THE DEMIURGE SCRIPT

This was written in 1994.
The formatting didn't convert perfectly, but the text is all there.

Michael Ferris and John Brancato did a rewrite- requested by MTV, but frankly, almost nothing of theirs remains in the finished version.

THE DEMIURGE

STORY BY PETER CHUNG

SCRIPT BY PETER CHUNG, STEVE DE JARNATT, MICHAEL FERRIS AND JOHN BRANCATO

PROLOGUE

BLACK SCREEN

TREVOR (V.O.)
Light in the absence of eyes illuminates nothing. Visible forms are not inherent in the world, but are granted by the act of seeing.

FADE IN:

EXTREME CLOSE UP on TREVOR GOODCHILD’S EYES. As we fade in, his eyes open slowly.

TREVOR (continued)
Events contain no meaning in themselves... none that the mind is not guilty of imposing on them. But the the world and events are - whether or not the mind exists.

I tell my people to follow me and they come. I lead them and they give me their trust-- I assign their lives meaning... (pause) But I can no longer stand the sleepless nights.
DISSOLVE IN over Trevor: a faint glowing image of an exquisite blue androgynous HEAD, floating in space.
TREVOR (continued)
I think I will stop worrying. I think I am learning to love the Demiurge.

ACT ONE

FADE IN:
EXT. BAttleground/crater - DAWN
Dark angular skeletons of massive steel jut from the flat horizon, bearing a twisted array of power lines toward a concrete crater built into the dry earth. A large black ultra light glider with ripped wings hangs upside down in the wire web of a massive energy feed...

smoke hangs in the air. The scarred ground is littered with the refuse of battle-- spent shells, guns, and signs of BODIES under the debris. An occasional VULTURE spirals down to the ground to scavenge the rubble.

THE DEAD are clad in the uniforms of two opposing armies-- the defending MONICANS in tight black leather; the BREEN invaders in loose-fitting slate gray. This is clearly the aftermath of an epic struggle.

Concrete bunkers radiate away from the lip of the 200-meter wide CONCRETE AND STEEL CRATER. The conical tip of a large MISSILE protrudes from the circular hole at the center of this basin's smooth surface. The missile's tip glows red, as if heated from within. It seems to be the object of this clash. The high pitched whine of engines grows louder and faster as thick steam billows from the hole.

A small shielded enclave notched into the basin's wall houses a series of mechanical levers-- the missile's power switch. Nearby, two battered soldiers struggle fiercely for control. The Breen eventually sends the Monican tumbling down the slope. The Breen runs to the levers and moves them quickly in a specific pattern-- one up, two down, another up again. The whine of engines cuts out. Dead calm. The Breen breathes deeply, with the relief of victory. He's struck dead by a sudden burst of gunfire. His body tumbles and stops to rest upon the Monican, who holds up a smoking gun with the last ounce of strength left in him; he DIES.

His gun drops from his hands, slides and settles a few feet away - its trigger guard entangled on the barrel of another abandoned rifle.
TREVOR (O.S.)On the whole, the engagement seems to have gone well.

TREVOR GOODCHILD, leader of the BREENS, walks contemplatively past a dead body. He's somewhat disheveled and bruised, but his tone is calm; he speaks into a tiny MICROPHONE attached to a wire which curls up from his uniform, he keeps an ongoing record of his thoughts.
TREVOR
Launch of the missile has been stopped. The Monican resistance has failed and we have survived the battle. Now to dismantle that crude shell and let the Demiurge bring peace...

The microphone automatically retracts into his clothing as Trevor is interrupted by an approaching tearful, bloodied BREEN WARRIOR (RUBIO), in very bad shape. The man opens his mouth to speak, but only a CHOKING SOB emerges, he's too overwhelmed. Trevor stares at the man curiously, wondering what's the matter with him.
TREVORYes?
The man can only shake his head, gesture helplessly at the carnage surrounding them. Trevor looks about, as if noticing the dead for the first time.
TREVORDamned violence - I know. But you're alive, Rubio. That's what counts.
He claps a hand on the young warrior's shoulder.
RUBIO
I'm as good as dead, Sir.
TREVOR
You’re not as good as dead.
RUBIO
I'm not as good as I would be dead?
TREVOR
That’s not what I-- You will understand...

Trevor's expression changes as he recognizes someone among the rubble. MOVING CLOSER... he sees that it's AEON FLUX. She lies upside down, seemingly lifeless. Trevor is suddenly genuinely saddened, a rare lapse into unreflected emotion. Rubio is hanging desperately on his words.
RUBIOUnderstand what sir?
TREVOR
(a whisper)
Aeon...
RUBIOSir..?
Trevor quickly recovers himself, turns away from Aeon's body, trying to recapture his train of thought.
TREVORNothing. What are you waiting for - gather the remaining forces and take apart the launch vehicle.
RUBIO nods uncertainly and moves off.

CLOSE ON AEON. We see her pupils dilate ever so slightly.
TREVOR calls after the warrior:
TREVORWait!
RUBIO (turns to him)Sir?

Just as Trevor speaks again, an EXPLOSION BURSTS in the distance, drowning out the sound of his voice. Trevor's mouth keeps moving but no voice can be heard.
The warrior approaches Trevor again, gestures at his ear.
WARRIORSir, I can't--
A SHOT RINGS OUT.

TREVOR dives for cover and looks back where Aeon was. He sees she's no longer there. A hint of a smile appears for an instant, but is replaced by anger as he sees Rubio, lying dead beside him. He calls out to his remaining forces.
TREVOR
Let no Monican near the missile!

Trevor stealthily moves toward the missile, eyes fixed on the glowing nosecone...

(deleted)

Aeon gymnastically picks her way through craters and debris. CAMERA PANS, losing her; TILT DOWN to foreground, settle on:

NADER, a thin Monican soldier-- he tries desperately to extricate a comrade buried under a pile of debris.

UNDER THE RUBBLE is a collapsed bunker, recently hit by an explosion. A few Monican TECHNICIANS lie dead under shattered concrete. CELIA, a young female worker, cramped and wounded, looks out to Nader through a small opening.

OUTSIDE, Nader digs. Aeon's sinewy gloved hand grabs his wrist from behind, she pulls him toward her. She points at the missile.
AEONDo you see how the blue light is making those patterns on the nosecone joints?.
NADER
Yes. It’s beautiful...

Aeon slaps Nader across the cheek.
AEON
It’s dangerous. Come on -we launch now.

The missile's nosecone glows brighter. NADER turns away from Aeon. He swallows hard, calls into the pile of rubble.
NADER
Celia, you can make it out of here without me. When you do, promise me, please... there's a box under my bed. I want you to destroy it. Crush it, burn it, anything-- but don't open it. You mustn't look inside. (pause)

CLOSE ON Celia, not comprehending.
CELIA
(weakly)
No, please don't go...
NADER
(insistent)
Promise-- you won’t look inside.

The missile's nosecone glows with increasing intensity; a rivet pops off, bounces toward--

Aeon, who surveys the terrain leading to the switch.
AEONStay here-- Just keep me covered.
Nader grabs her arm as she starts to move ahead. Bravely:
NADERWait. You're a better shot. I'll make the run, you cover.
Aeon thinks this over for maybe a millisecond.
AEONFine. You know the sequence?

Nader thought she'd put up a bit more of a fight. He nods, steels himself.
NADER
(clears throat)
I'm ready...
(reaches for an ammo
clip on his belt)
Ummm... do you need more ammunition?
AEON
Trust me.

Nader takes off running. Aeon scrambles for a firing angle.

Nader runs for the LEVERS, scared but agile.

AEON'S POV (through a scope): Cross hairs scan the horizon, finding a Breen SURVIVOR ready to shoot. She fires, keeping him down.
AEONAlmost there...

Nader runs. THE Breen SURVIVOR moves closer on Nader. Again he's stopped by Aeon's pinpoint sniping. AND AGAIN.

TREVOR, meanwhile, kneels at the foot of the missile, gazing anxiously up at the glowing nosecone.

ON NOSECONE, the inner heat has melted a tiny hole in the shell, from which emanates a thread of intense blue light.

Trevor's joyous at this sight.

ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE MISSILE, Nader gets to the MASSIVE LEVERS. He regards them for a panicky moment, not remembering how the things work. He grasps a few levers, moving them desperately. Nothing happens.

AEON shakes her head.
AEONHell...
The Breen Survivor creeps closer to Nader, out of Aeon's view.
NADER keeps working the levers frantically, trying different combinations. A deep rumbling kicks in; it quickly surges to a whine. Nader looks elated.

Trevor reacts, annoyed. He takes out a small cryogenic TANK, turns a knob-- and disappears in a CLOUD.

Nader looks up at the rim of the crater towards Aeon. Triumphant... mission accomplished.

The BREEN SURVIVOR rises to lunge at Nader. Aeon shoots him. The man slides head first down the slope, stopping near a previously fallen Breen soldier.

NADER'S face falls as the WHINE suddenly dies out to SILENCE. He whirls, begins frantically working the levers once more.

AEON sets her jaw, closes her eyes.

JUST THEN... a small metal pack slides out of the Breen's pocket and touches the abandoned rifle with its barrel entangled in the BREEN GUN (seen earlier) still pointed at the levers.

The contact squeezes the trigger. A bullet fires and-

--HITS NADER in the shoulder, spins him around. He FALLS, rolls away several yards from the missile.
AEON
NADER!

Aeon's POV-- it looks like he's dead.

AEON'S angry, realizes it's up to her now. She sneaks a peripheral peek behind her as Trevor's CLOUD advances. She smiles, knowing it's Trevor trying to ambush.

We get a glimpse of Trevor's vapor shrouded smile.

Aeon pretends to trip... falling next to a (still smoking) FLAME-THROWER. As the cloud suddenly moves up behind her, she swivels around on the ground, BLASTS the cloud with a torrent of fire.

Flame stops. No Trevor. Aeon rubs her eyes, curious. She doesn't register a ripple in a puddle of water followed by a tiny stream of bubbles. She regards the MISSILE (glowing more by the second), knowing she must act soon. She tosses aside the flame-thrower and takes her first step down the incline towards the missile.

TREVOR BURSTS from the surface of the water, charges and tackles her. They tumble together down the slope of the crater, rolling over and over. Wrestling, flailing, biting, garment caught in garment.

THEY STOP, perched precariously on the lip of a concrete bunker protruding from the slope. Bound together, Trevor on top, each catches a needed breath.

Blood trickles faintly from a fresh wound in Trevor's forearm, left by Aeon's teeth. Trevor presses his arm down on Aeon's collar, keeping her down. He smiles slyly.

TREVOR
You shot Rubio and not me. Now why is that?

AEON
Trevor, don't trouble me with your thin smile.

AEON breaks a hand free and smashes his shoulder with the butt of her gun. He's dazed. She rolls over once, gets him pinned. She lowers her face to his.
TREVOR (breathing heavily)Stop... there’s a pain... in my back...
Aeon leans closer, bearing down.
AEONCan you describe it in words?
TREVOR
What?
AEON
I want you to tell me about the pain.
TREVORSharp, unnh (moans)... stabbing...piercing...

Aeon continues bearing down.
AEONYou’re telling me nothing--
TREVORIt feels rrrh...(grunt of discomfort)... as if... a nail were twisting into my spine...
AEONYes, but there is no nail...

Aeon leans heavily over Trevor, her face inches from his.
TREVOR...ngg...No...

Aeon kisses Trevor’s open mouth.
AEON
...and so there is no pain.

They tip over the edge of the bunker, tumbling and flailing... but this time their struggle is SEXUAL, they stretch out tongues, licking, not biting. Both moan ecstatically. It's only the two of them now, their roles as enemies forgotten; they roll atop a pile of debris, two bodies entwined in desperate longing.

CUTAWAY-- somewhere underground, a METALLIC TENTACLE (design to be approved) with a spinning drill tip burrows through the ground towards them.

THE MISSILE'S hot glowing tip juts skyward through the open hatch of the underground silo.

(deleted)

WIDE ANGLE on the scene; the pile of rubble in the foreground, from which CELIA (Nader's abandoned comrade) barely emerges, digging her way out laboriously.

A QUICK CUT... Nader's eyelidS open.

NEAR THE MISSILE... Aeon and Trevor tumble down near it and stop in a heap. (Vultures circle overhead.)

AEON opens her mouth as she and Trevor strain toward each other, His tongue ENTERS HER mouth. Her teeth trap it. They stare into each others' eyes, locked in dangerous embrace.

A short distance up the slope lies NADER'S WOUNDED BODY. A SMALL BIRD with torn feathers sits on Nader's shoulder, yanking on a shiny metal button on his uniform. The metal strap digs into the bullet wound.

WINCING, NADER regains consciousness. The bird hops off and stares quizzically. Nader stares back, managing a weak smile. He RISES and looks towards the switch.

HIS POV-- near the levers he sees a LOOSE, SPARKING CONNECTION. All he has to do is push two wires together...

NADER smiles and stumbles toward the wires.

Trevor, mouth still locked to Aeon's, sees Nader out of the corner of his eye-- he picks up Aeon's gun.

(deleted)

Nader connects the WIRES, moves toward the levers-- then he sees Trevor and Aeon. Shocked, he points his gun shakily at their intertwined bodies.

Trevor aims back AT NADER. Stalemate.

BACK AT THE PILE OF RUBBLE, Celia has managed to pull her head and one arm free. The rest of her remains wedged underground. Exhausted, she cranes her neck to look towards the missile and sees--

Nader, pointing his gun at something-- from her POV, she can't see Aeon and Trevor, only Aeon's DISTINCTIVE gun pointing back at Nader.

Aeon - still locked in Trevor's embrace - is only now becoming aware of the situation.

Trevor's teeth are tight on Aeon's tongue, he maintains a bead on Nader. Aeon makes a strangled NOISE, twists her head as far as she can and sees Nader-- but does nothing as Trevor SHOOTs.

Celia witnesses helplessly, gasps in horror. She slides back into the bunker, covering the opening in rubble, hiding.

Nader falls, dead - a small clean wound in his forehead. The small bird hops onto his chest and looks at Nader with apparent sympathy.

TREVOR releases his hold on Aeon's tongue, holds her to him as she struggles to climb off him.
AEONYou bastard. I thought he was dead.
TREVORI think he is. Sorry he had to see that.
Aeon scrambles to her feet. Trevor grabs her. She looks toward Nader, then at Trevor, suddenly very confused.
AEON’S POV.-- Trevor standing at the base of the missile, staring back at her with a look of triumph. With a loud CRACK, BLUE LIGHT streams down from above. CAMERA TILTS UP to tip of missile.

The NOSECONE suddenly splits apart on longitudinal seams. Brilliant blue LIGHT floods the scene..
AEON, panting, sees this--
AEONNo...
The thick steel panels fall open to reveal a disembodied HEAD collared and chained (design to be approved) to the payload capsule. The Head is androgynous, blue, exquisitely bejeweled like a Hindu god. It surveys the battle field serenely. This is the Head of the DEMIURGE, a divine being. [We will see numerous INCARNATIONS of this supernatural force, always BLUE and accompanied by distinctive SFX] The Head wails mournfully. A CACOPHONY OF DISCORDANT VOICES RISES, like the world's largest cocktail party.

Aeon and Trevor stand absorbed in the cool light of the glowing Head, momentarily spellbound.

the Head glares down at them disapprovingly, like a stern father. The dissonant VOICES begin to UNITE.

Aeon and Trevor release their hold on each other, suddenly embarrassed. Trevor immediately THROWS AWAY THE GUN. Aeon slaps Trevor and starts to walk away, straightening her clothing, ashamed of herself, suddenly self-conscious. As she turns, she is struck by the sight of Nader's lifeless body before her.

AEON'S POV-- under the divine blue light, the scene takes on a MAGICAL appearance, vibrating with energy; wet wounds glisten and sparkle; shifting shadows dance over the field of corpses, the grim landscape tinged with beauty. The world is suddenly a different place. The CACOPHONY has changed now, the VOICES MERGED to create a single, harmonious HUM. (No human speech can be heard whenever the hum is present.)

The blue light emanating from the Head focuses on Nader in a single, narrow, brilliant beam of concentrated energy. The other bodies suddenly regain their filthy, morbid hues. Aeon is overcome with horror at the sight of the dead surrounding her. The HUM becomes more HIGH PITCHED, less pleasant.

CLOSE ON Nader, the blue light focused on him alone. His body metamorphoses under the mystic beam, becoming angelic, beautiful. The bullet is drawn out of the wound in his forehead, leaving a small, neat hole, like a third eye... the bullet falls to the ground, still glowing.

Aeon seems frightened, disturbed. Trevor, however, is mesmerized, grinning with ecstasy.

The small bird perched on Nader's chest is similarly transformed under the mystic light of the Head. Its broken wings HEAL and SPREAD, and the bird becomes a stunning miniature angEL (complete with halo).

Nader stands upright, then levitates two feet above the ground. A halo forms around his head. Nader's eyes spring open, glowing with unnatural life. He is resurrected.

Trevor stands enraptured. There's a CLICK!, then the whine of engines BREAKS IN on the celestial HUM. He turns to see--

Aeon, eyes closed, fighting a great internal battle to overcome the head's power-- she throws the final LEVER--

Trevor screams "NO!" but he cannot make a sound.

Steam hisses from the base of the missile. It vibrates briefly, then shoots straight up into the dawn sky, carrying the head of the Demiurge chained to its tip. The HUM of enlightenment DISAPPEARS with it.

INSIDE THE COLLAPSED BUNKER; small chunks of debris drop on Celia, huddled within.

Trevor, kneeling on the ground, follows the missile's progress; he stares imploringly at the diminishing speck, then looks toward Aeon, who seems at ease again.
TREVORHow could you!? It was beautiful!
AEONThe more so the farther away it goes.

Nader remains floating in place, body rigid, clothes ripped by the thrust of the missile; he glows with the beatific ecstasy of a saint. The angelic blue bird hovers over his head.

Aeon runs back to Nader, approaching from behind him; she reaches out her hand.
AEONNader... how are you?

Nader turns around to face Aeon; his gaze is piercing. His angelic beauty, glowing blue eyes, the impossible hole in his forehead... Aeon is suddenly seized by fear and shame. She looks beyond Nader and sees Trevor.
TREVORAeon Flux! Stop and think!  (points to the sky)It could have changed everything!
AEONChange everything yourself.
TREVOR
I will.

Trevor glares in rage at Aeon. Aeon picks up a metal rod from the ground, advancing on him, ready to fight again.

Behind her, above the rim of the basin, the giant METALLIC TENTACLE we saw before looms up from a crack in the concrete.

Aeon turns to face the new threat, but quickly retreats as the tentacle TIP unfolds like the jaws of an attacking snake.

Trevor grabs the enchanted body of Nader, slings him over his shoulder and JETS OFF the ground on mini thrusters built into his shoes. Aeon chases after him, jumps desperately to snatch Nader back. She manages only to rip his shirt. The angelic blue bird flutters out of harm’s way.

Trevor flies over Aeon's head and into the opening formed by the tentacle's tip. The jaws clamp shut around Trevor. The tentacle disappears into the ground as suddenly as it had appeared. The EARTH CLOSES OVER IT.

BACK AT THE PILE OF RUBBLE--
Celia pokes her head out and stops suddenly. She’s entranced as the ANGELIC BIRD glides down a few yards away to land on the body of a fallen soldier. The bird uses a wing to gently close the dead man’s open eyes. Its hypnotic humming is shattered by--

Crews of Monican WORKERS emerging from hatch-doors, carrying BODY BAGS. They begin cleaning up the battlefield. Monican bodies are handled with great care, Breens tossed like trash.

Aeon looks around for her gun. She sees the glowing blue bullet on the ground, and picks it up. The glow dies out, leaving a small blue JEWEL in her hand. Alarmed, she throws the jewel away with all her might.

FADE OUT

END OF ACT ONE

ACT TWO

FADE IN:
INT. TREVOR'S LABORATORY - day

A panel in the wall of this dark, Spartan laboratory slides open. Trevor enters, now dressed in an elegant coat, guiding NADER into the lab-- still glowing and floating, in a trance-like state. Behind him, ASSISTANTS wheel in an unusual, horizontal tank filled with fluid, placing it near a window.

CLOSE UP on Nader's fixed, penetrating gaze.

Trevor looks at a series of genetic/organic blueprinTS (design to be approved), his FINGERS unconsciously caressing the furrows and ridges of Aeon's bite mark.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXTREME CLOSE UP on Aeon, looking agitated, her eyes restlessly searching ahead of her...

WIDER, we are in:
INT. MONICAN WAREHOUSE - day

A cavernous, high-ceilinged, harshly-lit interior-- this is the Bodybag Claim Area for the MONICANS. SOFT weeping echoes off the metallic walls, WIDOWS and FAMILIES grieve. Workers in sanitary masks and gloves lay the bodies of the dead Monican soldiers on the floor. A few old women kneel over the corpses of their dead children.

Aeon passes Monican WORKERS sliding Breen dead roughly into black, body-shaped steel caskets. As she passes, ONE OF THE WORKERS eyeS her backside. She turns, curls her lip and stares him down in a threatening manner-- the man turns back to his work sheepishly.

Tables nearby are stacked with retrieved equipment from the battlefield. Aeon walks along the tables, searching for something.

CELIA, wounds bandaged, searches among the dead. She approaches a worker at a table, shows him a picture of NADER.
CELIAHave you found this man? Zenneth Nader, 43672-5?

The worker shakes his head. Celia walks on. Aeon, nearby, overhears and holds still, not wishing to draw Celia's attention. From behind her, Celia stares curiously at Aeon's
backside. Aeon feels her staring, frowns and turns.
CELIA (flustered)
You were out there. You were -- weren’t you with...? I’m sorry. (Shows photo) This man’s body is missing. Listen, please...
AEON I'll listen later. After I find my gun.
Aeon continues her search, Celia follows her, very upset.
CELIA
Your gun...? ummm, yes..

Celia picks up a gun (not Aeon’s) from the table.
CELIA (desperate)
Is this-- this one looks good. Please tell me what you know.
Aeon looks at her, annoyed.
AEON
We won. We must have been right.

Celia pauses a moment, then tosses the gun, frustrated.
CELIA (impatient)You know something. Tell me what you know.
AEON
What... that the steel was too weak; that the head is finally gone; that you can't know what a man's thinking while he...
(inhale, runs hand
wearily through hair)
...that love doesn't solve anything.
CELIA
You don't know anything about us.

Aeon raises an eyebrow, she glances at the photo in Celia's hand, then smiles weakly.

AEON
Your friend Nader.
CELIA
Yes, Nader... Zenneth.

AEON
I'm sorry about what happened.
Aeon turns away, unable to hold the gaze of the distraught Celia. BENEATH THE DEBRIS on the table, the ANGELIC BIRD stirs, dislodging a few items, including AEON’S GUN. Aeon reaches for it. Celia's eyes lock on the weapon as Aeon brushes it off and slides it into her holder.
CELIA
It was that gun. It was you.

Celia starts to back away, eyes wide. Aeon, face turned from Celia, seems pained and guilty, wondering how much she saw.
AEONNader is dead... Nader is worse than dead... You saw it yourself--
CELIAI know what I saw. You...

Suddenly Celia freezes as she spots--
THE BIRD spreading its wings and floating upward, to hover over Aeon's shoulder; GLOWING softly. We hear a faint MESSIANIC HUM as the bird rises. Celia stares at the creature, eyes wide; Aeon watches the Bird anxiously while--

HER SHAKING HAND surreptitiously reaches for an empty metal AMMUNITION BOX.

AEON keeps her eyes on the Bird, which stares back at her. She suddenly SWEEPS THE BOX quickly through the air to capture it. As she does, the Bird emits a blinding light-- Aeon is unable to see exactly what happens as she quickly locks the box securely. The LIGHT DISAPPEARS. Aeon regards the box in her hand, unsure whether she's trapped anything.
Celia reaches for the box, Aeon instinctively pulls it away, glaring at her. Celia backs away, still looking at the box.
Aeon looks around-- no sign of the Bird. She assumes she has it in the box, but she can't risk a peek or it would escape.

Aeon turns to look at Celia, but Celia is hurrying away. Shaking the box against her ear (no sound from within), Aeon walks in the other direction.
CUT TO:

INT. NADER'S HOME - day

The room is very modest, sparsely furnished. Celia enters, strides to the BED and folds up one end of the mattress. From a rectangular stowaway space in the bed frame, she takes out a small cubical cardboard BOX.
ext. nader's home - day

A desolate neighborhood. Celia sets the box on a patch of dirt and picks up a cinder block. She climbs steps to the landing of Nader's front door, holds the block over the box--

--just before releasing it, she loses her balance on the steps and drops the heavy block. It swipes one side of the box, causing it to tip over. The lid pops open.

Celia TUMBLES to the ground, her face landing within inches of the box. Celia's eyes open and she sees inside--

--an angelic BLUE CREATURE of a mysterious species, emaciated, bound hand and foot, half its body crushed under the block. It GLOWS FAINTLY, emits a pathetic mewing sound.

Celia reacts astonished, then clamps her eyes shut. She rises awkwardly to her feet, her lip cut and bleeding, tears streaming down her cheeks. She picks up the cinder block and raises it above her head, staring at the half-crushed box at her feet. She stands there, unable to finish off this poor thing.
CUT TO:
EXT. MONICAN INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT - DUSK
She walks calmly through abandoned work yards, strewn with heavy equipment, The sealed ammo box hooked to her back pack.

CAMERA PANS ahead... an athletic man clad in a dark cloak and goggles lurks in an alcove. He checks his watch, undoes the flap on a sheath at his side, strokes it ominously.

As Aeon passes, the man whips his exotic WEAPON from the sheath-- it's a whirling blade on the end of a chain.

Aeon parries the attack without breaking her stride-- using the assailant's own momentum, she sends him flying over a precipice. Aeon SNIFFS and walks on, it's business as usual. She heads towards some decaying skyscrapers in the distance.
CUT TO:
ext. nader's home - dusk

The sky is now darker, but Celia still stands with the block above her head... she hasn't moved, her muscles QUIVER with the exertion. (deleted)

Celia collapses from exhaustion, the cinder block drops harmlessly. She SOBS a moment, can't bring herself to look inside the box again. Instead, she rises, hugging her weary arms to her chest, and moves away quickly.
CLOSE ON BOX, as the last of the BLUE GLOW FADES and DIES.
CUT TO:
INT. TREVOR'S EXECUTIVE OFFICE - dusk

MOVE OVER a vast and luxuriously furnished office; among his many gadgets and possessions, are SMALL SCALE MODELS OF MILITARY HARDWARE-- tanks, planes, submarines, etc. Trevor sits behind his enormous desk. He rubs his forearm, where the imprint of Aeon's teeth remains.

a large video screen on the opposite wall displays a live image of Nader, lying in the special FLUID TANK seen earlier.

Trevor pushes buttons to make the screen display--
--a series of DIAGNOSTIC IMAGES of Nader (infra-red, X-ray, MRI scan, etc.). All show a miraculous growth occurring inside his swollen body.

Trevor smiles, then switches to another channel.
ON SCREEN-- scenes from the battlefield strewn with bodies... a telecast report of events. We hear a FILTERED, DISTORTED VOICE sounding like a live report from a helicopter-- only occasional words should be comprehensible. (In this scene, Trevor's voice alone will be completely intelligible.)
REPORTER (filter)... with the perdition of dreams, the rights of youth fade like pale smoke and on embers doused by blood of loss, we ask for whom serves this vantage of hideous strength; to reap another harvest in the kingdom of pain...
As he watches the screen, Trevor idly picks up a MODEL WEAPON from his desk.
CLOSE ON THE MODEL in Trevor's hands-- a FUTURISTIC FLYING MACHINE heavily armed with missiles and guns.
CAMERA TILTS UP to reveal the BATTLE SCENES AGAIN. Trevor appears pained. He tossed down the model.
ON SCREEN-- The carnage is suddenly replaced by LAUGHING FACES, SPRIGHTLY MUSIC, it's a COMMERCIAL. The actors raise what look like small soft drink or perfume BOTTLES-- then they tilt their heads back and pour the liquid into their EYES, making HAPPY NOISES. A CHEERFUL FEMALE VOICE OVER starts pushing the product. Trevor quickly turns off the audio.
The tiny microphone emerges from Trevor's collar. Trevor takes a deep breath, speaks--
TREVOR
(flat delivery; dictating)

Address to the Republic #41961-- Take One: Fellow Citizens, at 4:20 this morning, the 39th division Special Forces carried out a daring strike against those Monicans who have conspired to deprive us of an event that could usher in a new era of peace.

The T.V. ... commercial ends-- the video screen goes back to showing silent images of the battlefield.

TREVOR
(into microphone)
As planned, our precise tactics have kept casualties on both sides to minimal levels. May we all be proud of a great victory.

As he speaks, Trevor switches his monitor back to the glowing image of NADER floating peacefully. He regards this with a slight smile.

TREVOR (cont.)
To those who have lost sons and daughters, we express our deepest gratitude...

A window appears in the center of the screen. A well groomed SECRETARY POPS ON, accompanied by a musical chime.

SECRETARY (filter)Sir... excuse the interruption...

TREVOR
Yes, what is it?
SECRETARY (filter)There's been a development, Sir. It may require postponement of the Victory Address. It appears that...
Trevor reacts to a distant hubbub from outside, like muffled voices. He cuts off the Secretary to listen more closely. He rises and walks to one wall covered by a heavy curtain. He grasps the curtain and rends it in two, exposing a window overlooking the evening landscape.
THROUGH WINDOW, the blood-red sunset is laden with turbulent clouds. Up high, a squadron of black Monican BOMBERS releases its payload... and hundreds of metallic projectiles float down on black satin parachutes. A couple PASS NEAR THE WINDOW and we see that they are the STEEL COFFINS bearing the bodies of the DEAD BREENS. Their peaceful, lifeless faces are visible through small glass panels. (faces not too gruesome)

Trevor watches grimly.

TREVOR
(into microphone)
Erase Take One...

The voices from the ground below grow louder, more agitated, as the coffins fall from the sky. Trevor fingers the BITE MARK on his arm once more.

TREVOR
(into microphone)
Record: Take Two... (inhale) The height of tension in any game occurs when the rules allow for the influence of human judgment. The advantage in this instance is held by the player who drops the ball to allow the opponent a hollow victory.

Trevor spots a STRAY HAIR on his arm and PLUCKS IT OUT. As he speaks, he PLUCKS MORE HAIRS. (avoid extreme CU)

TREVOR
Half of infinity is still infinity-- perhaps. Right and wrong are different degrees of the same truth-- again, perhaps. We don't really know any of this... mmng! (pulling a hair)

CUT TO:
EXT. MONICAN INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT - dusk
TREVOR'S V.O. CONTINUES as we follow Aeon through the industrial landscape.
TREVOR (V.O.)Perhaps pain has no reality beyond the individual who feels it.

IN A NARROW GAP high above her, between iron beams of a utility tower, a furtive STALKER watches.
Aeon senses this out of the corner of her eye.

She stops, pretends to fix her heel but is really assembling something from her belt.
TREVOR (V.O.)
The pain felt like a nail twisting into my spine... Why did she ask me?

The STALKER makes his leap. Aeon sees a shadow zip across the ground-- she MOVES OUT OF THE WAY at the last second--
--and the Stalker GETS TRAPPED in a rigid wire armature she's constructed. The trap tightens around the man. Aeon walks on.
TREVOR (V.O.)What does she want to know? Aeon Flux - this can't go on. Stop... damn. (pause) Erase Take Two.

In the distance we see Trevor's tower. The last of the falling Breens are tiny specks.
We focus on a STRANGE BUILDING in FG, half collapsed. Most of the vertical support structure has disintegrated. The rooftop penthouse is still completely intact. It juts cantilevered out into empty space, its free end hanging by a thin cable that disappears UP in the clouds. Several other cables hang, unused, from the thick clouds at wide intervals, apparently tethered to some unseen source high in the sky.
ON THE GROUND, Aeon looks up at the building, her home. She opens a secret compartment in the cracked wall, and retrieves a hand-held MECHANICAL CLAW.
She begins ascending the rusty incline, stepping from girder to girder with the dexterity of a rock climber, using the claw to lever herself upward.
AN OBSERVER'S POV, BINOCULAR MATTE-- following Aeon's spider-like progress up the web of girders.

CLOSE ON the Observer, face obscured by binoculars. They lower-- it's CELIA.

WIDER-- Celia sits perched on a makeshift platform fastened at a great height to one of the SKY CABLES. A rope dangles from the platform to the ground, her means of ascent.

She shoots another rope to snare the next cable over, using a high-powered launcher tube (not threatening). She swings from her platform to reach the wall of Aeon's building.
INT. AEON'S PLACE - night

A trap door opens in the floor and Aeon climbs into this wide, airy penthouse. There's a platform bed, a rack with garments (mostly black leather), strange weapons and equipment-- and signs of past incidents of fighting (like a knife stuck in the wall). (Her shelves are laden with trophies from past exploits - an alien egg, hollow dentures, photos of targets, a vertebral ampule, surgical components.)

Aeon moves to the window and looks through her telescope.
THROUGH TELESCOPE-- She scans across the wasteland, into the window of Trevor's lab. There, she sees the swelling of Nader's pregnant belly protruding from the fluid tank...
Trevor stands behind the tank, contemplating the strange growth.
.
AEON turns away, and looks at where the SKY CABLE comes down through a window and attaches to a HOOK in the floor. The Hook is embedded in a small patch of cement that has cracked loose from the floor due to the weight of the building pulling on the cable... all the stress is concentrated in that spot. The loose patch is held to the floor by multiple layers of yellow adhesive tape, the older tape FRAYED.
Aeon removes the ammo case from her back, sets it on the floor. She opens a cabinet containing a large supply of rolls of wide yellow adhesive tape. She pulls out a roll, shuts the cabinet. She unspools two strips. She moves to the hook, and is about to apply the tape when--
--she catches a low angle view of her backside reflected in the ammo case's shiny surface. Trevor's dark, grimy HAND PRINT is visible, on one of her buttocks. She finally realizes what people were gawking at.

All other concerns are secondary. She abandons the strips of tape, sticking them lightly on the edge of a chair. She dashes across the room towards the sink and starts to wipe the hand print off with a wet rag.

Celia slips unseen into Aeon's room and spots--
--the ammo case that holds the blue Bird, on the floor across the room. Celia waits for Aeon to turn her back.

Aeon then unfastens her action outfit, examining the rest of her body for other marks (check nudity). Finding none, she throws a towel around her neck and proceeds to shave under her arm with an electric razor. She picks up a raw piece of vegetable that had been left lying on her sink; she munches on it while she shaves. (perhaps she hums a tune to herself)

Celia creeps silently across the room and picks up the ammo box. She smiles to herself, then carefully makes her way back, avoiding Aeon's notice.

The patch of cement slips a little as the old tape frays.
Aeon is too absorbed in shaving and eating to notice.

But Celia, creeping silently, does notice. She spots the two good strips of yellow tape dangling from the chair.

Celia is frozen for a moment; she looks towards Aeon (turned away) then looks towards the strips of tape, then the cement patch. Celia bites her lip, not knowing what to do. The cement patch slips a little more. Celia decides to go for the tape strips. She sets down the ammo case and moves stealthily, passing behind Aeon's back.

Aeon detects motion, and automatically spins around, kicking Celia with near lethal force.
Celia tumbles across the room, and PLUMMETS through the trap door. Aeon hasn't even registered the face of her victim. (check violence)
ext. aeon's place - night
Celia hangs for a moment in the crook of some girders, dazed. Then she LETS GO, Falling and screaming. She bounces off a beam and lands in a canvas tarp slung under the Penthouse (left there to catch falling debris). She lies there, battered, unconscious, but breathing.
int. aeon's place - night

Aeon stands above the open trapdoor, squinting downward. She can't see Celia, or much of anything else in the dark-- she shrugs and goes back to her desk.

Aeon dries herself, tosses on an oversized shirt (reaching to mid-thigh), then reaching underneath, removes her belt. She pulls loose a small scrap of Trevor's shirt caught in the buckle. She takes her gun from her holster- she looks at her gun. She ties the shirt scrap into a knot, tosses it in the air shoots at it. She misses.
AEON
Damn!

The dart-like projectile embeds in the far wall. Below it sits the ammo box, not where she left it.
Cautiously, she goes to pick it up.
She SHAKES the ammo case. No sound. She fingers the LATCH - it seems locked. She looks at the REFLECTION of her disheveled face in the shiny lid surface.

She grabs a tool sitting on a shelf. She tosses a large sheet over herself and the box to prevent the bird inside from possibly flying away-- . She uses the tool to try prying open the box, but no matter what, she can't.
AEONThat's it.

Frustrated, she stands, casting aside the sheet; she tosses the box up, picks up her gun and shoots it.
Her shot sends the box flying across the room; it hits the far wall and falls to the floor. The RICOCHETING BULLET hits her vegetable (again on the sink), carrying it into the toilet.

Sitting back on the floor, Aeon LAUGHS at herself.
AEON
(laughs)

Her eyes drift and settle on the AMMO CASE. DEAD SILENCE in the room as Aeon stares at the box.

The box is on the far side of the room, near the wall. The open trap door is in front of the box, at a 60 degree angle from Aeon's current position.
Like an expert pool player, Aeon AIMS HER GUN again at the case and FIRES. The BULLET hits the box's corner, setting it SPINNING across the floor, bouncing off the far wall and through the trap door, dropping out of sight.
ext. aeon's place - night

FOLLOW the falling ammo case. It bounces off girders, getting battered, and then LANDS on a sharp rock within the sling of the canvas tarp. Its lid POPS open... it is EMPTY. Next to it lies Celia, unconscious.
int. aeon's place - night

CLOSE UP - on the CEMENT PATCH and the STRIPS OF TAPE, forgotten.

PAN - to AEON standing, her back towards us, looking out of the window at Trevor's tower, through her telescope.

AEON'S POV - TELESCOPE MATTE. In the window of Trevor's lab, the pale blue dome of Nader's belly, in the tank... there's the faint PULSATING glow of some entity within.

Aeon INCREASES MAGNIFICATION for a closer look. She scans the length of the tank, searching for NADER'S HEAD. She STOPS SUDDENLY. Filling her view, Nader’s angelic face STARES BACK AT AEON-- an accusing gaze from across an expanse of miles.

AEON GASPS.

FADE OUT

END OF ACT TWO

ACT THREE

FADE IN:
INT. TREVOR'S PRIVATE QUARTERS - night

Trevor's minions toss his possessions out of the window. The once-lavish room is now bare. Trevor watches this action solemnly as two women shave every hair from his body. His NECK MICROPHONE is still attached, his only garment.
TREVOR (into mike)Shedding our animal nature, we prepare a vessel for the advent of merging wills...
EXT. TREVOR'S BUILDING - NIGHT

A large pile of Trevor's objects lies at the base of the wall. A young boy rummages through the loot. He finds the miniature model of the flying machine and runs off, elated.
TREVOR (V. O.)We become like infants, primordial and innocent...
Behind him, two searchlights pan the sky, as a Monican plane returns to dump another load of Breen dead. People on the ground move to collect them.
ext. breen countryside - night

Several coffins touch down. One of them lands upright, on a soft grassy slope.
TREVOR (V. O.)The return to the womb... The rebirth.

The lid opens and Aeon steps out. She runs TOWARD CAMERA and OUT OF FRAME as BREENS appear over the crest of the hill.
EXT. TREVOR'S building - night

Aeon scales Trevor's building. Along the way, she pauses to look IN A WINDOW--
int. downstairs apartment - night

A cluttered and stuffy room, remnants of a meal on the dining table. There are four elegantly-dressed young people here, two men and two women. Woman #1 lies in a heap on the carpet, sobbing; Woman #2 tries to console her.
Man #1 stands a few feet away, staring in shock at an object at his feet: a white cardboard box, about a foot cubed, with its top smashed as if struck violently. A small pool of GLOWING BLUE FLUID has formed at its base; as we watch, it STOPS GLOWING, turns to BLACK MUCK. Man #2 sits at the far side of the room in an armchair, his head in his hands. He emits small guttural sounds, then suddenly bursts out laughing, unable to contain his mirth.

Man #2 rises and walks away from the others; he goes to the bar and pours out a drink. He giggleS, then gets a hold of himself and empties the glass in one swig.
ext. trevor's building - night
Without reacting, Aeon continues on her way. She reaches a window higher up, climbs in--
CUT TO:
INT. TREVOR'S LAB - night
The horizontal tank is in the center of the room. From one end, Nader's angelic head protrudes. The glowing blue dome of his belly rises like an island in the fluid, bigger than ever, seeming ready to burst.

Trevor is covered from head to toe in yellow vinyl. He wears gloves, pulls on a surgical mask-- only his eyes are visible. Then he covers them in green and purple lenses.

Behind him, his NURSE appears, laying out an array of MYSTERIOUS plastic instruments on a tray. She wears the BIG pink wiG, nurse's cap and miniskirt along with a mask.

Trevor turns, seems to notice something odd in her uncovered eyes, but she quickly PULLS ON GOGGLES, and he returns to the ritualistic operation at hand.
TREVORSagittal dilator...
The nurse's hand hovers over the instrument tray, she has no idea which tool to pick up.
TREVORQuickly, damn it.
He grabs the thing himself-- it's a tripod-like device with speculum-like spoons attached. He inserts it into Nader's swollen navel, deftly begins enlarging it. He removes the instrument and--

--a glowing BLUE INFANT'S HEAD emerges from the dilating hole in Nader's belly. There's a very faint DIVINE HUM. Trevor reaches out his gloved hands to receive the Divine Being. But the head stops emerging, the hum turns into a CHOKING SOUND, the infant's progress impeded as the hole squeezes its neck. Trevor looks worried.
TREVORHernial contractions! Scalpel!

The Nurse backs away from Trevor and the tank. She reaches into her wig and pulls out a GUN. She aims it at the infant's head. She hesitates.
TREVORI said scalpel!

Trevor turns to see the Nurse pointing her gun. (avoid C.U. of gun) He CRIES OUT and grabs the Nurse's wrist, forcing the gun away. (check violence) The two struggle on the floor, Trevor's hood comes off, the Nurse's mask and goggles are ripped away-- It's Aeon.
TREVORNot you again...

She regards his BALD HEAD, runs a hand over it. Sadly:
AEONOh Trevor, you looked better before...

Nader cries out. Trevor releases Aeon and runs to the table. He takes the scalpel and enlarges the opening. The belly opens, the glowing CHILD DEITY floats out, hovering over Nader. Upon seeing it, Aeon grabs her gun off the floor and takes aim...

The INFANT DEITY opens its eyes, wails like a newborn baby, a cry so piercing they react in shock, shutting their eyes instinctively. The CREATURE GROWS, its GLOW INTENSIFYING.

CLOSE UP ON AEON, wincing. The echoing cry sweetens into the harmonious, heavenly HUM. She opens her eyes...

divine blue light bathes the entire room, similar to the effect seen on the battlefield. Everything again becomes tinged with beauty.

Aeon and Trevor regard each other with renewed affection-- their eyes sparkle, they breathe deeply, slowly, utterly calmed. Aeon holsters her gun without thinking about it. Gradually, the music and the blue light fade. They both spin and look back toward where the deity was...

WIDER-- it's gone. The room has regained its former appearance, Nader has become mortal again. He breathES and gasps painfully, the gash in his belly now BLEEDS.
AEON and TREVOR turn back to each other.

HER POV - Trevor in extreme c.U. With the filter of divine light gone, defects in his face become noticeable-- LARGE PORES, a PIMPLE, stray HAIRS (not too disgusting) on his otherwise smooth skin.
his pov - aeon in extreme c.u. Likewise, she now seems far from perfect-- a SCRATCH, SMUDGES of DIRT, even SOMETHING IN HER TEETH.
They pull away from each other, shuddering. Anxious, they look around, wondering what's become of the deity.
TREVOR RUNS TO THE WINDOW. He leans out, searching high and low for a trace of the Demiurge or its blue light. Nothing. He holds his hed in his hands. Hyperventilating, incredulous.
TREVOR
(despondent)
AAAAAAAH.....

He stops in mid-scream, mouth held open as he notices AEON standing by him.

He leans against the windowsill, head limp in cupped hands. Aeon looks at him with fascination-- she's never seen him like this.
TREVORYou...! You drove it out.

Trevor reaches out and grabs Aeon's gun, which remains clutched in her hand.
TREVOR
All right, you got it. You got what you wanted. So you answer to no one. And who are you? You're nobody.

Trevor releases the gun. Aeon, uncharacteristically awkward in the nurse's dress, steps back. She points her gun at Trevor, as if ready to shoot.
TREVOR
(surprised)
Are you out of your mind?
AEONThe only reason I don't shoot you is because my conscience tells me it would be wrong. And it has nothing to do with duty or principle - it's simply a matter of knowing who I am.

TREVOR looks at Aeon edgily. Aeon turns away. Trevor GRABS HER. She stops.

TREVOR'S POV - Aeon's back. TRUCK IN SLOWLY on back of Aeon's head as Trevor speaks.
TREVOR
Is that it - then it's clear why you won't let it see you... why you can't bear the gaze. Because you've done things - terrible things - you'd rather forget.

Then there are the transgressions you never even knew you'd committed. And those are the worst because those you can never forget. All you can do is suspect.
AEON
I won't argue over the color of skeletons when they were horses.

NADER gasps for breath OS. Aeon and Trevor turn to look. Nader is conscious again; his open abdomen causes discomfort.
NADER
(gasps)
TREVOR
Quick - help me save him.
AEON
Maybe you were wrong to have shot him.
TREVOR
Just check his breathing.
They move back to the tank. Trevor grabs a needle and thread, starts to suture the gash in Nader's abdomen.
Aeon kneels by Nader's head. She caresses his forehead-- there's a scar where the bullet entered. (not too graphic) His eyes are closed, he winces in pain, disoriented. A hoarse CROAK:
NADERCelia... You didn't look in the box, did you?
AEONShh, just keep breathing.
Trevor pushes a needle into flesh. Nader jerks his body, shaking the tank. A small glass instrument falls from the top of the tank and smashes Nader in the face.
NADERAaaak!
AEON
(Giggles)
Aeon GIGGLES, quickly putting a hand over her mouth. She looks around wildly, embarrassed. Trevor sees this, smirks.
TREVORWhat’s so funny?
AEONI don't-- nothing.
TREVOR
Am I making you uncomfortable?
AEONI'm fine.
TREVOR
No, I don't think so. You see, I think you just gave it away.
(suddenly hopeful)
You laughed, but you caught yourself. Why do you care - because you're conscious of it. You didn't drive it out. It's still here.
Trevor's words have frightened her. Her mind seems far away. Trevor WHISTLES nonchalantly, leaning over to apply some surgical TAPE over the BULLET HOLE in Nader's forehead.
CLOSE as Trevor applies the tape.

CLOSE on AEON. Her eyes open wide as she thinks of--

QUICK CUT TO - AEON'S QUARTERS. The two strips of unused yellow tape left dangling from the chair. The patch of cement on the floor held in place now by a single frayed piece of tape, stretched taut.

BACK TO TREVOR'S LAB
AEONOh no... I forgot something.

She TEARS OFF her nurse's uniform.
She BOLTS FROM THE ROOM. Trevor looks after her, confused.
int. nurses' lounge - night
The bald nurse is bound and gagged in her underwear. (not too graphic) Her eyes are fixed on the TV, from which ANGELIC BLUE LIGHT emanates, filling the room. The ropes and gag fall away from her as she stares blissfully at the screen, she doesn't move.
IN BG, THROUGH WINDOW, we see Aeon descending the building.
int. downstairs apartment - night
The four elegantly dressed people are still positioned as before: Woman #1 crying on the floor; Woman #2 kneeling beside her; Man #1 standing over the crushed box; Man #2 at the bar.
Man #2 still laughs-- though more quietly than before. His carefree manner turns to sudden doubt, then TERROR. He's staring into his cocktail glass, where--
The ICE CUBES mutate into two GLOWING HEADS, similar to the head of the Demiurge. The others in the room look at him with pity and regret.
IN BG, THROUGH WINDOW, Aeon continues her descent.
EXT. BREEN COUNTRYSIDE - NIGHT
Aeon runs through the stark terrain. Littering the landscape, countless COFFINS hang askew, their black chutes caught in power lines, trees, bridges, rooftops.

She locates a secret tunnel with a camouflaged entrance, slips inside and out of view.
INT. TUNNEL - NIGHT

CLOSE ON AEON in near pitch blackness, breathing hard. The barely visible walls of the tunnel ZOOM BY. We hear the sound of some sort of engine.
ext. aeon's building - night

Aeon emerges from some rocks at the base of her building and looks up--
HER POV, ANGLE UP-- the building is shrouded in thick, dark clouds, she can't make out her penthouse or the Sky Cable.

AEON uses the Mechanical Claw to climb up the familiar crumbling walls further into the mist.

SHE REACHES an unfamiliar BLUE hatch, FLOATING in the fog and apparently attached to no physical structure. She squints at this, cocks her head.
AEONWhat?
She reaches her hands into the space around and behind the hatch-- nothing there, it hangs in empty space.
AEONNow this is odd.
With a characteristic shrug, she opens the hatch--
int. blue chamber - night
Crawling through the hatch, Aeon finds herself in the sunken corner of a LUMINOUS BLUE CHAMBER, behind a low divider. The DIVINE HUM is LOUD here. Aeon narrows her eyes, looking around this unfamiliar space, the interior composed of fantastic angles and planes-- for the first time, she seems genuinely puzzled. She peers around the side of the divider and sees...

THE DEITY as it quickly metamorphosizes from the infant into its ADULT FORM, its head now resembles the HEAD of the Demiurge chained to the missile. The deity floats in the center of the chamber. Without acknowledging Aeon, its eyes gaze intently at a spot above her head.

THERE'S A WINDOW above Aeon's head that shows the night sky outside. Framed in the window is the injured body of Celia, hanging in the canvas sling. She is alive, but unconscious. The deity seems to be focusing all its attention on Celia, its face showing sorrow at her pain. Aeon, hiding behind the divider, stares at the deity, oblivious to Celia behind her.

QUICK CUT - Inside Aeon's apartment. The cement patch slips further away from the floor, the old tape is giving out--

BACK IN THE CHAMBER - Not knowing what else to do, Aeon draws her gun and aims at the Deity. She fires-- the bullet (projectile) moves through the air, but its motion slows. It inches toward the Deity's head, and bounces off harmlessly. It's become a glowing BLUE JEWEL. The BLUE JEWEL continues to ricochet around the room at a slow, steady rate-- obviously, the laws of physics don't apply here.

The JEWEL returns to the narrow pit where Aeon hides, and bounces back and forth between the wall and the divider. Aeon flattens herself against the wall to avoid it. The jewel heads toward the closed hatch in the floor of the pit.

The hatch suddenly opens. The jewel exits the chamber, barely missing Trevor. He sees Aeon, opens his mouth to speak-- NO WORDS, the HUM absorbs all other sound.

TREVOR enters the cube. Aeon backs away from him, out of the pit, moving her lips SOUNDLESSLY, still oblivious to Celia outside the window. Trevor grabs Aeon and pulls her back down, they struggle for her gun. (Perhaps, in keeping with the strange environment, they move in SLO-MO.) THE DEITY remains focused on Celia as they struggle.

INSIDE AEON'S APARTMENT-- The tape holding the hook to Aeon's floor FINALLY TEARS LOOSE--
ext. aeon's building - night
The building tilts farther and farther, starting to collapse and FALL APART--
We glimpse the UNUSED STRIPS OF TAPE still attached to the chair, Aeon's razor, the tightly balled scrap of Trevor's torn shirt, all sliding now--
int. blue chamber - night
THE WALLS COLLAPSE in sync with the building's. THROUGH WINDOW, Celia's body begins to slip out of her niche.

Trevor and Aeon see a large BEAM falling toward them. They jump out of the way. Large chunks of concrete fall all around them. Thick clouds of dust envelop them, obscuring them from the Deity. The BLUE CHAMBER itself DISAPPEARS--
ext. aeon's building - night

FALLING, AEON manages to use her grappling claw to CLAMP ONTO an exposed PIPE that juts out from the intact steel spine of the building-- Trevor clings to her-- she saves them both from plunging to their deaths.

Celia PLUNGES amidst the crumbling walls. The DEMIURGE, floating downward with her, won't allow Celia to die. Near the ground, it cradles her, sets her down safely on a smooth rock, out of harm's way. It turns to look up... and smiles.

Aeon's PENTHOUSE crushes THE DEMIURGE on the spot. Only a few feet away lies Celia, unharmed.

The dust settles. The building's vertical spine is all that remains standing.
HIGH ABOVE THE GROUND, Trevor is held by Aeon, who clings to the pipe with her mechano-claw. Aeon looks down with a SIGH.
AEONThat place held a lot of memories. Some were a bit strange.

Trevor casts his gaze about the horizon, horrified.
TREVORThis is all wrong! It must still be down there!
AEONAnd it knows we have its best interests at heart. Let it go.
Aeon looks at the Cable, dangling free from the sky, the loose patch of concrete still stuck to the end. Old frayed strips of yellow tape cling to the concrete patch.
AEONFunny how things work out.

Aeon looks up at the pipe, starting to crack. She becomes alarmed, looks down at Trevor. Aeon loosens her grip on him. He grasps her wrist tightly.

TREVOR
No, don't let go!

AEON
Trevor...! I, I can't keep...

TREVORDon't let go!

About to fall, Trevor reaches for his belt. A HISS is heard.

Trevor begins to RISE miraculously-- a helium tank he's activated fills a balloon concealed at his back.
Brief EQUILIBRIUM. Then the PIPE BREAKS and Aeon falls--

BUT TREVOR grabs her-- she's now at his mercy.

ON THE GROUND, Celia stirs back to consciousness as NADER appears from the direction of Trevor's tower. He walks slowly, showing signs of pain. He spots Celia-- and runs to her, kneeling by her side. She reaches up to embrace him.
NADERCelia--
CELIANader--
NADER...You didn't look in the box, did you?
CELIA
No. I didn’t see it.
NADER
It?
CELIA
Yes. No... I didn’t look! I never saw it.
CLOSE ON NADER - Showing a look of wide-eyed anxiety.
CAMERA MOVES AWAY FROM THEM, UP TO THE SKY, FASTER AND FASTER-- we hear the DISTANT SOUND of a DIVINE HUM...

CUT TO:

EXT. distant planet

The disembodied Blue Head from Act One sits atop its missile as if on a throne. THE ANGELIC BIRD hovers at its shoulder. BENEATH THEM, A SMALL GROUP OF ALIEN BEINGS have gathered...

FADE TO BLACK

I love this, and all of these.