The Singularity

[ac_01]

Ok, you guys know the drill. The first ten pages to critique as you see fit:

FADE IN:
EXT. SPACE

Vastness. A myriad of stars from here to infinity, and beyond. The cosmos in all its glory. In the centre of our picture is a young star. Our own Solaris, encased in an impeding dust cloud. It burns beautifully, yet with a fiery rage.

All of a sudden a titanic mass of rock hurtles past our view, left to right.

As immediately as it?s gone, another smaller rock hurtles past in the other direction. Almost on the same path.

Both form a planetary orbit around our sun. The larger mass grows as it gobbles up remnants from the dust cloud. This larger rock has a distinct characteristic ? a hot, violent place with molten rock mantles wrapped around a dense hot core. This is Protoearth.

On the other side of our sun swings the smaller mass on a perilously similar orbit.

Both are almost alike. Both will have the same fate.

A beat.

On the far side of the sun ? they COLLIDE. A cataclysm of apocalyptic proportions.

In the vacuous of space not a sound is heard.

The smaller rock ploughs into Protoearth, sinking deep into its molten core. Spiralling vast amounts of debris in long arcs into orbit, suffocating the newly formed planetary mass.

NEW ANGLE

Over eons the orbiting debris clump together, forging the Protomoon.
Meteors and comets rifle into the twin system. Some igniting the Protoearth?s atmosphere. Other?s scarring the Protomoon?s surface.

After multitudinous meteors and comets have formed the landscape the earth and moon are now recognisable. The blue Earth and the cold grey moon.

FADE TO:
EXT. PRIMITIVE EARTH ? DAY

The landscape is unstable. Volcanoes ravage on the horizon. Searing seas of violent lava. The sky reaps its fury with LIGHTNING and THUNDER. The veritable primeval h*ll .

Within a roaring primitive ocean is a patch of murky still water ? the primordial soup. Raindrops ripple at the surface.

We zoom in until we can see every molecule. There is order to its chaos. Only one molecule stands out. This is the molecule from which all things will derive. And in a blink of an eye there are now two?

A beat.

Four?

A beat.

Eight?

A beat.

Sixteen?

NARRATOR (V/O)
This is how it began?

The multiplying is almost hypnotic. It continues as we?

DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. LONDON CITY SCAPE ? NIGHT

LEGEND: November 31st 2035

The London skyline is as it has been for the last half-century, with little alterations. The LONDON EYE, TOWER BRIDGE, HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT and BIG BEN still stand tall against the black twilight of the night. Big Ben is the most prominent. Like in the calm of space not a sound is heard until?

DING. D_ONG. Big Ben RINGS out midnight.

NARRATOR (V/O)
This is the story of how it will end.

Our skyline view moves into TIMELAPSE.

NARRATOR (V/O)
No previous century has had such a profound effect on human civilisation. No century ever will again.
(beat)
Man stands at the summit - the highest evolutionary rung. A creature of perfection. But evolution has reached a new platform, from which it must proceed in a radical new fashion.
(beat)
It has. The next step has emerged. In the golden era of accelerated technological progress, biological science provided the tools for our birth.
(beat)
In a blink of an eye? it will all change and a new reality will rule. A reality free of genetic inequality and discrimination.
(beat)
As we slide closer towards the edge you have tried to stop us. Your ministers have passed laws and made us outlaws. Today? is the day of reckoning. Today? we shall see the revelation ? the last things.
(beat)
This is the point of the Singularity. This? is the end.

Dawn breaks and we are bombarded with SOUNDS of the city:

A ROAR of airplanes overhead ? they fill the sky like migrating geese. The RUMBLE of traffic congestion ? from our view it seems like gridlock. The FLUTTER of pigeons. The SHUFFLE of pedestrians.

London is revealed in all its glory. A brilliant yellow sun struggles to pierce through the thin layer of smog blanketing the city, giving all a greyish glisten.
This is future-day London. This is the city of tomorrow.

CUT TO:
INT. APARTMENT BEDROOM ? DAWN

The room is beautifully stylised. EMILY, 27, sleeps alone in bed. Even first thing in the morning she?s beautiful. Down to earth good looks.

The SOUND of running water comes from the bathroom just to the right of the bed. GABRIEL, 28, walks in dressed in just shorts. He stands tall with broad shoulders, clean cut and shaven. Going over to open the curtains, he directs a smile over to the bed.

First light streaks peacefully through the windows. It?s a cold, pale day.
Gabriel snuggles up next to Emily. He watches her sleep, caressing her hair. Emily gently wakes.

GABRIEL
Morning.

EMILY
Good morning.

There is sentiment between the two.

Gabriel allows his hand to slide under the covers.

EMILY
Did you feel that?

She throws off the covers to reveal his hand caressing their unborn baby. Emily is five months pregnant.

GABRIEL
He?s got a good pair of legs on him.

She smiles, lies back in bed and starts fiddling with her wedding ring.

EMILY
What? what if our baby?s??

GABRIEL
He? is perfect.

His words console her like they always do.

EMILY
You always know the right things to say. And our baby is a girl.

She gets out of bed.

GABRIEL
You know we could have ended this argument long ago. I wanted to know the sex of our baby but you wanted the added mystery.

EMILY
Just because we can doesn?t mean we should. Besides ? miss out on all of this? The anticipation? The constant banter? Not knowing whether to paint the nursery pink or blue?

Gabriel smiles at her.

EMILY
Do you want breakfast?

GABRIEL
Sure.

She punches some keys into the LCD monitor on the bed-side table, then leaves down some stairs into?

INT. LIVING ROOM ? CONTINUOUS
An urbane studio flat. An LG home. Technology has provided for every whim.

EMILY
Lights.

The main lights come on, illuminating the entire apartment in a homely fluorescent glow.

The bedroom sits at the top of the stairs behind a glass wall. There is no divide into the kitchen on the far side of the ground floor. The living room is spacious with stylised furniture, chrome coffee table, mahogany floors, and a fireplace in the corner. The type of apartment you only see in a catalogue. A thin sheet of glass hangs on the wall, facing a couch.

Emily makes her way into the kitchen. The kettle is already boiling.

EMILY
TV.

Nothing.

She looks over at the hanging piece of glass.

EMILY
(louder)
TV.

Nothing.

She walks over to it.

At closer inspection we can see that the sheet of glass is *****d with an almost clear fluid.

She stands right up next to it.

EMILY
(shouting)
TV!

Nothing.

She gives up and simply pushes the ?on? button.

The fluid begins to move and take shape into an image. Then in an instant we have a crystal clear TV picture ? the CNN logo.

VOICE
(off TV)
This is C-N-N.

Emily goes over to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, grabbing the remote off the coffee table on the way.

NEWSCASTER#1
(off TV)
Good morning, I?m Terry Baddoo. The time is 8:03 and these are the top headlines from across the globe: After waves of famine hit major European countries UN troops have been called in to prevent mass refugee exodus?

EMILY
Good thing we?re not in Europe.

She flicks to the next channel. The fluid instantaneously morphs into a new image ? SKY NEWS.

NEWSCATER#2
Downing street refused to comment on the increasing number of terrorist threats made last week?

She flicks to the next channel ? BBC NEWS 24.

NEWSCASTER#3
And in an alarming survey scientists have discovered that the Gen-Rich population has doubled over the last few years.

Emily looks on in interest.

NEWSCASTER#3
(continuing)
Parliament has been called in for an emergency session. This will probably mean the creation of more Gen-Rich ghettoes in and around London. There are currently over 1500 ghettoes in London housing over 1million Gen-Rich.

Images of the ghettoes flash across the TV:
Medium security converted prisons are home to many mal-nourished people. Every face has the same expression ? grief? sorrow? pain? and fear. Shades of the concentration camps.

The phone RINGS and almost immediately stops. Emily looks over, and simply dismisses it as odd.

NEWSCASTER#3
On a lighter side, today marks the maiden voyage of mankind?s latest and greatest engineering feats. Beam me up Scotty? Yes, that?s right. Teleportation. After months of trials science fiction is now a reality thanks to our own leading scientist at London?s UCL?

Emily caresses her unborn baby and simply lets out a concerned sigh.

CUT TO:
INT. APARTMENT BEDROOM ? DAY

Gabriel talks on the phone, pacing backwards and forwards. We hear the conversation as if we were making the call.

GABRIEL
(on phone)
Keep calm Doctor. All the hard work has already been done. All you did was screening; no genetic manipulation was involved.

MALE VOICE (V/O)
We can still get caught.

GABRIEL
I know the rules. And if you play by the rules we will not get caught.

MALE VOICE (V/O)
I want half of it now.

Gabriel contemplates that for a moment.

GABRIEL
Fine. You?ll get it today. Don?t get twitchy.
He hangs up the phone.

EMILY (O.S.)
Breakfast!

INT. LIVING ROOM/KITCHEN ? DAY
Gabriel enters, fully dressed.

EMILY
Did you answer the phone?

GABRIEL
Wrong number.

EMILY
So I take it you won?t be coming with me today?

GABRIEL
No, sorry. You know I?ve got to work.

EMILY
Just thought you?d like to take an interest.

Gabriel says nothing.

EMILY
Doctor Nielsen always asks of you.
(impersonating)
Where is Gabriel? Where is he? He should be here. He did this to you so he should come and suffer as well. It is very important for the father to play an active role ? it helps bonding between father and son.

The impersonation is a good one ? the MALE VOICE we heard earlier.

EMILY
(normal, smiles)
He does tend to go on a bit. And he always calls our baby a ?he?.

GABRIEL
The man?s a character. Which is why I got him this.

He pulls out a small container. She opens it. Two golf balls sitting in foam cutouts.

EMILY
Golf balls?

GABRIEL
Isn?t that what doctors do?

EMILY
See, if you came once in a while you?d realise he?s a fishing man.

GABRIEL
Anyway, I?m gonna be late, so I?ll see you later. You going to take the car?

EMILY
If you want to take it just take it. I?ll use the tube.

GABRIEL
See you later. Love you.

EMILY
Same.

Gabriel leaves.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ April 10, 2003 06:22 PM: Message edited by: ac_01 ]</font>

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ April 10, 2003 06:25 PM: Message edited by: ac_01 ]</font>

[Phaethon]

Most of it is written pretty well. I'd like to know where it's headed though. From what you put up it sounds like a doomsday thriller; a genre that needs to be removed from the hands of directors like Jerry Bruckheimer and whoever the moron was that did The Core. This screenplay has potential, I'd like to see more.

[deanl]

Hey there.

It well written. I liked it. So far it seems very Gattaca. I like your description. I would read more.

Oh yeah... Why is the guy who "did" The Core a "moron"?

Despin out.

[emjen]

Good job. Got me hooked at the beginning. Only thing I'll give you as an advice is that you have to be careful with saying things that can't be seen on screen, if you know what I mean.

[ac_01]

Yeah, its basically a disaster flick, except for the fact the world ends on page 37. The trouble I have with disaster flicks is that no one is scared of them anymore. The audience has grown more sophisticated (since the 70's) to be threatened by some meteor heading this way. Anyway, I'll post what I've got up until that point. As soon as the world ends the script grinds to a screeching halt.

[ac_01]

CUT TO:
EXT. LONDON EYE ? DAY

The world?s media have converged at a spot at the bottom of the wheel, surrounding an artificial stage. The stage is an overgrowth of technology, two segmented hemispheres in the centre ? both
two parts of the same whole.

As a PROFESSOR stands onto the stage to address the crowd there is a surge of photography. He nervously adjusts his glasses.

PROFESSOR
Obviously, we?re a few hours away from the launch but it would probably be best if we got all the questions out of the way now.

REPORTER#1
Professor, how does it work and, most importantly, is it safe?

PROFESSOR
Yes. Yes it is. The device uses a cloud of caesium atoms, which will be linked at a quantum level to its sister device.

He points across the river to another stage with the same device.

PROFESSOR
(continuing)
Entanglement! Atoms can be persuaded to interact with each other so that events affecting one instantly affect another ? no matter how far apart they are.

REPORTER#2
How is this possible?

PROFESSOR
Because? God does not play dice with the universe.

He smiles at his clever quote. No one else got it.

REPORTER#3
Does this signal the end of air travel?

PROFESSOR
One day. Soon. At this point in time the device hasn?t been tested with living beings, only inanimate objects. Hopefully, this feat opens new possibilities for quantum communication systems.
(proclamation)
Teleportation is a living reality.

DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. NEW SCOTLAND YARD ? DAY

LEGEND: METROPOL ? CENTRE FOR DISEASE CONTROL

INT. LABORATORY/NEW SCOTLAND YARD ? DAY
A standard sterile lab, which can only be described as organised chaos. Test tubes, beakers and other glassware compete for space on the benches. Brilliant white lab coats hang by the door. Everything illuminated by the cold lights above.

RITCHIE, a large brute of a man with designer stubble walks over to a computer terminal. He walks with a slight limp.

At a bench stands ALISON ? the seductive wildflower. She stands refluxing a beaker full of a dark green liquid, which she never takes her eyes off.

Gabriel enters, throws his coat on the rack and grabs a lab coat.

GABRIEL
Morning gang.

RITCHIE
And what time do you call this?

GABRIEL
Doesn?t work start at nine?

RITCHIE
Work starts when the commissioner turns on the bat signal.

GABRIEL
So that?s why there?s a buzz around this place. People seem anxious.

ALISON
They received another one last night.

GABRIEL
An actual terrorist threat?

RITCHIE
(sarcastically)
No, just a sternly worded letter.

GABRIEL
So what? That?s the fifth one this week.

ALISON
Yeah, but this one is from someone who matters.
Gabriel draws a blank.

RITCHIE
Vernor.

There is a KNOCK at the door.

They all turn to see JIMMY ? a button nosed young lad, no older than 17. He stands, fumbling with an armful of books and papers.

JIMMY
Hi? I?m Jimmy? erm? I was told to report down here? to a Mrs Huntley??

Ritchie cracks a smile.

ALISON
Oh, sh*t . You must be the new guy. And it?s Miss.

JIMMY
Huh?

ALISON
Miss Huntley.

JIMMY
Oh? ok.

GABRIEL
Take a seat Jimmy. So you from the agency?

JIMMY
Erm? yeah.

RITCHIE
So what do you do?

JIMMY
Mostly nanotech. PhD in Astrobiology from MIT.

RITCHIE
Astrobiology? It?s going to be a long time before that comes in useful.

JIMMY
One day.
(to Alison)
Erm? that?s for you to sign.
He hands her a slip of paper.

ALISON
Sh*t . You work here ten years and all of a sudden you get stuck with baby-sitting duties.

RITCHIE
You better get used to it, that?s the closest you?re going to get.

She turns to Ritchie to deliver an insult.

ALISON
Shut it Ritchie.

Ritchie smiles. Smile turns to laughter and then we can see why ? her beaker has over boiled, spilling liquid over the bench. It hisses and bubbles as it eats away at the bench.

ALISON
Sh*t!

She kicks Ritchie in the leg.

RITCHIE
Hey, it wasn?t my fault. And do you mind? I had to pay a lot of money for this thing.

He rolls up his trouser to reveal a metallic prosthetic leg.

GABRIEL
(to Jimmy)
Welcome to Metropol. I?m sure you?re going to enjoy working here.

Jimmy doesn?t look too convinced.

CUT TO:
INT. AUDITORIUM ? DAY
A small auditorium. A few rows of seats facing a central podium. Behind the podium hangs a large sheet of fluid-fill_ed glass.

The auditorium begins to fill with people. Gabriel, Alison, Ritchie and Jimmy take their seats near the back.

The noise of the crowd begins to die as the fluid in the glass begins to form an image.

A WOMAN, pin-stripe suit and hair tied back, walks out from the side and stands in front of the podium. She is the Chief-of-staff.

The image has formed:
MI6?S TEN MOST WANTED: FOR CRIMES AGAINST HIS MAJESTY?S REALM.

Ten faces with ten names. Only one means anything to us ? VERNOR, at number 2.

CHIEF-OF-STAFF
Morning, ladies and gentlemen. I don?t need to explain to you the urgency of the situation. At exactly midnight we received a threat from this man.

The screen zooms in on Vernor?s face. A man who seems to have aged well beyond his years. His eyes grab our attention with an odd pigmentation.

CHIEF-OF-STAFF
(continuing)
There was no pretence or masquerade to this threat, and we are treating it as a level two priority.

She pushes a button on the podium. Vernor?s voice can be heard all around, as if he was making a call.

NARRATOR/VERNOR (V/O)
Today? is the day of reckoning. Today? we shall see the revelation ? the last things.
(beat)
This is the point of the Singularity. This? is the end.

She allows those final words to sink in then plays it again.

VERNOR (V/O)
This? is the end.

CHIEF-OF-STAFF
You all know what to do.

Everyone disperses from the auditorium.

INT. CORRIDOR ? DAY
A long corridor, cold and sterile, stretches into the horizon.

JIMMY
(to Gabriel)
I thought all we did was disease control? Epidemic. Pandemic. Even your common cold. No one mentioned policing.

GABRIEL
Our job is to safeguard this city? by all means necessary.

The Chief-of-Staff approaches.

CHIEF-OF-STAFF
Gabriel? Can I have you lab team in the situation room?

CUT TO:
INT. SITUATION ROOM ? DAY
One large, black monolith desk occupies the room. One view screen. Two faces are on it ? Vernor and another UNKNOWN MAN, otherwise known as VERBAL.
Chief-of-Staff points to Vernor.

CHIEF-OF-STAFF
Him you already know. According to sources he is currently somewhere in the greater London area. This means that the threat is no laughing matter.

RITCHIE
Sources tell us that he?s somewhere in London but we don?t know where?
CHIEF-OF-STAFF

Yes, the call we received was made from somewhere in Surrey.

RITCHIE
Jesus! We should have burned the bastards when we had a chance.

Jimmy looks on anxiously. This is just another day at work for the rest of them.

GABRIEL
Chief??

CHIEF-OF-STAFF
Don?t call me Chief.

GABRIEL
I?ve got a question. Why us?

CHIEF-OF-STAFF
You were the short straw.
(points to Verbal)
Him you don?t know. Verbal. Both were in the same ghetto. Now him, we know exactly where he is ? Oxford Street. Trying to hold down a regular job.

RITCHIE
Just breaking one law after another.

ALISON
Oxford Street?

GABRIEL
If you were different wouldn?t you try and blend in with the crowd?

CHIEF-OF-STAFF
So all you have to do is find him and make him talk. Shouldn?t be too hard. Remember you haven?t got much time.

ALISON
Rome wasn?t built in a day.

CHIEF-OF-STAFF
We?re not here to discuss the exploits of Mediterranean bricklayers, Miss Huntley. We?re here to bring a stop to this.

Jimmy raises his hand to speak.

JIMMY
Erm? I?ve got a question.

They all turn to him.

JIMMY
What is the Singularity?

Intense beat.

CHIEF-OF-STAFF
(deadly seriousness)
The Singularity is when things advance to the stage that we can no longer predict the ramifications. It is the time when all other preconceptions no longer apply. The break between what we know and what we cannot fathom. An event that will cause massive change in the very fabric of our human-ness. An event that makes us, you and I, obsolete. Some call it the next stage of human development. We call it the post-human era. The end.

SMASH CUT TO:
EXT. OXFORD STREET ? DAY
A ROAR of a copter overhead.

Shops and offices line the main road. The pavement is saturated with pedestrians. The synchronised traffic flies by. A slick-white JEEP peels off the procession and parks on the pavement.

MR PATEL comes out of his shop to dump some rubbish, two black bin bags in hand. Gabriel steps out of the vehicle followed closely by Alison, both in futuristic SWAT TEAM gear.

MR PATEL
You can?t park that there!

GABRIEL
And you can?t dump those there.

Mr Patel disregards Gabriel?s statement and drops the bags by his feet.

ALISON
Mr. Patel?

MR PATEL
Who wants to know? You from immigration?

ALISON
Mr. Patel, we?re looking for a man that works for you. A man named Verbal.

MR PATEL
No Verbal here.

Gabriel shows him a picture of Verbal from the view screen on his glove.

GABRIEL
Have you seen this man?

Mr Patel takes a good look at the picture. Then out of the corner of his eye, he spots someone down the street. Gabriel follows his eyes down the street.

In the middle of the crowd stands VERBAL. Their eyes connect for a moment then Verbal bolts in the other direction.

Alison jumps into the car.

Gabriel gives chase down the street, weaving in and out of the crowd.

GABRIEL
Why do they always run?

Verbal runs at a blistering pace.

The jeep turns every which way, trying to dodge the oncoming traffic.

The jeep swerves wildly, past a cyclist, and charges up along side Verbal. Alison speeds up trying to cut him off just ahead. Amazingly he keeps up.

She peels off right to avoid a bus. And in an instant Verbal is gone ? down an adjacent street.

Another ROAR of a copter overhead.

Gabriel still gives chase, but can?t spot Verbal through the crowd.

GABRIEL
I need eyes!

INTERCUT: EXT./INT. COPTER / EXT. OXFORD STREET
Ritchie pilots the slick-black JET COPTER. He punches in some buttons on the dial and brings up multiple views from CCTV units around Oxford Street. Centre view screen is Verbal, charging through the crowds.

RITCHIE
Left!

Gabriel turns sharply to his left, into a back alley.

RITCHIE (V/O)
Straight ahead!
(beat)
Right!

Gabriel punches right into a central courtyard. He stops dead in his tracks, breathing heavily.

GABRIEL
Speak to me!

Ritchie furiously flicks through the view screens.

RITHCHIE
Act as if ye have faith and faith will be bestowed upon you.

Gabriel stands looking out onto the crowd, looking for something ? anything.

A beat.

GABRIEL
Sometime today.

RITCHIE (V/O)
Wait for it?
(beat)
The kid with the balloons. Go!

Gabriel zeroes in on a boy holding a bunch of balloons, then charges at him. Gabriel jumps at the balloons, missing the boy?s head, and comes crashing down on Verbal. And in one move he has Verbal handcuffed.

Knocking the balloons away he grabs a glove from his back pocket. The glove is solid, yet flexible. The wires on the outside parallel the major veins in the hand, and a view screen on the wrist.

GABRIEL
Why is it every time I pop in to say hello you?re never home?

VERBAL
F*ck you!

Gabriel puts on the glove.

GABRIEL
I should slap some sense into you.
Verbal tries to wriggle free.

GABRIEL
Look at me. Look at me!

He points his gloved index finger into Verbal?s eye. The point of his finger glows as he gives Verbal a retinal scan.

His pupil doesn?t constrict and the retina tints with the light.

GABRIEL
(off glove)
Ritchie, we have a positive I.D. for a Mr. Verbal?

He notices there?s nothing on glove viewer.

GABRIEL
Who did you kill to get those eyes?

VERBAL
F*ck you. These eyes are mine.

GABRIEL
Don?t lie to me. You?ve been out of the ghetto two months and you?ve already started accessorising. Hope you got the extended warranty on those.

VERBAL
So are you going to arrest me?

GABRIEL
We?re going to take a little trip first.
The jeep pulls up next to them. Gabriel drags Verbal to his feet and bundles him in.

CUT TO:
INT. DOCTOR?S WAITING ROOM ? DAY
Emily sits in the packed waiting room, reading the usual assortment of out-dated magazines.
Through the doorway is the nurse?s station. The door, slightly ajar, allows Emily to peer in.

A MAN sits next to her, slightly anxious, filling out the obligatory form. He frets over one of the questions.

Emily glances over.

INSERT: FORM
Ethnicity?
AFRO-CARIBEAN, AFRICAN, BRITISH, ASIAN, OTHER (PLEASE STATE).

His pen dangles over the box for OTHER.
He notices her glance and offers her a false smile.

Emily returns to her magazine.

A beat.

A commotion begins to stir at the nurse?s station.
Emily peers in. Through the doorway stands a MAN and his DAUGHTER. The man argues with the nurse.

MAN
(desperation)
Please, you have to help us. She?s very sick.

NURSE
I?m sorry; we can?t help you.
(beat)
We don?t serve your kind here.

His face drops into depression.

NURSE
I?m afraid you?ll have to leave the premises.
He leads his daughter out. As they leave Emily catches a glimpse of the daughter?s face ? pale and woeful.

That image doesn?t sit well with her.

The man sitting next to Emily, after hearing the argument, suddenly gets up and leaves.

The Nurse enters.

NURSE
(to Emily)
The Doctor will see you now.

INT. DOCTOR?S CLINIC ? DAY
Dr Nielsen, the stereotypical mad-scientist, with the white lab coat and bottle-end glasses two inches thick, stands in the centre of the room to greet Emily with open arms.

DR NIELSEN
Ah, Emily. What, no Gabriel?

EMILY
He had work.

DR NIELSEN
That?s a shame because he promised me he would be here personally.

EMILY
He got you this instead.

Emily hands the doctor the container and makes herself comfortable on the bed.

EMILY
I told him fishing was more your sport.
The doctor opens it to reveal the two golf balls. He then takes out the golf balls to uncover two small crystals, no bigger than sugar cubes.

A smile creeps across his face.

DR NIELSEN
This will do just fine.
(to Nurse)
Nurse, cancel my eleven-thirty.

CUT TO:
EXT. BLOCK OF FLATS ? DAY
Run-down. Dilapidated. Paint peels of the walls to reveal the decaying concrete.
The jeep pulls up and parks in the driveway. Gabriel steps out, escorting Verbal, followed by Alison.

GABRIEL
(to Verbal)
Welcome home.

INT. BLOCK OF FLATS ? DAY
The inside is worse - dark and damp. Broken windows and non-existent basic amenities. The tenants live on a par with the rats and the garbage.

GABRIEL
So which one?s yours?

Verbal stays tight-lipped.

Alison walks over to him, shoots him a seductive smile, and then places a gun to his head.

A beat.

Verbal takes a gulp, and then nods at the opposite door.

Gabriel turns and kicks the door. Once, twice, until the lock breaks open.

INT. GROUND FLOOR FLAT ? DAY
No furniture. A fridge hums in the corner. A rug sits on the wooden floor. Pale sunlight struggles to fill the room.

VERBAL
He?s not here.

Alison clicks the safety off.

ALISON
Then where is he?

VERBAL
Don?t know. Haven?t seen him since the ghetto.
Gabriel lifts up the rug to uncover a trapdoor. He grabs a torch from his belt and then steps in.

INT. BUNKER ? DAY
A tiny room, fit for one, carved out of the ground. Gabriel looks around with a grave realisation upon his face.
Canned goods, batteries, magazines and torches take up any available space. Everything you would need in the event of an emergency.

INT. GROUND FLOOR FLAT ? DAY
Gabriel steps back out.

GABRIEL
You preparing for something?

Verbal says nothing. Gabriel grabs Verbal by the collar.

GABRIEL
Speak to me you motherf*cker! What the h*ll is he up to?

VERBAL
I don?t know. And that?s the truth. The man is crazy. Always talking about the end.

ALISON
The end of what?

VERBAL
Everything.
(beat)
All I know is? when the end comes? we will be all that?s left.

Verbal laughs, a laugh that echoes through the room.

CUT TO:
INT. DOCTOR?S CLINIC ? DAY
Dr Nielsen snaps off his rubber gloves. Emily gathers her things as she prepares to leave.

DR NIELSEN
Everything is fine. Stay off the hot foods unless you want a premature baby. And I?ll see you next week.

EMILY
Thanks. Take care.

DR NIELSEN
And tell Gabriel I want to see him next time.

He closes the door shut and locks it. Takes a seat at his desk. Grabs the container, discarding the golf balls into the bin. He places one of the crystals on a saucer, looks around his desk for something, spots the tray of surgical utensils, and grabs a scalpel and a syringe.

He uses the scalpel to crush the crystals into coarse pieces, then a fine powder, which seemingly melts into a clear liquid. He su_cks up the liquid into the syringe, taps out the air bubbles?

And injects it into his neck.

His eyes slip into his head.

He slumps into his seat in pure ecstasy.

CUT TO:
EXT. DOCTOR?S SURGERY ? DAY
We follow Emily as she walks down the street towards the station.
Just like every other day the streets are crowded. People from all walks of life. All trying not to make eye contact.

Next to her walks a LITTLE BOY, holding onto his MOTHER?S hand.

The boy is no different from any other ten year old. Everything his mother told him not to do he would do.

He smiles at Emily. She notices and smiles back.
Walking towards them is an UNKNOWN MAN, of which we only see his bottom half. He walks with a calm swagger and a clenched fist, seemingly concealing something.

A few metres from them he opens his hand ? there?s nothing in it. As he brushes past in between them he lightly touches the little boy on top of his head. The boy feels nothing.

And as mysteriously as he appeared, the unknown man is gone.

CUT TO:
INT. TUBE STATION PLATFORM ? DAY
Emily stands awaiting the next train. The boy and his mother are next to her.

A beat.

Emily feels a stare. It?s the little boy staring at her blankly. She gives him another smile.

The next train SCREECHES in. They board.

INT. TUBE/JUBILEE LINE ? DAY
Emily looks around the packed carriage for a seat ? to no avail. She stares down at a seated BUSINESSMAN and reveals her bloated stomach. He ignores.

The train starts up with a slight HUM, galloping down the tunnel.

A beat.

Opposite Emily stands the little boy, still staring.

He sneezes, and then wipes his hands on his trousers.

A LOUD VIOLENT BURST OF SOUND as an opposing train passes.

The carriage RUMBLES.
Emily hangs on to the rails to steady herself.

The little boy COUGHS.

A beat.

Another cough.

More and more. His coughing is now uncontrollable.

Emily looks on, concerned.

He coughs more and more now, each time LOUDER and more VIOLENT.

Suddenly there is SILENCE.

Everyone in the carriage stops what they?re doing and turn to the little boy, with the same shocked look. Some recoil back.

The little boy stands there, blood dripping from his mouth onto his hands. He stands there totally perplexed.

His mother is unawares?

She glances down at him?

Realises?

And then SCREAMS.

SMASH CUT TO:
EXT. WESTMINSTER STATION ? DAY
The SOUNDS of the city are almost deafening:
In the distance Big Ben STRIKES out 12 o?clock. A ROAR of several helicopters overhead. BELLOWING sirens. Panicked pedestrians.

Two white UTILITY VANS pull up and out step several people in bio-containment suits, their faces shrouded in tint like the veil of an executioner. These are the AGENTS.

A few peel away and close off a perimeter around the entrance to the station. The rest enter the station.

INT. WESTMINSTER STATION ? DAY
The station was busy. There are now drones of infected people. Most of which are to weak to try and get to the exit. It wouldn?t matter ? the exits have now been sealed.

The AGENTS walk among the diseased. The diseased have faces of death ? a rash of fluid fill_ed pustules upon the face. People so sick they can hardly move. Those who tried bleed from lesions.

SCREAMS of the dying and the SILENCE of the already dead.

The AGENTS walks around, totally helpless.

AGENT#1
(over head-set)
What the h*ll happened?

The voice is familiar ? it?s Alison.

GABRIEL
(over head-set)
We need a sample.

He signals to two other agents and they get to work on one of the dead.

ALISON
This can?t be. The incubation period must be non-existent.

GABRIEL
That?s why we have to move fast. We need an electron microscopy scan.
(to other agents)
And get a two-mile perimeter around this entire station. No one gets in or out. We have to contain this thing now.

A beat.

ALISON
(grave)
This can?t be.

GABRIEL
What?

ALISON
It looks like smallpox.

For a long beat it sounds as if Gabriel has stopped breathing.

GABRIEL
Impossible. It?s been over sixty years.

ALISON
All the symptoms are here? just? so much faster.

RITCHIE
Where did it start?

GABRIEL
We?re just going to have to follow the trail.

They move deeper into the station. Into the heart of the cold metallic beast.

INT. TRAIN PLATFORM ? DAY
The train sits halfway onto the platform. The front end is a twisted meld of metal and passengers.

They step into the carriage.

INT. TUBE CARRIAGE ? CONTINUOUS
Not many have survived. Few still cling onto their final breath.

The carriage is poorly illuminated by the fluorescent glow of the emergency lights and random sparks from naked wires.

GABRIEL
(to Ritchie)
Get another team in here? we need to identify the dead.

They move further still into the train.

More AGENTS arrive at the scene and start with identification ? retinal scans from their suit-gloves.

Carriage after carriage is the same ? the dead and the dying. Men, women, children, the old, and the young ? no one escaped the fury of the disease.

WAILS of the suffering.

The ones with strength clamber at the Agents only to be pushed aside.

In the last carriage they see where it started.

The little boy lies in the middle of the carriage in a pool of stagnant, congealed blood.

Alison notices something.

ALISON
(barely audible)
?Gabriel?

Gabriel turns to see?

Emily slumped down on the floor, her hands protecting their unborn child, her face a scar of death.

Gabriel drops to his knees. We can?t see his face but we know he is crying.

Her reflection is visible in the tint of his visor.

He embraces her cold, lifeless body.

She?s barely alive.

He wants to touch her, caress her, but the containment suit is the closest he can get. He knows her end is near.

A long solemn beat.

Eventually he has to let go, his arms losing strength, her reflection still visible in the tint of his visor.

He gets to his feet.

ALISON
Gabriel? are you? ok?

Long beat.

GABRIEL
There?s nothing more we can do.

There is some movement behind him, but it?s not Emily.

Huddled up in the corner is a figure. A HOBO, tattered clothes and a dismal face. He has been left untouched by the disease.

He sits in the corner amongst the dead bodies, inhaling the stench of death, frightened for his life.

Alison outstretches a hand to him.

ALISON
Do you see this? He?s unaffected. He could be what we?re looking for.

Her hand is still outstretched.

In the tint of her visor is his reflection. There is fear in his eyes.

Gabriel turns back to Emily with hope but can?t bear to watch her die.

Alison takes a step closer to the hobo and all of a sudden he erupts, pushing her away.

She collapses on Ritchie and then unto the floor. Hobo storms out of the carriage.

Gabriel gives chase, bursting out of the carriage into?

INT. TUNNEL ? DAY
The dark void of the tunnel. Gabriel pauses for a moment to get his bearings, and then charges straight ahead.

INT. TUBE CARRIAGE ? DAY

EMILY
(last breath)
Gabriel.

INT. TUNNEL ? DAY
Gabriel runs with all his might, chasing the shadowy figure.

The tunnel opens up. More tracks are now visible.
Footsteps echo all around.

From inside his suit Gabriel?s view is nothing more than shadows and silhouettes.

He stops, turns around, looking for the hobo, stepping onto the next track.

Through his visor he sees a blink of light racing towards him, with a FAINT SOUND.

As the light gets brighter the sound gets LOUDER - the sound of METAL ON METAL.

He realises.

Then at the last possible second he steps out of the way of the oncoming train, into an alcove.

The ROARING train scratches at his visor as it speeds past. Then in an instant it?s gone.

Gabriel is left slightly ba_tterd. He takes of his helmet, grabbing the earpiece from inside.

Out of the corner of his eye he spots the hobo, running down an adjacent tunnel.

GABRIEL
Wait!

Hobo ignores and keeps on running. Gabriel gives chase once again.

ALISON (V/O)
(over head-set)
Gabriel, we have news. It?s a virus. Orthopoxvirus, consistent with variola.

GABRIEL
Smallpox?

ALISON (V/O)
(beat)
No ? variant.

GABRIEL
Dear God.

ALSION (V/O)
It?s worse?
(pause)
It?s airborne.

Desperation engulfs Gabriel?s face.

CUT TO:
EXT. LONDON EYE ? DAY
The outside world is still blissfully unaware of the outbreak.

The media have waited with baited breath for the launch of the teleportation device.

The Professor makes the final preparations and finally flicks the switch.

The two hemispheres separate and almost immediately a particle ball forms in between, glowing with a strange stillness.

The professor looks out across the Thames to the other device ? exactly the same. He smiles, relief.

A slight wind picks up as?

EXT. STREET - DAY
Hobo emerges from a sewer down the street, followed closely by Gabriel.

Hobo scampers out of the way of oncoming traffic.
Gabriel gets to his feet, stepping out of the way of an oncoming vehicle and into the path of another. The car screeches to a halt ? mere inches from his feet. He looks up to see Hobo making his way unto the bridge above.

EXT. BRIDGE - DAY
A helicopter roars unto the bridge, blocking Hobo?s path.

Hobo stops, as if he doesn?t know the reason he?s running. He holds his head in anguish, turns to see?

GABRIEL
(calming)
It?s ok. We can help you. You can help us.
Hobo takes a step back, edging closer to the edge.

HOBO
Haven?t your kind done enough to us already?

Gabriel realises the hobo is Gen-rich.

GABRIEL
We won?t harm you.

Another step back.

Gabriel notices and prepares himself.

Incessant traffic rumbles and flashes past.

GABRIEL
(more desperate)
Don?t do anything rash. You have a chance, a chance to save lives. There?s still time.
An expression of hopelessness falls upon Hobo?s face.

Gabriel lunges at him.

Another step back sends them plunging. Both falling as one into the entanglement. Gabriel sinks into the atom cloud first, whereas Hobo?s body gets assimilated into the outer coat.

The crowd disperses in panic.

The Professor looks out over the Thames to the other device, only to see the ball of atoms shrinking.

The atomic cloud begins to implode, with an incensed glow.

Then in an instant it EXPLODES?

Scattering every particle of its existence in every direction?

Causing a devastating nuclear wind that reaps havoc:

People closest to it are burned alive.
Buses topple over.
The London Eye collapses unto the bridge.
Helicopters are tossed into buildings.
Cars swerve every which way, some flung across the street.
Aeroplanes above fly like badly built paper incarnations, hurtling dangerously into buildings.

And almost immediately there is SILENCE.

A calming wind still blows.

CUT TO:
INT. TELEPORTATION DEVICE/VOID ? DAY
Cool silent blackness of the void. Eternal stretch of nothingness.

A blink of light races towards us.

An explosion of colour and shapes hurtling towards him at a blurring speed.

Light screams towards him, ripping him into emptiness.

For a still heartbeat, Gabriel?s face is visible?

Before it smears into the silent blackness of the void.

FADE TO BLACK:
FADE IN:
EXT. SPACE
Earth, full view. Even from space the nuclear winds are visible. Originating in London and spreading across the entire globe.

VERNOR (V/O)
The winds raged for weeks, spreading the plague to the four corners of the globe. Man futilely tried for a cure. In the end all they had left was their prayers. Their brief struggle for existence was over.

The SOUND of billions of souls crying out at once?
Then suddenly SILENCE?

FADE TO:
SERIES OF SHOTS (WITHOUT SOUND):
A) A little boy, kneeling, crying, holding on to his mother. She?s already dead. She?s been dead for days.
B) The desolate streets of London. The clouds rage overhead, casting shadows like the cold touch of the grim reaper.
C) An OLD MAN, wanders aimlessly. He struggles to breathe. He exhales a cool cloud of condensation. It was his last. After a beat, we realise that. He FALLS?

FADE TO BLACK:

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ April 11, 2003 05:36 PM: Message edited by: ac_01 ]</font>

[Them1tch]

i thought it was too wordy. Vomit up the dictionary.

Mitch

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ April 12, 2003 04:56 AM: Message edited by: Them1tch ]</font>

[emjen]

I was hoping to see the 'what it's about' thing somewhere after the first 10 pages, because I kind of missed it in the first. You might want to explain that more in the first 10 pages. Or somewhat after.

And there's a lot of scientific mumbo jumbo which probably means a lot, but the newbies don't know what it's about (including me) which caused my attention to wander off a bit.

I wouldn't know what to do after that end neither.
It happened a bit too fast IMO, you might want to strenghten the climax.

Why don't you show a few bits of pieces of these first 37 pages in the beginning? Just a few hints of how the 'end' came to be. It's still a bit vague to me to be honest. It had something to do with the plague and teleportation.

Ah well. You should restructure the whole thing. You're already stuck on page 37.