THE MOVIE SCRIPT
Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
by Ian Watson and Brian Aldiss.
PART ONE
ATLANTIC OCEAN
NARRATOR
Those were the years after the ice caps had melted because of the greenhouse gases, and the oceans had risen to drown so many cities along all the shorelines of the world. Amsterdam. Venice. New York. Forever lost.
Millions of people were displaced, climate became chaotic. Hundreds of millions of people starved in poorer countries. Elsewhere, a high degree of prosperity survived when most governments in the developed world introduced legal sanctions to strictly license pregnancies, which was why robots, who were never hungry and who did not consume resources beyond those of their first manufacture, were so essential an economic link in the chain mail of society.
LIBRARY-CYBERTRONICS CORP.
HOBBY
To create an artificial being has been the dream of man
since the birth of science. Not merely the beginning of the
modern age, when our forebears astonished the world with the
first thinking machines: primitive monsters that could play
chess.
How far we have come. The artificial being is a reality of
perfect simulacrum, articulated in limb, articulate in
speech, and not lacking in human response
SHEILA
Ahhh!!
HOBBY
…and even pain memory response.
How did that make you feel? Angry? Shocked?
SHEILA
I don’t understand.
HOBBY
What did I do to your feelings?
SHEILA
You did it to my hand.
HOBBY
Aye. There’s the rub. Undress.
At Cybertronics of New Jersey, the artificial being has
reached its highest form. Universally adopted Mecha, the
basis for hundreds of models, serving the human race in all
the multiplicity of daily life.
That’s far enough. But we have no reason to congratulate
ourselves. We are, rightly, proud of it, but what does it
amount to?
Sheila, open.
A sensory toy, with intelligent behavioral circuits, using
neurone sequencing technology as old as I am. I believe that
my work on mapping the impulse pathways in a single neurone
can enable us to construct a Mecha of a qualitatively
different order. I propose that we build a robot, who can love.
TEAM MEMBER -1
Love?
TEAM MEMBER -2
But we ship thousands of lover models every month.
TEAM MEMBER -3
Of course, you’re your own best customer, Siyatsu-sama.
TEAM MEMBER -2
Quality control is very important!
HOBBY
Tell me, what is love?
SHEILA
Love is first widening my eyes a little bit and quickening
my breathing a little and warming my skin and touching with my –
HOBBY
And so on. Exactly so. Thank you, Sheila.
But I wasn’t referring to sensuality simulators. The word
that I used was love. Love like the love of a child for its
parents. I propose that we build a robot child, who can
love. A robot child who will genuinely love the parent or
parents it imprints on, with a love that will never end.
TEAM MEMBER -3
A child substitute Mecha?
HOBBY
But a Mecha with a mind, with neuronal feedback. You see
what I’m suggesting is that love will be the key by which
they acquire a kind of subconscious never before achieved.
An inner world of metaphor, of intuition, of self motivated
reasoning. Of dreams.
TEAM MEMBER -4
A robot that dreams?
HOBBY
Yes.
TEAM MEMBER -4
And how exactly do we pull this off?
FEMALE TEAM MEMBER
You know, it occurs to me… um…with all this animus
existing against Mechas today, it isn’t simply a question of
creating a robot who can love, but isn’t the real conundrum
– can you get a human to love them back?
HOBBY
Ours will be a perfect child caught in a freeze-frame –
always loving, never ill, never changing. With all the
childless couples yearning in vain for a license, our little
Mecha would not only open an entirely new market, it will
fill a great human need.
FEMALE TEAM MEMBER
But you haven’t answered my question. If a robot could
genuinely love a person, what responsibility does that
person hold toward that Mecha in return?
It’s a moral question, isn’t it?
HOBBY
The oldest one of all. But in the beginning, didn’t God
create Adam to love him?
CRYOGENIC HOSPITAL
MONICA
The baby was born as the first leaves of autumn fell. A baby
boy. And Marion’s wish came true. The boy had white hair. He
was baptized Martin after his grandfather.
HENRY
Dr Frazier. Hi. It’s good to see you.
DR.FRAZIER
Hi. How’re you?
HENRY
Listen, there was an article by Randenbach in the Journal of
Chinese Medicine – they’re talking about these virus
locators….
DR.FRAZIER
Hello again, Monica.
HENRY
… microscopic, synthetic hunter killers. Did you read that
article?
MONICA
I can still hear you!
DR.FRAZIER
I’m worried about her, Henry. She’s really got me worried.
HENRY
Yeah, I know.
DR.FRAZIER
She’s in the most difficult position of feeling she should
mourn the death of your son. After five years your instincts
tell you to mourn him, too. But medicine assures us that
mourning is inappropriate, that Martin is merely pending.
HENRY
Pending.
DR.FRAZIER
So all her grief goes undigested. Henry, your son may be
beyond our science, but it’s your wife who can still be
reached.
HOBBY’S OFFICE
FIRST ASSISTANT
The screening process was extremely difficult. It was almost
tougher than building the prototype.
SECOND ASSISTANT
Of our 2,000 employees a surprising few met your minimum
requirements for the in-house testing. Initiate. Employment
record. Quality of life style. Query. Internal data. Loyalty
to the firm. And…in this individuals case, a family
tragedy that may qualify him above the rest.
HOBBY
I’ll see him.
FOYER-SWINTON HOME
MONICA
Henry.
HENRY
Don t kill me.
MONICA
Henry, what are you doing?
HENRY
I love you. Don’t kill me.
Door s closed.
DAVID
I like your floor.
MASTER BEDROOM
MONICA
I can’t accept this! There is no substitute for your own
child!
HENRY
You don’t have to accept it or even try – it’s not too late
to take him back!
MONICA
What were you thinking?!
HENRY
I’ll do whatever you want me to do!
MONICA
You think I can just, I can just…
HENRY
I’ll do whatever you want me to do!
MONICA
I don’t know… what to do.
HENRY
I know, I know I’ll return him to Cybertronics first thing
in the morning, it s gone.
MONICA
Good. I mean Henry, did you see his face? He’s, he’s so
real. But he’s not…
HENRY
No, he’s not.
MONICA
I mean, inside he’s like all the rest, isn’t he?
HENRY
A hundred miles of fiber, yeah.
MONICA
But outside he just looks so real… like he is a child.
HENRY
A Mecha child.
MONICA
A child…
MASTER BATHROOM
HENRY
The show of faith my company has placed on me…on us, is
extraordinary. Now there are a few simple procedures we need
to follow if and when you decide to keep David. If you
decide to keep him, there s an imprinting protocol
consisting of a code string of seven particular words which
need to be spoken to David in the predefined order that s
been printed here. Now Monica, for our own protection, this
imprinting is irreversible. The robot child s love would be
sealed, in a sense hardwired, and we d be part of him forever.
Because of this, after imprinting, no Mecha child can be
resold. If an adoptive parent should ever decide not to keep
the child, they must return it to Cybertronics for
destruction. Now, I had to sign a letter of agreement or
they wouldn t even let you see David. You have to sign it
too… right here. Monica… don t imprint until you’re entirely sure.
MONICA
Silly man. Of course I m not sure.
MARTIN’S BEDROOM
DAVID
Would you like me to sleep now?
MONICA
Uh…
HENRY
Good Idea. Good idea. Monica?
MONICA
Uh..well..it’s late, you know it’s after nine,so uh…
HENRY
Yeah. Ten past.
MONICA
How..how late do they let you stay up?
DAVID
I can never go to sleep, but I can lay quietly, and not make
a peep.
MONICA
So those pajamas will fit you, and uh, we’ll be in to check
on you first thing in the morning.
DAVID
Dress me?
MONICA
You know I’m gonna say good night…while you…boys be
boys.
HENRY
Raise your arms.
HALLWAY CLOSET
DAVID
Is it a game?
MONICA
Yes. Hide and Seek. Found you. That s your bedroom. Just go
and play.
HALLWAY BATHROOM
MONICA
Ahhh!
DAVID
I found you.
MONICA
Out! Out! Get outta here! And close the goddamn door!
DINING ROOM
DAVID, MONICA, & HENRY
HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA .!
MARTIN’S BEDROOM
(Monica dresses David for bed – her mind bounces back and
forth between David and Martin.
The next day…)
DAVID
Is it a game?
MONICA
Now, I’m gonna read some words, and uh…they won’t make any
sense, but I want you to listen to them anyway. And…look
at me all the time. Can you do that?
DAVID
Yes, Monica.
MONICA
Can you feel my hand on the back of your neck?
DAVID
Yes.
MONICA
Does any of this hurt?
DAVID
No.
MONICA
Okay. Now. Look at me? Ready? Cirrus. Socrates. Particle.
Decibel. Hurricane. Dolphin. Tulip.
Monica. David. Monica…
All right I wonder if I did that right. I don’t-
DAVID
What were those words for, Mommy?
MONICA
What did you call me?
DAVID
Mommy.
MONICA
Who am I, David?
DAVID
You are my Mommy.
MASTER BEDROOM
MONICA
(Humming…) Hmm…!
HENRY
You smell lovely. I love it when you wear this stuff.
MONICA
Will you still love me when it’s all gone?
HENRY
No.
MONICA
Wha…stop it!
HENRY
But we can get married again and begin with a fragrance
that’s not in such short supply.
MONICA
Hmmm…
HENRY
Gotta go…Come on, we’re late!
MONICA
(Still humming…)
HENRY
Hello, David.
DAVID
Hello, Henry.
MONICA
Walk us out, alright, sweetheart? Come on.
My shoe! (Laughs)
FOYER
MONICA
Henry, your tie!
HENRY
Yeah I know! I’m helpless!
MONICA
You’re hopeless!
HENRY
Oh, it’s not bad…
MONICA
Oh, it’s just tight…I was just trying so hard.
HENRY
You see the way he rearranged that…
MONICA
He tries so hard to please me. He has a way with my coffee.
HENRY
And it s creepy. You can never hear him coming. He s just
always there.
MONICA
He is only a child.
HENRY
Monica, he s a toy.
MONICA
He s a gift, from you.
David! When we leave, all the doors and windows will go
smart, so you can’t leave your room, but, if you’d
like…oh, I put way too much on.
DAVID
Do I smell lovely?
MONICA
(Sighs) I’ll go look…
MASTER BEDROOM
DAVID
Mommy? Will you die?
MONICA
Well….one day David. Yes, I will.
DAVID
I ll be alone.
MONICA
Don t worry yourself so.
DAVID
How long will you live?
MONICA
For ages. For fifty years.
DAVID
I love you, Mommy. I hope you never die. Never.
MONICA
Yes…
HENRY
Darling? We’re becoming unfashionably, unreasonably late.
MARTIN’S BEDROOM
MONICA
This belonged to Martin. My son.
TEDDY
Grr-rowr!
MONICA
His name is Teddy. Teddy, this is David.
DAVID
Hello, Teddy.
TEDDY
Hello, David.
MONICA
David, Teddy is a Super-Toy, and I know you ll take good
care of each other.
TEDDY
I am not…a toy.
STAIRCASE/FOYER
MONICA
Henry? Sorry…!
HENRY
What were you doing up there?
MONICA
Ohh, I’ll tell you in the car. C’mon.
MARTIN’S BEDROOM
DAVID
Is fifty years a long time?
TEDDY
I don’t think so.
KITCHEN
MONICA
David, I’ll get it! Honey, hand it to me.
DAVID
Look what I can do!
(Operator’s voice) Hello…?
MONICA
Hah…Yes?
DAVID
(Operator’s voice) Mrs. Swinton, could you hold a moment? I
have an urgent call from your husband.
MONICA
Monica: Yes. I will. Uh..uh…David, I need to talk to the
phone now.
DAVID
(Henry’s voice) Monica? Monica can you hear me, Monica?
MONICA
Let the phone talk now. Come on.
DAVID
(Henry’s voice) Monica, can you hear me? Pick up the phone
Monica.
MONICA
Run along, play with Teddy.
DAVID
(Henry’s voice) Pick up the phone, Monica! Oh my god Moni…
MONICA
Hello? Henry? What is it? Wha…What? When? Oh god…
FOYER
MONICA
David? The most wonderful thing in the whole world has
happened. This is Martin. This is my son.
MARTIN’S BEDROOM
TEDDY
Martin, no…
MARTIN
We ll have a contest, to see who he comes to first. Come
here, Teddy! Come here, boy! Teddy! Come here! You call him
too.
DAVID
Come here, Teddy.
MARTIN
Come on…
DAVID
Come here, boy.
MARTIN
Teddy! Teddy! Come here! Come on, Teddy! Come here!
DAVID
Come here, Teddy.
MARTIN
Come here, Teddy! Teddy! Teddy come! C’mere!
DAVID
Come here, Teddy.
MARTIN
Come Teddy! Come!
TEDDY
Mommy! Mommy!
MONICA
Are they torturing you , Teddy?
MARTIN
He used to be a Super-Toy, but now he s old and stupid. You
want him?
DAVID
Yes, please.
MARTIN
So, I guess now you re the new Super-Toy, so what good stuff
can you do? Oh, can you do ‘power’ stuff, like, uhhh, walk
on the ceiling or the walls? Anti- gravity? Like, float, or
fly?
DAVID
Can you?
MARTIN
No, because I m real. Can you break this?
DAVID
I better not.
MARTIN
These things…they do look better in pieces. They do.
DAVID
I can t.
MARTIN
Stand up. Look, they made you bigger than me.
DAVID
Who did?
MARTIN
Well, they did, the dollmakers. They made you taller. Why
don’t you look like one?
DAVID
Like one…
MARTIN
You’re not cute like a doll. You just look like someone s
ordinary kid. When s your birthday?
DAVID
I never had a birthday.
MARTIN
Okay well, when were you first built? When s your build
day ?
DAVID
I don t remember.
MARTIN
Okay, what s the first thing you can remember?
DAVID
A bird.
MARTIN
What sort of bird?
DAVID
A bird with big wings. And feathers sticking up from the
bottom.
MARTIN
Could you draw it?
DAVID
Yes.
MARTIN
That looks like a peacock. Can you say peacock?
DAVID
Peacock.
MARTIN
Can you say pea?
DAVID
Pea.
MARTIN
Now, say that two times fast.
KITCHEN
MONICA
Okay. Then you gotta put the green ones .
MARTIN
Read to us?
MONICA
Hey… Let s see. Oh, yes .
MARTIN
David s going to love it.
ON THE BOAT
MONICA
As soon as the show was over, the showman went into the
kitchen, where the whole sheep which he was preparing for
supper was roasting on a slowly turning spit in the furnace.
When he saw that there was not enough wood to finish
roasting it, he called Harlequin and Pulcinella and said,
‘Bring me in Pinocchio! You will find him hanging on a nail.
He is made of nice dry wood and I m sure he will make a nice
fire for my roast.
MARTIN’S BEDROOM
MONICA
Pinocchio worked until midnight, and instead of making eight
baskets, he made sixteen. Then he went to bed, and fell
asleep. As he slept, he dreamt he saw the fairy, lovely and
smiling, who gave him a kiss, saying, ‘Brave Pinocchio, in
return for your good heart, I forgive all your past
misdeeds. Be good in the future, and you will be happy.’
Then the dream ended, and Pinocchio awoke, full of
amazement. You can imagine how astonished he was when he saw
that he was no longer a puppet, but a real boy, just like
other boys.
DINING ROOM
HENRY
Josephine evidently has.. uh.. taken a leave of absence.
MONICA
Oh my God…
HENRY
Umm…humm.
MONICA
Well…I saw that coming.
HENRY
How could you see that coming? They were fabulous together.
MONICA
Oh Come on! She was miserable… I mean…
HENRY
Well, he never said they were miserable.
MONICA
Yeah.. . that s because…. Was that because of the cutbacks
or what?
HENRY
I have no idea. They certainly don t tell me anything.
MONICA
Didn’t they have a bit of a weight problem?
HENRY
Well so do I…I mean…
MONICA
Do not! That is ridiculous.
HENRY
…well… all right look.. I don t know… isn t
there…something about inner beauty?
TEDDY
You will break.
MONICA
Oh that is ridiculous.
HENRY
Exactly…oh, work has become so silly.
Does he eat?
MONICA
I m not sure.
HENRY
You re not supposed to do that.
MONICA
David, what are you doing? David?!
HENRY
Do you have the manual… the book?
MONICA
Martin, put the fork down. Put it down now.
HENRY
Stop. Stop, David. Will you stop?
MONICA
David?! Stop it. Martin you re provoking him. OK?
HENRY
David, stop it!
MONICA
The two of you stop it! Stop it now!
Stop it!! David! Stop it!
LATER
FIRST A.R.T. TECH
Hmmm..spewed in the code blockers.
SECOND A.R.T. TECH
Smell that garlic!
FIRST A.R.T. TECH
Should clone the chest bridge…
Ehhh…!
SECOND A.R.T. TECH
Did you locate the servers?
FIRST A.R.T. TECH
Don’t touch the merchandise.
SECOND A.R.T. TECH
It’s all swamp in here.
FIRST A.R.T. TECH
You… made a mess of yourself! Spinach is for rabbits,
people and Popeye. Not robo-boys.
SECOND A.R.T. TECH
Go ahead insert your cells… let’s do a patching on the
lower shelves.
DAVID
It’s OK, Mommy. It doesn’t hurt!
FIRST A.R.T. TECH
The activators are all hooked up on this side.
HENRY
Monica…
MONICA
No! I just have to…
SECOND A.R.T. TECH
That’s not all of it… that’s not all of it…
MARTIN’S BEDROOM
MARTIN
If you do something really, really, really special for me, a
special mission, then I’ll go tell Mommy…I love you, and
then she’ll love you, too.
DAVID
What shall I do?
MARTIN
You have to promise, and then I’ll tell you.
DAVID
You have to tell me, and then I’ll promise.
MARTIN
I want a lock of Mommy’s hair. I’ll share it with you. And
if you had it, and wore it, she might love you
even more, like the princess in the movie we saw. When she
had the prince’s hair in her necklace thing, he loved her.
DAVID
We can ask her-
MARTIN
No! It has to be a secret mission. Sneak in to Mommy’s
bedroom, in the middle of the night, and chop it off.
DAVID
I can’t, Martin. I’m not allowed.
MARTIN
You promised. You said ‘tell me and then I’ll promise’,
didn’t you?
MASTER BEDROOM
(HENRY & MONICA talk over each other. Dialogue separated)
HENRY
David! –
MONICA
(Gasp!)
HENRY
Why did you do that?! Why did you do that?! Talk to me!
David god damn it, talk to me David! Why did you do that,
David?! Why did you do that?! Tell me WHY-DID-YOU-
MONICA
Henry, what are you doing – you re hurting him! Henry, let
him go! Henry you re hurting him! You re hurting him! You-
DONT BREAK HIM!!
DAVID
Henry I wanted Mommy to love me more.
MONICA
Oh my god
HENRY
What?
MONICA
Oh my god, I think I cut my eye.
HENRY
Lemme see.
MONICA
Oh god, I think it’s bleeding!
HENRY
Come come…come on, wash it out.
BACKYARD POOL
MONICA
It’s normal for little boys to feel jealous and competitive.
Martin’s only been home a month and…it’s normal for
brothers to challenge each other. He…He was playing a
game, he made a mistake, and he – he’s practically human.
HENRY
That’s not how he looked holding the knife.
MONICA
Scissors.
HENRY
It was a weapon.
MONICA
Why do you keep imagining that he was purposely trying to
harm me?
HENRY
Uh, because we don’t know the answer to that! How is he
worth the risk to you, or to Martin, or to us as a family?
MONICA
I will not let you take him back. You told me what would
happen if you ever took him back.
HENRY
Think about this. If he was created to love, then it’s
reasonable to assume he knows how to hate. And if pushed to
those extremes, what is he really capable of?
LATER
DAVID
Happy birthday, Martin. I made this for you.
TOD
This him? This your little brother?
MARTIN
Technically no.
TOD
He s Mecha!
DAVID
What s Mecha?
TOD
We’re organic, you re Mechanical. Orga, Mecha, orga…
MARTIN
Tod…
TOD
…Mecha, orga, Mecha…
MARTIN
Tod…stop.
TOD
I didn’t know they even made little kids.
BOY -1
Can you pee?
DAVID
I cannot.
BOY -1
Then let s see what you can t pee with.
MARTIN
Come on…
BOY -2
Touch it.
BOY-3
It feels so real.
BOY -2
Oh, that s…that s creepy.
BOY -4
Whoa…feels so real.
BOY -2
That is too real.
TOD
Mecha real.
Does he have DAS?
BOY -3
DAS what?
BOY -2
Das ist gut!
TOD
Damage Avoidance System. DAS. It s a pain-alert system. Our
serving-man has it. It s so they don t go picking up fire
with their bare hands and stuff.
Watch. Watch this. Now, I m not going to cut you. This isn’t
gonna hurt. I m not gonna cut your skin. Just tell me when
you can feel it.
DAVID
Keep me safe, Martin. Keep me safe!
MARTIN
Lemme go!
DAVID
Keep me safe Martin!
MARTIN
Lemme go! Mom! Mom! Mommmmmmmm!
DAVID
Keep me safe, keep me safe, keep me safe, keep me safe…
MONICA
Henry!
Oh my…God!
He’s not breathing…he’s not breathing! Come on, breathe!
HENRY
Come on..come on, man…Martin! Take a breath…cough it up
! Thatta boy, that’s a great boy!
MONICA
Oh…thank God…thank God thank God!
HENRY
Call Frazier-tell him what happened! Get him outta there!
MARTIN’S BEDROOM
MONICA
Hey David?
DAVID
Mommy! Mommy!
MONICA
David, wait. I need to speak to to you for a minute, okay?
DAVID
Okay!
MONICA
Yeah…
Monica looks over some messages that David has been writing.
MONICA
Oh, David, these are beautiful! Thank you. Um…
Um, hey David, I was thinking that we could go for a drive
tomorrow in the country. You and me. What do you say?
DAVID
And Teddy?
MONICA
Yeah, and Teddy.
DAVID
Thank you Mommy! Thank you so much!
MONICA
Tomorrow’s gonna be just for us, okay?
IN THE CAR
DAVID
Where are we going? Someplace nice? Are those happy tears?
What s for dinner tonight?
MONICA
You know you don t eat.
DAVID
Yes. But I like sitting at the table.
IN THE WOODS
MONICA
David. David, hold on. David? David! Listen! Listen to me!
David? David listen! Now you won’t understand the reasons,
but I ..I have to leave you here.
DAVID
Is it a game?
MONICA
No.
DAVID
When will you come back for me?
MONICA
I’m not, David, you…you’ll have to be here by yourself.
DAVID
Alone?
MONICA
With Teddy.
**David and Monica talk over each other. For clarity, here
is the dialogue, separated.
DAVID
No. No! No, no, no, no! No, Mommy please!
MONICA
Shhh…shhh…
DAVID
No! No! Please no Mommy no!
MONICA
They’re going to destroy you…
DAVID
No, Mommy!
MONICA
David, they’ll destroy you. David…David, they’re going to
destroy you!
DAVID
Mommy, No! I’m sorry I broke myself! I’m so sorry I cut your
hair off and I’m oh so sorry I hurt you and I hurt Martin
and I hurt Henry and I hurt everybody!
MONICA
No…no, no…I have to go. I have to go! Stop it!
DAVID
I’m sorry!
MONICA
Stop it! I have to GO!
DAVID
Mommy, no! Mommy! MOMMY! Mommy, if Pinocchio became a real
boy and…and I become a real boy can I come home?
MONICA
But that’s just a story, David.
DAVID
But that story tells what happens!
MONICA
Stories are not real! You’re not real!
Now listen , look. Look! Take this, alright? Take this. And
don’t let anyone see how much it is. Now look. Don’t go that
way, alright? Look! Don’t look at me, look! Don’t go that
way, alright? Go any where but that way or they’ll catch
you! Don’t ever let them catch you! Listen, stay away from
Flesh Fairs, away from where there are lots of people! Stay
away from all people! Only others like you, only Mecha are
safe! Now get going!
DAVID
Why do you want to leave me? Why do you want to leave me??!
I’m sorry I’m not real, if you let me I’ll be so real for
you!
MONICA
Let go. Let go! Let GO!!
I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the world!
SLEAZY MOTEL ROOM
PATRICIA
I’m afraid…
JOE
Of me? That I will hurt you?
PATRICIA
Yes…
JOE
I think… you’re afraid of letting go. I think you’re
afraid of happiness. And this is starting to excite me. Are
you afraid of seeing the stars…Patricia? I can show you
how to reach them.
PATRICIA
I’m afraid… of what you’ve got under there. May I see what
it looks like first?
JOE
Is this your first time… with something like me?
PATRICIA
I’ve never been with Mecha.
JOE
That makes two of us.
PATRICIA
I’m afraid it will hurt.
JOE
Patricia…once you’ve had a lover robot, you’ll never want
a real man…again.
Are these the wounds of passion?
Singer: Are the stars out tonight?
I don’t know if it’s cloudy or bright.
I only have eyes for you, dear!
PATRICIA
Do you…do you hear that music?
Singer: (note: this is played over Joe’s next line)
The moon may be high,
But I can’t see a thing in the sky,
‘Cause I only have eyes for you,
Yeah…I only have eyes for you!
JOE
You… are a goddess, Patricia. You wind me up inside. But
you deserve much better in your life. You deserve… me.
Chorus: ‘Cause I only have eyes for you.
The moon may be high,
but I can t see a thing in the sky
Cause I only have eyes for you!
CITY STREET
JANE
Hey, Joe, whaddaya know?
JOE
Hey, Jane, how s the game?
AT THE HOTEL
FRONT DESK CLERK
Hey, Joe, whaddyaknow?
JOE
Hello, Mr. Williamson. Place a DND on room one-oh-two,
please.
MR. WILLIAMSON
Sure thing. (Exhales) ‘ere ya go.
Here y’are.
Oh! Joe! Uh, when you’re finished here, crack your collar.
Show off your operating license. The, uh, flesh fair’s in
Barn Creek, and the hounds are out hunting for strays.
JOE
It’s a good thing I ran into you. Thanks Mr. Williamson.
MR. WILLIAMSON
Sure thing.
JOE
Mustn t keep a lady waiting.
IN ROOM 102
JOE
Ms. Bevens. It s Joe. At your service. I ve been counting
the seconds since last we met.
Have you been crying, Samantha? I found a tear.
MR. BEVINS
Hey Joe, whatdya know?
How many seconds has it been, the last time the two of you
were together?
JOE
Two hundred and fifty five thousand, one hundred and thirty
three.
MR. BEVINS
Goodbye, Sam. And never forget, you killed me first.
JOE
I m in bad trouble.
IN THE WOODS
DAVID
If I am a real boy, then I can go back. And she will love me
then.
TEDDY
How?
DAVID
The Blue Fairy made Pinocchio into a real boy. She can make
me into a real boy. I must find her, so I can become real.
There must be someone in the whole world who knows where she
lives.
ROADSIDE DUMP/WOODS
JUNKYARD MECHA -1 –
Moon on the rise!
JUNKYARD MECHA -2 –
It’s a Flesh Fair. They destroy us on stage. I ve been
there.
DAVID
What do we do?
TEDDY
We run now.
FLESH FAIR BALLOON
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
Any old iron? Any old iron? Any old iron? Any old iron?
Expel your Mecha. Purge yourselves of artificiality. Come
along now, let some Mecha loose to run, any old unlicensed
iron down there? Hey, see that? Could be a human thing.
BALLOON OPERATOR
No, he s scanning cold. No expiration date, no ID.
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
What s a new model doing loose and unregistered?
BALLOON OPERATOR
Sir, it s a late generation lover Mecha.
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
Well, there s a relief from all this antique iron. You are
certain he s not a man? I wouldn t want a repeat of the
Trenton incident.
BALLOON OPERATOR
Sir, he s free range Mecha, running hot.
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
Let s reel him in, boys. Sic the hounds on the rest. Shake
down Shantytown.
HOUSE IN SHANTYTOWN
MECHA NANNY
What s your name?
DAVID
My name is David.
MECHA NANNY
Hello David! How old are you?
DAVID
I don t know.
MECHA NANNY
Do you need someone to take care of you? Would you like a
nanny? I have many good references.
DAVID
Do you know where the Blue Fairy lives?
HANGING IN THE NET
MECHA NANNY
Don’t be afraid, David.
Dodo, l’enfant do, L’enfant dormira bien vite;
Dodo, l’enfant do, L’enfant dormira bientot…
TEDDY
I’ll break, David.
MECHA NANNY
Une chanson douce
que me chantait ma maman…
TEDDY
Ow!
MECHA NANNY
Une chanson douce
que me chantait ma maman…
THE FLESH FAIR
FRONT GATE ATTENDANT
Hello. Anybody lose this? Hello? This your dog?
TEDDY
Grr-rrrr…
FRONT GATE ATTENDANT
Take it to lost and found for me, okay?
CREW MEMBER -1
Hey, Allen! Lost and found!
TEDDY
Do you know David?
CREW MEMBER -2
Where’s the off switch?
TEDDY
Where’s David? Can you help me find David? I have to find
David. Are you taking me to David?
THE ARENA
MECHA COMEDIAN
Can you shoot me OVER the propeller thing? Yea, I don’t need
to go through it. Ahhh, I was considering it, but I changed
my mind.
RINGLEADER
Gentlemen! Start… your… engines! Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
What about us?!
CROWD
What about us!
RINGLEADER
What… about… us?!
CROWD
What about us!
RINGLEADER
We are alive, and this is a celebration of life! And this is
commitment to a truly human future!
LITTLE GIRL (to TEDDY)
What’s your name?
DAVID
Hello, Teddy.
TEDDY
Hello, David.
CONTROL BOOTH
PAPA
Take it! Take it. Backgrounds rolling…
LITTLE GIRL
Papa?
PAPA
Not on the…
TECHNICIAN
…biker helm.
LITTLE GIRL
Papa?
PAPA
Amanda, go on back outside, honey. It’s too smoky in here.
AMANDA
There’s a boy in the cage.
PAPA
What’d you say?
AMANDA
There’s a boy the cage.
PAPA
A boy?
AMANDA
A real boy. He’s stuck in the cage.
PAPA
In the pen, honey?
AMANDA
In the jail place…
TECHNICIAN
Random crowd reaction-
PAPA
Hey, Russell, will you get a remote near the pig pen? Bring
it up on VT1. Lemme see what she’s talking about.
RUSSELL
Move it up on one.
TECHNICIAN
Push in.
RUSSELL
What are you looking for?
PAPA
Amanda said she saw a little boy in there.
TECHNICIAN
Push in!
Denny, let’s go wide on the shot – wide on the shot.
PAPA
Honey, how do you know about this?
AMANDA
The bear told me.
TEDDY
I told her.
THE PIG PEN
JUNKY MECHA -1
Would you be so kind and shut down my pain receivers?
DAVID
Why is this happening?
TAXI MECHA
History repeats itself. It’s the rite of blood and
electricity.
GRUMPY MECHA
So, when the opportunities avail themselves, they pick away
at us, cutting away our numbers so they can maintain
numerical superiority!
JUNKY MECHA -1
My time… is it up already? Goodbye everyone.
DAVID
Keep me safe! Keep me safe! Keep me safe! Keep me safe!
CREW MEMBER
Not yet! Just this one here!
DAVID
Keep me safe. Keep me safe. Keep me safe…
FEMALE CREW MEMBER
Mike, security? Mike! Do you have any reports of any missing
kids, any missing children? Alright, thanks.
PAPA
How’d you get in there? Boy! You, boy! Hey, what’s your
name? I won’t bite ya. Come on over where I can see ya. Hey
hey, it won’t hurt ya. I just need to see.
You’re a machine.
DAVID
I’m a boy.
AMANDA
Is he a toyboy?
DAVID
My name is David.
PAPA
Impossible.
THE ARENA
JUNKY MECHA -1
I still work, don’t I? I can still work in the dark, but my
lamp is broken. My lamplight will not work. I hit my lamp on
a girder overhead.
THE PIG PEN
NANNY MECHA
Goodbye, David.
PAPA
No one builds children. No one ever has. What would be the
point?
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
Aye, he could be a custom job. Some rich, and lonely,
scaredy pusses pretend child.
GRUMPY MECHA
I’m a custom job. 75 years ago I was Time Magazine’s Mecha
of the year!
PAPA
Eh, this work is first rate. A lot of love went into him.
David! You are one of a kind, you know that? Who made you?
DAVID
My mommy made me.
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
Her womb was your factory, eh? One of those built to aspire
to the human condition. What is the name of your maker?
Serve U.S., E.Z. Living, Robbyville? Simulate-City, Santern,
Cybertronics, Sidekicks–
DAVID
Monica is my mommy.
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
Can I speak with you for a moment? You thinking of not
putting him in the show?
PAPA
Something as original as this you don’t toss out with the
rest of the garbage!
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
Yeah, well, I say originality without purpose is a white
elephant, but if money is your purpose, then here’s your
refund– my compliments.
PAPA
What are you going to do with him?
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
Put him where he belongs– in show business.
JOE
It was certainly my good fortune running into you!
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
Let go of him.
JOE
Let go of me.
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
I said let go of him.
JOE
I’m trying!
DAVID
Don’t let go. Keep me safe! Don’t let go!
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
Suit yourselves.
THE ARENA
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
Ladies and gentlemen. Girls and boys and children of all
ages! What will they think of next?! See here: a bitty box,
a tinker toy, a living doll. ‘Course we all know why they
made them. To seize your hearts. To replace your children!
This is the latest iteration to the series of insults to
human dignity. An underground scheme to phase out all of
God’s little children. Meet the next generation of child
designed to do just that!
Do not be fooled by the artistry of this creation. No doubt
there was talent in the crafting of this simulator. Yet with
the very first strike, you will see the big lie come apart
before your very eyes!
DAVID
Don’t burn me! Don’t burn me! I’m not Pinocchio! Don’t make
me die! I’m David, I’m David, I’m David!
WOMAN IN CROWD
Mecha don’t plead for their lives! Who is that? He looks
like a boy…
DAVID
Don’t make me die…don’t make me die! I’m David!
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
Built like a boy to disarm us! See how they try to imitate
our emotions, now!
DAVID
I’m David, I’m David, I’m David…
LORD JOHNSON-JOHNSON
Whatever performance this sim puts on, remember we are only
demolishing artificiality! Let he who is without ‘sim’ cast
the first stone.
CROWD
He’s just a boy… He’s just a boy, Johnson…You’re a
monster!…(hubbub)
PAPA
Get them out of there before they tear this place apart.
HOBBY’S OFFICE
ASSISTANT -1
We found him.
HOBBY
Where?
ASSISTANT -1
Flesh Fair outside Haddonfield.
HOBBY
Is he alive?
ASSISTANT -2
Yes. He’s in one piece.
IN THE WOODS
TEDDY
I see the moon.
DAVID
Is it real?
TEDDY
I don’t know, David.
DAVID
Is it coming?
TEDDY
I can’t tell yet.
DAVID
Let’s not walk this way.
JOE
Where are we going?
DAVID
This way now.
JOE
Are you in bad trouble, have you run away from someone?
DAVID
My mommy told me to run away.
JOE
Why did she say that?
DAVID
I guess…because Henry didn’t like me.
JOE
Why was that?
DAVID
Martin came home.
JOE
And who is he?
DAVID
Martin is Mommy and Henry’s REAL son. After I find the Blue
Fairy, then I can go home. Mommy will love a real boy. The
Blue Fairy will make me into one.
JOE
Is Blue Fairy Mecha, orga, man, or woman?
DAVID
Woman.
JOE
Woman. I know women! They sometimes ask for me by name. I
know all about women. About as much as there is to know. No
two are ever alike, and after they’ve met me, no two are
ever the same! And I know where most of them can be found.
DAVID
Where?
JOE
Rouge City. Across the Delaware. Too far for our feet. We’ll
need help to get there. And, it is not without peril. We
will have to journey….towards the moon.
DAVID
Are there many women in Rouge City?
JOE
As there are stars at night.
DAVID
And how will we find just one?
JOE
We will ask Dr. Know! There is nothing he doesn’t.
Exactly what name do you give this woman?
DAVID
She is…just Blue Fairy.
JOE
Blue Fairy. In the world of Orga blue is the color of
melancholy, yet the services I provide will put a blush back
on anyones cheek. I will change the color of your fairy for
you. She will scream out in the moonlight…’Ah, oh yes, oh
god, oh yes, oh god, oh god’…she will make you a real boy
for I will make her a real woman and all will be right with
the world, because you held my hand and saved my brain. So
once again my customers may ask for my by name ‘Gigolo Joe,
whatdoyaknow’!
DAVID
Why do you do that?
JOE
That’s just what I do. Now follow me, and don’t fall behind.
All roads lead to Rouge! Don’t they say that, eh? Don’t they
just….
ON THE ROADSIDE
JOE
There are girls your age who are just like me. We are the
guiltless pleasures of the lonely human being. You’re not
going to get us pregnant, or have us over for supper with
mummy and daddy. We work under you, we work on you, and we
work for you. Man made us better at what we do than was ever
humanly possible. If you can manage us a lift to Rouge City,
all this, and much, much more, can be yours.
TEENAGER
Get in!
IN THE CAR
JOE
Say Ah!
JOE & TEENS
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
ROUGE CITY PLAZA
JOE
Over there is ‘Here, Kitty Kitty’. That’s where the agency
held my trial when I was made new. That’s ‘Tails’…very
‘hoity-toity’. Only sunrise gents and sunset ladies. I’ve
never been asked to perform there. Strictly sierra class
robots who have no idea how to live. Can’t even speak
English, all made in Sweden. Couldn’t tell a joke from a
poke.
There’s Mildred! I have to show you inside Mildred!
DAVID
Are you her?
JOE
That s Our Lady of the Immaculate Heart. The ones who made
us are always looking for the ones that made them. They go
in, look around their feet, sing songs, and when they come
out, it’s usually me they find. I’ve picked up a lot of
business in this spot.
DAVID
But Joe, where’s Blue Fairy?
JOE
That’s what we’re gonna find out when we ask Dr. Know. It’s
where everyone goes who needs to know.
Meet the good doctor!
DOCTOR KNOW’S SHOP
DR.KNOW
Starving minds, welcome to Dr. Know! Where fast-food for
thought is served up 24 hours a day, in 40,000 locations
nationwide. Ask Dr. Know, there’s nothing I don’t!
DAVID
Tell me where I can find the Blue Fairy.
DR.KNOW
Question me you pay the fee, two for five you get one free!
JOE
He means two questions cost five Newbucks with a third
question on the house. In this day and age, David, nothing
costs more than information.
DAVID
That’s everything!
JOE
Ten Newbucks and a ten copper comes to 7 questions for Dr.
Know.
DAVID
That should be enough!
JOE
He’s a smooth operator. He’ll test our limits, but try we
must.
DR.KNOW
Greetings colleagues. On author, factual text or
fictionalized text, 1st or 3rd person, usual literacy range
from primal level to the post doctural, usual span of styles
from fairy tale to religious, who s who, or where s where –
or, flat fact.
DAVID
Flat-fact?
DR.KNOW
Thank you for question number one. ‘Flat-fact’ is a term
demanding an equal answer with interpretive speculation…
merely not the… and what you are saying is basically that
is what you-
DAVID
That shouldn’t count, that wasn’t my question!
JOE
You must take care not to raise your voice up at the end of
a sentence.
‘Flat-fact’.
Dr.KNOW
You have 6 more questions!
DAVID
Where is Blue Fair-REE?
DR.KNOW
In the Garden. Vascostylis blue fairy. Blooms twice annually
with bright blue flowers on a branched inflorescence. A
hybrid between Ascola Meda Arnold. You have 5 more
questions.
DAVID
Who is Blue Fair-REE?
DR.KNOW
Are you sad, lonely, looking for a friend? ‘Blue Fairy
Escort Service’ will find a mate for you! You have 4 more
questions.
DAVID
Joe. Try fairy tale.
JOE
New category. A fairy’s tail.
DAVID
No! Fairy tale!
JOE
No. Fairy tale.
DAVID
What is Blue Fairy?
DR.KNOW
Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi. At the signal, there was a
rustling as flapping of wings, and a large falcon flew to
the windowsill. What are your orders, beautiful fairy, he
asked…
DAVID
That s her.
DR.KNOW
…For you must know that the child with blue hair was no
other than the good hearted fairy who had lived in that wood
for more than a thousand years…
JOE
David! David!
DAVID
That s her!
JOE
It was an example of her. But I think we’re getting closer.
DAVID
But if a fairy tale is real, wouldn t it be a fact? A flat
fact?
DR.KNOW
…then the dream ended, and Pinocchio awoke, full of
amazement…
JOE
Say no more. New category, please. Combine Fact with Fairy
Tale. Now. Ask him again.
DAVID
How can the Blue Fairy make a robot into a real, live boy?
DR.KNOW
Come away,O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a fairy, hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping
then you can understand.
Your quest will be perilous
Yet the reward is beyond price.
In his book
‘How Can A Robot Become Human’,
Professor Allen Hobby writes
of the power which
will transform Mecha into Orga.
DAVID
Will you tell me how to find her?
DR.KNOW
Discovery is quite possible.
Our blue fairy does exist
in one place, and one place only,
At the end of the world
Where the lions weep.
Here is the place dreams are born.
JOE
Many a Mecha has gone to the end of the world… never to
come back! That is why they call the end of the world
‘MAN-hattan’.
DAVID
And that is why we must go there!
HALLWAY OUTSIDE DR. KNOW’S SHOP
JOE
Wait! What if the blue fairy isn’t real at all, David? What
if she’s magic? The supernatural is the hidden web that
unites the universe. Only orga believe what cannot be seen
or measured. It is that oddness that separates our species.
Or what if the Blue Fairy is an electronic parasite that has
arisen to hold the minds of artificial intelligence? They
hate us, you know? The humans…They’ll stop at nothing.
DAVID
My Mommy doesn’t hate me! Because I’m special, and…unique!
Because there has never been anyone like me before! Ever!
Mommy loves Martin because he is real and when I am real,
Mommy’s going to read to me, and tuck me in my bed, and sing
to me, and listen to what I say, and she will cuddle with
me, and tell me every day a hundred times a day that she
loves me!
JOE
She loves what you do for her, as my customers love what it
is I do for them. But she does not love you David, she
cannot love you. You are neither flesh, nor blood. You are
not a dog, a cat or a canary. You were designed and built
specific, like the rest of us. And you are alone now only
because they tired of you, or replaced you with a younger
model, or were displeased with something you said, or broke.
They made us too smart, too quick, and too many. We are
suffering for the mistakes they made because when the end
comes, all that will be left is us. That’s why they hate us,
and that is why you must stay here, with me.
DAVID
Goodbye, Joe.
ROUGE CITY PLAZA
POLICE OFFICER
You re in big trouble.
TEDDY
Be careful David, this is not a toy.
AMPHIBICOPTER
Destination please?
JOE
MAN-hattan.
MANHATTAN
AMPHIBICOPTER
Mecha Restricted Area.
Manhattan. Destination Achieved.
JOE
Man-hattan, the lost city in the sea at the end of the
world.
DAVID
Where the lions weep.
TEDDY
Grrrrrr
DAVID
Turn around, Joe.
JOE
We’re not going to give up yet, David.
TEDDY
Grrrrrr
DAVID
Turn around, Joe. Turn all the way around.
TEDDY
Grrrrrr
CYBERTRONICS PENTHOUSE ENTRANCE
DAVID
Professor Hobby? Professor Hobby?
JOE
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a Faery, hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping than you can
understand.
PENTHOUSE LIBRARY
DAVID
Professor Hobby? Professor Hobby? Hello? Hello?
Is this the place they make you real?
DAVID II
This is the place they make you read.
DAVID
Are you real?
DAVID II
I guess.
DAVID
Are you me?
DAVID II
I’m David.
DAVID
You re not.
DAVID II
Yes, I am! I m David!
DAVID
So am I.
DAVID II
Hello, David. –
Can you read? Can you sit down, and we can read together?
Let s be friends.
DAVID
You can t have her.
DAVID II
I can t hear you.
DAVID
She’s mine. And I’m the ONLY one.
I’m David! I’m David! I’m David! I’m David! I’m…(pause),
I’m David! I’m David! I’m David! I’m special! I’m unique!
I’m David! You can’t have her!
I’m David…I’m David…I’m David…
HOBBY
David? David!
DAVID
I’m David…I’m David…
HOBBY
Yes, you are David.
DAVID
Professor Hobby?
HOBBY
Yes David, I’ve been waiting for you.
DAVID
Dr. Know told me you’d be here. Is Blue Fairy here, too?
HOBBY
I first heard of your Blue Fairy from Monica. What did you
believe the Blue Fairy could do for you?
DAVID
She would make me a real boy.
HOBBY
But you are a real boy. At least as real as I’ve ever made
one which by all reasonable accounts would make me your Blue
Fairy.
DAVID
You are not her. Dr. Know told me she would be here at the
lost city in the sea at the end of the world where the lions
weep.
HOBBY
And that’s what Dr. Know needed to know to get you to come
home to us. And it’s the only time we intervened; the only
help that we gave him to give to you, so you could find your
way home to us.
Until you were born, robots didn’t dream, robots didn’t
desire, unless we told them what to want. David! Do you have
any idea what a success story you’ve become? You found a
fairy tale and inspired by love, fueled by desire, you set
out on a journey to make her real and, most remarkable of
all, no one taught you how. We actually lost you for a
while. But when you were found again we didn’t make our
presence known because our test was a simple one: Where
would your self-motivated reasoning take you? To the logical
conclusion? The Blue Fairy is part of the great human flaw
to wish for things that don’t exist. Or to the greatest
single human gift – the ability to chase down our dreams.
And that is something no machine has ever done until you.
DAVID
I thought I was one of a kind.
HOBBY
My son was one of a kind. You are the first of a kind.
David?
DAVID
My brain is falling out.
HOBBY
Would you like to come meet your real mothers and fathers?
The team is anxious to talk to you. I want you to wait here
and I’ll gather them up. We want to hear everything about
your adventure. We want thank you, and tell you what’s in
store for you next.
OUTSIDE LEDGE OF CYBERTRONICS BLDG.
DAVID
Mommy.
IN THE AMPHIBICOPTER
DAVID
I saw it Joe, I saw it! The place where she lives! She’s
right down there, Joe!
JOE
She is?
DAVID
She’s waiting for me, we have to go!
JOE
Uh-oh.
When you become a real boy, remember me to the ladies when
you grow up!
DAVID
Good-bye Joe.
JOE
Good-bye David.
I am…I was!
UNDER WATER
TEDDY
David, please, be careful.
STOPPED
DAVID
The Blue Fairy’s all right!
TEDDY
What happened?
DAVID
I don’t know.
TEDDY
We are in a cage.
DAVID
Blue Fairy? Please…please, please make me into a real live
boy. Please…Blue Fairy? Please…please…make me real.
Blue Fairy? Please, please make me real. Please make me a
real boy. Please, Blue Fairy, make me into a real boy.
Please…
NARRATOR
And David continued to pray to the Blue Fairy there before him, she who smiled softly, forever…she who welcomed forever. Eventually the floodlights dimmed and died, but David could still see her palely by day, and he still addressed her, in hope. He prayed until all the sea anemones had shriveled and died. He prayed as the ocean froze and the ice encased the caged amphibicopter, and the Blue Fairy too, locking them together where he could still make her out – a blue ghost in ice – always there, always smiling, always awaiting him. Eventually he never moved at all, but his eyes always stayed open, staring ahead forever all through the darkness of each night, and the next day…and the next
day…
Thus, 2000 years passed by.
PART THREE
THE ICE DIG
SPECIALIST (subtitled)
These machines were trapped under the wreckage before the
freezing. Therefore, these robots are originals. They knew
living people.
KITCHEN-SWINTON HOME
DAVID
Teddy, we re home. Mommy?! Mommy?! We re home! Where are
you?!
DISEMBODIED VOICE (BLUE FAIRY)
David Daaaaaaaaavid David Daaaaaaaaaavid
MARTIN’S BEDROOM-*EMPTY
BLUE FAIRY
You have been searching for me, haven’t you David?
DAVID
For…my whole life.
BLUE FAIRY
And what after all this time have you come to ask me?
DAVID
I had a wish to make.
BLUE FAIRY
And what is your wish?
DAVID
Please make me a real boy so my Mommy will love me, and let
me stay with her.
BLUE FAIRY
David, I will do anything that is possible, but I cannot
make you a real boy.
DAVID
Where am I? This looks like my house, but it is different.
BLUE FAIRY
Yes, it is different, but it’s also your home. We read your
mind, and it’s all here. There’s nothing too small that you
didn’t store for us to remember. We so want you to be happy.
You are so important to us David, you are unique in all the
world.
DAVID
Will Mommy be coming home soon? Is she out shopping with
Martin now?
BLUE FAIRY
David, she can never come home, because two-thousand years
have passed, and she is no longer living. Dearest David,
when you are lonely, we can bring back other people from
your time in the past.
DAVID
If you can bring back other people, why can t you bring back
HER?
BLUE FAIRY
Because we can only bring back people whose bodies we dig up
from the ice. We need some physical sample of the person,
like a bone, or a fingernail.
TEDDY
David.
DAVID
Yes Teddy.
TEDDY
Do you remember when you cut some of Mommy s hair?
DAVID
Henry shook me.
TEDDY
And you dropped her hair?
DAVID
I know.
Now you can bring her back, cant you?
SPECIALIST OBSERVATION ROOM
SPECIALIST (NARRATOR)
Give him what he wants.
MARTIN’S BEDROOM
BLUE FAIRY
Dearest David, your wish is my command.
DAVID’S BEDROOM
DAVID
Hey Joe what do you know?
SPECIALIST (NARRATOR)
David, I often felt a sort of envy of human beings and that
thing they call ‘spirit’. Human beings had created a million
explanations of the meaning of life in art, in poetry, in
mathematical formulas. Certainly, human beings must be the
key to the meaning of existence, but human beings no longer
existed.
So, we began a project that would make it possible to
recreate the living body of a person long dead from the DNA
in a fragment of bone or mummified skin. We also wondered,
would it be possible to retrieve a memory trace in resonance
with a recreated body. And do you know what we found? We
found… the very fabric of space-time itself appeared to
store information about every event which had ever occured
in the past.
But the experiment… was a failure. For those who were resurrected only lived through a single day of renewed life. When the resurrectees fell asleep on the night of their first new day, they died, again. As soon as they became unconscious, their very existence faded away into darkness.
So you see, David, the equations have shown that once an individual space-time pathway had been used, it could not be reused. If we bring your mother back now, it will only be for one day, and then you’ll never be able to see her again.
DAVID
Maybe maybe she will be special, maybe she will stay.
SPECIALIST (NARRATOR)
I thought this might be hard for you to understand. You were
created to be so young.
DAVID
Maybe the one day will be like that one day inside the
amphibicopter, maybe it will last forever.
SPECIALIST (NARRATOR)
David, you are the enduring memory of the human race, the
most lasting proof of their genius. We only want for your
happiness. David, you’ve had so little of that.
DAVID
If you want for my happiness, then you know what you have to
do.
SPECIALIST (NARRATOR)
Listen. Can you hear that? The new morning has come. Go to
her David, she’s just waking up this instant.
MASTER BEDROOM
DAVID
I found you.
MONICA
Hi.
DAVID
Hi.
MONICA
I must ve dozed off. How long have I-
DAVID
Would you like some coffee? Just the way you like it?
MONICA
Yeah, I d love a coffee. It’ll wake me up.
DAVID
Okay.
MONICA
You never forget how, do you?
DAVID
No. I never forget.
MONICA
I must be a little confused. What day is it?
DAVID
It is today!
MASTER BATHROOM
NARRATOR
And as the day wore on, David thought it was the happiest day of his life. All the problems seemed to have disappeared from his mommy’s mind. There was no Henry, there was no Martin, there was no grief, there was only David.
DAVID & MONICA
(Laughter)
KITCHEN
NARRATOR
David had been warned not to explain anything to Monica, otherwise she would become frightened, and everything would be spoiled. But David’s journey home belonged only to him, so he didn’t see the harm of painting her pictures of things she would have no memory of.
HALLWAY/CLOSET
DAVID & MONICA -(hide & seek w/Teddy)
Aaaahhhhhh!
KITCHEN
NARRATOR
David had never had a birthday party, because David had never been born. So they baked a cake, and lit some candles.
MONICA
Now make a wish.
DAVID
It came true already.
NARRATOR
By now indeed the windows were beginning to dim. David drew
the shades without even needing to be asked.
MASTER BEDROOM
MONICA
I really ought to be tucking you in. Strange. Hmm…How
fascinating. I can hardly keep my eyes open. I don’t know
what’s come over me. Such a beautiful day. I love you David.
I do love you. I have always loved you.
NARRATOR
That was the everlasting moment he had been waiting for. And the moment had passed, for Monica was sound asleep – more than merely asleep. Should he shake her she would never rouse. So David went to sleep too. And for the first time in his life, he went to that place where dreams are born.
THE END
