"HEAVY METAL" (1981)

TI-IEHEA\Y!•!ETALMJ\'IE

SCPEEXPL~YBY Dan Goldbeyg

A beautiful field of wheat glistens in the morn~ng sun. As the camera skims overtop, titles start to roll. Ahead of us an odd-looking service van comes-into view, sputtering along a dirt road. Getting closer, we can see the driver, a thin, bookish man with a neat mustache. T~is ~s AUSTIN GRI~ALDI.

The truck pulls up to a strange Victorian house in the middle of the wheatfield. The house has several futuristic radar devices on the roof that rotate constantly.

AUSTIN gets out, opens the van's rear doors, and pulls out ~ two large metal boxes.

The curtains part ever so slightly, and a pair of eyes peer do\,·n.

AUSTI~ shuts the van's rear doors, and carries the two metal boxes into the house. The titles stop rolling as we;

AUSTIK is reading a schematic diagram as he sits in front of the exposed chassis of a complicated futuristic electronic contraption, twice his size. There are strange tools all over the floor.

Putting do~n the diagram, he opens one of the metal cases and takes out a sophisticated-looking glass sphere with electronic receptacles mounted in the sides.

He places this sphere in a space in the middle of the contraption, clamps it down, and plugs some wires into the globe's receptacles. Then he opens the second box. Inside is a glowing green ball. Using a pair of special tongs, AUSTIN carefully lifts· theball · ·out,and inserts it into an opening at the base of the machine,· in the back .

As soon as the ball is inside, the machine hums to life. The glass sphere sparkles, and a holographic picture of a green planet in space appears inside it.

He takes a strange tool, and moves out of frame to make an adju~tment underneath the machine. Suddenlv a wire comes loose from the sphere and begins to spark. ·

As the camera pulls closer to the holograph screen, the green planet begins to silently shake.

With an explosion that rocks the universe, a huge chunk rips out of the green planet and shoots off into space, leaving thousands of glowing particles in its wake.

t;. AUSTIK •.,,._ ~:·.: ~ot noticing the silent image on the holograph, he quickly :,-·,..•"····•.··•.··'·.·repairsthesparkingconnectionandreturnstohisother adjustments.

From the forest floor we see the green planetoid fly overhead, dropping balls. We watch as it rn9vesaway and disappears.beyond a far-off mountain range. The forest rumbles as the planetoid crashes in the distance.

The camera then pans over to.a forest path, whe-re·a beautiful girl approaches, picking mushrooms.

A GREEX BALL KEAR HER FEET

ball, and is drawn to it. Picking the sphere up, she looks at it. Something inside her warns her of its danger, but, unable to resist, she puts it in her basket and continues on.

\ightfalls qver this futuristic chromoid{city_as the beauti:ul girl passes through the glass gate~ and heads home.

Getting closer, we see a slimy silk-like webbing oo:e out of the ball and move towards the sleeping girl, pulling the green ball behind it.

The ball starts to glow and pulse as the webbing begins to surround the girl, like a cocoon. Slowly the camera pans up the wall, and moves out through the windo\,·,andbeyond the city gates, rising higher and higher.

Fiyini qu~tkif overtop fui~riititvilla~es, t~i~a~~~~- heads further and further out intothe less civilized sectors, where the rustingpipelines andcrumbling utility stations of a past civili:ation have beenovergrown by scrub-bush and we~ds.

The camera zooms across this strange landscape toward the distant ~oμntain~.\\·here.the.huge.p.lane~oid.fell..F.i.nai.1y,from. high ·abo~~ the foothills,we begin tticome down. ·

In thehills belo~ us, hundreds ofblue humanoid barbarians are moving along, mesmerized, to~ard a~ulsing green glo~ high in thenountaintops. Suddenly themountains begin to rumble.

THE LI~E OF BARBARIA~S

At the front of the line, the largest barbarian - obviously their leader·- stops and points.

_A strange, green, foa~y liquid comes pouring do~n th~ mountains toKard the barbarians.

THE LIXE OF BARBARI~~S

The barbari~ns stand fro:en as the foam washes over them and keeps t:.:; on going. One by one, their eyes turn green and they start to :.·.-_.. I-~\ change, becoming hairier, uglier, and stronger. r._;:

As their transformations are compl'eted,the barbarians gather behind their leader into an ever-growing mob of murderous looking sub-humans.

1,•_· THE GATESOF K~~~~ };,~·::•.······..···... :-·, A frightened Kraanian councillor spurs his horse for~ard through the beautiful glass gates, as in the distance we hear the sound

COUNCILMA.~#4 (throwing aparchment before the Elder)

Even the mountains glow green and an evil slime oozes down!

Elder, we must arm ourselves! We must fight!

Evervone gets quiet. Looking at the narchment thrown before him,· the ancient, withered ELDER rise; to his feet.

Ke are not a race·of warriors. Ke are statesmen, and scientists. From our very beginning it was ordaine~ that the warrior-race of Taarak the Defender would aid us in times of need. This was the Pact!

Taarak the Defender? His race is dead! They cannot defend anyone!

Some sav that the race is not dead - that one still lives.

One? What good is one?

One of Taarak'sblood can do much.

As the.councilmen.take up the.,chant·;.·.

As the boy begins to bar the door, it bursts open, flinging him aside.. Standing.in the doorway, surrounded by his men, is the BARBARIAK LEADER.

With a laugh, he raises a Medieval-looking multiole cross-bow and fires a burst of arrows into the boy's chest: as the cra:ed troops rush in around him.

The chanting continues as we;

Ke look doKn over this uncivilized wilderness with onlv decaying pipelines and the occasional jagged rock structure breaking the barren uniformity of the land. As the Council's distant chanting fades out, all is quiet.

Suddenly frornbehind us, we hear the sound of flapping wings and a huge rush of air. Just above our heads, T~.ARX.ATHE DEFENDER comes flying in, sitting proudly in the saddle of a giant crimson bird.

She is beautiful, with dark eyes and wild red hair blowing behind her in the wind.

Below her, on the ground·,she sees a humanoid running in terror, chased by an ugly, four-legged·mutant creature.

Spurring he rb i rdforward,TAAR.,A sweepsdov.·noverthe u g1y beast and lassoes it. She then hoists the creature up into the air and, tossing her end of the rope over a tall jagged

I~~ Flying do~n to the gratefulhumanoid, she dismounts. As she approacheswe see that hehas abarbarian medallion on a chain around hisneck.

I o·Ke·youmy life. ·Letme repayyou ...

He takes offhis medallion andplaces it around her neck. Suddenly he twists the chain tight in his hand, pulling her toKards him. His eyes change to abright green as he forces her. .to.the.groundand .startsripping.at.her.cl.othes...As. he molests her, TAAR"\Ais distracted. She hears something - voices inside her, chanting hername.

Quickly she grabs the chain and rips it apart. Then she powerfully smashes·both her hands together around her attacker's ears. As he holds his ringing eaTs, she gets up, lifts him above her head, and hurls himmercilessly to the ground.

Still hearing the chanting, she jumps on her bird, pulls out a second rope, and lassoes the barbarian's feet. She then liftshim up and leaves him hanging from the tall, jagged rock, next to the growling creature.

As T.-\AR\.-\fliesoff,the hangingbeast eyes the barbaria:-i hungrily .

AUST I:,.;GRBLA..LDI

He is still sitting on the floor,working on his machine. As the camera pulls cLoser,we see that AUSTI~ is reaching deep inside themachinev:orts, trying to solder a small orange diode in place with an odd-style soldering iron. The connection breaks, and the diode and some hot solder fall deeper into the machine ap<l start smoking and sputtering. As·the smoke grows thicker, the machine starts tobu:z loudly.

we? formation fillspansthelargethere moon assuddenlvawe of

face·· cloud-s_theradiophone.Khereinto panning,se~foragoni:ing

serene.parked the a

CO~TIXUED:AUSr'I~ofThes-urroundsgrows,e_cracklingSuddenlycomeTHEThepal~sce~enosecameratheaircraft,Thereair.sound...theInstantlySilhouettedAJapaneseskyward.

As'the bombers pre·sson' the camera IDO\'c'S·in·tothelead.. aircraft. In the moonlight w "Pacific Pearl".

Ke're there Stepek, right on target ... Rabual dead ahead!

Suddenly a cacophony of explosions split the air as anti-aircraft shell~ exolode ahead of the aircraft, I1ghting the inside ~ith electric hlu~ flashes..

Gee! Thanks for telling me, Holden. Ithought it ~as Cleveland.

Ackack guns blast shells skyward. The gun blasts light up the palm tree background, causing rnornC'11tarysilhouettes.

For Christ sake, hold her steady!

THE BELLYGU~~ER ..~.. ·He·canbe ieeri iromoutside ihe plane·as th~ sh~ll flashes light up his turret.

'emand let's get outta here!

Keep your shirts on guys, tonight I'm gonna hit something. (hesettles over the bonb sight) Left two degrees steady steady

f tt THE BELLYGU~~ER

The flak is severe, with electric blue flashes lighting up the fuselage interior.

Hey kid, how ya doing back there?

The.co-·pii ot·sagsforward,he 1ffback.on1yby "his..sh ou1de·r. straps. His eyes stare. Blood runs from under his helmet. We know he is dead.

Ke took one back here too. C'mon Stepek, blast 'em!

Steady ... steady ... bombs away! Let's get the hell outta here!

Ke hear the s~riek·of descending bombs. The explosions walk across the airfield, and in the light of the explosions we see devastation. The last bomb hits a fuel dump, causing an enormous ball of fire. ~::

...... THE PACIFIC PEARL

~ice shooting Stepek, how are the rest of you guys?

Flight Engineer okay.

There is abrupt silence.

Still silence, no reply from either name. "'".~:

Kid, check the waist positions, see if they're okay.

Yeah ... will do, skipper.

TAILQU~XER crosses himself, then exits back into the body of •the machine.

Ke hear jumbled comments from all positions. Everyone is happy.

The rnoodcf high spirits is stopped abruptly as the tailgunner reports back.

Skipper, Bellson and Lewis are both dead.

This is the first time the kid's voice is not scared, just pu::led.

Kell kid, now you got a real bombing mission under your belt.

He removes his oxygen mask and takes a long swig from a bottle.

She reioi-nsthe-rest of the group. The formation i-3 not quite as tight as before. As the formation flies along, puffs cf cloud pass by, occasionally obscuring a machine.

CUT TO

LOK VIEK OF THE "PACIFIC PEARL"

Under the "Pacific Pearl's" belly, we see the bellygunner ,•·.. suspended in his Sffiallglasspod. A red glo" brightens up ~-~:\ · ·.,-·". as he drags on a cigar. The rest of the formation are visible stretched to the side and behind aspuffs of cloud waft past. Ke begin to feel as if the weather might be

chang1.ng.

CUT TO

THE ~OSE OF THE "PACIFIC PEARL" .: t}r~!.•··.;·!"-/':·····".TheBOMBARDIERisrelaxinginsideasheswigsfromthe bottle and sings raucously. From the front we look in on the pilot "ith the dead co-pilot sagging in his seat next to him . ...... -t~~~-:

(CO~TI~UED)

Pg. 18

COXTI!\UED:

~ .;.,·,,

(V.0. )

Sorrv about Elkhorn, skip.

\\ hathappened?

PILOT . · · ':.•. •.·..

Idunno. The shell -exploded and he collaosed. I think he took it in the head.

TAILGU~XER (Y.O.)

Are ya sure he's dead, Skipper?

PILOT

He's dead.

Oh I put ~y finger in a~oodpecker'5 hole and the~oodpecker said God bless my soul; take it out, take it out, take itout, remove it ...

Hey Stepek, just shut up, okay?

BOMBARDIER

:-_:: . :~.-.~

Up yours kid, ~assa matter, you don't like my voice?

__,,.·_ • · ; -• While all this banter has been goingon the cloud has been thickening. Suddenly a serious voice cuts in on the small talk. It is the KAVIGATOR.

··-·r

(COXTIXUES)

t"-·. ·,t

Pg. 19

COXTIXUED:

)~_AVIGATOR. (\".0.)

Sornething'swrong!

CUT TO

THE NAVIGATOR

He is frantically tapping the compass.

...~~-,

You got a problem, Holden?

\a\,·;thekid's.theone \dth the problem. He don't like my voice!

PILOT

er.o.)

r.- ~

Button it up Stepek. Khat's ~he problem, Holden?

X.-lXIGATOR-

I must have a malfunction, my compass says ~e're heading north!

CUT TO

PILOT

He looks at his compass.

~.._..::

PILOT

{:i;~:..\,.,.'·'···········

Mine says east.

...., ~.....

(CO~TINUED)

Pg. 20

,·,: .~·

~-•--~~..~·:••••·.······· · XAVIGATOR

(V. 0. )

Hey, can you guys see the rest of the squadron?

BELLYGUN~ER.. (V.0. )

Kegative, there's too much cloud.

A sudden flash of lightning illuminates the ~h6le inside of the plane.

CUT TO

THE COCKPIT

The dead cc-pilot's pale face is momentarily electric blue, lit by the lightning flash. Ke pan past him to the compass in the instrunent panel. It is spinning madly.

PILOT

h"hatthe hell

He reaches for~ard to tap the compass.

PILOT

.. , : Hey Holden, now nv comoass has gone

cra:y. It's spinning like a son of a bitch!

··:-,• · ~:~,.

~AVIGATOR (\'.0.)

Mine too, ~e must ha¥e hit a .magnetic field or something ! !

CUT TO

···\·'

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- ft ..- seena

··the r from ... c

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CUT TO n g. it instrument problens~glo~ Oh I the qi glo~.

positionsrain·liihes therain., rd

.. business? real a green the

6£ a 11. d

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c;r~w .\dth got

re Above a • that!! we spots

all_ talkingsingin

strangecurve at

curtain they

to a

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now spattered BELLYTURRETgunnerLook haywire. Stepek, ; ins is BOMBARDIER PILOT rain, BELLYGUNXER

· PILOT guystryingmy fingerit the

(Y_.O.) (V.O.) (irritably)be g XEAR

coming Suddenly going the - as

Christ YouI'mput Can I t Jesus! PA;\EL

glow are · e . PLA~E PLAXE

,Kindshield s~ings through

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a · ·th.e di s tan c

then IXSTRUMEXTthe e turret

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OUTSIDE THEWe TH=Allwe Justin OUTSIDETHEThe

t~~-:. ....:.,o:.~- ., .....,

:~·.: ,-:,, ~-..:." pg. ").,

CO~TIXUED:

From undet the starboard wing~ we se~ the object ~pproa~hing.

Look at what · look at what!!?

~ - ·BELLYGUNNER

It s out there, just look at it

... ..' ·...' ,.•....·.· .. . ...: -..... ..·,'

For Christ sake, give us a position!

BELLYGU~~ER

It's about four o'clock, just below ... Holy Shit, it's coming righ~ at us!

The glo~ suddenly :cornsat the plane with great speed and hits the starbo~rd inner engine.

CUT TO

PILOT'S P.O.\".

,. . He has to push the dead co-pilot back to peer out the :.r.:.: broken starboard window ... the number three prop is ben: and ~indmilling wi!dly. It has a stra~ge green luminesce~ce about it ... the whole machine shakes.

i_:·-

PILOT

Damn.

The PILOT tries to fly the plane and do the co-pilot's j~ of feathering the bad engine. Suddenly it's too late as the prop wobbles loose ·andcart~heels over the wing .

I;~_'•

?r CUT TO •· ·.:...

I •• -~·•

Pg. 23

:·::':;· .. OUTSIDE THEPLAXE t~=~(.-.·.··:·········,. . - .· Thepropf~ies _backand slices_.agreat _gash .inthe . aircraft's

~kin, near the TAILGUNNER'S ~ositiori.·

CUT TO

f.} . THE PILOT

PILOT

Ke lost the goddarnnedprop ... Did it do any damage? Kid, check

,..•,

PILOT

Corne inkid ... kid 3re you okay?

Silence.

PILOT

~--- Travis, go check the back.

BELLYGU~~ER (V.0.)

:-, _. ~::-..

Kill do, skipper.

CUT TO

~:I'...

I~SIDE HATCH :,.,,, TRA\"IS'turret opens and TRAVIS pulls himself up into the fuselage.

CUT TO

THE PILOT

The gauges are no~ settled except for the oil pressure to No. Z engine. The pressure drops. The engine heat gauge climbs rapidly. A ree ~~rning ligh: begins to flash.

blo~ left

his helmet is

Pg. detachesThey split

flash, his a

a TO as getframe. All and there? see -.- CUT TO weof CUT ThroughCUT TO another. h~~ tocasing. tired. Quick andou~ back and at on dead. o~£, engine face.fails in · time getting flies

what? compartment.

he gain' theiribther, be his e)~esJ falls

no~ . as

-justof on obviously ♦ then hismust

it~ reargun face what's is himself) out I something

name.

PILOT. windO\•. PILOT horrorPILOT he

skeleton.fro:e::ihis

(to (V. 0.)

gills, kid's his his· on but

Goddamncorning Gremlins!frubbfngJesus, Travis,

·6£ the nowhere,abject ho-.rror hear ~ask open slipstream. totatteredof outcooling we feeler a in The are the the is turr:s,look in seemingly S of BELLYGUX~ER eyes ,gian·ces him

COXTINUED: Heclaw-likeoneaway THEHe looksofTRA\·1sfromthroat.seccndTR.\YIHisheadphone,

·

, .:~·c- ·~-:..r:.,(~ / ·

~.:··k

i·:,• THE PILOT

Holden,how far to base?

·Skip, with everything scre,,·ed· uphere,I'd, I'd guess about two hundred miles.

All the time the engine pops and bangs wildly. F>· :~;.. ,,··,·PILOT ....,·. . ,:...

For Christ's sake, find us a place I can put her down!

CUT TO

\·-·.. ~-:

i•

C.

It's all ocean down there, skip!

CUT TO

THE PILOT

PILOT

Mack, can you get us a radio fix?

CUT TO

THE RADIO OPE~~TOR

,. :...·.

RADIOOPERATOR

Negative skip, too much interference.

CUT TO

Pg. 26

·.-,· THE PILOT f~•.·.··.).•:····:·.······· · \ He..is · fighting.the·controls.

PILOT

Shit! r·'vegotta put her d6wri!

CUT TO

THE BOMBARDIER

BOMBARDIER

-.~•· .·...·. • ...-:_.·......·HevHolden :·..:...-·yaol°d ·--stuff·shfrt-:.;~-.._··

ya \rnnnasnort?

For God sakes Stepek, ihui up!

,.- i: k~-- t·:. STEFEK takes anot~er sKig from his bottle.. He is lying on his ba~k partly propped up by the curvin& nose of the aircraf:. He is about to rnakeanother smart ass reply, Khen he hears a strange scratching and chirping noise abo¥e his head. He looks un in time to see sharo teeth an~ claKs start to annear through·the li~ing above his.head. He blinks in disbeli~~ and throKs his bot:le a~ay as if the image came fron the Khiskey.

,i:···c .'.

BOMBARDIER

Oh my God, there's ... there's ...

:.~·· ahh ... keep away keep away L'-~ L (struggles)

... hey no hey somebody (screams)

-~AVIGATOR

(V.0. )

Stepek, you stupid sonovabitch, will

t~~.:-~--.·~.,,.--....·.·········you lay off the booze, you've got the

D.T. s •••

(CONTI~UES)

,...... Pg. 2i t .-.~ :--..:,.;; co::TlNUED: ir ?t~~ 'STEPEK-·iswide--eyed· ahd -scai~dsitlf.'asth~so~ridnowb~gihs ..,~\ under his feet and pincers begin to snip through the floor. t~~ He suddenly realizes that the whole floor is giving way beneath him, and he grabs for a handful of cables as the fleer collapses.

CUT T_O

OUTSIDE THE AIRC~~FT

The lower half of STEPEK is hanging in the slipstream, kicking madly. Ke see that his legs are covered in ~riggling creatures.

: ··'.•'•.-_._.CUT:.BAC};IQ·· •..•:. .·.

STEPEK

He is losing his grip ~ith 0ne hand, but still ~esperately clinging on-to a bunch of cables ~ith the other. Suddenly an ugly pincer cuts the cables Jnd STEPEK is gone ... out into tht night.

CUT TO

THE PLA~E

Sutldenlythe ~o. : engine ~egins to backfire, blasti~g back large gobs of orange flame. The oil, heat and manifold ~a~ges are off t~e dial and red lights frantically flash. Desperately the PILOT Jocks out of the ~indoK.

Pieces begin flying off the engine. The co~ling disi~tegrates revealing the bare engine beneath. Small figures are frantically busy ripping the engine to pieces.

CUT TO

THE PILOT

He is scared.

~:.:

PILOT

Holden, for God's 5ake get up here on the double.

..... I,.,..•, •~·.. (COXTINUED)

28 twists

bright

shootsa

Pg. ripping

him. co~lings.handleanc ... co-pilot.•\ s~ar~flarewith · - ··• ...· the into doorthe shit dead CUT TO CUT TO creaturesattack fuselage. fro~ ... the aircraft thehatchcreatures smashesthe

skip? of grabbingthe

past taking the plates and creatures into '? as up, bastards I'n sigh:bat-like ~indo~s) huge the 0 here!pushes bathi~; back

problem, feet inc:)

, · skip as 1 up he out CHRIST! off. GATORrrlittle fuselage it· do:enreaches o00

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and creatures,

What;s Just Khat~(lookingJESUS H.Holdher Okav(screams) do~n

•· thedo~nouen.He screams · ~rimaces. panicsthe atskin flames, ~ans OPERATORshoots out buistsrack. in ~ing o,,·. through

~A\.IGATOR thecamerathen~ R~DIOflare ~eers

CO~TI~UED: The HeoffTheandThefromrightruby THETheWreathed

' / ,~ .- tr ~ ~:l- ·~·;r:·

Pg. 29

OUTSIDE THE AIRC~~FT

..Creatur-es··swa·rmalloverthe·plane.-·The·ball.-turret-.falls off. A wheel suddenly lowers, then falls off. A flap flutters free and blows awav. Oil streams back into the slipstream and sections of the skin of the plane come away, revealing the skeleton _fram~~orkof the f~selage.

THE PILOT

He is fighting the controls. Creatures are now in the cockpit, plucking out the instruments. The PILOT reaches to the throttle only to grab a creature that locks on to his gloved hand. Flying the plane with his good hand, he strikes and purnnels at the-attac-king·creatures:wi-t-h·the· ·.·-othef.- · · ·..._..•..-· ·· ·· ···· ··

CUT TO

OUTSIDE THE AIRCRAFT

It is now almost a flying skeleton. For - thefirstti~e, Ke see that it is heading for an island. A figu:-edetaches itself from the sachine and plummets aKay.

(..:.1.,• I,• 1:.,_,: CUT TO ·--=-

..·~-· THE PILOT

He falls, terror-stricken, through space. Finally his chute cpe~s. A slimy creature still clings to his gloved ha~~- Ee rips off the glove and throKs it and the creature a~ay.

PILOT

(struggling) Jesus H. Christ!

CUT TO

THE ISLAKD

The approaching smoking plane bellies onto the sea, bou~ces, -:·r then skims along the wave tops, careening up onto the beach, 1::,; where it t~ists around cra:ily before coming to a lopsided f~:'. stop. The machine faces us head-on and we see~ glo~ coreing ...-~•

~/ (COXTINUES) ..,,J.. .

C/~;

Pg. 30

t~

fromwhat's left of Ko. 3 engine. The camera zooms in rapidly

CUT TO -

THE.PILOT .

He has landed, and is undoing his narachute harness. He looks :_•·:. around incredulouslv. The island ls a junkyard - a veritable graveyard of aircra~t. There are rnanyaircraft, both old wrecks and futuristic-looking ones lying everywhere. Skeletal ft

··tofhe· ·remainsofone machin ·e.-· ·It·is:,·an·:o'1d ··AmericanLockhe·ed·· Electra. It glints dull in the half light of dawn. Painted qn its side are t,,onames; "Amelia Earhart" and "Fred ~oonan".

The camera continues to move through this panora~a of metallic junk until it stops on a long chrome rod sticking up out of a pile of scrap.

Tilting up to the sky we see the clouds part as two gargantuan metal arms emerge and descend down·toward the iunknile. The metal arms reach the chrome rod, grip it tightiy, and begin to lift :.tup.

:·.:-~: The scrap-pile groans and shifts as an enormous orange cylinder ishoisted up out of the junkyard, through the ~ist, and i~to :;:... the clouds.

Ke follow as the cylinder is pulled higher and higher, finally coming to a stop in front of a giant eyeball. The ca~era pulls back to reveal that the eyebal 1be longsto AUSTIX GRDiALDI, who carefully scrutinizes the orange diode held tightly in his needlenose pliers.

AUST!~

Got it.

Satisfied that this is the piece he had lost in the machine, ·hebegins to re-solder it in place. Behind him, a LITTLE GIRL with red hair comes into the room and walks up to him.

:,.;~.. .r',.,..····... LITTLE GIRL

It's broken again, isn't it Daddy?

:~··. ...:..

(CO~TI~UES)

Pg. 31

CO~TINUED:

Yes . dear.But Daddy's.fixing it. (hums)

(,,·atching)

HoK come it's alKays breaking?

~·--:..... ,:·-,

AUSTI~

t; _. . 1

I don't knoK, s~eetheart. ~~mmhmn.

LITTLE GIRL

Khen it's fixed, will you make more funny pictures for me?

...:~ AUSTI~

Honey, Khy don't you go play Kith your toys and let Daddy finish his ,,·or k ,okay?MJamm. . .

LITTLE GIRL

Okay.

The LITTLE GIRL ~anders around to the oth~r side of the nachine, as AUSTIX flips a s~itch. Once again the glass sphere sparkles and theholographic screen lights up. AUSTI~ uses a tool to fine-tune theholograph and an image begins to mate~iali:e; the glass gates of Kraan.

As the image becomes clearer, the camera pulls closer and closer to the holograph screen.

CUT TO

f...·~.. ; , .....:r THE GATES OF K~~~~ _:--··. The Coun c i 1 ' svoi cesst i 11ringinginherhead ,TAAR}O:Af 1 i es in over the demolished gates. Below her, the once-beautiful city lies in ruins.

(COKTI~UED)

;~~~ Pg. 3~

rr COXTIXUED:

Gliding overtop the deserted streets, she sees a column of smoke rising through the v:reckeddome of the building •in the to~n•s center. As she watches the smoke rise, shepulls hard o~ th~ reins, an~ head~ her bird up.

The camera follows as she rides in through the shattered dome down ·tothe Council Chambers below~

Cotpses of th~ · councilmeriarestrewnevet,,~her~. In the center of the room, a large pile of ancient books and manuscriFtS lie smouldering. Reaching the floor, T..\AR\A dismounts and starts to look around. At thehead of the marble table sits the ELDER - dead. In front of him, a roll of parchment lies on ~he table. TAARX..\ope~s it.

·Ca-refullypainted-onthe narchm·e·nt··is·..a."circl.e·.of'mo'unta·ins,· their tops glo~ing green.

TAAR\'Alooks at it, and puts it in her sack. Then she notices tha: the ELDER is clutching something in his hand~ Prving ,: .-..:.: his stiff fingers apart, she finds a blood-stained ned~lllo~ just like the one her attacker wore on his chain. (fa-i

Looking at the dead ELDER, T..\..\RXAgrips·themedalliontightly in her hand. ~-..·.-

CUT TO

OUTSIDETHE COU~CIL BUILDING

\: _•'.;,_: T..\AR\'Afliesbackout through the shattered done and suryevs the city belo~. All is quiet and dark, except for a green·glo~ corningfrom a second-floor windo~. Curious, she flies o¥er, pulls up beside the ~indo~, and climbs in.

CUT TO

GiRL' sBEDRom~

Entering, TA.ARXAsees the slimy silk-like cocoon on the bed. The basket of fruit still sits on the floor. From ~ithin the webbing, the green ball is glowing brightly.

TAA~'\Alooks at the parchment in her sack, then at the glo,\· coming from the cocoon. Cautiously, she approaches the cocoon, sword drawn.

Suddenly a hand from within the cocoon grabs the ball and t,·. shoots forward, ripping through the ~ebbing and holding the ~--• ,......... ball up to TAARKA'S face. The hand belongs to ·a hideously ugly witch, who emerges from the cocoon, cackling through

(CO!\TIXUES)

Pg.33

CO!\TINUED:

snake-like fangs.

_WITCH

Behold! The Sphere of Uluhtec! Look upon·it ·, .Taa.rna.· Lookupon . ·· it with fear. For in its glow lies the end'of heav~n - th~ be ·~inriing·of hell. Take it Taarna. Feel death in your hands. For death is upon you. And as~ perish ... so dies your race!

..-. :Th·e.,dtch'·s·ey·es·go-·green~.:•:•..·,••-.!•• •~ -•.. ·.·...•·;•:·.:.. . . .~.....

Take it ! !

She hurls tha ball at TA.ARXA,~·hododges it. The ball sails past her ,out the ,..-ind o\,·.ThenTAARXA,s,,·ordr a ised,1eaps at the KITCH, slicing through her in rapid strokes.

The KITCH cackles and crumbles into dust, but her green eves stay suspended in the air, and her cackle echoes through· : the room.

TAAR'\Abacks a,,·ay,climbingout the Kinda,,·,onto her bi rd. As she flies off, she sees the KITCH'S green ball high above her, rising into the clouds and disappearing.

CUT TO

SPACE

The KITCH'S green ball zooms through space, as Earth appears in the distance. Then another object comes into sight. Getting closer we see that is is a modern winged rocketplane of no determinable nationality, soaring high above Earth. The green meteorite passes, briefly bathing the rocketplane in its glow.

The rocketplane banks sharply, then stabili:es. Slo~ly the hatch-doors in its belly open up, revealing theunderside of an automobile suspended in the open hatch.

Hydraulic metal arms emerge, lowering the automobile out from the belly of the cruising rocketplane. We can see now

(CO~TIXUED)

(. . · • :.......:

Pg. 34

CO!\TINUED:

that th~ car ii a white, '59 C~rveti~ ccinvertibl~.

With a "thunk", the metal arms release the car, and · astherocketplane blasts a\o:ay,theCorvette begins_ i~s ·free-fall·t6 Eatth; ·

As the . car-fallsgracefully.throughspace, .·.the.driv.er.plays ·with·thewheel, causing the Corvette to bank smoothly one

Once his direction is stable, the driver clicks on the car radio and adjusts it through various channels, until he settles en one.

Kith the music playing, the car falls closer and closer to .. ·..·,. Ear:th,.e.nteringand .?-merging-.fro.m the .. cloudcoyer .-._o.v-e-:r-.th-e- atMosphere. In the heat of entry the vehicle's paint starts burning up.

As he heads down over a deserted area, the driver begins his approach. To~ching down at breakneck speed, the smoking Corvette bounces violently, every part straining at the repeated impact.

The 2river's face is expressionless as he jams the car i~tc high gear and floors it, spinning . the~heels iD an attempt to translate down~ard momen~urni~to forKar~ noti~n. Then he pops his Jrag chute to h~lp sloK ~oKn.

This accomplished, the expressionless driver releases t~e chute, and speeds off doKn the road in a clou~ of dust.

:.-:.•

CUT TO

,·;-:··

-,--!:.'\.:..THEPE~TAGO\-AERIALSHOT

·...·. From high abo¥e the building we see a croKd of reporters t):' and T.V. newsmen waiting on the front steps.

The '59 Corvette pulls up at the curb below, and seeing .....; it, the reporters all start to run over . ·~:,. The camera zooms down and into the car. Inside, the driver reaches over, · unplugsarubber hose; and loosens the two large hex-nuts which connect him to the car. As he gets out, the reporters come running up. (- : ;,..-..· I, ,:

(COXTI?\UES)

Pg. 35

CONTI~UED:.

Doctor ·Anrak, sixmore mutants '"ere sighted inArizona thismorntng. Do ·you still..saythishas n-0thing to do with the green radiat~on.~rom space.

The driver walks onwithout speaking.

T.V. XE\\"SMAX

,:':-.. ~':-,

(walking alongside)........

Doctor, is it true that the President himself pulled you off the Jupiter Six ProJect so thatyou could investigate thosemutations? Doctor, answer me that.

He ignores the question, and walks past the guards into the Pentagon.

CUT TO

IXT. PEXTAGOX -MEETI~G ROOM

Around a large table sit theJoint Chiefs of Staff, members of the Cabinet, and apretty secretarywearing a tight skirt. An argument is inprogress as theexpressionless DOCTOR AX~~K enters. The camera follo~shim ashe sits down next to one of the Generals.

FATPOLITICIA.'\

well what Iwanna know is, what's theArmy doing about this? Hell! Nv constiuents are turning green! ·They're gro~ing arms on their backs~ There's something or someone up there in space and the voters have a right to know about it!

(CO~TI!'\UES)

Pg.36

· coXTIKUED:

GENER..\L··.

Senator, we have no proof that these mutations- arethe result of interference from outer. space. In fact, Doctor ,Anrak has just come in, so let's hear ~hat he has to.say ... Doctor? .

-~ The rooi goes silent as the DOCTOR stands up.

DOCTOR

First of all, there is no cause for alarffi.As for the theories of interference ·b\9.alie1'i'..be'in·gs'·~.it·•is·nfr·firr:/·cntn.i'o'nthat ~~ on Earth a~e the only·intelli~ent, technically advanced civili:ation present in the universe.

CUT TO

Ff:'•· -_. OUTSIDE THE PEXTAGOX ;:..=_,: Ar.enor_.;:1cusround.spaceshipthes i:eofFit:sburg ho\"ers overhead.

CUT BACK TO

THE MEETIXG ROOI<

DOCTOR

and Khatever is cauEing these mutations is not from outer snace. it's more likely just an isolated biological pheno ... pheno ... ph ... ph ... ph

Suddenly the DOCTOR'S head starts to jerk fro~ side to side. Everyone looks on, not knoKing hoK to react. As the DOCTOR begins to move in short bursts, like a broken robot, he fixes his ga:e upon the pretty secretary across the table. t. ·,':..•.f ::::--····~:'···.•:'···...• \

CUT TO

,'-. ••t. ~.~-. ·.:.:. L:.~--

Pg. 37

OUTSIDE THE PENTAGON

.....

From the bottom of thehuge spacecraft, a metal tube emerges and.starts to drill throughthe roof of the Pentagon.

CUT BACK TO

The DOCTOR starts to shakeviolently ashe stares at the pretty secretary.

DOCTOR

·..·.;........ .•·· .

Suddenly he lunges ather, sliding across the table.

As the DOCTOR st~uggles with the terrified girl, the camera pans up to the ceiling,where themetal tube fron the spaceship drills through. Descending upon them, it sucks the~ up instantly.

DOCTOR

Aaarrgghh!

SECRETARY

Eeeeeek!

CUT TO

I;-;SIDETHESPACECRAFT- CONTROL ROOM

A metallic robot holding a clipboard, is standing in front of a large glass receiYing jar, as DOCTOR A;\RAK comes through the tube and lands inthe jar. As soon as the DOCTOR'S feet hit the bottom of the jar, the DOCTOR breaks intoBlot of small metallic parts.

Oh, nice job. How am I supposed to fix this guy? He's fucked.

(CO~Tr:;-.;uED)

•. ~:;: Pg. 38

Lr CONTINUED:

;. ·..• :EKE and EDSEL, two alien space-pil6ts, are standing ~eatby; ~--- at the control console. Thev look like big furry orange heads on stilts, with arms coming ~ut of the sides.

·Z.EKE (t{)Edsel)

r guess·we turned it up · a little too high.

EDSEL

?·--- (to Robot)

Sorry,..man..

ROBOT

You're sorry? What about me? I'Ye gotta put this asshole back together.

Suddenly the pretty secretaTy cones through the tube and lands in the jar. She's a lit:le mussed up, but okay .

GLORIA

(gasp) Khere arnI?

Hey, who's the c~ick?

,.,.~:. \ _-. _

GLORIA

Kell look at mv clothes! Who's gonna pa~ for the dry cleaning? And \,·hereamI? ·rdemand that you return me to my office immediately.

:,.

Too late - molecular instabilitv

;-_..:.- ;.•:.i.• :one around spacecraft. You can~ot

leave.

(COKTIKUED)

Pg. 39

CO~TIKUED:

Khat?! Is he kidding?

ZEKE-

Uhh

He looks at the ROBOT, ~ho ~inks at hiffi.

:·~~ :EKE k·;· (.:·~ -·~....._. ..-

· oh--,·eah·~:·.-··trtst'abi1itv·:·one. You're ~tuck here. ·

:EKE and EDSEL try to keep straight faces.

E~t I have to be at mv paren:~ for dinner tonight. ~n~ ny £·.·necciogistaun: -intment1sc-n h.edne5da)". ..

ROBOT

~ot anymore. Kould you, ah, like a drink?

(:eading her a~ay) Y:u'll feel better after a glass of f:-eshblo-aak.

They disappear do~n a corridor.

t::·. Do you have any diet soda? •..

b~·.,•··.·············..,

CUT TO

:·~~.\ Pg. 4C

CO~TROL CO~SOLE

'.~--~-: t. !: ~.::.·; EDSEL

(to Zeke)

Ah, · typicalrobot~ The first- Earth-chick ~e see in ten years, and he_'s··gotta:makeaplay ·for-her.

...

EDSEL jams the gearshift into 'D' for Drive, and the ship lifts away from Earth.

:EKE

......,..-. ::·:. ..H~y, do _.\..:.e:.h.aye. a.ri.y_of.that_. ·:

Pl~tonian ~ybofg lef~?

EDSEL

Uh, yeah. Just one bag. Uh, it's in the trans~itter corapart~ent.

ZEKE

Uh, thanks man.

:EKE opens a hatch and pulls out a double-spouted plastic bag on wheels the si:e of a stea~er-trunk. It is full of ,,-hi t epoKde r .

He pours two fifteen-foot lines of powder onto the floor. Then, he pauses.

• !. ·:..~~- :El.:E

(surveying the lines)

Oh great. Think this is enough?

Uhh ... nah. Go for broke.

:EKE

Good thinking, man.

(CO~TIKUED)

Pg. 41

CO~TI!\UED:

··As he:resumespouring, ZEKEbegins- singing·to.himself 1.n··an alien tongue. When the lines arepoured, they both stand at the start of the trail of ~hitepowder ·,and part their hair to reveal nostrils hidden in their foreheads.

Nose.dive!

-:·~-:- ,-···· They both start to criss-cross the room, inhaling the ~hite f\_; pc~der like vaccuurncleaners. As they happily snort the Xyborg, the camera pans back to the glass receiving jar, and moves dN:1:.throughthe broken pieces of DOCTOR _;\.,RAK.Reaching his lifeless face, the camera rno~esaround to_the back of the

......·.·.:..· ·..,····head.·Th'rough -:the·s·hattered:·metal·,,·e·car{··see·a·.green-ba11,-. glo~ing inside A~RAK'S skullpiece.

DISSOL\'ETO

SPACE - ZEKE A~D EDSEL'S P.O.V .

•[ As the round spaceship moves through space, a group of •. ·.• . asteroids approach and whip past. Up ahead, a red sun turnswhite and goes super-nova.

\ ,•,";

Oh, wow ... good Nyberg!

CUT TO

I~SIDE THE SPACECRAFT- ROBOT'S BEDROO>:

GLORIA PEARL~~N and the ROBCTare lying in bed, naked. They have just finished making love. She is smoking a cigarette.

That was incredible. I've never felt anything like it.

(COXTI!\UED)

Pg. 42

(·: .,

CO!\TI~UED:

ROBOT

Oh great. I have been programmed to be fully proficient in .sexual·acti,·iti ·es. Do you want to go . steady?

GLORIA

Gee, I don't knoK. .ralready have a boyfriend.

ROBOT

hurt him.

(;.,.... i> l;{;i

CUT TO

CO~TROL COXSOLE

:EKE and EDSEL are sit~ing at :he controls, staring Kide-eyed out into space. Thev are obviouslv ~tcned. Suddenlv a bell rings and ~~e conrnun~catorscreen iights up. A se~i~~s officer's _•...,•~ •··•·..• fa~e appears on it. l ,:.

::;...._•. OFFICER C~ SCREEX :..·-:: {-:~

Mothershin calling starcruise~ Alnha Mothership calling starcruiser Al?ha

:EKE looks over at the screen and then shouts into it.

r· ,~!.. ...~

:EKE

Whaddyawant, man?

OFFICER ON SCREEN

Mothership calling Starcruiser Alpha

EDSEL

i2" ···.·'.\··•:••···········

(to Zeke)

You gotta use the microphone.

(CO~TIXUED)

Pg. 43

o1,yeah. (_.1,outsintomicrophone) ,,.,,dddya\..·antman?.

OFFICE-R

I'J·"·listen,idiot. Do I have to

f; ( .:, 1 ,1lyou eight hundred times? You '.. d..11'tcallr.ie"man"! You call me

"',,m-OpOfficer Blix". ?\oKis that

~•. ' '. a

I •

;~i:~•: .·....,···... ..,.....·....,;.... . - -:;

{;t:-~..•- :EKE

(into mike)

:fji

y,,1h,sure. Khaddya\,·ant,man?

'-·..._

Y·,1are to return immediately to 11,cMctr.erShip and pick up a }·,•1111an2i dC iyi1lan .)'0urOrders

:J·•·ibun a 1Courtroomsothatheca:-jt e stif:-

..:-.{~•' ;,,the trial of Lincoln Ste-r-:r:n.Andmake

i, snappy!

The s c re en.goesb1 ·1 11k·

EDSEL

1,;,,, ·.'!TheyfinallygotSternn.

~'"· .

:EKE

11 sabout time. Hang on, man.

,;rewe go.

:EKE jams the gear-·hiftinto hyper-drive.

-._.... ;·:""· CUT TO -,: tLi::

Pg. 4..!

f} SPACE t,:r:,. . .,..·.....,..,.· · ·The round spaceship bl~sts·£6iwlrd ~t ten tim~~ t~e -i~eed of light.

DISSOLVE TO

SPACE - LATER ··

ZEKE ~nd EDSEL'S round s~~~eciait looks like in apple heading toward a freight train as it approaches the enormous mother-ship. f..•'

CUT TO .....:· ·. . ..·:: •.......:.

fu~:;•,:... I~SIDE SPACEC~~FT - CO~TROL CO~SOLE

A.."'1ashtrayfullofroaches sits on the c"'nsole. :EKE is at the controls with a joint in his rnout~ ~~ s~aying back and forth, eyes gla:ed. Beside him, ED~~L •~Lches the mothership getting closer.

You okay to land this thing?

':..·.. ::··, ...·-

:EKE

No problem, man.

CUT TO

MOTHERSHIP'S LAXDI~G AREA

Huge red arrows point the way through the ten-mile wide landing area as the round spaceship glides in.

I think you're goin' a little high, man.

(CO:-.:TINUES)

Pg. 45

'. rr, CONTINUED:

t·· ZEKE ·-..•·.

(V.0.)

It's okay, man. If there's o~e thing I know, it's how to drive when I'm stoned. It's -like,you _knowyour perspective'·s fucked, ·so you just. gotta·1etyour hands ·woikthe t6ntrols ~s-•ifyou're straight ..

The round~ship rams directly into a wall, and crashes down, skidding to a stop in front of the loading bay.

•.~·. ·....·:.... ..-: ··..,. ··.:I·.... ........,· : , ··-·· ..·_.,. :~--··- .···.::......•'..-._·>..._..:•:..·'•..· ;

Oh, wow, good landing, man.

· ·•_-~ ~--\

Thanks.

~..__:r-. ,.- CUT TO

I\SID= SPACEC~~FT - EXTRA\CE HATCH

:EKE and EDSEL press a button to open the hatch d::rs. As the doors open we see t~o metallic Regclian guards .~- ~aiting on the other side. Between them st~nds a small, '{_·~ shabbily-dressed humanoid with a crooked jaw and cauliflower ears. This is HAXOVER FISTE. :.,-•.. •..._::.~

REGOLIAX GUARD

......- (to:eke and Edsel) •'

This man is to be delivered to the, clik, Interplanetary Tribunal, Courtroom F.3 ,· cl ik,Galaxyve·rsusLincolnSternn. Thenk ye~. Clik.

~--:. The guards wheel away. -~- -"',.\,--,--------- -----

;•,.•: ~-. ..: (CO~TI?\UES) ·... 1.,,

Pg. 46

COKTI!'!UED:

CUT TO

CORRIDOR IX SPACESHIP

:EKE andEDSEL escort F!STE do~n the corridor.

ti.... ··:,•·.•...· .·. · •..·EDSEI:,-.:j.'°' =••••:•-,·': :_•.•·•.•

(to Fiste)

Urnrn,you'regonna testify at Sternn's trial?

,,·•.t {l FISTE nods.

:EKE

They gotta gi¥e him at least, like,

('._~-

1i fe.

/. ·,,·_•-i

FISTE

Lincoln Sternn is a kind and honourable man. (cameraFulls close to Fiste's face) He ~ill be freed.

t: .,,-.

CUT TO

SPACE - LATER

As the round spacecraft journ·eys through space it passes through a fantastic space-scape of disembodied rock statues, and past a magnificent graffiti-covered robot chained to an asteroid.

-.:;.. '-: • / 1:·:~

Y'kno~, I~ish they'd clean this pl~ce up, man.

(CO~TI?\UED)

, •..•

Pg. 47

COXTI~UED:

ZEKE· · (V. 0.)

Yeah. It's like pig city out here.

Yeah.

CUT TO

... ROBOT'S BEDR00~1 Jf .•·,•. GLORIA is··getting.dres ·sed ·as·t:11eROBOTre·_chifrges·his .energy- paks.

ROBOT

?i-~

t•;i,

laugh together. Ke care for each

,'; :·~_,i,/..· . other. Ke have highly ?roficie~t ;.:••\ :~. sex. Khy can't we get sarried? ..·.

GLORIA

Look, ~e're different, okav? Let's leave it at that.

CUT TO

,. ,. ...! CC\'TROLROO~i

Thehatch opens, and GLORIA and the ROBCT ~alk through, still talking.

GLORIA

..~ but mixed marriages just don't work. What if you get tired of me and run off ~ith a vibrator or

;...•_: something?

L(""

(CO!\TI~UES)

Pg. 48

CONTI~UED: :!'."" . ~r . -~Sthey'"mo,r·e··thro~gh"thero~in,.a~douttheothe'r.sid·e·'.they ;-.!'/•·, .........; pass FISTE, ~ho is sitting quietly near the receiving jar, hands folded. Looking around, FISTE notices a green glow coming from the bottom of the jar. He gets up, quietly opens the jar~ ·andpokes through the scrap robot parts.·•

Finding the smal1 green ba11 in A.\;RAK' S._head ,hepu11_sit out and looks· atit.

CUT TO

CO~TROL CO;\SOLE

....· .-. ...ZEKE._and.. EDSE:L. .a.re ,...sit.ting_.at..:"the....c.o~-·p·.o.l.s..,:.-c;li:Jy_iI1.g.·~~..r~f_μ~_l.y..·: FISTE, carrying the greeL ball, comes up ~nd sits do~nb~side them.

ZEKE

There it is, man. I'm gonna hang a louie here.

Yeah, well it ~on't b~ long no~. Are you sure you're gonna testify for Sternn?

FISTE says nothing. He just clutches the green ball and stares in tospace.

:EKE and EDSEL look at each other and shrug.

CUT TO

OUTSIDE THE SPACESHIP

An enormous, brightly-lit, multi-level space station/courthouse floats into view, completely filling the screen. ZEKE and EDSEL'S round spaceship is just a speck as it enters the frame, approaching the mammoth structure.

{: ·:·-~ CUT TO

Pg. 49

GLORIA

alright, alright.··--ii11marry• ·you - but on one condition-~.. ·I ~ant a Jewish wedding.

C.·, ··,·.,. •~

ROBOT

A Jewish wedding!?!!~ But this is _...:.so.ace.•. ...9 5%.of-the..popul :~_ti,on..are robots. · · ·· , ·· ·_.·~.··. . ......

GLORIA

Well, find me a robot-rabbi!

ROBOT

Okay, okay!

EDSEL

I give therasix months, man.

:EKE

R~ doesn't even look Je~ish!

GLORIAand the ROBOTdisappear around a corner as :EKE and EDSEL escort FISTE through the hatch. FISTE is carrying the small ..-: .. ; _green ba 11 .

As they lead FISTE away, the camera pulls back, out through a space-port, and moves along the outside of the .slo~ly rotating~pace-station. At the top, the camera :cornsdown through amassive glass-domed ceiling and into a huge inter-galactic courtroom.

Voices echo belo~ us.

(COXTIXUED)

;•..:.. Pg. 50

F\" ·······.·,,········'·•s~.CO~TINUED:

PROSECUTOR

Areyou Captain Lincoln F. Sternn?

·STER.'\N

I·am.

As we rno\"edo,m,we see square-ja,,·edCAPTAIXSTER.'\.'\,his shifty-eyed lawyer, and the cold Prosecutor all standing before the Judge. ~·..,' STER.'\.'\issmirkingconfidently as the Prosecutor reads from -~~.-...,..·-...··. . ......_.. a:--long :..pa·ge.-of·:char-ge·s.....·.·.. ·..;.·-:·.··.;_··.·......:.,.·

PROSECUTOR

Lincoln Sternn -vou stand here accused of twelve·counts of murder in the first degree fourteen counts of armed theft of Federation property

CUT TO

I, •• : /· THE GALLERY ,.· ~-·~·,. ~·. The hostile humanoid and alie~ faces all st~Ye at STER.'\.\ with hate~ul, accusing eyes.

... twenty-two counts of piracy inhigh space ... eighteen counts of

·•."::.· fraud ...

CUT TO

STER'\.'\IsLAKYER

i,_. Mopping his broK, he looksnervously OYer to STER.~N.

(COXTI~UED)

·. ;•.rn

Pg. 51

~(.~·

;,~r

i~:\ l-,?-~:

thirtv-seven counts of rape, and one _movin~violation. Ho~ do you plead?

cur·TO

CAPTAIN STER\!\ ::.:. Smiling to hireself,he nods, then gets serious.

t~7-~ STER.,X --~ -- .·.. ·...···..• ·. ...· ..•.. • ·..._,.. _....:·:,..'·-:'.:••·.·~_::::,·-~--.-..•.·:.

Not guilty!

LA,\"YER (Khispers to Sternn)

Not guilty?!? Are you nuts?!?

·.·.·.:. STER~~

(Khisper-sto laKyer)

I t 'sokay,Char 1i e .Igot an angle.

Call the first Kitness!

STER.,Xand his la,,·yermoveto their seats.

But the Prosecutor's gotcha cold! Yer as guilty as a cat in a goldfish bo,,·1.

r.·. I·~-.

CUT TO

:;:::·

Pg. 52

THE· COURTROOMDOORS

·ZE-KE.·and:EDSEL._enterwithFISTE,.and·pushtheirway ·tothe front.

The Prosecution calls Hanover Fiste.

GUARD #1

Calling Hanover Fiste!

GUARD ~2

-.i.. .-···.·:--Calli·ngHanover.Fi·st-e·i· ·. · ··-

GUARD ~3

Calling Hanover Fiste!

GUARD =4

Hanover Fiste!

:EKE and EDSEL sit doKn, ,,·hileHA.\O\.ERFISTE,small and shabby, Kalks up to the Kitness stand, ne~vously clutching the small green ball in his hand. As he passes, STER~~ and his lawyer conti~ue to argue. ,... -r-:,~

Lissen Sternn ...c~ange the plea to guilty. ThroK yerself on the mercy of the court.

I told you, Charlie. Igot an angle.

HA~OYER FI STE issworn in, as Sternr~'sla\•:yerbegs.

(COKTIXUED)

Pg. 53

CO~TINUED:

LA\\,.YER

But themost we can hope for is to getya buried insecrecy soyer grave don't getviolated! P~ead guilty!

STER.~N·

Shutup, Charlie. I got an angle.

f.:··s Khat angle?

..·•:....

STER.,~ (pointingto Fiste)

Hir.1!

CUT TO

1,;IT;(ESSSTA;(D

PROSECUTOR

Sta:e your name for the record.

I amHanover Fis:e.

CUT TO

STER,:'\

STER.\~ (winkingto lawyer)

I promised him thirty-five thousand zuleks to testify on my behalf.

CUT BACK TO

Pg. 55

STER\!\AKD HIS LAKYER

They look at each other, shocked.

STER.'\K&LAKYER

Huh?!?

CUT BACK TO

KITXESS STA~D

... and he's ah, never done anything illegal ...

(turning sharply)

... unless vou count all the times he sold done disguised as a nun!l - ... -- (reverting to meekness) He's always been a good, law-abiding citi:en ...

(shouting at himself)

AK'KK,gimme a break!! (gentle again)

... qf the Federation, and, and

(going schi:o) Shut Up! Shut Up! Shut Up! (gentle, but starting to sweat)

... a community-concious individual, ah, ah

(rising in cra:ed anger) STER.'\K!!! (pointing as he screams) He's nothin' but a low-down, double-dealin', back-stabbin', larcenous, perverted worm!!

:.C':...z.. STER.\~and his la¼■yerlook on, horrified, as FI STE'Sbody -•: starts to gro,,·.

~::~

(CONTINUES)

\? i::r~\

Pg. 56

CONTI!\UED:

FISTE

Hangin's too good for him!!

New muscles tear through FISTE'S shabby clothes.

FISTE

Burnin's too good for him!!

GroKing larger, he starts foaming at the mouth. f,_,~... ...• ·/}

Hanover ...

FISTE

He should be torn into little bitsy pieces and buried alive!!!

FISTE rams his han4s do~n onto the Kitness Stand, shattering it completely.

STERXX

Hanover ...

FISTE

I'll kill him!

He hurls the Prosecutor aside, and moves towards STERXX ~ith thundering footsteps.

FISTE

KI! - ILLL!! !

Still gro~ing, he rips apart the Judge's bench as he passes it. Fil~.1.llyhestands towering in -:c::..geovertheterrified STER.~K.

(COXTJ~UED)

Pg. 57

~t

?r

,,·.;-: H-h-hev Hanover

,' n-now take it easy, Hanover,

[ti,_,--:+,.·

I'm sure we can talk this ov

Instinctively, STER'\!\leapsback as FISTE' S gianthands come smashing do\m in the spot ,,·hereSTER,!\ stood.The gallery si:at:ersscreaming as STER~K runs for the door. Slayering, FI STE thundersafter him. STE~~!\runs through the ,exit, bolting the door behind him. FISTE follows, tearing the door apart, and bringing the entire c·ourt roomwal1down in the process.

CUT TO

STER.,~

Running do,-.-nahalh,·ay,STER'\!\passesagroup of Regolian cops,who raise their weapons in an-attempt to block the rampaging FISTE.

REGOLIA..,#1

Halt, clik, in the name of the Federation, clik. Where is your corridor pass? (to other Regolians)

Unco-oper~tive humanoid, clik, blast him.

They open fire, but FISTE is unstoppable. Still growing, he grabs the Regolians's weapons, crunches them up and eats them.

REGOLIA~ #1

You are now in violation of Code 103-K-17, clik, paragraph A-64 ... unauthorized-consumption of Federation property. Please come quietly, clik, ... thenk yew.

:.:,.~

With a single clap of his enormous hands, FISTE crushes the Regolian's metal skulls together into an accordian the thickness of a dime.

Pg. 58

f'!? . ·~.'·.-. STERN~

''·r He races through a metallic hallway, and ducks into a boiler room, then down a long dark tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, li~ STE~~~ comes to a dead-end, and stops to rest.

STE~\JN

Oh, this looks good.

FISTE

STER~!\

Oh, duck under here ...

FISTE

t; ,

I' 11get you!!

r:r

STER\'~

I think I'll turn here!

(runs, gasping) Corneon feet, don't fail rnenow!

FISTE

Sternn! ! !

STERN~

Uh oh ...

(runs) Ah, gasp, ah whew, lost him!

FISTE

STER'\N! !

;>.

\ ~i"·.,,'....,.·····' ;:, STER!\N

Okay, Hanover, you've had this corning!

(CO!\TI;\UES)

Pg. 59

CO~TINUED:

Taking a deep breath, STER.~Xreaches into his pocket, pulls out a wad of bills, and counts them out as he hands them to FISTE.

STER.~~

Let's see, thirty-three, thirty- four, thirty-five thousand :uleks. Thanks Hanover.

•.-:"··:·..··. ~,,'(,:. FISTE t-:.}

(takingmoney)

S'nothin, boss.

Counting his money, FISTE starts shrinking back to his normal si:e.

f9. :--···. STER.\~ i.:{;".

1r./· t~--

FISTE

Yes?

STER.\::

Goodbye.

STER.'\Xpullsa leYer, \•:hichopensup the floor belo\,·FISTE, who screams, falling out into space. As FISTE slides out, STER.'\Xgrabsthe r.10neyfromFI STE'Shand and smiles.

CUT TO

THE OUTLA.'\DS

All is quiet across this vast exnanse of rusted pipes and barren desert. The silence is broken by awhistling sound which gets louder and louder. Then, thud!

A green ball lands in the dirt in front of us. Fluttering down around it are H.~'W\-ERFI STE'Stattered clothes. Then the burnt ashes of Hanover's body land in a small pile beside his clothes. Panning up we see TAARXA flying on her bird in the distance.

CUT TO

Pg. 60

,-~! TA.AR.'\A

~'.r' She swoops down and flies through a maze of rusting pipes .and - cables"·hich look like the remnants of an ancient po,,·erstation. [~; Then she steers her bird through a hidden opening in the rotting floor, and enters a magnificent secret hideaway cut deep into the rock.

CUT TO

IXSI DETAAR.'\.~.1 SHIDEA,C.\Y

Landing her bird on a circular slab of gleaming marble, TAAR.\A dismounts and walks over to a shimmering pool. Here she disrobes, and picking up a small gold pitcher, she pours an ancient oil over herself. It shines and snarkles is it touches her skin. Then she steps into the water,.where her body seems to sparkle even brighter.

Finishing her sacred bath, she steps out and walks to a stone wall. When she touches it, a rock panel slides away to ·reveal a gold chest. TAAR\.-\opensit.

Inside the chest lies a glistening set of armou~ed garments, so bright that TA.AR'\.-\mustshieldhereyes for a moment. Then, as she looks do,m at the armour, the voice of TAARAK THF. DEFE~DER comes into her head.

To defend - this is the Pact. but when life loses its value, and is taken for nought, then

the Pact 1s ... to avenge..

r?~

Through a series of dissolves ,,·eseeTAAR~A'S hands sensuously fitting the various metallic pieces over her firm body. Finally we pull back to see her fully.

Standing before us, glistening in the torch-light, she looks magnificent. Reaching once more into the chest, TAAR\A pulls out a golden sword. As she holds it, it seems to vibrate, almost bu::ing in her hands. Suddenly she swings it, slicing cleanly through one of the stone torches on the rock wall. As the burning torch falls to the ground, TAARXA leaves.

C..:':•..

CUT TO

'--·~

Pg. 61

~:~:t~~-

r,r ·From o\"er·ourheads.-,TA.ARNAcomessoaring past, her arm-our gleaming in the rays of the setting sun. Below her, she sees a metallic holiday-town filled with barbarian soldiers.

around loose, and dead or drunken bodies lie in the gutters.

Looking down, amidst the melee, she sees three winged creatures tied up in front of a bar. The camera zooms in on one of the creature's saddlebags. It has a silver medallion set into the leather, identical to the one which TAAR?\Apried from the Elder's fingers.

CUT TO

IXSIDE THE BARROC~

Barbarian honky-tonk music fills the crowded room, as various barbarian soldiers sit drinking and fondling the b~r-girls who are dress~d in cheap, flashy metal outfits.

Three of the blue barbarians are particularly drunk and ro~dv as they push a non-barbarian do~n, dump a drink on his head: laugh and kick him.

CUT TO

THE B..:i.RROOMDOOR

TAARXA ,,-a 1ksinthroughthe s,dn gin g s i 1Yerandp 1exi g1as s doors, past the three soldi~rs kicking their victim. She sits do,,·natthe bar.

The three brutish blue soldiers finish stomping the man and \,·alkoverto the bar, cro,,·dingclosearound TA.ARNA.

BARBARIA.\'#1

Hey, look. A new one .

•

(to Taarna)· Khere you from, baby?

TAAR~A ignores him .

...:•~( .,·••''

(CO!\TI~UES)

Pg. 62

Cu~TIXUED:

BARBARIAX.#2.

Doesn't talk much, does she?

·BARBARIA~~#3·

She doesn't have to talk forwhat I want todo with her.

CUT TO

It slowly moves do~n to her sword, and unclips the safety strap.

CUT BACK TO

THE BARBARIAXS

BARBARIA.\'=3

(runninghis hands across her breastplate) C'monbaby, let'ssee what's under there.

BARBA RI..\~#1

(starting toundo her breastplate)

Yeah, let'shave a look.

Taarna slowly standsup, pushes theirhands away, and takes a step back.

BARBARIA.\'#2

Heey, she's tough.

BARBAR IA.\'#3

Maybe sheKants to fight'?

They all laugh.

BARBAR I.l.:.V.#.1

... ormaybe shewants to take us all on?

Still laughing, theymove towardsher.

(COKTIXUES)

Pg. 63

COXTI!\UED:

In a blinding ·flash,-TAAR'\A·.dra\{Sher. ·gold·ensword·,andwieldit1g it like a Samurai master, slices off all three of their heads. In an instant, the sword is back in its sheath.

The barbarian's heads stop laughing as they fall to the ground. Th~ music ·stops,and everyone in the bar stare~ at TAARKA.

Stepping over the bodies, TAARJ'\Awalksup to thebartender, pulls out the parchment picture of the glowing mountains, and shows it to him. The bartender looks at it carefullv, then poi~ts out the window. ·

B..\RTE!\DER

Beyond the oasis.

TAAR.,Anods and leaves.

CUT BACK TO

,THE B.-\RTEXDER

His eyes start to turn green. The camera gets closer and closer to his glo~ing eyes, until the green glow turns intb the iGage of a ball, lying in the ~roun~, inAUSTIX'S holograph.

CUT TO

AUSTIX

AUSTIX is crouched o¥er the machine turning several knobs, trying to make the ball rnoYe. Nothing happens.

AUSTI!\ (tohimself)

H~mrn •••must be jammed.

Frustrated, AUSTIN picks up a flashlight, opens up a compartment. underneath the control knobs, and takes a look inside. Khile A~STI~ fiddles inside the machine~ we see two hands appear on the holograph screen and pick up the green ball. AUSTIK looks over to the holograph and notices.

FJ~'..,. ...•.•"'.

AUSTIK

\\"here'ditgo?

CUT TO

~•-. Pg. 64

/.::i,,_..~....··.·:··········THE HANDS ···,.

As the ·handscradle the green ball, the camera pull5 back to reveal.a skinny, unco-ordinated boy wearing thick eyeglasses, carrying the sphere across his backyard. This is DAN.

DA~ (V. 0 .. )

It all started ~hen I found the gieen meteorite. I read in Farradav's "Life of the Planets" that smaller ones like this are supposed to burn up ~hen they enter the atmosphere, but for some reason this one didn't

DAX carries the ball into a typical small-to\,·nhouse.

DISSOL\"ETO .

T.\".A~TEXXA OX ROOF - STOR.~fYXIGHT

As the narration continues·,~e follo~ t~o red.~ires do~n frorr.theT.V. antenn a ,a 1on g . ther oo f ,andin~oI1•.\.'\'S at t i c ~indo~. The ~i~es run through a bucket of ~ater and are hoo~ed up to so~e electronic parts on DAX'S de~k.

iJA!\ (Y.0. )

... so I brought it up to my room, stuck it in rnvrock collection and forgot about it. I \,·asexp e r ir.1en t in g ~ith natural electricity

The camera nans around the room to sho~ various disnlavs of DAX' S s c ienti f i ct inkerin g .-b 1ue - ribbonsc i en ceproj ects, transparent models of a man and a ~oman sho~ing all internal organs, and many books.

In the corner, the green ball sits in DA.\'Srock collection. C~t· ~l: At his desk, DAX impatiently shuffles through the dusty pages of an old scientific journal. ,....-~ tI,.. (COXTIXUED)

Pg. 65

CO~TINUED: l~·:··...·.··.·.············ ··-i·

· DAN. (V. 0.)

...and with the storm warnings up, I. figuredmaybe .tonight.I'd.hit;the jackpot. All I needed ~as a little juice.

_ri~: i~. He looks out the window at the gathering storm.

CUT TO

THE STORM

Crackling from the sky, a bolt of lightning strikes the television antenna and surges along the ~ires into the a~tic.

CUT TO

DAX'S ATTIC ROOM

The lightning flashes into D.-\X'Sapparatus, lighting it up b:-ightly. .

It works!

Suddenly, an electric arc jumps from the bucket of ~ater and crosses the room to ioin~ith th~ ball on his shelf. Caught in the middle, DA~ begins to gloK green. ;,;:• -·.·..- u D.-\~

(lookingat his green arms)

,,.:.

Oh Jesus!

The electrical field opens up a shimmering gate,,·ayintoanother uniYerse and DA..~de-materializes. •,! ;.-.· :,:""··•··••.············· ··, CUT TO

Pg. 66

THE TRA!\SFORMATIO~ ,··-,...•.::··············· ':-, We f~oat_in-4ark~ess for a moment as black shapeless imaoe.s'0 zoom past.

DAN

-~- (V. 0~) ,.,.,,.._.......,.

I felt like Iwas nothing - just atoms floating·in the

Then, tiny beams of light Join to form a glow in the corner of the screen. The glow gets brighter and starts moving slowly around the screen. Xow, we can make out some of the images whipping past - a half-formed hand, pages of a book, a crumbling pyramid, a green ball.

Then, a body started to re-forre around me. Onlv it wasn't mv body - this one.had muscles.·

S~urdymuscular parts begin to materiali:e around the r:10\·ing light. They join up with each other to form a po~erfu!ly bu~lt human figure.

Fi~allv a Dan's face takes shape and, as it ~cr~s, everything getsbrighter and clearer.·

,;,:.·-: ,r,.~·.: It was a great body, bu: I

~asn't too cra:y about the face.

The powerful figure, DE~, turns slowly as he floats and begins to look at his hands and arms. Moving his mouth, he speaks in a new voice - deep and powerful.

Hmmm... no hair.

',•"'·····•:·············

Suddenlv, the background exolodes into fields of radiant colours as the body accele;ates awa~ fromus and passes through a second shimmering &n~e~ay.

CUT TO

Pg. 67

~~:··. THE ~EVERWHERE PYRAMID

r.:.~·- DEX, strong,: masculine·andhairles·s~-materiali'zescradled in ":t ;;'""... •·r· the hand of a huge stone idol. He is naked and unconscious i•..;.,..·, . Above him, the glowing green ball is held in the idol'sother hand.

The camera pulls back to show that the idol . isstanding on the deck, stop a huge, .truncatedpyramid. The deck forms awalkway· around a swirling pool of green water.

Kneelirigall arouridthe seething pool, are lizard-~en, wearing priest's robes. Two of them stand beside a glass coffin. Inside the coffin, lies a naked girl, bound and gagged.

Uluhtec, Uluhtec ...

Directly in fronof the idol, a regal-looking QUEEX, wearing a revealing xelvet cloak, ispraying to the raging water.

QUEE~

By the powers of the glowjng Loc-~ar placed in your idol's hand, Id~mand you come forth, · Uluhtec!

The waters of the sacrifical pool rage more violently and a low rumble is heard far below.

CUT TO

THE IDOL'S HA~DS

The green ball, (Loc-Xar), glowsbrightly as DE~ opens his eyes, looks down and notices his enormous genitals.

DEN

Hmm ... big!

~:~-1- Seeing an animal-skin hanging from the idol, he rips off a Ef~ piece and wraps it aroundhimself. ,.:. ~-?~

(COXTI~UED)

..,,

V/ ·...,

Pg. 68

COXTIXUED:

There was no way I was gonna walk around this place with my .dorkhangin'·· out!

Suitably covered, he surveys the ritual taking place below him.

Kow! This looked like something right out of the Ten ConGand~ents.

CUT TO

EDGE Of R~GIXG POOL

The QUEEX is kneeling before the seething water.

QUEE~

Grant me vour strength in return for a livlng mortal sacrifice: It has been ordained. Cone forth Uluhtec l I demand it!

Two li:ard priests remove the terrified Jirl from the glass case and hold her out over the swirling water. The QUEE~ nods and the two priests drop her in.

r~:-.: CUT TO t-: ; ,·.. ~·-..-~

THE IDOL'S HAXDS

Seeing the girl struggle in the water, DEX'S eyes grow wide.

DA!\ (LO.)

,···... ,· .'.· What'd they do that for?

'"'··.,·'( '·'········ ~-..~.-: He stands and dives into the raging pool, swimming powerfully towards the drowning girl.

CUT TO

Pg. 69

U~DER lC.\TER

Reaching her, DEN grabs the girl'~ _boun4ankles, .hooks . them. over -his-headand drags her -th.rough ·a·decayed·holeinthe ":7 ....,... underwater wall. Insidea stone tunnel, they are swept along I' ,..· /~, by the current.

~orraally,.I'dbe dead by now. I kept thinking I was going to run out of air, but my new body worked great. I just hoped her body was ~orking as good as mine.

CUT TO

DEX and the girl are washed out into a pond at the center of a beautiful field of lilies. He nulls her out of the water, unconscious. As he unties her, she begins to stir.

GIRL

Thank you.

She takes DEX'S hand and lies back in the flowers, her beautiful breasts exposed inthe sun:ight .

if:::

She had the rnostbeautiful eyes. I wanted to make some conversation but I foundmy ne~ self asking the same old stupid questions .

......,

DEX

Are you from around here:

GIRL

Kell, you may not believe this, but I'm fromanother world - fr9rna place calledEarth.

(CONTIKUED)

,.· '-~·: :.... ~:·

Pg. 70

CO;\TI~UED:

DEN .

Earth? I too am from Earth. How did you get here?

GIRL-

~fyname is Katherine Wells, and I'm from the British colony of Gibraltar. Time makes no diff- erence here, but there it was the summer of 1892. It was evening - I'd gone for a walk on the cliffs Khen suddenly a sphere f e11frornthe sky. Fo 11o,dn gi ts gloK~.I came .toa shining gate.made out of light. Unable to resist, I stepped through it and aKoke in this world. There I was thin and weakly, fit only to stay indoors. (she stands up) But here, so~ehow I arnstronger, more alive, (s~e stretches seductively) more fully a woman.

You're not kidding.

DE~ (standing)

..~.;~ I, too seem better equipped on i ··. this world. ·~·...•

(he holds out his arm) My arms are more powerful.

(stretches his fingers) Even my fingers seem to hold great strength.

·•·: : •. · KATHERI~E walks up close to DE~, takes his hand and touches ,·· the fingers to her breast.

·~..,. ;.•.. , ·· (CO~TI~UED) t~~;

Pg. 71

CO~TINUED:

You saved mv life. I have no reward to give you, but if any part of me pleases your senses - I w'ould·giveit ,..-illingly.

She circles her nipple with his baby finger.

Kow! Thiswas rreat! There was noway I'd get a chick like this bac.k-on Earth. .···.I-mean,.look,at. her!!

Taking KATHERIXE in his arre~,DEX lays her down on a bed of flowers and begins to tenderly~ake love to her.

D.-\K (Y.0.)

·There,,·asC/.lyoneprob 1em

A s~iked boot appears inthe frame. The camera pa~s up to sho~ a large, ugly hairy beast-man standing over DEX and KATHERIXE.

The camera then pulls back to reveal the entwined couple, completely surrounded by a horde of grim, bestial warriors.

DA!\ (\'.O.

I don't know who these jerks

1"'::. were, but they sure picked a 1 · · J

bad tiraeto show up ...

L,.·~

The ugly beast-men grab DEX and KATHERI~E as ,..-e;

;;'r-

__.:: Pg. i3

ARD's THRO:-:ERom,!

The beast-Captain keeps his machine gun trained on DE~ as the soldiers ~ead him into:·the·ca~ernou~room.

They split us up and·took me to this ~eird castle-type place. I ~anted to find out where thev'd taken Katherine, but none of these guys seemed to speak English.

In the middle of the room there is a round stone pedestal ~ith a throne carved into it. On the throne sits ARD, a ·;-:-~~ child-like ruler with a sadistic glint in his eye.

ARD

They tell me you are Den of Earth, the one who dared to steal the female sacrifice from the Queen.

This guy was a shri~p so I figured I'd play it tough.

DE~

Khere is the girl?

ARD

I.,

r.. ~~-'-' the revolutic~ and the next

ruler of the world .

..:.

The girl! !

,·.• ··~ .:/ (CONTI~UED) ti....··', ~ r j ·: t~.·. -....•·

r, ·...·.. •...~

Pg. 74

co::TINUED:

-ARD ·.

Kell, aren't we fierce? If you are truly as tough as you seem, then you ~ill_serve me well. But first, a test. Gua~ds! Castrate him!·.·

Uh oh.

~-: ' . ;,.-. TKo bestial guards approach from behind, brandishing curved r·-~ ::~-'-. short--swords. DEX turns instin.cti\·ely,-dodge!= ·thefi ·rst ··thru5t and delivers a bone-shattering elbow to the beast's head, crushing his skull.

Spinning with his o~n momentum, DEX thro~s a rock-hard fist into the second guard's chest, snapping his rib-cage and sending him flying across the room.

Kithout pausing, the bald rnuscle~angrabs·the nearby beast- Cantain and lifts him into the air by his machine-gun. The Ca~tai~ hangs on as DEX t~ists the gun, butts it into the cr~ature's groin and then drives the weapon through the ...... Capta in'sja,\.. ·' The creature crumples, leaving DEX Kith the gun .

,,......._. ~...).•

•.:.•

(Y.o.)

Bov! I was pretty good at this stuff.

ARD

Excellent. You are worthy to

,:..;

serve me.

•··,- .•....;~.

'DEN (aiming machine-gun at him)

Give me the girl or die.

: ,.. ( ' ~

(CO~TI~UED)

Pg. 73

CO~TIKUED:

Well, if I have a choice, I'll _takedeath.

DEN

· sobe it~

DE.\'fires,spraying a row of bullets across ARD'S bodv. The bullets blast big yellow holes in ARD1 S chest,but there is ,,._~ no blood. ARD looks up and laughs.

ARD

Ha ha ha! You'll have to do better than that.

As DE.\'lookson, ARD'S wounds miraculously close up andheal themselves over. ~./ g ·_.

DA.\' (\".0. )

I could see why thev rnadethis guy their leader.

,.-·.· 1.::-·..

... but if you're really interested in the girl; I've had her encased in glass.

ARD pulls the velvet covering off of a glass box to reveal KATHERI.\'E,unconscious,sealed inside.

She's dead.

~--_.. t -:,·•r:.•.···•············· (__ ARD

Actually no. She's sleeping, but only I can awaken her.

(COXTI.\'UED)

Pg. 76

co~~TIXUED:

DE~

Khat do you want of me?

l~~ .. ARD ri.~

I want you to steal the sacred Loc-Nar.

DEK

Khat is this Loc-Nar?

·ARD· ..-,, ·•..•·:..

The Queen's gfowing sphere, you fool. The sacrifice to Uluhtec can only be perforned by the possessor cf the sacred Loc-~ar. (calling out)

~orl!

XCRL, a huge gorilla-man, in a ?Urple ~loak, steps for~ard.

This is Karl, my bravest warrior. You will go with him to the Queen's castle and steal the Loc-~ar. Then I will give you the girl.

DE~

If you refuse,~ die, she dies, even·bodv dies.

Sounded reasonable to me.

DE~ looks down at KATHERIXE'Smotionless body.

DISSOLVE TO

~.'\;

Pg. II

RIVER BANKS XEAR THE QUEEN'S CASTLE

In themooni°ight, DEN arid.NORilead a ·squado·fbeast~,,-arrio·rs, armedwith auto~aticweapons, alongthe river towards the Queen's castle.

Ssh. Guardpost . ahead..We must gounderground.

XORL lifts a rock to reveal anunderground passageway.

DAX

·.. ··'• ..

·cv.o.)

This guy Serl seemed to know what he was doing. And, for a goril:a, his Englishwasn 1 thalf bad.

DEX and thewarriors enter theunderground passage.

CUT TO

,..-:... The group, carrying torches,mo¥es along the dark tunnel. They ....... pass abubble-~indow with shark-faced eels swimming on the other li side.

We're undernea:h the castle moat.

DEXnods. An ugly growl echoes through the tunnel up ahead. thewarriors free:e and murmur to each other in their own languages.

DE~ (to ~orl)

What are they saying?

(COXTI~UED)

Pg. -;-g

CO~TIXUED:

NORL . .~

..\ r;--:•• t-;~·1 lit, They talk of the savage beast who

proKls these catacombs with a fierce hunger and sharp.teeth ...

(g_es~ures)

six inches long.

A dog-faced warrior shakes his head and says something to XORL. ,· ·.·...•. ~,,-_·;,...

NORL

,:·.. Sorry ... 1-··. li,,~.

(indica·ting)·

... six~een inches long.

Suddenly, a savage beast appears and chom~s his long, ra:or-sharp teeth into one of the ~arricrs at the end of the line. DEX, XORL, and the remaining ,rnrriorsrun on through the tunnel as, behind them, the monster pulls his victim apart.

CUT TO

DODRi\"AYIXC..l.T.4.cmrns

DEX,XORL, and the remaining ~arriors arrive at a door in the : -.-:•.:. rockKall. .....:

~.-·......,.. ~o~ ~e separate. You and Korg

take this door into the Queen's quarters. The rest of us .Kill move through the Kalls and enter her chamber from the other side. Khoever gets the Loc-Xar first ~ill return it to Ard. Good luck, Den.

/:.:·. /) .....- DEN nods, puts out his torch and carefully opens the door as {;_:,, KO RLrnoYes•off .

CUT TO

{}

Pg. '79

DARK ROOM .

DEN and KORG silently enter. Across the dark room, the glo~ of the·green ball casts· a~al~ ·1ight~

Loc-Nifr~

DA!\ (LO.)

KoK! It was just like .the ball Idug up in my back yard.

r:; ...;bj~_I.. . ..... .• .•··,,•:.·. .··..:: ·: ·· ·.

DA.'\ c,·.o.)

As Isaw the Loc-Xar's glo~ I had ~his real funnv feelin2. All by themsel¥es, my hands reiched for~ard to touch it. But the Loc-Xar mo¥ed out of the way. Instead,my hands felt somethin2 else -warm flesh. TheP the li~h:s came on.

semi-clad QUEEX, and holding her firm, naked breasts in his hands. Looking around, he sees that he and KORG are surrounded by a brigade of the Queen's ugly guards, s~ords raised.

Talk about embarassing!

/.·:

QUEE~ (smiling)

Kill them.

The Queen's guards attack ~ith battle-axes, clubs and swords. As DEX knees one in the groin and swings his gun into another's face, four of the guards surround KORG and club his orains out.

(COXTIXUES)

,~.. ,:.:~-·.

Pg. 80

COXTI~UED:

and heaves a third out the windo~. As the QUEE~ watches with glee, more guards rush into the room and DEX isfinally over- powered and held down.. The Captain of the guards places a long knife aga_ins .tDen'sthroat.

CAPTAIN

CanI slit his throat, your Majesty?

The QUEEX, eyeing Den's magriificientbody, sighs. '~.~.

·.·.· · . QUEEN

Yes, slit his throat.

Thank you, your Majesty .

...\stheCaptainpresses his ·knifeagainst Den's·flesh, the QUEEX sud~enly raises h~r hand.

QUEE~ (smiling)

Stop! I have, ah, something better in mind.

:,.. ~~.... She takes Den's hand and leads him into an adjoining room, as the guards grumble to one anothe~.

GUARD #1

~_;, Jee:, not again.

GUARD ~2

This alwavs happens.

CAPTAIX

Look, she's the Queen. She can do whatever she wants.

(CO!\TI~UES)

c.-,~·..' •

Pg. Sl

,,..,·. COXTINUED:

Guard ¥2·

Yeah, sure.

GUARD #1

Sure. ·

CUT TO

THE QUEEX'S BOUDOI~

The QUEEX stands before DEX, hands on her hips and a fun~y look ·in her eye.·· ·

QUEE~

If you please me, I may let you live.

She smiles, and apprcaches DEX.

DAX

r-·.,

(\".O.)

Uh oh.

DEX

·•.:t...... h"hatmust I do?

QUEEX

Satisfy my appetites.

TheQUEEX lets her cloak drop to the floor as she gets closer. She isnaked underneath.

DAX

;.. -. (\'.0.) '.•·... t;:~

KoK! Eighteen vears of nuthin' and no~, tKice in one day. Khat a place!

Pg.S:

CO~TI:,.;UED:

Come \\·ithme.

l'•::' Mmmm. ~jj.·. She stens for~ar~ and takes his hand, leading him to~ards the ···.~- bed. .

THE QUEEX'S BED

DEX and the QUc::~-:are1yingundre sse donthe enormous bed . The QUEEX has a ¥ery contented look on her face. DEX looks

\'.-/ \\.indo,,·,theQUEEXs1o,,·1yrunshe rhandoyer DEX'S bu 1ging ~ muscles.

~-:. ~.-.·.

The rising moon climaxes our 1o,·e,Den. Is is a sign, a ne,,·be ginning.

DEX

Yes, a sign.

:-.-::..

;.:~. '. DA~ \/. er.o.)

c:-- I had no idea what she ~as .....~-- i. .:- talking about. :•.

,.-.l•'•• ~everwhere is a troubled land, F~; but together we could calm it. ~:

Ke could rule side by side. Your strength has brought great

/::. peace to my restless body. It ~/: could bring great peace to all

tt~~:t?'{n:bledpeopleofthis land.

(co:--=7IXUE::)

Pg. 83

;./ CO!\TI~UED: rr"',.,,•..·,···········

DAN·· (Y.0.)

I knew I was good, but I didn't know I was that. .good.

Suddenly the Captain and his guards burst through the door.

I~;~ , CAPTAI~ ·:.,

Your Majesty! The Loc-Xar is missing - stolen!

Fiend! You make love to me while your accomplices steal the nagic sphere! Guards! Take hirr.:

The guards grab DE~ as ~he QUEE~ snatches one of theirbio.:;:. •-::, , spiked clubs. :) -:.·.·.

,:. QUEE~ ,.-. ;. :-·=.. (toguards) \ -~~:..·

Hold him still! I will kill

\·. hir.1n,·se 1f~ (,,

Boy, was she pissed off!

Heaving the guards aside, DE~ breaks free and jumps out the ......,.~ chamber windoK. i,,. ,-.:; L·..·

....:~ CUT TO ...· ••:,......

(;/r"' THE CASTLE \\.ALL

DEK falls down, do\\"nintothe sKirling waters of the castle moat.

,.,..

and hand. his Beside·the

Pg.

off carrying truncatedsparkling idol's churn TO TO it. pool.Throughconscious to guard I leopard/horse.huge, CUT TO CUT ar9und CUT of (CO~TINUES) a stone lightning Loc-Xar Loc-Nar, Uluhtec1 histhe fullyall of the be gins - hands, onof thefront chains. y knocks in magic forth bolt ofin ~li:~ras: sacrificialinstand A DEX the inside idol's di ate 1 desert the come e outlineglow · of flying glowing - mm KATHERIXE.coffin head! ·_. of i air. moat, wrapped your the warriors the you barrengreenthe his off; trappedsits powerin the is the edge po o 1 saved

QUEEN case ARD of

the the of want the theinto rides bes:ial PiepaiiI By theplacedcommand first out atglass Loc-Xar in sky. sees PYRAMID DESERTdistance and KATHERIXE leap acrosshe hesurfaces A~d'sspears.the the long the see· "-.ate rand a in himself and inKhere

livid. kneelingwe racing glass

them, rides,

is ~E\"ERKHEREissits green NEVER\\.HEREis

hethe

THE QUEENShe OUTSIDETHE CASTLEPullingleopard/horseTHEARDhinchainsterrified.torchesAboveTheviolentlycracklesTHEDEXVisiblepyramidAsin

·

_....i r-..: f .'- · t: -: J ..... _,: -hl I r .- -'···.!·'C:= t :F.:_., .',\~:;.;\,~.a::.

·:~·

Pg.85

CO!\TINUED;

DEN . .· :··· (to himse 1f)

Katherine!

He spurs his·i~opa~d/horse on into thi hight~

cut to

A~OTHER PART OF THE XEVERKHERE DESERT

The QUEE~, riding a flying li:ard, leads her army in pursuit of DE~.

SOLDIER (pointing)

There he is, your Majesty!

CUT TO

1_:.. QUEE~'S P. 0.\". ......_....'!' ~-..... Up ahead, silhouetted in the moonlight, she sees DE~, riding up " .. the steps of the pyramid. The camera pans to the green glo~ atop the torch-lit pyramid.

The Loc-Nar!

CUT TO

L·

THE QUEE;\

QUEE~ (shouts to her men)

Faster! To the pyramid!

t:.::. 'i:-,. She whips her li:ard harder. \ ;:.. CUT TO i-",:

,..•. ~.--.•.

Pg. 86

THE ~EVERWHERE PYRAMID

_ARD is inca~ting to the ragingwater while two_hoode~. monks stand b~sid~-hirn,·holdingth~ itrtigglirigkATHtRINE·out6~ei· the pool.

Chanting the name "Ul uh te c",thetwomanks start to thro,,· ,'.•.-~ ..;I' ~•• the girl in when suddenly a third monk leaps for~ard and ·.tt ··.·..· ..._grab~her,.,..ki~k.in _g.~h~pthe.:z-two.~onks.i _ntothe~,·ater. .

The intruder's hood falls away and his bald head gleams in the moonlight.

DEN

KRtherine!

;r ;..-._-·; ,_•, :.:·:,·.•

KATHERI~E

Den!

ARD

~o! You'll ruin everything!

\ •,ls:..-- ARD iumns uo and runs toward the Loc-~ar, perched in the stone idol;s hand: Grabbing it, ARD holds the glowing ball above him. Ii t...·..x ; . "'··

~:-. \.. Kill them! Kill them both!

f:··"';-.- ~-·· Suddenly, a hand leaps out of the darkness, gripping the Loc-Nar just above Ard's hand - it is the QUEEN.

QUEEN

The Loc-Nar is mine!

(CONTI!\UED)

...~-. {_·.• ·...·""':. Pg. 87

COXTIKUED:

ARD

.. . . (.st rug gling)·.

Stupid bitch! Get away from me!

As ARD. andthe QUEEN fight over the Loc-~ar, the Queen's· troops ..·pour·in and ·battlevdth Ard's·soldiers. Thunder roars overhead.·· f~~\\ t~k.

CUT TO

DEX

Holning KATHERINE in one arm, DEN smashes a nearby soldier and grabs the beast's spear. \\iththe battle raging all around hirr.·,·-DEKlooksupatthe sky.

CUT TO

THE SKY

Lightning crackles, illuminating the night with electricity..

CUT BACK TO

Pr {;_:. DE~

DEX reaches down, picks up the long chain that was wrapped around the glass case and attaches one end to his spear. He kicks the other end into the raging water, then heaves the spear (-·--:· with all his might into the head of the stone idol.

In the same instant, a bolt of lightning fires down from the sky, striking the idol full force. The lightning bolt travels through the spear and down the chain, into the water. Suddenly, the electrical energy arcs across to join with the Loc-~ar.

Holding onto the Loc-Nar, ARD and the QUEEN begin to glow green, then de-materialize into a shimmering dimensional warp. The troops stop fighting and look on in amazement, until all that remains is the glowing Loe-Kar, hanging in mid-air.

Where did they go?

'. \.::...·•

(CO~TINUED)

Pg. 88

DEN

They are gone. That is all that matters.

They probably, wentback to Earth~ Boy, ~ill Mom be surprised.·

..•"

Suddenly, the Loc-~ar falls to the ground at Den's feet.

The Loc-Nar ... you could have the power of Uluhtec~ You could be ruler over all these people.

DE~ (looking over-the throng)

Forget it.

In a single po~erful leap, DEX, carrying KATHERIXE, bounds up onto the Queen's flying lizard and they flv off. The amazed troops watch for a moment, then shrug and resume fighting. ...,.

CUT TO

DE~'S FLYIXG LI:ARD

KATHERIXE clings to DEX as they fly.

KATHERI~E

Oh, but Den,-~ith the Loc-Nar you could have returned to Earth.

DEN

I like it better here.

The lizard banks sharply a~ay from us and carries them into the distance.

Pg. 89

,~:..c ;,~,; CO~TINUED:

rr ..DAN.

· (V. 0. )

~

On Earth, I'm nobody. But here, I am DE~.-

CUT TO

THE XEVERh"HEREPYRAI'1ID

The camera pans do~n the stone statue to the glowing sphere, ~hich lies abandoned on the ground. The soldiers are gone. As we "atch, time begins to accelerate and the Never"here Pyramid ages and crumbles all around the green ball. The earth heaves and shifts, an~ dense vegetation _groKsup. throughthe cracks in the ground. ·

A prehistoric man "alks up and sees the glowing ball under a fern. Fascinated, he picks it up and looks at it, as the footof a Tyrannosaurus Rex comes do~n, crushing him.

Time advances again-as the dinosaur becomes a skeleton, and a Biblical tent-community groKs up around the ball. In the fire-light, the Nomadic trtbesmen are watering their ani~als, . ~hen one of the camels pa~s at the groun~, uncovering the glo~ing ball. Scared, the camel struggles and trys to break its ropes. Out of noKhere a Roman Legion attacks, slaughtering the tribesmen.

Time accelerates again, and the conquering Romans build a tenple, placing the green ball in the head of a golden idol. Then the Romans groK fat and debauched, while slave-girls feed them grapes. As the ball glo~s, the temple crashes doKn around the debauched Romans, covering them and the green ball in rubble.

Over the ruins of the temple, a succession of primitive mud and clay huts evolv~ into the thatched-roof cottages of a Medieval village. [-:~· i.•. (=.·.• A Medieval stone-cutter finds the ball, and mortars it inKith t'L n1s stones as he builds a water well in the centre of the village. Satisfied with his work, he loKers the bucket to dra~ himself a drink. Behind him, an ox-cart comes roaring around a corner. The axle breaks and a heavy ~ooden wheel careens along, striking the stone-cutter i~ the back and knocking him into thewell.

Time advances once more as the Medieval village grows and transforms into a Victorian-style town. It is evening, and the stone "ell no~ sits under a gazebo at the centre of a gas- r.~ {:·: lit village green.

"r"' A fancy carriage carrying a Victorian gentleman passes by and circles the gree~.

(CO!\TI~UED)

Pg. 90

CO~TIXUED:

Moving·irithrough· a,dndo,-:acro-ssthestreet,··we seea·-·s·e·ductive·- lookingwoman dressing herself in black garters and lace. This is intercut with the carriage circling the green, until the woman,who looks like a . high-classharlot,finishes.dressing and leaves her. room. Crossing the.street, she walks up _tothe gazebo and_~eans pr~vocatively up against the we~l..

The gentleman.gets out of his carriage, approaches .the.woman and_propositions_her. She smiles, touches,_and teas.eshim. ,,·e._ pan d0\'11theirle gsto the green bal 1glO\dng in the we11·-l-.·al1.· Suddenly red blood begins to drip over the ball, and the woman's body falls to the ground. The camera pans up to the well-bucket, where the gentleman is washing the blood from his hands.

As time begins to move forward again, the man ages and hobbles a,,·ay, .asthewellcrumbles and cheap turn-of-the-century ro,·i- hotisirigg~ows up, covering the g~een ba11. ··~he·tb~nbecomes dirtier and blacker, and smokestacks blow soot into the mor~ing sky. Almost on cue, the doors of the houses open, and grim coal-miners emerge, shuffling through the filthy streets on theirway towork.

The camerapans down to a drain in the gutter. A rat appears. Panning ba~k up,·the street isnow empty. A bell is heard ringing, and a horse-drawn Red Cross cart pulls around a corner and intoview. Maskedworkers follo~ the car~. One rings thebell, ~hile th2 others pull corp~es from the doorways and lead them into the cart. The gutters and ~indowsills are no~ full of rats. Time ad¥ances again and the buildings become deserted de~elicts. Their decaying timbers groan under the ,,;eight.

A support snaps, and one of thebuildings starts to collapse. Falling a~idst the crumblingplaster and rotting ~ood is the glo~ing green ball. As theball hits the ground, it is co¥ered oYer by rubble.

The rubble becomes bleached by thehot sun and the landscape gro~s drier. Sandblows allaround, covering over everything. •·-.· As the sandstorm clears, theentire terrain is nothing but I ,, ; .•<:.• desert. Inthe distance ~e can see a group of people walking.

CUT TO

PEOPLE

The people appear to be a band of aboriginal workmen, carrying futuristic laser-sho¥els over their shoulders. Thev are led bv ..;•:.•~:- ~ ---:-··•:·····agoateedarchaeologistwithanelaboratemetaldet~ctor.As· he \\alks,his detector starts bleeping. He points to a s~ot ~:; en the ground, and thenatives start digging with their laser- ;-.... sho\·e1 s. ( .·.: •···L -':

;-:-:. ;_·..•.._~ (CO!\TI~UED) ; L,.··

Pg.91

Orteof ~he ~6tk~rs find~-sorn~thini.

WORKER

Xuma!. Kuma! Kuma!

The archaeologist waves the workers away and directs a .tread~ driven shovel-sifter up to the spot. The shovel-sifter digs r--~·. ·inand pulls up a large chunk of desert. Khen the 5and has

f:.: ·.-.·':. It is not glo~ing. The machine s~ivels, and a native foreman plucks the Loc-Xar from the shovel-sifter's teeth.

As the foreman touches it, the Loc-Xar starts glo~ing brightly. The foreman's hands turn green. He 16oks at his green hands, then he looks over to the archaeologist. Suddenly the foreman's entire body glows green, and crumbles into dust.

The archaeologist and the natives stare in horror at the glo~ing Loc-~ir, lying in the pile of green dust.

XEK YORK - AERIAL SH07 - DAY

The camera cones do~n from high abo¥e the city. The gene~al shape and o~tline of ~ew York looks familiar, but as we get closer ~e sense that something is different. Fires are burning in various locations belo~ us, and intermittent gunshots become audible as the narration begins. ;.-- .~ ..... i '.-.. HARRY

(\".0. )

,.... Yeah, Xew York, big deal. Scum-centre t~.-:

of the \\·orld.

•~:--~ •,.

slummier. Ke pass a dead man hanging froo a tenement clothesline. t" --",: - Belo~ us, scruffy children dodge traffic as they play gyro-ball i~-.. ·,:•. , in the garbage-filled street. c..,:

I'.

HARRY

\,·~..·...·..·· (\".0. ) tt

... and now they're talking about

,... letting in low-lifes from other planets, ~----=-·

too.

(CO~TI~UED)

j"'." -~,.. n·.•

Pg. 92

~r.,•.-:I.. COXTI!\UED:

Under.the.- narra-tion,·thecameraturns.-a·c-orrierandzooms·down through the roof of a parked taxicab. It stoos full frameon the newspaper held in the cabdriver's hands. -A-slow pan across the front page reveals that the paper is the New York Times, July 6, 2Q31

···.One· ·headlinere ads:"400,000TrafficDeaths··overHoliday.-Weekend".

The.camera sfops on a headline reading:."Professor. Discovers Ancient Re1i c.:.- - · tobeshOlminN•Y~Museum" . · · ·

There is an accompanying photo of the goateed archaeologist and his beautiful daughter standing beside a glass andmetal ~ase containing the Loc-Xar.

A knocking is heard on the cab's window, and the driver throws dO\•:n.th-ene,,·spaper. ::"'·.··.·,,.,........·.;

YOU~G MAX (fromoutside)

'I~, You free? -:.'•'\,".· i

t,~.,..•.i'...... ~:.~'.~ HARRY

Yeah. Get ::-1. (\".0.)

Ny name's Harry Canyon. I drive a cab.

He flips a switch which unlocks the rear door.

CUT TO

OUTSIDE CAB

The young man climbs into the back seat and closes the door. Harry's yellow Checker cab pulls out into traffic. The vehicle looks pretty normal except for some vaguely futuristic L/: chrome panels cut into the sides, and thicker, deeper bumpers.

CUT TO

I~SIDE CAB.

Harry slides open the plexiglass shield separating him from his passenger.

(COXTI~UED)

P~.93

COXTIXUED:

HARRY

Where to, pal?

YOU~G MA.\

The U.~. .Building.

HARRY

The U.K. Building. Khat a joke. Used to be a nice ulace0until.thev

C"":·• turned it into loK rent housing. · -~;i~: 1

XoK it s a dump. I Kouldn't live

bt·•-:••:·:.·,··.. ·.·.·.thereif·you-paid--me.·:·-... •·...•..•.·.·:·:._.·:.-·...:..~.

He SKitches on the car radio. The music plays as Harry s cab passes various time-altered XeK York landmarks; a graffiti -covered Empire State Building - KindoKs all boarded up, a decrepit -LincolnCentre, the marquis reading ''ContinuousLive Sex Sho,,·.AlsoInter-Planetary Mud-,\·restli~g",ne,,ultra-tech (:.~ buildincs crammed betKeen half-destroved Kall Street office .. buildin~s, garbage ever0,here. ·

Inside the cab, the·YOU;\G~1..\:\pullsagu;icu:o: his iacke:. sticks his arm through the opening in the plexi-glass.shield, and holds the gun to Harry's head . ........

,-~-

Okay sucker, hand over your cash, nO\•;!

;.-.

,- ;:

~. This city is really going to the r--- .. dogs . ,...~

Harry1 sfoot stretches for~ard and pushes a foots~itch. A bu::ing is heard, and the young man's body suddenly dernateriali:es. The gun ~hich he held at Harry's head falls t:othe seat beside HARRY, "·hopicks it up and tosses it into the glove compartment, beside all sorts of other futuristic guns and weapons.

(COXTI~UED)

Pg. 94

co:,.;rINUED= r,.,-.. r-,~ HARRY 1-<.: I,.;; (V. 0.)

Stupid asshole. Nobody touches me unless I ~ant'em to.

CUT To ·

The camera is close-up on the illuminated banner over themain entrance. The banner reads; "Treasure'sof the Loc-:~far- Coming July 8th".

\\·epando,,·ntothe museum doors,· asa man's body comes crashing through the plate glass and spra~ls for~ard, cut andbleeding. It is the goateed professor from the desert. His daughter runs out behind him, ripping her clothes on the broken glass.

GIRL

?··· · Father!

PROFESSOR

Run!

The·girl takes off do,,·n themuseumstairs as men ,d th 1 aser guns come out and start firing. A fat, eYil-looking nan (RUD.\'ICh) bends do~n and grabs the professor's head, jerking it up.

RUD};ICK (to henchmen)

He's dead. Get the girl'.

The girl, clothes torn, runs out into the street, just as Harrv's cab comes cruising by. She runs alongside, pounding on the ,dndo,,·.

:·"•, GIRL I'

(to Harry)

c~. .\__..,.-.-·-·····

Help me, please!!

(CO~TI~UES)

r....... ~-~·--. ~---~·.

Pg. 95

COXTI~UED:

A laser shot narrowly misses her and blasts Harry's side-mirror. HARRYflips the switch, unlocking the passenger door, and ,,aves her in.

};ormallvmY rule is "Don't get involYed", but something about this dame got to me.

She dives in the back and HARRYfloors it. The cab screams away as Laser-shots land all around.

The Loc-~ar ... thev wanted it ... but my fathei wouldn't tell them now I'm the only one ...

CUT TO

HARRY

Relax sister. There's a cop station up here. You can ...

HARRY looks at her in the rear-vie,,·mirror. The girl has fainted.

~&,._.-::

HARRY

[? (\'.O.) i ·!.,'~... . l•.; ...; .

Just what I needed ... guess I'm a sucker for a pretty face.

CUT TO

POLICE STATIOX

The police station is an all-metal building with no windows. A plaque on thr front reads "N.Y. POLICE - 52nd nn·1sIOX".

(COXTIKUED)

Pg. 96

COXTINUED:

Harry's cab pulls up. He gets out, carries theunconscious GIRL up to the frontdoor, and pushes a bu:zer.

VOICE (overintercom)

Police. Khaddya want?

HARRY

Iwanna report a murder.

VOICE (oYer intercom)

So what else isnew?

HARRY

You gonna let me in or what?

A buz:er sounds and thedoor slides onen. HARRY carries the GIRL in and heads acrossthe room tow~rd the main desk. As he walks he passes copsusing a stranje metal detector/Yaccuu~ cleaner to suck dangerous weapons from apair of suspects. Piles of weapons can be seen inthe machine's transparent belly.

COP #1

,..~ Okay, this guy's clean -next.

ti. ,.!. •

HARRY comes up to the frontdesk and starts to lay the girl do,m in a chair.

Before you go any furtherpal, I gotta tell you, it's cash up front. A thousand bucks a day for a full investigation. Another thousand ifthe assailant is caught.

I•. (tf:

EARRY

f': L:c": Yeah thanks

f-,_·••. (CO~TI~UED) r··.. i~

Pg. 97

C0XTI};UED:

He picks up the girl and turns to leave.

HARRY

fur nuthin' !

DESK SERGEA~T (shoutingafter Harry)

You think vou can do better? Join one o~ the vigilante groups. There's a list of 'em outside.

CUT TO

HARRY, carrying the GIRL, comes out of the police station, as a patrol car screeches to a halt in front cf him. 1~0 cops emerge, dragging a green ali~n Kith four arms.

GREE~-ALIEX

I tell you I'm an American citi:en. I just lost my papers.

Goddamn illegal aliens.

HARRYheads to\,·ardhiscab.

So here I was, stuck with this beautiful girl. I knew she was gonna be nuthin' but trouble

He looks around at the sleazv neighbourhood. Everv doorway and alley seems to have a ra~ist ~r thug lurking.

(COXTIXUED)

Pg. 98

...but I didn't feel right just leaving her for the sickos. I dunno, maybe I'm gettin' sentimental or something ...

DISSOLVE TO

IKT. HARRY'S APARTMENT

This futuristic bachelor pad is constructed entirely of brightly coloured molded plastic. Bo~ling trophies sit on a shelf underneath a neon "Budweiser" clock. The place is a mess.

HARRYcarries the GIRL in, pushes the light button to "On", and lays her down on the sofa. As he takes off his jacket he looks down at the unconscious figure -her clothes torn in all the right pla~es. She moans and starts to come to.

GIRL

Where am I?

HARRY

My place

Walking over to a hi-tech plastic bar, HARRYpushes a button and a machine pours and mixes a drink. He hands the GIRL the glass. She sits up and drinks.

They'd have killed me if it wasn't for you.

HARRY

What'd they want to snuff you for?

(CO!\TINUED)

r-.·'".· r:·~ /l.

r-:·.

w~

Pg. 99

GIRL

Th~ Loc-Nar - an ancient relic thatmv father found in the desert, It'sw~rth a fortune, especially to theVenutians. They think it has spiritualpowers.

HARRY

Does. it?

GIRL

All I know is that since we found it, people have been dying all an,,md us. When we got to Kew York, my father hid it.

(startsto shake) Now he's dead.

(grabbing his arm)

~:r-' ·Thev'11 kill me next. I 'mthe onl,. J,._. one.Kho knowswhere it is. They'll l--.

'

Sh~ starts to cry.

HARRY

Listen, nobody's gonna find you hc-r~. You can sleeo on the couch if vou v.'ant. There's blankets in the closet~,and heer in the fridge. So help yourself, okaY?

GIRL

Thank you.

HARRY gets into his bed, leaving the GIRL on the sofa. He' pushes the bedside light button to "Off" and rolls ro face lff \,,.•,··..,;. the v:all.

I didn't know whether to believe her or not. Something inside me '"'0lcl"'~itwasa sucker play .·.. (COXTIr,UED)

Pg. 100

CO~TINUED:

In the moonlight, the GIRL gets up and crosses the -room.· Her tattered clothes fall to the floor, and she stands naked beside Harry's bed.

Can I sleep with you?

Yeah, sure.

: IJ

DISSOLVE TO

HARRY'SBED - LATER

In the dim light we see the couple making love.

Sucket play or not, I musta turned her on something fierce, cause this dame was gain' for broke. Or maybe it was her first time with a New Yorker. Any,.;ay,nothin'can beat good old American know-how, and I was givin' this broad the Stars and Stripes Foreve:-.

' . f.\ FADE UP ON

HARRY'SBED - MORNING

Sun.light streams in through thewindow as HARRYrolls over and reaches his arm across toward the GIRL. She's gone. HARRY wakes up. Standing around his bed are the policemen from the 52nd Division Station.

Pg. 101

SERGEANT

rt' ~l Where's the girl?

HARRY

What girl?

The other cops grab HARRY roughly and hold him up to face the SERGE.tu'\T.

SERGEANT

Don't play dumb with me, Cabbie. You showed up at the station last

, Khere is she?! I-

HARRY

I don't know what yer talkin' about.

~ J.._..' ,.~,!- The SERGEA..~Tleansin-close and grabs him by his pajamas.

SERGEANT

Listen, Cabbie, you hear from her, you call us! You don't, you're a dead man. Understand?

The COJJSthrow HARRY back down on the bed and follow the SERGEANT out.

Don't hold yer breath, pal.

CUT TO

Pg. 102

,._,,..

~~ HARRY walks-·outof this space-.agecondo block set in the heart b.~ of the lower east side. H~ is about to unlock his cab when tit suddenly more hands·grab him and spin him around.

VO!CE (RUDNI"CK)

Wher~ is the girl?

HARRY

C'mon. Not again.

A muscular fist hits HARRYin the face. Another figure rnoYes in and knees him in the groin. Harry's legs buckle, but he is held up by the tough-looking henchmen from the museum.

RUDNICK, their obese leader, stands in front of ~ARRY,· cleaning his teeth with a toothpick.

C'mon pal, she took off. I don't kno~ whe~e she went.

RUDXICK

I'll get right to the point, Mr. Canyon. My name is Rudnick. I represent a group of investors from a nearby planet who wish to purchase something from the young lady. Their price is fair, but they're starting to get~ restless. When you see her, please tell her that time is running out. Thank you, Mr. Canyon. Good daY:-

The henchmen throw HARRY to the ground and exit.

r:·. I·.. DISSOLVE TO

TIMES SQUARE

:;;.,~..•..·.·.·.'···•····HARRYisdrivingpasttheneon-litChurchofAllah,inthe '( •;; middle of the row of unusual churches and religious billboards thatmake up Times Square. He has a black eye.

Pg. 103

CO~TIXUED:

The pain in my head kept reminding me that I shouldn'ta got involved. B~t for some reason I just couldn't get ber off my mind;. It was something about her - an element of danger. And it really turned me oti. ·

As HARRY rounds acorner, we see the two cops in an unmarked car, following him. Behind them, Rudnick's two henchreenfollow, riding body-copters .. (Theseone-man vehicles ride on air-cushions and look like molded midget racing cars.)

Suddenly a black ellipical satellite, the si:e cf a cannonball, comes flying through the air toward Harry's windshield. At the last moment, it swerves to the left and hovers alongside Harry's windo\,·,bleepingloudly. HARRY lowers the v:indO\-.andlights start to flash o~ the device, and a high-pitched computer voice emerges from its grille.

SATELLITE

Trans-Com Message Service: Message for Harry Canyon. Will you accept the charges?

HARRY

Yeah. Go ahead.

SATELLITE

Please punch in your ·charge code.

HARRY reaches. outof the windo¼" andpunches a number onto the satellite's touch-tone buttons.

SATTEL I TE

Thank you.

(longtone sounds) Meet female acquaintance at Statue of Liberty - four o'clock. Stop. End message.

(CO~TINUED)

'. =,.·. ~,-~· I' -.: Pg. 104

'''t" CO~TINUED: . r.,~·.

ti The satellite rises into the sky and flies away.

The ~irl. It hadda be her.

The clock on the dash reads 3:45. HARRYshifts the cab into jet-drive and blast out into the express lane. Behind him, his pursuers also move into the express lane.

But first, I had to ditch the parade.

A j'!lini-radarscreenp'Jpsoutof the dash in front of HARRY. On it he can see the computer outlines of the pursuing police car and body-copters as they criss-cross behind him, trying to catch up. HARRY speeds through a red light, causing a Liquifuels truck to swerve into the police car and one of the body-copters. They explode in a huge ball of flame.

The remaining body-copter flies up over the burning wreckage and hovers over the top ot the speeding cab. Then it shoots a laser beam dO\rnthrough the roof, narro\,·lymissing HARRY.

Suddenly a smoke-bomb shoots up from the cab's roof, enveloping the bodv-conter. Unable to see, the henchman srrashesinto the front wall of the Holland Tunnel as HARRYpasses safely underneath.

I knew that option would come in handy.

~;:. '(·.:. CUT TO i. L-

r.:;· THE STATUEOF LIBERTY

·er Harry's cab tears around a corner. Ahead of him he sees the head and raised torch of the Statue of Liberty, visible above the cluster of modern office buildings which surround it on r: \.'.:•.· the filled-in bay.

He pull~ up to the base of the deserted, decrepit statue, and stops.

Pg. 105

CONTIKUED:

I brought a blaster along_in ·casethat asshole Rudnick · showed ·up. I wasn't -intoviolence·any more than the next guy, but I'd waste that slob for·free.

(.":._ The elevator stops, and the doors open onto the platform ;.:_:_. in the statue's torch. Spread out before us we see the entire city of New York. Harry steps out and looks around.

The GIRL is ~aiting. She has a glass and metal case on the floor beside her ..In it.lies the Loc-Nar ..

That's what all the excitement's about?

1:·; ···.·.··•··•··.;,--~ t·· ~t··,.. The GIRL nods. She takes Harry's hand and clings to it.

GIRL

I want to get rid of it, Harry. I want this to be over. I talked to Rudnick. He said he'd give me three hundred thousand Krone-dollars

c· for it ... ,,!-.•..... \.: •·

HARRY ·raiseshis eyebrows.

GIRL

{: :.;. '-..~..

but I'm frightened. I don't trust him.

HARRY

,·•...

Three hundred grand is a lotta dough.

·=···

GIRL

Will you help me?

(CO~TINUED)

Pg. 106

CO~TINUED:

When she looked atme like that, Iknew I .couldn'tsayno. (to girl)· I'll come along for fifty percent

GIRL

,_..,, You can have anything you want. 1,:. : .,.· ~; 1••,....,_... (holding Harry tigh~) l-· .,

Just ~tay with m6.

~~'. r·t_·-...·

CUT TO

BROOKLYN BRIDGE - NIGHT

The light from themodern anti-gray causeway overhead illuminates the rusting skeleton of the now-obsolete Brooklyn Bridge. Drivinghis cabpast a sign reading -~'BridgeClosed - UseAt Ovm Risk", HARRYpul 1 son tothe creaking metal structure.

At the other end of thebridge, apair of headlights blink three times.

GIRL

·.~..-; There they are.

HARRY

Okay. I'llkeep you covered.

She kisses him and getsout, carrying the metal case. As she walks, we can seeRUDNICK approaching from the other end, r.~~- carrying a briefcase.

HARRY watches the radar screen,keeping his lasers trained on the approaching figure. ,··~

,. (CONTINUED) I

Pg. 107

CO~TINUED:

·Atthe· ,cen~re .of · thebridgethetwo.·st·op;· .RUDNICK· ope.nshis· briefcase, and holds it up. It is full of hundred dollarbills. The GIRL presses a button on top of her metal case, andthe metal doors slide back to reveal the Loc-Nar glowing through the protective glass . .They~xchange cases.

The · GIRL· returnswiththemoney, ·and -jumpsin ·theback of the cab. HARRYfloors it.

A glow appears in Harry's rear-view·~irrcir·as·RUDNICK pulls the green ball out of its case.

CUT TO

RUDNICK

..... He looks at the glo~ing relic in his hands. Then his hands • -·~·--·._·..... t start to turn green. l

RUDNICK

Oh shit

Suddenly~ he explodes intogreen flames, which spread over the bridge and start to melt it.

CUT TO

HARRY

He steers the cab off the bridge and heads upto~n.

Well baby, we're rich. Whaddaya say we take a trip ... just the two of us?

1.•:,-. ;~·.:~

GIRL

I'd like to Harry, but I've made other plans.

(CpNTINUED)

Pg. 108

r.-~~-; CONTI~UED: f~ She shoves a pistol·through the ·openingand holds it to· ~tf; Harry's head. (-:::

GIRL

I'm·taking it all. Ptill o~er.·

Hepulls over.

HARRY

You sure this is what you want?

GIRL

Positive.

Harry's foot stretches forward and pushes the footswitch on the floor. A buzzing is heard and the girl's body dernateriali:es. Her pistol drops on the seat next to HARRY.

,...:-

Pretty, but dumb.

As HARRYdrives away, the green glow from the burning Brooklyn Bridge lights up the sky.

~....:

;-.... }--~..: \:;".. Y'know, even through shewoulda

killed me, I felt kinda sorry for her. She was okay -just a little greedy. As for me, Iput it down as a two-day ride, with one helluva tip.

The cab disappears into the night traffic.

r~--~ h>. CUT BACKTO

~~,_.·:

Pg. 109

BROOKLYN BRIDGE

The -g~owing_.balllies in .-a .poolo·fsmokinggreenliquid; in themiddle of the bridge. Suddenly, the ball moves slightly, .then floatsupwards. Itstops inmid-air for a moment, does a loop-the-loop, then makes a sharp,ninety- degree turn, and he~ds out over th~ Hudson Rive~.

The camera pulls back to reveal that we are·watching th~ ball on Austin Grimaldi's holograph.· AUSTIN is smiling as he· i~1~ controls the ball by working the knobs on the sides of the &J.. machine.

,.,;:••

That's better ...

He flies the ball out intospace, then brings it down over the surface of a planet. As the ball streaks along, we see that it is passing abovethe outlands beyond Kraan.

-:t ..·:r.....·r,'-..,.•·····~, 1 ' ·· ·~·/ ·,; Just alittle further

Suddenly the ball jerks up, then side~ays, then spins out of Austin•s control. He bangs the side cf the machine and turns ,..... the knobs, but it is futile, and the ball falls down towards ~. .: f·_., a beautiful oasis inthe middle of the other~ise barren outlands.

:~--- ., ,.:. AUSTIN

Damn

~~:._·.

CUT TO

THE OASIS

...............

We follow th~·ball as it hits the ground and rolls to a stop. All is quiet for ··a-moment.Then without warning, the roots of a tree grow up and en-tT-apthe.ball completely. In an instant, only a dul~ greei:iglo~..-~------v~blethroughthewebof roots. We hear a rusn of a1.L.ahoveus as-the camerapans up and TAAR.~A flies in overhead. ~

~~ ~ ~- ~

/ CTJT--TO_

~-;:·~ t--:. ,; ·. ·

Pg .110

~:.\ · ~-

:r~ '\Looking·do,"'11~sheseesthe waterfall a·tthe cen·treof the·· \."'~... beautiful garden. She pulls on the reins and her bird swoops r1~ down. \

\ CUT TO

\ .,.·' \ \, .•·

THE 01\SI5,, .-~ ~r·

As Taarna•'>~ird drinks, TAA~~A picks some lucsci:~s fruit, then walks ov~r to give some to her bird. While they eat, thev don't not\ce that the roots of the trees are silently gro~ing and cir~ling around them with ever-increasing speeding fibrous tentacle~\ Suddenly, in a burst of growth the roots spring up over the1r heads, enclosing th~m in a large root

As TAARl\Aand the bir~\look around t~em, the roots start to close in. TAARNA draws\her sword and slices through a row of roots, but each cut e'n~immedi atelysprouts in toeight ne,..-, tougher shoots v:hichjoin·-~iththe roots around them.

\ .- '\ _/

The bird squa,,:ksasthe trap'\t.ightens.Suddenly, Taarna's foot hits a rock protruding from the ground. Looking down, she sees the rock, then ra±ses her sw6rd and st~ikes the rock wi~h the flat side of the blade. ,· ' ·

The rock sparks violentii, and thi-~parks fly in every direction, attaching themselves to.the surrounding roots. They begin to smoulder. TA.AR.\Astrikesthe rock again, harder. More sparks fly, and a branch near Taarna's feet catches on fire. Picking up the branch, T.AAR~Alights each corne ·rofthe envelope of roots closing in ar-t,undthen. \ _

j '

The trees moan in ,,painastheir roots begi ·ntoburn. Climbing up onto her bird, TAARNA sets the roof of the cage aflame, and as the burning hole widens, the bird flaps its charred wings lifting them out through the flames to freedom.

;I \.

They fly alorigthe treetops. Below them, the £~rest screams as the fir~ spreads. Coming to the end of the forest, they ,.. approach? ,sheer rock wall, with a huge crack in the centre.

\ I '

Kiping 1:rerbrow,TAAR}JApats her bird, and they fly in. Suddenly, ;.::. an enor,mousnet of glowing green webbing catapaults up, infront

i. of th in,ensnaring them completely. \ (/ 7

s6e struggles fruitlessly to break out of the strang~'--~ebbing,

NA and her bird are pulled lower and lower .

CUT TO

Pg. 111

THE GROUND BELOW

•Barbarian·soldiers·pull on long ropes attached to the net~ dragging TAA~~A and the bird to the ground. One of the barbarians looks closelv at TA.ARNAtrapped in the webbing, then reaches in, grabs a handful of her long red hair and_ pulls it back.

·The-camera·zooms in on-an insignia ·of· ··a sword,burntinto·the back of Taarna's neck. The astonished barbarian lets go of her hair, and runs over to·the BARBARIA.~LEADER.

BARBARIAN #1 (bowing to leader)

A Taarakian! We have captured a Taarakian! !

BARBARIAN LEADER

A Taarakian? Are you sure?

BARBARIAN #1

Yes, your Holiness.

BARBARIA.i'\LEADER

But the Taarakian race is dead - extinct.

BARBARI AN#2 (indicating back of neck)

She has the marks, Holiness. I saw them.

BARBARIAN LEADER

,;.,

,. ~,.•'.:.

Have her bound and washed. Then, bring her to me.

BARBARIAN #2

And what of the bird?

BARBARIAN LEADER

·~·.::

Kill it.

·.·.•: CUT TO

Pg. 112

...,.. THE BARBAR!~~ THRONE ROOM

:r .styie room,"surrounded by other barbarians. TAA~'\A,conscious ft now, is wheeled in, chained spread-eagle to a metal torture- device, her under-garments ripped and torn.

BARBARIAN LEADER

So this is the Taarakian

The barbarians laugh. The LEADERgets up and walks over to TAAR~A. Slo,,·1y,heruns his fingers over her tattered clothes.

LEADER

somehow, I always thought it would be more difficult to capture a Taarakian.

He rips off her top.

My Khips!

A slave brings forward a nasty assortment of whips, as the barbarians all laugh and move in around TAARNA. The BARBARIA., LEADER grabs a particularly ugly whip, raises his arm, and brings it down sadistically.

CUT TO

EXTREME CLOSE-UP - LITTLE GIRL'S FACE

She screams in pain, as the camera pulls back to show that we are looking at Austin Grimaldi's LITTLE DAUGHTER, playing at the back of the half-assembled machine. She clutches her shoulder as AUSTIN comes running around the machine to get to her.

AUSTIN

What is it?

(COXTI!\UED)

Pg. 113

_My shoulder..•..ithurts ...

She points to a red swelling.

There, there ... it's just a bruise. Daddy will kiss itbetter.

AUSTIN kisses the LITTLE GIRL,then returns to his machine. Using an odd tool, he focusesthe holograph on the green ball trapped among theroots in theoasis. Then he makes one other delicate adjustment at the side. Flexinghis fingers, he grasps the control knobs andbegins to work them.

The ball on the holograph startsto shake, then rips itself out of its rooted prison, and fliesup through the trees and over the forest:.

t"·:-•.-:~.' AUSTIN r·,> (smiling)

~ow she's working.

Austin's face grm,·sserious as he controls the flight of the •;_ _..., ball. He starts to bring itdown over a snow-covered mountain \1•·~-.' range, finally lan~ing iton a -stoneshelf jutting out from •-·:..... a cliff.

Taking his hands from the control knobs, AUSTIN looks pleased. The camera zooms inon the imagein the holograph.

CUT TO

THE STONESHELF

As the ball lies glowing, the camera moves o~t over the shelf , to reveal a barbarian encampment on the plateau below us. Zooming down, we can see a deeppit located in the middle of the camp, with barbarian guards standing around the upper edge. ::~

Pg. 114

·The·camera··continues..its·descent·directlydo·wntothe·oottom of the pit, where TAARNA,cut, bruised and covered in whip- marks, sits dazed, surrounded by dead and partly dead humanoids. There are dozens of bodies thrown together, but one hulking figuremoves alone through.the.bodies, and stands.over TAARNA..· This is ZUKUS.

You're hurt. Letme help you.

He kneels down beside her, andpulls a jar out of his pouch. Opening the jar, he spreads an ointment over TaarnaJs wounds.

ZUKUS

Ke used to use this on the farm beasts -healed their wounds before your eyes. The old women said it was magic ...who knows?

r.•~..........········ \~i l\: .· He looks ~own at Taarna's wounds -they arenot healing.·

ZUKUS

Hmmrn. Itworked better on the farm beasts.

TA.~~,Astruggles to sit up -she hurts.

Zt!KUS

Here hold still.

,..,. ~-.·-·,. As ZUKUSspreads the salve on her back, TAAR.~A looks around at the sheer rock walls rising on all sides. Blue barbarian (··.: soldiers appear at the top, and heave some more humanoies down into the pit. r.:"':

'/-' ZUKUS

(lookingup at barbarians)

('f:'

I killed thirty-nine of them before they threw me in here.

(rubbingher back)

(CO~TI~UES)

Pg. 115

COl\TINUED:

I'd like tokill some more of them before I die.

CUT TO

THEANI~t~L .CAGES

Fourbarbarians are holding Taarna's bird by ropes, as it squawks and struggles to get free.

Another barbarian is trying to grab the beautiful gold sword out of the sheath on the bird1 ssaddle. As he finally grips the sword's handle, the sword starts to smoke and siz:le, burning his flesh. The barbarian screams and lets go.

BARBARIAN #4

Pull him do~n! I'll put an arrow through.his head.

The rope-holders pull on their ropes, as the barbarian faces thebird, cross-boK aimed. _Just as he shoots, the bird jerks itshead up and the arrow misses, and goes through the abdomen of one of the rope-holders. Another barbarian snatches the ·crossbo~ out of his hands.

BARBARIAN #1

Idiot! Giveme that!

(Screams)

This barbarian fires an arrow,"hich misses the bird, but pierces f/'.;·-·.. • ·:- the hand of a second rope-holder,nailing him to the side of the cage.

Suddenly thebird squawks loudly, and rises into the air, pulling the remaining rope-holderswith him.

The hanging barbarians scream andyell as the bird flies over a stone wall, smashing them into it. They fall to the ground, and the bird flies off, ropes dangling.

1--·· CUT TO

i...·..

,.--:;\,_,, f?( '.,:>-·,•'.

Pg. 116

1 ·,!:\ -... THE_PIT FLOOR

ZUKUSis sitting. ne,;t_ toTAAR.i\JA•.Sheis_asl.e.ep..Suddenlyher ·ey~s operiand her ears perk up. She hears.something.

CUT TO

THE TOP OF THE PIT

The crimson bird comes -swooping,downinto the pit,· ropes hanging from its neck.

CUT BACKTO

THE PIT FLOOR

As the bird passes over, TAAR.~Ajumps to her feet and grabs onto one of the dangling ropes. ZUKUSgrabs onto the other rope.

Its powerful wings flapping, the bird lifts them both up into the air. At the top of the pit, ZUKUSlets go and lands on the ground,while TAA~~A continues to ascend.

Good luck!

He knocks a couple of nearby barbarians to the ground and runs off .

CUT TO

f.-~; :--.:.. TAARi\!A

Shep~lls herself up onto the flying bird's back. Looking radiant through her bruises, T.M~~A spurs the bird on.

r-.· :.- CUT TO

;' . · THE BARBARIAN LEADER

From the ground, he watches TAARl\Aflying off and screams at his men. r-·,· ~~·.:,' i. :

(CO!\TINUED)

Pg. 117

/~ · CONTINUED:

l"' BARBARIAN.LEADER ,::~ ,.-.·.·

Mount the bats! I want her dead!

CUT..TO

Her bird lifts her high into the mountains. Looking back, she sees five barbarians on winged bats chasing her and getting closer.

CUT TO

THE BARBARIA~S

They hurl spears and fire their multiple cross-bows as ~hey :.. pursue TAAR.i1\A. b-

CUT BACKTO

TAAR.'\A

The arrows and spears are corningdangerously close as TAARXA fluidly draws her sword and throws it back at her closest pursuer. The sword slices through the barbarian, killing him. Then it returns directly into Taarna's hand.

Looking behind her, TAARNA sees the other barbarians closing in. She pulls on the rPins, directing her bird upwards toward a large rock overhang. As she passes underneath she raises her sword, striking the rock and causing a rockslide to £all onto the pursuing barbarians.

CUT TO

ONE OF THE BARBARI.AJ~S

Before the rocks crush him into the ground, he manages to get off a lucky shot with his crossbow. r:~·; ;.::· \<r" CUT BACK TO

·.-•..i

Pg. 118

i~.• l•t •"·····. ., iAAR~A AND HER BIRD

The arrow hits the bird.-on·thethroat.· -·Itsquawksand· starts- to flutter wildly, losing altitude. Struggling, the bird manages a rough landing on an isolated stone shelf. TAAR.~A is thrown to the ground. Picking herself up, TAA~~A looks at her bird - it is lying on the ground whee~ing..beavilY,.blood trickling from the wound t _oitsthroat.- ·

With a tear in _hereye, TAAR.\JA_pullsout.thearrow . .Turning,. she1ooks up into the mountaintops·above her. They are glowing green. -· ····. ·· ·

CUT TO

TEE GROUXD AT TAAR~A'S FEET

The green ball lies there, glowing. An eerie, musical chord is struck.

TAARXA sees the ball, hesitates, then picks it uo. As ~he looks at it, the WITCH'S voice resounds in her h~ad.

KITCH

;,:;----~•r'-.·_....-.·•··"....• ,, (V. 0. ) •::...·

Feel it Taarna. Feel death in your hands. For you stand at the gateway to hell! And as you perish, so dies your race ... and the soul of all being!

With the witch's laugh echoing in her he ad,TA.AR;\Alooksdo,m below her. Hundreds of barbarian soldiers are making their way up the mountainside towards her. She puts the ball into her sack and drags herwheezing bird to cover. Then she pulls out her golden sword, and stands ready to fight to the death.

The camera pulls back to reveal two barbarians on a cliff above her. They are aiming their cross-bows, about to shoot.

Suddenly, from out ofnowhere, a spear flies through the air, skewering both barbarians, killing them instantly. They fall off the cliff, crashing downat Taarna's feet. She looks up.

:.~· On a cliff above her, ZUKUSstands tall. -.-......

(CO~TI!\UES)

Pg. 119

•,'!.·.. ' CO~TI~UED:

Z.UKUS..

;:r tf Once they're dead, I don't mind

them so much.

He _l~apsdown to her level, landing.near th~ dying bird. He examines the bird, then pulls out his jar and rubs some ointment :·intothe bi rd'swound. Then· he·W'alksoverto TAAR'f\JA,and together they.look.do,,:nat.theapproaching .hordes..

ZUKUS

They look mad. That's good. (to Taarna) They get·careless when they're mad.

l 'f'...•.·.~ t\.,: :?.i.

,.,_.. Suddenly, he is interrupted by a loud squaKk. i-.·: .• t:~\ LJ

CUT TO

TA-\R.'t\A'SBI RD ~·-- t.' . He_is standing, wound healed, ready to fly. ~·.~.· 1. ;..

f.. ZUKUS f•;_ '~~.

I guess that stuff does work better on beasts.

TAARXA is overjoyed. She runs to her bi~d and jumps on its back as barbarian arrows start to land all around them. She mo:ions for ZUKUS to get on behind her.

No, I think I'll stay here (kicking the skewered pair of blue corpses off the cliff)

,. with these tW'o,I'm up to forty-three. (:- ,_·_r T..'.\..A.;Z;'\Apullsouthergoldensword,kissesit,andthroKs it to i"-· Z~KUS. He catches it and smiles. tf

(CO};Tl~UED)

Pg. 120

COXTI?\UED:

·-·.•...........•. Thanks.

Pullin·gon the reins, TAAR\JAflies ·herbird up towards the · green-glow• inthemountains above.-.

The· camera·pullsback and we see the image o·fTAAR.~Aflying in· AustinGrimaldi's holograph.·

r::~.

Perfect.

He reaches up and pulls dov-:nthehinged upper section of the machine so that the holograph protrudes through the centre. Now, fully assembled, the machine has the exterior appearance of a large Victorian carousel-toy.

Pulling back we see that AUSTIN and his machine are at one end of a child's .bedroom. His little red-haired.DAUGHTER is looking over his sh~ulder.

AUSTIK

t~·. All fixed, honey.

DAUGHTER

Thank you Daddy. (rubbing her eyes) But I'm tired now.

l. ;·,

AUSTIK

,_. r···. Well then, shut it off for ['

today.

The GIRL reaches over and turns off the strange toy. AUSTIN takes her by the hand, walks her across the roo~ and tucks her into bed . .....

Goodnight Daddy.

(COXTI!\UES)

CO.\TIXUED:

AUSTI~

Sh·eetdreams .

He turns.out the light and lea\"es..

CUT TO

THE GIRL

She is fast asleep. The camera dollies around to the back of the electronic machine where the green ball sits inside - glowins.

Slowly, slimy silk-like webbing star:s to come out of the ball and move to~ards the LIT1LE GIRL;

The camera pans up to the holograph, ~hich sparkles to life on i t so,,·n.: oomin gintoi t ,,..-eseeTAARXAf 1yinghighe ranchigher towards the green glow in the mountaintops.

CUT TO

r-.:· V ~~·..·.' TAAR.'\A

St~a~ge cha~:i~& :an be heard echoi~& i~ themcu~tain5 ~el0~ he-:-.

Uluhtec ...Uluhtec

I tgets 1o u de rand1ouderas TA.:..R.\..l.r iseso,·e:-aDeakandsees spread out before her, the enormous green ulanetoid Pulsin~ ~- ··. magnificently in the ~iddle of the circle ~f mountai~s. ~ L ,:

She is awe-struck. BeloK her, massed arraies of barbarians are moving slowly up mountain paths towards the green plane:oid.

,-~. Uluhtec ...Uluh:e: ti ·I.

tr"

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r-·· i'.'· r.:.,;·

.......,

r l.-- ,. .. THE CHILD'S BEDROOM fr .. The slimy silk-like webbing has woven a cocoon arou~~ the little girl's feet and is slowly moving farther up het body. As it moves, it pulls the green ball towards her.

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· ···'TAAR.~A.

As TAAR\A gets closer and closer to the gigantic planetoid, the barbarians' chanting becomes deafening and the green ball in he~ saddle-bag begins to glow brighter and brighter, shining right through the leather. 'C"."· ~-

pounding in he rbrain, TAAR.:~A1ooksat the b a 11 .I tsgreeng1o,\. starts tomove ominously up her arms and the ball gets bigger as itpulses in unison with the green planetoid.

St rug g1 in gtorais ethegr o,dn g .ba 11o,,.erherhe ad ,TAARXA heaves it with all her might down towards the gigantic green planetoid.

It hits dead center and the huge cellular sphere sta~ts tc shake and crack and come apert at the sea~s.

The barbarians stop chanting and stand fro:en in fear, staring at the over~helmin; sight.

Kith an unearthl yrumble, millions of tiny green spheres p2ur out of the planetoid, popping like hubbies as their colour ~ashes a~ay. The barbarians start to shrivel and die.

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I

THE CHILD s BEDRom,!

The slimy green webbing has no~ spread up past the girl's neck, surrounding her in its cocoon. Beside her, in the ,,·ebbing,1 ies her glowing green ball. Suddenly, awhite glow flashes, surrounding the cocoon. Thewebbing begin~ to recede as its colour washes away.

The greenball disintegrates and the webbing rises up off of the LITTLE GIRL, and floats out the open windo~. As the GIRL is freed, she turns in her sleep. Her red hair shifts and Ke seethe insignia of the Taarakian sword imprinted on the tack of her neck.

The camerapans over io the open Kindow. Outside, silhouetted inthe night sky, TAAR'\Afliespast.

THE EXD.