Dr. Culver was now ready to escape. He had managed to cut through the ropes that held him to the chair. He had to admit, he was fairly impressed by his own resourcefulness. He broke off a small, wedge-shaped chunk of wood from the chair and used its sharp edges to saw through the ropes that bound him. He had to do it discreetly, though. Professor Qara had installed a camera in one of the corners of the room. Dr. Culver never knew when the professor might be watching. Every chance he got, he worked tirelessly on making his way through the rope. Now he had done it. He knew that all he had to do was cast the ropes aside, but it wasn't time yet. There was still the camera and the locked door to contend with. Dr. Culver knew he would have to ambush Professor Qara. He had it all planned out. When he heard the professor unlocking the door, he would jump out of his chair, then grab the chair and attack the professor as he made his way into the room. Dr. Culver was convinced that this was the best plan. However, he had to be quick and fierce or it wouldn't work.

The sound of the door latch being released from its housing was magnified in Dr. Culver's ears. Adrenaline quickly pumped through his veins as everything else slowed down to a crawl. He threw the ropes off and sprang out of the chair. He was surprised by how heavy the chair was when he picked it up. Professor Qara was barely through the door when the chair hit him. Reeling back through the doorway, Professor Qara fell. Dr. Culver leapt over the professor's body only to be grabbed by the ankle. Ice instantly shot through his body and then he fell to the floor. The pain he felt upon impact took all the fight out of him. Professor Qara quickly dragged him back into the room and threw him against a wall.

"You fool!" the professor hollered. "You can't run! I learned that lesson years ago."

Both men took a minute to recover from the struggle. Dr. Culver couldn't believe he failed. He was so close, so very close to freedom.

"Yours is truly a tragic story, doctor," Professor Qara said. "If only you had been more forthcoming with me in the beginning, we could have avoided all this unpleasantness. You could have supplied me with all the information I thought I needed from Rachel. Had that happened I would have stuck with my original plan and brought a stray here instead of you. That, however, was not the case. Only after I brought you here did you provide the answers that I sought after."

"What are you talking about?" Dr. Culver asked, bitterly.

"The tape from your micro-cassette recorder contained everything I needed to know, doctor. Had that tape been brought to my attention sooner, you would still be a free man. Of course, there is nothing we can do about it now. You should have shared any and all information about Rachel with me, Dr. Culver. That was your ultimate undoing."

"Well, now you have Rachel all to yourself, professor," Dr. Culver said.

"I have not seen Rachel since we three last had a session. After I listened to your tape there was no need for me to."

"What is it exactly that you want from me, Professor Qara?"

"It is almost time, Dr. Culver. In less than an hour we shall know the truth."

"The truth about what?"

"You will see," Professor Qara said, nodding. "In the meantime, there is something that I want to share with you, something I hope you will find inspirational. It is a tale from my youth, from my native land of Mongolia."

"Mongolia? I thought you were Japanese."

"I know you did, doctor. For all intents and purposes, in spirit I am Japanese. After all, I spent most of my life in Japan. I know their culture better than my own. I consider it my true home, especially its seas. Biologically though, I am Mongolian. The name is a dead giveaway: Qara Tolui Borjigid. You won't find any Japanese named that. Anyway, in Mongolia there is a city named Ulaanbaatar and in this city exists Sansar. Sansar, which means cosmos in your tongue, is a hill in the eastern part of Ulaanbaatar where many East German experts used to live. It is upon this hill that I had an epiphany. As I stared down upon the city, watching the power plants blow smoke into the otherwise clear, starry sky, I came to realize the significance of the scene. We, as people, were imposing our will onto the environment. We were using it while at the same time shaping it, and doing so on such a large scale. This fascinated me. I wanted to understand not only why people as a group did this, but how. Then I wanted to know how to use that knowledge and transfer it to one person. I wanted to know how to impose my will on a scale as grand as people did in a group. And here is where I can help you, doctor. Here is what I learned. The meat of the matter is what you would call it. When the time comes you must remember that above all else there is destiny, and that you and you alone control your destiny. If you do that you will triumph in the face of fear."

Dr. Culver was stunned. Where part of what the professor said made sense, the rest of it sounded like the ranting and ravings of a madman. Dr. Culver was more than happy when Professor Qara left the room. He was even happier about the fact that the professor forgot to tie him up. He would have to take advantage of that. Hopefully, Professor Qara wouldn't return for a while so he could build his strength back up. Then he would ambush him again.

As time passed, Dr. Culver grew more and more anxious. He was ready. Any moment Professor Qara would walk through that door and he was ready to attack. The anticipation was nearly unbearable. Dr. Culver's nerves were on the edge. He jumped when the television suddenly blared static into the room.

"Very funny," Dr. Culver said, loudly. He figured Professor Qara was having fun at his expense, figured the professor was using a remote control from the room where he was watching him.

The static stopped and Dr. Culver turned his attention back to the television. It was showing the shot of the well from the videotape that the professor made him watch.

"I've already seen this once. How many times do I have to watch it," he hollered. "Whoa. I haven't seen that though."

Dr. Culver watched as Samara climbed out of the well. The television image went screwy for a moment and then righted itself. Samara was now out of the well and making her way to the screen. Fear grew within Dr. Culver. He didn't understand why. It's just a videotape, he told himself. The screen went screwy again and suddenly Samara was right on the edge of the screen. Dr. Culver screamed as Samara's head blerped out from the television. The rest of her followed. Everything Rachel told Dr. Culver about Samara suddenly came rushing to his mind. It was all true, he thought to himself. It was all true.

From another room, Professor Qara watched as Samara advanced on Dr. Culver. Then he smiled when he saw her kill him. Samara then turned towards the camera.

"I had to see for myself," Professor Qara said to the image of Samara. "I had to make sure you were real before proceeding any further. Now there is only one thing left for me to do and then our time will come. Yes... yes."