Hollow Man Page #4

MATT:

What was that about?

LINDA:

Nothing. It's just... He is who he is.

Sometimes I just have to be reminded.

CUT TO:

INT. LABORATORY - NIGHT

Sebastian wanders through the empty hallways of the

laboratory.

INT. HALLWAY OF HABITATS - NIGHT

Sebastian paces back and forth, examining the habitats.

He taps on the Plexiglas of one. The cubicle explodes

with

BARKING.

We see the Plexi steam up in one part, as if something

was breathing on it. As if a nose were pressed against

it.

SEBASTIAN:

(a little drunk)

What's it like? Talk goddamnit! Tell

me what it's like!

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. PENTAGON - DAY

Flying over Washington D. C. , we cross the Potomac and

circle the five-cornered building, looking particularly

gloomy on this grey day.

SEBASTIAN (V.0.)

Six years ago, this committee

commissioned me with a very specific

task...

INT. PENTAGON CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

At the table are six men. A handful of senior military

brass and top civilian advisors direct their attention to

the front of the room, where Sebastian, flanked by Matt

and Linda, is in the middle of his presentation.

SEBASTIAN:

To successful phase-shift a human

being out of quantum sync with the

visible universe and then return him

safely, with no after affects.

Next to Sebastian a video shows a small monkey shifting

from the visible spectrum. It's hair, skin, organs and

skeletons slowly dissolve before our eyes.

SEBASTIAN (cont'd)

Well, we found out sending them to

"never-never-land" was easy, it's the

getting back that's hard.

Sebastian fast forwards a few moments until the video

screen shows the bizarrely tangled heap of flesh and bone

that used to be alive.

SEBASTIAN (cont'd)

Every time we've tried to bring a test

subject back from phase-shift.

Cellular bonds would dissolve, the

primary DNA strands would decay. But

now...

Sebastian pauses. Something's bothering him.

SEBASTIAN (cont'd)

But now...

One of the senior advisers, DR. HARRY KRAMER,

distinguished 50s, finally breaks the silence.

KRAMER:

But now?

Linda and Matt look up at Sebastian expectantly.

SEBASTIAN (CONT'D)

But now...

(pause)

But now, we feel we are closer than

ever to resolving this issue. We've

been experimenting with a new

regression formula that looks rather

promising.

A FOUR STAR GENERAL leans forward.

GENERAL:

How long?

SEBASTIAN:

Sir?

GENERAL:

Son, as you can imagine, we are very

anxious to field test this tactical

asset. How long till you resolve this

issue?

Linda starts to speak, but Sebastian cuts her off with a

look.

SEBASTIAN:

Shouldn't be more than another year,

Sir.

Frustrated sighs all around the room.

SEBASTIAN (cont'd)

Maybe sooner.

EXT. PENTAGON - DAY

As Linda, Matt and Sebastian head to their cars.

MATT:

Yo. Reality check! What the hell was

that about?

SEBASTIAN:

Keep your voice down.

MATT:

The protocol works. Why'd you tell

them it didn't?

SEBASTIAN:

I wasn't ready for them to know.

MATT:

But they're the oversight committee.

They're supposed to know.

LINDA:

I'm sure he had a reason.

(firmly)

You did have a reason, didn't you,

Sebastian?

SEBASTIAN:

I had more than a reason. I had a

goddamn epiphany.

They reach his Porsche.

SEBASTIAN (cont'd)

What do you think they'd do if they

know we could send a subject into

phase shift and pull it back out

again? How many seconds would it take

for them to take over the whole

project, bringing in their soldiers to

test the formula on. We'd have lost

control of it by the end of the week.

LINDA:

It's their money, Sebastian. It's

going to happen eventually.

SEBASTIAN:

I know. But not yet. There's too much

for us to learn. I don't want my hands

tied by their political agenda when we

go to phase three.

MATT:

Well, then... mind telling us how

you're gonna get a human test-subject

for phase three without the committee

finding out?

SEBASTIAN:

That's easy. I've decided to test the

procedure ...

INT. LABORATORY CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

SEBASTIAN:

... on myself.

The team sits around the conference table. Their jaws

drop and they stare at him with wide eyes.

FRANK:

Are you nuts?

SEBASTIAN:

Was Jonas Salk nuts?

FRANK:

Yeah. Pretty sure he was.

CARTER:

And remember, for every Jonas Salk,

there are a bunch of guys who aren't

famous cuz they died.

SEBASTIAN:

If we're that unsure, how can we

morally justify testing it on someone

else?

JANICE:

Isn't it a little soon to be moving

into phase three anyway?

SARAH:

She's right. We haven't even finished

collating the phase two research.

SEBASTIAN:

We'll have plenty of time to collate

and cross-reference later. Monkey data

doesn't matter anyway. The only real

data is human data.

SARAH:

You don't even know if any of the

protocols will work on humans.

SEBASTIAN:

How are we gonna find out? Besides,

we've succeeded with a gorilla and

their DNA is 98% the same as humans.

And the 2% is not that significant.

LINDA:

Sebastian ... humans can talk, build

houses and cook in microwave ovens.

Gorilla's live in trees. That's a

helluva 2% if you ask me.

SEBASTIAN:

We're all concerned. I know that. But

if we're gonna move forward ever, this

is something we have to do.

LINDA:

Why you? Why not one of us?

SEBASTIAN:

The risks. I couldn't ask...

MATT:

(interrupting)

What if we volunteer?

LINDA:

What if you're too valuable to lose?

SEBASTIAN:

I'm Project Leader. It's my formula

and my call. The best way to express

your concern is to make damn sure you

do your best work. I'll want about

four weeks to...

FRANK:

To put your affairs in order?

SEBASTIAN:

To run some more reversions and tissue

tests and then we'll attempt the phase

shift. I'll stay shifted for three

days of testing and then we'll perform

a quantum regression.

INT. SEBASTIAN'S OFFICE

A knock on the door.

SEBASTIAN:

Come in.

Linda pushes into the room and closes the door behind

her.

SEBASTIAN (cont'd)

What?

LINDA:

In the past six years, I've never once

challenged your decisions, but this

... Sebastian. I don't think you

should do this.

SEBASTIAN:

You don't understand.

LINDA:

Oh please. How long were we together?

You must've said it a million times

... Nobody knows who built the lunar

lander. All they remember in the first

man on the moon.

Sebastian shrugs and nods.

LINDA (cont'd)

But what if something happens to

you... what about the project?

Sebastian smiles.

SEBASTIAN:

Lin, trust me... nothing's going to

happen.

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

Linda and Matt are in bed together. Matt kisses her way

up and down her arm. But Linda is distracted.

LINDA:

He refuses to listen to reason.

MATT:

Can we talk about this later? I'm

trying to make love to you.

LINDA:

Sorry. I just can't let it go.

Matt props himself up on the pillow.

MATT:

I know how you're feeling. Hell, he

and I've been friends since freshman

year.

LINDA:

So how can we let him do this?

MATT:

What if you were given the opportunity

to be the first person on ,Mars, would

you go?

LINDA:

In a heartbeat.

MATT:

What if they didn't know whether or

not they could get you home?

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