2001: A Space Odyssey Page #8

NARRATOR:

The personnel of the Base and their

children were the forerunners of new

nations, new cultures that would

ultimately spread out across the

solar system. They no longer

thought of Earth as home. The

time was fast approaching when

Earth, like all mothers, must say

farewell to her children.

DISSOLVE:

10/5/65 b52

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B37

LARGE CENTRAL:

RECEPTION AREA. DOORS

BRANCHING OFF TO DIFF-

RENT MAIN HALLS. SMALL

POND WITH PLASTIC WHITE

SWAN AND A BIT OF GRASS.

A FEW BENCHES WITH THREE

WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN

HAVING OUTING.

FLOYD AND WELCOMING

PARTY WALK THROUGH

AFTER EXITING ELEVATOR.

HALVERSON, MICHAELS

AND FIVE OTHERS.

FLOYD:

(voice echoing) I must congratulate

you Halvorsen. you've done wonder-

ful things with the decor since the

last time I was here.

HALVORSEN:

(voice echoing) Well... thank you,

Dr. Floyd. We try to make the

environment as earthlike as possible.

DISSOLVE:

10/5/65 b53

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B38

LOW CEILING CONFERENCE

ROOM, "U" SHAPED TABLE

FACING THREE PROJECTION

SCREENS. SEATED AROUND

THE TABLE ARE TWENTY

SENIOR BASE PERSONNEL.

HALVORSEN:

Ladies and gentlemen, I should

like to introduce Dr. Heywood

Floyd, a distinguished member

of the National Council of

Astronautics. He has just

completed a special flight here

from Earth to be with us, and

before the briefing he would

like to say a few words. Dr.

Floyd.

POLITE APPLAUSE. FLOYD

WALKS TO FRONT OF ROOM.

FLOYD:

First of all, I bring a personal

message from Dr. Howell, who

has asked me to convey his

deepest appreciation to all of

you for the personal sacrifices

you have made, and of course

his congratulations on your

discovery which may well prove

to be among the most significant

in the history of science.

POLITE APPLAUSE.

11/25/65 b54

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B38

CONTINUED:

FLOYD (cont'd)

Mr. Halvorsen has made known

to me some of the conflicting

views held by many of you

regarding the need for complete

security in this matter, and

more specifically your strong

opposition to the cover story

created to give the impression

there is an epidemic at the Base.

I understand that beyond it being

a matter of principle, many of

you are troubled by the concern

and anxiety this story of an

epidemic might cause your

relatives and friends on Earth.

I can understand and sympathize

with your negative views. I have

been personally embarrassed by

this cover story. But I fully

accept the need for absolute

secrecy and I hope you will.

It should not be difficult for all

of you to realise the potential for

cutural shock and social

disorientation contained in the

present situation if the facts

were prematurely and suddenly

made public without adequate

preparation and conditioning.

11/25/65 b55

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B38

CONTINUED:

FLOYD:

This is the view of the Council

and the purpose of my visit here

is to gather addition facts and

opinions on the situation and to

prepare a report to the Council

recommending when and how the

news should eventually be

announced. Are there any

questions?

MICHAELS:

Dr. Floyd, how long do you think

this can be kept under wraps?

FLOYD:

(pleasantly)

I'm afraid it can and it will be

kept under wraps as long as it

is deemed to be necessary by

the Council. And of course you

know that the Council has requested

that formal security oaths are to

be obtained in writing from every-

one who had any knowledge of this

event. There must be adequate

time for a full study to be made

of the situation before any con-

sideration can be given to

making a public announcement.

11/25/65 b56

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B38

CONTINUED:

HALVORSEN:

We will, of course, cooperate

in any way possible, Dr. Floyd.

11/25/65 b56a

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B39

SEVERAL SCENIC VIEWS OF

MOON ROCKET BUS SKIMMING

OVER SURFACE OF MOON.

10/5/65 b57

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B40

INSIDE ROCKET BUS,

FLOYD, HALVORSEN,

MICHAELS, FOURTH

MAN, PILOT AND

CO-PILOT. ALL IN

SPACE SUITS MINUS

HELMETS.

FLOYD IS SLOWELY

LOOKING THROUGH:

SOME PHOTOGRAPHS

AND MAGNETIC:

MAPS OF THE AREA.

HE LOOKS OUT OF:

THE WINDOW,

THOUGHTFULLY.

11/25/65 b58

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B40

CONTINUED:

THE PHOTOGRAPHES

ARE TAKEN FROM A

SATELLITE OF THE

MOON'S SURFACE

AND HAVE NUMBERED

OPTICAL GRID:

BORDERS, LIKE

RECENT MARS:

PHOTOS.

A FEW SEATS:

AWAY, MICHAELS

AND HALVORSEN:

CARRY OUT A VERY

BANAL ADMINISTRATIVE

CONVERSATION IN LOW

TONES. IT SHOULD

REVOLVE AROUND:

SOMETHING UTTERLY

IRRELEVANT TO THE

PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES

AND VERY MUCH LIKE

THE KIND OF DISCUSSION

ONE HEARS ALL THE

TIME IN OTHER:

ORGANIZATIONS.

DISSOLVE:

11/25/65 b59

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B41

TMA-1 EXCAVATION.

AIR VIEW. ROCKET

BUS DESCENDING.

THERE ARE NO LIGHTS

ON THE ACTUAL EXCA-

VATION, ONLY THE

LANDING STRIP AND

THE MONITOR DOME.

12/14/65 b60

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B42

LONG SHOT MONITOR DOMES

WITH A BIT OF EXCAVATION

IN SHOT. SIX SMALL FIGURES

IN SPACE SUITS SLOWLY WALK

TOWARD EXCAVATION.

10/5/65 b61

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B43

THE PARTY STOPS:

AT TOP OF TMA-1

EXCAVATION.

A SMALL CONTROL:

PANEL MOUNTED AT

THE HEAD OF THE:

RAMP. MICHAELS

THROWS A SWITCH:

AND THE EXCAVATION

IS SUDDENLY ILLUMINATED.

HALVORSEN:

Well, there it is.

FLOYD:

Can we go down there closer to

it?

HALVORSEN:

Certainly.

12/14/65 b62

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B44

THEY START DOWN:

WORKING RAMP:

FLOYD:

Does your geology on it still

check out?

MICHAELS:

Yes, it does. The sub-surface

structure shows that it was

deliberately buried about four

million years ago.

FLOYD:

How can you tell it was

deliberately buried?

MICHAELS:

By the deformation between

the mother rock and the fill.

FLOYD:

Any clue as to what it is?

MICHAELS:

Not really. It's completely

inert. No sound or energy

sources have been detected.

The surface is made of

something incredibly hard

and we've been barely able

to scratch it. A laser drill

11/25/65 b63

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B44

CONTINUED:

Rate this script:2.7 / 3 votes