“Secret Weapon” is episode eleven of season one of The Time Tunnel.
At the end of the previous episode, “Reign of Terror”, Doug and Tony had materialised on a street and were trying to work out where. Europe, somewhere, and Doug had recognised writing on a shop sign as being Cyrillic. Soldiers had passed and Tony had found a newspaper saying the date was June 16th, 1956. A block materialised on the street and Doug had recognised it as an F-5 probe sent by the Time Tunnel. There was too much power in the probe and Doug had to pry Tony’s hands from it. It disappeared and then another appeared. Followed by an explosion.
Tik-Toc is watching and Kirk wants to know if they can make voice contact. They can’t. He wants to know what to tell Washi9ngton. Tell them they can’t get through. Kirk calls a General Parker; Parker wants them to try again, and the information needed is of critical importance. Ray thinks there’s a chance by trying something different.
Doug and Tony are discussing the situation when another probe appears. This one dematerialised – well, it looks like it’s melting – and there’s a message inside. It wants Doug and Tony to meet Alexis today at midnight with an address. They head to look for the address, and find it surprisingly easily given that they can’t read any of the signs. Alexis meets them there; he has IDs for them. They are to spend a night at a hotel and tomorrow they will be taken to the project, A-13, where they will be shown everything, being defectors. After Alexis leaves, Doug and Tony are concerned. They are not spies. But, it seems important, whatever it is. The next day they are taken by car, blindfolded, to project A-13. Which they recognise, as it’s a time tunnel.
They are greeted by a Professor Anton Biraki. He’s happy to have them. Can they guess the purpose of the project? Doug says no but Tony decides that it’s similar to the one they worked on with Phillips and Newman – themselves, in other words. They’re experimenting with time. Not beginning, according to Biraki; they’re ready to go. That’s why Doug and Tony, or Williams and Smith, as their IDs state, are so valuable.
Biraki warns them about Colonel Hruda as the latter approaches. With a shaven head and a Nehru suit that is totally not the right uniform; he might as well be wearing a sign saying ‘Evil Person.’ Hruda doesn’t like defectors and doesn’t see why their own scientists can’t do the job. Biraki tells Doug and Tony there are none qualified.
At Tik-Toc, Kirk says that it’s no wonder why Washington wanted the information. The time tunnel is primitive, but after over a decade, it might be more advanced. The others are concerned that Doug and Tony are in danger. Kirk didn’t order them to do it, but Jerry says that, in their shoes, as the message came from Kirk not Ray, he would have considered it an order. Kirk calls Parker again; the latter wants as much information as possible. Then Biraki arrives in Parker’s office. Biraki is looking to defect and says that he built a fully functioning time tunnel, which could be a threatening weapon. He wants to build one for the U.S. as well. It’s unclear how the time tunnel could be a weapon; no use it’s been put to has been even close to that.
In the past, Biraki is showing Doug and Tony a capsule ready for the right people; them. He couldn’t find a team in his own country. Hruda interrupts; the ministry has suggested two men straight out of the university. Biraki is not impressed. Tony and Doug, in private, discuss the capsule. Before Tony joined the project, capsules were found to be unworkable. Using one is a death sentence. They decide to speak to the colonel to see if he will let them go. That doesn’t work. They try to escape. That doesn’t work either. The two are going to be sent in the capsule, like it or not. Tik-Toc also know the capsule won’t work. Doug and Tony were sent to discover just how much of what potential defector Biraki knew.