Sliders s02e12 Episode Script
Invasion
Damn it! Every time! So how are those elbows and knees? A tad sore? Feel little painful bumps and bruises? All right, all right.
Don't rub it in.
Quit gloating, will you? It's just a little reminder that you too could have had a safe and sound landing.
If the choice is looking like a reject from the Roller Derby or getting a little sliced up from the pavement- We'll take the pavement every time.
You guys are just jealous because I've proven this whole idea works.
Isn't it a little quiet on this world? A little quiet? Since when are you the master of understatement? Yes-sir-ee.
"Rembrandt Brown Sliding Pads- a must for the serious slider.
" Yeah, I'm going to make a whole lot of money when I get back home.
Hey, guys, what's a "Kromagg"? It's written everywhere.
I don't know.
It's probably some street gang or something.
What's wrong? Something's interfering with the readout.
I can't get a fix on the next window.
Can you determine the source of the disturbance? Yeah, it's coming from the north-northwest.
We'll have to move closer to pinpoint the exact location.
This chaos is recent.
The bread's still fresh and the paint's wet.
Yeah, there's a lot of looting going on.
This is strange, Professor.
Whatever's affecting our device must be giving off an incredibly powerful electromagnetic pulse.
And it's on the same frequency as the timer.
What could do that? That sound has "stay away" written all over it.
Shouldn't we be walking away from the big nasty noise? We could move 100 miles, and still not be free of this interference.
If we don't find and stop it, we're sunk.
We'll never know when to access the gate.
Good heavens! The energy displacement is wreaking havoc on the timer.
Is there anything we can do? We can get the hell away from here.
I agree with Mr.
Brown.
A rapid retreat would seem to me to be the obvious course.
The readout window is pulsing in rhythm with the spaceship.
It must mean their energies are synched up.
Never mind that.
It's seen us! Run.
Come on, run! Down! Down! What if you could travel to parallel worlds? The same year, the same Earth, only different dimensions? A world where the Russians rule America? Or where your dreams of being a superstar came true? Or where San Francisco was a maximum security prison? My friends and I found the gateway.
Now the problem is finding a way back home.
SLIDERS 2x12 "INVASION" Shades of David and Goliath, man.
Where's the slingshot? Here.
Our timer operates on a unique frequency.
Given the way it was being interfered with, I figured the spaceship must rely on a similar energy source.
Activating the timer was like turning on a mega-laptop inside of a jet plane.
It set this thing's gyros spinning.
The result was this crash.
Great, Q-Ball.
Remind me never to fly with you.
Let's get the heck away from this thing.
I'm with you.
Whatever's inside that thing can't be too thrilled with what you've done.
Let's just go.
Mr.
Mallory, over here.
Look at this, Quinn.
This is organic metal.
So this in essence, is a living machine.
Fantastic.
Fantastic, indeed.
An alien technology from outer space.
But it's not from outer space.
Who did this? Who brought the Manta to its knees? I guess I did.
The Kromaggs aren't going to like that.
They're not going to like that one bit.
They will avenge this loss with merciless ferocity.
Kromaggs, Kromaggs.
Who the devil are the Kromaggs? They're marauders.
Killers.
And they eat eyes.
Human eyes.
They came here to vanquish us- riding a wave of Manta ships to our world.
And so, our Earth dies screaming.
I thought you said they didn't come from space.
No, they're from right here, man.
They're from right here.
That's the irony.
Don't you see? I daren't say any more.
They might be watching.
They might well be watching.
Ah, my lovely twin daughters have arrived! They too were set free when the Kromaggs came to our city.
Come along now, girls.
We mustn't be here when the vengeful masters arrive.
Good day to you.
May your punishment be relatively painless.
Did you see that medical bracelet he was wearing? "Gatehaven.
" My uncle used to work at a place called Gatehaven, only in our San Francisco, it's a mental institution.
Maybe when the invasion began, the inmates were released as their keepers fled the city.
Oh, great, we were listening to some fruitcake tell us what's what? "Fruitcake"? That's hardly politically correct, is it, Mr.
Brown? However, back to the task at hand.
Mr.
Mallory, we've got to get inside this ship and see what we can learn before somebody comes looking for it.
Hey, come on.
What are you guys doing? You're out of your freaking minds.
Yeah, we were just leaving, remember? Can't leave, Wade.
There might be someone or something hurt inside the craft.
Good point.
Keep an eye out for anything unusual.
We won't be long.
I promise.
Quinn, most of the ship was buried on impact.
We'll have to dig to get inside.
Careful, Mr.
Mallory.
This thing may still be alive.
We're breathing Kromagg air, Mr.
Mallory.
As far as I can tell, it's a standard oxygen/nitrogen mix.
They must come from a planet similar to Earth.
What do we have here, eh? What do you make of these, eh? Some sort of map? I don't know, Wade.
I think we're asking for trouble hanging around like this.
I mean, what about common sense? I guess that's something those "brainiacs" wouldn't understand.
They're scientists.
Common sense just gets in their way.
Yeah, wasn't it a scientist that sucked me and my Caddy straight into an iceberg? I was just an innocent man.
A normal guy, trying to live a comfortable life as a beloved celebrity.
Along comes a scientist and kicks me straight- Rembrandt, we've been through all this.
Look, you and I both know that we should be leaving, but as long as we're staying, how come they got to go inside of that thing? Why does the scientist get to have all the fun? They said they would be out soon, huh? It's already getting dark.
Professor? I broke its neck.
I killed it, Professor.
If you did, you're a hero, Mr.
Mallory.
This is an invading soldier, don't forget, not a social worker.
What's this? I think we should get out of here, Mr.
Mallory.
Hey, guys.
What's that sound? What did you do? I'm not sure.
It's an alarm.
Run for it! Oh, jeez! I think we've lost them for the moment, but they'll double back when they can't find us.
We slide in 23 seconds.
Let's pray the gate doesn't attract them before it's fully formed.
This is one world I want to leave far behind.
Well, that was one ship we should've left far behind.
But no, we had to satisfy our curiosity.
Those soldiers who where chasing us look just like that thing we found in the ship.
They remind me of some kind of hideous ape.
What's so disturbing about that face is not so much the ape in it, but the man.
Here we go.
Okay! Go, now! Wade, the Kromaggs- they're sliders.
Go! Oh! Ahgh! Bravo! The Professor landed on that poor guy- smashed his bread to bits! Don't you dare, you Welcome to Versailles West, in the country of "New France.
" The French apparently rule this continent.
I have a feeling that this world is going to be even worse than the last one.
Thank you.
You are English, no? How is that tiny little island? It must be wonderful for you to escape those dreary shores and come to New France, yes? Yes, of course.
Wonderful.
Now, you say you saw a second ship coming through a wormhole? That's right.
And judging by my study of the maps in the ship, I would say that our little madman was quite correct.
The Kromagg are not aliens, they're every bit as much Earthmen as we are.
Come on, Professor.
You saw those butt-ugly faces.
You're going to tell me that they're from some Earth? Different Earths could have followed different evolutionary paths.
In the 1960s there was an anthropologist called Dreyar who came up with the theory of a "killer ape"- an early primate that killed off rival primate species.
Perhaps the Kromaggs are a vindication of Dreyar's theory.
On our world, they were an evolutionary dead end.
On their world, they killed off our early human ancestors.
Jeez, if these things are sliders, we need to find home before they do.
Our Earth needs to be warned.
Every Earth needs to be warned- starting with this one.
Hold on, "Paul Revere.
" I happen to agree with you, by the way, but here's the problem- how do we do it? We can't just go up to every gendarme and say, "Excuse me, very shortly an army of killer apes will be descending in your vichyssoise.
" Enjoy your meal, English? It must be wonderful to have some real food, not that crappy fish and chip.
I'm impressed, Professor.
No matter how much that guy taunts you, you turn the other cheek.
Patience, Mr.
Mallory.
Just wait till he sees his tip.
Brown, our treasurer, let's have some of those small pieces of silver you won in the last casino.
Thank God for the Professor's watch.
We would've been washing dishes for a week.
I tell you, I just love the French women.
You never know what they're thinking.
Of course, I could say that same thing about Asian women or Latin women.
Maybe it's a good thing you don't know what women are thinking.
Cheer up, Professor, it was only a watch.
"Only a watch"? That timepiece was probably worth more than the gross national product of Paraguay.
Nasty French planet- filled with shifty, backstabbing, croissant-sniffing nitwits.
Professor, you're killing us.
Maybe you should've saved some of those insults for the waiter.
That frog-eating mendicant? I wouldn't waste good material on him.
Professor what's that in your pocket, an atomic tomato? Professor, you took that? You shouldn't have.
You had no right.
Mr.
Mallory, if ever we get back to civilization this is the only proof we have of Kromagg existence.
The question is, why the devil is it flashing now? Is that what I think it is? - Oh! - Uh! Is this "tangible proof" of the Kromaggs' existence? Hey, what gives? I can't move away from the wall.
What's holding us up? Gravity.
The Kromaggs are masters of the gravitational sciences.
They've learned to harness the Earth as we once harnessed the horse.
My name is Mary and you are prisoners of- guests of the Kromagg Dynasty.
There's been a big misunderstanding.
Why don't you let us go and there won't be any hard feelings, okay? Why does he keep standing there while you do all the talking? My masters refuse to learn a Homo sapiens tongue so they've taught me theirs.
I serve as their telepathic interpreter.
You are now traveling through an interdimensional tunnel being transported to Outpost Earth 113.
A barren world where advanced life has never taken hold.
Hear that, Mr.
Mallory? The Kromaggs can control sliding.
Why are you doing this to us? You disabled a peace ship.
You murdered its controller.
We were defending ourselves.
We landed in the middle of an invasion.
There was no invasion.
The Kromagg Dynasty was invited in to quell an internal dispute.
You intervened without cause.
You speak for the Kromaggs.
How did that come about? Why you? I was selected- chosen when I was a little girl.
It was a great honor.
It began when they announced their presence to the world.
TV, radios, all channels- suddenly they were everywhere.
The Kromaggs brought us new ways, new ideas.
We accepted them as our superiors and they blessed our world a thousandfold.
You will be debriefed on Earth 113.
Your willingness to cooperate will determine your fate.
What time is it, Q-Ball? Is it lunchtime or dinnertime? Dusk or dawn? All I know is that I'm hungry.
Can't figure out whether I want to order pancakes or prime rib.
Can't help you there, Rembrandt.
No windows no clocks.
The hours just seem to run together.
Where's Professor? They took him while you were sleeping.
Notice how the four of us have never been together since we arrived at this place? Must be their strategy- separate, confuse us, interrupt our sleep.
Rembrandt Brown.
You may leave your quarters.
Go down the hall to the right, second door.
Let me go with him.
No.
You will remain where you are.
I thought you said we were guests.
Why are we being treated like inmates? Down the hall to the right, second door.
Look, what about our other friends anyway? - Aren't we going to be reunited? - Down the hall.
Yeah, I know.
"To the right, second door.
" Rembrandt stay strong.
Don't tell them anything.
Yeah.
Remmy? Is that you? It is you.
Oh, my God.
Dad-? How could it be? I mean- How is it that you're here? The Kromaggs now control our Earth.
What? It happened while you were gone, but it was a good thing.
The Kromaggs brought new ways of doing things and great prosperity to us all.
What about the military? Didn't we put up a fight? Fight? There was no need to fight.
We welcomed them.
I just told you that.
Why are you so nervous, Dad? It's been a long time since I've seen my boy.
Of course I'm a little nervous.
It's a natural thing.
The Kromaggs are our superiors.
They have far more discipline and fantastic mental capacities.
We can learn a lot from them.
You still haven't told me why you're here.
I'm on my way to the Kromagg world- a whole bunch of us.
The lucky ones are going by the thousands.
We're on this rock just waiting- waiting for our chance to complete the journey.
Word's out that you and your friends killed a Kromagg.
It's time to cooperate.
Tell them the truth.
Let them cross-check their coordinates so they can see that our world's no longer a threat.
Then they might even let you come stay with me and your sister.
That's right, Remmy, your kid sister's here, too.
If you don't want to talk to them, you can always talk to me.
Who designed your sliding machine? Not the boy.
Who did it really? The government? The CIA? Quinn did it by accident.
What about the others? What role did they play in the machine's creation? They had no role- none.
Do you know the coordinates to our Earth? Do you know which sliding tunnel leads to it? I'll tell you what, "Dad," you give me back my timer and I'll take you there.
Hey, why are you looking at me like that? I don't know who you are but you're not my father.
You see, "Dad"- I never had a sister.
The Kromagg are killing me with kindness.
Promise after promise of what they will do for me if I will just reveal to them the whereabouts of our Earth.
Can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you.
I'm sorry to bother you again.
I guess I'm just lonely.
Thousands of us prisoner on this world, but they leave me in solitary.
Why would the Kromaggs keep thousands of Earth prisoners on this world? Some are here for slave labor.
Some for food.
The Kromagg claim to be a civilized people.
Believe what you want.
All I know is there's a high price on their black market for human eyes.
I wouldn't worry too much.
From what I hear, you're VIPs.
Maybe they'll let you keep your eyes if you tell them what they want to know.
That's enough! Now listen to me, no matter how they threaten us, no matter what they offer us, we keep our secrets to ourselves- right? What's the matter? You act like you've seen a devil.
I think maybe I did.
Talk to me, Professor.
We may have seriously underrated the Kromagg power of hypnotic suggestion.
I have just been talking to you, but you weren't there.
Lord knows how the others are taking it.
We want to help you.
We have the ability to transport you to your Earth.
You could be home by tomorrow.
Isn't that what you want? Of course.
It's what we all want.
Then tell us true things.
I can't tell you what you want to know.
I'm not a scientist.
Surely you know where your home is? Everyone knows that.
Not everyone.
Not us.
Have you no memories of your city? Your family? I think of them all the time.
But that doesn't mean I know how to get back.
Are the four of you the advanced scouts of a sliding army? No! That's ridiculous! Do the rulers of your world have plans to invade the Kromagg Dynasty? Of course not.
They don't even know about you.
what are the dilactic interdimensional coordinates of your home Earth? I told you, again and again, I don't know.
If you did know, would you tell us? No.
- Why? - 'Cause I don't trust you.
I don't believe the things you tell me.
I don't believe anything you say.
If it meant sparing your life, would you tell us what we want to know? No.
Never.
What if Quinn Mallory's life were at stake? Would that make a difference to you? We have him in the next chamber.
Unless your answers begin to bear fruit we will put him to death painfully.
They told me they'd kill Quinn if I didn't cooperate.
So I just kept talking- tried to keep them off balance.
What did you tell them exactly? Just some of the worlds that we've been to.
I figured if I appeared cooperative it'd buy us some time.
Well, I figure they got inside my head somehow.
Painted a picture of my father that my eyes and my ears would believe.
I got to tell you, man, I just stood there my heart thumping through my chest hoping that he would morph into something else or just vanish into thin air, but he never did.
He actually was my father.
Just my father on another Earth.
Who knows what will happen to him now? Not to mention a sister who really isn't my sister.
The danger is, you see, that the Kromaggs will try to backtrack our journey and find our Earth.
Did you say anything to your father that might help them? I don't think so, but who knows what we're giving out? You've spoken to a hallucination.
We all could be talking in our sleep.
You're right.
The Kromagg bag of tricks keeps getting bigger and our ability to resist withers away with time.
We ought to try to escape from here even if it costs us our lives.
Absolutely, man, whatever it takes.
I'm with you.
What about Quinn? We have no way of knowing, Wade.
They may have held him personally responsible for the pilot's death.
What are you saying? What he's saying, Miss Wells, is that Quinn may already be dead.
We may have to go on without him.
Green- I- I never thought I'd see green on this world.
It's so peaceful here.
Especially after being cooped up for three days.
Alone.
My friends could sure use some space.
I could only arrange this for you.
It's a gift.
I sold it as therapy.
Perhaps the atmosphere would make you long for home and lead you to talk.
Are your masters watching us now? Are they listening? No.
This is a sanctuary, a place I'm allowed to come to when I truly want to be alone.
That's why I bought you some time and brought you here.
What do you mean? The Kromaggs have been testing you.
The carrot and the stick- threats and promises- their way of searching your souls trying to find hidden truths.
You are the first Homo sapiens they've encountered who know the secrets of sliding.
This terrifies them.
All we want to do is get home.
We're no threat to them.
Understand, the Kromaggs' Earth was hell, fraught with endless tribal warfare.
Then they discovered sliding and were shocked to find Earth after Earth dominated by Homo sapiens.
Their fear and hatred of us united them.
Now they have a single military government devoted to the sliding conquests of other Earths.
A common enemy- someone everyone can hate so they'll band together and stop hating each other.
So that was an invasion we slid into.
One of many and all successful.
Why are you telling me this? Why take the risk? The Kromaggs have branded you a murderer.
Your hours are numbered.
I don't want you to die.
I like you.
When you displayed such resolute defiance against the Kromaggs I had some kind of breakthrough.
I can't really explain it, but I didn't believe my kind was capable of such resistance.
They've brainwashed you- about us- about everything.
But I'm going to fight them.
If you could bring me my timer maybe we could get away.
You could come with us.
There's no time.
Tomorrow morning, stage two of the interrogation process will begin.
Your friends will be killed here on 113.
You'll be taken back to the Kromagg home world where you'll be tortured until they acquire the information they desire.
I will never help them find my Earth, no matter what they do to me.
Do you understand? I believe that about you and your friends, too.
But there's nothing I can do.
But there is.
The Kromaggs trust you.
Help us.
I'm powerless.
I'm truly sorry.
I brought you here to say goodbye.
I don't mean any harm, Q-Ball, but is it really you? In the flesh.
I've been with Mary, learning as much as I can about our captors and trying my best to gain her trust.
They took her to the Kromagg Earth when she was just a little girl.
It's a jungle planet.
Their cities are built amidst trees that would make the redwoods look like matchsticks.
Mary was reviled by the populace, who saw her as a monster.
They threw stones at her, spit on her.
It must have been terrible.
She's supposed to be a monster? The Kromaggs ever look in a mirror? The eye-eating freaks.
We'll probably die here.
Maybe not.
She gave this to me.
What is it? I'm hoping it's a key.
It could be a trick.
Trick or not, it's a way out, and I'm all for it.
- Are you with us? - I'm with you, buddy.
Who's out there? It's the prisoner in the cell next door.
I'd come to think he was an illusion.
Give me the key.
We're going to get you out of here.
No! I can never leave this place.
And if I can't leave, neither can you! Guards! Guards! The prisoners are escaping! Next time I do a good deed, kick me.
Count on it! How are we going to slide? We don't have the timer.
Music to my ears, Q-Ball.
Now we got to find an exit.
Dead end! We have got to find a way out of here! Hey, this way.
Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! - Wait one minute.
- Quinn! What's he doing? Incoming! I took care of some sliding equipment I spotted through the door.
I guarantee they won't be using it for a while.
Well done, my boy.
You must hurry! My masters are hunting you now.
They'll be here in seconds.
Listen, we can access our gate in 83 minutes, but not from here.
It has to be in the world where the Kromaggs found us.
It's all right.
I programmed the portal to send you back to the last world you came from.
With your timer, you should be able to slide from there.
Please, go! The Kromaggs taught me more than they ever realized.
I guess they never dreamed I'd do something like this.
Come on, we've got to get you to your feet.
You're dreaming, Quinn.
I'm dying and we both know it.
The gate is fully formed.
You must go now.
Your freedom makes me happier than you will ever know.
Go, Quinn.
Go for me.
Mary, the Kromaggs were wrong.
You are beautiful.
You always will be.
Oh! Take a guess.
The Professor landed on the guy with the bike.
Right in front of him.
Croissants flew everywhere.
Ah, pardon, monsieur.
All right, I'll change my mind.
After Kromagg Prison World, New France is bearable.
Wait a minute.
Where's Mary? She didn't make it.
Multiple time units spent probing the minds of the subjects revealed that they did not know the location of their home Earth.
Their sliding patterns were erratic and totally random.
The successful implantation of a homing device in one of the subjects will allow us to track their journeys, in hopes that they will eventually return to their Earth.
And we will be waiting- and watching, ready to attack when the time is right.
You have done well, Mary.
You may have an hour of freedom in the garden before you go back to your cage.
Thank you, master.
Don't rub it in.
Quit gloating, will you? It's just a little reminder that you too could have had a safe and sound landing.
If the choice is looking like a reject from the Roller Derby or getting a little sliced up from the pavement- We'll take the pavement every time.
You guys are just jealous because I've proven this whole idea works.
Isn't it a little quiet on this world? A little quiet? Since when are you the master of understatement? Yes-sir-ee.
"Rembrandt Brown Sliding Pads- a must for the serious slider.
" Yeah, I'm going to make a whole lot of money when I get back home.
Hey, guys, what's a "Kromagg"? It's written everywhere.
I don't know.
It's probably some street gang or something.
What's wrong? Something's interfering with the readout.
I can't get a fix on the next window.
Can you determine the source of the disturbance? Yeah, it's coming from the north-northwest.
We'll have to move closer to pinpoint the exact location.
This chaos is recent.
The bread's still fresh and the paint's wet.
Yeah, there's a lot of looting going on.
This is strange, Professor.
Whatever's affecting our device must be giving off an incredibly powerful electromagnetic pulse.
And it's on the same frequency as the timer.
What could do that? That sound has "stay away" written all over it.
Shouldn't we be walking away from the big nasty noise? We could move 100 miles, and still not be free of this interference.
If we don't find and stop it, we're sunk.
We'll never know when to access the gate.
Good heavens! The energy displacement is wreaking havoc on the timer.
Is there anything we can do? We can get the hell away from here.
I agree with Mr.
Brown.
A rapid retreat would seem to me to be the obvious course.
The readout window is pulsing in rhythm with the spaceship.
It must mean their energies are synched up.
Never mind that.
It's seen us! Run.
Come on, run! Down! Down! What if you could travel to parallel worlds? The same year, the same Earth, only different dimensions? A world where the Russians rule America? Or where your dreams of being a superstar came true? Or where San Francisco was a maximum security prison? My friends and I found the gateway.
Now the problem is finding a way back home.
SLIDERS 2x12 "INVASION" Shades of David and Goliath, man.
Where's the slingshot? Here.
Our timer operates on a unique frequency.
Given the way it was being interfered with, I figured the spaceship must rely on a similar energy source.
Activating the timer was like turning on a mega-laptop inside of a jet plane.
It set this thing's gyros spinning.
The result was this crash.
Great, Q-Ball.
Remind me never to fly with you.
Let's get the heck away from this thing.
I'm with you.
Whatever's inside that thing can't be too thrilled with what you've done.
Let's just go.
Mr.
Mallory, over here.
Look at this, Quinn.
This is organic metal.
So this in essence, is a living machine.
Fantastic.
Fantastic, indeed.
An alien technology from outer space.
But it's not from outer space.
Who did this? Who brought the Manta to its knees? I guess I did.
The Kromaggs aren't going to like that.
They're not going to like that one bit.
They will avenge this loss with merciless ferocity.
Kromaggs, Kromaggs.
Who the devil are the Kromaggs? They're marauders.
Killers.
And they eat eyes.
Human eyes.
They came here to vanquish us- riding a wave of Manta ships to our world.
And so, our Earth dies screaming.
I thought you said they didn't come from space.
No, they're from right here, man.
They're from right here.
That's the irony.
Don't you see? I daren't say any more.
They might be watching.
They might well be watching.
Ah, my lovely twin daughters have arrived! They too were set free when the Kromaggs came to our city.
Come along now, girls.
We mustn't be here when the vengeful masters arrive.
Good day to you.
May your punishment be relatively painless.
Did you see that medical bracelet he was wearing? "Gatehaven.
" My uncle used to work at a place called Gatehaven, only in our San Francisco, it's a mental institution.
Maybe when the invasion began, the inmates were released as their keepers fled the city.
Oh, great, we were listening to some fruitcake tell us what's what? "Fruitcake"? That's hardly politically correct, is it, Mr.
Brown? However, back to the task at hand.
Mr.
Mallory, we've got to get inside this ship and see what we can learn before somebody comes looking for it.
Hey, come on.
What are you guys doing? You're out of your freaking minds.
Yeah, we were just leaving, remember? Can't leave, Wade.
There might be someone or something hurt inside the craft.
Good point.
Keep an eye out for anything unusual.
We won't be long.
I promise.
Quinn, most of the ship was buried on impact.
We'll have to dig to get inside.
Careful, Mr.
Mallory.
This thing may still be alive.
We're breathing Kromagg air, Mr.
Mallory.
As far as I can tell, it's a standard oxygen/nitrogen mix.
They must come from a planet similar to Earth.
What do we have here, eh? What do you make of these, eh? Some sort of map? I don't know, Wade.
I think we're asking for trouble hanging around like this.
I mean, what about common sense? I guess that's something those "brainiacs" wouldn't understand.
They're scientists.
Common sense just gets in their way.
Yeah, wasn't it a scientist that sucked me and my Caddy straight into an iceberg? I was just an innocent man.
A normal guy, trying to live a comfortable life as a beloved celebrity.
Along comes a scientist and kicks me straight- Rembrandt, we've been through all this.
Look, you and I both know that we should be leaving, but as long as we're staying, how come they got to go inside of that thing? Why does the scientist get to have all the fun? They said they would be out soon, huh? It's already getting dark.
Professor? I broke its neck.
I killed it, Professor.
If you did, you're a hero, Mr.
Mallory.
This is an invading soldier, don't forget, not a social worker.
What's this? I think we should get out of here, Mr.
Mallory.
Hey, guys.
What's that sound? What did you do? I'm not sure.
It's an alarm.
Run for it! Oh, jeez! I think we've lost them for the moment, but they'll double back when they can't find us.
We slide in 23 seconds.
Let's pray the gate doesn't attract them before it's fully formed.
This is one world I want to leave far behind.
Well, that was one ship we should've left far behind.
But no, we had to satisfy our curiosity.
Those soldiers who where chasing us look just like that thing we found in the ship.
They remind me of some kind of hideous ape.
What's so disturbing about that face is not so much the ape in it, but the man.
Here we go.
Okay! Go, now! Wade, the Kromaggs- they're sliders.
Go! Oh! Ahgh! Bravo! The Professor landed on that poor guy- smashed his bread to bits! Don't you dare, you Welcome to Versailles West, in the country of "New France.
" The French apparently rule this continent.
I have a feeling that this world is going to be even worse than the last one.
Thank you.
You are English, no? How is that tiny little island? It must be wonderful for you to escape those dreary shores and come to New France, yes? Yes, of course.
Wonderful.
Now, you say you saw a second ship coming through a wormhole? That's right.
And judging by my study of the maps in the ship, I would say that our little madman was quite correct.
The Kromagg are not aliens, they're every bit as much Earthmen as we are.
Come on, Professor.
You saw those butt-ugly faces.
You're going to tell me that they're from some Earth? Different Earths could have followed different evolutionary paths.
In the 1960s there was an anthropologist called Dreyar who came up with the theory of a "killer ape"- an early primate that killed off rival primate species.
Perhaps the Kromaggs are a vindication of Dreyar's theory.
On our world, they were an evolutionary dead end.
On their world, they killed off our early human ancestors.
Jeez, if these things are sliders, we need to find home before they do.
Our Earth needs to be warned.
Every Earth needs to be warned- starting with this one.
Hold on, "Paul Revere.
" I happen to agree with you, by the way, but here's the problem- how do we do it? We can't just go up to every gendarme and say, "Excuse me, very shortly an army of killer apes will be descending in your vichyssoise.
" Enjoy your meal, English? It must be wonderful to have some real food, not that crappy fish and chip.
I'm impressed, Professor.
No matter how much that guy taunts you, you turn the other cheek.
Patience, Mr.
Mallory.
Just wait till he sees his tip.
Brown, our treasurer, let's have some of those small pieces of silver you won in the last casino.
Thank God for the Professor's watch.
We would've been washing dishes for a week.
I tell you, I just love the French women.
You never know what they're thinking.
Of course, I could say that same thing about Asian women or Latin women.
Maybe it's a good thing you don't know what women are thinking.
Cheer up, Professor, it was only a watch.
"Only a watch"? That timepiece was probably worth more than the gross national product of Paraguay.
Nasty French planet- filled with shifty, backstabbing, croissant-sniffing nitwits.
Professor, you're killing us.
Maybe you should've saved some of those insults for the waiter.
That frog-eating mendicant? I wouldn't waste good material on him.
Professor what's that in your pocket, an atomic tomato? Professor, you took that? You shouldn't have.
You had no right.
Mr.
Mallory, if ever we get back to civilization this is the only proof we have of Kromagg existence.
The question is, why the devil is it flashing now? Is that what I think it is? - Oh! - Uh! Is this "tangible proof" of the Kromaggs' existence? Hey, what gives? I can't move away from the wall.
What's holding us up? Gravity.
The Kromaggs are masters of the gravitational sciences.
They've learned to harness the Earth as we once harnessed the horse.
My name is Mary and you are prisoners of- guests of the Kromagg Dynasty.
There's been a big misunderstanding.
Why don't you let us go and there won't be any hard feelings, okay? Why does he keep standing there while you do all the talking? My masters refuse to learn a Homo sapiens tongue so they've taught me theirs.
I serve as their telepathic interpreter.
You are now traveling through an interdimensional tunnel being transported to Outpost Earth 113.
A barren world where advanced life has never taken hold.
Hear that, Mr.
Mallory? The Kromaggs can control sliding.
Why are you doing this to us? You disabled a peace ship.
You murdered its controller.
We were defending ourselves.
We landed in the middle of an invasion.
There was no invasion.
The Kromagg Dynasty was invited in to quell an internal dispute.
You intervened without cause.
You speak for the Kromaggs.
How did that come about? Why you? I was selected- chosen when I was a little girl.
It was a great honor.
It began when they announced their presence to the world.
TV, radios, all channels- suddenly they were everywhere.
The Kromaggs brought us new ways, new ideas.
We accepted them as our superiors and they blessed our world a thousandfold.
You will be debriefed on Earth 113.
Your willingness to cooperate will determine your fate.
What time is it, Q-Ball? Is it lunchtime or dinnertime? Dusk or dawn? All I know is that I'm hungry.
Can't figure out whether I want to order pancakes or prime rib.
Can't help you there, Rembrandt.
No windows no clocks.
The hours just seem to run together.
Where's Professor? They took him while you were sleeping.
Notice how the four of us have never been together since we arrived at this place? Must be their strategy- separate, confuse us, interrupt our sleep.
Rembrandt Brown.
You may leave your quarters.
Go down the hall to the right, second door.
Let me go with him.
No.
You will remain where you are.
I thought you said we were guests.
Why are we being treated like inmates? Down the hall to the right, second door.
Look, what about our other friends anyway? - Aren't we going to be reunited? - Down the hall.
Yeah, I know.
"To the right, second door.
" Rembrandt stay strong.
Don't tell them anything.
Yeah.
Remmy? Is that you? It is you.
Oh, my God.
Dad-? How could it be? I mean- How is it that you're here? The Kromaggs now control our Earth.
What? It happened while you were gone, but it was a good thing.
The Kromaggs brought new ways of doing things and great prosperity to us all.
What about the military? Didn't we put up a fight? Fight? There was no need to fight.
We welcomed them.
I just told you that.
Why are you so nervous, Dad? It's been a long time since I've seen my boy.
Of course I'm a little nervous.
It's a natural thing.
The Kromaggs are our superiors.
They have far more discipline and fantastic mental capacities.
We can learn a lot from them.
You still haven't told me why you're here.
I'm on my way to the Kromagg world- a whole bunch of us.
The lucky ones are going by the thousands.
We're on this rock just waiting- waiting for our chance to complete the journey.
Word's out that you and your friends killed a Kromagg.
It's time to cooperate.
Tell them the truth.
Let them cross-check their coordinates so they can see that our world's no longer a threat.
Then they might even let you come stay with me and your sister.
That's right, Remmy, your kid sister's here, too.
If you don't want to talk to them, you can always talk to me.
Who designed your sliding machine? Not the boy.
Who did it really? The government? The CIA? Quinn did it by accident.
What about the others? What role did they play in the machine's creation? They had no role- none.
Do you know the coordinates to our Earth? Do you know which sliding tunnel leads to it? I'll tell you what, "Dad," you give me back my timer and I'll take you there.
Hey, why are you looking at me like that? I don't know who you are but you're not my father.
You see, "Dad"- I never had a sister.
The Kromagg are killing me with kindness.
Promise after promise of what they will do for me if I will just reveal to them the whereabouts of our Earth.
Can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you.
I'm sorry to bother you again.
I guess I'm just lonely.
Thousands of us prisoner on this world, but they leave me in solitary.
Why would the Kromaggs keep thousands of Earth prisoners on this world? Some are here for slave labor.
Some for food.
The Kromagg claim to be a civilized people.
Believe what you want.
All I know is there's a high price on their black market for human eyes.
I wouldn't worry too much.
From what I hear, you're VIPs.
Maybe they'll let you keep your eyes if you tell them what they want to know.
That's enough! Now listen to me, no matter how they threaten us, no matter what they offer us, we keep our secrets to ourselves- right? What's the matter? You act like you've seen a devil.
I think maybe I did.
Talk to me, Professor.
We may have seriously underrated the Kromagg power of hypnotic suggestion.
I have just been talking to you, but you weren't there.
Lord knows how the others are taking it.
We want to help you.
We have the ability to transport you to your Earth.
You could be home by tomorrow.
Isn't that what you want? Of course.
It's what we all want.
Then tell us true things.
I can't tell you what you want to know.
I'm not a scientist.
Surely you know where your home is? Everyone knows that.
Not everyone.
Not us.
Have you no memories of your city? Your family? I think of them all the time.
But that doesn't mean I know how to get back.
Are the four of you the advanced scouts of a sliding army? No! That's ridiculous! Do the rulers of your world have plans to invade the Kromagg Dynasty? Of course not.
They don't even know about you.
what are the dilactic interdimensional coordinates of your home Earth? I told you, again and again, I don't know.
If you did know, would you tell us? No.
- Why? - 'Cause I don't trust you.
I don't believe the things you tell me.
I don't believe anything you say.
If it meant sparing your life, would you tell us what we want to know? No.
Never.
What if Quinn Mallory's life were at stake? Would that make a difference to you? We have him in the next chamber.
Unless your answers begin to bear fruit we will put him to death painfully.
They told me they'd kill Quinn if I didn't cooperate.
So I just kept talking- tried to keep them off balance.
What did you tell them exactly? Just some of the worlds that we've been to.
I figured if I appeared cooperative it'd buy us some time.
Well, I figure they got inside my head somehow.
Painted a picture of my father that my eyes and my ears would believe.
I got to tell you, man, I just stood there my heart thumping through my chest hoping that he would morph into something else or just vanish into thin air, but he never did.
He actually was my father.
Just my father on another Earth.
Who knows what will happen to him now? Not to mention a sister who really isn't my sister.
The danger is, you see, that the Kromaggs will try to backtrack our journey and find our Earth.
Did you say anything to your father that might help them? I don't think so, but who knows what we're giving out? You've spoken to a hallucination.
We all could be talking in our sleep.
You're right.
The Kromagg bag of tricks keeps getting bigger and our ability to resist withers away with time.
We ought to try to escape from here even if it costs us our lives.
Absolutely, man, whatever it takes.
I'm with you.
What about Quinn? We have no way of knowing, Wade.
They may have held him personally responsible for the pilot's death.
What are you saying? What he's saying, Miss Wells, is that Quinn may already be dead.
We may have to go on without him.
Green- I- I never thought I'd see green on this world.
It's so peaceful here.
Especially after being cooped up for three days.
Alone.
My friends could sure use some space.
I could only arrange this for you.
It's a gift.
I sold it as therapy.
Perhaps the atmosphere would make you long for home and lead you to talk.
Are your masters watching us now? Are they listening? No.
This is a sanctuary, a place I'm allowed to come to when I truly want to be alone.
That's why I bought you some time and brought you here.
What do you mean? The Kromaggs have been testing you.
The carrot and the stick- threats and promises- their way of searching your souls trying to find hidden truths.
You are the first Homo sapiens they've encountered who know the secrets of sliding.
This terrifies them.
All we want to do is get home.
We're no threat to them.
Understand, the Kromaggs' Earth was hell, fraught with endless tribal warfare.
Then they discovered sliding and were shocked to find Earth after Earth dominated by Homo sapiens.
Their fear and hatred of us united them.
Now they have a single military government devoted to the sliding conquests of other Earths.
A common enemy- someone everyone can hate so they'll band together and stop hating each other.
So that was an invasion we slid into.
One of many and all successful.
Why are you telling me this? Why take the risk? The Kromaggs have branded you a murderer.
Your hours are numbered.
I don't want you to die.
I like you.
When you displayed such resolute defiance against the Kromaggs I had some kind of breakthrough.
I can't really explain it, but I didn't believe my kind was capable of such resistance.
They've brainwashed you- about us- about everything.
But I'm going to fight them.
If you could bring me my timer maybe we could get away.
You could come with us.
There's no time.
Tomorrow morning, stage two of the interrogation process will begin.
Your friends will be killed here on 113.
You'll be taken back to the Kromagg home world where you'll be tortured until they acquire the information they desire.
I will never help them find my Earth, no matter what they do to me.
Do you understand? I believe that about you and your friends, too.
But there's nothing I can do.
But there is.
The Kromaggs trust you.
Help us.
I'm powerless.
I'm truly sorry.
I brought you here to say goodbye.
I don't mean any harm, Q-Ball, but is it really you? In the flesh.
I've been with Mary, learning as much as I can about our captors and trying my best to gain her trust.
They took her to the Kromagg Earth when she was just a little girl.
It's a jungle planet.
Their cities are built amidst trees that would make the redwoods look like matchsticks.
Mary was reviled by the populace, who saw her as a monster.
They threw stones at her, spit on her.
It must have been terrible.
She's supposed to be a monster? The Kromaggs ever look in a mirror? The eye-eating freaks.
We'll probably die here.
Maybe not.
She gave this to me.
What is it? I'm hoping it's a key.
It could be a trick.
Trick or not, it's a way out, and I'm all for it.
- Are you with us? - I'm with you, buddy.
Who's out there? It's the prisoner in the cell next door.
I'd come to think he was an illusion.
Give me the key.
We're going to get you out of here.
No! I can never leave this place.
And if I can't leave, neither can you! Guards! Guards! The prisoners are escaping! Next time I do a good deed, kick me.
Count on it! How are we going to slide? We don't have the timer.
Music to my ears, Q-Ball.
Now we got to find an exit.
Dead end! We have got to find a way out of here! Hey, this way.
Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! - Wait one minute.
- Quinn! What's he doing? Incoming! I took care of some sliding equipment I spotted through the door.
I guarantee they won't be using it for a while.
Well done, my boy.
You must hurry! My masters are hunting you now.
They'll be here in seconds.
Listen, we can access our gate in 83 minutes, but not from here.
It has to be in the world where the Kromaggs found us.
It's all right.
I programmed the portal to send you back to the last world you came from.
With your timer, you should be able to slide from there.
Please, go! The Kromaggs taught me more than they ever realized.
I guess they never dreamed I'd do something like this.
Come on, we've got to get you to your feet.
You're dreaming, Quinn.
I'm dying and we both know it.
The gate is fully formed.
You must go now.
Your freedom makes me happier than you will ever know.
Go, Quinn.
Go for me.
Mary, the Kromaggs were wrong.
You are beautiful.
You always will be.
Oh! Take a guess.
The Professor landed on the guy with the bike.
Right in front of him.
Croissants flew everywhere.
Ah, pardon, monsieur.
All right, I'll change my mind.
After Kromagg Prison World, New France is bearable.
Wait a minute.
Where's Mary? She didn't make it.
Multiple time units spent probing the minds of the subjects revealed that they did not know the location of their home Earth.
Their sliding patterns were erratic and totally random.
The successful implantation of a homing device in one of the subjects will allow us to track their journeys, in hopes that they will eventually return to their Earth.
And we will be waiting- and watching, ready to attack when the time is right.
You have done well, Mary.
You may have an hour of freedom in the garden before you go back to your cage.
Thank you, master.