SOLARIS Page #2

Gibarian switches off the video.

The computer screen freezes the last recorded frame and

overlays a readout indicating the file has ended.

CUT TO:

INT. CORRIDOR

Empty. But there is a door at the end of it, slightly open.

Kelvin moves toward it.

INT. ROOM

A FIGURE, seated with its back to the door, turns to see

Kelvin enter. This is SNOW. He looks Kelvin up and down,

his expression wary and alert.

KELVIN:

Snow. Didn't you hear me radio?

I'm Kelvin.

A long beat. Snow just watches him.

SNOW:

Yes. We heard.

Kelvin takes a step forward, and Snow recoils.

KELVIN:

What's wrong? What happened to

Gibarian?

SNOW:

He's dead.

KELVIN:

How?

A beat.

SNOW:

Suicide.

Snow exhales, then looks up as though he's remembered

something.

SNOW:

You didn't bring any chocolate, did

you?

KELVIN:

What?

SNOW:

(musing)

I love chocolate. I realized just

yesterday how much I love it.

(beat, then he recovers)

I thought maybe, if they let you

bring personal effects, you might

have snuck some through, because...

well, I've been thinking about it.

A long beat as Kelvin stares at Snow.

KELVIN:

What happened here?

Snow lies back in his bunk.

SNOW:

I can't talk just now. I'm too

tired.

KELVIN:

Where's Sartorius?

SNOW:

In his lab. He won't let you in.

KELVIN:

(leaving)

He'll let me in.

SNOW:

Kelvin, if you see anything

unusual...

Kelvin stops, but doesn't turn around.

SNOW:

... try to stay calm.

CUT TO:

INT. CORRIDOR

Kelvin stands outside a door.

KELVIN:

Let me in.

A beat.

SARTORIUS:

(inside, muffled)

You have to give me your word you

won't come in. Then I'll come out.

KELVIN:

All right.

Sartorius cracks the door open and slithers through the slit

and into the hallway. He is of obvious intelligence and not

to be messed with; contentious, intimidating when he wants to

be, and probably brilliant. Kelvin eyes him suspiciously.

KELVIN:

What happened to Gibarian?

SARTORIUS:

Didn't you talk to Snow?

KELVIN:

I want to hear your version.

SARTORIUS:

(incredulous)

Who, here, could possibly care what

you want? At best, you're Employee

of the Month for the highest bidder

in the Solaris auction. They have

no idea what's going on up here.

They've never even been in space.

And I'm supposed to listen to you?

KELVIN:

I am here to recover this mission,

report my findings, and make a

recommendation. Now: What happened

to him?

SARTORIUS:

The same thing that could happen to

any of us.

KELVIN:

Where's his body?

SARTORIUS:

In the lab. With her, probably.

KELVIN:

Her? Who are you talking about?

Sartorius is grabbed by something on the other side of his

door. He struggles to keep his composure.

SARTORIUS:

His last wish was to be buried on

Earth. In dirt, he said. "I want

to buried in dirt." What a clown.

Sartorius is losing the battle with whomever or whatever is

on the other side of his door.

KELVIN:

They shouldn't let people like you

into space.

SARTORIUS:

Just so you know: I'm not going

back until I understand what it is.

I am going to figure out what it

is, make it stop, and then I will

go home.

KELVIN:

Listen --

SARTORIUS:

We're done. Oh, I should tell you,

I don't trust Snow. There's

something wrong with him.

Sartorius rotates and zips back into his room. As the door

closes Kelvin sees a flash of ANOTHER FIGURE in Sartorius'

room. The glimpse was too quick to judge who or what the

other figure could have been.

CUT TO:

INT. CORRIDOR - DAY

Kelvin walks, exploring the ship. He sees something that

stops him:

A NUDE WOMAN:

Black, early 20s, slipping across a corridor up ahead.

Kelvin gives chase. He sees her turn a corner, but by the

time he gets there, she is gone.

CUT TO:

INT. SNOW'S ROOM

Snow is lying on his bunk.

KELVIN:

Is there anybody else here?

SNOW:

(sits up a little)

Why, who did you see?

KELVIN:

Gibarian warned me. He left me a

message.

SNOW:

Who was it?

KELVIN:

She was real. Where did she come

from?

Snow looks at him but doesn't respond.

KELVIN:

Tell me. I won't think you're

insane.

SNOW:

Oh, that's a relief.

Snow lies back down.

KELVIN:

Where did she come from?

A beat.

SNOW:

How much sleep do you need?

KELVIN:

How much sleep?

SNOW:

How long can you go without sleep?

KELVIN:

That depends.

SNOW:

Well, when you do go to sleep:

barricade your door.

Snow rolls over, away from Kelvin.

CUT TO:

EXT. SPACE

Solaris. Quiet, but still active somehow.

KELVIN (V.O.)

The Prometheus, as far as I can

tell, is functionally intact. Crew

status:
One dead, Gibarian. Cause

of death appears to be suicide.

CUT TO:

INT. KELVIN'S ROOM

Kelvin speaks into a video communication device. As he does,

we see images of the things and people he describes.

KELVIN:

Interviews with the surviving

members and a perusal of the

deceased's personal effects

indicate he was suffering from

severe depression with psychotic

features, along with bouts of

hypomania, dementia, delirium, and

primary insomnia. All of these

symptoms, combined with a profound

sense of isolation, are commonly

found in studies of low stimulation

environments, particularly long

range space travel. Snow and

Sartorius show indications of

depression, including dysthymic and

bipolar I; a variety of stress

disorders, including acute and

posttraumatic; and suggestions of

agoraphobia, obsessive/compulsive

disorder, and hypersomnia. I

emphasize these are preliminary

opinions on my part. I will

attempt to convince Snow and

Sartorius to return to Earth, but

as they currently view me as an

intruder of sorts, this may take

some time.

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