The visit forward
Tuesday, 1 February 2005
EXT, MURKY DAYLIGHT, ENDLESS CONCRETE PLANE, LONG SHOT. Catapulted SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS INTO THE FUTURE our hero JASPER, white, mid 30s, clean cut, finds himself standing before a colossal, pyramid-shaped MONUMENT 150 meters high. It is the green patina of long weathered copper rich bronze.
Pavement — somehow translucent, showing motion? movement? traffic? beneath — stretches to the horizon on the three visible cardinal points. JASPER can’t see past the MONUMENT. It could the only feature of all the known world.
MEDIUM SHOT Stepping forward on the slightly springy, iridescent concrete? to put a palm on the immovable, cold metal, JASPER can see the MONUMENT’s pattern. The motif resolves itself into 1/4 scale skulls; stacked at 43° to the greening sky.
A MAN, 20ish, looks Finnish, dressed in the monochromatic clothes of a retiree, is somehow disgorged by the pavement, a few feet from JASPER. He steps forward and throws a handful of something semi-visible, glitter-like at the MONUMENT. It makes no sound as it disappears into the metal.
JASPER
Excuse me. What is this?
MAN
(Has gentle accent, vaguely Canadian and Hindu at the same time)
Grain Flats.
JASPER
What?
MAN
What?
JASPER
(Points to the MONUMENT)
MAN
Put when the bounce. Finally.
JASPER
(Shakes his head in confusion)
MAN
After the war.
JASPER
This is a war monument?
MAN
Yeah, no? You okay?
JASPER
What does it mean? The skulls?
MAN
Well, they just guessing. No one’s an idea how many really to the Z.
JASPER
What…? This is meant to be an accurate representation of how many died?
MAN
(Shrugs)
JASPER
…Which war was it?
MAN
World War M.
JASPER
An alphabetic designation. I don’t… Unbelievable.
MAN
What “alphabetic designation?”
JASPER
You know. A, B, C. To M. What does that make it? 13? My God.
MAN
Nothing about the alphabet. It’s Roman numeral.
CUT TO WHITE. WISH IT AWAY. BELIEVE IT’S EVEN POSSIBLE IT MIGHT GO.
