Original subtitles

These stories are inspired by the actual case files of the Office of Scientific

Investigation and Research.

What is your position? Do you copy?

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir, I copy. We are five clicks inside the park.

Any luck?

No, no sign of them yet.

We'll advise. Over.

Corporal?

New orders, Lieutenant?

No, same as when we started.

Locate the lost civilians.

Bring them on home.

First time I ever got called up to locate some lost fly fishers.

Don't talk about fishing, Gardner.

This is screwing up my whole weekend. All right, all right. Cut the chit-chat.

Let's move out. Arrow sweep formation.

Sergeant, take the point.

Yes, sir.

You know what's weird?

What is weird, Corporal?

No birds.

This time of day, they should be going full throttle.

Don't look like fishing tackle to me.

Lieutenant! Over here!

You cover this perimeter.

Hey, gentlemen, spread out!

Report, Sergeant. What the hell happened here?

Something else, sir?

Looks like they were attacked by some kind of animal.

They're all dead.

Lieutenant!

Secure this perimeter, Sergeant. Let me lock it down tight.

Hold on now, mister.

I'm gonna get you out of here.

Go.

Before it comes back.

Lieutenant, whatever did this is gonna be...

Fox, you're with me. Let's move. Double time. Let's move.

Oh, Lord.

Lieutenant.

Just take it easy.

Squad, fall back.

Now. Let's go. Fall back. Double time. Woo! Woo! Woo!

One of the joys of living on this planet is to watch shooting stars streak across

our heavens, meteorites from the depths of space burning up in our atmosphere.

Some have collided with Earth and caused massive destruction.

There are those who believe a giant meteor contributed to the Ice Age and

the extinction of the dinosaurs.

As the OSIR investigated the horrifying deaths of a NASA scientific team, they

had to determine if the meteorite in this case had brought with it...

An unwanted hitchhiker.

Yes, sir. It's the same story here. We got five victims, all dead.

Status? We've begun evacuation of the entire park.

Move it, Lieutenant.

You copy.

Sir, I am aware of the threat. I lost one of my men up on that ridge last

night. Well, help is on the way.

And what's the ETA on this team of specialists?

You know your orders.

I understand, sir. They are to have full authority. Oh, yes. I will liaise with

them as soon as they get here. Whiskey, whiskey out.

Lima tango.

Out. Come on, Lieutenant.

Those NASA guys up there will not fly fishing any more than these folks were.

What the hell is going on here? Recon up that road. And look, for civilian

vehicles, they should be here any minute. Make sure they get through the

roadblocks. Lieutenant Sergeant Phillips is dead, I know.

We all follow orders, Corporal. It is called chain of command now. This

conversation is over.

Dismissed.

Yes, sir.

File number 33130, case manager Connor Doyle. Initial log entry.

We've been asked by federal authorities to investigate the mysterious death of a

team of NASA scientists and a member of the Arkansas National Guard in the Ozark

Mountains. This mission follows hard on the heels of our tracking the orbital

entry and impact of a meteorite in the same general area.

Professor Doyle?

Lieutenant Jack Vaughn with the National Guard out of Little Rock.

Welcome to Arkansas.

Can you bring us up to speed as to when this latest attack occurred?

It's about 12 hours ago.

This brings our body count up to 13. That's the Nassau team, my squad, and

now these people.

What exactly attacked you, Lieutenant? I don't know exactly. I guess that's why

you're here.

Tell you one thing, though.

Something hit these folks so hard, they didn't even have time to say a short

prayer.

The NASA team that was in the area first, what was their mission?

Inspection of the meteorite, data collection, trajectory match.

Seems like light duty for NASA.

Let's just say that this particular meteorite has government intelligence

watching us closely. According to military sources, Lieutenant Vaughn was

under strict orders not to tell his men what they were looking for. So this was

a high-security military operation.

Connor, I'd like to review the preliminary autopsies just to see what

we can learn. I'll start interviewing the witnesses.

Russell will handle that, Lindsay. I want you to assist Anton.

This operation is extremely sensitive.

I need my most experienced operatives spearheading the investigation.

And do we have a case objective?

Or is that high-level security as well?

Identify the phenomenon, rectify the situation. That's all for now.

What we found, it was out there.

Something tore those people to pieces.

It killed Phillips in like three seconds.

It took him down like a rag doll.

You know, I saw action in the Gulf and in Bosnia, but

this was brutal.

I never even really saw what took Phillips out, but I saw him die.

He was a friend of mine.

The forensic team will conduct a full autopsy upon their arrival.

This isn't my specialty, Anton.

I don't know the first thing about forensics.

Then it's about time you learned.

The dead sometimes speak more eloquently than the living.

Come on over here. Leave me a hand.

What do you see?

Cause of death.

Massive blood loss, I would guess.

Precisely.

That's odd.

There's punctures inside the wound that are smooth.

Something's blocking the trachea.

Hold his head back.

Go on.

What on earth is it?

Something organic.

But as to what it is, Dr. Cooper will have to analyze it.

Dear God.

What?

Alex.

Alex Knopf.

I met him.

at a symposium on the genetic botany in London last year.

His specialty is... xenobiology.

Unknown life forms.

Doyle, go ahead.

Seems that NASA was out there looking for something a little livelier than a

meteor. They had a team of geneticists with them.

I see. Anything else?

Air Force Base Command and NORAD both confirmed tracking the meteor's entry.

But I think they're being a little too quiet about NASA's involvement.

Anything from the autopsies?

We pulled something from inside one of the neck wounds.

It's definitely organic.

We're going to go back to the lab to run an analysis.

Copy that.

Maintain contact. We're closing in on the impact site.

Doyle out.

I'm reading a lot of air moisture.

No tox traces or hazmat yet. Stay sharp. Keep an eye on the motion sensors.

Arrived at point of impact.

Expedite the scans, Peter. This place isn't secure.

Copy that. It feels like a different planet.

What the hell are those things?

Cooper, can you identify them?

It appears to be an embryonic shell of some kind.

Shape and consistency unlike anything I've seen before.

Connor, you better take a look at this.

These must be the eggs themselves.

You picking all this up?

Loud and clear, Peter.

I got a bad feeling about this.

We'll need a sample.

We have movement.

500 meters southeast and closing.

We're moving closer.

Rapid light form movement closing in from the southeast.

Any visuals?

Negative.

Switch to thermal vision and try and get a lock on it. It's down.

Thermal tracking online.

Professor, move your people back.

Peter, what's going on?

Yeah, we're reading lifeforms. They're closing fast.

We're trying to get a lock on thermal. This is Doyle. Prepare to move back on

my command.

Just keep a few more seconds, Connor.

Hold your positions.

Whoa!

What was that?

What's happening?

I got movement in the north now. Peter, something just went through the scan.

Fall back. Repeat. Fall back.

Scanlon, report. What do you see?

Russell!

Russell, look out!

What the hell was that?

Oh, God.

Peter, what happened?

Scanlon and Russell.

Peter, there was nothing you could do.

It wasn't your mistake.

It was mine.

We have a job to do.

Scanlon and Russell knew that.

Now let's get back to work.

Lindsay, I want you to analyze the on-site footage and prepare a report.

We need to know what happened out there.

Okay, back it up.

Back it up.

And now.

Breathe that.

That's it.

Whatever it is.

That appears to be some kind of barb left behind after the physical attack.

Perhaps a feeder tube?

And it's related to the embryo. It seems likely. It's composed of the same

organic matter common to heterotroph parasites.

An insect egg.

Oh, well, I don't know that I'm ready to make that conclusion yet.

What the hell hit us out there?

I really don't know.

Did you get anything from the psych assessment?

Some post-traumatic stress.

Typical across-the-board disorder. There's nothing unusual.

Maybe you can pry some more details from the witnesses.

Start with Peter.

Put him under it.

Peter, I want you to relax.

I want you to go back to yesterday.

To where the meteor came down.

Sorry. I want you to freeze the image of that creature in your mind. You're safe.

And I want you to describe to me exactly what you see in the most specific

detail.

Insight.

Connor, you better come look at this.

I've been detecting rhythmic vibrations coming from within the embryo.

The surface tension and interior temperature rising as well. What's

happening to it? I don't know.

Life form readings are increasing.

Is it hatching?

I really don't know. It's hard to say with an unknown life form.

What is it?

Well, it does appear to be an insect of some kind.

An insect that big?

Cooper!

What are you doing?

CO2. That should tranquilize it for a few minutes.

Siphonaptera?

Minoris. Incredible.

My Latin's a bit rusty.

Well, believe it or not, it's a close genetic cousin to a flea.

That's a flea?

Well, a mutation of one at any rate.

How big could it get once it matures?

Well, insects of this class usually grow to 20, sometimes 30 times

their birth weight.

I think we found our life form.

I'm inclined to agree.

Look, this is Peter's description sketched out.

How many eggs did we find out there?

Several dozen. Most of them already hatched. What might be the possible rate

of reproduction?

Well, normally, ten adult females could produce 100,000 eggs in under

30 days.

Let's put a team together to assemble some first-hand data. Full security

hardware.

Case log update.

Having determined that the life form we're looking for may be a mutated or

possibly extraterrestrial insect, we're returning to the impact site.

Com Lake, Jack Donner. Do you copy?

Copy. I have you on my screens.

Crack, Jack, three iron guns you got. Ain't gonna do you any good when they

come at you. We'll take our chances.

Probably what them science geeks said before they got wasted, too. All right,

platoon, halt!

Doyle, this is as far as the platoon goes.

Lieutenant, your orders are... I know my orders, sir, but I will not repeat not

send these boys into a situation they can't handle.

Me, Gardner, I'll go the rest of the way with you. Damn right.

Send your men back, then let's press on. All right. Platoon, fall back.

Let's move out. Safety's off.

You should just come here in daylight. The whole battalion... The night is when

this type of insect lies dormant.

Theoretically.

Doc, there's nothing dormant about this bug.

Cover this side.

Donna, are you getting this?

Affirmative.

You guys had better see this.

Cooper, here.

Dead.

The size of the epipharynx.

Incredibly efficient.

Donna, are you getting this too?

Affirmative. That's a nasty piece of work. What killed it?

Possibly its mate.

Which would mean that more reproduction is underway.

Leave it.

Everyone fall back.

Cook, you want to end up like Scanlon and Russell?

Move!

Go, go, go!

Donner, we have a situation here.

Nobody move.

We need a way out of here.

Connor, this is their breeding ground. We're cutting them off from their nests.

Everybody, move forward very slowly.

Yeah, sure, no problem.

I'm just gonna take this little guy in the science.

Final case log entry.

After discovering the magnitude of the infestation, the authorities have

ordered the termination of the life form encountered.

The region has been evacuated.

Widespread airstrikes have been implemented.

Where did these deadly creatures come from?

Were they cosmic stowaways?

Were they a mutated form of insect affected by radiation from the fallen

space rock?

Or were they a grotesque and deadly prehistoric species, unearthed by the

meteorite's collision?

Well, if the latter is true, then who knows what else may rest beneath the

surface of our soil, waiting to grow under the light of our nurturing sun.

That's all.

Good evening, fellas.

Hey, Kenny, man.

What are you doing?

Okay, guys, we're going to have to ask you to turn down the music.

Oh, come on, man. I just finished mine. Oh, well, there are some people who

haven't finished their exam.

Come on, guys, take it inside.

Okay, we've got to be quiet now.

Finally. Listen, what did you get for the last question in Chapter 7?

If I tell you this time, are you going to remember it? You asked me the same

question four hours ago. God, I hate quantum mechanics.

No, I hate all physics.

Well, after tomorrow, you won't have to think about it.

Until next year.

I've got to get some caffeine.

Dimensional portholes enabling matter to move instantly from one place to another

great distances apart have been frequently exploited by science fiction

writers.

Unproven by existing technological means, the concept remains possible if

one considers super string theory.

But for a stressed out single mother, Angela Corbet, and her seven-year-old

daughter Sabine, encountering a dimensional rift became much more than a

mere theoretical possibility.

It became a disturbing reality.

which would ultimately change their lives forever and involve the Office of

Scientific Investigation and Research.

File number 87105, case manager Connor Doyle, day one.

We're launching an investigation into the mysterious appearance of Aunt Angela

Corbet. She claims to have been in her home in Eureka, California, one second,

and then in Toronto, Ontario, the next.

I want you to handle the preliminary interview, but take it slow.

Right. Excuse me.

This must be Angela and Sabine.

You're another shrink.

Ah, I am.

I'm Dr. Anton Hendricks.

I'm here to help.

I already told the cops everything.

And they don't believe you.

All I want to do is take my daughter and go home.

Why don't you tell me what happened?

Look...

I was at home with Sabine one minute, and the next I'm here in another city

under arrest, and they're charging me with trespassing.

Is that what you were doing? I was making supper at home, and then a

doorway, and... I don't know.

We had to charge her with trespassing. I mean...

We asked her to move along peacefully.

She was extremely resistant.

Couldn't calm her down.

She finally said her name was Angela Corbet from Eureka, California.

She couldn't explain how she got to Toronto, how she got into the men's

residence, she doesn't know, so we just took her to University Hospital, had her

checked out by a psychiatrist.

She presented signs of shock from psychological trauma, paranoia bordering

on hysteria at first.

From my brief session with her, my opinion is she's not unstable.

Whatever happened to her was very disturbing for her.

Even terrifying.

Later I checked with the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

A woman by the name of Angela Corbet does live in Eureka, California.

You figure it out.

Would you like to tell me the story about how you got here?

Okay.

So, you were at home and you were watching TV.

Then what happened?

The door opened.

The front door?

What door?

The one to the sunlight.

Did you go through this door?

With Mommy?

And then we were here.

So I'm standing here like getting a pop, and then I turn around and poof, right

where you are.

Here? Yeah, exactly.

I mean, I thought that they came in through the door. But that couldn't have

happened, Howie, because I would have seen them.

And how much time elapsed between the time you went over there and the time

that they appeared?

Like six seconds, max.

And the door was locked.

Yeah, it's like that Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

Well, I don't know how much the uncertainty is really relevant here in

the macroscopic world.

There was a party that night.

Were you there? No, we were studying. Look, I know everyone thinks we're

lying, but I am telling you.

There is no normal way she could have got in here.

According to the desk monitor on duty, Howard and James were in their room

studying from 5 p.m. onward.

At around 10, 15 p.m., they showed up, and no one matching their description

had entered the building.

We need to rule out the possibility that this was a staged event.

Could they have gotten here this fast by any other means?

I've run Westmat, Central Scan, Interpol, and CIS, all airline bookings,

bus, train, even car rental companies.

Nobody has an Angela Corbett traveling on or around the date in question. She

could have traveled under an alias.

Possibly, although immigration has no record of anyone matching their

description. Well, if she's perpetrating a hoax, how does she expect the benefit?

It could be some ruse to attract public sympathy.

Let's see what Dr. Hendricks gets from his assessment.

Are you comfortable?

I guess.

Okay, we're going to begin.

I'm going to ask you some questions. I know they're going to seem rather

obvious, but I just want you to give me the most direct answers.

Is your name Angela Kobe?

Yeah. Do you live at 342 Lightbourne Crescent in Eureka, California?

Yes.

Do you have any living relatives?

Just Sabine and my sister Mary.

Is Mary your twin?

No, she's five years older.

What do you do for a living, Angela?

I'm a secretary in an accounting firm in Eureka.

Are you married?

Divorced.

Why is that?

Because I threw him out. He was no good for me or Sabine.

What does any of this have to do with how I got here?

We're trying to understand you better.

Please, I know you're under a great deal of stress. Dr. Hendricks, I want to take

my daughter home.

All of the questioning in the world isn't going to make that happen.

You and Sabine are free to go whenever you like.

It's entirely up to you.

Can you find out what happened to us?

That's what we're trying to do, but I'm going to have to ask you to be patient.

Right now, all we're doing is assessing your psychological profile.

You and Sabine are in good hands, I promise you that.

My psychological profile.

I'm tired.

I'm confused and I'm sick of being treated as though I'm a liar. I don't

think you're a liar. What do you think?

I think that you and your daughter went through something extremely traumatic.

Something that's very real to you. It was real.

I'm not saying it wasn't.

You both experienced an event, something.

Something that defies conventional understanding, perhaps.

I can help you deal with that.

But you're going to have to trust me.

Can you do that?

I'll try my best.

She's not consciously lying to us. She seems utterly convinced of her story.

Do you agree with the university psychiatrist's assessment?

Some elevated stress levels, but otherwise she's cogent.

Makes sense, if you believe her.

That must be Donna reporting in from Eureka.

Well, we've started the preliminary inspection of the Corbet house.

And I've also talked to the neighbors and the subject's sister, Mary.

Now, that interview should be downloading as we speak.

I don't know. I phoned Angela about 7 p.m.

And we only talked for about 10 minutes. She was making Sabine some dinner.

I was supposed to babysit, and I was going to be a bit late because she had

to go and take her class.

So I phoned her a half hour later.

There was no answer.

So I just, I don't know, I just went over.

It was weird. It was food burning. The television was still on, but no sign of

Angela or Sabine.

I called school friends. I called the workplace.

And then the police.

Nothing.

Then finally, at about 10 p.m., I get a call from the police in Toronto. It's

strange.

I don't know what's going on. It's weird. Did you get that?

Yeah. Thanks, Lindsay. Good work.

I'll keep monitoring the site.

The next transmission will be in 12 hours.

So someone moves halfway across the continent in a blink of an eye. You want

to tell me how that's possible?

Try regressing her. See if she remembers a few more details.

Angela, can you hear me?

Yes.

I want you to go back in time to May 5th, two days ago.

It's 7 p.m.

Where are you?

At home.

In the kitchen.

My sister just called me to say hello.

What are you doing?

Making imperial Chinese chicken.

Sabine's favorite.

I have a jury to get to my class.

Where's Sabine?

Watching TV.

In the living room.

Dinner's almost ready.

A breeze.

A small gust of wind.

Where's the wind coming from?

The living room.

The light fell bright.

Sabine.

No, Sabine, don't. Sabine, don't.

What about the trespassing charges on Angela?

Headquarters had them dropped to assist our investigation.

That's convenient.

I think the university wants this one off their books.

What are your results from the environmental scan in the dormitory?

We found nothing.

Your conclusions from the hypnosis?

I believe Angela Corbet experienced something quite traumatic.

No matter what the outcome of this investigation, this woman is going to

need counseling.

I don't think she understands what has happened to her.

Any more than we do. So we're still at square one.

Let's move the entire investigation to the source.

Take a closer look at where this phenomenon may have initially taken

place.

Case file update, day six.

So far, initial environmental scans of the Corbet house have turned up normal

baseline readings.

We're preparing Angela and her daughter for real-time biomonitoring scans in

conjunction with uninterrupted surveillance of the house.

Geothermal and geomagnetic environmental scans, all negative.

Nothing. Nothing. It just doesn't make sense.

You know, if what she said actually happened, there'd be some residue, some

traces of electromagnetic radiation, something.

I know.

I've got something here for you, Sabine.

Now, they're a little bit sticky. You know what won't hurt? What won't hurt?

They're one.

Stay still, honey. Let the man do his job.

Two. There. How long will this last?

Until we can determine the nature of the events you described.

What exactly are you looking for?

Oh, anything out of the ordinary in the environment or in your own bodies.

You mean we could have caused this to happen?

We can't rule that out.

If it happens again, your vital signs will be recorded. They can offer us a

clue as to the kinds of things that might be at work here.

Yeah, but don't worry.

If anything should happen, we'll be inside as soon as possible to help you

and Sabine.

Case blog update.

The team has spent the requisite period of 168 hours logging biofeedback from

Angela and her daughter, as well as keeping the house under continuous

surveillance. We'll continue on-site monitoring for a second week.

Possibly. It actually exists that it does.

All right. It's been nearly two weeks. What do we have?

Nothing quite yet.

There's no government weapons testing in the area. There's no stray energy

fields.

What about the environmental experiments?

We tried practically everything.

Electrostatic fields, altering the atmospheric conditions to various

extremes, hot, cold, differing the humidity levels. Still no evidence.

I'm afraid not.

All right.

If any of you have any theories, now's the time to put them on the table.

Anyone?

Peter may have one.

Thanks a lot.

It's kind of out there.

Let's hear it.

I think we may be dealing with some form of apportation.

Instantaneous movement through physical space.

One moment you're in California and then boom, you're in Canada. The question is

how?

I have a couple of hypotheses.

The first of which being psychokinetic apportation.

Angela and or Sabine may be subconsciously accessing psychokinetic

energy that is strong enough to transport them across the continent.

But Peter, neither of them have exhibited any PK ability.

You're right. So we go to the second hypothesis.

If the energy responsible wasn't internal, then it had to be external, i

.e., some concentrated flux in the space-time continuum.

You're talking about the fabric of space being bent.

That's right.

A conduit forming between two distant points.

A wormhole.

Now, can I prove it?

I'll give it a little more time. Peter, as of today, you don't have anything.

These are hypotheses.

Hypotheses need testing. I recommend we scale back the investigation, pull out,

and maintain periodic contact with the subjects.

Why? Well, you said it yourself.

There's no hard evidence, only testimony.

A witness's testimony is evidence.

I know.

Let's close up shop.

Tomorrow. First thing.

What are you going to tell Angela?

So that's it? We have no choice, Angela. We found nothing.

You still think I'm lying, don't you? No.

No, we don't. What if it happens again?

This could have been a one-time occurrence. And if you're wrong?

Angela, look.

We've tried everything. Believe me.

Yeah. You're right.

I guess it still just scares me.

If there's an emergency, you know how to reach us.

We'll keep regular contact with you over the next six months.

File number 87105, log supplement, case manager Connor Doyle.

We've maintained periodic contact with Angela over the past two months.

We became concerned when she didn't check in over a two-week period and

repeated attempts to contact her failed.

Investigator Donner was dispatched to personally reestablish contact.

That's it. That's all I know.

The neighbors all say the same thing. Two weeks ago, they woke up to find the

house gone.

No one saw or heard a thing.

And no contact with Angela or her daughter.

Which means they either saw nothing or they're too afraid to talk.

Well, they're certainly anxious and defensive.

Whether from fear of the unknown or some outside intimidation is difficult to

determine. What about her sister? I sent a team over to her apartment. It's

empty. No sign of her at all.

Well, there's definitely been some heavy machinery here, but neither the

Department of Works or the State Development Commission has issued any

permits for demolition on the site. What exactly did you find?

Industrial-grade tire tracks, probably Caterpillar, a couple of flatbeds, about

two weeks old. And no one's talking about it?

Professor Doyle, operations is calling you on a secure line.

What do you think they want?

Nothing would surprise me.

Doyle here.

Professor Doyle, I'm responding to your request for additional research and

personnel.

Unfortunately, we can proceed no further.

I see.

Headquarters wants us to terminate the investigation.

What? Why?

No explanation given.

TV.

Then what happened?

The door opened.

Final case log entry.

We've been unable to determine what happened to Angela, Mary, and Sabine

Corbett. The traces left at the site of the home remain unexamined as per your

express instructions.

This investigation has been terminated.

Connor Doyle, out.

Did you go through this door?

With money?

And then we were here.

The OSIR never saw these subjects again.

The cause of what occurred to Angela Corbet and her daughter could not be

determined conclusively. Their journey from California to Toronto without any

known material conveyance and the subsequent permanent disappearance of

Angela, her sister, and Sabine is only one small yet tragic example of the

mysteries in this infinite universe we share.

I'm Dan Aykroyd for SciFactor.