Jago and Litefoot are preparing to board the Fata Morgana for a holiday cruise. Ellie has come with them to see them off. They announce themselves to the ship purser Aubrey, who looks suspiciously familiar…but don’t dwell on it as they prepare to board before saying goodbye to Ellie. Just as they board, a man in a hurry call Mr. Riverstock barges past and announces himself to Aubrey, Aubrey directs him to the ship, but the man continues to hurry as he states that he must board the ship…
The Infernal Investigators arrive in their cabin. They comment on the rather cramped size. They are greeted by a woman passing by the cabin called Lady Isobelle Danvers. After introducing themselves, Danvers explains that she booked herself a cruise in the wake of her husband’s passing, but she doesn’t seem too upset by that. She suggestively tells the two men that she is occupying the cabin next to theirs should they wish to see her, but until then she bids them good day and awaits their presence at dinner time.
Once Danvers leaves them alone, Jago jokingly contemplates jumping ship as soon as possible as he recognised the signs that Danvers was sizing him and Litefoot up as possible suitors. But there’s nothing they can do now as the hear the sound of the ship’s horn signifying their departure.
That evening, the passenger Fowler is regaling an American couple, Joshua & Madeleine Penfold, with tales of his journeys around the world. Jago and Litefoot arrive at the table and introduce themselves. Moments later, Aubrey introduces himself and the ship’s captain, Captain Mercer to the passengers on the ship. Mercer states that they should be on course and on time to their first destination, Casablanca. Once the captain and Aubrey finish their introductions, they announce that dinner is served. Jago and Litefoot once more ponder the familiarity of Aubrey but can’t seem to figure out where they recognise him from. Lady Danvers arrives at the table, and Litefoot introduces her to the table guests. Danvers makes it obvious to everyone that she is pursuing a new romantic life partner, especially when she asks the Infernal Investigators if they have wives waiting for them at home. Litefoot immediately begins to feel uncomfortable and excuses himself from the table.
Litefoot steps out onto the deck and embraces the fresh air and night sky…until Danvers shows up once more. She invites Litefoot to dine with her at breakfast next morning, but Litefoot isn’t fooled and deduces that she merely wants him to deter any unwanted attention should she dine alone. But before he can respond, Danvers graciously thanks him. Litefoot feels a great deal more uncomfortable and heads back inside the ship. Jago arrives and encounters Danvers. He was looking for Litefoot, but Danvers states that he has left the deck. Danvers asks Jago if he would be so kind as to accompany her to lunch the next day. Jago reluctantly accepts her invitation and bids her goodnight.
Jago returns to his cabin. His entrance awakens Litefoot, who claims to have had trouble sleeping due to his encounter with Danvers. Both men discuss the woman and plan to let her down lightly as they don’t reciprocate her interest. Litefoot comes up with a plan…
Moments later, Jago and Litefoot wait for Danvers on the outer deck. Once they see she’s within earshot, they pretend to argue over her. Danvers hears everything and breaks the two gentlemen up. Jago tells her that she must choose between the two men, but Danvers fears tearing the two men apart over her and refuses to choose either of them and promptly leaves. Once she leaves, both the Infernal Investigators breathe a sigh of relief. The air suddenly begins to feel incredibly cold and they spot a large cloud of fog in the distance. Captain Mercer arrives and advises the two men to come inside the ship.
Once they enter the ship, the ship is practically enveloped in the mist. Litefoot suddenly feels that the ships engines have stopped. Captain Mercer contacts the dining lounge via radio and assures the passengers that there’s nothing to worry about, but Litefoot isn’t completely reassured and he and Jago decide to investigate…
The Infernal Investigators enter the wheel-room to find Captain Mercer rather agitated. He tells the two that the ship’s compass has somehow demagnetized and can’t seem to find out where they are. The fog starts to move and clear, but Jago notices that the ship’s flag isn’t blowing, so how can the fog move if there’s no wind to move it?
In the dining lounge, the guests suddenly notice that their watches and the ship’s clocks have frozen at 11:05pm…
In the wheel-room, Jago notices his watch has stopped as well. Litefoot advises him to wind it…to no avail. Mercer is perplexed and states that they can’t dictate the longitude without the time, plus he notices a strange haze in the sky that is preventing him from seeing where the sun and moon’s positions are. Mercer receives a radio call from the engineer telling him that the engines are working fine, but they simply refuse to power up. Mercer tells Jago and Litefoot to keep this strange matter under wraps for risk of panic breaking out.
Litefoot is writing a letter to Ellie that describes the events:
…And so I write, dear Ellie. We are cast adrift on a silent sea surrounded by a wall of mist. While Aubrey tried to keep the passengers calm, Captain Mercer ran a complete check of the engines. A few hours later, though its hard to keep track of time as we are held in perpetual twilight, Mr. Fowler suggested taking the rowing boat to find out what lay beyond the fog. The boat was lowered and Fowler and Aubrey rowed away into the mist.
Not long after rowing away, Fowler and Aubrey returned to the ship. Jago and Litefoot notice how both men are soaked to the bone and look famished. Aubrey states that they had been inside the mist…for three days, but to the ship’s occupants, they had only been gone a few minutes. Aubrey explains that there was seemingly no end to the mist and they couldn’t find their bearings, but they managed to return safely. Litefoot theorises that the mist is acting as a barrier and that time itself runs in a different manner inside the mist.
Litefoot continues to write his letter describing the events to Ellie:
Now dear Ellie. I continue this letter over a week later. Though when, or indeed if I will ever get the chance to send it, I have no idea. Aubrey has maintained a rota of meal times, but beyond that we have no way of knowing what time of day it is. As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean. The passengers remain calm, almost unnaturally so. Although Aubrey has confided to me that our food supplies will soon be running low.
Litefoot meets with Aubrey. Aubrey explains that he is seeing to a man called Riverstock – the man who rushed onto the ship when Jago and Litefoot boarded. Litefoot is curious as he hasn’t seen Riverstock since they left. Aubrey explains that he is confined to his cabin as he has come down with sea sickness, which Litefoot thinks is strange considering that the ship isn’t moving. He offers to look, but Aubrey relays Riverstock’s instructions that he is not to be disturbed. Jago arrives and hurriedly tells Litefoot to come to the outer deck…they’ve found another ship in the fog…
The Infernal Investigators arrive on the outer deck and look at the other ship. Litefoot notices that the ship has no lights on inside, no signs of life and no steam from the funnel…its drifting in the sea on a collision course. Jago becomes incredibly bewildered when they see the name of the ship…Fata Morgana – the same ship they’re currently on board! Thankfully the ship begins to slow down and Captain Mercer instructs the passengers to throw a line to the other ship.
Litefoot continues his letter:
But despite repeated hails, we received no reply from the mysterious vessel. I have seen not a soul onboard. So Mr. Jago and I volunteered our services.
Jago, Litefoot and Mercer lower a rowing boat into the sea and row towards the second Fata Morgana.
Jago, Litefoot and Mercer board the second Fata Morgana via rope ladder. They call out to see if they get a response but find nobody calling back. Litefoot notices how the deck has been warped and the steel is rusted, and thusly deduces that the ship has been drifting for some time. Mercer suggests the three of them split up to investigate.
Jago and Litefoot enter the captain’s cabin and find nobody. Litefoot finds the ship’s incredibly aged logbook and discovers the captain of the ship is…Captain Mercer. Litefoot finds the Captain’s diary and discover that it is dated two weeks from now! He reads the final entry:
With food supplies exhausted and with only enough fresh water to last four more days. The remaining members of the manifest have drawn lots as to who’ll leave in the rowing boat and who will remain onboard. I, of course, will remain onboard till the end.
Jago asks where are the people who stayed behind? Litefoot reads the entry for today’s date:
No let up for this baleful miasma. We encountered another steam ship in the mist named Fata Morgana. I investigated the ship in the company of Professor Litefoot and Henry Gordon Jago.
With this mysterious diary entry, Litefoot deduces that the ship they’re currently investigating is the Fata Morgana of the future. Jago is curious to know what becomes of him and Litefoot. But Litefoot slams the book shut and refuses to read anymore, stating that knowing their own future could possibly trap them, so while they don’t know what will happen, they can act as they choose without foreknowledge interfering with their decisions. To prevent Jago’s curiosity getting the better of him, Litefoot keeps hold of the book. They hear Mercer’s whistle, so both men leave to find him.
Outside the wheelhouse, Mercer explains to the investigators that he discovered the body of the captain, or what was left as its just a pile of human bones now. Litefoot wishes to look, but Mercer is disturbed by what he’s seen and states that they’ve seen enough and that they should return to their ship.
The passengers are relieved to see the trio return safely, but Mercer refuses to discuss what he saw and states that the other ship is possibly a forerunner to the Fata Morgana they’re travelling on now. Suddenly, the passengers watch in amazement as the other Fata Morgana disappears into the mist like a ghost!
Later, Mercer is preparing to update his log when he and Aubrey hear a foghorn in the mist. They look out and see another ship, this one with life signs onboard. They sound their foghorn to alert it to their presence. The other ship responds by firing a flare into the sky. Mercer instructs Aubrey to fire their flares in return. Jago walks into the wheelhouse and tries to peep at Mercer’s logbook, but Mercer’s patience is wearing thin and he orders him to leave.
Jago returns to Litefoot and relays what he read from the latest entry in Mercer’s logbook:
Professor Litefoot, Henry Jago and I returned from the derelict having discovered no souls onboard.
Litefoot checks the logbook they retrieved from the future Fata Morgana and discover the entry is the same word for word. Jago states that he managed to read the logbook entry as Mercer was preoccupied with the newly discovered ship sailing in the distance. Litefoot’s curiosity is piqued, and at that moment, the ship’s foghorn sounds. They look out the porthole and discover the new ship is another Fata Morgana, albeit in better condition…
The investigators and the passengers look out at the new ship and see people onboard. They watch as four individuals from the other Fata Morgana sail towards them in their rowing boat. Aubrey lights a lamp to guide the boat to safety. Litefoot sees something on the other boat that notably shakes him, but he quickly dismisses it. Jago looks out at the emissaries boarding their ship and realises why Litefoot was perplexed…two of the individuals are the exact spitting image of Fowler and Aubrey except they have French accents. They see the identities of the other two emissaries…its Jago and Litefoot…but with French accents!
The French Jago and Litefoot are just as taken aback by the fact that there are duplicates of themselves on the ship, except they’re British. The Frenchmen introduce themselves as Jago, Litefoot, Aubrey and Fowler. British Aubrey asks if they have the exact same passengers and lists off everyone, to which French Litefoot confirms, even the French Riverstock is confined to his cabin due to illness. French Litefoot explains the circumstances that led up to meeting their British counterparts, which are the exact same course of events the British Jago and Litefoot went through. British Litefoot then begins to worry that these courses of events shouldn’t even happen because of a possible paradox. French Jago snidely comments that the possibly of an English Jago and Litefoot is rather absurd, but British Jago bites back and states the feeling is mutual and states that he is as English as Queen Victoria. Strangely, the French counterparts don’t recognise her name, but they have an Empress. Both Jagos begin to argue, but thankfully both Litefoots manage to diffuse the situation and suggest they all try to rationalise the situation. British Captain Mercer invites both Aubreys and Fowlers to the wheelroom. British Litefoot decides to invite his French counterpart as well as the French Jago to join him and British Jago for drinks to discuss the situation.
While both Jagos become acquainted over their love of alcohol, both Litefoots discuss their predicament. French Litefoot explains that he and French Jago come from London…a London that was conquered by France and became part of the French Empire eighty years ago after the Battle of Waterloo, where the Duke of Wellington and his army were defeated by Napoleon Bonaparte. The current leader of the French Empire is Emperor Bonaparte the Fifth. British Litefoot deduces that their French counterparts come from an alternate timeline…
Jago is writing a letter to Ellie describing the events that transpired:
And so dearest Ellie, Our Gallic cousins skulked back to their ship. On Captain’s orders, we are to have no further contact and are not to breathe a word to our fellow travellers. Fortunately, that doesn’t stop me writing to you.
As Jago is writing, Litefoot arrives and informs Jago that the mist is clearing and something else is happening...
Both investigators watch as another Fata Morgana emerges from the mist clearing. They notice another Jago and Litefoot waving at them from the ship, except these two are Prussian! Litefoot deduces that they come from a timeline where the Prussian Empire endured. Suddenly, another ship emerges from the mist with another Jago and Litefoot onboard, except these two are Italian! Then more ships begin to appear, each with a Jago and Litefoot onboard and each ship flying different national flags. Captain Mercer arrives and orders Jago and Litefoot to come inside to avoid contact with the other ships, as he begins to suspect that these ships are atmospheric mirages.
Jago and Litefoot sit down and begin to ponder what they’ve just seen. They begin to wonder what could be creating this mist and more existential questions such as whether they are the original Jago and Litefoot. Litefoot comes to two possible conclusions – its either a localised effect in the ocean or there’s something onboard the ship that causing this impossible scenario. Jago suggests they look at the logbook they acquired from the abandoned Fata Morgana. Litefoot does so and flitters through the pages up to the point of current events and notices something perplexing:
Some of the crew from the French vessel came onboard. But while they were onboard, their ship faded away followed by all the others!
Litefoot deduces that that’s why none of the other ships have managed to escape yet, when the four individuals travel over to each other’s ships, someone stayed onboard and didn’t return to their ship. Which means the key to escaping is to leave without any passengers from other timelines. Litefoot flicks to the next page and discovers that all future entries have disappeared off the pages, which means the future cannot have happened yet! Litefoot gets up and leaves the cabin, if the future has changed…what else has changed?
Both men walk onto the outer deck and look out at all the different Fata Morgana ships sailing around. Litefoot comments that the air feels humid as if a storm is imminent. Suddenly they both notice the distant copies of the Fata Morgana are fading away like steam!
On the French vessel, the French Jago and Litefoot watch as all the other ships vanish from the sea. But they suddenly notice they themselves are starting to fade from existence! French Litefoot notices how the English Fata Morgana is still solid and not fading away, which can only mean that the English Fata Morgana is the real ship after all. French Litefoot decides that the only way to save themselves is to board the English Fata Morgana…
Jago and Litefoot watch as more Fata Morgana ships fade out from the fog. Which can only mean that they are returning to their alternate timelines.
Meanwhile, the French Jago and Litefoot use a rowing boat to cross over to the English Fata Morgana. French Jago begins to have doubts about leaving the French Fata Morgana, but French Litefoot is adamant that they must save themselves and so they climb the rope ladder to board the ship.
As they watch more ships disappear, Jago and Litefoot are startled to discover that they can see right through each other like ghosts! Litefoot looks down and watches as the ship beneath their feet begins to fade. Litefoot assumes the answers must lie in the logbook and they rush back to the cabin to find it.
After shaking off the complaints of Lady Danvers, the Infernal Investigators find the logbook and discover a startling entry:
At first we thought we the only ones left, until two French people were discovered onboard. Under questioning, they admitted they had stowed away.
Jago alerts Litefoot to two strangers hiding in the wardrobe…the French Jago and Litefoot. French Litefoot tries to bluff his way past his British counterparts by stating that he and French Jago wished to offer their assistance as Infernal Investigators. But British Litefoot isn’t fooled and reprimands his counterpart for abandoning his ship. But the French Litefoot offers a simple conundrum – if the roles were reversed, would they have done the same? Litefoot agrees that they have as much right to exist, but with their presence on the ship, the English ship can’t disappear. Either way, the French Infernal Investigators are doomed. French Litefoot sees the futility of his actions and decides to peacefully leave the ship and resign to their fates aboard the French Fata Morgana so that the English Fata Morgana may exist, stating that a world without Jago and Litefoot isn’t a world worth living in…
Litefoot is writing a letter to Ellie:
And so we watched as our counterparts returned to their boat. Even as they waved farewell, they vanished into the swirling fog never to return. Within a few minutes, our ship became solid once more.
Jago arrives and asks Litefoot to check the logbook to make sure everything is okay. Litefoot reaches for the book only to find his hands pass through it like a ghost. Then it faded away into nothing. Jago then notices that the clock on the wall is ticking…time is moving again!
The Infernal Investigators head to the wheelroom where Captain Mercer informs them that the engines are working once more and the fog is beginning to clear, plus the ship’s compass is beginning to work again.
On the outer deck, the passengers watch as the fog begins to clear, much to their relief. Mercer states that they’ll have to enter a port soon to take on fresh supplies. Luckily, they see land in the distance and what appears to be a town. Mercer informs them the land ahead is Monte Carlo!
Back in London at the Red Tavern, Ellie is closing the pub when Inspector Quick arrives and asks her if Jago and Litefoot have returned from their cruise. Ellie confirms that they’re still on holiday. Quick explains that a gruesomely mutilated body has been dredged from the Thames. The body had no form of identification on their person, but only one thing was discovered…a ticket for the Fata Morgana…
