Earth: Final Conflict (1997–2002): Season 3, Episode 17 - Time Bomb - full transcript

Previously on Gene Roddenberry's
Earth Final Conflict:

Ma'el's early messages indicated

that the human race was a
perfect complement to the Taelon.

He specifically and emphatically
warned against coming to this planet.

Zo'or is the assassin among us.

And when the time is right, I
will make him pay dearly for it.

The Commonality is so weakened
one Taelon may kill another.

We're 150 feet below the Pacific.

It's Ma'el's ship, Liam.

The ship that brought the one good
Taelon to Earth 2000 years ago.

If this is the same bio slurry
that the Taelons build with today,



it should be alive. What happened?

The power source ran out,
the ship began to die.

- Denise, are we ready yet?
- We're ready.

But I have to go on record again
saying I think this is a terrible idea.

Well, again, you can't go on record,
there is no record. You're here

because the Resistance
needs you, but you can leave.

- Any time you want.
- You know I won't do that.

That's what I want.

The nanobots found down there below. I
just wish they'd give us a better image.

What's left of the bulkhead
is dead Taelon bio slurry.

- If we're patient, Peter I can drill it.
- Patient?

Last night the Resistance
cell in Houston was raided.

Three members were
killed. What patience?

There won't be anyone left.



No one's ever used an
ultra-sonic lenses on bio slurry.

One hair-line crack, Renee. That's all
it takes and this hall will rupture.

Look, I'm not saying there's no risk,

I'm saying it's an acceptable risk.

We need this.

Time is 14:10 aboard
Ma'el's ship, control deck.

Begin the initial power sequence.

Full power.

Beginning to cut.

Abort. Abort! We got
an exploding radiation!

Subtitled by
Axarion

They have come to Earth
with the promise of peace.

An alien race called the Taelons.

But, there are those who
resist these Alien Companions.

For the Taelons' true mission,

the secrets they hide

will forever alter our world.

The fate of humanity now relies

on those who dare challenge the future

of Earth.

Why didn't you tell me Ma'el's
ship was found in an Incan ruin?

Well, it's not in the ruin
exactly. The Incas build a tunnel

under the ocean floor out where
Ma'el parked the ship on the bottom.

And you didn't want
me to know about it?

Doors has in buried
under amount of security.

Or at least the notion,
it's his pet project.

Whatever, Liam, I'm here for Renee.

- I didn't authorized him to be down here.
- Oh, it was my decision.

There's only one database of
Taelon tech bigger than his,

and that's on the mother ship.

Why are you working in the old tunnel
instead of on the main platform?

We lost our service
umbilical during the blast.

This is our only access to the ship.
There's an energy lock in a couple of steps.

Any data you download will be purged
form your system before you leave.

Understood?

This is the helmet cam from the suit of
one of my archeologists, Peter Sarus.

His partner is Denise Kerlew.

And from these angles it's
impossible to tell who's who.

We don't have any motion control
on the camera to improve the angle.

And the suits don't have the biometrics,
so we don't know what shape they're in.

You said the ship
started to revive itself?

This line right here
must be a power conduit.

It opened up and started venting.

Taelon gear doesn't just open
up, it must've been punctured.

- What the hell were they doing in there?
- We were stalled, Liam.

Renee wanted to roll a dice
with an ultra-sonic lens

- to cut the dead bio slurry.
- Not as dead as you thought.

You didn't do any pre-imaging to
find out what were you cutting into?

Yeah, we tried, but...

When Ma'el hid his
ship from the Taelons,

he masked it from x-rays,
infrared, anything.

Now, we did send nanobots into the
micro cracks to give us a glimpse but...

There's got to be something
beneath the control deck.

I can read the symbols on their panel.

This ship thinks it's under attack.

It was as inert as this rock.

It's computers can't
possibly have any memory.

Well, not computer memory
but cellular memory.

See, it's more like
a body than a machine.

Every cell on Ma'el's ship has the
knowledge to recreate every other cell.

So, it's what, recreating itself?

Repairing itself. See, it was dormant,
you cut a vein, and it's healing.

Get me a suit.

I don't see any reason why I can't
simply go in there and pull them out.

Liam, the water outside the ship is
to over 100 degrees and rising fast.

We have a small cesium reactor on
the platform to power the lens.

We are cooling it with the sea water.

No, this is heat from
the Taelon energy.

Once it starts building it has the
potential to become as hot as a star.

Now, if it keeps rising, then
we could have a China syndrome.

Like a nuclear chain reaction?

Worse. If we don't stop it,

it could burn to the
center of the Earth.

Why am I summoned?

You are no doubt a student
of human theoretician Sun Tzu.

The author of a fine work
entitled The Art of War.

I do not waste my time pondering
what passes for thought in humans.

One cannot be a student
of inferior intellect.

Certainly one can. For instance,
I am a student of you, T'than.

Your point, please.

Your treacheries since arriving
on Earth have been transparent.

First, you hoped to depose me
from the leadership of the Synod.

Then you tried to recall me to Meruva
galaxy on a fallacious pretext.

You were even less subtle.
You simply tried to kill me.

You are insane with power, Zo'or.

If you let your enemies eat
away your power long enough,

they will eventually consume it all.

- Another maxim from Sun Tzu?
- No, it is my own.

I have decided I will not suffer
your death of a thousand cuts, T'than.

One day even a fool like you
might succeed in bleeding me dry.

P'raj'rath.

Very well. P'raj'rath. I accept.

What is P'raj'rath?

Zo'or has just challenged T'than
to what you would call a duel

to the death.

You got my helmet video?

I've got you, Liam, now I'm going
to activate the radiation scoop.

It's getting it. Down to 20, 15.

Zero, and holding. Let's hope radiation
production is leveled off at least in there.

Renee?

Sarus.

God help it was quick.

Come on, Renee.

Am I glad to see you! She looks okay.

The interior radiation has leveled off,

but the exterior has doubled
in the last 60 seconds, Liam.

Will you hurry?

Denise.

Liam, there's blood inside her helmet.

She is alive, but barely.

Get them out of there. The
radiation is at the top of my scales.

Only one of us can fit in the
lock at a time. Take her first.

Denise's in. I'm going back for Renee.

Wait.

I recognize this sequence.

The ship is asking for a manual
override to stop the repairs.

There's no time. The water
is about to boil, get out!

If I bail, what's to stop
it from going critical on us?

Augur, the fifth symbol is no longer in use.
Run it through the ancient Taelon archives.

Renee, get in the lock.

Bingo! It's an old symbol for
annihilation and destruction.

It thinks that the crew is abandoning
the ship and we're under attack.

I countermanding that order.

- In God?s name...
- Renee, go.

It's closing the main hatch!

When I reversed the
self-destruct order,

I also must've reversed
the abandon ship sequence.

The ship interpreted that like we're
staying aboard, so it closed the hatch.

It's invoked it's base level
security protocols.

It wants proof no one has boarded the
ship and that Ma'el is still at the helm.

- What kind of proof?
- Ma'el's password?

Well, don't look at me.

Hey, Augur, I can get his suit yet?

Well, radiation and temperature
parameters are nominal.

According to my suit monitors
the air should be breathable.

Relax, it's okay, just
a little tang of ozone.

Listen, Liam, can you position the helmet
cam so we can see what you're doing?

I don't see any bruises.
You were very lucky.

The ship has healed itself.

You can reconnect
the service umbilical.

Either we open the
hatch, or we don't leave.

I have petitioned the Synod
to intervene and stop the duel.

I proposed an arbitration
to resolve the conflict.

Resolve?

They both want absolute power.

Given what has come before,
I do not see much hope.

How can Zo'or and
T'than duel to the death?

I thought Taelons couldn't kill each
other, it's like, it's like an instinct.

True. But like any sentient creature,

we rationalize our actions.

I thought Zo'or was unique to
use violence against the Taelons.

Direct violence? Not even Zo'or.

But killing by proxy is permitted.

What do you mean by proxy?

You have, no doubt, noticed the
Foovlashaa game in my embassy.

This is the instrument of death.

I don't see how a game could be fatal.

He depletes mental energy.

In a P'raj'rath duel Foovlashaa
is played to the extreme.

One player finally channels
everything into a last move,

and ceases to exist.

- Renee?
- I'm alright!

All right.

No, you're not.

Raw emotion like this is
indicative of a concussion.

No, this is not concussion. This is...

a stupid, pointless reaction...

to a failure.

My failure.

I wanted a weapon to
fight the Taelons, I was...

willing to do anything.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry I brought you into this.

They would've eventually punctured
the vein of energy themselves.

They usually worked here in short
sleeves with the energy lock open.

Think how many would've died then.

I know you're broken up about it, I'd
expect you to be, you're a good person.

But I need your help.

I...

I'm not sure I can do.

The ship could launch
itself into orbit.

Or rekindle its energy column and
burn a hole right through the planet.

Help me figure out how to stop it.

I haven't been paying much attention
to what exactly have you tried.

So far, every command
sequence I use in the shuttle.

Okay, but the shuttles had
been ergonomically designed

so that humans could
flight them, right?

The Taelons use a different system.

Right, well, we use
kinetic hand controls,

they have almost a symbiotic
relationship with their machines.

Then think like a Taelon.

Quit trying to control the ship.

Establish a relationship.

Doors,

in the last 10 minutes, the ship's
energy production increased fivefold.

Now, I think that we should bring
the Taelons on this right now.

It's their technology. They
can shut it down in seconds.

You don't know that. The secret
of this ship in Resistance hands

is our most important advantage, and
I am certainly not telling the Taelons.

I've done a computer risk analysis.

And in most outcomes
Liam and Renee die.

Augur, Doors, I'm in.

It's Ma'el's ship. The whole thing.

It's huge, so much more
than I ever imagined.

It's what I was
after. Can you zoom in?

Renee?

Liam!

Over there.

What are those?

It can be a form of Taelon
cryogenic suspension

for long duration space flight.

- It's human.
- It was human.

Its cryo failed.

What do you think, Ma'el
was collecting specimens?

They've done it to us.

Wait.

I think that one started
to revive, stand back.

- What? What did he say?
- Loquerisne anglice?

I was to be revived in 100 years.

The gages show almost 300.
Everyone is perished except me. Why?

We don't know, we just
got here ourselves.

Who were they?

All my friends.

I convinced them to come with me.

I promised them they'd awaken
the day the Taelons arrived, as...

Ma'el has promised me.

What did you do to them?

It's a tragedy but we
had nothing to do with it.

We're so sorry. We wish we could help.

No mortal can help.

Not now.

Gods crush us at will.

How did you get aboard? Through the tunnel?

But we're trapped.

Can you control the ship's systems?

Yes. Yes, of course.

I am afraid I've been impolite.

Whom do I have the
honor of addressing?

Renee Palmer. Liam Kincaid.

I'm Salvius Julianus, citizen of Rome.

- Do you really think his Roman?
- It's not impossible.

Ma'el was here during
the Roman Empire.

His electrolytes are shot,
he's badly dehydrated.

No wonder, he claims to have
been in cryo for 300 years.

Well, if he revives, try to keep him in
the dark about the video and commlink.

I'm going to shut off the helmet
audio so there isn't a feedback.

We have to protect the
secret at all costs.

Do all costs include three lives?

No only you got Liam
and Renee down there,

but you've got a human
from the second century BC.

Now, don't you think it's time
that you got the Taelons into this?

The Resistance fight has
already cost hundreds of lives.

I will dishonor this sacrifice by giving
the Taelons our best hope of victory.

Watch him. Don't let him leave,
don't let him use the global.

From now on, may consider this
man hostile to the Resistance.

It's only glucose. It's not much,
it's the only medicine we have.

You have made strides.

The last time I revived
they were using leeches.

- You're... you're not using leeches.
- No.

When... When was the last time?

1700. Well tumultuous.

Pope Innocent XII just died.

I've been revived 19 times.
Once every 100 years.

When I revived, I walk
the Earth for months.

Last time I managed
to visiting London.

Remarkable city and
a bit damp in winter.

I was wondering why an
ancient Roman spoke English.

Ancient?

Yes, I suppose I am.

Every time I walked the Earth,

I learned the languages
of the dominant cultures.

This is the king's English from
William's court. William III.

I'm curious. Who is
the King of England now?

Charles.

I don't know what number he is.

Americans don't pay much
attention unless there's a scandal.

Americans?

So, you won independence?

- Yes, in 1776.
- Oh, I thought it was coming. And democracy?

- One person, one vote.
- Big mistake.

But you're young.

Can you...

Can you imagine how
far I feel from London?

Until now I had my friends.

But now I have no one.

How did your friends got onboard?
Did Ma'el choose them as well?

Oh no, not Ma'el.

When I walked the Earth I
occasionally told someone about Ma'el.

And invited them to accompany me.

He..

He was a mandarin from the Sung court.

She...

She was a puritan from the Plymouth.

They all wanted to wait
with me for the Taelons.

To wait?

But the Taelons are already
here. At least, Ma'el was.

I don't mean Ma'el.

The others.

The Synod has declined your
request to prohibit P'raj'rath.

So, you assume the Synod gives your
tacit approval to be their assassin?

I assume they want me to
prepare for the Jaridians.

I know that you think we can win
by making the human our allies.

- What do you believe?
- Neither of us can win.

We will leave the Earth in ruins, retreat
and it will go on until there's no one left.

Do you not believe that we may
one day rejoin with the Jaridians?

That this is our only
hope for survival?

I leave the speculation
to the philosophers.

Zo'or's inexperienced leadership
has endangered our species.

With him gone, I can lead the Synod
and repair the damage that he has done.

But what will you do when
I kill Zo'or, your child?

If you choose me over Zo'or, you
could be my esteemed friend, Da'an.

To lose a child is a hard choice.

But children belong more to
the Commonality than to us.

Consider well. In war
there are no taboos.

Zo'or,

you may view this duel
as defending your honor,

but it has very real
consequences for me.

You owe me a moment of consideration.

I owe you?

I should think that the reverse is
true. You are nothing without me.

I am as much, I grant.

T'than has let me know more than
once that when he is in power,

he plans to strip me of any.

You understate your dilemma.

Compared to T'than,
I am a benign despot.

I am willing to help you defeat him.

You could, in fact, assure my victory.

How?

During P'raj'rath,

each combatant attempts to overload
the other with psychic chaos.

A player who had an objective report on
how various gambits succeeded or failed

would have a lethal advantage.

In other words, you want me
to look over T'than's shoulder

and tell you what cards he's holding.

An apt comparison.

What happened to this deck?

It was filled with
sea water and coral.

- What are you doing?
- I'm compiling a damage report.

The ship flooded in March, 1732.

It shut down to preserve enough
core energy to power my cryopod,

and revive me if it'd attacked.

It abandoned the other
pods but preserved you?

Why you?

Ma'el wrote those commands
to the ship's cellular memory.

I was to be preserved at any cost.

- How long can they take this?
- No long.

They must conquer space, time
and matter with their minds,

as well as sway the Commonality.

As the contest progresses,
they are being judged.

We do not perceive it, but inside
their heads is a galvanic struggle,

both blinding and deafening.

What was your relationship?
How did you meet him?

He often revealed himself to humans.

Most would think they'd gone mad,

or had seen the devil or a god.

But I accepted him for what
he was, what he claimed to be.

Zo'or is losing to the mass will.

If the Commonality remains
ranked against, he cannot prevail.

Ma'el was a good teacher.

And I was a good pupil.

Why did he teach you?

He knew he was dying.

In the year 179 BC,

by then he'd see me debate
as a senator at the forum.

How long were you a senator?

11 years.

I still don't get the
connection to Ma'el.

He was dying, and
left you his ship. Why?

In return for mere immortality and
a chance to watch the world grow old,

I was to be his circuit.

To be what I was in Rome.

A judge.

And who were you supposed to judge?

The Taelons.

I was to wait for the
main force of Taelons,

and judge their
intentions toward Earth.

The advantage shifts. Zo'or
has found T'than weakness.

The Commonality is
sliding now to Zo'or.

T'than will not
survive this P'raj'rath.

It's flagged the Taelon
mother ship as an intruder.

You read Taelon but didn't
tell me they were here. Why?

We found you on a Taelon ship,
it's natural to assume you know

- more about the Taelons than we do.
- I've been frozen.

The ship was sensing for Taelons

and triggered to revived me the
instant they drop out of the ID space.

Then why didn't it? They've
been here more than 4 years.

It was damaged.

But now it is in recovery mode.

I only hope there's enough power left

for me to do what I am sworn to do.

I'm trapped.

Turn these off. We're not
your enemy, Julianus.

Turn these off.

I think not.

From now on I'm in control.

No Taelon spies are going to stop me.

I have waited two millennia to
keep my sacred word to Ma'el.

What is it?

- A summons to battle stations.
- Who gave the order?

It's automatic. It is programmed
to sound only under one condition.

After 2000 years,

Ma'el's ship has finally made contact.

Why this rupture? Ma'el is dead.

This is nothing more than a hologram
beamed from the ship. Find it!

He says it's time for...

judgement.

I am Salvius Julianus,
citizen of Rome.

Who leads the Synod?

I am Zo'or. What do you want?

He switched back to Taelon. Why?

It's a verbal contract,
an ancient Taelon code.

Now Zo'or knows that
Julianus is legit.

The ship is hidden by
countermeasures to defeat our sensors.

It has been since we reached Earth.

You stand before me to be judged,

so future generations of
humans what transpired this day.

- Have you received Ma'el's message?
- Yes, he sent his report.

He sent you his warning
not to come to Earth.

To allow humanity time
to evolve as equals.

- Did you understood his warning?
- Yes, I understood his opinion.

- And how have you acted on it?
- As I saw fit.

Ma'el's analysis is no longer germane.

The Jaridians are too great
a threat now for me to wait.

I must use humanity as
a weapon in our struggle.

In other words,

Ma'el's worst fear has been realized.

I have no choice.

Zo'or, I sentence you and all
Taelons on Earth orbit to death.

Looks like it's increasing
power for takeoff.

- I'm clearing the tunnel.
- I'm staying.

- There'll be a tidal wave.
- At least. It's war.

Remember, Doors? People die, and
the only way to stop this thing

is to get Liam and Renee loose in
there. And I've got an idea how to do it.

You're assuming I want to stop it.

Oh, come on. You had a plenty of
chances to kill the Taelons before,

and this is one battle
you don't want to win.

Now think about it,

a mass murder would only bring
reprises from the Taelons left on Earth

and anywhere else in the galaxy.

They would come back and wipe
us out of the Solar system.

So, let's get in there, get Liam and
Renee out so we can live to win the war.

Are you with me, Doors?

I'll stay. The rest of
you, get out of here!

We all knew Ma'el.

He was a scientist, not an extremist.

His time on Earth taught him
a new way of imposing his will.

But how?

His was a research
vessel, lightly armed.

I know how I would do it.

He's going to ram the mother ship.

I'm not wise enough to judge
you if you deserve to die.

- For that I'm sorry.
- Julianus.

Did Ma'el actually tell you
to destroy the mother ship?

It was his decision. He
could never do it himself.

But I'm honored to be
his proxy in a just cause.

What are you doing?

I've been recording the Taelon control
tones as Julianus worked the system.

Now, I'm gonna blast them through
the helmet speakers in full volume

and hope that one of those tones releases
Liam and Renee out of those energy columns.

So, Ma'el left this time
bomb here for you ticking?

Why you?

If the Taelons came to Earth at all,
they are guilty of disobeying Ma'el.

You're no judge. You're a killer.

I trust Ma'el. He knew
what was best for his kind.

Run! Let's get out!

An object has been launched from the
western hemisphere on a direct course to us.

Collision in less than 30 seconds.

Ma'el's ship, as I thought.

When you have no weapons,
you must be the weapon.

What are your orders?

Escape to interdimensional
space, of course.

There is no time. The
power cores are too cold.

We are in orbit.

We are heading right for them.

I've reinitiated the
self-destruct order.

Hopefully it'll blow itself up
before it hits the mother ship.

What?

Julianus said the control in cryodeck
separate from the rest in emergencies,

but if the control deck goes, the
cryopods must be final means of escape.

Like a life raft.

Damage reports.

No damage, the blast
was inconsequential.

Very well.

Unless there are any objections,

I shall be resting in my chambers.

After all these years,

Ma'el's judgement must wait.

Julianus came a long way for nothing.

But God, he was the only man who ever lived
and was actually here for all that history.

Think of the things
he could've told us.

I just wish we'd had
the chance to save him.

We talked him out of suicide?
I wander if we could have.

He gave Ma'el his word.

Think of the loyalty Ma'el
was capable of inspiring.

I wish I'd met him. He
must have been amazing.

Lucky he came to Earth first.

It's tragic that his mission
for Julianus had to backfire.

Maybe not.

Now the Taelons know the value
Ma'el placed on our freedom.

Maybe it'll sow a seed of doubt.

Subtitled by
Axarion