"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 · the ball · ·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.

t;. AUSTIK •.,,._ ~:·.: ~ot noticing the silent image on the holograph, he quickly :,-·,..•"····•.··•.··'·.·repairs the sparking connection and returns to his other adjustments.

From the forest floor we see the green planetoid fly overhead, dropping balls. We watch as it rn9ves away 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 KEARHER 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.

\ight falls 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\,·, and beyond the city gates, rising higher and higher.

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 tti come down. ·

In the hills belo~ us, hundreds of blue humanoid barbarians are moving along, mesmerized, to~ard a ~ulsing green glo~ high in the nountaintops. Suddenly the mountains 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 a parchment 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?

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

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

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

Spurring he r b i rd forward , TAAR.,A sweeps do v.·n over the u g 1y 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 grateful humanoid, she dismounts. As she approaches we see that he has a barbarian medallion on a chain around his neck.

I o·Ke ·you my life. · Let me repay you ...

He takes off his medallion and places it around her neck. Suddenly he twists the chain tight in his hand, pulling her toKards him. His eyes change to a bright green as he forces her. .to. the. ground and .starts ripping. at .her. cl.othes.. .As. he molests her, TAAR"\Ais distracted. She hears something - voices inside her, chanting her name.

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 him mercilessly 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 lifts him up and leaves him hanging from the tall, jagged rock, next to the growling creature.

As T.-\AR\.-\flies off, the hanging beast 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 the machinev: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 to bu:z loudly.

face·· cloud-s _theradiophone.Khere panning,se~

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tearin treesof

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

As' the bombers pre·ss on' the camera IDO\'c'S ·in· to the lead .. aircraft. In the moonlight w "Pacific Pearl".

Suddenly a cacophony of explosions split the air as anti-aircraft shell~ exolode ahead of the aircraft, I 1ghting the inside ~ith electric hlu~ flashes ..

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

For Christ sake, hold her steady!

THE BELLYGU~~ER .. ~ .. ·He· can be ieeri irom outside ihe plane· as th~ sh~ll flashes light up his turret.

'em and let's get outta here!

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 -·pi i o t · sags forward , he 1 ff back . on 1y by "his ..sh o u1 d e·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. "'".~:

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

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

The rnood cf 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 -ns the- 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 Sffiall glass pod. A red glo" brightens up ~-~ :\ · ·.,-·". as he drags on a cigar. The rest of the formation are visible stretched to the side and behind as puffs 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~!.•··.;·!"-/':·····".The BOMBARDIER is relaxing inside as he swigs from the 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.

\\ ha t happened?

PILOT . · · ':. •. • .· . .

I dunno. 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?

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 it out, 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 going on 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's wrong!

He is frantically tapping the compass.

...~~-,

You got a problem, Holden?

\a\,·; the kid's .the one \d th the problem. He don't like my voice!

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

{: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

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

···\·'

m~chine. the· panel .

Pg. ..·.·

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

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a .. business? real green the

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

· PILOT guystrying it the

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

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:~ ·.: ,-:,, ~ -..:." 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 :corns at 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_:·-

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 ·and cart~heels over the wing .

I ; ~_'•

?r CUT TO •· ·.:.. .

I •• -~·•

Pg. 23

:·::':;· .. OUTSIDE THE PLAXE t~=~(.-.·.··:········· ,. . - .· The prop f~ies _back and slices _.a great _gash . in the . aircraft's

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

CUT TO

f.} . THE PILOT

, ..•,

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 TRAVISpulls himself up into the fuselage.

CUT TO

blo~ left

his helmet is

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flash, his a

a TO as getframe. All and there?

see -.- CUT TO weof CUT ThroughCUT TO another.

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on dead.

o~£, engine face.fails in · time getting flies

what? compartment.

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

no~ -just

of on obviously ♦ then his must

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name.

PILOT. windO\•. PILOT horrorPILOT he

fro:e::i

(to (V. 0.)

gills, kid's his his· on but

Goddamncorning Gremlins!frubbfngJesus, Travis,

·6£ the nowhere,abject ho-.rror hear ~ask open slipstream. totattered of

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:.,(~ / ·

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i·:,• THE PILOT

Holden, how far to base?

·Skip, with everything scre,,·ed · up here, 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

Mack, can you get us a radio fix?

CUT TO

THE RADIO OPE~~TOR

,. : ...·.

CUT TO

Pg. 26

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

CUT TO

-.~ •· .·.. .· . • .. .-:_.·. .... .· Hev Holden :·.. :. . .-· ya ol°d · --stuff ·shfrt - :. ; ~-.._··

ya \rnnna snort?

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 rnake another 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. 2 i t .-.~ :--..:,.;; co::TlNUED: ir ?t~~ 'STEPEK-·is wide--eyed · ahd -scai~d sitlf .'as th~ so~rid now b~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·· •..•: . . ·.

CUT TO

THE PLA~E

Sutldenly the ~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

~:.:

..... I,. ,..• , •~·.. ( COXTINUED)

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~rimaces panicsthe atskin flames,

~ans OPERATOR shoots out buistsrack. in ~ing o,,·.

through

~A\.IGATOR thecamerathen~ R~DIO flare ~eers

CO~TI~UED: The HeoffTheandThefromrightruby THETheWreathed

' / ,~ .- tr ~ ~:l- ·~· ;r:·

Pg. 29

OUTSIDE THE AIRC~~FT

.. Creatur-es · ·swa·rm all over the ·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~~ork of the f~selage.

CUT TO

(..:.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.

CUT TO

-:·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~

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

CUT TO -

:_•·:. around incredulouslv. The island ls a junkyard - a veritable graveyard of aircra~t. There are rnany aircraft, both old wrecks and futuristic-looking ones lying everywhere. Skeletal ft

·· to fhe · ·remains of one machin ·e .-· ·It ·is :,·an ·:o'1d · ·American Lockhe·ed ·· Electra. It glints dull in the half light of dawn. Painted qn its side are t,,o names; "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 :.t up.

:·.:-~: The scrap-pile groans and shifts as an enormous orange cylinder is hoisted 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 eye bal 1 be longs to 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, ·he begins 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)

(,,·at ching)

HoK come it's alKays breaking?

~·--:..... ,:·-,

AUSTI~

t; _. . 1

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

.. .:~ AUSTI~

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

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 the holographic screen lights up. AUSTI~ uses a tool to fine-tune the holograph 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 ' s vo i c es s t i 11 ringing in her head , TAAR}O:A f 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:recked dome of the building •in the to~n•s center. As she watches the smoke rise, she pulls hard o~ th~ reins, an~ head~ her bird up.

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

Cotpses of th~ · councilmeri are strewn evet,,~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 the head 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-refully painted -on the 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 ·the medallion tightly in her hand. ~-..·.-

CUT TO

OUTSIDETHE COU~CILBUILDING

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

CUT TO

Gi RL' s BEDRom~

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~'\A looks 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. · Look upon . ·· 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!

Take it ! !

She hurls tha ball at TA.ARXA,~·ho dodges it. The ball sails pas t her , out the ,..-ind o\,·. Then TAARXA , s ,,·or d r a i s e d , 1 ea ps 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'\A backs a,,·ay, climbing out 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

The rocketplane banks sharply, then stabili:es. Slo~ly the hatch-doors in its belly open up, revealing the underside 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 · as the rocketplane blasts a\o:ay, the Corvette begins _ i ~s · free-fall·t6 Eatth; ·

As the . car -falls gracefully .through space, .·.the .dri v.er. plays ·with ·the wheel, 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.ntering and . ?-merging -.fro.m the .. cloud coyer .-._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~urn i~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

,·;-:··

-,--!: .'\ .:.. THE PE~TAGO\ - AERIAL SHOT

·...·. 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, · unplugs a rubber 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, six more mutants '"ere sighted in Arizona this morntng. Do · you still .. say this has n-0thing to do with the green radiat~on.~rom space.

The driver walks on without speaking.

T.V. XE\\"SMAX

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

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

Doctor, is it true that the President himself pulled you off the Jupiter Six ProJect so that you could investigate those mutations? 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 the Joint Chiefs of Staff, members of the Cabinet, and a pretty secretary wearing a tight skirt. An argument is in progress as the expressionless DOCTOR AX~~K enters. The camera follo~s him as he sits down next to one of the Generals.

FAT POLITICIA.'\

well what I wanna know is, what's the Army 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 - are the 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.

CUT TO

Ff:'•· -_. OUTSIDE THE PEXTAGOX ;:..=_,: Ar. en o r_.;:1cu s round .spaceship the s i : e of Fi t : s burg ho\" er s overhead.

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

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

CUT BACK TO

The DOCTOR starts to shake violently as he stares at the pretty secretary.

Suddenly he lunges at her, sliding across the table.

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

CUT TO

I;-;SIDE THE SPACECRAFT- CONTROLROOM

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 in the jar. As soon as the DOCTOR'S feet hit the bottom of the jar, the DOCTOR breaks into Blot 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 ..

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

Hey, who's the c~ick?

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

:, .

Too late - molecular instabilitv

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

leave.

( COKTIKUED)

Pg. 39

CO~TIKUED:

Khat?! Is he kidding?

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

:·~~ :EKE k·;· (.:·~ -·~ ....._ . . .-

· oh --,·eah·~:·.-··t rts t'ab i 1 itv · :·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 £·.·necciogist aun: -intment 1s c-n h.ed n e 5 d a)". . .

(:eading her a~ay) Y:u'll feel better after a glass of f:-esh blo-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, · typical robot~ The first- Earth-chick ~e see in ten years, and he_' s· ·gotta :make a play ·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~?

: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 ,,-h i t e po K de 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 :resumes pouring, ZEKE begins- singing· to. himself 1.n··an alien tongue. When the lines are poured, they both stand at the start of the trail of ~hite powder ·, 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 vaccuurn cleaners. As they happily snort the Xyborg, the camera pans back to the glass receiving jar, and moves dN:1:. through the broken pieces of DOCTOR_;\.,RAK. Reaching his lifeless face, the camera rno~es around 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\'E TO

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 turns white 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. 4 2

(·: .,

CO!\TI~UED:

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~cator screen 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?

EDSEL

i2" ···.·'.\··•:••···········

(to Zeke)

You gotta use the microphone.

( CO~TIXUED)

Pg. 43

o1, yeah. ( _.1,outs into microphone) ,,.,, dddya\ ..·ant man?.

f; ( .:, 1 , 1 l you eight hundred times? You ' .. d .. 11't call r.ie "man"! You call me

"' ,,m-Op Officer Blix". ?\oK is that

~•. ' '. a

I •

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

{;t:-~..•- :EKE

(into mike)

:fji

y, ,1h, sure. Khaddya\,·ant, man?

'-· ..._

Y· ,1 are to return immediately to 1 1,c Mctr.er Ship and pick up a }·, • 1111 an 2 i d C i y i 1 l an . )' 0 u r Orders

:J·• ·i bun a 1 Court room so that he ca:-j t e st i f :-

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

i, snappy!

The s c re en . go e s b 1 ·1 11 k ·

~'"· .

:EKE

1 1 s about time. Hang on, man.

,;re we go.

:EKE jams the gear-· hi ft into 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.."'1 ashtray full of roaches 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. 4 5

' . 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 _know your perspective' ·s fucked, · so you just . gotta ·1et your hands ·woik the t6ntrols ~s-•if you'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, Galaxy ve·rsus Lincoln Sternn. Thenk ye~. Clik.

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

;•,.•: ~-. ..: (CO~TI?\UES) ·... 1.,,

Pg. 46

COKTI!'!UED:

CUT TO

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

(to Fiste)

Urnrn, you're gonna testify at Sternn's trial?

,,· • . t {l FISTE nods.

:EKE

They gotta gi¥e him at least, like,

('._~-

1 i fe.

/. ·,,·_•-i

t: .,,-.

CUT TO

-.:;.. '-: • / 1:·:~

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

( CO~TI?\UED)

, •..•

Pg. 4 7

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:11eROBOT re·_chifrge s· 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? ..·.

CUT TO

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

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

;...•_: something?

L(""

(CO!\TI~UES)

Pg. 4 8

CONTI~UED: :!'."" . ~r . -~S they'" mo,r·e·· thro~gh " the ro~in, . a~dout the othe'r. s id·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~ · and pokes through the scrap robot parts. ·•

Finding the s mal 1 green b a 11 in A.\;RAK ' S . _head , he pu 11_s it out and looks · at it.

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~n b~side them.

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 to space.

:EKE and EDSEL look at each other and shrug.

CUT TO

{: ·:·-~ CUT TO

Pg. 4 9

SPACE-STATION LANDING DOCK

The ship lock~ int6 the dock, and th~ ~xit hiich · o~eri~.- GLORIA and the ROBOT come through first, ahead of ZEKE, EDSEL, and FISTE.

C.·, ··, ·.,. •~

: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 :corns down through a massive glass-domed ceiling and into a huge inter-galactic courtroom.

Voices echo belo~ us.

(COXTIXUED)

;•..: .. Pg. 50

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

· STER.'\N

I ·am.

As we rno\"e do,m, we see square- j a,,·ed CAPTAIXSTER.'\.'\, his shifty-eyed lawyer, and the cold Prosecutor all standing before the Judge. ~· .., ' STER.'\.'\ is smirking confidently as the Prosecutor reads from -~~.- ... , ..·- ... ··. . ......_.. a :--long :..pa·ge.- of ·:char-ge·s ..... · .·.. ·. .;.·-:·.··. ;_ · ·. ·......:. ,.·

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 in high space ... eighteen counts of

·•."::.· fraud ...

CUT TO

STER'\.'\ Is LAKYER

i,_. Mopping his broK, he looks nervously 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-s to laKyer)

I t ' s okay , Cha r 1 i e . I got an angle.

Call the first Kitness!

STER.,X and his la,,·yer move to 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._enter with FISTE, .and· push their way ·to the front.

The Prosecution calls Hanover Fiste.

GUARD #1

Calling Hanover Fiste!

GUARD ~2

-.i.. .-···. ·:--Calli·ng Hanover . Fi·st-e·i · ·. · · ·-

GUARD ~3

Calling Hanover Fiste!

GUARD =4

Hanover Fiste!

:EKE and EDSEL sit doKn, ,,·hile HA.\O\.ER FISTE, 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. I got an angle.

HA~OYER FI STE is sworn in, as Sternr~' s la\•:yer begs.

( COKTIXUED)

Pg. 5 3

CO~TINUED:

LA\\,.YER

But the most we can hope for is to get ya buried in secrecy so yer grave don't get violated! P~ead guilty!

STER.~N·

Shut up, Charlie. I got an angle.

f.:··s Khat angle?

.. ·•: ....

STER.,~ (pointing to Fiste)

Hir.1!

CUT TO

1,;I T;(E SS STA;( D

I am Hanover Fis:e.

CUT TO

STER,:'\

STER.\~ (winking to lawyer)

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

STER\!\ AKD HIS LAKYER

They look at each other, shocked.

STER.'\K & LAKYER

Huh?!?

... 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■yer look on, horrified, as FI STE'S body -•: starts to gro,,·.

~::~

(CONTINUES)

\? i::r~\

Pg. 56

CONTI!\UED:

New muscles tear through FISTE'S shabby clothes.

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

Hanover ...

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

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

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

( COXTJ ~UED)

Pg. 5 7

~t

?r

,,·.;-: H-h-hev Hanover

, ' n-now take it easy, Hanover,

[ti,_,--:+,.·

I'm sure we can talk this ov

Instinctively, STER'\!\ leaps back as FISTE' S giant hands come smashing do\m in the spot ,,·here STER,!\ stood. The gallery si:at:ers screaming as STER~K runs for the door. Slayering, FI STE thunders after him. STE~~!\ runs through the ,exit, bolting the door behind him. FISTE follows, tearing the door apart, and bringing the entire c·ourt room wal 1 down in the process.

CUT TO

STER.,~

Running do,-.-n a halh,·ay, STER'\!\ passes a group 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.

r.rrT TO

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.

Oh, duck under here ...

FISTE

t ; ,

I' 11 get you! !

r:r

STER\'~

I think I'll turn here!

(runs, gasping) Corne on feet, don't fail rne now!

STERN~

Uh oh ...

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

;>.

\ ~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-:.}

(taking money)

S'nothin, boss.

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

f9. :--···. STER.\~ i.:{;".

1r./· t~--

STER.\::

Goodbye.

STER.'\Xpulls a leYer, \•:hich opens up the floor belo\,· FISTE, who screams, falling out into space. As FISTE slides out, STER.'\Xgrabs the r.10ney from FI STE'S hand 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 a whistling 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'S tattered 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,,·er station. [~; Then she steers her bird through a hidden opening in the rotting floor, and enters a magnificent secret hideaway cut deep into the rock.

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\.-\ opens it.

Inside the chest lies a glistening set of armou~ed garments, so bright that TA.AR'\.-\must shield her eyes 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

t h e Pact 1s ... to avenge ..

r?~

Through a series of dissolves ,,·e see TAAR~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~~- TP.E SKY r,r ·From o\"er ·our heads.-, TA.ARNAcomes soaring 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?\A pried 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 1ks in through the s ,d n gin g s i 1Yer and p 1 ex i g 1 as s doors, past the three soldi~rs kicking their victim. She sits do,,·n at the bar.

The three brutish blue soldiers finish stomping the man and \,·alk over to the bar, cro,,·ding close around 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 for what I want to do with her.

CUT TO

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

BARBARIA.\' =3

(running his hands across her breastplate) C'mon baby, let's see what's under there.

BARBA RI..\~ # 1

(starting to undo her breastplate)

Yeah, let's have a look.

Taarna slowly stands up, pushes their hands away, and takes a step back.

BARBARI A.\' #2

Heey, she's tough.

BARBAR I A.\' #3

Maybe she Kants to fight'?

They all laugh.

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

... or maybe she wants to take us all on?

Still laughing, they move towards her.

(COKTIXUES)

Pg. 63

COXTI!\UED:

In a blinding ·flash, -TAAR'\A· .dra\{S her. ·gold·en sword·, and wieldit1g 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'\Awalks up to the bartender, 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.

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~, in AUSTIX'S holograph.

CUT TO

AUSTI!\ (to himself)

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~'.., . ...•.•"' .

CUT TO

~•-. Pg. 64

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

As the ·hands cradle 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\,·n house.

DI SSOL \"E TO .

T. \". A~TEXXAOX ROOF - STOR.~fYXI GHT

As the narration continues ·, ~e follo~ t~o red.~ires do~n fro rr. the T . V. ante n n a , a 1 on g . the r o o f , and in ~ o I 1•.\. '\ ' 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 rnv rock collection and forgot about i t. I \,·as exp e r i r.1en t in g ~ith natural electricity

The camera nans around the room to sho~ various disnlavs of DAX' S s c i en t i f i c t inker in g .- b 1 u e - ribbon s c i en c e pro j e ct s , 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.\'S rock 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. figured maybe .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

CUT TO

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.-\~

(looking at his green arms)

,,.:.

Oh Jesus!

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

Pg. 66

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

DAN

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

I felt like I was 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~urdy muscular 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 gets brighter 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~ from us and passes through a second shimmering &n~e~ay.

CUT TO

Pg. 67

~~:··. THE ~EVERWHEREPYRAMID

r.:.~·- DEX, strong, : masculine ·and hairles·s ~-materiali'zes cradled 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's other hand.

The camera pulls back to show that the idol . is standing on the deck, stop a huge, .truncated pyramid. The deck forms a walkway· around a swirling pool of green water.

Kneelirig all arourid the 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 fron of the idol, a regal-looking QUEEX, wearing a revealing xelvet cloak, is praying to the raging water.

QUEE~

By the powers of the glowjng Loc-~ar placed in your idol's hand, I d~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), glows brightly as DE~ opens his eyes, looks down and notices his enormous genitals.

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

(COXTI~UED)

..,,

V/ ·...,

Pg. 68

COXTIXUED:

There was no way I was gonna walk around this place with my . dork hangin '·· 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-: ; ,·.. ~·-..-~

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'~ _boun4 ankles, .hooks . them. over -his -head and drags her -th.rough · a· decayed ·hole in the ":7 ...., ... underwater wall. Inside a stone tunnel, they are swept along I' ,.. · /~, by the current.

~orraally, .I'd be 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.

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

if:::

She had the rnost beautiful eyes. I wanted to make some conversation but I found my ne~ self asking the same old stupid questions .

......,

( CONTIKUED)

,.· '-~·: : .... ~:·

Pg. 70

CO;\TI~UED:

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 ·give it ,..-illingly.

She circles her nipple with his baby finger.

Kow! This was rreat! There was no way I'd get a chick like this bac.k-on Earth . .···.I- mean, .look ,at . her!!

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

D.-\K (Y. 0.)

· There ,,·as C/.l y one prob 1 em

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

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 tirae to show up ...

L,.·~

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

;;'r-

__.:: Pg. i 3

ARD' s THRO:-:E Rom,!

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.

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. 7 4

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!= ·the fi ·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~an grabs·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 ...... Capt a in' s j a,\.. ·' The creature crumples, leaving DEX Kith the gun .

,,...... ._. ~...) .•

•.:.•

(Y. o.)

Bov! I was pretty good at this stuff.

,:..;

serve me.

•··,- .•....; ~ .

'DEN (aiming machine-gun at him)

Give me the girl or die.

: , .. ( ' ~

(CO~TI~UED)

Pg. 7 3

CO~TIKUED:

Well, if I have a choice, I'll _take death.

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.

As DE.\' looks on, ARD'S wounds miraculously close up and heal themselves over. ~./ g ·_.

DA.\' (\". 0. )

I could see why thev rnade this 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~~TI XUED:

DE~

Khat do you want of me?

l~~ .. ARD ri.~

I want you to steal the sacred 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'S motionless body.

DISSOLVE TO

~.'\;

Pg. I I

RIVER BANKS XEAR THE QUEEN'S CASTLE

In the mooni°ight, DEN arid. NORilead a · squad o·f beast~,,-arrio·rs, armed with auto~atic weapons, along the river towards the Queen's castle.

Ssh. Guard post . ahead. . We must go underground.

XORL lifts a rock to reveal an underground passageway.

DAX

·.. ·· '• . .

·cv.o.)

This guy Serl seemed to know what he was doing. And, for a goril:a, his English wasn 1 t half bad.

DEX and the warriors enter the underground passage.

CUT TO

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

We're undernea:h the castle moat.

DEX nods. An ugly growl echoes through the tunnel up ahead. the warriors 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 ,rnrriors run on through the tunnel as, behind them, the monster pulls his victim apart.

CUT TO

DODRi\"AY IX C..l.T.4.cmrns

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

~. -·......,.. ~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 RL rno Ye s • o ff .

CUT TO

{}

Pg. '79

Loc-Nifr~

DA!\ (LO.)

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

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

DA.'\ c,·.o.)

As I saw 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 is finally over- powered and held down.. The Captain of the guards places a long knife aga_ins .t Den's throat.

The QUEEX, eyeing Den's magriificient body, sighs. ' ~.~.

·.·.· · . QUEEN

Yes, slit his throat.

Thank you, your Majesty .

...\s the Captain presses his ·knife against 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.

(CO!\TI~UES)

c.-,~·.. ' •

Pg. Sl

,,.., ·. COXTINUED:

Guard ¥2 ·

Yeah, sure.

GUARD #1

Sure. ·

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"hat must I do ?

The QUEEX lets her cloak drop to the floor as she gets closer. She is naked underneath.

DAX

;.. - . (\'. 0.) '.•·... t;:~

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

Pg.S:

CO~TI:,.;UED:

Come \\·i th me.

DEN

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

\'.-/ \\.ind o,,·, the QUEEX s 1o,,·1y runs he r hand o ye r DEX ' S bu 1 gin g ~ muscles.

~-: . ~.-.·.

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

:-.-::..

;.:~. '. 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:bled people of this 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 their bio.:;:. •-::, , spiked clubs. :) -:.·.·.

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

Hold him still! I will kill

\·. hi r.1 n,· s e 1 f ~ (,,

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\\"n into the 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 greenthe barren 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 issits

~E\"ERKHERE 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 1 f)

Katherine!

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

cut to

A~OTHER PART OF THE XEVERKHEREDESERT

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 raging water while two _hoode~. monks stand b~sid~-hirn, ·holding th~ itrtigglirig kATHtRINE· out 6~ei· the pool.

ARD

Here is.your sacrifice, Uluhtec. Now, give me your power! ( to ino"nks·) · Thro,,· her in.

Chanting the name "Ul uh te c", the two man ks start to th ro,,· ,'.•.-~ .. ; 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 _nto the ~,·ater . .

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

;r ;..-._-·; ,_•, :.:·:,·.•

KATHERI~E

Den!

\ •,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.

(CONTI!\UED)

...~-. {_·.• ·...·""':. Pg. 8 7

COXTIKUED:

ARD

Stupid bitch! Get away from me!

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

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

Lightning crackles, illuminating the night with electricity ..

CUT BACKTO

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

They probably , went back 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.

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"HERE PYRAI'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 _groKs up. through the 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 foot of 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 in Kith 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 the well.

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· iri through · a ,dndo,-: acro-ss the street, ··we see a·-·s·e·ductive ·- looking woman dressing herself in black garters and lace. This is intercut with the carriage circling the green, until the woman, who looks like a . high-class harlot, finishes .dressing and leaves her . room. Crossing the. street, she walks up _to the 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 .es him. ,,·e . _ pan d0\'11 their le gs to the green bal 1 gl O\dng in the we 11·-l-.·al 1. · 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, . as the well crumbles and cheap turn-of-the-century ro,·i- hotisirig g~ows up, covering the g~een ba11. ·· ~he·tb~n becomes 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 their way to work.

The camera pans down to a drain in the gutter. A rat appears. Panning ba~k up, ·the street is now empty. A bell is heard ringing, and a horse-drawn Red Cross cart pulls around a corner and into view. Masked workers follo~ the car~. One rings the bell, ~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 the buildings starts to collapse. Falling a~idst the crumbling plaster and rotting ~ood is the glo~ing green ball. As the ball hits the ground, it is co¥ered oYer by rubble.

The rubble becomes bleached by the hot sun and the landscape gro~s drier. Sand blows all around, covering over everything. •· -.· As the sandstorm clears, the entire terrain is nothing but I ,, ; . •<:.• desert. In the distance ~e can see a group of people walking.

CUT TO

..; •:.•~:- ~ ---:-··•:·····a goateed archaeologist with an elaborate metal det~ctor. As· he \\alks, his detector starts bleeping. He points to a s~ot ~: ; en the ground, and the natives start digging with their laser- ;-.... sho\·e 1 s. ( .·. : •···L -':

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

Pg.91

Orte of ~he ~6tk~rs find~- sorn~thini.

The archaeologist waves the workers away and directs a .tread~ driven shovel-sifter up to the spot. The shovel-sifter digs r--~·. ·in and 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..,:

\, ·~.. ·...·.. ·· (\". 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 ,· the camera turns .-a· c-orrier and zooms· down through the roof of a parked taxicab. It stoos full frame on 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· ·headline re ads: "400,000 Traffic Deaths· ·over Holiday.- Weekend" .

The. camera sfops on a headline reading:. "Professor. Discovers Ancient Re1 i c .:.- - · to be sh Olm in N • Y ~ Muse um" . · · ·

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

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

YOU~G MAX (from outside)

'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

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:

YOU~G MA.\

The U.~ . . Building.

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

XoK it s a dump. I Kouldn't live

bt ·•-:••:·:.·,··.. ·.·.·.there if ·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 -Lincoln Centre, the marquis reading ''Continuous Live Sex Sho,,·. Also Inter-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..\:\ pulls a gu;i cu: 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, n O\•; !

;.- .

,- ;:

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

,...~

Harry 1 s foot 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:o the seat beside HARRY, "·ho picks 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 the main entrance. The banner reads; "Treasure's of the Loc-:~far - Coming July 8th".

\\·e pan do,,·n to the museum doors, · as a man's body comes crashing through the plate glass and spra~ls for~ard, cut and bleeding. It is the goateed professor from the desert. His daughter runs out behind him, ripping her clothes on the broken glass.

GIRL

?··· · Father!

The· girl takes off do,,·n the museum stairs as men ,d th 1 as er 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.

};ormallv mY 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

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

(COXTIKUED)

Pg. 96

COXTINUED:

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

VOICE (over intercom)

Police. Khaddya want?

VOICE (oYer intercom)

So what else is new?

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

COP #1

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

ti. ,.!. •

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

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

I•. (tf:

EARRY

f': L:c": Yeah thanks

f-,_·••. (CO~TI~UED) r··.. i~

Pg. 9 7

C0XTI};UED:

He picks up the girl and turns to leave.

DESK SERGEA~T (shouting after 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\,·ard his cab.

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

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.

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.

( CO!\TINUED)

r-.·'".· r:·~ /l.

r-:·.

w~

Pg. 99

(starts to shake) Now he's dead.

(grabbing his arm)

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

'

Sh~ starts to cry.

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 "'~ it was a 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

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

Pg. 101

SERGEANT

rt' ~l Where's the girl?

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

, Khere is she?! I-

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

The COJJS throw HARRYback down on the bed and follow the SERGEANT out.

Don't hold yer breath, pal.

CUT TO

Pg. 102

,._,,..

~~ HARRY walks -·out of this space-.age condo 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?

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.

The henchmen throw HARRY to the ground and exit.

r:·. I· .. DISSOLVE TO

TIMES SQUARE

:;;.,~..•..·.·.·.'···•····HARRYis driving past the neon-lit Church of Allah, in the '( •;; middle of the row of unusual churches and religious billboards that make 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 a corner, we see the two cops in an unmarked car, following him. Behind them, Rudnick's two henchreen follow, riding body-copters .. (These one-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\,·, bleeping loudly. HARRYlowers the v:indO\-. and lights start to flash o~ the device, and a high-pitched computer voice emerges from its grille.

HARRY reaches . out of the windo¼" and punches a number onto the satellite's touch-tone buttons.

(long tone 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-radar screen p'Jps out of 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\rn through the roof, narro\,·ly missing HARRY.

Suddenly a smoke-bomb shoots up from the cab's roof, enveloping the bodv-conter. Unable to see, the henchman srrashes into 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 ·case that asshole Rudnick · showed ·up. I wasn't -into violence · 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.

c· for it ... ,,!-.•..... \.: •·

HARRY ·raises his eyebrows.

GIRL

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

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

HARRY

,· •...

Three hundred grand is a lotta dough.

·=···

(CO~TINUED)

Pg. 106

CO~TINUED:

When she looked at me like that, I knew I .couldn't say no. (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_·-...·

The light from the modern anti-gray causeway overhead illuminates the rusting skeleton of the now-obsolete Brooklyn Bridge. Driving his cab past a sign reading -~'Bridge Closed - Use At Ovm Risk", HARRYpul 1 s on to the creaking metal structure.

At the other end of the bridge, a pair of headlights blink three times.

GIRL

·. ~ ..-; There they are.

She kisses him and gets out, carrying the metal case. As she walks, we can see RUDNICK 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:

·At the· , cen~re . of · the bridge the two. ·st·op; · . RUDNICK· ope.ns his · briefcase, and holds it up. It is full of hundred dollar bills. The GIRL presses a button on top of her metal case, and the metal doors slide back to reveal the Loc-Nar glowing through the protective glass . . They ~xchange cases.

The · GIRL· returns with the money, ·and -jumps in ·the back of the cab. HARRYfloors it.

A glow appears in Harry's rear-view·~irrcir ·as ·RUDNICKpulls 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

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

CUT TO

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

1.•:,-. ;~·.:~

(CpNTINUED)

Pg. 108

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

Hepulls over.

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 she woulda

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

The cab disappears into the night traffic.

r~--~ h>. CUT BACKTO

~~,_.·:

Pg. 109

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 into space, then brings it down over the surface of a planet. As the ball streaks along, we see that it is passing above the outlands beyond Kraan.

-:t ..·:r .....·r,'-..,.•·····~, 1 ' · · ·~·/ ·,; Just a little 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 in the middle of the other~ise barren outlands.

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

Damn

~~:._·.

CUT TO

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-ap the .ball completely. In an instant, only a dul~ greei:i glo~ .. -~------v~ble through the web of roots. We hear a rusn of a1.L.ahove us as-the camera pans up and TAAR.~A flies in overhead. ~

~~ ~ ~- ~

/ CTJT--TO_

~-;:·~ t--: . ,; ·. ·

Pg . 110

~:.\ · ~-

:r~ '\Looking· do,"'11~ she sees the waterfall a·t the cen·tre of the· · \."'~ ... beautiful garden. She pulls on the reins and her bird swoops r1~ down. \

\ CUT TO

\ .,.·' \ \, .•·

THE 01\SI 5,, . -~ ~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 a tel y sprouts in to eight ne,..-, tougher shoots v:hich join ·-~i th the roots around them.

\ .- '\ _/

The bird squa,,:ks as the 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.\Astrikes the 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 ·r of the envelope of roots closing in ar-t,und then. \ _

j '

The trees moan in ,, pain as their roots begi ·n to burn. 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 alorig the 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:rer brow, TAAR}JA pats her bird, and they fly in. Suddenly, ;.::. an enor,mous net of glowing green webbing catapaults up, in front

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-camera· zooms in on -an insignia ·of· ··a sword, burnt into ·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 ! !

BARBARI AN # 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.

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

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.

( COXTI!\UED)

Pg. 113

_My shoulder ..•.. it hurts ...

She points to a red swelling.

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

AUSTIN kisses the LITTLE GIRL, then returns to his machine. Using an odd tool, he focuses the holograph on the green ball trapped among the roots in the oasis. Then he makes one other delicate adjustment at the side. Flexing his fingers, he grasps the control knobs and begins to work them.

The ball on the holograph starts to shake, then rips itself out of its rooted prison, and flies up through the trees and over the forest:.

t"·:-•.-:~.' AUSTIN r·,> (smiling)

~ow she's working.

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

Taking his hands from the control knobs, AUSTIN looks pleased. The camera zooms in on the image in the holograph.

CUT TO

, to reveal a barbarian encampment on the plateau below us. Zooming down, we can see a deep pit located in the middle of the camp, with barbarian guards standing around the upper edge. ::~

Pg. 114

·The· camera ··continues .. its· descent· directly do·wn to the ·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 figure moves alone through. the. bodies, and stands. over TAARNA.. · This is ZUKUS.

You're hurt. Let me help you.

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

r.•~..........········ \~i l\: .· He looks ~own at Taarna's wounds - they are not healing. ·

TA.~~,A struggles 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

(looking up at barbarians)

('f:'

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

(rubbing her back)

(CO~TI~UES)

Pg. 115

COl\TINUED:

I'd like to kill some more of them before I die.

Four barbarians 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 bird 1 s saddle. 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 the bird, cross-boK aimed. _Just as he shoots, the bird jerks its head 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! Give me 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 the bird squawks loudly, and rises into the air, pulling the remaining rope-holders with him.

The hanging barbarians scream and yell 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

ZUKUSis sitting . ne,;t_ to TAAR.i\JA•. She is _asl.e.ep .. Suddenly her · ey~s operi and her ears perk up. She hears.something.

CUT TO

THE TOP OF THE PIT

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

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

She p~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!

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

The arrows and spears are corning dangerously 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.

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 ·the throat. · -·It squawks and· 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 _o its throat.- ·

With a tear in _her eye, TAAR.\JA_pulls out .the arrow . . Turning, . she 1ooks 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;\Alooks do,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 her wheezing 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 of nowhere, a spear flies through the air, skewering both barbarians, killing them instantly. They fall off the cliff, crashing down at 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~aps down to her level, landing .near th~ dying bird. He examines the bird, then pulls out his jar and rubs some ointment :·into the bi rd' s wound. Then· he ·W'alks over to TAAR'f\JA,and together they. look .do,,:n at .the approaching .hordes ..

l 'f'...•.·.~ t\.,: :?.i.

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

CUT TO

TA-\R.'t\A'S BI 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;'\Apulls out her golden sword, kisses it, and throKs it to i"-· Z~KUS. He catches it and smiles. tf

( CO};Tl~UED)

Pg. 120

COXTI?\UED:

·-·.•.......... .•. Thanks.

Pullin·g on the reins, TAAR\JAflies ·her bird up towards the · green- glow• in the mountains above.- .

The· camera ·pulls back and we see the image o·f TAAR.~Aflying in· Austin Grimaldi's holograph. ·

r::~.

Perfect.

He reaches up and pulls dov-:n the hinged 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. DAUGHTERis looking over his sh~ulder.

AUSTIK

t~·. All fixed, honey.

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·eet dreams .

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

CUT TO

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 s o ,,·n . : o omin g into i t , ,..-e s e e TAARXA f 1 yin g h i g he r an c h i g her towards the green glow in the mountaintops.

CUT TO

r-.:· V ~~· .. ·.' TAAR.'\A

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

Uluhtec ... Uluhtec

I t get s 1 o u de r and 1 o u de r as TA.:..R.\ ..l. r i s e s o, · e :- a De a k and s e es 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"

CUT BACK TO

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.

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 r brain , TAAR.:~A 1 o oks at the b a 11 . I ts green g 1 o,\. starts to move ominously up her arms and the ball gets bigger as it pulses in unison with the green planetoid.

St rug g 1 in g to r a is e the gr o ,d n g . b a 11 o ,,.er her he 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 unearth l y rumble, 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.

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 ie s her glowing green ball. Suddenly, a white glow flashes, surrounding the cocoon. The webbing begin~ to recede as its colour washes away.

The green ball 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 see the insignia of the Taarakian sword imprinted on the tack of her neck.

The camera pans over io the open Kindow. Outside, silhouetted in the night sky, TAAR'\A flies past.

THE EXD.