" We've got to get out of here." " Simon, how can we?" "I don't know but we've got to." "We've somehow slipped into the future and we're not going to stick around to be guinea pigs in their experiment." " Will the the time barrier still be there?" " Look!" "If we wear these when we're on the ice, we won't collapse again." "Ah, Dr Bukov, I wanted to ask you about Liz and Simon." " You discovered them on the ice?" " Yes, Beth." "And there was no indication that they could have come from the drop shelter?" "There's nowhere else they could have come from." "I'd better have another word with them." "Get the door open!" "We'll have to make a dash for it." "(Simon) Not that door, fathead!" "No!" "Simon!" "I won't!" "Mu..." "Hey, you two, what do you think you're doing?" "Stop!" " Come back!" " (Door sliding)" "(Wind howling)" "Pull yourself together!" "But Simon, you know who was in that room?" "It was Mummy!" "Thank heavens, the barrier." "It's still here." "Get your suit off." "Liz!" "Simon!" "It's all right." "We're back in our own time." " Yes." " What's the matter?" " l told you I saw Mummy in that room." " You were imagining it." "No, I saw her. I know I did." "But, Liz, it's not really possible, is it?" " lsn't it?" " That was the future in there. 1990." " l know." " This is only 1970." "You made a mistake." "I didn't. lt was Mummy." "Now, look, don't cry." "Crying's weak-minded." "It's all a bit weird, I know, but we'll find the answer." "We'll try, anyway." "All right, Simon." "Thank you." "You're so nice to me." "I'm not." "What makes you say a stupid thing like that?" "Because it's true. I know you like to pretend you're weak, but you're not." "Now, look." "It was just such a shock, Simon, seeing Mummy in a place like that." "Come on." "Oh, it's extraordinary." "This time I don't know whether to believe you or not." "It's true, Daddy." "We went into the future. 1990." "There was this place called the ice Box." "They were doing queer scientific experiments." " They weren't queer, just..." " Just advanced, Simon?" "Yes." "For one thing, they'd perfected brain-computer links." "That was in 1985." "At the moment, brain-computer links aren't talked about in science." "All right, then." "How do people get into the future?" "How exactly is it managed?" " You say I was there, Liz?" " Yes, Mummy." " ln this ice Box in the Antarctic?" " Yes." "Well, darling, how?" "Why?" "Was I alone?" "What about Daddy?" "Come on. I want to know." "How do people get into the future?" "When you explained about the children going into the past, you said it was because energy had been released and triggered off their hallucinations." "You can't say that about the future." "It hasn't happened." "No, so we'd have to think in terms of possible energy." " Possible energy?" " Possible or potential." " Energy that is released in the future." " Doesn't make sense." " Doesn't it?" " Of course not." "How could energy that hasn't been released have an effect on people now?" "The fact that they went into the future explains why Mrs Skinner lost touch." " l don't see that." " You're a telepath." "You can communicate with other minds, but only in your own time." "Or in a time that you've known, such as 1940." "To communicate with minds in the future, you need a different gift." "A thing called precognition, or second sight, as you would probably call it." "(Chuckles) What scrapes you two get into." "But really, I don't understand how I could be in this ice Box in 1990." "Goodness me, I'd be a very old lady then." "No, Mummy." "That's the funny thing." "You looked just as you look now." " Oh." "That would be the effect of HA57." " Of what?" "HA57." "That's a longevity drug they told us they'd been developing." "It means that you don't age." "He's barmy. lf he was older, I'd say he'd been on the bottle." " Frank." " That's what they told us." "A drug that prevented you from ageing." "It was worked out by the director." "A man called Devereaux." "Devereaux?" "What was his Christian name?" "Oh." "M..." "Morgan." "Morgan C Devereaux." "Director of Experimentation." "That was the name on his door." "This is all beginning to be fascinating." " lt's giving me a pain." " Frank." "For heaven's sake, Jean." "The children are back safe and sound." "The questions about 1940 have been answered. lsn't that enough?" "Can't we leave the whole business alone?" "Scientific Ice Box." "Yes, I think I'm beginning to understand." "A place apart where new techniques could be tried out." "New developments initiated." "A place constructed around the progress of science, with a major scientist in command, to direct the experimentation." "Fascinating." "And you're beginning to find it all quite fascinating, too, aren't you Simon?" "You seem to have observed rather a lot in this laboratory of the future." " And science is your subject, isn't it?" " Yes." " No." " What do you mean?" "You're working round to say the children must go back to this place. lt's not on." " Oh, my dear fellow." " The last one did us the world of good." " This could be worse." " What makes you think so?" "Because I feel it." "Jean not able to keep in touch with them, an atmosphere that sounds..." "I don't know what it sounds like." " The progress of science..." " We know all about that." "What did our little investigation into 1940 teach me?" "Except that I'd been mug enough to get in the way of one of your developments and been made to suffer for it ever since." "So you can't expect any sympathy from me for the progress of science." "No, Commander, we're going home." "My family and me and Simon." "Leaving St Oswald and the time bubble for good." "I should be back at the usual time, but if old Cooper calls, do you mind..." "Yes, Frank, I know." "Try and persuade those kids to do something to amuse themselves today." " They must be bored silly." " Simon may have to go home." "Oh, well, anyway." "Bye, Jean." "Bye-bye, dear." "Simon, I dreamt about the ice Box again last night." "Why would Mummy be there?" "Not that again." "I've told you, I don't know." "Well, why don't you know?" "Forget about it." "We can't go back, so what's the good of talking about it?" "I see." "What's the good of talking about anything to you?" "I'm tired of the ice Box." "You've always got so much to say." "Fantastic conversation we have." "You sparkle from dawn till dark." "I would if I had someone decent to talk to." "You squash everything I say." "You're a wet blanket." "I am not." "You turn everything sour." "I'm too kind to you." "You said yourself at the barrier." " Never mind what I said." " Didn't you mean it?" "I hope you didn't cos l'm sick of all this." "Sick of going off into other times and being told what to do." "Sick of you." "(Doorbell)" " Good morning, Mrs Skinner." " Commander Traynor." "I hope it's not too early. I was anxious to catch your husband before work." "I'm afraid he's gone." "I tell you what." "How about a film today?" " l don't want to go to a stuffy cinema." " There's a good double feature on." "One by Renoir." "Another by Jean-Luc Godard." " Oh, no." "Films in French and with you." " (Jean) You're not to go in there." " Morning, Simon, Liz." " Commander Traynor." "I asked you not to." "I know what you want." "You want the children to go into the time bubble." "My husband has forbidden it." "I may sit down, I take it?" "I haven't had any coffee yet." "We know they can't come to any harm." "That isn't the point." "Frank's against it and so am I." " Are you sure?" " Yes." "Come, now." "Surely you must be anxious to know what you're doing at a research establishment at the South Pole in the future." "Almost as anxious as Liz is." "That's unfair." "Of course there are mysteries." "Everyone admits it." "But we're not concerned about them any more." "Can't you understand?" "Your loyalty to your husband is touching." "It's nothing to do with Frank." "I came to the same conclusion." "It's a simple matter of making up one's own mind." " No, it isn't." " l'm sorry." "It's a matter of making up several minds, like Simon's." " What about Simon?" " Well, my boy, that longevity drug, eh?" "All sorts of intriguing developments." "Commander Traynor, stop talking to the children like this." "You want them to go back so they can find out things that will be of use to you." "I can hardly deny that. lf we know the future course of science, we can start plotting the graph." " You want information for yourself." " Oh, really?" "If Simon discovers the longevity drug's secret and gives it to you." " Mrs Skinner." " There's nothing to talk about." "Liz is our child and she'll do as we say." "Simon's under our care till his father sends for him, so that's an end to it." "You look forward to your future life with equanimity, then, I take it?" "Strange life, enclosed in an Antarctic ice Box." "No, I'm not going to talk about it." "If you'll excuse me, I've got a lot to do." " Can I come and help?" " Thank you, Liz." "When you've finished your coffee, I'll see you out." "Well." "Rather sad, don't you think, Simon, that we shan't find out?" "Oh, I don't know, sir." "You surprise me." "I thought you'd be on my side." "I'm not on anybody's side." "I'm just puzzled." "I didn't like the ice Box much." "It was a creepy sort of place." "That's an unscientific attitude." "Yes, but come to think of it, it's just about the right word to use for it." "Creepy." "Simon, you mentioned the director of the ice Box earlier." " Morgan C Devereaux?" " That's right." " You're certain?" " That was the name on his door." "This is very interesting." "Devereaux was the world's leading authority on biology for several years." " You mean in our time?" " Yes." "Well, he invented HA57, so I suppose after that he dosed himself on it first." "Yes, yes, quite, but I wonder how?" "What's the difficulty about that?" "In June of last year, Morgan C Devereaux died." "Oh, yes, no doubt about it." "He was a close friend of mine." "I attended his funeral." " Well, Simon, sure in your mind?" " Yes, Commander, quite sure." "The Skinners will play hell." "I shall be in terrible trouble." "Probably finish up in clink on an abduction charge." "Look, I want to go back now." "It wasn't only what you said." "But there are things I've got to know about." "Exactly." "A scientist at heart." " Anyway, I think Liz is fed up with me." " Why?" "She's says one thing one minute and another thing the next." "Women, dear boy, women." "Even when they say the same thing to you all the time, they mean the opposite." "You like Liz, eh?" " Like her?" " Mm." "Oh, I don't know." "Just now I got the idea that..." "Forget it." "Well, Simon, a man has his work." "You bring back anything you can and Liz will be proud of you." "Yes, I suppose so." " Good luck, son." " Goodbye." "See you in jail." "You took him back to St Oswald?" "Let him go into the time bubble in spite of what I said." "Let's not get into a state. I had very little to do with it." "The boy insisted." " l don't believe you." " Mrs Skinner." "He would never do it without telling me unless you pressured him." " l should never have left you alone." " Why did you?" "Frank, I was more concerned for Liz." "I had to stay with her." "You mean he tried to persuade her, too?" "There's no need for all this anxiety." "You're making me out to be some sort of Svengali." "I'm interested in what people want to do themselves." "Simon has an inquiring mind." "You must realise that." "He needs to know the answers to puzzling questions." "Right, Liz?" "What?" "Doesn't Simon fret until he's found the solution to a vexing problem?" "Oh, yes." "He never stops trying to work things out." "You've put me in a nice spot, haven't you?" "What do I tell his father?" "He shouldn't be gone more than a day or two." "You don't think I'm going to let you get away with it?" "No." "Knowing the man you are, I imagine you'll want to hit back." "I'm glad you realise it." " l'm going to telephone the police." " Frank." " Frank." " Don't you think I have a right to?" "You have the right." "Nobody doubts that." "The only question is can you bring it off?" " The facts will speak for themselves." " What are they?" "I kidnapped a member of your household and projected him into the future." "A boy has gone missing but is unlikely to be found because he's in the year 1990." "If any such hare-brained notions are put to me, I shall deny them outright." "Say it was a fabrication on your part." "The unfortunate result of a war injury." "Commander, I've always known you were ruthless." "They said I'd be prime minister if I didn't get hanged first." " This is more than I'm prepared to take." " (Frank) Forget it." "He doesn't care whom he hurts as long as he gets his own way." "He'd kill someone if he had to." " lt's time he knew what we think of him." " Stop it!" "All you're worrying about are yourselves, but Simon's back in that awful place." "That awful place." "We can't dismiss it as easily as that, can we, Mrs Skinner?" "We're all involved." "Liz." " What's happening?" " Nothing. I'm all right, Daddy." "Oh, no, you're not." "What's the matter?" "Why did you start crying like that?" "Who's crying?" "Here." "I'm not crying." "It's nothing, really." "Simon can go where he wants, can't he?" "Anywhere." "Look, the only reason I didn't want the two of you to go back was because I thought we'd all had enough of it and it might be dangerous." "But it isn't." "Mr Traynor says we can't come to any harm." "Well, we don't know that, do we?" "But Mummy's there, isn't she?" "Do you honestly believe that's so?" "I saw her." "Anyhow, Simon can be a fool at times." "I know he studies a lot and knows things nobody else would want to know, but he's not much good at looking after himself." "Last time he depended on me a lot." "You mind very much what happens to Simon, don't you, darling?" "I see." "So the world changes and my little girl suddenly becomes a big girl." " No." " Oh, it's a fact." "So it looks as if this is something we shall have to discuss, whether we like it or not." "I don't understand it." "Liz seems simply to have disappeared." "All the boy Simon will say is that he's been for a walk." "Hah." "Been for a walk." " That's strange, isn't it?" " lt's more than strange." "They really are a most unusual pair of volunteers." "You say they just vanished into thin air out there on the ice?" "Yes." "I want you to know I take a most serious view of all this, Simon." "You're a volunteer here, but we expect everyone to have a gravity of purpose." " We serve science." "Check?" " Check, sir." "Now, back to your companion." "Director to computer." "Field report on missing volunteer." "Radar and beam code check." "Hm." "I hope we're not put in the position of requesting a new volunteer." "We should be starting on the AB experiment almost at once." "I feel privileged to be here." "I've admired your work for a long time." " l beg your pardon?" " Your work is terrific." " What does a kid know about my work?" " l read everything about science." "I got interested through the works of Charles Traynor." " Traynor?" " Yes." "Traynor." "Traynor, wait a minute." "A couple of decades ago, minor physicist or something." " Don't you know more about him?" " Why should I?" "Well, I thought he said he was... I mean, wasn't he a friend of yours once?" " Are you all right?" " Yes, sir." "Then kindly stop babbling, will you?" "Traynor means nothing to me." "I've barely heard of the man." "We'll take another check." "Mummy." "Mummy?" "Mummy, what's wrong?" "It's me." "Liz." "No." "Don't come near me." "What's the matter?" "You're not real." "You can't be." "Mummy, don't. lt's all right. lt's only me." "I thought I saw you before at the door, but I told myself I was imagining it." "We came through the time barrier." "Simon and me." "Simon?" "Simon Randall?" "Yes." "You remember how we used to be able to go in and out of the time barrier." "This time it's brought us here." " You're not here. lt's not possible." " Why not?" "Jean, the director asked me to ask you..." "Why are you here?" "I thought you'd gone." " Don't hurt her." " She had no right to come." "Leave her alone." "She came through the time barrier." "Just as you were able to do once." " Just as she was able to do?" " Yes, Liz." "Try to understand." "Beth is you." "You when grown-up." "You're one and the same person." "Two people, but my only daughter - the trick the time barrier's played on us."