Fantastic Voyage Character List

Charles Grant- government agent, escort to Benes, and commander of the Proteus

Jan Benes- Russian scientist who defected to the US and requires a blood clot to be removed

General Carter- military supervisor of CMDF

Dr. Duval- surgeon who operates on Benes

Cora Peterman- Duval’s assistant

Dr. Michaels- navigator of the Proteus and a saboteur

Captain William Owens- pilot and designer of the Proteus

Colonel Reid- Medical officer of CMDF

Fantastic Voyage Summary

Grant, a government agent, brings in Dr. Benes, a Russian scientist, to America. Dr. Benes has discovered a top-secret science not yet developed by either the US or Russia, referred to as "the other side". Benes arrives safely, and Grant goes home to sleep. En route to a briefing, Benes’ car is hit by another car and five gunmen fire down from a ridge. Benes is not killed, but is wounded and immediately transported to a government installation.

Grant is awakened and taken to a secret government installation where Benes is being held. The government department is called the CMDF, or the Combined Miniaturization Deterrence Forces. Grant is taken to see General Carter, who explains that the government has found a way to miniaturize anything to any degree, or enlarge something to any size. The time something can be miniaturized or maximized is directly proportional to the degree of the size change. The CMDF plans to shrink five people in a submarine, the Proteus, so that they can repair a brain clot that is not reachable by any other means. The general informs Grant that it will be his job to watch the other members of the crew and make sure that nobody makes an attempt on Benes’ life while inside. The members of the crew are Dr. Michaels, navigator; Dr. Duval, surgeon; Cora Peterson, Duval’s assistant; Captain Owens, navigator and designer of the ship; and Grant was to act as radio operator, inside security, and commander.

The group is sterilized via ultraviolet radiation and board the sub, which is then miniaturized to about an inch in length. The sub is then placed into a large vat of saline. Then it is all miniaturized and the large canister is turned into a hypodermic needle. The sub is then injected into an artery in the neck.

Upon entering and surviving the initial turbulence, the sub is sucked off course by a tear in the artery. They are pulled toward the heart, which is the most dangerous part of the body for them to be. They decide to try it and don’t abort.

The heart is stilled using an electric charge and the sub has 55 to 57 seconds to get out. They make it, but are severely jostled by the heart starting its beating again. The surgical laser was sabotaged and is broken. The only way to fix it is to dismantle the radio.

Also, an air pressure leak was sprung by the electric charge used to start his heart again. In order to fix it, the crew must get out and try to siphon air from the lung. Grant took the snorkel and has to climb into the lung to get the air. He falls into the cavity of the lung when his safety cord snaps, but manages to get out by following the light of the submarine. Grant is now sure that they are victims of sabotage.

In the lymphatic system, the crew observes an antibody attack on a bacteria. When arriving in the ear, the crew realizes that several fibers from the lymphatic system are caught in the intake vents and are overheating the engine. When they go to remove them, on the outside, someone drops a pair of scissors and the "clang" vibrates the ear violently and the ship is almost ripped apart. Cora falls into the ear’s hair cells and damages them slightly, so the antibodies attack her. They get her into the ship just before she suffocates.

In the brain, the blood clot is encountered and Duval goes to work on it with the laser, which works fine, despite the hasty repairs. Dr. Michaels takes control of the sub from Owens while the others are at the clot and tries to ram a nerve with the sub. Grant shoots the sub’s rudder, disabling it. He rescues Owens, but is unable to get to Michaels before a white blood cell destroys the sub. The survivors escape through the eye with the wreckage of the Proteus just as they are starting to grow again.

Grant is congratulated on the success of the mission. He explains how he figured that Michaels was the saboteur. Grant then wins over Cora, whom he had pursued during slow parts of the mission. Benes comes out of his coma and Grant and Cora see that he is well. And so, again... "All Well."