Original subtitles

Narrator: H.G. WELLS ENVISIONED MIND-BLOWING ADVANCES

IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN TERRIFYING DETAIL

AND BECAME HAUNTED BY ONE QUESTION...

WILL MANKIND ANNIHILATE ITSELF?

ARE WELLS’ NOVELS PROPHESIES OF AN ADVANCED HUMAN RACE

OR PREDICTIONS OF ITS EXTINCTION?

HE TOOK VICTORIAN SCIENCE AND PROPELLED IT INTO THE SPACE AGE.

Carroll: HE ALWAYS HAD IN ALL OF HIS STORIES A BACKDROP

NOT ONLY OF WHAT SCIENCE WILL DO IN THE FUTURE,

BUT WHAT HUMANS WILL DO WITH SCIENCE.

[ PEOPLE SCREAMING ]

Scott: TOMORROW BEGINS WITH A SPARK OF IMAGINATION,

A FLASH OF INSIGHT

THAT DEMOLISHES YESTERDAY’S LIMITATIONS

AND INSPIRES TECHNOLOGIES TO CREATE NEW WORLDS.

I’M RIDLEY SCOTT, AND THESE ARE THE PROPHETS OF SCIENCE FICTION.

YOU’VE GOT TO BE LOOKING AT A MAN

WHO’S COMING OUT OF INDUSTRIAL, VICTORIAN ENGLAND.

WHAT A VISION TO HAVE AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME.

TO PUT THAT TOGETHER, THOSE IMAGINARY WORKS TOGETHER,

I THINK WAS ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE.

HIS PREDICTIONS THAT HE STARTED PROBABLY IN THE 1890s

WERE ALL COMING TRUE.

Narrator: 29-YEAR-OLD H.G. WELLS IS SEARCHING FOR INSPIRATION

FOR HIS LATEST STORY.

HE LIVES IN A WORLD

WHERE THE FIRST MOTION-PICTURE CAMERA HAS JUST BEEN INVENTED,

AND THE LATEST IN TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY IS A BICYCLE

WITH CHAIN DRIVE AND PNEUMATIC TIRES.

BUT WELLS IMAGINES SOMETHING MORE ADVANCED.

SCENES APPEAR BEFORE HIM FROM HIS NOVEL IN PROGRESS.

FUTURISTIC IMAGES OF WORLD DESTRUCTION...

[ WHIRRING ]

"THE WAR OF THE WORLDS."

[ WOMAN SCREAMS ]

HE WENT BICYCLING AROUND THE COUNTRYSIDE IN SURREY

MARKING OUT VARIOUS SITES FOR DESTRUCTION BY THE MARTIANS

AND INVENTING WHAT HE CALLED

"PAINFUL AND ECCENTRIC WAYS IN WHICH TO KILL MY NEIGHBORS."

Narrator: AS POWERFUL STORIES TAKE SHAPE IN WELLS’ MIND,

HE DRAWS ON A LIFELONG INTEREST IN SCIENCE TO FUEL HIS FICTION.

HERBERT GEORGE WELLS WAS BORN IN 1866

IN THE TOWN OF BROMLEY NEAR LONDON.

Narrator: THE YOUNGEST CHILD IN A LOWER-MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILY,

HE IS PULLED FROM SCHOOL AT 13 AND PUT TO WORK,

BUT WITHIN THREE YEARS,

HE EARNS A SCHOLARSHIP TO CONTINUE HIS EDUCATION.

Wells: HE STUDIED SCIENCE AT COLLEGE,

WENT ON TO BECOME A SCIENCE TEACHER,

BUT THEN BECAUSE OF ILLNESS,

ACTUALLY DISCOVERED HE COULDN’T CARRY ON BEING A TEACHER,

AND SO HE TURNED TO WRITING.

VERY INTERESTING KIND OF DICHOTOMY IN H.G.

BECAUSE HE WAS BOTH A CREATIVE MAN AND A MAN OF SCIENCE.

Narrator: WELLS CONJURES VISIONS OF SCIENTIFIC HORROR

THAT WILL BECOME THE HALLMARK OF AN EMERGING LITERARY GENRE.

Kaku: I WOULD SAY THAT H.G. WELLS WAS PERHAPS

A CENTURY AHEAD OF HIS TIME.

IN FACT, HE HELPED TO CREATE SCIENCE FICTION.

HE ALWAYS HAD IN ALL OF HIS STORIES A BACKDROP

NOT ONLY OF WHAT SCIENCE WILL DO IN THE FUTURE,

BUT WHAT HUMANS WILL DO WITH SCIENCE...

THE DIRECTION IN WHICH HUMANITY WAS GOING.

HE WASN’T JUST WRITING THINGS ’CAUSE THEY WERE COOL.

HE REALLY WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THE IMPLICATIONS WERE.

Narrator: WELLS LIVES AT A TIME

OF EXCITING SCIENTIFIC SPECULATION.

IN 1877, MARS IS POSITIONED ESPECIALLY CLOSE TO EARTH.

ITALIAN ASTRONOMER GIOVANNI SCHIAPARELLI

REPORTS SEEING CANALI ON MARS.

HE MEANS "CHANNELS,"

BUT THE TERM IS MISTRANSLATED AS "CANALS."

WELLS’ IMAGINATION IS IGNITED

BY THE IDEA OF LIFE ON THE RED PLANET,

BUT IT IS HERBERT’S BROTHER WHO PROVIDES INSPIRATION.

ONE DAY HE WAS HAVING A CONVERSATION

ABOUT THE BRITISH EMPIRE WITH HIS OLDER BROTHER FRANK,

AND, IN PARTICULAR, THE TWO OF THEM WERE RECALLING

THE GENOCIDE OF THE NATIVE TASMANIANS BY BRITISH SETTLERS

IN THE 19th CENTURY.

HIS BROTHER SAID TO HIM,

"SUPPOSE SOMEBODY WERE TO DROP OUT OF THE SKY RIGHT HERE

"AND START LAYING ABOUT US

THE WAY WE LAID ABOUT THE TASMANIANS."

AND THAT SPECULATION BY HIS BROTHER GAVE WELLS

THE GERM OF THE IDEA FOR "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS."

Narrator: IN WELLS’ MOST FAMOUS NOVEL,

HUMANITY IS ON THE VERGE OF ANNIHILATION.

Crossley: "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS" DEPICTS

A SUDDEN, TOTALLY UNEXPECTED INVASION OF THE EARTH

BY MARTIANS, WHICH LAND

ALL AROUND THE COUNTRYSIDE IN GREATER LONDON.

Narrator: MARTIANS STALK THE EARTH

INDISCRIMINATELY TARGETING HUMANS WITH DEADLY HEAT RAYS.

IT IS A BLEAK VISION OF SCIENCE PERVERTED

THAT WILL RESONATE DOWN THE DECADES.

WELL, MY CONFRONTATION WITH H.G. WELLS

WAS REALLY WHEN I WAS REALLY YOUNG...

PROBABLY 12, 13, OR 14, SOMETHING LIKE THAT...

WHEN I SAW "WAR OF THE WORLDS."

I WAS COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY BY THAT,

AND THAT WAS FOR ME, FOR 10, 15 YEARS,

PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT MOVIE

THAT I’D EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE.

AFTER I SAW THE ORIGINAL "WAR OF THE WORLDS"...

I WAS QUITE YOUNG, OF COURSE...

MY REACTION WAS TO BE SICK ALL NIGHT.

I WAS SO TERRIFIED.

THE IDEA THAT THERE COULD BE LIFE OUT THERE

THAT WAS SUFFICIENTLY INTERESTED IN OUR PLANET

TO MOUNT AN INVASION... WHAT AN IDEA THAT WAS.

Narrator: BUT WELLS HAD NOT ONLY CREATED A NEW TYPE OF FICTION,

HE HAD ACCURATELY PREDICTED A NEW TYPE OF WARFARE.

WELLS DEPICTS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN ENTIRE URBAN POPULATION

IS SUDDENLY UNDER THREAT FROM INVASION AND MASSACRE.

THAT ENDS UP PREFIGURING TO A REMARKABLE DEGREE

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WHEN CIVILIANS BECAME THE TARGETS

IN GLOBAL WAR.

Narrator: WELLS FEARS THE ABUSE OF SCIENCE

WILL HAVE APOCALYPTIC CONSEQUENCES.

HE FORESEES CHEMICAL WARFARE, TANKS, AND LASER WEAPONS.

THE HEAT RAYS THAT H.G. WELLS IMAGINES

IN "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS"

ARE DIRECTED FROM ROTATING LENSES,

AND THESE LENSES FOCUS A BEAM OF LIGHT INTENSELY

ON WHATEVER TARGET IT IS DIRECTED AT,

AND THAT TARGET WILL IMMEDIATELY BURST INTO FLAMES.

Narrator: IN WELLS’ TIME,

THE IDEA OF A HEAT RAY IS PURE FICTION,

BUT 19 YEARS AFTER "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS" IS PUBLISHED,

ALBERT EINSTEIN IDENTIFIES

THE THEORETICAL BASIS OF LASER TECHNOLOGY.

WITHIN DECADES, SCIENTISTS SUCCESSFULLY AMPLIFY

ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION TO A SPECIFIC FREQUENCY

AND BREATHE WELLS’ IMAGINATION INTO LIFE.

TODAY LOW-WATTAGE LASERS ARE EVERYWHERE...

FROM POINTERS TO DVD PLAYERS

TO INDUSTRIAL AND SURGICAL CUTTING TOOLS.

DEFENSE CONTRACTORS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY

TO CREATE A REAL HEAT RAY FOR THE MILITARY.

I DID READ H.G. WELLS WHEN I WAS A KID.

I READ HIS "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS."

THE IDEA OF ALIENS COMING DOWN WITH HEAT RAYS...

IT WAS A TERRIFYING CONCEPT BUT ALSO A COMPELLING CONCEPT

IN TERMS OF "CAN THAT REALLY BE DONE?"

Narrator: ROB GREGORY IS NOW DIRECTOR OF LASER TECHNOLOGY

AT TEXTRON SYSTEMS IN MASSACHUSETTS.

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FUNDS MULTIPLE PROGRAMS

TO DEVELOP LASER WEAPONS.

IN ONE VERSION, LASERS WOULD BE USED

TO ZAP INCOMING MISSILES AND MORTARS OUT OF THE SKY.

THE TERMINOLOGY YOU’LL HEAR IS "SPEED-OF-LIGHT ENGAGEMENT."

IF YOU CAN ENGAGE AN OBJECT OF INTEREST OR A TARGET

WITH THE SPEED OF LIGHT,

THEN THERE’S ESSENTIALLY NO DELAY

BETWEEN WHEN YOU DECIDE TO FIRE

AND WHEN YOU START TO ENGAGE THAT TARGET.

A LASER’S EFFECT ON ALMOST ANYTHING

IS TO PUT AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF ENERGY IN A VERY SMALL AREA.

Narrator: TEXTRON HAS DEVELOPED AN ADVANCED PROTOTYPE

THAT IT TESTS IN A HIGH-SECURITY ENVIRONMENT.

Man: THE LASER POWERS THAT WE’RE INVOLVED WITH

ARE DANGEROUS.

IT’S SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT TO DO

UNDER VERY CAREFULLY CONTROLLED CONDITIONS,

SO WE’RE USING TV CAMERAS

SO THAT WE CAN KEEP AN EYE ON WHAT’S GOING ON THERE.

Narrator: THE LASER IS AIMED AT A SPECIAL TARGET

CAPABLE OF ABSORBING THE HIGH ENERGY.

THE LASER FIRES OVER 100 KILOWATTS OF DIRECTED POWER...

ENOUGH ENERGY TO SHOOT A PLANE OUT OF THE SKY.

THERE ARE ALREADY LASERS IN USE

THAT CAN DISABLE SLOWER TARGETS...

...BUT TEXTRON ENGINEERS PREDICT THAT IN AROUND FIVE YEARS,

LASERS WILL BE READY TO PICK OFF ENEMY MISSILES IN MIDFLIGHT.

WHEN H.G. WELLS WROTE "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS,"

THE GATLING GUN, THE MACHINE GUN

WAS, PERHAPS, THE MOST ADVANCED FORM OF MILITARY HARDWARE.

100 YEARS AFTER "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS,"

WE NOW HAVE MILITARY LASERS EVERY BIT AS POWERFUL

AS THE HEAT RAYS IN "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS."

Narrator: BUT IN "WAR OF THE WORLDS,"

IT IS NOT OUR WEAPONS THAT ULTIMATELY DEFEAT THE MARTIANS.

IT’S OUR BIOLOGY.

WELLS DOES A SURPRISING THING.

THE MARTIANS, WHO HE’S TREATED

AS THESE MONSTROSITIES BENT ON TAKING OVER THE EARTH,

ACTUALLY BECOME QUITE MOVING AND TRAGIC FIGURES

AS THEY BEGIN TO DIE.

Narrator: THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR...

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY DOES NOT NECESSARILY EQUAL INVINCIBILITY.

ONE CAN STILL SUFFER ANNIHILATION

FROM THE UNEXPECTED.

IN MOST WELLS’ TALES,

DESTRUCTION STEMS NOT FROM AN OUTSIDE ALIEN FORCE,

BUT FROM OUR OWN DARK NATURE.

WELLS WRITES OF HOW WE ARE CAPABLE

OF CREATING EXTRAORDINARY INVENTIONS

AND, YET, WE ARE ALSO LITTLE MORE THAN ANIMALS.

IT IS A PROPHETIC PARADOX WELLS WILL EXPLORE IN HIS STORIES

AND DRAMATICALLY CONFRONT IN HIS OWN LIFE.

Narrator: IT’S 1891, AND H.G. WELLS IS RUNNING LATE.

HE’S SCHEDULED TO MEET FRANK HARRIS,

PUBLISHER OF THE PRESTIGIOUS JOURNAL "FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW."

THANK YOU FOR AGREEING TO SEE ME.

SURE.

HARRIS IS PERPLEXED BY WELLS’ LATEST SUBMISSION,

A SCIENTIFIC ESSAY TITLED "THE UNIVERSE RIGID."

FRANK HARRIS WAS NOT GOING TO ACCEPT THE SECOND ESSAY

AND TOLD WELLS, "I DON’T UNDERSTAND SIX WORDS OF IT."

Narrator: WELLS HAS ATTEMPTED TO DESCRIBE

A FOUR-DIMENSIONAL TIME/SPACE UNIVERSE...

THREE PLANES OF SPACE AND A FOURTH, TIME.

THIS IS A PROOF OF CONCEPT OF A FOURTH DIMENSION...

THAT’S TIME.

Carroll: TIME AS A FOURTH DIMENSION JUST MEANS

THAT IN ORDER TO LOCATE SOMETHING IN THE UNIVERSE,

YOU HAVE TO TELL ME THREE NUMBERS FOR WHERE IT IS IN SPACE

AND A FOURTH NUMBER FOR WHEN IT IS IN TIME.

YOU LOOK FORWARD...

Narrator: BUT WELLS IS TOO FAR AHEAD OF HIS TIME.

THIS IS 10 YEARS BEFORE EINSTEIN

WOULD PUBLISH HIS SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY.

MR. WELLS... I-I-IT’S...

I WISH YOU LUCK ON THIS...

THIS IS AN IDEA, WHICH COULD SPAWN...

WELLS’ EFFORTS TO EXPLAIN HIS ESSAY ARE FUTILE.

Crossley: AT THAT POINT,

WELLS BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT, FOR HIM,

THE BEST WAY TO CONVEY IDEAS WAS REALLY IN THE FORM OF FICTION.

Narrator: THE FOURTH DIMENSION BECOMES THE FOUNDATION

OF WELLS’ DEBUT NOVEL, "THE TIME MACHINE."

Carroll: IT IS INCREDIBLE THAT WELLS WAS ABLE TO WRITE A BOOK LIKE THIS

IN THE 1890s.

WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT RELATIVITY.

IN 1890s, PHYSICS WAS STILL ACCORDING TO ISAAC NEWTON.

"THE TIME MACHINE" IS ONE

OF THE GREATEST WORKS OF SCIENCE FICTION OF ALL TIME.

NOT ONLY DID IT SPIN OFF

A THOUSAND OTHER NOVELS AND MOVIES,

IT ALSO REACHES RIGHT INTO OUR HOPES AND DREAMS.

EVERYONE HAS ASKED THAT QUESTION.

"WHY AM I A PRISONER OF TIME?"

Narrator: IN WELLS’ 1895 MASTERPIECE,

A MAN JOURNEYS MANY MILLENNIA INTO THE FUTURE.

THERE HE DISCOVERS

THAT HUMANS HAVE EVOLVED INTO TWO DISTINCT SPECIES...

THE IDLE ELOI PURSUE A CAREFREE EXISTENCE,

THE SUBTERRANEAN MORLOCKS BREED ELOI LIKE CATTLE

FOR THEIR OWN CONSUMPTION.

FOR WELLS, THE STORY IS A COMMENT

ON BRITAIN’S WIDENING GAP BETWEEN THE SOCIAL CLASSES.

WHAT WE FIND IN "THE TIME MACHINE"

ARE ESSENTIALLY THE DESCENDANTS OF UPSTAIRS AND DOWNSTAIRS

FROM THE 1890s,

EXCEPT THAT IN MANY WAYS, THE ROLES HAVE NOW SWITCHED,

AND IT’S THE MORLOCKS

WHO ARE CALLING THE SHOTS IN THE FAR FUTURE.

Narrator: COULD WE EVER BUILD A MACHINE

THAT COULD REALLY TRAVEL THROUGH TIME?

SURPRISINGLY, MANY PHYSICISTS NOW SAY YES.

ONE WAY WOULD BE TO FIND OR CREATE A WORMHOLE.

A WORMHOLE IS A SHORTCUT THROUGH SPACE AND TIME.

LET’S SAY I TAKE A SHEET OF PAPER

AND I MARK TWO POINTS ON IT.

USUALLY, YOU HAVE TO GO ACROSS THE PAPER

TO GO BETWEEN THESE TWO POINTS.

BUT NOW IF I WARP THE FABRIC OF SPACE AND TIME,

I CAN HOP ACROSS

AND THEREBY TAKE A SHORTCUT THROUGH SPACE AND TIME ITSELF.

Narrator: ANOTHER SOLUTION

LIES IN TRAVELING CLOSE TO THE SPEED OF LIGHT.

THERE’S ONE FORM OF TIME TRAVEL

THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY EXECUTE EVEN TODAY.

THAT IS TAKE AN ASTRONAUT, PUT HIM IN A ROCKET SHIP,

AND SPEED HIM TOWARD THE SPEED OF LIGHT.

IN A ROCKET SHIP,

TIME BEATS SLIGHTLY SLOWER THAN ON THE PLANET EARTH.

AS HE ORBITS THE EARTH AND COMES BACK,

HE’S ACTUALLY A FRACTION OF A SECOND YOUNGER

THAN HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE EARTH.

THE FASTER YOU’RE GOING, THE LESS TIME IS BEING ELAPSED,

SO, YES, YOU CAN MAKE ONE YEAR TO PEOPLE BACK HERE ON EARTH

LAST A DAY FOR YOU... OR A MINUTE OR A SECOND.

IT’S JUST HOW CLOSE YOU CAN GET TO THE SPEED OF LIGHT.

PHYSICISTS AREN’T ABLE TO PROVE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER

WHETHER OR NOT IT’S POSSIBLE

TO ACTUALLY TRAVEL BACKWARDS IN TIME.

WE SUSPECT IT’S NOT POSSIBLE, BUT IT’S AN OPEN QUESTION.

Narrator: IF IT WERE POSSIBLE TO GO BACKWARDS IN TIME,

WE MIGHT OPEN UP A METAPHYSICAL PANDORA’S BOX.

IT’S KNOWN AS THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT.

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT IS WHEN

THE FLAPPING OF THE WINGS OF A BUTTERFLY

CREATES A GENTLE WIND

WHICH THEN EVENTUALLY CASCADES INTO A THUNDERSTORM.

SO, WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU GO BACKWARDS IN TIME

AND AFFECT BUTTERFLIES?

THEY CAN HAVE A RIPPLE EFFECT

WHICH THEN CREATES A SITUATION WHERE THE PRESENT IS IMPOSSIBLE.

Narrator: THEN, THERE’S THE GRANDFATHER PARADOX.

SIMON WELLS DIRECTED THE 2002 FILM VERSION

OF HIS GREAT-GRANDFATHER’S NOVEL.

Wells: THE PROBLEM WITH TIME TRAVEL

IS WHAT’S KNOWN AS THE GRANDFATHER PARADOX.

AND I CAN ILLUSTRATE THAT BY SAYING,

"IF I WENT BACK TO THE 1890s

AND KILLED H.G. WELLS BEFORE HE HAD CHILDREN..."

THEREFORE, HIS SON WOULDN’T HAVE A SON,

AND HIS SON WOULDN’T GIVE RISE TO ME...

"THEN HOW WOULD I EXIST

IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO GO BACK AND MURDER HIM?"

Narrator: "THE TIME MACHINE"

IS WELLS’ FIRST IN A SERIES OF BEST SELLERS,

BUT AS HIS FAME AND FORTUNE GROW,

HIS PERSONAL BEHAVIOR SHOCKS HIS VICTORIAN PEERS.

WELLS MARRIES HIS FIRST COUSIN ISABEL AT AGE 25.

IT WAS A DISASTROUS MARRIAGE, AND HE ALMOST IMMEDIATELY BEGAN

TAKING UP A RELATIONSHIP WITH A STUDENT OF HIS

NAMED AMY CATHERINE ROBBINS.

Narrator: IT’S ONLY THE FIRST

OUT OF SCORES OF NOTORIOUS AFFAIRS.

HE CAUSED SCANDALS WITH HIS NUMEROUS LOVE AFFAIRS,

SOME OF WHICH WERE QUITE PUBLIC.

HE FATHERED THREE ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN.

SO, IN HIS PRIVATE LIFE, WELLS WAS TRULY A SCANDALOUS FIGURE.

Narrator: THE TENSION

BETWEEN PUBLIC VIRTUE AND PERSONAL MORALITY

IS A PREOCCUPATION OF WELLS.

WHEN FREED FROM THE NORMAL CONSTRAINTS OF SOCIETY,

WILL MAN TURN TOWARDS GOOD OR EVIL?

IT IS A QUESTION WELLS ASKS OFTEN IN HIS LIFE

AND MOST FAMOUSLY IN HIS 1897 NOVEL "THE INVISIBLE MAN."

LONG CONSIDERED ONE OF WELLS’ GREATEST UNFULFILLED PROPHESIES,

INVISIBILITY IS NOW BEING REALIZED RIGHT BEFORE OUR EYES.

Narrator: IN THE SUMMER HEAT OF 1895,

WELLS IS WRITING "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS,"

BUT A NEW WORK IS FORMULATING... ONE WITH A PROVOCATIVE THEME.

WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING, DO GOOD MEN BECOME EVIL?

WHAT WOULD PEOPLE DO IF THEY COULD BECOME INVISIBLE?

WELLS FINDS HIS INSPIRATION UNDER THE SEA,

A WORLD TEEMING WITH STRANGE CREATURES.

SOME ARE TOO SMALL TO BE SEEN BY THE NAKED EYE.

OTHERS, SUCH AS THE JELLYFISH, ARE SIMPLY TRANSPARENT.

THE STORY WELLS WILL TELL

EXPLORES THE SCIENTIFIC PHENOMENON OF INVISIBILITY,

BUT IT IS ALSO A MORALITY TALE.

"THE INVISIBLE MAN" IS A DARK STORY.

THE GUY WHO MAKES HIMSELF INVISIBLE

IS A VERY ANGRY AND VIOLENT CHARACTER.

LET’S FACE IT.

THAT’S A SUPER POWER WHICH IS GIVEN TO SNEAKING AROUND

AND DOING UNDERHAND STUFF.

Narrator: IN "THE INVISIBLE MAN,"

A FORMER MEDICAL STUDENT NAMED GRIFFIN

DISCOVERS THAT BY MODIFYING

THE REFRACTIVE CAPABILITIES OF LIGHT,

OBJECTS SEEM TO DISAPPEAR.

INVISIBLE, GRIFFIN IS FREE

TO MOVE THROUGH THE WORLD UNDETECTED

AND PLOTS A REIGN OF TERROR OVER HIS NEIGHBORS.

THAT DIDN’T JUST DEAL

WITH "HOW COOL WOULD IT BE TO BE INVISIBLE?"

IT DEALT WITH A LOT OF NEGATIVES

OF "IF YOU’RE INVISIBLE, CHANCES ARE YOU’RE GONNA GO LOONY."

HE GOT IN ALL SORTS OF TROUBLE BECAUSE, BASICALLY,

HE WAS SUGGESTING

THAT IT’S NOT GONNA BE A GOOD THING NECESSARILY

IF A PERSON HAD THE ABILITY TO BE INVISIBLE.

Narrator: DESPITE WELLS’ WARNING,

SCIENTISTS ARE DEVELOPING NEW SYNTHETIC MATERIALS

THAT MAY MAKE TRUE INVISIBILITY A REALITY.

THE PENTAGON IS NOT STUPID.

THEY’VE DUMPED BILLIONS OF DOLLARS

PERFECTING WEAPONS SYSTEMS LIKE STEALTH BOMBERS,

AND THEY’RE NOT EVEN INVISIBLE TO ORDINARY LIGHT.

NOW WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE REAL McCOY...

AN OBJECT THAT WILL TOTALLY DISAPPEAR

EVEN UNDER VISIBLE LIGHT.

Narrator: THE U.S. AIR FORCE IS FUNDING PROFESSOR XIANG ZHANG

AND HIS COLLEAGUES AT U.C. BERKELEY.

THE BERKELEY TEAM HAS PERFECTED A METHOD

FOR MAKING OBJECTS INVISIBLE TO THE EYE

USING A NEW TECHNOLOGY CALLED "METAMATERIALS."

METAMATERIALS CAN BE USED TO MAKE THING INVISIBLE

OR PARTIALLY INVISIBLE BY VIRTUE OF CONTROLLING

HOW LIGHT IS REACHING THAT OBJECT

AND COMING BACK TO OUR EYES.

NOW, IMAGINE YOU USE A METAMATERIAL CLOAK DEVICE

ON TOP OF THAT OBJECT,

AND WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT THE LIGHT,

AS IT’S APPROACHING THAT OBJECT,

YOU JUST DIVERT IT, AND WITHOUT HITTING THAT OBJECT,

IT COMES BACK TO YOUR EYES AS IF NOTHING EXISTED THERE.

Narrator: LIGHT IS DIVERTED AROUND A MINISCULE OBJECT

THAT IS COVERED WITH A METAMATERIAL CARPET CLOAK...

A SILICON MATERIAL THAT IS PERFORATED

WITH A SPECIAL PATTERN OF TINY HOLES.

THESE HOLES ALTER THE SPEED AT WHICH LIGHT TRAVELS

SO THE LIGHT IS REFLECTED IN SUCH A WAY

THAT THE OBJECT COVERED BY THE CLOAK IS INVISIBLE TO THE EYE.

THIS IS A ZOOMING OF HOW THE CLOAK ARE MADE,

AND THE LIGHT COMES IN HERE

WHERE THE LIGHT’S SPEED CAN BE ACCELERATED OR DECREASES,

AND THEN WHEN THEY COME OUT, THEY ARE ALL IN THE SPEED AGAIN.

SO, THAT’S HOW WE ACTUALLY HIDE THINGS UNDER HERE

AS A CLOAKING DEVICE.

Narrator: PRESENTLY, THE CLOAK IS VERY SMALL.

IT CAN ONLY HIDE AN OBJECT

100 TIMES THINNER THAN A HUMAN HAIR.

USING A MICROSCOPE,

THE TEAM CAN WATCH THEIR CLOAK MAKE AN OBJECT INVISIBLE.

Zhang: WE’RE NOW ACTUALLY CONDUCTING A CLOAKING EXPERIMENT.

MAJID IS ROUTING A LASER INTO A MICROSCOPE

INTO THE CLOAKING DEVICE.

Narrator: WHEN A LASER BEAM FIRST STRIKES A FLAT MIRROR,

IT REFLECTS AS A SINGLE POINT.

AN OBJECT PLACED IN THE LASER’S PATH

CAUSES THE LASER LIGHT TO SCATTER.

AN OBJECT PLACED AS A SINGLE POINT

BUT RATHER AS SEVERAL INDISTINCT POINTS.

BUT WHEN THE TEAM

COVERS THE OBJECT WITH THEIR INVISIBILITY CLOAK,

THE LIGHT IS SLOWED AND DIVERTED,

AND THE LASER AGAIN APPEARS AS A SINGLE POINT,

AS THOUGH IT WERE REFLECTING OFF THE FLAT, EMPTY MIRROR.

SO, CHRIS IS WORKING ON MONITORING

WHAT LIGHT COMING OFF FROM THE CLOAK.

THIS IS WHAT HE SEE...

A SINGLE LIGHT SPOT AS IF FROM A FLAT MIRROR.

FOR NOW, SCIENTISTS

ARE ONLY ABLE TO CONSTRUCT TINY INVISIBILITY CLOAKS,

BUT IF XIANG ZHANG AND HIS TEAM

SUCCEED IN SCALING THE TECHNOLOGY,

THEY WILL HAVE CREATED A NEW KIND OF WEAPON

UNLIKE ANYTHING BEFORE IT...

ONE THAT COULD BE USED BY SPIES AND SPECIAL FORCES

OR BY BANK ROBBERS AND TERRORISTS.

THE ONLY CONCERN WOULD BE THE ABUSE THAT MAY GO WITH THIS,

AND THAT’S SOMETHING THAT SCIENTISTS NEED TO PREVENT.

IT’S GONNA CHANGE A LOT OF THINGS IN OUR LIVES.

AS MANY OF THE TECHNOLOGIES,

THERE’S ALWAYS THE PLUS SIDE AND THE MINUS SIDE.

WE JUST HAVE TO BE VIGILANT OF WHAT WE ARE DOING.

Narrator: THE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE IMPACT OF A NEW TOOL

DEPENDS ON THE USER.

WELLS’ STORIES LEAVE LITTLE DOUBT ABOUT WHICH PATH

HE BELIEVES HIS FELLOW MAN WILL TAKE.

The Invisible Man: INVISIBLE MAN CAN RULE THE WORLD.

HE CAN ROB AND RAPE AND KILL! [ LAUGHS MANIACALLY ]

Narrator: WELLS’ OUTLOOK MAY HAVE BEEN COLORED

BY HIS UPBRINGING IN INDUSTRIAL ENGLAND.

THOSE FACTORIES BELCHING FILTH INTO THE STRATOSPHERE

IS NOT A PRETTY SIGHT.

AND SO, ANY STORYTELLER HAS A BIG STREAK OF ROMANCE IN HIM,

BUT THE ROMANTIC SIDE CAN BE VERY DARK.

I THINK, YEAH, HE LOOKS TOWARDS A DARK FUTURE.

Narrator: ON THE HINGE OF THE 20th CENTURY,

WELLS TURNS HIS DARK IMAGINATION TO MEDICAL PROGRESS.

HIS DISTURBING PREDICTIONS IN "THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU"

ARE TRULY HORRIFYING,

BUT MANY OF THEM ARE COMING TRUE TODAY.

Narrator: IT IS 1896.

H.G. WELLS IS WORKING ON A DISTURBING AND CAUTIONARY TALE.

"THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU" IS A DARK VISION OF NATURE

CORRUPTED BY AMORAL SCIENCE.

THE STORY IS ABOUT ANIMAL EVOLUTION

MANIPULATED AND PERVERTED BY A MADMAN.

THE IDEA IS BORN WHEN WELLS IS STILL A STUDENT

NOT LONG AFTER CHARLES DARWIN

INTRODUCES HIS THEORY OF NATURAL SELECTION.

HE STUDIED UNDER T.H. HUXLEY KNOWN AS DARWIN’S BULLDOG,

A GREAT DEFENDER OF THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION.

Narrator: WELLS COMES OF AGE

AT A TIME WHEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF BIOLOGY

IS EXPANDING BY OUR OPERATING ON LIVING ANIMALS

STRAPPED DOWN AND SOMETIMES AWAKE.

IT IS A MORALLY CONTROVERSIAL PRACTICE KNOWN AS VIVISECTION.

MOREAU IS A DISGRACED PHYSIOLOGIST

WHO FLEES ENGLAND FOR A REMOTE ISLAND.

IN AN OPERATING ROOM, MOREAU VIVISECTS ANIMALS

IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE THEM MORE HUMAN, SHOCKING HIS DETRACTORS.

THE SCIENTIST IS ADAMANT THAT HIS WORK IS ADVANCING SCIENCE,

BUT THE RESULTS ARE MONSTROUS...

A DOGMAN CRAFTED FROM A ST. BERNARD

AND A HYBRID OF A HYENA AND A PIG THAT CAN TALK.

IN "THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU" H.G. WELLS MODIFIES ANIMALS

TO GIVE THEM THE PROMETHEAN GIFT OF INTELLIGENCE,

BUT HE ASSUMES,

AS PIERRE BOULLE DOES IN "THE PLANET OF THE APES,"

THAT WE’LL DO IT BADLY,

THAT WE’LL OPPRESS AND ENSLAVE THESE CREATURES

INSTEAD OF MAKING THEM FELLOW CITIZENS.

HE DOES THIS IN ORDER TO DO THE CAUTIONARY TALE.

Narrator: "THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU"

IS WELLS’ SCIENTIFIC TAKE

ON THE ANCIENT MYTH OF CHIMERAS...

HUMAN/ANIMAL HYBRIDS.

TODAY CHIMERAS ARE MYTH NO LONGER.

DR. ESMAIL ZANJANI

IS HARD AT WORK AT HIS UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA LAB

CREATING HUMANIZED SHEEP.

WHEN WE FIRST OBSERVED THE HUMANIZATION

OF SOME OF THESE ORGANS,

IT WAS REALLY LIKE SCIENCE FICTION TO US.

Narrator: ZANJANI’S GOAL IS TO CREATE SHEEP

WITH ORGANS SUITABLE FOR TRANSPLANT INTO HUMANS.

TO INDUCE THIS HUMANIZATION,

ZANJANI INJECTS HUMAN STEM CELLS INTO AN UNBORN SHEEP FETUS.

THE HUMAN CELLS GESTATE, AND THE LAMB IS BORN

WITH ORGANS PARTIALLY COMPRISED OF HUMAN CELLS.

WE FOUND ALMOST EVERY TISSUE WE LOOKED AT

WAS PARTIALLY HUMANIZED.

BY INCREASING THE DOSE OF STEM CELLS WE PUT IN

AND THE NUMBER OF TIMES WE INJECTED THE FETUS,

WE WERE ABLE TO GET INCREASED AMOUNT OF DONOR HUMAN CELLS

INTO THESE ORGANS.

WE FEEL THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY INCREASE THE LEVELS

ABOUT 26%, 27%, MAYBE 30%.

Narrator: ON THE SURFACE,

ZANJANI’S CHIMERAS LOOK LIKE REGULAR SHEEP...

Zanjani: THIS IS THE EXPERIMENTAL FARM FACILITY

OF WHERE WE KEEP OUR SHEEP.

THESE ANIMALS HAVE LARGE AREAS TO WALK AROUND IN THE PASTURE

AND ENJOY THEMSELVES.

Narrator: ...BUT BIOLOGICAL TESTS

REVEAL THE ANIMALS’ TRUE CHIMERIC NATURE.

Zanjani: WHAT YOU SEE HERE ARE GROUPS OF ANIMALS

THAT WERE TRANSPLANTED IN UTERO WITH HUMAN STEM CELLS.

AFTER BIRTH, YOU LOOK AT THESE ANIMALS

TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE CHIMERIC.

IF YOU NOTICE, ON THE BACK OF EACH ANIMAL,

YOU CAN SEE A SITE WHERE WE’VE TAKEN BONE MARROW CELLS

TO DETERMINE WHETHER HUMAN BLOOD CELLS EXIST.

Narrator: IN SOME EXPERIMENTS,

A SHEEP’S BRAIN IS PARTIALLY HUMANIZED,

WHICH LEADS TO THE QUESTION ZANJANI IS ASKED MOST...

DO HUMAN CELLS CAUSE THESE SHEEP TO ACT LIKE HUMANS?

Zanjani: IN THE SCIENCE-FICTION PART

OF "THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU,"

IT SEEMS THAT THE ANIMALS HAVE TRANSFORMED,

WHEREAS, ACTUALLY, IN THESE STUDIES, THERE IS NO CHANGE

IN THE OVERALL BEHAVIOR OF THESE ANIMALS.

THEY REMAIN SHEEP FOR THE LIFE OF THE ANIMAL.

Narrator: ZANJANI HOPES TO EVENTUALLY USE

A PATIENT’S ACTUAL STEM CELLS

TO CUSTOM-GROW HUMANIZED ORGANS INSIDE SHEEP.

THE THEORY IS THAT THESE ORGANS

WILL BE LESS LIKELY TO BE REJECTED AFTER TRANSPLANT.

EVEN BEFORE BIRTH, THESE ANIMALS HAVE LIVERS

THAT ARE READY FOR POSSIBLE TRANSPLANT.

THE QUESTION IS WHETHER THESE ORGANS CAN BE USEFUL

IN A CLINICAL SETTING

AND TO START TREATING PATIENTS WITH DIFFERENT NEEDS.

Narrator: ZANJANI IS AWARE

OF THE ETHICAL COMPLEXITIES OF HIS WORK.

GENERALLY, IF A SCIENTIST CAN DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS,

SHOULD THEY GO AHEAD AND DO IT?

I THINK THESE ISSUES HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED AT SOME POINT

BY THE SOCIETY AS A WHOLE.

Narrator: IT’S POSSIBLE THAT WELLS WOULD AGREE.

WELLS OFTEN DRAMATIZED THE BAD CHOICES

IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO REALIZE

THAT THEY DO, INDEED, HAVE CHOICES

ABOUT HOW THEY WILL USE THIS NEW SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE.

HE NEVER WANTED TO DISCOURAGE RESEARCH,

BUT HE ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW "TO WHAT END?"

Narrator: THE SCIENCE IN "THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU"

IS SHOCKINGLY PRESCIENT,

BUT ON THE EVE OF WORLD WAR I,

WELLS’ BLEAK VISION OF SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENT MISUSED

MANIFESTS IN THE MOST TERRIFYING PREDICTION IN HUMAN HISTORY.

WELLS WAS THE FIRST TO TAKE THE APOCALYPTIC NOTION

THAT HUMAN BEINGS MIGHT BRING ABOUT THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION

AND WE MIGHT DO IT WITH OUR OWN DARN TOOLS.

Narrator: BETWEEN 1895 AND 1898,

H.G. WELLS WRITES FOUR NOW-CLASSIC NOVELS

EXPLORING FANTASTIC POSSIBILITIES...

FROM MARTIANS TO TIME TRAVEL TO INVISIBILITY.

BUT AT THE DAWN OF THE 20th CENTURY,

A MATURING WELLS GROWS CONSUMED WITH A PRESSING REALITY...

CONFLICT BETWEEN NATIONS.

Scott: I THINK THERE’S A LOT OF FORESIGHT REALLY GOING ON.

YOU HAD TO BE LOOKING

AT THE INDUSTRIAL EMPIRES THEN OF ENGLAND, CERTAINLY,

HEADING TOWARDS ITS PEAK AND THE INDUSTRIAL EMPIRES OF GERMANY.

SO, YOU HAD TO BE LOOKING AT THAT, AS WELL,

AND LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, GLOBAL DOMINANCE.

Narrator: WELLS’ STORIES BEGIN TO FORESHADOW

THE MECHANIZED BRUTALITY OF WAR IN THE 20th CENTURY.

Crossley: H.G. WELLS TOOK CREDIT

FOR INVENTING THE IDEA OF THE TANK,

WHICH HE DID IN A SHORT STORY CALLED "THE LAND IRONCLADS"

PUBLISHED IN 1903.

Narrator: HE EXPANDS HIS PREDICTIONS

IN A BOOK CALLED "THE WAR IN THE AIR."

HE FORESEES THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

SIX YEARS BEFORE THE DOGFIGHTS OF WORLD WAR I.

IN MANY WAYS, WELLS WAS ANTICIPATING IN THAT 1908 NOVEL

THE WIDESPREAD USE OF AERIAL WARFARE.

Narrator: BUT WELLS’ DARKEST PROPHESY

WILL CHANGE THE COURSE OF HUMAN HISTORY.

Kaku: THE BIGGEST PROPHETIC HIT IN ALL OF SCIENCE FICTION

TOOK PLACE IN 1914 WITH "THE WORLD SET FREE."

H.G. WELLS PREDICTED THAT, IN 1933,

A PHYSICIST WOULD COME UP WITH THE IDEA OF AN ATOMIC BOMB.

THE DECAY OF RADIUM WAS ONLY JUST DISCOVERED.

THE NOTION THAT THIS COULD RESULT IN POWER,

THAT THIS COULD RESULT IN A WEAPON...

THAT’S AN AMAZING HIT.

THAT’S THE SORT OF THING THAT MAKES A GUY LIKE ME JEALOUS.

Narrator: WELLS’ PROPHETIC SCIENCE FICTION

IS FIRMLY ROOTED IN SCIENCE FACT.

Rhodes: WELLS HAD BEEN AN ASTUTE READER

OF THE LATEST SCIENCE JOURNALS AND PAPERS,

AND HE KEPT UP WITH WHAT WAS NEW.

AND HE WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN THE WORK

OF AN OXFORD UNIVERSITY-BASED CHEMIST, ACTUALLY,

NAMED FREDERICK SODDY.

Narrator: ON THE EVE OF WORLD WAR I,

THE 48-YEAR-OLD WELLS READS

FREDERICK SODDY’S SCIENTIFIC TREATISE

"THE INTERPRETATION OF RADIUM."

RADIUM IN ITS METALLIC FORM GLOWS IN THE DARK,

SO THE QUESTION IN EVERYONE’S MIND IMMEDIATELY WAS

"THIS THING ISN’T PLUGGED INTO A WALL,

"DOESN’T HAVE A GAS PIPE LEADING INTO IT.

WHERE’S ALL THE ENERGY COMING FROM?"

Narrator: SODDY POSITS THAT ATOMIC ENERGY

COULD SOMEDAY SUPPLY ALL THE WORLD’S POWER.

Rhodes: BUT WELLS WAS A DIFFERENT KIND OF PERSON.

WELLS WOULD START THINKING ABOUT, "WELL,

WHAT’S THAT GOING TO CHANGE IN THE HUMAN WORLD?"

Narrator: WELLS FEARS THAT ONCE MANKIND TAPS THE POWER OF RADIUM

AND HARNESSES THE ENERGY THAT FUELS THE SUN,

HUMANITY WILL INEVITABLY USE THAT POWER

TO DESTROY RATHER THAN CREATE.

IN "THE WORLD SET FREE,"

WELLS WRITES OF A WEAPON FUELED BY RADIOACTIVITY.

"THE WORLD SET FREE" DEPICTS A GLOBAL WAR

IN WHICH ENTIRE CITIES ARE ANNIHILATED BY ATOMIC BOMBS,

AND WELLS INVENTED THE TERM "ATOMIC BOMB" FOR THIS NOVEL.

Narrator: HAVING SEEN MANY OF HIS OWN PREDICTIONS

VIOLENTLY REALIZED IN WORLD WAR I,

H.G. WELLS BECOMES A LEADING VOICE FOR PACIFISM.

IN 1920, WELLS TRAVELS TO RUSSIA

AS AN ADVOCATE FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE,

BUT HIS EFFORTS ARE TO NO AVAIL.

Crossley: WELLS’ "THE WORLD SET FREE"

IS A FASCINATING EXAMPLE OF A BOOK

THAT ACTUALLY CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY.

Rhodes: THE LITTLE-KNOWN HUNGARIAN PHYSICIST

NAMED LEO SZILARD

EARLY ON WAS FASCINATED WITH H.G. WELLS’ BOOK.

HE REALIZED THAT IT WAS REALLY PROPHETIC,

BUT THE QUESTION IN HIS MIND AS A PHYSICIST WAS

"WAS THERE A REACTION THAT COULD MAKE AN ATOMIC BOMB?"

Narrator: SZILARD DETERMINES

THAT A CHAIN REACTION OF SPLITTING ATOMS

CAN CREATE A BOMB OF UNPARALLELED DESTRUCTIVE FORCE.

Rhodes: IT SUDDENLY DAWNED ON HIM

THAT IF YOU COULD FIND A PROCESS

WHERE YOU GOT ENERGY OUT OF ONE NUCLEUS OF AN ATOM

BUT ENOUGH PARTICLES TO HIT 2 MORE NUCLEUSES

AND BREAK THEM UP AND THEN 4 AND THEN 8 AND THEN 16

AND 32 AND THEN 64, THAT’S THE CHAIN REACTION PROCESS.

IF YOU COULD DO THAT,

YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO MAKE A BOMB OF UNSURPASSED ENERGY

AND DESTRUCTIVENESS.

Narrator: BY THE SUMMER OF 1939,

ADOLF HITLER HAS SEIZED CONTROL OF AUSTRIA AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA

AND IS DEMANDING MORE TERRITORY.

FEARING WHAT COULD HAPPEN

IF THE THIRD REICH CONCEIVES AN ATOMIC WEAPON,

SZILARD WRITES A LETTER TO WARN PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT.

ALL RIGHT, HOW COULD HE GET TO THE PRESIDENT?

WHO KNEW THE PRESIDENT? AH, HIS FRIEND ALBERT EINSTEIN.

SO, HE WENT TO SEE EINSTEIN,

AND EINSTEIN AGREED THAT THIS WAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM

AND AGREED THAT HE AND LEO WOULD DRAFT A LETTER TOGETHER

THAT THEY WOULD MANAGE TO FIND A WAY

TO GET TO PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT, AND THEY DID.

Crossley: AND THE RESULT OF THAT LETTER TO ROOSEVELT

WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE MANHATTAN PROJECT

AND THE U.S. DEVELOPMENT OF THE ATOMIC BOMB.

Narrator: 1945.

AMERICA DROPS TWO ATOMIC BOMBS ON GERMANY’S ALLY JAPAN.

WELLS’ PREDICTION OF THE NUCLEAR AFTERMATH

IS HORRIFICALLY ACCURATE.

HE ENVISIONS RADIOACTIVE VAPOR

DRIFTING MILES FROM THE BOMBSITE,

SCORCHING ALL IT TOUCHES.

JUST AS WELLS IMAGINES AN UNINHABITABLE NO-MAN’S LAND

SURROUNDING THE TARGETED CITIES IN "THE WORLD SET FREE,"

HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI ARE DOOMED TO SPEND YEARS

AS A RADIOACTIVE WASTELAND AFTER THE A-BOMB.

BUT THE THREAT OF ATOMIC FALLOUT

IS STILL YEARS AWAY FROM THE 1920s

WHEN WELLS TURNS HIS ATTENTION FROM DESTRUCTIVE

TO CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY... THE EMERGING FIELD OF CINEMA.

HE DECIDES TO ADAPT HIS OWN WORK INTO A MOVIE SCRIPT,

AND FROM THE SILVER SCREEN,

H.G. WELLS ONCE AGAIN PROPHESIZES WORLDWIDE HAVOC,

BUT THIS TIME, HE SEES A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL.

Narrator: THE YEAR IS 1927.

THE BIGGEST BOX-OFFICE DRAW IS A SCIENCE-FICTION FILM,

FRITZ LANG’S SLEEK VISION OF THE FUTURE, "METROPOLIS."

H.G. WELLS DOES NOT SHARE THE PUBLIC’S ENTHUSIASM.

HE IS UNIMPRESSED BY THE FILM’S EFFECTS

AND CHIDES IT FOR LACKING ORIGINALITY.

WELLS SETS OUT TO CRAFT HIS OWN CINEMATIC FUTURE,

SCRIPTING THE 1936 FILM, "THINGS TO COME."

HE WAS THEN 70 YEARS OLD AND DELIGHTED IN THE NOTION

THAT HE COULD BRING HIS MESSAGE TO THE MASSES

THROUGH A CINEMATIC VERSION OF "THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME."

Narrator: 1940, AN UNNAMED ENEMY AIR FORCE

DROPS BOMBS OVER LONDON, CAUSING THE OUTBREAK OF A NEW WORLD WAR.

WELLS’ PREDICTION OF A NEW WAR BEGINNING IN 1940...

OF COURSE, COMES VERY CLOSE TO THE TRUTH

ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

HIS DEPICTION IN THE FILM VERSION "THINGS TO COME"

OF BOMBERS IN THE SKIES OVER LONDON

CERTAINLY REVERBERATED A FEW YEARS LATER

DURING THE LONDON BLITZ.

Narrator: EVENTUALLY, THE ENEMY USES ITS AIRPLANES

TO SPREAD A PLAGUE THAT ANNIHILATES MUCH OF HUMANITY,

FORESHADOWING THE CAPABILITIES OF MODERN BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS.

THE GLOBAL WAR LASTS DECADES

AND RESULTS IN THE COLLAPSE OF CIVILIZATION.

BUT EVEN THOUGH TECHNOLOGY CREATES THE GLOBAL DESTRUCTION,

IT ALSO PROVIDES A SOLUTION.

WITHIN A CENTURY, A COUNCIL OF ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS

ESTABLISH A ONE-WORLD GOVERNMENT,

AND EARTH’S POPULATION THRIVES.

WE SEE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A KIND OF TECHNOCRACY

THAT WELLS ALWAYS FAVORED

BUT THAT MANY OF HIS CRITICS FOUND CHILLING

AND HEARTLESS AND FRIGHTENING.

Narrator: H.G. WELLS

SEES SCIENCE AS MAN’S MOST POWERFUL TOOL

BUT WARNS USE TO USE IT WISELY... OR ELSE.

ON AUGUST 13, 1946, AT THE AGE OF 79,

HERBERT GEORGE WELLS DRAWS HIS LAST BREATH.

HE LEAVES BEHIND A RICH LEGACY OF SCI-FI TALES

THAT CONTINUE TO ENTERTAIN, INSPIRE, AND TO WARN HUMANITY

THAT AT ANY MOMENT, WE COULD SELF-DESTRUCT.

H.G. WELLS ACTUALLY CONSIDERED HIMSELF MORE OF A SOCIAL CRITIC

AND HISTORIAN THAN A FICTION WRITER

BECAUSE THERE’S A HIDDEN MESSAGE IN ALL OF HIS NOVELS.

WHOEVER HE WAS WITH... THIS IS WHY I LIKE HIM...

HE WAS CONTRARY.

IF HE WAS AROUND OPTIMISTS,

HE’D POINT OUT THE DEVASTATING FLAWS IN HUMAN NATURE,

AND WHEN HE WAS AROUND CYNICS,

HE WOULD TALK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES

THAT WE WOULD OVERCOME OUR RACISM, OVERCOME OUR SEXISM,

AND ALL THESE THINGS.

Carroll: H.G. WELLS WANTS TO PUSH THINGS TO THE LIMIT, RIGHT?

HE WANTS TO SAY, "IF WE KEEP GOING DOWN THIS PATH,

HERE’S WHERE WE’RE GOING TO END UP."

AND IT CAN BE A SHOCKING PLACE,

SO WELLS WANTS TO PROVOKE YOU A LITTLE BIT.

HE WANTS TO SAY, "LOOK, HERE’S WHERE WE COULD GO...

"NOWHERE CLOSE TO WHERE WE ARE NOW.

"BUT IF YOU WANT TO BE THERE OR DON’T,

YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT."

Scott: H.G. WELLS WROTE THAT MANKIND CAN’T ALWAYS BE TRUSTED

WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY.

WELLS WEAVED A CAUTIONARY TALE.

HE BELIEVED IN THE GREATNESS OF SCIENCE

BUT IN THE WEAKNESS OF MAN.