"We saw the Earth destroyed." "And in a heartbeat, everything and everyone we knew... was gone." "There were five of us." "The crew of the space shuttle Odyssey." "And we were the only survivors." "A mysterious being who called himself The Seeker... rescued us and sent us back in time." "And now we have five years to live over." "Five years to discover who or what destroyed the Earth." "Five years to stop it from happening again." "There's no end in sight to the record heat wave baking the entire state." "Denton had a high today of 105, Killeen with 108, Aurora, 106... and it only gets worse as you head west." "You lost, mister?" "What makes you think I'm lost?" "We don't get many strangers out this way." "I guess you could say that I'm trying to find out if I am lost." "I've seen it all before, this gas station, this church." "I've seen it all before." " You've been summoned." " Summoned?" "Yes." "I suppose I have." "How'd it happen for you?" "Interesting choice of words." "Well, let's say, I was engaged in my usual Thursday night activity." "You almost make me believe in heaven, darling." " Did I make you see God?" " Well, let's not get carried away, shall we?" "Harder." "And they say adult films are not a viable form of art." " You going?" " Yeah, got to be somewhere." " Don't we all?" " What's the problem?" "Isn't this the point where you fall asleep?" "Yeah, but I was thinking maybe we could try something new..." " like, for instance, breakfast and talk." " Talk?" "What do you wanna talk about?" "How about the latest developments in recombinant DNA research?" " How's that?" " I'll take a rain check." "Pity." "I was really interested in hearing your take on it." "Yeah, I'm sure." "Call me." "Right." "Harder." "Oh!" " Hello?" " Hey, it's me." "Hi." "Hi." "I was just wondering what you were doing right now." " What am I doing?" " Yeah." "Do you have any plans tonight?" " I have a guest over." " Oh." "Is this the kind of guest that might be leaving before sunrise?" " That's none of your business, Kurt." " Yes, of course." "Of course." " Look, I gotta go." " Right, right." "Of course." "Have a nice, lovely, lovely, lovely evening." "Cleanse me." ""Evil shall slay the wicked, and they that hate the righteous..." ""shall be desolate." ""The Lord redeemeth the soul of the servants..." ""and none of them that trust in Him..." ""shall be desolate in the hills."" "You know, when I first saw that symbol I felt..." "I can't explain it, but I felt that life didn't have to be filled with emptiness... that there had to be an answer somewhere, and that somewhere is here." "I had a clear image of this place, this town, that I had to come." " And here I am." " Hallelujah!" "Is that the word for it?" "I don't know." "It's the best I can think of." "Can't you?" "No." "I suppose not." "You'll need a place to stay." "Chaldean's Hotel." "It ain't much, but it's the best we got." "Don't worry, Dr Mendel." "You're in the right place." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Hello." "My name is Kurt Mendel." "I'd like to have a room, please." "How long will you be staying?" "I'm not sure, really." "Need a checkout date." "Policy." "How long you be staying?" "Until the end of this world or the beginning of the next." "Works for me." "Any showers in the rooms?" "One bathroom at the end of the hall... no hot water." "Free cable, mints on the pillow, complimentary breakfast in the morning?" "No TV, no mints." "Breakfast is where you can find it." "Sounds wonderful." "That's reassuring." " I won't read this copy." " You'll read it... because you're a professional, because you work for me..." " and because you like your job." " It's degrading." "We're looking to attract a larger female audience." "Like this?" "This guy has a huge following." "His tapes are flying off the shelves." "Chad, you gotta listen to me, okay?" "The press is going to blast us." "Any amount of respect that we have gained is gonna fly out the window." "In this business, sometimes you have to choose between respect and ratings." " The ratings are gonna go up not one iota." " How do you know?" " I know." " Yeah, well, you better hope... your crystal ball is off this time... because if these ratings don't improve... we're gonna have to take a long look..." " at some other solutions." " Like what?" "Like the anchors." "And today we welcome the newest member of the Action Edition News team..." "Warren Sunn, our very own "Workout Weatherman."" "Thank you, Sarah." "Great to be aboard." "Warren, everybody seems to be talking about the weather." "Some say this is the worst heat wave in Texas history." "You are so right." "So I hope you don't mind if the rest of Texas heats up, if I cool down a little." "Every day we're gonna add a new exercise to our routine." "Today we're gonna start off with a simple, basic bicep curl." "Two sets, three times a week, and you'll build a blazing set of biceps... that are gonna make your partner hot, hot, hot." "Speaking of heat, there is no end in sight to this tempestuous, tumultuous... temperature tantrum being thrown by Mother Nature." "A low-pressure heat wave that's responsible... for some of the highest temperatures this century." "There's something very wrong, you guys." "This heat, it shouldn't be happening." "One thing my granddaddy told me, honey..." " you can't change the weather." " Yes." "But that's exactly what I'm talking about, okay?" "Our minds can go back in time... but the weather should remain the same as it was." "Is it my imagination, or are you a little ripe?" " Kid hasn't taken a shower in a week." " Hey, hey." "We've got global warming, which is a fact, which has a major ecological impact... and this is a drought." "And the State of Texas Environmental Commission... has asked us to cut back on water use, i.e., take less showers." "I am taking towel baths to which we all, as astronauts, should be accustomed." " Has anyone heard a word I've said?" " Yeah." "You've been complaining about the goddamn weather... which I would prefer to enjoy in the company of my own air conditioning... in my own goddamn home." "Is that why you dragged us 40 miles out here in the heat?" "Well, if you put a gag in it for just a second..." "I'll tell you exactly why I dragged you here, Taggart." " This weather, this heat, it's unnatural." " Sarah, it's the southwest." " We get droughts." " Yes, but not like this, and not at this time." "Oh, who can remember the goddamn weather five years ago, anyway?" "I can't remember what it was a week ago." "Well, that's because you're a man." "You can't remember shit." "Are you relying on this goofy weatherman the station just hired?" "Yes." "He's exactly why I know something is wrong, okay?" "And I'm gonna tell you why." "In the previous timeline, the ratings were in the basement." "Now they're through the roof." "It's because everybody's watching this bozo... trying to figure out what's going on with this drought." " Oh, my God." " What?" "She's right." "It's not supposed to be hot at all." "What's it supposed to be?" "It's supposed to be raining." "Shit." "All right, hang on." "Coming." "Okay." "Hello?" "Dad, is that you?" "What is it?" "Dad, what's wrong?" "Day after tomorrow is Willis Jensen's birthday party." "He's my father's campaign manager." "Something awful happened on that day." "I know it was raining all week." "All right." "So something's been fucking with the goddamn weather." "What the hell does that mean?" "We're the wildcards in this timeline, so it must have been something we've done." "Changed the weather." "I don't think so." "Hell, we've been pissing in the timeline stream long enough." "Maybe it's something reacting to something we've done." " Like a Sentient?" " Who knows?" " Kurt might have an idea." " Where the hell is Mr Science, anyway?" "This is his turf." "He should be here." "Look, he called me yesterday." "I couldn't talk to him." "I called him today to tell him about the meeting." "Got his machine." "Maybe he's off doing something really important." "Flip a coin." "Heads, he's betting the horses, tails, he's cornered some..." "Tail?" "Didn't mean to alarm you last night, Doctor." "Try to greet all the newcomers." " Help them through the transition." " Transition?" "Well, it can be tough on some of the participants." "They've given up a lot to be here." "Some left their families behind, loved ones." "Luckily, I don't have that problem." "Oh, it's just as well then." "There seems to be more water here than the whole state of Texas." "This is a chosen place." "You know, we've been waiting for you." "You're the final piece to the puzzle." "Last chapter in a glorious book." "The King made him a great man." "Made him the ruler over the whole province of Babylon." " Book of Daniel." " You know your Book, Dr Mendel." "Funny enough, I seem to know it quite well lately." "He burnt his words into the souls of his chosen people." "But none like my little Brianna, my granddaughter." "Chosen to be his eyes and his ears." "Truly a miracle." "Gonna get a kick out of this." "I just opened it two minutes ago." ""There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets..." ""and maketh known to the king what shall be in the last days."" "Daniel, chapter two, verse one through six." ""I have gone to join Him in all his glory."" " You got this from Kurt?" " Yeah, I know." "It's gotta be a joke, right?" "No." "He don't joke with you." "He jokes with me." "I think Angela's right." "He's gone off to chase some girl... who happens to be very religious." "I don't know." " What's with that symbol?" " I'm not sure." "It looks familiar, though." "I think I saw it on some heavy metal album cover." "Well, I'll tell you what." "This could be one of his jive-ass jokes... or this could be something real serious." "So I'll tell you what I'm gonna do." "I'm gonna go over to his loft." "Meanwhile, you stay here and work on this symbol." "It's what I live for." "Kurt, it's Chuck." "Call me." "Honey, I'm gonna be about an hour late for lunch... and what happened to my hat and glasses?" "I left them right here." " Can we talk?" " Can you handle it?" "Actually, I'm having a little trouble with that." "That's what I want to talk about." "Okay." "I went to see a therapist today." "I told her about this." "Oh, Lord, Paige..." " You need help, Chuck." " Oh, no." "Paige, I thought there was one small possibility... like you said, that you could believe what I told you was true." "I'm sorry." "I just don't." "Paige, a goddamn shrink..." "Do you know what the hell..." "Do you know what the hell you've done here?" "If some goddamn shrink starts babbling about this..." " She won't." "Client confidentiality." " You don't have any idea what you have..." "Paige, I may need help." "I may need goddamn scientific help." "I may need spiritual help, but I don't need a fucking shrink." "Paige, if you're home, pick up the phone." "If I need some help, I need your help, baby." "Dad?" "Oh, my God." "I'll get a flight right away." "Tell Mom I love her, and I will get there as soon as I can get a plane." " I'm going to Arizona." "It's my mom." " She's had a heart attack." "I know." " Did you talk to Dad already?" " No." "I lived through it all already." "With you, five years ago in my time, which is now." "They think it's a heart attack." "It ain't a heart attack." "It's acid fucking reflux." "That's it." "Acid reflux." "Listen to me, Paige." "It's gonna be a bad two days... but you're gonna get a call from your dad tomorrow." "He's gonna tell you Mom ain't got a heart attack." "She's just got an acid problem." "Hold off on Arizona for one day." "Can you do that?" "If your dad doesn't call, you can lock me up as a ding-a-ling and throw away the key." "But he's gonna call, and he's gonna tell you your mom's all right." "Hold off on one day." "Your mom's fine." "Can you trust me?" "Overnight the Book was revealed to her, word for word, from Genesis to Revelations." "And it was she who told us to build the Lord's tunnel maker over here." "I'm Alex Stratton." "Oh, yes." "From the Weiseger Institute of Theoretical Physics." "Good to see you again." "It truly is a marvel." "Looks like gold." "There's some gold in it, as well as silver, brass, iron, even clay." "All materials prescribed by the Lord." "That suction mechanism seems to be aspiring all the moisture from the air." "Yes." "It's altering the atmosphere roughly in a radius of 300 miles." "That's not possible." "With Him, all things are possible." "If you examine certain biblical passages... you'll see that most of His interactions with man took place in the barren desert." " The Lord wants it hot and dry." " But why?" "Well, for His arrival." "Tonight at midnight, we activate the holy device." "And a passage will be made, a bridge between His realm and ours." "The Lord will cross through, and we'll meet Him face to face." "Wait a minute." "Wait a minute." "Let's slow down." "His arrival?" "Hot and dry?" "Why does the Lord need a passage?" "It doesn't make any sense." " It doesn't have to make sense." " Yes, it does." "We were brought here for a purpose, and we should know it." "Something brought us here in the interest of something bigger than science." " There has to be a reason for it." " There is." "The scales have fallen from their eyes." "Let them fall from yours." "What do you mean?" "Life doesn't have to be composed of emptiness and unanswered questions." "Give me your hands." "You've been lonely." "You've struggled to stop the loneliness... but everything you've done has taken you farther and farther away." " Yes." " You've been called here for a reason, Kurt." "Here there is fulfilment and answers." "I want answers." "When the Lord comes, you'll have all the answers... to all the questions you've ever had, and you'll never be lonely again." "Hallelujah." "Hallelujah." "Well, folks, still no relief on the horizon." "Record breaking scorcher continues unabated." "Sarah, what are you doing to stay cool?" "Just watching you do the weather gives me a chill, Warren." "Look at her face." "It's so obvious she hates the guy." "This does not sound like Kurt." "And what does this symbol mean?" "It's a Babylonian icon." "It means, "The Almighty." "The all-knowing one."" " God?" " So to speak." "Yeah." "Listen, have you gotten an e-mail from Kurt or anything on a computer?" "No." "I think you guys should check out his loft." "Hell, I did." "I went over there." "It's locked up tighter than a drum." "Try the front window." "He leaves that open just in case he loses the key." " Let's go." " Yeah." "You coming with?" "No." "I gotta handle this stuff with my dad." "Need any help?" "I gotta see this through myself." "Okay." "Daddy?" "What happened?" "I was on my way to Willis' party, and it was raining so hard, Angela." "You couldn't see anything, it was raining so hard..." " What happened?" " I was a little late." "So I was driving kind of fast." "I was fiddling with the radio, trying to find the 7:00 news... and this damn fool runs across the dark road right in the middle of the rain." "Oh, my God." "I mean, why would somebody do that?" "It's so stupid." "Had you been drinking, Dad?" "I had a couple of cocktails before I left." "Hey, it wasn't strong." "It was no big deal." "Why didn't you have your driver with you?" "It was a private party, and, besides, it was Bryson's day off." "Who did you hit?" "I mean, who would've been out on that road..." " late at night like that?" " I don't know." "Was it a ranch hand, a farmer?" "There's construction down the road." "There's that park." "I don't know." "I wanted to stop and see if he was all right, but..." " You left him out there?" " Well, yeah." "That would've been the end of everything." " I'm gonna call the police." " No, you are not." "It was an accident, but I was drinking." "Now use your head, girl." "You know what will happen." "Listen, he could have just been wounded or not very seriously hurt." "I think that is the case, so I think we can settle this privately." "But I need you, Angela, to go back to that spot of the accident... and see what you can find." "Please, honey." "You gotta do this for me." "Angela, you gotta help me, please." "Please." " Get my fucking foot out of the window..." " I'm trying, Dad." " You got to straight..." "Bend your knee." " Get the fuck, fucking..." " Dad?" "Oh, shit." " Damn it." "Damn." "I told you to let me go first." "Smart-ass fucking kid." "Hey." "We are looking for something that might tell us where he went... not what he does in his spare time." "Yeah, sorry." "Hey, look at this." "A Bible in Kurt's loft." "It is the end of the world." "What do you make of Lost Hills, Texas?" "What do you make of this?" "So what do we got?" "A meticulous guy who doesn't make his bed... don't even eat his caviar for breakfast... leaves the morning doobie, glass of wine." "Got the symbol, Bible... and a damn map of Lost Hills, Texas." "We should check it out." "Take about four hours to get up there." "It's north of the Big Thicket near Silsby." "Let's do it." "You think you and I can survive four hours cooped up in a car together?" " Did three days in the shuttle." "Sure." " Well, I don't." "You got five minutes to get in Kurt's shower and get that stench off you." "And I don't wanna hear about the towel baths... and the eco-impact and the goddamn global warming and all the other tripe." "Lost Hills." "Yeah." "We made a wrong turn off the 96." "What was your first clue?" "We're on a goddamn ranch road." "Of all the fucked up times for a radiator hose to bust." "What the hell is Kurt doing out here?" "Hell if I know." "It ain't the French Riviera." "No, it ain't." "It's nice though." "I like it." "It's timeless." "Reminds me of the Old West." "You know, cowboys, Comanches." "Son, Comanches were the greatest horsemen in the world... and they were not in East Texas." "They were in the great plains of West Texas." "The only moccasins around here were the water type." "Let's get the hell out of here." " Hello." " Neil, let me talk to your dad." "Yeah, hold on." "It's Mom." " Hi, baby." " Where are you?" "Well, I'm somewhere near Silsby." "Silsby?" "What on earth are you doing there?" "Well, it's what I told you about before." "I mean, it's a friend of mine, Kurt Mendel." "You know him, and he's in trouble... and come up here for a couple of days." "I got Neil with me." "You took Neil out of school for two days?" "Paige, it's Sunday, and this is a priority." "My dad didn't call today, Chuck." "I booked a flight for Arizona tomorrow afternoon." "Paige, I mean, I may have screwed up about the day." "Maybe it's one day." "Maybe it's two days or more." "I mean, it's five years ago in my time." "Can you just hang on for one more day?" "Your dad will call." "Trust me." "Just hang on for one more day." "I have had it." "Chuck, I've just simply had it." "I'm going to Arizona." "And I don't know if I wanna see you when I get back." "I love you, Paige." "My mother's had a heart attack, Chuck." "Goodbye." "Shit." "Let's go." "You're a geneticist." "Your purpose is for after the arrival." " After?" " The Lord will put you to use... on the second day of His coming." "For the Lord said, "This is my covenant to them."" "But someone has broken the covenant." "Someone here has broken the covenant." "Come forward and admit to what you have done." "I contacted my family." "I miss my wife, my kids... people I love." "The Lord was very clear in His guidelines." "No contact with non-believers." "No exceptions." "I just wanted to hear their voices." "I didn't tell them anything." "I swear." "I didn't tell them anything." "They're scared." "They're suffering and they're scared because I'm here, and it's so hard." "I love the Lord." "That's why I came here." "Stone him!" "I came here all the way from Nuevo Laredo to serve Him... to work for Him, to..." "Back to work." "We cannot fall behind." "Tonight will be the most glorious night in history." "We must now do the Lord's work." "We must continue." "We have little time." "Please, go back to work." "Back to work." "Amen, brothers and sisters." "Keep working." "The Lord is watching." "We must keep His work going." "We have little time." "Midnight tonight." "Dad, I'm your daughter." "You had me following blood trails into the woods." " Yeah, but there was no body." " We don't know that." " So he walked off under his own power." " Or someone picked him up." "Well, then we'll check the hospitals." "All right?" " You mean I gotta check the hospitals." " Yes." "Dad, he could've got your licence plate number." " No." "It was pouring out there and pitch dark." " We are reporting this now, Dad." "What we are going to do... is we are going to have faith and wait... and not cause any unnecessary police investigations or lawsuits." "That's what we're gonna do." "I checked the hospitals, the free clinics, the morgue." "Nothing." "To this day I don't know what happened to the person he hit." "Why don't you just let yourself off the hook?" "My family, everything revolves around the Senator." "Whatever he needs." "Whatever best serves his cause." " Sarah." " Warren, what are you still doing here?" " Go home." " Just going over these satellite charts." "This weather system's highly anomalous." "Here, take a look." "This drought, this heat wave, they seem to have an epicentre." "Very odd." "See, Oklahoma's got rain." "Louisiana, New Mexico are temperate." "But we're here baking like little pigs in a blanket." " And that's really unusual?" " Almost unheard of." "But I've dealt with plenty odd weather in my time." "Dust devils, squall lines, back door fronts, down slope flows." "But nothing remotely like this." "Jesus, Warren, you really do know your shit, don't you?" "Yeah, don't let the muscleman jazz fool you." "I got my Master's in meteorological science at Johns Hopkins." "Johns Hopkins?" "Yeah, you'd think it'd be enough." "Not in this world." "I cooked up that workout shtick 'cause I couldn't get a job." "Who'd have thunk it?" "Warren, you said that the anomaly had an epicentre." " Can you pinpoint that for me?" " Yeah, sure thing." "It's right here." "Where?" "Show me." " Anything interesting?" " The whole damn book." " Yeah." "I meant in relation to Kurt." " Nebuchadnezzar." " The King of Babylon." " I knew I raised a smart kid." "That's right." "That icon is Babylonian." "So you got King Nebuchadnezzar II, who was a sixth century King of Babylon... enslaved the Israelites." "Whereupon, Prophet Daniel was asked to interpret a dream for him." "It's Sarah." "Yo, how's my favourite big-name anchorwoman?" "You're never gonna believe this." "This guy actually knows what he's talking about." " Who?" " The Workout Weatherman." "Okay?" "Now, see the last time around we had no funky weather." "So all he did was dance and prance and make an ass out of all of us." "So you called me to bullshit about the geek weatherman." " You're not listening to me, Taggart." " I'm listening, I'm listening." "Go ahead." "Okay." "Here's the thing." "He found a ground zero." "A place where the heat wave seems to be originating." " Three guesses as to where that is." " You're shitting me." "No." "I'm not shitting you." "You're heading right towards it." "I have no idea what it means, but I just thought you should know." "That's why you're my favourite big-name anchorwoman." "Stay in touch." "This is getting real interesting." "Quite the hopping burg, isn't it?" "This town's so small, you get a hard-on, you have to move the house." "There's his car." "Hey, you hear that?" "My friends, at long last our work is done." "Amen!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Tonight at midnight... the Lord will venture forth through the passage that we have created... and walk among His chosen people." "I'm here to tell you, Brianna was contacted by our Lord... within the past hour." "She has some important things to share with her brothers and sisters." "Yea, Brianna." "Speak to us." "Blessed friends... bring forth thy seed from the east and gather thee from the east." "The new dawn is arriving." "Great changes are about to take place." "Those who help us, like the men of science who've heeded the call... will bathe in His blessings." "Those who oppose us will know only His wrath." "The cadence." "The way she's speaking is strange." "Yeah." "It's like she's saying it by memory or something." "I have received warning from the Lord." "Woe unto them that calls good evil and evil good... that puts darkness for light." "They would subvert His will and stop tonight from happening." "And they are here among us." "Even now!" "Who are you?" "And why have you come here?" "We're just passing through, and we didn't mean to interrupt your Sunday." "We're just looking for directions is all." "Yeah." "Sorry to interrupt your service." "It's just, we couldn't find anybody outside, and... well, everyone seems to be in here." "We're just sorry to disturb you all... and we'll just be going." "Thank you." "They're lying." "I know these men." "They have come here to sabotage our project." "Hang them up in the slaughterhouse." "Run them into the street." "Do anything you have to." "The Lord will be with you and guide your hands." "To the slaughterhouse." "Thank you, old friend." "You mind getting the Good Book out of my back pocket?" "I want to pass the time in peace while I'm strung up here." "You're gonna need it." "Maybe you wanna tell us about that tunnel you're so proud of." " Where is it?" " I ain't telling you nothing." "Said too damn much already." "What do you intend to do with us?" "Take you out and stone you till you're dead like we do all agents of Satan." "Whoa!" "Hey, you can't do that." "Last time I checked we still had a document called the Constitution." "The devil don't abide by no legal mumbo-jumbo." "Take it up with him." " He sent you here." " These people are in the Stone Age." "These people... are in the vanguard." "Vanguard?" " Where'd you hear that word, old man?" " That's the word He used... when He turned my life around." "Haven't touched a drop since." "Praise Him... and fuck you." "Well, speaking of Satan, here comes Judas." "Well, if it ain't Mr Science." "You're looking swell." " Old-time religion suits you, I guess." " You shouldn't have come here." "And miss the Second Coming?" "Not a chance." "It was a mistake to follow me." "Do you have any idea what's happening here, Kurt?" " I know exactly what's happening here." " Good." "Just for a minute there, you had us worried." "You think there's a prosaic answer for everything, don't you, Chuck?" "That's your weakness." "I used to be just as blind." "I thought everything in the universe had a mundane scientific explanation." " A logical solution." " It does, Kurt." "This place is Babylon." "You're wrong." "This is the Promised Land." "Kurt, you're a goddamn atheist, for Christ's sake." "Don't you ever mention the Lord's name in vain." "Do you hear?" "Kurt, you don't believe in this." "You never have." "What do you know of me?" "You don't know me." " You don't know what I believe in." " Yeah, I do." "You believe in mathematics, in evolution, in science." "Quiet!" "I was warned about you." ""And these are the days in the kingdoms where there shall be the God in heaven..." ""who shall set up the kingdoms that shall never be destroyed."" "That's it." "Give it to them, Doctor." "Don't let the devil in." "Kurt, this machine is screwing up the weather all over Texas." " Why does God need all this hot air?" " The Lord has reasons for everything." " Who are you to question Him?" " Because this place is Babylon, Kurt." "That symbol is Babylon... one of those kingdoms you're talking about that God destroyed... for enslaving the Israelites, and that damn contraption is the Tower of Babel... that was brought down by the sin of pride!" "From human beings who are attempting to try to climb to God..." "You have the sin of pride!" "You and the agency you work for!" "You tried to climb to God!" "Look at the name of the hotel, Kurt." "The Chaldean." " Those were the magicians of Babylon!" " Don't listen to him, Doctor." "Those were the fakers of Babylon... who tried to interpret the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar." "The dream that said iron and brass and clay and silver and gold." "Have you seen that shit around here anywhere?" "No! "The magicians shall not reveal themselves to the King!" ""And theirs shall be a God in heaven..." ""that revealeth his secrets and make us known!"" "Yeah." "You're quoting your Book of Daniel, Kurt." "But you haven't quoted it all." "Listen to the rest of it." "Listen to the rest of it." ""And there was the iron and the brass and the clay and the gold and the silver..." ""and the wind carried them to where they had found no place!"" "These are the four empires that tried to defy God, Kurt!" " That's where you are!" "They defied God!" " Walk away now!" "He's a devil using the Lord's word to twist your thinking!" "That's my Bible, Chuck." "Where'd you get it?" "I got it out of your loft, Kurt." "Listen to me." "How dare you touch it and soil it with your hand?" "Leviathan, Kurt." "Remember that word?" "It was the code I found on the Odyssey comsys file after we saw the Earth explode." "Leviathan comes from Lotan, Kurt." "The seven-headed serpent from Babylon." "You know what your boy, Daniel, called Lotan?" "You know what your boy, Daniel, called Leviathan?" "The last beast, Kurt!" ""The last beast shall devour the Earth and break it to pieces!" ""He who seeketh to destroy the world!"" "I will not be corrupted." ""And Babylon shall not be inhabited again!" ""And the stars in heaven shall not give up their light!" ""And the sun shall darken and the moon shall not cause its light to shine!"" "We saw that, Kurt!" "It's in your Book!" "We saw it together!" ""And I shall shake the heavens and I shall remove the world from its place." ""And I will make men rarer than fine gold..." ""except for the five..." ""who may seek to save the world from fire!"" "That's us, Kurt!" " We were sent to save the world from fire!" " Stop!" "Just stop!" "Stop!" "Should we stone them to death now, Doc?" "Not yet." "I want them both to live and witness the arrival." "After that, I will shoot them both personally." " Ain't no firearms in this town." " I know where there's one." " Think you went a little overboard, Dad?" " Whatever." "All that stuff about the five, saving the Earth from fire." " That stuff in the Bible?" " Hell, no." "I was just adding my own horseshit." "I don't think it did a bit of damn good." ""A rock was cut out, but not by human hands." ""It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them."" " She's on a computer." " She's talking to the Lord." ""The iron, the clay, bronze, silver and gold were smashed to pieces at the same time." ""And became like chaff on the threshing floor in the summer." ""The wind swept them away without leaving a trace." ""The rock that struck the statue..." ""became a huge mountain and filled the whole Earth."" "You have done well." "Now we will join together... and bring others to the truth and our legions will grow." "And when all the unbelievers are swept away... we will remake the world in our image." "In your image?" "Move back!" " You killed Him!" " Yes." "I did." "I killed him." "So he sure as hell ain't the Lord." "Move!" "Stand back!" "Move!" "Move!" "What's he saying?" "He killed Him!" "Was that what I thought it was?" "If I'm not mistaken, it was a real, live Sentient." "He wasn't interested in creating Synthetics." "He wanted to come here himself." "And that passage was some kind of tunnel from cyberspace." "Yeah." "Well, it needed heat so I thought cold." "What we needed was a good old CO2 fire-extinguisher." "So what brought you to your senses?" "It certainly wasn't your dad's horseshit about us saving the world from fire." " Don't be so sure that was horseshit." " What was it then?" "Well, this supposed Lord went to great lengths to keep us... from the outside world, from any contact with the outside world." "No families, no friends, no loved ones of any kind." "The penalty was death." "Human connections." "You destroyed the illusion." " Did you just call me a loved one?" " Right." "Loved ones." "I think I went over the top with my phrasing there." "Let's get out of here." "What was it, Doctor?" "That thing." "What have we done here?" "Got sucked into a dream, Doctor." "That's all." "Got sucked into a dream." "My poor baby." "What a wonderful change in the weather is coming, folks." "Not only is it gonna be cool out, but we have got rain on the way." "And to think, Sarah, you laughed at my boogie rain dance yesterday... but it worked, didn't it?" "Can't argue with success, Warren." "Who knew that Play That Funky Music, White Boy could bring on precipitation?" "It was my dancing, honey." "My hips were in sync with the hand of Pataris... the Brazilian god of clouds and wind." "Rain is coming, folks, and I say let it pour." " Hey, Chad, about the new weather guy..." " I don't wanna hear it." "I changed my mind." "I think he's kind of cute." "Well, you got the bag packed, and you're ready to go." "I was waiting for a taxi." "When are you leaving?" "I'm not." "My dad just called." "They're sending my mom home." "It wasn't her heart." "It was an oesophageal condition caused by acid reflux." " I think I'm going crazy." " Why?" "'Cause I no longer think you're crazy." "You are my husband, right?" "You're not from outer space?" "I didn't give birth to a Martian?" "Well, I can't speak for the Martian... but I'm from Denton, Texas, where I met you." "Good night, Mom." "Good night, Dad." "Good night, Neil." "Hey, old man." "My word." "What are you doing here, sweetheart?" "Well, I called you, but you never called me back." "Tonight's Willis Jensen's birthday party, isn't it?" "That's right." "Well, I haven't seen the guy in a while, and I thought I'd go with you." "What you wanna do that for?" "Bunch of old fogies sitting around exchanging gossip... and wishing they were 10 years younger." "You'd be bored to tears." " You're not happy to see me?" " I am." "Of course, I am." "Just trying to save you from an evening of tedium." "Well, I'll take my chances." "Besides, it looks like you've had a few." "You shouldn't be driving." " Well, Bryson will drive me." " You gave Bryson the night off." " How do you know that?" " I know." "So it looks like I'll be your chauffeur for the evening." "Come on, Daddy." "Let's go." "We don't wanna be late." " What's going on, Angela?" " What do you mean?" "This is the road you took." "What..." "You are not making any sense." "About five miles up at Angler's Fork, where you're supposed to take a left... and go to Willis Jensen's birthday party, you're gonna take a right." " What on earth are you babbling about?" " Donna St James." " What about her?" " You were going to see her, Dad." "You had no intention of going to Willis Jensen's birthday party." "Oh, yeah." "You're pissed, I know." "I'm not supposed to know about that for another three years, right?" "But you were seeing her long before you divorced Mom." "Weren't you?" "Shit." "Oh, shit." "It was only a cow pony." "It probably jumped a fence at one of the ranches around here." "So what?" "What the fuck is this all about?" "You have been spinning the truth for so long... a goddamn express train could not stop a lie out of you." "It was a fucking horse, Dad!" "A horse." "I've been torturing myself for years... over a fucking horse."