The Day the Earth Caught Fire Page #8

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Yes, of course.

- Oh, give me those ice floe figures, will you?

- Ice floe?

You mean you didn't

go to the Met Centre?

Oh, those. Yes, I went.

I dropped Jeannie off.

All right, all right. She's the new contact.

Works there. She's calling them through.

You, of course,

were too busy to get them.

She only has to look up the files,

I thought it more important

to be here this morning.

- Not to me, it isn't.

- Apparently.

Well, you'll be glad to hear I've

just about had the whole issue.

That's up to you, chum.

Okay, so the knife's

penetrated deep. Can I go now?

Oh, sit down, Pete.

Give her a ring.

Our switchboard's probably jammed.

Get me the Met Centre, please.

- Could I speak to you for a moment, Sandy?

- Oh, not now, Pete.

It won't take a minute.

Look, all I want to do is finish

this lot and get some sleep.

- I wanna turn it in.

- Do what?

- Turn in my job, jack it in, resign.

- I can't stop you...

Look, I am sick of being the ass

end of Bill Maguire's donkey.

Why don't you leave it till

the temperature drops.

- We're all a little edgy.

- I'm like a cub reporter here!

"Phone up for figures,

run down to the library,

"take these pictures." What am I?

You're getting paid

for it, aren't you?

Look, it's not so long ago,

this paper put out posters

telling the public to read my stuff.

And you stopped writing it,

so how could we go on printing it?

Look, Pete, I'll forget you resigned.

Give it a few days.

Anyway, I thought Bill Maguire

was a friend of yours.

- Yeah.

- He always behaved like a friend.

- Sanderson.

- Yeah, maybe it's the heat.

For you.

Think about it.

Yeah, I will.

Stenning, who's that?

It's Jeannie. Pete,

I've got to talk to you.

It's serious. I can't, not on the phone.

I've got to see you.

You will tonight, remember?

Well, if it's that urgent,

hop a cab and come here.

I can't. I'm in a telephone box

and I've got to get back.

Listen, I'll take an early lunch.

12:
30, Battersea Park.

The restaurant by the boating lake.

All right, Jeannie.

- Okay?

- Oh, yeah, it's a new contact

I found at the Met Office.

She, seems to have

something on her mind.

Met Office? Has she got a story?

Well, frankly, I don't think

she'd notice a news story

if it was in 72-point. Still,

I don't think we should ignore it.

- Well, she's your contact.

- All right.

But you're my witness for the defence

when Stenning's found missing again.

What are you, a cub reporter?

Go on, get out.

Well, of all people. It must

be three hours since we met.

There's too many people here.

Who's shy? I only want to kiss you.

Look, Pete, I mustn't

be seen talking to you.

I know, you're a Russian spy.

All right, I'll come

to Moscow with you.

Oh, Pete, please be serious.

Never more so. Come on, tovarish.

- But you don't understand...

- So, you're going to tell me.

Now, get in the carriage. Go on.

No expense spared with Stenning.

Well, what could be more private?

- Pete, I...

- Take your time, I bought a double ride.

- Have you got a cigarette?

- Sure.

This morning, half of

the girls didn't get in,

so some of us had to go

on the switchboard again.

And?

Well, I've overheard things before.

Sometimes you can't help it,

but you keep it to yourself.

A switchboard is very confidential,

especially a government...

But this morning?

You've got to promise

me you won't use this.

Is it about the big question mark?

- Then how can I promise?

- You must.

Oh, for God's sake, Jeannie.

If something's gone wrong, don't you

think people are entitled to know?

The people at the top are cleverer than

we are. They know what they're doing.

- Then why tell me?

- Because I had to tell someone or bust.

I thought you were the one person

I could tell. Maybe I was wrong.

No, you weren't wrong,

Jeannie. Now, go on.

I didn't understand very much of it,

but what I did understand...

I don't know, I panicked

and called you.

So, here I am.

I want your promise.

All right. Let's have it.

Got it! All right, all right. May!

Two hot lagers for the Daily Sketch.

You're lucky, I've got

two nice ones on ice.

No, you haven't. I just sold them.

I told you to hang onto those

in case Mr Maguire wanted them.

- I never heard you.

- You never hear anything.

- You can't keep ice in this weather.

- No. Three hot Scotch's.

Good for the circulation.

Personal not professional.

- There you are, Mr Maguire.

- Thanks, May.

I need you, Dad, and you

need that, so drink it.

Put them on the slate, May, will you?

I heard a funny story on my

way to the park this morning.

How funny?

What's the nutation of the Earth?

Nutation? Well, it's a slight

oscillation on the Earth's axis.

It's caused by the pull of the

sun and the moon on the Equator.

It's changed.

You see, there's a

slight bulge on the...

There's also an item here

about axis rotation.

There's been an 11 -degree variation,

whatever that may mean.

- Where'd this come from?

- Never mind where it came from. Translate it.

- It means I was right.

- Well, congratulations.

They've shifted the

tilt of the Earth.

The stupid, crazy,

irresponsible bastards!

They've finally done it.

That's the normal angle of tilt.

An 11-degree variation would

put it this way, or there.

- We don't know whether it's east or west.

- No.

Your weather line theory would

indicate an east-to-west tilt.

Where did you get

this story, Stenning?

I prefer you not to ask, sir.

Get me Sir John Kelly,

either at his office or at his home.

Wherever he is I want to talk to him.

Does this come from your new contact?

Never mind where it comes from.

You take my word, that's the story.

What can it do to us, Bill, apart

from altering the Earth's climates?

Monkeying around with nature on this scale,

who knows what the implications are.

Well, what do you think?

I prefer not to.

Yes? I didn't ask for the PRO.

- All right, put him through.

- Who is it?

- Holroyd, sir.

- Holroyd.

Get Jacko in. Get everybody in.

Holroyd, this is Jefferson,

the editor of the Daily Express here.

Yes, well, you can tell Sir John that he

has the choice of being disturbed now

or when he reads his morning paper.

We're going to print

whether he talks or not.

Bill, get moving. I want a pictorial

panorama of the world as it's going to be

with the new climatic zones

and all the rest of it changed.

Stenning, come in on this phone.

Take this down.

Sir John Kelly, Jefferson here.

I'd like a statement and I'd like it now.

Nothing's impossible. Not even an

11-degree tilt in the globe's axis.

Yes, that's precisely what

we're going to print.

Mornin', sir.

What about all this, then?

"World tips over."

Fog, cyclone and flood?

- Jeannie, what else could I do?

- I don't want to hear, I don't want to know.

It had to come out, Jeannie.

You couldn't sit on a thing like this.

That's right, that's right.

But we didn't use your name, Jeannie.

Nobody used your name.

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