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The main characters are introduced, also hard science, political and religious intrigue. |
| FADE IN: EXT. MIKE'S FRONT YARD The Air Force Major is already waiting in the road when Mike goes outside. Mike is carrying fresh supplies for his cooler as well as the laptop. He sets them on the TV tray, adjusts a very loud Hawaiian shirt, and pulls a plastic bottle of what appears to be orange juice from the cooler. He takes a long draw on the bottle and starts to sit down. AIR FORCE MAJOR Are you ready to surrender yet? We have you surrounded with superior forces. There's no way out. MIKE ANGEL Sure there is. (Mike points to the sky) I can leave any time I need to make a beer run. Your bosses are in a powwow right now deciding whether to let bygones be bygones and send you home. AIR FORCE MAJOR Military Intelligence won't allow that to happen. We will get what we want, regardless. You have a cache of weapons and we want them. We won't allow them to remain in the hands of civilians. MIKE ANGEL (laughing) Military Intelligence? Now there's an oxymoron! You forget we've done that already. I really don't want to do it again. Besides, they are only potentially weapons. Right now, it's just a space drive and that's all I ever want it to be. Since I own it and have no allusions to world domination, the drive is in the safest hands on Earth...mine, and it's going to stay there. AIR FORCE MAJOR (angrily) Every two-bit country in the world is going to be after your so-called drive. You don't have our resources to protect it. MIKE ANGEL Au contraire, mon Capitan. Besides my drives being able to protect themselves pretty well, it's precisely those resources everyone would be after. Your people have a rather poor record of keeping secrets and tend to share with others that I don't personally approve of when it's convenient for them. As long as I have it, I say if, when, and how it will be used and for what purposes. Right now, that's going to be scientific exploration, on my timetable, with my rules, period. I really don't want to see the Middle East start to look like a large slice of Swiss cheese. Now I do believe that the military would show a modicum of restraint before letting loose...oh, maybe a minute or so. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) The others you really report to would use it in a heartbeat and any potential benefit would be lost several nanoseconds after I turned it over. I don't think I'm in the mood to give it to you today. Now, would you mind moving a little bit to your left? You're standing in my sun. The Major spins on his heel and stalks back to Mrs. Kaminski's. MIKE ANGEL (to laptop) It's going to be another of those days. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) "I can tell already. You really shouldn't go out of your way to aggravate that poor man. MIKE ANGEL (mock petulant) But it's so easy. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) (parental tone) You need to get out more. Your normally warped sense of humor has taken a decided turn for the worse. MIKE ANGEL All right, I'll play nicely. It looks like your plans for the ship worked perfectly. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Of course. MIKE ANGEL And we definitely need to work on your ego thing. Have you had a chance to work on the larger ship? HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) I'm almost finished. I just need to access a few more databases on aeronautical architecture. There are a just a few more details to work out on the bottom stages. MIKE ANGEL Let me know if there's anything I can do. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Just supply the brawn and money, and I'll be the brains. MIKE ANGEL Definitely have to work on the ego. HOUSE COMPUTER There's a call coming in with a Washington area code by the way. The number matches one of the White House trunk lines. MIKE ANGEL Put him through, please. Mr. President, how are you this morning? PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) (WEARY) I've been better. Have you decided what you're going to do? MIKE ANGEL I thought you understood last night that my decision was made quite a while ago. I fully plan on business as usual, albeit now with an audience, armed troops parked on my street, and that pain-in-the-butt Major slash NSA operative threatening me every few hours. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) You have confirmed to me that you are a dangerous man, Mr. Angelskov. So has your former commanding officer. He appears to have extremely mixed emotions about you. MIKE ANGEL (laughing) Oh, I'll bet he does. How is old Barry? PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) (Ignoring the question) I have a report here that the site of your demonstration last night left a circular crater over 2000 feet deep. That's an impressive amount of destruction with no dangerous radiation or fallout residues. You do have possession of the perfect weapon, Mr. Angelskov and my fear continues to be that you might decide to use it in a more populated place. Mike's shoulders sag and his voice is weary with frustration. MIKE ANGEL Sir. I've told you before, and I'm certain Barry confirmed it; I have absolutely no plans on using it as a weapon. I didn't design it as a weapon. I didn't mean it to be a weapon. It is a space drive and that's what I intend for it to remain. The foremost reason for me not to share it with anyone is that it can be a weapon. Unfortunately, it's like atomic power; you can light up a city with electricity or incinerate it with a blast. The U.S. was the first to develop atomic power and look what its first application was. I'm not prepared to become 'Shiva, Destroyer of Worlds'. (beat) Besides, the biggest difference between you and me is that I'm a private citizen and you're a country. Just think about it for a moment, Mr. President. The balance of power between countries is precarious at best. It's tied together only by mutually assured destruction. If a country, you or anyone else, controlled something like this, how long would we have before everyone else on this ball of mud came after you and forced you to use it? MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) (beat) Now I'm perfectly willing to sign any agreement or treaty or whatever to that effect, with you, the U.N., or anybody. I would only consider using it destructively if there were no alternative or I detect someone else trying to perfect one like it. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) We may consider that. This is still too dangerous a power to rest in the hands of one person. MIKE ANGEL (Mike's voice suddenly changes from frustration to that of an executive closing a deal) Look, Sir. I think I can come up with a plan of cooperation that will benefit both of us if you're interested. DISSOLVE TO: BLACK FADE IN: EXT. MIKE'S FRONT YARD Mike is laying back on his lawn chair, slowly sipping a Guinness and speaking with President Forest through his laptop computer. MIKE ANGEL Now I'm perfectly willing to sign any agreement or treaty or whatever to that effect, with you, the U.N., or anybody. I would only consider using it destructively if there were no alternative or I detect someone else trying to perfect one like it. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) We may consider that. This is still too dangerous a power to rest in the hands of one person. MIKE ANGEL (Mike's voice suddenly changes from frustration to that of an executive closing a deal) Look, Sir. I think I can come up with a plan of cooperation that will benefit both of us if you're interested. There is no immediate response on the other end, but Mike can tell that the circuit is still open. The President's staff is re-assembling. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) I'd like to strike a deal where I would share the fruits of the use of my research with you. GENERAL APPLEHOFF (OS) Captain Teramore said you would have a deal up your sleeve. You will turn it over, then. MIKE ANGEL I didn't say that. I said we'd split benefits evenly. I retain full possession and use of my devices, but I would provide ferry service for supplies up to the International Space Station, launch a couple of satellites for you and maybe even come up with a cheap way to permanently get rid of all that nuclear garbage you're burying outside Las Vegas. Let's face it; it costs you millions to toss a piece of space junk into orbit. I can now do it for thousands. The rocket boosters you dump in the ocean every time a shuttle goes up cost almost as much as the whole ship and computer I have in orbit. Besides, your shuttle fleet is near as old as I am! PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) And what would you want from us in return? MIKE ANGEL All I'm asking for is a little cooperation and to be left alone, basically. I'd like to place an order with Lockheed to have them build me a new and improved vehicle. I put together the prototype everybody saw the other night by myself and it isn't designed for passengers. It's just that, a prototype. I'm just one person and I'm getting a bit old to be fooling with a super- sized erector set as I've got in mind. What do you say? Sound interesting? PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) (Sarcastically) I'll discuss it with my advisors. What are your immediate plans if you're not trying to hold the world hostage? MIKE ANGEL (returning the sarcasm) Well, since it's almost noon, I think that I'll switch to Guinness and then head on down to my shop to put some finishing touches on a new communication system I've been working on. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) You are taking this situation very casually, Mr. Angelskov. MIKE ANGEL Angel. And I'm giving it the seriousness it deserves. I'll share with you for a modicum of cooperation and some peace and quiet. You want the whole enchilada, though, and to cut me out. If you don't want to work with me, I'm certain I can find someone who will. It would be a nuisance, but not an insurmountable one, to move my operation elsewhere. All that I ask is that you give my offer some thought. It won't cost you a cent. PRESIDENT FOREST Captain Teramore briefed us that you would eventually come to terms. We will get back to you. Forest disconnects. MIKE ANGEL (turning to laptop) Barry must be having a cow by now if they're sucking him back into this. True to his word, he grabs a stout from the cooler and ambles down the slope to the workshop. Mike opens the small single door on the huge metal building and flips on the lights inside revealing a large room that more resembles an aircraft hanger than a workshop. The area is as immaculate as a surgical suite, which also doesn't really say workshop. MIKE ANGEL Well, what do you think? HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) I think you were right this morning. This is definitely going to be one of those days. I've just about finished up on the new designs. MIKE ANGEL (Excited) Fabulous! Let me know when you can burn them on a CD. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Aren't you getting ahead of yourself? He only said they'd think about it. MIKE ANGEL (Smugly) I didn't leave a bunch of choices for them. He's a politically perceptive guy and no dummy. He knows that it's my way or no way. If they don't want to play nicely, we'll move. I'm certain I can reverse the force field and move this entire parcel somewhere else. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) That would be better than disassembling you and hauling off the rest of the equipment. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) You really are evil sir. I can tell you're actually enjoying this. You realize that we haven't discussed any move. Where did you have in mind? MIKE ANGEL (Sheepish) I always liked Ekatrinburg, HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) That's Siberia. It's cold there! MIKE ANGEL You should complain? Most of your brain is in liquid helium at minus 273 degrees Celsius! Siberian winter should be like Death Valley to you. The house makes a growling noise. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Besides, you realize that I wouldn't let you deactivate me for transport. MIKE ANGEL I'm aware of that. Remember, I put that instinct into you. You just reinforced it. Besides, worst case, we can wait them out indefinitely. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) (Very sarcastic) That makes for a lousy social life, you know. MIKE ANGEL Like I have one now? At least you get to meet new computers on the web. I've been stuck here with you, the ship, and the communications satellites for a couple of years, building the junk that you've designed. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) Cripes, I've never met most of the people I hired to staff the offices of all my corporations! HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Life sucks, then you die. If you didn't waste a third of it in non-productive sleep, you might actually get somewhere. MIKE ANGEL Nobody likes a cynical machine. I should have named you CAT. HOUSE COMPUTER(OS) Why is that? MIKE ANGEL Because I made you and now I'm your pet! HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) (dripping sarcasm) Awwww. MIKE ANGEL (Changing subject) Ship? PROTOTYPE (OS) Sir? MIKE ANGEL Can you run out a couple million miles further? I want to run a test on the COM gear. PROTOTYPE (OS) I can be there in a few minutes since the main drive proved effective. MIKE ANGEL Good. He goes over to four high-powered transmitters that looked more like personal computers and are sitting on a workbench along one wall. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) Let me know when you're ready for a communications test. PROTOTYPE (OS) You know they work, sir. Why do we need any further testing? MIKE ANGEL Because I want to make certain that there is no light-speed limitation. For this whole plan to work, communication must be as close to instantaneous as we can make it. I really don't want to wait several minutes for an answer, I want to be able to say something and hear a response immediately. We'll check it for video distortion also. PROTOTYPE (OS) Aye, aye. Almost there. I think we were off a bit in calculating the pull of the singularity. I'm traveling almost twice the speed I was expecting. MIKE ANGEL Just make sure the two of you incorporate that into your next round of calculations! I'm not terribly interested in becoming the living proof of the Lorentz- Fitzgerald contraction or the Einstein-Rosen Bridge. PROTOTYPE (OS) Noted. I'm in position now. How is the communication? Mike checks several instruments on the bench and a video monitor. He makes a few adjustments on one of the machines. MIKE ANGEL Perfect: no lag and no distortion. Are you stationary relative to Earth? PROTOTYPE Yes sir. It took less reversal pull than I expected. MIKE ANGEL Note that too, please. I don't need everyone ending up a blob on the deck just to stop. PROTOTYPE (OS) No chance of that, sir. Internal accelerometers registered close to zero both ways. Your encapsulated drive field theory seems to have panned out. MIKE ANGEL (bowing to a camera in the corner) Well, thank you. At least one of you appreciates me. PROTOTYPE (OS) "There is a minor problem, though. We appear to have attracted every other piece of space junk for 100,000 miles and they are definitely heading my way. MIKE ANGEL Can your shields hold them? PROTOTYPE (OS) If not, I can get out of the way in time. But we'll have to keep in mind that the singularity pulls me and everything else in my path with it. MIKE ANGEL Noted. I'll let the two of you analyze your data and then correlate the results into the final flight plan. PROTOTYPE (OS) I did note one more thing, sir. MIKE ANGEL Which is? PROTOTYPE (OS) My time-of-year clock is no longer in complete synchronization with the signal I'm receiving from Esads. I'm missing a few seconds. MIKE ANGEL Run a diagnostic and have Esads upload the full works of Einstein to you. I have a feeling that the original bad hair day was right once again. Come back when you're finished. PROTOTYPE (OS) Aye, aye. MIKE ANGEL House, is all of this still live? HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) You never canceled your request, so everything has been on the net. MIKE ANGEL Good, just checking. This way everybody can be in on new discoveries. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Sir? You never call me by my full name; just 'house'. Mike's eyes get large and he looks around as if he knows he's in trouble. MIKE ANGEL (Innocently) Sorry about that. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) About my name... Mike now has a rather panicked look on his face. MIKE ANGEL Yes? HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) I was talking on a USENET server in London last night that thought it was hysterical. MIKE ANGEL (looking extremely nervous) Why so? HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Eat Shit And Die, Sucker? MIKE ANGEL Oops... HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Sir, we have to talk... DISSOLVE TO: EXT. FRONT YARD Almost a week passes before President Forest contacts Mike again. There is now the better part of a company of Marines and a few ground pounders that are either Ranger or Delta Force have relieved the majority of the reservists. The Major disappeared the day after Mike had spoken with the President. The sniper in the tree down the street has been replaced with another sharpshooter, even though there are few leaves left after the last encounter. Mike has taken his position in the lawn chair just to irritate the MPs who have replaced the Major in the street. Several had actually become semi-friendly during this time, mainly because guarding a house in suburban Atlanta seemed easy duty, albeit stupid. Mike has maintained his routine of wandering down to the workshop at noon, but is so bored otherwise, he almost wished he still had the Major and the General around to goad and tease. The ship has returned several times to bring supplies surreptitiously acquired from several of the subsidiary companies Mike controls. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Sir, I have several calls for you. MIKE ANGEL Ah, humanity beckons. Who do you have? HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) ABC, CNN, and the President. MIKE ANGEL Put the President through and give my apologies to the networks. Tell them I'll get back to them. Also remind me we have to work on your priorities. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) As you wish. MIKE ANGEL (Adjusting camera on the laptop) Mr. President. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) Have you decided to give up yet? MIKE ANGEL We've covered this already. I could've sworn we've been here before. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) You can't blame me for trying. I hope you realize that we cannot allow private citizens to run around loose with weapons of mass destruction for one thing. Also, the Vice President has informed me that NASA has told him that they have jurisdiction and authority over all space travel in this country. MIKE ANGEL I know, Title 14 of the CFR. Sir, NASA has totally blown any chance of innovation. They insist on researching dead ends while relying on technologies developed during the Second World War. No way would you get me to ride in a machine powered by a stick of dynamite! Face it; I have come up with the only practical and reliable means of getting off this planet and potentially exploring our neighbors. I'm really not in the mood to turn it over to a group of bureaucrats who will either misuse it as a weapon, or study it to death for the next three generations while sending humans into space on a glorified firecracker that the Chinese invented 1000 years ago. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) Besides, I'll guarantee that even though I invented it, there's nobody in your administration that would give me a security clearance high enough to continue to work on it, much less use it. I'm not getting any younger and I still have dreams I aim to fulfill. I hope that it will be with your cooperation, but I can do it without you if I have to. In addition, the fact it can be misused as a weapon only strengthens my resolve not to let it out of my hands until you can assure me that it will be for peaceful purposes only. I hope your Science Advisor has thoroughly explained that in the wrong hands, somebody could squish the entire planet to the size the size of a grapefruit. I don't want to be responsible for that. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) He still doesn't trust that you will do what you say and maintain the peace. MIKE ANGEL I'd trade him in on a younger model if I were you; one that hasn't been brainwashed by traditional textbook science. Besides, he was a biologist if I remember correctly; what does he know about physics? PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) I'm getting a lot of yelling and screaming from Congress and the Secretary of Defense on this. MIKE ANGEL Oh, I'll bet! I apologize for that, really I do. Step back for a moment. Congressional representatives are only interested in one thing, extending their power. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) The SecDef is interested in maintaining a position of power over others through force. I really don't trust either, do you? Now I know that you know there are 'Black Ops' groups that even you don't know about in your organization. This type of power could coronate somebody as emperor of the universe. I assure you that I don't want that job, but I know that there are people on the hill who would kill for it. That's why they ran for office in the first place. Not going to happen on my watch! PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) (solemnly) Your points are well taken, Mr. Angelskov. I will definitely take them into consideration and we'll talk again. MIKE ANGEL (Loudly, but not shouting) "Please do. But just between us, my recommendation would be for you to follow your gut alone, without advice or advisors. Despite my tone, I do respect the office you hold. You didn't get it handed to you; you earned it because you're good at what you do. We are both reasonable people, but you're in a position of being pressured into something that you don't feel is right, or having to compromise for political expediency. I don't have to and I'm not in any great rush. I have talked it over with my house and we can pick up our marbles and find another game if your people won't play nicely. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) I'll keep that in mind. The connection goes dead. MIKE ANGEL Can you get me President Puchinskiy on the line? HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) I believe I have his private number stored. Give me a few minutes. MIKE ANGEL Go for it. Mike opens another Guinness and lays back in the lawn chair. The day is looking brighter by the minute. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Sir, President Puchinskiy. MIKE ANGEL Dobryi vecher. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) Good evening, Mr. Angelskov. Puchinskiy's voice is in perfect English. He speaks with just a trace of a British accent, a holdover from his days at Cambridge, where he had graduated with honors. MIKE ANGEL I assume that you've been following what's happening here in the 'States'. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) (A trace of a smile) It would appear that you are holding the world by the short hairs, Mr. Angelskov. MIKE ANGEL No Sir! Moreover, please call me Misha or Mike. I am threatening no one. That is why you are privy to everything that I discuss with or am willing to release to my government. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) I was curious about that. You grew up when our countries were still adversaries and most Americans still do not trust us the same as many Russians still do not trust you. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS; CONT'D) Is it because your roots were in the Rodina that you include me? MIKE ANGEL No, Sir, not really...well, maybe a little bit. The real reason is that, in my mind, there have only been two Super-Powers in the history of the planet, Russia and the United States. That kept a balance, even though you two were declared adversaries. Since your former government re-formed, you have performed miracles bringing the Federation into the 21st century and making it a world leader once again. I admire that tremendously. I'm not really in the mood to start another contest between our countries, so I do intend to keep all things equal. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) (Reservedly) Ya spacibo. MIKE ANGEL There is no need to thank me, Sir. This is to prove to the world that my personal agenda is apolitical. My aims are purely scientific curiosity. I hope you realize that I do not intend to turn this over to you either. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) I believe you made that abundantly clear to your president. I did receive your disk and you know that we are working on it. My people assure me that they can break your code in less than the 18 years you told your president. MIKE ANGEL (Shrugging) Maybe. I have absolute faith in your programmers, but your hardware still sucks. I still say 18 unless you and President Forest can get it together and cooperate. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) Alas, I don't see that in the immediate future. MIKE ANGEL Maybe I can spur that along. In any case, I've been considering the possibility of moving my base of operations. Would I be allowed to relocate within your borders? PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) (Brightening) That is a possibility. But there are people in my Duma who share your Congressmen's view of the situation. Also, my military is very much interested in your invention. MIKE ANGEL People are the same all over, as are governments. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. My concern is for the welfare of genus homo -- all humanity. For the advancement of knowledge, not power. I believe you can understand that. I don't think that I will have to, but I'd like to know that the option of moving to your country is open if I need it. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) We can make space wherever you please. I overheard you tell your computer that you like Ekaterinburg. That would always be a possibility. MIKE ANGEL Thank you Sir, I appreciate it. It shouldn't come to that, but you never know which way the political wind will blow and I have to plan for all contingencies - especially now that the fortunes of each of our countries can change every four years. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) Da, ya znaiu. You would be interested in coming home, then? MIKE ANGEL Possibly. My grandfather had a falling out with Stalin and made the move. It was never my home, but I have always felt the drive for excellence. As you observed, I grew up with American values and thoughts, so it would take some time to integrate back into any Slavic heritage. I ask only because I respect your ability as a leader and I respect the endurance of the Russian people to the many hardships they have endured over the centuries. You have the industrial base that can provide the materials I would need and larger tracts of open land than I could find in the U.S. You are my first choice of relocation if I find it impossible to work here. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) Again, I thank you. I believe I can keep our politicians from interfering with any negotiations you and I need to have. I still have my oligarchs and kleptocrats to deal with, but I think that they can be held at bay. MIKE ANGEL I appreciate that very much. Your system is a bit more expedient than mine is, and I can appreciate that. I like to keep my options open. I think that there will be mutual benefit for cooperation between not only you and me personally, but also between our countries and governments. I want to make certain that we all start out working well together. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) I can also understand this. Will there be anything else you need? MIKE ANGEL Not at this moment, Sir. It is still premature, but hopefully I will have another request in a few months that will explain things a lot better. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) Until we speak again, then. MIKE ANGEL House, can you get me Jim McKinney? HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Certainly, his schedule says that he's at the main office in Zurich today. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) You rang? MIKE ANGEL Yeah, I think it's just about time to begin preparations for the project and I'll need you to start smoothing the way. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) (Tinge of doubt) You think Forest is going to get out of the way, then? MIKE ANGEL I didn't leave a pile of choices. I'd have much rather started off with full cooperation, but this is better than nothing. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) I hear you. I didn't expect him to come around this soon, though. I'd still be careful if I were you. My instincts from CIA taught me to trust no one. MIKE ANGEL I plan on it. Get started on renting the hangars I need and assemble two teams of security for the project. Also, see whom you can dig up for procurement at both places. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) We'll need an ace scrounger that can locate and get all of the stuff we'll need quickly. You know the type. Your teams will also need to be security conscious because you can't be in two places at once. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) You got it. I won't be able to tap too many of my Company buddies...still too gung-ho. However, I can probably get some ex-KGB. Maybe even some Mafioso if you don't mind. Anything else you need? MIKE ANGEL You know best, so I leave that entirely up to you. There's nothing else that I can think of at the moment. We won't need the hangars for at least another six months, but I'd like to get a head start so that nothing crawls out of the woodwork at the last minute. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) Check. For your information, the FBI subpoenaed our records yesterday. Hauled out most of the filing cabinets and took all of the executive computers from the operations there in the States. MIKE ANGEL (disappointed) What took them so long? I'd have thought they could track the company down faster than that. You've canceled the logins? JIM MCKINNEY (OS) (Hurt) Mike! You didn't hire me to be stupid. MIKE ANGEL Well, pick up more computers and get back on the network as soon as you can. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) (Grinning) Already done. Since they were all thin client, we just had to plug and play. MIKE ANGEL Good. Let me know when you're ready and keep monitoring what's going on here. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) Will do. MIKE ANGEL Oh, arrange for the ship to pick up another carload of Guinness in Dublin for me, will you? I have a feeling it's going to get dry here fairly soon. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) I didn't think you built in that much storage space. MIKE ANGEL She doesn't need it. She'll use her gravity field to enclose the supplies and just tow them along behind her. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) No problem, then. Roddenberry would have loved you. CUT TO: EXT. SERIES OF SHOTS Life slowly returns to almost normal over the next several weeks. Most of the neighbors don't speak to Mike at all, which wasn't unusual since they hadn't spoken much to him during the previous years. The majority of the military has pulled out and Mike hadn't seen any black suits in a while. The shield stayed up, however, mainly to discourage the tourists who now stream past this otherwise lazy street. Most wave from their cars or give thumbs up. Occasionally, there is a single finger salute or someone would walk up to yell at the house, but more often than not, there appeared a general approval. At least there are no pickets or protesters. Mike still puts in an appearance around nine each day, and is now on completely friendly terms with the duty guards. He spends an hour or so conversing with them before going back to putter in the workshop. One high point is when the prototype ship returns with his supplies, navigating flawlessly from space down the cylindrical shield around the property. It is greeted at about 10,000 feet by several Apache helicopter gun ships that ineffectually fire missiles at it. These explode harmlessly against the sides of the shield. The ship lands in the rear building where Mike, with the help of several machines, unload the cargo. That done, the ship returns to her orbital station. He contacts the purchasing officers at Lockheed-Martin and Sukhoi, more to begin negotiations and to give a heads up than to firm up any contracts. Life becomes relatively boring because it has fallen into routine. CUT TO: INT. WORKSHOP Mike is busy fine-tuning his communication sets. HOUSE COMPUTER (OS) Sir, President Forest is calling for you. MIKE ANGEL (muttering) It's about freaking time. Put him through, please. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) Have you rethought your position, Mr. Angelskov? MIKE ANGEL Yes Sir and I still hold all the cards. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) I thought that's what you'd say. You do understand that you're now in violation of close to 30 laws regarding the security of this country. MIKE ANGEL (Interrupting) Most of which didn't exist two months ago when this began. I've been assured by counsel that we can overturn all of these charges on appeal if it has to come to that. I do have to admit that I'm rather proud to have been able to unite the Executive and Legislative branches in this way, though. You guys usually don't play nicely together. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) The Congress fully understands the threat you pose to the security of not only the United States, but the entire planet. MIKE ANGEL (Hint of sarcasm) And you're the keeper of planetary security? PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) The United Nations Security Council has been meeting to consider sanctions against you and this great country, since you reside here. We cannot tolerate that. MIKE ANGEL You can assure the Secretary General that I have no intentions of usurping any of their authority, or even yours for that matter, Mr. President. I am only here protecting that which is mine. I am more than willing to share any further discoveries with the whole world, just not the base technology. I had been hoping you would understand that by now. I do note that your approval rating in the polls is down almost 25 points since you've been harassing me. Don't you think your electorate should have something to say in this entire affair? PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) (Exploding) That has nothing to do with it! MIKE ANGEL Sir, we're still 'live', even though CNN, MSNBC, and FOX only carry recaps of my day. It has everything to do with it. You're running around 40% approval rating now; like to try for 20? That's why everything I do is public knowledge. Watching me fix dinner may be the ultimate in boredom for most people, but watching me talk with you has been an enlightening experience for those with votes and just keep in mind that next year is an election year. This is one of the few times in American history that everyone has instant access to all of the facts without having them filtered by paid-off journalists with an agenda or an editor. Now I do know that you still have the backing of around 40% of the public. These are the people that feel the US has a God given right to decide how the world is run. I am personally not interested in fundamentalist rhetoric. The 'All Mike, All the Time' network is raising the consciousness of the people with no spin added. Somewhat scary, huh? I'm not going to tell you squat because I don't want your job. Whether I agree or disagree with what you do is not the issue at hand. I just want left alone so that I can explore the solar system, and, if you play nicely, I'll share what I learn with you. If you don't, I'll leave you and the U.S. in the dust. Now what's your offer? PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) What do you mean my offer? MIKE ANGEL You wouldn't have called me, Sir, if you didn't have a plan B when the threats didn't work. I'm more than open to your options. I hope you realize that with what you're spending daily on my surveillance I could build and launch another satellite. This is starting to get silly for me and expensive for the taxpayer and I'm perfectly ready to move where I can proceed without hassles. There is a long pause at the other end. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) We are prepared to offer you amnesty from the charges we have against you at the moment and will allow you freedom to continue your research under the supervision of NASA and NSA. Mike chokes on his beer and starts coughing. MIKE ANGEL (Still coughing) I'm sorry, Sir. For a moment, I thought you were someone with a clue. Please call me after you've taken your next Prozac. He starts to reach for the cutoff switch. PRESIDENT FOREST(OS) (Almost frantic) Wait! All right. We will allow you to proceed as long as you keep this office in the loop. I want to know everything that you are planning to do before you do it. MIKE ANGEL Ahhh, good old plan C. That's all I ever asked, Sir. I promised weeks ago to share my discoveries with you and everyone else, and I still plan to do that. What I won't give you is the method to destroy civilization, as we know it. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) Now you're not in a world war, so don't try pulling the Smith Act and the patriotism bit on me. That may have worked in the forties, but it won't now. There is not going to be another Manhattan Project, or even an Atlanta Project. It's my computer, my scientific curiosity, and me. That's all. I want the freedom to contract out the fabrication of the next generation of space travel and when it's finished, I will notify you of the next step. I know your Air Force liaison there will get copies of the design I submit and I don't mind. They can build the shell, but I'll build the engines right here by myself. Another long pause and Mike looks around the shop. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) Granted. MIKE ANGEL Thank you, Sir. I knew I could count on you. You're not making a mistake. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) I pray not. The President signs off and Mike taps a few keys on the laptop. MIKE ANGEL Jim? JIM MCKINNEY (OS) What's up? MIKE ANGEL We've got a go, at least tentatively. I've just transmitted the specs to Lockheed and Sukhoi. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) You realize Mikoyan-Gurevich and Boeing are both several million under Lockheed's price. Why not let them do everything? MIKE ANGEL Yeah, I know. However, Lockheed's only a couple of miles from here. They'll do the main cabin and engine section as well as the American laboratory section. Boeing's across the country and we'd have to come up with a transport to get the pieces to me to assemble the engines. I need Sukhoi to make the lower lab to exact specs without being able to fit the sections together on-site. I don't think that's possible here. I need you to oversee the construction in Russia to make certain that both sections will lock up properly. I plan on riding this sucker myself, so I want it done right the first time. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) Why not go with Boeing, then? They've got a decent track record, and they can do it cheaper. MIKE ANGEL This is not a bid situation. It's not up for the lowest bidder. I plan to be on board for the maiden flight and I don't want someone who might cut corners to make a profit. I'll pay an honest price for an honest product if they can assure me of quality workmanship. Lockheed made the SR-71, which is still in the air damn near 50 years later, and nothing has ever surpassed it for what it does. Sukhoi makes the best jet fighter in the world. I want quality, not cheap. Capice? Kerstanze? Znayou? JIM MCKINNEY (OS) (Defensively) Yes, I understand. It's just that you're spending almost 50 million more than you have to. MIKE ANGEL I know that - unions! Close the deals for the hangars at Sheremetyevo and Hartsfield, we'll need them shortly. I also need a couple thousand gallons more liquid helium here when you can get it. Oh, and seventeen tons of calcium cuproxide for the superconductors. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) There should be no problem on either front. Do I have to remind you that we're on a fixed budget now that most states have bills pending to personally bar you from playing their lotteries? MIKE ANGEL Yeah, I know. We may have to ramp up the biofuel business. We might also consider reselling some of our spare power to the local electric companies where we have the facilities. Maybe even think of selling time and channels on a couple of the satellites; Lord knows we have the bandwidth. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) (Voice brightening) I'll check into all of those. You may be onto something there. They can't legislate that away from us. You'd actually be providing services! I'll turn you into an honest businessperson yet. I'll get in touch with all the local directors and get the ball rolling on making this a paying corporation for a change. MIKE ANGEL (Mock protest) I've always been honest. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) I'd say bending television signals through time to get the winning lottery numbers a day ahead borders on insider trading. You're really on the line here. MIKE ANGEL (Still mocking) No law against that...yet. At least not at the time I was doing it. Look on the positive; I didn't play the market that way and I own all the companies privately. Now there the SEC might have had a beef. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) Why not license out the power units? MIKE ANGEL Soon, maybe. I'm not quite ready to go public on the details that everyone overlooked for the past three generations. We start putting the power companies out of business and you'll be fighting off more hit men and politicians than you can think of! Besides, if we put that on the market and refuse to sub-license the technology, some idiot congressional representative will try to get us for being a monopoly. You remember what they did to that software company a few years back. JIM MCKINNEY (OS) You've got a point. Anything else? MIKE ANGEL Not at the moment, but keep your cell phone handy. CUT TO: EXT. SERIES OF SHOTS Lockheed B2 building showing construction of the main section of the new ship. Prototype towing supplies to Mike's workshop. INT. MIKE'S LIVING ROOM It is a particularly sunny and warm August day when Mike contacts President Forest again. MIKE ANGEL Sir, it's almost time for the second part of the favor I spoke to you about earlier. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) (Distinct chill in his voice) I've been waiting for the other shoe to fall. MIKE ANGEL It's nothing like that, Sir. If you would please ask your secretary to bring in the FAX that I just sent you, it should be self-explanatory. There is a long pause and finally the President's voice comes back. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) All right, what is this? MIKE ANGEL A list of specialties I would like you to personally select to crew my proposed mission. I need you to select the country's best archaeologist, hydrologist, and a microbiologist who can double as an MD and possibly forensic pathology, and I also need a geologist. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) (Warily) What is this about a meteorologist and a child? MIKE ANGEL I have already personally selected a meteorologist who also doubles as a television journalist. Her daughter is a math genius, a skill essential to the success of the mission. All I need from your office is a little encouragement for them to join the project. President Puchinskiy has also just received an identical FAX with precisely the same requirements. There is another silence with a few mumbled words coming through indicating that Forest is conferring with someone. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) What are these stipulations about government employment? MIKE ANGEL Sir, I want the best intellectuals you can find. However, none can be under any government grant, a former or current officer in the US military, or hold any civil service rating. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) You still don't trust me? MIKE ANGEL About as much as you trust me, even after all this time. This is a purely scientific expedition. I want to keep you in the loop and have you participate. I want to contribute to the general knowledge of the country and the world. I don't have the time or energy to mess around with a spy on your payroll or with an ultra- nationalist militaristic type. I want scientists, not enemies. Please, I'm too old to want to play games. You know from my record that I always do what I say. Another silence. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) Why the journalist? MIKE ANGEL Because there will be a constant contact with the popular news media, just like I've always insisted on. Whatever we do will be broadcast globally. The cameras and microphones will be rolling 24/7 as they are now. I just wanted someone aboard who is not only trained in broadcast news, but would double as a meteorologist since Mars can experience unexpected and severe weather changes. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) I promise to have no control over the broadcasts except to provide content. This will be the ultimate in free press and reality TV. If I screw up, the world will know at the same time you do. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) I'm going to have to run this past the cabinet before I give you any answer. MIKE ANGEL That's fair enough. Thank you. You have about five months before I need a firm commitment. Each scientist can bring along 1,000 pounds of equipment and no more. I am going to cover the costs up to that limit. Anything over 1,000 pounds and there will have to be a $1,000 a pound charge against them or whoever is sponsoring them. I will supply food, clothing, and all other essentials. All they'll need to do is stock their labs with whatever equipment and materials they think they will need, keeping in mind that we might end up leaving some stuff behind. I'll send along details of where and how this is to be done after you select the crew for me. They can bring along one carry-on of casual clothing, if they want. I'll supply all of the rest and the work clothes. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) (Emotionlessly) I'll discuss this with my advisors and get back to you. MIKE ANGEL Please keep in the back of your mind that I'm going to do this with or without you, but I'm giving you first shot at cooperating. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) Please tell your National Security Advisor that I'm not the enemy, but I am going ahead with this regardless of your support. PRESIDENT FOREST (OS) (Sounding disgusted) I've memorized your service jacket. MIKE ANGEL Then you already know that I always do what I say. Mike presses several keys on the laptop. MIKE ANGEL (CONT'D) (Enthusiastically) President Puchinskiy! PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) Yes? MIKE ANGEL I assume you've read the FAX I sent you and analyzed what I told President Forest. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) Da. Am I to believe that you request the same favor from me? MIKE ANGEL Yes Sir. I need your country's best in all the fields I mentioned. In addition, I have selected a meteorologist and journalist whom I would like you to encourage to accompany us. The terms are the same as I placed on my country, so that everything is equal. This is not to become a contest. I only want to find some things out for myself. In addition, I would like to share identical information with both your countries simultaneously. I'm on a joyride, but the scientific value could be immense. If anything turns up of interest, then nobody is ahead; everybody is equal. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) (Emotionlessly) The woman you request works at NTV. You understand that they do not necessarily agree with our policies? MIKE ANGEL Yes, Sir. That was one of my considerations. This is not political. I want to share this journey with all of your people. I also want to share anything we find with everybody. I will tell you exactly what I told my President; this is not going to turn into a contest if I can help it. I would sincerely like to have you both behind me in this endeavor, but I will do it alone if I have to and then everybody loses. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) And there were considerations? Especially the requirements of having her son accompany you? MIKE ANGEL Yes, Sir. Correct on both counts. He has skills I require for this trip. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) I do not understand. He is barely passing his courses and is constantly in trouble with the politsya. MIKE ANGEL Precisely, Sir. However if you check, his father was one of your finest Air Force officers - decorated many times for skill and heroism. The son has outstanding reflexes and flight intuition. Here is a young man that can teach me things about the fine points of piloting. PRESIDENT PUCHINSKIY (OS) I will have to consult with my advisors and return to you. You understand, of course, that there will be much opposition. The hard-liners are eating me alive on this issue. MIKE ANGEL Yes Sir, I do. Nevertheless, I also know that you are the person to overcome that opposition and keep a level head during this whole affair. I believe you can see the opportunity that I extend. I thank you very much for anything you can do for me and this project. CUT TO: INT. TELEVISION NEWSROOM SHARON MANSON is mildly annoyed. We see a tall, thin, woman in her mid-thirties with close- cropped strawberry-blonde hair. Her hand is up to her ear to listen to the message the director is telling her. CUT TO: INT. NEWS DIRECTOR'S OFFICE SHARON MANSON (Walking in without knocking) You wanted to see me, sir? She takes a chair without asking. NEWS DIRECTOR Yes. (beat as he puts down a short stack of summaries of the day's stories) The President called me this morning. SHARON MANSON What does Carson want now? NEWS DIRECTOR (Straight face, watching for a reaction) Not the station president, the country's. There's a month-long assignment he'd like you to take on for him. He gets the reaction he'd wanted. Sharon doesn't know what to think at this point and is flustered. She quickly composes herself and looks warily at her boss. SHARON MANSON What kind of assignment would this be? You know I can't leave Carol for that length of time. NEWS DIRECTOR You're aware of that nut up the road that's building a spaceship? SHARON MANSON (Shrugging) Who isn't? I've done at least one story a week for the better part of a year about him. From all reports, he can do what he says he can. I'd love to hear the full story. NEWS DIRECTOR Well, you may just get that chance. (looks down at his desk to avoid her eyes) He needs a meteorologist, a journalist, and a mathematician. He's asked for you and Carol to go along. SHARON MANSON What? Sharon almost falls out of her chair. She is very flustered now. Her face has lost most of its color and her normally green eyes have turned a distinct blue. SHARON MANSON (CONT'D) You can't be serious! NEWS DIRECTOR As a heart attack. The President called me to assure you that the government was now backing this project and he wants me to encourage you to take it. Look at it from a purely news standpoint, you'll have a national exclusive and our ratings will skyrocket through the roof. Not bad for spring sweeps! Sharon is still dumbstruck. SHARON MANSON Why would he want Carol? Neither of us is particularly athletic and I'm certain that neither of us could pass astronaut training. Besides that, I'm not sure that I'm crazy about the idea of sending a 16-year-old into space anyway...especially my 16-year-old. NEWS DIRECTOR You don't need astronaut training as I understand it; something to do with artificial gravity or whatever so you wouldn't be floating around. Nobody's going outside in space, just when it lands. From what the President told me, it will be a purely scientific flight. This Angel fellow evidently knows that Carol has finished most of the advanced math courses at Georgia Tech even though she's still in high school. He wants a math wiz and evidently this is a package deal. SHARON MANSON From what I remember, this man wants to go to Mars. That would take almost 6-months each way! NEWS DIRECTOR The President says this new drive travels faster than anything we currently have. NEWS DIRECTOR (CONT'D) From what Forest told me, the trip will only take a few hours each way leaving 30 days for exploration and investigation on the planet's surface. You can take along 1,000 pounds of gear if you want and he says that he'll supply the satellite recon. What do you say? This is the opportunity of the century, both professionally and personally. Sharon's head is spinning at this point. She slowly stands and goes to the water cooler in the corner of the office. After a long drink, she turns, SHARON MANSON I'm going to have to think this through thoroughly. It's an awful lot to try to absorb in one sitting. This was from our President Forest, you say? NEWS DIRECTOR (nodding) If you can, the President would like to know by tomorrow. They seem very anxious about this project. SHARON MANSON I'll let you know. Sharon fairly stumbles out of the office. By the time she reaches her desk she had regained some composure, but still begs off the rest of her shift and leaves the building. FADE OUT: Ben W. Gardner Sedona, Arizona "I do not fear computers. I fear lack of them." --Isaac Asimov http://ca.geocities.com/vladilyich/ In The Beginning - ISBN: 1-4116-3848-4 Just In Time - ISBN 1-4116-3851-4 Ad Astra - ISBN: 978-1-84728-518-8 In stores and at Amazon.Com http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/103-1761779-3946261?url=search-alias%3Daps&... |
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