"BATTLEFIELD EARTH" (2000)

The sky glows deep crimson as the sun starts to sink below the horizon, casting shadows over •••

A small group of native people, clad in animal skins, congregat outside a remote cave. Their heads reverently bowed, while--

Bis gaze sweeps across the youngsters, drilling into their heads

Turns a sharp eye back to Jonnie, but still addressing the child

PARSONSTAFFER (cont'd)

Bis rugged frame clothed in a puma hide, a kill-club hanging frOll his belt. And although only nineteen, JONNIE, already has the look of someone who has already overcome a lifetime's worth of adversitv. Be immediatelv turns to Chrissv. ·

The clan c~oses ~heir eyes in silent prayer. All except for--

cmussy

aer teenage cc~ntenance offset by the maturity in her strong dark eyes.

The parson shakes his head as Jonnie secures an animal-skin sleep roll and extra kill-cl~s to h~s snow-white horse, WINDSPLI'l'TER.

This is not what your mother wanted.

The parson's ancient face burns with religious fury as he drills his stare into Jonnie.

eewv::r·-··

that hang there, then gives Jonnie a pointed look-- Be lets PARSON STAFFER (cont'd) But all it would take is for one monster to see you, and follow you back, and we would all be struck down.

Jonnie meets his rage with ca.l.n, dzter=.ina~ion.

Be turns to the rest of the clan, challenging--

Jonnie heads down the· hill, turning a bend·, where--

u

Jonnie smiles, impressed by Chrissy's mettle. But shakes his head. JONNIE tfinishing hll thought) --I think you can handle yourself better than most men••• Which is why·you must stay and look after your younger brothers. Chrissy looks at him, chagrined. It's hard to argue with that. A tough beat. Nothing left but to say good-bye •••

And finally, struggling to keep her face a mask, Chrissy removes a shiny MEDALLIONhanging from her neck.

She places the medallion around his neck, their bodies close not touching. So much not being said •••

The tribe's children race alongside Jonnie, excited by the adventure he's going on. But secretly terrified by the death they've been taught awaits him •••

The young ones obediently stop at the bridge. They will not cross it. But Jonnie does, leaving the'tribe behind.

Chrissy's mask starting ~o crack as she watches him disappear The first of the tears escaping down her cheeks.

As night falls, Jonnie rides across wide open plains. Bis eyt t~nse, seai:ching the gathering darkness for the first sign of

And he suddenly freezes. Seeing his first ever •••

Jonnie steals through the grass, throwing his kil~-club with blurrinq speed at an unsuspectinq ANTELOPE.

Jonnie rides through a grove of conifer trees, the strips of dried meat now hanging from his sleeping roll, when he suddenl stops windsplitter and silently dismounts--

careful not to make the slightest sound, Jonnie slips behind c

Jonnie and Windsplitter move through a deserted housing develo passing TREES which grow up through the sidewalks and streets.

A faded piece of PAPER flutters by. Jonnie picks it up.

Be can just make out a picture of a woman in a bra. The first time Jonnie has seen a photo, let alone women's undergannents.

More paper litters the ground nearby. Jonnie heads to them, passing a rusted TRAIN abandoned on its tracks.

Windsplitter abruptly stops. Nostrils flaring. Eyes on a BOO The door knocked off its hinges. Windows shattered. Jonnie pulls his kill-club and silently shoos Windsplitter away.

Kill-club at the ready, Jonnie cautiously approaches the house, when suddenly--

A WU:ZZLY BEAR

Rockets out the front door, barreling after--

Jonnie, .who bolts away, desperately trying to outrun his dez pursuer. Seeking higher ground, Jonnie races to the--

Train, and scrambles up the side of a rail car, then spins l

:1 The grizzly has stopped chasing him and turns back to her ct who scamper out of the house to Dlav in the front yard.

Jonnie whirls around with club raised. Coming face to face \

But the thing Jonnie probably notices first about the men art SPEARS they bo1m have ·aimed at his chest. · ·

carlo motions to the kill-club _in Jonnie's hand.

Jonnie slowly lowers his weapon, but remains on gu~.

Rock silently d.irec~s his partner's attention to--

WINDSPLI'l'TER

Who grazes near the train, waiting for Jonnie. Both men tak1 note of the antelope-meat Windsplitter carries.

Carlo turns a friendly eye back to Jonnie.

Jonnie hands strips of dried meat to Carlo and Rock, who reverently bow their heads, holding the food up to the heaveni

The snow really coming down now. Windsplitter follows our trio through a white carpeted parking lot, taking shelter inside a--

A brightly decorated plastic CHRISTMASTREE stands among the rea: trees growing up through the floor. A CD of SILENT NIGBT loops endlessly from the few speakers in the mall that still work.

Our trio head into a department store, but Carlo and Rock freeze their tracks with sickened expressions.

Rock silently nods, appalled by the sight of--

MANNEQUXNS lying broken on the floor. Many of these •frozen people' missing limbs, not to mention their genitalia. Nearby ••

Jonnie stands, curious, in front of a large plate-glass window tl makes up an entire wall. Outside, he can see the snow falling, l when he tries to touch it, an 'invisible force' keeps stopping h:

-.I ltABI.AM1

In a sudden flash of light, Carlo is hurled back off his feet. Bis body crashes hard to the ground, twitches once, then falls deadly still.

And out of the shadows behind Rock steps a truly nightmarish figure. Like the parson's drawing of the monster, but worse •••

over nine feet tall with glowing amber eyes. Razor sharp talons on his claws. Thick bone-like structures for eyebrows and lips. The PSYCBLOaims his BLAST-GUNdead center on Rock and fires--

As Jonnie's KILL-CLUBflies through the air--

ltnocking into the firing weapon, causing the shot to go wide.

Jonnie and Rock take off through the store, bolting through a maze of aisles which lead them through a doorway--

Our guys sprint up the stairs. The sound of deadly pursuit getting louder behind them as they burst out onto--

The only way off the two-story building is to jump. And the frozen ground below doesn't make thi!! too appealing an option.

..-.....- .

But with the Psych.lo rushing through the doorway behind them, Jonnie and Rock throw themselves off the side of the building--

Jonnie hits the ground, rolling to his feet--

Rock isn't as fortunate and lands at a bad angle, SNAPPINGhis on impact. He tries to climb to his feet, but the broken leg buckles, sending him collapsing back to the snow.

Jonnie turns back to help him--

Be gives a loud whistle and •••

Windsplitter gallops out of the mall. ·Booves churning up a fll of snow as he races to Jonnie--

The Psychlo pauses to look down at •••

••• Belp me please. ·I have l.ived a · devoted life •••

But the twinkling lights seem indifferent to his plight.

Jonnie watches helplessly as the Psychlo slams down a lever on the side of the gun, then aims it down at Rock. KABBLAMJ

A ~aping hole bl~_throu~h Rock's_chest .

..... on -·.. _e s ~-__ -~~......... ...~ e-c· ~r\_.., r-o_ n ..........o~ • ,.-..i...,·""a· .. so 1;-... - ..-e-. ,,. ..e:.: _~; ... r:a~, ......ygathers ~he =eins, and :enos -~:~ -~e saadl&. ~eady :o ~ide.

Anc ~!1en ~.e sees •..·nat _ooKs :..:i<e :.;:sect. Thirty :eet:.ong and -:.e:--. :ee~ t.:...;:-.,:·,,.;e_·:0 :ee1: ::de ::, side •. !\.nd srnoo-:.::.3itti.ng

:~ere·s an earsp~:tt:~g =oar!

:on~ie g~ances back, ~o where the ~hing rises three feet aoove the ground. And ~eves :o.:ward.

;o~~:e passes one corner, ~hen another. The thing fAlling behind.

He swerves tvindsplitter up a sidestreet, reaches another corner and again t~r~es. He heads :or the open country.

He can hear the roaring of the thing somewhere beyond the rubble. He listens, holding his breath. The position of the roar changing. Shifting to the right.

The thing somehow blocks the street ahead of him and then goes on, planning to come up behind him.

He is trapped. There is no panic in him now. He slows the hard pounding of his heart. The thing to do is wait until the monster is right in the street behind him-then go over that barricade a fallen building had become.

He sidles Windsplitter back to get a good run.

The thing is roaring down the side oath behind him. Now it is turning. He glances back. There it ls, wisps of smoke corning out of its nostrils.

Jonnie put the heel to Windsplitter. ~e yanks.on the lead rope.·

And sprints at the barricade. Rough and full of loose stones. Dangerous.

Up they scramble. Rubble slides. But up they go. All the way to the top. One glance back shows ...

But he's over the barr:cade. ~e ~:-:s ~~e street before him at a run and keeps ~~n~:~9.

Jonnie swerves -:::roug~ ~ cnE:cKerooard -::>f paths, edging to the open country.

Further and further. ~he buildings thinning. Open country between two structures to his right. He skids down off the embankment and races for freedom. Windsplitter puffing.

He strains his eyes, watching.

There it is!

It slides out ~rorn among the buildings and starts straight toward him.

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And suddenly, there's a SHEET OF FLAME. Ahead ~f him the right-hand building explodes apart. I~s t~p slides sl~wl¥th down and into the street anead, blocking it. Spattere wi dust, Jonnie hauls up short.

He puts the horse ·.:p to a run.

The thing not only closes the distance but starts to pass.

Jonnie swerves at right angles.

The thing banks into a turn and flashes by him, well ahead, turns and blocks his way.

Jonnie pulls up. He turns around and began to run away from it.

It let out a blasting roar, scorches by him and again stops, blocking his way.

Jennie's face tightens into dete.nnination.

Thong solid on his wrist.

Walking Windspli tter, he moves up a.head of the thing. It doesn't.move. He goes about a hundred feet.in front of the. thing. It doesn't move. He carefully spots the position of a slitted eye.

And whirls the kill club. And outs a heel to Windsplitter. They race straight at the thing.

The kill club, carried with the full speed of the run~~ng horse, whooshes down straight at the slitted eye.

The crash of impact is deafening.

Jonnie slows beyond the thing. :t had not moved.

He trots Windsolitter back to the original position, a hundred feet in front of the thing. He turns and makes ready for a second run.

He touches a heel. ',hndspl: tter ?:..unaes forwa::::-d.

And then a great gout of yellow blooms out from between the eyes.

Jonnie is struck a blow like all the winds of Highpeak rolled into one.

Windsplitter catches the full force of it. Up into the air go horse and rider. Down they come with a shuddering crash, against the earth.

IN THE DARKNESS:

There's an ethereal, almost otherworldly WAILING. Then a stab of light and--

The shopping mall falls away below as we rise higher and higher above it. Like a soul returning to heaven •••

But for some reason, we're looking down through prison-like BARS.

Jonnie's face. as he starts to come to. Disorientated, he looks around. A handful of men stare back at him, each one trying to hide how terrified they are. And PULLING BACKwe can see •••

Jonnie and the men are imprisoned in a cargo cage suspended from the underbelly of a--

Which climbs up vertically into the sky with engines wailing, then rockets forward with impressive speed.

An icy wind blasts through the cage. But the cold is the least c Jannie's concern as he spots Carlo lying motionless in the corneI

A pair of young, scrappy-looking twins, MICREYand SAMMY,give Jc a reassuring look. They shout to be heard over the howling wind-

And sure enough, Carlo groggily begins to stir. Relieved to see Jonnie. But then he looks around for Rock •••

The Psychlo banks the transport vehicle around a mountain, revealing a massive TRANSPARENTDOMEcovering a large city below.

Getting closer, we can see Mile Bigh Stadium. And behind it, the distinctive design of Denver International Airport •••.

The vehicle hovers down, and with the sound of a magnetic field disengaging, deposits the cage into the back of a flatbed truck.

The Psychlo lumbers in with box-shaped AIR-FILTRATIONUNITS, eacr with a thin tube attached to it. Be starts to slide one of these tubes into Jonnie's nose, but Jonnie knocks the creature's paw a~

The Psychlo growls, hurling Jonnie viciously across the cage--

The Psychlo drives the flatbed-.transport truck with the cargo cagi it through an ENTRYPORT, complete with maDIDOthair-lock chambers Jonnie studies everything with the trained eye of a skilled hunte;

The dome covering Denver is so enormous, it has its own weather~ And right now, a dark drizzle falls onto the city, which looks much like it does today, save for two things... ·

A g:;-imy layer of mining soot covers the place. And for some reason, most of the buildings have been painted purple.

The Psychlo removes ~he tube from his own nose and leans out the window, taking a deep, _contented breath •••

Jonnie experiments with removing his own tube ••• But he immediatel has trouble breathing. Eyes going glassy. Be replaces the tube a fast as he can. Carlo gives him a pointed look.

The sounds of HEAVY INDUSTRYfill the air as the truck turns down street, passing a shift of PSYCELOLABORERStrudging off with lune pails to go work in the mines and smelting plants.

The Psychlo backs the truck up to a loading dock and BONKS. Several GUARDS head over with a PROCESSINGCLERKas the Psychlo "Buman-Slave Wrangler" swings open the cargo cage.

And now we can see that while this Psychlo is an imposing figure at nine feet tall, he's actually a bit of a runt. The other Psychlos are all a good foot or two taller •••

Including the clerk, who takes one look at Jonnie and the others and drills a hard stare into the undersized Psychlo "wrangler".

- zee;a&UTET"

Jonnie studies the monsters closely, but from his P,o.v., all l hears is an unintelligible machine-like clicking sound of theiz alien language. Be turns a questioning eye to Carlo •••

And even though Jonnie doesn't know what the Psychlos are arguiz about, he knows one thing. They're not paying him any attentioz So he moves like a streak out the cage door. Carlo right ·behinc'

But the wrangler isn't abou~ to lose any more of his 'cargo' anc whirls, snatching Jonnie, then lunges for Carlo--

But Carlo manages to twist out of reach of the creature's talons sprint away through the warehouse. The wrangler pulls his gun.

The wrangler gives him a snide, 'Bow stupid do you think I am?', look. Jonnie watches from the ground as--

The Psychlo slides a lever above the blast-gun's trigger-guard into an up position. then takes aim and FI.RES--

Carlo is knocked flat as the blue-bolt slams into him. Bis body lies motionless, but intact, on the ground.

The Psychlo holsters his fire-arm and scoops up Jonnie. Starts to toss him back into the caqe but--

Suddenlyrealizes he's no longer in posse~sion of his gun,

Jonnie has the weapon. And is pointing it straight at him. The wrangler sniggers. The same reaction from the other Psychlos •••

It's like a 'horse' has somehow picked up a gun with its hooves. Only, Jonnie slides the weapon's lever into the down-position.

The wrangler is no longer laughing. Be reaches down, coaxing Jonnie as if he was some kind of errant pet •••

PS~CBLO WRANGLER Come on, boy. . • Gi -.,e me the gun •••

But Jonnie doesn't. So the wrc'ngler lunges for it--

Burst out in hysterical laughter. That has got to be the goddam funniest ~ng they've ever seen.

With the monsters busy laughing, Jonnie makes a break for it. Charging through the warehouse complex and out a doorway--

Where he barrels straight into--

'l'ERL

Who unlike the Psychlo laborers, wears a senior officer's unifor adorned with impressive gold epaulets, denoting "Chief of Securi

Bis ever present assistant, KER, .can't help but snicker at them collision has splattered over his boss's perfectly pressed attir

But Terl doesn't seem to find it amusing. Be shuts Ker up with· quick look, then rips Jonnie off his feet--

The clerk immediately points to the dead wrangler.

The ot~er Psychlos nod, backing this up. Terl considers this, then picks the blaster-gun up from the ground •••

And caJroJyhands the weaponto Jonnie.

••• Sir?

Rapidly losing patience, Terl snaps--

Knowing he's treacling on dangerous ground, the clerk stares at Te:

Terl returns his stare without blinking.

The clerk swallows hard, then turns to Jonnie and •••

Lunges for the gun, trying to grab it before--

lCABLAKJ

Jonnie blasts a hole through the clerk's chest

Terl stares in disbel~ef. But ~onnie's not finished. A bigger Psychlo leaps up and charges. Roaring.

Jonnie stumbles backward.

~- t5 -3-- -

An enormous paw blurs in ~he air, coming at him. Talons rake the side of his face.

Jonnie has the gun in position, and fires at the huge chest. He punches blast after blast into it, driving him back.

Terl jerks the gun from Jonnie's hands, and sends a swipe across his chest that sends him crumbling to the ground.

A lively joint wher~ a bunch of Psychlo laborers let off steam playing LASER-BASB. Others consume libations while slapping and pinching the asses of the female Psychlo wait-staff who pass by.

Terl plops onto a stool at the bar, but before he can order, he's served a saucepan full of !CE.RBANGO,a thick oily beverage.

Terl's eyes slit in suspicion. The bartender shrugs, keeping his voice casual as he continues •••

Terl helps himself to. a shot of kerbango, then explains--

The color drains from the bartender's face. Terl strolls off chuckling, quite pleased with how fun that was .

', \ _)

A PSYCHLO TECHNICIAN,wearing rubber gloves and a germ mask over face, uses laser-scissors to cut the animal skins off of Jonnie.

The skins get tossed into an INCINERATOR. The technician then reaches over and yanks Chrissy"s medallion from Jonnie's neck.

Jonnie tries to grab it back, but the technician swats him away like he was an insect, then holds up the object to see what was so damn important to the 'llan-animal ••• .. And we can now see Ch=issy' s 'shiny' medallion is a SILVER ooLLA·

Nobody does. So the technician tosses it into the incinerator.

As Jonnie watches Chrissy's medallion get consumed by the flames something deep and dangerous burns in his eyes.

~. DENVER MININGSITE -- CONTINUOUS

A long line of humans, chained to stakes like leashed dogs, hunc a massive conveyor belt spewing out a const.ant discharge of crue rocks. The humans separate out the OAR, which they place into--

Psychlo to carry, but it's back-breaking work for the ~1unnns hauling them across a large field to a ...

Psycblo Guards use rod-like devices to prod the slower slaves al with sinister blasts of raw electricity.

Terl is in the rear, gazing at the humans with the indifference someone might have driving past a dairy farm full of cows.

With the platform loaded with baskets of ore, an ALARMsounds an the Psychlos immediately don protective goggles and ear-plugs. The humans have no such gear to protect them as •••

The BUMof large generators starts to fill the air. Growing louder as they work-up to full power and there"s suddenly--

An EAR-SPLITTINGexplosion of sound and BLINDINGFLASBof light as all the baskets of ore on the platform vanish.

A brief moment of quiet respite. Then the deafening roar and blazing light happens again. And this time •••

Bundreds of PSYCBLOLABORERSsuddenly appear on the platform, along with--

But the District Manager isn't list~ning. Be's staring confused through the transparent dome at the IDQW::CAPpedRockYmountains.

Be peers up at a fluffy cloud drifting ac~oss a clear blue sky.

Be finally manages to get the District Manager through security, then seizes the opportunity to introduce Ker.

Be takes one last sickened look at the humans, declaring--

A pair of Psychlo guards hold Jonnie down on a steel table as an IDENTIFICATIONTECHNICIAN presses a--

Amused, the technician digs the burning iron harder into Jannie's flesh. Jonnie's eyes bulge, but he remains steely silent •••

The guards release Jonnie and shove him toward the next station, then turn and grab the next human slave in line, which is--

MICKEY. The guards drag tne young twin, kicking and screaming, tc the branding table and pin him down as the technician lowers the iron toward the trembling youngster's exposed flesh--

Only the iron is no longer in his hands.

Wielding it like a weapon, Jonnie knocks the stunned guards away from Mickey, then pivots with blurring speed--

Plunging the glowing-hot iron into· the technician's chest.

JONNIE

C, Bow Do You Like It--

As the technician howls in pain, a mass of guards swarm Jonnie, viciously clubbing him to the ground.

The obese PLANETSBIPwaddles over, flanked by his smarmy-looking ASSISTANT. They shake paws with the District Manager, then lead him across the lobby. Terl and Ker follow •

Be motions out a window at a tree-filled park.

Be ushers evervonP. i -n~"' ::a"' ""', on ...........

--:if ibWBii'ti+-Wf):Jff

And pushes the button for the BASEMENT.The elevator lurches do~ The Assistant Planetship seizes the opportunity to •••

The Assistant Planetship, crushed, manages a polite nod. Terl suppresses a smile. Be likes the District Manager's style.

Jonnie, bloody and ·bruised, but alive, hobbles dowrt a ·steel hallway with the other now branded slaves, when--

The Psychlos open up with BIGB POWEREDBOSES.

A solid stream of water savagely blasts into the defenseless humans as the Psychlos hose down the dirty man-animals.

Terl and the other Psychlo executives sits around a conference ti in a windowless dungeon.of a room which has been painted purple.

Be turns and offers Terl a friendly smile.

Terl reacts like he was just given a death sentence. The District Manager leans forward, giving him a knowing look--

Jonnie, Carlo and the rest of the new 'abductees' are issued baskets and shoved into line with the rest of the slaves.

Concerned by his friend's batte:ced condftion, ~arlo admonishes.;

In the background, a ground cart passed by.

Ker chauffeurs at the wheel. In the back seat, Terl lowers his voice, so only the District Manager can hear.

Leaving Terl with that thought, the District Manager strides up the platform, relieved to be leaving this crappy little planet.

The place is packed and loud. The newly arrived Psychlo workers getting plastered on kerbango while losing money paw-over-fist 1 laser bash and other assorted rigged games of 'chance".

Terl storms up to the bar. The bartender looks up, surprised.

And something suddenly snaps deep inside Terl. Be grabs Ker, pulling him close, the words coming fast and furious--

Psychlo guards patrol the Denver zoo, keeping· an eye on the masi humans locked-up for the night. Inside one of the many cages. . . ,

:r:NT. CAGE-- CONTINUOUS

Jonnie, Carlo and several dozen men crowd around a small fire af GAS TRUCK pulls up. A Psychlo guard inserts the truck's giant r through the bars, but instead of pumping out petrol •••

The hose discharges a green sludge-like food substance into a trough. Jonnie starts over to the 'dinner', but is stopped by FLOYD, a hulking brute of a man almost as large as a Psychlo.

Bis GANG steps forward. All big and dangerous looking.

The Psychlo finishes discharging the food and retracts the hose. From his P.O.V., Jonnie and Floyd's confrontation is unintelligi like animals "talking" to each other in a zoo, as ..•

With his gang backing him up, Floyd explains to JoMie--

Given how malnourished the 'others' look, it doesn't appear that there's usually much food left.

That's how it~ to work.

With blinding speed, Jonnie scoops up a flaming log from the fire, and before Floyd can react--

Jonnie SLAMSthe club-like wood, full-force, into Floyd's face, dropping him hard to the ground. Only a moment later •••

Floyd is already back up on his feet.

And other than a bloody nose, he shows no effect from the shot he just took. Jonnie smashes him again--

do is just piss him off. Be grabs Jonnie by the throat and begins to choke the life from him.

Jonnie desperately tries to break-free, but Floyd is too strong. ·Be ~olds Jonnie out at arm's length, preven~ing Jonnie from getting at him as he continues to brutally.strangle Jonnie.

And with his attacker finally close enough to reach, Jennie's hand rockets out, pulling the breathins-tube from Floyd'p nose.

Floyd staggers back, struggling to breath. With his eyes going g: Floyd releases Jonnie and focuses on reinserting the tube as--

Jonnie locks his hands together and swings them like a baseball bat, delivering a tremendous blow to Floyd's jaw.

Floyd falls to the ground. And this time he stays there, out for the .count. Jonnie takes mercy on the big man and sticks the tube back into his nose, then heads over to the trough •••

But realizes evecyone else is holding back, respectfully letting him eat first. Jonnie shakes his head, declaring--

The men all rush the trough •••

The slop might be disgusting, but at least it's sustenance. And PULLINGBACK, we realize we're watching this on •••

A wall full of MONITORSshowing live feeds from all over the dome< city. On an adjacent wall--

A sign reads: YOUR CBIEP' OF SECURITY IS •••

Ker despondently removes his picture from under the sign, and with an audible sigh, hammers Terl"s picture back up.

And PULLINGBACK yet again, we realize we're watching this on •••

A lone monitor perched next to a bed, where Terl opens a large--

All neatly packed for what should have been his return home.

Terl almost looks like he's going to cry as he starts to unpack. But he suddenly stops. Sensing it •••

Bis eyes instinctively going to the monitor, which shows--

Ker peering out the windows, making sure no one is watching, before reaching into his. • _________...

'!'ERL'S DESK

Deposits the document at the bottom of an"In.:.Basket• on Terl's dE

u but suddenly freezes as he can hear someone approaching the door--

Ker dives across the ~oom back to his own desk, snatching-up a crossword puzzle, which he pretends to be working on as •••

Terl marches in and heads straight to his desk, where he grabs the surveillance photo. Ker tries to play it cool.

Be sharply jabs a talon toward Ker"s secret hiding place. Ker's face goes death-white. Bow could Terl possibly know?

But then Ker suddenly realizes. Bis eyes probing the room as--

TERI, That's right. ~ don't. (matter-of-fact)

(re: the photo) Start talking.

Given the look in Terl's eyes, Ker decides his best chance is to come clean, and to do it fast--

'l'erl glances at the photo, then gives Jeer a knowing look.

TERI, And you were going to wait until after I transferred to turn it in, so you could get all the credit for it, yourself.

lCER (sheepish nod) I didn't think you'd mind.

Be regrets it the moment he said it. Braces himself for the punishment he kn~ mus~.be comi:ng. But surpri~ingly •••

TERI, I don't mind. Go ahead-and turn it in. (hands Jeer the photo) But first, pretend you're not a complete i:mbecile and check the compo-gradients.

Ker looks down, studying a miniature row of color bars at the very bottom of the photo. Bis face falls as he realizes •••

A HAMMER suddenly nails Ker in the back. dropping him to the fl Terl swings again. This time harder. Savagely beating Ker--

lCER But It's WOrthlessl You Just Said So Yourself!

TERI, Yesl But You Didn't k.t'~ It Was Worthless--

..~-----·· .....-.es··

-· I

I only Ker manages to scramble out of the way at the last minute. Be grabs the hmmner from Terl and scrambles to his feet--.-

But freezes as Terl ·pulls his BLAST-GUN.

But Terl reaches for the trigger and ••• Stops. Staring at the gun, his mind racing •••

Terl's eyes snap to the surveillance photo ••• Then to a ~nitor showing humans working in the mines ••• Then back to the gun •••

Andit suddenlyconnects for Terl.

Ker mistakes all of this for some cruel pause before his inevitable execution and continues to plead--

Terl looks shocked by the very suggesti~n.

TERI, Shoot you? My most trusted collea9"1:1e?

Be holsters his gun and throws a friendly~ around Ker.

Ker clearly has no idea in hell what Terl's talking about, but ai long as it involves not getting shot, he's all for it.

Tomorrow morning, we have to warn the Planetship about the "mutiny".

The setting sun casts a shadow over CHRISSY, who sits on a rock, keeping a hopeful eye on the far side of the ravine. We get the feeling she spends a lot of time on that rock, watching and wait:

A Wr1'BERED BANDgrips her shoulder. She turns around to face thi Parson, who gives Chrissy a concerned look--

Chrissy whirls back to the ravine with a relieved smile. But there's nothing there. Only now we can here it •••

The feint sound of GALLOPINGBOOFS. Growing louder as--

A flash of white is now visible on the far side of the canyon. Rocketing up the incline and over the drawbridge and •••

Chrissy's smile instantly evaporates as she realizes Windsplitter is returning riderless.

The Planetship and his Assistant are stretched-out on CB.AISE- LOUNGES. But right now the Planetship looks anything but relaxec

Across from him, Terl and Ker sit on a chaise-lounge next to a sun-lamp. Terl and Ker have concerned looks on their faces.

'l'ERL ••• And if this worker revolt takes place, my informants tell me the ~irst order of business will be to separat~ you from your head. ·

Terl nods, so far so good. Then continues •••

The Assistant Planetship gives Terl a snide look.

A WAITRESSin ·1ow-cut garb slinks over with a tray of drinks, bu1 the Planetship waves her off, keeping his attention on 'l'erl.

The Planetship and his Assistant wait for the punch-line. But there isn't one. So they roar with laughter.

And if it does work, I'll be vaporized. It's against the law to train an--

The Planetship chews on this. Be can't argue with the logic. But shakes his head anyway, abruptly declaring--

And before anyone can say anything--

The Planetship JUMPS OF!" the third floor railing. And nobody seems the least bit surprised by this. Probably because •••

The first two floors have been turned into a Psychlo-sized swi.mm.: pool. But instead of water, it's filled with an oily fluid. ThE Planetship rubs the sludge into his fur, squirming in delight.

Under the glow of first-light, Chrissy rides Windsplitter down tc

She throws the club with perfect aim, knocking open--

Chrissy gallops Windsplitter like a shot across the bridge, disappearing at full-tilt down th, hillside.

A cold and brutal Psychlo march song plays over loudspeakers as e long line of exhausted and freezing humans a.re escorted at gun point out to the mines. In the rear of the procession •••

The young twins, Mickey and Smnmy, work their way over to Jonnie.

A Psychlo thtusts Jonnie forward with the butt of a gun, keeping him moving with the parade of human misery passing by--

Be slaps a picture of PIONEER ONE onto the table. Jter shovels yellov meat into his mouth as he eyes the photo, dubious.

() TERI, '·, ...._____/

Because they were stupid enough to put a plaque on it with pictures of themselves. One of our deep-space recons picked it up. And here's the kicker •••

Be points to the plaque visible in the photo.

Ker cracks-up, finding this hysterical. Terl leans forward, giving him a conspiratorial wink.

Terl gets up and heads out. Confused, Ker chases after him ••• • I

Catching up to Terl4 Ker shakes his head.

'l'ERL ---What do you mean~? It's m plan.

And before Ker can respond, Terl heads into--

Dff. SECURITY BE.ADQUARTERS-- CONTINUOUS

And settles in behind his desk. Ker follows on his heels.

Terl leans back in his chai=, rlb'l::>ing a talon over bis lips, pretending to be thinking this over. And finally •••

TERL

,~) I don't want to partner-up with an idiot. \, .....__-.,/ (challenges)

Bow do I even know you understand the plan?

Still reclining in his chair, Terl discreetly reaches under his desk and pushes a GREENBUTTON. This isn"t seen by--

Ker, who rising to the task, holds up the surveillance photo of the mountain range.

TERI, But Some Planet owns this planet. The gold belongs to them.

Ker nods, eager to prove he understands the whole plan.

Be waits for Terl's praise ••• But instead Ter1·1ooks shocked. And in the gravest of voices:

TERI, Putting aside the serious violations of teaching·mining to an inferior race and insulting corporate superiors, each one in themselves punishable by death, you just advocated deliberate theft of company resources ••• (resigned sigh) So my duty requires me to report you, even though you will be vaporized and I'll have to train a new assistant.

Ker's jaw is practically on the floor. Terl promptly pushes a RED BOTTONunder his desk before--

ma What are you talking about?l We don't have any recorders planted in here ••• (realizes) Let me guess. !m don't. But ~ do.

'l'erl saunters over to a-~

TERI, Consider it part of your education.

The vault swings open. Terl reaches in past a shelf of Blast-Gu and spare air-tanks, popping a disc from a RECORDINGMACHINE.

TERI, Never engage in a criminal activity until you set-up a patsy to pin everything on in case you're found out.

TERI, So you won't be getting any bright ideas about getting rid of 'ole Terl in order to keep all the gold for yourself.

I

~:

But I would never double-cross yout ·

TERI, Of course not. Because I'm going to set it up that if any 'unfortunate accident' were to befall me••• (re: the disc ) · This goes straight to Bame Office.

Be files the disc away within a collection of other such recordings housed within the vault, then shuts and locks the ste door.

~er isn't happy about this, but what can he do? And to make things worse, he realizes •••

1CER (cat.ching on) ••• 1.:.d be the only qualified candidate to replace him. Good thinking, sirl (rubs his paws together) So how do we bump the bastard off?

Terl and hr enjoy their lunch up in a guard tower overlooking the humans slaving away below. Between mouthfuls, 'l'erl motions down to JONNIE, who struggles with a heavy load of ore.

With.almost a aenae of begrudging respect, 'l'erl explains •••

'l'ERI, ••• While that one dou aeem to be unuaually intelligent and resourceful, at leut for a man-animal, it alao •eema rather defiant. Which is why we'll need leverage over it.

Ja!:R. Leverage over a man-an.ima.l?

Terl gives him a aharp look. Hasn't he been paying attention?

'l'he only way it'a going to be able to operate a mining machine -is if it can read Paychlo. Which means ve have to educate it on a learning machine.

br looks at 'l'arl like he'• off bis rocker.

l:D But if anyone found out--

Zer stares down at Jonnie, exhausted by the idea.

TERI, That'• what make• it ao much fun.

Psychlo COOKSmix a disgusting green slop in giant tubs.

Ker dejectedly kicks a rock as he follows Terl up the street.

TERI, Man is a primitive species.

Ker can't argue with that, but still shakes his head.

Ker barges into the cage, and without warning, throws Jonnie, Carlo and Floyd into a--

Ker secures the cargo cage to the back of a flatbed truck and tosses HEAVYJAC!CETSto our guys.

·o-t -- .._ -- :ta c··fi s··fitrtf:z:lfb:ffln

-~ INT. TRANSPORTTRUCK -- DRIVER'S CABIN-- THATMORNING ' ) \,,,____ _/

Ker, wearing a breath-tube now that he's outside the dome, drive: the flatbed truck up a windy mountain road away from Denver •••

our guys huddle in their jackets as the cold Colorado air blows through tl-.e cage. Floyd shrugs, guessing •••

Carlo looks to Jonnie for his take on the situation. But Jannie's attention turns to the cargo cage door as--

The truck hits a small bump, causing the door to swing open a crack, betraying that it's not locked.

The flatbed truck rounds a bend, carrying a NOWEMPTYcage.

our guys pick themselves off the rQad from where they jumped, an, 1 race away in escape, sprinting up a mountain path.

Terl and Ker, reclining in chairs with their feet up on desks, w! l'RIO OF MONITORSshowing our guys huffing and puffing up the mour

our guys make it up over a small rise, where Floyd suddenly casti hopeful eye at a CABIN-LIKE BUILDINGhalf-buried up ahead in the

Cax;-lo hates to take Floyd's side, but •.•

Jonnie starts to respond, but one look at Carlo and Floyd and it's clear they're both on the brink of exhaustion.

Terl proudly points to the monitors, which show our guys forcing open a door and heading into the snow-covered building.

The building is a long-abandoned SKI CHALET, caught frozen in time •. A thick layer of dust covers everything. In the corner ••

The SXELETALREMAINS of some pe9ple are·scattered near .a Ch:ristm Tree slumped over a pile of presents for a holiday never celebra 1

But Jonnie suddenly freezes. Grabs a CHAIR.·

Be launches the chair straight at the--

CBlUSTMAS TREE

Sending RATS scurrying out from among the presents. Jonnie dive: onto one of the larger rodents. Carlo and Floyd do likewise.

Carlo and Floyd rip branches from the Christmas tree for kindlin<

realizes what Jonnie's thinking.

Carlo looks up in dread as he

willpower he's gotand ...

Jonnie summons up every ounce of

l:Q;:g~@ hims~l.f tQ t~ke a l2i:te Qf r"'w .:~t-

:INT. SECURITY HEADQUARTERS CONTINUOUS

Ker shakes his head, nauseated.

TERI, Get off your fat ass! We got the info we needed, let's.go round 'em up.

our guys sprint up the road, when they begin to hear an ominous MECHANICAL ROARbehind them. Getting louder as ••.

An armored Psychlo MARKII GROUND.CAR hurtles above the ground·as it comes screaming up toward--

OUr guys, who char;e past a faded 'Welcome to Aspen' sign on their way around a bend--

But as they top the hill, they ~~n straight into one of ~er~·s backup vehicles. Psychlos pi:ing out.

Jonnie goes berserk!

The first two Psychlo guards stood no chance. With one backward stride, Jonnie ~s behind them. He sends them slamming together like egg shells.

He catches the gun of one, as that Psychlo goes down and stamps his heel into the side of his skull.

He reverses the gun and batters the other Psychlo with shots from a range of three inches.

Jonnie drops on one knee, and blows the two last Psychlos who have exited the craft to bits.

Five other Psychlos fire in his direction.

Jennie's gun is empty. He throws it down and picks up the other one. Flips the switch to kill.

Totally unmindful of the shots ripping up the ground, running low and firing as he goes, Jonnie races on. The otners scattering around him.

·He kneels behind a Psychlo body and sends a storm of shots

into the five. They crash back.

Jonnie pounds them into rolling balls of dead flesh. Running, firing as he goes.

Where they abruptly run out of ground. s~anding at the brink of a massive chasm where a--

Used to be. But neglect and repeated winter storms have washed it away into the bottom of a canyon al.Jllost too far down to see.

And to make matters worse, our guys are surrounded on all sides by sheer vertical mountain face, impossible to climb. They're trappe·

This is directed at the look in Jonnie's eyes as he stares across the gorge •••

And in fact, the far side of the ravine does seem like an awfully long distance away. But Jonnie backs up, getting as much runnina room as possible.

The Psychlo Ground Car hurtles around the last bend and comes screaming out onto the clearing as--

Jonnie takes off on a dead sprint, going like hell for the edge of the cliff. Carlo looks away, can't bear the sight.

Jonnie doesn't let-up. In fact, he goes faster. Every muscle straining as he races straight for the edge and--

A PSYCBLOFIGHTER PLANE =ockets up from the depths of the canyon, blocking Jonnie from jumping--

NT. COCKPIT -- PSYCBLOFIGHTER PLANE CONTINUOUS

Terl maneuvers the fighter plane to push Jonnie away from the edge of the gorge.

Terl locks our guys into the rear of the ground car as •.•

Ker stares across the canyon to the other side, trying to figure something out. And then it finally dawns on him.

Terl sighs, unlocks the cage and grabs Floyd and tosses him over the side of the canyon.

The remains of a sizable meal are scattered over a giant table ne: to a steel slab, where the ASSISTANT PI..ANETSBIPpartakes in a nap.

I

A door bursts open and Ker marche_s inside and salutes.

Be extends a REQUISITION FORM, which the still half-asleep Assistant Plan~tship signs, but then snidely instructs--

Ker nods, then trots out with the signed form. The Assistant Planetship scratches himself, then returns to his snooze.

The place is packed with its usual. drunken debauchery. In the back, Terl and the bartender engage in a private conversation--

Ilff. EMPLOYEERECREATIONHALL-- LATERTHAT AFTERNOON

'l'he Assistant Planetship finishes a pan of kerbango when a DOZEN more pans of the narcotic root are placed in front of him.

The Assistant Planetship, now smashed out of his mind, stumbles into his room to sleep off the kerbango •••

Ilff. SECURJ:TYHEADQUARTERS-- THATNIGBT

A recording of the.Assistant Planetship p~ays on.a mon;tor:

ASSISTANTPLANE'l'SBIP(ON MONITOR) You tell Terl, that unlike 'certain individuals', I hold an important job--

Ker watches as Terl pauses the recording, then expertly imitates the Assistant Planetship's voice:

K..::R (genuinely impressed) Bow do you do that, sir? You sound ,ilat like him.

Terl hits play again, mimicking the Assistant Planetship's expressions and gesture1:1 playing on the monitor.

'l'erl masterfully applies prosthetics ~.nd make-up to his face, thickening his eye bones and darkening the fur on his cheeks •••

Until if we didn't know it was Terl, we'd swear it was the Assistant Planetship.

MM MWWbN'

Terl, disguised as the Assistant Planetship, shakes his head.

The RESEARCH CLERK doesn't really care, but politely asks:

Terl's eyes slit, but he forces himself to stay in character.

The _Research Clerk shrugs, returning to ~he business at hand.

Terl signs a check-out slip, expertly forging the Assistant Planetship's signature, then •••

Making a big production of looking around, making sure no one's listening, Terl leans in with a conspiratorial whisper •••

Ker barges in and snaps a LEASHaround Jonnie"s neck. Carlo gets same treatment. And as Ker reaches out to grab some more humans-

Mickey and Sammy, discreetly slip forward, positioning themselves to be selected.

Ker hands Psychlo-sized paint-brushes to Carlo, the twins, and ID.::YWOOD,an older man with a friendly face.

Pointing to giant buckets of purple paint, Ker barks something in Psychlo, which the humans obviously can't understand.

f\ \, ~-/

Be dips his brush into a bucket and goes to work painting a wall. Carlo and the twins copy his movements.

Terl roughly deposits Jonnie and the chair in the center of the roam, then grabs a DISC from a pile and slides it into--

And once the disc is inserted, the machine emits a holographic ilru of a CBINKO, which bows twice and puts its six sets of paws over six eyes, then talks in English, albeit with a strange accent:

The holographic image bows again, then ..•

An intense bright shaft of BLUE LIGHT shoots out of the machine, striking Jonnie in the eyes ...

A somber Psychlo war song plays from speakers as Carlo, Heywood and the twins paint the walls a fresh coat of purple.

···--

Terl happily hums along to the music as he attaches some kind of RED-SQUAREto a choke collar. Ker is camped-out at his own desk, looking through s0100 holographic pornography.

·::w:2·:sr:-:ar:a::: ===

The blue light beaming at Jonnie's eyes clicks off. Andstaying in Jonnie's P.o.v.:

; ,,,-.) '',~,~--~~ Jonnl.·e, speaking very slowly, extra-enunciatin

Terl leans down to each syllable ••• TERL ,Bello ••• There .•• Do ••• You••• Understand ••• What •.•• I'm .•• Saying? •••

Jonnie can understand, but feigns a blank expression, pretending he doesn't. Terl dangles a DEAD RAT in front of Jennie's eyes.

'!'ERL Are ••• You••. Bungry ••• Little ••• Guy? ••

But Jonnie keeps up his blank--face routine.

Terl continues to 'tease' him with the rodent for a few beats, then pulls it away and restarts the machine, turning to Ker.

Terl and Ker head out ~he door. The moment the·y' re gone, Carlo · charges into--

tJI I

•

And tackles Jonnie out of the chair, "saving' him from the blue beam bombarding his eyes.

Heywood appears in the doorway with a concerned look.

Carlo points to the Learning Machine with religious awe.

m:;;:w:15-1·1t''

± , ·f¥" +-¥¥rtfffl¥tM ¥ ¥5

Before Heywood can protest, Jonnie reassures him--

Beywood is concerned, but moves back to a window, keeping a vigilant eye on the street outside as •••

Jonnie inserts a new disc ~nto ~~~ Learning Machine. I

l

I In the corner of the cage, out of view of the others, Jonnie usesI' a stick to fervently work out mathematical equations in the dirt.

Carlo, Heywood and the twins watch, trying to make sense of the foreign symbols.

()

language looks like.

Jonnie shakes his head, his eyes shining with the rapture of pure knowledge as he explains •••

Ker shrugs between mouthfuls of his lunch.

'l'erl slowly sips a pan of kerbango as he ~xplains.

&&

Jonnie watching Terl and Ker on a monitor, while reading through a Psychlo FIELD OPERATIONSMANUAL.

In the rear of the room, the rest of the guys push and pull at the handle to the massive VAULT.

0:

Carlo gives Jonnie a hopeful look.

Jonnie digs through Terl's desk, coming up with a FORM.

Be returns Carlo's look with a shrug.

BANK VAUI.T-- MOMENTSLATER

Jonnie punches Terl's empl An entry light blinks red oyee Id~Number into the vault's keypad. and the door remains locked.

But the question is,~ clever? Let's try putting the numbers in reverse order

Be inputs Terl's employee Id-Number in reverse order. A beat, the the.entry light blinks green and the vault swings open.

our guys enter. Jonnie's attention is drawn to the RECORDING MACHINE,while Carlo, Heywood and the twins check-out the Blast- Guns and spare Breath-Gas Tanks.

Terl and Ker march past Heywood, Carlo and the twins, who are all busy painting the walls, and head straight into •••

This time, Terl dangles .tlfQ dead rats in front Jonnie.

But Jonnie keeps up his blank-face routine. And is rewarded for it by being picked-up by the head and launched out into--

INT•..SECURITY BEADQUARTERS-- CONTINUOUS-

Jonnie skids across·the floor, slamming into a wall. Ter"i impatiently marches over to him, pullin·g his Blast-Gun.

But Ker isn't willing to give-up hope of the gold and tries to sound convincing as--

Be storms over and grabs a series of surveillance photos from his desk. Jonnie discreetly signals across the room to •••

Carlo, who holds his breath, praying he doesn't get caught as ...

Be slowly reaches between Terl's legs and pushes the GREENBUTTON, recording as •••

TERI,

', ,/ I can't keep hiding the recon-photos

from Bome Office, forever. Plus, at the rate the glacier is melting, the gold's about to fall into the ravine.

tt'P, ... so, we'll get.it then.

c-------. , __) TERL

We'd have to use explosives. Bame Office would detect them and send down a survey team, which means we wouldn't be able to keep the gold for ourselves.

Be takes one last forlorn look at the photos, then lashes out in anger, delivering a vicious kick to Jonnie.

Be points his blast-gun down at Jonnie and--

Terl stares at Jonnie in amazement. The man-animal just spoke Psychlo. But to make sure he ' s not imagining this ••.•

CARLO. HEYWOOD ANDTHE TWI??SP,o.v

The rest of the guys can't understand what Jonnie's saying, but they're shocked to realize •••

Be's speaking to the monsters in their machine-like language, as·

Terl, more amused than anything, clarifies •••

TEm, Oh, really? And how exactly do you plan to do that--

Jonnie gives the signal. With a sudden flurry of movement--

Carlo, Heywood, and the twins pull BLAST-GUNSfrom behind their paint buckets. Jonnie keeps his attention on Terl.

But Terl's only reaction is to chuckle.

You sure they even know how to use those things--

A COLLECTIVECLia as our guys slam the levers down on their gun to kill position. Ker immediately throws his arm up in surrende

And Terl is no longer chuckling. Be looks around at the guns pointed at him and buries his head in his paws, and }?egins to •••

Bowl with laughter. Convulsing so hard, tears run down his face

Still laughing hysterically, he rears back to smack Jonnie. But Mickey jumps forward and FIRES his gun at Terl--

Only there's nothing but a CLICK. The weapon doesn't fire.

Sarm:nyleaps forward and fires his Blaster. CLia. Bis gun doesn't work either. Carlo and Heywood get the same result.

Tfer;, still laughing, follows through on his swing, sending Jonn. 1ying across the roam. Then explains to him with a smirk.

,N

-

TERI, If you rat-brains knew anything about firearm safety, you'd know one doesn't store loaded weapons.

Then he turns to take care of the others. Goes to smack Sam:ny--

But Mickey protectively grabs a LE'I-tER-OPENER from a desk, and wl blinding speed, plunges the blade straight for Terl's chest--

only as fast as Mickey is, Terl is faster, and he deflects the blow with his arm, sustaining a small cut in the process.

Terl then promptly relieves Mickey of the letter-opener and seize the trembling twin by the throat, holding him firmly i~ place as-

Be raises the sharp blade ·high above Mickey's chest--

Terl pauses to consider this. Then turns and convincingly bluffs·

TERI, Then I'll vaporize you and get s~o~e ~lse to mine the gold--

In that one moment, Terl's whole world is turned upside down. Jonnie gives Terl a dangerous smile.

Rage burns openly in Terl's eyes, but he lowers the weapon and calmly turns to Ker.

A Mark II Ground Car is parked in front of the library. Locked in a cage in the rear of the vehicle--

carlo, Heywood and the twins watch with concern as Terl drags Jonnie by a leash across the street and up marble steps.

'l"'"[j":J/" ' - •

Terl's usual deep throated voice sounds even more ominous as it echoes eerily in the library's expansive entryway.

Be gives the leash a good hard jerk, yanking Jonnie down a--

Terl moves at his normal gait, forcing Jonnie to run to keep up.

Be snaps the leash, whiplashing Jonnie into--

The shelves lining this cavernous tomb of a room are stacked full of books. An endless variety of subjects and titles.

Be makes a big production of letting go of the leash, giving Jonnie full run of the place.

Be watches amused as Jonnie takes him up on his offer, pulling books from shelves. Terl can't resist calling after him--

Terl cracks-up, finding this particularly entertaining.

Mickey pensively shakes his head, fearing the worst.

A darkness hangs over the cage as everyone continues to stare u~ at the library, where--

:INT. DENVERLIBRARY-- CENTRALRESEARCH ROOM -- CONTINUOUS

Terl is filing his talons. Across from him, Jonnie finishes looking through a large stack of books.

As Jonnie heads for the door, Terl steals a peek at the book he was just looking at. It's the Declaration of Independence.

But Terl can't read English. Unconcerned, he. just shrugs, swatting the book across the room.

~. DOMED CITY -- EDGEOF A FtELD -- A LITTLE LATER

0n·a rise overlooking the domed city, a herd of grazing cows cas curious stares across the field a.s the Hark ;I Ground Car pulls

Terl emerges from the vehicle, followed by Jonnie.

TERI, You will soon be relocated to a new

I

mining site. And if any of you get any bright ideas about escaping, keep in mind that while you rat-brains may not know anything about firearms, I certainly do. I just happened to be top marksman of my graduating class. And I can kill any of you at well over a thousand paces ••• (to Jonnie) Tell them what I just said.

Terl waits for Jonnie to continue. And when he doesn't •••

Jonnie nods. Terl is surprised; but shrugs and continues with t subject at hand. Be pulls his Blast-Gun, explaining--

Be turns and FIRES into the middle of the--

Blasting the legs clean off the fast-moving animals. Sending them collapsing to the ground, BELLOWING in anguished torture.

Terl shows off with some trick shots. Fram behind the back. With his eyes closed. All with the same horrific result •••

The field littered with a bloody sea of suffering animals thrash.i around helplessly. sensing something behind them. Jonnie turns--

A GRIZZLYBEAR emerges from an abandoned building. Nostrils flaring at the smell of bloo4. And with a growl, he charges at--

Terl, who is too busy with his shooting demonstration, to.notice.

~' But he does note the look in Johnie"s· eyes as Jonnie starts back \"'-__.)' away. And misreading it as revulsion to the carnage on the fielc

TERI, Don't you know your own history? Man- kind was the only animal on this planet that hunted other animals for sport ••• (has to admit) Which means there might be sOine hope for your species after all--

The GRIZZLY slams into Terl from behind--

The fierce impact jars the gun from Terl's grasp as he's violent) MAULED down. And with the grizzly on his back, pinning him down, Terl is unable to get his own talons up at--

Jonnie scoops up the gun, switches it to stun position and FIRES. Knocking the grizzly flat by the shot. Carlo can"t believe it ..

Jonnie raises the weapon on Terl, who bloodied and bruised, sits himself up and gives Jonnie a friendly smile.

:,w·:,:;;·m:::r·::-::::r::: ::r:-e .......... ==·::::r:::=:::::r:: ==-· =-

Be switches the gun into kill position.

And for the first time, there is terror in Terl' s eyes. Be braci himself, waiting for the shot. Be doesn't have to wait long •••

Be hasn't been hit. 'I'he shot was directed at one of the sufferi1 cows behind him, as Jonnie humanely ends the animal's misery.

',

TERI,

Vr You"ve learned more Psychlo than'I ever

thought possible.

TERI, 'I'o toy with me like this before you kill me. I'm impressed ••• (genuinely) You honor me.

Be closes his eyes, bows his head, ready for his execution.

Jonnie stands there, the gun now sighted on 'I'erl. Bis finger aching to pull the trigger. But he doesn't •••

7F 6 . ,-&:tr#&·+ 11 w w,¾i '3iCFE1'Wtrttt::mt

'l'ERL can't understand what the man-animals are babbling about. But his eyes remain focused on the gun in Jennie's hand, waiting for a chance to grab it--

(J

But Jonnie keeps the weapon leveled on Terl's chest, as he continues to address the others •••

Be waits a long beat for everyone to digest this, then •••

Inspired, Mickey immediately steps forward.

Bis voice is a bit jmpulsive, but full of conviction.

Ris brother, Sammy, immediately joins him. Heywood also steps forward in solidarity. But Carlo isn't so sure •••

A long beat, then with the look of a man who knows he's going to regret this, Carlo steps forward, joining the others with a sigh

'l'erl watches as the damnedest thing happens •••

Jonnie turns to him, returning the gun to him. explaining it wit

In the blink of an eye, Terl shifts his demeanor back to his old caustic self--

Be points Jonnie to the far edge of the field.

Terl proudly points down to the domed city below.

TERI, That entire city doesn't even equal QM block in one of the hundreds of thousands of cities on the great Bome Planet of Pf"ychlo. And from there, we control countless outposts all over the universe. Each one much larger than this. One of those outposts used to be the Chink.o's planet.

'l'erl stares Jonnie straight in the eye, making sure he understandi

¥± , +FR ,pffi , ,a ff·' t ·& P&Mi& ¾ ·?·t''hY r 11 **' , m+-e

Be lets Jonnie chew on that for a beat, then concedes •••

A SECOND Mark II Ground Car pulls up. Ker emerges from the vehicle and opens the trunk, pulling out--

CJIBlSSY.

Relief floods her eyes when she sees Jonnie. At least he's alive

But as hard as it is to do, Jonnie gives Chrissy an emotionless vacant look. Like she means nothing to b_im.• •

And Chrissy senses enough to duplicate.this look. Terl watches Jonnie very closely.

TERI, ••• You don't know her?

Be pulls out Cbrisey's charcoal drawing of Jonnie.

Be doesn't have to wait long to find out •••

Terl holds up a CBOKE-COLLARwith a red square on it.

Be secures the collar to Chrissy's neck, then pulls a REMOTE CONTROL.

-squared collar a.round Heywood's neck. Ker secures a secon d red

Terl stares at Jonnie. A long beat. Then he finally relents •••

Terl nonchalantly tosses the remote to Ker.

'l'ERt As I said, I won't kill him •••

Ker gives Jonnie an evil grin, then slowly pushes the button--

JtABLAMJ J

Heywood is no longer among the living.· Terl and Ker laugh their asses off at the shocked betrayal on Jennie's face.

Returning the burnecs to their cage fort.he night, Terl stares at Mickey and Sammy. Impossible to tell the twins apart •••

The two young brothers watch with growing concern as Terl motions to them, while asking Jonnie something in Psychlo.

A look of knowing terror in Mickey's eyes.

Mickey nods, accepting his fate, whatever it may be. Be turns--

But Sammyhas already stepped forward. sacrificing himself to Terl. Mickey, stunned, tries to stop him--

Terl grabs Sammy and Jonnie and marches away.

Terl straps Sammy to the teleportation platform, then calmly drags Jonnie down to--

'l'erl punches commands into a console. over the.hum of the generators coming to life, Terl explains to Jonnie •••

TERI, Now that you and I have our little agreement straight, I want you to watch this, so you can tell the others· · what'll happen to them if any of. you ever disobey me.

Be points Jennie's attention to a monitor, beaming bacK images o teleportation platforms on the BOMEPLANETOF PSYCBLOas •••

With a TBUNDER-CLAPof sound and a BLINDINGFLASB of light ••• sammy disopoears from the platform--

And appears on one of the countless teleportation platforms stretched out under a radiant purple sky.

Sammy can't breath the air. Starting to suffocate.

Panicking, the youngster desperately undoes the strap tethe~ing him to the platform and tries to run to safety, but--

The much larger planet's immense gravitational pull crushes him to his knees. Bis eyes bulging, he stares out at a--

The young twin literally IMPLODES. Bis body caving in on itself mercifully ending the suffering.

Jonnie rips his eyes away from the abominable scene playing on the monitor. In contrast •••

'l'erl views it to its bitter end, clucking the whole time with enjoyment.

:INT. EMPLOYEERECREATIONHALL:-- CONTINUOUS

A bunch o·f Psychlos crowd aro~d the bar, :con~uming kerb~go, including the RESEARCHCI.Ell that Terl checked out the discs £re

Ker joins the group, shaking his head despondently.

Everyone is surprised by Ker's un-Psychlo like grief.

The group nods, now understanding.

The Psychlos give a collective 'Be got what he had coming,' shrug, then return to their kerbango as .••

The research clerk leans over to Ker, nonchalantly inquiring:

~ Be was on a remote rim star planet, not unlike this one, where just like here, they secretly record and archive All conversations.

(~) This is news to the research clerk. \, ______~,.,,;'

DtT. DENVER ZOO -- CAGE-- THAT NIGHT

A guard tosses Jonnie back into the cage. Mickey tentatively approaches him, afraid to ask the question, but bas to •••

Jonnie stares at him. A long, difficult beat •. Then finally--

Before he can continue, Mickey exhales, relieved.

-MICXEY · . ••• Thank god, because I thought for sure he was going to kill him.

Jonnie continues to stare at Mickey, his heart breaking. But fox the life of him, he just can't bring himself to tell him the rest

nr.t'. DENVERHOTEL-- CONTINUOUS

'l'erl hurries down a hallway. A pair of GUARDSsnap a salute and iimnediately open a door, allowing him into--

~er and the research clerk are in the room with the Planetship.

'l'erl does an impressive job of acting shocked by the news.

IN'l'. ~SISTAN'l' PLANETSBIP'SLIVING QUARTERS-- A LI'l"l'LE LATER

The Assistant Planetship doesn"t have to act. Be ii shocked.

4,q ,,,, a;;

A MfNE

l ASSISTANT PLANETSBIP Why the hell would I want to do that?l

Terl slips a disc into a machine, playing a recording of •••

Terl, convincingly disguised as the Assistant Planetship, leaning in with a conspiratorial whisper to the Research Clerk.

RESEARca·CLERK I'd like to think so.

The Assistant Planetship shakes his head, pointing to the person who looks just like him on the monitor.

t Be hoids up the sign-out sheet, bearing Terl '·s perfect forgery. of. C, the Assistant Planetship's signature. ON TSE MONITOR•••

Terl, in the guise of the Assistant Planetship, looks around, making sure no one's listening, before 'confiding' •••

The Research Clerk immediately turns to the Planetship, insisting •.

The Planetship gives a gruff nod and continues to watch as~··

ON THE RECORDING,Terl continues •••

(~) ''·~,.-.,,~~'

The Assistant Planetship stands alone in front of a door to the Planetship's office. Be nervously calls down the hall--

Terl, Ker and the Planetship watch from behind a protective blast shield positioned a safe distance down the corridor.

TERL

t If you refuse to cooperate with this

investigation, I"m afraid regulations·

\,~:, I

would require me to vaporize you for.the charge of high treason •••

The Assistant Planetship sighs. Then closes his eyes and braces his body, as if that could somehow protect him from an explosion.

And he slowly cracks open the door. Nothing happens.

A flash of light and a deafening blast as a CATACLYSMICEXPLOSION blows the Assistant Planetship and much of the hall into oblivion.

Psychlo workers hose down the last of the fire from the explosion Ker follows behind as the Planetship strolls by with Terl, who is adamantly shaking his head, pretending to be distraught.

' Terl and Ker share a secret look of victory.

,,,.-...,,\ l Jonnie sits alone in the corner, For the first time, he looks -.,,, __.,,.,,~i

defeated. Be doesn't even bother to look up as .••

Terl cheerfully strides up, snaps a leash around Jennie's neck and yanks,him to his feet.

Be dangles a handful of dead rats in front of Jennie's face.

Then after lunch, it's on to drilling and flying simulators.

Jonnie nods numbly.. There's no more fight left in him.

Ker, in his new office, struggles through a crossword puzzle. ___Bt quickly hides it as the Planetship sticks his head into the room

lCER Thanks, sir, but I'm going to stay and get some more work done.

The Ple.netship nods, both surprised and impressed •••

And heading down the hall, the Planetship mutters to himself.

Be heads into an elevator and the doors close with a J;u.ng--

As soon as Ker hears the noise, he immediately steals into the adjoining office--

And goes to work, snooping through the Planetship's personal files

i a

Jonnie half-heartedly pushes buttons on control panel to a

0 BOLOGRAPBJ:CFIGHT SIMULA.TOR.But all he manages to do is •••

Crash into a simulated mountain.

Be holds up the REMOTE to Chrissy"s explosive collar, then restarts the simulator.

Jonnie is back to sitting alone with a despondent look.

Carlo and Mickey slowly approach. Nothing is a.aid for the longest time. And finally, Jonnie looks up at Carlo.

Jonnie gives him a haunted look--

Carlo shakes his head, trying to hold back the anger.

CA:RLO This isn't just about~- Remember what Heywood said. It's about all of us •••

Jonnie looks around at the others in the cage, who are now-staring at him. And he sees something on their faces he's never seen before. ~- The longest of beats, then ...

Everyone has to know. If ,..,e· do this , there's a good chance that not one of us will be alive by the time it's over.

But not one person is deterred. Carlo gives Jennie's words back to him--

This voice belongs to on~ of the human slaves pressed against the bars of the next cage over, listening to what's going on in Jonnie's cage. And from the next cage over from that •••

ANO'l'BER VOICE (O.S.) What's going on?

The human slav~ turns and calls to the second voice--

Someone from the next cage asks what's going on •••

And ~he news is met with the same ardent reaction. We PULL BACKt

The message passing from cage to cage, until the whole zoo erupts· a DEAFENINGROAR. The battle-cry resounding defiantly in the nigh

It's a whole different Jonnie. Attentive and focused as his fingers fly over the simulator's control panel.

Terl watches, impressed. Then holds up the remote to Chrissy's explosive c9llar, gloating •••

'l'ERL Never underestimate what a little leverage can do, rat-brain.

Jonnie nods, letting Terl believe what he wants to.

Everyone in Jonnie's cage crowds around him as he draws letters in the dirt, teaching the others to.read and WJ::ite. Jonnie passes the stick to Carlo, who carefully starts to write letters , of his own.

The Planetship strolls into his office, but.fr~zes in his trac;k What the hell are Terl and Ker·doing·in his inner-sanctum •• ~

But then he sees the files all neatly laid out on his desk. Be looks at them, the life draining from his eyes.

TERI, . Isn't it interesting you've been keeping two sets of books. • • And while you've told the workers that this planet's operating at a loss, it's actually quite profitable.

The Planetship shakes his head, feebly trying to explain •••

'l'ERL Of course you did ••• (knowing smile) And it had nothing to do with how it allows you to cut everyone's pay, so you keep all the extra credits for yourself.

But Terl drops a heavy tome or.to the desk with a resounding clang

TERI, And it's not in any of our interests for you to stop being the Planetship ••• But it may be prudent for you to start sharing some of your authority.

Ker hands the Planetship a huge sheaf of requisition and order foI:mS, along with a pen to sign them.

'l'ERI, --If you don't want to do it this way, we could always do it by the book.

Be pats his Blast-Gun, underscoring the threat.

A SUPPLYCLERK stares incredulously at a requisition form.

TERI, That's not even the crazy part. (holds up an order form) Be's ordered me to take a group of man- animals with the equipment out to a remote area to see if they can be trained to mine. Can you imagine that?l

'l'ERL Tell me about it. But what can I do ••• (helpless shrug) An order"s an order.

A BOWLINGh"IND cuts through a large steel cage containing Carlo, Mickey, and some twenty other men, along with an assortment of mining machines and equipment. The cage is suspended from the underbelly of a--

Terl keeps a careful eye on Jonnie, who is piloting the aircraft. An .ALARM suddenly blares through-out the cockpit--

Blue sparks are starting to pop throughout the cockpit.

For the first time, there is genuine fear in Terl's eyes. Be immediately points to a meadow visible.below--

~, TERL ~,_/' I What are you waiting for?J Land.the.

damn cra!t. This is as far as I can go.

Jonnie punches buttons.~n the control panel, landing the aircraft.

Terl motions Jonnie to the cargo cage as Ker lands th~ fighter in the meadow nearby.

As the threat hangs there, Terl checks his time-piece.

The men have been assembled out on the meadow, when there's an e~hereal, almost otherworldly WAILING from above as--

--- ,,,_ m=· ==,,.,,.-,...,, '*

I I A 'I'RANSMISSIONRECEIVERspits out a SURVEILLANCEPHOTOtaken f rc ' the recon drone, depicting Jonnie and the others starin9 up intc the sky. Ker hands it to--

'l'erl, who gives the surveillance photo to Jonnie.

TERI, Tell them that even though I won't be at the mining site, I'll be able to keep an eye on you ••• (admonishes) And anyone who isn't working bard will be 'replaced' , if you know what I mean.

Be pats his blast-gun, making sure Jonnie understands, then turn and climbs into the fighter as Ker pilots it up and away.

Jonnie and the men start back to the cargo aircraft, but Jonnie instantly whirls. Eyes scanning the underbrush in the tree line

Be grabs a PICJC-AXfrom the mining equipment, holding it up as a weapon. Following his lead, the rest of the men do likewise as.

The bush moves. And out from behind it steps--

A wild-eyed figure with the look of someone who has survived a long time alone in ·the wilderness·. Ignoring the ·array ·of ~eapori pointed at him, the ROGOE stares at Jonnie in complete awe.

Jonnie gives him a friendly smile.

The rogue sizes up Jonnie and the rest of the men, then nods as he's reached some important decision, and returns Jonnie's smile

Jonnie lands the cargo-aircraft at the mining site, and our guys now including MASON, begin hauling the equipment into the shelte of a cave.

Carlo looks up from the list he's been studying with a worried expression-- CARLO If we work around the clock, we'll be lucky to mine enough gold to fill half that cage ••• There's no way we're going to be able to do that ,smgget all this stuff done we need for the revolt. JONNIE I've got worse news. There's only gonna be about half of you digging. (off their looks) I'm gonna be looking somewhere else for it.

The cargo aircraft lands on top of the shopping mall where Jenni, and Carlo were first captured by the Psychlo wrangler.

Jonnie and a small group of men emerge and race inside the build

Jonnie and a group of his men move through the store, scavenging WA.I.KIE-TALKIESand RECBARGEABLE.BATI'ERIES, while-··

Mickey and Sammy lead.a separate team through a gun shop, collecting weapons, and--

Carlo and a third squad scrounge up supplies, including SPOOLSO TBIN WIRE.

Jonnie shows his group basic engine mechanics as he rebuilds the motor on a small, gas-powered generator. Nearby •••

Mickey and Sammy's team assemble crude, but effective-looking homemade bombs from the mining equipment.

With the generator, now reassembled, Jonnie fires it to life.

The men burst out in applause as electricity flows to a line of battery rechargers.

Jonnie pilots the aircraft. Carlo is in the navigator's seat. Behind him, ~ckey shakes his head--

() MIClCEY

••• Bey, what's .:thA:t,?

Jonnie banks the aircraft around. And now, staring at them through the cockpit window is •••

TBE S'l'ATOEOF LIBERTY

Watching over a completely empty harbor.

EX'!'. MANHATTAN-- CONTINUOUS

The same with the city of Manhattan.The entire island is a literal ghost town. Nothing moves. Hovering overhead--

nrr. AIRCRAFT -- CONTINUOUS

Jonnie studies the map, realizing.

A wailing soundgrows louder as the RECONDRONEpasses overhead, cameras spying down on the mining site, where •••

Bidden from view in the cave, two of Jannie's men have stayed behind and now pull on a series of thin wires, which run through a pulley system and out to •••

Twenty DEPARTMENTSTORE MANNEQUINS,all decked out in mining gear and holding shovels and pick-axes. As the wires are pulled •••

The mannequins move like marionettes, looking like they're hard at work mining the gold.

Terl grabs the surveillance photo as soon as it spits out from the transmission receiver. Be gives a satisfied nod.

'!'ERL Bribe my way off this god-forsaken planet and get assigned a real position that's worthy of my talents and training.

That has got to be the stupidest thing Jeer has ever heard.·

TERI, Not a job ••• Respect.

The fierce desire is palpable in his voice.

The cargo aircraft is parked next to the Library of Congress.

Books on uranium are spread across a table as Jonnie unfolds a

I ~I to·a mountain in Colorado which bears the radiation symbolof·a \__j' triangle inside a circle... ·

MI~Y ••• It has the same symbol.

Jonnie finds Los Alamos and Three Mile Island on the map. And sure enough, they both have the radiation symbol.

Carlo and Mickey don't understand. Jonnie explains •••

Mickey nods, realizing this is good news.

JONNIE

( the bad "'\ews) · · But radiation isn't good for humans, either. That's why a lot of people in our villages get sick and don't live as long as they should.

Be stares at them, ~ng sure they understand.

The aircraft land~ next to FORT KNOX. Our guys emerge, carrying large Psychlo equipment cases, and head into the building •••

¥@ ¥¥9 4 ;μ n ;; 4 4

-

D'l'. FOitT mox -- GOLD DEPOSITORY -- A LI'l"I'LB ~

our guys stand in front of an imposing vault.

Jonnie and Mickey fire-up a Psychlo LASER-DRILL.

They attack the vault with the high-tech drill.

It cuts through, like a hot knife through butter.

~ As the screaming bit, is pulled smoking from th~ hole, a·gol~ l,J' ~ight streams out.

..

There are looks' of concern on their faces.

A light shines down from the present edge and confirms it. The fissure, thirty feet back from the old edge, had simply opened and fallen into the gorge.

Jonnie races back to the hundred feet deep shaft edge. He looks around, flashing his light. •

Jonnie approaches the hole more closely. Until he sees the slide ~arks of the cross timbers that had supported the hoist cage over the hole.

A light shines down from the present edge and confirms it. The fissure, thirty feet back from the old edge, had simply 0 opened and fallen into the gorge.

Jonnie races back to the hundred feet deep shaft edge. He looks around, flashing his light.

Jonnie approaches the hole more closely. Until he sees the slide marks of the cross timbers that had supported the hoist cage over the hole.

LATER

The place is broadly lit nOW'with lamps the relief crew had put on poles. Carlo and the others pay out the line of a bucket rigged to crane cable •••

••• Jonnie and three others are lowered to the bottom of the hole.

They swing picks at the rocks, filling buckets that are instantly shot aloft to be replac~d by empty ones.

LATER

u - The crew has been changed. Twice. But Jonnie is still down there.

They work in a blur of speed.

Another crew arrives. Jonnie stays.

Finally, he hears a distant whisper of sound. He holds up his hand for silence.

VOICE (very faintly) ••• air hole .••

Jonnie grabs a LONGMINE DRILL. He socks the rock drill point into it, and signals the man on the drill motor.

They buck the drill into it with the pressure handles. And with a high scream the drill goes through.

-;;- ;;;;:;;;,;;;; V

LATER

The place is broadly lit now with lamps the relief crew had put on poles. Carlo and the others pay out the line of a bucket rigged to crane cable •••

••• Jonnie and three others are lowered to the bottom of the hole.

They swing picks at the rocks, filling buckets that are instantly shot aloft to be replaced by empty ones.

LATER

The crew has been changed. Twice. But Jonnie is still down there.

They work in a blur of speed •

Finally, he hears a distant whisper of sound. He holds up his hand for silence.

VOICE (very faintly) ••• air hole •••

Jonnie grabs a LONGMINE DRILL. He socks the rock drill point into it, and signals the man on the drill motor.

They buck the drill into it with the pressure ·handles • .And with a high scream the drill goe·s. through.

They feed the hose through the drill hole and turn the air compressor on. Air from the drift squeals ~ack past the sides of the hose and into the rescue crew's faces.

LATER

They have managed to clear the top of the rockfall and drag men out.

Passing them to the top, silently in the hoist buckets.

A dust- and sweat-covered Jonnie is the last one up.

The salvages crew are bundled up, sitting in the snow, most of them drinking something hot.

Jonnie yanks the cover from the stacks of gold bars, harvested at Fort Knox.

Jonnie stands next to a cargo cage half-full of GOLD BARS as he waits for Terl to land his aircraft and climb out.

'l'erl is impress~d, but also instantly suspicious.

TERI, Why is it in 12.A.:I.?

Terl doesn't look convinced until he runs a hand-held COMPOSITION ANALYZER over the gold. It checks out as the real thing.

Biding his glee, Terl turns back and growls at Jonnie--

TERI, I obviously need to adjust the schedule. Since you rat-brains had enough extra time to smelt the gold into bricks, I will now expect the rest of the gold in seven days .•

Not bothering to wait for a response, Terl loads the glorious gold into his aircraft.

J~nnie and the rest of the men have reassembled back at the cave.

But Jonnie doesn't look the least bit concerned.

The group nods, trying to match Jonnie•s confidence as Jonnie gets down to business, opening a MAPof Denver. Be points to the zoo in the middle of the city.

No one seems too happy about the comparison. But Jonnie nods ••.

Mickey excitedly jumps in again, beating Jonnie to the punch-lir

Ali eyes spin to Carlo, who gives a confide'n~ thumbs-up~

Piece-of-cake!

Bis eyes sweep the group as he explains •••

Excitement spreads through the group. The plan actually has a chance of working. But then Jonnie adds •••

The group's excitement instantly turns to confusion.

Everyone stares at him. Be must be joking. But he isn't.

Jonnie and a handful of men emerge from a Strategic Weapons Vault carrying out crates of conventional explosives, as well as ••.

A Cruise-Missile N'QCIT&RWHEN?~

Mickey restlessly pokes around, exploring the classroom as Jonnie and Carlo huddle over a tech-manual.

The nuclear warhead sits on a table in front of them.

In the back of the room, Mickey points to an old PBOTOof a BATTALIONOF CADETS, all with their hands to their foreheads.

JONN:IE Nothing•s wrong. They're saluting. It's a sign of respect.

Be salutes, showing Mickey, then gets back to the business at hand, continuing to read from the manual--

Jonnie and Carlo both take deep breaths, then pick up tools and gingerly go to work on the warhead--

Terl rips the lid off of a coffin and yanks out the dead Psychlo dumping the corpse to the ground and kicking it out of his way.

Be repeats the process with another coffin, unceremoniously flinging the corpse to the ground, then fires up a LASERDRILL and blasts away, carving FALSE BOTTOMSinto·the caskets.

With the nuclear warhead now partially dismantled, Jonnie and Carlo careful_ly remove a lead plate with surgical precision.

Still whistling his war song, Terl begins filling the false bottoms in the coffins with his beloved gold.

Everyone congregates around the map of Denver one last time as Jonnie finalizes the battle plan •••

Be points to a section of the city away from the park.

Mason points to the nuclear warhead.

Ml-\SON ••• And you're sure that thing will be enough to take-out their entire planet?

Mickey slowly raises his head. A darkness in his voice.

MICK£Y --You don't understand. I~ to go. (determined) So, I can see my brother again.

Jonnie stares at Mickey, his heart breaking. But this time, Jonnie bas no choice. Be has to tell him.

Mickey returns Jonnie's look without blinking.

A long beat. Then Jonnie finally nods, giving Mickey his wish.

· EX'l'. DENVER -- EMPLOYEE RECREATION·BALL -- THATNIGHT

Ker comes strolling out of the bar, when a figure suddenly steps out of the shadows in front of him.- It's JONNIE--

Ker"s eyes light-up at his sudden good fortune. Be pulls his blast-gun and orders--

As Jonnie leads Ker to the cage, Chrissy holds up the DISC.

Ker, chuckling at Jennie's stupidi~y, re-pulls h~s Blast-Gun.

1CER I don't think so, crap-brain! Because if you don't give me the disc, I'll--

At JoMie's signal--

CHRISSY imnediately hands the disc to someone in her cage, who in turns hands it off to another person, this continue3 until •••

- . -

The disc reaches someone at the edge of the cage, who pitches it through the bars into--

Ker tries to point his gun at the humans in warning, but the process is repeated too fast for him to follow as .••

A human chain moves the disc from hand to hand, cage to cage, until before Ker knows it, the disc disappears from view around a corner.

Ker turns back to Jonnie with a friendly smile.

"*

Xer uses a special tool to remove the explosive collar from Chrissy• s neck, then trade.s the collar for the disc.

Xer doesn't have to think about it. Be imnediately trades the zoo key for the second disc. As soon as X~r .is gone... • . _

Chrissy gives Jonnie a confused look.

JONNn: (hands her the key) After tonight, it won't matter much either way.

There's an unspoken tension between them. The first time they've alone since he left their village. Chrissy tries to cover it with

of beats. And finally, Jonnie struggles to find the right words.

own freedom, but for the possibility of a life for the children.

Chrissy looks at him and starts to ask something, but doesn't. Be returns her look, clarifying •••

They embrace. Each of them knowing it might be the last time.

Terl-comes strolling into the office, but suddenly stops in his tracks. EVERY MONITORin the room is playing ·a recording of-- .. CJ

Ker smugly pauses the disc, FREEZINGthe guilty evidence.

Terl stares at him. And without hesitation:

Ker remains on guard. Be's not about to fall for any traps. But Terl seems genuinely happy, if not downright ecstatic.

Which means I haven't wasted my time trying to train youl

Ker can't believe it. This is going much better than he thought.

TERI, Don't be crazy! You don't know how long I've been waiting for this day. And I know just the perfect way to celebrate--

Be pulls his Blast-Gun and slides it into kill position--

A frozen beat. Then Terl has to lower the ~ with a sigh.·

TERI, Well, then how the hell am I supposed to know who it is. I mean, it could be anyone on this damn planet ••• It could be one of the mechanics. It could be a concubine. It could be someone in the communications office. Bell, it could even be •••

Terl opens his desk drawer and calmly pulls out--

Ker's face immediately goes death-white. Terl tosses the head to K

xer looks from the head to the desk drawer to Terl,· realizing 'l'erl had thi~ planned all along. Bis body slumps in defeat.

Terl raises his blast gun.

Be fumbles a disc out of his pocket and hands it to Terl.

As K~r chews on this, Terl reminds~--

And while you're thinking, remember all the hard work we put into getting leverage on the Planetship. A process, I might add, that you were quite resourceful in helping with.

The life drains from Ker as •••

lCABLAMl Terl shoots a fist-sized hole through Ker's face.

Ker is dead long before he hits the ground.

A pair of sentries make their usual nightly rounds, when they hear a strange noise. Turning, they catch a glimpse of--

'A LONE BOMAN SLAVE

Racing away up a path and disappearing around a corner.

The other guard shrugs, unconcerned. After all, man-animals aren't that fast. So they calmly walk-jog after the escapee--

With the escapee now in tow, the guards head back to the zoo. One of them shakes his head in amusement--

The words freeze in his throat as they turn a bend and •••

Eyery single cage is empty. Not a human in sight. The only sound the eerie creaking of open cage doors swaying gently-in the night.

RI.AXONBORNScrank-up, wailing into the darkness.

TERL finishes loading the coffins full of his precious gold onto

a cart as he barks into his rad.io--

The 'l'ELEPORTATIONSUPERVISORhangs up fran a radio call--

fr5i5753F75 }t l, '*

The selected guards grumble about having to go, and •••

Join the steady flow of other Psychlos responding to the call. But no one's in too big of a rush. It's just a man-animal escape.

Chrissy and the escaped humans watch as the Psychlos move in on them with ROPES, ELECTRICPROO-STICKS, and NETS•.

The supervisor instructs one of the.two remaining guards> u

The guards share a knowing chuckle.

Still chuckling, he shuffles off to a SQUATBUILDING.

:arr. NATORALHISTORYMUSEUM-- CONTINUOUS

Keeping a careful eye out the window, Mickey keys a RADIO.

MICJ\EY(INTO RADIO) There's three monsters remaining ••• Two are staying at the platform. One is heading into a building to the east-- (checks his map) Which is the latrine.

- ;; g4r;m;:a;;;;;g

-

Across from the teleportation platform, Jonnie whispers to Mason.

Mason nods and they silently divide up, slipping through the night like shadows.

The guard heads inside the latrine, hollering to the occupied stall

'l'ELEPORTATIONGUARD Time to earn your pay--

One of the stall doors opens and a Psychlo stumbles out, pulling up his pants. Be looks more than a little green.

A second Psychlo emerges from another stall, not looking any better. They trail .after the guar9, who heads back for t~e door. a

The supervisor shakes hi~ head, complaining to the remaining guard.

'l'ELEPORTATIONSUPERVISOR ••• If any of the man-animals get broken in the round-up, you just know the brass will use it as an excuse to justify cutting our pay again--

A Kn,I, CLUB flies through the air, smashing into his head.

The fierce impact jars the Psychlo forward, but doesn't kill him. Be spins around to see what the hell just hit him as a--

BON'llNG DIFE

And slits his throat.

Err. 'l'OP OF TBE DOM! -- CONTINUOUS

Carlo lands the aircraft on the apex of the dome and jumps out with an armful of EXPLOSIVES.

The second guard comes strolling out of the latrine as a--

PI:C!t AX-BLADE

Slams deep into his chest. Mason pulls his knife to finish the monster off, but freezes at the unexpected sight of--

TWO Oim:R PYSCBLOS

Beading out of the building. One of the Psychl~s immediately pulls his blast-gun and FIRES at--

Mason, who tries to leap out of the way. But the shot blows off h~ of his leg. Sending him crumpled helpless to the ground as .••

The Psychlo aims his gun dead center between Mason's eyes and--

JONNIE'S RN:IFE

screams through the air, 1rnJ?edd1nqdeep in· the Psyehlo's throat •

•

An enormous paw blurs in the· air·,. coming at h~ •. ·Talons· rake : the side of his face. CJ

Jonnie has the gun in position, and fires at a huge chest. He punches blast after blast into it, driving him back.

The first guard, pick-ax still buried in his chest, clings to life as he manages pulls his radio •••

PSYCBLO(INTO RADIO) We're under attack. !"rem man-animals with weapons. They've already killed--

Jonnie flashes inside, knockingaway the radio. then slits the Psychlo's throat.

nrr. COMMONJ:CATIONEEADQOAR~ I -- CONTINUOUS

..

An ALARM suddenly goes off on a long console. A COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER checks it, then spins to his SUPERVISOR--

I~, COMMUNICATIONSOFFICER ' l \' ,'. '~---~~"" Sir, I have unconfirmed reports of a

·man-animal' revolt. And motionsensors have just been set-off on top the dome--

The supervisor hurries over.

From his look-out position, Mickey spots a group of a.Dned Psychlos sprinting toward the teleportation platform.

Jqnnie hurries to apply a make-shift field tournique~ to Mason's leg, then drags him behind the relative safety of--

Jonnie, pulls his blast-gun, waiting for the Psychlos to come into_. 0 range. As they do, he OPENSUP FIRE--

one of the Psychlos goes down. And another. The remaining three scramble for cover, returning fire--

Err. CONTBOLBUNKER

BLASTER-FIREscreams all around Jonnie, pinning him down as Carlo's voice suddenly comes over the radio--

Carlo finishes planting five sets of explosives in a DIAMOND- SHAPE around the dome's apex, when he whirls as--

A PSYCBLO CRAF'l'lLands on the dome behind him.

The three Psychlo Guards run from cover to cover, working their way to set-up a cross-fire on Jonnie. From one of their radios--

One of the Psychlo's pulls his radio to respond--

Jonnie tries to draw a bead on him, but the shot is obstructed. so Jonnie grabs a ROCKand throws it behind--

The Psychlo, who keys his radio--

Be instinctively turns toward the sudden NOISE of the rock landing behind him, inadvertently stepping out of his cover--

Which is all Jonnie needs. KABLAMl Be drops the Psychlo. The other two monsters open up fire on--

Jonnie, who returns their fire, but his gun suddenly runs dry with a revealing·CLICK ••• CLICK••• CLICK•••

Bearing this, the two Psychlos inmediately charge the bunker.

Jonnie desperately searches for another weapon. But all he has is his knife. Which won't do much good against •••

The two Psychlos storming into the bunker, turning their blast- guns on him at point-blank-range-

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Tpe Psychlos FREEZE. Not so much at what Jonnie said. But because--

Jonnie nods, speaking a little slower than usual.

The two Psychlos exchange a look, then pull their radios.

KABLAMJ I One Psychlo goes down in a ·bloody ..heap as-- . LJ Jonnie bas stalled them long enough for MICKEYto sneak down into position. The remaining Psychlo turns his gun on the young twin--

But Jonnie jumps the Psychlo from behind, slashing its throat with his hunting knife.

Jonnie and Mickey load the NUCLEARWARHEADonto the platform, then--

Jonnie races over and enters the activation sequence into the console. The high-pitched BUM fills the air as the generator-

A heavily armed PSYCBLOSECtJRI'l'YRESPONSETEAMhas deployed £ram the aircraft and is firing at--

......,;;;;;;::z;·=::m::::r:r:::z .,,..

Carlo, who is forced to dive back into his own-- ()

And take off. one hand gripping a DETONATOR,Carlo watches as the Psychlos move to investigate the explosives set around the dome's apex below.

The drumming of the generators reverberates through the air as the automated voice finishes the countdown to teleportation .••

Jonnie turns, double-checking that Mickey, the nuclear detonator in hand, is on the platform along with the warhead.

CARLO'S VOICE fFROM~IO) Thought You'd Never Ask--

And before Jonnie can react--

~ presses a Blast-Gun against the side of his head.

An eerie stillness as the generator-dynamos slowly fall silent.

The Psychlos on the dome have already disarmed one set of the explosives surrounding the apex, and are removing another as--

carlo hits the detonator--

KABBOOHMlll The Psychlos are blown to bits. But with only three of the five explosive packages in place, the dame SPIDER-WEBS•••

But doesn"t collapse.

Keeping his gun trained on Jonnie and Mickey, Terl keys his radio.

Terl locks eyes with Jonnie as he calmly responds--

Jonnie returns the stare in helpless anguish·as--

A collective roar of enthusiasm goes up from the Psychlos as the orders are relayed. They toss down their nets and ropes and draw their blasters, setting them into KILL-POSITION, then--

fire on the unarmedhumans. Chrissy urgently pulls her radio.

Carlo pilots the aircraft, sending it screaming full-speed right for the spider-web of cracked glass surrounding the dome's apex--

The aircraft BLASTSstraight into the dome. The jarring impact causing the high-tech glass to BUCKLE•••

But the dame's structural integrity remains intact.

The blood bath continues as the Psychlos blast down the unarmed humans like targets in some amusement park game.

Chrissy desperately grabs a BRANCHfrom the ground and throws it like a kill-club--

The impact knocks the Blaster-Gun out of the paw of a Psychlo, who is surprised a man-animal was able to do that •••

Let alone a female man~animal. Chrissy and the Psychlo both dive f o.r the weapon.

Chris~y's the one who comes up with it, blasting a hole through th~ monsters chest, then spins, firing on another Psychlo.

C One of Jonnie's trained men springs foi:ward out of the crowd; grabbin the weapon from the fallen Psychlos, then joins Chrissy in firing on-

The other Psychlos, who realizing they"re·under attack, aggressively return fire, catching the rebel fighter in a cross-fire, tearing him to shreds. The Psychlos then turn their weaponson Chrissy. as--

IN'l'. AIRCRAFT -- CONTINUOUS

Carlo tries to reverse the aircraft, but the engine impotently grinds, mortally damaged in the collision.

The TORTURED SCREAMS of people dying below can be heard over the radio. And Carlo knows he has no choice •••

Be reaches behind him to an impressive collection of EXPLOSIVE DEVICES and grabs a GRENADE, pull ; ng the pin.

Be tosses the grenade back with the other explosives and stares ahead with grim determination, continuing the countdown to his own death.

The grenade DETONATES. setting-off the rest of the explosives-

The aircraft EXPLODINGin a MASSIVEFIREBALL. The powerful blast is finally enough to completely shatter the weakeneddome--

EX'l'. CIVIC CENTER PARK-- CONTDruOOS

Chrissy is under intense fire from all directions. She's forced back against a side of the building, trapped as the Psychlos move in for the kill, firing relentlessly at her, when from above •••

A sky-full of snowflake-sized pieces of glass rain down, shililnering like ethereal spirits dancing in the night air.

But as beautiful as it is, the result is deadly to the Psychlos. Without breath-masks, they drop to the ground, convulsing--

In contrast to TERL, who calJDly pulls a breath-mask from his pocket. As he secures the mask, he explains to Jonnie with a smirk--

TERL . : If I were you, and thank-Psychlo I'm not, blowing up the dome would have been my move as well •••

The rest of Jonnie's men grab the weapons from the now dead monsters and join Chrissy in taking position to ambush the second wave--

Terl keeps his gun trained on Jonnie and Mickey, while calJDly keying his radio--

Terl plucks the NUCLEARWARHEADoff the teleporter and nonchalantly --· tosses it into the field behind him •••

Then loads the coffins full of his precious gold onto the platform.

The communications Supervisor finishes punching an authorization cod, into the console and slams a KEY CARD into a slot and turns it-

Under a perpetual purple sky, the Bame Planet's automated response system irmnediately goes to work. Towering ROBOTICARMS load-

Terl finishes loading his gold onto the platform, then keeping the gun on Jonnie •••

TERI, Even though you're just a rat-brain, I must admit you gave me quite a sporting challenge. And you'll make a hell of an interesting conversation piece once you're stuffed and hanging on the wall at the Academy Alumni Club.

With the weapon trained on Jonnie, Terl backs up to the control bunker. Mickey can't keep the panic from his voice.

EX'l'. CON'l'ROLBONKER- CON'I'INOOOS

The high-pitched SOMof the generators start to fill the air u--

+ 1M

Terl punches in the last of the commands for teleportation. ()

Jonnie charges off the platform. Terl spins and PIRES at him--

But Jonnie manages to dive clear of the shot, then pivots with blurring speed and throws his--

Who tries to twist out of the way, but the knife slams deep into his shoulder. Terl pulls it out as--

Fueled by primal rage, Jonnie is able to.knock the much-bigger Psychlo to the ground, jarring the gun from Terl's grip.

But Terl is bigger and stronger. Be pins Jonnie down and savagely tears into him with his razor-like claws--

Jonnie lunges up and grabs Terl's wounded shoulder with both hands. Squeezing and twisting as hard as he can, Jonnie wrenches Terl off of him. But the victory is short lived as •••

Terl rolls over and is now able to get back onto his feet.

But Jonnie hangs on and stays focused on the monster's weak .spot. Digging o.ne hand into Terl •s wounded shoulder, while POMMELINGat it in a mad blur with the other, inflicting what damage he can--

Hissing in pain, Terl swats Jonnie back to the ground then grabs his blast-gun and stands, towering over--

Jonnie, who can see behind Terl, where •••

Mickey struggles with all his might, just managing to boost the nuclear warhead back onto the platform.

WP 11£MWMS

Jonnie locks eyes with Terl, trying to keep him from noticing Mickey scrambling onto the platform with the nuclear weapon.

Terl aims the gun straight down between Jonnie's eyes.

TERI, I'm afraid you're in no position to be making requests-

C, (quietly)

She was to be my wife.

Terl can't believe Jonnie's stupidity. Chuckles with glee.

TERI, Thanks for reminding me, rat-brain. (pulls the REMOTE to Chrissy's collar) Before you die, you should have the pleasure of knowing what happens to your little •wife• to be.

Terl raises the remote with one paw, the other pointing the blast-gun down at Jonnie, who stares him straight in the eye.

Terl plunges the remote's button. Obviously not realizing that--

When Jonnie grabbed his shoulder, he had clasped the explosive collar from Chrissy under one of the gold epaulettes and--

where it used to be connected to an arm.

Terl is too stunned to react as--

Jonnie dives to the ground, grabbing the blaster-gun still connected to.what's left of Terl's arm.

The humming of the generators grows louder.

Keeping the blast-gun, on Terl, Jonnie turns to .check on--

Mickey pulls out the nuclear detonator. A sense of deep pride at the .mission heis about to perform. As the countdown finishes--

Mickey turns and gives his friend Jonnie a SALUTE·.

Jonnie salutes Mickey back with eyes full of respect. The field

suddenly rocked by a DEAFENINGROARand BLINDINGLIGHT, and--

Mickey. the warhead. and coffins disappear from tbe platfo;:m.

With the GAS DRONESand shock troops all loaded for earth, the

countdown for teleportation is at •••

At the far end of a seemingly endless row of platforms--

MICKEY appears, along with Terl's coffins and the nuclear weapon.

The Psychlo workers in the vicinity laugh at Mickey's fate. But Mickey stares at them without blinking--

q ;;,.,

The Psychlos obviously don't speak English and have no idea what be' s saying. But they crowd around in morbid curiosity as •••

The planet's overwhelming gravity crushes Mickey t.o the ground. The young twin's eyes bulging, he announces to the crowd--

This cracks up the others. With his final moment of life, Mickey pushes the detonator button •••

As the countdown to earth'. s destruction finishes--

AU'l'OMA'I'EDVOICE (FROMCONSOLE) In two ••• In one--

KKXAAABBBBBLLLLLAAAAAAAMMMMMMM111111l 11111

The GAS DRONESand SBOClCTROOPSvapo;ized into obliyion~-

Along.with everything else in the ·path of the.JZJUs~oom_cloud slannning through the city like a tidal wave. of pure destructio·n.

Blasting apart countless Psychlos and their buildings. And after the initial blast subsides, the radiation reacts with the air-

causing the AIR TO EXPLODEin an instantaneous chain-reaction spreading out faster than the eye can see, as •••

The atmosphere is literally burnt awayfrom the planet.

A blinding white fla=ne expanding out until it surrounds the mammoth planet.· Burning with searing intensity until--

THE ENTIRE PLANET-EXPLODESINTONOTBmGNEss111

SLOW FADE~

EX'!'. FORT KNOX-- DAY

An aircraft lands at the fort, and Jonnie and Chrissy emerge. Mason, sporting a finely-crafted wooden leg, steps up to greet them.

..

Jonnie nods as they head into the fort.

Drr. FORT -- LOWERLEVEL-- MOMENTSLATER

Mason leads Jonnie and Chrissy down a long &DDOredhallway and through a thick vault door, to where--

Drr. INNER VAULT -- CONTINUOUS

Terl, a stump where his arm used to be, downs a shot of kerbango in his new 'living quarters', which have been painted purple for him. Be stares at Jonnie through the steel bars.

'l'ERL What kind of barbaric species are you rat-brains? Either put me to work as a slave or have the decency to vaporize me. (with revulsion) But to imprison me--

'l'erl stares at her in amazement, then eyes Jonnie.

'l'ERL She speaks Psychlo.

TERI, One could only hope.

0 CHRISSY

So you must have some understanding of Psychlo battle tactics and strategy.

Terl stops laughing. Bis eyes narrowing into slits as Jonnie holds up a DISC.

on Terl's look of complete anq utter defeat, we •••

FADE TO