Sound of Metal Page #17

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The Protagonist heads back to his car, checks the signal fromhis phone... PEERS at the case...

The case SHUDDERS TO LIFE – LEAPS INTO THE WINDOW OF A

PASSING CAR – THE MERCEDES –

The Protagonist PEELS OUT, DUST FLIES UP IN CLOUDS THAT DON’TFULLY BLOSSOM as expected, but CONTRACT...

The Protagonist STRUGGLES with the wheel, trying to keep thecar on the road with its unaccustomed handling...

96.

PROTAGONIST:

Christ!

He can see the Mercedes up ahead, weaving through traffic...

EXT. HIGHWAY, TALLINN – CONTINUOUS

The Mercedes races back up the off-ramp – the Saab follows,

weaving through traffic which faces him, but travelsbackwards –

As the Saab gets within a couple car lengths, his phone cutsin with audio from his Bluetooth bug in the Mercedes –

SATOR:

(over radio)

– the material’s not in the case –

Sound cuts in and out – FRAGMENTS of voices – he struggles tokeep pace with the Mercedes – he listens hard –

SATOR (CONT'D)

(over radio)

–Get the other sections of the

algorithm to the hypocentre– –He

was lying– –it wasn’t in the BMW–

INVERTED DRIVER:

(over radio)

So where is it?

INT. /EXT. SAAB – CONTINUOUS

The Protagonist finds a clear lane and guns the engine,

tracking the Mercedes as it pulls alongside the Audi, racing‘forwards’, and Sator, orange case in hand, climbs from theMercedes into the Audi...

The Audi pulls alongside the BMW – the Protagonist, sensingthe moment, LOWERS HIS WINDOW... Sator lifts the orange case,

BUT HIS EYES ARE ELSEWHERE –

Inside the Saab, the Protagonist hears BANGING – the BLACKMETAL SHAPE ‘unwedges’ from where it’s been stuck down the

side of a seat – ‘BOUNCING’ around the interior –

The Saab CUTS between the Audi and the BMW –

The orange case FLIES OUT OF SATOR’S HANDS – BOUNCES OFF THESAAB’S WINDSHIELD, ‘LANDING’ IN THE BMW –

JUST AS THE BLACK METAL SHAPE JUMPS OUT OF THE SAAB AND INTO

THE (FORWARD) PROTAGONIST’S LOWER HAND...

97.

Sator, SEEING THIS, YANKS the wheel – CLIPS the Saab – the

Protagonist STRUGGLES for control – but the Saab SPINS ANDROLLS DOWN THE HIGHWAY, COMING TO REST ON ITS ROOF.

The Protagonist, upside down in the car, regainsconsciousness... fuel leaks, pooling outside the window... hesees expensive shoes approach, then Sator’s face peering inat him. In his hand is a LIGHTER.

SATOR:

I saw the hand-off. You made me

shoot her for nothing.

Sator tips his lighter to read his fitness tracker...

SATOR (CONT'D)

You did get my pulse above 130. Noone’s done that before. Not even

my wife.

Backing away, Sator DROPS the lighter, the fuel EXPLODES,

THROWING THE CAR SIDEWAYS – BUT INSTEAD OF FULLY BLOOMING,

THE FLAMES CONTRACT, SPARING THE PROTAGONIST WHO LIES THERE,

FREEZING. HE PASSES OUT.

FADE IN:

INT. SHIPPING CONTAINER – LATER

The Protagonist comes to on a stretcher. Kat is on astretcher next to him. Neil sits between them. The

Protagonist looks at his hands, feels his face, confused.

NEIL:

The heat transfer was reversed –

you may be the first case ofhypothermia from a gasolineexplosion in history.

PROTAGONIST:

At this point, nothing surprises.

The Protagonist looks around the shipping container.

NEIL:

You left Ives and his team one hell

of a clean-up.

PROTAGONIST:

We’re on our way back to Oslo?

NEIL:

In a Rotas shipping container.

PROTAGONIST:

He’s got the material, Neil. Ihanded it to him on a plate.

98.

NEIL:

I warned you –

PROTAGONIST:

‘What’s happened’s happened.’ I getit, now. But it’s tough to takethings on trust from peoplespeaking half-truths.

NEIL:

That’s not fair –

PROTAGONIST:

You were part of this before wemet. Were you working for Priya?

NEIL:

No.

PROTAGONIST:

Who recruited you, Neil?

NEIL:

It can’t possibly do you any goodto know that right now. When thisis over, if we’re still standingand you still care, you can hear mylife story, okay?

Kat GROANS, her eyes flicker open to see the Protagonist.

PROTAGONIST:

I’m sorry I involved you.

KAT:

You need to tell me what’s going

on.

PROTAGONIST:

Apparently, Neil here knows moreabout it than I do.

(to Neil)

Good luck, pal.

NEIL:

By telling Kat anything we’recompromising her in Priya’s eyes.

PROTAGONIST:

In Priya’s eyes she’s alreadycompromised. And she has a right toknow why she might die.

KAT:

I’m going to die?

99.

PROTAGONIST:

Not if we have anything to sayabout it.

NEIL:

And we do.

KAT:

Who are you?

NEIL:

Let me start with the simple stuff.

Every law of physics operates the

same forwards and backwards, exceptone. Entropy...

The Protagonist moves to the back of the container, pulls outhis phone, checks Neil’s attention is on Kat...

SATOR:

(via recording)

–bring– –final section– –directly

to the hypocentre– –with the otherparts– –the algorithm–

The recording breaks up. The Protagonist puts the phone away,

FLEXES his elbow, feeling out some pain... He rolls up hissleeve – there is a DARK PATCH of skin forming –

NEIL:

Are you injured?

PROTAGONIST:

What’s the ‘algorithm’, Neil?

NEIL:

The 241 is one section of it. One

out of nine. It’s a formula

rendered into physical form so itcan’t be copied or communicated. Ablack box with one function.

PROTAGONIST:

Which is?

NEIL:

Inversion. But not objects orpeople. The world around us.

KAT:

I don’t understand.

NEIL:

As they invert the entropy of moreand more objects...

Neil holds his hands, fingers spread, pointing at each other

–

100.

NEIL (CONT'D)

The two directions of time are

becoming more intertwined...

He slowly brings his fingers together, into the ‘Tenet’

gesture –

NEIL (CONT'D)

But because the environment’s

entropy flows in our direction...

He pushes one hand back with the other –

NEIL (CONT'D)

...we dominate. They’re alwaysswimming upstream. It’s what saved

your life – the inverted explosionwas pushing against theenvironment.

PROTAGONIST:

Pissing in the wind.

NEIL:

But the algorithm can change thedirection of that wind. It can

invert the entropy of the world.

KAT:

And if that happens?

NEIL:

Oh, end of play.

PROTAGONIST:

‘End of play’? Can you be a littlemore precise?

NEIL:

Our present wiped out, our pastobliterated. Everyone andeverything who ever lived destroyedinstantly. Precise enough?

KAT:

Including my son.

Neil nods, gravely. Kat winces, clearly in pain.

NEIL:

Let me sedate you – the more yousleep the faster you’ll heal.

Neil injects Kat in the arm. Her eyes close.

101.

EXT. CARGO SHIP – LATER

Close on the hull, we see the water UNSPLASHING at the bow

and SUCKING UNDERNEATH the stern as the ship steamsmajestically backwards through the cold North Sea...

INT. SHIPPING CONTAINER – LATER

BANGING wakes the Protagonist – Neil is at a peephole.

NEIL:

We’re on a truck. Shouldn’t be too

long now.

INT. SHIPPING CONTAINER – LATER

Neil is awake. He looks over at the Protagonist, who isexamining a LESION on his right arm...

NEIL:

You in pain?

PROTAGONIST:

Must’ve got nicked in Tallinn.

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