#s8m20

[zrtranscripts]

Season 8, Mission 20: Live From The Underground

The Trouble With Tunnels

~

CASPER BRAAM: This cave seems to go on forever, doesn't it, Five? And is it my imagination, or... there are lots of red highlights on the walls.

JANINE DE LUCA: I believe Miss Dempsey's warnings were accurate, Mr. Braam. There are lines of red fungus in the cave walls. It's fortunate we thought to bring emergency hand flares.

SAM YAO: Yeah, except the orange glow is adding to the creepiness. Still, on the bright side, now that Frances has the password, she and Casper will be able to read through all Van Ark's research on the red fungus. And find a cure for Janine. Oh, and we found out that Mor Island is apparently where the red fungus comes from.

SHONA REID: Aye, Sam, if we trust what was in those lab computers. Casper, lad, you – you doing okay, there?

CASPER BRAAM: I uh, yes. Sorry, just a little breathless is all. What about you, Janine? You've run ragged on Dearg. The longer it takes you to get rested and hydrated, the more damage the nanites in your system can do.

JANINE DE LUCA: [coughs] Indeed. Vision is fuzzy, but I'm calling on all my reserves.

SAM YAO: We just need to follow the tunnel. Like Frances said, it's supposed to lead straight to Mor Island.

SHONA REID: We must be getting close by now. I'll know my island when I see it.

CASPER BRAAM: I think... [coughs] I just... [coughs] Oh my God... [coughs]

SAM YAO: Uh, guys, Casper's really not looking well here. Oh no. Look at his arm. There's something growing in there. It's fungus. Red fungus.

SHONA REID: He said something vegetable-smelling fell on him in the storage area. It smelled like celery.

SAM YAO: Crap! That stuff that smells like celery is a fungal accelerant! It'll have made the red fungus in his system grow incredibly quickly.

CASPER BRAAM: [coughs] So not just [coughs] out of shape. Oh God! [coughs]

SAM YAO: He's losing color. Eyes rolling back. Casper?

JANINE DE LUCA: Everybody, get back. He's turning V-type.

SAM YAO: There's fungus foaming out of his mouth. Oh God.

JANINE DE LUCA: We must get out of here. All of you, deeper into the tunnels. As fast as you can, run!

[zombie wheezes]

~

SAM YAO: Oh God, poor Casper. One minute, he's one of us, and the next... I never get used to that, Five. And you know how fast those V-types are. He won't be far behind us.

JANINE DE LUCA: [coughs] Mr. Yao, I'm having trouble focusing. Am I correct that those are cave paintings on the tunnel wall?

SHONA REID: Aye. I recognize the style. That one's the endless circle symbol of the isles, and that one looks like people dancing on a hilltop. They're symbols drawn by the first islanders, the ancients of this archipelago.

JANINE DE LUCA: You seem well-informed, Miss Reid.

SHONA REID: My mum was a mythologist. Moved here to study the isle and its past. That's how she met my dad. She used to love old Mor's myths and legends. Dad always says keeping hold of our history keeps her memory alive.

SAM YAO: Um, guys. There's fungus patches on the wall opposite the paintings. And also on the floor in the corners. It looks a bit like it's sort of shifting in this direction, like it's slowly growing towards us.

JANINE DE LUCA: The fungus has shown intelligence and adaptability in large quantities. There's a great deal in this tunnel. It may be reaching out, hoping to infect more of us. Stay away from the walls!

[zombie growls]

SAM YAO: And stay away from Casper! He's right behind us!

JANINE DE LUCA: With all this fungus around, he'll be intelligent as well as fast. Run!

~

JANINE DE LUCA: We've lost the V-type.

SAM YAO: Yeah, for now. Ignore any side branches, Five. Frances said to keep on straight. Oh man, there's a lot of fungus on the walls here. And on the ceiling. That wall looks more fungus than rock! The stuff must be strong enough to hold the ceiling up. Not to jinx it, but I'm surprised that zom hasn't caught us. V-types are fast, and -

SHONA REID: And Janine's not exactly moving at her quickest. Sorry, Janine.

JANINE DE LUCA: No need to apologize for an accurate assessment, Miss Reid.

SHONA REID: My dad always says when you're out hunting deer, keep your sights on the weakest animal. And know who's weakest in your herd, too. My dad can be a bit of a berk sometimes.

SAM YAO: Wow, okay, the tunnel's widening out a bit. There are sculptures carved out of boulders up against the walls. That one looks like a bird hatching from an egg. That one's a giant flower covered in thorns. I think I saw a drawing like that in Jones' Edda notes. It's funny... the walls are covered in fungus, but the sculptures aren't. Well, I guess the artists kept them clean.

JANINE DE LUCA: Not for many generations, Mr. Yao.

SHONA REID: They're carvings of island flora and fauna. The old Far Hebrideans had a close relationship with nature.

JANINE DE LUCA: It's hard for me to make out, but the sculptures appear decorated with streaks of silver mud. Perhaps the same rare substance we've seen before, the one Miss Dempsey mentioned, that the nanites in me are made from.

[distant rumbling]

SHONA REID: Did anyone else feel that? Like the cave just shook?

SAM YAO: Uh, okay, the whole cave's quaking and the fungus on the walls is sort of throbbing now.

JANINE DE LUCA: The fungus is shifting, displacing through the stone. It may be trying to bring the ceiling down on us. We must move quickly or we'll be buried. Run!

~

SHONA REID: Barely outran those falling rocks, Five. First the ice bridge, now this. Things really like to collapse on you Abel folk, huh? This bit of tunnel should be easier. There's only a little fungus here on the ceiling.

SAM YAO: There's a seriously impressive mural on the wall behind you, Five.

JANINE DE LUCA: My vision is near blurred, Mr. Yao. Detail would be appreciated.

SHONA REID: It's an outline of Mor Island and the surrounded archipelago painted in black and silver. That's Dearg over there, and Niomh. Some of these rock formations I dinnae know. They must have eroded since this map was made.

[zombie growls]

SAM YAO: Uh, guys. The tunnel widens into a cavern ahead of us, Janine. There's a cave branching to our left, and another to our right, and a big gorge right in front of us. Casper's standing right on the other side.

JANINE DE LUCA: Yes. I can discern his silhouette. He must have taken an indirect route through the caves, attempted to cut us off.

SAM YAO: His eyes are red, overgrown with fungus. His nails, too. That's not normal for a V-type, is it?

JANINE DE LUCA: Mor Island is apparently the origin of the red fungus. The V-types we've battled on the mainland had fungus mingled with Sigrid's modern zombie virus. The V-types here may exhibit divergent characteristics.

SHONA REID: That one doesnae look so dangerous. It's just staring.

JANINE DE LUCA: It may be waiting to see which direction we choose so it can intercept. Though it could have trapped us just as easily by chasing us directly... [sniffs] Do you smell that? Fresh air from the cave to our right. We're approaching an exit. All of you, that way.

[zombie growls]

SAM YAO: That got Casper's attention. He's lurching off toward a cave on his side of the gorge.

JANINE DE LUCA: We cannot be sure how aware the fungus is of the cave's geography. Fungal [miseleal] networks can extend for hundreds of miles. We must not let the zombie cut off our escape. Everyone, straight through that tunnel. Run!

~

JANINE DE LUCA: [coughs] Mr. Yao, I need to slow a moment. Breathing too painful. All vision gone in my left eye. The optic nerve must be a tempting target for the nanites.

SAM YAO: Okay, Janine. It's okay. Um, there's a boulder you can rest on here. No fungus in this cavern, just another big mural.

SHONA REID: This one's gorgeous. It's a landscape of Mor Island, but the sky overhead is split into different faces. A shining sun, rainfall, stars, and moon.

SAM YAO: Look. Look, in that corner, those look like pictures of people. That... that can't be right. They're all pictures of islanders we know.

JANINE DE LUCA: These cave paintings were left by ancient people, Mr. Yao. Hundreds, possibly thousands of years ago.

SAM YAO: Yeah, but look. That's definitely a picture of Morag. She's wearing that weird cloche hat of hers, and she's got a mole under her nose! Oh look, and there's the laird! And Chief Macallan! And there's all of us. There's Ellie. They've got her eyes just right. And Jones! And the Macleans, Jones' victims! People who died. Each of those pictures has a little symbol underneath it, the same one they use on their gravestones! Whoever did this, it wasn't Jones.

SHONA REID: Uh-oh! That zombie's back. He's on the other side of the cavern, leering out of a tunnel!

SAM YAO: That's weird. He isn't coming this way. He's just lurking in the tunnel mouth.

JANINE DE LUCA: Hypothesis, Mr. Yao. How far does the mural extend?

SAM YAO: All across the cave walls and floor. It stops at the threshold of the tunnel that zombie's in. Hold on. You don't think -

JANINE DE LUCA: The red fungus did not grow over the sculptures. It has not encroached on the murals. Both use the same silver paint. The V-type took a circuitous route in chasing us, perhaps to avoid the murals. The silver substance seems to be repulsive to Hebrides-variant V-types. It's true that the P-type in Veronica's lab absorbed nanites, but only after taking Mr. Lynn's abilities. An exposure caused it great distress. Either way, this is a valuable find. We must escape with it. Not to mention news of the disturbing cave paintings.

SAM YAO: There's another tunnel to our left. It's got a little outline of Mor Island beside it. That's got to be the exit! I can smell country air! The big mural doesn't extend into that tunnel. There's a lot of red fungus that way, covering the walls. It's shifting and surging on the rock.

JANINE DE LUCA: Attempting another cave in, no doubt. And our flare is running down. Quickly, all of you, before the fungus can block off our route. Down that tunnel, run!

~

[birds twitter]

SAM YAO: [breathes deeply] Oh, thank God. Never thought I'd be so glad to smell fresh air. Come on, Five. Let's help Janine up.

JANINE DE LUCA: [coughs] There's a stream over there, Five. If you would help me to it... Do not worry. I will drink slowly.

SAM YAO: There's silver mud all over the mouth of the cave. I guess that keeps the fungus in. Hold on, does this place look familiar to anyone else?

SHONA REID: This is the laird's estate. The manor is just over there. We're in my dad's back garden! The cave's behind a bunch of overgrown shrubberies.

SAM YAO: Right. Okay. Lots to process here. You're saying the laird has a tunnel in his garden that leads to mysterious fungus-y caves running under Mor Island? Caves full of paintings that inexplicably feature us, even though they're meant to be centuries old?

SHONA REID: My dad couldnae have known about this. He's never said a word to me! And the cave mouth's well-hidden. You could walk right by it without noticing.

JANINE DE LUCA: Those paintings of us were clearly added to the ancient murals by someone contemporary. Most likely Jones' accomplice. But why?

SAM YAO: Hmm. Someone was definitely here recently. There's shapes burned into the grass. More endless circle symbols. This is getting really creepy.

JANINE DE LUCA: Indeed. There is a design here. This island originated the red fungus and the Edda, and the missing fragment of the Edda describes the fruiting of the fungus. The two are inextricably linked. Whoever has the Edda is best placed to understand why. It's clear someone here has ambitions beyond Jones'. An ongoing plan. I believe the grave symbols beneath those faces marked targets, not trophies.

SAM YAO: What makes you think that?

JANINE DE LUCA: Because, Mr. Yao, my own face had such a mark beneath it.

~