"Wait... don't hold it like that." "Look." "You have to hook it on there, and there." "Go on, try." "There, that's right." "Sailor Massina is requested in the infirmary." "Here." "Massina, I've told you to watch your dog." " He's not my dog!" "Well, he's not mine, and I'm not a vet." "Here." " Thanks." "Shit, Giovanni, you're always in trouble." "Maybe we should sewhim up?" "You must be joking." "I don't want to see him here again." "It's not my fault he got into a fight." "Don't forget to clean up." "Next time, you pay for the antiseptic yourself." "You're heavy, dog." "What's up with you, Giovanni?" "Ooh, you've been bitten." "Who did this?" "Never attack anyone stronger than yourself." "Lenning, it's your turn." "Hatt!" "You're raking it in." "Cast off in 20 minutes, go to your stations." "Boat on starboard side." "Turn left." " Left, 15." "The bar is 15 left." "What are those idiots doing here?" "The zone should have been evacuated." "Lieutenant, radio Simoun to tell him there are legionnaires in the area." "Yes, Captain!" " lndicate their exact position." "And switch on the lights." "Lights on, Captain." "Massina!" "Check that the rear lights are working." " Yes, Lieutenant." "What watch are you on tonight?" " Midnight to four." "Me too." "Leave manoeuvre stations." "First watch to navigation stations." "Giovanni, you're a pain!" "Lie down." "This is my bunk." "How did your former master manage to sleep with you?" "I'm sure he pushed you onto the floor." "Why doesn't he write to you?" "I could read the letters to you, you'd be happy." "At least I'd knowyour name." "And I wouldn't be so sad, because even if he left you on board, it would mean he still thinks of you." "You're hogging all the space." "Move, Da Maggio, you're hogging all the space." "Knowwhat, guys?" "I smoked a fag during manoeuvres." "How come the officer didn't see you?" " He never sees anything." "I have my little tricks." "I even manage to smoke while I fuck." "I've smoked during manoeuvres before, too." "You did that, Da Maggio?" "Don't lie." "I did." "Shut up." "All you ever do is shout during the night." "Right?" "That's enough, guys." "Want to play?" " Yeah, get the cards." "Concentrate, OK?" " You play too." "And bring your cigarettes." "Don't shuffle for hours!" "Well, Giovanni, going to work?" "You can't even walk straight." "What course are we on?" "270." "Where are we headed?" "The Gambier Islands." "Are you alright?" "Yes, I'm tired." "Me too... lt's going to be a long watch." "Relieving radio watch." "Nothing to report, no messages to send." "I'm glad to go to bed." "I'm exhausted." "Down!" "..." "Down!" "Have you got a cigarette?" "No." "Sorry, Giovanni, I didn't see you there." "Will there be messages to send?" " Howwould I know?" "." "Can I switch the radio to speakers and do my watch outside with Da Maggio or Moriaty?" "You'll have to ask the Lieutenant." "Couldn't you ask him?" "I'll see." "Got a light?" "Sit..." "Sit." "Go out and see Da Maggio." "You'll get a biscuit." "Giovanni, I said go outside!" "Well, Da Maggio, how are you?" " Fine." "Seen anything?" " No." "Sure?" "You usually see something." "You even tell us what colour the hull is." "Looks like you fell asleep this time." "Huh, Da Maggio?" "You'll have to keep your eyes open now, I'm watching you." "You can put the radio on speakers and do your watch with Moriaty." "Thanks, Lieutenant." "Well?" " l haven't seen anything." "Where's Giovanni?" " Inside, sleeping." "Got a light?" "Do you know Scott?" "Showme." "Now..." "S O S..." "Mayday." "Three long flashes: man overboard." "And this..." "Fuck you!" "Moriaty!" "What are you doing?" "Scott exercises, sir." "Stop that right now!" "." "We need the practice, sir." "Enough of your insolence." "Next time, I'll report you to the Captain." "Understood?" " Yes, Lieutenant!" "I've got something to showyou later." "What is it?" "You'll see." "Come on!" "You're completely crazy." "Think so?" "If they see us, we'll be arrested." "So what?" "Shall I throwit?" " No!" "Prepare to hoist the colours!" "Hoist!" "Colours raised." "Fall out!" "Gas mask exercises." "Put on masks!" "Remove masks!" "Put on masks!" "Remove masks!" "Put on!" "Remove!" "Put on!" "Push-ups!" "And one!" "Two!" "Three!" "Four!" "Five!" "Six!" "Seven!" "Eight!" "Nine!" "Ten!" "Eleven!" "Twelve!" "Thirteen!" "Fourteen!" "Lieutenant, I can't breathe." "I think it's blocked." "Linning, put your mask back on." "Ten extra push-ups!" "Fifteen!" "Sixteen!" "Seventeen!" "Remove masks!" "What does he think we are?" "Firefighters?" " Silence, Mayer!" "Attention!" "Exercise over!" "Fall out!" "Except Linning." "I wish someone'd tell us what all this is for." "Don't look at me like that." "You're a pain, dog." "Why do you followme everywhere?" "Why don't you sleep with Hatt or Mayer?" "Why am I the one who has to clean up your shit?" "Why?" "Oh, alright." "Let's play." "Good!" "D'you like that?" "Yes, good boy." "Come!" "Stop it!" "Wait." "Looks nasty, this one." "Pull harder." "Hang on, let's try to tie knots in her..." "Her plaits." "Well..." "You're pathetic." "Giovanni, come!" "Well, now." "You're a good dog." "And I'm becoming like the others." "Stupid." "OK, I lose." "Nice." "Idiot!" " Me?" "Watch your mouth!" "How about you and me have a match?" "Here. lf you win, I'll give you a crate of beer." "Why not?" "Bring it on!" "Go on, Lenning!" "Bash his face in." "Go on!" "Round one!" "Bash his face in!" "Keep your guard up." "Protect yourself, man." "I'm so good." " OK, OK." "Go on!" "Go for it!" "Left, right." " Come here." "Gently!" "None of that." "Enough!" "Enough!" " Forget it!" "No beer for you, mate." "That's it, it's over." "I lived in a hilly region, covered with larch trees, near a big river." "One evening - l must have been ten - l cut letters out of a newspaper and made a sentence on a piece of paper." "I put it in a tin." "The next day, I walked along the river bank to a landing stage." "I hid the tin under a pine tree." "I walked up the river to a big bridge, crossed over, then walked back on the other bank." "I recognized the landing stage, the pine tree." "I thought to myself, I should take a closer look." "But to get there would take some guts, because the river was very wide." "Was it worth drowning for a silly landing stage?" "Only if you were very brave." "I realized I was very scared." "I regretted my idea." "So I sat on the bank and contemplated the water, the river, for a long time, until my fear subsided." "I got undressed and went in." "It was icy cold." "I advanced very slowly." "In the middle, the river seemed wider, deeper." "I couldn't swim." "And my heart broke, just for a second." "Not because of my fear, but... because I understood that I no longer believed in myself." "That brief second marked the end of something." "I reached the bank." "I cried." "I got dressed and dug up the tin from under the pine tree." "Inside was a sheet of paper." "Written on it was:" ""He who has the courage to cross here deserves a good life."" "I watched the icy, black water and told myself the message was true." "See?" "Yes, I see." "Shit, the water was freezing!" "What did you do with the tin?" "I put the message back in and hid it under the pine." "It must still be there, then." "I'd like for it to still be there." "I hope no one finds it without having crossed the river." "He would get a good life without getting wet." "No, the message said that the river had to be crossed first." "Mummy!" "Mummy!" "Massina, did I talk in my sleep?" "Yes." " For long?" "No." "What did I say?" "It didn't mean anything." "Wasn't there a clear word?" " No." "Try to sleep, Da Maggio." "What are you thinking about?" "I'm playing patience." "What?" "Patience." "In the dark?" " Yes." "In my head." "With just 8 cards." "I line them up like in patience and then I turn them over." "It's not complicated, it's a question of memory." "The one I was doing didn't work because you interrupted me." "Sorry." "Do you know when the trials will start?" "No one tells us anything." "What are you doing?" "Imitating Da Maggio." "Shit!" "That's exactly right!" "That's what you do at night, Da Maggio." "I don't remember." "You don't say." "Did you understand what I said?" "No, it's all garbled crap." "At least you get a laugh." "What a cretin." "You wake us every night with your yelling." "And you piss in your bed." "Mayer!" "There's a loose rope at the top of the mast." "Go and tie it." "Oh, no." "You knowl suffer from vertigo." "Exactly." "Get a move on, Mayer." "Schaff!" "You're expected on the bridge." "We cast off in one hour." "You lot finish up here and tidy up the equipment." "Do you knowwhere we're going?" "No, and I don't care." "Giovanni isn't with you?" "As you see." "You know, Schaff sleeps with his eyes open." "Next time he's asleep look him right in the eye and ask him if it's true that his mother's a whore." "Why a whore?" "That's what Mayer asked him one night." "Or anything else." "Something mean." "You'll see." "It'll be payback for all the bullshit he throws your way." "I'll tell him to stop treating me like an imbecile." "How about that?" "Yeah, why not." "But it won't do you any good 'cos he won't hear you." "You're right." "Ask him if he licks the officers' arses." "Yeah, that's a good one." "I'll ask him when you're there." " OK." "Showyour paw." "Good dog." "What's wrong with your paw?" "." "Good dog." "Good dog." "You're a very good dog." "They go well together." "He probably had a dog back home." "Perhaps." "Where's Giovanni?" " Inside." "He's asleep." "Call him." " He's fine where he is." "Just one more hour." "I did it, you know." "What?" "Schaff." "He was sleeping, eyes open." "I could see the whites, it was weird." "I told him he was an arse-licker, his mother a whore, and to quit bugging me." "And you knowwhat?" "What?" "He smiled in his sleep." "Stupid idiot." "The helicopter transporting the scientific experts is expected at 3 p.m. tomorrow." "Any special instructions?" " No." "That will be all, Lieutenant." "Lieutenant, can I go down for a drink?" "I'm thirsty." "Yes, but be quick." " Thanks." "What's with you?" "You think it's funny, shitbag?" "Stop it." " Shut up!" "Go away, you!" "Piss off!" "I said get the fuck out of here!" "You get on my nerves!" "I've had enough!" "Toes, heel, toes, heel." "Twice." "And back." "When do you change foot?" "Massina!" "Where the hell have you been?" "I went for a drink." "You didn't go down for a rest?" " No." "Did you go up to the bridge?" "No." "Got a light?" "So what were you doing?" " Getting a drink." "Go talk to the Lieutenant about all this, OK?" "What were you up to?" "Where were you?" "Answer." "Where were you?" "Massina, where were you?" " ln the washroom, Lieutenant." "In the washroom." " No." "I was sick." "Seasick?" " Yes, Lieutenant." "I don't believe you're seasick." "I let you go off watch to get a drink of water." "You were gone over half an hour." "I'll have to put you on the punishment list." "I'd have preferred not to send you to the Captain, Massina." "It's almost time to go to bed." "Time went quickly tonight." "Da Maggio!" "Go and wake the third watch." " Yes, Lieutenant!" "Sit." "We're not far from land." "Looks like snow." "Don't you want to kiss me with your mouth?" "I'll showyou." "There, that's kissing." "See?" "What a cropper!" "Speak French." "OK." "Don't get all upset." "Have a drink." "Here!" "Calm down, you." "Cheers, Da Maggio." " Cheers!" "Well done!" "Moriaty, wake up!" "It's me, Massina." "What am I doing here?" "I don't know." "Come on, we've got to go." "Why didn't you come to the party?" "I don't like the noise." "Was it good?" "No." "Ten, nine..." " Put on your goggles." "...eight, seven..." "Kneel down and turn to port." "...five..." " Put one arm in front of your eyes." "...three two one firel" "Sailors on watch, back to manoeuvres." "Sailors on watch, back to manoeuvres." "Heading 220." "Heading 220." "Massina, what are you doing here?" "Nothing, Lieutenant." "I was on the bridge when the bomb went off. I got some great pics." "Oh, really." "Did you keep your goggles on?" "Where's Moriaty?" " No idea." "Crazy!" "I've never seen anything like it." "Are you sure it's not toxic?" " No, we had our goggles on." "Sure?" " l hope so." "I don't know." "We didn't wear masks." " The officers didn't either!" "No one told us to." "And the noise!" "Like this!" "The light was blinding." "What are they saying?" " Dunno." "Who speaks English?" "Do you?" "Sure?" "They're talking about France, about us." "lmpossible to stay inside." "They're all jabbering away." "At least here, there's a bit of peace." " l knewit." "What are they saying?" " No idea." "They're all talking at once." "What do you think?" "Do you want me to go get some beers?" "How do you feel?" "While we're on leave, I bet we get a shark." "You might be right." " Don't shout at Da Maggio, OK?" "I don't knowif I can do that." " Try anyway." "He was looking for you this afternoon." "What did he want?" "To tell you he photographed the explosion." "To send to his parents?" "Idiot!" "What do we care?" "We don't." " That's right, we don't give a damn." "What was it like for you?" "Same as for everyone else." "I followed instructions." "But I sawthe look on your face." "What the fuck do you think it was?" "I knowwhat we saw." " You sawit too!" "I wanted to talk to you about it." "You want to knowwhat happened?" "Stop it." " Shit!" "What's wrong with you all?" "You're retarded." "We all sawthe same thing!" "OK?" " Don't be such a pain, Moriaty." "Prepare to hoist the colours!" "Hoist!" "Colours raised!" "At ease." "Schaff..." "There." " Thanks." "Linning..." "Here." " Thanks." "Hatt..." "Nothing." " Sure?" "Sorry." "Thanks." "Massina..." "There." "Moriaty, here." " Thanks." "Hey, Massina, look." "My parents developed them." "They're good, eh?" "That's a good one!" "That's some tuna!" "It's a sea bream." "It looks quite similar." "Can I have this one?" "Yes, he's your dog." "He's not my dog." "Why not go to the eastern end, it's nearer." "We could fish in the channels before midday." "You knowwhat?" "Go east if you want, Da Maggio." "We're going west, like we said." "You shouldn't have changed your mind." "Giovanni, come!" "Giovanni, come here!" "Move, Da Maggio!" "Don't lag behind." "Leave him be." "Do you want a beer?" "What?" "A beer?" "Yep." "Quit bugging us with that." " l want my parents to knowmy friends." "We don't give a damn about your parents." "Yeah, Da Maggio, go on." "I'll take one of you." "Your parents'll be glad to see their son looking happy when they develop it." "Here." "Thanks." "We could start baiting here, eh?" "Does it look like we're in the channels?" "Not yet, but I want to stop." "Yeah, we can stop." "It's not time to bait yet, but we can drink a beer." "Thanks." "Ever get the impression you're a pain in the neck?" "Give me five minutes' rest and I won't bug you 'til we get there." "OK." "I find the heat hard to take." "Well, go for a swim, it'll cool you down." "No, I don't like going in the water." "What do you like?" "Fishing for sharks with you, but without going in the water." "And drinking beer?" "And drinking beer." "With you." "Right." " Right." "It's nearly midday." "We should get on." "Cheers." "Giovanni, come here!" "Good boy." "Good boy." "Come!" "Thanks." "Hang on... lt's empty." "What should we do?" "Leave him here?" "Under a palm tree?" "He's too heavy." "We'll cover him with fronds." "Why did you do that?" "I'm showing the truth." " Shit, Moriaty, he looks dead!" "It's for the hundreds of lies he's sent to his parents." "They're his lies." "It's not our business." "What's wrong, Moriaty?" "Nothing." "I'm just sick of that cretin." "And his photos. I've had enough." "Howfar away do you think the horizon is?" "I have no idea." "Me neither." "But if you get on my shoulders, you'll see 20 miles further." "You think so?" " l'm sure." "Come here." "Stop moving." "I didn't have time to see!" "You try it, then." "Wait until I'm ready." "Go on." "OK?" "Go on." "Well?" " l can see further!" "By at least 20 miles." "Wait." "You know, it's my birthday." "Today." "I'm twenty." "Happy birthday." "Wait." "Here, to your birthday!" "It'd be great if we caught the first tiger shark." "No one else has caught one yet." "Want a beer?" " No, thanks." "Ah, shit." "Where's the shark?" "Still in the channels." "Long live the shark!" "Do you think Da Maggio's awake?" "He must have wondered why he was covered with leaves." "It was a pretty lousy thing that we did to him." "Don't you think?" "I wouldn't like to be in his shoes." "Shut up about Da Maggio." "Moriaty, what are you doing?" "Why not?" "Stop it, Moriaty!" "You wanted to know what happened?" "You came to bug me about it." "What did you see?" "The same thing as me." "But nobody saw anything." "I want this to stink all the way to the boat." "I'll have to burn a lot more, so they all smell it." "This disgusting stink." "The water was so cold." "You can't imagine..." "That's why I lost heart." "Look around." "Think about what we've done, what we saw." "The message in the tin said:" ""He who has the courage to cross here deserves a good life."" "Nowl know." "My life didn't work out." "A lot of time has passed, but I remember Moriaty, inconsolable." "Thousands of miles from a freezing river and a tin hidden under a pine tree." "I didn't hold him, 'cos I didn't know how." "But wherever he is today," "I know that if he has a son, he's taking care of him." "He's a good father, I'm sure." "He's teaching him useful things and other, invisible stuff." "Maybe he's waiting for his son to be twenty himself to tell him about his birthday on the shores of the ocean." "Moriaty, now I take you in my arms." "Between 1966 and 1995, France carried out over 170 nuclear trials in the Pacific Ocean."