Zeta One

James Word:
The whole place is like a vast, supernatural ant colony. The women, the Angvians, are picked up from all over the world and, by brainwashing processes, are conditioned for their allotted functions. Some of them become administrators, some workers, some fighters. Zeta, herself, is the queen ant. Who she is, or where she originally came from is a mystery. But she holds the key to the whole set up. All the others have come from Earth. They are specially selected, after careful observation. A kidnapping party is sent out; the girls are grabbed off the street; rendered unconscious and transported to Angvia by some sort of time or space machine housed in a pantechnikon.

Ann Olsen:
In a what?

James Word:
A large van.

Ann Olsen:
Oh, you're making this rubbish up.

James Word:
You think so?

Ann Olsen:
Well, you can't really expect me to believe it

James Word:
Oh, nobody's going to believe it. But you wanted to hear it.

Voice of the Lift:
[James enters lift] Call out your floor, please... Call out your floor, please.

James Word:
Thirteenth.

Voice of the Lift:
Thirteenth what?

James Word:
Thirteenth, please?

Voice of the Lift:
Thank you. You just don't get any politeness these days. Here's me slaving up and down all day and never a please or a thank you. People like you make me sick... sick... sick.

James Word:
We've stopped.

Voice of the Lift:
That's right.

James Word:
Well, are we going on?

Voice of the Lift:
You can do what you like. I'm staying here. This is my teabreak.

James Word:
Couldn't we go up a few floors? You could have your teabreak then.

Voice of the Lift:
Why should I do any favors?

James Word:
Please...

Voice of the Lift:
Well, alright. I don't know what the world's coming to. I'm expected to work all hours of the day and night. I tell you straight: I wouldn't let a son of mine be a lift. [the lift stops again] Everybody out!

James Word:
This isn't the thirteenth. It's the twelfth.

Voice of the Lift:
I'm superstitious. You'll have to walk the rest.

James Word:
[sarcastically] Thank you. [he jumps out]

Voice of the Lift:
Get stuffed! [the doors close]