Murdoch Mysteries (2008–…): Season 11, Episode 10 - F.L.A.S.H.! - full transcript
Murdoch investigates a death which may have been caused by a high speed travel device.
F-T-P-1-1.
Thank you.
Do you have an answer?
- The answer is yes.
- Are you certain?
Yes.
Hello?
Are you still there?
No! No! Stop!
Stop! Aaaaah!
I'm sorry, he was screaming
but you couldn't hear him?
I'm saying the screams got quieter.
Like this... STOP! Stop... stop...
Stop... stop. Stop.
As if he was moving
farther from the telephone.
No. It was like all the
sound just drained away.
What's going on, Higgins?
Sir, huh... his is
Bonnie Clement from the...
Front Street Telephone
and Telegraph Exchange.
She's reporting a strange
telephone call, sir.
That's not the strangest part.
What is the strangest part?
He called twice to the same number.
The first call was routed through
the Toronto Island Exchange.
The second came through
the Mill Street Exchange.
Fifteen seconds later.
- Fifteen seconds.
- Don't you see?
He was in two different
places at the same time.
Right.
It's true, I swear.
Excuse me.
Sir!
Should I investigate this?
Investigate what? She's a crackpot.
Write it up nd get back
to what you were doing.
Oh, I was about to respond to
George's postcard, sir. He's in Paris.
I know where he is!
I just hope he's annoying
the bloody French.
Sir.
Hmm. And you believe it's
because of the hormone treatment?
I don't know what else to
think. I've never felt such
urgency n that regard.
Are you feeling that way now?
William!
It comes and goes...
but I do think hat we should
strike while the iron is hot.
After all, it's a Darwinian principle
that inclination is related
to fertile receptivity.
- I agree, but...
- We need a code word.
Ah.
William, his face.
- He appears quite flushed.
- Not just flushed.
It's like his surface
capillaries have exploded.
The infinity symbol.
I believe it's called a lemniscate.
- It's a graphic representation...
- Lemniscate!
I believe we've found our code word.
I've seen this symbol before.
- Of course you have. It's a lemniscate.
- A what?
Well, among other things
it's the symbol for infinity.
I don't give a toss about infinity.
I mean I've seen this. Recently.
F-T-P-1-1. What does that mean?
I have no idea.
FT could be the beginning
of a telephone number.
FT could be the Front Street Exchange.
- Sir... that's where Bonnie Clement works.
- Who?
The... crackpot we had in earlier, sir.
F-T-P-11.
Yes, this is definitely one of ours.
The P stands for Public
Phone. And eleven,
well, that would be for
public telephone number 11.
The call you reported this
morning, that was to P-11?
Yes. Just after midnight.
Do you know where the call came from?
I don't know.
It originated from the
Mill Street Exchange.
And... how many telephones are
serviced by the Mill Street Exchange?
Oh, gosh! I wouldn't know.
Hundreds I would think.
Possibly thousands.
Bloody hell.
Is it usual for someone
to receive a call
to one of these public telephones?
Well, it's not common,
but it can be arranged.
One just has to book a specific
phone for a specific time.
So there'll be a record
of who received that call.
Well... Yes, I suppose, but
you'd have to talk to the
shift manager about that.
I'm just on the switchboard.
Oh!
That would be the phone.
Detective Murdoch.
- Lemniscate.
- I'll be right there.
Let me unlock the door.
The attendants will be back any minute.
- So... What have you, Doctor?
- Ha! Ha! Ha!
Well, Detective, now
that you mention it,
I've never seen anything like it.
Not only were his surface
capillaries ruptured,
the alveoli of his lungs
had literally exploded.
As if he were killed in a vacuum.
Yes. How did you guess that?
His death was overheard
by a switchboard operator
who described his cries
as being drained of sound
and soundwaves can't
propagate in a vacuum.
I also noticed the vacuum
chamber on your table.
I see.
I experimented on
rats to test my theory.
But William...
how on earth would one
find a vacuum chamber
large enough to fit an adult human?
A vacuum? How is that possible?
I'm not sure.
But we know the air was drawn
out of the room very quickly.
- Within seconds.
- How did they manage that?
It would have to be a
specialized facility.
Likely experimental.
Sirs, I've contacted the manager
at the telephone exchange.
The telephone in question was booked
from twelve midnight
under the name Fred Smith.
In fact, Fred Smith has
booked the same telephone
at the same time every night
for the past 3 weeks, sir.
That's a bit curious isn't it?
The same time every night.
There are three Fred
Smiths in Toronto, sir,
but they all claim to have
been in bed at the time.
- It's probably an alias.
- Did anyone see him?
The manager remembers seeing
him a few nights back, sir.
He'll be in later.
William!
Look what I found in
today's business section.
Bloody hell, that's where I've seen it.
"Investment opportunity of a lifetime."
"Best project ever conceived."
What do you think it could be?
Probably one of those
"get rich quick" schemes.
It starts at 2:30.
That's in half an hour.
Are these all investors?
I don't know.
I saw some members of the press.
I've asked around.
No one seems to have a
clue what it's all about.
I'll tell you what it's about.
It's the greatest scheme ever devised...
to separate you from you money.
Oh!
Speed,
the inverse relationship
between distance and time.
Since the dawn of the machine age,
man has sought to increase one
at the expense of the other.
To do that, we needed
the power to accelerate.
But we encountered a limit.
Friction.
- The point where the wheel meets the rail.
- I know that voice.
Do you know that voice?
But if we were to lift the train
by the force of magnetic repulsion
and drive it forward
by means of induction,
then the only friction one would
encounter would be the wind.
And if we were to take that out,
our speed could be infinite!
William! He's talking about a vacuum.
- Yes, he is.
- ... Allowing for a comfortable acceleration,
we could go from New York
to London in one hour.
Sound impossible?
Try inevitable.
Frictionless, levitated,
accelerated, subsurface, hypertrain.
Introducing the Pendrick FLASH.
- It's bloody Pendrick!
- So he is alive.
... built from fifty thousand
sections of cast aluminum
and held in place by cables
secured to the ocean floor.
While the tube would be airless,
passengers would ride in full comfort.
Is such a thing even possible?
Well, theoretically, it's possible,
but I couldn't even begin to guess
as to whether it's actually viable.
But first... we have to build it.
That's where you come in.
I'll be there to talk to you at 3:00.
That's in 30 seconds.
But wait...
I'm on Toronto Island.
You can see for yourself.
Just look out the window.
It's him!
It's James Pendrick.
He's on Toronto Island.
There's only 20 seconds left.
Two miles.
No man can travel two
miles in 20 seconds.
He is James Pendrick, sir.
It's not a trick.
Ladies and gentlemen,
members of the press,
I am a man who dreams great things.
But far superior is the man
who makes those dreams reality.
And that is my main investor
and force behind the share
offering, Mr. Clyde Spiker.
Thank you, Mr. Pendrick.
- As you all know...
- Do you seriously expect us to fall for this fantasy?
Mr. Darling here is the head of a
consortium of steamship companies
that are understandably very nervous.
If you have shares in these
companies, sell them now.
This is the future. And now, Mr. Spiker!
Bloody hell, James, the last
time I saw you, you were dead!
Death can't stop a man like me, Tom.
Detective Murdoch, always a pleasure.
And Doctor Ogden.
I believe the last time we
met my alter ego stole a kiss.
- Oh, yes, I do remember.
- Then, allow me to return it.
Oh!
Now what are you doing
here? Are you here to invest?
- Oh, you can't be serious.
- I'm afraid so, Mr. Pendrick.
Dear God!
- That's Charlie Howden.
- Who was he?
He was a mathematician.
Specialist in field equations.
- What the devil happened to him?
- We believe he was killed in a vacuum.
I know where it happened.
- This is your test vehicle.
- We call it the sled.
Our test track runs from
here to Ward's Island.
Through our test tube.
- Electromagnets.
- There are two sets of course.
The ones on the bottom
are all of like polarity.
To create levitation.
The ones on the side there
alternate to allow induction.
- For acceleration.
- Up to the midpoint,
where we reverse polarity
to help brake the vehicle.
So this is the telephone connected
to the Mill Street Exchange?
Yes. But we use it mostly to
communicate with headquarters.
So this is where he died.
- These fans create the vacuum?
- That's right.
We keep the tube evacuated
behind that airtight seal.
When the room is
depressurized, the seal opens.
And who controls the fans?
There are controls on either end
but access is strictly
limited to members of my team.
I'll need to speak with them.
Pendrick with guest.
Initiate transport.
Hold onto your hat, Murdoch.
This will be the ride of your life.
How fast did we just go?
Think, Murdoch. Two times
0,9 miles in 7 seconds.
Constant rate of acceleration...
400 miles per hour.
392 to be exact.
With a longer track
we can go much faster.
Murdoch, meet my team.
This is Robert H. Goddard, the
inventor of the FLASH train.
- Mr. Pendrick exaggerates.
- Nonsense.
We shared a coach on a train where
he showed me an essay he'd written
outlining the broad principles.
To be honest, I'm more excited
about the rocket Mr. Pendrick built.
One project at a time, Robert.
This is Jaya Bhola,
my mechanical engineer.
- Pleased to meet you.
- Pleasure to meet you.
And Gong Fu Chi,
Mr. Howden's prot?g?.
Her proficiency in dynamic feedback
calculations is unparalleled.
How do you do?
And lastly, my assistant,
Mr. Sam Trenwith,
without whom I'd be entirely lost.
Now that's just shameless flattery, but
it does happen to be true.
Are you an investor, then?
No, I work for the Toronto Constabulary.
Detective Murdoch is here on some
rather grim business, I'm afraid.
Yes.
Charlie Howden was found floating
in the Toronto Harbour this morning.
My God!
Oh, my God! Fu Chi was asking
where he was. What happened?
He was caught in the mainland launch
chamber while it was depressurized.
But that's impossible.
We have safe-guards.
We also have an override switch.
- But that requires a special key and...
- Are you saying Chicken Little was murdered?
By someone who knows our
operation inside and out.
- Chicken Little?
- That was our pet name for him.
- He was always predicting failure.
- Catastrophic failure.
He thought field perturbations
would send the sled off
the rails and he was right.
At certain speeds, oscillations develop.
So the sky may have indeed fallen
had it not been for Mr.
Goddard's brilliant invention.
A feedback stabilizer that dampens
the current at peak oscillation.
So, Murdoch, how can we help you?
I'll be needing to interview
everyone who had access
to or knowledge of this facility.
You think it was one of your own team?
I don't know what to think, Tom.
It had to be someone with an
intimate knowledge of our operation.
Was there any bad blood
between them and Howden?
Charlie was a pessimist.
While others sought success,
he looked for failure.
It's what made him so valuable.
I just heard. Terrible news.
Have you told them my suspicions?
I have not.
- Gentlemen... ?
- Mr. Spiker believes
that a member of my team is a spy.
Based on evidence that
is circumstantial at best.
Howden's been murdered. Why
do you dismiss the obvious?
Because it means...
It means that I've been betrayed
by someone that I admire and trust.
Well, it wouldn't be the first time.
That said, if there is a spy,
perhaps Mr. Howden stumbled
upon their identity.
Or he was caught in an act of sabotage.
So who was he?
- We don't know.
- And who would a spy be working for?
Trenton Darling.
So it is your contention
that Mr. Howden was killed by
a member of Mr. Pendrick's team
who is secretly working for me.
You represent a consortium
of steamship interests.
I'm an agent,
paid to represent the interests
of my clients by all legal means.
Is it not in your client's interests
that Mr. Pendrick's FLASH fail?
It will fail. And
without any help from me.
- On the contrary, it seems to work.
- Of course it works.
It may even pay for itself.
That's beside the point.
Pendrick will never acquire
sufficient capital to build the thing.
It's my understanding the initial
share offering is selling out briskly.
What about the next one?
Or the one after that?
And after that?
At some point, his investors
will realize it's all going down
the same bottomless well
and that's where Mr.
Pendrick's tube ends.
I didn't engage in espionage.
I wouldn't risk my good name.
Not because I wasn't willing to,
but because it wasn't required.
I don't think we can hold him.
Of course we can't bloody
hold him. He's right.
What? You don't believe he hired a spy?
- Well, that as well.
- Sir?
I was hoping to invest.
Just think about it, Murdoch.
Across the Atlantic in one hour.
I could go home, watch the Wednesday
play whenever they're in London
- and be back for dinner.
- Sirs.
I've confirmed the alibis for
Jaya Bhola and Gong Fu Chi.
The rest claim to
have been asleep alone.
We found this... among
Mr. Howden's effects.
It must be his workbook.
Yes, sir, and it appears some
pages have been ripped out here.
Ah, yes.
I'm Fenn Bickford.
Yes. Sir, this is the night manager
of the Front Street exchange.
You're the fella who
saw... What's his name?
The man who took the call last night.
- Fred Smith, sir.
- Actually, I didn't see him last night.
But other nights to be sure.
Right. Start with members
of Mr. Pendrick's team.
- Maybe we'll get lucky.
- Sir.
Alright, Mr. Bickford,
please take a seat.
I'm going to show you some photographs
and you tell me if any are familiar.
This man? No.
No.
Oh, that's him.
- This is the man?
- No. That's James Pendrick.
That man. He's Fred Smith.
So there was a spy.
- Yes.
- Working for you.
You do like to cross
those T's, don't you?
Yes. Working for me.
He'd telephone at midnight.
- Every night?
- Not every night.
We had to arrange the
time slot well in advance.
Hold it. But it was
Howden who made the call.
That's right.
My spy didn't kill
Mr. Howden, Inspector.
Mr. Howden was the spy.
I can't believe it.
No, it's impossible. Charlie and I...
Charlie and I, we go back years.
Trenton Darling is lying.
We know Mr. Howden
placed the telephone call
and a witness has confirmed that
Mr. Darling was the recipient.
Is there no one in
the world I can trust?
There are other
implications, Mr. Pendrick.
Motivation for the murder has changed.
- You are now a suspect.
- Me?
Your friend betrayed you.
Murdoch, you've seen me in
the face of betrayal before.
I can barely summon the will
to breathe let alone kill.
If not you, then who?
Seal number one is open.
- The sled is still in its dock.
- But the launch room has been depressurized.
Someone is in the tube.
He's manually opened the seal.
Close the seal and
re-pressurize. Come on, Murdoch!
This way.
Put this on. It will protect
you against the vacuum.
- Is this a Judson fastener?
- It is.
Specially designed to withstand
twenty atmospheres of pressure.
How will we communicate?
There is a Fessenden
transmitter in each suit.
Use override to evacuate in ten.
Can you hear me?
- Yes.
- Brace yourself.
It's about to get a
little breezy in here.
There he is. What in blazes is he up to?
James! Stay back!
- I found this under the tracks.
- Sam.
- Dear God.
- There's not enough time.
- 29 seconds.
- I don't know anything about wiring.
How many bombs have
you defused, Murdoch?
Uh, two.
That's two more than I.
Huh... So many wires.
Murdoch...
Murdoch!
It's over.
However did you know there
was a bomb down there?
I didn't. I was following a hunch.
Charlie was down there
earlier in the evening.
I didn't think anything of it.
But when I found out he was a spy...
That should do it.
Why didn't you tell us?
If I was wrong, I'd
have been embarrassed.
If I was right, I'd have been
putting your life in danger.
I couldn't do that.
You imperiled your life to save mine...
and thwart an act of sabotage against...
the dream I hold so dear.
Thank you, Sam.
I'm giving you a raise,
effective the day you started.
No, sir. I don't want it.
Your thanks is all the
reward I could wish for.
You still messing around
with the bomb? Is that wise?
Oh, it's a very simple device, sir.
The timer closes the
circuit which sends a current
from the battery to the resister
which then lights the fuses.
Naturally, I wanted to
see how long it would take.
- And?
- I'm still waiting.
Ah! You're telling me the
thing would have never gone off.
Well, sir, I've tested the
battery and the circuit,
but for some reason I
keep getting a voltage drop
between the battery and the resistor.
So what are you doing now?
I'm trying to find out what
is causing that voltage drop.
Oh!
What's that?
I've seen one of these before.
It's meant to shift a portion of
an alternating current out of phase.
A battery is direct current.
In which case this would
act as a simple resistor.
Did Mr. Howden have the
technical knowledge to apply this?
Oh, heavens, no! Charlie
was just a mathematician.
His field equations were brilliant,
but he had no practical ability.
Who had the requisite knowledge then?
Mr. Pendrick of course.
What about Mrs. Bhola?
No, she's a materials
specialist. And Fu Chi...
who knows?
- Mr. Spiker?
- He knew about finances. Nothing more.
Mr. Trenwith?
Sam is... Mr. Pendrick's butler,
secretary, best friend...
- But not a technical expert.
- No...
but I've noticed he's a fast learner.
The key to this drawer, Mr. Trenwith.
No. I'm sorry. That drawer
is strictly off limits.
Detective, there are
items of a personal nature
that I would prefer to
be kept... That's private!
I like to draw. I like to
draw what I see around me.
There's really nothing unusual...
I have no interest in your
personal concerns, Mr. Trenwith,
I assure you.
The handwriting is the same. It's you.
You're the spy.
I don't know how Charlie got this.
I never gave it to him.
So Mr. Howden was never the spy.
It was you all along.
Look, I never betrayed James.
I need him to know that. It's really
important to me that he knows that.
But you did work for Mr. Darling?
At first, yes.
Why?
Why? Why does anyone do
anything? Money of course.
He paid a lot and I
have expensive tastes.
Had. I'm not the man I used to be.
Love changes you.
I telephoned Darling
whenever I had information.
I would call precisely at midnight.
I did the talking mostly
and he would just listen.
Then two nights ago he told
me to meet a man at the docks.
Then you were given the bomb.
It was the man who placed the
bomb. I just had to let him in.
But I couldn't take the
chance it would go off.
So you improvised a means of
stopping the bomb exploding.
I had barely a minute
alone with the device.
So when Mr. Howden was
thought to be the spy,
you took advantage of the situation
and pretended to discover the bomb.
It was set to explode at
noon. I knew I had time.
Why a bomb?
Darling wanted to expose the Pendrick
FLASH's vulnerability to sabotage.
So Mr. Darling was truly
worried the FLASH would succeed.
Of course he was worried.
He was up against James Pendrick.
Well I'm convinced.
You believe Mr. Trenwith is the killer?
I mean I'm convinced as to the
viability of Pendrick's scheme.
If the man who described
it as bottomless pit
is so scared he's planting bombs,
- I'm taking that as a sign.
- I just heard.
I can't believe it. Sam?
He admits to being the spy,
but swears he never betrayed you.
- Is he the killer?
- We don't know.
It's possible Mr. Howden found the card,
read the numbers and correctly deduced
- that Mr. Trenwith was the spy.
- And was killed for it.
Excuse me, gentlemen.
Could I have a word?
About the share offering.
Are there any shares left?
The first offering is all but sold out,
but I've set a certain number aside
if you come by later this afternoon.
I'll send my wife. She's
in charge of investments.
- Ha! Ha! Ha!
- Sir!
We went through the contents
of Mr. Trenwith's desk.
He seems to have an odd
preoccupation with Mr. Pendrick, sir.
We found poems...
Anything about the case?
- In the poems?
- No, Henry.
Anything about the case?
Oh... oh, well, we did find these, sir.
I believe they're the missing pages.
Missing pages?
From Mr. Howden's notebook.
Do you know what these mean?
They're... they're feedback
calculations of some sort.
That's all I can tell you. You'd
have to talk with an expert.
Right. Good work, Henry.
Bring in Miss Gong and Mr. Goddard.
Right away sir. Um, sir...
Dr. Ogden left a message for you.
_
- Thank you, Henry.
- Sir.
Come in, Margaret, come
in. Good, good, good.
Did you bring the money?
Yes... but what is it for?
We're investing in the most
fantastic project ever conceived.
There's over 200$ in here, Thomas.
Which will become 2000
when this gets built.
We're getting in at the
ground floor, Margaret.
- Well, if you're certain...
- Yes, I am, but you have to hurry.
Mr. Spiker is holding
shares especially for us.
A over Y prime is the threshold.
I can see that. But why
would it become chaotic?
My God!
It can't be.
Care to enlighten me?
It's right here.
It would seem Charlie had
a mathematical revelation.
What kind of revelation?
The oscillations I
told you about earlier.
Apparently, they become
chaotic beyond a certain speed.
- Meaning?
- The feedback stabilizer
only dampens oscillations
of a fixed period.
If they become chaotic...
The train will come off the track.
According to the calculation,
the chaotic movements increase
sharply beyond the critical speed.
- And that critical speed is..?
- 417...
Miles per hour.
Where did you find these?
Did you know what these
calculations meant?
That he was being Chicken
Little all over again.
Not this time.
You knew he was going
to test his theory.
So you gave him the
telephone number to call.
Only it wasn't Mr. Darling who
answered this time. It was you.
I couldn't let the information get out.
Not on the eve of the share offering.
James needs that money for phase one.
Mr. Trenwith, there isn't
going to be a phase one.
Mr. Pendrick's FLASH won't work.
As of this particular moment,
maybe. But James will figure it out.
He always does. He is a genius.
What did you do when
Mr. Howden telephoned?
What I had to.
I told him to stay at the facility.
I then used the override switch
to evacuate the launch chamber.
- Mr. Trenwith...
- No. Please.
- I need to get this off my chest.
- Mr. Trenwith,
Mr. Howden died moments
after the telephone call.
If you were on the telephone with him,
you could not have killed him.
No... no... no, wait,
that's not how it happened.
Why are you trying so
hard to confess to a murder
you could not have committed?
I wish to speak to my lawyer.
The pages.
That's why you asked me
where I'd gotten these.
You showed these equations
to James Pendrick.
My God!
You understand what it means?
I understand what it means
for the Pendrick FLASH.
People will tolerate an
hour in a cramped capsule
hurtling through an airless
space. They'll never tolerate ten.
Bloody hell.
Sir?
I bought 200 shares.
I'm sorry, Tom.
As am I. Now if we could...
I swear I've never seen these before.
Well, Mr. Trenwith believes you did.
Now, if you didn't give
them to him directly
he must have left
them for you somewhere.
And he believes I found them
and correctly deduced their meaning
and then killed Charlie for it.
That Sam would think so lowly of me...
What matters is that
he believed it, so why?
- What does he say about it?
- Nothing.
The moment I confronted him
in his lie, he stopped talking.
There was a card.
- A card.
- Sam was always writing me
little cards and notes of encouragement.
"Good luck tomorrow",
and that kind of thing.
- What did this one say?
- "This may be worth a conversation."
But when I looked inside,
there was nothing there.
What if the pages were inside
but the killer removed them?
And decided to have his own
conversation with Mr. Howden.
Murdoch,
if I'd have known, I
would never have gone ahead
with the share offering.
It was Spiker.
He would have lost
his entire investment.
So he traded his loss for mine.
And a hundred others.
Mill Street,
1-8-1-3.
Hello, Robert. Is Clyde there?
No, no. Tell him to wait there.
I'll explain later. Just keep him there.
We must be fleet of foot.
I'm sorry, Tom. There's only
room for two in the sled.
That's alright. I'll wait.
Robert!
Are you alright? What happened?
- I don't know.
- You've been hit on the head.
Spiker must be headed
back to the mainland.
You're alright.
The sled's gone.
The knave slipped past us.
- Robert, send that sled back.
- I can't.
My commands are being overridden
by the mainland control room.
Spiker's taken control.
Breathe out!
And hold your breath!
Murdoch!
Your oxygen rebreather!
William!
Julia?
You should leave.
We're in a vacuum.
Don't be silly,
you know sound can't travel in a vacuum.
I'm just reminding you to breathe.
Murdoch! Can you hear me?
How long have we been unconscious?
The suits take a moment
or two to pressurize.
Spiker tried to kill us
the same way killed Howden.
- Oh boy!
- What is it?
The mainland induction track
is aligned with the Island.
What does that mean?
It means the polarity won't
reverse at the midpoint.
The sled will continue to
accelerate past critical speed.
He means to destroy
the tube with us in it.
- Oh boy!
- What now?
It's on its way.
We have to close the seal!
Hurry!
Oh boy...
Bollocks!
Murdoch!
Well?
Full confession.
I expected no less from you, Tom.
The man robbed me of my life savings.
I was prepared to extract
more than a confession.
- Thomas!
- Oh, here we go.
Margaret, I've got some bad news.
Well, I'm afraid I have some of my own.
I just couldn't bring myself to invest
in one of Pendrick's crazy schemes.
- You didn't buy the shares?
- I'm sorry.
I know you're friends,
but Mr. Pendrick's plans never work out.
Oh...
- No disrespect intended.
- None taken.
- You're quite right of course.
- Well, thank you.
So if you want to pout,
- you can go right ahead because I...
- Bloody Hell, Margaret! You're brilliant!
Now why don't I take you home.
Good evening gentlemen.
Good evening, gentlemen.
So is there no hope
for the Pendrick FLASH?
Someday, someone will
do it but it won't be me.
- What about you, Mr. Goddard?
- No.
I've decided to devote my
energies to building a rocket.
I'd tell you how, but I'm
afraid it's now a state secret.
Just knowing it's
possible is enough for me.
Take care.
Well, Mr. Pendrick,
if death doesn't stop
you, neither will this.
- I'm sure you'll be back with an even grander idea.
- I hope you're right.
And you must be sure
to keep that logograph.
The infinity symbol. You
like that. I really do.
I believe it's called a lemniscate?
Well, I must be off.
Much work to do.
Well, Murdoch, shall
I treat you to dinner
to help celebrate my lastest failure?
I appreciate the offer but I'm
afraid my wife needs my assistance.
It's curious, isn't it?
I've always been undone by the
malfeasance of those I've trusted.
But for the first time,
I've been undone by the
very forces of nature itself.
You thought you'd been betrayed
by a man who was willing to confess
to a murder he believed
you had committed.
Whatever did I do to
deserve such loyalty?
I believe he was in love with you.
Of course.
Now that you say it,
it seems so obvious.
But I swear I didn't know.
Tell me,
do you think if a man tried hard enough,
he could overcome his inborn nature?
I don't believe so.
Pity.
Until next time.
Thank you.
Do you have an answer?
- The answer is yes.
- Are you certain?
Yes.
Hello?
Are you still there?
No! No! Stop!
Stop! Aaaaah!
I'm sorry, he was screaming
but you couldn't hear him?
I'm saying the screams got quieter.
Like this... STOP! Stop... stop...
Stop... stop. Stop.
As if he was moving
farther from the telephone.
No. It was like all the
sound just drained away.
What's going on, Higgins?
Sir, huh... his is
Bonnie Clement from the...
Front Street Telephone
and Telegraph Exchange.
She's reporting a strange
telephone call, sir.
That's not the strangest part.
What is the strangest part?
He called twice to the same number.
The first call was routed through
the Toronto Island Exchange.
The second came through
the Mill Street Exchange.
Fifteen seconds later.
- Fifteen seconds.
- Don't you see?
He was in two different
places at the same time.
Right.
It's true, I swear.
Excuse me.
Sir!
Should I investigate this?
Investigate what? She's a crackpot.
Write it up nd get back
to what you were doing.
Oh, I was about to respond to
George's postcard, sir. He's in Paris.
I know where he is!
I just hope he's annoying
the bloody French.
Sir.
Hmm. And you believe it's
because of the hormone treatment?
I don't know what else to
think. I've never felt such
urgency n that regard.
Are you feeling that way now?
William!
It comes and goes...
but I do think hat we should
strike while the iron is hot.
After all, it's a Darwinian principle
that inclination is related
to fertile receptivity.
- I agree, but...
- We need a code word.
Ah.
William, his face.
- He appears quite flushed.
- Not just flushed.
It's like his surface
capillaries have exploded.
The infinity symbol.
I believe it's called a lemniscate.
- It's a graphic representation...
- Lemniscate!
I believe we've found our code word.
I've seen this symbol before.
- Of course you have. It's a lemniscate.
- A what?
Well, among other things
it's the symbol for infinity.
I don't give a toss about infinity.
I mean I've seen this. Recently.
F-T-P-1-1. What does that mean?
I have no idea.
FT could be the beginning
of a telephone number.
FT could be the Front Street Exchange.
- Sir... that's where Bonnie Clement works.
- Who?
The... crackpot we had in earlier, sir.
F-T-P-11.
Yes, this is definitely one of ours.
The P stands for Public
Phone. And eleven,
well, that would be for
public telephone number 11.
The call you reported this
morning, that was to P-11?
Yes. Just after midnight.
Do you know where the call came from?
I don't know.
It originated from the
Mill Street Exchange.
And... how many telephones are
serviced by the Mill Street Exchange?
Oh, gosh! I wouldn't know.
Hundreds I would think.
Possibly thousands.
Bloody hell.
Is it usual for someone
to receive a call
to one of these public telephones?
Well, it's not common,
but it can be arranged.
One just has to book a specific
phone for a specific time.
So there'll be a record
of who received that call.
Well... Yes, I suppose, but
you'd have to talk to the
shift manager about that.
I'm just on the switchboard.
Oh!
That would be the phone.
Detective Murdoch.
- Lemniscate.
- I'll be right there.
Let me unlock the door.
The attendants will be back any minute.
- So... What have you, Doctor?
- Ha! Ha! Ha!
Well, Detective, now
that you mention it,
I've never seen anything like it.
Not only were his surface
capillaries ruptured,
the alveoli of his lungs
had literally exploded.
As if he were killed in a vacuum.
Yes. How did you guess that?
His death was overheard
by a switchboard operator
who described his cries
as being drained of sound
and soundwaves can't
propagate in a vacuum.
I also noticed the vacuum
chamber on your table.
I see.
I experimented on
rats to test my theory.
But William...
how on earth would one
find a vacuum chamber
large enough to fit an adult human?
A vacuum? How is that possible?
I'm not sure.
But we know the air was drawn
out of the room very quickly.
- Within seconds.
- How did they manage that?
It would have to be a
specialized facility.
Likely experimental.
Sirs, I've contacted the manager
at the telephone exchange.
The telephone in question was booked
from twelve midnight
under the name Fred Smith.
In fact, Fred Smith has
booked the same telephone
at the same time every night
for the past 3 weeks, sir.
That's a bit curious isn't it?
The same time every night.
There are three Fred
Smiths in Toronto, sir,
but they all claim to have
been in bed at the time.
- It's probably an alias.
- Did anyone see him?
The manager remembers seeing
him a few nights back, sir.
He'll be in later.
William!
Look what I found in
today's business section.
Bloody hell, that's where I've seen it.
"Investment opportunity of a lifetime."
"Best project ever conceived."
What do you think it could be?
Probably one of those
"get rich quick" schemes.
It starts at 2:30.
That's in half an hour.
Are these all investors?
I don't know.
I saw some members of the press.
I've asked around.
No one seems to have a
clue what it's all about.
I'll tell you what it's about.
It's the greatest scheme ever devised...
to separate you from you money.
Oh!
Speed,
the inverse relationship
between distance and time.
Since the dawn of the machine age,
man has sought to increase one
at the expense of the other.
To do that, we needed
the power to accelerate.
But we encountered a limit.
Friction.
- The point where the wheel meets the rail.
- I know that voice.
Do you know that voice?
But if we were to lift the train
by the force of magnetic repulsion
and drive it forward
by means of induction,
then the only friction one would
encounter would be the wind.
And if we were to take that out,
our speed could be infinite!
William! He's talking about a vacuum.
- Yes, he is.
- ... Allowing for a comfortable acceleration,
we could go from New York
to London in one hour.
Sound impossible?
Try inevitable.
Frictionless, levitated,
accelerated, subsurface, hypertrain.
Introducing the Pendrick FLASH.
- It's bloody Pendrick!
- So he is alive.
... built from fifty thousand
sections of cast aluminum
and held in place by cables
secured to the ocean floor.
While the tube would be airless,
passengers would ride in full comfort.
Is such a thing even possible?
Well, theoretically, it's possible,
but I couldn't even begin to guess
as to whether it's actually viable.
But first... we have to build it.
That's where you come in.
I'll be there to talk to you at 3:00.
That's in 30 seconds.
But wait...
I'm on Toronto Island.
You can see for yourself.
Just look out the window.
It's him!
It's James Pendrick.
He's on Toronto Island.
There's only 20 seconds left.
Two miles.
No man can travel two
miles in 20 seconds.
He is James Pendrick, sir.
It's not a trick.
Ladies and gentlemen,
members of the press,
I am a man who dreams great things.
But far superior is the man
who makes those dreams reality.
And that is my main investor
and force behind the share
offering, Mr. Clyde Spiker.
Thank you, Mr. Pendrick.
- As you all know...
- Do you seriously expect us to fall for this fantasy?
Mr. Darling here is the head of a
consortium of steamship companies
that are understandably very nervous.
If you have shares in these
companies, sell them now.
This is the future. And now, Mr. Spiker!
Bloody hell, James, the last
time I saw you, you were dead!
Death can't stop a man like me, Tom.
Detective Murdoch, always a pleasure.
And Doctor Ogden.
I believe the last time we
met my alter ego stole a kiss.
- Oh, yes, I do remember.
- Then, allow me to return it.
Oh!
Now what are you doing
here? Are you here to invest?
- Oh, you can't be serious.
- I'm afraid so, Mr. Pendrick.
Dear God!
- That's Charlie Howden.
- Who was he?
He was a mathematician.
Specialist in field equations.
- What the devil happened to him?
- We believe he was killed in a vacuum.
I know where it happened.
- This is your test vehicle.
- We call it the sled.
Our test track runs from
here to Ward's Island.
Through our test tube.
- Electromagnets.
- There are two sets of course.
The ones on the bottom
are all of like polarity.
To create levitation.
The ones on the side there
alternate to allow induction.
- For acceleration.
- Up to the midpoint,
where we reverse polarity
to help brake the vehicle.
So this is the telephone connected
to the Mill Street Exchange?
Yes. But we use it mostly to
communicate with headquarters.
So this is where he died.
- These fans create the vacuum?
- That's right.
We keep the tube evacuated
behind that airtight seal.
When the room is
depressurized, the seal opens.
And who controls the fans?
There are controls on either end
but access is strictly
limited to members of my team.
I'll need to speak with them.
Pendrick with guest.
Initiate transport.
Hold onto your hat, Murdoch.
This will be the ride of your life.
How fast did we just go?
Think, Murdoch. Two times
0,9 miles in 7 seconds.
Constant rate of acceleration...
400 miles per hour.
392 to be exact.
With a longer track
we can go much faster.
Murdoch, meet my team.
This is Robert H. Goddard, the
inventor of the FLASH train.
- Mr. Pendrick exaggerates.
- Nonsense.
We shared a coach on a train where
he showed me an essay he'd written
outlining the broad principles.
To be honest, I'm more excited
about the rocket Mr. Pendrick built.
One project at a time, Robert.
This is Jaya Bhola,
my mechanical engineer.
- Pleased to meet you.
- Pleasure to meet you.
And Gong Fu Chi,
Mr. Howden's prot?g?.
Her proficiency in dynamic feedback
calculations is unparalleled.
How do you do?
And lastly, my assistant,
Mr. Sam Trenwith,
without whom I'd be entirely lost.
Now that's just shameless flattery, but
it does happen to be true.
Are you an investor, then?
No, I work for the Toronto Constabulary.
Detective Murdoch is here on some
rather grim business, I'm afraid.
Yes.
Charlie Howden was found floating
in the Toronto Harbour this morning.
My God!
Oh, my God! Fu Chi was asking
where he was. What happened?
He was caught in the mainland launch
chamber while it was depressurized.
But that's impossible.
We have safe-guards.
We also have an override switch.
- But that requires a special key and...
- Are you saying Chicken Little was murdered?
By someone who knows our
operation inside and out.
- Chicken Little?
- That was our pet name for him.
- He was always predicting failure.
- Catastrophic failure.
He thought field perturbations
would send the sled off
the rails and he was right.
At certain speeds, oscillations develop.
So the sky may have indeed fallen
had it not been for Mr.
Goddard's brilliant invention.
A feedback stabilizer that dampens
the current at peak oscillation.
So, Murdoch, how can we help you?
I'll be needing to interview
everyone who had access
to or knowledge of this facility.
You think it was one of your own team?
I don't know what to think, Tom.
It had to be someone with an
intimate knowledge of our operation.
Was there any bad blood
between them and Howden?
Charlie was a pessimist.
While others sought success,
he looked for failure.
It's what made him so valuable.
I just heard. Terrible news.
Have you told them my suspicions?
I have not.
- Gentlemen... ?
- Mr. Spiker believes
that a member of my team is a spy.
Based on evidence that
is circumstantial at best.
Howden's been murdered. Why
do you dismiss the obvious?
Because it means...
It means that I've been betrayed
by someone that I admire and trust.
Well, it wouldn't be the first time.
That said, if there is a spy,
perhaps Mr. Howden stumbled
upon their identity.
Or he was caught in an act of sabotage.
So who was he?
- We don't know.
- And who would a spy be working for?
Trenton Darling.
So it is your contention
that Mr. Howden was killed by
a member of Mr. Pendrick's team
who is secretly working for me.
You represent a consortium
of steamship interests.
I'm an agent,
paid to represent the interests
of my clients by all legal means.
Is it not in your client's interests
that Mr. Pendrick's FLASH fail?
It will fail. And
without any help from me.
- On the contrary, it seems to work.
- Of course it works.
It may even pay for itself.
That's beside the point.
Pendrick will never acquire
sufficient capital to build the thing.
It's my understanding the initial
share offering is selling out briskly.
What about the next one?
Or the one after that?
And after that?
At some point, his investors
will realize it's all going down
the same bottomless well
and that's where Mr.
Pendrick's tube ends.
I didn't engage in espionage.
I wouldn't risk my good name.
Not because I wasn't willing to,
but because it wasn't required.
I don't think we can hold him.
Of course we can't bloody
hold him. He's right.
What? You don't believe he hired a spy?
- Well, that as well.
- Sir?
I was hoping to invest.
Just think about it, Murdoch.
Across the Atlantic in one hour.
I could go home, watch the Wednesday
play whenever they're in London
- and be back for dinner.
- Sirs.
I've confirmed the alibis for
Jaya Bhola and Gong Fu Chi.
The rest claim to
have been asleep alone.
We found this... among
Mr. Howden's effects.
It must be his workbook.
Yes, sir, and it appears some
pages have been ripped out here.
Ah, yes.
I'm Fenn Bickford.
Yes. Sir, this is the night manager
of the Front Street exchange.
You're the fella who
saw... What's his name?
The man who took the call last night.
- Fred Smith, sir.
- Actually, I didn't see him last night.
But other nights to be sure.
Right. Start with members
of Mr. Pendrick's team.
- Maybe we'll get lucky.
- Sir.
Alright, Mr. Bickford,
please take a seat.
I'm going to show you some photographs
and you tell me if any are familiar.
This man? No.
No.
Oh, that's him.
- This is the man?
- No. That's James Pendrick.
That man. He's Fred Smith.
So there was a spy.
- Yes.
- Working for you.
You do like to cross
those T's, don't you?
Yes. Working for me.
He'd telephone at midnight.
- Every night?
- Not every night.
We had to arrange the
time slot well in advance.
Hold it. But it was
Howden who made the call.
That's right.
My spy didn't kill
Mr. Howden, Inspector.
Mr. Howden was the spy.
I can't believe it.
No, it's impossible. Charlie and I...
Charlie and I, we go back years.
Trenton Darling is lying.
We know Mr. Howden
placed the telephone call
and a witness has confirmed that
Mr. Darling was the recipient.
Is there no one in
the world I can trust?
There are other
implications, Mr. Pendrick.
Motivation for the murder has changed.
- You are now a suspect.
- Me?
Your friend betrayed you.
Murdoch, you've seen me in
the face of betrayal before.
I can barely summon the will
to breathe let alone kill.
If not you, then who?
Seal number one is open.
- The sled is still in its dock.
- But the launch room has been depressurized.
Someone is in the tube.
He's manually opened the seal.
Close the seal and
re-pressurize. Come on, Murdoch!
This way.
Put this on. It will protect
you against the vacuum.
- Is this a Judson fastener?
- It is.
Specially designed to withstand
twenty atmospheres of pressure.
How will we communicate?
There is a Fessenden
transmitter in each suit.
Use override to evacuate in ten.
Can you hear me?
- Yes.
- Brace yourself.
It's about to get a
little breezy in here.
There he is. What in blazes is he up to?
James! Stay back!
- I found this under the tracks.
- Sam.
- Dear God.
- There's not enough time.
- 29 seconds.
- I don't know anything about wiring.
How many bombs have
you defused, Murdoch?
Uh, two.
That's two more than I.
Huh... So many wires.
Murdoch...
Murdoch!
It's over.
However did you know there
was a bomb down there?
I didn't. I was following a hunch.
Charlie was down there
earlier in the evening.
I didn't think anything of it.
But when I found out he was a spy...
That should do it.
Why didn't you tell us?
If I was wrong, I'd
have been embarrassed.
If I was right, I'd have been
putting your life in danger.
I couldn't do that.
You imperiled your life to save mine...
and thwart an act of sabotage against...
the dream I hold so dear.
Thank you, Sam.
I'm giving you a raise,
effective the day you started.
No, sir. I don't want it.
Your thanks is all the
reward I could wish for.
You still messing around
with the bomb? Is that wise?
Oh, it's a very simple device, sir.
The timer closes the
circuit which sends a current
from the battery to the resister
which then lights the fuses.
Naturally, I wanted to
see how long it would take.
- And?
- I'm still waiting.
Ah! You're telling me the
thing would have never gone off.
Well, sir, I've tested the
battery and the circuit,
but for some reason I
keep getting a voltage drop
between the battery and the resistor.
So what are you doing now?
I'm trying to find out what
is causing that voltage drop.
Oh!
What's that?
I've seen one of these before.
It's meant to shift a portion of
an alternating current out of phase.
A battery is direct current.
In which case this would
act as a simple resistor.
Did Mr. Howden have the
technical knowledge to apply this?
Oh, heavens, no! Charlie
was just a mathematician.
His field equations were brilliant,
but he had no practical ability.
Who had the requisite knowledge then?
Mr. Pendrick of course.
What about Mrs. Bhola?
No, she's a materials
specialist. And Fu Chi...
who knows?
- Mr. Spiker?
- He knew about finances. Nothing more.
Mr. Trenwith?
Sam is... Mr. Pendrick's butler,
secretary, best friend...
- But not a technical expert.
- No...
but I've noticed he's a fast learner.
The key to this drawer, Mr. Trenwith.
No. I'm sorry. That drawer
is strictly off limits.
Detective, there are
items of a personal nature
that I would prefer to
be kept... That's private!
I like to draw. I like to
draw what I see around me.
There's really nothing unusual...
I have no interest in your
personal concerns, Mr. Trenwith,
I assure you.
The handwriting is the same. It's you.
You're the spy.
I don't know how Charlie got this.
I never gave it to him.
So Mr. Howden was never the spy.
It was you all along.
Look, I never betrayed James.
I need him to know that. It's really
important to me that he knows that.
But you did work for Mr. Darling?
At first, yes.
Why?
Why? Why does anyone do
anything? Money of course.
He paid a lot and I
have expensive tastes.
Had. I'm not the man I used to be.
Love changes you.
I telephoned Darling
whenever I had information.
I would call precisely at midnight.
I did the talking mostly
and he would just listen.
Then two nights ago he told
me to meet a man at the docks.
Then you were given the bomb.
It was the man who placed the
bomb. I just had to let him in.
But I couldn't take the
chance it would go off.
So you improvised a means of
stopping the bomb exploding.
I had barely a minute
alone with the device.
So when Mr. Howden was
thought to be the spy,
you took advantage of the situation
and pretended to discover the bomb.
It was set to explode at
noon. I knew I had time.
Why a bomb?
Darling wanted to expose the Pendrick
FLASH's vulnerability to sabotage.
So Mr. Darling was truly
worried the FLASH would succeed.
Of course he was worried.
He was up against James Pendrick.
Well I'm convinced.
You believe Mr. Trenwith is the killer?
I mean I'm convinced as to the
viability of Pendrick's scheme.
If the man who described
it as bottomless pit
is so scared he's planting bombs,
- I'm taking that as a sign.
- I just heard.
I can't believe it. Sam?
He admits to being the spy,
but swears he never betrayed you.
- Is he the killer?
- We don't know.
It's possible Mr. Howden found the card,
read the numbers and correctly deduced
- that Mr. Trenwith was the spy.
- And was killed for it.
Excuse me, gentlemen.
Could I have a word?
About the share offering.
Are there any shares left?
The first offering is all but sold out,
but I've set a certain number aside
if you come by later this afternoon.
I'll send my wife. She's
in charge of investments.
- Ha! Ha! Ha!
- Sir!
We went through the contents
of Mr. Trenwith's desk.
He seems to have an odd
preoccupation with Mr. Pendrick, sir.
We found poems...
Anything about the case?
- In the poems?
- No, Henry.
Anything about the case?
Oh... oh, well, we did find these, sir.
I believe they're the missing pages.
Missing pages?
From Mr. Howden's notebook.
Do you know what these mean?
They're... they're feedback
calculations of some sort.
That's all I can tell you. You'd
have to talk with an expert.
Right. Good work, Henry.
Bring in Miss Gong and Mr. Goddard.
Right away sir. Um, sir...
Dr. Ogden left a message for you.
_
- Thank you, Henry.
- Sir.
Come in, Margaret, come
in. Good, good, good.
Did you bring the money?
Yes... but what is it for?
We're investing in the most
fantastic project ever conceived.
There's over 200$ in here, Thomas.
Which will become 2000
when this gets built.
We're getting in at the
ground floor, Margaret.
- Well, if you're certain...
- Yes, I am, but you have to hurry.
Mr. Spiker is holding
shares especially for us.
A over Y prime is the threshold.
I can see that. But why
would it become chaotic?
My God!
It can't be.
Care to enlighten me?
It's right here.
It would seem Charlie had
a mathematical revelation.
What kind of revelation?
The oscillations I
told you about earlier.
Apparently, they become
chaotic beyond a certain speed.
- Meaning?
- The feedback stabilizer
only dampens oscillations
of a fixed period.
If they become chaotic...
The train will come off the track.
According to the calculation,
the chaotic movements increase
sharply beyond the critical speed.
- And that critical speed is..?
- 417...
Miles per hour.
Where did you find these?
Did you know what these
calculations meant?
That he was being Chicken
Little all over again.
Not this time.
You knew he was going
to test his theory.
So you gave him the
telephone number to call.
Only it wasn't Mr. Darling who
answered this time. It was you.
I couldn't let the information get out.
Not on the eve of the share offering.
James needs that money for phase one.
Mr. Trenwith, there isn't
going to be a phase one.
Mr. Pendrick's FLASH won't work.
As of this particular moment,
maybe. But James will figure it out.
He always does. He is a genius.
What did you do when
Mr. Howden telephoned?
What I had to.
I told him to stay at the facility.
I then used the override switch
to evacuate the launch chamber.
- Mr. Trenwith...
- No. Please.
- I need to get this off my chest.
- Mr. Trenwith,
Mr. Howden died moments
after the telephone call.
If you were on the telephone with him,
you could not have killed him.
No... no... no, wait,
that's not how it happened.
Why are you trying so
hard to confess to a murder
you could not have committed?
I wish to speak to my lawyer.
The pages.
That's why you asked me
where I'd gotten these.
You showed these equations
to James Pendrick.
My God!
You understand what it means?
I understand what it means
for the Pendrick FLASH.
People will tolerate an
hour in a cramped capsule
hurtling through an airless
space. They'll never tolerate ten.
Bloody hell.
Sir?
I bought 200 shares.
I'm sorry, Tom.
As am I. Now if we could...
I swear I've never seen these before.
Well, Mr. Trenwith believes you did.
Now, if you didn't give
them to him directly
he must have left
them for you somewhere.
And he believes I found them
and correctly deduced their meaning
and then killed Charlie for it.
That Sam would think so lowly of me...
What matters is that
he believed it, so why?
- What does he say about it?
- Nothing.
The moment I confronted him
in his lie, he stopped talking.
There was a card.
- A card.
- Sam was always writing me
little cards and notes of encouragement.
"Good luck tomorrow",
and that kind of thing.
- What did this one say?
- "This may be worth a conversation."
But when I looked inside,
there was nothing there.
What if the pages were inside
but the killer removed them?
And decided to have his own
conversation with Mr. Howden.
Murdoch,
if I'd have known, I
would never have gone ahead
with the share offering.
It was Spiker.
He would have lost
his entire investment.
So he traded his loss for mine.
And a hundred others.
Mill Street,
1-8-1-3.
Hello, Robert. Is Clyde there?
No, no. Tell him to wait there.
I'll explain later. Just keep him there.
We must be fleet of foot.
I'm sorry, Tom. There's only
room for two in the sled.
That's alright. I'll wait.
Robert!
Are you alright? What happened?
- I don't know.
- You've been hit on the head.
Spiker must be headed
back to the mainland.
You're alright.
The sled's gone.
The knave slipped past us.
- Robert, send that sled back.
- I can't.
My commands are being overridden
by the mainland control room.
Spiker's taken control.
Breathe out!
And hold your breath!
Murdoch!
Your oxygen rebreather!
William!
Julia?
You should leave.
We're in a vacuum.
Don't be silly,
you know sound can't travel in a vacuum.
I'm just reminding you to breathe.
Murdoch! Can you hear me?
How long have we been unconscious?
The suits take a moment
or two to pressurize.
Spiker tried to kill us
the same way killed Howden.
- Oh boy!
- What is it?
The mainland induction track
is aligned with the Island.
What does that mean?
It means the polarity won't
reverse at the midpoint.
The sled will continue to
accelerate past critical speed.
He means to destroy
the tube with us in it.
- Oh boy!
- What now?
It's on its way.
We have to close the seal!
Hurry!
Oh boy...
Bollocks!
Murdoch!
Well?
Full confession.
I expected no less from you, Tom.
The man robbed me of my life savings.
I was prepared to extract
more than a confession.
- Thomas!
- Oh, here we go.
Margaret, I've got some bad news.
Well, I'm afraid I have some of my own.
I just couldn't bring myself to invest
in one of Pendrick's crazy schemes.
- You didn't buy the shares?
- I'm sorry.
I know you're friends,
but Mr. Pendrick's plans never work out.
Oh...
- No disrespect intended.
- None taken.
- You're quite right of course.
- Well, thank you.
So if you want to pout,
- you can go right ahead because I...
- Bloody Hell, Margaret! You're brilliant!
Now why don't I take you home.
Good evening gentlemen.
Good evening, gentlemen.
So is there no hope
for the Pendrick FLASH?
Someday, someone will
do it but it won't be me.
- What about you, Mr. Goddard?
- No.
I've decided to devote my
energies to building a rocket.
I'd tell you how, but I'm
afraid it's now a state secret.
Just knowing it's
possible is enough for me.
Take care.
Well, Mr. Pendrick,
if death doesn't stop
you, neither will this.
- I'm sure you'll be back with an even grander idea.
- I hope you're right.
And you must be sure
to keep that logograph.
The infinity symbol. You
like that. I really do.
I believe it's called a lemniscate?
Well, I must be off.
Much work to do.
Well, Murdoch, shall
I treat you to dinner
to help celebrate my lastest failure?
I appreciate the offer but I'm
afraid my wife needs my assistance.
It's curious, isn't it?
I've always been undone by the
malfeasance of those I've trusted.
But for the first time,
I've been undone by the
very forces of nature itself.
You thought you'd been betrayed
by a man who was willing to confess
to a murder he believed
you had committed.
Whatever did I do to
deserve such loyalty?
I believe he was in love with you.
Of course.
Now that you say it,
it seems so obvious.
But I swear I didn't know.
Tell me,
do you think if a man tried hard enough,
he could overcome his inborn nature?
I don't believe so.
Pity.
Until next time.