System check complete. We're ready to go, Scotty.
Control, this is Frontier.
We are good to go and assuming entry attitude. Over.
What was that?
We've been hit. We're losing oxygen and power!
- Control, this is Frontier. We have a deorbit emergency. - Deorbiter not responding!
- Rate of descent? - 5 kpm.
Time to entry interface: 3 minutes.
Okay. My best guess--
10-second burn on front port, 20-second on rears to bring her nose up.
- Tell me I'm wrong. - With the payload gone, we'll overshoot.
I say 5 on front port, 10 on rears.
But it's your call.
Warning. Navigational systems failure in quadrant 4.
Emergency protocol not responding.
We're 50-50. We're gonna do it my way.
10 seconds to burn. Get ready!
- Warning. Electrical systems failure. - 10, 9,
- Emergency protocol activated. - 8, 7,
6, 5,
4, 3,
2, 1!
Engage!
Warning. Heat shield reaching critical temperature threshold.
We're coming in too hot. We're not gonna make it.
It's not your fault, Hale.
I don't think my way would've worked either.
Warning. Fuel systems failure.
Emergency systems not responding.
Hey!
Come to me! Come out of the water!
It's okay! Come to the shore!
Just stay calm and come to me.
It's all right. Go to the shore.
There's cannisters with clothing in them.
- What is this? - It's all right. It's safe.
Somebody help me!
- Get away from me! - It's okay.
- Get me out of here!
I don't know what you're saying. You've got to get me out of here!
Get back! It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you.
A minute ago, I--
I was 82 years old.
I was 53.
This is nuts.
Leave it to me! Give it back!
- Last thing I remember... - Somebody help me!
was in the shuttle-- we got hit by space debris.
A shuttle?
What year is this for you?
1934.
It's 2009 for me.
'34? I was born in '56. That's 22 years after you--
Died. We all died.
But that's impossible. Am I having one of my dreams?
I'm going to wake up, aren't I? This can't be real.
Is it?
My name is Jeff Hale.
I'm Alice. Alice Lidell Hargreaves.
Well, Alice Lidell Hargreaves,
something or someone put us here.
That's obvious. The metal cannisters, the atmosphere.
- The air--it's breathable. - Give it to me! That's mine!
It might be a different planet. It might be a different physical dimension,
maybe even a spiritual dimension.
- You mean heaven? - Or hell.
At this point, anything's possible.
Let it go!
- Where are we? - Where are we? Where?
I know the coast. This isn't right. This isn't Polska.
What country have they taken us to?
The Schutzstaffeln-- the S.S.
- What camp are you from? - Birkenau. Auschwitz-Birkenau.
He's a prisoner of war.
- You are American? - Yeah, that's right.
I'm an American.
I'm Commander Jeff Hale, United States Air Force,
2009.
"2009"?
Somebody help me!
- Where's my wife? - My number.
- I don't understand. - Please tell me.
Quis hic locus,
quae-- quae regio, quae mundi plaga!
It's Latin.
It means, "What worlds are these? What kingdom?
What kingdom of what shores?"
Yes. Seneca. Hercules furens.
It seems appropriate under the circumstances.
I was a professor of ancient history
at the University of Kraków.
This is strange, so strange.
Forgive me. My name is Lev Ruach.
I have one question.
Who won the war? What war?
The 2nd war.
We did.
Good.
Good!
- That is Lucifer! - No!
Lucifer is here for us!
Lucifer! It's Lucifer come for us!
- What's happening? - I don't know.
Come on.
- What is it? - Come on. Let's get closer.
Be careful.
Wherever we are,
I don't think this is heaven.
What is it?
It's dangerous.
Incredible.
What is it?
No!
- Stop it. Stop it. - Ready?
- He just wants food. - Yeah, right.
Here you are. It's food. You can eat it.
Stay away. Stay away.
My God. Amazing.
A prehistoric Neanderthal man.
Are you all right? I'm not gonna hurt you.
My name is Hale.
- How does it work? - Take some of this.
Here. Take this.
This could be a trap.
You're not understanding a word I'm saying, are you?
I understand you. You speak English.
What is 'english"?
We don't know if this food is all right.
Someone or something is translating for us so we can communicate.
Maybe the same someone who is clothing and feeding us.
Curse you!
This one is a problem.
Enough! Enough!
Better him than any of us.
The one must always be sacrificed for the good of the many.
Wait a minute. Who are you?
- A citizen of Rome. And you? - I'm an American.
We live by different rules than you do.
And how is that relevant here?
Well, we just don't start killing each other.
You are the enforcer of your laws?
No, but if we're going to survive here,
then we have to learn how to get along with each other.
Rules, social order--
the fundamental aim of all responsible citizens who desire
a quality of life that raises them above the animal.
Yeah, well, that's great, but before we get that far,
we may want to find some shelter.
You know, I suggest that we establish our positions first...
to avoid confusion amongst the citizens later.
What?
What's wrong with you? Stop it!
Someone do something.
Stop!
- You fight well. - You fight dirty.
I fight to win.
Look!
Look. Look there.
I guess we're not the first.
Get in there! Get in there!
They're getting away!
Quickly! After them!
Stop them!
I am Valdemar, master of Riverworld!
I offer you my protection from the chaos that exists in this place.
The strong amongst you will be considered for the privilege...
of serving in my armies.
Any others I choose will serve me...
as workers or slaves.
You! Stay there! You!
Please don't hurt me.
Here... there is only one rule,
one sacred duty,
and that is to prove yourselves worthy.
Or you are no more than garbage spat out by the river.
Gather them!
You!
- You! - Please don't hurt me!
Come on! Keep in line!
Weapons and armies take time to build.
You know, these resurrections might have been happening for some time,
and they might not be anywhere near over.
Do you remember being underneath the water?
I woke up swimming. I thought I was going to drown.
Heaven or no heaven, this place must be the work of a higher power,
- a higher intelligence of some kind. - Of God.
- Or-Or gods. - Let's go! Keep moving!
- Or another species altogether. - Go on!
If everyone who ever lived ends up here--
everyone, the good and the bad--
- Like Hades. - Move!
- Or purgatory. - There'd be billions of us.
Everyone that we've ever known, all our descendents, all our ancestors.
- All our loved ones. - And enemies.
Move!
Let's hope there's plenty of room, or it might start to get a little crowded.
No one rules billions with a sword from the back of a horse.
We're caught in some personal fiefdom here, one of many, would be my guess.
Keep going! Come on, come on!
- Over here! - Carry it! Come on!
Go on!
- You two help me. - This is happening again.
You! Go!
- Come on! Forward! - All right!
- Let go of me!
Stop!
Easy. No!
- Get her! - We want no trouble.
No ship! No ship here that I can see.
- It's okay. Please. We're going. - Hold her!
- Leave her alone! - You've already died once today.
Look. It's okay.
- It's all right. - Get in there!
- Move! - I'm Lev.
Faster! Come on! Stand back!
I am Mali,
Prophetess of Yoruba,
mother spirit of my people.
- White people take us. - The Yoruba?
The Yo-- The Yoruba. The Yoruba were an African tribe, I think.
White people took you away in a ship. Huh?
Yes. 16th or 17th century. Portuguese traders, possibly British.
Mali.
I was also enslaved by white people.
By your own people? Call them another tribe.
And as you can see, there are many tribes of many different colors.
Get in!
- You poor dear. - Her name is Gwenafra. She is mute.
What--
My name is Monat.
What is it? What are you?
I am not human, as you can see,
but neither am I dangerous.
- I assure you. - It's all right.
Incredible.
I am from the star system your astronomers named Tau Ceti.
Yes. Tau Ceti.
Are there other extraterrestrials here?
Alas, I am the only one.
You died on Earth.
You were on Earth.
You are...
- 20th century. - Yes, early 21st.
I was an astronaut, just like you.
My ship charted a large asteroid approaching your planet.
We hastened to warn your authorities,
but our intentions were misread and we were shot down.
I alone survived the crash.
I tried my best under interrogation,
but your scientists were skeptical of our advanced projections.
- Chaos theory. - For your people,
it was just that-- a theory.
For mine, it was a practice.
As we predicted, the asteroid's course was deflected
when it passed through the Jovian Belt.
By then, it was too late to stop it.
The impact would have equaled the detonation
of 100 million of your hydrogen bombs.
No life form could have survived.
Well, this is more preposterous than H.G. Wells.
Believe me. Ask around.
Find someone who claims to have lived on Earth...
after June 18, 2039 A.D.
What is it saying?
Use of masculine gender would be appropriate when addressing me.
He's saying...
the Earth, as we know it, is gone.
Your planet is dead, but your species has been preserved.
- And no way back? - One is to assume.
Have you found any other forms of intelligence here?
None higher than myself,
if you will forgive my lack of humility.
How long have you been here?
2 years of freedom.
2 days of captivity.
We were resurrected together.
She appears to be the only human on this planet who has been resurrected as a child.
I have no idea why. Neither does she.
And Valdemar?
He was one of the first.
10 years on Riverworld--
more than enough time to construct a modest empire.
His armies are known to all as the Vandals.
My people will hear of this,
and they will come for me.
Do you see anything?
They're locked up, surrounded by guards. We can go in as merchants.
No. No, we can't risk it. Sam, Gwen is a child,
and Monat's knowledge is critical for our success.
And if we get caught? No.
There are too many other lives dependin' on us.
You know the rules-- go for broke first, go for anything else second.
He'll take them to the fortress.
When we're free and clear, then we'll come back for 'em.
Who are you?
Why have you come here?
All I have to do is raise my voice.
Free me. You go your way, I'll go mine.
This world is large.
We'll never have to meet each other again.
The prisoner's free!
Get the gate! The prisoner's free!
- After him! - Run, Hale! Run!
- Get him! - Run, Hale!
- He leaves us to die like animals. - You don't know that.
You are all the same.
Come on!
There he is!
Come on!
Keep moving!
- We've got him! - There he is!
Look!
The fool! Where is he?
He's dead.
Let's go.
Come on!
Move on!
Keep moving!
- Faster! Let's go! - Move it!
Move!
Come on! Keep moving!
- No! - Stop!
You! Faster!
Come on! Keep up!
Move it!
Stay in line!
- What is it? - Move along!
Where are we going?
- Come on! - Quit draggin' your feet! Move!
Let's go! Move it!
Let's go! Move!
Move! Get over there!
- Watch 'em. - Scum!
Move!
- Quit your whining! Move! - Get back there!
So, the entertainment has arrived.
My warriors deserve their amusements, Flavius.
And here are the men that will give it to them.
You will fight to the death.
Show them to the arena.
Move on in!
Get in there!
Come on!
That was too easy. Get out.
Bring in the next man!
I see it, child. The palladium.
Take your weapons.
Pick it up!
- Come on! - Don't be afraid!
- What is your name, prisoner? - I am Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus,
citizen of Rome.
And now, a commissioned warrior in my Vandal armies.
What say you to that, Flavius?
Flavius Carminus Doremus-- captain of the Praetorian Guard.
You were a lot younger when I first promoted you,
and I was somewhat more seasoned.
Your Majesty, you have returned to us.
Well, you might know me better by my public name--
Germanicus Drusus Claudius... Nero.
Emperor of Rome.
Hail Nero!
- Did you miss me? - I knew you'd come.
When the fighting starts, meet me at the tunnel entrance.
There's a way out underground. You ready?
Never heard of you.
And this is not Rome. This is the Riverworld.
And here, my law is the only law.
- Yeah! - Get rid of him!
Don't move! Stay back!
But, you see, things are gonna get complicated between us.
Your death...
will be sweet.
- Kill him, Valdemar! - Kill him!
Do I not get the benefit of a weapon?
No.
Good. So much more interesting for me.
Yeah!
Yeah! Yeah!
Maybe you will find it as entertaining for you!
Who else challenges Nero?
Good.
All right. Act like slaves.
Come on, you lazy bunch of slugs! Move!
Come on! Move!
- Prisoners are forbidden to enter here. - Except if Valdemar orders it.
- To do what? - Soldier, if you want to be the one...
that questions the master's orders, go ahead, I'll wait here.
- The prisoners have escaped. - Go ahead!
Go. Go then. Move! Come on, you!
- Move! Move! - Close all the exits!
- You too! Over there! - Go for it!
You'd never believe what's goin' on out there.
That's not gonna do anything.
Please tell me every day on this planet isn't going to be so eventful.
What are you doing? He had a helmet on him.
I'm sorry. Come on.
Everybody, let's go!
My community is 2 days walk upriver.
There is food and safety there.
We will take you if you wish. It is the least we can do.
- If I go, we all go. - You are strangers.
It will not be up to me whether you are allowed to stay,
but I will speak on your behalf.
I am not one of you.
Erzulie will guide me to my people.
Lev! Lev!
Mali! Mali, where are you going?
Can't force her to come if she doesn't want to.
Let's keep movin'.
- What's beyond those mountains? - No one knows. They are unclimbable.
Following the river is the only way to travel in this world.
The atmosphere must be thinner here than on Earth.
Enough to make Riverworlders keep one eye on the ground and one on the sky.
The great debate in my time...
was the possibility that life existed on other planets.
Now you know.
How many?
An infinite number.
But to end up on this planet with your particular life forms...
in this strange dimension beyond life itself--
that I had not planned on.
Well, I guess we're in the same boat, aren't we?
You humans have each other here.
You have family, friends, lovers-- all waiting to be discovered.
You have that hope.
I have no one to discover.
I have no hope.
We are not in the same boat.
We should find shelter and rest. It will be dark soon.
The woman is following us.
Where? I don't see her.
You're blessed with 5 senses, Hale.
Sight is only one of them.
The other night, when you escaped, the door was locked.
There was, uh, somebody--
How do I say this? He had a hood on.
So I couldn't see his face, but I've seen him before...
under the water.
He has some kind of power. He's made me see things.
You mean like a vision? Of what?
I don't know. The future maybe?
You escaped.
Gwen.
This is Hale, the man who freed us, and his companions.
This is Tane. He is one of us.
Monat, you know the rules.
A stranger who saves my life is no longer a stranger to me. He is my friend.
Get Sam.
Watch yourself.
Monat. It's good to have you back, my friend.
You must be Hale.
It would seem I owe you a measure of gratitude.
Escaping from Valdemar's clutches-- that's quite impressive.
- He'll be mad enough to come after you. - No, he won't. He's dead.
He who lives by the sword--
- When? - Yesterday,
by a man who claims to be the Roman emperor Nero.
Well, that's quite a claim.
Though I guess the true Nero has to be somewhere on this planet.
Everyone comes here eventually, so it's possible.
He saved our lives, Sam.
Well, y all know too much now anyway. You can enter our camp,
but only on the understanding that you're forbidden to leave until I say so.
No exceptions.
Very well. Follow me.
What on earth?
You're not on Earth anymore. Come on.
Welcome to the "Go For Broke".
For my sins, I am the captain.
It must have taken years to build a vessel of this...
6 and a half, to be exact. If you please.
I modeled her on the steamers I used to pilot up and down the Mississippi.
Add a couple of sails for the scaredy ancients
among us to make them feel comfortable.
Those of us from the civilized democracies,
we are in the minority here in this world.
The average Riverworlder would kill you as soon as look at you.
But on this vessel, you're gonna find some rules
and freedoms that don't exist on the land.
And with those liberties, we are gonna travel
everywhere and anywhere this river will take us.
Are you going downriver?
You got a reason we should go upriver?
Yeah.
Nobody ever learned anything sailing away from the source.
How about seeing the engine room?
Everything you need to see you can see from up here.
We used the best materials and men.
And we got fellas here who worked on St. Paul's Cathedral, the pyramids,
the Titanic, which they tell me was quite an engineering feat, despite its later mishap.
I'm sure any question you have will be answered soon enough.
In the meantime, there's plenty of jobs around here for you to earn your keep.
These are your shadows.
Doesn't look like we have much of a choice.
It's nothing personal. Just can't afford a security risk this close to launching her.
Sam. A word.
Excuse me.
Well, what is it?
I found enough palladium to start the wheels and keep them turning. Where?
A decoration on Valdemar's throne.
It's pretty rare, Monat.
Any Cetian can smell saturated metal hydride a mile away.
Our technology is based on it.
Timing's good. With Valdemar gone, it'll be pretty confused around there.
I'm sure I can get it.
Valdemar we knew. Nero we don't.
What if one of us gets caught? No. Can't risk it.
Sam, the whole rock gives us enough critical mass to finally launch this boat.
I say waiting is the risk.
This is not a democracy, Tane.
I decide who goes, who stays, when we launch and when we don't.
And what I'm telling you both is--
I'll think about it.
How you ever convinced me to develop this
cockamamie technology of yours, I'll never know.
What's the matter with a wood-burning furnace anyway?
My boat powered by rocks.
- Pull it close. - Over there.
Pull it close.
Gwen, look.
I could make you a pretty dress.
Me?
Look, I've almost forgotten what it's like to wear civilized clothes.
How about I teach you to sew as well?
I'm just gonna take a bath.
What, you wanna come watch me?
What-- Do you mind?
No, I don't.
In my time, when a bunch of us would get together in a hot tub, we'd call it a party.
But I guess you didn't do that kind of stuff in your time.
Not if one had manners.
I wonder what my children would think of me now?
Did you have a family?
I had a son. He died of leukemia.
And his... mother,
well, she tried--
She tried, but she couldn't stand the pain. She took her own life.
I'm so sorry.
So who's gonna get out first?
Not me.
- How much of it is mine? - As far as the eye can see.
To expand further, we need the ship the rebels are building.
Our spies tell us it's nearly ready to launch.
Then we should act soon.
We mine enough ore from the rocks that
fall from the sky to keep our men fully armed.
The rebels steal from the harvest fields occasionally, but it never amounts to much.
- Valdemar couldn't catch them? - They are highly skilled.
Sometimes it is better to allow them some freedom.
Their ingenuity can be useful.
Tom got more cuffs and kisses that day, according to Aunt Polly's varying moods,
than he'd earned before in a whole year.
He hardly knew which expressed the most gratefulness
to God and affection for himself.
More tomorrow. Time for you to go to sleep.
What's this?
Well, who did this for you? It wasn't one of us.
One of the new crowd?
Was it Mr. Hale? Mr. Lev?
Miss Alice?
Miss Alice. Well, well, well.
She's quite an artist.
And dressmaker too.
You two quite like each other?
Don't get too fond of her.
Correct me if I'm wrong. I don't recall inviting you below decks.
Take us with you.
I have 100 berths on board and 100 workers ready to fill them.
Besides, we're goin' downriver. That doesn't seem to interest you. Sam, listen to me.
In all your years here, have you ever seen a native of this world?
Not in 10 years.
There's stories, but that's all they are.
They're not stories. Someone came to me while I was still under the water...
and he gave me the power to see the future.
I saw Nero. I saw a dark tower wrapped in ice and snow...
and I saw this exact boat headed upriver and I was on it.
Well, I reckon if that's our future, then it'll happen just the way you saw it.
You don't believe me.
I don't believe anyone, and I don't believe in anyone except myself.
Then believe in what your eyes are telling you.
Believe in that. Look at this world around you--
the obelisk, the cannisters, the food, the clothing.
You can't tell me that someone isn't behind this.
You spent years working on this boat.
Years! Don't you want to take it out and find some answers for yourself?
Answers? Hell. I didn't find any answers in my last life.
Why the hell would I want to waste my time trying to find them in this one?
And you forget, I'm older than you. I'm a lot older than you.
I have a 30-year-old body and a 90-year-old mind.
And what I have learned in my considerable time is to enjoy the journey,
not the destination.
Now the closest obelisk is quite a hike.
They'll be needing some help in the morning with the canisters.
Why don't you go make yourself useful?
That's not nice. Up the hill. Up the hill.
Monat! Tane!
Get down here! Look what I found!
Sneaking around.
Trying to find--
Why did you-- Why did you do that?
He was a spy. A Vandal scout.
It is the way of Riverworld.
- We could have questioned him. - You are a stranger here.
You have no right to question him or me.
Someone! I need some help with this man!
Well, the good news is they won't miss him for a few days.
Sam, if we go now, we can be back before then, ready to launch.
They'll never know we were there. If we go where now?
Valdemar's fortress. There's some things there that we need.
- He's been mining the meteors. - Iron for weapons mostly.
But meteors contain other useful metals, Hale.
The rarest is hydrated palladium,
which we intend to use as a fuel for our boiler.
Valdemar found a rock large enough
to yield an almost perpetual energy source.
Perpetual, huh? Impossible.
Cold fusion has formed the basis of Cetian energy production for centuries.
The hell with the boat then. Let's build a spaceship...
and we'll just get off this godforsaken planet.
Just the 2 of us. What do you say?
Monat, Tane.
One of you goes, one of you stays.
I can't risk the loss of both of you.
I will go. Without Monat's brainpower, the boat doesn't go anywhere.
I broke out of there alive. I can break back in.
Fine. Both of you go.
If you're not back before the next high tide,
I'm gonna assume the worst.
I'm gonna launch her without you, on sail power alone.
Even with all these heroics, I can't guarantee you a berth.
If there's not enough room for all of us, at least take the others.
Get me the damn rock. There may be room on the deck.
You trust him?
I don't trust any human.
Even you.
Welcome to the Valley of Meteors.
Without them, we wouldn't have had enough ore to make our boiler.
We should keep moving.
We're entering Vandal borderlands. We should find cover.
You got it? He said it was behind the headboard.
Nah, it's gone.
Looking for this?
You should have freed me when you had the chance.
Those who help me are rewarded.
You've done well. Your bargain with Valdemar endures.
Bring him with us to the ship.
It's a shame to waste such promising centurion material.
But he will make a good example for the others.
- Would you like to try? - Yes.
Sam!
Fight! Fight! Fight!
- Everybody fight! - Surrender, or they die!
Both of them!
Valdemar had more to offer me than just a berth on a boat to nowhere.
Sorry.
I gather she's ready to launch at the next high tide.
Teach my men how to sail her and your lives will be saved.
You, however, can expect no such kindness.
The great Neptune will require a sacrifice if my voyages are to prosper.
And what better candidate than my first true enemy in this world?
Make it slow.
The profit is all in the pain.
Keep her apart from the rest.
Come on!
With this, we do not need to rely on the wind.
And no one on the river can have anything like this.
I want to see it work.
Now, which of you wants to be
the next crew member to die?
Once lit, the energy converts to heat,
which creates steam, which creates
pressure, which turns the wheel.
Good. Have the strongest prisoners load the remaining supplies.
- Store the others in the hold. - The hold wasn't built for people.
The weak will die, the strong will survive.
I fail to see your problem.
What my legions could have achieved...
with metal hearts beating inside their ships.
Everywhere this boat sets anchor, soldiers will be added to my armies,
slaves to my work force. You see,
the only cure for anarchy
is the firm hand and iron will of a leader with a vision.
For the good of the citizens, Rome must be resurrected.
Make him load the ship with the others.
Less than 12 hours to high tide.
Hold your breath long enough at the end...
and you might just get to see me waving you good-bye.
- No! - Come on!
No! No!
Everyone! You must be still.
Be still. Be still.
Breathe slowly.
Save your strength, or you will die.
Are you all right?
If we live, we'll build another boat and sail in the opposite direction.
They're not gonna let us live. You and I both know that.
The first time I was murdered, I hadn't the strength to go down fighting.
Now I do.
Are you with me? Only if we get the chance.
Enough talk! Move it!
- Sam. Sam. - Move! Now!
There's a time and a place. Come.
If only you'd been reasonable.
Get in there!
Where's Gwen?
- Where's Gwen? - I don't know.
- Gwen! - I can only hope she escaped.
Mali, you died in a hold like this, didn't you?
It was all for nothing.
This is how you humans comfort each other?
There was a distinct shortage of comfort in Birkenau.
In the end, when all was stripped away,
the only words of comfort that meant anything to me were these--
I am still alive.
- Say it. - I am still alive?
Again.
I am still alive.
- Is everything ready? - Yes, sir. Nero's coming on board.
The boat is ready. How long till high tide?
Less than an hour. And the woman?
She awaits you in the captain's quarters.
I do not wish to be disturbed.
Good girl.
Look, if anything bad happens, go to your hiding spot.
I like your spirit.
The more they evade us, the more we admire them.
I know I intrigue you,
though you wish I didn't.
You're upset about your friend.
I did not order his death lightly.
But I must establish my authority if I am to bring peace to this world.
Is that what you're after? You revolt me!
You misunderstand me.
I do not claim to be perfect!
How did you get out of that one?
- Good things come in small packages. - Gwen freed you? She's safe?
Yeah, she's okay. Where's Alice?
All right, listen up. The tide's almost in. So we're gonna launch the boat right away.
Hale, it's too risky. They don't know how to sail her yet. That's our advantage.
Sam, this is our window of opportunity. There might not be another one.
Now, if we're gonna make it through this thing alive, we have got to work together.
Now, are you in or are you out? I've gotta know right now.
Come on, Sam.
- I'm in. - Okay.
Now, if we want to live, if we want freedom,
everyone that steps foot on that deck is gonna have to fight for it.
And maybe to the death, if necessary. Are you ready?
Are you ready?
- Yes. - Are you ready?
- Yes. Let's do it. - All right.
We're going for the ropes.
The men on the ground won't be a factor once we're underway.
We have got to come up with a diversion, something to hold them in the beginning.
- Leave that to us. - Good.
- Lev, can you handle a sword? - There's a first time for everything.
Get 2 men, meet me on top. Mali,
you go for the ropes and then meet us as well.
- All right, up you go. - Okay, let's do it.
Let's go. One at a time.
What are you doing up there? I told you to stay put.
All right, you can stay and help Mali with the ropes. Now, go! Go!
- Lev, I'm going after Alice. - Good luck.
I was inexperienced. Impatient.
I lacked the judgment of the elder emperors.
But I've learned from my mistakes.
And now I know I need a strong empress by my side...
to steady me, to teach me...
compassion,
an emotion I was never allowed to develop in Rome.
Choose someone else.
Look, you have secrets.
I don't know what you're talking about.
You have such pain behind your eyes.
Who left you? Forget him.
Consider me instead. I can give you everything.
Everything except love.
Love.
The ultimate challenge.
So Neptune spat you from his waters.
- Don't. - Then drop it.
Do it.
Everything's secured here.
These had better work, Monat.
They will.
Sword.
Kick it.
You see,
the true leader will always sacrifice the one...
for the good of the many,
no matter what his feelings.
Ready.
Clear!
That's the difference between us, Hale.
That's why I'm destined to rule...
and you're destined to perish.
Clear!
- Stay here. - Not on your nellie.
Run for the ship!
Stop them! They're heading for the boat!
Mali, help!
Mali, quick! Cut the last ropes.
Hold on!
Unbelievable.
We've launched.
Monat, get another rocket.
Go to the engine room. Fire up the boiler.
You never told me about explosives, Sam.
- Hell of a launch party. - The engine room.
We gotta get out of here.
Watch out for Nero. He's still out there.
The sails.
The current's pushing us towards the rocks.
The pressure's up.
Here it goes.
You ever done any sailing?
I'm from Danzig. We learn to sail before we can pee standing up.
All right, good. Tie it off and take the wheel.
Right. You should go below deck where it's safe.
Go on! Go! Right now!
Dear God.
Give me strength.
Monat! What now?
How are we?
Full starboard! Full starboard!
I have almost no control without the engine.
I'm on it.
Sam! We need power now, or we're gonna hit the rocks.
What about the sails?
It's keeping us from drifting, but that's about it.
We're doing all we can. We got a kink in here somewhere.
- Not a technologically sound idea. - Necessity is the mother of invention.
Hit it! It's working!
Wait! Enough already. She's coming around.
I've got her. We're in the clear!
Good going.
Sam, there might be more Vandals on the boat.
You go forward. I'll sweep aft.
Stay put! Watch yourself.
We're almost clear. Hale, be careful.
- Your fight's with me. - I suppose it is.
But I asked myself, "Why bother?"
"What an artist the world loses in me." Famous last words, right?
You've studied me. How gratifying.
Yeah, I've studied you.
I've studied Nero the emperor, Nero the coward.
According to history, you poisoned your way to the top,
and then, under your fine leadership, the whole empire fell.
Well, history is mistaken.
You were the sad end to the Augustan dynasty and the end of Rome.
No! No!
I tried to resurrect a crumbling republic.
My own mother,
my wife Octavia-- they all plotted against me...
and against Rome.
I died fighting against false accusations.
You died on the run,
and then you killed yourself because you were afraid to face your enemies.
That was your legacy.
Be very, very careful.
Give him your weapon.
- I said... - Come on!
give him your weapon.
Move! I'll die fighting false accusations again,
if that's what the gods demand of me.
So Neptune will have my sacrifice.
The first person you have ever killed.
Yeah. Yeah, up close.
He won't be the last. Not by far.
Nero's dead. Drop your weapons.
Drop it!
Move! Move!
You can jump or we can push you.
We've done it!
We won! We won!
You fought well.
- Are you okay? - Are you?
It looks like we're going with you whether you like it or not.
I guess so.
Yes! Good work!
You were right. It was one hell of a launch party.
Come on in.
Well, here's to life on the river.
- Well, they all want you to be... - Sam,
I did what I had to do to get us out of there.
- This isn't my boat. I didn't build her. - I'm not asking you to buy her, Hale.
Truth is, all I really want is to be
the pilot of the Go For Broke.
Mess about on the river. I don't know, maybe--
maybe find myself a little adventure.
Mess about on the river, huh? Kind of like Tom Sawyer?
Uh-huh.
I don't know if Aunt Polly would approve of that.
But I bet Mark Twain would.
Or Sam Clemens, as he was known to
his friends back in the days when he was...
piloting that steamboat up and down Ole Miss.
Mark Twain.
I haven't heard that name in years.
Born under a comet, died under a comet,
partial to meteors.
Come on, Sam. Why don't you tell them the truth?
Why don't you tell them who you really are?
Do you miss your family, Hale?
I do.
But they know someone named Mark Twain.
When I look back on my earthly life, I realized that I was the most happiest...
when I was plain old Sam the boat pilot.
Maybe I knew who I was and who I wasn't.
Now I figure that's why I'm here, to find out...
why that was so.
I'd sure appreciate it if you let it stay that way...
Captain.
Let's head upriver.
Subtitles: Arigon
Their journey has begun.
As you said it would. But will it be completed in time?
Will it be completed at all?
That, none of us can foresee.