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Project X (1987)( insects chirping ) ( birds twittering ) ( monkey chittering ) ( twig snaps ) ( hawk screeching ) ( screeching ) ( gunshot ) Cover me When I run Cover me Through the fire Something knocked me Off the trees Now I'm on my knees Cover me Darling, please Hey, hey, monkey Monkey, monkey Don't you know you're gonna shock the monkey? Hey, hey, shock the monkey Hey, hey, yeah... Le patron? Monkey The wheels keep turning... Ah, Richard. Monkey Something's burning... ( indistinct chatter ) Monkey, don't like it But I guess I'm learning Shock Shock, shock Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey Shock Shock, shock Watch the monkey get hurt, monkey... Woman: You'd think that given the number of animals the government buys in a year, you'd honor a long-time understanding. Man: Listen, lady, I treat all of my customers the same, whether it's the government or the circus. These are young, healthy chimps, and you don't come by them every day. - Hey, Pop, look what we got. - Please, Melvin, not now. I'm busy. Let's tag these for delivery: Northeast Institute, food and drug. Yerkes, hepatitis. Johns Hopkins, cancer. ( monkey whines ) No, send that one to Hopkins. This little guy goes to the University of Wisconsin, the department of psychology. Shock the monkey, shock the monkey Shock the monkey Shock the monkey to life. Good morning, little one. Now don't be afraid. No one's going to hurt you. Teri, come and meet your new student. Now don't take it personally if he doesn't like you right away. He will, but sometimes the chemistry takes a little bit of time to work out. We have a tendency to expect these-- ( both chuckle ) As I was saying... ( monkey coos ) - Hi. - My, my, my. Hi. Virgil, look. Virgil, look what I have-- apple. Yes, that's good. Look, apple. Do you want it? That's good, but-- Virgil, Virgil, look. Apple. You don't want it? ( sighs ) Virgil, look. Apple. Apple. Apple. Virgil, Virgil, apple. You don't want this? Apple. Apple. Virgil, look. This means "apple." Look, look. ( Virgil grunts ) ( Teri sighs ) Fine. - ( Virgil screaming ) - Fine. Bye. All right, all right. Mm-mm-mm. Good. Clean. Right. No, it's not food time. You just ate. No, no, it's not playtime either. It's work time. Come on. Virgil, look. Where's the dog? Where is he? Good. Good. Dog in. Now where is he? Where is he? Good. Dog out. Who am I? Who am I? Do you remember? "Yellow hair." Do you remember? Teri? ( laughs ) Good. Yellow hair. That's right. Good. What's this? Help? No. Look. Help? I don't know what that means. Help what? Help fly? You mean this? ( chittering ) Shh shh shh. No, it's not playtime. No, it's Teri's work time. Hey, enough. ( Virgil whimpering ) Okay, how about if I write your name on it? Then it will be Virgil's alligator. Look. No, no, it's not playtime. All right, it's playtime. Fast break, fast break. Hurry. Ready? Put it in, hurry. Dunk it. Hurry, hurry. Good, good, good. Dr. Criswell. What's up? Good morning, Teri. I just heard from the NHF. They've decided not to renew your grant. Hey, Virgil. I'm really, truly sorry. At least you have enough material to write your thesis. - And I think I can get the department-- - Wait a minute. Here. Here you go. Want to color? Want to color? Look. It's okay. It's okay. ( muffled conversation ) All of us here recognize how remarkable the work you've done is. And you know you have a good shot at a position on this faculty. They're not taking Virgil away. Teri, don't throw all that away because of an attachment to this animal. Bring them here. Let them see how much he's learned. - When they see how much he's learned-- - They don't care. I've been on the phone with them all morning. - It's like talking to a brick wall. - Well, I don't care. I'm keeping him. The National Health Foundation owns him. I'll buy him. And where are you going to find the $15,000? I'll raise it. Not to mention the $10,000 a year for food and a veterinarian? Come on. I'll get it. We all knew this was a temporary arrangement when he got here. I raised him. He doesn't know anybody but me. He's not gonna understand what's happening. There's a new children's zoo in Houston. I think he's going to be sent there. He'll be well cared for and well loved. ( jet engine roaring ) ( chittering ) Well, hello, my man. You're in the air force now. ( monkeys chittering ) ( monkeys screeching ) ( typewriter keys clacking ) This is it. I'm through. I'm dead. I'm done. You've got to come up with something. They'll never let me fly again. They're gonna ground me forever. Ground you? You stole an airplane from the air force. You had a girl and an open bottle of champagne in the cockpit. I'm screwed. You're gonna be lucky if they let you walk again. - So what are you gonna say? - I don't know. Okay, look. Tell the colonel this girl is, like, terrified of flying. She had a brother who was killed in a plane crash. He got shot down in Vietnam. So you took her up in your plane to get her over the fear. That's the stupidest thing I ever heard. They'll see right through it. You're right. You're screwed. Come on, Garrett, let's get cleaned up. You gotta go see the colonel. - So what are you gonna do? - The onIy thing I can do-- I'm gonna go in there. I'm gonna look him in the eye and tell him the truth. Well, my girlfriend's brother was a fighter jock in Vietnam and he got shot down over Hai Phong. Anyway, ever since then, she's had this horrible fear of flying. And I thought that the best way to get her over it was to take her up and bring her back down again safe and sound. In other words, you did it to get laid. I suppose that's not entirely untrue. Are you any relation to Jake Garrett? He was my father, sir. So why didn't you go to the Air Force Academy? Well, I did. I was asked to Ieave during my second year. My instructors felt that I was spending too much time concentrating on football. Football? Well, I wasn't actually on the team. I was more of a statistician-- you know, player evaluation, team comparisons-- that kind of thing. I ran a betting pool. I am relieving you of your duty with the civil air patrol, and I am reassigning you until you can learn to obey orders. "Experimental Pilot Performance Project." Don't screw it up. No, sir. ( dog barking ) ( knocks on door ) Airman Garrett reporting for duty, sir. How do you do? I'm Dr. Carroll. Get Krieger for me, would you? Woman: Yes, sir. Civil air patrol. So you've got some flying experience. That's terrific. That should be very useful. Sergeant, this is Airman Garrett. He'll be joining the flight engineer staff. Take him down to the vivarium and get him started. Oh, the F-20 flight simulations finally came through. Drop them off at the PEP room, would you? - I'll look at them this afternoon. - Yes, sir. I would just like to thank you for this opportunity. And I hope that I can be of some real benefit to the program. Good. Woman over P.A.: Airman Lucas, report to the microbiology lab. Just call me Krieg. We're all on the same team here. Those are fighter simulations? Yeah, a strafing run over a South Pacific atoll. - Wow. - Yeah. Well, the pilots have to be trained to handle all sorts of different terrain and weather conditions. This is gonna be a whole new experience. - I just hope I'm up to it. - Don't worry about it. Yeah, but you're talking about jets and bombers. I've only flown bug smashers. I've got a lot to learn. Not you-- them. Man over P.A.: Indicated air speed-- 330. Mach .98, minus two degrees. We've got number two rolling 520 degrees per second. He's out of the envelope. Neutralize your trim, man. Redepart your pilot on a standard landing. - Okay. - He's back in. Man over P.A.: Number five, restabilize your approach into its landing pattern. Okay, this is where we keep the troops. We put the new recruits in here until they're processed into the program. At that point we move them over to their permanent cages-- - Hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it. - What? I'm supposed to be in the Experimental Pilot Performance Project. Yeah, that's right. These are monkeys. I don't know anything about monkeys. - ( chittering ) - Krieg: Sure, you do. You're a primate yourself, right? Am I right? Yes. Okay, first things first. White neckbands denote freshmen, blue-- juniors, and red-- seniors, kind of like college. ( monkey whooping ) Okay, here's your leash. Here's your clipboard. Okay, now let's go through the whole procedure from the beginning, okay? We'll start with the chimp in cage number 14. Put his leash on him and weigh him and put him in cage number five-- that one right over there. I'll be back in a minute. And if you need any help, just ask him, okay? Watts, please hang up your key like everybody else. Thank you. ( jet passes overhead ) Hey there, fella. ( monkey growls ) Okay, let's go. - ( monkey grunts ) - ( door closes ) I wouldn't mess with him if I were you. That guy would like to rip your arm off and beat you half to death with it. Sergeant Krieger wants me to weigh him. Krieger don't know shit about these animals. - I'm Isaac Robertson. - Jimmy Garrett. Jimmy, pound for pound, these guys are seven times as strong as we are. I think that you should start with this little fella here. He looks just as scared as you do. Be a little careful. He can bite. Okay. Hey. How are you doing? Uh, no funny stuff, okay? Go ahead. Look, look, I know that you would probably rather be climbing up a tree, right? I'd rather be flying a plane. We don't have any choice in the matter though, right? So what do you say? Huh? Be a good boy, okay? Be a good little chimp. Come here. Shit. Hey. ( clapping ) ( chuckling ) Okay. Good boy. Jimmy: Come on, go up. Pull it back. Pull it back. Pull it back. Pull it back. Robertson: Pull it back slowly. Pull it back. - That's it. - Come up. - Whoa, whoa, whoa. - Whoa, whoa. Pull up. Pull it. - Come on. Easy. - Shit. You want it smooth. You want it smooth, man. Come on. - Pull up, pull up. - Argh. ( chuckles ) That happens to everybody the first time. Good, good. Good boy. Good boy. Good boy. - Good boy. - Give him a raisin. - I feel like an idiot. - ( chuckles ) Jimmy, it's gonna take him a couple of days just to get the feel of this thing. - Let's try again. - Okay. Give me your finger. Now push this button. - Robertson: Throttle forward. - Okay. Robertson: Good. Now both hands on the wheel. Right, uh-huh. Now we're gonna taxi into position. - Increasing power. - Easy. Easy. - Increasing power. - That's good, hold the wheel. Good. Now you got takeoff speed. - ( beeping ) - Good boy. Uh-huh. Now you're gonna straighten it out and gonna pull it back. - Straighten it out. Straighten it out. - That's good. - Pull back. - That's good. Now up. Now go up. Go up. Go up. Up, up. Go up. Up. Up, up. Pull back. Pull back. Pull back. That's good. What's he doing? I don't know, man. I mean, I've never seen this before. Woman: Hi, Sergeant. How are you? - Fine, thanks. - Aren't you sweet? ( whimpering ) - What's wrong with him? - Uh, you got me, man. - Grab the wheel, man. - Come on, easy. - Hey. - Get him. Whoa. - Hey, come back here. - Go get him. - Come back here. - Get him, Jimmy. Hey, hey, hey, come here. Come on. Come here. Come here. - It's okay. Come here. - Man over P.A.: Number four, please return your pilot to your station. Airman Garrett, what's the problem here? Oh, nothing, sir. He was doing fine, and he just-- I'm sorry. Good boy. Turn your head this way. Hey. Hey. What the hell do you think you're doing? ( monkey blows raspberry ) ( blows raspberry ) What's happening, Watts? Badness, man, total. See, the moon is in the seventh house, but I am still knocking on the sixth door. Robertson: That's because of all that junk food you eat all the time. It rots your brain. JT, JT, JT, congratulations. You graduated. Give me your hand. Now give me your neck. Where are you taking him? Hey, dude, you see that red collar? Now that red collar signifies that JT is a graduate. Now, son, you are in the undergraduate program. Come on, Watts, he just asked a question. Well, what is his clearance? What is his security clearance? What is his clearance? What is your clearance? Who made you lord of the apes? Come on. Come on, JT. Yeah, let's go, you and I, While the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherized on a table. Don't ask, "What is it?" Come on, let's go and make our visit. In the rooms the women come and go... Robertson: Come on, smile. Come on. Can you smile for me? Come on, smile. Come on. Yeah, I knew it. You're an old circus chimp, aren't you? Jimmy: How can you tell? Robertson: After a while you just get a feeI for it. Can I see your cigarette? Take it. Go on. Good boy. Good boy. Yep, a circus chimp. Now, they can be the meanest. I figure they've been worked so hard all their lives, they don't want anyone to tell them what to do anymore. Jimmy: He loves it. Robertson: It's an evil addiction. Lock up for me, Jimmy? Jimmy: Yeah, no problem. See you tomorrow. Good night, man. Virgil, huh? You don't look like a Virgil. I think this is yours. See you later, alligator. ( insects chirping ) ( TV playing ) Woman on TV: Channel 11 , serving the Lockridge Everglades area. Man on TV: The Buccaneers brought a sense of pride to fans in the bay area with a new stadium and three seasons that took them to the playoffs. People like Steve Wilson have shared that pride by being United Way volunteers, by helping handicapped children like Peter, who was placed with a family through an adoption agency. With their help, Peter is now leading a full life, helping people help each other the United way. Help. Hi. Help. I don't believe it. Help. Help what? What? I don't-- I don't know what that means. Oh. Oh, out? Help out? You want to get out. Okay. Hey. Aha. New girl in the neighborhood. Oh, no. No, no. No, no out. I shouldn't even have let you out. What is that? Oh. Oh, food. Food. Food-- that I can do. Here, come on. Mm-mm-mm. Here. You don't want it? What? Yeah, it's a refrigerator. Apple. That's the sign for apple? What? You want-- what? You want this? Oh. You want the brush? Okay, here. ( jet passing overhead ) Come on. Time to go to bed. Yeah, friends. Good night, Virgil. ( whimpering ) Jimmy: "Hold up the left index finger. Point the right index finger down and circle it around the left index in a counterclockwise motion, the left index turning slightly. Place the right hand in front of the chin, palm facing you. Open the fingers and circle the hand in front of the face from right to Ieft-- Beautiful." BeautifuI. Jimmy: And a commercial came on. And it was for a charity, see, so the woman in it was using sign language. And she was saying, "Help," you know, "Help." Garrett, is there a point to this story? Well, yeah. See, that's when I realized that Virgil here is using sign language to communicate with me. There. See that? He made the sign for "apple." No, Virgil, you can't have the apple, because you gave it to your girlfriend last night, you remember? ( chuckles ) Sir, I think that this could be of great benefit to the program. Here, watch. This is the sign for "food," see? Okay, food. Come on, food. There. See? He did it. Yeah, well, somebody obviously conditioned him to do that. I mean, it's like Pavlovs dog: The bell rings, and he salivates. You must have learned about that in high school. Jimmy: No, no, no, he makes signs all the time, and nobody is ringing any bells. When a dog is happy, he wags his tail. When he has to urinate, he scratches on the door. Now, you wouldn't call that sign language, would you? But this is different. He's using words. Garrett, what you're talking about has no conceivable relationship to the task we're trying to accomplish here. Now, I appreciate enthusiasm, but I suggest you unclutter your mind and put your energy to the work at hand. Sir, maybe if we looked in the files, we might be able to find out some more about him. - We don't need to look in the files. - No, we don't. That's absolutely right. We don't have to look in the files. - ( monkeys chittering loudly ) - ( Goliath growls ) ( men shouting ) Hey. Hey, Goliath. Goliath, look here. Come here. Hey, here you go. Come on. That's right. That's good. ( blows raspberry ) Good morning, Airman, - Ethel. - ( Ethel grunts ) Yeah, Bluebeard. Hey, congratulations. Looks like you're just about ready, pal. Okay, Airman, deplane your pilot. Come on. Airman, how's Goofy doing today? Oh, fine, sir. Good. That's some very impressive flying there, Garrett. Looks like your pilot's made the grade. Hey. Okay, stop flying. Good. Hey, Chimp Yeager, give me five. Here you go. Enjoy it. You don't want it? Out. Hurry. Oh. Well, it is a special occasion. ( grunting ) Okay. Date time. Don't go too far. ( footsteps ) Garrett, listen, I need to speak to you for a minute. Uh, listen, we've got a review board visiting us from Washington in three days. And, well, I think your animal is the best-qualified for our demonstration. Oh, that's great. Virgil's really smart. Virgil's pretty smart, but I think the trainer might have had something to do with it. Jimmy, you've earned yourself a promotion. I want you to take over for Airman Watts as graduate program trainer. Full security clearance has been granted you. Starting tomorrow, you go to work in the flight chamber. Sergeant Krieger will brief you on your responsibilities in the morning. Congratulations, Jimmy. Oh. ( chuckles ) That's great. Hey. Dr. Carroll? Does this mean I'll be flying again soon? Keep up the good work, Jimmy. Great. Hear that? We're promoted. So what's the graduate program about? You take the chimp with the red neckband down the tunnel to the flight chamber. And keep this on. Turn it in when you come out. That's it? Yeah, that's it, as far as I'm concerned. Hey. Hey. What happened to Watts anyway? I don't know. Okay, Bluebeard. Okay. Chin up. Good boy. ( chittering ) Hey, what's the matter with you? Bluebeard, nobody's gonna hurt you. I promise. Here, give me your hand. ( Bluebeard whimpering ) Garrett, go on in. Man over P.A.: Trainer, check your pilot in at the aircraft. Have him mount up, prepare to taxi. Okay. Come on, Bluebeard, make me look good. Go on. Man over P.A.: Trainer, evacuate chamber. Trainer, evacuate chamber. Over here. Here you go. Put these on. Man over P.A.: Cleared for systems initiation. Roger. Commencing. Man over P.A.: Release safety interlocks. Man #2: System loaded. Starting countdown. six, five, four, three, two. Open. Man #2: System A1 , core is free. Cooling commencing. - Man: Take it down. - Man #2: Roger. - Reinsert reactor. - Reactor reinserting. Pulse delivered, subject number 1015, gamma/neutron ratio, received midcranial dose of 1200 rads. Man: Report reactor status. Man #2: Reactor secure. Garrett, yo. Let's see that little thing there. You're checking me for radiation, right? Don't worry, you're clean. Well, what happens to him? He'll keep on flying as long as he can. Till he's dead? Yeah. - I wanted to tell you, man. - Then why didn't you? You didn't have clearance. Hey, that's bullshit, man. You were supposed to be my friend. Hey, what do you think is going on here? You see them take JT out. He doesn't come back. What do you think is going on down that tunnel? I didn't know. ( jet passes overhead ) So what is it? What is it? Are they all--? Yes, all. Look, they radiate the chimps to see how long they can fly before they die. That is supposed to tell us if our guys can survive Iong enough to get to Russia in case World War III happens. There's nothing you can do about it, man. It's the air force. Jimmy, you do your job, or you're gonna wind up like Watts. What happened to Watts anyway? Couldn't handle it. Got too attached. - He was crazy. - No. He went AWOL. He couldn't handle it. Me, Jimmy-- I treat these animals well, but I don't get too attached to them. That's what you've got to do. So I'm the new lord of the apes. Look, Jimmy, you had to take that promotion. You don't want to stay around here, man. You do your job. Don't get involved. You'll be out of here before you know it. You'll forget all about this pIace, man. ( jet passes overhead ) ( water splashes ) Good night, Jimmy. Good night. Hey, don't teach them any more. You understand? Come on. I have to weigh you. Hey, come here. Virgil. I said come back here. Give me your hand. Okay, get on the scale. I said get on the scale. Get on the scale. Now stay there. Would you get on the goddamn scale? No. No. Stop playing. Not playtime. Understand? On the scale. Get on the scale. Give me that. What are you--? Give me that. God damn it, Virgil. Woman over P.A.: Lieutenant Maxwell, please report to operations. ( water running ) Come here. ( screeching ) ( all screeching ) ( insects chirping ) ( phone rings ) Hello. Hello. Is this Teresa McDonald? Mm-hmm. Jimmy: Well, you don't know me, but we have a friend in common-- Virgil. What's wrong? Is he all right? Yeah. You're the one who taught him sign language? Yeah. Well, listen, I know that it's none of my business, but I don't understand what he's doing here. I mean, it must have taken you a long time to teach him-- Where? Wait a minute. Where are you calling from? Lockridge Air Force Base, where you sent him. Lockridge Air Force Base? He's supposed to be in a zoo in Houston. Who is this? I can't tell you. Listen, I shouldn't even have made this call in the first place. If anybody finds out, they'll nail my ass to the wall. - Wait a minute. - I'm sorry. No, no, wait. - How are you doing? - Okay. Okay, this is where we keep new recruits until they're processed into the program. I'm sorry, what was your name again? Curtis, Sergeant. Well, Curtis, white neckbands denote freshmen, blue-- juniors, and red-- seniors, kind of like college. Here's a leash. Here's a clipboard. And you can use this key. Jimmy: Dr. Carroll, I'm gonna talk to Colonel Niles today. I'm gonna ask to be transferred from the project. So what's the problem? I guess I'm just not cut out for it. Sit down. Now, you want to be a pilot. I know that. But without these studies, there's no way we can be sure that pilots can survive to complete their missions if they get subjected to ionizing radiation. Yes, yes, I know. Really, I understand that. It's just-- for example, Virgil-- the one who knows how to sign-- I know that you don't believe this, but he knows how to talk. And it seems to me that there would be a better use for him than this experiment. You've grown very close to that animal. And it hurts you to think about what's gonna happen. Now listen. It's perfectly okay for you to feel that way. It is. You wouldn't be human if you didn't feel that way. And I think that it's good that you're able to express it. Now all I can say to help is that it will get better and the pain will go away. Jimmy, what, do you think I'm some kind of monster? You think I enjoy having to sacrifice these animals? Now, I know you got into some trouble before you came here, but since then, you've become one of the top peopIe - I've got working in this program. - Really? And I intend to let Colonel Niles know that. Well, thank you very much. We'll get you up in the air again soon, Jimmy. General: Well, we'll forgive him once. Hello, Garrett. How's it been going? Oh, fine, thank you, sir. General, this is Jake Garrett's son. Really? I knew your father well. Niles: He's on our pilot performance team. Fine. Keep up the good work, young man. General. So the mountain comes to Mohammed, eh? Lyn, I hope you have room for one more tomorrow. We've got Senator Dannis coming. Dr. Carroll: Oh, I'm sure we can squeeze the senator in. Woman over P.A.: Lieutenant Shine to the vivarium. Lieutenant Shine to the vivarium. ( music playing ) ( horn honks ) Jimmy: Possible flush for Hadfield. - Nothing for Eddie. - Thanks, Jimmy. - Gary, three. - Yes. Okay. All right, let's make this interesting. I'm in for a buck. I see that. I see that. I see that, and you see this. Eddie: El Paso. - Check it out. - How are you doing, beautiful? - Can I buy you a drink? - Thanks, I'm leaving. I see your buck and I bump you a buck. Oh. Read 'em and weep, Jimmy boy-- queen high flush. Not so fast, Hadfield. Not so fast. Full boat, aces and eights. Your ass is nailed to the wall-- to the wall. Jimmy, you are the luckiest son of a bitch on Lockridge Air Force Base. And you are the ugliest son of a bitch on Lockridge Air Force Base. Eddie: Jimmy, my man, how about a loan? - Jimmy: Uh, sorry. I'm a little short. - You're a little shit. Excuse me. Could I buy you a drink? I don't see why not. What'll you have? A beer. A beer. Two beers. So what's the gag? There's no gag. Hey, it's not that I haven't been picked up in a bar before, but who put you up to this? You did. You called me last night. I'm Teri McDonald. I've been hanging around this place all night. I was just about to go back to the motel when I recognized your voice. Your name's Jimmy? You did call me, right? I couldn't sIeep after you hung up, so I got on a plane and flew down here this morning. I've been walking around this base all day and no one seems to know anything about any work involving chimpanzees. Look, you were right to call. If someone sent Virgil here, they made a big mistake. Listen, they're doing top-secret work here. If anybody knew that I even talked to you, I could be charged with treason. Okay, if I can't talk to you, who can I taIk to? Nobody. Listen, the best thing for you to do is you just get on a plane and-- and go home. No, no, wait a minute. You called me. Now maybe you shouldn't have, but you did. Somebody lied to me. They told me he was gonna end up in some zoo in Houston. I didn't spend three years of my Iife training him to have him end up being tortured in some military laboratory. No, he's not being tortured. Nobody said anything about torture, okay? They don't put chimps up in satellites anymore, right? And I don't think that the air force is into medical research. - What am I supposed to believe? - I don't know. I don't know. I can't help you. - I'm sorry. I gotta go. - What? I don't know. I don't mean to be rude, so excuse me. They're here. Garrett, take your pilot down to the flight chamber on the double, okay? Let's hustle. - She got married? - She got married, yeah. - No. - She did. Come on, Garrett, on the double. Go, go, go on. ( whimpering ) - ( screeching ) - Come here. Krieger: Come on, Garrett. Let's not keep them waiting. Garrett. - No. - What? I'm not gonna do it. Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what you're doing? Now come on. What the hell's going on here? We're all right, sir. Just a little disagreement. Niles: He kept the wing to see that he got a good cockpit. ( men laughing ) Niles: This is the vivarium. This facility serves as the recruits' barracks during the rigorous training period. Designed with an eye toward cost-effective animal housing... Robertson. ...the vivarium was built expressly for our pilot performance project, which is affectionately known around here as Project X. Our staff of animal trainers and technicians has been hand-picked and specially trained to deal with the full spectrum of program requirements. Senator: When you say "cost-effective"... ( indistinct ) Give it to me. Niles: Senator, since the program's inception over seven years ago, we've averaged a yearly expenditure of approximately $1 .8 million. This figure includes the cost of animal acquisition, personnel training, the constant modification and upgrading of our simulations, as well as the continued development of the primate equilibrium platform, the simulator used to train them. When you factor in the benefits for the defense industry in terms of what we learn here about pilot performance... Come on, buddy. Let's go. Niles: ...ensure the viability of the bomber force for years to come. Now if you'll follow me, let's head on down to the flight chamber. ( Virgil whimpering ) Gentlemen, our strategic bomber force is under attack from those who question its survivability in a nuclear conflict. They claim the piloted bomber has become obsolete. It is our goal to demonstrate the continued value of the bomber force in our nuclear triad. We hope to accomplish this by studying the effects of radiation on man's closest genetic relative. Here in the flight chamber, we expose the subject to the effects of an atomic blast, then chart his ability to continue flying a simulated bombing run lasting from six to 10 hours. Man: Just how similar to us are these chimps? Niles: The genetic characteristics of chimpanzees are over 98% identical to those of man. All the major functions-- cardiac, respiratory, central nervous system-- are virtually the same as ours. They're as close as you can get without actually being human. Man #2: Why don't you just use the monkeys in the real planes? Man #3: It'd sure as hell save some tax dollars. ( men laugh ) Dr. Carroll: The point of the training program, gentlemen, is to develop skills in our primate subjects which approximate those required by human pilots to complete their missions. Now what you're going to see is a typical exposure run which will measure the performance decrement to the subject after an ionizing radiation insult. Gentlemen, we'll wear our protective lenses throughout the duration of the demonstration, if you will, please. Lieutenant, could we have a little daylight, please? Yes, sir. We are airborne. - Man #2: Safety interlocks disengaged. - Roger. The pilot will be exposed to a dose of 3500 rads. ...if he took off within 2.5 miles of ground zero. Man #2: Reactor armed. If there are no further questions, gentlemen, I suggest we get started. - ( door slams ) - Jimmy: I have a question. Sir, if we've proven that our pilots can retaliate, why does this chimp have to be irradiated? In this program, gentlemen, we're exploring every possible scenario of nuclear war. Now, there's a big difference between a pilot who flies through a radioactive cloud and one who is caught in a 20-megaton blast. Sirs, this chimpanzee-- there's one thing he doesn't know. If he's exposed to radiation, he'll fly just like we taught him to, but a human pilot won't fly the same because he'll know that he's dying. Dr. Carroll: All right, Garrett, you've had your say. You're dismissed. Jimmy: Haven't you've learned everything that you're gonna learn? - Garrett, that is enough. - How many do we have to kill? Garrett, this is not the time or the place to go into this. Admittedly, these are very interesting points. However, they've all been dealt with before. All right, gentlemen, I suggest we break and pick this up in the morning. We have a cocktail reception scheduled in a half-hour at the officers' club. And, gentlemen, we can just leave our books and our glasses right here on our chairs until tomorrow. Thank you. All right, reinitiate the exposure run in the morning. Yes, sir. Reinsert safety interlocks. Garrett, that's it for you. You're finished. You pick up your gear and you get the hell off of my base. And if I ever catch you anywhere near here again, so help me God, you're gonna finish your tour of duty in a military prison. You understand that? And that is a promise. - Man: Report reactor status. - Man #2: Reactor secure. Man: Roger. We're gonna take him in for a landing and recommence the exercise at 0800 hours. Man #2: Roger. Initiating landing pattern. Thank you. Now to get to the airport, I go right? Two lights, make a right and then make a Ieft. She's not going to the airport. You're not going to the airport. Yes, I am. I'm going to Washington. I told the National Health Foundation what's going on here, and they're outraged. That won't do any good. It's a hell of a lot better than doing nothing. You don't have that much time. I'm gonna get you Virgil, but you have to get him out of here tonight. ( chittering ) We'll come out of that door there. Hey, don't worry about it. He'll make it over. Bye. ( insects chirping ) Man on TV: Miller inbounds the ball to Peterson. He brings it down court looking for Boddington who has the hot hands. And he gets him at the top of the cage. Man #2: Oh, now somebody better get on him. - Get on him. Damn. - Swish. Two points. Pay up the money. I got two for you right here, Frohman. Watch the game. Miss, come with me, please. Man on TV: This Blue Devil team is a lot more experienced... ( alarm beeping ) ( monkeys chittering ) - Now get down. - ( crackles ) ( howling ) Dr. Carroll: Everybody stay back. ( crackles ) ( screeching ) - ( screeching ) - Teri: Look out. Dr. Carroll: Go. Move it, move it. Get the door. Somebody get that door open. Look lively, everybody. Let me speak to Sergeant Krieger. Don't go anywhere. Well, wake him up, for Chrissakes. This is Dr. Carroll. Teri: Virgil. Virgil. Virgil. It's me. Come on. ( laughs ) ( squeaking ) ( Razzberry blows raspberry ) This is Lieutenant Voeks at the Strategic Weapons Research Center. I'm sorry to bother you, ma'am. It is late, yes, but I need to speak to Colonel Niles. Lieutenant, I don't think there's any need to bother the Colonel. Sir, sorry to bother you. Yes, it's 0400 hours, sir. I'm sorry, but we have a phase-three control problem with the research animals and a peripheral penetration in the main complex. And, well, to tell you the truth, sir, actually, there are monkeys all over the place, sir. Damn. ( growls ) Here. Through here. Oh, shit. ( beeping ) - Jesus Christ, the reactor's up. - Thank you, sir. We can see that. I'm showing Delta T-170. Punch up the flight chamber. Jimmy: Come here. Winston, Winston, give me your hand. Give me your hand. Now come on, get out of here. Spike, get off. Spike, get down. Spike, Spike, put it-- get off, Spike. Get going. Get out of here. Goliath. Come on, Goliath, come here. - Man: Evacuate the area. - Come on. - Airman, evacuate the area. - ( alarm beeping ) Goliath, come on. Goliath, Goliath, come here. Come on. Voeks: Core temperature is rising. We're gonna have to close it up right away. T-200. It's gonna pulse. Man over P.A.: We're locking the chamber. Evacuate now. - Just come here. - Evacuate now. Evacuate now. Garrett, get the hell out of there, man. - Teri: Jimmy. - Goliath, come on. Come on. - Man: 10 seconds to pulse. - Teri: Jimmy. - Goliath, come here. Come here. - Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two... Voeks: 4300 rads released in the flight chamber. No contamination outside. You okay? Yeah. ( beeping ) What's the problem? It's not going down. Reactor override isn't functioning. The circuits must be shorted out. Unless we can bring that reactor down, it's just gonna keep on generating heat. Until what? Dr. Carroll over P.A.: Garrett, can you hear me? Garrett. Jimmy: Yeah. Listen, there's been no leakage outside of the chamber, but you've got to get out of there. We can't get the reactor down. Jimmy: Yeah, I know. There's a fire extinguisher jammed in it. Garrett, evacuate the area immediately. We are looking at a possible meltdown here, Garrett. You've got to evacuate immediately. Garrett, do you understand what I'm saying? Garrett! Hey, Goliath. Hey, hey, come here. Look what I've got. Come here. Come on, Goliath. I got something for you. Come here. Come on. Come here, Goliath. Come here, look. Look, come here. Come here. Look what I've got. Come on, Goliath. Look. Look what I've got. Yeah, it's here. That's right. That's yours. Come on. Come on. Look, you want it? You want a cigarette? You want it, Goliath? Come here, Goliath, come here. Look what I have for you. Look. You want it? Want a cigarette? Garrett, what the hell are you doing? You want the cigarette? You want it? Yeah? Good. Look at it. Not yet. You go get that first. Go get me that. Bring me the red thing. Bring it to me. Goliath, go bring it to me. Go on, Goliath. Go on, bring it. Go get it. Go get it. That's good. That's good. No, not that. No, not the plane. The fire extinguisher. No, put that down. Put it down. Go get me the red thing. The red thing-- go get it. Go get it. Bring me the red thing over there. Go get it. Go get it. Come on, Goliath, come on. Come on, get the red thing. Come on, Goliath, come on. Jimmy. This. Bring this back. - Teri: Go get it. - Just like this, Goliath. Go get it. - That's it. Go get it. - Go get it. Bring this. Go get this. - Go get it. Go get it. - Go get this. Go ahead, get this. Bring me this. Then I'll give you the cigarette. - Go on and get that. - Teri: Go get it. Jimmy: Go get this. Go get it. Go, Goliath. Go get it. Go get it. Go, go, go. ( chittering ) Bring it back. That's good. That's right, pull it. Dr. Carroll: Go get the fire extinguisher. - Come on. Come on. - Pull that thing out of there. All: Come on, pull it. Come on, please, pull that thing out of there. - Come on, baby. - Get it. Pull it. Keep pulling, Goliath. Bring it. - Bring it here. - Goliath, that's good. Pull it. That's it. That's good. - That's good. - Good. ( whirring ) All right. All right. Got it. Got it. All right, all right. Dr. Carroll: How are we? We're okay. No radiation leakage outside the flight chamber. Good, Goliath. That's good. Good. Good, Goliath. That's good. Good. That's good. Thank you, Goliath. Dr. Carroll: Good job, Garrett. Are you both okay? Yeah, we're fine. Good. Now take your animal back to the vivarium and help get the others back in their cages. Dr. Carroll, this is Teri McDonald. She's the woman who raised Virgil. He never should have been brought here. We should let her take him home. Garrett, take your animal back to his cage. We'll talk about this tomorrow. Is that clear? Sir, can we just stop and think about this? Garrett, this is Colonel Niles. Do exactly as Dr. Carroll says. That's an order. Yes, sir. Well, go get your animals back in their cages. Let's get the hell out of here. Okay, Ginger, give me your hand. Okay. This way, this way, this way. ( alarm beeping ) Oh, shit. Come on, Goofy. Come on, fellas. - This way. - Teri: Come on. Jimmy: Come on, Goofy. Come on. - Jimmy: Easy. - Teri: That's it, come on. Jimmy: Easy. Teri: Come on. Ah, shit. Teri: Come on. Come on, come on. - Where are the keys? - They're in there. - They're not there. - I don't know. I left them in there. - Aw, shit. - ( siren wailing ) - What? - That way. - Come on. Come on, Goofy. - What are we doing? Come on. That's right, this way. Come on, Ginger. Come on. There you go. Come on, get in there, troops. Jimmy, wait a minute. This is an air force plane. We can't just steal it. Don't worry. I do it all the time. - Where are we going? - As far as we can get. That's right. You fly. That's right. You're my copilot, buddy. ( siren wailing ) Teri: Come on, guys. Come on. Come on. Hurry. Hurry. That's it. Come on. ( siren wailing ) Whoa. Turn off your engine and come out with your hands in the air. ( engine stops ) Exit the aircraft. Soldier: Let's go, honey. ( jet passes overhead ) Soldier: Come on, let's go. Move away from the aircraft. Move it. Let's go. Over here, in the jeep. Get in the back of that vehicle now. Let's go. Move it. - Come on. - Now. Pilot: Unit 15, air security Fox 2 here. I'm holding overhead. Do you require any further assistance? Over. Negative. The suspects are in custody. Aircraft is secure. Pilot: Roger, 15. Security control advises the handlers are en route from the SWRC for the animals. We'll remain at station. Fox 2 over. Roger. Copy, Fox 2. We'll stand by for their arrival. Hold your position for confirmation of the all-cIear. Over. Roger. Copy, 15. Holding position. Why not? ( mouths ) Roger, copy. Fox 2 standing by. ( engine starts ) Air security, this is Unit 15. We have a runaway aircraft heading down Taxiway 3. I repeat, Taxiway 3. Pilot: Roger. This is Fox 2. I'm overhead, moving into position. Over. Tower: Aircraft taking the active, this is Lockridge Tower. Hold short. You are not cleared for takeoff. Over. This is Lockridge Tower. You are not cleared for takeoff. Over. Hold short. You are not cleared for takeoff. Over. Pal, your flying days are over. You'd better answer me. Go, Virgil! Yeah! Radar contact. Tower tracks them heading southbound towards Everglades. Over. Roger, Tower. Breaking left for a 360. I'll catch 'em at the outer marker. Over. ( engine sputtering ) Pilot: Lockridge, he's got a problem. Tower: Roger, Fox 2. We've got him over the Everglades. Pilot: Losing power. He's going in. Tower: Attention, all aircraft! Lockridge Tower has an unidentified aircraft down in the Everglades Sir, the bottom is too soft. We're gonna need a boat to get out there. Don't bother. Sir, we're gonna have to bring in some dredging equipment - to salvage the aircraft. - Take care of it. - Yes, sir. - What are they doing here? Man: Sir, if we're able to recover any of the animals, we thought they could help us round them up. Niles: Get them the hell out of here and cIear the area. We've had enough of a circus aIready. Colonel, about Garrett, sir: I'm not sure it's advisable to press charges. If this gets as far as a court martial, everything that went on here last night is gonna be on record. I know that. Confine Garrett to quarters until I can explain all this to the general. Yes, sir. All right, let's start clearing the area. You're reminded to hold everything that you've seen out here as confidential. ( monkey chittering ) Can I say something to her? Make it quick. Listen. ( whimpering ) What's the sign for free? You-- free. Go on. Go on. ( instrumental music playing ) |
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