Stan and Mary lie on the floor, their stoned minds wandering after sex. Stan suddenly perks up. He looks at the monitor.
Stan: It's stopped.
Mary: What?
Stan: Listen, it's not erasing.
Stan makes his way, naked, to the computer screen.
Stan: It's not erasing. He's off screen.
Mary: Where?
Stan: I don't know. He's not on the map.
Stan tries to break through his marijuana haze. He fiddles nervously with the equipment.
Stan: I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do! Crap. Crap…
Mary: Well, what should we do?
Stan: I don't know! I just said that!
Mary: Sorry…
There's a long pause.
Mary: We have to do something. He can't wake up half done.
Stan: Shit!
Stand jerks the joystick spastically. Mary, also naked, gets up and stares over his shoulder at the screen.
Mary: (Definitely) We should call Howard.
Stan turns and looks at her. He's stoned and trying to find her motivation.
Stan: No way. I can handle this.
Mary: This guy's off half cooked. There's no time to fuck around, Stan.
Stan tries to think. He paces. Mary watches him. Finally:
Stan: (Without making eye contact) Okay.
He dials the phone and waits.
Stan: Hello, Howard?
-
The room is dark. A groggy Mierzwiak is in bed on the phone. His wife lies in bed beside him, her back to him, eyes open, listening.
Mierzwiak: Stan? What's going on?
Stan's Voice: This guy we're doing? He's disappeared from the map. I can't find him anywhere.
Mierzwiak: Okay, what happened right before he disappeared.
Stan's Voice: I was away from the monitor for a second. I had it on automatic. I had to go pee.
Mierzwiak: Well, where is Patrick?
Stan's Voice: He went home sick.
Mierzwiak: Jesus. All right, what's the address?
-
Stan hangs up the phone looking panicked. He looks at Mary.
Mary: He's coming?
Stan: You better go.
Mary: Hell no.
Mary starts getting dressed.
Mary: Shit, I'm so stoned. I don't want him to see me stoned. Stop being stoned, Mary!
She hurries into the bathroom with her bag.
Mary: God, I look like shit! God!
Mary slams the bathroom door. Stan puts his head in his hands.
-
Ryan and Marissa remain in the playpen. Ryan's oversized mother reaches down as she hurries by and pats Ryan on the head.
Dawn: How's my baby boy?
She's gone.
Ryan: I really want her to pick me up. It's weird how strong that desire is.
Marissa reached over holding onto Ryan's hand. He turned, looking at her.
Marissa: You know, we're okay. They're not finding us. You'll remember me in the morning. And you'll come to me and tell me about us and we'll start over.
Ryan: I loved you so much on that day. On my bed in your panties and my tank top. I remember I thought, how impossibly lucky am I to have you on my bed in your panties.
Marissa smiles and leans in and kisses him.
Marissa: You remember what happened next?
Ryan: I came over to the bed. You smelled so good, like vanilla mixed with my cologne from the tank top, and slightly sweaty. And I climbed on the bed with you and you said something like –
Marissa: Hmm…whatever shall we do?
Ryan laughs. Marissa smiles and leans in and kisses him again. After awhile, Ryan pulls back.
Ryan: There's this guy!
Marissa: What?
Ryan: There's this guy. I heard him talking in the pool house. He's one of the eraser guys. And he fell for you when they were erasing you, so he introduced himself the next day as if he were a stranger and now you're dating him.
Marissa: Really? Is he cute?
Ryan: Not funny.
She laughed and play slapped him in the stomach.
Ryan: He stole a pair of your panties while you were being erased!
Marissa: Gross! You must remember to tell me this in the morning. I'm, like, so freaked out now.
-
Marissa and Patrick walk hand in hand down to the beach from Marissa's house. Marissa is crying.
Marissa: What's wrong with me?
Patrick: Nothing is wrong with you. You're the most wonderful person I've ever met.
She glances gratefully over at him and then starts to cry harder.
-
Stan is working on trying to get the signal back. His hair is combed and he's dressed neatly, looking professional but still stoned. Mary is pacing nervously to and from the windows, looking out into the night. Her hair is pulled up into some sort of style. Suddenly she freezes at one of the doors.
Mary: There he is. Oh my God. Oh my God. Do I look okay?
Stan didn't say anything.
Mary: I'm still stoned. Are you? Crap.
She ran over to the mirror, looking at herself, then looking over at the unconscious Ryan in bed.
Mary: (To Ryan) Your Visine didn't do shit, fella.
There is a knock at the pool house door. Mary lunges for the door, then calms herself before opening it. Mierzwiak stands in front of her, holding an equipment bag. He's surprised to see Mary.
Mierzwiak: Mary. What are you doing here?
Stan: She came to help, Howard.
Mary: I wanted to learn as much about the procedure as possible, Howard. I think it's important for my job…to help comfort the clientele. You know.
Mierzwiak looks from Mary to Stan, nods, and entered the pool house. Mary closes the door, as Mierzwiak crosses the room, walking towards Stan and the equipment.
Mierzwiak: Let's get to the bottom of this. Shall we?
He sits down in front of the computer and does some fiddling.
Mierzwiak: Odd.
He fiddles some more. Mary looks on, fascinated.
Stan: I tried that already.
Mierzwiak: Did you try going through C-Gate?
Stan: Yeah. Of course.
Mierzwiak ponders. He unzips his equipment bag, pulls out another laptop computer and plugs it in to the system.
Mierzwiak: I'm going to do a Spectrum search throughout his memory, see if anything comes up.
Mierzwiak presses some more buttons. The program starts up. A much more complex and detailed human brain appears on his screen. It rotates. Eventually Mierzwiak sees a small distant light in the brain. He zeroes in on it.
Mierzwiak: Okay, here it is. I don't know why he's off the map like that, but –
-
Ryan is being bathed in the oversized sink by his oversized mother. Marissa sits in the water with him, laughing. Dawn doesn't seem to see her.
Dawn: (Drunken slur) Little baby getting awwwl clean.
Ryan: (To Marissa) I love getting bathed in the sink. It's such a feeling of security.
Marissa: (Giggling) I've never seen you happier.
The elements of the memory flash explosively away. Everything turns black around him. Ryan is thrown into:
-
Ryan and Marissa sit in a dark movie theater. A huge Russell Crowe fills the screen in front of them. Ryan reaches over, taking Marissa's hand in his. She turns to him and smiles, and they both look back at the screen.
-
Mierzwiak looks up from the computer screen.
Mierzwiak: Okay, we're back in.
Mary: That was beautiful to watch, Howard. Like a surgeon; or a concert pianist.
Mierzwiak: Well, thank you, Mary.
Stan: (Sighing) You get some sleep, Howard. I'll take it from here.
Mierzwiak: Yeah, probably a good idea.
-
