The Story Line Splinters
What would happen if one small decision went another way….if one moment
splintered into a different future…hmmmmm….
……………..
(My apologies if any of this beginning dialogue is misquoted. I don't own the
book so I am going strictly from memory…)
……………..
Johns: "How long can this last? A few hours, a day at most?"
Imam: "I got the impression from the model that it would be a lasting
darkness."
Johns: "These creatures seem phobic of the light so I say we sit tight and
wait for the sun to come up."
Fry: "Someone probably said that same thing…locked in that coring
room."
[THE TIME-LINE FRACTURES]
Johns: "I say we stay. We can look through the cargo areas, I'm sure we'll
find food, something to pass the time…"
Fry: "You hype-head! I say we go while we have enough lights. I don't want
to become one of those creatures' supper."
Imam: "Perhaps we should vote."
Johns: "Yes, 'captain'. A vote. I say we stay."
Paris: "Yes…stay, for sure."
Imam: "I think we must try…we must go."
Suleiman: "I am too young to be a Happy Meal, but I vote with El-Iman."
Jack: "Sorry, Fry. I'm afraid. I want to stay."
Fry: "You all know my vote. It's three to three. Riddick?"
Johns interrupts: "No way I'm trusting my survival to some murdering
dog!"
Riddick: "You're not afraid of my bark, are you? This group would never
make it, Carolyn. We have no choice but to stay."
Johns (clapping his hands in relief): "There it is! Let's split up, search
this mother and see what goodies we can rustle up."
--------------------
Imam: "We found some crackers, a few cartons of Jello and seven cases of
Spam. None of which are permitted on hajj. Excepting the Spam, of course."
Johns: "I found an old tape player and some ancient cassette
recordings…so we can pass the time, sing some songs, maybe have a karaoke kind
of thing."
Fry: "How much do you weigh, Johns?"
Johns: "What's that got to do with anything?"
Fry: "Oh, we found this old scale back there. We can play the 'Psychic
Carny Weight-Guesser' game, guess each other's weight, win a prize. We also
found a pile of broom sticks."
Johns: "About right."
[Fry glares at him.]
Jack (looking at the first cassette in the stack): "Hey, this tape is
called 'Amercian Bandstand's Greatest Hits'."
Johns: "No! Not that! Play anything but that!"
Riddick: "You're not afraid of Dick Clark, are you?"
[The room is suddenly filled with the eerie echo-locating sounds of the aliens
outside.]
Jack: "Why do they do that?"
Imam: "I think perhaps they are trying to communicate with us. Maybe we
should send an emissary outside to talk to them."
Riddick: "Johns, you go. Maybe your big gauge can talk for us."
Johns: "I'd rather kiss ass."
Fry: "About right."
[Johns glares back.]
Paris: "Did those aliens remind any of you of the hammerheads back in the
oceans of Earth?"
Johns: "Yes…horrible creatures!"
Riddick: "You're not afraid of the shark, are you?"
[A large crash rings out, indicating the aliens have breached the outer hull.]
Fry: "They're getting close. We can stack all those broomsticks in a circle
around us and light them on fire if the aliens get in here."
Jack: "Won't we be trapped?"
Johns: "Yeah, Carolyn, won't you end up setting yourself on fire if you
light that up?"
Riddick: "You're not afraid of Joan of Arc, are you?"
Imam: "Suleiman and I have decided. We are going out to negotiate."
Johns: "Good idea. Maybe Allah can convince them to surrender. See ya.
Don't be strangers, you hear? Write!"
Fry: "You high again, Johns?"
Johns: "They've got Allah protecting them, Carolyn. It'll be safer than
walking through mid-Manhattan after dark."
Riddick: "You're not afraid of Central Park, are you?"
[Imam and Suleiman go outside. Screams ensue, followed by silence.]
Johns: "Guess the negotiations were short…………Okay, how about some
tunes, Jack?"
Jack: "After the Dick Clark one the rest of the tapes are all the same…by
some old group called 'Fine Young Cannibals'."
Fry: "I think we can wait on the music."
[Loud crashes nearby…in the next compartment.]
Paris: "I can't stand this!!!"
Fry: "The echo sounds?"
Paris: "No, this Spam! I'd rather take my chances with the aliens!"
[Paris runs outside. Loud sounds of bones cracking under jaws.]
Riddick: "That's why it's called 'Crunchy Paris'."
Johns (looking at his watch nervously): "Gotta be near sun-up, don't ya
think?"
[Riddick is studying a device in a remote corner of the cargo hold. The echo
sounds draw perilously close.]
Riddick: "Hello, Mecca! Look at this. A transporter."
Fry: "Like on the old Enterprise?"
Riddick: "Yes. Looks like it's been laid up for years."
Fry: "Fat lot of good it does us. No one here can work a transporter."
Johns: "Maybe I should fill you in on the particulars of Riddick's
escape."
Riddick; "Yes, give her the quick and ugly version. I think MAYBE I can get
this thing running."
[Loud pounding on the hull.]
Fry: "Whatever your gonna do, do it quick!"
Riddick: "Everyone on a pad, now!"
[The walls begin to bend inward with the weight of the aliens. Fry, Jack and
Riddick step onto transporter plates. Johns hesitates. He grabs a flare and
lights it.]
Johns: "Trust my life to an escaped con and an old piece of quantum
engineering? No way!"
Riddick: "You're not afraid of the quark, are you?"
[The wall gives way. Aliens swarm in and surround Johns as his flare sputters.
Riddick hits the switch and the others begin to shimmer and disappear just as
John's light goes out. A scream is the last thing they hear.]
Riddick: "Guess he IS afraid of the dark."
………
The End