After the Thaw

An Earth 2 Episode Summary
by Ariadne [June 9, 1995]

CONTENTS:

• Teaser
• Act I
• Act II
• Act III
• Act IV
  
  

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Screenplay by: Theo Cohan
Directed by: Michael Grossman

Teaser

Danziger, Walman, and Julia hike through the snow. Alonzo, in narration says it's Day 109, their 40th day stuck in the biodome. Food is becoming more and more scarce. Each day they venture out in hopes of finding edible plant life, with little luck. The planet that once seemed so abundant is now a frozen wasteland; all signs of life have disappeared.

Walman and Danziger are walking ahead of Julia, leaving her behind. She calls for Danziger, then falls and rolls down the hill. When she stops, she finds a Terrian frozen in the ice. She calls for the guys.

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Act I

Several of the group are attempting to load the Terrian body onto the transrover. Julia says it's a perfect specimen; an entire Terrian body frozen in place like that. Walman thinks it's from a distant glacier. Baines, staring at it, asks how long it's been preserving in there like that. Julia won't know until she does a full bioscan, but judging from its position, it froze almost instantly; it could be almost any age.

A Grendler howls in the distance, as it's been doing all afternoon. Danziger tells everyone to stay clear while they get this piece of ice off the ground. The group uses the transrover's winch to lift the ice, but it burns out, dropping the body. Danziger is angry; they have better things to do than haul around this ice cube. Julia says she can't ignore information about this planet. It could answer many questions, possible disease immunities; they are here for the long term. Danziger replies their food supply says differently; they have two weeks.

Alonzo, in narration, says no food was brought back to camp that day, but the body was. They set it up in a tent outside. They called it the alien tent.

The group arrives back in the transrover. Julia tells Adair that it could be a key to understanding this planet.

Julia scans the frozen Terrian as many of the group watch. It seems to be 300,000 years old. What is most unbelievable is that the cell structure of this Terrian seems to have much more in common with humans; Terrians now have a more plant-like composition, given their nutrients are absorbed by osmosis and their symbiotic relationship with the planet. Yale asks if it means that one day they'll evolve to become more like the Terrians. As Julia scans it, the pitch of the scanner rises.

Outside, Danziger is working on the winch. True asks him what he thinks they're doing in the alien tent. He says he doesn't know, but unless they're planning on serving that carcass for dinner, they're wasting their time. Baines joins them and tells True if she wants to go check it out, he'll help her father; Danziger reluctantly agrees to let her go. He asks Baines why he's not in there with the rest of them Baines says he's not much for dead things.

Julia is registering a weak field of electrical energy from what would be the cerebellum. Morgan asks if it is dead, and Uly is frightened. Julia says not to be afraid; it's exciting. The preservation is so incredible, and if she can isolate the traces of physic energy, maybe they can find out how the Terrians communicate through their dreams. Adair suggests they all leave so Julia can do her work.

Alonzo has stayed behind, and he stares at the frozen Terrian. He asks Julia if she thinks he died like that. He knows how he feels - trapped. His first cold sleep for some reason, he woke up in his capsule 5 days early; he couldn't get back to sleep, and he couldn't get out. He was locked in there, half-frozen, like a coffin. He never dreamt again.

Night. Something is roaming the camp. It wrestles with various crew members in their sleep; first it goes to Baines, then it passes over Bess for Morgan, then Walman, then finally Alonzo. He fights with a creature in his dreams; it picks him up by the face. He wakes up and runs barefooted to the alien tent.

The next morning at their meager breakfast, Baines says he slept bad last night - he couldn't get that frozen creature out of his head. Morgan also had nightmares . Alonzo had dreams of he and the thing wrestling; he thought he was coming down with something. Julia says they were out in the cold a long time yesterday; the nightmares could be fever-induced. Morgan says they all had the same dream, and it didn't feel like a regular nightmare. What if Julia's diaglove didn't detect some spores from a bazillion years ago; who knows what kind of deadly microbe could have been released. Danziger says they are more childish than his daughter; he had dreams too - they were no big deal. What they should be worried about here is how they're going to feed themselves this time next week. He'll be loading the dune rail for a scout.

Outside, Julia stops him and thanks him for talking some sense into the others. Danziger says people in there are sick and hungry; their minds aren't working right. She shouldn't make the mistake of thinking they're on the same side on this one.

She goes to the alien tent. She checks the readings from her monitor, then goes outside to tell Danziger the energy is gone; the alien is now 100% dead. Danziger acts like he didn't hear her.

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Act II

Night. Baines is on guard duty. He is nervous and jumpy and easily startled by a Grendler howl. When Walman arrives to spell him, he almost shoots him. Walman notices he doesn't look good. Baines says his mind's playing tricks on him. Energy or no energy, ice cube Harry in there is freaking him out; who knows what they're defrosting in there. Walman laughs and says he's been out there pacing too long.

Julia is in the med portion of the dome, recording her research notes on the Terrian. Unlike Terrians they've encountered before, this one possesses a spinal column and multiple vertebrae. Residual muscle tissue indicates great strength. True wants to know if he'll come alive. Julia says it's neither a he nor a she, and while she hates to disappoint everyone, it will not come alive.

Walman, on guard duty, notices bright flashes coming from the alien tent. He goes to investigate and finds that the monitor and some of the other equipment has been destroyed.

In the dome, Julia asks Walman what he did to the radiometer. Adair suggests someone knocked it off the table accidentally; things break all the time around here. Walman says it was spooky out there. He doesn't think the howling Grendler destroyed it; it felt like it was trying to warn him or something. Morgan asks him to tell them what really happened. Walman is defensive; why would he want to vandalize the gear? Maybe he'll just say it was Morgan out there. Danziger, who Bess fetched, arrives and asks what the problem is. A woman's scream draws them all outside.

Magus has found a mutilated Grendler and is terrified. Everyone frantically runs for the dome. Yale does roll call. Baines is missing; what if whatever got the Grendler got him too? Danziger calls for Walman, Cameron, Solace and Julia to join an armed search party.

The group looks for Baines in the immediate camp. Alonzo finds him barricaded in the transrover. Baines tells them to stay back; he's not coming out. He's protecting himself; something's out there. Adair, who has come out, asks him if he went into the alien tent when he was on sentry . Baines says she couldn't drag him near that tent. When Yale says there's nothing to be concerned about, Baines asks about the Grendler; Grendlers just don't implode like that. There's something seriously out there. Adair suggests he come out and go inside where it's warm. Baines says if that's where she feels safe, she should go; he's staying right here. He secures the vehicle.

Yale tells those in the dome that Baines is fine, but feels safer in the transrover. Magus says they should get rid of that frozen carcass out there. Julia says a lot of weird things have happened since they got to this planet; they don't know that all of these things are connected and that carcass out there is of vital importance to their existence. Adair suggests they all go to sleep, and Danziger says they'll all stay in the dome tonight.

Julia, sleeping in the med area, awakens and dons her coat. She lifts the bar locking the main dome door and leaves for the alien tent. There, she finds that the body is missing.

She bursts back into the dome, telling everyone to wake up. The Terrian's body is gone; there are tracks in the snow. True says her father's missing.

A group leaves the dome in search of Danziger. They ask Baines if he knows where Danziger is. Baines has been asleep; he says he didn't see jack-squat and warns them all to stay back. Alonzo asks Julia to show them the tracks.

The tracks lead them to an area with an awful smell. They find Danziger standing over a fire. He says everything's ok now; he burned it. The Terrian didn't belong with them - it had to go. Now they can all get some sleep.

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Act III

The next morning, it's cold within the dome. Danziger tells Julia something destroyed the generator last night, and the back-up's only working at 50%; it dropped 25 degrees in there. Morgan says none of them seemed to have had anything to do with it. Walman says just another coincidence, Julia? Morgan asks if she is finally going to admit that the iceman shouldn't have cometh. She says they don't even have the body anymore, it's not the ashes of the creature getting together. Yale suggests it was the Terrians; what if by excavating that grave they disturbed a local tribe. He certainly would be upset if he heard someone had dug up his grandfather.

Adair loads up the dune rail, and Danziger asks her where she is going. She says Alonzo isn't getting anything from the Terrians; he can't even reach them. They can't just sit there waiting for whatever is out there to decide to attack one of them. He asks what exactly she thinks is out there - a penal colonist, a Council operative? She thinks they've upset the balance of nature somehow and that they're in danger. He must have felt the same way; why else would he have burnt the corpse? She asks him to join her.

They stop the dune rail to check coordinates, although they have a ways to go as far as Danziger can tell. They're not getting any sun; they're just going to make it back to camp as it is with the power they've got. Adair says they're going to have to go by foot.

They trudge through the snow. Adair says they're at the right coordinates, but neither of them recognize the place. As he tries to call to Alonzo back at camp, Danziger spots the boy.

As the boy leads them through the tunnels, he says they shouldn't have come in through the mountain entrance; it's lucky he found them at all. The Elder has been expecting them; they were hoping they'd come back.

The Elder is happy to see them; he notices Adair is terrified and wants to know what's wrong. She tells him of the discovery. The Elder is shocked they brought it back to camp. She tells him of the energy within it, and she and Danziger list some of the destructive events that happened. She asks if he has any idea who or what could be causing this; could the Terrians possibly be angry that they excavated the body? The Elder says the Terrians wouldn't want anything to do with _that_ body. Eons ago, the Terrians were much more individuated than they know them today. They were subject to passion, rage, emotions. They believed that all these primordial aspects of their being were frozen into one single Terrian who was swallowed by the earth. He thought it was folklore spread by the Grendlers, this tale of one Terrian who the earth took back. He asks where the body, and more importantly, where the energy is now. Adair and Danziger tell him of the cremation and the disappearance of the energy before all those strange things happened. The Elder suspects it's not gone. Danziger asks if he thinks the energy picked itself up and eviscerated a Grendler. The Elder thinks the energy is searching for a new host. The Grendler couldn't contain it; it must have found someone in their group.

Alonzo is in the med area, moodily sharpening a knife. Julia comes in and says since they got here, she doesn't think she's ever felt so isolated; everyone's guarding themselves. She notices Alonzo's silence and asks if he's giving into this paranoia; if he is he can always curl up next to Baines in the transrover. Alonzo feels its best to take precautions.

When Adair and Danziger return, they collect everyone together and tell them the psychic energy has somehow found a host; one of them. Danziger has designed a way to test for the presence of the psychic energy field amongst them; he has jerry-rigged the broken radiometer. The others ask if one of them is possessed - or locked in the transrover. Adair says the person might not even be aware of it. Morgan says Baines wouldn't have locked himself in if he weren't feeling something. Danziger says everyone's getting tested; that includes Baines, even if he has to drag him out of the transrover himself.

They all nervously await their turn. Cameron is playing with a tool, and Walman yells for him to stop.

Morgan is being tested in a room of the dome. He says if it is him, they'd lock him up and make sure he didn't hurt anyone, or worse, hurt himself, right? He doesn't think it's him. Adair says they're just trying to determine who got it so they can help him. Morgan says so that's why Danziger has that sedaderm in his belt - to help. They let him go; he is very relieved.

Adair asks Danziger what he thinks. The radiometer doesn't really work; they hope to smoke out whoever actually is the host. Adair says Morgan didn't seem any different from the Morgan Martin they've all come to know and love. Danziger says to bring in Solace.

Alonzo is very jumpy. He says he's not the only one who had dreams about it. As Danziger starts the scan, he asks why he's so keyed up. Alonzo says one of them's been turned into some freakish mutant thing. Danziger says he's the one with the psychic connection to the Terrians; tell them about his dream. Alonzo says the thing came at him, and they wrestled. Danziger tells Adair he thinks he's got some kind of reading with the scanner. Alonzo says they've proven nothing. It's not him; he's not the one! Danziger's eyes turn yellow as he continues the scan. Alonzo sees this and tells Adair it's Danziger; she's in danger! He and Danziger fight, and as Danziger grabs him by the face, he sees the dead Terrian. He kicks Danziger away, grabs his knife, and tells Adair to look at Danziger; she cannot, however, see his face. Julia enters and tells Alonzo they're just trying to help him. As Danziger comes toward him, Alonzo cuts his cheek, then cuts his way out of the dome. He runs into the night; Adair prevents Julia from following him. Danziger stands watching with blood running down his cheek.

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Act IV

The next morning, Magus, over gear, says there's no sign of Alonzo to the south. Morgan returns to the dome and says he found his footprints heading northeast. Adair says that's where they were yesterday. Danziger thinks Alonzo's headed there to silence the Elder and grabs a weapon; he plans to cut him off. Julia asks what he's planning to do to him. Danziger plans to help him; this thing inside of him has made him capable of vandalizing this camp and attacking Danziger. Force may be the only thing this demon understands. Morgan says if they don't protect themselves, this thing will take them like it took Alonzo. Julia says if it exists! How do they know the Elder was right? Bess asks her to explain what happened, and she says Grendlers or penal colonists. When Bess asks her why Alonzo ran away, she has no answer. Adair asks Julia to let Danziger go find him, but she wants to go along; it's subzero, and he'll need medical attention. Danziger violently grabs her by the shoulders and says if he wants her help, he'll call her. Adair, seeing this, says she and Julia are going with him.

Alonzo is walking in the snow, calling for Someone. He falls to his knees and buries his face in his hands. The boy places his hand on his shoulder and says come.

Danziger stops the rail and says another 4 km; they're going to get him - he can feel it. Adair has never seen him like this; she doesn't want him to confuse rescuing Alonzo with hunting an animal. Danziger says this thing is an animal; it'll destroy them all if they let it.

The Elder tells Alonzo the demon wants him dead because he knows he's the only one who can kill him; The Elder sensed it the moment Alonzo entered. It's no accident he and the demon have come face to face; the Terrians tell him that Alonzo's skills on the dreamplane are stronger than any human they've ever known. Alonzo asks why the Terrians can't fight him. The Elder says they lack aggression; it's not in their nature to fight one of their own. He must battle with the demon on the dreamscape - that's where he controls Danziger, and that's where Alonzo must challenge him. Alonzo asks how he can beat the demon; he already tried to kill him once while he was sleeping. The Elder, seeing the boy enter, says there's no more time; he's here.

Danziger, Julia and Adair enter the tunnels. Adair tells Danziger he's going the wrong way to the Elder's chambers. As she passes Julia, she looks at her. Danziger reaches a dead end; Adair takes his weapon, and Julia throws a torch at him. The women run; Danziger is right behind them.

Danziger calls for Devon in a demonic voice. Adair and Julia hide behind a rock. Adair aims the weapon at him and tells him to stay back. Danziger, with his yellow eyes, moves closer. Adair is about to fire, when Alonzo yells stop; she'll kill Danziger, but the demon won't die. Danziger lunges for Alonzo, and they fight. Alonzo downs him with some punches, but the energy field flows out of him and knocks Alonzo into the dreamplane equivalent of the Terrian hibernation chamber.

There, Alonzo faces the demon, and they fight. The demon picks him up by his face. He reaches for a staff held by a hibernating Terrian, and with it, sinks into the earth. He reappears behind the demon and shoots him with lightening from the staff. The demon dies in a swirl of energy.

In narration, Alonzo says they told him to return, and somehow he knew the only way to fight the demon's anger was to release his own. He could let go and be free, so the planet's power flowed through him.

Alonzo awakens on the floor of the tunnels. Julia asks if that's him; he thinks so. He sits up and clings to her.

In narration, Alonzo says they returned to camp, Danziger remembering nothing about the time the demon was inside him. They had to tell him everything.

When they return to camp, everyone silently stares at Danziger, then True runs to greet him.

Outside the dome, Danziger stops Alonzo and says he's sorry; he appreciates what he did for him. Alonzo says he would have done the same for him. Danziger turns, then stops and says he wouldn't; he couldn't.

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