The Andromeda Strain (1971)
David Wayne: Dr. Charles Dutton
Photos
Quotes
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Dr. Jeremy Stone : According to this, there'll be a super-colony of Andromeda over the entire southwest in...
Dr. Charles Dutton : [interrupting] Jeremy! These are biological warfare maps!
Dr. Jeremy Stone : Why, yes... so they are... uh... but... simulations, Charlie. Defensive... it's just a scenario.
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : That's not the point, for God's sake! Wildfire was built for germ warfare! Wildfire AND Scoop! And you knew, Stone! YOU KNEW IT!
Dr. Jeremy Stone : That's not true, Ruth! I learned about Scoop the same time you did!
Dr. Charles Dutton : They already have Andromeda programmed! The purpose of Scoop was to find new biological weapons in outer space, and then use Wildfire to develop them!
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : It stinks, Stone!
Dr. Jeremy Stone : You're blowing your tops! We have no proof...
Dr. Charles Dutton : The map!
Dr. Jeremy Stone : Don't be an ass! That map only shows what Andromeda could do in the hands of an enemy!
Dr. Charles Dutton : Enemy? We did it to ourselves!
Dr. Jeremy Stone : Perhaps! But this is hardly the time to organize a protest!
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : [sarcastic] Another giant leap for mankind!
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[Dutton has just finished drawing a picture on the blackboard of a scientist examining a specimen under a microscope. A speech balloon from the slide says "Take us to your leader". His students all laugh]
Dr. Charles Dutton : I'm glad you're amused gentlemen, but it might just turn out to be true. During this symposium, we'll discuss the possibility that intelligent life on a distant planet may be no larger than a flea.
[more laughter]
Dr. Charles Dutton : Perhaps no larger than... a bacterium.
[silence]
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Dr. Mark Hall : Dutton, I think rapid breathing helps. Don't let the bug in your lungs long enough to penetrate blood vessels. I want to turn off the pure oxygen and you start breathing room air as fast as you can!
Dr. Charles Dutton : NO! No, I-I was running a test in here! The air is thick with Andromeda! Experiment with your own lives, damn it!
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Mic-T : A.A. analysis results are ready, Dr. Dutton.
Dr. Charles Dutton : Something's wrong. It's not registering.
Mic-T : Yes, it is, sir. It's just registering double-zero, double-zero.
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Dr. Robertson : You can relax now, we've just left the President. He agreed to drop the bomb...
Dr. Jeremy Stone : NO NO! You've got to stop 7-12 from being carried out!
Grimes : Now wait a minute! We're not playing ping pong! We just got through telling the President that you...
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : For God's sake, go back! It grows when exposed to x-rays. or any source of energy.
Dr. Charles Dutton : Tell him NO nuclear device mush be detonated anywhere near it.
Dr. Jeremy Stone : We just found out Andromeda functions like a little reactor. Converts matter to energy, energy to matter, directly
Dr. Robertson : [Whistles] Then the bomb would just provide a fantastically rich growth medium.
[to Grimes]
Dr. Robertson : Understand?
Grimes : No, but I'll pass along the recommendation.
[smugly]
Grimes : The boss'll be pleased to know that HE made the right decision on 7-12 in the first place.
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : [harsh with sarcasm] Congratulate him on his scientific insight.
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Dr. Charles Dutton : The whole thing. What a world we're making... I can see why the kids are dropping out; we should've.
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : It's an emergency, Dutton. We got tagged, period. 'Til I saw those photos from Vanderburg, I...
Dr. Charles Dutton : They brought it on themselves.
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : Who? The people in Piedmont?
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Dr. Charles Dutton : No excretions. No waste of any kind.
Dr. Jeremy Stone : You'd expect that, Andromeda's perfect for existence in outer space. Consumes everything, wastes nothing...
[Leavitt, Stone, and Dutton exchange anxious glances]
Dr. Jeremy Stone : Good lord!
Dr. Mark Hall : What?
Dr. Jeremy Stone : Stone to Delta-Five. Put me through to Dr. Robertson Immediately!
Dr. Mark Hall : WHAT?
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : God, I hope we're not too late.
Dr. Mark Hall : Tell me!
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : It functions like an atomic reactor!
Dr. Jeremy Stone : An atomic blast could provide it with enough energy to grow into a gigantic supercolony.
Dr. Charles Dutton : In one day!
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[Leavitt averts her eyes when passing a flashing red warning light]
Dr. Charles Dutton : Something wrong?
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : I never liked red lights. They remind me of my years in a bordello.
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[At the entrance to Wildfire]
Dr. Charles Dutton : Put your hands on that glass, palms down. It's a finger and palm print analyzer, that...
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : -reads a composite of ten thousand dermatographic lines.
Dr. Charles Dutton : How'd you know that?
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : [coyly] Oh Dutton, I have a *long* criminal record.
Dr. Charles Dutton : Then you're in trouble. This machine has a *long* memory.
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Dr. Charles Dutton : [Viewing x-ray crystallography scan of Andromeda] How does something so simple use energy for growth?
Dr. Jeremy Stone : No way of telling from the structure.
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : Oh yes there is.
[uploading information]
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : With this new data we can get a computer simulation of how Andromeda operates.
[Contrast-enhanced computer stimulation begins on display]
Dr. Jeremy Stone : They're not uniform.. could be mutation...
[simulation speeds up and eventually crashes. Computer displays '601']
Dr. Charles Dutton : What the devil...?
Dr. Jeremy Stone : 601? The computer's overloaded! Too much data coming in too fast.
Dr. Charles Dutton : Dividing and mutating at the same time?
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : And *nothing* to stop it. Normal Earth checks and balances don't exist for it.
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[Arriving at the Wildfire entrance, disguised as an agricultural facility]
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : It's a great place to grow pot.
Dr. Charles Dutton : Just a plain old crop of barley. Still, it is rather clever, I think.
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Dr. Charles Dutton : Don't pack, Claire, I won't need anything.
Clara Dutton : A hippie. He's going to a love-in.
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Dr. Ruth Leavitt : You don't believe the infection in that capsule was brought back deliberately, do you?
Dr. Charles Dutton : Skip it. Skip it. I hope I'm talking through my hat.
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Dr. Charles Dutton : When I retire, I'd like an agricultural station like this - in Alaska.
Dr. Ruth Leavitt : You, a sourdough?
Dr. Charles Dutton : The sourest.
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Dr. Mark Hall : Where is the library?
Dr. Charles Dutton : No need for books. Everything's in the computer.
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Dr. Charles Dutton : The disease could spread into a worldwide epidemic.
Grimes : It's because of rash statements like that the president doesn't trust scientists.
Dr. Jeremy Stone : Warn the president it may already be too late.
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Dr. Charles Dutton : Why Andromeda?
