Just in Time for Mother's Day: The Ongoing Soap Opera of People Who Technically Don't Have Mothers

Last Time. . .

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INT, Crystal Chamber

The PROFESSOR, still in the chamber, listening to the hiss of static and other intermittent sounds coming out of the speakers, emanating from whatever is on the other end of that crystal. EUDIAL storms through the massive entryway.

EUDIAL

(angry)

Mimete-2?

The PROFESSOR slowly turns to face EUDIAL, only the glare of his glasses penetrating through the perpetual shadow that surrounds him. Clearly, he knows what she's talking about.

PROFESSOR

I take it you didn't get that from Kao Ling.

EUDIAL

That's twice now. Twice that Mimete has abandoned us! Abandoned you!

Pause. Eudial is fuming.

EUDIAL

And what about Tellu? She's going to be revived-- after what she did today! And Viluy--?

PROFESSOR

Stop.

Pause. The hiss of the speakers fills the room.

PROFESSOR

Listen.

After a moment, the hiss grows slightly deeper, and then rises to its usual pitch.

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INT, Infirmary

TELLU, laying in bed, with an IV connected to her arm, emaciated, barely alive. PTILOL wheels in a vat containing a now fully grown version of Tellu-- call her TELLU-2 for now-- floating in liquid, with a tangled mess of WIRES connected to her head.

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INT, Crystal Chamber

EUDIAL and the PROFESSOR.

PROFESSOR

That's her!

EUDIAL pauses, processing what he's just said.

EUDIAL

You mean. . .

A few CLICKS penetrate through the static.

PROFESSOR

There! There! That's her!

(laughs)

She's talking to us, Eudial! She's actually speaking to us!

EUDIAL

. . . what's "she" saying?

The PROFESSOR, still shrouded in shadow, walks slowly toward EUDIAL, taking in all the ambient noises as he does so.

PROFESSOR

I don't know. That's what I'm trying to find out.

EUDIAL looks up at the CRYSTAL.

PROFESSOR

What I do know, is that whatever she's saying. . . she's saying it louder.

EUDIAL'S eyes lock on the PROFESSOR'S.

PROFESSOR

We are closer, Eudial. Maybe not as close as you wanted-

EUDIAL casts her eyes down.

PROFESSOR

- but closer.

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INT, Infirmary

PTILOL places what looks like an ELECTRODE CAP, but with dozens of NEEDLES, on TELLU'S head. The needles begin to DIG into TELLU'S skull.

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INT, Crystal Chamber

PROFESSOR and EUDIAL.

PROFESSOR

You don't know how to deal with this, do you? Mimete's loss.

EUDIAL doesn't answer.

PROFESSOR

You were still recovering from your revival. We hadn't quite perfected the procedure yet.

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INT, Infirmary

PTILOL throws a switch. TELLU'S body begins to seize.

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INT, Crystal Chamber

PROFESSOR

Kao Ling and I thought Mimete's loss would be too much for you to handle.

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INT, Infirmary

TELLU-2, convulsing inside the vat.

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INT, Crystal Chamber

PROFESSOR reaches up and caresses EUDIAL'S cheek. EUDIAL, surprisingly, is beginning to tear up a little.

PROFESSOR

We created you so that you would never have to experience death. Experience loss. But, as much as we tried. . . Mimete was a loss.

PROFESSOR turns to one of the TANKS of energy that Eudial obtained.

PROFESSOR

This day. . . this was not a loss. This was a good day, Eudial.

The PROFESSOR, his face remaining in perpetual shroud, walks back to the railing to listen some more. After a moment, EUDIAL walks up to the PROFESSOR and slowly embraces him from behind.

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INT, Infirmary

TELLU-2-- who, for all intents and purposes is now just TELLU-- stands over the corpse she once occupied, in a heavy daze. She holds up her arm next to her discarded body, comparing it to her "old arm".

TELLU

(distant)

I worked for weeks on that tan.

We HOLD on a close up of PTILOL, facing the camera, as we-

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INT, Crystal Chamber Entrance

Outside the crystal chamber, CYRPINE (with a similar look to PTILOL'S just a moment ago) watches from a distance as the PROFESSOR and EUDIAL continue their long, strange embrace. We then

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A CLOSE-UP of the CRYSTAL. Seeing it up close for the first time, we realize that this crystal is actually composed of about six SHARDS, all put together-- though it appears as though there is one shard left to be attached.

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INT, Tokyo Police Department

A close up of a photograph a crystal which looks suspiciously like one of the SHARDS of the crystal from last scene. We briefly see the words OSA-P on the documents next to the photo.

TO BE CONTINUED.