SPHERE (Continue)

BARNES
So how do we get it open?

HARRY
Ted seems to have some ideas.

ON THE MONITOR -- Ted pushing on the SPHERE door. Banging into it with
his shoulder.

NORMAN
Maybe we shouldn't.

BARNES
What?

NORMAN
If it is alien, maybe we shouldn't
try to open it at all.

HARRY
(nodding to Norman)
Man is man, all he knows is man, and
all he can think of is what he
knows. The anthropomorphic problem.
Good, Norman.

BARNES
The what?

NORMAN
I mentioned it in my report. Didn't
you read the report?

HARRY
Everything ever written about extra-
terrestial life imagines that life
is essentially human. If it doesn't
look human, it's a reptile or a big
insect or something, having human
values, human understanding.

BARNES
So? What's the problem?

HARRY
It's nonsense. There's enough
difference between our own species
to prove that.

BETH
Take politics, our views on
abortion, the death penalty...

HARRY
Cannibalism, to be extreme. And now
we're talking about a new life form.
Their values and ethics may be
incomprehensible.

BARNES
Like "Thou shall not kill"?

NORMAN
Or maybe, it can't be killed.

BARNES
You mean, what's in that thing is
immortal?

NORMAN
I don't know. That's the point.

BARNES
Everything can be killed.

BETH
Not everything. Even on earth. Take
... yeasts.

BARNES
Yeasts? Thank you, Beth, but I don't
think we're gonna open it up and
find a loaf of bread.

HARRY
And we're just talking about three-
dimensional creatures. What if it's
five or six or seven-dimensional? So
dimensional that we couldn't even
see it to kill it.

NORMAN
Good point. I don't know what you're
talking about, but good point.

BARNES
Or it could contain some great
benefit to us, some astonishing new
idea or technology to help mankind.

HARRY
It could. But the odds of it being
any use to us are against it.

BARNES
You don't know that.

HARRY
Let's say whoever made this thing is
a thousand years ahead of us, just
like we are to, say, medieval
Europe. Suppose you went back to
medieval Europe with a TV set. There
wouldn't be any place to plug it in.

BARNES
Just tell me worst case. Worst case
of what we might find?

BETH
It could breathe in air and exhale
cyanide gas.

NORMAN
Disrupt our brain waves, interfere
with our ability to think.

HARRY
Produce radioactive waste and
disintegrate us into nothing.

CUT TO:

CLOSE ON PRINTER, TYPING: "Surface winds at 25 knots -- Estimated Time
of Departure -- 01:45 hrs"

CUT TO:

INT. DH-8 HALLWAY

Empty, sterile. WE HEAR the repeating sound: THWAP. Almost like a
dripping faucet. THWAP... THWAP...

INT. LIVING QUARTERS

Harry on his bunk, staring at the wall, flicking his middle finger at
his cheek: THWAP... THWAP.

HARRY
You realize, Norman, that we are all
going to die.

Norman is lying in his own bunk, below Harry.

NORMAN
Don't be so optomistic, Harry.

HARRY
I'm completely serious. There is
something very important missing
from that spacecraft. You know what
that is?

NORMAN
Not a clue.

HARRY
A sign that the builders knew time
travel through a black hole was
possible.

NORMAN
I don't follow you.

HARRY
On that flight recorder, they called
the black hole an "Unknown Entry
Event." They didn't know what a
black hole was. Fifty years from
now, men are going to build that
ship in a very tentative,
experimental way, with no knowledge
that time travel through a black
hole is possible.

NORMAN
So what?

Harry leans his head over his bunk.

HARRY
So, we know.
(beat)
We know it went through a black
hole. We saw it. Norman -- when we'd
get to the surface, we'd tell
someone about the black hole,
wouldn't we? It'd go in some report
like some big discovery. So in fifty
years when they build that ship,
they'd make precautions for a black
hole.
(beat)
But they didn't. The called it an
Unknown Entry Event.

NORMAN
Meaning we're never gonna get the
chance to tell anyone.

HARRY
Meaning we're never gonna get to the
surface alive... to tell anyone.

Norman gets out of his bed.

NORMAN
I can't believe that, Harry.

HARRY
Gimme another explanation.

Norman pacing.

NORMAN
I can't. If I had a minute to think,
maybe, but I know you're wrong.

HARRY
Am I?

NORMAN
Look -- we're under a lot of
pressure, we're tired, you're not
thinking straight.

HARRY
You mean, you think I'm cracking?

NORMAN
No. I didn't say that.

HARRY
Then what, Norman?

Norman stops pacing, a beat.

NORMAN
It's what's in that sphere, isn't
it, Harry? Whatever you think is in
that thing -- you think it's going
to kill you.

HARRY
Curious, isn't it? What's inside?
Before I die, I'd sure like to open
it and see.

INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM

CLOSE ON MONITOR: Video of the sphere. RAPIDLY rewinding.

BARNES
What caused it?

EDMUNDS
Nothing. I don't know. Everything
was normal. No changes at all.

HARRY
When did it happen?

EDMUNDS
Seconds ago. Here!

PLAYBACK: WE SEE the sphere -- idle. Nothing around it. Then it's DOOR
slowly OPENS, revealing BLACKNESS inside. A beat. And then it closes.

BARNES
Let me see that again.

Edmunds plays it again. This time...

WE MOVE IN ON HARRY, staring at the monitor.

HARRY
(to himself)
I'd sure like to open it and see.

ON HARRY -- those cold, intelligent eyes.

CUT TO:

CLOSE ON PRINTER, TYPING: "... 30 knots -- ETD -- 00:19 min"

CUT TO:

INT. HALLWAY

CLOSE ON -- Norman and Barnes.

BARNES
Don't get hysterical, Norman.

NORMAN
I'm telling you, Harry's lost it.
He's saying there's a deathwish out
for each of us.

BARNES
Look, the ships are clearing out.
They're taking us topside in a
matter of minutes. Someone can check
him out there, if it's that imprtant.

NORMAN
All I'm saying is, someone should
keep an eye on him.

BARNES
Just worry about yourself.

INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM

Barnes on the phone with the surface. Ted talking to him anyway...

TED
Can I stay, sir? I'm willing to risk
it. I am. After what we just
witnessed.

BARNES
(into phone)
What? No, I know they're
civilians...

INT. LIVING QUARTERS

ON NORMAN -- gathering his things. Stuffing his shotty dufflebag.

Beth, at her bunk, doing the same.

Norman stands up. Looks at the bunk above him: unpacked clothes,
unpacked belongings, a notebook lying there saying: PROPERTY OF DR.
HARRY ADAMS.

ON NORMAN -- panicking, looking around for Harry.

CUT TO:

BACK IN -- COMMUNICATIONS ROOM

BARNES
(into phone)
... I said send the subs down, damn
it!

Barnes out the door, Ted at his heels...

TED
Did you hear me, sir, because --

BARNES
Ted, shut up. Are you packed? Ready
to go? I want everyone packed. Now!

ON NORMAN -- running at them...

NORMAN
Harry's missing.

BARNES
What do you mean, he's missing?

NORMAN
He's missing. He's gone. He left.

BARNES
He's here somewhere. Find him. The
sub's on it's way.
(they look at him)
Go! C'mon!

Norman runs off. Barnes storms down the hall...

BARNES
How can he be missing?

TED
Sir, about leaving --

BARNES
We're on the bottom of the fucking
ocean -- he can't just walk outside!

INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM

Edmunds working the monitors, stops. Seeing something on a screen.
Staring in horror...

EDMUNDS
(to herself)
Oh my gosh...

INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM

Barnes, phone to his ear...

BARNES
Gimme a report, I want --

HARRY (O.S.)
Ladies and Gentlemen...

BARNES
Who is that? Where's that coming
from?

HARRY (O.S.)
Please watch your closest monitor...

Barnes turns...

ON HIS MONITOR -- Harry, in jumpsuit and helmet, stands in front of the
SPHERE.

Barnes quickly puts on his headset mic...

BARNES
What's he doing there?

INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM

Edmunds, Norman, Beth, Ted staring at the monitor...

TED
I thought he was with you, Norman.

Through the speakers...

BARNES (O.S.)
Get him out of there. I thought I
told you people --

EDMUNDS
(into her mic)
Harry? Can you copy?

ON THE MONITOR -- Harry, before the SPHERE...

HARRY
Pay close attention. I think you
will find this of interest.

The sphere DOOR slowly opens.

TED
What the hell is he doing?

Harry steps up and into the sphere. The door closes slowly behind him.

CUT TO:

PRINTER, TYPING: "... ETD -- 00:15 min"

CUT TO:

INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM

Norman with Barnes...

BARNES
Don't tell me I told you so, Norman,
because I don't want to hear it.
(yelling past him)
Ted, I want everything by the door
-- ready to go!

INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM

ON MONITOR -- labled: "SUB DESCENT" -- it's still.

EDMUNDS
(into mic)
Subs are still at surface, sir.

INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM

BARNES
(into phone)
Send them, damn it! I know, but I'm
not gonna be held responsible --

Norman with him...

NORMAN
You can't just leave Harry down
here, sir.

BARNES
I told you people, nobody goes
anywhere unless I say.

NORMAN
But sir --

BARNES
No "buts". If he wants to be left,
we'll leave him.
(into phone)
Hello? Yes, the subs -- I want a
report... Hello... Yes, a report.
Gimme... shit.

EDMUNDS (O.S.)
I'm getting no sub reading, sir.

BARNES
They're coming.

CUT TO:

PRINTER, TYPING: "... ETD -- 00:13 min"

CUT TO:

INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM

ON NORMAN -- staring at the monitor of the sphere, idle.

BARNES (O.S.)
Any sign of Harry?

EDMUNDS
Nothing, sir.

INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM

BARNES
Fuck him.
(into phone)
What? Hello?

INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM

ON MONITOR -- labeled "SUB DESCENT"...

EDMUNDS
Sir, I am still getting absolutely
no reading on sub movement...

CUT TO:

PRINTER, TYPING: "... ETD -- 00:11 min"

CUT TO:

INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM

BARNES
(into phone)
Yes, a report... Hello?

Beth, inside now...

BETH
I am not leaving without him. Do you
hear me? We come down as a team, we
leave as a team.

BARNES
What are you -- his mother? Get
Norman, I want everyone ready to go.
(into mic)
Edmunds, the subs?

EDMUNDS (O.S.)
Nothing, sir.

BARNES
What the hell is going on here?

INT. CORRIDOR

Beth rushes by Ted, carrying bags to the door...

BETH
Norman? Where's Norman?

TED
By the bunks.

INT. LIVING QUARTERS

Beth running in...

BETH
Norman?... Norman?

Can't see him anywhere.

INTO THE BATHROOMS

BETH
Norman!

INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM

BARNES
Edmunds, do you have a 20 on Norman?

EDMUNDS (O.S.)
Yes, sir.

BARNES
Well, where the fuck is he?

EDMUNDS (O.S.)
In the ship, sir.

Barnes spins to see the monitor...

BARNES
What?

ON MONITOR -- Norman, in jumpsuit and helmet, running through the ship.

Barnes slipping on headset mic...

BARNES
Norman? Norman!

INT. SPACECRAFT

Norman running across a catwalk...

BARNES (O.S.)
You get your ass back here. You have
no authority whatsoever to be in
there. You hear me?... Norman? Don't
go hero on me now.

CUT TO:

PRINTER, TYPING: "... ETD -- 00:05 min EVACUATION IMMINENT"

INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM

EDMUNDS
Sir, if the subs haven't left by
now...

BARNES (O.S.)
They've left, keep watching!

EDMUNDS
Sir! Sir, the door -- it's opening.

ON THE MONITOR -- the sphere door, slowly opening. Revealing:
BLACKNESS.

BARNES (O.S.)
Where is he? Damn it! Can you see
him?

A still moment and then Harry tumbles out the sphere, and falls to the
ground.

INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM

Barnes, squinting at Harry on his monitor.

BARNES (O.S.)
How does he look? Can you tell?

Harry lies motionless.

EDMUNDS (O.S.)
He looks... dead, sir.

ON BETH -- in the hall, hearing that.

INT. SPACECRAFT

Norman, running, blindly, through a hall, around corners...

BARNES (O.S.)
Norman, get out of there now!
Norman?

INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM

EDMUNDS
If the subs aren't here yet, sir --

INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM

Barnes, into his headset.

BARNES
They'll be here. Norman -- can you
hear me?...

INT. SPACECRAFT

ON NORMAN -- running...

BARNES (O.S.)
You don't have time! Get the hell
out of --

Barnes' voice goes static, and cuts out.

INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM

ON THE MONITOR -- flickering, losing power...

EDMUNDS
Sir, we're losing it.

ON THE MONITOR -- flickering, fading, and all the lights and monitors
SHUT DOWN.

INT. SPACECRAFT

ON HARRY -- lying still, face down under the sphere. Goes to him.
Checks Harry's LIFE SUPPORT BADGE. Still blinking -- he's still alive.
Norman, pauses, looks up, staring at...

THE SPHERE

Mesmerizing. He can see himself, reflected in the swirling mass,
staring back at himself. The door begins to open, closes. Begins to
open.

INT. CORRIDOR

Dark. Ted, Beth, and Barnes wander throughout.

TED
What the hell happened?

The lights flicker back on.

BARNES
They switched us over.

TED
To what?

BARNES
Internal power.

BETH
What for?

CUT TO:

THE OCEAN FLOOR -- a cable falling from the surface, coiling around and
around.

CUT TO:

ANGLE ON their dufflebags piled in the corner by the door. They've
been left behind.

INT. HABITAT HALLWAY -- LATER

LOOKING DOWN A LONG CORRIDOR -- it's quiet. WE PEEK inside the
cafeteria...

BARNES (O.S.)
The surface ships will be back.
After the storm clears.

BETH (O.S.)
How long will that be?

INT. CAFETERIA

Barnes speaks to the team (minus Harry and Norman)...

BARNES
They told me about sixty hours.

BETH
Two and a half days?

TED
How long can we last down here?

EDMUNDS
Comfortably? Seventy-two hours.

BETH
Comfortably -- what's that mean --
with oxygen?

CUT TO:

INT. LIVING QUARTERS

CLOSE ON HARRY'S FACE

Harry lies on his bunk. He begins to slowly awake.

WE BEGIN TO HEAR A SCRATCHING NOISE, like nails on a chalkboard. It
gets LOUDER as Harry comes to. He puts his fingers to his temples.

Norman stands beside, him writing in his notebook.

HARRY
What is that? That noise?

NORMAN
What noise?

HARRY
It's like...

ANGLE ON Norman's pen -- as he stops writing, the NOISE stops.

Harry sighs. Norman looks down at his pen.

NORMAN
Harry, can you tell me about the
sphere?

HARRY
What are you still doing here?

NORMAN
You remember opening the door?

HARRY
You were all supposed to leave. You
weren't supposed to stay down here.

NORMAN
Tell me about the door. Do you
remember how you opened the door to
the sphere?... Harry?

HARRY
You don't understand about the
sphere.

NORMAN
Then explain it to me.

Harry pauses, staring almost like a frightened little boy.

HARRY
Norman?

NORMAN
What is it, Harry?

HARRY
What happens on page 87? Have you
ever read page 87?

NORMAN
Page 87 of what, Harry?

HARRY
I could never read that far. I never
wanted to.

NORMAN
That far in what, Harry?

Harry doesn't say anything. Norman waiting...

HARRY
You shouldn't be here, Norman. It's
too dangerous for you and the others
to be down here.

INT. BATHROOM/SHOWER FACILITIES

Beth comes out from behind a vinyl shower curtain. A towel wrapped
around her.

BARNES (O.S.)
Beth -- I wanted to have a word with
you...

Barnes washes his hands at the sink, looking at her in the mirror in
front of him.

BARNES
Back at the door -- I asked you to
back away.

BETH
Yeah. I heard you.

BARNES
There are procedures, Beth, that I
want followed. My procedures. And
considering what's going on, I want
you to follow them very closely.

BETH
(a beat)
Forgive me. I've never read the Navy
manual. I wonder what it says about
bathroom and shower procedures.

He walks to the door, then turns.

BARNES
And Beth, one other thing. I'd like
from now on for you to address me as
Captain or sir in front of the men.

INT. HABITAT HALLWAY

A LONG CORRIDOR -- LOOKING into the cafeteria...

INT. CAFETERIA

Harry is eating at a table, seems more relaxed. The team members
around him, eating too. Beth, cold. Harry sprinkles salt on the dish
of food in the middle.

TED
Hey, go easy on the salt, will ya?
We're not a bunch of icy streets
here.

HARRY
Salt's good for you, Ted. Helps you
from getting impotent.

TED
Impotent? I'm not impotent.

NORMAN
(off food)
These aren't half bad, Fletcher. You
might have a second career coming.

HARRY
What are they?

FLETCHER
Squid...

Harry stops mid-chew. Frightened.

FLETCHER
... there was a whole flock of them
out there earlier. It's strange.
It's dead down here, and then all of
a sudden --

Harry drops his fork. He begins COUGHING. HACKING. CHOKING loudly.
GAGGING. He HACKS out the squid from his mouth...

CUT TO:

INT. HABITAT CORRIDOR

A long, empty corridor. All is quiet.

CUT TO:

CLOSE ON A MONITOR -- a series of numbers:

00032125262632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 06180
82132 2903305 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 4298756
08301632125262632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 06
82132 2903305 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 4268756
08301632125262632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 06
82132 2903305 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 0830164

NORMAN
When did it come across?

EDMUNDS
Minutes ago. Harry's trying to
decode it in his room now.

NORMAN
Where's it coming from?

EDMUNDS
No idea. We have no surface support.
It transmitted too fast to be coming
from underwater.

NORMAN
Is it coming from our own computer?

EDMUNDS
Harry thinks it's some sort of
discharge from our own system, but
I've seen it discharge before -- and
it didn't look anything like this.

EXT. HABITAT -- UNDERWATER

SWARMS of pretty, pink JELLYFISH. Everywhere.

FROM UNDER THE HABITAT -- Fletcher swims up to them with a net. It's
beautiful. Eerie. Almost idyllic.

INT. LIVING QUARTERS

Harry, on his bunk with decoding papers in his hands, turns to Norman,
entering the room.

NORMAN
Getting anywhere with those?

HARRY
There's some sort of pattern here.
It'll take a minute.

NORMAN
Have you looked outside? Jellyfish.
Everywhere. I hate jellyfish.
(sits on the table)
Harry, what happened in the
cafeteria?

HARRY
Don't do this. Don't psychoanalyze
me. I hate squid. Period. Just like
you hate jellyfish.

NORMAN
You said something to me, before --
about how we were all going to die.

HARRY
Did I?

NORMAN
You don't remember that?

HARRY
I don't remember much. It's like my
memory is on the tip of my tongue --
but I can't taste any of it. Funny,
my senses are much keener though.
Purer. Hearing, seeing, smelling.
Like, I can smell your sheets,
Norman. You tried to wash it out
earlier, But I can still smell the
urine.
(beat)
Don't worry, I'm not going to tell
the others. It's normal, really,
isn't it? In a crisis. The stress.
The panic.

INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM

Beth, Ted, and Barnes watch...

ON A MONITOR -- Fletcher outside, with the jellyfish.

BARNES
(into the mic)
Fletcher? What are you doing out
there?

FLETCHER (O.S.)
They're like pink snow, sir. Sticky.

TED
She says jellyfish are a delicacy.
You know, I never knew that.

BARNES
Get out of there. I don't want anyone
going anywhere outside, understood?

FLETCHER (O.S.)
They're warm. I can feel the heat on
my legs.

BARNES
Fletcher, I want you back here.

CUT TO:

BACK IN -- LIVING QUARTERS

Norman sitting on the table...

NORMAN
What happened to you inside that
sphere, Harry?

A long beat. Harry becomes concerned...

HARRY
Why? Does someone else want to go
inside?

CUT TO:

INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM

ON THE MONITOR -- Fletcher, the jellyfish clinging to her facemask, her
suit...

FLETCHER (O.S.)
I can't see, they're smearing the
faceplate. My arms... the fabric...

Fletcher's suit tears...

BARNES
Fletcher, get away from there...

FLETCHER (O.S.)
It's burning...

BARNES
Get out of there!

FLETCHER (O.S.)
I can't see...

BARNES
Fletcher! Now!

FLETCHER (O.S.)
I can't...

ON BETH -- bolting out of the room. Barnes turning to her...

BARNES
Nobody move.

BETH
But she's --

BARNES
Nobody move!

FLETCHER (O.S.)
They're eating through...
Somebody --

CUT TO:

ON FLETCHER -- UNDERWATER -- jellyfish eating into her plastic
faceplate... she's COUGHING, GASPING.

INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM

They watch...

ON THE MONITOR -- Her body twisting, contorting. Her suit, ripping
apart. SCREAMING. She convulses. Her body falling.

HER HORRIFYING SCREAM FADING INTO...

INT. DECONTAMINATION LAB

CLOSE ON -- Fletcher's face. Cold, dead. Eyes open. Jellyfish rooted in
her skin.

CUT TO:

INT. LABRATORY

CLOSE ON A MICROSCOPIC IMAGE of a jellyfish.

ON NORMAN -- in the corner of the lab, inspecting a MEDICAL KIT.

NORMAN
What is this, Beth? You taking
valium?

Beth, looking into the microscope.

BETH
Sedatives. Whatever my mood calls
for.

Norman picks up a book, next to the kit: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

NORMAN
Where'd this come from?

BETH
The library.

NORMAN
We have a library?

BETH
A bad one. It was the only book in
there. Norman, come here, look at
this.

NORMAN
No, thank you. I hate jellyfish.

Walking toward her...

NORMAN
... when I was six, my younger
brother and I -- we went swimming in
the Pacific. At my mother's beach
house. We both felt stinging, and
when we came out of the water, he
was wearing jellyfish head to toe.
Killed him.

BETH
My gosh, Norman.

NORMAN
Yeah, it was awful.

BETH
What about you? What happened to
you?

NORMAN
Me? Well, I was wrapped in seaweed.
It itched for a while, but I
survived.
(beat)
Beth, do you find it... curious that
we're seeing all this life down
here. Nothing, and then these
enormous flocks of squid. Then
jellyfish?

BETH
Normally, I'd say no. Everything's
quiet now -- no ships, no divers, no
electricity. Makes sense. But what's
curious is -- these aren't normal
jellyfish.

NORMAN
What do you mean -- not normal?

BETH
They have six tentacles. A new
species. And the squid too. They had
no stomach.

NORMAN
Wait a minute.

BETH
What?

NORMAN
You knew about the squid not being
normal. Before Fletcher went out
there?

BETH
Yeah, why?

NORMAN
And you didn't tell anyone?

Beth, nervous...

BETH
What? Why...

NORMAN
Beth --

BETH
I mean, I'm not... I wasn't
absolutely sure if... they --

NORMAN
They are or they aren't. Which is
it?

BETH
What?... Wait. Don't... why are
you --

NORMAN
Beth.

BETH
Nobody said... Norman... What? Why
are you looking at me like that?

NORMAN
Beth --

She backs away from Norman, knocking off a speciman jar, it SHATTERS
on the floor. She starts breaking down.

Norman watching her, falling to the ground, picking up the glass,
hurriedly...

BETH
I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't
mean...

NORMAN
Beth.

She's crying, glass in her hands. She looks up at Norman, frightened,
nervous...

BETH
You wouldn't go and tell the others,
would you?

Norman hesitates, goes to her, tries to hold her, but she pushes him
away.

BETH
I hate this place, Norman. I want
out.

CUT TO:

INT. HABITAT -- HALLWAY

LOOKING DOWN -- at the room where Barnes was on the phone earlier. He
stands there now, hand on the knob.

CLOSES it shut.

CUT TO:

INT. ROOM

Barnes sits, Norman in front of him, worked up...

NORMAN
I'm not paranoid. I know Beth. She
can be drastic.

BARNES
How drastic?

NORMAN
You don't want to know.

BARNES
I think I do.

NORMAN
A while back, Beth and I -- we
worked at the same university. She
was assisting a chemist there -- I
forget his name -- doing research,
experiments. She was also living
with him.
(off Barnes' look)
Yeah, I know. And when she finished
her work, he kicked her out, broke
off the relationship, and published
five papers -- all her work --
without any thank you or
acknowledgement.

BARNES
She should've known better.

NORMAN
She put a razor to her wrists a day
later.

BARNES
(a beat)
When was this?

NORMAN
'81, I think. She tried again five
years ago.
(beat)
I thought you should know.

BARNES
So you knew this when you wrote your
report?

NORMAN
At the time, I don't know, I thought
putting her on the list -- it might
help her career -- catch her a
break.

BARNES
You knowingly recommended a woman
with suicidal tendencies for a
government operation --

NORMAN
Wait a second --

BARNES
-- and then brought her down here --

NORMAN
-- I didn't know it would come to
this --

BARNES
-- without a cautionary word to
anyone.
(beat)
You know, Ted said something to me
earlier. I think he's right. He
said, "When you got a guy who -- if
he wasn't here -- he'd be standing
in the unemployment line, you gotta
question if you got the right guy."

ON NORMAN -- sweating.

CUT TO:

ON THE MONITOR -- a series of numbers:

00032125262632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 06180
82132 2903305 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 083106
21 1822 0330313130432 00032125262632 032629 301321 0
4261037 18 3016 0618082132 2903305 1822 04261013 08
30162137 1604 08301621 1822 0330313130432 000321252
62632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 0618082132 290
3305 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 083016 21 1822 03
30313130432 00032125262632 032629 301321 04261037 1
8 3016 0618082132 2903305 1822 04261013 0830162137

HARRY
It's the same as before, but the
spacing's different now. It's
definitely nonrandom. See...

Harry sitting at the monitor, shows Ted, Barnes, Norman, and Edmunds a
PRINTOUT of the screan -- indicating a pattern.

HARRY
It's a single sequence repeated over
and over.

BARNES
We're all very proud of you, Harry,
but what the hell is it?

TED
Maybe it's a message?

EDMUNDS
From what?

TED
The sphere. Maybe the sphere --

EDMUNDS
We're not hooked up to the sphere.

HARRY
Well, if it's a discharge --

TED
It's not a discharge. Right,
Edmunds? You said before, right? So
it's gotta be a message.

BARNES
From the sphere?

TED
What's inside the sphere.

HARRY
If it is a message, it's probably a
substitution code. I'll work on it.

TED
Yeah, I'll work on it, too.

BARNES
(to Ted, flat)
You do that.

INT. BATHROOM/SHOWER AREA

Ted, nervous, anxious -- with five or six printouts in his hand -- has
Norman's ear in front of the sink...

TED
He's manic, Norman. You know that?
This reliance on Harry is misplaced.
You hear me? Totally misplaced. He's
overlooking things. Obvious things.

NORMAN
Like what?

Ted hands him a printout...

TED
It's not some fucking substitution
code, it's a direct visual
representation.

NORMAN
You mean a picture?

TED
Take a look. I rearranged the
numbers. Put 'em up to the light.
(Norman does)
Go ahead. Squint at it.

NORMAN
I don't see anything.

TED
Squint harder.

NORMAN
Please, Ted.

TED
(hands him another
printout)
Try this one.

NORMAN
This is like nursery school.

TED
Don't you see it? It's a picture of
the creature.

NORMAN
The creature?

TED
Inside the sphere. Look, that's the
vertical torso, three legs, two
arms. There's no head, so I'm
guessing the creature's head is
located within the torso itself, you
know?

ON NORMAN -- Ted's lost it.

NORMAN
Well, how about we wait and see what
Harry comes up with?

TED
Sure, why not. Give him the trophy.
That pretentious son of a bitch. You
heard him, Norman. All that "someone
went to a lot of trouble, try again"
bullshit. And "impotent". Where does
he get off saying I'm impotent? He's
a fucking self-righteous, little
prick.

CUT TO:

CLOSE ON MONITOR -- spirals now.

HARRY
... I asked myself, why would the
sphere be using a code? If you're
trying to communicate, why use a
code?

TED
(to Norman)
See? No code. What'd I say?

HARRY
Codes are for hiding information. So
it's making a mistake. It's making a
code without intending to. I figured
it's probably substituting numbers
for letters... Then I began to wonder
what an alien intelligence would
make of our keyboard. And since
we're getting spirals, I imagined
the keyboard as a spiral. So I
translated it...

NORMAN
That's brilliant.

Ted grimaces at Norman.

HARRY
... spiralling out of the center, you
see: "G" is one, "B" is two, "H" is
three, and so on... when I got the
message.

BARNES
What's the message?

HARRY
I have to tell you. It's strange.

BARNES
How do you mean, strange?

Harry picks up his yellow pad of paper and reads:

HARRY
"Hello. How are you? I am fine. What
is your name? My name is Jerry."

CUT TO:

INT. HALLWAY

Barnes walks briskly down the hall, Norman with him...

BARNES
He translated it wrong. "My name is
Jerry"? It's like "See Spot run."

NORMAN
The message doesn't show a lack of
intelligence. It's smart. It's
approaching us in a simple way. Like
you would a dog. Holding out your
hand, letting it sniff, get used to
you.

BARNES
What am I -- a dog, now?

Barnes ducks his head into the Video Feed room...

BARNES
Edmunds, get in here. I need you for
this.

EDMUNDS
In a minute, sir.

BACK IN COMMUNICATIONS ROOM -

Barnes storming through the room, the others (minus Edmunds) around
the monitor.

BARNES
I want a name. A real name. This
thing's full name, rank and serial
number.

TED
Captain, I personally feel we should
ask much more substantive
questions --

BARNES
I am not gonna explain in some damn
report that one person died in a
deepsat expedition so we could meet
an alien named Jerry.

HARRY
(on the keyboard,
typing)
First, we have to see if he'll talk
at all.

ON THE MONITOR -- "0032125252632"

The monitor BLINKS, reply:

"0032125252632"

HARRY
Okay, Jerry's talking.

Harry types -- "0002921 301321 0613182108142232"

TED
What'd you say?

HARRY
"We are friends".

BARNES
Cut the friends crap, get a name.

"004212232"

HARRY
"Yes". Good. Now let's see if it'll
switch over to English letters.

"0032125252632 = Hello"

Reply:

"0032125252632 = Hello"

BARNES
It's not talking, it's mimicking.

TED
Give him a chance. He's speaking our
language, not the other way around.

HARRY
(typing)
Good idea, Ted.

TED
(confused)
Thank you.

"0032125252632 = Hello. Hello = 0032125252632"

No reply.

BARNES
What's he doing?

Reply:

"Hello = 0032125252632. 0032125252632 = Hello."

BARNES
Ignorant. The thing's ignorant.

HARRY
It's not ignorant.

TED
Maybe it's pretending to be
ignorant.

Harry types "==="

Reply:

",,,"

Harry types "=,="

Reply:

"7 & 7"

BARNES
Are you enjoying yourself, Harry,
because I don't know what the hell
you're doing.

HARRY
He understands me fine.

Harry types: "Yes"

Reply:

"0004212232"

Harry types: "Hello"

A long beat. Reply:

"I am delighted to make your acquaintance. The pleasure is entirely
mine I assure you."

They stare, stunned, at the screen.

NORMAN
Well, he's polite.

TED
Unless it's an act.

BETH
Why should it be an act?

"Are you the entity HECHO in Mexico?"

BARNES
Mexico? Where'd he get Mexico?

"Are you the entity made in the U.S.A.?"

TED
He doesn't wait for an answer.

BETH
Who says it's a he?

BARNES
Not now, Beth. Please. I want to
know who we're talking to before we
start talking. Where's Edmunds?

HARRY
She's not gonna know, sir.

TED
(to Harry)
Ask him. C'mon. Say something.

Harry types: "We are. Who are you?"

Reply:

"We are"

BARNES
Hell's that mean? "We are" what?

Harry types: "We are the entities from the U.S.A. Who are you?"

"Entities = entity?"

TED
We have to teach him plurals?

Harry: "No"

"You are a many entity?"

"No. We are many separate entities."

"I understand. Is there one control entity?"

BARNES
What?

HARRY
He's saying, "Take me to your
leader." He wants to know who's in
charge.

BARNES
I'm in charge.

"Yes. The control entity is Captain Harald Barnes"

BARNES
With an "o". Harold with an "o".

HARRY
What -- you want me to retype it?

Harry: "Who are you?"

"I am one"

"Where are you from?"

"I am here"

"Where is the location from where you began?"

TED
"From where you began?" That's not
even good English.

"I am from AWARENESS"

BARNES
What is that, a planet?

"Where is AWARENESS?"

"AWARENESS is"

"Did you make a journey?"

"Yes. Did you make a journey?"

"Yes"

"I make a journey. You make a journey. We make a journey together. I
am Happy."

BARNES
Great, okay. Ask him about his
weapons.

NORMAN
That's smart. Let's talk about guns
and violence.

BARNES
You don't think weapons are
important?

NORMAN
I think we should be careful.
Consider his emotional response.

TED
You want to put him on your couch,
Norman. Grill him about his
childhood?

NORMAN
When he uses a phrase like "I am
Happy", I think we should think
twice about what we ask him.

"Do Not Be Afraid"

The all stare at the screen, stunned.

NORMAN
Jerry, can you understand what we're
saying?

"Every word"

Norman walks up to the screen, close to it.

NORMAN
Jerry, can you read our minds?

"Yes Norman"

Barnes goes to the intercom...

BARNES
Edmunds, I want you in here. Now.

Norman focuses on the screen, staring.

ON THE SCREEN -- blank.

Norman concentrating, on the screen.

THE SCREEN -- blank.

NORMAN
Jerry, are you there?

"Yes, Norman"

BARNES
We shouldn't talk here. Shut it off.

"I do not wish to Intrude"

NORMAN
We would like to talk alone.

"I do not agree. That is not possible. I enjoy to talk with you."

NORMAN
And we enjoy talking with you.

"Let us talk now"

NORMAN
We'd like to talk with you more. We
admire your talents and your great
power and understanding.

"Thank you"

NORMAN
And in your great understanding, you
know that we are entities who must
talk in private -- with each other.

"Do Not Be Afraid"

NORMAN
We're not afraid, we are
uncomfortable.

"Am I offended you?"

NORMAN
Not at all, we enjoy you very much,
but we need to talk alone, without
you listening.

"I shall oblige"

NORMAN
Thank you.

"But I am Not Happy"

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