The Essential Ellison Part 72

76 thru 80 SERIES OF LAP-DISSOLVES-SAME ANGLES AS SCENES 68-75

They are slumped in different positions, occasionally one or theother of them will be up, pacing back and forth, but all the whilethey're discussing, discussing, carrying on one of the GreatConversations. We HEAR OVER the bits and pieces, snippets ands.n.a.t.c.hes of the conversation. But the LAP-DISSOLVES ARE SMOOTH andindicate a great pa.s.sage of time. NOTE: these s.n.a.t.c.hes of talk needin no way be integrated with the action; it is all part of the flow.

SHAKESPEAREBut surely you can't use Nietzsche to sh.o.r.e up thatcontention!

FLINTTielhard de Chardin maintains...

SHAKESPEARERegional chauvinism may be at the root of all wars ofexpansion...

FLINTAquinas said, "Human law does not bind a man in conscience;and if it conflicts with the higher law, human law should notbe obeyed."

And finally we

DISSOLVE THRU TO:.

81 MEDIUM 2-SHOT-FLINT & SHAKESPEARE.

The Bard looks weary. So does Flint. Shakespeare sighs and his handsmove in a gesture of finality.

SHAKESPEAREHave we been talking days, months, years? Time has turned todust for us, Derek.

FLINTI can't recall a more pleasant conversation, Bill.

SHAKESPEAREUnfortunately, for both of us, I've tried every intellectualapproach possible, but nothing prevails against yourineluctable logic.

FLINTI'm flattered.

SHAKESPEAREI must confess, Derek, you are a certain wonder! I suspect youcould outfox the devil on a reservation in h.e.l.l. Marvelous!Absolutely marvelous! And never once did you have to resort toreductio ab absurdum or deus ex machina.

(beat)Sadly, you've won this round of tilting. Soon, I'll bereturned to mist and you...well, we have to move along. MissGriffen has asked me to a.s.sist her in the next phase of your,er, treatment, and I hope the "theme" I've developed amusesyou.

FLINTYou could do no less than amaze me, sir.

SHAKESPEAREYou 're a gentleman, Derek. To the final pulse.

(beat)Every great and creative brainwash has a theme, I find. I'veselected Great Literary Moments for yours.

FLINTAppropriate.

SHAKESPEAREGoodbye, Derek. It's been a delight, a sheer delight.

(beat)G.o.dspeed.

And The Bard wavers, s.h.i.+mmers, vanishes, as SPECIAL EFFECTSSUPERIMPOSE, once again, the perspective room with its twin chairs and converging black lines, SUPERIMPOSITION PHASES OVER fr and om ro the om t Gunsmiths' o lab we lab. And as the LAP DISSO LVE TO:.

82 MATCH-CUT ON FLINT-CLOSE.

So we see him sitting, and for a moment can think he is still inthat Saarinen chair. Then CAMERA PULLS BACK to show us he is sittingin a chair-like machine. Now let us talk about the machine for amoment. This is a terror machine, folks. That means it mustn't looklike something out of a 1942 Republic serial of "Spy Smasher Vs. TheScorpion," one of those bulls. .h.i.t James Bond pseudo-gimcrack items.It should be something simple but horrible, the kind of thing thatcalls up gut memories of the death machines we have come to know andlove, like: the electric chair, the guillotine, thegibbet...something simple and direct like a knife or a bomb. Theyare uncomplicated and hardly designed for comfort. If you canconjure that feeling, you'll have it. The sort of machine thatmerely being shackled into (like the Salem stocks) causes a heartattack. Think of an electro-shock therapy tank, with a rubber sheetand electrodes. Shudder a little!

Barmeier runs the machine, which we see as CAMERA PULLS BACK fromFlint, also revealing Calista and the 1st V.P. She leans down andkisses Flint on the mouth.

CALISTAStill with us?

FLINTWhat inning is it?

CALISTABottom of the ninth, Derek.

Barmeier moves in beside her. He seems anxious to tell Flint what'sabout to happen to him.

DR. BARMEIERAre you familiar with Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four," thenovel?

(no response from Flint, the Herr Doktor goes on)In the book the enlightened government tries to break WinstonSmith, to get him to divulge the information they want...

Calista is stroking Flint's face with languid fingertips.

DR. BARMEIER (CONT'D.)They know that everyone has some deep, hidden fear, somespecial thing that lies in the darkest buried corner of themind. They find out what it is, and they put it in what theycall Room 101, and they take Winston Smith there, and threatenhim with it, and he breaks, because he could stand up to anytorture they might devise...everything but whatever it was hefeared most. And they tell him there are many Room 101's, eachone holding a different supreme terror, each one especiallyfor a specific person.

CALISTAThis machine will let us tap into your thalamus, Derek.

She strokes his forehead, runs her hand through his hair.

CALISTA (CONT'D.)In there we'll find out what lies behind the door to your Room

101. It's a terrible way to break a man, darling, that's whyI've saved it for the last... but you leave me noalternatives.

(beat)(with a little fear)We must unlock you, Derek.

She nods to Barmeier, who returns to the controls and throws aknife-switch. The connections are made as a spark leaps a gap...andFlint jerks as current goes through him. Pain! Barmeier watches,turns a graduated k.n.o.b and the power increases, Flint jerks moreviolently, then faints as FRAME IRISES CLOSED TO A PINPOINT OFLIGHT.

OPEN FRAME AS WE CUT TO:.

83 thru 90 SERIES OF IRIS-IN & IRIS-OUT DISSOLVES THROUGH

A. Pinpoint of light irises open to frame Flint, stretched out likea human sacrifice on a pallet of sticks and twigs. He is againnaked, though shadows from the limbo set conceal portions of hisbody, highlighting his face. Suddenly, the twigs begin to flame upin one area, then in another, then another. THROUGH FLAMES CAMERACOMES IN on Flint's terrified face as he screams and we HEAR theVOICE of the CHAIRMAN, metallic, ominous: CHAIRMAN O.S.Flint fears death by fire.

IRIS CLOSE andIRIS OPEN TO B. Flint, in another limbo, backed against a brick wall, with wallson either side and the front open to the darkness. CAMERA ZOOMS INon his eyes as the SOUND of RATS grows louder and louder. In thelimbo darkness we see thousands of pairs of demonic, glowing eyes,as of a plague of rats, coming for him, the SOUND of their clawssc.r.a.ping on brick. PULL BACK to show Flint cowering against thewall, whimpering, as a rat drops from the wall, onto his shoulder and he screams. The scream fades into silence as we HEAR the Chairman again: CHAIRMAN O.S.

Flint fears attack by rats.

IRIS CLOSE andIRIS OPEN TO C. Flint, in another limbo, stretched out as though spread-eagled,on a giant spiderweb. CAMERA CLOSE ON HIS FACE as his eyes suddenlyflick down and widen in horror and CAMERA SWISH-PANS to spiders,dozens of hairy terrors, scuttling up the web, crawling over hisnaked leg and we HEAR FLINT SCREAM O.S. as the Chairman's voicecomes again, triumphantly: CHAIRMAN O.S.

Spiders!

IRIS CLOSE andIRIS OPEN TO D. Flint, lying in an open grave in limbo as dirt begins to crumbleoff the edges of the mounds surrounding the grave, as it begins to tumble in on him and he thrashes, helpless, and we HEAR the Chairman: CHAIRMAN O.S.

Buried alive!

IRIS CLOSE andIRIS OPEN TO E. Flint on the edge of a great precipice, looking down into a chasmthat plummets forever. Suddenly hurtling forward into s.p.a.ce andfalling, falling, falling.

CHAIRMAN O.S.Fear of heights!

IRIS CLOSE andIRIS OPEN TO F. Flint, tied down and his head held in place by a leather collar,in a circle of light within a limbo set. From Flint's POV, lookingup, we see two incredibly sharp needles descending out of thedarkness, heading for his eyes. Light sparkles off them as Flintshrieks and writhes and we HEAR the Chairman: CHAIRMAN O.S.He's terrified of needles. That's enough. Now...

(beat)Use the psychedelics and put him through those fears...he'lltalk...

Down...down...come the needles and the CAMERA HOLDS on a scintillaof light sparkling off one of them as we IRIS CLOSE andGO TO BLACK.

91 OUT OF BLACK-MEDIUM SHOT-INT. LAB.

as the black frame becomes the back of the 1st V.P. as he walks awayfrom CAMERA, revealing the Gunsmiths' lab, with Flint still in thedemon chair, and around the room Barmeier, Calista and theBlacksuits, slumped in despair.

1st V.P.

(furious)There'll be a review of your handling of this matter, Griffen,you can count on that! We have stockholders to account to!

DR. BARMEIER(wearily) I put him through every terror his unconscious told us hefeared. Every one, under maximum intensity. And still he won'ttalk.

CALISTAI don't understand it. His mind told us what terrified him!

Flint raises his head. A bit groggy, coming out from under thedrugs, a little thick at first, then stronger.

FLINTIn the spirit of Great Literary Moments...there's an old UncleRemus story where Brer Rabbit tells Brer Fox to do anything tohim but not to throw him in the briar patch. So Brer Foxthrows him in...and he gets away.

There is a LOUD BURST OF STATIC from the speaker grille on the walland the voice of the Chairman comes through angrily.

CHAIRMANIt's clear none of you can cope with this man. I'll take overfrom here.

(beat)Mr. Flint, I think it's time to put you on ice...a kind oftickler file...

(beat)Do you know Chekhov's story, "The Bet"?

FLINTDo you mind if I stretch my legs?

CHAIRMANUntie him. But watch him.

DR. BARMEIERHe's too weak from the drugs to worry about.

CHAIRMAN.

Watch him!One of the Blacksuits comes over and releases Flint from the terrorchair. Flint gets up, as everyone tenses. He walks around, stretches.h.i.+s body, regains his composure.

92 WITH FLINT.

as he walks to the wall where the speaker grille is set. He standsnear it and stares up.

FLINTRead any good books lately, Chairman?

CHAIRMANChekhov, Mr. Flint. "The Bet." Do you know it?

FLINTTwo men make a wager. One bets the other he isn't self-sufficient enough to stay alone in a room for twenty-five years without speaking to another human being. If he can, hewins a large sum of money.

CHAIRMANThe loneliness does strange things to him, Mr. Flint. Hechokes on the imprisonment, then he hallucinates, almostdriven insane.

FLINTAh, but the way it ends...!