same substance.
And all these trees and plants,
did they have leaves?
Those bushes, acacias?
They looked like they were made of
plastic, but in real-life proportions.
All of a sudden cracks started
to appear.
The boiling began again,
all was in froth.
You'll be able to see it
for yourselves.
Everything I saw
will be on the film.
Then I suggest
we interrupt the hearing
and look at it
with our own eyes.
Yes, show us the film.
It's very interesting.
- Is that all?
- Yes, that's all there is.
But we don't understand.
Your film is nothing but clouds!
That must be the fog
I was talking about.
I'm as surprised
as you are.
All this might be the result of
the bio-magnetic current of
the Solaris ocean acting on Burton's
conscience.
We know these currents to be not
only a gigantic cerebral system,
but also to be capable
of generating thought.
That is a hypothesis
that has not been confirmed.
Weren't you ill on that particular
day?
Oh, this next part is pointless.
We'll pick up here.
...I saw something floating.
I thought that it looked like
Fechner's space suit.
I kept circling the spot to make sure
I wouldn't lose sight of it.
Suddenly I could see the form
rise slightly,
as if treading the waters.
I could see the man, he wasn't
wearing a space suit, and he moved.
You mean it was human?
Yes, human.
You saw his face?
Yes.
What man?
Who was he?
It was an infant.
- Did you recognize it?
- I'd never seen it before.
When I circled nearer,
what I saw was monstrous.
What do you mean?
At first I couldn't make it out,
but then it became clear
that it was incredibly huge.
It was twelve feet tall.
Its eyes were blue,
its hair was dark.
If you're not feeling well,
we can recess the hearing.
I will continue.
It was absolutely naked,
as if new born.
And it was moist, or rather slippery.
Its skin was glistening.
It rose and fell
with the waves,
but it was moving by itself.
The whole thing was repugnant.
Wait a minute,
there isn't very much more.
...Burton's statements
would appear to be
the expression
of a hallucinatory complex,
induced by atmospheric
influences of the planet,
plus obscure symptoms to which
the brain's cortical substance
contributed in some measure through
the excitation of associated zones.
This report in no way reflects
the actual facts.
Or almost in no way.
There's a different opinion
offered by Professor Messenger
who believes
that the information
supplied by Burton
could be true
and needs to be
thoroughly studied.
I saw everything I described
with my own eyes!
I would dare to venture
another opinion.
We are on the verge
of an immense discovery,
and it would be unwise to be
influenced by the fact that we base
our decision upon the observations
of an unqualified layman.
Every explorer may well envy
this pilot,
his presence of mind,
his talents of observation.
Moreover, given
the recent information,
we are bound morally
to press forward with our probes.
I can understand
how Professor Messenger feels,
however let's look back
at the long road we've traveled.
For all our work, the Solaris probes
are back where we began.
Years of effort
have proven useless.
All we know about Solaris
reminds me of a mountain
of separate facts
which we are unable to squeeze
into the framework of any conception.
Well, we're even worse off today,
as regards the essential.
Solaristics is degenerating.
The essential question is far more
serious than just Solaristics.
We're probing the very frontier
of human knowledge.
By artificially establishing
a knowledge frontier,
we limit our concept of
the infinity of man's knowledge.
And if our movement is not forward,
do we not risk moving backward?
What do you mean by saying
that the information supplied by me
is in no way reflects the actual
facts?
I saw all this with my own eyes.
It means
that some real phenomena
could have triggered
your hallucinating.
In windy