(DINA and SASHA are sitting on the bleachers in the school grounds)
DINA: So do you think I'm being too hard on Elizabeth?
SASHA: I think you could give her the benefit of the doubt.
DINA: Do you really think she's changed?
SASHA: I don't know exactly. But as far as I know, she hasn't put a foot wrong since she and Toby got together. And she's been round Toby's a lot, so I've seen her up close quite a bit. Amazing as it seems, they actually seem like quite a cute couple.
DINA: Look, I know Elizabeth has always had a crush on Toby and that a lot of what she does is out of jealousy. But what she really wants is to control Toby.
SASHA: Yeah, she has a problem with control. (laughs) Did you know that last year, she imprisoned Toby in a kind of parallel universe where they were a couple? She had every little detail worked out for poor Toby. He was going crazy in there. She kept making him repeat the same day in the hope that she would beat him into submission.
DINA: Yeah, I heard something about that. But how can he have such a short memory?
SASHA: Well, he's always had a weakness for Elizabeth.
DINA: I know. See, that's his Achilles heel. And she knows it.
SASHA (continuing train of thought): Or there was this other time when she trapped him in some Wild West virtual reality. Although to be honest, I had the impression that he rather enjoyed that one.
DINA (thinking): Her schemes seem to be getting more and more sophisticated. Which makes me all the more worried that we're right in the middle of one now. The most sophisticated one of them all.
SASHA: I don't know. It's possible, I admit. But do you really think Toby could be fooled?
DINA: I don't know. That's what I've got to find out.
(SASHA looks up, having seen someone approaching. It's TOBY)
SASHA: Hey Toby! What's up?
(DINA looks around)
TOBY: Uh… I was looking for Dina.
DINA (slightly awkward): What can I do for you, Toby?
TOBY: Um… there's something I want to show you.
DINA: What it is?
TOBY: Well, I wanted to ask you to come with me to Elizabeth's lab.
DINA (throws hands up in shock): Elizabeth's lab? Why would I want to go there?
TOBY: She's working on something she hopes is going to make you see she's genuine.
DINA: Right. She's got something lined up to brainwash me too, is that it? A hallucinogenic cookie, maybe?
TOBY (annoyed): It's not like that.
DINA: Then what is it?
TOBY: I don't know exactly. But I'm going to be there too. Even if you can't trust Elizabeth, you can trust me.
DINA: And if anything suspicious happens, you'll protect me?
TOBY: Yes. I will.
(DINA looks at SASHA, who gives her a vaguely encouraging look)
DINA: Ok then.
TOBY: Great.
(They leave together)
(DINA and TOBY in the school, near the hologram entrance to ELIZABETH's lab)
DINA: So Elizabeth's lab's not in the basement anymore, right?
TOBY: No, she moved it to the clock tower last year.
DINA: And is that right it got smashed by a giant koala or something?
TOBY (slightly worried): Yeah, that's right. Just out of curiosity, where did you hear that?
DINA: Russ told me today.
TOBY (relieved): Oh right. That's good. I thought for a second you might have seen it on the news or something.
DINA: Was it on the news?
TOBY (recounting excitedly): No, we wiped everyone's memories before word got out. So when they found the glass roof of the clock tower smashed, everyone thought it must have caved in of its own accord and they had it replaced. We had to hide all of Elizabeth's stuff, but that was easy enough.
DINA: Hang on. Wiped everyone's memories?
TOBY: Yeah, Elizabeth has this device that…
DINA: Wipes people's memories. I get it. So you did this together?
TOBY: Yeah, we had to. Took a whole evening to cover the whole of Sandy Bay. Had to do it street by street pretty much.
DINA: A romantic walk in the moonlight was it, just the two of you?
TOBY (embarrassed): Uh, it wasn't like that.
DINA: But you saved Elizabeth from this koala, right?
TOBY: That's right. (serious) You're not going to tell me I shouldn't have, are you?
DINA: Toby, I would never say something like that. If Elizabeth was in real danger, of course you had to help her. I don't like her, but I don't want her to die or anything like that.
(They pass through the hologram into the lift. They are granted access. The lift opens into ELIZABETH's lab, which looks more or less as it did before. ELIZABETH is working alone. She looks up as they enter.)
ELIZABETH (friendly): Come on in!
(TOBY walks calmly over to ELIZABETH and kisses her on the cheek. DINA walks in more circumspectly, looking around.)
ELIZABETH: Thanks for coming, Dina.
DINA (still suspicious): That's all right.
TOBY: So Elizabeth, what have you invented?
(ELIZABETH holds up what looks like a USB stick and hands it to TOBY)
ELIZABETH (speaking more to TOBY): Well, like I told you, I wanted something that could help Dina to understand that I'm not a liar. Some evidence that she could see with her own eyes.
TOBY (looking at the stick): And what's on here?
ELIZABETH (brightly): My memories. Or rather, a selection of them.
TOBY (goes to hand the stick back to ELIZABETH): Interesting.
ELIZABETH: No. Give it to Dina.
(Toby obliges. DINA takes the stick gingerly.)
ELIZABETH (pointing to some machinery on the table): This little machine I made extracts memories. So I made a selection of them, starting from when you saved my life. Then I compressed them and put them on the USB stick. Funnily enough, memories don't take up all that much memory.
(DINA smiles ruefully)
ELIZABETH (to DINA): You can watch them on your computer. Hopefully they'll make you see me in a different light.
TOBY (to ELIZABETH): Hey, Elizabeth, there isn't anything…?
ELIZABETH (laughs knowingly): Don't worry Toby, there's nothing too intimate on there. Dina doesn't want to see that. Anyway, those memories are private. (comes up close to TOBY) But you're free to watch whichever memories you like. In fact, it would be good if you did, so you can compare notes with Dina to confirm that I haven't been cheating.
TOBY (smiles awkwardly): Well ok. This is pretty weird though.
DINA: I'll say!
ELIZABETH (to TOBY): Do you have a better idea?
TOBY: No. We could try this. (to DINA) What do you say?
DINA: All right then. I'll have a look this evening. But if it all gets too weird, I'm turning it off.
TOBY (to DINA): Thanks.
DINA: Can I go now?
ELIZABETH (going to some shelves): One more thing.
(She rummages through the shelves, knocking over Toby's hi-tech polymer vivo interface suits in the process.)
TOBY: Hey, I forgot I lent those to you.
ELIZABETH (picking them up): You can take them back if you want. I ran all the checks I wanted on them. I could even make some back-ups if you like: I have the blueprint.
TOBY: No, I don't need them at the moment.
ELIZABETH (putting the suits back on the shelf): Ok.
DINA (coming closer): What are they?
TOBY (going to the shelf): Oh yeah, you won't have seen these before – I invented them last year. They're polymer vivo interface suits.
DINA: Meaning?
TOBY: You put on the suit and you can transform yourself to look exactly like anyone you want.
DINA: Really?
TOBY: You want a demo?
DINA: Uh… why not?
(TOBY quickly puts on the suit and transforms himself into RUSS)
DINA: Wow!
ELIZABETH: You see, Dina, Toby and I really upped our game last year.
DINA: Yeah, which is rather worrying.
(TOBY takes the suit off and puts it back on the shelf. Meanwhile ELIZABETH finds what she was looking for: it's a small key)
ELIZABETH: Dina, this is for you. (Hands her the key)
DINA: What is it?
ELIZABETH: It's a key to my lab.
DINA (surprised): Really?
ELIZABETH: Really. It's a question of trust.
DINA: Um… Ok. I don't think I'll be coming up here much. But thanks.
(Hesitantly she puts the key in her pocket.)
DINA: Well, I should probably be going.
TOBY (looks at watch): Yeah, I have a class too. Elizabeth?
ELIZABETH: I've just got a couple of things to finish off here. I'll catch you later.
TOBY: Ok.
(Hi kisses her goodbye and TOBY and DINA leave)
(ELIZABETH watches TOBY fondly as he leaves her lab. Then suddenly she hyperfunctions.
ELIZABETH (mysterious): Excellent!