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                                OBLIVION



                               Written by

                             William Monahan



                          Current Revisions by

                             Karl Gajdusek



                         Based on the story by

                            Joseph Kosinski



                                              DRAFT: March 27, 2011

          1.

                         FADE IN:

          EXT. THE PLANET - MORNING

          Huge mountains, destroyed STRUCTURES. Buildings
          enveloped by flows of earth. Awe-inspiring beauty.

                    JACK (V.O.)
          They arrived almost half a century
          ago. Aliens, Scavs, whatever you
          want to call them. Their idea of
          how-do-you-do was to blow up our
          moon.

          Giant waterfalls crash where lava cooled through iron and
          concrete. Telephone polls half-buried in sand.

                    JACK (V.O.)
          Without her moon, the earth went
          insane. Most were killed in the
          floods, as the cities came down,
          as everything caught fire. A year
          later their ground troops landed,
          to exterminate whoever was left.
          A station wagon half protrudes from a lava flow. A
          child's plastic flip-flops on the dash.

                    JACK (V.0.)
          They were probably surprised, what
          we were willing to do, to survive.
          We used the nukes.

                         (BEAT)
          We won the war, but lost the
          planet.

          Low on the HORIZON, the TET rises with the sun. It's a
          WHITE TETRAHEDRON (SIX-SIDED) SPACE STATION that circles
          the earth once a day, like an artificial moon.

                    JACK (V.0.)
          Humanity had to flee the Earth.
          We had to unlearn what it meant,
          to call something our home. Now
          we live on the Tet, our man-made
          moon. A temporary home before the
          next step. Everyone's there now.

                         (BEAT)
          Well, almost everyone.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          2.

          INT. BEDROOOM - MORNING

          An ALARM chirps. A man's hand reaches out of bed,
          silences it. The MAN swings his feet onto the floor. He
          sits with his face in his hands, waking up. We hear a
          SHOWER RUNNING. He looks up.
          A WOMAN showers near him, only steamed glass walls
          between them. She sees him, smiles at him, without
          modesty. He looks back at her.
          OVER TITLES. We watch a familiar morning routine:

          INT. A HOME - MORNING

          BATHROOM. The man flicks on a light, stares at himself
          in the mirror. This is JACK. Early 40's, a good face
          that enjoys rugged living. Tan and weathered skin. His
          eyes are curious, kind, almost child-like.
          The woman squeezes in next to him, VICTORIA. 30s, a tom-
          boy shock of red hair, towel around her neck. She
          brushes her teeth.

          KITCHEN. Victoria watches the coffee drip, bites toast.
          SHOWER. Jack lets warm water blast him in the face.
          READY ROOM. Jack pulls a worn high-tech workman's suit
          from a locker, revealing a photo taped to the door: It's
          of him and Victoria, younger, in a white-walled high-tech
          corridor, smiling eager at the camera. He stares at it
          for a moment, closes the locker door.
          KITCHEN. Victoria hands Jack his coffee. He kisses the
          top of her head, heads out to work.

          EXT. SKY TOWER - CONTINUOUS

          He walks out onto the deck of a futuristic home perched
          1,200 feet in the air, literally above the clouds. As
          our minds are blown, Jack moves away from the glass-
          walled home towards his BUBBLESHIP, a futuristic-cross
          between a Bell 47 Helicopter and a jet fighter, and we
          CRANE UP UP UP... INCREDIBLE VERTIGO until we're looking
          down at this impossible structure. Jack, climbing into
          his ship.

          TITLE CARD: "OBLIVION"

                         

                         

                         

                         

          3.

          EXT. THE SKY - DAY

          The SKY stretches to infinity above roiling planetary
          cloud-cover. The BUBBLESHIP streaks through our frame,
          dropping faster than free fall.

          INT. BUBBLESHIP - CONTINUOUS

          Through the canopy of the Bubbleship: The cloud cover
          below seems to FALL UPWARDS at us, that's how fast we're
          diving. There's a small worn BOBBLE-HEAD on the dash
          which vibrates with the ship.
          Jack is un-phased by the drop, touches a few controls.

          VICTORIA (V.O.)
          Good morning, Jack. I'll be your
          flight attendant for the day.
          This is day... three thousand two
          hundred and twenty five, in case
          you were wondering.
          JACK is running instruments. A day at work..

                         VICTORIA
          Today we will be running support
          on five Resource Gatherers working
          the seaboard. Coordinates coming
          to you... now. Please do confirm.
          On Jack's heads-up display, five icons glow to life.

                         JACK
          Yeah, I got 'em. You got 'em,
          Bob?
          The Bobblehead bobs.

          INT. SKY TOWER, CONTROL STATION - CONTINUOUS

          VICTORIA watches the Bubbleship's icon on a screen.
          She's now wearing a work jumpsuit open over a man's
          undershirt. She has a natural ease with tech and stress.
          She sips her coffee, punches up a feed, multi-tasking
          with cool.

                         VICTORIA
          Drone perimeter defense is intact,
          although one went offline last
          night. How's the drop?

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          4.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JACK
          Oh, you know. Same ole' same.
          In front of Victoria, almost a hundred years of
          technological advances. Most prominent a MAP overlaid
          with environmental, meteorological, radiation levels...
          Other screens stream cam-footage from the Bubbleship.

                         VICTORIA
          Alright, you're blind in five,
          four, three...
          INTERCUT WITH JACK IN THE BUBBLESHIP. JACK watches the
          cloud wall RUSH UP at him.

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Two... one...

                         JACK
          You should come with me sometime.

                         VICTORIA
          No, thank you. Have a nice ride.
          The Bubbleship HITS CLOUDS, goes completely blind. Just
          vapor and water HAMMERING the canopy like bullets.
          On the heads-up display, GPS numbers roll. The readouts
          deal with climate, terrain below... Even in this hell,
          Jack takes the controls, starts to pilot on instruments.
          One of Victoria's boards flashes. She squints as a large
          MASS forms near Jack's ship.

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Jack, you got some weather on your
          five, closing.
          The Bubbleship is VIBRATING, buffeted.

                         JACK
          What do you call this?
          What does a storm look like inside a storm? Like this.
          The WALL OF WEATHER comes out of the wind and rain from
          behind Jack's ship, simply eats it up.
          Suddenly Jack's going end over end, helpless. Warning
          lights flash. Jack punches controls that won't respond.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          (humming to himself)
          "I've got sunshine...

                         (MORE)

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          5.

                         CONTINUED: ( 2)

                          JACK (CONT'D)
          on a cloudy day. When it's cold
          outside I've got the month of
          May..."
          Victoria watches the readouts, helpless.

                         JACK (CONT'D)

                         (STILL SINGING)
          "I guess you'd say... What can
          make me feel this way?"
          (a little tense)
          Okay, Bob. Need you to work with
          me here.
          In the Bubbleship, Jack works the display, literally
          SMACKS a panel with his fist. Suddenly, the Bubbleship
          SURGES with power. Jack regains control as:

          INT/EXT. BUBBLESHIP - CONTINUOUS

          The Bubbleship BURSTS through low clouds, hurtling down
          past turbulence into...
          THE SKY ABOVE A BEAUTIFUL DESOLATE PLANET. Mysterious
          black sand dunes, active volcanoes, swirling orange and
          gold sediment, steaming bright blue hot springs and rich
          brown craters.
          Jack takes a moment to marvel at it all.

                         JACK
          (under his breath)
          "Talkin' 'bout my girl..."
          Jack shifts the Bubbleship, in the distance a series of
          RESOURCE-GATHERERS on the horizon. Essentially titanic
          vacuums, sucking up the oceans.
          In front of her console, VICTORIA charts the Gatherers,
          and the patrol arcs of their defensive Drones. One
          blinks, stalled.

                         VICTORIA
          Okay, we've got another Drone
          downed last night.

                         JACK
          Send it.
          NUMBERS FIRE across the heads-up. Jack touches a button.
          A BAR GAUGE begins to fill, like a street racer turning
          on the NOX before dragging...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          6.

                         CONTINUED:

                         VICTORIA
          Would you like to set a course to
          reserve fuel?

                         JACK

                         (SMALL SMILE)
          Absolutely not.
          Bar gaucre hits top. Jack punches it.
          JACK vibrates in his seat, pinned back. The ship SCREAMS
          over the surface, following the signal.
          Now A HUGE CRATER opens up in front of him which he DROPS
          INTO, barely missing an edge... which seems to have
          architecture to it.
          The ship skims close along the walls which are revealed
          to be rows and rows of stadium seats, half buried in
          sand. We're in Giants Stadium, New Jersey.
          Old news to Jack. He surveys below...

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          I see it, looks like full mid-
          flight impact. What was its last
          destination?
          BELOW, through blowing dust, we see a DRONE, a spherical
          mechanical weapon, plunged into the sand.

                         VICTORIA
          Yo no se. No data. It's not
          transmitting.
          (checking the map)
          Tet coverage will go live in 11
          minutes.
           Jack stares forward at a huge broken sign: "Home of the
          2015 World Champions..."

                         JACK
          You know, I actually read about
          this game. Giants are literally
          on their own seven with 25 seconds
          on the clock...

                         VICTORIA
          Please do not reminisce on my
          Comm, thank you very much.
          He puts the Bubbleship into a soft descent. Victoria
          observes it on her console.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          7.

                         CONTINUED: ( 2)

                          VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Negative, technician. I have no
          eyes in the sky for another ten
          minutes. Do not land.
          SEEN FROM INSIDE A STADIUM TUNNEL: The bubbleship lands
          thirty yards from the Drone, moors itself by setting
          spikes from its skids. Blowing sand whips around both.

          INT. BUBBLESHIP - CONTINUOUS

          JACK grabs an old YANKEES CAP from between the seats and
          slides it on backwards. He hoists a WEAPON, a carbine-
          sized gun on a sling, and checks its charge as he slides
          the door open. He's BLASTED with sand and wind which now
          suddenly still, like a freight train that's passed.

                         JACK
          Anyway... QB lets off this mile-
          high bomb...
          The weather's fast and erratic like this. As Jack starts
          moving towards the Drone, a heavy mist forms, shrouding
          it in grey. There's almost no sound, just Jack's feet on
          earth...

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          The thing just sails the length of
          the field.
          Victoria anxiously checks a screen, the arc of the Tet's
          "vision" still not covering Jack's location.

                         VICTORIA
          Jack I have no scope. The Tet is
          still offline.
          He pauses. A faint sound on the wind... like a whine.

                         JACK
          And at the one yard line...
          interception. Devastation. It's
          all over.

          EXT. STADIUM - CONTINUOUS

          LIGHTS connected to the ship's two AUTOMATIC GUNS reach
          from the hull of the BUBBLESHIP, backlighting JACK as he
          reaches the downed drone.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          8.

                         CONTINUED:
          THE DRONE, a spectacular piece of technology, has landed
          hard, half-buried in the sand. The basic electronics are
          still humming, cycling.

                         JACK
          But the guy's too eager. He
          starts running it back.
          Everyone's yelling "Fall down,
          just fall down!"
          Jack goes to his knees, examining it, his hands expertly
          locate an empty tube-like space on the side of the Drone.

                          JACK (CONT'D)
          Huh... The fuel-cell has been
          taken.

                         VICTORIA
          What do you mean taken? Was it a
          malfunction?
          Jack looks at the casing... beaten, pried open? He
          glances at the ground around him, the dark tunnels.
          REVERSE ANGLE. From inside a caved-in tunnel entrance,
          Jack looks small, vulnerable. Something watches Jack...

                         JACK
          No... It's a master drone, too.
          166. Looks like it was hit mid
          flight, managed to limp its way
          here. Watch my back, I'm starting
          field repair.
          INTERCUT: VICTORIA AT SKY TOWER. Glances at the arc of
          the Tet's vision - still six minutes away.

                          JACK (CONT'D)
          Bob, I'm going to need a cell.
          AT THE BUBBLESHIP. An exterior compartment opens
          revealing spare parts, etc... At the same time, a small
          ROVER, an ball-shaped independent gopher, rolls free from
          the ship, sprouting wheels...

                         VICTORIA
          Jack, you need to get out of
          there. Bring it home to the shop.
          Jack has a panel open. He pulls a lead from the sleeve
          of his suit, connects it to a board. We see FLIGHT DATA
          transfer to the Bubbleship.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         9

                         CONTINUED: ( 2)

                          JACK
           So the guy keeps running. 30, 40,
           50 yards and BAM! He gets pasted.
          Ball goes loose...

                         VICTORIA
          Jack, you know they can weaponize
          a fuel cell.
          Now a DRIVER shoots out of the tool cuff of his suit.

                         JACK

                         (STARTING WORK)
          And wouldn't you know it, Giants
          recover, start running it back.
          Total insanity.

                         VICTORIA
          I'm reading the whole central core
          off alignment, you don't have the
          necessary tools.
          Jack's got an arm and half his chest inside. He takes
          his CHEWING GUM, presses it in next to a board...
          Systems go green on Victoria's console.

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Hold on, what did you just do?

                         JACK
          (calling to the ship)
          Bob, I said I needed...
          He turns to find that the ROVER is already there, a
          DEUTERIUM FUEL CELL sitting in its payload bay.
          A SOUND now reaches Jack. Distant, an animal in pain?
          Jack listens, but it's gone. He slots the cell. A
          HUMMMM as the Drone powers up, systems coming online.
          Jack looks around at the stadium.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Can you imagine it? 80,000 people
          on their feet. Everyone yelling
          "Go! Go! Go!..." Touchdown...
          He sets his gun against the Drone, raises his arms,
          running in a circle, making the crowd roar sound...

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          "Yahhhhhhhhhhhhhh... ."

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          10.

                         CONTINUED: (3)
          INTERCUT VICTORIA: Listening to his stadium cheer sound
          over the Comm. She rests her head in her hands.
          WITH JACK. The empty ruined structure stares back.
          Reality returns, sadly...
          He reaches for the open Fuel Cell door... hesitates,
          hating what comes next... and that SOUND comes again.
          Distinctive. An animal's whimper...

          INT. STADIUM TUNNEL - MOMENTS LATER

          Jack stands at the tunnel entrance, shining a light into
          the depths. The sound is clear now, a low WHIMPERING.
          Jack makes his way down the tunnel, carefully. Ahead,
          the tunnel meets the circular tunnel that rings the
          stadium. His light plays over the silty floor, finds:
          A DOG. Starving, shivering. It COWERS in a corner.

                         JACK
          Hey there, boy. Easy...
          Jack moves forward, hand out.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          You got nothing to be scared of,
          buddy...
          The dog suddenly SCURRIES away into the dark
          BEHIND JACK, a HUGE FORM RISES. We see GREY SKIN,
          TEETH... and Jack hears ITS HEAVY LABORED BREATH...

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Ah, shi...
          JACK SPRINTS, full speed! The animal, A GIANT EMACIATED
          HAIRLESS BEAR, comes SURGING out of the darkness,
          lumbering after him.
          Jack TEARS back down the tunnel, the bear's form almost
          FILLING the tunnel behind him.

          EXT. STADIUM - CONTINUOUS

          We HEAR JACK before we see him. A loud "AHHHHHHHH'.!!!!"
          as Jack comes STREAKING out of the tunnel, the bear on
          his heels.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          11.

                         CONTINUED:
           VIEW FROM ABOVE: Jack streaks down the field, 50, 40,
          30.. The giant bear closing...
          WITH JACK. He can see the drone in front of him, the
          Fuel Cell Door still hanging open. He puts on a burst of
          speed but STUMBLES, sliding on his chest, arm
          outstretched towards the Drone as the bear LEAPS!
          He REACHES, flips the Drone's fuel cell door shut.
          Drone 166 REACTIVATES. It SURGES UP, weapons POWERING UP
          and RRRRRRRRRRRRip!! It opens up with white plasma fire
          on the bear which seems to go nova in mid air,
          disintegrating to BLACK ASH which covers Jack.
          Jack stumbles to his feet. Drone 166 NOW WHEELS ON HIM.
           Its smoking red-hot cannons inches from his face.
          JACK averts his gaze as the Drone SCANS Jack. Breathing
          hard, hating this moment. With its ganglia still hanging
          out, it doesn't seem to be processing... And then just as
          quickly, the Drone rockets up into the sky and is gone.
          Jack falls to his knees in the sand, exhausted. Only now
          realizing that Victoria has been calling his name.

                         VICTORIA
          Jesus, Jack. What the hell was
          that?
          INTERCUT VICTORIA. The Tet's scanners finally giving her
          a high-rez thermal view of Jack. Her display burning red
          from the residual plasma fire.

                         JACK

                         (SPITTING ASH)
          Call in number 166 for service up
          top. It's practically got its
          motherboard and half its
          hydraulics hanging out.
          (under his breath)
          But it still wants to kill
          everybody...

                         VICTORIA
          Jack, what happened?
          Nowtrudging to the ship:

                         JACK
          I'll see you at the house later.
          You want anything? Milk? Bread?
          Anything else that doesn't exist?

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          12.

                         CONTINUED: (2)

                         VICTORIA
          You.
          He leans against the ship. Smiles tired. It's a nice
          thing to hear.

                         JACK
          Well if you want anybody else,
          you're out of luck.
          He boards the BUBBLESHIP.

                         VICTORIA
          We only have two more months,
          Jack. Please try to resist the
          urge to do something stupid.

                         (BEAT)
          There's no other service signals.
          Come home.
          ON VICTORIA. A relationship off balance. She wants him
          home. He wants...

                         JACK
          No...
          ON JACK. The captured Drone data right there in front of
          him on the heads-up. He's too curious.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          That Master Drone was hit right
          over mid-town. Same area as the
          one we lost last night.

          EXT. HILLSIDE -- LATER

          JACK'S BUBBLESHIP, locked and armed, sits atop a ridge,
          against the bruised and lightning-fractured sky.
          Jack SCANS the horizon with his BINOCS, past deserted
          landscape, an early iron-framed skyscraper that came down
          semi-intact on its side. Nothing.
          He lowers the Binocs, glances upwards to where one of the
          HUGE RESOURCE GATHERERS blots out half the sky, breath-
          taking. It's hovering over what is left of a subsided
          harbor, a few blasted and rusted hulks of ships. The
          water level has dropped by a kilometer.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          13.

                         CONTINUED:
          The Gatherer is sucking up salt water, harvesting the
          elements essential to create DEUTERIUM, "Heavy Hydrogen."
          At the top of the giant machine, Drones work tirelessly,
          ferrying containers of Deuterium energy up into the sky.
          Jack raises the Binocs, snaps a few photographs...

                         VICTORIA
          There's no Drone signal there.

                         (BEAT)
          What are you doing, Jack?

                         JACK
          One day when we get to Mars,
          someone will want to know about
          this. From someone who was here.
          He stares at the HUGE columns of water draining upwards.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Do we have to take it all?

                         VICTORIA
          It's not doing anyone any good
          here.
          JACK nods, starts to turn away when something GLINTS on
          the horizon. He raises the Binocs, PANS to a gallows-
          like structure. He ZOOMS, but it is still unclear.

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Jack, without a signal, you're
          looking for a needle in a
          haystack. I think we've had
          enough excitement for one day.
          JACK is at the back of the Bubbleship, throwing levers.

                         JACK
          Actually I've got a bit of a
          problem with a gyro here, call you
          when I've fixed it.
          He releases a catch, pulls a WHITE RECTANGULAR CASE from
          a slot in the Bubbleship. He kneels down, hands working
          expertly, producing a full UNFOLDING MOTORCYCLE.
          As Jack locks the rear wheel in place, the bike HUMMS to
          life. He gets on and opens up the throttle, rooster-
          tailing off. The bike's electric, but it MOVES.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          14.

                         CONTINUED: ( 2)
          JACK rides over what used to be the sea-bed, soaking up
          the thrill of catching top speed air over embankments of
          black sand. Completely carefree, enjoying himself like a
          man who is utterly and completely alone.

          EXT. SINK HOLE - DAY

          Something was here. A large metal beam has been propped
          onto rocks, stretching over... a COLLAPSED SECTION OF
          EARTH. This was the source of the light reflection.
          Jack stares down into the hole... black. He POPS a
          flare, drops it in. It comes to rest far below, next to
          the unmistakable form of a DRONE.

                         JACK
          .There you are.
          An instant of BLACK...
          And we're suddenly looking at Jack THROUGH ALIEN
          BINOCULARS. High tech, symbol readouts changing.
          Something is watching him.

          INT. SINK HOLE - DAY

          Inside the hole, looking up. A CLIMBING ROPE spills
          towards camera.
          We descend with Jack, all the way down into the hole, the
          light receding above. He touches his suit and a light
          array blazes on, illuminating the walls passing by.

          INT. LIBRARY -- DAY

          Jack drops down through what used to be a roof... into
          the READING ROOM OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY. Vast,
          ruined, the far end totally collapsed, like a sky-scraper
          fell on it. He reaches the silty floor, the flare's
          burning light illuminating the room.
          He STARES at the expanse of SHELVES that line the walls,
          stripped and empty. Wonder... and disappointment.
          He turns to his task, kneels by the Drone. The thing's a
          wreck. A METAL SHAFT protrudes from a crease. Jack
          marvels at the accuracy of the shot...
          He carefully reaches out, slides the fuel cell door open.
          Again, the FUEL CELL is missing.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         15

                         CONTINUED:

                         JACK
          Vika, you're not going to
          believe...
          WHITE NOISE on the comm. There's no signal down here.

          EXT. HILLSIDE -- CONTINUOUS

          The static BUBBLESHIP sits inert.

           VICTORIA ON THE COMM
          Jack? Jack... ?

          INT. SKY TOWER, CONTROL STATION - CONTINUOUS

          Victoria, worried. Finally, she turns to the TET COMM.
          A station reserved for high-tech, long-range
          communication with the home base. A STATUS indicator,
          and a screen for text communication.

          TET COMM STATUS: "COMMUNICATION ENABLED."

                         VICTORIA
          Mission, this is Lieutenant
          Victoria Kohl, requesting Drone
          intercept at coordinates sending
          now.
          Her AUDIO goes through a SCRAMBLING PROCESS, then is
          uploaded where a few seconds later its receipt is
          acknowledged: STATUS: "APPROVED."
          She stares up at the map, sees one of the Drones turn
          towards Jack's location. She settles back, watching.

          INT. LIBRARY - DAY

          JACK looks up and sees how the Drone was brought down:
          above it is a twisted tangle of chain-mesh and cables
          strung between two structures, a DRONE TRAP.
          MOVEMENT FROM THE DARKNESS. Jack spins, his gun coming
          off his back in a fluid motion. Just the empty cavern,
          the wreckage at the end.
          Jack squints at... a wall of books on the shelves beyond
          the wreckage.

                         JACK
          .Jackpot.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          16.

                         CONTINUED:
          He steps forward... ALMOST FALLS INTO A GIANT HOLE!
          He raises the flare off the ground, illuminating a void
          where the entire floor has imploded down seven more
          stories. What's left is a PIT, with a building-sized ton
          of twisted metal hanging over it...
          A single bent GIRDER still spans the hole. Jack tracks
          the possibilities... steps out onto the girder. He
          reaches up to the suspended wreckage to balance...
          IT SHIFTS! A hundred tons of twisted metal just moved an
          inch above him. Best leave that alone...
          He balances, inching across this metal tightrope.
          Finally reaching the other side...

          AT THE FAR SHELVES
          Jack approaches the wall of books, hundred of them. He
          kneels, lifts one, blows dust off the cover: "THE

          EDUCATION OF HENRY ADAMS."
          He steps back, admiring it... SNAP! A BEAR TRAP hidden
          in the debris closes around his leg, piercing armor and
          flesh. Jack has a second to process and a cable rises
          from the debris, goes taught!
          JACK is dragged through the dust inhumanly FAST, headed
          towards a darkened alcove. He activates a LASER CUTTER
          on his cuff, slices through the cable which WHIPS AWAY as
          he brings his rifle up, FIRES rounds into the darkness.
          INHUMAN SCREAMS. Half animal, half electronic.
          Something's in pain, but not retreating, CLOSING ON HIM.
          Jack SLICES DOWN, cutting loose the claw, and RUNS FOR IT
          back towards the HOLE as his girder is yanked away in
          front of him, pulled into the void below.
          Jack doesn't slow, reaches the edge, LEAPS!
          A moment, Jack hanging in space, gravity clawing at him,
          falling... SLAMMING into the far side. For a moment
          dangling over the fall, then Jack hauls himself over the
          far side.
          ALIEN FORMS emerge from recesses. We get glimpses of
          feathers, oily flesh, metal... They CLOSE as he reaches
          his line, clips in and RISES automatically, the suit
          riding the line up at neck-snapping speed...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          17.

                         CONTINUED: ( 2)
          ABOVE. The line trembles under his weight and stress...
          A KNIFE, improvised from bone and sheet metal, enters the
          frame and CUTS THE LINE.
          Jack has a second to feel the slack hit. And then he's
          FALLING... IMPACTS the ground. Can't get his air.
          Staggering wildly to his feet, FORMS CLOSING...
          Suddenly a DRONE blasts down through the ceiling hole.
          Its lights turning night to day, its cannons FIRING.
          In the STROBING FLASH of canon fire, we see SCAVS
          INCINERATED. Metal and hair fry to ASH as the insect-
          like creatures SCREAM!! Other shots IMPACT WALLS. Fire
          and plaster dust fills the space.
          Jack shields himself from the debris as the Drone ceases
          firing, WHIRLS on Jack. The same awful moment as it
          SCANS him.
          Then it lifts away, is gone as quickly as it arrived.
          And with its departure, the darkness comes again.
          Silence, whatever was here is now gone.
          Jack takes in the destruction for a hard beat: The ash
          of an alien, burning paper twisting in the air. He looks
          up towards the light above. A long ways above.

          EXT. SINK HOLE - LATER

          Jack appears, dirty-faced, filthy and frustrated,
          crawling, lugging his own weight up through the sink
          hole. Finally back to the surface.
          He shakes himself off... notices his bike has been taken.

                         JACK

                         (AD-LIBBING

                         EXPLETIVES)
          That was my bike!!
          He kicks at the dust, the rocks, curses at the pain as
          he's reminded of his injured leg. He stares at the long
          walk ahead, the wall of wind and rain that now hits him,
          soaking him. He starts walking.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          18.

          EXT. BUBBLESHIP - DUSK

          The debris in the air makes for spectacular sunsets.
          Jack's Bubbleship bursts from the low clouds, carrying
          Jack home after the long day. We see the "PLANETARY
          RING" formed by the rubble from the destroyed moon.

          INT. BUBBLESHIP - CONTINUOUS

          Jack marvels at the ring, thoughtful. But then checks
          his read-outs. Victoria knows what he's looking for.

                         VICTORIA
          Check your seven.
          Jack touches his controls and the Bubbleship Canopy
          REVOLVES so Jack's facing away from the direction he's
          traveling in.
          Low on the HORIZON, the TET floats in the sky. It's
          setting, glows a dull orange, like a Harvest Moon.
          INTERCUT VICTORIA. She's leaning back in her command
          chair, her feet propped on the console, also staring out
          at the Tet. Strangely quiet.
          In Jack's face a curious mixture of nostalgia, and
          confusion... This small metal planet is his home.

                         JACK
          Goodnight, folks... See you back
          here tomorrow. Same time, same
          channel...
          He punches the throttle, and screams across the tops of
          the clouds through the beautiful light, arriving at...

          EXT. SKY TOWER, LANDING PAD - CONTINUOUS

          The GLASS walls of the SKY TOWER reflect the Bubbleship
          as it lands. HOOKS catch the landing rockers of the
          BUBBLESHIP and lock it down against the buffeting wind.

          INT. SHOWER - DUSK

          Jack drops the last piece of his environment suit. He
          touches a button and warm water sprays down. Through the
          glass, he can see Victoria inside the Sky Tower. She
          nods at him, a tense welcome home. He nods back. There
          is no privacy in the Sky Tower.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          19.

                         CONTINUED:
          As the glass walls go opaque with steam, he closes his
          eyes, the water running over his face. POPS OF MEMORIES
          go through his imagination:
          SKY TOWER. Early in their tour, Victoria girlishly jumps
          on the sofa with a pint of ice cream, laughing.
          BEDROOM. Also early. Jack watches Victoria sleep,
          brushes hair from her face, affectionate...
          And the memory... SEEMS TO DISTORT. Suddenly becoming:
          THE NEW YORK SKYLINE, seen through a cheap telescope.
          Jack, pulling away from the telescope, happy, turning
          to... A BRUNETTE WOMAN, staring back at him.
          Jack STARTS, snapping out of the memory.

          INT. SKY TOWER, STORAGE AREA - DUSK

          Rows and rows of shelves, mainly empty now. Jack and
          Victoria have gone through almost all of what they needed
          for a 5-year tour. Jack grabs a container of water.

          INT. SKY TOWER, READY ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

          Jack starts to hang up his workman's suit, pauses to
          stare at the photo of a younger him and Victoria on the
          Tet. They look so eager, so innocent.
          He shifts slightly to where he can see out to the Tet
          itself, sinking below the horizon.

          INT. SKY TOWER 2, WORK AREA - DUSK

          The area is devoted to DRONE REPAIR. Lifts, parts,
          shelves, odds and ends of gear and weaponry, tables of
          tools, a written-off DRONE at the back.
           Jack comes in, glances at his newest arrival, the self-
          beached DRONE 166. Even deactivated, it looks like
           trouble, like pure evil.
          He opens a drawer, slips THE EDUCATION OF HENRY ADAMS
          into the drawer, shuts it.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          20.

          INT. SKY TOWER, LIVING AREA - DUSK

          We finally see the whole thing. It couldn't be more
          comfortable, although it continually vibrates in the
          wind: VICTORIA is sitting, reading her own work notes.
          In the background, Chaplin's "Modern Times" plays
          silently on a large screen.
          JACK goes up behind her and kisses her on the head.

                         VICTORIA
          (not looking at him)
          You're not supposed to bring up
          surface items.
          JACK sips water, then waits even longer before...

                         JACK
          No. I'm not supposed to bring
          them in the house.
          He's right. He exchanges his water for a glass of
          something stronger, and goes and sits down.

                         VICTORIA
          I tried to reach you earlier...
          If we're going to be an effective

                         TEAM --

                         JACK
          You're right.

                         VICTORIA
          Then you can't just --
          Jack leaps up, only to return a second later with a small
          bundle held together by an old rag. He hands it to her,
          pleased, watching her reaction.
          She opens it to reveal a small GREEN SEEDLING in a pocket
          of fresh, rich soil. Her eyes play over it...

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Where did you find this?

                         JACK
          Ah-ha. So it's okay when I bring
          you something. But if I --
          She MOVES suddenly, opening one of the glass doors of the
          Sky Tower and heading outside where she holds the
          seedling away from her body, off the edge, lets it drop.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          21.

                         CONTINUED:
          She comes back in, washes her hands in the sink, upset.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Was that really necessary?

                         VICTORIA
          I know you think I'm a stickler
          for the rules, but you have no
          idea what sort of toxins could be
          in something like that.
          He chuckles...

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          I'm sorry, I don't think it's
          funny.

                         JACK
          It was just a plant, Victoria.

                         VICTORIA
          That's not the point. We have two
          more months and the last thing we
          need is you putting it all at
          risk.
          He shakes his head, grimaces as he limps away.

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)

                         (CONCERNED)
          You're hurt. What happened?
          He admits it with a glance, offers no explanation. She
          comes over to him, examines the wound professionally.

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Come on.

          TNT. INFIRMARY BAY - DUSK
          It is tiny, but state of the art. VICTORIA seriously
          examines his wound, cleaning it out. It's no small wound
          but they're less concerned than we would be.
          Victoria pulls on gloves, opens cabinet and removes a
          watery substance as well as a small electronic wand. She
          smears the substance onto his wound, a HEALANT.

                         VICTORIA
          This is gonna pinch a little...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          22.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JACK
          Hit me.
          She activates the wand, shines ultra violet light onto
          the substance. A beat, then he BENDS OVER in pain.
          Through the healant we see the FLESH begin to knit and
          repair. Skin and sinew literally regenerating... to new.

                         VICTORIA

                         (AFFECTIONATE)
          Serves you right.
          She kisses him on the forehead, turns away.

          INT. SKY TOWER, DINING ROOM - LATER

          Wine is involved, candles. Victoria is mellower, much.
          This is a couple who knows each other's differences and
          admires them. This isn't an argument.

                         VICTORIA
          .I'm not saying you can't go
          into your caverns, I'm saying we
          have a job and if I'm trying to
          reach you and you're off on one of
          your adventures --

                         JACK
          Look, they trained me to fix
          drones. That's my job, I get
          that. But it's not what I am. I
          can't simply do the same thing
          over and over again, every day,
          with that... world down there.
          (toasts the sky)
          And if mission has a better Drone
          tech, they can get him to baby-
          sit.
          He gets up, tries out his leg. Stiff, but healed.

                         VICTORIA
          It's only a little while longer.
          The Gatherer's have collected most
          of the resources we need for Mars.
          Pretty soon --

                         JACK
          Pretty soon, there won't be
          anything left down there. No more
          plant life, no more water.

                         (MORE)

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          23.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          So forgive me if I want to enjoy
          it a little before the end.

                         VICTORIA
          You act like there's not a war
          going on down there but there is
          and we can't leave even two of
          those things alive...

                         (NO RESPONSE)
          Dammit, Jack. They nearly killed
          you today.
          They eat in silence for a moment, then:

                         JACK
          Actually, it was like they were
          trying to... catch me.
          (trying to joke)
          Guess I look tasty.
          He goes over to her, puts his arms around her.

                         VICTORIA
          Please be careful. If they get to
          you, what happens to me?
          JACK puts a finger to her lips, then kisses her.

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Answer the question.
          Jack considers this. Then he pulls his shirt off over
          his head. For sex?

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)

                         (PLEADING)
          Jack.

                         JACK
          Come on.

          EXT. SWIMMING POOL - NIGHT

          Talk about an infinity pool. The pool is miles in the
          sky, with a glass bottom. The cold wind is constant
          overhead but heaters flare with the changes in
          temperature, compensating.
          Jack glides graceful underwater, his nude form
          silhouetted against the roiling dark clouds below. He
          surfaces near Victoria, who's stayed dressed on the edge
          with a glass of wine.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          24.

                         CONTINUED:
          He kisses her, steals a sip of her wine, then pushes back
          into the water, looking up at the stars, the streaming
          moon-rubble above.

                         VICTORIA
          Can you imagine when we go back
          up? Having a face to face
          conversation again? I can't
          believe it's finally ending.

                         (TOASTING HIM)
          We made it.
          Jack looks away...

                         JACK
          It's not so bad down here. They
          certainly don't have anything like
          this.

                         VICTORIA
          I wonder what duty I would have
          pulled. Probably programming the
          Mars boats.

                         JACK
          I'd have been overhauling the zero-
          G toilets.

                         (SHE LAUGHS)
          I'm serious, it's dangerous work.
          I mean, you think you have control
          of the situation.
          He swims closer. She smiles, he presses on.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          But then you realize, there are
          some things that were never
          supposed to happen in zero G.

                         VICTORIA
          Stop!

                         JACK
          It's awful. Just thinking about
          it, I get afraid...
          She LAUGHS, reaches for her wine, accidentally knocks the
          glass which tips over, and rolls right off the Sky Tower.
          They watch it disappear into the darkness below.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Ocops.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          25.

                         CONTINUED: ( 2)

                         VICTORIA

                         (SUDDENLY)
          I've been happy here. With you.
          (watches water fall
          from her hand)
          I can't remember zero gravity.
          Physically. Can you?

                         JACK
          Here, let me show you...
          He reaches up PULLS her into the pool. She screams,
          laughing as she goes in. She surfaces, pulling her
          soaking shirt over her head and tossing it to the side.

                         VICTORIA
          I should have seen that coming.
          Jack smiles, then takes a breath and goes under. He
          floats face-down, staring through the bottom of the pool
          into the lightening-stung clouds below...
          .and then Victoria's form glides underneath him,
          looking up at him, smiling. She stops moving and her
          body rises towards his. He opens his arms, and she
          floats up and against him. They embrace, kiss...
          Two bodies, intertwined underwater, a thousand feet above
          a roiling thunderstorm.
          Their lips part, he pulls back to look at her ...
          But it's the BRUNETTE WOMAN who stares back at him!!

          INT. SKY TOWER, BEDROOM -- LATE NIGHT

          Jack wakes, breathless, troubled. He doesn't know this
          woman who invades his dreams...
          Next to him, Victoria lies asleep, curled in the sheets.
          Shaken, he quietly gets up, grabs clothes... and goes
          where he goes when Victoria is asleep...

          INT. SKY TOWER, WORKSHOP AREA - NIGHT

          Jack moves to a BENCH where he keeps his finds... a few
          coins, a watch, a pistol, a snow globe showing the
          Nativity. A book: THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME.
          JACK produces his newest find from the library: THE
          EDUCATION OF HENRY ADAMS. He opens it.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          26.

                         CONTINUED:
          . He was three years old when he took
          this earliest step in education; a lesson
          of color. The second followed soon; a
          lesson of taste...
          ON HIS EYES as he reads:
          . he remembered quite clearly his aunt
          entering the sick room bearing in her hand
          a saucer with a baked apple.
          He puts the book down, strangely troubled.

          TNT. SKY TOWER, COMAND CENTER - LATE NIGHT
          The console sits inert, unattended. Suddenly, a BLIP
          radiates on the MAP, its origin elsewhere. A signal.

          EXT. DEEP SPACE - NO TIME

          A NASA SHUTTLE floats in deep space, a recognizable
          design from our time.

          INT. SPACE SHUTTLE - NO TIME

          Empty, dark. Frozen crystalline dust hangs in the air.
          The ship is dead.
          Suddenly a panel "blips" on. Other systems go active.
          The ship is waking up. There's a VISIBLE RUMBLE as the
          engines prime...
          FURTHER BACK, in the hold. ROWS OF DELTA SLEEP PODS. We
          close on one...

          AND THE SHUTTLE'S GIANT ENGINES ERUPT IN FIRE.

          INT. SKY TOWER, BEDROOM - MORNING

          Jack's eyes blink open, waking from another dream. He
          sits up, troubled.

          EXT. SKY TOWER - DAWN

          Victoria works in her GARDEN. She grows perfect,
          blemishless ROSES. The roof is open to the sky.
          Victoria makes a small depression in the earth, taps
          three seeds out of a labeled envelope.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         27

                         CONTINUED:
          JACK comes through, kisses her. Then moves off towards
          his work.

                         VICTORIA
          Don't go out today until we get a
          signal.
          Jack looks back. She's never said this before. She's
          genuinely worried.

                         JACK
          .Then what would you say in your
          report?
          Victoria looks away, stuck.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          I can't get to a site fast enough
          unless I'm already out there. You
          know that.
          He turns, disappears through the glass mechanical doors.

          EXT. SKY TOWER - MOMENTS LATER

          JACK suits up and gets into the bubbleship and for the
          first time we see the startup procedure.

                         JACK
          One, Two, Three. Jack Harper.
          Lights sparkle across the board. Activation sounds.
          Jack hits switches. Outside, protective barriers lower.
          The stratospheric wind VIBRATES the bubbleship.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          What say we have a little fun
          today, Bob?
          The Bobblehead vibrates along with the engines.
          INTERCUT VICTORIA putting on her headset.

          VICTORIA (ON COMM)
          What's that, Jack?

                         JACK
          Just thinking I'd take Bob manual
          for the dust-off. Feeling the
          need.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         28

                         CONTINUED:

                         VICTORIA
          A hundred terraformed acres on
          Mars is all you have to think
          about.

          INT. SKY TOWER, CONTROL STATION - CONTINUOUS

          VICTORIA stares out from her windows above the clouds.

                         VICTORIA

                         (TO HERSELF)
          I love you.
          He waves, blows the chocks. The WIND whipping off the
          tops of the clouds instantly grabs the ship, HURTLES it
          into the void.
          WITH JACK, just letting the wind twist him and the ship
          in freefall. Loving this feeling.
          Victoria. turns professionally to her console. THE TET
          SYMBOL ON THE SCREEN, the COUNT DOWN TO TET-RISE. She
          opens video streams, loses herself in her work.

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Time as indicated. Technical
          officer away on autonomous patrol
          as of this transmission. Border
          Beacons surrounding the radiation
          sector are 100% operative...

          STATUS: "LOG RECEIVED."

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          You're welcome...
          Victoria takes a sip of coffee, turns to another task,
          when again a BLIP on her map pulls Victoria's attention
          back. That signal, radiating near Jack's position.
          She swipes up a grid, intensifies her sensors...

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Jack... I've got a rogue signal.
          Might just be interference, but
          there shouldn't be anything there.

                         JACK
          Drone?
          Already she's got the signal analyzed on six different
          screens. No matches...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          29.

                         CONTINUED:

                         VICTORIA

                         (TROUBLED)
          No... It's.. I'm not sure what
          it is.
          INTERCUT Jack listening to her in the Bubbleship.

                         JACK
          Don't be embarrassed, there's
          always a first time.

                         (BEAT)
          Send it over. I'll check it out.
          Victoria hesitates... hits a key.

                         VICTORIA
          On its way. Be careful, okay?

          EXT. WATERFALL - DAY

          Jack's ship skims over the surface of a deep pool of
          water. Up ahead, a waterfall explodes its force into the
          pool, spray and mist already reaching the Bubbleship.

                         JACK
          All right, I'm coming up to the
          location.
          Jack begins flying slowly up the twelve hundred foot wall
          of falling water which almost seems to conceal a Petra
          behind its veil. Jack reaches the top...
          JACK'S POV - THE SPIRE AND OBSERVATIONAL DECK of the
          EMPIRE STATE BUILDING, now part of a cliff, set in
          shifted sea-bed, a gushing river pouring past.

          EXT. OBSERVATION DECK - MOMENTS LATER

          Jack lands and gets out of the craft, grabbing his weapon
          and Yankees cap as he does. He looks around, half
          nervous, half in awe that the old girl is still standing.

                         JACK
          (under his breath)
          New York, New York... It's a
          wonderful town. The Bronx is up,
          and the Battery's down...
          He can hear nothing over the wind and the water. He
          moves to the balcony edge, looks "downtown" at the sunken
          city. A Venice set in a matrice of rubble and sea-bed.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          30.

                         CONTINUED:
          He notices an old PAY TELESCOPE next to him, bent and
          rusted. He puts his eyes to the lenses. Nothing.
          Black.
          He STARES at the 25-cent slot on top, lost in a deep
          sense of Deja-Vu...

                         VICTORIA
          Jack, you're right on top of it.
          What do you see?
          Jack starts a circuit of the deck. A pile of old deck
          chairs in his way, he pushes at them with his foot...
          finds a WIRE, running below them, linked to two CAR
          BATTERIES, hidden under the rubbish.
          He traces the path of the wire... up.

          EXT. TOP OF THE ESB ANTENAE - LATER

          JACK has made an arduous climb to discover a TRANSMITTER,
          hooked to an old MILITARY REPEATER, and both hooked to...
          we look up as Jack does... the RUSTED, DAMAGED, ESB
          Antenna atop the building.

                         JACK
          Bob, give me audible on this
          signal.
          Almost immediately from the Bubbleship comes the
          intermittent electronic SQUACK of the signal.

          EXT. OBSERVATION DECK - MOMENTS LATER

          At the bubbleship, Jack watches the frequency analysis of
          the signal play on his heads-up. He touches the screen
          and the signal goes quiet.

                         VICTORIA
          What did you find?

                         JACK
          It's an old radio system. It's
          been reactivated.

                         VICTORIA
          Define reactivated.
          Jack looks at the batteries, the wire...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          31.

                         CONTINUED:

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Jack, that signal's going out over
          the whole territory. You need to
          blow the structure.

                         JACK
          It's the Empire State --

                         VICTORIA
          It's ancient history, Jack. You
          know the procedure. Blow it.
          He pulls several CHARGES from the Bubbleship's storage,
          starts to set them...
          He pauses, staring at the railing, the old telescope.
          Change of plans. He walks towards the batteries, a blade
          sliding out of the cuff of his suit. He reaches them and
          SEVERS the lines. The signal dies.

          EXT. OBSERVATION DECK - MOMENTS LATER

          The Bubbleship lifts off. Jack can't help staring down
          at the Observation Deck as the ship lifts into the air.

          TNT. BUBBLESHIP - DAY
          Jack is in the air, troubled. Up ahead in the distance
          we see a LARGE NATURAL RIDGE. Some instruments light up.

                         VICTORIA
          Check your course, you're headed
          right at the border.

                         JACK
          Yeah, I may have seen another
          drone trap...

                         INTERCUT VICTORIA
          She checks her map. Jack's Bubbleship is headed straight
          at a large red swath of territory marked out, toxic
          radiation levels constantly monitored.
          A small ALARM goes off in the Bubbleship cabin.

                         VICTORIA
          You're at the edge of range, Jack.
          You're starting to break up.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          32.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JACK
          It's okay --

                         VICTORIA

                         (SERIOUS)
          No, it's not okay. You get in too
          close that radiation --

                         JACK
          -- will cook me from the inside
          before I know it. Don't worry,
          I'm still more than five clicks
          from the beacons...
          IN THE BUBBLESHIP. A BIGGER ALARM goes off, Red skull-
          and-crossbones flash across the heads-up. Jack DIVES the
          ship, down over huge rocky outcroppings.
          Jack, intent on piloting. Static. Some GARBLED SOUNDS.
          Victoria's voice barely coming through.

                         VICTORIA
          What are -- you ---- out there
          Jack?
          The signal goes to pure static as Jack steers into a
          steep canyon, rock on all sides. Barely room to squeeze,
          but Jack's not worried. This is all familiar.

                         JACK
          That's right, Bob. You know where
          we're going.

          INT. SKY TOWER, CONTROL STATION - CONTINUOUS

          Victoria stares at the screen, static hiss low and empty.
          It's not the first time he's done this, but she hates it
          every time.

                         VICTORIA
          Jack...?
          Victoria works the panel, upping signal, boosting
          reception. The static is again MIXED WITH GARBLED
          SOUNDS. She listens, confused, ups the volume...
          BLIP! That signal from the Empire State starts again.
          This time it LOCKS ON, a loud and continuous electronic
          pattern.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          33.

          EXT. CRATER LAKE - DAY

          JACK's ship emerges from a canyon into a beautiful
          landscape we have never seen before. This is Jack's
          SECRET PLACE. TREES exist on an island surrounded by
          clean water.
          And near the shore, a GROTTO, a carved-out portion of the
          hillside, supported with scavenged timbers, protected by
          plastic tarps. A ton of gear is piled inside. JACK has
          been scavenging for a long time.
          The BUBBLESHIP lands. JACK walks into the structure,
          slapping on a relay from a SOLAR GENERATOR. All around
          are young growing plants, including small yellow flowers
          and their GREEN SEEDLINGS -- the same Jack gave to Vika.
          Jack kneels down by an old military JAMMER. He checks a
          screen: the Crater Lake location is being jammed.

          INT_SKY TOWER, CONTROL STATION - DAY
          Victoria sits, the repetitive audio of the signal playing
          from her console. She stares at the empty map, the
          notable absence of the Bubbleship's icon on it. She keys
          the Comm, one last time.

                         VICTORIA
          Jack? Jack, I really need you
          online...

          EXT. CRATER LAKE - DAY

          A RECORD PLAYER is taped into his solar power system. An
          EARLY METAL POWER-BALLAD floats out of the speakers.
          Jack has a basketball hoop lashed to a pole. He shoots
          hoops by himself, the ROVER retrieves the ball.
          LATER. Jack brings a single CHAIR out in front of the
          water. He sits, and with care produces the books he's
          brought with him. He opens one with burnt edges:

          TREASURE ISLAND.
          .I remember him as if it were yesterday,
          as he came plodding to the inn door, his
          sea-chest following behind him in a hand-
          barrow...
          JACK is in an obscure state of frustration. He lifts
          another book, THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME:

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         34

                         CONTINUED:
          How can man die better
          Than facing fearful odds,
          For the ashes of his fathers,
          And the temples of his gods...
          Jack closes the books, strangely unsatisfied...

          INT. SKY TOWER, CONTROL STATION - DAY

          ON VICTORIA, stuck with the audio signal playing. She
          moves the Tet Comm, hesitates. Then keys the control.

                         VICTORIA
          Mission, this is Lieutenant
          Victoria Kohl, requesting a link.
          I may have a situation...
          A beat while the connection is made, then...

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          Lt. Kohl, standby.

                         (BEAT)
          What is your situation?

                         VICTORIA
          I have a rogue signal of unknown
          origin. I'm sending you a relay.

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          Have your Technician locate and
          report.

                         VICTORIA
          (loathe to admit)
          Technician is... experiencing
          technical difficulties...
          She winces, that wasn't the greatest lie. Waits...

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          Are you still an effective team?

                         VICTORIA
          Yes, we're an effective team.

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          Understood. Have your Technician
          locate and report.

                         VICTORIA

                         (SUDDENLY)
          We're happy, to be coming home.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          35.

                         CONTINUED:
          A long beat. Then:

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          (beat, then)
          It'll be good to have you back,
          Vika. Two more months. : )
          Victoria SMILES despite herself. Nods, emotional.

                         VICTORIA
          Will communicate findings on next
          Tet cycle. Understood.
          Victoria clocks off. Stares at the border area on the
          map where she last saw Jack.
          A KLAXON goes off in her workspace. Victoria STARTS. For
          the first time she seems confused as she works the
          console. She can't immediately figure it out...
          Suddenly she brings up a WIDE SCAN for tracking the Tet,
          The whole Eastern Coast of the continent. And something
          is closing, coming over the poles, FAST.

          ON VICTORIA...

          EXT. CRATER LAKE - DAY

          Jack folds the page of his book, stuffs it in his cargo
          pocket and walks down to the water sparkling over stones.
          Motion catches his attention. It's the ROVER,
          approaching with the basketball.

                         JACK
          So, um... Victoria.
          The ROVER shifts, confused.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          I was thinking, when our tour is
          up, maybe we'd stay. We could put
          in for another -- Wait, wait.
          Stop yelling. Hear me out. No,
          don't throw that, that's a...
          The ROVER turns around. Jack smiles at the poor
          machine's confusion. The smile dying... this is serious.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Maybe you should go, and I should
          stay...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          36.

                         CONTINUED:
          The ROVER leaves, obedient. Jack watches it go, sad.
          He's spoken the words. He lies back on the bank, looks
          at the clouds rolling overhead.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          I should stay...
          His eyes... close.

          INT. JACK'S DREAMS - VARIOUS

          ---- AN ELEVATOR. It climbs a gantry towards a SHUTTLE.
          POV looks over, sees a YOUNGER VICTORIA, who smiles back,
          nervous...
          -- A GLASS CARAPACE. A WOMAN'S FACE inside. The same
          Brunette woman. Her eyes open, she SMILES WITH LOVE...
          .then SCREAMING! JACK'S POV SPINS as A SCAV looms
          through ORANGE LIGHT and DUST, snarling with its
          electronic squeal...

                         WOMAN'S VOICE

          JACK!!!
          JACK's eyes snap open. It is much later in the day. He
          scrambles to his feet, breathing hard, remembering
          SOMETHING... something desperate...

          BOOM!
          What appears to be A METEOR streaks across the sky,
          leaving a trail of flame and white smoke.
          Jack grabs his binocs and traces the meteor path...
          resolves it just barely as the shuttle, crashing down.
          It disappears over a rise, a beat, then a FIERY

          EXPLOSION.

                         JACK
          Bob! Let's get going!
          The Bubbleship is already powering up by the time Jack
          piles in. He touches a control and the ship shoots up
          into the air.

          INT. BUBBLESHIP - MOMENTS LATER

          Jack sets a course towards the smoke on the horizon.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         37

                         CONTINUED:

                         JACK
          Vika? Vika, did you get that? An
          object hit near here. A ship.

                         VICTORIA
          Where the hell have you been?
          Jack's silent, not wanting to lie.
          INTERCUT VICTORIA, looking at streaming info from TET.

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          (tense, professional)
          It's an external. An alien ship.
          It's a God damn Scav vessel in the
          Western Valley.

                         JACK
          I saw it through optics in the
          last minute. I'm not sure it was
          alien.

                         VICTORIA
          Turn around, Jack. The Drones
          will handle the situation.

                         JACK
          The Drones'll kill anything that
          moves.

                         VICTORIA
          Just for once wait for your
          orders on this one, Jack. This is
          serious.
          Jack is silent, unsure. The crash site growing closer...

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Technician. This is your Control.
          Turn around.

                         JACK
          Vika...

                         VICTORIA
          You heard me.
          Another hard beat. Jack hating this but...

                         JACK
          Negative. I'll report when I get
          to the site.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          38.

                         CONTINUED: ( 2)
          IN THE BUBBLESHTP. Bob seems to shake his head.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          (sotto, to Bob:)
          What are you looking at?

           INT. SKY TOWER, CONTROL STATION - CONTINUOUS

           Victoria STARES at her Comm. This has never happened.

          EXT. CRASH SITE -- DAY

          A MOUNTAINOUS AREA of what was once sea-bed. Smoky
          orange fire blows across the ruined landscape. A fire in
          a dust storm. A GUST now reveals...
          The crashed NASA space shuttle, with the name ODYSSEY on
          its fractured hull.

          INT. BUBBLESHIP - CONTINUOUS

          JACK is circling the wreckage, looking down.

                         JACK
          I'm here, and it's definitely one
          of ours.

                         VICTORIA
          I'm not confirming this from the
          Tet.

                         JACK
          I'm confirming it. I'm right
          here.
          Vika works her displays, scanning, wanting to keep him
          safe. The wreckage has strewn out thousands of flaming
          pieces of debris, all which register heat signatures.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          This thing is ancient, one of the
          old pre-war shuttles.
          JACK'S POV - THE WRECKAGE. The ship's guts are strewn
          across the earth. Several pod-like canisters strewn
          around, more fixed into the burning wreckage.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          39.

          EXT. CRASH SITE -- CONTINUOUS

          JACK TOUCHES DOWN, rolling out of his Bubbleship even
          before it's settled. He heads straight into the burning
          wreckage, into hell. Heat SEARING his eyes, disorienting
          him. All around metal POPS and GROANS as it distends.
           He moves through metal panels, dodging flames and burning
          debris -- searching wildly.
          Jack sees what looks like a SURVIVOR! HAULS it over to
          discover it's only an empty NASA jumpsuit. But beyond
          that... A DELTA-SLEEP POD, split wide open. Its
          interior EMPTY. Jack moves on, finds another POD,
          presses his face against the glass...
          A HUMAN FACE on the other side. A MAN, sleeping...
          A FUEL EXPLOSION plumes into the dark sky. Jack STUMBLES
          ON, tracks another pod literally ON FIRE. Beyond that, a
          whole portion of the ship is semi-intact, the hull ripped
          lengthwise. Jack tracks a burnished STEEL CYLINDER with
          radioactive markings, locked in strong moorings...
          And near that, another POD, still locked in the ship's
          wall. Jack moves to it, wiping away soot and grime,
          pressing his face close and sees her...

          .THE BRUNETTE WOMAN FROM HIS DREAMS.
          She's asleep, her face lit by moving firelight. JACK is
          stunned. Eyes dart to readouts: She's alive.
          ON JACK. Confused, amazed, moved. He puts a hand out,
          towards the glass of the pod...

                         JACK

                         OKAY
          SVUNK! SVUNK! Behind Jack, plasma rounds impact the Pod
          with the man in it, the metal going nova, collapsing...

                         JACK (CONT'D)

          NO! 1!
          Cannon fire erupts all around him! TWO DRONES settle on
          the site, their weapons kicking out energy, locking on
          and destroying Pods...

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          NO! NO! They're firing on the
          ship. Vika, it's one of ours.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          40.

          INT. SKY TOWER, CONTROL STATION - CONTINUOUS

          Victoria stares at her screens, perhaps for the first
          time in her life, frozen. Jack's voice blares over
          speakers.

                         JACK
          There are people here, and they're
          killing them!
          Victoria opens her mouth to respond. She can't.

          EXT. CRASH SITE - CONTINUOUS

          A Drone passes right over Jack, locks into position,
          lining its cannons on the Pod with the WOMAN in it...
          Jack moves between the Drone and the Pod. The Drone
          hesitates...
          SCANS him. Weapons literally red hot from
          repeated fire.
          The Drone SHIFTS AGAIN, FAST, looking for its shot. Jack
          counters, keeping his body between the Drone and the Pod.

                         JACK
          Get out of here! Go away! Get!
          A moment of insane bravado, Jack un-shoulders his weapon,
          strafes the Drone with gunfire which knocks it back.
          It re-centers, weapons chugging with energy.
          INTERCUT VICTORIA. Staring at the feeds. A screen
          catching a half-image of Jack firing at the Drone. She's
          absolutely still, holding her breath...
          Jack stares at the Drone, at certain death.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Well, what the hell are you
          waiting for? GO ON!
          And suddenly, the Drone moves on, Canons live, searching
          on into the wreckage, annihilating other Pods.
          ON JACK, chest heaving...
          An instant of BLACK, shuttering back to:
          CROSS-HAIR POV: We suddenly see Jack through CROSS-
          HAIRS, tracking him as he shields the Delta Pod with his
          body, dragging it towards the Bubbleship...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          41.

                         CONTINUED:
          A high-tech, high-powered RIFLE rests in two alien-
          armored hands. Like a metal-coated insect tarsus (barbed
          feet of a fly). The alien begins to depress the
          trigger... Then another tarsus presses the barrel down.
          Don't. Don't fire.
          SHIFTING OVER: Close on an ALIEN. Our first real look,
          still too close to truly comprehend. Thick stubbled hair
          armored with metal, bones; A head-dress of authority.
          Behind layers of dusted cracked goggles, the older alien
          eye... blinks.

          EXT. CRASH SITE - CONTINUOUS

          JACK reaches the Bubbleship, heaves the Delta Pod onto
          the carrier which immediately secures it with armatures
          designed to carry damaged drones.
          JACK steals another look at the sleeping face of the
          WOMAN. He touches the glass, wiping away soot and dust.

                         JACK
          It's you...

          SEEN FROM FAR AWAY
          The Bubbleship flies up and up, The DELTA SLEEP POD
          securely hanging from its belly, carrying Jack and this
          mysterious woman away into the evening sky.

          EXT. SKY TOWER, BUBBLESHIP PAD - SUNSET

          The WIND is wild and brutal. As the Bubbleship touches
          down, CLAMPS snap on the landing skids.
          Jack is in motion, bursting out of the ship. He glances
          up. Victoria stands behind the glass of the Sky Tower
          living room, staring at him.
          THUNK. He releases the armature. HAULS the Pod with him
          towards the house. HAMMERS ON THE GLASS.

                         JACK
          Open it!
          Victoria obeys, opens the glass doors. WIND fills the
          living room as Jack hauls the Pod in. Then Victoria
          touches a control and the walls SEAL.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          42.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          The drones tried to kill her.
          They destroyed the other
          survivors.

                         VICTORIA

                         (RATIONALIZING)
          Well it didn't recognize her.
          It's machinery. It's programmed

                         MACHINERY --

                         JACK
          She came off a NASA shuttle. The
          drones were specifically targeting
          the pods --

                         VICTORIA
          I don't know what the machinery
          did or didn't do. There's
          protocol...

                         JACK
          Protocol? Protocol?! Who's the
          machinery now, Victoria?
          VICTORIA stares at him. Then retreats from the question
          into the task at hand. She kneels by the Pod.

                         VICTORIA
          Go get the cutter, and a breather,
          and my big bag. Now. The Pod's
          been damaged, she's not doing
          well, let's get her out of there.
          Jack moves. Victoria, almost holds back, but...

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          .This has to be reported.
          HE SPINS. Stares at her. Really angry.

                         JACK
          I know it does. And when we
          report it, we'll also report that
          drones slaughtered the other human
          survivors from one of our ships.
          See what they make of that.
          He goes for the equipment. Victoria stares at the
          woman's face, deeply unsettled...
          Jack returns with Victoria's bag, and firing up a CUTTER.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          43.

                         CONTINUED: ( 2)

                         VICTORIA
          Right there, be careful...
          Jack directs the blue arc towards a seal. The Pod
          depressurizes with a sudden exhale of dead air. Jack
          pulls back the pod door.
          Inside, the woman lies in a gauzy sleep suit. Her hair
          is matted. Her body looks frail, her skin translucent,
          veins dark, lips blue, like a drowning victim.
          Vika pulls her feeding tube, takes her pulse, checks her
          eyes, lifting the lids.

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Lift her up, we have to get some
          air into her.
          JACK gets his arms around the woman, pulling her upwards.
          FLUID seeps from her mouth...
          And suddenly she's ALIVE, COUGHING, spewing fluid across
          Jack and the floor. He sets her down as she painfully
          wretches, then SUCKS IN AIR. Her eyes flutter open.
          She's suddenly violently ill again. Instinctively, Jack
          goes to hold her --

                          VICTORIA (CONT'D)

                         (PROFESSIONAL)
          No. Don't. Let her get the fluid
          out.
          The woman stops heaving. Looks up at both of them...
          She tries to stand, disoriented by the glass walls, the
          infinite vertigo that surrounds them. She falls to her
          knees and stares with amazement down into the clouds.
          Jack kneels beside her, puts a hand on her shoulder.

                         JACK
          You're safe. You're in a
          skytower, on Earth.

                         WOMAN
          .Jack.
          Victoria gives a sharp look at Jack. He's stunned.
          Now completely exhausted, the woman SLUMPS into
          unconsciousness. Jack catches her. Victoria comes
          close, slides an oxygen breather mask over her face.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          44.

                         CONTINUED: (3)

                         VICTORIA
          We need to get her cleaned up.

          INT. SHOWER - MOMENTS LATER

          A bizarre and almost beautiful tableau: ALL THREE
          together under the water, Jack holding the unconscious
          Woman like a child. The warm water spraying over their
          three forms, soaking the woman's gauzy suit which clings
          to her body. Water running across Jack and Victoria's
          faces, their open eyes, locked on each other.
          The water finally stops.

                         VICTORIA
          We have to get her up to the Tet.

                         JACK
          I know.

                         VICTORIA
          I don't have the facilities here.
          Once she's stable...

                         JACK
          I know.
          The glass door slides open behind them. Neither move.

                         VICTORIA
          What's going on?
          He shakes his head. He has no idea.

          INT. INFIRMARY BAY - LATER

          The WOMAN lies in a bed. VICTORIA checks her readouts,
          adjusts her UV drip. She glances over her and realizes
          that the woman's eyes are open, staring at her.
          Beat. Victoria turns, offers the woman some water.

                         VICTORIA
          Here. Drink this. You're
          dehydrated... You've been in a
          very bad crash. Your ship came
          down.
          This DISTURBS the woman. She tries to sit up.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          45.

                         CONTINUED:

                         WOMAN
          What about the others? How did
          you get out?

                         VICTORIA
          What's your name?

                         WOMAN
          .Julia. Julia.
          The woman, JULIA, sinks back down, exhausted.

                         VICTORIA
          You need to rest quietly. You've
          been in delta sleep for a long
          time.

                         JULIA
          How long...?

                         VICTORIA
          Best guess? About 65 years.
          Julia takes that in...

                         JULIA
          Where's Jack...?
          Julia STARTS. Looks down at her arm where Victoria has
          just slid a needle under her skin. She stares at her,
          almost afraid. Victoria depresses the plunger.

                         VICTORIA
          Shhhhhh...

          EXT. SKY TOWER - NIGHT

          SEEN FROM AFAR. The Sky Tower a lonely refuge in a
          roiling storm, turning on its axis, like a weather-vane
          And we PLUNGE DOWN. Down and down, to the base of the
          SKYTOWER, to see...

          EXT. SKY TOWER BASE - NIGHT

          AN ALIEN, battered by wind, rags blowing, raises its mask
          to the sky. Looking up towards the tower. It wears the
          DISTINCTIVE HEAD-DRESS that we have seen before.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          46 ,

          INT. SKY TOWER, DINING AREA - NIGHT

          Victoria is very subdued, poking at food. Both very
          aware of the woman sleeping in the infirmary.

                         VICTORIA
          Tomorrow, I'll report that we have
          her.
          Jack nods, but won't look at her. Deep in thought.

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Jack...

                         (BEAT)
          What do you want from me, Jack?
          This isn't just a Shakespeare
          Sonnet, a buffalo nickel, some
          vase...

                         JACK
          It's a Greek funeral vase. Which
          I want my ashes in, incidentally.
          Victoria collects the dishes, heads for the kitchen.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          I just think we need to know why.

                         VICTORIA
          Jack, please. This isn't why
          we're here. This is just what we
          have to do before our real lives
          begin. We've given them five
          years and now we get to go home.

                         (BEAT)
          So just leave this alone. It's
          not our job.

                         JACK
          And what if I can't?
          They stare at each other, each obscurely frightened.

          EXT. INFIRMARY - NIGHT

          Julia sleeps, a mask taped to her face, oxygen hissing.
          Jack watches her. Now cleaned and dry, there's a
          natural, earthy, freckled beauty to her. Air passing
          peacefully through her lips, now returned to color.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          47.

                         CONTINUED:
          Jack reaches out to brushes hair from her face. He
          notices the outline of a necklace with a pendant under
          her nightgown.

          INT. SKY TOWER, KITCHEN - NIGHT

           Victoria sets dishes in a dishwasher. She stops. She
           can see Jack in the Infirmary, staring at Julia.

           INT. WORKSHOP AREA - NIGHT

          DRONE 166 sits in its hub, repaired. Jack replaces a
           panel, moves to a laptop and activates the drone.
          It POWERS UP, rising fast, bringing its canons around.
          We should be afraid, very afraid, that something is wrong
          with it. It SCANS Jack, as menacing as ever. But
          something's changed in Jack. He just stares back at it.
          Beat. Then the DRONE FIRES itself off into the black
          clouds, disappearing towards the earth below.
          Jack stares after it; then he turns, looks across empty
          space to the underside of the glass pool. Victoria has
          just dived in. She swims laps, kicking hard,
          bubblestreams peeling across her body. Exercise, not
          pleasure.

          EXT. SKY TOWER, POOLSIDE - NIGHT

          Jack stands at the end of the pool, watches Victoria
          stoke powerfully towards him. She sees him as she
          reaches the edge, stops, looking up at him.
          This is important, something Jack's been wanting to say
          for a long time:

                         JACK
          I read these books, of what it was
          like down here, before...
          He sits, his legs dangling into the water. She pulls up
          close, her arms on the side.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          In this one book I was reading, a
          man describes being a child. He
          remembers a yellow kitchen, a
          baked apple.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          48.

                         CONTINUED:

                         VICTORIA
          I know. That was the world
          before. Your little obsession...

                         JACK
          What was so wonderful about life
          on the Tet?
          She looks away...

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          When our time is up next month. I
          want to put in for one more tour.
          Victoria pushes off from the side, drifts back...

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          It's almost all gone, Victoria. I
          want to be here for the end.
          She turns, resumes swimming laps. Hard, driving through
          the water. He watches her for a moment, then turns away.

          INT. SKY TOWER - NIGHT

          Victoria comes in from the pool. She can see Jack in the
          bedroom, sitting on the bed, his back to her.
          She moves into the Infirmary, moves to Julia and checks
          her IV drip. She starts to adjust it, stops.
          She stares down at Julia.

          INT. SKY TOWER, BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER

          Victoria comes in from the infirmary. She opens a
          closet, changes into a night shirt.

                         JACK

                         VIKA --
          She turns and grabs him, desperate.

                         VICTORIA
          Please. Please. Don't you
          understand? We have a chance to
          be on the first boats out, to be
          the first to settle Mars, raise a
          family. Five years. Proof that
          we are an effective team.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          49.

                         CONTINUED:
          She holds his face, kisses him, willing him to want her
          as desperately.

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          Everything we've wanted is waiting
          for us up there. Please, Jack.

                         JACK
          I don't know if it is or not,
          Victoria. I can't remember.
          She starts to reply... has nothing. Shakes her head.
          She grabs blankets and pulls them around herself, her
          back to him, her eyes open, scared. Jack also lies down,
          staring upwards. And then Jack asks the 64,000 dollar

                         QUESTION:

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Do you remember her?
          Victoria doesn't move. Stares straight out.

          EXT. THE SKYTOWER - NIGHT

          WIND shakes the SKYTOWER, and the clouds boil beneath it.
          Jack and Victoria sleep next to each other.
          In the infirmary, Julia sleeps alone. A machine "beeps."

          EXT. OBSERVATION DECK - DAY (DREAM)

          We're in the deep saturation of Jack's dream. Images fly
          by, then SLOW. People, enjoying the view. New York
          City. Jack, looking through the pay telescope. Then
          turning, seeing...
          Julia right next to him, smiling up, happy.

          INT. THE SKY TOWER, BEDROOM - NIGHT

          Jack's eyes open. That dream again. Victoria's still
          asleep next to him. He rises out of bed...

          INT. SKY TOWER - VERY EARLY MORNING

          Jack pads out into the main room. STOPS when he sees
          Julia, risen from the infirmary, standing at one of the
          glass walls of the Sky Tower, staring out.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          50.

                         CONTINUED:
          It's early early morning. Probably 3:00 am. While it's
           dark below, the first signs of dark blue and orange
          sunrise are visible on the horizon. THE PLANETARY RING
          glows with soft golden light.
          JULIA'S POV: In the distance, the Tet is rising, faint
          light on its surface as it crests the planet's curve.
          VERY CLOSE on Julia. The image of Tet reflected in the
          corneas of her eyes. She's been crying, silently, and
          alone. One hand at her chest.

                         JACK
          It's beautiful, isn't it? It's
          your home now.

                         (NO RESPONSE)
          How do you feel?
          She wipes her eyes.

                         JULIA
          A bit more... located.

                         JACK
          What was your shuttle's mission?
          She turns to him, watches him carefully in the dim light.
          And then, lying:

                         JULIA
          I don't remember. I should get
          back to the ship. I might be able
          to find the flight recorder.

                         JACK
          Your ship... it's pre-war.

                         JULIA
          (again, careful)
          Have you ever seen a ship like
          that?

                         JACK
          No. No, of course not.
          This answers something important for Julia.

                         JULIA
          I wonder what brought us back?

                         JACK
          .There was a transmission. I
          don't know who sent it.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          51.

                         CONTINUED: (2)

                         JULIA
          We'll never really know without
          the flight recorder.
          (almost casually...)
          She says we can't go down there,
          that it's too dangerous.
          He laughs a little, shakes his head.

                         JULIA (CONT'D)
          What?

                         JACK
          Funnily enough, you've found your
          man.

                         JULIA

                         (SMILING)
          Have I?
          An awkward beat, then:

                         JACK
          How did you know my name?

                         JULIA
          .You look like someone I once
          knew.
          (extending her hand)
          I understand I owe you my life.
          Thank you, Jack.
          They shake. A weird moment. She breaks away, looks back
          at the Tet which now glows a pale orange on the horizon.

                         JULIA (CONT'D)
          What happens now?

                         JACK
          In a few hours, the Tet will come
          online. Victoria will report your
          rescue and I imagine they'll send
          someone down for you.

                         JULIA
          From... the `Pet?

                         JACK
          Yes.
          She gestures out to the Bubbleship on its pad.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          52.

                         CONTINUED: ( 3)

                         JULIA
          You fly that thing?

                         JACK
          .You could say that.
          She SMILES, pleased. A twinkle in her eye...

                         JULIA
          Alright then. Don't you want to
          know?

          EXT. SKY TOWER, BUBBLESHIP PAD - EARLY MORNING

          JACK and JULIA are suited up, ready to go. The Tetis
          still low and far on the dark horizon, silhouetted bythe
          first signs of sunlight growing in the East...
          The Bubbleship's ENGINES start up with their distinctive
          whine. As they head towards the ship, Victoria comes out
          from the house, a robe pulled on...

                         VICTORIA
          Jack! What are you doing?

                         JACK
          I'll bring her back before Tet-
          Rise. We just want to try to find
          the flight recorder. You can't
          know everything watching from a
          mile up.

                         VICTORIA
          She shouldn't be --
          Julia turns on Victoria, quickly.

                         JULIA
          Thank you. I feel very well.
          Then, coldly, she boards the ship.

                         JACK
          She's the flight officer, she
          wants. to see the wreck of her ship
          and secure items there. You'd
          want to do the same thing.

                         VICTORIA
          Jack, please.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          53.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JACK
          Don't worry, we'll be back before
          you have to make your report.

                         VICTORIA
          That's not it. I can't protect
          you with the Tet offline and I
          just have a very bad...

                         JACK
          I'll be fine.
          He turns and boards. Julia is staring at her through the
          bubble-canopy.
          The bubbleship rises and then falls off to the side,
          plummeting towards earth.

          INT. BUBBLE SHIP - EARLY DAWN

          Jack pulls the ship out of its dive, sets course across
          the altered earth. Julia is STARING down, a little
          afraid, but darkly fascinated...
          Victoria's voice cuts through on the Comm.

                         VICTORIA
          Jack... This isn't just about
          protocol. I'm trying to
          understand.

                         JACK

                         (BEAT)
          I'll be home for breakfast.
          And he SWITCHES OFF the Comm.

          INT. SKY TOWER, COMAND CENTER - CONTINUOUS

          Victoria STARES at the dead Comm. A moment, then she
          SLAMS the panel with her fists. She backs off, staring
          at the panel.

          INT. BUBBLESHIP - CONTINUOUS

          They fly in silence. Julia gazes down at sights we're by
          now familiar with, becoming visible as the first light
          hits. The craters, emaciated seascape.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          54.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JULIA
          So I guess I'm around... a hundred
          years old.

                         (BEAT)
          What happened next?
          He gestures towards the moon ring in the sky.

                         JACK
          The Scavs assumed taking out the
          moon would wipe us out, and it
          almost did. But we re-grouped,
          fought back. We beat them in the
          end.
          She glances at him.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          That's if you call nuking half the
          planet beating anybody.
          He looks at her, shrugs. They fly past a RESOURCE
          GATHER, its column of water lifting from the seas.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          We harvest seawater to supply the
          Mars colony with the energy we
          need to live there. We're almost
          done. Pretty soon, there'll be no
          more water down here.

                         JULIA
          A dry planet...
          He nods at the Tet, rising in the distance.

                         JACK
          Yeah. What's left of us are up
          there now, ready to go where you
          were headed, Mars. 40 acres and a
          mule. What we've got left. What
          you've got.
          Julia stares out at the Tet.

                         JULIA
          What about you?

                         JACK
          We were born and raised up there.
          Vika's the A-student. I'm just a
          tech... I fix things. I...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          55.

                         CONTINUED; ( 2)
          JULIA looks at him. Something out of the groove.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Why are you looking at me like
          that?

                         JULIA
          Sorry.
          She stares back down at the landscape.

                         JULIA (CONT'D)
          It's so beautiful.
          He looks at her, surprised. He thought he was the only
          one...

          EXT. CRASH SITE - EARLY MORNING

          THE BUBBLESHIP sits landed amidst the wreckage. A low
          still fog has condensed, leaving visibility low, moisture
          everywhere. While there was light up high, they've
          descended back into the pre-dawn darkness.
          The ROVER has detached, shining its small light in their
          direction to help.
          Julia searches fruitlessly. Everything from the wreck
          small enough to carry away has been taken by Scavs. Every
          piece of fabric and metal.
          Jack half watches her, half tracks the periphery, his
          weapon slung low.

          INT. SKY TOWER, COMAND CENTER - CONTINUOUS

          Victoria sits at her workstation, upset.
          She's got the Bubbleship up on the map, its cam feed on
          display.

          EXT. CRASH SITE - CONTINUOUS

          Julia, still weakened from Delta Sleep, hauls aside
          debris, revealing a metal floor-plate, unscrewed and
          discarded. The slot within is empty.

                         JULIA
          No! NO! It's been taken. DAMN

          IT!

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          56.

                         CONTINUED:
          She backs off, upset, breathing hard.

                         JACK
          Look, it doesn't matter --

                         JULIA
          It matters, okay!? You don't...
          you can't understand... I need
          that flight recorder. I need to
          know what happened.

                         (BEAT)
          You need to know what happened.

                         JACK
          We should stay close to...
          She ignores him, moves on. Deeper in the wreckage, she
          locates the empty moorings that held the Steel Cylinder
          Jack saw. It's also gone.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          What was it?
          She STARES at him, wanting to say something. Deciding
          not to. She leans back against a wall of the shuttle.

          INT. SKY TOWER, COMAND CENTER - CONTINUOUS

          Victoria has tried to ignore the cam feeds, working on
          other things. She glances over, then away just as a FORM
          passes by one of the cam feeds!
          Victoria checks another readout, glances back as TWO MORE
          FORMS pass by the camera. Glimpses of metal and fur...

                         VICTORIA
          (hitting the Comm)
          Jack! Jack! There's something
          coming your way. JACK!!"

          TNT. CRASH SITE - CONTINUOUS
          Jack's Bubbleship sits silent. The COMM still switched
          off. Suddenly ANOTHER FORM moves through our line of
          sight, something's there, and CLOSE.
          WITH JACK and JULIA.
          The air still, damp. Almost no sound. She picks through
          the remains of the ship. He's staring at her.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          57.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JULIA
          (without looking up)
          You're staring at me.

                         JACK
          I'm sorry.
          INTERCUT: Victoria watches as MORE AND MORE Alien
          figures pass the camera feed. Moving towards Jack and
          Julia's position. Victoria, HELPLESS.
          Julia looks up at Jack, directly for the first time.
          He stares at her...

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          How do I know you...
          ON JULIA'S FACE. Suddenly her vision racks...
          JACK SPINS, sees emerging out of the mist, SCAVS. A
          dozen of them. Alien tribesmen, bristling with weapons,
          war-like high-tech headdresses. Mandibles and claws.
          Terrifying and close.
          Jack reaches for his weapon, bringing it around and --
          SLAM! He's hit from the side by a SCAV. Its armored
          body bringing him to the ground. He tries to CRAWL AWAY,
          sees Julia grabbed. He twists, sees Scavs crawling over
          the Bubbleship.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Bob! HOME!
          In the background, the Bubbleship BLASTS OFF, Scavs
          falling off as Jack KICKS BACKWARDS, breaking the Scavs
          hold. He rolls away towards his weapon-
          - straight into the legs of a GIANT SCAV holding an
          improvised club which now comes down, IMPACTING JACK...

          INT. SKY TOWER, CONTROL STATION - CONTINUOUS

          VICTORIA stares at image of the wreck growing SMALLER as
          the Bubbleship rises.

                         VICTORIA

          JACK! JACK...!

                         

                         

                         

                         

          58.

          EXT. OPEN LAND - DAWN

          Darkness. LOUD SOUNDS. ANIMAL PANTING. Small, glimpses
          of earth moving by, then darkness again.
          Jack and Julia are tied to a huge SCAV SLED pulled by
          twelve FERAL DOGS. A combination of old scavenged
          military hardware and new innovation to adapt to a world
          without engine-power. Giant treads roll forward as the
          dogs STRAIN against metallic harnesses.
          Jack's head lolls to the side. He blinks, looks over to
          see Julia next to him, unconscious. He tracks up. At
          the top of the sled, a massive Alien Scav pilots the
          sled, sand whipping through a head-dress we recognize:
          The LEADER. He holds a long whip, cracks it over the
          dogs who haul the sled forward.
          We slow, letting the sled pull away from us into the dark
          as we travel BACK, towards where we came from, reveal...
          The Bubbleship's ROVER has been following. A machine
          meant for small journeys, it rolls inside the tread path
          left by the sled, but it can barely handle the terrain.

          INT. SKY TOWER - MORNING

          Victoria hears the SOUND OF THE BUBBLESHIP, arriving.
          She rushes to the glass of the Sky Tower, sees the
          Bubbleship, docking itself. Auto pilot. No one inside.

          EXT. MOUNTAIN CANYONS - MORNING

          From far away, we see the sled wind up this rocky canyon
          which opens onto a massive wall of old concrete and
          steel. Something giant and industrial in its time.
          The sled approaches, seems to disappear as it moves under
          a shadowy outcropping of rock. In the dark underneath,
          huge metal doors... close.

          INT. A DARK SPACE -- NO TIME

          Almost complete blackness, just the SOUND of a slow drip
          of water. In the far distance, the howls and chatter of
          Scavs.
          Jack's blood-encrusted eyes blink open. Irises dilate
          trying to orient. He raises his head, can barely see.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          59.

                         CONTINUED:
          He and Julia lie in the only pool of light in the room,
          filtering in from a high ventilation shaft. She's
          unconscious. Around him, in the dark, the sense of
          movement.
          His eyes adjusting, he squints into the dark. There's a
          FORM on the edges of the light, watching him. Jack
          tenses as the figure...
          .strikes a match on the floor, brings the flame to its
          face, revealing... An Old Man: BEECH. He sucks in on
          the end of a cigar. For a moment, their eyes meet.
          Then the match goes out. Dark silhouette again. Only
          the feint orange glow from the cigar.

                         BEECH
          MonteCristo, #2. Do you have any
          idea how long I've waited, for
          this?
          He EXHALES a stream of smoke into the beam, then moves
          closer, into the light. Beech's face is lined with age
          and exposure, his skin scarred from battle. His teeth
          yellowed and crooked, but his arms and body are strong.
          Jack TENSES. Beech's voice is calm, with a barely held-
          back malice lurking just under the surface.

                         BEECH (CONT'D)
          Well, let me tell you, Jack. It's
          been a long time...

                         JACK
          Who are you? Where is this?
          BEECH inhales again. There's a piercing curiosity to
          Beech's gaze, studying him.

                         BEECH
          We're deep underground. Very deep
          underground.

                         JACK
          We were taken by the Scavs...

                         BEECH
          Oh... The "Scavs".

                         (BEAT)
          Tell me, Jack. Have you ever met
          a Scav, up close?

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          60.

                         CONTINUED: (2)
          Jack is suddenly aware of other FORMS in this room.
          Motion, on the periphery. Hair... Feathers. Scavs?

                         BEECH (CONT'D)
          No, of course not. You just
          repair the damage, keep the Drones
          up and killing. Don't ask many
          questions, do you, Jack? No part
          of the...

                         (BITTER TASTE)
          .job description.
          Beech pulls off the cigar...

                         BEECH (CONT'D)
          Brutal, if you think about it.
          The way your Drones -

                         JACK
          The Scavs took everything from us.
          And if you're working with them --

                         BEECH
          Interesting, Jack. Interesting.
          You're worried I might be some
          kind of... Collaborator.
          Jack doesn't respond.

                         BEECH (CONT'D)

                         (ASIDE)
          Lllllllights!
          A beat, then a BANK of lights flickers on, revealing
          HUMANS, all around them, heavily armed.
          Julia GROANS, the light bringing her to. Jack moves to
          protect her, tracks ten, TWENTY people... He looks UP
          where ROWS AND ROWS of men and women stare down from
          above with undisguised animosity. Forty, fifty more...
          At the front, a strong battle-scared Scav, SYKES, hovers
          on the edge of violence. He's been recently WOUNDED.

                         BEECH (CONT'D)
          You see...? We're not Aliens,
          Jack. We're very much human.
          Jack can't process. Human face after human face.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          61.

                         CONTINUED: ( 3)

                          BEECH (CONT'D)
          Of course that's a problem. Your
          drones go for human shapes, human
          voices. So... we change our
          shapes, change our voices.

                         (INHALING SMOKE)
          The Drones still kill us, but
          they're not nearly so aggressive
          as when they smell a human target.
          Did you ever ask yourself why that
          is?

                         JACK
          No, they're programmed to

                         BEECH
          To what, Jack?

                         (OFF JULIA)
          You saw it yourself. You almost
          got yourself blown to bits
          protecting her. I've been meaning
          to ask you, why did you do that?

                         JACK
          Anyone would have...

                         BEECH
          Anyone. Would have. Interesting.
          Julia comes around, her eyes flickering open, She
          SCREAMS, looking frantically for an escape. Jack GRABS
          her, protecting her, calming her.
          Beech gets CLOSE, studies Jack, what he's doing. Nods.

                         BEECH (CONT'D)
          Very interesting.
          Beech moves away. Jack moves after him and suddenly
          forty or more weapons lock onto him. Sykes closer than
          any other.

                         BEECH (CONT'D)
          Careful, Jack. I'm afraid you're
          not very popular here.
          Beech switches his gaze to Julia.

                         BEECH (CONT'D)
          Welcome back to earth, commander.
          Hope you like what we've done with
          the place.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          62.

                         CONTINUED: ( 4)
          Beech moves on. Jack and Julia follow, cautiously...

          INT. GROW-HALL, RAVEN ROCK - CONTINUOUS

          They pass into a giant area devoted to agriculture. ROWS
          of wide, two-story glass tubes hold PLANTS bearing fruit.
          Their roots are held bare, bathed only in moist air...

                         BEECH
          We grow what we can, under the
          lights. It isn't much; Wheat-
          grass, some vegetables, what beans
          and soy we can. The general state
          of our health proves that human
          beings are not herbivores, but the
          alternative is not appetizing to
          anybody.

                         (SARDONIC WINK)
          Not yet, anyway.

                         JACK
          When we get you up to the Tet,
          there's plenty -

                         BEECH
          There is? Plenty. Plenty of
          what?

                         JACK
          Food.Foreveryone.

                         (BEAT)
          Look,it'samazing you've lasted
          thislong.But the radiation
          zonesare growing. All of this,
          willbe gone soon.

                         BEECH
          The zones... the area you don't
          patrol...

                         JACK
          No one does. You go there ---

                         BEECH
          -- Your organs boil from the
          inside. I've heard.
          Beech moves on, turning down another corridor.
          There are PAINTINGS, stacked against the walls. Picasso,
          Monet, Kandinsky, Warhol. SCULPTURES in piles.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          63.

                         CONTINUED:
          A Grand Piano is pushed in a corner, other instruments
          propped against it. They pass a room filled with BOOKS,
          another with a SCREEN mounted in front of a projector.
          For a moment, Jack forgets everything else. It's like
          his private collection at Crater Lake, but a hundred
          times bigger, richer...
          Julia stops in front of a painting of a young girl in a
          field of golden grass, staring towards a farmhouse on the
          horizon. She turns to Jack.

                         JULIA
          It reminds me of home...

          INT. SKY TOWER, COMMAND STATION - DAY

          VICTORIA is communicating with the Tet. She has been
          crying, sick with worry.

                         VICTORIA
          He's disappeared.

                         (CORRECTING HERSELF)
          My Technical Officer, Jack Harper.
          He's gone.

           THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
           Time since last contact?

                          VICTORIA
          .Six hours.

           THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          Protocol states 24 hours before
          reporting a loss of contact.

                         VICTORIA
          The Scavs took him. I witnessed
          it. He has a...
          A beat. Victoria experiencing jealousy she didn't fully
          understand before...

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          There's a woman with him. The
          survivor of the crashed shuttle,
          Julia Sommerville.
          Silence.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          64.

                         CONTINUED:

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          Prep the survivor for immediate
          evac.

                         VICTORIA
          I told you, she's with the
          Technical Officer. I'm requesting
          permission to re-task the Drones
          for search and rescue.

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          Permission granted.
          Victoria gets to work on the console, re-tasking Drones.
          Another TONE makes her look over.

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN) (CONT'D)
          You doing okay, Vika?

                         VICTORIA

                         (FRUSTRATED)
          Yes, I mean. I don't know.
          Tet Comm Status: "COMMUNICATION ENDED."

          INT. RAVEN ROCK - NO TIME

          Jack and Julia are held back by Scavs as up ahead Beech's
          second-in-command, the battle-hardened SYKES, whispers
          heatedly in his ear, glancing back. Not everyone thinks
          having Jack and Julia here is a good idea.
          Jack peers over the edge of the gantry they are on. FAR
          BELOW, ancient GEOTHERMAL TURBINES churn.

                         JULIA
          Jack, what he said about the
          Tet...

                         JACK
          (not looking at her)
          It took three decades to build the
          Tet. And when it was finally
          ready and it was time to go up,
          there were people who refused.
          Leaders, who told their people to
          stay.
          Staring at Beech, the glint in the man's eyes...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          65.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          And so they stayed. And they were
          slaughtered.
          Whatever the conversation is, it doesn't go well. Sykes
          storms off, angry. Other Scavs go with him.

          EXT. CANYON - DAY

          The ROVER has reached the Canyon, starts to make its way
          in towards Raven Rock.

          INT. SKY TOWER, COMAND CENTER - DAY

          Vika is on a tear, working hard. Unable to reach Jack,
          she's looking for any clue, anything to help find him.
          To that end she's replaying the recordings of her last
          transmission from the Bubbleship. We hear her last

                         PLEADING:

                         VICTORIA'S VOICE
          Jack! Jack! There's something
          coming your way. JACK!!!!
          Victoria LISTENS, chilled. She hits REWIND, then PLAY:

                         JACK'S VOICE
          .It'll be fine. Trust me.

                         VICTORIA'S VOICE
          I'm trying to.

                         JACK'S VOICE
          I'll be home for breakfast.
          Alone in the Sky Tower, this hits Victoria hard.
          REWIND. Victoria STARES at the counter, letting it go
          further back. Then, PLAY.
          Just STATIC. Then we hear Victoria's end of a
          conversation we already witnessed:

          JACK'S VOICE (BREAKING UP)

                         (CONT'D)
          I'm near the... .border
          territory. .still more than
          five clicks from the... beacons...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          66.

                         CONTINUED:

                         VICTORIA'S VOICE
          What are you doing out there so
          far, Jack?
          Then the static for a moment filled with GARBLED SOUNDS.
          Victoria hits STOP. She stares. Makes an adjustment,
          plays the SOUNDS again. Something drawing her in...

          INT. WORK HANGAR, RAVEN ROCK - CONTINUOUS

          A Large bay, filled with machinery, computers. Other
          things scavenged from the wreck of the Odyssey including
          several Delta Sleep Pods. Scav Soldiers work in the
          center of the bay on a DOWNED DRONE. It's been opened
          up, taken apart. All of its circuit boards and wiring
          spread out, hooked to computers.
          To the side, other soldiers are grouped around something.
          Jack tracks the object they're working on: The scarred
          STEEL CYLINDER Jack saw on the Odyssey. Its been opened
          up and some ten scavenged Deuterium fuel cells have been
          fitted inside the casing.

                         JULIA
          The bomb...
          She REALIZES something, wheels on Beech, angry.

                         JULIA (CONT'D)
          You brought down the Odyssey. You
          sonofabitch you crashed our ship.
          There were people on board, all so
          you could get --

                         BEECH
          I know what I did. But tell us,
          Commander, why did you have a bomb
          on board, what was it for? Tell
          him.
          She looks at Jack, reluctant to say it, but...

                         JULIA
          The Tet... is an alien ship, Jack.
          The odyssey's mission --- Our
          mission, was to investigate it.
          Jack shakes his head no. Angry...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          67.

                         CONTINUED:

                         BEECH
          It attacked us. First it
          destroyed our moon. Then it
          unleashed its primary weapon, a
          brilliant weapon...

                         JACK
          I was born there!

                         BEECH
          I was born in Chicago, Jack. I
          used to go to baseball games with
          my father. I used to get two big
          hot dogs, fill 'em up with relish,
          and mustard. Just go to town. Me
          and my pops, watching the sox.
          (quick, pressing)
          You have any memories like that
          Jack?

                         JACK
          No, my father was a --

                         BEECH
          Was what? Tall? Fat? He yell at
          your mom? Ever go to a baseball
          game, Jack?

                         JACK

                         (GETTING ANGRY)
          I already told you --

                         BEECH
          Right, sorry. Tell me how your
          mother smelled.

                         JACK
          What?

                         BEECH
          My mother, smelled like warm
          fruit. Like oranges, sitting in
          the sun.
          Jack starts to speak... Stops. Beech moves to one of
          the scavenged DELTA SLEEP PODS, runs his hand over the
          embossed name-plate...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         68

                         CONTINUED: ( 2)

                          BEECH (CONT'D)
          If you had looked more carefully
          at the wreckage of the odyssey,
          you would have noticed there were
          two empty sleep pods. The Pilot,
          and the Co-pilot...
          Jack stares at the name plate on the POD: "J. Harper."

                         JULIA
          It was you, Jack.

                         JACK
          What?

                         JULIA
          You and Victoria. We were all on
          the Odyssey. We were supposed to
          make contact...

                         JACK
          No.

                         BEECH
          The Tet is an alien vessel,
          Commander Jack Harper. It came
          and destroyed our moon and most of
          humanity when it did. And ever
          since, with your help, it's been
          trying to finish the job.

                         (BEAT)
          I'm sorry, Jack. It's not good
          news, I know. You've been turned
          to the wrong side.
          Beech goes to the BOMB, stares down at it

                         BEECH (CONT'D)
          But now, with your help, we can
          finally destroy it.

                         JACK
          You're insane. This is insane.
          He turns to Julia, but she won't help him.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          (to both of them)
          There are people up there -

                         BEECH
          What? People like you? We are
          the last real people.

                         (MORE)

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          69.

                         CONTINUED: ( 3)

                          BEECH (CONT'D)
          Pockets like this one, hiding out,
          dying. Probably all over the
          planet.
          Beech raises his gaze to Jack. Deadly serious.

                         BEECH (CONT'D)
          We didn't win the war, Jack. We
          lost.
          These words hit Jack. He starts to reply, finds he
          can't. Beech approaches, fatherly, gentle.

                         BEECH (CONT'D)
          It has taken us ten years to get
          here, but we finally have a
          weapon, and a working Drone to
          carry it. Except we can't
          successfully program the Drone.
          It's not our technology.

                         (CLASPING HIS

                         SHOULDERS)
          But you can, repairman. That is
          the beautiful irony. It gave you
          the skills.

          ON JACK...

          EXT. RAVEN ROCK - CONTINUOUS

          The ROVER crawls up the Canyon finally arrive at the
          entrance to Raven Rock. It stops, scanning the face of
          Raven Rock...
          BLAMI!! A SHOT hits it, it tumbles back, utterly
          destroyed.

          INT. SKY TOWER, CONTROL STATION - CONTINUOUS

          Victoria is working hard, intent on deciphering the
          sound. She doesn't notice the image of Raven Rock appear
          on a side monitor, transmitted from the ROVER.

          INT. WORK HANGER - CONTINUOUS

          Suddenly, SYKES and several other Scavs burst into the
          area. All eyes go to Jack and Julia as the ruined ROVER
          is brought in.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          70.

                         CONTINUED:

                         SYKES
          It followed him here. I told you
          this was a mistake!
          Beech, processing. All around the periphery, REACTION.
          This is a disaster.

                         BEECH
          Well well, we may be out of time.
          Set the Drone to return to the Tet
          upon reactivation. It needs to go
          right to the center --

                         JACK
          No! It will kill -

                         BEECH

                         (RAGING)
          It will kill that ugly stain on
          the sky. That's all! Now program
          the Drone!
          Soldiers push Jack towards the opened Drone. Jack stares
          at the read-outs, the electronics. Sykes GRABS a weapon
          from a female Scav soldier, lines it on Jack.

                         JACK
          No. I won't do it.

                         SYKES
          He won't help us. We bury them
          both, make our run as soon as we
          can load up.

                         JULIA

          NO!!
          Jack stares Sykes down.

                         JACK
          You know I stare into weapons
          every day, so you can put that
          away. Because here's what I can
          tell you...
          (back to Beech)
          If the Rover found us, the Drones
          will too. Unless you want them to
          find you, let me get somewhere
          where I can send a signal.
          Somewhere far from here.
          Beech... caught.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         71

                         CONTINUED: ( 2)

                         BEECH

                         (IGNORING SYKES)
          What's your plan, Jack? Tell the
          Tet where we are, so they can send
          a nice big welcome --

                         JACK
          The Drones would kill you. Let me
          try to stop that.

                         SYKES
          You can't trust him!

                         JACK
          (staying on Beech)
          You're wasting time.
          On Beech, Sykes...

          TNT. RAVEN ROCK - MOMENTS LATER
          Jack and Julia stand near the entrance to Raven Rock.
          Sykes appears with the white rectangular box, tosses it
          down in the dirt at Jack's feet.
          Beech watches as Jack unfolds his motorcycle. Behind
          them, other Scavs are packing up, readying an exodus.

                         JACK
          I can fix this.

                         BEECH
          Well, you're the repairman.
          Jack powers up the bike and gets on. He looks at Julia
          who hesitates, then she climbs on the back of the bike.

                         JACK
          I'll get to the antenna, send a
          signal with my location. The Tet
          will call off the search. .You
          should be safe, for now.
          Jack starts to go.

                         BEECH
          Jack... What if I told you that I
          had been to your radiation zones.
          And what I found there... Would
          change everything you think you
          know about the world.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          72.

                         CONTINUED:
          Jack looks at him, hearing this. Then GUNS the bike.
          Beech stares after them, the rooster-tail of Jack's bike
          racing away across the ruined landscape.

                         SYKES
          What makes you think he's any
          different from the others?
          Beech stares at him a moment, then back out.

                         BEECH
          She does.
          Beech turns away.

          EXT. THE RUINED EARTH - DAY

          Jack pilots the electric bike across STAGGERING
          BEAUTIFUL VISTAS... LANDSCAPES OF THE IMAGINATION. On
          the back of the bike, Julia takes in the incredible
          beauty around her.
          Finally, in the shadow of a jagged mountain, the BIKE
          slows and STOPS. Jack checks the charge: it's dead.
          They climb off and Jack leaves the bike where it lies,
          headed off on foot.

                         JULIA
          What happened...?
          She's staring into the distance where an old WRECK of a
          RESOURCE GATHERER lies shattered against a cliff-face.

                         JACK
          The Scavs brought it down ten
          years ago. All. this time, I
          thought we were at war with the
          Scavs... but it turns out we were
          just killing each other.
          He turns, heads off on foot. After a moment, she
          follows.

          EXT. CLIFF TOP - DAY

          Jack and Julia reach the top of a high cliff, with what
          looks like a METAL SPIRE protruding upwards at its edge.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          73.

                         CONTINUED:
          We PASS OVER them, staring down a familiar 1,200-foot
          waterfall. Jack has returned to the top of the Empire
          State, this time approaching from above.
          Together, they climb DOWN the craggy rock face. Two tiny
          figures against a massive backdrop, a mortal fall below.

          EXT. OBSERVATION DECK - DAY

          Jack is the first to drop onto the cracked cement of the
          deck. He moves forward, pulling the plastic and
          camouflage off the transmitter and repeater. He gets to
          work on the repeater. It's old tech, hard to make it
          talk to the Bubbleship.
          Julia stands a ways off. For a moment, their gazes meet,
          then he continues working.

          INT. SKY TOWER, COMAND CENTER - DAY

          Victoria is hard at work, processing the sound that
          caught her attention. She has it playing through the
          whole sky tower: The SOUNDS are broken, static-like,
          almost ALIEN. Strange and guttural.
          Fingers fly over controls, making adjustments. This time
          the sounds parse into WORDS. A male and a female voice.
          Almost apprehensive, she pulls an electronic filter,
          overlays it on the signal, which suddenly drops into
          perfect clarit : A recording of Jack and Victoria, from
          a different patrol.

                         VICTORIA'S VOICE

                         (LAUGHING)
          .And I want a dishwasher, the
          kind that you can put --

                         JACK'S VOICE
          I don't think they'll have those
          on Mars, Honey.

                         VICTORIA'S VOICE
          Okay, fine. No dishwasher. How
          about just you. All the time.

                         JACK'S VOICE
          Yes. When we get there.
          ON VICTORIA. Her face totally still. Strangely frozen
          in the face of this sweet little exchange...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          74.

                         CONTINUED:
          And then a SOB breaks from her lips. The kind you can't
          control. Her fingers SHAKING, BADLY, she plays the
          recording, puts it on a loop.

          TNT. SKY TOWER - CONTINUOUS
          The voices BOOM through the Sky Tower, over and over.
          Frightening that their simplicity contrasts so much with
          the effect they are having on Victoria who moves into the
          main room, white as a sheet. She looks up as..
          The Bubbleship lifts off from its platform and sails
          into the sky. She watches it go, then rushes back
          towards her station.

          EXT. OBSERVATION DECK - DAY

          Jack stares at the ESB Antenna, down at the repeater and
          the line of code he hopes he's transmitting.

                         JULIA
          What will you do now?
          Jack doesn't answer. He moves to the edge of the deck,
          stares out, unwilling to meet her eyes.

                         JACK
          That old man is smart. Those fuel
          cells, the way he's got them tied
          in with your device... He could
          blow the whole station.

                         JULIA
          Jack, you can't turn them in.
          He glances at her, shakes his head.

                         JACK
          What do you want from me? I'm
          just a repairman.

                         (BEAT)
          This is bigger than me.
          Jack moves off to a corner of the deck by the old
          telescope. She follows him, steeling herself.

                         JULIA

                         (CAREFULLY)
          You and I started the same year at

          NASA.

                         (MORE)

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          75.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JULIA (CONT'D)
          It wasn't really about space for
          me, it was about... what could be
          out there. Life...

                         JACK
          Look, stop, okay? Just --

                         JULIA
          But for you, it was always the
          stars. You wanted to fly further
          and faster than any one else.

                         JACK
          I don't know who you're talking

                         ABOUT --

                         JULIA
          I'm talking about a man I knew,
          who was fearless. A man who
          wouldn't bow out of a fight, ever.

                         JACK
          STOP! You and that old man have
          this story... Except I know who I
          am, okay? I know who I am!

                         JULIA
          No, you don't. That thing
          brainwashed you, it erased your

                         MEMORIES
          He turns, starts to lean on the old telescope, draws
          back, staring at the thing like it bit him.

                         JULIA (CONT'D)
          That's right... What do you
          remember?
          INTERCUT: The auto-piloted Bubbleship skims over the
          surface of downtown, headed towards the Empire State...
          Jack is staring at the telescope, agitated, confused.

                         JACK
          Why do I... what is it about this
          place?

                         JULIA
          Ten days before we got our go-
          ahead, you asked me to meet you
          here.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          76.

                         CONTINUED: ( 2)
          INTERCUT: VICTORIA. Eager to find out where the
          Bubbleship is headed, she punches up the live feed.
          Julia comes close, puts a hand out, rests it on his
          chest. She moves closer to him, searching his eyes.

                         JULIA (CONT'D)
          Don't you remember what happened
          here?
          INTERCUT: The Bubbleship now moving UP the waterfall.
          Victoria, leaning forward, watching the feeds...
          Julia takes one of his hands, places it around her waist.
          Moves closer still...

                         JACK
          When I sleep. You're always
          there.
          She kisses him.

          EXT. OBERVATION DECK - DAY (FLASHBACK)

          A YOUNGER JULIA is staring out over glorious intact New
          York City. Next to her, a YOUNGER JACK peers through the
          telescope. Now he pulls away, turns to her...

                         YOUNGER JACK
          There, right there. Take a look.
          She smiles, puts her eye to the telescope.

          YOUNGER JACK (CONT'D)
          The tall billboard, with the girl
          on it.

                         YOUNGER JULIA
          Oh, okay. I don't understand.
          YOUNGER JACK nervously produces an ENGAGEMENT RING from
          his pocket.

                         YOUNGER JACK
          Now, pan to the right, slowly...

          YOUNGER JULIA'S POV - THROUGH THE TELESCOPE
          PANNING over as he directed, to a billboard, half-covered
          by a large canvas. The words "JULIA, WILL YOU MARRY ME?"
          clear on the canvas.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          77.

                         CONTINUED:

          YOUNGER JACK (CONT'D)
          Julia...
          She GASPS, looks over. There he is, holding the ring --

          VRROOOOOM! THE SOUND OF A BUBBLE SHIP...

          EXT. OBSERVATION DECK - DAY (PRESENT)

          VROOOOMMMM! The Bubbleship RISES INTO VIEW directly in
          front of them. Jack, kissing Julia, tries to break away,
          confused, guilty. Julia holds on.
          She reaches to her collar, pulls free a necklace, a
          familiar ring dangles from it...

                         JULIA
          There are a few pages missing, but
          it's the same book.

          INT. SKY TOWER, CONTROL STATION - CONTINUOUS

          Victoria stares at the screen, the image of Jack kissing
          Julia, then breaking away. She's strangely cold, like
          there's simply nothing left to feel...

          INT. BUBBLESHIP - MOMENTS LATER

          Jack pilots the ship, a tense silence between he and
          Julia. He checks a few readouts, then hits the Comm.

                         JACK
          Vika, it's me. I'm... all right.
          I'm coming in. Don't report in to
          Mission, not until I get back.
          No response. Dead air. Julia is pressed far back in her
          seat, watching Jack.

          INT. SKY TOWER, CONTROL STATION - CONTINUOUS

          Victoria is still motionless. She hears Jack's calls on
          the Comm, does nothing.

                         JACK'S VOICE
          .I'm 20 minutes out.
          A TONE makes Victoria look over. The Tet, checking in.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          78.

                         CONTINUED:

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          Mission requests status of
          survivor.

                         VICTORIA
          Go to hell.
          Beat. Beat.

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          Did not copy.

                         (LONG BEAT)
          Have you located your partner?
          Vika is silent. The Tet waits for a response. It
          doesn't get one. Finally:

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN) (CONT'D)
          Are you still an effective team?

                         VICTORIA

                         (LIPS TREMBLING)
          No.
          A long painful silence. Tears flow without sobs.
          Tet Comm Status: "COMMUNICATION ENDED."
          Victoria. pushes away from the console, numb. As she
          leaves the room, we STAY on the console...
          which suddenly comes alive. Readouts go active, data
          history starts to play. The Tet is accessing everything.
          Visual and Voice recordings blaze by. Images, everything
          the Bubbleship has seen. We see the image of Raven Rock
          sent from the ROVER.

          INT. SKY TOWER - CONTINUOUS

          Victoria enters the Sky Tower, staring at it as if it was
          all alien to her. As she moves through, she unzips her
          jumpsuit, steps out of it, moves on. Her shirt, then
          bra, land on the floor. She moves on...

          EXT. SKY TOWER - TWILIGHT

          JULIA and JACK step out of the Bubbleship, head towards
          the interior of the Sky Tower. The whole thing has been
          opened up. Wind blows freely through papers, magazines.
          Vases have been blown over, water spilled.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          79.

                         CONTINUED:
          There are petals, Rose petals, swirling everywhere.

          EXT. SKY TOWER, GARDEN - CONTINUOUS

          Jack comes out near the garden. It's been ripped to
          shreds. What plants are left lie uprooted and broken.
          Flowers strewn about. PETALS float off the side of the
          sky tower and down into the clouds.
          VICTORIA stands near the far edge, looking out. She's no
          longer in her jumpsuit. She wears a beautiful flowing
          dress which waves in the wind. Her hair is free.

                         JACK
          Vika... the Scavs. They're
          humans, like us. The war has
          become some giant... mistake.
          She turns. The heartbreak in her face clear.

                         VICTORIA
          I saw you. I saw you two.

                         JACK

                         SHE'S --

                         VICTORIA
          (shaking her head)
          Stay away from me with the truth!
          I don't want the truth. I
          preferred oblivion.
          Victoria looks up, sees Julia in the distance...

                         VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          You never really loved me, did
          you, Jack?
          His silence is LOUD. She LAUGHS, tears flowing...

                         JACK
          (broken for her)
          Vika, she was my wife.
          She looks at the infinite sky, the clouds, and as the TET
          appears... He steps towards her and she backs towards
          the edge.

                         VICTORIA
          I told them. The drones will be
          here. For her. For you.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          80.

                         CONTINUED:
          Jack feels the sting of this betrayal, but quickly
          accepts it.

                         JACK
          Then come with me.
          (she shakes no)
          Don't you see what it means?
          There are still people, living on
          Earth. Surviving on earth.
          People like us.
          Victoria hears that and laughs, bitter.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Vika?
          Her laughter dies. She looks at him, strangely calm,
          beautiful in this moment.

                         VICTORIA
          Oh, Jack. I think they made us.
          Victoria steps backwards. Jack LUNGES forward.

                         JACK

                         NOOO1
          PETALS are falling towards us from the skytower, and
          then, so is VICTORIA.

          EXT. SKY TOWER CONTINUOUS

          Jack stares after Victoria for one terrible beat, then
          falls to his knees. Not yet feeling, in shock. Julia
          approaches, slowly...
          He turns at her so fast she's afraid and steps back but
          he blows right by her, into

          INT. SKY TOWER, CONTROL STATION - MOMENTS LATER

          Jack enters Victoria's station. Trespassing in a space
          that doesn't belong to him. His eyes play over the room:
          A cup of coffee, now cold. A jacket on the back of her
          chair. On a monitor, a wavelength plays silently. The
          signal she descrambled.
          He looks at the Tet Communication Device. We realize
          he's never spoken directly to the Tet before.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         81

                         CONTINUED:

                         JACK
          This is Technician Jack Harper.
          The signal goes out. Beat. Beat...

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          Where is your Control Officer?

                         JACK
          She's dead.

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          Prep the survivor for immediate
          evac.

                         JACK
          Did you hear what I said? She's
          dead!

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          Prep the survivor for immediate
          evac. You will be reassigned.

                         JACK
          I want to talk to somebody.
          Beat.

          THE TET (TEXT ON SCREEN)
          It'll be good to have you back.

                         JACK
          DAMN YOU! I want to hear your
          voice!
          Beat. Beat. Tet Comm Status: "Communication Ended."
          He stares at this last transmission. Then looks up to
          the big map. From all over the sector, DRONES are
          closing on the Sky Tower. Closing on him.

          EXT. SKY TOWER, BUBBLESHIP PAD - MOMENTS LATER

          Jack comes back out, heading towards the ship. Julia
          puts out a hand to him.

                         JACK
          We have to go.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          82.

          TNT/EXT. BUBBLESHIP - CONTINUOUS

          Jack and Julia streak across the sky in the Bubbleship.
          On the heads-up display, they can clearly see the
          radiation border marked RED in front of them, and the two
          DRONES closing behind them.

                         JULIA
          Where are we going?

                         JACK
          Beech said to look in the
          radiation zones. I have to go
          there.

                         JULIA
          And if he's just a crazy old man?
          Jack looks at her. It'd be a funny moment, but it's not.

                         JACK
          I've been wrong about everything
          else.
          He dives the ship towards the clouds below.

          EXT. CANYON - MORNING

          Drones shoot down a canyon towards RAVEN ROCK.

          INT. BUBBLESHIP - CONTINUOUS

          The Bubbleship BURSTS through clouds. Up ahead, the
          familiar RIDGELINE is approaching...

          AND THREE DRONES WATTTNG.
          Jack HAULS the ship over as the Drones bear down on them
          OPENING UP. We recognize one: Drone 166.
          Canon fire ROCKS the Bubbleship, pieces blowing off.
          Jack REVOLVES THE CANOPY to return fire. A Drone
          EXPLODES but Drone 166 and another blast through the
          smoke, firing.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          83.

          INT. RAVEN ROCK - CONTINUOUS

          Everything has been packed, loaded, ready to leave.
          Beech watches Sykes supervise the final lashing of the
          BOMB onto a sled. Beech gives a command and the great
          steel door groans OPEN, revealing...
          SIX DRONES, waiting. Their weapons POWERING UP.
          ON BEECH, a final realization washing over him.

          EXT. OPEN SKY - CONTINUOUS

          Jack SPINS the ship, evading pursuit, even as he checks
          his heads-up, tracks the two Sky Tower Drones closing
          from behind. He hauls over, pursuing Drones turning with
          him, firing as the two Drones burst out of cloud cover
          FAST, MID-AIR COLLISION, two more Drones go down!
          Jack hits the brakes. Another Drone overshoots him,
          pulls up. Jack sites the Drone, starts to fire...
          The Bubbleship is raked with fire! Drone 166 is right on
          them and firing. The canopy is hit! CRACKS spider-web
          across it. A canon is blown clean off.
          Jack tries his remaining weapon. It's dead.

                         WITH DRONE 166
           It pulls out of an arc, ACCELERATES, closing on the
           Bubbleship as the Bubbleship tears away into a cloud
           bank, goes in. Drone 166 follows, seconds behind.
          Drone 166 EMERGES from the cloud bank into open air, its
          cannon lining on... nothing. Empty sky. It REVOLVES
          quickly, sensing for ...
          SMASH! Jack's Bubbleship IMPACTS the Drone from above,
          the ship's manacles designed for transporting broken
          Drones CLAMPING ON. Suddenly the two vessels are LOCKED.
          And the Drone goes wild. It's engines THRUSTING,
          fighting against the counter-force of the Bubbleship's
          engines. The Drones GUNS BLASTING in every direction,
          but unable to elevate to hit the Bubbleship.
          INSIDE THE BUBBLESHIP. Julia screams as the ship tumbles
          end over end. Jack stays on the controls, tracking the
          last Drone closing from above.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          84.

                         CONTINUED:
          Jack FORCES Drone and ship to turn, turning Drone 166's
          canon on the last Drone which EXPLODES.

                         JACK
          There...
          He punches the throttle. The Bubbleship with Drone 166
          attached blasts in the direction of A CLIFF FACE.
          DRONE 166 gets free of one restraint, rotates so its
          cannon come to bear on part of the undercarriage. OPENS
          UP, blasting the storage to bits...
          And Jack PULLS UP, just clearing the ridge, Drone 166
          IMPACTING ROCK. The Drone blasts clear through, CRASHES

          ONTO VOLCANIC ROCK.

          INT. THE BUBBLESHIPP - CONTINUOUS

          Jack and Julia in the damaged, smoking, now-shaking ship.

                         JACK
          You okay?

                         JULIA
          No.
          Jack nods, turns the ship north again. The Bubbleship
          shaking and smoking. Up ahead, the RIDGELINE
          approaching.
          WARNING ALARMS trigger on the Bubbleship's display
          Claxon-like.

                         JULIA (CONT'D)
          What is that?

                         JACK
          Radiation warning. We're five
          clicks from the border.
          Jack makes an adjustment, the Bubbleship SURGES with more
          speed. It sounds like it's going to tear itself apart.

          EXT. ROCKS NEAR CRATER LAKE - CONTINUOUS

          The smashed Drone 166 POWERS BACK UP. A moment as it
          runs its systems, then BLASTS OFF in pursuit.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          85.

          INT. BUBBLESHIP - CONTINUOUS

           On the heads-up, they can see Drone 166 coming up behind
          them, closing FAST. Jack touches a familiar button. The
          Bar-guage for his extra boost starts to fill...
          FROM BEHIND THEM, blasts go wide. Drone 166 is firing,
          missing.
          The bar gauge FALTERS, something broken. Jack SLAMS the
          dash. Gauge keeps rising. The Bubbleship starts to buck
          as RED WARNING TEXT STREAMS ACROSS THE CANOPY: "LETHAL

          RADIATION LEVELS APPROACHING. DO NOT ENTER."

                         JULIA
          Jack...

                         JACK
          I got this.
          Jack hits it. They're both propelled back into their
          seats. The radiation zone coming up fast... They CROSS

          INTO THE ZONE!!
          .and the Bubbleship goes completely DEAD.
          Jack works controls, punches at the display. But there's
          nothing. Just the whistling sound of wind...

                          JACK (CONT'D)
           Bob! BOB! What are you doing
           Bob!!!!!
           Bob just bobbles... BLAM! BLAM BLAM!! The blasts from
          Drone 166 impact them, helpless.

                          JACK (CONT'D)
          Hold on!!
          Jack grabs a level, a mechanical lever, and HAULS IT UP.
          THE COCKPIT OF THE SHIP SEPARATES FROM THE BODY. The
          dead body of the ship tumbles backwards as Drone 166
           BLASTS IT, tries to pull up but the Bubbleship IMPACTS
          Drone 166 which SPINS OUT OF CONTROL towards the ground.
          THE BUBBLESHIP COCKPIT skims the surface, IMPACTS a
          ridge, blasting through it. It hits another ridge, the
          canopy shattering, earth piling in on them as they
          finally grid to a stop.
          Jack groans, leans to checks that Julia is okay. She's
          coughing, dazed, but alive.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          86.

          EXT. RADIATION ZONE - CONTINUOUS

          Jack opens the canopy door. It falls off. He stumbles
          out, himself still dazed. Wind and sand blow around him.
          CLOSE ON JACK. He breathes in. Breathes again. Waiting
          for a painful death, that doesn't arrive.

                         JACK
          Son of a bitch, old man...
          Words die on his lips as he tracks the plume of smoke
          from the downed Drone 166, lifting over a nearby ridge.
          He turns back to the ruined ship, grabs his carbine.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Stay here.
          Jack runs towards the smoke which is already being blown
          clear by a rising sand storm. He flops down in the dirt
          at the top of the rise, bringing his weapon up.
          JACK'S POV - DRONE 166. It lies smashed and smoking at
          the bottom of an incline. Finally dead. The wind and
          sand are beginning to whistle now, growing intensity...
          Jack starts to stand... when a FAMILIAR SOUND makes him
          turn.

          THAT OF A BUBBLESHIP.
          Jack hits the dirt as A BUBBLESHIP, just like Jack's,
          screams overhead and lands next to the DRONE, in a moment
          eerily reminiscent of the first scene of the film.
          Below, a MAN gets out of the second Bubbleship. He wears
          the same kind of suit as Jack. ANOTHER REPAIR MAN. He's
          got a bandana wrapped around his lower face to shield him
          from the sandstorm.
          Jack reaches for his BINOCS, bring them to his face only
          to find the lenses shattered.
          Reaching the downed Drone, the MAN kneels next to it and
          in a familiar fashion begins utilizing his tools to fix
          Drone 166. He locks a damaged cannon back into place,
          tightens it...
          Jack suddenly realizes what the man's doing. He stands,
          the wind now blasting in his direction, he starts running
          down the hill towards the man.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          87.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Hey! Hey, wait! Stop! Don't
          touch that Drone!
          His words are eaten up by the wind and sand. He rushes
          forward.
          WITH THE REPAIRMAN. We only see his hands as he works on
          Drone 166. He's very good. Even in the growing
           sandstorm he clips out a ruined board, slots a new one
          in. Runs a by-pass around a wire-bundle.
          The Repairman's fingers go to a familiar switch to
          activate the Drone...

                         JACK'S VOICE
          No! Wait!
          The Repairman hears the voice, even as he flips the
          switch. He LEAPS BACK, spinning around, his carbine
          coming off his back, lined on Jack fifteen feet away who

          STARES BACK AT HIM IN UTTER ASTONISHMENT.
          JACK'S POV -- THE REPAIRMAN. Holding the weapon on him.
          The man is Jack. A cleaner, newer, but identical version
          of Jack... A CLONE.
          Jack stares, transfixed. Now it all makes sense: The
          Garbled transmissions, Victoria's last words, who or what
          he really is, and is not.
          Not so for Jack 2. He takes a step back, confused,
          horrified. A tense moment.

                         JULIA'S VOICE
          Jack!?
          Julia has just crested the rise, sees the two Jack's.
          Also understanding...

                         JACK
          Julia! Stay back!
          Jack 2 senses her movement, SPINS and AIMS his rifle as
           Jack rushes forward --

                          JACK (CONT'D)
          No!
          -- He HITS JACK 2 and they both go down, the weapon
           FIRING! They fight over the weapon.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          88.

                         CONTINUED: ( 2)
          Blow for blow combat, their physical strength and
          training identical, the only exception being that JACK 2
          is fresh, his suit immaculate, a man who has just arrived
          at work, maybe just arrived on the planet.
          WITH JULIA. Standing, watching the two clones fight...
          she suddenly drops to her knees, her hand on her side.
          Blood seeps between her fingers. She's been shot, badly.
          WITH JACK AND JACK 2. Jack grapples with Jack 2, trying
          to control him...

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          STOP! You have to understand! You
          have to understand...
          Jack 2 throws Jack, leaps on top of him, trying to
          throttle him, in a full panic. Jack drives up into his
          gut, rolls away.

                          JACK (CONT'D)
           We're just Drones! We're just
           Drones, man! You and me! Don't
           you get it? Don't you know?
          Jack 2 comes at Jack wildly, emotion over-amping
           technique. Jack DUCKS the blow, wraps Jack 2 up in a
          choke-hold. SQUEEZING...

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          It's okay. It's going to be
          okay...
          Jack 2 goes limp, unconscious. Jack lets him go,
          staggers back. Everything finally processing. Then:

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          Julia...
          He turns towards Julia, sees her kneeling there, holding
          her side. The blood seeping between her fingers...
          JACK runs to her as she begins to fall. She is conscious,
          but just barely. But still, she PULLS BACK from him.

                         JULIA

                         (HORRIFIED)
          Don't touch me. Don't
          She lurches away from him, body running on fear and
          adrenaline. Jack nods, accepting her terror of him.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          89.

                         CONTINUED: ( 3)
          He moves forward, lifts her up against her willand
          carries her to shelter among the rocky terrain closeby.

          EXT. SMALL ROCKY ENCLAVE - CONTINUOUS

          Jack sets her down. There's blood frosting her lips and
          her skin has gone pale. He looks back, sees the
          Bubbleship and Jack 2's form lying next to it. He
          realizes something.

                         JACK
          I'll be back for you.

          INT. BUBBLE SHIP 2 - MOMENTS LATER

          Jack climbs in, looks around at the interior of the ship,
          at the similarities. He stares out at the unconscious
          Jack 2 in front of the ship.

                         JACK

                         (EMPTY WORDS)
          One, Two, Three. Jack Harper.
          A moment... then lights sparkle across the board.

                          JACK (CONT'D)
           Okay... Let's go home.
          The Bubbleship 2 lifts off.

          INT/EXT. BUBBLESHIP 2 - DAY (LATER)

          ON JACK. Making the approach. And then he sees it:
          Another Sky Tower, just like his. It had to be there.
          The Bubbleship closes on this new Sky Tower.

          EXT. SKY TOWER 2, GARDEN - DAY

          A woman we know but do not know is starting her new
          garden. VICTORIA 2. She looks happier, a little younger
          and more radiant than the Victoria we knew. It's earlier
          in their tour.
          Victoria 2 looks up as the Bubbleship lands. SMILES as
           Jack gets out and crosses the bridge towards her.

                         VICTORIA 2
          You're early...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         90

                         CONTINUED:
          As he approaches she notices his damaged environmental
          suit.

                         VICTORIA 2 (CONT'D)
          What happened out there? I lost
          contact.
          JACK stares at her, heartbroken.

                         JACK
          .Just a bit of a dust up.

                         VICTORIA 2
          Are you all right?
          He nods. She comes over to him. He marvels at her
          beauty, the simplicity of life here...

                         VICTORIA 2 (CONT'D)

                         (SELF-CONSCIOUS)
          .What?
          She comes close, brushes his hair away from his forehead.

                         VICTORIA 2 (CONT'D)
          You dreamed a lot last night. I
          was thinking, you have to start
          writing them down.

                         JACK
          I cut myself, I just came by
          for...

                         VICTORIA 2
          I'll get it.

                         JACK
          No, I'll get it.
          He kisses her. Gentle, loving...

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          I'll get it. You stay here.
          And as JACK goes into the sky tower, she returns to
          happily planting her roses. Oblivious.

          INT. SKY TOWER 2, WORK AREA - MOMENTS LATER

          As Jack heads through his work area he sees A COLLECTION.
          Just started, but not much different from his own.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         91

                         CONTINUED:
          Some coins, a book, THE COLLECTED POEMS OF T.S. ELLIOT,
          left open to a page, a passage underlined. He reads:
          We shall not ceasefromexploration
          And the end of allourexploring
          will be to arrivewherewe first started
          and know the placeforthe first time.
          He nods, strangely moved, moves on.

          INT. SKY TOWER 2, INFIRMARY - CONTINUOUS

          He grabs the healant and wand. He shuts the cabinet,
          stares at his reflection in the burnished steel.

          INT. SKY TOWER 2, READY ROOM - CONTINUOUS

          He opens the door to the locker. Stares at the brand-
          new, unworn picture of he and Victoria, taped to the
          inside of the door.

          INT. SKY TOWER 2 - MOMENTS LATER

          Jack comes out into the living area of Sky Tower 2,
          noticing everything: The furniture, the big things are
          exactly the same, but the little personal touches, the
          smaller details are different.
          He sees it all in a different light now. Things that he
          never looked twice at before. The items used to keep
          them from the truth.
          Victoria 2 comes in from outside, washes her hands.

                         VICTORIA 2
          We should watch a movie tonight.
          He sits, looking around himself. He belongs here. He
          fits here. Victoria munches on something.

                         VICTORIA 2 (CONT'D)
          I was going over the catalog and
          there's still a bunch of your
          favorites I haven't seen...
          She glances over, smiles. Who wouldn't forget everything
          for that smile?

                         

                         

                         

                         

          92.

          INT. BUBBLESHIP 2 - MOMENTS LATER

          Jack stares down as the Bubbleship LIFTS OFF from Sky
          Tower 2. He sees Victoria 2 come out, looking at him
          puzzled. Then she moves towards her Control Station.
          After a moment, her voice comes over the Comm.

                         VICTORIA 2
          Hey, you didn't say goodbye.

                         JACK

                         (BEAT)
          Good bye...
          He turns the Bubbleship, towards

          EXT. RADIATION ZONE - DAY

           Jack touches down in the second Bubbleship. Drone 166
          still lies there, but Jack 2 is GONE.

          EXT. SMALL ROCKY ENCLAVE - DAY

          Jack clambers into the enclave to where he left Julia.
          She's passed out, she looks dead. There's blood on the
          ground around her.
          He pulls her into his lap, pulling away the clothing
          around the wound. As he does, her eyes flutter open.
          She's delirious, eyes fixing on him.

                         JACK
          This is gonna pinch a little.

                         JULIA

                         (NOT PROCESSING)
          Okay...
          He spreads the HEALANT over her wound, activates it. For
          a moment, nothing. Then the skin starts to knit.
          And Julia starts to SCREAM...

          INT. BUBBLESHIP 2 - LATER

          Julia is unconscious, propped in the passenger seat of
          the ship. Jack climbs in, jams Bob the Bobblehead onto
          the dash. It bobbles at him, ready.
          Jack hits the gas and the Bubbleship lifts into the air.

                         

                         

                         

                         

          93.

          INT. BUBBLESHIP 2 - DAY

          The Bubbleship soars through the sky. There's something
          particularly calm, picturesque, exquisitely beautiful
          about the earth below.
          Jack pilots. In the seat next to him, Julia is pale,
          propped against the canopy, recovering. She watches him.
          He's aware of her gaze, but he doesn't look over.

          INT. CRATER LAKE, GROTTO - SUNSET

          Julia weakly stands amidst the tarped supplies, aware
          she's trespassing somewhere utterly private. Outside,
          the sound of Jack splitting wood. She takes in the
          books, the records, the mementos of the past. Sees the
          Jammer up and working...
          Jack comes in, gets to work piling wood in the fireplace.
          He won't meet her eyes. Scared of himself, ashamed in
          front of her...

                         JACK
          I always thought that plateau up
          there could be for a house
          someday. I thought about
          remaining here, letting the rest
          of humanity run off to Mars. And
          we'd just stay here.
          Jack stops himself, realizing how easily he said "we."

                         JULIA
          I'm sorry. Jack...

                         JACK
          No.
          He moves away from her, lights the fire, it starts to
          crackle. He gets up and goes, walking down to the lake.
          She stands near the fire, glad for its warmth, watching
          him out there, silhouetted in front of the lake.
          WITH JACK. He stares out over the water. Letting the
          truth wash over him.
          And then MUSIC from the grotto... the opening bars to the
          Temptation's "My Girl."

                         

                         

                         

                         

          94.

          INT. GROTTO, CRATER LAKE -- NIGHT

          Julia stands by the record player, watching the disc
          revolve. She looks up when Jack's form appears in the
          doorway. He's been out there too long, cold.

                         JULIA
          He loved this song.
          Jack sits, shivering, looking out at the lake. She moves
          to him, wraps a blanket around him.

                         JACK
          What was he like?

                         JULIA
          He was arrogant, and annoying, and
          the best man I'd ever known.
          Some distant part of Jack smiles at that.

                         JULIA (CONT'D)
          .And I loved him.

                         JACK
          I'm not that man.

                         JULIA
          Shhhhh. Yes you are.
          She rests her head against on his shoulder, holds him.
          Simple, caring. His eyes... close.

          INT. MISSION CONTROL, NASA - EVENING (FLASHBACK)

          A group of ASTRONAUTS and NASA CONTROLLERS are
          celebrating. A television screen reads: "Odyssey Mission
          a GO!"
          A YOUNGER JACK and JULIA are among the people
          celebrating. As an ASTRONAUT pops champagne, Jack and
          Julia find a private alcove, he lifts out the engagement
          ring that she wears on the necklace around her neck...

                         YOUNGER JACK
          We should just tell everybody.

                         YOUNGER JULIA
          No, when we come home...
          They KISS...

                         

                         

                         

                         

          95.

          TNT. A DARK ROOM - NIGHT
          Their bodies entwined. Kissing, touching. Clothing
          pulled away. Staring into each other's eyes.

          INT. NASA CREW APARTMENT - EARLY DAWN

          Younger Jack stares out the window at the Odyssey on its
          launchpad in the distance. Steam rolls off its engines.
          It's being readied to launch.

                         YOUNGER JULIA
          Hey...
          He looks over, smiles. She's naked under the sheets,
          happy, smiling back at him.

          EXT. CRATER LAKE - MORNING (PRESENT)

          Jack's eyes blink open. Julia is asleep near him,
          peaceful. He turns, stares into the lightening morning
          sky. The Tet rising with the sun.

          EXT. CRATER LAKE -- MORNING

          Jack walks to the water's edge. He stares at the
          reflection of the Tet in the glassy surface of the lake.
          And under that, a fish, nibbling algae...
          He smiles at the fish.

          JULIA (O.S. )
          Good morning.
          He turns. She's there, arms held around herself against
          the chill of morning. They look at each other, so much
          to be said.

                         JACK
          We can't stay here.
          She smiles, nods.

          INT. BUBBLESHIP 2 - DAY

          Jack and Julia fly low over terrain. As the Bubbleship
          crests a rise and drops down into a steep canyon, she
          takes his hand. He glances at her, lets his hand stay in
          hers. The entrance to Raven Rock looms ahead...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          96.

                         CONTINUED:
          His eyes narrow. There's SMOKE, drifting from inside
          Raven Rock.

          EXT. RAVEN ROCK - DAY

          As the Bubbleship touches down, the carnage becomes
          clear. A few shattered DRONES lie here and there, but
          there are bodies and smoking blast points everywhere.
          JACK grabs his carbine, heading inside.

                         JACK
          Stay here...

          INT. RAVEN ROCK - DAY

          As Jack moves into the darkness of the ruined Raven Rock,
          his suit's lights blaze on. He moves in, weapon ready.
          Bodies are everywhere, blasted to pieces.
          FIRES still burn here and there. Paint bubbles on
          burning canvas. Records melt and drip in the heat...
          Jack turns a corner, finds Sykes STARING AT HIM! But his
          eyes are dead. Sykes still holds a spear implanted in a
          Drone's wrecked body.
          A FLICKERING LIGHT draws Jack's attention.

          INT. RAVEN ROCK, CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS

          BEECH is slumped in a chair, blastburnt, clutching a
          charred black box in his arms. His eyes half-lidded, he

                         STARES AT:
          Newsreel footage, from when the Tet arrived. On the
          screen crowds stare, the UN meets, Cults form.
          THE MOON in the sky, its surface VIBRATES, then starts to
          come apart. People SCREAM... Cutting to War Footage.
          Alien Troop-ships touching down, their design distinctly
          Tet-like. They discharge waves of warriors...
          CLOSE ON: Hand held, war-journalism. We see the alien
          soldiers pushing back resistance. All of them are
          versions of Jack. One sights the cameraman, BLAM! Blows
          him away. Camera hits dirt..
          SMASH! Jack is there next to Beech. He's just pushed
          the projector over.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          97.

                         CONTINUED:

                         BEECH
          (not looking up)
          The first ones were soldiers,
          programmed only to kill.
          Beech slowly, painfully, looks at him. Little emotion in
          Beech, just resigned recognition.

                         BEECH (CONT'D)
          Later, there were new versions.
          More... creative. The Tet needed
          something different. And finally
          there was... you.

                         JACK
          I'm the weapon of this war.
          BEECH smiles sardonic, nods.

                         BEECH
          The Tet. The clockmaker God.
          Such brilliant, complex
          machinery... For such a simple
          task. To steal our water, our
          life... all for fuel.

                         (BEAT)
          It doesn't even care about us.
          It's just... effective.

                         JACK
          Why didn't you tell me?

                         BEECH
          Not the kind of news that.
          (coughing up blood)
          .motivates a man.
          Beat,then low, defeated.

                         BEECH (CONT'D)
          We lost, Jack. It won.

                         JACK
          The device...?

                         BEECH
          (shaking his head)
          No Drone. It will go on,
          devouring world, after world...

                         (BEAT)
          You like books, Jack.
          Beech closes his eyes, recalling from memory...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          98.

                         CONTINUED: ( 2)

                          BEECH (CONT'D)
          "Cowards die many times before
          their deaths; The valient never
          taste of death but once."
          Beech's voice trails off...
          Jack kneels in front of Beech. The old man's eyes are
          open, fixed on the artwork, the remnants of humanity...
          But they don't blink any longer. Beech is dead.
          Jack reaches up, closes Beech's eyes. He removes the box
          from Beech's arms: The flight recorder from the odyssey.

                         JULIA'S VOICE
          There is a way.
          Julia stands in the doorway to the library.

                         JULIA
          It wants me. Bring me to it.
          (off his silence)
          I'm right. You know I am. It's
          the only way.

          INT. WORK HANGER, RAVEN ROCK - MOMENTS LATER

          The room destroyed. The disassembled Drone a smoking
          hulk. Jack works in front of an open Delta Sleep Pod
          from the Odyssey. He HAULS the cylindrical BOMB to the
          Pod, slots it into the space for personal effects...

                         JULIA
          Is it ready?
          Julia is standing at the entrance to the room. He nods
          and she approaches, STARES at what will be her coffin.

                         JACK
          Julia...

                         JULIA
          Let's just do it.
          She moves to climb in, then turns to Jack and kisses him.
          It's a kiss filled with a lifetime of kisses missed.
          Finally, it breaks. She backs away, into the Pod, next
          to the BOMB. Trembling as the door starts to CLOSE.
          Suddenly, she's very scared. Fighting back panic.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          99.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JULIA (CONT'D)
          Jack... Jack!!
          The door closes, SEALS. Jack stares down at her through
          the carapace. He puts a hand on the glass. She puts
          hers on the other side.

                         JULIA (CONT'D)
          .I got this.
          He touches a button and a pale gas starts to fill the
          chamber. Julia realizes that this will be her last
          moment of consciousness. Trembling, crying, afraid...

                         JULIA (CONT'D)
          Jack...
          And she falls asleep. Jack stares at her sleeping form.

                         JACK
          Dream about us.

          EXT. RAVEN ROCK - LATER

          Wind tearing at him, JACK loads the sleep pod onto the
          drone-carrier of the Bubbleship.

          TNT/EXT. BUBBLESHIP, OUTTER ATMOSPHERE - LATER

          The Bubbleship hovers high above the clouds, the Delta
          Pod attached beneath it. Jack STARES down at the earth.
          He hits a control and the ship rotates, so it's facing
          upwards towards the Tet which fills the sky above. Jack
          touches the throttle and the Bubbleship begins to CLIMB.
          Jack has the odyssey flight recorder on the seat next to
          him. He touches a control and THE AUDIO fills the
          canopy. It's distant, fuzzy, recorded from deep space.
          Jack listens as the Tet grows in size in front of him.

          ORIGINAL JACK'S VOICE
          Good morning folks, this is
          captain Jack Harper here in the
          cockpit. We're settling in at a
          cool one hundred and fifty clicks
          from the unidentified flying
          object...

                         

                         

                         

                         

          100.

          INT. SPACE SHUTTLE ODYSSEY - NO TIME ( FLASHBACK)

          The ORIGINAL JACK in the Pilot's seat, ORIGINAL VICTORIA
          next to him, co-piloting. Jack GRINS as he peers out at
          the Tet, just a small geometry among the stars...

                         ORIGINAL JACK
          (to Mission Control)
          So far, from this distance, we're
          still reading zero heat
          signatures, no sign of organic
          life. Did I mention we're still
          really far away?

                         ORIGINAL VICTORIA
          Mission plan has us approaching to
          one hundred kilometers, doing our
          initial readouts...

                         ORIGINAL JACK
          Yes, because everyone knows, if
          you want to really know something,
          one hundred kilometers is the best

                         DISTANCE --

                         ORIGINAL VICTORIA
          Stop. We don't know what it is,
          if it has intentions.

                         ORIGINAL JACK
          (to Mission Control)
          I think she just made my point --

          INT. BUBBLESHIP 2 - CONTINUOUS (PRESENT)

          Jack touches a control, the sound from the recorder FAST
          FORWARDS. Hours and hours of time on the odyssey fly by.
          The Bubbleship has reached the stratosphere where the
          blue sky gives way to black space. We see the small ship
          detach from the blue curve of earth, the blackness of
          space in front of it.

                         JACK
          Bob, let's prep for outer
          atmosphere.
          OUTSIDE, the Bubbleship starts to transform for outer
          space as it RISES higher and higher...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          101.

                         CONTINUED:

                         THE TET
          (a metallic voice)
          Technician Harper.

                         JACK
          Finally. There you are.

                         THE TET
          Your ship has converted to space
          mode. This is not authorized.

                         JACK
          I am delivering the survivor from
          the crash of the NASA ship.
          ON JACK. The Tet reflected in his eyes.

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          We are... a more effective team.

                         THE TET
          .Proceed.
          Jack... exhales. The TINY BUBBLESHIP climbs towards the
          massive artificial moon as the audio from the flight
          recorder surrounds him again...

          ORIGINAL JACK'S VOICE
          -- We don't know if we're dealing
          with E.T. or the Klingons here,
          and we're not going to from this
          distance.

          INT. SPACE SHUTTLE ODYSSEY NO TIME (FLASHBACK)

          The ORIGINAL JACK and ORIGINAL VICTORIA, in a friendly
          argument.

                         ORIGINAL VICTORIA
          It could be inert. Anything on it
          could be long gone by now.

                         ORIGINAL JACK
          Which is why we need to make
          contact, before it just blows on
          by like some...

                         ORIGINAL VICTORIA
          Which is why we need to make
          contact.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          102.

                         CONTINUED:
          He double-takes, relieved that she finally agrees with
          him, smiles.

          ORIGINAL VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          (to Mission Control)
          I agree with Commander Harper. It
          crossed whatever light years of
          space and time to come this close
          to us. We're not going to really
          know anything about it from this
          far away.

          INT. BUBBLESHIP 2 - CONTINUOUS PRESENT

          Jack sits in the Bubbleship, the Tet looming above, the
          voices surrounding him.., remembering.

          INT. ODYSSEY SPACE SHUTTLE - NO TIME (FLASHBACK)

          They must have been given clearance to approach, because
          the Tet now FILLS the view in front of them.

                         ORIGINAL VICTORIA
          Mission control says maintain one
          thousand meters.
          Original Jack touches a control. The Shuttle pushes
          forward, a little.

          ORIGINAL VICTORIA (CONT'D)
          What are you doing?

                         ORIGINAL JACK
          This is a once in a lifetime
          opportunity.

                         ORIGINAL VICTORIA
          We have our orders, Jack. We're
          to let it proceed without --

                         ORIGINAL JACK
          We are. We're going to let it
          proceed whereever it's going...
          He lifts out of his seat, floats back towards the mid-
          section of the Shuttle.

                         ORIGINAL VICTORIA
          Jack...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          103.

                         CONTINUED:
          He's already pulling on a spacesuit. Near him is the row
          of Delta Sleep Pods. In the nearest one, he can see
          Julia, asleep. He puts his hand on the glass...

                         ORIGINAL JACK
          I'll be right back...

          ORIGINAL, VICTORIA
          Are we really going to do this?
          He looks over. original Victoria is already pulling on
          her spacesuit...
          A last glance back at Julia, then he turns away. He
          smiles at Victoria, drifts next to her, pulling out a
          small camera and pointing it back at the two of them...

                         JACK
          Let's make history.
          FLASH. The birth of the picture of the two of them, eyes
          filled with anticipation. The photo in Jack's locker.

          EXT. THE ODYSSEY IN SPACE - NO TIME

          The shuttle airlock cracks. Two figures in Space Suits
          emerge. Small puffs of gas, they head towards...
          REVERSE ANGLE. The Tet MASSIVE in front of them. Their
          small forms shrinking at they approach it.
          CLOSE ON JACK. His face seen through his visor as they
          approach. Filled with wonder. The dark shadow of the
          Tet crossing over him, blacking out everything.

          INT. BUBBLE SHIP 2 --- CONTINUOUS PRESENT

          Our Jack sits at the controls, the Tet now similarly
          massive in front of him, blotting out all other sight.
          He glances at the Bobblehead, which trembles from the
          ship's engines.

                         JACK
          It's okay Bob, I'm scared too.
          In front of him, a SLOT opens in the Tet wall.

                         THE TET
          Enter at headway speed only.

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          104.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JACK
          Entering at headway speed.
          He flies into the Tet, carrying the POD.

          INT. THE TET, OUTTER CHAMBERS - CONTINUOUS

          The TET is obviously of alien manufacture. In this huge
          bay, other BUBBLESHIPS are being constructed, welded
          together, by Drones. JACK drifts above all of this.

                         THE TET
          Leave the survivor and return to
          your duties. Breathable
          atmosphere has been provided.
          A PAD is illuminated for Jack to land.

                         JACK

                         (SMALL SMILE)
          Understood.
          Jack continues on, towards a huge DOOR.

                         THE TET
          Leave the survivor and return to
          your duties.

                         JACK
          (touching a control)
          You know, you made a mistake, Tet.
          You left me curious.

                         THE TET
          Reverse course. Leave the --

                         JACK
          And right now, I want to see what
          you're made of...
          Jack GUNS his ship at the large doors, OPENING UP with
          canons as he does.
          In front of him, the door IMPLODES just as Jack's ship
          reaches it, passing into...

          INT. THE TET, INTERNAL CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS

          A VAST space, miles in every direction. Jack's ships
          STREAKS along walls that pulse with energy...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          105.

                         CONTINUED:

                         JACK
          Do you like books, Tet!? I like
          books. Can I tell you something
          that I read?
          BEHIND THE BUBBLESHIP. DRONES detach from the walls of
          the Tet, beginning pursuit.

                          JACK (CONT'D)
           It's a story from Rome, a very
           great city, that you destroyed.
           The Bubbleship hauls over, headed deeper into the Tet.

           EXT. RADIATION ZONE - CONTINUOUS

          Drone 166 sits inert in the sand where we last saw it.
          Now it RISES UP with a familiar and evil sound. It moves
          off, searching...

          INT. THE TET, INTERNAL CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS

          JACK's flies as never before. Drone fire reaching him!
          Blasts IMPACT the Bubbleship.

                         JACK
          There was a guy named Horatius...
          and he held a bridge, alone. And
          when they told him to run, to give
          up, he said --
          BOOM! A drone blast EXPLODES A whole engine of the ship.
          The Bubbleship goes into an uncontrollable SPIN, headed
          straight at a WALL...

                         JACK (CONT'D)
          He said everybody dies. The thing
          is, to die well...
          SMASH! Jack's ship IMPACTS the wall, goes halfway
          through. The Canopy SHATTERS. Glass and debris tear at
          him.

          INT. THE TET, INCUBATION CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS

          Jack STUMBLES OUT, badly wounded. He drags the pod off
          the carrier. He looks around himself, sees:

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          106.

                         CONTINUED:
          ROW UPON ROW of EMPTY GLASS PODS. He tracks the walls,
          until near him... there are a dozen with Jack and
          Victoria clones still inside.
          BEHIND HIM Drones BLAST away from behind the Bubbleship.
          Jack stares at the clones, LAUGHS morbidly.

                         JACK
          .What Horatius said, what his
          argument was, was this...
          He opens the pod, revealing...
          -- BEECH'S BODY, and on his chest the raw BOMB. The
          nuclear warhead from the odyssey surrounded by ten
          Deuterium fuel cells.

                         THE TET
          That is not the Survivor.

                         JACK
          No.
          BEHIND HIM. The Drones blast away the last bit of the
          Bubbleship, push through...

          EXT. CRATER LAKE - DAY

          A Delta Sleep Pod rests in front of Jack's ruined Grotto,
          near the lake's edge. A TIMER now reaches ZERO.
          The Delta Pod unseals with a HISSS, its door opening.
          Soft daylight falls on Julia's face. Her eyes move under
          their lids, then flicker open..

          INT. THE TET, INCUBATION CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS

          Jack sees the DRONES swarming towards him. He starts to
          recite, but falters. He's really scared.

                         JACK
          How can a man die...

          TNT. CRATER LAKE - CONTINUOUS
          Julia emerges from the Pod, confused, looking around.

                         JULIA
          Jack?

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          107.

                         CONTINUED:
          She sees the metal cylinder, releases it and it tumbles
          to the ground.
          She crouches by it, opens it. Whatever she sees moves
          her to tears as IN FRONT OF HER, the form of Drone 166
          rises into view. Its weapons trained on her.
          She looks up, right at it, resigned...

          INT. THE TET, INCUBATION CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS

          As the Drones swarm down, Jack closes his eyes, recites
          without embellishment. The way these words were meant to

                         BE SPOKEN:

                         JACK
          How can man die better
          Than facing fearful odds,
          For the ashes of his fathers,
          And the temples of his gods...
          The DRONES are on him, weapons lining!

                         JACK (CONT'D)

                         (YELLING)
          Do you hear me!!!
          Jack pounds the trigger with his fist. As ALL THE CLONES
          open their eyes.
          .and everything is bathed in WHITE LIGHT.

          EXT. THE TET - CONTINUOUS

           The Tet explodes in a MASSIVE DEUTERIUM FISSION
           EXPLOSION, the entire artificial moon killed from within.

           EXT. CRATER LAKE - CONTINUOUS


                         DRONE 166
          falls inert in front of Julia as the Tet
          Explodes in the sky above her. She stares up, tears
          already running down her face.

          EXT. VARIOUS LANDSCAPES - CONTINUOUS

          DRONES fall from the sky, powerless...
          A RESOURCE GATHERER YAWS, losing power, and falls
          ponderously into what remains of the sea...

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         108

          EXT. CRATER LAKE. CONTINUOUS

          The explosion is like St Elmo's fire, refracted across
          the sky, all over the face of the earth.
          Julia looks down at her hands which hold: A rolled
          canvas, the only object inside the metal cylinder. She
          unrolls it now. We glimpse a girl lying in golden
          fields, a farmhouse in the distance. The painting from
          Ravens Rock that reminded her of home.
          ON JULIA, weeping, staring at the fire ball in the sky.

                         BLACK

          FADE UP ON:

          EXT. A GARDEN - DAY

          Well-tended. Thick ripe fruit hang on vines.

          JULIA (V.0.)
          The Tet arrived almost half a
          century ago. And it changed our
          world forever...
          We're at CRATER LAKE, three years in the future.
          The Grotto has been turned into a house, the ground has
          been cultivated. Roses and yellow flowers grow near the
          house. A SOLAR ARRAY powers the spot. All Jack's
          scavenging has gone to very good use. There's a small
          make-shift boat moored at the Lake's edge.

          JULIA (V.0.)
          It was probably surprised, what we
          were willing to do, to survive.
          Jack's basketball sits alone near the hoop.

          JULIA (V.0.)
          We had to unlearn what it meant,
          to call something our home.
          There's a familiar painting, hanging on the wall. The
          girl in the field of wheat, yearning towards home.

          JULIA (V.0.)
          But we did. We started over. And
          so here we are now, everyone
          that's left...

                         (CONTINUED)

                         

                         

                         

                         

          109.

                         CONTINUED:
          JULIA is turning over a patch of ground for next year.
          Next to her, A CHILD is digging her fingers through loam.
          The CHILD looks up, stares across the water.

                         JULIA
          Well, almost everyone.
          A MAN stands at the edge of the water, on the opposite
          side. He wears the wrecked remains of a worksuit, and
          carries a pack. It is Jack 2. He's aged three years,
          his hair has grown, his boots are scavenged. He has
          travelled a long way, and we know that as he stares
          across the water, he knows exactly what he is looking at.

                         CHILD
          Who is that?
          ON JULIA. It's been a long journey to this moment for
          her as well. She smiles.

                         JULIA
          It's your father. Come on, let's
          go pick him up.

          END.



Oblivion



Writers :   Joseph Kosinski  Karl Gajdusek  William Monahan
Genres :   Action  Adventure  Sci-Fi


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