Airport manager Jim Conrad discovers that a military shipment of deadly gas is set to detonate as a symbolic gesture by a frustrated anti-war scientist. Professor Theodore Tragis informs Conrad that he intends to go on national television to explain the moral reasons behind the act of destruction he has set in motion. Conrad must decide whether to take Tragis seriously and, if he does, how to prevent the impending disaster.
Tragis, a disheveled professor from UC Berkeley, previously worked in the nation’s chemical warfare program and knows that a military transport is storing lethal gas tanks at San Francisco Airport, awaiting further transport. He aims to make a grand anti-war statement by releasing the gas into the populace, claiming it represents “peace through destruction.”
Easily gaining access to the hangar where the gas tanks are stored, Tragis sabotages one to ensure it will explode. He then writes a message on an airport window to announce what he has done and when the gas will be released. One chilling detail includes a colonel warning Conrad, “Gas masks would do no good; this works through the pores of the skin.”
As Tragis seizes the opportunity to voice his anti-war sentiments before the TV cameras, Conrad and his team, particularly Hatten, his chief of security, scramble to understand what actions Tragis has taken. Conrad consults with Branch, a pragmatic naval commander and a cheerful expert on poison gas.
In a dramatic turn of events, Conrad orders the evacuation of the entire airport, leaving it eerily empty—lobbies, corridors, ticket counters, and runways devoid of people.
Written by TVgy1960wXc on Oct 18, 2025