The Rats of NIMH

In the early days of the twentieth century, the end of the
"War to End All Wars" brought forth an age of new science, new
technology. From the mysteries of the atomic structure to the complex problems
of genetics, mankind opened the first doors that would carry him through the
rest of that frightening century. In a laboratory on the outskirts of a small
town in Midwest America, a small group of scientists from the National
Institute of Mental Health, or NIMH, thought they had stumbled across the means
of raising the intelligence of animals by injections of different types of DNA.
With a host of experimental rats and mice, they tried injection after
injection, attempting to raise the creatures' intelligence. In fact, the
intelligence of their test animals did rise, farther than the scientists had
prepared for. By reading the instructions on the cage doors, all the mice and
rats managed to escape.

The escape through the air ducts of the building proved
disastrous to the mice; the airflow blowing nearly all of them to their deaths.
Two mice survived and aided the rats in their escape. Deciding to live as a
group, the rats began to travel and look for a place in which to live. They
stayed for a time in a deserted mansion, reading every volume of the library
cover to cover by the time they were forced to leave. From there, they found a
small farm, owned by Samuel Fitzgibbons, and a cave whose door was hidden
within the thorns and thick tangles of a rosebush.

Here they settled, elected leaders, and formed a government.
Stealing what food and electricity they needed from the farmer, they soon
created clothes, books, machines, and a technology of their own. A small force
of guards was set up to protect the rosebush from the lower animals and to
acquire any more supplies they would need from the farmer. However, as the
government further developed, it became clear to the two mice who had survived
that the rats, by virtue of their number, were destined to rule. Jonathan
Brisby and Ages, who had added a human surname of Mr. to his own, left the
rosebush and found other homes in which to live. Jonathan, while in search of a
home, came upon a beautiful young mouse, and she was surprisingly intelligent.
She could speak, converse with him, and, although not as intelligent as
himself, was so uncommonly charming that he later married her. In a large
cinder block in the farmer's garden, he made their home, and he and his wife,
Angela, had four children.

During the escape from NIMH, Johnathan found a mouse-sized
amulet on a golden chain. In time, he found it had amazing, but sometimes
terrifying power. He left it at the rosebush with Nicodemus, the leader of the
rats and his trusted friend, with the instructions that should anything ever
happen to him, his wife should get the stone. In his heart, he knew she could
use it, and he also knew that, without his protection, she may well need it.

He loved his new life, but at times, the rats from NIMH called
him back. There was a small hole in the farmer's kitchen through which only a
mouse could pass. Once in the kitchen, it was possible to drug the farmer's
cat, Dragon, so that whatever the rats needed could be obtained without danger.
Time and time again he did this; so much so that it began to become routine.
However, as the rats from NIMH prospered, many of them became greedy and power
hungry. Jenner, a tall, sinister looking rat, began a crusade to wrest power
from the rats designated leader, Nicodemus, and take it himself. He enlisted
others to help him, Sullivan for one. Together, they planned each move so that
it would appear everything they were doing was just. Jonathan was unfortunate
enough to find out about their political ambitions, and, to prevent the failure
of his climb to power, Jenner conspired to betray Jonathan when he returned to
drug Dragon.

After a few nights passed, Ages came to her Angela Brisby and
told her of Jonathan's death at the claws of the one-eyed hideous monster,
Dragon. Mrs. Brisby's problems mounted as her youngest son, Timmy, came down
with pneumonia just at the time when they needed to move to their summer home,
away from the farmer's plow. The frost, the cold still in the air, made moving
impossible, for Timmy was far too sick to endure any travel. Almost killed
herself in an attempt to stop the plow, she was forced to seek aid from the
rats to save her family. Nicodemus, grateful for the service of Jonathan
Brisby, honored his request and bestowed the stone upon Angela. He told her
that when held by one who had courage of the heart, the stone had the power to
do incredible things. Also, because her home was Jonathan's home, the rats
agreed to move the cinder block to the lee of the large stone that stood in the
garden. That area could not be plowed, and would allow Timmy time to heal in
safety.

One problem prevented the move from being completed. Jenner,
intent that the rats should not adopt Nicodemus's plan to stop stealing from
the farmer and move to a place known as Thorn Valley, sabotaged the machinery
while the house was being moved. As the wooden pulleys and tackle broke and
fell apart, Nicodemus, just as Jenner had planned, was killed by the falling
debris. Meanwhile, after attempting to drug the farmer's cat and being captured
by the farmer's son Billy, Mrs. Brisby overheard the farmer receive a telephone
call from NIMH. They were coming to destroy the rosebush, and she knew they
would destroy the rats as well. Escaping, she ran back to find her house and tell
the rats what she had heard. She found her house stuck in the mud, halfway
between where it had been and was supposed to be.

Once finding that the children were unharmed, she emphatically
told them that the rats must move to Thorn Valley tonight because NIMH was
coming in the morning to kill them. Jenner, calling her hysterical at first to
try to discredit her, finally lost his temper and lashed out at her, knocking
her back. Then seeing the stone hanging from around her neck, he tried to take
it physically from her. Justin, the Captain of the guard, came to her rescue,
and the ensuing battle saw Jenner dead, and Sullivan, his former accomplice,
dead at Jenner's own hand when Sullivan gave Justin his sword to defend Mrs.
Brisby. Justin, although wounded himself, took charge of the rats with the
intent of moving to Thorn Valley that night.

During the brief pause after the battle, Mrs. Brisby's house
began to sink into the mud. The rats scrambled to try to save the Brisby home,
but it was sinking too quickly. Mrs. Brisby, who had scrambled atop the house
to try and help, refused to abandon it, and Justin had to pull her away and
swim her to safety. The stone had fallen from around Mrs. Brisby's neck when
she was sucked under the mud for a second, and it appeared that both it and her
own children would be lost.

Suddenly, the stone, ablaze with red light, shot out of the mud
and floated above Mrs. Brisby's head. Nicodemus's words about the power of the
stone came back to her, and she took hold of it, shining with a brilliant
radiance, in her hands. The amulet was hot to the touch, so hot, that her hands
burned, and she dropped it. Its energies shot through the mud weakly, and,
knowing there was no other way, she took the stone back into her hands and held
on for the dear lives of her children. It shone like a radiant sun above her
head, and she seemed to slip into some kind of a trance. The stone floated back
around her neck, and one of the ropes still tied to the house floated into her
hands. Power from her seemed to run through it and into the mud. There was a
surging, a vicious bubbling and spewing, and the house began to rise from the
mud. It floated completely out, and gently moved through the air, finally
gently coming to rest in the lee of the stone. The task complete, the light
coming from the stone and Mrs. Brisby faded away, and Mrs. Brisby, dazed and
lightheaded, fainted.

She recovered soon, the only ill affects being the burns on her
hands. She gave the stone to Justin, to help the rats move to Thorn Valley. The
rats departed, and Mrs. Brisby returned home to care for her young.

(Please note that all characters beyond those described in the movie,
"The Secret of NIMH", are copyright of the author, and may not be
copied or used without express written permission.)