A Far Sun: Synopsis/Treatment, part 4
Click here for part 3
We have a silent cut scene of the two of them walking quickly down corridors and looking in various rooms. They find no one else in the facility, and no sign that there has been anyone around for a very long time. There is dust on all the horizontal surfaces everywhere they go. Very obviously undisturbed.
Finally, we watch as Jane goes to check her father's office. Adam is right behind her, and keeps a respectable distance. Jane was close to her father. Jane notices that everything looks exactly as it was when she was last in his office. There is even a coffee cup on the desk, emblazoned with 'World's Best Dad', a cup Jane had given to her father. The coffee it once contained is long dried up to a hard brown stain in the bottom of the cup. Jane picks it up in remembrance. There's dust on top the dried coffee. She puts the cup down and we notice the "hole" in the dust of the desk surface where the cup used to sit.
"There hasn't been anyone here in a very long time," she says to no one in particular, wiping her dusty fingers on her lab coat.
"No, it's pretty much this way everywhere."
"What could have happened?" Jane turns to Adam, her face really worried, now.
"I have no idea." Adam turns, "We need to check the computer."
"I know, but I wanted to see for myself."
"Jane," says Adam, gently, "there's no one here. There hasn't been anyone here for over three hundred years."
Click for moreHe sees tears creep into the corners of her eyes, but only momentarily. She wipes them away with a great show of irritation. "I'm sorry," he says.
Jane clears her throat, acknowledging Adam but not commenting on her realization that her father must really be dead. "But, I don't understand. Why are we here?"
"That's a damn good question." Adam goes to the open doorway. "Come on, let's find out."
In a few moments Adam and Jane are in another part of the facility, the 'computer room'. This room is lined with various 1970's styles of computer peripherals, printers, cardpunches, etc. There are three terminals in this room, and Adam is parked in front of a terminal very similar to the terminal in the control room. Jane is sitting behind him, looking over his shoulder while he types on the clunky, clacky keyboard. He types: 'STATUS' The computer prints:
STATUS
POWER INTERRUPTION. DURATION 317 YR 5 MTH 12 DY 21 HRS 17 MIN 32.776 SEC.
CURRENT DATE. 05 APR 2297 07:32:05.
** READY _
Then he types: 'STATUS LEVELS'
ERR5002: UNKNOWN COMMAND: 'LEVELS'
** READY _
"What's the command for help?" Adam asks her.
Jane offers, "I think it's 'HELP'."
"That'd be too simple."
"Hey. It's your computer."
"It was Brian's computer."
Ignoring Adam's remark about Brian, whereabouts unknown but presumed dead, Jane orders: "Just type 'HELP', OK?"
Adam types: 'HELP'
HELP. HELP SUBJECTS ARE:
COMMAND
LEVEL
SHUTDOWN
STARTUP
STATIONS
STATUS
...
** READY _
"Ah, I wanted 'LEVEL', not 'LEVELS'." Adam types: 'HELP LEVEL'
HELP LEVEL.
The LEVEL command reports power levels in the reactor. ...
** READY _
Adam types: 'LEVEL'
LEVEL. POWER LEVEL 95.227%. NOMINAL. ALL SYSTEMS ONLINE.
** READY _
"Type 'STATUS'," says Jane, poking Adam in the shoulder with a finger.
"All right." Adam types: 'STATUS'
STATUS.
COMMAND. COMMAND MODE ENABLED.
LEVEL. POWER LEVEL 95.227%.
LAST START. 17 JUN 1976 17:47:05.
POWER INTERRUPTION. 23 OCT 1979 09:37:12.
POWER RESUMED. 05 APR 2297 06:54:45.
CURRENT DATE. 05 APR 2297 07:32:21.
SENSORS.
MAIN LEVEL. OK.
CHAMBER. OK.
ELEVATOR 1. OK.
ELEVATOR 2. OK.
ELEVATOR 3. OK.
ELEVATOR 4. ERR3140: OFF LINE. SENSOR NOT RESPONDING.
SURFACE. ERR3140: OFF LINE. SENSOR NOT RESPONDING.
** READY _
"Wow," says Adam.
Jane shakes her head, "I still don't believe we could have been lying there all that time. Three hundred years?"
Adam corrects her, "Three hundred seventeen years, to be exact." He looks at her, quizzically, "Why not?"
"Well," she says, parroting him sarcastically, "Three hundred and seventeen years, to be exact is a really, really long time, that's why."
"But you see what it says, right?"
"I see, but I still don't believe."
Adam asks, changing the subject, "Did you happen to find any food in all your running around and checking things?"
"Why?" she asks. "Are you hungry?"
"I already said I was." He pauses. "But it's not only that."
"What is it, then?"
"If we don't find any food, then we won't be able to stay down here very long." He pushes away from the computer terminal. Stands. "We may have water, but without food we won't survive here underground. Not for very long."
"Oh."
"You get what I'm saying, right?"
"I do. If we don't have food, then we will have to go topside." She stands, too. "And if it's really been over three hundred years and no one's been down here in all that time--"
"--Then there's no guarantee what we'll find when we get up there." He points skyward.
"If we can get up there, you mean."
"Damn right. This could be a really unpleasant time, for us." He turns and walks away. Jane follows, reluctantly. Adam continues, "We might end up wishing we had died from radiation poisoning. It'd be much quicker, that way."
But Jane is ahead of him. She passes Adam at the doorway, and heads off into the corridor. "I'm going to look for food." She pauses, "You see if we can get up in the elevator. We're going to need it, I think."
"It's either that or the emergency stairs."
From a distance, as she is walking off down the corridor, she says, sounding like Adam, "Right. Meet you back here in an hour. OK?" But she doesn't wait for his reply.
Continued in part 5
We have a silent cut scene of the two of them walking quickly down corridors and looking in various rooms. They find no one else in the facility, and no sign that there has been anyone around for a very long time. There is dust on all the horizontal surfaces everywhere they go. Very obviously undisturbed.
Finally, we watch as Jane goes to check her father's office. Adam is right behind her, and keeps a respectable distance. Jane was close to her father. Jane notices that everything looks exactly as it was when she was last in his office. There is even a coffee cup on the desk, emblazoned with 'World's Best Dad', a cup Jane had given to her father. The coffee it once contained is long dried up to a hard brown stain in the bottom of the cup. Jane picks it up in remembrance. There's dust on top the dried coffee. She puts the cup down and we notice the "hole" in the dust of the desk surface where the cup used to sit.
"There hasn't been anyone here in a very long time," she says to no one in particular, wiping her dusty fingers on her lab coat.
"No, it's pretty much this way everywhere."
"What could have happened?" Jane turns to Adam, her face really worried, now.
"I have no idea." Adam turns, "We need to check the computer."
"I know, but I wanted to see for myself."
"Jane," says Adam, gently, "there's no one here. There hasn't been anyone here for over three hundred years."
Click for moreHe sees tears creep into the corners of her eyes, but only momentarily. She wipes them away with a great show of irritation. "I'm sorry," he says.
Jane clears her throat, acknowledging Adam but not commenting on her realization that her father must really be dead. "But, I don't understand. Why are we here?"
"That's a damn good question." Adam goes to the open doorway. "Come on, let's find out."
In a few moments Adam and Jane are in another part of the facility, the 'computer room'. This room is lined with various 1970's styles of computer peripherals, printers, cardpunches, etc. There are three terminals in this room, and Adam is parked in front of a terminal very similar to the terminal in the control room. Jane is sitting behind him, looking over his shoulder while he types on the clunky, clacky keyboard. He types: 'STATUS' The computer prints:
STATUS
POWER INTERRUPTION. DURATION 317 YR 5 MTH 12 DY 21 HRS 17 MIN 32.776 SEC.
CURRENT DATE. 05 APR 2297 07:32:05.
** READY _
Then he types: 'STATUS LEVELS'
ERR5002: UNKNOWN COMMAND: 'LEVELS'
** READY _
"What's the command for help?" Adam asks her.
Jane offers, "I think it's 'HELP'."
"That'd be too simple."
"Hey. It's your computer."
"It was Brian's computer."
Ignoring Adam's remark about Brian, whereabouts unknown but presumed dead, Jane orders: "Just type 'HELP', OK?"
Adam types: 'HELP'
HELP. HELP SUBJECTS ARE:
COMMAND
LEVEL
SHUTDOWN
STARTUP
STATIONS
STATUS
...
** READY _
"Ah, I wanted 'LEVEL', not 'LEVELS'." Adam types: 'HELP LEVEL'
HELP LEVEL.
The LEVEL command reports power levels in the reactor. ...
** READY _
Adam types: 'LEVEL'
LEVEL. POWER LEVEL 95.227%. NOMINAL. ALL SYSTEMS ONLINE.
** READY _
"Type 'STATUS'," says Jane, poking Adam in the shoulder with a finger.
"All right." Adam types: 'STATUS'
STATUS.
COMMAND. COMMAND MODE ENABLED.
LEVEL. POWER LEVEL 95.227%.
LAST START. 17 JUN 1976 17:47:05.
POWER INTERRUPTION. 23 OCT 1979 09:37:12.
POWER RESUMED. 05 APR 2297 06:54:45.
CURRENT DATE. 05 APR 2297 07:32:21.
SENSORS.
MAIN LEVEL. OK.
CHAMBER. OK.
ELEVATOR 1. OK.
ELEVATOR 2. OK.
ELEVATOR 3. OK.
ELEVATOR 4. ERR3140: OFF LINE. SENSOR NOT RESPONDING.
SURFACE. ERR3140: OFF LINE. SENSOR NOT RESPONDING.
** READY _
"Wow," says Adam.
Jane shakes her head, "I still don't believe we could have been lying there all that time. Three hundred years?"
Adam corrects her, "Three hundred seventeen years, to be exact." He looks at her, quizzically, "Why not?"
"Well," she says, parroting him sarcastically, "Three hundred and seventeen years, to be exact is a really, really long time, that's why."
"But you see what it says, right?"
"I see, but I still don't believe."
Adam asks, changing the subject, "Did you happen to find any food in all your running around and checking things?"
"Why?" she asks. "Are you hungry?"
"I already said I was." He pauses. "But it's not only that."
"What is it, then?"
"If we don't find any food, then we won't be able to stay down here very long." He pushes away from the computer terminal. Stands. "We may have water, but without food we won't survive here underground. Not for very long."
"Oh."
"You get what I'm saying, right?"
"I do. If we don't have food, then we will have to go topside." She stands, too. "And if it's really been over three hundred years and no one's been down here in all that time--"
"--Then there's no guarantee what we'll find when we get up there." He points skyward.
"If we can get up there, you mean."
"Damn right. This could be a really unpleasant time, for us." He turns and walks away. Jane follows, reluctantly. Adam continues, "We might end up wishing we had died from radiation poisoning. It'd be much quicker, that way."
But Jane is ahead of him. She passes Adam at the doorway, and heads off into the corridor. "I'm going to look for food." She pauses, "You see if we can get up in the elevator. We're going to need it, I think."
"It's either that or the emergency stairs."
From a distance, as she is walking off down the corridor, she says, sounding like Adam, "Right. Meet you back here in an hour. OK?" But she doesn't wait for his reply.
Continued in part 5
Labels: A Far Sun
posted by Coogan at 1/06/2008 10:34:00 AM
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