At thirteen Tereza is sold by her aunt to a ranch owner who treats her like a piece of property, and sexually abuses her. When caught in bed with her lover she defends herself against the ranch owner’s violence with a knife and ends up in jail. Freed by a long-time admirer, she eventually ends up in a brothel. Escaping from there she heads for Sergipe, where more troubles await her: she falls for a married man, and helps fight an outbreak of smallpox alongside the prostitutes of the small town of Buquim. She then moves to Salvador da Bahia, where she leads a movement of prostitutes, and institutes the so-called "closed-basket strike" on the night the American Navy comes to town. A happy ending is provided when her true love arrives at the church just in time to rescue her from a marriage of convenience.
The novel is set in Brazil in late 1940 and early 1941 at a time when Brazil had close connections to Nazi Germany. The Chief of National Security, nicknamed the Brazilian Goebbels, has the ambition to be chosen as one of the 40 member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. The death of a great Brazilian poet creates a vacancy and the Colonel begins his campaign to be elected. Some of the members can't stand the thought of the peace-loving poet being replaced by a Nazi and form a committee to oppose him. They identify a higher-ranking army officer who is a third-rate author and persuade him to run for the vacant position. Tactics used to encourage the Academy members to support their candidate include intrigue and deception as well as enlisting the help of the dead poet’s former mistresses to help "persuade" some of the Academicians to vote against the Nazi (hence the reference in the title to the “camisole”). However, the plans go awry when their alternative candidate turns into an obnoxious despot even before he is elected.
The novel deals with the foundation of a community, ''Tocaia Grande'' ("big ambush" in Portuguese), in a fertile agricultural zone in the state of Bahia. The ambush referred to in the title is carried out by Natario de Fonseca, a jagunço in the service of a plantation owner, Colonel Boaventura. Twenty gunfighters assembled by the latter's only political rival are killed, effectively destroying the opponent. Natario fell in love with the location of the ambush and resolved to establish a community there. The novel is really about the growth of the village and the petty criminals, runaway servants and prostitutes who drift in and out. Tocaia Grande only really begins to expand, however, when a family, cheated of its land by a colonel in Sergipe, arrives and begins to plant food crops. Their arrival initiates a colourful blending of Bahian traditions with those of the original inhabitants. The reference to families migrating after being thrown off their land mirrors the central theme of an earlier work by Amado, Red Field.
Bandits attack the settlement and are driven off by prostitutes; a flood almost destroys the town; fever kills many. But its final destruction comes because it has remained outside the law as a sort of early anarchist community, with all decisions emerging by unofficial consensus. When the authorities finally decide that they want to control it Tocaia Grande is doomed. The son of Colonel Boaventura, who fell out with Natario because the latter would not work for him after his father's death, sets out to seize the ground with the approval of the state authorities. The story of Tocaia Grande begins and ends in massacre, but not without one final twist.
In ''Showdown'', Amado returns to some of his earliest concerns, confronting the historical criminality of Brazilian society, and aiming to show how Brazil has buried its (criminal) past. In fact ''Showdown'' is almost an historical continuation of Amado’s novel ''The Violent Land'', first published in 1943. It contains several references to the battles between cacao landowners described in that earlier novel.
In addition to Natario, important characters are a Lebanese immigrant, Fadul, owner of the general store - renowned for his stubbornness and physical strength; Castor de Abduim, a handsome blacksmith, whose companion Diva dies in a cholera outbreak; and Bernarda, a young prostitute who becomes Natario's lover.
A decade after tracking down serial killer Jame Gumb, FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling is blamed for a botched drug raid which resulted in Starling shooting and killing five people. Starling is contacted by Mason Verger, the only surviving victim of the cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter, who has been missing since escaping custody during the Gumb investigation. A wealthy child molester, Verger was paralyzed and disfigured by Lecter during a therapy session. He has been pursuing an elaborate scheme to capture, torture, and kill Lecter ever since. Using his wealth and political influence, Verger has Starling reassigned to Lecter's case, hoping her involvement will draw Lecter out.
After learning of Starling's disgrace, Lecter sends her a letter. A perfume expert identifies a fragrance on the letter: skin cream with ingredients only available to a few shops in the world. She contacts the police departments of the cities where the shops are located, requesting surveillance tapes. In Florence, Chief Inspector Rinaldo Pazzi is investigating the disappearance of a library curator. Pazzi questions Lecter, who is masquerading as Dr. Fell, the assistant curator and caretaker.
Recognizing Dr. Fell in the surveillance tape, Pazzi accesses the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program database of wanted fugitives. He learns of Verger's US$3 million personal bounty on Lecter. Seeking the bounty, Pazzi ignores Starling's warnings and attempts to capture Lecter alone. He recruits a pickpocket to obtain Lecter's fingerprint to show Verger as proof. The pickpocket manages to get the print and gives it to Pazzi, but is fatally wounded in the process when Lecter severs his femoral artery. Lecter baits Pazzi into an isolated room of the Palazzo Vecchio, ties him up, disembowels him, and hangs him from the balcony.
Verger bribes Justice Department official Paul Krendler to accuse Starling of withholding a note from Lecter, leading to her suspension. Lecter then gets Starling to come to Union Station while speaking with her through mobile phones. Verger's men, having trailed Starling, capture and bring Lecter to Verger. Verger intends to feed Lecter alive to a herd of wild boars bred for this purpose. After her superiors refuse to act, Starling infiltrates Verger's estate. After neutralizing two guards and freeing Lecter, she is shot by a third guard. Lecter picks up an unconscious Starling just before the boars break through the doors, devouring the two guards but ignoring Lecter. Verger orders his physician Cordell Doemling to shoot Lecter. At Lecter's suggestion, Cordell shoves his hated boss into the pen with Lecter offering to take the blame. Lecter carries Starling away while Verger is eaten alive by his own boars.
Lecter takes Starling to Krendler's secluded lake house and treats her wound. When Krendler arrives, Lecter subdues and drugs him. Starling, disoriented by morphine and dressed in a cocktail dress, awakens to find Krendler seated at the table set for an elegant dinner. Weakened by the drugs, she watches in horror as Lecter opens Krendler's skull, removes part of his brain, sautés it, and feeds it to him. Starling tries to attack Lecter, but he overpowers her and traps her hair in a refrigerator door. He kisses her; while he is distracted, she handcuffs his wrist to hers. Hearing the police closing in, Lecter raises a cleaver over her hand. Afterwards, Starling surrenders to the FBI with her hands intact.
On a flight, Lecter prepares to eat a meal he has brought himself while wearing his bandaged arm in a sling. Lecter shares Krendler's cooked brain with a curious boy who was watching him eat, saying it is important "always to try new things".
Count Magpyr and family, vampires from Überwald, are invited to the naming of Magrat and King Verence's daughter, to be conducted by the Omnian priest, Mightily Oats. During the party after the ceremony, Verence tells Nanny Ogg and Agnes Nitt that the Count has informed him that the Magpyr family intend to move into Lancre Castle and take over. Due to a type of hypnotism, everyone seems to consider this plan to be perfectly acceptable. Only the youngest witch, Agnes, and the Omnian priest, Mightily Oats, seem able to resist the vampiric mind control, due to their dual personalities. Because of her ability to resist his influence, the Magpyr son, Vlad, is attracted to Agnes and makes many advances on her including trying to convince her to become a vampire.
Meanwhile, Granny Weatherwax, feeling slighted by not receiving an invitation to the ceremony, has left her cottage empty and seems to be working towards a life in a cave, almost like a hermit. After they have left the hypnotic influence of the Vampires, Agnes, Nanny Ogg and Magrat attempt to convince her to help them save Lancre, but apparently without success, even after Granny is informed that her invitation was stolen by a magpie.
The three witches return to Lancre to take on the Count and his family without her, but because the Magpyr family have built up a tolerance for the normal methods of defeating a vampire, such as garlic, bright light, and religious symbols, this is not so easily done. Just when it seems all is lost, Granny Weatherwax comes through the front door, soaked to the bone and swaying with exhaustion. Nanny Ogg and Magrat use Granny's assault upon the Count as a distraction to escape, leaving Granny, Agnes and Brother Oats with the Vampires. Granny is unable to get through the Count's mental defenses, and the Magpyrs feed on her, with the intention of transforming her into a vampire.
There is an Igor who is the servant of the Magpyrs. He is a traditionalist who spends his spare time breeding and distributing spiders for the dark corners of the castle. The Magpyrs hate him and his "more gothic than thou" attitude, as Igor tries to keep the old ways alive. Igor's impression of the current Count Magpyr is that he is too modern, whereas Igor prefers "tradithionalitht" methods of Vampirism, (all Igors have a lisp on the Discworld—although some only have it when they remember).
Nanny Ogg, Magrat, and Magrat's infant daughter, Esmerelda Margaret Note Spelling of Lancre, escape with the help of the rebelling Igor (who appears to have a crush on Nanny), but are forced to detour to Überwald and end up in the Magpyrs' castle. Agnes is kidnapped by the Magpyrs' son and their clan, who give chase by flying.
Granny Weatherwax struggles against the vampirism inside her and thrusts the pain this causes into the iron of the castle forge's anvil. She is only able to defeat the vampirism after she looks inside herself and faces the darker side of her nature, but the struggle leaves her barely able to stand, let alone defeat the Count.
While Magrat and her daughter hide in Igor's dungeon quarters, Nanny and Igor begin fighting against the Magpyrs, using the considerable stock of Holy water and other religious symbols that were originally collected by old Count Magpyr (who is described as having been "a sportsman"). Surprisingly (for the Magpyr family, at least), the old-fashioned ways to defeat vampires that they thought themselves protected against start to work again. They don't understand what the problem is, although they start to have bizarre cravings for "hot, sweet strong tea and biscuits", a combination that has them feeling quite upset (it not being their usual craving for blood).
All is revealed when Granny (who has "helped" Mightily Oats to Überwald by being carried by him), tells them that—far from turning her into a Vampire—they have, instead, been 'Weatherwaxed'; she had magically "Borrowed" her own blood, which they drank, allowing her past their mental defences. The Magpyrs find themselves unable to harm Magrat's daughter, or do anything else that Granny herself is unable to do (e.g. fly). They are even more horrified when they find out that Igor has re-awakened the old Count Magpyr (having gone into his crypt and spilled a drop of blood on the old Count's cremation ashes), and that the people of Überwald would prefer the old Count to their new, modern type of vampirism. Oats gives the new Count a mortal wound across the neck with an axe (though for vampires, mortal wounds aren't necessarily the end), and the old Count is left to teach the two young Magpyrs (Lacrimosa and Vlad) the "old ways." The three vampires are last seen turning into a flock of magpies and disappearing into the darkness of the castle roof. The witches head home to Lancre.
The series features Mondo Ooya and his classmate/girlfriend Rockna Hiiragi (Rokuna in the Japanese version), whose scientist father Professor Ichiroubei Hiiragi invented a way to travel to Mon World (Roku Mon Sekai: the Six Gate World), where all sorts of magical creatures live. Together, they try to find six monster items which, when combined, could connect the Six Gate World with planet Earth for the better of both worlds. Rokuna and Mondo form the Mon Colle Knights and find out that when chanting a phrase-(''"With us, you can do it!"'') they can merge into monsters and control them into battle as well as aid with spells. Almost every episode, they battle Professor Hiiragi's rival Prince Eccentro (Count Collection in the Japanese version) and his two girl underlings Gluko and Batch (Goruko and Bachi in the Japanese version) who are after the same thing as the Mon Colle Knights, except that they intend to use the items to dominate both worlds.
The TARDIS, badly damaged, lands in the Pamir Mountains of the Himalayas in 1289, and the crew are picked up by Marco Polo's (Mark Eden) caravan on its way along the fabled Silk Road to see the Emperor Kublai Khan (Martin Miller). The story concerns the First Doctor (William Hartnell), his granddaughter Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford) and her teachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill), and their attempts to thwart the machinations of Tegana (Derren Nesbitt), who attempts to sabotage the caravan along its travels through the Pamir Plateau and across the treacherous Gobi Desert, and ultimately to assassinate Kublai Khan in Peking, at the height of his imperial power. The Doctor and his companions also attempt to regain the TARDIS, which Marco Polo has taken to give to Kublai Khan in effort to regain the Emperor's good graces. Susan gets the TARDIS key from Ping-Cho (Zienia Merton) but is captured by Tegana before they can depart. They are finally able to thwart Tegana, who kills himself before he can be executed, restoring the Emperor's respect for Marco Polo, and the Emperor allows them to depart.
After a spree of vampiric attacks on lesbians, Father Eustace (a Catholic priest) realizes that only Jesus Christ can fight off the vampires. Eustace sends two priests to a beach, where they inform Jesus of the problem. Three vampires, including Maxine Shreck, kill the priests, but Jesus kills two of the vampires by using the lake as holy water. Maxine escapes. Jesus goes to Ottawa, gets a haircut, and buys wood to make stakes.
Thirty atheists jump out of a car and confront Jesus, only to be easily defeated. Jesus teams up with Mary Magnum and infiltrates the hospital, where they discover that Dr. Praetorious is performing skin-transplants to make the vampires immune to sunlight. Maxine and Johnny Golgotha defeat Jesus and Mary in a rooftop-battle. Thus Mary is bitten, becoming a vampire.
Jesus calls upon a Mexican wrestler, El Santo, for help. At a nightclub, they slay dozens of vampires, but El Santo and his assistant are captured. The next day, Johnny, Maxine, and Mary capture Jesus and bring him to a junkyard where his allies are being held. Eustace is there, and he reveals that he is a vampire. A battle breaks out. Jesus simultaneously fights Dr. Praetorious at the hospital. The doctor is fatally wounded, but Jesus heals him.
At the junkyard, Eustace stabs Jesus with a stake. A bright light emerges from the wound, killing Eustace and Johnny. El Santo shields a vampire whom he loves from the light, and Jesus cures her and Mary's vampirism. To his surprise, Mary loves Maxine, so Jesus cures her too. Later, Jesus resumes preaching.
The film tells the story of a Sephardi family of Egyptian Jewish immigrants from Alexandria that settle in 1947 Tel Aviv. The family consists of a 33-year-old widowed wife, Clara, (played by Gila Almagor, one of the most prominent actresses in Israel for the last three decades) and her four children. They live in a working-class neighborhood surrounded by their extended family, including Clara's mother Mazal, Clara's uncle Rafael, and Sultana, his wife.
The plot centers on the firstborn, Sami, his transition from a shy 15-year-old to a working man and an activist in the "Irgun" (a resistance movement that acted mainly against the military forces of the British), and the romantic attachment he develops with a 25-year-old Russian immigrant librarian (Michal Bat-Adam, now a director). In addition to this, Clara struggles between social pressure to take a husband and her own complex feelings surrounding this, complicated by another Sephardi Egyptian, played by Yosef Shiloach, who has strong feelings for her.
The film is a vivid and very credible description of the lives of Sephardi immigrant families on the eve of the declaration of the state of Israel. Also covered are the escalating violence between British forces and the local populace, as well as Palestinian Arab violence towards Jews.
The story follows the exploits of Chichikov, a middle-aged gentleman of middling social class and means. Chichikov arrives in a small town and turns on the charm to woo key local officials and landowners. He reveals little about his past, or his purpose, as he sets about carrying out his bizarre and mysterious plan to acquire "dead souls."
The government would tax the landowners based on how many serfs (or "souls") the landowner owned, determined by the census. Censuses in this period were infrequent, so landowners would often be paying taxes on serfs that were no longer living, thus the "dead souls." It is these dead souls, existing on paper only, that Chichikov seeks to purchase from the landlords in the villages he visits; he merely tells the prospective sellers that he has a use for them, and that the sellers would be better off anyway, since selling them would relieve the present owners of a needless tax burden.
Although the townspeople Chichikov comes across are gross caricatures, they are not flat stereotypes by any means. Instead, each is neurotically individual, combining the official failings that Gogol typically satirizes (greed, corruption, paranoia) with a curious set of personal quirks.
Setting off for the surrounding estates, Chichikov at first assumes that the ignorant provincials will be more than eager to give their dead souls up in exchange for a token payment. The task of collecting the rights to dead people proves difficult, however, due to the persistent greed, suspicion, and general distrust of the landowners. He still manages to acquire some 400 souls, swears the sellers to secrecy, and returns to the town to have the transactions recorded legally.
Back in the town, Chichikov continues to be treated like a prince amongst the petty officials, and a celebration is thrown in honour of his purchases. Very suddenly, however, rumours flare up that the serfs he bought are all dead, and that he was planning to elope with the Governor's daughter. In the confusion that ensues, the backwardness of the irrational, gossip-hungry townspeople is most delicately conveyed. Absurd suggestions come to light, such as the possibility that Chichikov is Napoleon in disguise or the notorious vigilante 'Captain Kopeikin'. The now disgraced traveller is immediately ostracized from the company he had been enjoying and has no choice but to flee the town.
Chichikov is revealed by the author to be a former mid-level government official fired for corruption and narrowly avoiding jail. His macabre mission to acquire "dead souls" is actually just another one of his "get rich quick" schemes. Once he acquires enough dead souls, he will take out an enormous loan against them and pocket the money.
In the novel's second part, Chichikov flees to another part of Russia and attempts to continue his venture. He tries to help the idle landowner Tentetnikov gain favor with General Betrishchev so that Tentetnikov may marry the general's daughter, Ulinka. To do this, Chichikov agrees to visit many of Betrishchev's relatives, beginning with Colonel Koshkaryov. From there Chichikov begins again to go from estate to estate, encountering eccentric and absurd characters all along the way. Eventually he purchases an estate from the destitute Khlobuyev but is arrested when he attempts to forge the will of Khlobuyev's rich aunt. He is pardoned thanks to the intervention of the kindly Mourazov but is forced to flee the village. The novel ends mid-sentence with the prince who arranged Chichikov's arrest giving a grand speech that rails against corruption in the Russian government.
The main protagonist of the novel is Dr. Elliott Grosvenor, the only Nexialist on board (a new discipline depicted as taking an actively generalist approach towards science). It is Grosvenor's training and application of Nexialism rather than the more narrow-minded approaches of the individual scientific and military minds of his other shipmates that consistently prove more effective against the hostile encounters both from outside and within the ''Space Beagle''. He is eventually forced to take control of the ship using a combination of hypnotism, psychology, brainwashing, and persuasion, in order to develop an effective strategy for defeating the alien entity Anabis and saving the ship and our galaxy.
The book can be roughly divided into four sections corresponding to the four short stories on which it was based:
In the first section, the ''Space Beagle'' lands on a largely deserted desolate planet. Small scattered herds of deer-like creatures are seen, and the ancient ruins of cities litter the landscape. Coeurl, a starving, intelligent and vicious cat-like carnivore with tentacles on its shoulders, approaches the ship, pretending to be an unintelligent animal, and quickly infiltrates it. The creature kills several crewmen before being tricked into leaving the now spaceborne ship in a lifeboat. It then commits suicide when it realizes it has been defeated.
In the second part, the ship is almost destroyed by internal warfare caused by telepathic contact with a race of bird-like aliens, called Riim. The benign signals that the Riim send are incompatible with the human mind. Only Grosvenor's knowledge of telepathic phenomena saves the ship from destruction.
In the third section, the ship comes across Ixtl, a scarlet being floating in deep space. It is a vicious survivor of a race that ruled a previous universe before the Big Bang, the creation of our own universe. Ixtl boards the ship, and being obsessed with its own reproduction, kidnaps several crew members in order to implant parasitic eggs in their stomachs. It is eventually tricked into leaving the ship, after all the crew have left the ship temporarily, leaving no prey left for its offspring to feed on.
In the last section, Anabis, a galaxy-spanning consciousness, is encountered. Once again, it is both malevolent, starving and aggressive, and under all circumstances must be prevented from following the ship back to any other galaxy. Anabis, which is essentially a galaxy-size will-o'-the-wisp, feeds off the death of living organisms, and has destroyed all intelligent life in its galaxy. It transforms all planets it can find into jungle planets through terraforming, since it is these kind of worlds that produce most life. The crew of the ''Space Beagle'' lures the intelligence to chase the ship into deep space, causing it to starve to death.
Running concurrently to this, the book also covers a power struggle on the ship among the leaders of individual scientific and military groups.
The series revolves around Jerrica Benton, the owner and manager of Starlight Music, and her alter-ego Jem, lead singer of the rock group the Holograms. Jerrica adopts the persona of Jem with the help of a holographic computer, known as Synergy, which was built by Jerrica's father to be "the ultimate audio-visual entertainment synthesizer" and is bequeathed to her after his death. Jerrica is able to command Synergy to project the hologram of Jem over herself by means of the remote micro-projectors in her earrings, thus disguising her features and clothing, enabling her to assume the Jem persona. Jem, through the use of her earrings, is also able to project holograms around her and uses this ability throughout the series to avoid danger and provide special effects for the performances of her group.
The Holograms consists of Kimber Benton, Jerrica's younger sister, keyboardist, and main songwriter for the band; Aja Leith, Asian-American guitarist; Shana Elmsford, African-American, who plays the synth drums. Aja and Shana are also childhood friends, and adopted foster sisters of Jerrica and Kimber, having lived with the Benton family since they were young. Shana briefly leaves the group to pursue a career in fashion, at which point a new Latina character, Carmen "Raya" Alonso, is introduced as her replacement. The Holograms are aware of Jem's secret identity and the existence of Synergy when the series begins, while Raya is made aware unintentionally shortly before joining the group. Upon her return to the Holograms, Shana becomes the band's bassist.
The Holograms have two rival bands: the Misfits and the Stingers:
Episodes of the series frequently revolve around Jerrica's efforts to keep her two identities separate, protect Synergy from those who might exploit the holographic technology, and support the twelve foster children known as the Starlight Girls who live with her and the Holograms. The Misfits frequently attempt to upstage Jem and the Holograms' endeavors, often nearly resulting in physical harm to members of the group. This rivalry is encouraged and manipulated by their manager and central villain in the series, Eric Raymond, the former half-owner of Starlight Music who runs Misfits Music (later Stinger Sound) while working under Pizzazz's father, Harvey Gabor.
During the series, Eric Raymond constantly plots to become owner of Starlight Music and get revenge on Jem and the Holograms for having cost him control of the company. Jerrica also deals with a complex and emotionally draining faux-love triangle involving her alter identity, Jem, and Rio Pacheco, Jerrica's longtime boyfriend. Rio romantically pursues both women, not knowing they are one and the same. Later in the series, Jem is also romantically sought after by Riot, who becomes infatuated with her – adding further complications to her relationships.
In the final episode of the series, the Misfits and Jem declare a truce when Ba Nee, one of the most troubled foster girls in Starlight House, is claimed by her long-lost father. Her father is found by Jem and the Holograms with the help of Riot's father. Riot's relationship with his father is mended with the help of Jem.
The text can be split into three logical parts: the first one dealing with the origins of the main characters, the second depicting the dramatic events including the fall of Thotsakan, and the final part describing what happened afterwards.
The first part begins with the story of Phra Narai in the form of a boar vanquishing the demon Hiranyak. This is followed by an account of the origins of the ancestors of Thotsakan. According to Ramakien, Phra Isuan grants his servant Nonthok a boon which enables him to change his finger into a diamond and destroy anyone at whom he points it. As Nonthok begins to abuse this power, Phra Narai assumes the form of a charming woman who dances in front of Nonthok, who tries to imitate the movement of her hands. At one moment, he points the diamond finger towards himself and instantly dies. Nonthok is later reborn as Thotsakan. He also has four brothers and a sister, as well as half-siblings. Thotsakan first marries Kala Akhi, the daughter of Kala Nakha of the underworld, and later receives Nang Montho as a gift from Phra Isuan. Thotsakan and Nang Montho have a son with the first name Ronapak; after his victory over Indra, he is called Intharachit.
The text then explains the origins of the simian characters Phali and Sukhrip. They are born to Kala Acana, the wife of king Khodam, as a result of her adultery with Phra In and Phra Athit. When king Khodam immerses them in a lake to test their legitimacy, they turn into monkeys and vanish into the forest. Phra Isuan grants Phali a magic trident which will transfer to Phali half the strength of anyone fighting him. Sukhrip is rewarded with a beautiful young maiden Dara, but Phali takes her for himself. Later, Phali also seizes Thotsakan's consort Nang Montho and they have a son named Ongkhot before she is returned to Thotsakan. Finally, Phali banishes Sukhrip to the forest where he meets Hanuman.
Hanuman is said to be born after Phra Isuan places his celestial weapons in the mouth of Sawaha, the daughter of Kala Acana. Hanuman at first stays with Phali and Sukhrip, but later decides to join Sukhrip in his banishment in the forest.
Rama, known in the Ramakien as Phra Ram, has ancestors tracing back to Phra Narai through King Thotsarot. Phra Ram himself is a reincarnation of Phra Narai, and his brothers Phra Lak, Phra Phrot and Phra Satarut are manifestations of Phra Narai's emblems: the serpent, the discus, and the mace, respectively. Phra Ram's consort Nang Sida is a reincarnation of Phra Narai's consort Laksami, but she is born as the daughter of Thotsakan in Lanka and adopted by king Chonok of Mithila.
Part two deals with the main drama of the story. Phra Ram and Nang Sida fall in love at first sight before an archery contest. A hunchback named Kucci instigates the queen to ask for the banishment of Phra Ram. He sets off to live in the forest with Nang Sida and his brother Phra Lak, where they meet Sammanakha who took on the form of a beautiful maiden. She tries to seduce the two brothers, but they resist and punish her. As revenge, Thotsakan abducts Nang Sida to his palace in Lanka.
Phra Ram and Phra Lak meet Hanuman, Sukhrip and another monkey, Chomphuphan, and ask them to help find Nang Sida. When Hanuman locates Nang Sida in Lanka, he identifies himself by showing her ring and kerchief and retelling the secret of her first meeting with Phra Ram. Hanuman is then caught by Thotsakan's son Intharachit, but escapes while setting Lanka on fire. On returning to Phra Ram, Hanuman helps build a causeway connecting Lanka to the mainland and the war with Thotsakan begins. After a lot of fighting and attempts of treachery by Thotsakan's allies, Phra Ram manages to kill Thotsakan and Intharachit and free Nang Sida. After she passes a fire ordeal to test her faithfulness, Phra Ram takes her with him to Ayutthaya and grants various parts of his kingdom to his allies.
After Nang Sida draws a picture of Thotsakan on a slate, Phra Ram orders Phra Lak to take her to the forest and kill her. Instead of doing as commanded, he brings to Phra Ram the heart of a doe to trick him into believing that Nang Sida is dead. In the forest, Nang Sida finds refuge with a hermit named Wachamarik, and she gives birth to two sons: Phra Monkut and Phra Loph. Phra Ram decides to take her back to Ayutthaya, but she refuses and disappears into the Underworld. Finally, Phra Isuan brings Phra Ram and Nang Sida together again.Singaravelu, S. (1982). The Rama story in the Thai cultural tradition. Bangkok: Siam Society.
In colonial America, Lana Borst, the eldest daughter of a wealthy family, marries Gilbert Martin. Together, they leave her family's luxurious home to embark on a frontier life on Gil's small farm in Deerfield in the Mohawk Valley of central New York. The time is July 1776, and the spirit of revolution is in the air. The valley's mostly ethnic German settlers have formed a local militia in anticipation of an imminent war, and Gil joins up.
As Gil and his neighbors are clearing his land for farming, Blue Back, a friendly Oneida man, arrives to warn them that a raiding party of Seneca, led by a Tory named Caldwell, is in the valley. The settlers leave their farms and take refuge in nearby Fort Schuyler. Lana, who is pregnant, miscarries during the frantic ride to the fort. The Martin farm is destroyed by the Seneca raiding party. With no home and winter approaching, the Martins accept work on the farm of a wealthy widow, Mrs. McKlennar.
During a peaceful interlude, Mrs. McKlennar and the Martins prosper. Then, word comes that a large force of British soldiers and Native Americans are approaching the valley. The militia sets out westward to intercept the attackers, but their approach is badly timed and the party is ambushed. Though the enemy is eventually defeated at Oriskany, more than half of the militiamen are killed. Gil returns home, wounded and delirious, but slowly recovers. Lana is again pregnant and delivers a son.
Later, the British and their Native American allies mount a major attack to take the valley, and the settlers again take refuge in the fort. Mrs. McKlennar is mortally wounded and ammunition runs short. Gil makes a heroic dash through enemy lines to secure help from nearby Fort Dayton. Reinforcements arrive just in time to beat back the attackers, who are about to overwhelm the fort. The militia pursues, harasses, and defeats the British force, scattering its surviving soldiers in the wilderness. The Mohawk Valley is saved. Shortly afterward, a regiment arrives at the fort to announce that the war has ended; Cornwallis has surrendered to Washington at Yorktown. The settlers look forward to their future in the new, independent United States of America.
The movie is composed of two stories that intersect with each other at differing times throughout the films, especially when some of the characters happen to be in the same place at the same time. The stories merge at the end of the film. Both stories take place in 1995 Hong Kong.
The story opens with the monologue of a hit man named Wong Chi-ming (Leon Lai) and a woman he calls his "partner” (Michelle Reis). The two are sitting next to each other in the first scene, a scene covered in smoke and a black-and-white grainy filter. They exchange few words as they smoke cigarettes - suggesting the two share a distant and un-emotional relationship. After the hitman says his lines in response to the partner's question ("Are we still partners?") suggesting in his response "Partners should never be emotionally involved with each other.", the scene cuts into the story.
From the beginning, it becomes obvious the pair, despite being business partners for nearly 3 years (“155 weeks”), hardly know each other and rarely see each other, exchanging their plans for their kills over letters and faxes. It seems that the two have agreed to maintain a strictly professional relationship, whether that is the true desires of both of them or not. Despite this, the hitman's assistant, a provocatively dressed woman in short PVC skirts/dresses, fishnet stockings and suspenders, chokers, luxury handbags and high-heeled shoes that create the impression she is a prostitute or a club-goer rather than a hitman's assistant, cleans the hitman's crammed apartment near an underground railway, buys him some groceries (mainly beer) and faxes him blueprints of the places where he is to commit his murders. Obsessed with Wong in a romantic way and infatuated with his mysterious nature, she even goes through his trash, trying to get to know what kind of person he is. It is very clear that she has developed feelings for him despite his insistence on keeping to business. This emotionless approach to contract killing works well for the two in their first kill of the night, going smoothly and seamless. However, on the bus he runs into someone who recognises him from a more innocent time, a cheery old classmate called Ah-Hoi who is about to get married. Wong wryly notes in voiceover: "Even if you're a killer, you still have classmates from grade school around." The old classmate tries to sell him an insurance policy, but the hitman won't get one because it only reminds him that he wouldn't have anyone to name as a beneficiary; this reminds him that he is living an entirely solitary existence, travelling from place to place, in a non-functioning relationship with his assistant, engaging in contract killing.
Wong, a hitman who works for different clients, however appears to not care much for the consequences of his bloody deeds and even suggests at his lack at planning as a reason for his enjoyment of contract killing, suggesting this also as a reason for his “partner”. Since her “partner” keeps to himself, she frequents the bar he goes to just to sit in his seat and daydream about him. After playing a piece of music on the bar's jukebox, the hitman's assistant and her daydreaming about Wong prompts her to masturbate in the apartment's bed in an attempt to relieve her sexual frustration in not seeing him. Afterwards, the hitman's assistant encounters Ho Chi-mo, a mute ex-convict on the run from the police (Takeshi Kaneshiro) in her apartment building, the dense and chaotic Chungking Mansions. (This encounter is discussed in the “Second Story” section). During their second killing of the night, the Hitman and his assistant notably put more emotion on the job, wandering around the area in a way that suggests they are looking around for each other. The job is successful, but results in a bloody mess and Wong injures his arm in the process.
Increasingly frustrated by the monotone, futile life of contract killing following his encounter with his old classmate, as well as a lack of free will, Wong considers ending his career as a hitman. However he wishes not to upset his partner, and so two weeks after he is injured, he asks to see his assistant, but does not show up to her visible annoyance. Certain that she will show up at the bar in a couple of days looking for him, he asks the bartender to leave a piece of music on the Jukebox called “Forget Him” (忘記他) with the number “1818”. The lyrics in this song tell her to forget the hitman, as he wishes for her to do. After listening to the music on the jukebox, understanding from the lyrics that the hitman wants her to forget him, the hitman's assistant is heartbroken and cries alone by the bar. Meanwhile, Wong has a late night meal at McDonald's where he encounters an eccentric, mischief-making prostitute nicknamed “Blondie” (Karen Mok) for her dyed blonde hair, who sits next to him and invites him into her apartment. While they spend time together, captured in crazy and wild scenes, the scene is juxtaposed against the hitman's assistant with her glamorous make-up all smudged, as she masturbates again to calm her upset nerves, smokes a cigarette on the apartment's bed and breaks down crying.
While spending time with the hitman, Blondie has illusions that he is the ex-lover who left her for another woman (likely the hitman's assistant). Whether this is truth or not is never explicitly confirmed. Meanwhile, the hitman's assistant, travelling late at night on Hong Kong's MTR subway network, briefly walks past Blondie in a subway station, in which the two turn back and look at each other, the hitman's assistant showing visible rage in her expression, suggesting she knows about the relationship and is enamoured with rage and jealousy.
After Wong and his assistant meet again in a darkly-lit scene, he tells her he wants to terminate their business relationship. She asks that he do her one more favour - another killing job. By this point, a clear emotional rift is present between the two. Afterwards, Wong decides to break up his relationship with Blondie, leaving her heart broken and in an emotional outburst where she bites him in the pouring rain and screams: “I've left my mark, okay? You may forget my face, but you won't forget my bite.” However, an apathetic man, the hitman does not feel guilty for breaking her heart. "For her, I'm just a stopover on the journey of her life," he states. "I hope she reaches her destination soon.” With all emotion possible now placed on the cold line of work that is contract killing, the hitman sets out for his final killing job. Meanwhile, the hitman's assistant makes a phone call that gives away Wong's location to rivals - revealing the job to be a set-up. With a heavily tense atmosphere present from Wong, a notable departure from Wong's usual insistence on emotional matters staying out of professional work, Wong drinks alcohol and braces himself in the bathroom for a tense showdown, however Wong is killed while attempting to carry out the job. Wong however is pleased that he has finally been able to achieve free will; that is, the free will to make his own decisions and die.
Wong Chi-ming's partner lives in the same building with Ho Chi-mo (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a crazy delinquent who escapes prison. She helps him elude the police when they are searching for him. Ho is mute and still lives with his father. For work, he breaks into other people's businesses at night and sells their goods and services, often forcibly to unwilling customers. He keeps running into the same girl at night, Charlie. Every time they meet, she cries on his shoulder and tells him the same sob story. Her ex-boyfriend, Johnny, left her for a girl named Blondie. She enlists his help in searching for Blondie. Ho Chi-mo falls in love. Later, she stands him up and he changes his ways, beginning a friendship and work relationship with a restaurant manager. He begins to film things around him with a video camera. His father passes away; he falls back into abusive habits, going so far as to cut off the hair of a man whose family he in the past forced to eat an excessive amount of ice cream. He and Charlie do not come into contact for a few months, but they run into each other while he is masquerading as a business owner. She is in a stewardess uniform and in a new relationship. She does not acknowledge him.
Sometime later, with the intense blue of the very early morning hours drenching the dingy café in which she is sitting, the hitman’s assistant is sitting alone by herself. A woman usually associated with the grunge-like glamour in which she dresses, the agent appears a dishevelled mess, with no make-up. She comments on how, having decided to never again be personally involved with her partners in the aftermath of Wong’s death, she has been suffering in a suggested long period of depression. Close to her in the same café, by chance, Ho-Chi mo is also sitting by himself when he is beaten up into a bloodied mess by a local gang, which the hitman’s agent observes, suggesting that in the aftermath of his father’s death, Ho Chi-mo has returned to his previous abusive habits. The two are clearly shadows of their former selves; these developments are regressions for these characters-—real ‘fallen angels’. After he is beat up, the hitman’s assistant realises the ex-convict is feeling the same sense of loss as her, with a silent spark between them that they both feel. After helping him get up from being beaten up, the ex-convict offers the assistant a ride home on his motorbike. He comments that while there’s no chemistry - they’d let too many chances pass them by - there is still some kind of connection. As they ride through early-hours Hong Kong in an alternation of frenetic camerawork and pixillated slo-mo, they cross through the Cross-Harbour Tunnel in scenes evocative of those of Ho Chi-mo and Charlie earlier in the film, into the Hong Kong skyline, with its morning light being the first and only instance of daytime in the movie; suggesting there is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for the both of them. The hitman’s assistant comments that even though it’s just a moment and that she hasn’t been close to a man in ages, she enjoys the warmth he brings in this moment, suggesting there is emotional redemption in sight for these ‘fallen angels’.
, home to Russo-American Gordon Tanner
Astronauts from the orbital society fly a modified scramjet, redesigned to harvest nitrogen from the Earth's atmosphere. Government policy declares that these ships are responsible for the ice age, so the scramjet is shot down with a surface-to-air missile. The pilot and copilot, an Earth-born American named Alex MacLeod and a space-born Russo-American named Gordon Tanner, are forced to crash land in Canada atop the glaciers.
Upon hearing of this, the fan underground embarks on a rescue mission – a group of fans rides north through the Dakotas to rescue the astronauts before they can be apprehended by the Government. Upon reaching the Dakotas, the fans must travel largely on foot, as their van is unable to traverse the glaciers. However, they have a major advantage over their foes in the government – their relationship with the space station provides them with superior navigational abilities; following the fall of scientific society, the United States Air Force (USAF) no longer enjoys access to satellite reconnaissance. The fans are able to reach the downed spacecraft well in advance of the USAF.
Their escape is aided in a similar manner. Though the Angels are unable to walk due to their overexposure to weightlessness and must be dragged along on sleds, the microwave power transmission beam reserved for Winnipeg is diverted to warm the travellers as they return south to their van. In addition, a tribe of nomadic Inuit peoples shares supplies with them in thanks for the warmth provided by the microwave beam.
Upon finally reaching their van, the rescuers flee to a small science fiction convention of some 50 fans at a mansion owned by one of their own. Once there, one of the fans takes on the role of personal trainer to help the Angels adjust to Earth's gravity including various asanas from yoga. At the con, the fans brainstorm a daring plan - before the Greens had come to power, one of the Board of Trustees for the Metropolitan Museum of Boston by the name of Ron Cole supposedly refurbished a Titan II rocket. This rocket still exists at the Museum of Science and Industry at Chicago. The fans and the Angels leave for Chicago just moments before the mansion is raided by the Green police.
The trip to Chicago gives the reader a brutal depiction of American life without basic technology. A blizzard forces the fans to take shelter in a farm town - where at least one towns-person dies in each blizzard for lack of heating oil. After hitching a ride in a consignment of cheese, the fans are captured by the feudal inhabitants of Milwaukee who are burning the excess houses in the city for heat. One of their captors has the food swapped with moonshine liquor and forces the group into slavery to pay off a series of trumped-up "fines". They are assisted by a fellow fan amongst their captors, and are able to continue on to Chicago.
When the fans finally meet Ron Cole, their hopes are crushed. The rocket is a decaying wreck, and Cole is a shadow of his former self due to invasive "reeducation" treatments. However, Cole is able to put them on another path – a privately constructed single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft at Edwards Air Force Base, disguised by the simple and effective method of its designer, Gary Hudson, declaring it non-functional.
U.S. Navy Lieutenant Harry Brubaker is a Naval Reserve officer and Naval Aviator who was called back to active duty from his civilian profession as an attorney to fly F9F Panthers in the Korean War. Returning from a mission with battle damage, he is forced to ditch into the sea and is rescued by a Sikorsky HO3S-1 manned by Chief Petty Officer (NAP) Mike Forney and Airman (NAC) Nestor Gamidge.
Forney had often been in trouble for brawling and sporting a non-regulation green top hat and scarf while flying his helicopter as encouragement to downed pilots in the water. Back aboard his ship, the aircraft carrier USS ''Savo Island'', Brubaker is called to the quarters of Rear Admiral Tarrant, the Carrier Task Force 77 commander, who has taken an interest in Brubaker because he reminds Tarrant of his son, a Navy Pilot killed in World War II. Brubaker complains about the unfairness of his recall when most actively flying/actively drilling Naval Reserve pilots weren't recalled (Brubaker hadn't been flying in the Reserve), America is not actually "at war", and most Americans have no involvement. Tarrant advises that, "All through history, men have had to fight the wrong war in the wrong place, but that's the one they're stuck with."
The ''Savo Island'' returns to port in Japan, where Brubaker is given a three-day shore leave in Tokyo with his wife Nancy and their children. The reunion is interrupted when Gamidge comes to Brubaker asking his help in bailing Forney out of the brig after a brawl. Nancy expresses her bewilderment to Tarrant, who explains that Forney saved her husband from freezing to death when he had to ditch his jet at sea and warns her that when they return to Korea, Brubaker will have to attack the dangerous bridges at Toko-Ri. He advises her to face the reality that Harry might be killed, which neither his wife nor daughter-in-law did, and thus were crushed by despair. Late that night Nancy asks Brubaker about the bridges.
Back on a carrier off Korea, Brubaker flies as wingman for Commander Lee, the carrier air group commander known as "CAG" (from his position as Commander, Air Group in the carrier), on a dangerous reconnaissance to photograph the bridges. Lee briefs his pilots on the coming mission using the film he took and Brubaker loses his nerve. However, he cannot bring himself to quit the mission or write a final letter to Nancy. Forney crosses the captain of the ''Savo Island'' once too often, and then he is exiled to a helicopter scow. As he is leaving the ship, he notices Brubaker's distress, and relates a "cure" for bad nerves that has worked for him. Brubaker follows his advice and finds renewed strength within himself.
In the attack on the bridges, the antiaircraft fire is intense, but the jets destroy the bridges without a loss. Lee then leads them to attack a secondary target, where Brubaker's jet is hit. Leaking fuel and descending, he tries to return to the carrier, but he cannot and crash-lands on land. Forney and Gamidge attempt to pick him up, but communist troops shoot down the helicopter. Gamidge is killed, and Forney takes cover in a muddy ditch with Brubaker. They try to hold off the enemy with pistols and Forney's and Gamidge's M1 carbines until they can be rescued, but both are killed by the North Korean and Red Chinese soldiers. Tarrant, angered by the news of Brubaker's death, demands an explanation from Commander Lee of why he attacked the second target. Lee defends his actions, noting that Brubaker was his pilot too, and that despite his loss, the mission was a success. Tarrant, realizing that Lee is correct, rhetorically asks, ''"Where do we get such men?"''
The village within the stone circle exists in a time rift, in which the same actions are played out (with minor variations) over and over again, the end result being that the power of the circle will eventually be released to the outside world. Whenever this is faulted, however, the time circle resets and the same events attempt again to unfold. However, since time is passing in the outside world in a normal way, time within the time circle must also progress, matching the time period of the real world while still attempting to play out the events within.
Four cycles of the time circle are clearly described in ''Children of the Stones''.
The original stone circle was built during the megalithic era by a pagan folk led by a Druid priest. The village priest then witnessed the formation of a supernova and somehow deduced that a black hole had formed shortly afterwards. Using a variety of psychic powers, mixed with folk magic, the priest was able to harness the power of the stones, which are natural magnets, and focus negative energy, via a beam of light, through the centre of the circle towards the black hole. This energy, however, was drawn from the minds of the inhabitants within the circle, taking their anger and fear to the black hole, and turning them into docile but happy creatures (hence "happy day") under the control of the Druid priest.
When a pair of travellers entered the village the Druid priest attempted to brainwash them as well, through the beam of light towards the black hole. The travellers outwitted the priest, however, and tricked him into thinking they had been brainwashed when the beam of light had not yet appeared. When the two travellers entered the circle of those who had already been taken in by the priest the circle of control was broken. The beam of light then appeared, much to the priest's horror, destroying his altar and turning the inhabitants of the circle to stone. The two travellers barely managed to escape the same fate and survived by hiding in a rock cave towards the edge of the stone circle, known as the sanctuary.
The events of the original circle were later recorded in a painting, which eventually made its way to become a key point of another cycle of the time circle.
The barber-surgeon was an inhabitant of the village of Milbury, which had been built on the site of the stone circle. The events of the first circle began to unfold again in Milbury. The barber-surgeon, seeing what was taking place, protected himself by use of an amulet. The amulet was palm-sized and inscribed with a winged serpent.
The barber-surgeon presented a threat to whoever restarted the events of the First Circle and was crushed under a falling sarsen stone, also engraved with a serpent like the amulet the barber-surgeon carried. The amulet was crushed, along with the barber-surgeon; however, his bones were later removed and the stone that killed him was re-erected within the circle. Whoever caused the barber-surgeon to die did not succeed, and the time circle again reset itself into the modern age.
Dai the poacher's life, death and activities are markedly similar to those of the barber-surgeon, suggesting a link between the two characters.
The Time Circle again took another loop in the 1970s, when an astronomer, Rafael Hendrick, uncovered an ancient Dog Latin text about the Druid priest who saw a supernova explode in ancient times. Hendrick discovered the location of the supernova, a discovery that made him famous, and further learned that the supernova was now a black hole in the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear.
Hendrick then travelled to Milbury, the site of the stone circle, and, through means left unexplained, learned how to harness the negative energy of the villagers into the beam of light towards the black hole. Through complex astronomical calculations he determined exactly when he could form the energy beam and began brainwashing the villagers into becoming what he called "Happy Ones".
The one challenge to Hendrick is posed by a poacher named Dai, but Dai suffers a mysterious death in the same location as the Barber-Surgeon had years earlier. Dai's body is also apparently replaced by a fallen stone carved with a serpent, but then both the stone and the body vanish. After Dai is killed pieces of a broken amulet are found, with those pieces matching exactly the gaps in the broken amulet of the Barber-Surgeon.
With nothing to stop Hendrick, one by one the villagers are brainwashed by the beam of light. Professor Brake's son, Matthew, is apparently psychic and has come across a painting that depicts the scene of the first circle. By the time Hendrick seeks to brainwash Brake and his son both have worked out that Milbury is replaying the events of the first circle and attempt to find a way to escape.
In the final episode Professor Brake and Matthew set Hendrick's digital timekeeping system ahead by five minutes, tricking Hendrick into thinking that they have been brainwashed by the energy beam. When they enter the circle of "Happy Ones" the power is broken. Hendrick is exposed to the beam of light and is metamorphosed into an image of the ancient Druid priest, while his butler, Link, covers his eyes for protection. The villagers are then turned to stone when they look at the beam of light from Hendrick's house. Professor Brake and Matthew attempt to save their friends Margaret and her daughter Sandra, but they both ignore warnings not to look back at the light and meet the same fate as the other villagers. The professor and his son escape to the Sanctuary, just as the ancient travellers did. When Brake and Matthew awake the next morning the village has changed back to normal, with only minor variations, and there is no sign that Hendrick or his plan ever existed. Margaret, Sandra and the Brakes' housekeeper, who were all victims of the stone circle's power the previous evening, are now living their normal lives. Even the poacher, Dai, is alive and living in the Sanctuary, but he gives no indication that he knows Professor Brake or Matthew. Matthew wonders if the Time Circle has reset and if the events they have recently witnessed will happen again. Professor Brake jokingly asks Matthew if he would like to go back to the village and find out, but Matthew asks him to drive far away and to only stop off somewhere for something to eat.
In the final scene of the series, shortly after Professor Brake and Matthew depart from the village a well-dressed man in an expensive motor car drives into Milbury. He looks identical to Rafael Hendrick. The man drives to Hendrick's old house, where he meets Link, Hendrick's former butler in the last round of the Time Circle, who now has a moustache and looks considerably younger.
The gentleman introduces himself as Sir Joshua Litton, a former Professor at the University of Cambridge, and explains that he has come to Milbury from London. He comments on what a nice place Milbury will be to retire to and says that he will be very happy there.
The residents of the village of Titfield are shocked to learn that their railway branch line to the town of Mallingford is to be closed. Sam Weech, the local vicar and a railway enthusiast, and Gordon Chesterford, the village squire, decide to take over the line by setting up a company through a Light Railway Order. Upon securing financial backing from Walter Valentine, a wealthy man with a fondness for daily drinking, the men learn that the Ministry of Transport will give them a month's trial period, in which they must pass an inspection at the end of this period to make the Order permanent. While Weech is helped by Chesterford and retired track layer Dan Taylor in running the train, volunteers from the village help to operate the station.
Bus operators Alec Pearce and Vernon Crump, who bitterly oppose the idea and wish to set up a bus line between Titfield and Mallingford, attempt to sabotage the men's plans. Aided by Harry Hawkins, a steam roller operator who hates the railway, Crump and Pearce attempt to block the line on its first run and sabotage the line's water tower, but are thwarted by Weech and the line's supportive passengers. After Chesterford refuses to accept a merger offer from them, Crump and Pearce hire Hawkins to help them derail the steam locomotive and passenger coach entitled to the villagers by British Railways, the night before the line's inspection. Blakeworth, the village's solicitor, is mistakenly arrested for this, despite trying to stop the attempt, while the villagers become disheartened that their line will now close without any rolling stock and a working steam locomotive.
Valentine visits Taylor, who suggests that they borrow a locomotive from Mallingford's rail yards. Despite being both drunk, they manage to acquire one, but accidentally crash it after they're spotted taking it. Both men are promptly arrested by the police as a result. Meanwhile, Weech is inspired by a picture of the line's first locomotive, the ''Thunderbolt'', which is now housed in the Mallingford's Town Hall museum. Upon securing Blakeworth's release, he helps them to acquire the locomotive for the branch line. To complete their new train, the villagers use Taylor's home, an old railway carriage body, hastily strapped to a flat wagon. In the morning, Pearce and Crump drive to the village to prepare to take passengers, but are shocked to see the train waiting at the station. Distracted from his driving, Pearce crashes the bus into the police van transporting Valentine and Taylor, and when Crump lets slip that they have been involved in sabotaging the line they are promptly arrested.
With Taylor arrested, Weech takes help from Ollie Matthews, a fellow railway devotee and the Bishop of Welchester, in running the ''Thunderbolt'' for the inspection run. The train departs Titfield late because the police demand transport to Mallingford for them and the arrested men. Despite a mishap with the coupling, the villagers help the train complete its run to Mallingford. Upon arriving, Weech learns that the line passed every requirement for the Light Railway Order, but barely. In fact, had they been any faster, their application would have been rejected.
Wondering what has happened to her youth and feeling stagnant and in a rut, Shirley feels as if her family treats her more like a servant and she finds herself regularly alone and talking to the wall while preparing an evening meal of 'chips and egg' for her emotionally distant husband. When her best friend wins a competition for two to Greece, she packs her bags, leaves a note on the cupboard door in the kitchen, and heads for a fortnight of rest and relaxation. In Greece, with just a little effort on her part, she rediscovers everything she had been missing about her existence in England. She finds so much happiness, in fact, that when the vacation is over she decides not to return, ditching her friend at the airport and going back to the hotel where she'd been staying to ask for a job and to live a newly self-confident life in which she is at last true to herself.
Larry Mann (Kevin Spacey) and Phil Cooper (Danny DeVito), who are both experienced marketing representatives working for an industrial lubricants company, attend a trade convention in Wichita, Kansas, in the American Midwest. They are joined in their hospitality suite by Bob Walker (Peter Facinelli), a young man from the company's research department. Larry and Phil are close friends with a long history together. Larry faces urgent financial difficulties that he alludes to only obliquely; Phil has recently come through a recovery program for alcoholism. Bob, an earnest young Baptist, has few if any regrets. Larry explains that their single goal is to arrange a meeting with Dick Fuller, the CEO of a large company ("the Big Kahuna").
While the three wait in their suite for the convention downstairs to finish, Larry and Phil explain to Bob how to develop and discern character. They also make Bob the bartender for the evening even though he drinks infrequently. Larry remarks that as he has quit smoking, Phil has quit drinking and Bob is religious, it makes them "practically Jesus".
Even though he makes a poor bartender, Bob spends the evening talking to people. In doing so, he inadvertently chats with the Big Kahuna, who invites him over to a private party at another hotel. Larry and Phil excitedly coach Bob through their pitch on industrial lubricants down to an amount of information Bob can handle and supply him with their business cards.
As the pair wait for Bob, they reflect on the nature of human life. However, Bob returns to drop a bombshell: he used the time to discuss religion rather than pitch the company's product. Larry, dumbfounded, challenges Bob and leaves the room devastated. Phil explains to Bob that proselytizing is just another kind of sales pitch. He explains that making real human-to-human contact requires honesty and a genuine interest in other people. Phil gives his reason why he and Larry have a friendship: trust. He then tells Bob that until he can recognize what he should regret, he will not grow in character.
The next morning Phil packs his things. As Larry checks out, he sees Bob talking again to the "Big Kahuna" in the lobby. They exchange a knowing smile as Bob appears to continue to push his own agenda of preaching God instead of selling lubricants. The soundtrack during the credits is "Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen)", a setting of an essay by Mary Schmich.
After years of pollution and the depletion of natural resources on Earth, humans decided to search beyond the solar system for habitable planets to live on. A space program dedicated to this premise eventually found a solar system similar to the Earthling's and the space colonists selected a habitable planet they named Darius.
After settling on Darius, the inhabitants learned to start a new life and thrive in both society and technology. However, their peace was disturbed by an armada of malevolent maritime shaped space craft controlled by the Belser Army, a race of humanoid space colony based warrior people who have selected the Darius colonists as their next combatants. The Darius inhabitants' only line of defense were the Silver Hawk series: single-piloted fighter craft designed for long space travel with the ability to wield different weapons at the same time. Two of the fleet's top pilots were selected to defend Darius: Proco and Tiat. Together, the two assigned in thwarting Belser's attack on Darius.
The game is set in the summer of 1991. The protagonist, Captain Maksim Mikahilovich Rukov, recently transferred to the Department P from the GRU after three years' duty, is ordered to investigate possible corruption inside the KGB after a former agent turned private eye was found murdered. However, as the plot progresses, Rukov finds himself investigating a political plot of dangerous proportions.
Jim Nashe is a fireman with a two-year-old daughter and wife who has just left him. Knowing he cannot work and raise a child at the same time, he sends her to live with his sister. Six months of sporadic visits pass and Nashe realizes that his daughter, Juliet, has begun to forget him. Suddenly, the father that abandoned Nashe as a child dies, leaving his children a large amount of money. Nashe, knowing that Juliet will be happier with her aunt, pays off all of his debts, buys a Saab and pursues "a life of freedom" by spending a year driving back and forth across the country.
His fortune now squandered, Nashe picks up a hot-headed young gambler named Jack Pozzi. The two hatch a plan to fleece a couple of wealthy bachelors named Flower and Stone in a poker game. In addition to purchasing a mansion, the two eccentrics also bought ten thousand stones, from the ruins of a fifteenth-century Irish castle destroyed by Oliver Cromwell; Flower and Stone intend to use them to build a "Wailing Wall" in the meadow behind their mansion.
Flower and Stone are not the suckers Pozzi takes them for and the plan backfires. Having run out of money Nashe decides to risk everything on "a single blind turn of a card" and puts up his car as collateral against the pot. He loses and the two indenture themselves to Flower and Stone as a way to pay back their debt. They will build the wall for Flower and Stone, a meaningless wall that nobody will ever see. For the rest of the novel, Flower and Stone are conspicuously absent. Nashe shrugs this off as fifty days of exercise, but Pozzi views it as nothing less than a violation of human decency.
The two men are watched over by Calvin Murks, the millionaires' tough but amiable hired man. When Pozzi takes a swing at Murks for cracking a joke about being too smart to play cards, Murks begins wearing a gun. Pozzi sees this as proof that he is nothing but a slave.
Even after the two men have completed working off their debt, the millionaires add on the food and entertainment charges the men have accrued as a result of living at the estate. Pozzi, convinced there is no way out of the contract, escapes the meadow. Days later Nashe finds his young friend sprawled on the grass beaten into a coma. Murks claims innocence and tells Nashe he took Pozzi to a hospital. Two weeks later, Murks tells Nashe that Pozzi checked himself out of the hospital and vanished, but Nashe is convinced that his friend is dead.
Time passes, the wall grows as does Nashe's obsession with taking revenge on Murks. When Nashe has completed enough work on the wall to pay off his debt, Murks and his son-in-law Floyd take Nashe out to celebrate. Nashe beats Floyd in a game of pool, but refuses the fifty dollars he has won; Floyd accepts this, saying that he owes Nashe a favor. Soon after, the three men pile into Murks's new car (Nashe's old Saab) with the slightly more sober Nashe behind the wheel. Nashe promptly takes the car up to eighty-five miles an hour and deliberately collides, head-on into an oncoming vehicle.
Juliette is raised in a convent. However, at age thirteen she is seduced by a woman who immediately explains that morality, religion and other such concepts are meaningless. There are plenty of similar philosophical musings during the book, all attacking the ideas of God, morals, remorse, love, etc., the overall conclusion being that the only aim in life is "to enjoy oneself at no matter whose expense." Juliette takes this to the extreme and manages to murder her way through numerous people, including various family members and friends.
During Juliette's life from age 13 to about 30, the wanton anti-heroine engages in virtually every form of depravity and encounters a series of like-minded libertines. She befriends the ferocious Clairwil, whose main passion is the murder of boys and young men, as revenge for the general brutality of men toward women. She meets Saint Fond, a 50-year-old multi-millionaire who murders his father, commits incest with his daughter, tortures young girls to death on a daily basis, and even plots an ambitious scheme to provoke a famine that will wipe out half the population of France. She also becomes acquainted with Minski, a gigantic ogre-like Muscovite who delights in raping and torturing young boys and girls to death before eating them.
A long audience with Pope Pius VI is one of the more extensive scenes in ''Juliette.'' The heroine repeatedly addresses the Pope by his legal name "Braschi." She also flaunts her learning with a verbal, yet highly detailed, catalogue of alleged immoralities committed by his papal predecessors. Their conversation ends (like nearly every scene in the narrative) with an orgy, in which Pope Pius is portrayed as a secret libertine.
Soon after this, the male character Brisatesta narrates two scandalous encounters. The first is with "Princess Sophia, niece of the King of Prussia," who has just married "the Stadtholder" at the Hague. This is a presumed reference to Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange, who married the last Dutch Stadtholder, William V of Orange in 1767, and was still alive when ''Juliette'' was published thirty years later. The second encounter is with Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia.
This game takes place in a fictional planetary system called the Lylat system, which is inhabited by anthropomorphic animal species such as foxes, frogs, birds, rabbits, and apes. It contains the planets Corneria and Venom, representing good and evil, respectively. Andross, an evil scientist, fled to the planet Venom after being banished from Corneria, and declared war on the latter, unleashing an enormous army to wreak havoc on the Lylat System. General Pepper, the commanding officer of Corneria's defense force, dispatches a prototype high-performance fighter aircraft called the "Arwing". However, lacking in time to train pilots for the new aircraft, he summons the elite mercenary team Star Fox to defeat Andross. Fox McCloud, the leader of the team, is accompanied by his teammates, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, and Slippy Toad.
A young woman in labour makes her way to a parish workhouse and dies after giving birth to a boy, who is systematically named Oliver Twist (John Howard Davies) by the workhouse authorities. As the years go by, Oliver and the rest of the child inmates suffer from the callous indifference of the officials in charge: beadle Mr. Bumble (Francis L. Sullivan) and matron Mrs. Corney (Mary Clare). At the age of nine, the hungry children draw straws; Oliver loses and has to ask for a second helping of gruel ("Please sir, can I have some more?").
For his impudence, he is promptly apprenticed to the undertaker Mr. Sowerberry (Gibb McLaughlin), from whom he receives somewhat better treatment. However, when another worker, Noah, maligns his dead mother, Oliver flies into a rage and attacks him, earning the orphan a whipping.
Oliver runs away to London. The Artful Dodger (Anthony Newley), a skilled young pickpocket, notices him and takes him to Fagin (Alec Guinness), an old Jew who trains children to be pickpockets. Fagin sends Oliver to watch and learn as the Dodger and another boy try to rob Mr. Brownlow (Henry Stephenson), a rich, elderly gentleman. Their attempt is detected, but it is Oliver who is chased through the streets by a mob and arrested. A witness clears him. Mr. Brownlow takes a liking to the boy, and gives him a home. Oliver experiences the kind of happy life he has never had before, under the care of Mr. Brownlow and the loving housekeeper, Mrs. Bedwin (Amy Veness).
Meanwhile, Fagin is visited by the mysterious Monks (Ralph Truman), who has a strong interest in Oliver. He sends Monks to Bumble and Mrs. Corney (Mary Clare) (now Bumble's domineering wife); Monks buys from them the only thing that can identify Oliver's parentage, a locket containing his mother's portrait.
By chance, Fagin's associate, the vicious Bill Sykes (Robert Newton), and Sykes' kind-hearted prostitute girlfriend (and former Fagin pupil) Nancy (Kay Walsh) run into Oliver on the street and forcibly take him back to Fagin. Nancy feels pangs of guilt and, seeing a poster in which Mr. Brownlow offers a reward for Oliver's return, contacts the gentleman and promises to deliver Oliver the next day. The suspicious Fagin, however, has had the Dodger follow her. When Fagin informs Sykes, the latter becomes enraged and murders her, mistakenly believing that she has betrayed him.
The killing brings down the wrath of the public on the gang – particularly Sykes who attempts to make his escape by taking Oliver hostage. Clambering over the rooftops, and with climbing rope hung around his neck, Sykes is shot by one of the mob and is accidentally hanged as he loses his footing. Mr. Brownlow and the authorities rescue Oliver. Fagin and his other associates are rounded up. Monks' part in the proceedings is discovered, and he is arrested. He was trying to ensure his inheritance; Oliver, it turns out, is Mr. Brownlow's grandson. For their involvement in the Monks' scheme, Mr. and Mrs. Bumble lose their jobs at the workhouse. Oliver is happily reunited with his newly found grandfather and Mrs. Bedwin, his search for love ending in fulfillment.
After Johnny Maxwell, a boy in his early teens, finds Mrs. Tachyon, an old bag lady, by a cinema he discovers that her trolley is in fact a time machine. He goes back to his town, Blackbury, during the time of The Blitz with his friends Stephen (aka Wobbler), Bigmac, Kirsty and Yo-less (possibly because Johnny has been obsessing about the destruction of Paradise Street in a German raid). Wobbler gets left behind in 1941, and when they return for him, Johnny tries to prevent the deaths caused in the raid.
Sir Karell Borotyn (Holmes Herbert) is found murdered in his house, with two tiny pinpoint wounds on his neck. The attending doctor, Dr. Doskil (Donald Meek), and Sir Karell's friend Baron Otto von Zinden (Jean Hersholt) are convinced that he was killed by a vampire. They suspect Count Mora (Bela Lugosi) and his daughter Luna (Carroll Borland), while the Prague Police Inspector Neumann (Lionel Atwill) refuses to believe them.
Sir Karell's daughter Irena (Elizabeth Allan) is the Count's next target. Professor Zelen (Lionel Barrymore), an expert on vampires and the occult, arrives in order to prevent her death. After Irena is menaced by the vampires on several occasions, Zelen, Baron Otto, and Inspector Neumann descend into the ruined parts of the castle to hunt down the undead monsters and destroy them. When Zelen and Baron Otto find themselves alone, however, Zelen hypnotizes the Baron and asks him to relive the night of Sir Karell's murder. It is then revealed that the "vampires" are actually hired actors, and that the entire experience has been an elaborate charade concocted by Zelen in the hopes of tricking the real murderer—Baron Otto—into confessing to the crime. Acknowledging that the charade has failed to produce its intended results, Zelen, along with Irena and another actor who strongly resembles Sir Karell, compels the hypnotized Baron into re-enacting the murder, effectively proving his guilt. During the re-enactment, Baron Otto reveals his true motive: he wished to marry Irena, but her father would not allow it. He also reveals how he staged the murder to resemble a vampire attack.
With Baron Otto arrested, Irena explains the plot to her fiance, Fedor (Henry Wadsworth), who was not involved in the subterfuge and believed that the vampires were real. The film ends with the actors who played the vampires packing up their supplies, and "Count Mora" exclaiming, "This vampire business, it has given me a great idea for a new act! Luna, in the new act, I will be the vampire! Did you watch me? I gave all of me! I was greater than any REAL vampire!" which is met with general lack of enthusiasm by his fellow thespians.
Roger Balfour is found dead in his London home one night. Burke, a representative of Scotland Yard, after questioning everyone present, declares the death a suicide despite objection from Balfour's neighbour and close friend, Sir James Hamlin.
Five years later, the Hamlin residents witness strange lights within the now-forsaken Balfour mansion before realising the new tenants to be two vampiric figures of a man in a beaver-felt top hat with long hair and sharp teeth, and a silent pale woman wearing long robes. This prompts the baronet, Sir James, to call Burke in once again who discovers that Hamlin and the others there (Balfour's daughter, Lucille, his butler, Williams, and Hamlin's nephew, Arthur Hibbs) had been the only other persons in the Balfour home when he died. After noticing the new lease to the Balfour mansion bears the exact same signature as the deceased Roger Balfour's, Burke remains skeptical about the existence of the undead, and, along with Sir James, exhumes Roger Balfour's tomb to find it empty. After a series of grisly events; from the maid Miss Smithson's eccentric recollection of encountering the Man in the Beaver Hat manifesting in a bedroom, to the vampire girl flying down like a bat from the ceiling of the Balfour mansion, and witnessing the living corpse of Roger Balfour, Burke reveals to Lucille that he believes her father to have been murdered.
After taking the precaution to protect Lucille's bedroom from vampires, the girl is taken to the Balfour mansion. As Sir James is instructed to venture to the mansion, he encounters the Man in the Beaver Hat (revealed to be Burke) and is hypnotised into thinking it is five years earlier. Within the mansion, the events leading up to Balfour's death are recreated and re-enacted and all secretly watch as Sir James kills Roger Balfour and fakes his suicide so as to ultimately marry Balfour's daughter Lucille, against the deceased's will. Once apprehended, Burke lifts the trance and identifies Sir James as the killer.
William Garretson is arrested following the discovery of the bodies of Sharon Tate and her guests at her home but is released three days later for lack of evidence. The police are unwilling to connect the Tate killings to the Hinman murder and LaBianca killings, despite the similarities of the crime scenes including writing in blood on the walls, and instead pursue a drug-related angle for the Tate killings.
The police raid Spahn Ranch in an attempt to break up an auto theft ring and arrest Manson and his gang. Nine-year-old "Steven Quint" (based on 10-year-old Steven Weiss) discovers a gun and his father turns it over to the police, where it is ignored. The Manson Family is released from prison and later two girls fleeing from Death Valley, "Stephanie Mark" (based on Stephanie Schram) and Kitty Lutesinger, tell police that the Manson Family has moved to Barker Ranch and that Susan Atkins was involved in the Hinman murder. Susan is arrested and reveals to her fellow inmate Ronnie Howard that she also killed Sharon Tate and was involved in eleven other killings.
Los Angeles District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi interviews Danny DeCarlo, who gives a tour of Spahn Ranch and says that Manson had a .22 caliber Buntline revolver matching that used in the murders. Ronnie Howard calls the homicide division and tells them what Susan confessed to her. Bugliosi requests bail to be set high for Manson's trial for burning municipal earthmoving equipment in order to give him time to get evidence for the grand jury for the murders.
Bugliosi interviews the Manson Girls and obtains arrest warrants for participants in the killings. Linda Kasabian turns herself in on the warrant while the fingerprints of Tex Watson and Patricia Krenwinkel are matched to those found at the Tate residence. During the grand jury proceedings, Susan gives all of the details of the Tate and LaBianca killings. As a result, Susan, Leslie Van Houten, Tex, Patricia, Linda, and Manson are all brought up on charges.
A reporter and photographer from KABC-TV, Los Angeles attempting to retrace the events crime as reported in the newspaper find where the bloody clothes from the murders have been discarded. Steven's father calls to ask about the .22 revolver, but the police tell him that they don't have time for him and hang up on him. He tells the story to the news in order to embarrass the investigators. Bugliosi uses ballistics testing to link the gun to the one used on victim Jay Sebring.
Manson chooses to represent himself at trial and Bugliosi tricks Manson into requesting more time, thus also giving himself more time to put a stronger case together. Bugliosi interviews former Manson Family member Paul Watkins, who explains Manson's views that the Beatles are sending him messages to spark a race war dubbed "Helter Skelter".
During the trial, testimony is heard from Linda Kasabian regarding the Tate and LaBianca murders despite repeated objections from the counsel for the defense. At one point Manson leaps at the judge but is subdued. He demands to give testimony, much of which works to his disadvantage. Due to their continuous disruptions, the defendants are ordered out of the courtroom during the closing arguments. Ultimately all of the defendants are sentenced to death but California later eliminates the death penalty in 1972, making the convicts eligible to apply for parole in the future.
In 1801 the British have risen to power in Egypt and suppress the worship of the old Egyptian gods. A cabal of magicians plan to drive the British out of Egypt by bringing the gods forward in time from an age when they were still powerful and unleashing them on London, thereby destroying the British Empire. In 1802, a failed attempt by the magicians to summon Anubis opens magical gates in a predictable pattern across time and space.
In 1983, ailing millionaire J. Cochran Darrow has discovered the gates and found that they make time travel possible. Darrow organizes a trip to the past for fellow millionaires to attend a lecture by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1810. He hires Professor Brendan Doyle to attend and give expert commentary. One of the magicians, Doctor Romany, happens to spy the time travelers and kidnaps Doyle before he can return. Doyle manages to escape torture and flees back to London, now trapped in the 19th century.
Doyle joins a beggars' guild and meets a beggar named Jacky. He plans to meet and befriend William Ashbless, a wealthy poet that Doyle has studied profusely, in order to gain a benefactor. Doctor Romany scours the city for Doyle with his legion of murderous beggars, led by the clown-magician Horrabin. At the same time, Doyle discovers that Darrow has remained in the 19th century to search for Dog-Face Joe, a body-swapping werewolf, in hopes of bribing Joe into granting him a healthy new body. Doyle himself becomes targeted by Joe, receiving the poisoned body of Darrow's former bodyguard, but manages to cure himself of the poison.
In his new body, Doyle realizes that he himself is the historical Ashbless. He copies down Ashbless's poetry from memory and deduces his own future from his study of Ashbless's life. Using this knowledge, he continues to thwart the magicians' plans. After Romany discovers a gate to 1684, Doyle follows him through and stops his attempt to change the past. Meanwhile, Darrow successfully contacts Dog-Face Joe and organizes a deal in which Joe will provide Darrow with healthy bodies and allow him to live forever.
Doyle eventually returns to 1810, but is kidnapped and taken to Muhammad Ali's Egypt, where the magicians' Master tempts him with resurrecting his dead wife if he will tell them the secrets of the time-gates. Doyle resists and kills the Master. Meanwhile, Jacky discovers Darrow's secret and kills him along with Dog-Face Joe. Doyle returns to London, where the last magician, Romanelli, kidnaps him, Jacky, and Coleridge. In a drugged stupor, Coleridge frees Horrabin's twisted menagerie of monsters, allowing him and Jacky to escape. Romanelli escapes with Doyle to the underworld, but is eaten by Apep while Doyle is rejuvenated on board the sunboat of the god Ra. Doyle meets back up with Jacky and discovers that not only is Jacky secretly a woman, she is his future wife.
Decades later, after living out Ashbless's entire life and becoming a widower, Doyle goes out to meet his historic date with death. Doyle discovers that his intended murderer is a duplicate of himself that the Master had made in Egypt decades before. Doyle kills the duplicate, thereby supplying the corpse for his death, and boats away into an unknown future.
In 1999, a teenager named Kamui Shiro returns to Tokyo after a six-year absence to fulfill his mother's dying wish of changing fate. However, he keeps his distance from two childhood friends, Kotori and Fuma Monou, whom he originally treasured as a child. The end of the world is fast approaching as superhuman individuals will assure their victory. The clone Nataku steals the from Fuma's family temple, with his dying father telling his son that he is Kamui's "twin star". The Dragons of Heaven are the first to contact Kamui. Hinoto, the dreamgazer for the Japanese Legislature guides them. They are the protectors of the , spiritual barriers (in the form of buildings such as the Tokyo Tower) that hold the fabric of nature together. As long as the ''kekkai'' survive, Judgment Day is postponed. The Dragons of Earth are the antithesis of the Dragons of Heaven. Their mission is to destroy the ''kekkai'' and unleash earthquakes so Earth can be cured of the plague of humanity. They were assembled by Hinoto's sister Kanoe, secretary to the Governor of Tokyo.
Kamui is forced to choose between the two sides, he concludes he only wants to protect Kotori and Fuma, and becomes a Dragon of Heaven. At the same time, Fuma has a change of personality and becomes the "Kamui" of the Dragons of Earth as he was destined to be Kamui's opposite. Fuma murders Kotori and swears to kill Kamui. The Dragon of Heaven Subaru Sumeragi helps Kamui to overcome this traumatic experience, and he decides to face reality. Just like Subaru decided to search for the Dragon of Earth, Seishiro Sakurazuka, who killed his sister Hokuto years ago, Subaru inspires Kamui to face reality and avoid another catastrophe in his life. Kamui decides he wishes to bring Fuma back to normal. Kamui joins the Dragons of Heaven in their fight against the Dragons of Earth. Across the manga, Kamui and his allies face the Dragons of Earths multiple times but cannot protect most barriers, resulting in multiple earthquakes taking down Tokyo. In a one-on-one match, Seishiro activates Hokuto's dying spell so that Subaru would be forced kill him. Fuma reveals that Seishiro's wish was leaving a mark in Subaru. Following an eye transplant from Seishiro's body, Subaru replaces the late Dragon of Earth. The Dragon of Heaven Arashi Kishu loses her maiden powers after having a sexual relationship with her ally Sorata Arisugawa. A dark alter ego Hinoto kidnaps her to turn her into a Dragon of Earth. As these events occur, Tokyo has nearly been destroyed and is flooded, and Kamui and Fuma wield their Sacred Swords needed to clash in the final fight of the war. Both Subaru and Fuma claim that Kamui cannot change the future unless he realizes his own wish.
Frederick Loren (Vincent Price), an eccentric millionaire, invites five people to a party he is throwing for his fourth wife, Annabelle (Carol Ohmart), in an allegedly haunted house he has rented. He promises to give each $10,000 with the stipulation that they stay the entire night in the house after the doors are locked at midnight, all the windows are barred, and there are no phones or radios to use. The guests are test pilot Lance Schroeder (Richard Long), newspaper columnist Ruth Bridges (Julie Mitchum), psychiatrist Dr. David Trent (Alan Marshal), who specializes in hysteria, Nora Manning (Carolyn Craig), who works for one of Loren's companies, and the house's owner, Watson Pritchard (Elisha Cook). All are strangers to both the Lorens and each other, their only commonality being their lust for money.
The Lorens have a tense relationship. Frederick is convinced Annabelle tried to poison him to acquire his wealth, which Annabelle somewhat evasively denies, attributing his suspicions to paranoia and jealousy. Watson believes the house is genuinely haunted by the ghosts of those murdered there, including his own brother; he claims to have spent one night there before and "was almost dead" when found the next morning. He gives a tour of the house, including a vat of acid in the basement, which a previous resident used to kill his wife. When Lance and Nora remain behind to further explore the basement, Lance is locked in an empty room and struck on the head, while a menacing ghost confronts Nora.
Annabelle privately warns Lance that her husband is scheming something and that she suspects him of murdering his second and third wives after his first wife disappeared. The guests learn the party's rules downstairs, and each is given a Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer for protection. Having encountered further apparitions, Nora decides against staying the night, but the caretakers lock the doors five minutes early, taking that option out of the guests' hands.
Hearing a scream, Lance and David find Annabelle's corpse, suspended to suggest she hanged herself, but the absence of a perch immediately arouses suspicions of murder. Nora confronts Lance and tells him an unseen assailant strangled her and left her for dead. In light of Annabelle's warnings, they both suspect Frederick. He tells her to remain out of sight so that her attacker will still think she is dead. Lance and David propose that everyone stay in their rooms and shoot anyone who enters to survive the night. Thus the innocents will have no reason to leave their rooms (and a good reason to stay inside them) and the killer must stay put or admit guilt.
Nora is chased from her room into the basement by Annabelle's ghost. Aroused by the ghostly sounds, David concludes that the killer is about and proposes he and Frederick split up to search the house. Lance uncovers a secret room at the end of the second-floor hall, but the door shuts behind him once he enters, trapping him. David instead meets with Annabelle, who had faked her death using a hanging harness and sedatives. Secretly lovers, the two of them have orchestrated the various mishaps to manipulate Nora into killing Frederick. Nora, seeing Frederick enter the basement with a gun in his hand, does indeed shoot him. After she flees, David slips in to dispose of Frederick's body in the vat of acid, and the lights go out.
Annabelle walks to the basement to confirm her husband is dead. A skeleton rises from the acid, accuses her in Frederick's voice, and shoves her into the vat. Frederick emerges from the shadows, holding the puppeteer control unit that he used to manipulate the skeleton and revealing he had known their plot all along.
After Nora, Watson, and Ruth release Lance from the secret room, Nora tells them that she shot Frederick. When they arrive in the cellar, Frederick explains that he loaded her gun with blanks, that his wife and David plotted to kill him, and that they both met their ends in the vat of acid. He says he is ready for justice to decide if he's innocent or guilty. Watson remains convinced the house is haunted, with David and Annabelle now added to its ranks of ghosts, and that he will be the next victim.
The Vicar – Dr. Charles Primrose – lives an idyllic life in a country parish with his wife Deborah, son George, daughters Olivia and Sophia, and three other children. He is wealthy due to investing an inheritance he received from a deceased relative, and he donates the £35 that his job pays annually to the widows and orphans of local clergy. On the evening of George's wedding to wealthy Arabella Wilmot, the Vicar loses all his money through the bankruptcy of his merchant investor who has left town abruptly.
The wedding is called off by Arabella's father, who is known for his prudence with money. George, who was educated at Oxford and is old enough to be considered an adult, is sent away to town. The rest of the family move to a new and more humble parish on the land of Squire Thornhill, who is known to be a womanizer. On the way, they hear about the dubious reputation of their new landlord. Also, references are made to the squire's uncle Sir William Thornhill, who is known throughout the country for his worthiness and generosity.
A poor and eccentric friend, Mr. Burchell, whom they meet at an inn, rescues Sophia from drowning. She is instantly attracted to him, but her ambitious mother does not encourage her feelings.
Then follows a period of happy family life, interrupted only by regular visits of the dashing Squire Thornhill and Mr. Burchell. Olivia is captivated by Thornhill's hollow charm; but he also encourages the social ambitions of Mrs. Primrose and her daughters to a ludicrous degree.
Finally, Olivia is reported to have fled. First Burchell is suspected, but after a long pursuit Dr. Primrose finds his daughter, who was in fact deceived by Squire Thornhill. He planned to marry her in a mock ceremony and leave her shortly after, as he had done with several women before.
When Olivia and her father return home, they find their house in flames. Although the family has lost almost all their belongings, the evil Squire Thornhill insists on the payment of the rent. As the vicar cannot pay, he is brought to prison.
A series of dreadful developments follows. The vicar's daughter, Olivia, is reported dead, Sophia is abducted, and George too is sent to prison in chains and covered with blood, as he had challenged Thornhill to a duel when he had heard about his wickedness.
Then Mr. Burchell arrives and solves all problems. He rescues Sophia, Olivia is not dead, and it emerges that Mr. Burchell is in reality the worthy Sir William Thornhill, who travels through the country in disguise. In the end, there is a double wedding: George marries Arabella, as he originally intended, and Sir William Thornhill marries Sophia. Squire Thornhill's servant turns out to have tricked him, and what the Squire thought to be a sham marriage of himself and Olivia is in fact valid. Finally, even the wealth of the vicar is restored, as the bankrupt merchant is reported found.
Sydney Brown, a well-dressed senior gambler, finds John Finnegan, a homeless man, forlornly sitting outside a diner in Sparks, Nevada. He offers him a cigarette and buys him a cup of coffee. John tells Sydney that he lost his money in Las Vegas and he needs $6,000 for his mother's funeral. Sydney offers to drive John to Vegas, where he helps John win the money. Two years later, John has become Sydney's protégé. Sydney is calm and reserved and displays a fatherly care for John, who is unsophisticated. John has a new friend named Jimmy, who does security work. John is attracted to Clementine, a cocktail waitress in Reno. Sydney meets Clementine, and learns that she moonlights as a prostitute. Although Clementine believes Sydney might want to use her services, he wants to build a connection between her and John. Sydney asks John to show Clementine around the town.
After receiving a frantic phone call, Sydney finds John and Clementine holding a tourist hostage in a nearby motel when the client of Clementine's did not pay her $300. John reveals that he and Clementine impulsively got married, and Clementine prostituted herself to the tourist, who is knocked out and handcuffed to the bed. Sydney learns that John and Clementine have called the hostage's wife, threatening to kill him if they do not get the money. After finding Jimmy's gun, Sydney convinces them to flee the motel, advising John and Clementine to leave town for a honeymoon. While leaving, Sydney removes the evidence from the motel room.
Sydney meets with Jimmy, who tells him that the couple did not call the police. However, Jimmy explains that he has heard stories of Sydney killing John's father in Atlantic City. Jimmy pulls a gun on Sydney and threatens to tell John unless Sydney gives him $10,000. Sydney says that he does not have it, but he can give $6,000 cash. They go to Jimmy's suite, and then down to the casino floor where Sydney gets the money from the cashier and gives it to Jimmy. John calls Sydney from a roadside phone to update Sydney on their honeymoon trip. During the call, Sydney tells John that he loves him like a son. After hearing that, John cries, thanks him and says that he loves him too. Sydney sneaks into Jimmy's house, kills him and retrieves the money. The next day, Sydney returns to the diner where he met John and covers his bloodstained shirt cuff with a jacket sleeve.
As airman Adrien Dufourquet embarks on an 8-day leave in Paris to see his fiancée Agnès, two South American Indians steal an Amazonian statuette from the Musée de l'Homme and force Professor Catalan, the curator, into their car. Catalan was the companion of Agnès' father on an expedition into the Amazonian Rainforest during which her father died. Catalan believes that the statuette is one of three which hold the secret to an Amazonian treasure. Adrien arrives in time to see the Indians abducting Agnès, the only one who knows the location of her father's statuette, and he pursues them to the airport where he steals a ticket and boards the same plane.
Adrien tells the pilot that his fiancée has been abducted, but Agnès has been drugged and does not recognize him. The pilot plans to have Adrien arrested when they reach Rio de Janeiro, but Adrien eludes the police upon arrival. With the help of Sir Winston, a Brazilian bootblack, Adrien rescues Agnès. They retrieve the buried statuette, but the Indians steal it from them.
In a stolen car provided by Sir Winston, Agnès and Adrien drive to Brasilia to meet Senhor de Castro, a wealthy industrialist who possesses the third statuette. On the way, they come across the Indians' car with Catalan slumped inside; after picking him up, they drive on to Brasilia.
At a party in their honor, De Castro takes Catalan to his strong room to assure him of the statuette's safety, and Catalan, who planned the museum theft, murders him and steals the statuette. By the time Adrien discovers the body, Catalan and the Indians have abducted Agnès again and escaped in a seaplane. Adrien steals a plane and follows.
In a floating jungle cafe run by Lola, the woman who financed Catalan, Adrien learns that Catalan murdered Agnès' father and that Agnès is being held in a boat. Rushing to the boat, Adrien hangs onto the side as it heads upstream and finally docks. While Catalan goes to the underground location of the treasure, Adrien knocks out all of Catalan's accomplices and rescues Agnès. Catalan finds the treasure, but an explosion set off by a nearby Trans-Amazonian Highway construction crew causes him to be buried with it. Adrien and Agnès flee the jungle and arrive in Paris in time for Adrien to catch his train back to his garrison.
In Los Angeles, Paula Powers' (Nancy Morgan) wealthy parents, Bigby (Barry Cahill) and Priscilla Powers (Elizabeth Rogers), want her to marry Collins Hedgeworth (Paul Linke), whom they refer to as her fiance, and also hails from a wealthy family. Paula is really in love with classmate Sam Freeman (Ron Howard), an environmental research major, however, her father dismisses him as a "fortune hunter", which they dispute. Bigby yells at Sam to leave, and while he tries to defend himself, Paula tells him to go wait for her outside. Bigby tells Paula that he is running for governor and wants her to cooperate. However, Paula dismisses Collins as a "flake", and tells her parents that she won't marry him and will elope with Sam to Las Vegas. Bigby threatens to disinherit her and take away her sports car (that she had bought with her own money) if she disobeys him.
Paula goes to her room and escapes through the window, stealing her parents' Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and hitting the road with Sam, beginning a wild explosive car chase and race towards Las Vegas. Bigby calls his associate Ned Slinker (played by Ron Howard's real-life father Rance), asking him to bring back Paula and the Rolls-Royce, and to have Sam incarcerated, without involvement of police and news media. Priscilla gets a call from Collins, who is currently in a stable playing polo, and tells him Paula ran off. Enraged, Collins smashes the phone and takes off in his car. After crashing it, he steals another car from a nearby dealership to continue the chase. His mother Vivian (Marion Ross), after being informed of it by the police, decides to go after him herself before the police could arrest him.
Collins catches up with Paula and Sam on the Interstate, but ends up crashing the car he stole. Before stealing another car, he calls the TenQ radio station to DJ Curly Q. Brown (Don Steele), offering $25,000 to whoever can catch her. Several people, hearing it on the radio, including two mechanics Ace (Ron Howard's younger brother, Clint Howard) and Sparky (Pete Isacksen) in an antique Bugatti Type 35, set off after Paula and Sam. Vivian also calls TenQ, offering $25,000 for the safe return of her son. As she runs a red light, she attracts the attention of Officer Norman Tad (James Ritz), who chases after her. She ends up crashing into a tree and the officer attempts to arrest her, and her blurting out trying to save her son is overheard by a nearby preacher (Hoke Howell), who steals the police car to collect the reward money. Vivian also continues the chase, prompting the officer to commandeer a bus.
After hearing a radio listener call-in saying Sam ought to be shot, Paula calls the station from the car phone and tells her side of the story. Upon hearing it, Curly announces that he will root for them. As Ace and Sparky catch up to them, they turn off the Interstate in an attempt to lose their pursuers in the desert. Sam wants to head to Reno to marry instead, but Paula is set on a Vegas wedding. Bigby calls Paula on the car phone, trying to get her to come back. When Paula tells him that her dream is to marry Sam, he calls it a "damn lousy dream". Curly goes up in a helicopter to follow Paula and Sam, annoying them as he is now sharing their location and attracting more people to collect the reward. When Collins crashes his stolen car, the preacher attempts to catch him and collect his money, but Collins convinces him to chase after Paula with him to double the reward. Tad manages to arrest Vivian and drags her onto the bus with him, as they continue the chase after Paula and Sam.
As Paula and Sam cross the Nevada state line, Slinker hires a local Vegas mob to try and stop them. As they approach Las Vegas, Sam starts to have doubts about Paula wanting to elope, thinking she just wants to spite her father. They pull over and have a small argument in an abandoned junkyard, and when Sam asks Paula if she really want to go through with the marriage and she convinces him she does, they embrace and continue on.
The pursuing cars all end up in a demolition derby (filmed at the Victorville fairgrounds). The priceless Rolls-Royce is destroyed, with Paula and Sam bailing out at the last moment, causing a massive pile-up. The derby announcer tells everyone who they are, causing the crowd to cheer them on. Bigby and Slinker chase after Paula and Sam, who are on foot, in a van, but derby cars crash into them. Paula and Sam make it to the grandstand, and the crowd, cheering them on, lets them through. As Bigby, Slinker, Collins and the preacher reach the bleachers, the crowd boos them and pelts them with food, allowing Paula and Sam to get into a taxi outside and slip away, as the police arrives at the fairgrounds and arrests the pursuers. When Vivian reaches her son, she tells him not to fret about Paula, calling her "socially inferior" right next to the Bigby, who attempts to defend his daughter's honor, to which she calls him an "uncouth ass". When Bigby insults her back, Collins attempts to charge at him, but he punches him out, saying he's glad Paula didn't marry him, calling him a "flake" like Paula did earlier, and concedes that perhaps Paula did marry the right man. (A later chase scene was filmed at the intersection of Highway 18 and Apple Valley Road in Apple Valley.)
At the chapel, Paula and Sam are married, and the minister asks for their autographs. As they exit the chapel, they are surrounded by a swarm of fans, including a hotel owner offering them a free stay in his hotel's honeymoon suite, alongside a ride to the hotel in a limousine. As they go to the hotel, Curly pursues them in a station wagon to get them to do an interview, but misses an oncoming firetruck and ends up crashing through a house into a swimming pool. Paula and Sam kiss in the backseat of the limousine as they ride to the hotel.
Each adventure chronicles the housekeeper hamster Ebichu, devoted to her oft-indifferent owner, who she calls Goshujin-sama ("Master") and is only identified as ''OL'' ("Office Lady"), a single 28-year-old (she is 25 years old in the anime series) who doles out cynical commentary and the occasional beating on the rodent. Such abuse is usually caused by Ebichu's almost disturbing lack of tact or propriety, which often embarrasses OL in front of other people. Ebichu is a faithful housekeeper but occasionally carries out a practical joke and also hurts OL's feelings.
Ebichu tends to take this in stride with endless praise and compliments of her master. Ebichu often attempts to correct OL's bad decisions, such as her berating of OL's obnoxious, immature and untrustworthy boyfriend that Ebichu nicknamed ''Kaishounachi'' (worthless man). Maa-kun and Lady Hanabataki are friends of OL. Some surrounding characters also appear.
The opening of the game shows the New York City skyline in 2002 and depicts it being attacked by a mysterious force. The main game is set in the futuristic year of 2004, when Earth has been enslaved by a race of aliens known as the Orbs. The Orbs, who look like giant floating eyeballs, have implanted all humans with global tracking devices, forced them to wear nondescript robes, and forbidden them from speaking or communicating. The protagonist has been assigned by the Orbs to track down fellow humans who are believed to be forming an underground resistance. Over the course of the game, the player discovers that the Orbs are not the benevolent rulers they claim to be; they are actually harvesting humans as a food source. The player then "switches sides" and works to overthrow the Orbs. The player works against Phil, the antagonist, who is murdering members of the resistance. The game ends with the player flying an Orb ship and bombing various locations in Manhattan, before Phil escapes, chased by the player.
The ending sets up the game for a sequel, ''Manhunter: San Francisco''.
''Dungeon Siege'' is set in the Kingdom of Ehb, a varied region on the continent of Aranna containing deserts, swamps, forests, and mountains, created three centuries earlier at the dissolution of the Empire of Stars. At the beginning of the game, the player character's farming village is attacked by a race of creatures named the Krug. The main character, a farmer with no given background who is named by the player, journeys through the Krug forces to the town of Stonebridge. Upon breaking the siege of the town, and gaining their first companion, the player character is tasked by the town's garrison leader Gyorn with journeying to the town of Glacern and alerting the Ehb military forces, called the 10th Legion, of the incursion and defeating any forces they encounter along the way. After journeying through crypts, mines, and mountains, the player character reaches Glacern, where they are informed that the Krug invasion happened the same day that the Grand Mage Merik disappeared, and are charged with traveling over the mountains to Fortress Kroth to assist the legion there. In the mountains they find Merik, who informs them that the Krug invasion is part of a larger invasion by the Seck, who destroyed the Empire of Stars before being imprisoned underneath Castle Ehb, and who have escaped and taken the castle. Merik asks the player to help recover the Staff of Stars from the Goblins. Prior to its theft, the Staff had kept the Seck imprisoned in the Vault of Eternity.
The player fights through monsters and bandits in crystal caves, a forest, a swamp, and an underground Goblin fortress filled with mechanical war machines. After recovering the Staff from the Goblins, the player character meets a division of the 10th Legion and is pointed towards Fortress Kroth, which has been overrun with undead. After clearing the fortress and fighting monsters and a dragon in the Cliffs of Fire, they march on Castle Ehb. The player characters then storm the castle and fight through the Seck forces to rescue King Konreid. He informs the party that the Seck's leader, Gom, is seeking the magical weapons from the Empire of Stars stored in the Chamber of Stars, and that the characters must secure the weapons and then defeat the remaining Seck. The player character collects the weapons and fights through lava caves and the Vault of Eternity where the Seck had been imprisoned. The player character kills Gom, defeating the Seck and saving the kingdom.
In the opening scene, a "beatnik" named Stan Hess (Ray Danton) sits at a table in a coffee house with a woman who begs him for his affection. He scorns her, then encounters his father at another table, who announces his engagement to a younger woman who had also pursued Stan. He insults his stepmother-to-be and departs. Hess is established as a woman-hating habitué of a stereotyped and sensationalized beatnik scene.
Soon after, we learn that Hess is a serial rapist at large in Los Angeles. His modus operandi is to gain entry to the home of a married woman whose husband is away by pretending to be there to repay money loaned by the husband. Once inside, he feigns a headache, pulls out a tin of aspirin, and asks the woman for water. While she is distracted by this errand, he sneaks up behinds her, and then assaults and rapes her. He leaves the tin of aspirin behind as his calling card, leading the police to call him "The Aspirin Kid." Leaving the scene of the first assault portrayed in the film, he is nearly hit by a car. The driver, who is a police detective named Culloran (Steve Cochran), gives him a lift, and the two engage in conversation. The rapist calls himself Arthur Garret, and as the two talk, he learns that Culloran is married, and sees his address on an envelope on the car seat. After getting out of Culloran's car, he writes down the name and address, and the word "married", foreshadowing his later rape of Culloran's wife.
Coincidentally, the case of 'The Aspirin Kid' is assigned to Culloran and his partner, Baron (Jackie Coogan). Culloran is a twice married man whose first marriage has made him suspicious of women. They have a suspect, a beatnik called Art Jester (James Mitchum) who fits a description of 'The Aspirin Kid' but his alibi checks out.
Hess/Garrett calls Culloran at the police station, and lures him to a rendezvous at a night club by promising to turn himself in. Instead of coming to the club, though, he goes to Culloran's home and attacks his wife, Francee (Fay Spain), also telling her his name is Arthur Garret. Culloran becomes obsessed with catching the rapist on his own without telling his colleagues that his wife has been raped. Francee later finds out she is pregnant. The possibility that the child may have been fathered by the rapist sows discord between the Cullorans, and stokes Detective Culloran's obsession with avenging the rape. The couple argue over their ambivalence about the child and Francee's desire to have an abortion, leading Francee to turn to Baron's wife first, and then Baron for advice.
Garrett persuades Jester to try to throw Culloran off the track by committing a similar attack on a woman named Georgia Altera (Mamie Van Doren) at a time when Garrett couldn't possibly be involved. But the cops know that Garrett is their man. Jester and Altera fall for each other.
At a party near the beach, the deranged Culloran attempts to capture Garrett. After an elaborate scuba-diving chase sequences, Culloran captures and beats up Garrett coming close to killing him before Baron intervenes. Culloran comes to his senses and returns to Francee, who gives birth.
The film begins in Paris around the year 1902. The narrator (Truffaut himself) explains that Claude Roc and his widowed mother are visited by Anne Brown, daughter of an old friend. Anne invites Claude to spend the summer on the coast of Wales with her widowed mother and sister, Muriel. While she enjoys Claude's company, her hope is that he may be a husband for her introverted sister, who has problems with her eyesight. In the event, Claude and Muriel do start to fall in love and Claude overcomes her initial resistance and persuades her to agree to marriage. Madame Roc, supposedly concerned about their poor health and with the agreement of Mrs Brown, says they must live apart for a year without any communication before getting married.
Returning to France, Claude moves in artistic circles and has affairs with a number of women while Muriel in Wales keeps a diary and becomes increasingly despondent. Claude, with his mother's encouragement, writes to Muriel, breaking off the engagement, as he wishes to be free to focus on his business pursuits. Muriel is devastated. Anne leaves home to study sculpture in Paris, where she loses her virginity to Claude. She agrees to have a non-exclusive affair with Claude, enabling him to continue to have affairs with other women, and eventually has a concurrent relationship with Diurka, a dashing publisher who then takes her off to Persia with Claude's encouragement. Muriel sends her diary, which includes details of her experience of a childhood lesbian event and her consequent prolonged struggle against an urge for masturbation, to Claude, who publishes it against her wishes.
Muriel comes to Paris and she and Claude rekindle their love. However, when Muriel is told by Anne of Claude's affair with her, at Claude's insistence, she collapses into deep depression and returns to Wales. Anne has become engaged to a Frenchman called Nicholas but falls ill and also returns to Wales, dying among her family with Diurka at her side.
Diurka tells Claude that Muriel is leaving home to take a job in Belgium. Claude meets her ship at Calais and they spend that night together in a hotel, during which Muriel also loses her virginity. In the morning, she says they must now part for ever as Claude is unsuited for matrimony, despite his renewed offer of marriage. Later, she writes to say she is pregnant, raising Claude's hopes of marriage, but a second letter says she was mistaken and their relationship is truly at an end. He later hears that Muriel has married and is a schoolteacher with a daughter. Claude turns the whole saga of his relationship with the sisters into a novel, which is published by Diurka.
In an epilogue set in the 1920s, the narrator explains that Claude, who is now a successful author, but unmarried, and whose mother has died, still dreams of the artistic gifts of Anne and the children he and Muriel might have had.
The novel follows the adventures of Conrad Metcalf, a tough, smart-alecky private detective, through a futuristic version of San Francisco and Oakland, California. Metcalf is hired by a man who claims that he's being framed for the murder of a prominent urologist. Metcalf quickly discovers that nobody wants the case solved: not the victim's ex-wife, not the police, and certainly not the gun-toting kangaroo who works for the local mafia boss.
Barry Egan is a bachelor who owns a company that markets themed toilet plungers and other novelty items. He has seven overbearing sisters who regularly ridicule and emotionally abuse him, so he leads a lonely life punctuated by fits of rage and social anxiety. One day, he witnesses an inexplicable car accident, picks up an abandoned harmonium from the street, and encounters Lena Leonard (a coworker of Elizabeth, one of his sisters). Lena had orchestrated the meeting after seeing him in Elizabeth's family picture at work.
Barry goes to his sister's birthday party, where they tease him about his sexuality, leading to a serious outburst in which he breaks his sister's sliding glass door. Afterwards, he asks his brother-in-law to refer him to a therapist. Instead, Barry calls a phone sex line to cope with his loneliness. The phone sex operator tries to extort money from him and then sends four henchmen, who are brothers, to collect. This complicates his budding relationship with Lena, as well as his plan to exploit a loophole in a Healthy Choice promotion and amass a million frequent-flyer miles by purchasing large quantities of pudding.
When Lena leaves for Hawaii on a business trip, Barry decides to follow her, using his sister to find Lena, who is overjoyed to see him. As the two spend time together, Barry's sister calls Lena, complicating matters, but Lena lies about having contact with Barry. The romance develops further, leading to Barry's relief from his emotional isolation.
On the return trip, the four brothers ram Barry's car, mildly injuring Lena. After fighting all four brothers off with a tire iron, Barry leaves Lena at the hospital and sets out to end the harassment. He calls the phone-sex line back and finds out the "supervisor" is the owner of a mattress store. Barry drives all the way to Provo, Utah to confront the owner, Dean, face to face. At first trying to intimidate Barry, Dean finds him more intimidating once he learns that Barry has come all the way from California.
Barry returns home and goes to see Lena to explain why the accident happened. He begs for forgiveness, pledging his loyalty and to use his frequent-flier miles to accompany her on all future business trips after his pudding miles are processed. Lena confesses she was more upset at being left at the hospital but forgives him and they embrace happily.
Three young men arrive at borstal by prison van: Carlin, who has taken the blame for his brother's theft of scrap metal; Angel for stealing a car and Davis for escaping from an open institution. Each is allocated a room; Angel and Davis get private rooms while Carlin is sent to a dormitory.
Carlin wants to keep a low profile, having been transferred for assaulting a warden. He meets and befriends Archer, an eccentric and intellectual inmate intent on peacefully inconveniencing the staff as much as possible, and is informed his reputation is already known; Banks, the current "Daddy" (the inmate who controls the wing) is seeking Carlin for a fight to maintain his dominance over the wing.
Carlin struggles to settle into the dormitory, and after having watched the timid and bullied Davis be attacked by Banks, is eventually viciously assaulted by Banks who repeatedly headbutts him in an unprovoked attack.
Carlin eventually gets his revenge on Banks, using a makeshift cosh from a long sock with two snooker balls inside to beat Richards, then confronts Banks in the bathroom and brutalises him. He then informs him that he is replacing him as the "Daddy" of the ward, and will 'kill him' if he ever interferes with his or his friends' business again. Carlin later takes over the adjacent wing of the borstal by viciously beating the adjacent wing's Daddy.
Life improves for the inmates under Carlin, with victimisation of younger, weaker prisoners prevented, along with racially-motivated violence. Carlin gains status with the wardens, persuading them to move him from the dormitory to a single cell in return for agreeing to be a responsible "natural leader". Mr Goodyear, the housemaster, offers Carlin a leadership position in the borstal to help him develop his leadership skills.
Another inmate, Toyne, learns through a letter from his in-laws that his wife has died, and sinks into despair, eventually slashing his wrists. After being moved to another prison, word reaches the inmates that he has killed himself in a second suicide attempt. Davis, meanwhile, is framed for theft by Eckersley and placed on report. Carlin advises Davis to avoid them, though Davis is subsequently gang-raped by three youths in a greenhouse. This is seen by warder Sands, who merely smiles at the rape. Davis slips into despair, and kills himself when he uses a razor blade to slash himself in his cell at night. While bleeding to death, he presses the button in his cell for help, but is ignored by warder Greaves.
Davis's suicide causes mass hysteria within the prison, with the inmates refusing to eat their food at dinner. Carlin initiates a full-scale riot in the dinner hall. Carlin, Archer and Toyne's friend Meakin are shown being dragged, bleeding and unconscious, into solitary confinement after having been beaten by the wardens. The Borstal's Governor later informs them the damage to the dinner hall will be repaid through lost earnings. The Governor then declares a minute's silent prayer for Davis and Toyne.
Following the aftermath of the Third World War (known in the game as "The Sixteen-Minute War") in the 25th century, mankind successfully rebuilds and begins colonization of several planets across the galaxy, while the Earth becomes ruled by the Global Central Command (GCC) - a council of elected representatives, including those from mega corporations that rose to power following the fall of Terran nations. Despite treaties set out by the GCC, conflict between the various powers spearheading colonization occurs daily, often over resources and trade routes. By the time the game begins, two powers assisting in colonization efforts, the Crayven Corporation and a religious sect known as the Order of the New Dawn, begin vying for total control over a distant world known as Krig 7-B.
Major Sarah Parker, an officer for the Crayven Corporation, is assigned by Enrica Hayes, a director in the company working aboard one of their starships, the CSS ''Astrid'', to lead ground operations on Krig 7-B. During her assignments, Parker fails to rescue a defector from the Order called Bishop Delondre, but receives a data disk from him concerning an Order operation known only as "Project Garm". Later into her operations while protecting an important Crayven facility, her team successfully secure an alien relic called a "Xenofact", which prompts Hayes to order the destruction of Order bases that have secured other Xenofacts. Eventually, after the Order's warship, the WCS Clergy, is driven from the planet's orbit, Crayven forces successfully destroy the Order's last remaining base in the planet's northern polar region, and gain control over a Xenofact far larger than had been seen in their campaign. Satisfied with Parker's efforts, Hayes orders Crayven forces to begin mopping up any Order stragglers left on the planet.
Seeking to prevent the corporation from achieving total victory on Krig 7-B, two officers of the Order, Deacon Jarred Stone and Paladin Magnus, Stone's CO and an old friend, rally surviving troops in order to conduct a series of daring, guerrilla-styled hit and run missions, against high value targets of the Crayven, despite concerns that they fight a losing battle without the assistance of the Clergy. During their strikes, Stone and Magnus recover important data, which details more about Project Garm, providing insight on Delondre's motive for defecting. Magnus soon disappears shortly after Aegeri, a "Great Cardinal" of the Order, arrives on board the WCS Retribution, with much needed reinforcements. While Aegeri questions some of the targets that Magnus chose, he soon directs Stone into continuing his strikes against Crayven forces. During an assault on a Crayven airbase, Magnus contacts Stone for a secret meeting, passing on Delondre's ID code, among other codes, so that he can fully access all of the Project Garm data. After the mission, Stone discovers that both the Order and the Crayven seek control over the planet's Xenofacts.
Shortly after a well organized Crayven assault is countered, resulting in the Order securing a Xenofact, Aegeri and Hayes meet and declare a ceasefire, forging an alliance between the two powers and creating a joint task-force aimed at unlocking the secrets of the Xenofacts. Angered and feeling betrayed, Stone reunites with Magnus to stop the alliance gaining full control over the Xenofacts, but their hidden base is soon besieged by a large Crayven force, leading Magnus to sacrificing himself in order for Stone and their troops to be safely extracted by Parker, who had discovered that Aegeri and Hayes had met up weeks before the ceasefire was announced. Working together alongside Magnus' friend Cole, a Crayven operative, they quickly discover that the Xenofacts found on the planet were among many created by an alien civilisation more than a million years ago, as part of an ancient, galaxy-wide fail-safe system designed to counter an invasion, in which each Xenofact contains a powerful war machine within it that can only be activated from Krig 7-B. The group quickly realise that both the Crayven and the Order sought control over the system so as to use it to gain complete control over the galaxy, and that Aegeri and Hayes now plan to carry this out together.
Seeking to stop this, Stone, Parker and Cole launch a desperate assault on the huge Xenofact, killing Aegeri while successfully destroying the artifact with DXT charges, which destroys the Retribution and sends both Hayes and the Astrid elsewhere in the system. While Parker, Cole and Stone celebrate their victory and saving millions of lives while trying to figure out how to leave Krig 7-B, Hayes contacts her boss in the Crayven Corporation and reports her failure at utilizing the Xenofacts, to which her employer remarks that there are still other ways to win control of the galaxy, as the Astrid drifts through space.
Mathew Wayne, a resident of a small country town, was a mechanical genius whose aptitude and skills were passed down to his sons, Brian and Jason. After gaining leadership of his automobile factory from him, the brothers' skills became renowned throughout the country. Eventually, the Federation approached the brothers with an extremely profitable contract to help produce military vehicles for it. The Wayne brothers accepted the contract and created weapons without peer.
A short time later, the skies turned dark with the Federation's encroaching airfleet, and towns and cities everywhere were ravaged by these armies—including Brian and Jason's home town. To their horror, the Federation was using the weapons and vehicles they themselves had designed to reshape the land to their pitiless will. Taking up planes whose designs had never been submitted to the Federation, the Wayne brothers prepare to destroy the Federation's mad scheme. They are aided by the four heroes from ''Mahou Daisakusen''.
The king and queen are worried because their daughter, Princess Camilla, is very plain, or rather appears to be plain because of a spell put on her at birth. The spell says that only the eyes of true love will reveal her beauty. Her parents come up with a plan to marry her to a prince from a far-away land who is unaware of what she looks like. They force Camilla to trade places with her beautiful but silly maid, Dulcibella, before the prince arrives.
However, Prince Simon has also disguised himself as his servant Carlo, and dressed Carlo up as the prince because he felt he wasn't handsome enough. Both the pretend prince and princess are insanely dull-witted, which just adds to the entertainment. Before the marriage of the two servants dressed as royalty, the real prince meets the real princess and they reveal their identity and begin to understand each other.
Prince Simon tells Princess Camilla that she is very beautiful, although all other princes have found her to be hideously ugly. Then the princess reveals that she was given a gift from her great aunt that would make everyone ignorant of her real beauty, so that she wouldn't grow up vain – until the day she met her one true love. The play ends with a riddle, required to be answered correctly by the prince before he can wed the princess.
What is it which has four legs and mews like a cat? — The Chancellor
Despite the fact that Carlo, the mock-prince, was given the correct answer beforehand, he answers incorrectly. The answer clearly should have been "cat", but Carlo's answer was "dog". Yet with some quick thinking from Prince Simon, Carlo gets all the answer right because Simon claims that what is referred to in this country as "cat" is referred to as "dog" in the mock-prince's country.
In our country, we have an animal to which we have given the name “dog,” or, in the local dialect of the more mountainous districts, “doggie.” It sits by the fireside and purrs. — The Prince
At the very end, the king wonders why Princess Camilla is suddenly beautiful when the audience can see that it is because of the blessing–curse coming to fruition—Camilla has found her true love, the first one to whom she appears lovely.
Seventy-eight-year-old Jeff Baker has revolutionised the world by inventing the ultimate method of information storage and allowing free use of it with no profits going into his own pocket. Because of this generous act, he is chosen by the European Union to be the first recipient for rejuvenation technology, which will leave him with the body of a young man. As part of the deal, he will support the re-election of the EU president.
His son Tim has a fairly typical frustrated life as a rich teenager, living with his famous father and distant mother. Tim is extremely happy when he starts going out with gorgeous Annabelle. She likes him, but she has a troubled home life and Tim's drinking problem reminds her of her father.
Jeff comes home from the rejuvenation in his 20-year-old body. Energised by his new youthfulness, he has a series of affairs. After reconnecting with his son, Jeff reveals to Tim that the reason he gave away the information storage technology was so that his ex-wife could not get any royalties. The amazing act of charity he is famous for was motivated by spite, not goodwill. But Jeff finds himself attracted to Annabelle, and while giving her a ride home after Tim got too drunk at a school dance, they start a tawdry affair behind Tim's back and fall in love. Their passionate relationship is only a secret for a short time before Tim finds them in bed together. His life falling apart, Tim runs away to live with his Aunt (Jeff's sister), stops drinking and doing drugs, and makes friends with his mother. Eventually he finds a new romantic interest in Vanessa, one of his classmates.
Jeff and Annabelle are happy together, travelling around the world, meeting celebrities, even experimenting with a ''ménage à trois''. However, they are sad that they have hurt Tim, who gets seriously injured in a jet-ski accident, providing a catalyst for Jeff to re-enter Tim's life.
Jeff and Annabelle both attend a controversial EU conference in London so Jeff can speak supporting the EU. Tim and his friends join a massive and violent protest in the streets below the conference. As the riots begin, concerned for Tim's safety, Jeff changes his mind about supporting the EU and leaves the conference to charge through the riots to find his son. Impressed by this act, Tim finds it in him to forgive his father and Annabelle.
In the end, Jeff is dying because the rejuvenation treatment is not yet a properly functional technology, and it is failing him. After impregnating Annabelle with a second genetically improved child, a girl this time, he begins a live broadcast, where he reveals the lies of the EU government and rescinds his support for the presidential campaign. He dies surrounded by his family and loved ones.
Kerewin lives in a tower overlooking the sea on the coast of the South Island. She is isolated from her family and interacts little with the local community, but is able to live independently after winning a lottery and investing well. On a gloomy and stormy afternoon a young child, Simon, appears at the tower. He is mute and communicates with Kerewin through hand signals and notes. He is picked up the next morning by a family friend; later that evening Simon's foster father, Joe, visits Kerewin to thank her for looking after Simon. After a freak storm years earlier, Simon was found washed up on the beach with very few clues as to his identity. Despite Simon's mysterious background, Joe and his wife Hana took the boy in. Later, Joe's infant son and Hana both died, forcing Joe to bring the troubled and troublesome Simon up on his own.
Kerewin finds herself developing a tentative relationship with the boy and his father. Gradually it becomes clear that Simon is a deeply traumatised child, whose strange behaviours Joe is unable to cope with. Kerewin discovers that, in spite of the real familial love between them, Joe is physically abusing Simon. She confronts Joe and he promises not to beat Simon without her permission.
Following an emotionally trying event, the three are driven violently apart. Simon sees the aftermath of a violent death and seeks Kerewin out for support, but she is angry with him for stealing a special knife. Simon reacts by punching her; she instinctively hits him in the chest and in response he kicks in the side of her guitar, a much-prized gift from her estranged mother. Kerewin tells him to get out. Simon goes to the town and breaks a series of shop windows, and when he is returned home by the police Joe calls Kerewin, who gives Joe permission to beat the child (but tells him not to "overdo it"). Joe beats Simon severely, believing he has driven Kerewin away. Simon, who has concealed a shard of glass from a shop window, stabs his father. Both are hospitalised, with Simon falling into a coma. Joe is released quickly but sent to prison for three months for child abuse, and in the meantime Kerewin leaves town and demolishes her tower.
Simon eventually recovers, albeit with some loss of hearing and brain damage, and is sent to live in foster care against his wishes. He is unhappy and continually runs away, trying to get back to Joe and Kerewin. After Joe's release from prison, he travels aimlessly and attempts to kill himself, but is rescued by an dying old man (a kaumātua) who says he has been waiting for Joe. He asks Joe to take over guardianship of a sacred waka (canoe), containing the spirit of a god, which Joe accepts. In the meantime, She becomes seriously ill, most likely with stomach cancer, but does not seek medical care. On the point of death in a mountain cabin, she is visited by a spirit of some kind and cured.
Kerewin returns to her community and takes custody of Simon. Joe also returns, bringing with him the sacred spirit. Without Kerewin's knowledge or permission, he contacts Kerewin's family, resulting in a joyous reconciliation. The final scene of the novel depicts the reunion of Kerewin, Simon and Joe, celebrating with family and friends back at the beach where Kerewin has rebuilt the old marae (communal meeting house), not as a tower but in the shape of a shell with many spirals. The end of the novel is an optimistic and hopeful one.
In 1930, impoverished taxi driver Tommy Angelo is strong-armed by Paulie and Sam, two members of the Salieri crime family, into helping them escape an ambush by the rival Morello family. Tommy is compensated for his help and offered a position the organization of crime boss Don Salieri. He is forced to accept the offer the following day, when two Morello gangsters track him down and destroy his cab in an act of revenge. Tommy is welcomed into the Salieri family and begins assisting with running their rackets across the city, overseen by Salieri's trusty consigliere Frank Colletti. Tommy quickly befriends Sam and Paulie as they carry out various jobs together, while earning Salieri's respect for thwarting Don Morello's attempts to interfere in his business.
In 1932, Tommy enters a relationship with Sarah, the daughter of Salieri's bartender, after protecting her from a gang of street thugs. On Salieri's orders, Tommy and Paulie retaliate against the gang, but quickly learn that their leader, whom Paulie killed, was the son of a corrupt city councillor, who vows revenge. Later, Tommy is ordered to destroy a brothel for switching its loyalties to Morello, and kill an informant working there. Discovering them to be Sarah's friend Michelle, who needed money to pay for her brother's medical care, Tommy begins to question his morality and lets Michelle go. He later covers up his actions and assists Sam on a hit against a witness to the councillor's son's murder.
In 1933, Morello begins using corrupt police officers to ambush Salieri's operations, and gains support from the councillor. Following an ambush on a bootlegging operation, Salieri discovers that Frank has been supplying information on his money laundering activities to the authorities, and reluctantly orders Tommy to kill him. Discovering he was forced to do so for his family's safety, Tommy allows Frank to leave the country with his family and again covers up his actions, before retrieving the evidence against Salieri. Tommy later marries Sarah and starts a family with her.
In 1935, the Salieri and Morello families begin branching out into new rackets following the end of prohibition. Learning that Salieri is making moves to gain control over law enforcement, Morello attempts to have him killed. After Tommy saves him, Salieri declares open war on his rival. Tommy helps to weaken Morello's position by assassinating the councillor, to reduce Morello's control over city politics, and Morello's brother Sergio, to reduce his control on the port unions. The war eventually comes to an end after Tommy, Sam and Paulie kill Morello himself as he tries to flee the city.
By 1938, the Salieri family is in full control of Lost Heaven's rackets, and is ruthlessly eliminating anyone who opposes them. When Tommy, Paulie and Sam agree to recover a shipment of impounded cigars, they are shocked to discover a stash of diamonds hidden amongst them. Realizing Salieri knew about the diamonds and lied to them, Tommy and Paulie decide to rob a bank without telling Salieri. Although the job is a success, Tommy finds Paulie dead in his apartment the following day and the bag of stolen money missing. When he meets with Sam to discuss the matter, he quickly learns that Salieri ordered him to kill Tommy and Paulie for going behind his back, and that Michelle and Frank were murdered by Salieri's men after Tommy's past cover-ups were exposed. Tommy survives Sam's ambush and manages to kill him, but is forced to go into hiding with his family. Fearing for their safety, he eventually contacts Detective Norman, who has been investigating Salieri, for help. After relaying his story to him, Tommy offers to testify against the Salieri family in exchange for a reduced prison sentence and protection for his family. Norman agrees, and the resulting investigation and trials lead to most of the Salieri family, including the Don, being convicted and sentenced.
After serving eight years in prison, Tommy is reunited with his family as they are all placed under witness protection and relocated to Empire Bay. They live a peaceful life until 1951, when Tommy's past catches up to him and two hitmen kill him on his front lawn on Salieri's behalf. The game ends with a monologue narrated by Tommy, explaining how the world really works and lamenting over how he and his friends only wanted the good life but ended up with nothing at all; he concludes that it is important to keep balance in everything, as life can both give and take away.
In 1941, SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa interrogates French farmer Perrier LaPadite as to the whereabouts of a Jewish family, the Dreyfuses. Landa suspects the Dreyfuses are hiding under their floorboards and, in exchange for the Nazis not murdering his family, LaPadite tearfully confirms it. The soldiers shoot through the floorboards, killing all but one of the Dreyfuses: Shoshanna, the Dreyfuses' daughter, who escapes.
Three years later, Lieutenant Aldo Raine recruits Jewish-American soldiers to the Basterds, a commando unit formed to instill fear among Nazis by killing and scalping them behind enemy lines. They include Sergeant Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz, Sergeant Hugo Stiglitz, a rogue German soldier, and Corporal Wilhelm Wicki, the group's translator. In Germany, Adolf Hitler interviews a German soldier, Private Butz, the only survivor of a Basterd attack, who reveals that Raine carved a swastika into his forehead to ensure he'll forever be branded a Nazi, even after the war's end, not revealing that he divulged military information privy to the Nazis to the Basterds.
In Paris, Shoshanna is in hiding, operating a cinema under the name Emmanuelle Mimieux. She meets Fredrick Zoller, a German sniper famed for killing 250 Allied soldiers in a battle. Zoller stars in a Nazi propaganda film, ''Stolz der Nation'' (''Nation's Pride''). Infatuated with Shoshanna, Zoller convinces Joseph Goebbels to hold the premiere at her cinema. Landa, the head of security for the premiere, interrogates Shoshanna, who manages to maintain her cover. Shoshanna plots with her Afro-French lover and projectionist, Marcel, to set the cinema ablaze during the premiere, killing the Nazi leaders in attendance.
Meanwhile, British Commando Lieutenant Archie Hicox is recruited to lead a separate British attack on the premiere with the Basterds. Hicox, along with Stiglitz and Wicki, goes to a tavern in German-occupied northern France to meet with German film star Bridget von Hammersmark, an undercover Allied agent who will be attending the premiere. Hicox inadvertently draws the attention of Wehrmacht Sergeant Wilhelm and Major Dieter Hellström, giving himself away by using a British hand gesture, rather than the equivalent German one. A gunfight ensues, resulting in the death of everyone except Sergeant Wilhelm and von Hammersmark, who is shot in the leg. Raine arrives and negotiates with Wilhelm for von Hammersmark's release, but she shoots Wilhelm when he lowers his guard. Raine, believing von Hammersmark set his men up, tortures her, but she convinces him she is loyal and reveals Hitler will be attending the premiere. Raine decides to continue with the mission, with himself, Donowitz and Omar Ulmer taking the place of Hicox, Stiglitz and Wicki. Later, Landa investigates the tavern and finds von Hammersmark's shoe and a napkin with her signature.
Raine, Donowitz and Ulmer attend the premiere alongside von Hammersmark, disguised as Italian filmmakers, with timed explosives strapped to their ankles. Landa takes von Hammersmark to a back room, verifies the shoe from the tavern fits her, and kills her. Raine and another Basterd, Smithson Utivich, are taken prisoner. Landa has Raine contact his superior officer to cut a deal: He will allow the mission to proceed in exchange for his safe passage through the Allied lines, a full pardon, and other privileges.
During the screening, Zoller slips away to the projection room and attempts to force himself on Shoshanna. She resists, but eventually lets him in and tells him to lock the door, shooting him as his back is turned. As Shoshanna watches the film, however, she starts to feel pity for Zoller, whom she then realizes is still alive. As she lays her hand on Zoller, he suddenly turns to face her and shoots her multiple times, and dies himself shortly after. As the film reaches its climax, Shoshanna’s spliced-in footage tells the audience that they are about to be killed by a Jew. Having locked the auditorium doors, Marcel ignites a pile of flammable film behind the screen as Shoshanna’s image laughs and the theater goes up in flames. Ulmer and Donowitz break into the opera box containing Hitler and Goebbels, shooting both dead in a hail of machine gun fire before firing into the crowd until their bombs go off, killing everyone in the theater.
Landa and his radio operator drive Raine and Utivich into Allied territory, where they surrender themselves. Raine shoots the radio operator dead before ordering Utivich to scalp him. Raine then has Landa restrained and carves a swastika into his forehead, professing it to be his masterpiece.
Captain Archer tells the crew that they will continue their mission, but will remember the 18 crew members who died in the recent battle with the Xindi ("Azati Prime"). He directs ''Enterprise'' to rendezvous with Degra. He also orders Commander Tucker to write a letter to the parents of Jane Taylor, a member of his engineering team who died in a recent battle. Also, Sub-Commander T'Pol discusses with Doctor Phlox the consequences of her Trellium addiction, and is troubled when he tells her the inability to control her emotions may be permanent.
Arriving at a sphere, ''Enterprise'' is soon approached by Degra and Jannar's ship, who Archer then invite on board in an attempt to gain their trust. He then reveals his evidence: the Reptilian corpses and technology of the failed viral attack against 2004 Earth (per the episode "Carpenter Street"), images of the dying alien who attempted to destroy the ship, and scans of the interior of a sphere. He again reiterates that Humans and Xindi are pre-destined to form an alliance to stop the Sphere Builders' incursion in the future. But he also demands that Degra reveal information about the weapon and its launch schedule. An increasingly persuaded Degra promises to do what he can to delay it.
Meanwhile, a dangerous plasma fire erupts unnoticed on ''Enterprise'' s hull. Initially, the blaze is small, but it expands progressively until Tucker and Lieutenant Reed are forced to undertake an extravehicular activity to extinguish it. Throughout the crises, Tucker repeatedly undermines the Captain's authority by reviling Degra for the suffering he caused during the first attack on Earth that killed his sister. To make matters worse, a large Reptilian ship arrives and they are forced to work together to destroy it, despite Degra's reluctance to attack fellow Xindi. With their pact now sealed, Degra suggests a meeting with the rest of the Council, and provides Archer with the coordinates.
Secret agent John Steed and meteorologist Dr. Emma Peel are summoned to The Ministry. They meet the spymaster, codenamed Mother, who informs them that the Prospero project — an attempt to influence the weather — was apparently sabotaged by Peel. Dr. Peel claims she is innocent, but she is sent to work alongside Steed to find the real culprit. Mother's second-in-command, Father, claims that Peel suffers from a mental disease. The duo visits Sir August de Wynter, a former Ministry scientist. He takes an instant liking to Peel, as they both share a love of weather.
Steed and Emma follow a lead to Wonderland Weather, a business that artificially creates heat or rain with a special machine, where they discover two dead men in teddy bear suits. The members of a secret organization, led by de Wynter, all don teddy bear suits to disguise their identities. One of them, however, looks exactly like Peel. Steed arrives in time to save Peel, as the double jumps off a roof and disappears.
Steed and Emma go off to visit de Wynter at his mansion but are attacked by mechanical bees. An elderly Ministry agent, Alice, helps them to flee; nevertheless, de Wynter captures and hypnotizes Emma. When de Wynter is later distracted, Emma tries to escape but feels faint and finds herself trapped due to the mansion's ever-changing floor plan. Becoming desperate, she smashes her way through the wall where Steed then finds her unconscious and rescues her. Back at Steed's apartment, Emma wakes up and is given boots by Steed. However, Emma is arrested by Father, while Steed visits Invisible Jones, a man inside The Ministry, to investigate the meaning of a map found at Wonderland Weather.
After viewing photos of failed genetic experiments including cloning (revealing that the other Emma Peel is a clone), Steed determines Father is working alongside de Wynter. Father and the Emma clone gas Peel unconscious but are confronted by Mother, who they incapacitate. de Wynter, controlling the weather using Prospero, confronts the world leaders, boasting that he controls the weather and they will have to buy the weather from him at great expense. He gives them a midnight ultimatum.
Father and the clone take Peel to a hot air balloon, where she regains consciousness and escapes during a snowstorm. Father and the clone perish when the balloon collides with the Wonderland Weather sign. Once reunited, Steed and Peel share a kiss. Jones determines de Wynter is using the Prospero instruments on a secret island, and Peel and Steed travel there to stop him. Peel defuses the Prospero device just as a hurricane forms over London. Steed duels de Wynter and impales him with his own cane, causing de Wynter to be disintegrated by a powerful bolt of lightning. The duo escapes just as the base self-destructs, and rendezvous with Mother on the roof of a building.
Although it was first published in four comic books, ''The Tale of One Bad Rat'' is divided into three sections. Its heroine is called Helen Potter; Helen was Beatrix Potter's first name.
In the first chapter, "Town", Helen Potter is a teenage runaway begging on the streets of London with only her pet rat and her Beatrix Potter books for company, and contemplating suicide. In flashback we learn that she has fled her uncaring mother and sexually abusive father. She is also a talented artist. She moves into a squat with some young men who save her from the unwanted attentions of a man (who turns out to be a Conservative MP) by mugging him. When she is later spotted by the MP, she is forced to flee from the police. She returns to the squat to find that her rat has been killed by the squatters' cat, and leaves to hitchhike north.
"Road" sees Helen making her way north towards the Lake District, drawn by its connection with Beatrix Potter, and accompanied by a giant vision of her rat. There are further flashbacks to the crisis that made her flee her family home. Eventually, in deep countryside, a driver makes a pass at her. She fights him off with such ferocity that he crashes the car. Helen flees into the evening, eventually passing out outside a mysterious building.
In "Country" it is revealed that Helen collapsed outside a country pub and has been taken on as a waitress there. Walking in the hills (still with her giant imaginary rat) and reading self-help books helps her to heal her wounds and prepares her to face her parents. She confronts her father and tells her parents she wants to stay in the Lake District. Finally she visits Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's home, and imagines finding a lost Potter book - "The Tale of One Bad Rat" - whose story echoes her own and gives a happy ending. The chapter, and series, ends with Helen sitting sketching a dramatic view over Buttermere and Crummock Water.
Second-term Democratic U.S. President Jackson Evans must select a new Vice President following the sudden death of his vice president, Troy Ellard. The obvious choice seems to be Virginia Governor Jack Hathaway, who is hailed as a hero after he recently dove into a lake in a failed attempt to save a drowning girl. The President instead decides that his "swan song" will be helping to break the glass ceiling by nominating Ohio Senator Laine Hanson. In accordance with the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, approval from both houses of Congress is required. Standing in her way is Republican Congressman Sheldon Runyon of Illinois, who believes she is unqualified for the position, and backs Hathaway for the nod. His investigation into her background turns up an incident where she was apparently photographed participating in a drunken orgy as part of a sorority initiation. He is joined in his opposition by Democratic Representative Reginald Webster.
The confirmation hearings begin in Washington, D.C., and Runyon, who chairs the committee, quickly addresses Hanson's alleged sexual imbroglio. Hanson refuses to address the incident, neither confirming nor denying anything, and tries to turn the discussion towards political issues. Anticipating that Hanson would deem her personal past "none of anyone's business", Runyon starts rumors in the media saying that the sexual escapade in college was done in exchange for money and favors, making it prostitution.
Hanson meets with Evans and offers to withdraw her name, to save his administration more embarrassment. Despite the wishes of the administration, she refuses to fight back or even address Runyon's charges, arguing that to answer the questions dignifies them being asked in the first place—something she does not believe. Evans meets with Runyon, informing him he will not choose Hanson as vice president. Runyon casually brings forward Hathaway as a replacement. They make an agreement that Runyon will back down on his attacks if Evans chooses Hathaway as vice president. However, Evans requests Runyon to make a public statement defending Hathaway, which Runyon agrees to do.
Hanson, Hathaway, and Runyon are all invited to the White House. Evans then shocks them by showing an FBI report revealing that Hathaway paid the woman to drive off the bridge into the lake and get saved by him. Hathaway is arrested and Runyon is disgraced because he vouched for Hathaway's integrity just hours earlier. Evans meets with Hanson, and she finally tells what actually happened that night in college. She said that she did indeed arrive at a fraternity house to have sex with two men as part of an initiation, but changed her mind before any sex occurred. However, she did not prove her innocence, citing that by doing so will further the idea that it was acceptable to ask the questions in the first place. Evans addresses Congress, where he chastises all Democrats and Republicans who blocked Hanson's confirmation. He explicitly lambasts Runyon, who leaves in humiliation. Although he declares that Hanson had asked for her nomination to be withdrawn so he could finish his presidency with triumph over controversy, he remains adamant by rejecting her resignation and calls for an immediate confirmation vote.
Book editor George Caldwell, en route to a wedding aboard the Silver Streak, meets salesman Bob Sweet and Hilly Burns, secretary to a Rembrandt historian Professor Schreiner. While sharing nightcaps in Hilly's sleeper car, George sees Schreiner's body fall from the train outside her window. Investigating Schreiner's train compartment, George encounters Johnson, Whiney, and Reace, toughs who have ransacked Schreiner's belongings. Reace throws George off the train. After walking along the tracks, George meets a farmer and they overtake the train in her biplane.
George sees Hilly with art dealer Roger Devereau and his employees Johnson (impersonating Schreiner), and Whiney. Devereau apologizes to George for the misunderstanding involving Reace, also under his employ. Sweet reveals himself to be an undercover FBI agent named Stevens. The bureau has been investigating Devereau, a criminal who passes himself off as an art expert. Deverau's plan is to discredit Schreiner's book that would expose Devereau for authenticating forgeries as original Rembrandts. Inside Schreiner's book, George finds letters written by Rembrandt that would prove Devereau's guilt. Reace kills Stevens, thinking he is George. A fight ends on the roof of the train, where George shoots Reace before being knocked off by a train signal.
On foot again, George finds the local sheriff who has trouble making sense of George's story. The sheriff informs George that the police are after him for the murder of Stevens. George escapes, stealing a patrol car that had been transporting car thief Grover T. Muldoon. George and Grover work together to catch up to the train at Kansas City so that George can save Hilly from Devereau's crew. Grover disguises George as a black man so George can get by police to board the train.
George is captured but he and Hilly are rescued from Devereau's room by Grover, disguised as a steward. After a shootout, George and Grover jump off the train and are arrested. They meet Federal Agent Donaldson, former partner to Stevens, he tells George and Grover that the police knew all along that George didn't kill Stevens, the police were only trying to protect George from Devereau and Donaldson made up the story in the news about Stevens' murder. After George explains Devereau's plan, Donaldson has the train stopped. Devereau burns the Rembrandt letters.
George boards with Grover as Devereau climbs onto the locomotive and shoots the fireman. Whiney is wounded by Donaldson and kicked off the train by Devereau. George shoots Johnson and Devereau shoots the engineer, placing a toolbox on the switch to keep the engine running. Devereau is then disabled by shots from George and Donaldson, and is decapitated by an oncoming freight train.
With the help of a porter, George uncouples the runaway train from the passenger cars. The engine roars into Chicago's Central Station, destroying everything in its path. The passenger cars follow, gliding safely into the station. Grover steals a Fiat X1/9 and drives away. George and Hilly leave together.
''Beyond Good & Evil'' takes place in the year 2435 on the mining planet of Hillys, located in a remote section of the galaxy. The architecture of the city around which the game takes place is rustic European in style. The world itself combines modern elements, such as email and credit cards, with those of science fiction and fantasy, such as spaceships and anthropomorphic animals coexisting with humans. As the game begins, Hillys is under siege by aliens called the "DomZ", who abduct beings and either drain their life force for power or implant them with spores to convert them into slaves. Prior to the opening of the game, a military dictatorship called the "Alpha Sections" has come to power on Hillys, promising to defend the populace. However, the Alpha Sections seem unable to stop the DomZ despite its public assurances. An underground resistance movement, the IRIS Network, fights the Alpha Sections, believing it to be in league with the DomZ.
''Beyond Good & Evil'' s main protagonist, Jade (voiced by Jodi Forrest), is a young photojournalist. She resides in an island lighthouse that doubles as a home for children orphaned by DomZ attacks. Pey'j (voiced by David Gasman), a boar-like creature, is Jade's uncle and guardian figure. Double H, a heavily built human IRIS operative, assists Jade during missions. He wears a military-issue suit of armor at all times. Secundo, an artificial intelligence built into Jade's storage unit, the "Synthetic-Atomic-Compressor" (SAC), offers advice and "digitizes" items. The main antagonists are the DomZ High Priest, who is the chief architect of the invasion, and Alpha Sections leader General Kehck, who uses propaganda to gain the Hillyans' trust, even as he abducts citizens to sustain the DomZ.
Jade and Pey'j are taking care of the children of Hillys orphaned by the DomZ. When meditating with one of the orphans outside, a DomZ siren sounds. Jade rushes to turn the power on for the shield, but discovers that it has been deactivated due to a lack of funds. The lighthouse is left vulnerable to the meteor shower, and several DomZ creatures manage to abduct a number of the orphans. Jade is forced to fight these creatures to free the children. With Pey'j's help, she then defeats a DomZ monster that emerges from a meteor crater. The Alpha Sections arrive just after Jade defeats the monster, leaving Pey'j to grumble that they were late as usual.
Secundo finds a photography job for Jade, so she can pay to turn the power back on for the shield. The job involves cataloging all the species on Hillys for a science museum. Jade is then contacted by a "man in black" to investigate and take pictures of a creature presumed to be DomZ twins in an abandoned mine on a nearby island. The DomZ twins turns out to be the antennae of a huge DomZ monster. Once defeated, the "man in black" takes off his suit and a taxi car flies out of the limousine he was driving. The man reveals he actually works for the IRIS Network, and that the job was a test of Jade's skills.
Jade is then recruited as an agent of the network, which suspects that the Alpha Sections are behind planet-wide disappearances. Jade's first target of investigation is an Alpha Sections-run ration factory. She discovers evidence of human trafficking orchestrated by the DomZ under the Alpha Sections' authority. Along the way she rescues Double H, who was kidnapped and tortured by the DomZ. Pey'j is then abducted by the DomZ and taken to an abandoned slaughterhouse where he and the other kidnapped victims are to be transported to a base on Hillys' moon, Selene. After failing to extract Pey'j from the slaughterhouse in time, Jade learns that he was, in fact, the secret chief of the IRIS Network.
Jade learns that the Alpha Sections are being possessed and manipulated by the DomZ. Using ''Beluga'', the ship Pey'j used to travel to Hillys, Jade and Double H go to the DomZ lunar base. There, Jade finds Pey'j dead after weeks of torture, but a strange power inside her brings back his soul, reviving him. After rescuing Pey'j, destroying Kehck's command ship, transmitting her final report, and sparking a revolution against the Alpha Sections, Jade confronts the DomZ High Priest. She learns that her human form is the latest container to hide a power stolen from the DomZ centuries ago in the hope that the High Priest, who must have spirit energy to survive, would starve to death. The High Priest managed to find a substitute energy in the souls of all those kidnapped from Hillys, and captures Pey'j and Double H to force Jade to submit to him. Using the stolen power within her, Jade is able to destroy the High Priest, though nearly losing control of her soul in the process, and then revives and rescues those that have been abducted. In a post-credits scene back on Hillys, a DomZ spore grows on Pey'j's hand as the screen fades to black.
Once ''Tribunal'' is installed, the plot will start after the player first goes to sleep. The player will be attacked by an assassin, who is later revealed to be a member of the Dark Brotherhood, an assassin's guild that spans Tamriel. To find out more about the Dark Brotherhood, the player will be sent to Mournhold, the capital of Morrowind. Once in Mournhold, the player will have to locate the head of the Dark Brotherhood and complete a series of side quests for the new King Helseth, and the Living God Almalexia. Almalexia has ruled Morrowind for thousands of years alongside her fellow gods Vivec (seen in the base game) and Sotha Sil, who call themselves the Tribunal, and are worshipped by the Dark Elf people.
After the completion of one of the side quests, a group of mechanical creatures called Fabricants suddenly attacks Plaza Brindisi Dorom. The creatures emerge from the statue in the middle of the plaza, and after their attack, a secret passageway to a Dwemer ruin is revealed. Since the creatures are mechanical, it is suspected that the secretive god Sotha Sil is behind this attack. The player then has to investigate the ruins and complete a few more side quests, in order to reconstruct Nerevar's lost sword called Trueflame. Upon acquiring the sword, the player is sent to the Clockwork City in order to kill Sotha Sil.
The player continues to explore all the rooms of Clockwork City, finally arriving to find Sotha Sil dead. When the player tries to leave the room, Almalexia appears and alleges that she had killed Sotha Sil and instigated the attack in Mournhold, in order to gain more power and control over the citizens and the Tribunal. Having been driven mad by the Heart of Lorkhan, she perceived Sotha Sil's silence as mockery. The player is then forced to kill her before returning to Mournhold.
As the player exits Almalexia's temple in Mournhold, the Daedric Prince Azura reveals that the Heart of Lorkhan drove Almalexia mad and made her hunger for more power, and that mere mortals cannot become gods without consequences. By destroying the Heart of Lorkhan and killing Almalexia, the player continues fulfilling the Nerevarine prophecies, particularly the death of the Almsivi Tribunal.
''Bloodmoon'' takes place on the island of Solstheim, northwest of Morrowind, the main landmass of its eponymous game, and north-east of Skyrim. It is disputed territory, with both provinces claiming the island.
In the ''Bloodmoon'' main quest, the player starts by doing odd jobs for the Imperials' Fort Frostmoth on Solstheim. When the fort is attacked by werewolves, the player must travel to the Nord village of the Skaal at the north of the island. The player must then perform several rituals to be accepted into the village. The player is informed of the Bloodmoon Prophecy, a ritualistic hunt led by the Daedra Lord Hircine. The Daedric Prince takes the four greatest champions on Solstheim, including the player, to his glacier home. He tells them that they must fight until only one is still living; if the player survives, they must fight one of Hircine's aspects - strength (a bear), speed (an elk), or guile (his own form). If the player wins, they must then escape from the crumbling glacier, thereby completing the main quest.
''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' is also set in the land of Skyrim, another Nordic territory. The ''Dragonborn'' DLC also takes place on the island of Solstheim, 200 years after the events of ''Bloodmoon''.
Okwe is an illegal West African immigrant (home country not initially named) to the United Kingdom who drives a cab in London during the day and works at the front desk of a hotel at night. The hotel is staffed with many immigrants, both legal and illegal. Okwe keeps himself awake by chewing khat, a herbal stimulant. A doctor in his home country, he was forced to flee after being falsely accused of murdering his wife. In London, he is pressed into giving medical treatment to other poor immigrants, including fellow cab drivers with venereal diseases. Okwe's friend Guo Yi, an employee at a hospital mortuary, provides him with antibiotics under the table.
A prostitute known as Juliette, who plies her trade in the hotel, informs Okwe about a blocked toilet in one of the hotel rooms. He fishes out the blockage and finds a human heart. The manager of the hotel, Juan, runs an illegal operation at the hotel wherein immigrants swap kidneys for forged passports. After learning of Okwe's past as a doctor, Juan pressures him to join his operation as a surgeon, but Okwe refuses.
Senay is a Turkish Muslim seeking asylum, who also works at the hotel, as a cleaner. Her immigration status allows her to stay in the UK providing she does not work; the hotel is a perfect cover because she is not named on its books. She allows Okwe to sleep on her sofa when she is not home, as she is from a conservative culture in which men and women who are not married to one another do not spend the night together, alone, under the same roof.
Senay is frightened after a visit from the Immigration Service, and convinces Okwe to leave before the authorities find him in her home. The officials find a book of matches from the hotel and decide to inspect it before Senay arrives for her early morning shift. Okwe asks the doorman to intercept Senay; the officials don't catch her, but she can no longer work at the hotel. She begins working in a sweatshop making clothes, but the officials raid that site, too. The entire staff flee to the roof while the manager gets rid of the Immigration agents. The manager will let Senay keep her job and promises not to report her to the authorities only if she will perform oral sex on him. After a couple of such sessions, she refuses to cooperate and bites him, then flees with an expensive coat and some dresses.
Okwe finds her a place to stay at the hospital mortuary, but Senay panics. She asks him to raise money for her to travel to America by selling the stolen clothes and acting as a surgeon in Juan's organ business. Okwe refuses.
In desperation, Senay agrees to exchange a kidney for a passport. As a "deal maker", Juan takes her virginity as well, and later Juliette provides her with the morning-after pill. After learning of Senay's plan, Okwe tells Juan that he will perform the operation to ensure her safety, but only if Juan provides them both with passports under different names. After Juan delivers the passports, Okwe and Senay drug him, surgically remove his kidney, and sell it to Juan's contact.
Okwe plans to use his new identity to return to his young daughter in Nigeria, and Senay plans to start a new life in New York City. Before they part at Stansted Airport, she gives him her cousin's address in New York. They mouth the words, "I love you", to each other. Senay boards her plane, and Okwe calls long-distance to his daughter to tell her he is coming home at last.
During the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, U.S. Army intelligence officer First Lieutenant Thomas Hart (Farrell) is captured by German forces. While interrogating Hart, the Germans coerce him to divulge intelligence by taking away his boots, causing his feet to become frostbitten and badly injured, and leaving him, naked, in a very cold cell. He is then transferred by train to Stalag VI-A prisoner of war camp at Hemer, Germany. While en route, a P-51 Mustang attacks (the letters POW were painted on the top of the train, but got covered by thick snow). To save themselves, the POWs leave the train and spell P-O-W with their bodies and prevent further strafing.
After arriving at the new POW camp, Lt. Hart is interviewed by the ranking American officer, Colonel William McNamara (Willis). When McNamara asks if he cooperated with the Germans after he was captured, Hart denies it. McNamara knows this to be a lie when Hart says he only endured three days of interrogation. McNamara does not reveal this to Hart, but sends him to bunk in a barracks for enlisted men, rather than allow him to bunk with the other officers.
Two Black pilots are brought to the camp and assigned to Hart's barracks. They are the only African Americans in the camp, and their situation is compounded by their status as officers. Staff Sgt. Vic W. Bedford (Hauser), a racist, is their primary antagonist. One of the pilots, Lt. Lamar Archer, is executed when accused of keeping a weapon that Bedford had planted in his bunk. When Bedford himself subsequently turns up dead, the surviving pilot, Lt. Lincoln A. Scott (Howard) is accused of killing Bedford in retaliation. A law student before the war, Hart is appointed by McNamara to defend the accused pilot at his court-martial, a trial to which the amused camp commandant, Oberst Werner Visser (Iureş) agrees. As the court martial proceeds, Hart struggles to prove reasonable doubt while dismissing Lt. Scott's motive, means, and opportunity. As the trial proceeds, Scott takes the stand and takes the opportunity to rail against the racism he and Archer faced in the Army, and excoriates McNamara for forcing two black pilots to bunk in the enlisted men's barracks.
As Hart's defense threatens to unintentionally call attention to subterfuge by the POWs, McNamara reveals to Hart in private that the "defense," like the trial itself, is a sham, an elaborate distraction to hide a planned attack on a nearby ammunition plant (which the U.S. Army mistakenly believes to be a shoe factory) by McNamara and his men, in aid of the war effort. It is revealed that Bedford planted the weapon in Archer's bunk, knowing the guards would kill Archer for it. In return, Bedford informed the guards of the location of a secret radio. It is also revealed Bedford planned to escape with money and clothes, likely in return for telling the Nazis about McNamara's plan. Upon realizing Bedford's plot, McNamara killed Bedford to prevent it. Hart is shocked that McNamara as a senior officer would sacrifice a fellow American (Scott) to protect the planned attack on the ammunition plant. McNamara reminds Hart that in war, sometimes one man must be sacrificed to save the lives of many. Hart acknowledges this, but retorts that it is McNamara's duty to ensure that ''he'' (McNamara), not Lincoln Scott, is the sacrifice. Disgusted, McNamara says that Hart does not know anything about duty, in reference to how Hart gave in to a "Level 1" interrogator after three days, whereas McNamara was tortured for a month. Nonetheless, McNamara is shaken by Hart's words. The night before the court martial concludes, he visits Scott in his holding cell and gifts him his personal Bible.
On the last day of the court martial, McNamara and his men feign food poisoning in order to abstain from the trial. As they proceed to the ammunition plant via a hidden tunnel, McNamara overhears Hart falsely confessing to the murder of Bedford in order to save Lt. Scott's life. Oberst Visser immediately dissolves the court martial and orders the entire camp to gather outside to witness Hart's execution. Upon learning that the "sick" soldiers are missing, Visser examines the barracks and discovers the hidden tunnel. Infuriated, he orders that all prisoners involved in the court martial are to be executed immediately, starting with Hart. It is then that McNamara returns, just as explosives detonate and destroy the plant, and takes responsibility. Visser personally executes him on the spot, but spares the remaining prisoners. Three months later, the German army surrenders to the Allies. The prison camp is liberated and all of the surviving prisoners, including Hart, are sent home. Hart's final comments are that he learned about honor, duty, and sacrifice.
Lucy Kelson is an intelligent, highly competent liberal lawyer who specializes in historic preservation, environmental law, and pro bono causes in New York City. George Wade is an arrogant, needy billionaire real estate developer and stylish womanizing playboy, who is also quite naïve. Lucy's hard work and devotion to others contrasts sharply with George's childish recklessness and greed.
Lucy meets George in an attempt to stop the destruction of the Coney Island community center from her childhood. Discovering she graduated from prestigious Harvard law school, he offers to hire her to replace his old Chief Counsel, overlooking their opposing views of real estate development. She decides the benefits he offers for discretionary funding for community causes she espouses outweighs the negatives, especially as he promises to protect the community center.
Soon, she finds what he really requires is advice in all aspects of his life. She regretfully becomes his indispensable assistant, and he calls her for every little thing at all hours. At a friend's wedding, her cell phone loudly rings and disrupts the proceedings before she responds to his urgent page. When she discovers the "emergency" he needs her advice on is his attire to an important event, she gives him her two weeks' notice of resignation. Yet, her departure is not so easy.
Lucy looks for work at other firms, but everyone says no because George has called in advance asking them not to hire her, so he can keep her on. Eventually, he gives in, and she offers to help him find a replacement, but unaware of how close and interdependent they have become. They act like an old married couple at a restaurant, able to simultaneously carry out a conversation while involuntarily exchanging food out of habit from knowing each other's food preferences.
When potential interviewee June Carver shows up without an appointment seeking the position, Lucy speaks to her, but is concerned June lacks real estate experience. When George sees June he is immediately attracted and is ready to hire her on the spot, with seemingly disregards Lucy's concerns. Rather than look the other way and let her soon-to-be-former boss deal with the foolishness of his sexist hiring practices, Lucy instead becomes increasingly concerned and competitive with her replacement. When George invites June to business social events that formerly would be just between George and Lucy, Lucy increasingly perceives the business events to be more like dates, and is surprised June is intruding on them.
Lucy finds out despite George's promise, the community center is going to be knocked down and challenges him on his apparent betrayal. She arrives at his hotel to confront him and finds June and George in his apartment in lingerie during a game of "strip chess". George confronts her the next day, her last day, where Lucy reminds him he promised her to spare the community center. Lucy leaves after George accuses her of being a saint, making everyone else look bad because they are humans who make mistakes.
After she is gone, George realizes his time with her has demonstrated he needs to change. Meanwhile, in her new job, Lucy finds she misses him. He goes in search for her and reveals he decided to keep his promise to her. Lucy initially rebuffs him but then returns and they declare their feelings. George reveals he resigned.
In the DVD version of the film, an unreleased wedding scene of George and Lucy was featured. George and Lucy were married at the community center attended by family and friends.
The novel primarily focuses on the life story of Randall Peterson "Pete" Armstrong, a child prodigy with total recall memory, whose entire life's outlook has been defined by the tragic murder of his younger brother, Leonard, by an ex-convict who was believed to be capable of committing violent crimes again, but could not be imprisoned any longer under the current law structure. Pete is committed to making a difference for humanity that will atone for his brother's death and help millions of others, too. In his first year at Harvard at the age 13, Pete is recruited to enroll in a small, but exclusive, class of the brightest and most agile students on campus. In that class, he meets people and establishes friendships that will further his identity. It is there that the idea of a 'truth machine' is conceived and Pete realizes that its existence is possible and that he could do it. The 'truth machine' would be a mechanism that would be 100% accurate in determining if a person was lying or telling the truth. It could help eliminate crime and dishonesty in general. As long as it is employed universally (and not just by government officials), the 'truth machine' could revolutionize humanity and take it to that next evolutionary step which would help it avert its coming self-destruction.
The protagonist places a back door in the book's otherwise infallible lie detector, allowing him to avoid detection when he repeats fragments of Walt Whitman's poem "O Captain! My Captain!" in his mind.
At home in his Puppetland playhouse, Pee-wee entertains his audience of "boys and girls" in a homage to low-budget 1950s’ TV kiddie-shows such as ''Howdy Doody'' and ''Pinky Lee''.
Pee-wee spends the day with his friends and fellow citizens of Puppetland, including Pterri the pterodactyl, Mr. Knucklehead, Captain Carl, Miss Yvonne, Jambi the genie in a box, Clockey the USA wall-map and clock, Randy the Rascal, Mailman Mike, Hammy and his sister Susan, Hermit Hattie, and the singing next-door neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Jelly Do-nut.
Pee-wee really wants to be able to fly after he is given a wish by Jambi the genie, but he decides to give his wish away to Miss Yvonne, who wants Captain Carl to "really like her" and think she's "beautiful from head to toe".
During the course of his busy day, Pee-wee sings and dances, reads pen pal letters "from around the world" (including prison), conducts a hypnosis puppet act with a female audience member who undresses under his command, and shows a cartoon and a condensed vintage 1959 educational film about proper deportment called ''Beginning Responsibility: Lunchroom Manners''.
Later, Pee-wee gets upset that he gave away his magic wish when he sees Captain Carl and Miss Yvonne happily on a date. After much pouting and throwing a tantrum, Pee-wee finally runs away.
The concerned citizens of Puppetland find out about Pee-wee's secret wish and after Captain Carl reveals that he had already liked Miss Yvonne, they all realize that Pee-wee still has a wish coming. Jambi the genie then grants Pee-wee's wish to be able to fly.
Pee-wee triumphantly soars and roars above Puppetland and proclaims that he is the "luckiest boy in the world".
Despite its reputation as merely being "''Dallas'' with grapes", ''Falcon Crest'' soon found its niche among the primetime dramas, occupying the middle ground between the two genre extremes — being more glamorous than ''Dallas'', yet not quite as outrageous as ''Dynasty''. The distinctive location filming in the Napa Valley and the dry, wryly humorous tone of the scripts gave the series a personality of its own.
The rivalry between Angela, Chase, and Richard stayed at the core of the show for several years, as more romantic entanglements spun around them. Lance and Cole found themselves not only caught up in their family battles for control of Falcon Crest, but were also competing for Melissa's affections.
Like its counterparts, ''Falcon Crest'' employed memorable end-of-season cliffhangers to boost ratings. The 1982–83 season ended with the resolution of a murder mystery "whodunit" plot (surrounding the death of Melissa's father, Carlo Agretti) that had spanned most of the season. The killer was revealed in front of the entire cast, only to produce a handgun. Shots were fired as the camera panned away from the mansion, fading into the final scene of a rose-draped coffin being lowered into the ground, leaving the audience to wonder who had been killed.
The third-season cliffhanger in 1984 involved a plane crash carrying most of the major characters, resulting in three of their deaths. A bomb explosion which ended the fourth season left Richard and Maggie in peril, and an earthquake that rippled through the valley ended the fifth season. The cliffhanger of the sixth season put Chase, Melissa, Richard, newcomer Dan Fixx and Maggie's baby in danger of drowning in the San Francisco Bay area. At the end of the seventh season, Melissa had finally wrested complete control of Falcon Crest away from Angela, while Richard was apparently murdered by "The Thirteen", a powerful group of shady businessmen whom he had turned against.
''Falcon Crest'' was a top ten series from 1982 to 1985 (peaking at No. 7 in the 1983–84 season), airing after ''Dallas'' on Friday nights at 10:00 p.m. The series also frequently cast former Hollywood royalty in guest roles: Lana Turner, Gina Lollobrigida, Mel Ferrer, Cesar Romero, Robert Stack, Cliff Robertson, Celeste Holm, Lauren Hutton, Ursula Andress and Kim Novak all appeared on ''Falcon Crest''. This aspect to the series seemed to be well-embraced by the producers, who at one stage instituted a rotating guest-star policy. Leslie Caron, Lauren Hutton, Eddie Albert, Eve Arden, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Ursula Andress all made appearances during the 1987–1988 season, as did Rod Taylor, who would remain with the series until its cancellation in 1990. After producer Jeff Freilich left the series at the end of the 1988 season, fewer special guest stars appeared to boost ratings, one of them being Susan Blakely in the final year.
With the departures of many of the core cast, coupled with the shifting tastes of the public in the mid-1980s, ratings began to drop (as had ratings for all of the primetime soaps of that era). By the late 1980s, U.S. ratings were dominated by sitcoms and more realistic legal/crime dramas such as ''L.A. Law'' and ''In the Heat of the Night''. During its eighth season, ''Soap Opera Digest'' gave ''Falcon Crest'' the title of "Most Ruined Show" (that season finished 52nd in the annual ratings). The series attempted to revitalize like ''Knots Landing'' had successfully done the previous year, but by the beginning of the ninth and final season in 1989, Angela, Lance, and Emma were the only three characters left from the original cast. Jane Wyman was absent for most of that season due to her own health concerns; storylines had Angela attacked and fall into a coma for several months. The final season then revolved around a battle between Richard and newcomer Michael Sharpe for control of Falcon Crest.
CBS executives made the decision to end ''Falcon Crest'' when ratings during the ninth season dropped to 63rd place. Jane Wyman returned to the series for the last three episodes. The show ended happily with a family wedding taking place on the grounds of the mansion. Taking a walk outside, Angela delivered a soliloquy (written by Wyman herself) that brought the series to a conclusion, mentioning past characters and events, but looking forward to the future. The final scene of the series shows her raising her glass to the land: "A toast to you, Falcon Crest, and long may you live."
The ''Lunar'' stories take place on an inhabitable moon called Lunar, or "The Silver Star", that orbits a planet known as "The Blue Star". Thousands of years ago, the Blue Star was infected with evil by a dark god named Zophar. His evil corrupted the hearts of people, turning some into monsters to do his bidding. The survivors cried out to the patron-deity of the Blue Star, a Goddess named Althena, for help. She confronted Zophar in an epic battle, and was only able to stop him by using her powers of creation to seal him in another dimension, destroying nearly all life on the planet in the process.
Unable to restore the planet until several millennia had passed, Althena instead chose to transform the planet's moon into an earthlike world, and transported the survivors there. These included not only humans but also a race of "beast-men", and another race of elf-like beings skilled in wielding magic. The only elf-like being depicted in ''Lunar'' is Ghaleon, who is a confirmed member of the Vile Tribe in "Lunar: Vane Hikuusen Monogatari", which is mysteriously classified here as a "fourth race", despite there being only three. There was also a fourth race of people who would later come to be known as "The Vile Tribe" after they rejected Althena's teachings. She was forced to banish them to an area of Lunar called "The Frontier", a barren wasteland where even Althena's magical power could not reach. They became enemies of Althena and her followers for thousands of years.
To protect Lunar, Althena created four intelligent Dragons – a white one, a red one, a blue one, and a black one – that each shared a part of her divine power. There are only four Dragons at any given time, though they are replaced over time with younger ones. Strangely, during their infancy, these dragons resemble talking, winged cats, until they claim the power of their predecessor and ascend to adulthood. The Dragons spend most of their time sleeping underground until they are needed.
Althena also decreed that there would be a champion called The Dragonmaster to lead Lunar's heroes. This person would be anyone who managed to make their way to the hidden lairs of the Four Dragons, and pass their harrowing trials. There have been many Dragonmasters across the centuries, and many on Lunar have striven to achieve that title. The people of Lunar became very devoted to Althena, though many remember Lunar's origins as only an old legend. The various ''Lunar'' games and manga cover different events in Lunar's history.
''Redguard'' s storyline takes places amid the Tiber Wars, shortly after Tiber Septim's Third Empire conquered and occupied Hammerfell. The death of Hammerfell's king had sparked a civil war between its competing political factions, the Crowns and the Forebears, the former led by the king's son, Prince A'tor. Septim sided with the Forebears and pushed the Crowns back to Stros M'Kai, where his best admiral, Lord Richton, and the mercenary dragon Nafaalilargus crushed Prince A'tor's remaining forces at the Battle of Hunding Bay. Richton's Dark Elf assassin Dram shot A'tor with a poisoned arrow, and despite the wizard Voa's attempts to save the prince, he seemingly did not survive. In the months that followed, Richton was named provisional governor of Stros M'Kai, a position he has held ruthlessly at the expense of the island's residents.
Cyrus is a mercenary under the employ of the Khajiit crime boss S'rathra. In Wayrest, he receives a letter from his old mentor and friend, Tobias. Tobias urges Cyrus to come to Stros M'Kai, where his sister has gone missing. Cyrus travels by ship, but as he nears the island, a group of Restless League pirates raids the ship. He dispatches them without trouble and the ship docks at the harbor. At the Draggin' Tale inn, Tobias fills Cyrus in on further details.
Hoping to gain an audience with Lord Richton, Cyrus takes a courier job which involves journeying to the Sload necromancer N'Gasta's fortified isle and delivering an amulet of his to Richton. The delivery is an opportunity for him to interrogate the governor, but he oversteps and is condemned to summary execution. Richton, impressed by the swift defeat of his guards, decides to imprison Cyrus in the palace's catacombs instead. There, Cyrus meets a dying Restless League member who gives him a key to the Saintsport lighthouse. He escapes the catacombs and learns how to signal the League at the lighthouse. Their ship arrives and takes him to their pirate cove hideout. Cyrus discovers that Iszara was prince A'tor's lover and a member of the Restless League, and that A'tor did not die but had his soul trapped in a soul gem, the very same amulet Cyrus had delivered to Richton. Iszara's plan had been to restore A'tor to life, but the League's caution made her steal the soul gem and take matters into her own hands.
Cyrus locates the legendary Flask of Lillandril, which he is told can be used to counter N'Gasta's magic spells. He returns to N'Gasta's tower in the hopes of finding Iszara there. The necromancer reveals how he tricked her and sent her soul to Clavicus Vile. Cyrus defeats N'Gasta using the flask then performs a ritual to enter Vile's realm, where he confronts the Daedric Prince. Vile relinquishes Iszara's soul after Cyrus wagers his own soul that he can solve a riddle. Iszara's soul restored, she accompanies Cyrus back to the League hideout. Cyrus succeeds at traversing the palace treasure vaults and slaying the dragon Nafaalilargus, who was tasked with guarding the soul gem.
In addition to the soul gem itself, Cyrus found Voa's ring within the island's underground goblin-infested caverns. He also helped a Yokudan wise woman, Saban, guide her son's soul past N'Gasta's soul snare to an afterlife in the Far Shores. This required fixing and studying the island's Dwarven orrery with a gear he found in the nearby ruins. With the soul gem, ring, and Saban to perform the ritual, Cyrus, Iszara, and the Restless League sneak into the local temple where A'tor's body is hidden. The ritual fails, however, placing A'tor's soul in his sword. Cyrus wields the "soul sword" and rallies his disheartened compatriots into a final attack on the harbor while he enters the palace to kill Richton. In the chaos of the attack, Richton and Dram prepare to flee the island in a Dwarven airship. Cyrus manages to board it as it launches. He duels Richton, who feigns surrender so that Dram can finish Cyrus off. Prince A'tor's spirit takes command of the soul sword to deliver fatal blows to Richton and Dram. With the governor defeated, Iszara assumes leadership of Stros M'Kai, begins rebuilding, and negotiates favorable treaties for Hammerfell with Tiber Septim and the Forebears as Cyrus leaves to explore Tamriel again.
The story is narrated from the perspective of an unnamed seven-year-old English boy, who goes to live with his Norwegian grandmother after his parents are killed in a tragic car accident. The boy loves all his grandmother's stories, but he is especially enthralled by the stories about real-life witches who she says are horrific female demons who seek to kill human children. She tells him how to recognise them, and that she is a retired witch hunter (she, herself, had an encounter with a witch when she was a child, which left her with a missing thumb).
According to the boy's grandmother, a real witch looks exactly like an ordinary woman, but there are ways of telling whether she is a witch: real witches have claws instead of fingernails, which they hide by wearing gloves; are bald, which they hide by wearing wigs that often make them break out in rashes; have square feet with no toes, which they hide by wearing uncomfortable pointy shoes; have eyes with pupils that change colours; have blue spit which they use for ink, and have large nostrils which they use to sniff out children; to a witch, a child smells of fresh dogs’ droppings; the dirtier the child, the less likely she is to smell them.
As specified in the parents' will, the narrator and his grandmother return to England, where he was born and had attended school, and where the house he is inheriting is located. However, the grandmother warns the boy to be on his guard, since English witches are known to be among the most vicious in the world, notorious for turning children into loathsome creatures so that unsuspecting adults will kill them. She also assures him that there are fewer witches in England than there are in Norway.
The grandmother reveals that witches in different countries have different customs and that, while the witches in each country have close affiliations with one another, they are not allowed to communicate with witches from other countries. She also tells him about the mysterious Grand High Witch of All the World, the feared and diabolical leader of all of the world's witches, who visits their councils in every country, each year.
Shortly after arriving back in England, while the boy is working on the roof of his treehouse, he sees a strange woman in black staring up at him with an eerie smile and quickly registers that she is a witch. When the witch offers him a snake to tempt him to come down to her, he climbs further up the tree and stays there, not daring to come down until his grandmother comes looking for him. This persuades the boy and his grandmother to be especially wary, and he carefully scrutinizes all women to determine whether they might be witches.
When the grandmother becomes ill with pneumonia, the doctor orders her to cancel a planned holiday in Norway (she and her grandson had planned to go there). The doctor explains that pneumonia can be very dangerous when a person is 80 or older (she later reveals in the book that she is 86), and therefore, he cannot even move her to the hospital in her condition. Instead, about two weeks later when she has recovered, they go to a luxury hotel in Bournemouth on England's south coast.
The boy is training his pet mice, William and Mary, given to him as a consolation present by his grandmother after the loss of his parents, in the hotel ballroom when the "Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children" show up for their annual meeting. When one of them reaches underneath her hair to scratch at her scalp with a gloved hand, the boy realizes that this is the yearly gathering of England's witches (all of the other women are wearing gloves as well), but he is trapped in the room.
A young woman goes on stage and removes her entire face, which is a mask. The narrator realizes that this is no other than the Grand High Witch herself. She expresses her displeasure at the English witches' failure to eliminate enough children, and thus demands that they exterminate the lot of them before the next meeting. She exterminates a witch who questions whether it will be possible to wipe out all of Britain’s children.
The Grand High Witch unveils her master plan: all of England's witches are to purchase sweet shops (with counterfeited money printed by her from a magical money-making machine) and give away free sweets and chocolates laced with a drop of her latest creation: "Formula 86 Delayed-Action Mouse-Maker", a magic potion which turns the consumer into a mouse at a specified time set by the potion-maker. The intent is for the children's teachers and parents to unwittingly kill the transformed children, thus doing the witches' dirty work for them so that nobody will ever find the witches because they are unaware that it was their doing.
To demonstrate the formula's effectiveness, the Grand High Witch brings in a child named Bruno Jenkins, a rich and often greedy boy lured to the convention hall with the promise of free chocolate. She reveals that she had tricked Bruno into eating a chocolate bar laced with the formula the day before, and had set the "alarm" to go off during the meeting. The potion takes effect, transforming Bruno into a mouse before the assembled witches.
Shortly after, the witches detect the narrator's presence and corner him. The Grand High Witch then pours an entire bottle of Formula 86 down his throat, and the overdose instantly turns him into a mouse. However, the transformed child retains his mentality, personality and even his voice - refusing to be lured into a mouse-trap. After tracking down Bruno, the transformed boy returns to his grandmother's hotel room and tells her what he has learned. He suggests turning the tables on the witches by slipping the potion into their evening meal. With some difficulty, he manages to get his hands on a bottle of the potion from the Grand High Witch's room.
After an attempt to return Bruno to his parents fails spectacularly (mainly due to his mother's fear of mice), the grandmother takes Bruno and the narrator to the dining hall. The narrator enters the kitchen, where he pours the potion into the green pea soup intended for the witches' dinner. On the way back from the kitchen, a cook spots the narrator and chops off part of his tail with a carving knife, before he manages to escape back to his grandmother. The witches all turn into mice within a few minutes, having had massive overdoses just like the narrator. The hotel staff and the guests all panic and unknowingly end up killing the Grand High Witch and all of England's witches.
Having returned home, the boy and his grandmother then devise a plan to rid the world of witches. His grandmother, by impersonating the chief of police of Norway on the telephone, discovered that the Grand High Witch was living in a castle in that country. They will travel to the Grand High Witch's Norwegian castle, and use the potion to change her successor and the successor's assistants into mice, then release cats to destroy them. Using the Grand High Witch's money-making machine and information on witches in various countries, they will try to eradicate them everywhere. The grandmother also reveals that, as a mouse, the boy will probably only live for about another nine years, but the boy does not mind, as he does not want to outlive his grandmother (she reveals that she is also likely to live for only nine more years), as he would hate to have anyone else look after him.
In Tokyo, Japan, a young girl named Ichigo Momomiya attends an endangered species exhibit with her "crush" Masaya Aoyama. After an earthquake, Ichigo and four other girls are bathed in a strange light. A cat appears before Ichigo, then merges with her. The next day, she begins acting like a cat and making cat puns. After meeting Ryou Shirogane and Keiichirou Akasaka, Ichigo learns that she was infused with the DNA of the Iriomote cat. Ryou and Keiichirou explain that this allows her to transform into Mew Ichigo, a powerful heroic cat girl. She is ordered to defeat Chimera Animas—alien parasites which infect animals and turn them into monsters. Ryou and Keiichirou instruct Ichigo to find the four other girls from the exhibit—the remaining Mew Mews.
The first Mew Mew Ichigo encounters is Minto Aizawa, a spoiled, wealthy girl and ballerina who is infused with the genes of the blue lorikeet;Tokyopop translated Minto's fused species as the ultramarine lorikeet; however, in ''Mew Mew Power'', Kodansha USA volumes and the Finnish adaptation of the series it is stated to be the blue lorikeet, a distinct species. In Japanese materials for the series, the kana is , which is the kana name of the blue lorikeet, versus , which would be the ultramarine lorikeet. Retasu Midorikawa, a shy but smart girl who endures constant bullying from three girls and absorbs the genes of the finless porpoise; a hyper and yet young girl named Bu-Ling Huang who receives the genes of the golden lion tamarin; and Zakuro Fujiwara, a professional actress and model infused with the genes of the gray wolf.
The five Mew Mews battle the Chimera Animas and their alien controllers Quiche, Pie and Tart. Quiche falls in love with Ichigo where he tries to gain her love despite the fact that he is trying to eliminate the other Mew Mews. One of the Mew Mew gets attacked and dies from an alien bite, but then comes back to life. Pie and Tart later join Quiche in trying to destroy the Mew Mews.
As the fighting intensifies, the Mew Mews are tasked with finding "Mew Aqua", a material created from pure water that contains immense power for combating the alien attacks and can be sensed by the Mew Mews. During a battle with Quiche at an aquarium, Ichigo is in danger of losing when the mysterious Blue Knight appears and rescues her. He returns periodically throughout the series, protecting Ichigo from various dangers. It is later revealed that the Blue Knight is in fact Masaya. Shortly after this discovery, Masaya collapses and transforms again. This time, he transforms into Deep Blue, the alien leader who wants to destroy humanity. After explaining to Ichigo that Masaya was a false form for temporary use, Deep Blue attacks the Mew Mews. Pie and Tart try to stop the other mew mews while Ichigo goes after Deep Blue. He and Quiche battle and Deep Blue wins.
Masaya's personality briefly reappears and he uses the Mew Aqua inside Deep Blue to save Ichigo and Tokyo, killing himself in the process. Devastated over his loss, Ichigo pours her power into Masaya to save his life, losing her own in the process. Masaya kisses her, changing her back to a human and revives her. Ryou gives Pie the remaining Mew Aqua to save the aliens' world, after which Quiche, Pie, and Tart say their goodbyes and return to their own world.
Ichigo and Masaya move to England to study endangered species. The remaining Mew Mews continue to eliminate the Chimera Animas left behind by the aliens. They face a new threat in the form of the Saint Rose Crusaders: Humans with supernatural abilities who desire to conquer the world and create a "utopia" while taking over the remaining Chimera Animas.
Berry Shirayuki becomes the sixth Mew Mew and temporarily takes Ichigo's place as the leader. Berry is the first Mew Mew to be infused with the DNA of two endangered species, the Andean mountain cat and the Amami rabbit. As one of the strongest Mew Mews, Berry is targeted by two of the Crusaders, who attack her at school. Ichigo returns to provide assistance during this battle. For their final attack, two Crusaders hypnotize the citizens of Tokyo and set them against the Mew Mews. Berry and her childhood friend Tasuku Meguro use their newfound feelings of love to reverse the hypnosis and cause a change of heart in the Crusaders.
;Act I In the 1930s, the Harefords, a family of haughty aristocrats, are seeking the legitimate heir to the title of Earl of Hareford. Bill Snibson, a Cockney from Lambeth is found and named as the long-lost "Earl of Hareford". It seems that the 13th Earl had secretly and briefly wed a girl from a bad neighborhood. However, Bill's rough Cockney ways do not satisfy the Will of the last Earl: in order to gain his inheritance of the title and estate, Bill must satisfy the very proper executors (Maria, Duchess of Dene, and Sir John Tremayne) by learning gentlemanly manners. The Duchess thinks that she can make Bill "fit and proper", but not his Cockney girlfriend, Sally Smith. The Duchess plans a party in Bill's honour, but Sally is not to be invited. Sir John tells Sally that she and Bill ought to return to Lambeth, but he is moved by Sally's heartfelt declaration of love for Bill ("Once You Lose Your Heart").
At the party, Bill puts on airs and tries to please his new-found upper-class lawyers, family and servants, but his everyman roots quickly begin to show. Sally shows up in inappropriate garb, with her Lambeth friends, saying that she is going back to where she belongs. Bill seconds this at first, but then teaches the nobility "The Lambeth Walk".
;Act II Bill must make a speech in the House of Lords in coronet and "vermin"-trimmed peer's robes. Sally leaves, telling him to marry someone with good blood, and, in a scene inspired by Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Ruddigore'', the portraits of Bill's ancestors awaken to remind him of his ''noblesse oblige''. Bill and Sally have gained an ally in Sir John, who offers to help them by engaging a speech professor (implied to be Henry Higgins from ''Pygmalion'') to help Sally impress the Duchess.
Bill constantly bemoans his separation from Sally. Preparing another party for Bill, the Duchess realises how much Sally means to him. This puts her in a romantic mood, and she accepts an offer of marriage from Sir John. Bill, dressed in his old outrageous Cockney clothes, declares that he's going home and goes upstairs to pack. Just then, Sally astonishes everyone by arriving in an elegant gown and tiara and speaking with a perfect upper-crust accent. When Bill returns downstairs, Sally conceals her identity; when she reveals it, Bill is relieved and the couple gain the acceptance of the family.
The story of ''Brood War'' is presented through its instruction manual, the briefings to each mission, and conversations within the missions themselves, along with the use of cinematic cut scenes at the end of each campaign. The game itself is split into three new episodes, one centering on each race.
In the first episode, the player (as the Protoss Executor), Aldaris, Zeratul, and the newly promoted Praetor Artanis work to evacuate the surviving Protoss from their devastated homeworld through a warp gate to the dark templar homeworld, Shakuras, where they meet the matriarch of the dark templar, Raszagal. Although the Zerg are able to follow the Protoss to Shakuras, Raszagal informs the survivors of a Xel'Naga temple on the surface of the planet with the power to scour the Zerg from the surface if activated. With Zeratul and Artanis reluctantly partnering with Sarah Kerrigan, who informs them of a new Overmind growing on Char, the player joins them in an operation to recover two key crystals (Khalis and Uraj) necessary to operate the temple. Upon their return, it is revealed that Aldaris has begun an uprising against the dark templar over their alliance with Kerrigan. The uprising is crushed, and Aldaris is killed by Kerrigan, who reveals that her motives are to ensure the destruction of the Zerg cerebrates on Shakuras so she can gain control of the Zerg herself before departing the planet. Despite knowing that activating the temple will accomplish Kerrigan's objectives, Zeratul and Artanis proceed with little other choice, wiping the Zerg off Shakuras' surface.
are used at key plot points during the single-player campaigns.
In the second episode, the player (as an UED Captain), leads the United Earth Directorate's initial incursions against the Terran Dominion. Upon meeting Samir Duran, the fleet's vice-admiral Alexei Stukov conscripts Duran as a special advisor. The UED soon discovers a "psi disrupter"—a device capable of disrupting Zerg communications—on the former Confederate capital Tarsonis. Although Duran persuades admiral Gerard DuGalle to have the anti-Zerg device destroyed, Stukov's forces relieve Duran at the last moment. The UED proceeds to the Dominion throne world Korhal IV where the player defeats Arcturus Mengsk's armies, although Mengsk is rescued when a Protoss fleet commanded by Jim Raynor arrives. The UED tracks Raynor and Mengsk to the Protoss homeworld of Aiur, but the two escape the massive UED assault when Duran inexplicably moves his forces out of position and allows the Zerg to interfere with the operation. Having understood that the UED invasion had caused Mengsk, Raynor, and the Protoss to band together against a common foe, Stukov realizes that Duran's actions and the Zerg attack were too much to be a coincidence—the Zerg were also allied with the Terran Dominion and the Protoss, and Duran had been working to undermine the UED. While Stukov takes a contingent of troops and reconstructs the psi disrupter on Braxis, DuGalle is unaware of his intentions and becomes convinced that he is a traitor. The player helps Duran hunt down Stukov inside the psi disrupter, but before he dies, Stukov reveals to DuGalle that Duran is the real enemy. Duran flees after the player foils his attempt to sabotage the psi disrupter. Using the psi disrupter's capabilities, DuGalle and the UED are able to assault the Zerg world Char and take control of the new Overmind growing there.
The final section of ''Brood War'' sees the player (as a lone Cerebrate) helping Sarah Kerrigan defeat the UED. With the Overmind falling under the United Earth Directorate's command, all operations amongst native factions in the sector are damaged, including Kerrigan's forces. To begin the campaign against the Directorate forces, Kerrigan and Samir Duran form a reluctant alliance with Jim Raynor, Protoss praetor Fenix, and Arcturus Mengsk to destroy the psi disrupter. After destroying the psi disrupter, the player leads Kerrigan's forces in a full-scale assault on Korhal, quickly breaking the UED's hold over the planet. In the aftermath, Kerrigan betrays her allies, destroying a large number of Dominion forces and killing both Fenix as well as Edmund Duke, Mengsk's right-hand man. Angry at Kerrigan's betrayal, Raynor promises that he will kill her one-day and then retreats. Kerrigan travels with Duran to Shakuras and abducts Raszagal, who she uses to blackmail Zeratul into killing the Overmind on Char, thus bringing all Zerg forces under Kerrigan's control. Zeratul attempts to rescue Raszagal, but the player prevents their escape, and Zeratul eventually kills Raszagal when it becomes clear she has been irreversibly brainwashed by Kerrigan. At that moment it becomes clear that Aldaris's uprising in the first episode was an attempt to stop the brainwashed Raszagal from betraying her people any further. Upon leaving Char in search of Artanis, Zeratul stumbles upon a genetics facility run by Duran without Kerrigan's knowledge where a Protoss/Zerg hybrid is being developed. At the same time, Kerrigan is attacked on Char by the Dominion, the UED, and a vengeful fleet commanded by Artanis. Despite being outnumbered, Kerrigan defeats all three fleets and eradicates the surviving UED fleet, leaving her the dominant power in the sector. Before the UED fleet is wiped out, Admiral DuGalle sends a final message back to his family before committing suicide with his pistol.
The game takes place centuries after ''Majora's Mask'' and ''Twilight Princess'', within the events of the "Child Timeline", and is the final game in this timeline, chronologically. The game features a separate incarnation of the Dark Lord Ganondorf/The Dark Beast Ganon to the one whose backstory is shown in ''Ocarina of Time'', something which is unique to ''Four Swords Adventures''.
The game begins with the land of Hyrule in a state of fear because of strange happenings that have occurred recently. On a stormy night, Princess Zelda and the shrine maidens fear that the reason for these events is that Vaati's seal is weakening. She summons Link and brings him to the castle so he can protect her and the other maidens while they open the portal to the Four Sword Sanctuary. When they do, however, a shadowy figure appears, Shadow Link, who kidnaps the maidens of the Shrines and seals them inside their crystals. Link follows him to the mysterious sanctuary where the Four Sword lies in the pedestal, keeping the great evil sealed away. Link pulls the Four Sword out of its Pedestal, splitting into three clones of himself to destroy his doppelgänger. However, the seal that imprisoned the Sorcerer of Winds, Vaati, was broken and had released him from his prison once again, wreaking havoc on the once peaceful kingdom of Hyrule and bringing chaos and horror.
As Link and his clones wander the overworld of Hyrule Field on their quest to restore peace to Hyrule, they learn that the creation of Link's evil counterpart and the release of Vaati is only a small part in an insidious plot to conquer the kingdom of Hyrule. Things complicate as the dimension of the Dark World appears and people are being abducted throughout Hyrule. The four Links learn that the knights of Hyrule have mysteriously disappeared and evil versions of them have been creating havoc, allowing Hyrule castle to be taken over and monsters to appear throughout the land. The four Links agree that they will defeat Vaati, and rescue Zelda to restore peace to Hyrule.
It is revealed that the true villain is Ganon, the King of Darkness; a male Gerudo who obtained his powers after stealing a powerful trident containing dark energy that was previously hidden away within a pyramid, and used it to seize control over substantial portions of Hyrule. In order to further his plans and distract Link from interfering in his bid for further power, Ganon stole the dark mirror, previously used to banish a dark tribe that invaded Hyrule years prior, and used it to create Shadow Link, who was eventually sent to kidnap the shrine maidens and trick Link into releasing Vaati. In order to gain as much power as possible and build up his army, Ganon sought to take control of the shrine maidens' power as well, relying on the strongest monstrosities in his army to siphon their energy, and began using Shadow Link to abduct the kingdom's residents and send them into the Dark World, where they would become part of his army. Vaati unknowingly furthered his plans by creating monsters to add to his army and drained energy from the landscape of the kingdom itself, gradually transforming it into a wasteland. It is revealed that the Knights of Hyrule were murdered by Ganon, who proceeded to trap their souls in the World of Darkness, where they became creatures of darkness.
The four Links save the shrine maidens, retrieve the Dark Mirror with the assistance of Princess Zelda, stopping Shadow Link from respawning once and for all. The four heroes head forth to the Palace of Winds and defeat Vaati, leading them into their final battle with Ganon. Trying to stop him from plunging the world into chaos, the four Links use the Power of the Shrine Maidens, including Zelda, to defeat Ganon, striking through him. After defeating Ganon, the four Links firmly seal him inside the Four Sword, bringing chaos and horror to an end. Peace returns to Hyrule, the souls of the knights are freed from their torment, and the people celebrate as all traces of evil that plagued Hyrule are vanquished. With Ganon defeated and sealed inside, Link returns the Four Sword that sealed darkness away back to its resting pedestal and the four Links become one again. After the battle, The Maidens of the Shrine use their powers and create a barrier, which is strong enough for the Four Sword to rest before the six maidens leave. Thus, Link's journey has ended and both he and Zelda leave the Sanctuary as Darkness fades away and Light endures in the Land of Hyrule, bringing peace and prosperity.
At a loading dock in Cleveland in 1937, supervisor Mr. Gant hires a new worker, Polish American Lincoln Dombrowsky. Gant tells Dombrowsky that he will be paid for his regular shift only even if he must work overtime, and that any merchandise he damages will come directly out of his pay. When Dombrowsky drops a few carts of tomatoes, his pay is docked and another worker is fired for helping him collect the fallen merchandise. Resentful of these unfair labor practices, Hungarian-American worker Johnny Kovak leads a riot. The laborers go to the office of Boss Andrews, where Kovak believes he negotiates a deal for the workers, only to find out the next day that he and his friend Abe Belkin have been fired.
Kovak and Belkin are approached by Mike Monahan, who was impressed by their leadership. He offers them positions in the Federation of Inter State Truckers (F.I.S.T.), where they will be paid according to how many members they can recruit. Kovak is given a car to use while recruiting, which also allows him to meet and soon start dating Lithuanian-American worker Anna Zarinkas. Kovak is successfully recruiting new F.I.S.T. members, which attracts attention from business owners. When Kovak turns down their offer to recruit new workers to their non-union trucking firms, the shady owners have him physically attacked. Kovak rises into a leadership role through his union recruiting, causing competition with hothead F.I.S.T. leader Max Graham.
Soon Monahan, Kovak and Belkin begin working to get the F.I.S.T. members at Consolidated Trucking covered by a labor agreement. When management refuses to deal with them, the F.I.S.T. workers strike. They set up camp outside Consolidated Trucking's gates, but are pushed out by strikebreakers and hired security. Monahan tries to ram the gates in a truck, but is shot and killed. At his funeral, Kovak decides to "get some muscle" and accepts help from Vince Doyle, a local gangster. Doyle's men attack trucks trying to make deliveries. Local mobsters and the members of F.I.S.T. join forces to storm the gates of Consolidated Trucking. The president of Consolidated Trucking finally signs a labor agreement.
Building on this success, Kovak and Belkin travel the Midwest to recruit more workers. Kovak becomes wealthier and marries Anna. A new crime figure, Babe Milano, comes on the scene and wants a piece of the action. Kovak meets Milano with Doyle and, although reluctant to involve him in his business, decides it will be best for now.
By 1957, F.I.S.T. has become a large and important union, with about two million members. When Kovak visits Max Graham at F.I.S.T. headquarters, he is displeased to see how luxurious the building and Graham's offices are. Kovak visits with Belkin, now leading F.I.S.T. business on the West Coast, who explains that Graham has made money unethically off the union. In his investigation, Kovak finds that Graham used his influence to steer union businesses and funds to shell companies owned by him or his wife, and has used violence against the wife of a trucking company owner who resisted the union.
Graham is a strong favorite to be elected F.I.S.T. president. Belkin suggests to Kovak that they turn Graham in to the authorities, but Kovak is too worried about the damage to the union from the scandal. Kovak confronts Graham with what he knows, convincing him to support Kovak's run for union president.
Now the newly elected president of F.I.S.T., Kovak is investigated by Senator Madison, who suspects Kovak of ties with the Mafia through his work with gangsters Doyle and Milano. Belkin urges Kovak to cut off Milano and make the union "clean again", but Kovak ignores his request. When Doyle later tells Kovak that Belkin plans to testify against them, Kovak insists that Belkin not be harmed.
Subpoenaed to testify before Senator Madison's committee, Kovak is told that Belkin has been killed and the senator believes Kovak is responsible. Shocked, Kovak has an emotional outburst and storms out of the hearing. He returns home to find Anna and the children are missing. He gets his pistol but is shot and killed by Milano's men. The movie ends with a shot of a bumper sticker on a truck which reads, "Where's Johnny?"
An armored truck brings money to load an ATM. A woman withdraws $20 but the bill slips away. A homeless woman, Angeline (Linda Hunt), grabs the bill and reads the serial number, proclaiming that it is her destiny to win the lottery with those numbers. As she holds the bill, a boy grabs the bill from her and uses it at a bakery. The baker sells an expensive pair of figurines for a wedding cake to Jack Holiday (George Morfogen) and gives him the bill as change. At the rehearsal dinner for the upcoming wedding of Sam Mastrewski (Brendan Fraser) to Anna Holiday (Sam Jenkins), Jack reminisces about exchanging his foreign money for American currency when he first came to America, and he presents Sam with the $20 bill as a wedding present. Sam is taken aback by the perceived cheapness of his father-in-law-to-be, but is quickly "kidnapped" for his bachelor party, where he decides to spend the bill to pay the party's stripper (Melora Walters). Anna shows up to explain that the $20 was not the entire present and suggests that Sam frame it to show that he understands its significance. Sam is unable to explain the absence of the bill, when the stripper comes in from the fire escape to offer it back to him. Anna apparently breaks the engagement.
The stripper uses the $20 bill to buy a herbal remedy from Mrs. McCormac (Gladys Knight). Mrs. McCormac mails the bill to her grandson Bobby (Willie Marlett) as a birthday present. Bobby goes to a convenience store where Frank (Steve Buscemi) and Jimmy (Christopher Lloyd) are engaged in a string of robberies. During their spree, they prevent Angeline from buying a lottery ticket at a liquor store. Not knowing he's a robber, Bobby gives Jimmy the bill to buy him some wine, as he can't buy it himself because he's underage. Jimmy goes into the store to find that Frank has botched the robbery. Jimmy and Frank leave, giving Bobby and his girlfriend Peggy champagne. The police chase the robbers, who hide in a used car lot. After the police pass by, Jimmy and Frank split up the money, but when Frank sees the $20 Jimmy got from the kid, he assumes that Jimmy is holding out on him. Jimmy tries to explain but Frank pulls a shotgun on him. Jimmy shoots Frank and takes all the money they've stolen, but leaves the $20 bill. The bill, now stained with Frank's blood, winds up in the police evidence locker but falls into the wrong box.
Waitress and aspiring writer Emily Adams (Elisabeth Shue) shows up at the police precinct with boyfriend Neil (David Schwimmer) to claim a box of items the police recovered. The police officer (William H. Macy) unwittingly includes the $20 bill among the other items. After flying out of the box from the back seat of Emily's convertible, the bill floats around town, and is picked up by a homeless man who uses it to buy groceries. Angeline is again unable to buy a lottery ticket, this time due to a fault with the cashier's computer. The bill is given as change to a wealthy woman who uses it to snort cocaine off the back of her stretch limousine, although she leaves it on her car, where it is picked up by her drug dealer (Edward Blatchford).
The drug dealer also runs a day camp for youth, and he puts the bill into a fish where it is caught by a teen who has it converted to quarters and uses them to call a phone sex hotline in a bowling alley. The bowling alley owner (Ned Bellamy) gives the bill to his lover (Matt Frewer) and tells him to go out and have fun. The owner's lover then encounters Sam, who is loitering in a daze behind the bowling alley. Sam turns down an offer of the $20 bill, not knowing it is the cause of his downfall. The owner's lover then uses it to play bingo at a church, where the priest is portrayed by Spaulding Gray. Emily's father, Bruce (Alan North) also plays bingo and receives the bill as change before dying of a heart attack.
At the mortuary, the mortician (Melora Walters), gives the family Bruce's personal effects, including his wallet with the $20 bill. Emily eventually looks in the wallet and finds the $20 bill in the wallet together with a copy of her first published short story. Her mother Ruth (Diane Baker) explains that Bruce also wanted to be a writer. Emily decides to go to Europe. At the airport, she explains her decision to her brother Gary (Kevin Kilner), and she melodramatically rips up the bill in front of him. (Gary was a witness to one of Jimmy & Frank's robberies.) Sam is also at the airport, waiting for a flight to Europe and having a drink with Jack, with the two clearing up the misunderstanding over the $20 bill on good terms. Sam finds a piece of the ripped up bill and uses it as a bookmark, but it falls out without him noticing it as Sam and Emily walk toward their gate, both striking up a conversation. A title reading "The End" is derailed by Angeline collecting pieces of the bill.
Angeline sits down at a coin-operated TV and patches the bill back together. Just then the lottery numbers are read, and to her agony, they match the serial number of the bill. She goes to a bank and inquires if the bill is still any good. The teller explains that if there's more than 51% of the bill left, it is still valid, and hands Angeline a crisp new $20 bill. The homeless woman dramatically reads the serial number of the new bill and leaves the bank.
The story begins when you (the main character - this character is never shown or given a default name in order to keep with the "second person" feel of the game, however, it is implied that the unseen character is a young boy) wake up in someone's yard and sees a Pengel. A mysterious voice tells you that you can use the Pengel to draw whatever you like, and that the shape will become your companion on your quest. You draw a simple shape to become your first Doodle, however, the Doodle falls off a cliff and is rescued by a girl. Then it runs away. After lecturing you, the girl introduces herself as Zoe, then introduces her (foster) brother, Taro. She takes you to the arena where a tournament is being held and teaches you how to duel. You win, and Zoe gets ticked off at the kingdom's guards for taking some of the Color you won as tax.
It is revealed that the King who rules the humans is corrupt and tries to force pure-hearted people to draw Doodles to work for him. One of his best Doodlers, Galileo (who is Zoe and Taro's father) disappeared and the king has been trying to seek revenge by taking away Zoe and Taro's homeland. Zoe and Taro don't know where Galileo went, and have been searching for their father by throwing notes in a bottle into the ocean. You must enter tournaments to get the money Zoey and Taro need to pay off the mortgage on their Homeland, help them search for their father, and eventually defeat the Doodle King himself.
''Magic Pengel'' is known for its flexibility in characters - players can create their own. Unlike ''Graffiti Kingdom'', the second game in the ''Rakugaki Ōkoku'' series, the "main character" does not exist: the storyline revolves around the ''player'' being sucked into Zoe and Taro's world. However, there is a small cast of important characters, and a large cast of secondary characters, that play roles in the storyline.
'''Pengel''' The creature with the ability to draw Doodles that come to life. He is able to create more powerful Doodles as the storyline progresses and you win more duels. A person can only have a Pengel if he or she has a pure heart. Despite this, most people, even mean people, have one, when Zoe, who got angry at her Doodles once, does not. '''Zoe''' The player's closest friend, Zoe is a stubborn girl who hates the King. According to a boy named Denka, she is Denka's girlfriend, however, she has never done anything to indicate the feeling is mutual. She used to be able to use a Pengel, however, when her foster father disappeared, she blamed Doodles and grew angry. Her Pengel disappeared, and Zoe confesses she has felt guilty ever since. She refuses to believe Galileo is dead, even though others disagree. At the end of the story, Zoe and Taro move away. '''Taro''' Zoe's foster brother and the famous Doodler Galileo's son. Taro is an innocent, sometimes whiny, young boy who looks up to Zoe but gets upset that she is always getting mad at him and calling him a baby. Indeed, he does cry quite a lot, but he is able to use a Pengel and is a surprisingly good Duelist. On rare occasions, he will face you at the seaside arena. '''Mono''' Mono is a mysterious boy who shows up at Zoe and Taro's house one day. He has the ability to create Color Gems by taking away the color of a natural object. It turns out that Mono is a Doodle drawn by Galileo, who taught him how to speak and raised him as a son. Mono has come to the island because of the bottles sent out by Zoe and Taro, so he can tell the truth about Galileo - he is, indeed, dead. Mono is later revealed to be the reincarnation of the Doodle King, and the player must defeat him at the end of the game. '''Galileo''' A world-famous Doodler who ran away to avoid having to work for the King, leaving his son and foster daughter behind with nothing but their old house. He drew a Doodle named Mono to keep him company while he was away, but died while Mono was young. The cause of his death, as well as whether or not he ever had any intention to come back for Zoey and Taro or fight the King, is unknown. '''King''' The corrupt ruler of the human world, the King forces skilled Duelists to draw for him. Eventually, this angers the Doodle King to the point of taking away all the color on the world. *'''Kiba''' A man who claims he used to be Galileo's close friend. Zoe and Taro both like him at first, but then they find out he is a double agent who works for the King.
The novel takes place in 4034. With the assistance of other species, humans have spread across the galaxy, which is largely ruled by the Mercatoria, a complex feudal hierarchy, with a religious zeal to rid the galaxy of artificial intelligences, which were blamed for a previous war.
The central character is the human Fassin Taak who is a "Slow Seer" at the Court of the Nasqueron Dwellers. The Nasqueron's star system has been cut off from the rest of Mercatoria civilization because their portal (the only means of faster than light travel) was destroyed by the Beyonders. The Beyonders are a large fleet of space marauders who originated from the fringes of the galaxy. The local Mercatoria adherents await the delivery of a wormhole connection from a neighboring system via sub-lightspeed travel.
The Nasqueron Dwellers are an advanced and ancient civilisation of non-humanoids who inhabit gas giants. They lead an almost anarchic existence based on kudos, and inhabit the majority of gas-giant planets in the galaxy. They are the only major species outside the control of the Mercatoria, being rumoured to possess devastating defensive weaponry. Dweller societies try not to get involved with "Quick" species, those with sentient beings who experience life at around the speed human beings experience it. Dwellers are one of the "Slow" species who experience life at a much slower rate. Dweller individuals live for millions of years, and the species has existed for billions of years, long before the foundation of the Mercatoria. Slow Seers like Taak are a dynasty of researchers who attempt to glean information from the Dwellers' vast but disorganised libraries of knowledge. They do it in part by artificially slowing their metabolisms to better communicate with the Dwellers.
Taak is looking forward to a life of quiet scholarship when he is astonished to be drafted into one of the Mercatoria's religio-military orders. It turns out that in a previous research expedition to the Dweller-inhabited gas-giant Nasqueron, Taak inadvertently uncovered a book containing information about the legendary "Dweller List" of coordinates for their own private systems of wormholes. Since Dwellers are sufficiently long-lived to colonise the galaxy at sub-light speed, the very existence of such a network was considered doubtful.
The Dweller List is only a list of star systems. Portals are relatively small and can be anywhere within a system so long as it is a point of low gravitational gradient, such as a Lagrange point. The list is useless without a certain mathematical transform needed to give the exact location of the portals. Taak must go on a further expedition to Nasqueron in order to find the Transform.
The Archimandrite Luseferous is a tyrannical warlord of the Starveling Cult. He is in loose alliance with the Beyonders. He sets out to invade the Ulubis system from the Cluster Epiphany Five Disconnect while also aiming to possess the secrets of the Dweller portals. A Mercatoria counter-attack fleet hurries to defend Ulubis against the Starveling Cult ships and their Beyonder allies. Both fleets are forced to travel at sub light speeds, leaving the inhabitants of the Ulubis system anxiously wondering which will arrive first.
Taak's hunt for the Transform takes him on a journey, partly through the Dweller wormhole network. In a back story, it is revealed that he has been out of sympathy with the Mercatoria for some time, particularly over their treatment of artificial intelligences, and has in fact been a Beyonder agent. It is also revealed that the Dwellers have been harbouring artificial intelligences from Mercatoria persecution.
The Beyonder/Starveling forces arrive and easily overwhelm Ulubis's native defences. They discover to their dismay that the counter-attack force is arriving much sooner than predicted, and is superior. The Beyonder factions despair of locating Taak and the secret in the time available before the recapture of Ulubis, and retreat. The Starvelings under Luseferous remain. He makes a last-ditch attempt to force the Dwellers to yield up Taak, threatening them with antimatter weapons. The Dwellers respond with devastating blows on his fleet. Luseferous flees under Mercatoria pursuit.
Taak returns from his journey with his memory partly erased. He is still able to piece together the secret from the remaining clues: every massive body has a region of zero net gravitational attraction at its exact centre. The Dwellers have hidden wormhole portals in the cores of all their occupied planets, and the Transform was never necessary. It remains unclear whether the Dwellers will give the necessary cooperation in allowing other species access to their network, now that the secret is out.
The novel ends with Taak, having left Ulubis and joined the Beyonders, suggesting to a lifelong friend he has just discovered is an AI, "One day we'll all be free".
Each part of ''Walking on Glass'', apart from the last, is divided into three sections, which appear at first sight to be independent stories. Two of the stories are set in and around Islington in North London, the other is set in the far distant future.
Graham Park is a young man in love with a girl he met at a party, Sara ffitch. Richard Slater is his friend. Bob Stock, a "macho black-leathered never-properly-seen image of Nemesis" seems all that stands in the way of Graham's happiness. Steven Grout is a paranoid roadmender who believes himself to be an admiral from a galactic war imprisoned in the body of an Earthman. He believes he is under constant threat from the Microwave Gun, and reads much science fiction, since "he had long ago realised that if he was going to find any clues to the whereabouts of the Way Out, the location or identity of the Key, there was a good chance he might get some ideas from that type of writing." *Quiss is one of a pair of war criminals (the other is Ajayi) from opposing sides in a galactic war, who are imprisoned in the '''Castle of Bequest''' (also '''Castle Doors''') and forced to play impossible games until they can solve the riddle: ''"What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?"''
Eventually, links between the three storylines become apparent.
Lo Wang is a bodyguard and enforcer for Zilla Enterprises, a powerful conglomerate that controls every major industry in a futuristic Japan. Although he is aware of the unchecked corruption and crime that has resulted from Zilla Enterprises' dominance, Lo Wang is too content with his well-paid position to challenge his employers. This changes when Master Zilla, the company president who desires even more power and wealth, embarks on a plan to conquer Japan using creatures from the "dark side", having formed an alliance with the ancient deities that rule over them. When he discovers this, Lo Wang finds he can no longer stomach Zilla's evil and quits his job. Master Zilla soon realizes the threat that Lo Wang poses and orders the creatures to kill him.
Forced to fight for his life, Lo Wang manages to slaughter dozens of Zilla's minions until he discovers that Zilla also had his old mentor, Master Liep, murdered. Following his mentor's dying words, Lo swears to put an end to Zilla's schemes. The game ends with Lo Wang defeating Master Zilla, who tries and fails to kill him while piloting a massive war mech styled after a samurai. However, Zilla is able to escape, and informs his old bodyguard that they will meet again someday.
In ''Battlespire'' (named so after the training facility for battlemages), the player takes the role of an apprentice who, on the day of his final test, discovers that an army of Daedra led by Mehrunes Dagon has invaded and killed nearly everyone. On top of that, his partner is being held captive by Mehrunes Dagon himself. Over the course of seven levels, the player must travel through various realms of Oblivion to reach Mehrunes Dagon, defeat him and escape back to Tamriel.
The First Doctor (William Hartnell), his granddaughter Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford), and her teachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) arrive on a small island on the planet Marinus where they meet Arbitan (George Coulouris), Keeper of the Conscience of Marinus—a vast computer developed as a justice machine which kept law and order across the entire planet. Arbitan explains that the society of Marinus is in danger, as the Voord, humanoid creatures protected by amphibian-like black rubber wet suits, are seeking to enter the tower to take control of the Conscience. To prevent this, the Conscience requires five keys, and Arbitan coerces the Doctor and his friends to gather them by placing a force field around the TARDIS. As they teleport to the City of Morphoton, Arbitan is stabbed to death by a Voord that has gained access to the tower.
In Morphoton, the crew are impressed by the luxuries of the city; however, Barbara soon realises that they have been hypnotised, and that Morphoton is actually a place of dirt and squalor. The creatures who govern Morphoton order Barbara's death, but Barbara escapes and hides in the city, where she makes contact with the slave girl Sabetha (Katharine Schofield), who has been blamed for Barbara's awakening and sentenced to death. Barbara notices one of the keys around her neck. They escape and destroy the creatures, freeing the subjects of the city. Another slave, Altos (Robin Phillips), remembers that he was also sent by Arbitan, and he and Sabetha join the Doctor and his crew on their quest. While the Doctor continues to the City of Mellennius, the others search in a dangerous screaming jungle. After triggering a trap, Barbara is lost in an ancient temple in the jungle; while Ian remains at the temple to search for the key, Sabetha and Susan continue to the next location.
Ian finds Barbara in the temple, where they discover an aged scientist, Darrius (Edmund Warwick), who reveals the location of the next key before dying; Ian and Barbara retrieve the key and teleport to an icy wasteland. They meet the duplicitous trapper Vasor (Francis de Wolff), who steals their keys. Ian and Altos confront Vasor and force him to take them to the ice caves, where they find Sabetha and Susan with mechanised Ice Soldiers, and discover the next key frozen in a block of ice. As they flee, Vasor takes Susan hostage, but an Ice Soldier kills him and the group escapes. At the next location, Ian is accused of the murder of Eprin (Dougie Dean), a friend of Altos. At Ian's trial, the Doctor returns and postpones the trial while he gathers evidence. Susan is kidnapped as a hostage to persuade the Doctor to stop investigating. The kidnapper has persuaded the judges to find Ian guilty; however, Susan is found bound and gagged, and the plot is uncovered. The Doctor finds the final key, hidden in the murder weapon, and Ian is freed.
The travellers return to Arbitan's island, where Altos and Sabetha have been held prisoner by Yartek (Stephen Dartnell)—Arbitan's killer—and the four keys have been seized. The Doctor frees Altos and Sabetha and unmasks the Voord. Ian gives Yartek a false key found in the screaming jungle; when Yartek places the key in the Conscience, the machine explodes and he is killed along with the occupying Voord. The Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara flee the tower with Altos and Sabetha before the growing blaze overtakes the ancient structure.
While attending a fund-raising gala, Sarah Jordan (Angelina Jolie), a naive, married American socialite living in England, witnesses a fiery plea delivered by an intruder – a renegade humanitarian, Dr. Nick Callahan (Clive Owen). His plea made on behalf of impoverished children under his care turns Sarah's life upside down. Attracted to Nick and his cause, she impulsively abandons her job at an art gallery and sheltered life in England to do what she can to aid his efforts at the refugee camps. She travels to Ethiopia bringing with her a caravan of essential medical supplies to the impossibly remote camp, where she finds Nick and his closest colleague, Dr Elliott Hauser (Noah Emmerich).
As Sarah's work based in England takes her to other volatile areas, where few people have traveled and even fewer have survived, she discovers that the harsh realities she encounters, and her persistent romantic attraction to the charismatic, unpredictable doctor, ignite in her a burning passion for saving lives, while risking her own in the process. She works for humanitarian and human rights organizations for ten years after she first travels to Ethiopia. At Dr Hauser's urging, she helps with another key shipment blocked by warring factions and corruption, and again finds Nick, now in the border region of Cambodia and Vietnam. Here she discovers the same nexus of war and refugee suffering but even more tightly bound than in Ethiopia. Khmer Rouge forces terrorize the camp, and Dr. Hauser is killed in a successful effort to free the camp from their grip. Upon her return to London, she gives birth to Nick's daughter, and eventually is appointed the regional representative for the United Kingdom for the U.N.H.C.R.
At the same time, Nick now finds himself inevitably caught up on the humanitarian crisis in Chechnya, and goes missing. Sarah realizes she must find him a third time and tell him he is a father, and that she can never forget him. As they desperately escape his captors, she defiantly refuses to abandon him and dies in a landmine which Nick survives. The film ends with Nick arriving at Sarah and Henry's home in England to first meet his young daughter.
In 2500, as a result of the sea levels rising over , every continent on Earth is now underwater. The remains of human civilization live on rugged, floating communities known as atolls, having long forgotten about living on land. It is believed that a mythological "Dryland" exists somewhere in the endless ocean.
The Mariner, a lone drifter, arrives at an atoll on his trimaran to trade dirt, a rare commodity, for other supplies. When the atoll's residents see that the Mariner is a mutant, with gills and webbed feet, they decide to "recycle" him by drowning him in a pit of organic sludge. Suddenly, the atoll is attacked by the Smokers, a gang of pirates seeking a girl named Enola. According to their leader, the Deacon, Enola has a map to Dryland tattooed on her back. Enola's guardian Helen attempts to escape with Enola on a gas balloon dirigible created by Gregor, an inventor, but the balloon is released early by mistake. Helen quickly frees the Mariner and insists that he take the two of them with him.
The three escape to the open sea aboard the trimaran, pursued by the Smokers. Helen's escape results in damage to the Mariner's boat, and he angrily refuses to take her to Dryland. He then cuts her hair and then Enola's and decides to take them anyway. During their quest to find Dryland, many other events happen to the crew, such as a drifter approaching them and being killed by the Mariner after a trade, coming across a trap by the Smokers, finding a large mutated shark, and discovering Enola's drawings of various Dryland objects that the Mariner recognizes from ''National Geographic'' magazines. Later, Helen explains that she believes humans once lived on land and demands to know where the Mariner collected his dirt. He provides her with a homemade diving bell and takes her to view the underwater remains of Denver, Colorado and the soil on the ocean's floor, affirming Helen's belief. When they surface, they find that the Smokers have caught up to them, threatening to kill them if they do not hand over Enola, who is hiding aboard the boat. The Smokers abduct Enola and try to kill Helen and the Mariner. The Mariner takes Helen, and they dive underwater to avoid capture, with the Mariner's gills helping Helen breathe. When they surface, they find that his boat has been destroyed. Gregor manages to find them and he takes them to a new makeshift atoll inhabited by the survivors of the first attack using his gas balloon dirigible.
The Mariner takes a captured Smoker's jet ski to chase down the Deacon aboard the remains of the ''Exxon Valdez''. The Deacon sends the crew to start rowing the "Deez" after announcing that he has decoded the map on Enola's back. With most of the Smokers below deck to row the tanker, the Mariner confronts the Deacon, threatening to ignite the oil reserves in the tanker unless he returns Enola. The Deacon calls the Mariner's bluff, knowing that it would destroy the ship, but to his surprise, the Mariner drops a flare into the oil reservoir. The ship gets engulfed in flames, and begins to sink. The Mariner rescues Enola and escapes via a rope from Gregor's balloon with Helen and the Atoll Enforcer aboard. As the Mariner brings Enola to Helen, the Deacon grabs the rope to escape the sinking ship. He is kicked off into the water but climbs aboard a jet ski. He fires upon the balloon, shaking Enola from the balloon and into the ocean. As the Deacon and some of his men converge on Enola to capture her, the Mariner makes an impromptu bungee jump from the balloon to grab Enola right before the Deacon and his men collide on their jet-skis and die in an explosion.
Sometime later, Gregor was able to identify the tattoo on Enola's back as coordinates with reversed directions. Following the map, Gregor, the Mariner, the Atoll Enforcer, Helen, and Enola discover Dryland, which is the top of Mount Everest, covered with vegetation and wildlife. They also find a crude hut with the remains of Enola's parents. The Mariner, feeling that he does not belong on Dryland, builds a new wooden trimaran and departs, as Helen and Enola bid him farewell.
In 1982, Taeko Okajima is 27 years old, unmarried, has lived her whole life in Tokyo and now works at a company there. She decides to take another trip to visit the family of her elder sister's in-laws in the rural countryside to help with the safflower harvest and get away from city life. While traveling at night on a sleeper train to Yamagata, she begins to recall memories of herself as a schoolgirl in 1966, and her intense desire to go on holiday like her classmates, all of whom have family outside of the big city.
At the arrival train station, she is surprised to find out that her brother-in-law's second cousin Toshio, whom she barely knows, is the one who came to pick her up. During her stay in Yamagata, she finds herself increasingly nostalgic and wistful for her childhood self, while simultaneously wrestling with adult issues of career and love. The trip dredges up forgotten memories (not all of them good ones)—the first stirrings of childish romance, puberty and growing up, the frustrations of math and boys. In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko wonders if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self. In doing so, she begins to realize that Toshio has helped her along the way. Finally, Taeko faces her own true self, how she views the world and the people around her. Taeko chooses to stay in the countryside instead of returning to Tokyo. It is implied that she and Toshio begin a relationship.
As the tension of the Cold War is peaking in 1973, George Smiley, former senior official in Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (known as "the Circus" because its London office is at Cambridge Circus), is living unhappily in forced retirement, following the failure of an operation codenamed Testify in Czechoslovakia which ended in the capture and torture of agent Jim Prideaux. Control, chief of the Circus, had suspected that one of the five senior intelligence officers at the Circus was a Soviet mole, and had assigned them code names for Prideaux to relay back to the Circus, derived from the English children's rhyme "Tinker, Tailor":
The failure resulted in the dismissal of Control, Smiley, and allies such as Connie Sachs and Gerald Westerby, and their replacement by a new guard consisting of Percy Alleline, Toby Esterhase, Bill Haydon, and Roy Bland. Control has since died, and Smiley's former protege, Peter Guillam, has been demoted to the "scalphunters".Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggarman, thief.
Guillam unexpectedly approaches Smiley and takes him to the house of Under-Secretary Oliver Lacon, the Civil Servant who oversees the Circus. There they meet Ricki Tarr, an agent recently declared ''persona non grata'' due to suspicion of having defected. Tarr defends himself by explaining that he was informed of a Soviet mole, codenamed Gerald, at the Circus' highest level whilst in Hong Kong by Irina, the wife of a trade delegate. Irina claimed that the mole Gerald reports to a Soviet official stationed at the embassy in London called Polyakov. Shortly after Tarr relayed this to the Circus Irina was forcibly returned to the Soviet Union, leading Tarr to suspect that the mole was real, and now knew his identity. Tarr went into hiding, resurfacing to contact Guillam.
Lacon reasons that Smiley and Guillam cannot be the mole due to their dismissal and demotion, and requests that Smiley investigate the presence of the mole in total secrecy to avoid another PR scandal for both the Government and the Circus. Smiley cautiously agrees, and forms a team consisting of himself, Guillam, Tarr, and retired Scotland Yard Inspector Mendel. Smiley is also given access to Circus documents, and begins by examining Alleline's restructuring, discovering the ousting of Jerry Westerby and Connie Sachs, as well as slush fund payments to Jim Prideaux.
Smiley visits Sachs, discovering that she confronted Alleline about her discovery that Polyakov was actually a Soviet Colonel called Gregor Viktorov, but he ordered her to drop the subject. She also mentions rumours of a secret Soviet facility for training moles, and makes allusions to Prideaux and Bill Haydon's relationship being more than just platonic friendship.
Smiley examines Operation Witchcraft, an operation in which Soviet intelligence was obtained through a key source "Merlin", which was treated with suspicion by both Smiley and Control. Alleline obtained ministerial support to circumvent Control's authority, and his post-Testify promotion supporters Haydon, Esterhase, and Bland have sponsored it. Smiley also learns that this 'Magic Circle' has obtained a safe house somewhere in London where they obtain information from a Merlin emissary posted in London under a diplomatic cover, whom Smiley concludes is Polyakov himself.
Smiley suspects that the Circus does not realise the flow of information is going the other way, with the mole Gerald passing important British secrets ("gold dust") in return for low-grade Soviet material ("chicken feed"), which would make "Witchcraft" simply a cover for the mole.
Smiley also discovers that the log from the night Tarr reported in from Hong Kong has been removed, and Guillam starts to suffer from paranoia as a result of their operation. Smiley tells Guillam that he suspects a Soviet intelligence officer named Karla is linked in some way to the operation, and reveals what he knows about him. Karla is believed to have followed his father into espionage, getting his start during the Spanish Civil War posing as a White Russian émigré in the forces of General Francisco Franco, recruiting foreign, mainly German, operatives. After this, the Circus lost track of Karla, but he resurfaced during Operation Barbarossa, directing partisan operations behind German lines. Smiley explains his belief that somewhere in the gap between these two conflicts, Karla travelled to England and recruited Gerald.
Smiley points out that Karla is fiercely loyal to both the Soviet Union and communism, highlighting Karla's current rank despite his internment in a gulag by the Stalinist regime, and reveals that Karla turned down an offer from Smiley in India to defect, even though his return to the USSR in 1955 was to face a likely execution. During his attempt to obtain Karla's defection, Smiley plied him to defect with cigarettes and promises that they could get Karla's family out to the West safely. Smiley suspects that this only revealed his own weakness, his love for his unfaithful wife, Ann. Smiley offered Karla his lighter, a present from Ann, to light a cigarette, but Karla rose and left with it.
Smiley suspects a link between Merlin and the botched Operation Testify. Sam Collins, who was duty officer that night, tells Smiley that Control ordered him to relay the report of the Czech operation only to him, but that when he did so, Control froze up, and that Bill Haydon's sudden arrival was the only reason the hierarchy didn't fall apart that night. Smiley then visits Max, a Czech operative who served as a legman for Jim on the operation, who tells Smiley that Prideaux gave him instructions to leave Czechoslovakia any way he could if Jim didn't surface at the rendezvous at the appointed time. Next, Smiley pays a visit to Jerry Westerby, who tells Smiley of his trip to Prague where he picked up a story about Jim by a young army conscript, who insisted that the Russians were in the woods waiting a full day before the ambush.
Finally, Smiley tracks down Prideaux. Prideaux tells him Control believed there was a mole in the Circus, and had whittled it down to five men, Alleline (Tinker), Haydon (Tailor), Bland (Soldier), Esterhase (Poorman), and Smiley himself (Beggarman), and that his orders were to obtain the identity from a defector in Czech intelligence who knew. He tells Smiley he almost didn't make the rendezvous with Max because he noticed he was being tailed, and that when he arrived to meet the defector, he was ambushed, taking two bullets to his right shoulder. During his captivity, both Polyakov and Karla interrogated him, focussing solely on the extent and status of Control's investigation. Prideaux suggests that the Czech defector was a plant, contrived by Karla to engineer Control's downfall through Testify's failure, all conceived to protect the mole.
Smiley confronts Toby Esterhase, stating that he is aware that Esterhase has been posing as a Russian mole, with Polyakov as his handler, in order to provide cover for Merlin's emissary Polyakov. Smiley compels Esterhase into revealing the location of the safe house, through making him realise that not only is there a real Soviet mole embedded in the SIS, but also that Polyakov has not been "turned" to work in British interest pretending to run the "mole" Esterhase, and in fact remains Karla's agent. Tarr is sent to Paris, where he passes a coded message to Alleline about "information crucial to the well-being of the Service". This triggers an emergency meeting between Gerald and Polyakov at the safe house, where Smiley and Guillam are lying in wait.
Haydon is revealed to be the mole, and his interrogation reveals that he had been recruited several decades ago by Karla and became a full-fledged Soviet spy partly for political reasons, partly in frustration at Britain's rapidly declining influence on the world stage, particularly on account of the failings at Suez. He is expected to be exchanged with the Soviet Union for several of the agents he betrayed, but is killed shortly before he is due to leave England. Although the identity of his killer is not explicitly revealed, it is strongly implied to be Prideaux, due to the method of execution echoing the way he euthanises an injured owl earlier in the book. Smiley is appointed temporary head of the Circus to deal with the fallout, and is still head at the start of the second book of ''The Karla Trilogy'', ''The Honourable Schoolboy''.
The game starts in Washington, D.C., where President Ronnie (based on the U.S. President Ronald Reagan) has been abducted by the evil Dragon Ninja. The game's intro begins with the following introduction: "Rampant ninja related crimes these days ... Whitehouse is not the exception". A Secret Service agent speaks to the titular "Bad Dudes", two street-smart brawlers named Blade and Striker: "President Ronnie has been kidnapped by the ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue Ronnie?" The Bad Dudes pursue the Dragon Ninja through the New York City streets, onto a moving big rig truck, through a large storm sewer, through a forest, onto a freight train on an old Southern Pacific line (where the titular character of another Data East arcade game, ''Chelnov'', can be seen being transported in a frozen container in the arcade version), through a cave, and into an underground factory in order to save President Ronnie.''Bad Dudes'' NES instruction manual
The Japanese and English language versions' endings of the game differ. In the English version, after the Bad Dudes defeat the Dragon Ninja, they celebrate by eating hamburgers with President Ronnie. At the very end, President Ronnie is seen holding a burger while standing between the Bad Dudes. Behind them are many security guards, with the White House in the background. In the Japanese version, President Ronnie gives the Bad Dudes a statue of them, as a reward. The Bad Dudes are seen leaning against a fence on a sidewalk next to their statue. Unlike the ending of the international version, the Japanese version's ending shows a list of nearly every enemy in the game with their names (except the unnamed green ninja boss that multiplies himself,Closing credits of the arcade version of ''Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja''. named Kamui in Japanese magazine coverage at the time), while some faces appear next to the names of the game's staff. The background music played in both versions' endings is also completely different.
Kathie Rauch from Milwaukee, Wisconsin sends a letter to the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., claiming the ''Hindenburg'' zeppelin will explode after flying over New York City. In the meantime, Luftwaffe Colonel Franz Ritter boards with the intention of protecting the ''Hindenburg'' as various threats have been made to down the airship, which some see as a symbol of Nazi Germany.
Ritter is assisted by a Nazi government official, SS/Gestapo Hauptsturmführer Martin Vogel, who poses as an "official photographer" of the ''Hindenburg''. However, both operate independently in investigating the background of all passengers and crew on the voyage. Ritter has reason to suspect everyone, even his old friend, Countess Ursula von Reugen, whose Baltic estate in Peenemünde had been taken over by the Nazis and appears to be escaping Germany to visit her daughter in Boston.
Other prime suspects include card sharps Emilio Pajetta and Major Napier, Edward Douglas, a suspicious German-American ad executive, as well as several crew members and even the ''Hindenburg'' captains Pruss and Lehmann. Many possible clues turn out to be red herrings, such as Joe Spah sketching the ship's interior as an idea for a Vaudeville show and mysterious names which later turned out to be the name of race horses two of the passengers are making bets on. Two other code names, for carnivorous air and sea animals, turn out to refer to the Hindenburg itself and the ''Queen Mary'', where Douglas's competitor is in a race to beat him to port to secure a business deal in New York.
As the ''Hindenburg'' makes its way to Lakehurst Naval Air Station, events conspire against Ritter and Vogel. They soon suspect the rigger Karl Boerth, a former Hitler Youth leader who has become disillusioned with the Nazis. Ritter attempts to arrest him but he resists and requests help from Ritter, who sympathizes with him because Ritter's son was killed in an accident the previous year while in the Hitler Youth. Ritter later receives news that Boerth's girlfriend, Freda Halle, was killed while trying to escape the Gestapo, who had arrested her for questioning after she was seen asking too many pointed questions about the ship's exact position and arrival time at Lakehurst. Boerth, upon hearing the news of Halle's death, plans to commit suicide by staying aboard the airship as the bomb goes off, to show that there is a resistance against the Nazi regime. Ritter reluctantly agrees with Boerth to set the bomb to 7:30, when the airship should have landed and passengers disembarked, saying an explosion in flight is the "last thing he wants".
While setting up the bomb, Boerth drops the knife part which is recovered by a crew member. To cover up the loss of his knife, Boerth steals a knife from fellow rigger Ludwig Knorr. Vogel starts to work behind Ritter's back, arresting Boerth and confiscating the Countess's passport.
As the airship approaches Lakehurst Naval Air Station, Ritter now realizes the landing will be delayed and searches for Boerth to ask where the bomb is. Vogel is caught by Ritter in the cargo bay torturing Boerth and gets into a fight with Ritter and is knocked unconscious. An injured Boerth tells Ritter the bomb is in the repair patch of gas cell 4. Ritter attempts to defuse the bomb, but is distracted by a now-awakened Vogel and is unable to do so in time. The bomb explodes, killing Ritter instantly and sending Vogel flying down the walkway. Vogel survives, being carried by ground crewmen. Boerth was injured from being tortured by Vogel and dies of his burns, but manages to set the Channings' dog free before the ship crashes to the ground. Other passengers and crew are seen struggling to survive the fire. The Countess survives and is reunited with her daughter.
The following day, while we see newsreel footage of the wreckage, a narrator lists some of the survivors and casualties of the disaster, as well as some of the possible theories. The wreckage is examined for the inquiry before being cleaned up. As Herbert Morrison's memorable radio commentary is played, the ''Hindenburg'' is seen flying once again, only to disappear again in the clouds as the credits roll.
The series adapts the mythology that Baum had created in the original children's books and updates it with the intention of appealing to a more adult audience.
''Oz Squad'' s first issue featured Tik-Tok's becoming insane and violent after his "internal clockwork morality spring" runs down during a visit to Earth (it would run down more rarely in Oz, where decisions are more "black and white"). Later issues featured an assault on the hideout of Rebecca Eastwitch (the Wicked Witch of the East) at Castle Munchausen, and a series of time travel adventures in which the Scarecrow met Leonardo da Vinci and Joan of Arc, Dorothy found herself in the American Old West, and Nick met himself while still a human. The series ended with Dorothy Gale revealing that she is pregnant to Princess Ozma.
In the 2011 ''Oz Squad: March of the Tin Soldiers'', the Squad is in conflict with Rebecca Eastwitch and introduces Ozzy, Dorothy and Ozma's son.
The series provoked a strong negative response from many fans of Baum's Oz. Pittsburg State University English professor Steven J. Teller reviewed it for ''The Baum Bugle'' and considered it worthless and disgusting.
When the series was reprinted, the ''Bugle'' was much kinder to it, and referred to Teller's review, suggesting that with the Oz books so recently having fallen into the public domain, there was little else like it, but post-''Wicked'', it seems groundbreaking and not nearly as outrageous as it did at the time.
Sambo is a South Indian boy who lives with his father and mother, named Black Jumbo and Black Mumbo, respectively. While out walking, Sambo encounters four hungry tigers, and he surrenders his colourful new clothes, shoes and umbrella so that they will not eat him. The tigers are vain and each thinks that it is better dressed than the others. They have a massive argument and chase each other around a tree until they are reduced to a pool of ghee (clarified butter). Sambo recovers his clothes and goes home, and his father later collects the ghee, which his mother uses to make pancakes.
Half a century after the end of the second ''X-COM'' campaign, the last battle of T'leth has severely damaged Earth's biosphere. As a result, several self-contained Megalopolis-type cities were proposed to provide habitation for humanity. The game follows Mega-Primus, the first of these cities, built over the ruins of Toronto, Canada. Meanwhile, the off-world colony of Mars is exploited by the Elerium mining corporation, Solmine, and oppressed by MarSec (MARs SECurity).
The alien threat in the game is presented by a new race of organic, extradimensional aliens that initially seem to have no relation to the aliens of the previous two games, though later missions set in the aliens' home dimension reveal they have enslaved Sectoid survivors. These new aliens attack the city through tetrahedron-shaped teleport gates. The player must find out how to send their own aircraft, along with X-COM agents, through these gates without being destroyed and take the war to the aliens. ''Apocalypse'' has 14 races of alien beings including Anthropods, Brainsuckers, Hyperworms, Megaspawns, and Micronoids. Each race has various strengths and weaknesses, and some races are dependent on other races. The "alien life cycle" plays a crucial role in the game.
The player is exposed to this "alien life cycle" through research and more importantly the lower level alien attacks during specimen gathering combat. Primarily the attack of the weaponized alien the Brain-Sucker which attacks individuals after landing from a pod launcher used by alien foot soldiers. The Brain-Sucker hatches and attacks the nearest individual by jumping on their head and seemingly injecting something into them through the mouth and dying immediately after the attempt.
The life cycle later takes a mysterious turn as it shows no connection between the lower alien forms and higher alien forms. Eventually, however, it is found that the leaders of the invasion are the Micronoids, a race of sapient, single-celled organisms that live in the bloodstreams of the other aliens. The ultimate goal of the invasion is to inject Micronoids into the bloodstreams of important figures, allowing them to control Mega-Primus through psionic domination of their hosts. The player is eventually tasked with invading the aliens' homeworld and destroying their side of the gate to stop the Micronoid infestation.
''Terror from the Deep'' is set in 2040, four decades after the events of ''UFO Defense''. Following the destruction of the alien Brain on Cydonia, a transmitter remained active there which awakened a group of aliens under the Earth's seas who had lain dormant for millions of years. After awakening, the aliens proceed to terrorize seagoing vessels and port cities, kidnapping humans to perform bizarre genetic experiments on them. X-COM, which had been disbanded after the first alien war, is revived by the Earth's governments to fight this new menace as the aliens' ultimate goal is to reawaken their supreme leader, a being that cannot be stopped once revived.
Eventually, it is revealed the aquatic aliens, cousins of the Sectoids from ''UFO Defense'', came to Earth on a massive spacecraft, known as T'Leth, that crashed into what is now the Gulf of Mexico 65 million years ago, causing the extinction of the dinosaurs. Destruction of T'Leth by the player results in victory but also accidentally results in another worldwide environmental cataclysm, destroying the ecosystem of Earth and setting the stage for the third game in the series, ''X-COM: Apocalypse''.
Mongol chief Temujin (later to be known as Genghis Khan) falls for Bortai, the daughter of the Tatars' leader, and steals her away, precipitating war. Bortai spurns Temujin and is taken back in a raid. Temujin is later captured. Bortai falls in love with him and helps him escape. Temujin suspects he was betrayed by a fellow Mongol and sets out to find the traitor and overcome the Tatars.
Edward Prendick is an Englishman with a scientific education who survives a shipwreck in the southern Pacific Ocean. A passing ship called Ipecacuanha takes him aboard and a man named Montgomery revives him. Prendick also meets a grotesque bestial native named M'ling who appears to be Montgomery's manservant. The ship is transporting a number of animals which belong to Montgomery. As they approach the island which is Montgomery's destination, the captain demands Prendick leave the ship with Montgomery. Montgomery explains that he will not be able to host Prendick on the island. Despite this, the captain leaves Prendick in a dinghy and sails away. Seeing that the captain has abandoned Prendick, Montgomery takes pity and rescues him. As ships rarely pass the island, Prendick will be housed in an outer room of an enclosed compound.
The island belongs to Dr. Moreau. Prendick remembers that he has heard of Moreau, formerly an eminent physiologist in London whose gruesome experiments in vivisection had been publicly exposed, and who fled England as a result of his exposure.
The next day, Moreau begins working on a puma. Prendick gathers that Moreau is performing a painful experiment on the animal and its anguished cries drive Prendick out into the jungle. While he wanders, he comes upon a group of people who seem human but have an unmistakable resemblance to swine. As he walks back to the enclosure, he suddenly realises he is being followed by a figure in the jungle. He panics and flees, and the figure gives chase. As his pursuer bears down on him, Prendick manages to stun him with a stone and observes that the pursuer is a monstrous hybrid of animal and man. When Prendick returns to the enclosure and questions Montgomery, Montgomery refuses to be open with him. After failing to get an explanation, Prendick finally gives in and takes a sleeping draught.
Prendick awakes the next morning with the previous night's activities fresh in his mind. Seeing that the door to Moreau's operating room has been left unlocked, he walks in to find a humanoid form lying in bandages on the table before he is ejected by a shocked and angry Moreau. He believes that Moreau has been vivisecting humans and that he is the next test subject. He flees into the jungle where he meets an Ape-Man who takes him to a colony of similarly half-human/half-animal creatures. Their leader is a large grey unspecified creature named the Sayer of the Law who has him recite a strange litany called the Law that involves prohibitions against bestial behavior and praise for Moreau.
Suddenly, Dr. Moreau bursts into the colony looking for Prendick, but Prendick escapes to the jungle. He makes for the ocean where he plans to drown himself rather than allow Moreau to experiment on him. Moreau explains that the creatures called the Beast Folk were not formerly men, but rather animals. Prendick returns to the enclosure where Moreau explains that he has been on the island for eleven years and has been striving to make a complete transformation of an animal to a human. He explains that while he is getting closer to perfection, his subjects have a habit of reverting to their animal form and behaviour. Moreau regards the pain he inflicts as insignificant and an unavoidable side effect in the name of his scientific experiments. He also states that pain is an animalistic instinct that one who is truly human cannot have, cutting his thigh with a penknife with no apparent reaction, to further prove his point.
One day, Prendick and Montgomery encounter a half-eaten rabbit. Since eating flesh and tasting blood are strong prohibitions, Dr. Moreau calls an assembly of the Beast Folk and identifies the Leopard-Man (the same one that chased Prendick the first time he wandered into the jungle) as the transgressor. Knowing that he will be sent back to Dr. Moreau's compound for more painful sessions of vivisection, the Leopard-Man flees. Eventually, the group corners him in some undergrowth, but Prendick takes pity and shoots him to spare him from further suffering. Prendick also believes that although the Leopard-Man was seen breaking several laws, such as drinking water bent down like an animal, chasing men (Prendick), and running on all fours, the Leopard-Man was not solely responsible for the deaths of the rabbits. It was also the Hyena-Swine, the next most dangerous Beast Man on the island. Dr. Moreau is furious that Prendick killed the Leopard-Man but can do nothing about the situation.
As time passes, Prendick becomes inured to the grotesqueness of the Beast Folk. However one day, the half-finished puma woman rips free of her restraints and escapes from the lab. Dr. Moreau pursues her, but the two end up fighting each other, leading to their mutual deaths. Montgomery breaks down and decides to share his alcohol with the Beast Folk. Prendick resolves to leave the island, but later hears a commotion outside in which Montgomery, his servant M'ling, and the Sayer of the Law die after a scuffle with the Beast Folk. At the same time, the compound burns down because Prendick has knocked over a lamp. With no chance of saving any of the provisions stored in the enclosure, Prendick realizes that Montgomery has also destroyed the only boats on the island during the night.
Prendick lives with the Beast Folk on the island for months after the deaths of Moreau and Montgomery. As the time goes by, the Beast Folk increasingly revert to their original animal instincts, beginning to hunt the island's rabbits, returning to walking on all fours, and leaving their shared living areas for the wild. They cease to follow Prendick's instructions. Eventually the Hyena-Swine kills Prendick's faithful companion, the Dog-Man created from a St. Bernard. With help from the Sloth Creature, Prendick shoots the Hyena-Swine in self-defence.
Prendick's efforts to build a raft have been unsuccessful. Luckily for him, a lifeboat that carries two corpses drifts onto the beach (perhaps the captain of the ship that picked Prendick up and a sailor). Prendick uses the boat to leave the island and is picked up three days later. When he tells his story, he is thought to be mad. So he feigns amnesia.
Upon his return to England, Prendick is no longer comfortable in the presence of humans, all of whom seem to him to be about to revert to an animal state. He leaves London and lives in near-solitude in the countryside, devoting himself to chemistry and astronomy in the studies of which he finds some peace.
In 1996, following the defeat of SpaceGodzilla, Miki Saegusa of the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center (UNGCC) travels to Birth Island to monitor Godzilla and Little Godzilla, only to find the entire island destroyed and both monsters missing. Godzilla, now covered in lava-like rashes, subsequently appears in Hong Kong and destroys great swathes of the city with an empowered version of his atomic breath. The JSDF hires college student Kenkichi Yamane to unravel the mystery of Godzilla's condition. Yamane, a grandson of the same Dr. Kyohei Yamane who had encountered the first Godzilla, suspects that Godzilla's heart, which acts as a nuclear reactor, is undergoing a nuclear meltdown as a result of the monster absorbing the energy released from a volcanically triggered uranium deposit on Birth Island. Yamane theorizes that when Godzilla's temperature reaches 1,200 °C, he will explode with enough energy to ignite Earth's atmosphere and reduce the planet's surface to ash.
The JSDF deploys the Super X III, an aerial combat vehicle outfitted with ultra-low temperature lasers, in an attempt to reverse Godzilla's self-destruction. While Godzilla's meltdown is not stopped, it is halted long enough to temporarily render Godzilla unconscious. Meanwhile, a colony of Precambrian organisms mutated by the Oxygen Destroyer used to defeat the original Godzilla are awoken during the construction of the Tokyo Bay Aqua Line. The creatures combine into several man-sized crab-like creatures and engage the JSDF in several deadly skirmishes. The creatures, dubbed "Destoroyah", are revealed to be vulnerable to subzero temperatures, and are temporarily held at bay with low-temperature lasers. The creatures respond to the threat by merging into a larger Aggregate form which destroys the lasers and takes to the skies in its Flying form.
Godzilla awakens, his condition having worsened to the point that his meltdown could potentially destroy the planet through a China syndrome-like incident. Miki locates Little Godzilla - renamed Godzilla Junior on account of his increased size - and telepathically lures him to Tokyo, hoping that Godzilla will follow and be killed by Destoroyah. Junior arrives and battles Destoroyah's Aggregate form, who absorbs his DNA before being seemingly defeated. Godzilla arrives at Haneda Airport and reunites with Godzilla Junior, only for Destoroyah, bolstered by Junior's DNA, to reappear in its final, Perfect form. Destoroyah kills Junior by dropping him onto Ariake Coliseum and blasting it with his Micro-Oxygen beam. Godzilla manages to drive off his adversary and unsuccessfully attempts to revive Junior.
Godzilla's bereavement accelerates his meltdown, which is further worsened by a second attack by Destoroyah. In the ensuing battle, Godzilla loses control over his radioactivity and gravely wounds Destoroyah with a further empowered heat ray. Destoroyah tries to retreat, but the JSDF fires its low-temperature lasers at its wings, causing it to plummet onto the superheated ground and dissipate.
Godzilla succumbs to the meltdown, but the JSDF is able to minimize the damage with it freezer weapons. While successful in preventing Earth's destruction, the JSDF is unable to prevent the resulting nuclear fallout from rendering Tokyo uninhabitable. Suddenly, the radiation levels plummet and Godzilla Junior is revealed to have absorbed his father's radiation and grown into an adult.
Mr Harding, Warden of Hiram’s Hospital, is accused of dishonestly allocating hospital finances. However the accuser, John Bold, is actually in love with Mr Harding’s daughter, Eleanor. Nevertheless, John takes the matter to the press, subjecting Mr Harding to public incrimination. Mr Harding is supported by his son-in-law, Archdeacon Grantly, who insists he maintain his innocence. Finally, following an ultimatum from Eleanor, John drops the case and apologises. Eleanor and John get married and Mr Harding resigns as Warden of Hiram to become Rector of St. Cuthberts.
Following the death of Bishop Grantly, Dr Proudie is appointed as the new bishop, defeating rival candidate and son of the former bishop, Archdeacon Grantly. Dr Proudie (now Bishop Proudie) is supported by his imperious wife, Mrs Proudie and the Chaplain, Mr Slope, all of whom want to steer the church away from traditional values. To fill the position of Warden at Hiram's Hospital, Mrs Proudie insists Mr Slope backs Mr Quiverful for the role. However, Mr Slope is infatuated with widow Eleanor Bold, and instead, secretly supports the reappointment of her father Mr Harding, alongside the Archdeacon and Mr Arabin. Mr Slope eventually proposes to Eleanor, and in doing so, exposes his dealings with both sides. In the end, he is ostracised by the community, while Mr Arabin marries Eleanor and Mr Quiverful is appointed Warden of Hiram.
After the Greshamsbury estate suffers a significant loss in value, Frank Gresham, heir to the Greshamsbury estate, is being pressed by his family to marry a woman of wealth, such as Miss Dunstable. However, Frank is in love with Mary Thorne, niece of the Gresham’s family physician, Doctor Thorne. While Mary appears to have no fortune, she is actually the illegitimate niece of the millionaire Sir Roger Scatcherd, a fact known only to Doctor Thorne. Following the death of Roger and his son Louis, Mary, being the eldest niece, receives Roger’s inheritance. Despite having already consented to their marriage, Frank’s family are far more welcoming of Mary after hearing she now has the wealth to restore the estate's fortune.
In an attempt to make connections with high society, young vicar Mark Robarts foolishly guarantees a loan to the corrupt MP, Nate Sowerby. With Mr Sowerby not repaying the loan, Mark’s friend Lord Lufton eventually steps in and saves his friend from financial disaster. All the while, Mark’s sister Lucy moves to Framley and falls in love with Lord Lufton. However, Lucy rejects Lord Lufton’s proposal, knowing that his mother, Lady Lufton, refuses to accept women of her status. Lady Lufton is adamant her son marry Griselda Grantly, daughter of the Archdeacon. However in the end, Lady Lufton abandons her pretentious desires, and asks Lucy to accept her son’s proposal, particularly after witnessing Lucy selflessly care for Mrs Crawley. Meanwhile, Mrs Proudie reappears and reignites a feud with the Archdeacon and his wife, Mrs Grantly. Another subplot features the marriage of Doctor Thorne and the wealthy Miss Dunstable, who was initially the choice of Frank Gresham’s family.
Sisters Bell and Lily Dale live with their widowed mother in the Small House of Allington. The squire, Christopher Dale, wants Bell to marry his nephew Bernard, who is heir to the estate. Bernard introduces Lily Dale to Adolphus Crosbie, who later proposes to her. However upon learning Lily Dale is not entitled to any significant inheritance, Crosbie also proposes to Lady Alexandria of the prominent de Courcy family, leaving Lily Dale heartbroken. Upon hearing this, Johnny Eames, lifelong admirer of Lily Dale, beats up Crosbie in an act of which promotes him to local hero. Yet despite his devotion, Lily Dale, still emotionally devastated, rejects his proposal and chooses instead to live with her mother. In the end, Bell marries a local doctor. Crosbie and Lady Alexandria marry, but their life is unhappy, and they decide to separate.
The main storyline follows Rev. Josiah Crawley, introduced in Framley Parsonage, who is ostracised by the community after being wrongly accused of stealing money. Meanwhile, Major Grantly, son of the Archdeacon, falls for daughter of the disgraced Reverend, Grace Crawely. The Archdeacon, initially objecting to the marriage, eventually consents after Mr Crawley’s innocence is confirmed. John Eames continues an unsuccessful pursuit for Lily Dale, while the beloved Warden, Mr Harding, dies of old age. Mrs Proudie also reappears, and demands her husband, Bishop Proudie, ban Mr Crawley from holding services. However, being a proud man, Mr Crawely refuses to comply, before Mrs Proudie dies of a heart attack.
The game opens in the Kingdom of Guardiana, in the land of Rune. The protagonist, Max, is sent on a mission to prevent the evil Kane, who commands the hordes of Runefaust, from opening the Shining Path and resurrecting Dark Dragon. Along the way, Max recruits a number of allies to join the Shining Force. They eventually find that both Kane and King Ramladu are under the control of the manipulative Darksol. Darksol ultimately succeeds in reviving Dark Dragon, but Max seals the creature away using the power of the Chaos Breaker, a sword created by merging a sword of light with Kane's sword of darkness.[http://www.shiningforcecentral.com/?p=scripts&id=sf Complete script for the original translation of Shining Force], Shining Force Central.
In Los Angeles, California, Elgin and David lead their promising dance crew in street dancing battles at a warehouse owned by Mr. Rad, where they defeat another crew led by Vick (Raz-B). David and Elgin's crew win the battle and Vick's crew is disappointed. David and Elgin's crew consists of notably: Rico (J-Boog), Rashaan (Lil' Fizz), and Sonny (Young Rome). Rico takes care of a little kid he knows named Teshawn, whom the crew calls "Lil Saint".
To earn money for the battles, David and Elgin deliver for a drug lord named Emerald. They are challenged by Wade, a rich kid from Orange County, for $5,000. After winning another battle, David and Elgin tell their crew about the challenge they received from Wade. They mention that the 2 of them will put up the whole $5,000, and if their team wins, Elgin and David will split $3,000 and the other members of the crew will split the remaining $2,000. Their crew member Sonny is not fond of this idea and believes that because it is a team performance, the entire team should split the $5,000 evenly. All of the other members disagree with Sonny and understand that because Elgin and David are the ones putting up the money in the first place, it makes sense that they get a bigger cut of the profits.
Later on while Elgin, David and their crew are playing basketball, Wade and his best friend Max show up to the court and tell Elgin that they're surprised that he accepted their challenge. Elgin declares that the battle will be held a week later, but Wade and Max laugh and say it's pathetic that Elgin and his crew needs an entire week to practice and that the battle should be held that night. Feeling prideful and not wanting to back down, Elgin accepts the challenge to compete tonight, even though his crew is not ready. Elgin and David realize that they only have $3,500 at the moment (the money they saved up from running drugs for Emerald), thus, Elgin decides to borrow the remaining $1,500 from his grandmother for the battle.
Due to the amount of money on the line, Mr. Rad announces there will be no fighting during the battle and hires an LAPD officer named Mr. Chuck to stop any potential ruckus. Upon arriving at the venue, David and Elgin realize that Sonny is not there, and he is also not picking up his cell phone. A few minutes later, Sonny arrives but he betrays the team and walks over to Wade and Max's side of the dance floor, revealing that he's now on their team. A fight breaks out after David and Elgin realize their opponent has stolen their dance set and that Sonny taught their opponents the routine. Crowing over his success, Wade delivers the titular line, "You're just mad... 'cause tonight you suckers got served!"
Throughout the movie, David has been getting romantically closer to Liyah, Elgin's sister. While discussing their loss to Wade on the basketball court, Elgin and David decide that they have to pick up some extra shifts for Emerald to recoup their losses. Vick arrives and asks to join their crew and says that his crew disbanded after repeatedly losing battles. David leaves the court and tells Elgin that instead of picking him up so that they can go to Emerald's spot that night, David will meet him up there separately, as he has something to do at the moment. That "something to do" turns out to be going on a date with Liyah. While on a date, David gets excessive calls from his friends, to the annoyance of Liyah. Elgin gets a call from Emerald for a delivery of drugs and says that he and David need to in earlier. When Elgin tries to call David, Liyah turns off David's phone before David can see who's calling, leaving Elgin to do the job himself. Elgin is ambushed by local thugs who take Emerald's money, leaving Elgin hospitalized, in trouble with Emerald, and furious at David for not showing up on time.
The friends split up and form their own crews. Elgin forbids Liyah to see David, ignoring her and David's desire to help him. Rico tells David and Elgin about the "Big Bounce", a $50,000 dance competition purportedly sponsored by MTV, which will provide the winning crew the opportunity to perform in a Lil' Kim video. Elgin sees this as a way to pay back Emerald and his grandmother. Attempts to bring Elgin and David together, particularly by Liyah and Rico, are unsuccessful.
Later on, Emerald and his guards approach Elgin at his grandmother's home and throw Elgin inside the car. Emerald fires Elgin from ever working for him again and gives Elgin a few weeks to return his money to him, warning Elgin if he doesn't, he “won't walk, let alone dance again”. Emerald reveals that he usually gives people only 24 hours to return any stolen money from him, but he decided to give Elgin a few weeks because David called Emerald and begged him not to hurt Elgin.
At the Big Bounce Competition, many crews impress the judges in the qualifying rounds, including Wade's crew. Liyah talks with Mr. Rad about David and Elgin's problems, and Mr. Rad reveals that he has already taken care of the situation with Emerald (it is not revealed what he did exactly to fix it, he only mentions that he and his LAPD friend Mr. Chuck "took care of that already"). David's crew is eliminated after two slip-ups, while Elgin's crew makes it to the finals.
David and Liyah are then in a diner talking about David being eliminated from the competition. Rashann runs in to tell them that Lil Saint has been shot and they need to find Rico to tell him the news and head to the hospital. At the hospital, the crew finds out that Lil Saint has died after being shot in a drive-by. The next day, Rico tells Elgin that they should reunite the crew in honor of Lil' Saint. David arrives a few minutes later, asked by Liyah to try to end the feud, but explains that by the rules of the competition, they must compete with their initial crews and are not allowed to add members. David and Elgin still refuse to forgive each other.
Elgin's crew, renamed "The Lil' Saints", compete at the Big Bounce finals, hosted by Wade Robson and Lil' Kim. After multiple crews perform their routine, the winner is revealed to be a tie between "The Lil' Saints" and "Wade's Crew". Both crews refuse a tie, and Lil' Kim (advised by Mr. Rad), declares a head-to-head battle competition, with no rules. The no-rules effect allows other people to join the battling crews. David asks to join Elgin's crew, and although Elgin initially refuses, Rico responds by saying "Look, it's either David and all of us, or it's none of us". Elgin then forgives and allows David on his team.
They battle Wade's crew, dedicating the battle to Lil' Saint, and win after receiving the crowd's loudest approval. Elgin gives his blessing for David and Liyah to be together. Wade and Max confront the winners saying that David and Elgin got lucky by winning. David replies, "Y'all just mad, 'cause today, YOU suckas got served." As the crowd chants 'served', Wade and Max leave in shame, David and Elgin celebrate their victory with their friends and family while holding their $50,000 check.
Aubrey and his crew are shipwrecked on a remote island in the South China Sea after surviving the destruction of HMS ''Diane'' in a typhoon. A cricket match is underway between the sailors and marines, which keeps up the crew's spirits as they build the schooner needed for reaching Batavia. Doctor Maturin is killing game for the pot, particularly wild boar and babirussas. Dyaks, Kesegaran and her male assistants, arrive on the island. Speaking in Malay with Maturin, the Dyaks promise to take a message to Batavia in exchange for a note on Shao Yen for twenty "joes" (Portuguese Johannes coins), but instead return in a proa with 300 pirates, twice as many as the 150 Dianes. After beheading the ship's carpenter and some other crew members while stealing tools, they attack the encampment and burn the schooner. They are routed after a bloody conflict and all pirates lost as their proa is sunk by the last remaining ball from the "long nine" gun, well-aimed.
On the last day of rum and tobacco supplies, Maturin meets four Chinese children collecting precious birds' nests from the surrounding cliffs. Maturin binds the boy's injured leg. Maturin persuades the children's father, Li Po, to carry the remaining crew of the ''Diane'' in the empty holds of his roomy junk back to Batavia. It is intercepted by Wan Da, whom Maturin knows well from Pulo Prabang, and who shares information about the French frigate nearly ready to sail. Upon arriving in Batavia, Aubrey is provided by Governor Raffles with a 20-gun ship which Aubrey renames ''Nutmeg of Consolation'' after one of the titles of the Sultan of Pulo Prabang. At sea, Aubrey hears from a Dutch merchantman that the French frigate ''Cornélie'' is watering at an island, Nil Desperandum. Aubrey disguises the ''Nutmeg'' as a Dutch merchantman and, when the disguise fails, engages in battle with the ''Cornélie''. Aubrey attempts to outwit the ''Cornélie'' in the Salibabu Passage but is outmanoeuvred and nearly outgunned until, at the height of the chase, ''Nutmeg'' encounters the ''Surprise'', under Thomas Pullings, accompanied by the ''Triton'', a British privateer. The ''Surprise'' gives chase, and the ''Cornélie'' soon founders. The ''Surprise'' takes the survivors, including Lieutenant Dumesnil, on board. Pullings has taken many prizes in the time they were parted, with two American privateers in convoy. The ''Nutmeg'' and its convoy sail back to Batavia, via Canton, under Lieutenant Fielding.
Resuming command of ''Surprise'', Aubrey continues their interrupted journey to New South Wales. Stopping to collect fresh foods at Sweetings Island, Maturin rescues two young Melanesian girls, the sole survivors of an outbreak of smallpox. Sailing into Sydney Cove, Aubrey, Maturin and Martin are shocked at life in the penal colony under Governor Macquarie, no better than it was after the "Rum Rebellion". Maturin and Tom Pullings attend a formal dinner, hosted by Mrs Macquarie and the Governor's deputy, Colonel McPherson, at Government House. Captain Lowe insults Sir Joseph Banks and Maturin, and again insults Maturin outside the house; Maturin fights and wins a duel against Captain Lowe on the spot. Maturin learns by letter that Sir Joseph Blaine could not transfer Maturin's funds to Smith's failed bank, so his fortune is not lost.
Dr Redfern takes Maturin to see Padeen Colman, recovering in the hospital from his severe flogging for absconding from the penal colony. Maturin and Martin journey inland of Sydney to examine the local flora and fauna and collect specimens. On a second trip, they stay with Paulton north of Sydney near Bird Island, and find Padeen in better shape, assigned to work there as Maturin had arranged. The Irishman was convicted for stealing laudanum from an Edinburgh apothecary, meriting the punishment of transportation to this penal colony. Maturin tells Padeen to meet him at Bird Island on the day ''Surprise'' is to sail. This plan is checked by Aubrey, who promised to take no escaped prisoners, leaving Maturin in a quandary. Maturin hears from Hastings of the recently arrived ''Waverley'' that his wife Diana had a daughter in April, and he is overjoyed, but tells no one else his good news. Maturin and Martin, keen to see the duck-billed platypus, locally named the 'water-mole', are taken on a final expedition in the cutter by Barret Bonden. Maturin and Martin spot two platypuses. Maturin secures one - a male - in his net but his arm is pierced by its two poison-spurs. When the ''Surprise'' arrives to pick them up, Padeen is also taken aboard. To everyone's relief Maturin slowly regains consciousness after he is aboard.
To reach the rendezvous with Degra in three days, ''Enterprise'' approaches a nebula that contains a subspace corridor defended by Kovaalan vessels. The corridor lets them traverse the distance in minutes. Suddenly, an older yet enhanced copy of ''Enterprise'' appears, captained by a half-Vulcan man named Lorian, who explains that after the Enterprise enters the corridor, it will destabilize, causing Captain Archer's version to travel 117 years into the past. Confronted with this situation, and not wanting to contaminate Earth's time stream, it then turns itself into a generational ship to await the Xindi crisis. Arriving on board, Lorian reveals that he is the son of Commander Tucker and Sub-Commander T'Pol. Archer also meets his great-granddaughter, Karyn Archer, who is part Ikaaran, as ''Enterprise'' will rescue her great-grandmother Esilia from a spatial-anomaly field.
Lorian, after considering his knowledge of events, believes that the wormhole must be avoided altogether. Archer and Lorian then disagree over whether to implement an engine modification to ''Enterprise'', since there is a 22% chance that it might destroy the ship. Archer then meets old T'Pol on board old ''Enterprise'', and considers a plan where his ship could pass through safely, due to alternative modifications she suggests. A frustrated Lorian then reveals a secret plan: to steal the newer plasma injectors from ''Enterprise'' so they can confront the Xindi in place of their ancestors.
Lorian leads a raid and successfully steals the parts, but the old ''Enterprise'' is disabled by Archer as it is about to go to warp and Lorian is put in the brig. Archer is angry at having his own method of stealing engine components (as seen in ''Damage'') used against him. Lorian reveals that he had a chance to stop the Xindi Probe from ''The Expanse'' from attacking Earth, but failed because he hesitated, then the two captains finally agree to work towards their shared mission. Meanwhile, T'Pol meets her older self and discuss her addiction to Trelium-D and her relationship with Tucker. The older T'Pol confirms the younger's deepest fears: in Tucker, there is something bringing irrationality into her life which she can not ever control, but which will nurture her and have a positive irreplaceable effect on her life and spirit. The ''Enterprises'' then enter the nebula, but Archer's is quickly disabled. Lorian's then tows it into the corridor using a tractor beam, intending, as it turns to attack the Kovaalan ships, to follow shortly. Archer's ''Enterprise'' arrives safely, but old ''Enterprise'' never emerges and Archer wonders if, by successfully traversing the corridor, they ceased to exist. His thoughts are cut short when Degra arrives for their rendezvous.
'''Auditions'''
In New York City in the late 1970s, a group of teenagers audition to study at the High School of Performing Arts, where they are sorted into three different departments: Drama, Music, and Dance. Accepted in the Drama department are Montgomery MacNeil, a closeted homosexual; Doris Finsecker, a shy Jewish girl; and Ralph Garci, who succeeds after failed auditions for Music and Dance. In the Music department, Bruno Martelli is an aspiring keyboardist whose electronic equipment horrifies Mr. Shorofsky, a conservative music teacher. Lisa Monroe is accepted in the Dance department, despite having no interest in the subject. Coco Hernandez is accepted in all three departments because of her all-around talent. Leroy Johnson goes to the school, performing as part of a dance routine for an auditioning friend, but the dance teachers are more impressed by his talents than his friend's.
'''Freshman year'''
The students learn during their first day of classes that academics are weighed equally with performance. In the lunchroom, Doris becomes overwhelmed by the energy and spontaneity of the other students ("Hot Lunch Jam"). She befriends Montgomery, but worries that she is too ordinary against the colorful personalities of the other students. As the year progresses, Coco tries to convince Bruno to book performing gigs with her. Leroy clashes with his English teacher Mrs. Sherwood over his refusal to do homework. It is later revealed that he is illiterate. Bruno and his father argue over Bruno's reluctance to play his electronic music publicly. Miss Berg, the school's Dance teacher, warns Lisa that she is not working hard enough. Michael, a graduating senior, wins a prestigious scholarship and tells Doris that the William Morris Agency wants to send him out for auditions for television pilots.
'''Sophomore year'''
A new student, Hilary van Doren, joins the school's Dance department and becomes romantically involved with Leroy. Bruno and Mr. Shorofsky debate the merits of traditional orchestras versus synthesized instruments. Bruno's father plays his music ("Fame") outside the school, inspiring the student body to dance in the streets. As an acting exercise, the students are asked to divulge a painful memory. Montgomery discusses discovering his homosexuality, while coming out in front of his classmates; Doris relates her humiliation at being forced by her stage mother to sing at a child's birthday party; and Ralph tells of learning about the death of his idol Freddie Prinze. Miss Berg drops Lisa from the Dance program, and after seemingly considering suicide in a New York City Subway station, Lisa drops her dance clothes on the subway tracks and decides to join the Drama department.
'''Junior year'''
Ralph and Doris discover their mutual attraction, but their growing intimacy leaves Montgomery feeling excluded. Hilary brings Leroy home, much to the shock of her father and stepmother. Ralph's young sister is attacked by a junkie and Ralph lashes out at his mother's attempts to comfort the child by taking her to the local Catholic church, instead of to a doctor. Doris begins to question her Jewish upbringing, changing her name to "Dominique DuPont" and straining the relationship with her mother. During a late-night showing of ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' at the 8th Street Playhouse, Ralph encourages Doris to smoke marijuana. Intoxicated, Doris takes part in the stage show during the film's "Time Warp" musical number. The next day, she realizes that as an actress she can put on any personality she wants, but is sobered upon running into Michael, who is struggling as an actor and waiting tables.
'''Senior year'''
Ralph performs comedy at Catch a Rising Star, where he garners some initial success, but falls into a hard-party lifestyle which upsets Doris. Given a prime spot at another comedy club, he bombs after clashing with both Doris and Montgomery over his new lifestyle. Disgusted with himself, Ralph believes his career is over, but is comforted by Montgomery, who tells him that failure is a part of the entertainment business. Hilary, now pregnant, plans to have an abortion and move to California to take a position with the San Francisco Ballet company. Coco is approached in a diner by a man claiming to be a director; she naïvely goes to his apartment for a screen test, but discovers that he is an amateur pornographic film director. He manipulates her into taking her shirt off, as he films her sobbing. Leroy is offered a position in Alvin Ailey's dance company, but must graduate first in order to be accepted. After receiving a failing grade, he confronts a grieving Mrs. Sherwood outside her husband's hospital room, but upon realizing that she has her own problems, he comforts her. During graduation, the student body showcases their talents by performing an original song ("I Sing the Body Electric"). The opening lines are sung by Lisa, Coco, and Montgomery. Intercut with the performance are scenes of Leroy dancing and Bruno playing with a rock band, finally sharing his music with others.
Captain Anson, the officer commanding a British RASC Motor Ambulance Company in Tobruk, is suffering from battle fatigue and alcoholism. With the city about to be besieged by the German Afrika Korps, Anson and most of his unit are ordered to evacuate to Alexandria. During the evacuation, Anson, MSM Tom Pugh and two nurses, Sister Diana Murdoch and Sister Denise Norton, become separated from the others in an Austin K2/Y ambulance nicknamed "Katy". The quartet decide to drive across the desert back to British lines.
As they depart, they come across an Afrikaner South African officer, Captain van der Poel, who carries a large pack, to which he seems very attached. After the South African shows Anson two bottles of gin in his backpack, van der Poel persuades Anson to let him join their drive to the safety of the British lines in Alexandria.
En route, the group meets with various obstacles, including a minefield, a broken suspension spring (during its replacement, van der Poel's great strength saves the group when he supports "Katy" on his back when the jack collapses), and the dangerous terrain of the Qattara Depression.
Twice the group encounters motorised elements of the advancing Afrika Korps; in one encounter they are fired upon, and Norton is fatally wounded. Anson blames himself and his drinking for Norton's death, and vows not to drink any alcohol until he can have an "ice cold lager in 'Alex'". Van der Poel, who claims to have learned German while working in German South West Africa, is able to talk the Germans into allowing them to go on their way. The second time however, the Germans seem reluctant, until Van der Poel shows them the contents of his backpack.
This pack becomes the focus of suspicion. Pugh, already troubled by Van der Poel's lack of knowledge of the South African Army's tea-brewing technique, follows him when he heads off into the desert with his pack and a spade (supposedly to dig a latrine). Pugh thinks he sees an antenna. Later, at night, they decide to use the ambulance headlights to see what Van de Poel is really up to. He panics, blunders into some quicksand, and submerges his pack, though not before Anson and Murdoch see that it contains a radio set. They drag him to safety. While he recovers, they realise he is probably a German spy but decide not to confront him about this. During the final leg of the journey, Katy must be hand-cranked in reverse up a sand dune escarpment, and Van der Poel's strength is again crucial to achieving this.
Continuing their drive, the party discuss their conviction that "Van der Poel" is a spy, and decide that they do not want to see him shot. When they reach Alexandria, Anson delivers everyone's papers except "Van der Poel"'s to the Military Police check point and (off-screen) reports to the MP's senior officer that "Van der Poel" is a regular German soldier that they met lost in the desert and has surrendered to them under his parole (word of honour). Anson secures the MP's agreement to allow the party to enjoy a beer with their "captive" before taking him into custody as a prisoner of war.
The party then make their way to a bar and Anson orders a cold beer, which he consumes with relish. But before they have drunk their first round, a Corps of Military Police officer arrives to arrest Van der Poel. Anson orders him to wait. Having become friends with Van der Poel and indebted to him for saving the group's lives, Anson tells him that if he gives his real name, he will be treated as a prisoner of war, rather than as a spy (which would mean execution by firing squad).
Van der Poel admits to being ''Hauptmann'' Otto Lutz, an engineering officer with the 21st Panzer Division. Pugh notices that Lutz is still wearing fake South African dog tags and rips them off before the police see them. Lutz, after saying his farewells and concluding that they were "all against the desert, the greater enemy", is driven away, with a new respect for the British.
In August 1994 at the Tarasco bar in Mexico, an American man named Buscemi tells the story of witnessing a massacre in another bar, committed by a Mexican who had a guitar case full of guns. The bar's patrons are uninterested until Buscemi mentions the name "Bucho". Meanwhile, El Mariachi has a dream of his encounter with Moco, Bucho's underling, who killed his lover and shot his left hand, but Buscemi awakens him and tells him to continue searching for Bucho.
El Mariachi meets a child, whose father allegedly plays guitar for a living. Having been a guitarist himself, he gives the boy some guitar lessons. At the Tarasco bar, El Mariachi engages in a tense standoff with Bucho's henchmen, followed by a massive gunfight. El Mariachi kills everyone in the bar but Tavo, who was in a back room conducting illegal business. Tavo survives and follows El Mariachi outside and wounds him, but is killed by El Mariachi. Carolina, a woman who El Mariachi shielded from Tavo's bullets, takes him to her bookstore. Bucho arrives at the bar to survey the carnage. Threatened by the situation, Bucho orders his men to hunt down the man "dressed in black".
At her bookstore, Carolina tends to El Mariachi's wounds. While he rests, she discovers the guns in his guitar case and deduces his identity, based on Buscemi's story. El Mariachi asks her to help him locate Bucho. He goes to the town church and talks to Buscemi. Upset by the massacre at the bar, Buscemi convinces El Mariachi to abandon his quest for revenge. Outside the church, they are ambushed by a man armed with throwing knives, who kills Buscemi and severely wounds El Mariachi. Bucho's men arrive at the scene, and mistake the man (who dresses in black) for El Mariachi and kill him. They take the body back to Bucho, who realizes they have killed the wrong person, a hit-man named Navajas sent by the Colombians to kill El Mariachi.
As an injured El Mariachi wanders the streets he meets the kid with the guitar, once again. He learns that the kid is being used by his father to mule drugs hidden in his guitar. He angrily confronts the boy, who tells him most people in the town work for Bucho. El Mariachi returns to Carolina and learns that Bucho financed her bookstore as an additional front for his drug-dealing. Bucho arrives, unexpectedly, and she hastily hides El Mariachi. She feigns ignorance of the commotion in town, and Bucho leaves. Carolina completes the suturing of El Mariachi's wounds. That evening, she gives El Mariachi a new guitar, which he plays for her before they make passionate love. Meanwhile, Bucho realizes that Carolina lied to him.
In the morning, Bucho's men arrive and attack them and set the bookstore ablaze. The two fight their way out of the burning building and onto a local rooftop, where El Mariachi gets a clear shot at Bucho but inexplicably chooses not to attempt to kill him. The two hide in a hotel room.
Angry with their failure to kill El Mariachi, Bucho gathers his men and says: "You drive around town, you see someone you don't know, you shoot them! How hard is that, huh?" He shoots one man and then fires at the others, as an example.
Realizing that Bucho will never stop hunting him, El Mariachi contacts his friends, Campa and Quino, for assistance. The trio meet up on the edge of town and encounter Bucho's henchmen. A massive gun battle ensues, and most of Bucho's men, along with Campa and Quino, are killed. El Mariachi discovers that the guitar-playing boy has been wounded in the crossfire and rushes him to a hospital.
El Mariachi and Carolina travel to Bucho's compound intending to confront him. It is then revealed that Bucho is El Mariachi's older brother, Cesar. El Mariachi was unaware of "Bucho's" identity, until he saw his brother's face, from the rooftop, and refrained from shooting him. Bucho offers to release El Mariachi if he allows Bucho to kill Carolina. El Mariachi kills his brother, then shoots the remaining henchmen. The two visit the boy in the hospital, and El Mariachi leaves alone. Carolina catches up to him on the road and picks him up, with El Mariachi initially leaving his weapons on the side of the road. The two drive away together, but shortly return and pick up the guitar case, full of guns, just to be safe.
On March 17, 2004, around one year after the events of ''Silent Assassin'', Agent 47 is shot and critically wounded while carrying out a mission in Paris for his employers, the International Contracts Agency (ICA). Returning to his hotel room, he reflects on his past, beginning with his escape from Romanian special forces after killing his creator, Dr. Otto Ort-Meyer, at his own facility. 47 then recalls various contracts he carried out over the years, including the assassination of two fetishists who had kidnapped a client's daughter in Romania; the killing of a black marketeer in Kamchatka selling weapons to terrorists, and the destruction of their weapon labs aboard a submarine; the murder of a corrupt nobleman and his son in the United Kingdom; the assassination of a biker crime lord in Rotterdam; and the killings of three of his five genetic "fathers", namely gunrunner Arkadij Jegorov, who the bikers were doing business with in Rotterdam, terrorist Frantz Fuchs at a hotel in Budapest, and Triad boss Lee Hong in Hong Kong.
During this time, an ICA doctor arrives and performs emergency surgery on 47 before he can bleed out, but officers from the Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale (GIGN) storm the hotel to capture 47. While the ICA doctor is forced to flee without dressing the wound, 47 reagains his strength and prepares to deal with the officers, before recalling the briefing for his current contract. He remembers that he had taken out two of the three targets he had been sent to eliminate (an event later addressed in ''Hitman: Blood Money''), all of whom were involved in a child prostitution ring in Eastern Europe. He also recalls that the third target, corrupt GIGN officer Albert Fournier, survived 47's attempt on his life after being tipped off to his presence, and was responsible for his injury.
As the GIGN prepares to storm his room, which is slowly being filled with tear gas, 47 escapes from the hotel, intending to complete his contract. Upon reaching the streets, he finds and kills Fournier, before escaping to the Charles de Gaulle Airport. Boarding a plane that is leaving the country, 47 is reunited with his handler Diana Burnwood, who confirms his suspicion that someone knew about the contract and warns him that the ICA is being targeted by the same group. 47 agrees to handle the matter and takes possession of a file which names the group as the Franchise, an enemy of the ICA that seeks to undermine them and gain control of governments worldwide.
Screenshot from the start of ''Comix Zone''. Sketch Turner, a "starving artist" and freelance rock musician living in New York City, is working on his newest comic book, ''Comix Zone''. It is the story of the New World Empire's attempt to defend Earth from an invasion of alien renegades, with inspiration coming from Sketch's oddly vivid dreams and nightmares. One night, while Sketch is working on ''Comix Zone'' during a thunderstorm, a lightning bolt strikes a panel of his comic. In this instant, its main villain, a powerful mutant named Mortus, escapes the comic book's pages, desiring to kill Sketch so he can become flesh and blood and take over the real world. Because he does not possess any power in reality, Mortus sends Sketch into the world of his own comic, freely drawing in enemies attempting to kill him.
Inside the comic book, Sketch meets General Alissa Cyan, who believes he is "the chosen one" who came to save their post-apocalyptic world from the evil of Mortus and the alien invaders. Ignoring Sketch's protests, Alissa sends him on his mission, keeping in touch with instructions and hints via radio. It is up to Sketch to stop Mortus's evil plans and find a way out of this comic world.
The game has two possible endings. At the end of the game, Alissa attempts to defuse a nuclear weapon that Mortus and the Mutants plan on using to wipe out the New World Empire and humanity, when Mortus comes back into the comic and throws her into the chamber, which starts to fill up with liquid. Mortus then battles Sketch personally. If the player defeats Mortus and the Kreeps he summons as he takes damage quickly enough to drain the liquid and save Alissa before the nuke self-destructs, an ending occurs where Alissa comes to the real world with Sketch and Roadkill and joins the army, eventually becoming Chief of Security for the United States. Roadkill is given a vast amount of mozzarella cheese, and spends a lot of time exploring the city's new sewer system when not sleeping under a pile of Sketch's dirty socks. ''Comix Zone'' becomes an instant sensation, selling out on the first day, making Sketch famous as it becomes the best-selling comic book ever.
Defeating Mortus after the chamber fills with liquid, Alissa dies as the nuke self-destructs. Sketch and Roadkill come out, but Sketch's comic is destroyed, leaving him devastated at having saved the New World Empire, but failed to save Alissa. The ending also implies that he re-creates his comic to ensure a happy ending.
The film begins in the Seattle, Washington area with increasingly severe earthquake activity. A quake of magnitude 7.9 is measured at the Earthquake centre, where Dr. Samantha Hill takes command, displacing Dr. Jordan Fisher. U.S. President Paul Hollister and FEMA Director Roy Nolan are informed about the situation.
A magnitude 8.4 earthquake opens a crack which engulfs an entire train, which is a fictionalised version of the California Zephyr that is operated by Amtrak east of Redding, California. As a result, Governor Carla Williams, who has just seen her daughter and ex-husband off on a camping trip, agrees to help the Governor of Washington. Amanda Williams and her father Clark Williams arrive at a town named Browning, where everything is covered in a thick red haze. They discover a car with a dead family inside, and are nearly trapped in quicksand.
Roy Nolan constructs a task force of the best geologists and seismologists, including Dr. Fisher and Dr. Hill. Dr. Hill mentions her Hidden Fault theory and is eventually given permission to prove it. She and Dr. Fisher visit a lake, where they see some animals that died from carbon monoxide poisoning and are almost poisoned themselves.
Back at the Task Force Center, Dr. Hill predicts that the next quake will be near San Francisco, California. It is deemed too risky to evacuate the entirety of San Francisco, which is eventually devastated by a 9.2 magnitude earthquake. After that, Dr. Hill predicts the next quake will happen at the San Andreas fault, which would wipe out the West Coast in its present shape killing 50 million people on the way. Dr. Hill hypothesizes that they could "weld" the fault shut by letting it experience immense heat, which could only be created with nuclear bombs.
The President, after some deliberation, follows Nolan's advice to execute Dr. Hill's plan and allows the placement of the nuclear warheads. Additionally, he gives the order to evacuate the entire West Coast in case it fails and mobilizes all resources available for it.
Five of the six nuclear bombs have been successfully installed, but during the installation of the sixth, an earthquake occurs, and a warhead is lost. Nolan tries to set it manually, but is pinned by the warhead.
The Williams find a truck carrying survivors, and they are transported to Tent City, which has been set up for the refugees. In a wounded San Francisco, Carla Williams and her assistant Rachel are trapped under a wall. Carla survives, but Rachel is killed.
Deciding that nothing can be done about the lost sixth warhead, Dr. Hill decides to continue with the fault welding plan and detonate the first five. The sixth is activated by Nolan who manages to reach the control panel just in time, but is himself vaporized.
It seems to work, until Dr. Hill, concerned about southern California, observes a river flowing backwards, draining into the open fault. The last warhead was not deep enough when it exploded and Southern California is still in danger. Shortly after, a massive earthquake occurs. Eventually, the crack reaches Tent City and peaks at 10.5. When the earthquake stops, the survivors see that the southwestern coast of California has been cut away, forming a new island.
During the Russian Civil War (1918–1922), a female commissar of the Red Army cavalry Klavdia Vavilova (Nonna Mordyukova) finds herself pregnant. Until her child is born, she is forced to stay with the family of a poor Jewish blacksmith Yefim Magazannik (Rolan Bykov), his wife, mother-in-law, and six children. At first, both the Magazannik family and "Madame Vavilova", as they call her, are not enthusiastic about living under one roof, but soon they share their rationed food, make her civilian clothes, and help her with the delivery of her newborn son. Vavilova seemingly embraces motherhood, civilian life, and new friends.
Meanwhile, the frontline advances closer to the town and the Jews expect a pogrom by the White Army as the Red Army retreats. Vavilova attempts to console them with a Communist dream: "One day people will work in peace and harmony", but the dream is interrupted with a vision of the fate of the Jews in the coming world war. She rushes to the front to rejoin her army regiment, leaving her newborn behind.
In the third century AD, Sebastian is a member of the Emperor Diocletian's personal guard. When he tries to intervene to stop one of the Emperor's catamites from being strangled by one of his bodyguards, Sebastian is exiled to a remote coastal garrison and reduced in rank to private. Although thought to be an early Christian, Sebastian is a worshipper of the Roman sun god Phoebus Apollo and sublimates his desire for his male companions into worship of his deity and pacifism. Both incense Severus, the commanding officer of the garrison, who becomes increasingly obsessed with Sebastian, tries to assault him, and ultimately presides over his summary execution for refusing to take up arms in defence of the Roman Empire. Justin, one of his comrades in arms, is also in love with Sebastian, albeit necessarily unrequited, but he forms a friendship with the stubborn celibate pacifist. Adrian and Anthony, two of Sebastian's fellow soldiers, are gay and obviously in love with one another.
Teenager Trudy Morton (Sandra Knight), who lives with her uncle Carter Morgan (Felix Maurice Locher), has nightmares in which she dreams that she is a monster running about the streets at night. Trudy believes the dreams are real. Her boyfriend Johnny Bruder (John Ashley) does not, nor do her friends Suzie Lawler (Sally Todd) and Don (Harold Lloyd Jr.). Little does Trudy know, but she actually does turn into a monster at night, thanks to Carter's unpleasant lab assistant Oliver Frank (Donald Murphy). He lives with them, works in Carter's home lab and has been spiking Trudy's fruit punch with the formula that he and Carter are developing. Carter's goal is to eliminate all disease so that people can live forever; Oliver's goal is something quite different.
Carter's project stalls and he breaks into Rockwell Labs for Digenerol, the chemical he needs for his experiments. He does not know who Oliver actually is or that, with the help of Elsu the gardener (Wolfe Barzell), Oliver is secretly assembling what he calls a "perfect being", for Oliver Frank is actually Oliver Frankenstein, grandson of the original Dr. Frankenstein.
Police Lt. Boyd (John Zaremba) and Det. Bill Dillon (Robert Dix) investigate a report from a frightened woman (Charlotte Portney) that a female monster in a swimsuit attacked her. It is, of course, Trudy. They spot her and fire a few shots but miss. Oliver grabs her and drags her home to recover.
The next morning Carter asks Oliver if he has seen the newspaper story about a "Frankenstein monster" on the loose. Oliver scoffs at the story, but when Carter disparages the Frankensteins, Oliver literally jumps to his feet in their defense. Boyd and Dillon are visited by Mr. Rockwell (Voltaire Perkins) of Rockwell Labs. Rockwell says that the stolen Digenerol may be somehow related to the monster issue.
Back at the home lab, Elsu mistakenly enters through a secret door while Carter and Oliver are working. Oliver silently shoos him out and to distract Carter knocks the bottle of Digenerol from his hand, spilling every drop. Carter says that he must now steal more Digenerol.
Suzie visits Trudy, but they quarrel and as Suzi flounces off she makes a date with Oliver. The date goes badly, with Oliver attempting to force himself on Suzie. Since he needs a brain for his perfect being, he runs Suzie over with his car, killing her. Oliver will create a female perfect being, something the Frankensteins have never tried before. When Elsu asks why, Oliver says that "now we're aware the female mind is conditioned to a man's world. It therefore takes orders, where the other ones didn't." In awe, Elsu exclaims, "Frankenstein's daughter!" after which they always refer to it in the feminine.
While Oliver tries to reanimate "her", Boyd and Dillon arrive. As they tell Oliver that they suspect Carter is the Digenerol thief, "she" (Harry Wilson) comes to life, hideously scarred and looking not in the least like pretty, blonde Suzie. After the police leave, "she" escapes and kills a warehouse worker (Bill Coontz). Another worker, Mack (George Barrows), calls the cops.
At the house, Trudy and Oliver are talking when someone knocks on the front door. Trudy answers. It is the monster. Trudy screams and faints. Elsu coaxes "her" into the lab. When Johnny arrives and tells him what happened, Oliver convinces Johnny that Trudy has an overactive imagination.
Oliver wants the lab for himself and decides to kill Carter. But as he starts strangling him, Boyle and Dillon show up with more questions about the Digenerol. Oliver tells them that Carter stole it; Carter tells them that Oliver tried to kill him. Oliver persuades them that Carter is mentally ill, and they arrest Carter. Oliver then argues with Elsu, who refuses any further assistance, and Oliver has "her" kill Elsu. Afterwards, Oliver tells Trudy and Johnny that Carter has been arrested. When Johnny leaves for the police station, Trudy stays behind. Oliver reveals that his name is actually Frankenstein, not Frank, and shows her his creation again. Trudy faints once more, but awakens and goes to the police station herself. Boyle tells her and Johnny that Carter has died.
Boyle and Dillon return to the house to further question Oliver. When Boyle leaves, Dillon stays behind to keep an eye on Oliver. Dillon stumbles across "her" hiding place in the house and Oliver orders "her" to kill Dillon.
Trudy and Johnny come home and also find the monster's hideout. Oliver orders "her" to kill them, too. "She" and Johnny fight in the lab. Johnny throws a vial of acid at "her", but hits Oliver instead, melting his face. As Oliver falls screaming to the floor, the monster accidentally sets "herself" alight on a Bunsen burner. Trudy and Johnny flee as "she" is consumed by flames.
An expedition led by Professor Fuchs (Keir) locates the unmarked tomb of Tera (Leon) an evil Egyptian queen. A cabal of priests drugged her into a state of suspended animation and buried all of her evil relics with her. Fuchs is obsessed with Tera and takes her mummy and sarcophagus back to England, where he secretly recreates her tomb under his house. Four days "before her birthday", his daughter Margaret (also Leon) - who bears an uncanny resemblance to Tera and was born at the instant they recited her name - has recurring nightmares. Fuchs gives her the old queen's ring and tells her to "wear it always". Of course, this only makes matters worse. Queen Tera's evil power begins to tempt Margaret, as she learns how she's feared by her father's former colleagues.
Margaret notices a man lurking in the vacant building across the street. He is Corbeck (Villiers), an expedition member who's now her father's rival. Corbeck wants to restore Tera to life and he persuades Margaret to help him gather the missing relics. The problem is, each time one is given up the person who'd held it dies. When they have all the relics, Corbeck, Margaret and Fuchs begin the ancient ritual to reawaken Tera. At the last moment Fuchs learns that the queen's revival will mean Margaret's death. Together Fuchs and Margaret overpower and kill Corbeck, as the house quakes above them. Queen Tera awakens and kills Fuchs, but not before Margaret stabs her. Margaret and Tera are grappling over an ancient dagger when the house finally collapses on them.
Later in the hospital, a woman's face is wrapped in bandages. She's the sole survivor, and that all the others in the Professor's basement were "crushed beyond recognition". The bandaged woman slowly opens her eyes and struggles to speak, leaving the film scene ambigous of whether is Margaret Fuchs or Queen Tera.
The game is set in 1926, primarily in a museum, and reflects the Egyptology craze of the period. The protagonist is Laura Bow (a reference to Clara Bow), a Southern belle who has just graduated from Tulane University and moved to New York City, where she has landed a job at a prestigious newspaper The New York Daily Register News Tribune. For her first assignment, she is asked to write a story on the theft of an artifact from the museum's Egyptian exhibit. When a murder occurs during the party, however, she is locked inside with all of the other suspects. As other guests begin dying one by one, Laura must solve the numerous crimes occurring before the culprits escape or kill her.
The game features four different endings, depending if Laura gathers enough evidence to expose both O'Riley as the murderer and Watney as the thief. These endings include combinations of O'Riley going to prison or exacting revenge on Laura, being asked on a date with Steve, Laura's job status and the fate of the dagger.
Sam-I-Am offers an unnamed man a plate of green eggs and ham. However, the man refuses multiple times throughout the story by saying, "I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-Am." Sam further asks him to eat that food in various locations (house, box, car, tree, train, dark, rain, boat) and with a few different animals (mouse, fox, goat), but is still rebuffed. Finally, Sam-I-am asks the man to try them, and he accepts the green eggs and ham. When he declares that he likes them, he happily says, "I do so like green eggs and ham. Thank you. Thank you, Sam-I-Am."
Far away, from the northern sea, the Foxwolf Urgan Nagru and his wife Silvamord arrive in Southsward, bringing two shiploads of rats, and storms the Castle Floret. Nagru, the Foxwolf, captures Gael Squirrelking, his wife Serena, their son Truffen and his nursemaid Muta, a mute badger. Entrance to the castle was gained through Silvamord's deceit in feigning weakness and ill fortune in both herself and Urgan Nagru. She then took Truffen the squirrel babe hostage until the gate was opened to the hordes of awaiting rats.
Meanwhile, Dandin and Mariel Gullwhacker have set out from Redwall Abbey but have found themselves stuck in the southern dunes without food. After befriending a hedgehog named Bowly Pintips, they find themselves attempting to save a mole who happened to be under attack by Nagru's rat troops. Just as the trio of would-be rescuers realise their peril, Field Marshal Meldrum Fallowthorn the Magnificent bounds to their aid, accompanied by his four leveret nephews.
US cover of ''The Bellmaker'' Back in Southsward, Gael's otter allies have begun planning a rescue mission. Led by Rab Streambattle, the otters manage to rescue Serena and Truffen, but Gael and Muta encounter trouble. Unable to escape, Muta and Rab stand their ground against waves of Nagru's rat troops, fighting until they collapse under the innumerable odds, presumed dead.
Dandin, Mariel and Meldrum survive long enough to fend off Nagru's last effort, two of his psychotic tracking ermine, called Dirgecallers, who were unleashed to track down the escape prisoners. Mariel and her companions manage to kill the trackers, allowing Serena and Truffen to escape to safety, but they are not able to avoid Nagru's rat troops, as they are captured and led back to Castle Floret.
Back at Redwall Abbey, Joseph the Bellmaker, the father of Mariel, has a vision. Inspired by Martin the Warrior, the legendary Champion and protector of Redwall, Joseph recruits a hare (The Honourable Rosemary, or Hon Rosie for short), a hedgehog (Durry Quill), a squirrel (Rufe Brush) and the Foremole, the leader of moles. Accompanied by Log-a-Log and a band of Guosim shrews, the band reaches the coast. Intent on finding the place shown to him in his vision, Joseph and his companions befriend Finnbarr Galedeep, a rusky wild sea otter, who helps them deceive searat brothers Slipp and Strapp, stealing the excellent ''Pearl Queen'' in the process. Strapp steals the crew of his brother, Slipp and gives chase aboard his ship, the ''Shalloo'', but they are all lost at sea when the ship sinks into a whirlpool called the 'Green Maelstrom'.
As Joseph and company sail towards Castle Floret and Urgan Nagru, Slipp and Blaggut, his good-natured first mate, head into Mossflower Woods.
When they awaken, Mariel, Dandin and Meldrum find themselves in the dungeons of Castle Floret, along with the battered Gael Squirrelking. With a bit of luck and the help of Glokkpod, a shrike, they manage to escape, but Mariel becomes separated from her friends. As she attempts to find safety, Mariel meets Egbert the Scholar, an old mole living beneath Castle Floret, who happened to find Rab and Muta and nursed them back to health. Psychologically damaged from their near-death battle, the two warriors are intense, but refuse to speak. With their help, Mariel finds her way inside the castle and lowers the drawbridge.
At Redwall Abbey, the two rats have arrived and found refuge in the kind, peaceful Abbey. Slipp, after a failed plan to find treasure with a band of Dibbuns, has had enough; he attacks and kills the local Badger Mother, Mellus, and escapes the Abbey with Blaggut and a chalice. After Blaggut learns the truth, he kills his captain and returns to the Abbey with the chalice, seeking forgiveness, which he eventually receives.
On the ''Pearl Queen'', many calamities had befallen the Redwallers and their crew, including whirlpools, sharks, shipwrecked islands, and crazy toads. Hon Rosie was taken for dead for some time, but showed up in fine form later. Three young orphans are acquired as well: the squirrel Benjy, the mousemaid Wincey, and the little ottermaid Figgs. They eventually arrive at Southsward and, with the help of some clans they meet on the way, arrive at Castle Floret, ready for battle.
A massive battle ensues in which Mariel, Dandin, Meldrum, the otters, Finnbarr, Joseph, and the rest fight Nagru's horde of grey rats, most of which are slaughtered. However, the shrew Fatch, a good friend of Rufe and Durry, is slain by Silvamord. Rab Streambattle, who had recently reunited with his wife Iris and regained his sanity, kills Silvamord in the moat shortly afterward for although she is a mighty warrior, she is unable to swim. In the final battle, Finnbarr Galedeep engages Urgan Nagru and kills him by smashing the fangs of his wolf skull into the top of his head. However, Finnbarr sadly dies from the wounds inflicted during the fight.
With Urgan vanquished and his horde depleted, peace is restored upon Castle Floret and Southsward. Gael is reinstated as Squirrelking of Floret with his family and Muta. While the other Redwallers return to the abbey, Joseph stays in Southsward to help restore order. Mariel, Dandin, and Bowly, their warrior spirits unable to be stilled, take off once more in search of adventure.
After watching an Olympic Games documentary on TV, Homer decides to participate in the Springfield marathon to prove to Marge that he is fit. Bart dons a stereotypical Italian disguise and wins the marathon by cheating, but a bird pulls off his fake mustache during the trophy presentation. To escape from the outraged crowd, Bart accepts a ride from a stranger, who introduces himself as music producer L.T. Smash. He offers Bart a chance to join a boy band he is assembling called Party Posse, including Nelson, Ralph and Milhouse. Bart accepts the opportunity, and the four boys quickly rise to stardom, secretly using voice-enhancing software developed by NASA to improve their singing abilities.
Party Posse releases a single whose accompanying video includes the strange line "YVAN EHT NIOJ" in its chorus. Puzzled, Lisa analyzes the video and finds a subliminal recruiting message for the United States Navy within it; she also realizes that the chorus is simply "JOIN THE NAVY" sung backwards. Seeing that the single's hidden message is beginning to affect the Springfield populace, after watching Otto Mann board a navy bus, Lisa confronts Smash, who reveals himself as a Navy lieutenant and explains that popular music has long been used as a recruiting tool by the military. After Lisa confronts Homer and Marge, they dismiss her claims as stemming from jealousy of Bart's fame.
During a Party Posse concert aboard an aircraft carrier, in which the band performs a song full of subliminal lyrics, Smash's superior officer informs him that the boy band project is being shut down because Party Posse is due to be satirized in an upcoming issue of ''Mad'', sabotaging their recruiting power. The officer turns off Party Posse's voice enhancers, exposing the boys' lack of singing talent and destroying their popularity. Enraged, Smash commandeers the carrier, sending his superior officer overboard, and taking it out to sea as the terrified audience jumps overboard and swims back to the docks. Smash sails the carrier to New York City with the band and Homer (who was in the lavatory at the time) still onboard and declares his intention to destroy the ''Mad'' headquarters. Despite the sudden arrival of boy band NSYNC, Smash fires the missiles and destroys the building. The employees survive unharmed and Smash is arrested; Bart and his friends are disappointed at not having a chance to appear in ''Mad'', but take comfort in reading the planned parody of them.
The episode ends with praise for the Navy by NSYNC, who suggest that viewers enlist. JC Chasez is surprised and dismayed to learn that his bandmates have signed him up without his knowledge, and two military police officers drag him away screaming.
A powerful blizzard hits the fictional small island town of Little Tall Island (also the setting of King's novel ''Dolores Claiborne'') off the coast of Maine. The storm is so powerful that all access to the island is cut off and no one is able to leave. As the town prepares for the storm, tragedy strikes when elderly resident Martha Clarendon is brutally murdered by André Linoge (Colm Feore), a menacing stranger with a black cane decorated by a silver wolf's head. When Robbie Beals, the town manager, investigates, Linoge claims to know the repetitious inner workings of hell and states that Robbie's mother has turned cannibal and is waiting in hell to eat him. Linoge is arrested by supermarket manager and part-time constable Michael "Mike" Anderson (Timothy Daly) and his friend and deputy Alton "Hatch" Hatcher. As he is taken to his cell, Linoge makes passing remarks at nearby townspeople, revealing he knows secrets about all of them. Linoge gives no hint of his origins or motives, only vaguely saying, "Give me what I want, and I'll go away."
While imprisoned, Linoge demonstrates a supernatural ability to peer into and control minds, inflict hallucinations, and drive people to commit suicide and murder. Linoge shows he also has the ability to control the physical world, not just minds, by watching broken televisions, putting messages on computer screens, catching a speeding bullet, levitating objects and people, causing nosebleeds, jamming unlocked doors, and opening locked cell doors to leave at will. Linoge causes three suicides and a murder shortly after being jailed.
Later that evening, as the 200 remaining residents sleep, an escaped Linoge enters the lighthouse and supernaturally causes everyone to have the same dream: a dream of the entire town suicidally walking into the ocean and mystifying authorities in the aftermath as to what happened to everyone. The dream has Linoge, appearing heavier and bald, as a journalist reporting on the mass disappearance and comparing it to the 1587 disappearance event at Roanoke Island, Virginia. This suggests to the islanders that Linoge had the power to make an island community disappear before and that he may do it again. Linoge also appears in the same dream as a televangelist threatening that suffering will result if people sin by refusing to give the wanderer what he wants.
The next day, Linoge causes three residents to vanish while everyone is watching the lighthouse collapse. Two die and the third, lost resident Angie Carver, is discovered alive with her dark hair now turned shock white. Angie reveals Linoge kidnapped her and warned that if he does not get what he wants he will cause mass suicides as he did at Roanoke before. All eight of the town's young children are then enchanted and fall unconscious. Linoge then appears in the town hall and levitates Joanna and threatens to burn her. Linoge says that Mike is good through and through, but the rest of the town is, "full of adulterers, pedophiles, thieves, gluttons, murderers, bullies, scoundrels, and covetous morons."
Throughout Mike resists the calls of others to simply execute Linoge. Mike believes that giving in to evil is wrong. Mike earlier recounted the biblical story of Job and realized that Linoge's surname is an anagram for Legion, a collective group of demons exorcised by Jesus according to the Gospel of Mark and Gospel of Luke. Linoge frequently displays disgust at the immorality of humanity and states he possesses the supernatural power to punish. This raises the question whether Linoge is a force in the ultimate service of good rather than evil or perhaps reinforces the biblical reference that Mike made to the tests of Job, in which God allowed Satan to punish Job to test Job's faith in the face of suffering. The reference to Legion demons and Linoge's intimate knowledge of cannibalism and repetition in hell, murderous tactics, and insight into human sin, makes it seem to Mike that Linoge, "can only see the bad," and Linoge's primary obligation is darkness rather than being an agent of morality on earth to judge and punish.
Linoge demands a town hall meeting and then arrives claiming he will cause total suicide among everyone on the island including dropping all eight children unless one of them is given to him. Linoge reveals he is thousands of years old, but not immortal and is now dying and sick. He desires a protégé to raise and teach who can carry on his "work". He promises the child will become like him, long-lived, powerful, and seeing much. He cannot take a child by force, but he ''can'' punish the town and make them all to suffer and die if they refuse him. He leaves the townspeople half an hour to make their decision.
Mike begs the town to refuse, arguing the villain is not all-powerful and may soon leave the town just as the storm will if they trust in God and their own power. He appeals to their common decency and points out they may be aiding an evil man in harming a child. The other townspeople, including Mike's wife Molly, are too frightened of Linoge and think they have no choice. They argue this is not human sacrifice but rather an "adoption" and it is better to lose one child rather than all. Mike wishes to abstain from voting and take Ralphie away, but his friends stop him and Molly insists that being part of the town means they must accept Ralphie may be the child taken. Everyone but Mike votes in favor to give Linoge what he desires, and Hatch says he will see this is the right decision. Linoge arrives and has one parent of each child draw one of eight "weirding stones" that predate the sinking of Atlantis. Molly draws the lone black stone, marking Ralphie as the one who will be taken. Linoge transforms into his true form and thanks the town, suggesting they will be better off if they do not reveal his existence or this arrangement to the outside world. Mike is held back by Hatch and other townsfolk who fear reprisal. Now regretting her choice, Molly frantically cries at Mike to help save Ralphie; but the townspeople continue to restrain him and refuse to aid her. In anguish, Molly madly accuses Linoge of tricking them by fixing the result of the stones before she attacks him in a frenzy. Linoge merely knocks Molly aside and remarks that she and the townspeople may have all tricked themselves, adding that Ralphie will eventually call him "father." Carrying the child, Linoge flies off into the night.
The following summer, a thoroughly depressed Molly is in therapy discussing her now failing marriage; lamenting she is now losing the last thing she ever loved. She insists Ralphie was "lost in the storm" along with perhaps another who also was never found that weekend and refuses to discuss him further despite the therapist warning that pain will fester if she can't be honest. Molly says she now understands some wounds can't be cleaned out no matter what. Despite the desperate pleas of his neighbors to stay, Mike is unable to condone or accept the townspeople sacrificing his son along with their morals and principles; he resigns as constable and market manager and leaves Little Tall, divorcing Molly and deciding to never return (though his narration reveals he keeps in contact with some residents). He settles in San Francisco, and continues to represent law and order, eventually becoming a US Marshal. As time passes, he hears of several in Little Tall committing suicide over the years (including Hatch's wife Melinda, Angela Carver's husband Jack, and Robbie Beals' wife Sandy). Hatch, now a widower, marries Molly; Mike wishes the best for them. Nine years after the storm, Mike notices an old man and a teenage boy on the sidewalk, both humming "I'm a little teapot." He recognizes the boy as an older Ralphie and both turn to face him. The old man resembles Linoge while the boy briefly hisses with a fanged mouth. Mike follows them, but they vanish in an alley. Mike considers telling Molly what he saw that day, but ultimately decides against it; it is implied he severs contact with Little Tall permanently. He sometimes wonders if this is the wrong decision, then admits in narration "in daylight, I know better."
The story revolves around the life of Oskar Matzerath, as narrated by himself when confined in a mental hospital during the years 1952–1954. Born in 1924 in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland), with an adult's capacity for thought and perception, he decides never to grow up when he hears his father declare that he would become a grocer. Gifted with a piercing shriek that can shatter glass or be used as a weapon, Oskar declares himself to be one of those "clairaudient infants", whose "spiritual development is complete at birth and only needs to affirm itself". He retains the stature of a child while living through the beginning of World War II, several love affairs, and the world of postwar Europe. Through all this, a toy tin drum, the first of which he received as a present on his third birthday, followed by many replacement drums each time he wears one out from over-vigorous drumming, remains his treasured possession; he is willing to commit violence to retain it.
Oskar considers himself to have two "presumptive fathers"—his mother's husband Alfred Matzerath, a member of the Nazi Party, and her cousin and lover Jan Bronski, a Danzig Pole who is executed for defending the Polish Post Office in Danzig during the German invasion of Poland. Oskar's mother having died, Alfred marries Maria, a woman who is secretly Oskar's first mistress. After marrying Alfred, Maria gives birth to Kurt, whom Oskar thereafter refers to as his son. But Oskar is disappointed to find that the baby persists in growing up, and will not join him in ceasing to grow at the age of three.
During the war, Oskar joins a troupe of performing dwarfs who entertain the German troops at the front line. But when his second love, the diminutive Roswitha, is killed by Allied troops in the invasion of Normandy, Oskar returns to his family in Danzig where he becomes the leader of a criminal youth gang (akin to the Edelweiss Pirates). The Russian army soon captures Danzig, and Alfred is shot by invading troops after he goes into seizures while swallowing his party pin to avoid being revealed as a Nazi. Oskar bears some culpability for both of his presumptive fathers' deaths since he leads Jan Bronski to the Polish Post Office in an effort to get his drum repaired and he returns Alfred Matzerath's Nazi party pin while he is being interrogated by Soviet soldiers.
After the war Oskar, his widowed stepmother, and their son have to leave the now Polish city of Danzig and move to Düsseldorf, where he models in the nude and works engraving tombstones. Mounting tensions compel Oskar to live apart from Maria and Kurt; he decides on a flat owned by the Zeidlers. Upon moving in, he falls in love with Sister Dorothea, a neighbor, but he later fails to seduce her. During an encounter with fellow musician Klepp, Klepp asks Oskar how he has an authority over the judgement of music. Oskar, willing to prove himself once and for all, picks up his drum and sticks despite his vow to never play again after Alfred's death, and plays a measure on his drum. The ensuing events lead Klepp, Oskar, and Scholle, a guitarist, to form the Rhine River Three jazz band. They are discovered by Mr. Schmuh, who invites them to play at the Onion Cellar club. After a virtuoso performance, a record company talent seeker discovers Oskar the jazz drummer and offers a contract. Oskar soon achieves fame and riches. One day while walking through a field he finds a severed finger: the ring finger of Sister Dorothea, who has been murdered. He then meets and befriends Vittlar. Oskar allows himself to be falsely convicted of the murder and is confined to an insane asylum, where he writes his memoirs.
Thor, Tigra, Starfox, Quasar, Moondragon, Photon and Jack of Hearts become the temporary Avengers Infinity squad when they travel into space and encounter a group of cosmic entities called the Infinites. The Infinites have plans to rearrange galaxies (destroying all life in those galaxies in the process) in order to improve the flow of their energies. The heroes convince the Infinites not to destroy the Earth and the other threatened planets. At the end, the unofficial team began to make their way to an intergalactic bar.
Meanwhile, at the Intergalactic Council, the Skrull ambassador files a formal complaint against humans, charging that Professor X and a band of Skrull mutants known as Cadre K have been interfering in the extermination of other Skrull mutants. The council is attacked by Ego the Living Planet and are rescued by Professor X and Cadre K. A new race, the Ruul, helps to miniaturize and imprison Ego. Despite the human assistance, the council sides with the Skrulls and votes to take action against Earth.
Earth's solar system is surrounded by a force field, and Earth is turned into a prison for intergalactic criminals, the Council reasoning that the criminals will keep Earth too occupied to do anything about the wider universe. Ronan the Accuser acts as warden from an orbiting space craft. The Avengers learn the miniaturized Ego is among the aliens condemned to Earth and that he is expanding and becoming one with the Earth. At the rate it grows, it could possibly assimilate the entire Earth within a week.
Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, and the Silver Surfer work to stop Ego from expanding. Meanwhile, Cadre K try to convince the Intergalactic Council to reverse its actions but are resisted by the Skrull ambassador. On Earth, people rally the alien criminals to fight back against Ronan.
Meanwhile, at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base on the moon, the Ruul release their leader, the Supreme Intelligence. At the same time, Cadre K is imprisoned as a result of their interruption of the council meeting.
While the Avengers Infinity group are held by the Shi'ar, the Ruul imprison them under the orders of the Supreme Intelligence. The Supreme Intelligence tells them how he made use of the Destiny Crystal, a device of great power he recently acquired. He used the crystal to accelerate the evolution of the Kree, creating the Ruul, who then manipulated the Council in a plan to get revenge on and destroy the Avengers and Earth. He will then use Ego's power as a weapon to expand the Kree empire.
U.S. Agent persuades the alien prisoners to fight on the side of Earth. He takes command of the Avengers and all the other heroes they can find and leads an attack on Ronan's citadel. During the battle, the Avengers Infinity team free themselves and teleport to the Intergalactic Council. Moondragon telepathically explains the true situation to the Council. The Supreme Intelligence appears in front of the Council and admits the truth but claims that it is too late to stop it.
Using information obtained by Gambit, Quasar is able to absorb Ego into his Quantum Bands. Ronan is defeated, and the Supreme Intelligence's plan fails. Quasar decides to leave Earth to avoid the risk of unleashing Ego again. The Council removes the alien criminals from Earth and decides to take no further action against humans for the time being.
''Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet'' #1 ''Maximum Security: Thor vs. Ego'' #1 (reprints classic Thor stories featuring Ego) ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' vol. 2, #24 ''Avengers'' vol. 3, #35 ''Bishop:The Last X-Man'' #15 ''Black Panther'' vol. 3, #25 ''Captain America'' vol. 3, #36 ''Captain Marvel'' vol. 3, #12 ''Gambit'' vol. 3, #23 ''The Incredible Hulk'' vol. 3, #21 ''Iron Man'' vol. 3, #35 ''Marvel Knights'' vol. 1, #6 ''Peter Parker: Spider-Man'' #24 ''Thor'' vol. 2, #30 ''Thunderbolts'' vol. 1, #45 ''Uncanny X-Men'' #387 ''X-Men'' vol. 2 #107 ''X-Men Unlimited'' #29
Some of the issues are collected in the ''Avengers/X-Men: Maximum Security'' trade paperback ( ): ''Maximum Security'' #1-3 ''Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet'' #1 ''Avengers'' vol. 3 #35 ''Bishop: The Last X-Man'' #15 ''Captain America'' vol. 3 #36 ''Gambit'' vol. 3 #23 ''Iron Man'' vol. 3 #35 and part of last four pages of #34 ''Thor'' vol. 2 #30 ''Uncanny X-Men'' #387 ''X-Men'' vol. 2 #107 *''X-Men Unlimited'' #29
The Busiek stories are included in ''Avengers Assemble, Vol. 4'' ( ): ''Maximum Security'' #1-3 ''Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet'' #1 ''Avengers'' vol. 3 #35-44 ''Avengers Annual 2001''
Other issues are collected in other books: ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' vol. 2 #24 is in ''Spider-Man: Revenge of the Green Goblin'' ( ) ''Black Panther'' vol. 3 #25 is in ''Black Panther by Christopher Priest: The Complete Collection Vol. 2'' ( ) ''Captain Marvel'' vol. 3, #12 is in ''Captain Marvel Vol. 2: Coven'' ( ) ''The Incredible Hulk'' vol. 3 #21 is in ''The Incredible Hulk: Past Perfect'' ( ) ''Thunderbolts'' vol. 1 #45 is in ''Hawkeye & the Thunderbolts Vol. 2'' ( ) ''Marvel Knights'' vol. 1 #6 is in ''Marvel Knights by Dixon & Barreto: Defenders of the Streets'' ( ) *''Peter Parker: Spider-Man'' #24 is in ''Spider-Man: Light in the Darkness'' ( )
Van Ray and Deaqon Hayes are two mismatched cops teamed together by shady, sexy police lieutenant, Wilhelmina "Billie" Chambers, in a secretive undercover division of the Los Angeles Police Department. Operating with the motto "Everything we seize, we keep. Everything we keep, we use," their base of operations is the "Candy Store"—a warehouse containing a fortune in confiscated cars, clothes, weapons and everything else needed to blend into the seedy criminal underworld of Los Angeles. Given criminal covers, the officers use all of the resources at their disposal to apprehend dangerous criminals while walking the line between cop and criminal.
In the Newton family home, George, Alice, Ryce, Ted, Emily, and Beethoven are all well adjusted to living together. Beethoven sneaks out and meets Missy, a female St. Bernard, and her owner Brillo. Regina, Brillo's future ex-wife, arrives with her boyfriend Floyd, takes Missy, and is seeking $50,000 in the settlement as alimony. She has retained full custody of Missy and only plans to transfer her to Brillo once the divorce is finalized.
With Beethoven's help, Missy escapes from Regina's condominium, and they fall in love. Meanwhile, Ryce develops strong feelings for her classmate, Taylor Devereaux, after he kisses her. Ted and Emily become aware of Beethoven constantly sneaking out of the house and follow him, where they discover he and Missy had four puppies in the basement of the building. The janitor also finds them and informs Regina. She reclaims Missy and plans to get rid of the puppies, even if it means killing them, but the janitor talks her out of it by pointing out that purebred puppies are worth a lot of money and suggests that she could sell them at a pet store and make a fortune.
Thinking Regina plans to drown the puppies, Ted and Emily sneak out of the building with the puppies and take them home. They keep them in their basement so their father will not see them. Realizing they took them, Regina plans revenge. Ryce, Ted, and Emily take it upon themselves to feed and care for them. Eventually, George discovers the puppies and reluctantly agrees to keep them until they are mature.
The Newtons are offered a free stay in a lakefront house at the mountains owned by one of George's business associates. There, Taylor invites Ryce to a party with friends where she is exposed to teenage drinking and sexual harassment. Beethoven destroys the house's patio deck, removing her from potential danger. Regina and Floyd are staying in a location unknown to Brillo, coincidentally near the Newtons' vacation house. The Newtons go to a county fair with the dogs, and the children persuade George to enter a burger eating contest with Beethoven, which they win. Regina and Floyd are also at the fair, but leave Missy in their car.
Missy escapes from the car with Beethoven's help while Regina snatches the puppies' leashes from Ted and Emily. Beethoven and Missy run into the mountains, followed by Regina and Floyd. The Newtons follow and catch up. After a confrontation between George and Floyd, Floyd threatens to drop the puppies in the river below and pokes George in the stomach with a large stick. Beethoven charges into the stick and rams it into Floyd's groin, causing him to lose his balance and fall over the cliff, pulling Regina down with him. They fall into a pool of mud and are swept away by the river.
Five months later, Brillo visits the Newtons with Missy, revealing that the judge in the divorce had granted him full custody of her and denied Regina's claim. The puppies, much older, run downstairs to see Missy.
Richard Newton checks in with his two children, Sara and Brennan, before school. The children love their St. Bernard dog, Beethoven, whom they are keeping for relatives, but their parents do not, and want to get rid of him. So the children begin taking the dog to Obedience Training led by a former army sergeant. Brennan falls in love with a girl named Hayley, while Beethoven literally destroys the obstacle course in one day. To top it all off, Beethoven hits the army sergeant in the groin with a leash causing him to kneel over in pain.
Meanwhile, the rich Sedgewick family owns a pampered and well-behaved St. Bernard that looks exactly like Beethoven, named Michelangelo. Michelangelo and young Madison Sedgewick are friends, but her busy parents, Reginald and Martha, are always neglecting her. In fact, Reginald is the only one who seems to try to play with her. Beethoven, meanwhile, runs after a loose hot dog cart, and ends up on a merry-go-round. Michelangelo has gotten loose, as well, and is now on the same merry-go-round. Brennan and Sara mistake him for Beethoven and take him home. The real Beethoven is mistaken for Michelangelo, and grabbed by Jonathan Simmons, the Sedgewick family's butler and taken to their mansion.
Sara is surprised when Michelangelo wipes his feet on the welcome mat and folds the napkins with his teeth at dinner. The Sedgewicks notice the change in "their dog" too, when he bolts Simmons to the ground to get a piece of turkey. That night, Beethoven hears Madison whimpering because of a bad dream, and comforts her. At the next obedience class, Michelangelo leaves everyone in astonishment, by finishing the entire new obstacle course, while the sergeant is announcing the course.
Meanwhile, Beethoven ruins a dinner party, when a man named Nigel tries to kidnap him. A therapist points out to Martha that the reason "Michelangelo" is acting this way is because he is the first one exhibiting "symptoms". The therapist suggests that it may be because Martha does not care about anyone but herself. Richard is concerned about "Beethoven", and starts acting out to get "Beethoven" to misbehave again too. Richard drinks toilet water, chases the mailman, etc. Michelangelo ends up catching on, and starts behaving like Beethoven.
The Sedgewick family start playing fetch and swimming with Beethoven. But as the Sedgewicks and Beethoven are hiking, Nigel (who turns out to be Simmons' sidekick) kidnaps Beethoven and locks him in a warehouse, for a ransom of $250,000. But Beethoven breaks out and secretly switches places with Michelangelo at the obedience graduation. The real Michelangelo is found by the Sedgewicks, and Simmons and Nigel are arrested by two FBI agents. The real Beethoven is found by the Newtons, and he graduates. The Sedgewicks and Newtons then meet up at a fork on the road, though, they never find out about the switching of Beethoven and Michelangelo.
In the post-World War II Val Melaina neighborhood of Rome, Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani) is desperate for work to support his wife Maria (Lianella Carell), his son Bruno (Enzo Staiola) and his small baby. He is offered a job of pasting advertising bills but tells Maria that he cannot accept because the job requires a bicycle. Maria resolutely strips the bed of her dowry bedsheets prized possessions for a poor family and takes them to the pawn shop, where they bring enough to redeem Antonio's pawned bicycle.
On his first day of work, Antonio is atop a ladder when a young man (Vittorio Antonucci) snatches the bicycle. Antonio gives chase but is thrown off the trail by the thief's confederates. The police warn that there is little they can do. Advised that stolen goods often surface at the Piazza Vittorio market, Antonio goes there with several friends and Bruno. They find a bicycle that might be Antonio's, but the serial numbers do not match.
At the Porta Portese market, Antonio and Bruno spot the thief with an old man. The thief eludes them and the old man feigns ignorance. They follow him into a church where he too slips away from them.
In a subsequent encounter with the thief, Antonio pursues him into a brothel, whose denizens eject them. In the street, hostile neighbors gather as Antonio accuses the thief, who conveniently falls into a fit for which the crowd blames Antonio. Bruno fetches a policeman, who searches the thief's apartment without success. The policeman tells Antonio the case is weak Antonio has no witnesses and the neighbors are certain to provide the thief with an alibi. Antonio and Bruno leave in despair amid jeers and threats from the crowd.
On their way home, they are walking near Stadio Nazionale PNF football stadium. Antonio sees an unattended bicycle near a doorway and after much anguished soul-searching, instructs Bruno to take the tram to a stop nearby and wait. Antonio circles the unattended bicycle and jumps on it. Instantly the hue and cry is raised and Bruno who has missed the tram is stunned to see his father pursued, surrounded and pulled from the bicycle. As Antonio is being muscled toward the police station, the bicycle's owner notices Bruno and in a moment of compassion tells the others to release Antonio.
Antonio and Bruno then walk off slowly amid a buffeting crowd. Antonio fights back tears and Bruno takes his hand. The camera watches from behind as they disappear into the crowd.
Ladri di biciclette - immagine .jpg | First day
Ladri-biciclette-pioggia.jpg | In search of the
Ladri-biciclette folla.jpg | The thief's neighbors
Ladri-biciclette.jpg | All seems lost
Patrick Foley goes to the outback while dying of cancer. He declines medicine and is at peace with his decision to die alone in the forest. As he sees a family camping, Shawn Daley discovers his parents losing control of the recreational vehicle and falling to their deaths. Despite having an ethical dilemma, Foley accompanies Shawn. After days of educating survival, they forgive each other. As Foley dies, Shawn continues travelling.
Tom and Mae Garvey are a hard-working couple living with their two children on the east Tennessee farm owned by Tom's family for generations. They and many of their neighbors have hit hard times as of late. A downturn in the economy has led to dwindling land prices. But their biggest problem has been that their crop land has been prone to flooding as the property is adjacent to a river. Manipulating the powers that be include local senator Neiswinder and the local bank. Joe Wade, who also grew up in the area and now runs the local milling company that sets the local grain prices, is working behind the scenes to buy up the properties along the river for a song as he wants to build a dam that would flood the Garvey's and other riverfront properties. The dam would generate electricity but more importantly for Joe, it would provide irrigation opportunities for farm properties away from the river, such as his own. Tom already intensely dislikes Joe because he and Mae used to be a couple. Joe's manoeuvrings coupled with the continuation of these and many other farming problems makes it increasingly difficult for Tom and Mae to hold on to their farm, as Tom is determined at any cost to have it stay on the land of his ancestors.
Lt. Commander Thomas Dodge is being considered for a third time to captain a submarine. He has been previously passed over because of his unorthodox command methods that include a "brushing" incident with a Russian submarine and a genital tattoo that he acquired afterward while drunk on shore leave. Another denial will result in Dodge's being dropped from the Navy's submarine command program. Rear Admiral Yancy Graham, who dislikes Dodge, speaks out against Dodge's promotion.
Vice Admiral Dean Winslow, Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic, likes Dodge and his unorthodox methods. He selects him to participate in a war game to test the Navy's defenses against attack from diesel-powered submarines. Russia has been selling off their diesel fleet to America's adversaries, so Dodge is given command of the World War II-era diesel-powered submarine, USS ''Stingray''. His orders are to "invade" Charleston harbor without being detected, and if successful, to sink a dummy warship in Norfolk harbor with two live torpedoes. While reluctant to participate, Dodge offers Winslow a wager: If he successfully completes both tasks, Winslow will give him a nuclear submarine to command. The admiral agrees to seriously consider it, while also telling Dodge to "think like a pirate" during the exercise.
Graham, boasting that he has never lost a war game, handpicks "the crew from hell" for ''Stingray'': hot-tempered, uptight Lt. Martin Pascal as the executive officer; crusty civilian naval contractor Howard as the Chief Engineer; rebellious Engineman 1st Class Brad Stepanek; ultra sharp-eared Sonarman 2nd Class E.T. "Sonar" Lovacelli; compulsive gambler Seaman Stanley "Spots" Sylvesterson; former losing college basketball player Seaman Jefferson "Stoneball" Jackson; shock-addled Electrician's Mate Nitro; and not-so-Culinary Specialist Second Class Buckman, as ''Stingray'' s cook. Lt. Emily Lake is assigned by Graham to serve as the sub's Diving Officer, part of a "special program" to see if women can successfully serve aboard submarines.
Using a storm off the Carolina coast as a diversion, Dodge and his crew take full advantage of the gale. They use deception to sneak into Charleston Harbor and set off signal flares. Upset at losing the first part of the war game, Graham reduces the game's containment area by half without Winslow's authorization. Dodge leaves the containment area and heads out to sea, cutting off all contact with the Navy. Pascal openly accuses Dodge of hijacking his own boat and attempts to relieve him of command. ''Stingray'' s crew, fed up with Pascal's berating and harassment, refuse to support his action, and Dodge charges Pascal with attempted mutiny. On deck, wearing mock-buccaneer outfits and speaking like pirates, the crew and Lake look on as Dodge sentences the blindfolded Pascal to walk the plank (into the raised net of a waiting fishing trawler that will take him ashore).
Graham, hellbent on stopping Dodge, assumes command of the attack submarine USS ''Orlando''. Dodge employs an incredibly dangerous maneuver: passing ''Stingray'' between the huge propellers of a commercial supertanker to avoid sonar detection by the naval ships and aircraft protecting the approach to Norfolk. ''Orlando'' eventually locates and chases down the ''Stingray''. By the time his boat is targeted, Dodge has fired two live torpedoes at into a target ship anchored in Norfolk harbor, thereby winning the war game.
Returning to port, Graham is chastised by Admiral Winslow for attempting to undermine Dodge's success. Winslow also denies Graham's promotion. He informs Dodge that he will now be given the command of a new , along with a proper crew to man her. Dodge respectfully requests that his entire ''Stingray'' crew be transferred with him. Winslow agrees and reveals that crewman Stepanak is his rebellous son. Dodge dismisses his crew to begin a well-earned shore leave. As Dodge and Lake leave the dock, she casually asks him "What is this tattoo I keep hearing about?"
Manhattan level: three Kesh Rhan ships surround the Statue of Liberty
''Chaos Control'''s protagonist is a pilot named Jessica Darkhill, whose partner was killed earlier in the war against the game's antagonists, the alien Kesh Rhan. Beginning in Manhattan, Darkhill must break through the Kesh Rhan defenses, destroy a computer virus of their making, then mount an attack upon the alien mothership in order to save Earth from the alien invasion.
A game with a linear plot will typically have a lower replay value due to the limited choices a character can make. Games that offer more choices in regard to what the player can do, such as strategy games, roguelikes or construction and management sims, tend to have higher replay value since the player might be able to make each play through different.
As a non-video game example, consider the difference between a "traditional" book and a Choose Your Own Adventure book. For a traditional book the reader will read it from start to finish, and should they choose to re-read it the plot would remain constant, thus offering the same experience the second time around. The plot of a Choose Your Own Adventure book, on the other hand, is more varied and different events would occur, some that the reader might not have seen the last time they read it, prompting the reader to read through the book again even if they have done so just moments before.
In the case of role-playing video games, plots can be linear or non-linear. The plots of older RPGs tended to show little to no plot changes with each play through. A good example of an RPG with a non-linear plot is ''Mass Effect'' and its sequel, ''Mass Effect 2''. Role playing games released in later years allow for more freedom. For instance, choosing to be ruthless instead of lenient might prevent certain events from taking place (or even cause new ones to occur). Likewise, allowing a particular character into the party could cause the plot to branch off in a new direction, if even for a short time. A good example of this point is the character Juhani in ''Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic''. The player has the option of killing her or sparing her life. Should the player be merciful, Juhani joins the player's party. Later in the game, the player will then run into an enemy from her past.
As children, Sammy and Terry Prescott lose their parents to a car accident. Years later, Sammy, a single mother and lending officer at a bank, still lives in her childhood home in a village in the Catskill Mountains region of New York, while Terry has drifted around the country, scraping by and getting in and out of trouble.
After months of no communication with his sister, Terry and his girlfriend, Sheila, are desperate for money, so he comes to visit Sammy and her son, Rudy, who are excited about reuniting with him. Despite the disappointment of learning that he cut off contact because he was in jail for three months, Sammy lends him the money, which he mails back to Sheila. After Sheila attempts suicide, he decides to extend his stay with Sammy, which she welcomes.
For a school writing assignment, Rudy imagines his father, who he has no memory of, as a fantastic hero. While Sammy has always given him vague yet negative descriptions of Rudy Sr., Terry is frank with him that Rudy Sr. is not a nice person – though Rudy naively believes his father has changed. Sammy rekindles a sexual relationship with Bob, an old boyfriend, but is surprised when he proposes to her after a short time and says she needs time to consider it.
At the bank, the new manager, Brian, tries to make his mark with unusual demands about computer color schemes and daily timesheets. While co-worker Mabel works well with the changes, Sammy is upset when Brian requests that she make arrangements for someone else to pick up Rudy from the school bus rather than Sammy leaving work at random. After some minor arguments, they start having sex, despite Brian's wife being six months pregnant.
Terry grows close to Rudy during their time together. Yet he pushes the limits of Sammy's parental control, keeping Rudy out very late as the two play pool at a bar. She turns to Ron, her church minister, to counsel Terry about his outlook on life. While Terry resists his sister's advice, he and Rudy grow steadily closer. Realizing her own questionable decisions, Sammy turns down Bob's marriage proposal and breaks off her relationship with Brian.
After a day of fishing, Terry and Rudy decide to visit Rudy Sr. in a trailer park in a nearby town. Confronted by his past, Rudy Sr. denies he is Rudy's father and starts a brawl with Terry. Rudy watches silently as Terry beats Rudy Sr. and gets arrested.
Sammy brings her brother and son home. When Rudy insists that Rudy Sr. is not his father, Sammy finally tells him the truth. Sammy asks Terry to move out, but admits how important he is to her and Rudy, suggesting he get his own place in town and get his life back on track. He scoffs at Sammy's idea and plans to go back to Alaska. While at first it appears the separation will be another heartache, they reconcile before Terry leaves, coming to terms with their respective paths in life.
''Santa Barbara'' is notable for having a central plot around which many of the others revolve: the murder of Channing Capwell, Jr. This killing takes place five years before the series actually begins, at which point Joe Perkins, jailed for the murder, is paroled and returns to Santa Barbara determined to prove his innocence and renew his relationship with Kelly Capwell, sister of the victim. Over the course of the soap, almost every major character would be accused of the murder of Channing Capwell, Jr. or find his or her life involved in the incident in one way or another: from his illegitimate son to his mysterious, presumed-dead mother.
Television network True TV is commencing interviews for a planned reality show that shows a normal person's life 24/7, created by TV producer Cynthia. They interview Ed Pekurny and his brother, Ray. When the producers see the interview, Cynthia chooses Ed. The show hits the airwaves under the title "Ed TV." It is a total failure at first, as only boring things happen. The producers want to pull the plug, but Cynthia remains determined that the show will succeed.
Ed TV gets interesting when Ed visits Ray. Ed (along with the cameramen) discovers that Ray is cheating on his girlfriend Shari. Ed visits Shari to apologize to her for Ray's actions, but a drunk Shari starts insulting Ray, calling him "a bad lay", to the audience's amusement. Ed tries to comfort Shari, revealing he has feelings for her; she reveals she has feelings for him too, and they kiss, making Ed TV extremely popular. At Cynthia's insistence, Ed starts a relationship with Shari, but their relationship is short-lived, as Ed grows more interested in staying on TV and Shari is abused by viewers who find her unappealing.
Ed goes on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' and meets beautiful model and actress Jill who takes a liking to Ed. Ed visits Shari, who tells him she does not want to be with him until Ed TV stops airing. She then leaves town. Ed goes to a park to play football with Ray when Jill arrives to invite Ed over for dinner at her house, as Cynthia brought her in to earn more ratings. When Ed arrives at Jill's house, there is a massive crowd. The two have a small talk, and kiss on top of a table. They are about to have sex, but Ed falls off the table and lands on her cat, which results in a sore back for the former and a broken leg for the latter. Ed never sees Jill again, and he also finds out his brother wrote a book (called ''My Brother Pissed on Me'').
Ed's father Hank, who abandoned his family when Ed was thirteen, unexpectedly visits Ed and informs him that he left because Ed's mother was having an affair with Ed's current stepfather, Al . Ed is furious with his mother Jeanette, who had previously claimed that she'd only met Al after Hank left, and argues with her. Ed then gets a phone call telling him to come to the hospital, where he is told his father died making love to his wife. Ed assumes the father in question is Al, but it is actually Hank, who was having an affair with Jeanette.
After Hank's funeral, Ed becomes disheartened by how the producers want him to stay on longer and that he cannot do anything to change their minds or he would be in breach of his contract. Ed is depressed until he notices a disguised Shari. He chases her to a women's bathroom in a movie theater, where she explains that she is staying with her brother for his birthday and that she just wanted to see Ed. Ed vows to find a way to end the show to be with Shari. When Ed exits, one cameraman stays with Shari, explaining that it is the producers' new idea: Ed's entire family is being filmed, but they will focus on the most interesting person, eliminating his family's right to privacy for as long as the show will air.
Ed gets an idea on how to stop the main producer from airing the show: he will give $10,000 to the person who can give him the best amount of "dirt" on the producers and that he will announce it live, with the desired result being that they stop airing the show before he can make the announcement. As Cynthia feels sorry for Ed, she tells him a secret of the main producer. Ed announces the secret (that the man has to pump a liquid into his penis to get an erection), but before he can announce who it is, the show is taken off the air.
After the camera crew finally leaves Ed's apartment, he and Shari renew their relationship and celebrate as TV news panelists predict Ed will be forgotten in a short period of time.
''Nightingales'' revolved around the jobs of three bored nightwatchmen working in a deserted office block, the location of which is never revealed, although exterior shots are of Beneficial House located on Paradise Circus in Birmingham City Centre.
A typical episode involved both very naturalistic dialogue — and the kind of claustrophobic studio-setting that prevailed in shows such as ''Steptoe and Son'' — combined with the surreal.
''Nightingales'' ran for two series totalling 13 episodes from 27 February 1990 to 10 February 1993. The long delay was prompted by Channel 4 executive Seamus Cassidy who was not happy with the proposed scripts for the second series and it was nearly three years before it was given the go-ahead. The theme tune was a version of the song "''A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square''" sung by Lindsay. Writer Paul Makin went on to write more conventional comedies like ''Goodnight Sweetheart''. A US remake (titled "In Security") was piloted but never commissioned.
Each episode of ''Riget'' and ''Riget II'' begins with the same prologue, detailing how the hospital, Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, was built on the site of the "bleaching ponds", which recur in the name of the street of the hospital's official address, Blegdamsvej, although the exact significance of the reference is never explicitly discussed in the series.
The show begins with the admission of a spiritualist patient, Sigrid Drusse, who hears the sound of a girl crying in the elevator shaft. Upon investigation, Drusse discovers that the girl had died decades earlier, having been killed by her father to hide her illegitimacy. In order to put the spirit to rest, Drusse searches for the girl's body and ultimately finds it preserved in a specimen jar in the office of the hospital's professor of pathology, Professor Bondo (Baard Owe).
Meanwhile, neurosurgeon Stig Helmer, a recent appointee from Sweden to the neurosurgery department, tries to cover up his responsibility for a botched operation which left a young girl in a persistent vegetative state.
Pathologist Dr. Bondo attempts to convince the family of a man dying from liver cancer to donate his liver to the hospital for Bondo's research. (In fact, Bondo wants it as a trophy, as it is the second largest hepatosarcoma ever recorded.) When his request is denied, Bondo has the cancerous liver transplanted into his own body (as the patient signed an organ donor form), so that the cancer will become his personal property and can be kept within the hospital.
Amongst other plotlines, a young medical student becomes attracted to the nurse in charge of the sleep research laboratory, a ghostly ambulance appears and disappears every night, a junior doctor runs a black market in medical supplies, and a neurosurgeon discovers that she was impregnated by a ghost and that the baby in her womb is developing abnormally rapidly. In every episode, two dishwashers (each with Down syndrome) in the cellar discuss the strange happenings at Riget, and Stig Helmer screams his famous catchphrase: ''Danskjävlar'' (subtitled as "Danish scum", but literally "Danish devils").
A plane crashes near a town called Ruby after its cargo escapes. The cargo survives the crash and attacks Ruby citizens, starting with a couple named Lisa and Roberta, camping in the woods.
At a swimming hole the next day, John, his girlfriend Kristin, his best friend Tommy, and Tommy's girlfriend Theresa find Lisa's pet Burmese python. Deputy Greg arrives, mentioning that Lisa is missing, and takes the snake. Lisa's body is found, appearing to have been corroded by acids. Greg suspects John, since he works at a plant that uses acids.
Scientist Anton Rudolph meets with NSA Special Agent Parker. The cargo is an abnormally large reticulated python genetically engineered in Southeast Asia, blending several species. In the words of Dr. Rudolph, it is, "a perfect killing machine. A 129-foot all-terrain vehicle, capable of speeds exceeding 50 miles an hour, with skin that can deflect an antitank round, enhanced night vision, and a voracious appetite for human flesh". The NSA team plans an assault against the snake.
The snake kills a real estate agent and the agent's client, leaving behind the client and Roberta's bodies. John arrives as the snake leaves, furthering suspicion against him. The sheriff shuts down his brother Brian's plant. When the body of the real estate agent is found with the same acid damage, the sheriff orders John arrested.
The NSA team and Anton arrive, telling the sheriff a story about a psychotic rogue operative committing the murders. He does not believe them, but frees John. Kristin, Tommy, Theresa, and he plan to go on a trip the next morning.
The NSA set up base at a water treatment center. They use radar to find where the snake is likely to be, then have the police set up a perimeter to keep people out of the zone. Believing the snake to be sleeping, the team wastes most of its ammunition on the snake's shed skin. Agent Parker realizes the snake used its skin as a decoy. The snake kills the team, the sole survivor being Anton who keeps himself standing motionless in front of the creature.
Theresa's morning shower is interrupted by the snake. Though she escapes, the snake eats Tommy. Theresa drives away, but the snake follows. It gets in front of her and disables the truck. Theresa hides in a crevice.
When Tommy and Theresa do not arrive, John and Kristin go looking for them, finding the wrecked truck. Theresa tries warning them as the snake approaches, but they cannot hear her. John and Kristin escape using Tommy and Theresa's bikes from the truck. They make it to the water treatment center, where Theresa joins them, and find Anton in shock. The group realizes that they must do something about the snake or it will get to the town. They call Greg on the radio and fill him in on a plan they have devised.
They lure the snake into the water treatment plant by having it chase John through a shaft, while they set a bomb near the entrance. Kristin drops a line down another shaft for John to escape. They pull John out and the python is unable to climb up the shaft. Trapped in the tunnel, the python returns to the doorway entrance. The group returns to the entrance to trigger the bomb, but it does not detonate. Anton runs back in to reset it. Anton detonates the charges while confronted by the snake, sacrificing himself. While the other four are celebrating their success, the python emerges unscathed.
The group flees in Greg's police car, planning to penetrate the snake's hide by luring the snake into a vat of acid at John's plating plant. They are able to push the snake's underbelly into one of the vats, causing the snake to be killed by the acid.
Six months later, Greg has been accepted into Quantico to be an FBI agent, the plant has been reopened as a bar/bike shop where the snake's skin is used as a sales tool, and John finds out that Kristin and he are soon to be parents.
The story tells of the fictional Kingdom Hospital located in Lewiston, Maine, built on the site of a mill that manufactured military uniforms during the American Civil War. Previously, a hospital known as the "Old Kingdom" had been built on the site, but it burned down. The current hospital is known as the "New Kingdom". The hospital's "turbulent" nature seems to reflect its ominous logo, a crimson stylized dagger, predicting what will come.
A psychic named Mrs. Druse has checked into the hospital numerous times and is taken by the staff to be a hypochondriac. She asks for the assistance of the cynical yet compassionate Dr. Hook to uncover the truth about the hospital and the mysterious spirits who haunt it – including a sinister teenage boy, a young girl who had died in the fire that burned the original hospital down, and a strange animal that follows and protects the young girl, who calls it Antubis (it is similar to a giant anteater, but whose long snout opens up to a set of jagged teeth).
Elsewhere, Peter Rickman, a painter who is admitted to the hospital following a road accident (with severe injuries to his skull and spine) begins to discover the ghastly goings-on while he lies comatose in room 426.
Other subplots included the initiation of arrogant chief of surgery Dr. Stegman into the secret society known as the 'Keepers', and the challenged-at-every-turn flirtation between young Dr. Elmer Traff and sleep doctor Dr Lona Massingale.
Perrin Aybara continues trying to rescue his wife Faile Bashere, kidnapped by the Shaido Aiel, even torturing prisoners for information. In addition, Perrin is approached with the suggestion of alliance with the Seanchan to defeat the Shaido. Mat Cauthon continues trying to escape Seanchan territory while courting Tuon, the heir to the Seanchan leadership. In the process, Mat discovers that Tuon is a ''sul'dam'' and can be taught to channel the One Power. Elayne Trakand continues trying to solidify her hold on the Lion Throne of Andor. It is revealed that she is expecting twins; but the identity of the father (Rand) is kept secret from others. Rand al'Thor sends Davram Bashere, Logain Ablar, and Loial to negotiate a truce with the Seanchan. They return at the end of the book to tell him that the Seanchan have accepted the truce, but demand the presence of the Dragon Reborn to meet with the Daughter of the Nine Moons. Egwene leads the siege of Tar Valon; but is kidnapped by agents of the White Tower after successfully blocking its River Port.
The film opens with a group of photographs of the Stella Maris College's Old Christians Rugby Team. Carlitos Páez points out several members of the team and reflects on the accident in a brief monologue.
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 flies over the Andes on October 13, 1972. The raucous rugby players and a few of their relatives and friends are eagerly looking forward to an upcoming match in Chile.
Upon emerging from clouds, the plane encounters turbulence and collides with a mountain. The wings and tail are separated from the fuselage, which slides down a mountain slope before coming to a stop. Six passengers and one flight attendant are ejected from the plane and die. Antonio, the team captain, coordinates efforts to help the injured. Roberto Canessa and Gustavo Zerbino, both medical students, aid the injured. Another six passengers soon die, including both pilots and Nando's mother, Eugenia. Nando, who sustained a head injury, falls into a coma, and his sister Susana has suffered harsh internal injuries.
As the sun sets, the survivors make preparations for the night. Canessa discovers that the seat covers can be unzipped and used as blankets. The survivors go inside the fuselage and curl up beside one another to stay warm. Antonio, Roy Harley, and Rafael Cano plug the gaping hole at the end of the fuselage with luggage to keep out the wind. Two passengers die overnight. With nothing to hunt or gather on the mountain, Antonio declares they will use rationing when the survivors find a tin of chocolates and a case of wine. After seeing a plane fly past, they think it dips its wing, and the survivors celebrate. Expecting to be rescued the next day, everyone except Javier, his wife Liliana, and Antonio eat the remaining chocolates. This causes a quarrel among Antonio and several others.
Nando regains consciousness. After learning of his mother's death, Nando watches over Susana vigilantly. Knowing she will die of her injuries within a few days, he vows to set off on foot and find a way out of the mountains. When Carlitos reminds him that he will need food, Nando suggests eating the flesh of the deceased pilots to give him the strength to survive the journey to find help. Susana dies from her injuries. The survivors listen to a radio for word of their rescue but are devastated to hear the search called off after nine days.
After great debate, the starving passengers decide to eat the flesh of their dead relatives and friends. Zerbino, Rafael, and Juan Martino set off to search for the tail of the plane in hopes of finding batteries for the plane's radio to transmit their location. Among pieces of the wreckage, the teammates find additional corpses, but return to the group with news that the tail of the plane is likely a little farther away. Later in the week, an avalanche strikes the plane and fills much of the interior with snow. Eight of the survivors, including Antonio and Liliana, are smothered to death by the snow. The remaining 19 survivors are forced to stay inside the plane when they realize there is a blizzard outside.
A second team, made up of Nando, Canessa, and Antonio "Tintin" Vizintin, sets out and find the tail of the plane. Unable to bring the batteries to the fuselage, they return to the fuselage to get Roy, who is thought to have experience with electrical equipment. They bring him to the tail of the plane to see if he could fix the radio. When Roy is unsuccessful, the team decides to return to the fuselage.
Federico and Alberto die from their injuries, as does Rafael, leading Nando to convince a reluctant Canessa to search for a way out of the mountains, taking Tintin with them. Two days into the journey, they send Tintin back to the fuselage so they can appropriate his rations and continue on their own. After a 12-day trek, the two escape the mountains and alert the authorities to their companions' location. Two helicopters, one of which have Nando and Canessa onboard, appear overhead of the survivors on the mountain, leading the remaining 14 survivors to celebrate their impending rescue.
In the present, Carlitos describes how the survivors later returned to the site of the crash and buried the corpses under a pile of stones, marked with a cross. The memorial to the 29 deceased and 16 survivors is shown.
The central character is Haldane IV, a mathematician who forms a caste-forbidden relationship with Helix, a poetess. He also becomes interested in investigating Fairweather, a famous mathematician who lived shortly before his time, and his son Fairweather II, whom he discovers led a failed rebellion.
Haldane and Helix are discovered and there is a show trial, which results in Haldane being exiled to "Hell" (a planet orbiting a distant star), where he meets Fairweather II and is reunited with Helix. It is revealed that Helix is Fairweather II's daughter; Fairweather II needed a mathematician for his time machine, and Helix was sent to Earth to engineer the exile of a mathematician to pilot an experimental time machine. Fairweather II makes Haldane immortal and sends him on a mission to go back in time and kill Jesus under his new name, "Judas Iscariot".
In an epilogue, Haldane captures Jesus, puts him in the time machine and sends him back. He returns to the present day, which is much more similar to our timeline, and meets a girl who is very similar to Helix.
The film tells the story of a virtual reality game designer, Jimi (Christopher Lambert), who discovers that the main character of his game, Solo (Diego Abatantuono), has achieved sentience due to an attack by a computer virus. Asked by his creation (who feels everything the character in the game feels, including multiple deaths) to eliminate its existence, Jimi sets out to erase the game from the server of his employer, Okasama Star, before it's commercially released on Christmas Day, and thus spare Solo further suffering.
Jimi has been depressed since his wife Lisa (Emmanuelle Seigner) left him. He decides to make his search for her a part of his quest to delete Solo and the game. Along the way he recruits Lisa's friend Joystick (Sergio Rubini) and tech wizard Naima (Stefania Rocca) to help him avoid suspicious representatives of Okasama Star, who employ increasingly forceful methods to stop him. By the end, Jimi hacks into one of the company's servers. This hack is in the world of virtual reality interpreted as encounters with persons from Jimi's life; the network defends itself by projecting virtual representations of people such as Jimi's father and Lisa. It tries to keep the hacker's mind in the loop of his own memories as it burns the hacker's brain. Jimi manages to pass through the network defence mechanism by freeing his mind, forgetting about life before or after, about bodily feelings, and entering a state of pure concentration where one focuses only on the target (in this case the server with the company's bank account). It is similar to meditation where one tries to concentrate on breathing; people who are able to do this are referred to as angels (they are invisible to the system, can go anywhere they want, and their possibilities are limitless) in the film. In the end, Jimi feels enlightened and at inner peace with himself. He successfully deletes Solo, comes to terms with Lisa's leaving him, and understands why things happened the way they did. He is in the state of Nirvana. Yet, during the film ending credits, a message flashes - "Naima is on line" - meaning the whole Nirvana intrigue was indeed a game within another game, that the player (the spectator) completed.
In a Tibetan lamasery, the monks seek to list all of the names of God. They believe the Universe was created for this purpose, and that once this naming is completed, God will bring the Universe to an end. Three centuries ago, the monks created an alphabet in which they calculated they could encode all the possible names of God, numbering about 9,000,000,000 ("nine billion") and each having no more than nine characters. Writing the names out by hand, as they had been doing, even after eliminating various nonsense combinations, would take another 15,000 years; the monks wish to use modern technology to finish this task more quickly.
They rent a computer capable of printing all the possible permutations, and hire two Westerners to install and program the machine. The computer operators are skeptical but play along. After three months, as the job nears completion, they fear that the monks will blame the computer (and, by extension, its operators) when nothing happens. The Westerners delay the operation of the computer so that it will complete its final print run just after their scheduled departure. After their successful departure on ponies, they pause on the mountain path on their way back to the airfield, where a plane is waiting to take them back to civilization. Under a clear night sky they estimate that it must be just about the time that the monks are pasting the final printed names into their holy books. Then they notice that "overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out."
Assuming the monks' alphabet has letters, then according to the Lama's description, the set of all possible names of God is the set of strings following two conditions:
The number of such strings is Setting gives 5.6 billion names of God, and gives 11.5 billion names of God.
In the ruins of an amphitheatre just outside an unnamed city lives Momo, a little girl of mysterious origin. She came to the ruin, parentless and wearing a long, used coat. She is illiterate and cannot count, and she doesn't know how old she is. When asked, she replies, "As far as I remember, I've always been around." She is remarkable in the neighbourhood because she has the extraordinary ability to listen—really listen. By simply being with people and listening to them, she can help them find answers to their problems, make up with each other, and think of fun games. The advice given to people "go and see Momo!" has become a household phrase and Momo makes many friends, especially an honest, silent street-cleaner, Beppo, and a poetic, extroverted tour guide, Gigi (Guido in some translations).
This pleasant atmosphere is spoiled by the arrival of the Men in Grey, eventually revealed as a species of paranormal parasites stealing the time of humans. Appearing in the form of grey-clad, grey-skinned, bald men, these strange individuals present themselves as representing the Timesavings Bank and promote the idea of "timesaving" among the population: supposedly, time can be deposited in the Bank and returned to the client later with interest. After encountering the Men in Grey, people are made to forget all about them, but not about the resolution to save as much time as possible for later use. Gradually, the sinister influence of the Men in Grey affects the whole city: life becomes sterile, devoid of all things considered time-wasting, like social activities, recreation, art, imagination, or sleeping. Buildings and clothing are made exactly the same for everyone, and the rhythms of life become hectic. In reality, the more time people save, the less they have; the time they save is actually lost to them. Instead, it is consumed by the Men in Grey in the form of cigars made from the dried petals of the hour-lilies that represent time. Without these cigars, the Men in Grey cannot exist.
Momo, however, is a wrench in the plans of the Men in Grey and the Timesavings Bank, thanks to her special personality. The Men in Grey try various plans to deal with her, to derail her from stopping their scheme, but they all fail. When even her closest friends fall under the influence of the Men in Grey in one way or another, Momo's only hope to save the time of mankind are the administrator of Time, Master Secundus Minutus Hora, and Cassiopeia, a tortoise who can communicate through writing on her shell and can see thirty minutes into the future. Momo's adventure takes her from the depths of her heart, which her own time flows from in the form of hour-lilies, to the lair of the Men in Grey themselves, where the time that people believe they are saving is hoarded.
After Master Hora stops time, but gives Momo a one hour-lily to carry with her, she has exactly one hour to defeat the Men in Grey in a frozen world where only they and she are still moving. She surreptitiously follows them to their underground lair and observes as they decimate their own number in order to stretch their supply of time as far as possible. With the advice of Cassiopeia and by using the hour-lily, Momo is able to shut the door to their vault. Facing extinction as soon as their cigars are consumed, the few remaining Men in Grey pursue Momo, perishing one by one. The last Man in Grey finally begs her to give him the hour-lily, and when she refuses, he too vanishes remarking that "it is good it is over".
Using the last minute she has before her hour-lily crumbles, Momo opens the vault again, releasing the millions of hour-lilies stored within. The stolen time returns to its proper owners and goes back to their hearts, causing time to start again (without people knowing it had ever halted). Momo is reunited with her friends, and elsewhere Master Hora rejoices together with Cassiopeia.
Bill Cary is a bush pilot living in Lapland in northern Finland, making a precarious living flying aerial survey flights looking for nickel deposits, and occasional charter cargo flights of dubious legitimacy in his beat-up old de Havilland Beaver. Towards the end of the flying season, a wealthy American hunter hires him to fly into a prohibited part of Finland near the Soviet border in order to hunt bear. Subsequently, he is assaulted by thugs when he refuses a charter contract to search for a lost Tsarist treasure, comes under suspicion from the Finnish police for smuggling when Tsarist-era gold sovereigns start turning up, and from the Finnish secret police for espionage. However, things get more serious when the wealthy American hunter's beautiful sister turns up to search for her brother, and his fellow bush pilots start getting killed off in a series of suspicious accidents. Cary suspects that the events he is increasingly involved in may stem from an incident in his wartime past.
In the middle of a New England winter, identical twin brothers Sandy and Dennys accidentally disturb an experiment in their parents' laboratory and are teleported to a sandy desert. There, they are acquired by water-prospector 'Japheth' and guided to an oasis, but Dennys is separated from the others. Sandy remains with Japheth and his elderly grandfather Lamech; there, Sandy is cured of heatstroke by a variety of improbable beings, including seraphim.
Dennys reappears in another tent and is thrown into a refuse heap. He later comes under the care of a friendly family in the center of the oasis, headed by a gruff but kindly patriarch called Noah. It soon becomes apparent that the boys have been interpolated into the story of Noah's Ark, shortly before the Flood. Both Noah and Lamech receive mysterious instructions from God (known as El) concerning the building of the Ark. The twins come to understand that unicorns who can traverse space and time live in the oasis. Sinister supernatural beings known as the nephilim distrust the twins, and their human wives attempt to gather information about them. At several points, the wife of a nephil unsuccessfully attempts to seduce Sandy.
Separated for much of the book, the twins become more independent of each other and gain maturity over the course of a year in the desert. Both are in love with Noah's beautiful and virtuous daughter Yalith (and she with them), but neither twin declares his affection until the very end of the novel. Dennys convinces Noah to reconcile with his father, Lamech, and both twins eventually care for Lamech's gardens while he lies ill. After Lamech's death, Sandy is kidnapped, but is eventually found by Japheth. Suspense arises when it becomes clear that there is no place on the Ark reserved for Sandy, Dennys, or Yalith. After both twins assist in the construction of the Ark, Yalith is taken by the seraphim to the presence of El. Sandy and Dennys are then returned to their own time and place by unicorns summoned by the seraphim.
In Hong Kong, Bruce Lee's father Lee Hoi-chuen awakens from a nightmare about a phantom, known as the Demon, haunting his young son. He subsequently enrolls him in Chinese martial arts training with instructor Yip Man. As a young adult, Bruce fights British sailors who are harassing a young Chinese woman, resulting in him having to leave Hong Kong. His father insists he go to the US.
In the US, Bruce works as a dishwasher at a Chinese restaurant until he gets in a brawl with four of the cooks. The restaurant owner Gussie Yang fires him but also lends him money and encourages him to go to college. While studying philosophy in college, Bruce begins to teach martial arts classes, where he meets Linda, a white American. Bruce marries Linda in defiance of her racist mother, Vivian. Linda suggests Bruce establish a martial arts school, but his Chinese peers demand he train only Chinese people. When Bruce refuses, they challenge him to settle the matter in combat. Bruce defeats a challenger named Johnny Sun in a secret, no-holds-barred match but Johnny attacks Bruce after he has admitted defeat, and Bruce sustains a debilitating back injury. While Bruce is temporarily paralyzed, Linda helps him write the martial arts book ''Tao of Jeet Kune Do''. Linda gives birth to their first child, Brandon, and the couple reconcile with her mother.
Some months later, during a martial arts tournament run by Ed Parker, Johnny challenges Bruce to a rematch. Bruce not only defeats but humiliates Johnny, earning the respect of the audience. Bruce is unaware that Johnny becomes crippled from his injuries in the fight. After the match, Bill Krieger, who later becomes Bruce's manager, offers him the role of Kato in the television series ''The Green Hornet''. Bruce and Krieger also create the idea for the television series ''Kung Fu'', agreeing that Bruce will feature in the lead role. At a cast party, Linda says she is pregnant with their second child, Shannon. Shortly afterwards, the cancellation of ''The Green Hornet'' is announced. ''Kung Fu'' later makes it to television but much to Bruce's frustration, it stars the white actor David Carradine. Bruce believes Krieger has betrayed him.
Bruce returns to Hong Kong for his father's funeral. Philip Tan, a Hong Kong film producer, hires Bruce to star in the film ''The Big Boss''. During the filming of the final scene, Johnny's brother Luke attacks Bruce in revenge for Johnny's humiliating defeat and subsequent disability; Bruce wins the fight. ''The Big Boss'' is a success and Bruce makes several more films, working as an actor, director, writer and editor. This causes a rift between Bruce and Linda, as Linda wishes to return to the US. Krieger offers Bruce a chance to work on a big-budget Hollywood film, to which Bruce agrees, partly because of Linda's wish to return home.
On the 32nd day of filming ''Enter the Dragon'', during the "room of mirrors" sequence, Bruce has a terrifying vision of the Demon that has haunted his and his father's dreams. This time, after being beaten and then shown his own grave, Bruce sees his son urging Bruce to save him. The Demon pursues Brandon, spurring Bruce to fight back, save Brandon and break the Demon's neck with a pair of Nunchaku. Bruce later films another scene from ''Enter the Dragon'', the film that would make him an international star. In a voice-over, Linda tells the audience Bruce fell into a mysterious coma and died shortly before the film's release, and says while many people want to talk about how he died, she prefers to remember how he lived.
While stargazing on the station's Promenade level at night, Sisko meets a woman named Fenna. After a brief conversation, Sisko finds she has left him without a word. Later, when the two meet again, Sisko takes Fenna on a tour of the station, and they rapidly fall in love. It is the first spark of romance he has felt since the death of his wife Jennifer four years earlier. However, Fenna is evasive when Sisko asks her about her life. Fearing that she may be in trouble, Sisko asks security chief Odo to check on her, but Odo can find no record of anyone meeting her description on the station.
Meanwhile, the renowned but egomaniacal terraformer Gideon Seyetik, "one of the Federation's greatest minds", is visiting Deep Space Nine en route to his next project. The project, which he considers his magnum opus, is to re-ignite a dying star so that planets orbiting it can support life; the plan is to send an unmanned vessel carrying the necessary fuel on a collision course with the star.
Seyetik invites the senior staff of Deep Space Nine for dinner on board the ''Prometheus'', the ship escorting him on his mission. He introduces his wife, Nidell, who looks exactly like Fenna. After dinner, Sisko privately converses with Nidell; however, she acts as if she'd never met him before. Later that evening, Fenna appears at Sisko's quarters; she claims to know nothing about Nidell. As she is kissing Sisko, she suddenly vanishes into a beam of energy.
Sisko and science officer Dax accompany Seyetik aboard the ''Prometheus'' to observe the terraforming mission. When Fenna appears again, Dax determines that Fenna is nothing more than pure energy. Meanwhile, Nidell is unconscious and dying. Seyetik explains that Fenna is a telepathic projection of Nidell's subconscious, who appears during times of emotional stress. She is no longer happy in her marriage, but since her people mate for life she cannot leave her husband. Her projected dreams of freedom have created Fenna, but are also killing her.
While Sisko and Fenna are discussing the nature of her existence, Dax calls Sisko to the command bridge: Seyetik has boarded the shuttlepod carrying the fuel directly into the star. Sisko tries to deter him, but Seyetik is determined to set his wife free. As he approaches the surface of the sun, he shouts, "Let there be light!" Later, Nidell leaves to return to her homeworld, with no memory of Fenna's romance with Sisko.
In a surreal world where animals and inanimate objects reflect the emotions of humans, Colin is a wealthy young man with a resourceful and stylish valet, Nicholas, and a loyal best friend, Chick. Despite his significant fortune and luxurious lifestyle, Colin is desperate for a lover, even going so far as secretly pining for Chick's girlfriend, Alyssum. Consequently, this overpowering desire compels Colin to instantly fall in love with Chloe, whom he meets at a friend's party. After a whirlwind romance, Colin weds Chloe in a grand ceremony. Generously, Colin bequeaths a quarter of his fortune to Chick and Alyssum so they too may marry despite the former's reluctance to do so.
During the honeymoon, Chloe falls ill with a mysterious disease that primarily consists of coughing and chest pain, and she and Colin are forced to end their trip early. Upon returning home, Chloe begins to feel better. However, her recovery is short-lived, and she faints during a shopping trip and her coughing fits return. She is eventually diagnosed with a water lily in the lung, a painful and rare condition that can only be treated by surrounding her with flowers. The expense of the treatment is large and Colin soon exhausts his funds, compelling him to undertake low-paying jobs in an effort to accumulate more money for Chloe's remedy. As Chloe's disease progresses, the apartments of Colin, Chick, and Nicholas all begin to decay, and Nicholas suddenly ages years in a single week.
Meanwhile, Chick's obsession with a philosopher Jean-Pulse Heartre causes him to spend all his money, effort and attention on collecting Heartre's literature. Alyssum, who is resentful of Chick's neglect of her in favor of his burgeoning collection, attempts to save him financially and renew his interest in her by persuading Heartre to stop publishing books, whom she kills when he refuses. She then seeks revenge upon the booksellers carrying Heartre's works by murdering them and burning down their stores. Concurrently, Chick receives a surprise visit from the police for tax evasion and contraband tobacco smuggling. His refusal to turn over his Heartre books as payment for his crimes leads to his death from a gunshot fired by one of the policemen at the scene.
Ultimately, Colin struggles to provide flowers for Chloe to no avail, and his grief at her death is so strong that his pet mouse commits suicide to escape the gloom.
On the planet Montressor, young Jim Hawkins is enchanted by stories of space pirate Captain Flint and his ability to strike suddenly and disappear without a trace, hiding his loot on the fabled "Treasure Planet". Twelve years later, Jim has grown into an aloof troublemaker after his father abandoned him. He reluctantly helps his mother Sarah run the Benbow Inn, and is caught by police after recklessly skysurfing with a rocket-powered sailboard.
A spaceship crashes near the inn, and the dying pilot, Billy Bones, gives Jim a sphere and warns him to "beware the cyborg". Pirates soon attack, burning down the inn, and Jim flees with his mother and their dog-like friend, Dr. Delbert Doppler. Jim discovers that the sphere contains a holographic star map, leading to the location of Treasure Planet, and decides to seek out the legendary fortune.
Doppler commissions the ship RLS ''Legacy'', commanded by feline Captain Amelia and stone-skinned first mate Mr. Arrow. The motley crew is secretly led by half-robot cook John Silver, whom Jim suspects is the cyborg he was warned about. Sent to work in the galley, Jim is supervised by Silver and his shape-shifting pet, Morph, and they form a tenuous father-son relationship.
When the ship encounters a supernova, Jim secures the crew's lifelines. As a black hole forms, ruthless insectoid crew member Scroop cuts Mr. Arrow's lifeline, sending him to his death. The ship rides the shock waves to safety, and Jim is framed for neglecting Arrow's lifeline, but is comforted by Silver.
Reaching Treasure Planet, Jim discovers the crew are indeed pirates led by Silver, and a mutiny erupts. Doppler, Amelia, and Morph abandon ship, and Jim retrieves the map, while Silver cannot bring himself to shoot Jim, allowing him to escape with the others. The group are shot down, injuring Amelia, and discover that the map is Morph in disguise, with the real map still on the ship.
They meet B.E.N., an abandoned navigational robot with knowledge of Flint and his treasure, but missing much of his memory. Cornered by the pirates, Jim, Morph, and B.E.N. hijack a longboat and return to the ''Legacy'' to retrieve the map. Scroop attacks them, and the artificial gravity is disabled; Scroop attempts to cut Jim loose, but Jim kicks him overboard into deep space. They obtain the map, but are caught by Silver and his crew, who have already captured Doppler and Amelia.
Silver forces Jim to use the map, directing them to a portal that opens to any location in the universe, allowing Flint to conduct his raids. They open the portal to the core of Treasure Planet, which is actually an ancient machine Flint commandeered to stow his treasure, but trip a hidden sensor. As the pirates collect the loot, Jim finds the skeletal remains of Flint, holding the missing component to B.E.N.'s cognitive computer. He reinserts it, and B.E.N. immediately recalls that Flint rigged the planet to explode upon the treasure's discovery.
As the planet collapses, engulfing the crew, Silver attempts to escape with a boatload of treasure, but abandons it to save Jim. The survivors reach the ''Legacy'', which is damaged and unable to escape the planet in time. Jim rigs a makeshift sailboard and rides ahead, setting the portal to Montressor Spaceport as he and the others clear the planet's explosion.
Jim finds Silver below decks and allows him to escape, and Silver gives him Morph and a handful of treasure, believing Jim will "rattle the stars". Sometime later, a party is hosted at the rebuilt Benbow Inn; Doppler and Amelia are married with children; and Jim, matured under Silver's mentorship, has become an interstellar cadet, and sees an image of Silver in the clouds near Treasure Planet.
FBI Special Agent Sean Archer survives an assassination attempt by homicidal sociopath Castor Troy, but the bullet penetrates Archer's chest and strikes his son Michael, killing the boy.
Six years later, Archer's vendetta against Castor culminates in his team ambushing Castor, who is with his younger brother and accomplice Pollux, at a remote desert airstrip. Castor goads Archer with knowledge of a bomb located somewhere in Los Angeles set to go off in a few days, before being knocked into a coma before Archer can learn more. Pollux, in custody, affirms that the bomb is real but refuses to reveal its location.
In secret, Archer reluctantly undergoes a highly experimental face transplant procedure by Dr. Malcolm Walsh to take on Castor Troy's face, voice, and appearance. Archer-as-Troy is taken to the same high-security prison where Pollux is being held. He manages to convince Pollux that he is Troy, and gains information on the bomb's location. Castor Troy unexpectedly awakens from his coma and discovers his face missing. He calls his gang, and they force Dr. Walsh to transplant Archer's face onto him. Troy then kills the only people who know of the transplant.
At the prison, Archer-as-Troy prepares to tell Biondi of the location but is surprised when Troy-as-Archer appears. Troy-as-Archer gloats that no one knows of the transplant, and that he will take over Archer's life. Pollux is freed when he willingly tells Troy-as-Archer of the bomb's location, and Troy-as-Archer disarms the bomb in a dramatic fashion. Troy-as-Archer earns admiration from the FBI office and becomes close to Archer's wife Eve and daughter Jamie, whom Archer had been neglecting while chasing down Troy.
Back at the prison, Archer-as-Troy escapes after staging a riot and retreats to Troy's headquarters. He meets Sasha, the sister of Troy's primary drug kingpin, and her son Adam, who reminds him of Michael. Archer-as-Troy discovers that Adam is Troy's son. Troy-as-Archer learns of Archer-as-Troy's escape and hastily assembles a team to raid his headquarters. The raid turns into a bloodbath and many FBI agents and several members of Troy's gang, including Pollux, are killed, while Archer, Sasha, and Adam are able to escape.
Archer's supervisor, Director Victor Lazarro, blames Troy-as-Archer for the numerous slayings. Troy-as-Archer, devastated, enraged, infuriated, and furious over Pollux's death, kills Lazarro and makes it look like a heart attack. Troy-as-Archer is promoted to acting director. Archer-as-Troy finds safety for Sasha and Adam. Then he approaches Eve and convinces her to test Troy-as-Archer's blood to prove his identity. After testing the blood and being convinced of her husband's identity, Eve tells Archer that Troy will be vulnerable at Lazarro's funeral.
At the ceremony, Archer-as-Troy finds that Troy-as-Archer has anticipated his actions and taken Eve hostage. Sasha arrives, and a gunfight ensues; Sasha manages to save Eve after taking a bullet. Archer-as-Troy promises a dying Sasha that he will take care of Adam and raise him away from criminal life. In a fight between the rivals outside, Jamie shoots and injures Archer-as-Troy. Troy-as-Archer flees the church with Archer-as-Troy pursuing him. Troy-as-Archer briefly takes Jamie hostage, but she escapes by stabbing him with the butterfly knife that Troy-as-Archer had given her for self-defense.
Troy-as-Archer reaches the docks and commandeers a speedboat, and Archer-as-Troy follows and commandeers one of his own. A chase ensues, that ends when Archer-as-Troy forces Troy-as-Archer to the shore by collision. With the boats grounded, Archer-as-Troy bests Troy-as-Archer in a melee fight. Troy-as-Archer attempts to mutilate his (Archer's) face to taunt and distract Archer-as-Troy, but Archer-as-Troy instead gains the upper hand and kills Troy-as-Archer by impaling him with a spear gun, avenging the deaths of Michael and all of Troy's other victims. Backup agents arrive and address Archer-as-Troy as Archer, having been convinced by Eve of Archer's true identity.
After the face transplant surgery is reversed, Archer returns home, where he adopts Adam into his family, keeping his promise to Sasha.
In the first chapter, Joe is introduced as a disenfranchised twenty-year-old youth who is enrolled at the University of California during the Vietnam War. After Joe realizes that with his grades he is going to get drafted, he hitchhikes to Yale University, where he gets the name of a professor who may be able to get him across the border into Canada. After being referred to a woman in Boston named Gretchen, she helps him get into Canada, and he eventually goes to Torremolinos, Spain. While looking for a job and a place to stay, he takes over the ownership of a bar called The Alamo, and a man named Jean-Victor finds him a place to stay in Torremolinos.
In keeping with the theme throughout the book, the second chapter is about the character Britta, an 18-year-old girl from Tromsø, Norway. After finishing school, she finds a job in an office at the docks, but eventually becomes curious about the world beyond Tromsø, and goes to vacation in Torremolinos, Spain for fifteen days. Once in Torremolinos, she loves it and finds a job as a waitress in a bar called The Alamo. Here, a man named Jean-Victor finds her a place to stay, where another newcomer to Torremolinos, Joe, is already staying.
Of the main characters in the book, Monica goes through trials and tribulations as she transitions from living as royalty in a foreign country to being forced out and finally finding her way to Torremolinos to join the rest of the cast in the book. She is introduced as living with her father in the Republic of Vwarda, where Monica becomes rebellious and begins to cause a stir in Vwarda's Royal Family. She is forced out of the country and runs away with an airline pilot to Torremolinos, where she can live on her monthly allowance from her grandmother. She meets a man named Jean-Victor, who finds her a place to live with a woman from Norway and a man from the United States.
The fourth character of the book is Cato; he is introduced as the son of the Reverend Claypool Jackson, a local minister in the area trying to salvage his community through his church. Cato Jackson is a sophomore at University of Pennsylvania, whom the narrator meets at a drugstore where he stumbles upon a shooting of a local drugstore owner. After meeting Mr. Fairbanks, he and Cato talk all night and the next day, after Cato's girlfriend is stabbed and killed. Cato then runs off to Torremolinos, where he finds shelter in an apartment with a few other runaways of his own age.
In the fifth chapter of the book, the character Yigal is introduced as the son of a dean at a college in Haifa, Israel. He is struggling to identify with either his parents and their life in Israel, or with his grandfather and his American life in Detroit, Michigan in the United States, and his other grandfather in England. He is shuffled between Israel and America throughout his youth, and even fights and becomes a hero in the Six-Day War, before finally enrolling in Technion University in Haifa. After a few months he moves back to England with his other grandfather and begins to engage in a lot of reading and in conversations with his grandfather. Eventually his grandfather suggests that he needs to spend some time away, and he suggests the south of Spain, and Torremolinos, as a place to go.
Gretchen is introduced as a very intelligent girl from Boston who, at the age of 19, has already completed her bachelor's degree, and is working for senator Eugene McCarthy's presidential campaign. After campaigning across the United States for McCarthy's nomination in Chicago at the Democratic Convention, during the riots she and the people she is with are falsely arrested. During the process she is sexually assaulted, but the policemen who did it deny it, and nothing is ever done about it. After fighting with her parents and the police over the issue of what happened, she decides to go to school in Besançon, France, where one of her professors tells her about an excellent language school. Upon enrolling at the University of Besançon and living with her peers for a little while, she decides to travel. Someone suggests Torremolinos, so she buys a yellow pop-top van and begins to live out of it in Torremolinos.
At the beginning of chapter seven, the whole set of characters are all in Torremolinos, and everyone is getting settled in with their various living conditions. Cato and Monica begin a relationship, and some of the characters begin to experiment with drugs such as LSD; they continue to smoke large amounts of marijuana and drink regularly. During this time, they go to Paxton Fell's house, a man whom a few of the characters were referenced to see in case of an emergency. Everyone, including Mr. Fairbanks, who is in Torremolinos to supervise a real estate deal, end up partying with Mr. Fell and a few of his guests throughout the night. Eventually, during their stay, the characters are approached by a woman, Susan Elgerton, who tries to convince Cato and Gretchen to join her in the name of starting a violent revolution back in America. As time goes on, Torremolinos begins to lose its luster; Monica is partying too much for her own good and Gretchen starts to look for something else to entertain her, and the characters leave Torremolinos in Gretchen's yellow pop-top and head towards Portugal.
As they drive towards the Algarve, the characters begin to notice that not everywhere in Europe is so nice as Torremolinos. They eventually find a small town by the name of Alte. Here, Yigal meets a local girl whom he kisses, upsetting the rest of the village, and Monica and Cato keep on going to the nearby town of Albufeira to take doses of LSD with a local bar owner, where Gretchen also tries it for the first time and unfortunately has a really bad trip. Eventually the group moves on to the seaside town of Algarve. After living in Algarve for a while, Monica tries to run away to Nepal, but Joe, Yigal and Cato end up getting into a fight with the people with whom she was going to run away. She returns, and the crew heads off to Pamplona, Spain with Mr. Fairbanks.
In the ninth chapter, a new character is introduced by the name of Harvey Holt. He works as a technical representative on radars in remote locations. He is an old friend of Mr. Fairbanks, and has been everywhere; from Afghanistan to Sumatra to Thailand. He is a fan of old music and movies. He is very old-fashioned, and in a break from the rest of the characters in the book, he isn't vehemently anti-war, as he had served in World War II. He very much disapproves of how Joe dodged the draft to travel the world. Harvey's old music tapes include the vocalist Bea Wain; her recording of "My Reverie", discussed in two separate chapters, serves as a symbol of the generation gap.
Pamplona is known for its Running of the Bulls, an event characters come to see. They stay in the same hotel as Mr. Fairbanks and Harvey Holt, and there are many conversations between Mr. Holt and Joe about commitment to one's country. Here, Gretchen starts to show her feelings for Clive, a recurring character throughout the book who brings news from the outside world as well as new music from his homeland in England. For a week, everybody enjoys themselves, and Joe begins to think that he also wants to run with the bulls with Harvey at some point. During the week, Yigal's American grandfather tracks him down and tries to bring him back to Detroit with him, although he is torn because he doesn't like America, although something in it still has him interested. In the end, he leaves to go to school at Case Western Reserve in Ohio. During the run, Harvey gets gored by a bull but survives. Joe and even Mr. Fairbanks run, and the gang decides next to leave Europe and head to Mozambique for the next leg of their journey.
In Mozambique things begin to go downhill for Monica: she has moved beyond LSD, begins to use heroin regularly, starts to bring Cato down with her, and gets Joe to try heroin on occasion. Cato hangs around the local historians in the area, and begins to learn about the history of Africa, and the effect slavery has had on the continent. As quick as Cato is to point out how badly the Christians have treated the Arabs, Mr. Fairbanks and Gretchen are quick to point out how much the Arabs used slavery against their own people in the past. The group also explores some of the natural beauty of Mozambique, and starts to reconnect with that side of the world, which is something they have not explored thus far on their journey. The group then decides to head to Marrakesh, Morocco, where there is a man who could help out Joe with some papers, so he could re-enter the United States at some point, and not be considered a criminal.
In the final destination of the journey, the remainder of the group ends up in Marrakesh, Morocco, where the marijuana trade is booming, a town where young people could get lost very easily. The group finds a place to stay at a hotel, where on the top floor there is a man who can help out Joe with his papers, and helps out people who become addicted to heroin, which makes it a good fit for Monica. Monica is becoming more addicted to heroin, and things are starting to look bad for her. Her father has all but given up hope for her, and the rest of the group is beginning to split up; Britta and Harvey fly off to Ratmalana, and Monica runs away more often than before. Eventually, Monica dies from an infection caused by her heroin use, Britta leaves with Harvey, Cato begins his trip to Mecca hoping to return to Philadelphia, Joe goes off to Tokyo and Gretchen returns home to Boston.
In 1668 Jamaica, Morgan Adams hunts down her uncle and fellow pirate Dawg Brown, who has captured her father, Black Harry. Black Harry has one of three pieces of a map to a huge stash of gold on the remote Cutthroat Island. Dawg has another piece, having stolen it from the corpse of a third brother, Richard, while a fourth brother, Mordechai, has the last piece. Harry refuses to give Dawg his piece and escapes with Morgan's help, but not before being mortally wounded. A dying Harry reveals to his daughter the location of the map piece: on his scalp.
After scalping her dead father for the piece, Morgan, now the captain of her father's ship, the ''Morning Star'', sets out for the treasure. Unfortunately, the instructions appear to be in Latin, which no one on board reads. So, they go to nearby Port Royal to find a translator. There, they learn that one of the slaves up for auction, a con man and thief named William Shaw, is fluent in Latin. After threatening a man determined to outbid her, Morgan wins the auction. Unfortunately, she is recognized from her wanted poster and is chased out of town, along with her crew and Shaw. Humiliated, corrupt Governor Ainslee vows to find her, either to arrest her or form a partnership for half her profits. He enlists the help of chronicler John Reed, who often follows pirates to write his books.
The crew then goes to Mordechai in Spittlefield Harbor. Before they can learn where the second piece is, Dawg appears. A fight ensues, during which Mordechai is killed and Morgan is shot, while Shaw secretly finds the piece and keeps it to himself. After they escape on the ''Morning Star'', Morgan collapses from her wound, but is saved by Shaw, who is a self-proclaimed doctor. The two start a romance. Morgan figures out that the words on the map, when read backwards, spell out half the coordinates to the island.
Dawg's ship, the ''Reaper'', bears down on them. Morgan directs hers toward a coral reef and a gale. Shaw manages to piece together the location of Cutthroat Island with his and Morgan's piece, but is caught and thrown in the brig. During the storm, Reed sends a carrier pigeon revealing their location to Ainslee. Meanwhile, the majority of the crew led by the treacherous Scully mutinies and maroons Morgan and those loyal to her in a boat. The tide takes them straight to Cutthroat Island, which is uncharted land northeast of Cuba.
As Morgan goes after the treasure, Shaw, who escaped during the storm, steals the last piece from Dawg, who's on the island. Shaw falls into quicksand and Morgan, realizing he has the piece, frees him. Together, they find the gold, only for it to be stolen by Dawg, forcing them to jump off a cliff into the tide.
After regaining consciousness, Shaw finds Reed, who leads him into a trap set by Dawg, Ainslee, and the mutineers, who have joined forces and intend to split the gold between them. As Shaw is captured and they make their way out to sea with the gold, Morgan sneaks aboard the ''Morning Star'' and retakes it from Scully and the mutineers.
The crew then tries to sneak attack the ''Reaper'', but Dawg counterattacks. A sea fight ensues, during which Shaw escapes and Ainslee, his men, and Reed are killed by cannon fire. Morgan boards the ''Reaper'' and blows out the ship's bottom to get to the gold. She then duels Dawg while Shaw gets trapped below in rapidly rising water with the treasure. Morgan kills Dawg with a cannon and saves Shaw, forced to abandon the treasure to escape the sinking ship. Morgan attached a marker barrel to the treasure beforehand, allowing them to retrieve it, and the newly rich crew sets sail for their next adventure in Madagascar.
A damaged vessel comes through the wormhole, and its passengers, a woman and three men, are transported aboard Deep Space Nine. The universal translator is unable to translate their language for several minutes, but they seem to trust Major Kira, who escorts them around the station until they are able to communicate.
The woman, Haneek, explains that her people, the Skrreeans, were conquered by a species called the T-Rogorans, who were, in turn, conquered by an empire known as the Dominion. Commander Sisko promises to help Haneek and her people find a new homeland, and when several more Skrreean ships come through the wormhole, they are welcomed warmly. Kira and Haneek become friends.
As more and more Skrreeans arrive on the station, some residents, including Quark, begin to resent their presence; Quark's nephew Nog pulls a prank on Haneek's belligerent son Tumak and Tumak retaliates with violence. The situation deteriorates into a violent scuffle between Nog and Tumak's group of friends. Haneek begins to fear that she will not find ''Kentanna'', the Skrreeans' long-sought legendary homeworld. However, the Skrreean leaders decide that Bajor is the Kentanna they seek. Sisko suggests a nearby planet, Draylon II, as a reasonable alternative, but the Skrreeans are adamant in their decision. They meet with representatives of the Bajoran government, who refuse to allow them to relocate there; a famine is spreading, and the Bajoran government does not believe it can support the Skrreean population.
Tumak takes one of the Skrreean ships and heads to Bajor. At Sisko's request, Haneek tries to convince him to disengage his engines because the ship has a dangerous radiation leak, but Tumak ignores his mother's pleas. Two Bajoran vessels approach him in order to tow him to safety, but Tumak refuses to shut down his engines. A firefight ensues, resulting in the destruction of Tumak's ship due to the radiation leak.
The Bajoran government maintains its decision to refuse asylum, so the Skrreeans have no choice but to move to Draylon II. Hurt over her son's death and angry with the Bajorans, Haneek's final words to Kira are bitter. She reminds Kira that the Skrreeans were farmers, and could have helped Bajor overcome the famine. Haneek departs with her people, leaving Kira ashamed, contemplating Haneek's words.
Life is going along smoothly for Jeff and Mari Thompson but not for any other couple they know, or so it seems. Everyone they know is getting divorced.
Their life is disrupted when Mari's old college friend, Barbara, comes into it and begins a fling with Jeff, which causes Mari to contemplate an affair of her own.
Magnus Eisengrim (also known by at least four other names throughout the trilogy) tells the story of his life to a group of filmmakers who are producing a biographical film about the great magician Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin for the BBC. They are headed by the world-famous Swedish director Jurgen Lind (evidently modeled on Ingmar Bergman). Also present during the story are Eisengrim's friends Dunstan Ramsay and Liesl, who both appear in the earlier installments of the Deptford Trilogy. Ramsay reprises the role of narrator which he played in the first novel, ''Fifth Business'', but in this case it is only to add context and continuity to the internal narration of Eisengrim. The life story of Eisengrim pulls together many events found throughout the previous two novels, showing them from an entirely different perspective.
Mexican-American War veteran Jeremiah Johnson takes up the life of a mountain man, supporting himself in the Rocky Mountains as a trapper. His first winter in mountain country is difficult, and he has a run-in with Paints-His-Shirt-Red, a chief of the Crow tribe. He starts out with a .30-caliber Hawken percussion rifle, which he uses as his main rifle until he finds the frozen body of mountain man Hatchet Jack clutching a .50-caliber Hawken rifle. Jack's will gives his rifle to the man who finds his corpse. With his new rifle, Johnson inadvertently disrupts the grizzly bear hunt of the elderly and eccentric Chris Lapp, nicknamed "Bear Claw", who mentors him on living in the high country. After a brush with Crows, including Lapp's acquaintance Paints-His-Shirt-Red, and learning the skills required to survive, Johnson sets off on his own.
He comes across a cabin whose inhabitants were apparently attacked by Blackfoot warriors, leaving only a woman and her uncommunicative son alive. The woman, maddened by grief, forces Johnson to adopt her son. He and the boy, whom Johnson dubs "Caleb", come across Del Gue, a mountain man who has been robbed by the Blackfeet, who have buried him to his neck in sand and stuffed feathers up his nose. Gue persuades Johnson to help recover his stolen goods, but Johnson counsels against violence when they find the Blackfoot camp.
The men sneak into the camp at night to retrieve Gue's possessions, but Gue opens fire and the mountain men then kill the Blackfeet. Gue takes several Blackfoot horses and scalps. Johnson, disgusted with the needless killing, returns to Caleb. Soon afterward, they are surprised by Christianized Flatheads, who take them in as guests of honor. Johnson unknowingly places the chief in his debt by giving him the stolen horses and scalps of the Blackfeet, their mortal enemies; according to Flathead custom, to maintain his honor the chief must now either kill him or give him a greater gift. The chief gives his daughter Swan to be Johnson's bride. After the wedding, Gue goes off on his own and Johnson, Caleb and Swan journey into the wilderness. Johnson finds a suitable location to build a cabin. They settle into this new home and slowly become a family.
Johnson is pressed by a troop of U.S. Army Cavalry to lead a search party to save a stranded wagon train of settlers. Johnson is reluctant to leave his family to help, but is pressed and reluctantly changes his mind. The train's commanding officer, Lieutenant Mulvey, ignores Johnson's advice to not travel through a sacred Crow burial ground, and has Johnson lead them. While returning home by the same route, Johnson notices that the graves are now adorned with Swan's blue trinkets; he rushes back to the cabin, where he finds that his family has been killed.
Johnson sets off after the warriors who killed his family and attacks them, killing all but one, a heavy-set man who sings his death song when he realizes he cannot escape. Johnson leaves him alive and the survivor spreads the tale of the mountain man's quest for revenge throughout the region, trapping Johnson in a feud with the Crow. The tribe sends its best warriors one at a time to kill Johnson, but he defeats them. His legend grows and the Crow come to respect him. He meets Gue again, and returns to the cabin of Caleb's mother, only to find that she has died and a new settler named Qualen and his family are living there. Nearby the Crow have built a monument to Johnson's bravery, periodically leaving trinkets and talismans as tribute.
Johnson and Lapp meet for a final time. It is at this poignant meeting between student and teacher that Lapp realizes the heavy toll that fighting an entire nation alone in a vast and lonesome frontier has taken on Johnson. Lapp's realization occurs when Johnson queries, "You wouldn't happen to know what month of the year it is?" Lapp simply replies, "No, I truly wouldn't. I'm sorry, pilgrim." Johnson later has a wordless encounter with Paints-His-Shirt-Red, presumed to be behind the attacks. While sitting astride their horses far apart, Johnson reaches for his rifle, but Paints-His-Shirt-Red raises his arm, open-palmed, in a gesture of peace that Johnson slowly returns, signaling an end to their conflict. The film ends with the song lyrics, "And some folks say, 'He's up there still.
When World War II breaks out, 11-year-old Phillip Enright and his mother board the S.S. ''Hato'' to Virginia, because his mother feels it is unsafe to stay in Curaçao with the German submarines surrounding the area. The ship is torpedoed, and Phillip is stranded in the sea with an old black man named Timothy and a cat named Stew Cat. Drifting at sea, Phillip is blinded, and Timothy suggests it is because Phillip stared at the sun for too long.
They soon find an island in Devil's Mouth and build a hut while keeping track of the days by putting pebbles in a can. With few supplies, they live alone together for two months, fishing and collecting rain water. The cay is only one mile long and half a mile in width. Initially, the pair are challenged to communicate as they came from different experiences. Eventually they both develop a strong bond of friendship by the end of the novel, as Timothy takes care of Phillip and teaches him to survive independently, to the point where Phillip can survive on his own.
Airplanes fly over the cay, but they do not see Timothy and Phillip, lengthening their time stranded there. After a hurricane hits the cay, their shelter is destroyed. Timothy attaches himself and Phillip to a palm tree for safety, and Timothy dies from exposure. Phillip, devastated, digs a small grave for him. He is left with only Stew Cat. Phillip is then rescued by a navy vessel. One year after he and Timothy find the island, he has many surgeries to get his sight back. It turns out he became blind due to being struck in the head by timber causing nerve damage. In the end, Phillip decides he will become a sea explorer and travel to multiple islands and soon hopes to find the Cay he and Timothy had been stranded on, which he is certain he will be able to recognize by closing his eyes.
Carmen Brown is a seductive, aspiring actress who unwittingly causes trouble wherever she goes. She gets involved with Sgt. Derek Hill, who is engaged to the cocktail waitress, Caela. At Lou's Bar, Carmen gets into a fight with a jealous woman. Hill's superior officer, Lt. Frank Miller orders Hill to bring Carmen to jail. Carmen tries unsuccessfully to seduce Hill, but she convinces him to let her stop at her apartment to put her mother's ring in a safe place so it does not get stolen in jail. There, she puts on lingerie and wins him over. He is caught in the morning (with Carmen nowhere to be found) by Miller (who is now revealed to be a crooked cop), who brings Caela with him as he arrests Hill. Caela slaps Hill and tells him she hates him.
While in jail, Hill cannot stop thinking about Carmen. She writes him a letter, and he shares his obsession with cellmates Jalil and "Pockets". While Hill is in jail, Carmen meets the famous rapper Blaze at "the Spot", a nightclub. He wants to bring her to Los Angeles, but succeeds only in bringing her best friends. Carmen promises to meet them in LA once Hill is out of jail. Unfortunately, Hill is facing a year of probation once he gets out. However, after he gets into an argument with Miller, he punches him. He and Carmen flee to Los Angeles. However, Carmen is unaware of the incident.
Things in Los Angeles do not go well: Carmen cannot find an acting job, and Hill's fugitive status prevents him from obtaining employment. She runs into her best friends, Rasheeda and Nikki , who are being treated like royalty by Blaze. The three of them have their tarot cards read by a psychic (Wyclef Jean). Rasheeda and Nikki receive favorable fortunes, but Carmen's cards read "ruin," "sorrow" and "death." She decides that it is time for a change. She goes to Blaze's rehearsal and wins an invitation to be his date to his next concert. Meanwhile, Miller is looking for Hill, and Porter (his ex-partner) gives him Hill and Carmen's address for a large amount of cash. At the same time, a radio, connected to a power point, falls into the bathtub which Carmen had just left. Carmen wonders if that was meant to be her death.
Shortly afterwards, Carmen breaks up with Hill and moves in with her friends in a house apparently owned by Blaze. She feels that she should not give up her life for him, even though he did for her. Much like his counterpart in the original opera, Hill is devastated. He also learns from Caela that he is in danger. Since Hill knows how crooked he is, Miller wants to get rid of him. Hill goes to Carmen to try to win her over again and make her leave with him. Carmen does not want to leave and tells Hill that she is staying. While they are arguing, Miller is watching them and accidentally shoots Carmen twice with a silenced gun while aiming for Hill. Carmen dies in Hill's arms and she can't talk when Hill keeps asking what was wrong. He touches her back and sees blood running down his hand. He lays the dead body down on the floor and goes to fight Miller. Hill and Miller have their last fight which ends with Miller falling to his death. Rasheeda and Nikki find Carmen's dead body and are both shocked and devastated. The story ends with Hill's wrongful arrest. The film officially ends with the rapping narrator (Da Brat) laying a rose down for Carmen stating "Immortal Beloved ... Carmen Brown, There'll never be another".
In 1992, following the events of ''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'', the United Nations establishes the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center (UNGCC) to stop Godzilla. Their military branch, G-Force, salvages Mecha-King Ghidorah's remains and reverse engineers them to build two anti-Godzilla machines: an aerial gunship called ''Garuda'' and a mecha modeled after Godzilla called Mechagodzilla.
Two years later, while on a mission to Adona Island, a Japanese team comes across what they assume is a large ''Pteranodon'' egg, which gives off a telepathic signal that attracts Godzilla and Rodan, an adult ''Pteranodon'' irradiated by nuclear waste. Godzilla critically wounds Rodan during the ensuing battle while the research team escapes with the egg. It is taken to a research center in Kyoto, where it imprints on a young female scientist. When a Baby Godzilla hatches from the egg, the research team concludes that the egg was left in the ''Pteranodon'' nest with Rodan in a manner similar to the brood parasitism displayed by European cuckoos. Godzilla appears, once again responding to the creature's psychic call. The JSDF mobilizes Mechagodzilla, which intercepts Godzilla as it is heading to Kyoto. The two battle, with Mechagodzilla initially having the upper hand until Godzilla disables the robot with an energy pulse. Godzilla continues searching for Baby, but the scientists, having discovered the telepathic link between the monsters, shield it from Godzilla. Frustrated, it destroys most of Kyoto before returning to the ocean.
Tests on the baby reveal that it has a second brain in its hips that controls the animal's movement. The UNGCC assumes that this also holds true for Godzilla, and decide to use Baby to bait Godzilla into another fight with Mechagodzilla. The "G-Crusher" is installed into Mechagodzilla, which will allow the robot to penetrate Godzilla's hide and destroy its second brain. Young psychic Miki Saegusa is ordered to become a part of Mechagodzilla's crew to locate Godzilla's second brain. While she is reluctant due to her mental connection with Godzilla, she agrees. The plan backfires when Rodan, having survived its battle with Godzilla and further mutated by radiation, responds to Baby's call and intercepts the UNGCC transport.
In response, they send Mechagodzilla and ''Garuda'' after Rodan instead, which mortally wound it. Godzilla arrives soon after and attacks Mechagodzilla. The fight is evenly matched until Mechagodzilla combines with ''Garuda'' to become Super-Mechagodzilla and use the G-Crusher to successfully paralyze Godzilla. Suddenly, the dying Rodan, revived by Baby's call, begins flying towards it, but is shot down by Super-Mechagodzilla, crashing atop Godzilla. Rodan's life force regenerates Godzilla's second brain and supercharges the monster. Now more powerful than before, Godzilla attacks and destroys Super-Mechagodzilla with a high-powered, spiral-shaped atomic ray.
Godzilla locates Baby, who is initially afraid of the giant. Miki telepathically communicates with Baby, convincing it to go with Godzilla. The two monsters head out to the sea.
Lacking technology that would enable faster-than-light, or FTL, travel, colonization is accomplished by taking advantage of transient but predictable, naturally occurring wormholes in space which allow travelers to traverse vast distances. Without warning, a previously unknown alien species, the "Chigs", attack and destroy Earth's first extra-solar colony and then destroy a second colony ship. The bulk of the Earth military forces sent to confront the Chigs are destroyed or outflanked, in part because the Chigs have some form of FTL, affording them greater freedom of movement (although this technology appears limited, the Chigs also often use natural wormholes).
At the opening of the series, the Chigs have defeated all counter-attacks, and have entered the Solar System. In desperation, unproven and under-trained outfits like the 58th "Wildcards" are thrown against the Chigs. The Wildcards are the focus of the series, which follows them as they grow from untried cadets into veterans. Although the unified Earth forces come under the control of a reformed United Nations, the UN has no formal armed forces and navies such as the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy operate interstellar starships.
Prior to the events of the show, there was a war between humans and androids known as ''Silicates''. These human-looking androids, referred to as "walking personal computers", have rebelled, formed their own societies and wage a guerrilla war against the humans from remote bases. The Silicates are also suspected of conniving with the Chigs. To defeat the Silicates, a new underclass of genetically engineered and artificially gestated humans were bred to quickly swell the ranks of the military. These troops, collectively known as ''In Vitroes'' or sometimes, pejoratively, "tanks" or "nipple-necks", are born at the physical age of 18 and trained solely for combat. In the post-war period the tanks have attempted (with mixed success) to re-enter human society.
''Space: Above and Beyond'' connects episodes through prominent story arcs beside that of the main arc, the Chig War. In an approximated descending order of significance, these are:
'''Chigs''' (sometimes referred to as Glyphs) are a fictional alien species in the science fiction television series ''Space: Above and Beyond''. ''Chig'' is not the species' name for itself but a human-coined nickname (referencing the chigoe flea).
'''Background'''
Chigs are humanoid, bipedal aliens that serve as the primary antagonists in the series. They appear to be unable to survive in atmospheres that support human life; they are often seen wearing armored life-support systems that provide them with the methane they need to breathe. Chig armor suits also have a suicide mechanism that is triggered when the helmet is forcibly removed, quickly dissolving the Chig inside. In the episode "Choice or Chance", a Chig is apparently able to take human form and interact with other humans in an ordinary atmosphere until killed, when it turns to slime in the manner of earlier Chig deaths. How this is achieved is not explained. Distinguishing characteristics of the un-armored Chig are small black eyes set deeply in the head, pink skin, a lack of a prominent nose, a protruding upper jaw, and structures resembling gills to either side of the mandible.
The series provides little evidence about the Chigs until the last two episodes, choosing to initially present the Chigs as a traditional science-fiction alien enemy out to destroy humanity. Throughout the series, the writers provide several small clues regarding the nature of the Chigs, their motives and their biology before devoting the last two episodes of the series to revealing the possibility that Chigs and humans are related species.
'''History'''
As the series presents it, human contact with the Chigs begins when an unmanned probe, launched by the military-industrial corporation Aero-Tech, lands on "celestial body 2064K" (later given military designation 'Anvil'), the moon orbiting the Chig homeworld. This moon is sacred to the Chigs because it is where life originated via panspermia and where Chigs still go to be born. The Chigs evolved from bacteria that originated on Earth billions of years ago: an asteroid collision threw these bacteria into space, carried by meteorites, where they eventually landed on the Chig sacred moon. Life on Earth had already advanced to the eukaryote stage of development and the rate of evolution proceeded slightly faster for the bacteria on their new world, allowing life there to evolve to the point that it could produce the sentient Chigs at roughly the same time that modern humans evolved.
The Aero-Tech probe manages to obtain a limited amount of data before the Chigs send a warning signal through it before destroying the probe. Aero-Tech, for unknown reasons, apparently chooses to keep this "first contact" a secret from the governments of Earth. In early 2063, Chigs declare war on humanity, launching what appears to be an unprovoked first-strike against humanity's budding interstellar colonies. The colonists, sponsored by Aero-Tech and called the Vesta and Tellus colonies, are attacked, destroyed and the few survivors taken prisoner. The Chig space forces begin a push towards Earth, devastating the unprepared Earth forces. Only the actions of the US Marines Aviator 58th Squadron at the Battle of the Belt prevent Earth itself from falling (the battle was fought in the Trojan asteroid field at Jupiter's Lagrangian point, not the main asteroid belt).
Through surprise, superior numbers and advanced technology, the Chigs gained the advantage in early battles. Humanity's adaptability and ferocity catches them off guard. The Chigs, who favor large, direct military strategies, are unprepared for the guerrilla tactics used by the human forces. Special operations missions, infiltrations, assassinations, sabotage and small unit engagements all prove effective against the Chig attackers. The Chigs ally with the remnants of the Silicates, a human-built race of androids, that fled to space after losing the AI Wars on Earth. The nature of the alliance is vague and not expanded upon in the series. Just as humans are ready to conquer the Chig homeworld, an emissary comes to negotiate for peaceful relations. The emissary reveals that humans and Chigs seem to have a common origin, based on their chemical makeup.
'''Technology'''
Chig technology is slightly more advanced than Human technology at the beginning of the series, though only loosely, on the scale of a few decades of advancement. Chigs have faster than light spacefaring technology and advanced weapon systems. They use a combination of plasma-based energy weapons and ballistic missiles for their aerospace fighters and capital ships. Chig ground forces use anti-gravity hover tanks, T-77s for heavy armor and anti-personnel plasma weapons and flamethrowers. Study of downed Chig fightercraft in early episodes revealed that they are faster and have a better rate of climb than their human counterparts. Human Hammerhead fighters have a heavier weapons load and are more maneuverable. The Chigs have large battleships and a destroyer class vessel capable of causing energy spikes within human starships reactors using a special microwave energy weapon generator. They also developed a stealth fighter with a hull impervious to standard aerial cannon fire. They also have a red colored fighter that can travel across the gravity field of a black hole.
'''Culture'''
Much about Chig society remains unknown throughout the series, presenting them as mysterious and terrifying aliens trying to destroy humanity. Their hierarchy and general social structures remain unexplained. From the Chig ambassador's claims in the final two episodes, it seems that they consider the moon they evolved on (codenamed "Anvil" by humans) to be "sacred". One curious practice observed since early in the war with humanity was that whenever Chig infantry encountered the grave of a dead human soldier, they would dig up the body and mutilate the corpse, typically by dismembering it. At first, the human military thought this was a terror-tactic, meant to frighten human soldiers. It was eventually discovered that while the Chigs may possess some form of "religion" (given that they consider their breeding grounds to be sacred), they never developed a concept of an afterlife.
Humans are, it turns out, just as much mysterious, terrifying aliens to the Chigs as they are to humans. As the Chigs encountered snippets of human culture, through intercepted radio transmissions or recovered personal effects, they drastically misinterpreted this alien concept of an "afterlife". This led the Chigs to believe that dead human soldiers will ''literally'' spring back to life sometime after their death and that burying a corpse aids this process. Genuinely terrified of this human "army of zombies", Chig infantry then began to dig up the graves of human soldiers they came across and dismember their corpses, to make sure they stay dead.
Just as humans have applied the derogatory "Chigs" to the aliens, they have a slang term for humans. According to their Silicate allies, the term loosely translates as "Red Stink Creature". Chigs have green instead of red blood, and smell like sulfur. As it turns out, humans' red blood and non-sulfur smell strikes the Chigs as just as disturbingly "unnatural" as their alien biology seems to us.
'''Chigs of note'''
"Chiggy von Richthofen" – named after Manfred von Richthofen – flew an advanced Chig stealth fighter, with the words "Abandon All Hope" written in English on its hull. Its armor was impervious to standard cannon fire, it was a superior vessel to Earth fighters and destroyed dozens of them. "Chiggy von Richthofen" was killed in a dogfight against Lt. Col. T.C. McQueen. McQueen used missiles to breach the armor of the fighter.
Chig Ambassador: A Chig envoy sent alone and unarmed to the ''USS Saratoga'' to negotiate an end to hostilities between humans and Chigs. It was equipped with a translation device capable of producing English. The Chig attempted to explain the circumstances of the Vesta and Tellus colony massacres, blaming Aero-Tech CEO E. Allen Wayne for desecrating the sacred moon of their homeworld with an unmanned probe. When Wayne refused to admit to the act, the Chig attacked him. As Lt. Col. McQueen fired a weapon to kill the Chig ambassador, the mixture of methane and oxygen ignited resulting in an explosion that killed the Ambassador, Wayne and several top Earth military officers.
Silicates are a fictional race of androids created by humanity to be servants.
'''History'''
The Silicates were created to be servants and soldiers but they developed intelligence and sentience after they were infected by the ''Take a Chance'' computer virus created by Dr. Ken Stranahan (name from the show's visual effects supervisor). This sparked an AI rebellion by the Silicates, who attempted to free themselves from human rule. The war continued for many years, until the Silicates captured military space craft and escaped into space. As they went into space, the Silicates suffered from a lack of maintenance which caused problems for them. The remnants of the Silicates that fled into deep space serve as mercenaries and actually aid the alien Chigs in their war against humanity.
'''Capabilities'''
The AIs (Artificial Intelligence) were manufactured by humanity to serve them and appear as humans but with enough differences to appear as machine creations, namely the rifle sight-like crosshairs in place of pupils. They were made to be beautiful and physically appealing. The surviving Silicates that fled into deep space have been suffering from a lack of adequate maintenance for many years and frequently possess minor damage to their outer covering which reveals their machine parts underneath.
Silicates were designed to be domestic servants or pleasure models and not particularly for hard labor (which would be done by heavy machinery). As a result, standard Silicates are actually not that much stronger than a human and because they were not originally designed to fight it is not particularly difficult for a trained human soldier to defeat them in hand-to-hand combat. This is partially offset by the fact that Silicates are not hindered by physical pain and cannot experience fear.
Silicates communicate with one another through modulation schemes made by wireless telephone which comes across to humans as a series of electronic beeps and chirps. This wireless network allows each AI to know the position and operating status of the other units. Their mechanical nature allows them to store information and retrieve it making them excellent in information gathering which can be shared with their colleagues when demanded.
'''Behavior'''
As the AI Silicates were created as a "servitor" species, they were programmed to understand abstraction but with programmes that restricted original thought and creativity, which leaves them to simply imitate rather than create. Had the "Take a Chance" computer virus not been created, it is likely the Silicates would have remained servile. Risk-taking has become the prime ideology of the AI Silicates which results in them seeing activities as a risk or gamble. The first "risk" was the indiscriminate killing of their human creators in the AI War, which lasted for ten years. The Silicate robots refer to humans as "carbonites", because they are carbon-based life forms.
Because the Silicates were programmed to comprehend abstract thought,but also restricted from formulating original thoughts and do not normally possess emotions, the Silicates are capable of understanding that humans experience fear, albeit this comprehension is on an academic level. This made the Silicates a deadly enemy in the AI Wars, because while they experienced no fear in combat, they realized the value of random and savage attacks meant to terrify and demoralize humans. While the Silicates were incapable of originating such tactics, they simply needed to imitate the long history of terror tactics used by human armies.
A Silicate's inability to experience emotion is contradicted in two episodes: 1×18, 'Pearly', in which a Silicate displays concern for the welfare of and affection for a Silicate that is badly injured and 1×03, 'The Dark Side of the Sun', where revenge upon the protagonists for the death of another Silicate is attempted. The emotional capability of Silicates is never explored by the series, so it is unknown if these displays of emotion were out of character or the intentional development of character types.
It is implied that the AI Wars were not much of a conventional war, with each side gaining and losing territory but largely consisted of Silicates infiltrating human societies and committing random acts of terrorism and sabotage. Fighting was not limited to "front lines" as the Silicates intentionally attacked places humans thought they would be safe, to terrorize them: Shane Vansen's parents were killed when a group of Silicates drove into her middle-class suburban neighborhood, randomly storming her house. The Silicate's gambling-centered ideology even extended to combat tactics: they randomly chose to attack Vansen's home as the result of a coin toss.
The tide of the Human-Chig war began to turn after initial Chig successes because Chig battle-tactics favor large and direct military assaults; the human military switched to guerrilla warfare, which the Chigs were not conceptually experienced with fighting. The subsequent alliance between the Chigs and the remnants of the Silicates, who are quite experienced at non-conventional warfare and terror tactics, partially made up for this deficit in Chig strategy.
In Vitroes are artificially gestated humans, produced through genetic engineering. Originally, the Silicates were built to be humanity's servants and soldiers but after they revolted the In Vitroes were developed to replace them as the new disposable underclass. Large numbers of In Vitroes were grown as shock troops for use in the AI War.
In Vitroes are created by mix-and-matching chromosomes and genetic sequences from dozens of donors to create optimal traits; they do not have "parents" who ever existed as distinct people. In Vitroes are easily identified by their protruding navel located on the back of the neck, rather than on the abdomen. Some In Vitroes from the same batch contain similar enough genetic material that they could be considered siblings but they rarely meet. In Vitroes do not generally have "family" members – a fact that affected their morale and loyalty.
In Vitroes do not share social equality with the so-called "naturally born". Literally removed ("born") from their individual gestation tanks at the physical age of eighteen, they are educated swiftly and harshly to enable them to enter society with at least a nominal idea of how to comport themselves. They are derisively termed "tanks" by regular humans, which seems to be a double entendre, describing not only their method of birth but also their physical toughness, which is always greater than "naturals" and their disposable nature, the first to come in battle, the "tanks" that open the way for the infantry.
Due to their limited emotional development, their deployment in the AI War as troops was not as successful as the pioneers of the In Vitro program nor the military would have liked, as the In Vitro battalions had no emotional connection beyond the most basic to their country, planet or even race; this led to their racial reputation as "lazy" and "not caring for anything or anyone" (episode 1.01/1.02), which contributed to the prejudice against them from "naturals". In Vitroes also seem to refer to themselves as "tanks" when with each other. Before its abolition, they were subject to indentured servitude (episode 1.05). There is still considerable racial segregation, resentment by normal humans (e.g. episodes 1.01, 1.06) and governmental abuse for morally dubious purposes (episode 1.13). Two main characters, Cooper Hawkes and T. C. McQueen, have to face all the ramifications of such a society from their perspective as In Vitroes.
This repeating theme explores topics such as racism and prejudice in a society and freedom. It differs from other story arcs in its complexity in the form of a division into two sub-stories. One is presented as historical narration by the characters (e.g. episodes 1.05, 1.18) or flashbacks (episode 1.13); the second occurs in the present, with the experiences of Cooper Hawkes and T. C. McQueen, including a subtle sub-story of the shifting relationship between Nathan West and a maturing Hawkes (e.g. episodes 1.07, 1.11).
The dark Aero-Tech and UN story arcs inject elements of conspiracy and high-level cover-up. Aero-Tech, founded in 2015 (episode 1.24), appears to be a monopolistic aerospace and defense supplier. It is connected with the UN by Aero-Tech's clearly evident political power with the UN (with a former Aero-Tech director becoming the United Nations Secretary-General in episode 1.06) and with the armed forces, as evidenced by its control over advanced technologies (episodes 1.03, 1.10, 1.16). It is also suspected that Aero-Tech was aware of the Chigs before the rest of humanity, and deliberately endangered the ''Vesta'' and ''Tellus'' colonists (episodes 1.06, 1.24). Aero-Tech further gathers, uses or withholds strategic information in pursuit of its corporate agenda (e.g. episodes 1.03, 1.09, 1.10, 1.16). The Aero-Tech and the UN story arc explores topics such as power, intrigue, politics, the military-industrial complex, perhaps to some degree also the ethics of science in the service of military and corporate interests and moral responsibility.
The final episode ends in a cliffhanger, with T. C. McQueen badly injured and most of the major cast apparently killed or missing in action, with only Cooper Hawkes and Nathan West left. Yet with Earth in a much stronger strategic position, there is hope despite the losses and sacrifices. These closing elements of the plot were written at a point when the producers knew that the show was likely to be canceled.
In 1893, Solicitor Thomas Renfield travels from London to "Castle Dracula" in Transylvania to finalize Dracula's purchase of Carfax Abbey in England.
Renfield meets Dracula; who unknown to Renfield, is a vampire. Dracula casts a hypnotic spell on Renfield; making him his slave. They soon embark for England. During the voyage, Dracula kills the ship's crew. When the ship arrives and Renfield is discovered alone on the ship, he is confined to a lunatic asylum.
Meanwhile, Dracula visits an opera house, where he introduces himself to his new neighbors; Doctor Seward, the asylum's administrator and head psychiatrist, Seward's daughter, Mina and her fiance, Jonathan Harker and family friend, Lucy Westenra. Dracula flirts with Lucy and later that night, enters her bedroom and drinks her blood.
Mina discovers Lucy still in bed late in the morning, looking strangely pale. Seward, puzzled by the odd puncture marks on her throat, calls in Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Van Helsing informs the skeptical Dr. Seward that Lucy has been attacked by a vampire. Seward and Harker allow garlic to be placed in Lucy's bedroom to repel the vampire, however Seward remains skeptical. After a failed attempt by Renfield to remove the garlic, Dracula uses mind control to get Lucy out of her room and kills her.
Van Helsing meets Dracula and begins to suspect him of being a vampire after the two argue in Moldavian, each attempting to have the last word. Lucy, now a vampire herself, rises from her crypt, drains the blood from her guard, and tries to attack and seduce Harker before he stakes her.
Dracula preys on Mina, wanting her to be his undead bride. Dracula spirits Mina away to Carfax Abbey, where they dance, and he drinks her blood. The following morning, Mina tries to seduce Harker. Dr. Seward assumes Jonathan to be seducing Mina and orders him to leave. Van Helsing notices a scarf around Mina's neck and removes it, revealing two puncture marks. Though she lies about how she got them, Van Helsing confirms she has been attacked by a vampire by placing a cross on her hand, which burns a mark into it.
Van Helsing devises a plan to reveal the vampire's secret identity. Both Dracula and Renfield are invited to a ball, where Van Helsing has placed a huge mirror, covered with a curtain, on one of the walls. While Dracula and Mina perform a dance routine, the curtain over the mirror is dropped, revealing that Dracula has no reflection. Dracula grabs Mina and escapes out of a window.
Van Helsing deduces that Renfield is Dracula's slave, and thus might know where he has taken his coffin after a search of Carfax turns up empty. Dracula locks himself in an abandoned church to finish making Mina his bride. His pursuers break down the door, and fighting ensues. Van Helsing, noticing sunlight creeping into the room, opens the blinds. As his body begins to burn, Dracula then attempts to flee, but is inadvertently killed by Renfield.
With Dracula dead, Renfield falls into despair with no master to serve and scrapes Dracula's ashes into the coffin. Seward tells him "you are free, now" and Renfield seems relieved. Dr. Seward calls for Renfield to follow him out of the church, and he follows, responding "yes, master". Van Helsing opens Dracula's coffin and yells in Moldavian to ensure that he has the final word between himself and the count. After the end credits roll, Dracula responds in Moldavian, giving him the true final word.
Elliot Hopper (Bill Cosby) is a workaholic widower who is about to land the deal of a lifetime at work, which he hopes will win him a promotion and a company car. After he forgets his daughter Diane's birthday, he attempts to make it up to her by promising her she can have his car when he secures the deal at work on the coming Thursday. After being persuaded to give the car to his daughter early, Elliot must hail a taxi from work, which is driven by Satanist Curtis Burch (Raynor Scheine), who drives erratically and is out of control. Attempting to get the taxi stopped, Elliot announces that he is Satan and commands him to stop the taxi, and also attempts to give him his wallet. Shocked to see his "Evil Master", Burch drives off a bridge and into the river.
Elliot emerges from the accident scene, only to learn that he is a ghost when a police officer fails to notice him and a speeding bus goes straight through him. When he gets home he discovers that his three children can see him, but only in a totally dark room, and they cannot hear him at times. He struggles to tell them what happened when he is whisked away to London by paranormal researcher Sir Edith Moser (Ian Bannen), who tells him he is a ghost who has yet to enter the afterlife because "they screwed up"; his soul will not cross over until Thursday.
The pressures of work and family life lead to many comedic events, as Elliot attempts to renew his life insurance policy and complete his company's merger, so his family will be provided for once he crosses over. One day, he must choose between staying in an important work meeting and helping his son with a magic trick at school. He eventually decides that his family's happiness is more important and walks out on his furious boss, Mr. Collins (Barry Corbin), who later smugly fires him. Dejected, Elliot reveals himself as a ghost to his love interest, Joan (Denise Nicholas), whose initial shock soon turns to sympathy.
Edith arrives from London to announce that Elliot is not dead; his spirit jumped out of his body in fright. They also work out that the only previous known case of this happening was Elliot's father. In the excitement to find Elliot's body to reunite his spirit with it, Diane trips on a pair of skates that her little sister, Amanda, left on the stairs; she falls and is seriously injured. The family rush her to the hospital where her spirit has also jumped out of her body. As she delightedly flies around, Elliot begs her to re-enter her body; his own has started to "flicker". When he collapses, Diane becomes concerned and races into the intensive-care unit to find her father's body. She helps him into the room and they discover that Burch had swapped wallets with Elliot, meaning Elliot was wrongly identified by the hospital as Burch. Elliot returns to his body and wakes up; Diane does the same and jumps off the operating table to tell the family what has happened.
As the reunited family leave the hospital, Elliot spots a yellow taxi parked outside and goes to look inside. He sees Curtis Burch behind the wheel. Delighted to see his "Evil Master", Burch returns Elliot's wallet and tells Elliot he will do whatever Elliot commands. Elliot commands Burch to go to hell and sit on red-hot coals waiting for him "until it snows". Curtis agrees enthusiastically and drives off while Elliot, Joan, Edith and the family leave the hospital.
Amory Blaine, a young Midwesterner, is convinced that he has an exceptionally promising future. He attends a posh prep school and later Princeton University. He grows estranged from his eccentric mother Beatrice and becomes the protégé of Monsignor Thayer Darcy, a Catholic priest. During his sophomore year at Princeton, he returns to Minneapolis over Christmas break and encounters Isabelle Borgé, a wealthy young debutante whom he first met as a boy. They embark upon a romantic relationship.
While at Princeton, he deluges Isabelle with letters and poems, but she becomes disenchanted with him due to his incessant criticism. After his prom, they break up on Long Island. Following their separation, Amory graduates from his alma mater and enlists in the United States Army amid World War I. He is shipped overseas to serve in the trenches of the Western front. While overseas, he learns his mother has died and most of his family's wealth has been lost due to a series of failed investments.
After the armistice with Imperial Germany, Amory settles in New York City as it undergoes the birth pangs of the Jazz Age. He becomes infatuated with a cruel and narcissistic flapper named Rosalind Connage. Desperate for a job, Amory is hired by an advertising agency, but he detests the work. Due to his poverty, his relationship with Rosalind deteriorates as she prefers a rival suitor, Dawson Ryder, a man of wealth and status. A distraught Amory quits his job and goes on an alcoholic bender for three weeks until the start of Prohibition in the United States.
When Amory travels to visit an uncle in Maryland, he meets Eleanor, a reckless eighteen-year-old atheist. Eleanor chafes under the religious conformity and gender limitations imposed upon her by contemporary society in Wilsonian America. Amory and Eleanor spend a lazy summer talking about their love and the seasons. On their final night together before Amory must return to New York City, a brash Eleanor suddenly attempts suicide in order to prove her disbelief in any deity and, consequently, Amory realizes that he does not love her.
Amory returns to New York and learns that the fickle Rosalind is now engaged to be married to his affluent rival Dawson Ryder. A devastated Amory is further dispirited to learn that his beloved mentor Monsignor Darcy has died. Homeless, Amory wanders from New York City to his alma mater Princeton and, accepting a car ride from a wealthy man driven by a resentful chauffeur, he speaks out in favor of socialism—though admitting he is still formulating his thoughts as he is talking. His long argument on the underpinning political and societal problems of their time ends with Amory's emphasizing his many disillusions towards the age he lives in, and in reflecting that he himself has been "a fish out of water" too long Amory eventually announces his hope to stand alongside the people who would bring forth fundamental changes to the age. His views are vehemently denounced by the men in the car, but upon learning that on of them was father to one of his old friends at Princeton, and that the son has died in the First World War, Amory and the man reconcile, acknowledging mutual respect. It thus dawns on Amory that his time as a young promising Princetonian man has all been but a wasted dream, and he parts way with his travelmates amicably. Amory then continues his lonesome walk towards Princeton, and on the way gradually forsakes the final obsessions about times and people that once consituted fundamental ideologies of his old self. Standing alone and musing on the sight of ancient Princeton towers, Amory estatically yet sombrely concludes: "I know myself . . . but that is all."
Young racer Cole Trickle, from Eagle Rock, California, has years of experience in open-wheel racing, winning championships with the World of Outlaws. Originally setting his sights on the Indianapolis 500, Cole realizes that "to win in Indy I'd need a great car, but stock cars are all the same". Chevrolet dealership tycoon Tim Daland recruits him to race for his team in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, bringing former crew chief and car builder Harry Hogge out of retirement to lead Cole's pit crew (Harry had left NASCAR a year prior to avoid investigation involving the death of driver Buddy Bretherton). After Cole sets a fast time in a private test at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Hogge builds him a new Chevrolet Lumina.
Cole makes his first start at Phoenix, where he has difficulty adjusting to the larger NASCAR stock cars and communicating with his crew, while being intimidated on the track by Winston Cup Champion and dirty driver Rowdy Burns; these obstacles, combined with crashes and blown engines, prevent Cole from finishing the next three races at Bristol, Dover, and Rockingham. Cole confesses to Harry that he does not understand any common NASCAR terminology, leading Harry to put him through rigorous training. This pays off at Darlington, when Cole uses a slingshot maneuver from the outside line to overtake Rowdy and win his first race.
The rivalry between Cole and Rowdy intensifies throughout the season until the Firecracker 400 at Daytona, where both drivers are seriously injured after being caught in "The Big One". Recovering in Daytona Beach, Cole develops a romantic relationship with Dr. Claire Lewicki, a neurosurgeon at a local hospital. NASCAR President Big John brings Rowdy and Cole together in a meeting and warns them that he and his sport will no longer tolerate any misbehavior from the two rivals. The two bitter rivals soon become close friends after having dinner and settling their differences by smashing rental cars in a race on the beach, per Big John's persuasion.
Daland hires hot-shot rookie Russ Wheeler to fill Cole's seat until Cole returns, and then expands his team, with Daland now fielding two teams – the second car driven by Wheeler, of which Harry disapproves. Though Cole shows signs of his old self, he falls into a new rivalry with Russ, leading to an engine failure at Atlanta. Daland offers no help to Cole or his team, as he is defensive of his new driver. At North Wilkesboro, Russ blocks Cole's path during their pit stop, and later forces Cole into the outside wall on the last lap to win the race. Cole retaliates by crashing into Russ' car after the race, leading to a fight between Harry, Daland, and both of Cole and Russ's pit crews, with Daland firing both Cole and Harry in the process.
Rowdy learns he has to undergo brain surgery to fix a broken blood vessel, and asks Cole to drive his car at the Daytona 500 so his sponsor will pay for the year. Cole reluctantly agrees and convinces Harry to return as his crew chief. Hours prior to the race, Harry discovers metal in the oil pan, a sign of engine failure, and manages to procure a new engine from Daland, who still believes in his former driver's promise. During the race, Cole's car is spun out by Russ and suffers a malfunctioning transmission, but the combined efforts of Harry's and Daland's pit crews manage to fix the problem and get Cole back on the lead lap. On the final lap, Russ predicts that Cole will attempt his signature slingshot maneuver from outside, but Cole tricks him with a crossover, overtaking him from the inside to win his first Daytona 500.
Cole drives into Victory Lane, where he and his pit crew celebrate with Claire. He approaches Harry, sitting alone, who is lost for words. Cole asks Harry to walk with him and Harry agrees, challenging him to a foot race to Victory Lane.
''Star Fox Adventures'' features both the established main characters of the ''Star Fox'' series—Fox, Falco Lombardi, Slippy Toad and Peppy Hare (though Falco is absent for the majority of the game), as well as a host of new characters, including a mysterious blue fox named Krystal and the small dinosaur Prince Tricky. The entire planet is populated with dinosaurs, like the tyrannical General Scales, and other prehistoric animals such as pterosaurs and mammoths.
The entire game takes place on the world of Dinosaur Planet (known as "Sauria" in subsequent games) and a number of detached pieces of the planet that are suspended in orbit around it. Dinosaur Planet is ruled by the EarthWalker tribe, resembling ceratopsians, and the rival CloudRunner tribe, similar to pterosaurs and birds. The SharpClaw tribe are villainous humanoid theropods. Andross also appears as the final boss.
Eight years after Andross' first defeat, Krystal investigates the destruction of her home planet, Cerinia, and the death of her parents. Receiving a distress call from Krazoa Palace, Krystal discovers that it was attacked by General Scales and the SharpClaw army. Krystal is persuaded by a wounded EarthWalker in the Palace to collect the Krazoa Spirits and return them to the palace, which would supposedly tilt the war in the dinosaurs' favour and stop Scales. After releasing the first one, however, a mysterious being sends Krystal into the spirit's path, trapping her in a floating crystal atop the palace until all the spirits can be returned.
Meanwhile, on the edge of the Lylat System, General Pepper contacts the Star Fox Team, asking them to investigate the invasion of the Dinosaur Planet. Since the team are desperate for money and maintenance, team leader Fox McCloud agrees to take a look, arriving unarmed at Pepper's request to avoid trouble with the locals. On the planet's surface, Fox obtains and wields the magic staff which Krystal lost earlier. Fox learns from the Queen of the EarthWalker Tribe that Scales stole four Spellstones from the planet's two Force Point Temples. Resolving to prevent the planet from breaking up further and restore it to its original unity, Fox traverses the planet and retrieves the stones to the temples, with the help of the Queen's son, Prince Tricky. As Fox retrieves the stones, he discovers that he must also retrieve the other five Krazoa Spirits to repair the planet and save Krystal. When Fox finds the last spirit, he discovers that it is guarded by Scales himself. However, just as Fox and Scales engage in combat, a mysterious voice orders Scales to surrender the spirit, to which he reluctantly agrees. Fox takes the spirit to the Krazoa Shrine and frees Krystal.
The spirits are forced into the head of a Krazoa statue, which reveals itself to be the revived Andross, the mastermind behind the spirit scheme, who flies off to resume his conquest of the Lylat System. When Falco Lombardi arrives in space, he helps Fox destroy Andross once again, restoring and repairing the Krazoa spirits to the planet. Afterwards, Falco rejoins the Star Fox team and Krystal is recruited into the team beginning a romance with her and Fox.
In 1885, Jonathan Harker arrives at the castle of Count Dracula near Klausenburg to take up his post as librarian. Inside, he is startled by a young woman who claims that she is a prisoner and begs for his help. Dracula arrives, greets Harker, and guides him to his room. Alone, Jonathan writes in his diary, revealing his true intentions: he is a vampire hunter and has come to destroy Dracula.
Sometime later, Harker again is confronted by the desperate woman. She reveals herself to be a vampire and bites his neck. Dracula arrives and pulls her away as Harker passes out. When he awakens in his room in daylight, Harker discovers the bite marks on his neck. He realizes he has lost nearly an entire period of daylight. Harker writes a final entry in his journal and hides the book outside the castle. He descends into a crypt to find Dracula and the vampire woman resting in their coffins. Harker foolishly stakes the woman first, a mistake which will cost him his life. She withers to old age and dies. When Harker turns to Dracula's coffin, he finds it empty. Dracula, awakened, closes the door to the crypt, trapping Harker.
Days pass, and Doctor Van Helsing arrives in Klausenburg, looking for Harker. An innkeeper's daughter gives him Harker's journal. When he arrives at Dracula's castle, he finds it deserted, though he comes across the portrait that Harker had of his fiancée Lucy Holmwood, with the photos now gone. Van Helsing finds Harker in Dracula's coffin in the crypt, transformed into a vampire. He stakes Harker before leaving for the town of Karlstadt, where he delivers the veiled news of Harker's death to Arthur Holmwood and his wife Mina, brother and sister-in-law of Lucy, who is ill. When night falls, Lucy opens the doors to her terrace and lays bare her neck—already, it bears the mark of a vampire bite. Soon, Dracula arrives and bites her again.
Mina seeks out Van Helsing's aid in treating Lucy's ailment, but Lucy begs the maid Gerda to remove his prescribed garlic bouquets, and she is found dead the next day. Van Helsing turns over Harker's journal to Arthur. Three days after Lucy is interred, an undead Lucy lures Gerda's daughter Tania to a graveyard, where Arthur has found Lucy's tomb empty. Van Helsing appears and wards Lucy off with a cross. He explains to Arthur that Lucy was targeted to replace the woman Harker killed. Van Helsing suggests using her to lead them to Dracula, but Arthur refuses, and Van Helsing stakes her in her coffin. Arthur takes one final look at Lucy's body and sees her at peace.
Van Helsing and Arthur travel to the border crossing at Ingolstadt to track down Dracula's coffin. Meanwhile, Mina receives a message telling her to go to the address of an undertaker in Karlstadt, where Dracula waits. The next day, Arthur and Van Helsing visit the undertaker but find Dracula's coffin missing. Later, Arthur tries to give Mina a cross to wear, but it burns her, revealing that she is turning into a vampire herself. During the night, Dracula appears inside the house and bites her. Arthur agrees to give her a blood transfusion administered by Van Helsing. When Arthur asks Gerda to fetch some wine, she tells him that Mina had forbidden her to go down to the cellar. Upon hearing this, Van Helsing bolts downstairs and finds Dracula's coffin, but it is empty. Dracula has escaped into the night with Mina, intent on making her his new vampire bride.
A chase ensues as Dracula rushes to return to his castle before sunrise. He attempts to bury Mina alive outside the crypt but is interrupted by the arrival of Van Helsing and Arthur. Pursuing Dracula inside the castle, Van Helsing struggles with the vampire before eventually tearing down the curtains to let in the sunlight. Van Helsing forms a cross with two candlesticks, and Dracula crumbles into dust as Van Helsing looks on. Mina recovers, and the cross-shaped scar fades from her hand while Dracula's ashes blow away in the morning breeze, leaving only his clothes and ring behind.
The story takes place in a dystopian future where the world is controlled by a capitalist regime. Despite advertising being illegal ("ad" is, in fact, a dirty word), corporations are still able to persuade and control consumers by the celebrities they create for product placement. The protagonist, seventeen-year-old Philadelphia Burke, or P. Burke, is enlisted to become one of these celebrities after a suicide attempt fueled by society ostracizing her due to her Pituitary Dystrophy, better known as Cushing's Disease. While recovering in the hospital, she is chosen by a scout to become a "Remote Operator" for the beautiful corporate creation, known as Delphi, who was grown without a functioning brain from a modified embryo in an artificial womb. Though Delphi appears to be a normal fifteen-year-old-girl, she is controlled through a satellite linked to P. Burke's brain, which is still physically located in her original body.
The purpose of a remote and a remote operator, such as Delphi and P. Burke, is to remove the fear a company might have that a normal celebrity could act of their own accord. P. Burke controls Delphi, making her say and do whatever the company tells her to. That being said, after months of training, Delphi is strategically placed in a minor documentary film, and she becomes a media sensation overnight. Her job is to act as a celebrity traveling all over the world, all the while subtly buying and promoting products to influence the public in favor of a company.
P. Burke not only falls in love with the life style, but Delphi as well. Acting as a perfect teenage girl, P. Burke has everything she has ever wanted. She has fame, respect, wealth, power, and eventually love. Paul Isham, the rich and rebellious son of a network executive, notices Delphi on the set of her Soap Opera and falls in love with her. P. Burke - and, by default, Delphi - reciprocates his feelings, but cannot let him know the truth. He eventually discovers and misunderstands the situation, believing Delphi is a normal girl who is enslaved by implants. He breaks into the lab where P. Burke is and is shocked to see Delphi being controlled by an unattractive, bedridden woman connected to countless machines. Out of rage and confusion, he rips the wires out of P. Burke, killing her. Delphi remains biologically "alive" and is put under the control of another operator.
Sean Armstrong (Hulk Hogan) is a former wrestler living in Palm Beach, Florida and suffering from wrestler-days' nightmares. Burt Wilson (Sherman Hemsley), Sean's friend and former manager, has a bum leg from saving Sean's life and financial difficulties with his personal security business. With much whining and acting, Burt manages to persuade Sean to take a bodyguard job for Alex Mason Sr. (Austin Pendleton), the head of the prestigious tech firm, Mason Systems, which is developing a new anti-missile system, the Peacefinder Project. The vital information for this project is stored on a microchip. But it is neither the inventor nor the chip Sean has to guard - he is to look after the two Mason kids: Alex Jr. (Robert Gorman) and Kate (Madeline Zima).
Alex and Kate are two highly mischievous kids who vie for their often-too-absent father's attention by wreaking havoc in the household via elaborate and rather vicious pranks and booby-traps, with their specialty targets being the nannies he has assigned to take care of them (Alex Sr. is a widower). However, their father proves to be either too distracted or too lenient, which causes the children to continue their schemes. Thinking that he is a new (albeit unusual) replacement, they find a new target in Sean. But after one prank too many, which involves a swimming pool full of red dye ("the Pit of Blood"), Sean finally exerts his authority and not only gets to quiet Alex and Kate down, he also manages to open the eyes of their father to his family problems, as well as bonding with the kids and managing to help them sort out problems of their own.
Mason's chip is coveted by Tommy Thanatos (David Johansen), an unscrupulous and vain criminal who will not stop at anything to get it. As it turns out, Sean and Burt had been once at the receiving end of one of his schemes: he had ordered them to throw a match, and when they had not complied, he attempted to shoot them. However, Burt threw himself in front of Sean, taking the bullet in his right leg; Sean had chased Thanatos to the roof of the stadium, and after a furious fight, Thanatos ended up plunging head-first into an empty pool. This accident fractured the top of his skull, forcing the attachment of a steel skullplate and removing part of his proud afro mane.
Thanatos kidnaps Alex Sr. with the help of Frank Olsen (Raymond O'Connor), the corrupt security chief of Mason Systems (who is disposed of en route to the hideout), and demands of him to hand over the chip. When Alex Sr. (who stowed the chip in Kate's doll) refuses, Thanatos has Alex and Kate kidnapped in order to force him to comply. Despite a valiant effort, Sean is overpowered and Burt is taken as well, giving Thanatos an unexpected revenge bonus. But Sean manages to track down Thanatos, and with the help of his friends is able to beat the villains. As Thanatos prepares to charge Sean, Alex Sr. and the children activate an improvised electromagnet to launch him into the night sky, leaving only his skullplate.
The movie ends with Sean preparing to take a leave of absence from the Masons. But Alex and Kate intend to have him back much sooner - and therefore Sean falls victim to yet another prank.
Elayne Trakand, Nynaeve al'Meara, Aviendha, and their coalition of channelers use the ''ter'angreal'' called the 'Bowl of the Winds' to reverse the unnatural heat brought by the Dark One's manipulation of the climate, and then escape a Seanchan invasion by ''Traveling'' to Andor with most of the Kin who had not yet been captured by the Seanchan. In Andor, an Aes Sedai in their party is murdered, and the group realizes that one of its members is Black Ajah. Upon reaching Caemlyn, Elayne initiates her claim to the throne.
Perrin Aybara moves into Ghealdan to stop Masema Dagar, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the Dragon; but unknowingly rescues the deposed Queen Morgase of Andor from the Prophet's men. He then secures the oath of fealty from Alliandre, Queen of Ghealdan, and accepts the dubious allegiance of Masema. At the end of the book, Faile Bashere is kidnapped by the Shaido Aiel. Egwene al'Vere, Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, manipulates her unruly followers into giving her more control, and they Travel to Tar Valon, before their siege of its White Tower.
Rand al'Thor, accompanied by Bashere with fifty Asha'man and six thousand Tairens, Cairhienin and Illianers, attempts to repel the Seanchan invasion in Altara. They are successful in early skirmishes, driving the Seanchan from western Altara entirely. Bashere counsels retreat, but Rand decides to push on to Ebou Dar, clashing with a forty thousand strong Seanchan army fifty miles from the city. Both sides bleed each other white in the initial clash, after which both armies pull back to regroup. Rand attempts to destroy the Seanchan by wielding his ''sa'angreal'' 'Callandor', but loses control of it due to disturbances in saidin caused by the previous usage of the Bowl of the Winds. The result is a lightning storm that devastates his army as well as the Seanchan. Too bloodied to continue fighting, both armies retreat, making the battle a stalemate. Returning to Cairhien, Rand is attacked by traitorous Asha'man led by Corlan Dashiva, who fail to kill him. Mat Cauthon is absent from the book, due to injuries sustained at the end of the previous book, ''A Crown of Swords''. Robert Jordan had earlier done the same for Perrin Aybara, who had been absent from Book 5, ''The Fires of Heaven''.
Old hero Wong Samtai, is hosting a banquet for warriors from the four seas. The invitation is received also by the head of the Black Wind fortress Kam Ching, who wants to marry his daughter Lotus to his son Wong Tinbar. But Tinbar does not want this wedding and sees his future with Cheung Kwailan. The afflicted Ching and his daughter steal the jade seal, which belongs to the King of Magical Power. Tinbar is accused of theft. He fails to find a seal and his father is imprisoned. Cheung Kwailan is trapped in the Black Wind Fortress during an overnight search along with Tinbar, but the sudden appearance of the Seven Little Rookies saves her from captivity. Thanks to this, her searches continue and lead to the Dragon Cave with a poisonous python, where the seal is located. Nevertheless, Tinbar is under arrest by the lord. Kwailan and the Seven Rascals force the culprits to surrender - this is part of the Tinbar rescue mission at the lord's residence to settle this problem once and for all.
Television journalist Diana records footage of a cocaine deal gone wrong between the Italian mob and a street gang called The Demons. During the deal, mob boss Giancarlo kills the Demons' leader Grank and a gun fight (with grenades) ensues. Giancarlo spots Diana and her partner Richard and orders his gang to chase them. Richard is captured while Diana flees from the mobsters, bumping into TV chef Jackie, who helps her escape. During the chase, she accidentally switches the videotape of the drug trade with one of Jackie's cooking videos. The children of Romeo Baggio, Jackie's adoptive brother, end up in possession of the tape. His children watch the video, unaware of what it is and that their father is investigating the mob. The mob, knowing the tape is still out there, force Richard to give them Diana's address. They ambush Diana at her house, but after realizing she has the wrong tape, they force her to come with them after she reveals that Jackie has the tape.
While walking outside with the mobsters, Diana instigates a distraction and flees. The mob believes Jackie has the tape and follows him around, while some Demons follow them, hoping for a chance to kill some of the mobsters in retaliation for killing Grank. Jackie is forced to fend them off and run when they attack him at a benefit event he is hosting at the mall. Puzzled at the mobsters' actions, one of the Demons asks a mobster why they're chasing Jackie. Jackie learns why the mob is chasing him after Diana sneaks into his house searching for the tape. She is attacked by Jackie's friend Lakeisha, who thinks her an intruder, but Jackie intervenes. Diana begs for the tape, but Jackie is (correctly) convinced that he doesn't have it. Before Diana can leave Jackie's apartment building, Giancarlo's henchmen show up (unaware that Demon members have been following them).
Jackie and the women escape from the roof just as the Demons throw grenades in Jackie's apartment, killing the mobsters and blowing up Jackie's apartment. The Demons realize afterwards that was Jackie's apartment, and how serious Giancarlo is about retrieving the videotape. They decide to exploit the situation in order to extort money from Giancarlo. They call Giancarlo to set up a meeting to trade the tape (and the mob's stolen cocaine) for a large sum of money. Everyone decides to stay at Lakeisha's home for safety, but the Demons soon find them. They kidnap Jackie's girlfriend Miki (Miki Lee) and give Jackie a cell phone, demanding that he give them the videotape in 12 hours. Jackie turns to Romeo for the police's help. The next day, Jackie goes to meet the Demons to trade in a (decoy) videotape, but no Demon meets Jackie in person. Instead, they frequently call him on his cell phone and make him go to various locations in the city.
The police trace each call, but discover the Demons are trying to thwart their presence, so they follow Jackie instead. However, the gang discovers this and they escape with Miki. Jackie, angry at the cops' mishandling, refuses to work with them anymore. However, he is kidnapped by the Demons moments later. Jackie fights off the gang and causes their van to crash. Before the police show up, Jackie forces one of the Demons to tell him where Miki is: at a construction site. Jackie insists to Diana and Lakeisha not to follow him to the construction site, but they go there anyway. While Jackie looks for Miki, Giancarlo and his men show up. A fight ensues between Jackie and the mobsters, which ends in Jackie getting captured. Lakeisha and Miki are also taken, while Diana is injured but escapes. Giancarlo murders the other Demons on site except for Tara, who also escapes but with serious injuries.
Meanwhile, Romeo discovers his son watching Diana's tape, the proof he needs to arrest the mob, and visits the hospital where Diana and Tara are being treated. The women inform him about what happened to Jackie and the others. At Giancarlo's home, Giancarlo demands the tape from Jackie one last time. Jackie decides to call Romeo, but he's not home. Afterwards Jackie is forced into an unfair fight with Giancarlo. After taking a beating, Giancarlo orders his men to kill Jackie and the women at "the guesthouse", which is code for a mining site used by Giancarlo where he buries people alive. However, they escape and destroy Giancarlo's home by driving through it in a 120-ton mining vehicle, which also causes incriminating evidence (cocaine) to be spread outside in plain view of the cops. The authorities arrive with Romeo, but they decide to state that they did not witness anything and that it was just another gang battle, so that Jackie can go free while the mobsters are arrested for possession of cocaine.
Chien Fu, an orphan adopted by a kung fu school, is overworked as their janitor while being bullied and abused by the kung fu teachers as a walking punching-bag, with the school's cook, Ah-Wu, being his only sympathizer. Chien befriends an old beggar by offering him a meal and a place to stay. Unknown to Chien, the old beggar is actually Pai Cheng-tien, one of the last surviving masters of the Snake-style of kung fu. Pai is on the run from the Eagle Claw clan, which is viciously killing off all of the rival Snake-style masters, but is ambushed by Eagle Claw student Su Chen and an assassin masquerading as a Christian missionary (Roy Horan), and is injured. After being abused once more, Chien later finds Pai and helps him recover. Pai agrees to give him more lessons, on the condition that he does not call him "sifu" ("master"), since they are friends. The real reason, however, is to keep Chien's connection with him secret from his pursuers.
Chien practices the lessons and learns to avoid being hurt by the school's bumbling teachers. When the school is invaded by the Mantis school, to everyone's amazement Chien easily defeats their master using the snake style. Unfortunately, one of the passing wanderers who witnesses the fight is the high master of the Eagle Clan, Sheng Kuan, who recognizes the style at once and decides to tail Chien.
Chien meets Shang Kuan, who inquires about the old beggar, claiming that he was a colleague of Pai's. As a show of 'proof', he easily fends off Chien's attacks. Chien realises that his Snake-style fighting is no match for the style practiced by the stranger, and thus creates a new style from watching his pet cat kill a cobra.
Later on the Eagle Claw conspirators track down Pai, who manages to kill Su Chen. He returns to Chien for hiding, but it is then shown that Ah-Wu is also an Eagle Claw conspirator as he puts poison into their tea. Chien rushes to fetch Sheng Kuan, but sensing danger, Pai flees, with his enemy in pursuit. As Chien hurries after them, he finally learns the truth behind the conspiracy, and eventually challenges Sheng Kuan to single combat after Pai is brought down. Apparently at a disadvantage in the initial phase, Chien brings his new 'Cat Claw' technique—against which Sheng Kuan knows no defense—to bear, killing him. When Ah-Wu shows up after the fight and reveals his true allegiance, Chien and Pai trick and slay him, as they have by chance avoided ingesting the poison. Afterwards, the two friends wander off to refine Chien's new technique, giving it its titular name.
Jackie, a.k.a. "Asian Hawk", is a former musician who becomes an adventurer and treasure hunter. After successfully stealing a sword from an African tribe, he has the weapon auctioned before it is won by May Bannon, the beautiful daughter of Count Bannon. He is reunited with his former bandmate Alan, who seeks his help as his girlfriend Lorelei has been kidnapped by an evil religious cult as a means of acquiring Jackie's services. The cult possesses two pieces of a legendary armour called the "Armour of God", and they intend to have Jackie bring them the three remaining armour pieces, including the sword. Jackie and Alan strike a deal with Count Bannon, who is in possession of the three armour pieces: they will borrow the armour pieces for their quest to rescue Lorelei with a promise to complete the armour for the Count, on the condition that May accompanies them.
Jackie, Alan and May travel into Yugoslavia to find the cult's monastery. They infiltrate the hideout and secretly rescue Lorelei, unaware that the cult leaders have anticipated their arrival and brainwashed her to do their bidding. At May's rest home, Lorelei drugs Alan and has him steal the three armour pieces. Jackie sneaks back to the monastery and rescues his friends. As Alan and Lorelei make their escape, Jackie fends off against the cult members before discovering the Armour of God in a cave. Before he gets a chance to take the armour, he encounters the Grand Wizard, who unleashes his four female assassins on the adventurer. Exploiting their high-heeled shoes as their weakness, Jackie defeats the assassins in a gruelling fight. Jackie is then surrounded by the rest of the Grand Wizard's men, but he reveals a vest filled with sticks of dynamite under his jacket, threatening to blow himself up with the monastery. After a couple of bluffs, he carelessly lights up the fuse and throws away the sticks of dynamite, running for his life as the monastery quickly begins to cave in, burying the entire cult and the Armour of God. He runs out of a cave and spots a hot-air balloon with Alan, Lorelei, and May aboard. In a daring move, Jackie does a base jump off the cave and lands on top of the balloon, ending the movie.
Hong Kong treasure hunter Jackie aka ''Asian Hawk'', is summoned by Duke Scapio at his mansion in Madrid, Spain, where he is told of a story of a German commander named Hans von Ketterling and his regiment burying 240 tons of gold at a secret base deep in the Sahara Desert in Africa before the end of World War II. The 18 soldiers involved in the operation disappeared under mysterious circumstances. By request from the United Nations, Scapio gives Jackie an unofficial mission to locate the base and recover the gold. Aside from acquiring the key to the base, he is partnered with Ada, an expert in African geography. Upon discovery of the gold, Jackie is promised one percent of the treasure, or roughly 2.5 tons of gold.
One night, while snooping around the home of one of the base's caretakers, Jackie meets a young German woman named Elsa, after saving her from a couple of Arab men—Amon and Tasza—who are also searching for the gold. The next day, he goes to a renowned locksmith and learns that the key is intricately designed for use with a special code. After evading an army of black cars chasing him across town, Jackie is asked by Elsa to let her join him and Ada on their expedition, as she is in search of von Ketterling, who was her grandfather. Upon their arrival in the Sahara Desert, the expedition team picks up Momoko, a Japanese woman who is searching for the meaning of death.
Their camp is attacked by black-veiled bandits who kidnap Elsa and Ada. Jackie and Momoko follow the bandits' trail to a slave market, where they save Elsa and Ada from being auctioned off as sex slaves. Meanwhile, the rest of the expedition team is murdered by a group of mercenaries led by a man who uses a wheelchair. After another run-in with Amon and Tasza, Jackie's group returns to their camp to discover their comrades slain, but Momoko recognizes a statue in one of Elsa's grandfather's pictures and leads them to an ancient temple. After bidding Momoko farewell, the trio enters the ruins, where they encounter a band of vicious tribesmen. While running for their lives, they fall through a loose floor of sand into a cavern, which is part of the secret Nazi base.
They discover the mummified remains of Elsa's grandfather and look through his log book, revealing that the 18 soldiers under von Ketterling ingested cyanide pills and died inside the base upon completion of their mission. However, the trio only counts 17 bodies, with one soldier missing. The man who uses the wheelchair—arriving with his mercenaries and holding Momoko hostage—reveals himself as Adolf, the 18th soldier who murdered Elsa's grandfather after the latter made him a paraplegic for refusing to ingest the cyanide. A furious chase ensues between Jackie's group and the mercenaries throughout the base, which ends with the protagonists getting captured. Upon arriving at the vault, Jackie uses the key and a secret code from Elsa's grandfather's dog tag and opens it, revealing the elevator leading to the gold.
Upon their discovery of the gold, the mercenaries turn their backs on Adolf with the intent of keeping the treasure to themselves. Adolf in turn locks in all of the mercenaries, except for two who chase Jackie to an underground wind tunnel. While Jackie battles the two mercenaries, Elsa and Ada flip random switches in the control room, activating the tunnel's turbine fan. As the three men hang on for their lives, Elsa and Ada attempt to switch off the fan, but they accidentally trigger the base's self-destruct sequence. Adolf tells the quartet that they can escape by having the turbine blow them through the ventilation duct, but he decides to stay to atone for his sins. The quartet gathers as much gold as they can, but the wind force only sends their bodies upward to the desert surface above before the base completely caves in.
As the quartet walks across the desert, they once again encounter Amon and Tasza. With their common lack of a water supply, they finally overcome their differences and try to find water in the Sahara desert.
Eddie Yang (Jackie Chan) is a Hong Kong police inspector co-operating with Interpol in the capture of a crime lord named AJ "Snakehead" Staul (Julian Sands). Snakehead procures an ancient book from a Chinese bookstore keeper, which tells the story of a boy being chosen every thousand years to bind the two halves of a legendary medallion. In Hong Kong, Eddie and Interpol agent Arthur Watson (Lee Evans) lead a raid to capture Snakehead and his men, who are about to kidnap the boy, named Jai (Alex Bao). Eddie and the agents fight off Snakehead's men, infiltrating the temple containing Jai. The agents save Jai, but Snakehead eludes them. Two weeks later, Snakehead captures Jai aboard a cargo boat in Hong Kong. Eddie and a team of Hong Kong police engage and defeat several of Snakehead's men, but Snakehead escapes with Jai to Dublin, Ireland.
In Ireland, Eddie is assigned to help Interpol with the investigation, much to Watson's annoyance. Eddie also reunites with his girlfriend, a British Interpol agent named Nicole James (Claire Forlani). By chance, Eddie later encounters and apprehends one of Snakehead's top men, who confesses Jai is being held in the harbor. Eddie, Watson, and Nicole move to rescue Jai, defeating several Snakehead agents in the process. Eddie and Jai end up trapped inside a container, which is knocked into the water by one of Snakehead's men before they can be released. Eddie keeps Jai alive by finding an inflatable tent, and securely putting Jai inside, but Eddie dies from drowning. After being rescued, Jai uses his medallion on Eddie's body.
In the morgue, Watson grieves over Eddie's body and prepares to say his last words, when Eddie suddenly appears beside him. Eddie realizes Jai used the medallion to resurrect him, and his former body vanishes into dust. Jai splits the medallion into its two-halves, giving one of them to Eddie. Snakehead's men appear in the hospital to recapture Jai, and during the fight, Eddie discovers the medallion has also granted him superhuman strength and immortality.
Nicole looks after Jai, but he is captured again by Snakehead. At his castle hideout, Snakehead forces Jai to activate the medallion so he can gain its power, but with only one half of it, Snakehead only gains superhuman strength and remains mortal. To steal the other half, Snakehead and his men attack Watson's family. Watson's Chinese wife reveals herself to be a police operative like him, much to Watson's surprise as he kept his job secret from his family. Together they fight off the attack from Snakehead's men.
Eddie, Watson, and Nicole learn the location of Snakehead's castle lair and go to finish him once and for all. The operation runs smoothly at first, but Snakehead kills Nicole and becomes immortal. He and Eddie engage in a vicious fight until Eddie uses the medallion to take away the life it gave, which leads to the serpent and fish from the medallion appearing and taking Snakehead, which traps him in the medallion. Jai allows Eddie to use the medallion to resurrect Nicole, who also gains super-strength and immortality. The two then run at superhuman speed into the distance as Jai enters another dimension through a portal, frightening Watson.
LAPD Detective James Carter is in Hong Kong on vacation with his partner, Hong Kong Police Force Chief Inspector Lee. His vacation is put on hold when a bomb at the US Consulate General kills two undercover US Customs agents. Lee is assigned to the case and discovers that his late father's police partner, Ricky Tan, is somehow involved. Lee and Carter attempt to question Ricky, now a leader of the Triads, resulting in a brawl with his bodyguards.
The U.S. Secret Service, led by Agent Sterling, and the Hong Kong Police Force fight over jurisdiction of the case. Lee's office is bombed and Lee, unaware Carter has left the building, believes him dead. They cross paths at a party on Ricky's yacht, where Ricky scolds his underling, Hu Li. Lee and Carter confront Ricky, who claims he is being framed by his enemies and asks for protection, but Hu Li shoots him and escapes. Sterling holds Lee responsible for Ricky's death and orders him off the case. Carter is ordered back to Los Angeles, but convinces Lee to return to Los Angeles with him.
Carter assures Lee that every large criminal operation has a rich white man behind it; in this case, he believes that man is Steven Reign, a billionaire Los Angeles hotelier he saw acting suspiciously at Ricky Tan's party. Staking out Reign Towers, they spot Isabella Molina, whom Carter met on Ricky's yacht, receiving a delivery from Hu Li. Mistaking the package for another bomb, Lee and Carter try to intervene, but Molina reveals she is an undercover U.S. Secret Service agent, looking into Reign's laundering of $100 million in superdollars.
Lee and Carter visit Kenny, an ex-con, now Carter’s informant who runs a gambling den in the back of his Chinese restaurant. He tells them about a customer with a suspicious amount of hundred-dollar bills, which Carter confirms are Reign's counterfeits. They trace the money to a bank, where they are captured by Hu Li. Taken to Las Vegas in a Triad truck, Lee and Carter escape, realizing that Reign is laundering the $100 million through his new Red Dragon Casino.
At the Red Dragon, Molina points Lee to the engraving plates used to print the counterfeit money, while Carter creates a distraction to help Lee sneak past security. Hu Li captures Lee, taping an explosive in his mouth before bringing him to Ricky, who is still alive. When Ricky departs, Molina tries to arrest Hu Li but is shot, and Lee removes the explosive before it detonates, evacuating the casino.
Carter fights Hu Li, accidentally taking her out with a spear, while Lee pursues Ricky. In the penthouse, Reign prepares to escape with the plates but Ricky fatally stabs him. Lee and Carter confront Ricky, who admits to killing Lee's father. In the ensuing scuffle, Ricky falls to his death when Lee kicks him out of the window. Hu Li enters with a time bomb, forcing Lee and Carter to escape on a makeshift zip line as Hu Li dies in the explosion.
Later at the airport, Molina thanks Lee for his work on the case, and kisses him. Planning to go their separate ways, Lee and Carter change their minds when Carter reveals the large amount of money he won at the casino, and the pair head to New York City to indulge themselves.
There are two plots of ''Front Mission 3'', and both revolve around Japanese wanzer test pilots Kazuki Takemura and Ryogo Kusama. Through a decision made early in the game, the player can play either the DHZ scenario or the USN scenario. The DHZ scenario stars Japanese scientist Aliciana "Alisa" Takemura, while the USN scenario revolves around scientist Emir "Emma" Klamsky.
Although both scenarios have different characters and story scenarios, they both share a number of events and locations in the game. Due to its storytelling approach, it is not known which of the two scenarios is canonically related to ''Front Mission 5: Scars of the War''. On October 31, Kazuki begins testing a new prototype wanzer at a Kirishima Heavy Industries test site near Okinawa. Upon completing the test, he is informed that some construction wanzers need to be taken to the JDF base in Yokosuka. Ryogo asks Kazuki if he can join him in delivering the wanzers. If the player chooses to go with him, they will play the USN scenario. If the player does not go with him, they will play the DHZ scenario.
In either case, Kazuki and Ryogo are eventually tasked to deliver the Kirishima prototypes to the Yokosuka base. As they ready the wanzers for delivery, an explosion leads Kazuki to attempt going inside the base itself. The two test pilots are eventually forced to leave the base. Realizing that his sister Alisa was recently transferred to the base, Kazuki and Ryogo eventually find themselves back inside the complex.
The two are then forced to escape the base and their JDF pursuers under different circumstances. On the USN scenario, Kazuki and Ryogo are aided by Emir with help from her USN allies. On the DHZ scenario, DHZ agent Liu Hei Fong saves the two and Alisa from being captured. In either case, Takemura and Kusama are blamed as terrorists behind the Yokosuka base attack. Wondering why they are being chased, Emma or Liu tells the two that the JDF stole a top-secret USN weapon called MIDAS from a base in Alaska, and that the explosion came from a failed attempt to reproduce it. The raid itself, which is in the game's opening cutscene, is viewed in ''Scars of the War'' as security camera footage.
The group pursues MIDAS to an OCU base hidden inside Taal Volcano in the Philippines, but the OCU uses it against a DHZ-aided rebel force conducting an amphibious landing in Batangas City. With MIDAS apparently gone for good, the group moves to the DHZ where they become involved in the government's battle against the USN-aided Hua Lian Rebels.
As the battle escalates, the group encounters the "Imaginary Numbers" and "Real Numbers," the results of a genetic engineering program intended to create the perfect human. Developed in Ravnui (formerly Belarus), Bal Gorbovsky, the head of the program, had secretly continued his work with the DHZ government masquerading as the Ravnui Ambassador. However, the Imaginary Numbers turn on Bal and reveal that the MIDAS used in the Philippines was a successful duplicate. Their leader, Lukav Minaev, also reveals that Emir and Alisa were also both created by the project, and that two scientists who adopted them as family helped them escape before they were killed.
The Imaginary Numbers flee to Japan where they support a coup d'état hatched by Masao Sasaki, the ultra-nationalist JDF Chief of Staff who ordered the Alaska raid. Kazuki's group follows them to Japan, where he is reunited with his estranged father Isao Takemura. They manage to defeat the coup forces, clear their names and pursue the Imaginary Numbers back to Ocean City, a floating island located off Okinawa. Although they finally defeat the Imaginary Numbers and safely detonate the original MIDAS out at sea, the game's ending will either be resolved or left ambiguous depending on the scenario chosen.
The short story concerns Franny's weekend date with her collegiate boyfriend, Lane Coutell. Lane takes her to a fashionable lunch room, where Franny quickly becomes exasperated when he only appears interested in conversing about the minutiae of his academic frustrations. Franny questions the importance of college education and the worth of Lane's friends. She eats nothing, feels faint, and becomes progressively more uncomfortable talking to Lane. Eventually she excuses herself to visit the restroom, where, after a breakdown, she regains her composure.
Franny returns to the table, where she expresses her feeling of being troubled with egotism and the need to be accomplished. Lane then spots the small book that Franny has been carrying and asks her about it. She explains that the book is titled ''The Way of a Pilgrim'' and tells the story of how a Russian wanderer learns the power of "praying without ceasing". The Jesus Prayer involves internalizing the prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me" to a point where, in a manner similar to a Zen koan, it becomes unconscious, almost like a heartbeat. Lane is less interested in the story than in keeping their timetable for the party and football game, though when Franny faints due to the fact that she has not been eating, he tends to her and postpones the weekend's activities. After she wakes, he goes to call a taxi to take her to her lodging, and leaves Franny alone. The story concludes with Franny lying in the hospital, her lips moving soundlessly, suggesting that she is practising the act of praying without ceasing.
Zooey reads a four-year-old letter from his brother Buddy in the bath in his family's home. In the letter, Buddy discusses their eldest brother Seymour's suicide several years previously, and encourages Zooey to pursue an acting career if he is drawn to it. Zooey's mother, Bessie, enters the bathroom, and the two have a long discussion, centering upon Bessie's worries about his sister, Franny, who is in a state of emotional collapse and is refusing food. During the conversation, Zooey verbally spars and banters with his mother and repeatedly requests that she leave. Bessie tolerates Zooey's behavior, and simply states that he's becoming more and more like his brother Buddy and wonders what has happened to her children that were once so "sweet and loving".
After Bessie leaves, Zooey gets dressed and goes to the living room, where he finds Franny on the sofa with their cat Bloomberg. He begins speaking with her, and ends up upsetting Franny by claiming that her motives for reciting the "Jesus Prayer" are rooted in ego-reinforcement. Zooey feels guilty and retreats into the former bedroom of Seymour and Buddy, and reads the back of their door, covered in philosophical and religious quotations. After contemplation, Zooey telephones Franny, pretending to be Buddy. Franny eventually discovers the ruse, but she and Zooey continue to talk. Zooey shares with her some words of wisdom that Seymour once gave him, suggesting that one should live with optimism and love because, even if nobody else does, Jesus notices. After Zooey hangs up, Franny lies in their parents' bed and smiles at the ceiling before eventually falling asleep.
In 1950s New York, protagonist, Sabina, pursues her sexual desires. She calls a random number from a bar in the middle of the night, seeking to confess or find solace in the voice of a stranger. The stranger happens to be a lie detector who proceeds to follow Sabina in her activities throughout the novel. Her various love interests and her relationship with her husband, Alan, without whom she feels she cannot live, make her life more and more complex. The level of deceit her hedonistic lifestyle forces her to maintain leads her to regard herself as "an international spy in the house of love".
William Riker visits Risa and is introduced to a video game by Etana Jol, a Ktarian woman with whom he has become romantically involved during his vacation on the pleasure planet. Riker, upon his return to the ''Enterprise,'' distributes replicated copies of the game to the crew of the starship.
Cadet Wesley Crusher, on vacation from Starfleet Academy, is visiting the ''Enterprise'' and notices everyone playing the game (and trying to convince him to play as well). Doctor Beverly Crusher, Wesley's mother, secretly switches off Lieutenant Commander Data and sabotages his circuits, because he would be immune to the game's addictive properties. The game addicts people who play it by stimulating the pleasure centers of their brains when they successfully complete each level.
Wesley reports to Captain Jean-Luc Picard his suspicions that the game is dangerous. However, Picard is already addicted. Eventually, Wesley and his new girlfriend, Ensign Robin Lefler, are the only people on the ship who have yet to become addicted to the game. Wesley and Robin discover that Data's injuries were in fact sabotage, and begin working on a plan to stop the spread of the game. Wesley meets Robin in engineering, where he learns that she has come under the influence of the game, presumably having been captured by the crew and forced to play. Riker and Worf pursue Wesley, as he is the last non-addicted person on the ship. Wesley evades them for a time, but they eventually trap him in an access tunnel and take him to the bridge, where he is restrained and forced to play the game.
Data, having been examined and repaired by Wesley and Ensign Lefler before they were forced to submit to the game, frees the rest of the crew from their mind-controlled state by flashing pulses of light in their faces from a handheld lamp (a "palm beacon"). The crew is then able to discern the purpose of the game: It rendered them extremely susceptible to the power of suggestion, compelling them to aid the games' creators, the Ktarians, in an attempt to take control of the ''Enterprise'' and eventually the Federation. Picard captures the Ktarian vessel, captained by Etana Jol, responsible for distributing the games and has it towed to the nearest spacedock. Wesley and Lefler bid each other a reluctant farewell as he returns to Starfleet Academy.
The Federation starship ''Enterprise'' arrives at Starbase 74 for a routine maintenance check. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) greet Starbase Commander Quinteros (Gene Dynarski) and two pairs of small humanoid aliens known as Bynars; the Bynars heavily rely on their computer technology and work in pairs for best efficiency. Much of the crew take shore leave while Picard, Riker and a skeleton crew remain aboard. Riker is intrigued by the Bynars' claimed upgrades to the holodeck and starts a program in a jazz bar. The program includes a woman named Minuet (Carolyn McCormick), by whom Riker is fascinated, both as a beautiful and charming woman, but also by the level of sophistication in her responses. Riker shortly returns, and Picard walks in on him kissing Minuet, and he too is amazed by the simulation.
Meanwhile, the Bynars discreetly create a catastrophic failure in the ship's warp core. Lt. Cmdr. Data (Brent Spiner) and Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) are unable to locate Picard or Riker and, assuming them to already be on the Starbase, order an emergency evacuation. They set the ship to leave the Starbase and warp to a safe location before it would explode. However, once they are clear of the dock, the failure disappears and the ship sets course for the Bynar system, the planet Bynaus orbiting Beta Magellan. Data, La Forge, and Quinteros realize that the Bynars are still aboard the ship, but there are currently no other working vessels to follow them. Back on the ''Enterprise'', Riker and Picard leave the simulation to find the ship empty and at warp to the Bynar system, with the ship's controls locked to the bridge. Fearing that the Bynars have taken over the ship for nefarious purposes, they set the ship to self-destruct in 5 minutes and then take the bridge by intra-ship transporter beam and find the Bynars there unconscious.
After cancelling the self-destruct, they find the Bynars have uploaded massive amounts of information to the ''Enterprise'' computers, but they are unable to decode it. Realizing that Minuet was purposely created by the Bynars as a distraction, Picard and Riker ask the simulation about what is going on as the ship nears the orbit of Bynaus. Minuet explains that a star near the Bynar homeworld had gone supernova, and the EMP it emitted would knock out their computer systems, effectively killing the Bynars. They had used the ''Enterprise'' to upload their computer information for safekeeping and then planned to download it back to the Bynar computers after the threat of the EMP had passed. With Data's help, Picard and Riker successfully download the data, and the Bynars recover. They apologize for their actions, having feared that Starfleet would refuse to help, though Picard notes they only had to ask. As the ''Enterprise'' returns to Starbase, Riker returns to the holodeck to thank Minuet but finds that without the Bynar data, the simulation has regressed to the expected norm for the holodeck, and while Minuet still exists, she is not the same as before. Riker reports to Picard that Minuet is gone.
Odan (Franc Luz), a mediator, boards the ''Enterprise'' to negotiate a peace treaty between two hostile races. Doctor Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) is charmed by the man, and the two share a love affair during the trip. Odan refuses to use the transporter and requests that a shuttle and pilot be provided for him; Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) honors this request. During the mission, the shuttle is attacked by a dissident faction and Odan is mortally injured. While trying to save the alien in sickbay, Dr. Crusher comes to learn that Odan is a Trill, a species which symbiotically lives within its host's body. It is further revealed by Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) that the transporter would have harmed the symbiotic lifeform. Following the death of Odan's host body, Commander Riker volunteers to allow Odan to use him as a host to conduct the necessary negotiations until a new host arrives.
Odan's presence becomes dominating over Riker, and Dr. Crusher finds herself initially confused when Odan continues to try to engage with her to continue their relationship. Dr. Crusher is puzzled and full of emotion as she later confides to Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) and wonders about the true depth of her feelings for Odan. With some effort, Odan in Riker's body manages to convince the delegates from the warring planets to work with him. However, Riker's body begins to deteriorate due to the incompatibility of different biologies. The ship transporting the new host has encountered engine malfunctions. Dr. Crusher does everything she can to extend Riker's and Odan's chances while the ''Enterprise'' races to meet the Trill ship, and has a deeply emotional moment with Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart).
The ''Enterprise'' successfully rendezvous in time to bring aboard the new host, a female (Nicole Orth-Pallavicini), much to Dr. Crusher's surprise. She helps with the other Trill to transplant Odan into the new host, and both Riker and Odan fully recover. When Odan attempts to continue their relationship, Dr. Crusher is uncomfortable, knowing both that the Trill appear to have no preferences on gender orientation, and that Odan will continue to live on in any number of hosts' bodies. Odan admits she still loves Dr. Crusher, but understands her confusion and discomfort, and promises to never forget her or their short time together. And Dr. Crusher replies that she loves Odan too; in Odan's new, female host body, Odan then kisses the inner wrist of her hand.
While the Federation starship ''Enterprise'' is en route to their planned destination, ship's sensors detect a lone shuttlepod drifting through empty space with no power or fuel reserves. When Lt. Worf and Commander Riker use the tractor beam to bring it into the shuttlebay, they find it has the same name and registry as an ''Enterprise'' shuttle. Inside is a double of Captain Picard, barely clinging to life.
After the double is brought to sickbay for treatment, Lt. Commander Data and Chief Engineer La Forge power up the shuttle, after lengthy delays due to unexpected technical incompatibility. It is then discovered that the shuttle's internal clock is about six hours ahead of the ship's chronometer which means that the shuttle, and therefore Picard's double, is from six hours into the future. They recover a very poor quality sensor log video that shows the ''Enterprise'' falling into an energy vortex and being destroyed after the shuttle is launched.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pulaski determines that the incoherent double's biological functions are out of sync, but are improving as the future Picard draws nearer to his own time. Picard orders that his future self be revived, but is unsuccessful in extracting any information from him. Picard is disquieted at the idea that he would abandon his ship and its crew.
As the crew members debate their options, they decide to continue on their current course. They are suddenly stopped by the vortex seen in the shuttle log and are unable to escape, even with the engines at maximum output, and become drawn further in. They send a probe into the vortex which is immediately destroyed. Scans emanating from the vortex appear to focus on Picard and an energy beam strikes him leading him to theorize that there is an intelligence controlling the vortex which seems to be interested in him personally, and that his double left the ship to draw its attention.
Picard's double, now almost completely aware and coherent, sets out to leave the ''Enterprise'' as he did before. Picard follows him, asserting that there must have been another option, though the double only mumbles about it being impossible, as moving forward would have presumably destroyed the ''Enterprise''. As the double is boarding the shuttlepod, Picard proclaims that the cycle will be broken and kills him with a phaser. Dr. Pulaski wordlessly examines Picard's double with a tricorder as Chief O'Brien stares in shock.
Picard returns to the bridge and orders that the ''Enterprise'' fly straight into the center of the vortex. The ''Enterprise'' comes through the other side into normal space, and the doubles of Picard and the shuttlepod disappear. The ''Enterprise'' resumes its course.
The ''Enterprise'', along with other ships in the sector, experience a localized time-distortion, and soon after receive a distress-call from Dr. Paul Manheim in a nearby system. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) recalls that Manheim was ejected from the Federation Science Institute for conducting unauthorized experiments. They find the distress signal coming from a facility on a planetoid surrounded by a force-field. When they make contact with the facility, a woman requests help to save her husband, Dr. Manheim, and lowers the shields.
The two are brought aboard and while Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) tends to Dr. Manheim, who is having convulsions, Picard discovers Manheim's wife is Jenice, Picard's former love. Jenice warns that her husband was working privately in his laboratory, but that she didn't know what he was working on. She also alerts the crew to numerous security protocols that he has installed at the facilities. As the crew prepares to send an away-team to investigate the laboratory, they experience more time distortions, described by Data (Brent Spiner) as "Manheim effects". In one instance Picard, Riker and Data enter a turbolift only to see their past selves conversing outside of the lift. The crew find that they cannot complete a transporter beam to the facility due to the security measures in place there.
Dr. Manheim recovers long enough to explain that he was doing experiments involving time, gravity, and funnels to other universes, and suspects his last experiment is running out of control. Manheim explains that he is trapped between two dimensions and Data determines that the experiment must be shut down during a time fluctuation or else it will simply grow larger. Manheim provides the crew with the correct coordinates to beam down to avoid the security fields. Picard admits to Jenice that he worried about losing her again after he left her in Paris, and vows to correct Dr. Manheim's experiment.
As he is affected less by the distortions, Data is sent down alone and disables the remaining security measures before entering Manheim's laboratory. He finds a column of energy emanating from a dimensional matrix, the source of the time distortions. Data, though briefly affected by the time distortions, is able to add anti-matter to the matrix, causing the matrix to stabilize and halt the time distortions. Dr. Manheim fully recovers, and he and Jenice thank Picard and the crew for their help. Picard and Jenice use the holodeck to recreate one more encounter at a Paris café, before she returns with her husband to the planet.
Robert Cath, an American doctor on the run from the British and French police, both of whom suspect he was involved in the murder of an Irish police officer, accepts an invite from his friend Tyler Whitney to join him on the Orient Express, in regards to an important deal he has made. Forced to board the train while it is heading out of Paris, Cath discovers Whitney dead in his compartment, with the only clues he finds being: a mysterious scroll written in Russian and consisting of a simple fairytale; an elaborately designed box that is empty; and a purple and gold scarf with the letter "W" embroidered on it. Assuming his friend's identity and dealing with his body, Cath decides to investigate, and finds a few people of interest amongst the train's passengers: August Schmidt, a German arms dealer whom Whitney had been in contact with; Anna Wolff, an Austrian violinist whom Cath has suspicions about; Vassili Obolensky, a Russian count travelling with his granddaughter, Tatiana Obolenskaya; Alexei Dolnikov, a Russian anarchist and a childhood friend of Tatiana; and Sophie de Bretheuill and Rebecca Norton, a pair of women travelling together.
Sometime after dinner is served, Cath finds himself invited to meet with Kronos, a mysterious art collector travelling in a private car with his African servant Kahina, who reveals that Whitney had arranged to exchange an item called the "Firebird" for a large sum of gold, and that he is aware of who Cath is. Shortly after the meeting, Cath finds himself encountering Miloš Jovanović, a Serbian travelling with a group of associates, who mistakenly believes he murdered Whitney until Cath sets him straight, only to learn that his friend had made a deal with him, but learns little on the details. Unable to sleep that night, Cath visits Anna in her compartment upon finding she is still awake, only to be forced at gunpoint to reveal who he is when she informs him that she knows he is not Whitney, having been in his friend's compartment upon his arrival on the train. Anna finds herself forced to drop the matter after the pair overhear Obolensky having a panic attack. Shortly after Cath helps to treat him as best as he can, he eavesdrops on Anna asking Tatiana to look after something important.
The next day, Cath has a meeting with Miloš, who reveals that he and his associate are part of a Serbian outfit called the Black Hand, and learns of the agreement made between Whitney and a Serbian general. Having helped with supporting foreign liberty causes, Whitney had agreed to supply a large cache of weapons to the Serbians, and was given one of Serbia's national treasures to help with the purchase – an elaborately designed music box called the Firebird, which assumes the form of a golden egg when closed, but when opened in a special way, transforms into a beautiful singing mechanical bird, and a whistle designed in the form of a scarab beetle. Whitney had arranged to sell the treasure to Kronos, in exchange for gold coins that he would then use to purchase the arms from Schmidt. With no gold and the treasure missing, Cath finds he must recover them and complete the deal with Schmidt, or face severe consequences.
After the meeting, Cath has another meeting with Kronos, whom he finds to be a dangerous and ruthless man, while recovering the whistle from a young French boy, travelling with his family, after he had found it in one of the cars. After the Express departs from Munich with Schmidt's weapons, Cath encounters an Englishman named George Abbot, who is notably inquisitive of his actions the previous night, but also points out certain details that make him uneasy about Abbot's intentions. When Kronos arranges for most of the passengers to attend a small concert in his private car, Cath takes advantage of it to search the compartments of the sleeping cars, finding a letter in Anna's possessions that exposes her as an Austrian spy, and another letter in Schmidt's luggage that makes him suspicious of why he is supplying the Serbians with weapons, before eventually finding the Firebird in Tatiana's compartment, having been entrusted with it by Anna when she found it in Whitney's compartment.
Not trusting Kronos, Cath hides the treasure, and then finds his way into Kronos' private chambers to borrow the gold he brought along, in order to keep the deal with Schmidt in place. After being forced to return the gold to Kronos at gunpoint before he must leave the train at Vienna, Cath later prevents the Serbians from killing Anna when she decides to investigate the baggage car. Despite him saving her, Anna reveals she was on the train to uncover what the Black Hand were up to, and plans to inform the Austrian authorities at Budapest.
Shortly after the train departs Vienna, Tatiana informs Cath that Alexei intends to murder her grandfather, in regards to certain injustices made against Alexei's father, by detonating a bomb placed on the train. Agreeing to help, Cath finds a detonator within Alexei's compartment and removes it to prevent the bomb being used. Later that night, Cath awakens to a disturbance, and finds Alexei fatally wounded in Obolensky's compartment during a confrontation between the two men; his death mentally scars Tatiana as a direct result. Shortly after finding and defusing a second bomb Alexei crafted, Cath meets with Abbot and discovers him to be a British spy, who had boarded the train to track down a Russian anarchist; knowing who Cath is, Abbot reveals that he suspects him to be innocent in the murder in Ireland, and so offers to clear his name as a result of his actions when he gets into contact with the British authorities.
Cath soon visits Anna in her compartment, and the pair develop a romantic relationship. Just as the train begins to reach Budapest, Miloš orders the Black Hand to take over the train and keep it moving, while holding the passengers and staff prisoner, and having Cath and Anna put into the train's rear baggage car. Freeing himself, Cath releases Anna, before dealing with the Serbians, and releasing the passengers and staff, all of whom return to the sleeping cars, except for Abbot, Tatiana, Obolensky, and Anna. Cath then separates the sleeping cars from the train, but not before informing Schmidt of who he really is and that he had been set up by the Germans and Austrians into selling weapons to the Serbians, in order to give both countries an excuse to invade the Balklands. Proceeding to the locomotive, Cath confronts Miloš, who is promptly killed by Anna, before keeping the train going and refusing to be stopped by Anna. After the group cross the border into Serbia and narrowly escape pursuit by a Serbian military train, Anna reluctantly accepts the situation and decides to flee with Cath to Jerusalem.
As the train begins to reach its final destination at Constantinople, Cath and Anna are confronted by Kronos and Kahina, both of whom had secretly followed the train and re-boarded it when it had stopped at a station. Revealing that they seek to possess the Firebird and knowing that Cath still has it, Kronos orders him at gunpoint to retrieve it and then open it in his presence, before forcing Anna to play her violin and make it sing. Satisfied that he finally has what he wants and seeing the sun setting, Kronos orders the Firebird to be closed, but Cath refuses. Instead, he blows on the treasure's whistle, causing the Firebird to become a living weapon and lash out against Kronos and Kahina and kill both of them, revealing to Cath how Whitney had died; in the chaos that is caused, both he and Anna jump from the train, just as it pulls into Sirkeci Station. A disturbed Tatiana, wishing for no more war, soon finds explosives amongst the Serbians' weapons and uses Alexei's lighter to detonate them, killing herself, Abbot and Obolensky, and destroying the train. As Cath and Anna survey the devastation, the pair overhear a Turkish boy crying out that war has broken out in Europe. Realising that she must return home, Anna promises Robert that she will see him again when the war is over ("no longer than a month"), before parting ways with him. The camera fades to a map of Europe which time-lapses national borders from 1914 to 1994, implying the couple's relationship is swept away with time as well.
Sick of betrayals the United States government perpetrated on Native Americans, Colonel William Ludlow leaves the Army, moving to a remote part of Montana. Along with One Stab, a Cree friend, he builds a ranch and raises his family. Accompanying them are hired hand and former outlaw Decker, Decker's Cree wife Pet, and daughter Isabel Two. William has three sons: Alfred, the eldest; Tristan, the middle son; and Samuel, the youngest.
William's wife Isabel does not adapt to the harsh Montana winters and moves to the East Coast; Tristan vows never to speak of her. At age 12, Tristan touches a sleeping grizzly bear. The bear awakens and injures him, but he cuts off a claw.
Years later, Samuel returns from Harvard University with his fiancée, Susannah. Susannah finds Tristan captivating but loves Samuel. Before they can marry, Samuel announces his intention to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force and aid Britain in the fight against Germany. Much to their father's displeasure, Alfred also joins. Although Tristan does not want to join, he does so after swearing to Susannah to protect Samuel.
The brothers find themselves in the 10th Battalion, CEF. Alfred, commissioned as an officer, leads a charge into no man's land. The attack results in heavy casualties and Alfred is wounded. While visiting Alfred in the field hospital, Tristan learns that Samuel volunteered for a dangerous reconnaissance mission. He rushes off to protect his brother but arrives too late. Tristan holds Samuel until he dies, then cuts out his brother's heart and sends it home to be buried at the ranch. Tristan single-handedly raids the German lines and returns to camp with the scalps of German soldiers hanging around his neck, horrifying his fellow soldiers. He is discharged but does not go home. Alfred returns to Montana and proposes to Susannah, but she declines.
Tristan returns home, where Susannah finds him weeping over Samuel's grave. She comforts him and they become lovers. A jealous Alfred confronts Tristan before leaving to make his name in Helena. Tristan is plagued with guilt over Samuel's death and feels responsible for driving Alfred away; he leaves Montana for several years. Susannah waits for him, but receives a letter telling her to marry someone else. Alfred comforts Susannah, and William finds them together, which leads to a falling out between him and Alfred. William later suffers a stroke. He does not speak for years and the ranch deteriorates. Susannah marries Alfred, now a congressman. Alfred's business and politics cause him to get involved with the O'Banion brothers, Irish bootleggers and gangsters.
Tristan returns during Prohibition, bringing life back to the ranch and to his father. He falls in love with Isabel Two and they marry and have two children. Tristan becomes involved in small-scale rum-running, finding himself at odds with the O'Banion brothers. Isabel Two is accidentally killed by a police officer working for the O'Banions. In a fit of grief, Tristan beats the officer nearly to death and is jailed. Susannah visits Tristan, still having feelings for him, but he refuses her advances. After his release, Tristan and Decker kill those responsible for Isabel's death, including one of the O'Banion brothers.
Unable to live without Tristan, Susannah commits suicide. The remaining O'Banion brother, along with the sheriff and another police officer, come after Tristan. At the ranch, William and Alfred kill the attackers. Alfred reconciles with his father and brother. The family realizes that Tristan will be blamed for the deaths, which prompts Tristan to ask Alfred to take care of his children. One Stab's narration explains that they buried the bodies and dumped the car in the Missouri River. He reflects that rather than dying young as One Stab expected, Tristan lived to watch his children and grandchildren grow. One Stab observes that it was the people Tristan loved and wanted to protect most that died young.
In 1963, Tristan, now an old man living in the North Country, investigates an animal carcass and is confronted by a grizzly bear. He draws his knife and fights it. As they struggle, One Stab narrates, "It was a good death."
''One Hundred Years of Solitude'' is the story of seven generations of the Buendía Family in the town of Macondo. The founding patriarch of Macondo, José Arcadio Buendía, and Úrsula Iguarán, his wife (and first cousin), leave Riohacha, Colombia, after José Arcadio kills Prudencio Aguilar after a cockfight for suggesting José Arcadio was impotent. One night of their emigration journey, while camping on a riverbank, José Arcadio dreams of "Macondo", a city of mirrors that reflected the world in and about it. Upon awakening, he decides to establish Macondo at the riverside; after days of wandering the jungle, his founding of Macondo is utopic.
José Arcadio Buendía believes Macondo to be surrounded by water, and from that island, he invents the world according to ''his'' perceptions. Soon after its foundation, Macondo becomes a town frequented by unusual and extraordinary events that involve the generations of the Buendía family, who are unable or unwilling to escape their periodic (mostly self-inflicted) misfortunes. For years the town is solitary and unconnected to the outside world, with the exception of the annual visit of a band of gypsies, who show the townspeople scientific discoveries such as magnets, telescopes, and ice. The leader of the gypsies, a man named Melquíades, maintains a close friendship with José Arcadio, who becomes increasingly withdrawn, obsessed with investigating the mysteries of the universe presented to him by the gypsies. Ultimately he is driven insane, speaking only in Latin, and is tied to a chestnut tree by his family for many years until his death.
Eventually Macondo becomes exposed to the outside world and the government of newly independent Colombia. A rigged election between the Conservative and Liberal parties is held in town, inspiring Aureliano Buendía to join a civil war against the Conservative government. He becomes an iconic revolutionary leader, fighting for many years and surviving multiple attempts on his life, but ultimately tires of war and signs a peace treaty with the Conservatives. Disillusioned, he returns to Macondo and spends the rest of his life making tiny gold fish in his workshop.
The railroad comes to Macondo, bringing in new technology and many foreign settlers. An American fruit company establishes a banana plantation outside the town, and builds its own segregated village across the river. This ushers in a period of prosperity that ends in tragedy as the Colombian army massacres thousands of striking plantation workers, an incident based on the Banana Massacre of 1928. José Arcadio Segundo, the only survivor of the massacre, finds no evidence of the massacre, and the surviving townspeople refuse to believe it happened.
By the novel's end, Macondo has fallen into a decrepit and near-abandoned state, with the only remaining Buendías being Amaranta Úrsula and her nephew Aureliano, whose parentage is hidden by his grandmother Fernanda, and he and Amaranta Úrsula unknowingly begin an incestuous relationship. They have a child who bears the tail of a pig, fulfilling the lifelong fear of the long-dead matriarch Úrsula. Amaranta Úrsula dies in childbirth and the child is devoured by ants, leaving Aureliano as the last member of the family. He decodes an encryption Melquíades had left behind in a manuscript generations ago. The secret message informs the recipient of every fortune and misfortune that the Buendía family's generations lived through. As Aureliano reads the manuscript, he feels a windstorm starting around him, and he reads in the document that the Buendía family is doomed to be wiped from the face of the Earth because of it. In the last sentence of the book, the narrator describes Aureliano reading this last line just as the entire town of Macondo is scoured from existence.
All over Europe, strange weather is provoking panic. Many believe the unnatural occurrences are the beginning of the Apocalypse. Dr. Stephen Strange, the court physician of Queen Elizabeth I, senses that there are unnatural forces at work. He has also been asked to watch over the secret treasure of the Knights Templar which is being brought over from Jerusalem. Elizabeth tells her head of intelligence, Sir Nicholas Fury, to bring the weapon to England safely. Fury in turn contracts blind minstrel and agent Matthew Murdoch (Daredevil of ''Marvel 1602'') to rendezvous with the Templar guard somewhere in Europe and secure the weapon. Later that evening, Fury and his assistant Peter Parquagh are attacked by a winged assassin whom Fury disables and locks in the Tower of London.
Meanwhile, the ship ''Virginia Maid'' arrives in England from the New World, carrying the young Virginia Dare, the first child born in Roanoke colony, as well as her Native American bodyguard Rojhaz. They are taken to meet the Queen only for a second winged assassin to snatch Virginia. Rohjaz quickly disables the attacker, but Virginia has transformed into a white gryphon. Rojhaz subdues Virginia, and Stephen Strange bespells her to human form before Fury sees her transformed. She has strange shapeshifting powers, and Strange suspects she is the cause of the disastrous weather. Fury interrogates one of the assassins to learn who sent him. He is told that it is Count Otto von Doom, ruler of Latveria, but Fury is too late to stop one of Doom's machines from killing Elizabeth with a poison gas released by dropping a pill into aqua regia.
With Elizabeth's death, James VI becomes ruler of both England and Scotland. James is distrustful of "witchbreed", those with magical or uncanny powers, and collaborates with Spanish High Inquisitor Enrique to blame the witchbreed of England, headed by Carlos Javier (Charles Xavier of ''Marvel 1602''), for Elizabeth's death. Fury, a friend of Carlos and his students, is forced to take the witchbreed to the Tower. Strange, Javier, and Fury meet there and discuss how to save the world — an act which will almost surely lead to them being branded traitors by James. Strange has learned that Murdoch and the Templar agent Donal have been betrayed and are now in the hands of Doom. Strange also learns that Doom has been holding captive four heroes from the ship ''Fantastick'', including Fury's friend Sir Richard Reed. Javier agrees to help Fury; all taking a ship levitated by Javier and his page John Grey across the continent.
Strange meanwhile finds himself on the moon where he meets the Watcher Uatu, who tells him that the strange events are due to an anomaly he calls the Forerunner. The Forerunner is from the future and its presence in the past has disrupted reality to the point of impending annihilation of not only Strange's world but all other universes as well. Explaining his theory that the emergence of various superhumans on Stephen's Earth four hundred years before their season is the result of the universe trying to save itself, the Watcher tells Strange that he will not be able to repeat what he has learned while he lives.
Fury, Javier, and his witchbreed launch a successful attack on Count Doom's fortress; John Grey, revealed to be female, dies from her exertions in keeping the ship intact. The Four of the ''Fantastick'' are freed, and Doom is horribly scarred by what he believes is the Templar's treasure; in fact, Donal's walking stick is the true treasure, used to summon the Norse god Thor. The ship of fugitives heads for the New World. In Spain, Enrique is exposed as a witchbreed and a Jew and sentenced to be burned at the stake with his young acolytes, Petros and Sister Wanda. Enrique reveals that he is able to manipulate magnetism and breaks their chains; they escape on a ship of their own, also bound for America.
Sir Stephen Strange is executed by James, who is furious that Fury and the witchbreed escaped him. He communicates telepathically with his wife Clea, able to tell his secrets now that he no longer lives. He informs her that the Forerunner is the cause of the anomalies and that universal salvation depends on its transport back to its time; she takes his head from the pike and sets off for America with Virginia and Rojhaz. Clea believes that Strange's suspicions were wrong: the Forerunner is not Virginia but Rojhaz. Rojhaz reveals himself to be Steve Rogers. After fighting against a future dictatorship of the 21st century run by the Purple Man, Rogers was captured and sent back in time so as to completely erase his legacy. He was taken in by Native Americans who misheard his name; upon encountering the struggling Roanoke colony, he helped it survive and became Virginia's bodyguard.
Fury and company arrive at the Roanoke colony, where they discover the rift. Fury despairs that he has betrayed the Crown. Javier senses three ships incoming: the ''Virginia Maid'', Enrique's ship, and a ship carrying James's agents, among them his advisor David Banner and Peter, who has been coerced into loyalty. Realizing that the rift is radiating "galvanic" energy, Javier enlists his adversary Enrique to manipulate the rift; he agrees for an unspecified boon. Donal summons Thor once more, enabling the necessary input of energy to open the rift again. Fury kills all of James's agents except for Peter and Banner; in England, Murdoch threatens James with death should he harm Fury. Rogers refuses to go back through the rift, hoping to build a better America. Fury incapacitates him and carries the body back through the rift, thus going into the future himself.
The rift and the universe restore themselves, meaning the destruction of the alternate timeline; however, Uatu the Watcher is granted a "pocket universe" by his colleagues in which the 1602 timeline remains intact, and where the powered fugitives decide to settle in the Roanoke colony, declaring it a free place for all. Meanwhile, while walking in the woods with Virginia, Peter is bitten by a spider and Banner, who shielded Peter from the energies released when Rojhaz and Fury entered the rift, has changed into a hulking gray monster. Intrigued by the continuing events, Uatu continues to watch the new universe (later designated Earth-311).
Eleven-year-old boy genius Jimmy Neutron lives in Retroville with his parents, Judy and Hugh, and his robot dog, Goddard. Jimmy's friends are overweight Carl Wheezer and hyperactive Sheen Estevez, and his long-standing rival, intelligent classmate Cindy Vortex, teases him for his small stature. After Jimmy launches a communications satellite into space, hoping to contact alien life, he crashes his makeshift rocket into his house's roof, upsetting his mother. When Jimmy, Carl and Sheen learn of the opening of Retroland, an amusement park, popular kid Nick Dean convinces the boys to sneak out and attend. Judy refuses to let him attend the park that night. After his jetpack accidentally starts a fire in the house, she grounds him. Taking Nick's advice, Jimmy uses his shrink ray invention to sneak out and meets Carl and Sheen at Retroland for a night of fun.
Meanwhile, Jimmy's satellite is intercepted by the Yolkians, a race of egg-like aliens from the planet Yolkus. Their leader, King Goobot, views Jimmy's message and notices a picture featuring his parents, declaring his search complete. The Yolkians arrive on Earth and abduct all the adults in Retroville, except Jimmy's teacher Miss Fowl (due to being shrunken down to a small size by Jimmy's shrink ray). As their ships return to space, Jimmy, Carl and Sheen mistake their departure for a shooting star, prompting Jimmy to wish their parents were gone. The next morning, all the children notice the parents are missing and party recklessly. At first, having no parents was fun for the children. But then, the following day, they are miserable and realize they need their parents. Jimmy learns that his satellite has been found and deduces the parents have been abducted. He enlists the children to create rocket ships out of Retroland's rides and they blast off into space after their families.
After braving a meteor shower and camping on an asteroid, Jimmy and company eventually reach Yolkus and find the parents with mind control devices attached to their heads. When Jimmy tries to get the mind-control helmet off of Hugh, Goobot captures them and reveals that Jimmy had led the Yolkians directly to Earth to take their parents, whom they intend to sacrifice to their god Poultra. Jimmy is separated from Goddard by Goobot's bumbling assistant, Ooblar, and is locked in a dungeon with the other children, who blame Jimmy for their predicament. Taking pity on Jimmy, Cindy confesses she and the other children need him and encourages Jimmy to fix things by helping them escape. Using a cellphone owned by Cindy's friend, Libby Folfax, Jimmy contacts Goddard, who escapes from Ooblar and frees the children.
Jimmy and company reach the Yolkians' Colosseum where a giant egg is hatched, releasing Poultra, a gigantic three-eyed alien chicken. As Goobot arranges the parents to be eaten using a mind control remote, Jimmy rallies the children to storm the colosseum and battle the guards while Sheen retrieves an escape vessel, which knocks Poultra on the head upon his return. Jimmy steals the remote from Goobot and the children escape Yolkus with the parents. Goobot arranges a fleet to pursue them, which is all destroyed when the children fly their ship around the surface of the Sun, save for Goobot's vessel. When Goobot and Ooblar mock Jimmy's short size, Jimmy charges at Goobot's ship with Goddard in a flying bike form and uses his shrink ray to enlarge himself into the size of a planet. He then blows Goobot's vessel away into an asteroid, destroying it. Goobot survives and vows revenge. On the return trip to Earth, Jimmy reconciles with his parents, admitting that despite his intelligence, he still depends on them. The next day, Jimmy and Carl have eggs in an egg cup for breakfast, when Jimmy's parents drink one of his scientific experiments, which causes significant belching, thinking it is a real soda can. They all laugh out loud while Goddard is seen outside flying to chase a bird.
In the mid-credits scene, the still-shrunken Miss Fowl is seen riding on an apple worm, named Mr. Wiggles, on her way to the cafeteria in the elementary school hall.
''Exile'' begins 10 years after the events of ''Riven'', when the player arrives at Tomahna, the home of Atrus and his wife Catherine. Atrus is a scientist and explorer who has mastered an ancient practice known as the Art: he can create links to different Ages by writing special books. This ability comes from an ancient civilization known as the D'ni, whose society crumbles after the D'ni city is devastated by a plague. Atrus calls the player to his home to display his newest Age, Releeshahn, which Atrus has designed as a new home for the D'ni survivors.
As Atrus is preparing to leave for Releeshahn, a mysterious man appears in Atrus' study, sets it on fire, steals the Releeshahn book and leaves behind another. Following the thief, the player arrives at J'nanin, an Age that Atrus had written long before as a way to teach the Art to his sons. Because the fire has caused considerable damage to the J'nanin book, Atrus cannot accompany the player.
The mysterious man is named Saavedro. Twenty years earlier, Atrus' wayward sons Sirrus and Achenar destroyed Saavedro's home Age of Narayan and trapped him on J'nanin. Saavedro believes his family is dead and swears vengeance on Atrus, unaware that Atrus has already imprisoned his sons for their crimes and that Saavedro's family is still alive. The game can end several ways depending on the player's actions. In the most ideal scenario, Saavedro returns to Narayan peacefully after giving back the book of Releeshahn. Other endings result in Saavedro destroying Releeshahn or killing the player; another option allows the player to leave Saavedro trapped forever.
The story is set in the year 2140. Robert Wills Stone III, also known as Blake Stone, is an agent of the British Intelligence, recruited after a highly successful career in the British Royal Navy.
His first major case is to investigate and eliminate the threat of Dr. Pyrus Goldfire, a brilliant scientist in the field of genetics and biology, known for his outright disrespect of professional ethics. Backed by his own organisation, STAR, Dr. Goldfire plans to conquer Earth and enslave humanity using an army of specially trained human conscripts, modified alien species, and a host of genetically-engineered mutants. Agent Stone is sent on a mission to knock out six crucial STAR installations and destroy Goldfire's army before it can assault the Earth.
The novel begins by introducing the two protagonists: Tristram Foxe, a history teacher, and his wife, Beatrice-Joanna, a homemaker. They have recently suffered through their young son's death.
Throughout the first portion of the novel, overpopulation is depicted through the limitation and reuse of materials, and extremely cramped living conditions.
There is also active discrimination against heterosexuals, homosexuality being encouraged as a measure against overpopulation. Self-sterilization is also encouraged.
One of the major conflicts of the novel is between Tristram and his brother, Derek. Very much alike at first, Derek chose a different path from Tristram and pretends to be homosexual while in public, to help his career as a government official. Derek has an affair with Beatrice-Joanna, and when she forgets to take her State-provided contraceptives she becomes illegally pregnant. She has sex with her husband, Tristram, and his brother, Derek, within a 24-hour time span, thus the paternity of her twin boys is uncertain.
Life changes as the largely homosexual police ('greyboys') become more repressive, and a mysterious blight spreads across the world threatening food supplies. Tristram is arrested after getting unintentionally mixed up in a protest and spends the next section of the novel in jail.
While he is imprisoned, formerly repressed religion begins to bloom, fertility rituals are endorsed, and the structure of society, as well as government, undergoes radical transformation. Cannibalism is openly practised in much of England. Beatrice-Joanna has run away, and is staying with her sister and brother-in-law in the countryside on their farm, where the blight is affecting even their chickens. She stays there until she delivers her twin sons, when members of the Population Police arrives to take her and her children to the city.
With the help of his cellmate, Tristram escapes and tries to rejoin his wife. He travels across England to his sister-in-law's farm. He is so desperate for food that he briefly joins "a dining club", a rather chaotic affair which provides food (composed of murdered human beings) and orgiastic behavior for its village membership.
His journey eventually takes him to a sort of soup kitchen, where he enlists in the newly recreated army, which has replaced the (largely eaten) greyboys and Population Police. This is the third section of the novel. In the army, Tristram is shipped to an unknown location to fight in the war, though the reader later discovers that he is in Ireland. In his first battle he discovers that there is no real enemy; the purpose of the "war" is population control by winnowing out the socially expendable. Companies, led by junior officers trained to recite patriotic verse, are sent to a made-up Western Front style battlefield to kill each other. Every other member of his unit is shot down as they emerge from their trench, but Tristram slips through the barbed wire surrounding the miniature war zone and begins his journey back to England.
Escaping back into general society, Tristram finds a new job. In his absence, Beatrice-Joanna has been moved to live with Derek. She has also brought the twins (it is implied that Derek is their father) and named them after her two brotherly lovers, Derek and Tristram Foxe.
At the last scene Tristram meets again his wife at Brighton pier.
The book closes with a translation of the final stanza of the French poet Paul Valéry's poem '[https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Le_Cimeti%C3%A8re_marin Le Cimetière marin]'. The quotation clarifies the book's themes:
The wind rises... we must try to live. The immense air opens and closes my book. The wave, pulverised, dares to gush and spatter from the rocks. Fly away, dazzled, blinded pages. Break, waves. Break with joyful waters...
The film is mainly set at the front during World War II, where the Soviet army is fighting the invading German Wehrmacht. The film features a non-linear plot with frequent flashbacks.
After a brief dream sequence, Ivan Bondarev, a 12-year-old Russian boy, wakes up and crosses a war-torn landscape to a swamp, then swims across a river. On the other side, he is seized by Russian soldiers and brought to the young Lieutenant Galtsev, who interrogates him. The boy insists that he call "Number 51 at Headquarters" and report his presence. Galtsev is reluctant, but when he eventually makes the call, he is told by Lieutenant-Colonel Gryaznov to give the boy pencil and paper to make his report, which will be given the highest priority, and to treat him well. Through a series of dream sequences and conversations between different characters, it is revealed that Ivan’s mother and sister (and probably his father, a border guard) have been killed by German soldiers. He got away and joined a group of partisans. When the group was surrounded, they put him on a plane. After the escape, he was sent to a boarding school, but he ran away and joined an army unit under the command of Gryaznov.
Burning for revenge, Ivan insists on fighting on the front line. Taking advantage of his small size, he is successful on reconnaissance missions. Gryaznov and the other soldiers grow fond of him and want to send him to a military school. They give up their idea when Ivan tries to run away and rejoin the partisans. He is determined to avenge the death of his family and others, such as those killed at the Maly Trostenets extermination camp (which he mentions that he has seen).
A subplot involves Captain Kholin and his aggressive advances towards a pretty army nurse, Masha, and Galtsev's own undeclared and probably shared feelings for her. Much of the film is set in a room where the officers await orders and talk, while Ivan awaits his next mission. On the walls are scratched the last messages of doomed prisoners of the Germans.
Finally, Kholin and Galtsev ferry Ivan across the river late at night. He disappears through the swampy forest. The others return to the other shore after cutting down the bodies of two Soviet scouts hanged by the Germans.
The final scenes then switch to Berlin under Soviet occupation after the fall of the Third Reich. Captain Kholin has been killed in action. Galtsev finds a document showing that Ivan was caught and hanged by the Germans. As Galtsev enters the execution room, a final flashback of Ivan's childhood shows the young boy running across a beach after a little girl in happier times. The final image is of a dead tree on the beach.
The first story, ''City of Glass'', features an author of detective fiction who becomes a private investigator and descends into madness as he becomes embroiled in the investigation of a case. It explores layers of identity and reality, from Paul Auster the writer of the novel to the unnamed "author" who reports the events as reality, to "Paul Auster the writer", a character in the story, to "Paul Auster the detective", who may or may not exist in the novel, to Peter Stillman the younger, to Peter Stillman the elder and, finally, to Daniel Quinn, the protagonist.
''City of Glass'' has an intertextual relationship with Miguel de Cervantes' ''Don Quixote''. Not only does the protagonist Daniel Quinn share his initials with the knight, but when Quinn finds "Paul Auster the writer," Auster is in the midst of writing an article about the authorship of ''Don Quixote''. Auster calls his article an "imaginative reading," and in it he examines possible identities of Cide Hamete Benengeli, the narrator of the ''Quixote''.
The second story, ''Ghosts'', is about a private eye called Blue, trained by Brown, who is investigating a man named Black on Orange Street for a client named White. Blue writes written reports to White who in turn pays him for his work. Blue becomes frustrated and loses himself as he becomes immersed in the life of Black.
''The Locked Room'' is the story of a writer who lacks the creativity to produce fiction. Fanshawe, his childhood friend, has produced creative work, and when he disappears the writer publishes his work and replaces him in his family. The title is a reference to a "locked-room mystery", a popular form of early detective fiction.
The player assumes control of Tal'Set (Turok), a Native American time-traveling warrior. The mantle of Turok is passed down every generation to the eldest male. Each Turok is charged with protecting the barrier between Earth and the Lost Land, a primitive world where time has no meaning. The Lost Land is inhabited by a variety of creatures, from dinosaurs to aliens. An evil overlord known as the Campaigner seeks an ancient artifact known as the Chronoscepter, a weapon so powerful that it was broken into pieces to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. The Campaigner plans on using a focusing array to magnify the Chronoscepter's power, destroying the barriers that separate the ages of time and rule the universe. Turok vows to find the Chronoscepter's eight pieces and prevent the Campaigner's schemes.
An impoverished student with a conflicted idea of himself, Raskolnikov (Rodya as his mother calls him) decides to kill a corrupt pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, with whom he has been dealing, with the idea of using the money to start his life all over, and to help those who are in need of it. It is later revealed that he also commits the murder as justification for his pride, as he wants to prove that he is "exceptional" in the way Napoleon was. He commits the murder, but is so nervous during the crime that he makes a few mistakes, and is afraid that he will be caught.
Raskolnikov finds a small purse on Alyona Ivanovna's body, which he hides under a rock without checking its contents. His grand failure is that he lacks the conviction of his beliefs to accomplish greatness, and thus declines into madness. After he confesses to the destitute, pious prostitute Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladova, she guides him towards admitting to the crime, and he confesses to the police. Raskolnikov is sentenced to exile in Siberia, accompanied by Sofya Semyonovna, where he experiences a mental and spiritual rebirth.
In the small town of Endora, Iowa, Gilbert Grape is busy caring for Arnie, his mentally impaired younger brother who is turning 18, as they wait for the many tourists' trailers to pass through town during an annual Airstreamers' Club gathering at a nearby recreational area. His father had hanged himself seventeen years earlier, and since then his mother, Bonnie, has spent most of her days on the couch watching television and eating. With Bonnie's morbid obesity leaving her unable to care for her children on her own, Gilbert has taken responsibility for repairing the old house and being protective of Arnie, who has a habit of climbing the town water tower as well as trees, while his sisters Amy and Ellen do the other housework. A new FoodLand supermarket has opened, threatening the small Lamson's Grocery where Gilbert works. In addition, Gilbert is having an affair with a married woman, Betty Carver.
A young woman named Becky and her grandmother are stuck in town when the International Harvester Travelall pulling their trailer breaks down. Gilbert's unusual life circumstances threaten to get in the way of their budding romance. In order to spend time with Becky to watch the sunset, Gilbert leaves Arnie alone in the bath. He returns home late and finds that Arnie is still in the bath the following morning, shivering in the now cold water; his guilt is compounded by his family's anger and Arnie's subsequent aquaphobia. His affair with Betty ends when she leaves town in search of a new life following her husband's death; he drowned in the family's wading pool after having a heart attack. Becky becomes close to both Gilbert and Arnie. While they are distracted during one of their talks, Arnie returns to the water tower that he is always trying to climb. Arnie is arrested after being rescued from the top of the tower, causing his mother — who has not left the house in over seven years — to become the laughing stock of the town as she goes to the police station, forcing Arnie's release.
Soon after, Arnie ruins two expensive birthday cakes, tries to run away from his bath and in his frustration, Gilbert finally snaps, hitting Arnie several times. Guilty and appalled at himself, Gilbert flees and drives away in his truck. Arnie also runs out and goes to Becky, who takes care of him for the evening and helps him overcome his aquaphobia until he is picked up by his sisters. After some soul searching aided by Becky, Gilbert returns home during Arnie's 18th birthday party to make amends to his family for running out and receive Arnie's reluctant forgiveness. He also apologizes to his mother for his behavior and vows not to be ashamed of her or let her be hurt anymore. She acknowledges how much of a burden she has become to the family, and he forgives her. He introduces her to Becky — something he had been reluctant to do earlier.
Following the party, Bonnie climbs the stairs to her bedroom for the first time since her husband's suicide. Arnie later tries to wake her but discovers that she has died. With no way to remove her body from the second floor that evening, the police make plans to return with a crane the next day. To protect Bonnie's dignity, the family empty the home of possessions and set fire to it, burning it to ashes with their mother's body inside.
A year later, Amy gets a job managing a bakery in the Des Moines area while Ellen looks forward to switching schools and living in a bigger city. Gilbert waits by the side of the road with Arnie, now turning 19, waiting for the tourist trailers to come around again. As part of the convoy, Becky arrives with her grandmother and picks them both up.
A convoy including Aubrey seizes the ships carrying the gold deemed necessary by Spain to agree to join the war on the side of France. On the quibble that Spain had not yet entered the war, the new First Lord of the Admiralty decides the vast sum is a droit of the Crown so thus not shared out with the captors. Smaller amounts will be distributed to the captains, quite opposite to the expectations of the successful convoy. The First Lord blunders into mentioning the name of intelligence agent Stephen Maturin during the proceedings, putting Maturin at risk.
Maturin goes on a mission to Spain and is to be picked up at Port Mahon by Aubrey, now on blockade duty near Toulon in HMS ''Lively''. At the rendezvous point, Aubrey learns from a Catalan revolutionary that his friend has been captured and is being tortured by French intelligence in Port Mahon, the island having been returned to Spain in the Peace of Amiens. Aubrey leads a rescue mission, saving a ravaged Maturin and killing all of the French interrogators except one, Captain Dutourd. In England, Aubrey is taken by bailiffs and is held in a sponging-house, a debtors' prison. Maturin tells Sir Joseph of his capture and Aubrey's predicament. Aubrey's marriage to Sophia Williams is deferred, as her mother insists that he be debt-free. Maturin gets Aubrey an advance on his grant of money and he is released. Sophia meets Aubrey in a coach in the middle of the night before he takes command of his new ship HMS ''Surprise'', and they promise to marry no one else.
Aubrey and Maturin leave in the ''Surprise'' to ferry an ambassador to the Sultan of Kampong on the Malay Peninsula. Aubrey hopes to find the French squadron commanded by Admiral Linois, who once took him prisoner. ''Surprise'' is caught in the doldrums north of the equator, and the crew show signs of scurvy. On a very hot Sunday, Maturin takes a short stop on St Paul's Rock. Two serious storms strike; the officer who rowed him out is drowned and ''Surprise'' is damaged and driven out of sight. Maturin survives on bird-fouled water and the blood of boobies and claims that these days under the hot sun have restored his health after the torture. They stop along the coast of Brazil for fresh foods and supplies, and a sloth; this is Maturin's first time in the New World. They put in at Rio for mail.
Refitted and repainted, ''Surprise'' goes wide around the Cape of Good Hope, held by the Dutch who are allied with Napoleon. In the waters of the Antarctic Ocean, they endure a severe storm. The ambassador becomes very ill. They put into Bombay in India to refit after the storms and to rest the ambassador. Maturin meets a local street-wise child, a girl named Dil, who eagerly shows him around the city. Maturin is watching a parade with Dil when he sees Diana Villiers, who has returned to Bombay ahead of her companion, Richard Canning. They agree to visit, and spend several days together, at the end of which Maturin asks her to marry him. She does not reply immediately but promises she will when ''Surprise'' stops in Calcutta. Maturin finds Dil dead and robbed of the silver bracelets that he had given her; he supervises her cremation on the shore.
The ambassador dies before reaching the Sunda Strait so the ''Surprise'' sets sail for Britain. They encounter the East India Company's China Fleet, returning to England unescorted. A day after leaving the China Fleet the ''Surprise'' spots Linois's squadron in the Indian Ocean. ''Surprise'' engages its smallest ship, the corvette ''Berceau'', shredding her rigging, then speeds back to the China Fleet to warn them and organise a defence. Choosing the largest ships of the China Fleet, Aubrey dresses them as men-of-war and sends some of his officers to help them fight. The French squadron closes on the ''Surprise'' and the large Indiamen. The ''Surprise'' engages the largest French warship, the ''Marengo''; she is outgunned and in peril when one of the Indiamen engages the French ship from the other side, forcing ''Marengo'' to disengage. Damage forces the French squadron to abandon the chase to refit.
Ashore in Calcutta, Aubrey receives an enthusiastic welcome from the merchants, including Canning, who are happy to refit the ''Surprise''. As a personal reward, they allow him to transport jewels as freight, which will earn him a good prize upon his arrival in England. During the refit, Canning finds Maturin in the company of Villiers. In a fit of jealousy Canning slaps Maturin, and Maturin challenges him to a duel. Canning intends to kill Maturin but wounds him. Conversely, Maturin intends to wound Canning but kills him. Maturin convinces Villiers to return to England on a merchant ship that will leave immediately, rather than tend to him as he recovers aboard the ''Surprise''. With the help of Aubrey and M'Allister, Maturin stoically operates on himself, removing the bullet lodged near his heart. Aubrey tends to his friend in the worst period of fever, where the secretive man speaks all his secrets.
Aubrey sends a note to Sophia, asking her to meet at Madeira, knowing he can clear his debts. In port, Maturin finds that Villiers left him a note returning the ring he gave her, and travelled with Mr Johnstone from America, who had visited her in Calcutta. Sophia is not there. Within a day's sailing, Aubrey overtakes the frigate HMS ''Ethalion'' under Heneage Dundas and finds that Sophia is aboard. She promises to marry him once they return to England.
With the Peace of Amiens, Jack Aubrey returns to England and rents a house with Stephen Maturin, with shipmates running the household, spending time in the hunt. He meets the Williams family. Aubrey courts Sophia Williams, the eldest of three daughters, while Maturin pursues Diana Villiers, Sophia's cousin. Aubrey wants to marry Sophia, but they delay making a firm engagement. His fortune abruptly disappears when his prize-agent absconds with his funds and the prize court finds that two merchant ships he captured were owned by neutral nations. The court demands he repay the value of the ships (rather than gain the prize money he expected), a sum beyond his means. Mrs Williams takes her daughters away to Bath on this news. Aubrey dallies with Diana, straining his friendship with Maturin and showing himself indecisive on land, a contrast with his decisive ways at sea. Aubrey and Maturin flee England to avoid Aubrey being taken for debt.
In Toulon to visit Christy Pallière, the French captain who had captured Aubrey's first command ''Sophie'' before the peace, they learn that war is imminent. French authorities round up all English subjects. Aubrey and Maturin escape over the Pyrenees to Maturin's property with Maturin disguised as an itinerant bear trainer and Aubrey as the bear, Flora. They make their way to Gibraltar where Aubrey and Maturin take passage aboard a British East India Company ship, the ''Lord Nelson''. The ship is captured by the privateer ''Bellone'', but a British squadron overtakes them and rescues Aubrey, Maturin, and the other passengers.
In England, Aubrey is offered a letter of marque by Mr Canning, a wealthy Jewish merchant. At the same gathering at Queeney's, Mrs Williams and her daughter Cecilia are among the guests. Unaware he would be there, Sophia stayed home with her sister Frances. Mrs Williams learns of Maturin's castle in Spain and his training as a physician, raising his status in her eyes. An inadequate thief approaches Aubrey as he walks outdoors; this Mr Scriven proves to be a useful friend, knowing the law of debt and where Aubrey can be safe from bailiffs. He and Maturin move to The Grapes, safe in the Liberty of the Savoy.
Given command of HMS ''Polychrest'', Aubrey turns Canning down. ''Polychrest'' is an odd ship that was purpose-built as an experimental weapon, the project now abandoned. He asks that Tom Pullings be promoted to lieutenant. ''Polychrest'' is structurally weak and sails poorly, and the first lieutenant, Parker, is free with punishment. Aubrey is given a free hand by Admiral Harte, who stands to benefit personally from any prizes taken. To Harte's disappointment, Aubrey captures no prizes. When he drives the French privateer ''Bellone'' aground outside a Spanish port, the merchants reward him. Harte assigns Aubrey to escort convoys in the English Channel. Aubrey gains a reputation for lingering in port as he carries on a furtive affair with Diana. Maturin is sent on an intelligence gathering mission in Spain. On his return, Maturin is advised by Aubrey's friend Heneage Dundas to warn Aubrey about his reputation with the Admiralty. When Maturin does so, Aubrey gets angry and the two agree to fight a duel. Aubrey calls on Diana, but finds her with Canning, ending Aubrey's interest in Diana. Aubrey is ordered to raid the French port of Chaulieu to sink the French troopships and gunboats and to destroy the ''Fanciulla''. The crew plans to mutiny because of their harsh treatment under Parker. Maturin overhears their plans and warns Aubrey. Aubrey quashes the mutiny by putting the instigators and some loyal crew in a ship's boat and then begins the attack. He rues his angry words with Maturin. During the engagement in Chaulieu, ''Polychrest'' runs aground. Aubrey leads three of the ship's boats to board and capture ''Fanciulla''. The successful mariners refloat ''Polychrest'', which founders soon after leaving Chaulieu, and the crew transfer to ''Fanciulla''. After the battle, Aubrey and Maturin resume their friendship.
Aubrey returns to England in ''Fanciulla'' and is promoted to Post-captain. Debt still hanging over him, he asks for any command. He is assigned as temporary captain for , whose Captain Hamond has taken leave to sit in Parliament. Returning from Spain, Maturin tells the head of naval intelligence, Sir Joseph Blaine, that the Spanish will declare war as soon as four ships full of bullion from Montevideo arrive safely in Cadiz. At Maturin's urging, Sophia asks Aubrey to transport her and her sister to the Downs. While on board, Aubrey and Sophia come to an agreement not to marry anyone else; Aubrey is too poor to propose a marriage settlement satisfactory to Mrs Williams. Maturin is close friends with Sophia but does not take up her advice to propose to Diana. While attending the opera, he sees that Diana is being kept by Canning; his pain is deep.
Maturin takes no pay for his intelligence work, but he does ask a favour: that ''Lively'' be included in the squadron sent to intercept the Spanish. The Admiralty agrees and asks Maturin to negotiate the treasure fleet's surrender. Because of Maturin's temporary rank and his connection to the Admiralty, Aubrey realizes that Maturin has been involved in intelligence work for Britain. Aubrey understands that there is a side of his friend that he did not know. The Spanish convoy refuses to surrender, and battle breaks out. One Spanish frigate (the ''Mercedes'') explodes and the other three (''Fama, Clara, Medea'') surrender. ''Clara'', carrying the treasure, strikes her colours to ''Lively'', greatly pleasing its captain. Then he chases and captures ''Fama''. He invites two of the Spanish captains to dinner, along with Dr Maturin, and they all toast Sophia.
Jack Aubrey, having recovered financially in ''The Mauritius Command'', expands his house, pays off his mother-in-law's debts, and his wife is no longer pinching pennies. His household is staffed with seamen, and his daughters and son are thriving. After serving in the Fencibles office for a while, Aubrey starts getting into difficulties both in cards and at business, due to his belief, on land, in the honesty of others. Diana Villiers returns from America, unmarried. Maturin sees her and hopes again to marry her. After the local settlers enter into a feud with Captain Bligh, the governor in New South Wales, Aubrey takes command of the old HMS ''Leopard'' for a mission to New South Wales to escape his woes. In the meantime, Diana and her American friend Louisa Wogan are taken for questioning as spies. Wogan gets sent to New South Wales on the ''Leopard'', while Aubrey is furious at carrying prisoners. Maturin gets assigned to the voyage by Sir Joseph Blaine to watch Wogan, in the hopes of catching her in espionage. Diana, innocent of the espionage charges, flees with Mr Johnson, but is deeply in Maturin's mind, as he pays her bills.
The prisoners kill their superintendent and surgeon during a storm, so their conditions are raised to meet naval standards. They bring gaol fever on board ship, which spreads to the seamen, killing most of the male prisoners and 116 of the ship's crew. Mr Martin, Maturin's assistant, dies, and is replaced by Michael Herapath, who has stowed away in pursuit of Louisa Wogan. Aubrey rates him a midshipman, despite his American citizenship. Aubrey is forced to leave many recovering crew members at Recife, including Tom Pullings. He is replaced with James Grant as first lieutenant, a challenge for Aubrey. While they are in port, HMS ''Nymph'' arrives damaged from its encounter with the ''Waakzaamheid'', a 74-gun Dutch ship-of-the-line crossing the equator.
The ''Leopard'' encounters the ''Waakzaamheid'' before reaching the Cape of Good Hope. The ''Waakzaamheid'' chases the ''Leopard'' south into the Roaring Forties for five days. The waves and wind increase, and the ships engage. After a long exchange of fire Captain Aubrey is struck by a large splinter and is knocked senseless. With the ''Waakzaamheid'' nearly on top of her a shot from the ''Leopard'' strikes her foremast, causing it to fall into the sea. Without its driving force the ''Waakzaamheid'' yaws onto her beam ends in the trough of a deep wave and is overwhelmed by the next, sinking with all hands.
Now east of the Cape, the ''Leopard'' aims for New South Wales, but soon strikes an iceberg, damaging the rudder and causing a severe leak. All hands pump, and the seamen work to fother a sail to stop the leak. Aubrey was wounded in the battle but maintains his authority. Grant, who is more comfortable as captain, disagrees that the ''Leopard'' will float, and is given permission to take the Leopard's boats and the men who wish to leave and head for the Cape. Only the Jolly boat is left behind with the ship. The ''Leopard'' drifts east with the wind, still rudderless, pumping all the time. Aubrey, making adroit use of anchors and sails, directs the ship to safe harbour in a bay of Desolation Island. Despite its name, it is full of fresh food in the rainy Antarctic summer.
The crew repair the damage to the ships hull, but cannot fashion a mounting for a replacement rudder without the use of a forge. The ship's forge had been cast overboard earlier to lighten the ship. Maturin is in paradise as he and Herapath collect samples of the local plant and animal life and identify edible cabbage, which fights scurvy. Maturin uses a small island in the bay for observations in the daylight. After a few days a whaler arrives in the bay. It is the American brig ''Lafayette'', returning to the bay to re-supply with cabbages. They lost their surgeon, but they have a forge. A delicate situation arises immediately, reflecting American – British tensions from the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair of 1807, continued British pressing of Americans into the Royal Navy, and awareness that the two nations might already be at war. Maturin uses Herapath as first envoy to Captain Putnam. Maturin follows, providing medical care to all aboard. The Captain offers to pay, but Maturin does not accept payment. The next morning the forge is on the beach for the use of Aubrey. Maturin sees a perfect way to speed his plan to use Mrs. Wogan to undermine Napoleon's intelligence services by letting her and Herapath slip away on the whaler with falsified information he had intentionally left available for Herapath to copy. She is now pregnant with Herapath's child. Maturin advises Aubrey to resist any efforts at pressing the British sailors they see on the whaler. The rudder is set in place and the forge returned. The ''Lafayette'' sails on the tide, as Maturin and Barret Bonden watch the ship pick up Herapath and Mrs Wogan, and then it slips out of the bay.
HMS ''Leopard'' sails from Desolation Island to Port Jackson where she drops off her few prisoners. Captain Bligh is already handled, so she proceeds to the Dutch East Indies station and Admiral Drury at Pulo Batang. ''Leopard'' is declared unfit for guns due to wood rot, and will probably be a troop transport. Jack Aubrey and his followers are to board the courier ship ''La Flèche'', as his next command, , awaits him in England. The rest of the crew is left with Admiral Drury. Maturin learns the success of his scheme to damage French intelligence sources from Wallis, and relays the name of a contact in the Royal Navy, mentioned by Louisa Wogan. They join a cricket game, ended abruptly by the arrival of ''La Flèche'', which also brings mail to them. Captain Yorke visited Sophia Aubrey before leaving England, bringing Jack a personal letter and gifts from her.
Aubrey knew Captain Yorke and Maturin quickly warms to this captain who travels with an extensive library and a piano in his cabin. At Simon's Town, ''La Flèche'' learns of war between Britain and America. Aubrey spends this time of sweet sailing teaching the young midshipmen while Maturin is engrossed in dissection of specimens from Desolation Island and New Holland with McLean, the ship's Scottish surgeon, passing their evenings with music. One night in the Atlantic near Brazil a fire breaks out on board and all abandon ship to the small boats. A few hot weeks later the boat carrying Aubrey and Maturin is picked up on Christmas Eve by , headed for Bombay and commanded by Captain Henry Lambert.
The watch sees a ship hull-up on the horizon, , which ''Java'' immediately pursues. Aubrey and others from ''Leopard'' man two guns but the fight goes badly when ''Java'' s foremast gives way. The American commander makes few mistakes and soon ''Java'' strikes its colours. ''Constitution'' returns to Boston to refit, having taken part of ''Java'' for its own repair, then setting fire to her. Captain Lambert dies of his wounds ashore in Brazil. Aubrey is shot in his right arm, and too ill to be put ashore. Maturin stays with his patient, and works with Dr. Evans, the amiable ship's surgeon. All of Maturin's collections, except what he noted in his diary by words or drawings, are gone. During the voyage Maturin talks with a French passenger picked up at San Salvador, Pontet-Canet.
In Boston, Aubrey convalesces from his wounds in Dr. Choate's hospital, waiting for the next prisoner exchange. Jahleel Brenton of the US Navy Department questions him, but Aubrey puts him off, realizing now why his exchange is taking so long. Maturin is reacquainted with both Louisa Wogan and Michael Herapath, and then meets their daughter Caroline and Michael's father George. George is a wealthy merchant and a Loyalist in the Revolutionary War whose trade with China is interrupted by the present war. Maturin encounters Diana Villiers, still the mistress of Harry Johnson. He is a wealthy American slave owner from Maryland who is active as a spy for his nation. Johnson visits Aubrey who makes a comment about Maturin that reveals too much to the bluff spy. Maturin suspects that Johnson and Pontet-Canet have turned their attention away from Aubrey, towards him. He asks George Herapath to bring Aubrey a pair of pistols.
Aubrey watches the harbor from his hospital bed. Pontet-Canet tries but fails twice to abduct Maturin in the streets of Boston. After the second try, Maturin meets Diana in the Franchon hotel when Johnson is away with Wogan. While searching Johnson's papers, Maturin kills first Pontet-Canet and then Jean Dubreuil as they come to Johnson's room. Maturin finds that Johnson had intercepted Diana's letter to him. He offers to marry her to solve her problems of citizenship. Diana wants away from Johnson. Maturin sends a note to Aubrey setting up a plan of escape that night. George Herapath allows the two to hide in one of his larger ships. Then Aubrey sails a small fishing boat and he, Maturin and Diana meet the thirty-eight gun frigate, , entering the outer harbour on blockade duty and are taken on board by Captain Philip Broke, Aubrey's cousin and childhood friend. Broke writes a challenge to Captain Lawrence, the new commander of the thirty-eight gun lying in harbour, to fight one-on-one, which never reaches him. ''Chesapeake'' comes out in apparent pursuit of Aubrey and engages ''Shannon''. The battle lasts fifteen minutes, until ''Chesapeake'' strikes her colours to ''Shannon''. Aubrey leads a gun crew, his right arm tied to his body, while Diana sits in the forepeak and Maturin waits below with the surgeon in this victory for the Royal Navy.
Maturin and Villiers are happily married. After a time together in their new house on Half Moon Street, Maturin settles in his rooms at The Grapes, where Diana comes often, and from which he walks to breakfast with her daily. He has missions to do, and Aubrey needs to get away from his financial problems. Aubrey gets a stint on HMS ''Worcester'' for Toulon blockade duty. Jagiello brings the Maturins to port in his own carriage, which upsets, making Stephen’s arrival rather last-minute.
While she is doing gunnery practice with gunpowder bought from a fireworks firm, ''Worcester'' encounters the French ship ''Jemmapes''. Worcester engages immediately, not having changed to ordinary gunpowder. ''Jemmapes'' sees the bright colors as the sign of some new weapon, and sails away. Maturin is injured and returns to taking laudanum for the pain. Some of the crew practice an oratorio while the midshipmen practice ''Hamlet''. Passengers are dropped off at Gibraltar and Port Mahon (Graham, professor of moral philosophy), though the parson Nathaniel Martin is aboard long enough for Maturin to discover their shared interest in birds, before Martin joins HMS ''Berwick''. ''Worcester'' joins the squadron off Toulon. Babbington, master and commander, joins the squadron in the Mediterranean as captain of the ''Dryad''. Babbington has fallen in love with Admiral Harte’s daughter Fanny, but her father wants her to marry the wealthy Andrew Wray. Babbington figures that Wray and Harte combined got him assigned to blockade duty. Before ''Dryad'', the Worcesters see HMS ''Surprise'' arrive with mail for this fleet, joining it.
Admiral Thornton’s desire is to engage the French in a fleet action. The second-in-command, Harte, has lesser goals. Harte sends Aubrey and Babbington on a mission to the north coast of Africa, with the notion that Babbington will be taken by the French ships in the neutral port Medina. Babbington sees the ships before he enters port and rejoins ''Worcester''. Having been told not to fire first at the French, Aubrey enters the neutral port in an unsuccessful attempt to draw French fire. Aubrey leaves port, feeling his image is tarnished. ''Worcester'' brings Maturin to the coast of France, and waits to pick him up. Maturin's mission fails due to other British spies afoot. Waiting for the launch, Maturin meets the other British agent, Professor Graham, who has shot himself in the foot. Maturin hands him over to the Captain of the Fleet to act as a Turkish advisor. Later, the French fleet slips the blockade. Thornton is pleased, but the winds change, preventing a successful engagement. The French do not want battle and return to port. A few shots are exchanged, killing the captain and first lieutenant of HMS ''Surprise'', and the ''Worcester'', a poorly built ship, is strained beyond usefulness. Thornton tells Aubrey to take her to Malta to refit, then shift part of his crew to the ''Surprise'' for a mission to the Seven Islands on the Ionian coast. As they sail, a poetry contest is set up, with Mowett and Rowan splitting the prize. The ''Surprise'' takes the blockade runner ''Bonhomme Richard'', filled with spices, dyes, and heaps of silver. The silver is shared out at once, and Rowan takes the prize to Malta. Aubrey visits the three beys, Ismail, Mustapha and Sciahon, choosing the last as the best ally for Britain to take Corfu, if not more of the Seven Islands, from the French. Sciahon Bey holds Kutali (a fictitious place), the preferred base for naval operations.
''Surprise'' is long in port at Kutali being windbound. The ''Dryad'' and the gun-laden transports she fetched seem long in coming. Graham engages in a harsh argument with Aubrey. Rumour spreads that Ismail has permission to take charge of Kutali, causing the locals to beg Aubrey to protect them. Graham travels by land to Ali Pasha of Ioannina learning that Mustapha lured ''Dryad'' and the transports into his port, and is sailing on his ship ''Torgud'' to take Kutali. The rumour was started by Ali Pasha in his own double dealing, to fire up Mustapha against his enemy Ismail; in the end, Ali Pasha wants rid of Mustapha. Mustapha is on his own, with no approval from the Sultan of Turkey. ''Surprise'' is ready to sail on the instant, especially as the winds have changed. Aubrey will attack both ships, ''Kitabi'' sailing with ''Torgud''. They meet at sea, with ''Surprise'' firing broadsides instantly and repeatedly. ''Torgud'' is cruelly damaged, with many dead. Young Williamson loses half his arm. ''Kitabi'' goes between ''Surprise'' and ''Torgud'', crashing into ''Torgud'''s side. Aubrey boards ''Kitabi'', and takes her. Boarding crew proceeds to ''Torgud'', jumping across like Nelson. Pullings falls, so Aubrey stands above him and fights fiercely in the close hand-to-hand combat. Aubrey reaches Mustapha, wounded early in the action and sitting. His aide Ulusan surrenders. Bonden carries the swords and ensigns. Aubrey asks Mowett what happened to Pullings, to learn he survived. They return to the ''Surprise'' before the ''Torgud'' can sink.
Aubrey meets Admiral Ives, now in Gibraltar, who is pleased with the last mission of HMS ''Surprise'', despite Aubrey's negative report. Mr Yarrow will rephrase it to make the success clearer to the Admiralty. The admiral is now a peer, his deepest wish, and he is a happy man. Aubrey dines with Laura Fielding and her husband, Lieutenant Fielding, who is now satisfied that his wife is true to him and thanks Aubrey for bringing her from Malta to Gibraltar (though it is Maturin who brought her to the ship, saving her from two assassins). Maturin receives news from his intelligence-chief in London, Sir Joseph Blaine, confirming high level infiltration of British intelligence by the French. Maturin's wife Diana has heard rumours of his pretended infidelity in Valletta, Malta, with Mrs Fielding for intelligence reasons. He sends her a letter via Andrew Wray, unsuspecting of Wray's role as a French agent. Maturin learns of his success in Malta, destroying the French intelligence network based there, all but André Lesueur taken.
''Surprise'' is not yet to be broken up; Admiral Ives sends Aubrey on a mission to protect British whalers in the Pacific Ocean from the frigate USS ''Norfolk'', sailing on HMS ''Surprise'' on his first voyage around Cape Horn. Aubrey makes all haste to prepare his ship with men and supplies. He recruits Mr Allen, a new master with an in-depth knowledge of whalers, takes on Mr Martin as schoolmaster to the midshipmen, and Mr Hollom, an ageing midshipman. Aubrey wonders if his kindness takes aboard a Jonah with Hollom.
The ''Surprise'' sails to the farthest east point of Brazil, where the bowsprit is burnt by lightning. During the repairs in Penedo, Pullings sees the USS ''Norfolk'' pass by. Mrs Horner, the gunner's wife, engages in an affair with Hollom, and becomes pregnant. Maturin will not interfere with the pregnancy, so she turns to his assistant, Higgins, who leaves her near death. Maturin saves her life. In the Atlantic, ''Surprise'' retakes the packet ''Danaë'', with Lieutenant Lawrence in command. Tom Pullings sails the ''Danae'' back to England, after Maturin and Aubrey take possession of a hidden brass box, per instructions to Maturin. ''Surprise'' rounds Cape Horn with some losses, and then reaches the Juan Fernández Islands to refit and recover. There, the gunner kills his wife and Hollom, and re-boards the ship. Off Chile, Horner learns that Higgins performed an abortion on his wife; Higgins disappears from the ship and Horner hangs himself in his cabin. In the Pacific, with information from a Spanish merchantman, ''Surprise'' retakes the valuable whaler ''Acapulco'' with Caleb Gill in command, nephew to the ''Norfolk'''s captain. Mr Allen negotiates with the agent for the whaler in Valparaiso, where the American prisoners are left ashore. Taking the whaler restores the spirit to the crew.
Arrived at the Galapagos archipelago, Maturin and Martin are amazed at the new species they see on land, in the air and in the sea. ''Surprise'' picks up men from the whaler ''Intrepid Fox'', now burnt by USS ''Norfolk''. Knowing where the ''Norfolk'' is headed, Aubrey sails along the equator west toward the Marquesas. Maturin is disappointed and furious that the promise made to let him explore ashore is broken. Aubrey saves Maturin when he falls overboard one evening, but no one misses them until dawn. The two men are rescued by Polynesian women on a pahi, who ultimately leave them on a small island with a fishing line. The launch from the ''Surprise'' finds them. Maturin is needed aboard ''Surprise'', as the group sent to board the pahi was cruelly beaten by the women.
After surviving the tail of a typhoon, the ''Surprise'' finds the ''Norfolk'' wrecked on a reef by the same typhoon and her survivors encamped on an island. Aubrey, Mr Martin and some of the crew take Maturin ashore for surgery; he is in a coma since hitting his head during the typhoon. Just as the surgeon from the ''Norfolk'', Dr Butcher, prepares to operate, Maturin wakes from his coma. A heavy storm blows the ''Surprise'' away. Relations between the two marooned groups are tense, because some of the crew on the ''Norfolk'' were British mutineers and deserters in 1797 aboard HMS ''Hermione''; they will be hanged for desertion and mutiny if they are returned to the Royal Navy. One admits this to Bonden. Aubrey tells the American Captain Palmer that he and his crew are now prisoners of war. Both groups are eager to leave this island. Aubrey orders his carpenters to lengthen the launch so they can sail away, pushing the rest to collect food. He sees an American whaler on the horizon. The crew of the ''Norfolk'' spot the same whaler, cheer at the sight, and then kill their informer. The Norfolks fight with the Surprises. Their cheering stops when the whaler loses two masts and strikes her colours, because it is the ''Surprise'' that takes her in chase.
Following a North American pandemic from a space-borne disease that wiped out all dogs and cats in 1983, the government has become a series of police states that took apes as pets before establishing a culture based on ape slave labor. These events were foretold in 1973 as testimony by two chimpanzee scientists Cornelius and his wife Zira, prior to being killed. While it appeared their baby was also killed, he evaded death and was secretly raised by the circus owner Armando as a young horseback rider. In 1991, now fully grown and named Caesar, Armando brings him to one of the cities to distribute flyers for the circus's arrival, explaining to the curious ape the events that led to their new reality while advising him not to speak in public for fear of his life.
Seeing apes performing various menial tasks and shocked at the harsh abuse inflicted on rebellious apes, Caesar shouts out "lousy human bastards!" after seeing a gorilla messenger being beaten and drugged. Though Armando takes responsibility for the exclamation while defusing the situation, Caesar runs away in the commotion. Finding Caesar hiding in a stairway, Armando tells the ape that he will turn himself in to the authorities and bluff his way out while instructing Caesar to hide among a group of arriving apes for safety. Caesar follows Armando's instruction and hides in a cage of orangutans, finding himself being trained for slavery through violent conditioning. Caesar is then sold at auction to Governor Breck, allowed by his owner to name himself by randomly pointing to a word in a book handed to him. The chimpanzee's finger rests upon the name "Caesar", feigning coincidence. Caesar is then put to work by Breck's chief aide MacDonald, whose African American heritage allows him to sympathize with the apes to the thinly veiled disgust of his boss.
Meanwhile, Armando is being interrogated by Inspector Kolp, who suspects his "circus ape" is the child of the two talking apes from the future. Kolp's assistant puts Armando under a machine, "the Authenticator", that psychologically forces people to be truthful. After admitting he had heard the name Cornelius before, Armando realizes he cannot fight the machine and jumps through a window to his death after a brief struggle with a guard. When Caesar learns of the circus owner's death, he loses faith in human kindness and begins secretly teaching the apes combat while having them gather weapons.
By that time, through Kolp's investigation that the vessel which supposedly delivered Caesar is from a region with no native chimpanzees, Breck learns that Caesar is the ape they are hunting. Caesar reveals himself to MacDonald after he covered for the ape twice when called by Breck on Caesar's whereabouts. While MacDonald understands Caesar's intent to depose Breck, he expresses his doubts about the revolution's effectiveness along with Caesar being dismissive of most humans. Caesar is later captured by Breck's men and is electrically tortured into speaking. Hearing him speak, Breck orders Caesar's immediate death. Caesar survives his execution because MacDonald secretly lowers the machine's electrical output well below lethal levels. Once Breck leaves, Caesar kills his torturer and escapes.
Caesar begins his revolution by first taking over Ape Management to build his numbers, proceeding to the command center with the apes killing most of the riot police that attempt to stop them, while setting the city on fire. After bursting into Breck's command post and killing most of the personnel, Caesar has Breck marched out to be executed. MacDonald attempts to plea Caesar not to succumb to brutality and be merciful to the former masters. Caesar ignores him and in a rage declares, "Where there is fire, there is smoke. And in that smoke, from this day forward, my people will crouch, and conspire, and plot, and plan for the inevitable day of man's downfall. The day when he finally and self-destructively turns his weapons against his own kind. The day of the writing in the sky, when your cities lie buried under radioactive rubble! When the sea is a dead sea, and the land is a wasteland out of which I will lead my people from their captivity! And we shall build our own cities, in which there will be no place for humans except to serve our ends! And we shall found our own armies, our own religion, our own dynasty! And that day is upon you now!"
In the theatrical cut, as the apes raise their rifles to beat Breck to death, Caesar's girlfriend Lisa voices her objection, shouting "No!". She is the first ape to speak other than Caesar. Caesar reconsiders and orders the apes to lower their weapons, saying, "But now, now we will put away our hatred. Now we will put down our weapons. We have passed through the night of the fires, and those who were our masters are now our servants. And we, who are not human, can afford to be humane. Destiny is the will of God, and if it is man's destiny to be dominated, it is God's will that he be dominated with compassion, and understanding. So, cast out your vengeance. Tonight, we have seen the birth of the Planet of the Apes!"