want now is to find a way of living forever.
- Hmm.
All we have to do
is knock out a few planets for target practice,
then name our own terms.
We can have whatever we want!
- Think of it.
- Yes.
I'll have an imperial palace
with solid diamond floors,
and a bodyguard of a 1,000 handpicked virgins
in red fur uniforms.
Vila's Royal Mounties.
You're dreaming again.
A man has a right to dream.
Anyway, what's to stop us?
I suppose it will get boring
after the first 50 years, eh?
What's the matter with you?
I was thinking about Pinder, and the way he said,
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, ma'am."
Is that worrying you?
Listen, if it'll set your mind at rest,
I never thought you were a woman.
He said it as though it were a phrase
he had been taught.
Maybe Egrorian gives him lessons in etiquette
as well as judo.
Or perhaps he has been taught
that is the way to address a stranger.
Servalan, for instance.
Servalan? She wouldn't do any deals with Egrorian.
He's like us, outside the Federation.
We know how much she would like
to get her hands on Orac.
Not enough to hand us a weapon
like the tachyon funnel.
No. That's why this time, Vila,
I think we have to play this one very cagily.
- It went well, Highness.
- It did not!
That fool of yours made Avon suspicious.
He accepted it as a simple slip of the tongue.
Any slip is dangerous
when one is dealing with Avon.
But he took the bait! He's bringing Orac here.
- After that, my plan is infallible.
- I hope so, Egrorian.
I've waited a long time for this.
His death is a mathematical certainty.
The product of a simple equation.
It would be so easy now
to train the tachyon funnel on Scorpio.
They'd be dead in a millisecond.
But Orac would be destroyed, too.
My scheme gives you possession
of both the computer and the tachyon funnel.
With both, no dream is impossible.
Supreme ruler again, Highness,
with me constantly by your side.
Your most loyal and, dare I say it,
loving consort.
When I regain power you will be well rewarded.
I shall appoint you my Chief Minister for Science.
Servalan, my steel queen, my empress,
the only reward I crave
is a place in your affections.
But you already have that, Egrorian!
Ten years ago I risked my position
to help you continue your work.
And not a day has passed since then
that I have not yearned for the time
when I would be able to repay your trust
by laying all the world and the galaxy at your feet.
Oh, get up!
All I wanted in return
was a little kindness.
So, you want to barter the tachyon funnel
for a partnership.
A connubial partnership, Servalan.
Why not? Alone you are formidable enough,
but together we would stand like mountains.
I have never shared power with anyone.
The tachyon funnel is power,
and I don't have to share it with anyone,
not even you.
But I am a man of generous nature,
especially in matters of the heart.
It will be time enough
to discuss the future, Egrorian,
when you deliver both Orac
and the tachyon funnel.
I, too, can be generous.
But just remember,
I punish failure as quickly
as I reward success.
I could see Avon was out of his depth,
so I said, "Tachyons are particles
that travel faster than light."
- That shook him.
- Oh, I can imagine.
Oh, yes, once he realised he was dealing
with someone who knew a bit about the subject
his manner changed completely.
How does this tachyon funnel actually work, Vila?
- How does it work?
- Yes.
Unless you can grasp the laws of parallel physics,
it's not easy to explain.
I see.
Tell us about the laws of parallel physics, Vila.
Soolin, the only thing you ever grasped was a gun.
Do you want to get brain damage?
The way I see it, if you can understand
parallel physics, anyone can.
Unlike some people around here,
I don't boast about my abilities.
- I keep them hidden.
- You certainly do.
Orac is loaded, Vila. We're ready to go.
Avon, is it really worth losing Orac
for this new weapon?
I