 I've just come from the hospital. The tests are in and you're pregnant. Congratulations. That's wonderful. Did you hear that, honey? Call me if I can give any help with the decision. I'll do that, doctor. Thanks very much. I know, honey. I know. I don't want to lose another baby. I couldn't bear it. We're going to lose this child. Look. First of all, the odds are 4 to 1 against there being any problem at all this time. Honey, even if the worst happened and the baby was born with no immunities this time, we're ready. I mean, immunologists like Dr. Gunther, they know how to save these children now. But how can we make a decision like that for another human being? I mean, what if... Oh, Johnny, do you think we could live with it? People in the world were meant to be parents and you and me. I've noticed that. I've noticed that. I want to believe that. Oh, I want to believe that. I'd like to say something to your wife before... I just wanted to say... ...inducts in the heat, vats closed, please. And no movement while the air settles. Anybody down there planning on having an itch, please scratch it now. Not later, please. Dr. Gunther, do we have to have all these people here? May we please clear the theater? Yes. Sorry, please try to understand. We're private people. Begin, Mrs. Ariane. It's your daddy. She was born exactly like your first son with no amenities whatsoever. But he's alive. How long does he have to stay in this? There's no way to know. Until we discover a treatment, until he develops an immune system of his own, he'll have to remain in his protected environment. You can give us some kind of a... prediction, I mean, are we talking about days or weeks or months? Years. Mr. Lubich, you may as well have it straight. We could get lucky or your son could be here with us for the remainder of his life. That little girl, I'm always looking at her. Next door. I want my baby. If you look, suppose we could devise some way of transporting him safely and we could get them to go on paying for it and manage a million and one other things we'd have to. I don't think you realize what we'd be getting ourselves into if we did bring him home. Sure, I'll catch her out of here. Okay, Toddy, throw me a nice hug. Look who's here, Toddy, it's Mommy. Surprise to see me. I can do something fun to you. I bet I can tickle you and make you giggle. Come here. Oh. Do you know how much your mommy and daddy love you? Do you? Do you really love them? Do you know how much mommy and daddy love you? How much we want you all towards now? Pick up the ambulance. Little Tod Lubic, a child who has never felt his parents touch except for the walls of this plastic bubble and who may not for years to come is finally coming home for the first time today. Doctor, please everybody, we appreciate your interest but that's exactly what we're trying to get away from. Hey, Toddy, do you have a nice ride? There you go. Yeah. Would you back up everybody please? How do you mind backing up this a little bit? Oh my, I didn't realize he was so big. Isn't he adorable? Gina, come on back here. Will you have to live in that thing for a very long time? No pictures. What is it like Mrs. Lubic? Three times now. Mr. Lubic, won't you come out again and give us a picture? I'll knock your damn head off. Now get out of here. Come on. Please use panels. Intercom system. Are you sure we have checked? Night night time. Come on. That's my darling. You talk to your teddy bear, okay? Mommy loves you. I'll see you in the morning. Oh, well our number's not listed. Well, we were just waiting for the proper time to say hello. I'm Pete Biggs, my wife Martha and daughter Gina. We live right next door there. This is for you, little boy. Thank you. Thank you. That's very kind of you. Please come in. There, that's good. Now put the blue one here. See if you can stack another blue one on... Oh, you're going to put it up there, huh? Honey, look who's here. The Biggs from next door have come over to welcome Todd home. Oh, look, Todd. Isn't what Daddy's going to sterilize? Come on over here, Gina. Come on, say hi to Gina. Come on. A bunch of doctors and some minister or something comes over once in a while. But no kids or anything. Oh, he has this little pet germ-free mouse, too. Don't you ever wonder what it's like in there? I mean... to be all by yourself like that. Yeah. Yeah, I know. But he's weird, you know? Like, I'm surprised he isn't looking at us right now. Every time I look up there, he's looking right at me. How are you? Task. Located on the underside of Skylab's multiple docking adapter section, the antenna is used to measure irregularities in ground temperatures and the shape of the Earth. Performing like an acrobatic team, they worked for three hours on the faulty antenna until it was finally free enough to do most of its programmed Earth scanning job. Earlier today, after the astronauts docked their command module with Skylab, they settled in their housekeeping chores. After a rest period of two hours, they had their first meal in Skylab. Monthly checkup. There's some news I think you might like to hear. Queens and check, Ernie. Oh, yeah, you're right. A doctor in Tokyo believes he may have found a treatment that might stimulate the development of the humeral and cellular antibodies. What kind of research has he done? So far, not too extensive. But by the middle of next year... Good news, Ernie. Keep me posted, will you? Really got it made, haven't you? Why didn't you say that? It doesn't get the best excuse ever devised by anybody to avoid growing up. I'm growing up, Ernie. Yes. Sometimes you're like an old man. And other times you're like a newborn baby. What does that mean? Why do you use that intercom when you don't need to? Is it to give you a feeling of power over us as if it's your way of getting back at us? You mean today, aren't you, Ernie? Yes, you're right, I am. In the beginning, do you? I mean, so why should I care about what's going on out there? Why should you care about anything that's going on out there? Because there may be a cure at any time. A doctor in Tokyo, your own body. I'm not so unhappy in here as all of you think. I'll see you, Todd. I'm on the stairway between the first and the second floor and Mr. Christian took quite a nasty couple. Todd, Mr. Doolborg called me today. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. The doctor called me today. And a company back east has donated a closed circuit television system. Oh, yeah? And they want to know if you would like to use it to monitor some classes in high school. What classes? Any classes you want. Come on, you're not afraid to test that brain of yours against the other kids, are you? No. Honey, if it's too abrupt a step for you right now, that's okay. I didn't mean to sound as if I was pushing. You know, the one from Tokyo? Well, we haven't heard anything about him yet, honey. But there is a hematologist in Finland. I've got to think about that school thing. Now, please be excused. Say something to the class before we begin. So, if the Truman administration was the fair deal and the Kennedy administration, the New Frontier and the Johnson administration called itself the Great Society, what was the Roosevelt administration? Tom Schuster, who's making that sound? Gina Biggs? Sorry, Mr. Verster, I didn't read the chapter. This has gone far enough. Unless every one of you want to be sent down to the principal's office, you'll cut it out right now. The hospital in that small bubble. Why, uh, when did they ever carry him outside or down to the beach or something? Well, they've been suggesting it for years, but Todd won't have any part of it. He says it'll make him feel like a freak being put on display. Gina, go over to the Louvages, ask Todd if he'd like to come to the Fourth of July party at the beach. Well, why don't you just call his parents or something? I want it to come from you. Right, I'll try. Missy. Hi, Gina. Ah, it's Todd is home going up in the factory. It is open. I mean, don't germs get in? You see, behind this wall, there's lots of air vents that constantly blow out all the air so the germs won't get in. See this blind down here? I can't walk past it. No kidding. No. You mean I couldn't put my foot over that line? No. Your germs will get in. Hey Todd, my mom said that you've never even been sick or anything. Not even a call. Is that true? Yeah, I like that. So, when are you supposed to get out? Oh, I don't know. Keep on looking for treatments. They've been looking for them all my life. But my immunity is keep on building up and all that. So, even if they don't find a treatment you'll get out someday, right? Yeah, someday. Well, the reason I'm here is I wanted to invite you to the Fourth of July party at the beach. If you can't make it, you know, everybody will understand, but at least, you know, that we wanted you to come. I hope you can make it. The Rocks, there's an outlet over there. Could you give us a hint? Yeah, could you give us either side here? Okay, got it. I'm going to release it right now. Okay, there we go. Easy. Okay, let me get the... Honey, you want to turn the switch on? Happy Fourth of July, son. Okay, where's food? I watch you feed them every morning. And I love to watch you ride them. Ride them when you get out. Especially a boy in a... You'll be staying here in the new Laminar Airflow Center. Because of what we've learned through cases like yours, we're now treating cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, leukemia patients, all kinds of people, young and old, who've developed immune deficiencies like yourself for one reason or another. You're selecting your roommate. Something can be arranged. Todd Lovic? Meet Roy Slater. I'll leave you two fellas to get to know each other. Life, what's happened? I sure miss a lot of things. What's the matter with you? So why are you in one of these things? The chemotherapy kills off all my immunities. Glad I got someone to talk to now. When they tried me with a couple others before, I'm sure the first one was even close to my age. I sure hope we can become friends. So many things I want to ask you. Just let me ask you one question, okay? Okay. What do you do to start liking it? You said I could ask you one question. Yo, I didn't say to answer it. My immunities are building up. I was never going to get out of here. I don't think I'd keep going on. Give myself a hooker. Buzz Aldrin visits young Todd Lovic, the boy who was grown up inside a plastic bubble. That's Todd. I want to see this. Hold on. He's coming home next week. So what? Hi, Todd. You're Buzz Aldrin, aren't you? I've been looking forward to meeting you, Todd. I hear you have the record for the longest time in a command module. Yeah, I guess so. Being space-man on Earth, Buzz Aldrin. Thank you. Hey, you spent some time on one of these things, didn't you, right after the moon flight? Something very much like it, Todd, for several weeks. This is the loss of freedom. You know, I felt like being in a fishbowl. I know what you mean. Todd Lubic, the boy who has spent his life in a plastic bubble. No, Tom, my parents are going to be home. What is it with you and that freak? He's my next-door neighbor. We grew up together. Is anything wrong with that? Don't call him a freak. I think you're turning on to him. Oh, Tom, you're such an idiot. How long have I lived next to him? 12 years. I've probably spoken to him maybe a dozen times at the most. Every year I got an invitation to his birthday party. And every year I went. I was the only one there. Except for his parents. It's the only time I ever saw him. Just once a year. Fourth of July. Mr. Lubic? What is it, do you know I'm in a big rush? I hear Todd's going to monitor some classes again this year. I'm rushing to get books to get at the library and supply a speaker for the store. Listen, I can do all that for you if you want. What's the catch, Jean? Well, the main thing is I feel bad about what happened and I'd like to help out and the other thing is I'm broke and I could really use the money. That's a deal. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, you want me to bring any classwork with me to school in the morning. Just have your mom leave it on the front porch and I'll pick it up on my way. Just because I want to. I suggested it. What I mean is talk to you, you take everything so literally. Say what you started to say. Do you have to use that thing, it's killing my ears. Say what you started to say. I thought a lot about what happened last Fourth of July and I wanted to make it up to you somehow. When I saw your father at school today, well, well, I was going to do it for nothing. But then another part of me said, well you're not mad at me anymore? Say Mr. Brister look as old in person as he does on television. Mr. Brister God, I hate that guy. Me too. You're never wearing anything except shorts. It's because it's so warm in here. Really Todd? I mean, when I come over, the least you can do is put on some clothes. How long has it been since you've had a shower? I can't have showers. Bad Zerm major production. You should see it takes you a couple of hours just to sterilize the water. Must stink in there. Oh no, no, you're wrong. No germs, no smell. I don't know Todd. I mean, it's just a principle of the thing, you know. Well, Hasta mañana. Despite Wilson's stand on the League of Nations, Congress had voted against the entry of the United States. America now embraced a policy of isolationism focusing her attentions inward on domestic concerns thereby pursuing a course of action which was ultimately to pave the way for World War II. For tomorrow we will read chapters four, five, and six. Turnpaper for English lit. And then I got called down to the principal's office for a nice little talking to. And then when I got your slave Todd, so don't give me orders. You're just like everybody. Well that's how come I had to stay. The only course I have higher than a D is in art. I didn't know that, Gina. Well now you do. And you can forget about me coming over anymore since everyone else thinks I'm letting them down. The last thing I need is to get the same garbage from you. Gina, I'm sorry. Maybe I could help you. I could explain things better than those dumb teachers. I could teach you how to really concentrate. Do that? Sure. Hey, what's my father paying you? A dollar an hour. That's how much I charge. Gina, you can see my rates. They're right over here. Okay, it's a deal. Maybe straight down like that. Let me cheat off your paper. Of course. But wait until the others have finished before you hold up your answers. I'm sorry, Mr. Birster. Where do you want to go? To the right. My right or your right? My right. There we go. There. Right in the sun. Excellent. Hey, you. What's the sudden interest in all the great outdoors? I need a tan. Need a what? A what? I need a tan. Well, look at me. I look like a tuna fish. All white and everything. You know, you guys could use a little sunshine yourselves. Starting to look real old. Todd. Dad, it don't mean to hurt your feelings, but it's true. I mean, you never take a vacation or buy new clothes. Look at that dress, Mom. Dad, you never do anything for yourselves. Do you ever blame us for bringing you into the world? Did you have a choice? Yes. Well, do you blame yourselves? I don't blame you for anything. Honest. I love you. I love you both. Don't you know that? I mean, look, if it weren't for what you did, you would have grown up in a hospital. You know, you should hire a nurse from the hospital to take care of me. So then you can go to someplace you always wanted to go to. Dad, it would be okay. I'd love it. I mean, just knowing that you weren't spending your whole life on me. Okay? I'll meet you outside. Rachel, don't forget to, uh, test the backup generator at least once a day. And if anything goes wrong, uh, don't hesitate to call us. Don't worry about it. Have a good trip. I hope we're doing the right thing so much could go wrong. Sure we are. This trip is for him too, you know. I feel like he can stand on his own two feet. You know what I think? I think part of the reason he wanted us out of the way was so that he could court his girl. Goodbye, son. No kidding. Well, thanks to you. Yeah. Hey, let's celebrate, okay? Think of something you'd like to do, something special. Sure, what are you going to do? Just walk out of there. I might. No, dummy. Just help Rachel take me outside so I can watch you. Never get you downstairs. Sure. Sure you could. Easy. Thank you. Gina, come here. Rachel, would you plug me in in the extension? When she does that, would you turn off the battery? Okay. Okay. That's it, Rachel. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you, Rachel. You can go now. Gina, ride for me, okay? Okay. Feels like flying. Gina, ride around me in a circle as close as you can, okay? But what about the cord? Well, what about the cord? You just jumped that canoe. You can jump that stupid cord. What about your nurse? Oh, this is the time of the day where she drinks Sherry. She'll just sit there and look at the plug. Make sure that doesn't come out. Then she'll get pleasantly bombed. So don't worry about her, okay? Okay. Just do it, Gina, okay? Get out of this thing. I don't know. I'll be back later to help you get inside, okay? Which one is he? Well, that's Tom. Bruce strives a blue Chevy. She's one you're going with? Who says I'm going with anybody? Put your face up against the plastic. What for? I did what you wanted me to do, now do it. What's this about Gina jumping over you with her horse? Oh, it's nothing. Did she tell you that? I imagined it. God, that's wicked. Listen, I got something I want to tell you. I want to go to school. Yeah. You are in school. No, I mean, really go to school. Dr. Gunther said he'd set it up if you guys said it'd be all right. Here, look, I shot him. Last time, what's the first thing you do when you get to your home? First thing you do? First thing I do is check the backup tanks. And? And the batteries. Come on, Dad, can't you go any faster? Just leave the driving to me. OK, listen, the builders and the fans are fine. The batteries are up at the pressure gauge on the main line. Read 75%. Then what do you do? I don't do anything. I just stay there. I get my teacher to go get you and then you take me home, right? I want you to check everything on your checklist, every break between classes. Or I'll break your arm. All right. OK. Get your current where you find it. Think of yourself as a rechargeable flashlight. Because you want them to be bright, right? Little joke, Dad. I think we should all show him how glad we are that he's here. What are you doing? I see you got yourself all plugged in. He's on the news. He looked great. This means we're brothers. 90 minutes. And then what? Then I recharge. It's what I'm doing right now. So I'm recharging. Is he a question? Yes. Do you ever feel like a visitor from outer space? Yes. Me too. Listen, Todd. We were all about to take a little walk over the football field. Would you like to come with us? No more practical jokes. You can trust us. Yeah, I think we've grown up a little since last summer. OK. Hey, when I pulled this plug out, would you turn my battery on, that little black dial? OK. When I say ready. Ready? Go. Something I've been wanting to ask you. OK. How do you feel to the bathroom? I stare at an object for a long time. Any object, right? And then I let myself sink deeper and deeper inside my brain until I find this center place that I like. Have you guys ever heard of out-of-body travel? Sure. I saw a thing about it on Twilight Zone once. It's where you can leave your body and go anywhere you want. That's right. Well, I do it all the time. Oh, yeah? Where do you go? Lots of different places. But mostly the planet that I'm from. Thermopolis. Right. Come on. Thermopolis. Thermopolis. I think it's an exchange program. You see, I was sent here, and someone from here was sent there. One day we'll be switched back again. If it weren't for this secret journal I found, I would have never known anything about it. Are you putting us on? No. Let me look inside that thing, Todd Lubich. Look at that straight face. Hey, no. I think you are from another planet. I bet you are from another planet. Hey, give me the phone. Hey, Todd. I bet you didn't know that people on Thermopolis were stronger than people on Earth. No kidding. Stronger in what way? Just stronger. Like, first I said I bet I could beat you at doing push-ups. You talking about real money or space money? I'm talking ten dollars. Ten dollars. Sounds okay to me. Let's make it the kind that you have to clap in the middle, alright? Alright? Hey, Todd. Do you think you should do this? I mean, what about your hair? Yes, I'm mad at you. From Barrison in front of your friends? No, for nearly killing yourself, trying to show off for me. Gina, I was just... Todd, what if you had died out there? How could I ever live with that? I'm sorry, Gina. No, you're not. You don't care. You don't care what happens to you. Todd, sometimes I think you want to die. Gina, I was just doing it so you'd see. See what? That you're just as dumb as all the rest of them? Flexing your muscles? No, you'd see that I'm not a cripple. There's nothing wrong with me except that I can't get out of here until they tell me it's okay. Oh, Gina, I'm so sick of it. I'm just like feeling like a hospital case. Like some weirdo kid who can't even breathe normal air because he might get sick and die. I just want to be like a man. Someone you could care about and don't feel sorry for. I don't know what you're doing to me. I don't know if I like it at all. We were just supposed to be friends. I mean, that's all that was supposed to happen, right? I mean, can't we just leave it like that? You spent a great deal of time with your afterwards. I just wanted to know why. Paula, why are you doing this to yourself? Hello? Get the last pair of these. It's for you, sweetheart. You want to watch the sports news on Channel 3? So you can be pretty persuasive when you want to find something out. Hello? Gina, we're at the beach tomorrow. Why couldn't you have had a space sit when you were little? I never even dreamed about going out. Only about people and things coming in. You were always riding your horse in. Yeah. And then I'd get on. And we'd ride. Inside your bubble? Yeah, always inside. All my life I've wondered what it's like to be you. And all my life I always wondered what it was like to be you. That's great, Gina. Communication with a team of physicians in the Soviet Union. How soon could I leave on my own immunities? You know I can't answer that. What would happen if I left now? You're not actually considering... Would I catch something and die right away? I really don't know. You mean I might live? Yes, it's conceivable. Your body's been building up some immunities. But it's also conceivable that just a bad cold or a case of flu might kill you. I'm sorry, but we just don't know. Thank you for coming, Ernie. Somewhere in that brain of yours, you're actually thinking of... I was just asking, Ernie. That's all.