Original subtitles

Imagine...

Imagine that your life is spent

in an environment of total physical sensation,

that every one of your senses has been heightened to a level

that in a human being might only be described as ecstatic.

That you are able to see,

to perceive,

with every part of your being:

Sight, hearing, taste, smell,

and every inch of your surface,

your skin is a receptor.

A continuous source of perfectly accurate information

about the world for miles around you.

Imagine...

That you are able to carry on simultaneous conversations

with two members of your species,

one right next to you

and the other one several miles away.

Listen to the language,

intricate patterns of clicks, whistles,

squeaks, and groans.

Sounds subtle enough to convey complicated factual data,

complex enough, perhaps, to deal with abstractions,

what we would call ideas.

His brain

is as big as a man's.

It processes information about two worlds:

The world of water in which he is born

and feeds and reproduces and dies,

and the world of air,

in which he breathes.

He has few natural enemies.

The shark, the barracuda,

the fisherman who doesn't care what he catches,

and certain clumsy scientists

who believe that the easiest path

to an animal's brain is made with a scalpel.

As tragic and senseless as that kind of death can be,

so is his birth a moment of inspiration.

That's why I thought I would close my report to you today

with this piece of film,

which shows our first dolphin born in captivity.

His tail comes out first.

That's so his spiracle,

that's the hole in the top of his head

through which he breathes,

can come out last.

He then rushes to the surface to the air.

Now, watch closely, because

this happens rather quickly.

There.

Well, that was Alpha's birth.

He's now almost four years old,

and we think he's very bright.

That's all, unless there are any questions.

Dr. Terrell...

Did you say "Alpha"?

Yes, we called him Alpha because he was the first...

The first dolphin born at the center.

It's a little bit pretentious perhaps,

but it's better than spot or rover.

Actually, we call him fa.

Is Alpha still with his mother?

No, uh, Alpha's mother died shortly after giving birth.

We don't know why. We raised him ourselves.

My wife and associate Margaret Anderson and I

have spent the major part of the last four years

living with him and feeding him, teaching him.

Teaching him what?

Well, we are concentrating on certain experiments,

trying to learn certain things from Alpha,

things that have to do with, oh, measurements

of intelligence and so forth.

Uh, Dr. Terrell...

Is it possible...

I mean, like I read somewhere

that dolphins are as intelligent as we are.

Well, that depends on your definition

of intelligence.

His brain contains a sonar system

that is amazingly sophisticated.

For instance it enables him to distinguish

from enormous distances between objects

of fractionally different sizes,

or between different kinds of metal,

Dr. Terrell?

What about the experiments that the military are supp...

I don't know anything about the military.

But certainly you've heard about the misuse of animals

like dolphins that the government is rumored...

Just a moment, please.

I'm not a political scientist.

My degrees are in biology and zoology

and behavioral psychology.

The government and I pay very little attention to each other.

Well, doctor, what is it exactly

that you hope to learn from all these studies?

I mean, what can a dolphin teach us?

We're trying to learn

about how his sonar system works,

about the functions of his language,

about how he manages to maneuver

with such speed and dexterity.

Most of all, we'd like to know why,

after millions of years as a land animal,

his species was compelled or decided

to return to the sea.

Um, what about their speaking in english?

I beg your pardon?

I saw this dolphin on television

and he counted from one to eight in english.

Really? I didn't see that.

What do you suppose it was?

Was it some kind of trick or something?

Yes, I'd say... Yes, just a trick.

Harold, I'm afraid we're gonna have to skip that drink.

I've got to get back to the island right away.

Nothing wrong, I hope.

No, nothing that can't be fixed.

Is there anything I can do to help?

Yes, you could, uh, get the foundation to pay those bills

at key largo for me.

I need that new equipment right away.

Jake, I want to talk to you about it.

Thank you so much, that was absolutely fascinating.

- Thank you. - As I was saying,

I'd like to talk about some of those bills.

You're getting weekly reports, aren't you?

Nobody's complaining. It's just that we're wondering

about all the new recording equipment.

Wondering what?

- What are you using it for? - Recording, excuse me.

I see.

Harold, we're recording the sounds the dolphins are making

and trying to develop a highly complicated feedback system.

Look, are we going over the budget?

Yes, you are.

Oh, then we'll try to be more careful.

Thank you.

- That your car? - Yeah.

Drop me off at the Marina, will you?

Jake, that's 30 miles in the wrong direction.

Tell him to drive fast. I'm in a hurry.

Drive fast, he's in a hurry.

Jake, thanks for giving the speech.

Anything for the Franklin foundation.

It's all in the name of good public relations.

Yeah, now you owe me a favor.

Name it.

Pay those bills.

Let's get out of here!

That's what I had in mind.

What happened, do you know?

No I was picking up the new equipment over in key largo.

David called me,

told me to come over and get you and bring you back.

Dammit.

Oh, don't worry, Maggie's tough.

What?

I said, Margret is tough, she can take it.

Oh, I know, I was... I was worried about Alpha.

Oh, yeah.

Wake me up before we get there.

Right.

- What did he say about her? - About who?

- Maggie! - He said she was alright.

She's fine, Jake,

Mary Ann's up at the house with her.

Who's in there, Larry?

No, Larry is up at the house, too.

Who's with Alpha?

No one right now.

- Well, we thought that... - Thought what?

Everything stops just because someone has a little accident?

What's the matter with you?

Well, I thought, under the circumstances...

There are no circumstance, there's to be

someone with him always.

Always,

whether he's in the tank or in the dry room

or the control room.

Continuous monitoring, no exceptions!

Okay?

Jake.

Jake.

Coming?

Well.

I go away for one lousy afternoon,

the whole place falls apart, huh?

Doesn't anybody have anything to do?

Come on, Larry.

Don't blame Maggie, Jake, it wasn't her fault.

I didn't say it was.

I'll be down at the tank if you need me.

Jake, I'm really sorry.

I panicked, I was so scared,

I just forgot everything.

He wasn't trying to hurt me.

He just wanted me to stay in the water with him.

Was he, uh, excited?

That's what, the third time this week, huh?

Getting jealous?

Don't be a wise guy, I'll bite your other leg.

Go on, Jake, go ahead.

I'll be alright.

He's growing up, Jake.

Yeah!

I think maybe his "ma and pa" aren't enough for him anymore.

Listen, I want you guys to put an intercom

between here and my house, okay?

Sure.

You all eaten?

Go ahead, I'll stay here.

There's some terrible coughing down in tank three.

That must be patsy, she's got a cold.

Paaa!

Well, fa.

You've had quite a day, haven't you?

Paaa.

You seem to have some very impressive credentials here,

Mr. mahoney.

Yes, I seem to.

I don't quite understand what it is you want of me.

I want to visit Jacob Terrell's marine biology center.

Why?

I'm interested in the work he's doing.

As you see, I am a writer.

I'm thinking of doing a series of articles

on marine research.

For whom?

Oh, that's not established.

There are a number markets.

Why don't you contact Dr. Terrell himself?

You know that I already have.

What do you mean?

And that he said no,

and that it's taken me several weeks

to push my way into your office so that you can do me

this very small favor.

The fact is Dr. Terrell does not want visitors,

strangers, at the center.

Why? Is he hiding something?

No, of course not.

Is he scared someone's going to run off

with that good-looking little girl he's married to?

I don't think that's a particularly

nice thing to say, Mr. mahoney.

Forgive me, please.

I have a terrible habit

of making thoughtless statements.

I'm dangerously unrefined.

Dangerously?

Look, let's leave it at this.

I'll take these,

and I'll leave this with you.

It's sort of a first draft

of an article I was considering.

You'll find it interesting.

It's about the Franklin foundation.

I'd really prefer doing something along the lines

we were discussing,

but you read it and see what you think.

Are you a blackmaliler, Mr. mahoney?

Good lord, no.

I'm just an average guy

with an above average curiosity.

And of course, I makes friends easily.

Yes, I see that.

That's why I have access to a lot of files,

information, public, and private,

all kinds of sources.

Listen, when we get to know each other better,

I'll tell you some things about yourself

that'll simply astound you.

No, come on, fa.

Good boy, come on.

- Good! - No, no, no, no, hand, hand.

Come on, fa.

Good!

No, it's not good.

Fish, fa want fish? “Yes.

Well, pa give fish, fa say hand.

Fish!

Alpha, I'm deeply disappointed in you this morning.

You're really a pain in the ass.

Ass!

Aww, Christ!

Jake?

Jake.

Can you hear me?

Maggie?

That's right.

How's it going?

I'm thinking of selling him and getting myself a parrot.

Jake, we have a visitor.

I'll be right down.

Pa?

No!

You can't say a simple word like "hand."

Hand.

Beautiful, simply beautiful.

It's like being in another world.

What's the problem, Harold?

You can't accept the possibility that I just wanted to drop in?

- Drop in? - See how you were getting along?

No.

You know, Jake, the foundation subsidizes,

fully and partially, an extraordinarily

eclectic group of scientists, artists, writers,

two medical research centers, a library,

a yearly international students conference.

Am I boring you?

Oh, I'm sorry. It's just the beer.

The point is, Jake, we're sincerely interested

in the work of all these people.

We like to think it's a cooperative venture.

Yeah?

It's not a charity!

Of course not.

Basically, it's one gigantic tax write-off.

That's a little joke, Harold, don't take it seriously.

The board of directors of the Franklin foundation

is considering withdrawing its support

for the Terrell marine center.

They're what?

I et's take a little walk.

What are you doing in there?

In where?

The figures taken from your monthly report

seem to indicate that you put about $200,000

into that building!

It's all itemized under the care and feeding of one,

count 'em, one male dolphin, Alpha, age four.

- $200,0007 - What does he eat, caviar?

Jake, I can't justify that kind of expenditure to the board

because I don't know myself what you're doing in there.

David.

Would you like to sit down, Harold?

What do you know about linguistics,

semantics, phonetics?

Very little.

Here comes lesson number one.

The first month, first year.

Alpha speaking in his own language, of course.

The sounds are coming from his spiracle,

not from his mouth.

The second month, second year.

Thirteen months to isolate the clicking patterns

from the squeaks and the whistles and the groans.

The seventh month, second year.

Our first phoneme, "ah."

Ah!

- Ah. - Ah!

Ninth month, second year.

More phonemes, the atoms of speech.

The second month, third year.

- Oh... - Oh!

Fourth month, third year,

from vowels to consonants.

Fifth month, third year.

Tenth month, third year.

He's learning faster now.

Second month, fourth year.

Here comes our first morpheme.

Phoneme "p-" plus phoneme "ah" equals...

Pal!

Pal!

This one is, uh, sort of a collection,

made in the past few months.

We call it our "top 50."

Ball.

Swim.

Eat now.

Man.

Coat.

Car.

Friend.

Girl.

Love.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

Ten.

Alpha has been regressing a little

in the past few weeks,

so we're going to give him a companion,

of his own species of course.

Beta.

Let's go.

Where did beta come from?

Oh, we caught her off the Florida keys

a couple months ago,

watch her tail.

What are we gonna call her for short, Jake? Ta?

Fa, ta, ma and pa, terrific.

I think we better try bea.

Bea for beta.

Okay, bea...

And here we go.

Whoa!

What exactly do you think will happen?

We hope they will find each other sexually attractive.

And if they do?

Then Alpha will be happier,

and if he's happier, he'll learn faster.

In other words, you're offering him a bribe

in the form of sex.

Beats the hell out of butterfish.

Harold, would you like to watch

through the window with Maggie?

Uh-oh!

Is the hydrophone on?

Uh, yeah.

Start the tape.

Okay.

Wait till she breathes, wait till she breathes.

Now!

Two P.M.

Alpha and beta say hello.

Now I understand.

Well, I don't want any of this getting out.

That's the important thing.

All I've got so far is a dolphin imitating human speech sounds

and responding to certain verbal signals,

but if it gets out,

it's bound to be misinterpreted.

They're gonna say that

Terrell's down here carrying on conversations

with a bunch of fish,

and the whole thing is gonna turn into a circus.

My report will be completely confidential.

- I'll back you up all the way. - Thanks.

There is one favor you could do for me.

Sure.

There's a man I know, an old friend of mine,

his name is Curtis mahoney.

What do you want, fa?

Fish? Say it, fish?

Fa want fish now?

He's not going to say anything.

Yeah.

It's been what, two weeks?

Fifteen days.

Why?

Well, honey, if I knew that, then I'd know

what the hell to do about it, wouldn't I?

I'm sorry.

It's alright.

I'll tell you what I think it is.

I think he's learning his own language from beta.

Must be a great relief.

Fish for bea?

Come on, fa, come on.

Say "fish."

Say "ma," come on...

Fa, say something.

Come on, fa.

You know how.

Oh alright, here, take it.

Okay, bea.

Good girl, bea.

Come on.

It's love, alright.

How much longer?

What?

How much longer?

- Uh, it's hard to tell. - Guess.

- Half an hour, maybe? - Yes?

- Forty-five minutes. - Forty-five.

- Could be an hour. - Oh, Christ.

Feeling a little sick?

"Little" isn't exactly the right word.

There's a bunk down below.

How often you make this run?

Now and then.

You work with the dolphins too?

Sometimes.

How many of you are there?

What?

Working at the center, how many?

Oh, few, I guess.

That's pinning it down, alright.

Terrell tell you not to talk to me?

What?

Did he tell you not to give me any information?

Hang on, Mr. mahoney,

we're gonna hit some swells.

Is the, um, water circulating in the holding tank?

Yeah. Yeah.

He's been down there almost all day, Maggie.

Mm-hm.

You want to argue with him about it?

No, thanks.

He says he wants Alpha and beta to know

that what's going to happen is his doing.

I know.

Jake!

The boat's coming in.

Aw, nuts, I told Mike to take the long way.

Hey!

Fa, give now!

Okay, listen, you guys take Alpha and beta

and put them in the holding tank.

I'm coming out.

Okay.

You won't be laughing long, pal.

I'm gonna have to put these away.

Take it easy, Mr. mahoney.

I don't get it.

We're supposed to be keeping all this Alpha stuff a secret.

And this guy comes to write something about it.

What's the point?

Well, he's supposed to be a friend of someone

at the foundation.

Anyway, we keep him from seeing these two, that's all.

He'll be gone tomorrow.

Let me help you with this.

Thanks, I can do it.

I still got few ounces of strength left.

Was the trip over a little rough?

No, no, it was delightful.

I particularly enjoyed the part where I threw up.

What's that building?

Well, we're trying to build a special tank

for some experiments.

Sounds interesting.

No more so than anything else,

it's, uh, nothing special.

A special kind of tank for nothing special.

I can hardly wait to see inside.

What magazines do you write for, Mr. mahoney?

Any one that will accept my material.

How long have you known Harold demilo?

Oh, quite a while.

Did you know him at Harvard?

I think he went to Princeton.

Oh yeah, Princeton, that's right.

Well, I thought you might want to get some rest,

maybe have something to eat,

then we'll have one of the boys show you around.

You know what I'd really like to do?

What?

I've really been looking forward to seeing that dolphin of yours.

You know, what's his name, Alpha?

You know, the one that was born here.

Isn't that his name, Alpha?

Yes, that's his name.

I'd really love to take a look at him.

He's right behind you.

What's he saying?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Who is he, Jake?

What's the difference?

He won't be here long enough to give us any trouble.

What kind of trouble?

Whatever kind of trouble you had in mind.

Well, you know he's not here

to write an article about dolphins.

No, I don't know that.

Oh, come on.

Come on, yourself.

He's lying about being a friend of Harold demilo's.

I don't think he even knows him.

That sort of makes Harold a liar too, doesn't it?

That doesn't come as any great shock to me.

You just don't trust the good old establishment, do you?

Which good old establishment?

Well, don't you even want to know what...

Leave it alone.

Let Mr. mahoney do his job, whatever that is

and get out

and we'll go on about our business.

We'll probably be ready in a month or so,

and then we can move one of the dolphins in

and really concentrate on them.

Which one are you going to put in?

No special one.

Mm-hm.

He likes you.

What?

Alpha, he likes you, I said.

Oh, he likes everybody.

Everybody likes him too.

- Not everybody. - What?

That piece missing from his fin.

Looks like somebody chewed it off.

Oh, a shark did that probably.

A shark out in the ocean?

He did that when he was a baby.

He jumped out of the pool, fell on his back.

The fin got infected, we had to take a piece out.

That was before Lana got here.

That's right, that was before I got here.

Well, thanks for the tour.

My pleasure.

Jake?

Are you awake?

Jake?

Jake's asleep, what is it?

Maggie, someone just tried to open the door.

Where is he now?

Well, it sounded like he went away.

There's a telephone number on the card,

you can reach me there if you ever need to.

I'm not sure what it is you have in mind.

You will when the time comes.

Goodbye, Mrs. Terrell.

Goodbye, Mr. mahoney.

We're all on the same side, you know.

He knows something's up.

What is it, fa?

What does fa want?

Jake, he's gonna try to jump over it.

He can't broad jump.

Jesus!

It'll hold.

Will Alpha?

Alright, uh...

Leave us alone.

Pa.

Pa.

Pa.

Give.

Bea.

What?

Pa give bea.

Hm?

Fa?

Fa...

Want...

Bea.

Now.

Yes.

Pa give now.

Yes, fa wants bea.

Now.

Pa give now.

Bea now.

Maggie?

Maggie!

Maggie!

How's it look?

It's okay.

A section came loose from one of the pipes.

I reattached it.

Does it look like anything's been at it?

No, I don't think so.

You mean, like a shark?

Yeah.

Think they could handle one if it got in?

I don't know.

I don't think it's worth a chance of trying.

What would they do?

Well, they could always yell for help.

- Man, it's weird. - Think so?

You don't?

I mean, I stand there and watch you talking to them

and listening.

I know it's happening, but its weird.

It's like we're all having a dream,

or some sort of psychotic fantasy.

Don't you feel something like that?

Well, I'll tell you,

since Alpha started speaking,

I've had a feeling I haven't had since I was your age.

What's that?

That there are infinite possibilities.

Jake?

It's the foundation.

Mr. de Milo.

Maggie and I have talked about this thing

and we both feel that all of you should know

as much as we do about it.

So here's what's happened.

It seems Mr. mahoney knows about Alpha and beta.

How much about 'em?

All about them.

And apparently he's ready

to publish all his information

on the work we've been doing here.

How in hell did he find out?

We don't know.

But you can imagine how, well,

disappointed the people at the foundation are

that we kept them in the dark too.

Oh, boy...

Mm-hm, well,

the point is it looks like we are going to be forced

to come out with the information first

to keep this whole thing from turning

into some kind of freak show.

That's exactly what I didn't want to have happen.

I had hoped we'd have more time.

- But... - We don't.

We don't.

They're sneaking up on us.

Jake, it's not that bad.

It's not that good.

The world has to find out about this sooner or later,

that's all part of it.

What's all this work been for?

I don't know any longer.

Jesus, you're acting like a baby.

Oh, you don't understand.

The hell I don't understand.

You're just pissed off because the world

is coming in here and interfering

with your little kingdom,

all those people who carry whatever disease

you think the outside world has.

It is a disease.

Well, I hope you're not the only doctor around

when the epidemic hits.

It's a disease, and it can kill Alpha and beta.

And how's it going to do that?

By turning them into valuable properties.

And putting their pictures on t-shirts and cereal boxes,

by signing them up with record companies,

by naming a restaurant chain after them,

Christ, I don't know.

They'll end up with a high priced agent

and a salt water swimming pool in Beverly Hills.

Jake, if they're going to be exploited,

who's responsible?

You taught them our language.

Why?

To become like you?

Maybe I was wrong.

It's a hell of a time to come to that conclusion.

We should have become like them.

I ike what?

Like what they are.

Instinct, and energy.

Then let them go.

Send them back to the sea.

I'm afraid it's too late.

They wouldn't know what to do or where to go.

We've changed them.

I'll be back in a little while.

I wonder if we could hear that again Dr. Terrell.

Yes, sir. Fa, say again.

Man is good.

Why does he believe that, do you suppose?

"Man is good?"

Ask him.

May 1?

Fa...

Fa.

Why is man good?

Smooth.

I didn't get that, I'm afraid.

Smooth, he says we're smooth as he is.

He likes the way we feel.

Ah, so, it is less a philosophical judgment

than a physiological one.

Well, to Alpha, smoothness is pleasure,

and pleasure is good.

I think that's a reasonable beginning

for a philosophy, don't you?

Isn't a shark also smooth?

Does that make him good?

What about the shark?

What does he say?

I'm afraid he doesn't understand what you're saying.

Your accent makes it difficult for him.

- Fa... - Fal

is a shark good?

You have to understand that Alpha has never seen a shark.

Beta undoubtedly has.

I'm sorry.

Fa, here now.

Let me see whether I can clear this thing up.

To some, the hypothesis that a shark...

Ah, excuse me, sir, but you're using words

that aren't in their vocabulary.

They wouldn't understand the hypothetical.

As far as they're concerned a thing either is or it isn't,

there are no ifs.

All right, let's try it this way.

Now...

There is a shark in this tank.

Son of a bitch,

I told you there's no hypoth...

Jake!

Fa!

Fa!

Fa, bring bea here now.

Wait a minute, Mike.

Let's see if Alpha will do it.

Good fa, good.

No shark here.

- No shark. - No shark.

Man said things not.

What, uh, what is it, what does that mean?

He's calling you a liar.

He is, is he?

Well, that's what he said.

I'm being called a liar by a goddamn fish?

There's always a first time,

and he's not a fish, he's a mammal.

You seem to be having trouble

understanding what I've been telling you.

I'm going to make this simple as I possibly can.

Don't say anything more, okay?

- Are you telling me to... - I'm telling you to shut up.

Ben!

Sit down.

Why didn't the sonar of the dolphin

tell him that there was not a shark here?

It probably did, but they trust us

more than they do their own instincts.

They've never been lied to before.

Maybe we could ask some less emotional questions.

I think that would be an excellent idea.

How far can he swim without breath?

- Fa? - Fal

how far can you swim?

One day.

One day.

Yes, but how fast?

Well, Alpha conceives of distance in terms of time.

He can swim without stopping for one day.

At what speed?

I would estimate, with maximum energy,

between 20 and 30 knots.

Dr. Terrell, if, as you say,

Alpha is teaching beta to speak,

are you suggesting that,

if you were to set Alpha free,

he might pass on this facility to others of his kind?

We might have a whole ocean full of english speaking dolphins?

No, I'm not, uh,

he'd revert to his, uh,

normal system of communication.

Speaking our language is very difficult for him.

Why is he doing it then? What motivates him?

He does it for me.

Why?

Why does fa speak?

Fa speak.

Yes, why fa speak?

Fa speak pa.

Why does fa speak to pa?

Fa love...

Pa.

- They're leaving. - Hm?

They're going to the plane.

Oh.

I hope somehow you can convey our appreciation

to the little fellows themselves.

I'll try to...

What is it?

They've set up some sort of press conference.

They want me to go over there right away.

- Oh. - I'm terribly sorry,

I thought all that had been explained to you

before we got here.

I'm afraid there isn't room for everyone on the plane.

Why don't you get whatever you need

and Harold will go with you in your boat

and explain it all to you on the way over.

I'll come with you.

That would be delightful.

Yes, of course, we'd love to have you.

Make sure they don't go over the nets again.

And don't leave them alone, understand?

Don't worry, Jake.

I'll get on the radio and ask for some advice.

Don't go away.

Who is this, uh, mahoney, Harold?

Why did you send for him?

I don't really know who he is.

He's got a lot of pull with the people in the government.

He put some pressure on us.

I'm sorry I couldn't tell you about it before.

I didn't know how much he knew.

I would have told you if I did.

I hope you believe me, Jake.

Yeah.

It doesn't matter.

Why doesn't it?

Tomorrow I'll say it all myself.

Let the press find out who mahoney is

and what the foundation's afraid of.

They want a press conference,

I'll give them a press conference.

Hello?

I can't hear you.

What?

Jake, yeah, it's me.

What's going on?

Yeah, that's better.

Go ahead.

But Jake...

No...

I'm not arguing wi...

I said, I'm not arguing with you,

I just don't understand why...

Okay, I got it.

Yeah, I'm sure.

We'll do it, don't worry.

I said, don't worry.

Do you want to tell maryanne anything about...

Jake.

Hello?

Jake.

I don't get it.

No? Do you have any...

Oh, I don't like those.

No?

It's a quarter after 12...

It is?

Oh, it's almost time for lunch.

Jake.

I'm going to give them about five more minutes.

Then what are you going to do?

I may set fire to her desk.

Dr. Terrell.

I'm so sorry.

Please sit down.

I'm Mrs. Rome,

Mr. Simon's executive secretary.

You're Mrs. Terrell, aren't you?

- It's so nice to meet you. - Who is Mr. Simon?

Oh, don't you know Mr. Simon?

The fact of the matter is

that there has been one of those unforeseeable events.

Which one?

Which what?

Which one of those unforeseeable events?

I see what you mean.

But, seriously, the director has been taken ill.

We haven't received word yet

on exactly what his condition is.

He's been taken to the hospital.

We're... we're all keeping our fingers crossed.

Where is Mr. demilo?

Mr. demilo?

Mr. Harold demilo.

Mr. demilo is at the hospital

with the director of course.

- Of course. - I have been asked

to apologize to you for the inconvenience.

And to tell you that the director

will contact you at your center

as soon as he is able.

- Well, what if he's not able? - How do you mean?

What happens if he is not able to contact me?

Well, I'm sure he will, sooner or later.

Mrs. Rome, you'll forgive me if I seem unsympathetic,

but there was a reason for my coming here today.

Now I've left my work, I've had a boat trip.

I've spent a reasonably sleepless night in a motel

without any air conditioning

- and very little air... - I'm so sorry.

Dr. Terrell would like to know

what happened to the press conference?

Oh, we've had to cancel all of today's events.

As a matter of fact, everything for the rest of the week

until we're further informed.

I just wish you could see the list of things

that we've had on our schedule.

As it is, I'm afraid we'll just have to tread water

until we receive further instructions.

Maggie.

May I tell the director that you asked after him?

Only if he lives.

I can't get through.

Why not?

Some kind of interference.

I didn't make that call.

But David was talking to you, Jake.

No, he wasn't.

Well, he was talking to somebody.

Well, either he thought he was talking to Jake or...

Or he lied.

Now tell me again,

the stretchers came from the boat.

Yeah.

They were brought off the yacht by a couple of men.

You don't remember seeing any name

on that boat, Larry?

Go on.

Maryanne and I helped David

get Alpha and beta into the stretchers.

Didn't they put up a fight? Didn't they do anything?

What?

We told them that you were on the yacht.

You lied to them.

Whose bright idea was that?

David's.

That's right.

I don't think there's anything more

that we can do tonight, Jake.

Do you?

I mean the phone is out.

What do you think?

No.

I mean, uh,

yes, you're right, there's nothing we can do.

Jake.

Let's take a walk outside.

We can cook something out there.

Okay, okay.

What are we all whispering for?

That thing's inside the house.

There may be others.

So what? How far can it transmit?

Maybe to a booster somewhere on the island?

Who put the intercom in your house?

David. When?

Just before we put Alpha and beta together.

You and Jake have been on the air for six months!

I think I'd like to kill him.

It's just possible that it's not David's fault.

I mean that he was fooled along with the rest of us.

His name's not David.

It's William, c for Charles, Conklin.

Trained in the Navy as a demolitions man.

While he was stationed at San Diego,

he decided to supplement his income

by bringing a couple of pounds of heroin across the border.

Jesus.

They gave him 15 to 20 years at hard labor

of which he did about eight months.

Who got him out?

The guys you work for.

What the hell are you talking about?

I don't work for them.

Oh, really?

I always thought you work for the people that pay you.

That's not fair.

Lady, I never said it was fair.

Who do you work for, Mr. mahoney,

assuming that's your real name?

I work for the guys that pay me

to watch the guys that pay you.

And then there are, I imagine,

some guys that are paid to watch me.

That's some business you're in.

Yeah, it works toward a full employment economy.

Watchers watching watchers.

With us at the end.

No, you're watching the dolphins.

Where are they?

The dolphins?

I would guess they're on that yacht.

What are they gonna do with them?

That's the part we don't know.

What we do know is that they've been working

on this thing since you started

teaching your friend Alpha to talk.

How do we stop them?

From doing what?

That's the point.

At the moment, assuming we could find them,

we could get them on the unique charge

of kidnapping a bottlenose dolphin.

I'm not even sure it's a crime.

So you're just going to sit here?

You're not going to do anything?

Look, number one,

the boat we came in has been scuttled

in about 20 feet of water.

Number two... who's we?

Uh, there's a Mr. stone, a friend of mine.

I think I'd better start trying to find him.

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

If it's true, as you say,

that the Franklin foundation got David...

- William. - All right,

got the son of a bitch out of jail,

then that implies that they must have

some very powerful connections.

- That's what it implies. - I mean with the government.

Yes, you might call them a part of the government.

Well, what government do you work for?

What government have you got?

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Dr. Terrell,

there are two or three million people

working for the government,

and that's not including the military.

Did you think that e pluribus unum

was engraved on anything other than our small change?

Or haven't you been living on this planet?

Then how did you get Harold demilo

to let you come down here in the first place?

That was easy.

I let on that I knew about David... William,

and that I'd be willing to keep it a secret

if he let me look around.

And then there were a couple of other things.

Like what?

Like the fact that I had information

concerning demilo's activities as a homosexual.

Which would have come as a hell of a shock

to his wife and kids.

You're a real charmer, Mr. mahoney.

You must be very proud of your work.

Go ahead, answer it.

Yes?

Jake?

Where are they, Harold?

Jake, I don't want you to say anything.

The phone will only be operative for a few minutes.

I want you to know that the "equipment" we borrowed

is in fine shape

and will be returned to you very soon

if nothing interferes with it.

Don't leave the island, Jake.

Do you understand?

Yes.

Mike,

get the boat ready.

Jake, you can't leave,

not while they've got Alpha and beta.

I can't, but one of you can.

And do what?

Call some newspapers, tell them what's happened.

You're going to call the New York times

and tell them that a group of respectable businessmen

stole some talking dolphins from you?

Something like that, why not?

Are you prepared to give your interview

- in a padded cell? - We have tapes

- of Alpha speaking. - You wanna bet?

Hang on.

Lets be careful of what we say.

We may be broadcasting from in here too.

Hello.

Is everything all right?

You feeling good?

That's good?

We'll see pa tomorrow.

See pa.. Light.

Was he a good friend?

Pretty good.

I'm sorry.

Yeah.

Well, he shouldn't have come down here.

He should have waited for me, he made a mistake.

It won't happen again.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Boom.

They'll kill them.

Hm?

They'll kill them, won't they?

Yes, of course they will.

Why?

They've killed a man.

Do you think they're going to get sentimental

about a dolphin?

But, Jake, why?

What would be the point of killing them?

Alpha can talk.

We taught him, remember?

He's a witness.

Come, fa.

Come.

Fa.

Come here.

Fa want pa.

What's the matter?

Want pa.

He wants Terrell.

Pa is waiting for fa.

Man say things not.

Pa's here.

No!

Get that goddamn animal in here, will ya?

Get back, get out of his sight.

Get beta up on deck.

If we have her, he won't go anywhere.

Fa!

We can't wait any longer.

Let's get going.

Let's get out of here.

I think you got him.

You better hope so, mister.

But it doesn't matter.

When this day is over,

we're going to go back to Terrell's place

and have one hell of a dolphin hunt.

Holy mother of god!

Terrell.

I ook at this.

That's Andrews bay.

How far is it?

Oh, two, two-and-a-half hours.

You ever been there?

A lot of rich people go there.

Catch fish that they don't eat,

they get natives to bait the hook for them...

Its very exclusive, no?

Yeah, well, millionaires and movie stars,

- retired gangsters. - Presidents?

Yeah, so?

So I'm imagining an animal

getting through a protected area

that a man or a boat couldn't penetrate.

- So what? - Jake?

Maggie!

How does he know where the yacht went?

He can taste it.

He's following the trail in the water.

We can't do it, Jake.

We haven't got enough power.

We're just slowing him down.

Well, how about lightening the load?

Ha! You wanna swim alongside for awhile?

Well, we don't need him, do we?

He's your friend, you wanna throw him over the side?

He's still dead, isn't he?

Cut the engine.

Fal

fa, come!

Fa!

Listen, fa.

Can you find bea?

Find bea!

Find bea.

Stop bea.

The thing on bea's back,

- the thing... - Ball!

Yes, the ball on bea's back is not good.

Not good.

The ball will hurt man.

Ball is play.

No.

The ball is not play.

The ball kills, the ball is bad.

Fa say bea not.

Yes.

Fa stop bea now.

Now!

Let's get to a phone or a radio.

We cant, Alpha's taken us out too far.

We've only got enough gas to get back.

What do we do, Jake?

There's nothing we can do, we're finished.

Bea want fa?

First bea find boat.

Put ball under boat, then come back, see fa.

Bea find boat now!

Oh, shit.

Here comes something!

Fa, where is the ball?

What did bea do with the ball?

Ball is not.

Did fa stop bea?

Stop bea.

Listen, fa.

The boat, where is the boat?

Not!

Which one, which boat?

Two boats, fa, two.

Say to pa the boat that is not.

Boat is not.

Fa, where is the boat with David?

Not.

That's the one.

Fa, where is David?

Not.

And the other men.

Where are they?

Not.

Jesus.

They're all dead.

Jake, we've gotta get out of here.

They'll be coming.

They're all dead.

There'll be others. They'll come for them.

Alpha, listen to pa.

Fa love pa.

Yes, pa knows.

Listen, Alpha, some men will come here.

Men who are not good.

Fa and bea must go.

Fa stay with pa.

No.

Fa and bea go now.

Pa not love fa?

Yes, pa loves fa and bea,

ma loves fa and bea.

Fa love ma.

Everybody loves everybody, now, for Christ's sake,

let's get the hell out of here!

Listen, fa.

Pa and ma go to land.

Fa and bea go to water.

Fa not see man, not talk to man.

Fa talk.

Not talk!

Swim, eat, play, not talk!

So long, folks.

Fa.

Men come now.

Men are bad.

Men will hurt ma.

Men hurt pa.

Hurt pa.

Yes.

Fa go now, men not hurt pa.

Men hurt pa.

Yes.

Fa go now.

Ma loves fa.

Stop it, Maggie, let them go.

Ma loves bea.

See, pa, like!

No!

No like!

Pa is not!

Pa.

Don't turn around, keep going.

Pa.

Pal