Rollerball Page #2

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Continue to hold the calls, all right?

Come in, Jonathan. Keep silence

with me for a minute, won't you?

It's important to have a place

to think things out.

You have your ranch.

I know you take a lot of pleasure in it.

I cut my finger.

Sorry. Here.

You've had an amazing career, Jonathan.

You know how proud we are

of the Houston team,

and what we think of you at Energy.

But now there are executives

who want you out.

Sir?

You've had 10 years

in this game, Jonathan.

Longer than anyone ever.

- Retire... How can I do that?

- On your special programme.

Some people feel this programme should

be used to announce your retirement.

Who wants that?

When this special was first planned by us

here at Energy, we saw it as a good thing.

Now the Executive Directorate

wants a change.

The programme is scheduled,

the world is waiting,

so this does seem the perfect time.

The team, they depend on me.

Jonathan, let's think this through together.

You know how the game serves us.

It has a definite social purpose.

Nations are bankrupt, gone.

None of that tribal warfare any more.

Even the corporate wars

are a thing of the past.

I know that...

So now we have the majors

and their executives.

Transport, food, communication,

housing, luxury, energy.

A few of us making decisions

on a global basis for the common good.

The team is a unit.

It plays with certain rhythms.

So does an executive team, Jonathan.

Now everyone has all the comforts,

you know that.

No poverty, no sickness.

No needs and many luxuries,

which you enjoy just as if

you were in the executive class.

Corporate society

takes care of everything.

And all it asks of anyone,

all it has ever asked of anyone ever,

is not to interfere

with management decisions.

I don't mean to resist.

I'm just tryin' to understand.

This is for your own benefit.

You must know that, Jonathan.

All decisions concerning you are.

Well, I lost Ella.

They took my wife

because an executive wanted her.

I won't review all that again.

That was before I took over.

I had nothing to do with it.

From what I hear

your wife wanted to leave herself.

So, now you're going to retire.

That shouldn't be too hard for you.

Stupid game, after all. Awful game.

You ought to be glad to be out of it.

I don't...

I don't know, Mr Bartholomew.

I just don't know.

I realise you had nothing to do with Ella.

- Jonathan, I...

- But...

You're right.

I mean, I oughta do...

- I oughta be happy to do what you say.

- Take your time.

Take a few days.

You've just come through a game.

You're tired.

Go to your ranch, but think about it.

And understand it.

Do understand it.

Because I don't understand

your resistance.

And I don't think anyone else will either.

- Is Clete here?

- In the training room.

I'll go say hello.

Jonathan?

Look what I got for breakfast.

It's a notice from the Corporation.

What's it say?

Oh, that I should get out of here.

You know, go away, vanish.

That kind of thing.

You know anything about that?

Yeah, I kinda heard something about it.

You knew it was comin'.

We've been together six months.

Didn't you even wanna say goodbye?

- We'll talk about it later, OK?

- You didn't, did you?

You didn't even want me here

when you got back.

I gotta go see Cletus.

- What do you want me to do now?

- I want you to take it easy.

I want you to go in

and fix us something to eat.

Clete's come a long way

and I'm hungry. All right?

Jonathan?

I'm glad you're all right.

Come on. All right, come on.

- I ain't tired enough.

- Yeah!

It caught you, didn't it, baby?

Two games running.

- What?

- You did that in the last two games.

Shoulder forward left.

You're standing on your left skate.

You do that in Tokyo, they'll take

your arm home for lunch. You with me?

OK. You practise that for me a little, huh?

Hell, I forget which corporation is which.

Any ass knows that fire's energy.

Who wrote the music?

Where does the music come from?

- OK if I have one of these?

- Go on, have a holiday.

I forget what corporation's

running what city.

Chicago's still the Food City,

but what about Indianapolis?

Whatever happened to that town?

Whatever happened to Mackie?

Everything was much simpler when

I was a kid. We still had three nations.

That was before the corporate wars,

even before rollerball. Before everything.

Do you believe in kids?

I remember hearing about the National

Football League and the World Cup.

- Where are you going?

- Indianapolis.

What do you know about that stuff, Clete?

You know, how the corporations

got started, about the corporate wars.

They were nasty!

- Well, nobody talks about that.

- Well, except for friends.

Yeah.

I remember your rookie year.

You were mean and tight.

The best player I ever coached.

Nobody could lay a hand on you

that year. Remember?

Yeah.

Look, I gotta ask you something.

That figures. Go ahead, I'm listening.

Well, there's something

goin' on with the game.

I don't know what it is.

I don't think I'm supposed to know.

- What's that?

- They want me to quit.

Why would they want you to do that?

I don't know.

That's what I'd like you to find out.

I can try.

I hear just about everything going on

in the game, one way or another.

That's what I mean. I can't think of

another executive who'd tell me a thing.

Like I say,

I'll try.

- But I don't think there's much...

- Look, no troubles for either of us, Clete.

Just find out what you can.

Trust me, Jonathan. You know you can.

Sure.

Well, sit down.

Oh, yeah!

Thanks, boys.

Good show, Johnny.

That's the Houston stride.

You boys wanna play for Houston,

you'll have to learn it.

We pride ourselves

on bein' a power team.

- That's right.

- We're power, we're mean.

And that doesn't mean to say we like to

have you hangin' back there on a rail,

just fightin' somebody in section A,

when you should be in section B.

I'm comin' up to score

and you ain't in the section,

- it won't do us no good.

- That's right.

Who's the two new catchers here?

Right. Gimme that ball.

Don't stick your hand

in that gutter too quick.

Wait till this ball

comes down on the track.

Don't get too anxious.

That thing'll take your arm off.

Now the bikers.

A biker might sacrifice

a little three-minute penalty,

run over the top of a skater,

if he feels he's skating a little too good.

So we have a few methods

here in Houston. There's hundreds.

One, of course, is to use this shield.

Use your pads. Use what you got.

Drive that arm in there.

Keep your feet forward.

Hit, move, you get away from the wreck.

Don't come across in here.

You get all twisted.

Or if a biker's sittin' up nice and high -

a lot of guys like to ride high -

drag one off in midair. I hurt you, Blue?

I wouldn't hurt him for the world.

Now a third method, and the one

perfected by a little friend of mine,

the swoop.

The swooper, that's me!

Hang up on the rail,

use the speed of the track,

come down and drop-kick a biker.

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