In this science-fiction drama, the United States Air Force tracks a mysterious UFO that darts across Oak Ridge, California at an astonishing speed. A white sphere hovers over Stone Canyon, suspended about six feet above the ground, and becomes the central focus for a tense inspection led by Col. Matthews [Paul Langton] and Dr. Karl Sorenson [Bruce Bennett], a renowned physicist from the nearby Pacific Institute of Technology. Meanwhile, Kathy Grant [Angela Greene], a widow who runs a rustic lodge near the canyon, arrives with her young son Ken [Scotty Morrow], a boy bound to a wheelchair by a terminal illness, who idolizes Sorenson as a kind of hero.
That night, the sphere emits a beam of light and a dark, translucent humanoid figure emerges. The visitor heads straight for Sorenson’s lab, where he rapidly solves a problem with a “proton chamber” that had stumped the two scientists. The astonishing display reveals to them that they are dealing with an extraterrestrial mind far superior to anything on Earth. Col. Matthews, however, views the alien as a potential threat and orders the sphere moved to the airbase, though nothing seems able to move it—not even when it’s tethered by heavy equipment.
A peculiar, impeccably dressed stranger arrives at the lodge, wearing thick glasses, a fedora, and an anorak, asking for a room. Kathy, wary yet pragmatic, allows him to stay under the assumption that he’s Dr. Steinholtz [Hal Torey], summoned by Gen. Knowland to assist with the sphere. The visitor appears to be both enigmatic and insightful, reinforcing the sense that the lodge is now a crossroads for scientific and military curiosity.
Sorenson conducts a provocative experiment, driving an electrical charge into the sphere and creating a massive sonic blast. He warns that if the sphere were amplified, it could unleash a sonic force powerful enough to wipe a city off the map. Matthews counters with a cautionary question about a hypothetical rival power discovering the sphere’s secrets first, and Sorenson concedes that such a lapse would be catastrophic for humanity.
That same night, the Cosmic Man Cosmic Man materializes before the scientists and the armed personnel in a ghostly, yet almost humanoid form. He identifies Sorenson and the others as Earth’s current “hope” as humanity embarks on space exploration, but he also insists that people must adopt a new philosophy and learn to coexist with beings unlike themselves to truly belong in an interplanetary society. He says he will depart with the dawn. When Gen. Knowland presses for more information, the Cosmic Man leaves without answering, and the sky-braced group opens fire in a futile attempt to stop him.
Later, Kathy overhears Ken talking in his room and discovers him playing chess with the stranger who’s been lodging there. Unaware that the visitor is the Cosmic Man in disguise, she watches as he politely thanks Ken for teaching him the game, then departs. He returns later and secretly takes Ken with him.
Meanwhile, Steinholz has focused powerful electromagnets on the sphere. The Cosmic Man reappears, carrying Ken, lays him gently on the ground, and warns the assembled military and scientists to stay back as he prepares to depart completely. Steinholz fires the electromagnets, and the Cosmic Man seems to fall dead. Yet Ken suddenly stands, walks over to Kathy, and reveals that the alien’s presence has cured his paralysis.
The sphere then emits another beam, absorbs the Cosmic Man’s body, and lifts away into the morning sky. With tears in her eyes, Ken whispers, “Goodbye, Cosmic Man.” Sorenson speaks with quiet confidence, “He’ll be back,” as Kathy, Ken, and their companions watch the mysterious traveler fade into the distance.
In the end, the story leaves a sense of hopeful mystery: Earthnow faces a broader universe that may demand new ways of thinking and new forms of cooperation, even as a young boy’s life—once constrained by illness—has been touched by an otherworldly intervention, hinting at a future where human and cosmic minds may meet again.
