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TRINES: A SYNOPSIS. An
autopsy is carried out on a soldier killed in the Gulf. Anomalies are discovered
that relate to a puzzling accumulation of facts about a village called Fermlow;
where the soldier was born. John, a ‘generalist’, is sent undercover to
investigate. Facts
known: in the Fermwood lives a wormlike creature of unknown origin. Many of the
animals and people in the area possess triangular birth marks called
‘trines’ on their bodies. The marks and the worm have been around for some
centuries, and as a consequence the place is steeped in legend. Fermlow comes
from Vermlow, the root of its name being ‘Vermis’ the Latin for worm. There
is the mythical Fermlow stag, and a history of witch burnings. While
John is establishing his cover, the police investigate the disappearance of a
young girl. She was killed by Chris, the psychotic brother of Colin Morlock, who
dumped her body in the Fermwood. Both Morlocks are major-league criminals. The
girl was killed because she knew too much about Colin’s present criminal
dealings: he is buying plutonium from the Russian Mafia, from which he intends
to manufacture ‘briefcase’ atomic bombs, for sale to the highest bidder. John
becomes involved in these events as well, when he has a brief affair with
Colin’s ex-wife, Sarah. As a consequence of this, John is attacked by Chris.
He beats Chris – thus making an enemy of the Morlocks. His affair with Sarah
now finished, he meets up with the enigmatic Anne, who knows more than she is
letting on. The
police search half of the Fermwood for the missing girl. Colin and Chris go to
the other half of the wood to remove the body. The body is gone. This
episode ends with an employee of Colin’s, driving his car (the one Chris used
to bring the body to the woods) crashing into a tree to avoid the Fermlow stag.
The car is then attacked by the triangular-section trine creature.
In
this second episode Colin is losing control of his psychotic brother. John gets
his investigation underway; equipment is delivered to him with which he is able
to survey the ground below Fermlow and the wood to map the creature’s tunnels.
He is invited to dinner with Anne and becomes more suspicious of her. Later he
has a disconcerting encounter with one of the Worleys, a man with a goat’s
eyes and who is of a family much linked with Fermlow legend. He has also sees
Sarah returning from the middle of the woods with her clothing rumpled and
slimy. She does not recognise him. Colin
completely loses control of his brother. Chris steals a gun from him and goes
after John. Guessing what his brother is likely to do, Colin goes after him. The
move is fortuitous for him, as at this point the police find evidence to connect
him to the killing of the girl (her fingers in a crisp packet in his smashed
car). John is pursued into the woods by Chris. Chris has him in his
sights when the creature appears. Rather than shoot John he shoots at the
creature. Worley appears, kills Chris, and captures John. Worley takes John away at gunpoint. It is unclear what his
intention is. This is not discovered, because John is saved from the Worleys
(three of them, identical) by Anne. She, he discovers, knows more about the
creature than himself. A villager bearing a trine herself, she has studied the
creature for years. They pool their knowledge: The
creature lives under the wood and the village. It has altered the genome of the
villagers (animals also) so that they grow trines. A trine is little more than
an organic socket. The villagers are remote drones for the creature, and when
they wander into the woods they are unaware of being downloaded or programmed.
Otherwise they lead normal lives. Anne is one of the few who is aware. At first
she thought it a religious experience and was a fervent member of ‘The Church
of the Trine’. She soon decided otherwise. The Worleys are a family that have
been altered more by the creature than the others. They are strong, fast and
violent – its guards. The Morlocks are related to them – they are failed
Worleys that the creature cannot programme and as such they are amoral and
dangerous, having all the attributes of the Worleys and no constraints. Colin,
who thus far has not been as uncontrolled in his psychosis as his brother, goes
over the edge when he sees his brother’s corpse being dragged away by the
creature. The creature feeds on carrion. Its main diet consists of road kills.
Episode two ends at this point. The
police raid Colin Morlock’s house and Detective Inspector Howes finds a
mock-up of the briefcase bomb. Following instructions laid down for him he makes
one phone call. The man he speaks to is the Crow, also John’s superior. Colin
watches this raid, meanwhile listening to a tape John dropped when fleeing
Chris. The tape tells Colin all he needs to know about the trine creature. He
intends to kill it and he can get the means. First though, he allows himself the
pleasure of killing Sarah. He then goes on his way. John
and Anne attend the funeral of the soldier. Anne then shows John the Church of
the Trine ceremony that follows, in which the body of the soldier is given to
the creature, and the worshippers give themselves willingly to connection with
the creature. It is their god. Anne is affected by seeing this and knows she
must soon go to the creature herself. The
police pick up an accomplice of Colin’s and discover his destination. The Crow
listens in on this and consequently sends his men to the docks, where a Russian
trawler is moored. They arrive to find only the bodies of the crew Colin has
killed. Colin now has the makings of his briefcase atomic bomb. The Crow orders
that no more action should be taken against Colin, as he is sure Colin intends
to use the device to kill the creature. Crow is frightened and disgusted by the
creature and has no objection to this; the results of a nuclear explosion he
knows how to deal with, he does not know how to deal with the creature under the
Fermwood. He must cover his tracks though. His men begin eliminating all those
involved. Because
Anne is driven to go to the creature, she and John decide that this is the time
to get a sample from it – something no one has ever had. They go, and John
sees Anne being downloaded by the creature. It communicates with her and she
learns something about it. It also leaves a section of tentacle, part of itself,
for them to study. Anne tells John that the creature is ancient, and that it is
huge. He does not, at that time, fully understand what she means. John
is recalled by the Crow and sent on an errand to the trawler. There the Crow’s
men try to kill him and fail. He learns from them that Morlock is on his way to
the Fermwood to kill the creature (essence of it, but slightly more
complicated). He rushes back. Colin
has his bomb. He is also dying of radiation sickness. He comes to the Fermwood
where Anne sees him and follows him. He kills one of the Worleys before reaching
the centre and there setting the bomb’s timer. Here he captures Anne and holds
her at gunpoint when John arrives. The other Worleys also arrive. In the ensuing
fire-fight Colin is wounded and John and Anne escape. The clock is still ticking
though. While they flee through the wood they hear Colin’s screams as the
Worleys finish him off. They reach John’s car and drive away at speed. Behind
them the Fermwood is engulfed in an atomic explosion. When the shock wave hits,
John crashes the car. He thinks the creature dead until Anne tells him it has
not even been hurt. It has just learnt to be wary of people, as people must now
be wary of it. She also tells him that it is in other places, many other places,
and from this John understands what she meant when she said it was huge. Ending:
Crowther (the Crow) sees his master in London and there tells a lie of
terrorists and disaster averted. In the London park where this meeting takes
place he comes face to face with the trine creature, while his master, with
Worley eyes, looks on. Running
time: three one-hour episodes. |
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