Is there life on the moon? Is it killing the crew of Moonbase 3? Should we take this premise seriously?
John and Eugene discuss Behemoth.
Episode Synopsis:
A team of astronauts are working on the surface, conducting experiments in the Mare Frigoris. There is some strange disturbance from under the surface. Later, when they fail to check in, it is discovered that they, and all their equipment, have disappeared without a trace.
Although searching continues, Caulder is basically helpless. He calls the Americans, who agree to assist in the search, but there is little that can be done for the missing researchers, who will have run out of air before search teams can arrive. The mystery of the missing men begins to cause stress and concern amongst the crew of Moonbase 3.
As a precaution, Caulder makes Mare Frigoris off limits until further notice. This does not sit well with seismologist Dr. Heinz Laubenthal. He’s conducting critically important research that in Mare Frigoris but he refuses to reveal any details as to why it is so critical to Director Caulder. Caulder is unmoved and keeps the prohibition in place.
The normally tight-lipped Laubenthal begins to get chummy with another scientist at the base, Dr. Stephen Partness, he agrees to give Partness some of his precious computer time in exchange for some help with his research. Laubenthal also reveals a bit of the nature of his research to his assistant.
Michel Lebrun is having problems with Juan Benevente, not only can he not understand Juan’s outrageous accent, Juan is concerned that there is a potentially major solar storm coming as well as a hurricane on Earth. Juan is torn, the hurricane may or may not be significant, as might or might not be the solar storm. If they fail to warn Earth of the hurricane, it could cost lives. If they alert Earth unnecessarily, they could be scoffed at and future predictions could be ignored. Lebrun is a stickler for the procedures and does not see a problem with following them, but, in a concession to Juan, he takes the concern to Director Caulder to decide.
Caulder listens to Juan, who explains it a bit better the second time around. The solar storm may knock out all Moon-Earth communications at exactly the time they need to warn Earth of the hurricane. Caulder has an easy solution: Warn Earth now, but make it very clear that it is a premature warning because they might be incommunicado when they have their final results.
Caulder discusses the missing scientists situation with Tom Hill. Tom is still bearing a grudge after the team building stunt Caulder pulled on the in the last episode and isn’t too sympathetic to Caulder’s dilemma. The scientists are most certainly dead. They may never know what happened to them. Should he write them off and get back to work? Should he lift the prohibition on Mare Frigoris?
…and then there is an explosion. The Seismology section has suffered a total depressurization. Killing Dr. Laubenthal and one other crew member. The exterior wall of the section and Laubenthal have been destroyed by some unknown, explosive force… which originated outside on the surface. It is revealed that Laubenthal had not stopped working on his Mare Frigoris research because he believed he was on the verge of a major discovery concerning life on the moon.
Morale on the base just keeps getting worse, and then a worker repairing the section wall discover a mysterious, snake-like trail in the lunar dust, leading back towards Mare Frigoris. Morale really starts to plummet as scientist Dr. Peter Conway starts speculating that Laubenthal was searching for life and he found it. That life didn’t like being probed and killed the scientists and later followed Laubental back to the base and killed him, too.
Lebrun and Tom hear him out and dismiss the idea as impossible and illogical, but, they put him in charge of investigating the incident.
Helen has a talk with him. She knows he doesn’t really believe there’s a lunar monster and he’s just speculating about it because it amuses him, but can he turn it down a bit? Morale was already low and it’s getting lower now that rumors of a lunar monster are spreading.
Research work all across the base is grinding to a halt. Stress is high, mistakes are being made, people are resigning and trying to leave. In one incident, a jumpy surface worker is startled by a co-worker and damages his suit in a panic. Other workers refuse to go out on the surface until the base is armed.
The Chinese at Moonbase 4 call and threaten Caulder. They’re heard the rumors about the lunar monster and they will not abide by the propaganda campaign being waged on them. Even the American base commander calls to see what’s going on with this rumored monster.
Caulder has got to squash this before word gets back to Earth. He and Tom take search parties out to Mare Frigoris to see what they can find.
Back at the base, Peter is making progress in his investigations. With the help of Laubenthal’s assistant and Dr. Partness, Conway puts the pieces together – there is grave danger in Mare Frigoris, he must warn Caulder.
Remember that solar storm we mentioned earlier? Yeah, that one. It just happens to be preventing communication between the base and the search parties. Peter takes a moon buggy and rushes after them.
At Mare Frigoris, what appear to be moonquakes are causing problems with Caulder’s team, the ground is literally swallowing them up. Conway arrives, and with Tom’s help, they rescue Caulder’s team, and they find the bodies of the missing scientists.
Back at the base, it’s all wrapped up neatly with a bow. Laubenthal had discovered permafrost under the surface of Mare Frigoris. The seismic charges that the researchers had been using were amplified by the subsurface water causing subsidence and swallowing them.
After the research ban on the crater, Laubenthal was unable to gain access to the seismic charges he needed, and so convinced Dr. Partness to make smaller, unsanctioned seismic charges so he could continue his work. While these improvised charges were smaller, and therefore unlikely to cause subsidence, they were constructed in a less-safe fashion. An actual moonquake detonated the charges outside the seismology section.
The mysterious snake-like trail in the lunar dust was just a pattern formed by the quake, but the worker’s mind, predisposed to the idea of a lunar monster interpreted it as a trail.
Laubenthal has died before he could announce his great discovery: water on the moon. While this is a tragedy, it will be a big feather in Moonbase 3’s cap.
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