"Vengeance is Mine," Sayeth The Lady-Version

"Vengeance is Mine," 

Sayeth The Lord;

And if that ain't reason enough 

to convince you that 

God is a Woman, 

then I can't see any way 

in which anything else

ever COULD --

HE WHO REMAINS: 

No. 

(CHUCKLES) 

No. Nope, this is where we diverge from The Dogma. 

That first variant encountered a creature 

created from all the tears in Reality, 

capable of consuming Time and Space Itself.

A Creature… You both know.

LOKI: 

Alioth.

HE WHO REMAINS: 

Bingo! I harnessed The Beast’s Power 

and began experimenting on it.

 

I weaponized Alioth and I ended… 

I ended The Multiversal War. 

Once I isolated Our timeline, all I had to do was manage the flow of time and prevent any further branches. 

Hence, The TVA. 

Hence, the Time-Keepers and a highly efficient bureaucracy. Hence, ages… 

(GRUNTS) 

…and ages of cosmic harmony. 

Hence… You’re Welcome. 

… You came to Kill The Devil, right? 

(CHUCKLES) 

Well, guess what? 

I keep you safe. 

And if you think I’m evil, well, 

just wait till you meet my variants. … And that’s the gambit! Stifling order or cataclysmic chaos. (CHUCKLES) You may hate the dictator, but something… (EXHALES DEEPLY) …far worse is gonna fill that void if you depose of him. I’ve lived a million lifetimes. I’ve gone through every scenario. This is the only way. The TVA, it works.

SYLVIE: Or you’re a liar.

HE WHO REMAINS: Or I’m a liar.

LOKI: So you just… continue to prune innocent timelines?

HE WHO REMAINS: Mmm-mmm. You two would. There’s two options! One… you kill me and destroy all this, so you don’t just have one devil, you have an infinite amount. Or… you two. You two run the thing.

LOKI: You’re lying. Why would you give up being in control?

HE WHO REMAINS: (SIGHS) Buddy… I’m tired. And I’m older. I’m older than I look. This game is for the young, the hungry. I’ve gone through a lot of scenarios… trying to find the right person to take this spot. It turns out that person came in two. (EXHALES) But it’s definitely you two. So, no more lies. You kill me and the Sacred Timeline is completely exposed. Multiversal War. Or you take over and return to the TVA as its benevolent rulers. Tell the workforce who they are and why they do what they do.

SYLVIE: You treated real people’s lives like some kind of game.

HE WHO REMAINS: It’s not personal, it’s practical.

SYLVIE: It was personal to me.

HE WHO REMAINS: (GROANS) Grow up! Grow up, Sylvie! Murderer! Hypocrite! We’re all villains here. (CHUCKLES) We’ve all done horrible, terrible, horrific things. But now, we, you… have a chance to do them for a good reason.

(DISTANT RUMBLING)

HE WHO REMAINS: We just crossed… the threshold. (CHUCKLES)

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

HE WHO REMAINS: Oh. So, I fibbed. I fibbed earlier when I said I know how everything’s going to go. I… I know… I knew… (CHUCKLES) …everything up to a certain point, and that point was about… seven, eight, nine, ten seconds ago. But now I have no idea. No idea how the rest of this is going to go. I’m being candid.

(HE WHO REMAINS EXHALES DEEPLY)

LOKI: So, that’s it? That’s it? This is what happens at the end of time? And now you’re just gonna sit there with all that freedom and… let us decide your fate?

HE WHO REMAINS: Yes! Yes! Yes! What’s the worst that can happen? You either… take over and my life’s work continues or you plunge a blade in my chest and an infinite amount of me… start another Multiversal War. And I just… end up right back here anyways. (CHUCKLES) Reincarnation, baby.

SYLVIE: No, it’s just another lie. Another manipulation.

HE WHO REMAINS: Oh. No lie. No manipulation.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

(HE WHO REMAINS SIGHS)

HE WHO REMAINS: Wow. (CHUCKLES) I love this. I love… all this honesty. … Feels like a fresh start. … Oh, holy…

(LOKI GRUNTS)

SYLVIE: What’re you doing?

LOKI: Hang on a moment. Let’s just talk about it.

SYLVIE: Well, how about we finish what we started and kill him?

(GRUNTS)

(BOTH GRUNTING)

LOKI: What if he’s telling the truth?

SYLVIE: So what?

LOKI: I believe him.

SYLVIE: Believe what? That a bazillion boogeymen will turn up just because we give people free will? He’s a liar, Loki.

LOKI: So am I. (PANTING) And I don’t think he was lying. Not about that. Insane? Yes. But maybe he was telling the truth.

HE WHO REMAINS: Better hurry. Timeline’s already branching.

SYLVIE: So, what are you suggesting?

LOKI: That we think about it.

SYLVIE: And what precisely is there to think about?

LOKI: Weren’t you listening to what he was saying? That’s the gambit. Remove the dictator and what fills the void?

SYLVIE: Ah. You want the throne?

LOKI: No, that’s not it. No.

SYLVIE: I don’t believe you.

LOKI: Sylvie, the universe is in the balance, everything we know to be true. Everything. I know the TVA has hurt us both. But what if by taking him out, we risk unleashing something even worse? All I’m suggesting is we just take a minute to think about it. I promise you from my heart this isn’t about a throne.

SYLVIE: What was I thinking trusting you? Has this whole thing been a con?

LOKI: Really? That’s what you think of me… after all this time? Sure. Why not? Evil Loki’s master plan comes together. Well, you never trusted me, did you? What was the point? Can’t you see? This is bigger than our experience. 

 SYLVIE: Why aren’t we seeing this the same way?

LOKI: Because you can’t trust… and I can’t be trusted.

SYLVIE: Then I guess we’re in a pickle.

LOKI: Sylvie, wait. (PANTING) Wait.

(BOTH GRUNTING)

(GRUNTS AND GROANS)

LOKI: Sylvie. Sylvie.

(SYLVIE GRUNTS)

LOKI: Maybe he’s lying! Maybe he’s not. The cost of getting this wrong is too great.

SYLVIE: 

Fine. Do it. Kill Me. 

Take your throne.

LOKI: No.

(SYLVIE GRUNTING)

(GRUNTS)

LOKI: Sylvie, stop. Stop.

(SWORD CLANKS)

(BOTH PANTING)

LOKI: Stop.

(SYLVIE BREATHING HEAVILY)

LOKI: 

Stop.

(SYLVIE SNIFFLES)

LOKI: 

I’ve been where you are. 

I’ve felt what you feel. 

Don’t ask me how I know. 

All I know… is 

I don’t wanna hurt you. 

I don’t want a throne. 

I just… (SIGHS) 

I just want you to be okay.

(SYLVIE SNIFFLING)

(SIGHS)

(SWORD CLANKS)

SYLVIE: But I’m not you.

(GRUNTS)

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)

HE WHO REMAINS: Incredible. (LAUGHING)

SYLVIE: Aren’t you gonna beg for your life?

HE WHO REMAINS: Um, could, could. (CHUCKLES) … (GRUNTS) I’ll see you soon. (CHUCKLES)

(SOMBER MUSIC CONTINUES)

(SYLVIE CRYING)

(CRACKLING)

(RAPID BEEPING)

MOBIUS: No turning back now.

Who said anything about turning back?

“For all time.”

“Always.”

(LOKI SIGHS)

MAN: Copy. Reporting to the armory, sir.

That’s, what, 63 new branches in this unit alone?

Does he want us to just let them all branch?

At this point, how are we gonna stop it?

LOKI: We can’t!

What? What’d you say?

LOKI: It’s done, Mobius. We made a terrible mistake.

What’s done?

(MOUTHING) What?

LOKI: We freed the Timeline. We found him beyond the storm. A Citadel at the End of Time. He’s terrifying. He planned everything. He’s seen everything. He knows everything. It’s complicated. Okay?

Right.

LOKI: But someone is coming. Countless different versions of a very dangerous person. And they’re all set on war. We need to prepare.

Take it easy. You’re an analyst, right? What division are you from?

LOKI: What? What are you talking about?

Who are you? What’s your name?

Boots on the ground now. Archives.

Who are you?

(LOKI BREATHING HEAVILY)

(SHUDDERS)

The Frontier

SISKO : 
Do you know what The Trouble is? 

KIRA : 
….no. 

SISKO : 
The Trouble is Earth. 

KIRA : 
Really? 

SISKO : 
On Earth there is no poverty, 

no crime, no war. 
You look out the window 

of Starfleet Headquarters 

and You see Paradise. 
Well, it's easy to be A Saint in Paradise, 

but The Maquis Do Not Live in Paradise. 
Out there in The Demilitarised Zone, 

all the problems haven't been solved yet. 

Out there, there are no saints, just people. 
Angry, scared, determined people 

who are going to do 

whatever it takes to survive 

whether it meets with 

Federation approval or not. 

KIRA : 
Makes sense to me. 

SISKO : 
I'm glad someone understands. 

 

SISKO:
 Mister Eddington. 

I have just one question. Why? 

EDDINGTON 

[on monitor]: 
Will knowing my personal motivation 

change anything at this point? 

SISKO: 
No, I don't suppose it will. 

EDDINGTON 

[on monitor]: 
Then let's table that for now. 

The only reason I've contacted you 

is to ask you to leave us alone. 

Our quarrel is with the Cardassians, 

not the Federation. 

Leave us alone and I can promise you 

you'll never hear from the Maquis again. 

SISKO: 
Unless you see another shipment you want to hijack. 

EDDINGTON 

[on monitor]: 
You keep sending replicators to Cardassia 

and you're going to have a lot more 

to worry about than hijackings. 

SISKO: 
I don't respond well to threats. 

I thought you would know that by now. 

But I'm beginning to see that 

you don't know me at all. 

EDDINGTON 
[on monitor]: 
I know you. 
I was like you once, but then I opened my eyes. 
Open your eyes, Captain. 

Why is the Federation 

so obsessed about the Maquis? 

We've never harmed you, 

and yet we're constantly arrested 

and charged with terrorism. 

Starships chase us through the Badlands 

and our supporters are harassed and ridiculed. 

Why?


 Because We've 

left The Federation, 

and that's the one thing 

you can't accept. 

Nobody leaves Paradise. 

Everyone should want to be 

in The Federation. 

Hell, you even want 

The Cardassians to join. 

You're only sending them replicators 

because one day they can take 

their rightful place 

on the Federation Council. 

You know, in some ways 

You're worse than 

The Borg. 

At least They tell You 

about Their Plans 

for assimilation. 

You're more insidious. 

You assimilate people 

and they don't even know it. 

SISKO: 
You know what, Mister Eddington? 
I don't give a damn what you think of the Federation, the Maquis, or anything else. 

All I know is that you betrayed Your Oath, 

Your Duty, and me. 

And if it takes me the rest of my life, 

I will see you standing before a court-martial 

that'll break you and send you to a penal colony, 

where you will spend the rest of your days 

growing old and wondering whether 

a ship full of replicators was really worth it.




DAX:
Les Miserables.

SISKO:
You know it?

DAX:
I can't stand Victor Hugo. 
I tried reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but I couldn't get through it. 
It was so melodramatic and his heroines are so two dimensional.

SISKO:
Eddington compares me to one of the characters, Inspector Javert. A policeman who relentlessly pursues a man named Valjean, guilty of a trivial offence, and in the end Javert's own inflexibility destroys him. He commits suicide.

DAX:
You can't believe that description fits you. 

Eddington is just trying to get under your skin.

SISKO:
He did that eight months ago. 

What strikes me about this book is that 

Eddington said that it's one of his favourites.

DAX:
There's no accounting for taste.

SISKO:
Let's think about it.
A Starfleet security officer is fascinated by a nineteenth century French melodrama, 

and now he's a leader of the Maquis,

 a resistance group fighting the noble battle 

against the evil Cardassians.

DAX:
It sounds like he's living out his own fantasy.

SISKO:
Exactly. And you know what?
 Les Miserables isn't 

about The Policeman.
It's about Valjean, the victim 

of a monstrous injustice 

who spends his entire life 

helping people, making noble sacrifices 

for others. 

That's how Eddington sees himself. 

He's Valjean, he's Robin Hood, 

he's a romantic, dashing figure, 

fighting the good fight against insurmountable odds.

DAX:
The secret life of Michael Eddington.
How does it help us?

SISKO:
Eddington is the hero of his own story. 

That makes me the villain. 

And what is it that every hero 

wants to do?

DAX:
Kill the bad guy.

SISKO:
That's part of it. 
Heroes only kill when they have to.

Eddington could have killed me 

back in the refugee camp 

or when he disabled the Defiant, 

but in the best melodramas 

the villain creates a situation 

where the hero is forced 

to sacrifice himself 

for the people, for the cause. 
One final grand gesture.

DAX:
What are you getting at, Benjamin?

SISKO:
I think it's time for me to become The Villain.

 

There are Heroes on Both Sides. 

Evil is Everywhere.


EDDINGTON: 
But think about those people you saw in the caves, 

huddled and starving. 
They didn't attack the Malinche.

SISKO: 
You should have thought about that before 

you attacked a Federation starship. 

(Sisko turns his back on the Eddington hologram) 


(Transmission ends)

Captain's log, supplemental. 
Resettlement efforts in the DMZ are underway. 

The Cardassian and Maquis colonists 

who were forced to abandon their homes 

will make new lives for themselves 

on the planets their counterparts evacuated. 

The balance in the region will be restored, 

though the situation remains far from stable.

He is The Chosen One.

He will bring Balance.

SISKO: 

Are you all right? 

EZRI: 

I talked with Worf.

 He doesn't want to have anything to do with me. 

SISKO: 

Perhaps I should have a talk with him. 

EZRI: 

Absolutely not. You intimidate him. 

SISKO: 

Me? 

EZRI: 

Don't tell him I told you. 

SISKO: 

I intimidate Worf, huh? 

EZRI: 

You like that, don't you? 

SISKO: 

Of course not. 

EZRI: 

Come on. I've been a m

Assault on Precinct 13

“1977 brought 

a shift back to punk, 

as expressed in 

Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood’s 

fifties-influenced 

clothes and music, 

bondage and restriction, 

amphetamine sulfate use, 

and angry, confrontational politics.

The comics boom of that cycle gave us 

Judge Dredd, 

Frank Miller’s 

gritty noir, 

Alan Moore’s 

harsh logical realism.”

Cop :

Well, are they out?

Then get them out!

Double your patrols.

Go ahead. Send them up there.

Don't call over here every time

another division stubs its toe.

What a night.

We've had a 3-12 every 15 minutes.

Twelve stolen cars, three burglaries,

eight aggravated assaults.

And it's not even 8:00.

Could be The Sunspots….

Pressure on The Atmosphere —

I heard it on The Radio.

At 7:00 I'm going over

to the new station on Ellendale.

You take over here

’til Weaver comes in at 4:00.

All you do is 

Answer The Telephone

and 

Send over any strays.

There may be some

who still think 

This is a Police Station.

Are there any facilities left over here?

A couple of cells and a bathroom.

I don't understand 

why this place is still open.

Well, it is and it isn't, Lieutenant.

The result of transition.

I really think someone in 

The Central Office

wanted to give you something special on your first night out.

….That sure got around fast.

Police & Thieves

 

" There is No “Us” and No “Them” – There’s Just Us. And somehow We’re trying to make this thing work. And it does work.

Say, for instance… most of us here are mostly pretty counter-culture types – y’know, we like our drugs, we like this and that; we like breaking a few rules. 

But we don’t like The Police, in general. 

Who here Loves The Police? 

Hands up.

[ A single person applauds and  -- presumably -- raises their hand ]

Nice one! 

Coz I’m gonna teach you to love the police.

Why Do We Hate The Police? If we want to Change Things – everyone in here, let’s Go Down to The Local Precinct and Join Up. 

Are we gonna do it? 

Who here’s gonna do it with me? 

'Cuz I’m no' gannae Do It..!!

And why? Why are We not doing that?

["Coz they're dumb!"]

Right. So we’re hating these guys who’ve taken on this thing… we’ve chosen the biggest lunkheads in society to protect ourselves from The Fuckers in Rikers Island! 

Because We're scared of Them! 

Y’know, We are scared of Them. We are middle-class, libertarian liberals who are shit-scared of being raped in prison.

So we create The Police. And we get these lunkheads… who will obey what we tell them do to. They’ll actually obey us; those fuckers will do what we tell them. 

And we say to them: “Protect us from those real fuckers; those bikers, and those black guys, and all those awful guys who are gonna come and fuck us up and kill us and steal all our stuff.”

We put The Police there. Right? We put Them There. And We don’t want to go There, because We are smart people; we are cool people. We don’t want to go and hit anyone. We don’t want to go and Enforce The Law – because We don’t really believe in it. But we know some poor bastard has to enforce it.

Why do We hate Those Guys when We put Them There?

Why do we hate ourselves for creating This Society?

Why are so many people in America obsessed with Marilyn Manson; corpses; dead people; misery; John Wayne Gacy… 

John Wayne Gacy’s a fucking prick. 

Y’know, he killed a few people and did some shitty paintings. What’s that? Why should we be engaged with that? And yet that has become.. what, “Apocalypse Culture“?

Where do we go from there, that isn’t that? Where do we go that isn’t playing with our own shite?

The Answer… back to The Individual.

If The Individual doesn’t work – if Patrick McGoohan was wrong; Number 6 was wrong to stand on that beach screaming “I am not a number, I am a free man!” – what do we have left?

Because ultimately the guy who’s not a number and not a free man experiences neurosis, the longer he goes down that path. I’m sure there’s a bunch of people here, like me, who eventually… you’ve worked your way through this stuff; you’ve read the books, you’ve done this shit; you’ve taken the drugs; you’ve been there, you’ve seen it. We’ve all experienced enlightenment in little bits. You know it’s out there; you know this stuff is true : 

The Consensus doesn’t explain our lives. But what does?

Imagine getting rid of the individual. Imagine getting rid of that scaffolding. What do we have left? And here’s what I’m about to offer:

The more I looked into it, the more I began to see that we have these mutants living among us, right now. 

The people from the 21st Century; from the end of the 21st Century are here. But there is no context for them. 

In the same way that – y’know, if you lived in… Tunguska two hundred years ago, and you were an epileptic, you would be a shaman. There was a context for you. In This Society, you’re an epileptic. It’s quite simple; it’s a disease, and nothing you say is of any worth because it’s considered pathology.

If, on the other hand, you look at these people, who are The Mutants… and what do they call it? Multiple Personality Disorder.

This is what lies Beyond The Personality, Beyond The “I”, Beyond The Bullshit.

Because if you take “I” to the limit – and like I said, I’m sure a lot of us here have done this – it becomes…all that happens is that Self Questions Self. 

Endlessly; repetitively. 

“Am I doing this right? 

Is this the right way? 

Should I think about these people like this? 

Should I approach them this way?

Should I involve them this way?” 

Self questions Self, endlessly, and it reaches a peak… it goes nowhere.

On the national scale, that same thing – self questions self; self encounters not-self; equals borders, war, destruction.. that’s where it goes. That’s where it ends. That thing ends in disaster.

It ends in neurosis on a personal level. And it ends in war on the national level.

So I began to think: “What could we replace that with?” And I was looking at these poor MPD fuckers. And I realised they just don’t have a context.

What would happen if we decided to abandon the personality, and replace it with a multiple personality complex? Because as we all know – everyone in here, I’m sure.. I mean, I feel as if I can say this for certain, knowing human beings as they are: 

Sometimes you do things that you don’t want to do. 

Sometimes you do things that are contradictory to what you think. 

Sometimes you fuck yourself up.

Why? Because there’s not one person in here; there’s hundreds.

And if you start giving them names, and you start shuffling them about; if you start playing with them, you become a bigger human being. 

Because you’ve no longer allowed yourself to stop at your boundaries.

Redheads are The Wildcard

Q. :

Blondes or Brunettes?

David Lynch :

(smiling)

For Me, personally, it's BRUNETTES --

But REDHEADS are The WILDCARD.....

The Homeric Legends: Crossing the Threshold

Mythologist Joseph Campbell discusses one of the first adventures in Homer's Odyssey, 

Odysseus and his crew's descent across 

The Threshold of Adventure — 

The Encounter with the man-eating Cyclops 

Polyphemus.

Ambitious Asian :

I don't get it.

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

What don't you get?

Ambitious Asian :

The whole thing. It doesn't make sense.

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

It VIOLATE Common Sense.

That's the WHOLE Point.

That's what Einstein couldn't accept.

Ambitious Asian :

I can't accept it either --

Do you know anything about spontaneous human combustion?

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

Walter, come on.

That's Schrodinger's Cat.

Ambitious Asian :

I know, I know.

So what's The Point?

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) : 

The Point is, until The Cat is Observed BY SOMEONE,

he's not in ANY definite state,

either Alive OR Dead.

He's in a wave superposition state, 

both Dead AND Alive at The SAME Time.

Ambitious Asian :

Huh?

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

Okay --

ONLY when WE Open The Box and OBSERVE The Cat

does he materialise into Reality, either Dead or Alive.

Ambitious Asian :

But it doesn't make sense.

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

That is The ENTIRE, 

Complete Point.

It doesn't make any 

COMMON Sense.

Our Common Sense 

BREAKS DOWN 

on a subatomic level.

Ambitious Asian :

Why do I want a PhD in THIS?

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

Particle beam weapons, research grants.

Ambitious Asian :

A millionaire when I'm 40 --

NOW I Remember.

Well, sleep with him. Get an "A".

Jack Parsons/Captain Marvel/Jor-El :

So what about your plans?

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

I was gonna study, actually.

Jack Parsons/Captain Marvel/Jor-El :

Me too. I'm Brian Marsh, by the way, 

since we're spending the weekend together.

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

I know. Catherine Danforth.

Jack Parsons/Captain Marvel/Jor-El :

I know.

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

So where did you transfer from?

Jack Parsons/Captain Marvel/Jor-El :

Kneale. Theoretical Physics.

I came here to study with Birack.

You're Applied Physics, right?

So why are you taking Birack for Theory?

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

I wanna know 

what The Math means.

Jack Parsons/Captain Marvel/Jor-El :

Birack's ruthless.

He wants Philosophers, not Scientists.

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

Well, I've read his books.

He's a brilliant man.

Just when I think I've got it, visualised it, it just all goes away.

I start seeing old-fashioned 

Classical Reality again.

I want The Clockwork back.

I wanna put it all into A Little Box.

But whenever I try, it just, uh, SLITHERS OUT.

Jack Parsons/Captain Marvel/Jor-El :

Some things aren't changed by Quantum Physics though.

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

Such as?

Jack Parsons/Captain Marvel/Jor-El :

Well, for instance,

Every Theoretical Physicist I know wonders why it is that
No one who Looks Like You ever seems to settle down 

in our end of The Building.

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

That's Not True and That's An Extremely Sexist Thing to Say.

Jack Parsons/Captain Marvel/ Jor-El :

Confirmed Sexist and Proud OF it.

Hey. I was just joking.

What Happened?

You Talk Numbers, You Get Romantic.

You Talk People, You Clam Up.

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

Just a little miscue, that's all.

It's not your fault.

I'm sorry. I'll see you later.

Jack Parsons/Captain Marvel/ Jor-El :

Hey, wait --

This Conversation isn't What I Had in Mind --

Can We Start Over?

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

Okay.

Jack Parsons/Captain Marvel/ Jor-El :

Okay --

"I was hoping that you would need some help with Your Theory,

and that maybe we could discuss it over... over Dinner or Something."

BABALON, The Scarlett Woman --

(Redheads are The Wildcard) :

Well, I suppose something could be arranged.

There are other things that I need help with... over dinner.