"Caged" |
First aired: November 14, 1997 |
Waring, South Dakota, 1975
A group of young men head into the woods
from their car, in the dark, on a fishing trip. "Come on, Runt.
You're supposed to be this big, tough army guy now", calls Michael O'Ryan,
laughing in a superior way. Michael is leading the group. A
younger Jimmy Vise, who recently joined the army, is hurrying to keep up
at the rear.
"Hey, I don't think your brother likes
me very much", Jimmy Vise tells David, Michael's younger brother.
"Don't sweat it. He hates everyone,
man. But it's cool. He wouldn't have let you come with us if
he didn't think you were alright."
Suddenly, a very bright light appears,
and the men are pulled, struggling, one by one, into the light. Their
terrified voices can be heard calling from one to the other for help.
"Runt! Do something!" Michael O'Ryan's voice can be heard amid
the noise and shouting. Finally, Jimmy is the only one remaining
on the ground.
Colonel Vise struggles in his darkened
bedroom to awaken from this dream. He turns to the window and is
startled by the image of Adam MacArthur illuminated by lightening, and
drenched by the thunderstorm outside. Vise pulls a hand gun
from underneath his pillow. Taking a drink from a bottle of liquor,
he follows MacArthur's image out into the storm, firing the gun.
When Adam's image disappears, Colonel Vise
falls to his knees, screaming. Once again, the images of the lost
fishermen appear, each pleading for help. "Come on, Runt. You're
in the army now. You're supposed to be tough. Come on.
Help us!" finishes a ghostly image of Michael O'Ryan.
"I can't! No", screams Vise, awaking
once again in his bed from the recurring nightmare.
A young man works at the computer in an
office located at a junkyard. Lou, an older man who could be his
father, scolds him for "screwing around" and urges him to get to work and
process the new applications.
Lou then walks out into the yard where he urges a new worker, Adam MacArthur,
to stop welding since he's going into overtime. Adam thanks Lou for
giving him the job and allowing him to stay in a storeroom on the site.
Lou gives Adam permission to weld as much as he'd like in the storeroom,
as long as it is on his own time. Lou questions what Adam is working
on in the room, asking "Are you some kind of artist or something?"
"Something like that", responds MacArthur.
Once inside the storeroom, Adam examines
a structure of interlaced metal triangles and lights, surrounded by houseplants.
He carefully reads the print from the triangles: "Brain wave transmission;
destroyed satellite; extra-atmospheric radio telescope; anti-gravity/Faraday."
Connecting cables to a large battery, Adam watches a series of lights displayed
across the structure.
Back in the office, the young man on the computer has accessed the FBI's Ten-Most-Wanted
site on the Web. His attention is drawn to MacArthur's employment
application in his hand. Adam MacArthur's picture appears on the
computer screen, along with his name and the promise of a reward.
Colonel Vise enters a confessional in a
church. "Forgive me, Father, but ...I had a dream again. The
third time this month", Vise begins. "I'm closer to finding MacArthur.
I can feel it", he adds. Shaking with the emotional strain, Vise
admits it's not a dream, and proceeds to tell the priest about the abduction
experience he witnessed in 1975. He relates how he had accompanied
his best friend, David, on the fishing trip with David's brother, Michael,
whom he described as "a real tough cookie." Vise admits that he idolized
Michael. He expresses regret that he wasn't able to save his friends.
"Maybe it wasn't your place, wasn't your
destiny", suggests the priest. "Destiny", Vise pauses
with a look of revelation on his face. "Now I know why I've been having
these dreams. An eye for an eye..." he concludes, under his
breath.
The scene shifts to an FBI office where
agents Wilcox, Larue and Van Patten are reviewing the evidence on MacArthur
and Vise with their supervisor, Assistant Director Sanford Grushaw.
"This is an embarrassment to the department, gentlemen", the supervisor
asserts. "Vise and the NSA know your every move before you even make
it." He suggests that perhaps the case should be closed altogether.
The discussion is interrupted when Van
Patten receives a priority one E-mail from Mother detailing the report
of a man who claims to have seen Adam MacArthur. Validation was provided
by a scan of MacArthur's signature which matched the signature on his draft
registry card from 1939.
Colonel Vise is escorted to General Montgraf's
office. The general looks very displeased and says he is reading
about "a soldier who has crossed the line, whose behavior is out of control",
The general then explains that he is talking about Colonel Vise, citing
a list Vise's actions which were not Montgraf's "definiton of clandestine" --
attacking a cult on national television, et cetera. Vise asks for
permission to explain his actions. The general denies the request
and places Vise on leave until further notice.
Adam is in the storeroom at the junkyard.
Outside are the FBI agents and other law enforcement officers. The
young man who informed the FBI of Adam MacArthur's whereabouts is assuring
the agents that Adam is still inside the storeroom.
Once again, Adam connects cables to the battery. As the lights flash,
he watches the words on a triangle change from "junkyard" to "capture."
With the storeroom surrounded, Agent Wilcox calls to MacArthur on a bullhorn,
suggesting that he should give himself up. "Slowly exit the building
with your hands in the air", Wilcox instructs.
Adam searches for a way to escape and slips
through an upper-story window. He is immediately spotted and a chase
through the junkyard begins. Law enforcement officers fire whenever
they catch sight of the fleeing Adam MacArthur. Adam takes shelter
in the back of an old van. When agents walk away from the vehicle,
Adam steps out, only to be knocked down by Agent Larue who was waiting
for him. Agents surround MacArthur with guns drawn.
MacArthur is escorted into Ricanto Federal Prison under heavy security. Warden Burke
and a small group of guards arrive. Wilcox is told that these are
the only men available, since the prison does not officially open for another
month. The warden shares an access code number with Agent Van Patten
which will be required for anyone wanting to exit the prison for the next
18 hours.
Adam is interrogated by the three FBI agents
in his cell. He glances at each of them but does not reply to any
questions. Finally, Van Patten removes Adam's hand-cuffs and the
agents leave MacArthur alone in this cell. Larue and Wilcox prepare
to leave for the airport to make arrangements for MacArthur's eventual
transfer. They leave Agent Van Patten in charge at the prison.
He has memorized the access code and gives his only written copy to Larue.
Back in his bedroom, Colonel Vise is drinking.
Flashbacks from the 1975 abduction of his friends haunt him. These
are interrupted by his ringing telephone which he answers, and after
listening, breaks into a a sly grin.
Colonel Vise is seen meeting another man,
in the dark, who insists, "I wanna know that this makes us square.
This is the last time, Vise."
"If this proves to be accurate, we're good.
Now give!" replies Vise. The dark figure is revealed to be Agent
Grushaw of the FBI. He informs Vise that Adam MacArthur is being
held at Ricanto Prison for the next 6 hours.
Van Patten examines Adam's "machine", the
latticework of metal triangles. He walks directly to Adam's cell.
Adam appears to know what Van Patten will ask him, volunteering, "Wanna
know about the device I built?" Adam calls the device "a very simple
machine" and explains to Van Patten that he is using it to calculate checks
and balances. He states that he needs the machine in order to make
the changes that will affect the future and alter destiny.
Van Patten is skeptical, replying, "Is
that gonna be your story? An insanity plea. 'I'm gonna save
the world through divine intervention.'"
"Not divine... human", Adam corrects him.
Van Patten leaves the cell, as Adam explains he has talked with Van Patten
because he is the only one who can actually hear what Adam has to say.
Colonel Vise is seen pulling on a ski mask and other gear in a van outside
the prison.
Inside the prison, staff alert Agent Van
Patten to a security breach. They decide to block off all main arteries.
The warden explains that there are not enough men to surround MacArthur's
cell. Finally, Warden Burke suggests shutting down the power which
would cause the emergency system to automatically lock down the entire
prison. The lights go out and only auxiliary power remains for operations.
A gloved figure removes keys from the body
of a guard who has been shot in the back. He runs down a hall and
approaches Adam's cell. Michael O'Ryan and Adam MacArthur face each
other through the glass wall of the cell. Adam backs
up as O'Ryan says, "Quit worrying. I'm here to set you free."
"I won't go back with you by choice", Adam
answers.
"Have it your way", responds O'Ryan, pointing
his gun at MacArthur. The two begin a debate. O'Ryan insists
that what Adam is doing on Earth is not benevolent, that Adam is taking
away humanity's only chance to survive, through natural selection.
O'Ryan suggests that the Elders may destroy Earth's civilization
as a "tainted" experiment if they find out that Adam is interfering with
events.
Adam argues that humanity has already sealed
its fate. He notes that the Elders have even given up experiments
on humans. Adam concludes with his conviction, "Well I'm not gonna
stand by and watch my world be extinguished. I am human and I'm gonna
do something about it."
O'Ryan demands his key to the spacecraft,
but Adam doesn't have it with him. O'Ryan leaves Adam in the cell
and searches for the key among Adam's confiscated possessions. Meanwhile,
Colonel Vise bursts into the prison control center, knocking out Van Patten
and Warden Burke. He releases the lock on the maximum security cell
where Adam is held. Vise locates Adam's cell and aims his weapon
at Adam's chest.
"You don't have to do this, Colonel Vise",
Adam gently reassures him. "Put the gun down. Your friends
are OK. Nothing bad has happened to them." Adam describes the
Colony where they live as a beautiful place. He adds that Vise's
friends are happy and do not blame him for what happened.
Vise does not believe Adam. He becomes
agitated, saying "Do you think I'm stupid? I've seen what your kind
does. You come here and you take people. Use their bodies.
Like what you done to the real Adam MacArthur."
Adam is not successful in convincing Vise
that he is telling the truth. Their interaction is interrupted by
Michael O'Ryan returning with his key. "Put it down, Runt", he commands
Vise. O'Ryan also insists that the abductees are all fine.
He tells Vise that he needn't worry about MacArthur anymore because he
is being taken back to the Colony.
Vise aims his weapon at Michael O'Ryan
and demands that he "freeze!"
O'Ryan shoots Vise twice with little warning, when it is clear that Vise will
not give up. The wounded Colonel Vise fires back at O'Ryan, killing
him. Adam tries his best to revive O'Ryan, but he cannot. Slipping
the key to the spacecraft into his palm, Adam tells Colonel Vise, with
dismay, "you have no idea what you've just done. You may have caused
the very thing you've been afraid of! They're gonna find out he was
here. They're gonna find out everything! Then they'll destroy us!"
Adam shoves Vise's gun aside and runs down
the corridor with the wounded Colonel Vise following as best he can.
Adam reaches the control center where he revives Craig Van Patten.
He urges Van Patten to get him out of the prison, warning that Colonel
Vise will kill him if they don't leave.
MacArthur and Van Patten run to an exit
where Van Patten is entering the exit code. He handcuffs Adam and
insists that they must stay together. As the door opens, however,
Vise arrives, firing his weapon. In the confusion, Adam escapes the
handcuffs and disappears.
With Wilcox, Larue and Colonel Vise standing
by, the body of Michael O'Ryan is wheeled out of the prison and into a
waiting ambulance. Vise eulogizes, "His name was Michael O'Ryan.
He liked to fish."
Colonel Vise is again dreaming in his bed.
His abduction dream has now changed, with O'Ryan appearing and echoing
Adam's words, "You have no idea what you've just done... You may
have killed us all, Runt."
"I did what was right!" yells Vise in return.
The image of O'Ryan transforms into Adam MacArthur's likeness. Colonel
Vise yells, "no... NO!" as he wakes.
synopsis written by Kefla
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