Ugly Little Boy (1977)

Stasis teleport 4, proceed to stasis commission immediately. Transfer in 33 minutes. Dr. Hoskins is waiting for you in the main stasis area. What is this emergency? You don't know? Look, stasis commission offered me this nursing job, an unusual case, a child. First thing I know, I'm dragged out in the middle of the night. How should I know what's going on? Is the child hurt? I'm sure Dr. Hoskins will explain. If there is any danger of the transfer injury, I want you to call me, Fellows. Yes, good. Glad to have you with us. Your assistant said this was urgent. I don't know what I'm doing here. We didn't expect to make this contact until next week. Contact what? Computer room three has contact. You're about to be part of the most significant scientific advance since the discovery of atomic power. Stand clear. Stasis transfer in 30 seconds. Going to zero. Holding at 2300. Steady reflect. 2700 megazons at 42°. Increase reflection. 3200 megazons. Increase power. 4200 to transfer. 6 5 4 3 2 1 0. Transfer completed. Come on, Miss Fellows. You'll be the first civilized woman in history to take care of a Neanderthal child. Congratulations. Great, GREAT, GREAT, DR. SHOCK. DR. HOSKINS. You have the wrong woman for this. I am a nurse, and a damn good one. I take care of people. I make them well. Miss Fellows, we know what you are and what you are not. To begin with, computer selected you from over 5,000 applicants. Yes. 03225. Fellows, Edith, age 42, freshman pediatric nurse, 19 years experience, qualifications, so on, so on. Total dedication, no relatives, no friends, no emotional involvements. Professional nurse, first to last. What my whole life has to do with this? Everything. This is scientific work that can be damaged by emotionalism. The job is only temporary. How temporary? In 200 days, we shall be launching our major project, bringing an adult subject back from the Middle Ages. At that time, the Neanderthal specimen will be sent back. And what is a nurse expected to do with this child? Supervise, provide a certain degree of care, and above all, remain totally detached. No relatives, no friends, totally detached. Okay. I'll do it. Good. Always wear that belt while you're in the dome. There are 3 million units of electromagnetism working through time to hold the subject in the present. Now, he's not affected by that pull, but you're too close in time to the energy source. So, if you're not wearing that neutralizing belt, your central nervous system will be damaged. Is that clear? Now, you use this activator to get into the dome. This is the only way these safety doors can be opened. Would you try that now, please? Good. He needs to bath. We had to bring some surrounding material with it. Danger of it arriving with only one leg or half a head. Bring me uh soap and water. Where's his food? Well, now we shall leave you with the subject. Oh, there's no danger. As long as he never leaves these rooms during the whole of the 200 days he'll be here. Never. It's a question of energy. The whole potential energy focus of the last 5 years would be instantly lost and the subject destroyed. 200 days. Slanting skull, brow ridges pronounced, chin recessive. Certainly similar to Solecki's discoveries. Little nose cartilage. Small children never have much nose cartilage. What's the point of all this? Up to now, anthropologists have had nothing but Neanderthal bone fragments to work with. Now, a living specimen, ready for another x-ray. This will be number 10. Isn't there a danger from radiation? My interest is in skeletal structure, and I don't have too much time for my examination. Ready for the x-ray? Give him the tranquilizing shot. There's no need to break his arm. Okay. Okay. Okay. I've got him off to sleep. Mm, very good. He's been with us now 27 days, and we've established normal sleep patterns. You realize, of course, it's essential to keep careful daily records. Any indication of physical change in Red cell count indicates RH negative. We need a repeat for hemolytic anemia. Repeat sample. Repeat? How many gallons do you want? This body can't manufacture blood at the rate you're taking it. Repeat the sample. Photophobia. Slight inflammation of the cornea. Dr. Johnson, he has a pain. No ulceration. Possibly, some signs here of a possible rheumatic condition. Blood test will tell. Dr. Johnson, the boy has a sore leg. Really? Since when? Last night. Hear that, Martin? Subject has a sore leg. Remember what I told Hoskins, the wear damage in the transfer, it might show up later. You better let him know. Well, couldn't you look at it? Which one? Left. Be sure it's entered in the chart. Can't you prescribe something? We've got to make sure that nothing like this happens in the medieval specimen. But what about the Well, muscles and reflexes okay. Certainly no sensory or motor deficit. Noted. And is there a sequence next, doctor? Yes, that's right. Let's measure his sensation to pain. No, I think we'll wait for a complete CCV scan at the end of the week. Then one one every 10 days. When is he to be sent back? 80 days. Tough work, nursing, isn't it? Uh-huh. Tough in a funny kind of way. Look, I've been a nurse for 19 years. I had to give it up. I never get involved. I swore it couldn't happen to me. What is it? What's the matter? What's wrong? What is it? Oh, it's Well, never mind. We'll just put that away. There. Don't worry. All right. See you tomorrow. Dr. Hoskins, wait. Hello, Miss Fellows. I've been trying to see you. I'll join you in the stasis chamber in uh 7 minutes. Yes. I don't think I can stay much longer. Oh, why? I don't like what you're doing to that child. Child? Oh, the Neanderthal experiment. Well, that's just the first stage in our long-term program. We're learning as we go. Well, what is this stage proving? We've collected more data on the Data? You don't know anything about him. You know how he feels? If there were more time, we could concentrate on those emotional responses. But I think you've been so preoccupied with the Neanderthal experiment that you've never thought about the stasis program as a whole. I'll show you some of it. Come along. Here it is for our medieval project. We're sending several of our specimens I saw rock specimen right now. All right. What is all this? We were clearing the stasis chamber for release. Professor Adam Yenski refused to leave. I have not completed my research. You know our program. Every minute that rock remains reduces our energy reserves. Prepare for release. No, stop. You can't take it back. Keep still. Stand clear. Stasis release has been activated. Release in 10 seconds. 10 9 You are heartless beast. 6 My life 5 4 3 2 1 0 Release completed. It's completely automatic and irreversible. What if he'd stayed inside? He would have been transferred back to the place to see period, along with the rock. Will you send the boy back the same way? Oh, yes, exactly. But from his own area. In just 49 days, we shall have an articulate specimen here. A medieval man. Someone who would talk. Mama. Boy. Mama. Boy. Mama. Oh, can't you learn to say one word, damn it? All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. There we are. Here we are. Mama. Boy. Mama. Boy. Mama. Boy. What are you doing? Leave him alone. It's time for his meal. And I just I thought you were just letting him out. I'll get this. JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE. GET OUT OF HERE, ALL OF YOU. BOY. NO BOY HERE. BOY. BOY. BOY. BOY. BOY, HERE. HERE. BOY. BOY. BOY. BOY, HERE. HERE. HERE. HERE. HERE. HERE. HERE. HERE. HERE YOU ARE. BOY, HERE. Take this. Here, take it. Take it. So, you haven't got a name, have you? A name? Timmy. Like that name? That's your name. Timmy. You like that? Timmy. Come on. Look what I've got for you. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. There we are. What did you say? Say it again for me. Go ahead. Good. Again. Good. Dr. Hoskins, you must listen to this. Miss Fellows, I have no time just now. Oh, it would just take a a Very well. Go ahead, Timmy. Go ahead. Ma- ma. Good. Again. Ma- ma. Good. Now, Timmy. Tim- my. Good. Now, what do you think of that? He's talking. Of course, we've all known for some time that he was capable of our speech. Research showed that the frontal cerebrum was large enough and the larynx sufficiently developed. He can learn anything. All we need now are teachers. Surely you're forgetting they're sending the subject back. Not now. Now that we know his capacity for learning. Tonight. Tonight? But this is only day 23. It has to be tonight. Just this morning we got a scan on the medieval subject. But you said you wanted someone who could talk, right? Timmy can talk. It's a question of timing. I'm sorry. But you can't. It's not like sending a rock back. Miss Fellows, the subject has to go back. But you'll be killing a human being. Not killing. When stasis is released, he'll simply become a Neanderthal boy in a Neanderthal world again. He'll be alone. His tribe may not be where he left them. He'd have to take care of himself. He won't know how. Dr. Hoskins to stasis dome one, please. I'm sorry. We can't wait any more. Good. Again. Ma- ma. Good. Now, Timmy. Tim- my. Don't be afraid, Timmy. Tim- my. Yes. Good, Timmy. I have to go. Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you. Ma- ma. Miss Fellows, leave the operating area, please. And now the dome. All clear. Release in 60 seconds. All clear. Ready for release procedures to begin. Stand clear. Stasis release has been activated. Release in 30 seconds. Stasis release in 20 seconds. Fellows, KEEP CLEAR. HOLD. STOP HER. STOP HER. FELLOWS. HOLD. NINE. EIGHT. SEVEN. SIX. FIVE. FOUR. THREE. TWO. ONE. ZERO. Release completed. Release completed.