It’s perfectly possible. Just bloody difficult.
COBB
That’s what I keep saying to Arthur.
EAMES
Arthur? You’re still working with that stick-in-the-mud?
COBB
He’s a good point man.
EAMES
The best. But he has no imagination. If you’re going to perform inception, you need imagination.
COBB
You’ve done it before?
EAMES
Yes and no. We tried it. Got the idea in place, but it didn’t take.
COBB
You didn’t plant it deep enough?
EAMES
It’s not just about depth. You need the simplest version of the idea — the one that will grow naturally in the subject’s mind. Subtle art.
COBB
That’s why I’m here.
EAMES
What’s the idea you need to plant?
COBB
We want the heir to a major corporation to break up his father’s empire.
EAMES
See, right there you’ve got various political motivations, anti-monopolistic sentiment and so forth. But all that stuff’s at the mercy of the subject’s prejudice — you have to go to the basic.
COBB
Which is?
EAMES
The relationship with the father.
(downs drink)
Do you have a chemist?
Cobb shakes his head.
EAMES
There’s a man here. Yusuf. He formulates his own versions of the compounds.
COBB
Let’s go see him.
EAMES
Once you’ve lost your tail.
(Cobb reacts)
Back by the bar, blue tie. Came in about two minutes after we did.
COBB
Cobol Engineering?
EAMES
They pretty much own Mombasa.
Cobb glances over the balcony.
COBB
Run interference. We’ll meet downstairs in half an hour.
EAMES
Back here?
COBB
Last place they’d expect.
Eames downs his drink. Rises. Walks over to the Businessman.
EAMES
Freddy!
The Businessman looks up, awkward.
EAMES
Freddy Simmonds, it is you!
Cobb nonchalantly SLIPS over the balcony DROPPING HARD into the midst of the crowd on the street below.
EAMES
(looks harder)
Oh. No, it isn’t.
EXT. STREET, MOMBASA — CONTINUOUS
Cobb stands up, PUSHES into the crowd — faces PEER at him — he moves, trying to blend — TURNS — a SECOND BUSINESS MAN is there.
COBB
(disarming smile)
Yes?
SECOND BUSINESSMAN
We need to—
Cobb HEAD BUTTS the Second Businessman, PUSHES past him—
The First Businessman races out of the bar, sees Cobb’s wake, DIVES after him— Cobb RACES headlong through tight passageways, WEAVING through or KNOCKING into the locals…
He steps into a dark, crowded cafe, scanning the tables… the First Businessman enters, spots him. An AFRICAN MAN gets in Cobb’s face, jabbering at him in Swahili — Cobb considers his options… the First Businessman DRAWS A GUN — Cobb bolts, steps up on a table and out an open window, SCRAMBLING into the alley outside…
Cobb LOOKS left, right… CUTS LEFT into a narrow, CROWDED alley — the alley NARROWS TO A DEAD END. Faces in the CROWD start to watch Cobb — PEOPLE start to SURROUND him — Cobb looks back the way he came — the two Businessmen are there, GUNS DRAWN—
Cobb sees a SMALL GAP between the buildings at the narrow end — he THROWS himself into it — gets STUCK HALFWAY…
The crowd bears down, GRABBING for him as Cobb struggles to SQUEEZE HIMSELF through the gap… Cobb’s moving INCHES as his pursuers gain YARDS… the Crowd is upon him… he BURSTS FREE. TUMBLING onto the next street, ROLLING out of sight.
Cobb Jumps to his feet — in a market square. TWO MORE BUSINESSMEN move towards him. Cobb BOLTS but a CAR SKIDS UP, BLOCKS HIS PATH- the door opens- SAITO IS IN THE BACK.
SAITO
Care for a lift, Mr. Cobb?
COBB
(jumping in)
What brings you to Mombasa, Mr. Saito?
SAITO
I have to protect my investment.
EXT. COFFEE HOUSE — MOMENTS LATER
Eames stands on the pavement. The car pulls up. Cobb beckons from the rear window. Eames looks at Saito. Back to Cobb.
EAMES
This is your idea of losing a tail?
COBB
(shrugs)
Different tail.
INT. WORKSHOP — DAY
Arthur sits at the table, working on a mechanism. A small COUGH prompts him to look up: Ariadne is there.
ARTHUR
He said you’d be back.
ARIADNE
I tried not to come.
ARTHUR
But there’s nothing else quite like it.
ARIADNE
No paper, no pens… nothing between you and raw, direct creation.
Arthur picks up his mechanism.
ARTHUR
Shall we take a look at paradoxical architecture?
Ariadne nods, takes off her coat and we—
CUT TO:
INT. PENROSE STEPS — LATER
Arthur leads Ariadne down some busy steps in a large glass and steel ATRIUM in an office complex.
ARTHUR
You’re going to have to master a few tricks if you’re going to build three complete dream levels.
A SECRETARY DROPS some papers as they pass…
ARIADNE
What sort of tricks?
They take a tight turn and continue down the next flight.
ARTHUR
In a dream, you can cheat architecture into impossible shapes.
(MORE)
ARTHUR (CONT’D)
That lets you create closed loops, like the Penrose Steps. The infinite staircase.
Ariadne FREEZES — THEY ARE IN THE EXACT SPOT THEY STARTED DESCENDING FROM, next to the Secretary gathering her papers.
Ariadne puzzles at the impossible construction of the stairs.
ARTHUR
See…
Arthur stops her gently — they are on the highest step, with a LARGE DROP to the next step. Arthur gestures at the drop.
ARTHUR
Paradox. A closed loop like this helps you disguise the boundaries of the dream you’ve created.
ARIADNE
How big do the levels have to be?
ARTHUR
Anything from the floor of a building, to an entire city. But it has to be complicated enough for us to hide from the projections.
ARIADNE
A maze.
ARTHUR
And the better the maze—
ARIADNE
The longer we have before the projections catch us.
Ariadne looks around. Sees people LOOKING at Arthur.
ARIADNE
My subconscious seems polite enough.
ARTHUR
You wait, they’ll turn ugly. No one likes to see someone else messing around in their mind.