"Mr Tully?" "'All irregularities will be handled 'by the forces controlling each dimension." "'Transuranic heavy elements may not be used where there is life." "'Medium atomic weights are available." "'Gold, Lead," "'Copper," "'Jet, Diamond, Radium," "'Sapphire, Silver and Steel." "'Sapphire and Steel have been assigned. '" "I'm the one that's responsible." "I'm the one who wants to get rid of you." "Me, not them." "So why punish them?" "Everyone has to die." "When it's their time, yes, not your time... as you have no say - you don't belong with the living." " I'm here, aren't I?" " Then prove it." "Shake my hand." "Or come and sit down with me." "Come on." "Talk with me." "Tell me your name." "Perhaps we could have a nice, warm, human conversation." "Ah, but you can't do that, can you?" "You don't belong here, you don't belong with us, you belong in the darkness." "You and your friends." "You're dead." "Every single one of you." "Not for long we won't be." "'Not for long we won't be. '" "What were you doing?" "Jamie's passed out." "The air... not enough air." "'Steel. '" "How..." "How deep are we?" "At the bottom?" "No pumps working and we're at the bottom." "'Steel." "I can't breathe. '" "Eh?" "Tanks full..." "'Tanks full... '" " We're at the bottom..." " 'We're at the bottom... '" " Right at the bottom." " 'Right at the bottom. '" "'Steel. '" "Don't talk, save the air." " Don't talk..." " 'Don't talk... '" " Save the air." " 'Save the air. '" "Steel..." "It's all right." "It's not all right, I can't breathe." "Here..." "Help us." "Please, help us." " You saw them?" " Yes." " You heard them?" " Yes." " Let's get him onto the platform." " What?" "He needs air." "57.3 you said." " His life expectancy." " That's right, yes." " How old is he now?" " 52.9." "Then he'll survive, won't he?" "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" "Yes." "You got more than you bargained for, though." "It worked, didn't it?" " They weren't dressed as sailors." " No." "So what were civilians doing on a submarine?" "I couldn't tell." " You're the history expert." " When it makes sense, yes." "When they called out to me for help..." " Probably trying to trick you." " Maybe." "But was it as ghosts or living people?" "It can't have been as living people unless you were a ghost in their time." " I wasn't." " Well, there you are, then." "I don't think they intend to be ghosts in this time period for long." " What do you mean?" " Not according to that soldier." "Wake him up." "Mr Tully?" "Wake up, Mr Tully." "Oh, thank you." " It wasn't my asthma, was it?" " No, it was not!" "When you first came here, what did you do?" " They tried to kill us..." " No, they encouraged us to die." " You antagonised them." " When you came..." " You antagonised that ghost." " I meant to." "And I intend to antagonise him even further if it helps me to find out who he is and why he decided to haunt this station." " Perhaps..." " Ask him nicely what his name was?" " I tried that." "Come on, now." " Knowing how..." "Are they behaving how your average ghost is supposed to behave?" "Would all your pals at psychical HQ classify them as good or bad ghosts?" " That depends." " What about a priest?" "Would he give them a favourable report?" "Again, that depends." "They attack us with their pasts, with their own deaths." "I saved you from one experience, Sapphire saved me from another." " When you came..." " There wasn't any trouble." "No danger?" "Just nice peaceful ghosts?" "Until you people arrived, yes!" "Everything was all right until you arrived!" " Mr Tully..." " I will not be placated." " He has a job to do." " And so have I." "I seem to have no say in anything any more and look what's happened." "I would never think of making a ghost angry." "That's the way I do things." "Unfortunately nobody is interested in the way I do things." "So what is your way?" " What?" "!" " When you first came here," " what did you do?" " Do?" "The ghosts weren't sitting around here waiting for you?" "No." "I prevailed upon them to make contact." "And how did you... prevail upon them?" "If you must know, I had a sitting." "A one-man sitting." " A seance?" " Yes." " Where?" " In the buffet." " And the ghosts responded?" " They have to, it's a summons." "It wasn't successful but it confirmed my belief." " Why wasn't it successful?" " I'm not very mediumistic." " Sapphire would make a good medium." " So?" " So why don't we try it your way?" " My way?" "Yes." "Why don't we have a seance?" " When?" " Right now." " After what happened in the hotel?" "!" " What about it?" " When I had a seance I was friendly." " And?" " Well, you've antagonised them." " Yes?" "To summon them now, under these conditions, would be... dangerous." "Do they have music on submarines?" " Music?" " Yes." "From a radio." "In most cases they would have access to a radio, yes." "But submarines don't have wooden doors." "Hardly." "I heard somebody open a wooden door in the middle of the room." "Then the laughter and the talking stopped." "All the fun stopped." "Where was this?" "I told you, right in the middle of the room." "Well, I'm ready." " What about the lights?" " Mr Tully?" "Yes." "You can leave those but, er, put this one out, I think." "Thermometer." "A bit of candlelight, I think." " And the cotton threads" " Not this time, no." "Would you sit there, please?" " As long as you're sure." " Sure?" " That this is what you want to do?" " I'm sure." "Sapphire?" "Yes." " What's that supposed to do?" " Make me feel better." "Hands on the table top, please." "Now we join hands." " Is this important?" " It's vital." "How did you manage when you had a one-man sitting?" "Well, I just held my own hand." "Ah." "Now..." "Would you like me in some auto-hypnotic state?" " Yes, please." " What?" "It's a self-induced hypnotic state between waking and sleeping." " Yes, that'll be fine." " Right." " I want his name." " Shh." "I want the soldier's name." "Yes, well give her a chance." "Give it a chance." "I think perhaps we should close our eyes." " Try to share the moment with her." " I prefer to stay awake." "No one's suggesting that you should sleep." "I've always believed on occasions like this that closing one's eyes is..." "well, courteous." " Courteous?" " I've often felt in the past that... spirits are rather like strangers paying a visit." "A little bit shy, a little insecure." "Why shouldn't..." "Yes." "He doesn't like this, Steel." "He doesn't like this, not from us." " I want his name." " No." "No!" " His name." "His name!" " No!" "No!" "Please, please..." "You cannot be coercive, it never works that way." " Will you leave it to me?" " All right." "Thank you." "Now..." "I'm not interested in knowing your name... or the names of any of you." "Only if you wish to tell me." "I want..." "We want to help you." "'Help us..." "'Please... help us. '" "Trials." "They said there'd be trials." "It was a... a last-minute decision." "What kind of trials?" "A court martial, something like that?" "Was it a court martial?" "Or the assizes, maybe?" "What?" "The trials." "Oh, they were told." "The sea..." "Well, it's the Channel really but..." "I suppose you could call it the sea." "Back by five, they were told." ""You'll be back by five." ""It'll be like any other working day. "" " Who said this?" " They were told!" "Sorry." "Now..." "tell us about the trials." "We're talking about the trials, aren't we?" "Back at five." "Out at dawn and back by five." "It's like any other working day." "Sea trials, are you talking about sea trials?" " Of course they are!" " For a submarine?" "Yes!" "Steel, there's resentment here." "There's so much resentment." "Please... tell us about the submarine." "About the trial." "No." "There's no point in talking about it now." " But if you..." " There's no point!" "You're sailors, are you?" "Of course we're not." "They're not sailors." "That's obvious, isn't it?" "Sailors get paid to take chances, get paid to die." "We don't." "We get paid to work." "A day's work." "Back by five, they said." "We never came back, did we?" "What year was this?" "1938." "What are your jobs?" " Jobs?" " You say you're not sailors." " Of course we're not!" "Lf..." " Why are you in the submarine?" "We're civilian workers." "We're civilian attached workers." "Bright futures." "Home by five." "Huh!" "That wreck should never have gone to sea." "Home by five, they said." "Yes..." "What are your names?" " Can't tell you." " Surely you can." " Anyway, there's no point." " But if we can help you..." "Don't need it." "We've already got help, thanks." "What kind of help have you got?" "I want..." "Help me..." "Please..." "I think they've said their piece." " Well, we know something about them." " Yes." " But isn't that..." " It's not enough." " But they volunteered that infor..." " They'll give us bits of information" " but I want the name of the soldier." " But it's dangerous..." "Sapphire?" "Sapphire!" " Yes?" " The name of the soldier." "We still need the name of the soldier." " They won't communicate." " Then find someone else." "Someone who once knew him." " There's no one who knew him." " Then go further back into the past." "Find someone who was close to him." "Try, Sapphire." "Into the past, into his past." " It's a long way back, Steel." " Try." " It's a long way back." " Try, Sapphire." "Try." "Oh, it's such a long way..." " She mustn't go back..." " Shh!" "Sapphire?" "It's a warm day." "Oh, it's a beautiful, hot summer's day!" "Mmm!" "There are flowers in full bloom." "There's such a lot of flowers!" "But there's no one here any more." " They've all had to go." " There must be someone." "Someone who was close to him." "Just a minute..." "Yes, there is someone." "Yes, there is." "Come on." "Come on." "There!" "No!"