"Positioning" by Rygar Special thanks to Zeuljii First draft - 10/21/09 Second draft - 1/3/10 Final draft - 1/12/10 Edited by WatsonSword SCENE 1 - SECTOR TWO The Indefatigable is about twenty minutes into its patrol duty. Not a single toad has been spotted today -- or all week, or all month. In the cockpit, CAPTAIN ARTEMIS WOLF barely suppresses a yawn as he pilots the ship along its predetermined course. WOLF (into comm) How's it going down there, Digger? DIGGER (over comm) Exactly like you think it is, Captain. ENGINEER DIGGER MCSQUINT is sitting beside the ship's mark-5 photon accelerator. He's playing a game of solitaire on a handheld computer device. DIGGER Is there any medal for, I don't know, scaring all the toads off? We could apply for that one. No one can prove it wasn't us. WOLF Very funny. Pete? Anything to report? No answer. WOLF Pete? PITSTOP PETE is leaning back in the gunner's chair, fast asleep. His mouth is wide open, and he's drooling a little. Wolf sighs as he returns his focus to the cockpit. WOLF This is just ridiculous. For another fifteen minutes, the patrol continues completely uneventfully. WOLF Well, that's it for this sector. Time to head to Sector Nine. You ready, Digger? DIGGER Yeah, yeah. WOLF OK ... wait, what? The console in front of Wolf is blinking green, and readouts are displaying on the screen. WOLF This can't be right. The positioning system says we're in a black hole. (presses a few buttons) It can't localize us relative to Sector Nine. (presses more buttons) Or Genus. Or anywhere! (into comm) Digger, get up here, now! A moment later, Digger climbs into the cockpit. Wolf shows him the screen. WOLF Can you make any sense of this? DIGGER (scanning the data) This is weird. It doesn't make sense. The hardware must be busted. WOLF Already? This is all top-of-the-line stuff. It was installed last month. DIGGER (taps the screen) New stuff is always the first to go bad. The kinks haven't been worked out yet. (beat) I mean, it's either the software or the hardware, or the APES system is offline. WOLF APES has never gone offline. DIGGER (taps the screen) I sure hope not. Either way, we ain't warping anywhere. WOLF Well, crap. (looks outside the ship) OK, there's Anatidus and its moons. I can orient us from there and get us back to Genus without warping, but it's gonna take hours. And thank goodness I know this sector. If we were in Sector Nine and everything went down, I wouldn't know how to get us home. DIGGER Well, hope it's just us, then. Otherwise, there are gonna be a whole lot of stranded vessels out there. SCENE 2 - CONTROL ROOM, TOAD HOMEWORLD TOADBORG sits in the middle of this control room. Computers stand all about him. He is hooked up to every single one, and wires snake from his imposing body, making him look even more hideous than usual. He sits silently as a toad OFFICER enters. OFFICER Everything went just like you planned, sir. TOADBORG (volume low) My calculations are always correct. OFFICER You sure this was the right time? Some of our guys were still on the outskirts of the aniverse. They aren't ever gonna make it back. TOADBORG Those who were stupid enough to ignore the orders to return to the Homeworld benefit the Empire by being lost to us. Furthermore, this latest maneuver will certainly bring heavier losses to the mammals than those we have faced. OFFICER You sure they'll be at all the bases soon? TOADBORG Assuredly. Without a functional positioning system, the mammals will be flying completely blind. They have no choice but to reestablish it. I calculate that a response will be planned within three hours and that the mammals will reach the outpost nearest us in another four. In seven hours, we shall wait for them. SCENE 3 - CHAIRMAN DOGSTAR'S OFFICE CAPTAIN BUCKY O'HARE, CAPTAIN MIMI LAFLEUR, and Wolf enter CHAIRMAN SIRIUS DOGSTAR's office and walk up to his desk. BUCKY So what's going on? DOGSTAR Near as our boys can tell, the APES system is down. MIMI The what? WOLF Digger gave me the scoop. APES is the Aniverse Positioning Enhancement System. It's what coordinates all our warp drive travel. MIMI Ah. I just never heard anyone give it a name. WOLF It's been around since before the toads went bad. Every ship in the aniverse with even a mark-1 photon accelerator uses it to make sure they're pointing where they want to go and no one else will be traveling through the same photon stream at the same time. (beat) There are four satellites. One is in toad-controlled space, and we've got the other three. The toads must have decided to try to take theirs down in order to disrupt everything. BUCKY But the toads use it too, right? DOGSTAR Indeed they do, which means they can't use any sort of advanced space travel capabilities either. This strikes me as an act of desperation. BUCKY Well, it's an effective one. What are we going to do about it? DOGSTAR Some of our house engineers are digging up files on the system to see what our options are. It's an old piece of hardware, unfortunately. Bucky's handheld comm goes off in his pocket. He reaches in and turns it off, ignoring it. DOGSTAR The worst part is, not just the military is affected. A lot of our transport freighters use mark-1 and mark-2 photon accelerators. The longer this problem goes without being fixed, the more it's going to harm the larger UAC economy. And the last thing I need is another coalition-wide problem. Bucky's comm goes off again. He grunts and picks it up, then answers it. BUCKY (into comm) I'm in a meeting, Mike. The voice of ENGINEER MIKE MARISON excitedly comes over the comm. MIKE (over comm) Captain, have you been watching the news? BUCKY I heard about what's going on, yes. MIKE I think the APES is down! BUCKY We figured that out already. Bye. MIKE I did my thesis on the APES! I can fix it! Bucky pauses for a second, then raises his eyebrows and slowly nods his head. BUCKY In that case, meet me at the Righteous as soon as you can. MIKE I'm on my way! The call ends. Bucky looks at Mimi, Wolf, and Dogstar, who all seem impressed. BUCKY I have to admit, this kid does come in handy every now and then. SCENE 4 - THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION, ORWELL STATION Mike is sitting on the floor of the main bay, blueprints and schematics laid out all around him. He is pointing at various figures and talking a mile a minute. Bucky and Jenny stand above him. MIKE ... so in order to resynchronize the orbital system, all four access points have to be rebooted at the same time. The operating system is relatively straightforward but pretty old, so we'd need trained engineers at each access point. BUCKY That would be four teams, including one entering toad-controlled space. MIKE Right, and that one's probably going to need some recalibrating and new hardware as well as resynchronizing. BUCKY Well, you and I are definitely headed to that one. Maybe another team, too. It makes sense that that would be the one they trashed, but can you be sure? MIKE Well, the other three have force fields around them, so I'm pretty sure, yeah. JENNY But the toad one doesn't? MIKE Nope. Funny story, actually. That station is actually partly toad- built. This was, of course, back before the toads went evil or whatever. It's the only thing that we have a record of the toads and the mammals collaborating on. The toads couldn't get the force field to work, but they didn't really care, so I guess we didn't, either. BUCKY (surprised) Really? The toads and the mammals worked together on something? MIKE That's what all my sources said. You don't believe me, I can provide you with an annotated references list four pages long. BUCKY I think I'll pass. So that covers the toad satellite. And just any old engineer can handle the other outposts? MIKE More or less, yeah. BUCKY Good thing we have a bunch of extra people running around, then. But what makes you think the toads just disabled the computer system, instead of totally destroying the station? MIKE This is clearly a trap, right? They want to lure us out to these stations, kill us after we reestablish the APES link, and then use the system themselves. They can't do that if they actually destroyed any of the satellites. BUCKY Huh. You *have* been paying attention to how the toads operate. So how do we replace what they trashed? MIKE I can fix it, but I won't know how long it will take until I can actually assess the damage, so I'm gonna create a makeshift relay satellite that we can install until there's time to fix the real one. I can have it running within ten minutes of our arrival. BUCKY Sounds good. Now, that still leaves one big issue unanswered. How do we get there? MIKE You mean, how do we warp to where the satellites are since the system is down? BUCKY Right. MIKE Short hops. A ship can travel a relatively short distance in warp space and have it be unlikely to hit something -- especially since no one else will be warping right now. I've already charted out trajectories for four ships that will make multiple short warps through unoccupied space and arrive at where the stations should be once you take into account how long the trips should take. JENNY (smiling, impressed) You really thought of everything. Great work, Mike! Mike, despite his best efforts, blushes a little. Bucky notices and gets irritated. BUCKY (crossing his arms) And what do we do in the meantime? MIKE What do you mean? BUCKY We need to restore warp transport capabilities as soon as possible. The UAC's economy is ground to a halt without warp travel. What did we do before the APES system? MIKE If I recall correctly, the UAC established it relatively early in its existence. Interplanetary travel and commerce wasn't really much of a concern before that. But as I understand it, two groups were able to coordinate distant space travel beforehand: the regens and the Aldebarans. Bucky pauses for just a second, then turns to Jenny. JENNY What? BUCKY You've got to figure out how your people did that and get the technology back to the UAC. JENNY (her paws on her hips) And what makes you think I'm going to do that? BUCKY Because the regens sure aren't going to help us out. And if Aldebaran is even remotely serious about joining the Security Council, they're going to have to be willing to help out. JENNY Bucky, I've never even heard of this technology. It probably doesn't exist anymore. BUCKY Then no one's going to care when you come back and tell us about it. JENNY (irritated) You're just trying to get me to leave and go to Aldebaran, aren't you? BUCKY What gave you that idea? JENNY It's obvious you want to get me away from you and Mike, and you want to go to this toad outpost with Mimi. BUCKY Is this Baseless Accusations Day? Because the only accusations I've got have a base. MIKE Guys! Bucky and Jenny spin and glare at Mike. BUCKY and JENNY What?! Mike's ears droop. MIKE I know you guys are mad at each other or something, but can we please focus here? We need to get the APES up and running. I can look into the Aldebaran thing if you want. Bucky pauses, then eases up. BUCKY You're right. Let me get in touch with Dogstar and hash out a plan. Mike, you're going to need to meet with the other engineers. Jenny? JENNY (still upset) Yes, Captain? BUCKY Aldebaran. Please? JENNY Fine. But don't expect much. BUCKY (under his breath) I never do. SCENE 5 - WARNER ESTATE, WARREN A small, one-man cruiser ship approaches the mansion from the sky, soaring over the iron gates and landing a few dozen yards from the front door. VINCENT ROEDECKER climbs out and surveys the situation. ROEDECKER This chump gets one chance. Striding past the near-empty parking lot, Roedecker approaches the front door and pounds on it. Nearly a full minute passes before the door opens. FRITZ WARNER stands there, wearing rumpled pajamas. FRITZ (not exactly surprised) Really, Vincent? You could have called. ROEDECKER (growling) You changed your frequency. FRITZ (shrugs) You got me there. Look, no one's here. Is this important? ROEDECKER You know damn well why I'm here. You owe me twelve thousand simoleans. FRITZ (not reacting) No; the UAC owes you that money. I'm a private citizen. ROEDECKER (leaning in and towering over Fritz) They won't pay me. You know that. This is your fault for not paying me when you were supposed to. FRITZ (shaking his head) You know how hard it was to get that bill through the Security Council? Trust me, I tried. ROEDECKER I don't want your bureaucratic excuses. I want my money! FRITZ Hello? Private citizen. Can't help you. ROEDECKER (nostrils flaring) So help me, Warner, I'll ... FRITZ (dismissively) You'll what? You'll get arrested for trespassing? Look, I'm sorry. If calling Chairman Dogstar would do a bit of good, I would. But as it stands, you're on my property making threats. Just get out of here. I have more important matters to attend to. Roedecker nearly lunges at Fritz, but he just barely mentally prevents himself from doing so. Fritz closes the door, leaving Roedecker alone on the front porch. ROEDECKER This is not over, you damn little rabbit. Roedecker begins thinking about his options as he walks back toward his ship. SCENE 6 - CONFERENCE ROOM, UAC HEADQUARTERS, GENUS Bucky is seated at the head of the table in the middle of this room. Wolf and Mimi are sitting to either side of him. Two other captains are in the room -- a male LEMUR and a brown female CAT. BUCKY I'm making this short. We've got to hit the four orbital bases of this APES thing. Bucky slides a sheet of paper over to Wolf. BUCKY Wolf, you're hitting the one out in Sector Three Delta. WOLF I didn't know one of those posts was out there. Glad I never hit it back when I'd go space-racing as a pup. BUCKY It's out of the way. Well, no, this next one is out of the way. Bucky slides a sheet of paper over to the cat. BUCKY Captain Birma, you've got the outpost in Sector Forty-Three. BIRMA Forty-Three? I didn't know we even had that many sectors. BUCKY It's where space trash goes to die. And finally ... Bucky slides a sheet of paper over to the lemur. BUCKY Cranzar, you've got the station out by Toxus XI. CRANZAR (frowning) I hear the smell is lovely this time of year. MIMI Bucky, you said finally. What about us? BUCKY Mimi, you and I will be taking the station in toad-controlled space. Mimi frowns. MIMI I assume you've got your bullshit reason why it has to be the two of us? BUCKY That's almost certainly the one the toads took out of commission. Mike is in the best position to handle the reboot of these things. And we all know we're probably walking into a trap. The toads may not attack us at all four of these bases, but there's no way they aren't going to attack us when we go to the one in their backyard. MIMI Then why not send me to Three Delta and take Wolf with you? Digger can handle himself in a firefight way better than Dile can. BUCKY We've worked together on more missions than Wolf and I have. I'd feel better with you at my side. (to Wolf) No offense, of course. WOLF You're sending me to one of the *safe* bases. Why would I take offense? MIMI (crossing her arms) If you try to pull anything this time, Buckminster O'Hare, I will personally lop your ears off with a rusty knife. Birma and Cranzar are clearly uncomfortable around this open hostility. BIRMA When are we set to launch, Captain O'Hare? Bucky turns to Birma as Mimi continues to glare at him. BUCKY One hour. We should all be docked already in Orwell. Any questions? No, good. Let's go. Cranzar opens his mouth as though he had a question, but he decides to keep quiet. He is the first to get up and leave. SCENE 7 - CONFERENCE ROOM, UAC HEADQUARTERS, GENUS Mike stands at the front of this different room in front of a large screen. He has a remote in his hand. Four people sit at the chairs in front of him: Digger, ENGINEER DILE O'CROCK, a male LEOPARD engineer, and a female KOALA engineer. MIKE (nervous) Uh, I'm not good with presentations and stuff, so let's just get through this. Mike presses a button, and the first slide of his presentation appears behind him. MIKE So you, uh, probably already know all this, but the APES consists of four satellites positioned at strategic locations throughout the aniverse. (click) They have to stay synchronized, so when one of them goes down, the other three stop functioning. (click) So we have to do two things. First, we have to go fix the broken one, which is probably the one in toad-controlled space. (click) And two, we have to resynchronize them. Because of that, we're gonna need a trained engineer at each of the four stations so we can do a full system reset. (click) This is pretty old technology, is the only thing. How many of you have ever worked with the operating system SENDAK? No one says anything. MIKE Er, OK. How many of you have *heard* of SENDAK? Only Dile raises his paw. MIKE Crap. Uh, I can prepare a quick packet that tells you what to do. It's not that bad, really. (click) So that's about it. Hopefully, the, uh, toads won't be there to shoot at us. Digger snickers a little at this. MIKE Any questions? The leopard raises his paw. MIKE Yeah, it's, um, Graeber? LEOPARD Yeah. Are we gonna get a bonus for this? MIKE A bonus? This is, well, your job. You should probably be doing this every day. GRAEBER Get shot at? Every day? MIKE Ha, you sound like me when I first took this job. GRAEBER Huh. Well, crap. MIKE I'm guessing that's it. (to the koala) You're Kari, right? KARI Yup. MIKE Just getting names straight. OK, we launch in just under an hour. Let me get that packet ready, and then I'll send the file to each of you. Class dismissed! Dile, Digger, Graeber, and Kari look at Mike funny. MIKE (blushing) Uh, I just always wanted to say that. Yeah. Uh, we're done. SCENE 8 - THE SCREAMIMG MIMI, ORWELL STATION Mimi and Dile are talking at they walk up to their ship, where FIRST MATE JONATHAN WEISSMAN and GUNNER HARRY CALLAN are preparing for their mission. MIMI Now, I want you to stay as safe as possible. Mike will let you know if he needs you, but it sounds like he can handle the computer stuff himself. DILE I understand and appreciate your concern, Captain, but please do not worry about me. I have always understood the risks of working for S.P.A.C.E., and as they say, that which does not kill me makes me stronger. Mimi is about to respond when she looks up and sees ALTON FILMORE entering the dock from the entrance on the other side of The Screaming Mimi. She clenches her fists as she sees him approach. MIMI Well, in my case, that which didn't kill me looks like it's gonna try again. Mimi strides past her frigate, catching Filmore when he's still only halfway to the ship. MIMI What do you want, kid? FILMORE (irritated) "Kid" is not an acceptable method of address, and I will not respond to it. MIMI Kid, you're five years younger than me and a huge prick to boot. What do you want? FILMORE Well, in addition to a cease in hostilities, I have becoming increasingly intolerant of the sloppy and disrespectful job you have done of filling out the required paperwork. MIMI I told you, Dogstar doesn't want that paperwork. The parts I did fill in, I only did to shut you up. FILMORE Well! This situation is more dire than I'd anticipated. Now I am even more certain I made the right decision in accompanying you on this mission. Mimi's jaw drops. MIMI What? Wait. No. No! You cannot come on a mission with us! FILMORE Dare I ask why not? Are you perhaps trying to hide something? MIMI No, I'm trying to keep you from getting killed! I don't even sort of like you, but that doesn't mean I want you to get shot. FILMORE Pssh. Not a single member of S.P.A.C.E. has been killed on duty since the program's institution five years ago. I daresay I will be in no danger. MIMI No one's gotten killed, but plenty of people have gotten maimed! You are such a little ... argh! (seething) Fine. Nothing I say seems to matter to you. I refuse to invite you on my ship. But if you've magically decided that you know what's best and refuse to respect my authority as captain of the ship, then all I can say is you better stand in front of Dile when the toads show up. Mimi storms away and boards the ship. She's almost shaking as she climbs into the cockpit. JONATHAN (looking out the front window) Why is that guy boarding the ship? MIMI Probably because I told him not to. I warned him about the toads. How much you wanna bet he's gonna get shot? JONATHAN I'll make sure it doesn't happen. MIMI Maybe we can strategically leave him behind at the base. JONATHAN That would be a victory for him, considering how much paperwork you'd have to fill out. (taking the controls) We're ready to go. MIMI (sighs) OK, let's do this. The dock opens, and The Screaming Mimi blasts off into space. SCENE 9 - ALDEBARAN Jenny arrives on Aldebaran in a personal battle cruiser -- one more example of the UAC's new emphasis on military spending. The small, sleek vessel lands just outside of the royal palace, Jenny already having cleared her arrival. KATRINA, the Queen of Aldebaran, flanked both by two gem-wearing SISTERS and a suit-wearing male AMBASSADOR, steps outside to greet her daughter. Jenny exits the cruiser. She stiffens slightly at the sight of a male out in plain view, dressed nicely and standing so close to her mother, but she quickly remembers the planet's new situation and relaxes. She quickly tenses up again, however, when she notices the large contingent of heavily armed guards surrounding the palace. KATRINA Welcome, Jenny. JENNY Mother. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice. Are all these guards necessary? KATRINA I am afraid so. As you can imagine, the reintegration continues slowly. Resistance was expected, but one faction in particular has been especially violent. Fortunately, there have not yet been any attacks on the palace itself. JENNY Thank the Mother for that. How about proceedings to join the UAC as a full member? KATRINA (chuckles) Compared to the male integration, that will be a ball of catnip. Though amusingly, the timing has worked out quite well. So many new members of society to fill out paperwork and staff useless bureaucratic positions ... The look on Katrina's face is a mixture of humor and concern. Jenny, not sure to what extent her mother is joking, changes the subject. JENNY How is Felicia? I didn't get to see her when I visited last month. KATRINA (frowns) My granddaughter has been unwell. She rarely leaves her room, and even when she does, she says and does little. There seems to be nothing I can do to help her. JENNY More news I did not hope to hear. If this visit were less urgent, I would love to see her. But as it stands, I have no time to waste. Jenny explains the situation to Katrina, who slowly develops a puzzled look on her face. KATRINA I am vaguely aware of this technology existing, but I could not tell you whether any examples of it actually remain. It has been a long time since Aldebaran chose to focus its efforts without and not within. JENNY This is as I expected. Do you think anything at all has survived? Notes, blueprints? KATRINA I can think of two possibilities. The Royal Archives are the only place that legitimate notes might survive. I can certainly send some of our new staff members to comb the archives for you. JENNY And the second involves Tommy, right? KATRINA (smiling) Rogue and pilfered technology was their stock in trade for so long, I'd be amazed if they cannot help you in some way. If the Royal Archives fail you, I will have him ask Ponce. If that crazy young man can't help you, then I fear you will have to return to Genus empty-pawed. JENNY Even if we do find anything, can I even take this technology back with me? Just because we are agreeing to meet the rest of the UAC halfway doesn't mean we can share all our secrets with them. KATRINA Of course you can. I am fairly certain this technology did not rely on magic for its usage. And since it is no longer a fixture of Aldebaran society, I see no harm in offering it as a gesture of goodwill. (turns to the ambassador) Philip, could you please lead my daughter to the Royal Archives? Find a team of men to assist her in locating what she seeks. PHILIP (bowing) Of course, Your Highness. Katrina stands aside, placing Jenny and Philip in full view of each other. Jenny takes a deep breath and forces a smile. PHILIP Right this way, please. Philip turns and enters the palace. Jenny follows, consciously staying more than a few steps behind Philip. SCENE 10 - SPACE STATION, TOAD-CONTROLLED SPACE The Righteous Indignation arrives in this area of space after hours of making short warp trips, altering its trajectory after each jump. The Screaming Mimi is not far behind. The two ships slow down as they approach the station. It's a large, round, gray structure measuring about four hundred feet wide. Along one side is what appears to be some trashed communications hardware; several burn marks are practically all that's left after a few well-aimed plasma blasts, and a couple fragments of twisted metal reach out into space nearby. BUCKY (into comm) Looks quiet. MIMI (over comm) It probably will be until we board. BUCKY Then let's not disappoint them. The two ships approach, then enter the minuscule landing bay. Inside the Righteous, everyone suits up for the zero-oxygen environment. BUCKY (climbing down the ladder) You know how this place is laid out? MIKE (fumbling with his helmet) Yeah, I went to two of the other APES stations when I was researching for my thesis. This one isn't supposed to be much different. BUCKY Great. Everybody ready? DEADEYE Yep! BRUISER I hope dem toads show their faces! BLINKY Humble android wishes for opposite but appreciates friend Bruiser's enthusiasm. Bucky, Mike, GUNNER DEADEYE DUCK, AFC BLINKY, and BRUISER disembark, floating out into the station. Mimi, Jonathan, Harry, Dile, and Filmore follow closely behind. They enter the main part of the station, which is mostly ancient computer equipment. In the center is a large terminal with a giant screen with blinking text that reads "ERROR" in aniversian text. MIMI I'm guessing that's it. MIKE (floating to the terminal) Yep. This shouldn't be too hard. Dile, Blinky? Dile and Blinky float over as well. MIKE I could do this by myself, but you two are gonna save me a lot of time ... The three of them work together to remove part of the computer's external frame, revealing a mess of wires, processors, and circuit boards. Mike looks around for just a moment, then locates what he's looking for. MIKE OK, Blinky, patch into that. When I tell you to, run the reset routine I programmed into you. BLINKY (one of his fingers plugging in) Order received. MIKE Now we just gotta make sure everyone else is in position. (into comm) Digger, you set? DIGGER (over comm) Been here for an hour, kid. Let's rock this. MIKE Awesome. Graeber? GRAEBER (over comm) I am pretty sure my preschool calculator had more processing power than this thing. MIKE Yeah, isn't it great? You all set, Kari? KARI (over comm) We've got it covered, Mike. MIKE OK, Blinky. Let's fire it up! Blinky activates his programming routine. Lines of aniversian text scroll on the computer screen and on the android's large eye simultaneously. SCENE 11 - CONTROL ROOM, TOAD HOMEWORLD A monitor in front of the toad officer jumps to life, displaying the same text that was on Blinky's eye. OFFICER We've got contact! In just over seven hours, exactly like you said! TOADBORG My calculations cannot be incorrect. Prepare our response. OFFICER You sure you don't want to attack Captain O'Hare? TOADBORG A direct assault on O'Hare would prove as fruitless now as it always does. Furthermore, we might lose the android. And even furthermore, we have other plans for O'Hare. Prepare our response as it has been logically crafted. OFFICER Yes, sir! (under his breath) I think I liked him more when he wasn't just a big computer. The officer presses a series of buttons on the console in front of him. SCENE 12 - ROYAL ARCHIVES, PALACE, ALDEBARAN Three MALES are digging through the archives, which consist of thousands and thousands of papers neatly filed into dozens of cabinets taking up this expansive room. A fourth MALE sits on the floor, combing through a big book of notes and dates. Near the door, Jenny and Philip watch. JENNY We really should think about getting all of this digitized. PHILIP Perhaps. But with all the new changes, maybe keeping as many of the old ways as we can is a good thing. JENNY Well, that's true, but there wouldn't be much harm in keeping this organized. Though I sure don't want to be the one to show my mother what a computer is. PHILIP (smiles) Your mother. She has done admirably, considering the terrible strain on her. To keep this society functioning despite so much restructuring is quite a task, especially considering that the upheaval has continued to take its toll. JENNY Is it that bad? PHILIP Well, it's not quite unmanageable at the moment, but it's getting worse every day. Riots and protests are the most common disturbance, but we believe we can attribute at least a few bombings, murders, and vanishings to the situation. JENNY I see. (looks down) Perhaps this is not the time for me to remain so far from Aldebaran. PHILIP We can manage with the resources we have. You know you are needed elsewhere. JENNY I suppose. (beat) How did you land this job, anyway? PHILIP I used to be a slave for one of your mother's most trusted advisors. When the Male Resistance succeeding in freeing us, I was recommended as a top staff member, to keep my talents in the service of the crown. JENNY Well, I guess that made the transition a little easier for you. PHILIP (with a tinge of sadness) It makes it easier for me to forget that any changes have occurred. JENNY (blinks) Is that a good thing? PHILIP Well, Princess Jenny, what is your opinion of the new situation? JENNY (pauses) Well, I'm not used to any of it ... but if it brings peace to our society, and, um, it grants men the footing they deserve, then these are certainly welcome changes. PHILIP I am sure you believe less of that statement than even I do. JENNY (a little offended) It's going to take a while to get used to, OK? Sure, Cassie was a despicable bitch, and death was too good an end for her, but that doesn't mean the status quo she fought for was entirely without merit. PHILIP And you say this as one who is not always among us. Imagine how the transition goes for those of us here. We have all lived our lives under the old way. The new way ... it does not sit well with all of us. JENNY Really? Tommy and the Male Resistance made it sound like every male wanted to be free. PHILIP Some males were happy in their work. It was all they knew. This is why many of us have elected to maintain as much of our former lives as possible. JENNY Is that how you feel? PHILIP To an extent. I enjoy being free. I enjoy knowing the truth of Tae'Gwitz, even though some still resist that. JENNY They resist it? How? PHILIP Some males believe that the newfound truth is merely a falsehood perpetrated by others. They feel that Tae'Gwitz does not view males as equals. JENNY But he does! I was there! PHILIP And many agree with you. But a far larger population still cannot accept that we were all so wrong before. They believe Tae'Gwitz is in the wrong and should be cast out of our way of life. After being so used to hearing Tommy's point of view, the information Philip imparts catches Jenny completely off guard. She becomes lost in her own thoughts, barely aware that one of the males has brought a stack of papers to Philip. Philip smiles, nods, and turns to Jenny. PHILIP These appear to be the papers you have sought. I hope they are to your advantage. JENNY (snapping out of it) Oh. Thank ... thank you. Jenny takes the papers and, dazed, slowly leaves the room. SCENE 13 - SPACE STATION, TOAD-CONTROLLED SPACE Text continues to streak across Blinky's eye as Mike and Dile sit next to him. Bucky and his crew stand about ten feet away, waiting. After a moment, Bucky speaks. BUCKY (quietly, to Mimi) Can we talk? MIMI (shuts her eyes) I knew it. I knew this is why you brought me out here. BUCKY I brought you out here because I need backup. I'm just using the fact that you're already here to talk to you. MIMI (grabbing Bucky's sleeve) Come on. I don't want to be in front of our crews when I start yelling at you. Mimi leads Bucky into a side room. Deadeye and Jonathan notice but don't respond. When they're alone, Mimi speaks first. MIMI You get one sentence. Go. BUCKY (blinks) I'm sorry. MIMI Sorry for what? Specifically. BUCKY I'm sorry for what I did on the Toad Homeworld. MIMI I said be specific, Bucky. Are you sorry you tried to kill all the toads? Are you sorry you threatened me with a blaster? Are you sorry you shot Willy? Silence hangs in the air. Bucky's ears droop. BUCKY (quietly) All of it. MIMI I don't think you are. I think you're just rationalizing it after the fact. Maybe you feel bad about Willy, but you don't feel bad about me. And you don't feel bad about the toads. BUCKY Look, the toad part we can talk about later. But right now ... MIMI Right now, we're going back in there before I punch you again. If you ever cared about me in the first place, you wouldn't have threatened me like you did. And if you cared at all about Jenny, you would have told her about what happened. BUCKY I ... Bucky stops. His mouth hangs open, his mind unsure what words to say. MIMI The phrase you're looking for is, "You're right." (begins to walk off) This war has screwed all of us up, Bucky. You need to fix what's going wrong in your life. You need to figure out what matters to you. And I'll give you a hint: It's not sleeping with me. Mimi re-enters the main room. Bucky stands, alone with his thoughts, for almost a minute before he finally, quietly, returns to the main room. The crewmembers are still standing around and watching Mike, Dile, and Blinky. Mike begins to tap his foot. MIKE Huh. It's taking longer than I thought it would. Blinky, status report. Blinky says nothing as his processors continue to run. MIKE (concerned) Blinky, status report! Suddenly, Blinky's eye begins flashing black and red, the Toad Empire's insignia clearly visible in his pupil. BLINKY (staccato) SYSTEM ACCESS SYSTEM ACCESS SYSTEM ACCESS ... MIKE Oh, shit! Everyone is startled. Bucky, Mimi, Jonathan, and Deadeye begin to step forward, concerned but not sure yet what to do. BLINKY SYSTEM CONTROL SYSTEM CONTROL SYSTEM CONTROL ... MIKE The toads must have infected Blinky somehow! Blinky, system override! Blinky continues to drone, his eye still flashing. MIKE Dammit! BUCKY Disconnect him! Mike reaches for Blinky's access hatch, only to be backhanded by one of Blinky's strong arms. Mike falls backward and hits the floor, bloody and dazed. Reacting immediately, Bruiser jumps forward and holds Blinky tight, pinning his arms. The android struggles, all the while still flashing, droning, and manipulating the computer system. BRUISER (straining) Can ya get 'im now? MIKE (dazed, getting up) Uhh ... yeah. Mike gets up and approaches Blinky, then fumbles with the android's hatch, finally getting it open. Blinky's insides are an orderly array of switches, circuit boards, and hardware components. Mike pulls out a screwdriver and touches part of one of the boards. He jumps a bit from the resultant shock; Blinky, in turn, disconnects from the computer. MIKE Dile, handle the computer. I gotta fix Blinky. Dile looks up. The computer's monitor shows a toad insignia as well, and text zooms across the screen. DILE (daunted) I can try. Dile steps up to the keyboard and begins entering commands. Mike grits his teeth and gets out his tools as Blinky continues to struggle against Bruiser's tight grip. BUCKY What can we do? MIKE Help Dile! BUCKY (looks toward the computer) Uh ... MIMI I think we're sitting this one out for the moment, Bucky. BUCKY (suddenly) Wait. Blinky said he had control of the system. Would that mean the entire system? JONATHAN Probably. BUCKY Frell. No wonder they left this station operational. (activating his comm) Wolf, come in! SCENE 14 - SPACE STATION, SECTION THREE DELTA Smoke obscures the inside of this space station, though maser and plasma blasts are visible volleying back and forth. WOLF (shooting, into comm) Got our paws full here, Bucky! BUCKY (over comm) What happened? WOLF (ducking) We were waiting on you guys when the main computer console started flashing a toad insignia. Before we knew what was happening, a whole bunch of toads stormed the station. BUCKY Have you called for reinforcements? WOLF (shooting) We will if we need 'em! Take care of your end! Wolf deactivates his comm, then makes a running jump across one end of the room, firing at several STORMTOADS and taking some of them down. STORMTOAD #1 Frelling mammal scum! On the other side of the room, Pete is taking down toads one by one as he hides behind a large pillar. His shoulder has been grazed, but he acts like he hasn't even noticed. In front of the computer console, Digger is taunting four stormtoads. DIGGER Ha! I bet they told ya not to shoot at the computer system, right? STORMTOAD #2 The hairy runt is in the way! STORMTOAD #3 Nah, I got 'im! The stormtoad fires, missing Digger by a few inches and striking a peripheral computer screen. It bursts into a shower of sparks. DIGGER You're plucky. I like that. Taking aim with his bazooka, Digger shoots into the center of the toad group. The shot bowls all of them over. Digger smirks before turning and firing on another group. Meanwhile, Wolf has worked his way over to where Pete is. The two are now standing back to back, covering each other while gunning down toads. WOLF Finally, some action! I've been itching for this! PETE (grinning) Yup! WOLF And this little scrape is nothing! I just hope no one else is having any trouble. SCENE 15 - SPACE STATION, TOAD-CONTROLLED SPACE Mike continues to tinker around inside Blinky as Bruiser holds the android down. MIKE (stressed) Keep him still! BRUISER I'm tryin', Mike. He's fightin' me! BLINKY SYSTEM ERROR SYSTEM ERROR SYSTEM ERROR SYSTEM ERROR ... MIKE This is bad. I read about that time they just stuck a chip in him. This time, it's a virus or something. I'm gonna have to reboot him ... Mike presses a switch inside Blinky. He waits for the robot to shut down and is disappointed when nothing happens. MIKE Crap. Just then, Blinky manages to get one arm free and lunges at Mike, reaching for his throat. Caught off-guard, Mike is about to get choked when Jonathan appears, holding the arm back. JONATHAN Gotcha! (straining) Man, I didn't know Blinky was this strong. A few feet away, Bucky puts down his comm after communicating with Wolf. He notices the situation has escalated. BUCKY Mike, sit-rep! MIKE (reaching back inside Blinky) Say what? BUCKY Give me an update! MIKE I don't know, Captain! The toads did something weird! BUCKY Fix it! Dile? DILE (confused) I am trying, but I do not know this system very well! After a tense few moments, the computer screen changes again. It now displays Toadborg's face, looming larger than life. The robot speaks, slowly and mechanically. TOADBORG The Toad Empire now claims full control of the APES. We will use it to guide our future assaults while the mammals are unable to conduct hyperspace travel. As soon as the image appeared, it fades. BUCKY (blinks) That's it? No boasting, no long-winded speeches, no "I've got you now, Bucky O'Hare?" MIMI I guess you really did a number on him. BUCKY Maybe. (snapping out of it) Mike, forget about Blinky. Fix the computer system! MIKE OK, OK! Dammit, I guess I have to do it like this ... Mike jams a screwdriver into one of Blinky's vital components. The robot shudders, beeps, and then falls over. Bruiser and Jonathan finally relax. MIKE I'll have to fix him later. (running up to the computer) OK, let's get this going. Dile, I'll tell you what to do. DILE (stepping aside) That sounds like a plan. HARRY (pacing nervously) Why aren't they attacking us? MIMI Maybe they thought Blinky alone could take us out. BUCKY Maybe. The real problem is, we're too far from any of the other bases to help. We know Wolf is OK. Let's see how Cranzar is doing. Bucky activates his comm, which comes alive with the sound of plasma fire and a scream. BUCKY (alarmed, into comm) Captain Cranzar, come in! Come in! SCENE 16 - SPACE STATION, NEAR TOXUS XI Cranzar is ducking behind a crate, his arm bleeding, firing at the toads. CRANZAR (into comm) Send assistance if you can! We already lost my first mate. We're taking out some of the toads, but I don't know how many there are! BUCKY (over comm) We'll call in reinforcements, but we can't get out there ourselves in time. CRANZAR Fine, call in reinforcements, anything! Cranzar out! Cranzar fires a few more shots, taking down the last toad immediately threatening him. He stands up and surveys the situation. His gunner, a female squirrel named CELINE OXLEY, is darting back and forth, shooting at toads with a maser pistol in each paw. His engineer, Kari Babada, is huddled next to the computer console, mostly ducking fire and only occasionally shooting back. The body of their former first mate, BARRY STINSON, lies in the middle of the room, riddled with plasma fire. Cranzar takes a deep breath, then darts over to Kari. He fires at a few toads, taking one of them out. He dives down and tucks himself next to his engineer. CRANZAR (returning fire) I thought you said you were good with a maser. KARI (scared) I am! CRANZAR You haven't hit a single toad. KARI (closing her eyes) OK, I'm not good with a maser! Whatever! What do we do? CRANZAR We need a strategy. (calling) Celine, get over here! Celine, either not hearing or not caring, continues to go it alone. She shoots another two toads, then ducks behind a big piece of equipment along a far wall. CRANZAR (muttering) So much for teamwork. Cranzar looks out and counts about fifteen storm toads firing on them. CRANZAR (taking Kari's pistol) Can you create a distraction? KARI (still scared) I ... I guess. CRANZAR Good. So do it! Startled, Kari screams as loud as she can. Not expecting that, Cranzar recoils in pain. Fortunately, the scream does the trick, as it echoes around the room, spooking the toads. They begin turning and trying to shoot at the sound. Cranzar shakes it off and begins shooting, taking down eight toads. Across the room, the scream also startles Celine. She hesitates and turns toward the noise. A stormtoad takes advantage of this and fires, hitting her in the right thigh. She screams and falls over. CRANZAR Celine! Cranzar keeps firing, taking out many of the remaining toads. He jumps up and runs toward his gunner. The squirrel groans, then rolls over and begins firing, getting the drop on two stormtoads about to approach her. Cranzar then reaches her. CRANZAR You OK? CELINE (a pained expression on her face) I can't feel my leg. CRANZAR You got the last of them. No more toads. CELINE (smiling weakly) Really? CRANZAR Yeah. CELINE (trailing off) Good, then I can do this ... Celine passes out. Cranzar shakes his head, then walks up to the computer screen. It is spewing lines of indecipherable text. CRANZAR Kari, can you do anything about this? KARI (getting up from her hiding spot) I don't think so, but I'll try. CRANZAR Good. And let me know next time when you're gonna do that. You got a hell of a set of pipes. My ears are ringing. KARI (sheepishly) You wanted a distraction. CRANZAR My fault. Cranzar then walks over to Barry's body. The boar is face-down on the ground, several cauterized plasma holes showing through his back. CRANZAR (taking his cap off) Dammit, Barry. (beat, sadly) Dammit. SCENE 17 - SPACE STATION, TOAD-CONTROLLED SPACE Bucky puts down the comm. BUCKY That's not good. MIMI I'll have Dogstar send in reinforcements. What about Captain Birma? BUCKY Hopefully faring better. (into comm) Captain Birma, come in. Static is the only response. BUCKY (into comm, urgently) Captain Birma? There is still no reply. Mimi bites her lip as she picks up the comm and steps away. Bucky turns to Mike. BUCKY (beads of sweat on his forehead) Any luck? MIKE I don't know what the hell they did, but this is a major piece of work. (types furiously) The toads aren't very good programmers, which actually means the virus took over really sloppily. Cleaning it up is gonna be ... (types more) OK, here! I've tracked down the programs they had Blinky install. Just give me a minute, and I think I can fix it. Bucky steps away, not able to help and not wanting to disturb Mike. He looks at Blinky, unmoving on the ground. Bruiser is standing above him, frowning. BRUISER Blinky's gonna be OK, right, Cap'n? BUCKY (smiling weakly) He's more OK than some of us. Sighing, Bucky walks over to Mimi, who is putting down her comm. MIMI I told Dogstar to send reinforcements for The Blazing Sash and The Manifest Destiny, but you know it'll take them forever to get out there. BUCKY (shaking his head) I know. And there's nothing we can do. It's all up to Mike now. MIMI Scary thought? BUCKY He'll figure it out. I hope. Bucky goes to talk to Deadeye. Mimi looks around for a way to occupy the time and notices that Filmore is sitting in a corner, writing furiously, a stack of papers at his side. MIMI What the hell? What are you doing? FILMORE (not looking up) Filling out your paperwork for you, of course. MIMI My paperwork? Let me guess. You mean the paperwork I should have been filling out all this time. FILMORE Precisely. I knew you couldn't be counted on to handle it yourself, but perhaps if I set an example and gave you a template, you might learn how to handle your duties. MIMI My duties are fighting toads, kid! What makes you think I even have time to fill that crap out? Filmore looks up, looks around, then looks back down. FILMORE I don't see any toads. All I see is paperwork that needs filling out. Mimi pauses for a second, then grins. MIMI (feigning) Oh no, toads! FILMORE (looking up) What? MIMI Watch out! They're shooting at us! Mimi pulls out her blaster and shoots the stack of papers Filmore has been working on. They disintegrate. Filmore jumps. FILMORE What the?! ... MIMI (still feigning) Oh, Filmore, thank goodness you're OK! The toads just barely missed you! You're lucky their aim is a little off, or you'd be a smear on the floor instead of your papers. FILMORE (grabbing the remaining papers) This is highly uncalled for ... Mimi spins and points her blaster at Filmore, who freezes. MIMI Bang. (lifts her blaster) Good thing I'm not a toad. (leans in) And good thing for you there aren't any toads here. Otherwise, you might be dead. Mimi straightens up and walks off. Filmore sits, stunned, before organizing what he has left. MIKE I got it! Mimi hears Mike's victory call and runs over. Everyone else is gathering near him as well. MIKE (typing furiously) I had forgotten some of how the program worked, but I got it all under control. All the toad programming is gone. Now I'm setting up the subroutine for the temporary transmitter. After that, we just need to resynchronize the other satellites, and we're in business! BUCKY I hope we can. Captain Birma never reported in. MIMI Everyone cross your fingers, I guess. BUCKY (into comm) Wolf, you there? WOLF (over comm) Roger that. The toads were a piece of cake. You guys handle them OK? BUCKY No toads over here, for some reason. We're ready to set up the system. How's Digger? WOLF Ready to get out of here, like the rest of us. BUCKY OK, just keep this link open. (to Mimi) How about Cranzar? MIMI (holding up her comm) They're ready. CRANZAR (over Mimi's comm) Let's just get this over with. MIMI Jonathan, can you give Captain Birma a try? JONATHAN (into comm) Captain Birma? Captain Birma, are you there? Everyone tenses up as there is no response. Seconds crawl by. Finally, a weak voice comes out over the comm. GRAEBER (softly, over comm) They're all dead. JONATHAN (alarmed) What's that? GRAEBER Captain Birma, Stanley, Joe. They're all dead. The toads killed all of them. A twinge of pain and guilt runs through everyone as the gravity of the situation sets in. JONATHAN (finally, over comm) Are you OK, kid? GRAEBER Yeah. I hid. I'm a coward. JONATHAN You're alive, is what you are. Are there any toads left? GRAEBER No, Captain Birma took care of the last one before she died. It's just me here. JONATHAN OK, stay calm. A ship is on the way to help you. Are you good to synchronize this thing? GRAEBER Yeah. Let's just do this. JONATHAN OK. Hang in there. (to Mike) It's all you. Mike sighs, his elation having been completely deflated. He sets the three comms down in front of him and begins typing on the main computer screen. MIKE (into comms) OK, here's what you need to do ... Off to the side, Mimi stands quietly. She's seen her share of pain, but unlike Bucky and most of the other people in the room, she's not used to death. She closes her eyes, standing still. MIMI (thinking) (beat) SCENE 18 - CONTROL ROOM, TOAD HOMEWORLD Toadborg stands silent. The toad officer is sitting in his chair, dejected. OFFICER So we lost control of the satellites, and all our men are dead. TOADBORG Affirmative. OFFICER So what now? TOADBORG The plan has failed. There is no further action that can be taken. OFFICER (exasperated) So that's it? No backup plan? TOADBORG There was no need for a backup plan. My calculations indicated success. KOMPLEX And from success sprung failure, Toadborg. KOMPLEX's face appears on every screen in the room. TOADBORG It was not planned as such, Oh Mighty KOMPLEX. KOMPLEX I certainly do hope you were not *planning* to fail, Toadborg, though sometimes it seems that way. OFFICER Well, according to reports, we killed a few of the mammals. That's new. KOMPLEX I am not concerned with the details. I am concerned with the end result, and how we got there. TOADBORG My calculations were all correct, Oh Mighty KOMPLEX. KOMPLEX That means nothing, Toadborg. I see that without a toad brain to guide you, you are far more ineffectual. Your programming relied more heavily on organic input than I was aware, and the bolstering of your computational strength was not as beneficial as I had surmised. This will have to be remedied. TOADBORG Yes, Oh Mighty KOMPLEX. KOMPLEX I have no use for you at this time, Toadborg. Quit wasting precious energy and shut down. TOADBORG Yes, Oh Mighty KOMPLEX. Toadborg powers down, his eyes dimming. KOMPLEX sneers, then vanishes. SCENE 19 - CHAIRMAN DOGSTAR'S OFFICE Bucky, Mimi, Wolf, and Cranzar are all sitting in the office. Dogstar walks in, a sullen look on his face. DOGSTAR Sorry for the delay. I had to fight off the news media. MIMI Whatever. I have something for you. Mimi hands Dogstar a plastic bag filled with ashes. DOGSTAR (taking it) What's this? MIMI My paperwork. Dogstar looks at the bag, then gets a hint of a scowl on his face as he tosses it into the trash. DOGSTAR (gruffly) Fine. I'll fire him. You happy? MIMI A little. Dogstar walks behind his desk and sits down. DOGSTAR I wish I were able to simply congratulate you all on a mission well done, but ... BUCKY We know, Dogstar. DOGSTAR I feared this might happen with the expansion of S.P.A.C.E. I just didn't think it would be so soon. WOLF The assembly's gonna have a field day with this, aren't they? DOGSTAR They'll probably try. But considering that this mission's success prevented the total economic collapse of the UAC as an interplanetary alliance, I think we'll be OK. BUCKY I should have sent two teams to each base. It was stupid of me. DOGSTAR Had you done that, we might have lost even more men. We're all learning how to best utilize the newly expanded fleet. We'll figure it out. Dogstar turns and looks at Cranzar. DOGSTAR Do you want to quit? CRANZAR (looking up) Huh? DOGSTAR You haven't moved or said one word since I got here. You lost a crewmember. Your gunner lost her leg. Do you want to quit? CRANZAR I ... (beat) No. No, I signed up for this. I want to help the war effort. Just ... I guess we all need more training. DOGSTAR Duly noted. For now, you're all dismissed. SCENE 20 - THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION, ORWELL STATION Mike is onboard the Righteous, sitting in the middle of a mess of parts that clearly combine to form Blinky. Bucky walks in. Mike quickly stands up and offers a sloppy salute. BUCKY At ease. How's Blinky looking? MIKE I'm still not completely sure what the toads did, but I have Blinky's blueprints practically memorized. I'll get to the bottom of it. BUCKY I'm sure you will. (beat) Have you been watching the newsfeeds? MIKE (sitting back down) Nah, been too busy. Why? BUCKY Well, some of the feed channels have been focusing on the losses we suffered this mission, but the other ones have been celebrating the fact that the APES system is back online. MIKE (smiles) Happy to help. Off in the distance, the sound of a ship landing in Orwell Station can be heard. BUCKY And they're giving you full credit. MIKE (ears perking slightly) Really? BUCKY Yeah, Dogstar issued a statement. He talked about how you knew the system inside and out and how you kept things under control despite everything the toads did. (smiles) You're famous today. Enjoy it while it lasts. MIKE (sitting still) Wow. That's kinda cool, I guess. I mean, that's not why I did it, but ... BUCKY (chuckles) Trust me, after a while, you prefer *not* to be on the newsfeeds. Bucky steps forward and kneels next to Mike. BUCKY I know I was hard on you when you first joined up. But this time, I really can't avoid saying this, and meaning it. Good job, Engineer Marison. Bucky offers his paw to shake. Mike is stunned for a moment before he accepts it and shakes. MIKE Thanks, Captain! BUCKY Keep up the good work. Just then, Jenny walks in, holding a pamphlet of papers. She looks slightly cross as she sees Bucky. BUCKY Jenny. Welcome ... JENNY (brushing him off) Not in the mood to talk to you. BUCKY I ... (defensively) OK. JENNY (to Mike) Here you go. We managed to find some old blueprints of the technology you requested. MIKE (taking the pamphlet) Hey, cool! These will be fun to look over. Turns out we don't really need the tech, though. We got the APES working again. JENNY I heard. I heard *you* got it working again. Great job, Mike. MIKE (blushing despite himself) Thanks, Jenny. BUCKY (stepping in) Jenny, please ... JENNY Captain, you sent me off on a wild goose chase so you could hang out with your new best friend. Jenny walks off without another word. After she's gone, Bucky's voice comes out barely above a whisper. BUCKY ... I was going to apologize. MIKE (turning back to Blinky) Good luck, Captain. I've learned to stay out of this one. BUCKY (to no one in particular) Yeah. Bucky walks off, leaving Mike alone with Blinky's android parts. SCENE 21 - THE DUWITT RESIDENCE, SAN FRANCISCO, EARTH DR. DAVID DUWITT and MRS. SUSAN DUWITT sit in the dining room, finishing their dinner in silence. After they both get up, Susan speaks first. MRS. DUWITT Are you going to go talk to him? DR. DUWITT I have to. Dr. DuWitt walks up the stairs, followed by Mrs. DuWitt. They stop in front of ENGINEER WILLY DUWITT's closed door. DR. DUWITT (calling) Willy? Is everything OK? Willy does not respond. DR. DUWITT (calling) You haven't said a word to us since you got home from school, and you didn't come to dinner when we called you. Son? Still nothing. Dr. DuWitt frowns. DR. DUWITT This is ridiculous. Dr. DuWitt tries the door. Somewhat to his surprise, it opens. He and his wife walk in the room. Willy's backpack sits on his bed, stuffed to overflowing with papers. He has a suitcase sitting open on the bed, a few clothes tossed haphazardly into it. Otherwise, the room appears normal. Dr. DuWitt looks around, then notices the light is on in the bathroom. He takes a few steps into the room to get a better look into the room. He sees Willy standing at the sink, staring into the mirror above it. DR. DUWITT Son? Willy continues to stare at his reflection, not moving, barely blinking. DR. DUWITT Willy, what's the matter? Please? Willy finally speaks. WILLY (plainly) I'm going back. THE END