Original subtitles

Hang in there, Maggie.

We're gonna get you some help as quick as we can.

So cold, Remmy.

We're here for 80 hours. Plenty of time to freeze to death.

How can we slide out of a jungle and into an icebox

if we're basically in the same place?

Well, I have this theory about geothermal space-time displacement. If...

Look, maybe later, all right?

She's burning up with fever.

We've gotta get her to a doctor.

Some place dry and warm.

Dry and warm. Looks like this place is fresh out of all that.

That'll have to do. Come on up.

Up.

There's four of them. And one of them looks hurt.

They're not our concern.

We have to let them in.

We can't take the chance.

Hey! Anybody here?

Well, that bell didn't ring itself. Someone's in there.

Hello!

We have a sick woman here!

As a doctor, it's my duty to help them.

And as master of this place, it's my duty to preserve and protect it.

Even if it means they'll die?

Open up!

I said we've got a sick woman here!

What if you found a portal to a parallel universe?

What if you could slide into a thousand different worlds

where it's the same year and you're the same person,

but everything else is different?

And what if you can't find your way home?

Sliders.

Hello!

Let's look for another way in.

Yeah.

Welcome, friends.

Please, bring your friend. Come inside the Sanctuary.

He's brought them in.

If you didn't encourage the boy, he wouldn't be so rebellious.

This is Keeper James, our doctor,

and Keeper Abraham, the master of the Sanctuary,

and my father.

Who are you? And how did you come to the island?

The island?

We were washed ashore.

There was a storm. Our boat went down.

What boat? Where were you going?

Excuse me. We can discuss this later.

Right now, this woman needs my care.

Seth, help me get her to the infirmary.

Whoa, whoa.

Where she goes, I go.

Fine, then come. Let's waste no more time.

Thank you for your help. We're very grateful.

You may spend the night. The refectory is this way.

Fever. Severe dehydration. It could be some type of infection.

What happened to her?

She got tied up in some very close and hot quarters.

All right, well, I'll keep a close eye on her.

Why don't you go have some dinner with your friends?

Look, what's important for her right now is sleep, and for you, food.

You can check in on her again later.

We are on the edge of the northern sea.

The island of Saint Cataline.

This place is called the Sanctuary.

We are known as the Keepers.

Keepers of what?

Of peace. Of harmony.

We live simple lives here.

Well, you squeeze a damn fine grape.

What about the rest of the world off the island?

I would think you'd know more about that than I.

I've never been off this island.

What's it like on the mainland?

Well, for one thing, it's a lot less water. A lot more land.

On the mainland, where did you live?

Los Angeles.

Los Angeles. "The Angels."

Sounds wonderful.

Sara, why are you disturbing our visitor?

Let her eat in peace, and keep your own counsel.

But how is it that you escaped the troubles?

- Troubles? - We move around a lot.

One day we're in one place, next day we're some place else,

completely.

You must be very lucky. Or very blessed.

A little of both, I guess.

We have a time now for solitary contemplation.

Let me show you to your quarters.

May whatever power has watched over you thus far watch over you tonight.

Listen, I was told I could look in on Maggie.

That will have to wait till tomorrow.

I don't think so. Wait a minute.

Hey!

Hey!

Man, what kind of place is this?

Commune or prison?

Maybe it's for our own protection.

They seem very nice.

You're suffering from a disease named optimism.

About a year ago, we ran across some people

who seemed very spiritual and religious.

Next thing you know, the head preacher,

he's fryin' his congregation and stealin' their money.

A preacher did that?

Yeah, yeah, a preacher did that.

Guess I got a lot to learn.

Let me see the timer.

Yeah, at least we have plenty enough time to figure something out.

Maggie's in the infirmary.

They probably have Diana locked up some place too.

Yeah, tomorrow morning,

gonna get some things straight with good old Keeper Abraham.

Hey.

Hey.

Damn.

What were those bells that I heard?

They call us all to contemplation.

Am I keeping you from your... your contemplation?

No. Good works come first here.

Besides, I'd much rather be taking care of you.

Now, you look as though you've been through some serious trouble.

Your friend said your boat was lost in a storm?

Yes.

No boat washed up on the island.

It must have sunk.

We haven't had a storm for weeks.

It was a sudden squall, out of nowhere.

I can... I can barely keep my eyes open.

All right. Don't try.

I'll look in on you again in the morning.

Thank you.

One of them is still awake.

Until we're certain that these are not Volsang spies,

I want you to keep a close watch on them.

And what if they are spies?

The penalty is well known.

Death.

Did you sleep well?

Like I'd been hit over the head with a hammer.

Good morning.

Sara, do you know where my friends are?

I'm sure they'll be here. No one ever leaves the island.

I was born here. So was he.

Could you excuse me for a second?

Remmy.

Are you all right?

Yeah, I think so. Look, have you seen Maggie?

No. They locked me in.

Same with us.

I gonna have a talk with the head man.

Keeper Abraham.

I trust you're well rested.

Why were we locked in last night?

Everyone is locked in for their own safety.

There are dangerous people at large in the night.

Well, we appreciate that concern.

But as soon as Maggie's well enough today, we're gonna be on our way.

I'm afraid that won't be possible.

Keeper James tells me that your friend is still quite ill and can't be moved.

Besides, there's nowhere else to go on this island.

They we'll go off the island.

That is not an option.

I'd suggest you eat quickly. You have a long day ahead of you.

We do?

We earn our bread here by the sweat of our brow.

My son will tell you what to do.

Samuel.

Sorry we got you into trouble with your dad.

I'm always in trouble with him.

Good morning.

I brought you something to eat.

Thank you.

I think we've broken the fever.

A few more days of bed rest and you'll be right as rain.

I'm sure you're right. A few more days would be great.

But right now, I... I've got to get up and out.

No, no, no. Doctor's orders.

But you see, my friends and I, we have an appointment,

and I need to see them.

You shouldn't try to get up yet if you're not ready.

Whoa, whoa.

All right, come on.

Maybe I can't go see them yet, but could you bring one of them to me?

Remmy?

Yes, I can do that.

So, this Remmy, is he someone special to you?

They're all special to me.

I've always said

if your job requires you to wear a paper hat

and somebody hands you a hoe,

you've made a really bad career choice.

What's this place made of, anyway?

Uh...

rocks, seaweed.

Clams.

Explains the cuisine.

Clam chowder, clam dip, clam sandwiches, clam a la mode,

clam surprise.

What's clam surprise?

Anything that ain't clam.

Man, you're an easy audience.

Wish I had crowds like you when I was doing my shows.

What shows? What did you do?

Oh, I was a singer.

Rhythm and blues, if that means anything to you.

I've heard of rhythm. But blues?

Yeah. You wear long robes, work like this and eat nothing but clams,

you got a right to have the blues.

And you? What'd you do?

A little of this, a little of that. Here and there.

"There." That sounds good to me.

I've never been anywhere but this island.

Ah, looks like quartz.

If I'm remembering my high school geology right.

You're right.

My father says it represents the purity of knowledge.

The biggest and most perfect examples

are displayed in the refectory.

Listen, when I told your father

that we were gonna leave the island,

he said that that wasn't an option.

Once here no one ever leaves.

It's not safe.

What happened? I mean, was your world overrun?

Yeah. Most of it.

At least that's what I've been told.

After the collapse of the Hemispheric Alliance,

the Volsangs were pretty much in charge.

Why did you say "your world"?

I knew it.

Make sure you wipe up the excess water.

We don't want anyone slipping or falling down.

We don't wash the walls again until next week.

Okay, Sara,

I want you to tell me a couple of things.

Of course. Anything you want.

Why are these floors warm?

Pardon?

Warm.

They're made of some kind of stone, but they're warm to the touch.

What's that noise?

It sounds like there's something down there.

I don't hear anything. But if you keep talking, you're going to get into...

I'm gonna get into trouble?

What are they gonna make me do, scrub the floors?

Diana, no!

When are you gonna be leaving here to go back to your world?

Soon.

In fact, that's why we told you the truth about us.

We need your help.

We all need to be together. Diana and Maggie, too, when we go.

So can you help us?

Yes.

But you have to promise to do a favor in return when I ask.

If we can, we will.

Where did you go?

There it is again.

Diana, what are you doing in here?

Sara, this noise is even louder from in here.

Now, what is it?

It sounds like it's electromechanical, but that can't be.

Can it?

I can't talk about it, Diana. But you gotta get out of here.

Quickly, before something happens!

Remmy, is that you?

Hope you're not disappointed.

No.

Please, come on in.

I spoke to your friend Rembrandt,

and he said that he would be by later tonight.

Did he say when?

After dinner, I'm sure.

Something urgent that you needed to speak to him about?

No.

Well, yes.

How long have I been asleep?

Did Remmy say anything about leaving the island?

No. Why should he? Everybody is happy here.

But you should worry less about that and more about getting better.

You've been very kind.

But you still want to leave.

It's not that. It's just that we have things to do.

I know what the outside world has to offer.

I know the trouble and destruction that it holds.

I fear for your safety there.

I'll be fine.

My friends and I, we keep an eye out for each other.

We always have.

You could stay here, you know.

It's a simple life. Peaceful, quiet.

Our days go with the natural rhythms,

with the changing of the seasons.

It does sound like a beautiful place, but...

But it's unknown and foreign.

And you're afraid.

So was I when I first came.

I felt like I was turning my back on the world,

or at least what was left of it.

But now I can't imagine living anywhere else or any other way.

I can see why. Really, I can.

And I can't imagine why anybody

would want to go back to that war-ravaged world.

Think about it.

You'd become a Keeper.

Here, with me.

Seth tells me you did good work today.

Oh, yeah. I dug up at least a dozen clams.

They fought hard, but I boated 'em.

Whatever providence offers us, we gladly accept.

Tell me something.

Why, with so many Keepers living here,

were we the only ones on the beach?

I mean, where were all the others?

The Sanctuary requires many kinds of labor.

Everyone, I assure you, contributes in their own way.

Over time, you'll come to know our ways.

Over time?

Sleep well.

I'm telling you, we're running out of time, and if Seth doesn't help...

Shh!

Look, we really appreciate this, Seth.

You promised me a favor, remember?

We remember.

First of all, can you take us to Diana?

Then we're going to pick up Maggie. Okay?

Okay. Come on.

No, don't close the door!

What the hell!

Whoa!

Electricity!

What just happened here, Seth?

When those doors open, where are we gonna be?

How dare you!

Is this how you repay us for our hospitality?

And you...

It was you who brought them here.

No one brought us here.

Wherever here is.

What are you doing? What is all of this?

It's called the Great Work.

Seth, hold your tongue.

These people don't need to know what we're doing here.

No, Father, I won't hold my tongue.

The Great Work is pointless if it's not shared.

They're my friends. They have come here from another world.

Another world? My Lord...

Yes. Maybe they can help us in this one.

Maybe they know something about the Volsangs that we don't know.

Something that can help us defeat them.

Whoa, whoa. Volsangs, Great Work?

Look, if we're gonna help you at all,

and I'm not sayin' that we can,

you're gonna have to take us through this one step at a time.

How can you claim to be ignorant of the Volsang raiders

when they've virtually conquered the entire Earth by now?

Because your son is telling you the truth.

We're here from another Earth.

The story about our boat and the storm, it was just a story.

Yes. That was apparent.

Yet now I'm supposed to believe this story.

How do I know you're not Volsang spies

sent here to steal our secrets?

You don't, Father.

You just have to believe someone for once.

You have to trust them.

And me. I believe them.

If I hadn't concealed this place as well as I have,

there might not be a Sanctuary at all.

Vortak and his raiders might have stolen the secrets of the Great Work,

reducing us to rubble long ago.

But they're here now, Father. They've seen it.

There's nothing to hide.

Your job is to input data?

Yes. You know about computers?

A little.

What are you doing?

Going out.

No, it's too soon for that. You need to regain your strength.

No offense, but I can't do it lying down.

No one is allowed to walk around the Sanctuary at night without permission.

So who do I go to for my hall pass?

Me.

This is very interesting.

After the fall of the Alliance,

the Volsang raiders came together

under the leadership of a barbarian named Vortak.

They swept down from the north,

from Alaska, from the Yukon wastes, like a plague of locusts.

What, no one could stop them?

There was no central authority left.

No government with an army strong enough to withstand them.

But you survived.

Only through subterfuge.

By pretending to be a penniless, contemplative order.

But it's only a matter of time before the Volsangs come here too.

Yeah, but why? What would they want here?

For whomever they can enslave.

For whatever they can steal.

For the Great Work.

The record of all that our civilization ever achieved.

The sum total of our knowledge.

We must protect it from the barbarian darkness that swallows this world whole.

There's much here that the Volsangs could use against their enemies.

We must stop them.

In case of a Volsang siege,

this was built to provide us with a means of escape from the Sanctuary.

James, I appreciate the tour, but I want to see my friends now.

You will, Maggie. Here.

This way.

Mmm. It feels so good to breathe some fresh air.

I don't know why these Volsangs would want to bother you here.

What could this little island possibly have to interest a bunch of savages?

Well, the Volsangs are nothing if not thorough.

They would have come no matter what.

And all we can do, when and if the time comes, is try to appease them.

Where I come from, that never works.

It's better to fight than to give in.

Well, maybe you're just braver than I am.

I don't want you to leave, Maggie.

This is your home, James, not mine.

You'll be running from place to place, always looking behind you,

never knowing where you'll find yourself the next day.

It's my choice.

Things are going to change here very soon, Maggie.

But I will always be in a position to offer you a place of safety.

There's a kind of serenity here you've never known.

I'm sure of it.

We've all found it. So can you.

Reclaim your own life, Maggie.

I have my own life.

And I choose not to give it up.

What are those lights out there?

We must get back to the Sanctuary.

Come on.

Each of those disks contain hundreds of volumes of information.

What are they made of?

Dissolved silicates that we reprocess in the lab.

Makes a lot of sense, with all the crystal that we saw on the beach.

I've worked with silicate derivatives before. It's very fragile stuff.

Yes, that's true.

But we have nothing more durable,

and no other way to pack so much information into such a concentrated form.

There is a way.

I worked in a lab with a great scientist,

and we developed a form of crystal-silicate encryption.

All of this data can be stored on much less space.

Volsang raiders! They're comin' from the west!

Calm down!

They won't dare a night landing on the rocks.

We have till dawn to prepare.

It's too late for your idea, isn't it?

Not necessarily.

If I can jerry-rig the laser,

I might be able to encrypt all of this data on a single quartz crystal.

Like the one in the refectory.

It could work.

Could you go get it for me?

Yes.

We're coming with you.

All right, everybody, listen up.

I want all of your data streams put on the same binary line now.

Samuel.

See to the upper parapets.

Open the armaments room,

and I'll activate the self-destruct on the vault.

A self-destruct system is now activated.

There's nowhere to run, Maggie.

I don't run.

You'll be safe with me.

And why is that?

You know something about these Volsang raiders that no one else does?

Even if there were a chance that I would stay here with you,

do you really think I would after you betray your own people?

Please, don't leave me, Maggie.

I'm the only one that can save you.

No.

I'm the only one.

Go ahead! See what the Volsang raiders do with you!

Remmy, Mallory, get down!

Wait!

They're aimin' a little high!

I'm trying not to take this personally.

What's goin' on, you guys?

The Keepers have a library underground.

Diana's trying to get them to save it.

Yeah, well I'd rather save my own life.

Let's go! Go!

The Volsangs are inside the reef.

We have weapons here.

Are you all right?

Yeah, I think so. How much more time do you need?

Almost done.

What can we do to help?

We help give her the time. We slide in 20 minutes.

Come with me.

That's practically all of them.

If they break through,

hit the detonator.

They must not get the Work.

I hope these people know what they're in for.

Had you not come so unexpectedly.

I've not had time to lay the groundwork.

There will probably be some resistance.

You hear that? There might be fighting!

What a shock!

And the Great Work, which I promised you, it's not yet done.

- Had you just waited. - I've waited long enough.

It's time you earned your keep.

Now, let's see the inside of the Sanctuary.

You promised me resistance.

Am I going to be disappointed?

No.

Keeper James, why did you betray us?

So not to betray the Great Work.

It was the only way to save it.

Now, if you surrender now, they'll spare your life.

I have their promise.

Is that what you told the inhabitants on the Isle of Anacapa?

I don't remember talking to them at all.

You can leave now in peace.

Or what?

No!

You'll be okay, Father It's gonna be all right now.

Save yourself, Son. Save yourself.

And you, I can save you, too.

It was... It was always hard for me...

It was always hard for me to say the things I should have said.

I heard them anyway, Father.

Guard the Great Work from the barbarians.

Come on. There's nothing more you can do here.

We can't hold them here, Seth.

Yes, we can. I can fight them.

Down below. We've got to go down below.

Come on.

Okay, we're done.

Now we've got to find a way to get it out of here.

And off the island.

There's a tunnel to the outside.

James took me through it from the infirmary,

and he's hidden a boat out there under some seaweed.

Could you get there, Seth?

Yes, I could take someone there.

But I'm not leaving the island.

There's no time to argue now, Seth. You have to go.

The only way you can defeat them now is by protecting the Great Work.

By doing what your father died trying to do.

He's right, Seth.

If you want to beat 'em, you have to get that crystal out of here.

You've got to help him.

You can't stay here either.

But what about you?

Don't worry about me. I've got plans of my own.

You two get going before it's too late.

Through the tunnel.

Kill 'em if they move.

More slaves to sell.

And that, is that the Great Work?

Yes.

Correction. That was the Great Work.

No!

Put him with the rest of 'em.

No, you can't do this! I can fix it!

I can put it back together again! No!

You must be new in town.

Fourteen seconds.

Well, I have no idea what price these newcomers will fetch.

Maybe I oughta keep them myself.

I'm sure we'll find some use for 'em.

For two of 'em, anyway.

Well, we would love to stay and help out.

But we really must be going.

And we were just getting to know each other.

Before you leave, make sure you clean up this mess!

Sara, don't be afraid. Come on.

Have you sailed a boat before?

No. But I transcribed the nautical section of the Great Work.

Which way should we go?

Let's try to find the City of Angels.

Where are we?

Looks like somebody's office.

Somebody big.

Let's get in a drawer or something.

I don't want to be around when that somebody big answers that.