Original subtitles

No-one can get in! No?

No-one from this time period.

Where are you from?

Please wait here until you're needed.

Psst!

Faint creaking

All irregularities will be handled

by the forces controlling each dimension.

Transuranic heavy elements may not be used where there is life.

Medium atomic weights are available.

Gold, lead,

copper, jet,

diamond, radium,

sapphire, silver and steel.

Sapphire and steel have been assigned.

Ah!

She gasps oh!

He chuckles

I was just about to...

No. No, I was just...

Well, I was just in the process of doing something! Yes?

So what was it? You were busy making a mistake.

I never make mistakes. Come here.

In fact, I'm unable to make mistakes. It's built in.

Instant reduplication - it never fails.

It did this time. No, it...

Steel, telepathically: 'Silver?'

Open that.

Well, can you?

It would help if I knew what it was.

Just a minute.

Would you mind? What?

I think he wants us to go with him. Come on.

Oh! This is them?

What is that?

What's behind there? We don't know. Why should we know?

Because you belong in this thing, that's why.

We're not... What?

Well, we're not engineers.

Well, what are you, then? Historians? Researchers?

A little of both. But you don't know what it is that brought you here?

This did. But not how it did.

You don't know that? No.

Well, what information can you give us?

You're in danger, do you know that much?

Well... yes, we realise that. Good.

Because we've put ourselves in danger because of you.

Then we must... No. Don't thank us.

It's not you we care about.

You'll just have to guess. Right.

We are real.

And it's our job to safeguard the structure of time.

The past, the present and the future.

All of it.

It was an experiment. That's all.

Steel: Experiment?! Yes!

I mean, what's the point of a future?

What's the use of accumulated technology?

What's the use of learning... If you can't experiment? Yes!

If you can't go bulldozing back where you don't belong?

We haven't exactly bulldozed where we don't... shh, shh.

You came here hoping to play happy families in the 20th century,

but it's gone wrong, hasn't it? You're stuck here, you're stranded.

And you don't even know how to use the machinery that brought you here,

that left you here. And then there's the language.

You've just about got that right for the present time.

Thank you. But not the names you chose.

You got those wrong by several hundred years.

How's that for learning?

How's that for "accumulated technology"?

Um...

Do you think I might have that?

Allow me.

Thank you.

I need to tell them. Tell them what?

Well... there are others.

Others like us, here. Two other groups.

We already know that.

But there's an engineer in one of the other groups.

Perhaps he could help.

I'm afraid it's too late.

Too late?

They're all dead.

Ah!

Something out of nothing.

How did they die? The others?

We'd like to know how they died.

They killed themselves.

Because of the danger. Not only to them,

but to everything and everyone. Yes.

Would you have done the same thing?

Well, if it meant... You can always do it now, you know.

It'd save us a lot of trouble.

No. Someone...

Some of us have to tell them what went wrong.

To make sure it never happens again. Yes.

So we have to go back.

If we can get you back, yes.

But if you can't?

How do these things work?

Low thrumming

soft chiming

thrumming stops

soft chiming

I was there.

That's the farmhouse? Yes.

You were there? Yes.

Well, that tells me nothing. All right.

Rural study group, room two, please.

Neither does that. The bedroom.

What? The bedroom of that place. I want to see it.

Well, show me. I can't.

Can't? No. You mean there's no monitor in that room?

There's a monitor in every room. Then show me that room.

Look, if it's a question of secrecy, then forget it.

There'll be no secrets. It's not exactly a question of secrecy.

Then what is it?

If you must know, it's more a question of privacy. Of decency.

Privacy? Yes!

Decency? What is he talking about?

I'm talking about the fact that, unlike these times

and the times in between,

we have acquired...

Or rather, gained...

Certain standards.

What kind of standards?

If you like, moral standards.

Are you trying to tell us that it's taken 1,500 years

of troubles, wars and famines...

..To learn not to peep into one another's bedrooms?

If you feel that you need to laugh at us... then don't preach.

Save it for your own time.

Now, show us that room.

Monitor powers up

rural study group...

Room five, please.

He blows

hissing

Per...

Perhaps they're asleep.

No, they're not asleep.

And the third group?

The same thing has happened to them.

Please... Switch it off.

This monitoring device that you have.

It doesn't work properly. Not between you and your control point.

But what about between groups? Between...?

Well, each group keeps its own log, its own recorded diary, right? Yes.

Well, do you have access to their log?

Of course. But they're dead.

Then it's no use to them any more.

So let's hear it.

I need to know more about the power system being used.

Whatever it is that brought you across time... I've already said...

..It's built into this capsule.

It's a kind of time...

Time source. Yes.

Oh. So you do know that.

Yes. But...

Only that much. Only that much?

Yes. And that something, some piece of... machinery?

Yes, machinery, was used to bring us back here.

Why didn't you ask what it was?

We didn't think it was necessary.

Well, that piece of machinery did bring you here.

And it's keeping you here.

But now it's acting on its own behalf.

It's thinking for itself.

It's already caused people to kill themselves.

Now, what has it got in mind for you?

And your baby?

But if we don't know the answers...

Monitor powers up

they might.

Yes. Rothwyn sobs

oh, get her out of here.

Door shuts

their last log will be with them.

Silver: Yes, well, that's about it. It's coming slowly,

but I can't do much more without taking this entire capsule apart.

That wouldn't be very sensible, would it? No.

What are you doing? Ah.

This is where the time source lives.

Is it still here? Oh, yes.

Er... I think I heard your baby crying a moment ago.

Look...

I know. Animal blood. What sort of animal?

I don't know. I'd need to do tests. Well, then, do tests.

Well, that rather depends on whether steel would... no, I'm sorry.

It rather depends upon me. I need to know!

Look...

Now, these are impulse stimulators.

Electronic nerves, if you like.

A sort of artificial nervous system? Well, partly artificial.

See, these will be used to trigger existing nerves

and voluntary muscle. It's a way of bypassing the original brain.

Now, these...

Well, as you know, these are the sort of gadgets

they use in scientific... Surgical operations.

Operations on living animals?

Yes.

It's very advanced, though, going by this. It's very sophisticated.

But still a form of vivisection? Oh, yes.

The sounds of pain. What?

It's just something steel once asked, and I didn't know the answer.

Well, what was the question?

Those scientists of the future...

1,500 years in the future...

What are they guilty of?

Do those tests, hm?

Man on monitor: 'The children were included in the discussion.

'It seemed only right that they should be.

'The time unit that brought us here is to blame.

'It is responsible.

'But not because of any malfunction.

'Its actions were deliberate.

'It has turned against us.

'Turned against us all.'

could it? Yes.

'It has played tricks with our minds,

'and it is now our turn to be experimented upon and used.

'It urges us to escape into this time period.

'It wants us to become a risk, to become a threat,

'to both the past and the future.

'In other words, a threat to the whole human race.

'It has the power of time itself.

'And we are no match for it.

'Therefore... Therefore, the only alternative,

'the only sure safeguard, is our own self-destruction.

'This final entry is logged at 8:45pm,

'day 25, old calendar.' Voice echoes and fades

Steel, telepathically: 'You say it was an animal?

'Some kind of animal?

'Well?'

I can't make any sense of it.

'What kind of animal is it?'

echoing heartbeats

Animals screaming

distant screaming of animals

Screaming stops

it's not one animal. It seems to be every kind, every species of animal.

In one small sample of blood? Yes.

Where's eldred?

This is our sleeping room! Our private room!

We don't expect to be disturbed! We want you to tell us something.

Tell you something? About the future.

About the time that you come from.

We've no objection. So if you'd like to wait outside...

We want you to tell us about the animals. Animals?

Yes. What animals?

The animals that exist in your period.

There are no animals. Not there, not any more.

Only in children's books, legends, things like that.

But none living? No.

Well, we've no further use for them.

Well, no-one would consider eating their flesh.

Not any more.

No-one has, for the past several hundred years.

Yes, but what about pets?

Pets?

Domesticated, animals in zoos.

That's the past. The atomic age.

That's history. Yes.

Anyway, the world, it's better off without them.

They were unclean. They were cruel.

And most of them carried some kind of disease.

Cruel? Yes.

What about the scientists?

Oh, well, there's that, yes.

But that's different.

Well, what did they do? Your scientists?

Well...

The creatures that are used, they're...

They're not really animals. Not in that state.

What exactly are they?

Just... pieces. Pieces?

Yes. Pieces?

Kept alive.

Propagated as pieces.

Reproduced.

But we never see them, of course.

The public never sees them.

Well, they're never allowed out of the laboratories.

Well, that's where you're wrong.

What did he mean, wrong?

What did he mean?

We'd like to know what you meant by that!

Whatever is in there did leave one of those laboratories.

It came back here with you.

It was made to. Trained to.

It's responsible for bringing you back here.

Pieces of animal and pieces of machinery,

made to work together, made to coordinate.

Perfected and then shaped into a time unit.

Given a kind of mind, a kind of brain.

A brain? Yes.

And one that's decided to work against you.

Work against us? But why?

Steel scoffs

well, let's think of a hundred reasons, shall we? Or a thousand.

Things that...

Once ran wild, but at least free.

Things that breathed and ate and produced their young.

Waves lapping, birds calling things that swam in the sea.

Things that managed to survive. Once.

Reduced to a few living pieces.

Well, it's in here now, somewhere.

It can hear us and it can see us,

and it only wants one thing from its encounter with the human race.

It wants revenge.

Echoing: Revenge... revenge... Revenge...

Loud ripping sound

echoing: Revenge... revenge...

'Steel?' 'yes?'

'it's broken free. It's escaped. It's out here with us.'

'where is it now?' 'I don't know.'

'but it's in the open.' 'Yes.' 'Wait here.'

Eerie thrumming

'no, steel!

'It's an illusion.'

Oh, my baby!

Keep the child with us at all times.

Get them to take this capsule back now. Back?

Do you think you can make contact with their base control?

Well... there must be enough power in those monitors

to make a hell of an emergency signal. Yes, but I... make one now.

Can you do it? Well, yes. Get on with it!

All right, you two, into the screen room. Come on, quickly.

Sapphire: Here!

Thrumming

It's fighting us, steel. Yes.

But how?

Choking

gasping for breath

Sapphire, telepathically: 'Don't turn round, steel.

'Steel? It led us in here, remember?

'Now we know why.

'It's using us to help it escape from this capsule.

'We have to send it back before it can break out.'

'did I hurt you?' 'We don't have much time!'

'but what about rothwyn and eldred? We can't send them back with it.'

'it is their problem.'

'we can't!' 'They caused it. Let them solve it.'

'it belongs in the future. It doesn't belong here.'

'well, first we have to contain it.' 'Get it back in its hole.'

'how?'

'lure it back.

'It's made of all animals. It'll eat anything!

'Feed it!'

Squelch

It likes it.

Munching

what have you done? 'We fed it.'

I want to know what's going to happen!

You're going home, that's what's happening. Come on.

Places, everybody, please, quickly!

Right. There's the future.

That's home! That's home.

Not ours, though, is it? Definitely not.

Could you take your place, please? Fingers crossed.

Can I ask you something? This is hardly the time!

Yes, you may.

The figure. The man we saw.

The one that made us sleep. Was that our child?

Yes, it was. Very good. Hold tight!

Humming

they exhale

well? It's gone.

Just an empty roof? Yes.

Steel? You can't leave like that, you know.

What? You put a knot in the lift cable.

Imagine a world without animals.

He laughs

yes, well, they're not quite as clever as they thought they were.

What do you mean? Well...

They did have mice in their capsule.

Mouse squeaks

lift creaking

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