Truckers

Episode 1

How It All Began

The Thing, a glowing cube, briefly sets the scene: A police car chases a lorry that is driving erratically and pulls it over. One of the officers gets out to talk to the driver, but when he gets to the cab he discovers the lorry is empty. Something is seen cutting the wires under the police car as the officer returns to his car. The lorry drives off, apparently driver less, and the police find that their car won't start. The Thing announces that this is not the end of the story or the start. The story proper begins with Masklin, a 4-inch-high (100 mm) Nome, hunting for food. On returning to his burrow, he argues with the elders of his tribe about the lack of food and that they have no fire for heat. Masklin decides that a lorry might take them to a better place, but as he wonders, a fox attacks one of the elders, Mr Mert. Masklin chases the fox onto the motorway, killing both the fox and Mr Mert. Masklin decides right then they all have to go, so they climb on board a lorry at a nearby motorway service station. The head of the tribe, Torrit, discovers that he has lost The Thing, the symbol of the tribe's authority. He makes Masklin climb down to get it just as the driver returns and the lorry takes off; Masklin is left hanging on the rope.