The Andromeda Strain (1971)

In versatile director/producer Robert Wise's suspenseful, intelligent, paranoid science-fiction techno-thriller and disaster-related story - it was adapted by Nelson Gidding from Michael Crichton's best-selling 1969 novel (it was his first novel with his own name). Along with Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), this pessimistic doomsday film about the dangers of technology became one of the biggest science-fiction hits in the pre-Star Wars (1977) blockbuster era. Wise had already directed the classic sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951).

The early 1970s sci-fi film captured the terror of a deadly, bacterial, alien crystalline organism from outer space that was intentionally brought back to Earth in a satellite-probe that crashed (after being struck by a meteor), and almost entirely wiped out a small New Mexico village-town. Nicknamed the Andromeda Strain, the deadly micro-organism killed through nearly instantaneous blood clotting. A biological research project (known as SCOOP funded by the US government) was responsible for causing the emergency by exploitatively supporting the search in space for potential biological weapons. Racing against time, efforts were made by a team of high-tech scientists who were summoned to save the world from deadly contamination and extermination by the lethal extra-terrestrial pathogen in a top-secret, remote, advanced underground facility known as Wildfire.

The Andromeda Strain was possibly the earliest feature film to use an advanced optical photographic visual effect for its time, with work by Douglas Trumbull (2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Silent Running (1971)), James Shourt, and Albert Whitlock (The Birds (1963)). $250,000 of the film's budget of $6.5 million was reportedly used to create the special effects. It was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Art Direction and Best Film Editing.

The film featured the early use of multiple or "split-screen" techniques (i.e., the display of corpses littering the town, views of two science team members and a technical diagram, the town's two survivors, etc.). Often, a horizontally-moving teletype news-like banner (white letters on a black strip) near the bottom of the frame indicated locations and times.

This film also cleverly used a photographic and cinematographic process known as slit-scanning, in the scene in which a mapped view was presented of the rotating 2-D structure of the massive, hi-tech, top secret 5-story, cylindrical underground laboratory in the Nevada desert named Project Wildfire (that was dealing with the biological contaminant). To familiarize the other scientists with the locations of the levels and substations, scientist Dr. Stone (Arthur Hill) turned on the simulation of the "electronic diagram which rotates to afford an overall view, or it can be stopped at any section. Detailed plans of the various levels and labs are also stored in the system...."

A Rotating, 'Animated' Simulation of the Five Levels of the Secret Underground Laboratory

• in the film's opening, a prologue subtitle explained: "Acknowledgements - This film concerns the four-day history of a major American scientific crisis. We received the generous help of many people attached to Project Scoop at Vandenberg Air Force Base and the Wildfire Laboratory in Flatrock, Nevada. They encouraged us to tell the story accurately and in detail. The documents presented here are soon to be made public. They do not in any way jeopardize the national security"
• under the credits (in typewritten lettering), computer screens and other views of top-secret technical equipment, key words in bold letters (SECRET, MISSION PROFILE, SCOOP VII, NASA, BIOWAR MAP, CLASSIFIED), diagrams, and documents (in colored type) gave the film added authenticity
• in the first of four days starting on February 5th, 1971 (each day was indicated by an on-screen title, such as FIRST DAY), a major US disaster had apparently occurred; a US SCOOP VII space probe/satellite had unexpectedly fallen to Earth; two Air Force officers: Lt. Shawn (Mark Jenkins) and Sgt. Crane (Peter Helm) - satellite recovery technicians under the direction of Vandenberg AFB and SCOOP Mission Control, used night vision goggles to view the probe's crash site in the New Mexico desert near the small village of Piedmont (fictitious) with a population of 68; they reported that there appeared to be "no sign of life" but then stated: "We see bodies, lots of them...just dropped in their tracks"; Mission Control abruptly lost contact with the two men when they saw something "in white" approaching toward them, and then heard screams
• a reconnaissance flyby of the town full of dead bodies was ordered by duty officer Major Manchek (Ramon Bieri); after viewing the disaster area with an infrared camera, a state of emergency was declared by Manchek via a red telephone - known as a Wildfire Alert - due to "evidence here on film of unnatural death caused by Scoop VII returning to Earth"; the alert order included a potential 7-12 directive (a nuclear strike)

Top US Scientists Assembled to Deal with the Threat of Extra-Terrestrial Biological Organisms
Dr. Jeremy Stone (Arthur Hill)	Dr. Charles Dutton (David Wayne)
Dr. Ruth Leavitt (Kate Reid)	Dr. Mark Hall (James Olson)

• a team of four top investigators and elite scientists was summoned to meet together, including team leader and a Nobel Prize-winning biologist Dr. Jeremy Stone (Arthur Hill), surgeon and blood chemistry expert Dr. Mark Hall (James Olson), pathologist Dr. Charles Dutton (David Wayne), and microbiologist Dr. Ruth Leavitt (Kate Reid)
• in a limousine after being picked up at his home, Dr. Stone was privately briefed on Project: SCOOP - it was created by the US Army's Biological Research Division to collect and study organisms existing in outer space that could potentially be used as biological weapons; the returning space satellite had just completed a top-secret biological research mission (code-named "Project SCOOP") before crashing; there were hints that the ensuing emergency was deadly and lethal, with code-phrase references to a "fire," "germ warfare," or a possible "lab accident"
• closed hearings of the Senate Committee on Space Sciences were being held in DC regarding the disastrous Wildfire incident, although they were two months into the future; excerpts from the hearings were inserted here and elsewhere later in the film; the hearings provided frequent voice-overs or flashforwards to provide commentary on the events taking place in the present; the hearing revealed that the Wildfire lab facility costing $90 million was partially designed by Dr. Stone two years earlier and built for such emergencies: ("contamination from outer space"); it was much more advanced than the present Lunar Receiving Laboratory, to specifically deal with unknown extra-terrestrial organisms from outer space, and to provide laboratories for their analysis; the facility (with ultra-modern "isolation techniques") was located in an uninhabited region of the US, and "equipped with a nuclear device for self-destruction in the event of an emergency"
• SECOND DAY: the morning after the crash, a USAF helicopter took off from Vandenburg AFB, carrying Dr. Stone and Dr. Hall (wearing white protective suits) to the decimated small village of Piedmont, NM, to begin looking into the biological crisis and its deadly contagion; they found evidence that most people died suddenly ("cut down in mid-stride"), although some had committed suicide, and others had suffered severe mental breakdowns before dying ("a few of them had time to go quietly nuts"); none of the victims with cuts or bruises showed signs of bleeding - the cause of death was determined to be due to a powdery and clotted bloodstream

Brief Views of the Small, Pried Open Space Satellite-Probe

• the satellite was retrieved from the office of the town's deceased doctor, Dr. Alan Benedict (an uncredited Jason Johnson), who had tried to pry open the small downed mechanism; Dr. Benedict's bloodstream was also completely clotted and composed of a sandy red powder: (Dr. Hall: "Clotted blood! Powdered!...No wonder they didn't bleed. It's clotted throughout the entire system - five quarts of blood turned to powder!"); it was suggested that the satellite may have brought back a mysterious extra-terrestrial organism - an ultimate biological weapon - that caused instant death
• before leaving with the satellite, the two investigators discovered the town's two sole survivors - a continually-crying 6 month-old infant, and a cleaver-brandishing, disturbed 69-year-old alcoholic-wino with stomach pains; the two were taken on board the helicopter; they could possibly provide a clue to the cause of the massive death-event
• by phone, Dr. Stone recommended to Major Manchek that the contaminated town be obliterated via Directive 7-12 (an above-ground thermonuclear explosion) due to the widespread extra-terrestrial infection: ("The town must be neutralized immediately...to cauterize the area"); the commanding officer sought authorization to carry out the town's destruction; however, there was some disagreement about proceeding immediately, and the US President called for a 24-48 hour delay before taking any action; instead an alternative plan was instituted - the National Guard was deployed to cordon off the area around Piedmont
• all four of the team members were notified to assemble at a Department of Agriculture Research Center in Flatrock County at the tip of southern Nevada in the desert, 60 miles from Las Vegas; it served as a secret entrance to a state-of-the-art, high-tech lab nicknamed Project Wildfire - the structure was a massive, five-level, hermetically-sealed, top-secret underground facility, reached by an elevator within a tool shed on the main level of the research center

Department of Agriculture Research Center (The Secret Entrance to Project Wildfire Underground Lab)

Split Screen (with Dr. Dutton and Dr. Leavitt) Descending in Elevator to Level 1

Sgt. Burk (Joe DiReda) Explaining the Teletype Machine Designed to Deliver Messages with a "Ding-a-Ling" Alert System to All 5 Levels

• in a conference room on Level 1 with the other three scientists, Dr. Stone described how he was designated to use a special silver metal key to arm the facility's self-activating destruct nuclear device - it was set to detonate (with a five-minute warning and delay before the bomb exploded) if contamination from the deadly alien virus ever threatened the facility; dispassionate and unmarried male Dr. Hall was chosen (using the "Odd-Man Hypothesis") to serve as Stone's back-up with a second similar red key that could disarm (at any one of the lab's substations on various levels) and stop the detonation if it was activated; with Dr. Hall observing, Dr. Stone armed the mechanism, to ready the device for activation
• Dr. Stone also described how it would take a total of 16 hours to descend to the 5th (and lowest) underground level - the cleanest and safest location where the labs were located; the advanced, biologically-secured and sealed lab was designed to isolate and study any extra-terrestrial germs; the space satellite and the two survivors were be transported to Level 5, to be isolated and studied in "biologically secure setups"
• code pass-phrases, a decontamination chamber (with irradiation), a finger and palm-print analyzer and other safeguards and precautions were instituted at every level of the structure for the four scientists, to provide proper clearances for them
• THIRD DAY: after a lengthy decontamination and immunization period, the scientists met together in the cafeteria on Level 4, and for the entire day were fed 8 ounces of a high-protein Nutrient 42-5 and lipid soluble vitamins instead of real food; Dr. Stone determined that their main objective was a race against time to first detect the organism, then determine its structure, and finally to control or contain, and then exterminate the microscopic space alien-organism or "bacterium"; it was possibly suspiciously and deliberately brought to Earth where it threatened to wipe out all life, although according to Dr. Dutton, it also might be "a highly intelligent form of life"; before descending to Level 5, the scientists were forced to insert a suppository to clear their gastro-intestinal tracts and be "germ-free"
• early in the morning on Level 5 with the other scientists, Dr. Hall opened the space capsule and studied it for contamination (the procedure involved using 'robotic hands' within a 'glove box' to safely protect them and minimize exposure); two experimental lab animals (a white rat and a rhesus monkey) died after contact with the capsule's air; post-mortem autopsies would provide possible answers

Lab Test - White Rat Died After Contact with Capsule's Contaminated Air

Lab Test - Rhesus Monkey Also Died During Experiment

• Dr. Stone and Dr. Leavitt used high-magnification scans to thoroughly examine the exterior of the capsule
• meanwhile, Dr. Dutton confirmed that the virulent, alien organism was transmitted via the air through inhalation; the airflow from the box holding the dead rat was routed to another box with a live rat and it also quickly died; by using various sized filters, the size of the pathogen was determined to be about 2 microns in diameter; using a nuclear magnascanner (or isotope scanner), Dr. Dutton also determined the "mechanism of death" after the virus entered the body - "the organism is inhaled. The clotting begins in the lungs and spreads outward"; the lethal clotting of the blood began in the lungs (resulting in asphyxiation) and then went to the brain before moving further outward into the body

Scans of the Capsule's Exterior and Interior

Proof That Virus Pathogen Was Transmitted Via the Air Through Inhalation

Examination of the Two Survivors

• Dr. Hall with his medical assistant Karen Anson (Paula Kelly) - wearing protective body suits and helmets - examined and studied the two survivors (the baby and "Gramps"); the old man, identifying himself as Jackson (George Mitchell), was receiving plasma, while the baby (later identified as Manuel Rios (Robert Soto)) was given dextrose; the old man's blood tests revealed he was severely anemic

Highly-Magnified Scan of Indentation and Grain of Sand or Pebble	Bits of Green Embedded in Rock
Four Other Patches of Growing Green Substance	Evidence That the Green Patches Were Moving and Growing

• while conducting further scans of the interior of the capsule by Dr. Stone and Dr. Leavitt, they concentrated on a very small indentation, a grain of sand or pebble (possible evidence of a meteor strike), and four moving, throbbing and growing green patches ("bits of green"); a sample of the frightening substance was extracted and prepared "for culture and isolation"
• back with the two survivors, Dr. Hall determined that Jackson was suffering from excessive acid in his body (acidosis), with a low blood PH level of 7.31, and acute and chronic gastro-intestinal blood loss; his painful abdominal bleeding ulcers for two years were due to his taking copious amounts of aspirin and injesting sterno (stove alcohol) or "squeeze"; (Dr. Hall: "There's got to be something that the old man and baby have in common")
• shortly later near the Four Corners area, an Air Force training mission Phantom F-4 Jet after flying at 23,000 feet over the Piedmont, NM area, crashed near the Utah and New Mexico state lines; the crash site was at Big Head Pass, UT, where the pilot's last frantic "May-Day" transmission was played to investigators; the pilot declared that his aircraft was disintegrating and dissolving ("Everything made of rubber is coming apart!"), including his air hose and oxygen mask; later upon closer inspection by Major Manchek and others at the crash site, it was stated that the plane had no actual rubber; an organism had destructively consumed all the synthetic plastic compound (known as Polycron) throughout the plane - causing it to crash
• a voice-over - from future Senate Hearings - explained how the teletype machine at the Wildfire facility had malfunctioned due to a simple "mechanical" problem; arriving messages were supposed to cause a "ding-a-ling" bell to ring, alerting the personnel on all 5 levels to new communications; it was discovered that due to a sliver of paper blocking the mechanism, all the messages directed to the Wildfire team had not been received
• Dr. Dutton and Dr. Hall suspected that they were being held "in communicado"; the two began to speculate about a conspiracy - that the SCOOP Project had not failed but had actually succeeded and found the ultimate biological weapon: ("It's possible what SCOOP found was no accident")
• after further microchemistry test results at Wildfire with a mass spectrometer, the black pebble-rock was determined to be a simple substance: ("hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, sulfur, silicon, etc."), but it wasn't a rock after all; it was similar to plastic; the green microbe was even simpler, with elements of H, C, N, and O - "the four basic elements of life on Earth, nothing else"; however, both the black and green objects were found to be devoid of amino acids, proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids (DNA, RNA); Dr. Dutton declared the findings "impossible" ("No organism can maintain life without them!"), although somehow it was growing and reproducing
• late at night on the third day, while studying the green substance in various growth cultures through an electron microscope, Dr. Leavitt suffered an epileptic fit and trance, due to a flashing red computer message ("NO GROWTH, NO GROWTH"); while incapacitated, she missed some crucial "no growth" test results, and there was a subsequent delay in reporting them
• FOURTH DAY: at the very start of the 4th and final day, Dr. Hall told the others during an early morning (after midnight conference): "I'll have the answer when I know why a sixty-nine-year-old sterno drinker with an ulcer is like a normal six-month-old baby"; he added that he thought the problem was "some kind of blood disorder," and that Jackson's acidosis condition had actually saved him
• Dr. Stone was informed by Central Control that the organism that they were studying was to be dubbed with the code-name "Andromeda Strain"; while checking teletype messages from the previous day, Dr. Hall and Dr. Stone noticed that the 7-12 directive to wipe out the town of Piedmont hadn't been carried out: ("They didn't drop the bomb! Idiots!"); they realized that they also hadn't been notified about the Piedmont-related jet plane crash (due to dissolving 'rubber') or the change to an alternative 7-12 directive, due to a communications foul-up: ("The bell didn't ring")
• an incensed Dr. Stone phoned the White House Security Advisor Dr. Robertson (Kermit Murdock) and insisted that the 7-12 order had to be expedited immediately to avoid a worldwide epidemic: ("Why in the hell hasn't that bomb been dropped on Piedmont?...Warn the President it may already be too late....You've got to make him call a 7-12...Get the President to activate a 7-12 immediately. If he doesn't, there's no guarantee anyone west of Piedmont will be alive in the morning")
• later the same morning, Dr. Leavitt's growth tests revealed that the green substance (the virus-organism) was crystalline - the reason that it functioned without amino acids; when the organism began to rapidly grow and divide when bombarded by electrons, Dr. Leavitt explained: "Andromeda can live on anything"; she described how the poorest growth of Andromeda was in pure oxygen, but it more rapidly reproduced when incubated with pure carbon dioxide and hydrogen; Dr. Hall reacted: "No excretions. No waste of any kind"; Dr. Stone noted: "You'd expect that. Andromeda's perfect for existence in outer space. Consumes everything, wastes nothing"

The Crystalline (Diamond-Shaped) Structure of the Virus-Organism

The Organism's Rapid Growth Though Division

• it was an alarming and worrisome finding that suddenly shocked everyone - it meant that Andromeda could thrive and rapidly mutate and grow into a super-colony and destroy the planet after a thermonuclear detonation; the virus would directly transform energy to matter with no discernable by-products: (Dr. Leavitt: "It functions like an atomic reactor" Dr. Stone: "An atomic blast could provide it with enough energy to grow into a gigantic supercolony")
• as a result of the shocking result, Dr. Stone frantically called Dr. Robertson to cancel the destruction of Piedmont by detonating a thermonuclear device: ("You've got to stop 7-12 from being carried out!...We just found out Andromeda functions like a little reactor. Converts matter to energy, energy to matter, directly"); Dr. Leavitt emphasized: "It grows when exposed to X-rays, or any source of energy"; Dr. Robertson understood their concern: "The bomb would only provide a fantastically rich growth medium"
• Dr. Stone also recommended that the self-destruct mechanism at Wildfire to prevent widespread contamination needed to be disarmed
• during further discussion and observation of Andromeda's capabilities through the electron microscope, the strain continued to divide and mutate as the scientists realized that it used energy for growth: (Dr. Dutton: "All the molecules appear to be the same"; Dr. Leavitt: "Yes. Andromeda isn't composed of different substances like a normal cell. All the subunits are the same"); Dr. Dutton asked: "How the hell does it operate? How does anything so simple utilize energy for growth?"
• a computer simulation of Andromeda's functioning provided data about the pathogen's rapid growth-mutation, before it overloaded the computer - it responded with a 601 error message: (Dr. Stone: "Too much data coming in too fast"); they concurred: ("Dividing and mutating at the same time? And nothing to stop it. Normal Earth checks and balances don't exist for it")
• while acquiring a biomath mapping of the organism's new growth potential and spread, and realizing that there would be a supercolony of Andromeda spreading over the entire Southwest, it became clear to Dr. Stone and the other research-scientists that the Wildfire facility had already been engaged in the study of biological germ-warfare through simulations, scenarios and mappings
• Dr. Leavitt accused Dr. Stone of already knowing about how Wildfire had used Andromeda as its primary weapon in its biological war-games: ("Wildfire was built for germ warfare! Wildfire AND SCOOP! And you knew, Stone. You knew it!"); Dr. Dutton supported Dr. Leavitt's suspicions: ("They already had Andromeda programmed! The purpose of SCOOP was to find new biological weapons in outer space, and then use Wildfire to develop them!"); Dr. Hall noted that the US had become its own enemy targeting itself, and Dr. Leavitt quipped: "Another giant leap for mankind!"
• in the facility, a yellow alert light and alarm sounded, signaling a CONTAMINATION breakout (Announcement: "A seal has broken in autopsy"); in a corridor of Level 5 during the emergency, Dr. Leavitt suffered another epileptic fit due to a flashing red alarm light; her behavior was falsely interpreted as an Andromeda contagious infection, causing further panic and fear ("She's got the germ"); an injection of phenobarb quickly treated her
• Dr. Dutton's autopsy and pathology lab was the area of contamination, where the polychron lab gasket was failing [Note: The scientists were not aware that Andromeda was consuming the synthetic rubber - polychron - in the lab's seal.]; Dr. Dutton feared that he might be infected; he reacted with heavy-breathing and panting; Dr. Stone ordered pure oxygen to be pumped into the room: ("We know Andromeda doesn't do well in oxygen"); Dr. Hall arrived and encouraged Dr. Dutton to continue to breathe heavily, since it would save him by changing his blood chemistry: the situation was similar to the life-saving cries of the baby and Jackson's agitated behavior: ("In Piedmont, Jackson was crocked on Sterno. Sterno acidosis. Acidosis: Rapid breathing"); Dr. Hall also ordered Dr. Stone to cut the pure oxygen flow into the lab, and ordered Dutton: "Don't let the bug in your lungs long enough to penetrate blood vessels...Start breathing room air as fast as you can!"
• Dr. Hall had already concluded that Andromeda could only grow and survive in a narrow range of blood pH between 7.39 and 7.43 (the normal human range is 7.35-7.45); the pathogen was clearly unable to survive in Jackson's tainted blood that was too acidic (with a pH of 7.31), or in the hyperventilating and unfed baby's blood that was too alkaline; the baby's pH level was normal at 7.43, but continual crying had caused an alkaline condition known as alkalemia: ("Opposite blood chemistries, the baby and the old man"); after Dr. Hall reran one of Dr. Leavitt's growth tests, he realized that his hypothesis was accurate about blood chemistry, and then relayed the information to Dr. Dutton: "That means Andromeda can only exist within a narrow range of pH...If your blood's abnormal, if it's too acid or alkaline, Andromeda can't survive in the body. So breathe as fast as you can. Go into respiratory alkalosis"
• at the same time, Dr. Hall realized that a lab rat that had been exposed to the organism's cultures was still alive; he theorized that Andromeda had now gone into a period of no-growth, and/or had mutated to a non-lethal and non-infectious form that could degrade synthetic rubber and plastic - in Wildfire ("The gaskets are decomposing. It's Andromeda!")
• another computer alarm sounded a warning that the micro-organism Andromeda was destroying and degenerating the Polycron gaskets, door and hatch seals around the facility, in the ventilator shaft and the central core that connected all of the labs; it was causing the spread of contamination beginning on Level 5; moments later, Wildfire's self-triggering system detected the problem and initiated a 5-minute countdown before the detonation of a protective nuclear device, to prevent its spread
• during the continual sounding of alarms and red-light alerts, emergency procedures began to automatically activate; the doors to Level 5 sealed off the area; Dr. Hall (with his red key) and Dr. Stone rushed to try to get to another level's sub-station to de-activate the system, but were blocked; Dr. Stone announced a doomsday scenario: "When the bomb goes off, there'll be a thousand mutations! Andromeda will spread everywhere! They'll never be rid of it!"
• the only way for Dr. Hall to get to another level's sub-station was through the central core area that was equipped with safeguards ("gas, lasers") to prevent the escape of lab animals; he entered a service port to navigate through the core, where he was struck by automated protective lasers (to protect against escaped and infected lab animals) in the left cheek, causing severe disorientation and dizziness; he was able to climb a ladder up to Level 4 but was too late; he was finally able to get up to Level 3 before it was contaminated and sealed off; with Dr. Stone's encouragement, Dr. Hall reached the safety sub-station on upper Level 3, where although he was dazed, he successfully inserted his key in the sub-station to disarm and deactivate the five-minute countdown; it was a close-call - the near self-destruction of the facility was averted during the 5-minute countdown with only nine seconds to spare

Dr. Hall Climbing Up the Central Core's Ladder to Reach an Upper Level Sub-Station

Self-Activating Nuclear Destruct Canceled With Only 9 Seconds to Spare

• while recuperating later in the infirmary after surviving the ordeal, Dr. Hall was told by Dr. Dutton that the now-benign organism super-colony was off the Pacific coast; rain had washed the organism into the ocean, where it was destroyed by the heavy alkalinity of the salt water; military jets had seeded the clouds over Piedmont with silver iodine, stimulating the rainfall - Dr. Hall's antidote: ("We're seeding the clouds above Andromeda with silver iodide. The raindrops will carry the organism into the ocean, and the alkaline reaction from seawater should kill it"); Hall replied: "Just as acids or alkali in the blood stopped it"
• two months later at the closed Senate Hearings (on Space Sciences) in Washington DC, Vermont Senator Phillips (Eric Christmas) questioned Dr. Stone during testimony: "This cloud seeding business, you absolutely sure it worked? You better be"; Dr. Stone replied: "All reports continue to indicate that the experiment was successful, Senator"; the Senator wanted more reassurance that the crisis was over: "Then we can feel confident your so-called biological crisis is over?"; Stone answered with a disclaimer: "As far as Andromeda's concerned, yes. We have the organism at Wildfire and we continue to study it. We now know beyond a doubt that other forms of life exist in the universe...However, with this new knowledge, there's no guarantee that another so-called 'biological crisis' won't occur again"

Dr. Stone's Testimony-Conversation with Senator Phillips

• in the film's last lines of dialogue, the Senator asked: "Hmm. What do we do about that?", and Dr. Stone reflected back: "Precisely, Senator. What do we do?"
• the final ominous moments of the film presented a view of another computer simulation of the growth of the unpredictable Andromeda pathogen; suddenly, the overloaded computer flashed another "601" error message