alex.
general.
ranks later, all right?
so, what's the job?
with all the security around here,
you'd think we were back in the manhattan project.
two months ago, this was a research lab.
government contract, particle physics—
that sort of thing.
nothing unusual.
then something happened.
the research team was running
a new experiment on wormholes—
theoretical subspace corridors like black holes,
go anywhere in the galaxy in a second.
things—
got out of hand.
when they cleared away the rubble,
they found what's on the other side of that wall.
here.
better put these on.
they'll help a little,
but try not to stare directly into it.
my god.
when they found it,
we brought in scientists from all over the place—
cornell, nasa, j.p.l.
they've poked and prodded and scanned.
the high i.q. types from caltech said terminology is irrelevant.
i called it
a gate.
they didn't argue.
a gate?
to where?
we don't know.
hell, we're not even sure how it got here.
all the data from the experiment was wiped out in the explosion.
but somehow, that equipment in there
is generating it and maintaining it.
we'll probably figure it out in time,
but right now, it's as if we've unlocked a door
and forgotten the combination.
so if we close it,
we may not be able to open it again.
we have to know what's on the other side
of that wall, alex.
that's why we called you.
the brass wants you to go in there.
alexander mcandrews: former test pilot
with a paper trail of commendations
and a closet full of broken records.
a man for whom the unknown is to be faced, not feared,
conquered, not surrendered to.
alexander mcandrews
who is about to face yet another unknown—
but this one is unlike all the others,
for this one burns at the very heart
of the twilight zone.
you weren't the first one on our list, alex.
they went before you.
second-lieutenant emilio perez,
sergeants evelyn marks, len sinclair
and a captain, henry kincaid.
they volunteered.
we gave them the best equipment we had.
then, one by one, they went in that gate.
none of them have come back.
no contact?
(on audio tape:) i'm through.
do you read me, com-con?
it's...
there's something here.
i can't quite...
oh, my god.
can you see it?
can...
maximum contact time: ten seconds.
then static.
four people, alex.
four good people.
the state department wants to close us down—
just pull the plug, try to forget it ever happened.
the pentagon wants to push ahead on grounds of national security.
as far as i'm concerned, those people are still alive
and if there's any chance to rescue them...
understood.
i didn't want you for this, alex.
you've paid your dues
and then some.
don't know if you've heard,
but i got the word last week—
seems i'm getting a little too old
to be a rocket jockey.
they're putting me behind a desk.
i can't live with that, greg.
so, given the choice,
it would be a great way to go out, wouldn't it?
you'll come back.
if anyone can make it, you will.
you're a good soldier, alex.
that's what sarah said the day she left me—
"good soldier.
always ready to follow orders, do his duty."
last chance.
you don't have to do it.
look around, general.
what else do i have?
so where do i suit up?
systems check begin on my mark.
no interference.
reading five by five.
recorders up and running.
we need binary reprocessors here.
is there anyone you want me to...
see you soon.
goggles on.
okay, raise shield.
all right, alex, we're clear to proceed.
now remember—
—no heroics.
strictly threat analysis.
just go in, take a fast look around,
then get out of there.
do you copy?
affirmative, general.
entering the gate.
god go with you, alex.
pure white light.
i have a sense of moving very, very fast.
we're losing contact, general.
com-con, this is mcandrews.
do you read?
com-con?
i repeat, this is mcandrews.
do you copy, com-con?
i don't know whether you're getting any of this or not,
but i'm going to keep recording anyway.
i found a glove.
it appears to be one of ours.
atmosphere and environment seem similar to ours.
oxygen atmosphere, all right.
sweet, cool, crisp air.
i don't see any sign of the gate from this side.
perhaps it's not in the visible spectrum here.
moving on.
i'll continue the log entries at five minute intervals.
still no communication.
boost the signal.
i'm trying, but i'm not getting anything.
damn it, boost it some more.
come on, alex, talk to me.
where the hell are you?
welcome, major.
kincaid?
captain henry kincaid?
present and accounted for, sir.
we've been waiting for you.
well, not you in particular, but somebody like you.
but i'm happy with the selection.
i can't think
of a better choice for their needs,
or ours.
excuse me?
everything will be explained in time.
in the meantime, please
if you will come with us.
what... what is this place?
call it... heaven.
all i want is a simple answer to a simple question.
where are we?
what is this place?
lieutenant perez, sir.
i'm the navigational specialist.
i've been here about a week and the stars...
well, major, the stars are all wrong.
i don't know where we are, but it's not earth.
and frankly, uh... i don't think
we're even in the same neighborhood anymore.
why haven't you tried to get back?
we can't go back.
we've surveyed the area and as far as we can tell,
the gate doesn't exist on this side.
it only works one way— from there to here.
and you just welcome everybody?
it is my prerogative
as leader of this community.
we are a peaceful people, major, not suspicious.
of supplies we have plenty, more than enough to share.
if this has become an unintentional prison for you,
please be assured
we'll exert every effort to make it a pleasant one.
there is much we have to offer.
they've told me about the world you come from—
a place of such hate.
here we have no possessions to steal,
no religion save one— the sanctity of life.
no law but to be kind to one another.
that is why we were pleased to see
it was you who was sent to us.
they say you are a man of honor.
it's the kind of place
we've all dreamed about, major.
i think i'll reserve judgment
till i've checked things out for myself.
we encourage you to explore.
and we will give you all the help we can,
as we did to the others.
i sense in you a man who's been searching
for peace for a long time without finding it.
here you will.
you do not play, major.
no, too old, i guess.
that will change.
you're not quite as old as you think.
have you had any luck trying to find the way back?
none. You were right.
dawn to dusk, we searched
every square inch of the area i came through—
nothing.
it's a funny thing though.
the more time i spend here,
the less i begin to worry about it.
see, i've been a soldier all my life.
my father was, his father before him.
they said you have to fight for what you believe...
but they never told me what to believe.
they told me i have to follow orders,
but they never told me why.
stay busy enough, though, and you don't worry about it.
do you have a family?
not really.
my wife left me about a year ago.
she said she didn't believe in bigamy.
couldn't compete with honor...
duty...
orders.
i'm glad you're here, alex.
i'm very glad.
evening, major.
i think alex will do for now.
you seen berenn?
she was here a little while ago.
she'll be back in a few minutes.
thanks.
it is now three days, 12 hours
since alexander mcandrews went through the gate.
in another 24 hours,
we will consider him lost in action.
i've recommended we shut down operations
and send no more people through the gate
without more detailed analysis.
the brass disagreed.
"we lose more in training operations"
they told me.
they've already picked their next volunteer.
he comes highly recommended.
i don't know him.
thank god for small favors.
this place is heaven.
it's incredible.
we love it here.
you lied to me.
alex, please...
you lied to me.
you told me there was no way out.
but there is.
that gate's still there, all right.
but it's only because of refraction,
you can only see it at night.
so you made it a point to take me there only during the day.
knowing that i wouldn't find anything.
you decided to stay here and keep everybody else with you.
we told you the truth the best way we could, major.
if we went back and reported what we found,
this place would be swarming with troops
and experts and god knows what else.
they'd ruin it.
that's garbage.
is it?
you know how the military thinks.
what do you think would happen
if they got ahold of it?
you could leave out some of the facts.
they have ways of making any of us talk—
truth serums, you name it.
perfection is a fragile thing, major.
it doesn't survive the microscope.
when we saw what kind of place this was,
we took a vote.
the decision was unanimous.
we're not going back.
this is eden, major.
would you want to be the one
to bring the snake into the garden?
you're forgetting something—
i didn't vote.
you're younger than i am.
maybe you can forget
your responsibility and your duty,
but i can't. i'm going back.
i'm afraid we can't allow that, major.
see how easy it is?
the first solution of the angry man.
how many other guns
you want to turn loose here?
i don't want to hurt you, kincaid,
but i'm ordering you
to get out of the way.
then you'll have to kill me, alex.
no!
alex!
alex, please wait!
don't go!
i'm sorry, but i have to.
why?
you said yourself there was nothing back there for you.
because i'm a good soldier.
that's all i've ever been.
maybe that's all i'll ever be.
take that away, and what's left?
you said yourself i'm a man of honor.
please leave me with that.
that's all i have.
so you're convinced they're a totally agrarian society?
judging from everything i saw, yes.
any potential threat to security?
nil.
thank you, major.
we're in a perfect position.
the press isn't aware of the situation.
it's a whole new frontier.
good job, alex.
i stink.
you did what you had to.
you followed orders.
yeah, i did that, didn't i?
the strategic value of this situation.
first strike potential is enormous.
there's nowhere we couldn't hit
with troops or tactical nukes in a hot second.
we could store the stuff there
and no one could take it out with a first strike.
tell me something, greg.
would you have let the snake into the garden of eden?
fortunately for me,
that wasn't a decision i had to make.
that's why we have to go in now
so that we can call the shots.
the pentagon is dying for an opportunity like this.
we must prevent any kind of leaks whatsoever...
what if we could open more gates
between their world and ours?
we could use it as a transfer point
for troops and material.
alex!
alex, stop!
what the hell are you doing!
stop!
tell the brass that perfection is a fragile thing.
tell them i did my job.
and tell them i retire.
close that gate!
are you sure they won't build another?
it was a freak combination in the first place.
if the gate were still there for them to study,
maybe they could duplicate it.
but it's gone permanently.
so, what do you do now?
for the moment, absolutely nothing.
major alexander mcandrews, retired,
who learned that there is a better world
and that sometimes heaven is a place
better left untouched by human hands.
there may be one more commendation
yet to come for the major— one that says
"for services rendered in the twilight zone."