¶Music
[Ambient sounds and music]
MAN: I know
deep down if I don't do this,
I'll never be able to truly live my life,
and always feel like I'm not really here,
like it's a...
a dream.
How deep do you think it is?
One elephant.
TOGETHER: Two elephant, three elephant,
four elephant, five elephant.
Was that a splash?
I think so.
It must be well over 100 feet deep.
Maybe even a mile.
Silly goosey.
Silly gander.
Do you think it leads to China?
More likely Australia.
Or perhaps to another world.
One where dinosaurs rule the earth.
( roar )
BOY: What are you two doing?
We weren't doing anything.
You're not supposed to play by the well.
We were just exploring.
Bet you're too scared to climb down.
Bet you are, too. I'm not.
But your mother wants you.
It's lunch time.
Race you.
He makes me rather uncomfortable.
I know, dear, but I met him such a long time.
It seems rude not to invite him.
He was in your husband's regiment, wasn't he?
Actually, he worked for some
cloak and dagger outfit as an interrogator.
All very hush-hush.
He used to complain about the bishop.
He doesn't strike me as the religious type.
As in the chess piece, you play the very subtle...
Hmm.
May I say, you ladies are looking radiant.
Thank you, Robert.
Please help yourself to some more food.
Oh, I've had sufficient, thank you.
Ah, well, then perhaps you'd be
so kind as to fetch us a drop more champagne.
Jolly well played.
Checkmate, I believe.
Hello, look who's here?
Stephen and Conrad, always as competitors.
Sometimes they see more like the brothers than cousins.
You had a head start.
Stephen, take Conrad inside and wash up for lunch.
And, you young lady, you better scrub those nails.
Yes, mother.
¶Music
Thanks, Victoria.
Hey, who's that man?
I bet he's a mad inventor.
Or a brilliant professor.
I'm sorry to disturb you.
But I was out for my walk
and I seemed to have got a little over heated.
I don't suppose I could trouble you
for a glass of water.
Of course. Come and sit for a while.
Stephen, will you fetch a plate of food
and a glass of water for...
The professor?
Yes, yes.
You can call me Professor.
This is really very kind of you.
Not at all.
Would you prefer lemonade, Professor?
You know, there's nothing in the world
I would like more than for you
to pour me a glass of that
delicious looking lemonade.
Thank you.
May I get you anything else, Professor?
Oh, no. Thank you.
You've done more than enough for me already.
Mother, the professor has been telling us
about time travel.
He says it's quite possible.
Well, theoretically, of course.
My father used to say
that the difference between theory and fact
is that the former could make you money,
whilst the later actually does.
Yes.
But what use is money without love?
I shall give you a demonstration.
My dear, can you fetch me some card,
scissors and string?
Now imagine
the slits in this card are incredibly thin.
So thin, in fact, they had no height.
Now lead your partners forward
in one direction only, please.
Now if you'll keep your heads even.
Don't look up or down.
You will see the world
as a creature that lives in one dimension.
Now what do you see, Victoria?
Just a little bit of blurry green and some brown.
You see, creatures that live in this world
have no concept of left or right or up or down.
They can only go forward and backward.
But now, my little one-dimensional creatures,
imagine suddenly learning
of a second dimension of left and right.
Now what do you see now, Victoria?
Greens and yellows and blues and browns
all rushing by like on a train.
Jane dear, could you turn on the gramophone?
Now, my two-dimensional friends,
it's time to enter the third dimension.
One, two, three.
Two, two, three.
One, two, three. Two, two, three.
Now I see the trees better than ever.
The grass is beautiful.
Now we are beings that can only see three dimensions.
We cannot see the fourth dimension
because our mask, as it were, won't allow it.
Now I believe the fourth dimension to be time.
Now although we cannot see time,
perhaps we can manipulate it.
Oh, could I borrow your skipping rope?
Now imagine young Stephen to be the beginning of a life.
He gets older and older and older
and he, like me, is an old man.
Now this is how we perceive time,
like a straight line from birth to death.
Conrad, could you hold midway between us?
However, if I could simply fold the fourth dimension,
I could travel to a different time.
One should always say goodbye.
We had quite the day.
Mother,
will the professor come back for his spectacles then?
I would think so, dear.
Was father a great scientist too?
A great, great scientist.
Will you tell me about him?
Are you ready?
TOGETHER: Get, set, go.
I'm getting dizzy.
Me, too.
Can we go the other way around?
No, it's a one-way street.
Whoa!
STEPHEN: And I shall build us a castle over there.
VICTORIA: And I will be your queen, of course.
And the professor shall be your advisor.
Yes, and Conrad the court jester.
Oh, Goosey, I wish life could be like this forever.
Don't be silly, Gander.
Nothing's forever,
except, of course, we'll always be madly in love.
Conrad, you beast, I shall give you a hiding.
Boy, I give in.
I surrender.
Here comes the tickle bug.
Stop. Please, mercy.
Only if you say, I'm the greatest.
No, say, I'm the greatest.
I'm the greatest.
No, say, Victoria is the greatest
and I must obey her.
All right. All right.
Victoria is the greatest and I must obey her.
That's better.
Ahoy there!
You should climb down and see how deep it is.
Don't be stupid.
It's dangerous.
Sometimes you've just got to take a chance.
No.
Scaredy cat.
Stephen's afraid of the well.
Come on, Stephen,
you can just go down a little bit and have a look.
No, mother would kill us.
I'm not afraid of your mother.
Well, I certainly am.
I bet you'd go if Victoria asked you.
Come on, let's put the cover back.
Bet you'd go in if I dropped this.
Give it back, Conrad.
Make me.
Oh, no, it's so heavy, I can't hold it.
You idiot.
I didn't mean to.
Stop it.
What did you do that for?
Stop it.
You boys, get yourselves inside now.
And cleaned up.
And, Victoria, you better get home.
These two won't be playing outside any more today.
One elephant, two elephant, three elephant,
four elephant, five elephant.
I'm sorry.
I know it's hard having Conrad stay with us.
But you must try your best to make him feel welcome.
He's had a tough life so far.
I know.
I'll try much harder.
I do like him.
I know you do, darling.
Going out to play with Victoria.
After breakfast, young man.
And I want you to take Conrad with you
when you go out to play.
Yes, mother.
And they score.
We're gonna win the Ashes.
( indistinct yelling )
Victoria, come out.
Where are you?
She's not here.
Victoria.
Victoria, where are you?
She's probably hiding.
You think I could be a professional rugby player?
Probably, if you tried hard enough.
I might prefer to be a soldier though.
Victoria.
Victoria!
You're still gonna be a soldier?
Don't know.
After all, it didn't work out
that well for our fathers, did it?
Mine would be a scientist.
I know.
I could help you if you like.
Goosey!
You're going to be late.
Yes, mother.
Oh, sorry.
Oh.
( clock ticking )
So sorry I'm late.
Now, class, I would like to introduce Stephen.
He has without doubt the most brilliant mind
it has ever been my privilege to get to know.
Stephen.
Thank you, Dr. Schmidt.
( Stephen clearing throat )
So who likes physics?
My calculations suggest
that there are many universes.
Actually, an infinite number of them
all existing in parallel.
Now I believe that every single possible
combination of events has happened already,
is happening right now,
and will happen again
in the future somewhere in these universes.
Yes, Victoria?
Annie.
Sorry.
Annie, yes.
You mentioned that you don't believe
that time travel would affect the future.
Can you explain that?
Yes.
If we take...
Imagine we're at a fork in the road of time
and each of these forks
represents a different universe.
I could take the left fork and leave this orange be
or I could take the right fork and squash the orange
with my shoe.
Well, the orange didn't squash but you get what I mean.
Thanks.
I believe, however, that both these forks or universes
still exist.
My choosing to squash the orange
doesn't mean that the normal orange squash
universe suddenly vanishes, ergo,
going back in time and changing something
doesn't actually affect the future
because every possible future still exists.
Are you sure about that, Stephen?
Yes.
Well, I'm 99% sure.
So if every possible combination of events
exists somewhere then there must be a universe
identical to this one, except, that the orange...
Is called an apple.
Yes.
And on that note, I think we should thank Stephen
and allow him to eat what is left of his lunch.
And, class, don't forget that Stephen will be giving
the second part of his lecture at the same time next week.
Thank you.
Oh, Stephen, I almost forgot.
This came down from the grants board.
They've rejected my funding request again.
Oh, well, look on the bright side.
In some parallel universe you've probably got
more research funds than you can use.
But seriously though, Stephen, the board's worried about you.
I'm worried about you. I'm fine.
You're pushing yourself too hard.
Please, don't make that mistake again.
I'm fine, really.
I think this young lady wants to talk to you
about your lecture.
So I'll leave you in peace.
TOGETHER: Annie.
Yes.
Conrad, this is our new assistant Annie.
Good to have you aboard, Annie.
You know we can't pay you.
Stephen explained.
Poor as church mice and all that.
Come on an exciting day then.
So I've heard, big test.
Here we go then.
Fingers crossed, 38th time lucky.
Annie, do you ever have deja vu?
Yes, I had it today actually.
It's the strangest feeling.
Oh, I think occasionally human beings catch a glimpse
of the fourth dimension.
Sort of, ripples in time like deja vu.
You actually think I glimpsed another dimension?
Exactly.
Of course, most of the time, we can't see these ripples.
Our brain just can't process that sort of information.
So we subconsciously brought them out.
But this machine helps us focus in on them.
( machine whirring )
Conrad, so the destination is our garden 15 years ago.
It's going to work.
(machine whirring builds up)
It's going to work.
Quickly, Conrad.
How bad is it?
I've told him time and time again
we need money to buy some decent components.
Not this second-hand rubbish.
Can you pass me that please?
Oh, good, it's completely buggered.
You fancy a drink?
So how many grants have you applied for?
It feels like a hundred.
If you can't get a grant,
how about looking for a benefactor?
Well, there is one potential investor
we've known since we were children.
Renowned army colleague of our father's
but Stephen's dead set against it.
Why?
He doesn't want anyone else calling the shots.
Maybe I should talk to him again then.
Conrad, what is it?
Can't help feeling that it's my fault.
If I hadn't dropped Victoria's rope
then Stephen wouldn't be obsessed with this.
But you said it was an accident.
Don't know.
It all seems such a blur.
No one blames you.
You were just a child.
I would have climbed down to fetch it for her.
Ah, you must be Annie.
Conrad's told me all about you.
I'm Jane, Stephen's mother.
It's lovely to meet you.
How is he?
Lost in his own little world.
Why don't you sit with him for a while?
Annie, just don't get too attached.
Watching the ripples?
I see her sometimes.
She must have been very special.
Sometimes everything seems so make-believe,
so unreal.
Like you're dreaming and not really here.
If I hadn't have been too scared to go down the well
and get her skipping rope, she'd still be alive.
But you might not be.
I failed her.
Stephen, remember Robert?
Hello, Stephen.
Robert and I had a chat the other day...
about our financial predicament.
I see.
Stephen, we need to replace half of these components.
Well, we can apply for a grant.
And get turned down again.
Conrad's explained to me that you're not
that keen on accepting my money.
We could have a state-of-the-art lab,
a paid staff.
Stephen, I admire your conviction.
Chip off the old block if I may say so.
But I have very deep pockets and I'm sure
we can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.
The answer is no.
How about I just make out a check to you right now?
Call it a donation, gesture of good faith.
There's a lot more where that came from.
Stephen, we could be rich.
Yeah, I'm not doing this for the money.
Just because you don't want it,
what about the rest of us?
I'm sick of being a glorified assistant
in this dilapidated workshop.
I just don't trust him.
At times you just need to take a chance.
I know you blame me for Victoria's death
and this is just another way of making me pay.
ANNIE: What's going on?
CONRAD: Ask him.
Morning.
Hello.
What's on the agenda?
With decent components
do you think you could get the machine working?
I'm so close.
I thought you'd say that.
Ta-da.
Where did you get all this?
I borrowed them.
Where from?
The university.
Annie, what were you thinking?
I thought you'd be pleased.
No, you could get expelled.
You could get arrested.
Stephen, I'm trying to help you
get over your bloody obsession
and actually get on with living your life.
¶Classical Music
Gin and tonic, please.
Double? Please.
One of those days?
You look like you could use some company.
Thanks.
Cheers.
One, two...
Oh, my God.
Snap.
(laughter)
I just need a little drink.
Conrad, where are we?
In my room.
( whispers ) What?
What were you thinking?
How could you bring me here?
Annie, nothing happened. I slept in the chair.
What if somebody saw us?
Nobody saw us. You...
Shh!
You know this sort of thing
could ruin a girl's reputation.
I'm going to be late for class.
Annie, actually,
Annie, look,
I know that we've only known each other a very short while,
but there's something
that I wanted to talk to you about.
Afternoon.
Annie, I'm...I'm sorry.
I can be a bit of a stubborn idiot sometimes.
Yes, you can.
So you have decided to swallow your pride
and use the parts then.
Well, I thought if you're going to prison for theft,
I might as well try and get some mileage out of the loot.
And if it works, you could always go back
and return the parts before the university even notice.
Except changing the past
wouldn't actually affect the future.
TOGETHER: As every possible future exists.
Are you sure about that, Stephen?
Yes. Well, 99% sure.
Friends again?
Friends again.
Oh.
Were you serious when you said you could get me
a professorship at the university?
If the machine works,
I'll get you a bloody knighthood.
A fully equipped laboratory facility.
Best in the country.
Sit yourself down, lad.
Let's have a proper chat about your future.
I was a scientist myself once.
It's not too late for you, you know.
You don't have to make the same mistakes
as your father.
Great man that he was.
Great man.
Blaze your own path,
step out from under Stephen's shadow.
You need to take control of your life.
I wanted to apologize...
about losing my temper the other night.
You know, he has been very good to me.
You're pathetic, weak,
just like your father was.
You need to grow up.
Your kind make me sick,
No guts. Spineless.
( muttering )
I'm worried about him.
He's been behaving really oddly.
Perhaps, he's in...in love.
I'm sorry, Conrad.
I was only saying those things
because you've got so much potential.
I hate to see you waste your life just being
Stephen's assistant.
You should let me help you.
We could do great things together, you and I.
Women love the smell of success.
You would have Annie falling all over you in no time.
Really?
CONRAD: Right.
I think we're ready to run some initial tests.
Should we wait until the morning?
You're awfully patient all of a sudden.
All right then, call it a night.
I could do with a bath.
I didn't want to say.
I'm gonna finish up a few things here,
then I'll be off home.
Oi, you sure?
Yup.
Thanks. Night then.
Night.
( opera music playing )
I can finish up here if you want to get going.
I like being alone with you.
Annie, how do you think your reputation
would cope if you were to marry
a brilliant professor?
What on earth are you talking about?
Robert's offered me a deal.
I'd have my own lab.
We never have to worry about money again.
Stephen, what is it?
How could I have been so stupid?
So sorry.
I knew he was up to something.
No, it's not your fault.
You did point out he was behaving oddly.
I suppose Robert is behind all this.
Do you know where he lives?
No.
I do.
He's got an old farmhouse on Mill road.
Horrid taste in wallpaper though.
(low rumbling)
So this is what my money's bought me.
You know I'm not just in for the money, don't you?
Yes, yes, for the respect and recognition you deserve,
blah, blah, blah, et cetera.
Shall we fire her up then?
¶Music
Once the portal is warmed up and ready,
I'll be able to capture moments in time here.
As soon as the image is captured,
I'll pass you the portal for a few minutes.
It doesn't actually matter how long you stay inside for,
it will take place in a few seconds.
So one could spend a week inside and come back
only a few seconds later?
Yes.
Almost, yes.
Marvelous.
Let's go back a few months.
Simple test this time.
( machine whirring )
It's time.
Conrad.
Ah, Stephen,
just in time to see the birth of time travel.
Step away, Conrad.
I said step away or I'll kill your girlfriend.
Stephen,
change the destination, your house,
a few weeks before the war should do.
The signal is not strong enough to go that far back.
Just be a good boy and do it.
He's telling the truth.
Eenie, meenie, miney, mo...
All right, all right, I'll do it. I'll do it.
Please, it's not safe.
Daddy knows best.
It's worked.
Shouldn't he be back by now?
There's something wrong.
Damn, Conrad!
Help me.
Where is he?
Nowhere.
For how long?
Decades, maybe more.
Stephen, you'll regret this.
My work destroyed a life.
It wasn't your fault.
Whose fault was it then?
His, Conrad's, nobody's.
It's my machine, it's my fault.
What about Victoria?
I can't go in.
YOUNG STEPHEN: And I shall build us a castle over there.
VICTORIA: And I will be your queen.
YOUNG STEPHEN: Goosey, I wish life could be like this forever.
VICTORIA: Don't be silly, Gander, nothing's forever,
except of course, we'll always be madly in love.
( Victoria laughing )
STEPHEN: And I believe that every single possible
combination of events has happened already...
is happening right now...
and will happen again in future...
somewhere in these universes.
VICTORIA: Don't be silly, Gander, nothing is forever.
YOUNG STEPHEN: And I shall build us a castle over there.
VICTORIA: And I will be your queen.
STEPHEN: I know deep down if I don't do this,
I'll never be able to truly live my life...
and always feel like I'm not really here,
like it's a... a dream.
( indistinct chatter )
STEPHEN: And I believe that every single
possible combination of events has happened already,
is happening right now...
and will happen again...
somewhere in these universes.
( Stephen gasping )
( Stephen crying )
STEPHEN: Goosey!
I just...I thought if I went down there
and said goodbye...
It's not enough.
I haven't done this since you were a little boy.
Something to help you sleep.
I love you, Stephen.
Was Robert my father?
All those stories you used to tell me
about him being a great scientist,
were they all lies?
DR. SCHMIDT: The mind is a funny thing, Stephen.
It only sees what it wants to see.
Sometimes it tries to protect us,
hiding reality under a cloak of fiction.
Stephen, according to your theory of parallel universes,
there must be one in which you, not Victoria,
has climbed down the well, a universe in which you were
trapped for several hours
struggling to stay afloat in the dark.
That experience would have been
so traumatic that after your rescue,
you would have slipped into a catatonic state,
a state from which only occasional sounds
from outside could penetrate.
You'll be stuck in a world
in which you were continuously
creating the rich fantasy of imaginary events
built from memories and snippets of consciousness.
Does such a universe exist?
Yes.
DR. SCHMIDT: Stephen, have you ever thought
that perhaps you are in that universe?
STEPHEN: I'm getting dizzy.
VICTORIA: Me, too.
STEPHEN: Can we go the other way around?
VICTORIA: No, it's a one-way street.
Whoa.
Annie, do you think you can get more parts
from the university? Why?
Well, I need to do some calculations
but I've had an idea.
These might help then.
Annie, you're brilliant.
I know.
Uh, we need more space.
Tea, dear?
Oh, yes, please, mother.
What do you think of this?
Very nice, dear.
I don't suppose you have seen anything of Conrad.
Oh.
Will you please behave?
This is a serious business.
Yes, sir.
This is our weak link.
As we can't hold the image for long,
we have two basic issues.
The first of which is getting to our destination
as quickly as possible.
And the second?
Well, holding the image long enough
to make a return journey.
So we need speed, hence the well.
Hence.
No one says hence anymore.
You're making fun of me.
Who me?
Get you out.
( indistinct murmuring )
You ready? Yeah.
Like that.
Ready?
Yes, okay, yeah, got it.
Got it, just there.
Okay.
Oh!
Gotcha!
Right.
Annie, am I imagining all this?
All of what?
You, the machine, everything.
What gives you that idea?
It's just something Dr. Schmidt said.
But perhaps you just imagined what he said.
Reasonable point.
Annie.
What?
If I am imagining all this,
perhaps Victoria is still alive,
perhaps I'm just lying in a bed somewhere,
dreaming all this up,
hearing people talk occasionally.
Perhaps.
Are you Victoria?
That's a peculiar question.
If I said yes, would you actually believe it?
No.
It would mean I had imagined all this.
Well, then just as well I'm not Victoria.
But how do I know I didn't just imagine you saying that?
Imagine this.
Stephen?
Where have you been?
It wasn't my fault.
You tried to steal somebody else's work.
I was confused.
Robert told me that if I proved
the machine worked then he would return it
and that he would fund my own research.
You need to leave before Stephen sees you.
You mean sees us...
together.
Is that what you're afraid of?
It's beautiful.
It is.
Stephen dear?
Yes, mother.
What exactly is it?
Well, it's a...it's a map.
A map of the route I'm going to travel.
Wobbly connects to the...
Connects to the shiny one.
You're being annoyingly perky today.
Oi.
Do you ever wonder if you're doing the right thing,
making the right choices?
I think everyone has doubts from time to time.
But it always passes.
I know deep down if I don't do this,
I'll never be able to truly live my life.
I'd always feel like I'm not really here,
like it's a dream.
JANE: Have you told him about the party?
ANNIE: Oh, your mother and I thought
it might be nice to have a launch party
to celebrate all this hard work.
STEPHEN: Am I invited?
JANE: We'll have to see about that.
STEPHEN: Well, you two have a think about it.
I'm off to practice my routes.
( dog barking )
It is funny how men and confusion
seem to travel hand in hand.
Have you spoken to Stephen about this?
I keep telling myself I will,
but it just never seems to be the right time.
It never is, dear.
It never is.
Why don't you try counting time?
It used to help me with my ballet steps.
Really, mother, it's a bit more complex than ballet.
I told him counting time would work.
You're a wise woman, Jane.
I know.
Could you help me do my half of the party?
Yes.
And put a flower there.
I do worry about him.
I don't suppose there's anything
you could do to talk him out of this.
Love to.
But if I persuaded him and he had any regrets,
no matter how hard he tried not to,
he'd blame me in the end.
You are a wise woman, Annie.
And you're right.
Obsession is a bit of a family trait.
You two have become very close.
Stephen.
Yes.
You said there were two issues.
Getting enough speed to pass through...
Yes.
And the return journey.
You're not coming back, are you?
It is not possible...
because it's a one-way street.
Annie, I'm so sorry.
So what makes you think you could even survive
in these other dimensions?
Well, I don't think we can for long.
I imagine sooner or later
I'll fall into a hole in a dimension
I can't see,
but hopefully, my luck will hold
and I'll have a little bit of time
before that happens.
After all this planning, all these calculations,
you're saying it's down to luck?
Insane, isn't it?
But somehow I think I'm gonna have enough time there.
Insane?
It's an interesting choice of word, Stephen.
Dr. Schmidt, I assure you I'm quite sane.
Then I suppose I would say that, wouldn't I?
Well, yes.
After all, one makes one's own reality.
Or one's own fantasy.
I suppose there's really only one way to find out.
You sure you won't reconsider?
I spent a lifetime working for this.
Well, goodbye, Stephen
and the very best of luck.
Thank you.
Still watching your ripples?
Are you ready to leave?
As ready as I'll ever be.
How long will it take?
I don't know.
Seconds...
decades.
Perhaps an eternity.
An eternity?
For a few moments together?
Yes.
When you were a little boy,
I promised myself I would never stop you from doing
whatever you wanted with your life.
I've changed my mind. Mother.
Please, don't go.
Those days with Victoria, that was the happiest
I've ever been.
When were you happiest?
The day you were born.
And that's a mother's answer.
When before then?
With your father a few weeks before the war started.
Was father a great scientist, too?
A great, great scientist.
Will you tell me about him?
Thank you so much.
Thank you, sir.
Bye.
( machine whirring )
This is it then.
Just for luck.
Thanks for everything.
It's Conrad.
Stop it.
What did you do that for?
Stop it, boys. Stop it!
The only thing I ever wanted.
Conrad, calm down.
Calm down.
You don't get to tell me what to do.
Take a good look.
Are you sure that's what you want?
I never meant to drop Victoria's skipping rope.
I would have climbed down to fetch it for her.
I know.
I know you would have.
I'm so sorry.
But this time I get to be the first one.
I spent my whole life working for this...
but suddenly I'm not so sure.
Annie, I'm falling in love with you.
Stephen.
Ask me to stay.
You're the most wonderful man I've ever met...
but I'm not falling in love with you.
I've been so foolish.
I'm sorry.
I know deep down if I don't do this,
I'll never be able to truly live my life
and always feel like I'm not really here.
I'm not falling in love with you.
I am in love with you.
STEPHEN: One elephant, two elephant.
TOGETHER: Three elephant, four elephant,
five elephant.
Goodbye, Gander.
Goodbye, Goosey.
Stephen, I thought you said
that going back in time
and changing something would not affect the future
as every possible future already exists.
99% sure.
But, Conrad, you were the one that said sometimes
you've just got to take a chance.
Can I have my jacket back?
It's getting chilly.
¶Music