Edifice (5) parents. SARAH Abe, he is still just six years old. He also thinks life is ever- lasting. He must be confused. How can he tell us what he doesn't understand? ABE Well I'm gonna go talk to him. Maybe Jesse's reading him wrong. SARAH I'll do it. Perhaps you should find out where the paths cross? Sarah leaves for Isaac’s room. ABE When we die, then he can leave. That's a hell of a thing. Sounds like our livin’ is holdin’ him up? JESSE From what you've told me, you and Aunt Sarah already left. It sounds like his livin’ is holdin’ you up. Come to think of it . . . hey, this is freaky. Jesse stands and stares at his features in the mirror. ABE What? JESSE Well I was also brought back to life. Now, do I go with him or . . . do I go with you? ABE Nobody's goin’ anywhere yet; besides, what use would he have with you? JESSE I don't know. I'm still trying to figure out why I'm even here. I had a perfectly good job a few months ago. ABE Hey Jess; Isaac didn't happen to mention when he needed to . . . to leave, . . . did he? JESSE No. Perhaps you haven't noticed but your son talks in riddles? ABE We best get out the books and see if we can find out where the paths cross then. JESSE Just like that huh? Sure, why not? We're only talking about a time span from roughly 551 BC to around 30 AD. This is going to take research. You go over the books he's been reading here while I investigate this town's public library. We are looking for philosophical simil- arities. Tell Sarah I'll be eating in town tonight. I'll call if I get something. They both stand, Jesse puts on his leather jacket and they walk to the door. Abe opens it, Jesse walks through, stops, then steps back inside to face Abe. JESSE Look Abe, I know I said I didn't believe in Messiahs but damn, . . . you could have at least told me Isaac walks on water. Abe stares disbelieving into Jesse's face. INT. PUBLIC LIBRARY DAY A pile of books surround Jesse as he reads and jots down certain facts. Suddenly he stops and stares at a passage from a book entitled "Present Day Confucianism". PASSAGE "Serious, ongoing Confucian philosophy, however, is found mainly in Hong Kong and among Chinese scholars working in the west." He rises, goes to the H section and retrieves a book on Hong Kong. He searches through it for a moment until he finds what he is looking for. JESSE Well, I'll be; a fixed place. PASSAGE "About 98% of the population are Chinese, most of whom have their family origins in Kwang- tung province. Most Chinese are Buddhists or Taoists, with smaller numbers of Christians and Muslims." He stands and walks to an atlas. He quickly flips to a map of Hong Kong and begins to smile and shake his head. JESSE We're goin’ to Hong Kong! INT. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER DAY Dr. Gunta Fritz is teaching a group of young scientists the mechanics of computer languages. He leads them through an upstairs, computerized control room. On the ground floor below, Space Shuttle Atlantis is being prepared for launch. FRITZ In order to assist children in understanding computers, LOGO, a refined progeny of LISP, was developed. Upon the discovery that computers could be used to render vigorous instructions automatically into a series of elementary instructions, a con- viction to computer languages was born. The turmoil created by the various types of languages led efforts to generate a dialect that could expedite both business and the scientific communities. Currently, Japanese scientists have opted for a new language, PROLOG; and it has already been deemed the universal language of all future artificial intelligence systems. Fritz stops the group in front of a huge viewing screen as the countdown begins on the loud speakers. They watch, as shuttle Atlantis rockets, successfully into the atmosphere. INT. RESTAURANT CARLSBAD NIGHT Spivey and Hawkins have just finished ordering from a corner booth when Hawkins spots Jesse as he exits a phone booth near the cashier’s desk. Spivey sees Hawkins’ eyes and attempts to look in the same direction, but Hawkins diverts his attention. HAWKINS Frank, what did you mean when you said the Russians gave us Schneider? SPIVEY What? Oh. I just meant that they don't care what happens to him. Spivey tries to look again but Hawkins persists. HAWKINS Frank, look at me when I'm talking to you. Why would the Russians just hand over one of their top scientists to our government? SPIVEY What the hell do you care Jack? They just did that's all. Spivey jerks his head around to the front desk. Only a young waitress and a cashier are there. As he turns back to face Jack, he notices a slight smile across his face. SPIVEY What were you looking at? HAWKINS Those girls. It's about the only thing you and I have in common these days, Frank. SPIVEY How's that? HAWKINS We each, in our own way, know how to appreciate . . . a nice ass. Hawkins starts laughing. Spivey is insulted and stands up. SPIVEY I have to order a new cellular, . . . Jack. Hawkins continues to laugh as Spivey heads for a pay phone. After a few moments on the phone, he walks over to the front desk and shows the girls Jesse's picture. They talk for a bit before he returns to the table. As he arrives, Hawkins is eating soup. HAWKINS Did you squeal on me for breaking your phone? SPIVEY That doesn't concern me now. I just got a hot tip on Lot. Al- though they say the guy they saw was younger, they think he might live at a farmhouse, . . . forty minutes from here. Hawkins continues to eat his soup. HAWKINS What did Gorman have to say? The waitress brings Spivey his soup and he shoves it back. SPIVEY I hate soup. In deference to our friendship Jack, I haven't called him . . . yet. I got this tip from the girls with the nice asses. While you were appreciating them, Jesse Lot could have been walking right past us. Hawkins sets down his spoon and glares at Spivey. Spivey glares back. SPIVEY I have to tell you Jack, Gorman has given me just 48 hours. After that he's sending some boys from the agency after you. HAWKINS I thought you never called him? SPIVEY (embarrassed) This is how it is; if they can't use Jesse, they'll use you. Recall? You also had access to that room. Decide how you want to play it, Jack, but do it soon. I’d prefer to take Jesse back, but the NRO could give a shit who they take; they just want a body. HAWKINS Sounds like they're in a bind for time. What's happened, Frank? SPIVEY You know too much already. We'll be staying in town tonight. We'll head out first thing in the morning to the farmhouse, . . . after I pick up a car phone. No more games, Jack. I'm telling you now, if we don't recover Jesse by tomorrow, I'm gonna hand you over to them. HAWKINS In deference to our friendship? INT. FARMHOUSE NIGHT Sarah is crying on the couch as Abe holds her. ABE Isaac is not going anywhere. You know I would never allow anyone to take him away from you. He's still my son, Sarah, and he'll do what I tell him. Sarah sits up and wipes her eyes. SARAH Abe, that's not why I'm crying. I want you to listen to me. We must obey the Lord. Isaac is in his hands now and for whatever reason, the Lord has made his will be known. It's time for Isaac to go. I'm crying because it's breaking my heart, knowing that I have to say goodbye after such a short time with him. He's still just a baby. But we must not interfere with God's plan. From the day he was born, we both knew Isaac was special; and we knew in the back of our minds, we could never keep him. I gave birth to him, so if I can find strength to let him go, I know you can too. And Abe, Jesse must go with him. ABE We waited fifty years to have a son, and now after six short years, we have to give him up? He was supposed to carry on the family name. I'm still his father, Sarah, and I forbid him to leave! When Abe hears Jesse’s motorcycle, he heads for Isaac's room. As Jesse enters, he notices Sarah’s depression. JESSE Why the sad face? Where's Abe? SARAH He's in talking to Isaac. We're going through a major crisis right now. It's not an easy thing to give up a six-year old baby. JESSE Give up? Wait a minute, I just thought we were going on a trip, as in round. Did Isaac say we weren't coming back? I'm coming back . . . aren't I? SARAH He won't be coming back. A mother knows these things. Once he said we'd begin to age again, I didn’t need to hear anymore. JESSE Well I need to hear more, a lot more. I've got a couple a hundred questions of my own. Does Isaac have a passport? INT. OVAL OFFICE DAY James Carvell is talking long distance to Noel Knight in Hong Kong, as Pope and Fitch listen in. CARVELL Noel, we cannot protect you. KNIGHT James old man, it’s typhoon season down here. The weather is hard enough on all our nerves without worrying about the damn Chinese Navy. They’re about to hold war games right off our bloody coast. I need you to warn them off. CARVELL The gun will be installed on the next mission. The clande- stine aspects of this operation are forcing us to proceed at a rather tedious pace. But I can assure you, the weapon will be operational within 90 days. We’ll be using the shuttle this time. After that, Hong Kong will be yours again my friend. All three hang up their phones. They each carry grave expressions. POPE Did he buy it? CARVELL Yes, but he’s still thinks I’m lying. POPE You know James, prevarication’s are the chains that bind us to- gether. Whenever they're broken, mankind invariably finds itself spiraling head-on into reality, and to the majority of people, that's very frightening. Well, it's started now. Can we do any- thing to shorten the 90 days? CARVELL Probably, but the subcommittee will have to be appeased first. They're scrutinizing all launches like a hawk. Just as soon as Spivey delivers our fall guy, the congressional hearings will heat up. Once the members sense of accountability subsides, stealing the weapon to the satellite will be easy. POPE Bureaucracy has no command over destiny. Robert, exactly how did the Chinese accomplish this? FITCH Intelligence informs us they've invented a new computer language that is so complex, unless you have the codes, it's virtually undetectable. They could have sabotaged Vandenberg’s main frame. It's highly possible instructions were beamed from the Himalayas to Titan's onboard computer, creating an overload of liquid fuel to the rocket’s booster engines. They caught fire and . . . exploded. POPE You wouldn't be trying to "bind us together", would you, Robert? FITCH After a satellite command has been sent, it's echos remain in space. To systematically track down those echos, NRO reversed our satellite trajectory systems. Mr. President . . .unauthorized commands were sent. POPE You're saying if we don't get our hands on those codes by next launch, we risk having our own system used against us? That's like shooting craps in space! FITCH The NRO has their best people on it sir. POPE Gentlemen, it seems imperative now; our first shot must find it's target. INT. FARMHOUSE NIGHT As Abe, Sarah and Isaac listen, Jesse lays out travel plans. ABE And you’re sure it's Hong Kong? JESSE Well, it's about the only spot where you'll find Christian Con- fucianists. There's no other place like it in the world. ABE Yes, but is it a fixed place? JESSE The human record of China goes back 1.7 million years. Until 1842, the island of Hong Kong was part of China. I’d say it's a fixed place. SARAH But how will you live? How will you eat? JESSE I've saved up quite a bit over the years. We'll be fine. ABE You don't speak Chinese. How will you get along? JESSE Well, English is the principal language of government but . . . ISAAC Take nothing for the journey, neither walking staff nor trav- eling bag; no bread, no money. No one is to have two coats. Stay at what ever house you enter and proceed from there. When people will not receive you, leave that town and shake the dust from your feet as a testimony against them. JESSE . . . but the normal medium of communication is Cantonese. As Isaac begins to speak in Cantonese, Abe and Sarah laugh. JESSE I take it this means we are going? I'd like to leave out of L.A.X. I want to say goodbye to my folks. SARAH Isaac can't leave without a passport. Abe, you'll have to get ahold of Billy tomorrow. ABE I'm still not convinced. I don’t even know why you are going? ISAAC I have many mountains to climb. Isaac goes to his room and begins playing with his airplane. ABE I just love it when he talks like that. Did you get that? Mountains, in Hong Kong. SARAH Now Abe, . . . ABE Well, I guess I can't go against the Lord now can I? I’ve got a son who will always love me, and hey, we've just been given twenty more years of life honey! SARAH (taking his hand) Abe, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. Abe stares at her for a moment, then turns back to Jesse. ABE You’re sure it’s a fixed place? INT. PALACE NIGHT Mao Tse Sung is walking in the halls of Beijing’s Forbidden City with premier Li Pang. SUNG The NPC has confirmed your list of committee members. Hong Kong’s transfer should go smoothly, with no disruption from the democrats. PANG And what of the treasonous Taiwan? SUNG Plans for large-scale military exercises are underway. If the weather holds, they are to be held off the island's coast with- in the month. PANG Good. This international promo- tion by our little sisters must end. Now, as to the weapon; why has it not yet been destroyed? SUNG The NPC believes it would be best to distance ourselves from America's space program. This missile accident has caused a great deal of paranoia. Even though its common knowledge we do not yet own such technology, the West are busy convincing themselves otherwise. (beat) The Majority believes any true act of sabotage now will lead to nuclear war; and if that were to occur, many of our people would die. If such a weapon does exist, Americans must realize they cannot hide it from us; it was not made part of the last shuttle's cargo. PANG (becoming irate) But the satellite was. The NPC are fools! The CCP still holds De facto power. Intelligence reports have verified the Russians will not retire the MIR; and that is where they will hide the gun. Since the West believes we possess these "missile codes", they will transport the weapon via shuttle. Time is running out. It is more imperative now; we must acquire a working guidance system; we must obtain a first-strike capability. SUNG Even if there were such a weapon, would it not be prudent, given our intelligence capabilities, to allow them to inaugurate it, then simply take it over? PANG Inaugurate it with whom? For 150 years, our forefathers waited as western imperialists decimated a once great Chinese dynasty. Today, by coercing Hong Kong’s insolvency, the westerners threaten to take control of the entire Asian Market. Our people have turned to sheep. They prefer to lay down in T'ien- an men Square. China longs for a ruler; one with courage to summon a nation from its slumber. We have no choice. MIR must be destroyed. SUNG But what of nuclear war? What of our people? How shall they fare? PANG (smiling) Confucious say, "Ts'ze, you love the sheep; I love the ceremony." Sung bows, then backs out of the hall. INT. FARMHOUSE DAY As Sarah and Jesse watch TV, Abe converses on the phone. WEATHERMAN (VO) A large hurricane, currently resting off the coast of Hong Kong, has brought air traffic there to a standstill. Typhoon warnings are up for Taiwan and the island of Taipei. In the U.S., California has been experiencing unrelenting rain, causing flash flooding and enormous mud slides along the southern coast. The U.S. Coast Guard, wary of possible tidal waves, has closed all beach traffic . . . Abe has gotten off of the phone and joined them on the couch. Sarah turns down the volume on the TV. ABE Billy says he’ll be by in the morning to take Isaac’s picture. He'll take care of the rest. What's this I hear about floods? JESSE (getting up) I've got to call my folks. ABE I hope George and Lucy are alright. SARAH A hurricane is about to attack Hong Kong. Jesse can't take Isaac into that? Isaac comes out of his bedroom holding a smashed plane. He hands it to Abe. ABE What did you do step on it? I’m sorry Isaac; it can’t be fixed. ISAAC As for the exact day or hour, no one knows it, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son,
Copyright © 2000 David Duane Fortner |