" the name's Brogan, lieutenant Brogan." "For 20 years, I was with the n.Y.P.D." "Now..." "Well, let's just say," ""I've transferred to another precinct."" " Our new Temple is exquisite, sister nevik." " Thank you, my icar." "I was guided by your spirit in its design." " Not mine, I'm afraid." "I could not create a floor, let alone an entire temple." "Is it not impressive, brother tendall?" " It is impressive." "But I'm not at all surprised." "Sister nevik has always been full of designs." " Fellow pyrists behold the eternal flame, symbol of our faith from its humble origins centuries ago to its new Beginning on this day." "We hereby consecrate this temple to the spirit of pyrism, the purity of fire, flame without end." "Let it be so." " Let it be so." " There is a traitor in our midst, a heretic who pretends to share our sacred views but who is motivated by power and greed." "He is false to the fire." "He has no fire in his heart, but there shall be!" " "here's me riding a kirkurin." ""P.S., we ate it for dinner."" " Aw!" "Two weeks in New hawaii and the guy's finally lost it." " I don't think haldane ever had "it."" "I know one thing." "He's gonna kick Himself for missing this one." " Oh, I don't know." "Spontaneous combustion's seen all the time." " Never seen anything like it." "There was no physical contact, nothing out of the ordinary." " Took, a-a woman pointed her finger and a man burst into flames." "I'd say that was out of the ordinary." " She's a priest, lieutenant." "Sister nevik brok, the icar vedra's right hand." " Uh, what's an icar vedra?" " The icar is the pyrist spiritual Leader." "He's an extraordinary man." " You a pyrist, tooky?" " I guess I'm looking for the answers without knowing all the questions." " Sounds like what we do for a living." " Tendall kalike was a good man." "I want nothing." " You need to relax-- The herbs will help." " I loved him like a son." " and he thought you were a fool." " Brother kalamandro!" " Forgive me, my icar." "I cannot remain Silent any longer." "To your face, he was one way, behind your back, another." " is this so?" " It's your own goodness which blinds you to the evil of others." " and you said nothing?" " You know the words of the dascal." ""There is justice in the fire."" " I'm sorry to disturb you, my icar, But the police, they wish to interview you." " You rest." "I'll take care of this." " See you back at the station house, all right?" " All right." " Uh, lieutenant Brogan, this is, uh, sister nevik brok." "She's the one who, uh, Well, uh, you..." " What the officer is trying to say is somehow" "I became the medium for divine intervention." " I see." "Um, you don't think you could be a little more specific?" " You may find it difficult to believe, but a Miracle occurred here earlier." "Tendall kalike was purified by the eternal flame." "In his heart, he betrayed us, and his heart betrayed him." " lieutenant, I refuse to believe that brother tendall was a heretic." "I've known him since I came here as a seeker." "He was a good, kind man." "Is it possible that anybody here considered him a threat?" " Yes, tell us sister Fancher." "Maybe you're aware of something I am not." " No, sister nevik." " Now that you've seen our temple's soul, perhaps you'd like to see the brain?" "We oversee many technical details there." " Tell you what... why don't you take officers orrin and castle?" " Yes, of course." "Follow me." " Anything?" " Zilch." " All right." "Bromek!" " Yes?" " It's me." "I'm in the passageway behind the wall." "Go stand in the spot where the priest was killed." " No problem, lieutenant." "All right, I'm here." " Yeah, so I see." " This all looks pretty sophisticated." " Ah, not really." "Just normal security screens, processes to control the temple's exterior illumination, that sort of thing." " We are very lucky to have brother Ken and his special expertise." " can I help you, Officer?" "Brother kalamandro." " Yeah, what's all this?" " These tanks contain fuel for the flames outside the temple." "Or did you think that was a Miracle also?" " I don't believe in miracles." " Pity." " at this point, given the condition of the remains, the coroner can only determine that kalike burned to death." " Ah, Well, now, that's a revelation, isn't it?" " and he was pretty sure that the fire began in Kalike's heart." " Has he enlightened us as to how that could've happened?" " Afraid not." " Have you any ideas?" " Could be micro-Waves, possibly Delta-Waves." "Neither would be detectable in an autopsy, but that's only speculation, of course." " There is at least one other possibility, captain." " took." " the dascal, the pyrists Bible, tells the story of a disciple whose heart burst into flames because his thoughts were impure." " I'm not quite sure how to respond to that." " Uh, Carson, I noticed a small diameter hole in one of the altar room walls." "It looks like it was lined up with the spot where kalike was standing." " Well, micro-Waves would only need a pin point to do the job." " Has anyone found a micro-Wave generating device?" " We searched the place from top to bottom." "Nothing." " Then we have no hard evidence, do we, lieutenant?" " Uh, no, sir." " Look, people, we're treading a fine line here." "These pyrists are protected by the laws governing freedom of religious practice." "If they cry foul, I don't need to tell you how difficult our job would become." "Took, you're a member of this cult, correct?" " Not really, sir." "It was only my second visit, and it's not exactly a cult." " whatever it is, I want you to keep your eyes open whenever you're there." "Remember, you're a police officer 26 hours a day." " Yes, sir." " there's one other thing, captain." "Kalike's feet have been burned before." "They were scarred over and callused." "The coroner doesn't know what to make of it." " Well, it's something." "Let's invite that brok woman in for a chat." "Perhaps she can enlighten us." " And this one couldn't tell you what you needed to know?" " I only recently became a seeker, sister nevik." " Ah." "The seekers are non-Official members of our order." "If they choose to join us, then they become initiates." "After much work and study, an initiate becomes an acolyte." " Like brother kalamandro?" " Yes." "A very few of us, like brother tendall and myself, are called to become priests." " hmm." "Maybe it's just me, But, uh, what's all this got to do with tendall Kalike's feet?" " Every priest must undertake periodic FIRE walks over molten lava to prove the strength of our belief." "As a result, all priests have scarred and blackened feet." " Thank you, miss brok." " Sister nevik is my correct title." " Sister nevik, thank you for coming in to talk to us." " You really think that I killed brother tendall... don't you?" "Pyrism is a benevolent belief, sergeant." "We have no wish to harm anyone, not even a traitor." " Well, lieutenant is my correct title, sister, and somebody Sure as hell HARMED tendall kalike." " is it so impossible for you to believe that he might have done it to himself, that a heart in conflict with itself" "Might just explode in flames?" " Yeah, it is." "And how did you know that his heart was the source of the fire?" " The dascal says it was so." "You might try reading it sometime, lieutenant." "Then you, too, might find the fire." "You're not actually gonna go through with a fire ceremony for kalike." " Now that the authoritieshave returned his remains, yes." " But what would the congregation say?" " Perhaps they will say that it is the proper thing to do." " Or that you are going against the dascal." " What will you say?" " It doesn't matter what I say." "I'm only one." "But it is difficult to explain why you feel compelled to honor a heretic." " Because my heart is unconvinced." "To me, tendall kalike will always be innocent." " You heard what kalamandro said." "Kalike spoke against you." " If he had things to say against me, he would have said them to me." "Tendall will be granted a full fire ceremony." "He lived as a loyal pyrist, he'll be remembered as one." " I warn you, my icar, if you go through with this, it could divide the church." " So, sister, what are my choices?" "If I do as my conscience dictates, yes, I could divide the church." "But if I ignore my conscience," "I would be a Leader in name only." "Better, I think, a feeble-Minded icar vedra than a cowardly one." "You worry too much." " Because, my icar, you worry too little." "I am guilty." "I have sinned." " Brother tendall!" " I sought not piety but gold and glory." "I am unworthy." "May the fire forgive me!" " She told you, old man." "Maybe now, you'll believe her." " I'm not questioning what you saw, took." "I just wanna know how it was done." " Well, I have questioned it, captain." "And I'm pretty sure I found the answer in the dascal." " You know, took, we've programmed slomo to reconstruct voices." "Maybe the pyrists did something similar." " don't patronize me, lieutenant." "I know what I saw." "Look, I know you're skeptical, but sometimes you gotta believe in something bigger, something greater." " Tooky, I'm just a koffin, not a theologian, but I'm a tough old nut to crack." "It's my nature." "So, uh... humor me and, uh, keep looking around, huh?" " Yes, sir-- May I go now?" " Yeah." "You think I should take her off the investigation?" " Nah, she'll be okay." "She just wants us to keep an open mind." " What about you?" "Are you a believer?" " Certainly not in pyrism." " in anything?" " Well, if haldane doesn't get back from vacation pretty soon," "I believe that I'm gonna drown all the paperwork that's piling up on our desk." " Why are we questioning the authority of the icar vedra?" " That poor man is senile." " How dare you!" " Because someone must." "The icar is old, so old he cannot even recognize the omens that were foretold." " Were they omens, brother kalamandro, or something else?" " A false prophet set aflame by his own evil, a corpse who confesses his sins from the other side, a child can recognize such signs." " and I say that the icar vedra is our appointed Leader." "It is he, and he alone, who has the power to recognize the omens." " Sister nevik, what do you say?" " I don't know." "I admit, I'm torn." "I love and respect the icar vedra, but even I can't ignore the signs." "Perhaps the day of emulation is near." " We've all seen the signs." "Only the icar is blind." " and who would you have replace him?" "You, brother?" " me?" "I will never be loved enough to lead." "But there is one among us who could, one through whom the fire has spoken." " No!" "Brother Kalamandro, thank you, but my loyalty is to the icar vedra." " your loyalty, sister nevik, shouldn't be to a man." "It should be to the fire." " man, this stuff is creepy." "It's all "fire this" and "Fire that."" ""May you find the fire." ""may the fire be with you."" "I tell you, it's stupid." " Yeah, they believe the end of the world is coming." "They call it the day of... imitation." " Emulation, brainless." " Matt." " anyway, the guys at school think it's dumb." "They just goof on it." " Yeah?" "Why?" " I told you, it's dumb." " It's silly." " "let it be so."" "Come on, dad, get virtual." "You don't believe this stuff." " No, but there might be things I do believe that the pyrists think are silly and dumb." "That doesn't mean I want 'em laughing' at me." " Oh, you're just sayin' that, daddy." " am I?" " So you agree with them?" " I think what your father is saying is that beliefs are a very personal thing, maybe even a sacred thing, whether you agree with them or not." " As long as they're not harming' anyone, respect other people's belief, even if you think they're dumb." "Same way you want them to respect your belief." " I get it." "So it means, if I believe I should go downtown to that reality arcade anasi, you'd respect my beliefs?" " Yeah, we'd respect it, but actually letting you do it," "I believe not." " Nice try, Matt." " I was so close." " Have some relish." " Have some tongs." " Relish?" " Fredo, what's up?" " I got a call on hold from a sister Fancher." "She's down at the pyrist temple." "She asked for you, said it was urgent." " Patch her through." "Sister Fancher." " lieutenant, I need to talk to you." " I'm listening." " No, not here." "It's not safe." "Is there somewhere, not the station house, someplace we can meet privately?" " She took the Hopper?" " Yeah." " Good." " right here, sister." " There he is." "Thank goodness." " Purify her." " You're damn right I'm taking it personally." "They killed Fancher, and they almost nailed me in the bargain." " She could've been on a suicide mission." " You didn't talk to her." " Well, maybe it was an accident." " Took, could be right." "We found nothing on the records that indicate sabotage." " Yeah, right, an accident, just like tendall kalike's death was a Miracle." "Bottom line here, people, we've got no facts, just coincidences, huh?" " Like my grandpa used to say, "if there wasn't such a thing," ""we wouldn't need a word for it."" " Yeah, well, I don't believe in coincidences, and I don't believe in miracles." "I'm tellin' ya, Fancher knew something, and when she tried to tell me, they eliminated her." " Ah, speculation, coincidences, call it what you will-- It still adds up to nothing." " "Hey, how ya doin', haldane." ""good to see you, Buddy."" " Hey, hey!" " How was your vacation?" " Welcome back." " Welcome back, haldane." " Yeah." " Let me guess, another grass skirt?" " Glad to have you back, haldane, but let's get back to the matter of hand." "Obviously, there is something going on at that temple." "I've decided to put some people in there and find out what it is." " Uh, captain, nevik brok was in the station house." "There's no telling who she saw or who she might remember." " that's not exactly True." "There's one person we know she didn't see." " Hey, no problem." "Working undercover, or under covers, is my specialty." " Always a consummate professional, haldane." " Did you say "Consummate"?" " Okay, knock it off, you two." "As a matter of fact, haldane, you've always been a part of my plan." " Cool" " Sounds like fun." " The idea isn't to have fun." "The idea is to gather information." "As your partner, I've arranged to borrow an officer from the 38th precinct." "You all know my daughter, samina." " It's called "t.I.M.E."" "Temporary immersion memory education." " I've heard of it, but it's never actually been used in the field, has it?" " No, it did cause some adverse side effects in early simulations." " Such as?" " Oh, potential brain wave anomalies." "Something you don't have to worry about, haldane." "Be back in a flash." "You kids get to know each other." " look, I just wanna be treated like any other police officer, except Jane castle, that is." " What is that supposed to mean?" " Oh, touchy." " Look, whatever castle said about me, don't believe it, unless, of course, it was good." "So what about you, huh?" "I don't really know anything about you, except the fact that, well, your father was not real excited that you became a police officer in the first place." " Forget about my father!" " That's not real easy to do." " Okay, I spent two years at demeter university on an athletic scholarship before applying to the academy." "Married once, for about five minutes." "No kids-- No pets." "Anything else that you might want to know?" " No, not if you don't wanna tell me." " I guess you think that I'm just some kind of excess baggage?" " No, not really." "Look, I just don't wanna have to worry about protecting your Butt, okay?" " Haldane, I don't even want you to think about my Butt, much less worry about protecting it." " Okay, we're all set." "We've downloaded everything ever written about pyrism, including the dascal." "Come morning, you'll be a couple of walking encyclopedias." "We're gonna learn all of it in one night?" " That, plus details of your new personal histories." "Haldane, you're about to become Tate huxley, earth studies professor." "Samina, you're kilma worshem, a techno-Physicist from danai." "Where was this thing when I was taking differential calculus?" " "to die-- To sleep."" ""to sleep, per chance to dream."" "[indistinct]" " As seekers, you've expressed your undying faith in the fire." "Now you're ready to begin your time as initiates." "It won't be easy." "Your faith will be constantly tested, and in the end, some of you will find that merely saying," ""the fire is within you," won't make it so." " Hello." " You wish to contribute something?" " Uh, yes." "I was just about to tell the sister about the inspiration for the eternal flame." " Pray" " Continue." " Okay, um, well, when the profit egora was banished in the land of ice, he was given only one match and a small pile of kindling, but he also had faith." "And a year later, when that banishment ended, that small pile of kindling was still burning." " You know your dascal Well, seeker." "Tate." "Then perhaps you can tell us why it is that our temples are built with such a distinctive shape." " Yes, of course, because the... because the... uh... you know, I can't seem to remember that one." " because in the second book of dascal, chapter six, it is written that the pyramid is the shape which most closely resembles our holy flame." " Yes, Well, thank you, brother kalamandro." "Actually, I believe it was chapter five." " Brother Ken here will show you to your assigned cells." "I suggest you relax and meditate." "Tonight you'll witness a ceremony marking the end of your time as seekers and your introduction to the temple as initiates." " Fire water." " You said something, seeker Tate?" " me?" "No" " No, brother kalamandro." "Ten to one, it's the fire water." " Has our contact turned up anything on Tate huxley?" " Not yet." "He, uh, he appears to be legitimate." "Why are you so interested in this guy?" " Because I don't like him." " Whatever" " We have other ways to obtain information." " Good-- use them." " Initiates, behold the wondrous marvels of unwavering faith from this." " kalamandro!" " No!" " What in egora's name do you think you're doing?" " I don't know." "I saw..." " You saw what?" " I... saw the chance to prove my worthiness." " It's remarkable." "They're almost healed." " I don't know-- I'm still in a lot of pain." "You can't blame a guy for tryin'." " Yes, but I can blame you for pulling that idiot stunt." " look, I saw you do it, and I thought it was..." "I don't know." " Mind over matter." " Ah, exactly." "If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." " Uh... so tell me the truth." "Why did you do it?" " I felt something." "Maybe it was the spirit of egora, I don't know, but it was this irrepressible, undeniable impulsion." " Ah, I understand." "Any other reason?" " I wanted you to notice me." " Well, it obviously worked." "So..." "Have you found what it is you came here seeking?" " Definitely." " Meaning pyrism, of course." " Oh, yeah, that, too, of course." "I just wish I would've got here sooner." "From what I hear, I missed all the excitement." "Come on" " It's not everyday that a guy explodes into flames and then confesses all his sins from the grave." "I would've given a lot of credits to see that." " What I like about you, brother Tate, is your irreverence, but there are some things you shouldn't joke about." "I have to go or I'll be late for assembly." "Come and see me tomorrow." " Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, Wait, wait, wait." "Uh... uh... you know, when I was, uh, walkin' on that fire," "I think I may have burned my lip a little." " Ah, and you need some balm to soothe them, do you?" " Somethin' like that." " Sister nevik, if you're not too busy." " Yes, I'm on my way." "We'll continue our lessons tomorrow." " Sister nevik has many responsibilities here in the temple." "I will not have you interfering with her." "Now get out!" " Touchy." " I've, uh, isolated a number of different angles." " And you patched them through to our contact?" " Immediately." "I have no response yet." "Everyone else checked out fine." "You..." "You really think there's more to Tate huxley than meets the eye?" " No." "I think there's less." " Lieutenant Brogan, I have received the profile you requested from interplanetary." "The pyrists acolyte kalamandro." " about time." " It was in the inactive file." "I have uploaded it onto your screen." " Thanks." "Well, well, brother kalamandro has a past." "So, before there was a kalamandro, there was an Andrew kalam." "Before there was a pyrist, there was an arsonist." " Well, he's been straight for the last ten years." " Yeah, well, that'D explain why it's in interplanetary's dead file." " Well, ten years is also about the amount of time he's been with the temple." "Maybe pyrism helped him change." "it happens." " Uh, took, look... maybe it is all miracles and coincidence." "I don't think so." "I hope I'm wrong." " I'm just looking for the truth, lieutenant, that's all." " Brogan, I think you should have a look at this." " Uh, you wanna translate for me." "E.P.U. Hieroglyphics were never my strong suit." " Well, basically, it means someone's been running an I.D. Check on Tate huxley." " An unauthorized I.D. Check." " Which could only be carried out by someone with confidential access." " But there's nothing to find, right?" " Right" " Tate huxley is as clean as a tarned incubator." " So there's no problem?" " Not yet." "I'm here." " This is really risky." " We had no choice." "Someone's been taking a very strong interest in Tate huxley." " Have things been compromised?" " No" " We think you should be prepared to pull out at a moment's notice." " Well, it's not as easy as you might think." "In the first place, haldane, hasn't given me the time of day in over a week." " He probably has a reason." " I can think of two and neither one is good." "Either he's decided to work alone or he's been seduced." "Sister nevik can be very persuasive." " Haldane's a good cop-- He knows what he's doing." " Let's hope so." " We got this just yesterday from our dutiful daughter." "She says, "I'm ready to give up police work" ""and become a beachcomber in New hawaii."" " It's samina's way of giving the old man a hard time." " Maybe she's serious." "I mean, new hawaii's a very seductive place." " Now don't you start, Sally." " Gee, I don't know, captain." "Haldane tries to go their every chance he gets." " Now I am worried!" " Where's haldane been lately?" " Um, he's, uh, puttin' in a lot of overtime to pay for his trips to new hawaii." " Mom, dinner's about done." " Oh, good." "Um, five minutes." " Need any help?" " Sure." "Okay." " You're not gonna tell fama, are you?" " I assume you haven't told Sally about haldane's assignment." " Haldane's my partner, not my daughter." " I..." "I don't wanna worry her." " Oh, so you're gonna do the worrying for two?" " Not anymore." "I've been thinking about castle's meeting with samina." "It's time to get them out of there." " His real name's Jack haldane." "He's with the 88th precinct." " I knew it." "Can you provide me the hardcopy as well?" " I can, and I have." " a closed door Usually Means wait until you're invited in." "Kalamandro!" " He walks in here out of the blue, an instant expert on pyrism." "He walks on fire." "He quotes the dascal better than the icar vedra!" " Nice likeness, wouldn't you say, Officer haldane?" " You knew he was a cop." " that's why he's here-- To confess his sins and to embrace pyrism." " or to cover his Butt." " You're wrong, brother kalamandro." "Maybe it is True I came here under false pretenses, but... sister nevik has shown me the way." " You're a liar." "I know what's going on between you two." "It's affected your judgment!" " Of course, your envy hasn't affected your judgment." " Please, please, sister nevik, brother kalamandro." "The fire has been lit in my heart." "I've seen the error of my ways." "Now all I want to do is serve you and pyrism." "Please... give me the chance to redeem myself." " It's an honor to be invited to accompany you, sister nevik, but where are we going?" " for a little ride, Officer podly." " I don't understand, brother." " There is only truth in the fire." "All else is lies and deceit." " You traitor!" "Please, haldane!" "Please, haldane!" "Don't!" "Please!" "Haldane!" "This is crazy!" "Please!" "Why!" "Haldane!" "Haldane!" "Please!" "Please!" "Haldane, this is crazy!" "Haldane!" "Don't!" "Don't!" " And now for final the purification of your soul." " Now he's one of us." " Ask me, this isn't a temple it's a damn Roach motel." " Yeah." "Nobody here gets out alive." " This is a clear violation of our religious freedom, captain podly." " One of my officer's is missing." "As I recall, you were the ones who reported it." " We reported an initiate missing." " And that does not give you the right to turn our temple upside-Down." " So, Sue me!" " Please, please let us remember where we are." "I confess I am perplexed as to why an undercover Officer was posing as a member of my congregation in the first place." " With all due respect, two of your flock have died under unusual circumstances." "And now this!" " If I knew of any unlawful activity in my temple," "I would tell you." " that's good to know." " Last time anyone saw Samina was yesterday, during evening prayers." " What about haldane?" " We've sent for him." " So after dinner she went back to her room?" " Uh, she had said something about going to a sound and light show." "Uh, I never saw her again." "I'm sorry, lieutenant." "Sister kilno, or whoever she was, seemed like a good person." " That'll be all, Mr. Flexen." " Just wish They'd stop talking about samina in the past tense." " I'm told you gentleman wish to speak with me." " Damn right." "What happened to my daughter!" " I thought sister nevik told you." " Ah, you can drop the cover." " I already have." "I told my brothers and sisters that I was a police officer." " Before or after samina disappeared." " Whoa, wait a minute, captain." "What the hell's goin' on, Jack?" " Well, it's like brother kem said" " No, I mean what's going on with you?" " I'm resigning from the force." " What?" " You can't be serious." " for once in my life, that's exactly what I am." "I'm not quite sure I understand it myself and I-I don't know what to say, except the fire is within me now." "And I cannot serve both you and pyrism." "Captain, we truly do not know what happened to samina." "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and pray to egora for her safe return." " I'm telling you, castle, nobody on the street know nothin'." "at least not about podly's daughter." " What are you saying, zipload?" " The only missing' cop anyone's talkin' about is haldane." "You know?" "Joinin' those fire freaks and all." "Yeah." "Thanks." "For nothing." " I have uploaded samina podly's visual matrix to every police agency on demeter." "As well as the databank at interplanetary." " I assumed you checked the hospitals, coroner?" " Affirmative, lieutenant." "Nothing so far." " Okay, slomo." "Stay on it." "You guys havin' as much luck as I am." " Perhaps haldane's got a plan." " Well if he does, I wish he'd let us in on it." " Maybe he can't." "I wish we knew what was going on in his head." " Took?" " I'm going to the temple for evening prayers." "Don't worry, guys." "I'm a cop 26 hours a day, remember?" " Thanks, tooki." "Well for now the only lead we've got to go on is orrin and romek's." " What's that?" " A space cap at the shuttle station thinks he may have helped samina load some luggage." " Damn it!" "I never should have partnered samina with that cowboy!" " Captain, we don't know for sure that there's a connection." " Oh, come on, Brogan!" "Even you must believe in this coincidence." " Uh, I think we ought to give the media samina's photo." "Somebody'll maybe see it." " I want to hold off on that as long as possible." " Yeah, but" " It's not up for discussion, lieutenant." "As far as my wife is concerned, samina is still in new hawaii." " Captain" " I'm not interested in what you think!" "I'm interested in Finding my daughter!" "Now get out of my office and do it!" " These are troubled times, brothers and sisters." "Our faith is constantly being tested." "Many of those would see us fail, but we shall not fail." "For even now as we mourn the passing of brother tendall and sister Thatcher, so must we rejoice." "We rejoice for they have found salvation in the eternal flame." "In the fire of cleansing and purification." "So shall we all." "Pyrists must rededicate ourselves to the fire." "Let it be so." " Let it be so." " Let it be so." " Ahh!" "Ahh!" " Save us!" "Oh!" " Fire serpents!" "Brothers and sisters it is just as the dascal foretold." " Seka took, you saw them." "The fire turned to serpents." "The earth rupture." "And so the people knew the world would be cleansed." " This is madness!" " That may be so, but our people are frightened." " How can they truly believe that the day of emulation is at hand?" " Because they have read the dascal." "Because they live by it." "And because they have witnessed the three prophecies." " The holy dascal was never meant to be taken at face value." "Now you know that sister nevik" " Then how do you explain the omens, my icar?" "We cannot just ignore them." " Brother kalamandro recently Visited megalon seven," "Did he not?" " Yes." "We're always looking for new converts to our faith." " as I recall, tydra serpents exist only on megalon seven." "He returned here with serpents eggs, placed them on the holy flame, knowing they would incubate and then Hatch." " Kalamandro would never jeopardize the congregation." "Tydra serpents are the most deadly reptiles in the universe." " There was no danger." "He knew that the serpents would die once they were exposed to our atmosphere." "Another convenient little Miracle." " But to what end?" " To discredit me, of course!" "It was no Miracle." "It was a prop perpetuated by kalamandro, and by you." " These are very serious charges." " I don't hear you denying them." " of course I deny them!" "You senile old fool!" " Better senile than evil, sister nevik!" " You are no longer fit to lead our congregation." "Not with the day of emulation almost upon us." " Only the flame can decide the True Leader." " Hey." " Hey." " What time is it?" " It is late." "What are you working on?" " Um, nothin'." "just thinkin' with a pen." " About haldane?" " Mmm, and samina." " How are podly and fama holding up." " Okay, under the circumstances." " I think I'll call fama tomorrow and see if she needs anything." " Uh, I wouldn't do that." "Fama doesn't know about samina's disappearance yet." "I know what you're thinkin', but This is podly's call." " Okay." " So if Liz or Matt were missing, would you tell me?" " That's ridiculous." " Come on." "I want to know." "Would you tell me?" " Yeah, of course." " Podly should tell his wife." "If you have a problem, you should share it." " in the darkest days, when strife was in the land, the prophet egora Called together his disciples to test the purity of their faith in the eternal flame." "This he called, "trial by fire."" " Let it be so." " Let it be so." " I never wanted this, but as egora as my witness," "I have no choice." "Come, my icar." "The flames are fine." " No!" "No!" " Ahh!" " There is justice in the fire." "Behold!" "Our New icar vedra!" " You knew what was expected of you when you took the job, Officer!" " Yes, sir." " But now you find yourself between a rock and a hard place." "Is that it?" " I'm having trouble reconciling my pyrists beliefs with my duties as a police officer." " Well get over it!" "People are dying, took." "My daughter is missing!" "And one of our officers appears to have gone off the deep end." " sir, I" " I'm not taking you off the case!" " Lieutenant, I've already got along with several dubious search warrants." "None of which, I might point out, has turned up anything illegal." "I'm sorry." "I'm simply not prepared to shut the temple down." " your honor, the icar vedra Himself was burned to death there last night." " Oh, I've seen the statements from the witnesses." "The man walked into that flame entirely of his own volition." " I don't believe this!" " My concern is what the pyrist's believe." "The freedom to follow one's spiritual path is a fundamental guarantee of the altorian constitution." " Well, the way things are goin', there's gonna be precious few of them left to enjoy that particular freedom." " I'd watch my tongue, lieutenant." "If you ever expect to get a sympathetic hearing in my court again." "Good day!" " Uh-Uh." "This isn't for me, slomo." "What's with you anyway?" " Oh, uh, sorry sergeant." "New program, new glitches." " Uh, uh, may I help you?" " No, sarge." "He's gonna help us." " Say hello to our star witness." " You mean "Eye" Witness." "Come on." " What is that?" " Zipload turned him to us." "Name's dorek kyyster." "Lives out by demeter base." "Says he saw somethin'." "could've been samina." " Sure, sure I seen it." "I told my Buddy, Embry I'd seen it." "And I'm tellin' you I did." "Huh?" " Saw what?" " Orrin, what are you doin'?" " Zipload said we gotta prime the pump a little." " This is highly irregular, officers." " What could we do, captain?" "If we don't pay, he don't play." "Tell the captain what you saw!" " Okay, okay." "I was comin' back, see" " From my job." "I got a job, you know?" "I collect trash." "I turn it in." "And I seen, uh, I seen, uh" " Mr. Kyyster, please!" "What did you see on the cliff?" " Ah, uh, it was-It was terrible." "I told ol' Embry," "I mean, I've never seen nothin' like it." " Like what?" "Tell us, damn it!" " Okay." "Okay." "There was this creon." "A female." " Yeah." "Was this her?" " Yeah, I think so." "Anyway." "Whoosh!" "Up in flames she goes screaming', see?" "Like a damn siren!" "And then he pushes her off the cliff, see?" "And down, and down she goes-- kersplish!" "And that's the last I've seen her, okay?" "Just burning' and splashing' into the bay." " Who?" "Who pushed her?" " I ain't sure." "It was dark." "Nah, it wasn't them." "The guy I've seen was human." "I want some grub." "You promised me I could have some grub if I" " Don't worry, pal." "We got you covered." " Do you recognize him in any of these photos?" " Nah." " Look again!" " Ah, that's him!" "Yeah!" "That's the guy I seen!" " You're sure?" " Hey!" "I know what I seen, all right!" "I tell you, that's the guy." "Come on!" "Come on!" " Captain, he's not a reliable witness." "You can't believe everything" " Get on the Horn to coastal patrol." "I want divers to search every inch of demeter bay." "Call the judge." "I want an arrest warrant Issued for Jack haldane on suspicion of murder." " You should lay low for awhile brother Jack." "The police have issued a warrant for your arrest." " Yeah, well those guys just won't take no for an answer." "Will they brother k?" "Amazing." " Prepare thy mind and thy body for the day of emulation." " When all that is known will be unknown." " This place will be our salvation." "For now, it will suffice as a refuge for you." " What happens when we run out of air?" " The cave of winds is almost pure botchemian." "In this form, it's useless." "But when the surface water filters through and interacts with the mineral, hydrogen molecules separate from the oxygen, creating a self-Sustaining air supply." "[sirens approach]" " Handy." " Your old friends are right on time." " Romek and orrin, you're inside with Brogan and me." " Officer took?" " Yes, sir?" " You stay outside with castle." "Nobody is to get in or out!" " Well, what do we have here, brother Jack?" "The back door." " He packed his belongings and he disappeared some time during the night." " Are you sure this isn't another one of your immaculate deceptions." " You must be under a lot of stress, captain." "I can understand the burden you are carrying." " can you now?" "Yep?" " Captain, we're in haldane's room." "He's long gone." " Keep searching." "Tear the place apart room by room if you have to!" " What will it take to convince you people we have nothing to hide?" " It'll take a Miracle, miss brok." "Don't you find it a little peculiar that people around here keep Dying or disappearing?" " I find it peculiar that the world is about to end, and you people think nothing of squandering your few remaining days on a wild goose Chase." " captain, I found something." "You might want to join us, miss nevik." "Another Miracle, no doubt?" " Open it!" " But it's sacred." " Do as the captain orders, brother kalamandro." "We have nothing to hide here." "When the day of emulation occurs, we pyrists alone will survive here in our cave of winds." " all I'm saying is haldane wouldn't commit cold-Blooded murder." " Captain?" "Someone's stolen romek's cruiser." " It's got to be haldane!" "Get after him!" " It seems the day of emulation may have to be brought forward." " He's heading out over the bay heading south by southwest." " We copy, took." "Stay with it!" "Want to tell me why your cruiser wasn't secure, officers?" " Uh, can we get back to you on that one, captain?" " We've lost visuals, captain." "We're switching to onboard tracking systems now." " Keep on his tail." "We're closing on an easterly approach." " Thanks for the tip." " Hard left, Jane." "Took?" " Oh, he's gone." "We've lost him, captain." " Keep tracking!" "Bastard!" " Adios, amigos!" " On second thought let's just call it a night." "Haldane's long gone by now." " Copy, lieutenant." "Heading back to the station." " What the hell's the idea of countermining my orders, lieutenant?" " Haldane's got to be listening in." "I thought I'd give him a reason to relax." "Now let's go check out that tanker." " call off the hunt?" "Not the Brogan I know." " Arming laser canons." " Captain?" "You can't." " I'm responsible for my own actions, lieutenant." "Canon locked on target!" " Brace yourselves!" "We can't keep up with him." "We're too heavy." " Yeah." "We can stand to lose some dead weight around here." "Ah." "Lay off him, lieutenant." "It's over." " You think This would be a good time to ask him for a raise?" " Hey!" "I knew I could outfly ya, but then I had a good teacher." " You're under arrest for the murder of samina podly." " Easy, partner, easy." " Patrick, wait." " Stay out of this, Sally." "You have the right to remain silent." " I waive the right." "Extenuating circumstances." " Like what?" " Like me." " Oh, we had a bottle of sister nevik's Miracle juice." " Okay, so you had the flame retardant, but pushing her off the cliff?" " That was samina's idea." "Look, we didn't have that many options." "Anyway, she was a jock in college." " hell of a plan, haldane." " All right, drop me off." "Right here-- Not too close." " the day of emulation is not an ending for us." "It is a beginning." "But the dascal demands, bring unto your icar those symbols of greed which you have mistaken for riches." "Riches which we now know to be found only in the purity of the eternal flame." "Renounce the material world and be set free." " Let it be so." " go now." "Go and spread the word that the end is coming and that all will be destroyed save those few who make the sacrifice." "They alone will find refuge in the cave of the winds." "Preparing for life in the new, purified world." "Let it be so." " Let it be so." " I assumed you'd left us for good." " What?" "Miss the party?" " The least you can do is tell podly she's okay." " Honey, we've been through this." "We got to think of haldane." "He's the one at risk." " Surely you don't think podly's the spy." " that's not the point." "If podly finds out samina's all right, his whole demeanor will change." "And then whoever the spy is, is gonna know that somethin's up and haldane's a dead man." " Just imagine how you would feel." " No one finds out about samina until haldane's out of harm's way." " Look." "All I know is there's something wrong if you've got to be a lousy person to be a good cop." " Mornin', lieutenant." " All right, people!" "We know the pyrists are selling their possessions and taking the proceeds to the temple." "And we can't do a thing about it." "But we can do is to make sure nevik brok doesn't get her hands on any of it." "I want every vehicle leaving that temple to be searched." "And let me deal with the consequences." " Captain?" " What?" " Coastal patrol's called off the search." "They say if there was a body, it'd certainly be washed out to sea." " I guess those pyrists bringing New meaning to the term, "fire sale," huh?" " Yeah, but it looks like the only ones gettin' burned are them." " Hey, guys." " Hey, that's okay." "I got burnt too." " Captain?" " Patrick, I'm gonna have to tell fama that our daughter is dead." "And she'll never forgive me." " um, I think there's something you should hear first." " it has to be here!" "According to haldane, whoever the spy is knew about the search warrant and Very likely everything else we were planning." " Yeah, except the most important thing of all, haldane and samina being undercover in the first place." " But it doesn't make any sense!" "According to these, every single person who had access to our later work, knew about haldane and samina's assignment." "Ah." " Yeah?" " Oh, Patrick." " Fama, yeah he's right here." " Thank you." " Hi, sweetheart!" "I just dropped in on Brogan to go through some reports." " that's what you said two hours ago." "You know how rundown you've been lately?" " Well I'm feeling much better now." "Doing some hands-On police work really seems to suit me." " Well, just try not to outstay your welcome." " Okay." "Night, sweetheart." " Good night." " there's only one answer." "This can't be the full roster." " But it is." "It's got every single person who had access to the operation from beginning to end." " Yeah, I just keep thinkin' we missed something." "But you're right it's every pers" " What?" "What is it?" " There was one member of the squad that wasn't present when you assigned haldane and samina." "Your wife's is gonna have to wait a little bit longer." " This is highly anomalous, lieutenant Brogan." "You are not an authorized mechanic." " He is now, slomo." " You're not ticklish are you, slomo?" " It was something that I would try to develop if would please you, lieutenant." " Slomo, is this part of your systems inventory?" " Negative, lieutenant." "It would appear to be a g.A. 197 voice ACTIVATED MICROCHIP recording device." "How did that get inside me?" " that it is a question I should be asking your r.S.A. Mechanic, slomo." " Thank you." " This is all we have, sister nevik." " then that's all we need, sister Hannah." "Now please hurry." "The day of emulation is almost upon us." "Thank you for the time." " This way brothers and sisters." "Come along." " Pyrists have been arriving all day, captain." "But so far no one's come out." " Took, what do you think?" " I think they're preparing for the day of emulation." " Yeah." "Brok said they're going to ride out the storm in that cave of winds." " There's a bank of heavy duty fuel Tanks right above the entrance to the cave." "Kalamandro said they used for the eternal flame." " What are you getting at, Brogan?" " Well, you mix that eternal flame with the oxygen that's in the cave and, uh, day of incineration is more like it." " Argh." "All those people." "Took!" "Don't do anything 'til we get there." " We?" " They tried to kill my daughter." " Good." "The flock has been fleeced." "It's time to get ready." " Uh, sister nevik?" "I picked up some communications on the police band." "They headed this way." " Well This is one time the calvary will be too late." "Let's get going." " Going where?" " You are sweet, Jack." "But you really don't have a clue what's happening, do you?" "That's okay." "You don't need to know." " blasted!" "We're too late!" " Increasing fuel intake." " I can't believe it." " Well, it's about time." " Switching off automatic controls." " Uh, captain, we're not very secure here." "What's the plan?" " Can I get back to you on that one?" " All right, everybody." "We're going in the back door!" "Stay close!" " Engaging and rotating directionals." " Come on!" "Hurry!" " Come on, brothers and sisters." "This way." " If they won't get out, carry them out!" " Come on!" "Get these people out of here!" " Let's go!" "Come on!" " Come on, move it!" " So." "I was right all along about you." " Brother k, you know I forgot." "Isn't this the way to the bathroom." " captain!" "We got to blow the roof it's our only shot!" "On my mark set it for 15 seconds." " mark!" " You want to join your brothers and sisters?" "Don't let me stand in your way!" " Come on!" " Haldane" " The door!" "Get down!" " Oof!" " Gargh!" " Okay, people." "You're all safe now." "You okay, orrin?" " Give me a hand, haldane." "Haldane!" " You said you didn't care." " Uh, I wasn't aware of any intergalactic launches today." " ugh!" " Argh!" " Uh-Oh." "Sergeant fredo, I believe there is something odd you should be aware of." " Change course!" "Change course before it's too late!" "Ga!" "The police station!" "You're mad!" " I'll give them fire!" "Fire like they've never seen before!" " Nevik!" " You're dead!" " Not this time, brother k!" " Oh!" " Go sound the alarm for commission stations." " Yellow lever, Brogan!" "Pull it towards you!" "The yellow one!" " Give it up!" " Pull it!" "Pull it toward you!" "Pull it!" " I think I'll take the rest of the night off." " Nevik?" " Jack?" "Guess the party's over." " Ah, anybody think they know how to fly this thing?" " Well, I've never flown a temple, but I've always had an ear for music." " Ah." " All right." " So you're tellin' me that all haldane had to do was press this key-- whoa!" "And This thing landed itself?" " it wasn't quite that easy, romek." "I think he had to play a real tune, or somethin'." " What?" "Like, uh, "fly me to the moon."" " No, like, uh, "Light my fire."" " When you two are through with discussing the finer points of music theory, perhaps you care to give took and castle a hand with the inventory." "There's a lot of people waitin' to collect their valuables." " Yes, captain." " How could nevik brok do that?" "She wasn't just stealing their possessions, she was robbing them of their faith." " Well at least she didn't get away with it." " Didn't she?" " Do me a favor." "Don't tell your dad you were hiding out at my place." " Why is that?" " I don't want to give him the wrong idea." " Young lady, you have some questions to answer!" " Good to see you too, dad." " How could you put yourself at such a risk." "And suppose your mother had found out?" " I'm a cop, dad." "Remember?" "It comes with the territory." " Ah, so it does." "Like father, like daughter, I suppose." " Matt?" "Are you gonna eat all of that before you go to bed?" " Let it be so, prime elders." "Good night." " Night." " Night." " You think we ought to wake her?" " I think she's okay." "Do you think took is gonna be all right." " Yeah, in time." "She really believed." " You know I'm still not sure what you believe in." " I believe in you." " No, I mean, do you believe in a higher power?" " Oh, yeah" " Every time I look at our kids."