[It is the night after the ball. Norman preceeds Dastun and R. Dorothy into the waiting room.
R. Dorothy has been transformed. Her skin and hair look organic. Her long hair has been piled into a mass of coils with pins. She wears a black dress that passes her knees by an inch. Her accessories match or complement her dress: heels, stockings, handbag, gloves, earrings, and a bracelet. However, her eyes are still not quite human.
Dastun wears a tux. Dastun's left foot is wrapped in bandages; he leans on a crutch.]
R. DOROTHY. [her voice is more natural] I'm terribly sorry about your foot, Dastun.
DASTUN. It's okay, it was my fault. I missed that last step. Where's Roger? He left ahead of us.
NORMAN. He stopped by. He said that he would be out for a bit.
R. DOROTHY. He left with another woman.
DASTUN. Well, that's Roger for you. I'd best be going. [hobbles away] I'll see you around. [nods a salute to Dorothy]
NORMAN. Allow me.
DASTUN. No, that's fine. I'd rather do this myself.
NORMAN. As you wish.
R. DOROTHY. Dastun. [he pauses and half turns]
DASTUN. Is something wrong?
R. DOROTHY. No, nothing. Thank you. Goodbye.
DASTUN. No problem. Good night. [he leaves mumbling under his breath] Patterson and Groucho take West side tonight. Bronson's still out.
NORMAN. Good night, Mr. Dastun. [to Dorothy] Is there something I can get you?
R. DOROTHY. No. But, please, can you stay and chat? [she takes a seat on a sturdy chair. Norman sits across from her.]
NORMAN. Certainly.
R. DOROTHY. How have you been?
NORMAN. I have been quite well. And you?
R. DOROTHY. I've been OK.
NORMAN. You seemed to be troubled by something.
R. DOROTHY. Perhaps. I don't want to be a bother.
NORMAN. You're not a bother at all. [doorbell chimes] One moment, please. [Norman leaves.]
R. DOROTHY. [speaks aloud to the empty room] It is strange, it is such a small thing, but it weighs heavily on my mind. [she stands and walks over to view the night skyline] Why should I care? Why should I care what he thinks? I have a future to think about, now. And father. He seemed so sad giving me my new skin. Why?
[Norman and Instro enter.]
NORMAN. R. Instro wishes to see you, Miss Dorothy.
R. DOROTHY. Instro, what brings you here?
INSTRO. You left so suddenly tonight, I wanted to see if you were alright.
R. DOROTHY. I am alright. Dastun's foot isn't. [Norman leaves quietly.] Please take a seat. [Dorothy sits back down. She shifts it to look out onto the city. Instro pulls up another seat to sit beside her.]
INSTRO. How is Dastun?
R. DOROTHY. It was a bruise, an ugly one, but it should heal soon.
INSTRO. So what did you think of the ball?
R. DOROTHY. [she sits and looks straight ahead, while Instro looks at her] It was noisy and crowded. I'm not used to of such things.
INSTRO. Was it the humans? I know that some androids are uncomfortable aroundhumans.
R. DOROTHY. No.
INSTRO. It was your first time playing in front of a crowd. Perhaps you were nervous, I was nervous during my first recital.
R. DOROTHY. No, I thought that I would be, but I wasn't.
[Silence. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.]
INSTRO. I don't know how to bring this up, but I could not help but to notice the way that you played tonight. Your music, it was lugubrious.
R. DOROTHY. I suppose that is one word for it.
INSTRO. It was melancholy. There was such feeling in it. It was beautiful.
INSTRO. R. Dorothy, I have never met an android like you before.
R. DOROTHY. [she looks at him] I don't know how to respond to that.
INSTRO. You don't need to. Are you tired?
R. DOROTHY. I was before, but not now.
INSTRO. Would you like to be out there? [gestures out of the window] How much of the city have you seen?
R. DOROTHY. Sometimes I feel that I have seen too much of it. Sometimes not enough.
INSTRO. And tonight?
R. DOROTHY. Tonight, I want to see something else besides these walls and this window. she stands]
INSTRO. Let's. [he stands]
[Norman enters with a tray of tea and cookies.]
NORMAN. Leaving so soon, R. Instro?
R. DOROTHY. I'm sorry, Norman. We are going out for a bit.
NORMAN. Enjoy yourselves.
INSTRO. Thank you. Have a very good night.
NORMAN. You too, sir. Good night, Miss Dorothy.
R. DOROTHY. I'll see you later, Norman. Thank you.
[Instro and Dorothy descend to the front of the building. Instro hails a carriage. The carriage is drawn by a bionic horse and driven by an android coachman wearing tails. Instro and Dorothy board. Instro asks her a question. Dorothy shrugs. Instro gives orders to the driver.
They ride in silence through the barren streets. They ride past the art deco skyscrapers and stone edifices. The carriage goes through a park. Toward morning, they return to the Smith mansion. Dorothy bids Instro farewell.
Dorothy rides the elevator up. She pulls pins from her hair. Her tresses spill down in waves.
She stops the elevator at a lit level and enters Roger's office. A single lamp in the corner dimly lights the room. Roger sits his desk with a glass of wine in one hand. A mostly full bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon sits on the desk. A collection of hourglasses sit at a nearby table.]
ROGER. 'Morning. Enjoy yourself?
R. DOROTHY. I suppose that I did. [she stops at the table of hourglasses ]
ROGER. What did you think of the ball?
R. DOROTHY. It was not disagreeable.
ROGER. Not disagreeable. I suppose that it wasn't. It was a success. You fooled quite a few people. You've come far in a few short months.
R. DOROTHY. Thank you.
ROGER. Did you enjoy your time with your new beau?
R. DOROTHY. And who might that be? [flips hourglasses over one by one with a mechanically precise rhythm]
ROGER. The honorable R. Instro of course.
R. DOROTHY. We are just friends. [continues to flip hourglasses]
ROGER. Give it some time.
R. DOROTHY. Tonight, I have learned that it is easier to talk about small and tangential things than what is really on our minds. [the hourglasses are all in motion]
ROGER. You've figured that out on your own. Congratulations. [sips his wine]
[Dorothy remains quiet.]
ROGER. Did you reach my conclusion?
R. DOROTHY. Which conclusion?
ROGER. About the gap that remains between the android and the human. You were able to interact with humans and observe some interactions. We effectively eliminated the external factors. So, did you? [he sloshes the wine around in the glass, studies it]
R. DOROTHY. No, I didn't.
ROGER. Really? Didn't or wouldn't?
R. DOROTHY. That isn't important.
ROGER. I thought that was the foundation for all of this.
R. DOROTHY. Was that all it was about? Your proof?
ROGER. [puzzled] That's where we began.
R. DOROTHY. And it is finished.
ROGER. I suppose it is.
R. DOROTHY. Where do we go from here?
ROGER. That's up to you. You've always been free to go where you will, do what you want.
R. DOROTHY. Is that your answer?
ROGER. Yes.
R. DOROTHY. Very well, then.
[Dorothy marches to Roger's desk. With a sweep of an arm, she clears the desk of papers and books. The bottle teeters on the edge. She swings herself onto Roger's desk in a single smooth motion and lands, seated, on the bureau.
He sits up, surprised. Dorothy's stockinged legs are close enough to feel his body heat. The hem of her gown rides slightly above the knees. She looks down at him.]
R. DOROTHY. I've changed. Look at me, Roger.
ROGER. [he looks up at her] I'm looking. What am I supposed to see?
R. DOROTHY. Look closer, then. Try standing.
ROGER. Alright, then. [Roger pushes back his chair as he stands. His is close to her, slightly to her right. He sets his glass onto the table.]
R. DOROTHY. You are supposed to see me. What do you see?
ROGER. An android. A friend.
R. DOROTHY. Is that all?
ROGER. What else am I supposed to see?
[Dorothy remains silent, grips the edge of the table. A tear gathers at the corner of her eye and flows out. Roger reaches out and catches it with the tip of his finger.]
ROGER.[clinically] A tear. [he tastes it] Salty.
R. DOROTHY. [throat tightens] Is it a real tear? If it isn't, what is? [wipes away another before it can fall]
ROGER. Are you crying? I mean, ahem, why are you crying?
R. DOROTHY. [she lowers her head.] Because, I hurt.
ROGER. Why do you hurt?
R. DOROTHY. Because, I love you. [Roger flinches. R. Dorothy rises from her seat. She buries her face into his chest. His hands cups her shoulders.]
ROGER. [gently] Why does it hurt?
R. DOROTHY. You know perfectly why. You said it yourself: it's the foundation of it all.
[Dorothy separates them by a small distance.
Eyes meet. A moment passes.
Roger reaches his hand out again and touches her chin. She moves her hand to brush it away, but stops once her gloved hands touch his. She allows her face to be guided to face his. Roger slowly bends down. Dorothy seems to almost acquiesce.]
R. DOROTHY. [quietly] stop [she jerks back. Her hand upsets the glass; it falls off the table. Roger hesitates.]
R. DOROTHY [insistently] No, stop it. [The glass stops falling inches from the floor. The red wine is half cascaded out. Roger freezes almost in kissing posture.]
[The stage lights and lamp snap off. Two spotlights snap back on. One is focused on R. Dorothy. One is aimed offstage, toward the stage's left, and illuminates Wayneright. He is wearing the same white suit that she last saw him in.
She turns around, the massive bureau effortlessly slides back. She steps away from the frozen Roger.]
R. DOROTHY. Father.
WAYNERIGHT. Don't you want to see what comes next?
R. DOROTHY. Yes.
WAYNERIGHT. Isn't that what you wanted?
R. DOROTHY. Not this way. This isn't right. You said that sculptor carved himself when he chiseled Galatea.
WAYNERIGHT. Of course, but the other end of the chisel is subtle.
R. DOROTHY. But he [gestures to the frozen Roger Higgins] was right. There IS a gap. I felt it. I can't explain it, but I felt it. It was clear as night and day.
[Shoes knock against the thin carpet and echo through the still theater. As a shadowed figure marches down the aisle, the audience is revealed to be a mass of cardboard cutouts. A young woman walks into the limelight beside T. Wayneright; she is the human version of R. Dorothy. She has short hair, and wears a black dress that looks more like R. Dorothy's daily wear. She takes her father's right arm.]
DOROTHY 0. So that's why you aborted it. I'm surprised at you, Sis. I thought that Dad made you from sterner stuff than that.
[Loudly] Haven't you realized that when it's night, somewhere else it's day? It's always night AND day. Dawn and dusk are happening right now, somewhere.
R. DOROTHY. What does that have to do with me?
DOROTHY 0. That it's light outside of this dreary theater. Act 5 is going to begin soon. Go on!
[R. Dorothy reluctantly leaves the stage. The silent orchestra pit is full of cutouts.]
DOROTHY 0. [smiling] Come on, that isn't your Roger, and you know it. Come on! It's not like me to be optimistic. I'm usually the dour and sarcastic one.
[R. Dorothy hops down from the stage. When she does, she reverts to her usual self, plainly dressed. She glances backwards. The glass and dream Roger are still suspended.]
R. DOROTHY [waking world voice] What happens next? [approaches father and sister. Comes into their circle of light.]
DOROTHY 0. [smile becomes sad.] You know that better than I would. Take care of your Roger, OK? [disengages from her father and hugs R. Dorothy, the android awkwardly returns the hug. They break apart. R. Dorothy pecks Timothy Wayneright on the cheek.]
R. DOROTHY. Good bye, Father. Good bye, Sister.
[R. Dorothy walks away rapidly. They wave to her. After several steps, she runs at a quick human pace up the aisle. Camera changes to her jostled point of view. The entire crowd is full of cutouts. She reaches a double door with metal pushbars. They are labeled "Exit" in block lettering. She explodes out of the door into blinding white light, and the film reel runs into a blank white.]