(Jonathan Banks) and his Zone Troopers. Kroll is intent on revenge, given that the Sterlings stole his high security access crystal, acquired during their disastrous encounter in the first episode. Contact with Earth was evident by several references to Earth history: Nova tells Trace in the pilot episode ("Rules of Attraction") that there are 77 independent provinces. References to Egyptian mythology abound, particularly in the signposts which the Sterlings use to attempt to find Imar; it was implied that the ancient Egyptians either had the ability to travel between universes, or had contact with a people that did. The episode "Village of the Motorpigs" featured a retired Zone Trooper who shows the Sterlings a United States dollar and says that his grandfather came from Earth. It was also said that those that traveled from Thel to Earth used the pyramid and all-seeing-eye as a form of hidden message about the gateway to Thel. Another episode ("Princess Metra") takes place in a zone called Metraplex. The Zone's former leader, Kelly Bradford (since deceased), came from Earth; when seeing Gina, who resembles Kelly Bradford and wears a similar necklace made of an American half-dollar, they believe that Kelly Bradford has returned. Before appointing her the new leader, she is quizzed on Earth historical events by Metraplex officials - the quiz having been written by Kelly Bradford. In this episode, we learn that time passes at a different rate on Thel and Earth; Kelly is from Earth of the 1960s, yet her time on Thel was over 200 years ago. As mentioned, Imar appears to be the alternate universe's version of New York City, an image of which is used in the opening credits of the show to depict Imar. A friendly android couple give the Sterlings a book containing the history of Thel called "The Book of Imar", which serves as a historical window on many of the provinces the Sterlings find themselves staying in. Technology in Otherworld Though Thel had many similarities to Earth of the 1980s, there was quite a bit of advanced technology displayed throughout the series. First, a state religion was the unifying ideology of the land. The Church of Artificial Intelligence, a rigid, computer based ideology without equal, the church wields powers of censorship, worship and could even put people to death in cases of heresy. The Church of Artificial Intelligence, however, may be just a means