Scientist B
Yes… That's right… So people can use them to keep warm in winter. A cucumber takes in sunlight to grow, so we should be able to extract the sunlight…
Gulliver
And have you managed to extract any yet?
Scientist B
Well…not quite yet…I think I'm getting very close to it though…
[SFX: Explosion]
Scientist B
Oh dear!
Gulliver
And how long have you been working on this project?
Scientist B
Oh, only eight years….
Gulliver
Right, I see… Well good luck!
[To himself] You'll need more than that…
Lady Monodi
Now, you will be very interested in the project in this next room. A very learned physician is conducting an important experiment. He is famous for curing the problem of wind.
Gulliver
Now that could be useful. It's something I suffer from… Perhaps he can help me?
Gulliver narrator
In the room we had just entered there was a dog in the middle of the floor and a man standing over it with some bellows pointing towards the dog's backside.
Gulliver
What are you doing?
Scientist C
Well, if the dog is suffering from a little bit of wind, then using the bellows gently, I draw the bad air out. If the condition is serious, like in the case of this dog… if I squeeze the bellows hard like this… air goes in and out of the dog…
Gulliver
I see…This dog looks pretty dead to me…
Scientist C
Is he? Oh dear! How unfortunate… He may recover if I just… gently squeeze the bellows so I that I can draw out air… like that… Now did I hear you say that you also suffer from wind? 'Cause if you like, I can…
Gulliver
No, I think you must have misheard me… We ought to move on!
Gulliver narrator
We hurried out, leaving the doctor trying to revive the poor dog. We visited several other laboratories all with quite bizarre experiments that frankly, seemed pointless and with little chance of success.
Gulliver
And do they get funding for their experiments?
Monodi
Yes, of course.
Gulliver
But how can so much money be spent on these pointless, degrading projects…when people are living in such misery?
Monodi
You're not impressed then?
Gulliver
No, I'm not. These aren't creative projects. They're unhealthy and impractical. What's more – they're immoral – people are starving in the city. Monodi, I've seen enough. I want to go home…
Monodi
You mean back to Laputa…?
Gulliver
No… to England. Is there a ship that can take me…?
Monodi
You need to take the ferry to Glubbdubdrib. From there you can get on board a boat for Japan, and then England. I'll be sorry to see you go, Gulliver.
Gulliver
You have been very kind and a great guide. But I have been away many months and I miss my country and my family.
Gulliver narrator
So, I left the beautiful Lady Monodi and sailed first to Glubbdubdrib, which she had forgotten to tell me, was a land of magicians. I had several adventures there, which are quite another tale… From Glubbdubdrib, I went to Japan and boarded a ship to England…
It was wonderful to be reunited with my wife and children. I knew, though, that it wouldn't be long before sea life would tempt me once again. Little did I know that even more dangerous adventures lay ahead of me.