"The nightmare again?" "Don't worry, don't worry." "Don't worry." "It'll soon be over." "Dad?" " Going already?" " Soon." "Tod's not here yet." "Oh, don't go yet." "Here." " Happy birthday, darling." " But it's tomorrow." "Well, what's wrong with now?" "Open it." "Oh, sorry I couldn't find any pretty paper." "Oh, Dad." "It's beautiful." "It's the most precious thing I can give you." "I'll treasure it." "No,no, no..." "Don't just treasure it." "It was meant to be worn." "It must be worth a fortune." "Supposing I'll lose it?" "You won't." "Wear it always." "Wear it now." "Here." "Happy birthday, darling." "Thank you." "Hi." "Glad you could make it." "Shut your bloody row!" "I sometimes wonder why I took this job." "Well, we know that, don't we?" "Get him inside." "What about a bit of fun?" "Let's have a look at old Snakey Berrigan." "My God, he hasn't been in the jacket all night, has he?" "Seem to have quietened him down;" "he's not doing any of his crazy bits." "Perhaps he'll let up later, when we get the harness off." "...stars... the Milky Way..." "the Galaxy pulsar..." "Hello, cat." "When are you going to let me speak to him?" " Who?" " Your father." " Not now." " Not now, what does that mean?" "You don't feed him enough." "He should be gorged and fat and purring." "Darling, there are areas of research you can help me with." "Sometimes I think there are only two things you want me for." " You're absolutely right." " Am I?" "Yes." "Absolutely." "You drink too much." "Madre mia." "I thought you'd never see it." " When did you get it?" " Birthday present." " From your father?" " What are you going to give me?" "I've never seen anything so beautiful." "He must have got it on the expedition." "What do you know about it?" "I don't know anything about it." "Don't you want to know?" "I'll ask him later." "It's the first time he's given anything away about the expedition." "Anything in any meaning of the word "giving."" "No reports, no journals, no findings—nothing." "Absolute secrecy." "Perhaps there was nothing else to give." "You've never had anything else like it?" "No other presents?" "No." "All these years, and now this ring." "It's unlike anything I've ever seen before." "I know, we can find out from a friend of mine." "Okay?" "Okay." "Be careful." "He can be dangerous." "I'll be close at hand." "Thank you, doctor." "Oh, come on, Berrigan, you know what I want, and it's in there, isn't it?" "Get your hands off me, you maniac!" "I'm afraid we have to go, sir." "At once, please." "Okay, show us your sarcophagus." " Knock it off, Arthur." " Yeah, that's what I mean." "Maybe later." "Promises, promises." " Hello, love." " Hello, Tod." " Geoff about?" " Behind there." "Tod!" "I didn't expect you today." "I wasn't planning on coming over but there's something I had to show you." "What do you make of that?" "My God." "Where'd you get this?" " Whose is it?" " It's mine." "Isn't it lovely?" "No!" "Death is afar still." "He will have no use of you yet." "There's hardship." "And strife." "But it's outweighed by the joy of children's voices." "That's Teddy and Tricia, my Ron's twins." "Are they coming home?" "Oh, it's so hot." "I shall have to take this off." "Oh, what is it, Miss Dickerson?" "I can't go on." "The vibrations are wrong." "I shall have to ask you to leave, Mrs. Caporal." "Next week, by all means, we'll continue." "You saw something there for me—you're afraid to tell me!" "Get out now." "Take your coat with you." "It's so beautiful." "Fantastic how it catches the light." "Can I have it back?" "I should ring Geoffrey, and see how he is." "He'll be fine." "The doctor said so." "Was it this that frightened him?" "I thought it was me." "Probably reminded him of someone." "That's not much of a compliment." "He's late." "He'll be here." "Go on, you can go." "You've fussed enough." "I can't just leave you." "Suppose he doesn't come?" "He'll come." "You heard what the doctor said." ""You've got to expect these things when you reach your age."" "Go on with you." "Don't fuss." "All right, then." "Look after yourself." "Night." "I'm glad you've come." "I'm glad you wanted me to." "What happened?" " It was her." " "Her?"" "As large as life." "Standing over there." "And the ring." "She who has no name." "How could it had happened?" "We'd have known." "That damn Fuchs'd have needed to see." "And though he does believe he'd do everything himself." "But it was her." "Well, don't you believe me?" "Are you ready for this?" "She is Margaret Fuchs." " His daughter." " What?" " It's impossible." " And in a few hours' time, it will be her birthday." "I, Tera," "Queen of Darkness," "Priestess of Ancient Egypt, have lived before." "My spirit has never rested through all these weary centuries." "My soul has wandered among the boundless stars while my mortal body waited." "Now, as the time draw nearer to the predestined hour," "I have guided these people towards my tomb, made them the guardians of my most sacred relics, to protect with their lives, until they are reclaimed." "That will be soon." "Soon." "Soon." "Can you read it, Professor Fuchs?" ""She who is buried here, shall henceforth have no name, shall cease to exist in the minds of man, as she has ceased to exist in life."" "Look!" "Look!" "We do have her name." "Tera." "Mrs. Fuchs." "She's dead." "Doctor, quick!" "Oh my God!" "Look!" "What is it, the nightmare?" "I must get home." " But darling, it's 3 AM." " I don't care, I've got to go." " But now?" " Yes, now." "Okay, okay, I'll take you." "What kind of danger?" "I don't know what, I just feel that something's wrong." "Did you feel that?" "Yes." "Something seemed to—" "Dad!" "Out of the way, we'll have to break it in." "But I've never been down there." "Nobody's allowed down there." "So we'll be the first." "Dad!" "Dad!" "Oh, Dad." "How did it happen?" "There's no one else here." "No other way in or out." "Doctor Putnum has my instructions." "Call him." "He left instructions?" "Did he expect this would happen?" "Is this what you dreamt?" " Just call Putnum." " All right." "Thank you, doctor." "Putnum's on his way." "Should we move him?" "Yes." "I'll take him to his room." "Don't worry." "He'll be okay." "Do you want the police involved?" "Well, we have to report it." "And we must find out what happened." "How it happened." "His instructions, what were they?" "That there should be no police, and that you and I should make decisions on his behalf." "I see." "Then he knew something like this might happen." "You'll have to ask him when he wakes." "He must tell you everything." "For his sake as well as yours." "Why can't you tell me?" "Truly, I wish I could, but I've never been allowed into his total confidence beyond the odd hint and suggestion." "But in those hints and suggestions, something truly astounding." "At last he'll be able to show the world of science, just how little it knows." "I'll be back tomorrow, Margaret." "He should stay like this for a few days." "If there's any change, call me." "He's my priority." " Goodbye, Margaret." " Goodbye." "Geoffrey." "Can you hear me?" "Can you hear anything?" "Father, what do I have to do?" "What do I have to do?" "Tod?" "Don't be scared." "Do you remember, me?" "It was rather a long time ago." "Tod!" "Your father and I were friends, and I've come to help you, as he can't." "Corbeck?" "He said you were never to be allowed in this house." "You need my help now, more than anything else in this world." "Margaret?" " You've seen her?" " Yes." "And you're wearing the ring." "Do you know what it means, the ruby?" "The symbol of the god to come." "How much do you know?" "Nothing." "Oh, he left you in ignorance of all this?" "It's a strange and fantastic affair, but it's not entirely frightening if we know, if we try to understand." "The idea of this Queen of Darkness, it obsessed your father since he was a young man, and he stumbled across, uh, a veiled reference to such a creature, in a medieval tract on sorcery." "But she was buried a legend." "And she had no name." "And your father was determined to find the truth, and make his mark on the world of Egyptology." "He dreamt of big things." "But he didn't know how big." "So then you assembled a team?" "Yeah." "Yes, and began our search." "We found her tomb in the valley of the sorcerer, hidden, a secret, for was a figure of great fear to the priests, of her time, who killed her." "I think your father must have been driven by some occult knowledge that even he was unaware he possessed." "It was his destiny." "And what then?" "Then?" "Horror." "Wonder." "There was an attack on one of our bearers, and at that moment, horrifyingly, fresh blood was released in her veins." "How could this be?" "How could she be so perfectly preserved?" "And you?" "Born exactly at the moment that your father first looked on her." "Born in her image." "Born as we spoke her name, which the priests hadn't entirely obliterated." "Tera." "Thought I heard you call me." "Yes, I..." "I did." "We have a visitor." "Corbeck." "Friend to the family." "Julian called me and asked me to come over." "Tod Browning." " Suppose you heard all that." " I did." "Some of it." "Must have sounded insane to you." "I have studied areas of parapsychology, ESP, et al." "Oh yes, parapsychology, the paranormal plane." "Telekinesis the modern approach." "She has some kind of power, that's obvious." "Good." "I'm glad we don't have to convince you." " I'd like to see her." " Her power is astral, latent, able to be tapped in a way that I do not comprehend, and neither does Julian." "But we must understand, or it will be directed against us as it was against Julian." "And that gives us an important first task." "And what's that?" "Margaret, you must contact all the old members of our team, who bare your father and I no love." "Geoffrey Dandridge is one of them, isn't he?" "Yes." "He's a friend of mine, but he's never once mentioned this." "Geoffrey always preferred to forget as much as possible about the entire affair." "He was a superstitious man." "He was also a scientist." "But, as you say, most things begin with superstition." "We can start with him." "If you wish." "What can these people do to help us?" "Not us." "Tera." "They can help reunite her with her soul." " Hello?" " Tod here, Geoffrey, how are you?" "Oh, I'm fine now, Tod, but very busy." "It's about Julian Fuchs." "That was his daughter, Maragret..." " I won't have anything to do with it." " I know why you were frightened." "Jesus, he's scared." "Then we shall start with Berrigan." "We thought Mr. Berrgain's family were all dead." "And now you're his second visitor in the last few days." " Another visitor?" " Mm." " Who was he, doctor?" " Oh, I've no idea." "But you know, since that time, he's been like a man possessed." "What does he do with his time?" "Every waking hour, poring over his books." "Ordering more." "Always writing." "As if time were running out." "I think his fantasy world is dominated by the presence of some demoniac being." "He fights against the clock to try to understand, to bring some... order in the world he's created himself." "I see." "There's no way for us to break through to him, and so, you see, we can't help him." "Now..." "I hope this won't disturb you." "...then came the executioners." " And they put the sun screws on me." " Thank you, doctor." "Her blood poured out of the nails." "Everywhere." "I couldn't use my hands for four weeks." "T-th-tha—this is..." "I'm not ready yet." "There's more to do." "Please don't be frightened." "Try to listen and understand." "If he thinks I'm Tera, then..." "You know who I am?" "Yes." "And you're afraid, aren't you?" "You're here to kill me." "You've been waiting all these years, torturing me, and now that I'm close to the answer, you come for me?" "I don't wish to kill anybody." "I just want what's mine." "My familiar." "The snake." "Yes." "You're powerless without it." "I haven't got it." "No, no, don't, no!" "No, no, no!" "No, no..." "Not this way." "But I think it's something to tell the doctor and have him get it for us." "No!" "There's another way." " ...no, leave me alone..." " Restrain him." "Hello, Margaret." " How is he?" " Oh, he's fine." "His neck's healing very well." "The danger has passed." "Blood pressure's normal." "But there is a slight sign of paralysis." "On the left hand side." "So be prepared." "Have you and Mr. Browning discovered anything of any value?" "No, it's all up to my father." "Yes, of course, he knows, but he was too scared." "Never knew what kind of Pandora's Box he might have down there." "Wanted to keep you out of it, so that you'd be safe." "Seems like I've been involved all my life, doesn't it?" "Maybe even longer." "Good night, doctor." " Your father's journal." " What does it say?" "Your mother died as you were born." "I know." "She died giving me life." "No, not exactly." "What, then?" "Your father and the others found the tomb, were in the tomb, at the exact moment of your birth in London." "These two events were more than a coincidence." "They were a unity." "And he says she created this unity." "He says here:" "She achieved dominance over sleep, over the will." "She would lie as if dead in her sarcophagus, as though willing her body, as though preparing for some abstract metaphysical state." "An astral body with a free will." "A conscious intelligence." "We can keep people frozen in suspended animation." "People with cancer, waiting for a cure." "Their bodies idling like a machine." "Not dead, not alive." "Waiting." "Non-life." "But waiting." "I get a feeling of great loneliness." "Of her dreaming alone." "Dreaming of things far different from those around her." "A land far away in miles and years, yet close to her heart." "No scheming and malignant priesthood." "No repressive archaic laws or endless rituals of death." "A land where love is the divine possession of the soul." "That'll be the day." "Don't laugh, Tod." "I can feel it in my heart." "See it with my sleeping eyes." "Perhaps it was her dream to make it come true." "Yeah." "Perhaps you're right." "Let's go." "Does old Snakey want his little pet, then?" "This really is something." "Old Snakey found it in Egypt, didn't he?" "I wonder why it makes him feel better seeing it." "Only Snakey knows." "And he's not telling, is he?" "Must be a reason." "He's crazy, that's the reason." "Now, no more of your screaming, okay?" "'Cause no one's gonna take a blind bit of notice." " Okay, that's it." " Must be worth a fortune." "Must it?" "Only if you're crazy." "Oh, dear." "The dawn chorus has started." "Well..." "Now it's your turn to make me laugh." "No!" "It's—it's coming!" "It's coming!" "The snake!" "Let me out!" "Let me out!" "Let me out!" "I don't wanna die!" "Let me out!" "Let me out, oh!" "Margaret." "Margaret." "Margaret?" "Dad!" "Oh Dad, are you really all right?" " What time is it?" " No, try and lie still." "My... my whole side..." "Dr. Putnum thought this might happen." "What's become of me?" "You've had a terrible shock." "Try and remember." "I'd been out with Tod, and when we came back, we found you in the cellar." "You're safe." "Oh, I was sure you would be." "Is that why you gave me the ring?" "To protect me?" "Tell me." "It belonged to Tera, didn't it?" " You know?" " Everything you have belongs to her." "But..." "How could it protect me?" "The priests of her time cut the hand from her." "Not only did it symbolize what they believed was her evil, they also thought that with her body incomplete her power would be destroyed." "Evidently, it wasn't that simple." "Then this ring was on that hand." "A talisman for you." "I have given you so little." "To protect me?" "Or give me her power?" "You've got to tell me everything." "Look, Berrigan's dead." "Somehow the snake he had was transferred here." "How could it..." "so soon?" " Listen, Corbeck's been telling me—" " Corbeck?" "Yes." " You called him." " Lies are all he'll ever tell you." "He is never to come here." "He is not to be involved." "Not now." "Trust me." "Wait until the time is right." "Don't have anything to do with Corbeck." "This ring, if we have it, where's the hand?" "Promise me." "Berrigan's dead." "But you knew that." "And we have the snake." "But you knew that too." "But you found me." "I didn't know you'd do that." "I'm glad." "My father's recovering." "He can talk." " He told you?" " Yes." " Everything?" " Yes." "And don't tell me he lied." "Delusions, theories..." "He doesn't know the truth." "But what you call the truth is lies." " For your sake." " That's what he said." "You're both trying to use me, but you don't care about what might happen to me." "And what you say is all lies." "Well, not any longer." "I'm important to this affair." "Born in her image." "I don't know how or why, but you need me, I do know that." "This force may have us trapped, but it fascinates me." "It's part of me." "Your father believes that Tera is a force of evil." "And he spent these years trying to find the root of that force, while trying to keep the evil bottled up." "And you want to let it loose?" "I don't accept it as a concept." "Then what do you accept?" "See, Tera is far beyond the laws and dogma of her times." "And of ours." "Beyond good and evil?" "Love." "Hate." "She's a law compelling beyond good and evil, and if we can find out how far beyond, how much we can learn." "But why do we need the relics?" "I think you know why." "You feel it." " Resurrection." " Yes." "A rebirth for Tera." "For her knowledge." "For her ideas." "And for us?" "Complete control." "Over life, over death." "Secrets hidden." "Obscured." "Unguessed at for ages." "With our hands to use as we will." "And my father?" " We cannot afford the weak." " What do you mean?" "He has no real courage, no real strength, only a cheap, intellectual conceit." " But all his years of study..." " He's been afraid." "That's why he wanted nothing to with me, and that is why he filled Berrigan and all the others with the fear of God." "Well, the meek shall not inherit the earth." "They wouldn't know what to do with it." "Can we afford to let him be part?" "To let them control it?" "Are you going to go on allowing them to use you?" " No." " Good." "Well, then together, we will share whatever we contrive to make." "Tell me..." "What would you do to possess it all?" "Anything." "Well, then, together we will do everything." "Not yet." "There's still some shopping to do." "Dandridge annd Dickerson." "Oh, not now, Tod, I'm busy." "What do you mean, busy?" "We're going to see Geoffrey, aren't we?" "It's not a good idea." "Look what happened last time." "Seeing me again might kill him." "Yes, well, go on home, then." "Look, Dad's nearly recovered, you can talk to him tomorrow, but just don't bother me now." " What do you mean?" " I'm in no danger." "Oh, let me alone." "My turn to surprise you." "This is your house?" "It has some rather interesting views." "I am considering buying it, but I may change my mind, it all rather depends on circumstances." "Do I need to ask you to leave?" "What are you doing to Margaret?" "Why, what's she doing to you?" "Just tell me where she is." "Shopping." "It's ten to six, Mr. Dandridge." "Mr. Dandridge?" "Then you'd better go now." " Or you'll find the shops all shut." " All right, then." "But you won't work too late, will you?" "Will you?" "You're fussing." "All right, then, take care." "Oh wait, I forgot to show you this." "You didn't know, did you?" "One of your colleagues died." "Mr. Berrigan." "Berrigan?" "Didn't think you knew." "Night." "My God." "Corbeck?" "Tod, is that you?" "Veronica?" "Who are you?" "Are you feeling better now?" "You have a relic from the tomb." "The Skull of the Sacred Jackal." "We want it." "You killed Berrigan." "You and your father." "He was afraid he'd die if he gave it up." "Is that what you think?" "Supposing you die if you keep it?" "Had you thought of that?" "We want it, Mr. Dandridge!" "What the hell are you doing here?" "I changed my mind." "You seemed determined that we should see Geoffrey." "Corbeck said you were shopping." "Did he?" "What are you two up to in there?" "Where's Geoffrey?" "He's not there." "Come on, Tod." "No." "I want to look around." "If you must." "But you'll be wasting your time." "Geoff?" "Look!" "I know." "Margaret?" "Margaret?" "Margaret, where are you?" "You two'd better not know what the hell you've been doing." "Margaret, I hope to God you don't." "But it's ended." "We're getting out of this, all of us." "This is something precious and fantastic." "Two people have died because of what you've been dabbling with." " It could kill you." " No!" " Or you." " Like smoking, or driving cars." "You are insane." " And you're going crazy, c'mon." " Let me go!" "Come on, before it's too late!" " Where are you going?" " To get help." " And who can you get to help you?" " Help for you." "Tod, don't!" "Or you're dead!" "Tod!" " He'd have died anyway." " But I wished him dead!" "Don't fight it." "Let it flow through you." "Let it be yours." "Look at the ring." "When I saw you wearing it" "I knew the time was near, or else he wouldn't have given it to you." "The stars shift their relative position in the heavens." "Through enormous distances." "But they appear small." "They are measured by centuries, not by years." "But they do not correspond to their position in the constellation as it was when she was alive." "They are in the position that they are in now." "Tonight." " She chose it." " So you must not weaken." "You were born for this." "You are coming of age." "Margaret." "What have you done to her?" "She's alright." " She needs help." " She doesn't exist." "She's a pawn, an instrument, a vessel." " No!" " Oh, let's face it." "When tonight is over, she will be dead, and Tera will live." " It is tonight, isn't it?" " No, no..." "I won't go through with it." "Not now." "All you've done is lock yourself in here and play games." ""How clever I am."" ""How is it possible?" "Wouldn't it be fun if it were all true?"" "Well, it is true." "Undeniably so." "And you?" "You are scared." "Every waking moment, you are scared." "And she's made you see, hasn't she?" "See your conceits." "See your games." "Tera has given you a warning." ""Don't let me down." "Don't try and back out, or you are dead."" "You know what you've got to do." "And you know that there's no help for her." "Yes." "Then I'll just go and bring some things, and then I think we'll be almost ready for her, won't we?" "The one last relic." "The third phase of her soul." "Without it, we can stop this nightmare." "Unless it's all too late?" "Tod!" "Tod!" "Do it." "Using her as a guinea pig?" "As an experiment?" "Put her out." "She mustn't awake." "Mustn't be conscious." "Do it." "Time is just a moment out of space." "What are the dead but memory?" "And when the memory dies..." "There are mighty things, but life itself is mightier." "Life itself is..." "Life itself is..." "Get back to bed, Margaret." "I'm going to give you something to help you sleep for a while." "Useless." "But you're not well, Margaret." "You need to rest." "I've been sleeping too long." "Julian!" "Afraid?" "I'm only trying to help you." "Why should I be afraid?" "Because I want to see you die!" "Putnum!" "No..." "What are you going to do with the body, Julian?" "You have an incinerator." "It takes longer, but it's safer." "You see, I'm not even going to ask you why you killed him." "Now, then, let me give you a hand." "But you've done enough to ruin everything." "You've sat and studied, brooded, and watched and done nothing." "But I've searched, I've traveled the world." "I've come to the age of understanding." "I have recovered the Scroll of Life." "Soon the moment will be here." "Tera will be reborn." " But you don't understand..." " I understand everything." "That you need me, that we need Margaret, and that only I can control her." "No, not anymore." "It's out of our hands." " Tera's in control." " We control Tera." "We give her life." "Without us she's dust and ashes." "Now, then." "Where is Margaret?" "She killed Putnum, and ran out." "God only knows where." "We know where, don't we?" "Answer it." "Help me." "I'm..." "Margaret Fuchs." "Gunther." "Must be his daughter." "Margaret?" "Margaret?" "No!" "It's happened!" "You have to help me." "You know its power." "I have no mind left." "No will." "I'll face you!" "I won't run!" "She can live or die, I'll be safe." "You'll be safe if you give it to me." "Yes, I'll get you." "Only don't make it kill me." "Please." "Don't!" "Yes, that's it, give it to me." "No!" "No!" "No, don't!" "No, don't!" "Don't!" "No, don't!" "No, no!" "Don't!" "Come." "We must go." "The Scroll of Life." "No!" "No, don't read the scroll." "Destroy it!" "It can only bring evil and destruction." "The worst that's in you." "The worst that's in all of us." "That's all we've seen from this business." "But it's not what Tera wants." "You've abused the power she's given you, thanks to him." "Do it my way." "Wait and watch, with patience and trust." "Wait until she is ready." "She is ready now." "All but the lamps." "No..." "Not like this." "You can't only have good things, beautiful things, holy things." "They're worthless without their opposites." "Get the lamps." "No." "The lamps." "Celestial Osiris, Isis and Horus, this before us is a child of the gods, a being of majesty and might." "Her astral spirit wanders the cold places and dark, seeking reunion with her soul, with her body, so that she may rise, as is the privilege and destiny of the gods, so that she may walk again on this earth." "Let life flow again in this body, let the soul rejoin it, let the astral spirit be rekindled." "Osiris, Isis, Horus..." "What use is this if we're to die?" "Instruments of her will, using all of us." "You didn't find her." "She found you and led you to the tomb." "Made you devote yourself to her." "And the others?" "Just guarding the relics with their lives?" "More chances for her to be reborn." "Once she regains her place usurped by the priests." "We're as meaningless as all the dead." "These thousands of years." "But, Margaret, you died when your mother died." "And suddenly, you were alive." "She is you!" " He mustn't finish the scroll." " Osiris, Isis, Horus," "I command thee, gods of the upper and lower worlds..." "The scroll." "Help me!" "Help me!" "Help me..." " Is there no information?" " Nothing." "She's the same as she was when they brought her in." "Naked and more dead than alive." " No relatives, no visitors?" " None." "They say all the others were crushed beyond recognition." "She's the only one who can tell us who she is."