THE HEAVY METAL MOVIE - Final Draft -
SCREENPLAY BY Dan Goldberg and Len Blum July 18, 1980
FADE UP ON A WHEATFIELD A beautiful field of wheat glistens in the morning sun. As the camera skims overtop, titles start to roll. Ahead of us an odd-looking service van comes into view, sputtering along a dirt road. Getting closer, we can see the driver, a thin, bookish man with a neat mustache. This is AUSTIN GRIMALDI. The truck pulls up to a strange Victorian house in the middle of the wheatfield. The house has several futuristic radar devices on the roof that rotate constantly. AUSTIN gets out, opens the van's rear doors, and pulls out two large metal boxes. CUT TO THE ATTIC WINDOW The curtains part ever so slightly, and a pair of eyes peer down. CUT BACK TO THE VAN AUSTIN shuts the van's rear doors, and carries the two metal boxes into the house. The titles stop rolling as we; CUT TO INSIDE THE HOUSE AUSTIN is reading a schematic diagram as he sits in front of the exposed chassis of a complicated futuristic electronic contraption, twice his size. There are strange tools all over the floor. Putting down the diagram, he opens one of the metal cases and takes out a sophisticated-looking glass sphere with electronic receptacles mounted in the sides. He places this sphere in a space in the middle of the contraption, clamps it down, and plugs some wires into the globe's receptacles. Then he opens the second box. Inside is a glowing green ball. Using a pair of special tongs, AUSTIN carefully lifts the ball out, and inserts it into an opening at the base of the machine, in the back. As soon as the ball is inside, the machine hums to life. The glass sphere sparkles, and a holographic picture of a green planet in space appears inside it. AUSTIN (looking at the holograph) Hmmmm .... He takes a strange tool, and moves out of frame to make an adjustment underneath the machine. Suddenly a wire comes loose from the sphere and begins to spark. AUSTIN (seeing sparks) Uh - oh .... As the camera pulls closer to the holograph screen, the green planet begins to silently shake. CUT TO SPACE With an explosion that rocks the universe, a huge chunk rips out of the green planet and shoots off into space, leaving thousands of glowing particles in its wake. CUT BACK TO AUSTIN Not noticing the silent image on the holograph, he quickly repairs the sparkling connection and returns to his other adjustments. CUT TO A FOREST From the forest floor we see the green planetoid fly overhead, dropping balls. We watch as it moves away and disappears beyond a far-off mountain range. The forest rumbles as the planetoid crashes in the distance. The camera then pans over to a forest patch, where a beautiful girl approaches, picking mushrooms. CUT TO A GREEN BALL NEAR HER FEET An ominous note is struck as the girl notices the glowing ball, and is drawn to it. Picking the sphere up, she looks at it. Something inside her warns her of its danger, but, unable to resist, she puts it in her basket and continues on. DISSOLVE TO THE GATES OF KRAAN Night falls over this futuristic chromoid city as the beautiful girl passes through the glass gates and heads home. CUT TO THE GIRL'S BEDROOM The girl yawns and gets into bed as the camera pans over to her basket in the corner. Through its side, the green ball begins to glow brightly. Getting closer, we see a slimy silk-like webbing ooze out of the ball and move towards the sleeping girl, pulling the green ball behind it. The ball starts to glow and pulse as the webbing begins to surround the girl, like a cocoon. Slowly the camera pans up the wall, and moves out through the window, and beyond the city gates, rising higher and higher. CUT TO THE OUTLANDS Flying quickly overtop futuristic villages, the camera heads further and further out into the less civilized sectors, where the rusting pipelines and crumbling utility stations of a past civilization have been overgrown by scrub-bush and weeds. The camera zooms across this strange landscape toward the distant mountains where the huge planetoid fell. Finally, from high above the foothills, we begin to come down. In the hills below us, hundreds of blue humanoid barbarians are moving along, mesmerized, toward a pulsing green glow high in the mountaintops. Suddenly the mountains begin to rumble. CUT TO THE LINE OF BARBARIANS At the front of the line, the largest barbarian - obviously their leader - stops and points. CUT TO THE MOUNTAINS A strange, green, foamy liquid comes pouring down the mountains toward the barbarians. CUT TO THE LINE OF BARBARIANS The barbarians stand frozen as the foam washes over them and keeps on going. One by one, their eyes turn green and they start to change, becoming hairier, uglier, and stronger. As their transformations are complete, the barbarians gather behind their leader into an ever-growing mob of murderous looking sub-humans. DISSOLVE TO THE GATES OF KRAAN A frightened Kraanian councillor spurs his horse forward through the beautiful glass gates, as in the distance we hear the sound of ten thousand approaching footsteps. The camera pans to a hillside overlooking Kraan. In the glow of sunset, the outline of the BARBARIAN LEADER, riding a black war-horse, appears at the hillside and stops. Then with a thundering of footsteps, the outline of five thousand barbarians comes into view behind him, filling the horizon. CUT TO THE BARBARIAN LEADER He is now wearing a strange medallion around his neck as, wild- eyed, he screams to signal the attack. The bloodthirsty horde charges down the hill behind him. The camera moves with the barbarians as they crash through the gates of the city, destroying everything in their path. Smoke and flames are everywhere. Ahead of us, terrified Kraanians run from the onslaught. As we track up over the burning rooftops, we see the BARBARIAN LEADER riding his war-horse in the streets below. Shouting a command, he waves his men on as they move toward an impressive doomed building in the middle of the city. CUT TO THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS At the far end of this huge glass hall, the Kraanian Council sits around a marble table. From outside, we hear the battle raging. Pulling closer we can hear the worried voices of the Council members. COUNCILMAN #3 They're killing everyone. We must escape! COUNCILMAN #2 The city is burning! COUNCILMAN #4 (throwing a parchment before the Elder) Even the mountains glow green and an evil slime oozes down! COUNCILMAN #1 Elder, we must arm ourselves! We must fight! ELDER Silence! Everyone gets quiet. Looking at the parchment thrown before him, the ancient, withered ELDER rises to his feet. ELDER We are not a race of warriors. We are statesmen, and scientists. From our very beginning it was ordained that the warrior-race of Taarak the Defender would aid us in times of need. This was the Pact! COUNCILMAN #1 Taarak the Defender? His race is dead! They cannot defend anyone! COUNCILMAN #2 Some say that the race is not dead - that one still lives. COUNCILMAN #1 One? What good is one? ELDER One of Taarak's blood can do much. Outside, the sounds of battle grow louder. A boy appears at the doorway. BOY Elder! They are at the walls! COUNCILMAN #3 Well who is this last Defender? How can he be summoned? ELDER It is Taarna, of the blood of Taarak the Defender - the last of the race. And must be summoned as my forefathers summoned Taarak himself - from within! COUNCILMAN #2 But will this Defender answer? ELDER A Taarakian has no choice. They must answer. It is in their blood. The clattering of armour becomes audible. BOY They are in the halls! They are coming!! ELDER (calmly to the boy) Bar the door. (to the Councilmen) We will summon the Defender together. The Councilmen nod. ELDER (shutting eyes) Taarna ... Taarna ... As the Councilmen take up the chant; CUT TO THE DOOR As the boy begins to bar the door, it bursts open, flinging him aside. Standing in the doorway, surrounded by his men, is the BARBARIAN LEADER. With a laugh, he raises a Medieval-looking multiple cross-bow and fires a burst of arrows into the boy's chest, as the crazed troops rush in around him. The chanting continues as we; CUT TO THE OUTLANDS We look down over this uncivilized wilderness with only decaying pipelines and the occasional jagged rock structure breaking the barren uniformity of the land. As the Council's distant chanting fades out, all is quiet. Suddenly from behind us, we hear the sound of flapping wings and a huge rush of air. Just above our heads, TAARNA THE DEFENDER comes flying in, sitting proudly in the saddle of a giant crimson bird. CUT TO TAARNA'S FACE She is beautiful, with dark eyes and wild red hair blowing behind her in the wind. Below her, on the ground, she sees a humanoid running in terror, chased by an ugly, four-legged mutant creature. Spurring her bird forward, TAARNA sweeps down over the ugly beast and lassoes it. She then hoists the creature up into the air and, tossing her end of the rope over a tall jagged rock, she leaves the snarling beast hanging helplessly. Flying down to the grateful humanoid, she dismounts. As she approaches we see that he has a barbarian medallion on a chain around his neck. HUMANOID I owe you my life. Let me repay you ... He takes off his medallion and places it around her neck. Suddenly he twists the chain tight in his hand, pulling her towards him. His eyes change to a bright green as he forces her to the ground and starts ripping at her clothes. As he molests her, TAARNA is distracted. She hears something - voices inside her, chanting her name. Quickly she grabs the chain and rips it apart. Then she powerfully smashes both her hands together around her attacker's ears. As he holds his ringing ears, she gets up, lifts him above her head, and hurls him mercilessly to the ground. Still hearing the chanting, she jumps on her bird, pulls out a second rope, and lassoes the barbarian's feet. She then lifts him up and leaves him hanging from the tall, jagged rock, next to the growling creature. As TAARNA flies off, the hanging beast eyes the barbarian hungrily. CUT TO AUSTIN GRIMALDI He is still sitting on the floor, working on his machine. As the camera pulls closer, we see that AUSTIN is reaching deep inside the machineworks, trying to solder a small orange diode in place with an odd-style soldering iron. The connection breaks, and the diode and some hot solder fall deeper into the machine and start smoking and sputtering. As the smoke grows thicker, the machine starts to buzz loudly. AUSTIN Dammit! AUSTIN pulls his face out of the smoking chassis, grabs a pair of needlenose pliers, and reaches back to retrieve the part. The camera follows AUSTIN'S arm into the chassis, where smoke surrounds it and clouds over everything. The buzzing sound grows, and changes into the sound of powerful, throbbing engines. Slowly the smoke begins to clear as we hear a voice crackling over a radiophone. BOMBARDIER (V.O.) Where the hell are we? Suddenly the smoke dissipates and a formation of B-17 bombers come tearing out into the moonlit night. CUT TO THE GROUND BELOW The sound of jungle night creatures fills the air. We see palm trees silhouetted against the moon bright sky. The scene is almost serene. The camera pans and suddenly the nose of a large parked bomber fills the screen, and as the camera continues panning, we pass a large red rising sun on the bomber's fuselage. The pan stops at the tail of the aircraft, and we see a Japanese soldier - a guard. There is a moment of tranquillity, as jungle sounds fill the air. The soldier almost dozes ... suddenly the cacophony of sound stops, and for a brief moment there is complete silence ... then with an agonizing wail an air raid siren shatters the silence and the guard looks skyward, startled. Instantly all hell breaks loose as we hear pounding feet. Silhouetted figures rush by. CUT TO A GUN EMPLACEMENT Japanese soldiers crank the barrel of an anti-aircraft gun skyward. We begin to hear the sound of approaching engines. CUT TO CLOSEUP OF A SHELL It is thrust into a breech. CUT TO THE B-17 FORMATION As the bombers press on, the camera moves in to the lead aircraft. In the moonlight we see her name, "Pacific Pearl". CUT TO INT. - THE "PACIFIC PEARL" NAVIGATOR We're there Stepek, right on target ... Rabual dead ahead! Suddenly a cacophony of explosions split the air as anti-aircraft shells explode ahead of the aircraft, lighting the inside with electric blue flashes. BOMBARDIER Gee! Thanks for telling me, Holden. I thought it was Cleveland. CUT TO THE GROUND Ackack guns blast shells skyward. The gun blasts light up the palm tree background, causing momentary silhouettes. CUT TO THE BOMBARDIER BOMBARDIER For Christ sake, hold her steady! CUT TO THE BELLYGUNNER He can be seen from outside the plane as the shell flashes light up his turret. BELLYGUNNER Quit yer bitching Stepek, just drop 'em and let's get outta here! CUT BACK TO THE BOMBARDIER BOMBARDIER Keep your shirts on guys, tonight I'm gonna hit something. (he settles over the bomb sight) Left two degrees ... steady ... steady ... CUT TO THE BELLYGUNNER The flak is severe, with electric blue flashes lighting up the fuselage interior. BELLYGUNNER Hey kid, how ya doing back there? CUT TO THE TAILGUNNER Tailgunner momentarily lit with a shell burst, he's scared shitless. He looks nervously back behind the aircraft at the flak puffs behind the tail. TAILGUNNER Gulp, ah ... I'm ah ... okay ... I think. PILOT (V.O.) Button it up, we're almost there. CUT TO THE BOMBARDIER He is crouched over his bomb-sights, concentrating. NAVIGATOR (V.O.) C'mon Stepek, there's the whole island of Rabaul down there, you can't miss! BOMBARDIER Screw you ... CUT TO THE PILOT'S COMPARTMENT Suddenly a shell explodes almost on the windshield and the pilot rears back with the blast. The right windshield is shattered. PILOT We took a hit ... The co-pilot sags forward, held back only by his shoulder straps. His eyes stare. Blood runs from under his helmet. We know he is dead. PILOT Shit. Elkhorn just bought it. BELLYGUNNER (V.O.) We took one back here too. C'mon Stepek, blast 'em! CUT TO THE BOMBARDIER BOMBARDIER (hand on the release button) Steady ... steady ... bombs away! Let's get the hell outta here! CUT TO THE GROUND We hear the shriek of descending bombs. The explosions walk across the airfield, and in the light of the explosions we see devastation. The last bomb hits a fuel dump, causing an enormous ball of fire. BOMBARDIER (V.O.) Yahoo! Bullseye! CUT BACK TO THE PACIFIC PEARL PILOT (exhilarated) Nice shooting Stepek, how are the rest of you guys? FLIGHT ENGINEER (V.O.) Flight Engineer okay. RADIO OPERATOR (V.O.) Radio okay. NAVIGATOR (V.O.) Navigator check. BELLYGUNNER (V.O.) Belly okay. TAILGUNNER (V.O.) Ah ... tail okay ... There is abrupt silence. PILOT Bellson ... Lewis? Still silence, no reply from either name. PILOT Kid, check the waist positions, see if they're okay. CUT TO THE TAILGUNNER TAILGUNNER Yeah ... will do, skipper. TAILGUNNER crosses himself, then exits back into the body of the machine. CUT TO THE PILOT PILOT (wearily) Let's go home. We hear jumbled comments from all positions. Everyone is happy. CREW (V.O.) Cheers and whoops. The mood of high spirits is stopped abruptly as the tailgunner reports back. TAILGUNNER (V.O.) Skipper, Bellson and Lewis are both dead. This is the first time the kid's voice is not scared, just puzzled. PILOT Dammit! BOMBARDIER (V.O.) Well kid, now you got a real bombing mission under your belt. CUT TO THE BOMBARDIER He removes his oxygen mask and takes a long swig from a bottle. CUT TO EXT. - THE "PACIFIC PEARL" She rejoins the rest of the group. The formation is not quite as tight as before. As the formation flies along, puffs of cloud pass by, occasionally obscuring a machine. CUT TO LOW VIEW OF THE "PACIFIC PEARL" Under the "Pacific Pearl's" belly, we see the bellygunner suspended in his small glass pod. A red glow brightens up as he drags on a cigar. The rest of the formation are visible stretched to the side and behind as puffs of cloud waft past. We begin to feel as if the weather might be changing. CUT TO THE NOSE OF THE "PACIFIC PEARL" The BOMBARDIER is relaxing inside as he swigs from the bottle and sings raucously. From the front we look in on the pilot with the dead co-pilot sagging in his seat next to him. BELLYGUNNER (V.O.) Sorry about Elkhorn, skip. What happened? PILOT I dunno. The shell exploded and he collapsed. I think he took it in the head. BELLYGUNNER (V.O.) Are ya sure he's dead, Skipper? PILOT He's dead. BOMBARDIER (sings drunkenly) Oh I put my finger in a woodpecker's hole and the woodpecker said God bless my soul; take it out, take it out, take it out, remove it ... TAILGUNNER (bolder) Hey Stepek, just shut up, okay? BOMBARDIER Up yours kid, wassa matter, you don't like my voice? While all this banter has been going on the cloud has been thickening. Suddenly a serious voice cuts in on the small talk. It's the NAVIGATOR. NAVIGATOR (V.O.) Something's wrong! CUT TO THE NAVIGATOR He is frantically tapping the compass. PILOT (V.O.) You got a problem, Holden? BOMBARDIER (V.O.) Naw, the kid's the one with the problem. He don't like my voice! PILOT (V.O.) Button it up Stepek. What's the problem, Holden? NAVIGATOR I must have a malfunction, my compass says we're heading north! CUT TO PILOT He looks at his compass. PILOT Mine says east. NAVIGATOR (V.O.) Hey, can you guys see the rest of the squadron? BELLYGUNNER (V.O.) Negative, there's too much cloud. A sudden flash of lightning illuminates the whole inside of the plane. CUT TO THE COCKPIT The dead co-pilot's pale face is momentarily electric blue, lit by the lightning flash. We pan past him to the compass in the instrument panel. It is spinning madly. PILOT What the hell ... He reaches forward to tap the compass. PILOT Hey Holden, now my compass has gone crazy. It's spinning like a son of a bitch! NAVIGATOR (V.O.) Mine too, we must have hit a magnetic field or something !! CUT TO OUTSIDE THE PLANE We see a dull glow coming from all crew positions from the on-board lights. Suddenly a curtain of rain lashes the machine. PILOT (V.O.) Christ, now they're all doing it!! CUT TO THE INSTRUMENT PANEL All the dials are going haywire. Above the instrument panel we see the windshield is spattered with rain. BOMBARDIER (V.O.) You guys quit talking business? I'm trying to sing here! Oh I put my finger in a woodpecker's ... PILOT (irritably) Can it Stepek, we got real problems. Just then through the rain, a strange green glow is seen in the distance. It begins to curve toward the aircraft. CUT TO OUTSIDE THE PLANE - NEAR BELLY TURRET The turret swings as the gunner spots the glow. BELLYGUNNER Jesus! Look at that!! From under the starboard wing, we see the object approaching. PILOT (V.O.) Look at what ... look at what!!? BELLYGUNNER It's out there, just look at it ... PILOT (V.O.) For Christ sake, give us a position! BELLYGUNNER It's about four o'clock, just below ... Holy Shit, it's coming right at us! The glow suddenly zooms at the plane with great speed and hits the starboard inner engine. CUT TO PILOT'S POV He has to push the dead co-pilot back to peer out the broken starboard window ... the number three prop is bent and windmilling wildly. It has a strange green luminescence about it ... the whole machine shakes. PILOT Damn. The PILOT tries to fly the plane and do the co-pilot's job of feathering the bad engine. Suddenly it's too late as the prop wobbles loose and cartwheels over the wing. CUT TO OUTSIDE THE PLANE The prop flies back and slices a great gash in the aircraft's skin, near the TAILGUNNER'S position. CUT TO THE PILOT PILOT We lost the goddamned prop ... Did it do any damage? Kid, check the tail. Silence. PILOT Come in kid ... kid are you okay? Silence. PILOT Travis; go check the back. BELLYGUNNER (V.O.) Will do, skipper. CUT TO INSIDE HATCH TRAVIS' turret opens and TRAVIS pulls himself up into the fuselage. CUT TO THE PILOT The gauges are now settled except for the oil pressure to No. 2 engine. The pressure drops. The engine heat gauge climbs rapidly. A red warning light begins to flash. PILOT (to himself) Goddamn it, now what? He glances out of his window just in time to see a strange, claw-like feeler coming out of the engine casing. It detaches one of the cooling gills, then another, and another. They blow away in the slipstream. PILOT Gremlins! (rubbing his eyes) Jesus, I must be getting tired. CUT TO THE BELLYGUNNER He looks in to the kid's reargun compartment. All that is left of him is a tattered skeleton. TRAVIS turns, horror frozen on his face. Quick as a flash, from seemingly nowhere, something flies at him and grabs his throat. The mask on his face falls off, and we get a split second look of abject horror as he falls out of frame. PILOT (V.O.) Travis, what's goin' on back there? CUT TO TRAVIS His eyes are open but he is obviously dead. Through his helmet headphone, we hear his name. CUT TO THE PILOT PILOT Holden, how far to base? NAVIGATOR (V.O.) Skip, with everything screwed up here, I'd, I'd guess about two hundred miles. All the time the engine pops and bangs wildly. PILOT For Christ's sake, find us a place I can put her down! CUT TO THE NAVIGATOR NAVIGATOR It's all ocean down there, skip! CUT TO THE PILOT PILOT Mack, can you get us a radio fix? CUT TO THE RADIO OPERATOR RADIO OPERATOR Negative skip, too much interference. CUT TO THE PILOT He is fighting the controls. PILOT Shit! I've gotta put her down! CUT TO THE BOMBARDIER BOMBARDIER Hey Holden ... ya old stuff shirt ... ya wanna snort? PILOT (V.O.) For God sakes Stepek, shut up! STEPEK takes another swig from his bottle. He is lying on his back partly propped up by the curving nose of the aircraft. He is about to make another smart ass reply, when he hears a strange scratching and chirping noise above his head. He looks up in time to see sharp teeth and claws start to appear through the lining above his head. He blinks in disbelief and throws his bottle away as if the image came from the whiskey. BOMBARDIER Oh my God, there's ... there's ... ahh ... keep away ... keep away ... (struggles) ... hey no ... hey somebody ... (screams) NAVIGATOR (V.O.) Stepek, you stupid sonovabitch, will you lay off the booze, you've got the D.T.'s ... STEPEK is wide-eyed and scared silly as the sound now begins under his feet and pincers begin to snip through the floor. He suddenly realizes that the whole floor is giving way beneath him, and he grabs for a handful of cables as the floor collapses. CUT TO OUTSIDE THE AIRCRAFT The lower half of STEPEK is hanging in the slipstream, kicking madly. We see that his legs are covered in wriggling creatures. CUT BACK TO STEPEK He is losing his grip with one hand, but still desperately clinging on to a bunch of cables with the other. Suddenly an ugly pincer cuts the cables and STEPEK is gone ... out into the night. CUT TO THE PLANE Suddenly the No. 2 engine begins to backfire, blasting back large gobs of orange flame. The oil, heat and manifold gauges are off the dial and red lights frantically flash. Desperately the PILOT looks out of the window. Pieces begin flying off the engine. The cowling disintegrates revealing the bare engine beneath. Small figures are frantically busy ripping the engine to pieces. CUT TO THE PILOT He is scared. PILOT Holden, for God's sake get up here on the double. NAVIGATOR (V.O.) What's the problem, skip? PILOT Just get up here! The NAVIGATOR grimaces as he pushes past the dead co-pilot. NAVIGATOR What is it, skip? (looking out windows) JESUS H. CHRIST! PILOT Hold 'em off. I'm taking her down. He peers out at the incredible sight of the creatures ripping off the wing skin and tearing huge plates from the cowlings. The camera pans down to his feet as the hatch door handle twists and then bursts open. A dozen bat-like creatures swarm in. The NAVIGATOR panics and reaches up, grabbing the flare gun from its rack. He screams as the creatures attack and shoots right through the creatures, bathing the aircraft with a bright ruby glow. NAVIGATOR (struggling) Okay you little bastards ... shit ... (screams) CUT TO THE RADIO OPERATOR The flare shoots down the fuselage and smashes into him. Wreathed in flames, he falls back into the fuselage. CUT TO OUTSIDE THE AIRCRAFT Creatures swarm all over the plane. The ball turret falls off. A wheel suddenly lowers, then falls off. A flap flutters free and blows away. Oil streams back into the slipstream and sections of the skin of the plane come away, revealing the skeleton framework of the fuselage. CUT TO THE PILOT He is fighting the controls. Creatures are now in the cockpit, plucking out the instruments. The PILOT reaches to the throttle only to grab a creature that locks on to his gloved hand. Flying the plane with his good hand, he strikes and pummels at the attacking creatures with the other. CUT TO OUTSIDE THE AIRCRAFT It is now almost a flying skeleton. For the first time, we see that it is heading for an island. A figure detaches itself from the machine and plummets away. CUT TO THE PILOT He falls, terror-stricken, through space. Finally his chute opens. A slimy creature still clings to his gloved hand. He rips off the glove and throws it and the creature away. PILOT (struggling) Jesus H. Christ! CUT TO THE ISLAND The approaching smoking plane bellies onto the sea, bounces, then skims along the wave tops, careening up onto the beach, where it twists around crazily before coming to a lopsided stop. The machine faces us head-on and we see a glow coming from what's left of No. 3 engine. The camera zooms in rapidly to a green ball stuck in engine No. 3. CUT TO THE PILOT He has landed, and is undoing his parachute harness. He looks around incredulously. The island is a junkyard - a veritable graveyard of aircrafts. There are many aircrafts, both old wrecks and futuristic-looking ones lying everywhere. Skeletal corpses are still left in some of the wrecks. The camera pans to the remains of one machine. It is an old American Lockheed Electra. It glints dull in the half light of dawn. Painted on its side are two names; "Amelia Earhart" and "Fred Noonan". The camera continues to move through this panorama of metallic junk until it stops on a long chrome rod sticking up out of a pile of scrap. Tilting up to the sky we see the clouds part as two gargantuan metal arms emerge and descend down toward the junkpile. The metal arms reach the chrome rod, grip it tightly, and begin to lift it up. WWe follow as the cylinder is pulled higher and higher, finally coming to a stop in front of a giant eyeball. The camera pulls back to reveal that the eyeball belongs to AUSTIN GRIMALDI, who carefully scrutinizes the orange diode held tightly in his needlenose pliers. AUSTIN Got it. Satisfied that this is the piece he had lost in the machine, he begins to re-solder it in place. Behind him, a LITTLE GIRL with red hair comes into the room and walks up to him. LITTLE GIRL It's broken again, isn't it Daddy? AUSTIN (concentrating) Yes dear. But Daddy's fixing it. (hums) LITTLE GIRL (watching) How come it's always breaking? AUSTIN I don't know, sweetheart. Mmmmhmm. LITTLE GIRL When it's fixed, will you make more funny pictures for me? AUSTIN Honey, why don't you go play with your toys and let Daddy finish his work, okay? Mmmm ... LITTLE GIRL Okay. The LITTLE GIRL wanders around to the other side of the machine, as AUSTIN flips a switch. Once again the glass sphere sparkles and the holographic screen lights up. AUSTIN uses a tool to fine-tune the holograph and an image begins to materialize; the glass gates of Kraan. As the image becomes clearer, the camera pulls closer and closer to the holograph screen. CUT TO THE GATES OF KRAAN The Council's voices still ringing in her head, TAARNA flies in over the demolished gates. Below her, the once-beautiful city lies in ruins. Gliding overtop the deserted streets, she sees a column of smoke rising through the wrecked dome of the building in the town's center. As she watches the smoke rise, she pulls hard on the reins, and heads her bird up. The camera follows as she rides in through the shattered dome down to the Council Chambers below. Corpses of the Councilmen are strewn everywhere. In the center of the room, a large pile of ancient books and manuscripts lie smouldering. Reaching the floor, TAARNA dismounts and starts to look around. At the head of the marble table sits the ELDER - dead. In front of him, a roll of parchment lies on the table. TAARNA opens it. Carefully painted on the parchment is a circle of mountains, their tops glowing green. TAARNA looks at it, and puts it in her sack. Then she notices that the ELDER is clutching something in his hand. Prying his stiff fingers apart, she finds a blood-stained medallion just like the one her attacker wore on his chain. Looking at the dead ELDER, TAARNA grips the medallion tightly in her hand. CUT TO OUTSIDE THE COUNCIL BUILDING TAARNA flies back out through the shattered dome and surveys the city below. All is quiet and dark, except for a green glow coming from a second-floor window. Curious, she flies over, pulls up beside the window, and climbs in. CUT TO GIRL'S BEDROOM Entering, TAARNA sees the slimy silk-like cocoon on the bed. The basket of fruit still sits on the floor. From within the webbing, the green ball is glowing brightly. TAARNA looks at the parchment in her sack, then at the glow coming from the cocoon. Cautiously, she approaches the cocoon, sword drawn. Suddenly a hand from within the cocoon grabs the ball and shoots forward, ripping through the webbing and holding the ball up to TAARNA's face. The hand belongs to a hideously ugly witch, who emerges from the cocoon, cackling through snake-like fangs. WITCH Behold! The Sphere of Uluhtec! Look upon it, Taarna. Look upon it with fear. For in its glow lies the end of heaven - the beginning of hell. Take it Taarna. Feel death in your hands. For death is upon you. And as you perish ... so dies your race! The witch's eyes go green. WITCH (screaming) Take it !! She hurls tha ball at TAARNA, who dodges it. The ball sails past her, out the window. Then TAARNA, sword raised, leaps at the WITCH, slicing through her in rapid strokes. The WITCH cackles and crumbles into dust, but her green eyes stay suspended in the air, and her cackle echoes through the room. TAARNA backs away, climbing out the window, onto her bird. As she flies off, she sees the WITCH'S green ball high above her, rising into the clouds and disappearing. CUT TO SPACE The WITCH'S green ball zooms through space, as Earth appears in the distance. Then another object comes into sight. Getting closer we see that is is a modern winged rocketplane of no determinable nationality, soaring high above Earth. The green meteorite passes, briefly bathing the rocketplane in its glow. The rocketplane banks sharply, then stabilizes. Slowly the hatch-doors in its belly open up, revealing the underside of an automobile suspended in the open hatch. Hydraulic metal arms emerge, lowering the automobile out from the belly of the cruising rocketplane. We can see now that the car is a white, '59 Corvette convertible. With a "thunk", the metal arms release the car, and as the rocketplane blasts away, the Corvette begins its free-fall to Earth. As the car falls gracefully through space, the driver plays with the wheel, causing the Corvette to bank smoothly one way, then the other. Once his direction is stable, the driver clicks on the car radio and adjusts it through various channels, until he settles on one. With the music playing, the car falls closer and closer to Earth, entering and emerging from the cloud cover over the atmosphere. In the heat of entry the vehicle's paint starts burning up. As he heads down over a deserted area, the driver begins his approach. Touching down at breakneck speed, the smoking Corvette bounces violently, every part straining at the repeated impact. The driver's face is expressionless as he jams the car into high gear and floors it, spinning the wheels in an attempt to translate downward momentum into forward motion. Then he pops his drag chute to help slow down. TThis accomplished, the expressionless driver releases the chute, and speeds off down the road in a cloud of dust. CUT TO EXT. THE PENTAGON - AERIAL SHOT From high above the building we see a crowd of reporters and T.V. newsmen waiting on the front steps. The '59 Corvette pulls up at the curb below, and seeing it, the reporters all start to run over. The camera zooms down and into the car. Inside, the driver reaches over, unplugs a rubber hose, and loosens the two large hex-nuts which connect him to the car. As he gets out, the reporters come running up. FEMALE REPORTER (to driver) Doctor Anrak, six more mutants were sighted in Arizona this morning. Do you still say this has nothing to do with the green radiation from space. The driver walks on without speaking. T.V. NEWSMAN (walking alongside) Doctor, is it true that the President himself pulled you off the Jupiter Six Project so that you could investigate those mutations? Doctor, answer me that. He ignores the question, and walks past the guard into the Pentagon. CUT TO INT. PENTAGON - MEETING ROOM Around a large table sit the Joint Chiefs of Staff, members of the Cabinet, and a pretty secretary wearing a tight skirt. An argument is in progress as the expressionless DOCTOR ANRAK enters. The camera follows him as he sits down next to one of the Generals. FAT POLITICIAN ... well what I wanna know is, what's the Army doing about this? Hell! My constiuents are turning green! They're growing arms on their backs. There's something or someone up there in space and the voters have a right to know about it! GENERAL Senator, we have no proof that these mutations are the result of interference from outer space. In fact, Doctor Anrak has just come in, so let's hear what he has to say ... Doctor? The room goes silent as the DOCTOR stands up. DOCTOR First of all, there is no cause for alarm. As for the theories of interference by alien beings, it is my firm opinion that we on Earth are the only intelligent, technically advanced civilization present in the universe. CUT TO OUTSIDE THE PENTAGON An enormous round spaceship the size of Pittsburg hovers overhead. CUT BACK TO THE MEETING ROOM DOCTOR ... and whatever is causing these mutations is not from outer space. it's more likely just an isolated biological pheno ... pheno ... ph ... ph ... ph ... Suddenly the DOCTOR'S head starts to jerk from side to side. Everyone looks on, not knowing how to react. As the DOCTOR begins to move in short bursts, like a broken robot, he fixes his gaze upon the pretty secretary across the table. CUT TO OUTSIDE THE PENTAGON From the bottom of the huge spacecraft, a metal tube emerges and starts to drill through the roof of the Pentagon. CUT BACK TO THE MEETING ROOM The DOCTOR starts to shake violently as he stares at the pretty secretary. DOCTOR Pretty ... pretty ... p ... p ... Suddenly he lunges at her, sliding across the table. As the DOCTOR struggles with the terrified girl, the camera pans up to the ceiling, where the metal tube from the spaceship drills through. Descending upon them, it sucks them up instantly. DOCTOR Aaarrgghh! SECRETARY Eeeeeek! CUT TO INSIDE THE SPACECRAFT - CONTROL ROOM A metallic robot holding a clipboard, is standing in front of a large glass receiving jar, as DOCTOR ANRAK comes through the tube and lands in the jar. As soon as the DOCTOR'S feet hit the bottom of the jar, the DOCTOR breaks into a lot of small metallic parts. ROBOT (Mechanical voice) Oh, nice job. How am I supposed to fix this guy? He's fucked. ZEKE and EDSEL, two alien space-pilots, are standing nearby, at the control console. They look like big furry orange heads on stilts, with arms coming out of the sider. ZEKE (to Edsel) I guess we turned it up a little too high. EDSEL (to Robot) Sorry, man. ROBOT You're sorry? What about me? I've gotta put this asshole back together. Suddenly the pretty secretary comes through the tube and lands in the jar. She's a little mussed up, but okay. GLORIA (gasp) Where am I? ROBOT (staring) Hey, who's the chick? GLORIA Well look at my clothes! Who's gonna pay for the dry cleaning? And where am I? I demand that you return me to my office immediately. ROBOT Too late - molecular instability zone around spacecraft. You cannot leave. GLORIA (to Zeke) What?! Is he kidding? ZEKE Uh ... He looks at the ROBOT, who winks at him. ZEKE ... oh yeah. Instability zone. You're stuck here. ZEKE and EDSEL try to keep straight faces. GLORIA (stunned) But I have to be at my parents for dinner tonight. And my gynecologist appointment is on Wednesday. ROBOT Not anymore. Would you, ah, like a drink? (leading her away) You'll feel better after a glass of fresh blo-aak. They disappear down a corridor. GLORIA (V.O.) Do you have any diet soda? CUT TO CONTROL CONSOLE EDSEL (to Zeke) Ah, typical robot. The first Earth-chick we see in ten years, and he's gotta make a play for her. EDSEL jams the gearshift into 'D' for Drive, and the ship lifts away from Earth. ZEKE Hey, do we have any of that Plutonian Nyborg left? EDSEL Uh, yeah. Just one bag. Uh, it's in the transmitter compartment. ZEKE Uh, thanks man. ZEKE opens a hatch and pulls out a double-spouted plastic bag on wheels the size of a steamer-trunk. It is full of white powder. He pours two fifteen-foot lines of powder onto the floor. Then, he pauses. ZEKE (surveying the lines) Oh great. Think this is enough? EDSEL (thinking) Uhh ... nah. Go for broke. ZEKE Good thinking, man. As he resumes pouring, ZEKE begins singing to himself in an alien tongue. When the lines are poured, they both stand at the start of the trail of white powder, and part their hair to reveal nostrils hidden in their foreheads. ZEKE & EDSEL Nose dive! They both start to criss-cross the room, inhaling the white powder like vaccuum cleaners. As they happily snort the Nyborg, the camera pans back to the glass receiving jar, and moves down through the broken pieces of DOCTOR ANRAK. Reaching his lifeless face, the camera moves around to the back of the head. Through the shattered metal we can see a green ball, glowing inside ANRAK'S skullpiece. DISSOLVE TO SPACE - ZEKE AND EDSEL'S P.O.V. As the round spaceship moves through space, a group of asteroids approach and whip past. Up ahead, a red sun turns white and goes super-nova. EDSEL (V.O.) Oh, wow ... good Nyborg! CUT TO INSIDE THE SPACECRAFT - ROBOT'S BEDROOM GLORIA PEARLMAN and the ROBOT are lying in bed, naked. They have just finished making love. She is smoking a cigarette. GLORIA (glazed) That was incredible. I've never felt anything like it. ROBOT Oh great. I have been programmed to be fully proficient in sexual activities. Do you want to go steady? GLORIA Gee, I don't know. I already have a boyfriend. ROBOT Ah, what he does not know will not hurt him. CUT TO CONTROL CONSOLE ZEKE and EDSEL are sitting at the controls, staring wide-eyed out into space. They are obviously stoned. Suddenly a bell rings and the communicator screen lights up. A serious officer's face appears on it. OFFICER ON SCREEN Mothership calling starcruiser Alpha ... Mothership calling starcruiser Alpha ... ZEKE looks over at the screen and then shouts into it. ZEKE Whaddyawant, man? OFFICER ON SCREEN Mothership calling Starcruiser Alpha ... EDSEL (to Zeke) You gotta use the microphone. ZEKE Oh yeah. (shouts into microphone) Whaddyawant man? OFFICER Now listen, idiot. Do I have to tell you eight hundred times? You don't call me "man"! You call me "Com-Op Officer Blix". Now is that perfectly clear? ZEKE (into mike) Yeah, sure. Whaddyawant, man? OFFICER (disgruntled) You are to return immediately to the Mother Ship and pick up a humanoid civilian. Your orders are to escort him to the Interplanetary Tribunal Courtroom so that he can testify at the trial of Lincoln Sternn. And make it snappy! The screen goes blank. EDSEL Wow! They finally got Sternn. ZEKE It's about time. Hang on, man. Here we go. ZEKE jams the gearshift into hyper-drive. CUT TO SPACE The round spaceship blasts forward at ten times the speed of light. DISSOLVE TO SPACE - LATER ZEKE and EDSEL'S round spacecraft looks like an apple heading toward a freight train as it approaches the enormous mother-ship. CUT TO INSIDE SPACECRAFT - CONTROL CONSOLE An ashtray full of roaches sits on the console. ZEKE is at the controls with a joint in his mouth. He is swaying back and forth, eyes glazed. Beside him, EDSEL watches the mothership getting closer. EDSEL (to Zeke) You okay to land this thing? ZEKE No problem, man. CUT TO MOTHERSHIP'S LANDING AREA Huge red arrows point the way through the ten-mile wide landing area as the round spaceship glides in. EDSEL (V.O.) I think you're goin' a little high, man. ZEKE (V.O.) It's okay, man. If there's one thing I know, it's how to drive when I'm stoned. It's like, you know your perspective's fucked, so you just gotta let your hands work the controls as if you're straight. The round ship rams directly into a wall, and crashes down, skidding to a stop in front of the loading bay. EDSEL (V.O.) Oh, wow, good landing, man. ZEKE (V.O.) Thanks. CUT TO INSIDE SPACECRAFT - ENTRANCE HATCH ZEKE and EDSEL press a button to open the hatch doors. As the door opens we see two metallic Regolian guards waiting on the other side. Between them stands a small, shabbily-dressed humanoid with a crooked jaw and cauliflower ears. This is HANOVER FISTE. REGOLIAN GUARD (to Zeke and Edsel) This man is to be delivered to the, clik, Interplanetary Tribunal, Courtroom #3, clik, Galaxy versus Lincoln Sternn. Thenk yew. Clik. The guards wheel away. FISTE (meekly) Ah, hello. CUT TO CORRIDOR IN SPACESHIP ZEKE and EDSEL escort FISTE down the corridor. EDSEL (to Fiste) Umm, you're gonna testify at Sternn's trial? FISTE nods. ZEKE They gotta give him at least, like, life. FISTE Lincoln Sternn is a kind and honourable man. (camera pulls close to Fiste's face) He will be freed. CUT TO SPACE - LATER As the round spaceship journeys through space it passes through a fantastic space-scape of disembodied rock statues, and past a magnificent graffiti-covered robot chained to an asteroid. EDSEL (V.O.) Y'know, I wish they'd clean this place up, man. ZEKE (V.O.) Yeah. It's like pig city out here. EDSEL (V.O.) Yeah. CUT TO ROBOT'S BEDROOM GLORIA is getting dressed as the ROBOT re-charges his energy- paks. ROBOT ... but I don't understand. We laugh together. We care for each other. We have highly proficient sex. Why can't we get married? GLORIA Look, we're different, okay? Let's leave it at that. CUT TO CONTROL ROOM The hatch opens, and GLORIA and the ROBOT walk through, still talking. GLORIA ... but mixed marriages just don't work. What if you get tired of me and run off with a vibrator or something? As they move through the room, and out the other side, they pass FISTE, who is sitting quietly near the receiving jar, hands folded. Looking around, FISTE notices a green glow coming from the bottom of the jar. He gets up, quietly opens the jar, and pokes through the scrap robot parts. Finding the small green ball in ANRAK'S head, he pulls it out and looks at it. CUT TO CONTROL CONSOLE ZEKE and EDSEL are sitting at the controls, driving carefully. FISTE, carrying the green ball, comes up and sits down beside them. ZEKE There it is, man. I'm gonna hang a louie here. EDSEL (to Fiste) Yeah, well it won't be long now. Are you sure you're gonna testify for Sternn. FISTE says nothing. He just clutches the green ball and stares into space. ZEKE and EDSEL look at each other and shrug. CUT TO OUTSIDE THE SPACESHIP An enormous, brightly-lit, multi-level space station/courthouse floats into view, completely filling the screen. ZEKE and EDSEL'S round spaceship is just a speck as it enters the frame, approaching the mammoth structure. CUT TO SPACE-STATION LANDING DOCK The ship locks into the dock, and the exit hatch opens. GLORIA and the ROBOT come through first, ahead of ZEKE, EDSEL, and FISTE. GLORIA ... alright, alright. I'll marry you - but on one condition ... I want a Jewish wedding. ROBOT A Jewish wedding!?!!! But this is space. 95% of the population are robots. GLORIA Well, find me a robot-rabbi! ROBOT Okay, okay! EDSEL I give them six months, man. ZEKE He doesn't even look Jewish! GLORIA and the ROBOT disappear around a corner as ZEKE and EDSEL escort FISTE through the hatch. FISTE is carrying the small green ball. As they lead FISTE away, the camera pulls back, out through a space-port, and moves along the outside of the slowly rotating space-station. At the top, the camera zooms down through a massive glass-domed ceiling and into a huge inter-galactic courtroom. Voices echo below us. PROSECUTOR Are you Captain Lincoln F. Sternn? STERNN I am. As we move down, we see square-jawed CAPTAIN STERNN, his shifty-eyed lawyer, and the cold Prosecutor all standing before the Judge. STERNN is smirking confidently as the Prosecutor reads from a long page of charges. PROSECUTOR Lincoln Sternn - you stand here accused of twelve counts of murder in the first degree ... fourteen counts of armed theft of Federation property ... CUT TO THE GALLERY The hostile humanoid and alien faces all stare at STERNN with hateful, accusing eyes. PROSECUTOR (V.O.) ... twenty-two counts of piracy in high space ... eighteen counts of fraud ... CUT TO STERNN'S LAWYER Mopping his brow, he looks nervously over to STERNN. PROSECUTOR (V.O.) ... thirty-seven counts of rape, and one moving violation. How do you plead? CUT TO CAPTAIN STERNN Smiling to himself, he nods, then gets serious. STERNN Not guilty! LAWYER (whispers to Sternn) Not guilty?!? Are you nuts?!? STERNN (whispers to lawyer) It's okay, Charlie. I got an angle. JUDGE (to Prosecutor) Call the first witness! STERNN and his lawyer move to their seats. LAWYER (to Sternn) But the Prosecutor's gotcha cold! Yer as guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl. CUT TO THE COURTROOM DOORS ZEKE and EDSEL enter with FISTE, and push their way to the front. PROSECUTOR The Prosecution calls Hanover Fiste. GUARD #1 Calling Hanover Fiste! GUARD #2 Calling Hanover Fiste! GUARD #3 Calling Hanover Fiste! GUARD #4 Hanover Fiste! ZEKE and EDSEL sit down, while HANOVER FISTE, small and shabby, walks up to the witness stand, nervously clutching the small green ball in his hand. As he passes, STERNN and his lawyer continue to argue. LAWYER (pleading) Lissen Sternn ... change the plea to guilty. Throw yerself on the mercy of the court. STERNN I told you, Charlie. I got an angle. HANOVER FISTE is sworn in, as Sternn's lawyer begs. LAWYER But the most we can hope for is to get ya buried in secrecy so yer grave don't get violated! Plead guilty! STERNN Shut up, Charlie. I got an angle. LAWYER What angle? STERNN (pointing to Fiste) Him! CUT TO WITNESS STAND PROSECUTOR State your name for the record. FISTE (fidgeting nervously with the green ball) I am Hanover Fiste. CUT TO STERNN STERNN (winking to lawyer) I promised him thirty-five thousand zuleks to testify on my behalf. CUT BACK TO WITNESS STAND PROSECUTOR You know the defendant, (pointing) Captain Sternn? FISTE Yes, I know Captain Sternn. And never did there live a kinder, more generous man. He is an overflowing cup, filled with the very cream of human goodness ... CUT TO STERNN AND HIS LAWYER STERNN (to lawyer) See? CUT BACK TO WITNESS STAND FISTE ... in all the time I've known him, he's never done anything immoral ... (thinking) unless maybe the Pre-Schooler's Prostitute ring ... CUT TO STERNN AND HIS LAWYER They look at each other, shocked. STERNN & LAWYER Huh?!? CUT BACK TO WITNESS STAND FISTE (speaking gently) ... and he's ah, never done anything illegal ... (turning sharply) ... unless you count all the times he sold dope disguised as a nun!! (reverting to meekness) He's always been a good, law-abiding citizen ... (shouting at himself) Awww, gimme a break!! (gentle again) ... of the Federation, and, and ... (going schizo) Shut Up! Shut Up! Shut Up! (gentle, but starting to sweat) ... a community-concious individual, ah, ah ... (rising in crazed anger) STERNN!!! (pointing as he screams) He's nothin' but a low-down, double-dealin', back-stabbin', larcenous, perverted worm!! STERNN and his lawyer look on, horrified, as FISTE'S body starts to grow. FISTE Hangin's too good for him!! New muscles tear through FISTE'S shabby clothes. FISTE Burnin's too good for him!! Growing larger, he starts foaming at the mouth. STERNN Hanover ... FISTE He should be torn into little bitsy pieces and buried alive!!! FISTE rams his hands down onto the Witness Stand, shattering it completely. STERNN Hanover ... FISTE I'll kill him! He hurls the Prosecutor aside, and moves towards STERNN with thundering footsteps. FISTE KII - ILLL!!! Still growing, he rips apart the Judge's bench as he passes it. Finally he stands towering in rage over the terrified STERNN. STERNN (to Fiste) H-h-hey, Hanover ... n-now take it easy, Hanover, I'm sure we can talk this ov ... Instinctively, STERNN leaps back as FISTE'S giant hands come smashing down in the spot where STERNN stood. The gallery scatters screaming as STERNN runs for the door. Slavering, FISTE thunders after him. STERNN runs through the exit, bolting the door behind him. FISTE follows, tearing the door apart, and bringing the entire courtroom wall down in the process. CUT TO STERNN Running down a hallway, STERNN passes a group of Regolian cops, who raise their weapons in an attempt to block the rampaging FISTE. REGOLIAN #1 Halt, clik, in the name of the Federation, clik. Where is your corridor pass? (to other Regolians) Unco-operative humanoid, clik, blast him. They open fire, but FISTE is unstoppable. Still growing, he grabs the Regolians's weapons, crunches them up and eats them. REGOLIAN #1 You are now in violation of Code 103-N-17, clik, paragraph A-64 ... unauthorized consumption of Federation property. Please come quietly, clik, ... thenk yew. With a single clap of his enormous hands, FISTE crushes the Regolian's metal skulls together into an accordian the thickness of a dime. CUT TO STERNN He races through a metallic hallway, and ducks into a boiler room, then down a long dark tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, STERNN comes to a dead-end, and stops to rest. STERNN Oh, this looks good. FISTE (growls) STERNN Oh, duck under here ... FISTE I'll get you!! STERNN I think I'll turn here! (runs, gasping) Come on feet, don't fail me now! FISTE Sternn!!! STERNN Uh oh ... (runs) Ah, gasp, ah whew, lost him! FISTE STERNN!! STERNN Okay, Hanover, you've had this coming! Taking a deep breath, STERNN reaches into his pocket, pulls out a wad of bills, and counts them out as he hands them to FISTE. STERNN Let's see, thirty-three, thirty- four, thirty-five thousand zuleks. Thanks Hanover. FISTE (taking money) S'nothin, boss. Counting his money, FISTE starts shrinking back to his normal size. STERNN And Hanover ... FISTE Yes? STERNN Goodbye. STERNN pulls a lever, which opens up the floor below FISTE, who screams, falling out into space. As FISTE slides out, STERNN grabs the money from FISTE'S hand and smiles. CUT TO THE OUTLANDS All is quiet across this vast expanse of rusted pipes and barren desert. The silence is broken by a whistling sound which gets louder and louder. Then, thud! A green ball lands in the dirt in front of us. Fluttering down around it are HANOVER FISTE'S tattered clothes. Then the burnt ashes of Hanover's body land in a small pile beside his clothes. Panning up we see TAARNA flying on her bird in the distance. CUT TO TAARNA She swoops down and flies through a maze of rusting pipes and cables which look like the ramnants of an ancient power station. Then she steers her bird through a hidden opening in the rotting floor, and enters a magnificent secret hideaway cut deep into the rock. CUT TO INSIDE TAARNA'S HIDEAWAY Landing her bird on a circular slab of gleaming marble, TAARNA dismounts and walks over to a shimmering pool. Here she disrobes, and picking up a small gold pitcher, she pours an ancient oil over herself. It shines and sparkles as it touches her skin. Then she steps into the water, where her body seems to sparkle even brighter. Finishing her sacred bath, she steps out and walks to a stone wall. When she touches it, a rock panel slides away to reveal a gold chest. TAARNA opens it. Inside the chest lies a glistening set of armoured garments, so bright that TAARNA must shield her eyes for a moment. Then, as she looks down at the armour, the voice of TAARAK THE DEFENDER comes into her head. TAARAK (V.O.) To defend - this is the Pact. but when life loses its value, and it taken for nought, then the Pact is ... to avenge!! Through a series of dissolves we see TAARNA'S hands sensuously fitting the various metallic pieces over her firm body. Finally we pull back to see her fully. Standing before us, glistening in the torch-light, she looks magnificent. Reaching once more into the chest, TAARNA pulls out a golden sword. As she holds it, it seems to vibrate, almost buzzing in her hands. Suddenly she swings it, slicing cleanly through one of the stone torches on the rock wall. As the burning torch falls to the ground, TAARNA leaves. CUT TO THE SKY From over our heads, TAARNA comes soaring past, her armour gleaming in the rays of the setting sun. Below her, she sees a metallic holiday-town filled with barbarian soldiers. Drunken blue men fight in the streets, strange animals run around loose, and dead or drunken bodies lie in the gutters. Looking down, amidst the melee, she sees three winged creatures tied up in front of a bar. The camera zooms in on one of the creature's saddlebags. It has a silver medallion set into the leather, identical to the one which TAARNA pried from the Elder's fingers. CUT TO INSIDE THE BARROOM Barbarian honky-tonk music fills the crowded room, as various barbarian soldiers sit drinking and fondling the bar-girls who are dressed in cheap, flashy metal outfits. Three of the blue barbarians are particularly drunk and rowdy as they push a non-barbarian down, dump a drink on his head, laugh and kick him. CUT TO THE BARROOM DOOR TAARNA walks in through the swinging silver and plexiglass doors, past the three soldiers kicking their victim. She sits down at the bar. The three brutish blue soldiers finish stomping the man and walk over to the bar, crowding close around TAARNA. BARBARIAN #1 Hey, look. A new one. (to Taarna) Where you from, baby? TAARNA ignores him. BARBARIAN #2 Doesn't talk much, does she ? BARBARIAN #3 She doesn't have to talk for what I want to do with her. CUT TO TAARNA'S HAND It slowly moves down to her sword, and unclips the safety strap. CUT BACK TO THE BARBARIANS BARBARIAN #3 (running his hand across her breastplate) C'mon baby, let's see what's under there. BARBARIAN #1 (starting to undo her breastplate) Yeah, let's have a look. Taarna slowly stands up, pushing their hands away, and takes a step back. BARBARIAN #2 Heey, she's tough. BARBARIAN #3 Maybe she wants to fight? They all laugh. BARBARIAN #1 ... or maybe she wants to take us all on? Still laughing, they move towards her. In a blinding flash, TAARNA draws her golden sword, and wielding it like a Samurai master, slices off all three of their heads. In an instant, the sword is back in its sheath. The barbarian's heads stop laughing as they fall to the ground. The music stops, and everyone in the bar stares at TAARNA. Stepping over the bodies, TAARNA walks up to the bartender, pulls out the parchment picture of the glowing mountains, and shows it to him. The bartender looks at it carefully, then points out the window. BARTENDER Beyond the oasis. TAARNA nods and leaves. CUT BACK TO THE BARTENDER His eyes start to turn green. The camera gets closer and closer to his glowing eyes, until the green glow turns into the image of a ball, lying in the ground, in AUSTIN'S holograph. CUT TO AUSTIN AUSTIN is crouched over the machine turning several knobs, trying to make the ball move. Nothing happens. AUSTIN (to himself) Hmmm ... must be jammed. Frustrated, AUSTIN picks up a flashlight, opens up a compartment underneath the control knobs, and takes a look inside. While AUSTIN fiddles inside the machine, we see two hands appear on the holograph screen and pick up the green ball. AUSTIN looks over to the holograph and notices. AUSTIN Where'd it go? CUT TO THE HANDS As the hands cradle the green ball, the camera pulls back to reveal a skinny, unco-ordinated boy wearing thick eyeglasses, carrying the sphere across his backyard. This is DAN. DAN (V.O.) It all started when I found the green meteorite. I read in Farraday's "Life of the Planets" that smaller ones like this are supposed to burn up when they enter the atmosphere, but for some reason this one didn't ... DAN carries the ball into a typical small-town house. DISSOLVE TO T.V. ANTENNA ON ROOF - STORMY NIGHT As the narration continues, we follow two red wires down from the T.V. antenna, along the roof, and into DAN'S attic window. The wires run through a bucket of water and are hooked up to some electronic parts on DAN'S desk. DAN (V.O.) ... so I brought it up to my room, stuck it in my rock collection and forgot about it. I was experimenting with natural electricity ... The camera pans around the room to show various displays of DAN'S scientific tinkering - blue-ribbon science projects, transparent models of a man and a woman showing all internal organs, and many books. In the corner, the green ball sits in DAN'S rock collection. At his desk, DAN impatiently shuffles through the dusty pages of an old scientific journal. DAN (V.O.) ... and with the storm warnings up, I figured maybe tonight I'd hit the jackpot. All I needed was a little juice. He looks out the window at the gathering storm. CUT TO THE STORM Crackling from the sky, a bolt of lightning strikes the television antenna and surges along the wires into the attic. CUT TO DAN'S ATTIC ROOM The lightning flashes into DAN'S apparatus, lighting it up brightly. DAN It works! Suddenly, an electric arc jumps from the bucket of water and crosses the room to join with thw ball on his shelf. Caught in the middle, DAN begins to glow green. DAN (looking at his green arms) Oh Jesus! The electrical field opens up a shimmering gateway into another universe and DAN de-materializes. CUT TO THE TRANSFORMATION We float in darkness for a moment as black shapeless images zoom past. DAN (V.O.) I felt like I was nothing - just atoms floating in the darkness ... Then, tiny beams of light join to form a glow in the corner of the screen. The glow gets brighter and starts moving slowly around the screen. Now, we can make out some of the images whipping past - a half-formed hand, pages of a book, a crumbling pyramid, a green ball. DAN (V.O.) Then, a body started to re-form around me. Only it wasn't my body - this one had muscles. Sturdy muscular parts begin to materialize around the moving light. They join up with each other to form a powerfully built human figure. Finally a man's face takes shape, and as it forms, eveything gets brighter and clearer. DAN (V.O.) It was a great body, but I wasn't too crazy about the face. The powerful figure, DEN, turns slowly as he floats and begins to look at his hands and arms. Moving his mouth, he speaks in a new voice - deep and powerful. DEN (feeling head) Hmmm ... no hair. Suddenly, the background explodes into fields of radiant colours as the body accelerates away from us and passes through a second shimmering gateway. CUT TO THE NEVERWHERE PYRAMID DEN, strong, masculine and hairless, materializes cradled in the hand of a huge stone idol. He is naked and unconscious Above him, the glowing green ball is held in the idol's other hand. The camera pulls back to show that the idol is standing on the deck, stop a huge, truncated pyramid. The deck forms a walkway around a swirling pool of green water. Kneeling all around the seething pool, are lizard-men, wearing priest's robes. Two of them stand beside a glass coffin. Inside the coffin, lies a naked girl, bound and gagged. PRIESTS (chanting softly) Uluhtec, Ulutec ... Directly in fron of the idol, a regal-looking QUEEN, wearing a revealing velvet cloak, is praying to the raging water. QUEEN By the powers of the glowing Loc-Nar placed in your idol's hand, I demand you come forth, Uluhtec! The waters of the sacrifical pool rage more violently and a low rumble is heard far below. CUT TO THE IDOL'S HANDS The green ball, (Loc-Nar), glows brightly as DEN opens his eyes, looks down and notices his enormous genitals. DEN Hmmm ... big! Seeing an animal-skin hanging from the idol, he rips off a piece and wraps it around himself. DAN (V.O.) There was no way I was gonna walk around this place with my dork hangin' out! Suitably covered, he surveys the ritual taking place below him. DAN (V.O.) Wow! This looked like something right out of the Ten Commandments. CUT TO EDGE OF RAGING POOL The QUEEN is kneeling before the seething water. QUEEN Grant me your strength in return for a living mortal sacrifice! It has been ordained. Come forth Uluhtec! I demand it! Two lizard priests remove the terrified girl from the glass case and hold her out over the swirling water. The QUEEN nods and the two priests drop her in. CUT TO THE IDOL'S WATER Seeing the girl struggle in the water, DEN'S eyes grow wide. DAN (V.O.) What'd they do that for? He stands and dives into the raging pool, swimming powerfully towards the drowning girl. CUT TO UNDER WATER Reaching her, DEN grabs the girl's bound ankles, hooks them over his head and drags her through a decayed hole in the underwater wall. Inside a stone tunnel, they are swept along by the current. DAN (V.O.) Normally, I'd be dead by now. I kept thinking I was going to run out of air, but my new body worked great. I just hoped her body was working as good as mine. CUT TO EXT. FIELD OF LILIES - DAY DEN and the girl are washed out into a pond at the center of a beautiful field of lilies. He pulls her out of the water, unconscious. As he unties her, she begins to stir. GIRL Thank you. She takes DEN'S hand and lies back in the flower, her beautiful breasts exposed in the sunlight. DAN (V.O.) She had the most beautiful eyes. I wanted to make some conversation but I found my new self asking the same old stupid questions. DEN Are you from around here? GIRL Well, you may not believe this, but I'm from another world - from a place called Earth. DEN Earth? I too am from Earth. How did you get here? GIRL My name is Katherine Wells, and I'm from the British colony of Gibraltar. Time makes no diff- erence here, but there it was the summer of 1892. It was evening - I'd gone for a walk on the cliffs when suddenly a sphere fell from the sky. Following its glow, I came to a shining gate made out of light. Unable to resist, I stepped through it and awoke in this world. There I was thin and weakly, fit only to stay indoors. (she stands up) But here, somehow I am stronger, more alive, (she stretches seductively) ... more fully a woman. DAN (V.O.) You're not kidding. DEN (standing) I, too seem better equipped on this world. (he holds out his arm) My arms are more powerful. (strecthes his fingers) Even my fingers seem to hold great strength. KATHERINE walks up close to DEN, takes his hand and touches the fingers to her breast. KATHERINE You saved my life. I have no reward to give you, but if any part of me pleases your senses - I would give it willingly. She circles her nipple with his baby finger. DAN (V.O.) Wow! This was great! There was no way I'd get a chick like this back on Earth. I mean, look at her!! Taking KATHERINE in his arms, DEN lays her down on a bed of flowers and begins to tenderly make love to her. DAN (V.O.) There was only one problem ... A spiked boot appears in the frame. The camera pans up to show a large, ugly hairy beast-man standing over DEN and KATHERINE. The camera then pulls back to reveal the entwined couple, completely surrounded by a horde of grim, bestial warriors. DAN (V.O. I don't know who these jerks were, but they sure picked a bad time to show up ... The ugly beast-men grab DEN and KATHERINE as we; DISSOLVE TO ARD'S THRONE ROOM The beast-Captain keeps his machine gun trained on DEN as the soldiers lead him into the cavernous room. DAN (V.O.) They split us up and took me to this weird castle-type place. I wanted to find out where they'd taken Katherine, but none of these guys seemed to speak English. In the middle of the room there is a round stone pedestal with a throne carved into it. On the throne sits ARD, a child-like ruler with a sadistic glint in his eye. ARD They tell me you are Den of Earth, the one who dared to steal the female sacrifice from the Queen. DAN (V.O.) This guy was a shrimp so I figured I'd play it tough. DEN Where is the girl? ARD I am Ard - supreme leader of the revolution and the next ruler of the world. DEN (tougher) The girl!! ARD Well, aren't we fierce? If you are truly as tough as you seem, then you will serve me well. But first, a test. Guards! Castrate him! DAN (V.O.) Uh oh. Two bestial guards approach from behind, brandishing curved short-swords. DEN turns instinctively, dodges the first thrust and delivers a bone-shattering elbow to the beast's head, crushing his skull. Spinning with his own momentum, DEN throws a rock-hard fist into the second guard's chest, snapping his rib-cage and sending him flying across the room. Without pausing, the bald muscleman grabs the nearby beast- Captain and lifts him into the air by his machine-gun. The Captain hangs on as DEN twists the gun, butts it into the creature's groin and then drives the weapon through the Captain's jaw. The creature crumples, leaving DEN with the gun. DAN (V.O.) Boy! I was pretty good at this stuff. ARD Excellent. You are worthy to serve me. DEN (aiming machine-gun at him) Give me the girl or die. ARD (taking it lightly) Well, if I have a choice, I'll take death. DEN So be it. DEN fires, spraying a row of bullets across ARD'S body. The bullets blast big yellow holes in ARD'S chest, but there is no blood. ARD looks up and laughs. ARD Ha ha ha! You'll have to do better than that. As DEN looks on, ARD'S wounds miraculously close up and heal themselves over. DAN (V.O.) I could see why they made this guy their leader. ARD (standing up) ... but if you're really interested in the girl; I've had her encased in glass. ARD pulls the velvet covering off of a glass box to reveal KATHERINE, unconscious, sealed inside. DEN She's dead. ARD Actually no. She's sleeping, but only I can awaken her. DEN What do you want of me? ARD I want you to steal the sacred Loc-Nar. DEN What is this Loc-Nar? ARD The Queen's glowing sphere, you fool. The sacrifice to Uluhtec can only be performed by the possessor of the sacret Loc-Nar. (calling out) Norl! NORL, a huge gorilla-man, in a purple cloak, steps forward. ARD (to Den) This is Norl, my bravest warrior. You will go with him to the Queen's castle and steal the Loc-Nar. Then I will give you the girl. DEN And if I refuse? ARD If you refuse, you die, she dies, everybody dies. DAN (V.O.) Sounded reasonable to me. DEN looks down at KATHERINE'S motionless body. DISSOLVE TO RIVER BANKS NEAR THE QUEEN'S CASTLE In the moonlight, DEN and NORL lead a squad of beast-warriors, armed with automatic weapons, along the river towards the Queen's castle. NORL (to Den) Ssh. Guard post ahead. We must go underground. NORL lifts a rock to reveal an underground passageway. DAN (V.O.) This guy Norl seemed to know what he was doing. And, for a gorilla, his English wasn't half bad. DEN and the warriors enter the underground passage. CUT TO UNDERGROUND TUNNEL The group, carrying torches, moves along the dark tunnel. They pass a bubble-window with shark-faced eels swimming on the other side. NORL (to Den) We're underneath the castle moat. DEN nods. An ugly growl echoes through the tunnel up ahead. the warriors freeze and murmur to each other in their own languages. DEN (to Norl) What are they saying? NORL They talk of the savage beast who prowls these catacombs with a fierce hunger and sharp teeth ... (gestures) six inches long. A dog-faced warrior shakes his head and says something to NORL. NORL Sorry ... (indicating) ... sixteen inches long. Suddenly, a savage beast appears and chomps his long, razor-sharp teeth into one of the warriors at the end of the line. DEN, NORL, and the remaining warriors run on through the tunnel as, behind them, the monster pulls his victim apart. CUT TO DOORWAY IN CATACOMBS DEN, NORL, and the remaining warriors arrive at a door in the rock wall. NORL (to Den) Now we separate. You and Korg take this door into the Queen's quarters. The rest of us will move through the walls and enter her chamber from the other side. Whoever gets the Loc-Nar first will return it to Ard. Good luck, Den. DEN nods, puts out his torch and carefully opens the door as NORL moves off. CUT TO DARK ROOM DEN and KORG silently enter. Across the dark room, the glow of the green ball casts a pale light. KORG (whispers and points) Loc-Nar. DAN (V.O.) Wow! It was just like the ball I dug up in my back yard. They tip-toe towards it. DAN (V.O.) As I saw the Loc-Nar's glow I had this real funny feeling. All by themselves, my hands reached forward to touch it. But the Loc-Nar moved out of the way. Instead, my hands felt something else - warm flesh. Then the lights came on. In the brightly lit room, DEN is standing before the beautiful semi-clad QUEEN, and holding her firm, naked breasts in his hands. Looking around, he sees that he and KONG are surrounded by a brigade of the Queen's ugly guards, swords raised. DAN (V.O.) Talk about embarassing! QUEEN (smiling) Kill them. The Queen's guards attack with battle-axes, clubs and swords. As DEN knees one in the groin and swings his gun into another's face, four of the guards surround KORG and club his brains out. But DEN, still going strong, throws two guards into the wall and heaves a third out the window. As the QUEEN watches with glee, more guards rush into the room and DEN is finally over- powered and held down. The Captain of the guards places a long knife against Den's throat. CAPTAIN Can I slit his throat, your Majesty? The QUEEN, eyeing Den's magnificent body, sighs. QUEEN Yes, slit his throat. CAPTAIN Thank you, your Majesty. As the Captain presses his knife against Den's flesh, the QUEEN suddenly raises her hand. QUEEN (smiling) Stop! I have, ah, something better in mind. She takes Den's hand and leads him into an adjoining room, as the guards grumble to one another. GUARD #1 Jeez, not again. GUARD #2 This always happens. CAPTAIN Look, she's the Queen. She can do whatever she wants. GUARD #2 Yeah, sure. GUARD #1 Sure. CUT TO THE QUEEN'S BOUDOIR The QUEEN stands before DEN, hands on her hips and a funny look in her eye. QUEEN If you please me, I may let you live. She smiles, and approaches DEN. DAN (V.O.) Uh oh. DEN What must I do? QUEEN Satisfy my appetites. The QUEEN lets her cloak drop to the floor as she gets closer. She is naked underneath. DAN (V.O.) Wow! Eighteen years of nuthin' and now, twice in one day. What a place! QUEEN Come with me. DEN Mmmm. She steps forward and takes his hand, leading him towards the bed. DISSOLVE TO THE QUEEN'S BED DEN and the QUEEN are lying undressed on the enormous bed. The QUEEN has a very contented look on her face. DEN looks exhausted. As the Neverwhere moon rises outside the chamber window, the QUEEN slowly runs her hand over DEN'S bulging muscles. QUEEN (softly) The rising moon climaxes our love, Den. Is is a sign, a new beginning. DEN Yes, a sign. DAN (V.O.) I had no idea what she was talking about. QUEEN (stroking him) Neverwhere is a troubled land, but together we could calm it. We could rule side by side. Your strength has brought great peace to my restless body. It could bring great peace to all the troubled people of this land. DAN (V.O.) I knew I was good, but I didn't know I was that good. Suddenly the Captain and his guards burst through the door. CAPTAIN Your Majesty! The Loc-Nar is missing - stolen! The QUEEN jumps to her feet in a rage and points to DEN. QUEEN (screaming) Fiend! You make love to me while your accomplices steal the magic sphere! Guards! Take him! The guards grab DEN as the QUEEN snatches one of their big spiked clubs. QUEEN (to guards) Hold him still! I will kill him myself! DAN (V.O.) Boy, was she pissed off! Heaving the guards aside, DEN breaks free and jumps out the chamber window. CUT TO THE CASTLE WALL DEN falls down, down into the swirling waters of the castle moat. (CUT TO) THE QUEEN She is livid. QUEEN Prepare the flying lizards. I want his head! CUT TO OUTSIDE THE CASTLE Pulling himself out of the moat, DEN knocks a guard off his leopard/horse and rides off. CUT TO THE NEVERWHERE PYRAMID ARD is kneeling at the edge of the sacrificial pool. Beside him sits a long glass case wrapped in chains. Through the chains we see KATHERINE trapped inside - fully conscious and terrified. Ard's bestial warriors stand all around carrying torches and spears. Above them, the Loc-Nar sits glowing in the stone idol's hand. ARD By the power of the magic Loc-Nar placed in your idol's hands, I command you - come forth Uluhtec! The green water in the pool immediately begins to churn violently and leap into the air. A bolt of lightning crackles in the sky. CUT TO THE NEVERWHERE DESERT DEN is racing across the barren desert on his leopard/horse. Visible in the distance is the outline of the huge, truncated pyramid where he first saved KATHERINE. As he rides, he sees the green glow of the Loc-Nar, sparkling in the glass surfaces of the coffin in front of it. DEN (to himself) Katherine! He spurs his leopard/horse on into the night. CUT TO ANOTHER PART OF THE NEVERWHERE DESERT The QUEEN, riding a flying lizard, leads her army in pursuit of DEN. SOLDIER (pointing) There he is, your Majesty! CUT TO QUEEN'S P.O.V. Up ahead, silhouetted in the moonlight, she sees DEN, riding up the steps of the pyramid. The camera pans to the green glow atop the torch-lit pyramid. QUEEN (V.O.) The Loc-Nar! CUT TO THE QUEEN QUEEN (shouting to her men) Faster! To the pyramid! She whips her lizard harder. CUT TO THE NEVERWHERE PYRAMID ARD is incanting to the raging water while two hooded monks stand beside him, holding the struggling KATHERINE out over the pool. ARD Here is your sacrifice, Uluhtec. Now, give me your power! (to monks) Throw her in. Chanting the name "Uluhtec", the two monks start to throw the girl in when suddenly a third monk leaps forward and grabs her, kicking the other two monks into the water. The intruder's hood falls away and his bald head gleams in the moonlight. DEN Katherine! KATHERINE Den! ARD No! You'll ruin everything! ARD jumps up and runs toward the Loc-Nar, perched in the stone idol's hand. Grabbing it, ARD holds the glowing ball above him. ARD (to his guards) Kill them! Kill them both! Suddenly, a hand leaps out of the darkness, gripping the Loc-Nar just above Ard's hand - it is the QUEEN. QUEEN The Loc-Nar is mine! ARD (struggling) Stupid bitch! Get away from me! As ARD and the QUEEN fight over the Loc-Nar, the Queen's troops pour in and battle with Ard's soldiers. Thunder roars overhead. CUT TO DEN Holding KATHERINE in one arm, DEN smashes a nearby soldier and grabs the beast's spear. With the battle raging all around him, DEN looks up at the sky. CUT TO THE SKY Lightning crackles, illuminating the night with electricity. CUT BACK TO DEN DEN reaches down, picks up the long chain that was wrapped around the glass case and attaches one end to his spear. He kicks the other end into the raging water, then heaves the spear with all his might into the head of the stone idol. In the same instant, a bolt of lightning fires down from the sky, striking the idol full force. The lightning bolt travels through the spear and down the chain, into the water. Suddenly, the electrical energy arcs across to join with the Loc-Nar. Holding onto the Loc-Nar, ARD and the QUEEN begin to glow green, then de-materialize into a shimmering dimensional warp. The troops stop fighting and look on in amazement, until all that remains is the glowing Loc-Nar, hanging in mid-air. KATHERINE (to Den) Where did they go? DEN They are gone. That is all that matters. DAN (V.O.) They probably went back to Earth. Boy, will Mom be surprised. Suddenly, the Loc-Nar falls to the ground at Den's feet. KATHERINE (looking down) The Loc-Nar ... you could have the power of Uluhtec. You could be ruler over all these people. DEN (looking over the throng) Forget it. In a single powerful leap, DEN, carrying KATHERINE, bounds up onto the Queen's flying lizard and they fly off. The amazed troops watch for a moment, then shrug and resume fighting. CUT TO DEN'S FLYING LIZARD KATHERINE clings to DEN as they fly. KATHERINE Oh, but Den, with the Loc-Nar you could have returned to Earth. DEN I like it better here. The lizard banks sharply away from us and carries them into the distance. DAN (V.O.) On Earth, I'm nobody. But here, I am DEN. CUT TO THE NEVERWHERE PYRAMID The camera pans down the stone statue to the glowing sphere, which lies abandoned on the ground. The soldiers are gone. As we watch, time begins to accelerate and the Neverwhere Pyramid ages and crumbles all around the green ball. The earth heaves and shifts, and dense vegetarian grows up through the cracks in the ground. A prehistoric man walks up and sees the glowing ball under a fern. Fascinated, he picks it up and looks at it, as the foot of a Tyrannosaurus Rex comes down, crushing him. Time advances again as the dinosaur becomes a skeleton, and a Biblical tent-community grows up around the ball. In the fire-light, the Nomadic tribesmen are watering their animals, when one of the camels paws at the ground, uncovering the glowing ball. Scared, the camel struggles and trys to break its ropes. Out of nowhere a Roman Legion attacks, slaughtering the tribesmen. Time accelerates again, and the conquering Romans build a temple, placing the green ball in the head of a golden idol. Then the Romans grow fat and debauched, while slave-girls feed them grapes. As the ball glows, the temple crashes down around the debauched Romans, covering them and the green ball in rubble. Over the ruins of the temple, a succession of primitive mud and clay huts evolve into the thatched-roof cottages of a Medieval village. A Medieval stone-cutter finds the ball, and mortars it in with his stones as he builds a water well in the centre of the village. Satisfied with his work, he lowers the bucket to draw himself a drink. Behind him, an ox-cart comes roaring around a corner. The axle breaks and a heavy wooden wheel careens along, striking the stone-cutter in the back and knocking him into the well. Time advances once more as the Medieval village grows and transforms into a Victorian-style town. It is evening, and the stone well now sits under a gazebo at the centre of a gas- lit village green. A fancy carriage carrying a Victorian gentleman passes by and circles the green. Moving in through a window across the street, we see a seductive- looking woman dressing herself in black garters and lace. This is intercut with the carriage circling the green, until the woman, who looks like a high-class harlot, finishes dressing and leaves her room. Crossing the street, she walks up to the gazebo and leans provocatively up against the well. The gentleman gets out of his carriage, approaches the woman and propositions her. She smiles, touches, and teases him. We pan down their legs to the green ball glowing in the well-wall. Suddenly red blood begins to drip over the ball, and the woman's body falls to the ground. The camera pans up to the well-bucket, where the gentleman is washing the blood from his hands. As time begins to move forward again, the man ages and hobbles away, as the well crumbles and cheap turn-of-the-century row- housing grows up, covering the green ball. The town becomes dirtier and blacker, and smokestacks blow soot into the morning sky. Almost on cue, the doors of the houses open, and grim coal-miners emerge, shuffling through the filthy streets on their way to work. The camera pans down to a drain in the gutter. A rat appears. Panning back up, the street is now empty. A bell is heard ringing, and a horse-drawn Red Cross cart pulls around a corner and into view. Masked workers follow the cart. One rings the bell, while the others pull corpses from the doorways and load them into the cart. The gutters and windowsills are now full of rats. Time advances again and the buildings become deserted derelicts. Their decaying timbers groan under the weight. A support snaps, and one of the buildings starts to collapse. Falling amidst the crumbling plaster and rotting wood is the glowing green ball. As the ball hits the ground, it is covered over by rubble. The rubble becomes bleached by the hot sun and the landscape grows drier. Sand blows all around, covering over everything. As the sandstorm clears, the entire terrain is nothing but desert. In the distance we can see a group of people walking. CUT TO PEOPLE The people appears to be a band of aboriginal workmen, carrying futuristic laser-shovels over their shoulders. They are led by a goateed archaeologist with an elaborate metal detector. As he walks, his detector starts bleeping. He points to a spot on the ground, and the natives start digging with their laser- shovels. One of the workers finds something. WORKER Kuma! Kuma! Kuma! The archaeologist waves the workers away and directs a tread- driven shovel-sifter up to the spot. The shovel-sifter digs in and pulls up a large chunk of desert. When the sand has sifted out, we see the tarnished Loc-Nar in the machine's grip. It is not glowing. The machine swivels, and a native foreman plucks the Loc-Nar from the shovel-sifter's teeth. As the foreman touches it, the Loc-Nar starts glowing brightly. The foreman's hands turn green. He looks at his green hands, then he looks over to the archaeologist. Suddenly the foreman's entire body glows green, and crumbles into dust. The archaeologist and the natives stare in horror at the glowing Loc-Nar, lying in the pile of green dust. DISSOLVE TO NEW YORK - AERIAL SHOT - DAY The camera comes down from high above the city. The general shape and outline of New York looks familiar, but as we get closer we sense that something is different. Fires are burning in various locations below us, and intermittent gunshots become audible as the narration begins. HARRY (V.O.) Yeah, New York, big deal. Scum-centre of the world. Moving down through the skyscrapers, the city gets dirtier and slummier. We pass a dead man hanging from a tenement clothesline. Below us, scruffy children dodge traffic as they play gyro-ball in the garbage-filled street. HARRY (V.O.) ... and now they're talking about letting in low-lifes from other planets, too. Under the narration, the camera turns a corner and zooms down through the roof of a parked taxicab. It stops full frame on the newspaper held in the cabdriver's hands. A slow pan across the front page reveals that the paper is the New York Times, July 6, 2031 One headline reads: "400,000 Traffic Deaths Over Holiday Weekend". Another reads: "Venus Declared 73rd State". The camera stops on a headline reading: "Professor Discovers Ancient Relic --- to be shown in N.Y. Museum". There is an accompanying photo of the goateed archaeologist and his beautiful daughter standing beside a glass and metal case containing the Loc-Nar. A knocking is heard on the cab's window, and the driver throws down the newspaper. YOUNG MAN (from outside) You free? HARRY Yeah. Get in. (V.O.) My name's Harry Canyon. I drive a cab. He flips a switch which unlocks the rear door. CUT TO OUTSIDE CAB The young man climbs into the back seat and closes the door. Harry's yellow Checker cab pulls out into traffic. The vehicle looks pretty normal except for some vaguely futuristic chrome panels cut into the sides, and thicker, deeper bumpers. CUT TO INSIDE CAB Harry slides open the plexiglass shields separating him from his passenger. HARRY Where to, pal? YOUNG MAN The U.N. Building. HARRY The U.N. Building. What a joke. Used to be a nice place until they turned it into low rent housing. Now it's a dump. I wouldn't live there if you paid me. He switches on the car radio. The music plays as Harry's cab passes various time-altered New York landmarks; a graffiti -covered Empire State Building - windows all boarded up, a decrepit Lincoln Centre, the marquis reading "Continuous Live Sex Show, Also Inter-Planetary Mud-Wrestling", new ultra-tech buildings crammed between half-destroyed Wall Street office buildings, garbage everywhere. Inside the cab, the YOUNG MAN pulls a gun out of his jacket, sticks his arm through the opening in the plexi-glass shield, and holds the gun to Harry's head. YOUNG MAN Okay sucker, hand over your cash, now! HARRY (V.O.) This city is really going to the dogs. Harry's foot stretches forward and pushes a footswitch. A buzzing is heard, and the young man's body suddenly dematerializes. The gun which he held at Harry's head falls to the seat beside HARRY, who picks it up and tosses it into the glove compartment, beside all sorts of other futuristic guns and weapons. HARRY (V.O.) Stupid asshole. Nobody touches me unless I want 'em to. CUT TO EXT. METROPOLITIAN MUSEUM - NIGHT The camera is close-up on the illustrated banner over the main entrance. The banner reads; "Treasures of the Loc-Nar - Coming July 8th". We pan down to the museum doors, as a man's body comes crashing through the plate glass and sprawls forward, cut and bleeding. It is the goateed professor from the desert. His daughter runs out behind him, ripping her clothes on the broken glass. GIRL Father! PROFESSOR Run! The girl takes off down the museum stairs as men with laser guns come out and start firing. A fat, evil-looking man (RUDNICK) bends down and grabs the professor's head, jerking it up. RUDNICK (to henchmen) He's dead. Get the girl! The girl, clothes torn, runs out into the street, just as Harry's cab comes cruising by. She runs alongside, pounding on the window. GIRL (to Harry) Help me, please!! A laser shot narrowly misses her and blasts Harry's side-mirror. HARRY flips the switch, unlocking the passenger door, and waves her in. HARRY (V.O.) Normally my rule is "Don't get involved", but something about this dame got to me. She dives in the back and HARRY floors it. The cab screams away as Laser-shots land all around. GIRL (in shock, breathless) The Loc-Nar ... they wanted it ... but my father wouldn't tell them ... now I'm the only one ... CUT TO HARRY HARRY (interupting) Relax sister. There's a cop station up here. You can ... HARRY looks at her in the rear-view mirror. The girl has fainted. HARRY (V.O.) Just what I needed ... guess I'm a sucker for a pretty face. CUT TO POLICE STATION The police station is an all-metal building with no windows. A plaque on thr front reads "N.Y. POLICE - 52nd DIVISION". Harry's cab pulls up. He gets out, carries the unconscious GIRL up to the front door, and pushes a buzzer. VOICE (over intercom) Police. Whaddya want? HARRY I wanna report a murder. VOICE (over intercom) So what else is new? HARRY You gonna let me in or what? A buzzer sounds and the door slides open. HARRY carries the GIRL in and heads across the room toward the main desk. As he walks he passes cops using a strange metal detector/vaccuum cleaner to suck dangerous weapons from a pair of suspects. Piles of weapons can be seen in the machine's transparent belly. COP #1 Okay, this guy's clean - next. HARRY comes up to the front desk and starts to lay the girl down in a chair. DESK SERGEANT (to Harry) Before you go any further pal, I gotta tell you, it's cash up front. A thousand bucks a day for a full investigation. Another thousand if the assailant is caught. Got it? HARRY Yeah thanks ... He picks up the girl and turns to leave. HARRY ... for nuthin'! DESK SERGEANT (shouting after Harry) You think you can do better? Join one of the vigilante groups. There's a list of 'em outside. - - - [Page 97/120.]