- the name's Brogan, lieutenant Brogan.
For 20 years, I was with the n.Y.P.D.
Now... Well, let's just say,
"I've transferred to another precinct."
- Our new Temple is exquisite, sister nevik.
- Thank you, my icar.
I was guided by your spirit in its design.
- Not mine, I'm afraid.
I could not create a floor, let alone an entire temple.
Is it not impressive, brother tendall?
- It is impressive.
But I'm not at all surprised.
Sister nevik has always been full of designs.
- Fellow pyrists behold the eternal flame,
symbol of our faith from its humble origins centuries ago
to its new Beginning on this day.
We hereby consecrate this temple
to the spirit of pyrism,
the purity of fire, flame without end.
Let it be so.
- Let it be so.
- There is a traitor in our midst,
a heretic who pretends to share our sacred views
but who is motivated by power and greed.
He is false to the fire.
He has no fire in his heart,
but there shall be!
- "here's me riding a kirkurin.
"P.S., we ate it for dinner."
- Aw!
Two weeks in New hawaii and the guy's finally lost it.
- I don't think haldane ever had "it."
I know one thing.
He's gonna kick Himself for missing this one.
- Oh, I don't know.
Spontaneous combustion's seen all the time.
- Never seen anything like it.
There was no physical contact,
nothing out of the ordinary.
- Took, a-a woman pointed her finger
and a man burst into flames.
I'd say that was out of the ordinary.
- She's a priest, lieutenant.
Sister nevik brok, the icar vedra's right hand.
- Uh, what's an icar vedra?
- The icar is the pyrist spiritual Leader.
He's an extraordinary man.
- You a pyrist, tooky?
- I guess I'm looking for the answers
without knowing all the questions.
- Sounds like what we do for a living.
- Tendall kalike was a good man.
I want nothing.
- You need to relax-- The herbs will help.
- I loved him like a son.
- and he thought you were a fool.
- Brother kalamandro! - Forgive me, my icar.
I cannot remain Silent any longer.
To your face, he was one way,
behind your back, another.
- is this so?
- It's your own goodness which blinds you
to the evil of others.
- and you said nothing?
- You know the words of the dascal.
"There is justice in the fire."
- I'm sorry to disturb you, my icar, But the police,
they wish to interview you.
- You rest.
I'll take care of this.
- See you back at the station house, all right?
- All right.
- Uh, lieutenant Brogan, this is, uh, sister nevik brok.
She's the one who, uh, Well, uh, you...
- What the officer is trying to say is somehow
I became the medium for divine intervention.
- I see.
Um, you don't think you could be a little more specific?
- You may find it difficult to believe,
but a Miracle occurred here earlier.
Tendall kalike was purified by the eternal flame.
In his heart, he betrayed us,
and his heart betrayed him.
- lieutenant, I refuse to believe that brother tendall
was a heretic.
I've known him since I came here as a seeker.
He was a good, kind man.
Is it possible that anybody here
considered him a threat?
- Yes, tell us sister Fancher.
Maybe you're aware of something I am not.
- No, sister nevik.
- Now that you've seen our temple's soul,
perhaps you'd like to see the brain?
We oversee many technical details there.
- Tell you what...
why don't you take officers orrin and castle?
- Yes, of course.
Follow me.
- Anything? - Zilch.
- All right.
Bromek!
- Yes?
- It's me.
I'm in the passageway behind the wall.
Go stand in the spot where the priest was killed.
- No problem, lieutenant.
All right, I'm here.
- Yeah, so I see.
- This all looks pretty sophisticated.
- Ah, not really.
Just normal security screens,
processes to control the temple's
exterior illumination, that sort of thing.
- We are very lucky to have brother Ken
and his special expertise.
- can I help you, Officer?
Brother kalamandro.
- Yeah, what's all this?
- These tanks contain fuel for the flames
outside the temple.
Or did you think that was a Miracle also?
- I don't believe in miracles.
- Pity.
- at this point, given the condition of the remains,
the coroner can only determine
that kalike burned to death.
- Ah, Well, now, that's a revelation, isn't it?
- and he was pretty sure that the fire began
in Kalike's heart.
- Has he enlightened us as to how that could've happened?
- Afraid not. - Have you any ideas?
- Could be micro-Waves, possibly Delta-Waves.
Neither would be detectable in an autopsy,
but that's only speculation, of course.
- There is at least one other possibility, captain.
- took.
- the dascal, the pyrists Bible,
tells the story of a disciple whose heart burst into flames
because his thoughts were impure.
- I'm not quite sure how to respond to that.
- Uh, Carson, I noticed a small diameter hole
in one of the altar room walls.
It looks like it was lined up with the spot
where kalike was standing.
- Well, micro-Waves would only need a pin point
to do the job.
- Has anyone found a micro-Wave generating device?
- We searched the place from top to bottom.
Nothing.
- Then we have no hard evidence, do we, lieutenant?
- Uh, no, sir.
- Look, people, we're treading a fine line here.
These pyrists are protected by the laws governing freedom
of religious practice.
If they cry foul, I don't need to tell you
how difficult our job would become.
Took, you're a member of this cult, correct?
- Not really, sir.
It was only my second visit, and it's not exactly a cult.
- whatever it is, I want you to keep your eyes open
whenever you're there. Remember,
you're a police officer 26 hours a day.
- Yes, sir.
- there's one other thing, captain.
Kalike's feet have been burned before.
They were scarred over and callused.
The coroner doesn't know what to make of it.
- Well, it's something.
Let's invite that brok woman in for a chat.
Perhaps she can enlighten us.
- And this one couldn't tell you what you needed to know?
- I only recently became a seeker, sister nevik.
- Ah.
The seekers are non-Official members of our order.
If they choose to join us, then they become initiates.
After much work and study,
an initiate becomes an acolyte.
- Like brother kalamandro?
- Yes.
A very few of us, like brother tendall and myself,
are called to become priests.
- hmm.
Maybe it's just me, But, uh, what's all this got to do
with tendall Kalike's feet?
- Every priest must undertake periodic FIRE walks
over molten lava to prove the strength of our belief.
As a result, all priests have scarred
and blackened feet.
- Thank you, miss brok.
- Sister nevik is my correct title.
- Sister nevik, thank you for coming in to talk to us.
- You really think that I killed brother tendall...
don't you?
Pyrism is a benevolent belief, sergeant.
We have no wish to harm anyone, not even a traitor.
- Well, lieutenant is my correct title, sister,
and somebody Sure as hell HARMED tendall kalike.
- is it so impossible for you to believe
that he might have done it to himself,
that a heart in conflict with itself
Might just explode in flames?
- Yeah, it is.
And how did you know that his heart was the source
of the fire?
- The dascal says it was so.
You might try reading it sometime, lieutenant.
Then you, too, might find the fire.
You're not actually gonna go through
with a fire ceremony for kalike.
- Now that the authoritieshave returned his remains,
yes.
- But what would the congregation say?
- Perhaps they will say that it is the proper thing to do.
- Or that you are going against the dascal.
- What will you say?
- It doesn't matter what I say.
I'm only one.
But it is difficult to explain why you feel compelled
to honor a heretic.
- Because my heart is unconvinced.
To me, tendall kalike will always be innocent.
- You heard what kalamandro said.
Kalike spoke against you.
- If he had things to say against me,
he would have said them to me.
Tendall will be granted a full fire ceremony.
He lived as a loyal pyrist, he'll be remembered as one.
- I warn you, my icar, if you go through with this,
it could divide the church.
- So, sister, what are my choices?
If I do as my conscience dictates,
yes, I could divide the church.
But if I ignore my conscience,
I would be a Leader in name only.
Better, I think, a feeble-Minded icar vedra
than a cowardly one.
You worry too much.
- Because, my icar, you worry too little.
I am guilty.
I have sinned.
- Brother tendall!
- I sought not piety but gold and glory.
I am unworthy.
May the fire forgive me!
- She told you, old man.
Maybe now, you'll believe her.
- I'm not questioning what you saw, took.
I just wanna know how it was done.
- Well, I have questioned it, captain.
And I'm pretty sure I found the answer in the dascal.
- You know, took, we've programmed slomo
to reconstruct voices.
Maybe the pyrists did something similar.
- don't patronize me, lieutenant.
I know what I saw.
Look, I know you're skeptical,
but sometimes you gotta believe in something bigger,
something greater.
- Tooky, I'm just a koffin, not a theologian,
but I'm a tough old nut to crack.
It's my nature.
So, uh...
humor me and, uh, keep looking around, huh?
- Yes, sir-- May I go now?
- Yeah.
You think I should take her off the investigation?
- Nah, she'll be okay.
She just wants us to keep an open mind.
- What about you?
Are you a believer?
- Certainly not in pyrism.
- in anything?
- Well, if haldane doesn't get back from vacation pretty soon,
I believe that I'm gonna drown all the paperwork
that's piling up on our desk.
- Why are we questioning the authority
of the icar vedra?
- That poor man is senile.
- How dare you!
- Because someone must.
The icar is old, so old he cannot even recognize
the omens that were foretold.
- Were they omens, brother kalamandro,
or something else?
- A false prophet set aflame by his own evil,
a corpse who confesses his sins from the other side,
a child can recognize such signs.
- and I say that the icar vedra is our appointed Leader.
It is he, and he alone, who has the power
to recognize the omens.
- Sister nevik, what do you say?
- I don't know.
I admit, I'm torn.
I love and respect the icar vedra,
but even I can't ignore the signs.
Perhaps the day of emulation is near.
- We've all seen the signs.
Only the icar is blind.
- and who would you have replace him?
You, brother?
- me?
I will never be loved enough to lead.
But there is one among us who could,
one through whom the fire has spoken.
- No!
Brother Kalamandro, thank you,
but my loyalty is to the icar vedra.
- your loyalty, sister nevik, shouldn't be to a man.
It should be to the fire.
- man, this stuff is creepy.
It's all "fire this" and "Fire that."
"May you find the fire.
"may the fire be with you."
I tell you, it's stupid.
- Yeah, they believe the end of the world is coming.
They call it the day of...
imitation. - Emulation, brainless.
- Matt.
- anyway, the guys at school think it's dumb.
They just goof on it. - Yeah?
Why? - I told you, it's dumb.
- It's silly.
- "let it be so."
Come on, dad, get virtual.
You don't believe this stuff.
- No, but there might be things I do believe
that the pyrists think are silly and dumb.
That doesn't mean I want 'em laughin' at me.
- Oh, you're just sayin' that, daddy.
- am I?
- So you agree with them?
- I think what your father is saying is that beliefs
are a very personal thing, maybe even a sacred thing,
whether you agree with them or not.
- As long as they're not harmin' anyone,
respect other people's belief,
even if you think they're dumb.
Same way you want them to respect your belief.
- I get it. So it means,
if I believe I should go downtown
to that reality arcade anasi, you'd respect my beliefs?
- Yeah, we'd respect it,
but actually letting you do it,
I believe not.
- Nice try, Matt.
- I was so close.
- Have some relish. - Have some tongs.
- Relish?
- Fredo, what's up?
- I got a call on hold from a sister Fancher.
She's down at the pyrist temple.
She asked for you, said it was urgent.
- Patch her through.
Sister Fancher.
- lieutenant, I need to talk to you.
- I'm listening.
- No, not here.
It's not safe.
Is there somewhere, not the station house,
someplace we can meet privately?
- She took the Hopper? - Yeah.
- Good.
- right here, sister.
- There he is.
Thank goodness.
- Purify her.
- You're damn right I'm taking it personally.
They killed Fancher, and they almost nailed me in the bargain.
- She could've been on a suicide mission.
- You didn't talk to her.
- Well, maybe it was an accident.
- Took, could be right. We found nothing
on the records that indicate sabotage.
- Yeah, right, an accident, just like
tendall kalike's death was a Miracle.
Bottom line here, people, we've got no facts,
just coincidences, huh?
- Like my grandpa used to say, "if there wasn't such a thing,
"we wouldn't need a word for it."
- Yeah, well, I don't believe in coincidences,
and I don't believe in miracles.
I'm tellin' ya, Fancher knew something,
and when she tried to tell me, they eliminated her.
- Ah, speculation, coincidences,
call it what you will-- It still adds up to nothing.
- "Hey, how ya doin', haldane.
"good to see you, Buddy." - Hey, hey!
- How was your vacation? - Welcome back.
- Welcome back, haldane. - Yeah.
- Let me guess, another grass skirt?
- Glad to have you back, haldane,
but let's get back to the matter of hand.
Obviously, there is something going on at that temple.
I've decided to put some people in there
and find out what it is.
- Uh, captain, nevik brok was in the station house.
There's no telling who she saw or who she might remember.
- that's not exactly True.
There's one person we know she didn't see.
- Hey, no problem.
Working undercover, or under covers, is my specialty.
- Always a consummate professional, haldane.
- Did you say "Consummate"?
- Okay, knock it off, you two.
As a matter of fact, haldane,
you've always been a part of my plan.
- Cool-- Sounds like fun.
- The idea isn't to have fun.
The idea is to gather information.
As your partner, I've arranged to borrow an officer
from the 38th precinct.
You all know my daughter, samina.
- It's called "t.I.M.E."
Temporary immersion memory education.
- I've heard of it, but it's never actually been used
in the field, has it?
- No, it did cause some adverse side effects
in early simulations.
- Such as?
- Oh, potential brain wave anomalies.
Something you don't have to worry about, haldane.
Be back in a flash.
You kids get to know each other.
- look, I just wanna be treated
like any other police officer,
except Jane castle, that is.
- What is that supposed to mean?
- Oh, touchy.
- Look, whatever castle said about me, don't believe it,
unless, of course, it was good.
So what about you, huh?
I don't really know anything about you,
except the fact that, well, your father
was not real excited that you became a police officer
in the first place.
- Forget about my father!
- That's not real easy to do.
- Okay, I spent two years at demeter university
on an athletic scholarship
before applying to the academy.
Married once, for about five minutes.
No kids-- No pets.
Anything else that you might want to know?
- No, not if you don't wanna tell me.
- I guess you think that I'm just some kind
of excess baggage?
- No, not really.
Look, I just don't wanna have to worry
about protecting your Butt, okay?
- Haldane, I don't even want you to think about my Butt,
much less worry about protecting it.
- Okay, we're all set.
We've downloaded everything ever written about pyrism,
including the dascal.
Come morning, you'll be a couple
of walking encyclopedias.
We're gonna learn all of it in one night?
- That, plus details of your new personal histories.
Haldane, you're about to become Tate huxley,
earth studies professor.
Samina, you're kilma worshem,
a techno-Physicist from danai.
Where was this thing when I was taking
differential calculus?
- "to die-- To sleep."
"to sleep, per chance to dream."
[indistinct]
- As seekers, you've expressed your undying faith
in the fire.
Now you're ready to begin your time as initiates.
It won't be easy.
Your faith will be constantly tested,
and in the end, some of you will find that merely saying,
"the fire is within you," won't make it so.
- Hello.
- You wish to contribute something?
- Uh, yes.
I was just about to tell the sister about the inspiration
for the eternal flame.
- Pray-- Continue.
- Okay, um, well, when the profit egora
was banished in the land of ice,
he was given only one match
and a small pile of kindling,
but he also had faith.
And a year later, when that banishment ended,
that small pile of kindling was still burning.
- You know your dascal Well, seeker.
Tate.
Then perhaps you can tell us why it is
that our temples are built
with such a distinctive shape.
- Yes, of course, because the...
because the... uh...
you know, I can't seem to remember that one.
- because in the second book of dascal, chapter six,
it is written that the pyramid is the shape
which most closely resembles our holy flame.
- Yes, Well, thank you, brother kalamandro.
Actually, I believe it was chapter five.
- Brother Ken here will show you to your assigned cells.
I suggest you relax and meditate.
Tonight you'll witness a ceremony marking the end
of your time as seekers and your introduction
to the temple as initiates.
- Fire water.
- You said something, seeker Tate?
- me? No-- No, brother kalamandro.
Ten to one, it's the fire water.
- Has our contact turned up anything on Tate huxley?
- Not yet.
He, uh, he appears to be legitimate.
Why are you so interested in this guy?
- Because I don't like him.
- Whatever-- We have other ways to obtain information.
- Good-- use them.
- Initiates, behold the wondrous marvels
of unwavering faith from this.
- kalamandro! - No!
- What in egora's name do you think you're doing?
- I don't know. I saw...
- You saw what?
- I...
saw the chance to prove my worthiness.
- It's remarkable.
They're almost healed.
- I don't know-- I'm still in a lot of pain.
You can't blame a guy for tryin'.
- Yes, but I can blame you for pulling that idiot stunt.
- look, I saw you do it, and I thought it was...
I don't know. - Mind over matter.
- Ah, exactly.
If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
- Uh... so tell me the truth.
Why did you do it?
- I felt something.
Maybe it was the spirit of egora, I don't know,
but it was this irrepressible, undeniable impulsion.
- Ah, I understand.
Any other reason?
- I wanted you to notice me.
- Well, it obviously worked.
So... Have you found what it is you came here seeking?
- Definitely.
- Meaning pyrism, of course.
- Oh, yeah, that, too, of course.
I just wish I would've got here sooner.
From what I hear, I missed all the excitement.
Come on-- It's not everyday
that a guy explodes into flames
and then confesses all his sins from the grave.
I would've given a lot of credits to see that.
- What I like about you, brother Tate,
is your irreverence, but there are some things
you shouldn't joke about.
I have to go or I'll be late for assembly.
Come and see me tomorrow.
- Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, Wait, wait, wait.
Uh... uh...
you know, when I was, uh, walkin' on that fire,
I think I may have burned my lip a little.
- Ah, and you need some balm to soothe them, do you?
- Somethin' like that.
- Sister nevik, if you're not too busy.
- Yes, I'm on my way.
We'll continue our lessons tomorrow.
- Sister nevik has many responsibilities
here in the temple.
I will not have you interfering with her.
Now get out!
- Touchy.
- I've, uh, isolated a number of different angles.
- And you patched them through to our contact?
- Immediately.
I have no response yet.
Everyone else checked out fine.
You...
You really think there's more to Tate huxley
than meets the eye?
- No.
I think there's less.
- Lieutenant Brogan, I have received the profile
you requested from interplanetary.
The pyrists acolyte kalamandro.
- about time.
- It was in the inactive file.
I have uploaded it onto your screen.
- Thanks.
Well, well, brother kalamandro has a past.
So, before there was a kalamandro,
there was an Andrew kalam.
Before there was a pyrist, there was an arsonist.
- Well, he's been straight for the last ten years.
- Yeah, well, that'D explain why it's
in interplanetary's dead file.
- Well, ten years is also about the amount of time
he's been with the temple.
Maybe pyrism helped him change.
-it happens. - Uh, took, look...
maybe it is all miracles and coincidence.
I don't think so.
I hope I'm wrong.
- I'm just looking for the truth, lieutenant,
that's all.
- Brogan, I think you should have a look at this.
- Uh, you wanna translate for me.
E.P.U. Hieroglyphics were never my strong suit.
- Well, basically, it means someone's been
running an I.D. Check on Tate huxley.
- An unauthorized I.D. Check.
- Which could only be carried out by someone
with confidential access.
- But there's nothing to find, right?
- Right-- Tate huxley is as clean as a tarned incubator.
- So there's no problem? - Not yet.
-I'm here.
- This is really risky.
- We had no choice.
Someone's been taking a very strong interest in Tate huxley.
- Have things been compromised?
- No-- We think you should be prepared to pull out
at a moment's notice.
- Well, it's not as easy as you might think.
In the first place,
haldane, hasn't given me the time of day in over a week.
- He probably has a reason.
- I can think of two and neither one is good.
Either he's decided to work alone
or he's been seduced.
Sister nevik can be very persuasive.
- Haldane's a good cop-- He knows what he's doing.
- Let's hope so.
- We got this just yesterday from our dutiful daughter.
She says, "I'm ready to give up police work
"and become a beachcomber in New hawaii."
- It's samina's way of giving the old man a hard time.
- Maybe she's serious.
I mean, new hawaii's a very seductive place.
- Now don't you start, Sally.
- Gee, I don't know, captain.
Haldane tries to go their every chance he gets.
- Now I am worried!
- Where's haldane been lately?
- Um, he's, uh, puttin' in a lot of overtime
to pay for his trips to new hawaii.
- Mom, dinner's about done. - Oh, good.
Um, five minutes.
- Need any help? - Sure.
Okay.
- You're not gonna tell fama, are you?
- I assume you haven't told Sally
about haldane's assignment.
- Haldane's my partner, not my daughter.
- I... I don't wanna worry her.
- Oh, so you're gonna do the worrying for two?
- Not anymore.
I've been thinking about castle's meeting with samina.
It's time to get them out of there.
- His real name's Jack haldane.
He's with the 88th precinct.
- I knew it.
Can you provide me the hardcopy as well?
- I can, and I have.
- a closed door Usually Means wait until you're invited in.
Kalamandro!
- He walks in here out of the blue,
an instant expert on pyrism.
He walks on fire.
He quotes the dascal better than the icar vedra!
- Nice likeness, wouldn't you say, Officer haldane?
- You knew he was a cop.
- that's why he's here-- To confess his sins
and to embrace pyrism.
- or to cover his Butt.
- You're wrong, brother kalamandro.
Maybe it is True I came here under false pretenses,
but...
sister nevik has shown me the way.
- You're a liar.
I know what's going on between you two.
It's affected your judgment!
- Of course, your envy hasn't affected your judgment.
- Please, please, sister nevik, brother kalamandro.
The fire has been lit in my heart.
I've seen the error of my ways.
Now all I want to do is serve you and pyrism.
Please...
give me the chance to redeem myself.
- It's an honor to be invited to accompany you,
sister nevik,
but where are we going?
- for a little ride, Officer podly.
- I don't understand, brother.
- There is only truth in the fire.
All else is lies and deceit.
- You traitor!
Please, haldane!
Don't!
Please!
Haldane!
This is crazy!
Please!
Why!
Haldane!
Please!
Haldane, this is crazy!
Haldane!
Don't!
- And now for final the purification of your soul.
- Now he's one of us.