THE ALPHA CENTAURI PROJECT SCRIPT (5 page)

Swarms of servants pour into the hall with gold
trays. The place becomes incredibly noisy.

A BANG. Some throw themselves down, others take
flight. The armed guards crowd round the Doge, Wing is bent over
the table with his head in the soup.

A dark figure is running towards the exit. Eve and
Adam dash in the pursuit, Victoria pulls her skirt up and rushes
forward.

When they are a few meters behind, the fugitive
turns. He aims, then fires.

INT. NET ELECTS' HIDEOUT -- MOMENTS LATER

Black.

EVE

Don't move. You have been shot.

Victoria opens her eyes. She is lying on the ground,
her head on a soft cloth: Eve's cloak.

Her friend is nearby with a loving look. She is
dressing her wound with delicate and careful movements.

EVE

It will clear up in a few days. Now you can stand
up.

VICTORIA

leaning againt Eve

Thank you.

EVE

After answering the fire, I transported all of us
here.

If I had been a single instant later, the armed
guards would have caught us.

Five meters away, is a dark figure lying. Adam is
nearby.

VICTORIA

How is Martin?

ADAM

Dead. The Council entrusted him with tracing Nihil.
He was going to report the results tomorrow.

They gather around the corpse. In the center of
Wing's forehead, a tiny purple hole. His face is serene, he didn't
have time to realize.

Eve kneels down and caresses his hair. She takes a
small box out of her pocket and starts sliding it back and forth on
the man's head.

Victoria and Adam are standing by her in silence. She
has a dazed expression.

EVE

Some brain areas are still in good condition. Perhaps
I can extract his memories...

beat

Now I know where Nihil is.

They turn towards the man in dark clothes, lying on
his back along a boulder, his arms wide.

The dark velvet jacket, with a badge of Lion of
St.Mark, hangs loosely on each side.

His shirt has a large rent in the middle, from the
stomach to the breastbone.

His organs are reduced to slush. A brown liquid is
dripping from the wound.

ADAM

It's him...

EVE

Who?

ADAM

The guide.

EVE

The guide?

ADAM

Yes. Or rather, the one who replaced him.

Eve kneels down and lifts the Venetian's mask with
the tips of her fingers. She is petrified.

INT. earth SECURITY HEADQUARTERS -- AFTERNOON

C573Y is in office. His assistant steps into the
room.

ASSISTANT

I have just received the report from Venice. Wing's
murderer is the Wonderful Islands killer! The real guide was found
shot dead in an alley.

C573Y takes the text and leafs through.

C573Y

According to the Secret Service Wing belonged to the
Elects.

ASSISTANT

Eve Dirac was there. She tried to stop Nihil's
killer.

The images of the murder flow in their mind. C573Y
stretches back in his seat and crosses his fingers on the nape.

C573Y

Let's see
:
Eve Dirac, Nihil and Wing belong to
the Elects. Eve Dirac tried to protect Wing.

ASSISTANT

Internal struggles, clearly.

C573Y

This could come in useful.

ASSISTANT

Unfortunately we don't know their purpose.

C573Y

Wing is not a criminal anyway!

Puzzled, they look each other in the eyes.

INT. NET ELECTS' cript -- MORNING

The ten councilors dressed in white are sitting in a
ring.

EVE

Nihil knows Martin's killer!

councilor

Are you sure?

EVE

The two were friends.

another COUNCILOR

How possible?

councilor

Perhaps we have seen the killer...

EVE

I will show you.

In the middle, appears the hologram of a man with a
dark complexion.

councilor

He was here.

ANOTHER councilor

I wouldn't be surprised if Nihil killed Linh and
Widman, too.

VICTORIA

Didn't you suspect anything?

OLDEST COUNCILOR

We don't know him enough. He said the dehumanization
was not for him. He was the boss, we did not insist.

VICTORIA

Where has he got to?

EVE

upset

I have scanned Martin's brain. Nihil lives with a new
community, in this villa.

The shadowy figure disappears. In his place, a low
altitude shot appears.

The building is at the center of a lawn bordered with
willows.

In a pond, there are pink flowered water lilies with
bulrushes on the right.

Three little children are whirling around, another is
riding a tricycle. CHEERFUL VOICES.

The councilors are dumbfounded.

councilor

A new community?

OLDEST COUNCILOR

I remember Nihil's face when Wing proposed the
creation of the Council. He flared up and threatened to leave. But,
when the assembly approved the proposal, he remained silent.

A MURMUR spreads.

ANOTHER councilor

He hates us.

OLDEST COUNCILOR

Without his plan, we will not be able to embark on
the Caravels.

Adam stands up and inspects the councilors with a
puzzled expression.

ADAM

I remind you that the best way not to achieve a
result, is doing nothing. Our objective is still achievable. It
will not only in a few weeks, when the Caravels are sailing.

He turns towards Eve.

ADAM

Why don't you contact the Defense?

Eve folds her harms.

EVE

I don't trust them.

ADAM

Do you really believe they can inform Security?

You see, the recollections you transferred to me made
me think. After your suicide, Defense set up an inquiry into the
scandal. When investigations were closed, General Marcus Rand made
sure to tell you it was all a plot against you. Did you ever wonder
why?

While Adam is speaking, Eve's memories follow one
another in the councilors' minds, like flashbacks.

EVE

I was highly thought of in the Army. When I resigned,
Defense asked me to stay.

ADAM

Did they care because you were a good soldier or
rather for some other reason?

EVE

When Rand contacted me, he seemed to know everything
about me and the Elects. I suspected he knew our hideout.

beat

All this attention appeared excessive to me.

ADAM

They never passed any information to Security. They
have always protected us, because you are among us, mummy. It
doesn't matter if we don't know the reason. Now we are running the
risk of having our mission canceled. We must ask their help to size
Nihil.

EVE

I'm going to speak with Rand.

councilor

How can we recognize Nihil?

EVE

speaking resolutely

He must occupy an android's body. We will identify
him by his programs.

Adam stares at his mother with a satisfied
expression.

ADAM

Now you are the women you were, mummy.

EVE

Let's pass to the plan. The villa is inhabited by
about one hundred people. We don't know what weapons they have, but
we must be ready for all eventualities. We need the right
equipment.

ADAM

What type?

EVE

War androids. The most advanced ones.

INT. net ELECTS' cave -- EVENING

An enormous cavity. The vault is hidden by the
shadows.

In the middle, a catafalque rises, on which lies
Wing's corpse wrapped in a purple shroud.

Adam gazes at the waxen complexion, then bends
forward and kisses him on his forehead.

Finally he withdraws into a corner and stands still
with bowed head.

One after the other the followers come in, each
holding a large lighted candle.

They place their lights in front of the body and
arrange themselves in a circle.

Eve and Victoria, wrapped in white veils, enter. They
move so gracefully, that they seem to skim the floor.

They kiss their dead friend on his cheeks. Then they
stand still by his side, staring at him. Eve raises her head.

EVE

Today Martin takes his leave of us. A man of sound
principles, who dedicated his existence to a noble cause. When I
met him, he involved me in a passionate discussion.

He took my case to heart and introduced his friends
to me. Thanks to him, now I belong to the Elects.

beat

A few days ago, he asked me to participate in the
reproductive rite. He insisted and convinced me. Thanks to him I
came to life again.

Victoria takes a step forward.

VICTORIA

I have always admired Martin for his commitment in
favor of weak people and minorities. Thanks to you, I have known
him personally.

beat

From him, I have had a son. I liked his enthusiasm
and his generosity. Frankly, I liked everything about him. With
you, I grieve over our dearest friend.

Victoria closes her eyes.

ADAM

I spent only a few days with my father, but I have
the honor of knowing him profoundly. Martin was unique. The ideals
he fought for, the experiences he gained in many struggles, are all
inside me, as well as his memories and emotions.

While he is speaking, he transmits his father's
experiences to those present: a few flashbacks revealing Wing's
charism and ideals.

ADAM

I want to share this treasure with you.

The followers strike up a SAD MELODY, while the light
in the cave increases.

An immense cavity crossed by a forest of stalactites
and stalagmites, appears.

THE TINKLING of the drops from the vault mixes with
THE SINGING.

SILENCE falls.

A vortex of light bursts out of the corpse, then
vanishes.

One after the other, each participant undergoes the
same metamorphosis.

Finally the cave is swallowed by the darkness.

EXT. earth army headquarters entrance -- EVENING

General Marcus RAND (human, 40 years old) goes out of
the headquarters. In his visual field appears his virtual
SECRETARY.

SECRETARY

The meeting with the President of the Confederation
is fixed for tomorrow at 9.

RAND

Send me the report on the new technologies.

He gets into the ovoid waiting in front of the
entrance.

rand

To the 7th Tower.

The aircraft gains height, threading its way through
thousands of vehicles crowding the aerial motorways.

It shoots into a corridor between two rows of
skyscrapers, whose wavy forms are reflected on glass surfaces of
others.

Below, wide streets and squares adorned with arches
and architectural barriers.

From time to time, multicolored walls and green spots
hiding the entrances to the underground town.

The ovoid flies over a park, where evergreen gardens
and sheets of water alternate, then heads for a group of buildings
silhouetted against the blazing red sky.

It lands on a terrace projecting from a tower. The
officer enters the restaurant.

INT. earth RESTAURANT -- CONTINUOUS

The head waiter takes him to table 514, from which
can be enjoyed the magnificent sight of the setting sun gilding
over the snow capped mountains.

A melody spreads from a corner. The artist, a man in
his early thirties, his deft fingers gliding over the keyboard of a
piano.

A young woman with red hair comes up to him.

EVE

May I sit at your table?

RAND

staring at her green eyes

Have we met before?

EVE

Long ago. You can verify it from my identification
code.

A black miniskirt and a silk blouse emphasize Eve's
sinewy build.

Her hair adorned with light threads is gathered into
a ponytail behind her thin neck.

She smiles, while transmitting the file to the man's
neural chip.

RAND

Eve, what a pleasure to see you again! I wondered
many times where you got to. Congratulations, your gynoid is
charming.

He stands up, draws a chair to him and invites her to
sit.

EVE

Gallant, as ever.

They chat. No voices heard. Then they go hand in hand
to the dance floor.

She puts her arms round his neck, while the man
seizes her by the waist.

They begin a slow dance. Eve rests her head on his
shoulder.

EVE

Marcus, I am grateful to you for having identified
the real culprits.

RAND

I have never doubted your innocence. But you have
come here not only to see me... What can I do for you?

EVE

A few members of our community are preparing a
terrorist attack.

The officer stops dancing, while the woman
straightens herself, grabbing him tightly.

EVE

I need a team of combat androids.

The two stand still in the middle of the floor.

RAND

This kind of work is no concern of yours. Tell me all
details, instead.

EVE

You don't understand. I want to solve the problem by
myself. If you accept, I will keep you informed; otherwise I will
not reveal anything else.

RAND

I am sure you are the most qualified person for this
kind of work...

EVE

So what?

RAND

But you cannot dictate your terms. Security is
hunting you. They are convinced you and your boss are the
instigators of a series of homicides. They even suspect you are
preparing an outrage against the Caravels. A few days ago they
asked after you.

EVE

What did you tell them?

RAND

I have known you for a long time. You can't be mixed
up in terrorism.