TARA
Thanks again for letting me move in.
JEREMY
You're paying half the bills. Works for
me. How's the job going?
TARA
I love it. We're using controlled
explosions to generate ozone over
Antarctica and I get to monitor it. How
are things at the library?
JEREMY
Smooth. I enjoy the exactness of the
Dewey Decimal System. I actually spend
most of my time studying spacecraft
environmental systems.
TARA
Sounds like a perfect fit.
Tara finishes putting away the groceries, then moves into her bedroom and closes the door.
CUT TO:
Jeremy is sitting at a computer in the living room.
The clock reads 4:57 a.m.
A FIERCE THUNDERSTORM can be heard approaching.
A list of fifteen space agencies appears on the screen.
He clicks on NASA.
A lengthy registration form appears.
He fills out three quarters of the form before growing visibly frustrated.
He returns to the list. Then clicks on Microcore.
He selects "Propulsive Research and Design" from a list on the Microcore website.
He opens the file containing the engineering schematics from his previous scan of the crystal.
He Copies one of the equations into a search field on the Microcore website.
The search results indicate an error. He tries again with the same result before closing the website.
INSIDE JEREMY'S APARTMENT - DUSK
Tara is cleaning up after dinner.
Several RAPID KNOCKS on the front door.
Jeremy opens it.
A formally dressed WOMAN stands in the hallway.
TWO MEN are on either side of her.
She holds up a government ID. It boldly displays the words "NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY."
WOMAN
Jeremy Ash?
JEREMY
Yes.
Tara is standing stiffly in the kitchen archway, holding a half finished plate of lasagna.
WOMAN
The federal government of the United
States of America hereby requests your
presence at a briefing to be held in
Conference Room G, South Wing, at the
U.S. Pentagon, Washington, D.C., on
Sunday, 28 August, 2022. Round trip
airfare will be provided. Hotel
accommodations will not be necessary
since you will be returning that evening.
She hands Jeremy two airline tickets and a business card with a raised NSA seal, then walks away.
The two men follow.
Jeremy moves out to the balcony.
EXT. BALCONY - JEREMY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
HIGH ANGLE on limousine parked below.
The three NSA agents climb into the car.
When the car pulls out of the space, a large handicapped symbol is revealed on the pavement.
The car moves slowly onto the street and through a red light.
Tara comes out on the balcony.
Jeremy looks at the card in his hand.
JEREMY
The federal government of the United
States of America hereby requests,
etcetera, etcetera, on Sunday, 28 August,
2022.
(looking at one of the tickets)
My flight leaves at six in the morning.
They know about the crystal.
TARA
Who is Crystal?
Jeremy goes back into the house.
Tara follows.
TARA (CONT’D)
Who is Crystal?
INT. U.S. PENTAGON - DAY
A U.S. MARINE escorts Jeremy to a door marked Conference Room G.
He knocks, then cracks it open.
Jeremy enters cautiously.
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM G - U.S PENTAGON - DAY
Photos of space and spacecraft hang on the walls.
A long oak table, littered with laptops and file folders, centers the room.
Nine people are seated around it. The NSA woman is among them.
A Four-Star General is seated at the far end. A ridiculous number of ribbons and medals adorn his uniform. He is GENERAL HAYES.
HAYES
Jeremy Jonathan Ash?
JEREMY
Yes.
HAYES
I'm General Hayes. Please, have a seat.
Jeremy takes the unoccupied chair at the near end of the table.
The lights dim.
An image of the moon appears on the back wall.
The NSA woman approaches the image.
The others at the table carefully assess Jeremy.
WOMAN
Let's get right down to business. The
large crater in the foreground is
Aristarchus.
The crater magnifies in short bursts until a small section of it is boxed off and digitally enhanced to fill the screen.
Machinery is clearly visible.
WOMAN (CONT’D)
What do you see, Mr. Ash?
JEREMY
Looks like a NASA mining operation.
WOMAN
Not NASA. Microcore. They refer to it as
SITE M-X. Although they tell us that it's
a mining operation, we believe the site
is much more than that. It appears
they're building a permanent base of
operations.
JEREMY
My name is Jeremy Ash but I think you've
got me mixed up with someone else.
Hayes flips open a file.
The woman returns to her seat.
HAYES
Are you the Jeremy Ash who logged nearly
eight hours in an Apollo simulator
located at the Kennedy Space Center?
JEREMY
Yeah. So what?
HAYES
The Jeremy Ash who was present when one
Alec Strickland disappeared without a
trace, then returned more than three
years later in possession of a device
capable of interstellar travel?
JEREMY
Alec is my brother's best friend. I don't
keep track of where he goes or what he
does.
HAYES
Speaking of your brother, I have an
article here that he published just last
week. It places you at the scene when Mr.
Strickland utilized the device to launch
himself toward the star 58 Eridani.
That's where the signal of 2018
originated.
JEREMY
It was a joke.
HAYES
Satellites tracked an object heading for
Eridani, at or near light speed, on the
exact date specified in your brother's
article.
JEREMY
What does any of this have to do with me?
HAYES
(reading from another file)
The Jeremy Ash who submitted a query to
Microcore's Propulsive Research and
Design Division, which contained an
equation that alludes to neutrino
convergence vectored along a stable
plane?
JEREMY
I had a theory. Big deal. Why would you
be spying on me and my computer anyway?
What's this all about?
HAYES
We're all very concerned, Mr. Ash. The
ability to capture a neutrino is beyond
any known science, let alone the ability
to redirect its path. We believe that you
are in possession of technical data that
could threaten the national security of
this country.
JEREMY
That's ridiculous.
HAYES
What do you know of the so-called Super
Spider?
JEREMY
Nothing. Am I under arrest or something?
Because if not, I'd like to go home now.
Hayes looks at the woman, who in turn, looks around at the others in the room.
Nods of approval all around.
WOMAN
No, you're not under arrest, Mr. Ash.
Quite the contrary, actually. How would
you like to join the Apollo Eighteen crew
for a lunar fly-by?
JEREMY