Well, now we have ten uninterrupted hours.
(MORE)
COBB (CONT’D)
(to Ariadne)
Nice lobby, by the way. And we—
CUT TO:
INT. WORKSHOP — DAY
The group is back in the workshop, deep in discussion.
ARTHUR
My question is how we go down three layers with enough stability. Three layers down a little turbulence is gonna translate into an earthquake. The dreams are gonna collapse with the slightest disturbance.
Yusuf clears his throat.
YUSUF
Sedation. For sleep stable enough to create three layers of dreaming…
INT. MAKESHIFT LAB — DAY
Yusuf depresses a plunger. Arthur is SLEEPING in a chair.
YUSUF (V.O.)
We will have to combine it with an extremely powerful sedative….
Eames SLAPS Arthur, HARD. Arthur does not stir.
INT. WORKSHOP — DAY
Arthur unconsciously rubs his cheek.
YUSUF
The compound we’ll be using to share the dream is an advanced Somnacin derivative. It creates a very clear connection between dreamers, whilst actually accelerating brain function.
CUT TO:
COBB
Buying us more time in each level.
YUSUF
Brain function in the dream will be about twenty times normal.
(MORE)
64.
YUSUF (CONT’D)
And when you go into a dream within that dream the effect is compounded.
ARIADNE
How much time?
YUSUF
Three dreams… that’s ten hours, times twenty, times twenty, times twenty…
EAMES
Math was never my strong suit.
COBB
It’s basically a week one layer down, six months two layers down—
ARIADNE
And ten years in the third level. Who wants to spend ten years in a dream?
YUSUF
Depends on the dream.
EAMES
It’s not going to take us long to crack Fischer open once we get going. We’ll be out in a couple days, max.
ARTHUR
How do we get out once we’ve made the plant?
(to Cobb)
I hope you’ve got something a little more elegant in mind than shooting me in the head like last time.
Arthur tilts back in his chair. Yusuf turns to Cobb.
COBB
A kick.
ARIADNE
What’s a kick?
Eames slips his foot under Arthur’s chair leg. TIPS it — Arthur’s legs SHOOT UP INSTINCTIVELY for balance—
EAMES
That, Ariadne, would be a kick.
COBB
That feeling of falling which snaps you awake. We use that to jolt ourselves awake once we’re done.
ARTHUR
But how are we going to feel that through the sedation?
YUSUF
That’s the clever part. I customize the sedative…
INT. MAKESHIFT LAB — DAY
Cobb, Eames and Yusuf watch Arthur, ASLEEP, in a chair.
YUSUF (O.S.)
To leave inner ear function unimpaired…
Yusuf, with a wicked grin, slowly TIPS Arthur’s chair backwards… as he falls, Arthur’s body JERKS, EYES OPENING just before he HITS the floor.
INT. WORKSHOP — DAY
Arthur thinks, nodding slowly.
YUSUF
That way, however deep the sleep, the sleeper will still feel falling…
INT. MAKESHIFT LAB — DAY
Yusuf gleefully LEANS a SLEEPING ARTHUR to one side…
YUSUF (V.O.)
Or tipping…
Arthur goes down with a CRASH, JERKING AWAKE—
INT. WORKSHOP — DAY
Arthur thinks this through.
ARTHUR
Even that won’t cut through three layers of deep sleep.
COBB
The trick is to devise a kick for each level, then synchronize them to get a snap that penetrates all three layers.
Arthur looks at Cobb, getting it.
ARTHUR
We can use the musical countdown to synchronize the different kicks.
INT. WORKSHOP — NIGHT
Ariadne comes into the darkened main space. Cobb is lying on one of the chairs, asleep. Plugged into the mechanism. Ariadne stands over him. Watching.
She opens the case, PULLS one of the tubes, sits, checking the dials as she injects the needle cap into her arm, and we—
CUT TO:
INT. CAGE STYLE ELEVATOR — DAY
Ariadne ascends. She looks at the buttons. Spots the “B.” The elevator STOPS. She looks through the grill at—
INT. YOUNG GIRL’S BEDROOM — DAY
Ariadne pulls back the grill and walks across the room, considering the dusty furnishings. At the window is a doll’s house, front slightly ajar. Ariadne opens it. Inside is a SAFE. She tries it. LOCKED. A NOISE STARTLES her — she turns, looking through a doorway into another room…
INT. LIVING ROOM — CONTINUOUS
Ariadne looks into the room to see Cobb and Mal talking, arguing. A private moment. Mal brushes at Cobb’s hair, trying to convince him. We hear snatches of conversation—
MAL
You remember when you asked me to marry you?
COBB
Of course…
MAL
You said you had a dream…
COBB
That we’d grow old together.
MAL
And we can. You know how to find me… you know what you have to do.
Cobb is shaking his head, gently. Mal looks into Cobb’s eyes-gentle, loving… Mal SPOTS Ariadne spying on them.
FREEZES, staring, hostile. Cobb turns, sees Ariadne, moves towards her, leaving Mal.
COBB
You shouldn’t be in here.
Cobb guides her back into the elevator.
ARIADNE
I wanted to know what “tests” you need to do on your own every night.
INT. CAGE STYLE ELEVATOR — DAY
Cobb shuts the CAGE DOOR. Ariadne hits a button. The elevator RISES. Through the GRILL Ariadne can see a BEACH stretching off into the distance. The elevator stops. Mal sits on the sand. Beside her, the two children are crouched, away from us, building a SANDCASTLE.
ARIADNE
Why do you do this to yourself?
COBB
This is the only way I can still dream.
ARIADNE
Is it so important to dream?
Cobb stares at his family.
COBB
In my dreams… we’re still together.
The kids, WITHOUT TURNING AROUND, jump up and RUN AWAY.
INT. CAGE STYLE ELEVATOR — CONTINUOUS
The elevator descends.
ARIADNE
But these aren’t just dreams, are they? They’re memories. You said never to use memories.
COBB
And I shouldn’t.
ARIADNE
You’re keeping her alive.
COBB
No.
ARIADNE
You can’t let her go.
COBB