Up For Review:
The Fish Tank - A Sapphire and Steel Mystery
The characters Sapphire and Steel were created by P.J. Hammond for the British television series Sapphire and Steel in the late seventies/early eighties - the original players were Joanna Lumley as Sapphire and David McCallum as Steel. Imagine a universe like ours where the idea of Time keeps trying to enter and destroy everything, and Elements were brought together to fight Time - heavy transuranic elements can not be used where there is life so medium weights are used - Gold, Silver, Copper, Steel, Lead, Tin, Carbon and Sapphire, being the common ones available. "Sapphire and Steel have been assigned!" Not really a sexual type of story, but I wanted something different for this special offering.
The medium was heavy and damp, no not damp but wet, she was underwater 'Steel' she mentally called out, they had both been assigned to this place, time was making a breakthrough somehow, normally with the help of the humans who lived on this world, always raking up the past not knowing that sometimes it raked back.
She! Well technically speaking Sapphire wasn't female - she wasn't male either, but she always thought herself as female, just like Steel and Silver weren't male, they'd just taken to the male form easier than any other when the were on the human world, Sapphire smiled she was the only one to have fully accepted female gender, oh Tin had tried, but she seemed to fold up at any dangerous assignments and was now normally on administration duty.
'Steel' she called again, she didn't mind being under water, one medium was the same as another to them, but it did make her blue dress drag and that didn't help her movement, she concentrated and the fabric shimmered and turned into a one-piece swimsuit, she had thought about changing her form completely but decided against a mermaid's body.
She could hear some type of music being played but the water distorted the noise, maybe this was why Steel hadn't answered her, she walked on suddenly hitting a barrier in front of her, she touched it - glass, a fused amalgam of silica allowed to become transparent, made by men in a factory, but it was impossibly thick, she wouldn't even be able to cut through this barrier, well not quickly anyway. She followed this glass noticing how the floor beneath her was comprised of small pieces of stone, a shadow passed above her, she reached out with her mind - not sentient just running on instincts, swim and eat, eat and swim, it knew that certain things happened before the food was available, this pattern had stuck, but nothing else, just swim and eat.
There were several of these - fishes, she recalled - doing the same, as she looked around she saw a wreck of a ship, she walked to it - it was wrong, incomplete and there was air bubbles rising from it, she touched it - Plastic, machine made, it wasn't a wreck it was made like this, the air came from outside pumped into this mass of water to provide a source of oxygen for the fish. She smiled; she knew where she was, although not the exact location - yet - but she would soon.
She ran back to the barrier, and saw a giant's face staring at her 'STEEL' she called.
He opened his eyes, he was in a room, it was a living room - he corrected himself, it was called a living room, it didn't mean that the room was actually alive! Just that it's design was one to allow people to live in. He wasn't really comfortable with people, oh he protected them against their follies, and was very successful, no - again he corrected himself they were successful Sapphire and himself were successful, they were the foot soldiers, when necessary they'd be assigned help - like Silver, he was a smug and arrogant technician, but Steel had, grudgingly he'd admit, respect for him.
But it was Sapphire that he was closely teamed with - he tried to remember how long they'd been together, and realised that their first meeting was over 300,000 years ago this very night, he smiled, in some cultures there would be a celebration of some kind, but not for them, in their business it was just another day, another assignment. He was the colder, more remote member of the team, he naturally assume the role of the leader, which Sapphire allowed him to be, the others were more condescending in their approach, as if they knew better, but Sapphire was a supportive operator.
He tried to concentrate on the assignment - they'd been given the basic information, Time had found a way to break into a reality, and was trying to subvert all that they were doing, both he and Sapphire were being sent to the hotspot and then he appeared here, but where was Sapphire?
"Sapphire Where are you?" He called out, but she didn't answer, he could feel that she was close by, but then so was the enemy, unseen Time reached out and took hold of Steel, changing him, hiding deep inside the being that was Steel, and replacing it with a human. A man, who had lived in this house for the past 20 years with his wife, today was their anniversary and they were going to celebrate.
Michael Steel looked around, his wife was always playing around; she could seem to do almost anything, he noticed something blue in the aquarium he looked closer, she had added another doll to the fish tank, he saw that it was almost a perfect replica of his wife Sapphire, he bent down to take a better look at the doll, it was strange he could almost think that it was real, he shook his head and went back into the bedroom, ready to dress for the dinner ahead.
Sapphire was shaken, it was Steel, she could feel him, but now he was completely human, with memories, feelings, and a different life ahead of him. She had to get out of this, this fish tank.
She concentrated; she shouldn't be Here, but There! - Not This Small but That Large! - Not dressed like This, but better like That! Her eyes started to shine with the power of her mind; she vanished from the aquarium and started to reappear in the room, dry and dressed as she had pictured, she was always in blue, it was a comfortable colour for her.
But as she went to walk after Steel, Time pounced and worked its spell on her; she could feel herself being changed, she almost didn't have a chance, but almost was still a long time for her.
Her eyes flashed as she concentrated, decided and then the blue faded as she succumbed to the power.
Her name was Sapphire, Sapphire Jones; she'd been married for 20 years to Michael Steel, they'd been childhood sweethearts, and when their parents had said it was okay they got married and moved into this house, they have two delightful children, Charlotte and Paul.
She heard the sound of her husband in the bedroom, she smiled and walked to him, coming up from behind him, she draped her arms over his shoulders and pulled him close to her, kissing the back of his neck in the way he loved it.
"Hummm." He said, "Happy darling?" he asked her, she smiled, he always asked her that as if trying to find out if she was thinking about leaving him.
"Of course darling, why wouldn't I be?" she said teasing him, he turned around. He'd accepted that she was taller than he was - it was the way the others at work had accepted that, oh there had been the jokes at first, 'does the woman at home love her little man?' that type of thing, but his promotion soon stopped those.
"Ready?" He asked her, she smiled at him, she could always dress quickly for him - and undress just as quickly, they both enjoyed a full sex life - their two children, Charlotte (12) and Paul (10) were evidence of that, after them they decided that it wasn't fair to either themselves or their children to have any more, they were responsible people.
Charles Steel had already checked on the two, they didn't need a babysitter as Charlotte seemed able to take care of both herself and Paul when the need arose, and now they were going on an anniversary dinner, and she was taking charge.
Charles was dressed as Sapphire entered the room, she looked ravishing as normal, and he smiled at her.
"We could always stay here and celebrate in bed." He said with at smile, Sapphire shook her head.
"Oh no!" she said, "We booked the table weeks ago, and I checked the restaurant this afternoon. They are expecting us." she picked up her handbag and took his hand as they left their house and walked to the car.
Time was happy - the plan was working, these two had been a thorn in its side for so long, it never realised that it would be so easy - trap them in their human form, change their minds so that their whole existence as elements was blocked, it couldn't erase them completely, even that was beyond its power, but they were locked away so deeply that they'd never be able to stop Time.
It concentrated on its work - the structure was almost fixed in place, it just needed a push in the right direction, and that was what his constructs of Charles and Sapphire Steel were going to do! Set themselves up for the accident and that would do it.
It debated, should it allow them to enjoy the dinner first or later? Later! It decided, then they might be drunk, that was how humans behaved - drink and driving doesn't mix.
It turned its attention to the offspring that had been created to give their lives into perspective - it was almost a pity to leave them in this world, but then it was impossible to create a set-up like this without extra impediments. It decided to leave them as they were.
It created a situation that would allow the world to be destroyed in 40 years wiping out the scum that had risen on the world, just a small trigger hardly noticeable, a virus that started out in water and then went airborne, all due to a new species of fish that Charles Steel had bred, two species that people had thought would never breed true - and he'd done it. Well he'd had a push from outside.
The plan was - that when the offspring emerged from their eggs in a few days' time some would be flushed down by the people who cleared the Steel's house sending them into the sewers where they would breed again taking over the local eco-system releasing a poison that was undetectable. Yes it would take ... Time. But then there was no hurry.
Trapped inside her own manifestation Sapphire tried to break out, but it was as if there were bands holding her down, she almost thought of them as bands of steel, but that was just a bad joke. She concentrated on the problem, it all centred on the fish tank she knew that, but she couldn't see how. But that would explain why she appeared there instead of in the room itself.
She knew the enemy had caught her, it was getting wiser to their ways, and they'd better change those as soon as they could. She stopped herself from thinking 'IF they got away with this!' because they had to. Time couldn't win this way.
She studied her prison, it was constructed of her own fears and phobias, she knew that they weren't real, but the effect on her was enough to hold her, she pushed and probed each block for a weakness, she knew it would take time, she gave a small smile at that, but how much time she had she didn't know.
Steel was just as badly off, his prison was made of bars of steel holding him back from his own mind, in-between the bars were pictures of Sapphire, which seemed to scream as he tried to push through them, he could only stand and seethe as he felt his body show emotions, strange sensations that he'd never concerned himself about before, they weren't needed for his job, just a distraction.
Well this distraction might just be the last thing he'd ever know. He knew that once the enemy had captured them they've had it. They'd never live again - or rather their elements would be scattered to the winds and never incorporated into matter again, that was death however you defined it. He was surprised that he could still be so clinical.
He brought his mind to use again; if the bars were steel then he had control over them, as with all metals but steel especially, like called to like. He concentrated on the metal, willing it to fold and open for him, but it wouldn't - and he could hear Sapphire screaming away, he stopped! He couldn't hurt Sapphire - another part of his mind was telling him that he had to break the bars no matter what! It was the human element that was stopping him.
The meal was exquisite and just right, they were happy as they left the restaurant, the children would have taken themselves to bed by now, so there was no need to rush, they used the country road back to their house, they didn't see the tractor blocking the road, just hidden around a bend.
Just as the car impacted there was a bright blue flash.
She heard the sound of her husband in the bedroom, she smiled and walked to him, coming up from behind him, she draped her arms over his shoulders and pulled him close to her, kissing the back of his neck in the way he loved it.
"Hummm." He said, "Happy darling?" he asked her, she smiled, he always asked her that as if trying to find out if she was thinking about leaving him.
"Of course darling, why wouldn't I be?" she said teasing him, she was looking forward to the dinner, but for some reason she thought they'd better keep to the main road on the way back.
"We could always stay here and celebrate in bed." He said with at smile, Sapphire shook her head.
"Oh no!" she said, "We booked the table weeks ago, and I checked the restaurant this afternoon. They are expecting us." she picked up her handbag and took his hand as they left their house and walked to the car.
They were watched by Time as they left the house, 'strange?' it thought 'I thought they'd already gone!' but there was no need to worry, once they went down the country lane they'd be dead, and never interfere with the plans of Time again.
But then perhaps another plan should be created just in case? Time turned his attention to the two children watching the television, they had been created for this plan, and they were genetically the offspring of the two humanised forms.
Time opened the door to the children's room, and entered, if it had a proper face it would have smiled at the two forms looking up at it ...
The meal was exquisite and just right, they were happy as they left the restaurant, the children would have taken themselves to bed by now, so there was no need to rush, but for some reason Sapphire had said that they should use the main road.
Charles smiled at his wife, obviously she wanted to return home and to their bed, they still enjoyed their sex life, he looked longingly at her - then the lorry smashed into the car which lit up with a blue light ...
She heard the sound of her husband in the bedroom, she smiled and walked to him, coming up from behind him, she draped her arms over his shoulders and pulled him close to her, kissing the back of his neck in the way he loved it.
"Hummm." He said, "Happy darling?" he asked her, she smiled, he always asked her that as if trying to find out if she was thinking about leaving him.
"Of course darling, why wouldn't I be?" she said teasing him, she was looking forward to the dinner, but for some reason she thought they'd better keep to the main road on the way back, and maybe not drink much.
"We could always stay here and celebrate in bed." He said with at smile, Sapphire smiled back, but then seemed to remember something.
"We can't, I checked the restaurant this afternoon, they're expecting us!" she told him, he smiled at her and, taking her waist in his hands moved them to the bed and pulled her down on top of him.
She giggled softly as he started to kiss her neck, his hand touching her breasts in that oh so familiar way, and then he stiffened and whispered into her ear.
"Sapphire - you've got to do something, I'm trapped in here, I know you can hear me!" she turned her face to him.
"Steel, I've had to turn time back for the third time, it's weaker now, you'll have to work on your own to begin with, it's taking all my concentration to work out what's happening!" her eyes were flashing with blue light as she spoke, a flash of blue seemed to pass from her eyes to his grey ones.
Charles Steel shook his head, his wife was right, if they missed their table they'd never be able to book at that restaurant again, some of their friends had already been 'black balled' for late arrival! So he reluctantly released his wife who gave him a kiss and went to check on their children, allowing him to finish dressing.
The meal was exquisite and just right, they were happy as they left the restaurant, the children would have taken themselves to bed by now, so there was no need to dash home, for some reason Sapphire had said that they should use the main road and not to rush.
However apparently from out of nowhere a lorry appeared and headed straight towards their car.
A blue glow surrounded the vehicles, eye-witnesses would have sworn that the glow emanated from the body of the woman, except that in a split second the whole scene changed, the lorry was reversing away from the backwards driving car, as time was reversed - then time moved forward again.
This time Charles saw the lorry coming and was able to swerve to avoid it, he looked back at the view of the wreck as it crashed into the side of the road.
"My god!" he exclaimed, "Sapphire did you see that?" He turned to his wife who just looked back with glowing blue eyes. "What the blazes' is going on?"
Sapphire looked at Charles "I'm not who you think I am, and you're not who you think you are!" she had managed to break through the barrier, three times now, but if she wasn't careful then they would return to the beginning time and start this loop again.
It hadn't been easy escaping her prison, in fact there was a part of her still there, Oh it had been smart locking her inside this shell, but she was comfortable with it, but the person sitting beside her - she didn't know him at all
Charles looked at his wife - but not his wife anymore, she was different, changed, somehow more real than he'd known her, she looked at him, her blue eyes shining with a strange light that seemed to come from inside them, and then she began to speak.
"My name is Sapphire I work against incursions from outside the normal fabric of space/time - there are 'things' striving to break through and that is what I'm fighting, I have a partner his name is Steel, he's trapped inside a prison at this moment and I have to reach him."
Charles looked at his wife, "Darling the accident must have affected you, let me take you home and put you to bed, a good night sleep will do you wonders." He sounded concerned - which he was, Sapphire looked at him and spoke calmly.
"Charles Steel, 35, life expectancy 2 months cause of death, inhalation of poison gas emanating from ... from ... this is clouded - No! Life expectancy 76 years total, cause of death, natural." She blinked, I don't understand, how can you have two different possible death dates, she concentrated again, "Life expectancy 20 minutes, cause of death, car accident, you will skid on the main road and hit a lamp-post, this car will burst into flames killing both of us."
Charles stopped the car, "Darling you're worrying me." His voice was uncertain, she looked straight ahead,
"I'm not your wife - your life is a fiction created to trap us to prevent us from our work" she looked at him, "Steel I know you're in there, you have to break through to release yourself."
Charles was starting to get really worried now, perhaps he could take Sapphire to a hospital, it could be something that she'd eaten, causing her hallucinations, yes that was it, food poisoning, he went to start the car again,
"Don't worry darling, I'll get you to a doctors, they'll be able to ..." A sudden pain seemed to blossom behind his eyes. "Oh god!" He exclaimed, "It's affecting me now!" His grip on the steering wheel had whitened; he was gripping it so hard.
Steel had heard Sapphire's voice urging him out of his prison, he looked at the bars surrounding him, it had taken an effort earlier just to push himself against them to whisper his message to Sapphire, he wasn't sure if he could do it, the images of his wife / No Sapphire! - His mind was starting to behave like Charles Steel, not Steel the agent - he closed his eyes and ran at the bars.
The screams echoed in his head he couldn't really concentrate there was something wrong with the way he was moving, he was sluggish as if his weight had doubled, and he pulled out and looked into the eyes of Charles Steel!
Charles was in shock, he had to be! There was a feeling of tearing, of both
his body and soul, it was almost unbearable, and then, then.
"Oh my god!" said Charles, "Who the hell are you?" He directed this question at the fair-haired man sitting behind him.
Steel looked at Sapphire, and then at the man who was his double, but that person was fully human, with a touch of himself embedded in him. He shook his head, he could feel a part of the human was still within himself.
"My name is Steel." He told Charles, who shook his head.
"Oh no!" he said, "That's my name Charles Steel. You're not me!"
Steel shook his head, "My name is Steel, just that! You are a constructed mockery of me, an idea given form in order to bring about the destruction of life on this planet, so what have you done?"
Charles was outraged; here was this, this doppelganger telling him that he was just a figment of something's imagination, and then accusing him of trying to kill everything.
"I've a good mind to go to the police, how dare you accuse me of ..."
Sapphire interrupted his bluster, "I must apologise for my colleague, he's never learnt to 'temper' his words. He didn't mean to imply that you've deliberately done anything."
Charles shook his head, here was his wife of twenty years talking as if she worked with this madman, her whole attitude was so different from his beloved Sapphire, he put his head between his hands.
"Oh Sapphire, what's happened to you, has the whole world gone mad?" he asked her.
'WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HIM' Steel's telepathic question arrived in Sapphire's mind.
'HE A HUMAN WHO HAS BEEN PLACED IN A SITUATION THAT HE'S NEVER ENCOUNTERED BEFORE' She replied in the same manner.
'WELL CAN'T YOU RELAX HIM? YOU ARE THE EXPERT IN THAT FIELD.' Steel said bluntly.
'IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE' She told him, 'AS FAR AS HE KNOWS I'M HIS WIFE - NOT YOUR PARTNER, AND SO HE'S CONFUSED.'
Steel looked at both of them, he thought for a moment, pulling in the feeling that still remained with him from his imprisonment.
"Charles Steel, listen to me." He said, "Something you have done, an innocent action, has placed the world in danger, just think - this is an unusual thing that you have done, concentrate and think!"
Charles looked at this stranger with his face, the words were now penetrating, he nodded and then looked at his wife.
"It was going to be a surprise for you Sapphire," He said to his wife, "I've manage to get our two fish to breed at last, all the experts said it was impossible, but I've notice that there are larvae in the breeding trap, it will make us famous."
Sapphire looked at Steel with alarm in her eyes, 'THAT'S WHY I TURNED UP THERE! ALL THE TIME THE FISH TANK WAS THE DANGEROUS AREA! IF THOSE FISH ARE ALLOWED TO LIVE THEN THEY WILL KILL EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE WITHIN 2 MONTHS, IF THEY ESCAPE THEN THE WORLD WILL END IN ...' She calculated for a few seconds, 'ABOUT 35 - 40 YEARS!' she looked at Charles, "That was wonderful darling," She smiled at him as she spoke, "But that may be why all these things are happening, I hate to ask this of you but I think we need to get rid of those larvae as quickly as possible."
A cloud seemed to pass before Charles's eyes, "But when you've done that? What happens then?" (Time had noticed that Charles and Sapphire were not yet dead and had returned to Charles - Sapphire and Steel had to be stopped!)
Sapphire hadn't notice the change in Charles Steel, "Once our work is done everything will return to the way it was!"
Charles reached into the glove pocket of the car, feeling the metal shape inside; a thing that hadn't been there a few seconds ago, but that he knew was there now!
"But you keep saying that I don't exist - does that mean that I'll vanish as well? What about our children? What about us?"
Sapphire didn't understand the question, or hadn't realised the mental state of the man beside her. "You shouldn't have lived at all; your sole mission was the creation of these creatures - when we finish the world will be safe."
This was too much for Charles; he pulled the gun out and pointed it at his wife.
"No! You're crazy, talking about killing your own family, and hiding it as if we are at fault, but I'm not going to let you. I'm going home to my family and there is nothing you can do to stop me." He said Sapphire looked at Steel who shrugged.
"You're quite wrong you know" She told Charles, "That weapon won't hurt either of us!" he ignored her words and pulled the trigger several times.
Steel extended his hand and caught the bullets as they were fired, Charles then turned the gun around and pressed it to his temple, his finger tightened on the trigger.
There was a brilliant blue light that seemed to surround them, Charles was dizzy for a few minutes, when he recovered he found that he was back at home, he was in the bedroom looking in the mirror. 'it must have been a dream' he told himself.
Then his wife, Sapphire entered the room, she placed her arms over his shoulders and kissed him on his neck, he smiled at her,
"Hummm." He said, "Happy darling?" he asked her, she smiled, he always asked her that as if trying to find out if she was thinking about leaving him.
"No I'm not!" was her reply, he looked at her in shock, and then saw the person standing behind her, it was the man called Steel - the one who looked exactly like him!
"What happened?" Charles asked his wife - No. Not his wife but the being called Sapphire who looked like his wife.
"You tried to kill us and yourself with this gun!" The man called Steel told him, which was preposterous as Charles knew, and then he remembered, taking the gun out of the glove compartment, pointing it at his wife, pulling the trigger! He held her by the arms and then hugged her.
"My darling, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me!" He told her, and then he pulled back, there wasn't a mark on her body, he looked to the man, Steel, who held out his hand, he opened his fist and three bullets dropped to the floor, they had been flattened.
"If I hadn't stopped them, you would have killed your wife!" Steel told him.
"And if I hadn't acted you would have killed yourself, and then the enemy would have won." Sapphire told him, he nodded understanding now flooding through him.
"So what do I have to do?" He asked them.
They took him into the living room where the fish tank was located, Sapphire looked into it and saw the breeding trap with its lethal cargo of larvae fish, she went to reach into the water.
"Mummy what are you doing?" the girl's voice sounded in the room, Charlotte and Paul were standing there, Sapphire could feel that there was something standing behind them, Steel noticed that Charlotte's eyes were completely black.
Charles walked over to the children, "its okay honey, we're just going to clean out the fish tank, we have to do that now and again you know." He said in a calming tone
The outstretched arm threw him across the room, and then Paul spoke up.
"You two have always been a thorn in our side; we had hoped that you would have gotten the message by now, we will win, mankind always places itself into our hands, you should give up to the inevitable." His voice had a strange echoing quality as if being repeated. Sapphire looked at the two children as Steel crept behind them.
"Charlotte - Paul, look at me," she said, when the two were watching her she smiled, "Now I want you both to concentrate, you can feel the wrongness that's in your minds, it shouldn't be there, you have to force it out, it's simple just concentrate and this should happen!" her eyes blazed with a bright blue light which dazzled the two children, and then there were two Sapphires standing before them, the second looked at her double for a second or two.
"Charlotte, Paul - come back to me please children." The fully human Sapphire said.
While their attention was distracted Steel had arrived behind them, Charles had gotten up from his position on the floor to stand to the right of the children, Sapphire took up her position to the left of the children, at the same moment all the adults concentrated - hitting Time with the full force of their powers trapping it behind a cage comprised of both Sapphire and Steel, a cage that shrunk to a ball, compressing the entity inside, and then smaller.
Steel reached out and took the golf-ball sized sphere and placed it in his pocket - 'NOW SAPPHIRE - DO IT NOW!'
Sapphire concentrated on the fish tank, removing the larvae from the timestream, dispersing them out and away from the planet, she then concentrated on the fish, ensuring that if they did breed again their offspring would never be so toxic. She smiled at Steel - 'THAT'S IT, THE WORLD IS SAFE'
Charles had somehow heard them, "I thought you wanted to smash the fish tank completely." He said
Sapphire smiled, "Why would we do something like that?" She said, "The fish tank has given pleasure to thousands of people over the year, why change perfection. We don't destroy! We alter where we have to, but rarely destroy. Now I think it's time to go." She smiled at Charles and his wife, "You have a dinner to get to, and drive carefully."
Sapphire turned to Steel, her eyes the colour of her name, a brilliant sapphire blue as her power spread out in the house, touching all the people inside, removing herself and Steel from the human elements that now inhabited it, Michael and Sapphire Jones with their children Charlotte and Paul.
The powers that time had given them were removed, as was the memory of ever having them, all that remained was the knowledge of their love for each other and their children, The powers that were Sapphire and Steel were reclaimed and remained hidden from the eyes of their progeny, but the all seeing eyes of Charlotte followed them, she smiled, there was a piece of Time in everyone she thought to herself.
Steel watched as Michael took his wife in his arms and kissed her he then turned to Sapphire.
"It's time for us to go!" He told her, "but before we do there is something I have to do!"
Sapphire looked into his grey eyes, slightly crinkled at the edges, there was something softer showing there; he smiled at her, took her in his arms and kissed her.
"Happy anniversary." He said.
Wandering Lanes