Total Recall Page #20

She might as well be talking about a tour of Notre Dame.

FOX But we're particularly impressed with your handling of the

situation, the situation so far. We're impressed with you

cooperation...

ROSETTI (flicking the cards down on his desktop with suppressed

hostility) We call it "following orders."

WELLES Yes. It would simplify things if everyone did, wouldn't it?

Particularly the civilian component of that Deck Squad. I think we may

have a potential problem there...

FOX We've been going over psyche profiles, Colonel. Anchorpoint seems

to be the kinds of project that attracts... idealists.

ROSETTI (with a thin grin) Liberals.

WELLES Let's just say we've noticed a certain antipathy to Military

Sciences, Colonel. A certain lack of sympathy with the goals of the

Weapons Division...

ROSETTI Anchorpoint is under Colonial Administration authority. This

isn't a military operation. If it were, we'd be in violation of the

Strategic Arms Reductions treaty.

FOX Looks great on paper, Colonel, but we want the civilians who

boarded Sulaco sewn up. Tight.

WELLES Forfeit of shares, for starts. Anyone talks, they lose their

shares. We've found it reasonably effective, in most cases...

FOX (taking a sheaf of printout from his attach_) But that's a simple

matter. This isn't. Sulaco's data base indicates a boarding operation

en route, Colonel.

ROSETTI A boarding operation? Why wasn't I informed?

WELLES We're informing you. You seem to have lost an android, Colonel.

The Union of Progressive Peoples have Bishop...

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. ANCHORPOINT -- ENTRANCE TO ANTI-BUGGING BUBBLE

A MARINE ushers Hicks into a large bare chamber. Hicks wears his dress

uniform. The room is dominated by the bubble, a mirrored sphere.

MARINE This way, Corporal.

The Marine leads Hicks up a gangway. Hicks enters the bubble. The

Marine closes the door behind him.

INT. THE BUBBLE

Three members (Rosetti, TRENT, SHUMAN) of Anchorpoint's directorate are

seated at a round table; with them are Fox and Welles. Hicks comes to

attention and

salutes.

ROSETTI At ease, Hicks. Be seated. My name is Rosetti. Station's

military

attach_. From my right: Trent, exobiology... Shuman, Diplomatic

Corps... From your right...

FOX I'm Kevin Fox, Hicks. This is Susan Welles. We're with the Company.

We'd like to congratulate you on a successful mission.

HICKS Successful? I lost my squad in that hole...

WELLES But you returned, Corporal. And you've rescued the colony's sole

survivor...

ROSETTI (picks up a sheaf of printout) We've all read the transcript of

you debriefing, Hicks...

HICKS Where's Bishop? Sir.

ROSETTI (blinks) If you don't mind, Hicks, we'll table that until --

TRENT I've read the transcript. Are you certain, Hicks, that you have

nothing more to tell us about the alien's life cycle? Detail, Hicks.

Detail is crucial...

ROSETTI Trent, the subject is classified. Corporal Hicks' security

rating need to be upgraded before we can --

HICKS (ignoring Rosetti, he addresses Trent) I've already told you

everything I know.

ROSETTI Hick --

FOX Let the Corporal have his say, Colonel. After all, he's seen these

creatures in action.

ROSETTI You ordered the subject classified Maximum Security, Fox.

TRENT I seriously doubt the Corporal Hicks knows anything more than

he's already told us. Which is a great pity. But the android, Bishop,

was designed for

scientific observation. A Hyperdyne model A/5, a walking data bank...

WELLES Corporal Hick asked the right questions to begin with.

ROSETTI (stiffly) To answer your question, Hicks: we aren't certain.

WELLES (heavy sarcasm) But we can guess, can't we Colonel?

HICKS (to Welles) Where?

FOX Rodina station.

HICKS The U.P.P.? What's the U.P.P. got to go with this?

ROSETTI Sulaco's navigation system failed. You were in disputed

territory for something over eighty-five minutes, Hicks. The U.P.P.

would ordinarily respond to that as a violation of their space. So far

there's been no protest. Nothing. (he hesitates) Sulaco's computer

indicates a covert boarding operation...

FOX "Indicates"...

SHUMAN To put it in diplomatic terms, Hicks, they've got our ass in a

sling. If they want to regard the Sulaco incident as a hostile act --

and let me assure you that they will, eventually -- they can

compromise our position in the current round of arms reduction talks.

We're talking serious ramifications here. Then we have the

communications lag to and from Earth. A week either way. So we're

looking at a fourteen day wait for policy clarification. We may have a

major crisis on our hands.

WELLES We arrived with a policy brief, Shuman, and you've seen it.

We're here to implement that brief.

ROSETTI And you orders predate knowledge of U.P.P. involvement.

FOX We're here to do our job, Colonel.

SHUMAN In this case, "doing your job" might involve the distinct

possibility of precipitating nuclear war --

ROSETTI (quick to break in; the subject's too sensitive for enlisted

ears) Any further questions for the Corporal? No? In that case,

Hicks...

HICKS Sir.

Hicks stands, salutes.

INT. ACHORPOINT -- R & R ZONE, "THE MALL"

Tully slopes along looking haggard and spaced. He wears his trademark

jacket. The Mall is a cross between a Hyatt atrium and an airport

shopping concourse: shops, vegetation, fast food outlets, a bar. He

arrives at what are apparently elevator doors. The doors open on a

miniature subway car. Tully steps in and the doors close.

INT. TISSUE CULTURE LAB

Spence is working with cultures. Her arms are up to the elbows in a

pair of white gloves mounted in round openings on the side of a

transparent plastic tank. She looks up as Tully enters.

TULLY Hey.

SPENCE You look like homemade sh*t. (she withdraws her hands, the

gloves pop out) What happened down there, Tully? There's some kind of

security blackout on...

TULLY Yeah. And I'm part of it... I can't tell you anything. Had to

sign a whole new set of papers. Talk to anybody and I lose my shares.

All my shares, right?

SPENCE You joking, Tully?

TULLY Wish I were... (changes the subject) What's the old man got for

me to dick around with this shift?

She crosses to a lab bench and takes something from a white wire

basket.

SPENCE Here. All yours. Orders are, you use the manipulators for this.

She hands him something wrapped in a sheet of white printout held with

a rubber band. He removes the band, unrolls the paper. The canister.

Number 17.

SPENCE (continuing) What the hell did happen on the ship, Tully? How

come all the biopsy work on those three? and his very quiet sudden

backlog of autopsy material? How come it's all triple-classified?

What's going on? We had these two spooks from Gateway in here today

acted like they just bought the place...

TULLY (with a nervous glance around the lab) Okay, okay... But later,

okay? Not here...

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