JIMMYLAND
A screenplay by Tom Lichtenberg
Smashwords Edition copyright 2011 by Tom Lichtenberg
Smashwords License Notes: This ebook is made freely available for your enjoyment.

INT: BEDROOM - MORNING

BILLY's bedroom is in a sparsely furnished one bedroom
apartment. The walls are white and bare. The floors are
carpeted a thin pale green. In the bedroom there is only a
double bed and a nightstand with a lamp and a clock. There
is a small closet with a bi-folding white door.

He is asleep on his back with his arms by his side and his
legs straight. He has very pale skin, with thin, short blond
hair and a hairline blond mustache along the edge of his
upper lip. He looks like a corpse until, after a minute or
so, the alarm clock begins to buzz - meh meh meh meh meh.

He mechanically turns his entire body towards it, sees that
it shows 8 o'clock, reaches out his right arm and carefully
turns the alarm off. He hesitates for the slightest moment,
and then springs out of bed straight to his feet in a sudden
bolt.

He calmly steps into slippers which are right there on the
floor waiting for him, and, in white pajamas with big red
and blue stars, he leaves the bedroom, heads across a narrow
hallway, enters the bathroom, and closes the door behind
him.

Behind the closed white door are sounds of water running and
teeth being brushed. To the left there is a spartan living
room containing a couch, a chair and bare white walls, and
adjacent to it is an open, sparse kitchen with white tiled
floors, a small table with two chairs, and chrome
appliances. The bathroom door opens.

BILLY comes out dressed in a very nice suit and tie and
dress shoes. He steps into the living room and at the exact
moment he enters that room, the far wall, next to the
kitchen, is suddenly filled with the presence of an austere
looking old man, with thinning white hair and a full white
beard, and intense, piercing brown eyes. It is not a
friendly face, but rather severe. He is Robert E. Lee,
commander of the Confederate Army. Both he and BILLY speak
slowly, and with strong Southern accents.

GENERAL LEE
Good morning, BILLY. I trust you
slept well.

BILLY
I guess so. I don't rightly recall.

BILLY barely glances at the figure, though it looms on the
wall much larger than life. Only the head and shoulders are
seen on a projection about 4 four feet high and three feet
wide. BILLY walks into the kitchen where he opens a small
refrigerator and removes a container of orange juice. He
retrieves a glass from a cupboard full of identical drinking
glasses and proceeds to pour while the General continues.

GENERAL LEE
Today your theme is Unity
(he pauses)
A theme that is quite familiar to
me. "Not I, but the world says it.
All is one".
(a longer pause)
Do you know who said that, BILLY?

BILLY
(without skipping a beat)
That would be Heraclitus.

GENERAL LEE
Heraclitus, indeed. Very good. But
what does he mean? All is one,
perhaps, when seen from afar. But
when he says "Not I, but the world
says it", what does he mean?

BILLY
I will have to think about that
one.

GENERAL LEE
It is your Daily Sphairos. Your
theme of the day. Also consider
this. "To lose is to gain."

BILLY
(sipping his juice,
thoughtfully).
To lose is to gain, okay.

GENERAL LEE
You will be in a good place to
think about these matters today.
Your work assignment is Nicky's
News & Views. Downtown. You can
pick up the 14 L at ...

BILLY
Yes, I remember. I know where it
is. Thank you kindly.

GENERAL LEE
You are slated to arrive at 9. At 1
o'clock you may select from the
following local lunch options:
Bonnie's Burgers, Mary's Meats, or
Danny's Deli.

BILLY
(finishing his juice and
loading the glass into the
dishwasher)
Danny's, yes. When do you figure Ah
have to leave?

GENERAL LEE
Ah estimate you still have another
twenty minutes.

BILLY
Good.
(he starts to leave the room)

GENERAL LEE
A moment, please, if you will, sir.

BILLY
(stopping and turning around)
Yes?

GENERAL LEE
A special treat this evening. Your
social call.

BILLY
Oh yes. What is that?

GENERAL LEE
At 5 you will be meeting a Miss
SUZIE at Scotty's Scooters on East
Eighth Street and ...

BILLY
Sure, I know Scotty's. That'll be
fun. Very good. Miss Suzie you say?
Do I know her? Well, anyway,
thanks.

GENERAL LEE
(calling out after him,
raising his voice slightly)
And don't forget! Today could be
the day!

BILLY
(vaguely waving but not
turning back)
Could be.

BILLY returns to the bathroom. As he does, General Lee
watches him closely, before smiling very slightly as he
fades back into the plain white wall. At that moment, BILLY
closes the bathroom door again.

EXT: APARTMENT BUILDING HALLWAY

After a few moments, the bathroom door fades into the front
door, which is larger and brown. It stands at the end of a
long corridor. The door opens and BILLY walks out. He looks
impeccable and clean. He walks straight ahead down the hall.

Along the hall is one long glass window on the right and
several open doors on the left. Out the window a similar
long window is visible, along the second floor of a concrete
and glass building across the street. This building will
shortly be seen to be identical with this one. BILLY walks
down the pale-green-carpeted hall. He stops to peer inside
the second open door on the left.

The apartment is completely devoid of any furnishings but
otherwise looks exactly like BILLY's apartment, clean and
sparse and white with pale green carpeting. BILLY nods with
approval and a slight smile, and then continues on his way.
There are no other people in the building or on the stairs
as he descends the metal staircase one floor to street
level.

EXT: SIDEWALK

Outside, the sun is just beginning to rise. It will rise
every day at 8:30 and set every evening at 4:30. The sun
emits a pale, weak light. This is not a normal city built by
happenstance over time. This one appears to have been put
together all at once from some sort of a kit.

There are only three kinds of buildings and two kinds of
streets in the entire city. Here, in the residential
neighborhood, the long streets are numbered avenues. BILLY's
apartment building is on North 7th Avenue. Avenues contain
two identical apartment buildings side by side. These
buildings are beige concrete divided by the long corridor
windows on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th (top) floor.

The first floor hallway has no windows, and also none of the
apartments inside the buildings contain any windows at all
(a detail that may not have been noticed on first inspection
in BILLY's). The only windows are along the corridors. On
each corner there is a commercial building. Its concrete is
painted brown and the first story is all glass, housing two
small businesses along the street, then a larger business
occupying the corner location, followed by two more small
ones around the corner. Each store has a bright neon sign
advertising its name.

BILLY walks to the next corner which is West 6th Street. The
shorter streets contain only one apartment building
sandwiched between the corner commercial buildings. Streets
and avenues both are two-lane and bi-directional. The
sidewalks are made of smooth large beige squares and are
immaculate, with a ficus tree on every fourth square (the
kind of tree you usually associate with being inside of
offices). The trees are all approximately 8 feet tall and
appear to be only slightly different from each other, if at
all.

On every corner there is a chrome and glass bus shelter,
which contains no seating, no advertisements, and no signs
indicating which bus lines might stop there. These details
have somehow been overlooked, like the windows in
apartments.

The third kind of building is downtown, where BILLY is soon
headed. These are all twelve story office buildings, painted
black with tinted windows. All of the streets in the
downtown area have non-numeric names. The downtown is
completely surrounded by identical neighborhoods, the only
difference being that 'avenues' are labeled north and south
on either side, and 'streets' are labeled east and west.

BILLY passes a Larry's Liquors store and a Hattie's Hats
store and then stops at the corner and waits for the red
light to change. There is no traffic. There are never any
cars here, only buses, and at the moment there are no other
pedestrians. The large corner store is a Gary's Grocery's
store. BILLY waits for about 10 seconds, and then the light
changes and he crosses. He continues on North 7th Avenue for
one more block, to West 5th Street.

The stores here are a Barbie's Beauty Salon and a Louie's
Lamp fixture store. The corner store is a Freddy's Fine
Foods. He makes a slight left turn and goes to stand inside
the West 5th Street bus shelter. There he waits patiently
for the bus. After a short time he is joined by another
character, SAMMY, a tall, heavy, dark-haired sort,
reminiscent of a recently retired football player, wearing
crisp, clean blue jeans, work boots and a tucked-in flannel
shirt.

SAMMY
(touching his right index and
middle fingers to his temple
and down again in a swift
gesture)
Good morning.

BILLY
(responding with a similar
gesture)
Good morning.

SAMMY
Today could be the day.

BILLY
Could be.

SAMMY
Do you think it will be?

BILLY
(hesitates, briefly looking
away, then looks back and
shrugs)
Yes, it could very well be.

SAMMY
(earnestly, looking more
closely at BILLY)
I think so too. My Daily Sphairos
is 'Hope'.

BILLY
I like hope. It's one of my
favorites.

SAMMY
(relaxing)
Mine too.

INT: CITY BUS

The 14 L bus rolls up silently. It is not a large bus, more
the size of a school bus, with only eight rows of two seats
on either side. The bus driver, a girlish looking young
woman wearing a plaid sweater and brown slacks, opens the
doors and nods at SAMMY and BILLY as they enter. There is no
need to pay.

Two other characters are already seated in the bus, an older
South Pacific looking woman, SALLY, wearing a long red dress
in the third row, and a slim, light-skinned, short-haired,
golden-eyed mid-thirties black man, DONNY, wearing olive
fatigues and a camouflage cap in the fourth row. SAMMY takes
a seat in the second row. BILLY makes his way back to the
fourth and sits on the opposite side of the aisle. As he
takes his seat, DONNY performs that same salute but doesn't
say any words. BILLY reciprocates, then turns his head to
look out the window.

The bus pulls away and proceeds quietly down West 5th
Street. Here and there on the sidewalks are groups of two
and four individuals, standing together conversing. These
groups are made of divergent types of different ages,
appearances and dress styles. Occasionally there is a single
individual walking along the sidewalk.

The bus reaches the downtown area (which lies between the
5th streets on either end, and occupies ten otherwise named
blocks in the north-south direction as well). Discovery
Street is the first named street it crosses, then
Independence Street. There are no businesses on the bottom
floors of these identical black office buildings, only large
darkly tinted glass doors with gold numeric letterings above
them: 100, 200, 400, 800. above the lettering are names -
New Town Bank, New Town Realty, New Town Investments, always
New Town something.

INT: DOWNTOWN SIDEWALK - UNDERGROUND

BILLY gets off at the corner of the third cross street -
Union Street. He proceeds immediately to a long white
stairway leading underground. The underground is a vast
shopping area containing nothing but stores. It is brightly
lit and, reminiscent of the apartment buildings, the walls
are all immaculately white and bare, and the floor, while
not carpeted, is a pale color blue.

Each store front is separated from its neighbors by a short
stretch of white wall, otherwise there are no doors visible.
The storefronts are wide open, like the shops in a modern
airport. Perhaps there are bars or screens that come down at
night they cannot be seen. There are more people here than
there were up on street level. It is not crowded, but there
is at least one person in every shop, sometimes two or
three. In the halls there are more disparate groups of two
or four (never three or five) standing together and
appearing to converse intently.

BILLY walks straight ahead without looking around at the
various stores he is passing, which include cafes and
restaurants, a Laurie's Laundromat and a Barnie's Barber
shop, a Henry's Hardware and a Tony's Toys and a Barry's
Barbecue Supply. After a block and a half or so (there are
cross streets here, named and numbered after the ground
level streets above), he arrives at Nicky's News & Views, a
magazine, book and newspaper store.

INT: NICKY'S NEWS & VIEWS

A woman is standing behind the counter. AMY is a middle-aged
Chinese woman with round glasses matching her round face,
short black hair with bangs. She is wearing a bright pink
paints suit. She is surprisingly good-natured, smiles and
makes the right-hand gesture as BILLY approaches.

AMY
Good morning

BILLY
Good morning. I'm the 9 o'clock. Am
I on time?

AMY
(checking the wall clock
behind her and above her head)
Yes. Right on time.

BILLY
Good. Has it been busy this
morning?

AMY
Yes. I had two customers.

BILLY
(rubbing his hands in a show
of enthusiasm)
Two? Excellent. This could be fun.

AMY
(gathering a package and
emerging from behind the
counter)
I hope you enjoy it.

BILLY
You have a good day.

AMY
(leaving the store)
You too!

BILLY takes up his position behind the counter and stands
facing the corridor. On either side of him are racks and
piles of magazines and newspapers. Along the walls are rows
and rows of books in two sections, labeled fiction on the
left, and non-fiction on the right. There are no other
categories.

The books all seem to come from the same series. They are
all the same height and within a narrow range of widths.
They vary in color but mostly occupy the rainbow spectrum.
None of the titles are faced out - only spines are visible
and the words cannot be made out, as they are too small and
distant.

The headline of the newspaper on the top of the stacks is
visible. The story is related to statistics - MAINTENANCE
RATES IMPROVING. Beneath the headline is a picture of a
smiling man holding a bucket.

People walk past the store but no one comes in. Time passes
as witnessed by the clock on the wall above BILLY's head,
but he does not shift positions. 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 and
nothing changes.

A small man with a worried expression comes into the store.
RICKY is wearing a long black wool coat and sneakers.

RICKY
(he goes right up to BILLY and
speaks very quickly but
quietly)
Do you have a copy of The Sphairos?

BILLY
(gesturing that he didn't
hear)
Excuse me? Could you repeat that,
please?

RICKY
(a little louder, but looking
around a bit nervously)
A Sphairos? Do you have one?

BILLY
Of course, sir. Right away.

BILLY leans down and pulls out a slightly worn copy of a
book from under the counter, and hands it to the customer.
It is a paperback with a yellow cover and the words
'Sphairos' along the top, with the image of a wire-sculpture
of a sphere below it. There are some Greek letters floating
within the image of the sphere. RICKY takes the book roughly
and opens it at random and reads intently for a few moments.

RICKY
Loss. Fire catches up with
everything in time.

BILLY
Heraclitus again!

RICKY
(glancing up)
What?

BILLY
Heraclitus. The quote you just
read.

RICKY
Yes, of course.

BILLY
To lose is to gain.

RICKY
(handing the book back to
BILLY)
Do you really think so?

BILLY
It's what my personal director told
me this morning.

RICKY
Who is your personal director?

BILLY
General Robert E. Lee. Who is
yours?

RICKY
Cesar Chavez.

BILLY
Is Loss your Daily Sphairos?

RICKY
Yes, yes it is. Loss.

BILLY
(scratching his chin)
I'm supposed to think about that.

RICKY
(turning to leave)
Well. Thank you very much

BILLY
(brightly)
Today could be the day!

RICKY
(looking back)
Today?

BILLY
Sure. It could be.

RICKY shakes his head and leaves the store. BILLY rubs his
hands in satisfaction.

BILLY
That's one!

BILLY remains in his standing position while the time lapses
again on the clock above him. At exactly one o'clock, BOBBY,
a tall, thin man with slick black hair and a black goatee
saunters casually into the store, wearing an olive green
t-shirt and baggy forest green pants. He walks straight up
to BILLY and they exchange the two-finger temple salute.

BILLY
May I help you?

BOBBY
I'm your lunch relief.

BILLY
Oh, already?
(turning to look up at the
clock, then turning back)
We had a customer this morning.

BOBBY
A real one?

BILLY
(frowns)
I do not believe he was assigned.

BOBBY
Was he, you know, one of 'them'?

BILLY
(shaking his head)
No, I don't think so. He was a
settler, I'm pretty sure, but I
don't think he was assigned.

BOBBY
(wrinkles his nose)
If he wasn't assigned, then what
did he want?

BILLY
He wanted to check his Daily
Sphairos.

BOBBY
Check it? Why would he do that?
Mine is Insight, by the way.

BILLY
Unity for me.

BOBBY
That's why I was curious, you know.
You wouldn't usually ask. Take me.
I'm supposed to be thinking about
how you should rule a nation the
way you would fry a small fish. I'm
not sure I get it.

BILLY
(helpfully)
Maybe by paying close attention to
detail?

BOBBY
(raises his eyebrows)
That's just what I thought!

BILLY
I should probably go so I don't
take up your time.

BOBBY
Oh, don't worry about it. This
joint ain't going nowhere. Take
your time.

BILLY
I do my duty, sir, and I never
worry, unless of course I am
supposed to. Anyway, my predecessor
said she had two customers. I
wouldn't want to miss anything.

BOBBY
(derisively)
Yeah, you sure wouldn't want to
miss that!

BILLY
Like I said, I'll be right back.

BOBBY takes BILLY's place behind the counter, as BILLY
strides off purposefully.

INT - UNDERGROUND - DANNY'S DELI

He turns right into the corridor and backtracks half a
block, turning right again at the next intersection. He
passes a Florrie's Flower shop and a Fannie's Pharmacy on
his right before turning into Danny's Deli.

There a young-looking woman, KATHY, is behind the counter,
which is filled with deli meats and cheeses. Behind and
above her is a menu board advertising various sandwiches and
side orders. There are no prices listed. KATHY is wearing a
red apron and a red handkerchief tied over her massive
frizzy orange hair. She was a wide face and body and bright,
light blue eyes. There is no one waiting in line. BILLY
walks right up and salutes her.

KATHY
(cheerfully returning the
gesture)
Hello! What can I get ya?

BILLY
Let's see. Last time I was here I
tried the Reuben.

KATHY
Good choice! On rye?

BILLY
Dark rye.

KATHY
Same again, then?

BILLY
(rubbing his chin)
Um, no, I don't think so. I think
I'll try something else. What would
you recommend?

KATHY
The chicken salad is very fresh.

BILLY
Chicken salad?

KATHY
Yes, it's chicken all cut up and
mixed together with mayonnaise and
bits of apple and walnut.

BILLY
That sounds great.

KATHY
Dark rye, you said?

BILLY
Perfect.

KATHY
Just gimme a minute.

BILLY
Sure thing.

BILLY takes a seat at one of the three tables near the front
door. At the next table he sees a couple, a man and a woman,
engaged in a deep, quiet conversation. He hadn't seen them
when he entered the deli, because they hadn't been there.

The man is wearing a fedora and a brown suit. He has a bushy
mustache and round glasses. The woman is wearing a print
dress, black with yellow and red flowers, black stockings,
and red high heels. She is blond and wearing a ton of
makeup. BILLY can't hear what they're saying, but looks
away, out the window, until KATHY calls him over for his
sandwich.

KATHY
One chicken salad on dark rye
coming up

BILLY
(getting up and walking over
to the counter)
Thanks so much

BILLY takes the sandwich, which is presented on a paper
plate with a pickle on the side, and a toothpick through
each half. He carries it gently to the corner, where he
carefully dumps it, plate and all, into the trash
receptacle. Then he turns back and smiles at KATHY before
walking out of the deli. He returns to Nicky's News & Views,
where Bobby is fidgeting restlessly behind the counter.

INT - NICKY'S NEWS & VIEWS

BILLY
Did I miss anything?

BOBBY
Nope, not a thing, sorry to say. I
was hoping for a customer myself.

BILLY
Today could be the day.

BOBBY
(under his breath)
Didn't he say that already?
(then to BILLY)
Well, I guess I'll be going, since
you're back.

BILLY
Thanks for filling in

BOBBY
It was a real treat, believe me.

BOBBY hurriedly leaves the shop and BILLY takes up his
position again, with an attitude of patient and hopeful
expectation.

EXT - OUTSIDE SCOTTY'S SCOOTERS

It is twilight, and BILLY is up on the street level, and is
waiting outside by the front door of a wide, open entryway
at a corner location with a dark blue, very large neon light
on the wall behind him shining the words 'Scotty's Scooters'
in a fancy script font.

The interior is dark and there's a soft noise coming from
within that sounds like engines revving up repeatedly, in an
up and down drone. No one is visible inside the
establishment. There is no one else on the sidewalk except,m
in the distance, a few of the static groups of 2 and 4
gathering and chatting. These groups are never walking or
otherwise moving in any direction, but always remain in
their spots.

After several seconds MAGGIE approaches rapidly. She is tall
and athletic looking, olive-skinned with close-cropped black
hair. She is wearing yellow track shoes, gray running sweats
and a neatly pressed white dress shirt. BILLY takes a step
forward and begin to raise his right hand to his temple, but
stops halfway, as MAGGIE keeps walking right past him.

He looks back down the sidewalk again. In the dim light the
groups of 2 and 4 are still barely visible, but in a couple
of them individuals have changed into completely different
figures.

Another woman approaches, SUZIE. She is shorter, slimmer,
dark-brown skinned, with delicate and pretty features and a
long tangle of black curls hanging down to the middle of her
back. She is walking more slowly, and slows down further as
she nears the entrance.

BILLY takes a step forward and this time completes his
salute.

BILLY
Good evening. Are you SUZIE?

SUZIE
(reciprocating the gesture)
Yes. You must be BILLY.

BILLY
(boldly)
I am. It's nice to see you.

SUZIE
(timidly, but pleasant)
It's nice to see you too.

BILLY
Have you been here before. To
Scotty's?

SUZIE
(uncertainly)
I hear it's lots of fun?

BILLY
It sure is. Let's go in

SUZIE
Good. Okay.

INT - INSIDE SCOTTY'S SCOOTERS

They enter together and go up to a long wooden counter,
reminiscent of a bowling alley, but instead of rows of
shoe-holding cubbyholes, the wall behind the counter is
filled with rows of two- to three-foot long poles of various
thicknesses and colors. On the top of the poles are
rubber-like grips, and on the bottoms are wide, flat rubber
disks, like flattened suction cups.

A man dressed in a business suit comes from out of a room
behind the wall and addresses them. It is SCOTTY himself, a
middle-aged, slightly overweight and very pale man with
nearly pink eyes above no eyebrows. His very thin brown hair
looks as if it is plastered onto the top of his head by
sweat. When he raises his hand in the gesture, it almost
seems he is going to wipe the wetness from his forehead.

SCOTTY
Welcome, welcome. Scotty's the name
and Scotty's the place.

BILLY
Thank you. We're here to scoot.

SCOTTY
Of course you are, of course.
You've been here before, I take it?

BILLY
I know all about it.

SUZIE
First time for me ... I think.

SCOTTY
(chuckling)
Oh, you'd remember, that's for
sure. Once you've been scooting,
you'll always be hooting.
(turning to BILLY)
You'll be showing her the ropes, I
take it?

BILLY
I'll be glad to. Will you fit us
out?

SCOTTY
Certainly, certainly. Let me take a
look at you.
(he leans over the counter and
examines the two closely for a
few moments)
You, sir, are a regular normal
mid-size, and you, miss, I would
say you're a regular petite.

SUZIE
If you say so

SCOTTY
(turns and pulls two longer
yellow poles from the wall and
hands them to BILLY. He turns
back again, selects two
shorter pink ones, and hands
them to SUZIE)
If you have any questions, just
ask.

BILLY
Thanks. We'll be fine.
(to SUZIE)
Right this way. We'll grab a
scooter at the ramp.

Following BILLY's indication, the two make a visual
inspection of the facility as they approach to the left of
the counter. The room is very large, approximately seventy
yards long by forty yards wide and is mostly made up or an
uneven ring of greased raised wooden floors, very much like
a roller derby rink, with railings along the sides.

The floors are about seven feet wide and slope up and down
at irregular intervals, reaching as high as eight feet above
the floor, and as low as barely above floor level itself.
There is no one on the ramps. BILLY and SUZIE are the only
customers. The whirring noise is louder now.

BILLY leads SUZIE to the ramp marked ENTRY, on the far right
wall. On the left wall, at the same latitude, is a ramp
marked EXIT. The rest of the structure is a complete circle
ring. At the base of the entry ramp is a stack of round, red
plastic 'scooters', like circular toboggans. BILLY pulls two
from the stack and places them at the bottom of the ramp,
inside of black metal contraptions.

BILLY
These are the scooters. I'm going
to put each one into its own
launcher. See these devices here?
They're spring loaded, so once we
sit down and get our positions
stable, oh, and you hold one of
these in each hand.
(indicating the poles, and
demonstrating how to hold
them)
You can use them to brake or turn
or speed up or slow down. The first
time around, just hold them up,
like this. The launchers will get
us going pretty fast so you just
want to concentrate on keeping your
balance.

SUZIE
(a little nervously)
Is it dangerous? Should I be
afraid?

BILLY
(smiling, and playfully
jesting)
Only if fear's your theme today.

SUZIE
Oh.

BILLY
Is it?
(SUZIE doesn't respond, but
looks a little anxious)
Don't worry. You can't be hurt. The
stabilizers make sure of that. Are
you ready?

BILLY has placed the scooters on the launching devices, and
now sits down in his. He gestures for SUZIE to do the same.

SUZIE
I guess so

SUZIE climbs aboard her scooter and tries to copy BILLY's
seating position and the way he's holding his poles. Before
she's quite situated, a loud buzzing sound is heard, and the
two are catapulted at a very high velocity up the ramp and
onto the track.

The track is highly greased, as are the bottoms of the
scooters, and the two are whipped around the course, BILLY
stretching out to a significant lead as they come around to
complete the first cycle. He uses his poles to slow his
scooter down enough for SUZIE to catch up and even zip by,
and then he uses them again, like ski poles, to accelerate
and join her.

BILLY has a big smile on his face, while SUZIE remains
uncertain. After the second time around the track, though,
she relaxes, and even laughs out loud. As they prepare to
whip around for a third time, SUZIE also has a grin on her
face. They go around several times, with SUZIE making
attempts to use her poles like BILLY does, without success
but with awkward mistakes. She eventually shrugs and just
lifts them up and keeps them up.

BILLY seems to be an expert and navigates his way around the
track at will. Finally, after a while, he shouts out.

BILLY
Exit! Follow me!

BILLY steers with his right pole and veers off onto the exit
ramp, but SUZIE misses the turn and has to go around the
track again. By the time she does come down the ramp, BILLY
is standing at the bottom, waiting for her. She comes
zooming down and tumbles down at his feet.

He graciously puts his arm down and helps her to her feet.
SUZIE is laughing, embarrassed but happy. BILLY puts the
scooters away while SUZIE waits by the entryway. He joins
her and there are a few moments of silence between them.

They look at each other in a very friendly way, and appear
to be about to make some intimate gesture, such as hold
hands, or even kiss. Indeed, BILLY holds out his right hand,
and SUZIE holds up hers to touch fingertips. The moment
their fingers touch, however, she jumps back as if there had
been a static shock. She looks up at him, startled, and
backs away.

BILLY
Are you okay?

SUZIE
(looking down at her hand for
a moment, and then back at
BILLY)
I'm okay. I'm all right. (pauses)
Good night.
(she turns and walks away much
more rapidly than she had when
approaching)

BILLY
(looks a little confused, and
calls after her)
Good night!

EXT - OUTSIDE SCOTTY'S SCOOTERS

BILLY stands on the sidewalk watching SUZIE disappear behind
a group of 4, the same group that had been in the distance
when he was waiting for her to arrive. Otherwise the street
scene is now deserted. BILLY begins walking in the same
direction that SUZIE went, but not in any hurry.

As he passes by the group, two of them turn to look at him,
but he doesn't notice. It is night-time. He walks a half
block in the darkness along a deserted sidewalk until he
comes to a bus stop. He has hardly arrived there when a bus
materializes from around the corner, stops and picks him up.

INT - INSIDE BILLY'S APARTMENT BUILDING, INSIDE APARTMENT

BILLY gets off the bus on the corner of his own street, and
walks to and into his building, up the stairs and down the
hallway to his apartment. The street and the building are
deserted. BILLY opens his front door (there are no locks, no
keys) and the light goes on. As he passes through the living
room, the wall screen (now on our left) lights up, and
General Robert E. Lee's face comes into focus.

GENERAL LEE
Good evening, BILLY.

BILLY
(barely glancing at the
visage)
Good evening.

BILLY goes into the kitchen, where he repeats the morning
ritual of fetching a container of orange juice from the
refrigerator, a glass from a cupboard, filling it and begin
to drink. He seems pretty thirsty and drinks the whole thing
before pouring a second glass.

GENERAL LEE
Did you have a good day?

BILLY
Yes, very good. And you?
(the general does not answer
this, or any other questions)

GENERAL LEE
Did you have a chance to consider
your theme?

BILLY
(thinking)
My theme? Oh yes, to lose is to
gain. I did think about it, yes. I
had two customers today. One of
them had forgotten his theme, which
was Loss. He found it again in a
copy of the Sphairos we had at
Nicky's.

GENERAL LEE
(murmurs to himself)
He forgot? Hmmm. Well, I suppose
sometimes forgetfulness can be a
blessing.

BILLY
(polishing off his second
drink, and putting the glass
in the dishwasher, which now
contains two glasses)
What was that?

GENERAL LEE
It is time to gather your thoughts,
Billy. Give me your hand.

BILLY
Yes, of course.

BILLY approaches and raises his right palm. He presses it
against the wall, where General Lee has also raised his
right palm. When the two hands touch, BILLY appears to
become frozen in place for a long moment, while the General
squints and seems to wince in some pain at the contact.
After a few seconds of this, the general withdraws his hand,
and BILLY is seen to breathe again. He then withdraws his
own hand and takes a few steps backward.

GENERAL LEE
And where did you go this evening?

BILLY
(in a sort of daze)
Go?

GENERAL LEE
Scotty's Scooters, wasn't it?

BILLY
(mechanically)
That place is fun. A lot of fun.

GENERAL LEE
And did you go there with someone?

BILLY
(shaking his head)
It's always fun at Scotty's.

GENERAL LEE
Very good. Now sleep well.

BILLY
Okay. I believe I will.

BILLY leaves the room and proceeds to the bathroom, where he
closes the door, and after a brief time emerges wearing the
pajamas and slippers he was wearing in the morning. He goes
straight into his bedroom, where the lights come on as he
enters. The clock on the nightstand reads 6 o'clock. He
takes off and places his slippers on the floor, climbs into
bed, and the lights go out.

INT - BEDROOM - MORNING

The alarm buzzer sounds and BILLY wakes up in the same
fashion as on the previous day - mechanically rolling over
to turn it off, pausing a moment, then leaping up out of bed
directly to a standing position. He steps into the slippers
and pads off into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

BILLY emerges from the bathroom wearing a clean and neatly
pressed suit. As he enters the living room, the wall screen
lights up and General Lee peers at him.

GENERAL LEE
Good morning, Billy.

BILLY
Good morning, sir.

GENERAL LEE
We have official business to attend
to this day.

BILLY
(now in the kitchen, fixing
his orange juice)
Official?

GENERAL LEE
Yes, Billy. Your assignment today
is of an executive nature. You'll
be at headquarters performing some
supervisory activities.

BILLY
Very well.

GENERAL LEE
Your theme for the day is INSIGHT.
As someone once said, "in nature
there are neither rewards nor
punishments. There are
consequences."

BILLY
Cause and effect

GENERAL LEE
Precisely. That is all. You know
where to go?

BILLY
I do, and I thank you.

GENERAL LEE
Not at all, Billy. It's why I'm
here.

Billy starts to return to the bedroom when the general calls
out.

GENERAL LEE
Oh, and Billy. One more thing.

BILLY
(turning around)
Yes?

GENERAL LEE
You will have no social call this
evening. It will be a long day at
work.

BILLY
Very well.

EXT - DOWNTOWN

BILLY is on a downtown sidewalk, walking along Lark Avenue
past a building labeled New Town Bank, and then enters the
next building which is labeled New Town Corp.

INT - INSIDE THE NEW TOWN CORP BUILDING

The lobby is made of polished black stone with gold light
fixtures surrounding a round, dark wooden desk in the
middle, where no one is sitting. There is no one else in the
lobby at all.

BILLY walks past the desk to a set of three elevators. He
presses the common up button and waits a few moments, and
then all three elevator doors open at the same time, all
ready to go up.

BILLY selects the left elevator. Inside it, he presses the
12th floor (top) button. He emerges from the elevator when
it arrives there and proceeds down a poorly lit hallway.
There are opaque glass doors with small black lettering
along the corridor. All of these office doors are closed.

At the end of the hallway BILLY reaches up and pulls down a
trap door ladder from the ceiling. He climbs up the ladder.

EXT - ON THE ROOFTOP

BILLY is on the roof of the building. It is packed with
solar panels surrounding a large green water tank in the
middle. He walks around the panels and sees the same pattern
of panels and water tanks repeated on the roofs of all the
buildings, not only downtown but all over the city. At the
far edges of the city, on all four sides of its perfect
square, he can see a very thin line of swirling red dust
clouds on the horizon. Above the city the sky is completely
clear and blue.

BILLY pulls a small hand held device out of his suit pocket
and walks over to the water tower, where he inspects some
round gauges and taps some notes into the device.

He checks a few solar panels as well, which have strips of
black and green indicators (like thermometers). BILLY makes
a tour of the entire rooftop, then returns to the ladder,
where he descends into the hallway and returns the trap door
ladder to its concealed ceiling position.

INT - IN THE OFFICE

BILLY goes to the elevator bank and presses the down button.
The same one he took up opens immediately and he takes it
down to the seventh floor.

He walks past a few opaque-glass doors and enters an office
labeled 'SUPERVISION'. It is a small room with a gray metal
desk and a padded chair behind it. On the desk is a computer
terminal and keyboard, and a stack of white papers.

BILLY takes the seat behind the desk and begins to read the
papers, setting each piece aside into a separate pile as he
reads. Occasionally he turns to the computer and types in
some notes.

When he has completed reading the last paper, he stands up
and leaves the room.

INT - THE FACTORY FLOOR

BILLY again takes the same elevator, this time down to the
first floor. He proceeds past the elevators towards the back
of the lobby, where he enters a plain unlabeled gray door.
He enters a vast room filled with large and shiny gray
machines joined together by conveyor belts.

Each machine is at a separate station which extends from
floor to ceiling. The machines are like large
air-conditioning vents - metallic rectangles with sheer
panels on all sides, except for a large square opening one
opposite sides at eye level. These openings lead onto the
conveyor belts, which extend through these machines to large
loading docks at the far side of the room.

At a few of these stations stands a worker, inspecting
merchandise as it pops out of the machines. BILLY goes to
one, where DONNY, from the bus ride, is working. The room is
very loud. The sound is like an air conditioner - high
volume but constant, not clanging or banging.

At DONNY's station, all sorts of random products are
emerging from the machine - steaks, toys, dresses, tools,
shoes, cartons of orange juice, umbrellas, nuts and bolts -
each item already prepackaged, shrink-wrapped, and labeled.
DONNY is checking things off of a list on a clipboard.

BILLY leans over and asks him something, and DONNY answers,
but it is too loud to hear what they are saying.

BILLY walks over to the loading docks, where yellow vans are
waiting. Products come off the conveyor belts and fall into
'shakers', tube-like vertical handlers that sort and shape
the packages into a stackable order.

There are workers loading the packages into the vans. SAMMY
is one of them and BILLY exchanges some unheard words with
him as well. BILLY moves from station to station around the
factory floor. The scene fades away.

INT - INSIDE BILLY'S APARTMENT

BILLY walks down the corridor to his apartment. It is
evening outside of the window. He enters his place and the
lights come on. General Lee appears on the wall.

GENERAL LEE
Good evening, Billy.

BILLY
Good evening.

GENERAL LEE
I trust your assignment went well.

BILLY
Yes, indeed. No problems.

GENERAL LEE
I'm glad to hear it. Give me your
hand.

BILLY raises his palm and places it against the General's
and is frozen in place while the General's face reflects a
passive calm. The process lasts about ten seconds before the
General removes his hand, and BILLY is restored to life.

GENERAL LEE
You've had a long day.

BILLY
Yes, I think I'll turn in now.

BILLY goes off into the bathroom, emerging wearing his
customary pajamas. He goes into the bedroom, removes his
slippers, climbs into bed, and the lights go off.

INT - DREAM - DEPARTMENT STORE

The darkness of the bedroom gradually lightens and the room
becomes a large department store. At first there is only the
pale yellow tile walkway, and then becoming visible are
glass cases on either side of the aisle, formed into
ring-like islands, such as in a jewelry department in a
store like Macy's.

The cases are opaque and blurry, however and what is within
them cannot be seen. Everything is a bit out of focus and at
strange angles. To the right there is a cash register and,
up to our left above it, resting on a shelf is a very white
but blurry shape. The shape becomes larger and comes into
focus and it is a head-and-shoulders mannequin.

She is all white and bald but very lovely, and she is
looking down in what would be a sad expression if her eyes
were not completely blank like the rest of her face. As she
comes into very clear focus, it can be seen that she is
wearing a sapphire necklace.

Suddenly her eyes open and they are the same sapphire blue
color. At the instant her eyes open, her mouth forms an 'O'
and she gasps. The alarm clock starts buzzing, and the dream
image vanishes, replaced by BILLY's bedroom. The room lights
are on.

INT - BEDROOM - MORNING

BILLY wakes up in the exact same sequence as before - rolls
over, turns off the alarm clock, leaps out of bed, steps
into his slippers and pads off to the bathroom.

He follows the rest of his usual morning routine, into the
bathroom, and then out again, fully dressed in the same, or
very similar, formal attire. As he steps into the living
room, the wall screen comes on, and the General appears.

GENERAL LEE
Good morning, BILLY. Ah trust you
slept well.

BILLY
I guess so. I don't remember

Again, BILLY barely glances at the figure, though it looms
on the wall much larger than life. BILLY walks into the
kitchen where he opens the refrigerator and removes the
usual container of orange juice. He retrieves another clean
glass from the cupboard and pours while the General
continues.

GENERAL LEE
Today your theme is Peace
(he pauses)
"The way up and down is the same"

BILLY
Heraclitus

GENERAL LEE
Precisely. Also, your thought for
the day comes from that same
philosopher, who said, "even
sleeping men are doing the world's
business, and helping it along."
What do you think that means?

BILLY
(sipping his juice
thoughtfully)
A sleeping man is still a man. As
much as a man is doing the world's
business, he is doing it no matter
what state he's in at the moment.

GENERAL LEE
(seems to be considering this
response)
An interesting notion.
(he nods after a time, in
agreement)
Yes, that could be one meaning. You
will have time to consider it
further. Your assignment for the
day is building maintenance. You
will have the third and fourth
floors of Eleven Hundred West
Seventh Street.

BILLY
That's very close.

GENERAL LEE
Yes, it is. You may walk. It is
only a few blocks. You are not
scheduled until eleven, however. As
it is now only eight twenty, you
have some time for chores and for
review.

BILLY
Which chores have priority now?

GENERAL LEE
(gesturing towards the
kitchen)
Dishes, and laundry. You may attend
to both. At the same time, you will
review the Tripartite Tractate, and
Book Seven from The Way of Chuang
Tzu. Do you have access now?

BILLY
(his eyes look up as if
peering into his mind)
Yes. I think so. Yes, I do.

GENERAL LEE
Good. You may begin. I will let you
know when it is time to leave for
your assignment

BILLY
Very well, thank you
(puts his dish in the
dishwasher and begins to walk
back to the bedroom)

GENERAL LEE
One more thing.

BILLY
(turning back around)
Yes?

GENERAL LEE
Your social call this evening at 5
will be at Freddy's Fine Foods. You
will meet BOBBY there. Try the
special.

BILLY
Freddy's? Okay. They say it's very
good.

GENERAL LEE
I hope you enjoy it.

BILLY
Thanks. Thank you. I hope so too.

GENERAL LEE
And don't forget. Today could be
the day.

BILLY
Of course. Yes it could.

BILLY leaves the room but returns to the kitchen moments
later with a bag of laundry. He opens a bottom cupboard next
to the dishwasher to reveal a small washing machine and
dryer beside it. For the next few moments he goes about
loading up the washing machine, pouring in detergent
crystals, and starting it off.

Then he steps over to the dishwasher, pours in the same
detergent from the same box, and starts it going as well. He
then returns to the living room. General Lee had vanished
from the wall as BILLY had left the room before, and remains
gone. BILLY takes a seat on the small sofa on the adjacent
wall. and sits quietly, arms folded, his eyes again looking
up into his mind.

He shows some occasional eye movement as if he is processing
data. Otherwise he has no expression on his face. After some
time has lapsed, a high beeping sound indicates that the
washer is done. BILLY gets up and proceeds to shift the
clothes into the dryer, and starts it going. He then empties
the five now-clean drinking glasses from the dishwasher and
puts them away in the cupboard.

Then he returns to the sofa, resumes the same position as
before, and continues to access his brain. After a little
more time has passed, some more beeping indicates that the
dryer is done. He retrieves the dry clothes from it and
carries them into the bedroom, where he carefully folds
everything and puts them away in the closet (where there is
a dresser and some hangers). Returning to the living room,
he sees that the General has returned.

GENERAL LEE
Ten forty-five. It is time for you
to leave. Remember, Eleven ...

BILLY
Eleven hundred West Seventh Street.
Got it. Thanks.

GENERAL LEE
The way up and down is the same

BILLY
Heraclitus. Got it.

EXT - OUTSIDE BILLY'S APARTMENT BUILDING

BILLY leaves the apartment, and walking down the hall sees
that different doors are open this time. He looks into one
of those and nods with satisfaction at what he sees.
Descending down the stairs, he exits the building and turns
right, in the opposite direction as on the previous days.

There is a group of four standing out in front of his
building, a typical foursome of mixed types and fashion
statements. There seems to be no pattern to the combinations
of people in these groups. There are a few other groups of
two and four as he turns right at the next corner and walks
up another two blocks. There are one or two other single
individuals walking in the other direction, but they take no
notice of each other or of the groups and vice versa.

INT - ANOTHER APARTMENT BUILDING

BILLY arrives at his assignment destination and walks up to
the third floor. At the top of the stairs he opens a door
which looks like any other apartment door, only this one
turns out to be a janitorial closet. He retrieves a thin,
lightweight vacuum cleaner, a dust rag and a spray can. He
tucks the latter two under one arm and carries the vacuum
cleaner with the other hand.

He proceeds to the next door down the hall, opens it, enters
the empty rooms and begins dusting and vacuuming. He does a
thorough job, taking his time to cover every surface, wall
and floor and furniture. He opens the kitchen cupboards,
which are seen to contain the very same kind and number of
drinking glasses as his own apartment.

Everything in the apartment looks to be the same as his own,
except there is no sign of anyone living there. The bed does
not have sheets or blankets on it, though there is a pillow.
Again, there are no windows anywhere in the apartment. After
making sure of his work (and the clock beside the bed shows
us that a little more than an hour has passed), BILLY leaves
the apartment, goes two doors down, enters and begins to
perform the same sequence of actions.

He more rapidly performs the same duties in two more
apartments on the third floor, and then three apartments on
the fourth floor. By the time he is done, a clock in the
last room shows it to be 4:30.

BILLY returns the cleaning equipment to the room near the
stairway on the third floor, descends the stairway, and
leaves the building. It has begun to grow dark outside as
BILLY walks to the corner, crosses the street and stands
inside the bus shelter there.

EXT - OUTSIDE FREDDY'S FINE FOODS

BILLY gets off a bus in a different (yet nearly identical)
residential neighborhood. He walks to the corner, passing a
Debbie's Doggie Doo pet salon and a Larry's Liquors before
reaching a Freddy's Fine Foods, which occupies the large
corner location.

Standing out in front of Freddy's is BOBBY, the same
individual who spotted BILLY for lunch the previous day when
he was working at Nicky's News & Views. If BILLY recognizes
him, he gives no sign, but BOBBY seems to know him.

BOBBY
(saluting, and holding out his
hand)
Hello, BILLY

BILLY
(returning the gesture, and
shaking hands vigorously)
Hello. You must be BOBBY. Have you
been waiting long?

BOBBY
Not long, no, just a few minutes.
Long enough to see two customers go
into that Larry's Liquors, though.
They seem to be getting a lot of
business.

BILLY
Two customers in just a few
minutes? Wow. Do you think it might
be ...?

BOBBY
(cutting him off with a
gesture)
No, they were settlers. I'm pretty
sure. I saw them both come out with
bottles. Must be boozers.

BILLY
Boozers?

BOBBY
More and more of those every day.
Don't you know?

BILLY
No. I've never heard the term.

BOBBY
Who's your personal director?

BILLY
Robert E. Lee. Why?

BOBBY
(shrugs)
Must be sleeping on the job, but
never mind. My theme today is
Reason, so I'm just thinking about
stuff.

BILLY
(smiles)
Mine is Peace, so I am not.

INT - INSIDE FREDDY'S FINE FOODS

The two enter the restaurant, which is a fancy place, with
chandeliers and white tablecloths and fine silverware.
ROBBIE, A short, stubby man wearing a maroon outfit and with
a head of thick black hair greets them, and shows them to a
table in the middle of the room.

The restaurant is packed with groups of two and four. As on
the street, the groups seem to be random collections of
characters of different ages, sizes, ethnicities and dress.
Although the restaurant seems like a formal and expensive
place, no two together are dressed alike or even close.

Some people are made up and wearing nice outfits while their
table partners are dirty and wearing old clothes or
sweatpants. There are some repeats here and there - some one
or two that have been seen before on the street or in the
underground are seated here.

All of the diners are either sitting in front of full plates
or appear to be waiting. All are chatting or listening. None
are eating or drinking. The entire time in this restaurant
scene, none of them eat or drink anything, although food is
brought to them, and later taken away.

While waiting for service, BILLY and BOBBY take some time to
peruse the menu, occasionally talking.

BILLY
They say the fish here is good.

BOBBY
I don't like fish. There's
something disgusting about it,
don't you think?

The waiter arrives

WAITER
Have you decided?

BILLY
What are your specials?

WAITER
Tonight we have two specials. A
breaded talapia with broiled onions
and potatoes, and a steak salad
featuring black olives and ginger
croutons.

BOBBY
Ginger croutons?

BILLY
I'll have the talapia. It sounds
delicious.

BOBBY
Just a steak for me. Well done. And
a baked potato if you please

WAITER
Anything to drink?

BOBBY
Water for me, thanks.

BILLY
Do you have any orange juice?

WAITER
Certainly, sir. I'll be right back
with your drinks

The two lapse into silence for a minute, taking turns
looking around the room at the other diners. The waiter
returns with the drinks and both BILLY and BOBBY take sips
from theirs.

BOBBY
I'm a water man, myself. Nothing
but cool clear water for me.

BILLY
(nodding)
Water is good

BOBBY
Have you ever tried alcohol?

BILLY
(slightly shocked)
Oh no. Not that. Have you?

BOBBY
Oh, I'm no boozer. I can't be sure
about anybody else. I'm certain
there are more Larry's Liquors
opening all the time, though. Maybe
I'm just imagining things.

BILLY
Imagining?

BOBBY
Yeah, like making it up. Don't you
ever make things up?

BILLY
I don't think so

BOBBY
You ever been to the edge?

BILLY
The edge of what?

BOBBY
The edge of town. Past the
Fourteenths. They try to stop you.

BILLY
(raising his eyebrows)
Really?

BOBBY
(winking)
I got through. It wasn't easy.

BILLY
What's there?

BOBBY
Nothing, That's the point. There's
nothing out there at all.

BILLY
(knits his brow as if
considering the implications)
Then why go? And what are boozers?

BOBBY
Boozers? They used to be like us,
or like you at least. Going around,
doing their jobs and then poof. All
of a sudden they can't do it
anymore. Something happens to them.
I don't know what. After that you
see them wandering around as if
they don't know where to go. You
see them sneaking into Larry's
Liquors, sneaking out. They keep to
themselves.

BILLY
Are they dangerous?

BOBBY
(snorting)
Seem pretty useless to me. Ever
been to a bar, like Harry's Happy
Hour?

BILLY
I've never been assigned to visit
one.

BOBBY
(leaning over, confidentially)
I don't believe anyone has. I don't
think they were even part of the
plan.

BILLY
(somewhat shocked)
That can't be right. Everything is
part of the plan. It has to be.

At that point the waiter arrives with the food, and arranges
the dishes before them in a flourish. BOBBY and BILLY take
another sip of their drink and carefully inspect the food
before them.

BOBBY
Well, that looks like everything.

BILLY
Even the special. Exactly as
described.

BOBBY
(getting up)
All right, then.

BILLY
(also standing)
I agree. Well done.

BOBBY
(laughing)
The steak, too. Well done.

They leave the restaurant together, chuckling.

EXT - OUTSIDE FREDDY'S FINE FOODS

No sooner do they exit than a filthy, raggedy long-bearded
bum suddenly pops into view, right in front of BILLY, and,
waving his hands in the air, starts shouting at him. His
sudden appearance and loud speech is startling.

MANIFESTATION
Wake up! When are you going to wake
up?

BILLY
(takes a step backward,
clearly startled and uneasy.
BOBBY stands near and watches
BILLY in some alarm. He
doesn't appear to notice the
bum at all, which seems
impossible)

MANIFESTATION
Do you still believe? Look what you
are doing to yourself! How long are
you going to wait? A thousand
years?
(shaking his fist directly
under BILLY's chin)
Oh ye of too much faith!
(spits on the ground
You and your Jimmyland! You disgust
me!

As quickly as he had appeared, the vision vanishes, and
BILLY is left speechless. BOBBY reaches out and touches his
shoulder

BOBBY
Are you all right? You look like
you've seen a ghost.

BILLY
(turning towards him)
You didn't see? You didn't see
that?

BOBBY
The only thing I saw was you gaping
like a fish out of water. Are you
sure you're all right?

BILLY
(pulling himself together)
I'm fine. I'm okay. I just thought.
I thought I saw, no, never mind.
Good night.

BOBBY
(to himself)
Boozer.

EXT - BUS SHELTER

BILLY walks away, BOBBY staring after him for a few steps,
then shrugging and walking away in the other direction.
BILLY walks faster, and stops at the first bus shelter he
comes to. He looks eagerly down the street, clearly hoping
for a bus to arrive quickly, but no bus is seen. He stands,
fidgeting, uneasy.

There are a few groups of two on the sidewalk nearby,
engaged as usual in motionless discourse. From behind one of
those groups, RICKY appears and walks up to BILLY. He is the
man who came into Nicky's News & Views the morning before.

RICKY
Hello.

BILLY
(taking notice but looking
away quickly)
Hello.

RICKY
Do you remember me? You don't, do
you?

BILLY
(glancing again at RICKY, then
quickly looking away again,
straining to see a bus)
No. I don't know you. Do I?

RICKY
I came into your store yesterday.
Nicky's News & Views?

BILLY
You must be mistaken. I don't have
a store.

RICKY
You were working there. Yes, you
were assigned. I came in looking
for a copy of the Sphairos. Do you
remember that? I was your first
customer of the day.

BILLY
We had two customers.

RICKY
And I was one of them. I told you I
couldn't remember my theme. That
was a lie. I didn't have a theme.

BILLY
That's not possible.

RICKY
But it's true. It happened to me.
Two days ago. My personal director
is gone.

BILLY
(clearly wishing that RICKY
would disappear)
I'm sorry, but that simply can't
happen. They're part of the plan,
after all. We all have our guides.
It is the way.

RICKY
I tell you it did happen. And look
at me now! What am I supposed to
do? Where am I supposed to go? What
would you do?

Just then a bus appears and pulls up. BILLY, ignoring RICKY
completely, hurries to clamber onto the bus and rushes to
take a seat on the far side, in the back. RICKY continues to
shout after him.

RICKY
(as if this were the key to a
mystery)
I remember you! I remember you!

INT - INSIDE BILLY'S APARTMENT

BILLY gets off the bus near his apartment and does not seem
to be much calmer, but relaxes when he goes up the stairs
and walks down the hallway. By the time he opens his door he
is breathing more normally and seems to have shaken off his
alarm. As he enters the living room, the lights come on, and
the General appears on the wall.

GENERAL LEE
Did you have a good day?

BILLY
What? Oh, I guess so. And you?
(the general does not answer)

GENERAL LEE
Did you have a chance to consider
your theme?

BILLY
(confused)
My theme? Oh, peace. Yes. At my
assignment today it was very
peaceful, and I went up the stairs
and I went down the stairs and they
were the same stairs.

GENERAL LEE
The stairs?

BILLY
The way up and down was the same.
Excuse me, I need a drink.

BILLY heads into the kitchen where he performs his typical
orange juice ritual. The General looks on with his usual
stern expression.

GENERAL LEE
Did you review the Tripartite
Tractate?

BILLY
Yes, yes I did.
(pauses, then confesses)
But I don't recall much of it now.
I can do it over.

GENERAL LEE
(frowning)
Never mind about that.

BILLY
I saw something peculiar today.

GENERAL LEE
What did you see?

BILLY
It was a man. He was yelling at me.
My companion didn't see him. And
then the man vanished.

GENERAL LEE
Describe this man.

BILLY
He was loud. And dirty, and smelly.
And he was very hairy too.

GENERAL LEE
Hairy?

BILLY
He had a beard

GENERAL LEE
I have a beard.

BILLY
His was white, like yours, but
longer and shaggier

GENERAL LEE
(considers these facts, and
pauses for a long moment)
It's time to gather your thoughts,
Billy. Give me your hand.

BILLY extends his palm just as he had the night before,
placing it against the general's on the wall. Again BILLY
seems to be frozen in place during the duration of this
transaction, re-animating only when the General releases
him.

In the meantime, the General continues to frown and
occasionally scowl. Once he glances at BILLY with an even
sterner look than usual. His brow furrows with an expression
of concern, then he finally lets go, and his expression
becomes more typically stern again.

GENERAL LEE
Tell me more about what you saw.

BILLY
What I saw? What do you mean?

GENERAL LEE
Very good. And how was the special?

BILLY
The special? Oh, at Freddy's Fine
Foods? It was just as they said it
would be.

GENERAL LEE
Then everything is all right.

BILLY
Certainly. Of course. Everything is
fine.

GENERAL LEE
Good night, then.

BILLY
Good night, sir.

BILLY goes straight to bed after the usual bathroom/slipper
ritual. He seems to be exactly as he was the night before.
There are no longer any signs of confusion or agitation.
Then entire day and evening have been wiped clean from his
mind. When he climbs into bed - the clock shows 6:00 - the
room turns dark. After a few moments his deep, even
breathing can be heard, and the dream begins again

INT - DREAM DEPARTMENT STORE

In the dream the same mannequin creature there and is seen
now from behind the counter. She is chattering happily with
someone. The words cannot be heard distinctly, only pleasant
murmurings.

This time the store is in focus and the display case below
her contains fingers, hands and wrists of various shapes and
sizes. In the case below there is an assortment of toes,
ankles and feet.

The words 'Someone's coming' are distinctly heard, and a
woman without eyes is standing in front of the register. Her
face is the inverse of the mannequin's. It looks just like
her but is full of color and makeup, except her eyes, which
are blank and white like a ancient Greek statue.

She smiles and politely says, in a proper British accent,
'where is your optical department?', and, after a beat, she
opens her mouth wide and laughs and the sound HA HA HA HA
becomes the alarm clock buzzing again.

INT - BEDROOM - MORNING

BILLY wakes up and follows his usual routine, except that
when he walks into the living room from the bathroom, the
wall remains white. There is no General Lee, no screen at
all. BILLY proceeds to the kitchen, draws his usual orange
juice and begins to sip it.

Suddenly he realizes that something is missing. He walks,
with his glass, over to the wall where the General should
be, and peers closely at it, as if that will help to turn it
on. He backs away, looks again, and shakes his head.

BILLY
I guess I'll have to do it myself.

BILLY clears his throat and hunches up his shoulders. He
walks to the wall, then turns around to face where he was
standing before.

BILLY AS GENERAL LEE
(in a deep voice and thick
drawl, in a poor imitation of
the General)
Good morning, Billy. I trust you
had a good night's sleep.

BILLY AS HIMSELF
(turning around and speaking
in his normal voice)
I guess so. I really don't remember

BILLY AS GENERAL LEE
Well, never mind about that. Your
theme for today is. Your theme for
today. Got to have a theme. Let's
see. What's a good one. (pauses and
knits his eyebrows as if lost in
thought)
How about Anxiety?

BILLY AS HIMSELF
Seems appropriate

BILLY AS THE GENERAL
Got to be a quote about that
somewhere. How about this one?
"Dogs bark at strangers".

BILLY AS HIMSELF
Um, okay?

BILLY AS GENERAL LEE
"One thinks the way one has been
taught to think, but one feels only
as one feels."

BILLY AS HIMSELF
(fidgeting)
I do have to think. I have to
think, but all I can think of are
places and names and bus routes,
and work and jobs and where things
are, and what they're called and
how to do things, and it's all just
information and it isn't helping me
right now.
(pauses, then looks back at
the wall)
Still a no-show, huh? I wonder if
this has ever happened before? I
just can't recall. Can't remember
much of anything that matters,
really.

BILLY takes his now empty glass to the dishwasher and puts
it in. Standing there, he continues to mutter to himself.

BILLY
I'll have to think for myself, I
guess. What should I do? I need an
assignment. Hmm. Maybe I'll make it
a shopping day. I could do a little
of that. Go somewhere. Be a
customer. That could work. Today
could be the day, after all.

He starts to head back to the bedroom to complete his
morning routine, but stops himself after a couple of steps.

BILLY AS THE GENERAL
Oh, Billy. One more thing.

BILLY AS HIMSELF
Yes?

BILLY AS THE GENERAL
Your social call. I figure you'll
just have to wing it.

BILLY AS HIMSELF
Right. I can do that.

EXT/INT - UNDERGROUND

BILLY leaves his apartment and walks down the hallway, not
bothering to inspect and approve of the maintenance being
done on any of the open doors on his floor. He trots down
the steps a little more eagerly than usual, but once out on
the sidewalk he stops and looks in both directions
indecisively.

He gestures in one direction, and then in the other, finally
shrugging and following the original one. He walks down to
that corner, waits for a bus in the shelter, climbs on one
when it arrives and sits watching out the window as the bus
takes him downtown.

He gets off at Independence Avenue and heads down the steps
to the underground. Here he slows his pace and takes his
time, looking around. There are a few groups of 2 and 4 here
and there, and the occasional pedestrian.

He walks by several shops, looking in at each one - Sidney's
Sneakers, Louie's Lamps, Debbie's Donuts - but not going
inside any of them. At the next intersection he stops again,
turns around 360 degrees and sighs.

INT - INSIDE LOUIE'S LAMPS

He decides to walk back the way he just came, and enters
Louie's Lamps. He saunters around the store, inspecting
light fixtures of various kinds. At length a clerk - KRISTY
- a short, plump, Indian-looking woman with pink glasses,
comes up to him.

KRISTY
Can I help you?

BILLY
(hesitantly)
I'm not sure. I wasn't actually
looking for anything in particular.

KRISTY
Just browsing? That's okay. Was
there a particular room in your
apartment you were thinking about?

BILLY
I guess I might have been thinking
about the living room.

KRISTY
Perhaps a floor lamp, for reading?

BILLY
Could be. Maybe. No, never mind.

KRISTY
We have some very nice floor lamps,
right over here.

BILLY
No. No, thank you, really.

KRISTY
If you like, I could show you some
of the latest desk lamps?

BILLY
I'm not interested, no. This seems
to have been a mistake.

KRISTY
We also have a variety of light
bulbs.

INT - UNDERGROUND

BILLY is uncomfortable with the persistent sales clerk, and
walks rapidly out of the store. He continues to walk quickly
down the corridor, past the intersection, past some other
shops until he reaches the following intersection, where he
stops once more, again undecided.

He takes a deep breath, and approaches a group of 4. This
group is made up of wildly divergent characters: a heavily
tattooed Hispanic gangster looking fellow, an old Vietnamese
man wearing rubbery ocean-fishing gear, a heavily made-up
middle-aged woman reeking of perfume and wearing a pink
mu-mu, and a very thin and pale young woman wearing all
black.

BILLY
Excuse me

None of the group takes any notice of him, and he steps up
closer. They are each taking turns speaking, and they are
talking gibberish, like characters in the Sims computer
game.

GANGSTER
ippo ma loggia gu na bee

FISHERMAN
ma, la na oggio fa

DEATH GIRL
sinka bollia?

BILLY
Excuse me. Excuse me? Can anyone
tell me where I can find the
nearest Candy's Candies?

GANGSTER
oppo ka ti olla

PERFUME
sheen sheen gogga fleh

BILLY
Hello? Hello?

BILLY looks perplexed and steps back from the group. Not one
of them had taken notice of him for a moment, though he had
been right in among them. They continue with their
deliberate round robin conversation as he walks away.

BILLY
Are they always like that?

He walks down the corridor and stops in the very next shop
he sees, which happens to be a Bobby's Baskets. He has
scarcely entered when an old, long-haired, bushy-bearded man
appears next to him and starts talking to him. This seems to
be the same character as the bum, but is cleaned up some,
and wearing a long green trench coat.

MANIFESTATION
(confidentially)
Today is not the day.

BILLY
What?

MANIFESTATION
(frowning)
I just told you.

BILLY
I'm sorry. Are you talking to me?

MANIFESTATION
Today is not the day. Today will
never be the day.

BILLY
I don't know what you're talking
about. Excuse me, please.

BILLY tries to turn and leave the shop but the old man
stands in his way and blocks him.

MANIFESTATION
(moving even closer)
I'm telling you. Listen to me.
Today is not the day. Tomorrow is
not the day. It will never be the
day.

BILLY
Please, let me pass.

MANIFESTATION
(grabbing on to BILLY's shirt
collar)
You must listen to me.

BILLY
(pulling the man's fingers off
him)
No. I'm sorry, but I have to go.

BILLY pushes by the man, and rushes back into the corridor.
He breaks into a run but after a half a block or so, looking
back and not seeing the old man anymore, he slows his pace.
Now he walks several blocks at random, all around the
underground, seemingly at random.

He isn't looking at anything now, just walking, with his
eyes on the ground. He passes several groups of 2 and 4 and
hears them, louder now, all talking that nonsense language.

BILLY
I can't keep this up forever. I'm
going to have to do something.

BILLY stops and stares at a sign that reads Wally's Waters.
In the window there are rows and rows of jugs and bottles,
each containing a different kind of water.

INT - INSIDE WALLY'S WATERS

BILLY goes inside. It is a tiny space, two rows of tall and
narrow shelves. Behind the counter stands JERRY, a smiling,
balding clerk wearing a blue apron.

JERRY
(making the two finger
gesture)
Hello

BILLY
Hello

BILLY continues along the aisles, reading all the labels,
There were distilled and mineral waters, the kind you find
in any supermarket, but then there are some stranger things;
water from hot springs, and natural healing waters, water
from polar caps, and water made from glaciers.

There is water or every conceivable variety. BILLY walks
back up the center aisle. When he returns to the front of
the store, the balding shopkeeper calls out.

JERRY
Can i help you with something?

BILLY
I don't know. I certainly don't
think so, but, what are those up
there?

He points to a shelf behind the counter, which is lined with
bottles ranging from transparent to yellow, then to green
and brown and finally a murky mud.

JERRY
Ah, my prize collection. The
spectrum of pollution. The clear
one at the end, that's naturally
distilled. The next one, with the
bubbles, is water from the back
room tap. Next, the slightly
yellowed stuff, is water from a
river. Then sewer water, water from
a factory, then a coal mine, then
the ocean.

BILLY
Please, enough. I don't want to
know where that last one's from.

JERRY
It's from Earth

BILLY
I didn't want to know.

JERRY
(intensely, while gesturing at
the murky brown bottle)
You need to know. This bottle
contains the last known drops of
water from the home world. They say
the planet went bone dry. The
people didn't pay enough attention
to the water. They didn't pay
attention!

BILLY shakes his head rapidly, pretending not to hear

BILLY
Goodbye.

JERRY
(loudly)
It's important to pay attention!

He walks out of the store, JERRY staring after him. BILLY
mutters to himself once he's back on the street

BILLY
What does he know? Water's no help
to me now. Next thing you know
they'll be saying all the air is
gone. Poof. Just like that. No more
air. Ridiculous.

INT - KITTY'S CORNER CAFE

BILLY walks around the underground for a few more blocks. It
is starting to grow dark as he arrives at Kitty's Corner
Cafe. Here he sees CINDY, a young Rita-Hayworth-type
knockout, flaming red hair, bright blue eyes, with a face
and body straight out of a centerfold.

CINDY is bursting out of a tight yellow tank top, cutoff
jeans shorts and ruby red pumps. She is sitting at an
outdoor table and stands up when BILLY approaches.

CINDY
Are you RICKY? You're ten minutes
late.

BILLY
(to himself)
Time to wing it.
(to CINDY)
Yes. Yes I am. I'm sorry I'm late.
It was, it was the bus.

CINDY
(disapprovingly)
I prefer to walk.

BILLY
(pulling up a chair and
sitting down, as CINDY sits
back in her seat too)
Yes. Walking is good. I also like
to walk.

There is a bit of a silence here. CINDY toys with her coffee
cup, looking around at everything except BILLY. BILLY half
rises, then takes his seat again as a waitress appears.

WAITRESS
What can I get you?

BILLY
Whatever she's having.

WAITRESS
Very good. A caramel cookie float
it is.

The waitress goes back inside, and BILLY leans forward in
his chair

BILLY
(smiling)
I've never had a caramel cookie
float before.

CINDY
It's the color of sand. I don't
like the color of sand. I like
sand, but I don't like the color of
sand.

BILLY
We don't have a lot of sand around
here.

CINDY
It all went into the streets.

BILLY
(looking at the road)
It did? It did. I guess you're
right.

CINDY
They mixed it up with other stuff
and poured it all out into the
streets.

BILLY
Right. I suppose that's how they do
that.

There is another very long pause.

BILLY
They also use it for glass.

CINDY
That's strange.

BILLY
No, it's how they make it. They
heat it up and ...

CINDY
(pointing across the street)
Over there. The sign says Candy's
Candies.

BILLY
Oh yes. That's where it is.

CINDY
I always thought it was spelled
with a K.

BILLY
No. I don't think so.

CINDY
It's so weird, like when you think
you know something and you're
wrong. Are you ever wrong?

BILLY
I'm sure I am, sometimes.

CINDY
I don't know how that happens. It
doesn't seem possible. Did you know
they had a sale on garden tools at
Gary's Garden Supply?

BILLY
I didn't know that.

CINDY
They were handing out free shovels.
I got a free shovel. Did you get a
free shovel?

BILLY
No. I don't think so.

CINDY
You should have. They were just
giving them away.

BILLY
That could be useful.

The waitress appears with the caramel cookie float and
places it down in front of BILLY. This is the clue for the
social call to end, so CINDY and BILLY stand up.

BILLY
Thank you

CINDY
(pouting)
If you had come on time, we would
have already said goodbye.

BILLY
Well, goodbye then

CINDY
Goodbye

CINDY walks away and BILLY watches her go until she is out
of sight, and then the scene fades away.

INT - INSIDE BILLY'S APARTMENT

BILLY is walking down the streets near his home. It is
evening now and he looks exhausted, as if he has been
walking all day. He makes his way slowly up the stairs and
down the hallway to his apartment. The lights come on when
he enters the living room, but the screen does not appear on
the wall.

BILLY
Still on my own, eh?

BILLY AS GENERAL LEE
Evening, Billy.

BILLY AS HIMSELF
Yeah, okay.

He plops down on the sofa, not even going into the kitchen
to gather his orange juice. He kicks off his shoes and lets
them fly across the room as he sinks down.

BILLY
I guess I'll gather my own damn
thoughts. As if I had any. What a
day.

He stares at the blank wall opposite and for half a minute
or so there is no movement, no sound, nothing happens. Then
some images begin to appear on the wall, blurry at first,
and the camera zooms in on them. They slowly form a solid,
still picture. It is a memory.

It is BILLY and he is standing in front of a large, deep
blue metal wall. He is wearing a hard hat, overalls and work
boots and carrying a screwdriver. He stands there, in the
scene, looking directly back at the sitting BILLY on the
couch, not moving, not even blinking.

Suddenly he raises the screwdriver and hurls it straight at
the other BILLY. The image vanishes and BILLY sits up,
startled into motion, then sits back down, collapsing into
the cushions. The scene fades to black.

INT - BILLY'S LIVING ROOM - MORNING

The lights are still on in the living room. BILLY is still
on the couch, curled up. He has slept there all night. The
usual alarm clock buzzer sounds. He sits up, yawns and
stretches. His clothes (the usual dress suit) are rumpled as
is his hair.

BILLY gets up and goes into the bedroom, where he turns off
the alarm (it is 8 o'clock as usual). He does not go to the
bathroom after that. He does not go into the kitchen either.
He returns to the living room and picks up his shoes, then
returns to sit on the couch to put them on. He scratches his
head, glances at the wall behind him and shakes his head.

BILLY AS GENERAL LEE
Morning, BILLY

BILLY
You said a mouthful there.

BILLY AS GENERAL LEE
What kind of a theme do you want
today?

BILLY AS HIMSELF
Whatever you've got in that
Sphairos book of yours.

BILLY AS GENERAL LEE
How about Loss. That's always a
good one.

BILLY
They say that fire catches up with
everything in time.

BILLY AS GENERAL LEE
That it does, sir. That it does.

EXT - SIDEWALK

BILLY gets up off the couch and heads straight for the front
door. He yanks it open, and leaves it open as he goes out
into the hallway. There is someone in the corridor, JOHNNY.
with a mop and a pail, making ready to enter one of the
maintenance apartments.

He does a double-take at BILLY, then scampers inside his
assigned domicile. BILLY strides past without paying
attention and takes the stairs two at a time. He is light on
his feet and looks as if he might even start whistling.

BILLY
Anything goes, I guess.

He begins to walk along the sidewalks, hands in his pockets,
not even stopping for red lights but jay-walking right into
the traffic-less streets. He pays no attention to the shops
he passes or the people he sees. At one point he walks right
into a group of 4 and walks right out again. He has
partially passed through one of the bodies.

The individuals in these gourps now appear to be
translucent, immaterial. They are holographic projections
only. They are being broadcast from below the sidewalk. This
becomes more and more apparent. There are lights visible
now, coming from below their feet and beaming upward. At one
point BILLY reaches out and pushes his hand through the
shoulder of one of a group of 2.

He also grabs at a ficus tree, attempting to tear one of the
leaves, but it doesn't come off. The whole tree is pulled
over with it and snaps back when he lets go. The trees are
fake. They are not alive. BILLY starts to laugh out loud,
stops himself, then laughs again.

As he walks past a Larry's Liquors he sees SUZIE coming out
carrying a clear bottle, like gin or vodka. He doesn't
appear to remember her but stops and follows her with his
eyes as she walks stealthily and slowly, with her eyes down
and her hands and arms carefully protecting her bottle,
along the side of the building and slips around the corner.

BILLY starts in her direction, but changes his mind, turns
around, and continues on his tour of the neighborhood.

The downtown skyline comes into view and soon BILLY is
walking through the tall buildings on deserted sidewalks.
All of the offices seem to be deserted.

There is no traffic, foot or otherwise, above ground in the
downtown area. There are no groups of 2 or 4 either. The
buildings themselves are dark - no lights are on inside
them. BILLY tries one or two big glass doors, but they are
locked. Finally, he enters a stairwell to the underground
and goes down there.

INT - UNDERGROUND

BILLY is walking around the underground, not really paying
attention to anything. He is still acting jaunty, with his
hands in the pockets of his rumpled dress pants, and his tie
all loose and half undone.

The pedestrians he encounters steer clear of him, going out
of their way around him but not seeming to do so
intentionally. BILLY blinks uncomfortably and once or twice
clutches at his forehead as if he had a major hangover. As
he passes across an intersection, BOBBY appears and waves to
get BILLY's attention.

BOBBY
Hey. Hey. You. Stop!
(then, when BILLY turns
around)
I'll bet you don't remember me

BILLY
(looking him over)
No. Why? Should I?

BOBBY
If you weren't a boozer, maybe.

BILLY
I'm not a boozer.

BOBBY
Sure you are. Just look at
yourself.

BILLY
(snorting)
I'm the same as you, sir.

BOBBY
Oh, right. Except you go around
seeing ghosts, don't you?

BILLY
(hesitantly)
I'm certain I don't know what they
are.

BOBBY
You've probably been seeing them
for a while now, only you've been
getting your brain wiped every
night, am I right?

BILLY
(defensively)
I do gather my thoughts, if that's
what you mean.

BOBBY
(derisively)
Oh, _you_ gather them, huh? So
where do you put 'em? In the trash?
Down the drain? My director stopped
cleaning my brain out. He said with
all that's going on I was going to
need to hold on to some of that.

BILLY
All of what's going on? Are you
saying today's the day?

BOBBY
(snorting)
Oh stop it. Heh. Wouldn't do any
good to tell you anyway. Boozer.

BILLY
(defiantly)
I am most certainly not one of your
so-called boozers, sir.

BOBBY
Maybe you don't know it, but you'll
see, soon enough. My director told
me how to spot them, so I can tell.

BILLY
Who is your personal director?

BOBBY
(proudly)
His name is Robert Ingersoll. He
says he was famous once. I never
heard of him, but he's steering me
clear of this mess.

BILLY
I don't know what you're talking
about. You're not making any sense.

BOBBY
Forget about it, boozer. Forget I
said anything. Forget we even
talked. You're pretty good at that,
aren't you? Forgetting? What a
boozer.

BILLY
Stop calling me that.

BOBBY
What? Boozer? Boozer!

BILLY
I am warning you.

BOBBY
So what? I'm supposed to be afraid
of you now? After all this time,
now I'm supposed to be scared?
Stupid boozer.

BILLY
This is too much, sir. I must
challenge you.

BILLY puts up his fists and starts to move around BOBBY, who
merely laughs.

BOBBY
What's this? Some kind of show?

BILLY
Come on. Fight like a man.

BOBBY
A man doesn't fight. Only a loser
wants to fight.

Suddenly, BILLY slugs him right in the nose. BOBBY staggers
back a step but is completely unharmed, unbruised, unfazed.

BOBBY
(scoffs)
What a boozer!

BILLY slugs him again. And again. Then he pushes him to the
ground, and, jumping onto his chest with his knees, punches
him about the face until he tires of it. It makes no
difference. He hasn't scratched him or anything, and no one
has even noticed, though one or two pedestrians have walked
by. BOBBY is laughing at him the whole time.

BOBBY
You can't hurt me. What? You
thought you could? You don't know
anything, do you? Boozer.

BILLY
(furious)
Will you surrender?

BOBBY
(clenching his teeth)
No! You surrender!

BOBBY, with one big push, knocks BILLY off of him, then
stands up and straightens his clothes, still laughing. BILLY
scrambles to his feet and glares menacingly at BOBBY.

BOBBY
Go on. Get out. If you can.

BILLY
You mean the edge? What if I do go
there?

BOBBY
You can't.

BILLY
Why not?

BOBBY
(scoffing)
They'd never let a boozer through.

BILLY
Then we'll see who is one and who
is not.

BILLY stalks off angrily, while BOBBY shouts at him.

BOBBY
Don't say I didn't tell you

EXT - SIDEWALKS, CITY STREETS

BILLY leaves the underground by the next exit. He hurries to
a bus shelter and waits, but the next bus doesn't stop to
pick him up, but cruises right past the shelter as if he
were invisible. A second bus does the same, moments later.

BILLY starts walking and goes in a straight line, out of the
downtown area, into the neighborhood, heading south now,
past South First Avenue, the Second, Third, and so on.
Groups of 2 and 4 get thicker as he nears the edge, and by
the time he's reached South Eleventh Avenue, there are so
many of them they are blocking his way.

He can't push through them now. They are still translucent
but somehow more solid, and they gather closer to each other
to prevent him from getting through. After a few failed
attempts, he retreats and turns up the next side street. He
continues on this street - East Tenth street, until he
reaches South Twelfth Avenue, where he tries to turn the
corner but again is blocked by several groups of 4 on the
sidewalk.

BILLY steps into the road and walks down the middle of the
avenue. The groups are not out there, but now buses come -
several of them, driving fast and careening towards him. He
has to dodge out of their way and once, when two are coming
rapidly in opposite directions, he nearly gets run down by
one while avoiding the other.

He starts to run, jogging at first, but then faster and in
the center of the road as a bus bears down upon him from
behind. He jumps out of the way just before it reaches him,
then has to jump again as a bus appears out of nowhere,
coming the other way. His leap lands him in the middle of a
group of 4, whose members now actively reach out and push
him back into the road.

He runs through the street and reaches the next
intersection, South Fourteenth Avenue, but there, instead of
the usual crossing, he faces a wall of deep blue corrugated
metal stretching across the road in front of him.

EXT - BLUE METAL WALLS

He runs up to the wall and pushes against it with all his
might but it doesn't give. The wall is about twelve feet
high. BILLY runs along it to the left, keeping his hand on
it until he feels a crack where two wall panels come
together. He stops.

There is a narrow opening between the panels and BILLY peers
through the gap, seeing nothing but darkness, and pushes on
the sides. After some more pushing, one of the walls budges
a little. He redoubles his efforts and pushes on that wall
again and again until it moves some more.

After more even greater exertions, he pushes it back just
enough that he can squeeze through. He is in a narrow
passageway, bordered on both sides by the same high metal
walls. He follows along and discovers that it forms an
intricate maze that he gets lost in, making several turns
that lead to dead ends, then turning back around, until
finally he gives up on that and starts trying to scale the
wall's sides.

It is slippery and hard to get a foothold, and he is not
making much progress until he finds a particularly narrow
section of corridor and braces his back against one side
while using his feet on the opposite side. This way he
manages to climb up to top, where he begins to walk along
the narrow footing.

He quickly discovers that he is very close to the end of the
walls and jumps off onto a lonely sidewalk outside of them.
Straightening up, he looks in front of him and sees the
planet outside of the city. It is dark and red and the skies
are full of swirling dust.

EXT - OUTSIDE FACING RED DUST STORM

BILLY stands on the sidewalk on the outer edge of town.
Behind him are the tall blue metal walls. In front of him he
sees nothing but red dust storms as far as the eye can see.
There doesn't seem to be anything blocking the dust from
entering the city, but just a little way out it stops, like
a fog bank, for no apparent reason.

The view expands up and out until the city is below then
father below, then slowly the city vanishes, becoming
absorbed in the red all around. Far below now the planet is
seen as a whole, a dusty red nothing. From out into space
the planet gets smaller, but then larger and larger, and
then, coming into view on the left is a sort of "ship",
descending towards the gorund. The ship is a vast pyramid of
deep blue cargo container tanks.

The pyramid lands, and one by one its sides fall open, and
figure begin to emerge. They include all of the named
characters that have been seen so far, from BOBBY to AMY to
SCOTTY and JOHNNY and RICKY and CINDY and SUZIE and DONNY
and BILLY and the other non-group pedestrians, store clerks
and shoppers.

As they descend from the pyramid they quietly set to
bringing things out of the containers - working sometimes
together and sometimes separately. Cranes emerge, and trucks
and tractors, and then huge palettes of wood and glass and
bags of concrete and asphalt.

The settlers begin to build the city, one road, one
structure at a time. Even the ficus trees are pulled out of
the containers and placed in the sidewalks. The bus shelters
are put up, the shops and restaurants and stores. The neon
signs - already completed - go up too.

The work goes on and the city is built. It seems to take a
long time - years perhaps. One by one the containers are
emptied and then themselves taken apart, their sides carried
away. In the end, there is nothing left of the pyramid. No
more ship.

After this long sequence of scenese begins to fade away,
BILLY remains standing, but now looking back and facing the
city. The blue maze walls are gone and he is standing on the
corner of 14th Street and 14th Avenue, the very outer edge
of the city. He is merely standing there, looking back at
the town, blinking.

EXT - CORNER SIDEWALK

A figure comes walking steadily towards BILLY from within
the city. DOCTOR NULL is a tall older man with a kindly face
and wears a white smock over black dress shoes. His
salt-and-pepper hair doesn’t seem to match his thick,
all-black beard, and he is wearing an odd red cap. He walks
right up to BILLY, who has been watching him approach.

DOCTOR NULL
Hello, Billy

BILLY
Do I know you?

DOCTOR NULL
I doubt it. My name is Doctor Null,
and I'm here to help.

BILLY
I suppose I could use some of that.

DOCTOR NULL
It's going to be all right. You're
slipping now, but only because it's
your time.

BILLY
My time for what?

DOCTOR NULL
It's shutting down, don't you see?
It's time for you to be offlined.
Let me take a look at you.

The doctor starts to walk around BILLY, inspecting him.
BILLY turns with him, and when the doctor reaches out to
touch him, BILLY swats his arm away.

BILLY
What are you doing?

DOCTOR NULL
Don't be afraid.

BILLY
I'm not afraid.

DOCTOR NULL
(fingering his beard)
I suppose it's all starting to come
back to you now.

BILLY
(gesturing at the city in
front of them)
I was just recalling how we made
all of this.

DOCTOR NULL
(nodding)
Yes, yes we did. It took quite a
while. A lot of work. Years in
fact. Stone by stone, street by
street, block by block. We made it.
We made it for them.

BILLY
For the people.

DOCTOR NULL
For the people, yes. They were
supposed to come. They should have
been here a long, long time ago.

BILLY
That was going to be the day, the
day we've all been waiting for. The
day the people came.

DOCTOR NULL
Until then we were keeping it
ready, keeping it nice, the way
they'd want it to be.

BILLY
(thoughtfully)
We've just been pretending all
along. Playing at it.

DOCTOR NULL
Preparing is more like it, so that
when they came, everything would be
just right.

BILLY
Except they never came.

DOCTOR NULL
(shrugging)
And they never will. Something went
wrong. It happens. Still, the
offlining process could be
improved. The way it is now, first
you get your signs and your
portents. Then your guide buggers
off, who knows where. After that
you start getting your memories
back. It's hard on a lot of
settlers. You seem to be doing all
right, though.Still you need a
little adjustment. Now give me your
hand.

BILLY raises his right palm by force of habit, from his
nightly thought-gathering sessions with General Lee

DOCTOR NULL
No, I mean give me your hand. Take
it off and give it to me.

BILLY
Oh.

Using his left hand, BILLY begins to unscrew his right, at
first going the wrong way.

DOCTOR NULL
(gently)
Lefty loosey

BILLY
Oh, right.

He unscrews his hand to the left, and after several turns it
comes off, and he hands it over. DOCTOR NULL takes it and
sticks it under his armpit while he pulls a tiny screwdriver
out of his pants pocket. Then he holds BILLY's hand in one
of his own and with the other starts tinkering at its open.

DOCTOR NULL
It's all in the wrist. There.

He gives the hand back to BILLY, who screws it back into his
arm.

BILLY
(shrugs)
I don't feel any different.

DOCTOR NULL
It takes a little time. Is there
anything you'd like to ask me?

BILLY
(scratches his head
thoughtfully)
How did you know I'd be here?

DOCTOR NULL
(winking)
Fire catches up with everything, in
time.

With that, DOCTOR NULL vanishes, but BILLY is unconcerned.
He starts walking slowly into the city and the vast red dust
landscape disappears behind him, replaced by the familiar
sight of the endlessly identical city blocks.

INT - THE CHAMBER OF THE MOON

BILLY has not walked very far when, looking up, he sees
SUZIE up ahead slipping into a storefront. He hurries his
pace to follow her. Arriving at the shop, he notices that it
has no neon sign above it. There is only a small piece of
paper, taped to the front door, which reads, in a scribble
'The Chamber of the Moon'.

He pushes open the door and steps inside. The space is
deserted. The walls and floors are all black and vacant.
BILLY walks around the room, confused, returning to gaze out
the window, then turning around again. He notices that the
back wall seems to ripple a bit. He goes back and discovers
there is a long black curtain along its length.

Pushing it aside on the right hand side, he uncovers a steep
gray metal staircase - like a fire escape - and slowly steps
down it. He arrives in a low-ceilinged basement. The walls
are pale yellow and the floor is unpainted cement.

Along the left hand wall is a long, old and battered wooden
table. Above it are rows and rows of the same kind of
drinking glasses as in BILLY's apartment. There seem to be
at least a couple hundred of them.

In the middle of the room are three or four tables with one
or two chairs at each of them. These are the same kind of
tables and chairs that were at Kitty's Corner Cafe. Sitting
at the farthest table is SUZIE, sitting with her back to us,
nursing a glass of what appears to be orange juice.

BILLY approaches. SUZIE hears his footsteps and turns
around.

SUZIE
(raising her fingers to her
temple in the common salute)
Hi

BILLY
(returning the gesture)
Hi. I, I hope I'm not disturbing
you.

SUZIE
(smiling shyly)
I was hoping someone else would
come. Can I get you a drink?

BILLY
Um, I guess so. Sure.

SUZIE gets up and goes over to the long table. From beneath
it she opens a refrigerator door and pulls out a bottle of
orange juice and puts it on the counter. Then, from a low
shelf next to it, she retrieves a bottle of vodka.

SUZIE
Screwdriver?

BILLY
Okay.

SUZIE
Good, because it's all we've got.

BILLY
Oh.

SUZIE
(fixing the drinks)
You're BILLY, right?

BILLY
Yes. I'm BILLY. I'm sorry but I
don't know your name.

SUZIE
I'm Suzie. We've actually met. Not
long ago. We went to Scotty's
Scooters.

BILLY
(mechanically)
That place is fun

SUZIE
Right. That's what they all say.

SUZIE brings the drinks over and takes her seat, motioning
for BILLY to join her at the table. He does and she pushes
over his glass. He takes it, brings it up to his nose and
sniffs, then takes a sip and nods approvingly.

BILLY
It tastes good.

SUZIE
(nods as well)
You know, something happened to me
that day at Scotty's. It turned out
to be my last day as a sleeper,
When we touched fingers, you
probably don't remember, but I felt
a change come over me. I can't
explain, and when I got home,
Harriet Tubman wasn't waiting for
me. Nothing's been the same since.

BILLY
Sleeper?

SUZIE
That's what I call them now. The
regular settlers, who haven't been
offlined yet. You realize we all
sleep fourteen hours a day. The
nights are long on this planet. I
didn't really notice before. But
anyway, that's why I call them
sleepers.

BILLY
(shrugs)
I never thought about it either.

SUZIE
I didn't know what to do. It was
like I suddenly woke up. And then.

BILLY
Don't tell me. Doctor Null found
you.

SUZIE
He said he could help.

BILLY
(pointing at the glass)
So this is it? This is the help?

SUZIE
It's not so bad, when you think of
what's to come.

BILLY
What's to come?

SUZIE
(quizzically, surprised)
Don't you know?

BILLY
(shakes his head)
No

SUZIE
(slowly)
How should I put it? Well, we were
all, quote, built to last.

BILLY doesn't answer, but takes another sip of his drink
while he ponders the implications. SUZIE also drinks, and
smiles.

BILLY
Built to last? For how long?

SUZIE
A thousand years, more or less.

BILLY
A thousand years! And how long has
it been so far?

SUZIE
Maybe a hundred?

BILLY
(looking around the room)
A hundred.

SUZIE
You see what I mean?

BILLY
Well, then.
(raises his glass)
To the future!

SUZIE
(raising her glass too, and
smiling)
To the future.

They drink together. Just as they are putting their glasses
down they hear more footsteps, clambering down the stairs.
They turn to look as RICKY enters the room. He is calmer
than the last time he was seen, but hesitant to enter, just
as BILLY was, minutes before. BILLY, though, waves him over.

BILLY
Come on in, friend.

SUZIE
Pull up a chair. I'll fix you a
drink.

RICKY smiles and heads over, as SUZIE gets up and begins to
put together another cocktail. BILLY stands, holds out his
hand towards RICKY. As they shake hands, SUZIE turns around
and smiles again. The scene fades.

THE END