The Monolith Monsters

Monolith Monsters is a 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film made by Universal International.

To demonstrate the meteorite crash in the introductory part of the film, footage from the Universal studio's film "An Alien from Outer Space" (orig. "It Came from Outer Space", 1953).

A large meteorite falls in the desert of Southern California and splits into hundreds of black fragments with strange properties: when interacting with water, they begin to grow very quickly, reaching huge sizes and heights. Also, these fragments are slowly turning some residents of the nearby town into stone.

Scientists are trying to save the life of a little girl and prevent an impending threat to the town. They find out that the growth of fragments can be stopped by salt water, and decide to blow up a dam to flood a dried-up salt lake. The mayor, who has to give permission for the explosion, is delayed, and the local geologist has to make this difficult decision himself and save the city.

A meteorite that has fallen to earth splits into a large number of pieces ("monoliths"). Each of them is a black stone with shiny edges and sharp edges. Its composition and structure are described by geologists as follows:

Negative cleavage of each mineral... Not a single point of positive absorption on the entire sample.

With the exception of a trace of iron phosphate, which can be ignored, all other compounds belong to silicates. Slate, feldspar, pyroxene, all from the olivine group, quartz with chalcedony, mostly solid silica. Some of them form combinations that are impossible in principle.

When interacting with water, the meteorite begins to hiss, smoke and actively grow, absorbing silicon from the objects and living beings surrounding it. The tissues of people who are nearby also lose silicon, their skin ceases to be elastic and the whole body gradually turns into stone. (Interestingly, in fact, a deficiency of silicon in the body can lead to the opposite result – weakening of bone tissue, which can lead to injury, as well as a decrease in immunity, metabolic disorders, and an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases).

During the growth process, some of the meteorite fragments explode, causing significant destruction. Others continue to grow, reaching gigantic sizes. The reasons for such different behaviors remain a mystery, as well as why their effect only affects some people.

It is possible to stop the growth of monoliths with the help of ordinary salt dissolved in the water with which they interact. Successful treatment of affected people is carried out by replenishing silicon in their bodies.