" Well, that's all right, then." " Yes... I suppose I ought to thank you for coming back." " What do you mean?" " Because I was on my own." " Who says so?" " You did, didn't you?" "Gosh, Simon, you say the weirdest things sometimes." "You mightn't have had anything to do with it. I might've gone back because..." "Well..." "All that won't happen, will it?" "We've got to make sure it doesn't, haven't we?" "Come on." "(Telephone)" "Jean Skinner here." "Yes?" "Now, let me get this straight, let me get this absolutely accurate." "In the year 1990, I was frozen into the ice, you say, deep-frozen?" "Yes, Daddy, that's right." "Transformed into kind of a..." "kind of an ice lolly." "What flavour?" " You were all right, though, Mr Skinner." " l'm glad to hear that." "Because of the way they'd done it." "We saw you come round." "Well, Liz did." "I suppose you took the serum, as they all did." " Oh, the antifreeze!" " Dr Bukov only called it that for a joke." "Well, it seems like a comic situation all round!" "Still, one good thing, lad." "If you kept your eyes open, you'll have earned a future in refrigeration!" "And Liz, you say this Beth was actually you at a later age?" " That's right!" " There's a future in it for you too, then." " Not if I can prevent it." " Do a sister act on the telly!" "Earn yourself a fortune." "Please, I've told you before, I will not have it!" "No, that's impossible!" "Why?" "Surely that's my business." "No!" "You needn't pretend you can go over my head because I know you can't!" "You've got to believe us, it could all happen!" "Could happen?" "You don't think I'd let myself be frozen without a struggle?" "Or that your mother would stand by and let it happen?" "No, but if you didn't realise..." "If nobody had told you that..." "Ohh!" "You think we've made the whole thing up, don't you?" "Yes, perhaps I do think something like that." "But not in the way you mean it." "We worked out that future states are just projections of the possible." "So we can't take anything too seriously here." "We'll just say you kids have had a crazy, mixed-up dream, eh?" "A nightmare." "No, Frank." "No, that's not going far enough." "We've been told something." "We should take it seriously." "Oh, Jean!" "Can you visualise a place like this ice Box actually existing?" "Well, 30 years ago, nobody could've conceived of the atom bomb or of men landing on the moon." "Ten years ago, no one could've conceived of heart transplants." "All right, then, us in the ice Box." "You and me and Liz." " How's business?" " What?" "You told me it hadn't been such a good month." "Does next month look better?" "Oh, I'd forgotten about that!" "That was one of the most charming parts of the prophecy!" "I'm supposed to go broke." "Care to put a date on that?" " Daddy..." " Nobody's going broke, nobody's going to the ice Box and nobody I know as Liz is turning into the Beth I've been hearing about!" " On that note, let's wrap it up." "Agreed?" " Wrap what up?" "The whole shebang." "Time barriers, pointless questions..." " l'm anxious to get back to normal." " Yes, it'd be nice if we could." " Commander Traynor was on the phone." " Again?" "He's been ringing since you went through the time barrier." " l told him to get lost." " He's a persistent man, Frank." "Now the children are back, he says he must see Simon, just him, in Whitehall." " (Frank) Why?" " l don't know." "He says he hopes we'll allow it, otherwise, he'll put the matter on an official basis." " What does he mean by that?" " l know you're fed up with Traynor, but it's worse than that for me." "Lately, he's begun to frighten me." "(Big Ben chimes)" "(Telephone)" "Traynor speaking." "Oh, Minister." "Yes, of course, sir." "Well, as a matter of fact, I was expecting a..." "No, nothing important, sir, naturally." "Not at all, Minister, I'll be right across." "(Knocking)" "Funny." "He said bring you straight up." "He's slipped out for a minute." "You'll have to wait." " Thank you." " Thinking of joining us?" "That the idea?" " Sorry?" " You're well advised." "This is where things are going to happen." "Where the action is." "Once Commander Traynor really gets moving here, you could find yourself in a good situation." "I only came because Commander Traynor sent for me." " Sent for you?" " Er, yes..." "He's a friend." "I met him once, in the country." "Oh, I see." "You'll find Time And Tide and The Science Review on the table." "There used to be Tatler but we found the new men didn't understand." ""Project A/TH/4." "Technological Master Plan." "Ecology and Development."" "As ever..." "An enquiring mind, Simon." "Well, that can be a virtue." " ln its proper place." " l'm sorry..." "Nonsense, my dear boy." "No harm done." "Delightful to see you again." "Had a good voyage into the future, I trust?" "No, erm...no impossible hazards?" " A couple, but we got over them." " Sit down, sit down." "Miss Stebbins, no calls for the next, er, 20 minutes, please." "Well, I'm sorry about getting you up here instead of my coming to see you but I've become very busy since we last met." "A long-cherished dream of mine has suddenly become reality." "I've been invited to form a new government ministry." "That's good, isn't it?" "is that all you can say?" "It's practically a miracle!" "Oh, yes, yes, I suppose so." "Congratulations, sir." " The Ice Box, Simon." " Yes?" "You can express yourself freely here." "We're alone." "It's difficult to know where to begin." "For one thing, Lizzie's mother was there." "And her father." "That was a shock..." "These are personal details." "The scientific stuff?" "Let me see, there was Dr Bukov, a Russian." "Then Dr Edith Joynton, who was murdered..." " Murdered?" " They thought so, but it was a computer mix-up, she didn't get the right dose of the longevity drug." "I see." "And..." "Morgan Devereaux?" "Yes..." "He was there as well." "He was the same man you knew." "How can that be?" "I've told you, the man I knew died in 1969." "That's what's so difficult to explain." "But this man in the ice Box was the same." "They'd taken cells from the other Devereaux." "Reproduced a human being, carbon copied him and made what's called a clone." "Of course!" "Of course!" "I should've known!" "Well, the possibility is being talked about even now." "And they'd achieved it." " You could be wrong." " lt's what I was told." "But the future you observed is only one of many possible projections." "Always remember that, Simon." "You can never know, only suppose." "Let's allow for the moment that Devereaux actually was a clone." "And in this new persona, he invented the longevity drug." " Yes." " Difficult formula." "Dependent on new drugs or ones we already have?" "I don't know, I didn't discover the formula." "My dear boy, you went back into the ice Box to discover that formula!" " l went back for a lot of reasons. I..." " l don't believe you." "You discovered the formula but for some reason, you don't want me to know." " That's not true!" " Don't lie!" "I'm in a position of power!" "Are you trying to challenge my authority?" "I couldn't get the formula because Devereaux never wrote it down." " Scientists always keep a record." " Not a written one!" "Devereaux had intended to pass on the secret through a new clone of himself." "What else have I got to say to convince you?" "Then, the place froze over and Devereaux died." "And the new clone, I suppose that was destroyed by the cold, too." "Hmm." "It's a very strange story, Simon." "I have no choice but to believe you." " The longevity drug is gone for ever?" " Yes." " So, what do we do with you, I wonder?" " l'm going back to school." "But you've come into possession of some curious information." "What might almost be regarded as classified information." "You will speak to no one of this, you will keep out of scientific affairs and you will stay on this side of the time barrier." " Commander Traynor..." " That's an order!" "I want you to stay in the present from now on." "The present!" "Understand?" "Good." "Well, now, if that little matter is settled we'll have some tea." "Simon, no!" "You'll only get yourself into trouble again." " What are you doing here?" " l followed you." " l didn't see you." " That shows how stupid you are!" "Always on the back seat of the bus and you so wrapped up in yourself, you didn't even notice!" "You'll get murdered if you go back through!" " l've got to go back." " Why?" "Traynor told me not to." "Well, last time, he practically forced me to go." " l want to know why." " Maybe he thinks it's dangerous." "No!" "No, in a funny sort of way, he was different, he was suspicious of me." " You're imagining it." " No..." "The Ice Box is only one projection of the future." "Why doesn't he want me to see any others?" "You might not find that at all!" "You never know where you'll end up!" " Then I'll take that chance." " l'm not!" " You're not going." " Who says?" "Your father would have a fit." "I came here on my own, so leave me to it!" " But without me..." " Don't start that!" "I can look after myself!" "I'm better off without a millstone around my neck." " Do you mean me?" " Yes, I look after you every time!" "You're always getting scared or bursting into tears or Lord knows what." "I'm doing things by myself this time." "Oh..." "Look, what's so hard to understand?" "There are some things in life I've got to do on my own." "See you in jail, then." " (Simon) Aah!" " (Splash)" "Simon?" "Aah!" "(Coughing)" " Why did you follow me?" " l heard you yell!" "It's not my fault the time barrier comes out here!" " l didn't know what was wrong!" " We're just wet through, that's all!" " Let's go back and get some dry clothes." " Where are we?" "Get lost, leave me alone!" "What a funny place!" "Look at these?" "Have you ever seen flowers like that?" " lt's hot!" " (High-pitched buzz)" " Get down!" " What are you...?" "Keep your head down!" "(High-pitched buzz)" " Was he a hunter?" " l've never seen a gun like that before." " He was shooting at those birds." " An electronic gun..." " Where are we?" " l'll tell you where you are, Liz." "Three feet away from the time barrier, so fall back through it." " l'm not going back now!" " You make me sick!" "This is terrific!" "The best yet!" "Don't you see?" "The flowers, heat, hunters..." "This must be the jungle!" "The tropical jungle!" "Think of that!" "Simon, come here!" "It's a village." "A native village!" "We'd better be careful, Liz..." "Of what?" "We're quite friendly." " She's only a girl like me!" " All the same..." " l'll speak to her." " No!" " Why not?" " With people like this, you've got to be..." "Don't be ridiculous!" "They're nice people, any fool can see that!" "Liz!" "Hello!" "We friends!" "Me, Liz." "Him, Simon." "We come jungle." "Well, if you've come from the Urban Complex, you must be tired." " lt's quite a journey!" " You speak English!" " lt's my native tongue." " Look..." "Liz, did you say?" "And Simon?" "I'm Vera." "The others are all out foraging but the Group Mother's in the community hut..." " (Woman) That's more like it!" " Oh, she seems to be in the art room." "Just over there." "(Banging)" "Now we're getting somewhere." "Hm." "Now we're finding the form." "Ahem." " Excuse me, are you the Group Mother?" " l can't hear you!" " l said, are you the Group Mother?" " Oh, yes, that's me." "Who are you?" "Erm, friends." "Friends from the Urban Complex." " Age and sex?" " What?" "Do pay attention!" "I'm articulating with particular care." " Oh, sorry. 16, male." " 15...female." "Who sent you?" "Do you know, it's extraordinary." "When I saw that stone outside, I told the Community there was a sculpture in it." "You've got to be aware of that much, you see." "What contains a work of art." "Well, better get down to details." "Names?" " Beth!" " Yes." " You're Beth!" " That's right." " What are you doing here?" " What do you mean?" "I live here. I actually run the place." "I'm trying to find out what you're doing here." "You don't understand." "The last time I saw you was in the ice Box." " What are you talking about?" " She won't remember any of that!" " But she was there." " lt was another projection." "All she knows is this." "Now, let's get one thing clear, shall we?" "Have you two had a traumatic experience at the hands of the Technocrats?" "We cope with all sorts of odd children here but so far, we've got away without treating lunatics." "Oh, dear, it'll all have to be gone through again." "Look, Beth, I don't know if you can understand this but we're Simon and Liz." "Simon and Liz!" "Good, that's better. I'll get the..." " Simon and Liz?" " Yes..." " You don't mean Liz..." " Skinner." " And Simon..." " Randall." "Of course..." "Of course!" "I can see it." " What's the matter with her?" " l don't know." "Sit her down." "Fetch some water!" "She's having hysterics." "(Electronic gun)" "My, oh dear!" "That's good!" " Simon and Liz!" " What's so funny?" "I gave up messing around with that time barrier long ago." "Probably couldn't even do it these days." " What year is it, Beth?" " 1990." " 1990?" "Where are we?" " England!" "Where else?" " But it's jungle out there!" " Darkest Buckinghamshire!" " (Simon) You're joking!" " Things have changed a bit." "England's a hot country now and we're controlled... (Alarm)" "What do you keep laughing at?" "What's the big joke?" "There's a signal on the video scanner." "Shall I put it through?" "Yes, do. ls the Community back yet?" "No. I hope there's been no trouble." "The video scanner is the only technological device we allow here." "We have to, for our own protection." "Otherwise, we live by our own resources." "What kind of a place is this?" "It's a school for what are considered Misfits." "Oh, here we are!" "It's only him again." "I don't know why he keeps coming around." "Can't you tell him to stay away?" "No, not him!" "I'm sorry!" "I'm terribly sorry!" "But this is the best part of the joke...!" " Do you know who that is, Simon?" " No!" " Well, I'm Liz and she's me, right?" " Right." "And him out there, Simon, dear... lt's you!" "Simon, 1990 version!" "Only he's not called Simon." "He hasn't got a name." "Just a number." "2957."