"HUMANS, MUTANTS OF NEW YORK AND ELSEWHERE, SAY NO TO SYNTHETIC FLESH" "AND VIRTUAL NEURONS." "SAY NO TO EUGENICS." "Spirit of Nikopol" "Condemned to death by his peers for rebellion," "Horus from Hierakonopolis, the God of Heaven, has seven days to see the Earth of mankind once more, the world he helped create." "Seven days: the time for one beat of the divine heart." "before being deprived of his immortality." "But even the gods fear death." "Horus?" "It's time" "Make the most of your last moments." "Seven days, Horus, seven hourglasses..." "Not a second more." "Trust me." "I know you're there." "Hey!" "Look over there!" "What the hell!" "A naked man with a bird head." "What's going on?" "I'm losing control." "PULL UP!" "Turn right, turn right!" "Children... my human children." "I am back." "Now, I'm also in charge of the nano implants department but we concentrate more on synthetic skin." "No hard feelings, then." "Thank you for reminding me!" "Can I take two?" "No." "Only one this time." "There may be no hard feelings but you're still tight-fisted." "Fuck you, Elma." "You should be so lucky." "That girl's dangerous." "She must be on pretty powerful stuff." "She managed to damage a carrier when they were selecting them." "When they were rounding them up, you mean." "That's why I'm interested in her." "I see that you're involved in illegal medicine more than ever." "Resistance medicine, there's a difference." "You really like her, don't?" "I'm taking her with me." "I'll need a supply of antibiotics, even old ones... and micro needles." "Not so fast, darling!" "I want a detailed report of all the analyses perform on her." "You can have her, but I want the file!" "And don't even try to pretend that you've lost the file!" "His mother is being treated at Eugenics." "He's waiting for her to be returned to him." "How old are you?" "Let's go" "But you openly accuse Senator Allgood of manipulating public opinion." "Do think he's the one who organised the pyramid affair in order to get elected?" "No." "His influence doesn't run that deep." "It's obvious that the pyramid is extraterrestrial" "Like the Intrusion Zone in Central Park." "I don't agree with the view that the Intrusion is a matrix of dangerous mutants." "This rumour was spread by Allgood to serve the interests of Eugenics." "Scientists have proved that the Intrusion is a gateway to parallel or extraterrestrial worlds." "We'll have to face the fact that we're not alone in the Universe." "But in practical terms your program doesn't seem very satisfactory." "You're putting all the blame on the outgoing candidate," "Senator Allgood." "...I'm also talking about the medical dictatorship that Allgood has imposed on New York City, with the active participation of Eugenics." "I'm talking about raids, illegal experiments, unauthorised blood-tests and organ removal," "People going missing." "I'm talking about Globus 1," "You know what that is, don't you?" "It's the 'freezer' used by the mad scientists that work for Eugenics." "But you do agree there's a real security problem, don't you?" "That series of murders on Level 2." "That's police business." "I have full confidence in the Federal Police." "What a bitch!" "What a bitch!" "A bitch, but a fast learner about politics." "That's what I mean!" "A whore!" "That's enough..." "About those murders." "How many have been reported so far?" "Four." "Who's in charge of the case?" "Inspector Froebe." "He's a specialist in the abnormal." "He thinks it's the work of a serial killer." "Froebe is no specialist." "Hunting is all he lives for," "Ever since he had his face chewed on by the Dayak." "He's a real psychopath." "He's a liability." "I don't agree, Miss Liang." "Froebe is a good cop, and anyway, he's politically neutral." ""Neutral!"... "Neutral" doesn't exist." "There're only men and women..." "Humans and aliens." "The integrated and the rejected." "The whole fucking universe is split into two." "That makes five!" "In less than 48 hours," "That's got to be a record." "Exactly the same M.O." "It's just as if the body had exploded from the inside." "I was told there was a witness." "Yeah!" "He's right over there, he's waiting for you" "Back at my office in an hour." "You're alright?" "I'll see you at Froebe's, OK?" "Yeah..." "Yeah..." "All right!" "I'll see you there." "Are you sure you're alright?" "Hi..." "Mmm." "What can I get you?" "He wants to know if they're diseased." "He asked you a question." "I..." "I'm fine, thanks." "All your organs?" "!" "I've..." "I've changed my lungs." "They're a Chinese model." "Not bad..." "Pretty attractive... and..." "I..." "I have a new bladder too, no problem there." "Still don't want a drink?" "Six." "No." "Seven." "Outside the bar... the witness." "The one I never got to see." "That's right, the giant." "He's the seventh and the agent who was supposed to bring him to you was the sixth." "Reminds you of the Dayaks, doesn't it?" "Cold blooded carnage like this, right up their alley." "The Dayaks are extinct." "They were all exterminated after the riots, thirty years ago." "Except the one that got you." "Thank you, Sandy." "It's not going to hold but I can't do anything anymore." "I did warn you." "Only 35% of your original metabolism remains," "You've modified or replaced all the rest." "I have a contract with Eugenics." "I had guessed that much." "Tell my colleague I sent you." "He's a specialist in nano-surgical repairs." "Don't leave it too long." "Thank you Doctor." "I'm so sorry, Jill." "New Yorkers all seem to have gone insane." "Where was I?" "Oh, yes, the lapse in your memory." "I was wondering what it is that you don't want to remember so badly, that you're this blocked?" "Put it another way; what are you trying to forget?" "I can't remember anything, there's a subtle difference." "But it seems that you remembered to take strong doses of potentially dangerous substances as yet unidentified." "Do you have any on you?" "Is your supplier on Level 3, in Little Paris, amongst the non-humans?" "Some of them are very decent beings." "You, for example." "I have to tell you that in 20 years of medicine" "I've never seen a guinea pig quite like you." "I've never seen such a heart, lungs, or a womb like that..." "Never." "You're built like someone who was born less than three months ago." "Maybe that's what you want to forget?" "Or what you're not sure about?" "When did you get to New York?" "And how?" "Some of the vertebrate animals on this planet shed their skin," "You are going through the same process." "Listen to my offer!" "Work for me." "Let me conduct a thorough medical examination, take some samples, test some medication." "If you trust me, you won't have anything to worry about any more." "You'll be covered and legal..." "And more importantly," "I'll get you a card." "I have a contract with a hotel." "You can live there." "You're the greatest mystery of nature I've ever come across." "John..." "I got picked up in a Eugenics raid." "I shot a carrier." "It could have gone very badly." "A human woman doctor saved me." "She offered me a job and legal housing." "Accept it." "As a guinea pig." "Apparently my body is only three months old, and my organs aren't in the right place." "Not in the right place, according to whose criteria?" "You see that pyramid monument?" "Do you think it's in its right place?" "And me?" "Do you think I am?" "There's something important you should know." "This planet is rejecting me, Jill..." "This atmosphere," "This oxygen, it's burning me up." "I have to take care of you before it's too late." "I'm getting old, Jill, I've been around for centuries." "I'm confused" "Oh..." "My God." "Jesus!" "This one's empty!" "Restricted area." "...A flying pyramid, a serial killer on the loose" "And now a chunk of prison falling from the sky." "Is someone out to sabotage my political career or what?" "It's like in one of those Greek tragedies, Senator," "All the elements will fall into place." "What are you doing here, Inspector Froebe?" "I'm looking for three of my men who have disappeared." "Your serial killer again?" "Don't think so." "Here." "A gift for you." "What is it?" "You should know better than me." "Give me that!" "This is way out of your league." "I haven't found the man who goes with this." ""Remember..." "Remember the sight we saw, my soul," ""That beautiful soft summer morning..." ""..." "Round a turning in the path... "" "Thank you" ""a disgusting carcass on a bed scattered with stones," ""its legs in the air like a woman in heat..."" ""Remember the sight we saw, my soul," ""That beautiful soft summer morning..." ""Round a turning in the path," ""A disgusting carcass on a bed scattered with stones," ""Its legs in the air like a woman in heat..." ""..." "Like a fountain with its rhythmical sobs." ""I can hear it clearly flowing with a long," ""murmuring sound, but I touch my body in vain to find the wound..." ""..." "I am the vampire of my own heart," ""One of the great outcasts condemned to eternal laughter" ""Who can no longer smile... "" "Am I dead?" "I must be dead." "And you..." "I know you, you are from Hierakonopolis." "The god of the heavens." "I'm flattered, Nikopol, wretched human." "...Anubis can't be far away?" "The guardian of the tombs." "The god of the dead." "Don't ever speak that jackal's name again," "You understand?" "Only my name..." "Only me." "OK..." "OK." "My leg!" "Where is my leg?" "You can see you're not dead." "The dead don't feel pain." "The dead don't bleed either." "Yeah, I'm alive and I'm bleeding like a pig." "Listen carefully, I won't say it twice." "For two of your days now," "I have been looking for a host body," "For reasons that go far beyond any human concerns." "I need a body to welcome me and serve me." "You..." "You seem to be suitable." "I've tested seven humans before you and rejected them all..." "But you," "Your body is clean." "You come from the past." "Thirty years of hibernation." "Your body won't reject me." "We are compatible." "What year is it?" "Who set me free?" "2095 after your Jesus Christ." "Your release is an accidental escape." "I was supposed to be let out in 2096." "I was released a year ahead of schedule." "I've gained a year but lost a leg." "Fuck!" "Forget the old one." "Here's a new one." "Yes..." "Thank you for calling." "That was the forensic scientist from Globus." "And?" "The leg has been identified." "And?" "Well... it belongs to..." "Nikopol." "Perfect" "There's no way." "This thing weighs a ton." "I'll never be able to move." "That's right." "Without me you won't be able to move." "And by the way," "From now on you won't be able to do much of anything without me." "I accept that I'm not dead now." "But I hope I'm dreaming this." "Please God let this be a nightmare." "Let this all be a nightmare." "You believe in God?" "I don't even have that to fall back on." "I suggest you believe in me, Nikopol." "Do I have a choice?" "I'm afraid not." "Now, rise and walk." "I've relinquished control, Nikopol, you can have a bit of autonomy now." "I want you to know that everything is going perfectly well." "Your body is very comfortable and tolerates me beautifully... and above all you're most elegant." "Are you fucking kidding me?" "Elegant, famous and subversive." "Just what I like." "It seems you're the instigator of all this fighting" "That's been going on without you." "Not bad for a human." "Would it be too much to ask for just a bit more autonomy?" "I'd like to choose my own clothes, with the little free will I have left." "Your happiness is my priority, Nikopol, Mr Free spirit." "How is Doctor Elma Turner?" "Never been better." "Welcome to the Western Hysteria Hotel. 39th floor." "Room 12." "Any friend of Dr Turner's is a friend of mine." "Por ti Ketro." "That's for me?" "Thanks." "What's your name?" "Willy..." "Ketarakado..." "Willy." "Willy?" "OK, I'll call you Willy." "And you can call me Jill." "Temperature 44 degrees" "Number of teeth: 37" "All incisors." "Buccal profile: unknown." "Thank you Jill." "Now you can make the food test." "...with a list that's getting longer." "Eight victims, all male," "This just in," "Senator Allgood has announced that he will be on the Zeppelin" "When the scientific delegation and leading" "Egyptologists make another attempt" "To contact the inhabitants of the Pyramid the humidity is down today in" "Brooklyn for the fourth day running." "On the Intrusion, no change:" "Snow, ice," "Temperature 23 below freezing." "Twelve attempted break-ins into the Intrusion have been reported:" "There are no survivors." "Do not approach the Central Park area." "Stop!" "Stop!" "DOWN!" "DOWN!" "..." "GET DOWN!" "Are we cheating or not, Bastet?" "We're cheating, Anubis, we're cheating" "You don't understand?" "Nikopol is alive!" "Maybe not." "It was reported that he was shot by a department store security guard and fell a hundred metres." "But they couldn't find the body." "Are you telling me the man can fly?" "I can put you on to Huxley, Froebe's right hand man." "He's in charge of..." "That's OK, Jonas." "Thanks." "You can leave us now." "Right." "Get the hell out of here!" "Beat it!" "He knows everything." "I know he knows everything, and his phenomenal memory is stuffed with enough evidence concerning your late father's financial dealings and his illegal experiments on alien populations to cause Eugenics some very serious problems." "I am aware of that." "Up until now we've only had the spirit of Nikopol to deal with," "But now we have him in flesh and blood." "No one's ever come back from Globus." "Well, HE has." "Why wasn't he executed 30 years ago, anyway?" "Are you crazy?" "Are you crazy?" "To make a hero out of him, a martyr to their lousy revolution?" "What do you want, riots, assassination?" "!" "It is the last prototype of the "hunter" version." "Fast, ferocious and totally illegal." "He'll be quicker than Froebe and his men." "Are you sure?" "No, but it's the only solution..." "apart from your "protégé"." "No, not him..." "Let's try this one first." "Come in!" "You're early!" "We have no time to lose" "Is he ready?" "Have you re-activated him yet?" "No." "I'll need about an hour." "I wanted to make sure you really wanted him." "We do." "OK." "What's this!" "What happened?" "Nothing of any importance, really, nothing." "Do you like women?" "Women?" "Women..." "My most beautiful and most important creation on this planet." "Your story doesn't make much sense." "You're looking for a blue-haired girl with white skin..." "What's this all about, and, how do you know she comes here?" "In the same way that I knew I'd find her on planet Earth, in New York City." "Intuition, Nikopol, the intuition of the gods." "So." "What's so special about her that warrants such a display of talents?" "Is she Miss Universe or what?" "You don't think I've come all this way for a mere human being, do you?" "Now I know more about you..." "Why are you doing all this for me?" "It's a political and social fight." "My spirit of Nikopol coming out." "Besides, your case interests me." "I think you like me..." "Isn't that what you were thinking?" "You could say that." "How did you guess?" "Do you read minds too?" "You could say that." "It's true, I do like you and I feel close to you, Jill," "Whoever you are..." "Mutant or whatever." "Although you are beginning to scare me." "Let's try a little experiment to test this talent of yours." "I'm going to think of a question and you're going to answer." "Ready?" "Ready." "I've asked the question." "You want to know if I've started testing the foods you prescribed for me, if I took a blood test three hours later and if I took... notes." "Answer:" "Yes!" "I did everything I was supposed to do, and I found everything absolutely delicious..." "I'm a professional guinea pig." "Have you tasted everything?" "For dinner, yes." "I ate it all." "And you ate everything at once?" "In the prescribed quantities?" "I weighed everything." "I just changed a couple of the recipes." "I didn't have anything to cook with" "So I ate the fish called monkfish raw and the lamb too." "They're not bad together." "How many meals do you have a day?" "Two a week." "She's not bad." "Not surprising, you idiot." "She's the one." "John..." "Come Jill, come..." "You'll be my last and my most beautiful intrusion." "Listen carefully." "For thousands of Earth years I've been" "Introducing people into the four corners of the galaxy." "People misplaced by the vagaries of the Universe." "You're a misplaced person, Jill..." "and I'll never know your origins." "You appeared deep in the heart of the Intrusion about three months ago." "That's where I took charge of you." "The blue pills stop your past from re-emerging" "And let the present... invade you." "Your metamorphosis is on the verge of completion." "From now on your place is on this planet." "What about you?" "Aren't you staying?" "I'm a ferryman, Jill, at the end of his journey." "I'm already dreaming of a void." "I'm afraid." "Afraid of what?" "...of becoming human." "Tell me about your job with Doctor Elma Turner" "Can I buy you a drink?" "Don't you think I have enough already?" "Well, I don't see any cognac, or sake... tequila..." "Slivovits..." "I'm working." "Do you mind?" "A vodka." "Make it a Tarkovskaia, please." "I like your hair." "It's very nice." "It goes very well with... white skin." "Is it a new thing in make-up?" "Kabuki style maybe?" "You must be an actress." "You're expecting something from me..." "The answer is no." "You're going to need someone to take you home." "What makes you think that?" "You have no other choice." "One for the road." "I like... this one." "How about you, young lady?" "We are going to get along fine." "It's very important to have the same tastes." "No!" "We've got more important things to do than fight each other." "Address?" "Western Hysteria Hotel." "You are Inspector John Emerson Huxley and you have a black box in your brain." "Give it to me, please." "Or I'll have to go in and take it." "It goes very well with... white skin." "I don't have a room." "Which level are you from?" "I'm above levels." "This is Level 2 and the hotel's full." "The hotel maybe... but your bed is not." "Ladies first." "Control, Miss." "Your papers." "My papers?" "Your card if you prefer." "Thank you, Miss." "Do you have any weapons," "Explosives..." "Any history of violent conduct?" "I hate violence." "Are you comfortable here?" "Yes, fine." "Yes..." "I hate violence but I do like to caress myself with bird feathers... preferably black ones." "It's a bit small isn't it?" "Don't you have a bathroom?" "No." "No bathroom." "I've decided never to wash again." "Ever!" "Who are you?" "This is my bathroom!" "What are you doing in my bathroom?" "Who are you?" "We had a drink together last night." "You had several, in fact... it's not surprising you can't remember." "Alcohol has no effect on me." "What's happening here?" "What about the door?" "That door wasn't there a moment ago." "Did you do that?" "I'm no carpenter." "Be careful..." "Those things can go off all by themselves." "Shut up, human!" "What happened last night?" "What did you do to my body?" "So?" "What did I do to your body?" "We had sexual intercourse..." "You and I..." "Well..." "Maybe not just the two of us alone." "What do you mean by "sexual intercourse"?" "At times last night you gave the impression you knew perfectly well." "I wi..." "I could tell you the truth." "What truth?" "Bloody fuckin' god..." "What did you make me do?" "Fuck you!" "What are we waiting for?" "The answers to the questions I asked him." "He can't talk anymore," "But we may be able to piece together recent events from his subconscious." "Well can he be... repaired?" "He can be treated." "A Dayak?" "!" "A fake." "A replica of a Dayak, humanised." "We found some synthetic red epidermis under his fingernails." "Signed "Eugenics"." "Leave us now." "Rape." "Rape?" "You made me commit rape." "She consented." "We, Gods, have physical appetites, you know... which we have more than aptly demonstrated for thousands of years." "You really are a piece of shit." "You think everything is yours for the taking." "My body, that girl's body, all the others you murdered." "We'll do it your way next time, if you wish." "Next time?" "Do what my way?" "Next time we make love to her." "We must make love again with that... young lady." "No way!" "Don't you like her?" "I'm not sharing my body anymore, is that clear?" "Not for fucking or for anything else." "That's the end of the line." "You go your way, I'll go mine!" "Nikopol, Nikopol..." "You're talking as if you had the choice." "You can walk perfectly normally if I want you to..." "But if I don't..." "Don't forget this either." "Fuck you!" "Right, but let's fuck her again first." "Can you describe him?" "Rather average... from what I can remember." "Human looking..." "What about his... penis?" "Human looking too?" "Have you already had relations of this nature before?" "Relations?" "Social?" "Human?" "Sexual." "Sexual relations." "I think you've experienced it but you don't remember." "The drugs... the pills..." "I don't know who's treating you but it shows." "Even your organs are positioning themselves correctly." "Thank you for trusting me, Jill." "I trust John..." "Only John." "Are you testing me?" "Is that it?" "That's him, I recognise him!" "And that is the girl." "This is all that we've kept of her." "Her lachrymal secretions." "That should be enough." "This kind of Dayak has olfactory capabilities 500 times superior to ours." "My favourite moving molecular lab." "He's a real hunter." "You taste good." "I'm proud of myself for having found you." "You have to tell me where I can find the one who's with you." "I don't know who you're talking about." "You'd better know who I'm talking about." "Shh..." "Jill has been through some really difficult moments..." "I've had to erase them from her memory." "We must protect her... and love her." "We must impregnate her!" "So that's it?" "Can I count on you, Nikopol?" "I knew I could." ""Ceaselessly by my side moves the Demon;" ""He swims around me like impalpable air;" ""I swallow and feel it burn my lungs" ""And fill them with eternal desire and guilt... "" "Still here?" "You really don't have anywhere else to go?" "I really don't have the choice." "I only have you." "Are you feeling alright?" "Shouldn't I be?" "Been in a fight?" "There's a blank in my memory..." "Maybe you're the one who hit me!" "Why did you spend thirty years in hibernation?" "Afraid of growing older?" "How do you know that?" "I can mind read a bit." "But yours..." "I don't understand a thing." "I know you raped me last night." "But I can't find the memory in your mind." "To be quite honest, it's not very clear for me either." "We should do it again and try to understand..." "You owe me that." "I was sentenced to hibernation for trying to protect people like you." "No one is like me." "I'll go along with that." "Well, what do you read in my mind now?" "OK." "I'll buy you a drink." "I'd love a bottle of Bordeaux..." "It's been ages." "Never heard of it." "You've travelled in space and time." "You're colder than a block of ice and it suits you so fine." "Who are you?" "I think you like me." "What are you doing to me?" "Who are you?" "I'm confused" "I can't remember anything" "I'm a guinea pig." "A human woman." "You can call me Jill." "You're expecting something from me." "The answer is no." "Aaah!" "It's cold!" "Sorry, it's my leg." "I should have warned you..." "It's a bit icy, of course." "Not much blood circulation down there." "It would be a shame to let a few degrees of temp... temperature interrupt us." "Sorry Jill..." "Sorry." "Calm down, Jill..." "Calm down." "Something in the air's changed since last time Anubis, don't you think?" "Central Park Intrusion Zone." "Danger of death." "John!" "I'm scared!" "John!" "Please come back!" "I'm here Jill!" "It's too dangerous to cross over now." "It's not ready yet, and you aren't either." "Tomorrow, I hope." "The Intrusion is a gateway which will close behind me, and disappear with me." "It will reappear somewhere else, other ferrymen will come, but you'll be the last creature to use it." "John..." "Yes?" "I've met someone." "Good." "Your life as an earth dweller has begun." "Meeting humans, feeling desire." "Being in love... is one of the most beautiful feelings in this world." "But I love you." "You first!" "Love is very different here." "What should I do?" "Cry." "Whenever you feel the need, just cry." "Where is she?" "Where the fuck is she?" "!" "I already told you." "She went for a walk." "You have to understand her..." "But you're right, Nikopol, you're right to want to hurt me, even if I don't feel a thing..." "Hit me again, harder." "You piece of shit." "Your objectives are shit," "Your filthy rapist god ambitions are shit!" "You're full of shit!" "Coming from a human, remarks like that don't carry much weight." "You're damaging that girl..." "You're damaging Jill!" "You're destroying something really beautiful." "You don't destroy what you love." "You shouldn't have let her go." "She'll be back." "We still have to make love to her again." "It isn't over yet." "All right, the impregnation!" "I nearly forgot that minor detail." "What is this obsession of yours?" "An obsession about how little time I have left." "I really feel for you." "My name is Doctor Elma Turner." "I'm looking for one of my patients." "It's been a long time since anybody's come in here looking to be cured." "Her name is Jill." "She told me she was a regular here." "You must know her." "White skin, blue hair..." "I don't know any humans, personally, that is." "Jill isn't really human." "How much do you know?" "You must be John?" "And you must be Elma Turner." "I have something to tell her." "Something rather important." "I'm very pleased to meet you." "I need to see her." "I don't believe that will be necessary." "Everything is happening on a different level now." "What do you mean by that?" "Where is she?" "At least, tell me she's okay." "White skin, blue hair..." "Interesting." "Let me introduce myself..." "Inspector Froebe." "Did you powder your face for the occasion?" "It's not your business." "My friend, my dear, dear friend..." "Kyle, It's been a long time..." "Too long." "I know." "I still feel the tension inside you." "The hubris." "Like five years ago when you sneaked out without my permission... and took a bite out of Inspector Froebe..." "Remember?" "Do you need me for something Kyle?" "Yes." "Have a taste of this!" "Find him and devour the rest!" "Still alive?" "I know... this split personality is not an easy thing to deal with" "But I'm the one on the front line... until proven otherwise." "Are you alone?" "So he's gone?" "The rapist who lives inside your body and forces me to have sexual intercourse?" "I think so, but I'm not sure, and above all I don't know." "That wasn't a very smart thing to do." "The blue of my tears stains human skin for good." "I feel blue... for you." "I should have shot you the first time we met." "There's still time." "Thank you, Nikopol." "Thank you." "Shh!" "She's asleep." "Young women like her are rare." "Extremely rare." "There are only a few of them in the entire universe." "No-one knows why they appear in one world or another." "They don't even know who they are, themselves, and the power they have." "What power?" "The greatest power of all." "The power to procreate with gods." "I get it." "I'm just the empty shell... the vehicle delivering the divine seed..." "That's not going to alter my opinion of you, Horus." "I don't want to go." "Jonas can represent me." "Don't let me down Kyle." "Don't prove to me what I already know you are." "This is all your fault." "You're the one who dragged me into this." "Have you just figured that out?" "Sure, Kyle!" "You're the pawn and I'm the player!" "But I've got news for you, you little bitch!" "You're a pawn too!" "Eugenics' pawn." "Who is Eugenics?" "Huh?" "Who?" "You're right on that one." "But I'm a superior pawn." "Your superior pawn, you understand?" "Now, get up off your fat ass, pull up your triple XL pants, say a little prayer that" ""your" Dayak finds "your" Nikopol, and go and negotiate with Ancient Egypt." "Move it!" "Could you forget me if you had to?" "What sort of a question is that?" "Seriously." "If you didn't have the choice." "Could you forget me?" "No." "Well, I might forget you..." "Against my will." "Without wanting to." "What are you trying to say?" "Things are going to happen to me that are out of my control." "I've already been through that." "But I'm able to control the future for two... or more." "You're pretty sure of yourself, aren't you?" "How can you tell?" "Anyway, when you say two, who are you alluding to?" "Are you thinking about you and me," "Or are you thinking about you and him." "The one inside your body... the rapist." "I'm thinking about us." "Wouldn't he be jealous?" "Right now, for instance," "I know he's here, between us..." "I can sense him." "The rapist wants you to know he will never do that again." "When I kiss you, am I kissing him too?" "And when he raped me, did you enjoy it?" "John!" "Are you always so slow, Inspector?" "What are you waiting for?" "An old friend of mine." "The suspect vehicle just crossed 49th and Madison on the second section." "All patrols on alert." "I repeat:" "All patrols on alert." "We're wasting precious time, Inspector." "Jill's in danger." "Careful." "The engine's highly tuned." "Just like you!" "Got her." "Who's shooting?" "Hold your fire!" "Who's mortal in here?" "I mean, who can die a violent death?" "Well, I feel somewhat mortal." "I don't think so, Mister...?" "Mr Horus." "Jill!" "Where's the Senator?" "Where's the Pyramid?" "Where's the Senator?" "It's here." "Come on." "It's here, Jill." "It's time!" "We're in the heart of the Intrusion." "The dead centre." "John!" "?" "Your time has come." "This red pill is the final stage of your treatment." "It will make you human for good." "A human woman." "A human woman." "Will I forget everything?" "Everyone?" "You are going to write a new story..." "Swallow it!" "The void, Jill... the void..." "Forget me..." "Forget." "John!" "Where the fuck are you?" "I need you..." "I need you now!" "You must be Anubis, God of the Dead..." "I admire you so much!" "Eraid!" "You fucking bastard." "You'll never speak that jackal's name again!" "Time's up!" "This is the end of your Eternity!" "Be patient brothers, I'm coming!" "Nikopol, you have been much more than a body to me." "I wish I could do more to thank you." "But you're running out of time, I know." "I sincerely hope your life as a human is a happy one." "You will no longer feel the burden of your leg." "You'll see, there will always be a little bit of me left inside you." "I don't know how I should take that." "I will never be far from you, Jill, ever again..." "Ever." "Do I know you?" "I'm back!" "Were you bored without me?" "The sentence is binding." "I'm ready to face it... without waiting" "Now, then!" "Nikopol, serial number N-7," "You are under arrest for attempted escape." "You have one year left on your sentence." "Sorry, but..." "He was in there, wasn't he?" "Who?" "The killer." "You must know a lot about him." "Yeah." "He's a friend." "How does he kill, I'd give a lot to know the answer to that." "Jill!" "ONE YEAR LATER ...And New York City officials announce the opening of Central Park's Intrusion to public access." "Do not forget that the temperature is unusually low." "Take a break!" "New orbital holidays!" "Forget archaic politics, and say yes to Liang's projects for you and your city." "And for you, who can still read," "Don't forget "Spirit of Nikopol's Story", a subversive cult book by the man from the past, Nikopol himself." "By the way, thanks for your book." "I devoured it." "What about her?" ""Her"?" "Her!" "Do you like Paris?" "Oh, I'm sorry." "He's so cheeky, did he hurt you?" "No, not at all." "It's fine." "Couldn't be better." "I'm terribly sorry." "My name is Jill." "I'm Nikopol." "How do you like this planet?" "It has its charm." "But "All this does not come close to the poison that oozes from your eyes," ""From your green eyes..." ""Lakes where my trembling soul sees itself upside down." ""My dreams gather in a flock to water themselves..." ""At these bitter holes."" ""All that is not equal to the awful wonder" ""Of your biting saliva," Jill," ""Charged with madness, that plunges my remorseless soul" ""Into oblivion" ""And rolls it in a swoon to the shores of death!""