SCENE 7

DAY - STORE

ADAM slumps, under a BLANKET in a lawn chair.

THERESA next to him on a stool, knitting.

ERNEST and GEORGIE examine ROCKS with a device labelled "DNA SCANNER", then pass them to ADAM, who drops them in a BUCKET.

MAJOR DON talks into a large WALKIE-TALKIE.

MAJOR DON

That was the lab.

ERNEST

And?

MAJOR DON

Negative!

ERNEST

Oh.

MAJOR DON

Iguana dung? Really? Is that your best shot?

ERNEST

Er, kind of. It’s rare.

MAJOR DON

My report said “unique DNA, on a rock-sample of extra-terrestrial origin”. The budget committee is meeting right now. If we don't send something better than rare, they’ll be on us like a metric tonne of meteorites. No more Major Don, and no more Hicksville Rocks.

They stare at him

MAJOR DON

Ándale!

THERESA knits frantically.

ERNEST grabs another ROCK.

ERNEST

OK. This has nano-diamonds ...

ERNEST passes the ROCK to GEORGIE with a hopeful look.

GEORGIE

Brecciated H3 chondrite, with H5 and LL inclusions . . .

ADAM

Uh-huh

GEORGIE offers the ROCK to ADAM, then notices ADAM is gazing dreamily at the sky.

... and a lightly whipped fudge centre?

ADAM (CONT'D)

Uh-huh

GEORGIE hits ADAM.

GEORGIE

Hello? Earth to ADAM?

Get involved! It’s your future too, you know.

ADAM

Oh. Sorry.

Er, “Lightly whipped”.

ADAM takes the ROCK, muttering to himself.

ADAM (CONT'D)

Whip it up. Mix it up. Make it up. Mex it up.

ERNEST

Bad dreams i can understand,

but ever since that windy night, he’s been ... What is this?

GEORGIE examines ADAM, as if he was a peculiar rock sample.

ADAM notices and tries to act natural.

GEORGIE

Sleep-deprived?

Talking to himself.

Gazing at the sky.

ADAM

The sky is interesting.

GEORGIE

Teeth, freshly brushed.

ADAM

Basic hygiene.

GEORGIE

(sniffs)

Is that deodorant?

MAJOR DON

Relax, amigos. I know why this boy is unproductive.

THERESA

Why?

ERNEST and GEORGIE keep working.

MAJOR DON picks up two ROCKS from a BUCKET.

#10 DON'T LOOK DOWN

MAJOR DON

(gesturing with ROCKS)

ROUND AND AROUND, IN STABLE ORBIT

REVOLVES THE ASTEROID

CHORUS

COLD AND LONELY

MAJOR DON

NEVER MEETING ANYONE

SOLO, LIKE YOU

CHORUS

BORING STORY

MAJOR DON

THEN, AT LAST

CHORUS

-EROID

MAJOR DON

A DESTINY ENCOUNTER

WITH A ONE-IN-A-MILLION STELLAR BODY

HIS WORLD COMES TUMBLING DOWN

THEY MEET!

HE'S A METEOR!

HE SWOOPS AND SWAYS

HE’S LOST HIS WAY

IN A BLAZE OF GLORY

TRUTH BE TOLD, YOU COULD STAY ALONE, GROW OLD

AND “SAVE YOURSELF”, I GUESS.

BUT NO MAN SHOULD BE AN ISLAND, IN A VACUUM, OF NOTHING

TROUBLE-FREE, BUT PASSION-LESS

WHEN THE YEARS HAVE PAST

CHORUS

-EROID

MAJOR DON

WHICH WOULD YOU RATHER?

A LIFE-TIME OF PERSONAL SPACE

OR A MOMENT OF FIRE?

DON'T LOOK DOWN

IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT

IF YOUR PARTNER CONSENTS

AND THE FEELING IS RIGHT . . .

JUST FALL!

BE A METEOR!

ENTWINE YOUR ROTATIONS

BE BOLD AND UNSCAREABLE

LOVE AND RELATIONS

WILL MAKE THE VOID BEARABLE

SPIN CHEST TO CHEST

AS FAR AS YOU CAN GO

LET YOUR ENERGY FLOW

THIS IS THE SPIRIT

MAJOR DON (CONT'D)

OF...

CHORUS

OF...

MAJOR DON

TANGO!

Olé!

THERESA

So he’s love-sick?

MAJOR DON

A taste of honey. Forbidden fruit. Can do this to a man.

THERESA

I’ll call the doctor.

ADAM

Er, hang on ...

MAJOR DON

I feel your pain my friend. You had a great time, but she acts like you don’t exist?

ADAM

Like she doesn't exist.

MAJOR DON

Oh

ERNEST

An imaginary girlfriend?

GEORGIE

I hate fake people.

ERNEST and MAJOR DON look at GEORGIE, surprised.

I’ll get more samples.

GEORGIE takes a BUCKET and EXITS.

ADAM

I mean, the night of the storm, something happened, or did it? And I saw something that can help this search, or did I?

I can’t remember. Maybe I am going crazy.

#11 MYSTERY BOX

RUCCOLA

No-one goes crazy around here without my professional help.

THERESA

Thank you for coming, Doctor Ruccola.

RUCCOLA

No problem. Lucky for you Adam, I specialise in “missing memories”.

ADAM

I don’t remember asking for a doctor.

RUCCOLA

Yes, I hear that a lot.

RUCCOLA (CONT'D)

THE HUMAN HEAD IS LIKE A MYSTERY BOX, MADE OF LEAD

BUT NOW SCIENCE HAS THE KEY.

RUCCOLA offers Adam his open HAND. As Adam reaches for it, Doctor pushes Adam’s hand towards Adam’s face, and reclines Adam's chair.

LIE BACK, RELAX, WHILE THE UNCONSCIOUS UNPACKS

CLOSE YOUR EYES AND DESCRIBE WHAT YOU SEE

CHORUS

YOU ARE FEELING SLEEPY

YOU ARE FEELING SLEEPY

TELL US ALL ABOUT IT

RUCCOLA

LET'S UNLOCK YOUR MIND

AND REVEAL WHAT WE FIND INSIDE

Doctor lightly taps Adam’s head.

ADAM

(in a hypnotic trance)

I’M SEVEN YEARS OLD AT CHILD’S BIRTHDAY PARTY

IT’S COLD AND THERE ARE NO PRESENTS FOR ME

RUCCOLA taps ADAM’s head.

RUCCOLA

Good good. Fast forward. Fast forward.

CHORUS

YOU ARE FEELING SLEEPY

YOU ARE FEELING SLEEPY

TELL US ALL ABOUT IT

ADAM

I’M NINE AND IT’S TIME

FOR LONG MULTIPLICATION...

RUCCOLA

Fast forward. Fast forward.

ADAM

Fifteen. Zits.

RUCCOLA taps ADAM’s head.

RUCCOLA

Fast forward. Fast Forward.

ADAM

Last Monday night.

RUCCOLA

Aha! Yes!

ADAM

MY SELF IS A FLOWER WITH ROOTS IN THE POOL

OF COSMIC CONSCIOUS-NESS

THE EYES ENTER

I FEEL CONNECTED

LOST IN A KISS

STARS COALESCE

ERNEST

HUH. MUST BE A JOKE DOC!

SEEMS LIKE SOME OTHER GUY’S

TAPED OVER YOUR SHOW.

(accusingly, to Theresa)

IT’S HAPPENED BEFORE.

RUCCOLA taps the OTHER side of ADAM’s head

RUCCOLA

LET’S KEEP OUR MINDS OPEN.

ADAM, REWIND.

ABOUT THE EYES ... TELL ME MORE?

CHORUS

YOU ARE FEELING SLEEPY

YOU ARE FEELING SLEEPY

TELL US ALL ABOUT IT

UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND REVEAL WHAT YOU FIND

INSIDE

Transition to ...

SCENE 8

SPACE WITH CRESENT MOON

AURIGA swings on a CRESCENT MOON, combing her HAIR.

#12 WHY DID YOU?

Auriga sits on a suspended crescent moon, contemplating at a beautiful night sky.

AURIGA

WHY DID YOU TURN THE LIGHT ON?

WHEN YOU DID, WHAT YOU DID

HAVE YOU NO IDEA OF TIMING?

WHY DID YOU FLIP ME STUPID VALENTINES

WHEN I WAS DOING FI-I-IN-NE

WHY DID YOU TURN THE LIGHT ON?

CRASHING PRIVATE PARTIES BUDDY.

WAY OUT OF LINE

WHY DID YOU TURN IT ALL BACK ON

WHEN I WAS DOING FI-I-IN-NE?

FROM QUIET IN THE DARK

TO LOUD AND ALIVE

A FLAME FROM A SPARK

IN THE HEART

THROUGH THE MIND

FROM LOW AND STRAIGHT AND STEADY

TO HIGH AND FLYING BLIND

MY ENERGY IS FLOWING

MY PLANETS ARE ALIGNED

A KEY HAS TURNED INSIDE MY SOUL

I’M IN A SPIN, I’M ON A ROLL

THE DANCE BEGINS, SO GRAB A HOLD

PLEASE UNIVERSE BE KIND?

THE LIGHT IS ON, WE’RE GOOD TO GO

AND I FEEL ... FI-I-I-I-I-NE

Transition back to ...

SCENE 9

DAY - STORE

Scene as before.

ADAM

It was so real. More than real!

Then we had a fight. She fixed her hair, and disappeared.

RUCCOLA stops the PENDULUM.

THERESA

See, Dr Ruccola? Now we know what happened.

RUCCOLA closes the NOTEBOOK.

RUCCOLA

Hmm. An elaborate “experience”. But we have to be scientific. No new bruises? No evidence of any kind?

ADAM

Just a feeling. The earth, surrounded by black. Am I going crazy?

RUCCOLA

No. No. Quite normal. Paranoia! Emotional instability. Lucid dreams. Magical beliefs.

The sense of adolescent omnipotence resists emerging real-world limitations and inter-dependence – necessitating rebirth of the process of separation and individuation.

ADAM

Oh?

RUCCOLA

Grow up! Move on.

ADAM

You mean ... forget her?

RUCCOLA

The dream woman? Of course. Obsessing on such fantasies will poison the mind.

ADAM pulls his quilt tighter around him.

THERESA

But what if she’s not poison? What if she’s ... the cure?

RUCCOLA

Please. Science has all the answers it needs without ... apparitions. If it can’t be proved, it can’t exist.

ERNEST

What if it's real in some way we don't understand yet? Like fireballs falling from the sky, for millions of years,

(holds up a space-rock)

before people had a clue what they were.

THERESA

I, for one, choose to believe your experience, Adam. And it's feels liberating!

#13 INFINITE

THERESA

AN INCH OF NIGHT, COMPLETELY BLACK

WITH NOTHING THERE TO SEE

TURN UP THE BRIGHTNESS

STARLIGHT! IT’S AWFULLY GALAXY!

THE TRUTH REVEALED, IN SKIES ABOVE

MAY BE TOO BIG FOR MINDS TO KNOW

I’VE GOT A FEELING. AND THAT’S ENOUGH.

BELIEF CLINGS

BUT FAITH ...

THERESA mimes letting go.

(to ADAM)

LET’S GO

THERESA (CONT'D)

(to RUCCOLA)

TELL ME HOW CAN YOU KNOW, WE’RE THE ONLY ONES . . . ?

I'VE BEEN THINKING IT OVER

TELL ME HOW CAN YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALONE

IN SUCH A GREAT BIG SKY?

TELL ME HOW CAN YOU KNOW, THERE ISN'T SOMEONE OUT THERE,

THINKING IT OVER

TELL ME HOW CAN YOU KNOW, THERE ISN’T SOMEONE RIGHT NOW,

LEARNING TO FLY INTO ...

(to ADAM)

SPACE

IT’S A PLACE

THAT CAN BE SOMEWHAT OVERWHELMING

THE WAY IT EXPANDS, YOU KNOW,

ON AND ON AND ON?

ERNEST

IT'S INFINITE

THERESA

THERESA puts her ARM round ADAM.

BUT I DON'T FEEL SMALL

HUDDLED ALL, ON THIS TINY PALE BLUE DOT

‘COS I HOPE A LOT

THOUGH SPACE FEELS BIG RIGHT NOW WE MIGHT GROW INTO IT!

THERESA (CONT'D)

(to ERNEST)

WHEN I WAS A CHILD I EXPERIENCED

MYSTICAL THINGS I CAN’T EXPLAIN.

I WAS AFRAID, I CLOSED MY EYES.

THE MOMENT NEVER CAME AGAIN

THERESA (CONT'D)

SPACE IS A PLACE

THAT CAN BE SUPER-NOVA-WHELMING

THE WAY IT EXPANDS SO ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON

ADAM

SPACE IS A PLACE

THAT CAN BE SUPER-NOVA-WHELMING

THE WAY IT EXPANDS SO ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON

ERNEST

STILL INFINITE

THERESA

WE COULD ALL DO WITH A NEW WORLD VIEW

FROM OUR TINY PALE BLUE DOT

COS IT’S ALL WE’VE GOT

AND THOUGH THE COSMOS FEELS BIG RIGHT NOW

WE MIGHT GROW INTO IT

ADAM

WE COULD ALL DO WITH A NEW WORLD VIEW

FROM OUR TINY PALE BLUE DOT

COS IT’S ALL WE’VE GOT

AND THOUGH THE COSMOS FEELS BIG RIGHT NOW

WE MIGHT GROW INTO IT

MAJOR DON, ERNEST and RUCOLA are struck pensive by this profound thought.

MAJOR DON

IT’S A GLORIOUS MYSTERY

THERESA

BUT WE MIGHT GROW INTO IT

ERNEST

AN ENDLESS VOID

THERESA

BUT WE MIGHT GROW INTO IT

ADAM

AN IMPONDERABLE VACUUM

THERESA

BUT WE MIGHT GROW INTO IT

GEORGIE

A SPACIO-TEMPORAL ABYSS!

THERESA

BUT WE MIGHT GROW ...

Hang on, Adam, what was your one?

ADAM

You know, a vacuum.

THERESA

Aha!

THERESA hurries out of the room.

ERNEST

Is she alright?

RUCCOLA

Well, at her age, you know, they can go slightly ...

THERESA returns, with a small VACUUM CLEANER.

THERESA

I’m back!

(to RUCCOLA)

What's the last thing Adam said under hypnosis?

RUCCOLA checks NOTES.

RUCCOLA

Er, the blonde woman “disappeared”?

THERESA

Fixed her hair and disappeared.

ERNEST

So the imaginary girlfriend has imaginary hair?

THERESA

Not imaginary. Real. Long. And . . .

She holds up, between finger and thumb, a HAIR.

Blonde!

MAJOR DON

Oh Mama!

GEORGIE takes the HAIR and pus it in the SCANNER.

GEORGIE

Scan it.

ERNEST

Amazing.

GEORGIE

(sarcastic)

Nice is it?

ERNEST

Very thin. Almost clear. The DNA is human.

ADAM

(disappointed)

Oh

ERNEST

...-ish.

ADAM

(excited)

Really?

ERNEST

But genetically engineered. Nordic, with substitutions. Persian cat, soybean, an extinct variety of Cowrie shell. And there's alphanumeric encoding.

"Clair de Lune Biotech. Two zero nine nine."

MAJOR DON

Uh?

Everyone is puzzled.

GEORGIE

Twenty ninety nine.

MAJOR DON

You mean ..?

#14 WOW!

CHORUS

WOW!

WOW!

MAJOR DON pulls out his WALKIE-TALKIE and makes a CALL.

THERESA

YOUR GIRLFRIEND'S FROM THE FUTURE!

NOW IT ALL MAKES SENSE

WHY SHE DIDN'T CALL YA

FROM UMPTEEN DECADES HENCE

GEORGIE

WE ALL KNOW THAT IT'S COOLER

TO WAIT A DAY OR TWO

EIGHTY-FOUR YEARS – HMM – THAT’S HARSH

BUT WHATCHA GONNA DO?

CHORUS

WOW!

WOW!

ERNEST

REMOTE AND MOSTLY HUMAN

THAT’S JUST YOUR KIND OF GIRL

SHAME SHE HAD TO ZOOM OFF

SHE REALLY ROCKED YOUR WORLD

RUCCOLA

ALL THESE YEARS OF THEORY

AND NOW MY GREATEST CASE

CONTAGIOUS MASS HYSTERIA

IS CLEARLY TAKING PLACE

CHORUS

SHE'S FROM THE FUTURE!

SHE'S FROM THE FUTURE!

WOW!

MAJOR DON waves his WALKIE-TALKIE.

MAJOR DON

I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU DID IT. (HEH)

AND I DON’T WANNA KNOW.

BUT THE DNA’S CONFIRMED

AND ALL OUR FUNDING’S GOOD TO GO

THE LAB BOYS LOVE THE SAMPLE.

AND URGENTLY REQUEST

YOU PUSH AHEAD WITH PLANS

TO GET YOUR HANDS UPON THE REST

CHORUS

WOW!

WOW!

ADAM

A MILLION ...

CHORUS

NOW YOU KNOW

ADAM

A BILLION THANK YOU’S, LITTLE STAR

CHORUS

WE'RE NOT ALONE

ADAM

YOU’VE SHOWN LOVE CAN COME FROM AFAR

CHORUS

THERE'S SOMEONE OUT THERE

ADAM

NOW ITS TIME TO MAKE A START

CHORUS

SO START

ADAM

I KNOW IT’S TIME TO MAKE A START

CHORUS

SO START

ADAM

BUILD A LANDING PLATFORM ... IN MY HEART.