ACT TWO
FADE IN
INT.FRANCISCO HOME - NIGHT
The Franciscos are at dinner.
EMILY
When Buck was my age you let him
run around with street gangs in
Little Tencton, but me, you won't
even let me go out with my friends!
SUSAN
Let him run around ...
She glances at Buck, who, intent on Vessna,
appears unaware of
the conversation.
SUSAN
Em, we just want to meet
your friends first so we know who
you are out with...
EMILY
You mean so you can =tell= me
who I can and can't hang out with!
GEORGE
Well, we didn't think that that
Terry Biller was a good influence.
EMILY
Who are you to decide who's a
good influence and who's not?
SUSAN
We're your parents.We want to
make sure you grow up the right way.
EMILY
So an accident of biology
means you can control my life?
BUCK
(casually conversational)
Uncle Moodri told me that on
Tencton family was the most
important thing there was.
Extended families stayed together
their whole lives.Grandparents,
cousins, uncles, aunts, all together.
20.
EMILY
Yeah, well, mom and dad still
think we're supposed to be slaves.
SUSAN
Emily, go to your room.
EMILY
Fine.I'd rather eat with my
TV for company.=It= doesn't
criticize everything I do.
She takes her plate and leaves the table.
VESSNA
(distressed)
Emily!
BUCK
(to Vessna, distracting her)
{Want some more crickets?}Von tua-rom kilsa?
He holds up the bowl in front of her.
VESSNA
(eagerly)
Yes, please.
Buck keeps holding up the bowl, doesn't move.
VESSNA
{Yes, please} Kwen sela.
Buck smiles and spoons some live crickets onto Vessna's plate.
BUCK
Mom, I'm sorry I didn't get there
in time to pick you up.I'll
reimburse you for the taxi fare.
SUSAN
(sighs)
Fine.
GEORGE
What happened, Buck? You didn't get
home till after six.I thought
your volunteer shift at the
Newcomer Service Center was over
at three.
21.
BUCK
I had to drive someone home.
He'd been assaulted.
SUSAN
Assaulted?By humans?
BUCK
No, a bunch of Newcomer guys
jumped him. They tore his pouch and
shoved gravel and dirt inside it.
Buck shudders, imagining the pain.George shudders too.
SUSAN
Celine.What are we coming to.
BUCK
The police took him to the
hospital and his pouch got
bandaged up there, then they
brought him to a center for victims
of rape. -- Apparently rape is a
big problem among humans.
George makes a gesture of rueful affirmation.
BUCK
But the rape center people didn't
know what to do, so they called the
Newcomer Service Center. I went over.
SUSAN
And what did you do?
BUCK
(helpless shrug)
I just drove him home.
Then we talked...
GEORGE
Does he live alone? Does he have family?
BUCK
I guess he lives alone.He had
kids but doesn't know where they
are now. His wife must be dead
-- he wouldn't talk about her.
(long beat)
How many families =are= there
that still haven't been reunited?
22.
GEORGE
Newcomer families? Since the crash?
I think that by now everyone
who survived has been reunited.
SUSAN
Well, a lot of people are missing
family members still, but those
missing family members probably
weren't on the ship when it crashed.
GEORGE
Were this man's children on the
ship?
BUCK
Yes...
(considers)
I guess I didn't ask him.I just
took it for granted that they were.
SUSAN
Well, is he searching for them?
BUCK
(long beat)
No.He acts as though it's final
and done with.Like they're dead.
(beat; very softly)
Like with Rorpa.
George and Susan look away, their attention on their food.
INT.ALLISON'S APARTMENT -- LITTLE TENCTON -- DAY
Matt and George are questioning ALLISON
WONDERLAND, a petite
Newcomer girl of about twenty.
ALLISON
They were such wonderful people.
I just can't believe Gregory's dead.
And Julie-- I hope she's all right.
MATT
Did you know them well?
ALLISON
Oh, yes.They're selling me
a bridge.They gave me a special
deal since we're such good friends.
23.
MATT
Selling you a bridge?
ALLISON
They own a bridge in New York.
It's called the Brooklyn Bridge.
They're selling it to me.
Here, look.
She holds up a parchment-like document reading "Certificate
of
Bridge Ownership" in large, ornate, gold-foil Gothic lettering
George takes the document and scans it, hands it to Matt.
ALLISON
I'll have it paid off in less than
ten years.Then I'll put up toll booths
and get tons of money.
(off Matt's incredulous look)
Hey! -- this isn't like some old deserted
bridge in the middle of nowhere! Look
at how many cars go across it!
She gestures toward an aerial photo of the
Brooklyn Bridge,
packed with cars, framed and hanging on the wall.
ALLISON
See, it's packed! That's a lot of
toll money!
GEORGE
Ms. Wonderland, did you know that
Julie N. Calendar was pregnant?
ALLISON
Oh, yes!She's very excited.
GEORGE
Do you know when she's due to
transfer the pod?
ALLISON
Oh, she already did that.
Two, two and a half months ago.
GEORGE
(confused)
She already transferred the pod?
Ms. Wonderland, Mr. Calendar's
body was prepared to receive a
pod, but it showed no signs of
ever having carried one.
24.
ALLISON
Um, well, Gregory didn't carry
the pod.They hired a yedakro.
George recoils as though slapped.
GEORGE
A yedakro?
Allison nods.
GEORGE
Mister Calendar agreed to this?
ALLISON
Oh yeah!He thought it was great!
(defensive)
Well... Julie and Gregory didn't
have, like, old-fashioned hangups
about things?
(off George's shocked look)
Yeah, I know, people who are
religious and stuff would say it's
terrible.My mom, f'rinstance,
she'd freak.She's like
super-orthodox. Goes on and on
about Celinist teachings and family
values and stuff.Blah, blah, blah.
I tell her, geez, we're on a whole
new world now.Get with it.
GEORGE
(a bit stiffly)
Maybe your mother has something to say.
ALLISON
Ah, I haven't even seen her since
graduation.She can go jump in the
amdugas for all I care.
(admiringly)
Julie and Gregory are, y'know,
free-thinkers.They're cool.
They don't let themselves
be tied up by those old-fashioned
Tenctonese rules.Hey, this is
Earth, they say. We're free!
25.
INT.CAR - MOVING - DAY
George drives as they talk.
MATT
You just told me yesterday that
it had to be the father
who incubated the pod.
GEORGE
(stiffly)
I did not say that.I said that
in order to transfer a pod it is
necessary for the partners
to be biologically synchronized.
MATT
Well -- isn't that the same thing?
Like married or mated or whatever?
GEORGE
(even more stiffly)
Yes.It should be.
MATT
Okay -- but now you tell me you can
go out and hire somebody to do it,
this yo-yo?
GEORGE
(sullenly)
Yedakro. From "yedak," to carry.
Yoyo is a foot fungus.
MATT
So you coulda hired somebody
to carry Vessna to term for you, and
we wouldna hadta go through
all that when Vessna was born?
FLASHBACK FROM "REAL MEN" EPISODE:
A panicked Matt trying to deliver Vessna.
MATT(V.O.)
Coulda saved us all a lot of trouble.
RESUME THE CAR
George stops the car with a jolt -- in the middle
of the
block.
26.
GEORGE
(flaring)
That's a form of prostitution,
Matt!It was illegal on Tencton.
It should be illegal here!
MATT
Oh-ho, you're the one always
telling me your people never heard
of prostitution till you came here.
Now you're saying this yo-yo
is kind of a Tenctonese prostitute.
(needling George)
Guess humans and Tenctonese aren't
really so different, huh?
GEORGE
(controlling himself with
an effort)
We don't have your kind of
prostitution.We don't hire
strangers to simulate the act
of conception.
MATT
"Simulate the act of conception"?
A few HONKS are heard.George resumes driving.
GEORGE
Sex to us is more than genital
contact.It's the long-term process
of bonding -- of synchronizing
biologically -- ultimately leading
to the highest act of union.
The pod transfer.
MATT
Oh yeah.The highest act of union.
GEORGE
You're human, you couldn't understand.
(beat)
The union between Tenctonese mates
is far deeper than human-style sex.
MATT
(defensively)
It -- it is not...
27.
GEORGE
(factually)
Of course it is.
MATT
(beat)
Just how would you know, George?
GEORGE
(it's obvious)
How would I know??I live
surrounded by humans, I see it
in your culture every day.
He gestures toward a billboard with a bikini-clad model.
GEORGE
Sex is just a toy for you humans.
A spasm of pleasure, quickly forgotten.
(beat)
It doesn't mean anything to you.
Matt sputters an inarticulate protest.
GEORGE
(surprised that Matt would
disagree, and interested)
Are you saying that that isn't true?
MATT
Well, maybe a lotta the time it's
true, but sometimes...
GEORGE
Sometimes what?
MATT
Well, not saying I... I mean...
George, guys don't like to admit
how much they feel. About anything.
GEORGE
I don't know about that.I've
seen many times that when an
attractive woman is walking down
the street, human men are quite
candid about how they feel.
MATT
I don't mean... I mean...
28.
GEORGE
In our culture, sex is a
sacred mystery -- a link to the
creative power of the universe.
(beat)
I think that human culture
is afraid of sex.
MATT
Wha -- wha -- afraid, whaddya mean?
(gesturing at another sexy
billboard)
You just finished telling me you
see sex everywhere on this planet!
GEORGE
A power so strong, so far beyond
understanding -- coming through you,
pulling you out of yourself, beyond
yourself ... how can anyone not be
a little frightened of it?
Of course it's scary.
George gestures toward a porno movie marquee
reading HOT BABES
IN TOYLAND and BOOB HEAVEN.
GEORGE
I think that humans deal with
that fear by trivializing sex.
You try to shrink it, down to one
little moment and one little set
of bodily organs. Then it doesn't
seem so big, so frightening.
Matt remains stupefied.
INT.NEWCOMER SERVICE CENTER - DAY
Plate on desk reads "GLORIA PATRI - ASSISTANT
DIRECTOR -
NEWCOMER SERVICE CENTER" in English and Tenctonese.
PULL BACK to show room. Someone has made an effort
to give
the characterless offices some cultural flavor; colorful
Tenctonese art stands out against the bland and
sterile-looking surroundings.
Buck is preparing coffee at a coffee maker. Behind
him,
overseeing, is GLORIA PATRI.
29.
GLORIA
Careful, Buck.Don't put in
too much turpentine this time.
BUCK
Just two spoonfuls.
(beat)
Am I going to be doing more
counseling this afternoon?
Gloria starts to answer, but phone RINGS. She
gestures at Buck
to wait till after she attends this, sits at her desk and
answers the phone.
GLORIA
Good morning.Newcomer Service
Center.Gloria Patri speaking.
Dus tamos.Wenbema Reeva Voko.
Gloria Patri keepsa....
(long beat)
Kwen. Kee nak plask tu masa.
Von stok e stomkar?Kwen...
She types briefly into her computer.
GLORIA
Friday, ten o'clock? Dus.
She types briefly.
GLORIA
Vots manya?
(repeating the caller's name
carefully, spelling in
English as she types)
Tara Dactil... T-A-R-A...D-A-C-T-I-L.
Dus.Vots phone number?
(typing a key stroke with
each syllable)
Hend-hend-hend-kup-eean-kup-fren. Dus.
Lis reek nem.Tukas.
(This is unsubtitled, but translates as "Newcomer
Service
Center, Gloria Patri speaking. Yes.We can help with that.
Want to make an appointment? Yes... Friday, ten o'clock?
Good.Your name?...Tara Dactil...Your phone number? ...
555-2129. Good. We will see each other. Goodbye.")
Gloria hangs up the phone.Buck hands her a cup of coffee.
30.
GLORIA
Buck, out here on the streets
of Little Tencton,
our people have to deal with
guns, drug addiction, lactaholism,
prostitution, broken families...
housing, jobs...
She sips the coffee, nods approval.
GLORIA
When people come in here looking
for help, they expect to find
someone who speaks their own
language.Not somebody
quoting their dead Uncle Moodri
about "oneness with the universe."
BUCK
Just because we happen to be on one
particular planet doesn't mean we
should forget the principles
our ancestors handed down to us.
GLORIA
What do have those principles have
to do with a 13-year-old jack addict?
BUCK
Well, whatever causes disharmony
within our bodies causes us to...
GLORIA
(with a dismissing gesture)
I know. I heard you explain it
to that kid this morning.
Do you really think it meant
anything to her?
BUCK
Well, see, the problems that we have
really come from forgetting our
spiritual ways.
GLORIA
"We"?
(beat)
Buck, you live in a human suburb.
31.
BUCK
(defensively)
Just 'cause my family lives there.
And we used to live in Little Tencton.
GLORIA
You have the luxury to think about
things like heritage and culture and
spirituality.Here in Little Tencton,
that isn't a priority for most people.
BUCK
Well, yes it is. For some people,
anyway.There are storefront temples
and shrines all over Little Tencton.
A lot of people go to them.
GLORIA
Out of two hundred and thirty
thousand people in Little Tencton,
how many is "a lot"?
Buck doesn't answer.
GLORIA
Buck, I do appreciate your
dedication.It's not your
fault that you're out of touch
with the Newcomer community.
Buck is stung.Gloria gets up, puts her hand on his shoulder.
GLORIA
Buck, you are a young man of
exceptional talents. You want to
help your people, and we do need
all the volunteers we can get.
(beat)
But... if you are expecting
to "come home" here...I'm afraid
you will be disappointed.
INT.COP CAR - MOVING - DAY
George is conferring with the radio as Matt
drives.He makes
some notes, hangs up radio.
32.
GEORGE
Okay, here's addresses for the two
names Allison Wonderland gave us
-- Virgil Reality and Cara Mell.
Cara Mell is closer.
INT.NEWCOMER SERVICE CENTER - DAY
Buck is preparing to leave.He turns toward the
door, sees
Herman come in.Herman smiles when he sees Buck.
HERMAN
Jovan, Finiksa!
BUCK
Jovan!
HERMAN
I was just passing by...
just came in to say hello...
BUCK
Sit down.Want coffee?
Or lichen tea, I guess...
Buck starts to look in the cabinet below the coffee maker.
HERMAN
I don't need anything.
BUCK
Well, actually, I was about to leave
and go over to the Temple Sanemval.
An Elder named Torav is teaching me
how to focus with the Third Heart.
HERMAN
The Third Heart?
BUCK
The Third Heart, the center
between our two hearts, the
point of perfect balance...
You know, it's in the Song
of Celine.
(off Herman's look of
shamefaced ignorance)
You've never read the Song of
Celine?
33.
HERMAN
Well...
BUCK
Oh, you have to read it.
It is one of the most beautiful,
most inspiring epics in --
the universe, I'll bet.
HERMAN
(shaking his head in
admiration)
You know so much, Buck.
BUCK
Well, come with me over to the
Temple.They'll teach you.
HERMAN
(beat)
I can't go to places like that.
BUCK
Oh, they're super friendly over
there.They welcome everybody.
Herman doesn't answer.
BUCK
(with growing enthusiasm)
It doesn't matter if you are
Celinist or what.It's a Temple
of blended teachings -- Celinist,
pre-Celinist, Lyubof, Kewisto,
Eemon... and Earth teachings too,
like Christian and Buddhist.
They seek the common truth of all.
Everybody is welcome.
It's like a big family.
Come on. They'll be happy to see you.
CU on expression of dread on Herman's face.
INT.CARA MELL'S APARTMENT -DAY
Matt and George are interviewing CARA MELL, a
Newcomer.She
holds up an ornate document, at the top of which large gold
foil calligraphy reads "Oil Well Title Deed." George takes
notes as she speaks.
34.
CARA
Julie and Gregory gave me a special
deal because we're such good friends.
(as though confiding a
great discovery)
Did you know that oil is where
gasoline comes from?And cars run
on gasoline, they gotta have it.
Oil wells are a gold mine!
(musing)
You know, when we first crashed, and
all those cars and jeeps and things
came and surrounded the ship, I
thought that cars were the dominant
life form on this planet.
GEORGE
(hint of a smile
as he writes)
I'm not so sure they aren't.
INT.BUCK'S CAR - MOVING - DAY
Buck is on a roll, swept away by enthusiasm at
finding someone
who shares his interests.
BUCK
(talking non-stop)
...Now, most of the pre-Celinist
religions represent the One Who
creates the universe as only
female. But Celine and Andarko,
the "sacred pair," symbolize the
power of the universe as both
female and male -- eternally
united, the ecstacy of their union
continuously generating the process
of creation....
CLOSE IN on Herman as he listens, interested but
distracted
and wearing a look of deepening apprehension.
EXT.TEMPLE - DAY
Buck pulls up in front of the "Temple"
-- a humble storefront
surrounded by lovely plants and beautifully adorned with
pieces of Tenctonese fabric art, which flutter colorfully in
the breeze.Above the doorway is the Tenctonese love symbol
|X|.
Buck opens the car door and starts to exit.
35.
BUCK
Come on.
Herman remains seated.
BUCK
Come on, what's the matter?
HERMAN
I can't go to places like this.
BUCK
Why not?
Herman is silent.
BUCK
What's the matter?
HERMAN
I'm sorry, Buck.I shouldn't
have come to see you...
BUCK
What are you talking about?
HERMAN
You don't know about what I
really am.I'm sorry, Buck.
BUCK
What you really are?
What do you mean?
Buck reenters the car, sits down.He reaches a
finger over
and unobtrusively lifts Herman's sleeve to check for an
Overseer tattoo, sees his wrists are clean.
BUCK
I'll still be your friend. Tell me.
Herman shakes his head; finally he steels himself to confess.
HERMAN
I'm a carrier.
36.
BUCK
A... carrier?
(long beat)
You mean -- a yedakro?
(beat; cheerfully)
Well, that's all right!
It makes no difference to me!
Buck gives him a big friendly smile, and Herman
manages to
smile back.
BUCK
Come on.Let's go in.
EXT. TEMPLE DOORWAY - DAY
An Elder, TORAV, stands in the doorway.He beams
with warmth,
merriment, and friendliness.Through the doorway of the
Temple we see something of the interior: murals of Tenctonese
landscapes, tapestries, altars.Beautiful Tenctonese choral
music can be heard.Buck stands on the top step, facing the
door;Herman remains a few steps below, reluctant to ascend.
TORAV
Jovan, Finiksa!
BUCK
Jovan, Fron Torav. I brought a
friend with me.His name is Herman.
TORAV
Welcome, Herman!Everyone is welcome
here.
At these welcoming words from an actual Elder,
Herman relaxes.
For the first time, we see a genuine smile of warmth and
pleasure on his face.He moves up to a step below Buck.
HERMAN
I was afraid I wouldn't be welcome.
BUCK
Herman has had a hard life...
Torav smiles warmly and knowingly.
TORAV
This is a place of healing, of refuge.
There is no wound that Celine cannot heal.
37.
BUCK
He thought he wouldn't be welcomed
because he is a yedakro...
Herman is stricken.Torav's smile fades.
TORAV
"Because he is a yedakro"... still
practicing?
BUCK
Well, no, I mean, he used to be a
yedakro, he was forced to be.You
know, by the Overseers.On the ship.
TORAV
(to Herman)
You do not engage in this evil
practice any more?
Herman takes a step backward down the steps.Buck
is shocked
to see Torav's attitude of condemnation.
BUCK
Fron Torav.Celine teaches us
compassion, forgiveness.
TORAV
There can be no compassion where there
is no repentance.A yedakro has no place
among our people.These men threaten the
very foundations of our families.They
make bonding meaningless.Mechanical.
BUCK
Celine teaches love.This is not love.
TORAV
(anger showing)
So now you are a teacher of the way,
Finiksa?Go. If you do not accept the
laws of Celine, you do not belong here.
Buck turns angrily and leaves.Herman follows, with
the body
language of someone who knows it's all his fault.
INT.CAR - STANDING - DAY
Buck sits in the car, processing the experience and the pain.
38.
BUCK
I felt at home there... they were like
a family to me.
HERMAN
There are other temples, aren't there?
Buck doesn't answer.
HERMAN
I know.It's like you've lost your
family.It's hard to trust again, to
bond again.
BUCK
(with some bitterness)
I've trusted too many times.
I've trusted too easily.
HERMAN
Everyone has disillusioned you?
Buck doesn't answer.
HERMAN
(tuning into Buck empathically)
...abandoned you... failed to
protect you...
Buck turns a pained face to Herman, who looks
straight ahead,
as though speaking in a trance.
HERMAN
....you feel like an outcast...
like there is no place you belong,
no people you belong among...
Buck looks away.This is getting too close to home for him.
HERMAN
I remember when I was taken
from my parents... I felt so
betrayed... like they had promised
to protect me forever -- and then
they didn't.
Buck starts the car with a VIOLENT ROAR, drives
off with a
lurch.
END OF ACT TWO