|
|
|
||
 Ó÷è ñëîâà ïî ôðàçàì èç ôèëüìîâ |
||
Ãëàâíàÿ>Êèíîñöåíàðèè>Âñïîìíèòü âñ¸/ Total Recal Ñöåíàðèé ôèëüìà Âñïîìíèòü âñ¸/ Total Recal íà àíãëèéñêîì ÿçûêå áåñïëàòíî
Çäåñü âû ìîæåòå íàéòè ñöåíàðèé ê ôèëüìó: Âñïîìíèòü âñ¸/ Total Recal. Âñïîìíèòü âñ¸/ Total Recal FADE IN: 1 EXT. DESERT - DAY All we can see, filling the entire frame is a flame-orange sky...almost like the sky from the burning of Atlanta in "Gone with the Wind". SUPERIMPOSE: Presenter credit. PAN DOWN lower and lower until we see the terrain below... the desert. There is no vegetation whatever, just sand and odd-shaped rock formations. The air is filled with red dust, which alternately obscures and then reveals the image. CAMERA MOVES FORWARD optically - enlarging the film grain in the process. SLOW DISOLVE OPENING CREDITS BEGIN. ANOTHER SHOT of a barren landscape, once more with bizarre rocks. Dust. Sound of wind. CAMERA MOVES FORWARD again. DISSOLVE. ANOTHER LANDSCAPE, but this time, in the distance are some enormous plastic domes. Sunlight striking them and reflect- ing causes brilliant rainbows. CAMERA optically tracks toward the dome, seen in tantalizingly indistinct fashion through the red dust. DISSOLVE... ANOTHER ANGLE, and, in the distance, on the horizon of the arid landscape is a huge SPHINX-LIKE STRUCTURE. (It is reminiscent of the Egyptian sphinx, but both body and face, though gargoyle-like, are different in design.) There are some large pyramids not far from the sphinx. CAMERA MOVES optically FORWARD. DISSOLVE. CAMERA is much closer to the sphinx and is directly in front. It moves (combination of zoom and optical printer move) towards the eyes, which appear to be red gems. As CAMERA APPROACHES one of the eyes, it appears to be stained red glass, as in a temple. Suddenly there is a terrific explosion and the glass shatters into millions of fragments which hurtle toward the camera... 2 INT. CATACOMB BELOW "SPHINX" - DAY A MAN wearing a LIGHTWEIGHT THERMAL SUIT is RUNNING THROUGH THIS LABYRINTH of TUNNELS. The GROUND TREMBLES under him, as if in an earthquake. We cannot clearly make out his face, especially since he wears some kind of BREATHING APPARATUS over a portion of it. The surface of the tunnel's "walls" is curious; the walls are, again, bright reddish orange, and a composite of two different substances: rough-textured, clay-like material and red quartz, which glistens like crystal. The man throws a backward glance over his shoulder, fear- fully, as he runs. His HANDS are SPLATTERED with BLOOD. Because of this, the RED GLOW, the air of FEAR to the man, and the GROUND HEAVING and BUCKLING, there is almost a SATANIC suggestion to the scene. Suddenly, up AHEAD of the man, there appears a BRILLIANT WHITE LIGHT. He SEES IT, and runs even faster towards it. We are ALMOST UP TO THE LIGHT, and we SEE HANDS REACHING OUT OF THE LIGHT TOWARDS US... that seem to beckon him to SAFETY. ABRUPTLY, the ENTIRE SCREEN GOES RED, BUT IN REVERSE NEGATIVE; with YELLOW LAYOVERS. (So that all the images we see -- ENTIRE FRAME -- are small YELLOW AREAS diffused on a RED BACKGROUND.) It is much like looking at a tableau made out of molten lava. SUPERIMPOSE MAIN TITLE: TOTAL RECALL HOLD. DISSOLVE TO: 3 INT. BEDROOM IN SMALL APARTMENT - MORNING DOUGLAS QUAIL and his wife KRISTEN, are asleep in bed. Gradually the room lights BRIGHTEN. The CLOCK CHIMES and begins SPEAKING in a soft, feminine voice. CLOCK (sweetly) Tick, tock, seven o'clock. Time to rise and open your eyes. They don't budge. Shortly, the clock CHIMES again. CLOCK (continuing) Tick, tock, seven-oh-one. Time to get up, the day had begun. Quail's wife stirs. Maddeningly, the clock CHIMES a third time. CLOCK (continuing) Tick, tock -- Quail reaches out and shuts the clock off. Then he sits up in bed. He swings his legs out from under the covers and sits on the edge of the bed. He puts on his glasses and sits, lost in thought. He is a good-looking but conventional man in his early thirties. He seems rather in awe of his wife, who is attractive and rather off-hand towards him. Kirsten pulls on her robe, lights a cigarette, sits fishing for her slippers. QUAIL I dreamed about Mars again... it was bizarre, yet is was so real... KIRSTEN (casual) It's your time of the month again. Quail looks at her quizzically. KIRSTEN (continuing; world-weary air) At least once a month. Douglas Quail's obsession. For twelve years you've been talking about Mars. QUAIL People do go to Mars, you know. KIRSTEN That's right, Douglas. But not you. Not us. Quail looks crestfallen. KIRSTEN (continuing; disdainful) As it is, we can barely scrape by on your lousy ten thousand a week. She leaves the room. He meditates on what she said, depressed. 4 INT. KITCHENETTE - MORNING Quail and Kirsten sit at a small table, eating breakfast. On the WALL is projected the front page of a NEWSPAPER. Drinking his coffee, Quail studies the wall with the air of a man who had his "node stuck in a newspaper," ignoring his wife. The newspaper headline reads: "RIOTING ON MARS OVER WATER TAX." His wife is reading a different article: "Four Women Rape Man in Park." KIRSTEN (mumbling) What do they expect ... the way men dress these days ... then they scream rape. Quail is absorbed in his own paper and doesn't hear her. QUAIL You know -- let's really do it. KIRSTEN Rape men in the park? QUAIL No. Go to Mars. KIRSTEN (withering) Go to hell. QUAIL We can pool our savings and I've got some sick leave coming, besides my regular vacation... KIRSTEN (interrupting; corrects herself) ...more of a half-wit. For a start a war could break out there any day ... She gestures toward the TV screen where Martian police are keeping protesters behind a barrier. Some have signs reading "A FREE MARS", "DOWN WITH COHAAGEN", "EARTH - OUT" etc. QUAIL That's just media talk. They're... (indicating the protesters) ...just a minority. They're powerless. KIRSTEN Well, there's a lot of things we need around here before we waste our money on a trip to Mars. We're broke. I'm just a slave around this dump. Now if you were capable of finding a better job.... The kitchen clock chimes and talks. CLOCK It's now eight. You'll be late! QUAIL I'll be late! He jumps up quickly from the table, picks up his coat and briefcase, kisses KIRSTEN's perfunctorily offered cheek and leaves. 4A EXT. CITY - EARLY MORNING CAMERA TRACKS with Quail as he walks along the busy modern street towards a subway station. Modern cars (out of focus) pass noiselessly between the camera and Quail. There is a plaintive tune being played on violin. Quail pauses and gives a wad of notes to the aged violinist, then walks on briskly. 5 INT. SUBWAY STATION - EARLY MORNING Quail enters the station. Everybody must pass through a weapons check before proceeding to the platforms. TWO ARMED GUARDS stand at either side, as commuters pass through an electronic beam. On a screen, the entire body of each person is seen in X-ray. All of them are clearly carrying a gun in their inside coat pocket. GUARD No weapon again, Mr. Quail? QUAIL I keep forgetting, Herb. They frighten me. GUARD Yeah? Well, it's the law, Mr. Quail. Has been since 1990 they tell me. Tomorrow - ya carry ya gun or ya get reported. GUARD gestures to his associate. They've obviously been through this with Quail before. QUAIL Okay. Herb, okay. Quail walks on to the track area. The train arrives. Signs above each approaching car say "CAR FULL", "ROOM FOR 10 PERSONS", etc. Quail goes to a carriage marked "NEW CAR". 6 INT. URBAN TRANSIT TRAIN - DAY The doors open and the crowd surges on. Quail grabs a seat. At intervals throughout the car are VIDEO MONITORS on which a NEWS BROADCAST is showing. NEWSCASTER (V.O.) -- more violence today from Mars's strike-torn ore colonies -- Everyone ignores the broadcast -- except Quail, who perks instantly at the word "Mars." The NEWSCASTER is a young black man. NEWSCASTER (continuing) ...but Earth Intelligence Operations Director Vilos Cohaagen, clearly worried about the damage to Mars's all important tourist industry was today dismissive of the dissident groups.... TV scene switches to a press conference. COHAAGEN, sur- rounded by AIDES, steps in front of a podium packed with news network microphones and cameras. Cohaagen is a striking, intense man with an obvious air of power. COHAAGEN We're dealing with a bunch of extremists and unrepresentative lunatics. Mars is a happy and prosperous protectorate of Earth... and will remain so. The train stops at another station and more people pile on. Quail tries to watch the broadcast through the bodies passing in front of him and intermittently blocking the image. REPORTER (V.O.) There have been some criticisms, sir.... COHAAGEN I have no further comment. The news conference ends and a bright looking young man comes on the screen. Quail continues to watch, though not as interested, initially, as he was by the Mars story. Few of the other passengers bother looking at the screen. ANNOUNCER Good morning, commuters. This portion of your trip is brought to you by Rekall, Inc. Do you have a dream that never came true? Do you aspire - but only perspire? Has the great adventure passed you by? Then come to... REKALL, where what might have been will have been. For the memories of a lifetime... REKALL. Quail watches the commercial through to the end, but doesn't seem to take it very seriously. He glances away as a card comes on the screen with REKALL's numbers. 6B INT. QUAIL'S OFFICE - DAY Quail is seated at a computer console in a vast beehive of a room. Numerous people are typing information onto the screens. Quail pauses in his typing, thoughtful. He then types in a little more information, then pauses again. On the screen, a sentence types itself... WHY HAVE YOU STOPPED? REQUEST MORE INFORMATION. Quail read it and continues. 9 INT. McCLANE'S OFFICE - REKALL - DAY Scene opens on a CU of McCLANE, a genial, bubbling, enthus- iastic man. McCLANE We're all dreamers, Douglas. But here at Rekall, dreams are our business. He presses a button on his desk and the chairs on which they are seated appear to be in outer space. Countless stars glitter all around. Startlingly, a comet whizzes by. Quail is amazed. McClane grins and presses the button again. The scene changes to a beautiful underwater coral reef. Multi-colored fish swim around the chairs and desk. QUAIL But... is the process really that effective? A false memory!? McCLANE (shaking his head; smiling) We prefer the term "extra- factual implant". Your memory will be complete in every way. You will have gone to Mars. We guarantee that. QUAIL Is it in any way dangerous? I mean, the medical techniques? McCLANE Not when you deal with qualified operators - like us. He presses the button again and the normal office returns. Quail looks around, impressed. QUAIL It's just - incredible. McCLANE And look at our follow-up program! He puts items on the desk as he talks. McCLANE (continuing) Space-flight ticket stub... passport... vaccination certificates... matchbooks from Martian Nouvelle Cuisine Restaurants, souvenirs, post cards... even names of people you met - now back there - who you can call and discuss your trip with... by the way, we plant these things where you'll come across them at random in the future. QUAIL But... I'll know I hired you. That'll destroy the whole illusion. McCLANE (smiling; self- satisfied) But you won't remember me, or having been here. QUAIL I won't? McCLANE Your money back if you do! We've never paid out yet. Quail slumps backs in his chair, overwhelmed. McCLANE (continuing) And we have a special this month, for only two-hundred thousand dollars more. At the press of a button, a list appears on the wall... A14 MILLIONAIRE PLAYBOY A15 SPORTS HERO A16 INDUSTRIAL TYCOON A17 INTELLIGENCE AGENT McCLANE (continuing) You can have a new identity for the duration of the trip. Pick one. Quail's eyes linger on "Intelligence Agent." QUAIL "Intelligence Agent"... wouldn't that be dangerous? I might attack.... McCLANE (airily) No. No. You're a retired agent. Mars was your last mission and you're never to break your cover. But you'll have got the girl, killed the baddies, and saved the Universe. Not bad, eh? QUAIL I don't know... about the whole thing... it's all such a fake. I won't really have gone. I won't really.... McCLANE (kind but firm) Let's face it, Douglas, you, and millions of people like you have no chance of ever getting to Mars and you'd never qualify as a secret agent for EIO. This - REKALL - is the only way to achieve your dream. He gets up and walks around to Quail's chair. McCLANE (continuing) Think about it, Douglas. Think, too, what a terrible boor a real holiday is. Lost tickets, endless arguments, lousy hotels, missed connections, rotten weather... Rekall will supply you with perfect, happy memories. Quail is thoughtful, willing to be totally convinced. 9A INT. QUAIL'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Quail is sitting, distracted, in an uncomfortable modern chair. Kirsten is watching a near-pornographic film on TV. She casually lights a cigarette. QUAIL You know that's illegal. KIRSTEN Yeah? Who's going to report me? You?... wimp.... She watches a torrid love scene on the video. KIRSTEN (continuing) Screwing around's illegal, too. But just give me half a chance... Quail looks at her with distaste. His expression changes to one of resolve. 10 INT. MEMORY STUDIO - DAY Quail is stretched out on a plush reclining couch, alongside some strange-looking lab equipment, wearing a hospital-type smock. In the b.g. hovers a TECHNICIAN, adjusting some instrumentation (discreet banks of computers, etc.) -- that apparently relates to the lab equipment next to Quail. The room in a dim, soothing booth, lit by indirect lighting. Quail looks a little concerned as he studies all the instrumentation next to him -- as one always does at the dentist's, looking at the drills. The door opens abruptly, in walks a cute-looking LITTLE OLD LADY, wearing a JOGGING SUIT. (A RUTH GORDON-TYPE.) OLD LADY Hi, I'm Doctor Sophie Lull. Sorry I'm late. (walks toward coat closet) I'll be right with you. She dons a white medical smock that covers her jogging suit, then slings on heavy, lead-lined protective vest. QUAIL (looking at instrument console) This really going to work? LULL It the Pope Martian? Lull's assistant, the TECHNICIAN in b.g., who had been steadily working on the instrumentation, now looks over at Lull. ERNIE (TECHNICIAN) (at machine) Okay -- that's it. Now, Lull extends a long rubber tube, a hypodermic needle attached to it. Quail eyes it warily. She swabs the back of his hand in preparation, notices his apprehension. LULL Now, just relax, kid. This ain't gonna hurt. Just a controlled drip of Narkadine. When you're under, I'll just ask ya a few questions, nothin' real personal, just full details of yer private life so's we can tailor the wish-fulfillment program to your needs. She injects the needle into his hand as she speaks, tapes it down. LULL (continuing) See? Painless. I didn't feel a thing. Hey, you're a nice kid... you like a little somethin' extra? Quail, embarrassed, starting to go under, nods. LULL (continuing; pleased) Good! Kid -- have I got a girl for you! She's gonna like you. You're good-lookin'. (beat) Gettin' sleepy? (he nods) Good. Now, what's the first thing you think of when you're thinkin' about Mars? QUAIL (wistfully) Well... I'd like to see the Martian Sphinx... LULL Okay -- you will, Dougle! I want ya to start counting backwards from a hundred for me. QUAIL (sleepily) One hundred... ninety-nine... ninety-eight... ninety-seven... ninety-six... ninety-five.... His voice drops off; his eyes close. Lull studies him, adjusts some instruments, then turns to Ernie, glancing briefly at a typed sheet in front of her. LULL Okay, Ernie, the trip to Mars; number sixty-two... and throw in that blonde... We'll give him a real good time. ERNIE Sixty-two... and... the blonde... He takes two discs and inserts the first one into a machine. ERNIE Boy, is this one wild. He won't want to come back. Ernie inserts the second disk. LULL Dougie? This Sophie Lull. Can ya hear me? QUAIL ...Sophie.... LULL Good! ... I'm gonna ask ya a few more questions now. Ya think you'll be able to answer 'em? QUAIL ...Yes.... LULL Attaboy! To begin with, I wanna ask ya; -- You sex life. How many orgasms a week? 11 INT. McCLANE'S OFFICE - DAY McClane has several file drawers open and is removing diverse objects and placing them on his desk. These items apparently are objects Rekall, Inc. intends to "plant" for some client of theirs to find (perhaps even Quail) -- as part of his fantasy. While he is putting these things on his desk, the PHONE BUZZES. He answers it. McCLANE Yes? LULL (V.O.) (filtered; tense) Howie? Listen, you'd better get in here. McCLANE (not too concerned) Not another schizoid embolism. LULL (V.O.) (filtered) You'd better get in here. 12 INT. MEMORY STUDIO - DAY McClane come quickly in, brushing the swinging door open. Lull and Ernie look up as he enters. Quail lies on the couch, breathing slowly and regularly, his eyes closed. McClane looks queryingly at Lull, who motions him to silence. LULL (bends over Quail) Quail? Dougie, can you hear me? QUAIL Yes. LULL Tell McClane what you told us. McClane glances sharply at Lull, then turns to Quail. Quail's eyes open and scan the room. They settle on McClane. These eyes have changed: they have become cold and steely. In fact, Quail's entire personality seems to have changed -- his face has acquired a flint- edged hardness. He is chillingly menacing. QUAIL (a deadly voice) All of you in this room are dead. McCLANE (not quite taking it seriously) What's he talking about? QUAIL You've broken my cover. McCLANE What is this?... McClane's eyes flash angrily at Lull. LULL The Narkadine cracked a memory cap. Mars -- (she's scared) He's really been there. There is a chilly silence in the room as McClane digests this. McCLANE Forced suppression? ERNIE With spontaneous breakthrough. McCLANE Holy shit. They stare at Quail as if he's a ticking bomb. QUAIL (coldly) You've compromised the Sphinx Project. You'll have to be silenced. Now they're all panicked. McCLANE Wait a minute. Quail -- QUAIL My name isn't Quail. McCLANE Listen... whoever you are... sir.... (almost pleading) ...This is all an accident. We'll destroy all the records. No one will know. I swear it. Believe me. QUAIL I believe you, but that won't stop E.T.O. from killing you. The Rekall people stare at each other in quiet horror. QUAIL (continuing) Killing you... killing you... killing you.... His voice trails off, his eyes close. LULL (intensely) He wants a false memory implanted -- of a trip he really took. (pause) Someone at Earth Intelligence Operations erased his memory. All he know was going to Mars meant something special to him. ERNIE What do we do? Graft a false memory pattern over the real memory of the same thing? LULL (shaking her head) Uh-uh... That could promote a partial breakthrough of the real trip. McCLANE (overlapping) Revive him without any false memory implantation and get him out of here. LULL Why don't we just wipe out the memory of his visit here? McCLANE (nodding; relieved) Yes. Good. I'll destroy his file and cancel his fee. I have a feeling that the longer he doesn't know who he is, where he's been, where he's going and who we are, the better off we'll all be. I'm taking a holiday. A real one. He leaves. The others stare after him, looking very grim. 12A INT. RECEPTION AREA OF REKALL - DAY A dazed and disoriented Douglas Quail comes out of an inner door and walks through the lobby towards the exit door. An attractive RECEPTIONIST, her bare breasts visible through a clear plastic blouse, watches him; she then looks toward McClane who has half-opened the door to view Quail's progress. 12B INT. ELEVATOR - DAY Quail travels down. Uncomprehendingly, he looks out at the city. 12C INT. BUILDING FOYER - DAY Quail stumbles through the fairly crowded foyer, oblivious to anything around him. A red-headed man may or may not be watching him. He makes a phone call from a pocket phone. 12D INT. ROBOT TAXI CAB - AFTERNOON Scene open on Quail, in the back of the cab; he looks around, slowly coming to his senses. QUAIL Where am I? DRIVER Travelling south along Third Avenue, passing Fourty-third street. Although the driver's voice is a little mechanical (flat in tone) he is filmed from Quail's POV, and it isn't obvious he is anything other than an ordinary cab driver. QUAIL Where am I going? DRIVER Thirty-three thirteen "G" Street, Sector "L", Twin Towers, Apartment six-thirty- five. QUAIL How did I get here? Camera now cuts to a shot in front of the driver. He is a fairly human-like robot. DRIVER I don not understand the question, sir or madam. QUAIL How did I get into this cab? DRIVER You stepped into it in the normal manner, sir or madam. 15 INT. CORRIDOR OF QUAIL'S APARTMENT - DAY The reception area and hallway leading to the elevators is smart and clean, though not lavish. A uniformed and armed DOORMAN is standing by the entrance door. Filmed from the elevator end of the area, we see the cab pull up and Quail alight and enter the building. He nods to the doorman and approaches the elevators. As he reaches them a MAN steps out from behind the camera. A 2ND MAN enters from a door opposite the elevators. Quail looks at them and becomes quite panicky. 1ST AGENT Aren't you the man from Mars? He takes a modern, lethal gun from his pocket. Quail turns, but the other man is behind him. 2ND AGENT Don't give us a reason to kill you. Quail looks toward the doorman, who is paying little attention to the events. As the two men edge Quail towards the door, he call out... QUAIL Mr. Zimmer...Mr. Zimmer... help me... they're... But the doorman turns calmly away. 16 INT. BASEMENT CAR PARK - DAY The two men lead Quail past a number of cars to their own vehicle. QUAIL Where are you taking me? 1ST AGENT You told everyone at Rekall about you trip to Mars. Where you went, who you worked for, what you did -- QUAIL But I didn't... Are you telling me... I did go to Mars? I don't remember? 1ST AGENT You've remembered too much. The Sphinx Project, for a start.... QUAIL (confused; remembers only fragments) Sphinx?... No, no, I don't, I... What about the people at Rekall? I don't recall Rekall but you said if they know what I did? Why don't you ask them? They'll tell you I didn't... 1ST AGENT They've been taken care of. QUAIL What do you mean? Neither man bothers answering. They arrive at their car and open the door for Quail. He hesitates. QUAIL (continuing) What are you going to do with me? 1ST AGENT Get in the car. He slaps Quail hard across the face. Quail is terrified. He is tearful with fear. QUAIL My God! No! You're going to kill me! He cringes. His hands across his face. 1ST AGENT No one's going to kill you if [you do what you're told.] We're visiting E.I.O. for some new tests. Now get in, or do we start playing rough? QUAIL No! It's not my fault! You can't do it! They start to force him into the car physically. Suddenly, Quail stops cringing. the FEAR DISAPPEARS FROM HIS FACE, and is replaced by an odd, thoughtful expression. QUAIL (continuing) Wait a minute, I remember -- 1ST AGENT What, Quail? What do you remember? QUAIL On Mars... they tried to kill me... And.... QUAIL TRANSFORMS INTO A HIGHLY SKILLED KILLING MACHINE. In an instant, he karate-chops both agents across the windpipe, and they crumple to the ground. Quail steps back. He stares at the two bodies, incredulous; then stares at his own deadly HANDS. It is as though they belong to someone else. Then, leaving the two agents sprawled across the alley, he races back into the basement door of his building. 18 INT. QUAIL'S APARTMENT - EVENING Kirsten is watching another pornographic video when Quail bursts in. He is still disoriented. QUAIL Did you know I've been to Mars? Kirsten gets up and turns off the movie. KIRSTEN What! This stupid obsess... QUAIL (interrupting) I think I've been. I vaguely recall... KIRSTEN Doug, you've got to forget... QUAIL (interrupting) Forget? Remembering is the problem I must've been to one of those artificial memory places... KIRSTEN Oh my God... QUAIL But something went wrong... something about a real memory... and then those men... tried to kill me. KIRSTEN What men? Doug, you're crazy. She starts to mix a drink from a well-stocked cabinet. KIRSTEN (continuing) You're here now. They didn't kill you. QUAIL No. That's what's so amazing. I killed them. I think... Kirsten stops pouring her drink and look at him sharply. KIRSTEN Where? Where are they? Quail points down with his finger. KIRSTEN (continuing) Doug! It's something they put into your mind at the memory place. Fantasies. That's their business. She sips her drink. KIRSTEN (continuing) You're a computer operator. You're a bore. You're a wimp. You're not a killer. QUAIL I'm involved somehow with E.I.O. It's true. It's no fantasy. He walks around the apartment drawing curtains and putting out the lights. KIRSTEN Doug, I want you to see a doctor. Now Alec and Shirley Turnbull have a good man. He helped Alec through his breakdown. QUAIL For fuck's sake, this is no breakdown! Kirsten is taken aback at his use of language. He strides into the bathroom and slams the door. She turns on one lamp, goes to a telephone and dials. 19 INT. BATHROOM - TWILIGHT Quail takes a washcloth, turns the hot water up full and soaks the cloth under the steaming water. Using it as a compress, he presses it against his face and his neck, to drain off some of the tension. He turns off the water. Towelling his head dry, he opens the bathroom door. The instant he does this, a blinding white BURST OF LIGHT comes arcing into the bathroom, and the back wall crinkles and CHARS into a swatch of blackness. QUAIL DIVES OUT THE DOOR, just as ANOTHER BOLT incinerates the spot where he was standing. 20 INT. LIVING ROOM - TWILIGHT THE ROOM IS IN TOTAL DARKNESS. The only thing visible is the pale rectangle of the balcony window, with the curtains drawn over it. QUAIL and his ASSAILANT cannot be seen -- but they can be HEARD. There is the sound of a SCUFFLE -- the meaty THUD of a FIST CONNECTING WITH FLESH -- and a painful GRUNT as someone's breath whooshes out. The LIGHT COMES ON. Quail is standing with one hand on the lamp, and the other twisting KIRSTEN's arm up behind her back. A pistol lies on the floor. Quail is totally stunned. He releases her arm, shoving her away from him, at the same time scooping up the pistol. QUAIL My God! Did you say I need a psychiatrist? KIRSTEN (coolly) I haven't seen you move that fast since I've known you. QUAIL (outraged) How could you do it? After eight years! KIRSTEN I'm not your wife, Quail. QUAIL Not my wife! You are out of your mind. KIRSTEN (indifferent; nursing her arm) It's a false memory implant. I never saw you before six weeks ago. Quail is totally disoriented. QUAIL Why are you lying like this? KIRSTEN No, Quail. It's true. You work for E.I.O. So do I. As she speaks, she walks to a picture on the wall and from behind it pulls out a small wallet. She flips it open to show him her E.I.O. badge. He looks down uncomprehendingly at the holographic lettering "Earth Intelligence Organisation". QUAIL (indicating their surroundings) But why all of this? KIRSTEN (shrugging) We had to watchdog you...make sure the erasure took. A wife seemed like a good idea. QUAIL But I remember it! All of it!... Us! KIRSTEN All implanted. QUAIL Our friends... my work... eight years. KIRSTEN The job's real -- you've had is six weeks -- since you got back from Mars. He sits down, holds his hand to his head. KIRSTEN (continuing) It's all a fabrication, Quail. Everything you know. QUAIL This is crazy! If all my memories are false, who am I? What am I? Jesus... it's like I don't exist. KIRSTEN You exist, all right. (very cold) That's the problem. A pause as Quail mentally gropes frantically, for what to do next. QUAIL Why did you try to kill me? Why does E.I.O. want me dead? KIRSTEN They don't particularly. That was my idea. This assignment was boring me to death. The personality they gave you wasn't too thrilling. QUAIL Well, what did I do on Mars that they have to keep me from telling? KIRSTEN I've no idea. I just work here. QUAIL All right... I'm leaving. Don't try and follow me -- KIRSTEN I don't have to follow you. You can't get away from E.I.O. Nobody does. Quail looks at her as if seeing her for the first time. QUAIL No wonder you got the role as my bitchy wife -- type casting. He leaves. Kirsten smiles secretively. She goes to a drawer, opens it and removes a tiny instrument that looks like a TV channel-changer. There is a very small light on the instrument, which begins flashing on and off, as the instrument begins to make BEEPING SOUNDS. 21 EXT. STREET OUTSIDE QUAIL'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Quail walks briskly out onto the street, controlling his paces, trying not to look suspicious. After a beat, he heads for the nearest subway entrance. 22 INT. SUBWAY STATION - NIGHT Now underground, Quail tries to blend in with the other subway people. He heads toward the weapons check. 23 EXT. STREET SUBWAY ENTRANCE - NIGHT An OFFICIAL VEHICLE slams to a halt next to the subway entrance and a whole load of INTENSE MEN pours out of it. 24 INT. SUBWAY - NIGHT Quail now shuffles along in a lineup of people waiting to get through the WEAPONS CHECK. He tries to control his nervousness. He passes. The guard smiles at him, pleased to see he has remembered his gun. 25 INT. SUBWAY - NIGHT All the men with guns drawn come pouring down the subway stairs. The SUBWAY COPS and WEAPONS CHECK are stunned to see four large men brandishing guns push their way through the weapons check gate without seeming to notice them. One gunman flashes a HOLOGRAPHIC BADGE ENCASED IN PLASTIC at them. The gunman reach the bottom of the stairs and race closer to the subway train, which is just departing. The men halt abruptly. FIRST GUNMAN Fuck it! The second gunman adjusts a small plug - a radio receiver - in his ear. SECOND GUNMAN (EARPLUG WEARER) We won't be able to track him again until he comes up above ground! 26 INT. SUBWAY CAR - NIGHT Quail sits in the subway car as it barrels through the night, not knowing exactly where he will go. He is confused, distraught. A commercial comes onto the video. TV AS VOICE OVER Tired? Exhausted? Need a vacation? Don't settle for memories, experience the real thing. Daily departures on the space shuttle to Mars. Visit the wonders of.... 27 EXT. SUBWAY STOP - NIGHT Quail emerges from underground and looks around. The streets are almost deserted. 28 INT. MOVING OFFICAL VEHICLE - NIGHT THE GUNMEN SIT IN THE OV. The one with the ear plug [suddenly talks.] EARPLUG WEARER Coming in again. Loud and clear. He looks down at an illuminated street map built into the car's dashboard. 28A EXT. SUBWAY STOP - NIGHT A cab comes into view. Quail quickly hails it and jumps in. Cab moves off. 28B INT. CAB - NIGHT Quail is still pondering what to do next. He glances out one window, though not at anything in particular. Suddenly, the silence is shattered as bullets rip through the window on the other side. Quail ducks to the floor. 28C EXT. CAB - NIGHT A wide shot shows that the cab is being fired on by a man leaning from the window of an official patrol vehicle. He is aiming at the tires and driver, rather than directly at Quail. 28D INT. CAB - NIGHT Bullets are still pouring in. ROBOT DRIVER (unemotionally) You are being fired on, sir or madam, please leave the cab at once. From the floor, Quail pushes the door handle and rolls out onto the street. The pursuing car occupants fail to notice his exit. 28E EXT. STREETS - NIGHT Cars continue, as Quail picks himself up from the gutter and moves off down a narrow side street. 28F INT. CAB - NIGHT ROBOT DRIVER [Please....] Bullets rip into the robot driver's neck, severing the head from the body. The head hits the window then bounces back onto the front seat. It continues talking. ROBOT DRIVER (continuing) ...leave the cab as bullets are hitting the vehicle in considerable quantities. 28G EXT. STREETS - NIGHT The taxi mounts the footpath and smashes through the display window of a store. Clothes models are scattered and broken. When the noise abates, the severed head of the robot driver is lying among the dummies. ROBOT DRIVER This company, sir or madam, will institute legal action for damages... 29 EXT. STREET - "END OF THE LINE" HOTEL - NIGHT Quail emerges from the side street and sees "End of the Line" Hotel. It is clean, bland, middle class. He quickly crosses the road and enters. 29A INT. "END OF THE LINE" HOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT The foyer is brightly lit and empty. Quail approaches the DESK CLERK, who is reading a book. "Dr. No", marked, in flowing script, "from the classic series". DESK CLERK (without looking up) Help you, sir? QUAIL (handing over money) A room for the night. DESK CLERK (reluctantly putting down the book) ID. QUAIL (handing over money) Here's ten thousand. Forget the ID. DESK CLERK looks up at him, with interest. His hand hovers over the money. QUAIL (continuing) I have a liaison with a lady... and I'm married... DESK CLERK I understand, sir. Nothing like a bit on the side, eh? Bit of fugitive flesh. The greatest aphrodisiac is a new body, wouldn't you say, sir? Quail looks at him with distaste but is only anxious to be given the key to his room. He says nothing. 30 INT. "END OF THE LINE" HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Quail unlocks the door and enters. No sooner does he relock the door then THE PHONE RINGS. He freezes, stares at it for three rings, then picks it up. QUAIL (into receiver) I told you, I don't want to be disturbed. TELEPHONE VOICE (filtered) If you want to live, don't hand up. Quail is stunned. He says nothing, but doesn't hang up. TELEPHONE VOICE (continuing; filtered) They've got you bugged... They're gonna find you. Faster than you can say "Back Rodgers". (quickly) And don't bother shaking down your clothes -- the monitor is embedded in your skull. QUAIL (reeling) Who are you? What the hell is this? 30A INT. BAR BASEMENT - NIGHT The man telephoning Quail is calling from a bar. Occasion- ally people pass him on their way to the toilets. He is youngish and conservatively dressed. He speaks rapidly and urgently. TELEPHONE VOICE Take a wet towel and wrap it around your head. That will deaden the signal. It'll take longer for them to pinpoint you. 30B INT QUAIL'S ROOM - NIGHT QUAIL Why should I trust you? TELEPHONE VOICE (filtered) There's a real old saying - "Beggars can't be choosers". Go and soak your head! Quail puts the phone down and rushes to the bathroom. 30B1 INT. PATROL CAR - NIGHT The earphone wearer and driver are moving in on the signal generated by Quail's bug. Suddenly, the small illuminated cross on the dashboard map cuts out. EARPHONE WEARER Shit! DRIVER Cut the language, will ya? EARPHONE WEARER It's gone! Some...malfunction... Unscientifically, he prod the screen. DRIVER (world-weary air) Toldya the Martian assembled [stuff don't work.] 30B2 INT. QUAIL'S ROOM - NIGHT Quail rushes back into the room with a wet towel, turban-like, wrapped around his head. He rapidly picks up the phone. QUAIL Keep talking. TELEPHONE VOICE (filtered) Head over to Skid Row -- to the Lucky Stub Pawnshop -- corner of Park Avenue and Fifty-eighth. Tell the man you're Mr. Hotchkiss; you came for your Grecian candlesticks. QUAIL (infuriated) What do I want with Grecian candlesticks! 30C INT. BAR BASEMENT - NIGHT The man on the phone looks around anxiously. TELEPHONE VOICE Just do it! This is no time for small talk. QUAIL (V.O.) (filtered; not quite convinced) How did you know where to find me? TELEPHONE VOICE I've been tailing you since you get back from Mars. 30D INT. QUAIL'S ROOM - NIGHT QUAIL You're E.I.O. You're on the other team. TELEPHONE VOICE (filtered) I'm E.I.O. But I was your best friend. Scott Stevens - we arranged this... QUAIL (trying to recall) I can't remember - only bits... TELEPHONE VOICE (filtered; overlapping) I was your fail-safe -- if and when the shooting started. Good luck. Look me up if you remember me. 30E INT. BAR BASEMENT - NIGHT Scott Stevens hangs up the phone. He looks around cautiously, then walks a few steps to the mens room. 30F INT. MENS ROOM - NIGHT Scott Stevens walks to the row of troughs and begins to urinate. The room is empty. He hears a noise and looks around. Two EIO men are standing there aiming lethal-looking high-velocity weapons at him. One of them is the red-headed man we've already seen. 1ST MAN (RED-HEADED) Well, look at that. He's really got his hands full. 2ND MAN Not so full, so I've heard. Still urinating, the frustrated Scott Stevens can only look back over his shoulder. Laughing, both men open fire, riddling him with bullets. He collapses in an undignified heap, his head in the water at the base of the trough. 31 INT. "END OF THE LINE" CORRIDOR - NIGHT Quail, with towel around his head, glances up and down the corridor -- spots a sign that says "FIRE EXIT". He races towards it. 32 EXT. "END OF THE LINE" FRONT ENTRANCE - NIGHT The OV slams up in front of the hotel and a carload of MEN tear out of it and barge into the hotel. 32A INT. "END OF THE LINE" HOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT The startled clerk jumps to his feet as the group of armed men enter rapidly. EARPHONE WEARER Quick. The guy who checked in fifteen minutes ago. CLERK (nervous) Room...thirty-six. Most of the armed men instantly head off up the stairs, their weapons at the ready. Clerk watches, astonished. CLERK (continuing) He was only meeting a lady... Aren't you guys overdoing it a bit? 32B EXT. STREET - NIGHT Quail is walking along briskly, still with the towel around his head. A few passers-by look at him curiously. He puts his hand together and greets them Indian-style. 33 EXT. PARK AVENUE - NIGHT - CLOSE ON STREET SIGN which reads: "PARK AVENUE / 58TH STREET". PULL BACK to reveal "The Lucky Stub Pawnshop". WINOS lurk on the corner. Park Avenue has deteriorated into a slum. QUAIL ENTERS FRAME, and approaching the pawnshop, stepping over a BUM in a doorway. 34 INT. PAWNSHOP - NIGHT Quail is just entering; an old-fashioned BELL overhead, tripped by the door opening, announces his entrance. At once, an immense FAT MAN emerges from the back room. PAWNBROKER You wanta camera? I got some good, top-quality ones. You want silk rugs? Handmade last century in Iran...all perfect. You want videos? Old movies... classics...all those Vietnam war ones...real quaint stuff... you want... QUAIL (interrupting; awkwardly) I'm Hotchkiss...I came for the...Grecian candlesticks... The Fat Man studies him warily for a long moment; then he disappears through the curtain. In a brief moment, he emerges again, carrying a small, "makeup-sized" case, as well as two large candelabra. The Pawnbroker puts the case on the counter. Quail looks at the case with curiosity. QUAIL (continuing) I wonder if you could tell me... They both look around as someone enters. PAWNBROKER I trust these will look well in you... mosque. 35 INT. FLOP HOUSE - NIGHT - CLOSE ON HANDS Opening up the small case. PULL BACK to reveal they are Quail's hands. The hotel room he's now in is obviously a different one than the last one we saw him in. The room is large but run-down, the walls are peeling, the architecture is much older, etc. Quail examines the contents of the case: there are CREDIT CARDS and also MONEY, several stacks of bills, neatly tied -- some of it the conventional green, but most of it red. CLOSE ON RED MONEY On the face of it is printed: "MARS FEDERAL COLONY". QUAIL (mutters) Martian money.... Quail thumbs through the money, and whistles softly to himself as he sees how much there is. Also in the case are: TWO PASSPORTS; a small CASSETTE RECORDER; a rolled-up LEATHER POUCH and a spray can of some sort; and a strange thing that looks like a silver mask. He examines the face mask, studies BLACK LETTERS WRITTEN ACROSS IT (which we are not close enough to read) and then puts it aside. Another item now catches his eye: a wristwatch. He sees a conspicuous red button on the side of the watch, and PRESSES IT. INSTANTLY, TO HIS SHOCK, QUAIL SEES A MAN MANIFEST HIMSELF HIMSELF OUT OF THIN AIR AND STAND THERE IN THE ROOM A FEW FEET AWAY FROM QUAIL: he's an EXACT HOLOGRAPHIC DUPLICATE of Quail -- down to the clothes Quail is wearing now. The image stands and watches Quail. QUAIL (continuing) What the hell...? Quail smiles, presses the red button again. There is a HUMMING SOUND -- and the man FADES INTO THIN AIR -- like a television set being turned off. Quail looks bemused. Now he unrolls the leather pouch and looks inside. There he finds what look like SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS; a sponge, a long piece of wire doubled over, with some attachments and a tiny METAL HEAD on one end, and some tubes of salve. He turns on the cassette recorder. The VOICE he hears on the cassette TAPE is HIS OWN! CASSETTE VOICE (V.O.) (Quail's voice) "Hauser, this is Hauser -- or whatever you think your name is now. If you're listening to this, I'm talking to myself. Your memory's been erased and you've got a wet towel around your head. (he does) "The first thing you've got to do is get rid of that bug in your head." 36 INT. HOTEL BATHROOM - NIGHT The sound of the tape continues as Quail follows instructions - pushing the wire up into a bloody portion of his neck, just below the ear. CASSETTE VOICE (V.O.) The monitoring device is located in your left maxillary sinus cavity. Make a small incision in your neck just below the left ear, and insert the wire up into the sinus. The head is self-guiding. Just shove. Quail makes a face. CASSETTE VOICE (V.O.) (continuing) You won't feel a thing. The spray cartridge contains a local anesthetic and a blood coagulant. Careful, it's my neck, too. Holding the wet towel against his neck, Quail slowly withdraws the wire. On the end of it is a tiny, metal bead, the Transmitter. 37 INT. MOVING OFFICIAL VEHICLE - NIGHT The man with the ear plug suddenly reacts. EARPLUG WEARER It's come on again. DRIVER Where? The 1st man quickly check the map-grid in the dashboard. A small bright 'x' is flashing. EARPLUG WEARER He's in that old flophouse. Plaza Hotel. Central Park South. 37A INT. HOTEL BEDROOM - NIGHT Quail is anxious to get rid of the transmitter. He looks around and notices a rat trap near a rat hole in the skirting board. He carefully - avoiding springing the trap - removes the piece of cheese and pushes the transmitter inside. He then throws the cheese into the rat hole. 38 INT. MOVING OFFICIAL VEHICLE - NIGHT The car is moving swiftly through the streets. EARPLUG WEARER Boy, he's really moving around. A CU of the screen shows the small 'x' moving in circles. 38A EXT. HOTEL SIDE ENTRANCE - NIGHT The car pulls up. Another follows it. Armed men leap out from both. The EARPLUG WEARER indicates they should go down an alley at the side of a service door. They advance cautiously, guns at the ready. They see no one. The EARPLUG WEARER indicates another, even narrower, alley leading off to one side. Two of the men sneak cautiously up to it, their guns at the ready. A large rat scurries out from behind overfull garbage bins. Furious, they fire. The bullets rip the bins to shreds, scattering refuse everywhere. The rat is killed. They all stare in disbelief. EARPLUG WEARER Ya dirty rat! 40 INT. E.I.O. HEADQUARTERS - MEMORY LAB - NIGHT OPENING CLOSE on a MONITOR SCREEN slated "HAUSER/QUAIL" followed by a serial number and some dates. The slate vanishes, replaced by a scene of Quail -- undergoing some KIND OF MILITARY TRAINING. PAN to OTHER MONITORS, all depicting Quail in other action scenes -- on some kind of mission, driving a car, etc. TECHNICIANS man the monitors, scrolling through them in fast-forward and fast reverse as if searching files. The technicians turn as Cohaagen and his aides enter. COHAAGEN (demands) Anything? SUPERVISOR We're running every one of his memory tapes for the past fifteen years. Nothing yet, sir. COHAAGEN There must be something -- some place he would go, some friend he would run to. The red-haired E.I.O. man joins them. RED-HEADED MAN (to Cohaagen; quietly) They lost him. COHAAGEN Again?! The red-headed man nods. COHAAGEN (continuing) Are you sure the original suppression took? SUPERVISOR Absolutely, sir. He thinks he's Quail, a computer... COHAAGEN (interrupting) Then how do you explain what he's doing? SUPERVISOR Just his instincts. He was well trained by E.I.O.... Maybe the memory cap's fractured. Portions of his prior identity could be leaking through. COHAAGEN (very anxious) He'll remember Mars? The Sphinx Project? SUPERVISOR Fragments. Nothing more. Nothing he could piece together. I did advise terminating him, rather than implanting an identify alternative. COHAAGEN What do you think I am? A barbarian? We're not living in the twentieth century! He looks at the video screen again. An image has flashed onto it of an attractive Eurasian girl. COHAAGEN (continuing) Hold it there. He studies the picture, which changes to show the same girl from different angles. 42 INT. SPACE PORT - DAY Passengers are boarding a COMMERCIAL SPACECRAFT. In addition to the STEWARDESSES checking their tickets, there are two PLAINCLOTHES MEN checking every passenger. They carry some kind of small, portable ELECTRONIC DEVICE that they shine in the face of each passenger going through. (It gives off a BLUE BEAM and HUMS.) The passengers are a diverse group - businessmen, officials, government people, etc. There is also a large tour group consisting of a predominately middle-aged and determinedly jolly crowd, many of them carrying duty-free bags. They are being marshaled by an harassed TOUR ORGANIZER, who is carrying aloft a hand-painted sign... "MARTIAN TOUR GROUP". The last of the passengers board the spacecraft. The chief PLAINCLOTHES MAN nods to an official and the door begins to close. PLAINCLOTHES MAN #1 If he had to travel to Mars with that bunch, I'd be sorry for him. PLAINCLOTHES MAN #2 We couldn't have missed him? PLAINCLOTHES MAN #1 No way. Let's get a coffee before the next shuttle. 43 INT. SPACELINER - IN FLIGHT One of the PASSENGERS -- a middle-aged WOMAN - unbuckles her seat belt and heads for the restroom, carrying her handbag, and some clothes on a hanger. 44 INT. LAVATORY - IN FLIGHT The woman locks the door and turns to the mirror. She opens her bag, takes out a spray container, SPRAYS HER FACE with it, and takes out -- the SILVER FACE MASK we saw in Quail's emergency kit. She holds the mask to her face. There is a SIZZLING NOISE, and SMOKE rises from behind the mask. She lowers the mask. Her face is now that of QUAIL. He tears up a passport and drops it down a chute. He reaches inside his dress, starts to REMOVE his "FALSIES." CLOSE ON MASK We can read the BLACK LETTERING written across it now: "LASER FACIAL". 45 INT. SPACELINER - IN FLIGHT Quail exits from the lavatory and glances toward the ebullient tour crowd. He turns and looks in the other direction and sees a video theater advertising "ROCKY 36" with Sylvester Stallone III, Jnr. He isn't too excited, but heads towards it. He pauses a little when an announcement comes over the intercom. A LITTLE BELL sounds, followed by INTERCOM STATIC. Quail looks up. CAPTAIN'S VOICE (V.O.) Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll glance out the starboard viewports, you'll behold an indeed awesome sight -- Quail goes to a viewport and PEERS, transfixed. He is seeing... at last... the object of his obsession. 46 EXT. SPACELINER - IN ORBIT AROUND MARS The SPACELINER -- which we have deliberately not seen before this moment for dramatic effect -- banks and turns, suddenly bringing into view -- MARS. AN IMMENSE ORANGE GLOBE -- so close it looks like it's going to fall on us. It dwarfs the spaceliner. CAPTAIN'S VOICE (V.O.) Those long gorges you see, clearly are the legendary canals of Mars.... The liner drops toward the surface of Mars. Below: a NETWORK OF INTERSECTING LINES crisscross the planet. CAPTAIN'S VOICE (V.O.) (continuing) Of course, they are not manmade canals, but vast natural chasms ...many deeper and larger than the Grand Canyon. Though utterly without moisture now, scientists have determined that they were formed by massive flooding millions of years ago. 47 INT. SPACELINER Quail stares, his brow furrowing as if with some deep hidden memory he can't quite recall. CAPTAIN'S VOICE (V.O.) (continuing) Surface temperatures at the Martian equator is minus one-hundred and twenty degrees Centigrade -- in winter. Fortunately, this time of year it's slightly more seasonable: Sixty degrees, Fahrenheit, outside the domes. (beat) Please remember, folks, that outside the domes you'll need to carry your own personal oxygen supply at all times. The atmosphere of Mars is almost a vacuum. Thank you for flying with Interstellar and we hope your stay will be a pleasant one. 48 EXT. MARS - OUTER SPACE CAMERA follows the spaceliner until the ENTIRE FRAME is filled with the RED-ORANGE sands of MARS. 49 EXT. MARTIAN DESERT - DAY An endless expanse of boulder-studded red sand, under a red-orange sky. The desert is cut by a ROAD, which snakes across the rocky terrain. Some surface TRAFFIC moves along the road (all pressurized vehicles since the atmosphere of Mars is almost a pure vacuum) - including the MARSPORT BUS. PAN WITH THE BUS - TO REVEAL A CITY UNDER A DOME. In the midst of the stark, trackless landscape -- it's midday, scorching -- rises a huge weatherbeaten GEODESIC STRUCTURE, its glass surface scarred by sandstorm damage. Its feeling is like an old Western, when Clint Eastwood rides into Tombstone -- the raw, forbidding vistas, with a tough town carved out of the wilderness. 50 INT. MARSPORT - DAY Quail is looking out at the desolate landscape. The TOUR ORGANISER, an amiable middle-aged man sits beside him. It is possible he is not a married man. QUAIL It's no Garden of Eden. TOUR ORGANISER No. Quite a bit to see, though. The canyons, the old Sphinx... QUAIL What do you know about that? TOUR ORANISER Not much, really. Millions of years old. Bit like the one that used to be in Egypt, you know... QUAIL Yeah. Got destroyed in the Arab wars... What about this independence movement? TOUR ORGANISER (dismissive) Not worth worrying about. Mostly descendants of the original colonists from Earth. Now they want self-rule so they can sell us all the minerals... I don't think we've met. You with our group? Takes me a while to know everyone. QUAIL Sure. Douglas Quail. TOUR ORGANISER Richard Toltz. (they shake hands) Well, Doug, I hope we'll see a lot more of each other. 55 EXT. CITY (UNDER THE DOOM) - DAY The bus pulls up outside a modern tourist hotel. The buildings surrounding it have a much more improvised, temporary look. Most are pre-fabricated structures. The streets are crowded and there is a "frontier-town" atmosphere. Stalls sell fruit and vegetables, also water and air containers. A lot of greenery is evident - this is to absorb CO2 and emit oxygen, thus helping with the air supply under the dome. Some small, ragged boys look at QUAIL as he looks around before going inside the hotel. Suddenly, one of them throws a small sack at him. It hits his chest and leaves a yellow stain. The hotel DOORMAN chases the boys away.... BOY Smogpsucker! From the other side of the street, a gang of URCHINS with a harmonica start singing some kind of defiant PATRIOTIC SONG. DOORMAN You know how it is, sir. Some of these red-asses are a bit prejudiced. QUAIL Prejudiced? Against what? DOORMAN Earthmen. The street song has swelled, adult MINERS and CITIZENS joining the belligerent chorus. QUAIL What are they singing? DOORMAN The Martian National Anthem. Quail tips the doorman, enter the hotel.
|
| © 2005-2024. Êîïèðîâàíèå ìàòåðèàëîâ ñàéòà çàïðåùåíî! Äëÿ ñâÿçè homeenglish@mail.ru |