Blakes 7 - 1602 - The City at the Edge of the World [ home ] [ prev ] [ next ]
|
Author: Chris Boucher
[ IMDB ]
Director: Vere Lorrimer [ IMDB ] |
|
|
Excerpt from Blakes 7: The Program Guide by Tony Attwood Tarrant has negotiated a deal with the inhabitants of an uncharted planet known as Keezarn - in return for unspecified services from Vila, crystals will be provided for the weaponry system on Liberator. Vila is particularly reluctant to go down and only acquiesces when Tarrant bullies him into submission. He teleports to the surface but fails to take a tracer by which the crew can monitor his whereabouts. Cally teleports down after Vila to collect the box of crystals, and discovers that the box contains only a bomb. She escapes and, unable to locate Vila, returns to the ship. Avon and Cally then teleport down in order to search for Vila. Vila is met by two natives who refuse to speak to him but lead him to an ancient deserted city. There, among others, he meets Bayban the Butcher, the Federation's most wanted criminal, and Kerril, a female gunfighter. Bayban believes he has found a room in which all the treasures of the planet are stored. However the door to the room is secured and Bayban has been unable to open it. He therefore orders Vila to set to work on it, and Vila soon discovers that the vault is protected by a force wall, not a door. This he opens. Kerril and Vila have become attracted to each other , and she goes with him through the barrier into the vault beyond. They make their way through a series of passages until they enter an instant transportation mechanism which takes them to a star ship 3,000 light years distant. A message is broadcast to Vila and Kerril explaining that the builder of the system had lived on Keezarn thousands of years before, when the planet was at the height of its economic, political and technological growth. Foreseeing an inevitable decline into barbarism, the ship had been pre-programmed to travel through space seeking a planetary system which the people of Keezarn could colonize and hence rebuild their civilisation. The belief was that if a suitable system could be found with more than one planet for colonisation, a second return to barbarism could be avoided. The matter transmitter, it is explained, was sealed into the vault so that it could only be opened from time to time. A genetically engineered message had been programmed into the race memory of the population so that they would feel the need to get someone to open the vault every thirty-five generations. Vila and Kerril understand that the matter transmitter will not return them to Keezarn; further, they only have enough oxygen to exist on the space ship for a short while. Thinking that they will soon die, the two lie down on the couches and make love. Meanwhile, Avon and Cally have captured some of Bayban's men and question them. They subsequently bring down the rest of the crew of the Liberator to try and rescue Vila. At the same time Vila and Kerril find that their ship has actually landed, although due to a malfunction of the force field the door leading out cannot be opened. Vila breaks through the force field and finds himself on a beautiful planet suitable for colonization. Whilst he and Kerril are inventing names for the planet, he comes upon the crystals which he had originally been sent to Keezarn to obtain. This breaks the spell between the lovers and makes Vila feel that they should go back to the city at once, much to Kerril's dismay. Meanwhile, the Liberator's crew capture Bayban and discover the secret of the door, through which Vila and Kerril dramatically reappear. Norl, the leader of the people of Keezarn, then takes his people through to the matter transmitter in order to lead them to their new planet. Whilst Vila is deciding whether to join Kerril on the new planet and spend the rest of his life there, Bayban breaks free from custody and threatens both Vila and Kerril. Vila quickly ushers Kerril and Norl into the vault, which closes behind them leaving Vila no choice but to return to the Liberator. He does so as Bayban tries to blast his way into the vault with a laser cannon which destroys the whole city. Back on board the Liberator, Vila surprises the crew by producing the crystals he had been sent down to get, and is left with his sadness over the loss of Kerril. Review 07/06/2005 by ledlogic This is an episode where Vila's acting shines. At the beginning you see where Tarrant carries a mean streak. Copyright 1979 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Series created by Terry Nation. This is a complete dialogue transcript for research purposes and is not for sale under any circumstances. Format copyright 1992 by Patricia Evans and Micky DuPree. Dramatis Personae
[Liberator teleport facility] TARRANT: Come on, Vila, you don't mean that. VILA: I know what I mean, and what I mean is no. TARRANT: At least think about it. [pushes Vila] Think about it. VILA: All right. [pauses] I've thought about it. No. TARRANT: I can't make you go, of course. VILA: That's right, you can't. TARRANT: But I can toss you off this ship. VILA: What? TARRANT: You're no use to me. VILA: I don't have to be any use to you. I was here first. I was with Blake. I've more right on this ship than you have. TARRANT: "Right"? No one survives as long as you have, Vila, without learning the facts of life. VILA: The facts of life are that I -- TARRANT: [interrupting] -- are that I can dump you any time. The others wouldn't stop me. And you couldn't, could you? Now I suggest you reconsider your decision. But don't take too long. I'm not a patient man. VILA: All my life, for as long as I can remember, there's been people like you. TARRANT: And I thought I was unique. VILA: You're not even unusual, Tarrant. I'll need my equipment. TARRANT: I'll get it for you. VILA: You stay here. Check the teleport coordinates. At least you can't bully a machine into doing what you want. [Vila leaves as Cally enters, carrying a device] CALLY: What's wrong with Vila? TARRANT: I scared him a little. CALLY: That must have been difficult. TARRANT: I had no choice, Cally. We've got to have those crystals for the weaponry system. CALLY: So we do a swap, they give us the crystals, we give them Vila. TARRANT: They only want his help. CALLY: Then why are they insisting that he goes down alone? TARRANT: I don't know, maybe outsiders make them nervous. CALLY: Did you? [Avon enters] TARRANT: Me? Who could be nervous of me? CALLY: Only Vila, it seems. TARRANT: We've no reason to think they'll harm him. AVON: And less reason to care? [to Cally] Have you got the locator? [Cally gives him the device] TARRANT: What locator? They stipulated no surveillance devices. AVON: So you said. TARRANT: I gave them my word. AVON: You didn't give them mine. TARRANT: Now you tell me. AVON: Are you seriously suggesting we send him down there without a tracer? TARRANT: No, I'm seriously suggesting we try and make sure they don't detect it. AVON: They won't. [to Orac] Well. ORAC: 'Well' is not a question. AVON: Is it working? ORAC: The tracer is between the index and second finger of your left hand. AVON: [holds up small disc] Thank you, Orac. VILA: [entering] Let's get on with it, then. AVON: No last minute protests, no sudden illnesses? VILA: Look, I have to go down, he made that very clear. But I don't have to take any rubbish about it from you, all right? AVON: All right. Take this. [offers Vila the disc] VILA: What is it? Slow-acting poison? CALLY: It's a tracer. Orac can locate it and tell us exactly where you are at any time. VILA: I'm not swallowing that. AVON: It's perfectly harmless. It dissolves eventually. VILA: Your hands clean? AVON: Just take it. [Vila takes the disc] Orac, have you found us a name for this place yet? ORAC: No definite records exist. I have however found an obscure archeological treatise which suggests the ancestors of the present inhabitants may have called their planet Kezarn. VILA: Wonderful. I'm going to die on a planet that hasn't even got a name any more. TARRANT: Ready? VILA: Does it make any difference? TARRANT: They're simple, completely unaggressive people, Vila. You'll be quite safe. VILA: I've only got your word for that. TARRANT: Trust me. VILA: Yeah.... Put me down. [Vila is teleported] AVON: I don't know how you persuaded him to go, Tarrant. TARRANT: I appealed to his better nature. AVON: He hasn't got one. Leave him alone in future. TARRANT: Or? AVON: Do you want me to threaten you? TARRANT: Why not? I haven't had a good laugh in ages. AVON: Sensible. You could die laughing. CALLY: Why are you suddenly so protective towards Vila? AVON: He's irritating, but he's useful. We can easily replace a pilot, but a talented thief is rare. TARRANT: I'd agree with that. So? AVON: So frighten him too much, he's no use to anyone. TARRANT: He wasn't that frightened. CALLY: He was terrified. So terrified he might just get himself killed because it's easier than going on. TARRANT: I'll take that risk. CALLY: It isn't yours to take. [Dayna enters] TARRANT: Look, without those crystals, the main blasters are useless. Do you like being helpless, Cally? CALLY: I don't know. I've never tried it. VILA: [V.O.] Liberator. Come in Liberator. AVON: Yes, Vila? VILA: [V.O.] The crystals are here. You can come and get them now. AVON: Well done, Vila. DAYNA: Cally. [gives Cally a gun] Killing range is only two hundred, so aim for the whites of their eyes. TARRANT: No point in mentioning you're supposed to be unarmed? CALLY: Put me down. [Cally is teleported to the planet] Down and safe. There's no one here. TARRANT: [V.O.] Are you sure, Cally? CALLY: Unless they're hiding. But why should they hide? TARRANT: [V.O.] I don't know. Maybe outsiders -- CALLY: -- make them nervous? Yes, you said. I'm beginning to wonder how you managed to negotiate with them at all. TARRANT: [V.O.] Any sign of the box of crystals? CALLY: Not yet. TARRANT: [V.O.] Keep looking. [Vila is walking with two natives, and sees buildings far away] VILA: Is that where we're going? It's miles away. I mean why couldn't I have teleported closer in? [pause] Hey? They say too much walking's bad for you, you know. Makes you go deaf. Look what it's done for you. Listen, sooner or later one of you's going to have to speak to me. Well, speak to me one of you! All right, that's it. No speak, no walk. My feet hurt and I didn't want to come anyway. [sits] 'Course, I'm totally lost, you realize that. Yes, of course you realize that. I don't suppose you'd consider taking me back to where you met me. No, of course you wouldn't. All right, you've talked me into it. [gets up and walks] [Cally approaches a box] CALLY: There's a box here. And Vila's teleport bracelet. AVON: [V.O.] Cally, it's Avon. Don't touch the box. I don't share Tarrant's faith in simple, unaggressive people. CALLY: Yes, I know. [Cally moves away, shoots a rock face; rocks fall on the box, which explodes. Cally teleports up.] VILA: What was that? Sounded like an explosion. Was it an explosion? Do you know what it was? Do you care what it was? Do I care what it was? Why am I talking to myself like this? I wonder what it was though. [teleport facility] DAYNA: They boobytrapped the box. Simple enough to do. CALLY: They're a simple people, according to Tarrant. AVON: And completely unaggressive. A slight exaggeration perhaps. TARRANT: I don't understand it. I was sure we could trust them. I'd have staked my life on it. CALLY: You did stake Vila's. TARRANT: Did I really? I'd forgotten. CALLY: Now he hasn't even got a bracelet. TARRANT: And that's my fault? DAYNA: So we haven't got Vila and we haven't got the crystals. What's our next brilliant move? AVON: We persuade his simple unaggressive friends to part with either or both. TARRANT: WE don't; I do. Only this time I'll negotiate with a gun in my hand. AVON: Orac, can you give me a precise fix on that tracer? ORAC: Of course I can. AVON: Where is it then? ORAC: Under the box which is ten centimetres from your right hand. AVON: [lifts device and finds the disc] The stupid idiot. CALLY: He palmed it. DAYNA: That's not stupid, it's suicidal. Why would he do that? TARRANT: Because he was scared witless. He didn't trust anyone. You were right. I'm sorry, Cally. CALLY: You're the only one who's met these people. where do you think they've taken him? DAYNA: What about that city? TARRANT: No, they said it was a ruin. No one could remember when it was built or even who built it. No one ever goes there. So they say. AVON: We could wish for more reliable informants. Anything else? TARRANT: There's a name, something unpronounceable, in what they told me was a fragment of the old tongue. AVON: A translatable fragment? TARRANT: Apparently it means "The City at the Edge of the World". [Vila is walking down a corridor] VILA: The place is deserted. There's nobody here. The whole place is -- [looks around, notices he is alone] deserted. Hello? [echoes] Anybody there? [echoes] Come on, stop dawdling, will you. If this is meant to be a joke, it's not funny! [echo of "not funny"] [crackling explosion; Vila cowers on the ground] VILA: I'll get you for this, Tarrant. I'll tear your arm off and beat you to death with the wet end. I'll get you for this! KERRIL: [points a gun at Vila] Have you finished? If talking got it done, you'd be a real killer, wouldn't you? VILA: Where did you come from? KERRIL: Here and there. Mostly there. On your feet, killer. I said, on your feet. Pick up your box and let's go, little man. VILA: The name's Vila, and you can relax your gun arm, I'm not looking for trouble. KERRIL: What's the matter, killer, lost your nerve? VILA: That's right. Pity I didn't lose my sense of smell as well. KERRIL: What's that supposed to mean? VILA: You should try taking a bath sometime, you smell terrible. KERRIL: For someone who's lost his nerve, you take risks, little man. VILA: You didn't go to all this trouble just to kill me. KERRIL: Move. VILA: Where? KERRIL: [gestures with gun] There. VILA: A mouthwash would be a good idea too. KERRIL: Move. [another crackle] Move. [a room; Norl watches Bayban and Sherm silently] BAYBAN: You bubble-brained idiot. You stupid son of a slimecrawler. SHERM: It wasn't my fault, Captain. BAYBAN: "It wasn't my fault, Captain." Of course it was your fault. "Oh, blow a hole in it, Captain." Blow a hole in it. Look at it. [shot of door] It's not even dented. [touches his head] It's the only thing that isn't. SHERM: Well, it could have been worse. BAYBAN: Not for you it couldn't, Sherm. SHERM: Well I did my best. BAYBAN: I know you did your best, Sherm. [points gun at Sherm] That's why I can do without you. SHERM: Please, Captain. BAYBAN: Oh, stop sniveling, Sherm. You know I can't stand snivelers. SHERM: It was his fault. He coulda told us how to open it. He's been lyin' all along. He was laughin' behind your back. I saw him. BAYBAN: What? Is that true, old man? No one laughs at Bayban. Take him out and shoot him. [Kerril and Vila enter] KERRIL: Bayban, if you must kill somebody, kill him. [indicates Sherm] [Sherm draws gun, Kerril shoots him] VILA: Then again, you don't smell that bad. BAYBAN: What took you so long? You must be Vila. It's an honour, sir. VILA: The honour's mine. BAYBAN: That's what I meant. SHERM: [to Kerril] You better sleep with both eyes open from now on. KERRIL: You should get together with Killer here, you make a good pair. BAYBAN: I may have to get rid of Kerril. Be a pity, she's the best gun hand I ever had, but, uh, she's got no team spirit, you know. And you can't run an outfit like mine without team spirit. VILA: What outfit is it exactly, if you don't mind me asking? BAYBAN: Oh, I do mind you asking. I mind very much. VILA: I can understand that. Uh, I'm sorry I mentioned it, I - I was just making conversation. I've, um, brought my tools here. What exactly is it you want me to do, just name it, I'm your man. BAYBAN: You don't know who I am. VILA: Absolutely not, no idea. You needn't worry about it, I won't ask any questions. BAYBAN: Small-time thief and failed revolutionary, and you don't know who I am? VILA: Ah. Well, if you put it like that, of course I know who you are. You're -- you're, ah -- BAYBAN: Bayban. VILA: Bayban, yes. BAYBAN: Bayban the Beserker. Bayban the Butcher. VILA: Bayban the Butcher . . . you're Bayban the Butcher! Oh, no. BAYBAN: That's better. VILA: You're top of the Federation's Most Wanted list -- after Blake. BAYBAN: What do you mean, "after Blake"? I was working my way up that list before he crept out of his creche. WORKING my way up. I didn't take any political shortcuts. VILA: I know, I know. You have a reputation for straightforward mayhem that's second to none. I've been an admirer of yours for, um, well, for as long as I can remember. Well maybe not that long, I mean, uh, you're not that old, are you? But, uh, then again, you did start very young, didn't you? I think I feel sick. KERRIL: So you should, little man. [leaves] BAYBAN: Vila, I like a man who shows respect. You'll enjoy working for me. VILA: Will I? Oh, yes, I will. Of course I will. BAYBAN: Good. Well you can start by opening that door. VILA: Now? BAYBAN: Now. VILA: [examines door] What's behind it? SHERM: You don't need to know that. VILA: I decide what I need to know. SHERM: Yes? VILA: Yes. BAYBAN: I make the decisions 'round here. VILA: The captain makes the decisions 'round here. SHERM: Why, you -- [menaces Vila] BAYBAN: Sherm! Vila, come here and sit down. Now I went to a lot of trouble to get you here, and that is all the trouble I intend to have. Now you will open that door, or I will open you from there to there. [indicates Vila's neck with knife] Right? VILA: Right. BAYBAN: Right. VILA: [Rushing] But I still need to know what's in there! The key to any security system is how it's designed! That depends on why it was designed! I have to know what whoever designed it was trying to protect! [Kerril re-enters, puts down a bowl of food] BAYBAN: [to Norl] Tell him. NORL: We have told you. BAYBAN: Tell HIM. Sherm, contact the stockade. Have the men kill two more hostages. NORL: No, wait. BAYBAN: Yes. NORL: It contains this world and the next. SHERM: Same old stuff. KERRIL: He's done as he was told. SHERM: Two more corpses'll keep him in line. KERRIL: No! You can push people too far. SHERM: You should remember that. KERRIL: I said people, not garbage. SHERM: Garbage! BAYBAN: Kerril -- Sherm -- out. [Kerril and Sherm leave] VILA: This world and the next? That could mean anything. BAYBAN: Not anything, everything. There's nothing on this planet, Vila. No precious metals, no gems, no wealth of any kind. And why? Because it's all in there [indicates door]. This world. VILA: And the next? BAYBAN: Religious mumbo jumbo to keep the locals out. We had to kill six of them before they'd even tell us it was there. And six more to make sure they didn't know how to open it. VILA: But what about the crystals you swapped for me? They're valuable, where did they come from? BAYBAN: They didn't. VILA: The crystals in that box. There weren't any crystals in that box, were there? So Tarrant did a deal with you without even seeing the merchandise. BAYBAN: Oh, not with me; with them. Tarrant didn't even know I was here. But he did see a sample [shows Vila a crystal]. I've had it for years. Lucky piece. Not so lucky for him though. VILA: Wonderful. Me, he calls stupid. BAYBAN: Not any more. Smile. You outlived him. VILA: What? BAYBAN: Well we couldn't let them go back empty handed, could we? So we gave him a bomb to play with. VILA: A bomb? BAYBAN: Yes. Bang. You're dead. You know the sort of thing. VILA: Cally. BAYBAN: What do you say? VILA: Can I ask you if you've tried to blast this? BAYBAN: Blast it? We blasted it, burned it, drilled it, cut it. How long do you need? VILA: I don't know. BAYBAN: You've got an hour. [to entering soldier] You -- out! Leave my man in peace. [to Norl] And you. [Norl leaves] [to Vila] My mother -- VILA: Eh? BAYBAN: Oh yes. I had a mother. Wonderful woman. Truly evil person. She had a saying. "Baybe," she used to say. She called me Baybe. "Baybe," she used to say, "treat every hour as though it's your last." [puts food into Vila's mouth] I'll be back in an hour, Vila. [slaps Vila on the back and leaves, laughing] VILA: Tarrant, I hope you're satisfied. [teleport facility] TARRANT: I still don't see the logic. AVON: Logic? TARRANT: I know the ground. I made the contacts. CALLY: They didn't take you to their village or even that city. DAYNA: They deliberately kept you away from anything even vaguely strategic. AVON: Which makes your local knowledge very local indeed. TARRANT: That's not the point. AVON: No, the point is that Vila won't trust you, whereas he will trust Cally and me. TARRANT: Cally, yes, but why you? AVON: Because he knows what I think of him. TARRANT: You despise him. AVON: Right. But at least I'm consistent about it. I know his value to us, just as he knows mine. If we need any help, I'll let you know. TARRANT: Feel free. CALLY: Just be ready. DAYNA: We will, don't worry. AVON: Put us down. [Avon and Cally teleport] TARRANT: Thanks for your support, Dayna. DAYNA: Well, they were right. If Vila saw you, who knows what he might do. Run away, give the alarm -- TARRANT: I doubt that. DAYNA: So do I. I think he'd try and kill you. [Smiles] That's what I'd do. [Avon and Cally are on the planet] CALLY: Seems quiet enough. AVON: The village should be in that direction. CALLY: If Zen got it right. AVON: It's a pity we're not all as reliable as Zen. CALLY: But I thought you were. [in the room. Vila examines the door while Kerril comes up behind him] VILA: That block isn't really a block at all. He was clever. He could turn out to be the best I've come up against. KERRIL: Who could? VILA: The designer. My opponent. You see, there are two basic approaches to security. Physical: locks and booby traps, things designed to physically stop you getting in. Then there is the psychological approach. KERRIL: Like? VILA: Like you put up a fence with a notice which says that the area is impregnated with swamp fever and you'll get galloping knee- rot if you try to go inside. KERRIL: So which is this? VILA: I'm working on it. [examines door with instrument] Zero zero two. That is beautiful. KERRIL: Is it? VILA: An indestructible block. A combination of both the psychological and the physical, one reinforcing the other. Elegant, my friend, simply elegant. KERRIL: So what is it? VILA: Eh? Oh, it's just a simple forcefield. KERRIL: I was right about you, another Sherm, all mouth. This is a solid block, little man. VILA: It's a forcefield. Set to refract light so that it appears solid. Well naturally it feels solid, all forcefields do. Looks solid, feels solid, so everybody treats it as solid. They bash, blast, and burn it, and like all forcefields, whatever energy you push into it, it chucks right back at you. For all energy input, there has to be an equal and opposite energy output. Result -- an indestructible block. The harder you hit it, the stronger it gets. [sets up instrument] There. KERRIL: What's that supposed to be? VILA: A low energy probe. KERRIL: What? VILA: The energy threshold of this forcefield is zero zero two. Anything more that zero zero two gets chucked back at you, right? This will push a probe into the field very slowly. Maximum energy zero zero one. When the probe reaches the door, the field will collapse. Bye-bye block. KERRIL: I'll believe it when I see it. VILA: It'll take about forty-five minutes. KERRIL: How did you know I was here? VILA: Sorry? KERRIL: When I first came in -- how did you know I was here? VILA: I heard you. KERRIL: No, you didn't. VILA: Psychic. KERRIL: For a thief, you lie badly. [Avon and Cally see a lone native woman] CALLY: Let me do it. I won't scare her so much. AVON: All right, but be careful. Remember how they fooled Tarrant. And Cally -- don't get between her and me. [Cally approaches woman, who looks up. Cally sees a soldier] CALLY: Avon! [Avon shoots soldier] AVON: Seems we're not the only strangers on this planet. CALLY: That could explain a lot. AVON: The woman is still with us. Is she trying to bluff her way out? CALLY: I don't think so. She just doesn't care about us. It was the same when she first saw me. Polite disinterest. We're not important to her. AVON: So let's find out what is important to her. [in the room] VILA: [to Norl] What were you looking so pleased about? Bayban isn't going to share whatever's in there, you know. NORL: That's true. Bayban will not share it. VILA: Where does that corridor lead? Can we get out that way? Now look, I'm not the only one in trouble here, you know. I wouldn't give a scoop of slime for you and your friends once I get that open. Bayban's insane, you realize that. Once he gets his hands on the loot, he won't need any of us. He'll kill us all. How many men have you got that can fight? [Norl turns away] You better listen to me. I'll tell him you were in here. I'll tell him it's all a plot. You're just using him to get that open. [Norl turns back towards Vila] Yes. You know how he'd react to that, don't you? You don't mean that really is what's going on? That'd make you crazier than him. SHERM: [looking in] Crazier than who? VILA: You. SHERM: What? [menaces Vila] VILA: Baybe would not be pleased. SHERM: Baybe? VILA: That's what his mother called him, didn't you know? SHERM: What're you doing here, Norl? This man was to be left alone. Now get out and do as you're told. [Norl leaves] [to Vila] You've twenty-five minutes left. VILA: Who told you that? SHERM: Captain Bayban. VILA: I didn't think you could've worked it out for yourself. Joke! Just a joke. SHERM: In twenty-five minutes from now you're going to need a sense of humor. [leaves] VILA: Maybe you should lend me yours. [Avon and Cally watch the village] AVON: They're changing the guard over. Let's find out where the rest are. [Kerril, wearing native dress, watches Vila] KERRIL: You said forty-five minutes, little man. VILA: Any time now. [turns around, sees Kerril] KERRIL: What are you staring at? VILA: I'm not staring. KERRIL: We've been on the move a lot. VILA: Yes. KERRIL: It's the first chance I've had to, well, get cleaned up. VILA: Right. I know the problem. It's difficult when you're, uh, moving all the time. KERRIL: Anything wrong with it? VILA: Not from where I stand. [door vanishes with an electric crash] And there's nothing much wrong with that either! KERRIL: You did it! VILA: Of course! For a little man I'm a wonderful mover, wouldn't you say? Come on! [they go through the doorway] KERRIL: [whispering] Which way do we go? VILA: I don't know. [door reappears] KERRIL: We're shut in. Vila, we're shut in! VILA: Don't worry. My man knows we're here. KERRIL: Your man? VILA: The designer. He knows we're here, and he knows we're not stupid because if we were, we wouldn't have got this far. KERRIL: So? VILA: So if he wanted to stop us, there's only one way left to him. KERRIL: What? VILA: Shh. KERRIL: According to the locals, this lot is thousands of years old. You sound as though you're expecting to meet this character. VILA: He may be dead, but he's still trying to outthink me. Keep behind me. Step where I step, and don't touch anything. Right? KERRIL: Right. What are you expecting him to do? VILA: I'm expecting him to try and kill us. KERRIL: What? VILA: Come on. [they brush against something hanging. Kerril screams] It's all right, it's all right. KERRIL: Is it? VILA: I hope so. [Avon and Cally approach three of Bayban's men] AVON: Grenade! [throws object among men, who take cover. Avon and Cally come up behind them] Don't move. It must have been a dud. Sorry about that. CALLY: All we want is information. AVON: We've lost a friend of ours. We think you can tell us where to find him. CALLY: That's what we think. AVON: [pointing gun at soldier] What do you think? [in room] SHERM: All the guards are in place captain, he can't have got away. BAYBAN: He must have done. SHERM: Well I don't see how, 'cause we've searched every tunnel we can find. BAYBAN: Take the rest of the men and search the whole city. I want him found, and I want him found now. SHERM: [to soldier] Go! BAYBAN: [to Norl] You. When you were in here, what was he doing? What exactly was he doing? NORL: He had not opened the door. And he was afraid. He said that you were going to kill him. He was looking for a way to escape. BAYBAN: [to Sherm] Get two men down to the landing site. Get the laser cannon out of the ship, and set it up in here. SHERM: The laser cannon? That could blow away half the city, captain. BAYBAN: Do it. [Sherm leaves] [to Norl] I will have it open. I will have that door open. KERRIL: Another door? Is this it? Well? VILA: I think it's time to go back. KERRIL: Is it boobytrapped? VILA: No. KERRIL: Well, then. VILA: You don't understand. KERRIL: That's right, I don't. VILA: I know this man. If he was going to stop us, he would have done it already. The fact that he hasn't means that he wants us here. Don't you see? We're being used. That's what Norl was hiding. KERRIL: You really are a little man, aren't you? VILA: Leave it, Kerril. Whatever's in there, we don't need it. KERRIL: Well try telling that to Bayban. VILA: I'm going back. Are you coming? KERRIL: No. VILA: I think you should. KERRIL: No. VILA: All right. [Vila walks away. Kerril touches the door, and it opens] KERRIL: [whispering] Vila. Vila. [Kerril advances and screams, Vila returns, she has disappeared] VILA: [whispering] Kerril. Kerril! All right, my friend. But you didn't fool me. [Vila advances and is teleported to where Kerril is] KERRIL: Vila. Thanks. VILA: For what? KERRIL: Following me. VILA: Well. I always did have a weakness for nice legs. KERRIL: I'm sorry. VILA: It's not what I expected. KERRIL: [sees corpse] Oh! VILA: Ugh. He's lost a lot of weight, hasn't he? KERRIL: Oh, there's another one. VILA: It's all right, it's all right. KERRIL: I thought I was alone. VILA: You come and sit down. [they hear a replay of their last exchange] VILA: [recorded] It's all right. it's all right. KERRIL: [recorded] I thought I was alone. VILA: [recorded] You come and sit down. VOICE: The translator unit has identified your language as Terran, and is translating my words into a form which I hope you will understand. I regret that we cannot meet in person, but by the time you hear this, I shall have been dead for over three thousand years, an almost unimaginable time. As unimaginable in its way as the journey in which you have now become involved. If you'll please be comfortable, I will try to explain what has happened to you. VILA: It's all right. That's my man. I just want to see what he's done to us. VOICE: ... it is called Kezarn. VILA: Kezarn. VOICE: And my people will have forgotten that by the time you hear my voice. As I record this, our society is at the height of its powers, but economic expansion and social development are reaching their limits. A collapse to barbarism and a new dark age cannot be long delayed. We had despaired, but now we have found a solution. We have developed a system for the instantaneous transmission of matter over any distance between two terminals. Enter one terminal and step out of the other wherever it happens to be. The starship in which you now sit contains one terminal. The vault which you so ably penetrated contains the other. You've stepped off the planet Kezarn and onto a starship, which is now at least three thousand light years away. VILA: One small step for man. So how do we get back? VOICE: The ship is programmed to find us a planet on which we can begin a new life. It must be a planet in a system with other planets which we can also colonize. This time there must be no limit to our expansion. VILA: We seem to be trapped. I think he's killed us. VOICE: The vault on Kezarn will protect that terminal during the generations of barbarism when my people will forget even who they are. All that will remain to them is a race memory which we have genetically engineered. Once in every thirty-five generations, they will gather near the city at the edge of the world, and one will be found who can enter the vault. My people will know peace only if he returns. He will return only if the ship has reached its destination. My friend, if the ship is still in flight, you will not return to Kezarn. VILA: I knew it. VOICE: The air which came with you into this cabin will soon run out, and you will die. VILA: Wonderful. Thanks a lot, friend. VOICE: I suggest you make peace with whatever gods you recognize, as I will try to make peace with mine. I bid you farewell. And I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. VILA: Not a chance. I'd like to think he suffocated after making that recording, but I doubt it. KERRIL: Sorry, Vila, it's all my fault. VILA: No, you were right. Bayban would never have let me out without finishing the job. KERRIL: How long do you think the air will last? VILA: Well, if we don't move around too much ... KERRIL: It hardly seems worth trying to stay alive a few minutes longer. [removes gunbelt] VILA: Now, look, if you're thinking of shooting yourself or something, forget it. I don't believe in suicide. It stunts your growth. KERRIL: Actually, it wasn't what I was thinking of. [embraces Vila] [teleport facility] TARRANT: He's in worse trouble than we thought. Bayban's as bad as you can find. AVON: I've heard of him. TARRANT: I've met him. He's the type that gives crime a bad name. AVON: Right. That should put us down just inside the city. DAYNA: Are you sure those three guards can't give the alarm? AVON: Not unless they can do it in their sleep. DAYNA: You should have killed them. AVON: Probably. CALLY: They could sleep through a war. TARRANT: That's good, because if it is Bayban down there, a war is what we'll have. AVON: Orac, are you ready to maintain teleport function? ORAC: Of course I am. AVON: Then put us down, and stand by for further instructions. ORAC: Very well. Stand by. I'm waiting. AVON: So are we. ORAC: Teleporting now. [they teleport] [Bayban addresses his men in the room] BAYBAN: Cretins. You are all cretins. I am surrounded by cretins. Vila and Kerril will be found and brought here to me. If Vila and Kerril are not found and brought here to me, you [to Sherm] will be the first to die. Now go and kick some life into the others. While you've still got legs to kick with! [soldiers run out] [Avon, Cally, Tarrant, and Dayna are in a corridor] AVON: Cally. TARRANT: Dayna. [they split into pairs] [Bayban's men bring in laser cannon] BAYBAN: Good. Good. Connect it up. Hurry. SHERM: Try there. [spots Dayna] Over here! DAYNA: I think they saw me. TARRANT: How many? DAYNA: Three? [Tarrant leaves. Sound of gunshots. Tarrant reurns] TARRANT: Three. Not very friendly, are they? SHERM: Right. Keep them pinned down, I'll go and get some more men. [Dayna holds a device] TARRANT: What's that? DAYNA: Something I've been toying with. TARRANT: Heat-seeking? DAYNA: I hope so. TARRANT: Make sure you point it in the right direction. [device tracks down men, explodes] BAYBAN: Neevish, find out what that was. Move. [grabs cannon away from other soldier] You too. TARRANT: Gaudy, but effective. AVON: I think war was just declared. BAYBAN: [to Norl] You. Give me a hand with this. Come on. [Vila and Kerril wake up] VILA: We're still alive. Kerril. Kerril, we're still alive! We should be dead by now. KERRIL: Are you bragging or complaining? VILA: The air's as fresh as ever. Do you know what that means? KERRIL: We're going to die of exhaustion. VILA: [goes to entry point] Here. [walks to opposite wall] The door should be here! They walk out of the transmitter, straight out onto the planet. KERRIL: What are you talking about? VILA: He hid the door, right? KERRIL: To make sure none of his victims did anything rash like attacking the weakest point of the ship! VILA: It's here, I know it's here. KERRIL: If you say so. VILA: How would he hide it? KERRIL: Another one of those force fields? VILA: Right. Set to refract light at the same frequency as the wall. KERRIL: So it's invisible. VILA: Yes. Now supposing the ship has already landed, but the forcefield has malfunctioned. Supposing the door is already open, but the field hasn't switched off. KERRIL: Why should we suppose that? VILA: 'Cause the air's still fresh. Air will bleed through a force field. KERRIL: Can we get through it? VILA: If the energy threshold isn't too low, and the field too thick. This one tried, but the air ran out on him. Ship was still in flight. [takes probe from skeleton] KERRIL: Can I do anything? VILA: Keep the sweat out of my eyes. KERRIL: Right. VILA: No, don't do that, your legs are bad for my concentration. KERRIL: Oh, you! [electric crackle, Vila rolls back, howling in pain] KERRIL: Vila. Are you all right? VILA: Discharged straight through me. [they see the outside of the planet through the doorway] KERRIL: Look! VILA: Kerril. [they go towards the open door] [Avon and Cally shoot down two men] AVON: Get their guns. [Avon and Cally enter; Bayban points cannon at them] BAYBAN: Drop the guns. Do it. [they drop soldiers' guns] Good. I hate to rush an execution. AVON: You can't use that in here. BAYBAN: Stand still. Both of you. You think I'm a complete amateur? CALLY: A laser cannon isn't very professional. AVON: You'll blow away half the city. CALLY: All the city. AVON: Energy feedback, heat reflection -- you would go with it. CALLY: It's an open ground weapon. You should know that. BAYBAN: I do know that. CALLY: You'd have to be insane to use it, then. BAYBAN: Well maybe that's it. Maybe I am insane. AVON: Bayban. SHERM: [entering] Captain. Captain! They're wiping us out. We've only seven men left! [Avon attacks Sherm. Cally overcomes Bayban. Sherm wins and grabs Cally] BAYBAN: Finish her. [Sherm pushes Cally down in corridor, she shoots him] [Avon defeats Bayban] AVON: [points gun at Bayban] Bloodthirsty little maniac, aren't you? Where's Vila? BAYBAN: I don't know what you're talking about. [Tarrant and Dayna enter] TARRANT: Hello, Bayban. I heard a rumor you were dead. Funny, that turns out to be true. BAYBAN: Do I know you? TARRANT: That's the trouble with celebrities. They never remember the little people. AVON: Where is Vila? BAYBAN: Who? AVON: How would you like me to let some fresh air into that rancid little brain of yours? BAYBAN: Go ahead. You'd be famous. The man who killed Bayban. CALLY: [points gun at Bayban] I'd quite like to be famous, too. How about the woman that killed Bayban? DAYNA: Or better still, the girl who killed Bayban. BAYBAN: I don't know where he is. CALLY: You can do better than that. BAYBAN: He disappeared. NORL: [entering] Only from your sight. We are awaiting his return. BAYBAN: You mean he got it open? He's been in there all the time? AVON: Dayna, take our guest outside and watch him. [Dayna takes Bayban away at gunpoint] [outside the ship, on the new planet. Kerril is throwing crystals into a pond] VILA: You know, Kerril, I really like it here. KERRIL: I wonder what planet it is. VILA: We'll probably never know. KERRIL: Perhaps we should give it a name. VILA: If you like. KERRIL: How about... Homeworld. Vilaworld? VILA: Homeworld. Vilaworld. Yes, Vilaworld. KERRIL: Homeworld. [she throws crystals into pool] VILA: Stop. Where did you get this? KERRIL: They're all over the place, look. VILA: Kerril. KERRIL: What is it? VILA: These are what got me into this in the first place. You've no idea how much they're worth. [he picks up some] KERRIL: [disappointed] We're going back. VILA: When you're ready, there's no hurry. KERRIL: [angry] Well come on, we've wasted enough time. [walks back to ship] VILA: Did I say something wrong? Kerril! What's the matter? What did I say to upset you? [follows her into the ship] Kerril. KERRIL: What? VILA: Homeworld. You wanted to call it Homeworld. All right, then we'll call it Homeworld, it's a good enough name. KERRIL: Are you playing games with me? VILA: Games? KERRIL: Yes. Games. If you think what happened in here gives you the right to treat me like some sort of -- VILA: Treat you like some sort o' what? I haven't treated you like any sort of anything. We're out there in the sunshine, when all of a sudden for no good reason at all you throw a tantrum and go off in all directions. KERRIL: For no good reason at all? VILA: All right then, give me a good reason. I'm a reasonable man. I'll accept a good reason. I'll accept a bad reason. I'll accept any damn reason at all, just tell me what the hell it is I'm meant to have done. KERRIL: You really don't know, do you? VILA: Isn't that what I just said? KERRIL: Oh. VILA: Oh, please. Can't we stop fighting now? Of all the things I enjoy doing, quarreling with you comes five hundred and seventy-fourth on my list. KERRIL: I'm sorry. Shall we go? VILA: That list. KERRIL: Things you enjoy doing? VILA: You wouldn't be interested in what comes top of it, would you? KERRIL: You! [hits Vila playfully] [in the room] CALLY: [to Norl] Why is it getting darker all the time? [to Tarrant] How long are we going to wait? TARRANT: As long as it takes. CALLY: Feeling guilty? TARRANT: Yes, a little. AVON: There are no lighting systems that I can find. I suggest we leave here while there's enough light to see where we're going. TARRANT: No. NORL: Your friend is right. It is time to leave this place. [electric effect as door disappears] VILA: [comes through door] Hello. CALLY: Vila. TARRANT: Now that is what I call an entrance. CALLY: Vila, we thought we'd lost you. AVON: But every silver lining has a cloud. VILA: I'd say you got that wrong, except I know you didn't. TARRANT: Welcome back, Vila. VILA: [Eyes him] Thanks. Oh, This is Kerril. TARRANT: And welcome back Kerril. [sound of shot] AVON: What the hell is that? [to Dayna, who enters] What happened? DAYNA: Bayban got away from me. TARRANT: He'll be making for his ship. NORL: No! Let him go. He has no men left. CALLY: But there are still men guarding your people. NORL: They will have been dealt with. My people are coming. They are summoned to enter the city. [bell rings, city lights up] VILA: That's what this is all about! This isn't a city, it's a travel terminus. And it's announcing that it's open for business. [people enter city and pass through doorway] NORL: The need which grew in us until it blotted out all other needs is now satisfied. My people are gone, and now I too must go. VILA: How much of it did you know beforehand, Norl? NORL: Only that the door to the next world must be opened by a clever man. VILA: You tried to get Bayban to do it. NORL: He came to our world at the right time, but he was not the right man. Although we realized quite soon that he could not open the door, yet we knew that he could find someone who could. So, we encouraged him in that. DAYNA: By convincing him that the vault contained something of great value which you didn't want him to have. NORL: It was no more than the truth. But it became more than the truth because some of us died before we told him. Vila, you're a clever man, and brave. My people thank you. And now, I must join my people. KERRIL: Wait. May I come with you, Norl? NORL: You too are brave, and have helped my people. You are welcome. You are both welcome to come with us. KERRIL: [to Vila] Well? TARRANT: Vila, we'll wait on the ship. [Tosses him a bracelet.] Let us know what you decide. AVON: Bring us up, Orac. [they teleport] KERRIL: Are you coming with me? VILA: I can't. KERRIL: Why not? It's a chance to be free. You saw that place, it's beautiful. VILA: But there's nothing there worth stealing. {Kerril sighs] No, listen. You know why I neutralize security systems, open safes, and break into vaults? It's because I can and most people can't. KERRIL: To satisfy your ego. VILA: No, not really. It's just that, it's what makes me, me. Kerril, a thief isn't what I am, it's WHO I am. KERRIL: Forget it. VILA: You wouldn't like what was left of me. KERRIL: What makes you think I like you at all? VILA: Because you can't like someone without them liking you back. And I like you, Kerril, more than anyone. Anyone I've ever known. KERRIL: The difference is, I love you. VILA: Kerril. BAYBAN: Very touching. KERRIL: Bayban. [Vila and Bayban point guns at each other] BAYBAN: You didn't think I'd leave a fortune behind, did you? KERRIL: There's nothing for you here, Bayban. BAYBAN: I should have killed you a long time ago, Kerril. VILA: [to Kerril] Go quickly. KERRIL: Vila, he'll kill you. VILA: [to Norl] Take her quickly. Get her out of here. Go. Go! [Norl and Kerril go through doorway, door reappears] BAYBAN: No! [grabs laser cannon] VILA: Don't do that. It's a forcefield! [to bracelet] get me out of here. [Vila teleports] BAYBAN: NO! [shoots door, city explodes] [teleport facility] CALLY: She escaped safely then? VILA: Oh yes. To a new life, and all that. CALLY: Good. We can all get back to business then. [exits] AVON: Not quite. We still have to find those crystals for the weaponry systems. [Vila puts crystals on table] DAYNA: Avon! VILA: That enough? AVON: Yes. I'm impressed. VILA: Wonderful. That makes it all worthwhile. AVON: Welcome back, Vila. [exits] TARRANT: Vila, I'm sorry for what I said to you. I didn't mean it. It wasn't true. VILA: To tell you the truth, I don't really care. It's not important any more. TARRANT: [to Dayna] What's the matter with him? DAYNA: If I thought that was a serious question, I'd be very worried about you. [they exit] VILA: I think I've just made the biggest mistake of my life. ORAC: In the light of your previous record, that seems unlikely. Heh. I would predict that there are far greater mistakes waiting to be made by someone with your obvious talent for them. VILA: Shut up, Orac. [Pulls key] Still, it's a comforting thought. Let's hope they've all got good legs. |