Obselidia Page #4

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LEWIS:
You think

this is beautiful?

-Yeah.

-Well, you're in dubious

luck, because in a little more

than 50 years' time, most of

the world will look like this.

-You don't really

believe that, do you?

-Not a question of belief.

Here's how it is-- God, if he

exists, his own honest truth.

By 2020, extreme weather

patterns will be the norm.

Earth's cooling system

will fail with the melting

of the polar caps.

And by '20, 50, 75%

of all land mass--

that which has not been

claimed by rising sea levels--

will be desert, just like

what we see around us.

And by 2100, 80% of human

population-- decimated.

-That's ridiculous.

-Yes.

It is ridiculous.

But that's the way it is.

-But-- you-- what if we

seriously cut carbon emissions

in the next five years, say in

line with the Kyoto Protocol?

-If you'd asked that, George,

40 years ago, maybe a chance.

But not now.

-And surely if

more people switch

to sustainable green living.

-"The Titanic" is going down

and we are rearranging the deck

chairs.

We have hit the damn iceberg.

Nothing we can do about it.

-There must be

something we can do.

-There is.

Enjoy it while we can, because

it isn't going to last.

Do our best to treat

it with kindness

and enjoy it while we can.

So let's drink to that.

[clink]

Such-- such gentle creatures.

[buzzing]

-Each working for the

collective good of all.

If only man could

learn to live that way,

hm, maybe we'd save the bees.

You heard about their plight?

-Yeah, of course.

I read that as many

as 90% of the bees

worldwide have died off

in the last 17 years.

LEWIS:
That's right.

And you know what

Albert Einstein said?

-If the honeybees

disappeared completely,

humans could survive

only four more years.

-Yeah, we depend on these

creatures for our survival.

Our being depends upon them

as theirs does on us, yeah.

So.

So you're writing

an "Encyclopedia

of Obsolete Things."

I-- I can't help

but think that, um,

that all human knowledge

will be filed there soon.

Um, agriculture as we

know it-- finished.

Things that we hold as given

truths, completely meaningless.

Even your own encyclopedia.

-I think I know about that.

-Then, um, why do it?

The past is gone.

All it's left us with

just a hell of a mess.

-I think that that mess is

partly due to our eagerness

to move so quickly

into the future

without really taking

stock of where we've been.

-Yeah?

I think that you're attached

to it, the good old days.

I was.

But it makes me wonder

why-- why you came out here

to talk to me.

-Well, I wanted to see if

you were a reliable source.

-Yeah?

Well, you think I'm--

you think I'm crazy?

-No.

But I-- I think there's a

chance that you're wrong.

I mean, a lot of

experts in the field

still believe there's a window

of opportunity to change.

-Let's say that I'm wrong,

I'm a crazy old man.

I'm wrong, and that there's

a bigger window of chance

to save the human

race than I think.

Five years, ten years, before

the damage is irreversible.

That's what they say,

most of my colleagues.

Well, optimistic

colleagues, right?

-Mm-hm.

-Well, fine.

So it is as they say.

Now here's the question

that you have to ask.

Do you think people

are about to change?

Do you think that even now, in

the face of mass extinction,

people will change

the way they live?

No.

No.

[buzzing]

SOPHIE:
Smile.

Three, two, one.

[polaroid takes picture]

SOPHIE:
Perfect.

Thanks, guys.

-So, um, are you all

staying around for tonight?

-Yes, actually, I

was going to ask

if there's a motel that

you could recommend.

-Or a place to camp.

-Well, yes, if you

have a tent, you're

welcome to pitch it here.

I have no problem with that.

-It's OK.

-That's great.

-Yeah, best place,

right over there.

Less chance or rattlesnakes.

-Perfect.

And I was wondering if I

could use your telephone.

I can't seem to get

a signal out here.

-Oh, I need to make

a phone call, too.

-I don't have a telephone.

I am gratefully cut off from

what they-- what they dare

call civilization.

Nearest phone is at the

Amargosa Opera House

at Death Valley

Junction, 10 miles.

-Cool, that's great.

Well, we can set up camp

and take a drive over.

-Well, if you do, you might

want to time it for the show.

Marta Beckett has performed

every Saturday night

for the past 40 years.

It's well worth a visit.

-That's perfect.

-Mm-hm.

-Yeah.

-I don't know if this

is such a good idea.

I mean, maybe we should

just get a room in a motel.

-So all you have to do

is put the little poles

in the little holes.

Do you want to give

me some help here?

That's it, see?

Easy.

That's right, like

in those holes there.

-I think I might

sleep in the car.

-[sigh] You'll be fine.

Look at it.

It's gorgeous.

Oh, it's great in here.

SOPHIE:
(WHISPERING)

Why are you videoing it?

You should just watch.

[applause]

That was amazing, wasn't it?

It was worth coming out

here just for that show.

GEORGE:
It was

worth meeting Lewis.

SOPHIE:
Oh.

GEORGE:
He was amazing.

-Doesn't he annoy you?

-No.

-What, not even just a bit?

I mean, all that

"you're all gonna die

and there's nothing you

can do about it" sh*t.

-I don't think that's

what he's saying.

-Yes it is, and he's wrong.

Just 'cause he's getting old.

-Well, just because you

don't agree with something

does mean it's wrong.

-Yes it is.

You can never say

there's no hope.

So are you good?

-Yeah.

-Lights out then?

[sigh]

-Good night, Sophie.

-(WHISPERING) Good night.

Are you sleeping yet?

-No.

-Me neither.

So is this really the first

time you've slept in a tent?

-No.

-Tell the story.

-Well, I was in a friend

of mine's backyard

when we were kids.

We got scared halfway

through the night,

and his mom let us in.

-No Mommy to let you in tonight.

-No.

-But I'll look after you.

-Good night, Sophie.

-Good night.

[howl]

-What was that?

-Coyote.

I think it was a coyote.

-(FRANTICALLY) What do we do?

What do we do?

SOPHIE:
Enjoy it, George.

We-- just enjoy it.

GEORGE:
Enjoy the sound of wild

creatures coming to devour us?

SOPHIE:
[laughs]

GEORGE:
What's so funny?

SOPHIE:
You!

Just relax.

We're safe.

[laughs]

-Are you sure we'll be safe?

-Well, given that you think

that 80% of the human population

will be gone in the next

100 years, no, George,

I don't think we're safe.

-Point taken.

-We'll be fine.

At least till the morning.

-Good morning.

-Ah, good morning.

Hope you like your

eggs scrambled, George.

-Who doesn't?

-And desert honey,

courtesy of the bees.

-Thank you.

Looks like you were up early.

-Well, you know, I haven't

missed a sunrise in 15 years.

If you hike to that point,

well, even an old atheist

like me sometimes

whispers the name of God.

-As beautiful as that?

-And then some.

-Well, I wish you

would have asked me.

I would have loved

to have joined you.

Thank you for this, Lewis.

-Oh, it's my pleasure.

It's a rare treat for me

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