The Black Hole Page #4

it's a sore loser.

Meet me in parts storage.

So, as I understand it, you want

the Palomino to monitor your journey.

That's right. I need you to go

to another place and another time...

a place where,

if you're lucky...

I'll have the possibility to find

what we call "the ultimate knowledge."

Yes, Maximilian?

The probe ship is about to dock.

Continue your meal, gentlemen.

Cuckoo as a Swiss clock.

My name's Bob,

Bio-sanitation Battalion.

I couldn't talk freely before,

but I have a whole lot to tell you.

If Maximilian knew you were here, why,

it'd be the end for the both of us.

Can you permanently rearm my lasers?

Yeah, I can. Vincent, you and

your friends are in grave danger.

Reinhardt only turned the lights on

to prevent any damage to the Cygnus.

This is a death ship.

What does your intuition

tell you, Kate?

That Dr Reinhardt is walking a tightrope

between genius and insanity.

- I think the guy's nuts.

- I don't buy that.

Well, whatever he is,

he's an out-and-out liar.

That tiny little one-man garden of his

is big enough to feed an army.

Nothing strange about that.

It purifies the air.

- Oh.

- Tell them about the funeral, Dan.

A robot funeral, Alex.

It was almost human.

Look. Granted, the 20 years

out of contact with people...

has made this man a little eccentric,

but you can't ask me to believe...

that he's programmed his robots

to feel emotions.

- Come on.

- I know what I saw, Alex...

and we only have Reinhardt's word

for what happened to his crew.

All I know is that that robot gardener

was almost human too.

Ha! He even walked with a limp.

What spooks you

about a malfunctioning robot, Harry?

I wasn't spooked, old buddy.

I'm just telling you

that I had a gut feeling that...

that I was looking at

some kind of...

some kind of person.

- What are you getting at?

- That we make our apologies,

say our goodbyes...

and get off this ship

as quick as we can.

Oh, now, wait a minute, Dan.

Now, hold it, hold it.

Now, now, now, l-let's stop

and figure this thing out.

If Reinhardt has antigravity

strong enough to hold him here...

I figure he's got enough

to pull away.

- So?

- "So"?

So why not take this ship

and Reinhardt back home?

That's a long shot

you're talking about, Harry.

Aw, come on. You've got

two scientific wizards here...

to figure out the computers, a-and they

can even reprogram the robots.

And the three of us can handle Reinhardt

and that pet monster of his.

I'm tellin' you,

we could all be heroes.

We could also be dead.

These poor creatures are

what's left of the crew.

Kept alive by means

I don't pretend to understand.

Humans?

They're more robot than human.

Let's get outta here

before we're discovered.

Too late. Watch it!

Think there are any more?

All clear.

Let's get rid of the evidence.

Maximilian will take you

to Debriefing.

I will check out

your computers personally.

How long before they'll start

searching for these two?

It depends on their duty schedule.

Could be anytime.

Then we have to move fast.

So, he neglected his duty

to his country for a higher ideal.

So what? What basis in fact do you have

for these macabre speculations?

I agree that his style

is somewhat unconventional...

but he's willing and eager

to share his knowledge with us.

- Doesn't that mean anything to you?

- We're not staying aboard this ship

any longer than we have to, Alex.

- I think that's up

to Reinhardt to decide.

- Dan.

Vincent wants you aboard

the Palomino right away.

Let's go, Charlie.

I think I'll tag along.

This isn't our party.

Let's get outta here.

Reinhardt will solve the one final

mystery that has eluded mankind.

Or he'll die in the attempt.

Alex, I'm beginning to feel

you want to go with him.

On a glorious pilgrimage, straight

into what may be the mind of God?

I do. I do.

"And darkness was upon

the face of the deep.

And the spirit of God moved

upon the face of the waters."

What an incredible sight.

I still haven't got used to it.

Where are the others?

- They were recalled to the ship.

- Recalled?

Didn't I say no more

unescorted excursions?

Where was your communication?

Ah, the ESP you share

with the robot.

Extraordinary.

Dr Durant.

- Yes, Doctor?

- These are all my formulas

I've compiled over the years.

I want you to take them

back with you...

and pass them on to others

in case something might happen to me.

You can depend on me.

I also want you

to monitor my flight.

Stay as long as you can

at the event horizon.

There might be an Einstein-Rosen

bridge to consider.

I will.

Believe me, I've been

waiting a long time...

for someone like you

to record this moment.

Thank you, Doctor.

Then I'm ready.

Ready to embark on

man's greatest journey.

Certainly his riskiest.

The risk is incidental

compared to the possibility...

to possess the great truth

of the unknown.

There, long-cherished

laws of nature...

simply do not apply.

They vanish.

And life?

Life?

Life forever.

The officer the men trusted most

was Frank McCrae.

- Kate's father.

- They turned to him when Dr Reinhardt

ignored the orders to return home.

He tried to take control

of the Cygnus.

Reinhardt called it mutiny

and killed Mr McCrae.

- What became of the crew?

- They were captured by the sentry

robots and are still on board.

- What?

- Where?

In the command tower,

the power centre.

Robots, Mr Pizer, humanoid robots.

The most valuable thing

in the universe...

intelligent life, means

nothing to Dr Reinhardt.

Without their wills, the crew

became things he could command.

- That explains the funeral.

- Right.

And the limping robot you spotted.

Do you mean to tell me that

there's actually a human body

under that clothing?

Exactly, Mr Booth.

We can't just take off and leave

these poor devils behind.

Harry, looks like we're

gonna have to try your plan.

What? And end up just like

the rest of the crew?

Why, if they couldn't pull it off,

what chance do we have?

Captain, the damage is irreversible.

Death is their only release.

That's right. For God's sakes, Dan,

we can't take on that mechanical army.

Captain, I was forced

to destroy two sentry robots.

The others are searching now.

If they're found...

- Gotcha, Vincent.

Charlie, start the countdown.

- Right.

Vincent, tell Kate I want her

and Alex back here on the double.

Fix navigational course.

You have achieved all this

on your own, Dr Reinhardt...

and you would have every right

to reject the request of

a comparative stranger, but...

What are you hoping for, Alex?

Immortality?

No, scientific truth.

Alex, we have to board right away.

They're waiting to blast off.

Prepare reactors!

Maximilian!

- How are your readings, Vincent?

- All systems are go, Mr Pizer.

Alex, I will not have you

throwing your life away for this.

- He can do it. I know he can.

- Oh, God, Alex!

There's an entirely different world

beyond that black hole...

a point where time and space

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