Sphere Page #8

THE BLACK SCREEN in front of the chairs, lit up with bright yellow

lettering:

"RV - LHOOQ - DCOMl - U.S.S STAR VOYAGER"

"ASSIMILATING DATABASE" as a series of numbers race upwards in

count...

And the desk in front of them LIGHTS UP, a control panel coming to

life.

HARRY:

Nice work, Norman.

NORMAN:

Whatever I can do to help.

ON THE SCREEN as it changes, now filled with columns:

SHIP SYSTEMS:

DATA SYSTEMS:

QUARTER MASTER:

FLIGHT RECORDS:

Harry punches some keys on the control panel.

HARRY:

A flight recorder. Our future is

about to be seen in our present.

ON THE SCREEN as it changes:

FLIGHT DATA SUMMARIES

FDS 01/01/47-12/31/49

FDS 01/01/50-12/31/52

FDS 01/01/53-12/31/55

FDS 01/01/56-12/31/56

FDS 01/01/56-02/01/56

FDS 02/02/56-UNKNOWN ENTRY EVENT

NORMAN:

01-01-47. Two thousand-forty seven.

50 years in our future.

HARRY:

Unknown Entry Event.

Harry pauses, looks down, and punches more keys...

ON THE SCREEN - as it expands in size, widens around them, curving...

WE SEE a galaxy of stars, planets coming OFF THE SCREEN, into the

room, becoming three dimensional, suspended in air, giving the

illusion of depth.

The IMAGE begins streaking outward, TOWARD US, moving rapidly, like

we're flying through it.

The stars and other space matter streaking by.

BETH:

What's that cluster of stars there?

In the center?

Harry stares, walking around the desk, moving into the 3-D image...

HARRY:

Our answer.

NORMAN:

To what?

HARRY:

Time travel. A black hole.

The CLUSTER of stars grows brighter and brighter, as it comes closer

and closer, brightening.

The FIELD twists and turns as the SCREEN and FIELD become BLINDING as

WE ENTER the cluster, the black hole.

ON NORMAN - his face, bright, FRIGHTENED as he HEARS:

HARRY (O.S.)

Ted? Captain?

BARNES (O.S.)

Yes, Harry.

HARRY (O.S.)

We know how this craft got here.

Where it's been.

BARNES (O.S.)

So do we. And it seems to have

picked up something on it's travels.

STILL ON NORMAN - frightened...

NORMAN:

Picked up something? What is it?

BARNES (O.S.)

I don't know. But it's something

alien.

CUT TO:

INT. CARGO BAY

ANGLE ON our six team members' BOOTS, in the distance. AS WE PAN UP

and AROUND WE SEE a curved surface appear: a surface of slowly

swirling green and blue fluids. Like mercury. Mesmerizlng.

AS WE COME AROUND, the team stands looking at the SPHERE, 30 feet in

dlameter, held by a GIANT CLAW gripping it from the top.

They walk around it, circling it, looking up at it.

HARRY:

This answers one of our questions.

NORMAN:

Which one? Let me get the list out.

HARRY:

This spacecraft was designed to pick

things up. They see things they want

-- these claws go out and bring it

in. They come across this. This...

sphere. Find it interesting,

curious. They draw it inside to take

back home.

NORMAN:

But on the way home, they miss their

turn, go too far, into the past.

HARRY:

Our present.

BARNES:

But what does it do? This...sphere.

TED:

Maybe it's a message of some sort,

you know? See this red here.

ANGLE ON THE SPHERE - some dark red MARKINGS on it's surface...

TED:

(continuing)

Looks like a design, some writing,

maybe. Maybe it was sent to meet the

spacecraft with a message.

HARRY:

Look closely. That isn't writing.

Those are grooves.

ON THE RED GROOVES - engraved into the surface.

HARRY:

No. They don't represent a message.

They aren't decorative at all. They

have another purpose entirely.

BARNES:

What?

HARRY:

To conceal a small break in the

surface of the sphere.

BARNES:

A break for what?

INT. HABITAT - HALLWAY

DOWN A LONG CORRIDOR - WE SEE Barnes, through a half-closed door,

pacing, talking on the phone...

BARNES:

...it's definitely something alien

...another civilization, yes, sir...

Well, we don't know yet, but we

think we've found a door...

INT. VIDEO FEED ROOM

Edmunds, Barnes, and the team members (minus Ted) look at the monitor.

BARNES:

So how do we get it open?

HARRY:

Ted seems to have some ideas.

ON THE MONITOR - Ted pushing on the SPHERE door. Banging into it with

his shoulder.

NORMAN:

Maybe we shouldn't.

BARNES:

What?

NORMAN:

If it is alien, maybe we shouldn't

try to open it at all.

HARRY:

(nodding to Norman)

Man is man, all he knows is man, and

all he can think of is what he

knows. The anthropomorphic problem.

Good, Norman.

BARNES:

The what?

NORMAN:

I mentioned it in my report. Didn't

you read the report?

HARRY:

Everything ever written about extra-

terrestial life imagines that life

is essentially human. If it doesn't

look human, it's a reptile or a big

insect or something, having human

values, human understanding.

BARNES:

So? What's the problem?

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