SYNOPSIS
Guest Stars: Polly Draper, Rick Overton as Count Gregory
Screenplay by Paul Pender
Edited by Jean-François Bergeron
Directed by Tom Clegg
Location of Aurora: Over France, with stops in Paris and along the coast.
Prologue: A book is burning on a fire. A desperate man is writing that there is an evil darker than death. He hears echoes of a voice whispering "life eternal that I may rule forever". He goes to the window and opens it, as the candle blows out and a spectral face of Count Gregory is reflected in the panes.
On board the Aurora, Passepartout is busy counting Phileas' winnings from Monte Carlo. Jules is reading the paper and discovers an obituary for his old teacher Professor Marechal. Jules explains that his teacher had been a pioneer in the study of electricity and was fascinated by the effects of electricity on the human body. Phileas agrees to take Jules to the funeral in Paris.
Rebecca is summoned to Chatsworth's office and discovers the dead body of the Prime Minister on Chatsworth's desk. Sir Jonathan explains that the Prime Minister was in delicate negotiations with Indian officials and that he doesn't want word to get out about his death. He begins to give directions to Rebecca for a mission which she is reluctant to take. The Prime Minister's body is packed in ice in a plain coffin and sent to a waiting ship. Rebecca is reluctant to tamper with, as she says, the fundamental laws of nature. Chatsworth pleads for Rebecca to agree.
Jules arrives on the platform for the funeral procession and joins Monique at a café. When Jules offers to help in any way he can, Monique has a request. She explains that her father wanted to be buried at home near the sea, not in a crypt in Paris where he is currently buried. A bit later Jules asks Phileas for help in stealing the body. Phileas says no, but when the attractive Monique enters the cabin, he immediately agrees to help her take her father's body to the deceased's castle on the coast of France. Passepartout puts his refrigeration system into effect to help preserve the body and everyone has a very cold trip to the coast in the Aurora.
Meanwhile, Rebecca is also heading for the coast of France. She has been informed that she must find a certain castle located on the coast. This castle will have a laboratory on the cliff side of the structure facing the ocean.
On board the Aurora Jules finds the professor's half-burned book. Inside the book is the letter Marechal was writing at the beginning and Jules deduces that the professor committed suicide. Phileas and Monique are on the observation platform as they approach the desolate castle. When they arrive, two assistant's of Professor Marechal take the coffin away. Jules tries to ask Monique about the nature of the professor's last work, but doesn't get an answer. Both he and Phileas stay for a brief ceremony on a roof of the castle. Then the casket is shoved through a hole in the wall. They take their leave of Monique and reboard the Aurora.
As soon as her guests leave, Monique heads to her father's laboratory. She and the two lab assistants prepare something called the vitalisphere. Then they open the casket, take out Marechal's body, and put him inside the device. They turn on the machime that starts to breath for the professor.
On the Aurora, Jules mentions that he's sure Monique is hiding something. Although Phileas says she is merely grieving, he remembers her words at the ceremony about soon being reunited with her father and decides that she is probably about to commit suicide. The Aurora turns around to return to the castle.
After the preliminary stages of the machine have worked for a while, Monique activates the coils and suddenly the professor cries out from within the apparatus' suit. Her father opens his eyes and Monique cries that he has defeated death. A face appears in a strange screen next to the controls and offers congratulations. The face explains that he is the true owner of the laboratory, the assistants, and even Professor Marechal. The professor has revived enough to leave the apparatus and goes with Monique to the drawing room. There he explains to his daughter that it was a mistake to cheat death. Marechal says that the League of Darkness would reap the benefits and that they are evil incarnate. The sphere will feed their power, he proclaims. There is only one escape, he explains and pleads with Monique to leave. When he starts to collapse, the assistants return and take him back to the lab, first telling Monique to get rid of her returning friends.
Phileas and Jules walk into the room. Phileas says that the storm made them turn back. Jules says that he knows why they brought the body there, that he believes the professor's machine drawn in his book was to bring the dead back to life. Monique is very distressed and says that her father invented many things on paper that were never built. Phileas says they should leave.
Rebecca has found the same castle and climbs the cliff outside the laboratory. The assistants see her and hurry out of the lab, carrying Monique with them. Rebecca enters and sees Marechal in the vitalisphere. She approaches Marechal and says in wonder that he has found a way to restore life. Marechal counters that it is not life. he asks that Rebecca unhook him and she obliges. The disembodied voice of Count Gregory calls in again and says that it beats the alternative. As Rebecca starts to respond to the Count, the Professor tries to destroy the machine. Rebecca stops him, then is hit from behind by one of the assistants who is ordered by Count Gregory to dispose of her. He pushes her out the cliff-side opening in the rock wall.
Phileas and Jules cannot get Passepartout to raise the lift, and Phileas says that Passepartout is asleep on the job. Meanwhile, Passepartout is trying to raise the lift but everything is freezing up on the Aurora. When Jules and Phileas enter the parlor once again, they see Professor Marechal with Monique. Jules says the professor can live forever. Marechal says that he doesn't want to live forever, that he tried to challenge God and brought this evil upon them. When the professor rushes out, Verne follows. Phileas asks Monique what her father meant by evil. She explains that they are called the League of Darkness.
Rebecca's fall was broken by a tree. When she regains consciousness, she starts to climb the cliff again.
The assistants are forcing Marechal with them when Phileas arrives in the courtyard and spears one of them with a sword. He fights with the other one before he pushes the man down a well. Jules arrives in the courtyard and they all help to rush Marechal back to the laboratory. As they strap him in, Rebecca climbs through the window, much to Phileas' surprise. She explains that the Prime Minister is dead and if they don't revive him they might loose India. Verne is in awe of the machine and muses that one would have hundreds of years to accumulate knowledge, perhaps even develop forms of wisdom. Phileas adds that it would be hundreds of years for new forms of tyranny by an immortal few. The professor asks that he be connected and that the machine turned on to full power. Monique tearfully says good bye to her father. When Jules argues that the professor has created something miraculous with the machine, Phileas says to leave it alone, that it's the right thing to do. Marechal explains that beyond is light, while here is only darkness. Monique pulls the lever to full power, then rushes to join her father in the machine that implodes. Count Gregory appears in the communication device and Phileas clubs the device into insensibility.
Phileas climbs the rope and finds a frozen Aurora and a nearly-frozen Passepartout. After thawing everyone and thing out, Rebecca and Phileas discuss events. She says that the Prime Minister is on a warship waiting for her mission and Phileas says that he hopes they used plenty of ice. When Rebecca mentions that Chatsworth will be livid, Phileas says good. Rebecca asks if the Phileas is going to put all of his winnings from Monte Carlo on the Grand National. Phileas says yes, he's going to put it all on one little filly who hasn't ever won a race, but whose name is Rest in Peace.
