a short film by C Jay Lenhart

Draft 1

Revisions by

Drafted 12-12-12 cjaylenhart@gmail.com

The idea of 10 dimensions might sound exciting, but they would cause real problems if you forget where you parked your car. ! Stephen Hawking, The Grand Design

"P.U.L.S.R." a short film by c jay lenhart 1 DARKNESS BUBBLES softly float upwards. Just a few. Almost ethereal. Were underwater. Dark. More pockets of air rise, smaller bubbles following behind like slow-moving comets. A face. Sleeping underwater. CASEY, her long, blonde hair pulsing with the waves. The water ripples. A brownish liquid slowly streams down towards her face, muddying the space. Still unconscious, her body reacts with ingestion, giving a subtle twitch, a few more bubbles releasing from her nose. A SYRINGE enters the water, lowered by a human hand. It pierces into her neck, releasing a blue-tinted fluid. And is quickly PULLED out of sight. For seconds, nothing happens. Until... HER EYES open. Bloodshot. Terrified. BUBBLES flow out of her mouth in a frantic rage. She violently TWIST and TURNS, SNAPPING her head around, GASPS for breath under the water. 2 INT. CELLAR Her hands emerge, and then her head. Fully clothed. She coughs, spewing water as she sits up inside of what looks like a GIANT TANK. Its set on top of a table, in the middle of the dark, grungy room. We cant see the whole thing. Brushing a hand over the hole in her neck, she twitches, knowing whats coming. Thoughtfully, rather than instinctively, she holds her head out of the water. And pauses. Beat. She VOMITS on the ground outside the pod. Quick to finish and breathe deeply. Now calm. Strong. She looks around. The room is dark, like a dungeon. Some screens are lit from behind, and small lights FLICKER on one of the walls. Three more pods are next to her. She looks over, clearly recognizing the BOYS lying inside. 2 1

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TITLE CARD MUSIC PULSES: "I279 FEAT. ELENA GNISS" by TOM LECHO OVER BLACK Pulses of energy ignite the generated texture of letters like a cyborg programming fire. The letters spell out "P.U.L.S.R."

FADE TO BLACK 4 INT. BEDROOM - DAY The MUSIC continues in the background. Bright light shines into the room, evenly dispersed by the white curtains in front of the window. The room is dazzled with picture frames. A shirtless YOUNG MAN with brown hair, half out of the bed sheets. AIDEN, 21, is passionately kissing the blonde GIRL in bed next to him. Her eyes open. Its CASEY. AIDEN Hi sleepy girl. CASEY Hi yourself sleepy boy. They continue kissing. Its too bright to be morning, theyve been there for a while. They get back to it, for a moment. CASEY (contd) What time is it anyway? He looks at the clock next to the bed. Next to a framed picture of Casey and an older woman. AIDEN Almost two. We should leave soon. He gives her another peck and scoots away. She sits up, hair static against the head banister. AIDEN (contd) You nervous? 4

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He slinks out of bed in a pair of white underwear. The sheets fall from Caseys bare chest as she reaches for a bra from her side of the bed. CASEY Not as nervous as you playing Call of Duty last night. Aiden laughs, casually opening the blinds. Room now ablaze with LIGHT. AIDEN I totally let you win, by the way. She smirks, snapping the bra on, body still under covers. CASEY In your dreams. My kills were like 128, 104, and 109. You had what? 19, 43, eighty... 86. AIDEN

She smiles at him. He leans over, giving her another soft kiss as the Cell phone VIBRATES Aiden grabs it from the side table. Reads the screen. AIDEN (contd) (aside) Cedric. (to her now) Do you have any eggs? CASEY (puzzled) I dont think so... Alright. AIDEN

He sets the phone back down with a DING DONG (PRELAP)

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INT. DRUG STORE - DAY The bell rings as the couple walk inside. Casey in the same clothes as weve seen before. A CARTON OF EGGS It slides off of the shelf. Casey sets it onto the front counter, next to Aidens bottle of JACK DANIELS and pack of MINT GUM. She looks down, interested in the combination. He glances at her with a small smile. The CASHIER hands Aiden change... Thank you. AIDEN (O.C.)

As Caseys eyes wander on him, thoughtfully. KNOCKING (PRELAP) 6 EXT/INT. CEDRICS HOUSE Aiden lowers his hand from the door. Its opening. CEDRIC, 25, with well-kept dress and styled hair, the sides nearly shaved. CEDRIC (British accent) Aiden! Hows it going, mate? Long time no see. They manhug as Aiden steps inside. AIDEN Yeah and Im still bringing your shit. He holds up the plastic bag. Cedric takes it. CEDRIC Ah, thank you. AIDEN You remember Casey. Casey, Cedric. They shake hands. CASEY Nice seeing you again. 6

5. CEDRIC You too. Come meet the twins. She smiles. Aiden grabs her hand, though she doesnt need it. We can tell by the confident glance. As Cedric closes the door behind them, he peers out to the street. 7 EXT. CEDRICS HOUSE Everything is normal. Sharp eyes will notice a blank white van is parked on the road. He glances, not too concerned, and SHUTS the door. 8 INT. CEDRICS BASEMENT The basement is small, wood, dingy, but bright enough. On one side is a wall stacked with drawers and shelves. On the opposite is a desk, with two computer screens and a laptop. In the back, a single door. KYLE and MIKEY, 19, identical twins, are sitting behind the desk, studying the screens. KYLE Go get the pulsars and stuff already. MIKEY Im about to. Christ. Shut up. KYLE 8 7

MIKEY Youre the lazy one. KYLE Cedric told me to run the simulator. MIKEY (standing now) You dont need to run the simulator if no ones simulating anything. KYLE You need to run the simulator in order to track the PULSRs you idiot... If only mapping helped you grow more brain cells.

6. MIKEY Back at you. Mikey types on a key pad near the wall, a small DOOR slides open. Hey kids. AIDEN(O.S.)

KYLE Aiden! Whats up? Aiden, Casey and Cedric enter. Mikey looks up as Kyle walks over, hugging Aiden. KYLE (contd) Where have you been all my life man? Aiden smiles, genuinely. Mikey sets down a handful of small, flat ellipsoid-shaped objects. The "PULSRs." Theyre black, with a large red circle on the front. There is also SYRINGES, filled with the dark blue liquid weve seen before. AIDEN I know, its been forever. Kyle this is Casey. Casey, Kyle... They shake hands with a smile while Cedric is setting the Jack Daniels and egg carton on the desk beside Mikeys items. AIDEN (contd) ...And Mikey! Whats up buddy? They hug too. MIKEY Dude. Staying out of trouble I hope. Hey Casey. Mikey nods to her. She looks around, taking in the space. 9 INT. CEDRICS BASEMENT - MOMENTS LATER AN EGG Its in Mikeys hand. He carefully pushes a syringe into the shell, but it BURSTS. The yolk splashes all around his hands. Through his fingers and onto the floor. 9

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Wow Mikey. Shut up.

KYLE MIKEY

Cedric is near the wall. He lowers a slab of wood on a hinge. Bolted to the top is a circular object. Like a record player on steroids. He pulls a silver lever and taps it around. It spins consistently, faster than youd think. HUMMING. He pushes the level faster as it rotates likes a merry-go-round. The HUMMING grows louder. Mikey finishes injecting the egg, unbroken this time. A small hole now in its side. He hands it to Cedric as Casey looks on in silence. Cedric sets the egg in the middle of the spinning mechanism. It spins in place. Nearly hovering? He holds one of the PULSRs near it. Squeezes, CLICKING the button once. A BLUE FLASH Emmiting from the tip of the pulsar. More of a FLICKER than laser gun. Though untouched, the egg JOLTS in the contraption, SWIRLING to the side. Immediately RETURNS to the center. Casey smiles with interest. AIDEN Cool right? She nods, only slightly confused. CEDRIC Hows the reading? Mikey is looking at one of the large computer screens. MIKEY Bit under four percent. Good to go. CEDRIC Perfect. Aiden, first? He holds out the open bottle of whiskey. Why not? AIDEN

Aiden nonchalantly grabs it. Takes a swig.

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CASEY Whats the whiskey for?

KYLE (O.C.) Chaser. Here.

CEDRIC (RE: Casey) Helps the bloodstream prep for injection, and clears out the stomach... Kyle hands Aiden a bottle of fruit punch. He grabs Aidens arm. Using his free hand, Aiden chases the whiskey down with a stinging expression. Cedric maneuvers to the desk while speaking, picks up a syringe. Kyle has wrapped a string around Aiden, as if they are about to shoot up. CEDRIC (contd) More of a precaution than anything. Cedric effortlessly slides the syringe into Aidens vein. CEDRIC (contd) And this pretty much turns the body into a giant battery for the pulsars... He releases the blue-black liquid and takes the strap off of Aiden. Kindly taps him on the shoulder. CEDRIC (contd) Instead of lugging around 40 car batteries each. Aiden casually walks to the door in the back. Its a BATHROOM He leans over the toilet and VOMITS. Effortlessly, quick to stand and rinse his mouth. CEDRIC (contd) And then that happens... Always. CASEY Flattering. Aiden smiles and takes a stick of gum from Mikeys outstretched hand. He holds the bottle of Jack Daniels to Casey.

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AIDEN Ladies second? She smirks at him. Takes a generous swig. Kyle holds the fruit punch to her. Chase? KYLE

Her face sours, and forcefully composes. CASEY Chasers are for ladies. She looks Aiden smartly in the eyes, and holds out her arm to him. He smiles at the remark. Wraps the string around her arm, preparing for the injection. PULLS it tight. 10 INT. CELLAR Casey climbs her way out of the water-filled pod, nearly slipping on the floor. She looks at the faces in the pods. Cedric, Kyle and Mikey. Confused, she walks to the side of the room. Paper graphs and maps hang along the walls, forced between and around wires and servers. Small, blinking lights. And a large glass cabinet. Inside Syringes and Jack Daniels. Relief flinches onto her face as she glances back to the others, sleeping in the pods. She grabs the Jack Daniels and three syringes. In the corner is an office-sized waste bucket. She slides it next to Cedrics pod. Reaching inside, she holds up his head and pours a shot into his mouth. Pausing for a moment, she flicks the syringe. Nervous, but collected. Better not mess this up. She injects his arm. 11 INT. CELLAR - MOMENTS LATER Kyle PUKES into the waste basket. Caseys holding it for him. The others are up already. 11 10

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Cedric walks along the back wall, admiring the various charts and buttons. Mikey is standing next to his brother, chewing gum. KYLE (To Casey) Thanks. Yeah. CASEY

Mikey holds the soaked pack of gum in front of Kyle. MIKEY Itsa little wet. Kyle condescendingly glances at his brother. But takes a piece, looking around. KYLE Wheres Aiden? CEDRIC No idea. MIA. Kyle steps out of the pod. MIKEY More like MIP. Cedric is confused. MIKEY (contd) Missing in... pod, water, things... CASEY We think he woke me up. Someone injected me over there. Cedric is still admiring the walls. CEDRIC This is every single map weve ever taken... They all look at him and walk over. CEDRIC (contd) They must have been following everything for months before they jumped us.

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CASEY Whos they? CEDRIC The government? Scientists? Stephen Fucking Hawking maybe... Who else would know about some kids electromagnetically mapping an entirely separate dimension on their bicycles? MIKEY I dont think a lot of people would know that. Cedric runs his hand through his soaked hair, stressed. Kyle perks up, remembering something. KYLE The blackout? Casey looks at him curiously. CASEY Last year? That was you all? MIKEY (guilty, raising a hand) That was me... Cedric is still looking at the maps. How? CASEY

CEDRIC Sometimes pulsing transfers energy to our side. Since energy texhnically cant be created or destroyed, has to go somewhere... CASEY Technically? A CREAK They look around, nervous. ANOTHER. LIGHT shines from below the bolted door. An anxious pause.

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CASEY (contd) Get back in the tubes. They each race back into their pods. An EMPTY SYRINGE Casey grabs it. They are all emerged in the water as the door opens. Caseys face. Underwater. Still. 12 EXT. SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD - TWILIGHT Casey is riding on a bike under the nearly-dark sky. Kyle and Mikey are also. They split up. Aiden is gliding down the street. Wearing a small earpiece. He raises the pulsar into the air. FLASH The blue light emits, as before. A street light may have just flickered. FLASH Kyle also raises, and flashes his pulsar. And Mikey. FLASH Aiden holds his into the air. Passing more houses. AIDEN How you holding up, Case? CASEY Was about to ask you the same thing. She turns a corner. Curving in front of Aiden, teasing him. FLASH. He smirks. And turns his bike to another route. 12

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INT. CEDRICS BASEMENT Cedric is pushing buttons and looking at his computer screens. CEDRIC Doing great guys! Readings are still strong over here. KYLE (V.O.) Good to hear. MIKEY (V.O.) Is your guys gum still lasting? Its freaking great. Cedric laughs, looking at a view of his screen. Its a 3D map forming. A wireframe terrain. Pulsing.

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EXT. SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD CASEY Cedric? Yeh? Kyle turns a corner. The white VAN slides out from the side of the road and follows him. CASEY Are you a genius or something? AIDEN. Still riding. Smiles. CEDRIC (V.O.) Ha. Hardly. I just suck at bicycling. She laughs. Turning again. FLASH KYLE (V.O.) Hey guys. This is weird. Kyle is in the road, the white van directly behind him. CEDRIC

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CEDRIC (V.O.) Whats up Ry? KYLE I think this van is following me. 15 INT. CEDRICS BASEMENT Cedrics eyes perk up as he freezes in place. What van? 16 CEDRIC 15

EXT. SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD As Kyle rides, the vans BRIGHTS turn on behind him. It speeds up as he tries to maneuver. KYLE What the hell?! STATIC AIDEN Kyle? AIDEN

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CASEY (V.O.) Whats going on? 17 INT. CEDRICS BASEMENT CEDRIC All of you get back here now! 18 EXT. SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD They turn. MIKEY Kyle are you there? All three gather into a line on the same street. The van cuts off AIDEN in front of them. They turn around as one of the doors SWINGS open. Riding too fast to look back, Casey pedals. 18 17

15. Another vans BRIGHTS corner her at the end of the road. They are coming from both sides. One door flips open as the other passes with a ROARR. When the vans depart, all left is Caseys bike... Wheels SPINNING on the ground. 19 INT. CELLAR Casey is laying in the water. Holding her breath, eyes closed. Two MEN dressed in biohazard suits walk out of the door into the cellar. Walking to her pod, one looks down and notices her puke on the ground. And the wet footprints behind. She opens her eyes underwater and sees the figure standing. She lashes out with a SPLASH. Jabbing the syringe into the nearest mans suit. The others splash out of their tubes also. They tackle both men to the ground. Four against two. Knocking them out. Casey looks up -A gun. Its pointing at her head. The others slowly stand with her as four more MEN enter. The figure near Casey takes off the mask. AIDEN He grabs her from behind in a headlock, gun to her face. Men hold back each of the others. CEDRIC What the hell Aiden? He doesnt respond. Some resentment in his eyes. They all rotate as a MAN in a business suit walks in. MAN (Southern accent) The kids ve awaken I see. (Turning) Aiden. Dint doubt you fer a second. 19

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CEDRIC What is this? MAN This is economics, mah friend. The beautiful Judeo-Christian value of free enterprise. MIKEY Are you Repunlican? The Man glances at him. Ignores. Steps closer to Cedric. MAN Whats it? (mispronounces) Sed-rick? CEE-dric. CEDRIC

MAN Think of it like this. Im big giant Facebook, and yer itsy bitsy Instagram... He SNAPS at the man holding the others, points, signaling to bring them to the other room. MAN (contd) And I just paid yer friend here a darn heck of a lot of money fer yer little, program. 20 INT. CONTROL ROOM 20

The group continues to rotate. Casey and Aiden are now next to a large control panel. She WHISPERS to him, strongly. CASEY Aiden wh-AIDEN (whsiper) Is everyone injected? Shes taken back by his whisper. She GULPS. Purposefully holding back a head nod. Yeah CASEY

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AIDEN Remember how bad you beat me in Call of Duty last night? CASEY What? He violently spins her around, shoving her against the wall. He slowly creeps his hand up her shirt. Sultry. The Man looks at them. An interested smile. MAN Ye see that? Force. Powr. Energy. Thats what were all here for right? The merican dream. To control our own lives. With our own energy. CEDRIC No one belived Aristotle when he said the world was round. No one would believe in mapping sub-dimensions. Its against every law of physics. How is that power? MAN This aint about you, Cedric. Or yer little di-mensions. He paces. Aiden continues to feel all over Casey. Disgustingly sexual. She realizes where hes moved her HAND to... A keypad. MAN (contd) Do ya know how much energy yer little equipment creates? He holds up a pulsar and snaps it. FLASH The SCREEN on the side manipulates, an expanding wireframe. MAN (contd) Yeh know how many people would rather have safe, human energy? Everyone. Not a very good deal fer big oil is it?

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MIKEY Yeah. Definitely Republican. Casey starts typing in the code, slyly. The Man walks over to Mikey. Smiling. MAN Yer living in a two-party system my friend. Were the third party. CEDRIC Youre not even scientists? You just want to drill? Casey releases her hand from the box. The Man points the gun at Cedrics head. MAN Long story short. He suspensfully cocks the gun. Pushing it closer to Cedrics forehead. Aiden PUSHES Casey aside. And SLAMS a button. A loud mechanic ROARRRRRR Before anyone has time to react. Cedric, Kyle, Mikey, Aiden and Casey... DISSAPPEAR. Into thin air. A pause. The Men look around. MAN (contd) What the hell just happened?! All of the Men mice around. Scattering and messing with buttons. As they scamper, we catch up to the COMPUTER MONITOR A wireframe, as weve seen before. The pulsing stream of information shows five, human-shaped objects, moving across the the energy field. Running. END CREDITS OVER BLACK to "I279 FEAT. ELENA GNISS" by TOM LECHO