A Far Sun: Synopsis/Treatment, part 8
Very soon now we will be leaving for a week's vacation, and I will be "off line" until we get back in town on January 19th. So, I will post a few more entries now, so I won't feel so guilty (not that anyone is reading these, yet) about leaving things unattended for a week. Expect another post or two tomorrow.
As far as the writing is going, I am about ten pages into Act II, and have reached the first major ordeal. Actually it's not that major, but it's not over yet, either.
Click for part 7
We catch up to Adam and Jane a short while later. They have had to walk down almost to the elevator car to find a platform that goes all the way around the interior of the circular "hole". As Jane speculated, there are two more stairwells, and lacking a better plan, they choose the nearest one and begin to climb, again. But it doesn't take long until they realize that this stairwell will probably lead to a way out. There's a slight wind blowing past them, and as they climb it begins to get lighter. And their moods begin to improve correspondingly.
Jane, who has been thinking about things, speaks up for the first time in several minutes. "Hey, thanks for back there."
"Thanks for what?"
"For reassuring me like you did. I was starting to get all weak and 'girly' on you, and you helped pull me back."
He smiles. "No problem." They continue to walk upward, step after step. "I guess if I have to be stranded in a world with just one other person, you're not too bad to be with." We notice that the steps are starting to become littered with vegetable matter--leaves, twigs, and the occasional dry branch.
Jane laughs with irony, "Gee, thanks. You're not too bad, either."
"Don't worry, Jane. We're going to find other people, you know."
"Why wouldn't we? I mean, surely the world hasn't been destroyed, or anything." Her boots crunch loudly in the leafy matter, which is growing thicker.
"Right." He takes a small device out of his chest pocket, consults it in the dim light. "Well, there's no radiation, anyway."
"You were checking?"
Click for more"Damn right, I was. I didn't want us to prematurely end such a great relationship together, by dying. You know?"
But Jane is only looking over to Adam, her face showing an expression between curious humor and mild distrust. "Men are so interesting, sometimes."
"Why is that?"
"Brian's gone not more than a few hours, and already you're thinking you got me all to yourself."
But she'd gotten it all wrong. "That's not what I meant."
"No?"
"I was making a joke, that's all. We don't even know what's going on, yet. I think it's a bit early to be making any assumptions about ... things."
Jane nods, "I agree."
But they don't get to continue their conversation, because it's just about that moment that they come to the top of the stairs. The concrete room protecting the stairwell, if ever there was such a room, is nothing more than piles of rubble in a rough square, ten meters by ten meters. The stairwell is completely open to the sky, but trees, tall trees, surround it on all sides. Adam and Jane seem to be standing in a depression, with low hills all around. But the sky is blue with puffy clouds, the trees are leafy and green, and in the branches our heroes can hear the happy, carefree twitter of birds.
Adam checks the radiation detector again. All clean.
They climb over the remains of the concrete wall and Adam helps Jane scale the nearest hill. From that vantage they can see fairly well all around them.
But Jane only gasps, "Oh my God."
**
Where once was a university, with carefully mown quad and buildings ordered all around, now stands a small forest. What they can see of the buildings are only burned-out husks, blackened, rusted, and crumbling brick and stone. But it is the university, because we can see the clock tower (an image from the opening scene [ed: left out accidentally]). The broken remains of the physics building is behind them.
Adam only looks, turning to take in everything. Jane scrambles down the low hill and comes to stand on what once was a concrete sidewalk. It's all broken into pieces, the ground under it is uneven and trees have encroached in places. She walks left, toward the clock tower whose spire still towers over the area.
"Can we get up there?" she calls up to Adam. She is pointing up to the tower.
Adam turns to look where she is pointing. "I don't know," he yells, but she can't quite hear him.
"Come on," she yells back anyway, and beckons him to follow.
"Oh, all right," he mutters, and carefully picks his way down to the crumbled sidewalk. He trudges toward her.
"I want to see if we can get up in the clock tower," Jane announces as Adam approaches.
"What for?"
"To see." Jane turns to walk away. "We need a better vantage point."
Adam has little choice but to follow her. "I dunno if we can get up there, or not." He warily looks toward the hulking, broken structure. The pointed roof of the clock tower, once a very recognizable landmark of the area, is mostly gone. On the side Adam can see, the clock face itself is missing.
But Jane is undeterred by Adam's pessimism. "We can at least try, can't we?"
Continued in part 9
As far as the writing is going, I am about ten pages into Act II, and have reached the first major ordeal. Actually it's not that major, but it's not over yet, either.
Click for part 7
We catch up to Adam and Jane a short while later. They have had to walk down almost to the elevator car to find a platform that goes all the way around the interior of the circular "hole". As Jane speculated, there are two more stairwells, and lacking a better plan, they choose the nearest one and begin to climb, again. But it doesn't take long until they realize that this stairwell will probably lead to a way out. There's a slight wind blowing past them, and as they climb it begins to get lighter. And their moods begin to improve correspondingly.
Jane, who has been thinking about things, speaks up for the first time in several minutes. "Hey, thanks for back there."
"Thanks for what?"
"For reassuring me like you did. I was starting to get all weak and 'girly' on you, and you helped pull me back."
He smiles. "No problem." They continue to walk upward, step after step. "I guess if I have to be stranded in a world with just one other person, you're not too bad to be with." We notice that the steps are starting to become littered with vegetable matter--leaves, twigs, and the occasional dry branch.
Jane laughs with irony, "Gee, thanks. You're not too bad, either."
"Don't worry, Jane. We're going to find other people, you know."
"Why wouldn't we? I mean, surely the world hasn't been destroyed, or anything." Her boots crunch loudly in the leafy matter, which is growing thicker.
"Right." He takes a small device out of his chest pocket, consults it in the dim light. "Well, there's no radiation, anyway."
"You were checking?"
Click for more"Damn right, I was. I didn't want us to prematurely end such a great relationship together, by dying. You know?"
But Jane is only looking over to Adam, her face showing an expression between curious humor and mild distrust. "Men are so interesting, sometimes."
"Why is that?"
"Brian's gone not more than a few hours, and already you're thinking you got me all to yourself."
But she'd gotten it all wrong. "That's not what I meant."
"No?"
"I was making a joke, that's all. We don't even know what's going on, yet. I think it's a bit early to be making any assumptions about ... things."
Jane nods, "I agree."
But they don't get to continue their conversation, because it's just about that moment that they come to the top of the stairs. The concrete room protecting the stairwell, if ever there was such a room, is nothing more than piles of rubble in a rough square, ten meters by ten meters. The stairwell is completely open to the sky, but trees, tall trees, surround it on all sides. Adam and Jane seem to be standing in a depression, with low hills all around. But the sky is blue with puffy clouds, the trees are leafy and green, and in the branches our heroes can hear the happy, carefree twitter of birds.
Adam checks the radiation detector again. All clean.
They climb over the remains of the concrete wall and Adam helps Jane scale the nearest hill. From that vantage they can see fairly well all around them.
But Jane only gasps, "Oh my God."
**
Where once was a university, with carefully mown quad and buildings ordered all around, now stands a small forest. What they can see of the buildings are only burned-out husks, blackened, rusted, and crumbling brick and stone. But it is the university, because we can see the clock tower (an image from the opening scene [ed: left out accidentally]). The broken remains of the physics building is behind them.
Adam only looks, turning to take in everything. Jane scrambles down the low hill and comes to stand on what once was a concrete sidewalk. It's all broken into pieces, the ground under it is uneven and trees have encroached in places. She walks left, toward the clock tower whose spire still towers over the area.
"Can we get up there?" she calls up to Adam. She is pointing up to the tower.
Adam turns to look where she is pointing. "I don't know," he yells, but she can't quite hear him.
"Come on," she yells back anyway, and beckons him to follow.
"Oh, all right," he mutters, and carefully picks his way down to the crumbled sidewalk. He trudges toward her.
"I want to see if we can get up in the clock tower," Jane announces as Adam approaches.
"What for?"
"To see." Jane turns to walk away. "We need a better vantage point."
Adam has little choice but to follow her. "I dunno if we can get up there, or not." He warily looks toward the hulking, broken structure. The pointed roof of the clock tower, once a very recognizable landmark of the area, is mostly gone. On the side Adam can see, the clock face itself is missing.
But Jane is undeterred by Adam's pessimism. "We can at least try, can't we?"
Continued in part 9
Labels: A Far Sun
posted by Coogan at 1/09/2008 10:39:00 PM
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