INTERSTELLAR SPACE

A million suns shine in the dark.

A STARSHIP cuts through the night: a gleaming white cruiser.

Galleries of windows. Flying decks and observation domes.

On the hull: EXCELSIOR - A HomeStead Company Starship.

The ship flashes through a nebula. Space-dust sparkles as it

whips over the hull, betraying the ship's dizzying speed.

The nebula boils in the ship's wake. The Excelsior rockets

on, spotless and beautiful as a daydream.

STARSHIP EXCELSIOR G

RAND CONCOURSE

A wide plaza. Its lofty atrium cuts through seven decks,

creating tiers of promenades framing a vast skylight.

The promenades are empty. Chairs unoccupied. Beetle-like

robots vacuum the carpets and wax the floors.

CAFETERIA

Super-modern and gleaming. Hundreds of tables, all empty.

FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK

Lounge furniture and star-filled windows. Completely

deserted. A robot on spindly legs washes the glass.

HIBERNATION BAY

Endless corridors lined with vertical glass tubes. Inside

each tube stands a PASSENGER. Eyes closed in sleep. If

they're breathing you can't tell by looking.

They sleep on their feet, leaning against padded supports.

Straps secure them in place; sensors adhere to their skin.

They wear shorts and tank tops with HomeStead Company logos.

We survey their faces. No children, no senior citizens. Men

and women of every ethnicity in the prime of their lives.

We settle on one man. Leo PRESTON, 38. Sound asleep. A small

display on his pod reads:

LEO PRESTON

Rate 2 Mechanical Engineer

Denver, Colorado

AGE: 38

Blood type: A

Passenger class: silver

ONE-WAY

A deep BOOM. Echoes roll down the corridors.

Lights wink on in Leo's hibernation pod. Machinery hums to

life. Instruments beep and chitter.

Medical data fills the pod's screen. Leo's temperature rises.

His heart begins to beat. He takes a breath.

Leo opens his eyes.

Groggy, blinking, seeing nothing.

The backrest behind him converts into a recliner, lowering

him into a seated position.

The sensors on his skin drop off and snake back into the

pod's machinery.

A video screen descends before Leo's eyes.

ONSCREEN - A beautiful stewardess appears, beaming at the

camera. She is inhumanly perfect, a computer-generated image.

VIDEO STEWARDESS

Good Morning, James!

LEO

(DISORIENTED)

Leo. What the...

VIDEO STEWARDESS

Don't worry, Leo. It's normal to feel

confused. You've just spent a hundred

and twenty years in suspended

animation.

She makes it sound sexy. Leo scowls and rubs his eyes.

ONSCREEN - An animation. Happy people go to sleep in glass

tubes in a hospital. The tubes are loaded onto a spaceship.

VIDEO STEWARDESS

You're a passenger on the Starship

Excelsior - a Homestead Company

Starship. We've nearly completed the

120-year flight from Earth to your

new home - the colony world of

Homestead II. Congratulations!

ONSCREEN - The Excelsior leaves a skyscraper-covered Earth

and soars through space to a lush green Homestead II.

LEO

(REMEMBERING)

Oh, yeah.

VIDEO STEWARDESS

The Excelsior is on final approach.

(SENSUALLY)

For the next two months, you'll enjoy

luxury space travel. Food. Fun. New

friends.

ONSCREEN The ship's lavish amenities: fine dining, sports

facilities, shops, all swarming with happy passengers.

VIDEO STEWARDESS

Then you'll start your new life on

Homestead II. Back to basics. A fresh

start. Room to grow.

ONSCREEN - Publicity shots of Homestead II. Mountains,

forests, beaches. Settlements ringed by farmland.

VIDEO STEWARDESS (CONT'D)

Your wake-up capsules and nutrient

juice will help you recover from

hibernation!

Pills rattle into a dish; a glass of pink juice appears. He

takes his pills and gulps his juice with a grimace.

Leo's backrest eases him onto his feet. A drawer pops open,

revealing a Homestead Company bathrobe and slippers.

VIDEO STEWARDESS

Make yourself comfortable in your

complimentary robe and slippers.

He puts them on.

VIDEO STEWARDESS

Your shipcard is your key to the

starship.

(FLIRTATIOUSLY)

Don't lose it!

The pod produces Leo's shipcard: a plastic ID card on a

lanyard. He hangs it around his neck.

VIDEO STEWARDESS (CONT'D)

Now you're ready to go to your cabin.

Make yourself at home! Enjoy the rest

of your voyage, Leo!

LEO

Right.

Leo steps out of his pod into the corridor.

All the other pods are closed, the people inside asleep. A

look of concern crosses Leo's face.

VIDEO STEWARDESS

Leo, your cabin is this way.

The screen flips around to face him. The video stewardess

points down the corridor.

VIDEO STEWARDESS (CONT'D)

Take Elevator D to deck seven. Your

cabin number is on your shipcard.

LEO

Thanks.

He shuffles down the corridor in his slippers, rubbing his

face. Having trouble keeping his eyes open.

Behind him, his pod closes up. Its screen reads PASSENGER

DISCHARGED.

ELEVATOR FOYER

Leo finds a bank of elevators. As he approaches, the

indicators blink on. An elevator opens, spilling light.

He steps inside, and muzak begins to play.

DECK SEVEN

A corridor lined with doors. A CLEANING ROBOT vacuums.

Leo appears. Instantly the corridor lights brighten. The

cleaning robot rolls past Leo.

CLEANING ROBOT

Hello, Passenger.

LEO

(STARTLED)

Hello, robot.

Leo follows wall markings to his cabin. Lets himself in.

LEO'S CABIN

Cozy but small. A bed, a desk, an armchair. No window.

A SCREEN lights up. The HomeStead Company theme music plays.

An ANNOUNCER speaks.

ANNOUNCER (V.O.)

Welcome to your cabin, Leo! Your home

until we make landfall.

Leo doesn't pay attention. Pokes around, opening drawers.

ANNOUNCER

Over the next two months, you'll

prepare for your new life on

Homestead II.

Leo peers into the tiny bathroom. There's a little video

screen, and the presentation's running there too.

ANNOUNCER

Passengers are organized into

Learning Groups for orientation.

You've been assigned to Learning

group...thirty-eight! Don't forget!

ONSCREEN: "Learning Group 38."

The DOORBELL rings.

Leo opens the door eagerly - and deflates. No one there.

He looks down. A waist-high CARGO ROBOT peers up at him with

goggle eyes. It carries two suitcases and a duffel bag.

CARGO ROBOT

Passenger Leo Preston?

LEO

Leo. Yeah.

CARGO ROBOT

Your luggage, Passenger Leo. Swipe

your shipcard to confirm.

Leo swipes his shipcard through a slot on top of the robot.

The robot scoots inside and deposits Leo's bags on the floor.

CARGO ROBOT

Enjoy your luggage!

LEO

Thanks.

CARGO ROBOT

Thank you, Passenger Leo!

The robot zips out the door.

Leo looks up and down the corridor. The receding robot is the

only sign of life. He steps back inside.

ANNOUNCER

Your group's orientation starts in

forty-five minutes. Join them in

Conference Room Twenty on Deck One.

Don't forget!

DECK FOUR

SHOPPING DISTRICT

A mall with tiled floors and ornate storefronts.

Leo walks along in his robe and slippers. Storefront signs

flicker to life as he passes.

A dry fountain Makarovhes water at his approach.

DECK ONE CONFERENCE ROOM TWENTY

Forty chairs around a big table. A large screen on the wall.

ONSCREEN A digital INSTRUCTOR, a handsome woman of middle

age, waits with a computer's infinite patience.

Leo walks in. The door slides closed behind him.

VIDEO INSTRUCTOR

Hello, Passengers. Will you all

please take a seat.

Leo looks around. He's the only one there. He sits.

VIDEO INSTRUCTOR

Earth is a prosperous planet. The

cradle of civilization. A world with

a long, proud history. But for many,

it's also overpopulated. Over-priced.

Overrated. Overrun.

Behind the Instructor, video clips of Earth's urban sprawl:

an endless gleaming metropolis glittering with traffic.

LEO

(raising his hand)

Can I just...

VIDEO INSTRUCTOR

No questions until the end, please.

LEO

Wait. Where are all the other...

VIDEO INSTRUCTOR

The Colonies offer an alternative. A

better way of life.

The screen fills with shots of Homestead II: aerial footage

of mountains, beaches, beautiful garden cities.

VIDEO INSTRUCTOR

And none is more beautiful than

Homestead II, the Jewel of the

Occupied Worlds.

ONE HOUR LATER

Leo sits wearily, chin propped on his hand. The Video

Instructor chatters on. Inspiring footage of Homestead II.

VIDEO INSTRUCTOR

...thriving job markets in mining,

farming and manufacturing. An

explosion in the cultural arts. And

if you long for the life less

civilized, you can apply for a

pioneer permit and seek your fortune

in the wild.

( pause)

Any questions?

LEO

(EXPLODING)

Where IS everybody?!

The Instructor pauses. The question seems to confuse her.

VIDEO INSTRUCTOR

We're all on the Starship Excelsior.

Five thousand passengers and fifty-

eight crew members.

LEO

But I'm the only one awake.

VIDEO INSTRUCTOR

No, all the passengers wake up at the

same time.

LEO

Then something's wrong with the other

hibernation pods.

VIDEO INSTRUCTOR

Hibernation pods are fail-safe.

LEO

So why am I the only one here?

VIDEO INSTRUCTOR

I'm sorry. I don't understand your

question.

GRAND CONCOURSE

Leo finds an INFOMAT - an information kiosk. A banner scrolls

across the screen: ASK ME A QUESTION! Leo taps the screen.

INFOMAT

(INSANELY CHEERFUL)

Hello! What's your question?

LEO

I need to talk to a person. A real

live person.

INFOMAT

What sort of person? Personal

trainer? Travel planner? Therapist?

LEO

Someone in charge.

INFOMAT

The Ship Steward handles passenger

affairs. You can find him in his

office on the Service Deck.

ONSCREEN: A dotted line on the map shows how to get there.

LEO

Thank you.

INFOMAT

Happy to help!

SERVICE DECK - CORRIDOR

Leo appears around the corner. The lights brighten, the

ventilation kicks up a notch.

He finds a door marked SHIP STEWARD.

SHIP STEWARD'S OFFICE

The lights flash on as Leo enters, revealing...an office in

mothballs. Empty chairs, barren desks.

LEO

Not good.

ELEVATOR LOBBY

Another Infomat. Leo arrives at a jog.

INFOMAT

Hello! What's your quest...

LEO

Who's flying the ship?

INFOMAT

The bridge crew includes the Captain,

the Pilot, the Chief Navigator...

LEO

The Captain. I want to talk to the

Captain.

INFOMAT

The Captain rarely handles passenger

queries directly.

LEO

Emergency, okay? Where is he?

INFOMAT

The Captain is usually found on the

Bridge, on the Command Deck.

ONSCREEN: A helpful map shows the way. Leo marches off.

COMMAND DECK

Leo finds the door to the Bridge. He opens it eagerly - only

to find a second door behind it - an armored hatch labeled

FIREWALL and SECURE ACCESS AREA.

A porthole of thick glass gives a narrow view of the Bridge.

It's deserted. Instrument lights gleam in the dark.

LEO

(pounding on the hatch)

Come on! What the hell is happening?

DECK THREE - CAFE COURTYARD

Leo RUNS past restaurants, lounges, shops. All deserted.

LEO

(panic in his voice)

Hello? Hello!

SERVICE DECK - CELESTIAL PROMENADE

The highest promenade on the ship: windows on all sides. The

huge skylight just overhead. It's almost like being outside.

The atrium plunges seven stories to the Concourse below.

LEO

(an echoing shout)

Hello!

A SOUND behind him makes him spin.

But it's just a window-washer: a robot with long spindly

limbs. It moves past Leo, polishing windows. Oblivious.

A sign catches Leo's attention: "OBSERVATORY - Your Place In

the Universe."

OBSERVATORY

Leo enters the planetarium of the future: theater seats

facing a holographic "stage."

IN HOLOGRAM: An image of the starship hangs in space. Glowing

text reads "Look through the eyes of the Starship Excelsior!"

Leo goes to the control podium. Touches the screen.

OBSERVATORY

(a voice as deep as God's)

What can I show you?

LEO

We're supposed to land pretty soon,

but it looks like I'm the only one

awake. Is that normal?

OBSERVATORY

I don't understand. What can I show

you?

LEO

(IMPATIENTLY)

Show me Homestead II.

IN HOLOGRAM: The planet Homestead II, Earth's twin sister.

OBSERVATORY

Homestead II is the fourth planet in

the Bhakti system.

LEO

Right. And how soon are we landing?

OBSERVATORY

Approximately ninety years.

LEO

What?

OBSERVATORY

We land on Homestead II in ninety

years, three weeks, and one day.

LEO

No. How long ago did we leave Earth?

OBSERVATORY

Approximately thirty years ago.

Leo stares at the hologram in horrified realization.

LEO

I woke up too soon.

OBSERVATORY

I don't understand.

LEO

Neither do I.

HIBERNATION BAY

Leo sprints down a row of hibernation pods. Heart pounding.

Slides to a stop in front of his empty pod.

Leo fusses with the controls, pressing buttons. But the

screen just reads "PASSENGER DISCHARGED."

Crouching, he pulls at the pod's canopy, trying to open it

with his hands. It doesn't budge.

LEO

I'm supposed to be in there!

HIBERNATION BAY - CORRIDOR

Leo trudges between rows of sleeping passengers to the aft

end of the huge Hibernation Bay.

There he finds a hatch labeled CREW HIBERNATION FACILITY.

Leo opens it eagerly - and finds another armored hatch with a

small porthole. Labels reads FIREWALL and SECURE ACCESS AREA.

Leo presses the switch. No result.

He peers through the porthole. Inside, the entire crew of the

starship stands sleeping.

GRAND CONCOURSE

INFOMAT

Leo stands at another Infomat.

LEO

How do I make a phone call?

INFOMAT

Your cabin telephone...

LEO

No. Long distance. How do I send a

message to Earth?

INFOMAT

Interstellar messages are sent by

laser array. Speak to the Duty

Officer in the Comm Center.

ONSCREEN: The Infomat displays a helpful map.

LEO

Please note that interstellar

messaging is an expensive service.

LEO

(WALKING AWAY)

Bite me.

INFOMAT

Happy to help!

COMMAND DECK - COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

Two communications booths for passenger use. Leo sits at one

of these. Swipes his shipcard.

COMMUNICATIONS BOOTH

Planet and connection?

LEO

Earth. The HomeStead Company.

COMMUNICATIONS BOOTH

There are thirty thousand phone

numbers listed under "HomeStead

Company." What number?

LEO

I don't know. I'm emigrating to

Homestead II. I have an emergency.

COMMUNICATIONS BOOTH

Division of Colonial Affairs,

Homestead II Program. I have a

Customer Help Line.

LEO

Sounds about right.

The booth's camera zooms in on Leo's face. A microphone

extends toward his mouth. The red RECORDING light comes on.

COMMUNICATIONS BOOTH

Begin message.

Leo's a deer in the headlights. He collects himself.

LEO

Hi. I'm Leo Preston. I'm a passenger

on the Excelsior. Something went

wrong with my hibernation pod and I

woke up too soon. Ninety years too

soon. I can't get back to sleep.

Nobody else is awake.

(with growing panic)

If I don't figure something out, I'm

going to die of old age before we get

to Homestead II. So help me out here.

(takes a deep breath)

I'll keep trying to fix this. Maybe I

missed something simple. But I could

use a hand. Thanks.

Leo pushes the "SEND" button. Sits back in his chair.

COMMUNICATIONS BOOTH

Message sent.

LEO

Outstanding.

COMMUNICATIONS BOOTH

Message will arrive in nineteen

years.

LEO

Say what?

COMMUNICATIONS BOOTH

Earliest possible reply in fifty-five

years.

LEO

No.

COMMUNICATIONS BOOTH

We are nineteen light years from

Earth. By the time your message

arrives, we will be thirty-six light-

years from Earth. We apologize for

the delay.

LEO

(DEVASTATED)

Fifty-five years.

COMMUNICATIONS BOOTH

That will be six thousand dollars.

GRAND CONCOURSE

Leo crosses the Concourse like a sleepwalker in his robe and

slippers. He looks shell-shocked.

He comes to the Concourse Bar: the fanciest watering hole on

the ship. Black leather stools along a marble bartop.

Leo touches the bartop...and a MAN swings up behind the bar -

as if mounted on a hinge. A handsome fellow in a bartender's

uniform - his hair and skin eerily perfect. This is Capricorn.

Leo jumps out of his skin.

Capricorn

What can I get you?

Leo

I thought I was the only one awake!

CAPRICORN

I doubt it. It's the middle of the

afternoon. Are you drinking or not?

He produces a cloth and polishes the bartop. In a startling

movement, he glides the length of the bar, polishing all the

way, and glides back as if on roller skates.

LEO steps up on the footrail and peers behind the bar.

Capricorn's body stops at the waist. He's mounted on rails,

built into the bar.

LEO

(DEFLATED)

You're a robot.

CAPRICORN

Android, technically. Capricorn's the

name.

Leo

(taking a seat)

I'm Leo.

Capricorn shakes his hand.

CAPRICORN

Pleased to meet you. What'll it be?

LEO

Whiskey, neat.

Capricorn pours. Leo knocks the drink back. Points into the

empty glass while his eyes water. Capricorn pours another. Leo

takes a big swallow and sets the glass down half-full.

LEO

Capricorn , how much do you know about

the ship?

CAPRICORN

I don't know. I know some things.

LEO

What do I do if my hibernation pod

malfunctions?

CAPRICORN

Impossible. Hibernation pods are fail-

safe.

LEO

Yeah, well, I woke up early.

CAPRICORN

Can't happen.

LEO

(A CHALLENGE)

How long until we get to Homestead

II?

CAPRICORN

Ninety years or so.

LEO

And when are all of us passengers

supposed to wake up?

CAPRICORN

Not until the last two months.

LEO

So how can I be sitting here with

ninety years to go?

Capricorn's eyes take on a faraway look. His head twitches.

CAPRICORN

It's not possible for you to be here.

He smiles as if he's solved the problem.

LEO

But I am.

CAPRICORN

Sorry, Leo. My specialty is cocktails

and conversation. Take your fancy

trick questions to one of those

Infomats. They think they know

everything.

LEO

Capricorn, I'm in trouble. I'm screwed.

I am completely, ridiculously

screwed.

CAPRICORN

Lot of self-pity.

LEO

Self pity? I'm going to die of old

age on this ship!

CAPRICORN

Leo, we all die. Even androids end up

on the scrap heap. It's not dying

that matters, it's living. This is

your life. Are you going to live it

or lie down and die?

Leo shakes his head in surrender.

LEO

What do I owe you?

CAPRICORN

Leo, the booze is on the house.

DECK NINE - AT OBSERVATION DECK - NIGHT

A moody lounge with panoramic windows. Leo walks in. Strolls

up to the glass.

Stares out at the red stars behind the ship, the cold white

stars all around.

LEO'S CABIN - MORNING

Leo wakes up and rolls out of bed. Shuffles into the shower.

CAFETERIA

Machines offer food and drink in dizzying variety. Each

machine has a card slot and a screen displaying its menu.

Leo enters, dressed in his own clothes - jeans, a T-shirt.

He swipes his shipcard at a coffee machine. It offers sixteen

kinds of coffee, from a simple cup of joe to the "Mocha

Cappuccino Extreme." Leo picks the best of the lot.

COFFEE MACHINE

Sorry. The Mocha Cappuccino Extreme

is reserved for gold-class

passengers. Please select another

item.

Leo presses one button after another, denied each time.

COFFEE MACHINE (CONT'D)

Sorry...sorry...sorry...Large coffee.

LEO

Are you serious?

COFFEE MACHINE

Please enjoy.

ELEVATOR

Leo ascends, sipping coffee and eating an egg sandwich.

The doors open at the Command Deck. A sign reads "Crew Area -

No Passengers beyond this point." Leo breezes past the sign.

COMMAND DECK

Leo prowls the floor, opening doors.

He finds a room marked EMERGENCY GEAR and opens it eagerly.

It's full of space suits and oxygen tanks.

He peers into a red HAZARD cabinet: fire extinguishers, an

axe, an epoxy foamer for atmosphere leaks - all behind glass.

He opens another door marked EMERGENCY MANUALS and smiles.

shelf after shelf of waterproof, fireproof technical manuals.

Leo pulls a manual labeled HIBERNATION SYSTEMSSUBDECK B - PASSENGER CARGO STOWAGE - DAY

A cavernous cargo hold. Leo drives a forklift down the aisle,

scanning container numbers.

He finds a container labeled "PASSENGER #1498, LEO

PRESTON." The forklift pulls it from the rack.

THE CARGO CONTAINER

Opens to reveal Leo's belongings. Cartons marked "sports" or

"clothes" or "kitchen stuff."

Amidst the cartons, a heavy-duty TOOLBOX. Leo hauls it out.

HIBERNATION BAY

Leo sits in front of his empty hibernation pod. His toolbox

beside him. The Hibernation Systems manual lies open.

Leo tinkers with the electronics inside his pod.

The pod hums to life. Its data screen flickers with

information. Mysterious WHIRS and THUNKS.

The canopy opens.

Elated, Leo bounces to his feet. Strips off his shirt and

scrambles in. The canopy closes over him.

He assumes the position, his back against the backrest,

waiting for the pod to put him to sleep.

Nothing happens. He pokes at the ports where the sensors and

intravenous lines used to protrude. Shakes the machine.

He gives up. It's not working.

But now he's trapped inside the pod.

He pushes at the canopy, but it's locked shut. He pounds on

the glass with no effect. Finally he loses it, shouting and

stamping, hammering and raging - all muffled behind glass.

Exhausted, he sinks to the floor of the pod, staring out at

his tools and his manual, his discarded shirt.

Then he notices the emergency release handle down by the

floor. He pulls it, and the canopy pops open.

OUTSIDE THE POD

The pod's display screen blinks back to its original message.

PASSENGER DISCHARGED.

CREW HIBERNATION FACILITY DOOR

Leo looks through the porthole at the sleeping crew.

Leo swipes his shipcard through the door switch. ACCESS

DENIED. He pokes at the keypad. ACCESS DENIED.

Leo opens his toolbox, selects a tool and starts to remove

the keypad's cover plate.

THREE WEEKS LATER

CREW HIBERNATION FACILITY DOOR - MORNING

Leo works on the door with an industrial LASER CUTTER. Sparks

fly. He's drenched in sweat. Mussed and unshaven.

He lifts the goggles and inspects the door. The laser cutter

has barely marked the surface.

The door's a mess. Its switch hangs on wires. There are pry

marks around the latch. Gouges around the window. Failed

drill holes. Dents left by an axe.

But the door stands firm.

Leo lets the laser cutter fall. It joins a scrapyard of tools

on the floor: sledgehammer, jackhammer, drill, crowbar, axe.

HIBERNATION BAY - Leo'S POD

Another debris field surrounds Leo's hibernation pod. Tools

and cables, electronic instruments, a diagnostic laptop.

Leo stalks by without so much as a sideways glance.

CONCOURSE BAR - DAY

Capricorn stands behind the bar polishing glasses. Leo sits,

sweaty and grimy, a whiskey in front of him.

His speech is soft around the edges. He's had a few.

LEO

I thought I'd figure something out. I

thought it would just come to me.

CAPRICORN

Stands to reason.

LEO

But I've tried everything.

CAPRICORN

Sometimes you can't catch a break.

Leo gives Capricorn a thoughtful look.

LEO

I'm your only customer, but you're

always polishing a glass.

CAPRICORN

nervous when a bartender just stands

there.

LEO

Okay. Lay some bartender wisdom on

me. I'm lost in space here.

Capricorn polishes the bar while he thinks that one over.

CAPRICORN

You're not where you want to be. You

feel like you're supposed to be

somewhere else. Right?

LEO

You said it.

CAPRICORN

Well, here's the thing. Say you could

snap your fingers and be wherever you

wanted to be. Back on Earth, or on

Homestead II.

LEO

Okay.

CAPRICORN

I'll bet even if you got your wish,

you'd still feel this way. Not in the

right place. Supposed to be somewhere

else. That's not a crisis, it's the

human condition.

Leo takes a moment to consider that.

LEO

That's not me.

CAPRICORN

Well, maybe not. The point is, you

can't get so wrapped up in where

you'd rather be that you forget to

make the most of where you are.

LEO

What are you telling me?

CAPRICORN

It's a big ship. You're always

running around banging on things and

yelling at the computers. Take a

break. Live a little.

Leo spins on his barstool, surveying the Grand Concourse.

LEO

Live a little.

When he comes back around he gives a shove. He spins faster.

CAPRICORN

That's the spirit.

Leo goes for one more shove. Misses. Falls off his seat.

GRAND CONCOURSE - INFORMATION KIOSK

Leo scans a map of the ship. Second class cabins. First class

cabins. And the good stuff like palatial suites named for

European cities.

His finger stops on one of the biggest. The Berlin Suite.

BERLIN SUITE

High ceilings, posh furniture, panoramic windows.

The door jumps in its frame with a THUNK. Slides open. Leo

enters, a crowbar in hand.

A cargo robot follows him in, carrying his toolbox and

suitcases. It deposits them on the floor.

CARGO ROBOT

The Berlin Suite! Enjoy your luggage!

BERLIN SUITE - BATH

Leo cleans up in the opulent bathtub. A robot arm with a

water jet washes his back.

BERLIN SUITE - BEDROOM

Leo unpacks. Stowing clothes in closets, laying out mementos.

He pulls a pair of sneakers out of his luggage.

DECK TWO - GYMNASIUM - BASKETBALL COURT

Leo shoots baskets in sneakers and gym clothes. He's not bad.

He shoots, rebounds, shoots.

SPA

Leo lies on a massage table wearing a towel. A pair of robot

arms emerge from the table and begin to massage him.

DECK THREE - MARCELLO'S - DAY

The Italian restaurant. Cafe tables, white tablecloths.

Leo sits perusing a menu. A robotic waiter - a machine, not a

counterfeit human - rolls up to the table.

LEO

(WITH RELISH)

Let me have the rigatoni alla diabla,

with the sauteed spinach and a glass

of the Montepulciano.

DECK TWO - ARCADE - EVENING

A state-of-the-art game room. Leo inspects the flagship game:

"Z Factor!" A huge holographic display, a futuristic cockpit.

Leo swipes his shipcard. The game speaks like an angry giant.

Z FACTOR

Leo Preston! Welcome to the cutting

edge of gaming! The greatest

challenge you will ever know!

LEO

All right then.

He clambers into the cockpit.

Z FACTOR

(SNARLING)

Are you ready to play Z Factor?

LEO

Yes!

Z FACTOR

(an echoing roar)

Begin!

IN HOLOGRAM: A fortress shines on a hilltop. War machines

crawl over a blasted land. Letters flash: LEVEL ONE.

A WARRIOR appears. Leos character. Leo works the controls.

HOLOGRAM: The Warrior rises off the ground on a beam of

light - and is immediately torn to pieces by enemy fire.

Z FACTOR (CONT'D)

You lose! Z Factor reigns supreme!

The game howls with demonic laughter.

DECK FOUR - MOVIE THEATER - EVENING

A classic theater. Seats for a thousand. A velvet curtain.

Leo enters. Cued by his arrival, the curtain parts. The film

begins. He settles into a seat.

SUPER: THREE MONTHS LATER

DECK TWO - ARCADE - DAY

Leo is playing "Z Factor!" and he's on fire.

HOLOGRAM: The Warrior battles dragons above a crystalline

city. A title announces "Level 40."

He moves like a martial artist, dripping sweat.

HOLOGRAM: The Warrior challenges the game's Final Enemy -

a colossus with a hundred eyes. The Final Enemy falls dead.

Z-FACTOR

You are victorious!

LEO

Yes!

Z-FACTOR

You are the Grand Master of Z Factor!

LEO

(ELATED)

I am the Grand Master of Z Factor!

GYMNASIUM - BASKETBALL COURT

Leo shoots baskets. He's brought dozens of balls onto the

court. He no longer rebounds, just grabs the nearest ball.

He shoots from half court. From even farther away. Long

shots, bounce shots off the wall.

He launches a full-court shot, bangs it off the rim, and lets

himself topple over backward. Lies staring at the ceiling.

BELLA CANTINA - AFTERNOON

The ship's Mexican restaurant. It has the same robot waiters

as the Italian place, but here they wear sombreros.

Leo sits over the wreckage of his lunch. He downs a margarita

and puts the empty glass down beside several others.

LEO

Another margarita!

MEXICAN ROBOT WAITER

You have had many, senor.

LEO

(DRUNKENLY)

Margarita otra vez!

MEXICAN ROBOT WAITER

Si, senor.

LIBRARY - AFTERNOON

A room full of workstations, each with a reading machine. Leo

sits at one in a headset, taking a Russian Language course.

RUSSIAN TEACHER (FILTERED)

This is the Gudonov Russian Language

Course. Level One. Let's begin.

Repeat after me.

(IN RUSSIAN)

[I am beginning to learn.]

LEO

(IN RUSSIAN)

[I am beginning to learn.]

RUSSIAN TEACHER (FILTERED)

I am beginning to learn.

LEO

I am beginning to learn.

CONCOURSE BAR - EVENING

Leo sits drinking. Three glasses in front of him. Drunk.

LEO

(in bad Russian, subtitled)

[I be study the Russian.]

CAPRICORN

(in perfect Russian, subtitled)

[Good for you! It's a beautiful

language.]

LEO

You speak Russian!

CAPRICORN

Of course. We have Russian

passengers.

LEO

Well, I'm trying new things. From now

on, every time I sit down, I want a

drink I haven't had before.

CAPRICORN

Fair enough.

Capricorn mixes a bright green drink, sets it in front of Leo.

Leo takes a sip and makes a horrible face.

LEO

What's that?

CAPRICORN

Something new.

THREE MONTHS LATER

BERLIN SUITE - BEDROOM - MORNING

Leo sleeps in his luxurious bed. The covers knotted around

him. He hasn't shaven in weeks.

His eyes open. He lies staring at the ceiling.

After a long moment he gets up. Shuffles toward the bathroom

in his underwear. He's put on a beer gut.

CAFETERIA - MORNING

Leo walks past empty tables. Dials up a coffee and a roll.

Sits sipping coffee and staring at nothing.

ARCADE ENTRANCE - DAY

Flashes and blasts of noise. The sounds of Z Factor!

Z FACTOR (O.S.)

You are victorious!

AT THE Z-FACTOR MACHINE

Leo sits blank-faced in the cockpit.

Z-FACTOR

New high score!

Bored, Leo punches his name into the High Scores board. LEO.

All the other high scores say LEO.

CONCOURSE BAR - MORNING

Leo walks up to the bar and slides onto a stool.

LEO

(in fluent Russian)

[I'm ready for today's new drink]

CAPRICORN

(in Russian)

[I'm afraid I can't help you, my

friend.]

Leo thumps his fist on the bar.

LEO

(in Russian)

[Don't argue with me, robot. Give me

a new drink.]

CAPRICORN

(RELUCTANTLY)

There are no new drinks.

LEO

What do you mean?

CAPRICORN

I can make two thousand, seven

hundred and thirty-eight cocktails.

You've had them all.

The news hits Leo like a death in the family.

LEO

There are no new drinks.

NIGHTCLUB - EVENING

On the holographic stage, a sexy LOUNGE SINGER in a slinky

dress croons a torch song. Leo stands just inches away.

He touches her face. The hologram dissolves into static.

Leo drops his hand, restoring the illusion. Closes his eyes

in an agony of loneliness.

GRAND CONCOURSE - SHOPPING DISTRICT - NIGHT

Leo walks past the upscale shops, blind to their displays.

He comes to a PHOTO BOOTH. The promotional pictures on the

side catch his attention: people clowning, smiling, kissing.

He pulls back the curtain, sits in the booth. The curtain

falls. The strobe flashes.

A photostrip drops into the tray outside the machine: four

identical shots of him staring into the lens without emotion.

ELITE DECK - ELITE PROMENADE - DAY

Leo walks numbly along, ignoring the stellar view. He munches

potato chips out of a bag.

A SWEEPER ROBOT follows him like a dog, collecting crumbs.

Leo feeds it chips. One for Leo, one for the robot.

OBSERVATION DECK

Lep enters, still munching chips. The sweeper robot follows.

Leo stands at the windows. Stares out into the dark. Sighs a

terrible sigh.

Suddenly he's wracked by sobs. Tears welling up. He leans his

forehead against the glass. Moaning.

After a moment he sits down blindly.

The whole room begins to slide past him.

Confused, Leo looks around. He's accidentally sat down on the

sweeper robot: it carries him across the room.

TRAVELING SHOT

The robot carries Leo up and down the Celestial Promenade.

Down an elevator.

Past the Concourse Bar. Leo waves. Capricorn waves back,

speechless.

DECK ONE

The robot heads into a low hatch. Leo ducks to fit through.

ROBOTICS CENTER

A mechanical hive. Here the ship's robots are cleaned,

repaired, recharged. Robots bustle everywhere - never

colliding, never getting lost. A ballet.

Leo's sweeper robot vomits its load of collected dirt into a

waste chute. Heads into a recharging niche.

Leo jumps off.

He explores: it's an engineer's fantasia. Leo's eyes show

signs of life. But it's a hazardous place, with cranes and

platforms, hoses and blowtorches on the move.

He exits through another low hatch to find himself in the...

HIBERNATION BAY

Thousands of sleepers in their glass tubes. Leo walks among

them, looking at their faces.

Suddenly he stops, staring. Inside a pod, a woman stands

sleeping. This is Lucy Aurora . A breathtaking beauty.

LEO

Who are you?

(peers at her data screen)

Lucy.

He moves on, browsing people. Stops. Backtracks. He stands in

front of Lucy, looking in through the glass.

He glances at her data screen again.

LEO

New York City. Journalist.

DECK TWO - LIBRARY

A workstation. Leo types "Lucy Aurora" into a search engine.

It returns a list of New Yorker articles. Some titles:

The New Corporate Overlords

Patient or Patent? Genetic Medicine and You

Modern Love: Dating the Database

Leo moves the articles onto a digital slate.

CONCOURSE BAR - EVENING

Leo sits reading one of Lucy's articles. Capricorn keeps busy.

LEO

Did you know ninety percent of the

businesses in the world are owned by

just eight companies?

CAPRICORN

Is that right?

LEO

She's good. She knows her stuff, and

she's not afraid of anybody.

CAPRICORN

Who's that?

LEO

Lucy.

CAPRICORN

Who's Lucy?

LEO

A woman. A passenger.

THREE MONTHS LATER

BERLIN SUITE - MORNING

Leo lies asleep, wearing boxer shorts and a full beard. The

suite's a wreck. Laundry and dishes litter the floor.

His eyes open. He looks at the stars outside. Gropes under

the pillow and pulls out a remote control. Punches a button.

The window shades come down, hiding the view.

CORRIDOR

Leo emerges from his room in boxer shorts and slippers. He's

dragging a blanket.

A housekeeping robot, its dustpan quivering in anticipation,

hovers outside his door.

Leo taps the "Do Not Disturb" button on his door panel and

walks away.

The housekeeping robot squeals in frustration as the door

closes over the mess inside.

CAFETERIA

Leo pours milk over a bowl of cereal.

ELEVATOR

Leo descends, the blanket draped over his shoulders like a

serape. He holds his bowl of cereal in both hands.

HIBERNATION BAY - AURORA'S POD

Leo stands eating cereal and staring at Lucy. His eyes

never stray from her face.

GRAND CONCOURSE - CONCOURSE BAR

Leo glowers at the bar in his boxers and blanket. The cereal

bowl on the bar beside him.

LEO

I'm not saying the universe is evil.

It's just got an ugly sense of humor.

It doesn't just crush you. It crushes

you ironically.

CAPRICORN

Things may look dark sometimes...

LEO

You get to fly to another planet, but

you die on the way. You're completely

alone, with the perfect woman right

in front of you, just out of reach.

CAPRICORN

Lucy .

LEO

Yes, Lucy! Capricorn, I'm falling for

her. I've read all her stuff.

Sometimes I talk to her and I know

exactly what she'd say.

CAPRICORN

Leo, Lucy's asleep.

LEO

I know.

(lays his head on the bar)

I know.

DECK NINE - OBSERVATORY - DAY

HOLOGRAM: Excelsior's progress diagram.

The Excelsior hangs between Earth and Homestead II. A legend

reads: "TIME TRAVELED: 30 YEARS. TIME REMAINING: 90 YEARS."

Leo stands watching.

The numbers change with a digital click. TIME TRAVELED: 31

YEARS TIME REMAINING:

89 YEARS.

CONCOURSE BAR - MORNING

Leo walks up to the bar with the HIBERNATION SYSTEMS MANUAL.

Drops the book on the bar with a thud and takes a seat.

Leo

Capricorn. Say you were trapped on a

desert island, and you had the power

to wish somebody there with you. You

wouldn't be alone anymore, but you'd

be stranding another person on the

island. Would you make the wish?

CAPRICORN

I don't know. I've never been on an

island.

LEO

Okay. Say you figured out how to do

something that would make your life a

hundred times better. But it's wrong,

and there's no taking it back. How

wrong would it have to be to stop

you? I mean, what if it made your

life a thousand times better? How do

you do the math?

CAPRICORN

Leo. These are not robot questions.

Leo stares at Capricorn in frustration.

LEO

(spelling it out)

I know how to wake up Lucy.

CAPRICORN

Sounds like a fine idea. You could

use some company.

LEO

I'd be stranding her on this ship for

the rest of her life!

CAPRICORN

Oh. Well, you can't do that.

Leo buries his face in his hands.

LEO

What am I going to do?

CAPRICORN

Leo. I'm here for you.

LEO

(LOOKING UP)

Capricorn, you're a machine.

Leo hauls the manual off the bartop and stalks away.

STARSHIP EXCELSIOR

The ship forges through space, its lit windows shining.

Leo paces back and forth on a promenade, a tiny figure

dwarfed by the mighty ship and the tapestry of stars.

DECK TWO - HALL OF FAITH - DAY

Leo passes under a sign reading "Hall of Faith," into a

circular walk.

There's a small fountain in the middle of the circle. Around

the edges, doors labeled: BUDDHISM, JUDAISM, HINDUISM,

CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM, OTHER FAITHS.

Leo walks the circle, looking through the doorways: a cross,

a Buddha, an abstract sculpture in the "Other Faiths" chapel.

He continues around the circle and out into the ship.

DECK FOUR - STARBOARD E.V.A. ROOM

Leo opens a door marked "Starboard E.V.A. Room - No

Passengers Beyond This Point!"

The E.V.A. Room is dominated by an airlock. Spacesuits in

racks. Tools, tethers, shuttle docking rings.

Leo goes to the airlock. Opens the inner door.

A BUZZER sounds a warning.

He steps into the airlock. The door closes behind him.

Leo looks at the red lever that opens the outer door. He

grips the lever. Looks thoughtfully out at the stars.

STARSHIP EXCELSIOR - STARBOARD AIRLOCK

The airlock outer door opens with a blast of air. Leo emerges

from the airlock - wearing a SPACE SUIT.

He plants his feet on the hull and walks up the side of the

ship on magnetic boots.

ATOP THE SHIP

Leo walks forward across the giant skylight.

AT THE BOW

Leo stands, face uplifted. The cosmos reflected in his visor.

Raises his arms. Imploring the heavens for an answer.

But no answer comes. His lifted arms fall.

HIBERNATION BAY - LUCY'S POD

Leo stands looking at Lucy . a bearded pilgrim in a holy

place.

BERLIN SUITE - BATH - DAY

Leo stands at the sink with a futuristic shaver in his hand.

He talks to himself as he takes off his castaway's beard.

LEO

I'm shaving off my beard.

(to his reflection)

It's wrong, man.

The whiskers pile up in the sink, wash down the drain. His

face emerges from its mask.

LEO

Seriously wrong. You can't do it.

He's finished. Clean-shaven.

LEO

Don't even think about it.

(astonished at himself)

I'm shaving off my beard.

CORRIDOR

Leo exits his cabin in his coveralls, carrying his toolbox.

He finds a squadron of housekeeping robots waiting outside.

He taps the "PLEASE SERVICE" button beside his door.

The robots zoom inside with squeals of joy.

HIBERNATION BAY - LUCY'S POD

Leo stands in front of Aurora: toolbox in one hand, the

technical manual in the other. He's breathing hard.

He sets the toolbox down. Opens the manual. It's densely

annotated in Leo's handwriting.

He opens the pod's cover panel and goes to work, following

the steps in his manual. His hands shake.

Leo starts to close a final contact.

Stops.

Gets to his feet. Stands looking at Lucy.

Quickly he kneels and completes the circuit. Pulls his hands

away as if the metal had burned him.

LEO

Okay.

Lucy's pod hums. Medical data flows across its screen. Her

vital signs re-start. Her pale skin flushes with color.

Leo beats a retreat.

Lucy's POD

Lucy's perfect lips part. She takes a shallow breath - and

then a deep one. Her chest rises and falls.

Her thighs shift as she bends her knees. The sensors on her

body drop off and withdraw into the pod.

She opens her eyes. They're beautiful.

Her pod's backrest flexes, scooping up her knees as it

becomes a seat. A video screen drops in front of her.

VIDEO STEWARDESS

Good morning, Lucy!

BERLIN SUITE

The luxury cabin now tidy and immaculate.

Leo bursts in, wild-eyed. Drops his toolbox. Hides the marked-

up manual in the closet.

He splashes water on his face. Stares into the mirror.

HIBERNATION BAY - LUCY'S POD

Lucy puts on her Homestead Company bathrobe and slippers.

Places her shipcard around her neck on its lanyard.

VIDEO STEWARDESS

You're ready to go to your cabin.

Make yourself at home! Enjoy the rest

of your flight, Lucy!

Woozy, Lucy sees the other passengers still asleep.

LUCY

Wait! Why are all these people still

hibernating?

The screen pivots to face her. The Video Stewardess points.

VIDEO STEWARDESS

Lucy, your cabin is this way!

DECK SEVEN - CORRIDOR

Leo sticks his head out of his cabin, looks up and down the

hall. Steps out warily.

HIBERNATION BAY - Lucy's POD

Leo approaches Lucy's pod, electrified. The pod is empty.

The screen reads PASSENGER DISCHARGED.

DECK NINE - NUMBER NINE PROMENADE

Aurora finds her cabin. It's a first-class cabin, its door

overlooking the Grand Concourse atrium.

LUCY'S CABIN

Posher than Leo's original cabin. A king-sized bed, a

panoramic window.

A widescreen video screen lights up. The Homestead Company

theme music plays.

ANNOUNCER

Welcome to your cabin, Lucy! Your

home until we...

Aurora slaps the display off. Goes to the phone.

A touch of her finger brings up the ship's telephone

directory. Lucy selects "Information."

PHONE

No one is available at that number.

She touches other phone links, faster and faster.

PHONE

No one is available...No one is...No

one...No one...No one is available at

that number.

LUCY

What the hell's going on?

DECK FOUR - SHOPPING DISTRICT

Lucy strides down the lane of quiet shops. Actively

searching for other people.

ELITE DECK - ELITE PROMENADE

Leo paces nervously, glancing around. She could be anywhere.

LUCY

Hello?

Leo rushes to the railing. Below on the Grand Concourse,

Lucy is turning in circles, looking up at the balconies.

LUCY

(SHOUTING)

Hello!

LEO

(a husky whisper)

Hi.

(mustering a shout)

Hello!

Lucy spins. Spots him.

LUCY

(SHOUTING)

Hey! I want to talk to you!

LEO

(SHOUTING)

I'll come down.

Leo runs down six flights of stairs, his heart in his throat.

He reaches the Grand Concourse out of breath. He stops a few

paces away, just looking at lucy, getting his wind back.

LUCY

Passenger or crew?

LEO

Passenger. Leo Preston.

He sticks out a hand. She shakes it firmly. Electric for Leo.

First contact.

LUCY

I'm Lucy.

Leo's lips move as she speaks her name, almost saying it with

her. Lucy. She doesn't pick up on it.

LUCY

Do you know what's happening? Nobody

else in my row woke up.

LEO

Yeah, I...same for me.

LUCY

The crew's supposed to wake up a

month before we do. But I haven't

seen anybody.

Leo swallows hard.

LEO

The crew's still sleeping. They've

got a special facility. I can see

them in there but I can't get in.

Lucy stares at him.

LUCY

You're saying nobody's awake?

LEO

Just me.

LUCY

Just you?

LEO

Just us.

LUCY

But somebody's got to land the ship

in a few weeks.

Leo's finding it unexpectedly hard to deliver the bad news.

LEO

I have to show you something.

ELEVATOR A

Leo and Lucy ride upward. She looks out into the atrium,

watching the floors go by.

LUCY

Typical. There's so much incompetence

in these big companies. No

accountability! They lost my luggage

on the flight to the spaceport. I'm

leaving the planet and my bags almost

didn't make it! And nobody

apologizes. Nobody even feels bad.

Leo is only half listening - his eyes drawn to the spill of

her hair over her neck, the line of her jaw.

LUCY

It's the corporate mentality.

(looking at Leo)

Where are we going?

Leo yanks his eyes away from her neck.

LEO

The Observatory.

OBSERVATORY

Lucy's eyes, wide and staring. Her face a mask of horror.

In front of them hangs the starship's progress indicator -

the Excelsior hanging between Earth and Homestead II. Thirty-

one years elapsed; Eighty-nine years to go.

LUCY

(a shocked whisper)

Eighty-nine years to go.

LEO

The other passengers aren't late

waking up. We're early.

Lucy stares at Leo.

LUCY

We've got to get back to sleep.

HIBERNATION BAY

Leo and Lucy walk down a row of hibernation pods.

LUCY

Nobody strands me on a spaceship for

a hundred years. I work for the New

Yorker. I'll write an expose so hot

you'll need oven mitts to read it.

Trust me.

LEO

It's not that simple. Putting

somebody into hibernation takes

special equipment. Remember the

facility where they put us to sleep?

He points at a pod beside them. A middle-aged woman inside.

LEO

This pod will keep her in hibernation

as long as you want. And it can wake

her up. But it can't put her back to

sleep.

LUCY

(GETTING IT)

You don't think there's a way back

into hibernation.

LEO

Not that I can see.

LUCY

There has to be. There's always a

way. Where's the crew?

CREW HIBERNATION FACILITY DOOR

Leo and Lucy stand staring at the door: scarred by Leo's

many assaults.

Lucy looks through the porthole at the crew inside. She

runs her hands thoughtfully over the door's dents and gouges.

LUCY

(dreading the answer)

How long have you been awake, Leo?

LEO

A year and three months.

Aurora covers her mouth. Her eyes full of horror.

LUCY

Oh, my God. No.

She turns her back. Suddenly she walks briskly away. And

breaks into a run. Leo watches her go, astonished.

After a moment he runs after her.

HIBERNATION BAY

Lucy runs down a row of hibernation pods, her eyes

searching wildly among the glass tubes. She turns a corner.

Hesitates. Runs down another row. She's fighting tears.

She puts on speed. Her sash unknots itself and her robe

billows behind her.In another row

Leo jogs along, worried. He's lost her. He pauses, listening.

In the distance, slippered feet. He runs that way.

He stops: the sash of Lucy's robe lies on the deck. He

picks it up. Runs on.

LEO

Lucy!

He turns another corner and sees her. She's sitting down, her

back against a hibernation pod. Laughing at her own tears.

LUCY

I can't even find the one I'm

supposed to be in.

Leo extends a hand. She lets him pull her to her feet. He

gives her the sash, and she ties her robe around her.

LUCY

Thanks.

Leo looks back at her, miserable with guilt.

LEO

I shouldn't have told you like that.

.

LUCY

No, I'm sorry. It just hit me how

serious this is. How did you wake up?

LEO

I just did. I woke up, my pod dumped

me out, and there I was.

LUCY

Me too. We have to get help.

COMMAND DECK - COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

Leo and Lucy stand in at a Passenger Communication Station.

He swipes his card through the Comm Station's slot. It

brings up his account information.

LEO

I've sent...sixteen messages to

Earth. A bunch to the Homestead

company, one to the Space

Administration, one to the United

Nations. A couple to Homestead II,

just for the hell of it. My phone

bill's about eighty grand.

LUCY

How soon could we hear something?

LEO

With speed-of-light lag, fifty-six

years. That'll be from Earth. Nothing

from Homestead II until we're almost

there anyway. Eighty years or so.

Aurora's mouth goes dry. She swallows hard.

LUCY

What about the other planets?

LEO

The other occupied worlds are even

farther away. We'd die of old age

before they could answer.

LUCY

What about other ships?

(off Leo's stare)

Leo?

LEO

(feeling very stupid)

I never thought of other ships.

LUCY

Leo, you've had more than a year!

There has to be a flight plan or

something...

They search the Comm Center and find a map table showing the

Excelsior's position relative to the Occupied Worlds.

Aurora fiddles with the controls. Interstellar flight plans

appear: a spiderweb of starship tracks between the worlds.

LUCY

There!

They inspect the threads of light - an icon on each thread

representing a starship. Even Leo is excited now.

LUCY

How do we tell how far away they are?

LEO

The computer knows. Give me a ship.

LUCY

(peering at the star map)

The starship Zephyr.

LEO

Round-trip message lag...ninety-nine

years.

LUCY

The starship Andromeda.

LEO

One hundred thirty-two years.

LUCY

The Maximilian.

LEO

Eighty-one years.

Leo and Lucy deflate visibly.

LUCY

That's the closest one.

GRAND CONCOURSE - EVENING

The ship's lights turn the cool blue of evening. Leo and

Lucy walk across the plaza.

.

LUCY

I know I should be working the

problem right now, but I can barely

keep my eyes open.

LEO

You just came out of hibernation.

It'll be a couple days before you're

a hundred percent. You should rest.

LUCY

(YAWNING)

I think I have to.

LEO

I'll walk you to your cabin.

LUCY

No, I'm all right.

LEO

Okay.

LUCY

Leo. Don't look so down. It's going

to be okay. You've got me on the team

now. Chin up, all right?

Leo nods, speechless.

LUCY

I'm in cabin ninety forty-eight, if

you need me.

He watches her walk away.

LEO

I'm in the Berlin Suite if you need

me.

She stops. Turns to look back at him.

LUCY

A year and a half? Must have been

hard.

LEO

It was.

LUCY

Good night, Leo.

GRAND CONCOURSE - CONCOURSE BAR

Leo sits down at the bar.

LEO

Whiskey. Rocks.

CAPRICORN

Sure thing. How's your day been?

Leo takes a stiff drink.

LEO

Lucy's awake.

CAPRICORN

Congratulations.

(off Leo's face)

You don't look happy.

LEO

Capricorn. Can you keep a secret?

CAPRICORN

I'm a bartender.

LEO

Don't tell Lucy I woke her up. She

thinks it was an accident. Let me

tell her. Okay?

LUCY'S CABIN - NIGHT

Lucy sleeps, her hair a fan of gold on the pillow.

BERLIN SUITE - BEDROOM - NIGHT

Leo lies awake, fidgeting and staring at the ceiling.

GRAND CONCOURSE - INFOMAT - MORNING

Lucy talks with a relentlessly cheerful Infomat.

She's wearing her own clothes, and it's a transformation: she

looks hip and urban, beautiful.

LUCY

How can there be no way to put

someone into hibernation aboard ship?

What if a pod breaks down?

INFOMAT

No pod has malfunctioned in thousands

of interstellar flights.

LUCY

Well, I'm awake.

.

INFOMAT

Hibernation pods are fail-safe.

Leo appears behind Lucy.

LEO

Good morning. Have you eaten?

LUCY

I'm starving. This is the dumbest

machine.

CAFETERIA

Leo watches in astonishment as Lucy blithely orders the

snacks that the machines deny him. The Mocha Cappuccino

Extreme. The French Breakfast Puff. The Gourmet Fruit Salad.

They sit. Lucy eyes Leo's tray.

LUCY

You're a man of simple tastes.

LEO

I'm a silver class passenger. The

French Breakfast Puff is above my pay

grade.

LUCY

Oh, no! All this time? What can I get

you?

LEO

No, I'm fine, really...

LUCY

Shut up. I'll be right back.

She gets up. In a minute she's back, setting a tray down in

front of Leo: A western omelette with a side of bacon...a

cafe latte...half a honeydew melon.

Leo shoves his old breakfast aside.

LUCY

Thank you.

They dig in.

LEO

You think the crew members would know

what to do?

LEO

I was hoping so.

LUCY

Could we wake them up if we got in

there?

LEO

(AWKWARDLY)

I'm no expert. But I think so.

LUCY

Maybe there's another way to go to

sleep. Did you check out the

infirmary?

LEO

I looked around. It's the usual

hospital stuff. Scanners, autodocs.

LUCY

Did you look for ways of going to

sleep?

LEO

Not really.

LUCY

Well, Leo!

LEO

You think they've got suspended

animation pills sitting around?

LUCY

You don't know until you look. What

about cargo? Maybe there's a

hibernation machine in the hold.

LEO

I looked at the manifests. It's

mostly farming stuff, industrial

machines. We're not going to find a

hibernation facility in a box.

LUCY

You don't know that! We have to think

big here. Maybe we can build our own

hibernation machine.

LEO

No, we can't.

LUCY

You're not even trying!

LEO

I've been awake a year and a half.

I've tried everything I can think of.

LUCY

(she gets up angrily)

Well, it looks to me like you missed

some possibilities. And I'm not ready

to give up.

She strides out. Leo watches her go. Reaches over and takes

the Gourmet Fruit Salad off her tray.

DECK TWO - LIBRARY - DAY

Lucy sits at a library workstation.

WORKSTATION

No plans are available.

LUCY

What about research articles, any

kind of technical documents?

WORKSTATION

Hibernation technology is

proprietary. The following articles

deal with the subject on a

theoretical level.

COMMAND DECK - COMMUNICATIONS CENTER - DAY

Lucy sits at the Passenger Communications Booth.

COMMUNICATIONS BOOTH

Planet and connection, please.

LUCY

Earth. The New Yorker magazine,

office of the Editor in Chief.

COMMUNICATIONS BOOTH

Begin message.

LUCY

(TO CAMERA)

My name is Lucy Aurora . I'm doing a

long-term piece on the colony worlds.

I know you won't get this message for

a long time...but you should know I'm

in trouble.

SERVICE DECK - INFIRMARY - DAY

Lucy inspects the gleaming medical equipment. Rummages

through cabinets full of medicines and instruments.

She opens a steel vault. A deep freeze: icy vapor rolls out.

Inside: racks of steel capsules at subzero temperatures.

She leans close: each frosted capsule is labeled with a

passenger's name and the word SPERM or OVA.

CREW HIBERNATION FACILITY DOOR - EVENING

Lucy frowns through the window at the sleeping crew.

A litter of tools still surrounds the battered door. Aurora

snatches up a crowbar and bashes the porthole. The bar spins

from her stinging hands, but the window's not even marked.

ELITE DECK - ELITE PROMENADE - EVENING

Leo sits at a table with his tools, struggling with a high-

tech mechanism.

Lucy drops into a chair across from him. He looks up. Takes

in her condition: weary and frustrated.

LUCY

There's no way we're going to build a

hibernation machine.

LEO

No.

LUCY

And there's no magic sleeping drugs

in the infirmary.

LEO

No.

LUCY

I did find the gene bank. Five

thousand sperm and egg samples on

ice. I should be glad they do that.

By the time we get to Homestead II,

that little capsule in the freezer is

going to be all that's left of me. We

really are screwed, aren't we?

LEO

Pretty much.

BELLA CANTINA - EVENING

Leo and Lucy sit across a Mexican dinner they've already

put a dent in. An electric candle burns between them.

.

A robot in a sombrero drops off two mojitos and scoots away.

LUCY

So who are you, Leo? I'm going to be

seeing you around. I should know who

I'm talking to.

LEO

I'm from Denver. Lived there all my

life.

LUCY

What kind of work do you do?

LEO

A little of everything. Transport,

robotics, industrial systems. I fix

what's broken. On the emigration

forms I'm a "rate two" mechanical

engineer. Means I don't have a Ph.D.

LUCY

Neither do I. But a journalist

doesn't need one; she just needs a

way with words and an attitude. I'm

from Manhattan, so I had the

attitude.

LEO

I noticed.

LUCY

And the words have always been there

when I needed them.

(SHE LAUGHS)

I would never have lasted a year with

no one but robots to talk to. They're

all such idiots!

LEO

Not all of them.

GRAND CONCOURSE - CONCOURSE BAR - NIGHT

Leo leads Lucy up to the Concourse Bar. It appears

deserted. Lucy is all curiosity.

Suddenly Capricorn appears, doing his swinging-up-on-hinges

trick. Lucy gives a squeal of surprise.

CAPRICORN

Evening, Leo. Who's the lovely lady?

LEO

Capricorn, this is Lucy. Lucy,

Capricorn.

CAPRICORN

Lucy. A pleasure.

He takes her hand formally.

LUCY

Capricorn! Lovely to meet you.

She peeks over the bar at Capricorn's mechanical mounting, the

rails he rolls on.

CAPRICORN

What'll it be?

LUCY

Dirty martini!

(TO LEO)

Now this is a robot I can talk to.

LEO

Android, technically.

(TO CAPRICORN)

Whiskey and soda.

LATER

Empty glasses show that Leo and Lucy have been doing

yeoman's work at the bar. Both are tipsy and laughing.

LUCY

(COLLECTING HERSELF)

My God, I almost forgot my life is in

ruins.

That wipes the smile off his face.

LEO

Sorry.

LUCY

What for? It's time to sleep. In the

morning we'll think of something

brilliant.

LEO

All right.

LUCY

Good night, Leo. Good night, Capricorn.

She exits.

CAPRICORN

Good night.

(to Leo, sotto voce)

She's wonderful. Excellent choice.

Leo drops his head into his hands.

LUCY CABIN - NIGHT

Lucy stows clothing in drawers and closets.

She hangs snapshots on the wall: family and friends. Most of

the pictures were apparently taken at the same grand party.

She looks at them wistfully - and a look of astonishment

crosses her face.

LUCY

Of course!

ELITE DECK - BERLIN SUITE DOOR

Lucy pounds on the door.

LUCY

Leo! Wake up!

The door opens. Leo stands blinking in his bathrobe.

LUCY

We'll go home!

LEO

What?

She pulls him down the hall, chattering.

LUCY

It takes too long to get to Homestead

II. But we're still closer to Earth.

We'll turn the ship around.

ELEVATOR

Lucy drags Leo in and punches the button.

LUCY

We'll go home.

LEO

It would take decades.

LUCY

It's our only chance of getting off

this ship in our lifetimes.

COMMAND DECK

Lucy takes Leo out of the elevator. Looks around.

LUCY

Where's the...navigating place?

LEO

That way. But...

She drags him toward the Bridge.

LUCY

We can learn how to pilot the ship.

We have all the time in the world.

LEO

There's just one problem.

COMMAND DECK - BRIDGE DOOR

Lucy opens the Bridge door - revealing the armored firewall

hatch just beyond it.

LEO

Everything important - the reactor,

the gravity drive - it's all behind

firewalls. There's no way through.

LUCY

Oh.

LEO

Sorry.

LUCY

(CRUSHED)

That was my last good idea.

FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK - DAY

Lucy sits curled up in an armchair. Around her, a dizzying

view of the cosmos.

There's a cup of coffee on a table beside her. In her lap, an

electronic slate with an attached microphone.

LUCY

New file. My Voyage.

.

A clean page opens on the slate. The title in the corner: "My

Voyage." As Lucy speaks, the page fills with words.

LUCY

I boarded the Excelsior on

assignment. Maybe the most ambitious

writing assignment ever given. But

things have taken an unexpected turn.

I'm not writing for The New Yorker

anymore. I'm writing for me.

ELITE DECK - CORRIDOR - DAY

Lucy jogs in sneakers and sweats. Cabin doors flash past.

LUCY

I've been awake on this ship for

seven days, awake far too soon...

She's reached the aft end of the ship. She crosses

a lobby and runs back the other way.

LUCY

...and I might spend the rest of my

life here...

Running along a promenade, She reaches the forward end of

the ship. Dead end again.

LUCY

...in a little steel world five

hundred meters long.

GRAND CONCOURSE

Leo sits at a table, a technical manual open in front of him.

He looks up. Watches Lucy jog around the atrium and vanish.

LUCY

I'm not alone. Another passenger

shares my fate. A mechanic engineer named Leo

Preston.

SWIMMING POOL - DAY

The swimming pool is a marvel: one entire wall is a window

extending from the ceiling to the bottom of the pool.

Lucy enters in her HomeStead Company bathrobe. Drops the

robe to reveal a bathing suit.

LUCY

The other passengers will sleep for

another ninety years.

She dives into the pool.

STARSHIP EXCELSIOR - SWIMMING POOL WINDOW

Lucy swims, a slender shape moving on the water's surface.

We pull out, the ship dwindling, the blue window receding.

LUCY

By the time they wake, Leo and I will

have lived, grown old and died.

FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK

Back on Lucy in her armchair, writing.

LUCY

Vanished, like a dream, in the blink

of an eye.

She falters, frightened by her own words.

CAFETERIA - DAY

Leo sits eating and tinkering with a small robot. The table

is strewn with dishes and tools.

Lucy sits down across from him.

LUCY

Why did you do it?

Leo is thunderstruck. The game is up. He swallows hard.

LEO

Do what?

LUCY

Emigrate. Leave Earth. I'm

interviewing you.

LEO

You're what?

LUCY

Interviewing you. You're the first

victim of hibernation failure in the

history of space travel. That makes

you news.

.

LEO

Who are you going to tell?

LUCY

Posterity. So why'd you give up your

life on Earth?

Leo seems stunned by the question. He hadn't thought about it

in quite those words.

LUCY

A hundred and twenty years'

hibernation means you never see your

family and friends again. You sleep

your way to another planet and

another century. The ultimate

geographical suicide.

LEO

I, uh...I never really...

LUCY

Were you running away from something?

LEO

No. Things were okay.

LUCY

So?

LEO

I just wanted more, I guess. You

know. More room. A fresh start. Back

to basics.

LUCY

(CHIDING)

That's HomeStead Company propaganda.

LEO

I guess.

LUCY

Leo!

LEO

I'm a mechanic. A rate-two mechanic.

We're a dying breed on Earth. But in

the colonies, they still have

problems to solve. My kind of

problems. In the colonies, a handyman

is somebody.

Nothing there for Lucy to scoff at. She looks impressed.

LEO

And there's room! Open country. Woods

and fields. I like the outdoors. You

know, room to grow.

LUCY

Now you're back to advertising.

LEO

Can't it still be true?

HIBERNATION BAY

Leo and Lucy walk down an aisle of hibernation pods.

LUCY

You know how much the Homestead

Company's made off its first planet,

Homestead I? Over eight quadrillion

dollars. That's eight million

billions. Colony planets are the

biggest business there is. Did you

pay full price for your ticket?

LEO

No, I'm in a desirable trade.

LUCY

(TRIUMPHANTLY)

So they fill your head with dreams,

discount your ticket, and you fly off

to populate their planet and pay

HomeStead ten percent of everything

you do for the rest of your life. You

think you're free? You're just part

of the business plan.

Leo waves at the rows of sleepers.

LEO

All you see here is five thousand

suckers?

LUCY

I see zeroes on the HomeStead

Company's bottom line.

LEO

I see five thousand men and women

changing their lives. For five

thousand different reasons. You don't

know these people.

Leo walks up to a hibernation pod. Glances at the data

screen. He covers the screen with his hand.

57.

LEO

This guy. Banker, teacher, or

gardener?

Aurora studies the sleeper: a barrel-chested man of 50 with

gray temples and a jutting jaw.

LUCY

Banker.

LEO

Gardener.

Leo moves down the row, peeks at another screen, covers it.

LEO

Is this Madison, Donna, or Lola?

Lucy peers on a birdlike young woman with long red hair.

LUCY

She's too silly to be a Donna. I

think she's a Lola.

LEO

Madison. Chef, accountant, or

midwife?

LUCY

She has to be a midwife. There's no

way you made that one up.

LEO

(chuckling, caught)

She's a midwife. I didn't know they

still had midwives.

They move among the sleepers, quizzing each other.

LUCY

(pointing at a man and

woman side by side)

Married, or strangers?

LEO

Married.

LUCY

(IMPRESSED)

Yes.

LEO

(indicating a young woman)

Sixteen, twenty-six, or thirty-six?

.

LUCY

I'd almost say sixteen...twenty-six.

LEO

Right.

LUCY

(about an older woman)

Politician, historian, or artist?

LEO

I don't know. Artist?

LUCY

It doesn't say. But I'll tell you

this: I like her. We'd be friends.

Leo looks at Lucy seriously.

LEO

You think you can see that?

LUCY

Don't you?

Leo looks at the woman in the pod. Smiles.

LEO

Yeah.

FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK - DAY

Leo and Lucy sit at opposite ends of a sofa - their feet

almost but not quite touching. They sip cocktails.

LUCY

That was my plan. Travel to Homestead

II. Live there for a year and see

what emigrating's really like. Then

back to Earth. I'm the only passenger

on board with a round-trip ticket.

LEO

(PERPLEXED)

I left Earth for a new life. But you

end up back where you started.

LUCY

No! I end up in the future. Two

hundred and fifty years in the

future. On Earth, which is still the

center of civilization, overcrowded

or not. And I arrive in the future

with an amazing story.

LUCY

A perspective no other writer has.

Literary immortality.

LEO

And what's this amazing story?

LUCY

The selling of the colonial dream.

LEO

Big plans.

LUCY

My friends threw me this huge

farewell party. Everyone came. It was

the happiest, saddest night. And look

what it's all come to.

(SHE SIGHS)

Leo, I can't think of anything else

to try. To save us, I mean. I don't

even want to think about it anymore.

So. What is there to do around here?

MOVIE THEATER - DAY

Leo leads Lucy into the movie theater. The lights come up.

The curtain opens. Aurora looks around in wonder.

A bundle of cables snakes down the aisle.

LEO

Watch your step. I've made a few

changes.

Next to Leo favorite seat there's a cluster of machines

with power cables and hoses running to them.

Leo and Lucy sit. A screen beside Leo lists movies.

LEO

I got tired of running up to the

projector room, so I moved the

controls down here. Thirty thousand

movies to choose from. I've only

watched about five hundred of them.

He taps a button on another machine, which produces a bucket

of hot popcorn. He offers Lucy some.

LEO

Popcorn?

Lucy grins and takes some.

GYMNASIUM - BASKETBALL COURT - DAY

Leo and Lucy play one-on-one. She's not especially good,

but fiercely competitive. They jostle and scramble, laughing.

Lucy snags the ball. For a minute she just stands there,

beaming.

LEO

What are you so happy about?

LUCY

I'm up two points!

She cuts around him toward the basket.

DECK TWO - VIRTUAL MUSEUM - EVENING

Leo and Lucy walk through the museum's white rooms. The

walls display a Jackson Pollock collection.

Lucy goes to the control podium. Scrolls through the menu,

covers her eyes and chooses blind.

The wall panels fill with Heironymous Bosch paintings -

medieval visions of Hell. She winces and chooses again. A

somber collection of portraits by Dutch masters. She frowns.

Leo steps to her side and makes a selection.

The walls fill with abstract landscapes - stark plains and

oceans, with lonely figures isolated in the vastness.

The images pull Leo and Lucy in: they stand before a dark

seascape.

Without thinking she reaches out and tucks her hand in the

crook of his elbow.

SUPER: ONE MONTH LATER

SWIMMING POOL - MORNING

Lucy swims laps, cutting through the water.

In the balcony above the pool, Leo stands watching her.

Lucy, making a turn at the end of a lap, catches a glimpse

of him but doesn't let on.

Underwater she smiles.

61.

DECK THREE - SHOPPING DISTRICT - MORNING

A cleaning robot scurries along the shopping street, looking

for spots to polish.

Leo's hands reach into frame, pluck the robot off its wheels.

DECK NINE - NUMBER NINE PROMENADE

Lucy stands at the railing, watching curiously as Leo

crosses the Concourse below with the robot under his arm.

SUBDECK C - MACHINE SHOP - DAY

Lucy stands at a workbench, the robot in front of him. He

tinkers with its complex works.

GRAND CONCOURSE - DAY

Leo sits in an armchair with his industrial laptop. He types

a string of commands, hits EXECUTE.

Beside him on the floor, his kidnapped cleaning robot does a

figure-eight. Leo smiles in satisfaction.

FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK - DAY

Lucy sits in her habitual writing position: cross-legged on

her favorite sofa, her writing slate in her lap.

LUCY

The starship's designers gave the

ship a daily rhythm. The light is

warm in the morning, bright during

the day, cool at night. We need those

changes. But I miss other rhythms.

There are no holidays here. Every day

is a day of leisure. There are no

seasons. The sky never changes.

A mechanical whir distracts her. She looks down.

Leo's pet robot looks up at her with binocular eyes. It

carries a note in a clip on its back. Lucy pulls it free.

A handwritten invitation from Leo. It reads:

Come to dinner with me tonight?

- LUCY

Lucy reads the note with a grin.

.

LUCY

(to the robot)

Is he asking me on a date?

SUBDECK C - MACHINE SHOP

Leo sits at his laptop, watching the screen: a robot's-eye-

view of Lucy.

He wiggles a joystick on his laptop, and...

FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK

...the robot nods its goggle head.

Lucy laughs.

Beside the note-clip, the robot carries a pen in a makeshift

holder. Lucy takes the pen, scribbles on the paper. Tucks

it back into the robot's note clip.

GRAND CONCOURSE - CONCOURSE BAR

Capricorn polishes glasses behind the bar.

The robot crosses the Concourse, note clipped to its back.

Capricorn watches it pass.

SUBDECK C - MACHINE SHOP

Leo plucks the note from the robot's back. Aurora's reply is

written in bold letters:

Love to.

-A

LUCY'S CABIN - EVENING

Lucy gets ready for dinner. A slim gown, a few pieces of

jewelry, her hair up. She looks like a goddess.

The doorbell rings. She answers it.

Leo stands on her doorstep in a black jacket, looking dapper.

His eyes widen as he takes Lucy in.She wears tight black dress and her wavy curl

LEO

Wow.

LUCY

You clean up all right yourself. You

went shopping.

LEO

I went shoplifting.

In the corridor stands a cargo robot to which Leo has

attached an upholstered loveseat. He helps Lucy aboard and

takes a seat beside her. She's charmed.

LEO

Rutherford! To the bar!

CARGO ROBOT

Yes, Passenger Leo!

The robot zooms off to the sound of Lucy's laughter.

GRAND CONCOURSE - CONCOURSE BAR

Leo and Lucy take seats. Capricorn puts on his best manners.

CAPRICORN

Evening. What can I get for you?

LUCY

A manhattan, please.

LEO

Single malt, rocks.

Capricorn pours.

CAPRICORN

You two look fine this evening.

LUCY

(CONFIDENTIALLY)

We're on a date!

CAPRICORN

Very nice.

LUCY

(to Leo, teasing)

Took you long enough to ask.

LEO

I was giving you space!

LUCY

Space is one thing I don't need more

of. I've been doing research.

(MORE)

64.

LUCY

I found a drug that would put us in a

coma indefinitely, and machines that

would keep us alive.

LEO

Really?!

LUCY

But it's not suspended animation.

We'd still be aging.

LEO

Oh.

LUCY

Yeah. If I have to grow old on this

ship, I'd at least like to be awake

for it. So that was a failure.

LEO

A highly ambitious failure.

LUCY

There's the title of my memoir. "A

Highly Ambitious Failure," by Lucy

Aurora.

Leo laughs. He thinks for a minute.

LEO

"Voyage to Nowhere," by Leo Preston.

LUCY

(LAUGHING)

"My Life in a Tin Can."

LEO

"A Spaceship Built For Two."

THE STARDOME - XANADU

A great glass dome, the highest point on the ship. Outside

the dome, a riot of stars. Inside, a luxury restaurant.

Leo and Lucy emerge into the dome.

She turns, looking at the glittering river of the Milky Way,

the blue stars ahead of the ship, the pink stars behind them.

LUCY

Incredible.

They sit at the best table. Robots attend to their every

need. The gold stars frame Leo's head; the silver, Lucy's.

Beautiful dishes arrive: new wines with every course.

.

NIGHTCLUB - NIGHT

A holographic 12-piece band plays on stage: a jazz standard.

Leo walks onto the dance floor. Holds out his hand to Aurora.

She comes to him, and they dance. They're pretty good. Smiles

grow on their faces.

Leo spins her out, spins her back - close enough to kiss.

They almost do - but they don't.

DECK THREE - SHOPPING DISTRICT - NIGHT

Leo and Lucy ride along on the cargo robot. Her head rests

on his shoulder. Suddenly she sits up.

LUCY

Rutherford, stop!

The robot stops. She pulls Leo off.

LUCY

Come on, we have to do this!

She pulls him to the photo booth. They tumble inside. As the

strobe flashes, she kisses him hard.

Outside, the photo strip drops into the tray: four color

pictures. In the first they laugh; in the second they clown;

in the third, they kiss. In the last image, Lucy smiles at

the camera; Leo looks at Lucy.

Lucy taps the pictures: they start to move: each is a one-

second movie clip. The pictures laugh, and clown, and kiss.

DECK NINE - CORRIDOR - OUTSIDE AURORA'S CABIN

The robot pulls up to Lucy's door. Leo helps her down.

Lucy opens the door. Turns back to him.

LUCY

Thank you. I had an amazing time. A

great night.

LEO

Yeah, me too. Well, good night.

He turns to go.

LUCY

Leo.

He turns back. Lucy grabs him and drags him into her cabin.

LUCY'S CABIN

They stagger across the room together. He backs her up

against a wall, kisses his way down her throat.

She drags his jacket off his shoulders. Pulls at his shirt.

He slips the straps from her shoulders. Her dress slides to

the floor. They roll onto the bed.

CAFETERIA - MORNING

Breakfast. Leo watches Lucy eat.

LUCY

This is so good. I'm starving.

(she smiles at him)

Last night was just what I needed.

LEO

You are the most beautiful woman I've

ever seen. You're so beautiful it

hurts me.

She stares, shocked. Leans across the table and kisses him.

Soon they're making out right on top of breakfast.

A passing robot pauses to observe the scene - then moves on.

SERIES OF SHOTS

Leo and Lucy make out fiercely in the movie theater

while a movie plays onscreen.

Lucy straddles Leo in a jacuzzi in the ship's Spa. She

moves against him: she's close. She climaxes gorgeously.

Leo stands on a promenade. Lucy passes, jogging. He

gives her a smile as she goes by. A moment later she runs

back into frame and tackles him. They tumble to the deck.

BERLIN SUITE

Leo and Lucy lie in Leo's imperial bed, glistening with

sweat and breathing hard. She lays her head on his shoulder,

her eyes far away and wistful.

LEO

You okay?

LUCY

Yes, I'm fine. It's just...

She waves her hand in the air as if to signify, all of this.

LEO

I know.

She snuggles in tighter, and he holds her close.

STARSHIP EXCELSIOR - BERLIN SUITE WINDOW

Through the window, Leo and Lucy lie together in the

luxurious bed.

We pull out, the window dwindling, as the Excelsior soars

away from us into the stars.

THREE MONTHS LATER

ELITE DECK - CORRIDOR - MORNING

A luxury cabin door: the doorplate reads "Vienna Suite."

VIENNA SUITE - BEDROOM

The best suite on the ship. One one side of the bedroom,

Leo's mementos and possessions. On the other side, Leo's.

They wake together. She kisses him on the cheek with the ease

of long habit and heads for the shower. He watches her go.

SWIMMING POOL - MORNING

Swimming, Lucy reaches the end of a lap. A hand reaches

down and catches her before she can turn.

Leo kneels at the edge of the pool, in coveralls and work

boots, a tool belt slung over his shoulder.

Lucy pulls herself up and kisses him.

LEO

I'm going to finish my survey of the

cargo hold. See what there is to play

with.

LUCY

Be careful.

LEO

Back by happy hour.

FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK - DAY

Lucy writes on her sofa, surrounded by electronic slates,

each displaying a reference book or research paper. On one, a

map of the Polynesian archipelago.

LUCY

The Polynesians set out into the

Pacific Ocean with no destination.

Searching for islands. They sailed

into the endless sea on faith.

SUBDECK A - NUMBER EIGHT CARGO HOLD - DAY

Leo walks among the towering cargo racks. His flashlight

illuminates machines stacked from floor to ceiling: tractors

and combines, helicopters and seaplanes.

LUCY

Some never returned, but others found

land, and prospered. What drove them

out onto the sea? Curiosity?

Tradition? The wish for something

better?

Leo opens cargo containers. He finds ingots of metal,

computer components, spools of superconducting wire. Raw

materials for a young world.

LUCY

The urge to move is as primal as

hunger or thirst. We run, we drive,

we sail, we fly.

Leo finds a stash of utility golf carts and his eyes light

up. He unpacks one, starts it up. Drives off into the dark.

GRAND CONCOURSE - CONCOURSE BAR - DAY

Lucy sits at the bar with her slate, sipping a drink.

LUCY

Is it movement that we need? Or the

possibility of something new?

CAPRICORN

What's that?

LUCY

I'm writing, Capricorn. Hush.

Lucy's slate has recorded this exchange: she erases the

extra words with her fingertip.

NUMBER SEVEN CARGO BAY

Leo drives his cart into a new bay - and stares in wonder.

In oversized hibernation pods: cattle, horses, sheep, oxen.

All asleep. Chickens, ducks and geese in individual cells.

LUCY

Like seeds, we carry what we need.

The wind drives us - whether the

trade winds, the solar winds, or the

winds of chance.

The next aisle holds plants in stasis: saplings in tubes,

seedlings in individual vials.

Leo stops in front of a glass case. Rosy light bathes his

face. He smiles. We don't see why.

LUCY

We take root where we fall. And

helplessly we grow.

VIENNA SUITE - BEDROOM - EVENING

Lucy sits with her slate. Eyeing Leo side of the room.

Giving in, she begins to explore Leo's possessions: poking

into the drawers of his nightstand and dresser.

She opens his closet. Shifting things, she finds a dog-eared

manual on hibernation pods. She pulls it out.

There's a bookmark in the pages. She goes to open the book -

and the bookmark slides into her hand.

It's the photo strip Leo took during his isolation: Four

identical shots of his face, bearded and hollow-eyed. The

melancholy images hit her hard.

She touches the pictures to make them move: but Leo sits

immobile. In the fourth image, he sighs heavily.

Voices in the hall.

CLEANING ROBOT (O.S.)

Hello, Passenger.

LEO

Hello, robot.

Hastily Lucy replaces the manual. Closes the closet.

Leo appears in the doorway: tool belt over his shoulder,

duffel bag in hand.

LUCY

Hi.

LEO

Hi. How was your day?

LUCY

I don't know. I wrote a few pages.

I'm not sure what I'm doing anymore.

I was writing a book, and I was

keeping a diary. But the book and the

diary are running together. I think

I'm writing about us.

LEO

Makes sense to me.

LUCY

I'm not sure I want to write about

this life. I don't even know how to

think about it. I live in a palace.

But it's also a prison. I'm moving at

half the speed of light and I can't

go anywhere!

Leo takes that in.

LEO

The cargo hold is full of pioneer

gear. There's a submarine down there,

can you believe it? Ships and

airplanes and bulldozers. That's what

I wanted, a world still being built.

But I'll never see it.

They sit for a moment in glum contemplation.

LUCY

Did you find anything that could help

us?

LEO

Yes. I found these.

Leo unzips his duffel bag and takes out a bouquet of long-

stemmed roses. Lucy gasps. Reaches out to touch them.

LUCY

Are they real?

LEO

I cut them myself.

Lucy leaps into action. She finds scissors, a pitcher. At

the sink she trims the stems, arranges the flowers.

LUCY

Thank you.

LEO

You're welcome.

She looks into his eyes.

LUCY

For very unlucky people, we got

pretty lucky.

SUPER: THREE MONTHS LATER

ELITE DECK - CORRIDOR - DAY

Leo and Lucy sprint down the hall, cabin doors flashing by.

Leo's practically dragging her along.

A deep background RUMBLE.

LEO

It's coming! Run!

CELESTIAL PROMENADE

Leo and Lucy run up the stairs onto the highest promenade

on the ship: glass all around, skylight above.

The deep RUMBLE is louder. A bloody light fills the sky.

A STAR looms ahead of the ship: a RED GIANT. The Excelsior

rockets toward the star.

The passage takes less than a minute. The Red Giant swells in

the windows. The ship shudders. The engines howl. Lucy

falls into Leo's arms. The ship bathed in red light.

The star fills the skylight, fills the sky itself. A fiery

surface turbulent with sunspots and mysterious currents. The

engines howl.

And then they're past. The star recedes, dwindling as quickly

as it grew. The engines quiet. The ship's calm restored.

LUCY

(BREATHLESSLY)

That was incredible.

LEO

Closest we'll get to a star on the

whole trip. Happy birthday.

She throws her arms around him.

VIENNA SUITE - BEDROOM - EVENING

Aurora stands in her bathroom, getting pretty for dinner.

SUBDECK C - MACHINE SHOP

Leo puts the finishing touches on a beautiful RING woven from

gold and silver wire. It's crowned with a flower of gold.

He removes the ring from its clamp: inspects it thoroughly.

Satisfied, he wraps it in a cloth and tucks it in his pocket.

STARDOME - XANADU - EVENING

Leo and Lucy dine. They laugh and flirt with easy intimacy.

Their plates emptied, they sit back, sipping wine. Leo lifts

the table's candle and waves it in the air. A robot rolls up

with a birthday cake, candles alight.

LEO

(SINGING)

Happy birthday to you...

Happy birthday to you...

Happy birthday, dear Lucy...

Happy Birthday to you.

Aurora sits bathed in candlelight, and for this moment she is

truly and fundamentally happy. She blows the candles out.

GRAND CONCOURSE - CONCOURSE BAR - NIGHT

Leo and Lucy sit at the bar, tipsy. Capricorn pours.

CAPRICORN

Birthday cocktail for the birthday

girl.

LUCY

Aren't you going to check my I.D.? I

might not be old enough to drink.

CAPRICORN

I'd never ask your age in front of a

gentleman.

LUCY

Leo not a gentleman. Anyway there's

no secrets between me and Leo.

CAPRICORN

(looking at Leo)

Is that so?

LEO

You heard the lady. Be right back.

He walks away.

LUCY

You know what I like about you,

Capricorn? You have a sense of occasion.

I bet ladies fall for you on every

trip.

CAPRICORN

I'd say you were pulling my leg, but

I haven't got any.

LUCY

(LAUGHING)

Exactly! There you go.

CAPRICORN

I remember your last birthday, a year

ago. Leo was really looking forward

to meeting you.

Lucy frowns, processing this sentence - her smile fading.

LUCY

What?

MEN'S WASHROOM

Leo stands at the mirror, straightening his lapels, touching

up his hair.

He unwraps the ring. Looks it over. Smiles at his reflection.

CONCOURSE BAR

Lucy scowls at Capricorn, trying to get her bearings.

LUCY

What do you mean, he was looking

forward to it? How could he...

CAPRICORN

He couldn't stop talking about you,

let me tell you. He spent months

deciding whether to wake you up.

Capricorn eyes widen in shock.

LUCY

Leo woke me up.

CAPRICORN

Oh, yes. Said it was the hardest

decision of his life, but I see it

worked out just fine.

Lucy stops breathing. She stares at the bartop.

Leo strolls up to the bar. His hand slides into the jacket

pocket where the ring lies hidden.

But Lucy body language is all wrong. He stops, perplexed.

LEO

What?

She looks up, her face rigid. Her voice a whisper.

LUCY

Did you wake me up, Leo?

Leo's hand slides out of his jacket pocket. He shoots a look

at Capricorn, who smiles back, oblivious.

Lucy's eyes bore into him. Finally Leo finds his voice.

LEO

Yes. I woke you up.

LUCY

(IN AGONY)

How could you do it?

LEO

I tried not to.

LUCY

You pulled me out of hibernation. You

destroyed the rest of my life. You

murdered me!

LEO

That's a little strong...

LUCY

You murdered me. I'm going to be

sick. Oh, my God. I...I can't see.

She gets up to leave.

LEO

Lucy.

He goes after her.

LUCY

Get away from me!

She slaps at him blindly, almost hysterical. Stumbles away.

SERVICE DECK - CELESTIAL PROMENADE

Lucy stares out at the stars. Leo appears behind her.

She speaks without turning.

LUCY

(BITTERLY)

How did you decide?

(turning on him)

Did you just go shopping? A couple

thousand women in their underwear,

and you get to pick your favorite.

LEO

It wasn't like that.

LUCY

What was it like? And you had it all

planned out! Dinner and movies and

our big date...Oh, my God! And I just

ate it up. Fake! All fake!

LEO

This was real. I didn't plan this.

It...happened.

LUCY

(MOCKING)

"Find true love on the Starship

Excelsior! Romance between the Stars!

The woman of your dreams!" Was it

everything you thought it would be?

LEO

Lucy. I love you.

LUCY

This is sick.

(she glares at him)

Show me how you did it.

HIBERNATION BAY - AURORA'S POD

Lucy walks up to her old hibernation pod. Leo trails her.

LUCY

So?

Leo stares at her, unbelieving. But she means it. He opens

the cover panel, points out the key components.

LEO

I looked at my pod. A couple

different processors burned out at

the same time. I triggered the same

failure in your pod. Short circuit

across these two contacts, and then

these two. And cut these wires.

LUCY

Just like that.

LEO

Just like that.

LUCY

I'm so stupid. I fell for all of it.

I fell for you. I thought you saved

me. But you didn't save me, Leo. You

did this to me. And now I'm stuck

with you. Stuck with the second-rate

mechanic who ruined my life.

LEO

(LAMELY)

Rate two mechanic.

But Lucy's already walking away.

VIENNA SUITE - DAY

Lucy walks in, barely under control, and breaks down. Sinks

to her knees, racked by sobs.

HIBERNATION BAY - LUCY POD - DAY

Leo sits at the foot of Aurora's hibernation pod, staring

into the empty tube.

VIENNA SUITE - EVENING

Leo walks in. All of Lucy's things are gone. Her half of

the bed has been made. She's moved out.

DECK THREE - CAFETERIA - MORNING

Lucy sits finishing her breakfast. Leo enters and

approaches her table.

LEO

Can I talk to you?

LUCY

I don't want to talk anymore. I don't

want to look at you anymore. If you

see me coming, get out of my way. If

you see me sitting, find somewhere

else to be. There's plenty of

choices. It's a big boat.

DECK FOUR - SHOPPING DISTRICT - DAY

Leo walks alone, hands in his pockets, in a deep funk.

A little robot crosses his path: he KICKS it down the street.

SWIMMING POOL

Lucy swims. Reaches the end of a lap and rests.

She looks up abruptly as if she senses someone watching her -

but the balcony above the pool is deserted.

ELITE DECK - FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK - DAY

Lucy sits reading. Digital slates surround her. A whir

distracts her. She looks down.

Leo's pet robot sits beside her. A note on its back.

She picks up the note. It's the photo strip from her first

date with Leo: their first kiss captured on film. Clipped to

the photo strip is a handwritten note: "This was real."

Lucy leans down toward the robot's binocular eyes.

ROBOT'S POV

Lucy looms close. She holds the note up to the robot's eyes

and crumples it up.

LUCY

Watching me through a robot is

creepy, Leo. Cut it out.

SUBDECK C - MACHINE SHOP

Leo sits in front of his laptop: Lucy's accusing eyes stare

out of the screen. He closes the laptop.

COMMAND DECK - COMMUNICATIONS CENTER - DAY

Leo sits at the security console, disheveled and bearded.

Twenty screens give different views of the ship.

One screen shows the Elite Promenade. As he watches, Lucy

jogs by in sneakers and shorts.

Leo has her route mapped: as she vanishes from one screen she

appears on the next. He follows her from screen to screen.

He picks up a microphone.

ELITE DECK

Lucy circles the atrium.

OVER THE P.A. SYSTEM: Leo clears his throat.

LEO (VIA INTERCOM)

Lucy.

Lucy stops in surprise, looking up.

LEO (VIA INTERCOM) (CONT'D)

Please, just hear me.

Aurora rolls her eyes and resumes running.

COMMAND DECK - COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

Leo watches Lucy move from screen to screen. He holds the

mic in both hands. His voice reverberates through the ship.

LEO

The day I first saw you, my life

changed. I couldn't forget your face.

I kept coming back to see you. Trying

to know you through the glass. I read

every word you ever wrote, trying to

hear you. The day you woke up...

DECK NINE - NUMBER NINE PROMENADE

Lucy doesn't break stride. But she's listening.

LEO (VIA INTERCOM)

When you woke up I had no idea what

would happen next. I had no reason to

believe you would see anything in me.

When you did, when we found each

other, this ship I'm trapped inside

suddenly felt like a limitless place.

(MORE)

LEO (VIA INTERCOM) (CONT'D)

My pointless life suddenly had

meaning.

Lucy skids to a stop beside a Deck Steward's station.

She leans over the counter, finds an intercom terminal and

grabs the microphone. A whine of feedback. She looks into the

lens of the nearest security camera.

LUCY

That's great, Leo. Just great. I'm

glad that ruining my life somehow

improved yours. But I have a run to

finish, so...

GRAND CONCOURSE - CONCOURSE BAR

Capricorn looks up, listening, as voices echo through the ship.

LEO (VIA INTERCOM)

Wait. Aurora. Don't go.

LUCY (VIA INTERCOM)

You may be the only game in town,

Leo, but that doesn't mean I have to

play. Just pretend I'm not here.

Because as far as you're concerned,

I'm not.

DECK NINE - NUMBER NINE PROMENADE

At the Deck Steward's station, Lucy stares into the camera.

LEO (VIA INTERCOM)

I don't want to lose you.

COMMAND DECK - COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

Leo stares at Aurora on the video screen.

LUCY (VIA INTERCOM)

Leo, you lost me.

She drops the microphone and walks out of frame. Leo slumps

over the console in defeat.

SUPER: THREE MONTHS LATER

ELITE DECK - VIENNA SUITE - BEDROOM (DAY)

Leo lies asleep on his bed in dirty clothes and shoes. He has

a shaggy beard.

80.

Half-finished dishes in bed with him. The suite is squalid.

ELITE DECK - CAFE MAXINE

The ship's posh French cafe.

Lucy eats a fancy lunch, reading a novel on a digital

slate. She's groomed and put together.

DECK THREE - CAFETERIA

Leo sits in front of a bowl of breakfast cereal, a dry slice

of toast. He stares into space. He has milk in his beard.

FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK

Lucy sits in her writing chair, dictating to her slate.

LUCY

It's the modern way of life. We

surround ourselves with people. A

constant din of conversation. As if

we need the mirror of other faces to

see ourselves. The clamor of voices

in our ears to reassure us that we

exist. Do we need it? Can we live

without it?

VIENNA SUITE - DAY

The TV blares. Leo lies asleep in an armchair, covered with

snack chips.

LUCY

I think the secret to survival is

productive activity.

SHOPPING DISTRICT - CRAFT SHOP - DAY

Lucy investigates the craft shop's shelves. Collects an

electronic book on painting. Paints and canvasses. An easel.

LUCY

We need to be good for something.

VIENNA SUITE - BATHROOM - DAY

Leo lounges in the bathtub in his bathrobe: sopping wet and

drunk. Gold glitters in his hand: the RING he made for

Aurora. He scowls at the ring.

.

LUCY

A challenge equal to our character.

With a snarl, Leo tosses the ring into his mouth. Chases it

with a slug of vodka straight from the bottle. Swallows hard.

SERVICE DECK - CELESTIAL PROMENADE

Lucy stands in front of her easel on the promenade. She

looks out the window and begins to paint.

LUCY

Something worth doing.

SHOPPING DISTRICT - AVENUE

Leo plays kick-the-can with the empty vodka bottle. Drunk.

The bottle clatters against the PHOTO BOOTH.

Muttering in Russian, Leo attacks the booth, punching and

kicking - and hurts his foot with a shout. He limps away.

A moment later he's back - wearing his tool belt. He pulls a

LASER CUTTER and starts carving the booth away from the wall.

SHOPPING DISTRICT - LATER

Leo drives his golf cart unsteadily across the deck.

A HORRIBLE NOISE: he's dragging the photo booth across the

floor by its power cord.

STARBOARD E.V.A. ROOM

Leo looks into the airlock through the small porthole in the

inner door. Red lights flash.

The photo booth is crammed into the airlock.

STARSHIP EXCELSIOR - AIRLOCK

The airlock shoots open. The photo booth tumbles into space.

GRAND CONCOURSE - CONCOURSE BAR - EVENING

Capricorn does make-work behind the bar.

Leo and Lucy approach simultaneously. They meet awkwardly:

they haven't spoken in a long time.

LUCY

What are you doing here?

LEO

(DRUNK)

You! Tuesday's my day with Capricorn.

You're trespassing.

LUCY

Actually, today's Wednesday.

LEO

I slept through Tuesday?

LUCY

Forget it. The bar's all yours. But

I'd say a drink is the last thing you

need. You're pathetic.

Aurora leaves. Leo takes a seat.

CAPRICORN

What'll it be?

LEO

I'm going to kill myself.

CAPRICORN

Why's that?

LEO

I'm a murderer.

CAPRICORN

Who'd you murder?

LEO

Lucy.

CAPRICORN

But she's alive. She was just here.

LEO

She won't talk to me. She won't let

me tell her what happened. How I fell

in love with her. How I want to be

with her. And I'm not sorry I woke

her up. I'm not. I love her. And you

know what? She loves me.

Around the corner, out of sight, Aurora stands listening.

LEO

What was I supposed to do? I couldn't

live without her. It was now or

never, and I chose now. I chose now.

LEO

And I was right. But I woke her up,

Capricorn. I woke her up, and she says I

killed her. And now she's gone. She's

gone.

(SOBBING)

Gimme another bottle.

CAPRICORN

I think you've had enough.

Leo looks at Capricorn as if he's said something profound.

LEO

You know what? You're right. I've had

enough.

SUBDECK A - CARGO HOLD - DAY

Leo drives his cart up to a rack of large batteries: they're

identical to the battery that powers the golf cart itself.

Leo starts loading his cart with extra batteries.

SERVICE DECK - CELESTIAL PROMENADE

Paintings leans against the windows: Lucy's starscapes. The

first few are rudimentary, the later ones quite good.

She works on a new one: a red nebula. She looks out the

window - and her focus changes. She sees her own reflection.

Her brush moves across the canvas. She adds the suggestion of

a cheekbone...a slender neck...an eye. A face made of stars.

SUBDECK C - MACHINE SHOP

Leo finishes connecting a bank of batteries to his cart's

motor: quadrupling the power.

He rolls a huge tractor tire up to the cart and bolts it on.

DECK FOUR - SHOPPING DISTRICT

Lucy jogs.

A rumble and wail of rubber behind her. Leo's monster golf

cart comes ROARING toward her.

Aurora leaps for safety as the cart passes. Leo blasts past

her with a war whoop and a wave.

He wears welding goggles.

Lucy looks after Leo in astonishment.

DECK FOUR - SERVICE CORRIDOR

Leo races down a long straightaway. Squeals around a corner.

Puts the cart on two wheels as he dodges a cleaning robot.

He steers down a stairway: The cart bounces crazily down to

the deck below. At the bottom Leo takes the corner too hard.

The cart tumbles and SLAMS into the bulkhead. Debris rains

down. Leo lies crumpled in the wreckage, his goggles askew.

FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK

Lucy sits in her writing chair, a slate in front of her.

But the slate is blank, and her face is tense.

LUCY

I haven't written in days. I don't

know why. It's the old problem, I

guess. Who's my reader? Who am I

talking to? What's it for?

(SHE SIGHS)

I used to love it.

SERVICE DECK - INFIRMARY

Leo lies in the autodoc in his underwear - his head

protruding, his body visible behind glass.

Lasers and sensors pass over his body.

AUTODOC

Two separated ribs. Fracture of the

right arm, radius and ulna. One

fractured finger. Dislocated thumb.

LEO

Am I gonna be okay?

Blindingly fast, robot arms straighten Leo's elbow. Wrap his

ribs and arm with smooth white bandages. Leo shouts in shock.

AUTODOC

Leave the bandages on for one week.

The autodoc opens and Leo climbs out, testing his arm. A

bottle of pills rattles into a tray in front of him.

AUTODOC (CONT'D)

Take one of these pills each day

until they are gone.

LEO

Thanks, doc.

AUTODOC

And take better care of yourself.

SUPER: THREE MONTHS LATER

FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK - DAY

Lucy paints, wild-eyed and fragile.

Her brushstrokes are fierce. She slashes at the canvas. As

she paints she begins to cry, silently. She doesn't stop

painting. The easel shakes as she works.

GRAND CONCOURSE

Leo kneels on the Grand Concourse. He's torn a huge hole in

the carpet to expose the deck plates beneath.

With his laser cutter he cuts a large rectangular hole. Cuts

the plate up with a crowbar, opening a cavity in the deck.

LUCY'S CABIN

Lucy paces in her bathrobe, hair wrapped in a towel.

She looks at her gallery of snapshots. Touches the pictures

one by one. The faces begin to move and speak. A cacophony of

good wishes. Laughter and cheers.

Finally only one clip still plays. Lucy's mother.

LUCY'S MOTHER

LAYLA

I promise you we'll think of you

every day. When you wake up, I know

we'll be gone...but you just know

that we lived our lives remembering

you, and holding you in our hearts.

(She starts to cry.)

I don't understand, baby. I'm trying,

but I can't believe I'm losing you.

(She tries to soldier.)

I hope you find what you're looking

for. I hope it makes you happy.

She watches, devastated.

GRAND CONCOURSE - CONCOURSE BAR - DAY

Leo , in work clothes and tool belt, drops by the bar. He's as

dirty as a coal miner but he looks happy.

CAPRICORN

Hello, Leo. Whiskey?

LEO

Iced tea.

CAPRICORN

Coming up. Are you getting my

barstool dirty?

LEO

Got to get dirty to get things done,

Capricorn. If your hands are too clean,

it means you're not making anything.

CAPRICORN

And what are you making?

LEO

Improvements.

ELITE DECK - ELITE PROMENADE - EVENING

Lucy strolls listlessly. Glances over the railing at the

Grand Concourse below - and gasps. She runs for the elevator.

GRAND CONCOURSE

Lucy walks wonderingly up to a GARDEN on the Concourse: a

ten-foot OAK TREE surrounded by flowerbeds and green grass.

ELITE DECK - FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK

Leo walks through Lucy's informal art gallery.

She has abandoned starscapes in favor of self-portraiture.

The painted faces ever more tragic.

The last one is a field of white. Lucy's fading away.

INFIRMARY - GENETIC BANK - DAY

Wisps of cold mist roll off the metal capsules. Lucy

browses the rotating racks, reading names.

With a start she comes across her own name. LUCY AURORA ,

FEMALE, BORN 4/27/2819.

She punches buttons. The racks rotate, shedding flakes of

frost. She finds what she's looking for. LEO PRESTON, MALE,

BORN 9/9/2810.

She looks at the metal cartridge for a long moment. Then she

slaps a switch, and the genetic bank closes up on itself.

GRAND CONCOURSE - LOUNGE

Leo sits reading an electronic slate. He looks up to find

Lucy standing over him.

LEO

I need you.

The last thing Leo expected to hear.

LUCY

I mean, I need a repairman.

Leo's face falls.

. LUCY'S CABIN

Leo opens the door. Inside is chaos: the lights throb. Static

sizzles on video screens. Speakers blare noise. The blinds

jerk and flap. The adjustable bed convulses like a monster.

LEO

Wow. You do need a repairman.

LUCY'S CABIN - LATER

A dark room. In the light of a utility lamp, Leo re-attaches

a control panel to the cabin wall. Lucy watches.

LEO

The control unit burned out. I took

the one from the cabin next door.

He throws a switch. The lights come on. Back to normal.

LEO

All better.

Lucy gives him a brittle smile and sits on the bed.

LEO

So how are you doing? You all right?

LUCY

I'm fine, Leo. Thanks for your work.

She sits immobile, frosty. After a moment Leo walks out.

GRAND CONCOURSE

Leo passes a cleaning robot stuck in a corner. He frees the

robot: it plows right back into the corner.

Another robot zooms in - and gets stuck beside the first one.

Leo studies the robots thoughtfully.

SUBDECK C - MACHINE SHOP - DAY

Leo tinkers with a malfunctioning robot.

A squawk of static comes over the P.A. system.

Leo looks up, listening.

FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK

Aurora sits with her digital slate in her lap. She too is

looking up, listening.

VOICE (VIA INTERCOM)

Hello! Anybody there?

Lucy bolts to her feet, wide-eyed.

SUBDECK C - MACHINE SHOP

Leo has vanished - the robot still rocking on the workbench.

DECK ONE - HIBERNATION BAY

Leo sprints down the hallway, eyes searching left and right.

VOICE (VIA INTERCOM)

This is Deck Chief Makarov Mancuso.

Leo skids to a stop, astonished: the door to the Crew

Hibernation Facility stands open.

VOICE (VIA INTERCOM) (CONT'D)

Who the hell planted a tree on my

ship?

The Grand Concourse! Leo spins and runs back the other way.

GRAND CONCOURSE

MAKAROV MANCUSO stands at a deck steward's station, intercom mic

in hand. A stocky man of 55, with a bristling mustache,

wearing a crewman's coverall. Haggard and weary. He stares in

consternation at the garden in the middle of the Concourse.

Running footsteps.

Leo and Lucy race into the Concourse from opposite

directions. They see Makarov and stop, astonished.

MAKAROV

(pointing at the tree)

Who did that?

Leo raises a hand sheepishly. Makarov shakes his head.

MAKAROV

I can't even talk about that now. Who

are you?

LEO

Leo Preston. Rate-two mechanic.

MAKAROV

Mechanic, huh?

(TO LUCY)

And who are you?

LUCY

Lucy . Lucy Aurora .

MAKAROV

Makarov Mancuso, Senior Deck Chief. Nice

to meet you.

(looks at the tree again)

How long have you been awake?

LUCY

A year.

LEO

Two years.

MAKAROV

This is not good.

CAFETERIA

Leo, Lucy , and Makarov sit around a table. Makarov leans heavily on

his elbows, sipping from a mug.

.

MAKAROV

I always get a hibernation hangover

but this is the worst ever.

(HE DRINKS)

So it's just the two of you?

LEO

Yeah.

MAKAROV

Two years. Ouch.

(looks them in the eye)

You know what it means, right?

There's no way back into hibernation.

LUCY

I was hoping you'd know something we

didn't.

MAKAROV

No. We're awake for the duration. How

far along are we? You know?

LEO

Thirty-two years. Eighty-eight years

to go.

Makarov blows air.

MAKAROV

That's tough.

(he shakes his head)

Hibernation failure! They said it

couldn't happen. And now three on one

trip.

Lucy shoots Leo a look. Makarov doesn't notice.

MAKAROV

Well, let's see what we can do.

COMMAND DECK

Makarov leads Leo and Lucy to the Bridge's armored hatch. He

swipes his crew card and the door opens.

LEO

You have no idea how long I've been

trying to get in here.

MAKAROV

Now you're in. Don't touch anything.

BRIDGE

The computer consoles of the Bridge brighten as they enter.

Makarov walks from station to station, studying the screens.

MAKAROV

We're on course...Whatever's wrong

with the ship, NavComp's still

minding the store.

LEO

What do you think is wrong?

MAKAROV

Three pod failures? Something's

wrong. Question is what.

He turns to leave.

LUCY

Wait. What about diverting the ship?

Can we go back to Earth?

Makarov almost laughs.

MAKAROV

We're going forty percent of

lightspeed away from Earth. To go

home we'd have to come to a stop,

accelerate back towards Earth, and

then come to a stop again. It'd take

as long as going on to Homestead II.

Anyway, navigation's not for

amateurs. Space is a big place, and a

planet's just a little thing.

Makarov has a coughing fit. Wipes his mouth with his fist.

MAKAROV

Let's go next door. See how the old

girl's doing.

DIAGNOSTIC CENTER

Makarov opens a secure compartment beside the bridge. Inside, the

Diagnostic Computer stands dark and dead.

MAKAROV

I thought we'd see a lot of red

lights here. That would mean trouble.

LUCY

So everything's okay?

.

MAKAROV

No, if everything was okay we'd see a

lot of green lights here.

LUCY

What does no lights mean?

MAKAROV

No lights means big trouble.

Diagnostic Computer's down. We've got

some work to do.

LEO

What do you need?

MAKAROV

Right now? Cheeseburger.

ELITE DECK - STARDUST DINER

Makarov eats a cheeseburger. Leo and Lucy sit across from him.

MAKAROV

(with his mouth full)

Never been so hungry. Worst

hibernation hangover ever.

Leo can't take his eyes off Makarov. A new person.

LEO

So where you from, Makarov?

MAKAROV

Grew up in Chicago. But I've lived on

this ship a long time. The

Excelsior's made five inter-planetary

runs, and I've been on every one. I

live aboard. When she makes port, I

live where she lands until she lifts

again.

LEO

(doing the math)

How old does that make you?

MAKAROV

Fifty-six.

LEO

But how long ago were you born?

MAKAROV

Oh. Hang on...

(he does mental math)

About six hundred years ago.

(MORE)

MAKAROV

Most of that I lost to hibernation or

relativity. Doesn't really count.

(he coughs again)

I tell you, I feel about six hundred

years old right now. I woke up hard.

LUCY

You should rest.

MAKAROV

I think I will.

(he climbs to his feet)

Tomorrow morning, eight bells, you

meet me beside that tree of yours.

Until I figure out what's wrong with

the Excelsior, you work for me.

Leo and Lucy smile.

LEO

Yes, sir.

LUCY

Good night, Makarov.

Makarov waves and walks off. That leaves Leo and Lucy sitting

awkwardly on the same side of a dinner booth.

After a moment Aurora moves over to the other side. Looks at

Leo across the table.

LUCY

Six hundred years old!

LEO

I've missed you.

Aurora stares, caught off guard. She gets up.

LUCY

See you in the morning.

COMMAND DECK - DIAGNOSTIC CENTER - MORNING

Makarov and Leo examine the Diagnostic Computer. Leo holds a

flashlight while Makarov pokes around with a voltmeter inside.

Behind them, Aurora stands watching with a digital slate.

MAKAROV

The CPU's burned out, can you believe

it? Why should that happen? It's

rated for five hundred years.

LUCY

Can you fix it?

MAKAROV

You don't fix it, you replace it.

There are spares for everything in

storage. Make a note. Diagnostic

Computer CPU. And a new cooling fan,

this one looks shot.

LUCY

Got it.

GRAND CONCOURSE

Makarov and Lucy stand waiting as if for a bus.

LUCY

Don't take this the wrong way - I

wish for your sake you were still

asleep - but I'm glad you're here.

MAKAROV

Thank you, sweetheart.

A GROWL of gears. Leo drives up in his souped-up golf cart.

MAKAROV

What's this?

LEO

The golf cart.

Makarov takes in the bank of batteries, the giant tractor wheels.

MAKAROV

This I like.

SUBDECK A - NUMBER TEN CARGO BAY

Leo pilots the cart through the stacks. Lucy rides shotgun.

Makarov, in the back seat, plays a flashlight over the stacks.

MAKAROV

Next bay is the ship's stores. So how

fast can she go?

Leo puts the pedal down. The cart lays rubber on the deck

plates and shoots down the aisle while Lucy and Makarov yell.

SHIP'S STORES

Up on a hydraulic lift, Makarov digs components out of storage.

Hands them to Lucy, who hands them to Leo, who loads them

into the cart.

95.

DIAGNOSTIC CENTER

Makarov works on the Diagnostic Computer while Leo looks on.

Nearby, Lucy thumbs through Makarov's technical manuals.

Makarov clamps a final component in place and nods at Leo.

MAKAROV

Start 'er up.

Leo closes a circuit breaker and powers up the computer. A

deep electrical HUM as the machine boots up.

The screen flashes a message: RUNNING VESSEL DIAGNOSTIC. A

progress bar shows that the diagnostic is 0.0% complete.

The lights on the indicator panel remain dark. The first

light begins to flicker as the diagnostic runs.

LEO

How long will it take?

MAKAROV

Full diagnostic from a cold start?

Days. But it'll tell us everything.

GRAND CONCOURSE

Makarov strolls through the ship, looking around nostalgically.

He passes Leo's garden and shakes his head.

CONCOURSE BAR

MAKAROV walks up to the bar.

CAPRICORN

Chief Mancuso! Good to see you.

MAKAROV

Good to see you too, Capricorn.

CAPRICORN

What can I get you?

MAKAROV

Just an ice water with a little

lemon. I feel hot as hell.

Makarov mops sweat from his brow and sips his water. His hand

trembles hard enough to rattle the ice cubes.

96.

Makarov's CABIN

A homey space, filled with Makarov's possessions: pictures of

fellow spacers and vacation spots on half a dozen planets.

Books, keepsakes and mementos.

Makarov sits on his bed, on a handmade quilt. Coughs violently

into a handkerchief, leaving the cloth spotted with blood.

GRAND CONCOURSE - GARDEN - MORNING

Aurora stands waiting by the oak tree. Leo arrives with two

cups of coffee, and hands her one. Aurora smiles, touched.

LUCY

Thank you.

Makarov arrives in a fresh coverall, a steaming mug in hand. No

signs of frailty. He hands each of them a digital slate.

MAKAROV

All right. Last night I checked ten

atmosphere stations and two of them

were burned out. Twenty percent

failure rate. Unheard of. So we're

going to see how far the rot runs.

(TO LUCY)

You. You're going to walk Decks Two,

Three, and Four, and check every

atmosphere station. Green light good,

red light bad, no light really bad.

Write down what you find, I want a

complete census.

LUCY

Yes, sir.

MAKAROV

(TO LEO)

You. Go down to the Ship's Stores.

Find atmosphere station CPUs and take

an inventory of the spares. I know

what the manifest says, but lists

ain't facts.

LEO

Got it.

MAKAROV

I'm going down to the Hibernation Bay

to look at our pods. Maybe I can spot

what went wrong.

Leo and Lucy exchange glances.

97.

LUCY

That should be interesting.

HIBERNATION BAY - AURORA'S POD - DAY

Makarov kneels in front of the pod, examining the mechanism.

Alone, he doesn't hide his difficulty: sweating and panting.

Something he finds inside the machine makes him forget his

symptoms. He stares, astonished.

MAKAROV

Son of a gun.

A sound behind him. Makarov turns to find Leo watching. He looks

from Leo to the pod mechanism and back again.

MAKAROV)

You're supposed to be doing

inventory.

LEO

I finished.

MAKAROV

(holding Leo's eyes)

I looked at your pod. Very simple.

The clock chips burned out. Not

supposed to happen, but it's simple.

Leo fidgets. Starts to speak. Makarov cuts him off.

MAKAROV

My pod was complicated. A bunch of

different failures at once, the whole

thing went haywire. I think that's

why I feel so bad.

(points at Lucy pod)

But this pod...

LEO

Makarov...

MAKAROV

You did this.

LEO

Yeah.

MAKAROV

I was thinking what a lucky son of a

bitch you were, stuck with a beauty

like Aurora. But it wasn't luck.

LEO

No.

Makarov sits down heavily, looking at Leo.

MAKAROV

She knows?

LEO

She knows.

Makarov thinks that over, shaking his head at the idea.

MAKAROV

I could see there was some trouble

between you.

Makarov starts putting his tools away. Leo lays the electronic

slate down beside him.

MAKAROV

Here's your inventory. I'll be in the

machine shop if you need me.

COMMAND DECK - DIAGNOSTIC CENTER

Makarov sits working. Behind him the Diagnostic Computer displays

its progress bar: the diagnostic is 9% complete.

Lucy enters with a digital slate.

LUCY

I finished the census.

(SHE HESITATES)

You saw the hibernation pods?

MAKAROV

Yeah.

LUCY

So you know. What Leo did.

Lucy chin begins to tremble.

MAKAROV

Yeah, he told me.

LUCY

He told you? Just like that? And?

She waits, trembling with righteous indignation. Makarov doesn't

want to get into this: he looks away uncomfortably.

LUCY

It's not forgivable, Makarov.

It's not.Don't tell me it is.

MAKAROV

No, it's a bad thing. But...

(he shrugs helplessly)

Look. When a drowning man drags

somebody down with him, you don't

call it right. But he's drowning. A

starving man steals a loaf of bread,

what can you say? You should have

starved?

LUCY

I would have starved.

MAKAROV

Really?

Lucy looks hard at Makarov, thinking, and says nothing.

ELITE DECK - ARGENTINA STEAKHOUSE - EVENING

A rustic restaurant. Makarov, Leo, and Lucy sit around a table.

Makarov reads an electronic slate.

MAKAROV

By Lucy's count, about thirty

percent of the atmosphere station

CPUs are burned out.

LEO

We can replace them.

MAKAROV

We will. But they'll just burn out

again if we don't figure out why it's

happening.

LEO

Where do we start?

MAKAROV

We wait for the diagnostic report.

You've been knocking around this ship

for two years. A few days more won't

kill you.

Makarov hacks and coughs. For a moment his weakness is plain to

see...but robots sweep in and lay dishes on the table. Makarov

sets his slate aside.

MAKAROV

Here you go. This is the best food on

the ship.

GRAND CONCOURSE - CONCOURSE BAR

Leo, Lucy, and Makarov sit at the bar. Capricorn stands by.

LUCY

So how did you end up in space?

MAKAROV

Only place I ever wanted to be. When

I was sixteen I lied about my age and

got onto a lunar shuttle crew. A few

years later I moved on to planetary

ships. Made the Venus run a hundred

times, then Jupiter and Saturn. Then

the gravity drive came along. Real

spaceflight. I did every

everything I could

to get onto an interstellar ship. I

was thirty-six years old the first

time I saw an alien sun. No going

back after that. I've walked on

seventeen planets in five solar

systems.

LEO

That's incredible.

LUCY

Don't you feel homeless?

MAKAROV

I'm a spacer. My home is where I am.

You can't take much with you, so you

don't get hung up on things. You have

yourself. The things you do. The

company you keep.

Makarov pushes himself off his stool. Momentarily shaky, he pulls

himself together.

He takes a seat at the grand piano and plays - a fine

beerhall pianist. Makarov touches a switch and lifts his hands:

the piano keeps playing.

Makarov stands and extends a hand to Lucy. She takes it, and

Makarov sweeps her across the floor.

Leo watches from the bar.

CAPRICORN

(aside, to Leo)

Makarov always dances with the ladies.

.

Lucy follows Makarov's lead - but steals looks at Leo. Her eyes

unreadable. They watch each other as the dance goes on.

GRAND CONCOURSE - THE GARDEN - MORNING

Leo and Lucy wait beside the garden. They've been waiting

for a while. Both look around for Makarov.

LEO

You haven't seen him at all?

MAKAROV'S CABIN DOOR

A doorbell chimes. Leo and Lucy wait in the hall,

listening. Leo rings again.

LUCY

I don't think he's up.

MAKAROV'S CABIN

Makarov lies feverish and semi-conscious in his bed.

A THUNK! The door slides open. Leo and Lucy rush in.

LEO

Makarov! Are you all right?

MAKAROV

No. No, I'm not.

INFIRMARY

Makarov lies in a medical scanner. Leo and Lucy watch as the

machine bathes Makarov in light, sensors floating over his body.

MAKAROV

Couldn't get up. Weak as a baby. What

does it say is wrong with me?

The scanner's display screen lists not one diagnosis, but

hundreds: disorders, diseases, dysfunctions.

LEO

(hiding his horror)

It's a few things.

MEDICAL SCANNER

Diagnosis complete.

Makarov hauls himself out of the scanner. Pulls a bathrobe on and

comes around to look at the screen. He sees it and blanches.

.

MEDICAL SCANNER (CONT'D)

Six hundred twelve disorders found.

MAKAROV

What's the summary?

MEDICAL SCANNER

Pan-systemic necrosis. Progressive

organ failure. Cause unknown.

MAKAROV

(losing his temper)

I'll tell you the cause. My goofy

hibernation pod is the cause.

LUCY

What's the treatment?

MEDICAL SCANNER

No treatment known.

Makarov pivots the monitor so that only he can see it.

MAKAROV

Prognosis.

A series of images flickers over the screen, casting shadows

on his face. Makarov swallows hard and looks away.

MAKAROV

How long have I got?

MEDICAL SCANNER

Between two and three days.

A long moment of silence. Makarov turns and exits.

MEDICAL SCANNER (CONT'D)

These sedatives will alleviate

suffering in the final hours...

Pill bottles clatter into a metal bin. Lucy scoops them up.

Leo goes after Makarov.

CORRIDOR

Makarov settles himself behind the wheel of Leo's cart.

LEO

Makarov!

MAKAROV

Sorry, Leo.

Makarov puts his foot down and the cart squeals away.

.

Lucy stumbles into the hall, her hands full of pill

bottles. She and Leo watch the cart recede.

COMMAND DECK - COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

Lucy sits at the security console, watching the monitors.

Leo enters.

LEO

He's not in his room.

Lucy flips on the intercom, speaks into the mic. Her voice

resonates through the ship.

LUCY

Where are you? Makarov, please answer.

We'll be at the Concourse Bar every

hour. I'm really worried.

LEO

Where is he? What's he doing?

MAKAROV

What are you doing?

They spin. Leo stands in the doorway behind them.

MAKAROV

Guy's got a couple of days to live

and he can't get any peace.

LUCY

Where have you been?

MAKAROV

Making arrangements. You kids have

dinner plans?

LEO

No.

MAKAROV

Xanadu at eight.

(EXITING)

Now stop shouting at me.

MAKAROV'S CABIN - EVENING

Makarov makes a tour of the room, touching his photographs and

mementos in farewell.

He puts on his dress uniform: chest crowded with medals and

decorations for the planets he's seen, the voyages he's made.

.

He takes a photograph from a dresser: a handsome woman in her

forties. Kisses the snapshot. Tucks it in his breast pocket.

In the mirror he studies his haggard face.

Suddenly he SHOUTS, a wordless cry of anger. Pounds on the

dresser with his fists. Teeth clenched in pain and fury.

Then he straightens. Stands at attention. Takes a deep

breath. Pivots on his heel and leaves the room.

STARDOME - XANADU - NIGHT

Leo and Lucy enter the Stardome to find Makarov sitting shaky

but proud at the head of a table.

They sit. Makarov pours wine with a trembling hand.

They stare at the stars through the space window for a while.

Then Makarov turns to Lucy.

MAKAROV

How do I look?

LUCY

You look magnificent.

MAKAROV

(TO LEO)

Ladies love the dress blues.

(to both of them)

Thanks for coming. Sorry to run out

today, but I didn't have a lot of

time, and there was a lot to do.

He sips his wine. Leo and Lucy watch with concern.

LEO

How you feeling?

MAKAROV

Fine, fine.

LUCY

Makarov, just because some stupid machine

says there's no cure...

MAKAROV

State-of-the-art machine, Lucy.

Anyway, I can feel it happening.

LUCY

But you just got here. It's barely

been a week.

He takes her hand.

MAKAROV

No point counting the days.

XANADU - LATER

Their dinners are nearly done. Makarov pours more wine. He's in

the middle of a tale of adventure.

MAKAROV

A pure oxygen environment is about as

dangerous a place as you can be. A

steel pipe will burn in pure O2. And

there I am with a hammer, trying to

close this valve and stop the oxygen

flow, when one spark will kill us

all. But the thing is, O2 makes you

punchy. So I can't stop laughing. And

then the guys behind me start in, and

soon everybody's going. Captain's

giggling like a girl. The Navigator

pissed his pants laughing.

Leo and Lucy laugh. But pain contorts Makarov's face. He grips

the table with white knuckles. And nobody's laughing anymore.

MAKAROV

This is happening fast. I got some

things for you. Come with me.

DECK FOUR - STARBOARD E.V.A. ROOM

On a table at the edge of the plaza, a small pile of objects

waits. Makarov stops beside them. Turns to Leo and Lucy.

MAKAROV

I went through the ship's manuals and

made notes wherever there was

something special you should know.

These should keep you straight. In a

few days the Diagnostic Computer will

show you what needs fixing.

He takes his shipcard from around his neck. Hands it to Leo.

MAKAROV

This'll get you anywhere you need to

go. Questions?

LEO

Why are we standing by the airlock?

LUCY

Oh, God! Makarov, no!

106.

MAKAROV

Got no choice about going. But I can

decide how to go, and I'm going out

on my own two feet.

LEO

(SHOCKED)

Are you sure about this?

MAKAROV

If you knew how this feels, young man,you wouldn't ask me to stay.

Makarov extends a hand to Lucy. She throws her arms around him.

LUCY

Makarov, I can't stand it. There's got to

be some other way. Don't do this.

Makarov gently frees himself from her arms.

MAKAROV

(TENDERLY)

It's all right, Lucy. It's all

right.

Makarov turns to Leo. They clasp hands. Slap each other's

shoulders in a rough embrace.

MAKAROV

Leo. Fix the ship.

LEO

Yes, sir.

MAKAROV

And take care of each other.

Makarov turns and opens the airlock. He straightens, squares his

shoulders, and steps inside. Turns to face them.

MAKAROV

All right.

Lucy covers her mouth. Leo raises a hand in stunned

farewell. The airlock door closes. Red lights flash.

Through the porthole they see Makarov look out into space.

Then the outer door slams open and a blast of air shoots Makarov

out among the stars. His body lost in the infinite night.

Lucy steps into Leo's arms. Lays her head on his chest. For

a

moment he holds her. Then she pushes him gently back. Meets

his eyes sadly.

.

Leo watches her walk away.

. GRAND CONCOURSE - DAY

Capricorn polishes glasses, chipper as ever. A SWEEPER ROBOT

passes on its daily errands.

FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK

Lucy slouches in her writing chair, staring into space - a

picture of sorrow.

SUBDECK C - MACHINE SHOP

Leo sits motionless at his workbench, brooding.

A CLATTER rouses him.

Leo's little pet robot is banging its head against the wall,

emitting beeps of distress. Leo frowns.

ROBOTICS CENTER

Leo walks in. Everywhere robots bunch and stumble.

A pair of sweeper robots fight to enter the same recharging

niche. They trip up a procession of gangly window washers -

who stumble into a parade of robot waiters.

Chaos spreads. The robots' clockwork perfection upset.

CAFETERIA

Lucy draws a glass of orange juice and gets green sludge.

Dials for toast and gets two slices of charcoal.

COMMAND DECK - DIAGNOSTIC CENTER

Lucy enters. The Diagnostic Computer's console is no longer

dark: it's a sea of green and red lights. A lot of red.

The computer's screen reads "Diagnostic Complete." It

displays a long list of error messages.

271.Lucy stares in horror at the red lights. 271

Leo enters behind her. Takes in the bad news.

.

LUCY

There's trouble everywhere.

Atmosphere systems, water systems,

waste systems, robot control.

LEO

(under his breath)

What's happening?

Lucy goes to the worktable: its surface displays the

diagnostic report. Thousands of faults and failures.

LUCY

It started two years ago. Thirty

years with no trouble, then forty-

seven failures in a single day.

(reading the list)

Structural concussion.

System overvoltage.

Transient pressure anomaly.

Circuit reset, conduit 12.

Sync failure, hibernation pod 1498.

LEO

Pod 1498? That's me!

LUCY

Whatever happened that day woke you

up.

She pulls up a graph of failures over time: A trickle of

breakdowns that swells into a torrent.

LEO

Ever since then, more and more

failures. Faster and faster.

LUCY

How do we find out what's going on?

LEO

We start at the beginning. The

breakdowns from the day I woke up.

Lucy brings up a map of the ship on the display. Red

markers blink on the map.

LUCY

They're all on Deck One.

DECK FOUR - AFT FIREWALL

An armored hatch leads to the Engine Room.

.

Leo wears his tool belt. Lucy carries a flashlight. Each of

them carries one of Makarov's manuals.

Leo swipes Makarov's crew card and the hatch opens. They go in.

ENGINE COMPARTMENT - UPPER LEVEL

A huge space spanning multiple decks at the rear of the ship.

Here the real heart of the Excelsior throbs in the dark.

Leo and Lucy emerge into a humming electrical station. Leo

peers at gauges.

LEO

Power Converter seems okay.

LUCY

The failures are all below us.

ENGINE COMPARTMENT - MIDDLE LEVEL

A huge sphere 120 feet across dominates the compartment.

Signs read: CAUTION - FUSION REACTOR. A deep RUMBLE.

Leo and Lucy descend beside the reactor on a spiral stair.

They emerge onto a catwalk at the reactor's equator and walk

around the sphere.

REACTOR CONTROL ROOM

Leo cards open a door labeled "REACTOR CONTROL ROOM." Red

light pours out. They enter.

LEO LUCY

(TOGETHER)

Don't touch anything.

Banks of control panels - but Leo and Lucy have eyes only

for the windows into the reactor's heart.

Inside the reactor is a caged sun: an orb of fire hanging in

space. Loops and tongues of flame leap from its surface.

It roars like a forest fire.

LUCY

It's beautiful.

LEO

Scares the hell out of me.

LUCY

What keeps it in?

.

LEO

Gravity. The gravity plant gives us

weight. Propels the ship. And it

contains the fusion reaction. All one

system.

Lucy watches Leo as he walks among the consoles, studying

the instruments.

LEO

Not much trouble here. A couple of

computers running hot.

LUCY

The cluster of failures is still one

level down.

ENGINE COMPARTMENT - LOWER LEVEL

Leo and Lucy emerge from an elevator. They come to a door

marked CENTRAL COMPUTING.

LUCY

This should be it.

Leo cards the door with Makarov's shipcard. The lock flashes a

red light and stays closed.

LEO

Makarov's card should open any door.

LUCY

(flipping through her manual)

Let me try an override code.

She squeezes past Leo. Taps at the door's keypad. Leo peers

through the narrow window in the door.

LEO

Wait a sec, maybe there's a reason

the door...

The light flashes green.

The door begins to slide open.

A HOWLING WIND sucks Lucy against the crack in the door.

She screams. Leo grabs at her. A hurricane drags her inside.

CENTRAL COMPUTER FACILITY

Lucy tumbles into the room and smashes into a column. She

clings in the gale-force wind, grimacing in pain.

.

There's a RAGGED HOLE punched in the hull. Outside, stars

burn in the vacuum of space. A tornado of escaping air

screams out through the hole.

Red lights flash. Claxons sound. The door begins to close.

Leo pulls a HAMMER from his belt and jams it crossways in the

doorway, propping open the door. The door's motors whine.

Leo dives inside. Skids to a stop beside Lucy. Pulls her

loose from the column and shoves her toward the door,

fighting the wind.

Lucy scrambles through the doorway. Leo tries to follow -

but the hammer suddenly bends and springs out of the doorway.

The door slams: Lucy outside, Leo in the airless room.

The last of the atmosphere flashes away into space.

Aurora screams and pounds on the other side of the door. But

Leo hears only his own thudding heartbeat.

The last air leaves Leo's lungs in a silent shout, vapor

whipping away between his teeth.

He spins. Scans the room desperately.

OUTSIDE THE DOOR

Lucy re-enters the override code. But the code is denied.

She drops to her knees. Scans frantically through her manual.

THE AIRLESS ROOM

Leo rips open a wide metal drawer built into the wall. It's

full of computer components: Leo sweeps them onto the floor.

OUTSIDE THE DOOR

Lucy tears open an instrument panel beside the door,

revealing a yellow emergency button marked "PURGE." She flips

back the safety catch and slams the button.

IN THE AIRLESS ROOM

White jets of compressed air blast from the ceiling, turning

the room into a whirling tornado of debris.

Leo clings for his life, gulping air as flying fragments

batter him.

The wind tears him from his handholds and hurls him toward

the jagged hole in the hull.

He falls ACROSS THE HOLE. Metal fangs inches from his body.

He strains to avoid being speared or sucked out into space.

The air jets stop. The wind dies as the air escapes.

Leo lunges back to the open drawer. Pulls the LASER CUTTER

from his tool belt and cuts the entire drawer free.

He turns back, holding the metal DRAWER like a shield - and

staggers, half fainting.

OUTSIDE THE DOOR

Lucy sees Leo falter. Slams the PURGE button again.

IN THE AIRLESS ROOM

Compressed air blasts into the room, renewing the windstorm.

Leo rides the wind, sliding across the steel deck and

SLAMMING the steel drawer across the hole in the hull.

Air screams away through the gaps.

Lucy lunges to an emergency locker and pulls out an epoxy

foamer - a steel canister like a fire extinguisher. He aims

it at the hole in the hull and pulls the trigger.

ORANGE FOAM blasts out, stiffening into a hard plastic. Leo

buries the steel drawer and the hull breach in foam.

His eyes flutter closed. Starved of oxygen, he falls limp.

OUTSIDE THE DOOR

Lucy hits the PURGE button. White jets of air blast into

the sealed room. The pressure comes up. The door slides open.

CENTRAL COMPUTER FACILITY

Lucy dashes in. Falls to her knees beside Leo. Takes his

pulse. Listens for breath: he's not breathing. She presses

her mouth over his and blows air into his lungs.

After a moment Leo coughs. He opens bloodshot eyes. She props

his head on her knee.

LUCY

Leo. Are you okay?

Leo breathes deeply. Blinks his eyes.

LEO

I think I'm all right.

(his eyes go wide)

Look.

In the center of the room a round column houses the CORE

COMPUTER. There's a CRATER blasted in the machine.

LEO

That's the core computer.

Leo hauls himself to his feet, leaning on Lucy. He

approaches the blasted computer. Reaches into the hole.

Strains. A CREAK...and Leo pulls a melon-sized METEOR from

the crater. An orb of pitted metal.

COMMAND DECK - DIAGNOSTIC CENTER

Leo and Lucy sit at the worktable. The meteor sits between

them on the table.

LEO

A meteor.

LUCY

A rock.

They stare at the meteor: the cause of it all.

A BEEP: on the Diagnostic Computer's console, more green

lights turn red. New errors pop up on the diagnostic report.

LUCY

I don't get it. This thing hit down

on Deck One. But there are failures

everywhere.

LEO

(A BRAINSTORM)

The computers are networked. Ever

since the core computer got blown

away, all the other computers must

have been carrying the load. Running

at full capacity around the clock for

two years. They're burning out.

LUCY

And every computer that burns out

increases the load on the others.

.

LEO

Yeah. The breakdown accelerates. If

we don't stop it, the whole ship will

go down.

LUCY

I'm trapped on a sinking ship?

LEO

Makarov said there's spares for

everything. If we replace the core

computer, it'll pick up the load. The

burnouts will stop.

Another BEEP. Another green light turns red.

LUCY

Let's go.

SUBDECK A - SHIP'S STORES

Leo pilots his golf cart at breakneck speed through the cargo

racks. Lucy rides shotgun, reading an electronic map.

LUCY

Two more rows, then left!

The cart squeals around a corner.

CENTRAL COMPUTER FACILITY

Lucy buries the hull breach in another layer of epoxy foam.

Leo wrestles a massive crate off the golf cart's cargo deck.

Wearily uncrates the replacement computer.

CENTRAL COMPUTER FACILITY - LATER

Lucy inspects the replacement core computer, a manual in

her hands. The pages she's consulting are covered with Makarov's

handwritten notes.

Leo sits on the floor with another manual. Cables and

connectors lie around him on the floor.

LUCY

First you connect the data bus, then

the sync cable, then bridge the power

and backup power...you're supposed to

run a startup checklist, but Makarov made

a note. He says you can skip straight

to power-up as long as you...

.

LUCY

(FROWNING)

Leo!

Leo is nodding off over his manual. He looks up, blinking.

LUCY

You need to sleep. We can't make

mistakes here.

LEO

(GROGGY)

I'm fine.

LUCY

You just got sucked into outer space.

Take a break.

ELITE DECK - BERLIN SUITE - NIGHT

Leo lies asleep in trousers and T-shirt, dead to the world.

DECK NINE - AURORA'S CABIN - DAWN

Lucy Aurora wakes. Rolls out of bed.

COMMAND DECK - DIAGNOSTIC CENTER - DAY

Lucy sips coffee. Surveys the Diagnostic Computer's warning

lights. Turns to stare thoughtfully at the meteor itself.

She exits.

The console flickers. A green light turns red. And another.

The pattern of red lights spreads like a bloodstain.

ELITE DECK - BERLIN SUITE

Leo still lies sleeping. He hasn't moved a muscle. Lucy

looks in on him, and slips quietly away.

DECK TWO - SWIMMING POOL

In a bathing suit, Lucy dives into the pool, cleaving the

water cleanly and striking out in a crawl stroke.

She reaches the end of the lane. Kick-turns and swims back...

...and the gravity cuts out.

The water heaves itself into weird humps and tentacles.

Lucy flounders in the weightless water.

.

BERLIN SUITE (ZERO GRAVITY)

Sound asleep, Leo floats weightless from his bed, his blanket

billowing. He touches the ceiling.

His eyes open. He shouts in astonishment.

Makarov' crew card floats in front of him. He grabs it. His

blanket snarls around him: he struggles to free himself.

SWIMMING POOL (ZERO GRAVITY)

Rippling masses of water float everywhere, dividing and

merging. There is no surface. There is no up.

In the middle of this chaos, Lucy is trying not to drown.

A truck-sized blob of water swallows her up.

Inside the jiggling mass she struggles, running out of air.

She gathers herself. Lunges through the water. Shoots out of

the blob, gasping for breath.

She drifts within reach of a railing and grabs hold.

BERLIN SUITE (ZERO GRAVITY)

Leo braces himself in a corner of the ceiling. Spots his tool

belt floating in mid-air.

He dives through the air, snags his tool belt on the way, and

opens the door.

LEO

Lucy!

ELITE DECK - ELITE PROMENADE (ZERO GRAVITY)

Leo emerges from a corridor onto the promenade: airborne,

propelling himself from one handhold to the next.

He's barefoot in trousers and undershirt, his toolbelt around

his waist. Makarov's shipcard around his neck.

LUCY

Leo!

In the middle of the atrium, Lucy drifts mid-air, far from

any handhold. She wears a damp shirt over her bathing suit.

LEO

What are you doing?

.

LUCY

(EXASPERATED)

I'm drifting helplessly.

LEO

We've got to get you down. The

gravity might come back on.

Lucy hadn't thought of that. She looks down fearfully.

Leo swings over the railing. Braces his feet. Takes aim.

LUCY

Whoa. Hey. Let's talk about this.

LEO

Hang on.

LUCY

To what?!

Leo dives at her like Superman. Wraps his arms around her.

They tumble through space until Leo grabs a railing.

LEO

You okay?

LUCY

There's no gravity.

LEO

Yeah. That's bad.

LUCY

Why is there no gravity?

LEO

The gravity plant's failing. Internal

field goes first. After that the

engines die...then the fusion reactor

goes nova.

LUCY

That is bad.

LEO

We've got to get the core computer

online. Now.

ENGINE COMPARTMENT - FUSION REACTOR (ZERO GRAVITY)

A roar of THUNDER. The caged sun shudders. Tongues of fire

lick from its surface.

DECK FIVE - CORRIDOR (ZERO GRAVITY)

Leo and Lucy, getting the hang of it, shoot down a hallway -

dodging a robot that spins its wheels in the air.

ENGINE COMPARTMENT - CORE COMPUTER ROOM (ZERO GRAVITY)

Leo and Lucy float into the room and stare: Leo's golf cart

and the replacement Core Computer hang tumbling in the air.

Lucy extends her hand to Leo. He takes her hand, and with

his other hand grabs a handhold. Lucy floats up and grabs

the replacement core computer by a cable. A human chain, they

haul it down to the deck.

Lucy holds the new computer down. Leo floats up to the

ruined old computer. Opens latches. Disconnects cables. Eases

the machine out of the column into the air.

The room shakes. A deep note in the background falls silent.

LEO

The engines just shut down.

FUSION REACTOR CONTROL ROOM (ZERO GRAVITY)

Consoles alive with warning lights. The room is bathed with a

hellish glow: the orb of fire swells and roars.

A computer burns out with a sputter of flame. The air fills

with a haze of smoke.

FUSION REACTOR

The caged sun boils and swells. Tentacles of flame graze the

reactor walls, leaving charred trails.

CORE COMPUTER ROOM (ZERO GRAVITY)

Leo and Lucy strain at the replacement computer: it's

nearly in place. Each shoves with one hand, gripping a

handhold with the other. Their feet kick in the empty air.

Red lights flash. A warning klaxon sounds.

ANNOUNCER

Reactor failure. Reactor failure.

Passengers please remain calm.

Lucy holds the computer in place, gripping two handholds,

her shoulder planted against the machine.

.

Leo floats up, reaches around the computer to connect cables.

LEO

Does the data cable go in the "bus"

port or the "through" port?

LUCY

Bus port! The blue one!

The ship shudders violently, throwing them from side to side.

Leo forces one cable after another into their sockets.

Lucy tires: the computer slides out of place.

LEO

Hold it! Hold it!

LUCY

Trying!

She strains. The computer slides back into place.

Leo closes the last connection. Slips out of the niche and

lowers the clamps that hold the computer in place.

He throws the heavy power lever. The lights go out.

. STARSHIP EXCELSIOR

A wave of darkness engulfs the ship.

. SUBDECK A - CORE COMPUTER ROOM

Floating, Leo and Lucy stare at each other in the dark.

LUCY

What's happening?

LEO

Don't know.

The core computer flashes to life. The lights come back on.

So does the gravity. Leo and Lucy slam to the floor. Inches

away, the old computer plunges down and embeds itself in the

deck. Across the room the golf cart bounces on its tires.

. FUSION REACTOR

The orb of fire withdraws its blazing tentacles and dwindles

to its proper size.

.

CORE COMPUTER ROOM

Leo and Lucy lie on the deck, breathing hard. Aurora starts

to laugh.

LEO

What's so funny?

LUCY

We're alive!

The engines rumble back to life.

A distant, rhythmic sound begins.

DECK TWO - PROMENADE

Leo and Lucy walk wearily.

LEO

We have to replace the other burned-

out computers. But we have time.

Lucy slides her arm around his waist.A funny sound comes.

BOOM-CHAK...BOOM-CHAK...

LEO

What is that sound?

Lucy stiffens, looking over his shoulder. Outside the

window, a hibernation pod spins into view. A woman inside.

LUCY

(finding her voice)

Leo!

He turns. Stares in shock as more pods drift past the window.

HIBERNATION BAY

Leo and Lucy sprint into the facility. The sound is loud

here: BOOM-CHAK...BOOM-CHAK...

It's the sound of hibernation pods being ejected. The wave of

ejections marches down an aisle: one pod after another

disappearing into the ceiling.

Leo rushes to a CONSOLE. Scans the display.

LEO

The hibernation system rebooted. It

thinks the ship's in port. It's

ejecting the empty pods.

LUCY

(HORRIFIED)

They're not empty.

EXT. STARSHIP EXCELSIOR

The ship leaves a trail of glowing hibernation pods.

HIBERNATION BAY

Leo slides to a halt in front of a hibernation pod. Pulls a

power driver from his belt and removes the cover panel.

Lucy arrives on his heels. Watches as he works.

An ominous sound approaches. BOOM-CHAK...BOOM-CHAK... The

wave of ejections advances down their row.

LUCY

Hurry.

LEO

I see it.

He's not fast enough. The pod slides up and out of sight.

. STARSHIP EXCELSIOR

The pods Leo was working on tumbles out into space.

. CREW HIBERNATION FACILITY

Leo slams into the facility at a dead run. Scans the crew

hibernation pods. Picks one and goes to work.

Lucy enters. Looks at the man inside the hibernation pod: a

stern fellow with a bristling gray beard.

LUCY

Who's that?

LEO

The Captain.

The sounds of the ejection wave come closer. Boom-chak.

LUCY

You don't have much time.

LEO

I know.

.

A crewman's pod vanishes into the ceiling on the

opposite side. The ejections march down the row.

LUCY

Go go go!

The wave of ejections reaches the end of the facility and

marches back on Leo's side.

LEO

Got it!

The hibernation pod hums to life.

Inside, the Captain opens his eyes. He stares in astonishment

at the first thing he sees: Aurora, in her bathing suit and

shirt, a disheveled angel.

BOOM-CHAK!

The pod beside the Captain's shoots out of sight. He sees it.

Looks at Lucy in alarm. Reaches out, his hand spread flat

on the glass.

She reaches back, her hand matching his.

The Captain's pod rises through the ceiling and vanishes. Leo

roars in frustration. Aurora leaps back with a cry of horror.

DECK NINE - AFT OBSERVATION DECK

Leo and Lucy stare out the windows. In the ship's wake,

five thousand pods glitter like diamonds. The cloud of pods

dispersing as they watch.

Stricken, Lucy walks away.

Leo watches her go, then turns back to the window, looking

out at the tumbling sparks.

STARSHIP EXCELSIOR

The starship recedes, leaving five thousand pods in its wake.

TWO WEEKS LATER

COMMAND DECK - DIAGNOSTIC CENTER - DAY

Leo stands at the Diagnostic Computer. The indicator light

panel is a sea of green. Only a few red lights remain.

Lucy enters.

LEO

That's the last of the burned out

processors. When it reboots we should

be all green.

LUCY

Can we talk?

FORWARD OBSERVATION DECK

Lucy's writing couch.

Leo and Lucy sit facing each other.

Lucy gathers her thoughts. Takes a deep breath.

LUCY

You know, if it wasn't for you waking

me up, I'd be drifting out in space

right now with the others. And if

you'd never awakened, the whole ship

would have been lost while we slept.

Leo shakes his head at the tangle of it.

LUCY

But no matter how we got here, the

fact is that we're here. All I know

is, when I have a good idea, you're

the person I want to tell. When I

wake up in the morning, I wish you

were there. When I look at you, I

just see Leo. And I miss him.

Leo looks at her, moved and caught off-guard.

LEO

I've missed you too.

LUCY

I don't want to be angry anymore. I

can't be. We've come through too

much. No matter what you've done...

the fact is, I love you.

Leo reaches out and takes her hand. She watches him

intertwine his fingers with hers.

Lucy gazes out at the stars - the endless shining sky that

enfolds them. She looks at Leo and smiles.

LUCY

Hell of a life.

Leo meets her eyes.

LEO

Hell of a life.

She climbs into Leo's lap, and they kiss. A kiss with a year's

frustration behind it. A kiss that matters. All the worries goes away from their mind and both Leo and Lucy kiss on while swimming on the pool and stars ahead them shimmering brightly upon them.

STARSHIP EXCELSIOR - STARBOARD AIRLOCK - DAY

The airlock opens with a Makarovt of air. Leo emerges in a space

suit - followed by Lucy.

ATOP THE SHIP

They walk toward the bow, stars reflected in their visors.

AT THE BOW

They sit side by side. Lucy takes Leo's hand.

They lean together, helmets touching, and look together into

the blue stars of their future.

SUPER EIGHTY-EIGHT YEARS LATER

HOMESTEAD II - CAPITAL LANDING FIELD - DAWN

An orange sun rises over green hills. In the foreground the

roofs of Homestead II's capital city glow in the dawn.

At the city's edge, timeworn spacecraft sit on their landing

gear around a grassy landing field.

Colonists gather. They watch the sky expectantly...

A new star shines on the horizon.

The star grows into a white starship gleaming in the sun. The

Excelsior sweeps over the field with a rumble of engines.

The ship's hull is scorched and abraded from its cosmic

crossing. But the lights shine, the engines throb, the

landing gear receive the weight of the ship.

The starship's gangway lowers. The doors open.

children run down the gangway. Children of all ages, of all

races. Twenty of them, thirty. They point at the sun, at the

clouds, laughing, wide-eyed in wonder.

We move up the gangway, through the disembarking passengers.

Behind the children: Teenagers. Adults in smaller numbers as

they grow older. Finally a handful of gray-haired elders.

STARSHIP EXCELSIOR - GRAND CONCOURSE

Transformed by the wear and tear of a century's habitation.

Paths worn into floors, furniture repaired or re-purposed.

We move past vegetable gardens. Battered sweeper robots water

the plantings. Window-washers till the soil.

The OAK TREE towers a hundred feet tall over the Concourse.

Its branches brush the skylight far above.

We move past walls decorated with murals and carvings.

At the Concourse Bar, Capricorn is slicing vegetables. His

timeworn uniform mended by hand.

At the aft end of the Concourse, a high wall. Here a long

list of dates is inscribed. The last date is the ship's

landfall on Homestead II; the first, Leo's awakening. In

between: an accelerating tally of births, deaths, marriages,

catastrophes and achievements...a century of shipboard life.

At the base of the wall we find a table like an altar, where

a collection of artifacts is displayed:

The meteor pried from the Excelsior's heart.

Makarov's worn shipcard, his picture still visible.

A beautiful hand-bound book. In the Blink of an Eye: Our

Lives Between the Stars, by Lucy Aurora , Beneath these

printed words, a handwritten dedication For Leo.

In the center of it all, in the place of honor: the photo

strip of Leo and Lucy from their first date.

They laugh. They clown. She kisses him.

Lucy looks into the camera's eye.

Leo looks at Lucy.