Forbidden World

Where are we?

Beta zone, X-quarter.

There's a pack of food raiders on our tail, sir.

My hands are numb.

Concentrate, sir, they're closing in.

Okay, give me scan six zero Charlie.

They're coming head on, fire the tracers.

Okay, switch this baby around.

Let's shake 'em up a little.

Pressure at five o'clock.

Watch our tail, Sam.

Here we go.

Steady.

Now!

What's with the lights?

It could be a central power leak.

Don't start on me, Sam, give me a hand.

It would leave us defenseless,

without the force field.

We haven't lost it.

I'll tie in the auxiliary power.

Got any wire?

I'm made of it.

Give me some.

How long was I under?

Back home, your son is older than you are.

Hope he turned out better than me.

You've done it, sir.

Higher, higher.

Good job, power is now surged.

Give me full throttle on the front vector

and check the force field.

Full throttle, sir.

Oh Lord Sam that's the mothership.

Force field, sir.

Lost it.

One alpha 65.

One alpha 60.

One alpha 52, 51.

Ignite the fusion bolts.

Five seconds to fusion reaction.

Fire!

Fire!

Fire!

Well done, sir.

Sir, we've received new orders while you were under.

It's bad news, sir, we're being diverted.

To where?

Xarbia.

Xarbia?

Where's that?

A planet.

They've had an accident

in a high-security lab there.

The federation requested you especially.

Very funny.

It's an order, sir.

All our leave time has been canceled.

They said you'd understand.

They said I was going home.

Maybe next year, sir.

Prepare for hyperspace.

Hyperspace?

Yes, sir.

Xarbia, sir.

Prepare for docking.

Searcher Seven to Xarbia Five, come in, please.

Roger, Searcher Seven, we see you, hold your course.

Roger, Xarbia, holding steady.

Where do you want us?

Enter code 65 cipher two pop up.

We'll strobe you in.

Gordon Hauser, head of research.

Mike Colby.

Of course.

This is my assistant, Dr. Glaser.

Barbara knows more about genetic synthesis

than anyone else alive.

Genetic synthesis.

Sounds like fun.

I've heard good things about you, Commander Colby.

Mike.

It's good to be here in your pleasant custody.

Commander and I...

Let's get started.

Good, follow me,

I'll show you around.

This is an A-priority, high-security research facility.

Actually it's a scientist's dream,

we have the best of everything here.

Except real estate.

Well, they put us here for two reasons.

One, because we're working on a bacteria

that's unique to this planet.

And two, because we can take experimental risks

here in isolation that would be unthinkable back home.

What kind of research do you do here?

Genetic engineering, bacteriological, mostly.

Our objective is to create an extremely productive,

entirely new food source,

and I would say that we've done that, too.

Uh huh, tell me about the accident.

Sorry.

Sorry.

Tracy, would you go find Jimmy, please,

and have him come to the lab?

Sure.

Sorry.

It's okay.

You're a new face around here.

We don't often get new faces.

That's the truth.

In here.

Okay, close your eyes.

You can get a nice tan in here on your day off.

Takes about 20 seconds.

What is this?

Microwave?

It kills every living thing on your body.

Keep it clean, that's the rule.

Nothing messy goes in, nothing messy comes out.

Isn't there a cancer risk?

Life here is full of risks.

Watch your step.

Welcome to the Garden of Eden, we play God here.

We create life, the only trouble is,

some of the life we create just won't behave.

Mike Colby, Cal Timbergen, chief of bacteriology.

He's a true genius.

One of the few.

Nice to meet you.

Thought we leave the mess until you got here.

Heard you liked messes.

Any sign of isolatory psychosis among the staff?

Not on our staff.

Wasn't staff, Colby, something got loose.

What got loose?

- Subject 20. - An experiment?

We created a little monster, I'm afraid.

Nothing to get excited about.

See for yourself.

It's in here.

Meet Subject 20.

Who put it in the incubator?

It put itself in the incubator.

What is it?

It's a metamorph.

- A what? - It's a metamorphic mutation.

It's like an ordinary mutant,

in that it's genetically different from its parent.

A metamorph goes it one better.

It keeps right on changing its genetic structure,

mutating again and again,

even as it grows and matures.

It's a genetic wildcat, it's totally unpredictable.

Best to keep that closed.

What is the gooey stuff?

It's a cocoon, interesting, huh?

Is it changing form in there, like a caterpillar?

It's changing into something, all right, God knows what.

Don't expect a butterfly.

This little thing did all that damage?

That little thing has a lot of energy.

Its metabolic rate is 50 times

that of any other known organism.

And we should get rid of it?

If we drop a few cc's of hydrocyanic acid in there,

we have a belly-up metamorph and I can go home.

I don't think you understand, Colby.

I understand perfectly, Doctor.

You're workin' outside of your charter.

Scientific research often takes us

into uncharted territory.

I'm not talkin' about territory, Doctor.

I'm talkin' about strange little creatures that kill.

I've got a motto, it moves and it's not one of us,

- shoot it. - Brilliant.

- Just what we need. - I'm not joking, Doctor.

I know when to play the game and I know when to bail out.

That thing is trouble, I can smell it.

Termination is not a solution.

He's right, Commander, give us a chance to fill you in.

Wait one night.

How come you're so much more convincing than he is?

I have such beautiful ideas.

Shall we discuss it over dinner?

Hungry?

I'm gettin' that way.

Jimmy. You can clean it up now.

Okay, no problem.

- Tracy. Why don't you join us? - Sure.

If the little terror does anything funny, give me a call.

Okay.

Security.

Earl, this is Jim in the lab, Hauser there yet?

Not yet.

When he gets there,

would you tell him to give me a call?

Tell him his baby's wakin' up.

Okay.