The Web |
Xev opens Kai's cryotube, much to his surprise... "Xev, what brings you here?" he
asks. "I had a dream that I wanted to tell you about" she replies, and proceeds
to relate how she felt a presence come into her room that wanted her to give
herself over to it. "And did you?" Kai asks. "No", she replies, but it made her
feel "hot". "Then what did you do?" asks Kai. "She came down here to try to jump
ya!" exclaims Stan with glee, appearing behind her, "pointless as that may
be...!" "What do you want Stan?" Xev asks, exasperated. Stan is concerned. Very
concerned in fact, about two terrible, monumental problems that could spell disaster
for all of them. 1) Is it only him who is concerned about the "patches"
in the sky? And 2) he has lost his hat. On the bridge, 790 is giving a running commentary on the galaxies that are no longer where they should be, or indeed anywhere at all. There are more (or rather less) of them every second. Galaxies are disappearing faster than Kai's clothes in my dreams, and being replaced by, well, nothing. Or perhaps something which is far more dangerous than nothing. Kai explains his theory: Mantrid's arms are dismantling planets and using the raw materials to build more Mantrid drones, of which by now there must be more than a few billion, because at this rate there is only about 30 days of universe left. The dark patches in the sky are already full of Mantrid drones which do not emit light, and therefore cannot be seen at this distance. "So we die and he gets to become the new Divine Shadow?" asks Stan. "No" replies Kai, "he will be everything". Every particle in the universe will be converted into Mantrid drones, including Stan's body. Realising that the drones are unstoppable, there is only one course of action available. They have to take the Lexx back through a fractal core, or "node" to the dark universe, where the drone arms cannot follow. 790 knows the co-ordinates of several nodes and the Lexx sets off to look for one. Unfortunately, they all seem to have inconveniently disappeared due to what Kai thinks is the Mantrid arms dismantelling the planets etc. needed to be in place to create the gravitational effect needed to cause the nodes to exist in the first place. Stan is not happy to learn that this is the case and for once, gets really angry with Kai, telling him that it's his fault for giving the insect essence to Mantrid in the first place, and he'd better jolly well do something about it or they're all going to die! Kai seems a little upset (well, his lip definately quivered, I notice these things) by this accusation, and suggests the possibility of going to the exact centre of the universe, where the Greater Uncertainty Principle would come into play. The strong graviational pull there would also mean there could be an exit into the Dark Zone, except that no-one who ever tried to go there has ever come back. Stan thinks that sounds "totally dangerous", but there is little other choice. It will take about 3 days to get there, so the Lexx heads off. In the meantime, as you would, Xev fancies a shower. She is most surprised however, as she is drying off, to see Stan crawling around on the floor behind her. Stan seems almost as surprised to see her, and (unusually for Stan) it takes a moment for him to realise that she is naked, and come out with some crude attempt to pull her. She is as ever unimpressed, but confused as to why Stan was there in the first place. He says was looking for his hat. "Stan" the Lexx butts in, but Stan ignores him and continues on the finer points of hat-hunting with Xev. "Stan..." says Lexx again, a little more urgently. "Not now Lexx!" says Stan, desperately trying to get Xev to sleep with him, especially as there could be so little time left an'all. "Stan!" calls Lexx. "I'm coming Lexx", replies Stan, looking at Xev. In two days they'll reach the centre of the universe, which means they could all die, so how about it? is Stan's line on Xev. Xev thinks about it. "Come back to me when it's down to one day" she replies. Stan heads back to the bridge, where a very upset Lexx explains that he wants to change course. He can see a web, and webs may have spiders in them. Stan tells Lexx that he is much too big to worry about spiders, and anyway he can't see the web and anyway no-one is doing anything until he gets his hat back. Lexx really wants to change course now, but Stanley is adamantly holding out for his hat. Kai and Xev appear on the bridge, in time to see what the Lexx's superior eyes have been seeing for a while now... There is indeed an enormous web in space, and it seems alive. Tentacles reach out for the Lexx which by this time Stan has told to change course, but the Lexx is hit. The bridge starts to shake and the crew are thrown violently about until it all goes black... Xev opens her eyes and rolls over. She is in her sleep chamber, but doesn't remember getting there. She calls out to Kai and Stan but there is no answer, and 790, who usually shares her bed, is nowhere to be seen. Searching the Lexx's passageways, she finds 790 on the floor and bashes his head against a protuberance until he works. He cannot remember what has happened either, only noises and pictures, but they make no sense to him. They continue searching for the others. Kai's cryotube is empty, but Stan turns up in the toilet, apparently unconscious and with a strange dark discharge coming out of his nose and ears. "Security Guard slime" 790 diagnoses. Xev drags the inanimate Stan to Kai's cryotube where 790 tries to determine what is wrong with him. His brain appears to be switched off. Although his body is perfectly functional, he has no brain activity whatsoever and is technically brain-dead. Leaving 790 to continue trying to revive him, Xev takes a moth to try to see what's going on outside. The view screen is completely dead and she can't even see where they are going. As she reaches the end of the passageway in the moth, however, Lexx is unresponive and will not open the outer doors. She returns to the cryoroom to see how 790 is doing. He does not seem to be doing very well, so Xev decides to shock Stan with the electrodes she tried to revive Kai with when he freeze-dried (episode 1.2, Supernova). As she gets them close to his head, he starts to twitch and moan. Despite 790's insistance that it's just random neurones firing and she should "fry him", Stan lifts his head and tries to speak. His speech is almost unintelligable, but he manages to communicate that Xev has to find Kai and "cut the cord". Confused, Xev asks where Kai is, for she hasn't found him yet. Stan slurs that he is in the passageway that runs parallel to Lexx's primitive primary ganglion. 790 doesn't like it - Stan doesn't even know where Lexx's primary ganglion is, but then Stan fixes a stare on Xev and slurs "hurry, it's killing us...". "What's killing us?" demands Xev, but Stan has slumped back into coma-land and stopped breathing. She grabs 790 and runs to find Kai. Kai is leaning against a passage wall with a thing that looks like a cross between mouldy asparagus and one of those 'Alien' facehuggers attached to his face. He's not moving. Xev finds him and, remembering Stan's instruction to "cut the cord", tears one of the legs off the asparagus facehugger. As soon as the leg is torn, Kai wakes up. "How did I get here?" he asks. They head back down to the cryoroom where Stanley seems to have come round. He seems a little groggy still, but otherwise fine, except that he too cannot remember whathas been going on, or telling Xev where to find Kai. 790 however is convinced that Stan is in the thrall of some evil power, but then 790 always thinks that. Xev tells him to give it a rest, and they head off up to the bridge to try and find out what happened. Lexx's screen is now showing normal space, well apart from the patches in it. He explains that he was caught in a web for a while, but managed to break free. Xev and Kai however, are not satisfied and want to find some answers. Kai tries to hook up 790's memory to see if he can access it as 790 can't. He manages, and 790 projects the last few seconds of the Lexx getting caught and everyone getting knocked about, then nothing. They head off to the galley to get some food> Stan passes Xev a bowl of goo, but she throws it across the room. "It's all too creepy!" she spits. Stan offers to keep watch on the bridge, while she gets some sleep. Xev accepts, after all she is pretty tired. "Aren't you?" she asks Stan, "No", he replies. As Xev heads out, Kai goes to follow her, but Stan calls him back. "What's on your mind?" he asks Kai. "What's on my mind is what's missing from it" Kai replies. "Yeah, me too" says Stan. Kai leaves. Xev is asleep, but appears to be having a bad dream. An insect-like chattering fills the air and 790, who is beside her as always, calls to her. Xev wakes up, and as she does, the noise stops abruptly. "What was that?" she asks, but 790 doesn't know either. She heads for the bridge to find Stan, but as she walks onto it, Stan is nowhere to be seen. She calls for him, and he appears from a passageway, wiping his nose. "Where were you?" she asks, "You where supposed to be on the bridge!". "I was", he replies, "until I heard that noise, it scared the pants off me!". Seeing Xev accepting his excuse, he goes on to explain that he's trying to get the Lexx to remember what happened when they hit the web, but it's not going too well. As Xev watches the screen, Lexx projects fuzzy images of them during the encounter, and then nothing. Stan explains it may take a while, and Xev leaves him to it. "Well, Lexx may not be very smart, but he gets there in the end...dontcha Lexx..?" calls Stan. He has assembled Xev, Kai and 790 on the bridge to show them what he has found. The screen shows the four of them on the bridge as they hit the web. They all fall, then Xev and Kai are thrown down passages and Stan is thrown forwards until they come to rest where they woke up after the encounter. "And that's where the Lexx went blank too", explains Stan, turning the screen off. "Well that doesn't tell us much" complains 790, wanting to know about the stuff on Kai's face, the loss of memory, and how Stan can walk about when he was apparently brain-dead. As much as it pains him, Stan agrees with 790. They decide to have another look outside, to see if they can see anything which may explain what happened, but as they head in the moth to the portal, it still will not open, even though Stan commands Lexx to open it. Something is very wrong. Realising that Lexx is not quite himself, Xev has an idea. "Where do the images go that appear on Lexx's eyes?" she asks. The moth lands on a platform inside one of Lexx's eyes. Kai takes a cable and connects one of the lenses to 790, who shows on his eyescreens what the Lexx is seeing. They are still inside the web. It must somehow be controlling the Lexx, "and Stanley" 790 buts in, but Xev tells him to give it a rest, or she'll put him in storage. Kai realises that the web needs a direct line into the brain to control someone, as it tried to get with him. It objected to his "non-living state" however, and could not function properly again until the cord was cut, which is why it told Xev where Kai was through Stan. The Lexx's brain is above the bridge, so they take the moth back to look for it. Xev sees something, high above the bridge, and Kai shoots. A huge version of the thing that was on Kai's face falls to the ground, almost hitting Xev and Stan, but the Lexx is free. His screen shows the web still intact around him, and Stan orders him to "fire! Break out of the Web!". Lexx fires and the web disintegrates around him. He is free at last. In the cryochamber, Xev asks Kai whether, if anything is possible at the centre of the universe, it may be possible that he may find life there. "It is more likely that you will find death" he replies. After all, death is an easier state to achieve than life. "But if I don't die, and you become alive...would you welcome it?" she asks. "I don't know", he replies, "I would have to be alive to think that way". "But if you were alive, and could think that way, would you welcome it?" she repeats. "I don't know" he answers. She turns away. "Did anyone ever tell you that you are the most frustrating man alive...I mean not alive?" she asks. "No" he replies. Xev turns and leaves for bed. "Night Kai" says Stan as he closes the Cryotube door. "Good night Stanley" replies Kai, as the frozen gas hisses over him. Xev is on the bridge with 790. "I think I'll go get some sleep" she says, leaving him on guard and heading off to bed. As she gets up, however, she finds Stanley's hat under the command stand. "790, you were on the floor - you could have seen this!" "I had no interest in seeing it" he replies. Xev leaves him there. Stan is asleep when Xev enters his room and calls softly to him. "Seeing as there's only one day left, I thought you might like me to...give it to you!" she says. "Oh yeah," replies Stan, and puckers up. 790, alone on the bridge, lets out a deafening scream... |
