"THE TIME MASTERS" "Why are you going so fast?" "It's just for fun" "Hello, Jaffar?" "Calling Jaffar" "Claude here." "Answer me!" "Come in!" " Who are you talking to?" " Jaffar?" "This is Claude." "Where are you?" "Can you read me?" "I'll leave a message" "Jaffar, this is Claude" "I'm calling from the planet Perdide" "Northern hemisphere, 73rd sector 16:50, universal time" "Jaffar, the hornets attacked us by surprise!" "It was horrible" "Annie is dead" "I'm heading for the Dolongs" "Jaffar, I've crashed" "I'm trapped." "I'm sending Piel into the Dolongs with a microphone" "Come get him, for God's sake!" "Hurry!" "I beg you!" "Goodbye, Jaffar and thank you" "Claude" "Here, Piel." "Catch this" " What is it?" " It's a toy that can speak" " Is this a toy?" " Yes, it's a microphone" "Call it Mike." "Mike is a friend of yours" "When Mike talks to you, you must do exactly what he says" "Now run as fast as you can to the Dolongs and stay there until the machine until Mike... talks to you" "I can't run." "My knee hurts" "Anyway, I don't want to go into the Dolongs" "I want to go home" "Your mummy doesn't want us to come home right now" "Do as I say!" "Run into the Dolongs" "Run, I tell you!" "Run!" "Well done, very nice!" "What's the matter?" " You idiot" " What's got into you?" "What are you doing?" "Look what's happening" "We almost collided with that meteor while you were taking a nap" "I thought the collision-swerve control was automatic" "Yes, but only for masses that weigh less than 10,000 tons" "Well, I didn't know" "You don't know much" "Hello" "I have refreshments for the navigators" " Is anything wrong?" " No, it's all good" "You must be joking!" "How long has this signal been on?" "How should I know?" "I don't understand anything about this tub of yours" "Jaffar, this is Claude" "Where are you?" "Can you read me?" "I'll leave a message" "Jaffar, this is Claude" "I'm calling from the planet Perdide" "Northern hemisphere, 73rd sector 16:50, universal time" "Jaffar, the hornets attacked us by surprise!" "It was horrible" "Annie is dead" "I'm heading for the Dolongs" "Jaffar, I've crashed" "I'm trapped." "I'm sending Piel to the Dolongs with a microphone" "Come get him, for God's sake!" "Hurry!" "I beg you!" "Goodbye Jaffar..." "and thank you" "Piel!" "Can you hear me?" "Answer, if you hear me" "Can you hear me, Piel?" "Answer me!" "I don't like you, and I don't like your lights" "Mike!" "I don't like you either" "What?" "I didn't know you could hear me, Mike" "Piel, is that you?" "Of course it's me" "Where are you?" "Right here, in front of you" "Piel, I'm speaking to you from very far away" "Look, Jaffar, he can't understand" " Perhaps you should..." " Why do you have two voices?" "Answer, Mike." "I know your name is Mike" "Why do you have two voices?" "You're right, Piel." "My name is Mike" "And I have two voices because I have practically nothing else" "I don't have eyes to see with, nor legs to walk with nor arms to hold things with" "So instead, I have two voices and I can even have more than that" " Do you understand?" " I think so" " You're in a forest now, aren't you?" " Yes" " With glowing red and yellow fruit?" " Yes, that's right" "Good." "Just wait there." "A big spaceship will come to get you" "Wait a minute!" "We're not going to Aldebaran anymore?" "That's exactly it!" "But we're paying you a fortune to take us to Aldebaran" "You can't break your word" "I didn't promise anything, Prince Matton" "Aldebaran was on my way and you asked to join the ship with half the public treasury that you pocketed" " Only that which was mine" " Don't make me laugh!" "The police of the Interplanetary Reformed Alliance are on your tail" "Your destination makes no difference to you" "It could be Aldebaran, or anywhere else, just as long as you get away" "Yes, I've changed our destination" "It's no longer Aldebaran." "It's Perdide" "Consider yourself lucky that you're going anywhere and I've taken pity on you" "And don't smoke on board!" "Oxygen is precious" "Go back to your cabin and buckle up" "To get to Perdide, we'll have to land on Devil's Ball and then go to Gamma 10" "We'll have to wait for the passage of the Blue Comet" "By keeping within its magnetic field, we'll be able to approach Perdide" "Mike, why are you so quiet?" "Piel, I'm busy right now" "I'll talk to you later" "Oh, they're lovely" "Silbad calls them his shrews" "Jaffar, you rascal!" "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" "Perdide would be nice, if it weren't for the hornets" "You know about the hornets of Perdide, Princess?" "Here." "Look at this" "The hornets of Perdide did this to me years ago" "They like to eat the human brain just as if it were a soft-boiled egg" "Mr Silbad, please..." "Sorry, Prince" "So what were you saying about your friend Claude?" " Claude had a son called Piel" " A son!" "Having a wife is bad enough, but a son as well..." " Jaffar, your friend is crazy!" " He's dead" "Those hornets again" "His wife too, and the boy?" "The boy's taken refuge in the Dolongs" "As long as he stays there, he's safe" "The pollen from the trees keeps off the hornets" "Are there settlers around?" "Piel is totally alone on Perdide" "How old is he?" "He must be somewhere between five and ten Earth years" "The only link you have with him is through that mike?" "A little marvel, that thing!" "Instant communication anywhere in Space Four" "Yes, Claude gave it to me" "He thought I might need help one day." "But he was the one who needed it" "Let me think" "They've been singing for three days." "They'll soon metamorphose" " It could work" " What could, Mr Silbad?" "If someone who knows Perdide very well remains in contact with the boy and keeps telling him what to do he'll make it, he'll manage to get out" "How long will it take you to get there?" "Hello, Piel." "Are you there?" "How would you like to hear a song?" "Listen to this!" "It's the song of the Lamprey Guzzlers." "Do you know that one?" "No, sing it to me, Mike" "I'm a galactic lush" "The kind that will buy you a drink" "I'm a cosmic tramp and I roam without a blush" "I'm the Astro Guzzler" "But believe me when I say" "Sometimes I feel very depressed, and I end up in the gutter" "I'm a nasty piece of work" "Sometimes it's true I go berserk" "A really long time ago" "How long exactly, who knows?" "I was having a ball on the Lamprey with all the friends I know" "Suddenly I realised" "I might have drunk too much" "But the hell with it, you only have one life" "One drink after another" "Like a famous Guzzler" "Alcohol is flowing and that's what matters" "I'm the interstellar fool" "Space is so beautiful" "Let's have another drink and then we'll..." "You ought to be ashamed of yourself singing this kind of song to a child" "Why did you stop, Mike?" "Keep singing" "I'll sing the rest later on" "Right now, little one, I want you to eat one of those pretty red fruits" "I'm tired of them." "Isn't there anything else?" "Do you want me to get angry?" "OK, OK..." "What's a lamprey?" "Ah, my boy, that was a proud space vessel  the last of an illustrious fleet" "What's a guzzler?" "Well, now, that's, er..." "Guzzle... that means sort of to drink" "So guzzlers are people who like to drink just a tiny little bit" "You know, Mike, I'd like to drink something as well" " I'm thirsty" " I've already told you" "You can drink the juice of the red fruit" "I don't like that taste" "I'd like some water" "Listen" "I know something that's much better than water" "Are there giant strawberries near where you are?" "Enormous juicy strawberries?" "I can't see any" "Look around a little" "They grow on the trunks of trees." "There must be some around" "There's one, over there" "Right." "I'm standing in front of your big, fat strawberry" " What shall I do now?" " You see those soft, round spots on it?" " Yes" " Burst them open with your finger" "Something will flow out that's much better than water" "That's good!" "Are you crazy, Silbad?" "First you sing him drinking songs and now you're trying to get him drunk" "Under the circumstances, my friend, we can't be choosy" "The juice of the legol contains an alkaloid" "It's harmless but it will help him sleep and keep him out of trouble" "Are you sure it won't poison him?" "If he soaks it up for a month straight, then maybe yes, it could be harmful" "But he'll get over it very quickly." "Believe me." "I know from experience" "He'll be OK" "I really like your friend" "Yeah, he's quite a character, isn't he?" "He certainly is" "Maybe I'm just imagining things" "Not completely, Belle" "The fact is, Silbad does suffer" " In his head?" " No, in his heart" "Silbad has been hopelessly in love for 20 years" " In love?" "With whom?" " With this planet" "You're going to witness something very rare" "Close your minds!" "We're here!" " What's that?" " The metamorphosis of the shrews" "But be careful." "Those little scamps are telepathic" "Close your minds!" "We're here!" "Careful, close your minds!" "Leave us in peace." "Go on, be off with you" "Close your mind, human." "I hear everything" "Look!" "Two of them seem to be stuck" "Yes." "And the petals are closing again" "Stay here." "I'll go" "Hello, Piel?" "Little Piel, do you hear me?" "Would you go and fetch the prince, please?" "To enter the Blue Comet's magnetic field, we have to leave in an hour" "I bet you'd be more than happy to abandon the prince here" " Certainly not!" " You and your code of honour" "Hello." "Who are you?" "Come on, now" "Don't be afraid of me" "Am I afraid of you?" "Of course not" "Isn't it you who took my Mike?" "Listen, you old pirate, are you sure everything's OK?" "We haven't heard from the boy in a while" "That's true." "He should have been awake for some time now" "Ssh!" "I can hear something" "It's as if he were a long way from the mike" "Answer me!" "Well, I can't shout any louder" "We have to make a sound that will catch his attention" "Do you know the war cry of the fighting monks of Guamar 35?" "Then cover your ears" "No comments, please" "Just wait" "Mike, was it you who shouted like that?" "Are you all right?" "It sounded like you were very far away from me" "There was a big animal sitting on you" " I'm glad I found you again" " Me too, little one" "What happened?" "I heard a terrifying noise" "It was nothing, my dear lady" "I was just clearing my throat" "I drew it from memory" "Here's the Desert of the Sangs" "The Dolongs are here" "Claude arrived from the west in his machine" "So, the little fellow had to cross through here" "Right..." "Now there are only a few caves there" "Piel must have used a cave for shelter" "My dear lady, the caves of Perdide are full of Sarpeels" " Full of what?" " Sarpeels" "Another scourge on Perdide" "They're very dangerous creepers" "Oh, how awful!" " Do you think Piel is..." " No." "I've questioned him" "He hasn't got near the caves" "I'm worried about the lake" "The lake?" "What's the danger there?" "It's just a body of water per se, filled with friendly little fish" "However, a kid can drown, and the hornets can get nearby" "By now, Piel must be very close to it" "There's something odd going on behind that screen" "Something that doesn't..." "Hey!" "Stowaways!" "The others preferred to remain on Devil's Ball" "To await the next transformation" "Something stinks here" "Mind your language in front of a lady!" "Oh, dear." "Perhaps it's my perfume" "No, madam, not on your life." "Your perfume is exquisite" "You must excuse Yula." "He's talking through his hat" " A bad telepathic smell?" " That's it!" "There's a thought here that stinks, don't you think, Jad?" "Now, enough of that." "I'm ashamed of you" "Don't you know how to behave in polite company?" "Anyway, it's gone now" "Piel, are you there?" "Yes, I'm here... and I'm getting fed up with being here too" "Yes, I understand, dear Piel" "So for a change, why don't we take a little walk?" "I don't want to take a walk." "I want to be somewhere else" "Of course, but to be somewhere else, you have to walk" "I want you to go to the lake" "You'll be able to get washed there" "Why?" "I'm not dirty" "All right, you don't have to wash" "But the lake's pretty." "You'll enjoy it" "Well, if I don't have to wash, OK then" "How do I get there?" "First, you have to turn your back to the moon" "Why have you changed your voice again?" "I liked the other ones better" "The others have to rest" "How much farther is the lake?" "You'll be there in just a few minutes" "I'm going to see what the prince is up to" "Here you are." "I was wondering where you'd gone" "Well, I just wanted to be useful" "Since no one was looking after Piel, I thought I would" "Any new developments?" "No." "He's asleep" "Look!" "Like this, it's more beautiful" "Why own sparkling things, if all you do is lock them in a bin like rubbish?" "You know how it is" "Human beings, at least some of them, don't care about the beauty of things" "Only their value interests them" ""Value"?" "What's "value"?" "It's a concept." "I read it in their thoughts" "And what's a concept?" "To tell you the truth, I'm not too sure" "It's something that drives men crazy at least some of them, like Prince Matton" "Now there I agree with you" "His thoughts smell terrible" "Perhaps we should warn the others" "They're humans, space mate." "We are gnomes" "It's best that we each mind our own business" ""Business"?" "What's "business"?" "Humans have their way of doing things and we have our own" "I suppose you're right, but Prince Matton's thoughts still stink" "Right." "From this point on, we can rely on the computer" "It'll put us in orbit around Gamma 10 until the Blue Comet passes" "Then it'll send us into its gravitational field" "Since we'll be orbiting Gamma 10 would we have enough time to land there?" "We could if we wanted to" "All right, I'll relieve you now" "But I prefer to stay here and look after the kid" "You see, Jaffar when I said a little while ago that I wanted to be useful I truly meant it" "The thoughts of that human keep smelling worse and worse" "Well, close your mind, space mate" "Those are human affairs, not ours" " Piel?" " Well, it's about time!" "What happened to you?" "Did you fall asleep?" "Never mind." "Just tell me, are you still walking?" "Don't forget, you have to reach the lake" "But I'm already there" "Are you!" " And what have you been doing?" " I saw a big fish" "Is that all?" "Did you get washed?" "You said I didn't have to" "I've changed my mind." "You have to take a bath" "Go into the water and head towards the middle of the lake" "But I'll drown!" "Of course you won't, you little fool" "If you carry me with you, you'll be safe" "I'll make you float on the water." "You'll see" "Are you in the lake yet?" "Yes, but it's cold" "Walk to the middle of the lake" "Keep walking." "Forward!" "Obey me!" "I am walking, but this is getting deep" " No, Piel!" "Stop!" " Belle!" " Don't move" " You wouldn't dare..." "Mike!" "What did you say?" "What do you want me to do now?" "I'm cold, and I'm almost out of my depth" "Piel, turn around and get out of the water!" "Get out of this lake at once!" "Belle, listen." "I can explain" "It's perfectly clear" "But if we continue to Perdide, we're finished" "They'll take my treasure" "We'll be miserable tramps, roaming from planet to planet" "Jaffar, please come here immediately" "Right." "I'm coming" "Go to the Dolongs, dry yourself, and wait there until I speak to you again" "I have to think for a moment" "Belle, have pity on me." "Try to understand" "Tell Jaffar I tried to kill the child, and he'll throw me out into space" "Belle, please, I beg you!" " What's going on?" " Mike!" "I did what you told me to do" "I've come out of the lake, and I'm drying myself" "Now what should I do?" " Just wait there" " I see" " May I make a suggestion?" " Go ahead" "Oh, no!" "There go all our decorations" "All that work for nothing" "I'm beginning to think that the human race is crazy!" "Let me out!" "I'll kill you!" "I swear, I'll kill you!" "What a nightmare!" "We've got to do something" "I can't take any more of that guy's thoughts" "I'll simply die if he carries on like this" "He's giving me a splitting headache too" "Look." "He wants to get out of here, right?" "Perhaps we could..." "Don't talk nonsense" "That guy is a cosmic danger" "Jad, I'm getting sick" "Let's help him escape" "All he wants is to take the shuttle to go to Gamma 10" "That's not all." "He also wants to recover his treasure to recruit mercenaries and massacre everybody" "No." "We can't let him get away" " He'll never come back from Gamma 10" " How do you know?" "Can't you hear that planet?" "Hear it?" "It's bursting my eardrums" "Mine too, space mate" "That's a world I don't want to have anything to do with" " He'll never leave it" " No." "Not a chance" "Well, then, shall we liberate that monster?" "Look out" "Little white boy" "Look out" "For your gloomy thoughts" "Look out" "My little Astro" "Look out" "For the black holes" "Look out" "Little white boy" "Look out" "For certain looks" "Everything's fine now, Mike" "I'm warm and I'm sleepy  and I like it when you sing like my mum" "Go to sleep now, Piel" "I love you, Mike" "And I love you too, little Piel" "What's going on?" "Someone's ejected in the shuttle!" " It's the prince!" " Prepare the emergency capsule" "What kind of planet is this?" "What happened?" "I don't know, space mate but a little more of it and I think my brain would have melted" "I thought mine was turning to stone" "We have to do something" "First of all, let's not lose Jaffar" "Jad, I'm afraid" "I'm afraid of what's under that dome" "Me too, space mate." "I'm terrified" "We're the ones who got Jaffar into this mess" "Now we'll have to get him out of it" "We must contact the others in the spaceship" "We can try" "That thing is liable to swallow our brains" "My dear lady, there's nothing we can do but wait and hope Jaffar will make it back before the passage of the Blue Comet which means he only has five hours" "At last!" "Where were you?" "Do you think it's easy for us, with that thinking thing?" "It's no use." "It's too sturdy" "But take off my helmet." "The air is breathable here" "Listen." "You're going to have to pilot the shuttle" "Tune in on my thoughts, and I'll show you how to fly it" "Take it back up to the spaceship" "Tell Silbad to catch the Blue Comet, and go and save the boy" "And desert you?" "Out of the question" "I think it's a pretty good idea" "Why don't we get out of here?" "We can always return later to save Jaffar" "Of course." "Yula is right" "No." "Yula is wrong, and he knows it" "Yula, I'm ashamed of you" "You're a coward, a scaredy-cat, a cry-baby and a milksop" "And what's more, you're spineless, chicken-hearted" "You know what will happen to Jaffar in just a few hours, if we leave him here" "I can take care of myself" "Not against that, Jaffar." "Not against that thing" " What thing?" " It doesn't have a name" "It's..." "It's pure thought" "Don't worry." "I can handle pure thought" "I'm afraid you can't" "The thought will absorb you as it has all the others" " What others?" " Those who set foot on Gamma 10" "They look perfectly normal" "Now they're puppets..." "puppets of that thing" "Brothers!" "It is time!" "Once again, difference has intruded on Gamma 10" "Once again, the ceremony must take place" "Once again, difference must be abolished and unity restored" "Here they come!" "I smell their thoughts" "Relax." "We still have a minute" "Pull, Jaffar!" "They're coming!" "They're coming!" "Jad, is there anything I can do?" "Against the thing, your thought is powerless a feather against a mountain" " That is, unless..." " Unless what?" "Unless you can turn your thought against itself and any other thought" "If you can become pure denial, pure hate, pure insane fury..." "Then there's a slim chance that you can annihilate the thing" "But you will annihilate yourself at the same time" " I prefer to be destroyed than enslaved" " They're here!" "Hurry to the shuttle, and do exactly as I told you" "Obey!" " Goodbye, Jaffar" " Hurry!" "Jaffar, do you think I'm a coward and a cry-baby and all those things Jad called me?" "Of course not." "You're a sweet little gnome, Yula" "And you've very brave." "Now goodbye" "Thank you, Jaffar" "Here is the second individual" "Let's carry him to the bliss of the sameness" "Happiness" "Happiness upon them!" "Happiness upon us!" "Happiness!" "Unity!" "Are they going to turn us into fodder for that blob?" "It's more complicated than that but that's the general idea" "I suggest that we fight and die together" "That won't do any good" "Don't you understand?" "I say we fight them" "We can wipe out a few dozen before they crush us" "The enemy is there, Matt" "All those poor creatures are nothing but puppets" "Then let's attack the blob" " There must be something we can do!" " Yes, there is one thing" "When we're absorbed into it when it tries to turn us into contented puppets we must hate and deny ourselves with all the force in our minds" "We must become madmen in order to drive it mad" "But even if we succeed it will cost us our lives and our souls" "That suits me fine" "My life isn't worth much, and my soul is worth nothing" "The ceremony has begun!" "In a few moments the unhappy ones will lose their individuality" "They will be one with us" "We will be one with them!" "All will be unified!" "Say, space mate." "Your thoughts have an odd smell" "Your intention is a funny colour" "That's because I don't appreciate you calling me a coward" "Come on." "We have very little time before the Blue Comet passes" "Right." "Hold tight!" "Let's go, Matt!" "Goodbye!" "No, Jaffar, I'll go!" "If you ever get out of this, take care of Belle" "Monstrous violation!" "Difference is opposing unity!" "One individual is hurling himself into totality!" "The ceremony... is disrupted!" "The individual denies it with all his strength!" "He denies totality!" "Difference denies unity!" "Hatred denies happiness!" "Folly denies peace!" "Jad, Yula!" "By the rings of Saturn!" "What are they doing down there?" "I swear, they've started an interplanetary war" "Why are you so quiet, Mike?" "Are you worried?" "No, everything is all right, Piel" "Look, Belle!" "He did it!" "He's returning!" "Prepare for departure" " Jaffar, do you read me?" " Roger" "May I be bamboozled by the mighty stars!" "What in the devil's name is all that?" "Sorry." "I was a little too busy to warn you" "We have guests for dinner" "You're a funny Wah-wah, aren't you?" "Have you lost your pals?" "Let's go and look for them together" "Are you quite sure he's gentle?" "Oh, yes, Mike." "He's a good friend" "Piel's walking with a thing that goes, "wah-wah"" "There's nothing to fear." "It's just a hippornithorhynchus" "Gentle as a lamb and strictly vegetarian" "How are you feeling, Yula?" "You know very well" "Poor thing!" "When they're asleep, their thoughts smell the strongest" "I don't understand why humans stuff themselves with food and drink as soon as they meet" "Not only humans" "Did you see how much that Centaurian packed away last night?" "I can understand, but..." "I beg your pardon?" "Excuse me." "I'm tuned into the thoughts of that moustached man who drank three quarts of moonshine last night" "He can't prevent his glottis from convulsing and neither can I" "Try to close your mind" "I can't." "I have the hangovers of 32 people, all at the same time" " Is everything all right?" " Yes" "Belle, I haven't yet told you how Matton died" "Don't bother." "I'm sure he died as I wish he would have lived with generosity and courage" "Silbad?" " Trouble?" " Yes" "We are being pursued by a warship of the Reform" "Great!" "Let's attack them!" "Easier said than done." "Right, everyone" "Meeting in the conference room at once" "This is the space cruiser Silver Vessel, of the Reform Patrol Fleet" "Unidentified ship, maintain your speed" "We are going to board you" "This is spaceship Double Triangle 22, receiving you" "We await your visit with humble respect" "Captain Jaffar" "If you hadn't saved my life I'd cut your throat for your cowardice" "Do you want to surrender to them?" "I want them to board us" "You and your comrades need your own ship, right?" "Well, you can get theirs, but only by letting them board ours first" "The captain's right." "We're stalking big game" "We must proceed with caution" "If you have any ideas..." "I believe I have one" "Allow me to present my good friend, Onyx the Digeed of Gnaz" "What's he supposed to do, make them die laughing?" "Quiet!" "My friend has the natural ability to mimic anything" "Go ahead, Onyx, give us a little demonstration" "Amazing!" "It even has the smell" "Onyx fully controls his molecular structure and can change it in an infinite number of ways" "Hey, Onyx change yourself into a secret weapon" "Something dreadful!" "By the rings of Saturn!" "It's amazing what they can do nowadays" "As you can see, the illusion is perfect" "I must admit, that opens up a lot of possibilities" "What do you think, Silbad?" "I think the Reformists are in for a bad time" "A ship full of foul-smelling thoughts is approaching" "Attention, everyone" "As soon as the airlock is sealed, keep your mouths shut" "Jad and Yula, if anything goes wrong warn me by telepathy" "Honourable representatives of the Reform I welcome you on board my humble ship" "Your ship is giving refuge to Matton, the traitor, former prince of Atral" "And the treasure chest that was stolen by the traitor" "Silence" "Actually, it was while defending this mysterious chest that Matt that the prince was murdered by the pirates of Gamma 10" "Matton is dead?" "And where's the chest now?" "In the hold, with the pirates we took prisoner" "Let's go and see that treasure chest" " Halt!" "Leave that here" " But it's not a weapon" "Do as you're told!" "Me and Wah-wah found a cave" "We'll be safe here until his friends come" "Go on, Wah-wah." "Go on in" "Don't leave me alone." "Do something!" "What a bunch!" "Our prisoners..." "the pirates of Gamma 10" "May I suggest that Your Excellencies have these creatures re-educated?" "Perhaps." "We'll see" "Everything's fine, Jaffar" "They don't see the trap" "They don't see anything." "They're all blind" "Captain, that was a good catch" "Guards, prepare for immediate transhipment" "Silbad, how long do you think it will take them to become masters of the vessel?" "With the Digeed, their secret weapon, two hours..." "They might prefer to stretch out the pleasure" "The microphone is no longer working" " Answer me, little one!" " We've lost him!" "I'm afraid we'll never hear from him again!" "Come on, Belle." "Don't worry" "Silbad will fix it" "There's nothing to fix." "The problem is, there's no one at the other end" "No offence, but you're not very pretty" "In fact, you're ugly... all of you" "Go away!" "Do you hear me?" "Go away!" "Clear off!" "I've given her a sedative" "She's convinced it's her fault" "Nonsense." "Something must have happened on Perdide" "Fortunately, we're getting nearer" "Soon the computer will release us from the Blue Comet's gravitational field" "Hello, Piel?" "Can you hear me?" "The stars, they're fading out in the sector of Perdide" "What is that?" "A magnetic storm?" "I don't know" "But all the dials are going crazy!" "Or maybe we are..." "What's going on?" "According to these instruments all the radiations in the sector, including light are going backwards!" "Buckle up, quick!" "Attention" "This is Patrol Robot number five  of the fleet of the Federation of the Time Masters" "This is a warning" "You are approaching the forbidden zone of Perdide" "Identify yourselves and decelerate to a stop" "I repeat" "You are entering a forbidden zone" "Identify yourselves and stop" "Calling adviser Pixa" "An unidentified vessel is entering the forbidden zone" "Its course is irregular" "Shall we destroy it?" "No." "I want a thorough investigation" "Board the vessel and escort it to the base" "Captain Jaffar and his crew should consider themselves lucky" "We managed to save those odd creatures" "Good." "They're very valuable from a scientific point of view" " Silbad as well?" " Yes" "But in truth, the old man is dying" "It's just a question of hours" "You and your ship were at the fringe of the danger area when the operation took place" " What operation?" " Do you know where we are?" "Well, I can see we're in a hospital somewhere in space" "Not just somewhere in space, Princess" "We are in a particular zone now being colonised by the Time Masters" "Have you ever heard of their method of accelerated colonisation?" "No, never" "It's a strange race, Princess" "They can manipulate time itself" "When they decide to colonise a planet, they project it into the past literally send it backwards through time" "In the case of Perdide, 60 years backwards" "So for those on a distant ship it would seem as if light rays were speeding in reverse and all of space were going mad" "Exactly." "But to those on the planet being colonised everything seems normal except that their present time would be that of 60 years ago" "And that's what happened to Perdide" "My God, Piel!" "Mike..." "Jaffar, how old is Silbad?" "No one knows" "No one's ever known anything about his childhood" "Keep quiet" "The old man's past is rising from the depths" " Shut your eyes, humans" " And open your minds" "For what was hidden in the folds of time can now be revealed" "Now long-lost memories the unknown past of a small child will be projected on your mental screens" "Shut your eyes, humans, and open your minds" "Mike!" "Mike!" " It's Piel's voice!" " Silence, humans" "It's Piel just as he was when we were approaching Perdide" "No, Belle." "It's Piel as he was 60 years ago" "It's Piel hurled into the past, along with the entire planet by the Time Masters" "Lowry!" "Cover me!" "Get away from him, filthy creatures!" "I hope those filthy beasts didn't hurt you too much, son" "I've done everything I could" "The doctors on my planet will do the rest" "And now the best thing you can do is sleep" "Where are we now, Lowry?" "What sector is it?" "Those monsters!" "Speak up, Lowry!" "Didn't you hear me?" "I'm sorry." "I was thinking" "You're getting old, Lowry" "Alas, Igor, aren't we all?" "I'll have none of your insolence!" "Now, then, be good enough to explain to me why we suddenly found ourselves on the surface of a planet when just a moment before we were in empty space?" " Were you daydreaming?" " I had nothing to do with it, Igor" "It was the planet's fault" " What planet?" " The planet Perdide" "It suddenly appeared before us" "Come now, don't be silly!" " Where did it come from?" " From the future" "Lowry!" "I think you're becoming senile" "I am not becoming senile!" "The planet Perdide surged out of the future and almost smashed into us" "But the child, Lowry, the child..." "Did he also "surge out of the future", as you say?" "Exactly, Igor, with the planet" "It's stopped" "I know what happened." "The child recovered" "He became a cabin boy, then a space sailor a pilot, a mercenary a hundred other things that filled 60 years of his life" "The orphan of Perdide is dead, humans" "He has left our time to enter into eternity" "It's strange" "There are only a dozen, but I sense the emotions of a thousand" "I know." "Me too" "Where is it all coming from?" "From the heart..." "From the heart, Yula" "I believe we loved that old man very, very much" "Look up there!" "A Time Master"