Dead Man's Switch
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| The Outer Limits episode | |
|---|---|
| “Dead Man's Switch” | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 13 |
| Guest star(s) | James LeGros as Ben Conklin, Kristin Lehman as Katya Rubanoff, Donnelly Rhodes as Gen. James Eiger, Yee Jee Tso as Hong |
| Writer(s) | B. Richardson |
| Director | Jeff Woolnough |
| Production no. | 57 |
| Original airdate | 4 April 1997 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| “Double Helix” | “Music of the Spheres” |
"Dead Man's Switch" is an episode of The Outer Limits (new series). It first aired on 4 April 1997, during the third season.
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
Ben Conklin, a Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, is given the assignment of spending one year in a bunker 11,000 feet beneath Alaska.
[edit] Opening narration
- "Young idealists often dream of having the power to save the world. But would that dream turn into a nightmare if saving the world could also mean destroying it?"
[edit] Plot synopsis
After arriving at the bunker Ben is told by General James Eiger that the Hubble Space Telescope has photographed a fleet of alien ships heading towards Earth. Ben's assignment is to control the activation of a final revenge weapon, should the aliens turn out to be hostile and take over. Ben is sealed inside, not knowing if he will ever see the surface again.
The world's chemical, nuclear, and biological weapons stockpiles have been linked to create a single doomsday weapon. Five people are placed in five bunkers around the world (United States, Russia, China, Africa, and Britain). An alarm sounds randomly, and at least one of the bunker occupants must hit a dead man's switch to disarm it. The switch is designed so that the operator's handprint and retina scan are required for it to work. If a thirty-second countdown passes and no-one activates the switch, the doomsday weapon will fire and leave the surface of the Earth uninhabitable. General Eiger assures Ben that if the aliens try to disarm the system they will set it off and that "if we don't make it out of this alive, then no one else will either." To prevent the bunker occupants from being fed false information they are sealed off from the world, and can communicate only with each other and General Eiger.
After approximately six months the alien ships finally reach Earth. Claiming to be a scientific expedition, they send a number of "peaceful" ships to a summit meeting at Edwards Air Force Base. General Eiger tells the bunker occupants the apparently good news. Soon after, Hong (China) is killed by what appears to be a gas leak in his bunker. Donald (Africa) dies by freezing to death when his life support system malfunctions. Gwen's (Britain) bunker is penetrated and she is removed, it is not seen by who or what happens to her. Only Ben and Katya (Russia) remain to continue pressing their switches. Having heard nothing more from General Eiger, Katya believes the situation to be hopeless and wants to stop responding to the alarm — allowing activation of the weapon. Ben disagrees as he still believing that the humans on the surface may be able to win the supposed conflict.
On day 367, Katya dies from a fire in her bunker and Ben begins to lose touch with reality. On day 369, his supply of water runs out, and he decides to let the countdown reach zero. As the countdown is about to expire, he receives a message from General Eiger telling him that they have finally defeated the invaders. Eiger pleads with Ben to continue pushing the switch and wait for them to dig him out of his bunker. However, all is not as it seems — General Eiger's body is being controlled by the aliens and Earth's cities are burning ruins.
The episode ends with Ben still in his bunker — with (very) little food and water left and the bunker systems beginning to fail — repeating to himself: "Just keep pushing the button." The ending is inconclusive and it is left to the viewer to imagine the outcome. The assumption is that the invaders are looking for the final bunker and dead man's switch before its systems fail and the doomsday weapon activates. Or perhaps they are leaving the planet, anticipating Ben's death.
[edit] Closing narration
- "Each of us if forced to make choices about our destinies. Those choices can turn an ordinary man into a king, or reduce him to little more than a simple pawn. With the fate of the world in your hands, what would you do?"
