THE VOICE OF ATON "A GUARANTEE" by GORDON D WENN CAST LIST --------- LARRY VINCE SET LIST -------- INTERIORS --------- HALLWAY COMPUTER ROOM Copyright (c) 2003 - All rights reserved - KitsWriter@Yahoo.com # 1. ACT ONE FADE IN: INT. - HALLWAY - DAY We see a man, we will come to know as LARRY, walking down the hallway of an office building. He's wearing an open white lab coat with an ID tag clipped to the left collar, blue jeans and carrying a briefcase. He stops in front of a door covered in yellow police tape. Then just stares at it for a rather lengthy interval. Eventually, he puts down his briefcase and peels away the tape from the doorframe. Then he puts the tape in a trash can, a few steps down the hall. He returns for his briefcase, stops for another moment, looking at the nameplate on the door. IT READS: DR. F. HOVIS - ASTROPHYSICS/COMPUTER SERVICES. The right side of his face seems to twitch slightly. His right hand moves up to his face, holding back the contortion. He shakes it off, then he takes a key card from his pocket and runs it through a scanner on the right side of the door. The door clicks, he opens it and walks in. CUT TO: INT. - COMPUTER ROOM - CONTINUOUS The door pushes aside a small pile of mail. He moves it aside, then turns on the lights. We see two desks and some file cabinets on the left side of a small anteroom. On the right side, covering the entire wall, we see star charts, technical data, and a large map of the planet Saturn created from an interwoven mosaic of smaller pictures. He closes the door, picks up the mail, then puts it and his briefcase on a desk. His gaze edges over to the large map of Saturn. It seems to have some sort of strange hold on him. He stares at it, unmoving, until his face starts to spasm again. His right hand moves quickly up to his face, pressing down, holding it back. Then he turns away from the map, to two large glass doors at the back of the room. He runs his key card through another scanner. The doors slide open, revealing a much larger room filled with computers. He enters into the room through a long row of darkened machines. Stopping at a central console, backed by a large video screen. He looks into the blank screen, finding a certain quiet solace in its' silence. # 2. Then a voice on his left, startles him. VINCE Returning to the scene of the crime? LARRY jumps slightly, turning toward the voice. LARRY (loud) Who the Hell are You? The other man steps forward, flashing a Badge. VINCE Vince Spolazzo, North West Metropolitan Fire and Casualty. LARRY (puzzled) Insurance?... What are you doing here? How did you get in?... What crime? VINCE I'm asking the questions Doctor Bishop! LARRY (correction) I'm not a Doctor, I have a Masters Degree in Geo-Physics. What are you doing here? (pause) It's Larry, by the way. Then a questioning look, furrows his brow. LARRY looks behind and beyond VINCE. He walks past him, to an open door. CAMERA REMAINS ON VINCE in the foreground. LARRY moves through the open door, behind VINCE. He looks up at the ceiling. LARRY (loud) You came in through the Bathroom?... That's breaking and entering. VINCE (shrugs) If the front doors closed, you have to improvise. LARRY steps out, walks back towards a phone on the console. # 3. LARRY I'm calling the Police! VINCE I am the Police. LARRY (stops) Really! Let me see that badge again. VINCE No. LARRY No? What do you mean No? What Insurance? I'm in charge of finance! We don't have any need for Insurance! VINCE Well okay, maybe I used to be with an Insurance Company. VINCE takes out a nine-millimeter automatic handgun from a shoulder holster under his jacket, then points it at Larry. There is a short tense moment, as LARRY stares down the barrel. LARRY (shrugs) You're not going to shoot me. VINCE Sure I am. LARRY (loud) No you're not! VINCE looks at him oddly. VINCE Why not? LARRY Three Second Rule. When you point a gun at someone, you have three seconds to shoot. If not, then your just trying to scare them. You want something. LARRY moves towards VINCE. He stops, the Gun Barrel touching his chest. # 4. LARRY(CON'T) (loud) Go Away! VINCE looks at him curiously, trying to find some edge. Then relents and puts the gun away. VINCE Okay. What about Blackmail? LARRY What are you babbling about? VINCE You killed Doctor Hovis. LARRY furrows him a another look. LARRY No I didn't! Frank committed suicide. He jumped off the top of this building. VINCE That's not the way I heard it. LARRY Really! Who've you been talking to? VINCE (shrugs) Nobody in particular. Just some of the guys. LARRY looks at VINCE sharply, refusing to let him control the situation. His anger begins to build. LARRY (adamant) Go Away! VINCE Yeah, and what if I don't? LARRY I'm telling your Mom! VINCE (confused) You'll, what? LARRY I'll call your Mom and tell her what a moron her son has turned into. # 5. Oddly, VINCE rushes towards LARRY, not entirely in control. He grabs LARRY by the lapels. They struggle. Larry reaches inside VINCES' jacket. Pulls out his gun, then points it at his head. VINCE releases him, moves back, holding his hands up defensively. VINCE (fearful) Wait a minute.... LARRY points the gun at VINCE, then he suddenly changes his mind. He removes the magazine, slides back the action and ejects the chambered round. He throws the weapon back to VINCE. Who catches it, then calmly puts it away, albeit, with a very questioning look. VINCE(CON'T) You know I have more guns.... Loaded ones. LARRY (taunting) Your Mother would be really Proud! VINCE looks at him strangely. VINCE (puzzled) Why don't I scare you? I scare most people. It's one of my best things! LARRY takes a moment, thinks. Sucks his teeth a little. LARRY You're not that scary. VINCE thinks for a moment. VINCE Your up to something?... Or on something! LARRY looks at him rather innocently. LARRY (shrugs) What makes you say that? VINCE (gestures) You do! There's something screwy going on! The right side of LARRYS' face twitches. # 6. LARRY (aggressive) You really want to know? Do you?... Because if you really want to know, I'll tell you.... Do you? VINCE (loud) You're nuts! LARRY (shrugs) Not as much as I was Yesterday. VINCE gains some insight. VINCE So Doctor Hovis really just jumped off the top of this building? LARRY Oh yeah.... Splat! VINCE Why? LARRY Why not? VINCE (loud) Why Not? A man jumps off the top of a building and you just say "Why Not"? LARRYS' face twitches slightly. VINCE changes his approach. VINCE(CON'T) Okay. Fine.... But there are these people. They sent me here to discover what You and Doctor Hovis were working on. LARRY snaps back. LARRY (loud) WHAT PEOPLE? VINCE People who like to invest in sure things. # 7. LARRY (accusing) So then you're just a thief! VINCE ignores him. VINCE So what were you really working on? LARRY (surprised) You mean you don't know! VINCE Something Military? A secret Defense Deal? LARRY No. I haven't worked for Defense in years. VINCE (gestures) The new super chip. A computer virus? LARRY We use the WALRUS system. Fifteen Hundred for the complete package. Upgrades online. Nurd Dot Com. VINCE looks blank. Then becomes rather emotional. VINCE (pleads) You have to give me something! Anything! The people I work for just don't take no for an answer. They're seriously dangerous! LARRY relents. Rather quickly. LARRY Okay. He steps back to the console. Turns on the video screen. An image of Saturn appears. LARRY nods towards the screen. VINCE (shrugs) What? LARRY looks at him with a degree of concern. # 8. LARRY SATURN! VINCE (confused) Yeah, So? LARRY Frank was an Astronomer. The leading expert on Saturn. I'm a Geo-Physicist. This is what we were working on. Our big Project. VINCE And what happened? LARRY smiles. Makes a decision. LARRY Are you sure you want me to explain this to you? VINCE I suppose. Why? LARRY You can still change your mind. VINCE What to you mean? LARRY You can't unknow something. We can stop anytime you want. VINCE (shrugs) Do whatever you have to do. LARRY starts turning on the computers. We see technical data flowing through the multiple terminals around the room. Which then flicker into images of Saturn. A steady electronic hum, fills the room. LARRY returns to the main console. LARRY (explains) The first part of this is from general library information. Old stuff. The new material comes from the Cassini Four and Five probes. We did the secondary systems for Marshall Logic Corp. # 9. LARRY presses some buttons on the console. The image becomes sharper. LARRY(CON'T) High Scanning Resolution. Twelve-Bit Multi-Digital, Image Overlay.... Electro-magnetic enhancement. Polar projection. The image rotates. Flattens. Saturn is removed, leaving the rings. LARRY(CON'T) Okay, what do you see? VINCE shrugs, draws a blank. LARRY(CON'T) (points) The rings. Do you see the rings? VINCE Yeah, sure. LARRY The patterns in the rings. Like the grooves in a record. VINCE (thinks) Wait a minute... I've heard that one. It's just some old joke, right? LARRY True, but we have new information. Orbits. Trajectories.... Plus a new Retro Vector Program. VINCE (hopeful) Military? LARRY It was. But upgraded, with a whole new killer application. VINCE (interested) Killer, eh! That sounds promising. LARRY stiffens, looks directly at VINCE. # 10. LARRY (directly) You have to listen, it's important that you listen. Do you understand? VINCE (nods) Keep talking. I'm listening. LARRY turns back to the console, pressing more buttons. The ring structure begins to flow backwards. The words: PATTERN SEARCH, flash on the screen. LARRY looks at the screen, he begins to smile. LARRY This parts good. You'll really like it. VINCE gives LARRY a very reserved look. VINCE (puzzled) Okay.... But, just what is it? LARRY (angry) What is it! Haven't you been listening? VINCE Not really. But, enlighten me anyway. LARRYS' becomes slightly more objectified. LARRY Over time, everything's moved. So we've mapped out all their current positions, speed and direction. Then we generate multiple computer projections. Which is then fed into our Retro Vector Program. VINCE looks lost. VINCE Right.... What's moving? LARRY All the objects in Saturns' Rings. Rocks, Ice Balls, Dust, Debris. # 11. VINCE (nods) Right.... Sounds interesting. LARRY Then the program rotates everything backwards, to a point where we can hear the message. VINCE (confused) What message? LARRY (lecturing) Please pay attention. This is extremely important. VINCE (gestures) Fine, I'm listening. What message? LARRY The original message that was encoded in Saturns' rings, five billion years ago. When our star system was formed. VINCE looks at him with some apprehension. LARRY(CON'T) (cautionary) Are you sure you want to hear this? VINCE nods. LARRY(CON'T) Oh, the computer voice is mine. Just a little vanity. LARRY presses a button. The words: PATTERN FOUND, appear. The computer speaks. LARRY/COMPUTER The Warranty covers only defects or malfunctions caused by improper manufacture or materials. Defective parts will only be replaced or repaired at the discretion of the manufacturer. # 12. VINCE looks at LARRY. A fearful understanding grips him. He screams. Then runs out of the room. Leaving LARRY alone with Saturn. LARRY (thoughtful) Damn, the same thing happened to Frank.... Well, I better call maintenance. LARRY picks up the phone. The right side of his face begins to twitch. LARRY(CON'T) ....Splat! FADE OUT. THE END #