The Passage
Page 12
The youngest son, looking a bit despondent, puts a cattail seed pod to his
mouth, like a corn dog, and takes a munch. Finding the taste tolerable, his
face relaxes and he starts eating with gusto.
_______________________________
Colonel Cage and his wife and sons are walking in through the entry of the
dome city, wet and looking tired but obviously deeply happy. Danny, having a
morning cup of coffee with Red, splashes hot coffee on himself by jerking his
cup at seeing the family, trying to raise his hand up to point while still
holding the cup. He's choking on his coffee as he talks through coughs.
Its them! They made it! Damn if they didn't make it.
Red's craggy face is wrinkled with happiness, but he just sits and takes it
all in, not moving or saying anything.
Big Tom's voice booms out combined with Billy's chirping voice, as they greet
the new family.
You found them! Damn! Here, have a seat, have my seat.
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Billy is giving Colonel Cage’s two boys a tour of the dome city, while also
still exploring it himself. Both Colonel Cage’s boys have now had a bath and
are wearing fresh clothes. Billy is using the tour as an excuse to poke around
in places he has not yet explored, using his tour guide voice as an entry
pass, or so he hopes.
. . And here on the lower level, ah . .
Billy opens a door on the level that is below the living quarter. This level
does not have a patio, just doors that lead out onto the grassy center. There
is a pathway around this level, a concrete walkway close to the outer walls of
this level, but nothing that would hint at what lies behind the doors.
Billy charges in through the door, hoping his bravado and tour guide voice
buys him an excuse at whatever he finds behind the door. He comes face to face
with a nanny goat, standing on a milking station.
Baaaa
Billy stops shock still, the other two boys bumping into him, the lot
ricocheting back a step or two.
Whoa!
The woman milking the goat casts a sleepy glance at the boys, nonplussed, and
continues with her morning task. The room is filled with several goats, a
couple kids, and a billy goat tied up temporarily over at the side. The billy
goat lowers its head slightly while looking at the brash newcomers,
contemplating the threat. At the side of the room there is a feeding trough,
filled with what looks like slimy greenery. Finding his voice, Billy
continues.
. . goat’s milk. And we feed them, ahm . .
The sleepy woman, seeing what is going on, smiles to herself and turns her
head.
We feed them algae. Grows quickly in bright light and
effluent. We recycle everything here, including our
waste.
Billy is momentarily set back, his face a blank, not knowing her terms, but
then gets a hint of what she is talking about.
Yeah, we grow stuff in the toilet water.
Casting a glance at the billy goat, which is now starting to huff, Billy backs
into Colonel Cage’s two sons and turns to push past them out the door.
Common.
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The next room is a brilliantly lit room with a hydroponic gardening setup.
Billy’s face pops into view, with Colonel Cage’s two sons just behind him,
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peering and bobbing on either side for a view. They all push into the room.
Long trays on either side of the room are cascading down the wall, stacked
such that the upper tray is close to the wall, the next tray offset from the
wall slightly, and so on so that the vegetation in each tray can grow without
hindrance as to height. One side has something that looks like lettuce or
spinach. The other side is growing strawberries, which are filled with red
berries.
The runners, producing new plants, are hanging down from each tray. A man is
walking along the strawberry trays, inspecting the runners and snipping off
new plants along the runners that look mature enough to stand on their own.
These young plants have roots, but the roots are not in the hydroponic trays,
just hanging in the air. The man turns his head and smiles at the boys.
Hello boys.
Seeing potential helpmates, the man puts his collection basket down and walks
to the back of the room where there is what looks like a compost pile in a
bin. He picks up a pitchfork, plastic with dull prongs, and begins to toss the
compost. The compost is filled with red wriggler earthworms, which turn and
try to burrow back into the compost when they are exposed to the light. He
takes a spray nozzle from a wall clip and sprays the compost, kicking a
collection tray under the compost drain as he does so. Brown water is
collecting in the tray.
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While he’s waiting for the water to drain, he picks out brown chunks, the worm
casts, and puts them in another collection basket at the side. He also grabs
mature worms, placing them in yet another collection basket fixed at the side.
He works quickly, not being exacting so much as doing the obvious – worm egg
casts here, mature worms there.
The boys have just been watching him as he goes though these moves, taking it
all in. They’re edging forward to stand by his side. He says,
We make our own nutrient solution from these worm
beds. Best fertilizer in the world! We harvest the
worms for protein too. They’re 82% protein, did you
know? We put these egg casts into new compost piles.
They’re full of baby worms.
And glancing over his shoulder at the boys, seeing that he has raised their
interest.
Want to help?
The boys all say, in unison,
Sure!
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Inside the dome city, at night, the iridescent glow of the dome ceiling has
been dimmed to simulate night. All is quiet except for the occasional
splashing of the fountain. A chipmunki is nibbling a piece of cracker on one
of the pathways in the center of the dome. Some ducks next to the fountain in
the center of the dome are tucking their heads under their wings. A small
monkey drops out of the trees and lopes across the grass. There is wildlife
pets here in the biodome, living naturally in the open space. The ceiling is
lit from lights along the edge of the dome top pram layer, setting off a
nighttime glow in the soft material sprayed on the ceiling. The wildlife, as
do the human residents, accepts this night and day as their world, without
distress, so natural as to slip from notice after a day or two.
Suddenly a Zeta materializes in the center of the grassy area, startling the
chipmunk who scampers away. He is joined by two others, and the three stride
toward the ramp/stairway. They simply levitate up to the top tier of
residences, rather than take the stairs. This levitation is done mid-stride,
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without missing a beat, as though a natural occurrence and something all three
understood they would do, simultaneously, without a word spoken. They land on
the continuous patio area that circles in front of all t
he residences on a
level, shared by all on the level.
The three Zetas stride along the patio that runs continuously in front of all
the residences running around the circumference of the dome and facing inward
toward the dome center. The three Zetas stride for a few steps, then stop in
front of a closed door. Though they haven't knocked or made noise, the door
opens, a sleepy Jonah emerging in his pajama bottoms. They all seem to just
stare at each other for a moment. Jonah asks,
How close are they?
One of the Zetas moves his hand slightly, and then Jonah panics, with some
alarm in his voice.
Then we've got to do something! They'll blow us away!
I know how these guys operate, they kill anything they
can't rule!
A Zeta puts his hand up slightly, palm down in a dampening gesture.
I can't calm down, all these people ..
But the Zeta changes his gesture to run his fingers in a half circle in front
of him.
Oh, oh, OK, I know I've asked you to help, and if you
say that'll work, OK, OK, but, ahm, but, Christ, if it
doesn't, we're dead ..
Jonah is clearly nervous about whatever has been discussed.
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Outside the dome city, the dull gray dome can barely be seen in the moonlight.
Insects are thrumming in the humid summer night, which is enshrouded in mist
General Flood and his sidekick, the diminutive and ever compliant Sergeant
Hammond, are emerging from the woods. They are surveying the scene silently,
and then the General quietly brags.
We can put a hole in it easy, and then its ours.
_______________________________
Daybreak outside the dome city is brilliant, caused by the thick volcanic dust
reflecting sunlight. A bird clinging to a reed along the river is welcoming
the dawn with his song. There are sucking and splashing sounds as a boot pulls
out of and lands again in the mud. A column of soldiers is moving toward the
dome city.
_______________________________
The entry way of the dome city is opened but no one is coming or going. This
is a maneuver, inviting the attack. A helicopter comes into view, and a
booming voice is heard, through a bullhorn.
This is your military speaking. Allow our inspection
teams to enter or suffer the consequences. Send your
leaders out with a white flag to indicate that you
understand these orders.
The helicopter goes into a slow circle, well outside the perimeter of the
dome. There is no response from inside the dome city at first, but then Jonah
emerges, along with Colonel Cage, Big Tom, and the two soldiers who went AWOL
with the Colonel. They are subtly antagonizing the General by showing
themselves, as he brooks no insubordination.
Inside the helicopter, General Flood is red faced with rage. He growls to
himself and the pilot.
He's going to die and die slowly.
Then speaking through the intercom, he barks to his men on the ground.
Move the missile into place, let them see it.
A slender wheeled missile emerges from the woods, pushed by half a dozen
soldiers. Several other soldiers emerge from the trees too, lining up along
the edge of the woods. They are not dressed in uniform. Some have bandannas
tied around their heads, some have long hair tied behind their heads in a pony
tail, some have painted their faces, some carry long machete knives, but all
wear fatigue pants and army boots. This is clearly no longer a formal
military troop.
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Something invisible is moving through the grass, as though a sliding wall were
being moved into place. The grass flattens and separates, weeds push aside
and then are kept aside as though an invisible wall had been put into place.
This line moves swiftly, with the sound of chopper blades throbbing overhead.
Cage, I'll have your liver for supper for this, and
pickle your eyes!
Inside the Helicopter, General Flood barks orders through the intercom.
Bring out the hostage now, and shoot him.
Len is pushed forward, hands bound in front of him and one eye swollen shut,
poked out during a fit of General Flood’s rage during an interrogation
session. He is stumbling with exhaustion and staggering, but is pushed
forward until midway between the dome city representatives and the military
troop.
Inside the dome city entry, Clara is standing just inside the shelter of the
entry way, viewing the scene. Her eyes fill with tears and her hand flutters
to her mouth, but she says nothing, holding her breath and knowing she can't
influence the outcome. Netty puts her arm around Clara's shoulder, gripping
it. Red is standing behind the pair. Accustomed to taking action during any
emergency, but unable to do so in this case, he has a consternated look on his
face.
We hear a shot ring out, and see Clara drop in a faint, as several other arms
move forward to grip her, trying to break her fall. Clara falls back on top of
Red and they both sink to the floor in a heap.
Oh my, oh my.
Inside the helicopter, General Flood bellows arrogantly into the bullhorn.
The rest of you have five seconds to raise your hands
and let my inspection team come forward, or we'll blow
your little nest and all the little birdies inside sky
high! Five seconds! Five, four, three, two, one.
General Flood pauses, his face muscles working in rage, his face florid with
rage at having been defied.
.. All right men, let 'em have it!
The group standing in front of the dome city remains unmoved, unflinching.
They had expected that both the men held by General Flood had been killed, so
this is no surprise, and they are aware of the shield and whether they trust
it to hold or not, they have no alternative in their minds. Death, for them
and their families, is better than being overtaken by this group. This is why
the entry door has been left open, so that if the shield fails, all will die
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suddenly, as a group. Big Tom, speaking softly to his comrades, shows their
resolve.
Better this way than living under tyranny, eh, boys?
The missile makes a humming sound, and then with a flash at the jet end, moves
forward so suddenly that the eye cannot follow it. Just as suddenly it hits
an invisible shield and the explosion sprays backward over the men and the
trees, a fireball fanning out, frying all within range. There is a shriek or
two, but death is quick. As the flames quickly die down over the metal shards
from the shattered missile, the chopper blades can still be heard overhead.
The muscles on General Flood's face are working. The General snaps at the
pilot.
Take it down and land on top of them!
The pilot glances nervously at the General's face, and seeing that no argument
will do, moves the joy stick to aim the chopper down. The chopper descends,
hits the invisible barrier, and explodes into a flaming wreck.
The group standing in front of the dome city allows themselves to breath
again. The citizens of the dome cit
y are coming forward, tentatively at first.
They look to the right and left, agape at the wreckage. Martha is rushing
forward to embrace her husband, followed by the oldest son of Colonel Cage,
who throws his arms around his dad from the back, essentially hugging his
butt. Ian has a look of relief on his face. He quickly turns to the side and
vomits, allowing himself to feel his fear now that the danger is past.
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-New Neighbors-
Danny, Netty, Billy and the hybrid boy are standing in a circle in the center
of a circular room without windows, the main room of a Zeta craft. There are
also a couple large Zetas and some small beige colored Zetas, that are about
as large as a child. The large Zetas are grouped with the adults, chatting
and gesturing. The children are grouped and chatting with the smaller Zetas.
The small beige colored Zetas are tittering like birds among themselves now
and then as they chat among themselves. Billy is face to face with the hybrid
boy, having an animated conversation. Billy says,
Heck! I seed them squirm all around so's you didn't
know where they were headed, but I weren't scared!
The hybrid boy puts his hands on his hips and leans back a bit.
They weren't squirming, silly! They were walking!
Don't you know anything?
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It is evening in the dome city, and the lights coming from the edge of the
dome are being dimmed slowly to simulate evening. The residents are moving
slowing as they take their evening strolls around the pram area on the roof of
the top level. Children are being called in from play in the center grassy