"In the first six episodes of Timeslip, we saw Liz and Simon fall into a time bubble and get carried backwards in time." "But what is a time bubble?" "Well, you can't see it, of course, but it may help you to visualise it to think of it as a balloon." "Some scientists are now working on the theory that wherever you are, you are at the very centre of the universe and that the universe is really one giant sphere and that it has an edge to it." "(Tapping) lnformation about events is flashing constantly back and forth between you and the edge of that sphere so that, at any given moment, you are mixed up in the past, the present and the future," "virtually all at the same moment." "But supposing a little patch of information, a patch of history, gets slowed down and instead of flashing backwards and forth it floats gently, as if in a bubble?" "It might have collided with a solid object and got temporarily halted in its tracks." "Or it might be being slowed by some mysterious force." "Or the edge of the universe might have a hole in it." "Well, supposing you could somehow get into that time bubble, that bubble of history, and travel with it, then you could move forwards and backwards in time at will." "Watch now as Liz and Simon move once again through time." " Come on, Liz." " (Sobbing)" " (Electric buzz)" " The Germans have gone now." "Liz and Simon are escaping." " (Sobbing) - (Wind whistling)" "(Gasps)" "Simon!" "It's so cold!" "(Wind howling)" "We'd better get her closer to the fire." " ls she really cold?" " She's shivering!" "Does she feel cold?" " No." " Ah." "So, what's happened to Liz and Simon now, I wonder?" "They're sharing something with her, obviously." " Terrible cold." " Yes." "But I thought Liz and Simon only had to get through the fence to be back in their own time." "Yes, so did I." "But, in an area like this, one's always learning." "(Wind whistling)" "(Footsteps)" "(Wind whistling)" " For heaven's sake..." " Alert the infirmary, there's another one outside." "(Electronic beeping and whirring)" "Memory bank 494/Z." "Wipe...memory." "Computer wipe...memory." "Computer correct." "494/0..." " (Woman) But where?" " l told you..." "No sign of frostbite." "That's remarkable." "I was out on my rounds and I found them near the slabs." "How's it possible, Dr Bukov?" "Why no frostbite?" "Split me, it's 80 below out there." "Wait a minute." "Wasn't there a carrier drop scheduled?" "Only for supplies, not for persons." "Then there's no way they could have got here." "We shall have to use the resuscitation tent." " Bukov, you look after the boy." " Of course, Dr Joynton." " They seem so young." " Hm." "Very hardy, youngsters, Beth." "Even if they'd only been out there for five minutes they should be dead by now, dressed in these queer clothes." "It's a mystery whichever way you look at it." " That girl..." " Mm?" "Oh, I don't know." "Right, that should do it." "Well, I'd say that these two fledglings are going to come up smiling and baffle medical science." "I don't understand it." "The great thing about that is, Beth, that we don't need to." "With the various superbrains we've got here, we wouldn't need to know." "Has the director been informed yet?" "Professor Devereaux is still programming the computer, Dr Joynton." "He'll be notified when it's convenient." "(Beeping and whirring) 21 , computer clean memory bank." "Well, no sign of them." "But that doesn't mean they haven't come back through the barrier." "They'd be back at the inn by now." "Yes, you'd have thought so." "Mrs Skinner, you've lost all touch with them?" "I think so." "There's nothing now." "Just that terrible feeling of cold after they reached the fence and then nothing." " Cold, yes." " Look here, Traynor, what's happened?" "You're the expert, you must know." "I've told you before, I'm always learning." "Mrs Skinner, I think we'd better wait at the hotel." "There's little we can do here." "Yes, I expect you're right." "Computer, clear." "No, Larry. I can manage." "Proceed according to schedule." " Put the computer back on auto-control." " Yes, Director." "I think you'll find..." "Larry!" "You made a mistake when recording the pulse readings." "I'm sorry, Director." "The computer was quite explicit." "You must be correct to the microdecimal." "It's the only way of ensuring everyone gets his accurate dose of HA57." "Of course, Director. I'm sorry, Director." "Human error - last enemy in a technicological world." " But Director..." " Yes?" " l thought you were going to find out..." " Well?" "That stop-off in the laboratory water supply late last night." "It was recorded as lasting three minutes when I checked." "You said you'd investigate it on brain link." "Human error again, Larry." "The computer abnegates all responsibility." "The computer can't lie so the fault must be...elsewhere?" " Excuse me, Director." " Ah, yes, Beth, the new arrivals." " Oh, yes, you know about them?" " l've been on brain link." "Their coming was noted by the scanners but the information wasn't clear." "It seems that they are...young people?" "Yes." "Bukov found them out on the ice." "On the ice?" " Half-dead." " Well, well." "And children?" "Come in, Beth, come in." " Where am I?" " Take it easy." "You're in the ice Box." " Ice Box?" " That's what we call it anyway." "That's where you were heading for - the lnternational Institute for Biological Research." "OK?" "Oh, look - your brother's waking up too." "He's not my brother." "Raring to go, by the looks of him." "Well, boyfriend then." "He's not my boyfriend, either." "Do you mean you don't know him?" "Look, Simon's just..." "Simon." " l haven't got a boyfriend." " Take it easy!" "At least you seem to know his name." "And no sign of any ill effects on him either." "I call this the funniest thing I've struck." "Let's get the whole story, shall we?" "Look, I'm Dr Joynton, you're Simon," " and you're, er..." " Liz." "And you both came in on the drop carrier, only started wandering off from the shelter." "That was a very silly thing to do." "You might get away with it once but you couldn't hope to do so a second time." "We've, er..." "We're in the ice Box, Simon." "(Whispers) Ice Box?" "Yes, that's what they call it." "You remember - the lnternational..." " Institute for..." " For Biological Research." "That's it." "(Liz) You remember!" "Oh, yes." "Yes." "You bet." "We didn't get a notification that you were coming." "That's queer." "Aren't you a bit..." "young for all this, really?" "Oh, well, I'll just put out a video flash that you've come." "Dr Joynton, where is this place, exactly?" "You mean you don't know?" "No." "But sonny boy, if you're a volunteer, you must have had a destination briefing." "Oh, well, they, er, they didn't tell us." "This whole place has been constructed under the ice." "Which is why they call it the ice Box." "He'll go far, this one!" "I didn't think it was going to be so cold out there." "I've never felt cold like that before." "With the South Pole just down the road, what else did you expect?" " South Pole?" " incidentally, you might have had the sense to put on some more protective clothing." "The Antarctic in winter isn't Palm Beach, my children." "(Wavering tone)" "Just a moment." " (Tone stops)" " Yeah, that's it." "Of course - the message from the computer's quite clear." "Isolate from the memory bank, please, convert to captions." "There, you see?" "A complete briefing from the computer earmarked for action." ""Expect arrival soonliest." Must I attend to everything?" "Larry!" "Yes, Director?" "Reference memory bank AB/494/Z and scan." "Comments as soon as possible." " lf it's about the new arrivals..." " Yeah?" "I did a bit of checking myself." "We had no confirmation that Central Control sent any volunteers, so I didn't think the experiment AB/494/Z was to be considered operational." "If confirmation had been necessary, the computer would have requested it!" "I'm tired of telling people I program the computer to attend to things like this." "'Yes, Director.'" "Don't pit your wits against the computer." "You'll discover you haven't a chance." "The human element, Beth." "Sometimes I think the human element will frustrate everything I'm trying to do." "You're just upset, Director." "If those two volunteers had been left on the ice we'd have had to answer for that." "The computer, Beth, every day I link to it, perfecting it, refining its operations." "If I'm not prevented by fools, I'll bring it to such perfection there'll be nothing I can't do." "But you've achieved so much already." "There's no reason to feel depressed." "The Ice Box has long since justified its existence, Beth, but scientific experimentation is a road without an ending." "We must push on." "Our task is to remake the imperfect world, to advance the human species beyond its own understanding." "Would you like to see the new arrivals?" "Dr Joynton's video flash said they were ready for interview." "Director?" "The new arrivals." "No, Beth." "No, I have something more important to do." "I'll leave them with you till we're ready to discuss the experiment." " lntroduce them to the place." " Yes, Director." " And Beth?" " Yes, Director?" "Why is it I can talk to you, I wonder?" "Only you seem to...understand." " Fantasy room?" " You'll find out why it's called that." "In you go." "So, our orphans of the snows." "They're all right now?" "They might as well have been sunbathing out there. I don't get it." "What do people do here?" "Just relax, take it easy after a hard day's work." "It's a sort of a fun room, really." "But there are one or two special features." "Over here... (Tapping)" "One for you, Dr Bukov." "Thank you, Dr Joynton, I've been waiting for this." "The computer prints off copies of the world's newspapers as soon as the papers reach the streets." "And here you can tune into to any news bulletin, any television programme on earth." " And, er, here..." " lt's fantastic!" "Now, here you can listen to music." "The space is small but it's calculated to be just like being at a concert and it doesn't interfere with anyone else either." "And here..." "Come along." "Now, this... is the device that gives the room its special name - the fantasy apparatus." "You put this on and you get a straight brain link to the computer." "The computer takes over your dream and makes it come alive." " Do you have to go to sleep?" " No, you just shut your eyes and relax." "Would you like to try it?" " Oh, I'm not sure." " lt's very pleasant, really." "It's like being in a film instead of just looking at it, if you know what I mean." "I always go home in fantasy." "Where is home, Dr Joynton?" "I come from New Zealand." "We're a very international community but I seem to miss the old places more than the others." "Yes, I do." "You find it unusual, huh?" "I've never come across anything like it." "It's quite new." "Oh, I'm Bukov, by the way." "I picked you up outside." "Oh." "Then we both ought to say thanks very much." "We shouldn't have strayed from the shelter." "You certainly shouldn't!" "This computer Dr Joynton's talking about, it must be pretty advanced to do all she says it does." "Oh, the computer is everything here, more important than us." "We are simply its servants." "Heat, light, food, we depend upon the computer entirely." "It even guides our research." "You're here for the AB experiment, aren't you?" " AB experiment?" " That's what the records said." "Oh." "Oh, yes, of...of course." "There'll be no action for a while." "We come at things gently here." "First of all, they have to put you on HA57 and that takes a week or two in itself." "What's HA57?" "You don't know about that?" "Oh, of course, it's a secret outside the ice Box." " Well, my boy, you're in..." " Ah, there you are." "The new arrivals." "The sleeping quarters are on the floor below." "You'll be allotted places in due time." "You've no right to be here." "Why did you follow me?" "Don't let me catch you interfering." "That's the director's office." "You never go in there without permission." "Well, what do you know?" "Company!" "Larry, these are the new arrivals, Simon and Liz." "Larry services the computer." "Hi, Simon." "Great to have you with us." "And Liz." "Certainly a pleasure to have another pretty girl around the place." "Forgive Larry, he's a little light-minded, likes to try and make clever remarks." "Nothing clever about that." "Statement of fact, that's all." "Perhaps you could explain the computer to them." "The director asked me to introduce them to the ice Box but I've had enough of that for the moment." "Quite enough." " What's the matter with her?" " Don't take it too seriously." "Beneath that rough exterior beats a heart of purest leather." " (Simon laughs)" " What?" "The computer, Liz?" "Meet the computer." "It attends to all our needs here." "You name it, the computer does it." "Ah!" "Over here is the important bit." "Now, this is where the daily dosage of HA57 is delivered." "It has to be freshly prescribed every morning according to your body temperature, pulse rate, all that." " What is this HA57?" " The longevity drug." "What does that mean?" "Well, you know, longevity - long life." "The drug stops the process of decay so people who take it don't grow any older." "You mean they can live forever?" "Oh, I'll have to have notice of that question." "But it's the director's biggest discovery since the ice Box was founded." "Take Dr Joynton - how old would you say she was?" " Ooh, I don't know." " Well, I'll tell ya." "She's getting on for 100." " No!" " On the level." " (Simon) Blimey." " And you, Larry?" "Ah-ah." "What we do in the ice Box is test out new biological techniques until we're sure they're safe for release to the public." "We have to find out about the side effects." "The things you're doing here are pretty way ahead." "The outside world doesn't know a thing like the..." "longevity drug is possible." "Just as well it doesn't." "Look at that business of brain-computer links." "People were doing themselves a lot of harm until we perfected a system in 1985." " P-P-Perfected when?" " Hm?" "You said you perfected brain-computer links in... 1985." " Something the matter with you two?" " No." "It's just 1985..." "Well, that would be..." "how many years ago now?" "What's up, forgotten how to count?" "No." "Look, Larry, we're...just a bit confused, getting lost on the ice." "But 1985..." "Six...seven?" "I'd say you are confused. 1985 ought to be five years ago to my reckoning." "Isn't this 1990?" " We've got to get out of here." " Simon, how can we?" "I don't know but we've got to." "We've somehow slipped into the future and we're not going to stick around to be guinea pigs in some experiment." " Will the time barrier still be there?" " Look!" "If we wear these when we're on the ice, we won't collapse again." "Ah, Dr Bukov, I wanted to ask you about Liz and Simon." " You discovered them on the ice?" " Yes, Beth." "And there was no indication that they could have come from the drop shelter?" "There's nowhere else they could have come from." "I'd better have another word with them." "Get the door open!" "We'll have to make a dash for it." "(Simon) Not that door, fathead!" "No!" "Simon!" "I won't!" "Mu..." "Hey, you two, what do you think you're doing?" "Stop!" " Come back!" " (Door sliding)" "(Wind howling)" "Pull yourself together!" "But Simon, you know who was in that room?" "It was Mummy!"