Minority Report Page #7

He lowers his sunglasses and two ultraviolet lights STROBE on

the retinal scanner as Anderton is EYEdentiscanned and

cleared to enter.

INT. PRECRIME HEADQUATERS - MAIN FLOOR - DAY

As Anderton enters, is immediately cut off by Burgess.

BURGESS:

Those bastards at Justice want to

take it all away from us.

Anderton stops, faces Burgess who looks at his watch, then

stares back at Anderton.

BURGESS:

And this is exactly the kind of

behavior that will give them an

excuse to do it.

ANDERTON:

Lamar, I'm sorry. I don't know

what --

BURGESS:

Don't apologize, John.

His tone stops Anderton.

BURGESS:

You understand that a week from now

people are going to vote on whether

or not what we've been doing down

here has been some noble-minded

enterprise or a chance to change

the way this country fights crime.

ANDERTON:

I understand. Sir.

Burgess stares at Anderton.

BURGESS:

I need you to do two things for me.

One, watch Danny Witwer.

ANDERTON:

Yes, sir.

BURGESS:

You can let him look around, answer

his questions, but watch him. If

there's any problems, make sure we

know about it first.

ANDERTON:

I understand. What's the other

thing?

BURGESS:

Tuck in your shirt.

Burgess gives him a look, then turns and walks away.

Anderton looks down, tucks in his shirt, then hurries off...

INT. PRECRIME ANALYTICAL ROOM - DAY

As Jad, Fletcher and Knott show Witwer one of the wooden

"eggs". All of them now chewing gum, friendly with Witwer.

FLETCHER:

The information we need is embedded

in the grain of wood. And since

each piece is unique, the shape and

grain is impossible to duplicate.

WITWER:

(returns the sphere to

Fletcher)

I'm sure you've all grasped the

legalistic drawback to precrime

methodology.

KNOTT:

Here we go again...

WITWER:

Look, I'm not with the ACLU on this

Jeff. But let's not kid ourselves,

we are arresting individuals who've

broken no law.

JAD:

But they will.

FLETCHER:

The commission of the crime itself

is absolute metaphysics. The

Precogs see the future. And

they're never wrong.

WITWER:

But it's not the future if you stop

it. Isn't that a fundamental

paradox?

ANDERTON (O.S.)

Yes, it is.

They all turn and look at Anderton as he comes into the room,

takes the sphere from Fletcher.

ANDERTON:

You're talking about

predetermination, which happens all

the time.

Suddenly, Anderton rolls the ball towards Witwer who catches

it just as it's about to go off the table.

ANDERTON:

Why did you catch that?

WITWER:

Because it was going to fall.

ANDERTON:

You're certain?

WITWER:

Yes.

ANDERTON:

But it didn't fall. You caught it.

Witwer looks at the ball in his hand.

ANDERTON:

The fact that you prevented it from

happening doesn't change the fact

that it was going to happen.

WITWER:

You ever get any false positives?

Someone intends to kill his boss or

his wife, but they never go through

with it. How do the precogs tell

the difference?

ANDERTON:

The Precogs don't see what you

intend to do, only what you will

do.

WITWER:

Then why can't they see rapes, or

assaults... or suicides?

FLETCHER:

Because of the nature of murder.

(quoting)

"There's nothing more destructive

to the metaphysical fabric that

binds us than the untimely murder

of one human being by another".

WITWER:

Somehow, I don't think that was

Walt Whitman.

Anderton looks at Witwer. The man knows more than he

thought.

ANDERTON:

(looking at Witwer)

It was Iris Hineman. She developed

the Precogs, designed the system

and pioneered the interface.

WITWER:

Speaking of interfacing, I'd love

to say hello.

ANDERTON:

To Hineman?

Witwer looks at the screens showing THE PRECOGS.

WITWER:

To them.

ANDERTON:

Cops aren't allowed inside the

temple.

WITWER:

Really? You've never been inside?

ANDERTON:

We keep a strict separation so that

no one can accuse us of tampering.

WITWER:

So I'll be the first one to go in

then?

ANDERTON:

Maybe you didn't hear me.

WITWER:

If it's a question of authority.

ANDERTON:

There's no question. You don't

have any.

WITWER:

I have a warrant in my pocket that

says different.

The other men don't move, don't blink.

ANDERTON:

Show it to me.

Witwer pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket folded

several times and hands it to him. As Anderton unfolds it...

WITWER:

Contrary to what you might think,

this experiment is being conducted

under the supervision and with the

express permission of the Attorney

General of the United States. I'm

here as his representative. Which

means... you're now operating under

my supervision.

Anderton looks up from the paper, at his men, at Witwer.

He's lost and he knows it. Witwer takes the paper back.

WITWER:

It seems you've been left out of

the loop, John.

INSIDE THE TEMPLE

AS WALLY, the caretaker, an odd little guy who doesn't get a

lot of sun looks over as Witwer and Anderton walk through A

LASER DECONTAMINATION BOOTH...

WALLY:

No no no no no...

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