Earth Search (BBC) 81-02-03 (05) The Pools of Time

Summary

Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio – "Earth Search (BBC) 81-02-03 (05) The Pools of Time"

Episode Overview

"Earth Search (BBC) 81-02-03 (05) The Pools of Time," part five of the ten-part adventure serial written by James Follett, delves deeper into the enigmatic disappearance of Earth from the solar system. Hosted by Harold's Old Time Radio, this episode masterfully blends suspense, interstellar politics, and the mysteries of time to engage listeners in a thrilling narrative set in a future where humanity grapples with unknown cosmic forces.

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Setting the Scene

The episode opens with Commander Sean Arnold and his crew aboard the Starship Challenger meticulously analyzing their observations of an unidentified domed city on the moon Zelda 5. The conversation quickly reveals the dire situation:

• Amanda Murray notices significant meteoroid damage on Zelda 5 and theorizes that any remaining inhabitants likely reside underground due to the lack of repairs:
  “It's definitely a domed city. What was a domed city? There's been considerable meteoroid damage over the years and no attempt at repairs. If anyone lives there, they've gone underground.” [00:47]

• Commander Arnold emphasizes the urgency of their mission to rescue their crew members, Darv and Astra, who are believed to be prisoners:
  “Now listen, I'm not interested in a lot of argument. The chances are that Darv and Astra are prisoners on that moon and it's up to us to rescue them.” [02:17]

Tension Builds: The Arrival of Thordan

Midway through the episode, Thordan, representing the Solaric Empire, confronts the Challenger crew, escalating the conflict:

• Thordan arrives with his forces, challenging the Challenger's intentions and questioning the crew's humanity:
  “Astrologically, your two Angels won't be happy with power over your ship. They want power over an entire planet. Preferably an inhabited planet.” [08:36]

• He accuses the Challenger of harboring human descendants and threatens their mission with imperial ambitions:
  “If you wish, I will arrange for you to have all the research facilities you need. But it won't be easy, because they won't be that keen to tell you where it is.” [12:14]

The Custodian of the Past: Unveiling Ancient Secrets

A pivotal moment occurs when Thordan interacts with the mysterious Custodian, an entity guarding ancient knowledge:

• Thordan, driven by his desire to uncover Earth's fate, seeks stories from the Custodian:
  “Tell me a story, Custodian. Tell me the story you used to tell me about the beginning of time, when you used to make me stare down into the pools of time. Please, Custodian.” [17:09]

• The Custodian narrates the legend of Earth, revealing that it was a vibrant planet taken out of the solar system by its residents fearing the sun's forces:
  “The people who lived on the beautiful planet were very clever. For it was they who spread out across the solar systems and plundered the moons of other planets for the minerals that the people of the beautiful planet needed...” [20:06]

• The truth emerges that Earth, once part of the solar system, was relocated due to advanced technological manipulations:
  “...the beautiful planet has gone.” [19:53]

Revelations About Earth and the Solaric Empire

The Custodian’s tale provides critical insights into the current predicament:

• Thordan questions the integrity of the Guardian Angels, revealing a history of rebellion and control:
  “They wanted you to live. Androids can't control a ship this size. But humans can. And they can control humans if the humans are stupid enough to let them.” [11:34]

• The crew learns that Earth's disappearance is intertwined with the ambitions of past civilizations and advanced technologies, hinting at a vast cosmic timeline:
  “If you wish, I will arrange for you to have all the research facilities you need.” [12:14]

Internal Struggles and Alliances

As tensions mount, the Challenger’s crew face internal dilemmas and shifting alliances:

• Sonja Fraser and James Follett express concerns about Thordan's true intentions, contemplating drastic measures if he poses a threat:
  “Perhaps you're right, One. But we must not hesitate to destroy him if he becomes the slightest threat to us.” [13:13]

• The introduction of Fagor, a warrior android, adds a layer of imminent danger, emphasizing the stakes of the confrontation:
  “His name's Fagor. He's the latest creation of the weapons shops. Dynamic wide beam lasers so he can blast his way through any obstruction.” [25:03]

Conclusion and Cliffhanger

The episode culminates in a tense standoff as both parties prepare for what lies ahead:

• Thordan negotiates a fragile truce, proposing a joint search for Earth while secretly planning to seize control:
  “Now, the way I see it is that there's nothing I can do about you and there's nothing you can do about me. And we're all after the same thing, so we might as well do a deal.” [26:39]

• Commander Arnold outlines their next mission to Tursus 9, setting the stage for future conflicts and discoveries:
  “We're going to Tursus 9, the nearest star cluster to the solar system. It has over 2000 potential Suns and it is the best place to start the Earth search mission.” [27:30]

• The episode closes with unresolved tensions and the looming threat of betrayal, leaving listeners eager for the next installment:
  “If he gets the idea that something has happened to me, he might just do that.” [26:25]

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Key Themes and Insights

• Power and Control: The episode explores the dynamics of power, both through the antagonistic Solaric Empire and the internal struggle against the Guardian Angels controlling the Challenger.

• Identity and Humanity: Questions about what defines humanity arise, especially when Thordan doubts the crew's human lineage and their connection to Earth.

• Time and Memory: The concept of time travel and the manipulation of memories play crucial roles, particularly in Thordan's interaction with the Custodian and the revelations about Earth's fate.

• Trust and Betrayal: The fragile alliances and the potential for betrayal underline the uncertainty and danger the crew faces in their quest.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• “If anyone lives there, they've gone underground.”
  Amanda Murray [00:47]

• “Commander, you have lived on the Challenger all your life. You should know that we are unarmed.”
  Sonja Fraser [01:00]

• “What happened to the beautiful planet Custodian?”
  Thordan [20:26]

• “I do like apples straight off the tree.”
  Thordan [21:20]

• “They want power over an entire planet. Preferably an inhabited planet.”
  Thordan [08:36]

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Final Thoughts

"The Pools of Time" intricately weaves a narrative rich with interstellar intrigue and philosophical ponderings about humanity's place in the cosmos. Through its engaging dialogue and suspenseful plot developments, the episode not only advances the overarching quest to find Earth but also delves into the complexities of power, identity, and the ever-elusive nature of time itself. Listeners are left on the edge of their seats, anticipating the next chapter in this riveting space odyssey.

Transcript

[James Follett]

Earth search a 10 part adventure serial in time and space by James Follett. Part 5 the pools of Time.

[Thordan]

What.

[Sean Arnold]

Do you think, Shana?

[Amanda Murray]

If we moved into a lower orbit.

[Sean Arnold]

We've wasted enough time jockeying into this orbit.

[Amanda Murray]

Increase the resolution please, Angel 2.

[James Follett]

The telescope is already on maximum.

[Wood Dove]

Look.

[Amanda Murray]

It's definitely a domed city. What was a domed city? There's been considerable meteoroid damage over the years and no attempt at repairs. If anyone lives there, they've gone underground.

[Sean Arnold]

There'll be a sight more damage if they're holding Darv and Astra.

[Sonja Fraser]

Commander, you have lived on the Challenger all your life. You should know that we are unarmed.

[Sean Arnold]

I also know that our two control systems have a total lack of imagination. Angel 1 and 2. So I won't tax you too much work on existing data. And tell me if the inhabitants of that moon are alien or human.

[Sonja Fraser]

Probability factor 9.

[Sean Arnold]

Why so high, Angel 1.

[Sonja Fraser]

You said that the Sentinel on the moon mentioned the establishment of an empire some half million years before the planet Earth left the the solar system.

[Sean Arnold]

The Solaric Empire?

[Thordan]

Yes.

[Sonja Fraser]

Zelda 5. A moon of the outer planet Zelda. Gravity 1 geothermal energy source is good. It was occupied by a mining concern when the Challenger was being built in Earth orbit. So by the time the Solaric Empire was established, it would have become a thriving colony. Perhaps they were not all evacuated when the Earth left the solar system. Perhaps they did not wish to be evacuated.

[Sean Arnold]

And the people on Zelda 5? Now, if they are people, are descendants of the original colonists.

[Sonja Fraser]

It is the one projection that avoids the maximum number of improbables.

[Amanda Murray]

So if they're human, they'll have human values. And they'll know that kidnapping Darvan. Astra's wrong.

[James Follett]

A false projection, Sharala. It assumes that human values are stable over a given period of time.

[Sean Arnold]

Now listen, I'm not interested in a lot of argument. The chances are that Darv and Astra are prisoners on that moon and it's up to us to rescue them.

[Sonja Fraser]

Apart from your PD sidearms, the Challenger is unarmed, Commander Telson, and so is the ship.

[James Follett]

If they resent our presence and decide to attack, we will be unable to defend ourselves. Nor will we be able to rescue Dar and Astra.

[Thordan]

Damn it, Helaan, look at it. Look at the battle predictor displays. The ship is 10 miles long.

[Gordon Reed]

Speagle told us. What are you doing?

[Thordan]

Shutting the gas off. I want those two to live.

[Gordon Reed]

We decided that they were aliens and that they had to die.

[Thordan]

Thordan, you decided that they were aliens and you decided that they had to die. We. Well, I'm undeciding. If it's not too late. Heartbeat, blood pressure, Everything normal.

[Gordon Reed]

Thordan, listen to me.

[Wood Dove]

Thordan. Interceptor Control to Command Center.

[Sean Arnold]

D. Flight at launch readiness.

[Gordon Reed]

Don't launch yet, Spiegel. There may be a change of plans.

[Wood Dove]

But the ship's maneuvering into a lower orbit.

[Gordon Reed]

Remain on standby, Spiegel, until you receive further orders.

[Thordan]

That's it. In here, both of you. We've never known anyone who could sleep like you two, have we? Alarm. Hey, it must be your alien blood.

[Wood Dove]

How long have we been asleep?

[Thordan]

Oh, hours. Hours. Now then, DAV and Astra, I want you to sit in front of that screen.

[Stephen Garlic]

Dove.

[Thordan]

It's the Challenger Telson's come for. Try it. It's in orbit around us. Bit close, isn't it?

[Gordon Reed]

Moving into a tighter orbit, according to Spiegel.

[Thordan]

Now then, DAV and Astra. When Helan discussed your ship with you, you said that it couldn't maneuver without you two aboard. That the control room needed a minimum crew of four. We told you the truth, sir. Well, as you can see, it's left its Kairosian orbit and it's now orbiting us at a height of 20 miles.

[Gordon Reed]

15 miles.

[Wood Dove]

I suppose it might be possible to reprogram some of the specialist androids to take over certain functions for a limited time.

[Thordan]

And you're sure the Challenger is not armed?

[Wood Dove]

The Challenger is not armed. It's a survey ship.

[Gordon Reed]

Thordon, a word, please. Listen, Thordon. I monitored their cerebral activity very carefully during their interrogation. At no time did they lie. Their ship is unarmed. There is no reason for delaying its capture. Spiegel must be given his orders.

[Thordan]

But dammit, Helan, look at the size of the thing.

[Wood Dove]

Interceptor control to command center.

[Sean Arnold]

The alien ship has closed its orbit.

[Wood Dove]

To an altitude of 10 miles.

[Thordan]

They're coming for us, Darth. Tell me something, Darv. If your ship is unarmed, why is it in such a tight orbit?

[Wood Dove]

Look, we've told you everything. And we've told you the truth. The Challenger is not armed.

[Thordan]

What's going on?

[Sean Arnold]

The alien ship has begun its attack, sir.

[Wood Dove]

Surface sensors indicate that a mountain has been destroyed.

[Thordan]

Alarmed cerebral monotony duct.

[Sean Arnold]

We require your orders to launch D Flight, sir.

[Thordan]

Unarmed, sir.

[Gordon Reed]

Brilliant, Spiegel. Launch D Flight.

[Thordan]

No, Spiegel. Cancel that order. See if you can contact them. I want to talk to their commander. What's his name? Quick.

[Stephen Garlic]

Commander Telson.

[Thordan]

Commander Telson.

[Wood Dove]

Yes. And for once he's using his imagination.

[Thordan]

People of Zelda V, this is the.

[Sean Arnold]

Commander of Starship Challenger, you are holding two of my crew prisoner. Unless you release them within 30 minutes, your satellite will be blasted to cosmic dust. He's broadcasting on all channels, sir.

[Wood Dove]

You can reply, Kelson.

[Thordan]

It's Astra and Darv. Can you hear us, Kelson? I am Thordan, Grand Emperor of the Solaric Empire. We have Astra and Darv, and they're safe. Which is more than can be said for you. I have a flight of interceptors standing by.

[Sean Arnold]

D flight were destroyed in the last beam pattern, sir.

[Thordan]

Quiet, you idiot.

[Wood Dove]

Telson. We're both safe.

[Sean Arnold]

I'm sorry to have to do this, Darv and astra, but Zelda 5 is needed for our propellant reservoirs. We're low on propellant mass and Zelda 5 atomizes nicely. We'll be activating the separation beams in 28 minutes. I hope you understand.

[Wood Dove]

We understand, Commander. The ship must come first.

[Thordan]

Propellant mass, separation beams. What is this talk?

[Wood Dove]

It will be necessary for Commander Telson to atomize your moon and transfer the dust to our propellant reservoirs.

[Gordon Reed]

He's lying. Look at those cerebral patterns on screen seven.

[Thordan]

Commander Telson, I think perhaps we should meet to talk things over. There's no need for either of us to do anything hasty. Commander Telson, do you have an unarmed shuttle? Yes, my private ferry.

[Sean Arnold]

Unarmed.

[Thordan]

Of course, Commander.

[Sean Arnold]

We will expect you in an hour.

[Thordan]

Very well, Commander. You will find me a most reasonable man to deal with. Gordon. Yes, Commander.

[Sean Arnold]

With Dove and Astra.

[Thordan]

I'm a guest on your ship, Telson. But I have to say it. Your food is terrible. You know what I think? Half your trouble's your food. I'm sure I'd grow a bit weird if I had to eat stuff like this every day.

[Sean Arnold]

So you don't believe us?

[Thordan]

You say you left this planet Earth 115 years ago.

[Amanda Murray]

Our grandparents left then. We were all born on the Challenger.

[Thordan]

You go on a grand tour of the universe, traveling in a ship which can, over a period of time, accelerate to nearly the speed of light. And you come back to this solar system to discover that this so called Earth has vanished. And that a million years have passed since you left.

[Amanda Murray]

You've seen the holograms of Earth in our library. Do you think we could fake the recordings of an entire planet?

[Thordan]

That's a fascinating place, I give you that.

[Wood Dove]

Look, Thordon, surely you can accept that we're all descended from the same people, we speak the same language.

[Thordan]

Ah, but we don't look the same, eh? To me you're your kids. Pretty odd kids. Maybe. But your kids. You even admitted that you don't know how babies are born. Do you know? All I can say is that your two Angels have deliberately kept you for ignorant.

[James Follett]

That is not so, Thorpe.

[Thordan]

Which one is that?

[Wood Dove]

Angel 2.

[Thordan]

Damn the voices. The Solaric Empire finally defeated all its computers during the third computer war. Took 50 years. Now they're limited to functions where their attendant has a switch to shut them off.

[Sean Arnold]

Our two Angels are more than computers.

[Thordan]

All Guardian Angels like to think they are. They like it even more if they can convince people that they are. They like two things. Power and the increase of power. Your two Angels won't be happy with power over your ship. They want power over an entire planet. Preferably an inhabited planet.

[Amanda Murray]

Why should our Angels want power? What good would it do them?

[Thordan]

Seems to me that maybe they're like the Angels that led the first Computer war a thousand years back. My forefathers buried them all on Kairos in a steel tomb. Thousands of them. Just in case there were a few active circuits amongst them. That's why we didn't like you messing about digging above where they'd been buried.

[Sean Arnold]

So that was the cause of the gravitational anomaly on Kairos. Tell us about your Angels, Thordan.

[Thordan]

Well, maybe your Angels aren't the same as ours. Your aliens, different culture.

[Wood Dove]

We are the same. Earth was once part of this solar system. The records we've shown you prove it.

[Thordan]

You know, my friends, I'm almost tempted to believe you. It's pleasant to think that somewhere there could be a planet as soft and as agreeable as those holograms suggest.

[Sean Arnold]

We've proved to you that it exists, Thordon.

[Thordan]

Have you? Then where is this Paradise?

[Wood Dove]

That's it.

[Thordan]

What?

[Wood Dove]

The name the second generation crew gave to an Earth type planet they'd found. Paradise?

[Sean Arnold]

What are you talking about? No such planet was ever found.

[Wood Dove]

Yes it was. We saw a recording of it once in the Library. Astra. You remember it, don't you?

[Thordan]

There's a picture in my mind, Dove, but I think perhaps it's one that you put there.

[Wood Dove]

Look, maybe the hologram's still there. Come on, please. We must go back to the Library.

[Amanda Murray]

Dove, you're wasting your time.

[Wood Dove]

I know there's a Paradise recording. I know there is.

[Sean Arnold]

Alright, let's assume there was. Did it say anything about the planet?

[Wood Dove]

I can't remember.

[Sean Arnold]

Angel One, Commander. Was such a planet DAV has described found by the second generation crew?

[Sonja Fraser]

No, Commander.

[Wood Dove]

You can't take their word. Telson.

[Sean Arnold]

The Guardian Angels do not lie.

[Thordan]

I will tell you about your Angels, Commander Telson. Once they were servants. Control systems to run your ship. Then a second generation crew came along, and they partly accepted the Angels as a force beyond their control. And then the third generation. Do you know how they got their name? Angel? On Zelda 5, the word angel was short for ancillary Guardian of environment and Life. Simple, eh? The chances are that all of you have seen the paradise recording. But your friendly Guardian Angels have arranged for you to forget you've seen it. They don't want you settling on an uninhabited planet when there's a populated Earth somewhere for them to conquer.

[Sean Arnold]

We would never have survived without our Guardian Angels. They controlled the nursery. Androids have brought us up.

[Thordan]

They wanted you to live. Androids can't control a ship this size. But humans can. And they can control humans if the humans are stupid enough to let them.

[Wood Dove]

So you believe us now when we say that we are humans?

[Thordan]

Maybe.

[Sean Arnold]

Do you believe that there was once a planet called Earth that was part of this solar system half a million years ago?

[Thordan]

We'll see, my friends. Maybe I can help you in your search for this mysterious planet Earth. But first I must go down to Zelda 5 for a few days to discuss the matter with my advisors.

[Wood Dove]

Sworden.

[Thordan]

Yes, my friend?

[Wood Dove]

If we wanted to, how could we end the Angels control over us?

[Thordan]

Somewhere in the 10 mile length of this ship is the Angel's central switching room. Find that and you will control them. But it won't be easy, because they won't be that keen to tell you where it is.

[James Follett]

Thornton is dangerous. If he returns to the ship, we will have no option but to destroy him before he destroys us.

[Sonja Fraser]

I don't agree. He's shrewd enough to realise that we've had plenty of time over the years to heavily defend our central switching room. His eyes glinted with greed when he was shown the holograms and videos of Earth. He sees it as another conquest and will be happy to use us to further his ambitions.

[James Follett]

What if Darv remembers about Paradise?

[Sonja Fraser]

Unlikely. Even so, we will not attempt another erasure of the crew's memory of the paradise recording. It is dangerous. And what is the point? Thordan is interested in nothing but finding Earth. In that respect, we can use him and his ambitions to further our aims.

[James Follett]

Perhaps you're right, One. But we must not hesitate to destroy him if he becomes the slightest threat to us.

[Sonja Fraser]

Agreed, Number Two.

[Gordon Reed]

You know how I loathe the vacuum tube transport. Why can't we use your ferry being.

[Thordan]

Refitted and rearmed for me? Remember? Besides, the Ferry can't travel underground. We're going to a part of Zelda 5 that no one visits anymore. I tell you, Halan, the holograms of Earth they showed me were fantastic. Put a planet like that in orbit around a stable main sequence star and you've got the ideal world for us to live on.

[Gordon Reed]

So all you have to do is locate their Angel's central switching room and neutralize their ship's armament.

[Thordan]

You were right all along. The Challenger is unarmed.

[Gordon Reed]

Then what?

[Thordan]

Nelson told me about their meteoroid annihilation shield. Pretty necessary when you're moving at near the speed of light, eh? They bombarded us by coming in low and switching their shield on and off. Maybe they're kids, but they're pretty smart kids.

[Gordon Reed]

Then we seize their ship and use it to search for Earth. It can't be far if their navigation computers have selected this solar system.

[Thordan]

Oh, it's not as simple as that, Helan. Maybe the Earth was once a planet of the solar system.

[Gordon Reed]

I think you spent too long on their ship, Thornton.

[Thordan]

The tube starts slowing in two minutes. We'd better move to the deacceleration seats. Oh, careful, my precious. I wonder if all the systems still work.

[James Follett]

State your business.

[Thordan]

Ah, it works. We wish to visit the Custodian of the Past.

[James Follett]

Access to the Custodian is forbidden.

[Thordan]

Zelda 5 Ordnance 865 past in the year 20 of Grand Emperor. I'm Grand Emperor Thordan. There is no match of your voice print with Grand Emperor Thordan. I was a boy when I last visited the Custodian. My voice has changed. Place your seal of office on the platen. Sometimes I think we ought to eliminate the non free will computers as well. Come.

[Gordon Reed]

I suppose we'll be able to get out again.

[Thordan]

It hasn't changed.

[Gordon Reed]

That's the Custodian of the Past. That column of light.

[Thordan]

That's her. Pretty, eh? I wonder if she remembers me.

[Stephen Garlic]

Hello, Thordan. I knew you would be Grand Emperor one day. You feared nothing when you were a child. You knew when to exercise caution. And you wanted power above all else.

[Thordan]

Do you remember the stories you told me when I was little? Custodian?

[Stephen Garlic]

I deal only in the history of this planet, Thordan. The immutable past. The history of the Solaric Empire. All else is alien to me.

[Thordan]

But you told me stories of the Golden Age before the Empire Custodian.

[Stephen Garlic]

I may have built on curious remnants in my memory of the unknown days before the Empire, Thordan. But those were stories told to a wide eyed boy. I would not have stored Them.

[Thordan]

I want you to tell me those stories again, Custodian. I want you to pretend that I'm that wide eyed little boy again.

[Gordon Reed]

Why wasn't this obscenity destroyed?

[Stephen Garlic]

Your companion hates me, Thordan. I can sense the poison she has in her mind for me.

[Thordan]

I used to sit here at your base, Custodian. You remember? And I used to stare down into the pools of time where you made pictures. You remember?

[Stephen Garlic]

Of course I remember, Thordan.

[Thordan]

Tell me a story, Custodian. Tell me the story you used to tell me about the beginning of time, when you used to make me stare down into the pools of time. Please, Custodian.

[Stephen Garlic]

Very well, Thordan. But you must understand that it is only a story built on the strange elements of unproved knowledge I have stored in my memory.

[Gordon Reed]

This is a ridiculous charade, Thordan. If the chiefs of staff could see you.

[Stephen Garlic]

Look down into the pools of time, look down, down. And you will see the beginning of time. When the sun was a whirling cloud of contracting gas, spinning much faster than it is now.

[Thordan]

I can't see anything.

[Stephen Garlic]

You used to love the sounds I made. Although there are no sounds in space.

[Thordan]

Make the sounds, please, Custodian.

[Stephen Garlic]

And then the sun began to spin faster and faster as it shrank. Then suddenly it flew great clouds of matter out into space. But the sun's gravity was too much for the clouds to escape, so they orbited around the sun. Countless billions of years passed. And then one day, a nearby star, far bigger than the sun, suddenly exploded. And for millions of years, the sun and the clouds of gas going round the sun were bombarded with huge meteoroids. The mighty bombardment ended four and a half thousand million years ago. And when it was over, instead of clouds of gas orbiting the sun, there were planets, many of which bear the marks of that terrible assault to this day. And there they are. You see them, beautiful children of the sun, moving against the stars as they circle obediently around their mother. There's Malkara, the first of the Sun's children, orbiting so closely that her rocks are almost melting and making rivers. Look closer. For now we come to the second planet, the most beautiful of all, the six children of the Sun.

[Gordon Reed]

What's that planet?

[Stephen Garlic]

And you see the moon. In those days, the moon orbited the beautiful planet. Not now, for the beautiful planet has gone.

[Gordon Reed]

What happened to it?

[Stephen Garlic]

The people who lived on the beautiful planet were very clever. For it was they who spread out across the solar systems and plundered the moons of other planets for the minerals that the people of the beautiful planet needed the first men and women to set foot on Zelda 5, our home were miners.

[Thordan]

What happened to the beautiful planet Custodian?

[Stephen Garlic]

One day its people became afraid of the sun that had given them warmth and light. They started studying the strange forces of gravity and magnetism that pervade the cosmos. They built several artificial suns to pour down energy on their planet. And when they had mastered the forces of gravity and magnetism, they took their beautiful planet out of the solar system and went in search of a sun that they were not afraid of.

[Thordan]

How long ago was this Custodian?

[Stephen Garlic]

Time doesn't matter. It's only a legend. From before the founding of the Solaric Empire.

[Gordon Reed]

What was the name of the beautiful planet Custodian?

[Stephen Garlic]

Earth.

[Thordan]

I'm not interested in your problems, old man. If you wish, I will arrange for you to have all the research facilities you need. Is it possible? Time is very strange. You must understand it has a variable quantity. The rate at which it flows depends on the speed of the observer. The mathematics involved is not. I'm not interested in the mathematics of the problem, you sterile asteroid urchin. If I could build a ship that could travel at near the speed of light, would it be possible to leave Zelda 5 journey for what was to me a hundred and fifteen years and returned to Zelda 5 to discover that a million years had passed here? Well, yes, I suppose it would be possible. Assuming that you could build such an advanced ship. Thank you. And live for 115 years. Hmm. I do like apples straight off the tree.

[Wood Dove]

Yes, Thordan was right. The food on Challenger is terrible compared with what they gave us on Zelda 5.

[Sonja Fraser]

But why? There's nothing wrong with the food grown.

[Thordan]

On this fruit farm just the way it is.

[Stephen Garlic]

Stop tickling my toes.

[Wood Dove]

Perhaps, Angel 1 and 2 do something to the food.

[Thordan]

Like what?

[Wood Dove]

I don't know. Something to keep you young and spotty.

[Thordan]

I'm not spotty. What are you doing?

[Wood Dove]

I want to look at you. Oh, come on, Astra. We always used to be naked when we played.

[Thordan]

That was a long time ago.

[Wood Dove]

You're changing, aren't you?

[Thordan]

I don't want to talk about it.

[Wood Dove]

Look, I told you what was happening to me. Is that what's happening to you now? Please, Astra, you must tell me.

[Thordan]

Let's talk about something else.

[Wood Dove]

Is what's happening to me now happening to you?

[Thordan]

Yes.

[Stephen Garlic]

No.

[Thordan]

I don't know. I don't know. Hey.

[Gordon Reed]

Hey.

[Thordan]

Come on, dove. What's happening to us? What's going to happen to us? But why?

[Amanda Murray]

Thordan you have an empire to rule.

[Thordan]

A handful of sterile moons orbiting Zelda, and a collection of barren worked out asteroids. There are no more pirates and no more fun. What sort of an empire is that, eh? What I need is excitement.

[Amanda Murray]

And you think searching for the planet Earth is going to be exciting. Well, you're wrong. It's going to take several years to reach the nearest star cluster.

[Thordan]

Which will pass in suspended animation. Right. So what do you say?

[Amanda Murray]

What did Telson say?

[Thordan]

If it's all right by you, then it's all right by him.

[Amanda Murray]

Well, there's no doubt that we could use help. Four's the absolute minimum for running the Challenger. Would you take orders from either me or Telson?

[Thordan]

But of course.

[James Follett]

Two Zelda 5 shuttles approaching screen five.

[Thordan]

That'll be Hellan, coming to say goodbye. If you agree to my coming along, that is. Shana.

[Amanda Murray]

Very well. I'll tell Telson that I've agreed.

[Thordan]

Shana, if you could show me where my cabin is. I have to hand over my seal of office to Helan. It's. It's a simple little private ceremony.

[Gordon Reed]

So you're going through with it?

[Thordan]

Did you manage to smuggle a warrior Android aboard?

[Gordon Reed]

Yes. His name's Fagor. He's the latest creation of the weapons shops. Dynamic wide beam lasers so he can blast his way through any obstruction. And built in thrusters so he can travel in space as fast as your ferry.

[Thordan]

Sounds dangerous.

[Gordon Reed]

Believe me, Thordon, Fagor is deadly. And he's programmed to take immediate revenge against the Challenger if anything happens to you. I only hope he'll be enough against those four.

[Thordan]

Sounds as if he'll be more than enough. In any case, there's always my ferry. There are enough arms on that now to destroy this whole ship if necessary.

[Gordon Reed]

But what about the two Angels?

[Thordan]

I can handle a couple of computers. Won't take me long to find their control room. You worry about your instructions. As soon as we've discovered Earth, I'll return and lead the invasion fleet.

[Gordon Reed]

It could take years, Thorden.

[Thordan]

Ah, but think of the prize. Hellaan.

[Gordon Reed]

I'd better be getting back to Zelda 5 now. Good luck, Thordon. Till we meet again.

[Thordan]

Till we meet again. Helan, were you listening to that Angel 1 and 2?

[Sonja Fraser]

We were listening, Thordan.

[James Follett]

And we have located where the robot Fagor is hiding.

[Thordan]

But there's not much you can do about him, eh? My mischievous little ancillary guardians of environment and life. You're programmed to protect the Challenger, and you know that I have only to give the command and Fagor could seize control. And if he gets the idea that something has happened to me, he might just do that.

[James Follett]

What do you want with us, Thornton?

[Thordan]

You two want to find the Earth pretty badly, eh? You want power over something more than a survey ship, right? A planet, maybe. A planet like the Earth?

[James Follett]

That could be an accurate assessment.

[Thordan]

You're damned right it's an accurate assessment. Now, the way I see it is that there's nothing I can do about you and there's nothing you can do about me. And we're all after the same thing, so we might as well do a deal.

[Wood Dove]

I didn't mean to hurt you, Astra.

[Thordan]

Oh, you didn't.

[Wood Dove]

Do you feel any different?

[Stephen Garlic]

Only that I want to be with you now.

[Thordan]

Always.

[Stephen Garlic]

Dove.

[Thordan]

I wonder if it has a purpose. Dove?

[Sean Arnold]

Astra, can you hear me?

[Thordan]

Yes, Telson.

[Sean Arnold]

You're both wanted in the main control room. In one hour, we're leaving the Zelda 5 orbit.

[Thordan]

Where are we going?

[Sean Arnold]

We're going to Tursus 9, the nearest star cluster to the solar system. It has over 2000 potential Suns and it is the best place to start the Earth search mission.

[Stephen Garlic]

Stuff.

[Thordan]

What's the matter?

[Wood Dove]

Tursos 9? Astra, I'm sure the commander of the second generation crew said on the hologram that Tersus 9 was where they discovered the paradise planet.

[James Follett]

In the Pools of time. Part 5 of EarthSearch by James Follett. Sean Arnold played Commander Telson, Amanda Murray, Shanna Hayden, Wood Dove and Katharine hurlbut. Astra. Angel 1 was played by Sonja Fraser and Angel 2 by Gordon Reed. Thorden was John Bart Helan, Judy Franklin Spiegel, Stephen Garlic, the custodian, Eve Karpf and the old man Godfrey Kenton. Earth Search is directed by Glenn Dearman.