EXT. SUBURBAN HOUSE A man drives up to a nice, but nondescript suburban house in a nice, but non-descript car. He gets out of the car and walks to the front door. As he opens it, he sees that there is a guy surveilling him from a car across the street. He smiles. He walks into the house. Looks around steailthily. Walks into his windowless entertainment room. Slides open a secret panel, revealing a stairway going downstairs. What's down there? What happnes next.
Jordan Itkowitz INT. LAB The man enters a sleek, spotless high-tech chamber outfitted with all manner of genetic-sequencing equipment - and in the chamber beyond, several upright cloning pods. Human cloning pods.
He crosses to a door, punches in a keycode and enters the hallway beyond. The hallway features four glass-fronted cells, each containing a naked human male cowering in the corner. The man stops in front of the first cell and raps on the glass.
The occupant looks up, his face weathered, his eyes tired and confused - and his beard oddly, eerily familiar. The man inside the cell is Abraham Lincoln.
Down the hall, the clone of Thomas Jefferson lets out a wail.
Jordan Itkowitz INT. LAB The man enters a sleek, spotless high-tech chamber outfitted with all manner of genetic-sequencing equipment - and in the chamber beyond, several upright cloning pods. Human cloning pods.
He crosses to a door, punches in a keycode and enters the hallway beyond. The hallway features four glass-fronted cells, each containing a naked human male cowering in the corner. The man stops in front of the first cell and raps on the glass.
The occupant looks up, his face weathered, his eyes tired and confused - and his beard oddly, eerily familiar. The man inside the cell is Abraham Lincoln.
Down the hall, the clone of Thomas Jefferson lets out a wail.
| The last cell holds another man - long haired, sitting in a lotus position, deep in meditation. |
Glen Donovan The man gets to the last cell and stares intently at the meditating, robed man, who looks up and says, "You can't possibly think this is going to work. Even if I look like him, I am NOT him ... and you will be committing murder of an innocent man!" His voice lowers to a whisper, "the world will not be so easily fooled..."
The man standing looks at a picture he brought with him, and says, "you look like him ... your DNA will prove that you're him. The world will rejoice in your death!"
He turns and goes to a desk. There are two different colored phones and a strange looking computer on it.
Roger Slifer Roger Slifer
He reaches for the bible next to them. And hands it to the robed man in the cell. "You'd better bone up on this. All you really need to read is the New Testament. But you'll need to be convincing. You'll have to fool the entire world."
The long-haired man glowers at his captor.
Scott Rogers EXT. ST. PETER'S SQUARE -TOURIST'S POV
A camera focuses on the Holy See. Suddenly, the shot is ruined as the photographer is jostled.
Scott Rogers EXT. ST. PETER'S SQUARE - SAME
The jostled tourist bawls out his accoster - a sleek Italian man clad in Armani and Persols. "Hey! I was taking a picture here, jerk!" The Italian swoops down and retrieves his own dropped parcel - a battered briefcase - from the cobblestones and mutters a quick "Scusi" and he resumes striding towards the See's main gate.
Steven Barnes He gets to the main gate before he checks his package...and realizes he was wrong. He has picked up the tourist's briefcase by mistake. He turns frantically...but the tourist is gone.
Anthony Falvo As he walks toward the gate the gaurds lead him towards the metal detectors ..Security is very high today for the pope's parade ...the alarm goes off as they check the suitcase ...a tall man in a suit steps forward and demand.."open it"....The man has no key becuase this is not his case so..
Ted Yang The man rushes back to the St. Peter's square searching for the tourist, but he's already gone. He curses to himself, "Merda!" Suddenly he feels someone tap on his shoulder. "Excuse me sir can i help you with something?" says a Swiss Guard.
Gregg Davidson INT. LAB- NIGHT
Our scientist is looking over some complex space- time algorithms on his computer when a sound like jello sizzling on hot pavement causes him to look over at a machine resembling a Victorian version of a transporter. In a dazzling plasma cloud a figure materializes. It is Edward Kelly an alchemist from 1586.
Kelly: "It's time!"
Scientist: "We can't. They're not ready Kelly. Some of the subjects have demonstrated... a certain lack of cooperation.
Kelly: "We can't make another jump to this continuum for at least 18 months. We have to move them to Prague immediately. Don't worry.They'll cooperate by choice or by this.."
Kelly holds out small sphere filled with swirling eldritch light. A fine mesh of gold and platinum alchemical symbols encases the glowing sphere. The scientists face twists with visible loathing.
EXT. HOUSE
A young woman dressed wearing a brown leather jacket and jeans approaches the house and moves around the back to the basements storm cellar doors.
Agent:"I'm in position"
Bobby Nash The man explains his run in with the tourist to the guard and shows him the briefcase he picked up by mistake. "He's got my case and I really would like to get it back," he says. "But I'm on assignment and need to get these photos taken. I don't get paid unless I get the pictures."
"I can take the case to security for you, sir," the guard says. "I just need to see some ID first."
"Of course, the man says and reaches for his press credentials that are clipped to his jacket." That's when he realizes that the tourist has absconded with more than just his case. "My ID's missing," he tells the guard.
"I think you'd better come with me, sir," the guard says as he grabs the photographer by the arm.
Steve DeFrisco INT. LAB- NIGHT
Alarm klaxons sound as the steel door drops at the lab entrance and rocks are heard falling beyond.
Kelly: "We're compromised. We must go now!"
The man looks at the camera display that pops up in a window on his desktop. "Damn."
Rick Giolito Interior, Computer Lab, State Department, Washington, D.C.
"Sir, you need to take a look at this intercept".
Tyrone Summers, bespeckaled male, late 30's, leans over the CIA Analyst's shoulder.
"Yes, we've been monitoring some unusual traffic emanating from"The Familiy's" safe house for about a week. It's strange, usually we see communique's regarding fundraising or some political startegizing...but this talk of the Second Coming seems out of whack."
"Can you track who is recieving these? Country, City, location? That would help."
"I''ll do what I can Sir, but I've noticed the addresses are encrypted with something we don't have on record".
"Take your best shot. It's probably nothing, but going to move this up the chain. No need getting caught with our pants down."
Jordan Itkowitz INT. LAB
The Scientist frantically backs up important files onto a removable drive - frequently stealing glances at his security cameras as he goes. Kelly hovers, not sure what to do with himself. The eldritch orb still pulses in his hands.
SCIENTIST
(annoyed)
Can you back up with that thing? I have no idea what it's going to do to my equipment - last thing we need now is corrupted data.
KELLY
I assure you, it's quite safe.
He backs away anyway, then places the orb on a counter on the opposite end of the room. It's far enough from the computers - but not from the terminal controls that operate the cell doors down the hall.
INT. HALLWAY/CLONING CELLS
Four little red lights, one in front of each cell, suddenly flick to green, and four doors hiss open.
As if expecting this to happen, Thomas Jefferson - hair wild, and hands smeared with ink - rushes out of his cell, down the hall and into Jesus' cell.
Jesus throws his hands up to block the Virginian's attack, but Jefferson is too quick, and his hands close around The Messiah's throat.
JEFFERSON
Just one more edit to make and my Bible will be complete!
INT. LAB
The Scientist and Kelly hear the commotion from down the hall and glance over at a bank of display terminals.
SCIENTIST
Oh shit.
Lenny Raymond INT: VATICAN SECURITY OFFICE Two Swiss Guards look concerned / puzzled as they look over the display on a screener machine that looks like an airport x-ray, but slightly more elaborate. The machine contains the case. The case seems to be filled with metal cylinders that contain liquid. The guards discuss the display in hushed tones among themselves, in Latin, pointing to parts of the screen animatedly. The photographer is sitting on a chair nearby and sees the concerned looks and hushed conversation, and becomes visibly agitated. The Guards press an intercom button and speak into it in Latin in urgent tones (there are no subtitles but one word, is recognizable "biohazard").
Brad Sweet EXT: ST PETER'S SQUARE, THE VATICAN: The "tourist" has transformed into just another member of the international press, and he passes effortlessly through a separate entrance, joining the bustle of press getting into a convenient position for the Pope's parade. Only he, a highly trained agent and sometime assasin, knows that this day will be the dawn of The New Era, one controlled by The Society. For only The Society would have control over a new Messiah, soon to emerge in the midst of a world in turmoil. For what else could follow in the wake of a "false Pope" struck down by God Himself at the same time a terrible plague originated in the Vatican? The agent agreed completely with The Society's Grand Council--religion had always been the best path to power.
As the Pope emerged for the beginning of the parade, the agent opened his satchel and pulled out The Device as he thought to himself, "And if this particular plot fails, there are always the back-ups..."
Brad Sweet INT: VATICAN SECURITY OFFICE The last thing the photographer saw was a flash. All things considered, the explosion was not that large, though fatal for those in the immediate vicinity. The special spores it dispersed into the air, though, would prove to be far more deadly...
Robin W Enos INT: CIA HQ, Langley, panelled conference room.
Faceless Suit: "Kill him. Send the Asset."
Theodore D. Hsu INSIDE THE CAR:
ReplyDeleteThe guy ducks down out of sight, but the man knows someone else was interested in him and was sure it wasn't one of the Census folks. He goes in, but is a little more guarded.
"This is Agent Benson," the guy said, touching his Bluetooth and as he hopes, out of the line of sight of anyone. He gets the pen that slipped out of his fingers. "He doesn't look like the kind of Joe we'd expect."
"That's the beauty of it," the voice on the other end said. "If we wouldn't expect him, neither would anyone else. This guy was the sole survivor of the 'So Long Sucker Five.' He faced them in various freezeout games of poker where losing meant they could cash him out...permanently."
A shiver came through the car. Agent Benson remembered the ones who tried before "The Man" had been found and John and Jane Does in the Nevada Desert. Only after The Man had beaten the four minor players had he won a rematch with them and their boss for a few million.
It had been close, Agent Benson remembered. Getting The Man to wear a wire under his tux and special homing devices in his shoes went easier after the stories of how the five opponents permanently "played for keeps" if their sucker got cleaned out. They'd become nameless losers who had gotten burnt to a crisp in the hot lights and fiery action of Vegas. But not The Man. It was as if once he got cards another persona came out. He didn't have computers on him and he had no way of cheating. But his luck was enough to put a bit of worry into his opponents, as if he could feel the cards, and know if he'd win or lose by second nature.