"It all began in the fire." "The primeval fire." "The fire of hell." "Like in the maw of the dragon." "Like in a fairy tale." "If we learn anything from fairy tales, it's not that dragons exist, but that they can be beaten." "As in a fairy tale, I'll begin with "Once upon a time..."" "Once upon a time, there was a remote little station in the depths of space, orbiting a hell by the name of..." "Dante." "If anyone cares, someday, to delve into our story, they'll probably say it began with the arrival of liaison shuttle number 2." "In fact, it had all been written long before." "A very long time before." "Since the dawn of time, perhaps." "Dante 01 Psychiatric Detention Centre" "Doctors 2, Patients 7, Security Guards 3" "Welcome to Dante 01." "I hope you had a pleasant awakening." "I'll be waiting for you." " My name is..." " Charon, the station chief." "Being so well informed, you'll easily find the control centre." "FIRST CIRCLE" "Hello." "So this is the famous "nut ship"?" "Is that company slang?" "In fact, they're..." "Criminals and mental cases." "Volunteers to test our treatments." "I've studied all their files." "Who can claim to know men's minds?" "Goes with the job!" "Have you met?" "Who wouldn't know our mentor?" "Your work on criminal psychobiology is a reference at Neurinos." "I'm Elisa." "What did you do to deserve a trip to this antechamber of hell?" "I've come to try out some new treatments on the prisoners." "I'll explain the rules of our little world..." "The detention quarters are in the levels just below us." "Look..." "The new arrival." "Time for him to meet his playmates." "They're tagged for permanent tracking." "Dear old Rasputin is taking things in hand." "Look." "That's Rasputin." "God has answered my prayers!" "God never abandons his children!" "Stop raving for a minute!" "This man has come to save us." "No one can save you, Rasputin." "Saint George the Dragon Slayer can!" "There are no dragons here." "Anyway, who told you his name?" "God did." "Look!" "O ye of little faith!" "God?" "Wasn't it someone upstairs?" "Have you changed your name to Judas?" "I serve God, not men." "You'd better." "If you got it into your head to betray us, you'd meet your God a lot earlier!" "What's your name?" "Not very chatty." "All the better." "We've too many prattlers as it is." "His name is Saint George!" "Once you set your mind on something..." "Saint George it is, then!" "Attila, did you get the data I asked for?" "I'm working at it, sweetie." "Keep your hair on." "That will do!" "Remember you're only a prisoner." "Stop playing the big chief, Charon." "I could withdraw your access to the network." "You wouldn't do that." "You need me." "And if they found out up there, you'd be demoted." "I want to know why that shuttle came." "Look through Elisa's files." "And watch the new arrival!" "Gentlemen..." "Our new arrival!" "The elegant eater is Moloch." "Moloch!" "The other one is Lazarus." "What's his name?" "I haven't heard him speak yet." "I'll explain the rules of our little world." "As long as you abide by them, we'll leave you alone." "Do you understand?" "Does he hear what I'm saying?" "Do you hear me?" "We listen in on what they say to the Answerer." "Strange name." "That's what they call it." "No screen to watch them at the same time?" "I don't need to remind you how confined this space is." "We're sensitive to every squeak or whisper." "With video surveillance too, they wouldn't say as much." "The Answerer is their only "free space"." "I just wanted to help them." "I saw that they wanted to leave this life." "I just wanted to help them..." "They call him Buddha." "Lots of victims." "He says he killed them out of compassion." "He still has attacks but nothing like his original fits of rage." "He often just lies there asleep." ""Meditating", as he says." "Hey, Buddha!" "Want to see the new boy?" "Answer me!" "We don't know very much about your shuttle companion." "He was found covered in blood on a drifting long-haul ship." "Alone on board." "Any ID?" "Nothing." "The black boxes were scorched." "Why bring him here?" "Neurinos thought the new treatments should be tested in space." "What new treatments?" "We'll talk about them later." "You see?" "Look at me." "This is your card." "It gets you three meals a day." "Don't lose it." "Watch out for Moloch." "Three meals aren't enough for him." "He'll try to nick your card." "Hey, sweetie?" "Three meals a day aren't enough." "Not enough!" "That's enough!" "Do you want them to gas us?" "Sit down." "Never lose sight of them." "That's nothing." "Par for the course." "When Caesar intervenes, they calm down quickly." "Did you put him in charge?" "No." "The prisoners won't let us impose anything." "They organise themselves." "We just watch that they don't kill each other." "Sometimes we intervene too late, unfortunately." "Maybe if you applied the protocols more strictly..." "There's more to life than protocols!" "I've been looking for you." "So you're the new one?" "What's your name?" "I'm Buddha." "And you?" "Not going to answer?" "You're in pain, eh?" "You know..." "I can deliver you from your pain." "I can help you to the other side." "Where there's no pain." "I just want to help you." "It's the same every time, Buddha!" "Any new arrival, you try to strangle him!" "I just wanted to help him." "Don't talk rubbish!" "You get off on killing, not helping!" "You don't decide who dies, is that clear?" "It's clear." "Is that clear?" "It's clear, it's clear!" "It's clear, Caesar." "Catch him!" "What is it now?" "Buddha tried to strangle the new one." "They're going to sort him out." " We'll go in." " How?" "The anaesthetising gas first." "Wait five minutes." "That gives us an hour." "We can treat Buddha." "That never does any good." "Any better suggestions?" "We could test my new protocols." "What are they exactly?" "Nanotechnology." "Intelligent programs to neutralise chromosomal dysfunctions." "A DNA patch to solve the mystery of the human psyche, eh?" "Ah!" "Liberation through the power of words!" "Is that yourtherapy?" "Which do you prefer?" "Risky new procedures or tried and trusted techniques?" "Neither." "We're after efficient and commercial solutions." "This isn't the time." "We'll try your new treatment." "Without me, then." "Cer and Berus..." "They're asleep." "You can go in." "What if they woke up?" "Couldn't happen." "They'd have to hold their breath for ten minutes." "It's funny." "I've never been in here without Persephone before." "More anaesthetic?" "He could be a handful." "No, those straps are strong." "Fine." "Berus, knock him out!" "Wait, he's calming down." "Wait for it to take effect." "You can take him back." "Was it you?" "Was it you who saved me?" "Why?" "I don't know what they did, but before you got to me" "I felt like my blood was on fire." "Who are you?" "Why do you never speak?" "Never mind." "You will when you're ready." "Now I'll look after you." "Come on." "How did the experiment go?" "As if you didn't know!" "I saw Buddha reacting very violently to your treatment." "A normal defence reaction." "The program adds corrective sequences to the DNA." "And the added sequences don't conflict with the existing sequences?" "That's the risk." "We can't yet predict how the guinea-pigs will react." ""Guinea-pigs"?" "Those headcases signed a contract with Neurinos." "They're the worst kind of criminal, only left alive if they'll be guinea-pigs." "Why does the word shock you?" "As an expert in human, even criminal, behaviour," "I'm against using the word "guinea-pig"." "Fuck!" "Let's see what you've got." "What's that?" "Fuck!" "Permitted losses: 100%" "It is said that on the gates of hell is written:" ""Abandon hope, all ye who enter here."" "Yet it is here, in the midst of these pariahs, these reprobates, that the true sense of my quest became clear." "I, Persephone, having devoted my life to curing minds, saw, in the body of a patient, the birth of a possible salvation..." "The force that emanates from Saint George is beyond us." "I do not understand it yet, but I know that no one on this station shall be spared." "Second Circle" " Am I disturbing you?" " A bit." "I wanted to check you were OK." "You don't need anything?" "I'm fine, thanks." "By the way..." "What do you think of Persephone?" "Just like I imagined." "Meaning?" "She's been here too long." "She lacks objectivity." "Yes, perhaps." "Neurinos doesn't trust her." "When will you be leaving?" "When I have enough significant data." "Why?" "Does my presence bother you?" "No." "Quite the contrary." "Goodbye." "Charon sweetie, are you there?" "I managed to get into the shuttle's computer." "Trouble is, the files are very well protected." "Restricted to Neurinos staff only." "So?" "Surely you can bypass that." "Yeah, probably." "But to do so," "I'll need your password." "Don't you have it?" "You do disappoint me." "I'd have to be a genius to manage with the gear you've given me." "Let's see what kind of a genius you are." "You never keep your promises, Buddha." "Do you understand why I can't trust you?" "I know I never kept my word." "But I know that won't happen again." "It's too late." "No one here wants to die because you can't control yourself." "That was before." "Before what?" "Before he cured me." "Him?" "He cured you?" "You're insane!" "I told you, Caesar." "He's an angel sent by God." "Cured or not, I don't want you starting again." "Deal with him." " Keep out of this!" " Buddha's cured!" "Get out of my way!" "Moloch?" "Chief!" "He's not wounded, he's breathing!" "It's incredible!" "Shall I take a blood sample?" "He was in his death throes." "Now look at his heartbeat." "If that's not a miracle..." "Ridiculous!" "It was just a superficial wound." "Moloch's wound disappeared through the new one's intervention." "There must be a rational explanation for his recovery." "I can't kill someone who saved my life." "What do you say, Lazarus?" "You ask me to waste him, I will." "I couldn't care less about him." "Maybe you weren't so badly injured." "This Saint George is causing trouble among us." "The others think he's the Messiah." "You understand, Moloch?" "If we don't do something, they'll get rid of us." "What is it?" "It's since the last shakedown." "If we don't stop him, we won't have long left." "They'll make him chief." "They'll strangle us in our sleep." "For revenge!" "They won't spare us." "If he can cure people, he can also kill them." "Kill him nice and quietly." "Moloch!" "Here..." "No one will bother you here." "I'll fetch you a blanket." "That's it." "I'll keep watch." "What is it?" "I've never seen you off your food." "I don't know..." "I feel a bit peaky." "Enough time wasting!" "We've got work to do." "A present from Caesar." " Where's Persephone?" " Listening room, I think." "She likes wasting her time." "I don't like seeing those two together." "Who's there?" "Is that you, Buddha?" "The Answerer is busy." "That's OK." "We'll wait our turn." "Why can't we see them?" "They're in the blind spot." "That's not a good sign." "The light..." "Stop it!" "This scumbag tried to kill you." "Caesar didn't want him dead." "You should gas them, boss." "Look at this shit!" "Can your messiah save you now?" "What's got into you, Moloch?" "Let go!" "Third Circle" "I'm sure I saw him dying." "At least ten fatal blows." "He'd lost almost all his blood." "This time you can't deny that it was a resurrection." "Resurrection or not, I must try new treatments on this man." "And I'm determined to do so." "How do you explain his miraculous cures?" "Their "miraculous" nature is not proven." "You knew, didn't you?" " What?" " That he's no ordinary man." "He wouldn't be here if he was." "Stop acting dumb!" "The company sent him here to isolate him." "He's exhibiting exceptional characteristics." "What's it to you?" "You're not concerned by this affair." "What will you do with him?" "Dissect him?" "To get to the bottom of the mystery." "You can always resign." "I'm in charge of psycho-genetics here, and I forbid any manipulation of this man." "I have an official letter countermanding your authority." "Stuff your letter!" "What do you say, Charon?" "We've discussed this." "You know what to do." "I'm relieving you of your functions." "This is official." "Do you realise what's at stake here?" "Notjust you or me." "All of humanity!" "Oh, humanity..." "They'll commercialise his genetic codes and then eliminate him." "We must keep him alive, understand what he is." "We have to stop her changing his metabolism." "Charon..." "Sorry, Persephone." "I can't." "Neurinos has given her authority over you." "They'll leave when the shuttle's ready." "It was all planned in advance." "Get out." "I'm doing it for your good." ""How sad a path it is to climb and descend another's stairs."" "What does that mean?" "You never saw this coming!" "Don't be too hard on Persephone." "I don't understand." "She cares more about the prisoners than the results." "The straps!" "Let her go!" "Let her go!" "Charon, do something!" "Be reasonable." "I'll let you join the others." "Let her go!" "An emergency." "Let's go!" "I've opened the airlock." "Let her go now." " What else could I do?" " Make sure the straps are tight!" "You told me he was dead." "We don't usually restrain corpses!" "Hi, sweetie." "There you are." "Just to tell you we'll soon be crashing into Dante and burning up in hell, like the damned that we are!" "That's nonsense." "I know what you're playing at, Charon." "I cracked your files a long time ago." "Your Elisa and her nanotechnology were really going to fuck us up!" "We were all going to be contaminated from the inside, infected like a common computer program." "You know what to do with epidemics?" "Burn everything!" "I used your password to lock everything down." "This is my apocalypse!" "Caesar!" "Can anyone up there hear me?" "Caesar..." "What the fuck are they doing?" "Moloch." "Lazarus." "You told me he was dead." "Get away!" "What have you done to me?" "A light..." "I saw a light." "What are you talking about?" " We need a way out." " There is one." "You have to pilot manually." "The light..." "Where was it coming from... this light?" "I don't know..." "That alarm means we're all going to die!" "Calm down, Lazarus." "Keep cool." " You can't order me!" " I'm not." "I'm advising you." "Things have changed here." "Changed?" "You can say that again." "What?" "You have to keep playing the chief, eh, Caesar?" " That alarm?" " That was me." "I set it off." "You'd need the gear." "I got it off the chief up there." "To snoop in company files." " He thought he controlled me." " Get to the point!" "The point?" "There's no hurry, Caesar." "We've less than an hour to live." "After that:" "Boom!" "Listen." "I deprogrammed the station." "It'll crash." "You're insane!" "Like all of us." "We're scum, aren't we?" "They mustn't erase our memories." "They were going to defragment us in the void!" "I didn't realise you were this unhinged." "We're all going to fry!" "And you, Dragon Slayer..." "You won't be able to resurrect us!" "I'm dead." "Dead, you hear me?" "Since I came to this station I've been dead." "Catch him!" "Why not the shuttle I came in?" "It's only for two." "We have to reach the piloting cabin." "In under an hour!" "There's supposed to be a trapdoor." "If we get there, we could reboot the system." "It's in the prisoners' area." "Yes." "Found him?" "That way." "Go on, pull." "Maybe he was just trying to scare us." "Giving Attila a computer?" "Like giving matches to a pyromaniac!" "They knew up there." "How reckless can you get?" "It's time to join those I sent to the other side." "I no longer fear death." "Wait!" "There's only one justice." "God's justice." "Look..." " We're still alive." " Fucking bullshit!" "We're crashing into that fucking planet and you're talking about God?" "In a few minutes we'll all be dead!" "Do you understand?" "Dead!" "Trust in God." "Fuck God!" "If we're his creatures, he needn't have bothered!" "And what about his miracles?" "Gentlemen." "Our station has left its geostationary orbit." "We must reach a control panel under your quarters, and activate the emergency boosters." "I ask you, therefore, to cooperate with us." "If you approve, raise your hands." "She isn't coming, then." "Aren't you afraid?" "Afraid?" "We should have opened the door ages ago." "And never closed it again." "I'm Charon, the director of this station." "He's the fucking maniac who gave the gear to Attila!" "He's the one!" "That's enough!" "Shut it!" "We're here to help." "The panel is only accessible via the cooling conduits." "Go on." "The trapdoor is in this part." "Over there, I think." "Gas!" "Quiet!" "Going to do a runner, eh?" "I never thought I'd see a babe like you again." " You're not..." " No, I'm not asleep." "I can hold my breath." " You're hurting!" " You can't give me orders now." "Where were you going?" "The shuttle can get us to safety." "Us?" "It's meant for two." "You knocked everyone out for that." "You're a crafty one, eh?" "Like me." "A two-yearjourney, then you're free." "Two years?" "In there with you?" "That's worth a try, eh?" "But I'm warning you." "No funny business!" "Go on." "After you, princess." "Wake up." " Who released the gas?" " Who do you think?" "Berus, go and check the shuttle!" "Quick!" "Cer, the trapdoor!" "It's the only way." "At least four metres." "It's far too long." "The cooling system is overheating." "They were in the shuttle." "Attila must have fixed the controls." "It burnt up." "We'll soon be joining them." "What's down there?" "The piloting cabin." "We can break away from Dante's pull." " Is it complicated?" " Really simple." "You just enter a code." "You'll never get down there." "It's far too narrow." "We need someone of my build." "What's the code?" "Etna D10." "Have you thought this through?" "My brain's not boiled yet!" "Caesar's sacrifice was probably not an innocent one." "For, if we aspire to the light, each of us has a duty to drive away the shadows." "We never knew who he was, nor where he came from." "Yet one thing is certain." "It was from us that Saint George drew the force to slay the dragon." "His destiny could only be fulfilled here, at the gates of hell," "at this threshold never before crossed by a living man."