Are you a monster?
Are you a freak?
Will you be my friend!
Or have you lost your way.
With trouble to pay,
When you come
to your journey's end?

Empyrium Lullaby, CY 8745

[Command]

HUNT: Well, for a panicked evacuation, that is clearly a mess.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Chaotic as it was, it's nearly complete. A few stragglers have yet to clear the atmosphere.
BEKA: What am I missing here? Why can't these people just remain calm?
HARPER: Yeah, that's easy for you to say, because you're not the one whose homeworld is doing the shake, rattle, and roll into oblivion.
BEKA: Yeah, poor Empyrium. That's one ball of mud that just can't cut a break. First, the Magog attack was devastating, now this.
ROMMIE: Still no indication of the source of the geological instability. Empyrium's scientists have compared the effects to tidal forces, but they're at a loss to explain it. And I'm at a loss to explain why one of our evacuees has turned around and headed back toward the planet.
HUNT: That's easy. They obviously have a death wish. Rommie, hail them, please.
ROMMIE: Aye, sir.
BEKA: Yep, never fails. Some mudfoot forgets his favorite nick-nack, and flies right back into the jaws of death.
ROMMIE: It's more likely looters and scavengers. The ship isn't responding to hails.
HUNT: Renegades or pirates, it really doesn't matter. These guys are idiots for going back to that planet.
ROMMIE: Well, we appear to have an answer to our hails.
HUNT: They're firing on us. Well, that's funny. All right, monitor their comms. Let's find out what they're up to.
ROMMIE: There's a lot of communication traffic cluttering up the bandwidth. It'll take a few seconds to sort through it all.
HUNT: Fine. Oh, in the meantime, let them know that we're still thinking about them.
ROMMIE: Firing a warning shot, aye.
TRANCE: Has anyone seen this? A new star.
ROMMIE: An uncharted brown dwarf has suddenly flared to life again.
HARPER: What? A star appearing out of nowhere? No, that doesn't just happen.
ROMMIE: If the dead remnants of a small star collide with a carbon asteroid, it can cause a flare-up.
TRANCE: It's a sign of welcome.
HARPER: Trance?
ROMMIE: Dylan, I've managed to filter through the competing signals.
HUNT: On screen.
(Lots of static.)
BEM [on viewscreen]: My journey ends before it begins. Lost, here, the last inhabitant of a dying world. And so I send this, my final plea, into the void. May the Divine hear me.
HUNT: Rev Bem.
BEM [on viewscreen]: My journey ends before it begins. Lost, here, the last inhabitant of a dying world.
BEKA: I can't believe it.
HARPER: Me neither. Rev's gone for over a whole year, and now boom! There he is.
BEM [on viewscreen]: Into the void. May the Divine hear me. My journey ends.
HARPER: That's it, that the whole message.
ROMMIE: It's repeating itself on a loop.
TRANCE: It's because of the star. Same with all the other problems on the planet. This is a good thing.
HARPER: Trance, you know I love you, but are you cracked?
HUNT: She's just trying to be optimistic.
HARPER: I send my final plea into the void. Yeah, it sounds optimistic to me. Why would he send that message?
BEKA: Desperation.
TRANCE: Redemption.
HARPER: Insanity.
HUNT: Yes. All of the above.
BEM [Hunt's memory]: When I was at the Krishnamurti novitiate, we had a place we called the Shouting Cliffs. Whenever the Way became too difficult, we would stand at those cliffs, and we would shout. Scream out all our frustrations, desires, hungers. All the things that held us back from our chosen course.
TYR: In the event that anyone is still interested, our target remains undeterred from its path back to Empyrium.
HUNT: Launch the sensor drones. Let's keep an eye on them.
HARPER: I don't get it, boss. Why here? Why is Rev on this planet?
HUNT: Andromeda, playback of Rev's farewell message to us.
HOLO-BEM [on viewscreen]: Ever since my time on the Magog Worldship, I've felt lost, confused. I don't have answers, but it's time I started asking the questions wherever they might lead. Until I see you all again, know this. Wherever my path may lead, even in the darkest places, I will carry you all in my heart. And you will light my way, always.
BEKA: This is where he expected to find his answers. This is where his path led him.
HARPER: Yeah, to a dead end on a dying planet, smack dab in the middle of freaking nowhere.
TRANCE: No, Harper, it's the star. He expects it to light the way back to where he belongs.
HUNT: Well, Trance, that would be great if he had some way of getting there, but his distress comm sends a different message.
ROMMIE: That's where Rev's signal is broadcasting from.
TYR: My guess would be that is also where the renegades intend to set down.
HARPER: Makes sense. It's right next to an abandoned port city, bordering on a mountain.
HUNT: Let's go get Rev. I'm not worried about the renegades.
TRANCE: I think if Rev finds them, he'll be teaching them a lesson anyway.
HARPER: Yeah, I know that drill. Maybe they'll take some pot shots at Rev, and he'll really teach them a lesson, huh?
TRANCE: Harper, it's not that kind of a lesson. He's following the star. It's leading him.
HARPER: Maybe, Trance, but there are two sides to every story.
TRANCE: There are more than two sides to every story. That's what makes a good fable.
HARPER: I don't believe in fables.
TRANCE: Believing is everything. That is exactly what Rev Bem is doing. All fables must come to an end.
BEM [Harper's memory]: Harper, I, I have seen your nightmares, and I understand my role in them. Please. Please, Harper, accept my apology. Forgive me.
HARPER [Harper's memory]: It's not you, Rev. It's just every time I look at you, all I can see is people dying. What do I do, Rev? How do I make it stop?
BEM [Harper's memory]: You need the one thing that all your knowledge cannot provide. Wisdom.
HARPER: all right, when are we leaving, boss?
HUNT: Nice try, Mister Harper.
HARPER: But.
HUNT: Harper, I can't afford to take you down there. Too many intangibles. Besides, I want to know that your brain is up here.
HARPER: Why can't Rommie
TRANCE: Harper, when has arguing ever helped a situation?
HARPER: Arguing? Not very often. But whining, please? Okay, but make sure you bring him back, okay?
HUNT: Okay.
ROMMIE: Dylan, we've got bigger problems than geological instability and a gang of looters. I've discovered the source of the tidal forces on Empyrium. A point singularity.
TYR: How did a point singularity bomb end up inside the planet?
HARPER: Maybe it's been there all along since the last Magog raids, waiting to detonate like a time delay point singularity bomb.
HUNT: Or maybe whoever put it there is counting on us to come for Rev.
TRANCE: I think it's the same kind of power that's commanding Rev.
HARPER: Good power, as in a happy ending, or bad power, as in oh my god what the hell are we doing here?
BEKA: Look, it's all bad. It's either flesh eating Magog, or exploding planets, or renegade scum, or some otherwise insidious agent of the Abyss. On the other hand, it's Rev.
TRANCE: He's seeking.
HUNT: He's there all right, and my guess is he's all alone.

[Town]

BEM: I must continue. I must persevere. Journey's end.
(He hears a noise.)
BEM: Is someone there?
VOICES [OC]: Rev Bem. Rev Bem.
BEM: I must continue. I must persevere.
(He moves on. Later -)
HUNT: Rev Bem's signal's another eight hundred and forty metres that way.
TYR: Everyone has fled.
(Earthquake.)
TYR: And not a moment too soon.
HUNT: That's fun.
BEKA: I guess it's true what they say about Empyrium being born under an unlucky star.
HUNT: The star isn't the unlucky one here. 
BEKA [Beka's memory]: My hair hurts.
BEM [Beka's memory]: You are withdrawing from a very powerful drug. It's bound to be uncomfortable.
BEKA [Beka's memory]: It's funny. I'm always the one that has it all together. But right now, I just, I just feel shattered into a million pieces.
BEM [Beka's memory]: I have always believed the Divine loves us best at the broken times.
TYR: Well, the Magog was here, but he seems to be gone now.
HUNT: I've lost the signal.
BEKA: Well, it's been repeating itself at irregular intervals, which means someone has to be sending it.
BEM [OC]: Void. Lost, here, the last inhabitant of a dying world. So I send this, my final plea, into the void. May the Divine hear me.
(A portable comms unit is being activated by a door bumping into the send key as the wind gusts.)
HUNT: I think we found our someone.
BEM [on monitor]: My journey ends
TYR: So, we've been chasing the wind.
BEKA: What now?
TYR: Shall we follow my nose?
HUNT: As long as it follows that star.
(Further ahead.)
BEM: No end to my journey without sacrifice
(He has a vision of the Magog invasion of Andromeda Ascendant, then gets out his old photograph of a human woman.)
HUNT [Bem's memory]: Friend of yours?
BEM [Bem's memory]: I don't even know her name. But you could say she was my mother. She gave me life. Or perhaps it's more honest to say I took it from her.
HUNT [Bem's memory]: But you've made it count for something. That's why we're here.
BEM [Bem's memory]: My Magog parent committed a terrible crime against this woman. No matter how blameless a life I now lead, my soul will always be tainted by the circumstances of my birth.
BEM: Mother. I am home.

[Shack]

(Bem goes inside the ruined home, and sees a shining vision of his mother. He falls to his knees. The star can be seen through the window.)
BEM: Mother. Mother, I am home.
MOTHER: Are you? Magog are the children of death. All creatures, at birth, make their mothers suffer. Magog kill their mothers. Loathe yourself, and the suffering you have caused.
(Bem flees, leaving the photograph behind.)

[Town]

HARPER [on comms]: And the seismic disturbances from the singularity are occurring more frequently than we anticipated. At this rate, I guess the planet's going to be torn apart and devoured in less than thirty six hours.
TRANCE [on comms]: The star is in the direction of the mountaintop.
HARPER [on comms]: Pointing the way?
TRANCE [on comms]: Harper, you have to believe, or else what do you have? The planet, the star? It's all caused by the same thing.
HUNT: We're on the clock. Let's move.
BEKA: You do realise that taking travel time to the Andromeda into consideration, we've got less than a day to search. That is, if he's still alive.
TYR: He's alive.
HUNT: Well, if I didn't know better, I'd think that was admiration in your voice, Tyr.
TYR: For a Magog? Spare me.
TYR [Tyr's memory]: I'm given to understand that your genetic material has become the foundation for an entire race of warrior priests. I'm intrigued, and perhaps a bit jealous.
BEM [Tyr's memory]: I can understand why a Nietzschean would say that.
TYR [Tyr's memory]: What would a Wayist say?
BEM [Tyr's memory]: We saved paradise by introducing the serpent.

[Town]

BEM: I am the darkness become the light.
STAR [OC]: Why did you call out to me? Send a message to me?
BEM: They're calling to me.
MEMORIES: Rev Bem. Behemiel! Rev! Rev, they'll kill you.
BLOODMIST [Bem's memory]: Poor, lost creature. Wandering, not knowing who or what you are. What is your name, lost one? Do you even know?
BEM [Bem's memory]: My name is Brother Behemiel Far Traveler.
BLOODMIST [Bem's memory]: Behemiel Far Traveler. That is a food name, not fit for a harbinger of the Abyss. I asked you what your name is, the name your father gave you.
BEM [Bem's memory} Hreeevoryeer!
BEM: Who are you?
STAR [OC]: Who are you?
BEM: I am in need of answers. I have no more questions.
BEM [Bem's memory]: The god of the Magog. They call it the Spirit of the Abyss.
STAR: Red Plague, I can give you what you want.
BEM: You know what I want?
STAR: I will celebrate your birth.
BEM: You see? I have become the Way.
STAR: Show me.
BEM [Bem's memory]: I am a Wayist.
BLOODMIST [Bem's memory]: What is that?
BEM [Bem's memory]: I follow the teachings of the Anointed. The way of peace, the way of cooperation.
BLOODMIST [Bem's memory]: And this way of peace dictates that you fight your own brothers, kill your own kind? Come with me. Meet our creator, and all will be revealed.
BEM [Bem's memory]: What does it matter what I believe? Why don't you just kill me?
BLOODMIST [Bem's memory]: Because you are a lost brother who seeks answers. What more reason do I need? come with me, Red Plague. Find your answers.

[Shack]

TYR: His scent is strong here.
(Hunt finds the photograph.)
BEKA: What's that?
HUNT: It's a picture of Rev Bem's mother.
(Earthquake.)
BEKA: We're running out of time.
HUNT: Yeah, so is Rev.

[Town]

BEM: Are you the Abyss?
STAR: Are you?
BEM: I am Brother Behemiel Far Traveler.
STAR: Are you.
BEM: I have traveled the broad universe, and I have remained true to the Way. From planet to Drift, from burned-out star to junker craft, I have been true!
(Someone shoots at him and gets him in a spotlight.)
RENEGADE: It's a Magog.
BEM: I am a Magog, but please, I have not killed in a year.
RENEGADE: You're a Magog.
(He shoots Bem in the shoulder.)
BEM: You tempt my darker soul.
STAR: I have done all of this for you.
(Bem gets shot in the leg.)
STAR: Kill them.
BEM: No!
STAR: You will be rewarded.
BEM: I do not seek reward. I seek answers.

[Shack]

(Sounds of gunfire.)
HUNT: I think we found him. Let's go.

[Mountain]

RENEGADE: Hold it. Let's see what valuables he has on him.
BEM: Please, I mean no harm. Do not hurt me.
BEM [Bem's memory]: If I was truly of the Divine, I would have let them kill me, and yes, even you, before I took a life. I was weak.
STAR: Kill! Kill them!
BEM [Bem's memory]: I chased my prey, I smelled their blood, and I relished it. And I recognised something. Beka, I liked it.
BEM: I am Red Plague.
(Bem fights back.)
MAGOG [Bem's memory]: Stranger smell.
BEM [Bem's memory]: My name is Red Plague.
HARPER [Bem's memory]: Rev, what are you doing?
HUNT [Bem's memory]: Rev! Rev! Rev, the Way. Remember the Way.
(Bem is strangling one of his attackers.)
BEM: I am not hungry for this. I must, I must, I must follow the Way. I must, I must stay true to my word.
(He lets him go and stumbles away. A short time later, the renegades fire on Hunt and co.)
HUNT: Well, we didn't find Rev Bem, but we sure as hell found these renegades.
TYR: Why are we here? To save a past friend who's foolishly risked his life? One who goes where he's hated?
BEKA: This is Rev Bem. He's saved your life more times than we can count. Now it's our turn to save his.
TYR: My counsel still stands.
HUNT: How about we counsel change in these idiots? Count of three?
TYR: No. Let's just shoot them.
HUNT: Fine.
(So they do.)
RENEGADE: Fall back! Hurry.

[Jungle]

(Trees are falling.)
BEM: I have followed a true path.
STAR: I did not prepare the path for the traveler. I prepared the traveler for the path.
BEM: You are testing me. Why? To see if a Magog is worthy? Please. Please.
BEM [OC]: Eternal life grant unto him and may perpetual light shine upon him. Give me the strength to follow the path. To give, and not to count the cost. To struggle, and not to heed the wounds.
BEM [Bem's memory]: I am the darkness become the light. I am the darkness become the truth. I am the darkness become the Way.
TYR: Suppose we do find the good Reverend. Why assume he's still good?
HUNT: Because it's his character.
TYR: You hope.
TYR [Tyr's memory]: You weren't on the Magog worldship. You didn't look into his eyes. He was just like all the others. Feral.
TYR: He's a Magog, and the two of you can think what you like. I still say genetics are stronger than will, and blood is thicker than altruism.
HUNT: No, Rev is stronger than that.
BEM [Hunt's memory]: We Magog know the Divine exists. We know it created the stars, and the planets, the soft winds, and the gentle rains. We also know he created nightmares, because he created us.
HUNT [Hunt's memory]: You're saying it created this situation.
BEM [Hunt's memory]: You asked me how this could be God's will. My answer is this. How can it not be? The Divine lives in all places, but most importantly, the Divine lives here, and here.
(Heart and mind. They encounter the renegades again.)
RENEGADE: Hold it.
HUNT: Go back to your ship. This whole planet's going to blow.
RENEGADE: We want the Magog.
HUNT: What? Why would you want the Magog? Didn't you hear me? This planet is going to blow up.
RENEGADE: We have no quarrel with you.
HUNT: Then why are you shooting at us? All right, I've had it with these guys. Circle around. Take them out.
RENEGADE: Go.

[Mountain peak]

BEM: You've brought me here to end my journey, my mission.
STAR: You called to me.
BEM: I have changed.
STAR: You have abandoned your nature.
BEM: Goodness is my inward nature. I long to be that to all who see me. I am something else. I am not this.
STAR: Is that your request?

[Jungle]

(The two sets of humans are still wasting bullets on each other. Tyr kills one. The lead renegade jumps Beka with a knife. She falls, then shoots him.)
MAN: Over there.
(Tyr takes out another who gets a bead on Beka, then Hunt deals with two more.)
HUNT: You okay?
BEKA: Great.
TYR: All clear.
HUNT: Let's go get Rev.

[Mountain peak]

BEM [Bem's memory]: I was not created by your Divine. I was created by the Spirit of the Abyss as an instrument of fear and destruction. That is my purpose.
BEM: Why have you led me here to this place with no answers? Only to a precipice? I am at an end.
BEKA [Bem's memory]: You're a great man, Rev, but I still don't think you can know the Divine's plans for you.
BLOODMIST [Bem's memory]: Is not the Divine in all things?
BEM [Bem's memory]: I can feel its hatred.
BLOODMIST [Bem's memory]: Beneath it, feel what lies beyond.
BEM [Bem's memory]: Love. Underneath the hatred, there is love. I understand now. Life is suffering, chaos, but there is another way.
BLOODMIST [Bem's memory]: The way of harmony, of transcendence, of death.

[Jungle]

BEKA: Dylan. On that mountaintop.
HUNT: It's Rev.

[Mountain peak]

BEM: Have I not sacrificed enough? There must be an end to my journey. Please. Please. What must I do? What?
BEM [Bem's memory]: Let go. Give over to the Divine all that you are, all that you have. Repeat, my pain belongs to the Divine. It is like air, it is like water.
BEM: Who are you?
STAR: I am not the end of your journey. I am the beginning of your journey. Come to me. Make a new day.
BEM: I cannot. I cannot! I cannot end without knowing.
STAR: Embrace me. Feel my arms around you. I will carry you. Come to me.
BEM: Please! Please tell me.
STAR: Come to me. Come to me.
BEM: Why?
STAR: Come to me now!
(Bem screams. He lifted into the star then thrown back to the ledge, where he transforms into something. When Hunt, Beka and Tyr arrive, there is no one.)
HUNT: Here. Right here. This is where he was.
BEKA: No sign of struggle.
(Earthquake.)
HUNT: Harper!

[Command]

HARPER: Getting down to crunch time, boss.

[Mountain peak]

BEKA: We must be pretty close to, you know, kablooey.

[Command]

TRANCE: Have you found Rev?

[Mountain peak]

HUNT: No, not yet.
HARPER [OC]: Well, you might want to get your butt in gear

[Command]

HARPER: Because I'm guessing you've got thirty six minutes tops until

[Mountain peak]

HUNT: Kablooey. Yes, I'm well aware of that, Mister Harper. All right, let's backtrack. He's got to be here somewhere. Damn.

[Cavern]

(A figure in a rough cape is cowering in an alcove, so they pull their guns on it.)
BEKA: Hold it. Don't move.
HUNT: Show yourself. We don't want to hurt you.
BEKA: Who are you?
TYR: What are you?
BEM: It is me.
(Minus the fur and most of the makeup, looking almost human.)
HUNT: Rev?
BEKA: What?
HUNT: Rev.
BEM: Hello, Dylan.
TYR: It's an improvement.
BEKA: Rev, you're no longer a Magog.
(Earthquake.)
HUNT: We'll all be no longer if we don't get out of here. Let's go!
(The Eureka Maru returns to the Andromeda.)

[Command]

(The planet glows with the Wayist symbol then vanishes with the star.)
HARPER: Poof, and it's gone, like a magic trick.
ROMMIE: Perhaps the world was never supposed to explode. There seems to be a plan at work.
BEKA: Well, I'm glad someone had a plan.
TRANCE: Whatever changed Rev also kept Rev safe. Kept you all safe from harm.
HARPER: Well, maybe the point singularity devoured it in one bite. It just collapsed and disintegrated.
TRANCE: No. Harper, whatever did this did it all for Rev. There's no way to explain a miracle.
HARPER: A miracle?
ROMMIE: Trance, miracles are just extraordinary phenomena with a scientific explanation.
HARPER: See?
TRANCE: Well, for those who don't believe, no explanation is possible. For those who do, no explanation is necessary.
(Bem is whispering to Beka.)
BEKA: What? No.
BEM: (sotto) Please. Keep this for me. Be at peace.
(Bem gives Beka a medallion, and embraces her, then moves on.)
BEM: Tyr, have you never wished that all your yearning for power and empire would just be silent for a moment? Have you never wished for a moment's peace?
TYR: (sotto) I am at peace. That's what bothers me.
BEM: The Divine loves you, Tyr. Remember that. Harper. It's so good to see you alive. How's your stomach?
HARPER: Empty, thank god.
BEM: Indeed.
HARPER: Wow. It's always good to see you, Rev.
BEM: Better to see you.
TRANCE: So, you're beautiful.
BEM: Inside and out. I must remember to practice humility.
TRANCE: I understand that you followed a star. A sun?
BEM: Like you. Oh, a phenomenon. a sensation. It was warm and embracing.
TRANCE: I'm flattered.
BEM: I went through so much. A higher power ordained me. How it happened, I
TRANCE: Sometimes we have to stare into the face of truth to really see it. Stare at it until the brightness fades away, and then all we have is truth.
BEM: All we have left is the Way. Dylan, I want to thank you for coming to save me.
HUNT: You saved yourself. I really wish you would stay, Rev. I enjoy your company.
BEM: I thank you, but I cannot. I am reborn. You must go one way, I go another. But I do not think the universe is so large, my friend. If you will all excuse me, I will retire and say a prayer of thanksgiving for this new chapter in my life, and where it may lead.
(Bem bows and leaves.)
BEM [OC]: By Divine grace, I touch the shadow and reveal the light. I am the darkness become light. I am the darkness become truth. I am the darkness become the Way.
HUNT: Miracle of miracles. Wonder of wonders.