Chapter 4 – Endangered Existence
The video shifted to the school's cafeteria, showing Marty sitting at a table across from George, who was writing stories about "aliens coming down to Earth from other planets". When Marty remarked he didn't know George did anything creative, the current George understood that the Marty in the video was not the one they knew, but the one who had lived in that reality where his and Lorraine's lives weren't that great. Lorraine was briefly puzzled by Marty's comment, since he should know that his father was an author, but then she shrugged it off as her son referring specifically to the teenage version of George.
Marty asked to read George's story, but George insisted he never let anyone read his stories due to fear of people not liking them or saying he was "no good". The current George sympathized with his teenage self, who, at that time, never would've imagined that he would became the confident individual he was today. Lorraine also felt for her husband's younger self, but at the same time was proud of how far George had come in the last thirty years.
Marty tried to encourage George to ask Lorraine out to the dance, but George was afraid she would say "no" and told Marty he couldn't take that kind of rejection. The current Lorraine couldn't deny that she would've very likely turned George's invitation down had he asked her out to the dance back then. She had nothing against George and always knew he was a cute nice guy, but he hadn't been her type at the time. Meanwhile, the current George remembered how annoying Marty had been while pushing him to ask Lorraine out, but the science fiction author fully understood that his son had essentially been in a life or death situation.
As George pointed out that Lorraine would rather go to the dance with Biff, the current Lorraine felt thoroughly disgusted by that idea. Even back in 1955, she would've easily chosen George over Biff. Hell, she would've taken Doc Brown or even Mr. Strickland to the dance before Biff. The current George mentally kicked himself for ever thinking that low about Lorraine. While Lorraine had her share of flaws, at the end of the day, she was an assertive, yet good-hearted, girl who never tolerated disrespect from anyone.
As the video showed Biff forcibly groping Lorraine before she slapped him, the current Lorraine applauded her teenage self and once again felt glad that George had taken Biff down a few pegs. George mentally praised his wife's younger self for telling Biff off and not being afraid of hitting him in self-defense. The McFly couple then admired their son's bravery as the video showed Marty defending his mother from Biff. It warmed Lorraine's heart to see how much her son truly cared about her.
Everyone else in the cafeteria watched as Marty and Biff prepared to fight, only to be interrupted by Mr. Strickland's appearance, prompting Biff to back down as he told Marty to "make like a tree and get out of here".
"It's make like a tree and leave, Biff," George mentally corrected.
The video shifted to Marty following George to the latter's house, once again trying to convince him to ask Lorraine out. George, however, didn't want to miss his favorite television program Science Fiction Theater and insisted he wasn't ready to ask Lorraine to the dance. "And not you or anybody else on this planet is gonna make me change my mind," George stated with annoyance, before heading into his house.
As Marty checked the photograph, George and Lorraine felt worried upon seeing that Dave's feet were all that was left of their eldest child. Fortunately, the knowledge that everything had turned out all right mitigated their feelings.
George wondered what would happen next as the next part of the video showed his teenage self sleeping in his room. Upon seeing a pair of yellow-clad hands place earphones on Teen-George's head before inserting an 'Edward Van Halen' cassette tape into a Walkman, the current George and Lorraine realized almost immediately that it was Marty in the radiation suit. Lorraine wondered what exactly her son was up to, while George felt quite uneasy for some reason and it only took him a second to realize why. It was true! Marty hadn't just been Calvin Klein. Marty had also been the mysterious 'Darth Vader from planet Vulcan' or, as he now knew, pretended to be.
Both George and Lorraine, especially the former, winced inwardly as the radiation-suited Marty blasted loud hard rock music into the silently screaming Teen-George's ears. Teen-George wondered who the yellow-garbed figure was and the latter introduced himself as "Darth Vader, an extraterrestrial from the planet Vulcan".
At that moment, the current George realized Marty had used references from Star Wars and Star Trek while posing as an alien. For years, the science fiction author believed that his namesake, George Lucas, and the creators of Star Trek had also received visits from the mysterious 'Darth Vader' that inspired their own works. Now that he knew that the 'alien' had been his own son all along, that couldn't possibly had been the case. As for Lorraine, she found her son's gimmick unexpected but very creative and terrifying for anyone in poor George's position. Lorraine knew that Marty wouldn't truly harm his own father. She figured he only wanted to intimidate George into asking her out.
As a terrified Teen-George called for his parents, the disguised Marty ordered "Silence!" and threatened to melt Teen-George's brain if he didn't obey him. The current George had mix feelings about the revelation. On one hand, it was somewhat a relief realizing that he hadn't actually been in any danger from his 'close encounter' after all. On the other hand, the fact that 'Darth Vader' had never existed in the first place made George feel disappointed that he hadn't truly witnessed the existence of alien life at all. Nevertheless, he would always maintain his belief that Earth wasn't the only planet with sentient life in the universe. In fact, his and Lorraine's encounter with Morgan, along with their current experience, only reinforced George's open-minded nature.
"You, George McFly, have created a rift in the space-time continuum," the disguised Marty declared to Teen-George, who fearfully apologized. "The Supreme Klingon hereby commands you to take the female unit known as Baines, Lorraine to the place called Hill Valley High School exactly four Earth cycles from now. That's this Saturday night, George."
George and Lorraine were quite impressed by their son's 'alien' performance. Marty had been so convincing that the former of the McFly parents really feared for his life that night and the incident had certainly left a lasting impression on him. Not once over the last thirty years had it ever occurred to George that the voice of 'Darth Vader' sounded an awful lot like Marty's.
As Teen-George was still unsure about taking Lorraine to the dance, the disguised Marty sent another round of deafening music into his ears, causing George to panic and give in to the order. After urging George to close his eyes, the disguised Marty chloroformed him into unconsciousness and exited the house through the window.
"So that's why I overslept that day," George realized. "Not that I could blame Marty for what he did, since he really needed me to ask Lorraine out so that he, Dave, and Linda will exist in the future."
Lorraine felt some concern for her husband's younger self, even as she understood Marty's actions in the video and knew her son didn't truly mean any harm.
Once outside, Marty climbed into the passenger's seat of Doc Brown's car. The scientist was in the driver's seat. As Doc asked about the situation, Marty reported that it went great, but hoped he hadn't used too much chloroform on his teenage father.
"Oh, I think he definitely overdid it," George mused. "So much that I missed the entire school day."
The video shifted to later that afternoon, showing a frantic George rushing to Marty in the town square. George needed Marty's help because 'Darth Vader from planet Vulcan' would melt his brain unless George asked Lorraine out.
They headed to Lou's Cafe as Marty encouraged George to talk to Lorraine, who was in the diner with her friends, but George had no clue what to say as nothing came to his mind. In mild frustration, Marty muttered "Jesus, George, it's a wonder I was even born".
Unlike thirty years ago, the current George understood the relevance of Marty's remark, as did Lorraine, both of them empathizing with their son's predicament.
As Marty advised George to tell Lorraine that destiny brought them together and she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen in the world, George took notes on a pad. The current Lorraine was touched by Marty's words about her, while the current George focused on the irony of being coached by his own son thirteen years before Marty was even born.
The video shifted to Marty urging George into the cafe, which was in full swing with many teens and young adults having a good time while music was playing.
"I've never been more nervous than I was here," George recalled.
After ordering a chocolate milk to ease his nervousness, George sauntered over to Lorraine and commented "my density has popped me to you", which made her confused.
"I sure remember this moment," Lorraine mused. "Poor George was so shy trying to ask me out."
After Teen-Lorraine asked Teen-George if she knew him from somewhere, he responded with "Yes, yes, I'm George. George McFly. I'm your density. I mean... your destiny."
"She certainly is," the current George mused affectionately about his wife.
"George wasn't wrong," the current Lorraine mused with equally affection. "We were meant to be together."
"Hey, McFly!" Biff shouted as he and his gang had entered the cafe. The music suddenly stopped. "I thought I told you never to come in here!"
"You never were the owner of that cafe, Biff!" the current George mentally shot back, while Lorraine was once more annoyed by the appearance of the man who once tried to have his way with her.
After Biff demanded money from Teen-George, the current George and Lorraine couldn't help the satisfaction they felt on seeing Marty trip Biff to the floor. Their satisfaction increased as Marty then sucker-punched Biff onto a table before bolting out of the cafe, knocking Biff's gang members down on the way out.
"And he used to tell me not to be so gullible," George thought after Biff had fallen for Marty's "what's that" trick.
Lorraine cringed inwardly at her younger self gushing over 'Calvin Klein' and calling him a 'dream'.
As George and Lorraine watched Biff and his gang chase Marty around the square, they remembered the incident like it happened yesterday, especially when Marty rode on what looked like a skateboard. The McFly couple was proud of their son's resourcefulness in the face of a perilous situation.
Lorraine cringed again when her younger self told one of her friends that Marty was "an absolute dream". The forty-seven-year-old woman was so glad she hadn't done anything more than park with and briefly kiss who she thought was simply a new boy in town. It was, indeed, a good thing that something had felt off about kissing Marty in the car that night. Otherwise... Lorraine didn't even want to imagine the implications had things between her and Marty escalated to THAT point. It was best to leave it all in the past. Thirty years in the past, to be exact.
Biff and his gang caught up to the skateboarding Marty after the four bullies got into the leader's car, while Marty was holding onto the back of a turquoise pickup truck. George and Lorraine tensed with worry as the front of Biff's car briefly hit the back of Marty's leg, but they were thankful that he was fine. Their worry increased as Marty accidentally bumped into a man and woman who were coming out of the local Courthouse. As Biff and his gang continued after him, Marty quickly hopped back on the skateboard and rode off before Biff's car caught up to him, Marty clinging onto the front of it for dear life while the members of Biff's gang threw beer bottles at him.
George and Lorraine felt resurfaced anger towards Biff and his gang. According to what the video showed, the bullies' pursuit of Marty had been more intense than the McFly couple ever imagined. Back in 1955, George and Lorraine thought that Biff and his gang simply wanted to beat up or humiliate Marty. However, it appeared that the bullies would've had no qualms seriously injuring Marty to the point of him being hospitalized or worse. The fact that it was their son at risk didn't help ease their anger in the slightest.
In fact, their anger was reinforced upon hearing Biff express his intention to ram Marty into a parked manure truck, which only confirmed to George and Lorraine that Biff didn't care about Marty's well-being at all. There was no denying that using a car to ram someone into another vehicle would absolutely cause severe injury or even death to that person. Thankfully, the McFly couple recalled how the incident ended for Biff and everything they knew now made the outcome more satisfying than ever before.
George and Lorraine were greatly amazed by Marty deftly leaping onto the front of Biff's moving car, climbing over the windshield, running through the four passengers to the rear side of the car, and jumping off the vehicle while landing perfectly onto the skateboard. Marty's parents knew that their son was quite agile and in good shape, but the feat they had just witnessed from him was exceptional.
Due to having been distracted by Marty's unexpected escape, Biff and his gang screamed "SHIIIIIT!" before crashing into the manure truck, causing its contents to spill upon them.
George and Lorraine mentally winced at the same time their son in the video cringed in disgust. While it was nice to see Biff, especially the teenage version, receive a dose of his own medicine, which he had admittedly brought upon himself by choosing to chase Marty in the first place, the McFly couple felt bad for whoever had to clean all the manure from Biff's car.
As many local residents, including those who had been in the cafe, appeared around the area, Marty returned the skateboard to the little boy he'd borrowed it from, while a pissed Biff vowed to "get that son of a bitch". The last part made Lorraine wince inwardly, especially as she remembered Biff confronting Marty and sexually assaulting her on the night of the dance.
While her friends wondered where the mysterious 'Calvin Klein' lived, an infatuated Teen-Lorraine was strongly determined to find out.
"I'm guessing this is when Lorraine followed Marty home... or to Doc Brown's place," George thought, while his wife hoped that the video wouldn't show her following who she thought was 'Calvin'.
The next part of the video showed Marty entering Doc's garage, while Doc was watching the video tape of his future self, specifically rewinding the part when 1985 Doc announced that the Libyans had found him and urged Marty to "run for it". George and Lorraine once again wondered if Marty would warn Doc of his eventual fate. Speaking of which, Marty attempted to bring the subject up, only for Doc to protest with "no man should know too much about his own destiny". Marty tried again, but Doc refused to listen, not wanting to risk endangering his own existence the same way Marty did.
George and Lorraine knew their son well enough to realize he wasn't going to give up in his mission to save Doc from those terrorists. While the couple understood Doc's concerns regarding the consequences that came with time travel, they didn't see any harm in Marty warning Doc about something as crucial as getting gunned down in the future. They really hoped that Marty would find a way to break through Doc's stubbornness and save him somehow.
"Now, let me show you my plan for sending you home," Doc announced, leading Marty over to a model of the Hill Valley Courthouse square.
George and Lorraine took in the model of their beloved town and thought Doc Brown did quite amazing despite the scientist referring to it as a 'crudity' while stating he didn't have time to build it to scale or paint it.
"Okay, now, we run some industrial-strength electrical cable from the top of the Clock Tower, down, suspending it over the street between these two lampposts," Doc explained to Marty, while George and Lorraine watched and listened intently. "Meanwhile, we've outfitted the time vehicle with this big pole and hook, which runs directly into the flux capacitor." Doc picked up a wind-up toy car and set it on the 'main street' of the town square model. "At the calculated moment, you start off from down the street, driving directly toward the cable, accelerating to eighty-eight miles per hour. According to the flyer, at precisely 10:04pm, this Saturday night, lightning will strike the Clock Tower, electrifying the cable, just as the connecting hook makes contact, thereby sending 1.21 gigawatts into the flux capacitor and sending you back to 1985."
The plan for Marty to get back home was extremely risky and undoubtedly challenging, George and Lorraine noted. What they understood was that not only did their son have to reach eighty-eight miles per hour before arriving at the overhead cable, but catching the lightning bolt and making sure the electricity entered the flux capacitor required seemingly impossible timing. Also, if the plan failed and Marty didn't make it back to the future, wouldn't he end up crashing into a building while driving at almost ninety miles per hour? That wouldn't end well for their son. Lorraine, in particular, shivered at that thought. All she and George could do for the time being was keep watching and see how it would play out.
On Doc's instruction, Marty winded up the toy car and released it, letting the toy car drive along the 'main street'. As the toy car reached the wire representing the 'overhead cable', Doc put an alligator clip on the pole sitting atop the 'Hill Valley Courthouse' to send the 'lightning' traveling down the main cable to the car, resulting in an explosion that startled George and Lorraine as much as it did Marty. The toy car, which was on fire, drove off the table and continued along the floor until it crashed into a pile of cloths, creating a larger fire as Doc gasped in horror.
"Would this even be safe for Marty?" Lorraine wondered with concern. "As much I wouldn't want him to be stranded in the past, that wouldn't be as severe as losing him altogether if Doc Brown's plan were to go wrong."
"Talk about one heck of a plan," George mused.
As Marty remarked that Doc was instilling him with a lot of confidence, Doc assured Marty that he would take care of the lightning, while Marty would continue making sure his parents got together. At that moment, George and Lorraine truly realized just how stressful that week must've been for their son. More than that, they couldn't help but feel as though they had, albeit indirectly, contributed to Marty's predicament.
As there was a knock on the door, Doc went to see who it was. Realizing it was Marty's mother, Doc and the teenager quickly covered the time machine with a tarp.
"This has to be when I asked Marty to the dance," Lorraine realized.
"Lorraine really was persistent in her pursuit of Marty back then," George thought. Having always known about his wife's infatuation with 'Calvin Klein' was one thing, but actually seeing Lorraine in action presented him with the full picture and made him realize that her feelings for their future son had been even more intense than he imagined.
As Doc let Lorraine into the garage, she and Marty greeted each other. Back then, Lorraine hadn't noticed Marty accidentally calling her 'Mom', but she certainly noticed his slip-up now and it made sense. After the teenage Lorraine in the video admitted to following Marty, he introduced her to Doc as his 'uncle'.
"That makes sense now," George realized.
After she and Doc said "hi" to each other, Lorraine approached Marty, wondering if he would ask her to the upcoming Enchantment Under the Sea dance. As Marty brought up George, Lorraine commented that the latter was "kinda cute and all", but she preferred a man who was strong enough to stand up for himself and protect the woman he loved.
"Once again, I'm making my own son so uncomfortable," Lorraine mused with an inward sigh. "Not to mention how awkward this must be for Doc Brown."
"So this was when Marty came up with that idea to make me look like a fighter in Lorraine's eyes," George realized. "I get it now."
The video shifted to George and Marty at the former's house. The two of them discussed a plan to make George appear as a brave, protective fighter to Lorraine.
"This is it," the current George noted. "This is what I was just thinking about. When I first heard 'if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything'."
"It turned out that Marty wasn't wrong," Lorraine mused about her son telling Teen-George that she wanted to go with him but didn't realize it at the time.
As Teen-George pointed out that he never picked a fight in his entire life, Marty responded with "you're not gonna be picking a fight, Dad... Dad-Dad-Daddio".
George and Lorraine mentally chuckled at Marty's slip-up and creative attempt to correct it.
The two teenagers in the video went over the plan for Saturday night again. At 8:55pm, George would be at the dance, while Marty would be in the car with Lorraine. At around nine o'clock, Lorraine would get angry at Marty for "taking advantage" of her.
The current Lorraine mentally frowned at that, but could see that Marty was clearly uncomfortable by whatever plan he had come up with.
Reassuring a worried George that it was "just an act", Marty instructed that George would stroll through the parking lot, see Marty and Lorraine struggling in the car, walk up, open the door, and say his line "hey, you, get your damn hands off her". After that, George would punch Marty in the stomach, leave Marty out for the count, and live happily ever after with Lorraine.
The current Lorraine was stunned to learn about Marty and George's questionable plan involving her, but given Marty's situation and the fact that everything ultimately turned out all right for her and George, she didn't really hold it against either of them. Anything was worth making sure her children wouldn't cease to exist.
George acknowledged that the plan sounded easy, but wished he wasn't so scared. Marty assured George that the plan only took some self-confidence.
"Here it goes," the current George thought as he knew what Marty would tell his younger self next.
"You know, if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything," Marty stated to Teen-George.
The current Lorraine was proud of her son for being a wonderful friend and positive influence to the teenage George. Wait, was 'friend' even the right word to use, considering that George, even the teenage version, was technically related to Marty? In any case, Lorraine admired Marty's contributions that led to her husband becoming the man that he was today.
Marty urged George to give him a punch in the stomach. George refused, not wanting to hurt Marty. After a bit more encouragement from Marty, George playfully gave the former a light punch and was convinced that Lorraine would believe that.
The current Lorraine mentally giggled at Teen-George's antics, while George felt a bit sheepish by his younger self's lack of confidence. In a way, George was glad that Biff had unexpectedly turned up at the dance, since it led to him genuinely become Lorraine's savior and gaining his much-needed confidence.
The video shifted to the town square at night, showing Doc setting up the cable that was connected to the Clock Tower, while Marty was preparing for the dance. As a radio announcer stated the weather for that night as "mostly clear with some scattered clouds", Doc questioned if the storm was going to happen, while Marty responded with "since when can weathermen predict the weather, let alone the future".
George and Lorraine couldn't exactly disagree with their son's remark. That weatherman on the radio had absolutely no idea how wrong he was. The McFly couple realized it was already Saturday the 12th, their very special day, in the video. They were really looking forward to re-experiencing, albeit virtually, the Enchantment Under the Sea dance.
"You know, Marty, I'm gonna be very sad to see you go. You've really made a difference in my life. You've given me something to shoot for," Doc told his young friend, while George and Lorraine could hear it in the scientist's voice that his words were sincere.
"Just knowing that I'm gonna be around to see 1985..." Doc continued. "That I'm gonna succeed in this... that I'm gonna have a chance to travel through time."
George and Lorraine knew exactly what was on Marty's mind upon seeing the worried expression on his face. Doc Brown meant so much to their son and was, in a way, like a second father to Marty.
"It's gonna be really hard waiting thirty years before I can talk to you about everything that's happened in the past few days. I'm really gonna miss you, Marty."
The McFly couple appreciated that Doc Brown, whether it was in 1955 or 1985, cared as much about Marty as their son cared about the scientist.
"I'm really gonna miss you," Marty returned the comment to Doc, who was somewhat confused.
The distressed look on their son's face made George and Lorraine each feel a pang of sympathy for both Marty and Doc while knowing violent fate that awaited the latter in thirty years' time. Lorraine's eyes would've welled up with tears if not for the trance-like state that she and George were in.
Marty attempted to warn Doc about the terrorists again, only for Doc to immediately protest. "Marty, we've already agreed that having information about the future can be extremely dangerous. Even if your intentions are good, it can backfire drastically. Whatever you've got to tell me, I'll find out through the natural course of time."
"It's such a shame that Doc Brown won't even give Marty a chance to explain," Lorraine thought with disappointment. "Marty is trying to save his life after all and I'm sure Doc Brown would do the same for Marty if their situations were reversed."
"If I was Marty, I'd blurt it straight out, loud and clear to make sure Doc knows exactly what happens to him," George mused firmly.
The scene shifted to Marty sitting in Lou's Cafe, writing a letter that he sealed in an envelope that read 'Do not open until 1985': "Dear Dr. Brown, on the night that I go back in time at 1:30am, you will be shot by terrorists. Please take whatever precautions are necessary to prevent this terrible disaster. Your friend, Marty."
That was quite smart and thoughtful of their son, George and Lorraine mused with a note of hope. But would Doc Brown read it? Given what they had seen of the scientist, the McFly couple wouldn't be surprised if Doc discarded the letter without even opening it. On the other hand, although George and Lorraine doubted it, there was a possibility that Doc would have a change of heart.
Back in the town square, Doc was working on the overhead cable when the local policeman appeared and questioned him. As Doc claimed he was working on a weather experiment using "some new, specialized weather-sensing equipment", the policeman asked the scientist if he had a permit for that.
Obviously, it wouldn't be a wise idea for a police officer to discover the time machine, George and Lorraine figured.
While Marty returned and discreetly placed the letter into Doc's jacket that was sitting on the tarp-covered DeLorean, Doc took out his wallet and gave the policeman fifty dollars. George and Lorraine were relieved that the officer took the money and left without asking further questions. Granted, resorting to bribery was technically wrong, but the McFly couple appreciated Doc's determination to protect the plan to get Marty home from potential obstacles.
As Marty told Doc that he wasn't sure if he could go through with the plan involving his mother, George and Lorraine wished they could jump into the holographic-like screen and, as parents should, give him all the comfort in the world. Lorraine felt a bit of disgust towards Doc for his "take a few liberties with her" comment while winking. George didn't appreciate the gesture either. After all, Doc was more or less the reason that Marty was in his predicament, since Doc had invented the time machine that sent Marty back to 1955 in the first place.
Marty was worried that "feeling up" his own mother would screw him up permanently. As Marty wondered "what if I go back to the future and I end up being... gay", Doc responded with "why shouldn't you be happy".
George and Lorraine immediately picked up on Doc's misinterpretation of 'gay'. As individuals who had been teenagers back in the fifties, they knew firsthand that the word was used differently back then than how people, especially younger ones, primarily used 'gay' in the present-day.
As Marty got ready to leave, he asked Doc an important question: "Listen, if things don't work out at the dance tonight and my folks don't get back together, when do you think I'll start to fade out?"
"Beats the shit out of me," Doc responded, having no clue how to answer that.
"Don't worry, son, your mother and I will definitely get together tonight," George thought with a note of fondness.
"You'll be fine, Marty," Lorraine mentally assured her youngest child. "Your father will protect me from Biff and everything will work out from there."