1492: Conquest of Paradise Page #18

FERNANDO shakes his head.

COLUMBUS:

Swallow a piece of pork fat on a

string. It always worked.

At the thought of the pork fat, FERNANDO jerks his head

over the side, and vomits copiously. COLUMBUS smiles,

pats him on the back.

EXT. SHIP'S DECK - DAY

As it plows through heavy seas. COLUMBUS, a coat wrapped

around him, is sitting on a chair topside, directing

operations despite an obvious fever.

Suddenly a cry from the mast head:

SAILOR (O.S.)

Tierra...! Tierra!

SAILORS and FERNANDO rush to the side of the ship, peering

through the spray. FERNANDO wipes his eyes, and then he

sees it:
there in the distance, a speck of land.

FERNANDO and his FATHER stand together, watching the low

cloud formation sitting on the horizon.

COLUMBUS:

The mainland...

FERNANDO looks excited. Discreetly, COLUMBUS watches his

SON, enjoying his happiness.

EXT. PANAMA (SURREAL IMAGES) - DAY

A most wonderful and surreal image. A heavy mist lies

over the forest. We move above it slowly.

A FIGURE emerges from the mist. At first only a

silhouette -- then, slowly, a golden figure... an INDIAN,

covered in gold... gold artifacts, golden paste on his

body.

The GOLDEN FIGURE turns, and points, into an unknown

distance.

EXT. TREEHOUSE - DAY

From the INDIAN treehouse, COLUMBUS, FERNANDO, MENDEZ and

several INDIANS are gazing west over a necklace of

magnificent lakes.

The INDIANS point and talk gently. FERNANDO has never

seen anything so fresh, so beautiful.

EXT. CAMP - SUNSET

A magnificent sunset. A fire is burning, food cooking.

COLUMBUS looks over his maps, trying to figure out where

they are. We see the outline of the continent of Asia.

An OLD INDIAN squats beside him, silent, also looking at

the map. Then, slowly and very deliberately, he takes a

piece of charcoal from the fire and begins to draw on the

map. Ignoring the Asian continent, he sketches the

Panamanian coastline -- an isthmus. MENDEZ and FERNANDO

gather round. COLUMBUS watches the OLD INDIAN with

initial puzzlement, then growing excitement.

MENDEZ:

What's he doing?

COLUMBUS:

He's drawing an isthmus... He's

saying we're on an isthmus.

MENDEZ:

We can't be.

FERNANDO is still confused. The OLD INDIAN continues to

sketch, talking quietly all the time. An INDIAN

TRANSLATOR listens.

COLUMBUS:

Tell me what he's saying.

TRANSLATOR:

He says -- water on the other side.

COLUMBUS:

Ask him if he means a lake. A big

lake.

The TRANSLATOR asks. The OLD INDIAN shakes his head,

laughs, points to the west, way beyond the other lakes,

emphatically.

TRANSLATOR:

No. Says those are lakes. Water on

other side big -- as wide as here.

Above and below, much land.

COLUMBUS:

(stunned)

An ocean...? He's says it's an

ocean?

FERNANDO:

I don't understand.

COLUMBUS is too stunned for a moment to explain. The

INDIANS laugh.

Then COLUMBUS takes the charcoal, and begins to draw on

the map, for his son.

COLUMBUS:

Here is Europe... and over here, the

continent of Asia. But there's

something in between! Another

continent! We've found... another

continent!

FERNANDO stares west, then back at his FATHER. COLUMBUS

looks very feverish, his face bathed with sweat.

FERNANDO:

Father...

COLUMBUS:

There must be a passage to that

other ocean.

CUT TO:

INT. SHIP - COLUMBUS' CABIN - NIGHT

COLUMBUS, feverish, lies on the bunk. He shivers

violently. FERNANDO anxiously watches over him, bathes

his eyes.

Suddenly THE TRANSLATOR enters.

TRANSLATOR:

I help.

A little reluctantly, FERNANDO lets him go to his FATHER.

The INDIAN crouches over the bed, takes out a handful of

leaves from a pouch. He chews the leaves himself for a

moment, until they form a sticky pulp, then opens

COLUMBUS' mouth and puts the pulp inside, encouraging

COLUMBUS to chew with the motions of his hands.

COLUMBUS chews, quickly falling asleep.

EXT. MOONLIT VISION OF VAST LAND MASS - NIGHT

We see things from COLUMBUS' hallucination. We are

plunging through layers of clouds, the speed accelerating,

giving us a sickening sensation of falling to land, closer

and closer...

COLUMBUS wakes up with a jolt. Everything is silent.

COLUMBUS walks outside.

EXT. DECK - NIGHT

COLUMBUS' fever has subsided. He raises his head and

stares at the mainland passing in the night. He smiles.

CUT TO:

EXT. JUNGLE AND BAY - HIGH WIDE SHOT - DAY

The roof of the jungle, the bay beyond, the caravel at

anchor.

CUT TO:

EXT. RIVER - DAY

Two canoes going upstream, deeper and deeper into the

jungle.

EXT. JUNGLE AND VILLAGE - DAY

Smoke rises lazily above the trees.

CUT TO:

The boats reaching the bank. THE FIRST HUTS of a village.

THE SOLDIERS spread out into the empty village.

FERNANDO, COLUMBUS and MENDEZ preceded by TWO ARMED

SOLDIERS enter one of the huts. The remains of a meal is

still warm in bowls on the matted floor.

A famished SOLDIER dips his hand in one of the bowls and

devours its contents: some kind of stew. Stepping back

accidentally, FERNANDO bumps into a large earthen jar

behind him. It rolls and crashes, revealing the remains

of meat marinating in liquid. There is something

disturbing about the appearance of the content.

FERNANDO:

Oh my God...

The remains of human beings.

COLUMBUS:

(approaching)

What is...?

He stares at the remains, stunned. THE SOLDIER stops

chewing. He drops the half-empty bowl he was still

holding. He runs at the back door, rams his fingers deep

in the back of his throat, and vomits.

SOLDIER:

Oh Virgen Maria... Oh Madre de

Dios...

(Oh Virgin Mary... Oh Mother of

God...)

But as he vomits and cries, he notices:

A HEADLESS HUMAN TRUNK spread open, like a sheep carcass.

Disturbed flies rise in clouds.

SOLDIER:

Jesus, Maria, y todos los Santos...

(Jesus, Mary, and all the Saints...)

CUT TO:

COLUMBUS and the SPANIARDS meet in the center of the

village. All have made the same horrific discovery.

COLUMBUS:

(urgently)

Out! Get out!

THE SPANIARDS back out of the village, crossbows pointed

at the invisible enemy hidden in the jungle.

They are running through the dense forest for the river

bank.

The CANNIBALS materialize among the trees, running

alongside. Bounding, skipping, frightening FIGURES, their

brutal faces painted in black. They release arrows at the

running SOLDIERS. A SOLDIER stops, kneels to the ground,

fires his crossbow and kills one of the CANNIBALS... but

he is pierced by a spear. TWO CANNIBALS drag him and cut

his throat to finish him.

ELSEWHERE IN THE JUNGLE -- CRIES AND CONFUSION, SPANIARDS

and CANNIBALS moving in hand to hand combat.

A CANNIBAL comes sprinting at FERNANDO, brandishing his

lance.

COLUMBUS jumps on the man, and plants a knife in his

abdomen. Blinded in sweat, he stabs the CANNIBAL, who

collapses. Frenzied, COLUMBUS stabs over and over again.

He stops and looks at his forearm -- soaked in blood.

Shocked by his own fury, he raises his hand and stares at

it.

A GIANT BLACK BUTTERFLY alights gently on his bloody

fingers, COLUMBUS staring fascinated at its palpitating

wings. FERNANDO, screaming at his FATHER, drags him to

his feet. They run...

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