The Time Machine (2002)/Transcript

INT. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - LECTURE HALL - DAY
Darkness. Then a sound...
Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack...
The familiar sound of chalk writing on a blackboard.
Fade up to see...
A hand zooming across a blackboard at incredible speed,
forming an endless algebraic equation.
Amazingly, when the writer reaches the end of the blackboard
he does not lift the chalk and return to the left side to
begin a new line -- instead he simply loops around and
continues writing, right to left, upside down.
The college students in his class -- all male and dressed in
late Victorian clothes -- smile at this familiar peculiarity
and tilt their heads to try and read the endless equation,
copying furiously into notebooks.
The hand continues to zoom along the blackboard... and then
slows... and then stops... the students wait... the hand taps
the chalk on the blackboard for a moment and we finally
see...
ALEXANDER HARTDEGEN, a handsome young man not much older than
his students, standing at the blackboard. He is gazing out a
window, looking at a bird on a tree branch. He smiles.
The students glance to one another.
Alexander remembers himself and turns back to the blackboard,
his hand again flying as:
 ALEXANDER
 So -- length, width, breadth --
 formulate the area and of course we
 arrive at solid mass. But imagine
 if we continue the equation as I've
 done -- can't we begin to recognize
 another dimension beyond the first
 three? I theorize we begin to find
 duration -- the object's place in
 time. Let's note that as "D"
 here...
Alexander reaches the left side of the blackboard and loops
around again in an unbroken line to continue the equation
from left to right again.
The students are hopelessly lost. They finally stop copying
and just watch Alexander work, admiring his brilliant
innovation.
Meanwhile, a man watches from the back of the lecture hall. 
He is DAVID PHILBY, Alexander's closest friend, a bit older.
 ALEXANDER
 ... If we accept the theoretical
 possibility of duration as a fourth
 dimension we find that our equation
 might -- no, that's not right --
He erases some numbers quickly with his hand, sending up a
cloud of chalk dust, he coughs.
 ALEXANDER
 -- there, that looks more like
 it...
He continues to scribble at lightning speed. Then...
He begins humming to himself.
The students watch, amused. Philby smiles.
Alexander finally stops humming and writing. Steps back and
looks at the equation. Then he turns to his students.
 ALEXANDER
 Does this make any sense to you?
The students are confused. One offers:
 STUDENT
 Sir, if I may, wouldn't it be
 easier if you applied a Fibonacci
 sequence to the differential
 coefficient?
 ALEXANDER
 (smiles)
 It's not supposed to be easy, it's
 supposed to be beautiful... All of
 you think about that tonight and
 we'll press on tomorrow. Good
 afternoon.
The students begin to rise, class over. They leave the
classroom talking eagerly about Alexander's theories,
inspired.
A sudden new angle: from above we see Alexander going to
Philby, leaving the classroom talking with him. We are in
the upper balcony of the classroom. A solitary figure looks
down, watching them.
This new figure is a thin man with pale skin, dry like
parchment. Somehow ominous.
INT. COLUMBIA - HALLWAY - DAY
Alexander walks with Philby:
 ALEXANDER
 ... The point is I know it will
 work once the, um, numbers and such
 are in order.
 PHILBY
 Do you know you were humming?
 ALEXANDER
 I was not.
 PHILBY
 Somewhere around "D+2xy something
 something."
 ALEXANDER
 Damned if I can keep her out of my
 equations.
 PHILBY
 Tonight's the night?
 ALEXANDER
 (checking pocket watch)
 God, and I'm running late --
A PRIM WOMAN appears before them:
 PRIM WOMAN
 Dr. Hartdegen, Dr. Philby... Dean
 Fulton would like to see you.
Alexander and Philby exchange a look. Gulp. They follow the
prim woman.
INT. COLUMBIA - DEAN FULTON'S OFFICE - DAY
They follow the prim woman, Dean Fulton's secretary, into his
dark, paneled office.
 PRIM WOMAN
 He's outside.
Alexander and Philby move through the office and out to a
garden courtyard...
EXT. COLUMBIA - GARDEN COURTYARD - DAY
Oddly, chickens are clucking about the courtyard.
The thin man we saw before, DEAN FULTON, is casually tossing
down feed for the chickens. With his other hand he carries
an umbrella to protect himself from the sun. He does not
look up.
 DEAN FULTON
 Gentlemen, watch your step.
Alexander and Philby stop. Dean Fulton looks up and smiles,
benevolent.
 DEAN FULTON
 My fowl have polluted the yard.
 PHILBY
 Dean Fulton...
Dean Fulton continues to lazily scatter feed for his
chickens.
 DEAN FULTON
 Dr. Philby, Dr. Hartdegen. I
 received the most extraordinary
 letter last week. From a parent. 
 We are always pleased to receive
 letters from parents. They are our
 employers, after all. This
 gentleman's son is in your class,
 Dr. Hartdegen.
 ALEXANDER
 (knows what's coming)
 I see.
 DEAN FULTON
 As I recall the syllabus the name
 of your tutorial is "Applied
 Mathematics and Engineering", am I
 correct?
 ALEXANDER
 Exactly correct, sir.
Dean Fulton stops scattering feed and gazes at Alexander with
a smile. This is an old game between them and they both
rather enjoy it. To a point.
 DEAN FULTON
 Well, just as I thought. Surely
 it's all been a terrible mistake. 
 This parent actually suggested that
 your freshman course in applied
 mathematics has somehow become a
 seminar on theoretical physics!
 ALEXANDER
 Imagine that.
 DEAN FULTON
 But I know that none of my faculty
 would ever deviate from the
 assigned curriculum.
 ALEXANDER
 Well... perhaps I have "deviated"
 the tiniest bit.
 DEAN FULTON
 Might I ask why?
 ALEXANDER
 Because the assigned curriculum is
 boring.
Philby groans very quietly.
 ALEXANDER
 Sir, that curriculum is forty years
 out of date. The students today
 are looking toward the new century 
 -- they want to be challenged and
 inspired, not spoon-fed dusty old
 equations that have been proved a
 thousand times. They want to
 explore.
 DEAN FULTON
 Do they?
Dean Fulton smiles and then begins to scatter feed again.
 DEAN FULTON
 What are these animals, gentlemen?
Alexander and Philby exchange a look.
 PHILBY
 Um, your chickens, sir.
Alexander helpfully offers:
 ALEXANDER
 And roosters.
 DEAN FULTON
 No, Dr. Hartdegen, they are not
 just chickens and roosters. They
 are science. Perhaps they aren't
 "inspiring" to you. Perhaps they
 don't "challenge" you --
 ALEXANDER
 No, sir --
 DEAN FULTON
 Animal husbandry is science, Dr.
 Hartdegen. I have been breeding
 these fowl for fourteen years. I
 have filled a library with
 information on their feeding
 patterns, social behavior and
 breeding. Empirical, exacting,
 quantifiable records.
 ALEXANDER
 Sir --
Dean Fulton looks up at him, his eyes cold:
 DEAN FULTON
 "Duration" is not a dimension. 
 Scientists do not imagine the world
 around them. They do not wool-
 gather or cloud-spin. They prove. 
 They demonstrate. Columbia
 University does not teach fantasy.
Philby shoots Alexander a warning look, but Alexander can't
help himself:
 ALEXANDER
 With respect, sir, would we have
 the telegraph without fantasy? 
 Would we have radium and X-rays
 without someone first dreaming we
 could?
 DEAN FULTON
 The advances you speak of were the
 result of countless years of study
 and empirical experimentation, a
 careful evolutionary process, not
 chalkboard parlor-tricks.
 ALEXANDER
 My equations are not parlor-tricks!
 DEAN FULTON
 Abstract mathematics, relativity of
 dimensions, geometrical "durations"
 -- even allowing for the uses of
 speculation, what is the point?
 ALEXANDER
 Because it's a new way of seeing
 the world! Of seeing our place in
 it!
 PHILBY
 Sir, if I may --
 DEAN FULTON
 (with finality, to
 Alexander)
 Young man, we have a way of doing
 things here. Radical theorizing is
 not acceptable. Have I made myself
 understood?
 ALEXANDER
 Yes, sir.
 DEAN FULTON
 Very good. Now if you will excuse
 us for a moment.
Alexander goes back into the office.
 PHILBY
 If I might explain, sir --
 DEAN FULTON
 You supported his application, Dr.
 Philby. You are his senior,
 advisor. I depend upon you to
 restrain his... excesses. Any
 repetition of the behavior I
 witnessed in his classroom today
 and there will be consequences for
 you both.
 PHILBY
 Yes, sir.
 DEAN FULTON
 Now you are upsetting my fowl. 
 Please go.
Philby extricates himself from a chicken pecking at his shoe
and goes.
 ALEXANDER (V.O.)
 He's a dinosaur. He's already
 extinct, he just doesn't know it...
EXT. STREETCAR - DAY
Alexander and Philby are in an open horse-drawn streetcar,
heading downtown. Everywhere around them, the massive city
bustles.
New York City at the end of the 19th Century. It is vibrant
to the point of frenzy; reaching for the future in a furious
upheaval of construction.
Title: NEW YORK CITY - MAY 12, 1895 - 5:17 p.m.
 ALEXANDER
 ... One day he'll be discovered by
 some future archeologists and they
 won't know what to make of him. 
 The thick brow, so lacking in
 imagination. The dim little eyes,
 devoid of curiosity.
 PHILBY
 You know generally teachers are
 supposed to teach real equations
 that add up to real numbers.
 ALEXANDER
 Where's the challenge in that?
 PHILBY
 Alex, this is your first year as an
 associate professor. You might
 want to play things a little more
 conservatively.
 ALEXANDER
 You sound like my father...
Alexander points to the masses of grey businessmen, all in
identical bowler hats, marching along the sidewalk:
 ALEXANDER
 Look at them, Philby, all alike,
 everyone in an identical bowler
 hat. Do you want your students to
 turn out like them?
 PHILBY
 I want my students to emerge with
 theoretical and practical
 knowledge.
 ALEXANDER
 I don't. I want them to run along
 this street and knock off every
 bowler they see.
 PHILBY
 You may not like it, but this is
 the world we live in, Alex. Little
 grey men with little grey hats.
 ALEXANDER
 But shouldn't it be better? 
 Shouldn't we be teaching our
 students to imagine a world beyond
 all this?
Alexander points to a new building going up, a complex
spider's web of steel girders.
 ALEXANDER
 Look at that, Philby. A steel
 frame building. Ten years ago it
 was unheard of. No little grey man
 thought of that. The new Century
 belongs to men who are willing to
 imagine the impossible...
Their streetcar passes a few huddled beggars on the curb. 
The businessmen ignore them. Alexander watches them, his
eyes sad.
 ALEXANDER
 (quietly)
 In the future, we'll be better.
 PHILBY
 What?
 ALEXANDER
 Nothing.
EXT. ALEXANDER'S HOUSE - EVENING
Alexander's sprawling Victorian house sits on a quiet street.
There is a quaint shop right across the street. The shop
features a window showing a female mannequin dressed in
period clothes. The sign above the shop: BRANSON'S APPAREL
AND HABERDASHERY.
Alexander and Philby hurry into his house...
INT. ALEXANDER'S HOUSE - EVENING
Alexander's house is a lovely world of Victorian elegance
constantly at war with his erratic and creative enterprises.
Everywhere Alexander's scientific passions are evident:
animal skulls rest alongside leather-bound tomes; mechanical
inventions in various states of completion rest atop heavy
mahogany tables; test tubes and microscopes are spread out on
an unused piano.
The one facet that most immediately reflects Alexander is
aural: the ticking of scores of clocks; a steady metronomic
cadence.
Alexander bounds in, Philby following.
 ALEXANDER
 MRS. WATCHIT! MRS. WATCHIT!
MRS. WATCHIT, Alexander's housekeeper, troops down the
stairs. She is a wry and commanding British woman in her
60's.
 MRS. WATCHIT
 Oh huzzah, the master's home.
 ALEXANDER
 Do you have it?!
 MRS. WATCHIT
 Hello, Mr. Philby.
 PHILBY
 Hello, Mrs. Watchit. You're
 looking in the pink.
 MRS. WATCHIT
 Must be all the exercise I get
 scampering up and down these stairs
 like a wee lamb.
 ALEXANDER
 Don't torture me -- do you have it?
 MRS. WATCHIT
 I have it, but don't you think for
 one moment I'll be letting you go
 out in that filthy coat -- now go
 upstairs and change. I've laid out
 your green coat.
 ALEXANDER
 What's the matter with -- ?
 (he notes he is covered
 in chalk dust)
 -- What would I do without you,
 Mrs. Watchit?
He bounds up the stairs. Phiby follows.
 MRS. WATCHIT
 And change your tie!
She bustles off, grumbling happily.
INT. ALEXANDER'S BEDROOM - EVENING
Charles Darwin stares at us. Imposing. Inspiring. 
Challenging.
A bust of Darwin looms over Alexander's bedroom.
Alexander, in a new coat, is trying to work a complicated
knot in his tie. His eyes study the problem in a mirror.
 ALEXANDER
 Emma actually likes chalk dust --
 says it smells like me.
 PHILBY
 How romantic...
Philby goes to Alexander, helps him with his tie.
 PHILBY
 The most able inventor I know and
 you can't tie a simple four-in-
 hand.
 ALEXANDER
 That's how I knew we were destined
 to be together. When I met her
 parents for the first time I came
 right from class and I was covered
 in chalk. They sniffed and
 snorted, but she just smiled. At
 that moment -- I just knew. How
 did you know with Molly?
 PHILBY
 She made the best Shepherd's pie I
 ever tasted.
 ALEXANDER
 Do you have a romantic bone in your
 body?
 PHILBY
 (completing the tie)
 No, I'm all bowler hat, remember?
Alexander quickly goes to his old coat and transfers his
pocket watch, journal and many loose scraps of paper covered
in equations to the new coat as:
 PHILBY
 Alex, really... good luck tonight. 
 She's a fine girl, and she's done
 wonderful things for you.
 ALEXANDER
 Oh?
 PHILBY
 (smiles)
 She's gotten into your equations.
Alexander stops, looks at him. Smiles.
 ALEXANDER
 I guess she has.
He glances at his pocket watch.
 ALEXANDER
 I've got to hurry...
He hurries out, Philby following...
INT. ALEXANDER'S HOUSE - STAIRS - EVENING
Alexander races down the stairs, tucking the watch into his
vest.
They pass a series of clocks of every size and shape that run
down the wall along the stairway.
 PHILBY
 All these clocks -- how can you
 constantly be running late?!
 ALEXANDER
 Perseverance.
INT. ALEXANDER'S HOUSE - ENTRY HALL - EVENING
Mrs. Watchit waits. Alexander and Philby appear down the
stairs.
 MRS. WATCHIT
 Now that's more like it. You look
 a proper gentlemen for once.
 ALEXANDER
 Then if Emma turns me down will you
 marry me?
 MRS. WATCHIT
 (dry)
 Oh, I'm already swooning.
 ALEXANDER
 Ouch -- all right, wish me luck.
He begins to sprint out the door -- Mrs. Watchit stops him
with:
 MRS. WATCHIT
 You might be wanting this?
She holds up a velvet ring box. He takes the box.
 ALEXANDER
 Oh -- Thanks. Well...
 (a wink to Philby)
 ... Time's a wastin'!
With that he is out the door.
Mrs. Watchit and Philby stand for a moment, catching their
breath after Alexander's tornado of enthusiasm.
 PHILBY
 I wonder if that poor girl has any
 idea what she's in for?
 MRS. WATCHIT
 For our sake, I hope not.
EXT. FIFTH AVENUE - NIGHT
The many luxurious horse-drawn carriages glide along Fifth
Avenue with stately dignity. Rich pedestrians stroll along
the sidewalk.
Alexander leaps out of a carriage and begins to stride toward
an entrance to Central Park.
He passes a Flower Seller.
 FLOWER SELLER
 Have some flowers, sir?
 ALEXANDER
 Not tonight, thanks.
He continues on toward the entrance to the Park -- stops.
 ALEXANDER
 No -- I promised her flowers.
He turns around and hurries back toward the Flower Seller. 
But...
A sudden mechanical clanking sound makes him stop dead in his
tracks. The Siren's song...
He turns...
Pulled over to the curb is a magnificent Stanley Steamer
automobile. It is a glorious collection of bronze and copper
and steel and wooden dashboard and leather upholstery and
groaning steam tank and clanking engine. Alexander stares,
transfixed.
Alexander glances at his watch -- running late -- but he just
can't resist this new marvel. Flowers forgotten, Alexander
steps to the MOTORIST, currently tinkering with the car's
engine.
 ALEXANDER
 It's spectacular...
 MOTORIST
 Thanks. Old Nell's my girl all
 right. Al least when she decides
 to move, stubborn beast.
 ALEXANDER
 (walking around the car,
 admiring)
 I've only read about them -- and
 the new internals.
 MOTORIST
 Now that's what I call plain crazy 
 -- internal combustion is just too
 dangerous, all those little
 explosions, never catch on.
 ALEXANDER
 How do you keep the water
 temperature stable?
 MOTORIST
 There's a cantilevered gasket on
 the --
Suddenly -- the car lurches forward dangerously -- Alexander
instantly grabs the brake lever and hauls it back -- the car
screeches to a stop.
 MOTORIST
 God -- could have killed me -- bad
 girl, Nell! How did you know to do
 that?
 ALEXANDER
 I just love mechanical things.
 MOTORIST
 Well, much obliged -- I'm always
 forgetting the confounded brake --
 say, if you wait until I get her up
 and running I'll give you a
 perambulation. Tell you all about
 her.
 ALEXANDER
 (pained)
 Ahhh... I'm afraid I've got a prior
 commitment.
 MOTORIST
 Next time then. We perambulate
 here most every night.
 ALEXANDER
 You have my word...
 (he takes a last, longing
 look at the car)
 ... She's just a beauty.
He sprints off into Central Park.
EXT. PAVILION - CENTRAL PARK - NIGHT
A full moon shines in the night sky.
Gentle period music from a band, glowing lanterns hanging
down and the swaying shapes of dancers.
We are at a beautiful pavilion in Central Park. A magical
antique setting of ease and grace. White linen suits and
straw boaters. Parasols and high-button shoes.
A beautiful woman stands with her back to us watching the
dancers... she slowly turns...
EMMA smiles.
Alexander stands, just watching her, bewitched.
Then they come together and kiss lightly, as befits 1895
decency.
 EMMA
 You're late.
 ALEXANDER
 Got here as soon as I could.
 EMMA
 Dance with me...
 ALEXANDER
 You know I can't.
 EMMA
 Trust me...
She takes his hand and they dance. She is a natural dancer,
smooth and gentle. He does his best, following her minute
cues with great sensitivity.
As they dance:
 EMMA
 You promised me flowers.
 ALEXANDER
 What?
 EMMA
 You promised me flowers tonight,
 don't you even remember?
 ALEXANDER
 Sorry... I was distracted.
 EMMA
 (lightly)
 Well there's something new.
 ALEXANDER
 I need to... um... talk to you.
 EMMA
 Talk away, Professor.
 ALEXANDER
 Not here... alone. May we? 
 Please?
She leads him from the dance floor.
 EMMA
 Let's walk through the park...
EXT. CENTRAL PARK - PATH - NIGHT
Alexander and Emma walk through the park, arm in arm,
enjoying the exquisite night.
Flickering gaslights provide a dim illumination on the path
they follow as it winds through the dark foliage.
 EMMA
 (looking at
 constellations)
 ... Orion's belt, pointing to the
 earth. You see it over the rocks
 there? Sailors consider that an
 omen of good fortune; the hunter
 watching over them on their
 travels... Are you listening to me,
 Alex?
 ALEXANDER
 (glancing up)
 What? Yes -- Orion -- good fortune
 -- sailors.
 EMMA
 All right, what is it now?
 ALEXANDER
 (nervously)
 Emma, you know I have great...
 admiration for you.
 EMMA
 Admiration? My my.
 ALEXANDER
 I mean... well... affection.
 EMMA
 You're getting warmer.
He stops.
 ALEXANDER
 Oh dammit, I love you! I can't
 eat, I can't sleep, I can't think,
 all I do is moon over you and --
 hum, apparently.
 EMMA
 (mock seriously)
 And what do you propose, Professor? 
 Shall we hold a seminar to study
 the problem?
A beat. He takes a huge gulp of air and then commits himself
-- he dramatically drops to one knee -- and then in a great
rush of words:
 ALEXANDER
 Marry me. I'll do everything I can
 to make you happy and build a life
 and have babies and make you proud
 and be worthy of you and... ah...
 make you happy, did I say that?
She looks down at him, tears of joy coming to her eyes.
 EMMA
 Oh, Professor...
He leaps up and embraces her. A long, joyous embrace.
He stops --
 ALEXANDER
 Wait, I have something for you.
He searches through his many pockets -- coat, vest, pants --
begins plucking out the loose scraps of paper covered with
equations -- but can't seem to find the jewelry box.
She watches him for a moment, amused, loving him all the more
for his befuddlement.
 EMMA
 You know, the moment is rather
 dying here.
 ALEXANDER
 Hold on... I know I have it...
He finally finds the velvet jewelry box. Snaps it open. 
Inside is a lovely moonstone ring. The gem is a pale,
translucent blue mirroring the full moon above.
 ALEXANDER
 I know it's not a diamond but --
 EMMA
 A moonstone.
 ALEXANDER
 Your birth stone. I thought --
She holds a finger to his lips.
 EMMA
 You thought right.
He slips the ring on her finger. She holds it up to the
moonlight, deeply moved.
 EMMA
 Look, it matches the moon...
Then...
A low voice from the thick trees next to them.
 VOICE
 I just might cry.
Alexander and Emma turn to see a tall THIN MAN stepping from
the trees. His hands are buried deep in his overcoat
pockets.
 THIN MAN
 Couldn't help but overhearing. Two
 fine young people starting out on
 the road of life. I wish you the
 very best.
 ALEXANDER
 Thank you...
 THIN MAN
 I hope it's a happy journey for you
 both -- and much as I hate to do
 this, moved as I am by your
 protestations of love, I'll be
 needing your money now.
 ALEXANDER
 (smiles)
 Sir...?
 THIN MAN
 And your jewelry too. I guess we
 could consider this your first
 little bump on the road to married
 bliss.
 ALEXANDER
 I don't understand.
The Thin Man removes a hand from his pocket. He holds a
small revolver.
 THIN MAN
 Now don't make a scene... there's
 no cause for that. Just hand over
 your wallet, will you?
He holds the gun up, lethal, a sudden glint as the barrel
shines in the moonlight.
 THIN MAN
 Did you hear me, lad?
 ALEXANDER
 All right, all right -- here --
 everything --
Alexander swiftly gives the man his billfold.
 THIN MAN
 And the watch.
Alexander hands over his pocket watch as the Thin Man eyes
Emma's ring.
 THIN MAN
 And the ring.
 EMMA
 No --
 THIN MAN
 I'm afraid so, darling. Maybe
 he'll buy you a diamond now.
 ALEXANDER
 Please, not that -- look --
The Thin Man pulls back the hammer of the revolver. Click.
 THIN MAN
 Give me the ring.
 EMMA
 No...
The Thin Man suddenly lurches forward and grabs Emma's arm --
trying to wrench the ring violently from her finger --
Alexander instantly springs to her defense -- a struggle --
The gun fires -- the flash of cruel, phosphorous light
momentarily illuminating them all starkly --
Emma recoils to Alexander -- Alexander looks at the Thin Man,
disbelieving --
The Thin Man glares at him --
 THIN MAN
 Why did you do that?! It's only a
 ring!
The Thin Man races away into the darkness.
Alexander holds Emma, she clings to him, blood flowing over
his fingers. He snatches her up and carries her -- running
urgently through some trees to a carriage path beyond --
Carriages filled with young lovers float past.
 ALEXANDER
 HELP ME! PLEASE!
An empty carriage finally stops -- Alexander lurches into the
carriage with Emma --
INT./ EXT. CARRIAGE - CENTRAL PARK - NIGHT
-- Alexander holds Emma in the back of a carriage. He
urgently screams to the driver:
 ALEXANDER
 GET TO COLUMBUS HOSPITAL! NOW!
The driver whips his horses and the carriage takes off.
 ALEXANDER
 PLEASE HURRY! WE'VE NO TIME!
 CARRIAGE DRIVER
 I'M TRYING SIR -- !
Emma clings to Alexander, her hand clasped tight to his vest,
blood flowing out of her, pooling. Her dying eyes just
watching him.
 ALEXANDER
 GOD HURRY PLEASE -- JUST GET OUT OF
 THE PARK --
And then the carriage slows -- stops -- Alexander stabs his
head out the window and sees --
A long line of carriage ahead of them. A traffic jam. Pairs
of lovers enjoying the beautiful night, gazing up at the
stars.
 ALEXANDER
 Oh God...
A distant bell begins to toll. Time inexorably, cruelly
moving on.
 ALEXANDER
 PLEASE -- HURRY!
The driver whips the horse -- tries to maneuver the carriage
through the traffic jam -- a jumble of horses -- their horse
shies -- can't get through.
Emma's hand clutches Alexander's vest, fingers moving
slightly. The bell continues to toll. Time running out. 
Her lips move noiselessly, her eyes stare up at him, praying
for one parting glance.
He continues to shout to the driver, fighting time, not
looking at her:
 ALEXANDER
 (desperate)
 FOR GOD SAKE DO SOMETHING!! --
 JUST -- GET OFF THE PATH!
 CARRIAGE DRIVER
 I'm trying, sir! -- I can't get
 through!
Alexander glances down to Emma. She is dead. Her eyes open. 
He stares at her. Not wanting to believe. The bell
continues to toll.
Fade to Black...
And then a strange sound in the darkness...
The roar of a tiger -- distorted, echoing...
Then another sound...
Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack...
Chalk racing across a blackboard.
Title: FOUR YEARS LATER.
Fade up to...
INT. ALEXANDER'S HOUSE - LAB - DAY
An endless equation -- Alexander's hand speeds across a
blackboard -- manic, ferocious. We pull back to reveal...
An enormous blackboard, floor to ceiling, two stories high,
filling one wall -- and two other blackboards, filling two
other walls, also covered with equations. A shocking flash
of Alexander's fevered mind.
He stands with his back to us, perched high on a rolling
library ladder, his hand violently scrawling numbers in a
frenzied rush. He pulls the ladder along as he works,
totally absorbed.
Title: AUGUST 7, 1899 - 5:23 p.m.
The drapes around the room are drawn tight against any hint
of the day outside. Windows sealed.
In the flickering gaslight we see a cacophony of scientific
equipment and experiments filling every inch of the chamber
below him, two stories filled with beakers and test tubes;
microscopes and coils; engineering blueprints and gyroscopes;
and the huge chalkboards crowded with layers upon layers of
intense calculus and geometry and equations.
There is another large part of the lab, jutting off from the
house. A closed curtain conceals this part of the lab.
And all the clocks have stopped. The steady metronomic
cadence that was the aural life of Alexander's house is no
more. We see a number of clocks around the lab. All have
been allowed to run down.
A knock at the door -- Alexander ignores it -- another knock.
He finally turns from the blackboard.
 ALEXANDER
 What?!
And we see him -- Alexander is very different now: cadaverous
and intense, a face that looks as if it has not seen the sun
in years. And eyes marked by tragedy.
Mrs. Watchit enters. The years of dealing with his
heartbreak have taken a toll on her as well.
 MRS. WATCHIT
 Sir, Mr. Philby is here.
 ALEXANDER
 Here?
 MRS. WATCHIT
 Yes, sir, he --
 ALEXANDER
 Tell him to go away --
Philby pushes past Mrs. Watchit. He wears an overcoat and a
bowler hat.
 PHILBY
 I won't go away, Alex.
Alexander stares down at Philby. Philby is shocked at the
change in his friend.
 ALEXANDER
 All right, Mrs. Watchit. You can
 go.
 MRS. WATCHIT
 May I get you some --
 ALEXANDER
 That'll be all.
She leaves the lab.
 PHILBY
 My God, Alex, what's happened to
 you?
Alexander climbs down the ladder as:
 ALEXANDER
 I've been working.
 PHILBY
 I came by the house every day after
 the funeral. And then every week. 
 Then every other month. Then I
 stopped coming. Did you even
 notice?
 ALEXANDER
 I'm sorry, David.
 PHILBY
 It hurt me, Alex. Very much.
 ALEXANDER
 Then why are you here?
Alexander proceeds to obsessively tidy the lab, almost hiding
things from Philby. Philby is increasingly disturbed by this
behavior, as:
 PHILBY
 It's my Jamie's birthday today. 
 Your godson. He's nine years old. 
 At his party he asked me if Uncle
 Alex was coming. I told him no. 
 Then he asked me if you didn't like
 him anymore.
 ALEXANDER
 For God's Sake, David --
 PHILBY
 There are some things I need to say
 to you. You may not like hearing
 them, but I don't know if I'll ever
 get another chance --
 ALEXANDER
 You care for me. And you're
 concerned. And I have to start
 living my life again. I hear it
 from Mrs. Watchit every day.
 PHILBY
 But you won't listen. You won't
 see me, you won't see anyone. What
 would you like me to tell Jamie? 
 That Uncle Alex is busy? That
 Uncle Alex is hiding up there in
 his laboratory --
 ALEXANDER
 Hiding?
 PHILBY
 You know that's what it is. Mrs. 
 Watchit tells me you're here at all
 hours -- day and night --
 ALEXANDER
 (sharply)
 That's because I'm working. You
 remember that? You used to care
 about your work.
 PHILBY
 I care more about my life. And
 yours.
A difficult beat.
 PHILBY
 Alex... Alex, please stand still
 and look at me.
Alexander stops. Looks at Philby.
 PHILBY
 (gently)
 What happened to Emma will never go
 away. It's part of you now and it
 always will be. But you have to
 learn to live with it...
 ALEXANDER
 I live with it every minute of
 every day.
 PHILBY
 I know that --
 ALEXANDER
 You don't know that. You couldn't
 possibly. If I'd only done this,
 or that, if I'd arrived ten minutes
 earlier, or later. If we'd taken a
 different path or I hadn't fought
 the man for the ring. You have no
 idea what it is to relive every
 moment of that night -- consider
 every action you made -- and every
 one of them wrong.
 PHILBY
 It wasn't your fault, Alex.
 ALEXANDER
 Wasn't it?... I have a dream almost
 every night now. The Lady and the
 Tiger, you remember that story? In
 the dream I'm alone in a huge
 chamber with a thousand doors. 
 Behind every door, save one, is a
 tiger. I have to make the
 decision. Which door conceals
 Emma? And I just stand there...
 looking at the doors...
 PHILBY
 Do you find her?
Alexander doesn't answer. A beat.
 PHILBY
 Alex, nothing will ever change what
 happened, but --
 ALEXANDER
 That's where you're wrong. I will
 change it.
A beat. Philby looks at him. Alexander offers nothing more,
continues to scurry around the lab.
 ALEXANDER
 David... I appreciate your concern,
 I do. But I ask you to have faith
 in me. Just for a little while
 longer. I'm working on something
 now. Something... extraordinary.
 PHILBY
 What is it?
 ALEXANDER
 You wouldn't believe me.
 PHILBY
 I would.
 ALEXANDER
 I'll tell you what... come by for
 dinner in a week and I'll show you.
 PHILBY
 Why don't you come to our house
 instead?
 ALEXANDER
 I can't do that --
 PHILBY
 When's the last time you were
 outside this house --
 (notes a disheveled cot in
 the corner)
 -- or this room?
 ALEXANDER
 (tense)
 I can't leave when I'm so close.
 PHILBY
 There are trains leaving Grand
 Central every then minutes. A
 dozen liners leaving the harbor. 
 Get on one of them. Go to
 Singapore, Scotland, Manchuria,
 anywhere, just away from here --
 ALEXANDER
 That's absurd --
 PHILBY
 You're dying here. Don't you see
 that?!
A tense beat.
 ALEXANDER
 You won't say that in a week.
 PHILBY
 I pray to God that in a week you're
 not here.
A beat.
 PHILBY
 All right. I'll come for dinner. 
 And in the meantime... you'll think
 about what we discussed?
 ALEXANDER
 In a week... we will never have had
 this conversation.
Philby looks at him, mystified and concerned.
 ALEXANDER
 Good night, David.
 PHILBY
 Good night, Alex.
Philby turns to go.
 ALEXANDER
 Still wearing that bowler hat.
Philby stops. Turns back.
 PHILBY
 It's raining outside. Open the
 drapes and you might know that.
He goes.
Alexander stands for a moment.
INT. ALEXANDER'S HOUSE - LAB - NIGHT
Alexander sits, drinking a glass of brandy. He is staring at
the curtain concealing the other part of the lab.
We notice that all the chalkboards have been wiped clean.
He drains the glass of brandy. Bon voyage.
Then he rises and moves to the curtain. He pulls the curtain
back and reveals...
The magnificent creation itself: The Time Machine.
We take in this beautiful creation of curving brass and thick
velvet, elegant lines and a hopeful feeling of Victorian
futurism, as Alexander moves to the windows by the machine.
He slowly pulls back all the drapes on the windows. The Time
Machine sits in an area of the lab that juts off, like a
greenhouse with windows offering a generous view of the world
around him: his quiet garden and the small dress shop across
the street.
Alexander moves to the Time Machine. He sits, nervously
settling in.
The brass control panel ahead of him has a simple display
showing the year and date -- AUGUST 7, 1899 -- and a control
lever that moves forward and back.
A beat. He takes a deep breath and then... reaches for the
control lever --
 CUT TO:
EXT. PAVILION - CENTRAL PARK - NIGHT
All is as it was. Gentle period music from a band, glowing
lanterns hanging down and the swaying shapes of dancers.
A beautiful woman stands with her back to us watching the
dancers... she slowly turns.
Emma smiles.
Alexander stands, just watching her, his eyes wide,
incredibly moved. We note that Alexander wears the clothes
he was wearing when he got into the Time Machine. It is the
older Alex, pale and thin.
She goes to him and kisses him.
 EMMA
 You're late.
 ALEXANDER
 (with difficulty)
 Got here as soon as I could.
 EMMA
 Dance with me...
 ALEXANDER
 You know I can't.
 EMMA
 Trust me...
She takes his hand and they dance. She is, again, a natural
dancer, smooth and gentle. He tries to follow her minute
cues but the experience of holding her in his arms again is
almost too much for him. He is overcome with emotion.
 EMMA
 Alex, what is it?
 ALEXANDER
 Holding you... again.
 EMMA
 Darling.
 ALEXANDER
 I need... to talk to you.
 EMMA
 All right...
 ALEXANDER
 Not here... alone. Please.
She leads him from the dance floor.
 EMMA
 Let's walk through the park...
 ALEXANDER
 No... let's walk through the city.
 EMMA
 (a little mystified)
 All right...
He takes her hand and leads her away from the pavilion --
Then he stops, sees he must lead her through one of a number
of tree-lined paths out of the park. The gaping darkness of
the park is strangely ominous. Behind each door a tiger.
 EMMA
 Alex, what is it?
 ALEXANDER
 Nothing -- let's just get out of
 the park.
He takes her arm and makes his decision -- he pulls her
quickly down one of the paths.
EXT. CENTRAL PARK - PATH - NIGHT
Alexander pulls Emma toward an exit to the city, going as
quickly as he can. His eyes dart nervously into the dark
trees around them.
 EMMA
 Alex...?!
 ALEXANDER
 Shhh. Let's just hurry on here. 
 We don't have to talk, all right?
She stops, pulling him.
 EMMA
 Why do we have to race for heaven's
 sake?!
 ALEXANDER
 (looking around, alert)
 I want to get into the light,
 that's all. Please...
He pulls her along.
 EMMA
 This running along is all well for
 you -- you're not wearing a corset.
Then a sound stops him -- an unholy echo through the night,
tormenting him from his nightmares -- the roar of a tiger.
 ALEXANDER
 My God...
 EMMA
 Alex, it's just the zoo.
He grabs her and pulls more quickly, a little desperate.
 ALEXANDER
 Please, Emma, it's just a little
 further.
He hurries her along. They finally reach the exit and emerge
from Central Park to Fifth Avenue...
EXT. FIFTH AVENUE - PARK EXIT - NIGHT
He stops, looks around, sees lots of pedestrians and
carriages and gaslight. Safety. Victory.
He breathes deeply and smiles. He offers her his arm.
 EMMA
 Oh, now you're all gallant.
She shakes her head and then takes his arm. They stroll.
EXT. FIFTH AVENUE - NIGHT
A bit later. Alexander and Emma make their way down this
most magnificent of boulevards. He holds her arm tightly, as
if in fear of losing her again.
 EMMA
 You're so pale... I hope you're not
 coming down with something.
 ALEXANDER
 No, I'm fine. I'm...
 (laughs)
 ... wonderful. Just walking down
 the street with you again.
 EMMA
 We took a walk three days ago.
 ALEXANDER
 Not like this. Never like this. 
 Emma, I swear to you -- if I've
 learned one thing, it's that
 moments like this are rare. And I
 will thank God for them every
 moment of every day.
She is confused at his strange intensity, but respects his
seriousness.
 EMMA
 They are rare...
 (she glances up at the
 constellations above)
 ... Orion's belt, pointing to the
 earth --
 ALEXANDER
 (smiles)
 The sailor's omen of good fortune. 
 The hunter watching over him on his
 travels.
 EMMA
 So it's astronomy now, is it?
They are passing by the Stanley Steamer at the curb Alexander
saw earlier. The Motorist is still tinkering with the
engine.
 EMMA
 Heavens, look at that now!
 ALEXANDER
 I've seen it.
He continues escorting her along.
 EMMA
 Now I know you're ill -- passing up
 the chance to explore some new
 gadget.
 ALEXANDER
 It's only a machine.
She stops. Genuinely concerned now.
 EMMA
 Alexander... tell me what's going
 on. Is something wrong?
He looks at her deeply:
 ALEXANDER
 No, Emma. Everything is finally
 right. Tonight we're going to
 start all over again. And this
 time... I'm never going to let you
 go.
He kisses her deeply. She is shocked at this public display
of affection, pulling back slightly.
 EMMA
 Alex... people are staring.
 ALEXANDER
 Let them.
He kisses her again.
 EMMA
 Let them.
 ALEXANDER
 I have something for you...
He pats his pockets, feels the jewelry box, smiles. Then he
notes the Flower Seller he saw before.
 ALEXANDER
 (smiles)
 Wait -- I want to do it right this
 time -- stay here, don't move...
Emma stands, mystified, as he goes to the Flower Seller.
 FLOWER SELLER
 Have some flowers, sir?
 ALEXANDER
 Yes, as many as you have!
A sudden sound makes him spin back --
A frenzy of movement -- on the curb, the Stanley Steamer
suddenly lurches forward -- the brake not set -- the Motorist
jumps out of the way -- the Steamer slams forward to the
street full of horse-drawn carriages -- a horse rears and
bolts -- panic, screams -- the horse lurches to the curb --
toward Emma -- the carriage topples over --
Burying Emma in a violent crash.
Alexander races to Emma -- too late. A crowd begins to form. 
Alexander folds himself over her in wordless torment.
INT. ALEXANDER'S HOUSE - LAB - NIGHT
Alexander sits in his lab, glaring at the Time Machine. 
Tormented. Eyes haunted. Drinking a glass of brandy. Not
his first.
He glares at the Time Machine, his fury building -- then he
bolts up -- flings the brandy glass away from him -- it
shatters -- strides across the lab -- throws himself into the
Machine.
 ALEXANDER
 Time heals all wounds -- then let
 it!
He SLAMS the control lever forward violently -- in fury -- a
high-pitched whine -- building -- the world undulating around
Alexander --
Suddenly all the silent clocks in Alexander's lab begin to
tick --
TIME TRAVEL
Alexander's spine immediately arches back -- he screams in
pain --
The molecules of his body revolt as they are torn forward
through time -- as time tears through him -- his whole body
suffers as he bends and floats and rips through time -- when
he turns his head his whole face seems to elongate --
He's going too fast -- he eases back on the control lever --
the pain receding somewhat --
And the world around him changes --
The sun rises and then sets and then rises; in his garden
snails zoom past flowers that bloom and die in an instant;
apples grow ripe and then fall and decay in his garden; a
complicated spider's web grows in a corner of his laboratory
in seconds --
The sun and moon now shoot through the sky, a strobe-like
flashing of day and night, finally settling into a strange,
perpetual grey light.
He begins to control the lever a bit more -- it is sensitive
to his touch -- soon he can glance around a bit without
absolute agony -- and then with no pain at all --
In the window of the dress shop across the street he watches
a female mannequin as she is redressed, her clothes morphing
from style to style, a swirl of styles and outfits. And new
buildings spring up across the street as the seasons pass in
a blur, summer-fall-winter-spring-summer-fall-winter-spring.
His journey is accompanied by a strange symphony -- sound
bending around him; voices, music, period radio news reports,
industry. Sounds that float and flit through his
consciousness, distorted, barely recognizable.
And bizarre shapes move through his world as well -- ghost
like apparitions -- strange and eerie as they bend and morph
through space -- people.
He can almost control the appearance of the people as he
gently modulates his speed with the control lever -- he sees
Mrs. Watchit bending through time -- Philby, concerned --
then people he doesn't know, architects with blueprints,
pointing --
Then the world directly around him is changing -- his lab
changing -- walls being torn down --
His lab is now a GARAGE -- a series of swiftly morphing cars
denoting the passing time as years spin by on his control
panel display in a dizzying blur: 1905... 1919... 1924...
In the distance he sees New York City expanding -- the
Chrysler Building (1930) and the Empire State Building (1931)
shoot up.
Then the garage is torn down around him -- another
construction going up -- larger -- a RESTAURANT.
He modulates the control lever -- controlling the ebb and
flow of time -- the patrons of the restaurant huddled around
a radio, a news report, FDR's voice... "December 7... A day
that will live in infamy..."
He notes a store going up next to the dress shop: a newspaper
shop -- sees banner headlines as the years sweep past -- 
D-DAY! -- VE DAY! -- VJ DAY! -- an enormous celebration in
the street.
The years spin by on his control panel: 1946... 1953...
1957...
The strange aural symphony continues as he hears music and
news, the music evolving from swing to early rock...
The restaurant dissolves around him and a HOUSE grows up --
he is in a den -- a black-and-white TV on -- Alexander gapes 
-- slowly, slightly...
On the TV: JFK's funeral... in the den he sees the shape of a
family nestled together, watching the funeral, weeping...
He presses on. The years spin by on his control panel:
1963... 1966... 1969...
On the new color TV in the den: news reports of the Apollo
11, Neil Armstrong stepping on the moon... "One small step
for man..." Alexander stares, amazed.
The aural and visual symphony continues... rock segueing to
disco, Vietnam news...
He is shocked to see the mannequin in a miniskirt! He sees
the dress shop becoming a department store and the newspaper
store becoming a high tech electronics shop --
On a bank of TVs in the electronics shop window he sees Nixon
leaving the White House for the last time, August 9, 1974,
walking to the helicopter, the ferocious victory "V"...
Then Alexander is suddenly outside as the house is demolished
-- quickly eroding around him -- he is in a VACANT LOT...
He is stunned to see the towers of the World Trade Center
looming in the distance -- the rollerskaters with boom boxes
swirling past with the grace of ballet dancers -- and
something so fantastical that Alexander can only gape...
An airplane soaring above.
The years zip by on his control panel: 1979... 1985...
1989...
More disjointed sounds and images, TV reports and radio news
and music: oil crisis, plop-plop-fizz-fizz-oh-what-a-relief
it-is, Ronald Reagan, punk rock, Gulf War, Clinton...
Then order from the chaos -- the overgrown vacant lot is
landscaped -- becoming a beautiful PARK...
He slows a bit, almost stopping -- intrigued by a
transformation across the street: the banks of TV screens are
replaced by an informational kiosk of some kind.
The control panel display clicks more slowly... February
2005... April 2005... May 2005...
Alexander continues to stare at the information kiosk as he
comes to a stop, briefly, at: MAY 24, 2005
EXT. PARK (2005) - DAY
Alexander sits unnoticed in the Time Machine as he watches a
group of schoolchildren and their teacher gathering around
the informational kiosk. It is a public information booth
with a video screen showing the word VOX. A glowing red blip
within the "O".
The Vox kiosk is activated when the TEACHER steps in front of
a sensor eye.
 VOX KIOSK (V.O.)
 May I help you?
 TEACHER
 Yes, please... tell us about the
 terraforming.
The children watch, delighted, as images of the moon and
renderings and videos of some massive engineering project
appear on the Vox screen.
 VOX KIOSK (V.O.)
 The joint United Nations/Microsoft
 terraforming operation began nine
 months ago with the Moon Base Alpha
 landings. After establishing
 Plymouth Center the terraformers
 began colony construction. Can I
 tell you more?
 CHILD
 What are they doing now?
Alexander watches, stunned. A machine that converses with
people.
 VOX KIOSK (V.O.)
 Currently, the terraformers are
 preparing the first excavation
 demolitions for the subterranean
 chambers. It is projected that the
 first lunar colonists should be
 landing within the decade. Can I
 tell you more?
Alexander gapes at the Vox kiosk. Magnificent renderings of
a vast underground metropolis. People living on the moon.
He must see this grand adventure out. He presses on...
TIME TRAVEL
But almost immediately the Time Machine is lurching and
buffeting -- a strange darkness spreading over it as air raid
sirens scream --
Alexander is alarmed -- he begins to pull back on the control
lever -- the date on the display clicks to: AUGUST 26, 2007.
And Alexander and the Time Machine suddenly topple over as
the ground lurches below them --
EXT. PARK (2007) - DAY
Alexander looks up from the grass...
Right into the eyes of a small albino alligator.
The alligator blinks at him and then slithers off, a brood of
other alligators with it.
Alexander glances to the street -- sees an enormous pack of
rats emerging from a sewer drain -- a thick, undulating
carpet of rats --
And Alexander feels the vibrations. The earth, a steady
rumble. His eye is drawn to a small puddle of water near
him. The water swirls around strangely and then -- whoosh --
forms into a vortex and spirals away into the sky --
Alexander follows the water with his eyes and finally sees
it...
The Moon.
Filling the sky as if it were falling toward the Earth.
Parts of the moon are beginning to sheer off -- violently
peeling away like the skin of an onion -- as it impacts the
gravitational Roche Limit, 7,300 miles above the Earth. (The
moon is currently 230,000 miles above the Earth.)
The people on the street race around, tense and desperate,
flowing along the streets and sidewalks. National Guard
soldiers are trying to retain order, urgent voices into
megaphones --
Alexander hauls himself up -- and races into the mob --
EXT. STREET (2007) - DAY
He grabs a man --
 ALEXANDER
 What's going on -- ?!
The Man pulls away from him, terrified -- Alexander is
bustled along the sidewalk in the mass of people -- He turns
to a woman:
 ALEXANDER
 Please tell me -- what's
 happening?!
She ignores him -- he is buffeted along in the mob of people 
-- then, a voice, remarkably calm in the chaos, a familiar
voice:
 CALM VOICE
 May I help you?... May I help
 you?... May I help you?...
Alexander pushes his way through the frenzy of people toward
the voice. Finds himself at...
The front steps of the Fifth Avenue New York Public Library. 
The twin stone lions looming over the chaos on the street.
The calm voice is coming from another Vox kiosk, an upgrade
of the one he saw previously. Alexander unintentionally
activates the unit by stepping in front of a red sensor eye.
 VOX KIOSK (V.O.)
 May I help you?
 ALEXANDER
 I -- what are you?!
 VOX KIOSK (V.O.)
 I am the Fifth Avenue Public
 Library informational kiosk. VOX
 registration NY-114. May I help
 you?
 ALEXANDER
 What's happening to the moon?!
Informational videos appear on the screen, showing the cause
and horror of the moon's fall, as:
 VOX KIOSK (V.O.)
 The 2005 terraforming demolitions
 for the lunar excavations sent the
 moon into a diminishing retrograde
 orbit resulting in global
 gravitational fluctuations,
 increased seismic activity and
 tidal anomalies. Can I tell you
 more?
 ALEXANDER
 No -- wait -- the moon's falling
 out of orbit -- that's not
 possible!
 VOX KIOSK (V.O.)
 Well, considering it is, in fact,
 happening, I would assume it's
 possible. The retrograde orbit
 began in 2005 when the demolitions
 for the lunar colonies --
 ALEXANDER
 Why is it -- breaking up?
 VOX KIOSK (V.O.)
 I was getting to that... The moon
 has reached the gravitational Roche
 Limit, 7,300 miles above the
 surface of the Earth. This has
 created pressure on the lunar
 stratum beyond gravitational
 tolerances. It might be helpful to
 know that the nearest public
 evacuation shelters can be found at
 Grand Central Station, Madison
 Square Garden --
Then -- behind Alexander -- the entire street EXPLODES up --
the asphalt twisting crazily -- people tossed through the
air --
And Hell has come to earth.
The earth begins to shake and quake and undulate violently --
as if gravity itself is rebelling.
Above -- a huge part of the moon breaks away --
Alexander gapes around -- horrified to see violent seismic
and gravitational upheavals -- the tectonic plates shifting
wildly, jutting up at harsh angles -- the East River swirling
into a twisting cyclone of water spiraling into the sky --
And most shocking of all: a volcanic mountain BURSTING up
through Manhattan.
A National Guard soldier races to him --
 SOLDIER
 Underground -- we have to -- !
His words are drowned out by a DEAFENING BLAST -- the
reverberation sending SHOCK WAVES down the street -- people
are thrown through the air, blood streaming from some
punctured eardrums --
In the distance, the volcano is ERUPTING --
The soldier hustles a mass of people toward a subway entrance
-- they scurry down --
Alexander spins around and races back, towards the Time
Machine.
As the Vox Kiosk continues its lonely chore:
 VOX KIOSK (V.O.)
 May I help you?... May I help you?
EXT. STREET (2007) - DAY
Alexander sprints down the street, passing horrific flashes
of the end:
-- Looters, lighting fires and taking nihilistic joy in their
 useless treasures...
-- A family, kneeling in prayer, holding hands...
-- Doomsday cultists, celebrating the end. A macabre Dance
 of Death as the city dies...
-- A man standing quite calmly, trying to use his cell
 phone...
-- A taxi trying to drive through the mayhem, desperate
 people attacking the taxi, trying to get in, trying to get
 away...
Then -- the earth HEAVES violently and Alexander is thrown to
the ground -- in the distance, but much closer, another
VOLCANO BLASTS UP -- THRUSTING through the earth -- RIPPING
aside the Empire State Building and most of midtown
Manhattan --
Alexander barely has time to pull himself to his feet before
it happens again --
The THUNDEROUS explosion -- the cascading SHOCK WAVE --
Alexander is hurled through the air --
He SMASHES into a parked car, shattering the windshield -- he
rolls off the car, his coat shredded, a gaping wound in his
side --
As the new, closer volcano ERUPTS in a torrent of spewing
lava -- great rivers and explosions of lava everywhere --
JETS of lava SHOOT through the air -- incinerating everything
in sight --
Gasping through his pain, Alexander rises and hurries down
the street -- he tosses off his shredded coat -- his injury
slows him, but he goes as quickly as he can --
But a vast TIDAL WAVE OF LAVA is careening after him --
burning everything --
And then he see it... the park... the Time Machine.
It is a race against time as Alexander sprints for the Time
Machine -- the lava closer and closer --
Alexander leaps to the Time Machine and hauls it to its
upright position -- the lava is almost on him -- he dives
into the Time Machine and SLAMS the lever forward --
A high-pitched whine -- building -- the world undulating
around Alexander --
JUST as the tidal wave of lava ROARS over him --
TIME TRAVEL
Alexander lurches back in agony -- quickly slows the Time
Machine's momentum -- he pants for breath as the red, molten
lava glows and then quickly cools into --
Darkness.
The eerie blue glow from the Time Machine's control panel is
the only light.
Alexander is now inside a mountain, the perfect sphere of
time-energy around the Machine his only salvation.
He pushes the lever forward more -- the years spin by on his
control panel in a blur -- he grits his teeth in pain -- the
rapid bending through time assaulting him --
Time passes...
Alexander is having real trouble breathing now --
The years continue to spin past on his control panel in a
dizzying blur.
Time passes...
Alexander is in agony -- his body writhes from the assault of
time -- every movement is torture -- his skin vibrates and
stretches bizarrely -- and he is almost out of air, panting
for breath --
He takes one last deep gasp of air --
And holds the breath -- the seconds tick away -- the years
shoot past on his control panel, truly a race against time --
He's not going to make it -- he can't hold his breath a
second longer --
Suddenly -- a flash of blinding sunlight --
The mountain around the Time Machine begins to erode --
quickly wearing away --
Alexander immediately pulls back on the control lever --
reducing his momentum and the assault on his body -- he takes
a deep, gasping breath --
The date on the display quickly clicks forward and finally
stops at: JULY 12, 802,701.
Alexander looks at the date, stunned, gasps for breath,
fainting...
Fade to black...
INT. HOUSE - VISIONS - DAY/NIGHT
Visions as Alexander fades in and out of consciousness.
-- Night. Candles...
-- Night. Emma's face... close, concerned... a beautiful
 angel welcoming him to death... No, not Emma... Another
 woman.
-- Day. Hands, dressing the wound on his side. Tender...
-- Day. A room. In a pleasant, rustic house...
-- Night. The woman again. Not Emma. But close,
 concerned...
INT. MARA AND KALEN'S HOUSE - SUNSET
Alexander awakes. Looks around. A simple room in a simple
house. He sees his wound has been dressed and cared for.
He slowly rises and pulls on his shirt and vest. Goes to the
door of the house...
EXT. ELOI VILLAGE - SUNSET
Alexander emerges from the house...
And finds himself in a village built around a large central
square. All the buildings are unadorned and designed with
architectural simplicity. It has an agrarian and peaceful
feeling.
And it is totally deserted.
The entire village is enclosed by a great, wooden wall. 
Large gates open to the world beyond. Everywhere beyond this
barricade is lovely mountainous and forest scenery.
Alexander wanders to the square.
 ALEXANDER
 Hello...?
Nothing. His word echoes around the eerily empty village.
He notes that several tables are waiting in the square. Set
for dinner. Plates and cups and utensils. No food.
 ALEXANDER
 Is anyone here...?
Again. Nothing.
He goes to the open gates and steps out...
EXT. OUTSIDE THE ELOI VILLAGE - SUNSET
A path leads away from the village, cutting through a
magnificent forest with lush foliage.
He begins to follow the path -- then stops when a curious
squirrel scampers onto the path. The squirrel looks at him,
large eyes, tilting inquisitive head.
Alexander smiles at seeing something so familiar in this
strange time.
 ALEXANDER
 Hello...
The startled squirrel turns and scampers away -- and
Alexander is shocked to see a flash of vermillion scales on
its back. Not a squirrel at all.
Alexander continues on for a bit. Most of the lush
vegetation is alien to him: enormous fruit hanging on
colorful vines; gentle petals and dandelion-like wisps that
float on the breezes. It is an untamed wilderness exploding
with verdant beauty.
And then he hears something...
Voices.
He stops, alert.
Then he sees figures, heading up the path towards him.
And Alexander sees the ELOI. About two hundred of them are
trooping up the path. They are completely human-looking. 
Very healthy. Simple clothing, not unlike what Alexander is
wearing. And not one is over the age of 30.
Alexander braces himself, not sure what to expect.
The Eloi see him... And go to him enthusiastically. 
Alexander instinctively steps back. No need. The beautiful
woman who was tending his wounds, MARA, is first to him.
 MARA
 You're up! You must be feeling
 better --
 ALEXANDER
 Yes...
More Eloi crowd around him, all very friendly. A slightly
older Eloi, late 20's, KORUS, steps to him.
 KORUS
 And hungry, I'd say. You had such
 a long journey.
 ALEXANDER
 I did...
 KORUS
 Well, we're happy you're here. 
 Come inside.
 MARA
 We want to hear all about it.
Korus and Mara lead Alexander back toward the village.
KALEN, Mara's nine-year-old son, grabs Alexander's hand. 
Alexander is surprised. The Eloi are seemingly a bit more
tactile than we are.
 KALEN
 How did you get hurt?
 MARA
 Kalen...
 KALEN
 (eagerly)
 I found you. I saved your life. 
 You were bleeding all over the
 place!
 MARA
 That's quite enough, Kalen.
Korus claps an arm around Alexander's shoulders
enthusiastically, Alexander rocks from the hearty embrace.
 KORUS
 Let the poor man eat first, then he
 can tell us the whole story!
He leads the befuddled Alexander back toward the village.
EXT. ELOI VILLAGE - NIGHT
The gates to the village are now securely locked, a heavy
crossbar in place.
Alexander and the Eloi are eating dinner, the tables now full
of fruits and vegetables. Braziers burn around the central
square. Everyone strains to see and hear Alexander.
Mara watches him particularly closely from across the table,
her cautious eyes never leaving him.
 ALEXANDER
 "Eloi"?
 KORUS
 What are your people called?
 ALEXANDER
 Well, I guess you'd call us... New
 Yorkers.
 KORUS
 (savoring the words)
 New Yorkers.
 MARA
 How long did you travel?
 ALEXANDER
 Well it seems like a long time --
 but it wasn't really. It's rather
 hard to explain.
 KALEN
 It must have been hard, leaving
 your work.
 ALEXANDER
 The journey is part of my work.
 KORUS
 You can work with us as soon as
 you're feeling better... Looks like
 a climber to me.
The Eloi agree. Definitely a "climber."
 KORUS
 We had another visitor from beyond
 the valley about four years ago. 
 His name was Moren. Do you know
 him?
 ALEXANDER
 No...
 KORUS
 He said he traveled for two months.
 ALEXANDER
 I took a different route.
 KALEN
 What did you do at night?
 MARA
 (a bit quickly)
 What's it like where you come from?
 ALEXANDER
 Oh, very different. But not
 entirely... I mean we have lots of,
 um, trees and such. But not
 everywhere. And more roads. And
 buildings.
 KORUS
 Why?
 ALEXANDER
 To live in. There's a lot of us...
 beyond the valley.
 KORUS
 New Yorkers.
 ALEXANDER
 Yes. I hope you won't take this
 the wrong way but is there someone
 older I could talk to? An elder or
 patriarch of some kind?
The Eloi look at him a little oddly.
 KORUS
 I am the oldest.
 ALEXANDER
 No, I mean someone considerably
 older. Your father perhaps?
 KORUS
 My father has gone to a better
 place.
 ALEXANDER
 I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...
 KORUS
 Of course. You're just tired. 
 Mara, will you look after Alexander
 tonight?
 MARA
 Yes.
 ALEXANDER
 Thank you.
 KORUS
 (stands, toasting)
 Friends, join me in welcoming our
 brother from beyond the valley,
 Alexander.
The Eloi stand and toast. Applause and good fellowship. 
Before Alexander can open his mouth to respond the Eloi are
clearing the table. A bit abruptly.
Mara and Kalen go to Alexander, they head back to their
house.
 KALEN
 Now how did you get hurt?
 ALEXANDER
 I had an accident.
 KALEN
 I figured that. What kind of
 accident?
 MARA
 Kalen, don't be morbid.
Kalen grabs Alexander's hand and pulls him along.
 KALEN
 What do you do on the towers?
 ALEXANDER
 On the towers?
 KALEN
 I'm training to be a high climber.
 MARA
 We'll see about that.
 KALEN
 I am. Are you a climber?
 ALEXANDER
 Ah... no.
 KALEN
 Don't tell me you're a mud carrier.
 ALEXANDER
 'Fraid so. Just a regular old...
 mud carrier.
Kalen is disappointed.
 MARA
 That's all right, Kalen...
 (a wry glance to
 Alexander)
 ... Mud carriers are important too.
They continue on toward their house.
INT. MARA AND KALEN'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Alexander sits with Kalen and Mara. The boys's eyes alive
with wonder.
 ALEXANDER
 ... Thousands and thousands of
 people. And sometimes we live in
 great buildings that reach up five
 or ten stories.
 KALEN
 And everyone looks like us?
 ALEXANDER
 Exactly like you. Well, maybe not
 as healthy.
 MARA
 Is there a lot of illness?
 ALEXANDER
 Some. But I mean we aren't all
 so... handsome.
 KALEN
 I want to see your home. Will you
 take me?
 MARA
 Kalen, right now you need to go up
 to bed. You're exhausting
 Alexander.
 KALEN
 You'll tell me more tomorrow?
 ALEXANDER
 I will. Good night.
Kalen kisses his mother and then kisses Alexander. He goes
up the stairs, disappearing to another part of the house.
 ALEXANDER
 His curiosity is amazing.
 MARA
 Mm.
A beat. Mara gazing at Alexander.
 MARA
 Come to the roof. We can talk
 there.
EXT. MARA AND KALEN'S HOUSE - ROOF - NIGHT
Alexander and Mara emerge from a stairway to the flat roof of
the house.
Alexander stops, looking up...
The moon -- or what's left of the moon -- shines in the
night. Oddly shaped shards are spread out in uneven
intervals. It is bizarrely beautiful.
 ALEXANDER
 My God...
Mara notes his reaction as she sits at the edge of the roof
by a large brazier. She lights a fire in the brazier as:
 MARA
 Sit with me.
He goes to her and sits.
He notices that other Eloi are also sitting on their roofs
all around the village, braziers burning like campfires
through the night.
 MARA
 Kalen will tire you out if you let
 him. He's always been curious. 
 His father was firm with him but...
 it's just his way.
 ALEXANDER
 Your husband is dead?
 MARA
 He's gone to a better place.
He looks over the peaceful night.
 ALEXANDER
 It's hard for me to imagine a
 better place. Where I come from
 there's so much... frenzy. Day and
 night. It seems we're all running
 faster and faster...
 (he smiles)
 ... All in identical bowler hats.
 MARA
 You're not from beyond the valley.
 ALEXANDER
 What makes you say that?
She reaches into her clothing and pulls out his pocket watch. 
She holds it up.
 MARA
 We don't have anything like this. 
 Or the machine where Kalen found
 you. And I doubt they do beyond
 the valley... Now where do you come
 from?
 ALEXANDER
 You might find the truth rather
 hard to understand.
 MARA
 (dry)
 Then you can speak slowly.
He smiles. Fair enough.
 ALEXANDER
 All right... I'm from here. Around
 here anyway. The machine where you
 found me allowed me to travel
 through time... I'm from the past.
She looks at him.
 MARA
 Oh, that explains everything.
 ALEXANDER
 I know it's hard to believe, but
 it's true.
 MARA
 That machine --
 ALEXANDER
 Allowed me to travel from my time
 to yours.
 MARA
 How long ago?
 ALEXANDER
 More than 800,000 years.
She looks at him. She looks at his pocket watch. Then back
at him.
 MARA
 Why?
 ALEXANDER
 Why not?
 MARA
 Why would you do that?
Alexander doesn't respond.
 MARA
 I might find the truth rather hard
 to understand?... Can you go back?
 ALEXANDER
 Yes. Or forward into the future. 
 I suppose I really should check on
 the machine, see that it hasn't
 been damaged...
 MARA
 I'll take you tomorrow... You must
 have seen a lot on your journey.
 ALEXANDER
 For a time it was astounding. I
 saw the years spinning by, I was in
 the years spinning by. We made
 such advances. I don't understand
 half of them. There was a machine
 that talked to me and others that
 flew through the sky... We must
 have been incredible thinkers and
 artists --
A sudden scream cuts through the night -- Kalen -- Mara bolts
up, races down into the house, Alexander following --
INT. KALEN'S ROOM - NIGHT
Kalen is sitting up in bed, eyes wide, screaming -- Mara runs
to him, holds him closely -- Alexander stands in the doorway.
 MARA
 Kalen, it's all right, I'm here --
 KALEN
 (terror)
 They're here! They're inside the
 house -- !
 MARA
 No, you're safe --
 KALEN
 They're inside --
 MARA
 (calming)
 Kalen, look at me. There's no one
 here but us. You see... I'm here,
 you're here, Alexander's here. 
 There are no Morlocks. It was just
 a dream...
She holds him closely, he is weeping uncontrollably.
 MARA
 You're safe...
Alexander moves away, allowing them their privacy.
EXT. MARA AND KALEN'S HOUSE - ROOF - NIGHT
Alexander sits, looking over the night. He notes that most
of the Eloi have gone in, but, oddly, their fires still burn
on the rooftops.
He glances up at the stars, gazing at the dazzling mosaic of
beautiful lights.
 MARA'S VOICE
 He's asleep.
Alexander turns. Mara is standing at the entrance to the
roof.
 ALEXANDER
 Is he all right?
 MARA
 Just a dream. You should sleep
 too. You're still not well.
A beat.
 MARA
 I'm going to sit with Kalen. Keep
 the fire burning if you can.
 ALEXANDER
 I will...
A beat. She doesn't move.
 MARA
 I'll take you to your machine
 tomorrow.
 ALEXANDER
 Thank you...
A beat. She doesn't move.
 MARA
 You seem fascinated by the stars.
 ALEXANDER
 You can see so many here.
 MARA
 (smiles)
 Don't then have stars where you
 come from?
 ALEXANDER
 Not like this... They don't seem so
 bright with all the city lights. I
 never really noticed them much...
A beat. He is on the verge of asking her to join him in
enjoying the night.
 MARA
 Good night, then.
 ALEXANDER
 Good night.
She turns to go...
 ALEXANDER
 Mara... what's a "Morlock"?
She stops.
 MARA
 A child's nightmare, that's all.
She goes into the house.
He sits for a moment, looking over the beautiful night. He
glances up at the shards of the moon.
O Brave New World...
EXT. DREAMSCAPE - DAY/SUNSET
We are moving through the Eloi world. Through lush jungles
and glades and forests. Everywhere around us there are
fascinating geological and botanical wonders to behold...
Bucolic and beautiful. Idyllic...
And then the landscape is more mountainous, rocks and the
beginning of a splendid desert... the sun is setting... the
desert sand burns red in the sunset... still beautiful...
And then a shape appears in the distance -- we sweep toward
it -- it is hulking -- predatory -- terrifying -- sparkling
red as if the setting sun is reflecting from shinning
metal --
INT. MARA AND KALEN'S HOUSE - DAY
-- Alexander bolts awake. Unsettled by the dream.
EXT. FOREST PATH - HILL - DAY
Alexander and Mara are making their way up an ascending path
through the forest with the rest of the Eloi. Kalen is ahead
of them with some other children.
Korus comes to them:
 KORUS
 Good morning, Alexander. Feeling
 up to some work?
 ALEXANDER
 I suppose so.
 MARA
 I'm going to take him to where
 Kalen found him first.
 KORUS
 And then you'll join us?
 MARA
 Yes.
 KORUS
 Good. We'll see you later then.
He moves ahead, walking briskly. Excited about a day of
work.
 ALEXANDER
 Mara, I had a strange dream last
 night. I was here, walking through
 a forest very much like this, and
 then...
 MARA
 Then you came to a desert and
 mountains...
 ALEXANDER
 Yes.
 MARA
 And you saw a shape ahead of you...
 ALEXANDER
 Yes!
 MARA
 We all have that dream.
 ALEXANDER
 All of you?
 MARA
 Every night.
 ALEXANDER
 You share dreams? That's
 incredible.
 MARA
 We share everything.
He slows, looking ahead, amazed.
In the distance, just over the crest of the hill he sees a
strange point, like the top of a high steeple, jutting up to
the sky.
They approach the crest of the hill...
EXT. HILLTOP - DAY
Alexander stands, utterly staggered, looking down into a
valley.
And he sees...
A city... not exactly... s sculpture... no...
Imagine Monument Valley. Man-made.
Twisting spires and towers and monoliths shoot up for a
hundred feet, swirling multicolored constructions of sand and
stone. They are mammoth creations that bend and twist and
soar, filling the valley. There is a bizarre sort of
architectural order to the creation, yet it is also inspired
and mad and emotional.
 MARA
 Our work.
They begin to descend into the valley with the rest of the
Eloi.
EXT. VALLEY - ELOI CREATIONS - DAY
Among the towers now, Alexander sees the fabulous detail to
the constructions. They are beautiful, soaring combinations
of mud and stone sculpture; fabric and wood; sand and
flowers.
It is ethereal pyramid building: primitive creation of
stunning artistic courage and clarity.
Already the Eloi are busy.
Like a race of master builders, they climb wooden
scaffoldings and scale ropes -- swarming busily around the
towers like insects -- unified in their task of amazing
artistic creation.
Alexander and Mara move through the towers.
 ALEXANDER
 This is magnificent...
 MARA
 Thank you.
 ALEXANDER
 And this is your "work"?
 MARA
 Yes.
They pass some Eloi carrying mud from a nearby river to the
towers.
 MARA
 (dry)
 The mud carriers.
 ALEXANDER
 I can see Kalen's point.
 MARA
 Want to be a high climber now, do
 you?
 ALEXANDER
 What you need is an engineer. If
 you set up a system of pulleys and
 counterweights, some basic block
 and tackle mechanism, you could to
 this a lot more easily.
 MARA
 It's not supposed to be easy, it's
 supposed to be beautiful.
 ALEXANDER
 What's it all for?
 MARA
 I don't understand.
 ALEXANDER
 I mean, why do you do it? What
 purpose does it serve?
 MARA
 It has no purpose. It's just
 beautiful... Does everything have a
 purpose where you come from?
 ALEXANDER
 Most things. We're very high on
 purpose.
 MARA
 It's always been this way here. We
 work on the towers all our lives. 
 When we're young we train to be
 planners or climbers or
 sculptors...
 ALEXANDER
 Or mud carriers.
 MARA
 And there's no shame to that. It's
 all the same here. Everyone has an
 important job to do. We all work
 together and couldn't survive
 without each other.
 ALEXANDER
 What are you?
 MARA
 I'm a planner. I help decide where
 the new towers go and what they
 should look like.
 ALEXANDER
 How do you decide?
 MARA
 I try to imagine how they'll look
 when they're done. I try to
 imagine how we'll fit in with
 them... our place in the world.
Alexander is impressed with her quiet words, so much like his
own creative passion.
He stops, taking in the communal activity everywhere around
him for a moment. Enjoying the warm sunshine and peaceful
surroundings. 
Paradise.
He continues to gaze at the towers, smiling. Mara looks at
him, almost on the verge of saying something. She decides
against it.
 MARA
 We should go if you want to see
 your machine.
They continue on.
EXT. FIELD - NEAR SUNSET
The first stars are beginning to shine in the night sky as
Alexander and Mara make their way across an open field.
 ALEXANDER
 ... It was a great city. The
 greatest city in the world.
 MARA
 You liked it there.
 ALEXANDER
 Oh, very much...
 (he points)
 ... I used to work somewhere in
 that direction, I think. A huge
 university where we taught
 everything from botany to history
 to literature.
 MARA
 Learning was important?
 ALEXANDER
 Oh very. Learning, commerce, the
 arts -- the whole place was buzzing
 all the time. Night and day.
 MARA
 Did you have fires at night?
 ALEXANDER
 Only to keep warm. For
 illumination we had gaslights on
 most of the streets and a new
 invention called electrical
 lighting that made it seem like
 daylight all through the night.
 MARA
 It must have been safe.
 ALEXANDER
 Oh, it was...
 (beat)
 ... Most of the time.
 MARA
 It sounds like a wonderful place to
 live.
 ALEXANDER
 Looking back... I suppose it was. 
 I didn't quite realize it at the
 time but...
Alexander stops, frozen. Staring up.
 MARA
 Alexander...?
 ALEXANDER
 (quietly)
 Orion's belt...
The constellation gleams in the sky. The string of three
stars pointing to the earth. Exactly as it was on the night
Emma died. Alexander looks around, amazed, getting his
bearings:
 ALEXANDER
 Those rocks, over there... they're
 the same... this is... Central
 Park.
 MARA
 You know this?
 ALEXANDER
 Over there was Fifth Avenue -- and
 the Plaza Hotel was there... this
 is... the carriage path. We're on
 the carriage path.
A stunning realization for Alexander. The stars and rock
formations confirming his thoughts.
 ALEXANDER
 The whole world is different. But
 this never changes...
A long beat as he looks around, his eyes full of pain.
 ALEXANDER
 This is where my journey started...
 right here.
 MARA
 You lost someone.
 ALEXANDER
 Yes.
 MARA
 Someone you loved very much.
 ALEXANDER
 Yes... After her death, it was
 intolerable for me here... The
 future had to be better.
 MARA
 Is it?
 ALEXANDER
 If you only knew...
A beat. He looks at her deeply.
 ALEXANDER
 You've welcomed me into your home. 
 Into your lives. Everyone has...
 For the first time in a long time
 it doesn't hurt quite so much. I
 thank you for that.
 MARA
 I know what it is to lose someone. 
 When my husband was taken from
 us... I thought the pain would
 never end.
She gently touches his face.
 MARA
 But time helps.
A beat. She breaks the moment, turning:
 MARA
 Now let's see this amazing machine
 of yours.
She moves off. He takes one final glance at Orion's belt,
and then follows.
One of the squirrel-like creatures scampers after them and
then stops -- and something bizarre happens -- the squirrel's
jaws distend unnaturally -- and it vomits forth an eyeball --
The human-looking eyeball oscillates on a thick mechanical
tendril. Watching Alexander and Mara. Spying.
EXT. JUNGLE - SUNSET
The Time Machine awaits. It sits at the edge of some thick
jungle foliage.
Alexander goes to it. Mara following. He circles the
machine, checking it.
 ALEXANDER
 Good -- it looks fine. We had
 quite a ride together...
 MARA
 It's undamaged?
 ALEXANDER
 Yes... a little scorching on the
 upholstery but otherwise all ship-
 shape.
 MARA
 So you can use it now?
 ALEXANDER
 Yes... I suppose so.
 MARA
 Go back to your own time?
 ALEXANDER
 I could...
Suddenly, she is a different person -- she takes his arm
firmly, her eyes burning into his:
 MARA
 (urgently)
 Alexander, take my son away. Take
 him back to your time. Will you do
 that?
 ALEXANDER
 Mara --
 MARA
 Please, I beg you. Take him away
 from here --
And then...
A mournful wailing stabs through the night. A distant horn.
Mara freezes. Her eyes wide in horror.
 MARA
 Kalen...
 ALEXANDER
 Mara...?
 MARA
 No!
She turns and bolts, racing away from him.
 ALEXANDER
 Mara!?
He runs after her -- leaving the Time Machine behind --
 ALEXANDER
 Wait -- tell me -- !
Then a frenzy of movement draws his attention back to the
Time Machine for a moment --
He just sees the Time Machine as it is DRAGGED AWAY --
amazingly quickly -- something violently hauling it into the
darkness of the jungle in an instant -- the jungle swallowing
it up --
Alexander slams to a stop -- amazed -- and then turns to
follow Mara --
EXT. FOREST - SUNSET
Alexander and Mara race through the deep forest -- she is
running flat out -- he struggles to keep up --
 ALEXANDER
 Mara -- what -- ?!
 MARA
 Kalen -- we have to get Kalen -- !
A building thunder in the forest behind them --
Something approaching -- a crashing cacophony of something
thrashing quickly through the trees -- closer and closer --
the earth vibrating, something pounding after them --
Another horn call, closer --
Dark shapes sweeping through the forest behind them --
EXT. VALLEY - ELOI CREATIONS - SUNSET
Alexander and Mara speed into the valley from the darkness of
the forest --
The Eloi ahead of them are just standing. Waiting. A
terrible moment of stasis, terror in their eyes. The world
coiled.
 MARA
 Kalen -- !
An EXPLOSION of horror as the MORLOCKS appear --
They erupt from the dark forest into the valley --
The Morlocks are horrible, muscular creatures with
unnaturally long and distended jaws and ferocious, huge claws
like those of a mole --
And they ride horribly mutated horses and let out ferocious,
animal roars.
About twenty mounted Morlocks sweep into the valley -- the
Eloi scatter in terror.
It is a hunt.
The Eloi race in panic, so utterly unlike the beatific calm
of the rest of their lives -- and everywhere the Morlocks
pursue -- weaving in and out of the Eloi towers and swinging
heavy nets -- capturing Eloi and dragging them away --
The Eloi scramble desperately to protect their children --
the Morlocks are brutal -- great claws slamming Eloi aside or
snatching them up -- nets swinging -- the Eloi never really
resist -- once they are captured they allow the Morlocks to
pull them away --
By now the sun is fully setting and it is an unearthly
spectacle in the blood red dusk, made even more bizarre by
the glowing red eyes of the Morlocks --
Mara and Alexander race through the mammoth constructions.
 MARA
 KALEN! -- KALEN!
Everywhere around them the Morlocks are netting Eloi and
dragging them away --
But it is not random. The Morlocks seem to target particular
Eloi.
A Morlock spins on his horse, his glowing red eyes fasten on
Mara. He spurs his horse and gallops toward Mara and
Alexander.
Alexander sees the Morlock pursuing --
 ALEXANDER
 This way!
He pulls Mara towards one of the towers --
The Morlock gallops toward them -- swinging his net -- the
net traps Mara -- Alexander spins around and grabs the net --
he yanks at it violently and pulls the Morlock from his
horse --
The Morlock slams to the ground -- the horse bolts off -- the
Morlock snarls and slashes at Alexander quickly and then, to
his absolute shock, the Morlock dives into the earth -- he
tunnels away with his huge claws in a frenzy of movement --
disappearing into the ground --
Alexander pulls Mara from the net and hauls her up --
He pulls her to one of the towers and begins climbing,
hauling her after him, away from the Morlocks --
Another Morlock fastens his crimson eyes on Mara, gallops
toward them -- swings his net up -- can't reach them. He
glares up at Alexander and Mara and then snaps open his huge
jaws, screeching in frustration --
Then the Morlock below VAULTS from his horse and scales up
the tower after Alexander and Mara -- he climbs very quickly,
his great jaws snapping -- they scramble to keep above him,
desperately climbing -- the Morlock is almost on them when --
They see Kalen -- lost amidst the panic below -- the Morlock
horses pounding around him -- a frenzy of horror --
 ALEXANDER
 KALEN! --
 (to Mara)
 -- GO GET HIM -- !
Alexander instantly leaps down on the Morlock pursing them --
allowing Mara to scale down after Kalen --
The Morlock grapples with Alexander briefly -- essentially
tossing him aside -- Alexander falls and then lands hard on a
scaffolding below --
As Mara leaps down and begins racing through the chaos for
Kalen --
The Morlock on the tower spins around and scales down after
her quickly --
But Alexander sees that Mara is almost to Kalen --
When SUDDENLY the ground ERUPTS directly before Mara -- a
Morlock BURST up from the hole and LEAPS on Mara like a lion
on a gazelle --
He grabs her with his great claws -- Alexander watches,
impotent -- as the Morlock drags Mara down the hole,
amazingly quickly --
Then from the forest -- another blast of the horn.
And everything abruptly stops. The Morlock instantly stop
pursuing -- the Eloi stop running.
A frozen moment and then...
The horn call ends.
The Morlock spin their horses and gallop into the dark
forest, disappearing with their prey.
The Eloi look around, slightly dazed, their panic ended as if
someone flipped a switch.
Alexander sees Kalen's face. It is too painful. Alexander
closes his eyes.
EXT. ELOI VILLAGE - NIGHT
Alexander stands, frustrated, with Korus and a few Eloi. 
Braziers burn around the village.
 ALEXANDER
 Where do they take them?!
 KORUS
 We don't know.
 ALEXANDER
 We have to go after them, find
 where -- !
 KORUS
 Alexander, I know you're trying to
 help. But they don't come back.
 ALEXANDER
 What do you mean?!
 KORUS
 They've gone to a better place.
 ALEXANDER
 You know that's not true.
 KORUS
 We choose to believe it.
 ALEXANDER
 My God! How can you just do
 nothing!? They're your friends,
 your family. You all knew Mara. 
 You ate with her and worked with
 her... Your work in the valley,
 what is that for if not to --
 ELOI MAN
 To find our place in the world
 and --
 ALEXANDER
 No -- it's more than that. When
 you create something you say to the
 world: I was here. I mean
 something. How can you just let
 that be taken away from you?!
 KORUS
 This is out life, Alexander. It's
 a hard life but it is how we have
 always lived.
 ALEXANDER
 Then it's time to change that --
 KORUS
 (firm)
 We are what we are.
A tense beat.
 ALEXANDER
 You won't even try?
 KORUS
 We can't change the day and the
 night, Alexander. This is the
 world.
Alexander sees Kalen standing at the door to his house.
 ALEXANDER
 Why don't you try telling him that?
He strides off toward Kalen.
INT. MARA AND KALEN'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Alexander sits across from Kalen.
Silence.
Kalen goes to him. Sits next to him. Strangely comforting.
 KALEN
 This is how things happen. It
 happened to my father. My mother
 said if we remember him every day
 he'll always be here and we'll feel
 better.
A beat.
 KALEN
 I remember him before I go to
 sleep. We built a table once. I
 remember that.
He leans his head on Alexander's shoulder. Both remembering.
EXT. DREAMSCAPE - SUNSET
More of the shared Eloi dream we saw before...
We are moving through the desert... the sun is setting... the
desert sand burns red in the sunset...
And then a shape appears in the distance -- we sweep forward 
-- it is hulking -- predatory -- sparkling red as if the
setting sun is reflecting from shining metal --
Glowing red -- a great bird of prey -- blazing in the sunset
now -- enormous coiled shoulders -- sharp talons -- strangely
metallic --
Then the huge head lunges forward -- the curved beak snapping
open -- devouring us --
INT. MARA AND KALEN'S HOUSE - DAY
Alexander bolts awake -- sweating -- terrified.
INT. MARA AND KALEN'S HOUSE - LATER
Alexander stands at the doorway, watching the Eloi troop off
to work.
 KALEN'S VOICE
 You're thinking about her...
Alexander turns, Kalen is standing in the room.
 ALEXANDER
 Yes.
Kalen goes to him.
 KALEN
 She didn't want me to be a climber. 
 She wanted me to be a planner like
 her.
 ALEXANDER
 I'm so sorry, Kalen.
They watch the Eloi troop off to work for a moment.
 ALEXANDER
 How can they just go back to work
 as if nothing happened?
 KALEN
 What else can they do?
 ALEXANDER
 Kalen... Do you have any idea where
 they take them?
 KALEN
 We're not supposed to think about
 it. But I dream about it
 sometimes...
Kalen is deep in thought. He finally comes out with it,
hesitant.
 KALEN
 There's a place that might help...
 we could try going there.
 ALEXANDER
 Where?
 KALEN
 The Hall of Books.
 ALEXANDER
 You have books?! Kalen, you've got
 to take me there. There might be
 history. Records. Something to
 help us find where the Morlocks
 took --
 KALEN
 I shouldn't have mentioned it. We
 can't go there.
 KALEN
 Why?
Kalen looks at him. Deadly serious.
 KALEN
 Because it's haunted.
EXT. JUNGLE - DAY
Alexander and Kalen are making their way through a dense
jungle path, long overgrown.
 KALEN
 No one ever comes here. My mother
 told me stories about it late at
 night. They tell all the children.
 ALEXANDER
 What kind of stories?
 KALEN
 About the voice in the darkness. 
 About the ghosts...
They push through some tangled vines. A gaping tunnel opens
into the earth ahead of them.
They stop. Kalen considers the dark opening. He bravely
steels himself.
 KALEN
 Climbers should go first.
Then he continues on, Alexander following. They begin to go
down into the tunnel, pushing aside overgrown vines and
foliage. No one has been this way for a great many years.
INT. TUNNEL - DAY
They descend the dank tunnel. Here and there shafts of
sunlight shoot down from holes above.
 KALEN
 I had a friend who came here once. 
 Sort of a dare.
 ALEXANDER
 What happened?
 KALEN
 He came back screaming... He never
 talked about it after that. I
 don't think he even got this far.
Not even noticing, they pass by an imposing figure buried
deep in the sediment of the tunnel wall. A stone lion, its
great head just protruding from the rock.
It is one of the lions from the entrance to the Fifth Avenue
New York City Public Library.
INT. READING ROOM - DAY
Alexander and Kalen slowly walk into a cavernous chamber --
shrouded in dust, spiderwebs and cobwebs -- filthy, abandoned
and echoing. Eerie.
Around the edges we can just glimpse a sense of something
familiar, of our time. They are, in fact, standing in the
sad remains of the reading room of the New York City Public
Library. Massive walls of books.
A dazzling shaft of sunlight shoots straight down from a hole
above, creating a pillar of light. Everything else is
darkness.
Except for a tiny red glow in a far corner of the room.
Then a voice, echoing from the red glow:
 VOICE
 May I help you?
Alexander and Kalen stop.
 VOICE
 ... It has been one thousand, three
 hundred and seven years since I
 have seen a living soul...
The glowing red light approaches, ominous...
 VOICE
 And you are alive. I can feel your
 pulse from here...
The glowing red light approaches...
 VOICE
 If I had known you were coming...
The glowing red light stops just short of the ray of sunlight
from above...
 VOICE
 I would have baked something.
And VOX steps into the pillar of light.
He is a truly horrifying sight. A human-shaped robot of
sorts. A twisting, hideous collection of circuits and wires,
pistons and metal. A gaping face-plate. Bits of ashen skin
grafted uneasily to rubber and metal. And one very human eye
peering from his wretched visage.
The glowing red light comes from deep within his incomplete
chest cavity. A power source of some kind.
He has the same voice as the informational kiosk Alexander
spoke to earlier.
Vox moves with the strange, jerky gait of a machine well past
his prime. He lurches about, but with a bizarre sort of
elegance.
 VOX
 My manners have become deplorable
 through lack of use. The spiders
 and the scorpions don't care much,
 I'm afraid.
He smiles, a truly ghastly sight, and perambulates to a
bookcase.
 VOX
 What can I get you, let's see...
 (he flips through some
 books)
 ... Henry James? No, too dreary...
 Hemingway, perhaps? No, too
 sweaty. Plato? Proust? Poe? 
 Pinter? Pound? No, something
 else... ahhhh... I have it...
 (he hold up a book)
 ... Jules Verne.
He turns to Alexander.
 VOX
 Right up your alley, I would think. 
 You are from the past, yes?
 ALEXANDER
 How did you know?!
 VOX
 I can smell carcinogens and
 industrial pollutants on your skin
 that have not been known here for --
 (he leans forward and
 smells Alexander)
 -- 800,000 years perhaps. Don't
 keep me in suspense. What year?
 ALEXANDER
 1899.
 VOX
 I must say, you look remarkably
 good. You don't want a book then?
 ALEXANDER
 What are you?
 VOX
 I'm the librarian. I've always
 been the librarian.
 ALEXANDER
 I know you -- you're an automaton
 of some sort that --
 VOX
 An "automaton"?! Please! I'm a
 biomechanical organism. Well,
 what's left of one. What's left of
 all of them, actually. I am the
 last...
 (he sweeps his arms to
 take in the whole
 chamber)
 ... And "these fragments I have
 shored against my ruins." T.S. 
 Eliot. You wouldn't know him yet
 but you'll just love him, he's
 divine, if a little dour. Very shy
 though... hiding over here...
He jerks away toward another bookcase.
 ALEXANDER
 Sir... have you a name?
 VOX
 I am called Vox...
 (he jerks quickly to
 Kalen)
 ... Now you are Eloi.
 KALEN
 (terrified)
 Yes...
 VOX
 Don't be frightened, Vox is here to
 help. To serve. How may I serve
 you, child?
He leans very close to Kalen. Then quietly and rather
cruelly baaa's like a sheep.
 ALEXANDER
 Please, we need your help. The
 Morlocks have taken --
 VOX
 (jerking at the word)
 Morlocks --
 ALEXANDER
 You know of them?
 VOX
 Who doesn't know the Morlocks?
 ALEXANDER
 Do you know where they live?
 VOX
 Oh yes... They found our knowledge
 useful for a time. They used us
 much as your people did. Then they
 decided they had learned enough so
 they tore us up for spare parts.
 ALEXANDER
 But you escaped.
 VOX
 I was lucky. The others weren't.
 ALEXANDER
 How have you survived so long?
Vox touches the red glow in his chest cavity:
 VOX
 Regenerating fission reactor, you
 wouldn't understand. It's power is
 well beyond your neanderthal
 cranial capacity.
 ALEXANDER
 Can you show us where they live?
 KALEN
 Please... it's important.
 VOX
 An Eloi who would seek out the
 Morlocks? Aren't you a plucky
 little thing?
He stares at Kalen, gauging him. Kalen bravely returns his
stare.
 ALEXANDER
 We need your help.
 VOX
 (with rising passion)
 Why should I help you? You
 primates -- you great, lumbering,
 hairy animals, drenched in blood
 from the moment of your hideous
 conception -- what have you ever
 used knowledge for but destruction
 and bloodshed! A little bit of
 learning and you lay waste to the
 world! You're no better than the
 Morlocks!
 KALEN
 They took my mother!
 VOX
 THEY TOOK MY ENTIRE RACE!
His thundering words echo around the chamber.
A beat. Vox calms down. Takes in his massive walls of
books.
 VOX
 But all that's ancient history. 
 I'm safe here. Now I live in
 serene contemplation. I commune
 with the great minds of history. 
 Socrates, Aristotle, Shakespeare,
 Martha Stewart. Why should I risk
 all of that to help you?
A beat.
 ALEXANDER
 Because you'll never die.
 VOX
 Excuse me?
 ALEXANDER
 You'll live like this forever. 
 Alone. You were meant to help. To
 be with people. Not like this.
A long beat.
 VOX
 (darkly)
 So, Relic, you want to open
 Pandora's box, do you? See all the
 mysteries exposed?
 ALEXANDER
 Yes.
 VOX
 And if the truth is so horrible
 that it will haunt your dreams for
 all time?
 ALEXANDER
 I'm used to that.
Vox stares at Alexander for a long beat.
 VOX
 All right, Dorothy, let's go and
 see the Wizard.
EXT. FOREST - DAY
Alexander, Vox and Kalen are making their way down a forest
path. Kalen a bit ahead.
Vox talks quietly to Alexander:
 VOX
 When was his mother taken?
 ALEXANDER
 Last night.
 VOX
 Send him away.
 ALEXANDER
 What?
 VOX
 Send him home. You don't want him
 to see it.
 ALEXANDER
 Kalen... hold on a minute.
Kalen stops. Alexander kneels by him.
 ALEXANDER
 I think we should go on by
 ourselves.
 KALEN
 No...
 ALEXANDER
 Please, just listen to me... Your
 mother would be very cross with me
 if you got hurt. I'll find her.
 KALEN
 But you're only a mud carrier.
 ALEXANDER
 (smiles)
 I'll be all right... You go back to
 the village and light the fire. So
 we can find our way home.
A beat.
 KALEN
 I'll wait for you.
He hugs Alexander, tightly. And then goes.
A beat.
Vox watches Alexander, actually moved.
 ALEXANDER
 Come on.
He rises and they continue down the path.
EXT. DESERT - DAY
Alexander and Vox are staring up, gazing at something ahead
of them. An odd shadow falling across them.
 ALEXANDER
 My God... I saw this.
 VOX
 It frightens you.
 ALEXANDER
 Yes...
 VOX
 It was meant to.
And then we see it... like a vision from the shared Eloi
dream... a great metallic bird of prey... coiled muscles...
shining red in the light.
It is, in fact, one of the gargoyles from the Chrysler
Building. The top of the building towers up from the sand. 
Shattered and desolate, looming at an odd angle.
 VOX
 So, do we go on?
 ALEXANDER
 Yes.
 VOX
 Aren't you a plucky little -- ?
 ALEXANDER
 Oh, shut up.
He bravely moves past the top of the Chrysler Building,
keeping an eye on the frozen gargoyle as he passes.
Vox smiles and follows.
EXT. CLIFFS - DAY
Great cliffs soar up like dragon's teeth. Alexander and Vox
approach the tallest, sharpest cliff. Like a knife cutting
into the sky.
 VOX
 ... The Morlocks never bother me. 
 Why should they? I'm obsolete. 
 Where's the danger in a book no one
 wants to read?
Vox notes one of the little squirrel-like creatures. He
calmly crushes it under his foot.
Alexander is surprised but says nothing.
Then Vox stops at the great cliff, gazing up, a complex
tornado of emotions flashing across his one human eye.
 VOX
 (quietly)
 I have not seen this place for
 120,000 years... Very well, Relic. 
 Here's the way in.
Alexander stares at the wall of impenetrable stone.
 VOX
 It's not what you think. Touch it.
Alexander slowly reaches forward -- his hand passes through
the stone.
 VOX
 It's what they want you to see.
 ALEXANDER
 This is the way in?
 VOX
 Yes... Are you sure you want to do
 this?
 ALEXANDER
 Yes. But you've done enough. 
 Thank you for your help... I hope
 someday people read your books
 again.
And then Alexander takes a breath and... steps through the
wall. Disappearing.
Vox stands for a moment. Thinking. And follows Alexander
through the wall...
INT. MORLOCK CAVES - DAY
Alexander turns.
 VOX
 In for a penny, in for a pound. Do
 you know that saying?
 ALEXANDER
 Yes... Thank you.
And they turn to face...
The lair of the Morlocks.
It is a serpentine network of tunnels that shoot off
dramatically in all directions. Some of the tunnels are
rough and natural, stalagmites and stalactites gaping like
teeth. Others are smooth and architectural, seeming almost
man-made.
In the rocks around them, we can just glimpse relics from the
Old World -- buried under thousands of years of rock
formation and evolution -- treasures deep in the sediment.
Bit of New York -- a building -- a car -- a soda machine --
twisting subway tracks arching into the darkness.
And in the background a steady inhalation and exhalation -- a
constant rasping and hollow moaning -- as if the Earth itself
was breathing.
And the low thrum of machinery.
 ALEXANDER
 Machines?
 VOX
 Yes.
 ALEXANDER
 Do you know which way?
Vox stands frozen... his nightmares coming back to haunt him.
 ALEXANDER
 Vox?
 VOX
 This way.
They begin to move through a tunnel...
INT. MORLOCK CAVES - SUBWAY TUNNEL - DAY
Although he doesn't know it -- and such a thing would be
unknown to him anyway -- Alexander and Vox are traveling down
the remains of a decaying New York City subway tunnel.
They pass bits of crumbling tile on the wall -- the letters
"I.R.T." and "42nd Street" are just visible through years of
grime and geological growth.
They move toward the next chamber, the source of the strange
breathing and mechanical sounds seems to be coming from this
new chamber...
They emerge on a ledge high above...
INT. MORLOCK CAVES - MACHINERY CAVERN - DAY
Alexander and Vox peer down, hidden.
If Alexander had the knowledge of its existence he would know
he is above the sunken remains of Madison Square Garden. The
whole Garden has fallen in on itself at some points, at
others the cathedral of metal girders support the ceiling
high above.
The air around them vibrates and whooshes, the breathing
sound roaring. And at last Alexander can see the source...
Machines. Towering, sweating, industrial. A network of
enormous pipes and electrical cables and air channels like
the circulator system of a body that twist off in every
direction. A sweatshop Hell. A mechanized Dante's Inferno
of wood and leather and steel.
And the Morlocks are working. All the machines are powered
by the brute strength of the Morlocks alone. They labor
among the hellish machines -- slowly turning great wheels and
pulling at enormous bellows and hauling ropes and grinding
levers. They are nightmare figures of a Bosch painting.
Alexander looks down in amazement.
 ALEXANDER
 What's it all for?
 VOX
 The air... the power.
 ALEXANDER
 Why did they built it?
 VOX
 The Morlocks didn't build this.
Alexander looks at him.
 VOX
 Alexander... Listen to me, it was
 wrong to bring you. You're not
 going to find what you're looking
 for.
 ALEXANDER
 What do you mean?
 VOX
 (grim)
 Trust me... You don't want to see
 any more.
A beat.
 ALEXANDER
 Show me.
Vox looks at him for a moment. And leads him down another
tunnel...
INT. MORLOCK CAVES - HALL OF BONES - DAY
The tunnel gradually opens out, getting wider and wider,
opening to a vast chamber...
And as the tunnel opens out, they get a stunning perspective
of the whole...
Bones. Skeletons. The entire chamber is a vast necropolis.
They are standing in an enormous hall entirely made up of
Eloi bones and skulls and rib cages and complete skeletons. 
Some buried deep into the sediment -- some reaching out for
them like grisly nightmare images -- an entire sweeping wall
of skulls on one side. At other places the bones glisten
wetly, fresh kill.
Here and there around the chamber holes drop away to
blackness, gaping chasms.
A silent beat as they take in the horror everywhere around
them.
 VOX
 The slaughterhouse.
Alexander looks around, shattered.
 VOX
 They raise them like cattle... Feed
 them until they're ready and then
 hunt them.
 ALEXANDER
 No...
 VOX
 (a whisper)
 How are your dreams now?
His words hang in the air for a moment as Alexander takes in
the gruesome chamber.
 ALEXANDER
 This has to end.
 VOX
 End...?
 ALEXANDER
 This has to end.
Vox looks at him.
 VOX
 May I help you?
Before Alexander can respond --
The ground beside them suddenly EXPLODES up -- bones fly --
Morlocks ERUPT up from the ground -- Alexander tries to
resist -- but he is quickly overpowered --
A Morlock grabs Vox and BRUTALLY flings him aside -- Vox
falls into a gaping hole -- sailing down -- SLAMMING against
the sides of the abyss -- his body RECOILING grotesquely like
a rag doll, shattered -- he CRASHES to the bottom of the
chasm, lies still --
Above, a Morlock leans over the defeated Alexander, he opens
his enormous jaws wide and screeches down at Alexander,
inches away, Alexander can see into his throat.
INT. MORLOCK CAVES - EVOLVING TUNNEL - DAY
Two Morlocks are leading Alexander down a long, sloping
tunnel, deeper and deeper and deeper. But this tunnel is
different.
It evolves from the natural subterranean and bone caves of
the Morlocks to rough walls and then walls with decaying
frescos and tapestries. It is as if Alexander is walking
through a microcosm of man's development.
A tall figure is waiting ahead of them in the deep darkness
of the tunnel. The Morlocks stop, Alexander as well.
Alexander peers at the figure, trying to see. Too dark.
Then a voice. Surprisingly gentle.
 GENTLE VOICE
 I won't be what you expect...
A beat.
 GENTLE VOICE
 We're not really so different, you
 and I.
Then a light. A pulsing bio-electric glow radiates from the
figure, illuminating it from within, and Alexander sees...
The UBER-MORLOCK OVERLORD.
The Uber-Morlocks are strange creatures. The centuries of
living deep underground without any physical activity have
left them anemic and enervated. They are fragile, weak,
elongated creatures. Their skin is almost translucent --
like bizarre mutations of a man and a silverfish.
A beat as Alexander takes in this eerie figure. The Overlord
bears a disturbing resemblance to Dean Fulton.
 OVERLORD
 It's bio-electric illumination. 
 Like certain deep sea creatures
 from your own time.
He moves to Alexander. The Uber-Morlocks move slowly, almost
having lost ambulatory power. The Overlord stops close. 
Studies Alexander. Then smiles.
 OVERLORD
 Come... see your future.
He ushers Alexander into...
INT. UBER-MORLOCK CHAMBERS - DAY
A breathtaking cacophony of the past and the future.
A serpentine honeycomb of chambers that combine a Victorian
Jules Verne sense of the "future" with artifacts from our
world: obelisks of cars and computers; towers of scientific
equipment alongside rotting advertising posters and preserved
animals floating in huge tanks.
Mammoth columns of decaying books soaring up like monoliths. 
Vast towers of enormous tomes of every description.
Here and there in the murky darkness of the network of rooms
we see flickering lights -- decaying power cables -- the hum
and sputter of some machinery in the shadows.
The Overlord slowly leads Alexander through the network of
chambers, past the amazing artifacts.
 OVERLORD
 What's your name?
 ALEXANDER
 Alexander.
 OVERLORD
 Well, Alexander, as a fellow
 scientist I know you have a
 thousand questions --
 ALEXANDER
 You came underground when the world
 was ending above. And you evolved. 
 Some into the Morlocks and others --
 OVERLORD
 No, we created the Morlocks.
 ALEXANDER
 Created?
 OVERLORD
 You wouldn't understand. We
 genetically engineered the Morlock
 class to serve our needs.
 ALEXANDER
 As slaves.
 OVERLORD
 To work the machines and build the
 tunnels. You can't imagine what it
 was like when it all started. We
 survived for millennia, scraping
 the lichen and microscopic
 organisms from the rock with our
 teeth and digging for water with
 our nails. Endlessly. For
 generations. And we... became.
The Overlord continues to lead Alexander through the
chambers, the two Morlocks following. Alexander can see that
the Morlocks are clearly terrified by the Overlord.
A few other Uber-Morlocks lurk in the darkness of the corners
and high walls of the chambers.
 OVERLORD
 And centuries later when we tried
 to emerge into the sun again, we
 couldn't. Our adaptation was too
 successful. We survived... we
 endured... for this.
 ALEXANDER
 How do you control the Morlocks?
 OVERLORD
 We make them see what we wish.
 ALEXANDER
 How?
 OVERLORD
 As our bodies atrophied our
 minds... compensated.
The two Morlocks following suddenly stop -- mind control from
the Overlord freezing them in their tracks.
The Overlord continues to walk with Alexander.
 ALEXANDER
 And what of the Eloi?
 OVERLORD
 They survived above. Became what
 they are.
 ALEXANDER
 No... they didn't survive only to
 be your food. You did that.
 OVERLORD
 I'm afraid your indignation is lost
 here. I have no more "human"
 response to the Eloi then you would
 have to a carrot. It's just how we
 live now.
 ALEXANDER
 But this is barbaric! Have you
 completely lost all sense of --
 OVERLORD
 (stops, calm)
 And who are you, Alexander? Who
 are you to question thousands of
 years of evolution? This is the
 world now. I am fact.
 ALEXANDER
 It can't all be like this...
They continue walking.
 OVERLORD
 Underground and above. Light and
 dark. Predator and prey. There is
 nothing else. There is not even a
 desire for anything else. We have
 finally arrived at... stasis. 
 Which brings us to the problem of
 you... You can see that you have no
 place here. Your blood, your
 offspring, your ideas just don't
 belong anymore. So...
They round a corner to another chamber.
And the Time Machine is sitting before them.
 OVERLORD
 ... You're free to go.
A stunning bell tower looms through the sediment just above
the Time Machine. It is a huge clock face from the front of
some long lost building. The huge bell silent. The hands
still for generations.
 ALEXANDER
 What?
 OVERLORD
 Go back to where you came from. Or
 die here.
 ALEXANDER
 Why would you let me go back?
 OVERLORD
 Because the past is immutable. 
 Frozen. Dead... And you are the
 past.
A beat as the Overlord gazed at Alexander dispassionately.
 ALEXANDER
 Say I just come back again?
 OVERLORD
 Alexander, yours is a world of
 brocade and velvet, not tooth and
 claw. Why would you come back to
 this? To save a few cattle? No.
 ALEXANDER
 I could tell them. Warm them of
 what's to come.
The Overlord gazed at him deeply. Then with strange
poignancy.
 OVERLORD
 Please, warn them. No one will
 ever believe... we have come to
 this.
Then a weak voice, echoing from the darkness down the
corridor...
 MARA'S VOICE
 Alexander...
Alexander spins around -- races across the chamber -- the
Overlord slowly follows --
And Alexander discovers Mara, almost lost in the incredibly
Baroque chaos of the chamber. She is hanging on a wall,
leather straps holding her in place. Filthy plastic IV tubes
connect her to some chugging medical equipment.
Alexander reaches up to grasp her hand, can just reach her.
 ALEXANDER
 Mara...
Mara weakly raises her head -- a shocking sight -- already
her skin is becoming strangely translucent, her veins
beginning to show through.
 ALEXANDER
 No...
Mara tries to speak, cannot. Alexander stands for a beat,
holding her hand. Then, without turning:
 ALEXANDER
 Why?
 OVERLORD
 We have lost the capacity to
 reproduce. But the species must
 continue.
 ALEXANDER
 So you take their best...
 OVERLORD
 When a creature shows too much
 independent thought we remove them
 from the gene pool. We're breeding
 them for submission. Soon they
 will be fully domesticated.
 ALEXANDER
 (quietly)
 You took her because she helped me.
 OVERLORD
 Yes. Initiative and daring are not
 desirable traits in the Eloi. But
 you should be happy for her. She
 won't remember the creature she
 was. She will... become.
A beat. Alexander looks up at Mara deeply.
 OVERLORD
 She won't remember you. None of
 them will. You will be forgotten. 
 That is how history works.
 ALEXANDER
 A man can change his history.
 OVERLORD
 After all you've seen... after
 man's entire journey... you still
 believe that?
Alexander slowly turns to the Overlord, his eyes burning, his
fury mounting.
 OVERLORD
 Now will you go?
 ALEXANDER
 No...
Alexander steps towards the Overlord, threatening.
 ALEXANDER
 This has to end.
The Overlord steps back. A frail creature, he is no match
for Alexander.
He has no defense. But for one.
 OVERLORD
 Her name... was Emma.
Alexander stops.
 OVERLORD
 If I can only find the right
 door... the lady or the tiger...
 ALEXANDER
 No...
 OVERLORD
 It's always the tiger for you,
 Alexander, haven't you learned that
 by now?...
He glances to Mara, strapped to the wall, her head hanging
limp.
 OVERLORD
 ... It wasn't possible then and it
 isn't possible now...
The Overlord slowly moves to Alexander, his eyes burning into
Alexander's, his voice low and steady, hypnotic.
 OVERLORD
 Past... present... future... it's
 all the same ribbon. You can't
 change a thing. Not a moment. Not
 a molecule... You never could.
The Overlord is very close. A whisper:
 OVERLORD
 You came 800,000 years not to
 relive it. But you are reliving
 it. How can you watch it again?
Alexander looks at him, pain in his eyes.
 OVERLORD
 Go... before it's too late...
 Accept what is destined to be. Go
 back to your own time. The
 future's finished for you...
Alexander looks at Mara. Then he slowly turns his back on
her and steps to the Time Machine.
 OVERLORD
 That's right... go back... Tell
 them of your journey. Of your
 destiny. This was all... meant to
 be.
Alexander stands at the Time Machine.
Then he reaches forward and gently throws the Time Machine's
control lever --
The Overlord is stunned --
Alexander withdraws his hand and turns to the Overlord.
 ALEXANDER
 Not this time.
A high-pitched whine -- building -- the world undulates
around the Time Machine --
And then it is gone.
The Overlord gapes at Alexander.
 OVERLORD
 That was a foolish thing to do.
 ALEXANDER
 I'm a foolish man.
Alexander begins to circle the Overlord.
 OVERLORD
 I could have a hundred Morlocks
 here in thirty seconds.
 ALEXANDER
 I know.
 OVERLORD
 Does this prove something to you? 
 Have you made some great stand of
 which I'm unaware?
Alexander continues to circle, the Overlord matching him.
 ALEXANDER
 I'm tired of running.
 OVERLORD
 Oh, you won't be running for
 long...
Alexander stops. The Overlord stops as well. The Overlord
is now standing where the Time Machine was. A tense stand
off.
 OVERLORD
 But you've earned a reward for your
 valor. I think you should become. 
 You'll like it here. Once you get
 used to the darkness.
 ALEXANDER
 I don't think that's going to
 happen.
 OVERLORD
 And why not?
 ALEXANDER
 Because...
He smiles.
 ALEXANDER
 Time's up.
Before the Overlord can react -- a buzzing sound -- the world
undulating around him -- his eyes shoot wide with
realization --
And the Time Machine reappears -- appearing through the
Overlord -- the Overlord is torn apart -- the Time Machine
forcing it's way through his body --
Splat.
The spacial and auditory vibration caused by the reappearance
of the Time Machine cascades through the chamber -- and the
great clock face above suddenly shifts -- its bell tolling
loudly -- the bell swaying back and forth unsteadily --
Alexander races to Mara -- urgently tearing her from the wall
-- she collapses down into his arms --
As the huge clock begins to crumble from the wall --
Alexander turns to see --
The great clock face finally falling --
On top of the Time Machine. Smashing it to pieces.
Alexander gathers Mara up and begins racing out of the
chamber.
Another Uber-Morlock reaches for them from the shadows --
Alexander easily knocks the anemic creature aside and
continues on.
INT. MORLOCK CAVES - HALL OF BONES - DAY
Alexander is carrying Mara quickly through the grisly Hall of
Bones, trying to remember his way out --
Then a hulking figure appears ahead of him. And another. 
Two Morlocks. Alexander quickly sets Mara down and snatches
up a bone to use as a weapon.
The two Morlocks circle him, almost toying with him -- then
they attack -- Alexander fights them but is almost
immediately overpowered -- they roughly shove him to his
knees, preparing to dispatch him when --
A voice, Vox:
 VOX
 That's quite enough of that, you
 great bloated ticks.
The Morlocks spin to Vox, surprised -- he stands proudly a
few feet away -- Alexander instantly drives up and SLAMS into
one of the Morlocks --
The other springs for Vox -- jaws snapping -- Vox thrusts up
an arm -- the Morlock crashes into him -- clamping his jaws
down on Vox's forearms -- they fall to the ground --
Alexander fights with his Morlock as best he can -- but he is
woefully overpowered -- the Morlock slashes at him --
The other Morlock continues to bite down on Vox's forearm --
Vox smiles --
 VOX
 That's titanium, you idiot.
He powers forward with his other hand and grabs the Morlock's
throat, squeezing the life out of him as the Morlock slashes
at him brutally --
Meanwhile, Alexander is having a bad time of it -- the
Morlock springs away from him into the darkness of the
chamber -- clinging to the walls and scaling along them
quickly like a spider -- and then vaults back and slashes at
Alexander -- Alexander spins -- wounded -- falls.
The Morlock hunches, coiling for the kill --
Alexander rolls over, pulling something from his vest -- a
box of matches -- the Morlock races forward to destroy him --
Alexander desperately strikes a match -- a sudden
phosphorescent flare from the match -- the Morlock stops,
stunned, blinded for a moment --
And then the Morlock jerks, stiffens -- amazed -- as Vox's
titanium arm shoots through him from behind -- Vox's fist
explodes through the Morlock's chest.
Vox jerks his hand free as the Morlock falls.
Then a look of surprise passes across Vox's face... he sinks
to his knees.
 ALEXANDER
 Vox --
 VOX
 Imagine that... seems that little
 devil got my power relays...
Viscous fluid begins to trickle down his face plate.
 VOX
 (smiles)
 Takes a licking but keeps on
 ticking...
 (his head jerks oddly)
 ... For a while anyway.
 ALEXANDER
 What can I do? Tell me what to do.
 VOX
 Nothing to do, I'm afraid. I'm
 just a librarian after all. Wasn't
 exactly made for all this
 swashbuckling. Very Byronic end,
 though. I appreciate that. Do you
 know Byron?
 ALEXANDER
 Vox...
 VOX
 I'm babbling. Good to have someone
 to talk to for a change... But you
 need to go. Take her out of
 here...
 (he jerks again, in pain)
 ... I don't have long.
 ALEXANDER
 I won't leave you like this.
 VOX
 Go back to the light. You weren't
 made for this. I was... I was made
 for this moment.
 ALEXANDER
 I don't understand.
 VOX
 I'm going to end it, Alexander. As
 we discussed...
He touches the red glow of the reactor in his chest.
 VOX
 ... It'll only take a moment. One
 interrupted circuit, a few atoms
 smashing together and this will all
 be history. I'll give you as much
 time as I can... help me up.
Alexander helps Vox to his feet.
 VOX
 Now get out of my sight, you
 hideous primate.
 ALEXANDER
 I'll never forget this.
 VOX
 I should hope not...
 (he jerks again in pain)
 ... Alexander... Make them read my
 books. Tell them who they are. 
 Who they could be.
 ALEXANDER
 I will...
A difficult beat.
 VOX
 Tick-tick-tick -- better scamper
 along now.
Alexander picks up Mara and sprints off.
Vox slowly turns toward the Machinery Cavern.
INT. MORLOCK CAVES - SUBWAY TUNNEL - DAY
Alexander makes his way with Mara up the decaying subway
tunnel.
Meanwhile --
INT. MORLOCK CAVES - MACHINERY CAVERN - DAY
The Morlocks are absorbed in their mindless toil, as they
have been for generations. Slaving and sweating at the great
machines.
Vox slowly limps into the chamber. He is near the end, fluid
flowing down his face, moving with difficulty.
The Morlocks notices him, surprised. Vox just continues to
limp into the center of the cavern.
The Morlocks begin to surround him, circling him, predatory.
Vox looks at the Morlocks surrounding him. He smiles.
 VOX
 May I help you?
Then he reaches deep into his gaping chest cavity --
And the world explodes --
A terrific reaction -- a cascading shock wave that tears
through the chamber -- the entire cavern begins to implode
from the violent percussions --
INT. MORLOCK CAVES - HALL OF BONES - DAY
The shock wave from the explosion rips through the
slaughterhouse -- destroying everything --
INT. UBER-MORLOCK CHAMBERS - DAY
The shock wave tears through the chambers. The entire Uber
Morlock world crumbles, burying the artifacts of man's past
in an avalanche of rock.
INT. MORLOCK CAVES - SUBWAY TUNNEL - DAY
Alexander hears the shock wave nearing -- the world
dissolving as the caverns collapse behind him -- he sprints
forward with Mara -- the subway tunnels twist and writhe and
implode behind him --
Alexander sees sunlight ahead -- the way out -- he speeds
toward the light --
EXT. CLIFFS - DAY
Alexander races with Mara into the blinding sunlight --
emerging from the gaping tunnel leading to the Morlock's
caves --
Just as the final tunnels collapse behind them.
Alexander sinks to his knees and looks back.
Dust and boulders and earth. Vox has done it. The Morlock
world is no more.
EXT. ELOI VILLAGE - NIGHT
Fires burn through the night.
The Eloi are standing, amazed, not believing what they see...
Alexander and Mara. Alive.
They walk through the stunned Eloi without a word. Kalen
emerges from his house and runs to them.
Slow fade to...
INT./ EXT. FIELD/ALEXANDER'S HOUSE - DAY/NIGHT
Alexander walks with Mara and Kalen across a green, grassy
field.
 ALEXANDER
 ... Well, you wanted to see it.
 KALEN
 This is it?
 ALEXANDER
 Around here.
He stops.
 ALEXANDER
 (smiles)
 Yes. Just about here.
 KALEN
 But there's nothing here.
 MARA
 It was different then.
 ALEXANDER
 My laboratory was about... here. 
 And the kitchen was over there,
 where that tree is. Mrs. Watchit
 wouldn't allow me in much... but,
 yes, this is about the kitchen.
They continue to move around the world that was Alexander's
house as we become aware of something else...
Almost like ghosts at first. Philby and Mrs. Watchit. 
Moving around Alexander's house in 1899. Then we see the
house and the field simultaneously. The same space,
centuries apart.
 MRS. WATCHIT
 I don't know what to tell you, sir. 
 He's been gone this whole week.
 PHILBY
 And you've no idea where he went?
 MRS. WATCHIT
 No, sir.
Philby smiles. They move into the study...
 ALEXANDER
 And this would be my study. There
 was an elm tree outside the window
 then.
 PHILBY
 I'm glad.
 MRS. WATCHIT
 Sir?
 PHILBY
 I'm glad he's gone. Maybe he's
 finally found a place where he can
 be happy.
 ALEXANDER
 This... was my home.
 PHILBY
 His home.
Alexander puts an arm around Mara. At peace with his past. 
And his future.
 ALEXANDER
 Long ago.
Alexander, Mara and Kalen and their time slowly disappear as
we fully come to...
INT. ALEXANDER'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Mrs. Watchit leads Philby to the front door.
 PHILBY
 You know, Molly and I were talking
 about engaging a nanny for Jamie. 
 Someone to live with us and take
 care of the boy. Would you be
 interested?
They stop at the front door. Mrs. Watchit looks back at the
empty house for a moment. Then turns to Philby.
 MRS. WATCHIT
 I think I might be. But there'll
 be some changes made. I run a
 tight house.
 PHILBY
 (smiles)
 I have no doubt of that. I'll come
 by in the morning and we'll arrange
 it. Goodnight, Mrs. Watchit.
 MRS. WATCHIT
 Goodnight, Mr. Philby.
He goes.
Mrs. Watchit gently closes the door and turns back to the
empty house. She stands for a moment and then, quietly:
 MRS. WATCHIT
 Godspeed, my fine lad, Godspeed...
EXT. ALEXANDER'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Philby walks away from the house, stops, takes one look back.
And he looks up at the moon for a moment.
Then he takes his bowler hat off and flings it away.
He smiles.
And continues away.
 FADE OUT.
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