"Crichton!" "Where is the human?" "!" "Bring him to me." "Bring him to me." "You're dead." "It's been three days." "He still can't be freaking like that." "It's Luxan Hyper Rage." "It doesn't just go away." "You were wise to hide as you did, John." "D'argo's been off the ship for three whole days but we couldn't find you to tell you." "You hide very well." "You must have had a lot of practice." "Shut up." "It comes natural." "Especially when you got that chasing you." "Why the hell is he raging after me, anyway?" "You are another male." "Well, spanky here is male." "I think." "Sort of." "I mean, how come he's not after you?" "He knows better." "So, where is he now?" "He's taken my Prowler down to the planet." "Hopefully, the rage has had time to dissipate." "Or he's killed something." "Pilot, we'll contact you once we've located D'argo." "Oh, yeah." "I think I've seen this one." "Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, cage match." "Oh." "What?" "Oh, don't worry." "Nobody saw the third one, anyway." "Will you be all right in this heat, my dear?" "I'll be all right as long as it's night." "This is night?" "Yeah." "Back home we call it white night." "I call it:" "let's find the Luxan and save ourselves heat seizure." "Well, I think we've found the place." "Shall we?" "Sebaceans, right?" "They're Sebaceans?" "Always good to see family." "Family?" "No." "These are common laborers." "Yes." "Well, the day that they prove that is the day" "I let Palmolian meat hounds tear all the flesh from my bones." "Get off of me or I'll hurt you!" "This is the end of Hyper Rage?" "I get hugged to death?" "It's so good to see you, Crichton." "It's so very good to see you." "My name is John Crichton, an astronaut a radiation wave hit and I got shot through a wormhole..." "Now I'm lost in some distant part of the universe on a ship." "A living ship" "Full of strange alien life-forms..." "Help me..." "Listen, please." "Is there anybody out there who can hear me?" "...being hunted by an insane military commander doing everything I can..." "I'm just looking for a way home." "D'argo have you been laboring?" "I have." "What is wrong with you?" "Nothing." "Everything is right." "Everything... is very right." "What about your Hyper Rage?" "Kill anyone?" "No." "That is all gone." "Now there is just... contentment." "You are a warrior." "Act like one." "I'm no warrior." "I've been a prisoner now and a fugitive longer than I was ever a warrior." "Don't you think it was time I stopped lying to myself about who I really am?" "Here, my efforts have purpose." "Purpose?" "What purpose?" "My boy D'argo, into the promised land." "Yes, and he's left his brain behind." "We may soon have some answers." "I am Volmae." "Greetings." "I am Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan." "This is John Crichton." "Aeryn Sun." "And his Eminence Dominar Rygel the 16th." "It is a pleasure to welcome you to Sykar." "I am our leader as much as anyone is our leader." "Your friend D'argo has been telling us about you." "Telling you that we are just passing through." "We do not want to harm you." "Of course you don't." "Please stay." "Stay as long as you desire." "She gives me a woody." ""Woody", it's a human saying." "I've heard you say it often when you don't trust someone or they make you nervous." "They give you..." "Willies." "She gives you the willies." "Thank you for your cycle of work, kind citizens." "As the celebration ends enjoy the rest you have so richly earned." "Definitely a simple people." "They never heard of the last call." "Be strong and healthful." "Keep the production lines going." "Rygel." "I'm very, very full." "I need to..." "Excuse me." "D'argo!" "You're staying the night, excellent." "Tomorrow's a rest day." "I'll be able to show you all the wonders of this planet." "Listen to me." "No matter what happens, no matter what you hear, you must stay." "There you are." "I just had the weirdest thing happen..." " I just spoke to D'argo." " He says he's content." "He wants to stay." "So, I say we leave him and we go." "What?" "No." "Look, Woodstock has done something to his head." "The assassins!" "The bastards are trying to kill me!" "Rygel!" "What the hell happened here?" "A bomb, mere hentas from where I was..." "I was, uh... hovering." "A bomb?" "No." "No." "No." "What were you doing out here?" "I was relieving myself." "Rygel, did you see anyone?" "No." "No one." "One moment I was... was..." "Yeah, relieving yourself." "And the next?" "And the next..." "Boom!" "I've suffered many assassination attempts on Hyneria..." "Nobody knows you here." "It's only people who know you who want to kill you." "The sun will be up in a few hours." "The heat is going to get very intense." "Aeryn, it's going to get hot soon." "All right." "I'll take him back up to Moya." "Come on, your Eminence." "Hmm, I'm still scorched." "And, Crichton!" "Remember, we agreed, no lingering." "I'm coming back and we're getting out of here with or without D'argo." "Fine." "Just get Spanky back to the ship." "How did you find me?" "We asked around." "You stand out amongst your neighbors." "Oh, uh, come in." "Please, come in." "So, you have your own apartment." "It's nice." "It is provided." "D'argo, something isn't quite right about this place and it is affecting you." "You don't see how you're acting?" "D'argo, why don't you come back with us to Moya?" "You are both welcome to stay as long as you want." "But I'm afraid all that I can offer you is, uh, the floor." " D'argo!" " Tomorrow." "I suppose we will have to wait." "Ooh, yeah." "Not exactly five star, is it?" "D'Argo seems happy with it." "Everybody seems happy." "And very friendly." "I wish I could believe that the woman in there is the only reason he wants to stay." "Zhaan, this city, it looks like it used to be a working city." "Now, apparently, nothing works." "Yeah, but it used to." "This city is falling apart around them and they... they just don't seem to care." "Material comfort's not the only measure of a society, John." "But progress has gone backwards on this planet, and nobody on this planet gives a damn." "Tell me why?" "You won't get any answers tonight, John." "Let's rest." "We can ask D'Argo in the morning." "Yeah." "Whoa!" "Um, you, ah, you take the mattress." "I'm good on the floor." "Don't be silly, John." "You'll be cold and uncomfortable." "There's plenty of room for two." "Oh!" "Help me!" "Help me!" "Pilot?" "Already on it." "The explosion was not ship-related." "It definitely originated inside Rygel's quarters." "Oh, help me." "Oh, Aeryn!" "What's doing this to me?" "Don't move." "Don't... move." "Crichton." "Yeah?" "We have a situation up here." "I'm sure it's not any more interesting than the situation down here." "Well, remember Rygel's assassination attempt?" "He caused it himself." "His body fluids have turned explosive." "I stand corrected." "What am I going to do now?" "Do you want to live?" "Then you better stop sweating." "So, calm down, now." "Aeryn, listen, you got to run some tests." "Use the scanner thing in the, uh... in the maintenance bay." "No." "I'm not the scientist." "I know that." "Just have Pilot help you." "What am I supposed to do in the meantime?" "Isolate him." "Uh, no fluids." "No food." "What?" "Yeah, and when you get some results call me and I'll... see what I can figure out." "Good morning, citizens." "A new day begins." "Remember, rejoice in your work..." "Good morning, John." "D'argo..." "No time now, John." "I'll speak to you tonight." "No time?" "Yeah." "I'll be late for work." "I thought today was a, uh... a rest day." "No." "No." "No." "Today is the last day of the work cycle." "Tonight, there is going to be a great big celebration." "I'll, uh, see you there, John." "Good morning, citizens." "A new day begins." "Remember, rejoice in your work and you will be rewarded." "Be temperate." "Be strong and healthful." "Keep production lines flowing." "Efficiency in your endeavors will be observed and noted." "Your reward status can therefore be improved." "Keep your mind on your task." "Free yourself of all concerns." "Focus only on the task." "The future of Sykar's prosperity depends on what happens." "Eat the Tannot root." "Be strong and healthy." "Keep your production lines flowing." "Hey." "I want to talk to you." "You seem interested in me." "What do you say we talk?" "All right." "Just come on, quickly!" "What the...?" "!" "Ivan, do it now." "There is no time." "Listen, you must tell no one of this." "If they know you carry the worm they will kill you for it." "Eat and the pain will go away." "Understand me?" "You must eat." "Ivan, the carriage is moving." "...be strong free yourself of all concern eat the tannot root." "Be strong." "Our way of life in addition... rejoice in your work and you will be rewarded." "The guards are your protectors free yourself of all concern." "Remember..." "Rejoice in your work and you will be rewarded the guards are your protectors." "Trust them... trust them..." "You're still so young, D'argo." "Is this the way you honestly want to spend the rest of your days?" "Do you want to spend the rest of your days on the run?" "I know such decisions can come upon one quickly." "My choice to join the Delvian Seek, to become a priest, occurred in the matter of a blink of an eye." "One moment, I was lying in my cell, a savage capable of anything." "The next, the truth was revealed to me and I knew my true path." "Such revelations are possible." "This feels very..." "Satisfying." "Yes, it does." "Here, let me help." "Are you sure he's still alive?" "He's in cryo-stasis." "He should be fine." "Just as long as he isn't sweating." "Definitely not." "We've taken him to 105 below the glarion frost point." "I strongly suggest you don't touch any of his other protuberances." "Oh, well, you can do it yourself, then." "The scanner is ancillary to Moya's systems." "I'm afraid I can't access it." "Well, I'll just push the vid screen so that you can see it." "Please, Officer Sun..." "I will instruct you through the process." "John!" "I've been wondering what happened to you all day." "I'll get some clothing for you." "It's good to see you." "You spent the entire day here?" "Yeah." "Eating and throwing up." "That's what I've got to talk to you about..." "I'm so sorry you weren't out there with us today, John." "D'argo was right." "It's an absolutely wonderful place." "What?" "Oh, God, no." "Not you, too!" "Of course me, too." "How could I deny myself such supreme contentment?" "No." "No." "No damn way." "You're not going to do this to me." "You got to snap out of it!" "Snap out of what?" "You talk as though I don't know what I'm doing." "Zhaan, look." "We got to get back to the ship." "It doesn't matter if D'Argo doesn't come." "We'll come back for him." "You and me..." "Why should I want to leave?" "Listen to you." "Look at you!" "The dirt and grime of an honest day's labor, John." "It feels so good." "Here you are, Zhaan." "Thank you." "This is going to be so much more comfortable." "Uh, one moment." "Zhaan... please... you got to help me here." "Okay?" "I need your help." "They did something to me." "What did they do to you, John?" "What is it?" "You can tell us." "It's nothing... it's nothing." "Great!" "Put these on." "You'll feel more comfortable around the others." "What others?" "We're going to celebrate." "It's a rest day tomorrow." "Well, hello." "How nice to see you again." "Come." "Join us for a drink." "Father, sit up straighter." "You must sit up." "This is my daughter, Tanga." " My name is Hybin." " You!" "You stuck some kind of worm thing in me." "The worm is the only thing that is protecting you." "Without it, you would already be like them." "Yeah, how can a worm..." "It thrives on the toxin that is within the tannot." "Wait a minute." "Wa-wa-wait." "Are you telling me everybody acts like this because of the food?" "You must act like one of us." "Like one of them." "They will expect it." "If they discover you are immune they will execute you." "Right..." "So, have you guys got the worm thing inside of you, too?" "Our immunity is natural." "We don't know why we are immune and the others are not but it is very rare." "Our numbers are few." "Why me?" "Because we need you." "Wait." "Come..." "If they know you are immune they will kill you." "Aah..." "Handsome." "Very handsome indeed." "Thank you." "These clothes are wonderful." "They're just... wonderful." "And the food?" "It is to your liking?" "Aah, it's just great." "Everything's just... it's great." "And the other two who were here with you last night?" "They went back to the ship." "But they will come back?" "Oh, yeah." "Yeah." "I want them to... feel what contentment I feel here." "About your ship." "D'argo tells us it is a... cargo vessel." "Yes." "Yes." "She is." "Eat... and enjoy... after all, tomorrow" " is..." " is... a rest day." "I don't want to do this." "Officer Sun, please." "You were making progress." "It's just really tedious." "Sometimes, science is." "But Dominar Rygel's life depends on our finding the cause of this phenomenon and rectifying it if we can." "Look, all this analysis dren comes really naturally to you." "It just doesn't to me." "On the contrary." "I, too, have difficulty with complex sciences." "Yeah." "Right." "When a Pilot is bonded to a Leviathan, as I am bonded to Moya, it is as a navigator, a monitor of all the living ship's functions." "The analysis of scientific data is not something I know or easily understand." "Yeah, but you're good at it." "I study every chance I can." "Moya was born with a very complete bank of scientific data." "I only comprehend a fraction, I'm afraid." "Do the others know about this?" "I have told no one." "I'd prefer they didn't know." "But you've told me." "I feel I can trust you." "Look, can we just, uh... can we just get on with this if we're going to do it?" "Well, I think that's it." "Good." "If you say it is." "No. well, I can prep another slide of Rygel's blood and check his liver and altex functions again." "No need." "So, what are you saying, that it's done?" "That I did it?" "You did." "No." "You helped me a lot." "No, Aeryn Sun, it was you." "It was me." "Remember, rejoice in your work and you will be rewarded." "Crichton." "It's me." "Yeah." "Listen, I've worked out what's wrong with Rygel." "What is it?" "A reaction to food." "What?" "Oh, right, he ate some of the tannot root." "So, what, it turned his fluids..." "Explosive." "His Hynerian body chemistry acted like a catalyst." "Well can you flush it out of him?" "Already doing that." "I've set up a leaching sieve." "We're collecting all the volatile elements and we're just going to flush them straight out the airlock." "That's good, Aeryn." "That's good." "Listen, what's happening with D'argo?" "Is he coming back or not?" "Right now, not." "All right, we'll leave without him." "I'll just come..." "No." "No, no, no." "Don't do that." "It's gotten complicated." ""Complicated"?" "What do you mean, "complicated"?" "Look, just don't come back down, all right?" "If I haven't come up with any solutions..." "If I haven't come up with a solution by then, then you and I may have to leave on our own." "What about Zhaan?" "Listen, what is going on down there?" "Just fix Rygel." "I'll be in touch." ""Complicated."" "Here you go." "Let me give you a hand up." "Hi, remember me?" "You going to scream?" "Call attention to us?" "Yeah?" "Well, go ahead." "I've got to get back out there." "Not before you tell me something." "I want to know something right now." "How do I get this worm out of me?" "What?" "You're not going to tell me?" "Or there is no way." "Damn!" "What is the point of all this?" "Why do your people... why did they grow this stuff to begin with?" "It was brought here." "Planted here by the others." "Others?" "They forced us to plant it." "Then, once they started eating it, it changed them." "Most of them." "It made them do anything and believe anything that was told to them." "Wait, let me get this straight." "The entire population of this planet, they grow this for another race?" "Every half-cycle, they return in their ships, collect all that we have harvested." "And the leader, Volmae?" "The Others simply chose her from the crowd." "It could have been any one of us." "Yeah, but she's immune, like you." "She has the worm." "The worm is very rare." "We only spared you one because we need you." "What... what is it that I could possibly do for you?" "You have a ship." "You can find someone out there who can help us." "Bring us weapons." "Fight beside us." "The tannot is killing my planet." "Destroying my people." "We can't survive like this any longer." "It's okay." "It's okay." "Tanga..." "Tanga, where are you?" "Tanga, it's your father." "He's ill." "Come with me." "Here, let me help you with that one." "I can't anymore, Tanga." "Please, just let them discover me." "I would rather be dead." "Father, please." "Share in the celebration, which you so richly deserve." "The workday is complete." "Oh, this must be the happiest day of my life." "You'll find the rest day tomorrow will pass slowly without the joy of our work." "How's your father?" "Surviving." "But every day I'm scared he'll die out here." "Well Volmae is your leader." "How could she let this happen?" "It's her orders." "Every cycle more ground turns into wasteland where nothing grows." "That's what you meant when you said this planet's being destroyed, yeah?" "Sykar was once a garden." "The fields were lush with coldivara blenirian grain." "But now we plant nothing but tannot." "And Volmae doesn't care?" "No, she doesn't care." "No one cares as long as they have the tannot." "Yeah, but there must be people who remember what it was like before?" "Did you see my father's hands?" "No." "Once he was the finest maldique player on Sykar." "People would line the streets outside the Great Hall when they heard Hybin was performing." "Now, you'll have to help us." "Was it a fine day of work for you?" "It was a fine day." "Would you mind coming with me for a short walk?" "Sure, whatever you say." "What's it like out there?" "I hear space is very cold." "Black and cold." "My people never aspired to travel the heavens." "This planet is our home." "Was our home." "I suppose a starship can be a home." "It has been for you, hasn't it?" "It's nothing compared to your paradise here." "Would the cargo hold of your ship... accommodate a significant portion of what you see here?" "Not all." "I don't need it all." "So... what do they do with all of this?" "If it has value to them... it must have value elsewhere." "You will bring the other two from your ship back down here immediately." "Of course." "Then we can start loading." "Peacekeeper." "Come." "It's time we get back." "Oh... oh, leave me alone." "I don't feel well at all." "Quit complaining." "You're lucky to be alive." "Well, I'm barely that." "I did the best that I could and it wasn't in my training, you know." "Peacekeepers are trained only to kill." "Mmm..." "So don't forget that this Peacekeeper just saved your life." "Oh." "What the yotz does Crichton want anyway?" "And with both of us?" "Well, can you understand Crichton?" "Crichton?" "Damn." "Why can't you come in the front like regular people?" "You look terrible, actually." "What's happened to you?" "However I look, I feel a hell of a lot worse." "Where's Rygel?" "He's hiding in the pod." "He doesn't like it down here." "Smile, that's what they do around here." "Great." "Well, we gotta grab him." "Find a secluded spot." "What for?" "I don't have time for this right now, okay?" "Look, not until you tell me what's going on." " Enough, all right?" " Where's Zhaan?" "Look, she's with D'argo, okay?" "Dancing with the Grateful Dead." "Fine." "Can we just grab them and get out of here?" "No, we can't do that, okay?" "Not unless Volmae orders it, and..." "Volmae's got plans of her own, all right?" "She's planning on stealing the last load of tannot and then blasting out of here using our ship." "I don't think so." "Exactly." "So, come on." "Actually, I don't want to go anywhere until you tell me what, exactly, is going on." "Aeryn, it's complicated." "Complicated?" "Too complicated for a Peacekeeper to understand?" "No, I did not say that." "So, tell me." "Aeryn, not today, okay?" "I have been out in the sun all day long picking up magic turnips." "I got..." "I got a worm in my gut crawling around down in places where the sun don't shine and I'm sick of it, okay?" "So, for the moment would you just shut up and help?" "Help?" "What do you think I've been doing up there in the ship." "Playing games with Rygel?" "Look, I know it's so difficult up there in the ship." "Difficult?" "I had to stop him from blowing himself up to bits." "I had to figure out what was causing the problem and I had to fix it." "Yes, I know." "And we're all grateful that you did the Madame Curie thing, but..." "What?" "Who?" "Madame Curie." "She's a scientist." " Scientist?" " Yes." "What I had to do up there was like a field strategy exercise only the enemy wasn't trying to kill me." "The enemy was a puzzle and there were lots of different pieces and independently, separately, they didn't make any sense and I had to think it through really hard and I had to work out, try different combinations of putting them together and then finally," "I worked out what had happened and I worked out what I had to do." "What?" "This is great." "You trading in your pulse rifle for the junior chemistry kit." "My pulse rifle wasn't any use to me this time." "I know, but you may need it again soon, so come on." "The other two from your ship." "Are they coming?" "They're already down." "Bring them to me." "No, I don't think so." "I think I'd rather have you step outside, princess." "I order you to bring them here." "Now, Aeryn." "Keep the music playing!" "We want our friends back." "How dare you make demands." "Oh, give it rest, Snow White." "The tannot doesn't affect me;" "never did." "John, what are you doing?" "Release them." "Look, they're far more trouble than they're worth." "Why don't you just give them to us?" "This is my home now, John." "I'm happy here." "I will not let you destroy that." "If necessary," "I will destroy you first." "Rygel, now." "Crichton?" "Now, Rygel." " Crichton." " Rygel, now." "Now, Rygel!" "Take them." "Well, that little demonstration, thank you very much, Rygel, was fueled by the tannot root." "The Others, the ones who collect the tannot, they use it to fuel that pulse rifle there." "Peacekeepers?" "Yes." "No." "They say they only use it for food." "And the Peacekeepers never lie, right, D'argo?" "Peacekeepers never lie?" "When the tannot is processed and mixed with the right chemicals like it is in Rygel's stomach..." "It makes Chakan oil." "Do you understand what that means?" "It fuels all Peacekeeper weapons." "So this happy plant that you love so much?" "It's used to kill." "They use it to imprison and to enslave." "Food." "Weapons." "It doesn't matter." "Our planet is already dying." "My people are..." "Are enslaved by you." "You think when this planet is dead somehow you're going to escape?" "That you're going to outrun the Peacekeepers?" "Ask them." "Go ahead." "Ask them what your chances are." "He's right." "You are not equipped to fight the Peacekeepers." "I can show you how to make the Chakan oil." "Look around you." "We have no weapons." "Make them." "We once did." "Guards!" "They have deserted you, Volmae." "If we are to die as a people, let us at least die fighting." "There is nothing we can do." "The Peacekeepers, they are in control of me." "They are in control of you." "No, they're not." "You are." "You have the means." "What are you going to do about it?" "How?" "How can we?" "We will do it, one day at a time." "It's your decision." "It can all start tomorrow." "No." "Tomorrow is... a rest day." "A real rest day." "Got it." "Hybin was right." "This worm was quite easy to coax out of you." "Yeah, and that it would hurt like hell." "Like you've got anything to complain about." "You weren't frozen twice." "Oh, silence." "You're both fine." "Anyway, get ready." "Pilot wants to starburst us out of here." "Hey, Rygel?" "Mm-hmm?" "What's up with her?" "Oh, she thinks she's a scientist now." "False superiority." "I am not a scientist." "I am, however, what I have always been and that is superior." "If I were warmer, I would have an appropriately venomous reply." "Be warned." "I owe you one." "So, how you doing?" "Very well." "It was nice for once to triumph using my mind." "It doesn't just have to be this once, Aeryn." "Thank you for your assistance." "Thank you for yours." "I'd wait and let D'argo come to you when he's ready." "Perhaps I'm never destined to be happy." "But you were, for five glorious days." "But it wasn't real." "There are no guarantees, D'argo." "We take each breath as if it is our last and hope that the air is sweet." "I was going to... approach you at the next celebration." "And I would have accepted." "When I was a boy, I dreamed of two very different lives." "Only two?" "I wanted hundreds." "Two were enough." "I would be a magnificent warrior." "Merciless in battle, fearless." "The kind they write shintock sonnets about." "That is a healthy dream." "I also wanted the simple life." "Family, children... a frotash garden that I planted with my own hands." "I thought I'd found that." "Those kinds of dreams cannot be found, brave Luxan." "You have to build them." "And I promise you, your hands are still strong and there is plenty of time."