Just Over the Horizon (The Complete Short Fiction of Greg Bear Book 1)
Page 32
I want to solve tough problems. Like what you do. What’s a Klein bottle?
DAN
You’re the man, Trevor.
Dan leans forward. He draws a Klein bottle (sketch 2, already familiar to us).
DAN (CONT’D)
It’s a kind of bottle whose inside is continuous with its outside. Like a Moebius strip, but in three dimensions. Except where the neck passes through the bottle’s wall and connects with the inside … We have to cheat a little and slip that through the fourth dimension. Just as we twist the Moebius strip in the third dimension.
TREVOR
I know. Like a door.
Trevor looks up. Shadows are pooling in the ceiling corners behind Dan, as if they’re EAVESDROPPING. Shapes hover and merge and separate in the air—SEE SKETCHES. They are completely SILENT. Dan is unaware, focused on Trevor—and used to his wandering and intent gaze, as he avoids looking directly at people. But we know that Trevor is tracking something else.
DAN
Right. I have some problems nobody knows the answers to, about bottles like this, and how an ant can crawl through the door and shine a flashlight on his own butt.
TREVOR
I know.
DAN
I hope you do. They are very important problems.
Trevor watches the shadows grow. They almost fill the space behind Dan. Dan wrinkles his brow at the DIMMING of the light, and WHIPS HIS HEAD AROUND to stare at the wall, but it’s bright and innocent again.
DAN (CONT’D)
(Laughs nervously)
Whoa. Felt like someone was watching me for a second there.
TREVOR
(Flat)
I’m supposed to help you.
DAN
That would be great.
Michael opens the door and breaks the spell. He looks a little suspicious.
MICHAEL
Time for bath and snack in five minutes, Trevor.
Dan is vastly irritated. Trevor shakes his head and pushes the papers away. He flings his hand at the door.
TREVOR
Go.
Dan gets up.
DAN
Tomorrow morning?
TREVOR
(Loud)
Go.
CUT TO:
INT. THE CORRIDOR OUTSIDE - MOMENTS LATER
Dan confronts Michael as the nurse folds towels on a rolling cart.
DAN
We were making good progress. Why bring it all to a screeching halt?
MICHAEL
(Guarded)
The boy has his routine. He needs his rest.
He walks away. Dan won’t let it go so easily.
DAN
What, something wrong, you don’t approve?
Michael returns Dan’s look, but will not be baited.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. OLIVE GROVE RESTAURANT - LATER THAT NIGHT
Janine is dressed simply but less severely, and has let her hair loose … a little. Dan is wearing a tweed jacket, professorial. He’s picking at a plate of pasta. Janine’s plate is still full. She’s doing the talking so far. Her words are sensitive, but there’s a professional matter-of-factness about them. She shows little actual passion.
JANINE
I hope you understand how unusual Trevor is. Autism is a horrible affliction. It affects how you process your world. You focus on things, not people or situations. Comparisons and metaphors are difficult, sometimes impossible, but you can have an intense focus on particulars. Sometimes you get so overloaded with stimulus, any stimulus, that you have to scream or hide or just withdraw. His baths … Michael …
DAN
Rubs him the wrong way?
JANINE
Rubbing, scraping, can be awful. But Trevor enjoys steady pressure, a deep massage. I’ve seen Michael have Trevor completely relaxed on a table, happy … as happy as Trevor can ever be. Michael cares, he’s good with the boy, but Michael is like furniture to Trevor. Trevor is actually talking with you. That is a wonderful accomplishment, Dan.
DAN
(Proud)
Without candy.
JANINE
Without candy.
Dan leans forward, elbows on the table, and holds up his hands expressively.
DAN
What about his brilliance? Where does that come from?
JANINE
Not all autistics are brilliant or even smart. They’re just people, after all. Trevor has a special talent, and I don’t think it’s connected with his affliction. He could be a kind of savant, with one area of his mind compensating for weakness in other areas. That … and his love for his father.
DAN
I thought autistic children had a hard time connecting.
JANINE
Some love differently, but they still love. Trevor never talks about his father. But those books are his prized possession. He’s probably read them all a hundred times. You don’t know how pleased I am you can talk with him. Be there for him. He needs a person he can connect with. A man.
DAN
Is something else bothering him? Is it just autism?
JANINE
Why?
DAN
(Shrugs)
Have you told Trevor anything about my work?
JANINE
No. How could I? I don’t know anything about your work.
DAN
Just this funny feeling today, before Michael interrupted us.
Janine puts out her hand and takes his, rubs his fingers.
JANINE
We’re all protective of Trevor. But you’re doing just fine.
DAN
Is it okay if I challenge him?
JANINE
That’s why I asked you.
He rubs her hand in return, and she slowly disengages, withdraws. Dan alerts a waitress.
DAN
Do you have any aspirin? I’m fresh out.
WAITRESS
Acetaminophen. Will that do?
DAN
Fine.
(To Janine)
Sinus, flu … It’s hit the lab. All around town, I hear.
JANINE
I got over it weeks ago.
(Afterthought)
I hope it’s not too bad.
Dan shrugs; just par for the course. The waitress brings him tablets and a glass of water. He takes the pills. Now’s the time to understand some things.
DAN
Janine … I want to—understand where we are.
Janine is suddenly in a hurry.
JANINE
It’s almost eight. You need to get back to the lab, right?
The moment passes. Dan might be afraid to learn the truth.
DAN
Right.
CUT TO:
EXT. OLIVE GROVE RESTAURANT - MOMENTS LATER
They stand at the curb, waiting to part. Janine is fidgety. Dan has his hands deep in his pockets and is obviously in pain.
JANINE
Are you sure you’re all right?
DAN
I can hardly see straight.
JANINE
Can I drive you home?
DAN
It’ll pass.
JANINE
(Relieved, fragile)
A brave man.
DAN
I wouldn’t go that far.
She takes his face in her hands, too intense, like a scared deer.
JANINE
(Forced)
Good with children.
DAN
(Laughs nervously)
Oh, Lord. Not that.
JANINE
No. This.
&
nbsp; She kisses him square. His eyes wander for a moment in surprise, then focus. He kisses her back, walks his lips across her face, hungry. Abruptly, she breaks and gives him a look of distress.
JANINE (CONT’D)
No! I won’t do it! I have to go.
And before he can answer, she’s running down the street toward her car. Dan is AT A COMPLETE LOSS.
DISSOLVE TO:
END OF ACT THREE
ACT FOUR
INT. TREVOR’S ROOM - AFTERNOON
Trevor is alone in his room. He works intently with his calculator, writing answers on the papers on his table. We do not know if he is happy; Trevor’s affect is FLAT unless otherwise indicated.
ON THE PAPERS. Masses of very complex equations (will provide).
Dan enters with a clutch of blueprints under his arm, smiles sunnily at Trevor. Trevor looks up, though not at Dan, and stops writing. He puts down the crayon, crosses his arms in a NORMAL fashion, not mummy-like, and waits.
DAN
Good morning, Trevor. Yesterday’s work was excellent. We’re making real progress.
He puts down the blueprints and unrolls one on the table. It’s THE REACTOR VESSEL, a Klein bottle. Trevor glances at it from the corner of his eye.
DAN (CONT’D)
I really feel a little embarrassed, coming to you like this, but I must confess you’re the better mathematician.
TREVOR
Thanks.
Dan purses his lips in appreciation. This is a breakthrough.
DAN
You are welcome! Wow. All right. Let’s get down to the brass tacks, as the engineers say.
TREVOR
Thanks.
DAN
(Again)
You’re welcome.
He unrolls another blueprint, the QUANTUM TUNNEL.
DAN (CONT’D)
We’re in the quantum tunnel now. Our angles are going to get very strange here.
TREVOR
I know.
DAN
And because the angles and timing are so critical, we have to adjust the laser frequency for a kind of shift in spectrum, depending on our angle. Right? This is what we did yesterday. The beam has to be several places at once, and we explained that, right?
TREVOR
I know.
Dan lifts a piece of paper and cuts two quick holes with the scissors, a finger’s-reach apart.
DAN
The geometry is simple, the math is not. We say this paper is our three-dimensional space. My hand is the laser.
He squeezes his index pointing fingers together, making a kind of gun, which he jabs.
DAN (CONT’D)
We run it through the tunnel, where it is boosted to a higher dimension, 4-space.
TREVOR
Right.
Trevor runs his finger over the tunnel in the blueprint.
DAN
It’s just one laser, but in 4-space it can be made to act like two.
He separates his fingers and jabs them through the paper, then taps his wrist.
DAN (CONT’D)
One laser.
And wriggles the fingers on the other side, where they look like two worms.
DAN (CONT’D)
Now two.
TREVOR
Can I say something.
DAN
Of course.
TREVOR
You aren’t the only one.
Dan lifts his eyebrows.
DAN
There’s Dr. Kalb, and Michael, of course. I’m in a bit of a hurry here, Trevor. We have a test later today … My boss is back in town.
TREVOR
Okay. Don’t be mad.
DAN
I’m not in the least mad.
TREVOR
Here’s the right answer.
And he takes out a fresh piece of paper, scrawling a large equation quickly. He slides the paper to Dan. Dan looks at the equation in wonder.
DAN
That was fast. I’d have never thought of it that way. Unique. Unique insight.
OFF TREVOR, eyes shifting,
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. FUSION REACTOR LAB - LATER THAT AFTERNOON
The postdocs Cindy and Andrea and John are working under Dan’s direction, in the shadow of the reactor vessel. Cindy is assembling the quantum tunnel on a work bench, inserting the gimbaled red laser guide. Andrea and Dan are conferring, and John is listening in, while he holds a large wire harness.
DAN
We should do a dry run.
ANDREA
Dr. Daube won’t be back until tomorrow.
DAN
Then let’s surprise him.
ANDREA
I don’t think that’s a great idea.
Dan types in a few keystrokes on his laptop on the test bench, and shows the screen to the postdocs. Cindy kneels in front of the computer and critically assesses the results.
CINDY
It looks like a new approach.
ON DAN. He’s tense, perhaps guilty? No trace of crayon here.
CINDY (CONT’D)
You came up with this all by yourself?
DAN
How about a little respect here?
The postdocs are not impressed.
DAN (CONT’D)
That’s why they pay me the big bucks.
CINDY
Yeah, right.
ANDREA
(Studying, she’s encouraged)
Still, it is a new approach. It could work..
DAN
It will work. Let’s do it.
DISSOLVE TO:
WIDE SHOT. FUSION REACTOR LAB - HOURS LATER
The equipment is up and running, everyone is sweaty and stained with grease. Dan is in his element.
CU on the quartz box, with its red laser beams pulsing.
DAN
No plasma this time. Let’s see where the beam goes first. Charging.
Dan stands by the CONTROL BOARD, adjusting dials as the REACTOR COMPUTER DISPLAY shows status of all elements is GREEN. Dan types in an instruction, and we hear a low, grinding WHINE, like a wind of TINY BALL BEARINGS blowing out a STEEL PIPE.
DAN (CONT’D)
Quantum tunnel open.
ON CINDY and ANDREA. They wince at the painful SOUND. PAN TO JOHN. He’s irritated, as well.
JOHN
That’s new. Where’s it coming from?
DAN
The laser guide, I think. It’s nominal for this configuration. Everything’s green.
CINDY
Let’s go, then.
COMPUTER VOICE
Charging internal laser. Test shield is in place.
DAN
Firing!
SIMULTANEOUSLY, the BALL BEARING WIND noise reaches a CRESCENDO.
CU on the quartz box, and within the TUNNEL, the lasers form a brilliant pink KNOT.
RAPID CUTS:
CINDY and ANDREA clasp their hands to their ears and SCREAM.
The QUARTZ BOX CRACKS, and ONE PANEL SHATTERS.
Dan ducks behind the control board.
A thick shadow like INTELLIGENT SMOKE whirls around the room, and GETS SUCKED BACK INTO THE REACTOR through THE OPEN BOX with a SOUND LIKE AGONIZED VOICES.
The LIGHTS DIM, BRIGHTEN. Then … SILENCE.
A beat. Dan and Matt get to their feet. John is kneeling beside Cindy.
ANDREA
Is she all right?
JOHN
I don’t know. She’s out cold.
Matt stares at Dan. Cindy comes to and sits up, holding her head.
CINDY
Did you see what I saw? Like … fa
ces?
JOHN
You were hit pretty hard.
CINDY
By what? All the debris went over that way. Something really creepy is going on.
John inspects the area around the shattered quartz box.
Dan is in shock. He wanders around the console.
JOHN (O.S.)
Hey, the guide and tunnel are intact.
DAN
We should check the computer record..
JOHN
The tunnel isn’t even burned.
DAN
But did it work? DID IT WORK?
Andrea is at the console, calling up the test record. Cindy backs off; she’s had enough.
ANDREA
We got a strong internal laser pulse, and it split into two. But the beam angles were wrong. They blew out the shields. If we’d had a plasma in there, it would have destroyed the bottle.
John circles and looks at Dan suspiciously.
JOHN
Someone has it in for us.
ON DAN. He’s concealing RAW ANGER and his jaw is working.
DAN
How long to fix?
Cindy is really spooked. Andrea frowns, shakes her head, looks at John, who is none too enthusiastic, either.
ANDREA
A day? Cindy?
Cindy shakes her head, does not answer.
DAN
I’ll re-check the figures.
JOHN
Dr. Daube should be here for the next one, don’t you think?
PAN PAST ANDREA TO CINDY. This formerly bold post-doc is scared. Cindy looks up at the reactor vessel.
OFF CINDY’S UNCERTAINTY AND FEAR,
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE GLORIA P. DUNHAM CLINIC - THE NEXT DAY - MORNING
Dan takes the steps slowly, pauses at the door, shakes his head. Very grim.
CUT TO:
INT. THE CLINIC - MOMENTS LATER
Dan is signing in at the desk, a RECEPTIONIST watching benignly. Janine exits her office and sees Dan. He LOOKS UP, avoids her eyes, and walks down the hall to Trevor’s room.
JANINE
Dan …
He stops in the hall. Janine is almost apologetic; she may be trying to mend fences. Dan is wary around her; she’s not exactly predictable.
JANINE (CONT’D)
We had a bad night last night. Michael is straightening things. Trevor is in the sunroom, playing by himself.
DAN
(Very stiff)
I can come back later.
JANINE
He’d miss not seeing you. Some time outside the clinic would be terrific for him. Trevor’s been looking forward to a visit to the park. Would you like to take him?
DAN
If that’s all right.
JANINE
I apologize about last night. I behaved a little strangely.