7 Constellations - Ep. 103: TRIANGULUM (ENGLISH VERSION)
🎵 PLAYLIST (YT MUSIC) - EPISODE 3
🎵 PLAYLIST (SPOTIFY) - EPISODE 3
🎵 PLAYLIST (DEEZER) - L'EPISODE 3
🎵 YT MUSIC: Nocturnal, THE MIDNIGHT
🎵 SPOTIFY: Nocturnal,
🎵 DEEZER: Nocturnal
HBO Presents
***
A Big Bill and A Band Apart production
***
7 CONSTELLATIONS
SCENE 1: EXT. NIGHT — COSMIC INTRO & NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE PARKING LOT
VOLCANO — FADE IN
Mount Rainier.
The camera holds perfectly still,
staring straight into the incandescent heart of the crater:
boiling magma,
pulses of red,
scoria hurled upward
like sparks from a cosmic engine.
The camera rises,
passes through curtains of lava,
then circles the summit
in a slow spiral.
As it pulls away,
the horizon widens,
revealing the Cascade Range,
Lake Washington,
then following streams of lava,
racing above Oregon,
until it reaches Seattle by night, 2044:
- dense traffic
- drones of every size,
- electric vehicles
- skyscrapers,
- giant billboards,
- saturated neon.
The camera tilts toward the sky.
A vast sweep of the northern sky appears:
Ursa Minor,
Cepheus,
Cassiopeia,
Pegasus,
Andromeda...
Cassiopeia,
Pegasus,
Andromeda...
Then the Triangle.
Three stars.
Glowing dotted lines connect them.
A Latin word appears:
SCREEN TITLE
TRIANGULUM
👂A gust of wind.
Clouds swallow everything.
DESCENT — NEW YORK
The camera dives.
New York appears in the distance,
at night,
choked with smoke.
It follows a black column
straight down.
At the bottom:
the charred skull of a woman,
kneeling,
her hands bound behind her back.
Eleanor WHITAKER.
Still smoking.
CUT.
SCENE 2: EXT. NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE — PARKING LOT — NIGHT — CONTINUOUS
An armored Ford Americar sits discreetly parked
engine ready.
Genesys listens
to Chawa's Seven,
to Chawa's Seven,
her profile tense,
hands on the wheel.
hands on the wheel.
Three figures come running.
They pile into the back of the car.
Doors slam.
Through the rear window:
Eleanor Whitaker's handcuffed,
charred corpse,
still smoking.
Tak, the huge cybered Japanese troll,
calmly blows on his fingertips,
gun still in hand.
Kim, the skinny orc in combat fatigues,
wears a black tactical balaclava
concealing her face.
And Valandir —
synthetic-leather coat and cape,
flames still flickering in his eyes.
Lone Star sirens are closing in.
Red and blue lights in the sky.
TAK
I say we get out of here,
fast,
tomodashis.
Kim violently rips off her balaclava.
KIM
Valandir, why the fuck did you do that,
you idiot?
Valandir, calm,
flames still flickering in his eyes:
VALANDIR
What's done is done.
Kim explodes.
KIM
Yeah, Tak already does the proverbs,
Yeah, Tak already does the proverbs,
so don't you start too,
for fuck's sake!
We could've gotten information
out of Whitaker
if we'd been a little less fucking stupid!
We could've found out
where Daichi's hiding,
what Ahmed's up to,
and all those other fucking pigs!
TAK
For the second time,
For the second time,
I say we get out of here, fast.
I can already hear
the Lone Star sirens.
The fox that lingers
becomes the prey...
The sirens wail.
Flashing lights draw closer.
Genesys starts the engine.
VROOM
VRRROOOOM
GENESYS
Charging cable: retract.
...
Valandir, what do I do?
Kim raises her voice,
increasingly nervous.
KIM
Don't fucking move!
We need to search the body
and get rid of the evidence!
VALANDIR
(after a moment's thought)
Fine.
We've got thirty seconds
to shove her in the trunk.
Kim, help me get the weapons
and luggage up front.
Tak, bring her over.
Doors open.
Everyone moves.
LOW ANGLE — FROM INSIDE THE TRUNK
Tak looms above us.
The trunk slams shut.
BACK INSIDE THE VAN
Genesys tears away.
KIM
Fuck!
We could've done the exact same thing
with her alive!
Gagged her,
shoved her in the trunk,
been a little less fucking stupid!
Questioned her somewhere else,
when everybody wasn't
so damn nervous!
Valandir, unruffled,
crumbles a few strands
of charred hair between his fingers,
brushing them from the sleeves
of his synthetic-leather coat.
VALANDIR
Come on Kim, I wasn't nervous.
You heard her yourself...
An interrogation would've gotten us nowhere,
I'm sure.
She was Humanis Policlub's
top fucking gun!
Grade-A scum.
He sniffs the powdered hair.
FADE TO BLACK.
VALANDIR (V.O.)
She never would've talked.
SCENE 3: OPENING CREDITS
🎵 SPOTIFY: Going the distance,
🎵 DEEZER: Going the distance
Story by
Frédéric A...R
***
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Thomas NEWMAN – The Midnight – M83 – Archive
and on...
As the names of the people who supervised the various aspects of the series production appear on screen, along with the cast, the camera sweeps across a magnificent star-filled sky.
Original characters played in a role-playing adventure by:
François-Xavier L...D – David L...R –
Philippe L...D – Nicolas R...Y
One constellation follows another across the night sky.
Their main stars are clearly visible, enough for those familiar with astronomy to recognize the actual constellations.
Others may not notice at first.
There are no dotted lines connecting the stars.
Those appear only when a constellation is used as an episode title.
The camera glides slowly from one constellation to another, occasionally crossing paths with the Earth, the Moon or the Sun.
From time to time, transport shuttles, rockets, satellites or scientific orbital stations cross the frame between constellations.
The sky is alive.
Bright.
In motion.
The constellation CYGNUS
Triptii DIMRI
CORONA BOREALIS
Anya TAYLOR-JOY
AQUARIUS
Mehdi DEHBI
NORMA
Itsiar ITUNO
Mark STRONG
LEO
Fumiya TAKAHASHI
DRACO
Kenji OBA
?
Pierre NINEY
Ursula CORBERO
Anya CHALOTRA
and Pio MARMAÏ
Against a perfectly clear, star-filled night sky, something approaches from an immense distance.
At first, barely a point.
Almost imperceptible.
Then closer.
The beak of BIRD OF PARADISE.
The orbital station.
It plunges from the sky as a gigantic mass of steel and fire.
The beak hits the water first.
A striking symbol.
The resulting tsunami devastates the Vancouver coastline.
A drowned blond child is carried away in slow motion through the muddy floodwaters.
Branches.
Tree trunks.
Debris of every kind.
Farther inland, the landscape is initially gray and pale blue.
Submerged by the tsunami.
Strewn with wreckage.
Some futuristic, Blade Runner-like skyscrapers rise above the floodwaters.
Then, little by little...
the devastated land becomes green and fertile.
Fields.
Forests.
Butterflies.
Flowers.
Elven warrior princesses riding their horses in the sunset.
One of the warriors leaps of her horse
gradually transforms into a star singer on the stage of a gigantic stadium concert.
Then, glowing like a fiery watermark behind her...
the noble, benevolent face of a mighty dragon appears.
DUNKELZAHN THE VENERABLE
Episode directed by
M...l S...k
🎵 SILENCE
SCENE 4 — FLASHBACK 2059: BIRTH OF FIRE
SCREEN TITLE
2059
A rumble tears through the silence.
EXT. DAY — PLANE CRASH
A roar of engines.
The image bursts into view:
a large airliner going down,
trailing a line of fire
across the Washington State sky.
The fuselage breaks in two.
The plane crashes into a hillside.
A red explosion,
vertical, almost alive,
shoots into the sky.
EXT. DAY — ABANDONED PARK
Silence.
An abandoned woodland park.
An old stone bench.
SCREEN TITLE
2060
The same rumble tears through the silence.
Valandir — 17,
his face still adolescent —
sits with his eyes closed.
The sound of the crash
plays over and over in his head,
like a memory that refuses to die.
He opens his eyes
just as the flames from the crash
reach their peak.
His pupils turn to fire.
He screams —
a wolf's howl,
pure pain.
He clenches his fists.
Punches the air three times.
A flash of flame bursts from one fist,
shoots through the air,
and scatters into flickering flames
against a rock.
Valandir stares at his fist.
Stunned.
Terrified.
Awestruck.
🎵 YT MUSIC: Crystalline, THE MIDNIGHT
EXT. DAY — UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
Valandir walks along a pleasant path
through a state university campus,
student cloak,
a chemistry book under his arm.
SCREEN TITLE
2065
FAST MONTAGE
Routine:
— exercise: jogging;
— workout: sit-ups;
— frugal meals;
— a blonde girl in a narrow bed;
— chemistry:
he reads equations on the board,
then points to flasks on the lab bench;
— physics:
a pendulum swings;
he watches, writes on a tablet;
— and at night: magic.
He forms triangles with his fingers.
Tiny flickers of flame briefly appear;
— exercise:
shooting hoops alone;
— workout:
rowing machine;
— frugal meals;
— a brunette girl in a narrow bed;
— chemistry:
he mixes colored liquids in a test tube
and produces a small geyser of flame;
— physics:
he studies the principles
of ion engines in a video;
— and at night: magic.
Fireballs
he awkwardly tries to juggle.
EXT. CAMPUS WALKWAY — DAY
Three students follow him.
Like dogs.
Faces dripping
with viral hate.
STUDENT 1
Hey, Val-in-her!
Heard you fucked
the chemistry professor?
STUDENT 2
Look, you've already got
five hundred views on MeFeed.
Hashtag necrophile!
STUDENT 3
What'd you do to her
with those pointy ears
to get top marks
on every fucking exam,
chummerdrek?
Valandir keeps walking.
They follow.
Humanis Policlub pins
on their jackets.
STUDENT 1
Your mother sucks dwarf dicks in hell,
you filthy orphan bastard,
you fucking dandelion-eater!
Valandir stops.
Turns.
His eyes ignite.
A tiny fire spirit,
barely a foot tall,
appears above his shoulder.
The three dogs freeze.
The little flaming chihuahua leaps.
It singes their hair,
one after another.
They scream and run.
INT. DISCIPLINARY BOARD — DAY
SCREEN TITLE
TWO WEEKS LATER
Valandir, alone,
before a disciplinary board.
The dean is an old bastard.
DEAN
Mr. EMBERDREAM,
the disciplinary board
has reached its decision.
You have been found guilty
of the violent use of mana
on the grounds
of a secular university,
resulting in serious injuries
to three fellow students.
Consequently,
the disciplinary board
hereby expels you permanently
from this university.
Your grant
is therefore revoked,
effective immediately.
We have also filed a report
with the UCAS Marshal
and recommended that your SIN
be flagged.
We hope the scrutiny
you will henceforth be subject to
will serve as a safeguard
against any further...
inflammatory initiatives.
Valandir says nothing.
He seems to accept his fate.
EXT. STREET — DAY
FAST MONTAGE
Valandir is homeless.
He sells everything:
— books;
— charms;
— talismans;
— stones;
— precious fabrics.
His magician's lodge
disappears piece by piece
to pay for food.
— Freezing nights.
Cardboard boxes.
Braziers.
Rejected metahumans.
He befriends them.
Someone tells him
about a bar that's hiring.
SCENE 5: FIRST STEPS WITH TAK — EXT. DAY — NOON — FIRE AND BLOOD
Outside the entrance
to a notorious club for the Awakened.
The head bouncer: Takeshi KATAKUENDO.
Young. Not cybered yet.
Valandir is practically in rags.
VALANDIR
Good afternoon, sir.
My name is Valandir.
I spoke to a certain Youri Gladstone
on my commlink last night.
I'm here about the security mage position.
The troll looks him up and down,
amused.
TAK
Afternoon, elf.
Youri's the boss.
I'll take you to him.
Valandir follows him inside.
The difference in their builds
is striking.
They enter the empty club.
VALANDIR
I assume you're the head bouncer.
My future colleague?
TAK
He who sits in the shadow of the gate
knows not the shadow of his elder.
VALANDIR
Excuse me?
TAK
I'm Takeshi KATAKUENDO.
You can call me Tak.
And yes, I'm the head bouncer.
What I meant was,
we're not colleagues yet.
I get a say in that.
They reach the bar.
TAK
Boss, your appointment's here.
Name's Valondir.
VALANDIR
No, ValANdir.
But thank you, Tak.
Good afternoon, Mr. Gladstone.
YOURI
Afternoon, kid.
So you're the one claiming
to be a fire mage?
VALANDIR
Yes.
YOURI (puzzled)
How old are you?
VALANDIR
Twenty-three.
YOURI
See those candles lanterns over there?
Can you light them?
Valandir picks up a box of matches
and lights the candles
without using magic.
YOURI
Careful, smartass.
Don't fuck with me
quite that openly.
I can be a real bastard
when I need to be.
Can you cast fireballs?
VALANDIR
Yes.
It's a spell I learned to control
a little over a year ago.
But my fireballs are pretty damn big,
so trust me,
you don't want me
demonstrating one in here.
YOURI
Then show me something else.
Something impressive.
Right here.
Right now.
Valandir closes his eyes
and concentrates,
calmly bringing his hands together.
He breathes out slowly.
Then breathes in just as slowly.
His fingertips trace
a triangular pattern.
A fire spirit,
shaped like a small flaming pit bull,
appears at his feet.
The pit bull trots over
and starts nipping at Tak's leather boots.
Tak shakes his feet,
to no avail.
TAK
Oooh, that shit's hot!
Call it off!
In a split second,
the little fire pit bull
leaps onto Valandir's shoulder
and vanishes in a puff of smoke.
Youri bursts out laughing.
He looks at Tak.
Tak gives him
a subtle nod of approval.
YOURI
Twenty-five nuyen a week.
How's that sound?
Room and board included.
Laundry too.
Your hours are
the club's opening hours.
Time off only
with my permission.
You can pick up
some off-the-books jobs on the side
if you want to make a little extra.
VALANDIR
I'm sorry,
but real talent is priceless.
I'll do it for thirty,
with a DocWagon contract.
Bronze should do, I think.
YOURI
You drive a hard bargain.
All right.
Deal.
They shake hands.
MONTAGE — ROUTINE & FRIENDSHIP
- A few weeks
working security at the club.
Credstick:
30, 30, 30, 30, 30 nuyen.
- A package to deliver
to a certain Mr. Johnson.
Credstick:
200 nuyen.
- A bunch of drunken gangers
at the club entrance —
at the club entrance —
sent packing by a few
well-placed fire spells
and a few katana cuts.
Credstick:
30 nuyen.
- An escort job.
This time, they're bodyguards
for Mr. Johnson himself
during a late-night negotiation
in a vacant lot.
Tak carries a big gun.
Credstick:
750 nuyen.
- An epic drinking binge together
with the boss
after closing time.
The boss and Tak
challenge each other to a sword fight
for laughs.
Youri GLADSTONE ends up
with a nasty cut.
🎵 SILENCE.
INT. FIRE AND BLOOD — EMPTY CLUB — NIGHT
The place is clean and empty.
Valandir stops sweeping
and sighs.
VALANDIR
...You know, Tak,
this whole magical signature thing
is really pissing me off.
People don't want me using magic...
They keep insisting
I stay discreet.
And yet the simplest solution
is often to burn everything!
TAK
I understand, my friend,
but magic makes things riskier.
You become the primary target,
tomodashi.
Everybody knows:
you geek the mage first.
Actually, I know a haiku about that.
My old master
taught it to me:
"Too bright shines the moon
Many shadows gather
Their bows all drawn toward her"
VALANDIR
I like that image...
Meaning I'd probably
be more effective with a team
than on my own...
I'd need some backup.
Starting with a huge, strong guy
who could protect me
while I'm casting my spells...
But where could I possibly
find someone like that?
Tak laughs.
Valandir winks at him.
VALANDIR
Tak, would you do me a favor?
I'd like to learn
how to use a katana.
TAK
You want me to teach you?
VALANDIR
Yes.
TAK
Sure. No problem.
I know an underground gym
that'll be perfect.
But what do I get
in return?
VALANDIR
I don't have much to offer you
except my friendship...
...and a promise
to be a serious, dedicated student.
But I could pay you
out of our future jobs,
if you want?
🎵 YT MUSIC: Reflection, Brian ENO
TAK
The friend who offers his foot
does not pay for the road.
Keep your credstick, my friend.
You're poorer than I am.
MONTAGE — TRAINING & FIRST RUNS
- Underground gym.
Katana.
Rapid progress.
- Side jobs:
escorts,
babysitting,
deliveries.
The credstick balance climbs.
EXT. ALLEY OUTSIDE THE UNDERGROUND GYM — NIGHT
Tak and Valandir step in
to save some homeless trolls
being attacked by gangers.
Tak is a monster with a katana.
Valandir unleashes a fireball...
Eight meters across.
Chaos.
Burning cars.
People scatter in panic.
Lone Star arrests them.
They call Youri.
YOURI (V.O.)
Sorry, guys,
but there's nothing I can do for you.
Johnson could smell the shit coming
and backed out..
And I've got to hire replacements,
so good luck.
No hard feelings.
I'll send you care packages
the whole time you're inside.
CUT.
SCENE 6: MONTAGE — SHADOWRUNNERS
— They get out of jail
after a few weeks.
— Valandir masters
his “Flaming Sword” spell.
— Fires.
Destruction.
Diversions.
— His elven lodge rebuilt.
Fire spirits growing larger and larger.
— Tak gets cyberware.
EXT. NIGHT - FIRE AND BLOOD MAIN ENTRANCE
— At an underground orc concert,
a young teenage girl in the middle
of goblinization — Kim —
tries to get in.
She has no SIN,
and Tak can't let her through.
She keeps begging him to let her in.
KIM
Come on, don't be an asshole...
Let me in.
I'll keep my head down.
I don't know anyone in there!
Tak doesn't flinch.
Doesn't move.
KIM
I could always go to Lone Star
and tell them you groped me,
if you're not gonna be cool about it.
TAK
Don't waste your breath, kid.
I'm a wolf, sure...
He bares his fangs with a growl.
TAK
...but everyone knows
I'm a wolf who respects the lambs.
Even Lone Star knows that.
Now come on, get out of here.
It's dangerous for you here.
Two minutes later,
he has to draw his weapon
when a group of orc gangers
cross paths with Kim as she's leaving
and threaten to force their way inside
to settle a score
with someone called “The Gmork.”
Walking away,
Kim hears gunshots.
She flinches.
CUT.
The entrance to the concert
descends into chaos.
Too many tickets have been sold,
and there's a whole crowd
trying to sneak in without paying.
Valandir has to calm everyone down
with a fire spirit
the size of a Great Dane.
INT. NIGHT — LAMBDA OFFICE
Mister Johnson sits casually behind his desk.
An elven bodyguard stands beside him.
Valandir and Tak stand facing him,
their backs to the camera.
MISTER JOHNSON
This time, I'm offering you
a place right in the thick of the action.
It's an extraction.
Not an easy one.
You have to extract a Lone Star executive,
a man named Ousmane KANTE,
and hand him over to RENRAKU Special Forces,
the Red Samurai.
Expect plenty of opposition.
The guy's pretty high up.
VALANDIR (back to camera)
Everything has a price.
Whether I'm in depends on yours.
MISTER JOHNSON
And what do you say,
Mr. KATAKUENDO?
TAK (also back to camera, beside Valandir)
Beneath the same flame
I walk beside my friend
Our ashes become one
FAST ACTION MONTAGE
Skill. Complementarity. Efficiency.
Sunglasses. Hands to earpieces.
Weapons drawn like pros.
Blades sharp and gleaming.
Credstick: 15,000 nuyen.
CUT TO BLACK.
SCENE 7: ARRIVAL AT SWAN VILLA
ON-SCREEN TITLE
AUGUST 2080
EXT. DAY — ROAD TO WARRENTON
FADE IN
The customized Ford Americar
speeds along the coastal highway.
The sky is white.
The air heavy with salt.
Genesys is connected up front,
her holographic interface open.
Drones patrol around the vehicle.
We see the road through their eyes
as a conversation begins.
GENESYS (V.O.)
We just crossed into the Warrenton district.
So officially,
we're in Tir Tairngire territory.
We're among Mr. VALANDIR's friends now.
VALANDIR (V.O.)
Just Valandir will do fine,
Ms. DA SILVA.
And for the record,
I don't know anyone in Tir Tairngire,
even if they have my full sympathy.
GENESYS (V.O.)
Oh, okay. Sorry...
You can call me Genesys.
Same thing. Easier that way.
CUT TO
The buildings of Warrenton stream past:
- modernized elven architecture,
- white façades,
- hanging gardens,
- security drones.
Upscale.
A new pass appears on every commlink:
a stylized swan hologram,
with an encrypted signature.
VALANDIR (V.O.)
I wonder how much
a pass like that is worth.
GENESYS (V.O.)
Oh, several thousand nuyen
in Warrenton, buddy!
KIM (V.O.)
It's 2,500 nuyen.
I just checked with my AI.
That's already pretty steep.
The Warrenton enclave is in the top twenty
for the highest customs fees on this continent...
And we're talking about
the southern shore of Columbia Bay,
so this is a real rich-people neighborhood,
probably crawling
with all kinds of fat pigs...
Silence.
The car leaves the city behind
and approaches the ocean.
Dunes. Hills. Tall, slender spruces.
The camera sweeps over the sedan
and turns west.
A gigantic white swan's neck,
smooth and gleaming,
rises above the trees.
VALANDIR (V.O.)
You see that thing over there?
It's huge!
Genesys feeds a drone image
to the passenger-seat screens.
SWAN VILLA appears,
an improbable monument standing on the sand,
all sweeping curves and ovals,
with underground levels opening
onto the beach and the ocean.
An asymmetrical blue pool.
Bodyguards patrol the grounds.
The sedan approaches the upper gate:
- hardened steel,
- swan statues,
- a side-mounted camera.
A swan-shaped authorization appears
on their commlinks.
Signature: SILVERMOON.
Logo: CG-SAID.
KIM (V.O.)
Smells like harmony around here.
I'm starting to feel sick.
GENESYS (V.O.)
Heeey, orc!
Take it easy.
Nobody pukes on my leather seats!
She drives through the gate
and onto the private road.
VALANDIR
Smells like money to me.
TAK
Beneath the shining lacquer,
the wood may still be hollow...
But a true garden is known
by the breath it leaves within you.
Smells like money to me.
TAK
Beneath the shining lacquer,
the wood may still be hollow...
But a true garden is known
by the breath it leaves within you.
CUT TO BLACK.
INT. EVENING — SWAN VILLA: MUSIC ROOM
🎵 YT MUSIC: Waldweben, Richard WAGNER (perf. TRADAL) 
🎵 SPOTIFY: Waldweben
🎵 DEEZER: Waldweben
FADE IN.
Piano music.
The vast music room comes into view:
an oval auditorium, a central pool,
white walls, colonnades,
a loggia opening onto the ocean.
Evening light.
Augmented piano. Holographic interfaces.
A young elven princess of Indian descent
plays lightly with her fingertips
until the music eases into a natural lull.
She turns her head slightly.
Watches the group entering:
Silvermoon,
Giacomo,
a lanky orc woman — Kim;
another lanky orc woman — Cumbren;
a Latina pilot in a fitted black synthleather jumpsuit — Genesys;
a troll in a sharp suit — Tak;
and an elf in a black and red synthleather cape.
She notices him.
She finds him attractive.
She stares at him.
She gives him a dazzling smile,
lingering just a little longer than mere politeness would require.
Valandir looks at her.
He's transfixed. Mesmerized.
He knows.
From that instant, he knows.
An exchange of frictons —
fleeting pink laser flashes —
shoots through the air between them,
like a subtle bullet-time effect.
He's in love with her.
And from now on,
he waits for her.
CUT.
SCENE 8: MANICHAWA'S NIGHT OUT
INT. NIGHT — GENESYS'S FORD AMERICAR
Genesys, thoughtful.
GENESYS
She's fiercly independent...
But damn, there's something about her.
When she looks at you, it's like
she's talking inside your head.
A real Galadriel...
VALANDIR
Yeah.
There's something unusual about her,
even by elven standards.
She's a Face.
No wonder she's a global star.
Still... she's being a pain in the ass.
Drop me off here. I'll go join them.
Genesys pulls over and parks.
GENESYS
They stopped at a club three blocks away.
See that road there?
Cross it, and it's the one on the left, straight ahead.
The entrance has bright green neon.
You can't miss it.
I'll stay parked here until you call me.
See ya.
Go turn on the charm.
They smile at each other.
CUT.
🎵 YT MUSIC: Walk on the Wild Side, Lou REED
🎵 SPOTIFY: Walk on the Wild Side
🎵 DEEZER: Walk on the Wild Side
EXT. NIGHT — WARRENTON STREETS
We follow Valandir on foot from behind.
He crosses the street at an easy pace.
A loose, rolling stride.
CUT
Genesys shuts off the engine
and starts taking pulls from her vape.
CUT
Valandir approaches the WARRENTON META CLUB.
A huge bar and restaurant.
Two orc bouncers at the entrance.
Customers come and go.
CUT
INT. NIGHT — WARRENTON META CLUB
PANORAMIC VIEW.
Elven design throughout:
wood, plants, wall paneling, furniture...
Manichawa and Hyperbole
are already seated in an alcove.
A candle lantern sits on their small table.
They clink glasses, laughing.
The camera swings around.
Valandir enters.
CUT
Manichawa turns to Hyperbole
and motions her closer.
They whisper:
MANICHAWA
See? I knew it!
And of course,
he's the one who comes looking for me...
HYPERBOLE
Well, they sure didn't take long
to get their hands on you again.
She watches Valandir approaching.
HYPERBOLE
He's hot...
but there's something dark about him.
You should be careful.
MANICHAWA
Don't worry.
I am.
I'm wary of guys who try to play the protector.
I don't need them.
But hey, just for one night...
Why not?
She winks at Hyperbole.
Valandir pulls over a small stool
and sits down.
VALANDIR
Good evening, ladies.
Glad to find you
somewhere that seems safe.
HYPERBOLE (nervous)
Good evening, Mr. Valandir!
VALANDIR
Just "Valandir" will do fine.
A broad smile for Hyperbole.
Then Valandir turns to Manichawa.
She lights a Tempo Light cigarette
and gives him a challenging look
(ref: Meg RYAN in When Harry Met Sally).
VALANDIR
Look, I'll get straight to the point.
You know perfectly well
you should have told us you were going out.
We could have arranged an escort.
Instead, we had to improvise,
and that's never a good thing, believe me.
Our job is to keep you out of trouble, Chawa.
MANICHAWA
Yeah, but my job
is to prepare for a world tour
and finish my lyrics.
And I'm not sure we're quite
on intimate enough terms yet
for you to call me "Chawa" to my face.
VALANDIR
I'm a huge fan of your music.
Doesn't that count?
Your fans call you Chawa
at your concerts, don't they?
She tries to interrupt,
but he insists on finishing.
VALANDIR
Besides, I don't see the connection.
You can work perfectly well
in that magnificent music room of yours, Princess.
MANICHAWA
Obviously, you don't know a thing about art.
But you should know, my dear,
artists need to live
in order to create!
They need freedom!
So if I want to have a drink with my friend,
I don't need anyone's permission.
Not even yours!
VALANDIR
Not even Silvermoon's?
MANICHAWA
Especially not his...
...
My... father — well, my father's a complicated man.
He tends to be overprotective too,
but I'm not a little girl anymore.
I know what I want.
VALANDIR
We're not being overprotective.
We're doing our job
as best we can.
Fortunately, we were warned
about your impulsive nature.
But excuse me — how did you manage
to get around the security system?
MANICHAWA (dismissive)
Pff.
I'm in my own home, chummerdrek.
She turns her head away.
Valandir darkens for a moment.
A short, meditative breath.
The hint of a smile.
Then:
VALANDIR
All right.
One drink, then we go?
HYPERBOLE
Of course, Valandir.
What are you having?
VALANDIR
On the rocks:
Get 27...
with vodka,
a dash of dark crème de cacao,
fresh mint leaves, and...
one square of dark chocolate.
Chilled chocolate, if possible.
CUT
Manichawa discreetly widens her eyes
at her friend.
CUT
HYPERBOLE
Mmm. That's an original cocktail.
What's it called?
VALANDIR
I just named it Hyperbole.
The two women laugh,
one after the other.
CUT.
🎵 YT MUSIC: Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major, W. A. MOZART
🎵 SPOTIFY: Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major
🎵 DEEZER: Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major
Manichawa can be heard playing the piano on Swan Radio.
CLOSE ON the speakers scattered throughout the villa.
CUT TO the Princess at the piano.
CUT.
SCENE 9: MANICHAWA’S BIRTHDAY AT SWAN VILLA
EXT. DAY
QUICK MONTAGE
The villa is buzzing with preparations for the birthday party.
Around a hundred guests are expected.
— Alfred, the head kitchen cyborg, barks out orders to a small
army of robots and human apprentices.
— Flowers and decorations are being arranged.
— A huge birthday cake is secretly stored in the cold room,
opposite racks of Champagne bottles.
— Music equipment is brought up from the second-floor studios
and set up on the private third-floor terraces.
🎵 SILENCE
CUT.
EXT. DAY — LEVEL -1 BAR
Valandir sits at the Level -1 bar
— cooler, more organic, more
pen.
There's a small indoor park with a little swan lake at its center.
Charming. Deserted.
Giacomo sits beside Valandir, showing him the guest list.
VALANDIR
Mmmh, let's see.
Pff... This list never ends...
Hyperbole, close friend...
Giroldo STONE... Okay, that's her producer.
Benny BTL... friend of hers, gangsta rap star.
Ahmed AL FOUZIA... shit, who's that again?
GIACOMO (absently)
Uh... a friend of Miss Chawa's.
Valandir resumes his litany.
VALANDIR
Granny Medusa... president of the official fan club, okay...
Wait. Who are the Lees?
Rose and Archibald Lee?
He points to a small photo in the evening's briefing.
GIACOMO (with a jaded look)
Oh, they're the neighbors, sir.
An old couple who made their fortune
in solar energy.
Swingers in their spare time,
but they can be perfectly civilized
most of the time.
I think they've noticed that lately,
Miss Chawa's career has been skyrocketing,
and they rather enjoy being able to say
they live next door to the rising star of the charts.
They've just bought themselves
the Canes Venatici.
Nouveau riche...
CUT.
EXT. NIGHT — OUTDOOR LOUNGE BY THE POOL
🎵 YT MUSIC: Bombay, OFFER NISSIM
🎵 SPOTIFY: Bombay
🎵 DEEZER: Bombay
A group of older, high-society guests.
Cigars, Old Fashioneds, vodka sunrises.
Silvermoon is telling jokes.
Around him: businessmen, elegant women, an orc bodyguard.
Valandir discreetly listens in.
SILVERMOON
Anyway, I wasn't happy with Chawa
for insisting on celebrating her birthday.
Not exactly sensible.
Didn't fit with our security measures.
But I'm glad to see you again,
you bunch of rogues!
An elderly dwarf, also of Indian descent, answers him.
SHANKAR GUPTA
Your daughter sings beautifully.
She's doing better, isn't she?
SILVERMOON
She's ready for the tour.
She's put the demons of the past behind her.
Swan Radio has heard hours of rehearsals...
So yes, my daughter's doing better.
He discreetly raises his glass to Valandir.
CUT.
DRONE POV — HIGH ABOVE
The drone climbs.
Warrenton by night. Mount Rainier. Seattle to the north.
GENESYS — EARPIECE AS THE CHAWA'S SEVEN PLAY
GENESYS (V.O.)
Tak, there’s a boat full of fans offshore.
They’re asking us to turn up the sound
or share the feed over a secure comm channel.
They won’t come any closer.
See what Giacomo says.
They’re just kids.
They’re not doing anything wrong.
It’d make their night.
TAK (V.O.)
Okay, Genesys.
I’ll ask him.
FADE TO BLACK.
SCREEN TITLE
DECEMBER 2080
BABYLON DC
CHAWA'S SEVEN SHOWCASE
SCENE 10: INT. NIGHT - BABYLON DC
🎵 YT MUSIC: Roads, PORTISHEAD
🎵 SPOTIFY: Roads
🎵 DEEZER: Roads
The camera is fixed on a small wood-paneled security booth
at the back of the room.
Through its window, Genesys can be seen in drone-control
mode.
CUT
The main room is packed.
Valandir is stationed inside, near the exit doors.
Just ahead of him, in the back row,
an androgynous woman with
white hair is acting strangely.
She checks her commlink.
Twice.
Then presses a finger to her ear.
Apparently, she's using a linked comm earpiece.
CUT
CLOSE ON Valandir’s suspicious face.
CUT
The elegant woman, her white hair cut into a bob, turns her
back on the audience and heads decisively for the exit.
She flicks the briefest glance at Valandir.
His bouncer’s instinct is screaming.
CUT TO Kim’s earpiece, then Genesys’s.
Valandir enunciates each word clearly and forcefully over the intercom:
VALANDIR (V.O.)
All team, LETHAL THREAT TO THE TARGET!
PROTECT HER, EVACUATE NOW
I repeat: DANGER! EVACUATE NOW
CUT
INT. NIGHT — BABYLON DC STAGE
HANDHELD CAMERA.
PULL BACK from Tak’s earpiece.
Without a second thought, he leaps onto the stage
rabs the singer bodily,
trying to pin her under his left arm
while drawing his gun with his right.
He turns and moves fast.
Manichawa screams into her lavalier mic.
MANICHAWA
Let go of me, for fuck’s sake!
What the fuck are you doing?
Help!!!
CUT
INT. NIGHT — SERVICE STAIRWELL
Valandir races down the stairs, taking them several at a time,
chasing the androgynous woman down the stairwell.
KIM (V.O., INTERCOM)
This way, you two. Take cover.
It’s under control!
CUT
EXT. NIGHT — BABYLON DC SERVICE TERRACE
Kim has her sniper rifle ready to fire.
She rapidly sweeps the entire terrace with the muzzle of her
rifle.
This is the designated fallback area if anything goes wrong.
MANICHAWA (angry)
Let go of me, Tak!
You’ve got it all wrong!
But how the hell did you know?
KIM
Know what?
CUT
INT. NIGHT — SERVICE STAIRWELL
The white-haired woman has stopped two landings below.
She begins spinning the knob of her cane in a circular motion.
She chants an incantation in an arcane language.
An ethereal spirit appears —
like a ghost made of gray clouds.
She speaks another string of magical words,
and the spirit hurtles toward Valandir.
CUT
Valandir has stopped to do the same.
He conjures a fire spirit, roughly his own height —
a succubus-like demon with flaming hair.
Without a word,
he makes an arcane triangular gesture
with his fist,
signaling the fire spirit to head down and attack.
CUT
The two spirits collide —
one fire, one air.
After several exchanges of miniature tornadoes,
damp gusts,
sets of flame and chunks of animated scoria,
the fire spirit prevails.
Valandir collapses unconscious.
The air spirit dissolves into smoke.
It covered her escape.
The androgynous woman is gone.
INT. NIGHT — GENESYS’S FORD AMERICAR
Manichawa is in the back with Carlotta, Giacomo and Tak.
Genesys is driving, but we don’t see her.
MANICHAWA
(distractedly scrolling through her commlink)
You assholes fucked everything up.
What am I supposed to do now?
My showcase is a disaster,
I’m all over every shitty feed,
Knight Errant has flagged your picture, Tak...
Conspiracy theories poppin up everywhere...
Music critics are ripping me apart on MeFeed...
And why?
Just to screw up my plans!
Now I’m gonna spend the whole night
writing the damn denial.
Fuck Valandir.
Fuck close protection.
TAK
If I may, Miss Chawa,
I’ve worked alongside Valandir for a long time.
If his instincts told him to act,
then he believed you were in danger.
He’s a pro, you know.
He’s handled plenty of tough jobs.
And we still don’t know
what that mage was after...
She was up to something, that’s for sure,
or she wouldn’t have fled
behind an air spirit.
The one who turns his back
is often the one hiding the blade...
Manichawa lets out a nervous laugh.
Then a sigh.
Then she starts to cry.
Carlotta takes her in her arms
and tries to comfort her.
SCENE 11: INT. NIGHT — SWAN VILLA - LUXURIOUS HALLWAY
Manichawa shuts herself in her room with Carlotta.
CUT.
SECURITY POST
Valandir is at the security post.
Tak opens the door and comes in to relieve him.
Valandir is slumped in his chair.
VALANDIR
You think I fucked up?
TAK
Things will be clearer tomorrow, tomodashi.
You’re allowed to get some sleep
after a shitty night like this.
CUT
Kim stands watch from the top of the swan’s head.
CUT
Genesys is asleep in one of the villa bunker’s bedrooms.
CUT
Valandir puts his cape back on.
Tak watches the security-camera feeds.
TAK
It’s quiet.
Makes a change...
Nothing like the frenzy on the feeds!
He casually glances at his commlink.
TAK
No doubt about it this time.
I’m making headlines, my friend.
He shows the screen to Valandir.
We see a photo of Tak from behind,
Manichawa tucked under his arm,
with the caption:
“W...T... F...k is this troll???”
VALANDIR
Too bright shines the moon...
TAK
Many shadows gather...
Valandir opens the bunker door
just as Carlotta, standing on the other side,
is about to knock.
Once the surprise passes,
she gives Tak, then Valandir,
an awkward smile.
She whispers to Valandir:
CARLOTTA
She’s waiting for you.
VALANDIR
Who?
CARLOTTA
Come on, don’t be an idiot.
You think I’m thrilled
to be playing messenger?
Normally, there are commlinks,
but Chawa doesn’t trust them
after all the shit you’ve just stirred up.
Go on. She’s waiting.
Second floor, turn right,
all the way down the hall.
You’d better be on your game.
CUT.
INT. NIGHT — LUXURIOUS HALLWAY
Valandir stands in profile
before the double doors
to the Princess’s bedroom.
He takes a deep breath,
steeling himself.
Then knocks.
CUT.
ON-SCREEN TITLE
MARCH 2081
AMSTERDAM
SCENE 12: KERKSTRAAT — AMSTERDAM
INT. THE DOLPHIN’S — BASEMENT — DAY
A smoky haze.
Octagonal tables with Moorish influences.
Stiff wicker sofas, Arab cushions.
The smell of beer, tobacco, cannabis and hookah smoke.
Underwater motifs painted everywhere.
The vibe: Twenty Thousand Joints Under the Sea.
Around one table:
Ahmed AL-FOUZIA, Valandir, Benny BTL, Chawa, Genesys,
Giacomo, Tak, Carlotta, Hyperbole.
A bag of Tempo sits in the middle.
Ahmed points to it.
AHMED
Yeah, that’s my new Tempo strain.
And you see, man... this one took me three years.
I’m waiting for clearance to head to the Moon,
to study the cutting under reduced gravity.
But honestly, I think it’s all about the light...
He speaks quickly, passionately.
VALANDIR
But why is the space industry interested in it?
AHMED
Hemp’s a pretty versatile plant.
It’s not just about getting high.
You can make great fabrics, great soaps, oils...
and it’s got all kinds of therapeutic uses.
So growing it up there
isn’t crazy at all.
I’m sure there’s a shitload of money to be made
from the technology patents alone.
But I’m hopeful.
I’ve got some serious backing,
so I’ve got a good shot at getting picked.
VALANDIR
In this light...
the pistils are the color of fire.
Crimson.
You should call it Fire.
Or Red Dress.
Ahmed catches his arm.
AHMED
Fire’s already taken.
But take it easy, maaaan.
That stuff sets your brain on fire.
He takes back some of the Tempo
Valandir was crumbling too quickly.
Then smiles.
AHMED
Red Dress...
I really like that, maaan.
BENNY BTL (surfacing)
Hell yeah!
The light!
Not firelight...
Sodium lamps!
And who gives a shit about zero-G?
You could call it Zero-G.
Or Red Zero-G!
AHMED
Yeah...
That’s cool.
I dig the name.
I’ll think about it.
VALANDIR (lighting his joint)
When will you know if you’re going?
AHMED
Tomorrow night.
BENNY BTL
Yo, you got this, man!
They high-five.
CUT
Hyperbole finishes rolling
a monstrous double jumbo.
Purple tongue.
She doesn’t share.
She takes two drags.
Glances sideways at Ahmed.
HYPERBOLE (V.O.)
Sweet Jesus...
you're one fucking handsome man.
Anytime you want, my desert prince...
Valandir is about to put an arm around Manichawa,
who is scrolling through her commlink.
She suddenly gets to her feet.
CHAWA
Okay, enough messing around.
Amiouzy just texted me.
I have to meet the band backstage.
You don’t get to play a concert
on the Rijksmuseum plaza every day.
Right across from the Concertgebouw.
Giacomo gets up,
pulls out his credstick and heads off to pay.
GENESYS
Want me to take you, Chawa?
CHAWA (disarming smile)
Normally, yes.
But it’s a fifteen-minute bike ride.
It’ll clear my head.
I’ve got stage fright.
CUT TO BLACK.
ON-SCREEN TITLE
JULY 2081
🎵 YT MUSIC: Serenade, SCHUBERT
🎵 SPOTIFY: Serenade
🎵 DEEZER: Serenade
SCENE 13: EXT. NIGHT — AL-WAFA VILLAGE — OUTSKIRTS OF ALEXANDRIA
ZOOM OUT — 🎥 SLOW MOTION
Manichawa’s eyes are closed.
Blood runs from the corner of her lower lip.
As the camera pulls back,
we see her posture — lotus position —
and her outfit: elven fabrics fit for an Indian princess.
Her whole figure radiates an intense white light,
pulsing faintly, unevenly.
As the camera continues to pull back,
we realize something far more dangerous
is happening at the center
of what appears to be a small village square.
The words “Al Wafa” can be seen on a wall.
The light turns red.
Valandir rushes over and crouches beside Manichawa,
shielding her with his body.
Tak does the same.
CUT
Genesys' eyes are rolled back.
She watches the scene from farther away
without really seeing it.
She’s somewhere else.
CUT
ONBOARD CAMERA — one of Genesys’s MCT Fly Spy drones in the sky.
Al Wafa is a modest village
of traditional Egyptian architecture.
The tiny camera captures
two armored transport drones
barreling in at full speed,
opening fire as they come.
A third, which reached the village square first,
hovers directly above it,
lowering troops to the ground on cables.
They start firing the moment they descend.
Tak draws his Ares Predator
and opens fire on them.
CUT
EXTREME CLOSE-UP — Genesys.
Sweat pours down her face.
She draws her gun
and fires at the paramilitary troops
pouring into the village square.
CUT
Kim, her eyes rolled back at first,
seems to come to.
She dives for cover beneath an archway
and readies her sniper rifle.
CUT
🎥SLOW MOTION CONTINUES
Valandir begs Manichawa to wake up.
Nothing.
Then he calms himself.
Focuses.
Slips into a trance.
Bullets tear through the air from every direction.
A gigantic fire spirit appears —
a three-meter-tall giant of flame —
between Tak
and one of the attackers who has reached the ground.
CUT
Valandir’s synthleather coat
is riddled with bullet holes
and scorched in several places.
Valandir is drenched in sweat.
He concentrates.
He brings his hands together,
forming a triangle with his fingers.
Suddenly,
a massive fireball — several meters across —
suddenly flares to life
and hurtles at full speed
toward the transport drone
still lowering troops to the ground.
The drone explodes.
A massive backdraft.
Valandir collapses and blacks out.
FADE TO BLACK.
ON-SCREEN TITLE
25 JULY 2081
DENVER
SCENE 14: INT. DAY — CLINIC
A shared hospital room.
Six beds. Four occupied.
We can’t make out who the patients are,
except for Valandir,
with a bandage around his head.
Elven nurses.
Soft daylight.
Nidjam DAVIAR-CHANDRAWATI
is there, wearing a white coat.
She struggles to hide her emotions
as she approaches Valandir’s bed.
Then she smiles at him.
CUT.
INT. NIGHT — PLANE TO REYKJAVIK
Valandir, in a first class seat,
still wearing the bandage around his head,
exchanges messages on his commlink
with someone named Maharani.
VALANDIR (text)
Why did you do that, my love?
A pause
as his commlink shows
that she’s typing.
Then two messages appear, one after the other.
MAHARANI (text)
To finish my tour on a high note ;-)
A few seconds later:
MAHARANI (text)
And because Code Vandal was spotted in the area.
VALANDIR (text)
Do you even realize the risks?
No reply.
The screen stays frozen.
She’s no longer typing.
Valandir puts his commlink aside
and is about to switch everything off
and try to sleep.
On the screen of his first-class seat,
Icelandic news reports scroll by.
An AI-dubbed report
covers the massive excitement
and hellish traffic jams
caused by the Chawa’s Seven concert
at Drekkivik Stadium.
CUT.
EXT. NIGHT — DREKKIVIK STADIUM — REYKJAVIK
In the background:
a night sky over gently rising mountains
filled with green and violet auroras.
Closer, at the center of the frame,
facing an immense crowd:
the stage at Reykjavik’s stadium.
It is plunged into darkness,
the atmosphere unreal.
The live music has stopped,
yet every commlink in the audience is lit,
as if everyone is trying to capture the moment.
Then, in the sky behind the enormous stage,
an enigmatic silhouette begins to emerge:
a colossal dragon made of light,
blazing against the darkness.
Its skin seems to be made of unreadable
intensely luminous data streams.
It sweeps thrgouh the sky to the roar of the crowd,
heading toward the upper stage rigging.
Suddenly,
With a roar, it spits out a burst of lightning.
A storm of electrical bolts crashes down
across the metal rigging
and sound system,
flickering a few white spotlights back to life.
They flood the stage.
The electrical arcs converge on Manichawa
as the rest of the Chawa’s Seven
scatter in panic.
Valandir rushes in
just as everything goes dark —
even the crowd falls silent.
Against the glow of the aurora,
he takes Manichawa in his arms,
crying.
She gives him a soft smile
and whispers in his ear.
He exhales in relief.
He kisses her forehead
and holds her tight.
🎵 SILENCE
CUT.
SCENE 15: EXT. NIGHT — NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE PARKING LOT
ON-SCREEN TITLE
SEPTEMBER 2081
NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE
The camera watches the scene
from high above and at a distance,
as if from the top of one of the parking lot light poles.
Eleanor WHITAKER is on her knees, handcuffed,
beside the Ford Americar.
Valandir and Tak stand facing her.
Kim keeps watch by the van.
Genesys is behind the wheel.
Eleanor WHITAKER screams at Valandir:
WHITAKER
Drop dead, you fucking
degenerate goblin piece of shit!
He slowly walks toward her,
kneels down,
and grips her head in both hands.
CUT
CLOSE ON Valandir’s face.
The camera pushes in on his eyes.
Flames begin to swell inside his pupils.
CUT TO BLACK.
🎵 YT MUSIC: GoldenEye 007, VG COVER JUNKIES
🎵 SPOTIFY: GoldenEye 007
🎵 DEEZER: GoldenEye 007
SCENE 16: INT. NIGHT — SATO-KAI CASINO — MONTE CARLO
ON-SCREEN TITLE
OCTOBER 2081
MONACO
The Lion Casino is luxurious.
The décor os dominated by black, red and gold.
A large crowd fills the room,
with very few metahumans among them.
Valandir, dressed in an sharply tailored tuxedo,
sits at a poker table with five other men.
Nigele HOUGHTON,
the androgynous, white-haired mage,
stands beside him.
She smokes from a slim, very elongated e-cigarette,
with a distinctly Belle Époque look.
She wears a miniskirt,
stiletto heels
and a loose black blouse
that emphasizes her small chest.
They are at the end of the turn.
CLOSE ON the community cards:
10 ♣, Q ♠, 2 ♦, 7 ♦
CUT TO
PLAYER 1
I raise again.
CUT TO
PLAYER 2
Call.
CUT TO Valandir’s hand:
a pair of tens — hearts and spades.
VALANDIR
All in.
Player 1 counts his chips.
PLAYER 1
I’ve got you covered.
Call.
PLAYER 2 (folding his cards)
Fold.
Player 1 turns over J ♥ and K ♥.
Proud of his three tens,
Valandir slaps his cards
down on the green felt with triumph
and suddenly addresses the Korean dealer
with expansive enthusiasm:
VALANDIR
Come on, baby.
No ace - no nine,
and this pot's mine.
Whoo!
Fuck, I can feel it!
He gives his English companion’s ass
a firm squeeze.
She gives a small, nervous twitch.
But the Korean dealer turns over a nine.
VALANDIR
No way.
A fucking straight.
Just about bad luck...
Five grand down thee drain in ten minutes...
Yeah: definitely not my night.
I’m gonna need one hell of an orgy
to get the sting out of that, huh, baby?
CUT TO BLACK.
SCENE 17: EXT. DAY — NOON — ALLEY
ON-SCREEN TITLE
NOVEMBER 2081
HOUSTON
FADE IN
In silhouette, Valandir enters a refrigerated truck.
The rear door is slightly ajar.
We glimpse Kim keeping watch outside.
Tak’s voice can be heard in the distance.
TAK (V.O.)
Listen.
You let my
teammate
finish what she's doing.
Okay?
And in
exchange for those two minutes...
I'll buy
both your tickets
to the Bulletball final.
Fifteen
thousand nuyens each.
When the
wind blows a sack of rice your way...
best pick it
up.
CLOSE ON Valandir’s face.
He frantically searches through the cargo.
Suddenly, his face lights up.
His hand slowly rises into frame from below,
revealing a string of garlic.
CUT TO BLACK.
🎵 SILENCE.
SCENE 18: INT. NIGHT — SONY TRIDEO ENTERTAINMENT
LABS
ON-SCREEN TITLE
JANUARY 2082
SATTORO
FADE IN:
A metal ventilation duct.
Valandir crawls through it
in a white hospital gown.
His bare ass is visible.
He stops at each ventilation grille,
silently checking the rooms below.
CUT TO
CONTINUOUS — INT. NIGHT — ELECTRONICS WORKSHOP
He lifts a grille
and drops down into the workshop.
He finds some of his teammates’ personal gear:
wired gun interfaces, smart glasses, and so on.
FADE TO BLACK.
SCENE 19: INT. NIGHT — LUXURY SUITE — BIRD OF
PARADISE
ON-SCREEN TITLE
JANUARY 2082
a few weeks later
A desk.
A white table with a contemporary,
curved design.
A small LED lamp
casts a warm, soothing light
over an A4 sheet of paper,
its letterhead delicately embossed
with the Bird of Paradise logo.
A hand finishes penciling a poem:
The writer, passing through the night, worn thin,
Shivers beneath the stars to feel life on his skin,
And gently falls asleep in dreams of white,
The white of a blouse that fluttered in the light.
In the tender spring breeze, beneath the warming sun,
By blossoming apple trees and the alabaster Swan,
In golden silences and distant, wandering eyes,
Beneath the blue of April, pearly dust would rise,
Carried on the breeze to brush two naked hands.
Yet what this lover’s poem never lets you understand
Is how he falls asleep when all the dreaming’s through:
Whether he sleeps alone — or whether they are two.
THE CAMERA PULLS BACK.
Valandir has just finished writing the poem.
His desk faces a vast picture window.
Black, star-filled space.
A small, luminous portion of Earth.
The Earth’s movement beyond the window
shows that the station, too,
is slowly rotating.
Valandir sets down his pencil.
He picks up a laminated A3 sheet
and scans a code on it with his commlink.
METALLIC FEMALE VOICE (commlink)
Yes, Platinum Bar room service?
VALANDIR
I’d like a Hyperbole, please.
METALLIC FEMALE VOICE (commlink)
With or without ice?
VALANDIR
Just chill the chocolate.
That’ll be fine...
METALLIC FEMALE VOICE (commlink)
Five minutes, sir.
CUT.
SCENE 20: INT. DAY — GRAND HALL — THE HAGUE COURTHOUSE — CEIAOP
The CEIAOP hearings continue
in the vast Grand Hall,
before the same large and diverse audience.
PRESIDENT HOUSTRY
The floor goes to Mr. SHISHIZA,
spokesman for MITSUHAMA Corp [AAA].
Shishiza stands
and walks toward the reinforced glass
behind which the witnesses are being questioned.
Valandir is seated on the other side.
MR. SHISHIZA
My dear Mr. EMBERDREAM,
I only have a few very simple questions.
Why were you aboard the station
when Commander KEENE gave
the emergency evacuation order?
What were you doing in Monte Carlo
in October 2081?
What happened in Egypt
on the night of Manichawa’s concert,
when you were escorting her —
the same night the viral feeds
first began suggesting
she had a double identity?
And why were you in Okinawa,
and then in Sattoro
two months later?
You keep turning up in all these places,
sometimes in very unusual company.
I’m thinking in particular of Miss Cateluna NAVAJO,
who was filmed with you at Okinawa customs.
And despite all these strange coincidences,
I must admit it’s difficult to see
how they all connect.
And what exactly was your relationship with Manichawa?
Please explain.
We’re all ears.
And take your time.
Answer in whatever order you like.
VALANDIR
Why was I in Okinawa?
I was accompanying a friend,
a collector of Japanese weapons.
He was looking to buy a katana
from a renowned traditional swordsmith.
Cateluna had the contact.
MR. SHISHIZA
And Sattoro?
A Sony Corp subsidiary.
What was the connection?
VALANDIR
I wanted to meet with Daichi SATO-Kai.
A murmur runs through the audience.
CUT TO
Commander Kaya KEENE,
seated in the second row on the audience side,
stares at Valandir.
The camera pushes in on her face.
Her expression is questioning —
and afraid.
She closes her eyes.
CUT.
SCENE 21: INT. SPACE NIGHT — APUS RESTAURANT — BIRD OF PARADISE
Only a few tables are occupied in the Platinum-class restaurant.
Drones and cyborgs
in sleek, futuristic uniforms handle the service.
At the Commander’s table:
Kaya KEENE, Valandir, Tak,
and young Arthur PESQUET,
wearing the uniform of a corporate flight officer.
PESQUET
Well, my grandfather
went to the ISS-1 back in the 2010s!
His name was Thomas PESQUET!
The Commander can’t help but smile.
KAYA KEENE
Really? That’s interesting...
What did your grandfather do
after that achievement?
PESQUET
Well, he left the astronaut corps
and worked as a civil engineer in aviation...
But back then,
My grandpa was super famous!
Arthur PESQUET starts frantically searching
on his commlink.
The Commander takes the opportunity
to sip her wine.
PESQUET shows her some images
of his grandfather
during his second spacewalk.
PESQUET
See, this was aboard
the Crew Dragon capsule,
developed by SpaceX
long before the company
was bought out by MITSUHAMA...
KAYA KEENE (feigning admiration)
Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm!
PESQUET
He’s dead now.
They buried him in France,
next to his cats,
at his little house in Trouville.
KAYA KEENE
Really? Did he bury his cats?
CUT TO
Valandir, sitting beside Tak,
leans discreetly toward him.
VALANDIR (under his breath)
Damn... we’re never gonna get anywhere
with this drek of a corpo drone.
He’s gonna blow the whole thing
if he gives us his entire family tree!
TAK (whispering)
The chick that has never left the nest
thinks it knows the wind
better than the old tree...
Tak straightens up with an amused wink.
Valandir decides to cut the young officer off.
PESQUET
Back then, the ISS-1 was
a real laboratory for experimental sci—
VALANDIR
Commander, if you don’t mind,
could we get back to where we were
before we were interrupted —
that evacuation protocol?
CUT TO
Relief on the Commander’s face.
CUT TO
Arthur PESQUET bites his tongue.
CUT TO
Tak raises his glass to his lips.
TAK
Yes, I’m interested too.
This is my first job aboard the station,
and naturally you start wondering
how the whole system works...
As they say in the schools
of my homeland,
“He who sees only one stone
knows nothing of the Mountain.”
The Commander acknowledges
the fine aphorism
by raising her glass,
as if in a silent toast.
VALANDIR
I have to admit, as an ordinary passenger,
it’s a little unsettling.
The welcome video reassured me.
The evacuation instructions are very clear,
but still...
Why would we ever need them?
Is there some weakness in the station
we’re not being told about?
KAYA KEENE (laughing)
No, Mr. Flanagan.
The consortium isn’t hiding anything.
VALANDIR
Don't get me wrong.
Everything you’ve told us
about the Bird of Paradise
makes it sound like a technological masterpiece
that cost hundreds of billions of nuyen.
So tell me:
what possible reason could there be
to order its evacuation —
or its self-destruction?
🎵 YT MUSIC: White Rabbit — JEFFERSON AIRPLANE
🎵 SPOTIFY: White Rabbit
🎵 DEEZER: White Rabbit
CUT.
END CREDITS
Valandir: Pierre NINEY
Tak: Pio MARMAÏ
Genesys: Ursula CORBERO
Kim: Anja CHALOTRA
Eleanor WHITAKER: Anja TAYLOR-JOY
Youri GLADSTONE: Angus CLOUD
Mister JOHNSON: Stephen DILLANE
Manichawa: Tripti DIMRI
Aurelius SILVERMOON Tarraf: Peter DINKLAGE
Giacomo: Michael SHEEN
Carlotta: Cailee SPAENY
Hyperbole: Meghan RICHARDS
Nigele HOUGHTON: Tilda COBHAM HERVEY
Ahmed AL FOUZIA: Mehdi DEHBI
Didjam DAVIAR-CHANDRAWATI: TABU
President HOUSTRY: Caroline PROUST
Mr. SHISHIZA: Tanabosu ASANO
Commander Kaya KEENE: Itziar ITUNO
Arthur PESQUET: Nicolas RIHOUEY
Next Episode: EP.104 Corona Borealis
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