Italicized Underlines are used for emphasis.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS: You may reach the author by e-mail at: quantum_revival@hotmail.com
***
QUANTUM LEAP
THE MIRROR SHATTERED
SCREENPLAY: PART V
***
STALLION'S GATE, NEW MEXICO -- EXT. -- MORNING
We see a large mesa in the middle of a desert as the sun rises, painting the sky with bright yellows, reds, pinks, and oranges.
A long road winds down the mesa, spiraling in a steep decline. On the flat surface of the mesa, we see several structures. There is a small parking lot near to a large white building (see Lost Introduction Scene). There is a small group of adobe-style immobile homes next to the large building. There is a small runway at one end of the mesa, and two leer jets are sitting quiet on it.
There is no sound with the exception of the skitter of lizards and the call of the native birds.
PROJECT QUANTUM LEAP -- INT. -- DAY
We are in the Control Room. ZIGGY's large orb casts a myriad of colors on the white walls of the room. The control table, somewhat resembling a child's LEGO creation, illuminates the room as blue, red, orange, pink, and yellow lights within blink randomly. The wall behind the table has water rushing down, and it reflects the rainbow of hues that emanate from the table.
DONNA ELESEE-BECKETT and Beth are standing at the table. Beth is staring at the silver door at the top of the ramp leading to the plexus that contains the Waiting Room, Imaging Chamber, and Accelerator Chamber. A young, dark-haired woman sits weeping on the ramp.
Beth is somber as she looks at Donna.
BETH
I hope this works.
DONNA
So do I. But I really have to ask.
Why on Earth did you suggest this? Weren't you afraid of Al becoming lost
in Time like Sam has?
BETH
Of course I was. But I knew that was
a risk we had to take. It has been four years, and still we haven't had
contact with Sam. We had to do something we hadn't yet done.
DONNA
I know you're right, but I just don't
want to believe it. When Sam--
Suddenly, the main door to the Control Room slides up and in strides a middle-aged woman. This is DR. SAMANTHA JOSEPHINE FULLER (SAMMY JO). Her long brown hair swishes as the curls bounce off her back. She looks young, but her poise and disposition are that of someone who has experienced a long, full life.
Following close behind Sammy Jo is a young man, who looks to be in his late twenties or early thirties. This is DR. JONATHAN DANIEL BECKETT (JOHNNY). He has a flawless face, with no blemishes or freckles, and his dishwater-blonde hair is short and styled with mousse to give it a somewhat spiked look.
Both individuals are clothed in white lab coats with hologrammatic nametags bearing their pictures and names.
Sammy Jo speaks first, her southern drawl dripping with frustration and almost anger.
SAMMY JO
What happened?! I demand to know what
happened!
Johnny grabs Sammy Jo's shoulder as he finally catches up to her. He is breathing hard, obviously having run to keep up with the woman.
JOHNNY
Sammy Jo... Please, calm down.
SAMMY JO
I will not. I will not calm down until
someone explains why the Accelerator has been activated!
Beth approaches Sammy Jo and takes the woman's hand in her own.
BETH
We did what we had to do.
SAMMY JO
What do you mean, Mrs. Calavicci?
Don't be cryptic with me. I want to know what happened.
DONNA
Beth and Al had an idea about trying
to contact Sam, and we just put the idea into form.
Sammy Jo looks around, bewildered. She looks at Beth, then Donna. She looks up at the orb then toward the ramp. This is when she sees RUTHIE CALAVICCI sitting at the bottom of the ramp, her head lying in her hands and her shoulders shaking from her sobs.
Johnny sees Ruthie at the same moment and rushes to her side. He kneels down to her.
JOHNNY
Ruthie, honey? Are you all right?
The young woman raises her brandy brown eyes to Johnny. A dark curl falls into her eyes. Johnny gently brushes the curl behind Ruthie's ear and sighs as he awaits her answer.
RUTHIE
It's Daddy. He... he...
SAMMY JO
He Leaped. That's what happened.
(her voice exudes anger)
You had Al Leap!
BETH
It was the only way...
SAMMY JO
No, it wasn't! The Retrieval Program
is very close to working. Just a few more months, and we could have easily
brought Sam home!
As Sammy Jo continues to vent her anger, with Beth and Donna both attempting to calm her, Johnny tries to comfort Ruthie.
JOHNNY
Your dad will be all right.
RUTHIE
But what if we can't find him? What
if he gets lost in Time like Sam did and we can't get either of them back?
JOHNNY
We will. I promise we will.
Ruthie nods, and buries her face into
Johnny's shoulder, weeping.
JOHNNY (cont'd)
Ruthie? I have to ask you something.
RUTHIE
(voice muffled)
What, Johnny?
JOHNNY
Have you checked to see if your dad's
body is still here?
The sobs halt, and Ruthie raises her head.
RUTHIE
No, we haven't. But we figured--
JOHNNY
Just because Sam's body has disappeared,
it doesn't mean your dad's would have.
Ruthie grins as she jumps to her feet. She grabs Johnny's hand and leads him up the ramp. She slaps her palm onto the ID pad next to the door. Two green lights blink on, and the door slides up. Ruthie rushes into the entrance to the Leaping Plexus.
The area is a small triangularly shaped room. The walls are all a pure bright blue. To the front, we see the room spread out as far as the eye can see. This is the Imaging Chamber.
To the left is a small corridor. At the end is a silver door. Above it, the words "WAITING ROOM" flash in multiple colors.
To the right is another small corridor. Again, at the end is a silver door. Above it, the word "ACCELERATOR" flashes in bright blue. Ruthie leads Johnny to this door.
Ruthie repeats the process of opening the door and races inside. The chamber is circular. The floor is silver, and in the middle is a large, glowing white ring, with a smaller, similar ring within. The walls of the chamber are not vertical. Instead, they lay out diagonally away from the center of the chamber. We can clearly see the windows of the Observation Deck.
Ruthie pays no attention to the details of the room. Instead, she is standing still, her eyes locked on a single thing: Al's Fermi-suit-clad body, which is lying crumpled and motionless at the center of the chamber.
Ruthie hurries to Al's side and kneels.
RUTHIE
Call Dr. Beeks in here!
Johnny activates his wrist comlink--which looks like a wristwatch version of the "gummi bear" handlink.
JOHNNY
Dr. Beeks' medical team needed in
the Accelerator Chamber, STAT!
Johnny switches off the comlink and goes over to Ruthie. He places a hand on her shoulder.
JOHNNY (cont'd)
Do you think we'll need Professor
Beeks as well?
RUTHIE
Of course. If Daddy's body is still
here, the Leapee should arrive at any moment.
Johnny nods his head and reactivates his comlink.
JOHNNY
Professor Beeks, please report to
the Waiting Room immediately.
As Johnny switches the comlink off, the door slides open and DR. VIOLET BEEKS rushes in with two male nurses at her side. She is young and energetic. Her eyes are wide with excitement. As she speaks, she assists the nurses and Johnny in transferring Al's body from the floor to the stretcher they have brought along with them.
VIOLET
Al Leaped?
RUTHIE
Yeah. I guess he thought that if he
Leaped, he would go immediately to Sam.
VIOLET
Good idea.
Ruthie gives Violet a look of chagrin, but it is quick, as she moves her attention back to her father.
VIOLET (cont'd)
Did you call my sister?
JOHNNY
Yeah. She should be in the Waiting
Room.
Violet nods. Johnny helps the nurses carry the stretcher out of the chamber and across the plexus' foyer to the Waiting Room.
As the door slides open, we see that PROFESSOR VERBENA BEEKS is already in the room, standing with a chair set up next to the Waiting Room table and a mirror in her hands.
VERBENA
(looking at the body being laid on
the table)
Oh, dear God.
RUTHIE
Daddy thought he could find Sam by
Leaping himself.
VERBENA
Has Ziggy gotten a lock on the admiral?
JOHNNY
Not as--
ZIGGY
(interrupting; offscreen)
I have not yet located the whereabouts
and whenabouts of Admiral Calavicci.
Ruthie gives Johnny a puzzled look. Without a sound, she mouths "Whenabouts?" Johnny shrugs as he smirks at the term.
VERBENA
Well, hopefully the Leapee will arrive
soon.
Al's body stirs.
JOHNNY
Jeez, 'Bena. (laughs) Are you psychic?
VERBENA
(shaking her head while grinning)
If I thought I were psychic, I'd have
to shrink my own head.
Everyone laughs.
AL/VISITOR
What... what's going on?
The group stops their laughter and they turn as one to see Al sitting up. Johnny, knowing what he must do, goes over and touches Al's arm as he helps him sit. Al's appearance morphs into that of a young redheaded sensation.
VERBENA
Thanks, Johnny.
JOHNNY
No problem.
VISITOR
(to Johnny)
Who are you?
Johnny sits on the table next to the visitor and looks at her intensely.
JOHNNY
You can call me Johnny.
The visitor studies the faces of the people in the room: Verbena. Violet. The male nurses. Ruthie. As her gaze rests on Ruthie, a flicker of recognition reaches the visitor's eyes.
VISITOR
Are you... are you a descendent of
Albert Calavicci?
Ruthie is shocked at the mention of her father's name.
RUTHIE
Well... I, uh... yeah.
VISITOR
What year am I in?
JOHNNY
(with a slight smirk)
Actually, we were just about to ask
you that same question.
VISITOR
I am from 2103. What year have I traveled
to?
All in the room are silent as the information settles in. All expressions are somber.
VERBENA
Why do you think you have traveled
to a different year?
VISITOR
It is obvious that I am in the Waiting
Room. This woman claims to be a descendent of Albert Calavicci, who was
one of the founders of Project Quantum Leap. So, I have surmised that someone
has Leaped into me and this is Project Quantum Leap.
JOHNNY
Well, now we know that sometime in
the future, the Project becomes public knowledge.
VISITOR
Oh, yes, it certainly does. On March
5 of 2006, the government temporarily shut down Project Quantum Leap due
to the fact that Dr. Samuel Beckett had seemingly vanished, and, according
to government officials, Admiral Albert Calavicci had apparently begun
to suffer from multiple personality disorder--though now we know that he
had Leaped, and those personalities were actually the Leapees. In June
of 2007, the Project was re-opened as a tourist attraction, in which the
public could view the past as a holographic image via the Imaging Chamber,
the way Dr. Beckett had originally planned it to be. Soon, the popularity
of the Imaging Chamber grew. As of this year, we have approximately one-million
public, free-access Holographic Chambers across the United Nations of Earth.
We are taught in elementary school about Dr. Beckett and Admiral Calavicci
and the advances in technology that came from Project Quantum Leap.
The visitor stops and looks about, indicating she is through with her history lesson. Johnny shakes his head and whistles softly. Ruthie stands still, gazing at the visitor in awe.
RUTHIE
Wow... that's, uh, that's a lot of
information. You said that my fa--that Admiral Calavicci was displaying
MPD, according to the government. What happened to him?
VISITOR
He was institutionalized. He remained
there until his mind deteriorated and he died of a brain aneurysm in 2008.
RUTHIE
Well, we can't let that happen this
time. Ziggy, what are your postulations on whether these events will occur
in this timeline?
ZIGGY
(offscreen)
If we do not retrieve Dr. Beckett
and Admiral Calavicci within the next five days, the events of which our
visitor has informed us shall occur with a 99.8% probability.
JOHNNY
(softly)
Damn.
VERBENA
What if Sammy Jo can't retrieve them
that soon? What can the rest of us do to keep the Project going?
ZIGGY
(offscreen)
We must not allow the funding committee
to tour the Project, as is scheduled for noon tomorrow.
Everyone looks puzzled, unsure of what to do. Violet's eyes suddenly light up.
VIOLET
Quarantine.
All eyes go to the doctor, questioning.
VIOLET (cont'd)
If I ordered the entire complex to
be put under quarantine, no one could be allowed entrance to the Project.
JOHNNY
So, what sort of illness should we
give as an excuse?
VIOLET
I'm not sure. There are numerous illnesses
that could warrant putting a place under quarantine.
VISITOR
What about the West Nile Virus?
VIOLET
(raises an eyebrow)
That would work. It is transmitted
through mosquitoes, so having it spread here would be quite plausible.
The results of contracting the West Nile Virus would be very likely to
scare away anyone wishing to visit the project. Good thinking... ah...
VISITOR
Megana. Megana Drehlen.
VIOLET
Thank you, Megana. You have no idea
what your help means to us.
MEGANA
(smiling)
Oh, I'm sure I have an inkling.
Violet turns to the male nurses.
VIOLET
Go to the infirmary and call for all
medical personnel to meet there in half an hour. I'll be along shortly.
The two men exit the Waiting Room through the large door leading to a massive corridor. Violet raises her head to the ceiling.
VIOLET (cont'd)
Ziggy, please compose a letter of
apology to Senator Weitzman, explaining that we will not be able to welcome
the funding committee to the project at this current time. Inform him that
I have ordered that the entire Project Quantum Leap Complex be put under
quarantine due to an outbreak of the West Nile Virus.
ZIGGY
(offscreen)
As you wish.
(beat)
I have finished the letter and have
sent it to the senator's PDA.
JOHNNY
Thanks, Zig.
ZIGGY
(offscreen)
You are welcome.
MEGANA
Is there anything else you need to
know?
RUTHIE
Yes, there are some details we will
need to know. Johnny and I must leave, but Professor Beeks will be here
to ask and answer questions.
Megana smiles. Ruthie nods to Johnny, and he rises to her side. He puts his arm around her waist, and the couple walks out of the Waiting Room, through the door leading to the Leaping Plexus.
