Original subtitles

[eagle screeches]

Could be an arrowhead.

There was some kind of settlement here.

This and 75 cents

Wouldn't buy you a coke at the Smithsonian.

-It's worthless. -[Natalie] Emmet?

[explosion]

Come here.

Take a look at these sonar soundings.

Take a look at that.

-[sonar radar scrambling] -That is definitely a structure,

50 feet under.

[Emmet] That could be almost anything.

A pocket of groundwater,

variations in the substrata.

Or it could be what we're looking for.

Natalie, this is the fifth site in two months.

There's no evidence of an advanced

Neolithic culture in this area.

Maybe we're not looking hard enough.

[horn honking]

Hey, guys, it's Curtis. Come on.

You owe me a dollar.

Man, if she was my wife, I'd have stayed away.

[Emmet] Hey, Natalie.

I'll be there in a minute.

[computer processing]

[tires squeal]

Hi, guys.

[Emmet] Welcome back to paradise.

What took you so long?

The weather was hell.

There were mudslides and washouts

all the way back from the landing strip.

The drive was supposed to take ten hours,

it took me 15.

Good to see you.

-How you doing? -Good.

[grunts]

Where's Nat?

Hi.

Is that all you got?

My plastic's completely maxed out.

No one will extend our credits,

so that's it.

Well,

at least you got the sat-phone.

The radio's been pulling in nothing,

but static for the last two days.

Maybe it's time we consider packing it in.

No, we're not finished yet.

I just located a new candidate site.

-Really? -Yeah.

But we'll have to do a bigger sounding

to pinpoint the location.

[Curtis] This whole region's soft shale--

-it's not stable. -I know the geology.

Guys, I need some more blasting gear.

[Faber] All right, I'll get it.

We were finished here a long time ago.

Believe me. Believe me, I know.

We're hot.

[explosion]

How's it look?

[Natalie] Hang on, I'm getting a fix.

[computer processing]

[Natalie] Come on, I know you're there.

What do you got?

[rustling]

I knew it, I knew it.

Look at it.

It's a cap stone.

What do you think of that?

It looks Neolithic.

[exhales] You're damn right--

[yells]

You okay?

[Natalie] Get the flashlight!

These stones were quarried.

[Curtis] This technology's way beyond

any Mound Builder sites I've ever seen.

[Natalie] This entire hill is a burial mound.

We were on top of it the whole time.

This must be the antechamber.

So, if the layout is typical,

the crypt entrance must be...

There.

[water dripping]

What do you think?

It was human. Homo sapiens, I think.

Looks like he was mutilated.

Yeah.

And so do they.

[ominous music playing]

My God.

What the hell is that?

[Control Voice] There is nothing wrong with your television.

Do not attempt to adjust the picture.

We are now controlling the transmission.

We control the horizontal and the vertical.

We can deluge you with a thousand channels

or expand one single image to crystal clarity

and beyond.

We can shape your vision

to anything our imagination can conceive.

For the next hour,

we will control all that you see and hear.

You are about to experience the awe and mystery

which reaches from the deepest inner mind

to The Outer Limits.

[Control Voice] Humans are driven

to explore their history,

to rediscover forgotten lives and times,

for deep down we have always known

that our past is often prologue.

It's incredible.

[Emmet] Looks like some kind of sarcophagus.

Maybe, but look at the texture.

It doesn't look manufactured.

[Natalie] It seems more like a natural material.

It's glassy.

Probably a fossilized resin

like amber or something.

[Natalie] Amber makes an excellent preservative.

[Curtis] Could be a mummification technique.

Like no one's ever seen before.

Feels like we're in grad school again.

We're a good team.

[Natalie] The cranium looks deformed.

That could suggest some traumatic incident.

You think?

Well, this could be a sacrificial altar of some kind.

If we were in Egypt, I'd say this was a Pharaoh

and these were poor bastards that built his tomb.

There is no single indigenous North American culture

with burial rites like this.

Until now.

Well...

you were right.

You found it.

Come on, we got work to do.

Let's bring all the gear down here.

I want all the diagnostic equipment

in the crypt ASAP.

We'll analyze the remains in situ.

Take the video and the still cameras.

How much film do we have?

It doesn't matter. We're gonna use everything.

Hey, Natalie, I was thinking,

we don't really have the right equipment

to deal with something this big.

Maybe we should bring in some help.

No, no.

Curtis, what do you think?

I've got this contacts at Ferritin Laboratories.

-They're good people. -[Natalie] Emmet.

They can be trusted to keep everything

strictly confidential.

Maybe Emmet's got a point.

I said no.

I don't want anybody near this place.

Not until we have documented everything ourselves.

And that's the way it's going to be!

-Sure. -Nat, Nat.

He's right,

this is too big for us to handle alone.

I don't see what's wrong with bringing in outside help.

Curtis, you know how I feel about this.

There's nothing to worry about.

This is your discovery.

No one's gonna take this away from you.

Yeah, I used to think that too

until Javi Grillo published--

Javi Grillo.

Javi Grillo published your Linear B translation

and got on the cover of Geographic History.

That was 12 years ago.

No one's going to steal your credit.

You're damn right they're not.

[birds chirping]

[indistinct chatter]

[Curtis] That's everything.

-Ready to go? -Yeah.

Natalie couldn't wait.

She's already down there setting up with the boys.

Why doesn't that surprise me?

Uh, we need to talk.

What's up?

If this thing turns out

to be as big as we think it is,

there's a million ways

we could still get cut out of it.

A First Nations lawsuit

claiming the site for themselves...

I don't need the whole list. I know the risks.

I'm just worried that Natalie may not have

the big picture in mind.

Now she's not going to listen to me...

What makes you think she'll listen to me?

You did manage to convince her to marry you.

It's the last argument I ever won with her.

[chuckles] That was a long time ago.

Well, you're still ahead of me. I haven't won one yet.

[distant indistinct chatter]

But now,

this time...

I have to come away from this with something tangible.

Something that's my own.

Don't worry. It'll work out this time.

We'll take care of you.

Yeah, I understand exactly how you feel.

I really hope you do.

[camera shutter clicking]

[sizzles]

Negative.

No reaction to HCL or carbolic acid.

[Emmet] Are you sure it's organic?

-[Curtis] Let's take a sample. -Go for it.

We'll analyze the results

when we get back to Anchorage.

This stuff's hard.

[clicks]

Damn.

[wet sloshing]

[Natalie] Curtis!

[men grunting]

[snarling]

[yells]

Curtis!

[Natalie] Are you all right?

I don't know.

-[Curtis groans] -Oh, my God.

-[gasps] -[resin melting]

There was a tingling feeling in my hand.

[Natalie] Mmm, well,

that could have been a thermal release.

You might be sensing the start

of a chemical reaction.

[Emmet] That cocoon went from solid to liquid

to who-knows-what in seconds.

That wasn't like any chemical reaction I've ever seen.

I couldn't see anything

except these images in my head,

these horrible images.

There were these primitive humans

and they were being attacked by something,

tearing at them with claws.

Like a dream being forced into my head.

[Natalie] From where?

-From him. -The skeleton?

-You don't believe me? -[Natalie] Curtis.

Curtis, you were exposed to a chemical agent

with effects we can only guess at.

It was probably hallucinogenic.

[Curtis] There are cultures who believe

that the remains of the dead carry memories

that can be accessed.

Are you saying that these bones are telepathic?

That this thing is communicating with you?

That thing is dead.

Well, it was alive once and it had intelligence.

Yeah, and one hell of a temper.

Look, there's nothing in nature

that undergoes a metamorphosis

like the one we saw.

Nothing on this planet, anyway.

Oh, what are you suggesting?

Oh, don't say it.

This thing could be an alien.

He said it.

[Natalie] All right, all right.

Let's not jump to conclusions, okay?

Come on, you need to lie down.

See if you can get a sample from the coating.

Come on.

Oh, yeah, that shouldn't be a problem.

Get me a cotton swab.

A long one.

[eagle screeches]

Your vitals all look good.

I still feel kind of weak.

You better get some rest.

Do you need anything else?

No.

You better go back there

before Emmet screws something up.

[chuckles]

I'll check on you later.

What do we got?

I'm not sure.

You know we're not equipped to do much analysis here.

We can do all the supporting tests we need

when we get back to Anchorage.

We came here looking for arrowheads

and pottery shards,

not alien cocoons

that dissolve when you poke them too hard.

This is way more than we can handle.

Oh, don't start with the corporate partners routine,

okay, Emmet?

We are as competent

as any of those Ferritin Lab jockeys.

But not as well-equipped.

Whatever that skeleton is, it's organically active.

For God's sake,

your husband came in direct contact with it.

What if he needs medical attention?

No, Curtis is fine. He's just a little freaked out.

You make it sound like he sprained his ankle.

Extraterrestrial or not,

this resin is probably thousands of years old.

It could be toxic, it could be bio-reactive.

Which only supports my point.

If we bring other people in now,

the government's gonna be on top of us

before you can exhale.

You want to add some alien contamination?

They're gonna seal up this whole place

under the cloak of national security.

Whisk those bones and us away to Area 51.

We'll never be heard from again.

Oh, that's not going to happen.

Of course, it will. You know it will.

Maybe.

But sooner or later with something this big

we're going to need some help.

I'll go check on the boys.

[sonar radar beeping]

[electricity crackles]

[beeping]

[electronic whirring]

Anything new?

Well, it hasn't gotten up and danced the Macarena,

if that's what you mean.

Uh, there's no observable changes.

I want someone here

to keep an eye on that...

thing, around the clock.

We'll take shifts.

Faber, you're up first.

Wait a minute.

Suppose it starts changing,

or growing those claws Curtis saw.

What am I supposed to do then?

Well,

we're a scientific expedition.

Try reasoning with it.

[panting]

[men grunting]

[exhales] What's wrong?

Nothing. It's just been a...

long, strange day.

Yeah, I noticed.

How are you?

Scared.

I got a bad feeling about this whole thing.

Yeah, no kidding.

If Emmet had his way, the place would be crawling

with experts flown in to help us.

[chuckles]

I wasn't thinking about that.

Forgive me for harping on my own problems,

but I was the one who got touched by an alien.

What do you want me to do for you?

I mean, you checked out physically.

If there was this slightest hint

of an adverse reaction,

I'd have you on the first plane back to Anchorage.

But as it is, our associate is trying

to dictate terms on our discovery,

and I would appreciate some support.

What do you think I've been giving you

for the last ten and a half years?

I've been tagging along on your world tour

of every...

godforsaken sand pit and rock quarry

-for my health? -You're an archeologist.

At least you used to be.

Do you listen to me when I'm speaking?

How many times do I've said that I wanted a posting

in the States, like that

visiting professorship at Cornell,

or the workshop at Florida State?

Do you have any idea what we've uncovered?

You don't find alien burial mounds,

you know, strolling across the quad

in Tallahassee.

If you want to talk about ancient history,

why don't we talk about the last time

you cared about me?

Oh, God.

[sighs in exasperation]

That is so unfair.

Why not? It's true.

I could use a little support right now.

You're more concerned about getting credit

for your discovery

than you are about what happened to me

or how it's affecting me.

To hell with what I want.

To hell with what you want.

This discovery is bigger than both of us.

It could be the biggest find in human history,

and you're reducing it

to ammunition in a marital fight.

You're jealous.

[chuckles]

I just figured out why you're mad.

That sack of bones down there

is a thousand times more important to you

than it is to me, but it made contact

with me, not you.

You're mad.

If that really was communication

between you and an ancient presence,

then, yeah, I'm envious.

Unearthing relics is the closest

to I've ever gotten to experiencing the past,

and whatever you might think about me,

the thrill of making that connection,

of crossing time and space,

to get a glimpse of how things were...

[sighs]

That is the one thing...

that is the one thing

that still makes me feel alive.

[Faber] Emmet! Everybody!

Come quick!

-[beeping rapidly] -[Faber] The instruments

just started going crazy.

They got worse the closer I moved the sensors

to the skeleton.

Well, there could be an energy buildup

in the bones,

which would account for the liquefying of the outer casing.

Where is the energy coming from?

Look at this.

[sonar radar beeping]

[cracking]

What in God's name is going on?

I think it's coming back to life.

[eagle screeches]

[sonar radar beeping]

[heart thumping]

I see it,

but I don't believe it.

Never in my wildest dreams

did I ever imagine anything like this.

I don't know if we should be trying

to talk to it

or running away from it as fast as we can.

Nothing in nature regenerates like this.

Not after centuries of being dead.

Or dormant.

[sighs] Do you have a theory?

Well, it's more of a hunch, really.

What if this creature was never actually dead?

What if it's able to exist in two different states?

One, the way we found it,

dormant, encased in

an organic life-sustaining shell.

The other, an active living state,

and the transition occurs when the shell liquefies

and gets reabsorbed into the skeletal structure.

And since the organism reconstitutes itself

out of its own distilled raw material...

That would mean that the DNA for its internal organs,

its brain and all his other characteristics

would be embedded in this resinous material.

Protected and stored safely

until the call comes to wake up.

My God, think of the implications.

If you could figure out

how that shell works as a DNA storage bay,

you've got your foot in door to figuring out

how the spark of life is transmitted.

[Emmet] And learn how to cheat the reaper?

Somebody would pay a pretty penny

for a recipe like that.

That's what I like about you, Emmet.

Always keeping an eye on the bottom line.

Nobody else does.

What did you find out?

I've been analyzing the sample

we swabbed from the new growth.

The regeneration rate is phenomenal.

But there's a limit to what I can do here.

I need a DNA sequencer, or a wet chem lab.

We have to call in reinforcements on this.

[Natalie] We've had this discussion.

[Emmet] And we need to have it again.

This is getting weirder by the minute.

We're in over our heads here, and we know it.

[Natalie] I'm getting really tired of hearing this.

[Emmet] And I'm getting really tired of saying it.

What is gonna take you to make you see

that we're going to blow this if we--

Curtis, what are you doing?

-Curtis! -[exhales]

[panting]

[men grunting, yelling]

[alien grunting]

[snarling]

Curtis.

-Put him down. -[groans]

That was brilliant, touching that thing again.

Are you out of your mind?

I think I understand.

[Dean] Understand what?

The hidden health benefits of anaphylactic shock?

You were in convulsions, man.

Your eyeballs were rolling back up in your head.

That thing is killing you.

It just takes a lot out of me.

I'm okay.

Oh, something incredible's happening here.

Yeah, some kind of genetic freak show.

All we need is a bearded lady

and a Ferris wheel.

[Curtis] It is alive.

It's not from this world, and it's not a danger to us.

You figure it said the same thing

to our friends from the stone age

before it made a meal out of them?

I saw what happened.

It didn't attack them, they attacked it.

It fought back in self-defense.

How do you know that?

Because it told me, it showed me.

I don't know. It's just, I can't explain it.

If it is communicating with you telepathically,

how do you know it's not just showing you

what it wants you to see?

It doesn't work that way.

All I know is that every time

you go near it, every time you touch it,

-it hurts you. -Okay.

[Curtis] I'm just gonna take a break,

then I'm gonna come back and learn more.

No way, that's it.

No one touches that thing until we know more,

especially you.

It's too dangerous.

[crickets chirping]

Your heartbeat's still racing.

BP is way up.

What's wrong, Nat? This creature's not dangerous.

No offense,

but have you taken a look at yourself?

-Mmm-hmm. -You look like hell.

It absorbs energy from me to enable it to regenerate.

So it's sucking the life

out of you to bring itself back?

It's not trying to harm me,

it's trying to interact with me.

Look,

you're letting your fear get in the way,

just like those primitive humans did when they encountered it.

Nature gave us fear to keep us alive.

And after what you went through

from the first contact,

I don't understand why you want to do it again.

For you.

For us.

What you said about this thing

being bigger than the two of us,

this is probably the first time in my life

that I got a glimpse at what drives you,

you know.

You're right. This connection I have,

or whatever it is, is a gift.

[sighs]

I wanted to know what it was

that would be important enough

to make you forget about me.

Um...

I never forgot you.

I did put you off to the side, but...

I guess I just took for granted that you would be there

when the work was done. I'm sorry.

When this thing is over,

I promise we'll take a breather,

just you and me.

Maybe we'll do some teaching together.

It's funny, you know.

I had to touch an alien to get closer to you.

[sonar radar beeping]

Enjoy your watch.

Just remember not to hold hands with it.

You see?

Not all your ideas are useless.

[Emmet] Let me ask you guys a question.

What did you come here for?

Pursuit of knowledge, clearly.

We needed the work.

Think you're being paid enough for this kind of work?

Not by a mile.

If Natalie has anything to do with it,

you never will.

You're risking your lives for nothing.

What are you saying?

You think she cares about what happens to us?

Look at the way she treats her own husband.

He's obviously sick.

For all we know, he could be dying.

But she refuses to take him out of here.

Won't even let us go for help.

I've worked with Natalie a long time.

Believe me, she's only in it for the glory.

And what are you in it for?

To get what I deserve.

What I've earned.

What we all have.

What have you got in mind?

[Natalie] Are you sure you want to do this?

No, but I have to. We've come too far.

There's so much more to learn.

[Emmet] Hurry up with that stretcher.

What's going on?

Oh, my God!

It's completely reconstituted itself.

Why didn't you tell me?

You snooze, you lose.

What's with the stretcher?

[Emmet] We're moving it.

[Natalie] Oh, like hell you are.

You can't just jerk this thing around

like a crash test dummy, you'll kill it.

I guess I'll just have to take my chances.

[gun cocks]

-[grunts] -I told you,

no more touchy-feely with E.T. here.

-That thing is dangerous... -[growls]

...and you're just making it stronger.

It needs me.

Well, I need it more.

What the hell is going on, Emmet?

A change of plans is what it is.

We're calling

Ferritin Laboratories right now.

If we bring them living proof of alien life,

I'm sure they'll make it worth our while.

All you have to do...

is fix the phone.

Oh, it's broken?

-What a cheap piece of-- -Fix it!

This is my discovery,

and we're going to do it my way.

That's all I've ever done.

All those years digging until my knees ached

and my fingers bled for you and your half-assed theories.

And now, finally by some miracle,

we make the big score and you want to give it away

for the good of mankind

and your picture on a magazine cover?

Well, you know something, Natalie?

Fame doesn't feed you.

Fix the phone.

[grunts] Let me go.

Here you go.

You fix it.

Tie them up.

[growling]

[roars]

Are you sure this is necessary?

We have to keep the site covered up

until we get back here with the Ferritin team.

We'll radio them

when we get to the landing strip.

I'll set a couple more charges in the shaft.

Good. I'll start striking the camp. Come help when you're done.

We'll bring the alien up last.

[sighs]

Well, this is what you always wanted, isn't it?

Tie me up?

I can think of worse forms of couples therapy.

Oh, like what?

Having to talk, for instance.

Dean. Dean!

Come on, don't leave us like this.

We're not.

We're taking you with us.

Emmet's going to give you a fair share,

whether you want it or not.

That's not gonna keep us quiet.

You know somebody's gonna believe us.

Shut up.

[Emmet] Dean, I'm heading back to the camp.

I'm right behind you.

Dean. Dean!

You're practically inviting them to kill us.

Emmet's after money, he's not a killer.

Oh, yeah? Not yet.

Come on, we got to get out of here.

I don't suppose you have a knife in your boot?

Yeah, afraid not.

No, you always were a more academic archeologist.

[sarcastic laughter]

-[sighs] -[clicks tongue]

Hey, this is a burial mound,

-isn't it? -Yeah.

So shouldn't there be funerary offerings,

academically speaking, you know,

like totems, objects of art?

Weapons.

If there were weapons in here,

where would they be?

Well, they'd be on the inside east wall

between the crypt and the entry shaft,

so the ghost warriors

can guard against grave robbers.

Come on.

-Can you do it? -Yeah.

-One, two, three... -Push.

[grunts]

Okay, which way to the east wall?

Which way is the east wall?

-I think it's this way. -Come on, put me over there.

Okay.

-You ready? -Mmm-hmm.

[grunts]

-It's pretty firm. -Well, keep trying.

Okay, now come over here.

[groans]

Ow!

That sounds hollow. [grunts]

[Curtis] Yes!

Whoo.

Those are Mound Builder weapons.

[Natalie] Everyone said they wouldn't be

within 3,000 miles from here.

Why don't you quit gloating and help me out here?

You ready?

[both grunt]

Come on, we got to move!

[exclaims] Lay off,

unless you want to do it all by yourself.

I will if I have to.

[Curtis] Okay, I got it.

Okay.

Oh, God, let's get out of here.

Not without the alien.

No, Curtis, you do not.

It's too dangerous.

That's not what I felt when I touched him.

He could be controlling your mind.

There must be some reason why he was killed

and sealed in a tomb.

No, this wasn't a prison.

Those primitive humans thought he was a god.

They built this tomb to honor him.

Are you sure of it?

That's not good science.

You're right. It's not fair to hold you back.

It will probably get you killed.

I can't explain it, but I have to help him.

He's struggling to stay alive

for thousands of years in the cocoon.

I gonna let Emmet turn him into a lab rat.

You go ahead, I'll catch up to you later.

If you're gonna do this, I will too.

Nat.

I'm supporting you for a change.

Shut up and let me do it.

[labored breathing]

Oh, wow.

He's too weak to move.

What are you doing?

He needs more energy.

[Curtis and alien exclaiming]

[screaming]

Double check the charges.

I'll get Curtis and Natalie first.

-[Natalie gasps] -[yells]

Oh, my God. No!

Oh, let's get out of here.

[grunts]

[Curtis] I think that's what he wants to do, too.

He's coming with us.

-Stop right there. -[gun cocks]

[alien growling]

[Emmet] Faber, Dean, the alien's up.

Get down here!

Emmet, he's very weak. He could be dying.

Giving his life to that thing?

[alien snarls]

Holy crap.

[snarls]

You know you have to let us go, Emmet.

It's the right thing to do.

For once, I'm doing what's right for me.

But there may be others of his kind.

You don't want to anger them.

They left him here for 10,000 years.

I don't think they miss him very much.

-Emmet. -Don't test me.

I'll do what I have to do.

Emmet, this is a living, breathing alien.

Extraterrestrial life.

[Curtis] It's too important for the planet.

No,

this is far too important for a pair

of failed archeologists like you.

[gun cocks]

I'm sorry.

[roaring]

[grunts]

[yelling]

-[bone cracking] -[screams in pain]

[grunts]

Help me, damn it!

-[gun cocks, fires] -[growls]

No, you'll hit the charges! Don't!

-No! -[gun firing]

-[explosions] -[alien yells]

[rumbling]

Nat, Nat, look at me.

-[coughing] -Keep talking.

Talk to me.

Being an action hero is so painful.

You're bleeding.

Well, call 911.

-How do I stop the bleeding? -[sighs] Oh.

I took a lot...

a lot of anatomy to get this degree.

I am done for.

It ain't over till it's over.

Dean! Anyone hear me?

Emmet, we need help.

Hey, keep talking to me.

-[gasps] -That's good.

I'm sorry I put you through so much.

I can't believe you never left me.

I'm glad you didn't.

[exclaims, snarls]

Oh! What does he want?

[alien speaking indiscernible language]

I'm sorry.

We never meant to hurt you.

[snarling]

It'll be over soon, Nat.

[snarls]

I never stopped loving you.

[grunts]

[humming]

-Easy. -[gasps]

-[breathing heavily] -Easy, now.

Can you hear me?

Where am I?

The better question is, "when"?

It's been nearly a thousand years.

What?

Natalie... Where's Natalie?

Her wounds were quite severe, so we revived her first...

in case there were any complications.

But fortunately,

our technology has advanced considerably.

Curtis.

Natalie, I don't understand.

[exhales]

The alien sprayed us

with his resinous preservative.

Turns out he's an anthropologist of sorts.

A legend among his people.

His fate was never known until they found us.

And the fact that we tried to save his life

has made us heroes on their planet, and here.

Heroes?

[exhales]

Me and him?

Oh, no, no, he's one of their doctors.

The alien we found is dead.

He sprayed us with all his preservative.

He only had enough for two.

He saved our lives, Curtis.

[sobbing]

What is it?

I don't know.

Is this real?

Come here.

I'll show you something.

[birds chirping]

[Curtis] It's incredible.

A new world where humans and aliens live together,

learning to understand each other.

That's the good news.

What's the bad news?

[sighs]

Somebody else published first.

[beeping]

[chuckles]

[Control Voice] They say, "What you send around comes around."

Perhaps that is true,

even if it sometimes takes a thousand years.