite a navigation problem.
- Only until we get through the nodes.
The lymphatic glands.
- Keep your present compass heading.
- Right.
We're picking up seaweed,
or whatever that is.
Reticular fibres.
We ought to be clear of them soon.
Well, I hope so, Doctor.
Because if that stuff clogs the vents,
the engines will overheat.
What's causing all this?
- Looks like somebody declared war.
- That's exactly what it is.
Antibodies destroying bacteria or any other
foreign invader that threatens the system.
Look! It's taken on its exact shape.
- It's like hand in glove.
- Much closer. Like two atoms.
We'll never get there in time at this rate.
Isn't there another route to bypass all this?
- No.
- Yes!
- There's no other suitable route.
- Yes, there is.
We can transfer to the inner ear.
And go by way of the endolymphatic duct.
- Why don't we take it?
- Because it's more hazardous
than the route we're following now.
You see, once in the ear,
any noise at all in the operating theatre
would be disastrous.
At our reduced size, any vibrations inside
the ear would have a shattering effect.
Well, they're tracking us. Once they see
where we're going they'll take precautions.
All right.
Let's hope they realise the danger.
Captain, I'll give you a new heading.
Proteus turning, in quadrant 7-3.
Finally. They're heading for the inner ear.
About time they realised they'd never
make it the other way.
Your attention, please.
Proteus is about to enter the inner ear.
You are not to walk, talk,
or make a sound of any kind.
Absolute silence must be maintained
until they are out of the danger area.
- What's wrong, skipper?
- What I was afraid would happen.
That stuff we passed through
that looks like seaweed?
Yes, reticular fibres.
It clogged the intake vents.
We're not getting any propulsion.
Well, there's only one thing to do.
What?
I'll see if maybe there's some way
I can clear those vents.
How long do you think it'll take?
Quite some time.
- Wouldn't it be quicker if we all helped?
- You're right. We haven't a minute to spare.
- Would you...?
- Oh, yes.
I'll stay behind.
I'd better use the time
to finish repairing the laser.
Why don'tyou start on the engines?
Report no movement of the Proteus
since entering quadrant 7-4 at level D.
This is just what we need. Another delay.
You'll wind up a Hindu.
They respect all forms of life, however small.
Help!
Please help!
There she is.
She's damaging those fibres.
Antibodies will attack any moment.
Grant?
The pressure. I...
- I can't...
- Get backto the sub. I'll get her out.
Hurry!
- Where are they?
- They're belowthe cells of Hensen.
If the antibodies reach her,
they'll attack as if she were bacteria.
Open it! Open it before they get here.
I can't till the hatch is flooded.
They're tightening!
Please! I... can't... breathe.
I can't...
They've crystallised.
It's all right, Cora. It's all right.
They're on their way again.
What a time to run out of sugar.
Looks like quite a way.
We'll reach the base of the brain soon.
From there it's not far to the site of the injury.
But we're running out of time.
Where's that light coming from?
It's from the outside world.
Filtering in through Benes's eardrum.
That puts us right here.
Which means we can head for
the subarachnoid cavity.
The Proteus has passed the inner ear and
is now in the channel leading to the brain.
I thought I'd die when the scissors
dropped on the floor.
- It's against my better judgement.
- To wait until it may be too late?
- I've done all I could with the laser!
- All I ask...
I'm only asking him
that he test it beforehand.
If it doesn't work,
it's beyond my power to fix it.
But if it does, there's no telling
how long it'll stand up.
It's a jury rig at best and we'll need
every second of use we can get out of it.
That's why I don't want to put extra
strain on it by running unnecessary tests!
- Dr Duval, I insist thatyou test the laser.
- I'll do nothing of the sort!
The operation is my responsibility.
I won't do it.
All right. As usual you want ityour own way.
Only this time there's more at stake.
I know what's at stake, Dr Michaels.
Imagine! They're in the human mind.
"Yet all the suns that light
the corridors of the universe
shine dim before the blazing
of a single thought,
proclaiming an incandescent glory:
the myriad mind of Man."
Quite poetic, gentlemen.
Let me know when we pass the soul.
The soul? The finite mind
cannot comprehend infinity,
and the soul which comes
from God is infinite.
Yes, but our time isn't.
- If my calculations are correct...
- Doctor, what's that up ahead?
That's it. That's the site of the injury,
that dark spot.
- We'd better get prepared.
- There isn't time.
I don't see how you could operate
and get out of here before the hour's up.
Captain, head for the removal point.
Removal point? What are you talking about?
We've only six minutes left.
Hold it, skipper.
- What happens if we overstay?
- Once time's up, deminiaturisation begins.
Then, within seconds, this ship will grow big
enough to become a danger to the system.
Then white corpuscles will destroy it
as they would any other invader.
How long will it take
to get from here to the removal point?
- About two minutes.
- That still leaves me four minutes to operate.
All you'll succeed in doing
is getting us trapped.
I simply won't hear of it.
Captain, return to the removal point.
All right.
Grant, what are you doing? My power's gone.
Dr Duval, get the laser.
I'm in charge. You were instructed
to take orders, not to give them.
- The situation has changed.
- Nothing has, so far as my authority goes.
We've got to get out of here now.
It's suicide. I'm not going to let him operate.
You're in no condition to make any decision.
You're not going through with this. I forbid it.
- I won't allow anyone to leave this ship!
- I'm going to do all I can to save Benes.
Don't you see whatyou've done? You've
given him a perfect opportunity to kill Benes.
- I don't believe that.
- Because of all his gibberish about the soul?
Camouflage, that's all that is, to blind
the gullible and cover up his real identity.
A fanatic whose only purpose is to kill Benes!
And now you've made it possible.
I've come up against fanatics before
and Duval doesn't fit the pattern.
Skipper, I'm going out there to help.
Remember,
we need at least two minutes to get out.
How does it look, Doctor?
If I can relieve the pressure
on a few key vessels...
Doctor, we've had it.
If I can clear this central nerve,
that may be enough.
Captain, there's something wrong
with the escape hatch.
- What do you mean?
- Fluid is seeping through. Have a look at it.
Fluid? There shouldn't be any fluid...
Yes, you'll see it underneath the door.
That should do it.
Look!
- It's heading for the nerve!
- I don't understand.
The laser. Let me have the laser!
Give me your widest beam.
Full power.
The ship's finished.
We'll have to get out on our own.
Is there a quick way out?
- What about Dr Michaels?
- White corpuscles!
We've got to get them out.
They'll ingest the ship and everything in it.
Stay here, both of you.
Hold them off if you can.
What happened?
Dr Michaels... went berserk.
- Berserk, nothing!
- Get me out!
Get this on, quick.
If a window blows we'll lose this airlock.
Grant, help! I'm trapped! Help me!
Grant, can't get my...
Can't get my hands out. Get me out of here.
My hands are trapped.
I can't move... can't move my hands.
I can't move my hands.
I can't move my hands.
Get me out! Get me out of here!
Get me out!
Come on, it's no use.
- That's the end of the laser.
- You said there was a quick way out.
We could followthe optic nerve
to the corner of the eye.
Time's up.
We'll have to take them out immediately.
It means killing Benes. For all we know,
they may have completed the operation.
Damn it to hell!
Attention, please.
You will remove the Proteus immediately.
Remove the radar.
Prepare for trephination.
Light impulses. On the way to the brain.
We're nearing the eye.
Hold it, Doctor.
What is it?
That blip we're picking up
might only be a radioactive particle.
The Proteus may already be destroyed.
- What are you getting at?
- If I were in their place, running out of time,
I'd abandon ship
before I grewto dangerous size
and use the extra minutes
to get out the quickest way possible.
On my own.
Along the optic nerve to the eye.
Wait 30 seconds.
Glass slide, quick.
Open that door, please!