"I'm afraid you've both fallen into the trap of attributing human characteristics to a flexible casing with circuits." "They can easily program a machine to have a child's mind, a child's..." " Why would they do that?" " I don't know why." "But I can soon find out." "I'll open it up." "No, you keep away from it." "Look, Steel, Steel, Steel, Steel." "I am the technician... and there's no machine - past, present or future - that I cannot handle." "'All irregularities will be handled 'by the forces controlling each dimension." "'Transuranic heavy elements may not be used where there is life." "'Medium atomic weights are available." "'Gold, Lead," "'Copper," "'Jet, Diamond, Radium," "'Sapphire, Silver and Steel." "'Sapphire and Steel have been assigned. '" "'Let it follow you." "'I want to get behind it." "Go on, make it follow you!" "'" "'You can't kill it, Steel." "You can't hurt it. '" "'Touch them both. '" "No!" "'Touch them. '" "I won't!" "'It tried to resist something. '" "'Yes. ' 'Whatever controls it. '" "'The time source?" "' 'It must be. '" "'Well, what is he?" "'" "'A human transmutation." "You could call it a changeling. '" "'Changeling?" "' 'A substitute child." "'It's old folklore, 'except that this child hasn't been substituted for another. '" " He's been substituted for himself?" " Give or take 30 years." "I wonder what he did to Silver?" "What he did to everything else." "Like the door." " I think he sent him back." " To where?" "To the beginning, to his beginnings." "Maybe even further than that." "What is it?" "I was trying to imagine but it's impossible." " Imagine what?" " Silver having a childhood." "That's strange." "My thoughts exactly." " About Silver?" " No, about you." "He's the baby from this room." "Yes." "I have very positive origins." "Inexpressible, maybe... but positive." "Without Silver, we'll never get out of this capsule." " What about the parents?" " What are you gonna do?" " But..." " Try to get him back." "If he has sent Silver back to a time when he never even existed..." "What did you say?" "What about the parents of that child?" "He could have hardly sent them back, the child itself wouldn't exist." "It wouldn't be here." "Maybe he sent them in different directions." "Yes, the opposite direction." "Remember the hands?" " Left hand..." " The past." " Right hand..." " The future." " Well, it could be." " It could be, yes." "There must be a power system somewhere." "There must be the machinery." "This room is very special." "It's the only one that isn't pretending to be something else." " Room from the future?" " Yes, but how does it work?" " There's no machinery, nothing." " Nothing we can see." "Well, how did it get here?" "How do we send it back?" "We can't send it back without its crew." "All right, while we're waiting for them to reappear, what do you suggest we do?" " I've no idea." " Precisely." "So get Silver back." " Now?" " Now." "You're not forgetting the time source?" " Only I thought you were worried." " Worried?" "That it's all gone too smoothly, that we got in here too easily." "No, I'm not forgetting the time source and yes, I'm worried." " Good." " Now, take time back." "To when the three of us..." "were together... in the living room?" "See you back there." "'I have impeccable origins. '" "Oh... no." "Oh, no!" "Day 27." "Experimental project ES stroke five stroke treble seven." "Urban examination and observation." "Time of day, 8:27 am." "I'd like to report a transference failure..." "'Time is the measure of durational continuous existence 'without reference to extension in space." " 'Absolute time is unrelated to... '" " You see, we stopped receiving... '... unlimited and infinitely divisible." "'Relative time, by which duration is measured 'with reference to events." "'Sidereal time is based on rotation of the earth with respect to... '" "Silver!" "I'm afraid you've both fallen into the trap of attributing human characteristics to a flexible casing..." "'Steel!" "'" "'Steel!" "'" "'Time as measured by clocks, chronometers, etc 'is computed on the basis of an average or mean solar day... 'which is always the same length and has no real existence. '" "Why can't you work in there?" " It's impossible!" " Then try the screen room." "It must be the room Silver was last in." " What's stopping you?" " The room itself!" " It's alive." " With what?" "With time." "It knew your reasons for going in?" "What other reason would it have for setting up a barrier like that?" "So you are unable to take time back?" "Under these circumstances, yes." "I haven't got the power." " Yeah, but it has." " Obviously." " Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" " Yes, the same thoughts." "You can't use your powers and I can't do what I've been sent to do and take this capsule back because the crew aren't here." "We've lost our technician." "The only one who can get us out and get us in." "He's a... useful sort of person, isn't he?" "I miss him." "There's a time field outside this place and now apparently a time barrier within." " What did you do?" " When?" "When you entered the room." "Did you prepare things, what?" "L" " I just thought about what I had to do to get Silver back." " You only had to think it?" " Yes." "Think it now." " 'Steel?" "' - 'Yes, I saw that." "'Come back here. '" " The roof." " Yes, but the past or the future?" " It could have been either." " 'Try it here." "Take time back here, 'when you and I and Silver first came out from the screen room." "'Try that. '" " So which one did you try?" " The master pad." "Well, we usually get an instant signal back from that, don't we?" "Yes." " That was..." " People from the future." "Well..." "why were they dressed like that?" "As part of their experiment." "Did you expect something different?" "Some sort of transmitter, Silver said." "Yes, and a monitor." "Something that sees us, watches us." "Well, there's probably one in every room." "Maybe there is nothing tangible." "Maybe there doesn't need to be." "Steel?" "It's here." "I'm in line with it here." "Do you remember on the roof?" "'Yes, I'm in line with it here. '" "Yes, I remember." "It's very powerful, Steel." "It can do anything." " Try to communicate with it!" " I can't possibly!" " Is it only a machine?" " Yes!" "Capable of... doing anything it wants." "Yes." " Capable of everything?" " Yes." "Those clever people of the future with their brilliant minds," " they harnessed it and used it..." " 'Remember. '" "Oh!" "Oh!" "No!" "Oh!" "The pain!" "It's all right." "It's all right!" "It's all right." "Wait here." "It moved." "Good." " Anything now?" " No." "If only we knew how these walls were constructed." "It could be anywhere." "Yes, it has a right to be anywhere in this capsule." "It could have access to any part of it... built in." " What were those noises?" " Sounds of pain." "What's that?" "The whole capsule is built like that." "Let's see if..." "You'll never shift it." "Silver could." "Yes, Silver probably could." "Maybe there is a way of getting him back." " Steel?" " A quick way..." "Look." " Blood." " It's animal blood." "Animal blood?" "What exactly are they guilty of?" " What is their time source?" " That's capable of everything?" "Well, there's one thing it hasn't been capable of doing." "Something disobeyed it, remember?" "The left hand the past, the right the future." "What if..." " It's dangerous." " I live dangerously." " What if you disappeared too?" " You'd have to cope." " You know what it can do." " Very well." " It's watching you, listening!" " That's what I'm relying on!" " You cannot take that chance!" " All right!" "All right." "I'm just gonna talk to it." "What is your name?" " Name?" " Yes." "You must have a name." "We want to help you." "We want to give you back the things you need." "Sleep... and warmth... and food." "Those are the things you want..." "aren't they?" "Well... we are going to help you..." "get those things back." "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" "You'd like that a lot." "We're going to give you everything you want." "And you know what?" "We're going to send you back." "Send you back... where you belong." "'No!" "'He will hurt you. '" "No!" "Rothwyn!" " The past again?" " This is the present." "The present?" "Your child." "He's quite safe." "We've brought him back for you." " From where?" " Don't ask them anything." " I need to know what happened." " Don't even talk to them!" "I believe you now." "The things, the things you said you'd seen." " We're both imagining things!" " We are not." " Of course we are!" " These people are real." " Well, aren't you?" " Yes, we're real." " What are your names?" " How can they possibly be real?" "How could we possibly not be?" " What are your names?" " Tell him." " We can't!" " He's Eldred, I'm Rothwyn." " Names from the past." " Yes." "But you're from the future." " Am I right?" " You're right." "And there's only the three of you?" "Well, tell me." "Ye..." "Yes." "There's only the three of us here." " But it's impossible!" " What?" "Them being here." "No one can enter this place." " No one can get in." " No?" "No one from this time period." "Where are you from?" "Please wait here until you're needed." "Psst."