THE SIMPLE TRUTH - Based on a short story by Sidney Sheldon RICHLAND DAVISON SHERIFF BURKE EMERY JOHN OSMOND HARRIS SUCHER LAYTON KID SCENE 1: EXTERIOR - DAVISON PROPERTY A car sits in a road bisecting miles of scorching desert. It's got radiator problems - steam rises out from under the hood. We enter the scene as MISTER RICHLAND checks the extent of the damage. He's obviously done this before. ***CAR HOODING OPENING as STEAM RISES OUT IN A LOUD HISS RICHLAND (quickly dodging out of the way of the scalding steam) Ah...(pause, sigh) Ah, shit. (***takes out his mobile phone and calls up his daughter, beat) Hey, Raquel? (beat) You won't...heh, you aren't gonna believe what's happened. I'm half an hour away from you and my radiator's gone up in steam, AGAIN - isn't that great? (beat) What? (beat) No, I'll just call up Triple A and...uh, get 'em out here with a jug of water, I guess...(beat) Yes sweetie, I'll be there in a bit, they'll probably get someone from town to-(sees something odd, to himself quietly) What the hell? ***RICHLAND sees Mr. DAVISON walking along the road in his property - a lone man traversing the hot, baking sand of a 120-degree desert day. Weird. DAVISON seems to be Walking towards him. RICHLAND (continuing to his daughter) I-no, it's nothing...just the strangest thing...the crazy old coot who owns this land, I think...(beat) Yeah, Davison, that's right. Walking around. (beat) I was thinking the same thing, sweetie. Anyhow, it shouldn't take me too long to get some water from his place. I'll be there soon, okay? (beat) Right, I love you too. Bye. (***hangs up, to DAVISON, calling out) Mister...Davison? *NOTE: Davison's lines should be delivered in a vaugely dazed manner, as if he walks around with the world only slightly making sense. DAVISON (closing the distance between them) Howdy, Mister Richland. Haven't seen you in a while. RICHLAND Yeah, heh...I'm back in town for my daughter's wedding this weekend. It's, ah, who I was talking to... DAVISON Ah right, the Benson marraige. Didn't know Dennis was marrying your daughter, congratulations. RICHLAND Yeah well, we'll see about that... (pause) RICHLAND Christ, Davison...it's gotta be about six or seven miles away from your house...what's got you walking out to the burning desert at noon? DAVISON Hm? Ah...just...talking a stroll, I guess. (beat) It's such a beautiful thing... RICHLAND The desert? DAVISON (matter of factly) No, Richland. The world. It's great. RICHLAND (not sure what to make of the answer) Yeah...(beat) I don't suppose we can make our way back to your place and get some water for my car? Crap radiator's gone out again. DAVISON Fine by me, but are you sure you wanna hoof it six OR seven miles to my house? In the burning desert at noon? That's twelve OR fourteen miles all the way around, with a few gallons of water to carry. It's quite a trip. RICHLAND (awkwardly) I, er...I'll manage. DAVISON (laughs) You will? Ha...you will, won't you? Come on then, come on... ***DAVISON slaps RICHLAND on the shoulder as the two begin walking DAVISON Come on closer, Richland...I've got something to tell you... RICHLAND (put off) Yeah... ***The two STOP WALKING as DAVISON whispers eleven words into RICHLANDS ear. (pause) RICHLAND (wearily) ...Really? DAVISON Mmmm-hm. RICHLAND (the walls of his sanity crumbling down) That...ha, that's...(begins weeping in a deep sadness) ***RICHLAND begins walking by himself, completely distraught by what DAVISON has told him, DAVISON follows, placing his hand on RICHLAND'S shoulder. DAVISON It's alright, for a day or two I felt the exact same way. Now, do you still want that water? *NOTE: it's at this point that somewhere we hear RICHLAND's last twig of sanity snapping. RICHLAND (contuing his weeping which then turns to fear, then sheer terror) W-Water...I, no...NO! (beat) Get away...GET AWAY FROM ME! I CAN'T...No, what it's all-GET AWAY, GOD DAMNIT! I SAID GET AWAY-(begins talking in tongues, then SCREAMING in mind-curdling terror) DAVISON (laughs pleasantly, like it's all just a game) ***RICHLAND crumples onto the ground, left to his terror. DAVISON continues on his merry way, lost in the beauty of the world. SCENE 2a: EXT - OUTSIDE NUEVA VERDAD JAIL ***BURKE'S car PULLS INTO the front of the jail. the SHERIFF is there to greet BURKE as he STEPS OUT. SHERIFF You the government shrink that Marie called? BURKE (***lugging a heavy equipment kit from the passenger side) I suppose I am...Doctor Eric Burke. SHERIFF Well, welcome to Nueva Verde, New Mexico - hope your drive here was relaxing, cause all of a sudden this small town ain't exactly the glittering vacation spot it usually is. Let me take that for you, Doctor... BURKE Oh, I-thank you...how many cases have been reported so far? SHERIFF Thirty-eight, at last count this morning. Moved a bunch of 'em to the jail here since Doc Harris said he wasn't about to pad the clinic with foam rubber. I don't blame him - it was enough of a hassle keeping an eye on 'a dozen of 'em... BURKE Thirty-eight...any idea when this began? SHERIFF Oh, last week. About five days ago...we got a few calls in about some public disturbances, then a day after that we got calls bad enough to start taking people in. (sees EMERY walking towards them) I suppose she can give you some more detail...Doctor Marie Emery. The town shrink. EMERY (dryly) thanks, Todd. (to BURKE) I'm glad you're here. There's been a pause in the number of cases, but we can't anticpate that it'll last for long. Where's the rest of your team? BURKE I am the team, for the time being. I've been instructed to include extra specialists as the circumstances of the situation require them. EMERY (a little miffed) Really? Well I hope that when you report a breakout *at least* thirty-eight distinct and seperate cases of delusional insanity within a five day span, then the circumstances will require them. SHERIFF With all due respect, Doctor Burke, it looks like we'll be rounding up loonies until there's no one sane left. ***The SHERIFF opens the door to the jail, letting them into SCENE 2b: INT, NUEVA VERDAD JAIL ***as the three WALK through the jail, various screams and people speaking in tongues can be heard BURKE But, let me get this straight - none of these, er...'loonies', as you call them...they weren't this way before last week? SHERIFF Well, some of 'em were old. A couple of them were...weird, definitely. But as far as I know - and I'm the sheriff of this town so I damn well SHOULD know - until last week absolutely *none* of these people were this deep into Butterfly Net territory. BURKE There's no working profile? Nothing amongst age groups, income, race, gender - ANYTHING to indicate how this spreads? EMERY As far as we can tell it started with some of the town's derelicts...then it spread to the outlying community, a couple of people who work at the bank, then the mayor...(***the three stop near RICHLAND'S cell) and then just as it looked like it was spreading INTO the town, we found *him* yesterday evening, wandering the deserts past the edge of town on foot. Threw us for a loop. He was out long enough to have early symptoms of exposure. (to RICHLAND) Mister Richland? Can you hear me? RICHLAND (throat dry, in pain from blisters on his arms and face yet eerily calm) I can...I...God...(weeping, full of sorrow) Leave me alone, please...leave me alone...(continues weeping) SHERIFF At least he's stopped with the screaming. (sigh) Doctor Burke, I've been around long enough to see sunstroke do a lot of things to a lot of people. (beat) This here? It ain't sunstroke. ***The three watch RICHLAND weeping for a moment. BURKE (gravely) I want to see the last case you brought in. ***the three continue on. BURKE The way he was acting...it looked like the symptoms of a sort of...schizoid personality disorder - loss of affect, regression, covert self concept... EMERY If only it were that easy to classify. About half of the cases suffer from similar symptoms...a good twenty-five percent have what appears to be full-blown dementia. The rest are suffering from an assorted mix of psychological disorders. (beat) So far three have been put on suicide watch. SHERIFF And it bears repeating that until last week, all of 'em were good, functioning members of our little community. Something's going around breaking down a *lot* of folk. ***they stop at a cell. EMERY This is the last reported case. I brought him in a couple of hours ago. He was...unusually violent, which is why the deputies threw him in isolation. SHERIFF Looks like he's settled down a bit. BURKE (looking into his cell, disgusted) Jesus...what the hell is that all over the walls of his cell? SHERIFF Spaghetti, hopefully. Guess he didn't care too much for lunch. BURKE What's his name? EMERY John Emery. He runs the hardware store here. (beat) He's also my father. (beat) BURKE I'm going in. (to SHERIFF, hesitantly) You..mentioned that he came in showing signs of violence... SHERIFF (***taking out his taser) See this taser? Haven't taken it off the whole week. As I see it, you're about as safe as any unarmed man walking into a jail cell with a...(realizing he's talking about Marie's father, apologetically) Damn. Sorry, Marie... EMERY (unhappily) It's...I'll be outside if you need me. BURKE (steeling himself) Alright...open it up. ***The SHERIFF opens the door, letting BURKE in. JOHN is walking about, irregularly. *NOTE: John's lines should be delivered in a manner which evidences that his world is no longer what it used to be. BURKE Mister...Emery? JOHN Yes? Who is it? BURKE My name is Eric Burke, I'm a psychiatrist. (beat) Like your daughter. JOHN Daughter? Ha, *daughter*?. Oh, right, yeeees...she's a great one. I got two sons too, you know. Born close enough they could be twins - hell, that's what the town used to say about 'em back when they were kids. Yep, Fitzsimmons and Gerald - ha, get it? Fitz and Gerald...Fitzgerald? Like Kennedy? (wistful sigh) He was a great man, cut down *way* too soon. BURKE Mister Emery, do you...do you remember how you got here? JOHN Here? Where's here? I'm not fond of the decoration, myself...bah!(***takes a bit of gunk off the walls and throws it on the ground) I remember...I was visiting Miss Osmond, dropping off some shingles and tar to fix up her roof. I asked Fitz to help, but he was heading out to Santa Fe for the weekend, which is a shame since his pal Dennis is getting married to a pretty girl. Raquel's her name. They're sweethearts, you know. (beat) It's IMPORTANT. BURKE Miss Osmond, was it? When did you speak to her? JOHN Oh, this morning...a couple of hours before I talked to Rhonda. (sadly) I miss her so much. I miss them all. BURKE I'd like to talk to them. Could you tell me where I can find them? JOHN Who? (beat) Rhonda? (angrily) You stay away from her, you hear me? She's down here finally, and she's safe, and I'll be damned if you try to mess that up! (pause, ***then JOHN SLAMS his fist against the wall, hard) I think you better leave, son. (sadly) Get on out of here...before I lose my religion. BURKE (shocked) Er...alright. Sorry. Thank you. ***BURKE bangs on the door and exits. BURKE ...You catch any of that? SHERIFF Sweet Jesus, did I...The only good lead you're going to get out of all that mess is Osmond - June Osmond, a little old widow on the other side of town. John's been delivering supplies to her on account of some fix-ups to her house. BURKE You know how to get there? SHERIFF Marie knows. I'm sure she'll take you. BURKE Thanks. Oh, can you get someone to draw up some blood from maybe fifteen of the people you've brought in? It doesn't matter which subjects, I just want to check the pathology- SHERIFF (cutting him off)Yeah, I'll ring up Doc Harris and get him here right away. Go on. BURKE Thanks again. ***BURKE heads out of the jail SCENE 2c: EXT, NUEVA VERDE JAIL ***BURKE opens the doors and strides towards EMERY's car, very serious. EMERY is inside. BURKE I've got a lead. Can you take me to June Osmond's place? EMERY Sure. Hop in. ***BURKE does so as EMERY starts up the engine, then drives out. SCENE 3: EXT, the road to Osmond's place ***EMERY drives BURKE down a long stretch of desert road. BURKE (fiddling with his mobile phone) Damnit...there's no reception out here. EMERY (playfully) Unless it's a local call, the signal's crap. Heh...sorry about that - Nueva Verde's never been one to keep with the times. We only just got color television back in the Nineties. BURKE You're joking right? (thinks about it for a moment) Ah, right. Of COURSE you're joking... EMERY Ha, sort of. No cell reception, no Wi-Fi...this town's a little slice of old-time sensibility, and that's how most of us like it. It's lonely...but in a good way. (beat) It's helped me get closer to my dad, at least. BURKE Speaking of which - how long has your father been fixing up Miss Osmond's house? EMERY Oh, about a month now...it's been slow going on account of the summer heat and his age. BURKE Guess he couldn't get your brothers to help, huh? EMERY (confused at the statement) ...Excuse me? BURKE Your brothers. Fitz and Gerald. (beat) Your father said you have...two brothers. EMERY (shocked) No, I...I'm an only child. BURKE ...Oh. (beat) Do you know a woman named Rhonda? (pause) EMERY (distantly sad)...Yes, I do. BURKE Any chance you can take me to her after we visit Miss Osmond? She may have had contact with your father as well. EMERY No, I...I don't think that's possible. BURKE ...Why not? EMERY (bluntly) Because she's dead. (beat) She's my mother. She died when I was ten years old. (pause) BURKE I'm...sorry. (beat) The sooner we figure all of this out, the sooner we can help him get better. EMERY I hope so. (pause) I hope you like bluegrass. ***EMERY turns on the car radio. TwANGY country music comes out of it. BURKE (trying to be polite) ...It's fine. EMERY It's the only station in town - if you stick around for long enough you'll get used to it. (pause) Who you were trying to call? BURKE Oh, a department in Langely. Trying to see if I can get a specialist out here...someone who deals with this kind of schizoid disorder. EMERY Langely...Virginia? Like the CIA? (pause) Isn't a small town in New Mexico a little bit out of the CIA's jurisdiction? BURKE Well, when we get a call that a few dozen people have gone insane virtually overnight, we can reasonably can assume that one of two things have happened - both of them VERY bad, and both of them falling WELL into the realm of the CIA. EMERY So you've dealt with this sort of thing before, then? (bitterly) Some type of advanced psychological warfare?... BURKE Well you see, my field of speciality focuses primarily on military psychology, so, er...(realizes the discussion is going somewhere he doesn't like) never mind. What about your field of study? EMERY It's hardly anything spectacular. Clinical psychiatry. I've always wanted to open a practice here. BURKE Oh? Where'd you study? (pause) EMERY Nowhere special... BURKE (playfully) Come on, where? EMERY (a little embarassed) The University of...heh, oh God... BURKE. Where? EMERY ...Vegas. BURKE ...Vegas? As in, Las?-ha. (pause, then chuckles) EMERY (laughs) You can stop that, okay? If there's a joke about attending the University of Las Vegas, I've heard it, so spare me. BURKE (continues laughing) EMERY STOP that! They have an excellent Department of Psychology! (pause, then laughs as well) BURKE Just one question - do they accept casino chips as valid payment for tuition? EMERY I said STOP THAT! ***The two share a relaxing laugh as they make their way to SCENE 4: INT - OSMOND'S HOUSE ***A very cozy little house. BURKE and EMERY are sitting on Miss OSMOND'S couch as she serves the two some lemonade. The radio, playing some catchy bluegrass, plays quietly in the background. *NOTE - Miss Osmond's lines should be delivered as if she realizes the clock of her life is just a few minutes from running out. oSMOND I'm so glad you and your friend took the time to visit, Marie. Except for your father and Donald, God bless him, it's been so lonely the past couple of weeks. EMERY Thank you for having us. OSMOND It's always been a pleasure. (to BURKE) Would you like a slice of lemon? BURKE Ah, no thank you, Miss Osmond. Now, you said that someone other from Marie's father visited you recently? How long ago would that have been? OSMOND Oh, I'd say about three days ago. Donald came by just to drop off some hedging shears he borrowed and make some small talk...he's got such a green thumb, it's so wonderful. EMERY (worried) Donald...Adkins? OSMOND Why yes. But I haven't seen him since then - he and your father are so kind enough to have checked up on me every so often. Is he all right? EMERY He's...he's fine. OSMOND (dejected sigh) It's been so very hard since Hank passed away... EMERY I'm sorry, Miss Osmond. OSMOND (ignoring her) The nights are so cold and the days are so hot, I...I never noticed until he was gone. Oh...I miss his smile, his warmth, his hands on me...touching me... BURKE Um...Excuse me? OSMOND Sorry, hm...I do get so wrapped up in everything beyond me at times. (***an EGG TIMER DINGS in the kitchen) Oh, my cookies are done! Would you care for some? EMERY Uh...sure. Please. OSMOND Okay then, if you'll excuse me... ***OSMOND leaves for a moment. BURKE (to EMERY, concerned) Let me guess - old and usually a little weird, but never this- EMERY -Crazy. Right. BURKE You know the other person she talked to? EMERY Yeah, Don Adkins. His property's a short drive from here. (beat) We picked him up yesterday. BURKE Jesus... ***OSMOND returns from the kitchen OSMOND Oatmeal raaai-sin...Hank's favorite, oh...(overcome with sadness) Oh, Hank... ***OSMOND drops the cookies from her hands, the pan CRASHING against her coffee table. She goes walking to a cabinet and opens the drawer EMERY (worried) June? OSMOND (rummaging through the drawer) All this time, we all...we all thought that we would see each other again...like in the stories. Do you...like stories? I have one for you...there was once a kind old lady whose husband had fallen into a coma. She decided to make a deal with God. (pause) God, ha ha ha...anyway, she said to God, 'if you give me back my husband, I'll give you a whole year of my life.' And the next day the husband miraculously woke up from his coma, and you know what he found? Ah, here it is... ***OSMOND pulls an old PISTOL out of the drawer, chambering a bullet ***BURKE and EMERY get up and stumble back, terrified BURKE Shit!- EMERY June, PLEASE - put the gun down! OSMOND (continuing) You know what he found? His wife lying next to him - DEAD! (distraught) You know what this story teaches us? It's that you'll never see any of them again...and that if you make a promise...be sure you intend to keep it. ***OSMOND puts the gun in her mouth and FIRES EMERY (screaming) NO! ***OSMONDS lifeless body drops to the ground. (pause) EMERY Oh God... ***The sound of an AMBULANCE provides a quick cut to SCENE 5: EXT - NUEVA VERDE CLINIC ***EMERY's car follows the ambulance to the front of the clinic. As EMERY and BURKE get out, they notice a commotion around the area: police sirens, spotlights, a crowd that has gathered around the area, focusing at something on top of the building. ***The two GET OUT as the SHERIFF approaches to meet them. SHERIFF (startled) Sweet Baby Jesus, am I glad you two are here... EMERY What's going on? SHERIFF First we got your call that Osmond shot herself, so I got Doc Harris on the horn and told him to be ready. But as it turns out, he'd gone missing from his office! We spent a good half an hour trying to find him until... BURKE Until what? SHERIFF (sigh) Look up there. ***BURKE does so and sees HARRIS on top of the roof of the building, wearing only a labcoat and running around. HARRIS (quite insane, calling out from the roof) Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears! I come to BURY Caesar, not to PRAISE him - The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones, So let it be with CAESAR! The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious...If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath Caesar answered it - Ooooooh, goodness - Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest, for Brutus is an honourable man, so are they all, all honourable men - hey! HEEEEY! GET OFF OF ME, PEON! (begins clucking like a chicken until a deputy covers his mouth and takes him in) SHERIFF I gotta admit, Marie, this is some heavy duty batshit stuff. He was *just fine* not more than an hour ago, back at the jail checking on- BURKE (cutting him off) Checking on the patients. SHERIFF Right. Then he gets back here with enough time to let everyone know he's back, disappears for a while, and now I'm sending deputies to fish him off the roof so I don't have to bring him in for indecent exposure! (to BURKE, flustered) I REALLY hope you and Marie can sort this out, Mister Government shrink, because I'm at my wit's end with this! EMERY We'll see what we can do. Do you know if Harris got the blood samples Doctor Burke requested? SHERIFF Huh? Yeah, should be in his office. EMERY Good. Thank you, Todd. SHERIFF (exasperated) I gotta get this crowd home. For God's sake, you two...please, figure this out. BURKE I'll go collect the blood samples. Is there a motel nearby where I can set up my equipment and get to work? EMERY We can set up in my father's house for the evening. There's plenty of room there. Go ahead, I'll wait up. BURKE Alright. ***BURKE runs into the clinic as EMERY gets in her car and STARTS IT UP. ***They DRIVE as we cut to SCENE 6: INT - JOHN EMERY'S HOUSE ***EMERY and BURKE have set up shop in the dining room and are hard at work studying the outbreak of insanity. A bit of country plays from the radio. EMERY is using a recorder, replaying some dictated notes she made earlier and writing them down. BURKE is in the kitchen, preparing a bit of supper as his ultra-cool portable mass spectrometer runs through blood samples as part of a toxicology report. EMERY (V.O.) (playback from tape, notes she had taken earlier) Davis Jenkins...On Saturday, had met with both Don Adkins and Mitch Perrins for...reports say an hour's time near Perrin's residence. ***EMERY stops the playback and writes the pertinent information down. EMERY (thoughfully) Perrins...Saturday, right...hm... ***BURKE walks into the dining room and puts plates of food on the table. BURKE Careful, it's hot. EMERY (pleased) Oh...he cooks too, hm? BURKE I grill cheese sandwiches, that's about it. EMERY All the same, I appreciate the offer. BURKE This is a nice house...it's quiet. EMERY Yeah, the nearest neighbors are a good mile down the road. Great family with some adorable kids. (pause, unhappily) The day's been...(sigh) BURKE Don't worry. We'll crack this. Did my boss call back? EMERY No, not yet. BURKE I hope he does soon - he has full authority to quarrantine the town. And this entire part of the state, if it comes to that... ***A distant beep from the spectrometer, signaling the end of its cycle. BURKE WALKS to it. BURKE (optimistically) Ah, let's see if we can crack this sooner than later...(beat, checking it) Damnit...damnit! EMERY Negative on chemical toxicology? BURKE No signifigant anomalies...shit! Biological - negative. Genetic - negative. Chemical - negative! Nothing in the ground or water, either - nothing that's above the EPA's accepted safe level. There's no way a drug is causing this. EMERY What about...what if it's a disease? BURKE What..like a contagion? (beat, cynically) A highly communicable agent that causes acute, rapid insanity? Marie- EMERY Well, we ARE near Roswell you know. (pause, small laugh) No, seriously! Here, have look at this. It's like some sort of...weird chain letter! I've been going through my notes and it looks like we have four distinct lines of...let's say 'infection', for lack of a better term - four seperate paths from which the condition has spread from case to case. BURKE Like from Doctor Harris, who got it from your father, who got it from Miss Osmond, from Don Adkins, from whoever he got it from...all the way to a single source. EMERY Exactly. Now it's near impossible to trace it anywhere past four days ago, since the cases at that point in time seem to be too scattered...almost random. But as far back as that, it looks like TWO of the lines appear to intersect at the same source - a man Marc Sucher. He's one of the first guys Todd picked up. BURKE You think he might be your patient zero? Hm....what's his story? EMERY (sigh) Not much of a story to him...he's one of the derlicts I mentioned to you. Pretty much the local crackpot, doing odd jobs around town, does a little drifting from time to time, usually in-state. As far as we can tell he came back to town about a week ago. BURKE Just in time for the start of the outbreak...where does he live? EMERY He doesn't have a residence in town. He stays in his brother's cabin. BURKE His brother? EMERY Arthur Sucher. He's a bit of a recluse now, but a year ago he was a professor - he taught Far East Civilization at New Mexico State. BURKE Has Arthur been picked up? EMERY (checking her notes, worried) Er, no...he hasn't. No one's seen him for a month now... (pause) BURKE How do I get to his cabin? EMERY It's off a dirt road, a few miles west of the highway. BURKE I'm heading out. Right now. EMERY Hey!- BURKE I need to you to stay here in case my boss calls back. EMERY Eric, wait - it could be dangerous! BURKE Hopefully by morning the National Guard will have the town surrounded. I just want to check it out. EMERY (worried) But what are you going to do if he's...violent, like my father? Or if he's armed, like June? BURKE (assuring her) Then I'm going to get the hell out of there. I'm no hero. Trust me. EMERY Be careful. BURKE I will. ***BURKE gives EMERY a quick kiss on the cheek, then HEADS OUT THE DOOR ***EMERY'S CAR peels down the road, as we cut to SCENE 7: INT - SUCHER'S CABIN ***BURKE slowly WALKS INTO SUCHER's place of residence. In the background a fire burns fiercely, and a radio plays some sweet old country ditty. In spite of this, the atmosphere is almost alien. *NOTE - Sucher should deliver his lines in a near-perfect intellectual clarity - as if he glanced at the inside of a book of matches and caught the entirely of all human knowledge. BURKE (making his way through the cabin, calling out) Hello?... Mister...Sucher? Is anyone home? SUCHER I'm here, I'm here - one moment, one moment...ah. Hello, dear stranger. Might you have a name? BURKE Burke, erm...Doctor Eric Burke. How do you do? SUCHER Ah, an intriguing postulate. But perhaps you mean to ask how I *think* I do, since what I do is more than obvious - I am of course standing here, talking to Doctor Eric Burke, helping him understand the key difference between how I do and how I think I do! Ah...(happy sigh) I think I'm well. More than well noadays, in fact...what business brings a young doctor like you out here? BURKE I'm...here to ask about your younger brother Marc. I don't know if you've been keeping up with what's going on in town, but there's some odd things going on, and they called me in from Washington- SUCHER Psychologist, hm? Psychology? Ha. (flatly) Spare me such...obtuse complexities. (pause) I don't know if you ascribe to the principle of less is more, Doctor, but...ah...I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? I always have. (beat) Do you...smell that? BURKE What, the fire? SUCHER Yes. Can you happen upon a guess as to what is being consumed in the fire? BURKE Er...not really. SUCHER KNOWLEDGE, Doctor Burke. Editions, texts, books, volumes - all of them, quests for knowledge taking haphazard twists and turns...mazes in a spine bound by leather. Now? They're kindling. Becuase they're superfluous. Not wanted. Soon to be gone. I've been burning my library for ages now...or at least, ever since I returned from the peak of Salasungo. (pause) Have you ever traveled abroad, Doctor Burke? BURKE Yes, I have. At times. SUCHER And when you traveled, was it in pursuit of...knowledge? Wisdom? BURKE To be frank, Mister Sucher, I try to look for knowledge and wisdom everywhere I go. SUCHER Ah, A journeyman! A man still on the path - you're after my own heart, Doctor. Here's a story you might find intriguing - upon this mountain I traveled to a year ago, there was a monastery of Nepalese monks. They were so gracious and incredible, if only for the intense dedication that they displayed towards their faith. These monks...in order to reside and pray in the monastery, they had to...gouge out their own eyes and pluck out their own eardrums. (pause, laughs) Can you imagine that? A devotion so strong that you had to willfully - almost lovingly! - blind and deafen yourself to honor it? BURKE (hiding his disgust) That's...amazing... SUCHER But that is not the most wonderful thing about this monastery - no, the ritual to become a monk there was not a 'how'...it was a 'why'. The fools...did it for their own safety. To protect themselves from what resided inside. BURKE And that would be...? SUCHER A text. (giggle) Such a...small fragment of text, three lines worth...most efficiently translated, in our language, by me, into a phrase consisting of just eleven...simple words. (laughs) And to my surprise, the phrase was...ha...have you any idea what so short a phrase can entail? BURKE No... SUCHER (in insane awe) *Everything!* The meaning of life. Of death. Of God. The Devil. What our purpose is and why - the phrase is no more or less than the truth of existence...of everything. (pause, laughter) And the funny thing about it is...it's so...simple. It's all so simple! Would you...(composing himself) Would you like to know? BURKE (frightened) No, I... SUCHER Of course you do, dear Doctor. Come closer... BURKE I said NO! ***BURKE pushes SUCHER away. SUCHER (a quick bout of manic laughter) BURKE Who else have you told?! SUCHER Oh, only my brother. It was supposed to be our little secret but, heh...knowing Marcus it probably isn't anymore. Are you...sure you wouldn't like to know? BURKE No! SUCHER That's a shame... by this evening you'll most likely be the only person in town that WON'T know. You see, I've taken it upon myself to enlighten all of our neighbors to the simple truth. BURKE H-how? SUCHER Well, Layton's a good fellow who runs the local radio station. He's always been kind enough to give a little air time to...friends of the community. As it so happens you've caught me as I was about to leave... ***SUCHER begins to hurry out. BURKE NO!- ***BURKE rushes up against SUCHER, pinning the old man against a stack of books ready to be burned. SUCHER Erg...EEEURGH! ***SUCHER grasps for a wood statue, wrestles out of BURKE'S grasp and HITS BURKE square in the head. ***BURKE falls like a sack of bricks, out cold. SUCHER (voice is distorted as BURKE fades out of consciousness) I apologize, I'm usually not this rude to my guests...but I assure you, if you keep listening to the radio you'll soon understand...everything. Farewell. ***SUCHER leaves. His foosteps ECHO OUT as *Time lapse!* ***BURKE comes to, much later in the evening. The first thing he hears is the radio. LAYTON (through the radio) ...As the Community Council will be meeting next Sunday as part of this year's coming "Autumn Sensation Celebration", and don't forget the Benson wedding and reception this weekend, it'll be a blast. Coming up is a bit of music, then after that we'll have a special guest for you this evening, Professor Arthur Sucher, come to share a few words with us. But now, some music from the great Ralph Stanley... ***BURKE scrambles to Marie's car, STARTS IT QUICK and GUNS OUT OF THERE. SCENE 8: EXT - DESERT ROAD & THE EMERY HOUSE ***BURKE is BURNING RUBBER across the quiet evening desert. He turns the volume of the car radio up. LAYTON (through the radio)...will be holding a special deal in honor of the Days of Summer in downtown Nueva Verde. And now a special treat - a good friend and neighbor to most of you out there has stopped on by to say howdy! Professor Arthur Sucher, how are ya? SUCHER (through the radio as well) Fine and dandy Jim, great to be here. LAYTON Now we haven't seen you much around town lately, what's been going on? SUCHER Oh, I've been tending to some odds and ends around the house, but - I've stopped by today to tell all of your listeners something wonderful... LAYTON Yeah, what's that? SUCHER I...thought that your listeners would be interested in knowing what the meaning of life is. LAYTON (taken back a bit) Well, heh...uh, I sure know I'd like to the know the meaning of life, heh - sure, Professor. Go ahead. Shoot. SUCHER My pleasure, Jim. Now, come closer... ***BURKE stops at EMERY'S house, and runs to the door. BURKE (shouting) MARIE! SHUT OFF THE RADIO! SCENE 9: INT - EMERY HOUSE ***BURKE storms in, seeing EMERY talking into her recorder. EMERY (quietly speaking gibberish, but too quietly for BURKE TO notice. Stops as she sees BURKE storm in) ...Eric? SUCHER (on the radio) Well, everyone - the meaning of life is: In all time, how- BURKE SHUT IT OFF!! ***BURKE dives for the radio just as SUCHER begins the phrase. He SLAMS it against the wall, silencing it. BURKE (between catching his breath) Ah...thank God... EMERY (unusually sympathetic) What's wrong, Eric? What's the matter?... BURKE Come on, we need to get out of here. EMERY No, Eric...wait- BURKE I need to phone Washington right away, uh...get the National Guard in here...my God, you won't believe what's happened to the town, there's no time!- EMERY (cutting him off) But Eric- Eric! (suddenly very sweetly) You're being rude to our guest... BURKE What...? ***BURKE sees one of the neighbor's kids standing at the entrance to the dining room. KID (creepy kid voice) Hi, Doctor Burke... EMERY This is one of the neighbor's kids I told you about. Isn't he sweet? His sister will be along shortly. BURKE (totally lost) Marie...Marie? Let me...let me see that... ***BURKE takes EMERY's recorder and rewinds it a bit, then plays it back EMERY (through the recorder, some sad crying/laughing) BURKE No...Marie... EMERY This little boy just told me the most amazing thing...please, you need to hear this... ***EMERY leans in and whispers those eleven words into BURKE's ear (pause) BURKE (completely confused, his sanity unravelling, desperately struggling to hold on to his final sane thought) Why?...Marie...Why, why...why why why why...(begins sobbing, then screaming like a terrified animal) ***The ECHOES OF HIS INSANE SCREAMS fade out.