SPHERE by Stephen Hauser based on the novel, SPHERE, by Michael Crichton March 5, 1996 EXT. STREET IN GEORGETOWN - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT Fog hangs above the street, amongst the streetlamps. Apartment buildings line the curb, it is very quiet. In one building, six floors up, a bedroom light is on. WE SEE the silhouette of Norman's WIFE looking out the window. WIFE (O.S.) What kind of a crash was it? NORMAN (O.S.) You seen my suitcase? WIFE (O.S.) There's nothing on the news about a crash. Did he say what airline? NORMAN (O.S.) He didn't say much at all. Honey -- WIFE (O.S.) In the closet. I don't understand, Norman -- why would they call you? NORMAN (O.S.) Don't be so supportive, honey. WIFE (O.S.) Well, I can't imagine five years of unemployment -- NORMAN (O.S.) Four. Four years -- WIFE (O.S.) Four years of unemployment would look too good on a resume. NORMAN (O.S.) Keep watching the news. Are you watching the news? WIFE (O.S.) How are you getting to the airport? You need money for the bus? A tinted-window black SEDAN travels down the street, pulls up in front of the apartment building. A U.S. NAVY decal is on the door. WIFE (O.S.) There's a U.S. Navy car outside, Norman. NORMAN (O.S.) What? WIFE (O.S.) Was it a military crash? NORMAN (O.S.) I don't know. WIFE (O.S.) They never used to send a Navy car. CUT TO: THE LOUD, HARD CHOPPING OF A HELICOPTER PROPELLER EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY Blinding sunlight, as the helicopter WHIPS by, speeding above the Pacific Ocean. INT. HELICOPTER - DAY Norman, 53, disheveled, unshaven, sits in the back. He studies a pamphlet in his hand: "AIRCRASH SURVIVAL: HOW TO COPE". The PILOT, in the cockpit, turns to him. PILOT What kinda work you in, Dr. Johnson? Norman quickly stuffs the pamphlet into his dufflebag. NORMAN I'm in psychology. Was. Still am really, just been a while. (beat) I treat aircrash survivors. PILOT Oh, so you're that Dr. Johnson. NORMAN You've heard of me? PILOT Well, everybody's been talking about that report you wrote. NORMAN What report? PILOT Huh? NORMAN What report? PILOT You mean you don't know? NORMAN Know what? The pilot glances back at him again. PILOT Must be another Johnson then. Been flying so many scientists out here -- can't keep everyone straight. NORMAN Who's everyone? PILOT Physicists, mathematicians, geologists, you name it. NORMAN Geologists? At a plane crash? PILOT Strange, isn't it? In the middle of the ocean no less. NORMAN What the hell would a geologist be doing at a plane crash? Norman looks out the window and sees a group of ships circling in the water. EXT. SHIP DECK - DAY The helicopter descends down onto the helipad, wind gusting about. A young, female OFFICER -- holding her hat to her head -- rushes to greet Norman, as he climbs out of the helicopter. She looks down crudely at his shotty, nylon dufflebag. OFFICER Any other bags, Dr. Johnson? NORMAN Just that. Careful, it's heavy. She lugs it over her shoulder, no problem. OFFICER No other equipment? Scientific instruments? NORMAN No, they didn't say -- OFFICER This way, sir. Norman follows the officer away from the helipad. INT. SHIP She leads Norman down a flight of stairs. OFFICER Captain Barnes wants to see you right away, sir. NORMAN Captain who? OFFICER Barnes. He's very eager to meet you. Been calling us every half hour to see if you're arrived. NORMAN Really? As they march down a hallway, Norman looks down at his wrinkled suit, tries to smooth it out. OFFICER By the way sir, I've read your report. I think it's brilliant. NORMAN What report? OFFICER You mean they haven't told you yet? NORMAN Told me what? She staightens up, like she might have said too much. OFFICER This way, sir. INT. BARNES' OFFICE CAPTAIN HAROLD BARNES, 60s, immaculate, proud of who he is, talks on the phone. BARNES How's he look?... Well, we can't all be officers, can we? (laughs) They tell me he's brilliant. EXT. BARNES' OFFICE Norman stands in front of the door. The doorplate reads: PROJECT COMMANDER - CAPTAIN HAROLD BARNES. Norman straightens his big-knotted tie. Deep breath. INT. BARNES' OFFICE As the door opens, Barnes is putting down the phone, rises from his desk, as Norman steps inside. BARNES Dr. Norman Johnson. Welcome aboard. They shake hands. NORMAN Thank you, Colonel. BARNES Captain. NORMAN Captain. Right, forgive me. Barnes looks at Norman, sizing him up. An akward silence. NORMAN Well, thanks for the opportuninty here -- my wife appreciates it. BARNES Don't thank me, Dr. Johnson. You weren't my choice. The Pentagon made me take you. NORMAN (smiling) The Pentagon? I didn't know I had friends in Washington. Norman tries to laugh as Barnes ushers him to the door... BARNES Come with me. The team's already waiting. NORMAN What team? INT. HALLWAY Barnes leads Norman down the corridor, lined with OFFICERS and GUARDS. BARNES What have you been told so far? NORMAN The usual. Plane crash. Survivers unknown. Routine stuff really. BARNES Anything else? NORMAN Nothing else. A GUARD unlocks a large, steel door. GUARD Captain Barnes. Dr. Johnson. NORMAN Hello. Norman looks at the guard as they proceed through the doorway, wondering how the guard knows his name. BARNES You talk to any reporters? Any press? NORMAN Press? No, I haven't. The steel door shuts loudly behind them. BARNES Good. Security's been our biggest worry. Now that you're here we can shut this thing down tight. NORMAN From what? What's with all the security? BARNES Well, we don't have all the facts yet. Another GUARD opens up another large steel door... INT. TECH ROOM Barnes leads Norman through the room, crammed with video monitors, screens, and grids. Officers talk into radios. Technicians work on computers. BARNES We're moving fast considering the storm. NORMAN Storm? What storm? BARNES A cyclone's on it's way in. I thought they would have told you on the phone. NORMAN They didn't tell me anything. Norman tries to keep pace... BARNES We've had divers working around the clock. Take a look at this... ANGLE ON a large VIDEO SCREEN - shows a diver walking on the ocean floor, holding a bright artificial flashlight. NORMAN How deep is he? BARNES A thousand feet. NORMAN A thousand? An airplane crashes into a thousand feet of water -- I don't want to sound pessimistic here, but I assume there are no survivors. BARNES Survivors? No, I wouldn't think so. NORMAN Then why am I here? BARNES What? NORMAN What do you need me for? ON THE VIDEO SCREEN - the diver shines his light on a large, metallic OBJECT. BARNES What crashed wasn't an airplane, Dr. Johnson. It's a bit larger than that. Barnes walks toward a TECHNICIAN, sitting at a keyboard. BARNES (to technician) Bring up the grid, would you? ANGLE ON THE MONITOR as an IMAGE OF THE CRAFT begins to form. NORMAN What is it? A military spacecraft? Like a shuttle or satellite? BARNES Something like that. (beat) That doesn't surprise you? NORMAN Not really, no. Something of the military crashes in the ocean -- it explains why there was nothing on the news, why you've kept everything a secret... When did it crash? BARNES As best we can estimate, it crashed four hundred years ago. A beat. NORMAN Four hundred? You're kidding, right? ANGLE ON THE MONITOR - showing a grid depicting an image of the craft and a small layer of ROCK above it. BARNES See this? Coral. Geologists measured the coral growth on top of the craft to be over five meters thick. NORMAN Geologists? BARNES Coral grows at a rate of two and a half centimeters a year -- NORMAN -- Wait a second -- BARNES -- dating the crash at least that old. NORMAN Hold on -- BARNES Maybe older -- NORMAN -- there's got to be some mistake here -- a four hundred year old military spacecraft? There's no such thing...our space program isn't even forty years old. BARNES Extraordinary, isn't it? NORMAN It's impossible. BARNES I'm afraid it is Dr. Johnson... because it's sitting on the bottom of our ocean floor. INT. STAIRWELL Barnes and Norman shuffle down the stairs. BARNES Off the record, I don't mind telling you, this thing scares the shit out of me. NORMAN It doesn't make any sense. BARNES We think it might. That's why we brought you here. We've assembled your team -- they're waiting for us now. NORMAN What team? BARNES The one you recommended. In the ULF report you wrote for the Bush administration. NORMAN ULF report? Nobody's mentioned that in years. You mean someone actually read it? As they head down a hallway, Barnes pulls the ULF REPORT out from under his arm, hands it to Norman. Norman looks at it, almost embarrassed to be holding it. BARNES Your report's become our bible down here, Dr. Johnson. We've been carrying out each of your recommendations -- one by one -- to the smallest detail. NORMAN But sir, I don't understand. This report -- these recommendations... they're for an encounter with extra- terrestrial life. INT. BRIEFING ROOM ON A VIDEO SCREEN - sonar video of the spacecraft. BETH (O.S.) How big is this spacecraft? BARNES (O.S.) Of what we're able to measure, roughly twenty-six hundred feet. TED (O.S.) A half a mile long? BARNES The wing dimension alone is larger that any aircraft we've seen. The team members sit around the conference table: TED FIELDING, 41, geologist, boyish and happy to be here. BETH HALPERIN, 36, biochemist, mother of three who's never worn an apron. ARTHUR LEVINE, 54, marine biologist, pudgy and quiet. HARRY ADAMS, 32, mathamatician, African-American, wire-glasses, no bullshit. HARRY How much damage? BARNES To the craft? None. Not a scratch. HARRY Right. So you're saying it survived a high speed impact with water without a scratch? BARNES I'm not saying anything, Harry, I'm just stating the facts. (continuing) The outer metal is made of a titanium alloy, built into an epoxy- resin honeycomb. The necessary technology to bond this type of metal has never been invented. TED Never invented? ON NORMAN, watching the team... BETH In basic English, what does all this mean? BARNES Basic English? There's no way this spacecraft was constructed on our planet. A LOUD MECHANICAL WHIRR INT. TESTING ROOM - LATER A large, X-Ray APPARATUS moves to the side, revealing Norman's FACE. ON BETH - standing next to him. BETH Five years. No phone calls. What am I -- a leper? Norman sits up... NORMAN Beth, look, can I trust you with a little secret? BETH I love secrets. NORMAN That ULF report everybody's patting me on the back about? BETH I've read it twice, Norman. It's brilliant. NORMAN It's bullshit. The report's a joke. BETH (beat) That's quite a secret. NORMAN I spent a week reading Sagan and watching re-runs of the Twilight Zone. Seriously. I was just trying to pay the mortgage on my house -- I had no idea -- ANGLE ON TWO NAVY CORPSMEN, standing behind glass in the next room, monitoring Beth and Norman. BETH Do yourself a favor, Norman. Are you listening? Don't tell anyone what you just told me. NORMAN C'mon, Beth -- that report's like the blind leading the blind. BETH Because when we get down there -- NORMAN Wait -- down where? BETH To the spacecraft. To investigate. NORMAN Underwater? BETH What do you expect? For them to bring it up here? NORMAN We can't go down there. We're not prepared. That deep? That takes years of training, Beth. We're just scientists. Lab scietists. We wear ties and lab coats to work -- not oxygen tanks. BETH Well, you must have realized the chances an encounter like this would happen here. In the ocean. (off his look) 70 percent of the earth's surface is water, Norman. That's first grade geography. NORMAN It never occurred to me. BETH Well, let's pray that's the only mistake you made. Have you said anything to Barnes about this? NORMAN The timing has never seemed quite right. BETH Just keep your mouth shut, alright? This could mean everything to our careers, you know that? Don't jeopardize this. NORMAN (nervous laughter) What -- are you threatening me? EXT. SHIP - LATE AT NIGHT THE SKY - clouds looming on the horizon. ANGLE ON ARTHUR LEVINE, leaning against the railing, looking out at the water. ON NORMAN, approaching him. Arthur never looks at Norman, he just stares out at the water. ARTHUR I don't know you, but I'll be honest with you. I don't like this. I don't like any of this. Especially, the water. NORMAN Seasick? A marine biologist? ARTHUR I don't belong here. None of us belong here. Look at that. ANGLE ON THE WATER, an ocean of seemingly endless, choppy waves. NORMAN Makes you feel pretty small, doesn't it? ARTHUR It scares the shit out of me. CUT TO: CLOSE ON NORMAN, lying on a cot. It is dark. His eyes are open. He stares at the ceiling. CUT TO: INT. DESCENT PLATFORM A porthole hatch to the DESCENT SUB unlatches loudly. A SUB-OFFICER help Norman lower himself through the hatch. INT. DESCENT SUB Norman steps down the ladder into the sub compartment. Seated in a circle area: Ted, Beth, Harry, and Arthur. Ahead of them, Captain Barnes sits with the pilot in the sub's cockpit, separated by a wall of plexiglass. Norman takes a seat between Beth and Ted. BARNES (O.S.) (through the intercom) Our descent will take 13 minutes. Descending at a speed of 80 feet per minute. Across from Norman, Harry is WHISPERING something quietly into Arthur's ear. BARNES (O.S.) Pressure adjustments will cause the sub to lurch at times, but don't be alarmed. It's perfectly normal... Arthur's face drips with sweat, as Harry continues to whisper into his ear. BARNES (O.S.) The sub's interior atmosphere will experience moisture as we descend, and the temperature will drop rapidly. Just relax and remain seated during the descent. Norman watches Arthur, dripping with sweat. BARNES (O.S.) We have clearing from the base. Red interior lights flicker on in the compartment, and WE HEAR the sub make a HISSING sound. The sub lurches, and begins to lower in the water. NORMAN Arthur? Harry has gotten to Arthur. Arthur is on the verge of panic. NORMAN Arthur? You alright? ARTHUR Open the hatch door, please. Harry continues to whisper in his ear. ARTHUR Captain, open the hatch door, please ...the hatch door, Captain. Open it, please. BARNES (O.S.) Calm down, Dr. Levine. ARTHUR Let me out, Captain. Open the door! BARNES (O.S.) Please, Dr. Levine. Arthur leaps violently out of his seat, scrambles to the plexiglass wall. BARNES (through the plexiglass) Sit down, Dr. Levine! You're in a military operation now -- Arthur bangs on the plexiglass wall with his fists. BARNES ...Your civil rights have been overridden! ARTHUR Open it, Captain! BARNES Dr. Levine, please! Return to your seat! Arthur VOMITS, violently, heaving, splattering the plexiglass wall. ARTHUR Open the fucking door! The sub LURCHES again, coming to a stop. The compartment is totally silent, as they begin ascending to the surface. ON HARRY smiling a sly, evil grin directed right at Norman. The sub lurches again, and WE HEAR clanking metal. The hatch door opens. And Arthur, wiping the vomit from his mouth, climbs up the ladder and out the hatch door. BARNES (O.S.) Anybody else? Silence. The hatch door LOCKS, loudly. The sub lurches, and begins descending. TED Pussy. BETH What's that -- mistake number two, Norman? NORMAN He wasn't feeling well. TED He's a pussy. Harry is still staring at Norman... HARRY How are you feeling, Norman? NORMAN What? HARRY You holding up alright? NORMAN Fine. I'm fine. HARRY Don't be defensive. NORMAN I'm not being defensive. HARRY You sound defensive. NORMAN I'm fine. TED (to Harry) What'd you say to him? HARRY To who? Arthur? Nothing. Nothing that Norman doesn't already know. TED What does Norman already know? HARRY Norman thinks we shouldn't be going down. Thinks it's a mistake. Norman looks over at Beth. HARRY She told me what you said, Norman. TED What is it, Harry? HARRY Just one of Norman's many secrets. ON NORMAN, saying nothing. EXT. OCEAN WE SEE the sub descending into darker waters. EXT. DH-8 HABITAT - ARRIVING DOCK The SUB descends into the AIRLOCK, metal clanks against metal. Around it, the DH-8: interwoven cylinders lit up with lights. INT. AIRLOCK - PRESSURIZING ROOM CLOSE ON THE HATCH DOOR closing tightly, locking. OFFICER (O.S.) One moment for pressurizing. A SOFT WHIRR. ANGLE ON - Barnes and the four remaining team members standing in the small, claustrophobic pressurizing room. Like sardines. Nobody says anything. A long beat. THE DOOR in front of them, opens. TEENY FLETCHER, 30s, a big-boned female officer, stands before them. She wears a black plastic PAD, a "talker", around her neck. She hands each member their own "talker". Norman takes his. INT. DH-8 HALLWAY Fletcher leads Barnes and the team members down the hallway. Each of them wears the "talkers" around their necks. BARNES They pressurize us with helium. NORMAN What's wrong with oxygen? BARNES It's a corrosive gas. On earth, it makes a half-eaten apple turn brown and puts the ugly, iron rust on an Oldsmobile. At a pressure this low, oxygen becomes toxic. Breathe it down here, and it'll do to your dick what it does to the Oldsmobile. TED Important safety tip. Thanks Captain. Fletcher listens through her radio earpiece, turns to Barnes... FLETCHER Captain, the divers have the airlock mounted at the door. The robot is now in position to enter the spacecraft. TED Robot? What robot? INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM CLOSE ON A MONITOR - showing the robot in front of the curved gray metal of the spacecraft. BARNES Edmunds, bring up the robot's camera feed. JANE EDMUNDS, 32, the unit archivist, works the control panel. Another MONITOR clicks on -- showing the robot's POV of the door. TED Captain, you know, I really appreciate you hauling us a thousand feet below sea level so we can watch this historical event on television. BARNES Nobody goes inside, until we know what's inside. ON THE MONITOR - THE ROBOT CAMERA scans the spacecraft hull, stops on a rectangular panel mounted to the left of the door. BARNES Can you open that panel? EDMUNDS Working on it now, sir. ON THE MONITOR - a robotic CLAW extends out to the panel. Trying to pry the panel open. TED I'd like it noted in the report that I think we should be doing this ourselves. Making a manned entry... The claw is clumsy, and keeps banging into the metal. TED I'd also like it noted -- BARNES Duly noted, Ted. Edmunds, try using suction. ON THE MONITOR - another robotic arm extends out, with a rubber sucker. It pushes against the panel, but doesn't suck. EDMUNDS It's not sucking, sir. BARNES Thank you, I can see that. Try something else. EDMUNDS We don't have anything else to try, Sir. BARNES Well, shit -- find something, do something...make something up -- TED What about a crowbar? Barnes straightens up, looks at Ted... BARNES What about a crowbar? TED What if we go out there, you know -- wedge a crowbar in the door and pry the thing open. HARRY Pry the thing open? What are we -- neanderthals? BETH All that banging and pounding. I don't know. We should think about making a good first impression. HARRY For who? The fish? BETH For whoever's in that thing. BARNES Or whatever's in that thing. ON THE MONITOR - the spacecraft, sitting there silently, staring back at them. BARNES Norman, what do you think? Norman, quiet in the corner, perks up... NORMAN Me? Well -- I don't really... I mean, you could...you know, you could make a real solid case...a crowbar? All eyes on Norman. NORMAN I don't know. A beat as they all stare at him. TED I'm secure enough with that. INT. CHANGING ROOM ANGLE ON A LOCKER door opening. Inside is an elaborate JUMPSUIT and HELMET with the name: "JOHNSON", stenciled above the faceplate. NORMAN Are we all -- I mean, is it necessary for all of us to go...out there? The other team members take their suits out of their lockers. BARNES Nothing to be nervous about. These suits are wired and electrically heated. Each equipped with an alarm that triggers automatically if life- support sustems go below optimum. Norman holds his jumpsuit out and away from him, like it's something nuclear. TED It's just like swimming, Norman... You know how to swim, don't you? HARRY You're not afraid of the water, are you, Norman? They all look over at him. BETH (half smiling) Isn't there a psychological term for that, Dr. Johnson? NORMAN (under his breath) Yeah. Drowning. INT. AIRLOCK ROOM - (A CYLINDER) Dressed in jumpsuits and helmets -- Barnes jumps into a POOL of ocean water, cut out from the floor, leading to the ocean. It looks like a tiny swimming pool. Ted jumps in next. Beth, Harry, and Norman are left... BETH You're next, Norman. NORMAN (nervous as hell) No. Go ahead. Really. Ladies first. BETH Such a gentlemen when you're scared shitless. She hops in. Norman watches, looks up at Harry, next to him. HARRY Go ahead. Ladies first. NORMAN No, why don't -- Harry nudges him forward. HARRY C'mon. NORMAN Wait a second, I -- Harry pushes him again. Norman catches himself. NORMAN Geez, c'mon, alright. Gimme a minute. Let me get my bearings -- Harry pushes him again. HARRY C'mon, Norman. NORMAN Look, would you -- And Harry just pushes him in. Norman slips and falls awkwardly...into the ocean depths. CUT TO: BLACK. Quiet. Only THE SOUND OF NORMAN -- BREATHING. For a couple beats. Now...NORMAN'S POV - from inside his helmet -- a light SHINES from behind him -- casting his SHADOW onto the murky ocean floor. Norman's head turns, and he's BLINDED by a light -- it's Harry, the light SHINING from the top of Harry's helmet. WE HEAR Harry's voice, static, through Norman's helmet. HARRY (O.S.) The switch is on your waist. ON NORMAN - his GLOVE -- fumbling at his waist. HIS HELMET LIGHT - FLICKERS on. ON NORMAN - slowly, beginning to walk on the ocean floor. HIS FEET - squashing gently, lightly into the muddy ground. NORMAN'S POV - can barely make out the others in front of him, their helmet lights STROBING the dark water, crossing each other, like searchlights on a foggy night. CLOSE ON NORMAN'S FACE - eyes cold, BREATHING. Couple beats. And HEARS: TED (O.S.) Look at that thing. Norman's eyes look up...WE PULL BACK... LONG, HIGH, WIDE SHOT of the team -- their little helmet lights tiny and insignificant almost as... IN FRONT OF THEM - the SPACECRAFT. Dwarfing them in size, looming large, majestic, like nothing we've ever seen. The enormous tail fin, in the distance, extends high out of the coral. In the huge MOUND OF CORAL covering the spacecraft, WE SEE a tunnel -- cut out like a cave -- lined with tiny, dim lightbulbs. INT. TUNNEL About 60 feet deep. Narrower than they'd like. Norman descends, clumsily, awkwardly -- pushing off the bulky, iron handles fastened to the coral walls. THE LOUD HISSING OF AIR INT. SPACECRAFT AIRLOCK CLOSE ON NORMAN'S FACE as he watches the water recede, down past his faceplate. THE LOUD BANGING OF METAL Ted has wedged a crowbar into the door and BANGS at it with a sledgehammer. HARRY Easy Ted, we're not mining gold. TED Gimme some room here, will you? Back off. Gimme some space. They all back away, cramming into the far corner of the airlock as Ted keeps swinging. BETH Looks alot like an airplane door, doesn't it? Ted stops and looks at the door. TED Alot like. You know, I noticed it before, but I didn't... HARRY Shutup, Ted. You didn't notice shit. Keep hammering. NORMAN You want me to try? TED You're a 53 year old shrink, what are you gonna do? BARNES Give him the hammer, Ted. Norman takes the hammer. Walks up to the wedge. Gets his bearings. Rears back...then stops. TED What is it, your back give out? Something has caught Norman's eye. He looks down at the wedge. BARNES What is it, Norman? NORMAN Take a look. Barnes comes toward him. The others follow. Barnes bends down, looks closely down at the wedge in the door. BARNES It's chipped. HARRY Chipped? The door? How can it be chipped? BARNES I don't know how it can be chipped, but it's chipped. HARRY I thought you said there wasn't any damage done in the crash? BARNES I did. HARRY Then how can it be chipped? ON BETH - she touches the door with her palms, feels around. BETH There's heat coming the door. BARNES Back away then. BETH Wait a minute -- BARNES I said back away. BETH Would you wait a minute? THE DOOR STARTS TO RUMBLE Barnes unstraps a GUN -- nearly the size of an uzzi -- from his buckle. BARNES Ted, get her away from the door. TED What are you going to do -- shoot her? The RUMBLING louder... BARNES Get her away! THE DOOR begins to slide open. Beth backs away. THE DOOR, sliding, is revealing COMPLETE BLACKNESS inside. The door stops, it's open, it's quiet. They all stand there, looking at BLACKNESS. A long beat. INT. SPACECRAFT ON NORMAN - cautiously stepping inside. His helmet light SHINES on the others ahead of him, walking along a 5 foot wide CATWALK, suspended high in the air. Metallic BEAMS and RAFTERS criss-cross above them. Norman looks over the railing -- his light STROBES through 40 feet of darkness, dimly lighting the LOWER HULL, a dense network of STRUTS and GIRDERS. TED Look at this. BARNES What is it? Ted SPOTLIGHTS the OUTER HULL. TED Some sort of lead or something. BARNES Radiation shield, you think? TED A foot and a half thick? That'd withstand a helluva lot of radiation. Beth's light SHINES down onto the CATWALK. WE SEE FOOTPRINTS outlined on the dusty floor. BETH Hold on -- BARNES What is it? BETH Any of you get ahead of me -- walk this far up? TED No. I don't think so. BETH Well, think. Because there's footprints here that aren't mine. TED Well, they're not mine. ON THE FOOTPRINTS - large, like the boots they're wearing. BARNES Calm down, alright? They gotta be somebody's here. Let's stay together, please. CUT TO: LONG SHOT - seeing them suspended high in the air on the catwalk, walking. Their tiny streams of LIGHT moving about. WE SEE just how ominous this spacecraft really is. BETH It's empty. Why would someone build a ship like this? HARRY You'd have to ask them. They approach a DOOR, at the end of the catwalk. BARNES Alright, Beth, do that thing you did before. BETH How about I just press the button? She presses a button near the door. The door SLIDES open. BARNES Or just...press the button. Barnes holds out his gun, and enters. The others behind him. TED Strange, isn't it? You know -- how it would have a button. NORMAN Earth doesn't have a patent on buttons, Ted. TED Still, make a note I recognized that. ON BARNES - leading them through a small hall. It seems to be opening up into some sort of room -- when Barnes stops. Dead in his tracks. TED What's wrong? BARNES (serious) What do you make of this? ON NORMAN - as he steps around Barnes, his light BRIGHTENING on: A SIGN that reads: "Trash." TED (softly) What the hell? Very softly, Harry begins to laugh. TED English? HARRY That's right. Norman looks up and SEES more of the room as his light SHINES throughout it: TABLES, COUCHES and CHAIRS -- made of leather, very comfortable looking. They begin to slowly wander about... BETH I don't get it. TED It doesn't make any sense. HARRY You don't think it does? I think it's rather obvious. TED Is it some sort of joke? Like one of those hoaxes? HARRY A spacecraft half a mile long -- with 500 tonnes of coral on top of it? Someone went to a lot of trouble. Try again. TED But it's impossible. HARRY Is it? Beth touches the table, it's metal, but it's soft and rubbery. TED Why would this ship carry instructions in English? HARRY Think about it. TED Unless, this alien spacecraft was -- you know -- somehow presenting itself to Americans in a way that would make us feel comfortable. NORMAN 400 years ago? I'm sure Christopher Columbus would've loved these accomodations. BETH Good theory, Ted. TED Well, what's your theory? BETH I'm a woman. I don't theorize. I only deal with facts. HARRY All the facts you need are right in front of you. TED Gimme a minute here...I think I've got it. HARRY Do you? TED If it is an alien spacecraft -- HARRY Save your breath. It's not an alien spacecraft. BETH Then what is it? HARRY (beat) It's an American spacecraft. TED An American spacecraft? Half a mile long? And buried 400 years? Yeah, good theory, Harry. HARRY It's been obvious from the start, hasn't it, Captain? That's why all the secrecy, why no one was told about it? BARNES We had considered it. TED Considered what? That it's American? How would you think it's American? HARRY The chip in the door. ON NORMAN - glancing up at Harry... HARRY We take a weeny little wedge, bang on it a couple of times, and bust off a chunk of the metal. Yet any spacecraft -- even at a low velocity, say 200 miles an hour -- crashes into the water -- it's gonna be like hitting concrete, it would crumple like paper. But there isn't a dent to be seen anywhere. Not even a scratch. TED Meaning? HARRY Meaning it didn't land in the water. TED Please. It must have flown here -- HARRY It didn't fly here. It arrived here. TED Arrived? From where? HARRY Not where. When. 400 years ago. From our future. A quiet moment as they take this in. INT. SPACECRAFT - DEEPER INSIDE Ted and Barnes trek through a vast cargo bay, like two ants wlth flashlights. TED Time travel. I always thought it was one of those myths...like Santa's reindeer. BARNES What would we be working on in the future that would make us want to come back? TED Maybe we didn't want to come back. BACK IN - THE ROOM Norman, Harry, and Beth... BETH What are you looking for? HARRY A light switch. A button opened that door -- the craft runs on some sort of power. ON NORMAN - as he sits down in one of the CHAIRS. BETH What's that noise? They LISTEN to a GIRGLING NOISE. NORMAN Sounds a little like water -- SUDDENLY -- the chair Norman's in -- wraps around him, squeezing him inside, padding sliding around his head, his shoulders enveloping him -- sucking him inside... BETH Norman! NORMAN Get this thing off me. Beth bends down, presses a button, the CHAIR releases Norman... BETH I think the chair thinks you want to fly this thing. ON BETH's FACEPLATE - as she's looking down -- WE BEGIN TO SEE -- reflected in her faceplate: yellow digital lettering sputtering across... "RV-LHOOQ...DCOM1..." Her EYES look up slowly...as we CUT TO: THE BLACK SCREEN in front of the chairs, lit up with bright yellow lettering: "RV - LHOOQ - DCOMl - U.S.S STAR VOYAGER" "ASSIMILATING DATABASE" as a series of numbers race upwards in count... And the desk in front of them LIGHTS UP, a control panel coming to life. HARRY Nice work, Norman. NORMAN Whatever I can do to help. ON THE SCREEN as it changes, now filled with columns: SHIP SYSTEMS DATA SYSTEMS QUARTER MASTER FLIGHT RECORDS Harry punches some keys on the control panel. HARRY A flight recorder. Our future is about to be seen in our present. ON THE SCREEN as it changes: FLIGHT DATA SUMMARIES FDS 01/01/47-12/31/49 FDS 01/01/50-12/31/52 FDS 01/01/53-12/31/55 FDS 01/01/56-12/31/56 FDS 01/01/56-02/01/56 FDS 02/02/56-UNKNOWN ENTRY EVENT NORMAN 01-01-47. Two thousand-forty seven. 50 years in our future. HARRY Unknown Entry Event. Harry pauses, looks down, and punches more keys... ON THE SCREEN - as it expands in size, widens around them, curving... WE SEE a galaxy of stars, planets coming OFF THE SCREEN, into the room, becoming three dimensional, suspended in air, giving the illusion of depth. The IMAGE begins streaking outward, TOWARD US, moving rapidly, like we're flying through it. The stars and other space matter streaking by. BETH What's that cluster of stars there? In the center? Harry stares, walking around the desk, moving into the 3-D image... HARRY Our answer. NORMAN To what? HARRY Time travel. A black hole. The CLUSTER of stars grows brighter and brighter, as it comes closer and closer, brightening. The FIELD twists and turns as the SCREEN and FIELD become BLINDING as WE ENTER the cluster, the black hole. ON NORMAN - his face, bright, FRIGHTENED as he HEARS: HARRY (O.S.) Ted? Captain? BARNES (O.S.) Yes, Harry. HARRY (O.S.) We know how this craft got here. Where it's been. BARNES (O.S.) So do we. And it seems to have picked up something on it's travels. STILL ON NORMAN - frightened... NORMAN Picked up something? What is it? BARNES (O.S.) I don't know. But it's something alien. CUT TO: INT. CARGO BAY ANGLE ON our six team members' BOOTS, in the distance. AS WE PAN UP and AROUND WE SEE a curved surface appear: a surface of slowly swirling green and blue fluids. Like mercury. Mesmerizlng. AS WE COME AROUND, the team stands looking at the SPHERE, 30 feet in dlameter, held by a GIANT CLAW gripping it from the top. They walk around it, circling it, looking up at it. HARRY This answers one of our questions. NORMAN Which one? Let me get the list out. HARRY This spacecraft was designed to pick things up. They see things they want -- these claws go out and bring it in. They come across this. This... sphere. Find it interesting, curious. They draw it inside to take back home. NORMAN But on the way home, they miss their turn, go too far, into the past. HARRY Our present. BARNES But what does it do? This...sphere. TED Maybe it's a message of some sort, you know? See this red here. ANGLE ON THE SPHERE - some dark red MARKINGS on it's surface... TED (continuing) Looks like a design, some writing, maybe. Maybe it was sent to meet the spacecraft with a message. HARRY Look closely. That isn't writing. Those are grooves. ON THE RED GROOVES - engraved into the surface. HARRY No. They don't represent a message. They aren't decorative at all. They have another purpose entirely. BARNES What? HARRY To conceal a small break in the surface of the sphere. BARNES A break for what? INT. HABITAT - HALLWAY DOWN A LONG CORRIDOR - WE SEE Barnes, through a half-closed door, pacing, talking on the phone... BARNES ...it's definitely something alien ...another civilization, yes, sir... Well, we don't know yet, but we think we've found a door... INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM Edmunds, Barnes, and the team members (minus Ted) look at the monitor. BARNES So how do we get it open? HARRY Ted seems to have some ideas. ON THE MONITOR - Ted pushing on the SPHERE door. Banging into it with his shoulder. NORMAN Maybe we shouldn't. BARNES What? NORMAN If it is alien, maybe we shouldn't try to open it at all. HARRY (nodding to Norman) Man is man, all he knows is man, and all he can think of is what he knows. The anthropomorphic problem. Good, Norman. BARNES The what? NORMAN I mentioned it in my report. Didn't you read the report? HARRY Everything ever written about extra- terrestial life imagines that life is essentially human. If it doesn't look human, it's a reptile or a big insect or something, having human values, human understanding. BARNES So? What's the problem? HARRY It's nonsense. There's enough difference between our own species to prove that. BETH Take politics, our views on abortion, the death penalty... HARRY Cannibalism, to be extreme. And now we're talking about a new life form. Their values and ethics may be incomprehensible. BARNES Like "Thou shall not kill"? NORMAN Or maybe, it can't be killed. BARNES You mean, what's in that thing is immortal? NORMAN I don't know. That's the point. BARNES Everything can be killed. BETH Not everything. Even on earth. Take ...yeasts. BARNES Yeasts? Thank you, Beth, but I don't think we're gonna open it up and find a loaf of bread. HARRY And we're just talking about three- dimensional creatures. What if it's five or six or seven-dimensional? So dimensional that we couldn't even see it to kill it. NORMAN Good point. I don't know what you're talking about, but good point. BARNES Or it could contain some great benefit to us, some astonishing new idea or technology to help mankind. HARRY It could. But the odds of it being any use to us are against it. BARNES You don't know that. HARRY Let's say whoever made this thing is a thousand years ahead of us, just like we are to, say, medieval Europe. Suppose you went back to medieval Europe with a TV set. There wouldn't be any place to plug it in. BARNES Just tell me worst case. Worst case of what we might find? BETH It could breathe in air and exhale cyanide gas. NORMAN Disrupt our brain waves, interfere with our ability to think. HARRY Produce radioactive waste and disintegrate us into nothing. CUT TO: CLOSE ON PRINTER, TYPING: "Surface winds at 25 knots - Estimated Time of Departure - 01:45 hrs" CUT TO: INT. DH-8 HALLWAY Empty, sterile. WE HEAR the repeating sound: THWAP. Almost like a dripping faucet. THWAP...THWAP... INT. LIVING QUARTERS Harry on his bunk, staring at the wall, flicking his middle finger at his cheek: THWAP...THWAP. HARRY You realize, Norman, that we are all going to die. Norman is lying in his own bunk, below Harry. NORMAN Don't be so optomistic, Harry. HARRY I'm completely serious. There is something very important missing from that spacecraft. You know what that is? NORMAN Not a clue. HARRY A sign that the builders knew time travel through a black hole was possible. NORMAN I don't follow you. HARRY On that flight recorder, they called the black hole an "Unknown Entry Event." They didn't know what a black hole was. Fifty years from now, men are going to build that ship in a very tentative, experimental way, with no knowledge that time travel through a black hole is possible. NORMAN So what? Harry leans his head over his bunk. HARRY So, we know. (beat) We know it went through a black hole. We saw it. Norman -- when we'd get to the surface, we'd tell someone about the black hole, wouldn't we? It'd go in some report like some big discovery. So in fifty years when they build that ship, they'd make precautions for a black hole. (beat) But they didn't. The called it an Unknown Entry Event. NORMAN Meaning we're never gonna get the chance to tell anyone. HARRY Meaning we're never gonna get to the surface alive...to tell anyone. Norman gets out of his bed. NORMAN I can't believe that, Harry. HARRY Gimme another explanation. Norman pacing. NORMAN I can't. If I had a minute to think, maybe, but I know you're wrong. HARRY Am I? NORMAN Look -- we're under a lot of pressure, we're tired, you're not thinking straight. HARRY You mean, you think I'm cracking? NORMAN No. I didn't say that. HARRY Then what, Norman? Norman stops pacing, a beat. NORMAN It's what's in that sphere, isn't it, Harry? Whatever you think is in that thing -- you think it's going to kill you. HARRY Curious, isn't it? What's inside? Before I die, I'd sure like to open it and see. INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM CLOSE ON MONITOR: Video of the sphere. RAPIDLY rewinding. BARNES What caused it? EDMUNDS Nothing. I don't know. Everything was normal. No changes at all. HARRY When did it happen? EDMUNDS Seconds ago. Here! PLAYBACK: WE SEE the sphere -- idle. Nothing around it. Then it's DOOR slowly OPENS, revealing BLACKNESS inside. A beat. And then it closes. BARNES Let me see that again. Edmunds plays it again. This time... WE MOVE IN ON HARRY, staring at the monitor. HARRY (to himself) I'd sure like to open it and see. ON HARRY - those cold, intelligent eyes. CUT TO: CLOSE ON PRINTER, TYPING: "...30 knots - ETD - 00:19 min" CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY CLOSE ON - Norman and Barnes. BARNES Don't get hysterical, Norman. NORMAN I'm telling you, Harry's lost it. He's saying there's a deathwish out for each of us. BARNES Look, the ships are clearing out. They're taking us topside in a matter of minutes. Someone can check him out there, if it's that imprtant. NORMAN All I'm saying is, someone should keep an eye on him. BARNES Just worry about yourself. INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM Barnes on the phone with the surface. Ted talking to him anyway... TED Can I stay, sir? I'm willing to risk it. I am. After what we just witnessed. BARNES (into phone) What? No, I know they're civilians... INT. LIVING QUARTERS ON NORMAN - gathering his things. Stuffing his shotty dufflebag. Beth, at her bunk, doing the same. Norman stands up. Looks at the bunk above him: unpacked clothes, unpacked belongings, a notebook lying there saying: PROPERTY OF DR. HARRY ADAMS. ON NORMAN - panicking, looking around for Harry. CUT TO: BACK IN - COMMUNICATIONS ROOM BARNES (into phone) ...I said send the subs down, damn it! Barnes out the door, Ted at his heels... TED Did you hear me, sir, because -- BARNES Ted, shut up. Are you packed? Ready to go? I want everyone packed. Now! ON NORMAN - running at them... NORMAN Harry's missing. BARNES What do you mean, he's missing? NORMAN He's missing. He's gone. He left. BARNES He's here somewhere. Find him. The sub's on it's way. (they look at him) Go! C'mon! Norman runs off. Barnes storms down the hall... BARNES How can he be missing? TED Sir, about leaving -- BARNES We're on the bottom of the fucking ocean -- he can't just walk outside! INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM Edmunds working the monitors, stops. Seeing something on a screen. Staring in horror... EDMUNDS (to herself) Oh my gosh... INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM Barnes, phone to his ear... BARNES Gimme a report, I want -- HARRY (O.S.) Ladies and Gentlemen... BARNES Who is that? Where's that coming from? HARRY (O.S.) Please watch your closest monitor... Barnes turns... ON HIS MONITOR - Harry, in jumpsuit and helmet, stands in front of the SPHERE. Barnes quickly puts on his headset mic... BARNES What's he doing there? INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM Edmunds, Norman, Beth, Ted staring at the monitor... TED I thought he was with you, Norman. Through the speakers... BARNES (O.S.) Get him out of there. I thought I told you people -- EDMUNDS (into her mic) Harry? Can you copy? ON THE MONITOR - Harry, before the SPHERE... HARRY Pay close attention. I think you will find this of interest. The sphere DOOR slowly opens. TED What the hell is he doing? Harry steps up and into the sphere. The door closes slowly behind him. CUT TO: PRINTER, TYPING: "...ETD - 00:15 min" CUT TO: INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM Norman with Barnes... BARNES Don't tell me I told you so, Norman, because I don't want to hear it. (yelling past him) Ted, I want everything by the door -- ready to go! INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM ON MONITOR - labled: "SUB DESCENT" -- it's still. EDMUNDS (into mic) Subs are still at surface, sir. INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM BARNES (into phone) Send them, damn it! I know, but I'm not gonna be held responsible -- Norman with him... NORMAN You can't just leave Harry down here, sir. BARNES I told you people, nobody goes anywhere unless I say. NORMAN But sir -- BARNES No "buts". If he wants to be left, we'll leave him. (into phone) Hello? Yes, the subs -- I want a report... Hello... Yes, a report. Gimme...shit. EDMUNDS (O.S.) I'm getting no sub reading, sir. BARNES They're coming. CUT TO: PRINTER, TYPING: "...ETD - 00:13 min" CUT TO: INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM ON NORMAN - staring at the monitor of the sphere, idle. BARNES (O.S.) Any sign of Harry? EDMUNDS Nothing, sir. INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM BARNES Fuck him. (into phone) What? Hello? INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM ON MONITOR - labeled "SUB DESCENT"... EDMUNDS Sir, I am still getting absolutely no reading on sub movement... CUT TO: PRINTER, TYPING: "...ETD - 00:11 min" CUT TO: INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM BARNES (into phone) Yes, a report... Hello? Beth, inside now... BETH I am not leaving without him. Do you hear me? We come down as a team, we leave as a team. BARNES What are you -- his mother? Get Norman, I want everyone ready to go. (into mic) Edmunds, the subs? EDMUNDS (O.S.) Nothing, sir. BARNES What the hell is going on here? INT. CORRIDOR Beth rushes by Ted, carrying bags to the door... BETH Norman? Where's Norman? TED By the bunks. INT. LIVING QUARTERS Beth running in... BETH Norman?...Norman? Can't see him anywhere. INTO THE BATHROOMS BETH Norman! INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM BARNES Edmunds, do you have a 20 on Norman? EDMUNDS (O.S.) Yes, sir. BARNES Well, where the fuck is he? EDMUNDS (O.S.) In the ship, sir. Barnes spins to see the monitor... BARNES What? ON MONITOR - Norman, in jumpsuit and helmet, running through the ship. Barnes slipping on headset mic... BARNES Norman? Norman! INT. SPACECRAFT Norman running across a catwalk... BARNES (O.S.) You get your ass back here. You have no authority whatsoever to be in there. You hear me?... Norman? Don't go hero on me now. CUT TO: PRINTER, TYPING: "...ETD - 00:05 min EVACUATION IMMINENT" INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM EDMUNDS Sir, if the subs haven't left by now... BARNES (O.S.) They've left, keep watching! EDMUNDS Sir! Sir, the door -- it's opening. ON THE MONITOR - the sphere door, slowly opening. Revealing: BLACKNESS. BARNES (O.S.) Where is he? Damn it! Can you see him? A still moment and then Harry tumbles out the sphere, and falls to the ground. INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM Barnes, squinting at Harry on his monitor. BARNES (O.S.) How does he look? Can you tell? Harry lies motionless. EDMUNDS (O.S.) He looks...dead, sir. ON BETH - in the hall, hearing that. INT. SPACECRAFT Norman, running, blindly, through a hall, around corners... BARNES (O.S.) Norman, get out of there now! Norman? INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM EDMUNDS If the subs aren't here yet, sir -- INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM Barnes, into his headset. BARNES They'll be here. Norman -- can you hear me?... INT. SPACECRAFT ON NORMAN - running... BARNES (O.S.) You don't have time! Get the hell out of -- Barnes' voice goes static, and cuts out. INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM ON THE MONITOR - flickering, losing power... EDMUNDS Sir, we're losing it. ON THE MONITOR - flickering, fading, and all the lights and monitors SHUT DOWN. INT. SPACECRAFT ON HARRY - lying still, face down under the sphere. Goes to him. Checks Harry's LIFE SUPPORT BADGE. Still blinking -- he's still alive. Norman, pauses, looks up, staring at... THE SPHERE Mesmerizing. He can see himself, reflected in the swirling mass, staring back at himself. The door begins to open, closes. Begins to open. INT. CORRIDOR Dark. Ted, Beth, and Barnes wander throughout. TED What the hell happened? The lights flicker back on. BARNES They switched us over. TED To what? BARNES Internal power. BETH What for? CUT TO: THE OCEAN FLOOR - a cable falling from the surface, coiling around and around. CUT TO: ANGLE ON their dufflebags piled in the corner by the door. They've been left behind. INT. HABITAT HALLWAY - LATER LOOKING DOWN A LONG CORRIDOR - it's quiet. WE PEEK inside the cafeteria... BARNES (O.S.) The surface ships will be back. After the storm clears. BETH (O.S.) How long will that be? INT. CAFETERIA Barnes speaks to the team (minus Harry and Norman)... BARNES They told me about sixty hours. BETH Two and a half days? TED How long can we last down here? EDMUNDS Comfortably? Seventy-two hours. BETH Comfortably -- what's that mean -- with oxygen? CUT TO: INT. LIVING QUARTERS CLOSE ON HARRY'S FACE Harry lies on his bunk. He begins to slowly awake. WE BEGIN TO HEAR A SCRATCHING NOISE, like nails on a chalkboard. It gets LOUDER as Harry comes to. He puts his fingers to his temples. Norman stands beside, him writing in his notebook. HARRY What is that? That noise? NORMAN What noise? HARRY It's like... ANGLE ON Norman's pen - as he stops writing, the NOISE stops. Harry sighs. Norman looks down at his pen. NORMAN Harry, can you tell me about the sphere? HARRY What are you still doing here? NORMAN You remember opening the door? HARRY You were all supposed to leave. You weren't supposed to stay down here. NORMAN Tell me about the door. Do you remember how you opened the door to the sphere?...Harry? HARRY You don't understand about the sphere. NORMAN Then explain it to me. Harry pauses, staring almost like a frightened little boy. HARRY Norman? NORMAN What is it, Harry? HARRY What happens on page 87? Have you ever read page 87? NORMAN Page 87 of what, Harry? HARRY I could never read that far. I never wanted to. NORMAN That far in what, Harry? Harry doesn't say anything. Norman waiting... HARRY You shouldn't be here, Norman. It's too dangerous for you and the others to be down here. INT. BATHROOM/SHOWER FACILITIES Beth comes out from behind a vinyl shower curtain. A towel wrapped around her. BARNES (O.S.) Beth -- I wanted to have a word with you... Barnes washes his hands at the sink, looking at her in the mirror in front of him. BARNES Back at the door -- I asked you to back away. BETH Yeah. I heard you. BARNES There are procedures, Beth, that I want followed. My procedures. And considering what's going on, I want you to follow them very closely. BETH (a beat) Forgive me. I've never read the Navy manual. I wonder what it says about bathroom and shower procedures. He walks to the door, then turns. BARNES And Beth, one other thing. I'd like from now on for you to address me as Captain or sir in front of the men. INT. HABITAT HALLWAY A LONG CORRIDOR - LOOKING into the cafeteria... INT. CAFETERIA Harry is eating at a table, seems more relaxed. The team members around him, eating too. Beth, cold. Harry sprinkles salt on the dish of food in the middle. TED Hey, go easy on the salt, will ya? We're not a bunch of icy streets here. HARRY Salt's good for you, Ted. Helps you from getting impotent. TED Impotent? I'm not impotent. NORMAN (off food) These aren't half bad, Fletcher. You might have a second career coming. HARRY What are they? FLETCHER Squid... Harry stops mid-chew. Frightened. FLETCHER ...there was a whole flock of them out there earlier. It's strange. It's dead down here, and then all of a sudden -- Harry drops his fork. He begins COUGHING. HACKING. CHOKING loudly. GAGGING. He HACKS out the squid from his mouth... CUT TO: INT. HABITAT CORRIDOR A long, empty corridor. All is quiet. CUT TO: CLOSE ON A MONITOR -- a series of numbers: 00032125262632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 06180 82132 2903305 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 4298756 08301632125262632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 06 82132 2903305 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 4268756 08301632125262632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 06 82132 2903305 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 0830164 NORMAN When did it come across? EDMUNDS Minutes ago. Harry's trying to decode it in his room now. NORMAN Where's it coming from? EDMUNDS No idea. We have no surface support. It transmitted too fast to be coming from underwater. NORMAN Is it coming from our own computer? EDMUNDS Harry thinks it's some sort of discharge from our own system, but I've seen it discharge before -- and it didn't look anything like this. EXT. HABITAT - UNDERWATER SWARMS of pretty, pink JELLYFISH. Everywhere. FROM UNDER THE HABITAT - Fletcher swims up to them with a net. It's beautiful. Eerie. Almost idyllic. INT. LIVING QUARTERS Harry, on his bunk with decoding papers in his hands, turns to Norman, entering the room. NORMAN Getting anywhere with those? HARRY There's some sort of pattern here. It'll take a minute. NORMAN Have you looked outside? Jellyfish. Everywhere. I hate jellyfish. (sits on the table) Harry, what happened in the cafeteria? HARRY Don't do this. Don't psychoanalyze me. I hate squid. Period. Just like you hate jellyfish. NORMAN You said something to me, before -- about how we were all going to die. HARRY Did I? NORMAN You don't remember that? HARRY I don't remember much. It's like my memory is on the tip of my tongue -- but I can't taste any of it. Funny, my senses are much keener though. Purer. Hearing, seeing, smelling. Like, I can smell your sheets, Norman. You tried to wash it out earlier, But I can still smell the urine. (beat) Don't worry, I'm not going to tell the others. It's normal, really, isn't it? In a crisis. The stress. The panic. INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM Beth, Ted, and Barnes watch... ON A MONITOR - Fletcher outside, with the jellyfish. BARNES (into the mic) Fletcher? What are you doing out there? FLETCHER (O.S.) They're like pink snow, sir. Sticky. TED She says jellyfish are a delicacy. You know, I never knew that. BARNES Get out of there. I don't want anyone going anywhere outside, understood? FLETCHER (O.S.) They're warm. I can feel the heat on my legs. BARNES Fletcher, I want you back here. CUT TO: BACK IN - LIVING QUARTERS Norman sitting on the table... NORMAN What happened to you inside that sphere, Harry? A long beat. Harry becomes concerned... HARRY Why? Does someone else want to go inside? CUT TO: INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM ON THE MONITOR - Fletcher, the jellyfish clinging to her facemask, her suit... FLETCHER (O.S.) I can't see, they're smearing the faceplate. My arms...the fabric... Fletcher's suit tears... BARNES Fletcher, get away from there... FLETCHER (O.S.) It's burning... BARNES Get out of there! FLETCHER (O.S.) I can't see... BARNES Fletcher! Now! FLETCHER (O.S.) I can't... ON BETH - bolting out of the room. Barnes turning to her... BARNES Nobody move. BETH But she's -- BARNES Nobody move! FLETCHER (O.S.) They're eating through... Somebody -- CUT TO: ON FLETCHER - UNDERWATER -- jellyfish eating into her plastic faceplate...she's COUGHING, GASPING. INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM They watch... ON THE MONITOR - Her body twisting, contorting. Her suit, ripping apart. SCREAMING. She convulses. Her body falling. HER HORRIFYING SCREAM FADING INTO... INT. DECONTAMINATION LAB CLOSE ON - Fletcher's face. Cold, dead. Eyes open. Jellyfish rooted in her skin. CUT TO: INT. LABRATORY CLOSE ON A MICROSCOPIC IMAGE of a jellyfish. ON NORMAN - in the corner of the lab, inspecting a MEDICAL KIT. NORMAN What is this, Beth? You taking valium? Beth, looking into the microscope. BETH Sedatives. Whatever my mood calls for. Norman picks up a book, next to the kit: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. NORMAN Where'd this come from? BETH The library. NORMAN We have a library? BETH A bad one. It was the only book in there. Norman, come here, look at this. NORMAN No, thank you. I hate jellyfish. Walking toward her... NORMAN ...when I was six, my younger brother and I -- we went swimming in the Pacific. At my mother's beach house. We both felt stinging, and when we came out of the water, he was wearing jellyfish head to toe. Killed him. BETH My gosh, Norman. NORMAN Yeah, it was awful. BETH What about you? What happened to you? NORMAN Me? Well, I was wrapped in seaweed. It itched for a while, but I survived. (beat) Beth, do you find it...curious that we're seeing all this life down here. Nothing, and then these enormous flocks of squid. Then jellyfish? BETH Normally, I'd say no. Everything's quiet now -- no ships, no divers, no electricity. Makes sense. But what's curious is -- these aren't normal jellyfish. NORMAN What do you mean -- not normal? BETH They have six tentacles. A new species. And the squid too. They had no stomach. NORMAN Wait a minute. BETH What? NORMAN You knew about the squid not being normal. Before Fletcher went out there? BETH Yeah, why? NORMAN And you didn't tell anyone? Beth, nervous... BETH What? Why... NORMAN Beth -- BETH I mean, I'm not...I wasn't absolutely sure if...they -- NORMAN They are or they aren't. Which is it? BETH What?... Wait. Don't...why are you -- NORMAN Beth. BETH Nobody said...Norman... What? Why are you looking at me like that? NORMAN Beth -- She backs away from Norman, knocking off a speciman jar, it SHATTERS on the floor. She starts breaking down. Norman watching her, falling to the ground, picking up the glass, hurriedly... BETH I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't mean... NORMAN Beth. She's crying, glass in her hands. She looks up at Norman, frightened, nervous... BETH You wouldn't go and tell the others, would you? Norman hesitates, goes to her, tries to hold her, but she pushes him away. BETH I hate this place, Norman. I want out. CUT TO: INT. HABITAT - HALLWAY LOOKING DOWN - at the room where Barnes was on the phone earlier. He stands there now, hand on the knob. CLOSES it shut. CUT TO: INT. ROOM Barnes sits, Norman in front of him, worked up... NORMAN I'm not paranoid. I know Beth. She can be drastic. BARNES How drastic? NORMAN You don't want to know. BARNES I think I do. NORMAN A while back, Beth and I -- we worked at the same university. She was assisting a chemist there -- I forget his name -- doing research, experiments. She was also living with him. (off Barnes' look) Yeah, I know. And when she finished her work, he kicked her out, broke off the relationship, and published five papers -- all her work -- without any thank you or acknowledgement. BARNES She should've known better. NORMAN She put a razor to her wrists a day later. BARNES (a beat) When was this? NORMAN '81, I think. She tried again five years ago. (beat) I thought you should know. BARNES So you knew this when you wrote your report? NORMAN At the time, I don't know, I thought putting her on the list -- it might help her career -- catch her a break. BARNES You knowingly recommended a woman with suicidal tendencies for a government operation -- NORMAN Wait a second -- BARNES -- and then brought her down here -- NORMAN -- I didn't know it would come to this -- BARNES -- without a cautionary word to anyone. (beat) You know, Ted said something to me earlier. I think he's right. He said, "When you got a guy who -- if he wasn't here -- he'd be standing in the unemployment line, you gotta question if you got the right guy." ON NORMAN - sweating. CUT TO: ON THE MONITOR - a series of numbers: 00032125262632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 06180 82132 2903305 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 083106 21 1822 0330313130432 00032125262632 032629 301321 0 4261037 18 3016 0618082132 2903305 1822 04261013 08 30162137 1604 08301621 1822 0330313130432 000321252 62632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 0618082132 290 3305 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 083016 21 1822 03 30313130432 00032125262632 032629 301321 04261037 1 8 3016 0618082132 2903305 1822 04261013 0830162137 HARRY It's the same as before, but the spacing's different now. It's definitely nonrandom. See... Harry sitting at the monitor, shows Ted, Barnes, Norman, and Edmunds a PRINTOUT of the screan -- indicating a pattern. HARRY It's a single sequence repeated over and over. BARNES We're all very proud of you, Harry, but what the hell is it? TED Maybe it's a message? EDMUNDS From what? TED The sphere. Maybe the sphere -- EDMUNDS We're not hooked up to the sphere. HARRY Well, if it's a discharge -- TED It's not a discharge. Right, Edmunds? You said before, right? So it's gotta be a message. BARNES From the sphere? TED What's inside the sphere. HARRY If it is a message, it's probably a substitution code. I'll work on it. TED Yeah, I'll work on it, too. BARNES (to Ted, flat) You do that. INT. BATHROOM/SHOWER AREA Ted, nervous, anxious -- with five or six printouts in his hand -- has Norman's ear in front of the sink... TED He's manic, Norman. You know that? This reliance on Harry is misplaced. You hear me? Totally misplaced. He's overlooking things. Obvious things. NORMAN Like what? Ted hands him a printout... TED It's not some fucking substitution code, it's a direct visual representation. NORMAN You mean a picture? TED Take a look. I rearranged the numbers. Put 'em up to the light. (Norman does) Go ahead. Squint at it. NORMAN I don't see anything. TED Squint harder. NORMAN Please, Ted. TED (hands him another printout) Try this one. NORMAN This is like nursery school. TED Don't you see it? It's a picture of the creature. NORMAN The creature? TED Inside the sphere. Look, that's the vertical torso, three legs, two arms. There's no head, so I'm guessing the creature's head is located within the torso itself, you know? ON NORMAN - Ted's lost it. NORMAN Well, how about we wait and see what Harry comes up with? TED Sure, why not. Give him the trophy. That pretentious son of a bitch. You heard him, Norman. All that "someone went to a lot of trouble, try again" bullshit. And "impotent". Where does he get off saying I'm impotent? He's a fucking self-righteous, little prick. CUT TO: CLOSE ON MONITOR - spirals now. HARRY ...I asked myself, why would the sphere be using a code? If you're trying to communicate, why use a code? TED (to Norman) See? No code. What'd I say? HARRY Codes are for hiding information. So it's making a mistake. It's making a code without intending to. I figured it's probably substituting numbers for letters... Then I began to wonder what an alien intelligence would make of our keyboard. And since we're getting spirals, I imagined the keyboard as a spiral. So I translated it... NORMAN That's brilliant. Ted grimaces at Norman. HARRY ...spiralling out of the center, you see: "G" is one, "B" is two, "H" is three, and so on...when I got the message. BARNES What's the message? HARRY I have to tell you. It's strange. BARNES How do you mean, strange? Harry picks up his yellow pad of paper and reads: HARRY "Hello. How are you? I am fine. What is your name? My name is Jerry." CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY Barnes walks briskly down the hall, Norman with him... BARNES He translated it wrong. "My name is Jerry"? It's like "See Spot run." NORMAN The message doesn't show a lack of intelligence. It's smart. It's approaching us in a simple way. Like you would a dog. Holding out your hand, letting it sniff, get used to you. BARNES What am I -- a dog, now? Barnes ducks his head into the Video Feed room... BARNES Edmunds, get in here. I need you for this. EDMUNDS In a minute, sir. BACK IN COMMUNICATIONS ROOM - Barnes storming through the room, the others (minus Edmunds) around the monitor. BARNES I want a name. A real name. This thing's full name, rank and serial number. TED Captain, I personally feel we should ask much more substantive questions -- BARNES I am not gonna explain in some damn report that one person died in a deepsat expedition so we could meet an alien named Jerry. HARRY (on the keyboard, typing) First, we have to see if he'll talk at all. ON THE MONITOR - "0032125252632" The monitor BLINKS, reply: "0032125252632" HARRY Okay, Jerry's talking. Harry types -- "0002921 301321 0613182108142232" TED What'd you say? HARRY "We are friends". BARNES Cut the friends crap, get a name. "004212232" HARRY "Yes". Good. Now let's see if it'll switch over to English letters. "0032125252632 = Hello" Reply: "0032125252632 = Hello" BARNES It's not talking, it's mimicking. TED Give him a chance. He's speaking our language, not the other way around. HARRY (typing) Good idea, Ted. TED (confused) Thank you. "0032125252632 = Hello. Hello = 0032125252632" No reply. BARNES What's he doing? Reply: "Hello = 0032125252632. 0032125252632 = Hello." BARNES Ignorant. The thing's ignorant. HARRY It's not ignorant. TED Maybe it's pretending to be ignorant. Harry types "===" Reply: ",,," Harry types "=,=" Reply: "7 & 7" BARNES Are you enjoying yourself, Harry, because I don't know what the hell you're doing. HARRY He understands me fine. Harry types: "Yes" Reply: "0004212232" Harry types: "Hello" A long beat. Reply: "I am delighted to make your acquaintance. The pleasure is entirely mine I assure you." They stare, stunned, at the screen. NORMAN Well, he's polite. TED Unless it's an act. BETH Why should it be an act? "Are you the entity HECHO in Mexico?" BARNES Mexico? Where'd he get Mexico? "Are you the entity made in the U.S.A.?" TED He doesn't wait for an answer. BETH Who says it's a he? BARNES Not now, Beth. Please. I want to know who we're talking to before we start talking. Where's Edmunds? HARRY She's not gonna know, sir. TED (to Harry) Ask him. C'mon. Say something. Harry types: "We are. Who are you?" Reply: "We are" BARNES Hell's that mean? "We are" what? Harry types: "We are the entities from the U.S.A. Who are you?" "Entities = entity?" TED We have to teach him plurals? Harry: "No" "You are a many entity?" "No. We are many separate entities." "I understand. Is there one control entity?" BARNES What? HARRY He's saying, "Take me to your leader." He wants to know who's in charge. BARNES I'm in charge. "Yes. The control entity is Captain Harald Barnes" BARNES With an "o". Harold with an "o". HARRY What -- you want me to retype it? Harry: "Who are you?" "I am one" "Where are you from?" "I am here" "Where is the location from where you began?" TED "From where you began?" That's not even good English. "I am from AWARENESS" BARNES What is that, a planet? "Where is AWARENESS?" "AWARENESS is" "Did you make a journey?" "Yes. Did you make a journey?" "Yes" "I make a journey. You make a journey. We make a journey together. I am Happy." BARNES Great, okay. Ask him about his weapons. NORMAN That's smart. Let's talk about guns and violence. BARNES You don't think weapons are important? NORMAN I think we should be careful. Consider his emotional response. TED You want to put him on your couch, Norman. Grill him about his childhood? NORMAN When he uses a phrase like "I am Happy", I think we should think twice about what we ask him. "Do Not Be Afraid" The all stare at the screen, stunned. NORMAN Jerry, can you understand what we're saying? "Every word" Norman walks up to the screen, close to it. NORMAN Jerry, can you read our minds? "Yes Norman" Barnes goes to the intercom... BARNES Edmunds, I want you in here. Now. Norman focuses on the screen, staring. ON THE SCREEN - blank. Norman concentrating, on the screen. THE SCREEN - blank. NORMAN Jerry, are you there? "Yes, Norman" BARNES We shouldn't talk here. Shut it off. "I do not wish to Intrude" NORMAN We would like to talk alone. "I do not agree. That is not possible. I enjoy to talk with you." NORMAN And we enjoy talking with you. "Let us talk now" NORMAN We'd like to talk with you more. We admire your talents and your great power and understanding. "Thank you" NORMAN And in your great understanding, you know that we are entities who must talk in private -- with each other. "Do Not Be Afraid" NORMAN We're not afraid, we are uncomfortable. "Am I offended you?" NORMAN Not at all, we enjoy you very much, but we need to talk alone, without you listening. "I shall oblige" NORMAN Thank you. "But I am Not Happy" NORMAN Jerry?... "We'll be Right Back after a short break for these Messages from our Sponsor" NORMAN Jerry? Are you still there? SCREEN - blank. NORMAN Jerry? SCREEN - blank. BARNES (into intercom) Edmunds? Get in here. I want to know exactly how this is being transmitted. HARRY She's not gonna know. BARNES She wired this system. HARRY If the technology of that sphere is advanced enough -- the way it functions is gonna appear to us like magic. ON TED AND NORMAN - TED Don't gimme that psychology bullshit, Norman. Psychology isn't a science, it's superstition. It's a bunch of soft, subjective theories without any hard data to back it up. With an intellect like this, emotions don't mean shit. ON HARRY AND BARNES - HARRY It's like showing Leonardo da Vinci a laptop computer. He'd run screaming "witchcraft". And you couldn't explain it to him, either. Modems, microchips, particle physics. BARNES (into intercom) Edmunds? ON TED AND NORMAN - TED Don't make stuff up, these emotional theories, just so you can feel important here. NORMAN Frankly, Ted, I'd be much happier if Jerry was just a cold, emotionless intellect. TED Why's that? BARNES (into intercom) Edmunds? NORMAN Because if Jerry is powerful and also emotional... BARNES Damn it, Edmunds? NORMAN ...it raises a very serious question: What happens if Jerry gets mad? INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM BARNES (O.S.) Edmunds? Can you copy? An empty chair. Edmunds is not here. WE HEAR a repeating THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. BARNES (O.S.) Edmunds? ON A MONITOR - WE SEE her body, wedged in a light stand bracket, floating in the water, lifeless. Her helmet THUMPING against the wall of the habitat. INT. UNDERWATER - OUTSIDE THE HABITAT Norman and Beth, in jumpsuits and helmets, walk out from under the habitat. Still HEARING the THUMPING. They pause, looking around. BETH Coast is clear. They go to the south end of the habitat. The THUMPING louder. Norman climbs up the grid-like STANCHION, the support beam holding up the habitat. The BODY above him -- flapping in the current. THUMPING against the wall. He climbs, reaching the body. A BOOT swings, catches the LOOP in his air hose. BUBBLES shoot out. BETH Norman, your suit -- it's leaking. The BOOT comes off in Norman's hand -- and the NAKED FOOT, gray flesh, purple toenails, KICKS his faceplate. Startles him. BETH Norman. Look at this. ON EDMUNDS' SUIT - a long TEAR in the fabric, revealing red, mangled FLESH. Droplets of BLOOD float past Norman's faceplate. BETH Her flesh has been macerated. Chewed. I've never seen a bite like this before. Norman pulls her body out. Edmunds' FACEPLATE whips around -- and Norman SEES her staring eyes, mouth open in horror. NORMAN I can't feel her bones. She's like a sponge. BETH She was crushed. Feel her skin -- it's like sandpaper. NORMAN What could have done this? WE HEAR A SENSOR: PONG. PONG. PONG. INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM Barnes at the monitors, Ted with him. PONG. PONG. PONG. TED What is that? BARNES The sensors are picking up something outside. TED What? Barnes flips a switch... BARNES It won't register. It's too big to image. TED Too big? EXT. UNDERWATER WHITE EGGS, the size of golf balls descend from above. Hundreds of them. Beth catches one, inspects it... BETH Norman. NORMAN What are they? BETH Eggs. From inside their helmets... BARNES (O.S.) You people need to hurry back. The sensors have activated. I don't think you're alone out there. INT. CORRIDOR Ted walks with Norman and Beth... NORMAN What was it? TED Barnes didn't know. Couldn't get a reading. NORMAN Has Harry spoken with Jerry? TED Not that I know of. Why? INT. COMMUNICATIONS ROOM Norman and Ted at the console... NORMAN Jerry? No reply. NORMAN Jerry, are you there? No reply. TED You think Jerry has something to do with what killed Edmunds? With what's out there? NORMAN I'm not sure. INT. LABRATORY CLOSE ON AN EGG Beth, scalpel in hand, is making an incision into the shell. BETH Looking at the coating here, it's definitely marine invertebrate. Barnes, Norman, Harry and Ted stand around the table. BARNES Well, until we know exactly what it is, nobody goes outside, understood? TED What was Edmunds doing outside? BARNES Resetting the sub. TED What sub? BARNES In the dome hanger. All our tapes are transferred to the sub. It's on a 12 hour timer. If someone doesn't reset the "delay" button, the sub ascends to the surface with the tapes. NORMAN What for? BARNES If something should happen to us, the Navy will at least have partial records of what happened. NORMAN At least our obituaries will be accurate. That's reassuring. ON THE EGG - splitting open. A slimy pinkish-brown FLUID oozes out. A FETUS underneath. They cover their mouths from the smell. BARNES What is it? Beth picks at it with forceps... BETH I'm not sure. I've never seen anything like it. BARNES You're a fucking biochemist, aren't you? Can't you tell us something. Beth glares at Barnes... INT. CLOSET AREA - DARK Beth, holding a piece of paper in her hand, pulls Norman inside, pressing on him... BETH ...He lied to us. He left us down here. NORMAN C'mon, Beth. Don't make this personal. He told me himself they were taking us back. BETH Yeah, he told you. Think. What was Barnes doing before they cut that cable loose? He was on the phone. Except that cable is a thousand feet long, Norman. They would've broken off communication with us four, five minutes before they cleared out. NORMAN So what? BETH So who was Barnes talking to at the last minute? Nobody. NORMAN You're jumping to conclusions, Beth. Don't get worked up -- BETH Fuck you, Norman! It's right here... She shows him the printout in her hand, putting a flashlight on the words, reads... BETH "Although advised of risks, all personnel elect to remain down for duration of storm to continue investigation of alien sphere and associated spacecraft. Signed, Barnes, USN." NORMAN Where did you get this? BETH In Edmunds' things. NORMAN You went through Edmunds' things? BETH He's not just a Navy captain -- he works for the fucking Pentagon. NORMAN Calm down, Beth. Alright? BETH Don't tell me to calm down! NORMAN It's done, alright? It's over! And there's not a damn thing we can do about it now, okay? He turns to leave... BETH You said something to him, didn't you? NORMAN What? BETH You told him about me? ON NORMAN - pausing, staring at her... NORMAN Beth -- BETH You did, didn't you? NORMAN Don't do this. BETH You bastard. NORMAN Beth, I didn't. Hold it together. Alright? She looks at him, piercing into his eyes... BETH Yeah, okay. Sure, Norman. NORMAN Beth -- BETH No, I should stay calm. Like you say. Right, Norman? Stay calm. Norman looks at her, concerned, knowing she doesn't believe him... BETH Fletcher and Edmunds are dead, Norman. And the only one we can trust to run this place is a fucking liar. CUT TO: INT. CONTROL ROOM ON THE OXYGEN REGULATOR - bobbing up and down -- keeping track of the little that's left. CUT TO: INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM Barnes, Norman, Beth, and Ted are gathered around the monitors. Barnes addresses Norman... BARNES I don't want you talking to Jerry. NORMAN But sir, I think it's imperative. I think the messages, the animals we've seen, what killed Edmunds, the reading you got earlier -- I think they're all related. TED Jerry isn't hostile, Norman. He said earlier -- we were his friends -- NORMAN Of course he did. He's been isloated for 400 years. He wants someone to talk to. Look, you put a human being in isolation for four days, they can become neurotic, sometimes psychotic. We're talking about 400 years here. An alien that shows emotional responses. I think we need to address him, before he reacts further. BARNES You think he killed Edmunds? NORMAN Yes, I do. Whatever's out there, I think is his response to us refusing to talk to him earlier. BARNES Bullshit. What's out there isn't alien. It's an animal. NORMAN Maybe so. But I think we need to ask Jerry about it. BARNES No. I think we should shut down the communication lines inside the habitat. He might be listening now. BETH I think he already is. They turn to the monitors: ON THE MONITOR: "DO NOT IGNORE ME" BETH Nice work, Captain sir. BARNES Shut up, Beth. I don't want to hear it. NORMAN Jerry, we don't want to ignore you. "Don't underestimate my power" NORMAN We don't. "Yes you do" NORMAN Jerry -- THE MONITOR blinks back -- WE SEE the sphere. It is closed. Still. WE HEAR the SENSOR: PONG. PONG. PONG. CUT TO: INT. LABRATORY Harry, alone, stares at THE FETUS on the table. CUT TO: INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM ON THE SONAR IMPULSE MONITOR - lines jumping higher. PONG. PONG. PONG. Barnes, Norman, Beth, and Ted watching it. NORMAN Jerry? No response. NORMAN Jerry? The MONITOR flashes: "I'm Not Listening" -- blinks back. AN OUTSIDE CAMERA FEED - infra-red -- a large IMAGE streaks by. BARNES Direction's east coming! BETH What was that? Barnes flips a switch... BARNES Going active. NORMAN Jerry? No response. BETH It looked like a tentacle. Of a squid. THE MONITORS - BEEPING now. BARNES A squid? The size of a whale? I don't think so. (beat) Target acquired. Sixty yards. PONG. PONG. PONG. BETH What if it attacks? BARNES Fifty yards and closing. BETH What do we use for defense? BARNES We're a habitat. Not a castle. The only defense we have is High Voltage. BETH High Voltage? BARNES It sends 200 volts throughout the cylinder surface. But we've never used it underwater before. PONG. PONG. PONG. BARNES Forty yards. BETH But you've tested it? BARNES Sure. Each time it started fires inside the habitat. PONG. PONG. PONG. BARNES Thirty yards. BETH What are you saying -- we can't stop what's out there? THE MONITORS blink: "I AM COMING". The monitor blinks to BLANK. BARNES What the hell? (bangs on the monitors) It shut us down. NORMAN Jerry? Please. Stop this. BARNES Ted, go into the control room. Listen for my instructions. Ted goes out the door. ALL THE MONITORS - blank. BETH Where is it? BARNES Why can't I -- ? What the hell is going on here? They HEAR a metallic CLANKING. BETH What was that? BARNES He's right beneath us. THE MONITORS blink: "I AM HERE". CUT TO: INT. LABRATORY Harry looking at the FETUS on the table. It suddenly SLIDES down the table. The room is rocked. ON SHELVES - Jars, petry dishes, test tubes SLIDE off shattering to the floor. INT. CORRIDOR BANG! TED is thrown ruthlessly against the wall. His HEAD striking metal, splitting open his forehead. THE WALLS - CRACKING and GROANING. WATER breaks through a crack, spreading out onto the floor. INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM Barnes... BARNES Ted? Ted? INT. CONTROL ROOM Ted, stumbles, reaches for the headset... TED Sir, we're leaking! Blood dripping from his forehead. INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM BARNES Increase positive pressure! BETH That's our reserve air. BARNES It's either that or we grow gills. BANG! They grip onto the console... INT. CONTROL ROOM Ted, drousy, BLOOD gushing from his head, keeping balance, searches for the PRESSURE GAGE. BARNES (O.S.) Ted? Ted, are you with me? Finds the GAGE. Turns it. TED Increasing positive pressure. EXT. HABITAT - UNDERWATER AIR BUBBLES burst out of the walls. INT. CORRIDOR ON THE FLOOR - the WATER scurrying back through the leaks in the wall. INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM Barnes, watching the monitors. BARNES That's enough Ted. (beat) Shut it off! INT. CONTROL RROM THE PRESSURE GAGE - the needle RISING... ON THE HEADSET - in the air, dangling from it's cord. BARNES (O.S.) Ted? Ted! ON TED - passed out on the floor. Blood covering his face. INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM Beth and Norman BOLT out the door INTO THE HALLWAY Running. BANG! They're thrown against the wall. INT. CONTROL ROOM THE PRESSURE GAUGE - rising, higher, higher. INT. CORRIDOR THUMP! Norman and Beth, losing their balance, stumbling to their feet, running... ON TED - SLIDING out of the Control Room, down the corridor, taken by the water. Beth grabs him, as Norman stumbles INTO THE CONTROL ROOM finds the PRESSURE GAGE, shuts it off. INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM BANG! Barnes grips his headset as he's thrown to the floor. BARNES Norman! Norman can you hear me? INT. CONTROL ROOM Norman grabs the headset, slips it on... NORMAN Yes, sir. I'm here. BARNES (O.S.) You see the lever on the green box? Upper right hand corner? Norman sees it, reads it: NORMAN High Voltage Defense System. ON BETH - in the hall, tending to Ted, looks up at Norman. INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM BARNES You see the lever next to it? INT. CONTROL ROOM/CORRIDOR Beth yelling... BETH Don't do it, Norman! BARNES (O.S.) Do you see it? ON NORMA