August 9th. 2.30pm, Greenwich Mean Time. The HMS Churchill, outward bound.
On board, a joint British-American space team.
Their mission: To intercept and study the comet bearing Dr Edmund Halley's name.
The Churchill is the first spacecraft equipped with the Nerva engine.
It propels the craft with constant acceleration,
enough to create Earth-type gravity for the first time on an extended flight.
The Churchill is on course for its rendezvous.
- Sir, this is odd. - What?
I'm getting a radar cross section ahead of the nucleus in the coma of the comet.
I've got it, too. Check the length, Brendan. It's at the limit of my angle of scan.
- You run an equipment check? - I've checked every five minutes.
- Radar states 150 miles. - 150 miles what?
- Length. - 150 miles long!
What's 150 miles long?
It's a radar trace. Something ahead in the coma of the comet.
- Show me. - EGR's confirmed.
- Looks good. - EGR's optimal. Track three on three.
Roger.
What's the height of the thing?
I've got a vertical reading of two miles at least.
Ambient temperature: 6º. Iron: Under 2%. Traces of manganese...
Try and raise base. Tell 'em we have an artificial object out here, hidden in...
- Sure you wanna say "hidden"? - Tell them it's in the head of the comet.
Keep sending that until they acknowledge. Use a secure downlink.
Commander, everything's being swamped by winds. We can't get anything to base.
- How long's the blackout period? - All the way.
What are you gonna do?
We're going in.
We're only gonna get one chance, Derebridge.
That thing won't be back for another 76 years,
and we'll both be dead.
We have to take a look now.
- Shut down Nerva. - Shutting down.
Delta is plus one and two seconds.
- Solar panels retracted. - Check. Give me a read-out.
Executing EVA manoeuvre.
Where do you suppose this thing came from?
Was it exploring the comet?
Come on, guys. Let's do it.
The surface looks badly pitted. In that case, it's been here a long time.
It's a derelict.
Stand by, Churchill. We're going in.
Roger, Carlsen. We copy. We have you going in.
Churchill, it looks like some sort of giant artery... organic.
I almost have the feeling I've been here before.
Oh, boy.
This is incredible.
I hope you can appreciate the scale of this on the video.
Roger. We're getting it. It's all on tape.
- Oh, shit! - Well, here they are.
Churchill, it looks like we found the occupants of the ship.
They look like... bats.
Giant bats.
Churchill, there must be hundreds of them.
Thousands. Dead, I hope.
Looks prehistoric.
It's completely desiccated.
- It crumbles. - Yes. It would.
All the fluids been lost to space over the years.
We'll bag this one. Take it with us.
We're deploying the specimen bag.
Jesus. What the hell is that?
Commander,
the ship has just deployed a...
It looks like some sort of big structure that's just unfolding.
It's enormous!
God! What is it?
- We've got to get out, sir. - Nobody's moving. Stay where you are.
Churchill, this is Carlsen. What's happening out there?
The thing's stopped opening. The only way to describe it is
it's like a giant umbrella.
Good God! It's absolutely enormous!
Churchill, what's it doing now?
Nothing, sir.
It's stopped opening. It's just... sitting there.
- D'you know what it's made of? - Not metal.
It's radar transparent.
OK.
If it starts up again, let me know.
- Any activity out there. You understand? - Yes, sir.
That's where we're goin'.
There's something there.
Commander, this is Churchill.
We're losing our signal. We've lost VTR. Come in, Commander.
Bodies. Three bodies.
Perfectly preserved.
They look to me to be like in...
Something's happening to me.
What's wrong... with me?
What's wrong?
Commander, come in. This is Churchill. Do you copy?
They seem to be in some sort of suspended animation or sleep.
Hold on. We're coming down.
Churchill. Churchill, if you read,
there are two nude males and one female.
This is Churchill. We have no picture. Come in, Tom.
Churchill... I said we've found a young girl.
Girl? You mean human?
- Definitely humanoid. - I'd say she's perfect.
I've been in space for six months and she looks perfect to me.
Derebridge, what's wrong?
What's wrong?
- How many do you wanna take back? - I say we take back all three.
And one of the dead things in the other chamber.
Well... let's see if we can break 'em free.
Churchill, come in. This is Mission Control, Great Britain. Do you copy?
- They should get us this close. - They aren't receiving, Dr Bukovsky.
Automatic circuits don't even respond.
They're radio-dead.
Christ! I hope it's just their communications.
Churchill, come in. This is Mission Control, Great Britain.
Churchill, come in. This is Mission Control, Great Britain. Do you copy?
How's their orbit look?
You can see it's stable, but they're slightly off.
They should have adjusted coming in, but they haven't.
- What do you make of that? - It would appear they set their course
just after they left the comet.
I'd say it hasn't been updated since.
- The Columbia? - The Columbia.
Liftoff. We have a liftoff.
Control, this is Columbia. Are we clear to initiate docking procedure?
Go ahead, Columbia. You are looking good.
- Stand by for soft dock. - Roger. Stand by.
Soft dock.
Soft dock confirmed.
Columbia, the ship's completely gutted.
Oh, my God!
Houston, we have a problem. There's been a fire.
I'll take a look in the tug bay. You two, try the top deck.
Columbia, they're all dead.
Nothing down here, Columbia. I'm going on into the tug bay.
I'll get the tapes.
Somner, I think there's something you oughta see in the tug bay.
I see. How did you open the girl's case?
We didn't, minister.
We were talking about how to get it open, when it opened of its own accord.
- Did you X-ray the crystal cases? - Might not be crystal.
The casings are not metallic. I'm not even sure they're organic.
The casing is right there in front of us without being there, if that makes sense.
And the bodies from the cases?
We're going to do our first dissection now.
Provided, of course, that Dr Fallada agrees they're dead.
Fallada.
I don't know that I'm qualified to pass judgment on alien death.
You would agree that they're less alive than we are?
Yesterday in Hong Kong, gold closed lower.
In light trading on European currency markets
the pound closed mixed against the dollar and West German mark.
There will be a full market report after the late news.
This is James Graham reporting from the City. Now back to the newsroom.
Halley's Comet is now dominating the sky, stretching over 100 million miles,
occupying one sixth of the horizon.
On this clear night, a group of enthusiasts
are commemorating Halley's prediction
by holding a watching from his original observatory at Greenwich.
You may be interested to know comets were once considered harbingers of evil.
One of the earliest words for comet was "disaster",
which in Latin means "evil star".
And it may indeed be an evil star for the deep-space probe Churchill.
There's still no word from the government as to the fate of the crew,
whether they're alive or dead. We can only await further developments.
Use my body.
Bukovsky?
Bukovsky, where's the girl?
She's gone.
I saw her.
She did that.
- Security. - Hello, Professor Fallada here.
I'm calling at Dr Bukovsky's orders. Get me the duty security captain now.
Yes, sir.
Don't worry. A naked girl is not going to get out of this complex.
49 to Control. You'll never believe what I'm looking at.
- Control, can you say that again? - I believe you heard me.
There's a girl on the loose in the building. She must not leave.
- Pardon me, did you say she was naked? - That's right. That's what I said.
- Surely you can find her. - Must be some kind of joke.
I don't believe it.
- All right, miss. Just stay where you are. - You heard them. They said grab her.
Take it easy, mate. She's not in her right mind.
Control? We have located the girl in the main lobby.
That's it. Come on.
- Yes? - We've located the girl, sir.
- Where? - Downstairs in the main lobby.
Right.
She's in the main lobby.
- You all right to go down there? - No.
Nice and easy.
Come on. Come to me.
Come to Daddy. Come on.
Make it stop... Make it stop!
Come on. Let's get her!
- You all right, mate? - Yeah.
You OK? I'll give you a hand, OK? OK.
Will all non-involved personnel please clear the area.
I repeat: Will everybody who has no business to be here
please clear the area for your own safety.
This is a police announcement. Please keep right back...
- Sorry, gentlemen. No photographs. - Hey!
Sorry.
May I ask which of you is Dr Bukovsky?
I am.
- I'm Colonel Caine. - From the SAS?
That last remark is not for publication. This is a D-notice situation.
Not too close.
And this was murder,
you say?
Tell me again how the girl overpowered you.
She...
It was the most overwhelmingly feminine presence I've ever encountered.
- I was drawn to her on a level that... - Was it sexual?
Yes. Overwhelmingly so.
And horrible.
- Loss of control. - And the guard was dead in the room.
- You found him as he is now? - He...
And the girl? She came from the ship - Churchill?
She spoke to you.
- In English? - That's right.
How would she know English?
Now, going back, you say the ship's tapes were destroyed in the fire.
They weren't destroyed. That's what we were told to tell the public.
- They were erased. - Erased?
Also, the Churchill's escape pod is missing.
- So did someone escape? - We don't know.
Unfortunately, the condition of the bodies make an accurate count impossible.
- Could the heat have launched the pod? - No, no, no.
What started the fire?
The ship's oxygen system ignited. It was a terribly hot fire.
Yet you say the three cases containing the bodies were untouched.
- That's correct. - Where were they found?
In the bay where the space tug was stored.
Where everything else was charred.
Incredible, is it not?
Have you examined the cases?
Using every technique we have.
X- ray scans of the cases yield only blurred images.
What does that mean?
They're not precisely physical objects. More like a sort of force field.
We're a bit out of our depth here.
- The whole thing is... - Yes, I know.
Incredible.
Have they done an autopsy yet on the guard? No, I suppose not.
What about your two other bodies?
Colonel, may I be excused?
I'm feeling a little more nauseous than I thought.
Yes, of course.
I notice from your door, Dr Fallada, that your area is biochemistry.
- But I understand your real interest is... - Death, Colonel Caine. Correct.
Thanatology's the name for it. Death for you, Colonel, is a bureaucratic problem.
Who did it? When and why did they do it? A problem to be solved. Am I correct?
- And for you? - Well, I'm fascinated by death itself.
What happens as we die, when we die, after we die.
- You mean life after death? - Yes.
- Is there? - What?
Life after death?
Do you really want to know?
No.
But to answer your question, yes, I think there is.
If I am correct, the life force is conserved always and in all things, even after death.
You think that applies to what's happened tonight?
Yes.
Yes, I do.
I think that girl, creature,
drained energy, life force,
partially from Bukovsky and totally from the guard.
- A vampire? - It could be described that way, yes.
I mean, in a sense, we're all vampires. We drain energy from other life forms.
The difference is one of degree.
That girl was no girl.
She's totally alien to this planet and our life form.
And totally dangerous.
Jesus!
- D'you believe those blokes are alive? - I'm not paid to believe nothing, am I?
I believe they're alive.
Don't look bloody dead to me.
We've had some trouble, but it's under control. You'd better come down.
Yes, sir. Very good, sir.
It would appear these two are no longer dangerous.
Well, there's certainly no possibility of doing a full autopsy on them.
I'd like to examine the guard.
- Have they started the autopsy yet? - I believe so, sir.
This is an autopsy on the body of a young man, dead approximately two hours.
- Did you say he was about 20? - Yes, that's correct.
Get the colonel down here quickly!
God!
- Put him in an isolation cell, quickly! - Sergeant!
I had no idea it could be passed on.
What do you suggest?
I recommend you place the body in a cell. Two hours ago the guard was attacked.
I won't be at all surprised if we're seeing a pattern.
- Do as he says. - Yes, sir.
Also, I want the two bodies that were shot. Collect the pieces and watch them.
Get me the home secretary on the line now.
- Call for the colonel, sir. - Sir, you have a call.
Caine.
I'll be right there. They've just found a body in Hyde Park. A naked girl.
They say she's in an indescribable condition. Could that be your girl?
- Well? - That's not her.
- Inspector, what about the two boys? - Yes, they were in the park earlier, sir.
Yeah, we saw her. I think.
Earlier.
Any rate, that looks like her hair. Cor, what a mess.
- Was she alone? - No. She was with a dark-haired girl.
Real good-looking bird. Didn't have a lot of clothes on.
We thought they might be, you know...
Yes. Did you see where the dark-haired girl went?
- No. - No, we didn't.
We angled on back to see if we could, you know, see 'em doin' something.
- That's when we found her. - When?
- Half an hour ago. - This lad phoned us. Then we called you.
Thank you, Inspector.
Obviously the work of the girl.
Can we have this body sent back to the centre?
Yes, I suppose that's a good idea.
Inspector, tell me if you find anything else. We'll take her back.
Very good, sir.
Now she has clothes.
There's something I want you to see, sir.
Dr Hans Fallada, Sir Percy Hestletine, the home secretary.
You're just in time.
It's exactly two hours.
This is the guard who was originally overcome by the space girl.
As I feared. Once transformed,
the victims need regular infusions of energy, otherwise...
Otherwise what?
Oh, my God!
Dear God!
And down here we have the pathologist who was attacked by the guard.
- See? - He too needs feeding.
The same thing will happen to that girl we found in the park in about one hour.
- She's the last? - Any further reports, Kelly?
No, sir. We're set up to get the calls the instant one comes in.
- What? - Nothing.
You say these creatures were brought back from the Churchill!
Yes, but not this one. She's a victim of the creatures.
Yes, yes. But where did the Churchill acquire them?
- We have no way to determine that. - Perhaps that's changing.
- What? - I received a call from a JPL in Pasadena.
The Goldstone tracking disc picked up what they think
is Churchill's escape pod... re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.
- Where? - Texas.
OK, easy, easy.
Over there. All right, take it easy now.
Hey, buddy, are you all right?
Where? Walter Reade Army Hospital.
Is he hurt?
Just exhausted, you say. Well, get him the hell over here!
Colonel Carlsen, they're expecting you, sir.
Colonel Carlsen, sir.
Tom.
- I thought you were dead. - Bukovsky.
Colonel Carlsen, allow me to introduce Colonel Caine of the Special Air Services.
- How do you do? - You already know Dr Fallada.
Colonel.
Take a seat, won't you?
I'm sorry to drag you over here like this, Tom.
I'm sure you'd rather be recuperating with a pretty nurse.
Tom, we must know what happened on the Churchill.
Yes, of course.
It may be... very difficult for you to accept what I'm going to say.
We'll have very little difficulty believing anything you tell us, Colonel. Do go on.
- You know something? - There was a fire aboard the Churchill.
You might be interested to know the three humanoids were not destroyed in the fire.
They survived in their cases.
They were brought to London, and the female has escaped.
She's killed three people already.
Oh, my God!
So, Colonel, whatever you have to tell us is rather pressing.
Please tell us what happened.
We found the bodies aboard the alien spacecraft.
What alien spacecraft
Colonel, take it from the beginning. Assume we know nothing,
which is understating the matter.
We approached within 9,000 miles of Halley's Comet,
when we detected an object in the comet's coma.
After we discovered the bodies, we transferred 'em to the Churchill.
We have in tow the three humanoids and one bat-like thing.
This is Churchill. We copy. Welcome back.
- Gotten through to Earth yet, Rawlings? - No, sir. And the comet's tail's heating up.
- What's the matter, Derebridge? - I don't know, Tom.
- I feel drained. - Do you?
I feel invigorated. You OK?
Yeah. I'm fine.
OK.
Everybody back to their stations.
Let's get the hell outta here.
On the trip back to Earth the crew began to die,
one by one.
Rawlings, the radio officer, was the first to go.
He denied knowledge of what he had done.
I don't remember.
Rawlings.
Besides myself, you're the only one that's been up here in the last hour.
I've been feeling weak recently. Not myself.
Just... don't remember.
We found Rawlings' body the next day.
Exactly how did he die, Colonel?
The life just drained out of him.
One by one,
the rest of the crew began to die.
Somehow,
I don't know how,
I held out.
It just seemed to be a matter of will,
I always thought.
The girl...
Yes? The girl.
I can't remember.
What I remember next is the view out of the observation window.
Coming into Earth's orbit.
I couldn't expose the world to what we'd brought back with us.
I was determined to destroy them all.
It was the hardest thing I ever did.
We understand.
- It must have taken great courage... - No, you don't understand.
Part of me didn't wanna leave.
She killed all my friends and I still didn't wanna leave.
Leaving her was the hardest thing I ever did.
Colonel Carlsen looks exhausted to me. I think we should let him get some sleep,
- continue with this later. - Very well.
Thank you, Colonel.
NASA tracking and ours
have just reported an unusual structure leaving Halley's Comet.
- It's headed for us. - What is it?
Radar ranging reports the object is a needle-like shape, 150 miles long.
Its present course projects out into a perfect Earth orbit in just over two days.
And I've just received a call from the prime minister.
There's going to be a meeting at Downing Street. The PM wants answers.
Close your eyes.
You're giving me your life.
You're taking it.
You're draining me.
You're taking too much of me.
It was a dream... It was a dream.
- What dream, Carlsen? - The girl. She visited me.
Visited you? Visited you how?
In my mind.
She... she... she...
She has some kind of mental contact with me.
- She's draining me. - Tell us about the dream, Carlsen.
I can't. It's gone.
It's faded. I can't remember.
- Have you ever been hypnotised? - No.
D'you mind if I have a go? It may help you with your dreams.
Yeah. Let's try it.
- Not now. He's too exhausted. - Fine, fine. In the morning.
Just stare at it until your eyes feel tired, then close them.
You'll feel very tired,
very sleepy.
She seems to... speak to me in my dreams.
She...
the girl... I feel...
What do you feel for her, Carlsen?
I feel very... close to her.
Is she in touch with you?
I feel...
as if my mind...
is not entirely my own.
If she is in contact with your mind, perhaps you are in contact with hers.
Can you see her? Can you see where she is?
Yes.
Where is she now, Carlsen?
A place... I don't know the name of it.
She's walking.
She has a different face... but it's her.
A different face? How can that be?
She's usin' a different body.
- What is she doing? - She's looking for a man.
What man?
Any man. A healthy man.
- Does she intend to kill him? - No.
- Why not? - She's afraid of being caught.
- How could she be caught? - The body'd give her away.
- So what is she hoping to do? - She wants to...
draw some energy from him.
- Not enough to kill him. - She can do that?
Yes.
There's another mind.
Yes.
The girl's name... is Ellen.
You mean there are two people in one body? Two minds?
Ellen and the vampire.
Yes.
She's watching a man.
What is the man doing?
He's parked. Doin' something with his car.
Licence number.
Can you see the licence number of his car?
Yes.
Read it out.
FMC...
129E,
or R.
What is the make of the car?
A white Volvo.
What is she doing now?
- They're driving. - Does she ask him his name?
She's...
pullin' her skirt...
over her knees.
She's...
putting his...
his hand...
on her... on her leg.
FMC 129E, or possibly R,
belonging to a white Volvo.
The driver of the car picked up a girl named Ellen.
I have to know who the girl is and where we can find her.
She's connected with the case.
I can't explain over an open line.
Thank you.
- Is he telling the truth about the girl? - Well, we'll soon see.
How brilliant, if she is moving from body to body, mind to mind,
taking only a small amount of energy from each victim.
It makes sense that we are finding no new victims. She's hoping to leave no trail.
If the girl is no longer in her original body, where is her body?
- Hidden. - Let's find it.
Supposing you're right about all of this...
What about that ship up there? What's it doing?
We can't know that, but we've got to assume the worst.
- Maybe they're like vampires of legend. - How's that?
They would carry their earth with them, in their coffins.
Wouldn't they?
We have the three-metre feed from Hawaii. Here it comes.
Put it on screen number one.
Coming in, 240,000 miles...
My God! It's immense.
I say, Hugh, do you have that skin-tissue sample I asked for?
Oh, good.
Yes, of course I'll follow containment procedure.
He's here now. And, Hugh, send in that soldier, please.
Oh, thank you.
Dr Fallada?
Yes, one moment, Sergeant. Thank you for coming round.
I'll be with you shortly.
Bloody awful job chasing that car.
It belongs to a man named Ned Price, who lives in Yorkshire.
We have him under detention now.
- What about the girl? - She was a nurse named Ellen.
Ellen something or other. He doesn't know her other name.
He dropped her off at Thurlstone Hospital after spending the afternoon with her.
He was most reluctant to talk about it. The man's totally exhausted.
Thurlstone? Isn't that an asylum of some sort?
Yes. For the criminally insane.
How do you do, home secretary? I'm Dr Armstrong, director of the hospital.
Will you come with me to my office?
- What a cold night. - Bitterly cold.
This is the nurses' house.
Ellen Donaldson is number five.
Thank you.
- Shouldn't I introduce you? - I'd rather you didn't.
Come along, Dr Armstrong. You and I have several matters to discuss.
- Yes, who is it? - Miss Donaldson, I'm Colin Caine.
Dr Armstrong brought me over. I'd like to talk to you. May I come in?
Yes?
- What do you want? - I'm Colin Caine.
This is Colonel Carlsen, United States Air Force.
May we come in and talk to you?
We have seen Dr Armstrong.
May I sit down?
I want to ask you about the man you spent the afternoon with - Ned Price.
- I don't know what you're talking about. - I think you do.
- Let me see your hand. - I beg your pardon?
You're in there, aren't you?
- I don't know. - Tell me!
No!
Carlsen!
- It's gone from her. It's in another body. - How do you know?
I can see it... in her mind.
She's resisting. I'm gonna have to force her to tell me.
Despite appearances, this woman is a masochist. An extreme masochist.
She wants me to force the name out of her.
She wants me to hurt her. I can see the images in her mind.
D'you wanna stay? Otherwise wait outside!
Not at all. I am a natural voyeur.
Are you in there?
Are you there?
Let go.
Now. Now!
Now!
- Well? - I've got a physical description.
- Send someone to see Nurse Donaldson. - Is she all right?
If I described an inmate, could you identify him?
Possibly.
Big man, fat, grey hair, birthmark on his face.
Jeffrey Sykes, the child murderer.
- Where did you get his description? - Where is he now?
He's in solitary confinement. He's been naughty.
- What is this about? - What we're looking for has moved.
- We could be here some time. - I'd better call London.
- May I use your telephone, Doctor? - Certainly.
- We have to see Sykes now. - Couldn't this wait until the morning?
Oh, all right. I'll arrange it.
Anything to oblige, Commander.
I wish this were not so mysterious.
If the police are involved, haven't I a right to know?
I mean, if you're going to start messing about with my patient.
Dr Armstrong, I sympathise with your position.
However, I can tell you that it is a matter of national security.
I see.
But shouldn't I be present in any case to represent the interests of my patient?
- You see... - Can I talk to you for a second?
The man has the IQ of a child of four.
That's a decision I'm afraid I shall have to defer to Colonel Caine.
Yes, of course you can come along. Can we start now?
- What are you going to do to him? - I'd like to hypnotise him.
- What's that? - Pentothal and morphine.
I'd recommend it for pre-hypnosis and patient management.
Well, he seems quiet.
- We're ready when you are. - Lamson.
Sir.
- Can the injection be dangerous? - He should have no difficulty tolerating it.
There's always a risk, sir.
May I have that?
Well, I'll wake him up.
- What are you doing? - Stay there!
He's sick. Lamson, help us. I can't explain now.
There's our killer, Sir Percy.
It's madness.
I want to question him before it wears of.
Up the ramp, sir.
We need to be alone for a minute, Lamson.
- How the devil did you know it was him? - In the nurses' quarters he touched me.
I saw into his mind.
- What? - The colonel appears to be able
to see into the minds of people who have been possessed by the girl creature, sir.
It happens when I touch 'em.
Let's get him on the table.
How? How do you know she's still inside Armstrong?
- What's to prevent her from moving? - She's trapped.
- I can feel that. - Are you sure?
No.
Lamson, can you bring me another dose of the hypnotic drug?
I suppose so, sir. One dose is usually enough.
This is not a usual situation.
- How long does this stuff last? - A dose like that, a couple of hours.
We'll definitely need more.
- Bring me three doses. - Three!
I'll take responsibility, Lamson. Sir Percy and myself. Get on with it.
Yes, sir.
Is a second dose safe? Surely it can strain his heart.
Look.
You don't know what we're dealing with here.
If he slips out from under,
she'll escape.
Armstrong.
Can you hear me?
Armstrong, if you can hear me, just say yes!
Lt...
It... won't let me...
talk to you.
Armstrong!
Can you see what it is that's holding you prisoner?
Yes... yes...
- She... - Tell her she has to talk to me!
Tell her!
Yes!
Pentothal. I brought the Pentothal.
Thanks, Lamson. That'll be all.
Hold him.
There's no need for that. No need.
You in there?
Can you still hear me?
- Can you get into his mind? Her mind? - Not with this drug. It's like a wall.
- Perhaps you've given him too much. - Shut up!
Listen, you bitch,
I'll keep you in this state for weeks if I have to. Now, you talk to me.
Carlsen, be with me.
- What do you want from me? - I love you.
What are you? Why are you so human? So perfect?
- What are the bird creatures on the ship? - Our bodies are unimportant.
As you and your men approached in your ship, we changed them. For you.
We entered your minds and found there new bodies.
I took my shape from your mind.
I took your language.
I became the woman I found there,
in your deepest thoughts, your deepest needs.
I am the feminine in your mind, Carlsen.
Where are you?
Where's your body?
Let me go! Let me go!
- Touch me, Carlsen. - Let me go.
Let me go.
- It's already spreading. - How?
- You didn't stop it. It's too late. - But we've been half a step behind her.
Sir, this gentleman's stopped breathing.
There's no pulse either.
Sir, I think his neck is broken.
Prepare two stretchers. One for Sir Percy and one for Dr Armstrong.
Prepare all your remaining doses of the drug for travel.
You said the thing hadn't stopped, it was still spreading.
- Why did you say that? - I don't know.
Could the girl have been deliberately leading us away from London?
Is it possible we didn't find all of her victims?
If we didn't find all the victims, if there are others...
- The thing would spread. - In a chain reaction, geometrically,
until by now...
Oh, Christ.
Lieutenant, can we use the radio to get through to the SRC in London?
Just a moment, sir. There's something coming through.
Here's the SRC, sir, for you and Carlsen.
- Go ahead. - Caine, can you hear me?
Fallada, speak up. I can't hear you.
The two males didn't die.
They jumped to the bodies of the two soldiers,
and transferred the soldiers' bodies into their own likenesses.
That's how they differ from their victims.
Their victims can't leave their bodies. Only the original three can.
But I've killed one of them.
- One of which? - One of the two male vampires.
One of the transformed ones.
- How did you kill him, Fallada? How? - The old way, Carlsen.
A leaded metal shaft penetrating not through the heart,
but through the energy centre two inches below the heart.
Not steel, but leaded iron.
Right, Carlsen?
Are you there, Carlsen?
Yes.
Carlsen! You too, Caine.
It is my belief that the vampires of legend came from creatures such as these.
Perhaps even from these very creatures.
I know it sounds incredible.
Do you hear me, Carlsen?
It's more than a belief, Fallada.
It's true.
They visited Earth before.
- What about the other male, Fallada? - He's free.
- You have the girl? - Yes. We'll be with you soon. Hold on.
We'll try.
This came through, sir.
- What is it? - A scrambled cryptogram.
It's to Sir Percy from the prime minister. We're to go to the citadel at Whitehall.
Caine...
Lieutenant, the controls!
Carlsen.
We've lost her. She's gone!
- Where? - Her body's in London.
Where in London?
Carlsen, you've got to tell me what happened,
what really happened on the Churchill.
It wasn't Rawlings who destroyed the radio equipment and the ship's tapes.
- It was me. - Why?
I didn't want the Churchill to be able to reach Earth.
If it did, I wanted no one to know what happened.
What did happen?
I opened her sealed animation case.
Either I did or she did it.
I couldn't help myself. I've never experienced such...
I was in love on a level you've never known, Caine.
It terrifies me.
My memory plays tricks on me.
She was calling me.
Her power was... spiritual.
She wanted me, Caine.
It was more than spiritual.
She took some of my energy.
And she gave me some of her energy.
They must have been living off of each other when we found 'em.
There were only three of 'em left.
She killed all of my men...
one by one.
But I survived.
She wanted me to survive.
She chose me.
Why? Why?
Carlsen, she's not human. She's not a woman.
She'll destroy you.
She's destroyed worlds.
There's something you might want to hear, sir. A special bulletin from the BBC.
It's obvious that London is on the brink of the worst devastation since the Blitz.
From where I'm standing, I can see large areas of the city burning out of control
and thousands of people are rampaging through the streets
in a frenzied last effort to avoid the plague.
Martial law has been enforced now for three hours, but it hasn't stemmed...
- We've been expecting you. - Thank you. Carry on.
- Carry on, Sergeant. - Right, sir. Round the other side.
Is everything ready for the cabinet to evacuate?
Please take a seat, gentlemen.
Sir, I have Colonel Caine and Colonel Carlsen here for you, sir.
Very good. The prime minister will see you shortly.
- Would you care for a cup of tea? - No. Our business is rather urgent.
I'm sure the prime minister understands that.
- Gentlemen. - Prime minister. I'm Colonel Caine.
And you've heard of Colonel Carlsen, late of the Churchill.
Yes, indeed. Gentlemen, I look forward to hearing your report.
- By the way, where is Sir Percy? - Dead, I'm afraid.
Oh, it's a great pity.
Sir, we have information regarding the object in space bearing down on Earth...
Yes, yes, gentlemen. Look, if you'll excuse me just... just for a moment.
Miss Haversham, please come this way.
Miss Haversham, here for a moment.
I'll be back, gentlemen. I'll be back.
Miss Haversham.
Miss Haversham... Miss Haversham.
Please!
- Mind his head. - Somebody get the doctor immediately!
Hey, what's happening down there?
We need a doctor!
Go! Go!
- Lieutenant, dyou have any weapons?! - No, sir. There is a flare pistol, sir.
- Where is it? - Close the breech and it's ready to fire!
Sir, while you were with the PM, I had a call from base operations.
The city's now under martial law. We're under NATO command.
- NATO? - Yes, sir.
My unit's been mobilised to a staging area at Blackheath.
Land at the SRC. We've got to talk to Fallada.
I've been ordered to land at Blackheath. The city's under air quarantine.
If we don't do as they say, they'll shoot us out of the air.
Hello, Zero. This is X-ray 318 requesting clearance to land. Over.
Zero, roger. X-ray 318, you are cleared to land.
Come away from the aircraft. You are under quarantine.
Over here please, sir.
- Don't come any closer. Stop there! - I want to see your commanding officer.
I am Colonel Caine, Special Air Service. And this man is Colonel Tom Carlsen,
United States Air Force and former commander of the Churchill.
C- company, be on stand-by.
Is Dr Hans Fallada here from the SRC? He knows who we are and what's going on.
No, not that I know of.
- Has anybody heard of him? - No.
He must still be in London.
Colonel, what do you know about what's happening?
All we know for certain is that a terrible plague of some sort is sweeping London.
The incubation period appears to be two hours,
and until that time has elapsed I cannot release you from this compound.
Colonel, we know what the plague is. We are not infected.
I know what I'm talking about and we're wasting valuable time!
We have totally isolated London in order to stop further contagion.
If that fails and the surrounding areas are threatened...
Yes?
Sterilisation by thermonuclear device has been approved.
We have this from General Ames in Brussels.
He's coming up with that decision in... just under three hours.
Have you heard anything about the ship?
- The ship? - The thing from Halley's Comet.
It's parked itself in a geostationary orbit directly over London.
All those little blue lights going up toward the clouds.
They're human souls.
- How do you know that? - I feel it.
The process of conversion releases a life energy. Then it can be collected.
Collected?
Is that what the umbrella is? A collector?
The energy doesn't go free. It goes up there.
The male vampire is collecting life energy.
But he has to send it through her to get it up to the collector.
Where is she, Carlsen?
Over there. I get flashes coming from her body.
It's sensitive to its environment. It picks up things.
- Can you find her? - If I can get across to the city.
- What about the male? - He'll come, if he senses I've found her.
- She's drawing me, Caine. - Carlsen.
I've gotta go.
- Why? - She wants back the energy she gave me.
When they take on a new life form, they have to learn from that life form.
Mate with it, in a sense.
The girl chose me.
But when she mixed with me she gave me a part of herself.
And now she wants that part back.
- Any sign of activity in your sector, over? - No, sir.
- OK. Keep me posted. - Colonel! Colonel, listen to me.
Carlsen believes he can locate the source. There are only two carriers.
If we can destroy them, it may not be necessary to destroy London.
But we only have an hour and a half.
Cease firing!
Carlsen!
- Where's Carlsen? - He took an armoured Land Rover.
Bloody hell! Did he say where he was going?
He wanted to know where the SRC was. Rogers told him.
- Next I knew I was on the ground. - Right. Whose is this car?
That's the colonel's, sir.
- Give me the keys! - What?
You heard! Give me the keys. I'm commandeering the car.
Give it to him.
And your side arm!
Are you sure you know what you're doing?
You realise once you're inside there, we can't allow you out.
Caine, SAS. I'm crossing the river.
- You don't want to go in there, sir. - I know I don't.
Get them gates in position. Secure this post. Move!
Carlsen... Carlsen.
Carlsen...
Carlsen... Carlsen...
- Fallada? - Caine.
I'm glad to see you alive.
I reciprocate the sentiment.
Is he really dead... this time?
The only way they can be killed.
- Where's Bukovsky? - Dead.
How?
Like the rest.
How did you survive?
You're looking for Carlsen.
- Has he been here? - No.
- Perhaps he misled you. - What do you know about it?
- I've been doing some more work. - Go on.
I discovered
there is life after death.
How do you know?
There is a certain mental transference, telepathy,
that occurs between the vampires and their victims.
Carlsen is after the girl.
- How did you know that? - I...
I seem to sense it.
Where is she, Fallada?
Don't you know?
- Carlsen knows. - Where, Fallada?
She's in the cathedral.
She's been there since she escaped.
Rather a nice touch, don't you think?
The crypt of kings and queens.
Stay where you are.
Stay where you are!
Here I go.
I knew you would come, Carlsen.
I'm here.
Now can this madness end?
Come.
Be with me.
I need you.
It was always intended you should find us and bring us to Earth.
The web of destiny carries your blood and soul
back to the genesis of my life form.
Come.
Be with me.
Come with me, Carlsen.
It'll be much less terrifying if you just come to me.
I'll do just that.
Carlsen!
What are these feelings? Why do I feel so close to you, need you?
Because you're one of us.
You always have been. You're like me. Be with me.
Just a little more... Just a little more!
Carlsen!
Caine!