"LUCY" (2014)

LUCY

Writtenby

LucBesson

© 2012EuropaCorp

Any copy,reproduction,representation,communication,byany formsand/ormethods,of this screenplayisstrictlyprohibited, all rightsbeingexpresslyreservedto EuropaCorp.

11/02/2012

ii.

ROTA

Tnis film is extremely visual. I~ is difficult to describe in words without running the risk of losing or bdring the reader.

I have come up with a simplified summary, tnerefore, like a reader's guide, which will conjure up the images in as few words as: possible:

the beginning is LEON THE PROFESSIONAL

the middle is INCEPTION

the end is 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

Dqn't interpret this as pretention on my p~rt, merely a visual, emotional and philosophical point of reference.

FADE UP

CLOSE on a cell, seen through a microscope.

Openingtitles.

The cell splitsin two, then four, then eight ...

With each new titlecard, life develops, methodically, diligently ...

CUT:

A prehistoricalmanand womanare arguing near a fire.It appears thathe wants to have sex with her, but she does not. A few meters from there,a group of Neanderthals are looking at them.

Titleof the film appears:

LUCY

The firstray of the sun's light streams between the buildings of Taipei, touching theface of LUCY,25.Last night's make-up caked on her skin. She has been upall night.

She wears a tightleopard printminiskirt,and is tryingto get her jacketon her bare shoulders. RICHARD, 28,is standing next to her in vintage ray bans and a Bono-style Stetson.

Lucy takes a sip of her coffeefrom a Taiwanese Starbucks.

She takes another sip of coffee,turning her face to the sun.

CUT:

FLASH of Lucy and Richard crazy on the dance floor.

FLASH of them drinking champagneand laughing.

FLASH of Richard fillinga glass of champagne,and put a pill in it. Lucy shoots it down, withoutnoticing.

FLASH of Lucy laughing

FLASH of Lucy being taken by Richard in the restrooms.

29/10/2012 3.

The Neanderthals aren'tfaraway.

BACKTO SCENE

Lucy kisses him on the cheek, startsto go. Richard looks nervous, grabs her by the arm.

INSERT: The real prehistoricLucy sitshalf-naked, gazing blankly at the camera.

Back to scene: MiniskirtLucy staresat Richard.

:Lucygives hima blanklook. Richardhumsthe tune.

Lucyrolls her eyes.

She's ready to go. Richardgrabs her againby the arm. On edge.

Lucysighs.

RICHARD {CONT'D) You can see the reception from here! I won't take my eyes offyou. I'II even press my nose up against the window if you want.

:Lucypeers inside the ImperialHotel. Classy. Five stars. :Andhe's right, she can see the reception fromwhere they're istanding,outside the big plate-glass windows.

iINSERT:I A mousescampers around a trapholding a juicy chunk of cheese.

iBackto scene: :Lucyhesitates.Sighs.

Lucy glances at the handcuff dangling fromthe case handle.

Busted. Richard triesto laugh it off.

'Shekisses him on the cheek and sets off.

' ;Richardcatches her by the arm.

Lucy grabs his Stetsonand puts it on.

RICHARD {CONTD) Probably some designs they've swiped so they can copy them. That's how it works in this country. Even my Stetsonwas made here! Look! Itsays so on the label.

Lucy glances inside the hat. The label readsMade in Taiwan. She slips it back on his head.

She smiles, turns and walks away,really goingthis time. Richardgrabs her by the wrist.

In a flash, Richard slips the handcuff from the case handle around her wrist.

INSERT: The trap snaps closed on the foolhardy mouse.

He heads toward the hotel entrance. Lucyis forced to tag along.

Richardcounts out five hundred dollars and wedges the bills in her cleavage.

He grabs his hat back and puts it on.

Lucyglancesaround.

The streetlooksnormal,the hotel is reassuringly quiet.

Shesighs and heads forthe hotel entrance.

INSERT: A gazelle trotsalong in the savannah,under the avid gaze of a :prowlinglion.

Lucy pausesto adjusther skirt.She walks slowly across the fobby,eyes dartingthis way and that,on the alert,but she doesn'treally know what she's looking out for--proofof some kind of dirtytrick,forsure.

:,Richardstands outside, pressed up against the glass, mocking her :paranoia.

INSERT: The gazelle stands still,glances around. :Inthe long grass, the lions slip silentlyinto position.

Lucy's mind has gone blank. She can't even remember the guy's name.

The Concierge picks up the phone.

The Concierge talksin Chinese to Mr. Wang.

The Concierge translatesinto the phone.

INSERT: The gazelle is anxious. The lions creep closer.

•Beat.An awkward pause. The Concierge hangs up.

Lucy's worriednow. As if she's finally got proof thatsomething is not right.

The phonerings. The Concierge answers.

He continues the conversationin Chinese.

Lucy sighs and looks around. Richard is stillat the window, ,smiling.

i.Lucymakes a face, tryingto exorcise her own fears. It'stoo late forthat . •Four goonsget offthe elevator and head for the reception desk. Lucy senses that trouble'scomingher way. Female intuitionis a wonderful thing.

1INSERT: 'Thegazelle hasseen the lions looking at her.

Backto scene: None of the goonsweighs less than100kilos. Their jacketsare ;bulgingwith hardware.

:Lucybegins quietly to freakout. She franticallyglances around at Richard, who gives her two thumbs-up. Suddenly...

A silentbut deadly bullet thwacks into his back. Richard's chest bursts openand paints the window red .

The case slips from her grasp and dangles from the handcuff chain.

INSERT: The gazelle bolts. The lions take offin pursuit.

Lucy turns back to the Concierge, but she can't get a word out.

The four men close in around her. TAO, the slender one, pushes the muzzle of his gun into her •back.He talkscalmly, as if parking a car. The Concierge translatesforLucy.

INSERT: The gazelle dodges a murderous swipe of a paw by inches.

Lucy nods. She sways and her eyes roll back in her head as if she's

Tao puts a roll of dollar bills on the counter. The Concierge takesit and ducks behind the counter. Distantsirens wail. The goonstalk amongthemselves in Chinese, grab Lucy and haul her toward the elevators .

intervenes.

The elevatordoors close.

INSERT: A heavy paw slams the gazelle to the ground. The four lions dive in, like Lehman Brotherstraders.

Surrounded by the four goons, in a steelcage hurtling to the ,25th and top floor,Lucy begins to shake uncontrollably.

':Tao notices and steps back, with a few snarky remarks in Chinese.

·The elevator doors open.

The small group swooshes down the long hallway, the thick carpet muffling theirsteps.

tucy feelslike she's being walked down death row.

At the farend, a sign on a door proclaimsRoyalSuite.

,Thecurtains are drawn, blocking out all but a few shafts of [light.

In one corner, the feetof three corpses are visible, piled on top of each other.

Lucy pukes. Who can blame her?

The goonsgrab her before she collapses, and drop her in a chair.

Tao appears with a towel thathe lobs at her forher to clean herselfup.

Lucy doesn't react. She can't take her eyes offthe heap of ·corpses and signs of gruesome activitiestaking place in the

,Tao barks out some orders. 'A goontugs the bedroom door closed to block out the sight of the corpses, while another begins dabbing at Lucy with the towel.

,A man enters.Early fifties,three-piecesuit, and blood dripping ifromhis hands.

With complete disregardforthe carpet, a goon pours Evian water on the man's hands so he can rinse them off.

No answer. 'Theman meticulously wipes his hands and checks therearen't any stains on his suit.

'MR.WANG speaks Chinese and only Chinese.

Wang quizzes Tao, who replies. The only word Lucy picks up is when Tao mentions her name.

iThey pursue theirdiscussion in Chinese.Apparently, there'sa :problem.

•Wangsighs and sitsdown. Hemotions forLucy to be brought over.

:She struggles and squirms all she can. Afterall, nobody likes to 1havetheirhand choppedoff.

:She'spinned to a chair facing Wang across his desk.

Meanwhile, Wang makes a call and launches into another discussion in Chinese. iLucyfinallybegins to tireand calms down a little. :wangactivatesthe phone's loudspeaker.

Lucy realizes thatthis voice is most likely her only hope. She leans closer to the phone.

The manon the phonetranslates for Wang,whoasks a question.

:INSERT: 'Amouse runs roundand roundona plastic wheel.

Lucy's final hopeis dashed. Allalone inthe world.

The manspeaks Englishlike a 6th-grader. Lucy tries her best to stay calmandspeak clearly.

The phonevoicetranslates. On edge, Wangfires inanother question.

,She's flounderingin a nightmare.

INSERT:

',The mouse in the wheel, stops moving.

Tears run down Lucy's cheek.

:She glances at Tao, who remains as expressionlessas a lump of lead.

1.Wangstaresat her, and issues a few ordersand stands.

1Moregoonsarrivewith Plexiglas shields to forma sortof wall ',atone end of the room.

Helmetsand gas masks are handed round. :Everybodygets kittedup. Except Lucy.

·•A goonputs a piece of paper in frontof Lucy.

Lucy looks up and realizeswhythe whole gang is cowering behind

The voice translates. Mr.Wang scowls and brusquely motions to his men. Lucy immediatelyhas seven guns pointing at her.

Lucy doesn't really have a choice. She's terrified.

:one by one, she spins the wheels of the combination locks.

•She turns the fourthwheel. Nothing goes off. :Except Wang, yelling impatiently.

,Lucy takes a deep breath and...jerksthe case open so fastthat everybody jumps back.

·She's not dead.

·Wang yells once more.

Lucy heaves a sigh. Her nerves are frazzled.

The voice translatesand Wang sends a goonforward. :The goonpulls on gloves, takes out a box-cutterand delicately •slices open a packet. •He spoonsa littleof the spanglypowder onto the table.

Lucy watches him apprehensively. Two goonshaul a 40-kilo wreck of a humanbeing into the room. Probably Dutch. A real

The dope fiend is dumped in frontof Lucy. The poor guy is absolutely devoid of reactions. A strawis placed in frontof him. He barely registers .

He urges him on, as if encouraginga child to finish his dessert.

The kid finally understands. •He positions the strawand snorts the spangly powder farup his ,nose.

The least you can say is thatit wakes him up. ·The Dutch guy spasms, twistingand jerking. His muscles strainas if he's climaxing or beating the world

He cackles, exploding with laughter. He startshittingthe walls, babbling in Dutch.

Lucy gawks at him. Wang peers at the guy, studying his reactionintently.

The dope fiend startsbanginghis head against the walls, then he contortsas if racked with convulsions.

The guy's going to blow. It'sobvious. Wang motions to a goon.

The goonwastes the young guy like a lab ratthat'soutlived its ,usefulness. Ittakes fivebullets, then a dozen more, to keep :the flying Dutchman down.

Lucy's face is spatteredwith blood.

She is in horrorland. On a one-way ticket. The goonwith gloves on reappears and pokes at the contents of the case with a chopstick and a littlemirrorto check thereare no mechanismsunderneath the pouches.

•The voice translates. Wangjustsits stony-facedwhile the gooncompletes his slow, :painstaking inspection.

1 Denied a response, Lucy heaves a sigh.

iShe watches the sweat-soaked goonraising and peering under 1each plastic packet.

'Suddenly,Lucy pulls the pouchesout one by one. She deposits them on the table as if unpackingher groceries.

Wang staresin astonishment.

iThe translationtakes some time, but it's worthit:for the ,firsttime, Wang cracks a smile.

Lucy is speechless. I

A gooncomes over. Lucy looks up justin time to see his fistcrunching into her face.

I INSERT: : A huge"1%" fillsthe screen.

·RAPID MONTAGE:

a sea anemonedarting in the current/a billowing jellyfish/a lblundering creaturefrom the depths/a squiggly tadpole

8 iINT.LECTURE HALL, PARIS - DAY 8

, PROFESSORNORMAN, late 40's, gives a lectureto packed :rows of students.

INSERT: A huge"5%" fillsthe screen.

[RAPIDMONT AGE: :Acheetah hunting/a sea otterbreaking open a sea urchin on itsbelly with a stone/a bear fishing/an eagle fishing/a :,gazellestanding on its hind legs to reach low-hangingleaves / a [dogrunning in circlesbefore settlingdown/a cat playing with a ilittleball.

PROFESSOR NORMAN {CONT'D) Animal life on earth goes back millions of years, yet most species use barely 3-5% of theirbrain's capacity. Rats, foxes, and crows are patentlysmart and organized, but it's only when you reach human beings, at the top of the animal chain, thatyou finally see a species using more of its cerebralcapacity.

1INSERT: A huge"10%" fillsthe screen.

INSERT: iA prehistoricman bangstwo rocks togetherand grins happily.

1RAPID MONT AGE:

A dam / a washingmachine / a bike / a rocket/ an electric 1juicer/ a soccer match on TV/the EiffelTowerIa satellite/ ',banknotes rolling offa printing press/a trading floor/an 'operating room / a swathe of solar panels / an Indian temple / thousands of containers stacked on docks / a fashion show / a ,robot building a carIthe pyramids in Egypt / the pyramid in the iLouvre / a steelball on a thread strikingthe firstball in a :series and provoking perpetual motion. i

·The prehistoricmancracks the two rocks togetheruntilsparks ibegin to fly and kindling catches fire.

;A giant photo of a dolphin appears on the screen behind the

Professor.

:A studentnudges his prettyneighbor and flashes the dolphin :tattooon his shoulder.

9 iINT.ROOM 9

ECUas Lucy opens one eye.

:In bra and panties, she's stretchedout on an examining table in :a room thatlooks vaguely like a recovery room.

Lucy sits up, but is immediately gripped by a terriblepain in her stomach.

She looks down and sees thather whole lower gut is bandaged up, as if she's been subjectedto a particularlyincompetent C- :section.

i Ithurts, but she stillmanagesto sit up. iWhat worriesher more than the pain is not knowing what exactly they've done to her. Sheseesa bottleof painkillers next to her and takes two. I

Two guards enter,startlingher. They throw over a bag of clothes and motion forLucy to get :dressed.

10 iINT.LIVING ROOM 10

:Very European-style decor, kind of "rich Asian wants his very :own Versailles." Only the maids in traditionaldresses remind us that we are in Asia.

·Lucy arrives wearing a denim skirt,flatshoes and white t-shirt. Definitelynot dressed to kill. She is flanked by the two guards, who opena door, revealing a magnificent library.

·Mr.Wang sits cradling a glass of brandy. Two white men in designer suits are with him. Clearly not human •rights activistsor charity workers.

iLucy walks forward. Wang smiles. This bastard looks almost happyto see her again.

•One of the mucky-mucks answers instead of Wang. iHe hasan English accent that's so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Lucy nods apprehensively.

The Limey smiles, like a white shark.

iand convulsing.

Back to: Lucy looks about to faint. A bodyguard stops her.

Lucy's justgrasped what her new job is: drugs mule.

iWang waves his hand. Lucy is led next door.

•Lucy is marched to the farend of the room, next to four men. Two of them have no shirtson, revealing bulky bandageson theirstomachs.

1 Lucy does the math: five packets in the case, five mules.

A Chinesegangster handsout passports and plane tickets.

:Lucy looks at her comrades in misfortuneas if they were already dead.

•The guards rush over and pull hoodsover the guinea pigs' heads.

•The Limey is intriguedby Lucy and moves closer, standing :facing her, an amused smile flirtingacross his lips.

Lucy is the last of the mules to be hooded.

rBLACKOUT.

12 i INT.LECTURE HALL, PARIS - DAY 12

:Professor Norman stands facing it's students.

IMMORTALITY /REPRODUCTION.

HIGH-SPEED MONT AGE: A raging ocean/ an erupting volcano/ a cycloneIwildfires/ major pollution.

Image of an autonomouscell.

PROFESSOR NORMAN {CONT'D) Itwill develop a perfectsystem of consumption and recycling of all it has. Such is the case of carcinogenic cells, forexample. They are cells that consider theirenvironment -- the body thathousesthem -- to be insufficientlypropitious. Thus, they changetheirway of functioning. On the other hand, if the habitatis favorable ...

'INSERT: A quiet forest/a pristineglacier/calm seas.

•MONTAGE:

car rocking and creaking in an empty parking lot.

MONTAGE:

INSERT: ·.CLOSE on the lecturehall clock as the minute hand moves round ·one notch.

·BLACKOUT.

•We hear Lucy'sbreathing. Hard and fast. Like her heartbeat. Fear inher belly.

Gradually,we sense a little more light. •The soundof an engine.The city.

Throughthe thick weave of the hoodinto Lucy's private sphere. ·Her eye. Her mouth.Mumblingto herself.

Suddenly,the hoodis ripped off. Bright, dazzlinglight.

:Changeof setting.Some kind of warehouse .

•all you like and not have to worry about upsettingthe neighbors.

;Set in the farwall is a large ring with a meter-lengthof chain dangling fromit. Three men haul Lucy over thereand handcuff her to the chain.

•The threeguys babble away in Chinese. ·.The way they leer at Lucy leaves no doubt about the subjectof

theirconversation.

One of them comes over and touches her hair, as if feeling for •quality. :Lucy stiffens,but simply moves her head away fromhis hand.

•The second guy clasps her breast with one hand, as if testinga ·.melon at a marketstallforripeness. Lucy gives him a freetasteof her fistwith a side order of handcuff chain.

The goonfreaksout and punchesher back, in the face. :Lucy fallsback and he kicks her in the gut several times. :Lucy's eyes nearly pop out in agony.

':One of the other guards grabs his buddy and hustles him out. ·They lock and bolt the door, leaving Lucy writhingin pain, ;gaspingforbreath and clutching her stomach.

'The camera closes in, closer and closer on her stomach, until ithe view penetratesthe fibersof her bandages.

14 : INT.LUCY'S BODY 14 l

·The view penetratesher flesh until it focuses on one of the •corners of the plastic packet. :Itlooks like underwaterfootage of the exploration of the : Titanic.

·The view tracksalongside the packet, until it reaches the bow. •Just like the Titanic,it's split open. •The kicking from the Chineseguardhasrupturedthe pouch. ,The dope spills out like fluid.

·It'slike the milky way--sparkling, skipping, shifting,purple, tblue, red ...Itrocketsthrough her system, like a firework,a ;luminescent streaklighting up her veins from the inside and ,making the walls of the vein phosphorescent.

Whenever a vein branches offin two directions,the streakof powder splits up. We follow one all the way to the hugevalve •that gives access to the heart, like a sacred entrance to a ·temple. The fluid engulfs the heart.

'Lucy contortsin pain, like a wriggling earthworm .

:easy to imaginethe effectof one kilo.

:Her body twistsinto insane, completely dislocated positions, ,like a fish out of wateror a garden hose gone wild .

'The soundsthatcome out of her mouth are inhuman,more like , the grunts of a fatallywoundedanimal.She slithersacross the :floor on her back, pushesagainst the wall and startssliding up it. Dream and realityconverge.

iFinally, Lucy raises herselfup, lets out a bloodcurdling scream 1and charges into the wall head first.

•BLACKOUT.

INSERT:

:Norman stands on the wooden rostrumfacing his students.

•INSERT:

Black & white archive footage of a fakirmeditatingon a bed of

PROFESSOR NORMAN{CONT'D) We might even be able to orderour body to prioritizerepairs of this or thatdamaged organ.

,Images of sonars, cells and fluids flash up behind the professor.

•The studentsare entrancedyet skeptical. One raiseshis hand. •Norman nods to him.

The youngaudience is smiling

Insert: The colored pictureof the entiregalaxy.

The studentsare perplexed.

·INSERT: ·B&W footage of a magician waving his arms and putting his •assistant to sleep. The assistantkeels over.

INSERT: ·An old B&W movie. A man raises his arms. A vase rises and :hovers in mid-air.

:Professor Norman smiles at the Student.

:BLACKOUT.

:Lucy's eyes flitwide open. Her retina changes,going through a ,spectrum from cat to reptileto bird, beforebecoming human ·again.

•There is a glint in her eyes that we haven't seen before. 'Somethingcold, jagged, primal...Something animal.

She picks herselfup with no apparent pain, staresat the backs :of her hands,cracks her neck...

Lucy grabs a chair and sits down, back straight,palms on her : knees, eyes jetblack. Lucy is a changedwoman.

:She sits motionless in the corner, like a robot resetting.

•The door opens. :The guard who beat her up enters, slaps a trayof food down on :the table and glances at Lucy as she sitsmotionless in the •corner.

Lucy doesn't take her eyes offhim.

;Hands on hips, the guy gazes back at her.

1Lucy calmly smiles at him and slowly opens her legs.

The guyis given an unobstructedview up her denim skirt.

,He smiles at her open invitation,checks there'sno-one in the hallway, locks the door and walks over .

on the table, where Lucy can't reach it because of the chain.

:He stands in frontof Lucy and slips his hand between her legs.

It'sthe last move he'll ever make. •Lucy snaps her legs closed on his hand.The man howls.

:INSERT: lLike a fox when a pincer trap snapsclosed on its leg.

:Snakelike, Lucy strikes.Wraps the chain round the guy's throat. :His neck snaps and he fallslifelesslyto the floor.

:Lucy moves fast,as if shehasit all planned out, as if killing a guy for the firsttime means nothing to her.

:She tearshis pant legs into strips,winds them together,puts ,them end to end and knots them into a length of homemade ·rope.

•She picks up the chair, shattersit on the floorand ties the U- ishaped frame of the frontlegs to the end of her rope. :It'sall done in under ten seconds, with chilling composure.

With her makeshiftgrappling hook, Lucy snags one leg of the ·table, which she hauls across the room. She grabs the gun, blows ·open her handcuffs and heads for the door.

17 !INT.HALLWAY 17

Lucy slinks swiftlydown the empty hallway, her eyes still :shimmering somberly. All fearhaslefther.

iShe enters a small room, where four guards are playing Mahjong.They immediately stop laughingand freeze,staring at iLucy.

iCUT: 4 cheetahs run at full speed on the plain. A Gazelle is right [behind chasingthe cheetahs.

:Back to scene

·Lucy's in a hurry. She wastes the firsttwo guys at point-blank range. :The other two dive forcover, but Lucy skirtsthe table and iplugs the thirdplayer. I

;Despite his extremepanic-stricken state,the last guardhas imanagedto draw his gun.

He shoots Lucy in the shoulder. She rocks back but barely even grunts. Then blows him away with a bullet to the brain.

iLucy lobs her empty gun onto the table, grabs the bottleof booze and chugshalf of it down.She sits down and devours the half-eaten sandwiches as if she hadn't eaten for a week.

;Her cheeks stillbulging with the last of the sandwiches, she idigs into her shoulder woundand plucks out the bullet, which she tosses into a glass of water. ;She picks up the glass and peers at the bullet, magnified by the refractioneffect.Itfascinates her. For a second.

Wiping her handson her t-shirt,Lucy heads over to the metal cabinet thatcontains an astonishing array of weaponry. She grabs two monstrous gunsand some magazines.

Then some grenades and some Uzis. As much as she can carry. She piles it all into a sportsbag lying on the ground.

18 iINT.BASEMENT 18

:Lucy slinks down a hallway thatleads to a stairwell. ,At the top of the stairs,Lucy finds herselfin a kind of warehouse.

·She ignores the workmen loading and unloading trucks. ;,Some of them nudge theirco-workers as Lucy walks past with her sports bag and Uzis over her shoulders, but wisely nobody -triesto stop her.

20 iEXT. COURTYARD -NIGHT 20

·Lucy comes out into a small courtyard. It'sdark. •Two men are chatting,probably bodyguards of Mr. Wang's. iLucy rams the muzzle of her gun into the firstASIAN'schest.

Lucy blows a hole in his chest and switches the muzzle to the 1other man's chest.

Even if he doesn't, he does now.

•The manjumps behind the wheel of his car. iLucy gets in the back.

:The drivernods meekly.

:The car drives through Taipei and its multicoloredneon lights. iLucy shucks all her guns and leaves them on the backseat. rThe driverglances in the mirror,tryingto work out what kind •of monster he's been landed with.

iLucy is staring through the window. She seems amazed by all the life around her as if she never noticed it before.

IHer eyesight and hearing are particularlywell developed. :Thousandsof conversations mingle in her head.

22 iEXT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT 22

·The car stops almost in frontof the hospital.

ILucy takes justone handgunand a magazine. She steps out of the car. :Through the driver'swindow, she hands the guy two grenades.

:The driverdoesn't dare refuse.He grasps a grenade in each

hand. •Lucy pulls the pins out of them.

,She hardly gives him much choice. Lucy walks away.

:Lucy marches confidentlyin, as if she knows exactlywhere

she's going. :As a result,nobody pays much attentionto her. She heads down a hallway, where some patientsare sittingon chairs and othersare lying on gurneys.

'Lucy glances at the signs. The Chinese charactersmorph into I small drawings thatare easy to interpret.Then, everything speeds up. Lucy stringstogetherdifferentideas, the letters ichangeand the words appear in English.

iLucy eavesdrops on conversations in the hallway. The words are i simultaneously translateduntil Lucy ends up hearing the :conversations in English.

:Up ahead, through a round window in a door, she notices a team :of surgeons at work.

She enters the room. Peaceably.For now.

24 :INT. OPERATING ROOM 24

:Lucy goes straightto the wall where X-Ray picturesof the patient are hung.The surgeon looks at her in shock.

iLucy is studying the X-Ray of a head.She then walks towards ithe surgeon. i

[But Lucy's in a hurry. She smokes the patientand shoves him offthe table onto the ,floor. She swivels the operating table round.

•She removes her t-shirtand settlesdown on the table.

The Surgeon stands rooted to the spot. The Nurses likewise. ,Lucy, in her bra, levels her gun at them.

:The Surgeon is confused.

:His scrubs spatteredin blood, the Surgeon has been rooted to ithe spot since the patientmet his unfortunateend. He looks •like a butcher.She lowers her gun.

:Lucy looks at him like a confused child. :The doctor snaps out of it. Luckily forhim.

:There's a hint of regretor nostalgia in her voice.

:She rips the bandageoffher belly.

:The Surgeon gazes at the closed woundand nods to his Nurses. ;They go to work on theirnew patient.

·Lucy plucks the Surgeon's phoneout of his pocket.

1 She dials a number.

While Lucy waits forsomeone to pick up, the Surgeon opens up her wound.

jShe points the gun.Nods.

iThe doctor gently insertshis whole hand into the now gaping wound.Lucy begins to sob softly.

:Tears are rolling down her cheeks. She is devastatedlike a :child who hasjustseen the world exploding.

iWe will hear sounds foreach image thatLucy is describing.

iLucyis overcome with emotion. i

:Lucy hangsup.

The doctor slowly extractsthe pouchdripping in blood. ,The packet has splitopen.

iThe Surgeon turns and places the packet on some small scales. '

Lucy's startled.

,The Surgeon heaves a sigh.

:Shegives him no choice.

iLucy remains silent,lost in thought, in her recollections.

For a fractionof a second, the universe explodes into thousands of stars.

:The Surgeon can't believe his ears. :The Nurses are confused.

ILucy glares at him with her somber eyes.

;Lucy comes out of the hospital, with a freshbandagevisible ibeneath her t-shirt. i

Lucy breathes in the cool night air. She gazes at a solitarytree surrounded by a sea of asphalt. She isolates every sound until all she hears is the tree'slaments. She also succeeds in scanningthe tree.She sees all its veins and the sap running through them. She

:With sweat pouring offhim, the Driverstillclutches the two igrenades. Lucy gets in the back.

•The Drivermotions "I'vegot my handsfull."

•The Driver wedges the grenades between his thighs. :The car pulls away.

•Lucy opens her bag to see what will be most useful to her.

iShe finds some knives. Unsheathes one of them. It'sthe kind of :knife Rambowould die for.

:The car pulls up outside the ImperialHotel. Lucy takes the car keys.

:Lucy marches into the hotel.

iThe Receptionist is busy with a group of guests. iLucy heads over to the elevators withoutbeing noticed.

She waits for the elevatorwith threebulky US TOURISTS, who look delighted at the prospect of riding with beautifulLucy.

:The three guys grin and nudge eachother, they look ready for a night of drinking. One makes his move.

'.The others smirk idiotically. 'The elevator doors close on Lucy and the threestooges.

IThe elevatordoors open again. iTwo touristsare passed out on the floor. iThe thirdtourist,the chatty one, is dripping with sweat as Lucy's silencer pokes into his mouth.

/Hunched forward,hands half-raised, the man shufflesout.

:They walk down the hallway and stop outside Suite 2508. Lucy shoves her hostage toward the door and stands with her back flatagainst the wall, gun poised.

The man looks a real dork standing therein his Hawaiian shirt.

:Inside the suite, the GUARDglances through the peephole. iHe asks the Touristwhat the hell he wants, but the guy doesn't :understand a word of Chinese. I

The Guard motions to another goon,who draws his gun. I

The goonsholster theirweapons. The Guard opens up to the sweating Tourist.

:The Guard says something but the Touristremains silent. The iGuard slowly steps forwardand pokes his head into the hallway.

:He looks leftthen right, and finds himself eye to eye with :Lucy's silencer. '

·Lucy smiles at him and crooks her finger to motion him forward.

·Inside the suite, the other goonsees the Guard head into the :hallway. They share a blank look and call to the guy in Chinese. I No answer.

Guard #2 follows his buddy out and finds Lucy's gun leveled at ,his face.

:Lucy grabs him and forceshim to stand back to back with his ibuddy. Their heads touching. Lucyhasrammed the muzzle of her :gun into the mouth of the nearest one.Ifshe fires,the other :guy's toast as well.

:The Touristis stillstanding outside the suite, rooted to the •spot.

iLucy goes over and hands him the gunthatkeeps the guards :from moving.

:Lucy grabs a gun from one of the Guards' belt, entersthe suite and closes the door.

·Lucy calmly walks through the empty suite.

·She heads for the bedroom. Enters.

1Mr. Wang is there,sittingin a deep armchair with a manicurist · working on each hand, face pack on, two slices of cucumber over his eyes and iPodbuds in his ears. :He is deaf to the outside world.

;Lucy puts her fingerto her lips. ;The two manicuristslook anxiously at her.

:The manicurists get up and shut themselves in the bathroom.

· Lucy puts her gun down next to a roll of dollar bills and hitches up her t-shirtslightly. She has two knives tuckedin the back of her skirt.

She whips them out in a flash, the blades swooshingthrough the air, and drives them viciously into the tops of Wang's hands.

The mobster screams so hard the slices of cucumber go flying. He is crucifiedto the chair. Gripped by pain, he barely moves. The earbuds fallout. Mozart floatsfaintlyaround the room.

Wang's mouth gapes open but no sound dares to emerge.

Her voice mellows, becomes almost intimate,as if relieved to share her ordeal with someone.

Lucy frowns. Her somber eyes mist over.

Wang looks at her like a puppydog with his frontpaws caught in a trap.

Mr. Wong is too busy writhingin pain.She moves closer. Gently strokeshis cheek.

She grabs a cucumber

She eats the piece of cucumber.

Wang doesn't respond, of course. He didn't understand a word of what she said and the only thing he can think about is the excruciatingpain. Lucy peers at him. Slowly presses her hands over his. Concentrates. She penetratesthe man's skin, cuts through layers of muscle and into his nervous system. In a few seconds, she has traveled these informationhighways to his brain. She hurtlestoward his cortexand entersthe black box of his memory. An image forms: Lucy is back in the mansionwhere she met the four other mules.

INSERT: Lucy moves around invisibly like a mobile voyeur-camera capable of zoomingin and out, becoming endoscopic, freeze-framingand trackingaround objectsif necessary. Lucy explores the settingand people, as if visitinga 3-D mock- up of a kitchen on a computer.

A goonchecks the passport of one of the mules. Freeze-frame.

We see the guy's photo and name.

The goonhands Louis his passport and ticket. Freeze-frame. The view slips into the pouchcontaining the ticketand reads the time and destination.BRUSSELS 08:20.

BACK TO SCENE: Wang doesn't realizehis mind is being searched and pillaged. Lucy focuses.

INSERT: Wang flicksthrough another passport. The camera closes in on his face, zooms into his eye until we see the writingon the ticket. The frameis reversedso we can read it the rightway round. MUNICH 10:30.

Wang watches the thirdmule preparing to leave the room. Freeze-frame. The camera comes up behind the guy. The view slips into the back pocket of his pants and into the ticketholder. We can make out his name and flightnumber. ROME 09:10.

BACK TO SCENE: In the hotel room, Lucy removes her hands fromWang's. He looks drained. Lucy shoots him a kindly, sympathetic smile.

Rivulets of sweat run down the Driver'sface. He's tryingto inserta length of wire into the hole to replace the pin of one of the grenades.

His hand is shaking. When he finally succeeds, he heaves a huge sigh of relief.

Suddenly, Lucy jumps into the car and lobs him the keys.

Even afterdeactivatingthe grenades, the Driveris stillin a stateof complete panic.

The car drives offinto Taipei.

Professor Norman arrivesback at his hotel room, a junior suite. He removes his shoes and rubs his feet,wincing. Picks up the phone.

The car pulls up outside a building. Lucy jumps out with her bag.Leans toward the Driver'swindow.

She lobs him a tightlytiedroll of cash thatshe took from Wang's room.

She walks into her apartmentbuilding. Dazed, the Driverpulls away.

The door is opened by CAROLINE, 22, blonde, in panties and top--theoriginal slacker startingto make her way in the world.

Caroline steps forwardand gives Lucy a hug.

Lucy immediately forms a complete pictureof her friend's body: bones, muscles, veins, waves, equations, everything. A scan from head to toe in five seconds.

Caroline steps back. Lucy is slightlyin shock.

Lucy heads into the living room, sits straightdown at the computer and types at mind-blowing speed.

Caroline flops on the couch and goes back to painting her nails.

Lucy browses scientificwebsites. So fast,it'simpossible to keep up.

Lucy digests a hugequantity of scientificpapers at phenomenal speed.

LUCY

Lucylooksat her friend, they are obviouslyon differentlevels of consciousness,but Lucystill has a dollopof compassionfor this girl.

to understand. To feel what I am sayingis true. Youwon'taccept it, you'llfight it, you'llcry some more. Andthen youwillstartscreamingat me.You'regoingto go throughall this before youcan accept what is true. Are youready?

Lucy takes a deep breath.

Her tone is clipped, devoid of emotion. Caroline is frozen, stunned, the nail polish in her hands.

Lucy goes back to the computer.

Caroline's beautifuleyes begin to fillwith tears.

Caroline begins to cry. Lucy concentrateson the computer.

Caroline cries more. Lucy continues typing.

Her anger begins to rise ...justas Lucy said it would.

Caroline is desperate. Tears flow uncontrollably.

Lucy is stillsilent, typing away.

Lucy prints out a page in Chinese.She grabs the page,jumps up and thrustsit toward Caroline.

Bemused, Caroline holds the prescriptionin her fingertips. Trembling.

Lucy means it, but she's in a hurry and turnsback to the laptop.

In a daze, Caroline pulls on some jeans and heads out.

On the laptop, Lucy seems to have found what she was looking for.

A photo pops up. We recognize ProfessorSamuel Norman of Boston University.

The Professor sitsat the table,holding a reportin one handand finishing offhis lasagnawith the other.

The phonerings. The Professorlooks surprised.

He stands and goes into the small living room to answer the phone.

Lucy sits at the laptop. She has an earpiece in.

The Professorsmiles and sitsin a chair.

The TV in the livingroom switches on all by itself.

Lucy's face, filmed by the laptop's webcam, appears.

The Professoris stunned.

LUCY {CONT'D) It'sa littlerudimentarybut you're on the righttrack.

There's a hint of sadness in Lucy's voice. Regret.

The Professoris simultaneously concerned and fascinated.

Tears run down Lucy's cheeks. She takes one and studies it.

The Professor is worriedforher.

She hangsup.

The Professor sits totallydazed, tryingto get his head around what's justhappened.

Lucy has changed.She walks through Taipei airport.

Her eye scans headlines of Chinesenewspapers. She's all over the frontpages.Wanted!

Suddenly, her hair gets longer and becomes black and straight. She pulls on dark glasses and dials a number on her cellphone.

Three copsare laughingabout an assignment whenthe phone rings onPIERREDELRIO's desk. Del Riois 30ish, with a likableexpression that more copsshouldtry.

He sits onthe edge of his desk andar,swers.

VOICE Sorry to bother you,captain, but I've received a strange call from an Americancitizen livingin Taiwan.A youngwoman.She claimsto have informationona major drug ring.

Pierre's curiosity is aroused. Alittle.

VOICE Hard to say. Onthe telephone, she has a gentle voice.

VOICE ShalII tape it?

VOICE Putting her through.

Pierre shrugs. Chancesare, this is a hoax.

Lucy stridesthrough the terminalbuilding.

Lucy is in no mood forgames.She stops in the middle of the concourse and closes her eyes to gather her concentration.

INSERT:

A huge"30%" fillsthe screen.

The view enters the receiver,zips across the circuitboards, then shoots up at the speed of light, through the airportroof and out of the satellitedish.

With a bright flash, the view bouncesoffan orbitingsatellite and zings back to earth. France. DelRio'soffice.His telephone.

Freeze-frame.

The view pansaround the off ice. The nameplate "PierreDel Rio" on the desk. Unruly piles of paperwork. A red pen.

Back on Lucy. She sighs.

Pierre freezes.

He glances around as if expecting to find a hidden camera filming him.

Lucy startsmovingagain, headed forCustoms.

Del Rio is shocked.

His buddies are too busy cracking jokes to notice anything. He walks around his desk and sits down.Picks up the red pen.

Pierre takes notes.

Lucy hands her passport to the Customs Officer.

A snifferdog ambles over.

Lucy lowers her dark glasses.

The dog recoils, its tailbetween its legs. Lucy nudges her glasses back up her nose.

DelRio'spolice computer cranks into action withouthim touching it. The resumes of the fourmules flash up on screen.

Lucy hangsup. Del Rio is stunned.

LOUIS BERTRAND, one of the youngmules we saw in Taipei, is also coming through Customs.

Up ahead, Capt. PierreDel Rio nods to the Customs Officials, who immediately pull over the mule. Louis acts surprised,but he is shaking guiltily.

Not far away, two Chinese guys watch theirmerchandise is taken from under theirnoses.

A team from the Anti-Drogen-Gruppe arrestsanother of the mules we saw in Taipei, as he stands in line at Customs.

Another Chineseguy looks on in dismay, powerless to intervene.

The Dutch mule encounters the same fateAmsterdam airport. Another Chinesegangster watches and scowls.

The Italianmule comes through Customs, but is hauled over by two Carabinieri. He shows them his passport and, suddenly, makes a run forit.

His escape bid is cut shortby the numerous plain-clothes officersin the terminalbuilding.

MARCO, head of the narcotics unit, yells ordersto his men and pulls out his cellphone.

The place is buzzing. Del Rio answers the phone.

Pierre hangsup and grins.

TheFasten seat beltssign comes on.

A message crackles over the loudspeakers.

VOICE Ladies and gentlemen, we are now beginning our descent to Paris. All electronicdevices must be switched off ...

A FLIGHT ATTENDANT with her smile as firmlyin place as her hair walks up the first-classaisle checking people have beltedup.

She stops beside Lucy, who has two laptops in frontof her and types on both at the same time.

The Flight Attendantpauses.

She's seen some financial whizkids on this flight,but none like this one.

Lucy is engrossed in the thousands of items of coded information scrolling past her eyes. It'sillegible for any normal human being.

The Flight Attendantdoesn't understand.

A drop of blood appears in one nostril. The womantouches her nose and realizes she's bleeding.

Slightly flustered,she scurriesaway.Lucy keeps working.

Up ahead, in the galley, the Flight Attendanttalksanimatedly to her co-workers. Points toward Lucy. TheCABIN MANAGER decides to take mattersin handand comes over.

Lucy puts her fingerto her mouth, hushinghim.

On her screens, Lucy finallyreaches the end of the coded signs, gives a littlesatisfiedsigh and gently closes both laptops.

The Cabin Manager smiles uncomprehendingly.

Lucy casually tosses the laptops on the floor.The Businessman next to her looks appalled.

Lucy peers out the window at the French countrysidebelow.

The moon is stillpartiallyvisiblein the blue sky. An awed smile flickerson Lucy's lips.

INSERT:

PrehistoricLucy breaksinto the same awed smile. She's sittingon a rock, at the entrance to her cave, observing the moon.

BACK TO SCENE:

The Cabin Manager brings Lucy her champagne.

He walks away. Lucy raises her glass in a silenttoast.All alone.

INSERT:

A huge"40%" fillsthe screen.

Lucy downs the champagnein one. Heaves a sigh.

There's something in her glass. She peers into it and sees she has lost a tooth.

Lucy looks alarmed. She gives a littlecoughand spits into her hand.Three more teethnestle in her palm. Lucy feelspanic overwhelming her.

She staresat her hands. The veins are enormous, pulsating in sync with her heart.

She touches the backs of her hands.

The skin comes away, revealing the veins and flesh. Soon her fingertipsdisintegrateas if each cell is now independent, like a pearl necklace afterthe chain breaks. Lucy's fingersmorph into thousands of littleballs floatingin frontof her. Lucy is horrified.

She scrambles to unbuckle her seat belt,hauls herselfup and staggers to the restroom.

The CabinManager sees her.

He suddenly realizes thatLucy's body is falling to pieces! Before he can say or do anything, Lucy raises her hand, and the vibrationsfromit are enoughto send him flying ten meters back.

Lucy locks herselfin the restroom.

Lucycan barely control her body.Eachcell seems to havea life of its own.Her handsand hair are out of control. Even her eyes startwanderingacross her face.

She can't keep her mouth in place.

Lucytries the best she can to gather all the cells escaping from her. To noavail.In fact, it onlygets worse.

Panic-stricken, Lucystartsscreamingfrom her big deformed mouth.

Suddenly,without warning,Lucy's wholebodyexplodes into thousands of tiny balls, whichbounceoff the wallsof the room, like a swarm of bees that has gonemad.

CLOSEon a man's handflickingthrougha passport.

He stops at the page with Lucy'sphotoon it.

The OFFICERholds out a ziplockbag with about fifty grams inside.Intrigued, Del Riopeers at the substance.

He turns to a DOCTOR.

One eye flitsopen. The iris changesrapidly several times, like a kaleidoscope.

INSERT:

A huge"60%" fillsthe screen.

Lucy sits up and scans the room around her. Lucy Iies on a gurney. She has a drip attached to her arm.

She looks in prettygood shape for someone who's just swallowed her second A-bomb.

Lucy reaches up to touch her forehead, but handcuffs restrain her. She is cuffedto the steelframe.

A NURSE entersand stops in her tracks,amazed to see that Lucy is awake. She rushes out again.

i 48 fINT.OFFICE, AIRPORT- DAY 48 i i TheNurse rushes in and blurtsout to the Doctor:

I

-DOCTOR (dubious) Are you sure?

1DelRio and the Doctor hurry out, followedby threepolice [officers.

i 49 jINT.HALLWAY - DAY 49

Del Rio leads the group down a hallway.

DANIEL dials a number on his cellphone.

Suddenly, at the end of the hallway, Lucy calmly emerges from her room. Calmer than we have ever seen her.

Lucy looks up at him.

Instinctively,all the cops draw and level theirguns on her. One of them calIs forbackup.

Plain-clothes customs officerssize up the situationand reach for theirhardware also, so thatabout twentypeople all over the hallway are pointing guns at Lucy.

Lucy staresat him withoutemotion. She halfheartedlyraises :onehandand, suddenly, the two dozen cops in the hallway ,collapseas if someone had simply switched them off.

Del Rio stands therealone with his patheticpea-shooter. As she begins to walk towardshim. Del Rio is stunned.But he still doesn't lower his gun. Until she is six inches in frontof him.

50 iEXT.HOSPITAL, PARIS - DAY 50

i A police van swings into the courtyard.

The four handcuffed mules are ushered out.

A car pulls up outside, occupied by four Chinese guys.

:One of them, TSUI,observes events in the courtyard.

i The mules are led inside one wing of the hospital.

Tsui dials a number and startsto talk.

Del Rio drives an unmarked car with a magnetic blue light on the ;roof.

Lucy sits next to him and watches Paris flash by.

Lucy glances at a man on the phone. She automaticallyvisualizes the signal he's receiving--a beam of green light connecting his phoneto a satellitein the sky.

I She looks at the streetup ahead.Thousands of beams of green ilight interweave. She can simultaneously see every telephone signal.

Suddenly, one in particularcatches her attention.

·It'sa beam of red light.

Lucy is focused on the telephone signals. She begins to organize all the beams using the window like the screen of an iPaduntil she finds the red beam. Closing in on it, the red beam appears to be made up of Chinese characters.

She scans the radio fora particularfrequency.

Suddenly, a conversation in Chineseechoes around the car.

Lucyhasalready jumped out and raced around to the driver's side.

Hurriedly, Del Rioshuffles over to avoid being sat on by Lucy.

•The car screeches away.

The four handcuffed mules sit ina waiting room.

;Two cops fill out the paperwork.

jThe GERMAN mule is more on-edge than the others. I

COP#2 Grab something forus to eat, I'm starving.

Robert exitsand heads down the hallway.

i 'A cop standing guard watches him go. When the cop glances the other way, he finds himself eye to eye with the silencer of Tsui's gun.

Another Chineseguy immediately disarms the sentryand hustles him into the waiting room.

Before the two cops can react, they'redead.

'A small group of Chineseguys carrying attache cases enter the :waiting room, shutting the door behind them.

The empty hallway falls silent once more...

:...In complete contrastto Lucy gunningthe car through the streetsof Paris.

Del Rio clings to the overhead handle.

He had no idea you could get such speed out of a police car.

:Lucy is calm and focused.

She totallyignores red lights, yield signs, etc.

Lucy doesn't answer and slaloms at top speed between two cars waiting at a stop light.

The Chineseguys hold guns on three of the mules.

The last one, the German mule, is on the table.

:A CHINESE DOCTOR is poised to open him up.

Tsui steps forwardand, with the silencer on, shoots him between the eyes .

The threeothermules are on the verge of meltdown.

The Dutch guy begins to sob.

Del Rio's car screeches to a halt outside the hospital.

Lucy and Del Rio jump out.

The Chinese Doctor carefullypulls a pouchfrom the Dutch guy's :gut. The mule is panting and snorting, staringat the ceiling.

The Doctor places the pouch in an attache case next to two other pouches. An assistantis already busy sewing up the Dutch mule.

,•Just then, Robert the Copenters,with a bunch of plastic- 1.wrapped sandwiches in his hands. I

•He stops in his tracks,gawking at the scene of butchery in the :waiting room.

He drops the food and reaches for his gun, but the Chinesebeat him to the draw and riddlehim with bullets.

:The Dutch guy yells out, and takes a bulletin the shoulder.

Asusual, the Italiantakes his chanceto bolt forfreedom.

A Chineseguy races afterhim and shoots the Italianin the back. The dead mule slides across the floorand stops at Lucy's feet.

Del Rio ducks forcover and pulls his gun out.

Lucy juststands there,with the Italianat her feet. The Chineseguy doesn't shoot. He gazes at her. And collapses. I From inside the room, Tsui sees the gooncollapse.

He closes up the attachecase with the dope in it, and draws his gun.

:A dozen Chinesegangsters swarm into the hallway, leveling ' theirgunsat Lucy.

INSERT:

A huge"70%" fillsthe screen.

i She raises her handslightly.

All the goons'guns suddenly fly upand stickto the ceiling. The Chinesemobsters are dumbstruck. Their guns melt and become blackish puddles stuck to the ceiling.

Tsui hesitatesand then ....screams!

His goonsattack.Lucy dodges every blow and attackwith •precision and calm.

None of them even slows her down.

Soon, the dozen gangsters are sprawled on the floorand Lucy stands facing Tsui, who charges at her.

•He aims a punchat Lucy, who ducks it.

She grabs his outstretchedhandand shoves him brutally backwards. Tsui's arm dislocates, poppinggrotesquelyout of his shoulder.

·Tsui screams in pain. Lucy takes the case fromhis grasp.

Tsui collapses in an unconsciousheap.

iLucy comes back to Del Rio, who has stuckclose to the Italian i mule.

' The poor cop looks totallyconfused. ;Lucy hands him the case.

·She hunchesover the inertItalianand delves into the wound in

sharp. She pulls out a packet full of C.P.H.4.

Lucy slips the packet into the case with the threeother packets.

•She closes the case and picks it up.

Lucy looks at him, then leans forwardand tenderlykisses him.

•Beat.

With nothing betterto offer,Del Rio justnods.

A group of scientistssitsin a large room piled high with books.

•Professor Norman is in animated conversation with a colleague when his mobile rings.

iNorman gesturesexcitedlyto his colleagues.

Just then, the door opens and Lucy enters.

Norman staresat her in awe. She hands Del Rio his phone.

I

The cop is carrying the attachecase.

Now Del Rio blushes.

Lucy has no time to lose.

A confused murmur fromhis colleagues.

Silence. The scientistsare perplexed.

PROFESSOR#1 You have access to your RAM or to your hard drive? Or both?

PROFESSOR#1 (skeptical) Canyou give us a sample?

Lucy looks at the Professor and materializesall the vibrations comingfrom him. She connects upto them.

INSERT: i

A dog runs across the road, followed by a littlegirl. :Thecarhas no chance of avoiding her.

BACK TO SCENE:

Professor ROBERT DAGUAN tears up. He staresincredulously at Lucy.

:Daguanshakes his head. He's devastated .

•Lucy hardly seems affected.

PROFESSOR#3 How didyou manageto access all this information?

She raises her handand makes her fingersstretchuntil they

Her handswitches to threefingers,like a batrachian--a remnant of bygone DNA.

The scientistsare speechless.

PROFESSOR#3 And you can control them all? In anyoneyou meet?

PROFESSOR#2 And... What stage are you at now?

Lucy makes a sculpture on the table rise and hover in frontof her. The sculpturebegins to change,morphing into all kinds of weird and wonderful shapes.

The professorsare speechless. Del Rio is lost.

Lucy takes a deep breath and slowly letsit out.

The truthisn't always easy to say.

The scientistsare in shock. Torn between bewildermentand , fascination. Between the real and the divine.

Awkward silence.

Norman smiles, delighted to have been heard.

Del Rio looks at Lucy.

His cop instincttellshim he's about to lose her.

INSERT:

A huge "90%" fillsthe screen.

The scientistsare in a Universitylab.

·Del Rio dissolves the contentsof the last packet of C.P.H.4.in a pouchof physiological serum. The four pouchesare hooked up to

The scientistsplace sensors all over her body and activatea •swathe of monitors and apparatuses.

The Professor smiles. But he soonbecomes serious again.

They share a smile.

Del Rio shyly comes over to Lucy

:Andhe does. He kisses her with all his heart.

Lucy half-smiles.

Del Rio stands back and, one by one, Professor Norman opens up the four drips. The substance in the pouchesbegins to flow into Lucy's veins.

The scientistsactivatetheirapparatuses and cameras.

·Standing by the wall, Del Rio fears the worst.

The substance seems to be taking effect.Lucy trembles slightly, her face is gaunt and her pupils disappear.

Her arm stretchesout to the keyboards of the computers. Her ·handssprout a couple dozen extrafingers,which spread out over the keyboards. The fingertipsmelt into the matter.

·Reams of data flash up on every monitor in the room. Cables ;emerge from the floorand ceiling like lazy snakes meandering toward Lucy and connecting to her.

The scientistsare both mesmerized and a littleconcerned as theirmachines begin to overheat.

i i 1Suddenly,the walls of the room shoot back 100 meters! The floor

:gleams.Lucy redefinesthe room to her scale. The lab is now vast,

sparkling,medical almost.

1Shapesas black as night emerge from the floor.They look like icarbon needles, black stalagmitesseveral metershigh. Thousands lofdiodes flicker.These are next-generationcomputers -- thatwe /mightbe inventing one hundred years fromnow.

1Theassembled Professorswatch in awe.

Lucy half-smiles, while her heartbeatseems to slow gradually.

When the valve of her heart finally blows (with a deafening noise), Lucy springs forwarda kilometeror so. She is now in the city center,but stillin her chair.

Another clap of her heart and she springs 1,000 kilometers.She's in Romenow.

•Another clap and she's in New York.

Suddenly,herheart stops. The picturelikewise. Lucy reaches out

1like an iPadwindow. The next image is the same but on a slightly

differenttimescale .

·eyes, like a children'sbook whose charactersare animated when ·the pagesare turnedquickly.

:Lucy's face lights up. She now has control of time .

•York's skyscrapersdisappear and the city revertsto how it was in i1900, with people's clothes and carriages from another age.

•- Lucy flicksquickly through the pages again.

New York is now no more than a swamp, home to a few Indians.

- Another leap in time and thereare only dinosaurs paddling ;throughthe marches.

- Another leap and we are seeing primeval forestwith totally 1unfamiliarvegetation.

/Lucy takes a deep breath and gives another broad sweep of her larm.Everything suddenlyaccelerates:the Cambrian period and its itorrentialmillion-year rains passes in a few seconds. The Earth is nomore than a volcano floatingaway in space.

Lucy is fascinatedby everything sheseesat each stage. The •Earth joins thousands of other starsin movement.

The journey in time takes us back to the origins.

Tunnels of stars,siderealpaintings thatlook like the accumulation of cells we saw right at the startof the movie.

- Millions of starsfizz past, all in the same direction.

·- The cells are now visible. There are around a hundred of them.

- The stars gather and converge on a single point .

i- The energy of the universe is concentratedand condensed.

,- All the starshurtletoward a single point. The energy is ' unbearable.

-Two cells.

-The whole Universe is now a phosphorescent ball.

I 112. I

~There is now...only one single cell, a single planet, a single iris, a ~ingleworld. A same circle with differentcolors.

:-The Universe continues to shrink and disappears into a miniscule :circle.An iris. A cell. I'

jLucyis at the origin of the world, a spectatorof the Big Bang.

- BLACKOUT-

- For several seconds, we remain in darkness, sidereal night. No picture or sound,justemptiness.

- Lucy weeps tearsof joy and grief. Ultimateknowledge necessarily provokes both.

- CLOSE on Lucy's heart. The enormousvalve is about to close again, like the massive door of a fortifiedcastle.

- In slow-motion, the valve slams deafeningly shut on the ventricle. Her heart is about to beat again.With the next clap, the Universe explodes once more, and her heart swells once more.

- At top speed, we rewind the story, or fast-forwardit, no ·matter ...

The original explosion, expansionof the Universe, formationof the ·Earth, its oceans, the inception of life,civilization ...

·Is the Universe perpetual mot ion?As regular as a heartbeat?

The history of a lifetimefitsinto a single heartbeat?

;Life storiesand the history of the Universe are a single story seen from a greateror smaller distance? I I And time is justa scale to measure the size of the story?

:Thecamera hurtles at top speed through periods and plains jtowardLucy, sittingon her chair in the middle of the lab.

:Thecamera arrivesso fast,like a car speeding into a wall, and the :impactis so violent thatLucy disappears.

/Herclothes fall on the floor. She is nowhere and, most likely, :everywhere. ' i Sheis now part of the Universe, part of this never-ending story thatconstantly lives and dies, like a simple cell.

INSERT:

A huge"100%" fillsthe screen.

The scientistsgawk, slack-jawed. They can't believe theireyes.

iDel Rio is baffled.Silence settleson the room. Even the computers fall silent.

Everybody staresat the inanimate clothes on the floor,the only trace of Lucy's passage.

•Suddenly, Professor Norman's phonerings, startlingeverybody in the room. He pulls it out of his pocket.

It'snot a call, justa text.Signed "Lucy."

Itreads:

It'son Youtube.

The Professor smiles, enthralledby this proof of his hypothesis.

THEEND