| Paradox Part Two |
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13. Int airport departure lounge BACKGROUND SOUNDS OF AN AIRPORT DEPARTURE LOUNGE. THE TANNOY IS CALLING PEOPLE TO THEIR FLIGHT. STEPHEN: Do you really buy all this Kulthan invasion rubbish? That they built the pyramids and use them as a secret base to dispatch telepaths to space ships hiding in orbit? Could they really have come back undetected and started up their equipment again? ELENA: Why don't you? STEPHEN: I'm here, aren't I? ELENA: That's not what I was asking? You listened like the rest of us. Timus and Peter were quite explicit about what the Kulthan do to telepathic races. Don't you care about the future? STEPHEN: But that's not the point. The Tomorrow People's future is not our future… We aren't Tomorrow People because we never broke out. Yesterday I had a job, I had a flat in London and was doing very nicely getting on with my life. ELENA: You didn't have to come with me. I could have easily gone to Egypt on my own, made like a tourist, and investigated this secret tunnel under the pyramid of Giza. Women are perfectly capable of looking after themselves these days. STEPHEN: You think you're up to stopping an alien invasion all on your own? (PAUSE) Besides, I always wanted to travel more… what better chance will I get to take a spontaneous, and free, trip to Egypt! ELENA: You're lucky my boss gave me two tickets and a week off! Otherwise we'd still be back in London with the others. It would have been much quicker if Peter had been able get us some of those matter transporters he mentioned… (REFLECTIVE) Our lives, in the other time line, must be very different. No queuing in traffic jams, no getting wet when it rains… STEPHEN: (NEGATIVELY) No private thoughts, no freedom to do what we please. ELENA: No sickness, no need to work to pay for things… the wonders
of the entire Galaxy at our fingertips, all we have to do is think ourselves
from place to place… WE HEAR THE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR DEPARTURE OF THE FLIGHT FOR CAIRO. ELENA: I think that's us… no going back now… STEPHEN: (QUIETLY) Elena, are you scared? ELENA: Yes Stephen. I'm absolutely terrified… INTO THEME 14. Int John's home. WE HEAR THE SOUNDS OF A NEW MORNING. THE KETTLE IS BOILING. SOMEONE IS MAKING BREAKFAST JOHN: Morning, where are the kids? GEORGIE: Charlie's round at Nathan's house and Wendy's at the pony club. (PAUSE) Look John, I usually don't mind your friends staying over night, but you could have warned me! When you didn't come to bed last night I came down stairs to look for you. It was about three a.m. I got the shock of my life to find two strangers asleep on the couch. You were working at the PC with a mysterious teenager so I just went back to bed. Who exactly are those people? JOHN: I can't explain. Even if I could, I doubt you'd believe me. They came to the house with a business proposal yesterday and we sort of got carried away in discussions. That's all you need to know. I'm not going into the office today. I've already called Marcus. He can cover for me until this is all over. GEORGIE: You're really not going to explain, are you? JOHN: Georgie. (EMPHASISING THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE SITUATION) Have you ever known me to do anything without having a very good reason? (PAUSE) Please just accept that there is something vitally important for me to do over the next few days. Maybe it would be better for all of us if you and the kids go to your mothers. GEORGIE: OK John, I'll do it this one last time. Just remember, if you keep shutting me out of your life like this there may come a day when I'm not around any more… JOHN: (DISTRACTED) Good that's settled then. We'll be working in the study for the rest of the day. Please make sure the kids don't disturb us when they get back. WE HEAR JOHN CROSS THE ROOM AND THE DOOR SLAMS SHUT BEHIND HIM. PAUL: How did she take it? Did you tell her anything? JOHN: Huh! (ANGERED) Do you make it a habit to listen in on private conversations? What's between my wife and myself is our business. All you have to think about is how we're going to find a way to stop the Kulthan. WE HEAR THE LETTER BOX AND THE PAPER FALLS ONTO THE MAT JOHN: Let's see whether Timus and Peter want anything for breakfast? (FADE DOWN) (FADE UP) TIMUS: It's no good John; there is nothing for us to do until Stephen and Elena report back on their investigations of the pyramids. It does concern me that we let them go alone. The Kulthan are not a nice race to meet, even when you are acquainted with their customs. JOHN: As Paul and I explained before, on this world you need a passport to move between countries. There is no way that we could have convinced the authorities that you two are human and thus apply for the appropriate documents. Even if we could, it would take ages before they were ready and time is something we don't seem to have much of. (WE HEAR JOHN OPEN UP THE PAPER TO READ) Please eat something. My wife's a good cook you know. PETER: What's that? JOHN: What? Oh that's just an article about a break in at the local museum. Someone stole a Roman vase. It wasn't of any particular value but the thief also shot the guard on duty and now there's a major manhunt going on across half the county. PETER: (EXCITEDLY) That picture on the front page of your newspaper…. Can I see it? Give it to me quickly please…(PAUSE) that's it… That's what we're looking for! Where is this place? We have to go there immediately… WE HEAR THE SOFT MUMBLING OF PEOPLE IN A MUSEUM, THE SOUND OF FEET WALKING THROUGH ECHOY HALL WAYS ETC. GUARD 1: Hey Ken, just look at the crowds. Since the shooting ticket sales are up a hundred percent. KEN: Yeah! It's amazing what a bit of publicity can do. Personally, I think people are sick. The only reason they come here is to see the scene of the crime. None of them are really interested in the exhibits. GUARD 1: (SHOUTING) Move along their ladies and gentlemen. There's plenty more to see in the next room. JOHN: Well this is the place. I came here as a boy you know. They didn't have half the artifacts they do now. I'd like to take a good look around … when we have time. Peter, exactly what are you looking for? PETER: The vase pictured in the paper, it was stolen from here right? JOHN: Yes, from over in that cabinet. The one with the sheet draped over it. Why is it so important? PETER: Because, I've seen that vase before…is there a picture of it anywhere? PAUL: Over there on the wall display, it describes the archaeological dig where it was found. FOOTSTEPS AS THEY CROSS THE ROOM. PAUL: (READING) The gladiator vase. Excavated from the ruined town at Silchester, Hampshire. Silchester was a major Roman settlement that, unlike Winchester, was totally abandoned after the withdrawal of the Roman occupation army. The town fell into disuse and thus remained undetected until the dig in the late 1960's. The vase is a good example of Roman decorative style and depicts gladiators in training. The unusual decoration, around the inner rim of the lid, has baffled archaeologists for years. Some speculate that the strange geometric markings are a form of unknown Anglo-Romano language. PETER: (EXCITEDLY) That's it! We've found it! JOHN: Found what exactly? PETER: My vase… the one I used to send Stephen a message. The one with instructions, hidden under the rim, on how to make a time disc. TIMUS: I was under the impression that the Guardians of Time were very guarded about their technology? PETER: I was trapped back in Earth's past and needed Stephen to come and get me. I sent him a telepathic message and inscribed details of how to build a time disc onto the back of the lid. I knew that he'd be able to track it down in the future and use the disc to come and rescue me. TIMUS: Hmmm…and was this action within the Time Guardian's Regulatory Code? PETER: (EMBARRASSED) Well… Strictly speaking no… PAUL: (INTERRUPTING) What's this got to do with the Kulthan? I thought we were trying to stop an alien invasion. PETER: We are…and that has been infuriating me since we got here. The Kulthan have never had access to time travel before. They were restricted to sub-light speed space ships. But with this disc they can spread themselves not only through the Galaxy but also through time. It's the misuse of the time disc that has caused the time rift. I'm certain of it. And it's all my fault! TIMUS: If your suspicions are correct and someone, probably a human, has discovered how to make a time disc how could they know how to use it? And how to locate the Kulthan? PETER: I've been wondering about that myself. The person, or group, in question can't be human. It must be someone with enough technological knowledge to make the disc, and know precisely how to modify it too. JOHN: Why do you say that? PETER: These instructions are keyed for use by either Stephen, Carol, Kenny or you. The disc becomes active when it makes contact with your genetic fingerprint. It would take a lot of know how to make it useable by someone else… But once they had overcome that problem, they would possess a very powerful tool. JOHN: What damage could one little disc do?
PAUL: But I still don't see what this has got to do with the Kulthan? TIMUS: According to Galactic Federation records the Kulthan did visit Earth back in it's ancient past. They erected the three great Pyramids in what you now call Egypt, and used them as a base. But for some unknown reason they left the Earth and withdrew to another part of the Galaxy. We know that the Kulthan had technology to prevent Tomorrow People from using their special powers and that they left some of their technology behind, hidden inside the Pyramid at Giza. PETER: In the original time line the Kulthan device has long stopped working, allowing you to break out and become Tomorrow People. It now looks like someone has used my time disc to travel to Egypt either in the past or present and repair the technology… JOHN: So we've just sent Elena and Stephen into a trap!
16. Ext the street WE HEAR TRAFFIC ETC. AS THE GROUP WALK UP THE STREET. PAUL: So what do we do now? Are you going back to speak with the other Time Guardians? PETER: I wish it were that simple. Without my special powers, I'm as trapped here you are. Our only hope is that we can find the person who's using the time disc and put a stop to their activities. JOHN: And how, exactly, do you expect us to do that? They could be anywhere in time or space? PETER: Actually, they are quite close by at this very moment… JOHN: How on Earth could you know that? PETER: By using this… BEEPING OF SMALL GADGET PETER: Timus and I didn't come here completely unprepared you know. We brought a hyper-spatial phase-dilation meter. PAUL: A what? PETER: A device for detecting the direction of drift in the space time continuum and thus determining the epicenter of the time rift. PAUL: In English please? TIMUS: It is an apparatus for detecting the location of the point of origin of the time rift. If, as we suspect, an alien is using Peter's disc to travel in time and space the point from which he slips out of this plane and into the time lanes will be the place from which the time rift originates. At that precise location time, and thus physical space, will be stretched or dilated somewhat. This device compares the physical dimensions of matter both here, and in hyperspace, to ascertain whether there is a spatial disparity between the two. PAUL: Well that was as clear as mud! JOHN: This device is telling you that the time rift is close by? PETER: Yes I'd say within walking distance… 17. Ext Outside a disused building WE HEAR FOOTSTEPS PROCEEDING ALONG AN ALLEY WAY AND THE SOUND OF TRAFFIC RECEDES INTO THE BACKGROUND. THE BEEPING OF THE HYPER-SPATIAL METER INCREASES UNTIL IT BECOMES A CONTINUOUS TONE AND PETER SWITCHES IT OFF. JOHN: Is this it? PETER: Yes, according to the meter. What exactly is the purpose of this building? JOHN: It's an old warehouse. By the look of it I'd say no one's been here for years. PAUL: (SHOUTING FROM A DISTANCE.) Over here, I've found a way in. (SOUND OF BREAKING WOODEN PLANKS) JOHN: Good job, Paul. Now let's see what's inside. It's a bit dark. Has anyone got a light? PAUL: (SMUGLY) It just so happens that I have a torch on my key ring. I was a boy scout once you know. WE HEAR JOHN, PAUL, PETER AND TIMUS WALKING ACROSS A DEBRIS STREWN FLOOR. JOHN: Be careful where you tread, there's broken glass all over the place. (PAUSE) Peter are you and Timus sure that device is working? It doesn't look like anyone's been here for years. FX AS THEY WALK THROUGH TRIP AND LIGHTS COME ON PAUL: Core. That's bright. Did we do that? TIMUS: I believe that who ever we are looking for was here in the past and, although they departed, they left behind equipment to detect intruders. STRANGE FX AS JEDIKIAH APPEARS FROM THE TIME LANES. JEDIKIAH: At last, you have come. I've have been waiting a very long time for you…. But that is of no consequence. Time is something I have rather a lot of. (LAUGHS) TIMUS: Jedikiah! So it is you. JEDIKIAH: (CYNICALLY) Yes, Your Excellency. I knew that if I meddled in time, erasing the presence of the Tomorrow People from the face of this miserable planet, it would soon bring the Chair Being of the Galactic Federation here. And an added bonus is that you have that double crossing Time Guardian, Peter, with you. PETER: On behalf of the Guardians of Time, I am placing you under arrest for violation of the… JEDIKIAH: (INTERRUPTING) Stop wasting my time… You have no authority here! PAUL: Friendly feller isn't he? JEDIKIAH: (ANGERED) Shut up all of you! (PAUSE) This time I am in control…you thought you'd got rid of me when you rigged the portal to send me to Mercury… and the Federation thought they had destroyed me by making me human. But there was one fatal flaw… they could not remove my knowledge. I understood as soon as I saw those instructions. I knew that here was my chance to, once and for all, rid myself of everyone who has plotted against me… WE HEAR THE BUSTLE OF A BUSY STREET MARKET. A TOUR BUS PULLS UP AND THE DOOR OPENS. REP: Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to Cairo. Please make sure you take all your baggage with you when you leave the buss. If you step inside the hotel lobby, we'll check you into your rooms as quickly as we can. Don't forget your welcome party is in the bar at 7.p.m. Until then, feel free to spend some time looking around the market. If you need any local currency there is a bureau de change in the hotel reception. Thank you for choosing Thomson, we hope you have a good holiday. ELENA: I wish this was a holiday. I wonder when we'll get the chance to visit the pyramids? I have a strong feeling things aren't going that well back home. STEPHEN: How could you know that? ELENA: Call it woman's intuition. STEPHEN: OK. Let's see if we can speed things up a bit. You check into the hotel. I'll look around the market and see if I can find a guide to take us to the pyramids straight away. PAUL: Why you… (FX OF FORCEFIELD) Hey, I can't move my legs. JOHN: Me neither! PETER: Don't try to move either of you. He's caught us in a gravity trap. (ANGRILY) Just what do you want with us? JEDIKIAH: Why should I want anything? I've accomplished the most important part of my plan, to rid the Earth of the Tomorrow People. Having you two here as well is an added bonus. TIMUS: You wont get away with this. As Chair Person of the Federation I promise you that you'll be hunted down where ever you go. JEDIKIAH: Aren't you forgetting one thing? In a few more hours the time line will be changed so much that the Federation will no longer exist. And once the Kulthan start their invasion the Galaxy will be rid of all telepathic beings forever! PETER: If that is your plan, you might as well just kill us all now
and be over and done with it! PAUL: (HYSTERICALLY) No…You bastard you shot John…No not me… please…(GUNSHOT) PETER: (ANGRILY) Stop this at once! They've done nothing to you. They're not even Tomorrow People. JEDIKIAH: (FEIGNED SYMPATHY) Oh dear weren't they? And I was having so much fun making up for all those years stuck on this miserable planet! TIMUS: Don't waste your breath Peter, Jedikiah is obviously long past caring about anything, even his own future. What do you think the Earth authorities will do with him when they get here? JEDIKIAH: Oh but that's where you're wrong, I do care very much. Which is why Peter is going to give me his time disc. PETER: You've got one already… I don't see what you would want with another. JEDIKIAH: I've promised to show the Kulthan leader around the Galaxy, to survey his new empire. It will be so much quicker if we both have discs. PETER: If you want mine you'll have to come over here and get it! JEDIKIAH: (LAUGHING) And step into the gravity trap? I don't think so. (PAUSE) No, you are going to remove it from your pocket and throw it to me. If you don't I'll shoot Timus. Don't be stupid. You know I mean it! (PETER FUMBLES WITH HIS CLOTHING WE HEAR THE TIME DISC LAND ON THE FLOOR) PETER: Here, take it! JEDIKIAH: Fool… You actually thought I'd keep my word. (GUNSHOT) The Chair Person of the Galactic Federation doesn't look so grand any more… (WE HEAR JEDIKIAH SETTING EQUIPMENT. THERE ARE BEEPS AND CLICKS) JEDIKIAH: I'll be taking my leave of you now. But don't worry, you wont live for very long. That is a bomb. Not a very powerful one, I grant you, but one big enough to blow up this entire building and anyone in it! I've decided not to kill you myself. It's far more fun to let you spend your last few minutes watching the vestiges of life drain from the bodies of your friends. (HYSTERICAL LAUGHTER) (THERE IS A LOW THROBBING SOUND AND THE STRANGE FX AS JEDIKIAH REACTIVATES THE TIME DISC.) WE HEAR A CROWD OF TOURISTS LOOKING AROUND. IN THE BACKGROUND A TOUR GUIDE IS GIVING A LECTURE ON THE BUILDING OF THE PYRAMIDS. ELENA: (WHISPERING) Over there… is that it? STEPHEN: It looks like Timus' description. The emblem of the dog god, beneath a depiction of the sun. Now count three stones from his nose and two stones down. There that hieroglyph! ELENA: Is anybody watching? STEPHEN: No. They're too busy listening to the guide. Do it quick before they turn around. (WE HEAR THE GRATING OF STONES AS THE DOORWAY OPENS) STEPHEN: (WITH URGENCY) Now inside, quick, before we're spotted. (WE HEAR THE SOUND OF A PROXIMITY ALARM) JEDIKIAH: What have we hear? So my protégé has returned
to his master… But this time you have no psionic powers. You will
not be able to resist doing my bidding! 23. Int Pyramid ELENA: There's a light up ahead… should it still be working after all this time? STEPHEN: Timus said that a sort of fusion generator powers the Kulthan equipment. It has the potential to work for hundreds, probably thousands, of years. Especially as the Kulthan left only the minimal amount of equipment behind when they pulled out. ELENA: Including this psi-dampener thing designed to stop Tomorrow People breaking out. (BEAT) Do you think we'll be able to recognise it when we find it? STEPHEN: Probably not. I suggest we destroy anything and everything we find just to be sure… ELENA: But how could it still be working? If, in the original time line, it broke down… surely that means that someone or something has repaired it. JEDIKIAH: Indeed I have! STEPHEN: (SURPRISED) Who the hell are you? What are you doing here? JEDIKIAH: I am obviously not who you were expecting… (PAUSE) It's good to see you Stephen. I am Jedikiah. You once knew me very well. When you worked for me and carried out my orders. STEPHEN: That wasn't me. It was the other Stephen, the one who was a Tomorrow Person. JEDIKIAH: Indeed. Indeed… But technically you are the same person and that means you have the same weak mind for me to manipulate and bend to my commands. ELENA: I don't know who you are, but if you're the one messing with time you better stop right now before the Galactic Federation catches up with you. JEDIKIAH: (LAUGHING) Spirited little thing isn't she? Reminds me of Carol. I wonder what became of her when she failed to break out? STEPHEN: I don't know what the hell you're talking about but you better let us go right now or… JEDIKIAH: Or what! You may not have the prime inhibition but you don't have the guts to fight me either! STEPHEN: Wanna bet? (WE HEAR STEPHEN LUNGE AT JEDIKIAH AND THERE IS A STRUGGLE FOLLOWED BY A GUNSHOT) JEDIKIAH: Don't be such a fool. That was only a warning shot. I'm stronger than both of you. You'll succumb eventually, when you realise how good it could be if you worked for me. STEPHEN: Work for you? Doing what exactly? Will it pay well? ELENA: (CONCERNED) No Stephen. You're not actually considering his offer? STEPHEN: Why not? Up until now I was a nobody, working for a company in London. Today I could be travelling amongst the stars collecting riches beyond my wildest dreams. Jedikiah might just be my ticket to a better life. That is what you had in mind, isn't it? JEDIKIAH: Not quite, but I could consider the proposition. STEPHEN: Now we're getting somewhere… Put that thing away and we can talk business man to man. (BEAT) STEPHEN: So this is the pyramid of the Great Kulthan. Just what did they use it for anyway? JEDIKIAH: The Kulthan are a strange breed. They are nomadic, travelling from world to world exploiting them for whatever riches they may have. Over the years they've also gained quite a taste for a special type of food. STEPHEN: Yes we know. They eat telepaths. Lucky for us we aren't Tomorrow People. JEDIKIAH: Timus has briefed you well. The Kulthan usually quell any resistance form the local psionic community by using this device. STEPHEN: What this machine with the oscillating light display on the top? ELENA: (AS SHE RUSHES FORWARD) Destroy it Stephen, now, before it's too late. (WE HEAR A SCUFFLE AS STEPHEN GRABS ELENA. SHE MUMBLES AS SHE STRUGGLES IN HIS ARMS) STEPHEN: Shut up! That's the means to my future prosperity you're talking about. Jedikiah, give me the gun and I'll keep her covered while we talk. (WE HEAR ELENA STRUGGLE AGAIN, THE GUN FIRES AND THERE IS AN EXPLOSION AS THE PSI-DAMPENER IS DAMAGED) JEDIKIAH: Idiot! You've destroyed the machine! STEPHEN: Good riddance. That's not the only thing around here that needs to be got rid of. JEDIKIAH: You will not shoot me in cold blood. I know you too well Stephen you just can't do it… (STRANGE FX AS JEDIKIAH REACTIVATES THE TIME DISC) Too late my friend goodbye! ELENA: Where did he go? STEPHEN: Backwards or forwards in time. Who cares? He's gone and that's all we need to think about. ELENA: (RELIEVED) I really thought you meant it for a minute back there… You had me totally fooled. (PAUSE AS SHE PICKS UP A TIME DISC) Hey what's this? STEPHEN: It fell from his pocket during the struggle. It looks the same as the device he had in his hand just before he disappeared. Hand it over, I'll have a closer look. STRANGE FX AS STEPHEN ACTIVATES THE TIME DISC ELENA: (SHOUTING) What's happening Stephen? It's pulling you inside. Give me your hand… quickly (SCREAM FADES DOWN AND FX STOPS)
24. Int Pyramid (SCREAM FADES UP AND FX STOPS) ELENA: What happened? STEPHEN: When I touched the disc it pulled us into some kind of vortex. ELENA: You mean we've travelled in time? STEPHEN: Looks like it! GUARD: So you have come at last…the gods warned us that people of the future would try to destroy the Great Kulthan. (PAUSE) She will make a particularly good sacrifice. It's a shame that such a pretty thing will burn before sunrise! INTO THEME |
