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• Plot Synopses

Reston......................Simon Scott
The Man.....................Harry Millard
Foreign General.............Ted de Corsia
First Admiral...............Herbert Lytton
Second Admiral..............Walter Sande

You blow this, Charlie, it's back to the hardware store for you!--Lee Crane

The Seaview is at sea when a plane passes overhead; the radar man notes the unidentified aircraft, and Morton says that they are running out of time. Crane says he knows. Nelson rubs his hands together with concern and goes to a man in a suit, working at the computer.

In Washington, military men are gathered in a room filled with computers. "Why doesn't the Seaview take evasive action?" asks one man. "Nelson has his orders."

On the Seaview, Morton says that they must use evasive maneuvers. Crane reminds him of their orders. Nelson agrees--what they do and when they do it depends entirely on Mr. Reston.

Back in Washington, the men are alarmed to see that the bomber is zeroing in on the submarine.

On the Seaview, radar picks up approaching missiles. Crane, concerned, says that they should have taken evasive action; Reston says that they are doing so. Crane says it's too late, and the radar man reports that they have evaded the first two missiles, but the third is on its way; it will hit any minute.

Back in Washington, the men note that the Seaview has just been sunk.

Later, at the Pentagon, Reston insists that the malfunction was minor, due to a fifty-cent transistor. A Pentagon official points out that if the test maneuvers had been the real thing, the Seaview would no longer exist. Reston concedes the point, but adds that the tests are only half done--there can be no malfunction once the brain takes over. Nelson wonders what Reston means by "the brain"; Reston says it is the most sophisticated computer ever devised. Six months ago, the necessary technology was twenty years in the future, but an unexpected breakthrough has made it a reality. Nelson asks how soon the machine will be ready for installation, and Reston says whenever Nelson is ready to start the remaining maneuvers. The Pentagon men confer, and agree that on Thursday the Seaview will begin its first fully automated mission.

On Thursday, on the Seaview, Reston is completing the installation. Crane enters the room and asks "When will we be ready to sail?" Reston replies, "Not we, it," but Crane says that he is going along. When Reston objects, saying that the point of the exercise is to prove that the brain can function in battle with no crew on board, Crane points out that according to maritime law, a vessel with no one on board is considered a derelict and can be claimed by anyone. He assures Reston that he won't press any buttons.

Elsewhere, accented men are discussing Reston's computer. With it, they could control a fleet of drone submarines and rule the world. One man tells the other that he has his orders, handing him a tape which, once the war games are over, will reprogram the computer and take the submarine to their nearest port. He mentions the added complication of Crane being on board; when the other man insists that one man will be no problem, he is reminded that Crane's death must appear accidental. Once they have the Seaview, they will notify the American government to pick up their submarine--after they have the secret of the super computer.

It's 0400 on the Seaview, the computer is ready, and so is Crane. If anything goes wrong, he is to contact Reston by shortwave radio--not, as Reston insists, that anything could go wrong. He adds that although he is not versed in maritime procedures, shouldn't Crane have requested the captain's permission to come aboard? He nods toward the computer. Crane smiles. Nelson tells Crane to have a good rest, and leaves.

Crane paces the room, saying "All right, captain, don't just stand there--do something!" To his surprise, the brain begins to work. Crane looks around, a little disoriented by all the lights and sound, and quickly leaves the control room, entering the observation nose, where he sees the dock rapidly receding. He goes to pour himself a cup of coffee, then looks in the pot--empty--and leaves the room with it. As he leaves, a mysterious figure comes down the ladder and looks after him.

Crane walks around the busy control room. He jumps when he hears the horn signalling a dive. The controls move on their own and the submarine submerges. He looks through the periscope, seeing ships. He obviously dislikes having nothing to do. The ship noses down and he is thrown to one side, as planes drop bombs from above, and the Seaview dives deeper. Crane is concerned, unsure of what is going on. The ship sinks to the ocean floor, jarring Crane; he runs down the ladder and looks out the observation nose window, seemingly relieved. Just then, the lights go out. He gets a flashlight and goes up the ladder to the control room, where he turns the lights on manually; however, they immediately go out again. He goes to the radio and calls NIMR, complimenting Reston on the computer's tactics. Nelson is pleased, and says that the test is now complete. Crane says that's fine, but that although the computer may not need light, he does! Reston tells him how to turn the lights back on, and soon he can see again.

Crane waits impatiently for the submarine to get underway; finally, he calls Reston again, but this time there is no answer--the radio doesn't work. He examines it more closely and sees that it has been sabotaged. Slowly he looks around the empty control room. Hearing a noise, he turns quickly, but it's only a microphone banging against the wall. He reaches for a gun and finds only an empty holster. He scans the room once again, still seeing nothing, and leaves.

Moving carefully down a corridor, he is about to open a bulkhead door when he hears a knocking. He changes his mind, taking another route. Findsing a large wrench to use as a weapon, he opens a door and jumps in, wrench at the ready. He discovers that the knocking was caused by a loose fire extinguisher, undoubtedly something that happened during the war games. Relieved but still nervous, he puts it back where it belongs. Seeing the door to the small arms locker, he enters; almost immediately, he hears the same knocking, opens the door a crack, and sees the same fire extinguisher, swinging free again. He closes the door and turns to the locker, taking a gun. He kneels on the floor to load it, closes and locks the locker, and leaves the room.

Gun in hand, Crane moves cautiously through the ship. He climbs the spiral ladder, hears a scraping sound, checks his gun, and continues. Entering the control room, he sees that the computer is active. He goes through the room, checking behind furniture. As he watches, the tape wheels stop. He tries to fix them, but they soon stop again. He leaves the control room, closing the bulkhead door behind him, and moves down the corridor, following the scraping sound, which seems to be coming from the crew's quarters. He sees a shadow, and dashes into the room, expecting anything. No one is there. Kowalski left his uniform hanging there, casting the suspicious shadow. Relieved, he exits the room and continues his search.

After searching most of the ship, he finally reaches the missile room. He sees nothing, but as he passes the minisub it drops on him. The intruder rises from a corner of the room, smiling. From the floor, Crane shoots at him twice. He manages to extricate himself, using a metal bar to lift the minisub off of his leg. He limps to the intercom, picking it up and asking "Who are you?"

Crane limps out of the missile room and starts down the corridor. He sees a shadow and shoots at it, trying to follow it, but falls to the floor. He slowly gets up and limps after it. Picking up an intercom again, he asks the figure why, if he is trying to kill him, he is running. He shouts at the invader to pick up a microphone and answer him, but there is no reply. He continues the chase. Finally, Crane has the enemy in his sights. He aims his gun--but is out of bullets! The armed man turns, and Crane runs. The man follows. Crane, hiding, sees him through a partially opened bulkhead door and follows him to the ballast pump locker. He exits, then sees gasoline all over the floor of the outer room. Quickly, the invader ducks into the room and lights it. Crane runs back into the locker, and soon hears the fire alarm. He takes a fire extinguisher and is about to leave, but his opponent has stuck a metal bar through the handle of the bulkhead door and he can't open it. Over the intercom, a voice thanks Crane for at last going where he wanted him to. Crane grabs the microphone and demands to know what he's after; secure now that Crane is certain to die, the man tells him the entire plan. Crane says that the Americans will know he was killed, but the invader insists that it will appear to be no more than an unfortunate accident, death by asphyxiation.

With no air, the room soon becomes unbearably hot, and Crane gives up on getting the door open. He picks up the microphone, asking the invader what he wants with him. "I want you to die," replies the man.

There is an air vent in the room, too small to escape through, but Crane struggles to get it open and eventually succeeds in removing the grate.

The Seaview rises from the ocean floor.

Crane, weak from his injury and from lack of air, lies on the floor. He looks up and drags himself to his feet, opening a cabinet where, he now remembers, oxygen cylinders are kept. He opens one and breathes, then puts on a mask and takes a flashlight from the cabinet. In his weakened condition, he opens the floor hatch with some difficulty and climbs into the ballast tank. Using the oxygen tank to breathe, he swims along, finally exiting through another floor hatch. From there, he makes his way to the control room, where he tears out a bunch of wiring. Soon the Seaview is again resting on the bottom.

Crane climbs up the control room ladder and waits. Pretty soon, the invader enters the control room to investigate. Crane can see him. He passes by the ladder, looks up, and Crane jumps on him from above. They struggle, but Crane finally manages to pin his opponent under the periscope.

Much later, in sickbay, the doctor bandages Crane's ankle. Morton asks how long he left the man under the periscope; Crane says it was just long enough to remove the tape he had put in the computer. The Seaview then took them back to Santa Barbara. Crane is anxious to get back to work; Morton wonders why, and Nelson says he is worried about being replaced. Crane turns to Chip and says "That's right, and you try borrowing ten bucks from that on a Saturday night!"