advanced than even those on present-day Earth. The descendants of these apemen evolved into humans, retaining the vestiges of Martian influence buried in their subconscious. A disbelieving Breen thinks the "alien craft" is Nazi propaganda designed to sow fear among Londoners. The minister believes Breen and decides to unveil the spaceship at a press conference. Whilst dismantling his drill, Sladden is overcome by a powerful psychic force, and haphazardly runs away. His mind unleashes powerful telekinetic energy displays, disrupting people and property. He finally comes to rest in a church, where Judd and Quatermass find him. Sladden tells Quatermass he saw a vision of hordes of insect creatures under an alien sky. He also relates that he saw himself as one of them and that he felt that he had to desperately run away in fear of his life. Quatermass returns to Hobbs End, bringing a machine Roney has been working on, which taps into the primeval psyche. While trying to replicate the circumstances under which Sladden was affected, he notices that Barbara has fallen under the spaceship's influence. Using Roney's machine, he records her thoughts. Quatermass presents the recording to the minister and other officials. It shows hordes of Martians engaged in what he interprets as a genocidal race purge, to cleanse the Martian hives of all mutations. The minister and Breen dismiss the recording. Disaster strikes when a power line is dropped within the craft, giving it a massive jolt of electrical energy. The effect and range of the spaceship's influence on those Londoners susceptible to it increases; they go on a rampage, attacking all those perceived as different, with powerful, deadly telekinetic displays of energy. Breen is drawn towards the spaceship and killed by the intense, roasting energy emanating from it. Quatermass falls under the alien control as well, but is snapped out of it by Roney, who is unaffected. The two men realise that a small portion of the population are immune. The psychic energy intensifies, ripping up streets and buildings, while a spectral image of a Martian towers above the city, itself resembling the image of the Devil of legend. Recalling stories about how the Devil could be defeated with iron and water, Roney theorises that the Martian energy can be discharged into the earth. While Quatermass prevents Barbara stopping him, Roney climbs a building crane and swings it into the spectral image. The crane