Contact Page #9

PRESIDENT LASKER

Let's get out of here.

CUT TO:

MONITOR WALL (LOCATION UNKNOWN) - DAY

More global news coverage, private surveillance camera

feeds; also some disturbing pornographic images.

On one monitor, a moment from the President's VLA press

conference plays over and over -- the moment when Drumlin

stepped up to the podium in front of Ellie. A gnarled

hand pushes a button on a console and the image enlarges

-- we see Ellie's expression of shock and hurt, over and

over. Over and over.

On the next monitor over is live CNN coverage of the scene

outside the VLA -- we begin to PUSH IN ON it --

WOLF BLITZER (V.O.)

... There had been speculation on

the part of psychologists that the

proliferation of depictions of

aliens in movies and on television

in recent years might make for an

almost blase acceptance of the news.

MATCH CUT TO:

EXT. DESERT (NEW MEXICO) - DAY

The road leading to the VLA is jammed with vehicles, RVs,

vans, busses, as far as the eye can see. More people walk

on the side of the road.

WOLF BLITZER (V.O.)

But the truth is, it turns out, is

far stranger than anything Hollywood

might have dreamed up -- and here,

today, the prospect of

extraterrestrial intelligence if no

longer science fiction -- it's the

best show in town.

The VIEW CLIMBS, REVEALING campfires, BBQs, tents of all

shapes and sizes littering the plains surrounding the

telescope array. Signs and banners reading "Watch the

Skies" and "There are Aliens Among Us." Woodstock 1998.

VOICE (O.S.)

... I know you're angry -- we're all

angry. About the lies. The

corruption. About the cancer of

despair spreading through every

aspect of our lives. But Rome will

fall, my friends; everywhere now are

the signs of closure. Even now the

end begins.

EXT. VLA ENTRANCE - CONTINUOUS ACTION

Various preachers and new age gurus speak to gatherings

all along the new cyclone fence surrounding the VLA. We

become aware of a crowd concentrated around a young man

speaking on a small stage: JOSEPH. He has the appeal of

a rock star, albeit a compelling well-spoken one. His

AMPLIFIED VOICE RINGS OUT:

JOSEPH:

The millennium is upon us. God has

fulfilled his promise, sending us

this herald to warn the faithless --

the scientists who tell us He

doesn't even exist -- and to promise

us, the faithful, we will be saved.

Beyond Joseph we can see through the shiny new cyclone

fence to the VLA building, now surrounded by tents and

temporary structures.

JOSEPH (O.S.)

I don't know what this voice from

the sky says -- but I do know that

if history has taught us anything,

it's that the politicians and the

scientists are lying to us, right

now, for their own good! Are these

the kind of people you want talking

to your God for you -- ?

INT. VLA CONTROL ROOM - DAY

Outside, the panorama window searchlights fan, CROWDS

CHANT frightening rhythms. Inside, the numbing, never-

ending pulses of the signal and scrolling numbers.

The former lounge/cafeteria has been turned into

decryption central: dozens of personal workstations,

populated with Silicon Valley's finest assortment of

techno-wizards, crashed out on cots in a 'round-the-clock

effort to break the code.

Ellie sips her coffee as she walks briskly through the

chaos; Drumlin matches her stride for stride.

DRUMLIN:

... Arrangements also have to be

made for the V.I.P.s coming in,

mostly religious leaders...

ELLIE:

What? Why?

DRUMLIN:

The theological ramifications of all

this are obvious; the President

feels we need to include religious

interests rather than alienate them.

She's also named Palmer Joss as

their liaison; he's requested a

meeting with you.

ELLIE:

With me.

DRUMLIN:

Apparently he's genuinely interested

in science. This could be a chance

to win him over.

ELLIE:

I'm going to convert Mr. Science-is-

the-root-of-all-evil? This is

absurd, David. We have work to do

here, I don't have time to play

babysitter to the God Squad.

DRUMLIN:

(low and dangerous)

Ellie --

Ellie looks at him in surprise as he grabs her by the

elbow.

DRUMLIN:

I want you to listen to me,

carefully. The minute the

implications of this message became

clear, this stopped being simply a

scientific matter and became a

political one -- an extremely

complex, extremely volatile one.

There are forces at work here you

don't understand; I can help you up

to a point, but only up to a point.

ELLIE:

(in innocent wonder)

Are you threatening me?

DRUMLIN:

It's not a threat, Ellie, it's a

fact -- if you're not careful, you

may find yourself out in the cold

very quickly. Play ball. Really.

It's good advice.

Ellie stops as she notices through the windows,

Lunacharsky stepping out of the decryption area. He's

looking right at her.

ELLIE:

Excuse me.

ANGLE:

As Ellie approaches Lunacharsky, something in his eyes

tells her there's more to his weary look than just

fatigue.

ELLIE:

What?

LUNACHARSKY:

We've repeated. A few minutes ago

the message cycled back to page one.

ELLIE:

And?

LUNACHARSKY:

No primer.

ELLIE:

(incredulous)

How can that be?

LUNACHARSKY:

I don't know. Maybe there is a

fourth layer in there somewhere, but

if there is, I sure as hell can't

find it.

Ellie stares at him -- turns to look at Drumlin -- then

walks out of the room.

INT. ELLIE'S ROOM - NIGHT

Bleary-eyed, three days with no sleep, Ellie sits at her

terminal, staring at the hieroglyphics, more impenetrable

then ever. In the corner, the TV DRONES.

BERNIE SHAW (V.O.)

... And with church attendance at

record highs, a coalition of

religious leaders are using their

increased political capital to

challenge the very legality of radio

astronomy itself, claiming the

message and its contents subvert the

moral climate of their

constituencies. More after this...

A CNN special report logo -- "The Message," dazzlingly

vulgar with its own graphics and there.

A COMMERCIAL CONTINUES in the b.g.:

COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCER (V.O.)

In the air, under the sea, in the

depths of D.N.A. itself, Hadden

Industries is at the frontier...

Ellie, chin on forearms, stares at her screen, willing

herself to find a pattern.

Suddenly she blinks -- something is changing. A dot

appears in the middle of the screen. It begins to grow,

revealing a complex fractal shape. It splits, enlarges,

splits again, the shapes finally revealing themselves

as... English letters. Which read:

"TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER"

Ellie stares --

ELLIE:

Someone's broken into the system,

someone's compromised the

f***ing -- !

She quickly type in: "Who are you?"

The fractals reform" "I'VE GOT A SECRET."

Ellie types again: "WHO ARE YOU?"

The fractals reform: "YOUR PLACE OR MINE?"

Ellie stares -- more fractals form as she grabs a pen and

paper --

EXT. VLA - NIGHT

National Guardsmen have established a perimeter around the

compound; soldiers are posted on the main road as well.

As Ellie ROARS through the gate in her 1967 T-BIRD, our

VIEW RISES:
the new Woodstock nation is, for the moment,

asleep.

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