Songs of Distant Minds

By
Alessandro Neckels
Alessandro Neckels
alessandro@neckels.net
FADE IN:
INT. HOSPITAL, DAY 1
Its the year 2020. The place is the Cedars Sinai Hospital
in Los Angeles, California. MAYA KURTANE, the protagonist,
an attractive woman in her thirties, is lying in a comatose
state, in a special bed, in an isolated area of the medical
center, attached to a technologically advanced machine. An
array of monitors are displaying numbers and diagrams
changing slowly while sounds are emitted by devices
connected to her skull through thin wires. A wall of her
room is TRANSPARENT.Her husband JOHN and her son BRAD watch
MAYA through the transparent wall.
BRAD
(pointing at his mother)
Dad, I think Ive seen
something....she opened her eyes.
JOHN
Its impossible, son, Mom is still
deep in her sleep.
BRAD
But...Ive seen it...
JOHN
(smiling)
Are you tired? Maybe your eyes play
tricks on you...
BRAD
No..., you have to call the
doctors! I saw her eyes
moving......
JOHN
OK, Ill talk to DR. GILLIAM, maybe
they can do extra checks on her,
but I dont know if...
BRAD
Please..Dad...Ive got that funny
feeling in my head...please..
JOHN
Like two years ago, do you
remember...
JOHN gently puts a hand on his sons shoulder.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.
JOHN
And then you had those terrible
nightmares, where you were trapped
in the car with her...
Dont expect too much from her..
BRAD. I know, five years are a lot
of time. But you cannot blame
yourself for not being able to wake
her up... she will come back
eventually, but you have to be
strong...
Brad sighs and looks at his mother, with infinite sorrow in
his eyes.
BRAD
She looks always the same, Mom is
not going to get old...
JOHN
(hugging his son)
Yeah, shes still beautiful, she
seems like...frozen in time...
BRAD
Like Sleeping Beauty...
INT. KURTANES HOUSE, NIGHT 2
Its nine oclock in the evening. BRAD is watching TV in the
living room, while JOHN is preparing dinner in the kitchen.
The phone rings. JOHN answers. Its DR. GILLIAM.
JOHN
Yes...
DR. GILLIAM
Hi JOHN. I have ....some news. I
dont...
JOHN
Please, Dr. GILLIAM, dont look for
benevolent phrases, I would like
you to be as direct as possible...
DR. GILLIAM
Oh, yes....No...Maya is OK, I
mean..., she is... she is still
with us...
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.
JOHN
So, what happened?
DR. GILLIAM
I think you should come to the
hospital...tomorrow morning, we
would like to show you some
interesting data coming from the
monitors.
JOHN
Interesting data, seems
promising....Can you be more
specific?
DR. GILLIAM
Yes..uh....we think we have sensed
some brain activity coming from
her cortex. A thought... uh, but
it would be better to show you the
data directly. Tomorrow..
JOHN
I...but is she...
DR. GILLIAM
No, JOHN, I think we should be
cautious in this regard..it has to
be double- and triple checked..
JOHN
OK..Ill see you tomorrow.
Goodnight DR. GILLIAM..
His son is staring at him from the couch, where he is
watching TV. JOHN sighs, puts down the phone, then walks
over to his son.
JOHN (contd)
It was Dr. GILLIAM.
BRAD
Is Mami OK?
JOHN
I think she is. There is
something...They think they have
got something.
BRAD
(exited)
Coming from her? I knew it...
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.
JOHN
Yes, but they are not quite sure
yet. I have to go tomorrow to the
hospital and..
BRAD
Dad, Are you scared? You look
scared...
JOHN remains standing in front of him, looking at a framed
photo of Maya on a table.
JOHN
Im not, BRAD, Im thinking about
her, Im wondering where she is
now....really.
INT. HOSPITAL, DR. GILLIAMS LABORATORY, DAY 3
MAYAS husband, JOHN, is standing at a huge window of Dr.
Gilliams office, overlooking a park. He is watching a young
couple, apparently lovers, who are tenderly embracing each
other under a tree. Johns face is tired, his hands are
stuck deep in his slack and worn trousers pockets. DR.
GILLIAM is sitting at his huge desk surrounded by 3D
screens. A hologram of MAYA is floating on a nearby
translucent cube.
DR. GILLIAM
(looking at JOHN)
....We have detected a glimpse of
neural activity in the form of
neocortical gamma waves in her
brain. This is the sign we were
eagerly expecting...
Now, before I continue...I need you
to sign two papers. One is an
Informed Consent, and the other is
a Non Disclosure Agreement. And I
want you to listen very
carefully....
DR. GILLIAM hits some keystrokes on his translucent desk and
the image of MAYA lying in her bed is replaced by a 3D
hologram of her brain. JOHN turns his head towards Dr.
GILLIAM with a puzzled expression. Dr. Gilliam produces two
impossibly thin metallic tablets which he opens up on his
desk. JOHN leaves the window and sits down in front of Dr.
Gilliam.
JOHN looks at the tablets. The tablets display documents
whose heading reads: "Project MINDCOM - Experimental
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 5.
Procedures - Informed Consent." and "Department of Defense
- Classified Information Non Disclosure Agreement". While
JOHN is reading the documents, DR. GILLIAM stands up and
manipulates the floating hologram, so that it is enlarged,
showing complex structures whose color is rapidly changing.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
We will transfer MAYA to a research
center in Nevada..Its all under
Government Control. The DoD, DARPA,
the CIA, the NSA have some kind of
interest in the whole thing. And I
cant say that Im totally pleased
by that....they have their own
agendas....
He shuts off the hologram, walks over to JOHN and leaning
against the edge of his desk, looks JOHN straight in the
eye.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
Its huge, JOHN, but for now I
cannot go into details. You will
see for yourself. Anyway, a
network of supercomputers will
interface directly with MAYAs
buried mind and try to recreate
virtual worlds she should be able
to inhabit. In this way we hope to
stimulate her brain to recover at
least some of her connections with
the outside world.... It will be
like the first Moon landing. We
dont know what we will find,
although we have a pretty accurate
picture of how it will look like. I
have to be honest with you, JOHN,
this is the first time we try this
procedure on a human being and
there is a chance that her brain
may not react positively to the
intrusion by our computers. In
fact, there is a chance that she
may retreat into an even deeper
state of unconsciousness or even
die and...
JOHN
I dont understand... the
technicalities, but...Im willing
to face the risk. Maya herself
would not hesitate an instant. She
is such a tough girl.
6.
JOHN signs the documents. DR. Gilliam collects the papers
signed by JOHN, then stands up, leads JOHN through his
office door and to an elevator.
INT. HOSPITAL ELEVATOR, DAY 4
Dr. Gilliam and JOHN are standing in the elevator, facing
each other.
DR. GILLIAM
I think its important that you get
the whole picture. But what you
will hear and see is strictly
confidential. Tomorrow one of my
assistants will pick you
up and drive you to the facility
in Nevada. You will meet with Dr.
SCHAM, one of the directors of the
research center.
EXT. NEVADA DESERT, DAY 5
JOHN and DR. GILLIAMs assistant are driving through the
desert landscape. They arrive in front of a huge domed
building. Armed guards stationed at the entrance gate stop
the car and let them in after the assistant has shown them
his ID.
INT. NEVADA RESEARCH FACILITY, DAY 6
DR. SCHAM, one of the directors of PROJECT MINDCOM, is
guiding JOHN through the facility. While they are passing
through several laboratories and offices, he explains the
origin of MINDCOM to JOHN.
DR. SCHAM
The system called MINDCOM is part
of a project which has seen the
creation of a series of quantum
machines of exceptional
computational power. DR. GILLIAM
likes to call it "The Apollo
program for the brain". The project
involves not only neuroscientists
and chemists, but also computer
scientists, physicists and bio
engineers.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 7.
They enter a room where a huge hologram is floating in mid
air. The scene of a battlefield. Soldiers with
technologically advanced looking helmets and other
futuristic gear are running and shooting through a maze of
bombed out buildings.
DR. SCHAM (O.S.)
It has been held secret because, as
you can see, its intended use was
originally military. In fact it has
been sponsored by the Pentagon as a
testbed for a new man-machine
interface for training and
supporting American soldiers in the
battlefield. It was started in 2013
by President Obama as part of the
BRAIN INITIATIVE.
DR.SCHAM guides JOHN into a vast hall, where a seeming
infinite array of computers is humming.
DR. SCHAM
But thats another story.
We, doctors and researchers, deal
with a totally different problem.
MINDCOM can provide a path to the
innermost part of the human being,
to the mind. Incidentally,
we think it will provide an
exceptional chance to study the
brain-mind connection, and maybe
solve the "hard problem": How
consciousness emerges from the
brain.
JOHN turns his head, distracted by a gorgeous looking woman
in a red mini dress walking through the corridor. She smiles
at him.
DR. SCHAM (contd)
....Now that Mayas mind is
completely separated from reality
and we are able to connect with
her, we hypothesize that MINDCOM
could provide a means for speaking
to a primeval being, to a sort of
fundamental intelligence, pure,
devoid of any interference by the
outside world....
But MINDCOM could also answer other
fundamental questions, like: Is
there a consciousness even in
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 8.
DR. SCHAM (contd)
absence of any connection to the
outside world? What kind of reality
are comatose patients experiencing?
Is this an unexplored state of the
human mind, which emerges from a
damaged neural system, where
memories are created through
neurogenesis or neuroplasticity?
JOHN is barely listening to Dr. Scham, who is totally
engrossed by his own verbosity. They arrive at the end of
the corridor where a transparent elevator is waiting for
them. DR. Scham stops, responding to a call on his earphone.
JOHN notices the plate on a door that reads: "Jarry Turrell
- CIA Advanced Tech Research". The door is ajar, so that
JOHN is able to take a look inside. The woman in the red
dress is leaning against a wall, apparently checking the
heel of one of her stiletto shoes.
Dr. Scham ends the call and continues his speech.
DR. SCHAM (contd)
In the case of Maya, If this is
true, if there really is a
conscious mind inside her, she
could be trapped within a state of
pure thought, a brain in a vat...
JOHN
(frowning)
A brain in a vat....
Dr. Scham notices his worried look and tries to "sweeten the
pill". He puts a hand on Johns shoulder.
DR. SCHAM
For this reason, we have to act
quickly and try to wake her as soon
as possible. Well, there is also
another hypothesis: She could be in
a blissful state of tranquility and
peacefulness. But I personally
think that its quite unlikely, and
besides...the only way to find out
is by contacting her, anyway.
JOHN nods, distractedly. He looks again through the door
opening, but the woman is gone.
9.
INT. NEVADA RESEARCH FACILITY, MINDCOM CONTROL ROOM, DAY 7
In a vast control room with a huge number of workstations,
resembling Houston NASA space center, operators, scientists,
researchers, government officials, and whatnot are looking
at their respective screens.
DR. GILLIAM and JOHN are sitting in a separate transparent
cubicle just behind the rows of operators workstations.
DR. GILLIAM
OK, John, we are now waiting for an
answer. We have sent a series of
messages which were translated,
converted and sent directly to
MAYAs cerebral cortex.
JOHN
May I speak to her?
DR. GILLIAM
No. At first, you should refrain
from contacting her. The first
moments will be the most critical,
and Im pretty sure her mind will
be so overwhelmed by information
coming in, that she will not have
the time to think of her family.
MAYA is lying inside a semi-transparent cylinder connected
to an enormous number of cables and tubes in the center of
the vast room. Huge 3D monitors covering an entire wall of
the room display all of MAYAs vital stats in the form of
values and diagrams, as well as 3D representations of her
brain and her entire nervous system. Huge amounts of
information are flowing in from different areas of her
brain. Screens are labeled: "Limbic system", "thalamus",
"Amigdala", "Pineal and pituitary gland" and so on....
We hear white noise, static. Then strange complex sounds
come in. Music. A voice emerges. Someone is singing. Its
like an ancient ballad. In the control room some operators
are staring blankly at their screens, others are writing on
their keyboards.
DR. GILLIAM enters the control room and positions himself on
a sort of stage in front of the multitude of operators
sitting at their respective workstations.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
Hello Maya, if you can hear me,
please respond. Its Dr. Gilliam
speaking...
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 10.
A message on the screen behind Dr. Gilliam signals that they
are receiving meaningful data. A minute goes by. Then MAYAs
voice emerges from the random sounds and music.
MAYA
Is this my voice?
Garbled unintelligible sounds.
MAYA (contd)
I cant see you...
DR. GILLIAM
My name is Frank, Frank Gilliam,
MAYA, Im a doctor...
MAYA
Where am I?
DR. GILLIAM
You are at... Cedar Sinai hospital,
MAYA. We are happy to hear you
again...
An applause erupts in the control room.
MAYA
I can see my face now,
reflected...in a
mirror....mirror....mirror....
Her last word echoes multiple times, then fades away.
MAYA (contd)
Im floating now......I see a faint
light. Its dark, a cave...I see
shadows.... reflected on the
walls....but I...I cant see my
body....My God, its full of shards
here, theyre cutting my feet....
DR. SCHAM
Dont be afraid MAYA, what you are
experiencing are stimulations
provided by a special apparatus
that we are using in order to wake
you up.
DR. GILLIAM
Do you remember anything of your
accident, MAYA?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 11.
MAYA
What?
DR. GILLIAM
Youre lying in a coma. You are in
a vegetative state. But we are very
confident that we can wake you up
soon.
The music returns and fills again the control room.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
(speaking to an assistant)
We have to analyze this...I mean,
the music. I think it could be some
sort of memory resurfacing, and her
brain transforms it into musical
notes.
MAYA
How long?....
DR. GILLIAM
We have connected you to a
supercomputer that is able to
establish a communication with you
by recreating and simulating a
virtual reality, in order for you
to regain your lost ability to
interact with the external
environment. We are providing you
with a body, ears, eyes, a whole
new set of organs.
MAYA
How long will it take....
DR. GILLIAM
We think its a matter of days,
maybe weeks...
MAYA
Weeks? My God....
Weird music, sounds, indiscernible chattering in the
background...
MAYA (contd)
(voice distorted by anguish)
I...I cant resist so much ...in
this cave....
A chilling howl, like a wounded animal.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 12.
DR. SCHAM
What the hell was that....
DR. GILLIAM
Now listen MAYA, listen carefully.
We need you to follow our
instructions, its vital because we
want to stimulate your brain in
recreating the links that were
severed when you had your
accident....
DR. SCHAM
MAYA, you should see a door on a
wall, on your right....
Images are gradually forming on the screens in the control
room.
DR. GILLIAM (O.S.)
We are starting to receive visual
feedback from MINDCOM.
DR. SCHAM (O.S.)
OK, now you should try to stand up
and open the door...
The screen shows fuzzy images of a small inconspicuous door.
MAYAs hand reaches for a handle. The door slowly opens. On
the other side, only darkness.
DR. SCHAM (O.S.) (contd)
Very good, MAYA. Now step through
the threshold. Its safe, dont be
afraid.
On screen, MAYAs right foot steps on the other side. She
looks around. There is only darkness at first. Then a faint
light illuminates a corner of the room.
Dr. Gilliam leaves his place on the stage and moves towards
JOHN who is now joined by his son BRAD.
DR. GILLIAM
Now its time to prepare for our
encounter with Maya. You were
trained for this in the last couple
of months, so...especially you,
Brad, should have no problem in
adapting to the virtual
environment. You know what you are
going to do and to say to Maya.
Better stay quiet than trying to
force her.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 13.
BRAD
Sure, Doc, Im ready. I had a lot
of fun with the test simulations,
its like a video game. And I like
them a lot.
DR. GILLIAM
Well, Im glad to see that you are
in such a good mood Brad, but
remember, the simulations never
completely prepare you for what may
be your mothers reactions. Now
lets move..the "Interface" between
MINDCOM and Maya is waiting for us.
INT. CONTROL ROOM - "THE INTERFACE" 8
DR. Gilliam, JOHN and his son BRAD, in a separate
compartment, called The Interface, are surrounded by a group
of scientists who are attaching them to chairs connected to
a web of cables which lead to a group of computers. JOHN
looks at Brad, who seems very calm and relaxed. On the other
hand, JOHNs face betrays uneasiness.
JOHN
Dont be afraid, Brad, its going
to be all right.
Brad gives him a thumb up. Their heads are covered by heavy
looking helmets which snap into the upper part of the chair,
completely hiding their faces.
INT. VIRTUAL WAITING ROOM, NIGHT 9
DR. GILLIAM (V.O.)
This is our waiting room, MAYA. We
call it Limbo. its like a
bulkhead, a firewall for your mind.
It separates your inner world from
a world we have recreated that is
generated in real time by
computers. Now I will appear in
front of you...I will materialize
in the room and will lead you out
....OK, are you ready?
MAYA
OK....
Dr. Gilliams avatar appears in the room. We see him through
MAYAs eyes. His image is initially somehow distorted, then
it settles into a definite form.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 14.
DR. GILLIAM
Now Maya, look to your right.
Mayas head turns to her right. A huge red door with a
golden frame appears in her field of view. Dr. Gilliam is
now in front of her, his face very close to hers. He takes
her by the hand. The door slowly opens and a blinding light
fills the room.
EXT. MAYAS NEIGHBORHOOD, DAY 10
Dr. Gilliam is holding Maya by the hand. They are walking on
a sidewalk, up on a gently slope leading to her house. The
road is flanked by maple trees. Its a beautiful day, the
sun is shining, the sky is blue, some puffy white clouds are
hovering in the distance. The scene is realistic but also
has a strange quality...of impossible perfectness. Suddenly
MAYA stops...a frightened look in her eyes. She remembers...
MAYA
JOHN, BRAD, my son...
DR. GILLIAM
Dont worry, you are about to see
them again...
They climb up the stairs that lead to a patio. The door is
already open. JOHN and BRAD are waiting just inside the
house.
INT. KURTANES HOUSE, DAY 11
She enters the house but immediately falls to the floor.
JOHN and BRAD help her stand up again. She looks at their
faces. We scan the interior of the house through her eyes.
Then we see the faces of her husband and son. After some
moment of hesitation she hugs them and starts to cry on her
husbands shoulder. They enter the living room and sit on
the couch. Brad is hugging her. Dr. Gilliam is standing in
front of them. They remain silent, staring at each other.
MAYA wears a white robe. Their dog Cuss is sleeping on the
carpet.
MAYA
Im feeling weird....I think
something is wrong..
JOHN
We love you Maya...
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 15.
DR. GILLIAM
Its just normal, Maya, you are now
experiencing the difference between
a world without stimuli and a whole
new reality where you can see,
hear, smell, touch...
MAYA
Just out of focus....
DR. GILLIAM
What?
MAYA
This room is not balanced..its
different...you have redesigned it.
Sure...
She stares at her hands. She touches the fabric of the sofa.
Suddenly she jumps up. She looks out of the window, at the
road, where cars are passing rapidly by. Then she moves
toward a table. She looks at a framed picture of her and her
family at the beach.
MAYA (contd)
I remember....it was some years
ago..we were happy then...
BRAD
Mami, are you all right?
MAYA
No, Brad, Im not feeling well...
DR. GILLIAM
I think we should try to...
Maya is already running out of the living room. In an
instant she opens the house door and steps outside. They try
to reach her but she is already on the road. They watch in
horror as she is HIT by a car, flies through the air and
falls to the ground, her body distorted in an unnatural
position.
INT. MINDCOM CONTROL ROOM, NIGHT 12
DR. GILLIAM is pacing nervously in front of Dr. Scham.
On the giant holographic screen MAYA is lying on the road,
her dead eyes wide open looking into the camera.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 16.
DR. SCHAM
(staring at his monitor)
She is still unconscious...
DR. GILLIAM
She created the car and caused the
accident. Those elements were
definitely not generated by
MINDCOM. Its like a part of her
brain wanted to extract her from
the simulation. So...now we have to
accelerate the procedure. Its
evident that she cannot be
comfortable in a virtual
environment. She has to be
completely immersed in her reality,
without being aware of her real
situation.
DR. SCHAM
OK, but we have to go through a
series of final tests before we can
operate on the center governing
awareness. It is risky...
DR. GILLIAM
I understand your concerns, but we
now have full confidence in
MINDCOM. The probability of failure
is lower than 0,0001%.
DR. SCHAM
But its still...
DR. GILLIAM
We MUST proceed. Its my
responsibility and we dont have
much time left. We have to simulate
her awakening. Please...proceed
with phase 2.
INT. HOSPITAL, DAY 13
MAYA wakes up. She is in the new simulation, in her hospital
bed. She slowly opens her eyes, and looks around. From her
subjective point of view we see her husband, then her son,
and finally Dr. GILLIAM. They are standing at her bedside,
watching her, smiling.
JOHN
Welcome back, Maya..
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 17.
JOHN kisses her on the forehead. Her son is sitting on a
chair, silently playing with a small model car, a Lexus
electric UV. Maya looks at the car in his sons hands,
unnerved. The car model is reminding her of something.
MAYA
Are you still seeing that woman,
JOHN?
JOHN is startled by her question. He looks at Dr. Gilliam
asking for help.
JOHN
What do you mean...I dont
understand... what are you talking
about...
MAYA
You know very well who I mean....
DR. GILLIAM
I think you should be aware, MAYA,
that your memories may be flawed,
somehow, you are recovering from a
serious shock and some parts of
your brain are still damaged...
MAYA
No, Doctor, my mind is very clear
now, and I surely cannot forget
what he has done to me...He is a
cheater and a liar.
JOHN
Maya, please, I dont want Brad to
hear about this...
Brad is still playing with his model car, apparently not
taking notice of the discussion. Maya looks at her son and
closes her eyes.
MAYA
Im not feeling very well....
The door of the room opens and a elegantly dressed man
with short blond hair enters. He is Jarry Turrell, the CIA
officer in charge of MINDCOMs military applications.
JARRY TURRELL
Excuse me for the intrusion, but I
wanted to greet Mrs. Kurtane. Oh,
you look wonderful...in good shape,
I mean, you had quite an ordeal.. I
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 18.
JARRY TURRELL (contd)
have only some questions for you,
MIssis Kurtane...Maya, if I may...
DR. GILLIAM
Mister Turrell, Maya is still very
weak and I dont think...
JARRY TURRELL
Just a couple of questions, I
promise.
Dr. Gilliam sighs, clearly annoyed. John sits back on his
chair, relieved by the diversion brought about by the agent.
Jarry Turrell takes out a small camera drone that flies and
places itself in front of her bed.
JARRY TURRELL (contd)
So, Maya, my first question is
really simple: Did you have some
sort of dream when you were...on
the other side...so to speak?
Maya slowly opens her eyes. She looks at the ceiling.
MAYA
I dont know...I cant remember of
dreaming...its all a bit confused.
I...but...well, its weird...I
remember a strange landscape...like
a desert, with black mountains, in
the distance...and a sort of
strange giant monster flying over
me...a menacing presence....
JARRY TURRELL
Something like this?
He produces a picture of a Kraken, a sea monster resembling
a giant squid with arms and legs and long transparent wings.
Mayas eyes widen, and she is clearly distressed.
MAYA
Yes...My God....
JARRY TURRELL
Very good, now...the second and
last question. Did
this....creature...tell you
something?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 19.
MAYA
What? No...
JARRY TURRELL
Are you sure? Nothing at all...
MAYA
I really dont....
DR. GILLIAM
OK Mister Turrell, thats enough.
Maya has to rest now. Tomorrow she
will leave the hospital and go back
home with her family.
JARRY TURRELL
Its OK, Im sorry to have bothered
you...I wish you a quick
recovery...
He leaves the room after having recovered his camera-drone.
Maya closes her eyes, which are now filled with tears. Dr.
Gilliam, John and Brad also leave the room.
INT. KURTANES HOME, DAY 14
MAYA, walking with a stick, is helped by her husband through
the houses entrance door. She looks around, scanning the
environment around her. She looks perplexed and worried.
INT. MAYAS BEDROOM, NIGHT 15
JOHN and MAYA lie in bed. MAYA is staring blankly at the
ceiling while her husband is already asleep, snoring.
She turns her head and looks at him, then she takes the
remote and switches on the TV. CNN is breaking news of a
strange phenomenon in the sky above San Francisco. A
helicopter camera is filming live a weird cloud formation.
When the helicopter reaches the cloud, it appears to be
formed by a floating mass of human bones and skulls. MAYA
puts a hand over her mouth, muffling her shriek and switches
off the TV. She tries to wake up JOHN, but then desists,
and turns off the light. She is frozen by terror but her
eyes rapidly close and she falls asleep.
CUT TO:
20.
INT. MAYAS BEDROOM, NIGHT 16
MAYA wakes up in the middle of the night. Her husband is not
in bed, and she hears voices coming from somewhere in the
house. She slowly walks downstairs using her stick and finds
her husband in the kitchen making out with three girls, much
younger and prettier than her. They are laughing and
lasciviously kissing each other. Their faces are strange,
weird. She is petrified with horror, and cant even speak.
She stumbles away, looking for her son in his bedroom and
inside the houses other rooms, but he is nowhere to be
found. Her husband, still laughing, intercepts her in the
living room, and tries to grab her, but she desperately
pushes him back with her stick, which breaks in two.
Although she is still weak, she discovers that she is able
to walk without a support. With great effort, she
manages to pick up a bunch of keys from the table, opens
the house door and runs outside. She spots JOHNs car in
front of the garage. Gaining strength at every second, she
enters the car, buckles up, starts and driving in reverse
through the freshly irrigated lawn, destroys flowers and
part of the fence, before speeding away with screeching
tires.
EXT. CITY, NIGHT 17
Outside, on the streets of her once placid and boring
neighborhood she finds a world in flames. A world of chaos.
A war of some kind has apparently broken out and the streets
of her small city are filled with armored vehicles and
heavily armed soldiers on patrol. Screams and explosions are
filling the air. People are hanged at lamp posts. Giant
hovering crafts are circling overhead and illuminating the
roads with powerful light beams. Columns of people are
walking through the night, carrying their poor belongings
on makeshift wheelbarrows and carts. Sometimes a commotion
breaks out and the crowd is dispersed by soldiers shooting
in the air.. Its a scene from the Apocalypse. Maya slowly
drives, incredulous, through the turmoil, trying to find a
way out of the city.
EXT. CITY - STREET INTERSECTION, NIGHT 18
MAYA has managed to reach the interstate, in the city
suburbs, when a hovering military VTOL aircraft abruptly
descends in front of her and blocks her way. She breaks hard
and stops almost hitting the aircrafts landing pads. A
soldier with a strange helmet and some sort of exo-skeleton
covering his whole body slowly steps out of the vehicle. The
military gestures her to open the car window. She complies.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 21.
MILITARY
You know you cannot leave the city.
Havent you heard that there is a
curfew? Please, step out of the car
and show me your ID hologram.
MAYA looks at him hesitantly. She notices a strange glow in
his eyes. She opens the door and steps out. She realizes
that she has no idea what an ID hologram is and where it may
be. For that matter she doesnt even know what is going on
in the world.
MAYA
Can...can you tell me please what
is going on?...
MILITARY
Ha, very funny. You mean you are
not aware in what kind of shit you
are now? Where did you live in the
last few years, in a cave? Dont
offend my intelligence, please...
MAYA
No, I mean...I think I have lost my
memory, I was involved in a car
accident, and maybe...
The military raises his head and takes a look at the
scorched black sky. Then he lowers his head again and points
his assault rifle towards Maya. He seems to be in a sort of
trance.
MILITARY
The sun shall be turned into
darkness, and the moon into blood,
before the great and terrible day
of the Lord...
MAYA
(looking at him with a
frightened expression in her
eyes)
Now that I think.. I left it in the
car. Just a minute...
She steps into the car through the open door. She opens the
passengers glove compartment and finds her husbands
semiautomatic Glock pistol. She takes it with trembling
hands and loads it. She gets out of the car, hiding the gun
behind her back.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 22.
MAYA (contd)
Here it is....
With a lightning fast movement she swings the gun, aims and
shoots him straight in the face at point blank. The
militarys head explodes. As other soldiers are stepping out
from the aircraft and yelling at her, she grabs the dead
militarys assault rifle, aims at the VTOL aircraft and
fires a self propelled grenade, which enters one of the
aircrafts giant air-intakes. Then she throws the rifle away
and in an instant she jumps on the drivers seat and pushes
the pedal to the metal, the door of the car left open. As
bullets are flying through the air and destroying the
windshield she drives away at high speed leaving a trail of
dust. She looks in the mirror and sees the aircraft
exploding. It then bursts into flames and crashes to the
ground.
MAYA (contd)
(looking at the gun in her
lap)
How in hell could I pull that off?
EXT. DESERT LANDSCAPE, NIGHT 19
MAYAs car is now speeding on the interstate, while several
other aircraft are flying in formation in front of her,
apparently directed in her same direction. In the distance
she sees enormous explosions coming from the horizon. And
from the sky a flow of molten metal is pouring onto the
ground where a giant black mass is moving and extending long
appendices which are reaching for what looks like a swarm of
insects. In fact, as she nears the source of the chaos she
recognizes that the insects are other aircraft like the one
she just downed at the intersection. She abruptly stops the
car and takes out a pair of night vision binoculars from the
trunk. She is now able to recognize that what seemed like an
amorphous mass is in fact an anthropomorphic creature of
enormous proportions. A creature which resembles a winged
minotaur with the body of a human being, with arms and legs,
and the head of an octopus. But its size is overwhelming. It
is so large to cover an entire hill. And the comparatively
small military aircraft armed with mini-guns spitting
thousands of tracer rounds every minute into its titanic
mass dont seem to improve the situation. The Monster stands
up and grabs some of the aircraft smashing them to the
ground with incredible force. MAYA stares frozen at the
unworldly scene while military vehicles are passing by on
the opposite lane. They are filled with screaming soldiers,
waving to her and shouting words she cannot understand.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 23.
MAYA returns inside the car and rummages through the content
of a bag and finds what looks like her phone. It is
miraculously working and connected to the internet. In the
address book she goes rapidly through a list of several
names and numbers she doesnt recognize.
MAYA
(looking perplexed at the
phones screen)
Fuck, this isnt my phone...and
yet...
After some searching, one entry catches her attention.
Its of a motel called The Naked Truth. She dials the
number. After a while a female voice answers. The voice is
calm and reassuring.
MOTEL RECEPTIONIST
Welcome to the Naked Truth Motel.
My name is Karyn, how can I help
you?
Maya waits, she doesnt know what to say.
MAYA
I...I would like to reserve a room
for the night...but...uh...
MOTEL RECEPTIONIST
No prob, maam, we have several
rooms still available at the
moment. You may come and get one
anytime you want. But be advised
that the Black Eagle is open only
till 2 in the morning and the rule
is....
The voice fades, comes and goes, is covered by static.
MAYA
What did you say? Excuse me...hey,
are you still there?
The line breaks up . She looks up the motel address and
the navigator system tells her that its only two miles away
to the South, in the opposite direction with respect to
where the clash between the military forces and the giant
monster is raging. She drives, keeping an eye in the
direction of the battle which is still visible in the
distance, on her left side. After some turns in the road she
looses sight of the mayhem, hidden behind the hills, and the
night gets more peaceful. The world seems almost untouched
by the evil forces at work. The night sky is black and
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 24.
starless, although a faint red glow is still visible on the
horizon and the thunder of the explosions reverberates
through the air.
EXT. NAKED TRUTH MOTEL NIGHT 20
She arrives at the Motel. Its an old building, probably
from the late 1950s. She leaves the car just in front of
the Motel entrance. She takes a look at the vertical neon
sign covering the central portion of the facade. The T of
TRUTH is apparently missing, so that the luridly colored
letters now form the words: "THE NAKED RUTH". Another neon
sign on a corner of the building reads :"THE BLACk EAGLE -
LIVE MUSIC - DJ SET"
INT. NAKED TRUTH MOTEL NIGHT 21
Maya enters the motel lobby. The interior is clearly in dire
need of a renovation. The yellow lights of wall sconce lamps
are dim and its difficult to make out the end of the room.
It seems to vanish in the darkness. Maya walks up to the
front desk where an old lady is reading a book that seems
older than her.
MOTEL RECEPTIONIST
(keeping her eyes on the book)
Have you traveled far?
MAYA
No...just coming from...
MOTEL RECEPTIONIST
Okay, Miss...
MAYA
Kurtane, Maya Kurtane..
MOTEL RECEPTIONIST
Miss Kurtane, I only need you to
sign in and leave 20 bucks in
advance. An advice: keep an eye on
your window, because these days
they are coming and its quite easy
for them to suck you alive.
MAYA
Suck...alive? Who?
MOTEL RECEPTIONIST
It happens, not quite so often, but
it happens...and when it does, I
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 25.
MOTEL RECEPTIONIST (contd)
dont want to have to clean up the
mess...its just too much work for
my old bones...
MAYA
I need your help, Karyn, Im
scared, what is it...can you tell
me what is going on...out there...
MOTEL RECEPTIONIST
What you mean?
MAYA
The monsters, the military...the
war...
MOTEL RECEPTIONIST
Oh, no, Im not in those kind of
things, I prefer the tender stuff,
you know like Love and Kittens,
Criminal Subliminal....and the
Kitchen Killers... My god, thats
amazing...havent seen the last
episode, but I will certainly catch
up with the next delivery....it
draws me in like crazy...
Maya looks at the woman, and finds it difficult to
comprehend her detachment from reality....Maybe she is
insane..She looks at her and she thinks she reminds her of
someone. But then again..., which reality is she talking
about? The reality of a world that is trying to kill her? A
sinister, evil world of pain and terror?
MAYA
Are you real?
MOTEL RECEPTIONIST
(frowning)
Pardon me?
MAYA
Uh..I was just wondering, I am not
a fan of those... TV shows..Im
more of the bookworm kind....you
know...-
Maya signs with her name on the register. The old lady slams
a room key on the black worn out desk. Maya can now make out
a faint noise, a music, coming from the far wall.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 26.
MAYA (contd)
You said something about a bar..
MOTEL RECEPTIONIST
Oh, yes, the club...its the Black
Eagle. As a client of this Motel
you are entitled to a free shot of
Jaggy Master and an RMI, a raw meat
injection, if you get my
drift....hahaha -
Her laughter creeps Maya out of her skin..She walks to the
elevator door but then suddenly she remembers she has left
the Glock in the car.
EXT. MOTEL PARKING LOT NIGHT 22
MAYA returns to the car, which is still where she left it,
except that it is now burnt to a crisp. She takes a quick
look inside, but there is nothing that can be recovered from
the smoking wreck.
MAYA
Perfect. Its not my lucky day.
Alright then...Ill try the Black
Eagle..
She turns around the corner of the building and finds a
staircase that leads to the clubs entrance. - While she is
climbing up the stairs a thought emerges, and she stops in
her tracks and grabs the rail, while the world is tilting on
its axis. Its something that has to do with her, with her
behavior. She feels different...more...energetic....and
resolute...but there is something very wrong....vertigo is
going to overwhelm her senses when....
Her thoughts are abruptly interrupted by the clubs door
slamming open. A couple of guys in uniform stumble out and
almost hit her but she avoids the collision by stepping
quickly aside. One of the drunks angrily confronts her.
FIRST MILITARY
Hey, you almost make me fall...
MAYA
Sorry, I didnt want to...
FIRST MILITARY
You just did it, bitch..
Maya stares at him intently while the other military is
holding himself on the rail, unsteady. She is about to ask
them to forgive her for not paying attention, but instead a
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 27.
strange serenity fills her. She sees things clearer now,
colors are more vivid, her senses are in overdrive. Words
come fluidly, naturally.
MAYA
I think you should consider your
options, buddy. Either you rapidly
descend these stairs and vanish
into the night, where I sincerely
hope you will be torn to pieces by
the Beast of the Apocalypse raging
just a couple of miles from here,
or you have to face my fury, and it
aint prettier.
FIRST MILITARY
Fuck you...
Before he can make even the slightest move, she is already
hitting him and piercing his eyeballs with her razor sharp
finger nails. He falls to the ground and then tumbles down
the stairs like a sack of potatoes, without emitting a
sound. His friend remains frozen, clinging to the metal
rail.
MAYA
Ok, now, whats your name, private?
SECOND MILITARY
George..Im George
MAYA
Nice name, George. Now, get the
fuck out of here, before I turn
your nut sack into a tobacco pouch.
Maya opens the door to the club and enters throwing a last
menacing look at the soldier, who is still leaning against
the rail.
INT. BLACK EAGLE CLUB NIGHT 23
Maya turns her head towards the interior of the club,
to immediately face a tall, dark haired girl, maybe 20
years old whos standing with spread legs in front of her.
Her body is like forged by a Japanese Master of Arms. She is
wearing a tight leather motorcycle jacket and a matching
black gown and high heeled boots.
RUTH
Nice job, darling. Are you looking
for trouble?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 28.
MAYA
Nope...
RUTH
OK, now let me put things
straight...my name is Ruth and Im
in charge of the security of this
place. I dont want any trouble.
Now, dont let me waste my time
guessing your name...
MAYA
Im Maya, and thats the only thing
I know for sure about me...
RUTH
Thats bad, I suppose...
MAYA
Well, its strange, Im just under
the impression that my life is
changing for the better...now that
Im sort of...fucked up in the
head.
RUTH
(gesturing)
Really. So you arent scared by the
green Minotaur and his
acolytes..and the Government thugs
and...the Great Void Beyond.....
MAYA
Ive seen something going on. On
the hills, just North of here...
RUTH
Now thats an
understatement....those poor
bastards are having a tough time
keeping the death count at
acceptable levels...
They walk side by side until Ruth finds an empty table and
motions her to sit down with her.
RUTH (contd)
Please Maya, take a seat and let me
offer you something special....
MAYA
(smiling)
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 29.
MAYA (contd)
This nice lady at the Motel was
talking about a raw meat
injection...
RUTH
Yeah, right...
Ruth laughs so loudly to temporarily overwhelm the ear
shattering drum beat coming from the stage loudspeakers,
where a bony DJ is spinning the platters.
RUTH
Lovely Karyn, she always in a good
mood...though lately she has become
more difficult to handle...maybe
its her aging....
MAYA
Maybe its because this whole place
sucks and its pretty darn sure
going to hell anytime soon...if
someone doesnt stop this whole
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
show....
RUTH
Maybe youre right, sugar...but
they will have to pry the guns from
our cold dead hands...
MAYA
Do you mean it?
RUTH
(slapping a hand on her thigh)
Nah, just joking to keep up the
mood.
MAYA
I would like to tell you my story,
but I think...it would be too much
of a burden to unload, all at once,
on you....
RUTH
Pretty face...you dont know me..
Ruth suddenly stands up, propelling her stool backwards onto
the nearby wall with incredible violence... shattering it
into a thousand pieces. The patrons at the nearby tables
turn their heads, visibly scared... She jumps on a nearby
platform. With one circular fluid motion she rips off her
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 30.
tiny shirt baring her breast, and begins to move to the
rhythm of the trance music. Maya is flabbergasted. She
watches her and the more she follows her sensual movements,
the more she is attracted by her.
MAYA
(eyes wide open)
The naked Ruth...now I get it...
Maya takes out her phone and takes a picture of Ruth. Other
people are whipped into a frenzy and join Ruth in a sort of
tribal dance, a very sensual and erotic dance. It almost
seems choreographed. Ruth sheds her gown revealing a
bulletproof G-string and thighs made of velvet steel. She is
now like a black hole sucking all matter and light into
herself.
RUTH
(screaming over the music)
Come on, get up Maya, lets bring
this place down...
MAYA
And you are in charge of security?
RUTH
Im Ruth, but Im also ruthless...
Ruth emits a wild laugh. Maya hesitates, then jumps on the
platform and begins to follow the savage rhythm imposed by
Ruth, who is apparently leading men and women alike in the
room into a magic world of ritual perdition. Maya is
magnetically attracted by her eyes, very deep and mysterious
wells of black radiance. Maya feels her soft lips touching
her mouth and closes her eyes. A fire is raging inside of
her and she feels the ground is giving way under her. She
senses she is falling, but she keeps her eyes closed. She is
now one with Ruth. She can perceive her body pressing
against her. But she has no sense of movement anymore. She
is only floating. She opens her eyes and we-
INT. HOTEL ROOM DAY 24
Maya wakes up in a hotel room, drenched in sweat. She is
lying in bed, naked. Her clothes are strewn on the floor.
She hears Ruth in the bathroom singing under the shower.
Maya is disoriented and tries to recollect the events that
have led her there.
MAYA
(shouting)
Ruth?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 31.
Maya looks around, then closes her eyes. She is exhausted.
Images flash rapidly through her mind, the wild dance at the
Black Eagle, the trance music, the beer, the whiskey,
swallowing strange looking pills, eating from pots filled
with gelatinous blobs, like mushrooms, a fight with a bunch
of wild locals, blood, sweat, flesh. And sex, a lot of sex
with Ruth. And a vision of herself in a room surrounded by
people dressed in white robes, the light of thousands
of candles and Ruth, dressed like a priestess, slaughtering
a horrible beast, a creature of utter weirdness and alien
nature. And then a vision of a red ominous sky, a burning,
boiling mass of clouds resembling the curves and bends of a
human brain. This unholy shroud is abruptly ripped apart and
we are drawn....into the emptiness of space. Maya is
floating above a planet which resembles Earth. We can make
out the major land masses, which are covered by a thick
blanket of black clouds from which giant fires rage, like
volcanoes eruptions.
RUTH
They are looking for you...if they
find you, you are in big trouble...
Maya opens her eyes, startled by Ruths voice. She turns her
head and sees Ruth standing in her bathrobe on the side of
the bed, her jet black hair surrounding her strange
beautiful face.
MAYA
What do you mean...
RUTH
You know what I mean, Maya....you
dont belong here. You are on a
journey, your personal journey
through hell...
MAYA
So you already know my story....
RUTH
Yes, I know why you are here...and
I also know that I have to help you
find a way out...
MAYA
But,why am I feeling so good, Im
feeling like there is something in
me that has died and another part
of me that is rising gradually, to
the surface....and I cant quite
remember my previous...life...
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 32.
RUTH
You are not in complete control of
your life, Maya... there is an
entity, an evil entity, something
beyond this space and time, that is
trying to force you in a different
direction...your destiny isnt
completely in your hands yet...but
you are steadily improving...
MAYA
I sense you are part of me..dont
you?
Ruth lets her robe slip to the floor and walks to the bed,
where she lays down beside Maya. She tenderly strikes her
hair.
MAYA
I couldnt imagine that I could
have sex with a girl. But you are
so beautiful, Ruth...I think I love
you...
RUTH
I love you too, Maya, but we dont
have much time...we have to go now.
Your life is in danger...
Ruth kisses her tenderly and rises quickly from her bed.
RUTH (contd)
I know a place where you can find
help. It lies in the West, we just
have to follow the only road that
leads you straight to the coast.
But I cant tell you more at the
moment.
MAYA
Will you come with me? I nee you
Ruth...
RUTH
Im not supposed to leave this
world, this is my world, although
it is true that we are entangled in
some way, we are one but we are not
the same...
MAYA
This reminds me of something Ive
already heard these words..long ago
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 33.
RUTH
Anyway. Come on, dress. Ill be
ready in a minute.
Ruth walks away and disappears in the bathroom. Maya slips
in her tight jeans and stained t-shirt. She looks out of the
window and sees that the sky hasnt changed very much. Day
and night seem to be almost the same. Its still dark
outside. She notices a satchel lying on the floor near the
bed. It must be Ruths. She hesitates then opens the small
bag and peeks inside. Among the usual drug paraphernalia and
beauty toolboxes she glimpses a portion of a metal surface.
She moves the other things aside and uncovers a globular
object. Gingerly she extracts it from the satchel. Its in
fact a sphere, approximately 2 inches in diameter, very
heavy, almost impossibly heavy. She turns it in her hand and
sees that it is covered by weird looking signs, shapes,
letters, in a different language, like an artifact coming
from an ancient unknown civilization. Turning it again on
itself, she notices that one side of it is flattened. In the
middle of that flat portion there is a mirror, a small
bluish mirror. She strains her eyes in order to have a
better look because its difficult to make out the
reflection. The image reflected is distorted by a slight
convex curvature of its surface, but she now can make out
her face and the room behind her. But there is something
more, something strange in the distorted image. At first she
cannot understand what it is that is out of place. But then
near the edge, where the bathroom door is supposed to be,
she notices a black shadow. She quickly turns her head, and
instinctively ducks her head, before the room is filled with
the sound of a machine gun firing in her direction. She is
now on the floor, behind the heavy bed frame, her head
covered by splinters of wood and bits of plaster.
JOHN
Now come on...get out of there....
Maya immediately recognizes her husbands voice and her
heart drops into her guts.
MAYA
John....what are you doing....
JOHN
Youre not going to make it Maya,
youre already dead, you
know...its kind of sad, me and
Brad were waiting for you...but
then we understood that your place
wasnt with us anymore....
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 34.
MAYA
(shouting)
Ruth...- a beat - Are you okay? Are
you still there?
JOHN
She cant hear you, Maya, I took
care of her...
Maya is still holding the small heavy globe in her hand. She
clutches it with enormous pressure until her knuckles
whiten.
MAYA
Alright, John, Im coming out..
She jumps up and before he can fire again, she throws the
sphere with superhuman velocity and power towards him. It
hits him right between the eyes, cracking his skull open,
like a watermelon is hit by a bullet. As he is falling
backwards, blood gushes out violently from the top of his
head, splattering the walls and the bed sheets. Clots of
cerebral matter fly through the air and end up on the window
panes and the curtains. Suddenly she hears voices and sounds
of rapid heavy footsteps coming from the stairs. In an
instant the door is riddled with bullet holes. Maya grabs
the sphere, still half encased in Johns skull and leaps out
of the window. And we-
EXT. NAKED TRUTH MOTEL DAY 25
She falls and rolls around ending up with her hands firmly
planted on the dirt. A car is standing in front of her, its
a Lexus, its....her car. In one second she is inside. She
sticks her hand in the jeans front pocket and feels the key.
As glass begins to explode all around her, she manages to
start the engine and ducking, she blindly maneuvers the
steering wheel and drives until she is at a safe distance.
She looks in the rear mirror. In the distance she sees a
couple of soldiers standing in front of the hotel,
motionless.
MAYA
(to herself)
It was too easy...there must be
something else waiting for me along
the road.
The thought of Ruth lying dead in the bathroom fills her
heart with infinite grief and she collapses on the steering
wheel, desperately crying.
35.
EXT. DESERT LANDSCAPE, NIGHT 26
MAYA drives her car through a desert landscape. Its dark,
and in the distance the sky is ominously red. Huge columns
of smoke partially cover two moons hovering low in the sky,
one bigger and redder than the other. On the side of the
road wrecked and charred military vehicles are lined up,
interspersed with what looks like funeral pyres. She
shudders as she realizes that those are piles of burning
corpses. Dark shadows float overhead, vague ghosts of
monstrous things. And through this revolting graveyard of
the universe we hear the muffled, maddening beating of
drums, and a thin, monotonous whine of blood-chilling voices
from inconceivable distances, beyond time.
MAYA is exhausted and crying but holding on as much as she
can, against all odds. She looks at Ruths metal sphere
lying on the passenger seat and wonders what magic mysteries
it may still contain.
INT. CONTROL ROOM, DAY 27
DR. GILLIAM is looking perplexed at a computer screen
surrounded by DR. SCHAM and other scientists.
DR. GILLIAM
We have lost her...
DR. SCHAM
Damn...her brain has severed all
connections with MINDCOM, but we
are still receiving strong signals
from various areas of her cortex.
DR. GILLIAM
She is trapped inside a reality
constructed by her subconscious..
DR. SCHAM
This is bad, very bad.
DR. GILLIAM
We only have to wait...but prepare
for the worst.
In his cubicle, Jarry Turrell is also looking at his screen,
with a strange smile on his face.
36.
EXT. - LIGHTHOUSE ON THE COAST, NIGHT 28
MAYA finally arrives on the coast in front of a lighthouse.
As she arrives with her car its dark and the sky on the
horizon is reddish brown. The sea is a brooding black mass
streaked by purple waves crashing against the rocks.
She stops her car in front of the lighthouse which is a huge
very peculiar construction similar to the tower of a
medieval fortress.
MAYA
(to herself)
This should be the place....
She steps out of the car and stares at the lighthouse. She
walks to the base of a steel ladder. As she gingerly climbs
the stairs that lead to the entrance of the lighthouse, she
is greeted by a barking black dog which scares her. She is
already turning back and climbing down the stairs, when a
voice coming from the inside of a window in the turrets
outer wall makes her stop. Its Abraham, the lighthouse
keeper.
ABRAHAM
Dont be afraid, its Cerberus, my
little loyal friend and assistant.
He is noisy but very peaceful.
Hesitantly she climbs up again to the entrance, where a man
is standing with an old petroleum lamp in his hand. He has
grizzled hair and a white beard but his body seems still fit
and muscular.
ABRAHAM
My name is Abraham, welcome to
Lifegate Cove, Maya.
He gestures with his hand inviting her to enter.
ABRAHAM (contd)
Dont be afraid, come with me...I
want you to show you something...
MAYA
How do you...have we met before?
ABRAHAM
Sure, cant you remember, Maya?
He leads her in. Inside, the lighthouse is formed by a
spiral staircase standing in the middle of a huge circular
space whose walls are provided, along their height, with
circular balconies each forming a platform for accessing a
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 37.
multitude of doors equally distributed along the peripheral
walls of the respective landings. As they walk around the
staircase she sees photographs and paintings of ancient
battleships and galleons hanging on the walls. At one point,
MAYA is particularly attracted by a painting depicting an
enormous sea monster, a Kraken, caught in the act of
attacking a huge commercial vessel. Abraham notices it.
ABRAHAM (contd)
Do you like it?
MAYA
Ive already seen that..creature...
ABRAHAM
You mean Cthulhu..
Maya looks at him with a perplexed expression, and is about
to ask him for an explanation but Abraham is already
climbing down a ladder that leads into obscurity. She is
still looking at the weird picture, when a voice starts
speaking in her head.
THE KRAKEN
Maya, where do you think you are
going?
She looks around but nobody is there with her.
MAYA
Who are you?
THE KRAKEN
I have many names, but you may call
me Cthulhu. Im the Lord of your
Underworld. Its Demigod, if you
wish. And Im also originating from
your mind. Because this world is
your own creation, Maya. Dont
trust this man Abraham, he is
deceiving you, he is not part of
you. He wants to show you something
that is fake, that has been
constructed in order to hold you
trapped inside a simulation that
will ultimately destroy you.
MAYA
But I have seen you.... I thought
YOU were trying to destroy my
world.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 38.
THE KRAKEN
Sure, Im a monster, as you say,
thats undeniable. But as you may
already know, appearances can be
deceiving. Im on your side, Maya.
Unlike the soldiers on that
aircraft you so skillfully killed
and roasted, or as your ex-husband,
whose head is now more useful as an
ashtray.
Your real enemy is inside of you
now. Cant you see? They are using
you like a tool for their own
agenda. And then they will discard
you like a broken toy.
Your only chance is to follow my
instructions.
MAYA
And that would mean?
THE KRAKEN
You have to kill Abraham and...
MAYA
(visibly distressed)
Thats...out of the question...I
dont believe you....
THE KRAKEN
All right, then go ahead...Ill be
waiting for you when you come
back begging for help....
Maya follows Abraham down the ladder.
INT. - LIGHTHOUSE, NIGHT 29
Maya and Abraham find themselves now inside a sort of boiler
room. Abraham opens a trapdoor in the floor.
ABRAHAM
Now..you have to make your
decision...
Maya looks at him, puzzled. He smiles at her.
ABRAHAM (contd)
Do you want to get back home?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 39.
Maya nods with a frightened look in her eyes. She is still
clutching Ruths sphere in her pocket. For a moment she
thinks she feels her presence behind her.
ABRAHAM
Then you have to trust me...
MAYA
Ive seen it, I mean, that
creature...it looked very similar
to the kraken in the painting...
ABRAHAM
Cthulhu, yes, I know. You were
reading the book when you...
disappeared...
MAYA
You mean...when I....
ABRAHAM
Uhm...When you lost your way...
MAYA stares at Abraham. She senses that there is something
wrong but she feels she has to go. She lingers at the
threshold for a couple of seconds, then, taking a last look
at Abraham, she descends. After a couple of steps she looses
her balance and slips through a narrow tunnel. Screaming,
she...FALLS.
INT. CONTROL ROOM, NIGHT 30
DR. GILLIAM and DR. SCHAM are sitting at their respective
workstations. DR. GILLIAM is fast asleep. Suddenly, DR.SCHAM
is startled by something that has appeared on his monitor,
and jumps from his seat. He runs to DR. GILLIAM and wakes
him up.
DR. SCHAM
Shit, Frank, wake up..we have data
coming in....
DR. GILLIAM
What the fu...
DR. SCHAM
Take a look for yourself.
Dr. Gilliam composes himself, dons his glasses and looks at
the screen.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 40.
DR. GILLIAM
So, what are we looking at...good,
aha...uh, thats weird..
DR. SCHAM
MINDCOM has received images and
sounds....
DR. GILLIAM
OK, but what does this mean?...Fuck
me...its a monster! Good Lord...OK
now its zooming out..Shit, its
only a painting on a wall. But
Terry, what does this mean...
DR. SCHAM
(hitting some keys on the
keyboard)
Thats not what I wanted to show
you...here...there is something a
lot more interesting...
DR. GILLIAM
OK, now we are in a car and we are
driving in...look at that! Is it
what I think it is?
DR. SCHAM
Yup, those are corpses. Human
corpses. A pile of them. And they
are burning....
DR. GILLIAM
She ended up in hell...
DR. SCHAM
Her personal Hell, but I doubt that
this stuff is all coming from her
brain...
DR. GILLIAM
What do you mean?
DR. SCHAM
I think that MINDCOM is
interfering, somehow...
DR. GILLIAM
Wait a minute, what are you talking
about...
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 41.
DR. SCHAM
The wads are fritting...
DR. GILLIAM
What? I cant understand you. Are
you feeling well, Terry?
Suddenly the lights go out in the control room. Its
completely dark. All sounds have ceased abruptly. A music
begins to play in the background...its the same music
coming from MAYAs mind. DR. GILLIAM lights up a lighter. He
points the flame towards his colleague. But he is vanished.
In fact, looking around, he notices that he isnt in the
control room anymore, but in a sort of cave....and we-
EXT. THE SKY, DAY 31
MAYA is free falling through clouds. She looks down and sees
a familiar landscape approaching her at high speed. Its her
home town, now placid and ordinary as she remembers it.
EXT. RURAL ROAD, DAY 32
Finally, floating, MAYA arrives at a place where a car, a
Lexus electric UV, like the one his son was holding in his
hands, lies overturned in a ditch at the side of the road.
And inside the car she sees HERSELF unconscious, her body
slumped against the steering wheel, blood running from her
temple. She is now standing in front of the car, frozen. She
opens the cars door and touches the head of her double in
the car. Suddenly her double opens her eyes and stares at
her, silently. She is frozen in terror.
MAYAS DOUBLE
I know you can make it, MAYA, its
all inside your head. You can
change the course of events....if
you want you can make it. You are
strong Maya, stronger than you
think.
MAYA, overcome by fear, runs away but trips and falls to the
ground hitting her head hard on a protruding stone. And her
world turns black.
CUT TO:
42.
INT. CAVE NIGHT 33
Dr. Gilliam is looking around. The flame of his lighter is
gradually fading out.
DR. GILLIAM
(shouting)
What is this, did we have a total
power failure?
He is trembling, now, and panic is growing inside of him.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
(shouting)
Where are you Terry? Is this a kind
of practical joke? Or did you drug
me?
He is trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but
its a riddle he cannot solve.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
OK, now lets be rational. Im
inside a sort of cave...the control
room has vanished...What was the
last thing...oh, yes...We were
talking about MINDCOM, Terry was
saying that...MINDCOM....is
interfering? What does it mean?
He tries to reach the wall of the cave but he is apparently
too far away from it.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
A cave...like the cave of
Maya...so...shit...Im
trapped....Oh, no...how can this
be....
He screams.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!
He starts to cry. Then suddenly he has an idea.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
The monster...in the painting..it
was the same monster Turrell showed
Maya in the simulation. He must
have manipulated MINDCOM! Son of a
bitch....
43.
The flame of his lighter expires. He emits a horrible
nonhuman scream.
INT. HOSPITAL, NIGHT 34
MAYA wakes up again in her hospital bed, screaming, its
like a continuation of Dr. Gilliams scream from the
previous scene. Her husband JOHN and son BRAD at her bed
side jump up, scared to death.
MAYA
(shouting)
Its dark....I cant see....
Maya is thrashing violently her arms and legs almost
overturning the monitors at her side.
DR. GILLIAM
Maya, Im here. Im here....dont
be afraid...
Maya opens her eyes and looks at Dr. Gilliam who is holding
her arms. A nurse enters and injects her a tranquilizer. She
falls asleep.
INT. HOSPITAL, NIGHT 35
From outside the room we see Dr. Gilliam talking to Maya,
but we cant hear what he is saying. Then we enter the room.
DR. GILLIAM
......and thats amazing, MAYA, you
have made it. Your brain is a
magnificent thing, it has brought
you back to us, to the real world.
After experiencing a different
reality, provided by a
machine...you have survived a
nightmare brought about by your
subconscious.... And in the process
we have gained enormous insights
into the workings of the mind. It
is an invaluable contribution to
science.
MAYA is distracted, she is looking out of the window. In the
distance she sees an eerie glow just above the horizon. Her
eyes are tired, and frightened.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 44.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
What is it that bothers you, Maya,
I perceive your anxiety...
MAYA doesnt respond, she remains motionless, staring at the
strange sky outside the window.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
Dont you feel the difference? In
the air, the colors, the smells.
Look at John and Brad, they love
you...and...
Maya closes her eyes. When she opens them again, she sees
that Dr. Gilliams face has turned to the face of Jarry
Turrell. She closes her eyes again with an expression of
anguish on her face. She desperately clutches the bedsheets
with her hands.
MAYA
(whispering)
Please, go away.....
DR. GILLIAM
(turning to John and Brad)
I...I think we should leave her
alone now. She has to rest..Ill
come back later, Maya.
DR. GILLIAM-Turrell, JOHN and BRAD leave her room. After a
while, she opens her eyes and looks around. She begins to
disconnect all tubes and cables connected to her body. Then
she slips on the floor and begins to crawl, very slowly, out
of her bed, until she reaches the rooms window. With
enormous effort she opens the window and manages to lean her
upper body over the window frame. She is about to tilt
outwards, when powerful hands grab her waist from behind.
Its DR. GILLIAM, who has managed to catch her in the last
second.
MAYA
(crying)
Leave me! I dont want to live in
another fake world..I want to
die..Please...I want to die...leave
me alone...
She tries to free herself from Dr. Gilliams grip, but a
nurse has come and is helping him restrain her.
45.
EXT. - PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTION, DAY 36
SHOT OF THE GATE OF A PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTION WHERE MAYA HAS
BEEN HOSPITALIZED. THE SIGN ON THE GATE READS: "BELLAVISTA
COMMUNITY CLINIC".
A car enters the gate. Inside we see Maya, her swollen,
black circled eyes looking out of the window,
expressionless.
INT. PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTION, DAY 37
In a cell with white soft-looking walls a man is talking to
her. He looks similar to the man she encountered at the
lighthouse, but younger. Suddenly the door of the cell opens
and DR. FRANK, director of the institution, enters
accompanied by JOHN and BRAD. JOHN has tears in his eyes and
BRAD is not looking at her.
DR. FRANK
Please, Mr. Brahm, would you please
exit...
BRAHM
Sure, Ill wait outside.
MAYA
No, please, dont leave me, I need
you...I dont want to talk to
those...those...
Maya points her finger towards her husband and son.
DR. FRANK
And why is that, Maya?
MAYA
Because they dont know me...and
I..I dont know them...they are
just impostors..
JOHN
But...Maya
MAYA
(screaming)
Go away....go away
Maya is crying. Dr. Frank gestures to JOHN and BRAD to leave
the room. They comply after looking a last time at MAYA,
sitting on the floor, slumped like a pile of rags in a
corner of the cell.
46.
EXT. PARK OF THE INSTITUTION, DAY 38
Maya and Brahm are walking in the park of the psychiatric
clinic. We follow them from a distance. They are talking and
holding their hands. Then they stop under an olive tree and
kiss each other.
INT. DR. FRANKS OFFICE, DAY 39
JOHN and Brad are sitting in front of Dr. Frank at his huge
office desk.
DR. FRANK
So...JOHN, I know its hard for you
and your son, but there is nothing
we can do at this moment. MAYAs
brain damage is more extensive than
we thought, and she is not able to
recognize you. Its called Capgras
delusion, and its a characteristic
sign of dementia. Our only hope is
that it will not deteriorate
further.
John looks out of the window and recognizes MAYA and BRAHM
walking hand in hand in the park.
JOHN
We have lost her forever, thats
the truth...
He turns and stares blankly at DR. Frank, then he takes his
son by the hand and leaves the office.
EXT. PARK OF THE INSTITUTION, NIGHT 40
MAYA and BRAHM are lying in the grass in the park looking at
the stars. A full moon illuminates their features. They look
into the camera and remain still for a while.
MAYA
Ive never told you before, but I
have a faint memory of a
lighthouse. And I feel that there
is a link between my present mental
problems and that lighthouse. The
man in the lighthouse, BRAHM, it
was you, wasnt it?
He smiles at her. She takes his hand and cries.
Then she closes her eyes.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 47.
MAYA wanders with her mind and tries to remember the
accident. In her minds eye we see...
MAYA is again inside the wreckage. Trapped by the steering
wheel between the seat and the windshield. Slowly she moves
her head to her right and freezes, terror overcoming her
senses. On the passenger seat lies her husband, crumpled,
like a deflated puppet, dead eyes staring at the void. And
in the rear mirror she recognizes her son, his head split
open by a metal beam. And then she falls into darkness.
INT. HOSPITAL, DAY 41
MAYA wakes up again in her hospital bed. Now BRAHM is at her
side. BRAHM stares at her, tears streaking his face.
BRAHM
Maya, I...
MAYA
Im..alive..
BRAHM
Yes, you are alive, and I was here,
I was always here, all the time
with you, Maya...
MAYA
Where are they?....
BRAHM
Please, Maya, I dont want to..
MAYA
Tell me, I deserve this...at
least...
Brahm looks out the window.
BRAHM
They are gone...
MAYA
I knew it...deep inside of me...
Maya slowly moves her head, she is trying to cry, but its
impossible, her eyes are completely dry.
BRAHM
They died in the crash....
Brahm takes her hand and whispers in her ear.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 48.
BRAHM (contd)
I love you Maya, I loved you since
I first saw you in this room, five
years ago. I dont know what
happened to me, but I was bound to
your bed. I couldnt leave, even
when the doctors said that you were
going to die, soon.
Maya raises her hand, very slowly, and touches his face. He
kisses her withered palm.
MAYA
Im awake now.
BRAHM
Sure, why are you asking...
MAYA
I love you Brahm...
He looks into her eyes. Her eyes suddenly widen up in
horror. Brahm is smiling devilishly.
EXTREME CLOSE UP:
MAYAS iris.
The reflection of a huge red door with a golden frame
appears in the center of her iris. We are SUCKED TOWARDS her
eye, CLOSER AND CLOSER, until it spreads out like a horizon
and we FALL THROUGH the red door into...DARKNESS.
EXT. FOREST NIGHT 42
Maya is running through thick vegetation. She is barely able
to get through the foliage, and the twigs and branches are
scratching her skin. She stops and panting leans against a
tree. She looks around, eyes wide open in terror. She is in
her hospital gown, an IV still stuck in her arm. She is
bleeding from her arm. Her legs are scratched. She is
barefoot. The world lies in absolute silence. Suddenly she
notices a dim light coming from behind a high bush.
Cautiously she walks in that direction. She moves the leaves
aside and sees...nothing. The forest seems to end beyond the
hedge. Then, looking down, she sees that she is standing on
a hill and in front of her a valley opens. Its full of
lights. Its a city, an enormous city spreading in all
directions, up to the horizon, which is barely standing out
from the blackness. It looks like....Los Angeles. She
manages to step through the hedge and starts walking down
the hill. She arrives at a house. Its a villa, with a
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 49.
swimming pool illuminated by underwater lights. She knocks
at the door. The door opens. A man in a bath robe is
standing at the door. Its Dr. Gilliam.
DR. GILLIAM
Maya...how...what happened to you?
MAYA
I..I dont know. I was in the
hospital, with Brahm..
DR. GILLIAM
Who is Brahm?..Come in..
MAYA
I dont understand...
Maya falls on the floor, exhausted.
INT. DR. GILLIAMS HOUSE NIGHT 43
Dr. Gilliam helps her into the house, grabbing her by her
armpits. He pulls her up again and walks her to a divan
where she lays down. She is crying, her hands covering her
eyes.
MAYA
I was talking with him...I thought
I was..awake....(a beat)
She looks around. The living room is dark. Only a small
light is shining over a marble tabletop. Giant abstract
paintings are hanging barely visible at the walls.
MAYA (contd)
(excited)
Where am I? Why are you here...
DR. GILLIAM
This is my place, Maya..what
happened, tell me..I thought you
were at home with Ruth.
MAYA
Ruth? Is she alive?
DR. GILLIAM
Of course she is alive..or is she?
DR. GILLIAM looks at her intently, frowning.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 50.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
Did something happen to her? An
accident? But..why are you in a
hospital dress?
MAYA
I...I dont remember...its all
confused..I think Im loosing my
mind..
Maya closes her eyes. A flash of Brahms face appears,
looking strange, an expression she cannot decode. And then
the huge red door with the golden frame appears in front of
her, and she falls through it into a void. Maya grabs Dr.
Gilliam hands, shaking violently.
DR. GILLIAM
Uh-oh....its ok. Calm down...just
relax, Maya. Here, take one of my
Dopenols. It will help.
He takes a small bottle from his pocket, opens it and hands
her a pill. Maya takes it and immediately swallows it.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
I have to go upstairs now and take
some medications, iodine, alcohol
and bandages, you are full of
bruises and scratches. And I have
to stop the bleeding from this cut
in your arm. Your IV has broken.
Wait here, Ill be back in a
moment.
MAYA
(shouting)
No, wait! Dont leave me alone.
DR. GILLIAM
There is nothing to be afraid of,
Maya, you are safe here with me.
He walks away, while Maya tries to raise up on her elbows,
but in vain, she is too weak.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
(from the bathroom upstairs)
Maya, I think we should call the
police...dont you think?
MAYA
I dont know..I really dont
remember what happened...I have to
call...Ruth.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 51.
DR. GILLIAM
Sure, the phone is on the table.
Call her...
Maya sees the phone lying on the table. With enormous strain
she manages to reach it and is about to call but stops
abruptly.
MAYA
But..I dont know her number...
DR. GILLIAM
(walking down the stairs)
What? Dont you remember? Well, I
think you have some sort of
retrograde amnesia. You are under
shock. I think the best thing to do
is to medicate you now and then
bring you to the hospital as soon
as possible.
MAYA
No, no, please...I dont want to go
back to the hospital..
She cries. Dr. Gilliam puts the medications on the table and
walks to her.
DR. GILLIAM
You have to tell me, Maya, what do
you remember? Apparently you were
hospitalized for some reason. I
think I call Ruth now. We have to
know what is going on.
He takes the phone and dials a number. After a couple of
seconds, someone answers.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
Hi Ruth. Yeah, its me..Listen. Is
everything alright? Ok, so...uhm, I
think you should come here as soon
as possible. I have Maya here, she
is.......No, she is ok, I
mean...she is not in very good
shape. It seems like she is coming
from the hospital, and run through
the woods for quite a
while...yes....she cant
remember...oh, and bring some
clothes, yes...she is..ok, well
wait here.
Dr. Gilliam puts down the phone. Maya looks at him, puzzled.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 52.
MAYA
Ruth...I mean, how can she possibly
be here...I remember I was in a
dream with her..unless this is
really a dream... a horrible
nightmare...And I just have to wake
up...as soon as possible...
DR. GILLIAM
I understand...you are in a state
of shock, Maya, keep that in mind.
You have to rest now...
MAYA
I was with Brahm....and then all
went black...I fell...through that
door...
DR. GILLIAM
Maya, now stay still, I have to
remove this IV from your arm...
Dr. Gilliam carefully extracts the broken IV catheter from
MAYAs arm. She flinches. Dr. Gilliam throws the IV in a pan
he has put beside the sofa. He then proceeds with cleaning
her arm and puts a bandage around her elbow. With cotton
wads, imbued in iodine, he wipes her scratches. He collects
the cotton wads in the pan and walks upstairs. In that
moment the doorbell rings.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
Im coming...
He puts down the pan, walks to the entrance and opens the
door. Ruth rushes inside.
RUTH
Maya..What the fuck....
Ruth kisses her lips. Maya stares at her, a blank expression
in her face.
MAYA
I thought you were dead...
RUTH
What are you talking about...Maya,
...I was looking for you since you
left this afternoon...I called the
police, all the hospitals in the
area, even the coast guard.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 53.
MAYA
I dont really know...I..I feel
strange...I dont remember how I
got here...
Maya closes her eyes. Ruth hugs her, lovingly.
RUTH
I thought you might... do something
bad. You were so upset. And I had
this feeling you were in danger.
DR. GILLIAM
What do you mean by "you dont
remember how you got here"...its
quite obvious that you had an
accident, you were in a hospital,
and then somehow you left the
hospital...(beat) but it seems that
you had some good reason for
running away without even asking
for permission...Are you sure you
dont remember in which hospital
you were?
MAYA
I think it was....Cedar Sinai..But
my memories are totally confused. I
had all sorts of dreams. And in one
of these dreams I was in Hell. And
there I found Ruth....
RUTH
Come on...it was two years
ago...And the place was not so
bad...Not one of the best pubs
downtown but nevertheless...
MAYA
The car...I was trapped in a
car...I crashed my car in a
ditch...
RUTH
So now I begin to understand..You
lost control and crashed the
car...We have to go home now,
Maya...Here are your clothes. Let
me help you.
Dr. Gilliam walks away while Maya sheds her gown. Ruth helps
her putting on her jeans and sweater.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 54.
DR. GILLIAM
(looking inside the living
room from the patio)
I think it would be wiser to call
the...
RUTH
Yeah, I know, Ill call them as
soon as we are back home.
CUT TO:
EXT. DR. GILLIAMS VILLA 44
Ruth holds Maya by an arm and walks with her towards her
car. Dr. Gilliam opens the cars passenger door. While Maya
is stepping inside, Ruth exchanges a glance with Dr.
Gilliam. Behind her, in the distance, we notice an ominous
red glow hovering above the horizon, and a fleeting glimpse
of an enormous shadow moving over the ocean.
INT. RUTHS HOUSE NIGHT 45
Maya and Ruth are lying in bed.
MAYA
I know that this is not real...
RUTH
What do you mean?
MAYA
This world...you, Dr.
Gilliam...Its like Christmas in
August....
RUTH
Hmm....funny thought....
Maya looks at Ruth. The moon light coming from the window
paints geometric patterns on her skin.
MAYA
I have brain damage...I dont have
a sense of time passing anymore.
And this feeling of "unreality" is
with me since I woke up the first
time. Now I remember, I had a
family once....John, Brad, theyre
gone...
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 55.
RUTH
You are suicidal Maya, you know
that?
MAYA
I cant sleep, I have to find out
the truth about me, about my life.
I feel i dont belong here...
RUTH
Hey, I know what you mean...Its
the same for me sometimes. Ok, well
I guess we have to face
reality...We are not going to have
an easy life, its a matter of time
before they get to us...
MAYA
You mean...
RUTH
Turrell, his organization, they are
everywhere. I think youre right.
Lets move.
Ruth jumps from the bed and begins to dress.
MAYA
Do you know where we have to go?
RUTH
Yes, we are now headed for our
destiny. Its all laid out in front
of us. We have to find Turrell. At
this hour he should be at the Dark
Angel. We have to prepare for a
fight. But you are battered, how do
you feel?
MAYA
Its ok. I can make it. I have only
scratches. But I have to think it
over. Im not quite sure...
RUTH
There is no time for thinking.
Either we make it or we break it.
Its simple as that.
Suddenly an explosion rocks the house.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 56.
MAYA
Oh shit, they are already here...
RUTH
The window...we have to jump from
the....
The window pane is shattered and a grenade falls on the
floor and rolls towards the bed. Ruth and Maya are now
running through the corridor, looking for an exit. We hear
voices coming from downstairs. They run down the stairs and
enter the basement door just a fraction of a second before
armed men enter the living room. In the basement there is no
light. In the darkness they move quickly. Ruth switches on
a flashlight and guides Maya towards a cupboard. She moves
it and reveals a door behind. She opens it.
RUTH
Quick. This way.
Its an underground tunnel. She slides the cupboard back in
place. Then they run. After a couple of turns they find a
slide.
RUTH
Ok, Maya, we have to have some fun
now. Are you ready for a
rollercoaster ride?
MAYA
Do I have a choice...
RUTH
NO...
They jump into the narrow opening and begin to slide at
first slowly then gradually faster. At last they exit the
tunnel and fall into the water. They are in the frigid ocean
waters. Ruth takes Maya by the hand. She begins to swim,
hauling Maya. She seems to swim with superhuman energy. Maya
is dragged like a doll through the water. She is deep
underwater now. She cannot breath. Ruth is dragging her down
into the depths of the ocean. Then she begins to see a light
in front of her, at first very dim, then it grows in
intensity until it is unbearably bright. They enter the
light. On the other side...its calm. They are in a cave
now. Maya is floating in the dark water. Ruth seems to have
disappeared. She looks around but cannot see her. Swimming
she arrives at a shore. When she looks up she sees that the
cave must be enormous. The light source is in the middle of
a small island at the center of the enormous cavity. And
suddenly from the light a massive figure appears. Its a
gigantic creature. Maya recognizes it and she widens her
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 57.
eyes in terror. Its the Kraken, Chtulhu. Suddenly a booming
voice reverberates through the air.
THE KRAKEN
Maya...dont be afraid....
Maya looks around for shelter. She ducks instinctively.
THE KRAKEN (contd)
Im Ruth..Just...a little bit
different...You have to trust
me...I want to help you out. But
the problem is that in
this...reality you are subject to
the power of evil forces. You have
to overcome your fears and doubts
and engage the enemy.
MAYA
How can I trust you, where is Ruth?
THE KRAKEN
I told you. Im Ruth. Or more
precisely, Im a manifestation of
Ruth. And Ruth....
MAYA
Is a part of me, right? Im not
here right now...Im still stuck in
my hospital bed, a plant, a fucking
vegetable....
Maya falls to the ground, exhausted.
MAYA (contd)
Tell me the truth...will I ever
come out of this...maze?
THE KRAKEN
Yes, you can make it. But before
that, you have to face the force
that is holding you prisoner.
The Kraken stretches out one of his enormous arms and takes
her in its hand. She is now only inches away from its
horrific face. Tentacles are dangling from its mouth. Then
it jumps. High in the air, and flies up towards the ceiling
of the cave. It disappears inside a hole in the top of the
ceiling. Maya faints. And we-
58.
EXT. BEACH DAY 46
MAYA
I tried to kill myself....
RUTH
You were desperate...your marriage
was in ruins, your life
destroyed...
MAYA
I drove into the ditch....
RUTH
It wasnt your fault. You have to
realize this simple fact. You are
not responsible for the death of
your husband and son.
MAYA
But they were killed in the crash.
RUTH
Sure, and you will have to bear
this burden for the rest of your
life, but now its time to go
on....
MAYA
But...I cant...Im stuck in this
labyrinth. And its all in my mind.
I have made up all the worlds I
have experienced till now. Dr.
Gilliam, Abraham, Brahm...John,
Brad...you...
She looks around and is startled.
MAYA (contd)
This is the beach in the photo. I
was here before, a long time ago,
with my husband and son....My
god...
RUTH
You are confused, but you have now
gained enormous insight into
yourself. You are different inside,
Maya, you are stronger than you
thought. You can beat your enemies,
your demons.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 59.
JARRY TURRELL
Sorry to interrupt the lovely
conversation, ladies, but its time
to bring back Maya to where she
belongs....
Maya and Ruth turn their heads. Behind them a group of
soldiers is standing, in full combat gear, heavy machine
guns in their hands pointing in their direction.
RUTH
See what I mean, Maya?
JARRY TURRELL
You, my dear Ruth, will come
first...
He points his gun at her head and fires. Ruths head
explodes.
MAYA
Noooo....
Turrell moves towards Ruths body and kicks her hard with
his boot. Simultaneously soldiers grab Maya and hold her in
their grip.
JARRY TURRELL
Why? Why being upset, Maya? It was
just a figment of your imagination.
You are still in a coma, dont you
remember...you are not here. In
fact Im neither...but you
see...the difference is that I have
a full functioning body outside of
this...simulacrum...whereas you are
only an inert, wasted wreck. And
Im here to find out what we can
make out of your little damaged
brain. We know that there is
something inside of you that we can
use, to learn...to get
stronger...and for doing this, we
have to put you in a battle
situation. But you are
difficult..to handle...you resist
our intrusion in your brain...
Maya notices that her right hand is very close to one of the
soldiers handgun, which is strapped to his side pocket. She
moves her hand in its direction.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 60.
MAYA
I dont believe you...it could be
that Im also imagining you...you
also are a figment, a character in
my dream world...
JARRY TURRELL
Well, this is an interesting
hypothesis...but if I tell you that
i can prove to you that Im not
lying...
MAYA
There is no way you can prove it...
JACK TURRELL
So, its the same for you, you
cannot prove the contrary...
MAYA
I can....
Maya grabs the soldiers gun and fires in the direction of
Turrell, who is hit between the eyes and falls to the
ground. Then she fires again in the right soldiers arm and
frees herself with a quick torsion of her body. At the same
time she hits the other soldier who was holding her with the
gun in the face and starts to run over the sand dunes. The
other soldiers fire at her, but miss her. She is behind the
dunes now and continues to run. The sun is disappearing
behind black ominous clouds. The earth is beginning to be
shrouded in darkness.
JARRY TURRELL
Very good Maya, very good...
The voice of Turrell reaches her, apparently from somewhere
near her.
MAYAS DOUBLE
Where are you going?
Mayas double is standing in front of her. Maya freezes.
MAYAS DOUBLE (contd)
You are not going anywhere, you
know? You are still locked inside
your mind. You have to go back to
the hospital, Maya and try to find
out what has happened....
Bullets are flying around her. She is hit in the arm. She
turns her head and sees the soldiers approaching, running in
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 61.
the sand. Maya starts to run, as fast as she can. She spots
a car parked near the road. There is someone inside. She
grabs the driver and throws him out of the car. Then she
drives away at full speed. She arrives at the hospital.
INT. HOSPITAL DAY 47
She runs through the hall, looking for the section where
comatose patients are held. At last she finds the
indication. Third floor. She climbs the stairs and reaches
the area. She runs through the corridors, until she sees a
wide glass window. And inside...herself lying in bed,
attached to the machine that is holding her alive. She
remains at the window, staring at herself. She is completely
different from her present self. Her face is bony and pale.
Tubes are running in and out of her mouth. The other people
around her seem to ignore her presence. She starts to cry.
And cannot stop. She is overwhelmed by her emotions. She
slides to the floor and continues to cry. No one seems to
care. Then she gathers her strength and pulls herself up.
She runs away.
EXT. CITY DAY 48
Maya is running through the city streets. Sirens are howling
in the distance. The sky is dark. A blanket of boiling storm
clouds is hovering over the city. A strong wind is blowing
and objects are flying through the air. She is at the end of
her rope. Panting and crying she leans against a building
wall. She remembers Ruths words, that resound inside her
head. "Maya, you are stronger than you thought. You can beat
your enemies, your demons." Then she remembers...
MAYA
The sphere....
She tries to remember when was the last time she had seen
it..She seems to remember...and starts to run again. In the
meantime the wind has become so strong that she cannot run
anymore. She reaches a square. In front of her she sees
it...the sphere, but much larger. An oversized replica of
Ruths object. Almost crawling against the wind she reaches
it. She looks at the object but cant find anything
interesting. But suddenly she notices a little nook in the
lower part of the sphere. And inside is...a picture of her,
but much younger. It is probably a photo from her college
years.
MAYA (contd)
What does this mean?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 62.
She pushes tentatively on the picture. After a couple of
seconds, the sphere moves. She steps back, surprised. The
sphere begins to open up. And a luminous white beam of light
is spreading from its top. The clouds open and the beam
passes through the black blanket. She is now sucked inside
the beam which transports her upwards through the clouds.
And we-
INT. CONTROL ROOM, DAY 49
JARRY TURRELL
We have to face it...she is
gone...there is nothing we can do
about it...
DR. GLOCK
I dont know, we are receiving very
strong signals. MINDCOM is still
trying to regain contact with her.
JARRY TURRELL
Any news about Dr. Gilliam?
DR. GLOCK
No, he seems to have vanished. We
have searched the whole building,
but nothing..not even a trace.
JARRY TURRELL
We have to disconnect MINDCOM. Its
over. Lets go to the bar and drink
a beer.
DR. GLOCK
But...we have good signals...its
possible that we can reestablish
contact with her.
JARRY TURRELL
Nothing is impossible, but at this
point I think we should reconsider
the whole thing. Maybe it was
destined to fail from the start.
MAYA (V.O.)
Are you sure?
JARRY TURRELL
What the fuck.....
He looks around, startled. Dr. Glock is white as a sheet of
paper, motionless.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 63.
MAYA (V.O.)
Im part of your world, Turrell.
And you have no clue how this could
happen, do you? But its so
obvious...You are inside my mind. I
sucked you in, when you tried to
enter my brain. You are lying in
your chair, senseless, at the
research center, and no one can
help you. You are my prisoner now.
I know you wanted to use me as a
guinea pig for your experiments
with simulated realities, but you
couldnt foresee this..That my
mind, once connected to MINDCOM
would be able to gain control over
the system and use it like a
portal. Now, I have to find a way
to get back to a normal life, this
is all I want. But how, will you
ask. Now, thats a tough question.
But with your help maybe we can
find out.
JARRY TURRELL
And where is Dr. Gilliam...
MAYA (V.O.)
Dr. Gilliam is here with me. You
will see him soon. But for now I
need you to concentrate. How is
MINDCOM messing with my brain? Is
there a way for you to figure out
how MINDCOM can bring me back?
JARRY TURRELL
Thats impossible, Maya..You know
that. But Im still uncertain about
what has really happened. I dont
know...uh..Im feeling dizzy....
MAYA (V.O.)
I know its difficult to accept the
fact that you are no longer in
control of your self. But lets
consider it a sort of...lesson...
you are now aware of how I feel,
trapped inside my mind. And youre
not a happy camper, I guess. So,
how do we proceed..
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 64.
JARRY TURRELL
Sooner or later someone will come
and wake me up. There are other
people inside the research center.
Its only a matter of time.
MAYA (V.O.)
Yeah, sure...but Im not quite
certain that they will be able to
wake you up..do you know?
JARRY TURRELL
And...um... Dr. Glock, how do you
feel?
MAYA (V.O.)
He cant hear you, Jarry...you are
alone here with me...
JARRY TURRELL
Yes, of course....shit....
Maya enters the control room. She is wearing a white robe.
An aura of light surrounds her.
MAYA
Now I know...what happens when you
are inside your head, alone....you
become...pure thought, a force so
strong to bend the laws of
physics...but Im still a prisoner,
you know....And I need your help.
JARRY TURRELL
There is nothing I can do....Maya
please, get me out of this...I
promise you, I will stop the
experiments, and we will try to
revive you. Please...
Turrell is now beginning to collapse under the weight of his
realization of being trapped.
MAYA
You know you will die with me, if
you remain here. But we can manage
things in order to find a solution.
A music starts to play in the background. Its the same
music heard during the first contact with Maya.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 65.
MAYA (contd)
Do you like it? Its my music, my
personal composition, its still
raw but Im already happy with it.
And now I would like to introduce
my friend, that you so carelessly
killed when you were with us on the
beach.
Ruth enters the room. She is also dressed in a white robe.
She walks near to Maya and leans against her, kissing her on
her hair.
MAYA (contd)
We will soon be together, fused
into each other...me and my lovely
Ruth, my only one.
JARRY TURRELL
I need to see Dr. Gilliam, where is
he?
MAYA
Dr. Gilliam...he had an
accident...He had a....nervous
breakdown...so...its difficult to
show him now....
JARRY TURRELL
What do you mean?
MAYA
He is disturbed...his image...I
cant stabilize it...he cannot talk
very much...
JARRY TURRELL
I have to think it over...how...how
were you able to recreate the
control center, I mean...in your
mind...
MAYA
Not in my mind, dear, in your and
Dr. Gilliams mind. There I found
the information.
JARRY TURRELL
So I look like me...
MAYA
As your subconscious is depicting
you... I have found my balance now.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 66.
MAYA (contd)
No more Hell, no more intrusions
from my memories...its all well
defined now, thanks to Ruth, I must
say...
She glances at Ruth with a loving smile.
JARRY TURRELL
But Ruth...is you...
MAYA
Sure, you are right. But there are
others who I would like to
introduce to you, other parts of
me. One I think you know already.
Suddenly the control room vanishes.
EXT. DESERT LANDSCAPE DAY 50
They find themselves in a desert landscape. The great
Chtulhu is towering in front of them. Turrell instinctively
ducks, terrified by the monster.
MAYA
You see, he is a good boy...looks
may deceive...
JARRY TURRELL
Ok, Im sorry if I did something
wrong, but I did it for the sake of
science, and the national
security....and...
MAYA
Dont give me this shit...you know
you are a ruthless cynic killer. I
would kill you if I were...you
know...outside...
JARRY TURRELL
I think you have only to
wait...sooner or later your brain
will recover...and gradually you
will come back....
MAYA
Im stuck here...dont you
understand...I will go crazy if I
dont get out as soon as possible.
The desert fades away.
67.
INT. CAVE NIGHT 51
They are now in a cave. An enormous dark cave. The only
light comes from a lantern placed on the ground.
MAYA
I sense something...
DR. GANNON
Here is MINDCOM, Maya, we are
trying to establish contact. Can
you here us?
JARRY TURRELL
Hey, its me, Turrell. Are you
there?
DR. GANNON
Yes, Mister Turrell. Its Gannon.
We are trying to revive you, but
you seem to have fallen in a sort
of coma. We are now detaching you
from the simulator.
MAYA
If you are separated, your mind
will remain here with me. Your body
will remain in a vegetative state.
JARRY TURRELL
(shouting)
Stop! Stop, for chrissakes. Dont
disconnect me.
DR. GANNON
But why?
JARRY TURRELL
I have a problem here...um...with
Maya. You have to try to bring her
back as soon as possible..
DR. GANNON
What? We cant do this right
now..you know very well, we have to
follow the procedure...
MAYA
(puzzled)
What procedure? Hey Turrell, what
procedure...
Maya stares at Turrell, frozen.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 68.
JARRY TURRELL
Gannon, can you tell me what
happened to Dr. Gilliam...
DR. GANNON
He is in a vegetative state. We
have disconnected him from the
simulator a couple of days ago. He
was unconscious when we found him.
JARRY TURRELL
Shit, I knew it....(a beat).
Listen Gannon, you have to
reconnect Dr. Gilliam immediately
to MINDCOM. If Im right, he may
recover from his state by
reestablishing a link with the part
of his mind that has remained
inside this....mess..
DR. GANNON
Ok. Well try.
Turrell sits down in the dirt. His head reclined.
MAYA
Now tell me, Turrell, who is
Abraham? And why did he mention a
book I was reading when I lost my
way? What does that mean?
JARRY TURRELL
Maybe it was just a slip of the
tongue. He didn mean it...
MAYA
Oh, really....and that thing with
the procedure....mentioned by
Gannon...
JARRY TURRELL
I dont know what he wanted to
say...
RUTH
He is lying....I sense it...
JARRY TURRELL
Look Maya, you have to come to
terms with your reality. You have
killed your husband and your son.
You almost killed yourself too. You
are...
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 69.
MAYA
Shut up! Shut up! I will kill you,
bastard...
Maya is agitated. She walks towards Turrell, menacingly.
RUTH
Maya, we have to concentrate....we
have to get out of here....
JACK TURRELL
(wryly)
You can only do this through
me....through me...
DR. GANNON
What is going on, Turrell, what do
we have to do now....
JACK TURRELL
I think you should proceed with
Phase 3....
MAYA
Hey..what does this mean...
DR. GANNON
Copy that. See ya...
Maya and Ruth observe Turrell, who is trying to hide his
face from Maya. He is grinning now. Although tension is
surfacing in his face. It is clear that he is not sure about
the outcome of his gamble.
MAYA
Whats so funny, Turrell...are you
going to kill us all? You know that
if they disconnect you, you will
end up an inert sack of flabby
flesh....
JARRY TURRELL
Im aware that Im your guest here,
Maya, but you see,.... we had
prepared a plan B for this sort of
contingencies...and it will....hurt
a bit...
RUTH
You are a worm, Turrell...you know
that....
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 70.
JARRY TURRELL
Listen to me, MINDCOM has never
lost contact with your mind, Maya,
the world you are seeing, feeling
around you is a simulation somehow
sprouted from the interaction
between your brain and MINDCOM. But
our intention, I mean the intention
of Dr. Gilliam and his team was to
keep control over the system and
guide you through various
experiences that would, hopefully,
force your lost circuits to
regenerate and let you emerge again
from you vegetative state.
He is slowly receding from Maya, step by step, as he talks.
JARRY TURRELL (contd)
Its all bullishit. Look at
you...he was wrong...you cannot be
saved from your condition. You are
destined to remain inside your fake
world forever....You cant get
out...
MAYA
Sure I can...youll see.
Suddenly the cave vanishes, and we-
INT. MINDCOM CONTROL ROOM 52
DR. GANNON
We have disconnected her from the
life support. But she is still
breathing. And Turrell is still
unconscious. We thought by stopping
life support she would die and he
would come back. But no....its not
working. We have to kill her and
make it look like she died of
natural causes.
DR. FRANK
Ok, we have a lethal dose ready for
her. It will look like she suffered
a heart attack.
Dr. Ruth, an assistant to Dr. Gilliam, is overhearing the
conversation.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 71.
DR. JILL RUTH
Ill do the injection.
DR. FRANK
OK, in 30 minutes you have to be
ready at the sarcophage.
JILL is looking at Maya, with sadness in her eyes. She
doesnt want to kill Maya. She loves her. With a syringe in
her hand she walks to the drug delivery panel and injects
the content which is delivered through a tube to Maya.
Suddenly Maya moves. She is waking up. No one is looking at
the monitors. Only Jill is aware of this. Swiftly she moves
and through a touchscreen she is able to restabilize her
normal parameters on the monitors so that no one will notice
her awakening. Then she moves towards her sarcophage, and
through an opening she talks to her.
JILL
Maya, can you hear me?
MAYA
Oh....Where...My God, you are Ruth.
JILL
Maya, I cant explain right now
what has really happened. But we
have to move.
MAYA
But I feel so weak.
JILL
You will regain your strength very
fast. It was only four days ago
that you were put into artifical
coma.
MAYA
What...Artificial coma?
JILL
Yes, an artificial vegetative
state. Now, the problem is, we are
inside a highly surveilled research
center. Its full of military
inside and outside the facility. So
we have to find a way to sneak you
out without being noticed.
MAYA
I....think I cant make it...
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 72.
RUTH
No, we have to try....Come
on...Ill help you, but we have to
prepare for battle. Its going to
get very hot here. You know. I
will kill anybody trying to harm
you. (beat) I have collected a
stash of guns in the last few days
and we are going to use them if
necessary. I hope that what you
have experienced in the simulation
will come handy when the occasion
rises.
Ruth leads Maya behind a wall that divides the control room
from a hall where operators, scientists and other staff
memebers are talking to each other at their respective
workstations. Maya wears the staff uniform and is walking
covered by Ruth, who is much taller than her. They make it
through the room and enter a corridor.
INT. MINDCOM RESEARCH CENTER 53
Then they enter a door, on which a plate reads: "DR. Ruth".
Inside Jill opens a drawer containing handguns, ammunition
and handgrenades. Suddenly a siren starts to blare. They
take the guns and a couple of grenades and exit the room.
INT. MINDCOM CONTROL ROOM - INTERFACE 54
Jarry Turrell wakes up just as the sirens are starting to
blare. An assistant is looking at him.
ASSISTANT
Welcome back, Mister Turrell.
JARRY TURRELL
Oh, what a headache...its
terrible...tell me..what happened
to Maya?
ASSISTANT
Dr. Ruth managed to wake up Maya
and free her. They are now
somewhere in the facility.
JARRY TURRELL
Bitches...I dont know what their
plan is, but it must be something
really desperate. How can they
possibly hope to get out of this
complex.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 73.
He is disconnected from the MINDCOM chair.
JARRY TURRELL (contd)
Take them down, whatever it
costs..National Security is at
stake. You have to act with extreme
prejudice.
ASSISTANT
Ok, sir. And what about Dr.
Gilliam? His vital parameters are
also beginning to show some sort of
recovery.
JARRY TURRELL
Uhm... leave him there, under
observation. And better keep him
sedated for a while.
INT. MINDCOM RESEARCH CENTER 55
Maya and Ruth are running through a narrow corridor passing
between laboratories visible through windows in the walls.
They reach a staircase. They have to climb upwards, because
they presently find themselves 100 feet underground. Sirens
are blaring. The noise is ear-shattering. Red and blue
lights flash everywhere. They hear the sound of a commotion
coming a couple of flights of stairs below them and then a
hailstorm of fire erupts inside the narrow vertical space.
Bullets fired by soldiers are bouncing everywhere ricoheting
against the steel frame. Ruth and Maya accelerate trying to
put more space between them and the pursuers. They reach
level -3 and Ruth stops. She cautiously opens the door and
peeks on the other side. Nobody is in sight. She signals
Maya to move. Silently they walk through a corridor. Signs
on the walls read: "Medical area - ER - Intensive Care".
Then they arrive in front of a steel door. The sign on the
door is: "MINDCOM Interface - Identification". Ruth puts her
face in front of a display beside the door and the door
unlocks confirming her identity.
MAYA
What are we looking for?
RUTH
Im looking for Dr. Gilliam
MAYA
But....he is.....dead..
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 74.
RUTH
No, he is not dead, he was in a
vegetative state. And he should be
awake by now, because I have
disconnected you from MINDCOM...
Ruth stops in front of a window. On the other side, Dr.
Gilliam is lying in his chair, still unconscious. The door
to his compartment is locked. Ruth picks a sphere from her
pocket. The same sphere Maya had found in Hell and later in
that city square, which had sucked her and brought her to
Chtulhu.
MAYA
Whats that? Ive seen it
before....
RUTH
Its my lucky charm....I wear it
always on me, especially when Im
in distress. It helps me
concentrate. But its also an ipod
and a powerful weapon; if you throw
it with enough force, it
accelerates instantly by itself and
when it hits it delivers a big
punch. Its based on
magnetodynamics, but dont ask me
how it works its magic....
She takes aim and throws the sphere against the window which
shatters in a million crystals.
MAYA
Wow....
RUTH
OK, lets get in....
They climb inside the compartment. Dr. Gilliam is apparently
asleep. He is disconnected from the interface cables but
still unconscious.
RUTH (contd)
I dont understand. He should be
awake by now. They must have
sedated him. Lets try to revive
him.
Ruth looks inside drawers on the wall. She finds a syringe
and sticks it in Dr. Gilliams arm. After a couple of
seconds he begins to moan and opens his eyes. He looks at
Maya and Ruth and is startled.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 75.
DR. GILLIAM
What the hell.....
Sounds of steps of soldiers approaching.
MAYA
We dont have much time. Doc. We
need you to come with us. We have
to get out of here. Turrell wants
us dead, but you have to...
DR. GILLIAM
I...I dont know..
He looks frightened.
DR. GILLIAM (contd)
Im scared..You have no idea what I
went through....I thought I would
go crazy.
He starts to cry.
MAYA
Come on, doc, gather yourself
together...we must get out of here
before Turrell has all us killed.
Maya and Ruth grab him and haul him literally out of the
room. Ruth puts the weak and slim doctor on her shoulders
and runs towards an exit, followed by Maya. Bullets are
already flying in their direction. Suddenly they hear a
strange buzzing noise. And then an automatic heavy duty door
opens in front of them and the familiar figure of Jsrry
Turrell appears in the doorway. He is flanked by three
soldiers, in combat outfit. Maya starts shooting almost at
once, wounding the three soldiers, whereas Turrell is able
to shoot back and hit Ruth in the shoulder. She falls to the
ground, leaving the sphere rolling on the pavement. Maya is
lightning fast. She grabs the sphere and launches it against
Turrell, who is caught off-guard. The sphere hits him right
in the chest. He is thrown to the graound by the impact.
Maya takes Ruth, who is still carrying Dr. Gilliam on her
shoulders, by the hand and guns down a narrow corridor.
RUTH
Take a grenade and throw it inside
that room, there on the left...and
then...we have to run...very
fast...
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 76.
MAYA
Understood.
Maya detaches the security from the grenade and throws it
inside a room on her left.
RUTH
Now RUN!!!
Maya grabs her by the hand and runs.
RUTH (contd)
We have to find a well, its on the
other side of this corridor. five,
four three two one....
A powerful blast shocks the whole underground complex. They
are thrown on the floor, which is beginning to buckle. The
metal structures are moaning because of the stresses induced
by the huge explosion.
RUTH (contd)
I hope we get out alive. Anyway,
you must know Maya that I have
loved you so much....
MAYA
Dont be melodramatic. We are going
to make it. Im sure about that.
They reach an opening in the wall. Inside the cavity a well
extends upwards and downwards.
RUTH
We have to climb up as fast as we
can, before the whole thing blows
to kingdom come.
Flames and smoke are already beginning to fill the air. Jets
of water are sprayed from the ceiling, but they are failing
one after the other, because of the damage inflicted on the
hydraulic system by the explosion of highly flammable
materials.
INT. MINDCOM CONTROL CENTER - WELL 56
Maya and Ruth are climbing up a ladder that should lead them
out of the research center. Its the ventilation shaft,
which is closed at the upper end by a heavy grating.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 77.
RUTH
Ok Maya, now, we have to blow that
sonofabitch up there. We only have
one grenade left, I hope it is
enough, otherwise we are fucked.
Ruth gives Maya the grenade. Maya fixes it to the grating.
Then they crouch for protection inside a nook in the wall of
the shaft. After the explosion they look intently at the
fading smoke. There is a hole. So they climb up and pass
through the narrow hole. And we-
EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY DAY 57
Once Maya and Ruth are on the other side, outside the
facility, they find again Turrell surrounded by soldiers.
Apparently they were expecting them. Turrell is held up by
two soldiers, visibly suffering from the injury inflicted by
the sphere.
JARRY TURRELL
Well, its time to wrap the whole
thing up dont you think?
MAYA
But how can you be so confident
that you are living your "real"
life and not some sort of surrogate
inside my mind or inside your poor
derelict body...
JARRY TURRELL
HAHAHA...You are funny, really, you
are trying to play a game with
me....I see...now...If I shoot you
or Ruth, you will be dead only in
this "fiction", right? There would
be no problem from your side,
right? Ok, so now lets test this
theory, which by the way I think is
completely bonkers....
Ruth unloads Dr. Gilliam on the ground.
DR. GILLIAM
Turrell, you have no power over
these soldiers. They have to know
that you have acted against the
law. You are guilty of misconduct
and attempted murder. Soldier,
arrest him.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 78.
JARRY TURRELL (contd)
Im guilty as you are, Gilliam, you
were part of the plan.
DR. GILLIAM
In a sense you are right, but you
have gone too far. You cannot kill
Maya because you fear that you will
be arrested.
SOLDIER
I dont know. Mr. Turrell said that
Miss Maya and Miss Ruth were
sabotaging the facility. There has
to be at least an investigation.
They will be interrogated and...
Turrell, though partly incapacitated, is able to free
himself and aims his gun at Maya and is about to shoot when
the soldier strikes him with his gun on the head.
SOLDIER
Im afraid I have then to follow
Dr. Gilliams advice, Mr. Turrell.
You are now under arrest. Miss Maya
and Ruth are innocent, as I see it.
Suddenly a powerful explosion from the underground complex
throws all to the ground. A thick smoke is enveloping the
scene.
DR. GILLIAM
(coughing)
Now go...Maya, I..COUGH.. will
handle the situation here. It will
not take much time before they
understand what has really
happened. Here are my car keys. You
find the car in the parking lot at
the gate. I will call you when its
all clear.
Maya and Ruth seize the opportunity and run towards the
parking lot, find the car and drive through the check point
at the gate at full speed. No one pays attention, because
all are running towards the place of the explosion.
79.
EXT. DESERT ROAD NIGHT 58
Maya and Ruth are driving on the desert road. Its night and
there is no one following them. Soon they find themselves
driving over barren hills towards the interstate.
RUTH
OK now Maya, I think we have to get
out the US as soon as possible. I
think its safer for us to
disappear for a while, at least for
some time, until they definitely
find out that we are innocent and
that Turrell had gone rogue.
They continue to drive until they arrive at a service
station.
INT. SERVICE STATION DAWN 59
Maya and Ruth are sitting at a table in the caffetteria of
the service station. They are drinking coffee and eating
cheesecake.
MAYA
Now, Ruth, you have to explain to
me what has really happened.
RUTH
No, I want to hear your story
first. What has happened after you
lost contact with MINDCOM?
MAYA
Ok, now....
Maya tells Ruth all she has experienced while in the
different worlds created by her mind.
RUTH
Wow, pretty amazing. But now I have
an explanation for all that you
have gone through. OK, lets start
from the very beginning....You were
put in a coma against your will in
order to perform a series of
experiments on you with MINDCOM.
That book about that monster
Chtulhu that Abraham the lighthouse
keeper mentioned while you were
with him is the book you were
reading in hospital before being
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 80.
RUTH (contd)
put into the artifical coma. Thats
why you created the Kraken in the
first place. On the other hand,
your accident was real, you were
hospitalized after you destroyed
your car and wounded yourself in a
suicide attempt, after your
marriage had broken to pieces. You
had caught your husband cheating,
and you were devastated. Thats
why you saw him with the girls, and
why he became such a villain in
your world. You had left your home
and your family. But in the reality
created by your mind your sense of
guilt made you believe you had
really killed them.
MAYA
But....Brahm...I thought I was in
love with him...
RUTH
You have created Brahm because you
needed help. You needed someone to
keep you sane. It was a projection
of me, I think....at least I hope
so...
Ruth winks at her.
MAYA
In fact, I felt there was something
wrong with him. But how do I know
you?
RUTH
I met you at the hospital and you
know...we fell in love at first
sight. I was attracted by you and,
although you were straight as an
arrow...
MAYA
Yes, it was weird....now I
remember...I could not understand
why it was happening... For the
first time in my life I felt really
in love.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 81.
RUTH
I know, anyway, then the experiment
with MINDCOM started and I had to
participate as a member of the
hospital medical staff. ...at first
I wasnt aware of the fact that you
were in an induced coma, but when I
understood what they were up to...I
decided to act. I prepared the guns
and the grenades, taking them from
the military area within the same
MINDCOM research complex. And I
also prepared the chemical that
would bring you back from your
coma. Im sorry for your ordeal,
Maya, I know it is hard for you now
to acknoledge that you have left
your family, but its over. You
went through Hell and came back, as
Dante. And Im your Virgil, who led
you out, to see the stars again....
MAYA
(smiling)
You are so full of shit...
RUTH
(smiling)
Yeah, and I love you too....
They lean over the table and kiss each other with passion.
EXT. DESERT ROAD DAY 60
Its a beautiful morning, Maya and Ruth are in their car,
driving South towards Mexico. Their hair is waving in the
wind, they look each other in the eyes and smile, because
they are driving towards the future, towards freedom. The
sky in front of them is finally blue, really blue.