Signs Page #16

MERRILL:

But they're not really gone. We just

can't see them. Early this morning a

bird flew right at the area where

the lights were hovering last night.

Merrill puts a finger in the sky on the screen.

MERRILL:

It stopped dead in the air and fell

straight down.

Merrill's finger trails to the bottom of the screen.

MERRILL:

They caught it on tape and they've

been playing it all morning. They

found the bird. His head crushed in.

When you see the footage it looks

like the bird flew into a wall in

the sky.

(beat)

They think they have some invisible

shield thing going, like an optical

illusion.

GRAHAM:

The bird could have had a heart attack

and crushed his head when he fell.

MERRILL:

Already thought of. Two other birds

did the same thing an hour later.

Not as dramatic. They lived. But you

could see they hit something.

Graham looks at the empty sky on the screen with different

eyes.

MERRILL:

They're still there hovering. In

fact, some people think there's more

of them now. All over the place.

Over us even.

(beat)

And there's a theory about the crop

circles now. They think it could be

some kind of landmark, visual mapping

system -- so they can navigate.

Coordinate. Makes sense doesn't it?

CUT TO:

INT. MASTER BEDROOM - DAY

We are inside Graham's bedroom facing his bathroom door,

which is closed. The same sun-faded outline of where a large

cross used to hang, is stained on the wall next to the door.

Graham opens the bathroom door and steps out with wet hair.

He towels it dry as he moves to his bedroom window.

WE LOOK OUT THE SAME WINDOW WE LOOKED OUT AT THE VERY

BEGINNING.

The backyard is large and green with a wooden jungle gym. A

single tree throws shade onto a picnic table. The back of

the yard is lined by corn crops. Golden and brown. Six feet

high.

The crops go on well beyond our view. Graham stares at them

quietly. Watching.

Beat. THE SOUND OF WHISPERING DRAWS HIS ATTENTION FROM THE

WINDOW.

He listens closely. HIS CHILDREN ARE WHISPERING IN THE NEXT

ROOM.

CUT TO:

INT. CHILDREN'S BEDROOM - DAY

Graham walks into the hall and looks in their room.

Morgan and Bo are seated on the edge of their bed. They have

TIN FOIL wrapped around their heads like a helmet. Graham

stares at his children.

MORGAN:

So the aliens can't read our minds.

GRAHAM:

Oh.

MORGAN:

They tell you everything in this

book.

Morgan holds up the book he bought from Nathan's bookstore.

Graham enters the room. The children make space for him on

the bed. He takes a seat between them. Morgan puts the book

on his father's lap.

MORGAN:

It says they're probably very small --

like my height -- because, as their

brains developed, there was no use

for physical development. It says

they're probably vegetarians, because

they would have realized the benefits

of such a diet.

GRAHAM:

Who wrote this book?

Graham looks on the back cover for a picture. There's none

there.

MORGAN:

Scientists who have been persecuted

for their beliefs.

GRAHAM:

That means they're unemployed.

Morgan closes the book.

MORGAN:

Dad, are you going to be serious?

Bo points at the book.

BO:

Yeah, serious.

Graham looks at his two children with foil on their heads.

GRAHAM:

I don't know what got into me.

Beat. Morgan puts the book on his father's lap.

MORGAN:

There are pictures.

Beat. Morgan opens the tome.

MORGAN:

Dr. Bimboo, one of the authors of

the book --

GRAHAM:

Bimboo?

MORGAN:

Dad.

GRAHAM:

I just asked his name.

MERRILL:

You had a tone.

Beat. Graham acknowledges with a nod that he did have a tone.

MORGAN:

He says there are two reasons why

Extraterrestrials would visit us.

Morgan turns the page.

MORGAN:

To make contact in the spirit of

exploration and furthering the

knowledge of the universe.

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