The Black Sun

“Look at this…

(it’s ashes.)

We could have built a new Krypton 

in this squalor. 

But you chose 

The Humans 

over Us. 

I exist, only to protect Krypton. 

That is The Sole Purpose 

for which I was born. 

And every action I take, 

no matter HOW Violent, or how CRUEL...

is for The Greater Good...

of My People. 

And now... 

...I have no People. 

My Soul... 

...that is what you have 

taken from me. 

I'm going to make Them suffer, Kal. 

These Humans you've adopted —

I will take them 

ALL from you... 

…ONE by ONE.

— Zod.

“Kalsched describes a split between the vulnerable and shamefully hidden remainder the "whole Self," often portrayed as a child or animal, and "a powerful, benevolent or malevolent great being" who protects the innocent being. 

What seems counterintuitive in his description is that this "protector" should show itself also as a malevolent force in the psyche, one that often persecutes the personal spirit and shows itself to the dream ego as a daemonic and terrifying force. 

He notes that most "contemporary writers tend to see this attacking figure as an internalized version of the actual perception of the trauma.”

However, for Kalsched, this is only half correct since "the internal figure is often EVEN MORE SADISTIC and brutal than the actual `outer world perpetrator."' 

For Kalsched, this indicates that we are dealing with something that is contributed from The Psyche, a psychological factor and "an archetypal traumatogenic agency within The Psyche itself."" It is strange to think of such a brutal force as a "protector." 

Kalsched explains that the intention of this daemonic force is to prevent at all costs the reexperiencing of the horror, the genesis of the traumatogenic organization. 

The daemons of the inner world, like the temple lions at the entrance of sacred spaces, serve to keep away The Unprepared. 

They will "disperse fragments (dissociation) or encapsulate it and sooth it with fantasy (schizoid withdrawal) or numb it with intoxicating substances (addictions) or persecute it to keep it from Hoping for Life in This World (depression)."" 

Hope would open The Soul, leaving it vulnerable to what is imagined as an even more painful experience than that which the "protective daemon" enforces on the wounded "personal spirit." 

It is often the case, however, that The Cure is worse than The "Illness," even if this cannot be seen from within the experience of the overwhelming threat that continues in the wake of trauma. The fact that The Ego does not notice the problematic character of The Cure sets the stage for the fact that "the primitive defense does not learn anything about realistic danger.... Each new life opportunity is mistakenly seen as a dangerous threat of re-traumatization and is therefore attacked. In this way, the archaic defenses become Anti-Life Forces which Freud understandably thought of as part of The Death Instinct."

This is not surprising since the "self-care system" will "go to any length to protect The Self" in spite of the continual masochistic suffering involved, "even to the point of killing the host personality in which this personal spirit is housed 

As a result, what was intended to be a defence against further trauma now becomes itself destructive in a variety of ways: "The person survives but cannot live creatively."" 

Such consequences also manifest themselves in the ravages of depression and melancholic affect "engineered by our self-care system..""

No… No, You Ate Yours.

Great Meals fade in reflection. 

Everything else gains. 

Do you know why? 

'Cause it's only Food. 

This shit we put in us, 

keeps us going, 

it's only Food.

Shrink :

Who's gonna tell me about it, then?

You or The Boil?

Richard E. Grant :

No, no. I think we should start again.

There's no 'side' to any of this.

There is Me. There is a Boil.

The Boil happens to be Abel to Speak, 

but that doesn't qualify it 

to give an opinion.

It was Me that decided

to come here, not it.

Shrink :

You don't think the inclusion

of The Boil could perhaps help us?

No. I'm not interested in its opinions.

Shrink :

Even if it says something

that might be of relevance?

Shrink :

I'm not interested in it,

no matter what it says.

In my opinion, it should 

be lanced instantly.

It was the only reason

I agreed to come off the garage roof.

If it wants to join in,

it can pay its own bill.

Come and Lie Down.

Please.

Tell me about advertising.

Now, You Resigned 

from an important firm 

with a very highly paid job.

I'd like to know Your Reasons.

Well, at least try and 

give me an example 

of even one of those reasons.

All right. Reason one.

Advertising conspires 

with Big Brother.

And you're afraid of Big Brother?

Someone or Something 

Coming into Your Life and 

Telling You What to Do?

No. I'm not afraid of Him. 

I'm one of the few who 

really understands Him.

Oh?

The man who conceived of Big Brother never knew what was coming down the line.

Thought his filthy creation

was gonna be Watching Us.

But it is Us who Watch it.

There's one in every living room.

The monstrous injustice of it is,

We stare at it of our own Free Will.

So we could say, principally,

that it's Television that you blame?

We can say entirely it is The Crooks

who've infiltrated it that I blame.

They've moved in on 

The Greatest Means of Communication 

since The Wheel.

And now They've done it,

Their Greed is Insatiable.

They're cutting down jungles

to breed hamburgers,

turning the whole world 

into a car park.

They'd sell off The Sea to satisfy

the needs of their great god Greed.

They won't be satisfied, not till 

we're all squatting in one 

of its fucking hatchbacks

on a motorway.

There isn't going to be

anywhere left to go

except in slow revolutions 

towards the crest 

of the next slag heap.

Do you have trouble

in getting an erection?

- What?

- Can you get an erection?

- Yes!

- Masturbating much?

Constantly! I've got

a talking boil on my neck!

What would you do?

What does this mean to you —

"Are you ashamed of your false teeth?

Put an end to the miseries of dentures.

You could smile again with confidence.

Just ask Barbara Simmons."

The boil said it a few nights ago.

Sounds like a particularly 

crude voiceover.

Voiceover?

The Voice That Sells.

If you're selling perfume,

it sounds like A Lover.

If you're selling 

something inedible 

you want people to eat,

it'll sound as stupid 

as they'll have to be 

to buy it.

In this case, it would sound

like A Dentist, someone in the know.

I see. So one could say that it's,

erm, The Voice of Authority?

Like, erm...Well, like 

a parent's voice, almost?

If You Like.

Has The Boil spoken this morning?

Yes, I had a row with it, and it got

very heated when I refused to shave.

Tell me about your parents.

Not part of The Plot.

As far as I know, they 

were completely normal.

I come from a completely 

normal family.

Tell him about your grandfather.

That was the boil. Ignore it.

I don't think we should do that.

It's the first time it's spoken in front

of me, and it might be important.

It has nothing important to say. 

It is destructive, self-satisfied 

and abusive.

You cun...

You see? 

Don't Listen.

Come on. Fair's fair.

You've had your say. Now I'll have mine.

Don't listen to it! Don't listen to it!

Why don't you tell me

about your grandfather?

If you tell me, the boil might be quiet.

My grandfather was caught molesting

a wallaby in a private zoo in 1919.

- A wallaby?

- May have been a kangaroo. I'm not sure.

- You mean sexually?

- Suppose so. He had his hand in its pouch.

- Fucked it, didn't he?

- He did not fuck it!

Just... just lie back.

- What happened to him?

- He pleaded insanity and got three months.

Does the authoritarian attitude

they took with him upset you?

- No. He died before I was born.

- Do you sympathise with him?

If I had been stuck in a trench

for three years,

- I might do something stupid myself.

- Like showing affection for an animal?

- He'd fuck one.

- Shut up!

Ask Barbara Simmons.

He'd fuck her as well.

Oh, my God. How could the boil have

possibly known about my grandfather?

That means it can read my mind.

No, Mr Bagley, it does not.

We'll speak about that in a moment,

when we've had a look at this boil.

What you mean is you want

me to have a look at it. No.

What would you say if I said

that you don't want to look at it

because you're frightened

of what you might see?

I'd say you'd be absolutely right.

Isn't that trying to pretend

it doesn't exist?

Isn't that exactly what you're accusing

everyone else of doing?

Now, we must reduce

this guilt in two ways.

First, it must be physically

reduced with surgery.

And secondly, we must reduce

your punishing conscience

by refusing to allow it to hide.

Once we get it out into the open,

it'll be easier to fight.

And I'm certain that

by the time your neck's healed,

you'll be smiling at this problem

and be back at work.

Never. No matter what you reduce,

I will never go back to advertising.

Perhaps. But now, let's have a look

at this bully on your neck.

Just look at it in The Mirror...

and tell me What You See.

Oh, God in Heaven!

It's grown a moustache!

Oh, My God!

Oh, My God.

Yes.

Yes?

The Bastard looks just like Me!

What you must understand

is that it's not The Boil

that can read You.

It is you, Mr Bagley,

that can read the boil.

You can read it because it is you.

At least, a part of you.

The Boil knows 

What You're Thinking

because you've projected

Some of You into it.

You've given it the side

that you find intolerable,

the bullying, aggressive,

dictatorial side.

The side that sells 

Toothpaste and Soap.

You've decided that 

Selling These Things is a 

Bad Thing for You to Do,

and you are unable 

to accept The Guilt for 

what you feel you've done.

Therefore, you've transmitted

these qualities into The Boil.

Perhaps, by doing this, you hope 

to escape Your Guilt.

But you've created a symbol of 

Foul-Mouthed Authority instead.

Your Very Own 

Big Brother.

But Even That Extraordinary Physical Feat is Surely NOT The Point of Interest.

"Help us."

Van Helsing : 

So it struck you as strange, of course.

HARKER :

Well, clearly, there was someone

trapped in The Castle.

Van Helsing :

No. No. The writing. 

"Help us."

HARKER :

It was upside-down.

Van Helsing :

Well, yes, of course, 

because whoever wrote it 

was obliged to hang that way.

But even that extraordinary physical feat 

is surely not the point of interest.

HARKER :

Then what is?

Van Helsing :

What is remarkable, Mr Harker,

what is convenient, is that 

The Words were in English.

HARKER :

Oh...

I didn't think of that.

Van Helsing :

Of course not.

You are an English...man -- 

A combination of presumptions beyond compare.

Proceed.

HARKER :

Well, I knew I had the day to myself,

so I determined to find the room above mine

and see if anyone required my assistance.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

That completes my final report until we touch down.

We're on full automatic, in the hands of the computers.

l've tucked my crew in for the long sleep, 

and l'll be joining them soon.

In less than an hour we'll finish

our sixth month out of Cape Kennedy.

Six months in deep space.

By our time, that is.

According to Dr Hasslein's theory of time in a vehicle traveling nearly the speed of light, the Earth has aged nearly 700 years since we left it, while we've aged hardly at all.

It may be so. 

This much is probably True :

The men who sent us on this journey are long since dead and gone.

You who are reading me now are a different breed.

I hope a better one.

I leave the 20th century with no regrets. 

But one more thing...

If anybody's listening, that is.

Nothing scientific.

It’s purely personal.

Seen from out here, everything seems different.

Time bends. 

Space is, boundless.

It squashes a Man's Ego —

I feel lonely.

That's about it.

Tell me, though... 

Does Man, that marvel of the universe, that glorious paradox who has sent me to the stars, still make war against his brother, keep his neighbor's children starving?

 

Are you all right?

Stewart?

Stewart?

Astronaut TAYLOR :

We're in the soup. She's sinking.

Dodge, read The Atmosphere.

Landon, get out a last signal.

Astronaut LANDON :

What signal?

To Earth. That we've landed.

The air's OK. 

Blow the hatch before we lose all our power.

It’s no use. The power's gone.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

Forget it. Abandon ship.

Astronaut LANDON :

She's sinking.

Going...

Going...

Gone.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

OK. We're here to stay.

Astronaut LANDON :

Well, where are we? 

Do you have any notion, skipper?

Astronaut TAYLOR :

We're 320 light years from Earth on an unnamed planet in orbit around a star in the constellation of Orion.

Is that close enough for you?

Astronaut DODGE :

That could be Bellatrix.

Astronaut LANDON :

It’s too white for Bellatrix.

Astronaut DODGE :

You didn't have time to read the tapes. 

So you really don't know, do you?

Astronaut LANDON :

What went wrong? 

We weren't programmed to land in the water.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

The Question is not so much 

where we are as when we are.

We've had enough sleep for a while.

Let's start earning all that back pay.

Dodge, run your soil test.

Got your sensors?

Astronaut DODGE :

Right.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

Geiger counter?

Astronaut DODGE :

Got it.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

Let's see... One pistol, 20 rounds

ammo, a medical kit, camera, TX9.

We've got Food and Water enough 

for three days.

Astronaut LANDON :

How long is a day?

Astronaut TAYLOR :

That's a good question.

Landon... Hey, Landon.

Join the expedition.

Astronaut LANDON :

Sorry. I was thinking about Stewart.

What do you suppose happened?

Astronaut TAYLOR :

Air leak. She died in her sleep.

Astronaut LANDON :

You don't seem very cut up about it.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

It's a little late for a wake.

She's been dead nearly a year.

Astronaut LANDON :

That means we've been away

from Earth for 18 months.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

Our time.

You've gone gray.

Apart from that you look pretty

chipper for a man who's 2,031 years old —

I read the clocks :

They bear out Hasslein's hypothesis.

We have been away from Earth for

2,000 years, give or take a decade.

Still can't accept it? 

Time's wiped out everything you ever knew.

It's all dust.

Astronaut LANDON :

Prove it.

If we can't get back, it's still just a theory.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

It's a fact, Landon. Buy it. 

You'll sleep better.

Astronaut DODGE :

Nothing will grow here. 

There's just a trace of carbohydrates.

All the nitrogen is locked into the nitrates.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

No dangerous ionization?

Astronaut DODGE :

No.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

Well...

If there's no Life here, we've got just 72 hours to find it.

That's when the groceries run out. 

Let's go. 

Astronaut DODGE :

Which direction?

Astronaut TAYLOR :

That way.

Astronaut DODGE :

Any particular reason?

Astronaut TAYLOR :

None at all.

Come on...

Everybody all right?

Water check.

Eight ounces.

Astronaut LANDON :

It doesn't add up. 

Thunder and lightning,and no rain. Cloud cover at night.

Astronaut DODGE :

That strange luminosity, yet no moon.

If we could just get a fix.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

What would that tell you? 

I've told you Where You Are and When You Are.

Astronaut LANDON :

All right, all right.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

You're 300 light years

from your precious planet.

Your loved ones are dead and

forgotten for 20 centuries.

20. Even if you could get back, they'd think you were something that fell out of a tree.

Astronaut DODGE :

Taylor, quit riding him.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

There is just one reality.

We are here and it is now.

You get hold of that, 

or you might as well be dead.

Astronaut DODGE :

I'm prepared to die.

He's prepared to die —

Doesn't that make you misty? Chalk up another victory for the human spirit.

Clue me in on something, will you?

Why did you sign on for this trip?

You volunteered. Why?

Never mind. I'll clue you in. You were

the golden boy of the class of '72.

When they nominated you,

you couldn't turn it down.

Not without losing your all-American image.

Astronaut LANDON :

Climb off, will you?

Astronaut TAYLOR :

And the glory. Don't forget that.

There's a life-size bronze statue

of you standing out there somewhere.

Probably turned green by now 

and nobody can read the nameplate.

But never let it be said we forget our heroes.

Astronaut LANDON :

Taylor, climb off my back.

And there's one last item. Immortality.

You wanted to live for ever, didn't you?

Well, you damn near made it. Except for me and

Dodge, you've lived longer than anyone ever born.

And with our lovely Lieutenant Stewart dead,

it looks like you're the last of the line.

You got what you wanted, Tiger. 

How does it taste?

Astronaut LANDON :

OK. You read me well enough.

But why can't I read you?

Astronaut TAYLOR :

Don't bother.

Astronaut LANDON :

Dodge, there. He's not like me at all. 

But he makes sense.

He'd walk naked into a live volcano if he thought

he could learn something that no other man knew.

But you... You're no seeker. 

You're negative.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

And I’m not prepared to die.

Astronaut LANDON :

I'd like to know why not.

You thought life on Earth was meaningless. 

You despised people.

So what did you do? You ran out.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

No. It's not like that, Landon.

I'm A Seeker too. But My Dreams aren't like yours :

I can't help thinking somewhere there has to be something better than Man. Has to be.

Astronaut DODGE :

Taylor, over here.

Life.

Where there's one, there's another. 

And another and another.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

Let's find 'em.

Astronaut DODGE :

Skipper.

Look.

Scarecrows?

Astronaut TAYLOR :

Let's see.

To hell with the scarecrows.

Whoo-hoo.

Hey. Yay. Yay.

Ah.

Ah-hoo.

Whoo. Whoo.

Ah.

Taylor.

Look at this.

Taylor, look.

They didn't leave much, did they?

Well, at least they haven't tried to bite us.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

Blessed are the vegetarians.

Astronaut DODGE :

They look more or less human,

but I think they're mute.

Astronaut LANDON :

We got off at the wrong stop.

Astronaut TAYLOR :

You're supposed to be the optimist,

Landon. Look on the bright side.

If this is the best they've got around here,

in six months we'll be running this planet.

Smile.

Which one was wearing the strange clothes?

This one.

Will he live?

I don't know.

This beast has lost a lot of blood.

- There's no probe here. Find one.

- Yes, sir.

This place is dirty, Doctor.

Doctor, these animals are dirty.

They stink. They carry diseases. Why aren't

they cleaned up before they're brought here?

- You don't sound happy in your work.

- l'm little more than a vet in this laboratory.

You promised to speak to Dr Zaius about me.

I did. You know how he looks

down his nose at chimpanzees.

But the quota system's been abolished. 

You made it. Why can't I?

What do you mean "made it"? 

I'm an animal psychologist, that's all. 

We have no authority.

You do all right getting

space and equipment.

That's because Dr Zaius realizes our work has value.

The foundations of scientific brain

surgery are being laid right here 

in studies of cerebral functions of these animals.

They're still dirty, doctor. 

And their bite is septic. 

There. Look at that.

Hold his jaw.

Good morning, Dr Zira.

Morning, Julius. 

How's our patient?

No change. The minute you open

the door, he goes into his act.

Well.

And what do we want this morning?

Do we want something? Come on. Speak.

Come on, speak.

Do we want some sugar, Old-Timer?

You could get hurt doing that, doctor.

Don't be silly. 

He's perfectly tame.

They all are, ‘til they take a chunk out of you.

Well, Bright Eyes. Our throat feeling better?

Still hurts, doesn't it?

See? He keeps pretending he can talk.

That Bright Eyes is remarkable.

He keeps trying to form words.

You know what they say —

Human see, human do.

From Hell’s Heart, I Stab at Thee

Trapped forever with a raging madman at your throat until time itself came to a stop.

LAZARUS: 

It's done, it's done! 

Finished, finished. 

It's done. It's done. 

It's done, it's done. 

KIRK: 

Lazarus. 

LAZARUS: 

Done. No! 

Don't! Not you! 

(Kirk leans into the saucer - and vanishes.) 

LAZARUS: 

No! 

(Kirk goes into that negative space and finds that there is nowhere to run to. Then suddenly he's on the ground on the planet again. Or is he? He walks over to the saucer and is greeted by uninjured Lazarus -- QWA-Lazarus.) 

QWA-LAZARUS : 

Welcome, Captain. 

I wasn't expecting you.

KIRK: 

No, Him. 

QWA-LAZARUS :

Yes, Him. You understand.

KIRK: 

Not completely. 

This is a parallel universe? 

QWA-LAZARUS :

Of course. 

KIRK: 

Antimatter? 

QWA-LAZARUS :

Here, yes. 

KIRK: 

And if identical particles meet —

QWA-LAZARUS :

The End of Everything. 

Civilisation, Existence, all gone. 

I tried to stop him, Captain. 

That's why I took your dilithium crystals. 

KIRK: 

He has two more. 

QWA-LAZARUS : 

That's very bad, Captain. 

If he comes through at a time of his own choosing. 

But I think if we hurry and you will help me, he can yet still be stopped. 

There's little time left. 

He meant to come through. 

When you accidentally passed through, it drained his crystals. 

It'll take him about ten minutes to re-energise with the equipment aboard his ship. 

That should give us enough time. 

KIRK: 

Exactly what did I pass through? 

QWA-LAZARUS : 

That's hard to explain, Captain. 

I call it an alternative warp. 

It's sort of a negative-magnetic corridor 

where the two parallel universes meet. 

It's sort of a safety valve. 

It keeps eternity from blowing up. 

KIRK: 

This corridor, is it what caused the magnetic effect, 

the winking out phenomenon? 

QWA-LAZARUS :

Precisely, Captain, but not because of its existence. 

Because, because my foe entered. 

The corridor is like a prison, 

with explosives at the door. 

Open the door, 

and the explosives might go off. 

Stay inside -- 

KIRK: 

And The Universe is safe.

 

QWA-LAZARUS :

Both universes, Captain. 

Yours and mine. 

KIRK: 

Surely Lazarus must realise what would happen if you should meet face to face outside the corridor.

 

QWA-LAZARUS :

Of course he knows, Captain, but he's mad. 

You heard him. He's lost his mind. 

When our people found a way to slip through the warp and prove another universe, an identical one, existed, it was too much for him. 

He could not live knowing that I lived. 

He became obsessed with the idea of destroying me. 

The fact that it meant his own destruction, and everything else, meant nothing to him. 

KIRK: 

So you're the terrible thing, 

the murdering monster. The creature. 

QWA-LAZARUS :

Yes, Captain. Or he is. 

It depends on your point of view, doesn't it? 

It's ready, Captain. 

If we can force him into the corridor while I'm waiting for him, we can put an end to this. 

But if he comes through at a time of his own choosing and breaks into this universe to find me —

KIRK: 

I understand. 

What do you want me to do? 

QWA-LAZARUS :

Find him. Force him through his threshold, 

while I'm waiting for him, into the corridor, 

and I'll hold him there. 

KIRK: 

You can't hold him forever.

 

QWA-LAZARUS : 

Can't I, Captain? 

You destroy his ship.

KIRK: 

If I destroy his ship, 

won't yours also be destroyed? 

QWA-LAZARUS :

It will. 

KIRK: 

And your door will be closed. 

QWA-LAZARUS : 

Yes, and so will his. 

KIRK: 

You'll be trapped inside that corridor with him forever. 

At each other's throats throughout time. 

QWA-LAZARUS : 

Is it such a large price to pay 

for the safety of two universes? 

KIRK: 

I'm ready. 

QWA-LAZARUS : 

Send him to me. I'll be waiting. 

(Lazarus activates his crystals manually, and Kirk vanishes, then reappears on 'our' planet and gestures to Spock who has come down with two guards.) 

SPOCK: 

Lazarus. 

(Kirk jumps him while he is distracted and knocks him down.)

KIRK: 

Stand back. 

(But Lazarus has him in a bear hug, and they struggle together for a while until Kirk finally gets the upper-hand again.) 

LAZARUS: 

No! No! No, I'm not ready! I'm not ready!

(Kirk throws him through the threshold.) 

SPOCK: 

Take these crystals to the Enterprise. 

KIRK: 

I must destroy that ship completely. 

SPOCK: 

What of Lazarus? 

KIRK: 

And what of Lazarus?

[Bridge]

KIRK: 

Activate phaser banks. 

LESLEY: 

Phaser banks activated. 

KIRK: 

Stand by to fire. 

(The bright dot appears on the planet surface.) 

LESLEY: 

Phasers standing by, sir. 

KIRK: 

Fire phasers. 

(A sustained burst hits the little saucer, while the two Lazarus' wrestle in non-space. Finally it disappears.) 

KIRK: 

All right, Mister Lesley, let's get out of here. 

Ahead warp factor one. 

LESLEY: 

Warp one, sir. 

KIRK: 

Everything's all right, Mister Spock, for us. 

SPOCK: 

There is, of course, no escape for them, sir. 

KIRK: 

There is, of course, no escape. How would it be? 

Trapped forever with a raging madman at your throat until time itself came to a stop? 

For Eternity. 

How would it be? 

SPOCK: 

Captain, The Universe is safe. 

KIRK: 

For you and me. 

But what of Lazarus? 

What of Lazarus?