Mortal Engines (2018) Movie Script
1
60 minutes is all it took
for the Ancients
to bring humanity
to the brink of extinction.
Those who survived
mobilized their settlements
to begin life anew
upon a poisoned Earth.
In the hunt for food and fuel,
the weak perished,
and the strong grew
ever more powerful.
Until a new age arose,
the Age of the Great
Predator Cities of the West.
Two.
Vestin Al-Ga Gustanee.
Osh alga. Aye. Osh alga.
Osh alga kasht du mara Khazak.
Predator! Predator city!
Six miles and closing!
Leave it behind! Let's go!
Leaving!
Hurry! Fire up the engines!
Move it, Dietrich!
Fire them up!
Crank all engines.
- Come on! Come on!
- Engine one is down!
Switch to auxiliaries.
Hurry! Hurry!
- Start them up!
- Full throttle!
Yew sahk!
Full power.
London!
Five, six...
Lord Mayor on deck.
- Lord Mayor.
- Mr. Valentine.
- What have we got?
- Small Bavarian mining town,
powered by C-20 land engines.
Usual store of brick,
coal and iron.
And 75 tons of salt.
Barely enough fuel
to last us a week.
We've left the safety
of Britain,
we've crossed the land bridge,
for what?
To feed upon the scraps
of Europe.
- Run it down.
- Aye, aye, sir.
They're gaining on us.
Empty the silos.
All of them.
Do it!
Get down there!
It's madness out there.
You'd think they've never
seen a chase before.
Well, it has been a while, sir.
- Morning, Clytie.
- Morning, Dr. Pomeroy.
The news is not good
from the Hall of Ceramics.
I'm afraid we've suffered
some casualties.
Damn these bloody vibrations.
- Oh.
- Steady on, Arkie.
No, no, no, no,
d-don't worry about me.
We're about to lose
our American deities.
Excuse me, Dr. Pomeroy?
Good morning, Miss Valentine.
I've been waiting outside
the Manuscripts Room
for quite some time.
Your 9:00?
I do apologize.
This is not good enough.
Where the hell is Tom?
- Coming through!
- London! London!
Watch yourself!
- Whoa!
- Watch it!
Whoa!
Sorry. Sorry.
London! London! London!
Give me everything you have.
They're heading
for the foothills.
- Stay on course.
- Sir?
Stay on course.
Take the shot.
Incoming!
Yes! Yes!
Well done, everyone.
- Prepare to ingest.
- Aye, aye, sir.
Ah, Mr. Natsworthy.
Nice of you to join us.
I'm so sorry I'm late, sir.
You look nice.
Have you had a haircut?
- I don't want to hear it, Tom.
- Is that new cologne?
You're already
on your third warning.
This is your last.
Citizens of Salzhaken,
welcome to London.
Bring only your personal
possessions with you.
Old tech is to be deposited
in the bins provided.
Citizens of Salzhaken,
welcome to London.
All right, then. Follow me.
So, you're studying
the end of the Ancients?
What I really need
are firsthand accounts
of the Sixty Minute War.
Journals, books,
personal papers.
Very few written records
survived during that period.
It may very well be they forgot
how to read
and write altogether.
But if it's the
Sixty Minute War you're after,
follow me.
Just give us a minute.
Strange to think
this is what it looked like.
21st century? Yep.
It's so different.
Yeah, well, that's what happens
when the Earth's crust
gets shattered
into a thousand pieces.
Check this out.
- Did you make this?
- Yeah.
Bits of old scrap tech I found.
The power system was a little
bit tricky, but luckily,
I got my man Matthew there
limbered up and ready to go.
This is what I wanted
to show you.
It's a quantum energy weapon.
There were dozens of them
all over the globe.
My God.
They called it Medusa.
How can a society so advanced,
so scientific, be so stupid?
Well, no more stupid
than people today.
They just had far worse weapons
and far more sophisticated
control systems.
What a nightmare.
Well, the Ancients
felt the same way.
That's why they created
this little fella.
A crash drive
to shut down the weapon.
Doesn't this stuff
creep you out?
Let me tell you something.
We come across dangerous tech
that's in way better condition
than this junk all the time.
Now, I've noticed that pieces
have started to go missing.
I notified my boss,
who notified his boss,
and of course nothing happened,
so I decided to take
a few precautions of my own.
All of it is viable
weapons-grade tech.
- God help us.
- The next time we cross
the marshlands, I'm tossing
the entire bloody lot
over the side.
Just let it sink
to the bottom of a swamp
where no one will ever find it.
Miss Valentine. You should have
told me you were coming.
I would have laid
something on for you.
Hello, Herbert.
What are you still
doing here, Natsworthy?
You're on gut duty.
No, I'm assisting
Miss Valentine.
Not anymore.
- You've been demoted.
- What?
- Uh, by who?
- By me.
You're just a skivvy
from the lower tiers
with no family
and no prospects.
If those dim-witted
spanner-heads
beat you to the bins again,
you'll be back
to cleaning the bogs.
Chop-chop.
Well, it's been lovely
chatting.
I have to go.
It's rush hour.
He'll never make it.
Wait! Tom!
Tom, wait!
- I can get you down there.
- You what?
I can get you down there.
Citizens of Salzhaken,
welcome to London.
Bring only your
personal possessions with you.
Old tech is to be deposited
in the bins provided.
- -Uh...
- Okay.
- Hey.
- Excuse me.
- Sorry.
I'm with her.
I don't know, I'm with her.
- Come on through.
- Really?
On you go.
Sorry about that.
And that's it? We're through?
Just like that.
Stay in your allocated line.
Possession of any form of
weapon is strictly prohibited.
Hold up, hold up.
What's this, then?
- We'll have that.
- Incomers failing to follow instructions
will be detained.
So, what's the rush?
Well, got to get down there
and go through all the
artifacts taken off the catch.
And anything of historical
importance goes to the museum.
But if I'm late,
the gut workers
shovel everything
into the furnaces.
All they care about
is feeding the beast.
...failing
to follow instructions
- will be detained.
- No, no weapons allowed.
- You cannot treat us like this!
- You stupid? No weapons.
...must be
presented for inspection.
Be aware, children may be
temporarily separated
from parents.
Nether Borough Station.
Disembark here
for Digestion Yards,
Incomer Processing
and Main Engine Rooms.
Mind the drop.
They still haven't caught her?
Who, Anna Fang?
Yeah.
Bloody Anti-Tractionist.
Should be locked up,
in my opinion.
Next one. Move it.
What about you, eh?
What are you hiding?
Yeah, all right. Go through.
Next.
- You there.
- Incomers failing
to follow instructions
will be detained.
All belongings must be
presented for inspection.
We're the enemy.
Anti-Tractionists loathe
everything we stand for.
Yeah, what, like progress?
But it's not progress,
not to them.
To them, our way of life
is unsustainable.
- They see Tractionism as a...
- Oh, oh!
Careful.
Oh, Bevis, mate.
Your tools
are all over the floor.
I'm so sorry.
You all right, Tom?
- On bins again?
- Yeah.
- What are you doing down here?
- Waste chute maintenance.
I got it. Just leave it.
I really am sorry.
I didn't see you.
Why would you?
Bevis, this is Katherine...
Yeah, I know who she is.
Catch you later.
No, no, no, you don't!
Stop! Oh, no, no, no.
Stop! Stop!
That is a Sunbeam TA200.
That's a classic
Radiant Control
double-slice toaster
with automatic bread ejection.
All right? We have to...
And you've lost the knob.
Oh, for Quirke's sake.
Someone knows
their small appliances.
Here.
Very, very nice.
I've dug up a few of these
in my time,
but none as good as this.
Couple of small dents,
a little bit of tarnishing.
Springs gone,
but they always are.
Yeah, well...
That is far better
than anything
in the museum's
current collection.
Well done.
That's high praise
coming from you, sir.
You know, I-I just want to say,
I-I've read all your books.
- Oh, don't encourage him.
- I...
His head's quite big enough.
Hi, Dad.
Kate, what are you doing here?
- I thought you were going to the museum.
- I did.
That's where I bumped into Tom.
Tom.
Tom Natsworthy, isn't it?
Yes, it is.
I knew your parents.
They were lovely people.
- First-class historians, both.
- Excuse me.
I thought you had plans
to be an aviator.
Oh, yeah, I was,
but then I gave it all up.
I mean, history's
more my thing, sir.
I'm surprised they called you
down here
for such a small catch.
Don't underestimate
what's buried
out there in the salt flats.
These... these mining towns
have a way
of digging up
really interesting...
...old tech.
- No way.
- What is that?
That is a fusion inverter cell.
Incredibly rare
and really dangerous.
And you know the Guild of
Engineers nicked all the ones
we had in store at the museum
just a few months ago?
Pomeroy was furious.
Well, they won't get
their hands on this one.
I'll make sure
it's disposed of properly.
Engineers, eh?
They think they run the place.
They don't know
what they're playing with.
- Fire.
- Sorry?
They're playing with fire.
I said get your hands off!
Never!
Oi!
What's going on?
Take this gentleman
to the medics.
I want that man on a charge.
Move it.
That should never have
happened; you all deserve
to be treated
with dignity and respect.
You will be given food,
shelter and employment.
A chance to build a future,
make a new life.
Hey! Watch out!
Valentine.
This is for my mother.
This is for Pandora Shaw.
Dad!
No!
- There!
- Come on.
- Down here!
- Hey, you!
No! Stop her!
Hey, come back here! Stop!
Get out of the way!
Dad!
Stay here.
No! No!
Wait!
Come on!
Come on!
No!
I've got you.
Let go of me!
Tom!
Tom?
Look at me. Look at me.
This is what he does
when you get in his way.
Ask him why
he murdered my mother.
Ask him about Hester Shaw.
No. No!
I-I tried.
I-I tried to stop her.
It's not your fault.
She was saying
the craziest things,
- and then she just...
- What did she say?
- You-you need a doctor.
- No, no.
What did she say, Tom?
She said you murdered
her mother.
Murder?
That's an ugly word.
I'm sorry you had to hear that.
Yeah.
Well, I should go.
Yeah, you should.
Dad!
Dad.
It's all right. It's all right.
I'm okay. I'll be okay.
I'll be okay.
Kate, I'm sorry.
There was nothing I could do.
What do you mean?
They were fighting,
Tom and the girl.
The railing broke.
Coming through!
I'm sorry about Tom.
I really am.
We have airships
out there looking.
If he's alive, we'll find him.
- What is it?
- The girl.
Who was she?
Honestly, I don't know.
Been wondering
about that myself.
She knew you.
I've never seen her
in my life before.
I thought maybe she was
an Anti-Tractionist.
God knows they hate us enough.
I know you want to believe
that Traction Cities
and static settlements
can live together in peace,
but it'll never happen.
- You don't know that.
- Then why do they hide
behind the Shield Wall,
hoarding their resources?
They mean to see us
starve out here, Kate.
Never underestimate
their will to destroy us.
There will never be peace
with Shan Guo.
This is ruined.
I'll get rid of it.
Ow, my head.
What?
Wait.
What's going on?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hang on, hang on.
You see, you-you can't
just leave me here.
You shouldn't have followed me.
I didn't follow you.
I fell.
He pushed me.
Hey.
Wait.
Oh, for Quirke's sake.
Oi.
I'm talking to you.
Hello?
What am I supposed to do, eh?
Where am I supposed to go?
- I need to get back on London.
- Six months!
- Just take it easy.
- Six months it took me to get on that city.
I had one shot at Valentine,
and you ruined it.
Okay. All right. All right.
I have money.
No, you don't.
Please.
Please help me get back
on London.
Help me find a trading town.
You'll never see me again.
We're running low
on food, fuel, basic resources.
We can't survive out here
much longer.
We should never have gone
into Europe.
Biggest mistake we ever made.
Well, we have other options.
Ah, yes. Your long-awaited
energy project.
- It'll work.
- I've heard that before.
I just need a little more time.
Always so sure of yourself.
Thaddeus Valentine,
the great archaeologist.
Man of the people.
One of the reasons
I took you in,
why I allowed an outsider
from nowhere
to have power
above his station.
But my patience
is wearing thin.
I raised you up.
I can tear you down.
How can you stand him?
He's afraid.
He's trying to hang on
to a way of life
that doesn't exist anymore.
Municipal Darwinism.
It's a dying system.
Prey has all but gone.
Soon, there'll be nothing left.
I'm trying to build
this city a future,
but Crome's stuck in the past.
Where are you going?
Dad, you can't go to work.
I'm fine, Kate.
You're not fine.
You're injured.
You need to rest.
I've spent 15 years
developing this power system.
I'm not having Magnus Crome
or Hester Shaw stop me now.
Who's Hester Shaw?
No one.
No one you know.
Could you slow down, please?
You want to find
a trading town?
Keep moving.
- My feet hurt.
- Get used to it.
That's what I like about you.
Your boundless sense
of empathy.
- What did you say?
- Nothing. I...
You're right.
Look, I-I talk too much.
Especially when I'm nervous.
But I'm not gonna talk anymore.
Zipped.
No more talking.
Don't worry about me.
I'm more than capable
of looking after myself.
Might surprise you to learn
that I was gonna be an aviator.
I have a faultless sense
of direction.
All right.
Which way?
Oh.
My navigational instincts
tell me...
...we should go...
...that way.
That way, definitely.
Those tracks head south.
Yeah.
You never head south
in the Outlands.
Not ever.
I've reconfigured the metrics.
You can amplify
the magnetic resonance
using materials on hand.
- What else do you need?
- Several more weeks.
Unless you can find me
more old tech.
All the old tech comes to you.
I'll need more than one
to stabilize the isotopes.
Make it work.
I hear you suffered
an injury this morning.
You never told me
Pandora Shaw had a daughter.
She could be a problem.
She won't stop until I'm dead.
Unless you kill her first.
I received a message from
Sharkmoor Prison this morning.
They claim to have captured
a Stalker.
One of the Resurrected.
A bounty killer gone rogue.
Well, it's no use to us.
Too hard to control.
They say it was hunting
something.
Or someone.
It appears the two of you
share a common interest.
This thing is so fixated
on its prey,
all it does is pound the walls
of its cell,
shrieking her name.
Hester Shaw.
- Where to, boss?
- Sharkmoor Prison.
No fires.
Unless you want every Scav town
from here to Rustwater
to find us.
That, uh... that doesn't look
clean enough to wash in.
I-I wouldn't...
Oh, my God, that's disgusting.
Thirst will kill you
before hunger.
It's either this or you can
drink your own urine.
I'll take my chances.
"Best before 2118"?
It's an Inkie.
- It's over a thousand years old.
- Doesn't matter.
The food of the Ancients never
goes off. It's indestructible.
It's so quiet out here.
Doesn't that bother you?
I like the quiet.
I grew up with the sound
of engines.
I've never known anything else.
It's funny, you know.
I've spent my whole life
dreaming
of getting off London,
seeing the world,
and now I'm out here, talking
about drinking my own urine.
Careful what you wish for, eh?
I thought you wanted
to be an aviator.
Oh, I did.
But then my parents died.
Eight years ago now.
When Tier Four collapsed
in the Big Tilt.
Yeah.
What about you?
Well, how old were you
when your mother died?
- We're not gonna do this.
- Do what?
We're not gonna tell each other
our sad stories.
I can't help you.
And you can't help me.
Hello!
Hello! Over here!
- Tom.
- Hey!
- Get down!
- It's a trading town.
Look, look, look, look.
Look.
Oh, God.
They're Southies.
- That was close.
- Too close.
- Get off me.
- Oh.
Run!
Whoa!
What the hell are Southies?
Scavs on a night hunt.
What are they hunting?
Us.
I've got you.
Come on!
Hester? Hester!
Are you in one piece?
Yes.
Oh. Oh!
Couple more seconds, and
you'd have been fender meat.
Lucky for you, we was here.
How bad is it?
She needs a doctor.
No quacks here.
Not on Scuttlebutt.
Could you take us
to the nearest town?
- What?
- Chipping Sodbury.
That'd be the nearest,
wouldn't you say, Mr. Wreyland?
- I would, my love.
- Well, go on, then.
Set a heading north.
We must look after our guests.
Tea?
Don't mind if I do.
I make it myself.
The algae's fresh.
Oh, it's actually not bad.
It's not bad. Bottoms up.
Funny you should say that.
We grow it in the runoff
under the sewage room.
Oh, nasty.
That's gonna leave a scar.
You don't need any more
of those, do you, Petal?
Disembark
here for Digestion Yards,
Incomer Processing
and Main Engine Rooms.
Bevis. Bevis Pod.
I need to speak to you.
- I can't help you.
- Wha...?
The-the girl
that attacked my father...
I don't know what
you're talking about.
What do you mean?
You were there.
You saw what happened.
Nether Borough Station.
Disembark here for
Digestion Yards,
Incomer Processing...
Are you trying
to get me arrested?
The first rule down here is:
"Keep your mouth shut."
My father's in
some kind of trouble.
He's lying to me.
I need to know why.
Your father lies
to a lot of people.
What's that supposed to mean?
Please.
I just want to know the truth.
- No, you don't.
- I promise you. My father's a good man.
- He would never do...
- No, just stop. Stop.
He pushed him.
Your father pushed Tom
off the city.
Why?
Why would he do that to Tom?
Because he got in the way.
It's a lie.
A cover-up.
They're building something
in there.
Something they don't want
anyone to see.
Excuse me, ma'am.
I tried to get inside,
but there are guards
at every entrance.
There's no way in.
What if there was?
Here we are, then.
It's not the Lord Mayor's Suite
at the Boggy Regis,
but it's better than a poke
in the eye with a burnt stick.
Mm.
Make yourselves at home.
I'll be back bright and early
to empty your slops.
- Thank you.
- Not much of a talker, is she?
Your girlfriend.
Oh, no, no, no, no, she's
not... she's not my girlfriend.
Of course not.
Handsome boy like you.
You can do much better.
All right, well, good night,
Mrs. Wreyland.
Oh, dear. There I go
putting me foot in it.
- I didn't mean...
- No, I know what you meant.
Look, you-you take the bed;
I'll take the...
...floor.
This is all my fault.
I'm sorry.
I was eight.
I was eight years old
when my mother died.
She was an archaeologist.
She loved traveling the world
and digging up the past.
They're beautiful.
He used to visit all the time.
He'd spend hours
poring over the things
that she had found.
Then one day...
everything changed.
She'd found something
on one of her digs
in Lost America.
Something he wanted.
- Pandora, what are you doing?
- No. No. No.
What was it?
I don't know.
Stop it! Don't do this!
Let go of me!
- I'm taking it.
- No.
Mom!
Mama.
Hester, take this.
Keep it safe.
Mama!
But he killed her for it.
Mom! Mama!
Run, Hester!
Hester!
He would have killed me, too.
But I got away.
We caught it
on the edge of the marshlands.
- Please stop!
- It had torn apart a whole town.
- Murdered them all.
- Stop it!
I lost a dozen good men
bringing it in.
Hester!
There'd always been rumors
that a few had survived,
the ones that turned rogue
after the Nomad Wars.
Hester!
But I never thought I'd live
to see one in the flesh.
Not that there's much
of that left.
Hester!
Hester!
The last
of the Lazarus Brigade.
Resurrected from
the sleep of death.
I do not sleep.
No, you've been hunting her,
haven't you?
Hunting Hester Shaw.
Why?
Answer me.
She broke her promise.
What happens when you find her?
What happens
when you find Hester Shaw?
I will kill her.
Are you sure about this?
There's no telling
what that thing might do.
I know exactly what it will do.
Hold it steady.
Oh, what-what's wrong?
We've changed direction.
We're heading south.
Get the door.
It's locked.
We're locked in.
Must be something around here.
All right. Maybe.
You have my knife?
If we climb along that ducting,
we can jump from the back.
It's no more than,
like, 20 feet.
- I can't.
- Yes, you can.
No, I can't.
I'll-I'll never make the jump.
Uh, you will. I'll help you.
Head due north.
There's a way station
called Ramskate.
You can catch an airfreighter
from there.
- Get him out! Move it!
- Go.
- All right.
- Come on, you lot.
Fine.
Ah, stop your sniveling.
Help!
What are you waiting for? Go.
- Come here.
- No!
- Come here.
- Listen to me.
Hai-ji!
No! No!
Ya ma-tee bihd.
Time to check out, folks.
- Come on, out you come.
- No.
No.
Move it!
- That was your chance.
- Well, I couldn't do it.
I couldn't leave you.
Well, then you're a fool.
I would've left you.
Ladies and gentlemen...
Welcome to Rustwater Market.
This next item
is a vintage piece.
Now, she may look a little
tatty around the edges,
but she's a little ripper.
So, who'll give me 12 quirkes?
Eh?
Oh, come on.
Last chance to secure
this genuine antique.
Ten quirkes,
or I'm chucking her in.
- Two!
- Sold!
Next!
Oh, yeah.
Stone the crows.
Full disclosure to
my valued clients at the back:
This one is a real swamp donkey
and priced accordingly.
Do I have ten quirkes?
- Three.
- Oh, you stingy bastard, De Groot.
You could do better than that.
I'm fully aware
of the exorbitant margins
currently enjoyed
by the sausage-making sector.
Hester!
Five quirkes, and she's yours.
- Four.
- Four quirkes to my left.
- Do I hear five?
- Hester!
Shut up!
Cheer up, love.
You'll look considerably better
as a roll of salami.
Going once.
- Going twice.
- 50!
An unregistered bidder.
Please, approach the stage.
50 quirkes
for this soggy dollop is
an extraordinarily
generous offer, madam.
Normally, that would be enough
to make me self-pollinate.
But my problem is this:
50 quirkes
is not 50,000 quirkes.
Get to the point.
Well, it's quite simple,
really.
There is a bounty
on your head, Miss Fang.
So, either you pay me
50,000 quirkes for the girlie,
or I claim it from the
authorities when I hand you in.
Why don't we settle this...
...with "buy it now."
Hester!
Come!
- Wait!
- Hester!
Hurry!
Anti-Tractionists!
See, I knew
you wouldn't leave me.
Shut up and run.
Anti-Tractionists!
Anti-Tractionists!
Whoa!
This way.
Whoa!
- That's a Resurrected Man.
- Shrike.
His name is Shrike.
You made me a promise,
Hester Shaw.
Now you must keep it.
Go now! Run!
This way!
Come on! Come on!
Hester! Come on.
Where did he go?
Come on. Come on!
Hester!
Get on!
I've got you.
- Wait!
- Leave him.
Tom!
Cut the rope! Do it!
Catch!
Where are you taking us?
Just stay behind me.
I'll handle this.
How?
How exactly will you handle it?
Easy, all right?
Just...
I'm just messing with you.
Sit down. Both of you.
That means you, too, city boy.
Sit.
You're injured.
You saved our lives.
Why?
You don't trust anybody,
do you?
Just like your mother.
You look like her, too.
You knew her?
Pandora Shaw was
the bravest woman I ever met.
After she died,
I looked for you.
I looked for a long time.
Like everybody else,
I thought you were dead.
When I heard you were alive,
made me wonder,
how did an eight-year-old girl
survive all alone
in the Outlands?
Now I know.
You were raised by that corpse.
- You don't know what you're talking about.
- Actually, I do.
- No, you don't.
- I've studied them.
- You've studied them?
- I know a lot about the Resurrected.
You don't know anything
about him.
The people who created them
were insane.
Off-the-charts crazy.
They took all the worst parts
- of themselves...
- Shut up.
...all the savagery
and cruelty and hatred,
and poured it into these
machines, these monsters.
Shut up!
He saved my life.
You're an idiot.
Mr. Valentine.
- Not now.
- I'm sure you know who I am.
- No, I don't.
- Herbert Melliphant.
Your daughter's
a very good friend of mine.
No, she's not.
Sir, I have something
that may be of interest to you.
A cache of old tech.
High-quality, military-grade.
I'm overdue a promotion myself.
I'm thinking a university post
or an honorary degree?
A position with a title.
You have a supply of old tech?
Where is it?
Shrike saved my life.
He took me in.
He looked after me.
In his own way.
Eat.
The living must eat.
He liked to collect things.
Broken things.
Things that others
had thrown away.
I think he saw
in those strange machines
a reflection of himself.
Where is his heart?
It has no heart.
Like me.
I think, somewhere deep inside,
a memory remained.
A memory from another life.
I think he had a family once.
You are sad.
Always sad, Hester Shaw.
Your heart is broken.
I will take away the pain.
I will remake you,
as I was remade.
You're gonna kill me.
For a little while.
I made him a promise.
I would become like him.
My flesh, steel.
My nerves, wire.
My mind wiped clean.
No thoughts.
- No!
- No feelings.
- Mom!
- Nothing.
I would be free.
If that's what you wanted,
why did you leave?
Because six months ago,
London crossed the land bridge,
and Thaddeus Valentine
came within my reach.
Hester...!
That's it.
That's my sad story.
Where are we going?
Have you heard
of the Cat's Cradle?
The Cat's Cradle?
I thought it was a myth.
It's not a myth.
It was built by the Scriven
in the first days of London.
It's the sort of thing
historians know about
and everyone else
has forgotten.
You're too late.
Dr. Pomeroy?
They came in this morning,
a couple of thugs
from the Guild of Engineers.
I tried to stop them.
They knocked me to the ground.
They knew what
they were looking for.
They cleaned the place out.
Took it all to St. Paul's.
There are over a thousand
stairs in the Cradle.
Turn upon turn.
But eventually they lead to
the crypt beneath St. Paul's.
Be careful, child.
Whatever it is
they are doing in that church
has nothing to do with God.
Hold her steady for a second.
Not bad.
You've done this before?
Yeah. A bit.
Good. You can take her in.
Take her in? Where?
You are cleared for landing,
Jenny Haniver. Dock seven.
Welcome to Airhaven.
What are they saying?
Captain Khora was just offering
to buy you dinner.
Weren't you, Captain?
Sure. Why not?
Magnetic resonance is climbing,
holding at full capacity.
All systems are active.
She's ready.
It will all be for nothing
unless we act now.
London must turn east.
New bearing
confirmed, 90 degrees.
Coordinates set:
51 degrees north
by 71 degrees east.
Why are we altering course?
We're executing
the new order, sir.
Whose order?
Windflower.
Wh-Wh-Whoa, what's going on?
They're the Ruh-shan.
The Anti-Traction League
of Shan Guo.
This is about my mother,
isn't it?
Before she died,
Pandora found something.
Something dangerous.
She was afraid of Valentine,
of what he might do.
She said, if anything
should happen to her,
I was to find you.
That you could stop him.
- I don't know what you're talking about.
- Think.
Think hard.
You must remember.
He took something from her.
What? What did he take?
A piece of old tech.
- What kind of old tech?
- I don't know.
She was eight years old.
She doesn't remember.
Then perhaps you can help us,
Londoner.
- Hey!
- Hey.
Get off me! Get off!
What are they building
in that cathedral?
Six months ago,
Valentine started buying up
fusion inverter cells
- from Scav traders.
- Wait, wait, wait, wait.
- Fusion inverters?
- You know something?
No, that's...
that's impossible.
He'd have had to have found...
That piece of old tech
that Valentine took
from your mother,
did it have a symbol on it?
Like...
Like this?
Yes.
Your mother found
a computer core.
The control system
of a quantum energy weapon.
Medusa is live.
Go, go, go.
- How do we shut it down?
- You don't.
Well, not without
the crash drive.
- Anglish, halviti.
- It's a type of key.
A kill switch that overrides
the firing sequence.
Once it's initiated, the weapon
would self-destruct.
This key, does London have it?
No, it would be
long gone, lost.
Why should we care
about those barbarians?
Let Valentine burn
every Traction City
from here to the Ice Wastes.
He didn't come here
looking for prey.
Valentine has
another target in mind.
You dare countermand
an order of Lord Mayor?
My God.
Nothing can stand
in the face of this.
Not the battle hammers
of Arkangel,
not the howitzers
of Panzerstadt.
Not even the guns
of the Anti-Tractionists.
In the great game of survival,
this is checkmate.
London's heading east.
They are moving at speed
towards Shan Guo.
I last saw them
near the Tannhauser Mountains.
They will have reached
the Eastern Plateau by now.
- How much time do we have?
- A few hours, at most.
You mean to go to war?
You cannot ignore
the lessons of the past
as if they count for nothing.
There are no lessons
to be learned from the past.
History doesn't care.
It is dead.
This is the future.
The man who controls this
controls the world.
Is there no end
to your ambition?
You control nothing.
Shut this down.
I want all codes
and operational controls
handed in to my office
immediately.
Didn't you hear me?
I said...
You cling to the past
as if it can save you.
You're a relic of a dying age.
A dinosaur.
What does that make you?
Me? I'm the meteor.
Katherine, come on. Come on.
No, no. Katherine.
You can't go back.
I know he's your father.
You have to let him go.
He's not my father.
Not anymore.
They're gonna attack
the Shield Wall.
Get word to Governor Kwan.
Hey!
For crying out loud.
- Hey!
- Check the fuel line!
Power's out everywhere.
What is it? What's going on?
It's a diversion.
Fire!
To create chaos.
Fire!
What the hell is that?!
Shrike is here.
Hester Shaw.
No!
- Get back!
- Stop! Don't shoot!
Shrike, get out!
No! Stop shooting!
Anna! Get off!
Listen to me! Stop! Stop!
Shrike, no! Anna, no!
Nils!
- Ka se-wo! Pou ya tek!
- No!
Listen to me, Shrike!
Koyo se!
Get to the Jenny now!
Go! Go!
Hester!
Watch out.
Nils!
Get down!
Everybody, move!
All aviators, evacuate now!
I repeat, evacuate now!
Come on!
This way!
Hester.
No!
No.
Tom! No!
No! Stop!
Stop, Shrike!
Stop. You're gonna kill him.
You will not remember him.
No. I'm the one.
I'm the one you came for.
Let him go.
Let him live.
You are crying.
- He hurt you!
- No.
He can't die.
He can't.
He can't!
He can't.
You...
You...
You love him?
Shrike?
No!
No, Shrike!
This belongs to you.
I release you
from your promise,
Hester Shaw.
Shrike.
Shrike!
Stop it.
The world is changing.
London must now look
beyond Municipal Darwinism
and move into a new age.
Tonight, we set a course
for the savage heartland
of the Anti-Traction League.
The Shield Wall of Shan Guo
and the lands beyond
will become our new
hunting ground.
For centuries, Traction Cities
have attempted
to breach the wall.
Their rotting carcasses
lie at its base.
But that will not be our fate.
Tonight, London
is going to demonstrate
its new power,
a power that will sweep
all before it.
Tonight, we take the fight
to Shan Guo.
Hold your formation
on approach, Jenny Haniver.
Welcome home, Windflower.
Windflower?
I was once kept as a slave
on the Ice City of Arkangel.
I vowed never to be owned
by another again.
I made my friends
swear an oath.
"When this body is done,
"throw my ashes to the wind.
"I can face anything,
even death,
as long as my spirit is free."
The Allied Fleet,
the great defenders
of the East.
Governor Kwan is waiting.
London is fast approaching.
Governor...
launch the fleet.
- We cannot wait.
- What are you suggesting?
A preemptive strike?
Destroy Medusa
before it destroys us.
No, no, no.
You-you... you can't do that.
What choice do we have?
We didn't start this,
but we will finish it.
Hang on a minute, all right?
Listen to me.
There has to be another way.
There are thousands of
innocent people on that city.
They don't deserve to die.
No, they do not.
Nor do we seek
to harm the innocent.
Understand, life is precious
to the Shan Guonese.
So believe me when I say this:
If there was another way,
I would take it.
No. It's my home.
Summon Fleet Command.
We strike first.
Tom.
What's happening?
Go, go, go, go, go, go!
Entering enemy kill zone
in six minutes and 39 seconds.
Raise it up.
We target the searchlights.
Take out
their forward defenses.
London's gun turrets
are deadly.
Don't underestimate them.
We'll have to destroy
all fixed artillery
to access the cathedral.
Take them out.
Hit them hard and fast.
Get them into the air.
Now!
Tom!
Tom! Wait!
London!
What have they done?
- Confirm target coordinates.
- Coordinates confirmed.
Target is locked.
Aso luman sala ta.
Aso luman sala ta...
Tom!
Initiate firing sequence.
Tom!
I have it.
Is that...?
Where did you get this?
Go dark.
They're preparing to fire.
Sound the alarm.
Everybody off the wall!
Run!
Get inside now!
We need to find Anna.
Now, Twix.
London! London! London!
London! London! London! London!
- Hit them again.
- Recharging accumulators.
They're coming through!
Anna!
- We have to get to London!
- Are you crazy?!
They're gonna fire
that weapon again!
Not if we shut it down.
The crash drive.
My mother gave it to me.
Come on, we have to go.
They destroyed
the Allied Fleet.
They didn't destroy us.
Nils, you lead.
Yasmina, stay on his wing.
Khora.
We're gonna be
under heavy fire.
I'll need you
to clear a path for me.
- Anna.
- Go.
Where's Tom?
Tom?
Tom?
You sure you want to do this?
Once we go in,
there's no going back.
I have to.
For my mom.
For Pandora.
Let's go.
They're gonna fire again!
Pull up! Pull up!
Recharge!
Khora.
Khora!
Stay low, Windflower.
We'll draw their fire.
Let's do this!
Kaza wo bu yagen!
Anna, leave it to me.
Nils, watch out!
Nils! No!
Toa, cover Yasmina!
I got this one.
We're hit, Anna! We're hit!
Yasmina, take out the last one!
We're going down! Hang on!
Toa!
Toa, come on.
Come on. Come on, get up.
Hey, get up.
Okay.
Hester!
Take this,
and stay out of sight
- until I give you the signal.
- What signal?
- How will I know?
- Trust me, you'll know.
I'm not that subtle.
Warning.
Core temperature rising.
Increase the coolant!
Recharge!
Over there!
Okay, city boy,
take her from here.
- What?
- I got to go.
I'm late for church.
Hey.
Look after her.
Lock target coordinates.
Target is locked.
Wait!
Temperatures have to stabilize.
Prepare to fire.
Firing sequence initiated.
Do it, Twix!
Watch out!
Warning.
Core temperature critical.
Deploy system override.
Fire again! One more strike,
that wall comes down.
Take cover!
System override initiated.
Firing will commence
in 59 seconds.
She's gonna blow!
Firing will commence
in 45 seconds.
Firing will commence
in 30 seconds.
Come on, come on.
Firing will commence
in 15 seconds.
Ten. Nine.
- Come on.
- Eight.
- Come on. Come on, come on.
- Seven. -
- Six.
- Just let go.
Five. Four.
It's over.
- Three. Two.
- Not yet.
Come on.
One.
Firing sequence terminated.
Go.
System overload. Unstable.
Unstable.
Now it's over.
Kate.
Thank God you're safe.
- We need to go.
- How could you?
How many lives have you taken?
And for what?
I did what I had to.
This city was dying.
- I tried to save it.
- Stop lying to me.
You didn't do this
for any noble cause.
You did it for yourself,
for the power that it gave you.
That's not true.
Kate, we have to go.
We have to go now.
Trust me as you once did.
I can save us both.
Save us from what?
The weapon's destroyed.
The wall is still standing.
- You've failed.
- Failed?
You really don't know me,
do you?
That wall is coming down.
- What have you done?
- Don't go up there.
Katherine!
- Let's go, Gench!
- Roger that.
We must be tethered, boss!
Come in, London Wheelhouse!
London Wheelhouse,
do you read me?
Come in, London Wheelhouse!
Tom?
- Tom, is that you?
- Katherine?
What the hell's going on
down there?
We're on a collision course.
He's driving the city
into the wall.
The brakes are gone.
They're dead.
You're gonna have to cut
London's engines.
I can't.
The controls are shot to hell.
Katherine, I need you
to do something.
Are you listening?
You're not going anywhere.
You're not gonna hurt
anyone else ever again.
Tom, are you sure about this?
Do it!
I will kill you.
I know you will.
Whatever the world
throws at you,
you fight it,
claw your way back.
You don't give up.
You are so like me.
Your mother never told you,
did she?
But then, I guess she
didn't need to, because...
you already knew.
Hester.
You let your guard down.
Is this what you want?
You want to die?
Come on, let's finish it.
No.
I'm gonna live.
Hold on!
Come on.
You're history.
Gench!
So, what happens now?
We go where the wind takes us.
See the world.
What do you say?
I'm coming with you.
MkvCage.ws
60 minutes is all it took
for the Ancients
to bring humanity
to the brink of extinction.
Those who survived
mobilized their settlements
to begin life anew
upon a poisoned Earth.
In the hunt for food and fuel,
the weak perished,
and the strong grew
ever more powerful.
Until a new age arose,
the Age of the Great
Predator Cities of the West.
Two.
Vestin Al-Ga Gustanee.
Osh alga. Aye. Osh alga.
Osh alga kasht du mara Khazak.
Predator! Predator city!
Six miles and closing!
Leave it behind! Let's go!
Leaving!
Hurry! Fire up the engines!
Move it, Dietrich!
Fire them up!
Crank all engines.
- Come on! Come on!
- Engine one is down!
Switch to auxiliaries.
Hurry! Hurry!
- Start them up!
- Full throttle!
Yew sahk!
Full power.
London!
Five, six...
Lord Mayor on deck.
- Lord Mayor.
- Mr. Valentine.
- What have we got?
- Small Bavarian mining town,
powered by C-20 land engines.
Usual store of brick,
coal and iron.
And 75 tons of salt.
Barely enough fuel
to last us a week.
We've left the safety
of Britain,
we've crossed the land bridge,
for what?
To feed upon the scraps
of Europe.
- Run it down.
- Aye, aye, sir.
They're gaining on us.
Empty the silos.
All of them.
Do it!
Get down there!
It's madness out there.
You'd think they've never
seen a chase before.
Well, it has been a while, sir.
- Morning, Clytie.
- Morning, Dr. Pomeroy.
The news is not good
from the Hall of Ceramics.
I'm afraid we've suffered
some casualties.
Damn these bloody vibrations.
- Oh.
- Steady on, Arkie.
No, no, no, no,
d-don't worry about me.
We're about to lose
our American deities.
Excuse me, Dr. Pomeroy?
Good morning, Miss Valentine.
I've been waiting outside
the Manuscripts Room
for quite some time.
Your 9:00?
I do apologize.
This is not good enough.
Where the hell is Tom?
- Coming through!
- London! London!
Watch yourself!
- Whoa!
- Watch it!
Whoa!
Sorry. Sorry.
London! London! London!
Give me everything you have.
They're heading
for the foothills.
- Stay on course.
- Sir?
Stay on course.
Take the shot.
Incoming!
Yes! Yes!
Well done, everyone.
- Prepare to ingest.
- Aye, aye, sir.
Ah, Mr. Natsworthy.
Nice of you to join us.
I'm so sorry I'm late, sir.
You look nice.
Have you had a haircut?
- I don't want to hear it, Tom.
- Is that new cologne?
You're already
on your third warning.
This is your last.
Citizens of Salzhaken,
welcome to London.
Bring only your personal
possessions with you.
Old tech is to be deposited
in the bins provided.
Citizens of Salzhaken,
welcome to London.
All right, then. Follow me.
So, you're studying
the end of the Ancients?
What I really need
are firsthand accounts
of the Sixty Minute War.
Journals, books,
personal papers.
Very few written records
survived during that period.
It may very well be they forgot
how to read
and write altogether.
But if it's the
Sixty Minute War you're after,
follow me.
Just give us a minute.
Strange to think
this is what it looked like.
21st century? Yep.
It's so different.
Yeah, well, that's what happens
when the Earth's crust
gets shattered
into a thousand pieces.
Check this out.
- Did you make this?
- Yeah.
Bits of old scrap tech I found.
The power system was a little
bit tricky, but luckily,
I got my man Matthew there
limbered up and ready to go.
This is what I wanted
to show you.
It's a quantum energy weapon.
There were dozens of them
all over the globe.
My God.
They called it Medusa.
How can a society so advanced,
so scientific, be so stupid?
Well, no more stupid
than people today.
They just had far worse weapons
and far more sophisticated
control systems.
What a nightmare.
Well, the Ancients
felt the same way.
That's why they created
this little fella.
A crash drive
to shut down the weapon.
Doesn't this stuff
creep you out?
Let me tell you something.
We come across dangerous tech
that's in way better condition
than this junk all the time.
Now, I've noticed that pieces
have started to go missing.
I notified my boss,
who notified his boss,
and of course nothing happened,
so I decided to take
a few precautions of my own.
All of it is viable
weapons-grade tech.
- God help us.
- The next time we cross
the marshlands, I'm tossing
the entire bloody lot
over the side.
Just let it sink
to the bottom of a swamp
where no one will ever find it.
Miss Valentine. You should have
told me you were coming.
I would have laid
something on for you.
Hello, Herbert.
What are you still
doing here, Natsworthy?
You're on gut duty.
No, I'm assisting
Miss Valentine.
Not anymore.
- You've been demoted.
- What?
- Uh, by who?
- By me.
You're just a skivvy
from the lower tiers
with no family
and no prospects.
If those dim-witted
spanner-heads
beat you to the bins again,
you'll be back
to cleaning the bogs.
Chop-chop.
Well, it's been lovely
chatting.
I have to go.
It's rush hour.
He'll never make it.
Wait! Tom!
Tom, wait!
- I can get you down there.
- You what?
I can get you down there.
Citizens of Salzhaken,
welcome to London.
Bring only your
personal possessions with you.
Old tech is to be deposited
in the bins provided.
- -Uh...
- Okay.
- Hey.
- Excuse me.
- Sorry.
I'm with her.
I don't know, I'm with her.
- Come on through.
- Really?
On you go.
Sorry about that.
And that's it? We're through?
Just like that.
Stay in your allocated line.
Possession of any form of
weapon is strictly prohibited.
Hold up, hold up.
What's this, then?
- We'll have that.
- Incomers failing to follow instructions
will be detained.
So, what's the rush?
Well, got to get down there
and go through all the
artifacts taken off the catch.
And anything of historical
importance goes to the museum.
But if I'm late,
the gut workers
shovel everything
into the furnaces.
All they care about
is feeding the beast.
...failing
to follow instructions
- will be detained.
- No, no weapons allowed.
- You cannot treat us like this!
- You stupid? No weapons.
...must be
presented for inspection.
Be aware, children may be
temporarily separated
from parents.
Nether Borough Station.
Disembark here
for Digestion Yards,
Incomer Processing
and Main Engine Rooms.
Mind the drop.
They still haven't caught her?
Who, Anna Fang?
Yeah.
Bloody Anti-Tractionist.
Should be locked up,
in my opinion.
Next one. Move it.
What about you, eh?
What are you hiding?
Yeah, all right. Go through.
Next.
- You there.
- Incomers failing
to follow instructions
will be detained.
All belongings must be
presented for inspection.
We're the enemy.
Anti-Tractionists loathe
everything we stand for.
Yeah, what, like progress?
But it's not progress,
not to them.
To them, our way of life
is unsustainable.
- They see Tractionism as a...
- Oh, oh!
Careful.
Oh, Bevis, mate.
Your tools
are all over the floor.
I'm so sorry.
You all right, Tom?
- On bins again?
- Yeah.
- What are you doing down here?
- Waste chute maintenance.
I got it. Just leave it.
I really am sorry.
I didn't see you.
Why would you?
Bevis, this is Katherine...
Yeah, I know who she is.
Catch you later.
No, no, no, you don't!
Stop! Oh, no, no, no.
Stop! Stop!
That is a Sunbeam TA200.
That's a classic
Radiant Control
double-slice toaster
with automatic bread ejection.
All right? We have to...
And you've lost the knob.
Oh, for Quirke's sake.
Someone knows
their small appliances.
Here.
Very, very nice.
I've dug up a few of these
in my time,
but none as good as this.
Couple of small dents,
a little bit of tarnishing.
Springs gone,
but they always are.
Yeah, well...
That is far better
than anything
in the museum's
current collection.
Well done.
That's high praise
coming from you, sir.
You know, I-I just want to say,
I-I've read all your books.
- Oh, don't encourage him.
- I...
His head's quite big enough.
Hi, Dad.
Kate, what are you doing here?
- I thought you were going to the museum.
- I did.
That's where I bumped into Tom.
Tom.
Tom Natsworthy, isn't it?
Yes, it is.
I knew your parents.
They were lovely people.
- First-class historians, both.
- Excuse me.
I thought you had plans
to be an aviator.
Oh, yeah, I was,
but then I gave it all up.
I mean, history's
more my thing, sir.
I'm surprised they called you
down here
for such a small catch.
Don't underestimate
what's buried
out there in the salt flats.
These... these mining towns
have a way
of digging up
really interesting...
...old tech.
- No way.
- What is that?
That is a fusion inverter cell.
Incredibly rare
and really dangerous.
And you know the Guild of
Engineers nicked all the ones
we had in store at the museum
just a few months ago?
Pomeroy was furious.
Well, they won't get
their hands on this one.
I'll make sure
it's disposed of properly.
Engineers, eh?
They think they run the place.
They don't know
what they're playing with.
- Fire.
- Sorry?
They're playing with fire.
I said get your hands off!
Never!
Oi!
What's going on?
Take this gentleman
to the medics.
I want that man on a charge.
Move it.
That should never have
happened; you all deserve
to be treated
with dignity and respect.
You will be given food,
shelter and employment.
A chance to build a future,
make a new life.
Hey! Watch out!
Valentine.
This is for my mother.
This is for Pandora Shaw.
Dad!
No!
- There!
- Come on.
- Down here!
- Hey, you!
No! Stop her!
Hey, come back here! Stop!
Get out of the way!
Dad!
Stay here.
No! No!
Wait!
Come on!
Come on!
No!
I've got you.
Let go of me!
Tom!
Tom?
Look at me. Look at me.
This is what he does
when you get in his way.
Ask him why
he murdered my mother.
Ask him about Hester Shaw.
No. No!
I-I tried.
I-I tried to stop her.
It's not your fault.
She was saying
the craziest things,
- and then she just...
- What did she say?
- You-you need a doctor.
- No, no.
What did she say, Tom?
She said you murdered
her mother.
Murder?
That's an ugly word.
I'm sorry you had to hear that.
Yeah.
Well, I should go.
Yeah, you should.
Dad!
Dad.
It's all right. It's all right.
I'm okay. I'll be okay.
I'll be okay.
Kate, I'm sorry.
There was nothing I could do.
What do you mean?
They were fighting,
Tom and the girl.
The railing broke.
Coming through!
I'm sorry about Tom.
I really am.
We have airships
out there looking.
If he's alive, we'll find him.
- What is it?
- The girl.
Who was she?
Honestly, I don't know.
Been wondering
about that myself.
She knew you.
I've never seen her
in my life before.
I thought maybe she was
an Anti-Tractionist.
God knows they hate us enough.
I know you want to believe
that Traction Cities
and static settlements
can live together in peace,
but it'll never happen.
- You don't know that.
- Then why do they hide
behind the Shield Wall,
hoarding their resources?
They mean to see us
starve out here, Kate.
Never underestimate
their will to destroy us.
There will never be peace
with Shan Guo.
This is ruined.
I'll get rid of it.
Ow, my head.
What?
Wait.
What's going on?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hang on, hang on.
You see, you-you can't
just leave me here.
You shouldn't have followed me.
I didn't follow you.
I fell.
He pushed me.
Hey.
Wait.
Oh, for Quirke's sake.
Oi.
I'm talking to you.
Hello?
What am I supposed to do, eh?
Where am I supposed to go?
- I need to get back on London.
- Six months!
- Just take it easy.
- Six months it took me to get on that city.
I had one shot at Valentine,
and you ruined it.
Okay. All right. All right.
I have money.
No, you don't.
Please.
Please help me get back
on London.
Help me find a trading town.
You'll never see me again.
We're running low
on food, fuel, basic resources.
We can't survive out here
much longer.
We should never have gone
into Europe.
Biggest mistake we ever made.
Well, we have other options.
Ah, yes. Your long-awaited
energy project.
- It'll work.
- I've heard that before.
I just need a little more time.
Always so sure of yourself.
Thaddeus Valentine,
the great archaeologist.
Man of the people.
One of the reasons
I took you in,
why I allowed an outsider
from nowhere
to have power
above his station.
But my patience
is wearing thin.
I raised you up.
I can tear you down.
How can you stand him?
He's afraid.
He's trying to hang on
to a way of life
that doesn't exist anymore.
Municipal Darwinism.
It's a dying system.
Prey has all but gone.
Soon, there'll be nothing left.
I'm trying to build
this city a future,
but Crome's stuck in the past.
Where are you going?
Dad, you can't go to work.
I'm fine, Kate.
You're not fine.
You're injured.
You need to rest.
I've spent 15 years
developing this power system.
I'm not having Magnus Crome
or Hester Shaw stop me now.
Who's Hester Shaw?
No one.
No one you know.
Could you slow down, please?
You want to find
a trading town?
Keep moving.
- My feet hurt.
- Get used to it.
That's what I like about you.
Your boundless sense
of empathy.
- What did you say?
- Nothing. I...
You're right.
Look, I-I talk too much.
Especially when I'm nervous.
But I'm not gonna talk anymore.
Zipped.
No more talking.
Don't worry about me.
I'm more than capable
of looking after myself.
Might surprise you to learn
that I was gonna be an aviator.
I have a faultless sense
of direction.
All right.
Which way?
Oh.
My navigational instincts
tell me...
...we should go...
...that way.
That way, definitely.
Those tracks head south.
Yeah.
You never head south
in the Outlands.
Not ever.
I've reconfigured the metrics.
You can amplify
the magnetic resonance
using materials on hand.
- What else do you need?
- Several more weeks.
Unless you can find me
more old tech.
All the old tech comes to you.
I'll need more than one
to stabilize the isotopes.
Make it work.
I hear you suffered
an injury this morning.
You never told me
Pandora Shaw had a daughter.
She could be a problem.
She won't stop until I'm dead.
Unless you kill her first.
I received a message from
Sharkmoor Prison this morning.
They claim to have captured
a Stalker.
One of the Resurrected.
A bounty killer gone rogue.
Well, it's no use to us.
Too hard to control.
They say it was hunting
something.
Or someone.
It appears the two of you
share a common interest.
This thing is so fixated
on its prey,
all it does is pound the walls
of its cell,
shrieking her name.
Hester Shaw.
- Where to, boss?
- Sharkmoor Prison.
No fires.
Unless you want every Scav town
from here to Rustwater
to find us.
That, uh... that doesn't look
clean enough to wash in.
I-I wouldn't...
Oh, my God, that's disgusting.
Thirst will kill you
before hunger.
It's either this or you can
drink your own urine.
I'll take my chances.
"Best before 2118"?
It's an Inkie.
- It's over a thousand years old.
- Doesn't matter.
The food of the Ancients never
goes off. It's indestructible.
It's so quiet out here.
Doesn't that bother you?
I like the quiet.
I grew up with the sound
of engines.
I've never known anything else.
It's funny, you know.
I've spent my whole life
dreaming
of getting off London,
seeing the world,
and now I'm out here, talking
about drinking my own urine.
Careful what you wish for, eh?
I thought you wanted
to be an aviator.
Oh, I did.
But then my parents died.
Eight years ago now.
When Tier Four collapsed
in the Big Tilt.
Yeah.
What about you?
Well, how old were you
when your mother died?
- We're not gonna do this.
- Do what?
We're not gonna tell each other
our sad stories.
I can't help you.
And you can't help me.
Hello!
Hello! Over here!
- Tom.
- Hey!
- Get down!
- It's a trading town.
Look, look, look, look.
Look.
Oh, God.
They're Southies.
- That was close.
- Too close.
- Get off me.
- Oh.
Run!
Whoa!
What the hell are Southies?
Scavs on a night hunt.
What are they hunting?
Us.
I've got you.
Come on!
Hester? Hester!
Are you in one piece?
Yes.
Oh. Oh!
Couple more seconds, and
you'd have been fender meat.
Lucky for you, we was here.
How bad is it?
She needs a doctor.
No quacks here.
Not on Scuttlebutt.
Could you take us
to the nearest town?
- What?
- Chipping Sodbury.
That'd be the nearest,
wouldn't you say, Mr. Wreyland?
- I would, my love.
- Well, go on, then.
Set a heading north.
We must look after our guests.
Tea?
Don't mind if I do.
I make it myself.
The algae's fresh.
Oh, it's actually not bad.
It's not bad. Bottoms up.
Funny you should say that.
We grow it in the runoff
under the sewage room.
Oh, nasty.
That's gonna leave a scar.
You don't need any more
of those, do you, Petal?
Disembark
here for Digestion Yards,
Incomer Processing
and Main Engine Rooms.
Bevis. Bevis Pod.
I need to speak to you.
- I can't help you.
- Wha...?
The-the girl
that attacked my father...
I don't know what
you're talking about.
What do you mean?
You were there.
You saw what happened.
Nether Borough Station.
Disembark here for
Digestion Yards,
Incomer Processing...
Are you trying
to get me arrested?
The first rule down here is:
"Keep your mouth shut."
My father's in
some kind of trouble.
He's lying to me.
I need to know why.
Your father lies
to a lot of people.
What's that supposed to mean?
Please.
I just want to know the truth.
- No, you don't.
- I promise you. My father's a good man.
- He would never do...
- No, just stop. Stop.
He pushed him.
Your father pushed Tom
off the city.
Why?
Why would he do that to Tom?
Because he got in the way.
It's a lie.
A cover-up.
They're building something
in there.
Something they don't want
anyone to see.
Excuse me, ma'am.
I tried to get inside,
but there are guards
at every entrance.
There's no way in.
What if there was?
Here we are, then.
It's not the Lord Mayor's Suite
at the Boggy Regis,
but it's better than a poke
in the eye with a burnt stick.
Mm.
Make yourselves at home.
I'll be back bright and early
to empty your slops.
- Thank you.
- Not much of a talker, is she?
Your girlfriend.
Oh, no, no, no, no, she's
not... she's not my girlfriend.
Of course not.
Handsome boy like you.
You can do much better.
All right, well, good night,
Mrs. Wreyland.
Oh, dear. There I go
putting me foot in it.
- I didn't mean...
- No, I know what you meant.
Look, you-you take the bed;
I'll take the...
...floor.
This is all my fault.
I'm sorry.
I was eight.
I was eight years old
when my mother died.
She was an archaeologist.
She loved traveling the world
and digging up the past.
They're beautiful.
He used to visit all the time.
He'd spend hours
poring over the things
that she had found.
Then one day...
everything changed.
She'd found something
on one of her digs
in Lost America.
Something he wanted.
- Pandora, what are you doing?
- No. No. No.
What was it?
I don't know.
Stop it! Don't do this!
Let go of me!
- I'm taking it.
- No.
Mom!
Mama.
Hester, take this.
Keep it safe.
Mama!
But he killed her for it.
Mom! Mama!
Run, Hester!
Hester!
He would have killed me, too.
But I got away.
We caught it
on the edge of the marshlands.
- Please stop!
- It had torn apart a whole town.
- Murdered them all.
- Stop it!
I lost a dozen good men
bringing it in.
Hester!
There'd always been rumors
that a few had survived,
the ones that turned rogue
after the Nomad Wars.
Hester!
But I never thought I'd live
to see one in the flesh.
Not that there's much
of that left.
Hester!
Hester!
The last
of the Lazarus Brigade.
Resurrected from
the sleep of death.
I do not sleep.
No, you've been hunting her,
haven't you?
Hunting Hester Shaw.
Why?
Answer me.
She broke her promise.
What happens when you find her?
What happens
when you find Hester Shaw?
I will kill her.
Are you sure about this?
There's no telling
what that thing might do.
I know exactly what it will do.
Hold it steady.
Oh, what-what's wrong?
We've changed direction.
We're heading south.
Get the door.
It's locked.
We're locked in.
Must be something around here.
All right. Maybe.
You have my knife?
If we climb along that ducting,
we can jump from the back.
It's no more than,
like, 20 feet.
- I can't.
- Yes, you can.
No, I can't.
I'll-I'll never make the jump.
Uh, you will. I'll help you.
Head due north.
There's a way station
called Ramskate.
You can catch an airfreighter
from there.
- Get him out! Move it!
- Go.
- All right.
- Come on, you lot.
Fine.
Ah, stop your sniveling.
Help!
What are you waiting for? Go.
- Come here.
- No!
- Come here.
- Listen to me.
Hai-ji!
No! No!
Ya ma-tee bihd.
Time to check out, folks.
- Come on, out you come.
- No.
No.
Move it!
- That was your chance.
- Well, I couldn't do it.
I couldn't leave you.
Well, then you're a fool.
I would've left you.
Ladies and gentlemen...
Welcome to Rustwater Market.
This next item
is a vintage piece.
Now, she may look a little
tatty around the edges,
but she's a little ripper.
So, who'll give me 12 quirkes?
Eh?
Oh, come on.
Last chance to secure
this genuine antique.
Ten quirkes,
or I'm chucking her in.
- Two!
- Sold!
Next!
Oh, yeah.
Stone the crows.
Full disclosure to
my valued clients at the back:
This one is a real swamp donkey
and priced accordingly.
Do I have ten quirkes?
- Three.
- Oh, you stingy bastard, De Groot.
You could do better than that.
I'm fully aware
of the exorbitant margins
currently enjoyed
by the sausage-making sector.
Hester!
Five quirkes, and she's yours.
- Four.
- Four quirkes to my left.
- Do I hear five?
- Hester!
Shut up!
Cheer up, love.
You'll look considerably better
as a roll of salami.
Going once.
- Going twice.
- 50!
An unregistered bidder.
Please, approach the stage.
50 quirkes
for this soggy dollop is
an extraordinarily
generous offer, madam.
Normally, that would be enough
to make me self-pollinate.
But my problem is this:
50 quirkes
is not 50,000 quirkes.
Get to the point.
Well, it's quite simple,
really.
There is a bounty
on your head, Miss Fang.
So, either you pay me
50,000 quirkes for the girlie,
or I claim it from the
authorities when I hand you in.
Why don't we settle this...
...with "buy it now."
Hester!
Come!
- Wait!
- Hester!
Hurry!
Anti-Tractionists!
See, I knew
you wouldn't leave me.
Shut up and run.
Anti-Tractionists!
Anti-Tractionists!
Whoa!
This way.
Whoa!
- That's a Resurrected Man.
- Shrike.
His name is Shrike.
You made me a promise,
Hester Shaw.
Now you must keep it.
Go now! Run!
This way!
Come on! Come on!
Hester! Come on.
Where did he go?
Come on. Come on!
Hester!
Get on!
I've got you.
- Wait!
- Leave him.
Tom!
Cut the rope! Do it!
Catch!
Where are you taking us?
Just stay behind me.
I'll handle this.
How?
How exactly will you handle it?
Easy, all right?
Just...
I'm just messing with you.
Sit down. Both of you.
That means you, too, city boy.
Sit.
You're injured.
You saved our lives.
Why?
You don't trust anybody,
do you?
Just like your mother.
You look like her, too.
You knew her?
Pandora Shaw was
the bravest woman I ever met.
After she died,
I looked for you.
I looked for a long time.
Like everybody else,
I thought you were dead.
When I heard you were alive,
made me wonder,
how did an eight-year-old girl
survive all alone
in the Outlands?
Now I know.
You were raised by that corpse.
- You don't know what you're talking about.
- Actually, I do.
- No, you don't.
- I've studied them.
- You've studied them?
- I know a lot about the Resurrected.
You don't know anything
about him.
The people who created them
were insane.
Off-the-charts crazy.
They took all the worst parts
- of themselves...
- Shut up.
...all the savagery
and cruelty and hatred,
and poured it into these
machines, these monsters.
Shut up!
He saved my life.
You're an idiot.
Mr. Valentine.
- Not now.
- I'm sure you know who I am.
- No, I don't.
- Herbert Melliphant.
Your daughter's
a very good friend of mine.
No, she's not.
Sir, I have something
that may be of interest to you.
A cache of old tech.
High-quality, military-grade.
I'm overdue a promotion myself.
I'm thinking a university post
or an honorary degree?
A position with a title.
You have a supply of old tech?
Where is it?
Shrike saved my life.
He took me in.
He looked after me.
In his own way.
Eat.
The living must eat.
He liked to collect things.
Broken things.
Things that others
had thrown away.
I think he saw
in those strange machines
a reflection of himself.
Where is his heart?
It has no heart.
Like me.
I think, somewhere deep inside,
a memory remained.
A memory from another life.
I think he had a family once.
You are sad.
Always sad, Hester Shaw.
Your heart is broken.
I will take away the pain.
I will remake you,
as I was remade.
You're gonna kill me.
For a little while.
I made him a promise.
I would become like him.
My flesh, steel.
My nerves, wire.
My mind wiped clean.
No thoughts.
- No!
- No feelings.
- Mom!
- Nothing.
I would be free.
If that's what you wanted,
why did you leave?
Because six months ago,
London crossed the land bridge,
and Thaddeus Valentine
came within my reach.
Hester...!
That's it.
That's my sad story.
Where are we going?
Have you heard
of the Cat's Cradle?
The Cat's Cradle?
I thought it was a myth.
It's not a myth.
It was built by the Scriven
in the first days of London.
It's the sort of thing
historians know about
and everyone else
has forgotten.
You're too late.
Dr. Pomeroy?
They came in this morning,
a couple of thugs
from the Guild of Engineers.
I tried to stop them.
They knocked me to the ground.
They knew what
they were looking for.
They cleaned the place out.
Took it all to St. Paul's.
There are over a thousand
stairs in the Cradle.
Turn upon turn.
But eventually they lead to
the crypt beneath St. Paul's.
Be careful, child.
Whatever it is
they are doing in that church
has nothing to do with God.
Hold her steady for a second.
Not bad.
You've done this before?
Yeah. A bit.
Good. You can take her in.
Take her in? Where?
You are cleared for landing,
Jenny Haniver. Dock seven.
Welcome to Airhaven.
What are they saying?
Captain Khora was just offering
to buy you dinner.
Weren't you, Captain?
Sure. Why not?
Magnetic resonance is climbing,
holding at full capacity.
All systems are active.
She's ready.
It will all be for nothing
unless we act now.
London must turn east.
New bearing
confirmed, 90 degrees.
Coordinates set:
51 degrees north
by 71 degrees east.
Why are we altering course?
We're executing
the new order, sir.
Whose order?
Windflower.
Wh-Wh-Whoa, what's going on?
They're the Ruh-shan.
The Anti-Traction League
of Shan Guo.
This is about my mother,
isn't it?
Before she died,
Pandora found something.
Something dangerous.
She was afraid of Valentine,
of what he might do.
She said, if anything
should happen to her,
I was to find you.
That you could stop him.
- I don't know what you're talking about.
- Think.
Think hard.
You must remember.
He took something from her.
What? What did he take?
A piece of old tech.
- What kind of old tech?
- I don't know.
She was eight years old.
She doesn't remember.
Then perhaps you can help us,
Londoner.
- Hey!
- Hey.
Get off me! Get off!
What are they building
in that cathedral?
Six months ago,
Valentine started buying up
fusion inverter cells
- from Scav traders.
- Wait, wait, wait, wait.
- Fusion inverters?
- You know something?
No, that's...
that's impossible.
He'd have had to have found...
That piece of old tech
that Valentine took
from your mother,
did it have a symbol on it?
Like...
Like this?
Yes.
Your mother found
a computer core.
The control system
of a quantum energy weapon.
Medusa is live.
Go, go, go.
- How do we shut it down?
- You don't.
Well, not without
the crash drive.
- Anglish, halviti.
- It's a type of key.
A kill switch that overrides
the firing sequence.
Once it's initiated, the weapon
would self-destruct.
This key, does London have it?
No, it would be
long gone, lost.
Why should we care
about those barbarians?
Let Valentine burn
every Traction City
from here to the Ice Wastes.
He didn't come here
looking for prey.
Valentine has
another target in mind.
You dare countermand
an order of Lord Mayor?
My God.
Nothing can stand
in the face of this.
Not the battle hammers
of Arkangel,
not the howitzers
of Panzerstadt.
Not even the guns
of the Anti-Tractionists.
In the great game of survival,
this is checkmate.
London's heading east.
They are moving at speed
towards Shan Guo.
I last saw them
near the Tannhauser Mountains.
They will have reached
the Eastern Plateau by now.
- How much time do we have?
- A few hours, at most.
You mean to go to war?
You cannot ignore
the lessons of the past
as if they count for nothing.
There are no lessons
to be learned from the past.
History doesn't care.
It is dead.
This is the future.
The man who controls this
controls the world.
Is there no end
to your ambition?
You control nothing.
Shut this down.
I want all codes
and operational controls
handed in to my office
immediately.
Didn't you hear me?
I said...
You cling to the past
as if it can save you.
You're a relic of a dying age.
A dinosaur.
What does that make you?
Me? I'm the meteor.
Katherine, come on. Come on.
No, no. Katherine.
You can't go back.
I know he's your father.
You have to let him go.
He's not my father.
Not anymore.
They're gonna attack
the Shield Wall.
Get word to Governor Kwan.
Hey!
For crying out loud.
- Hey!
- Check the fuel line!
Power's out everywhere.
What is it? What's going on?
It's a diversion.
Fire!
To create chaos.
Fire!
What the hell is that?!
Shrike is here.
Hester Shaw.
No!
- Get back!
- Stop! Don't shoot!
Shrike, get out!
No! Stop shooting!
Anna! Get off!
Listen to me! Stop! Stop!
Shrike, no! Anna, no!
Nils!
- Ka se-wo! Pou ya tek!
- No!
Listen to me, Shrike!
Koyo se!
Get to the Jenny now!
Go! Go!
Hester!
Watch out.
Nils!
Get down!
Everybody, move!
All aviators, evacuate now!
I repeat, evacuate now!
Come on!
This way!
Hester.
No!
No.
Tom! No!
No! Stop!
Stop, Shrike!
Stop. You're gonna kill him.
You will not remember him.
No. I'm the one.
I'm the one you came for.
Let him go.
Let him live.
You are crying.
- He hurt you!
- No.
He can't die.
He can't.
He can't!
He can't.
You...
You...
You love him?
Shrike?
No!
No, Shrike!
This belongs to you.
I release you
from your promise,
Hester Shaw.
Shrike.
Shrike!
Stop it.
The world is changing.
London must now look
beyond Municipal Darwinism
and move into a new age.
Tonight, we set a course
for the savage heartland
of the Anti-Traction League.
The Shield Wall of Shan Guo
and the lands beyond
will become our new
hunting ground.
For centuries, Traction Cities
have attempted
to breach the wall.
Their rotting carcasses
lie at its base.
But that will not be our fate.
Tonight, London
is going to demonstrate
its new power,
a power that will sweep
all before it.
Tonight, we take the fight
to Shan Guo.
Hold your formation
on approach, Jenny Haniver.
Welcome home, Windflower.
Windflower?
I was once kept as a slave
on the Ice City of Arkangel.
I vowed never to be owned
by another again.
I made my friends
swear an oath.
"When this body is done,
"throw my ashes to the wind.
"I can face anything,
even death,
as long as my spirit is free."
The Allied Fleet,
the great defenders
of the East.
Governor Kwan is waiting.
London is fast approaching.
Governor...
launch the fleet.
- We cannot wait.
- What are you suggesting?
A preemptive strike?
Destroy Medusa
before it destroys us.
No, no, no.
You-you... you can't do that.
What choice do we have?
We didn't start this,
but we will finish it.
Hang on a minute, all right?
Listen to me.
There has to be another way.
There are thousands of
innocent people on that city.
They don't deserve to die.
No, they do not.
Nor do we seek
to harm the innocent.
Understand, life is precious
to the Shan Guonese.
So believe me when I say this:
If there was another way,
I would take it.
No. It's my home.
Summon Fleet Command.
We strike first.
Tom.
What's happening?
Go, go, go, go, go, go!
Entering enemy kill zone
in six minutes and 39 seconds.
Raise it up.
We target the searchlights.
Take out
their forward defenses.
London's gun turrets
are deadly.
Don't underestimate them.
We'll have to destroy
all fixed artillery
to access the cathedral.
Take them out.
Hit them hard and fast.
Get them into the air.
Now!
Tom!
Tom! Wait!
London!
What have they done?
- Confirm target coordinates.
- Coordinates confirmed.
Target is locked.
Aso luman sala ta.
Aso luman sala ta...
Tom!
Initiate firing sequence.
Tom!
I have it.
Is that...?
Where did you get this?
Go dark.
They're preparing to fire.
Sound the alarm.
Everybody off the wall!
Run!
Get inside now!
We need to find Anna.
Now, Twix.
London! London! London!
London! London! London! London!
- Hit them again.
- Recharging accumulators.
They're coming through!
Anna!
- We have to get to London!
- Are you crazy?!
They're gonna fire
that weapon again!
Not if we shut it down.
The crash drive.
My mother gave it to me.
Come on, we have to go.
They destroyed
the Allied Fleet.
They didn't destroy us.
Nils, you lead.
Yasmina, stay on his wing.
Khora.
We're gonna be
under heavy fire.
I'll need you
to clear a path for me.
- Anna.
- Go.
Where's Tom?
Tom?
Tom?
You sure you want to do this?
Once we go in,
there's no going back.
I have to.
For my mom.
For Pandora.
Let's go.
They're gonna fire again!
Pull up! Pull up!
Recharge!
Khora.
Khora!
Stay low, Windflower.
We'll draw their fire.
Let's do this!
Kaza wo bu yagen!
Anna, leave it to me.
Nils, watch out!
Nils! No!
Toa, cover Yasmina!
I got this one.
We're hit, Anna! We're hit!
Yasmina, take out the last one!
We're going down! Hang on!
Toa!
Toa, come on.
Come on. Come on, get up.
Hey, get up.
Okay.
Hester!
Take this,
and stay out of sight
- until I give you the signal.
- What signal?
- How will I know?
- Trust me, you'll know.
I'm not that subtle.
Warning.
Core temperature rising.
Increase the coolant!
Recharge!
Over there!
Okay, city boy,
take her from here.
- What?
- I got to go.
I'm late for church.
Hey.
Look after her.
Lock target coordinates.
Target is locked.
Wait!
Temperatures have to stabilize.
Prepare to fire.
Firing sequence initiated.
Do it, Twix!
Watch out!
Warning.
Core temperature critical.
Deploy system override.
Fire again! One more strike,
that wall comes down.
Take cover!
System override initiated.
Firing will commence
in 59 seconds.
She's gonna blow!
Firing will commence
in 45 seconds.
Firing will commence
in 30 seconds.
Come on, come on.
Firing will commence
in 15 seconds.
Ten. Nine.
- Come on.
- Eight.
- Come on. Come on, come on.
- Seven. -
- Six.
- Just let go.
Five. Four.
It's over.
- Three. Two.
- Not yet.
Come on.
One.
Firing sequence terminated.
Go.
System overload. Unstable.
Unstable.
Now it's over.
Kate.
Thank God you're safe.
- We need to go.
- How could you?
How many lives have you taken?
And for what?
I did what I had to.
This city was dying.
- I tried to save it.
- Stop lying to me.
You didn't do this
for any noble cause.
You did it for yourself,
for the power that it gave you.
That's not true.
Kate, we have to go.
We have to go now.
Trust me as you once did.
I can save us both.
Save us from what?
The weapon's destroyed.
The wall is still standing.
- You've failed.
- Failed?
You really don't know me,
do you?
That wall is coming down.
- What have you done?
- Don't go up there.
Katherine!
- Let's go, Gench!
- Roger that.
We must be tethered, boss!
Come in, London Wheelhouse!
London Wheelhouse,
do you read me?
Come in, London Wheelhouse!
Tom?
- Tom, is that you?
- Katherine?
What the hell's going on
down there?
We're on a collision course.
He's driving the city
into the wall.
The brakes are gone.
They're dead.
You're gonna have to cut
London's engines.
I can't.
The controls are shot to hell.
Katherine, I need you
to do something.
Are you listening?
You're not going anywhere.
You're not gonna hurt
anyone else ever again.
Tom, are you sure about this?
Do it!
I will kill you.
I know you will.
Whatever the world
throws at you,
you fight it,
claw your way back.
You don't give up.
You are so like me.
Your mother never told you,
did she?
But then, I guess she
didn't need to, because...
you already knew.
Hester.
You let your guard down.
Is this what you want?
You want to die?
Come on, let's finish it.
No.
I'm gonna live.
Hold on!
Come on.
You're history.
Gench!
So, what happens now?
We go where the wind takes us.
See the world.
What do you say?
I'm coming with you.
MkvCage.ws