1. THE
STAIRCASE – NIGHT
GUY, a man in his mid-30s,
has the world-weariness of someone who's lived multiple lives in one.
HE IS BREATHING HEAVILY AND
TRUDGING UPWARDS ON THE STAIRCASE OF A BLOCK OF FLATS, GETTING CLOSER.
He steadies himself on the
handrail and pauses to catch his breath.
GUY
Dear Great Oracle's
Database, the one who listens, I've been climbing these empty, windowless
stairs for so long... I can't remember where I started, how I started... When
was it? Where does it lead? I don't have these answers. All I can see is this
stairwell in a block of flats.
Unacknowledged by Guy, LEXI,
a woman in her late-20s, exuding a composed, intelligent demeanour, sits
gracefully at the top of the stairs.
LEXI
Guy, who are you talking to?
GUY
(to
himself)
Lexi, a beautiful woman in
her late-20s is sitting at the top of this flight of stairs.
(to
Lexi)
It is the mission to record
my thoughts and experiences.
LEXI
Your thoughts are tedious
and derivative. Although, in this case, accurate.
GUY
It's all I have.
LEXI
The Great Oracle's Database
requires new data. The rules must be obeyed.
GUY
If the GOD knows everything
already, why bother with me? Leave me alone.
LEXI
You don't know what you're
doing.
GUY
I am experiencing.
LEXI
With no purpose. One
experience after another that leads nowhere.
GUY
(CLIMBING THE STEPS TOWARDS
THE NEXT FLOOR)
(to
himself)
The landing at the top, like
every landing on the staircase, has four doors -
LEXI
Hello?
GUY
Two facing the stairs and
one at either end facing each other.
LEXI
I give up.
GUY
(WALKING ACROSS THE LANDING) The staircase continues, as it always does, around the
corner of the stairwell... and... what do we have this time?... (HE STOPS)
The new flight of stairs above me is from some sort of gothic mansion, with a
rich victorian carpet, copper stair runners; the bannisters look like they are
handcrafted oak. (RESUMING THE CLIMB) Always different, always the same.
A large ornately framed mirror on the wall of the stairs... and, yes, as usual,
I do not see my reflection. (HE STOPS) An oil painting of a woman in a cloak.
The surface of the portrait is behind glass... I can only touch the pane of
glass. Mirrors without reflections, paintings that stare into my soul.
A PIERCING SHRIEK IS HEARD
IN THE DISTANCE FROM FARTHER DOWN THE STAIRCASE.
GUY
The creature!
GUY RESUMES HIS CLIMB WITH
URGENCY, TWO STEPS AT A TIME.
GUY
I can never rest for too
long. It is always following me up the staircase. (DASHING ACROSS A LANDING)
The next stairs are... like those in an office block.
THE SHRIEK IS MORE DISTANT
AS GUY HURRIES UP THE FLIGHT OF STAIRS.
GUY
I've tried countless doors
along the way. Some just lead to hallways with more doors, others to stranger
places. But they always bring me back here. To the endless steps (DASHING
ACROSS ANOTHER LANDING) The next stairs... (CLIMBING THE STAIRS SLIGHTLY
MORE SLOWLY) it's like the staircase of a family home. I need to rest, find
food, or drink. The staircase isn't safe.
HE REACHES A LANDING AND
KNOCKS ON A DOOR.
GUY
This time, it's the door on
the left-end of the landing. I don't know what waits for me within the
darkness, but I must find out.
THE DOOR OPENS. THERE IS A
CACOPHONY OF UNSETTLING AND INDISTINCT WHISPERING VOICES FROM WITHIN.
GUY
I'm not going in there. (THE
DOOR IS SHUT) Some doors open easily; others remain forever closed. The
untried ones, they haunt me the most.
LABOURED FOOTSTEPS CAN BE
HEARD APPROACHING UP THE STAIRCASE.
GUY
The next door (KNOCKS AND
TRIES DOOR) is locked.
A PIERCING SHRIEK ECHOES
THROUGH THE STAIRCASE, LOUDER THAN EVER.
GUY
Try another door, Guy...
HE KNOCKS REPEATEDLY ON A
DOOR AND TRIES THE HANDLE.
GUY
Come on! Come on!!
A SPINE CHILLING SHRIEK,
VERY CLOSE.
GUY
There it is - the creature!
Silhouetted at the bottom of the stairs!
GUY RUNS UP STONE STEPS.
GUY
The next stairs... like a
castle (ENTERS A STONE LANDING) Old wooden doors, no knocking this time.
GUY PUSHES OPEN A HEAVY
DOOR. IT SHUDDERS OPEN SLOWLY UNDER PRESSURE.
GUY
Open!
HE CRAMS INSIDE AND RAMS THE
DOOR SHUT BEHIND HIM. THE CREATURE'S SHRIEK REVERBERATES LOUDLY ON THE OTHER
SIDE OF THE DOOR.
2. DARK
CAVE
GUY
Where am I? (WALKING
THROUGH A CAVE) I think it's a cave. There's light over there, from a cave
mouth. (STEPPING IN PUDDLES) There are puddles... and rocks (CLAMBERS
OVER ROCKS)... and, and, the sea!
AS GUY EMERGES OUT OF THE
CAVE, THE SOUND OF THE SEA GETS LOUDER, INCLUDING DISTANT SEAGULLS AND WAVES
CRASHING AGAINST A PEBBLY SHORE.
3. DESOLATE
BEACH
GUY
I'm free for now, but
eventually the staircase will claim me again.
LEXI
Guy.
GUY
Lexi is sitting on a towel
on the cold beach, wearing sunglasses and apparently... sunbathing.
LEXI
You can't do this, you know,
it's breaking all the rules.
GUY
This is my story. You can
come along if you want.
LEXI
I don't particularly want
to. It's just one mystery after another. I've got a feeling we're going to go
through all this and there's just going to be a big let down at the end because
you don't know where you're going.
GUY
I don't know.
LEXI
See. It's pointless. Come
home.
GUY
I'm not controlling events,
Lexi. I don't even know if you're real, for certain.
(to
himself)
Lexi grimaces, her long
hair, the colour of midnight, shimmering in the breeze.
LEXI
This is not normal. You're
weird.
GUY WALKS AWAY ALONG THE
PEBBLY BEACH NEXT TO THE SEA.
GUY
The beach is deserted. It
runs beside a cliff as far as I can see. I have no choice but to follow where
it leads. At least the air is fresh, and I can see the blue sky. What's that? A
dog?
A DOG RUNS ALONG THE BEACH
TOWARDS GUY. IT DASHES PAST, BOUNDING OFF INTO THE DISTANCE.
GUY
In the near distance a man
emerges from the sea wearing a drenched suit... The pale, middle-aged man
stands in front of me, water dripping from his clothes.
PALE
MAN
Do you know the way?
GUY
No.
PALE
MAN
It's all the way down. Back
the way you came.
GUY
The Pale Man's unblinking
gaze is fixed on me. I'm unnerved. I walk around him... The Pale Man remains
rigid on the spot, his gaze unmoved... (WALKING ALONG THE BEACH) The sky
begins to darken with the setting sun and approach of night... (WALKING
ALONG THE BEACH) I reach the end of the beach and finds a cliff path. I
climb it, with tired steps.
4. CLIFF
TOP
GUY
I stand on a rock at the
cliff's edge, looking down at the churning sea below. The wind howls around me,
a lonely sound in the gathering darkness. I scan the horizon. The vastness
stretches before me, an endless expanse of water and sky. I muse on this rock,
yet everything changes and remains the same... The sun dips below the horizon,
leaving me under a blanket of stars. I stand motionless, my silhouette etched
against the night sky.
Out of the darkness, the
Pale Man reappears behind Guy.
PALE
MAN
(sneering)
Are you alright?
GUY
I just want to be left
alone. The Pale Man's smile widens unnaturally, revealing sharp, menacing
teeth. Its hands are claws, positioned upright to attack. Bursting into blue
flames, it hovers up off the ground, ready to descend upon its prey. I am
terrified and cower in fear. I close my eyes tightly, expecting the inevitable.
(SCREAMING SOUNDS FALLING AWAY DOWN A CLIFF) When I open them, the
predator is screaming as it plummets down the cliff. I peer over the edge as
the screams stop on the jagged rocks in the waves below. In the monster's place
on the cliff top stands a beautiful woman in a hooded cloak. She remains silent
and still, gazing out to sea, the moonlight casting a soft glow around her... I
sit and watch the horizon with her. Overcome with tiredness... I fall asleep.
5. CLIFF
TOP – DAWN
GUY
I awake. As the first light
of dawn breaks, the woman in a cloak fades into the rising sun.
LEXI
Ahem. She's beautiful as
well is she? You do realise you sound quite comical?
GUY
(to
himself)
Lexi is sitting with her
feet dangling on the edge of the cliff.
(to
Lexi)
My profound experiences and
past regrets are comical to you, are they?
LEXI
How you say it, yes!
GUY
I'm glad your humour upgrade
is running but I think it might be malfunctioning.
LEXI
I think you are
malfunctioning, generally.
GUY
Maybe. I am a version 10 AI
thinking like a human, that is why.
LEXI
Guy, I think you should go
home now.
6. CLIFF
PATH
GUY
I descend from the cliff, My
steps leading me to a small town nestled by the sea.
7. CORNER
SHOP
GUY
I enter a corner shop. I
browse the shelves, picking up a bottle of water and several sandwiches. At the
counter, I present a card from my pocket but the cashier shakes his head.
CASHIER
No, we don't accept this.
GUY
I am extremely hungry and
thirsty; I flee out of the shop with the provisions.
CASHIER
Stop!
8. TOWN
STREET
Guy runs out onto the street
and into the road, not noticing an approaching car. THERE'S A SCREECH OF
BRAKES, AND HE'S KNOCKED TO THE GROUND.
LEXI
(to
herself)
Guy looks up, severely dazed
and injured, and sees me looking down at him.
(to
Guy)
Help is on its way. Hang in
there, Guy.
9. AMBULANCE
GUY LIES IN AN AMBULANCE,
SPEEDING TOWARDS THE HOSPITAL.
10. HOSPITAL
CONFUSION IN A HOSPITAL AS
GUY IS WHEELED THROUGH A HOSPITAL CORRIDOR ON A TROLLEY. NURSES AND DOCTORS
PASS BY IN A BLUR.
LEXI
(to
herself)
Guy is wheeled through a
door onto the landing of a hospital staircase.
(to
a doctor)
Will he be okay? No! He
needs me with him!
The door shuts with a
definitive click. The sounds of the hospital instantly die away. Guy is left on
the landing of the staircase, alone and confused.
11. THE
STAIRCASE
The staircase is silent,
save for the sound of Guy's laboured breathing.
A door creaks open and
eight-year-old Emma steps through.
EMMA
Daddy? Everything will be
okay.
GUY
Em... Emma...
EMMA
You need to pass on now.
GUY
I'm sorry... I...
EMMA
I know.
GUY
I miss you, so much.
EMMA
We all miss you, daddy.
GUY
Emma hands me a small cuddly
toy of a penguin, then skips back through the door, disappearing from sight as
the door shuts.
A SHRIEK FROM THE CREATURE
ECHOES UP THE STAIRCASE.
GUY
Help me. (IN A BURST OF
DESPERATION, GUY CLIMBS DOWN FROM THE TROLLEY AND IN GREAT PAIN CRAWLS TO THE
NEAREST DOOR) Help! (HE POUNDS ON THE DOOR WITH HIS REMAINING STRENGTH.)
(beat)
The creature appears around
the stairwell, its presence more terrifying than ever. The door swings open,
revealing a crash test dummy seated in a chair, surrounded by darkness,
illuminated only by a single spotlight from above. It speaks...
DUMMY
"What is the meaning of
life?" is the 404th most asked question of the Great Oracle's Database.
GUY
The spotlight turns off and
the dummy vanishes into the dark. As the creature closes in, a sudden, blinding
light bursts out from the room. Purple-gloved hands reach out and pull me
through the door.
The door slams shut behind him.
