Kubrick's Game

by Derek Taylor Kent

  “That’s the ultimate prize?” said Shawn. “An alien monolith?”

  “It is the proof of everything I have just said. Somehow Kubrick either knows of its whereabouts, or perhaps even came to be in possession of it. Now, I know where it is.”

  Mascaro removed an envelope from his drawer and placed it on the table. “Our puzzle-solving friends Rich and Luke analyzed the footage. On the recording you can hear Armstrong say, ‘Oh my God,’ as he sees the monolith. Encoded in that bit of audio is a number sequence.”

  Mascaro flashed him the coordinates written on a sheet of paper in the envelope, not knowing that Shawn would be able to commit them to memory with one glance.

  37.077760 N – 94.511024 W.

  “It pinpoints a deep mine in the Midwest. That is where I am going tonight.”

  “Why are you telling me all this, Mascaro?”

  “You have been a worthy opponent. I thought you should at least know exactly what you have lost, that you may sleep well at night.”

  Mascaro opened the antique chest on his desk, reached inside, pulled out a bottle of white wine, and placed it in front of Shawn.

  “This is a bottle of 1995 Viognier. French. Kubrick said it was his favorite. After he passed away in 1999, I received this. It was to celebrate the release of Eyes Wide Shut, as a thank you for my help. The note only said, Antonio, the world will be ready when this wine is ready. This is a twenty-year vintage, peaking as we speak. That is how I knew when the game was to commence.”

  Mascaro uncorked the bottle, took out two glasses from under his desk, and poured. “Drink with me to a new world, or at least, a world where our films are fully funded.”

  “You don’t have enough money to fund your films?”

  “Sometimes, it comes down to a choice between money and power. I chose power. Those who choose the money end up in prison.”

  “Kubrick didn’t trust people with power.”

  “There are few who do. That’s why I don’t like anyone to know I have it. Please, after you.” Mascaro gestured to the glass in front of Shawn.

  Something told Shawn it would be a bad idea to try the wine. “No, thank you.”

  “You still do not trust me? Cannot say I blame you.”

  Mascaro swirled and sniffed the wine. “Saluti.” He proceeded to drink the entire glass. “Aaaah. Perfetto. Are you sure?”

  “I don’t like wine,” he replied.

  “In Italy, we have crucified men for less. Come, let’s hand out some diplomas.”

  The guards parted as they entered the hallway.

  “Answer one question,” said Shawn. “Did you murder Stanley Kubrick?”

  Mascaro replied ominously. “If Kubrick had broken a sacred oath, there is no murder. It is considered a suicide.”

  Shawn grimaced, then stormed the opposite way down the hall.

  Mascaro called out to him, “Do not feel badly! You were a worthy opponent!”

  Shawn found Wilson waiting around the corner.

  “There you are! That took—”

  “Shh!” Shawn was busy punching the coordinates Mascaro had shown him into his phone. When the results came up, he started laughing.

  “What is it?”

  Shawn showed Wilson a map.

  “Mascaro is headed to a pyrite mine in Colorado to claim the prize.”

  “So?”

  “So... pyrite is fool’s gold.”

  The sun was shining over the UCLA quad, which bustled with thousands of smiling parents, siblings, and friends dressed in vivid spring colors, wearing sunglasses, and snapping photos.

  The UCLA Theater/Film/Television graduation ceremony was by far the liveliest and most entertaining of all. The speeches included sections where the graduates broke into song and dance, or the gowns were accessorized with neon wigs, angel wings, and Shakespearean ruffled collars. A few of the graduates had nothing on underneath their gowns. The valedictorian performed her speech in the style of a dramatic death scene, and the commencement speaker, a rebellious Oscar-winning actor, used a colorful palette of curse words.

  “Samira Singh, MFA. Magna Cum Laude,” Dean Welks spoke into the microphone.

  Shawn and Wilson jumped from their seats and cheered. Behind Sami, Professor Mascaro sat among the rest of the faculty and clapped politely.

  Sami’s mother stood up in the front row and shook her arms in exultation.

  Sami waved her diploma in the air, making eye contact with Shawn and Wilson, who continued to cheer until she sat down.

  Then a voice spoke from behind them.

  “Do you know what the most impressive thing about Stanley Kubrick was?”

  They turned to see Rich Greenstone and Luke Wexler.

  Shawn and Wilson froze in fear.

  “No, what’s that, Rich?” said Luke.

  “His skill at chess. He beat me in less than five minutes every game. It’s like he could always see ten moves ahead of his opponents.”

  “What are you doing here?” said Shawn. “The game is over, right? You won it for your boss.”

  Luke scoffed. “Boss? Mascaro? We’ve only ever had one boss.”

  “Wait a second,” said Wilson. “What do you mean you played chess with Kubrick?”

  “I see someone was paying attention,” said Rich.

  Luke added, “If you had done your research on us, you would have discovered that our previous employer was a company called Empyrean Films.”

  Rich snorted. “Terrible company. Never made a single film.”

  “Wait a second,” said Shawn. “I know Empyrean Films. That’s the secret production company Kubrick set up to find new projects.”

  Luke touched his nose and pointed.

  “Working for Kubrick is like working for the mafia,” said Rich. “As soon as you think you’re out, he pulls you back in.”

  “Talk about a demanding boss. Dead for over fifteen years and still makes us work on weekends.”

  “What the hell are you guys talking about?” said Wilson.

  Rich looked to Shawn. “Have we given you enough clues to figure this one out?”

  Shawn put the pieces together in his head. “You two met when you worked for Kubrick’s shadow production company.”

  “That we did.”

  “So, he must have told you about the creation of the hidden game back when you were working for him. You’re the ones who set up and placed all the clues. You’ve been the game-masters this entire time.”

  “Some of our best work, eh, Luke?”

  “Can’t disagree, Rich.”

  “It was you who planted A Child’s Garden of Verses in the BookZone.”

  “We can neither confirm nor deny that. But yes,” said Rich.

  “And the QUIETED question. After Kubrick’s death, you created the final puzzle.”

  “Stanley wasn’t fond of anagrams,” said Luke.

  “But we happen to love them,” said Rich. “Our personal stamp.”

  Luke continued, “It was our task to make sure the right people were informed about the game and that it was played fairly.”

  “So when you started working for Mascaro, you were moles,” said Shawn. “You saw that he was willing to hurt people to win, so you sent him off course.”

  “The kid’s a genius,” said Luke.

  Wilson jumped in. “But you were also working for the USC team, so that means you were working for Kubrick while pretending to work for Mascaro while pretending to work for USC.”

  Rich’s eye twinkled. “Dude, we were triple agents.”

  “Awesome,” said Luke.

  They high-fived.

  Luke continued. “Antonio seemed nice enough back when Stanley had us do a background check on him before staying with him in Italy, didn’t he, Rich?”

  “He seemed great, sure. That’s why we didn’t dig too deep. If we had, we might have discovered what he really was.”

  “Hopefully, this will redeem us.”

  As if on cue, Mascaro began coughing
from his seat behind the stage.

  “Uh oh,” said Luke. “I think this is fake boss’s big exit.”

  The coughing started soft, then grew louder, violent. Mascaro grabbed his left shoulder, falling forward onto the ground.

  Sami and the graduates screamed.

  “Somebody call an ambulance!” Dean Welks yelled.

  Shawn and Wilson turned to Luke and Rich, eyes wide with confusion and fear.

  “They say revenge is a dish best served cold,” said Rich.

  “Or perhaps in a cold wine glass,” said Luke.

  “In vino veritas,” said Rich.

  “Wait,” said Shawn. “I almost drank that wine!”

  “Please,” said Luke. “If you remember A Clockwork Orange, you would know it’s never a good idea to ‘try the wine.’”

  Rich chuckled. “Well, this has been a day none of these folks will soon forget.”

  “And for all the wrong reasons,” Luke quipped.

  “Shall we retire?” Rich asked his partner.

  “Until the next puzzle.”

  The duo shook hands with Shawn and Wilson, then disappeared into the fretful crowd.

  Sami approached at that moment. “What just happened?”

  “It’s game over,” said Shawn.

  The news outlets announced that Professor Antonio Mascaro was pronounced dead on arrival at UCLA Medical Center. The massive fatal coronary seemed surprising, considering the professor had no history of a previous heart condition.

  Shawn, Sami, and Wilson met the USC team at Danny’s house that evening.

  “Everything is ready,” said Desiree. “We got the digital transfer back just in time, and Austin just finished editing it into the sequence.”

  “Then I guess it’s time to cross the final bridge,” said Shawn.

  They told them about Mascaro’s heart attack and their strange encounter with Rich and Luke. They were still shaken from the events that had taken place during the ceremony.

  “So they were controlling the game the entire time?” said Austin.

  “I don’t know about controlling,” said Shawn. “More like refereeing.”

  “Do you really think they poisoned Mascaro?” said Desiree.

  “I think the object of the game was two-fold: what we’ve been working on, and to expose those responsible for Kubrick’s death. I guess they were finally certain.”

  The group enjoyed perhaps the most solemn night of pizza-delivery dinner in history. While they ate, Shawn attempted to explain to them how Kubrick had mapped out his method of subliminal filmmaking in Eyes Wide Shut.

  “As we live our lives, we take in a staggering amount of sensorial information. As we sleep, our brain organizes it for later use. Most of the information is archived into our subconscious, where it will never be used again, but the information that it views as important, such as imagery, sounds, and behaviors it continuously encounters, will either get stored as permanent memories, or connections will be made that cement behaviors. For instance, if you’re learning to play an instrument, you may be practicing a difficult section of music that you can’t seem to get right. But the next day, after a good night’s sleep, the muscle memory is suddenly there and you’re much better. That’s because the brain has realized this is an important behavior to learn, and makes the necessary connections to help you improve.

  “When Kubrick was learning about subliminal message marketing in pre-production for The Shining, he discovered how scientific and non-magical the process is. By bombarding our brains with ads filled with pleasurable imagery, music, and emotions, a company like McDonald’s has essentially brainwashed the masses into connecting the feeling of hunger with the symbols and imagery of their product. Why do you think kids from all over the world crave McDonald’s, even if they’ve never had it before?”

  “Okay, we got that,” said Danny. “But what does this have to do with Eyes Wide Shut? And why do we need to know this before entering the Land of Nod?”

  “I’ll show you,” said Shawn.

  Austin cued up Eyes Wide Shut in Danny’s viewing room.

  As the movie played, Shawn pointed out how Kubrick dramatized the mundane aspects of the real world, transforming them into the fantasies of the id that play out in our dreams.

  “One of the first instances is when Bill and Alice say goodbye to their child’s babysitter, Roz, before going out to the Ziegler’s party. Now fast forward to the first adventure in Bill’s ‘dream state,’ as he visits a woman whose father has died. The maid who answers the door is introduced as Rosa, a double of Roz. Later in the scene, after the grieving woman has professed her love for Bill, her fiancé returns home and turns out to be an exact double of Bill. She introduces him as Carl. Later in the film, when Bill is back in the reality of his home life, his daughter is working with a mathematics homework book titled Carlos.”

  “Carlos?” said Sami. “As in the San Carlos Hotel in New York?”

  “And the composer Wendy Carlos from The Shining and A Clockwork Orange,” added Desiree.

  “Keen observation,” said Shawn. “Everything is truly connected. Notice how Bill has subconsciously absorbed Carlos and Roz, then during his ‘dream state’ they have become Carl and Rosa. I believe Kubrick was able to create a specific recurring dream for us using imagery, music, and dialogue that we need to absorb.”

  The group took a moment, but seemed to be following.

  Shawn continued. “At Ziegler’s party, the models ask Bill if he wants to go ‘where the rainbow ends.’ Later, Bill receives his costume from a shop called Under the Rainbow. The masked ball itself parallels the first extravagant party at Ziegler’s, where Bill helps an overdosed prostitute. She later comes back to save his life when exposed by the red cloak. When Bill and Ziegler confront one another at the end of the film, there is a portrait of Napoleon over Ziegler’s fireplace. Bill’s daughter’s name is Helena, the name of the island that Napoleon was banished to. In the costume shop, the owner Milich complains about his hair falling out, and later Bill is followed by a bald man on the street.

  “Perhaps most humorously, Bill is accosted and mocked on the street by a group of frat guys wearing Yale sweaters. At first I wondered why they would be from Yale, as they hardly seem like the types, but then I remembered his name is Bill Harford or ‘Harvard.’ When Bill joins the prostitute Domino in her room, Kubrick places a stuffed tiger on her bed that changes positions as the tone of the scene changes. Later we see shelves full of the same tiger at the toy store they have frequently visited with their daughter.”

  “So what are we supposed to take from all this?” said Wilson.

  “I have a feeling that during this final journey into our subconscious, elements from real life will mix with the imagery Kubrick has planted inside our minds. Just as in the film, it could be crucial to recognize these connections in order to make it through to the end.”

  The final edited sequence was a half-hour long. They all began to watch with the intention of giving their full focus, but Danny and Wilson were fast asleep halfway through the first go-around.

  When the masked ball section began, Shawn was excited to experience Kubrick’s intended version. The music was surprisingly similar to the piece conducted by Jocelyn Pook. She must have heard the music Kubrick wanted and did her best to compose a piece that matched the feel he was going for.

  Austin started drowsing off during the second playback and set the sequence to play on a loop.

  Sami watched it through four times before falling asleep just after 11:00 p.m.

  Shawn and Desiree continued watching past midnight.

  “No way I’m gonna fall asleep in these chairs,” said Desiree, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “Do you think we’ve seen it enough times?”

  “I think so,” said Shawn.

  “Want to go find a bed?”

  He followed her into a guest bedroom, his heart racing. How would he be able to sleep?

  Desiree lay back on the bed and S
hawn lay down beside her.

  She reached for his hand and wrapped her fingers in his. “I don’t think I ever told you, but I read your script.”

  “Strange Brain?”

  “I thought it was brilliant.”

  “Really?”

  “Goodnight, Shawn.”

  Moments later, she had fallen asleep.

  Shawn couldn’t wait to fall asleep, but the last thing he wanted to do was doze off and miss a moment of the joy coursing through his heart.

  Shawn walked toward the gate.

  “Welcome, Mr. Hagan. May I have the password?”

  He had no clue what the password was. After all he’d been through, how could he still not know? Suddenly, it dawned on him. During the pool table scene, Ziegler tells Bill Harford that the truth is that there was no password to the house.

  “There is no password,” said Shawn.

  The gates opened wide.

  “You have only one chance to pass through. After that, it will remain locked forever.”

  Shawn nodded to the masked guard in the tuxedo, and took his first steps toward infinity.

  The snowfall is so dense Shawn can barely see a foot in front of him.

  The surroundings come into focus as green hedges tower on all sides. Floodlights bounce brightly off snowy mist.

  A voice growls in the vicinity, “Danny! Danny boy! I’m coming for ya, Danny!”

  In an instant, Shawn realizes where he is. “Oh my God. This is the hedge maze from The Shining.”

  “Danny! Where are ya, Danny?”

  Murderous Jack calls out for his son, but as he passes through the mist, Shawn notices that it’s not Jack Nicholson, but Mascaro. Shawn’s gut tells him he should run, but he’s frozen in place. Paralyzing cold fills every inch of his body.

  Mascaro turns the corner of the corridor and lurches forward, axe in hand. “Heeeere’s Johnny!”

  Shawn looks around for something to defend himself with. There’s nothing. He hears the footsteps coming closer.

  Wait! That’s it! The footsteps. In a flash, Shawn remembers how little Danny Torrance was able to escape his pursuer.