Chapter I: The Resurrection and the Life.
Cover page: The classic Watchmen clock face with Roman numerals; the hands indicate 12:05.
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Page 1: Panel 1 (full-page): shot from above a green world orbiting a binary star system, other planets smaller and in relief on a star-shot, black background. There's a subtle happy face in the clouds of the foreground planet, but no blood-spatter is in evidence.
Near the bottom of the panel:
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
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Page 2: Panel 1: (half-page): a familiar blue streak heads toward the planet. He's carrying a large bundle that's not quite visible.
Panel 2: (half-page): a grass plain on the surface of the planet, near a riotously-overgrown jungle. A large blue cat roams the edge of the jungle. A reddish-yellow-orange streak with a heart of bright blue flashes through the atmosphere toward the ground.
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Page 3: Panel 1: Manhattan lands on the plain with Walter Kovacs' body in his arms.
Panel 2: Without putting Walter down, Manhattan raises a silica platform from the ground. The cat, in the background, sniffs the air in the direction of the two.
Panel 3: He carefully lays Walter's body on it. The platform is angled at one end to support Kovacs' head so that we can see his face from a POV at his feet. The cat begins to saunter toward them, approaching from behind Walter.
Panel 4: Manhattan places a hand above Walter's heart. A spark arcs between Manhattan's hand and Kovacs. The cat is closer, and starts in surprise at the spark.
Panel 5: Walter's body arches upward in response to the electrical jolt; he gasps involuntarily. The cat quickly lowers herself to lay so that only the upper half of her head and her ears can be seen through the tall grass.
Panel 6: Walter's eyes snap open in horror, and he lets out a long, drawn-out wail. Manhattan stands by impassively, his hands reaching down to below the level of the platform.
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Page 4: Panel 1: Walter: "Jon! What...?" The cat's entire face rises above the level of the grass, her ears cocked, and she sniffs again.
Panel 2: Manhattan: "Relax, Walter. It will take time for you to recover. I know you have many questions, and I will answer them as best I can, but not now." Kovacs' breathing is hoarse and labored.
Panel 3: Bubastis stealthily moves up to sniff Walter's hand, which is hanging below the level of the platform. She rubs up against Walter's hand. (She subtly avoids Manhattan, keeping the platform between herself and him.)
Panel 4: Walter absently rubs Bubastis' head as he stares at the two suns in the sky. His breathing calms. Bubastis purrs.
Panel 5 (page-width): Tableau of the three, Bubastis in the foreground and Manhattan in the background, floating cross-legged in the air, a glowing blue Buddha facing Walter, the cat, and the reader. Walter lies with his eyes now closed, petting Bubastis.
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Page 5: Panel 1: Same tableau, both suns having set. Rain falls on a dome surrounding Rorschach and Bubastis; Manhattan sits outside, uncaring of the rain falling on him. Bubastis sleeps in her original position. Walter's hand hangs from the platform above her.
Panel 2: Same tableau. Walter stirs. Bubastis still sleeps. Manhattan stands on the ground and moves toward Walter, looking down on him.
Panel 3: Walter, looking up at Manhattan, angrily: "Is this some new form of torture? What do you want?" Manhattan: "There is no point in torture. You were atomized. I have already done the maximum harm possible." Walter: "Hurm." Manhattan: "But if you want, I could kill you again, with hardly a thought." Walter: "Not just yet."
Panel 4: Walter, calming somewhat: "Well, then, anything to eat?"
Panel 5: Manhattan creates a platter with breakfast on it. Walter sits up as Manhattan places the platter between his legs. Bubastis stirs and looks up.
Panel 6: Walter eats slowly. He takes several strips of bacon and hands them down to Bubastis, who chomps on them contentedly. Manhattan returns to his Buddha position.
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Page 6: Panel 1: Between munches, Walter asks: "Time for answers? And don't call me Walter." Manhattan: "Alright, Rorschach. I will start. Then you can ask me whatever you want to know."
Panel 2: Manhattan: "You are on the only human-habitable planet of Sirius, one of Earth's nearest neighbors. Based on certain calculations I've made, I believe it has been several years since you confronted Adrian." Walter: "Hold. You believe?" Manhattan: "I will come to that."
Panel 3: Manhattan floating near a large nebula. "For some years I roamed other galaxies, seeking new experience, new science, new life."
Panel 4: Manhattan floating in empty space, no visible astronomical bodies. He's holding his hands about a foot apart, and there is a glowing yellow torus floating between them. Manhattan: "I have gained knowledge that could advance your science and technology twofold."
Panel 5: Manhattan diving into a star, angry solar flares jetting away behind his point of entry.
Panel 6: Manhattan surrounded by hydrogen plasma. "I have been at the center of suns, witnessing the fundamental processes of the universe..."
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Page 7: Panel 1: Manhattan outside the wheel of a black hole. "... and measured the gravitation at the edges of black holes."
Panel 2: Manhattan standing on another planet, looking into his hand at some insectoid lifeforms running around on his palm. [top] "One of the things I have not found, as yet, is intelligent life. I've only explored a small portion of the universe but have yet to discover signs of an advanced civilization other than humanity." [bottom] "This is not to say that it doesn't exist, only that I have not encountered it yet."
Panel 3: Back to the tableau. Bubastis in an attitude of listening, Walter holding up his right hand. "All very interesting but unimportant. What do I need to know?"
Panel 4: Manhattan: "All that you see on this planet I have created. The plant life, Bubastis, those clouds, the very oxygen and nitrogen that you breathe...and yourself." Walter: (in a small voice) "...created..."
Panel 5: Tableau, Walter with same hand on forehead, looking distressed. Bubastis has risen and rubs her head against Walter's other hand. Breakfast sits forgotten between his legs. Manhattan: "I thought to cushion the blow somewhat, but you insisted."
Panel 6: Once again, Walter absently rubs Bubastis' head. Manhattan: "It is true. I made you from the same essential starstuff of which all organisms consist." Walter groans. Bubastis mews in response.
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Page 8: Panel 1: Shot of Walter's face: "Who AM I?"
Panel 2: Bubastis rubs her head against Walter's side. Manhattan sitting serenely. "You are Walter Kovacs, exactly as you were the last time we met."
Panel 3: Walter again, completely lost: "You killed Walter Kovacs. (in Rorschach's crazed voice) You destroyed Rorschach and helped Veidt to win." (reflexively, still in Rorschach's voice, but with even more reason for it this time.) "Don't call me Walter."
Panel 4: Manhattan, no less serene: "True. I returned you to your constituent parts. Think of this as my penance."
Panel 5: Walter: "Don't understand. How can I be Rorschach?" Rubbing Bubastis' neck, his only connection in a world that's suddenly gone insane (or more insane than usual).
Panel 6: Manhattan: (top)"That requires a complex answer. I will attempt to make it comprehensible to you." (bottom) "First, bear in mind that every cell in your body is an exact duplicate of Rorschach's."
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Page 9: Panel 1: Manhattan: "You have every memory that was once his. Your behavior appears to be the same to an outside observer. I would expect your beliefs are the same, too. To all intents and purposes, you are Rorschach."
Panel 2: Walter: "Rorschach is dead. His soul is gone to wherever souls go."
Panel 3: Manhattan: "I have said before that I could detect no discernible difference between a living human body and a dead one. The fiction of a soul is a creation by those who fear the nothingness of death, or so I will believe until there is some evidence of its existence. You would appear to contradict that fiction."
Panel 4: Manhattan: "If it helps, think of yourself as Rorschach's identical twin, down to each memory of your previous life. Your experiences part ways at the point that I atomized him. As there are a Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre II, so are you, in a way, Rorschach II, but much more directly than the others."
Panel 5: Manhattan: "And you will have the chance I denied the original Rorschach." (Walter looking quizzical) Manhattan: "Patience. I'll get to that, too."
Panel 6: (Shot of Karnak, Jon and Laurie outside in the snow) Manhattan: "Beginnings are difficult... During the last confrontation, Veidt used a stream of tachyons to lure me to his sanctum in the snow. Do you remember how I had to go to inform Laurie ninety seconds before?"
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Page 10: Panel 1: (Looking at Walter over Manhattan's shoulder. Walter still looks confused, but nods.) Manhattan: "It was the tachyons that were hampering me. They effectively pushed me backward in time, yet I still maintained physicality in the present. They also, if you will recall, interfered with my vision of the past and future."
Panel 2: "Since that time, I've done quite a lot of experimentation with tachyons. You see, I've been away from the Earth for much longer than you would probably think." Walter: "How long?" Manhattan: "Almost a century, I think. Objective time is difficult to measure accurately."
Panel 3: (Mirrored-room view of Manhattan in empty space) Manhattan: "To avoid getting overly technical, let me just say that I've discovered several practical applications for those tachyons. One of them is responsible for my being here now. And, indirectly, for you being here."
Panel 4: (Walter stroking Bubastis' head, Bubastis purring quietly. He's looking down at her.) "Whipped us up, like breakfast."
Panel 5: Manhattan: "Cooked meat and vegetables are far simpler to duplicate than neural pathways. I would not say the task was difficult for me, but it was long and exacting."
Panel 6: Walter: "Need to walk." (He gets shakily to his feet and moves around the platform, hand out in case he should start to fall. Bubastis is at his side, his guardian, sniffing the air.) "You realize you've changed the future? I didn't exist before, and now I do."
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Page 11: Panel 1: Manhattan: "That is the complex part. In and of itself, your creation is no different from a baby being born. However, there are implications which must have changed the future already." Walter (turning toward Manhattan): "And the sci-fi mumbo jumbo? Paradox? Always found that funny."
Panel 2: Manhattan: "I cannot say for certain. For all I knew, I could have erased my own existence by creating you...except that I'm still here, talking to you." Walter: "So you didn't foresee this?"
Panel 3: Manhattan: "No, I didn't see this until after my last tachyon experiment. One of the side-effects of tachyon exposure is that it blurs my view of the time continuum temporarily. I don't yet know what the outcome will be, as it pertains to me." (Walter tests his body, doing a deep-knee bend.) Walter: "Hurm. As we speak, you're sitting inside some kind of time machine?"
Panel 4: Manhattan: "Not exactly. In the future. And it's not a machine in the ordinary sense." Walter: "What if you encounter yourself...past you meets future you?" Manhattan: "That has not happened yet, but I try not to put myself into the situation."
Panel 5: (closeup of Manhattan's face with Hydrogen atom.) Manhattan: "It's possible I could reabsorb my past self, but I haven't tested it. I'm fairly sure I don't want to try."
Panel 6: (looking up at Manhattan) Walter (pacing, Bubastis sitting nearby): "Alright. Got some handle on the how. Now tell me why."
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Page 12: Panel 1: Manhattan: "That, my friend, is simplicity itself."
Panel 2: Manhattan: "I was forced to leave Earth because I had supposedly caused cancer in anyone who worked with me closely. Do you know why I left?" Walter: "Sinking suspicion you're going to tell me."
Panel 3: Manhattan: "That assertion is plainly false. I had total control over my essence even then. No radiation escaped the confines of my intrinsic field in the time that I worked with Janey and the others. Their cancers were self-inflicted. I left because of the trouble that would be caused in the interim, and because many simply would believe it, no matter how much explaining I did."
Panel 4: Manhattan: "Now ask yourself, as I have, who would possibly stand to gain by my being away from Earth. Who could have started the original rumor?"
Panel 5: (Walter's face) Walter: "Adrian. Told me as much. Not self-inflicted; hired them all to work for a company of his, and exposed them to radiation. *Gave* them cancer. He wanted you away where you wouldn't interfere with his plans."
Panel 6: Manhattan, seemingly unmoved: "That is close to the conclusion that I reached." (Walter reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out his mask.) Walter: "Suppose this mask is new?" Manhattan: "As is the rest of you, yes."
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Page 13: Panel 1: (Walter taking off his hat and holding it between one arm and his side) Manhattan: "Alone, that wouldn't have led me to act. But there is something else."
Panel 2: (Manhattan floating in space with a shimmering in front of him and an image of what we assume is the Earth beyond that. The continents look almost the same, perhaps a bit different.) Manhattan: "Not long ago, it happened that I took to observing the Earth through what you would call, for lack of a better term, a magnetic telescope."
Panel 3: (Walter pauses, hands up to his head and just about to roll the mask down over his face) Manhattan: "I can detect few communications whatsoever emanating from the planet. What little reaches me are continuously repeating messages. Background radiation is off the charts."
Panel 4: Manhattan: "The world will be a nuclear wasteland, and your people will destroy it. Unless future history changes, Adrian's plan will fail spectacularly. And I must at least try to save what could be the only intelligent civilization in the universe." (Shot of Walter, his face dominated by a steely-eyed glare and a grimace.)
Panel 5: (Shot of Walter with the mask rolled halfway down his face. He speaks in Rorschach's voice.) Rorschach: "When does this happen?" Manhattan: "Based on my calculations of radioactive decay, the date of the apocalypse will be Dec. 21, 2012."
Panel 6: (Rorschach's face is now fully masked.) Rorschach: "Hurm. Twenty-five years? To change the future..." Manhattan: "More than enough time for you to put an end to Adrian's machinations."
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Page 14: Panel 1: (Shot from behind Rorschach, showing Bubastis in the same position, this time licking her paw. Rorschach faces Manhattan, his fists balled at his sides, tension in every line.) Rorschach: "Millions of dead..." Manhattan: "You are the variable in this equation, a wildcard. Unless you manage to travel backward in time somehow, you are unfettered by any possible paradox."
Panel 2: (Shot of Rorschach, fist punching into palm in front of him. Bubastis startles.) Rorschach: "Two or three million..." Manhattan (out-of-frame): "I doubt you can do much about Adrian's victims, but you can save roughly seven billion more."
Panel 3: Rorschach: "Why me? No matter what you say, you could do more, without going to the trouble of creating...me." (Arm flourish to indicate himself.)
Panel 4: Manhattan: "Once again, I am governed by paradox, and limited in the adjustments I could make without ending my own existence. You are not. My risk will end with your creation."
Panel 5: (full-panel closeup of Rorschach's mask) Rorschach: "And what if I said no? Wanted to stay here?"
Panel 6: Manhattan (close-up, what may even be the brief flicker of a smile on his face): "I think we both know that won't happen. This is your fight, and I'm giving you the chance to carry it out."
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Page 15: Panel 1: (Rorschach looking down at the ground.) Rorschach: "You're right, of course. Know me too well."
Panel 2: (Bubastis has rolled over onto her back, legs splayed for Rorschach's attention. Rorschach bending down, stroking her stomach. She purrs quietly. Rorschach looks up.) Rorschach, with surprise: "She's pregnant??" Manhattan (off-panel): "Yes. Her mate has prowled the jungle over there since we arrived here."
Panel 3: (Rorschach, standing up, looking at Bubastis again. He points at the jungle, speaking to Bubastis.) Rorschach: "Go on. Go home."
Panel 4: (Bubastis gets up, rubbing a farewell onto Rorschach's leg.) Rorschach, petting her: "Goodbye." Bubastis: "Arrrewww."
Panel 5: (Bubastis trotting off toward the jungle, still avoiding Manhattan; we see a bigger blue face peering quietly from the jungle.) Rorschach, to her receding back: "At least you have a place to live in peace."
Panel 6: (Rorschach turns to Manhattan.) Rorschach: "What else should I know before we leave?"
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Page 16: Panel 1: Manhattan (close-up): "Not we. You."
Panel 2: (Shot of Manhattan floating from over Rorschach's shoulder. The cats have disappeared into the jungle.) "There isn't much more. I can only see what I have or will have personally witnessed, and I can't even see that right now."
Panel 3: (Same shot.) Manhattan: "I expect that Dan and Laurie are still alive, and probably still together. They'd be the logical place to start. I'd also wager that they're being watched by Adrian in some way, so you must approach them with caution."
Panel 4: (Rorschach in an attitude of contemplation.) Rorschach: "Right. May as well do it, then."
Panel 5: (Manhattan gesturing, a portal comes into existence in front of Rorschach. From Rorschach's point of view, the other side of the portal leads into a back alley in what turns out to be New York.) Manhattan: "Goodbye, Rorschach. I doubt that we will meet again." Rorschach: "Goodbye, Dr. Manhattan. And...thank you...I think."
Panel 6: (Rorschach steps through the portal. Manhattan is now on his feet. He says, to himself) Manhattan: "Nothing ever ends..."
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Page 17: Panel 1: (Night. Rorschach appears in the back alley, surrounded by a dim blue glow. Windows are open in the tenements surrounding the alley, but no one seems to have observed his entry. Unlike Laurie, he seems to show no ill effects from Manhattan's teleportation.)
Panel 2: (The glow disappears, followed by a muffled 'pop.' Rorschach looking around.)
Panel 3: (Satisfied that no one has seen his entrance, Rorschach ducks behind a convenient dumpster and sits down.)
Panel 4: (Shot of Rorschach removing his mask and hat.) (Top) "Rorschach's Journal, Oct. 10, 1988." (Bottom) "Three years later, and the filth still sinks to the bottom, covering anything unlucky enough to be in its path."
Panel 5: (Walter carefully folds the mask and hat.) "Taint of old piss and decay. Funny how being clean heightens the smell."
Panel 6: (Overhead shot; Walter puts the hat and mask into the coat's breast pocket. Shot includes a flickering light bulb on the tenement wall opposite Walter. 'I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and bright...' wafts from one of the open windows near the top of the panel.) "No moon to light the darkness, only one overworked bulb above a rear entry. We have much in common, you and I."
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Page 18: Panel 1: (Walter rubs his hands in the grime on the alley floor.)
Panel 2: (Walter's POV. He's looking at his now-grubby hands.) "Time to rejoin the unwashed masses, to soil myself with the failures of centuries."
Panel 3: (He runs his hands down his coat, leaving greasy tracks on it.) "Anointed with offal of human existence. Doubtful anyone around here could tell the difference."
Panel 4: (He stands up and wipes the rest of the grime from his hands onto the back of his coat.)
Panel 5: (Shot from behind Walter as he walks out of the alley, the greasy trails evident on the back of his trenchcoat.) (Top) "Though they don't ask for it this time...maybe even because they don't...I am become their savior." (Bottom) "To return to them their petty, incessant, incestuous lives."
Panel 6: (Walter turning left out of the alley, shuffling down the street. Mumbling, his head down, looking at his feet.) Walter: "The end of the world is at hand." (Crazed, subdued laughter, trailing off as he moves away) Walter: "Hahahahaha..."
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Page 19: Panel 1: (Passing a walled-off construction area, a series of old, duplicate posters on the wall catch his eye. They advertise a benefit for the families of the victims of 11/2. Attached to one of them is a bumper sticker. The slogan isn't clear yet. A sign on the wall, above the level of the posters: the logo of "Pyramid Construction".) Journal: "First step: a base of operations."
Panel 2: (Walter stops at the bumper sticker and turns to inspect it, his back to the street. On it is the slogan "Change for America. Ford/Bush '88." A dog-eared corner of the bumper sticker protrudes from the poster.) "Where is Nixon? Did he choke on the weight of his own personal darkness? Or did he weary of the mantle of leader of the Free World?" "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown..."
Panel 3: (Walter reaches up and tears the sticker off.) "More to investigate. How else have things changed since 1985?"
Panel 4: (He folds it and deposits it inside the coat's breast pocket.) "Where to find Dan and Laurie?"
Panel 5: (He turns and continues up the street. A couple walks down the street toward him, about a block away.) "And what of my journal?"
Panel 6: (The couple sees him and crosses the street away from him, giving him a wide berth. Walter stops at the corner and looks up at the street sign. He shows no recognition of the couple at all.) Walter, mumbling: "Hurm. Penn Plaza that way."
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Page 20: Panel 1: (Walter turns left from the corner and continues, shuffling, on his way.)
Panel 2: (He passes a watch repair shop named "It's About Time" with various clocks on its shelves, dominated by a large, circa-'80's digital LED clock hanging on the wall. The name is painted in the window, but doesn't block view of the large clock. It reads 10:34. In the corner of the window is a Help Wanted sign, labeled 'Ask for Matthew' at the bottom. He takes note of the time as he passes.) "The streets would've been much busier a few years ago, at this hour. Guess it takes time to replace millions of people. Maybe rents have dropped."
Panel 3: (Next he passes a subway entrance. Two young toughs lounge around on the stairs near the street level.) Tough #1: "Hey, Pops! What'd you bring for us today?" Tough #2: "Yeah man, whatchoo got?" (Walter quickly looks around, doing a creditable imitation of panic, and finds a convenient passage between buildings.)
Panel 4: (Walter backs quickly into the passage. The toughs follow him. As they lose sight of him, they hear the 'krrrak' of knuckles popping coming from inside the passage.)
Panel 5: (They enter. Watching behind them to ensure he isn't being observed, and in one fluid motion, Walter grabs both by the throat, one in each hand, their eyes bulging. Walter bangs their heads against the wall of one building. A crunching sound is heard.)
Panel 6: (With a quick glance again to ensure his anonymity, Walter walks out of the passage and continues shuffling the way he was going before he was so rudely interrupted, head down. The toughs lay crumpled on the concrete, unmoving.) "Subways apparently no safer."
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Page 21: Panel 1: (Crossing the street. A car approaches within inches of Walter as he moves through the crosswalk. The driver, in a hurry, leans on the horn.) Driver: "Move it, Sluggo!" (Walter pauses, then shuffles on, never changing his speed nor looking in the driver's direction.) Journal: "Manhattan only partly right. Most don't deserve to be saved. So many chances to be moral, so few are." "Selfishness and lies at the heart of existence."
Panel 2: (The driver turns right when Walter passes, giving him the finger out the window. Walter's back is to the driver, so he doesn't see it.) Journal: "The fittest survive, the good die young. So it always was, so it will always be." "My fortune to be fit."
Panel 3: (Walter reaches the far corner.) Journal: "Of many billions that have lived, how many were truly good men? A handful? A thousand? A million? Never enough."
Panel 4: (Walter reaches the next corner. Madison Square Garden can be seen down the street. He sees a newsstand to his left and moves toward it. He's lost his shuffle.) Journal: "The world *should* die in hellfire. But not at the hands of Veidt."
Panel 5: (Several people are browsing periodicals, and a guy in about his late 20's sits on a folding chair near the stand, wearing the same fingerless gloves that seem to be ubiquitous among NY news vendors. An earplug sits in his lap, connected to a portable radio. A ConEd truck sits down the block, beyond the newsstand. A ConEd worker pulls some tools from the back of the truck. Walter wanders the length of the newsstand, hands behind him, acting like any other shopper.) Browser, behind Walter: "One Gazette, please." The headline of the Gazette is visible: "RIOT IN RED SQUARE!"
Panel 6: The latest copy of The New Frontiersman catches his eye. Adrian's face is on the cover, and the caption reads: "Campaign Finance: The Veidt Connection?". Walter takes one and thumbs to the article. He's at the far end of the stand, and as he reads he looks toward the street on the other side of the truck. A manhole cover sits on the pavement and a cordon and traffic cones surround the open manhole. Another ConEd worker is half in, half out of the manhole. The vendor reaches for a copy of the Gazette for his customer in the background.
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Page 22: Panel 1: Full-page view of most of the first two pages of the TNF article, with the workers visible above the magazine. The left page's headline reads "MILLIONS IN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS TO DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES TRACED TO VEIDT!" The first paragraph is in large print, running the length of the page; the rest is in two columns and small enough to be unreadable. "Staffers of The New Frontiersman have learned that Adrian Veidt is now under federal investigation for illegal campaign contributions. Funds appear to have been siphoned through a series of front companies to some 50 Democratic candidates, including several would-be presidential contenders. More shady tactics by the left to suborn the political process." The right-hand page contains a half-page shot of Adrian in Ozymandias costume at a press conference, with the subhead, "Adrian Veidt announces his retirement from vigilantism. (File photo, 1975.)" Two more columns of unreadable text below it.
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Page 23: Panel 1: (Shot from the street: Walter reading the magazine.) Journal: "Hurm. Adrian under investigation. World's smartest felon. If they only knew."
Panel 2: (Shot from Walter's end of the newsstand, showing the vendor approaching Walter from behind him. The vendor is six inches shorter than Walter and sports black hair and mustache.) Vendor: "Unbelievable, ain't it? He always seemed like such a good guy." Walter: "Yeh." Vendor: "So...you gonna buy that or what? This ain't no library."
Panel 3: (Walter turns an annoyed glare on the vendor.) Walter: "You gonna come up with a new expression? Every newsseller for the last hundred years has used that." Vendor (unfazed): "Yeah, well, it works."
Panel 4: (Walter reaches into his left coat pocket and pulls out a silver-colored money clip. With one hand he takes the top bill off of it and hands it to the vendor.) Journal: "Money too. Manhattan thought ahead. Saves 'forgot my money' act."
Panel 5: (Shot of the vendor's face.) Walter: "You got balls, kid. What's yer name?" Vendor: "John Kennedy Fitzgerald, but most people just call me Fitz." Walter: "Like the President?"
Panel 6: (Shot of the two talking, the newsstand behind them.) Fitz: "Yeah, my folks were big JFK fans. I was born the day he was elected President. All that hope and glory stuff. At least they didn't name me Flower or Thumper or somethin'. I been here since just after...well, you know..."
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Page 24: Panel 1: (Same shot) Walter: "Bet it was a real mess around here." Fitz: "Yeah, it took 'em months to clear the streets. Here, though, they had it mostly cleaned up in a few weeks. They wanted to get things back to normal and get people forgetting, so the Garden was one of the first places they opened."
Panel 2: (Same shot, but Walter has rolled up the magazine.) Walter: "Bread and circuses." Fitz: "Yeah, somethin' like that. Hold on a sec, I'll get your change." Walter: "Keep it. And save a copy of each Frontiersman when it comes out. Gonna be around for a while." Fitz, smiling: "You got it, man."
Panel 3: (Walter nods and starts walking off.) Fitz: "Hey! What's yer name?" Walter (over his shoulder): "Call me Ishmael." (Fitz laughs at Walter's receding back. Walter heads back toward the corner he came from.)
Panel 4: (Walter crossing the street to Burgers 'N' Borscht. Fitz is sitting in his chair again.)
Panel 5: (Walter walks through the door. The Burgers 'N' Borscht is about half full.)
Panel 6: (Walter drops the TNF in a booth near the window where he can see down the street. The newsstand and ConEd workers are in view.)
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Page 25: Panel 1: (Walter steps up to the counter. The cashier is wearing a name tag labelled 'Sarah'. She's shortish and chubby and appears to be in her late 40's. The lines in her face show some of the signs of a hard life but she seems a jovial sort. She stands behind the front counter and a cash register. Looks like your standard Mom-&-Pop fast food place...white sign with menu items and prices above in removable plastic lettering, rear counter with a wheel with a couple of order tickets hanging from it, cook behind that, back to the customers and working at the grill.) Sarah: "How can I help you, sir?" Walter: "Large coffee, extra sugar." Sarah: "Anything else for you tonight?" Walter: "That'll do it." Sarah: "Just a second."
Panel 2: (Shot of her with her back to Walter, pouring coffee and sugar simultaneously into a styrofoam cup.)
Panel 3: (Facing Walter now, she puts a stirrer into the coffee.) Sarah: "75 cents, please." Walter fumbles in his left coat pocket and gives her a bill.
Panel 4: (Sarah handing Walter his change, coffee cup in his right hand.)
Panel 5: (He turns away with his coffee without a word, left hand dropping the change into his coat pocket. He moves toward the booth and his copy of TNF. A TV can be seen on the wall in the background, above the diners.)
Panel 6: (Shot from behind of Walter sitting in the booth, facing the window. He stirs his coffee with his left hand while, with his right, he flips the issue of TNF open to the article on Adrian, and continues to read.) Journal: "Veidt killed millions and left no witnesses. But two million dollars? Stupid." "No percentage in messing with Feds. Bulldogs catch the scent, they stay at it."
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Page 26: Panel 1: (Same shot. Fitz is closing up shop outside.) Journal: "Doesn't add up. What's the angle?"
Panel 2: (Same. The newsstand is locked up now and Fitz heads down the block, passing the ConEd workers as they move in the opposite direction, towards Walter. Fitz waves good night to the workers. Walter catches the movement out of the corner of his eye and looks toward them.)
Panel 3: (Same, Walter intent on his magazine as the ConEd guys walk into Burgers 'N' Borscht.) Worker #1: "Hey, Chollie, did you catch the Giants game last night?" Worker #2: "No, the wife and I were upstate visiting the in-laws."
Panel 4: (ConEd workers at the counter. Walter half in, half out of the door, heading back down the street, coffee in left hand and magazine rolled up and sticking out of his left coat pocket.) Worker #1: "Too bad. You missed a great game." Worker #2: "No, I didn't. I videotaped it. I'll check it out after work, so don't tell me..."
Panel 5: (View through the window of Burgers 'N' Borscht. Fitz is gone now. Walter passes the newsstand.)
Panel 6: (Same view. Walter has now disappeared.)
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Page 27: Panel 1: (Shot of the front of the ConEd truck. Walter stands in front of it, hidden from Burgers 'N' Borscht, looking down the street.)
Panel 2: (Walter checking the street in the other direction and moving to the manhole. The traffic cones and tape still surround it, but the cover has been replaced.)
Panel 3: (The cover has been slid open to reveal most of the manhole. Walter half-in, half out of the manhole, climbing down.)
Panel 4: (Grating sound as Walter, still on the ladder, slides the cover back in place.)
Panel 5: Walter in an electrical access area, lit only by the wan light of the faces of several meters. He's now wearing his mask and hat.) Journal: "Almost too easy...like I'm supposed to be here." (As if he knows exactly where it is, he reaches into a shadow to open a door with a bang and a metallic squeak.)
Panel 6: (Walter's hand, pulling the door closed behind him. The door squeaks again.) Journal: "Darkness offers the embrace of an old friend."
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Page 28: Panel 1: (The ConEd workers in a booth in Burgers 'N' Borscht, facing each other, eating and watching the TV on the wall to their left. A news anchor sits at a desk, reading the news. Inset: A video from the events in Red Square plays to the anchor's right as he speaks, Russian soldiers in riot gear confronting a wall of protesters, some holding signs in Russian.) News Anchor: "And now, in international news: Reaction by governments the world over to the deaths of 35 demonstrators in rioting in Red Square continues to be strongly critical."
Panel 2: (Full-panel: the TV screen. The Russian soldiers in the inset opening fire on the crowd, people scattering.) News Anchor: "No official explanation has been given by the Kremlin, but an interview with one of the protesters indicates that soldiers opened fire when a demonstrator struck one of the soldiers with a thrown rock."
Panel 3: (Same shot, but inset now shows Gerald Ford standing at a podium with the seal of the President on it, apparently from a press room in the White House.) News Anchor: "President Ford had this to say at a press conference this morning:"
Panel 4: (Inset now covers the entire screen, the anchor and newsroom no longer visible. In the lower right of the screen is the time in small print: 9:15 am EDT.) President Ford: "The United States government, and I, personally, condemn the actions of the Soviet military in the events of yesterday, in the strongest possible way. Soldiers were in no physical danger, but they opened fire on an unarmed crowd whose only 'crime' was to disagree with Soviet state policy. Secretary of State Kissinger has sent a strongly-worded communique to the Kremlin detailing our outrage at this violation of human rights. As yet, there has been no response."
Panel 5: (Back to the original screen, with the anchor, desk, and inset.) News Anchor: "International response has been equally strong and swift. The Kremlin has made no public statement regarding the incident other than to say that it is currently under investigation, and that they will respond when all information has been gathered and considered."
Panel 6: (Shot of the ConEd workers eating again.) "Chollie", shaking his head: "What's the world coming to?" Worker #1: "Hell in a handbasket, baby, hell in a handbasket. Pass the salt, willya?"
End panel: "One may not reach the dawn save by the path of the night." - Kahlil Gibran