"The Devil in the Dark'' Line-by-Line

VANDERBERG: That's right.

 

KIRK: I see. Mister Spock give us a report on life beneath the surface.

 

Spock: Within range of our sensors, there is no life, other than the accountable human residents of this colony beneath the surface. At least, no life as we know it.

 

KIRK: We can't cover all the tunnels on foot. We must get production going again. We must have that pergium.

 

SPOCK: Captain, If we could force another appearance of this creature.

 

VANDERBERG: When that creature appears, men die.

(And as if to prove his point, the guard outside the power plant is killed. There's just a vaguely man-shaped stain on the ground and wisps of smoke lead us to a neat circular hole in the door he was guarding.)

 

KIRK: (looking at the cavern through the window) Too many tunnels. We couldn't possibly... Mister Spock, our sensors can pick up normal life functions at a considerable distance, but what about abnormal life functions?

(An alarm panel by the door starts blinking and an alarm klaxon goes off)

 

Back in Vanderbergs office:

Kirk: Too many tunnels, We couldn't possibly, Mr Spock Our sensors can pick up normal life functions at a considerable distance, but what about abnormal life functions...

Alert klaxon goes off.

 

VANDERBERG: Something's happening in the reactor room!

 

[Tunnel outside the reactor room]

Van der Berg: Back to your stations. Look at that.

He goes through the hole cut in the door.

 

(McCoy looks at the remains of the guard, Spock and Kirk look at the hole eaten in the door. Kirk reaches out)

SPOCK: I wouldn't touch it, Captain. An extremely active corrosive. Traces may linger.

 

Van der Berg: Kirk, quickly!

[Reactor room]

(They step through carefully.)

Van der Berg: The main circulating pump for the entire reactor is gone.

 

SPOCK: The same indication as shown at the door, Captain. A very strong corrosive.

 

KIRK: Is there a replacement for that?

 

VANDERBERG: No, none. It's outdated, but we never had any trouble with it.

 

KIRK: Spock, anything on board?

 

SPOCK: Nothing for a device this antiquated, Captain.

 

Vanderberg: Without the pump mechanism the reactor will go supercritical. It could poison half the planet. We can't shut it down, it provides heat and air and life support for the whole colony.

 

KIRK: Mister Spock, we seem to have been given a choice. Death by asphyxiation...or death by radiation poisoning.

 

[Bridge]

Scotty: A PXK pergium reactor? No, sir. We don't have any spare circulating pump for a thing like that. I haven't seen a PXK in twenty years.