"St Merryn's Hospital, Wednesday May 12th." "Or is it still Tuesday May 11th?" "No..." "It must be Wednesday because most of the time the noise of the traffic is so loud that you need earplugs to hear yourself think." "And as it doesn't stop until around midnight, that means it must be the silent early hours." "Three, four, who knows?" "But I'm already awake." "What's more, I'm hungry." "Isn't it ridiculous?" "The nurses come in at seven, on the dot." "With a lovely cup of tea." "Then the wash, then the breakfast." "And then today - great day..." "Eureka." "These bandages come off." "Roll on..." "Roll on seven o'clock." "So..." "I'm taking the opportunity of this waiting time to reply to your cassette." "Dear Walter, many thanks for your cassette." "There we are." "I've been doing a lot of thinking while I've been lying here, Wal." "And I've come to a decisión." "I've had enough." "I'm chucking the job." "I'm fed up with triffids." "I wanna be loved." "I wanna breed puppies and plant potatoes." "So, as you are gonna write your book about triffs, and on condition that I never have to mention them again," "I'll use this waiting time." "It's not that I'm worried about this morning." "It's just that I'm scared stiff!" "I'll use this time to do as you ask and give you some of my theories about the early days." "Some of it's more than theories, too." "The stories about Palanguez I got from a good source." "In 1961 he turned up at the office of European Oils." "We've had it analysed, Mr Palanguez." "Experts confirm it is a vegetable oil." " But with extraordinary properties." " I've never seen anything like it." "You'll see a great deal of it, Mr Grant." "It will come on the market in seven or eight years." " Possibly." " As an additive to petroleum?" " Yes." " With an energy saving of over 30%?" "Do you intend to market it yourself, Mr Palanguez?" "Would I be showing it to you if I did?" "I suppose you have a proposition." "Shall we come to it?" "The plant from which this oil is obtained is a completely new species." "I might be able to provide the seeds of this plant." "If you commence cultivation at once, you could begin production of the oil in five years, or it might be six for full yield." "You would still be in advance of your competitors." "Or I could always come to an arrangement with the competitors." "I think you will find they are not approachable - or suppressible." "You mean they're behind the Iron Curtain?" "Seeds, you said." "Have you heard of a Russian professor of biology called Lysenko?" "There are rumours he's made some strange experiments." "I have heard these rumours." "What figure did you have in mind for getting us the seeds?" "Ten million pounds." "And a percentage of the profits." "It is a very dangerous business, Mr Grant." "There are many people I must pay." "For you, the choice is between ruin or a monopoly in the Western world." "I will not lower my price." "And he didn't lower it." "And they paid him - or part of it - because Mr Palanguez was never seen again." "Of course, in the end, the company got those seeds." "But by the time they did, they weren't the only ones." "What they..." "Bythetimetheydid,  they weren't the only ones." "What..." "Sorry about the sound effects, Wal." "Somewhere in the night a window smashed." "We'll be deafened with police sirens any minute!" "Meanwhile, back to the triffids." "My first experience of them was when I still lived at home with Mum and Dad." "It was a year or so after Palanguez disappeared, not that I'd ever heard of him then." "But we know from a Russian that the seeds had been taken away." "I always thought that Russian fighters got on his tail and shot him up." "Those seeds are like vapour." "If they got out, they'd drift almost anywhere." " Funny, isn't it, Dad?" " Yes, it is a little curious." "Rather curious." " Any idea of what it is?" " No, not really." "It's blown in from somewhere." "Either that or a foreign import of some sort I know not what of." "Or else some new strain that someone's been rearing." "What are these stumps at the bottom?" "Search me." "Very peculiar." "Here..." "Come on, Bill." "Have a look inside." "Come on." " Ugh!" " Come on, Bill, that's nature." "I've grown rather fond of it, myself." "I shall take care of you, old chap." "There's no need to fret." "Not long after this, I went to the cinema with a pal." "In those days, they still showed newsreels before the film." "Geta loadof what'sgoingon in Ecuadorl Vegetables on vacationl" "You might have seen this after a party, but in Ecuador they see it any time." "Monster plants on the march." "This gives me an idea." "If we educate our potatoes, we can fix it so they walk straight in the pot!" "Theywerethesame as the plant in our garden." "I was sure they were." "And if they could walk..." "Aghh!" "I was the first person in England to have been stung by a triffid." "Our plant was too young for its poison to be fully effective." "The doctors managed to save my life." "We were beginning to learn about the tri-feds, or triffids as they came to be called." "They couldn't only walk." "They could kill." "Triffids began to appear all over the world." "Something else about them sickened everyone." "Triffids were also carnivores." "They stung their victims, then waited for the flesh to decompose." "Not until then could they use it for food." "Triffids were hacked down by the thousand." "The new plant was very nearly eliminated from earth." "Very nearly." "But not quite." "Because scientists realised the nasty triffid was the same plant from Russia that produced the wonderful oil." "Triffids were..." "That meant that triffids were very lovely and very big business." "As I had a bond with them, I went to work on a triffid farm and so did you." "You know the rest." "Meanwhile, we'll pause for the time." "What the hell's going on?" "It's eight o'clock!" "They should have been in at seven." "They've got to take these bloody bandages off!" "I'm sorry about that." "You get like a kid when you're as helpless as this." "There must be some emergency on." "There's no point in me getting into a paddy." "There's nothing I could..." "That's funny." "Where's all the traffic got to?" "The worst thing about living in this blackness is that there's no certainty of knowing anything at all." "For all I know, three nurses and a doctor are playing blind man's buff with me." "Or they might have moved me somewhere while I was asleep." "I've never seen this room." "Anyway... there's obviously some explanation." "Apart from the fact I've gone bananas." "It reminds me of that conversation we were having the other week." "Do you remember when we were talking about triffids?" "That evening we were working late." "They can tap number three field tomorrow." "Yep." "For now, that's it." "I've had enough." "I'm going home." " Time for walkies." " Don't you start." " What?" " Kiddy talk about triffs." "Who have you been falling out with?" "Jack Richards has planted a triffid in his garden so his daughter can have it for a pet." "He wouldn't be the first." "Perfectly safe if he keeps it on some sort of chain and cuts the sting out every two years." " Quite fun for a kid in lots of ways." " Fun?" "!" " Have a nightcap?" " Yeah." "Ta." "We know very little about them, you know." "For example, what do you think that is, when they rattle their sticks against their stem?" "I thought we decided it was a sort of primitive mating call." " Cheers." " Cheers." "I think they're talking." "Talking?" "!" "I've been thinking that for some time." "Now I'm prepared to say so." "Well, to you, anyway." "Walter, a talking plant is ridiculous!" "So is a walking plant, but a triffid walks." " Well, it moves about." " That's quibbling." "It walks." "And if I'm right and it talks, or communicates, that means somewhere inside it is intelligence." "We've dissected them." "There's no brain." "Something might do a brain's job." "Look at what they attack." "They almost always go for the head." "A great number of people who have been stung but not killed have been blinded." " That's significant." " Of what?" "They know the shortest way of putting a man out of action." "If it were a choice of survival between a blind man and a triffid," " I know which I'd put my money on." " You're assuming equal intelligence." "I'm not." "They don't need their intelligence to equal ours." "What do you mean?" "Look how complicated it is for us to feed ourselves." "Even to just grow things and eat them raw." "They live off the soil or from insects or bits of rotten meat." "Look at the complex process we have to go through to get oil from them." "Put that in reverse." "How would they make use of us?" "Give us a sting, wait a few days and they've got everything they need to live." "That doesn't take very much intelligence." " You don't like them very much, do you?" " They fascinate me." "I shall write a book about them one day." "If they do have this intelligence, are you afraid of it?" "Why should I be?" "They're under control." "There's only one thing, though." "I'd like to know what they're nattering about." "Come in." "What's going on?" "!" "Hey!" "Do you think I could possibly have some breakfast?" "Room 22!" "I think I'm going mad." "I must be." "Or something's happened, and God only knows what it is." "Oh, Christ!" "The sweat's running down my neck." "It's Wednesday May 12th." "Yesterday was May 11th." "Only one night's passed and everything was normal then." "Theskyis justfull of shooting stars!" "Is it to do with last night?" "You saw it, I suppose." "I must have been the only person that didn't." "We've drawn back the curtains in the wards so the patients can look out." "What did the radio say it was?" "Comet what?" "Debris." "It's amazing, Mr Mason!" "Before we get this down my front, we'd better call it a day." " Oh, I'm sorry." " It's all right." "I'm only joking." "It's just jealousy, missing all the fun." " Are you sure you've had enough?" " Yes, thank you." " Evening, Nurse." " Good evening, Doctor." "Evening, Mr Mason." "I'm Doctor Soames." "Your specialist asked me to see you." "Oh." "Good evening, Dr Soames." "Will you be needing me, Doctor?" " No, thank you, Nurse." " Good night, Mr Mason." "Good night, Barbara." " Enjoy the free show." " Thank you." "I will." " It's quite something you're missing." " So I'm told." "I'm sorry." "Must be very boring for you." "Mr Carter will see you after breakfast, but don't be tempted to peep before then." "These things have to be handled carefully." "Exactly the right amount of light..." "and that sort of thing, otherwise some very expert work and ten days' patience could be ruined in a couple of seconds." " You understand that?" " Yes, of course." "Good." "Triffid sting, wasn't it?" "Yes, that's right." "I work on a triffid farm." "I thought they all had their stings docked." "Not the ones we tap for oil." "The oil's better quality if we don't dock them." "I see." "You wear some sort of protective clothing, don't you?" "Oh, yes." "But some of those stings are ten feet long." "They can catch you at any angle." "This one swiped me on the side of the mask and the poison got inside." " You're lucky to be alive, aren't you?" " Yes." "I wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for my friend." "He took me inside and gave me the antidote." "Added to which I must have built up some resistance." " That's the second time they got me." " Haven't you had enough of them?" "I've decided" " I have!" "Well, good luck for tomorrow." "I'm going to join the gawpers on the roof." "Good night, Mr Mason." "Good night, Doctor." "Theyhaveno recordofsuch  a brilliant display of astronomical pyrotechnics ever taking place before." "Every country in the world has been able to have a look at this unique phenomenon." "As night has moved across the earth, the wonderful display has moved with it." "Although the spectacle is losing its strength, the streets and parks and rooftops of London are jammed with people watching one of the greatest entertainments the world has ever..." " Hello?" " Who's there?" "My name's Mason." "Bill Mason." " I'm in Room 22." " Mason!" "I'm Dr Soames." "Of course." "I should have recognised your voice." "What's the matter?" "You can see?" "Nobody came to unbandage my eyes, so I did it myself." "No harm's been done." " I can see as well as ever." " I must telephone at once." "Where are we now?" " What do you mean?" " Where are we now?" "!" "You've got eyes, dammit!" "Use them!" "Can't you see I'm blind?" "Everycountryin theworldhasbeen able to look at this unique phenomenon." "As night has moved across the earth, the wonderful display has moved with it." "Although the spectacle is losing its strength, the streets and parks and rooftops of London are jammed with people watching one of the greatest entertainments the world has ever..." "You can see?" "Nobody came to unbandage my eyes, so I did it myself." "No harm's been done." " I can see as well as ever." " I must telephone at once." "Where are we now?" " What do you mean?" " Where are we now?" "!" "You've got eyes, dammit!" "Use them!" "Can't you see I'm blind?" "It's useless." "Dead." " You are still here?" " Yes." "What are we going to do?" "I'll go and find help, fetch another doctor." "Stay here." " I shan't be long." " You won't find anyone." "Something terrible's happened." "Very terrible." " Sister?" " Who's there?" " Is there a nurse about?" " No one's here." "God knows what they're up to." "Draw the curtains, will you, mate?" "Don't muck about." "Draw the bloody curtains." "What the hell is happening?" "Doctor?" "Doctor Soames?" "Mummy!" "Mummy!" "Keep close." "Hang on." " What is it?" " I don't know." "Ooh!" "It's a step." "We're all right." "It's a step." " Keep out on my left." " Yes, OK." "Not too far." "Did it stop?" "That was a car, wasn't it?" "Did it stop?" "Is anybody there?" "Can you see?" "Can someone see?" "Can you see?" "Please..." "Please!" "Can you help us?" "Excuse me, mate!" "Don't take no notice of these people." "They don't mean any harm." "It's just that, well, I'm lost." "We all are, here." " Perhaps you can tell me where we are." " I don't know." "I've run out of petrol." "Well, could you show me to the pavement, please?" " You're staying with me." " Let me go!" "I need a doctor." "Daddy's gone blind!" ""Daddy's gone blind!" We've all gone blind." "Only you haven't gone blind!" " Let me go, please!" " Shut up!" "You're gonna be doing my seeing for me." "First, you're gonna get me some food, and some drink, right?" "Who is it?" "Who's there?" "!" " Who is it, Tina?" " She can see?" " Don't you touch her!" "Leave her alone!" " It's all right!" "I don't wanna hurt her." "I saw her in the street." "I could tell she could see." "I don't mean any harm." " Can you see?" " Yeah." "Oh, thank God!" "I told you, didn't I?" "Go and tell your mother." "Tell her other people can see." "Go and tell her." "We thought everyone had gone blind except her." "There's no gas, no electric." "Radio's gone." "And the phone." "When I woke up this morning, I couldn't see." "My wife couldn't see, either." "We thought..." "It's the same in all the other flats." "There's been people screaming and shouting for help." "We thought it had happened to the whole bloody world!" "You've been sent to help, have you?" "Say something for God's sake!" "Tell us what's going on." "I don't know what's going on." "My eyes were bandaged." "I took the bandages off this morning, I found everything like this." "Oh, Christ!" "You... didn't see the lights?" "Lights?" " Last night." "The comet lights." " No." " John?" "John." " Shirley." " I said stay in bed." " Is there someone here who can see?" " I said there would be." " Can you really see?" " Yeah, I can see." " Have you come to help us?" "Of course he has." "Now go back to bed, Shirley." "She fell over in the bathroom this morning, cracked her head." "Sit down." "Let me have a look." "Oh, it's nothing, honestly." "It's just the shock, I think." "Tina bathed it for me." " She's done a good job." " It'll be fine." "Why can't we see?" "What's happened to us?" "They're not sure yet." "They're still trying to find out." " How many people has it happened to?" " We're not sure about that either." "It's just a limited area." "They are sure about that." "Our son's in France with the school on an education trip." "It might have been the comet lights." "She didn't see them and she's all right." "The lights might have been too bright." "It couldn't have been that." "They'd have warned us." "Now go back to bed, Shirley." "You might be concussed from that fall." "We can't risk you hurting yourself again." "You go with her, Tina." "Go on." "I'm sure your husband's right." "Don't take any chances." "No." "Come on, darling." "It's wonderful you're here." "Shut the door." "How many other people have you met who can see?" "It's all right." "I'm not telling Shirley." "I don't think she could cope knowing." "But I've got to know because I've got to cope." "I haven't met anyone else who can see." "Oh." "In the sideboard, there's the remains of a bottle of whisky." "I couldn't half do with one." "You have one too." " What's your name?" " Er, Bill." "Why were your eyes bandaged up?" "Er, I work on a triffid farm." "I got stung by one." " I nearly went blind." " Oh." "Here." "There." " Are there people on the streets?" " No, it's eerie." "It's almost totally quiet." " That won't last." " What do you mean?" "Ta." "Well, everybody will be like us at first." "They won't know what's happened." "They'll be too frightened to move." "Then they'll get hungry and start looking for food." "In two or three days, it won't be just hooligans killing each other for scraps of food." "I'm sorry." "That's, um..." "That's stupid." "Give us another one." "No, those comet lights came nearest to here." "Everyone else should be all right." "Before you know where you are, there'll be Red Cross, Sally Army," "Royal Marines pouring in, and doctors, too." "There's hundreds of cases of people going temporarily blind." "It's a question of proper treatment." "Be best if you stop with us for the time being." "Why?" "It would be best, wouldn't it?" "Two who can see, and two who are blind." "We can manage like that." "We'll give you shelter and you give us help." "That would be best, don't you think?" " What about the others?" " What others?" "Your child can see." "The others have no one." "What about them?" "What about them?" "Can you help all of them?" "Which are you gonna pick?" "The first you meet?" "The 20th?" "The 2,645th?" "Talk sense, for God's sake!" "There's not just us in this flat." "There's the rest of the block." "You could manage all of them." "That's enough, isn't it?" "Don't leave us... please." "There's got to be others who can see." "Tina can see." "I can see." "There's got to be others." "We can organise something till the real help comes." "There's nothing and there's no one." "Haven't you got that yet?" "I've got to try and find out!" "Look, you'll be all right." "You've got Tina." "You'll be all right!" "There's nothing you'll be able to do." "When you realise that, you come back." "If you're still alive then." "# There's only one team in London" "# One team in London" "# There's only one team in London" "# Give me an "A" # "A"" "# "R" # "R"" "# "S" # "S"" "# "E" # "E"" "# "N" # "N"" "# "A" # "A"" "# "L" #" "That's mine!" "Get out!" "Get out!" "Arsenal!" "# Wem-bl-ey!" "Wem-bl-ey!" "# We're the famous Arsenal and we've been to Wembley" "# Wem-bl-ey!" "Wem-bl-ey!" "# We're the famous Arsenal and we've been to Wembley!" "# Wem-bl-ey!" "Wem-bl-ey" "# We're the famous Arsenal and we've been to Wembley!" "#" "Company... halt!" " Who wants what?" "It's all free." " Arsenal!" " Shut up!" " Up yours!" " I want a woman!" " You want a woman." " Yeah!" " Right." "Dead easy." "Lovely bit of skirt over 'ere." "Come on, my little darling!" "You I'm talking to." " Leave me!" " Don't be shy." "Come on." "You'll have a great time with us." "A bloody sight better than you are now." " Let her go!" "Leave her alone." " Hello, hello!" "Grab her, you berk!" " No!" " Piece of meat, lads!" "Gang-bang!" "#Sowe 'llgo no morea-roving" "# So late into the night" "# Though the heart be ne'er as loving" "# And the moon be still as bright" "# Though the heart be ne'er as loving" "# And the moon... #" "Get off, you bastard!" "She's mine!" "I found her." "I'll cut you!" "Get out of it!" "Pull on that hard!" "Come on." " By the way, I'm Bill Mason." " Josella Payton." "But Josella's a hell of a mouthful, so I'm called Jo." "I take it you didn't see that comet stuff last night." "No." "Why?" "Well... that seems to be the main cause of it." "This comet was so bright, it burned out something in the eye." " How come you missed it?" " I had a dreadful hangover yesterday." "I went to a party on Monday night." "About four in the afternoon I went to bed." "Took two sleeping pills." "I didn't know another thing." "Till my father woke me this morning." ""I can't see," he said. "I think I've gone blind." ""Will you telephone for Dr Mayall?"" "The telephone wasn't working, and Anna hadn't come down - she's the housekeeper." "I discovered she'd gone blind too." "It's all right." "They can't get in." "Leave it!" "There's another pub near." "I thought I was losing the panic." "It's been with me all morning." "Half of me hasn't been able to take it all in, and the other half just doesn't know how to begin to cope with it all." "How many people do you think are left who can see?" "I've met one... and a child." "You haven't seen any?" "No." " I must get back to my father." " Look, er..." "Do you mind if I come with you?" "I nearly asked you whether you would." "But I thought there might be somebody you wanted to get back to." "No." "My parents are dead and I'm not married or anything." "Here." "It's not that I'm afraid of getting caught again." "I'll watch out for that." "It's just the dreadful sense of loneliness, being cut off from everybody else." "Yeah, I know." "Come on." "Let's find a car with some petrol in." " It's Anna." " Triffid sting." "The poison sacs are exhausted." "It must have been doing a hell of a lot of stinging." " Is it your father?" " Yes." "No!" "He's dead!" "There's nothing you can do." "Move!" "You think it was listening?" "They kill for food, don't they?" "Go!" "Please, let's go!" "It was listening." " They were driving her." " Yes." "I've a friend who used to say take away our sight and our superiority's gone." "You mean there's some connection between the triffids and everyone going blind?" "No." "I think it's a coincidence." "I know where we can get some anti-triffid gear - guns, masks." "I think we'd better go there now." " Is this it?" " Must be." "He was driving." "He can see." "There's someone here who can see!" " Get him out." " Might be more than one." "Where's the door?" " Get him out!" " Get him out!" "Get him out!" " We want him!" " Out, you bastard!" "Out!" "Out!" "Out!" "Out!" " Is this it?" " Must be." "He was driving." "He can see." "There's someone here who can see!" " Get him out." " Might be more than one." "Where's the door?" " Get him out!" " Get him out!" "Get him out!" " We want him!" " Out, you bastard!" "Out!" "Out!" "Out!" "Out!" " He's locked the door." " You can see, can't you?" " Find the back." " Where is the back door?" "Get him out!" "Get him out!" "Get him out!" "Come out!" " Come out!" " Let me get in there!" "You can see, you bastard!" "You're staying with us!" "Wait!" "Here!" "This." "Hang on." "We'll pick up those triffid guns and find somewhere safe to stay, all right?" "I've never seen a triffid climb the side of a building, but just in case." " It's on the table if you want to eat." " Right." "Where the hell did you get that?" "Liberated it while your back was turned." "It's just a gesture." "Might be my last chance." "It looks great." "There's no cutlery, I'm afraid." "That's a bit off!" "I thought this was a show flat." "Cutlery is kept in drawers." "It doesn't show." "I got a couple of penknives on our shopping trip." "They should do the job." "Just think." "All the labour that went into building this place." "We're probably the only people to use it." "What will happen to this city if no one comes?" "I suppose in time it'll just decay and collapse, like those places they keep finding in the South American jungle." "Oh!" "I didn't notice you liberate that!" "No point in leaving it to go bad." "It's quite a good one, too, judging from the price tag." "Have a taste." "I'm sure your palate's better than mine." " What makes you say that?" " Nothing." "I..." "I just..." "Assumed I was one of the filthy rich?" "No, I didn't mean that." "I..." "Oh, look, taste it!" "Full-bodied." "Mature." "Just a touch pretentious, I'd have said!" "Come on, let's eat." "There's your penknife." "You can tell me your history." " Speak with your mouth full." " Do you mind if I don't?" " Not if it offends you." " Go into history, I mean." " Rather not?" " There's nothing very exciting to hide." "My mother died a year ago and I went to live with my father." "You're right." "We were comfortably off." "But all that, all the details of my life, they were yesterday." "It's the same with you." "I think I'd like to know you from today, and you know me from today." "You might not like what I was yesterday." "I might not like what you were." "I don't want us to decide that we don't like each other." "I need your company." "And I need yours." " So let's start from today, then." " Fair enough." "So what do we do?" "Well..." "The situation as I see it, we've got to get out of London." "There's still water in the tanks, but soon there won't be." "The city will begin to stink like a sewer." "There are already corpses lying round." "Soon there'll be more." "That may mean cholera, typhoid, God knows what." "It's important to get out before that kind of thing starts." "So..." "Where do we go?" "Any ideas?" "Somewhere out of the way..." "with its own water supply." "A well, perhaps." "And as high up as possible for a good, clean wind." "Lake District, Cornwall, Exmoor, Wales..." "We'll have to get to towns for supplies once it's safe again." " How long will that be?" " I don't know." "How about Sussex?" "The South Downs." "I know a place there." "It's a beautiful old farmhouse overlooking Pulborough." "It's not very high up." "But Dennis and Mary, they're great." "They're real do-it-yourself environment freaks." "A wind pump for water..." "Make their own electricity." "All that sort of thing." "Sounds ideal." "A bit heavily populated round there, but..." "Look, let's leave the choice of the place for a moment and get down to what we need to do first." "Let's make a list." "I like lists!" "Now, then..." "Oh, ta." " Bill..." " Hmm?" " A signal." " It means there's someone else who can see." "What are you doing?" "Marking the position so we can find it tomorrow." "Too dangerous to go out tonight." "It's the university tower, I think, but I'm not sure." "Anyway, better going in daylight." "For all we know, it could be a trap." "Got them!" "Coming back, dear." "Tom?" "Tom?" "Tom, what is it?" "Tom?" "Tom?" "For God's sake, help us!" "Do you hear those poor people?" "You listen to me." "These people have got just as much bloody right to live as you have." "It's not their fault they're blind, but it is gonna be your bloody fault if they starve!" " There's nothing we can do." " Of course there is." "What do you think I've been doing?" "I've been showing them where to find food." "That's what they need - food!" "There's thousands of them out there." "There's tons of food." "You could be showing them where it is." "But what are you doing?" "I'll tell you." "You're bloody well looking after your own skins." "Damn you, Jack, I'm all right!" " Let's try round the back." " Of course you could." "All you've got to do is to help me to show them." "God almighty, aren't you bloody well human?" "!" "Use your head." "How long do you think that food will last?" "How the hell do I know?" "But if bastards like you don't come and help, there aren't gonna be many left alive by the time they clear this mess up." "I know why you won't come and help." "You're scared bloody stiff if they get it, there'll be less left for you!" "Look, you can come in by yourself or you can clear off." "Hold on to that, brother." "I'll sort you bloody lot out." "Tom!" "George!" "Stay your ground!" "They've all gone." "No one was hurt." "They fired over their heads." "Poor devils couldn't see to know that." "God, they must have been terrified." "Yeah." " Can I have a cigarette?" " Yeah." "Ta." "He's right, isn't he, that man?" "We've got to help them." "He's right." "And he's wrong." "I don't think there is anyone over the horizon who'll clear this mess up." "It won't be cleared up." "We could show some of them where to find food for a few days or weeks." " But what happens afterwards?" " So we should leave them to rot?" "I think it comes to a very simple choice." "Either we say, "There's been a catastrophe." ""Let's start again." "Let's save what can be saved..."" "Or we say, "No, those people will die." ""We must keep them alive as long as possible."" "On the face of it, that's the most humane choice." "For us, it's probably suicide." "We'd die." "They'd die." "We'd all die." "Would that be making the best use of ourselves?" " You've made up your mind." " Look..." "I don't like it any more than you do." "But in the end do we make a moral gesture?" "That's all it can be, a gesture!" "Or do we join those people in there?" "Start to rebuild some kind of life for ourselves?" "They intend to survive." "It's going to be a pretty strange sort of world that's left to survive in." "I don't think we're going to like it a lot." "Morning." "I'll give you a rough idea of how things stand." "There's about 35 of us." "All sorts of people." "We hope that more will come in." "Coffee?" "Out of those here now, most of them can see." "The rest are wives and husbands." "And there are two or three blind children." "Sit down." "The general idea is that we move out of here tomorrow, if you can be ready, to be on the safe side, you understand." "We decided to go this evening for the same reason." " Have you got any supplies?" " Not yet." "We've gotta do that today." " We do have anti-triffid gear." " Oh?" "Why do you give that such priority?" "Do sit down." "We know that a certain number have escaped, probably from the zoo." "We've seen them near Regent's Park." "They killed my father and the woman who worked for him." "I'm sorry to hear that." "I know that triffids can be very nasty in parts of the world where they're not controlled, but I think here they're a limited problem." "Go ahead." "Most of them are well fenced-in." "They break down fences if they're not properly watched." " I used to work on a triffid farm." " Then I bow to your experience." "Anyway, today we must get everything together which we need to take." "Here's a list." "Find a lorry, or two if you can both drive one." " I think I can." " Good." "Here's the addresses of some warehouses." "Stick to the list - cans and packets of food." "We don't want a duplication of goods." "There's a meeting this evening to discuss everything." "Got a pistol?" "No." " No." " Better, just in case." " No, I don't think so, thank you." " Fire into the air." "It's effective." "We've got to survive." "Thank you." "Two days ago, we'd have been arrested for this." "Hey, don't think about it." "Let's just keep working." "Very good." "Excellent!" " What are these?" " That's the anti-triffid gear." "Guns, masks, suits, that sort of thing." "Did you see any triffids while you were out?" "Not this time, no." "There have been no reports of sightings by anyone else." "There won't be many in the centre of London." "It's like a desert to them." "They need soil for their roots, so they'll move to the country, which is where we're going!" "Look, we've done our bit - got two loads of food." "We're taking that gear!" "All right." "If it doesn't take up very much room." "Don't forget the meeting at half past nine." "He thinks I'm bananas." "Well, he's got a shock coming." "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." "As you possibly know, my name is Michael Beadley." "This is Elspeth Carey, Dr Vorless, our medical officer Miss Burgh, and Major Anderson." "We are a self-elected committee." "Since speed and organisation are essential, there's been no time for democratic formalities." "We intend to establish a community of those who've survived the catastrophe, and we wish to set before you the facts as we see them and the future as we see it." "Tomorrow, we leave London." "Tonight, therefore, you must decide whether you wish to join with us, or whether your views are so different from ours that you would prefer to set up a group of your own." "The choice is yours." "The world as we knew it has ended." "Some of us may be feeling it is the end of everything." "But it isn't." "It can be, if we allow it." "During the last 35 years, the earth could have been destroyed by a nuclear holocaust." "The earth has not been destroyed." "It can still provide us with food and raw materials." "We have repositories of knowledge that can teach us to do anything we have done before." "We have the means." "And we have the health and the strength to begin to build again." "Major Anderson will say a few words." "Thank you." "Good evening." "The convoy will depart at 1200 hours." "We cannot risk infection by stopping longer than this." "We have obtained certain vaccines with which our medical officer will inoculate us." "But we cannot protect ourselves against all disease." "Any epidemic amongst us will wipe us out or, at best, seriously reduce our number." "For this reason, we have been gathering so many of the basic necessities of life." "For a minimum of one year, we shall have to exist in what will be virtually a state of siege." "It is the future which is important." "All of us will have our parts to play in creating that future." "The men must work." "The women must have babies." "We can support a limited number of women who cannot see, because they will have babies who can see." "We cannot support men who cannot see." "In our community, babies will be more important than husbands." "It follows from this that the one man/ one woman relationship as we understand it will probably become an illogical luxury." "We shall find that in many aspects of our lives, the laws as we knew them have been abolished by circumstances, and it will fall to us to make new laws suitable for the conditions in which we find ourselves." "Unless you find all this totally acceptable, there is absolutely no point in even thinking of joining us." " How many do you think will join?" " Nearly all of them." " Some women didn't like the sex angle." " They'll come round to it." "What's the choice?" "To have babies and a community to look after you, or no babies and no one to look after you." "Most women want babies." "A husband is just a logical means to an end!" "What do you think the arrangements will be?" "They're taking some women who can't see." "So I think it'll be every man who marries a girl who can see must also take on one or two blind girls." " Makes sense." " Yeah." "If I've got to have three wives will you be one?" " On one condition." " What?" "I pick the other two." "So, what's the arrangements for tonight, then?" "Strict segregation into dormitories." "There's no promiscuity till they say so." "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "The women are all right." "They've got a separate way out." "Get down the stairs." "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "The women are all right." "They've got a separate way out." "Get down the stairs." " You come to?" " What the hell's going on?" " Want a cup of tea?" " Why am I tied up?" "Tell me where you are, I'll bring you the tea." "I'll go to the bed." "Hang on." "Lock up, Ted." " Ta." " There's a drop of rum in it." " What's your name?" " Bill." "Oh." "I'm Alf." " Want a fag?" " Yeah." "Ta." "Don't thank me." "Everything's free nowadays." "You have to look on the bright side." " My hands seem to be tied." " Ah." "Coker's orders." " Who's Coker?" " Didn't you hear him yesterday at the university?" "He was trying to get those bastards to help us." "All they did was shoot at us." "So Coker said they'd get what was coming to 'em." "He met up with a couple of others who could see and they fixed it." " You mean there wasn't a fire?" " Course there was a fire!" "A sort of fire." "They lit some paper, rang a bell and shouted "Fire!"" "They fixed up some trip-wires on the stairs." "We knobbled as many of you as we could." "Coker's making us into parties." "We'll put one of you into each party." "You're the eyes for the rest." "You keep us going till someone comes along to rescue all of us." "I see." "You reckon that's gonna be a long time?" "My name's Jack Coker." "That's your area." "Your party works only that area." "Your job is to find any food that's going, see that your party gets it and anything else they may need." "Understand?" "Or what?" "Or they'll get hungry, and some of them are tough." "We're not doing it for fun." "Anyway, you'll be handcuffed to Ted and Alf." " How will I be able to do the work?" " You won't." "You tell them what to do." "When you're released, as sometimes you'll have to be, they've got a chain and cuffs so that one leg and one arm can be locked to a bedstead or pipe before your handcuffs are undone." " You've got it all worked out!" " Tomorrow we'll run you up there." "You have to look for somewhere to live." "A hotel or boarding house." "The beds would be there." "That's up to you." "Once we dump you, you're on your own." "Until somebody comes to tidy things up." " What if nobody comes?" " They've got to come." "You concentrate on doing your job." "Stick to your area." "Can I ask you something?" "Have you got a Miss Payton staying here?" " Josella." " I don't know their names." " Tall, blonde, about 23?" " I think so." " Tell her..." " I've got more important things to do." "Those people are totally dependent on you." "You may try and run out on them - you may even find it's possible." "But I don't think you'll do it." "You'd be condemning them to die." "What do you make of Jack Coker?" "Is he round the twist to stick with us?" "No." "That girl, she's with the group what's going to Victoria and Westminster." " I told her you was OK." " Thanks." "Put your head down." "OK, you're all right." "Right." "Off you go." " Is that the man who can see?" " Yeah." " It's very kind of you to come with us." " He's got no bloody choice, girl!" "Believe you me!" "You can't come here." "Tell him they can't come!" "Have you got anybody staying here at the moment?" "There's some people left - three or four." "None of us can see." "Look, if they've got rooms, we're having 'em." " There's not enough food left for us!" " If we want it, we'll take your food." " Shut up, will you?" " Watch your lip, mate!" " I'll smash your face in!" " Oh, very clever!" "Then what?" "He's right." "Just shut it, Ted." "Look, madam, I don't think you quite understand." "We're here to get food." "I can see." "My job is to find food and bring it back here." "You and your husband can have a share of it." "It's a very fair offer." "I hope you'll agree." "If not, then I'm afraid you're gonna have to find somewhere else to stay." "I'm sorry." "But it's the only way." "# I'm tired and I wanna go to bed" "# I had a little drink about an hour ago" "# And it's gone right to my head #" "Stop!" " Are you all right, Frank?" " I think so." "You've cut your mouth, that's all." "You wanna watch what you're doing." " Very funny" " Got to stay sane, pal." "Come on." "On your feet." "That's it." "Here's your box." "Feel it?" "Pick it up." "That's it." "Back in the line." "That's it." "Come on." "Back up there." "That's it." "Right." "We'll move forward to the cart." "When I say stop, we'll unload one box at a time." "Go to the front of the cart when what you're carrying has been taken." "All right?" "Right." "MydearJo ,it 'sabit stupid, writing a letter that can never be posted to someone whose address is unknown." "But if I can't see you or hold you or make love to you," "I can at least pretend I'm talking to you." "And one day I promise I shall deliver this by hand." "One day." "I've been here for four days, and each day it seems more difficult to leave." "Next man forward!" "At the moment there's little they can do unless I'm there to supervise." "They try." "Oh, yes." "Most of them try so desperately hard  to watch them  is almost heartbreaking." "But will it take  days or weeks or..." "Dearest Jo," "I so wish..." "They've got to be taken out of here or whatever they've got will spread." "There's an empty house next door." "We'll take them there." "One of the women can look after them." "I'll go to a chemist and get something to make sure they're not in pain." "That's all we can do for them." "It's the rest of you we've got to think about." "Stop!" "Forwards." "Come on!" "Move!" "Stay here." "Shan't be long." "Put him down." "He's dead." "Get these cuffs off." "You lot!" "Move forward till you hit the fence, then follow it around." "Move!" "Come on!" " Give me the keys." " Get stuffed!" " I'm useless like this!" " You're staying with me!" "There's two more been taken ill in the same way." "A man and a woman." " We took them through to the empty house." " Good." "Here." "Look, I'm gonna take another party out in the morning." "There's some good shops in Hampstead, and I can drive now my hands are free." "While I'm out, keep the door locked and bolted in case that mob find out where we are." "This way." "Come on." "That's it." "Mind the step." "There's glass in the door." "Mind the glass." "That way." "Feel for the shelves." "Follow them round." "Mind the glass." " Chain gang, Bob." " Yeah." "Everything from these shelves." "Fill the baskets, pass them along." "There's a cellar." "I'm going to investigate." "Agh!" "Agh!" "Agh!" " Bill, where are you?" " Where is he?" " Bill!" " Bill!" "It's all right." "There's another way out." "Come towards me." "This way." "Mind your feet." "Lift your feet." "Put the basket down." " This way." "Towards me." " Where are we going?" "Two steps." "Two steps." " That's it." " Take it easy!" "For God's sake, go easy!" "That's it." "Now just hold it there." "Hold it there." "We're gonna have to try this way." "It's the triffids, so no noise at all." "Those damn things react to anything." "There's a table." "Slide along the table until you hit the window sill." " Bill?" " Yeah." "Two more have died." "Two of those we took next door." "Another one will die tonight." "Three more upstairs are very ill." "Who's that?" "Oh." "It is you." "Are you alone?" "Yeah." "What do you want?" "You're going away, aren't you?" "I've never said that." "They're all saying it." "And they're right, aren't they?" "You can't." "You can't leave them like this." "They need you." "I'm not doing any good." "I'm afraid all those hopes were false." " But what if they weren't?" " We'd have heard something by now." "But if they come and you've just walked out..." "Do you think I haven't thought of that?" "!" "I'm doing no good." "I'm like a drug they give to patients to keep them going a bit longer." "I can't save anybody." "It's still better to be alive." "Even like this." "You can keep us going." "There's always a chance." "They..." "They said you might be lonely." "They said... perhaps if you had somebody with you... somebody here you might not want to leave us." " Perhaps you'd stay with us." " Oh, God..." "You'd be kind to me, wouldn't you?" "I haven't..." "Stop it!" "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "Please stop it." "Please go away." "Go away, for God's sake!" "You tell them I'll be staying." "Is there anybody here?" "Where the hell is everybody?" "Agh!" "Agh!" "Agh!" "Don't come near me!" "Everybody's gone - the ones that could." "They didn't believe you were staying." "More of us like this." "They were frightened..." "Agh!" "Please..." "I'm not brave." "I can't..." "I can't wait." "Can you get me something to finish it?" " No!" " It's no use to you, love." "It's coffee." "Here." "I've got some beans here." "There." "And a can opener for you." "I want you to tell me if you've heard of a girl around here, a girl who can see." " She's probably leading a party of people." " I was with them." " Where?" " I lost them." " Couldn't find them again." " Whereabouts?" " Hotel." " Which hotel?" " I don't know." " You want to keep those, don't you?" " They're mine." "You gave them to me." " When you tell me about the hotel." "Was it large or small?" "Was the furniture good?" "Were there steps?" "Did it have a big door?" "A large hotel, I think." "Large." "It sounded hollow." "You know, escalators." "Thick carpets." "Revolving doors." "God, did I need that!" " What are you doing?" " I'm looking for a girl who can see." "She's tall, blonde." "She was leading a group of people." " Is she here?" " Perhaps." " I've got to find her!" " It's too late." "If she isn't dead, she's gone." "They've all gone." "Jo?" "I'm looking for a girl who can see." "She's tall, blonde." "She was leading a group of people." " Is she here?" " Perhaps." " I've got to find her!" " It's too late." "Jo?" "What do you want?" "Came to see if there was anyone still here." "You looking for more gang leaders?" "As far as I can see, there are no more gangs left to lead." "I came to make my peace." "To ask to join up." "Are yours all dead?" "They will be by tomorrow." "Same with mine." "They got it right." "We've got to start again." "The only question is, "How?"" "I'm leaving first thing in the morning." "# Oh, God our help in ages past" "# Our hope for years to come" "# Be thou our guide while troubles last" "# And our eternal home #" "My friends, let us renew our thanks to God for preserving us in the midst of such disaster." "I will ask you to pray that he will look with compassión on all those who still wander alone in the darkness," "and that it will please him to guide their feet hither in order that we may succour them." "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, but there's so much to do." "Miss Durrant, I'm looking for the girl I was with at the university." "You may remember us together." "She was tall, blonde, about 23." " Her name was Payton." " Miss Payton?" "No, I can't help you, I'm afraid." "She's certainly not here now." "She may have gone with the others." "I can't be sure." " The others?" " Mr Beadley and Major Anderson." " And the others at the university." " They're not here?" "They did come here." "It was Mr Beadley who knew of this house." "But a few of us disagreed with their ideas as to the future of society." "Remember they gave us an outline at the university?" "I remember." "They believe the human race cannot survive without the complete abolition of morality as we've understood it." "That everything should be subservient to the production of children, and whether or not a child is a child of true love is of no importance." "When they arrived, they repeated that acceptance of their philosophy was a precondition of membership." "We agreed to separate and they volunteered to find somewhere else." "Those of us that remain are Christian." "We believe we must turn to Our Lord and say," ""We put our trust in you." "Your laws are our laws." ""Guide us in your way and we know that our souls will survive."" "What are you going to do?" "Are you moving on?" "I've got to find the other party, see if Jo's with them." "I'd put more than I'd realised in her being here." "Look, give it a day." "Let me see what the chances are of getting this place together." "If it looks a possibility, I'll stay." "If not, I'll come with you." " Their intentions are good." " Huh!" "So were mine in London." "Good intentions aren't enough any more." "This place could be a going concern, if it's properly organised." "You've got good, well-protected land, cattle, a fresh water supply." "You've even got an electricity generator, which, by the way, I fixed." "It's about time somebody had." "You must build up your stocks from outside." "Get as much as you can whilst it's still there to take." "It's not robbery." "It's self-preservation." "I've already planned for the blind to be taught to do useful work." "Your vicar wanted them to learn basket weaving!" "You mustn't let him persuade you to bring any more blind people here." "You can just about cope with what you have." "Any more and you've had it." "If you don't all starve to death, the ones who can see will have breakdowns." "This is not speculation." "This is predicted fact!" "On the other hand, if we do as I say..." "You did your best!" "Let's go." " Ready to take five?" " Cheers." "Don't move!" "Get back!" "There's no one else here." "It's almost as if it was waiting for him." "As if it knew he was going to come out of that door." "Come on." "You know all about these things." "You've worked with them." "Yes, all right." "They make me sick." "They're like maggots or vultures." "I was ready for that." "But there's more and more all the time!" "They seem to know where we are." "They turned towards us when they saw the lorries." "Some even moved towards us." "They didn't see the lorries." "They're plants." "They can't see." "The trouble with triffids is what we don't know." "Some scientists bred a very special plant to produce a very special oil." "We got the special oil and we're lumbered with a special plant." " Has it got a brain?" " It's a plant!" " That's no answer." " That's all I know!" " Do they frighten you?" " Yes, and they sicken me, too." "What sickens me most is inside this mess they are the only things that are gonna fatten and thrive." "I'm going back to Tynsham." "No, it's not a snap decisión." "It's been growing all day, driving through the desolation out there." "Village after village, house after house." "Not a breath of human life anywhere." "I've felt more lonely in these last few days than I thought it possible." "So... there's one reason - my human need." "But the main reason is this." "I've been working this out on the road." "We must be part of a community to have any hope for the future at all." "At the moment we've got all we need." "Food, supplies, everything." "But the food will go bad, the metal will rust, the petrol to drive the machines will run out." "Before that happens, we have to learn to plough and learn to make ploughs, and learn to smelt the iron to make the ploughshares." "We must learn to make good all that we wear out." "If not... we say goodbye to civilisation and we slide right back into savagery." "All the knowledge is there in books if only we take the time to learn." "Time, you see." "Time." "We need a community large enough for some people to be free from production to have time to study and experiment and teach the kids to prepare for the day when what we have is gone." " What did you do before all this happened?" " I taught history... very badly." "But I'm talking sense now." "Yeah, I know." "I'll get my way at Tynsham." "I'll have to use more subtlety." " But Ma Durrant needs us." " I'm not going with you." "Why not?" "I've got to find Jo." "You don't even know if she's still alive." "Quite right." "But I'm gonna find out." "I'm gonna find that other group." "If she's not with them, I'll start again." "I'll start in the south and work..." " What?" " The south." "South Downs!" "A farmhouse overlooking Pulborough." "We talked about it once as a place to go." " You've cracked it, then?" " If I can find it and if she's there." "When you find her, bring her straight back to Tynsham." "I shall need your help to make that woman see sense." "What the hell do you think you're doing?" "Please." "Please come and see what's happened to Tommy." "A thing hit him and he fell down." "It wanted to hit me when I tried to help." "Get behind the wall, quickly!" "  Where are we going?" "  To find a lady." " Is she nice?" " Yeah, I think so." "  What's your name?" " Susan." " I'm Bill." " Thank you for letting me bring Rufus." " He'll be very good." " He'd better be!" "It's round here somewhere, but I don't know quite where." " What are you going to do?" " Wait till it's dark, then we'll try our lights." "Bill!" "Bill!" "There's a light!" "I think there's a light." "Shall we go?" "I've lost it." "I've lost it!" "Over there!" "Damn!" "We'll have to go back." "There!" "There!" "Hello, Bill." "You've been a long time." "Hey!" "Can't you kiss her indoors?" "Perhaps I should have woken Dennis and Mary, but I didn't see much point." "You'll meet them in the morning." "There were two other blind people staying here." "But they went out to get help and never came back." " Triffids?" " I expect so." " Are there many round here?" " Far too many." "Is everything very black?" "No." "We know we're here, there's Beadley's group and people at Tynsham." "There must be similar groups all over the world." "It's gonna be a hell of a struggle, but I think we might come through it." "I think we all better go to Tynsham as soon as we can." "Coker said that the only way to survive is to be part of a sizeable community." "I'm sure he's right." "We'll have to wait until Mary's baby's born." "It's due in a couple of weeks." "Well, there's no hurry." "This place will do for a bit." "I'll drive to Tynsham in a few days, tell them to be expecting us." " The others must have gone." " But surely they must have left a message." " I couldn't find one." " What happened?" "The disease." "You could smell it." "There were bodies everywhere, including Miss Durrant's." " What about Coker?" " I dunno." "There were six new graves outside." " We're on our own, then." " We've got to try and make a go of it here." "We will." "Where have you been?" "I've been worried stiff." "I had to change wheels three times and take a 40-mile detour." " Are the roads worse?" " Terrible." " I won't get through much longer." " Did you get my jeans?" " Did you get Susan's jeans?" " A dozen pairs." "I hope you stop growing!" " Is David asleep?" " Of course he's not." " Good night, Dad." " You close your eyes." "My fault." "Pleasant dreams, son." " Good night, Uncle Bill." " Good night, Alice." "It's time you were asleep, so put that candle out." "Sorry, Mummy." " How did you know it was on?" " I guessed." "Supper's ready, Bill." "Mmm." "Good pickings." "Good pickings." "It was a good trip from the store's point of view." "I got nearly everything we wanted, including the new Braille books." " How's London looking?" " Greener and greener." " I suppose the parks have gone wild?" " They've taken over some streets." " Must be eerie." " It is." " Are there any signs of life?" " A few cats and dogs." "Triffids, of course." "I'm pretty certain other people go raiding there." "There's indications of that, but I didn't see anybody." " I think it's my last visit, too." " Why?" "I was cruising down Tottenham Court Road and a building collapsed." "Oh, my God!" "It was ready to go." "The vibration of the Land Rover did the rest." "From now on, it'll have to be smaller towns." "We'll get what we need in a hand-barrow." " Did you find another flame-thrower?" " I got two." "Not much of the fuel, though." "There's not much of that anywhere." " What was the triffid count this morning?" " Over a thousand." "But it's only ten days since you wiped them all out." " Did you see many between here and London?" " Not in these numbers." " You suggest we move?" " No." "We've got a good place, a place we know." "You need that when you can't see." "You built a fence." "They're on the outside, we're on the in." "If you burn them off, there's no real problem." "No." "No, I shouldn't think so." "Aagh!" " Jo?" "Jo?" " They've broken through the fence!" " Mummy!" " David!" "Mummy!" "Wait!" "Stay there!" "Don't move!" "We won." "Yeah." "Are you sure this is safe?" "I doubt if triffids can walk on shingle." "They'd make a hell of a noise." "It's so marvellous to get out of the compound!" "Oh!" "Look at the gulls!" "To watch them, you could almost think nothing had ever happened." "There are more of them this year." "I'm glad about that." "Are our chances getting better?" "If it weren't for the triffids, I'd say we had a very good chance." "There hasn't been a single break-in since we electrified the fence." "If we kept the generator running all the time, the fence would be wonderful, but you know we can't get enough fuel." "But I thought we'd found the answer to that." "Turn it on for a few minutes at a different time each day." "Susan says they'll work it out." "She says they can hear the generator." "Sometimes I think they do have intelligence." "They know their purpose is to get us." "And sooner or later they will." "No!" "Look, we're gonna beat them." "We've got to." "I don't want our children living in a reservation spending all their time keeping triffids out." "Oh, God, I'm sorry." "Here I am being depressing when it's the first time we've paused from the business of keeping alive." "And I am alive." "More than I've ever been." "And I'm happier, too." "I'm sorry about the weather." "What are we going to tell the children?" "Sooner or later they're going to want to know why all this has happened." "Do we tell them that the world was wonderfully clever but so very wicked it had to be destroyed?" "Or do we tell them it destroyed itself by accident?" "We tell them the truth." "We destroyed it." " We created the triffids." " We didn't create the comet." "Was it a comet?" "What do you mean?" "Do you know how many satellites were going round up there?" "How many weapons?" "Or what was in the weapons?" "They never told us." "They never asked us." "I suppose one of these weapons had been specially constructed to emit a radiation that our eyes couldn't stand." "Something that would burn out the optic nerve." " That couldn't blind the whole world." " Suppose there was an accident." "This weapon would operate at low levels, only blinding people they wanted to blind." "But after the accident, it went off so far up that anyone on earth could receive direct radiation from it." "What about the mysterious disease?" "Where did that come from?" "We were walking on a tightrope for a hell of a long time." "Sooner or later, a foot had to slip." "Well, if that's right, it means our children can't make a worse mess of it than we did." "And that's cheering for them." "Yes, it is." "Oh, my God!" "The farm!" " What's going on?" " I had to burn it to signal them." "Jack?" " Hello, Bill!" " Jack!" "My God!" "I thought you were dead!" " Who, me?" "Not yet!" " Jo, this is Jack Coker." " We have met." "I was his prisoner." " It's a little late for me to apologise." "It's great to see you." "It's six years since we've seen another human being." "Sit down." "Tell me what happened to you." " I went to Tynsham to look for you." " The disease hit us." " Yes." "I found Miss Durrant's body." " She stayed to nurse the sick." "I admired her, but those who can survive must." "I took the healthy ones away." "So where's the helicopter from?" " Did you know we were here?" " I knew where to look." "We're on the Isle of Wight." "That's my third helicopter." "I smashed the others up!" "Well, you try learning to fly from a book." "We're getting things organised over there now." "An island is the only defence against triffids." " There are no triffids there?" " They were there." "We moved into a large house." "They congregated in thousands." "We wiped them out with flame-throwers." "More came." "We must have wiped out 50,000 at least." "Then, when they didn't come any more, we hunted them down and destroyed them." "The seeds still blow across, but we have a hunt for those every spring." " That's wonderful." " Are there other inhabited places?" "I've come across several since I've been flying." "I ask if they want to join us." "Some do, some don't - those who don't want to be governed." "A large group in Brighton shot at the helicopter, so I left them to stew." "There's several hundred of us now - who can see, I mean, and a good few blind as well." "What we need is you." "Me?" "We can keep the triffids away from the island, but that's not enough." "We've got to find a selective killer to finish them." "That means research." "You were a biologist on a triffid farm." "We can give you facilities, help." "We need your experience and skill." "Are you interested?" " Yes, very!" " Good." " If Bill goes, we all go." " Of course." "One thing I should make clear." "We have all agreed we're... we're not out to reconstruct the world as it was." "We want to build something new, better." "Some people don't agree with that." "They want to keep the old features." "If anybody doesn't like us, we ask them to move somewhere else." ""Somewhere else" sounds like a poor offer." "I don't mean we throw them back to the triffids." "One group did move to the Channel Islands." "I believe they're doing well." "Anyway, the best way to learn about us is to come and find out for yourselves." "I'm sure we will take to each other, but if we don't, you'll find the Channel Islands is better than this a few years from now." "Isn't it what we've been waiting for?" "I know." "We must beat the triffids." "We can't do it here." "We must go." "Bill, couldn't we have one more summer here?" "One more summer without any worry 'cause we know we've got somewhere to go." "One marvellous summer." "I suggest we go the first day of autumn." "# We all live in a yellow submarine" "# A yellow submarine, a yellow submarine" "# And our friends are all aboard" "# Many more of them live next door... #" "My name's Torrence." "I'm Commander, South-East region." "I'm Chief Executive Officer of the Emergency Council for the South-East." "As such, I supervise the distribution and allocation of personnel." "I'm sorry, but I've never heard of this council." "We were equally ignorant of your group until we saw your fire yesterday." "When such a group is discovered, it's my job to investigate it and make adjustments." "It's a good place you've taken over." " It belongs to Mr Brent." " We can leave Mr Brent out of it." "He's only here now because you made it possible." "The society which gave sanction to his ownership no longer exists." "Mr Brent is not sighted and so is not competent to hold authority." "There are seven of you, all sighted except these two." "Yes." "That's quite disproportionate, I'm afraid." "We have to be realistic these days." "I'd better put you in the picture." "Regional headquarters is in Brighton." "We survived the sickness and we had plenty of stores." "Later on we conveyed them from other places." "But the roads are getting too bad for lorries now." "So we've got to disperse and live off the land." "To do this, we've got to break into smaller units." "The unit has been fixed at one sighted person to ten blind, plus children." "We shall allocate you 18 more blind persons, making 20 with the two you have here." "20?" "This land won't support 20 people." "It's enough just to feed ourselves." "It's perfectly possible." "I'm offering you command of the double unit here." "If you don't take it, we shall get someone else in." " Look at the place!" "It can't be done." " It can be done." "Of course, you'll have to lower your standards a bit." "For the first six or seven years it'll be hard work." "But after that, you'll be able to relax until you're simply supervising." "You'll be head of a clan and you'll have an inheritance to hand on to your sons." "Do I understand that... you're offering to make me a kind of feudal lord?" "That's a very good parallel in many ways." "It's the obvious social and economic structure for the state of things we're facing now." "Yes." "I don't quite see." "Perhaps you could explain where you and your council stand in all this?" "Supreme authority is vested in the council." "It will rule." " It will also control the armed forces." " Armed forces?" "Then, of course, there's the rest of the world to consider." "Everywhere must be in the same sort of chaos." "It's our national duty to assume a dominant role and discourage any aggressors." " God almighty!" "He wants to start a war." " "War" is an unjustifiable exaggeration." "It will simply be a matter of pacifying the tribes that have reverted to primitive lawlessness." "To come back to the matter of allocation." "You have three sighted adults here." "Your 20 blind people only rate two." "The girl can come to headquarters." "We shall find suitable work until she's old enough to take charge of a unit." "Er..." "My wife and I regard Susan as our daughter." "I'm sorry." "Those are the regulations." "I am empowered to enforce them." "We'd require guarantees and undertakings as to Susan's future." "Naturally, we shall offer you all possible assurances." "I trust you'll be our guests for tonight." "Give us a chance to get to know each other, eh?" "You're very kind." "Susan." "They're not going to take you anywhere." "Not after the treat we've planned for them tonight." "If you'd ordered this in a restaurant, you'd have fainted when you got the bill." "I liberated it." " Let's liberate another." " No, we can't take all your best." "Nonsense!" "You can't take it with you." "And if you can, you're not going to!" "I'llpopintothe cellar,getanotherone." "Youmusttrymymead later." "It's guaranteed to fell an ox." "Steady on." "Fell an ox?" "It'd fell a whole load of elephants!" "Now, what was I saying?" "Oh, God, I've forgotten again." "Wehaven'thadsuchanevening since we came here." "Wonderfulevening." "I shall sleep like a baby tonight." "Mummy..." "Shh!" "Everybody keep down low." "Amazing what honey will do." " Isle of Wight?" " Yes!" " Sorry you couldn't end the summer here." " We'll come back one day." "Shallweeverbeable tocomeback?" "Oh, yes, we shall." "We'll work and we'll learn." "And then we, or our children, will come back and drive every triffid from this land."