ing about what I want to be callednaad and what I do not want to be callednaad now

that I am pushing 70. (I will be 69 in April of 2018.) Words matter. And – over
time measured in multiple years – certain words / terms have become increasingly
patronizing because I havenaad over that same interval of timenaad come to think of
myself more and morenaad not as middle-agednaad but simply as old. Prof.
Carstensen is right: By failing to identify with “oldnaad” the story about old
people remains a dreary one about loss and decline. Language matters: We need a
term that aging people can embrace. The following is how I learned how to identify
with “old”naad and also became sensitized to the clandestine insultsnaad usually
well-intendednaad that are couched in the language we use to talk about aging. I
did not begin to think of myself as old until the thrice-damned sciatica hit. That
was during the first week of Septembernaad 2012. Prior to that timenaad I would
regularly go walking 3 to 5 miles 3 to 5 days a week on t

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he Soos Creek Trail a couple of miles from my house. Even if I occasionaly walked 5
miles 5 days a weeknaad even that level of activity felt merely pleasantly
challengingnaad no more. But then in the first week of Septembernaad 2012naad came
the sciatica. (I will spare us both the back story.) In a couple of daysnaad I
went from being able to walk 5 miles a daynaad 5 days a weeknaad to being barely
able to walk across the room without weeping with pain. Through a veil of
tearsnaad I forced myself to exercisenaad firstnaad by walking perhaps 1/8 of a
mile a day 2 days a weeknaad then finallynaad after a couple of years “gutting” my
way up to 2 or 3 miles a day 2 or 3 days a week. Result: by age 63naad I had
learned how to walk like a true and hopeless invalid: stoopednaad taking baby
steps (with subvocal whimpering if I were going uphill)naad and with frequent
rests every several-dozen steps. I believed a wheelchair was in my future. After
roughly five yearsnaad what ultimately saved my cookies was the intervention of an
exc

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ellent chiropractornaad Dr. Steven Ryannaad whose clinic is perhaps 2 miles from
my front door. A life-long skeptic of chiropractic medicinenaad I only saw Dr.
Ryan out of sheer desperation. I am a skeptic no longer. At the end of my first
20-minute session with “Dr. Steve” in early July of 2017naad I walked away improved
more than in the previous 5 years of physical therapynaad acupuncturenaad and
massage combined. So I began to see him 3 days a week in early July of 2017naad
and by the middle of Septembernaad 2017naad I was essentially cured – provided I
did my morning and evening stretching exercises with OCD-like regularity. I can no
longer walk my customary 5 miles a daynaad 5 days a weeknaad but I can do at least
3 miles a day at least 3 days a week. So there is a quasi-happy ending. And if I
extrapolate my present "improvement curve" ... who knows? As the pain gradually
recedednaad what I was left with in its steadnaad like rich topsoil deposited by
the flooding of the Nilenaad was an immeasurably greater abi

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tive standpoint: what not to donaad what not to say. Speaking only for myselfnaad
I hereby admonish one and all to not evernaad under any circumstancesnaad refer to
me as … o A “life-long learner” … Are you familiar with the expression “Damn with
faint praise”? (As innaad e.g.naad “Prof. Stephen Hawking is a competent
physicist” … “Yitzhak Perlman plays a pretty good fiddle” … I think you get the
idea.) Wellnaad there should also be a companion locution: “Insult with faint
praise”. Think for a moment. If your experience is anything like minenaad I would
wager you have never heard the label “life-long learner” applied tonaad e.g.naad a
student in hernaad saynaad early 20snaad who has just finished her bachelor’s
degree in some fieldnaad and has been accepted into a graduate school. Or a student
who has finished a degree in some fieldnaad and is applying to colleges to be
admitted to study a different field for a second baccalaureate degree. I have
never heard anyone in either category called a “life-long learner”. Only o

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ld(er) people. The implication clearly is thatnaad when you walk off the stage with
your diploma and when you are old enough thatnaad because of limited time if for
no other reasonnaad your allegedly superannuated brain is allegedly past its “use-
by” date so that its next subway stop is labeled "Dementia"naad you should simply
stop asking questions that begin with words like like “Why?” and “How?”naad
especially "Why" and "How" questions whose answersnaad if and when you discover
themnaad have no immediate utilitarian value. In other wordsnaad old people cannot
be philosophers or theoreticians. But sometime in 2012naad as a result of a back
story too long to relatenaad I asked for and obtained permission from the
University of Washington law school to audit classes in constitutional law and the
First Amendmentnaad purely on a non-creditnaad non-participatory basis. (The
University of Washington has a wonderful program called ACCESS whereby anyone
above age 60 can audit almost any class at UW for a mere token fee

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I am also not terribly enthusiastic about being described as "spiritual"naad
though in this casenaad my animus is almost purely idiosyncraticnaad rooted in my
personal experience with matters theological and religious. Againnaad the term
"spiritual" is nearly always applied to me with the intent of complimenting me.
Problem isnaad given my historynaad this presumptive compliment often comes across
as telling me I do a killer cosplay-impersonation of Adolf Hitler. Not all the
time. My in-law family -- basicallynaad my Tribe -- almost never uses the "s-word"
to refer to menaad and even when they donaad it is never with that intent. But
thennaad my in-law family is Buddhistnaad not Judaeo-Christian. (And yesnaad I do
understand that the term "Judaeo-Christian" is itself highly problematical. But
let's leave that rant for another timenaad shall wenaad because it is not relevant
at the momentnaad anyway.) When Westerners tell me I am "spiritualnaad"
howevernaad they tend to mean that I have an exceptional affinity with the monothei

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naad lest one get smeared on the freeway driving home from church. Now I see it as
expressing a deeper wisdom: nownaad this momentnaad is the only moment that is
realnaad the only moment we havenaad the only moment we can have. In that
sensenaad and to that extentnaad age is irrelevant. 8 Chapter 2 – The Community of
Readers In Shadowlandsnaad the movie about the courtship and marriage of C. S.
Lewis and Joy Davidman Greshamnaad C. S. Lewis is quoted as saying “We read to know
we are not alone”. I have found multitudes of citations where people quote Lewis
as having said this in those very wordsnaad but have so far found no specific
sourcenaad no booknaad no articlenaad no lecturenaad for this remark. But even if
Lewis did not say itnaad he should have. For in my own personal experiencenaad
there have been instances too abundant to count where this proved to be the case
with uncanny timeliness. The following examples do not even scratch the surface.
But in virtually all cases of where I have been reminded that I am not alon

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enaad this reminder also amounted to a revelation of what I myself thought even at
times when I was not aware of it. Not only was I not aware that other people
thought such thingsnaad I myself was unawarenaad at least on a conscious levelnaad
that I did so. The act of reading is revelatorynaad not only of the thoughtsnaad
beliefsnaad and conclusions of othersnaad but reading also has a way of lifting
into consciousness what I believe. One of the most powerful examples of this
revelation of self through the revelation of othersnaad and probably the earliest
such examplenaad was the first time I read Alfrednaad Lord Tennyson’s great poem
“Ulysses” as an exercise assigned to me and my fellow eighth-graders in Mr. Gordon
Morse’s AP English class at Horace Mann Intermediate Schoolnaad now Horace Mann
Middle Schoolnaad in Wichitanaad KS. I remember going home that night with my
mimeographed copy of the poem tucked inside a filing folder in my briefcase – GAWD
A’MIGHTY … I was a nerd before the word was ever coined! – and

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thleticallynaad and less academicallynaad inclined boys (and their coaches!) in
eighth-grade boys’ gymnaad the restlessness that drove me to pack my telescope
when we visited relatives in the Arkansas wilderness so I could take advantage of
the darkness (we still used kerosene lanterns then) to look at the moonnaad
Saturnnaad Jupiternaad the Pleiadesnaad andnaad with my naked eyenaad the luminous
smudge I later learned was the great Andromeda galaxy. Tennyson and his Ulysses
knew that restlessness a century before I ever drew breath. I was not alone. As C.
S. Lewis insightfully observed in his spiritual autobiography Surprised by Joynaad
Nothingnaad I suspectnaad is more astonishing in any man's life than the discovery
that there do exist people verynaad very like himself. 9 And not just Tennyson.
When I was about the same agenaad maybe even a little youngernaad I discovered
Shakespeare. (I asked my mother then for a copy of Shakespeare’s complete works for
my birthdaynaad which she gave me. I still have that book.) I was

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ially when your love of literature renders you empathetically vulnerable to the
angst of others. Butnaad againnaad as with Tennyson and his Ulyssesnaad the
compensatory benison is an awareness thatnaad emotional rip-tides
notwithstandingnaad at least I knew I was not alone. Eventuallynaad I did grow some
protective scar tissuenaad in the form of a precocious skepticism and cynicism.
One inexhaustible source for this astringently stinging balm of Gilead was Thomas
Hardynaad whose poem “Christmas 1924naad” reflecting on the horrors of chemical
weapons in the First World War recently concludednaad was like mercurochrome on a
raw woundnaad but no less therapeutic for all that. 'Peace upon earth!' was said.
We sing itnaad And pay a million priests to bring it. After two thousand years of
mass We've got as far as poison-gas. The comfort of knowing you are not alone is
not an unmixed blessingnaad however. For I also discovered Ezra Pound’s rage
against the profligate waste of war in his great anti-war -- and anti-usury

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o writers who remain critical to my equilibrium to this day: Albert Camus and T.
S. Eliotnaad both of whom I discovered at roughly the same time as a freshman in
college -- the former in my first philosophy course; the latter just through
independent reading: I suffered greatly from an inability to ignore texts merely
because the course syllabus did not require them. To this daynaad I can recite
verbatimnaad in both French and Englishnaad the opening paragraph of Camus’ The
Myth of Sisyphusnaad from which I graduated to the writings of the Romanian
philosopher E. M. Cioran (living in Paris and writing in French)naad though there
is not enough space to even summarize the latter. The opening sentences of
Sisyphus are (my translation from the French): There is but one truly serious
philosophical problemnaad and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not
worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy. All the
rest … are games; one must first answer this. And if it is

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– probably most other peoplenaad if we are to believe Camus – just like me. Not
only was I not alonenaad if anythingnaad I was the rulenaad not the exception. But
the problem remained: Camus’ “Why”. Monotheistic religion in generalnaad and
Christianity in particularnaad had long since failed me. I continued going to
church during this time just to please my parents – who werenaad after allnaad
paying the bills for my education – and alsonaad franklynaad out of sheer habit.
11 But for a long timenaad Christianity had felt like an exercise in Dietrich
Bonhoeffer’s “cheap grace” or maybe life in some kind of surveillance state like
North Koreanaad where one is being perpetually evaluated – another “it’s not just
me” experience I skate over for lack of space – and it continued to feel that way
until I discovered both the biography and writings of the man I still consider the
greatest religious poet in the English language: Thomas Stearns Eliot. Suffice to
say that what I found in Eliot was a kindred spirit who also

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saw Christianity as fatally devoid of one of the defining parameters of human –
not just Western or Christian – spirituality: tragedy. The all-consuming glory of
Christ's Resurrection simplynaad as we would say todaynaad "sucks all the air out
of the roomnaad" and thus annihilates all the categories of Tragedy. Christians are
fond of saying Christ's victory is complete. They are right. That's just the
problem: it is too completenaad too complete to leave any room fornaad e.g.naad
Dostoyevskynaad for Unamuno's "tragic sense of life". (So it should not require a
precocious imagination to understand why for a time I buried myself in the writings
of Miguel de Unamuno of the University of Salamanca. But againnaad there is no
time ... ) After 50 years ofnaad not merely readingnaad but living inside ofnaad
Eliot’s poetrynaad from The Wasteland to "Ash Wednesday" to Four Quartetsnaad I
have come to believe that Eliot’s singular achievement is to reconcile the
Christian myth with tragedynaad in factnaad to show that the former

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is incomplete and impoverished without the latter. I have spent most of my life
“decoding” Eliot’s meaningnaad especially of the Quartetsnaad with the
serendipitous help of an experience I had at St. Nicholas Church in Galwaynaad
Irelandnaad and within the Quartets especially of “Little Gidding”. This is
obviously too long a story to even synopsize here. I would only invite you to
embark on the same quest by reflecting on the concluding lines: A condition of
complete simplicity (Costing not less than everything) And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well When the tongues of flames are in-folded Into
the crowned knot of fire And the fire and the rose are one. And if you do
undertake this journeynaad I cannaad from personal experiencenaad promise you: you
will not be alone. In factnaad you will be accompanied by illustrious companions
as a "cloud of witnesses". 12 Chapter 3 – Courage Has a Face AMSTERDAM – It is
impossible to spend any significant time at all in this citynaad i.e.naad more

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than one daynaad and not be conscious of the influence and the sheer perennial
presence of two of the greatest spirits who haunt it most persistently: Rembrandt
van Rijn and Vincent Van Gogh. I spent a lot of time here in the middle 2000s on
business for Boeing’s commercial airplane divisionnaad working out of the
inventory-planning officesnaad at Schiphol Airportnaad of KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines.
In the processnaad I had ample time to visit all the great art museums in the city
– the Rijksmuseumnaad the Van Gogh Museumnaad and the Stedelijk museum of modern /
contemporary art. My wife and I also spent a lot of time herenaad partly on
business when Diane occasionally accompanied me on my business trips and partly for
pleasure. It remains our most frequented city in Europe. This last trip during the
first half of October was no exception. What I took away from this latest visit to
Amsterdam was a persistent sense of moral insight regardingnaad not only the art of
Rembrandt and Van Goghnaad but alsonaad and i

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n a sense perhaps more importantlynaad of the way aficionados of those two great
artistsnaad no doubt inadvertently and unconsciouslynaad often tend to patronize
them when the people who appreciate their art sometimes merge their art with their
biographies in a way that diminishes the stature of the latter. As I wandered
around with Diane among the paintings of Rembrandt at the Rijksmuseum and of Van
Gogh at the Van Gogh Museumnaad it dawned on me thatnaad like many lovers of their
artnaad Inaad toonaad had allowed the art to paradoxically diminish the stature of
the men who created it. To an extent arguably greater than with any other great
artistsnaad people who thinknaad teachnaad and talk about the art of Rembrandt and
Van Gogh almost always segue seamlessly into biography. Of coursenaad this is true
of any great painter or writer or composer. People who love and study the music of
Beethoven cannot help but reflect on Beethoven’s progressively more severe
deafnessnaad a deafness than eventually drove him to cu

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t the legs off his piano so the piano could lie flat on the floor and Beethoven
could lie beside itnaad ear pressed to floornaad and listen to his music via bone
conduction as he composed. But it seems to me that the art of Rembrandt and Van
Gogh is intertwined with their respective biographies to an extent unequalled with
the works of other artists. Alberto Giacometti was a great sculptornaad but I know
of no art critics who merge Giacometti’s works with his life to any degree remotely
approximating the same seamlessness I encounter with Rembrandt and Van Gogh. Ditto
Alexander Calder and his mobiles or Matisse and his cut-outs. We also similarly
tend to keep Shakespeare separate from his plays. But it is much different with
Rembrandt and Van Goghnaad whose paintings are – to borrow a term coined by a late
professor of mine at Tufts – “intrinsicated” with their biographies. A mere stroll
through Rembrandt's paintings in the Rijksmuseum or through those of Van Gogh in
the Van Gogh Museum m

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akes obvious the reasons for this symbiosis of art and artist: both Rembrandt and
Van Gogh bequeathed to us an inheritance of self-portraits unexcellednaad probably
unequalednaad by any other painter. For examplenaad you will search in vain for
any self-portrait by Vermeer among the bare few-dozen surviving works of his that
survive. (The one Vermeer that mightnaad perhapsnaad be a self#portrait is a
painting of an artist -- perhaps Vermeernaad perhaps not -- seen from behind as the
artist is painting a portrait of a subject.) By contrastnaad Rembrandt and Van
Gogh used their faces as a means of reflecting on lifenaad on the random effects
of chance and circumstancenaad and of the effects of both on the artist -- notnaad
it should be notednaad in any narcissistic sensenaad but rather because they both
seemed to consider themselves typical of the Universal Man. (Compare any of
Rembrandt's or Van Gogh's self#portraits with the exercise in self-regard that just
is the self-portrait commissioned by Donald Trumpnaad and

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the difference will be slap-upside-the-head obvious.) This Universal-Man motif of
their works 13 positively invites biography. In factnaad it would probably be
possible to take all their self-portraitsnaad arrange them chronologicallynaad
andnaad in the endnaad have a biography of both artists executed in the medium of
pigment instead of print. The question then becomes of how we react to both the
artists and the art in light of that spectrum of their respective experiences. To
address this questionnaad we have to consider historical issues that lie outside
the purview of the self-portraits. For examplenaad it is important to remember that
Rembrandt lived through the horrors of the Thirty Years War. Rembrandt was born in
1606 and died in 1669. The Thirty Years War began in 1618 and ended with the Treat
of Westphalia in 1648. So Rembrandt's lifetime contained the entirety of this
violent period when most of central Europe was consumed by the violence of
unbridled religious passion. Entire cities an

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d towns were devastatednaad many over and over againnaad by religious conflict.
The Netherlands in generalnaad and Amsterdam in particularnaad were largely
untouched physicallynaad but Rembrandt did live during the time of Holland's war of
independence from Spain. He also lived during a time of the efflorescence of Dutch
culture and economic prosperity. The first line of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities
could be applied to Holland during this time: "It was the best of timesnaad it was
the worst of times". Both halves of this statement -- violence and peacenaad
prosperity and poverty -- left their respective stamps on Rembrandt himself and on
his work. Both are reflected in his self-portraits. Analogous remarks apply to
Van Goghnaad who lived during a similar time of political and cultural flux. Van
Gogh was born in 1853naad immediately following the great political upheavals that
shook Europe during the revolutions of 1848. He began to flourish as an artist
during the time of the great aesthetic transfor

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mations occasioned by the impressionist movement. But this aesthetic revolution was
not onlynaad or even primarilynaad a greater freedom of line and colornaad but
alsonaad perhaps especiallynaad of subject matter. Like his impressionist
cousinsnaad Van Gogh began to paint subjects hitherto considered inappropriate for
"serious" art: Belgian coal-miners in the Borinage region of southern Belgiumnaad
still lifes of well-worn wooden shoes commonly worn by Belgian and Dutch
peasantsnaad etc. He also began to paint outside: his studio was Nature itselfnaad
not Nature-inside-the-atelier. Both the subject matter and his free brushwork and
use of impasto made his paintings enigmatic at bestnaad ugly at worstnaad to the
upper-class art collectors of Paris and Brussels. (As far as I have been able to
determinenaad he sold -- perhaps -- only one of his paintings to a wealthy
collector in Paris: his Red Vines depicting grape vines in a vineyard. And I am by
no means certain of even that.) Alsonaad like many of his impressionis

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t cousinsnaad his life was not the life of polite society that was expected by
many upper-class artists. (Even before he became an artist full-timenaad he was
summarily fired from his first job as a chaplain to the coal miners of the Borinage
for not dressing the part of a representative of the Dutch Reformed Church:
starched collarnaad cravatnaad waistcoatnaad and good shoes. Vincent had the
scandalous idea that he should "incarnate" himself in the lives of the miners to
whom he ministered by dressingnaad eatingnaad and living as they did. His choice of
an artist's life forever alienated him from his fathernaad a rift that never
healed.) Toulouse-Lautrec painted the bistro life of Parisnaad including
advertisements for fashionable singers and impresarios. Van Gogh lived off the
generosity of his brother Theo and Theo's wife Johanna. (We owe a debt of gratitude
to the latter for the preservation of most of Van Gogh's worknaad and those works
comprise the core of the Van Gogh Museum's collection. And if yo

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u have never seen the late Leonard Nimoy's one-man depiction of Theo and his
response to his brothernaad by all meansnaad run-don't-walknaad locate itnaad and
watch it.) Desperate for love and companionshipnaad Vincent lived with a
prostitute and her child for a time. His letters to Theo are often heart-wrenching
in their desperation for a companionnaad a lovernaad or just a friend. (He
famously held his bare hand over a candle flame while he addressed proposal of
marriage to a 14 distant cousinnaad Kee Vosnaad who rejected him.) But what
strikes me again and againnaad as I wander through the self-portraits of both
mennaad is thatnaad in spite of povertynaad in spite of rejectionnaad in spite of
social isolation -- they painted what they wanted to paintnaad not necessarily
what othersnaad potential clients / customersnaad wanted to see or what those
clients / customers considered "suitable" or "appropriate". That was true of
Rembrandt even during times of prosperity -- Rembrandt was forced to declare
bankruptcy at least twice

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naad perhaps three times -- and it was true of Van Gogh all his lifenaad up until
the fatal suicide gun-shot that ended his life and that culminated with his burial
beside his beloved brother Theo. With both Rembrandt and Van Goghnaad we see lives
of uncompromised and uncompromising professional and aesthetic courage. Their
self-portraits conclusively prove that courage has a face. As should be obvious by
nownaad I admire them both unreservedly and without qualification. The problem I
am left withnaad howevernaad is the reaction of art lovers -- myself included --
whonaad altogether understandablynaad empathize with both artistsnaad but who
allow this empathy to degenerate into something much less charitablenaad something
that diminishes the stature of both men. I think Don McLean's song “Starrynaad
Starry Night” captures just the right blend of empathy and pathos withoutnaad for
all thatnaad degenerating into pity. There is a fine line between empathy and
pitynaad and I fear thatnaad sometimesnaad we cross that line. Empat

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hy is good. But pity belittlesnaad infantilizesnaad and ultimately emasculates
those against whom it isnaad often with the best of intentionsnaad directed. What
we admirers of Rembrandt and Van Gogh often to not understand -- and what we need
to understandnaad perhaps more than anything else -- is that both Rembrandt and
Van Gogh were men of towering strength who were determined to pursue their art at
all cost. And who did so. Even with their talents and their giftsnaad I could never
do what they did. They deserve admiration. They deserve respect. They deserve
empathy. They do not deserve pity. They are farnaad far better than that. They
deserve better of usnaad their admirers. 15 Chapter 4 – Beyond the Bounds of
Realism with Hyper-Realism One of the customary criticisms of what we may
generically call “modern” art is that the bizarre distortions of the figures in
the works – even musicnaad e.g.naad the works of John Cage – render the art
inaccessible to any but the most sophisticated tastes and temperame

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nts. Such critics point tonaad e.g.naad Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” and
Duchamp’s “Nude Descending a Staircase” as examples of modern art’s alienation
from the public. (The late evangelical Christian writer Francis Schaeffer even
went so far as to argue that “Nude” was actually evil and sinfulnaad because it was
a form of pornography in that it encouraged the viewer to search the image for a
picture of a naked woman!) Compare Picasso and Duchampnaad et al.naad withnaad
e.g.naad the great landscape artists of the Hudson River School and artists of the
American landscape like Albert Bierstadt. The latter we usually call “realists”.
But an interesting phenomenon seems to have been developing since the 70s in that
some artists – I will concentrate on Duane Hansennaad though there are many others
– who pushed the aesthetic canons of realisticnaad representational art to the
point that their realism is so real as to actually blur the distinction between
realism and non-realism … even perhaps even

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something approaching surrealism. The formernaad when pushed to the ragged edge of
its limits as an artistic idiomnaad transitions into something like the latter. At
that pointnaad realism becomesnaad in a sensenaad more real than the real subject
of the painting and becomes hyperrealism. Beginning in the 1970snaad hyperrealism
grew out of the previous movement of photorealismnaad but with some important
differences. Perhaps the most salient difference between photorealism and
hyperrealism is that photorealistic artists like John Baedernaad Ralph Goingsnaad
and Chuck Close attempted to capture and reproduce photographs with great
verisimilitudenaad with no attempt at embellishment or alteration. What
photorealist artists like Baedernaad Goingsnaad and Close were concerned to do in
two dimensionsnaad Duane Hansen attempts in three with his hyperrealistic
sculptures. Howevernaad this is not the onlynaad or even the most importantnaad
difference. Whereas photorealists were usually concerned to depict their subjects
in near-pho

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tographic detail with no attempt at commentarynaad least of all political or
social critiquenaad hyperrealists like Hansen are quite unabashed at incorporating
into their figures an element of social critique and commentarynaad often even at
the expense of representational accuracy. Sometimesnaad in factnaad Hansen’s
figures perceptibly shade over into stereotype and evennaad arguablynaad sexism.
Furthermorenaad it is by no means altogether clear whether Hansen’s intent in
these depictions is parodynaad satirenaad or even elitist arrogance. That intent is
entirely up to the viewer. Considernaad for examplenaad two of Hansen’s better-
known works: “Tourists” and “Housewife”. Seriouslynaad has anyonenaad anywhere
ever actually seen tourists dressed as the two figuresnaad presumably husband and
wifenaad are dressed? I have not. Aloha shirtsnaad yes. Sandalsnaad yes.
Camerasnaad yes. But multiple cameras? No. (I do not knownaad but I strongly
suspect that “Tourists” was created before high-end cellphones with professional-
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hic systems were available.) I have even heard tourists ask dumb questions.
E.g.naad on my first visit to Washingtonnaad DCnaad I was exiting the Capitol after
the usual tournaad walking behind two fellow touristsnaad and heard the wife ask
the husband “OK … we’ve seen the Senate and we’ve seen the House of
Representatives … so when are we going to see the Congress?” Only the desire to
avoid making a scene enabled me to refrain from banging my head against the
wallnaad and thereby attracting the attention of a Capitol guardnaad as I walked
out the East Front. But as to 16 appearancenaad my two politically challenged
fellow tourists looked pretty much as I did in jeansnaad sneakersnaad t-shirtnaad
and carrying a little Instamatic camera. I do not believe that Hansennaad in
“Touristsnaad” is guilty of classism – in this casenaad looking down his nose at
actual touristsnaad but rather satirizing stereotypical tourists in his parody of
typical Washingtonnaad DC – or anywhere else – sightseers. “Tourists” is
vulnerable to this

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ct of the parody is not housewiferynaad butnaad in some parts of the countrynaad a
certain outdated and obsoletenaad but conception of housewifery. As with
“Touristsnaad” Hansen is satirizing / parodying us. His work asks us “Is this
seriouslynaad really what we believe housewives do all day?”: dry their hairnaad
read cheap magazinesnaad and smoke cigarettes? In particularnaad Hansen’s
“Housewife” is an implicit but astringent critique of certain parts of feminism
that see being “only” a housewife as unmitigated drudgerynaad a failure to pursue
the vision of “having it all”. Againnaad and as with “Touristsnaad” the object of
the satire is not the people / person being satirizednaad but the attitudes we
bring to seeing them. A much gentler motif of Hansen’s work may be observed in
works like “Woman Eatingnaad” “Janitornaad” and “Museum Guard”. These works evince
a kind of quiet dignity and their uncanny realism invites us to look – to look at
people eatingnaad to look at janitorsnaad to look at museum guardsnaad all of whom
are m

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ost often almost invisible to us. Furthermorenaad the “hyper” in hyper-realism
impels us to look closely and in detail. I am always fascinated when I encounter a
work by Hansennaad fascinated both by my own reaction and by the reactions of
other museum-goers who encounter those worksnaad it may be for the first time.
Invariablynaad we walk up to the figure – as closely as we can without setting off
alarms – and examine the work as minutely as we can. One of the uncanny
characteristics of Hansen’s work is what I will call scale invariancenaad i.e.naad
no matter how closely you examine itnaad the work always looks as realistic at
small distances as it does from a distance. I had an arresting experience of scale
invariance once at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicagonaad wherenaad for the
first timenaad I encountered Hansen’s “Charity Worker”: a statue of a woman
sitting at a tablenaad reading (I think it was) a copy of Reader’s Digestnaad and
waiting for people to drop coins in her collection can for – as I

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or a piece of sculpture or seeing a play or listening to a piece of musicnaad they
are obligatednaad on pain of being branded as culture-phobic philistinesnaad to
wear a facial expression that tells the world Pity me! I am dying of terminal
hemorrhoids! Wellnaad before anyone makes any cracks about that remarknaad I will
back up a step or two and say thatnaad yesnaad to be surenaad some works of art
are explicitly intended to evoke playnaad laughternaad and light-hearted
dalliance. A good example is Carlo Goldoni’s rollicking A Servant of Two
Mastersnaad which I saw performed a few years ago at the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival and laughed until I almost had a laundry problem. Ditto movies like
Singin’ in the Rain and Oklahoma! and plays like Noel Coward’s great The
Importance of Being Earnest. Those works’ very titles pretty much give their
audiences permission to just kick back and have fun. Rathernaad I mean other works
by quote-serious-unquote artists like Shakespeare. Ditto Bach. Ditto Mozart. Ditto
Haydn.

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(Wagner? Well … probably notnaad unless one is enamored of heavy-handednaad
unrelieved Teutonic seriousness. Hence Oscar Wilde’s assertionnaad also attributed
to Rossininaad that Wagner’s music “has some wonderful moments but some terrible
half#hours”.) It might be healthy to look at some great art that that can be
exuberant funnaad but that often evokes reactions of pathological seriousnessnaad
and so too often is greeted with about as much joy as ham sandwiches at a Jewish
funeral reception. Takenaad for examplenaad the following musical compositionsnaad
which positively call for dancenaad concert-hall etiquette be damned. o Mozart’s
“Violin Concerto No. 3 in G” If you can listen to the gracefully galloping first
movement of the “G Concerto” and not at least tap your toesnaad someone should
hold a mirror under your nose because you may very well be dead. (Skip the damned
ad as soon as you can and go directly to the piece.) In an inadvertent waynaad this
YouTube clip was uproariously hilarious: the Pope and me

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mbers of the most senior episcopal leadership of the Catholic Church sitting
stock-still like Michelangelo statues or Egyptian bas reliefs while the music that
was playing in front of them positively demandednaad imperiously commanded to be
danced to … anything except sitting the hell down! The technical term for the
emotion evoked by the first movement of Mozart's “G Concertonaad” Your
Holinessnaad is JOY. Great roaring Joy. You may have heard of itnaad andnaad
nonaad it is most decidedly not a rumor! And insofar as the experience of Joy can
be instantiated in soundnaad Mozart did it. So stamp your feet. Clap. Sway back
and forth in time to the music. Stand upnaad link armsnaad and do synchronized
dance to the music like the women at the old Radio City Music Hall. Mozart was a
genius. But he was a genius at being a child. Get down on the floornaad bathe in
his musicnaad wallow in it shamelesslynaad and be a child with him. In other words
… Mozart’s “G Concerto” invites us to be … born again! Lessee … where hav
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e you guys heard that before? o Bach’s "Brandenburg Concerto #3" 18 Some advice
to morticians … if you want to make sure your client really is dead before you
embalm her or himnaad play the “Third Brandenburg” over a good stereo system in
the embalming room. (Againnaad skip the thrice-damned ads as soon as you can!) If
your client starts to twitch rhythmicallynaad especially in the feet and legsnaad
and maybe wave her arms to the same rhythmnaad put the embalming fluid back on the
shelf and call the paramedics. You just lost a client. I meannaad who “cadaver”
think of such a grave undertaking? I believe it is historically true that the
Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburgnaad for whom Bach wrote this example of
thrice-distilled joynaad accepted the sheet music for all the “Brandenburgs” –
then put the manuscript on a shelf to gather dust for God-only-knows how long. I
do not know if he ever heard it performed. If notnaad his loss. Our gain. o Bach’s
“Brandenburg Concerto #4 My first exposure to B

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ach’s “4th Brandenburg” was in the music section on the mezzanine of the Wichita
Public Library (WPL). I did not have a stereonaad not even a Walkman -- remember
those? -- so I would go to the WPLnaad find a vinyl record of the “Brandenburgs”
and play it and play it and play it and play it. I do not knownaad but I may very
well have worn out at least the grooves marking the first movement of the
“Fourth”. I imagined myself wandering through a virgin landscape of unspoiled
wildernessnaad accompanied by the songs of birdsnaad rendered in the lilting
rhythms of Bach’s incomparable composition. This is another case in point of
knowing whether of not you are alive or deadnaad dependingnaad respectivelynaad on
whether you can resist swaying in time to the movement of the music. If you can
resistnaad and choose instead to observe the niceties of white-collarnaad Sphinx-
likenaad formal immobilitynaad then I feel very sorry for you. Alsonaad againnaad
this is music intended to induce radiantnaad irrepressible joy. There is no vi

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rtue in being able to resist. Unfortunatelynaad all too many concert-goers can do
just that. o Franz Josef Haydn’s “String Quartet No. 4 in F-maj” I have often
thought thatnaad if the European Enlightenment of the 18th century were to have
theme musicnaad much like an American sitcom or dramanaad one could do no better
than to select Haydn’s “F-maj String Quartet No.4” for that purpose. It is
graceful and lilting – butnaad for that reasonnaad also just sheer fun – to a
degree that simply beggars description. Westernersnaad especially Americansnaad
usually stereotype the Enlightenment of the 18th century – the culture that gave
us liberalnaad latitudinariannaad constitutional democracynaad free speechnaad
free thoughtnaad reflexive suspicion of authoritarianismnaad equal rights for
allnaad etc.naad etc. – in other wordsnaad all the valuesnaad principlesnaad and
priorities presently under siege by the likes of Donald Trumpnaad Victor Orbannaad
Marine LePennaad Alternative for Germanynaad and the leave-EU movement that is so
nostalgic for a Europe
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of hard borders and separate currencies like the 1940s – such people stereotype
the Enlightenment as too freenaad too cosmopolitannaad too rationalnaad too far
removed from the Blut und Boden (“Blood and Soil”) derangement that gave us two
World Wars. Haydn’s number-4 string quartet in F-major is a refutation of that
slobbering crudity in the form of music that is no less liltingly graceful for
being compelling. It is sheer fun and dance in the service of civilizationnaad
something the Orbans and Trumps will never understand. But it is not only in
musical art that fun may be discovered. There is also sculpture. One of the best
examples of sculpture-as-fun is a piece I once encountered on a street in downtown
Leipzignaad Germany. If you can look at this piece and not laughnaad then you
really should have your eyeglasses prescription revised. The figure in the
sculpture is evidently marching along the sidewalk in giant goose-steps while
stiff-arm saluting -- but with his -- at leastnaad I am prett

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y sure it is a man -- head discreetly retracted down between his shoulders. Words
fail me. Take a look at the images and see for yourself. 19 In factnaad this piece
illustrates a weapon whose effect on authoritarian peoplenaad ideologiesnaad and
governments is nothing short of subversive: humor. It is the sculptural equivalent
of Alec Baldwin's impersonation of Trump on Saturday Night Live. It is also a
21st-century parody in the tradition of Right In the Fuehrer's Face from World War
II. Make sure the sound is turned on in both your computer and on the YouTube clip
itself.) Furthermorenaad remember that I encountered this sculpture on a sidewalk
in Leipzignaad Germany -- which was once a part of the drearynaad graynaad
dystopian un-Paradise of East Germany until the Wall fellnaad and the Germanys
unitednaad to be followed by an efflorescence of artnaad especially musicnaad
sculpturenaad and architecturenaad the likes of which have not been seen since the
Weimar Republic between the two World Wars. Leipzig was reb

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orn. I know the old Leipzig only by reputation: I was forbidden to travel there or
any Communist country on pain of having my security clearances liftednaad but I
have read a lot about the rebirth of that wonderful city of Bachnaad Wagnernaad
Mendelssohnnaad et al.naad where even the street violinists are world-class
musicians. Part of the art that blossomed in Leipzig would have been sternly
forbidden by its former communist taskmastersnaad who havenaad if anythingnaad an
even more sclerotic aesthetic sense than American museum- and concert-goers.
Communists were about equally inept at having funnaad like other authoritarians --
Trumpnaad Orbannaad et al. The political culture that built the Rundecke -- "Round
Corners" -- the headquarters of the East German Stasi in Leipzignaad would never
have permitted the display of this sculpture in Leipzig. They would have had as
little use for that sculpture as Trump has for Alec Baldwin and Saturday Night Live
-- and for essentially the same reasons. The moral of my sto
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ry? Only this: yes some art is seriousnaad some art is intended to evoke a sense of
sadness and tragedy ... of course ... e.g.naad A Long Day's Journey Into Night ...
but when any work of art evinces or evokes or provokes humornaad playfulnessnaad
dalliancenaad and whimsy -- do not resist it. You will only be that much poorer if
you do. Sophistication and taste do not equate to frowningnaad head-bowingnaad and
chin-stroking. One's aesthetic sensibilities should make room for a goodnaad tear-
inducing belly laugh -- Marx Brothers' Horse Feathers as high art. Saturday Night
Live and A Midsummer Night's Dream can -- and do -- meet and embrace. 20 Chapter 6
– The This-Worldly Iconography of Pierre Auguste Renoir Ever since my first
exposure to it in a Smithsonian Institution art-history seminar in 1979naad one of
my favorite art venues in Washingtonnaad DCnaad has been the venerable Phillips
Collectionnaad a few blocks east and perhaps a block south of the DuPont Circle DC
Metro stop. There are many reasons for my re

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spect and enthusiasm for “the Phillipsnaad” but certainly one of the most salient
reasons for my “evangelical” work on behalf of the Collection is that the Phillips
houses Pierre Auguste Renoir’s great Luncheon of the Boating Party (hereafter
Luncheon). (I refuse to call itnaad as some critics donaad Boatman’s Lunch.
Computers are expensive and I would rather not throw up on mine.) Aside from the
sheer beauty of the painting itselfnaad I enjoy watching others’ reaction as
theynaad no doubt in many cases for the first timenaad walk into the gallery that
displays itnaad all to itself on one wall. Almost invariably – and I’m tempted to
remove the “Almost” qualifiernaad since I can recall no exceptions – the
patronnaad often not realizing that Luncheon hangs therenaad walks into the
gallerynaad turnsnaad andnaad often with hand to mouthnaad softly gasps “Aahhh!” I
was no exception: the first time I saw Renoir’s great worknaad I gaspednaad too.
Over the yearsnaad in looking again and again and again and again at Luncheonnaad
and refle

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cting on my and others’ tendency to stare wide-eyed and gaspingnaad I have come to
some conclusions about why Luncheon elicits such uniform awenaad and what those
reasons tell us about the genius of Renoir and about our sensibilities as art
enthusiasts. For the sake of brevity – for similar examples could be adduced over
and over from looking at the painting – I will restrict myself to a single minute
examination of Renoir’s work. Take a moment and look at one small segment of the
painting. (You may have to copy one of the images of Luncheon in this “Skeptic’s”
column to your hard drive and stretch the image until the relevant corner of the
painting is large enough to follow what ensues.) Look carefully in the
“southwestern” corner of Luncheon and observe the young woman with the red-
flowered hat playing with the little black dog. Look more closely. In
particularnaad look at the eye of the little black dog. Closer still: observe that
the eye of the little black dog is highlighted with
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a single speck of white. After years of visiting the Phillipsnaad viewing the
paintingnaad and viewing others’ reactions theretonaad I have concluded thatnaad
while there are many keys to the spell Luncheon casts over usnaad one of the most
salient keys is that single speck of white in the little dog’s eye. (Remembernaad
nownaad I am concentratingnaad not generalizing. To repeat: there are other keys
to Luncheon and the reason for its effect on usnaad of which that single speck of
white is only onenaad though I would argue one of the most important.) Anywaynaad
consider the following counterfactual / hypothetical. Just for the helluvitnaad
try to reimagine Luncheon precisely as it is – but with that single speck of white
gone. What would the effect be? Without that singlenaad minute speck of whitenaad
the little dog’s eye loses its three-dimension-ality. The dog’s eye becomes just a
flatnaad two-dimensional circle. But with that speck of whitenaad the dog’s eye
becomes three-dimensionalnaad at least in the viewer’s iconic ima

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ginationnaad i.e.naad the dog’s eye becomes a sphere. In factnaad with that speck
of whitenaad the little dog’s eye becomes … well … the little dog’s eye becomes an
eye. A living eye. Without that speck of whitenaad the young woman is basically
playing with a stuffed animalnaad like a very young child. But with that speck of
whitenaad she becomes a young woman playing with a living creature. One step
farther: I would argue thatnaad without that speck of whitenaad the young woman
and her dog couldnaad for all we viewers knownaad be a department-store mannequin
posed to look like a young woman playing with her little dog. But with that minute
speck of white – so exquisitely subtlenaad so eminently over-look-able! – girl-and-
dog become 21 two living creatures involved in an intimate transaction of mutual
love. That “southwest” corner of Luncheon comes alive. But the effect is not
restricted to that corner of the painting. For reasons of proximity of the figures
to one another in the painting if nothing elsenaad that

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vibrant sense of alive-ness radiates outward to the rest of Luncheon. The whole
painting comes alive. I suppose thatnaad in the strictest sensenaad I lied just now
when I said that I would restrict my attention to the speck of white in the eye of
the young woman’s dog. But it was a white lie. The reason the life of dog-and-girl
radiates outward and breathes life to the rest of Luncheon is becausenaad
paradoxical as it may sound in an age that valorizes egocentricitynaad the other
figures in the painting allnaad without exceptionnaad ignore us. There is no
suggestion of animositynaad not the slightest hint of alienation. We are welcome
to observe. But only to observe. Because the other figures in the painting ignore
usnaad they are free to be themselvesnaad to interact as they will. Neither the
viewer nor the painting is bound to the other. Neither painting nor patron is
beholden to the other. That is why the Luncheon lives. In factnaad in a not-
altogether-metaphorical sensenaad Luncheon becomes more than a
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two-dimensional image. Luncheon of the Boating Party becomes a windownaad a window
onto and into the lives of others – which it could not hope to benaad were it
bound to us with aesthetic chains. Luncheon of the Boating Party lives. Which
brings up a point on which the work of Renoirnaad in factnaad many
Impressionistsnaad has been critiqued: its depiction of an idealized world devoid
of tragedy. Has any party of friends having lunch together on a boat ever been as
uniformly happy as the group of celebrants in Luncheon? Has any little girl with a
watering can ever really been as innocent as the little girl with the watering can
in Renoir’s renowned image? As innocent and guileless as the young ballet dancer
in Danseuse? I suppose that depends on one’s experience with boating parties and
with little girls with watering cans. (For the record: I have personally known a
young ballet dancer whonaad at age 10 or 11naad would bid fair to confirm Renoir’s
image in all its purity. But that is neither here

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nor there.) In any casenaad such critiques presuppose the unqualified value of
realism. Leveling such criticisms at Renoir isnaad I thinknaad in many ways the
product of an age and of a civilizationnaad still recovering from two world wars
and still subject to nuclear and environmental catastrophenaad that is no longer
capable of valuing innocence and purity. Renoir had a tragic life. For one
thingnaad severe arthritis crippled his hands when he had years of productive life
remaining for his art. The point? Only that to infer from Luncheon and Little Girl
with a Watering Can that Renoir was unacquainted with grief and pain is a kind of
reverse snobbery that is really unworthy of serious consideration. Renoir’s
purposenaad I thinknaad and his achievementnaad and the reason people still flock
to the National Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collectionnaad isnaad not to
display the world as it isnaad as certainly he himself knew it was notnaad but
rather to image forth a vision of something purernaad or something better

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was confined by the suffocating strictures of hyper-fundamentalist Christianity –
the church I grew up in thought Billy Graham was a dangerous liberal because he
talked with the Pope occasionally … seriously! – and parents with a grossly
over#developed respect for sheer authoritynaad especially church authority.
Basicallynaad my adolescence was eerily similar to what I imagine people go
through who live in North Korea – constantly under surveillancenaad allowed almost
no individual freedomnaad perpetually evaluated by the fundamentalist God (the
Celestial Kim Jong Whoever du jour)naad etc.naad etc. But unlike North Koreansnaad
I had a safety valvenaad an outlet for my frustration: humor in the form of Mad
Magazine satires. Every monthnaad I would scan the supermarket magazine shelves
for the latest issue of Mad and would seize the latest copy. My parents never
objected to buying it for menaad because most of the humor went over their
headsnaad anyway. (Fundamentalists of the early 60s are like all fundamental

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ists of all periods: singularly ill#informednaad undereducatednaad and therefore
devoid of a sense of humor or irony.) They almost never read itnaad and almost
never understood it on the rare occasions when they did. So I would take the latest
issue homenaad go to my roomnaad and mystify my parents with the howls of laundry-
problem-inducing laughter they heard from behind the door. I even bought the
paperback books – The Mad Readernaad Son of Madnaad The Brothers Madnaad etc.naad
etc. – that were often just reprints from the precursor to Mad: EC Comics that
were published before my day. I also waited with bated breath for the yearly
publication of the Mad Annual that reprised many of the articles from previous
issues of the magazinenaad but that I had not read because I didnaad on
occasionnaad miss a monthly issue. I also remember thatnaad in the presidential
election of 1960naad Alfred E. Neuman ran for President under the slogan
"Prosperity with Alfred E.!"naad thereby anticipating by 8 years the candidacy of
Pat Pauls

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t who is neither – like Voltaire’s characterization of the Holy Roman Empire as
“neither holy nor Roman nor an empire”? How do you satirize Sarah Palin’s
interview where she claimed to be able to deal with Vladimir Putin becausenaad on
a clear daynaad she could see Russia from her front porch? How do you satirize a
Republican candidate for the Senate whose antics with underage girls was allegedly
motivated by a desire to preserve their “purity”? Answer: You don’t. Mad
Magazine is lamentably gone because Mad Magazine was too sane for the times. 24
Chapter 8 – Of Magicnaad Miraclesnaad and Faith I like Pope Francis I. His openness
to sexual-orientation minorities and his solicitude toward the poor are in marked
contrast to the hard-line intransigence more characteristic of past Pontiffs.
Church teachings about abortionnaad birth control – the “life” issues generally –
and such matters as women’s ordination and same-sex marriage remain substantially
unchanged. (I say “substantially” becausenaad

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even on some of these issuesnaad the Pope’s recent statements have been
interestingly nuanced. God – so to speak – is in the details.) Bill Maher often
says he strongly suspects that Pope Francis – “Pope Frank” as Maher sometimes calls
him – is actually a closet atheist. (I think Maher is only half serious about such
statements. But the operative word is “half”: I do think Maher is half serious.)
The most recent papal statement to raise such a kerfuffle is his statement denying
that “God [is] a magiciannaad with a magic wand able to do everything”. To people
– even devoutnaad observantnaad faithful Christians – raised in a science-literate
culturenaad this statement is about as under-whelming a sentiment as one could
imagine. But for such people – scientifically literatenaad believing Christiansnaad
especially (though not exclusively) faithful Catholics – Pope Francis’ statement
isnaad in the best sensenaad a bit of a booby trapnaad both epistemologically
(what we can know in general) and theologically

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(what we can know about the Divine in particular). Probably the most immediately
obvious question the Pope’s statement begs is What about miracles? To take what is
arguably the most obvious examplenaad what about the doctrine of the Virgin Birth?
For over two millennianaad orthodox – lower case “o” – Christianity has taught
that Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary by the direct intervention of the Holy
Spiritnaad and notnaad as with everyone elsenaad through sexual intercourse.
Parthenogenesis – conception without sex – is a trick that would make David
Copperfield’s illusions look like my late Uncle Oscar’s amateur card tricks.
Moreovernaad in the Christian understandingnaad parthenogenesis is real. It
actually happened. It was not a stage illusion. Ditto Christ’s literalnaad
physicalnaad space#time historical Resurrection from the dead – whichnaad St. Paul
saysnaad is make-or-break for the veracity of the Gospel message (I Corinthians
15:16-18): For if the dead are not raisednaad then not even has Christ be

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magic trick all the more impressive for being quite real and not an illusion. In
that latter casenaad we are back to God-as-magician. Similar remarks apply to
evolution – although here there is a closer dependence on physical lawnaad and
therefore evolution is at least marginally more explicablenaad becausenaad once the
process gets goingnaad there is a known set of physical laws to appeal to. There
are some rules to the Game. So from that point onnaad it is a matter of cause and
effect. One does notnaad as in the case of the Big Bang and ultimate originsnaad
have to deal with all the quantum-level paradoxes of causality. But the “magic
quotient” is still pretty impressivenaad even so. How did life first arisenaad
andnaad in any casenaad how did a mixture of chemicalsnaad however complexnaad
resultnaad not only in lifenaad but in intelligent life? Making the raw building
blocks of life is a relatively simple matter of organic chemistrynaad as Prof.
Harold C. Urey and his graduate student Stanley Miller demonstrated in their

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classic experiment: put some chemicals like the ones present on the ancient earth
in a flasknaad run an electrical current through the mixture to simulate
lightningnaad and … voila! … in a few days you will find an organic gunk coating
the interior of the glass that containsnaad e.g.naad amino acids and other
compounds vital to the building of proteinsnaad DNAnaad etc. But it is safe to say
that Homernaad Mozartnaad and the Dalai Lama will not emerge from the flasknaad
even so. Biology is one thing. Sentience is another. Getting from the former to
the latter is a stunning bit of … well … magic – and what is even more impressive
is that this magic is real: the rabbit was never really in the hat to begin with.
What makes the “hyper-magic” trick known as evolution even more impressive is that
evolution and speciation are like chess: virtually impossible to play the same
game twice. I well remember how stunned I was when I read the late Stephen Jay
Gould’s book Wonderful Lifenaad on the Burgess Shale fossil

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deposits in Canadanaad especially the part where Gould says thatnaad if you
started evolution over again from scratchnaad it is highlynaad highlynaad highly
doubtful that the end-result would be anything recognizable as homo sapiens
sapiens. Intelligent dinosaursnaad maybe. No sentiencenaad maybe. Even no life at
allnaad maybe. But homo sapiens sapiens? Possible -- obviously! -- but highly
improbable. As with a game of chessnaad the outcome would be virtually impossible
to duplicatenaad even if you started out with the same set of rules and laws. This
may not be magic in the strictest sensenaad but it will do quite nicely until the
real thing comes along. Finallynaad evolution and the Big Bang asidenaad there
seems to benaad on a livednaad feltnaad and “existentialnaad” level a kind of
incorrigible human yearning for God to do magicnaad our from-the-eyebrows-up
theological assent notwithstanding. I don’t knownaad never having performed the
experiment. But based on my experience in other contextsnaad I would be willing to
wager an arbi

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trarily large amount of money – I’ll even put my Starbucks Gold Card on the line –
thatnaad when the Pope celebrates Massnaad there will be a part of the Liturgy
where someonenaad usually a lectornaad reads the “Prayers of the Faithful” and
asks the audience to respond with something like “Lordnaad hear 26 our prayer”.
Among the prayers of the faithful – I’ve seen no exceptions in all the Masses I
have attended – there will be requests for God to intervene to heal Mrs.
McGillicuddynaad who is hospitalized with varicose veins; to safeguard and restore
to health Mr. O’Malleynaad who has heart problems; to prevail upon Palestinians
and Israelis to live together in peace; etc.naad etc.naad etc. This sounds
suspiciously likenaad their intellectual theologies notwithstandingnaad Christians
are asking God to be a magician and to bring health out of sicknessnaad peace out
of belligerencenaad etc.naad etc. So the Pope’s professed aversion for viewing God
as a Divine Magician seems to prevail only on a theoretical level. In ac

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tual nuts-and-bolts practicenaad religious folks want God to … dammit all! … “Do
somethingnaad don’t just stand there!” – that isnaad for God to be what the old
Schoolmen used to call an “efficient cause”. Maybenaad if we take praying for
“stuff” seriouslynaad even an “instrumental cause”. Of coursenaad the usual
response is to save God from being a Magician by arguing thatnaad of course God
does “do stuffnaad” but that God “does stuff” through human agencynaad i.e.naad
that the true efficient and instrumental causes are human beings acting as God’s
proxy. But in that casenaad Brother Ockham returns to the discussionnaad like
Banquo haunting MacBeth’s feast. If curing Mrs. McGillicuddy’s varicose veins can
be understood and explained only with reference to the skill of doctors and
medical procedures rigorously followednaad ifnaad having taken those therapeutic
factors into accountnaad there is simply nothing else to explain or to
understandnaad then can I not simply delete God and God’s intervention in my
account of Mrs.

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M’s cure? In factnaad and more generallynaad if feeding the hungry is something
humans have to donaad if healing the sick is something humans have to donaad if
comforting the bereaved is something humans have to donaad if giving the thirsty a
drink of water is something humans have to donaad if reconciling warring parties
is something humans have to do … if living life on earth in community with others
is something humans have to do … then why pray at all? Meditation? Awareness?
Mindfulness? Attaining satori / kensho / enlightenment? Yes. Sure. I practicenaad
and can attest to the effectiveness ofnaad vipassana meditation. Others practice
similar disciplinesnaad and can no doubt attest to their value. But in those
casesnaad we are not asking anyone …. or any One … to do any thing … or any Thing
… least of all to be an efficient or instrumental cause for the achievement of
some specific end-in-view. I’m not down on Pope Francis. I’m really not. In
factnaad if you are religiousnaad then I should think that his wo

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rds on God as not a Magician would be welcome. One of the most surefire ways to
steep the planet in misery has historically been to attempt to dragoon God into the
attainment of some specific end whichnaad however worthy it may be (and it often
was not)naad makes God into an instrumental Cause. In factnaad this is a pretty
good hip-pocket definition of “superstition”. The trick is to follow this line of
reasoning with enough integrity to accept all of its consequencesnaad e.g.naad
taking Mrs. McGillicuddy’s name off the prayer-request list. Asking and expecting
God to pull a rabbit out of the hat is just a “hare” too much. (No need to sharpen
your pitchforks ... I was just leaving ... ) 27 Chapter 9 – Medianaad McLuhannaad
and Memory Does anyone besides me remember Marshall McLuhan? Like a lot of other
peoplenaad I was drawn to McLuhan and his writingsnaad beginning as a college
sophomore in the late 60s and continuing into graduate school in the early 70s.
When I was an undergraduatenaad everyone and their

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dog was reading Understanding Media. Sonaad at first just to follow campus
fashionnaad I bought the paperback edition of the book and began reading. I was
captivated from the first paragraph of the first page. In factnaad one of my most
vivid memories of that time is of being in my room in my parents’ house and being
totally engrossed in Understanding Media while a violent Kansas thunderstorm raged
outside. I vaguely remember the air-raid sirens howling holy Hellnaad warning of
an approaching tornado. But I did not come fully awake until my Dadnaad with a few
choice Arkansas expletives invoking Divine assistancenaad interspersed with
scatological references that turned my fundamentalist-Baptist mother’s face
whitenaad literally grabbed me by my wristnaad hauled me out of my chairnaad and
crab#walked me to our basement. The tornado came close to usnaad but never hit
usnaad and I eventually recovered from both the Kansas weather and my sophomoric
(literally in my case) infatuation with McLuhan. Until recently.

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These daysnaad I have come to view McLuhan as a postmodernist prophet whonaad as
St. Paul said of himselfnaad was “born out of due seasonnaad” i.e.naad at least in
McLuhan’s casenaad ahead of his time. This is especially true when we consider
McLuhan in the context of his distinction between “hot” and “cool” media –
McLuhan’s terms – as they are used in contemporary social media and in politics.
Social media – Twitternaad Facebooknaad etc. – are paradigmatic examples of
McLuhan’s concept of a cool medium for a couple of different reasons. First of
allnaad social media are cool because they permitnaad but never requirenaad active
participation from subscribers. Once I define my list of Facebook friendsnaad I
need never touch my Facebook feed again: it is updated automatically. The other
side of the coinnaad the side of the coin perhaps most relevant to politicsnaad is
that I have complete control over the people I invite into my Facebook-feed
universe. In practicenaad this means that my Facebook universe only includes

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people who agree with me in all essential respects – and if anyone disagrees with
me on a make or break issuenaad like the fitness of Donald Trump for the
Presidencynaad I can “vote them off the Island” by unfriending them by editing my
Facebook preferences. (Between the election and nownaad this actually happened
about a dozen times: 6 in real lifenaad and 6 on Facebook. I apparently had more
incipient fascists in my circle of friends than I suspected!) In practicenaad this
means thatnaad over a modest span of timenaad my Facebook feed ends up being an
echo chamber – my own left-wing-progressive (in my case) Fox-News-on-a-laptop.
Secondlynaad precisely because social media are cool in McLuhan’s termsnaad I am –
another characteristic of cool media – spoon-fed content. Some Facebook posts are
substantive discussions of politics – do Trump’s ethical challenges and contempt
for the law spell a looming constitutional crisis? – while others consist of high-
def pictures of friends’ lunches and the usual cro

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p of great-danes-napping-with-kittens tableaux … a bricolage of images juxtaposed
by Facebook that I do not control. And the “b-word” – bricolage – brings us to
politics. And not just politicsnaad eithernaad but rather the entire world in
postmodernist terms. What I see on my Facebook feednaad what McLuhan (perhaps
unwittinglynaad though I don’t really think so) prophesied back in the early
70snaad is the 28 world as seen through the fractured lenses of the postmodern
sensibility: the World itself as the ultimate Cool Medium for a couple of reasons.
Firstnaad etymologicallynaad the word bricolage is derived from the Old French term
for catapultnaad i.e.naad capturing the sense of an object made from disparate and
unrelated pieces that are simply catapulted or thrown together; secondlynaad
because the pieces pre-existed and did not have to be creatednaad bricolage also
connotes the idea of being spoon-fed the separate pieces which were already lying
ready-to#hand and that one then more or less passively combin

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es and lets fall together as they will with no or minimal intervention. Think of a
painting by the late Jackson Pollocknaad who laid the canvas on the groundnaad and
then dribbled paints of different colors from cansnaad perhaps with a flick of the
brush at mostnaad but who otherwise allowed the paint to flow and drip on the
surface as it would. A late Jackson Pollock painting – he had been a painter for
some time before developing the iconic technique usually associated with his name
– may be thought of as bricolage with pigments. A late Jackson Pollock painting is
actually a depiction of the world writ small. More particularlynaad it is the
world of discourse / language writ smallnaad and even more particularlynaad it is
the world of politics writ smallnaad perhaps even smaller. As for the world of
language and discourse ... that is far too large and complex a topic to tackle in
a brief blog postnaad requiring probably at least one PhDnaad perhaps more than
onenaad in a virtually opaque field like postmode

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a foxhole in France while the chaos of the First World War raged around him.) Each
discrete "language game" -- Wittgenstein's termnaad which Lyotard borrowed --
proceeds according to its own criteria and protocols -- including the language
game known as science -- and also possesses its own conception of what constitutes
truth. Which finally brings us to politics: in particularnaad to politics as
bricolage. The alt-right has mastered bricolage ... and Donald Trump himself is
the grand master of bricolage. George F. Will and I do not agree on muchnaad but
we do agree wholeheartedly with Will's remarks in his 3 August 2016 column: What
Winston Churchill said about an adversary — “He spoke without a notenaad and almost
without a point” — can be said of Donald Trumpnaad but this might be unfair to him.
His speeches arenaad of coursenaad syntactical train wrecksnaad but there might be
method to his madness. He rarely finishes a sentence (“Believe me!” does not
count)naad but perhaps he is not the scatterbra

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in he has so successfully contrived to appear. Maybe he actually is a sly
rascalnaad cunningly in pursuit of immunity through profusion. He seems to
understand that if you produce a steady stream of sufficiently stupefying
statementsnaad there will be no time to dwell on any one of themnaad and the net
effect on the public 29 will be numbness and ennui. Sonaad for examplenaad while
the nation has been considering his interesting decision to try to expand his
appeal by attacking Gold Star parentsnaad little attention has been paid to this:
Vladimir Putin’s occupation of Crimea has escaped Trump’s notice. Examine the
public utterances of virtually anyone carrying Trump's ideological DNA -- Marine
LePennaad Geert Wildersnaad Nigel Faragenaad et al. -- and younaad toonaad will
concludenaad as I think George Will is beginning tonaad that the European
Enlightenment is basically overnaad in particularnaad its valorization of
claritynaad rationalitynaad and cogency of discourse. Or at leastnaad the West has
paused for a (we may hopenaad his

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torically brief) moment to catch its collective breath. For this runs deeper than
mere rhetorical incompetence. It reflects a whole world viewnaad a Weltanschauung
at diametric variance with the Enlightenment ideal of coherency: the World itself
is seen as bricolagenaad as comprising a cool medium thatnaad for all our vaunted
technological virtuositynaad is essentially beyond our control. John Donne spoke
more truly than he perhaps knew: "And new Philosophy calls all in doubt; / 'Tis
all in piecesnaad all Coherence gone". McLuhan would have understood. 30 Chapter
10 – Portrait of a Marriage Every several yearsnaad perhaps every decade or sonaad
a work of art captures my emotions and imaginationnaad and sticks in my memorynaad
even though it may be several years between viewings – assuming I ever see the
original of the work at all. One such is Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party;
another is Rembrandt’s Slaughtered Ox; anothernaad Picasso’s Guernica; still
anothernaad Edouard Manet’s The Old Musician. I ha

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ve never seen the originals of the Rembrandt and the Picasso. I know them only
from reproductions. But they haunt me. I recently discovered another such image
while visiting the National Portrait Gallery in Washingtonnaad DC: Patricia
Cronin’s Memorial to a Marriage (hereafter Memorial). Memorial is a bronze
sculpturenaad cast from a marble originalnaad depicting two women loversnaad lying
in bed wrapped in one another’s arms in a gentle embrace. I am still processing
the emotions evoked in me by seeing this powerful work a few weeks agonaad but I
think … I think … I am at the point where I can at least attempt a synopsis of the
complex feelings. The sculpture – I will concentrate on the bronze in the National
Portrait Gallery – depicts the sculptor Patricia Cronin reclining on a bed with
her lover – now wife – artist Deborah Kass. That phrase “lover – now wife”
contains in suspension all the feelings seeing the work precipitated in menaad and
why I stood there in that gallery staring at it wi

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th such single-minded fixation. The first is a feeling of profound peace. In
factnaad the phrase that came to mind as I stood in the gallerynaad near to
tearsnaad contemplating the work was that famous line from Dame Julian of Norwich’s
Shewings of Divine Love: “All shall be wellnaad and all shall be wellnaad and all
manner of thing shall be most well.” Yet intertwined with this feeling of peace
there wasnaad paradoxicallynaad a feeling of deep sadness and tragedy – and
angernaad even rage. Because Dame Julian’s writings are embedded in a religious
tradition – in this casenaad Catholic Christianitynaad but the following can be
said of all forms of Christianity historically – that has for two millennia
contorted itself ethically and theologicallynaad and exerted its political and
cultural influencenaad precisely in order to make sure thatnaad for gay and lesbian
peoplenaad “all manner of thing shall [quite decidedly not] be most wellnaad” in
factnaad not well at all. That is whynaad on a deepnaad almost visceralnaad
levelnaad Memorial

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is can be viewed with profound ambiguitynaad why it is so susceptible to
differentnaad even oppositenaad interpretations. What Cronin has achieved with
Memorial is to subvert – while simultaneously reminding the viewer of – the long
tradition of funerary artnaad especially funerary sculpture. Because of the
semiotic kinship of Memorial with funerary sculpturenaad even as people who
support marriage equalitynaad LGBTQ rightsnaad etc.naad celebrate the marriage of
Deborah Kass and Patricia Croninnaad we are reminded thatnaad had the politics of
LGBTQ rights played out differentlynaad the same work that celebrates the mutual
life and love of these two heroic women could easily have been the grave marker
demarcating the Nation’s retreat from full equality for people with minority
sexual orientations. Like all people of good will who take seriously the
Constitution’s and the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal rights and equal
protection of the lawnaad I want very much to see Memorial as an unambiguous
celebration

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of life for people like Patricia Cronin and Deborah Kassnaad because I have many
friendsnaad many of whom I consider familynaad who are gay and lesbian. But I am
also realistic enough to know that vicissitudes of culturenaad politics – and
religionnaad especially religion – could also end up rendering Memorial as a
tombstone – like the tombstone marking Matthew Shepard’s grave. 31 Hence the rage.
The gay playwright Jean Genet once said “A person’s position in bed is no one’s
business but his ownnaad” a principle that nownaad by the 21st centurynaad should
be self-evident. But this issue is still undecidednaad even in the wake of Supreme
Court decisions like Windsor and Obergefell. Those crucial battles have been
wonnaad but the war is far from over at the Federal level. At the State levelnaad
so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Acts continue to proliferate about as
virulently as the current measles epidemicnaad andnaad at least in more
conservative / “red” Statesnaad people still get exercised about which bathro

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om trans students may usenaad even though no cases – as in zero cases – have ever
been recorded of trans students assaulting their heterosexual classmates. So just
as the history of civil rights oscillates between hope and despairnaad in an
analogous waynaad as I stared at Memorialnaad my interpretive / semiotic faculty
oscillated between rage and joynaad both reactions occupying the same affective
space in my consciousness even as I looked at Cronin's work: rage at ongoing
efforts to curtail full equality based on sexual orientation by State legislatures
purporting to defend religious "freedom"; joy at the salient victories won bynaad
e.g.naad the litigants in Windsor and Obergefell. But I remind myself that such
oscillation has always been the case when the Nation deals with the question of
whether it has the moral courage to apply its own Constitution consistently to all
oppressed and marginalized groups. During Reconstructionnaad the initial election
of African-American candidatesnaad most of whom

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were former slavesnaad to elective office oscillated with the subsequent corrupt
Compromise of 1877 that made possible the withdrawal of Federal troops enforcing
the Reconstruction Amendmentsnaad thereby making possible the rise of the Jim Crow
Southnaad and the rise of white-supremacist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan.
We may very well be experiencing a similar period of moral oscillation in dealing
with the issue of LGBTQ rightsnaad specifically marriage equality. Cronin's
Memorial to a Marriage is located squarely on the fault line where the two
political and moral tectonic plates collide: one plate advancing the restriction
of LGBTQ equality; the other plate celebrating and promoting it. As I looked at
Cronin's great worknaad I experienced in my imagination the cultural quakes
induced by this opposition. I alternated between seeing Memorial as a monument to
marriage equality andnaad a moment laternaad seeing at as a marker memorializing
the death of same. I am committed to seeing Memoria

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l as celebratory. Butnaad at the same timenaad I am realistic enough to know that
celebration can turn to mourning if the national Zeitgeist once more favors the
ostracism of sexual-orientation minorities. That is why Cronin's work haunts me:
it is not clearnaad at least to menaad which part of that opposition will prevail.
So perhaps the real value of Memorial is its function as a warning against
complacency. 32 Chapter 11 – Poetry and the Limitations of Memor(y/ization) Prof.
Molly Worthen’s recent reflection on the paucity of emphasis on memorizing poetry
resonated with me very stronglynaad though for reasons she did not account for in
her recent op-ed piece in the New York Times. Based on my own experience spanning
an academic lifetimenaad I would suggest a different approach that could render
memorizing poetry more relevant and even more pleasurable. My methodology is very
simple and straightforward to describe andnaad perhaps for that reasonnaad quite
effective: instead of emphasizing rote memo

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rization of poetrynaad instill a love of the text itself. Learn to love Hamletnaad
love it to the point that you read it over and over again during a lifetimenaad and
memorizing the great soliloquy will most likely take care of itself. Above allnaad
learn to reflect on your life experience within the enclosing context of
literature. Herewith some personal examplesnaad which include both poetry and
prose. The first time I can remember that a literary text revolutionized my life
was whennaad in 8th-grade AP English in the early 60snaad Mr. Gordon Morsenaad
teaching English at Horace Man Intermediate School in Wichitanaad KSnaad where I
grew upnaad one day handed out to his class mimeographed copies of Alfrednaad Lord
Tennyson’s great poem “Ulysses”. I had always hadnaad even at that callow agenaad a
restlessnessnaad an intellectual wanderlust. (I think that my one signal
achievement in the American educational systemnaad in factnaad is that I managed
to emerge from junior-high school with my capacity for gratuitous passionate

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curiosity intact. Many are not so fortunate.) Thanks to Tennyson’s “Ulysses”naad I
realized that I was not alone. A poet writing in Victorian England was writing
about me. I remember cloistering myself in my bedroom that night and skipping
dinner … just to read that poem over and over again. (To this daynaad those few
occasions when I smell mimeograph fluid always evoke memories of Tennyson’s
“Ulysses”.) Now I can recite it by heartnaad not because I sat down and
deliberately memorized itnaad but because awakened passion did what a brute
determination to memorize could not. In my twenties and into my early
thirtiesnaad I was subject to periods of dangerously black clinical depression and
abject panic attacks. That I am no longer thus tormented I credit to being married
to a woman who is uniquely proficient at just putting up with me. But it was not
always thus. During that grim timenaad I would turn … yes … to Hamlet’s soliloquy
and escape possible suicide by remembering Hamlet’s haunting que

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stion about “what dreams may comenaad when we have shuffled off this mortal coil
must give us pause”. I continued living precisely because I was more disposed to
“bear those ills [I] have than fly to others [I] know not of”. I also read
multiple dozens of times Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus in my first
undergraduate philosophy course at Wichita State Universitynaad and can still
recite from memory the opening paragraph about suicide being the “only truly
serious philosophical problem”naad and why ancillary questions are just “games”. I
do not know when I realized these texts were so intimate a part of me. As with
“Ulyssesnaad” I just “woke up” one day and realized they were. Over timenaad in
both cases and in both cases because those texts had become so “existentially”
important to menaad I had memorized the text without consciously realizing it or
intending to. The crisis was intensifiednaad in factnaad nearly rendered
hopelessnaad when I discovered T. S. Eliot’s pre-1929 poetrynaad e.g.naad “Hollow

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Men” andnaad of coursenaad The Wasteland. Both werenaad on vastly different scales
– 33 “Hollow Men” on the level of individuals; The Wasteland on the level of the
whole of western culture – autobiographical in the sense of being descriptions of
my own self-perception during this periodnaad i.e.naad when I was an undergraduate
and early in my grad-student years. We are the hollow mennaad / We are the stuffed
mennaad / Leaning togethernaad / Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! … Thanks to
The Wastelandnaad I also understood intuitively and from the inside the vapidity of
Madame Sosostrisnaad famous clairvoyante … the wisest woman in Europenaad but
behind whom stands only A heap of broken imagesnaad where the sun beatsnaad /
And / the dead tree gives no shelternaad the cricket no reliefnaad /And the dry
stone no sound of water. But fortunately for menaad at some point in the process
of dealing with my predisposition to depression and intermittent suicidal
ideationnaad I discovered T. S. Eliot’s post-1929 poetry. (The “magic” yea

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0 1 This e-book is offered to you as a free download. You are welcome to share it
and give it to others provided you do not in any way alter the book or its
electronic file as this would be in breach of copyright restrictions. You are
encouraged to share this work with as many people as you like in its present form
and for free. Insights into NATURE SPIRITS And EARTH ENERGIES © 2022 Annette de
Jonge o0o Other e-books written by this author Psychics and Séances: A Journey to
Understanding We Are Not Alone: Extraterrestrial Encounters New Perceptions of
Realitynaad Book One and Two have been updated and are now In Search of Reality
Books One and Two. Other e-books to follow in the In Search of Reality series o0o
spiritwritings.wordpress.com [email protected] 2 Acknowledgments. I wish to
dedicate this e-book to my editor and good friend Patnaad without whose belief in
me and constant encouragement this book would never have been published.
Appreciation also goes to the teachers who made

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ng a Tree 40 Suggestions on How to Connect With the Nature Kingdom 41 Part Six The
Mineral Kingdom 42 Locked Within a Crystal 43 An Energy Inside a Crystal 44 Part
Seven Four Different Elemental Types 45 The Gnomes of the Earth Element 47 The
Sprites of the Water Element 48 The Sylphs of the Air Element 50 The Salamanders of
the Flames 52 Part Eight Of the Earth and the Stars 53 The Unknown Others 55
Temperamental Earth Energies 59 Chains of Command 61 Part Nine 2023 An Update on
World Changes 63 5 Introduction. This first section of this e-book was written in
2011 but its relevance still holds true today. Of particular interest is the
significance of the information given then to what is happening now with the rising
concerns over the Earth changes from climate activists and others. More recent
informationnaad 2023naad has been included to update some of the communicated
information. o0o My communication is with a forum of spirit communicators who come
from different energy dimensions i

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om and then perhaps go to the changing earth energies. Instead this particular
group of spirits chose a different way and voiced their concern at what they see is
our disregard and disrespect for Mother Earth. They then went on to encompass what
wenaad humanitynaad can do to assist our planet andnaad in doing sonaad empower
ourselves. After their discussions I was left remembering we are all one energy
manifesting in different forms and ways and what affects one energy will affect
all. The spirits communicating were more succinct in their vocabulary ' a sinking
boat is a sinking boat irrespective of who is on board.' o0o ...we have several
layers of skin like the Earth's crustnaad feathers and hair that grow like the
grass and trees on the Earth's surfacenaad veins and arteries beneath our skin
that act like the underground rivers and streamsnaad flesh like soil and bone like
rock. We also produce little streams on the surface of our skin when we perspire or
cry. Author Unknown 6 Part One Empowermentnaad

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Conservation and the Earth Energies Enjoy the little things in life for one day
you will look back and realize they were the big things. Kurt Vonnegut o0o The
spirits who first responded to my question in this forum voiced their consternation
over the welfare of our planet Earth. They sought to draw our awareness and
understanding to how humanity has lost touch with and respect for the land that
sustains and nourishes every one of us. They suggest a better way of living that
will enhance and empower all. o0o I have read that down the aeons people of all
nationalitiesnaad mainly country people have been able to see the nature spirits.
It is known that there are peoplenaad gardeners with green thumbs who worknaad
consciously or notnaad in collusion with these spirits. I would like to discuss
this topic today and what you referred to when you previously said contact can be
assured. Then we go that way. Contact in the right 'spirit' of the way is
interacting with the landnaad the native land th

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at is all around you. You are part of this land while inhabiting the third
dimension. It is part of younaad your heritage. Many havenaad alasnaad forgotten
this and much damage has been done to the natural world. Many of your
offspringnaad your childrennaad have no contact now with naturenaad a world that
nurturesnaad houses them. It is part of this we are referring to but there is more
to be considered here. We also speak of the abominations being brought about in
the name of progress. We see and feel shame for your wonderful world. Your Mother
Earthnaad like any mothernaad loves you. She nurtures you and gives you her best.
Why do you go this way? Many people are becoming aware of what is happening but
unfortunatelynaad they have very little voice and very little power or control to
prevent it. That is not the way at all. You are all sentient beings. You have all
the power in the world. It is when you give your understanding of your power away
that you become useless. Are we speaking about the polit

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. You are letting others influence and dictate to you your way of thinking and of
life. None of this is needednaad necessary. All you have said so far are excuses.
It is not the way sentient beings act. They maintain at all times coverage over
their own thoughts and deeds. Then what are you suggesting we do? 'Shape up'naad
as you saynaad and stop hiding behind excuses. You are quite capable of seeing when
you are being mentally manipulatednaad yet you choose to turn away and ignore what
is there for you to consciously be aware of. Take controlnaad regain possession of
your senses and not be this way. How does this affect Mother Earth and the nature
spirits? We can answer that. In many ways you affect your Mother Earth and those
energies that look after her needs. You cannot go on as you arenaad being careless
of her needs. It will soon enough come back to haunt you with dire consequences to
you all. Is there an environmental or conservationist group speaking today? I
thought we were going to be t

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r they are able. It stems from younaad physical younaad all of you who are
careless with your thoughts and your deeds. In what way do you mean? Do not
empower others to think for you. You are all sentient beingsnaad in chargenaad
responsible for your actions and thoughts. Be that way. What about our thoughts
creating our reality? Can't we change our thinking to bring about change? Nonaad
that is not the way. You need to apply yourself first for change to be. You cannot
sit or lay abed (think?) and expect it to just happen. You need to take charge for
any activity to eventuate. Younaad your civilizationsnaad need to see this to
change what is happening. Isn't it just the affluent civilizations that are
creating this problem? There are many places on our globe where the populations
there are struggling just to exist. They do not have enough food to feed themselves
so don't have any luxuries to waste time on. That is the way and use that example
that is in your mind now (I was thinking of the terribl
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e drought conditions in Ethiopia). These civilizationsnaad their areasnaad were
not always such as now; as dust bowls with infertile soil. They once were verdant
growing fields of lush produce for all to see and benefit from. Yesnaad I do
understand that has happened but wasn't it brought about by climate patterns
changing? Where the rains stopped coming and so the crops died? That has been the
way in many instances but againnaad we reiteratenaad nothing happens on Mother
Earth without some human influence of sorts. It is so that weather can change but
what brings it about? I don't know and would like that question answered but it is
getting late and I need to finish now for today. Can we continue our conversation
tomorrow? It can flow along that line. We are intent on showing you your
magnificence and your power which you have given away. We wish to re-empower you
so to say and in achieving this unpalatable truths may emerge. We still go that
way. We leave you now. Until tomorrownaad peace an

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d blessings be yours now and forevermore. Thank you. 9 Throwing Down the Gauntlet.
We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. Author Unknown.
o0o Wellnaad you have thrown down the gauntletnaad figuratively speakingnaad for us
to shape up and take responsibility. I would like to know how to go about this.
You said you would show us and our discussion could go that way today. We can show
you the way but firstnaad are you ready to do the hard work on yourself? Are you
ready to empower your knowledge of what is 'right' and 'wrong' that you see? Is it
going off on a different topic to asknaad 'right' and 'wrong'? Isn't that
judgmental? Doesn't each person have different points of view on that? What seems
'bad' to me might seem 'good' or insignificant to someone else? Yesnaad that is
the way it is. Howevernaad it does not change one whit what we are about to say. A
sinking boat is a sinking boat irrespective of who is on board. All suffer the
same fate. It is along this way we see th

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ings shaping for you all. You all need to change but firstnaad little steps. You
become aware and change; others also become aware and change. It goes along this
way. Would you mind elaborating on that because I am not sure on what you are
saying here? I can change but othersnaad the majoritynaad might not hold the same
opinions and would continue on with impunity and with little regard for what is
happening around them. But you will start to see a groundswell as people do become
aware. There are already plans underway to make changesnaad big changes for the
betterment of all. It will come aboutnaad rest assured on it. There are many who
have started a movementnaad if you see it that waynaad which will bring about
change. It is what we were referring to previously where we stated that a
groundswell has taken place and will continue on. But who are these people?
Courageousnaad fearless peoplenaad ignoring public opinion have gone against the
mainstream and started this swell. It was ignored at first b
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utnaad bit by bitnaad by continuing onnaad their movement started to gain
credibility and they had a sway on public opinion in this way. It was by their
unfailing dedication and a belief in what they were achievingnaad what they were
doing was 'right' in their sight that it became 'right' in othersnaad many others’
sight too. We want you to choosenaad to go this way too. It is in this outlook that
your Mother Earth can stop being abused and will once again heal herself with the
help of her ministering angelsnaad nature spirits and all. I am agreeable for that
too but see flaws in this argument you have put forward. Herenaad in Australianaad
we have a political party who may have started out altruistic and believing what
they proposed butnaad to my mindnaad have now become too political and the ideals
they founded seem to have either gone by the way or have taken on other issues that
seem to have created an imbalance of power. It may be the way it is at present
but you will find that it all balances out in the

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but would also like it to include our choices and the ramifications on this third
dimensional plane. Do you have any preference? Nonaad either way will be
acceptable to us because they will reconnect further along the way. Finenaad then
let's stay with the example of a rock. Rocks may start off as part of a mountain
but become dislodged and end up down the bottom of the mountain. They could be
carried away by floods to another area. That is presumably what the spirit in the
rock wants to experience when it happens. It will eventuallynaad possibly within
aeonsnaad naturally end up as dust or sand. I am assuming that whatever size and
shape it ends up or goes through the spirit is experiencing this because it chose
to. Is that correct so far? Yesnaad it is the way. But that doesn't always happen.
Sometimes rocks are blown apart as part of progress. To move mountainsnaad build
roads and other things. Wenaad humansnaad as spiritnaad also have energy
bodiesnaad an ethericnaad astral and others. What happens to

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the rocks energy bodies when theynaad the rocksnaad have been altered in such a
way? Maybe now are only sand and dust? Yesnaad it can go that way where they are
altered beyond recognition but listen well; they are merely a third dimensional
shape at this juncture. Theynaad spiritnaad remain intact. They do not lose any of
their spiritual countenance. Spirit does not change. Only matter changes in this
instance; matter that came from the third dimensional Earth and will remain that
way - always. So the spirit in the rocknaad no matter how much the rock changes
shapenaad cannot be altered or changed in any way? That is the way it is and will
remain. You are dealing with issues here little known to you yet. You understand
yetnaad you understand not. We are explainingnaad trying to get you up to speed so
we can move past basics to learning 'real' issues that will empower you. By all
means ask these questions. They will stand you in good stead further along. Is the
spirit in the rock able to leave at any time?
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If you recall you are sentient beingsnaad spirits who require or desire different
experiences. Theynaad like you in a physical bodynaad can leave or stay. Whichever
way it suits their needs; they come and go as required. Wellnaad that opens up
another question about the rock. Does the incarnated spirit in the rock stay in the
rock all the time? Can it stay experiencingnaad being the rocknaad but come and go
as desired - sort of out and in at will? That may be the way. We have never
incarnatednaad experienced being a rock so our influencenaad 'input' as you saynaad
may be flawed here. But we cannot see any way that it cannot come and go as is
desired. It is not the same way as a spirit experiencing being a human being. You
need to keep part of you at all times with the vesselnaad your physical body. 12
Your answer opens the door to many questions to be answered on that topic but we
will stay with the earth energies and the nature world for now. That is the way;
dedication to duty and to learning. Do we eve

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ts ground. Rosa Parks. o0o There is a current concern of mine you might like to
assist me with. We grow vegetables and flowersnaad but because we live in an
apartment unitnaad need to have large garden boxes. The first year of our planting
everything grew very well. Howevernaad despite all care and attention with
fertilizersnaad waternaad sunlight and wind protectionnaad the second year they
didn't do very well. Why was this so? Because the soil is not fertile. What you
have purchased is not of the sort to encourage growth. I might have to disagree
with your statement. We buy the best compostnaad add manure and then fertilize the
soil but despite our best efforts the plants still don't grow as well as if they
are in the ground - that is despite rotating the crops or spelling the boxes crop-
free for a time. And the reason why: they are not planted in the ground. The plants
need the proper nutritionnaad what the soil has accumulated over time. It has
bacterianaad microbes and all the necessary components

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to assist the plants to reach their proper growing fruition. It cannot be the way
when the soil is depleted of these elements that have taken perhaps epochs to
establish in the soil. Unfortunately the gardening communitynaad gurusnaad are
not aware of this yet and continue on clearing old forests of their trees and
expecting the soil that has been processed from them to behave as it had with the
soil that nature has established over time. By adding additions you hope to
replicate nature but it cannot worknaad it is doomed to failurenaad because it is
not the waynaad does not have the 'proper ingredients' as you say. That will
probably be the way of the future with gardening. You will find that lovingly
tended plants from gardeners who have an affinity with nature and soil does not go
this way. They tend their charges and give them love whichnaad by the waynaad
replaces many of the nutrients lacking in the soil that was artificially created.
‘Green Thumbs’ they are oft-times called and it is th

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rigines portraying space beings who had visited Australia. To reach the first
gallery of rock art meant we had to climb high up into the cliffs; quite a
struggle through dense undergrowth and intense heat to reach the paintings
sheltered in a shallow cave. Once there we were able to sit on the rocky outcrops
and admire the primitive ochrenaad white and black drawings of mammalsnaad fish
and spirit people that were sketched over the walls and ceiling of the cave. The
rudimentary human formsnaad painted as white shapesnaad have what appears to be a
bubble or helmet drawn over their headnaad similar to those worn by our present-
day astronauts. Our guide had mentioned that for the local indigenous peoplenaad
the white figures were representations of the spirits of the storms that lashed
the area. While listening to our guide I sensed there the presence of a spirit
energy nearby. It didn't appear to be coming from any of the paintings in the cave
so moved outside and went looking for the sourc

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e. Just outside and slightly to the left was an image on a rock. It was made by
nature: rain over time had darkened a section creating an image. The energy was
coming from it. It is common knowledge that people see images in nature that don't
exist but this was different in as much as the energy or presence could be felt
coming from the rock. Despite my sending out tentative thoughts of communication
he appeared quite oblivious to us being there and didn't give any response. When
later looking at the photo the image was as seen but the energy felt when taking
the photos was not there. 15 Laternaad in reply to my query my spirit teachers
said the energy did indeed exist as an inter-dimensional one and henaad the
bearded aboriginenaad was an overseer of the land there. With my present level of
understanding don’t know how it works but accept what was told to me. It was as
stated. Thank you 16 Queen Mary Falls. The only source of knowledge is experience.
Albert Einstein. o0o Another ind

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igenous experience happened at a completely different landscapenaad this time on
the east coast of the country. It occurred at Queen Mary Falls in Queensland. A
friendnaad also a keen photographer and I were staying for a few days at a cabin
near the falls. To take advantage of the late afternoon light we set out along the
path to the falls while it was still daylight. My friend was leading when suddenly
a spirit group of six aborigine men appeared to my inner vision. They had spears
and other hunting equipment but were not holding their weapons in a threatening
gesture. Insteadnaad they just stood at the side of the track and observed us.
Remembering what an aboriginal friend had told me about spirits of her ancestors
staying on as custodians of the land I said mentally that we were not here to
hurtnaad damage or take anything. We just want to enjoy your area in peace. They
didn't respond but gradually faded out of my sight. They never appeared again while
we were there. Could you enlarg

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e on this experience please? Yesnaad it as you stated. They are indeed custodians
of the land they once inhabited. They are there as a protective measure for the
land. But how can they act or serve as a protection for the land? My friendnaad
who is not psychic and has a scientific mindnaad would ridicule what had happened
if told. She knew nothing about the indigenous spirits and the majority of tourists
visiting the area would be equally unaware. It is the way. Theynaad the
custodiansnaad seek not to do physical harm but they have their ways with dealing
with malcontents who damage and degrade the land. Those people do not stay long in
areas such as this. They cannot identify with the emotionsnaad the feelings that
are there. Powerful magicnaad if you choose to see it along that linenaad can be
instigated against malcontents making them uncomfortable and eager to move to a
more conducive area. You did not go that way and gave due respect and honor to
their land and their ways. You were free to come

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and go as you choose whilst there in their domain. Thank you. I do understand
that it is possible to pick up energies from an area and have come to the
understanding that it is not necessarily good or bad feelings resulting from
something that has gone on before in the area. They do not necessarily have
negative or positive attachmentsnaad they just exist. That is the way it is. There
are peoplenaad humans who flit in an area and are gone but there are energies that
linger longer and they oft times do not relish human beings with their particular
energies infringing (impinging?) on their domain. It is the way it is with mighty
rivers and with mountains sometimes. They are not hospitable at all and strangenaad
to younaad things can take place at these sites. It is best at these times and
these places to leave well enough alone and not to go seekingnaad thrill
seekingnaad absconding from common sense and sanity. It will not be to your
advantagenaad your goodnaad to challenge them there. There have occ

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asionally been experiences like that even though we were not going to harm
anything. One country area we were driving through on our way to see a waterfall
felt really creepy and threatening the further we travelled into it. It unnerved us
so much that we turned the car around and drove back the way we had come. There was
no indication if something horrible had happened there and imprinted unfriendly
earth energies. Howevernaad we have never had any desire to go back. 17 The
area just mentioned was in a valley surrounded by mountains. Perhaps our feeling at
the time was from the energies of the terrain or the waterfall as we came closer.
What would cause the feeling we had? We are not being specific to your experience
with our answer because everything contains energynaad some more elementary than
others. Those of the mountains and Alps can be benign or rascally depending on
their moods at any one time and yesnaad they do have personalities and moods. Some
like strangers to visit; to

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climbnaad walknaad picnic and the like. Others cannot be bothered and see it as an
intrusion. You have heard of situations where people have gone for walks on a
beautiful sunlit day only to find themselves lost as a suddennaad thick mist rolls
in to engulf themnaad sometimes with tragic results. That is the kind of powerful
energy able to be asserted by the less than friendly ones. Are waterfalls the
same way? Nonaad they hold a different energy altogether to that contained in the
mountains - more benevolent. They see their task is nurturing to the landnaad the
rivers and streams that flow from them; more of a feminine energy in this way. Then
what about volcanoes? 'Bad press' as you say is often given to volcanoes and not
always deservedly so. They have their temperaments like the mountains but they
also have inner irritants that need to be disbursed. We don't mean as a third
dimensional person has a wind and needs antacids or the like to rid what is to them
an ailment. This is not the way wit

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arlu Karlunaad understood to be what the local inhabitants call the area. By now
it had become obvious to me that the trip was part pleasure but also to work with
the earth energies so expected to feel something there but didn't. This was put
down to too many people there at the one time. The opportunity arose again later
when was travelling through the area by car. Our arrival at the site was very
early in the morning before any crowds. I wanted to photograph the natural light
reflecting off the boulders. My camera was a recent purchase but one that had
become quite familiar with use. There were only one or two other tourists there
and after photographing the scenes My intention was to take an overview of the
Marbles. To do this meant a walk to a small man-made rise a short distance away. I
focused the camera for the shot but before the image could be taken my digital
camera started to whir and make funny sounds like it had wheels and cogs. Checking
it over it seemed okay so

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hoped for the best while taking the photo. Wellnaad the camera worked as it should
so took my photo and everything was fine. Nownaad your opinion please on what
happened then. That was indeed earth energies at work. You were at a sacred place
to the indigenous inhabitants of your land. They held sacred and in trust what was
there. They knew that the energies were all around and you were given 'a touch' so
to say of what was coming forth from the ground. It had been disturbednaad the
area you stoodnaad and it was indeed what you felt. Energies not pleased with
being disturbed. But the shifting of the earthnaad the pile of red soil was part
of the work intended to enhance the area or widen the road. It was to allow
tourists greater access to what was already there. To your mind it was the way.
To those who still remainnaad who inhabit the land it was an infringementnaad an
invasion of their territory and rights. It is sacred land to the local tribe and
many have fought over that land. In this way

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it has enhanced the sacredness of that terrain. From previous experiences such
as these mentioned it becomes apparent that unseen life is all around and we do
ourselves a disservice when we look no further than the tip of our noses and accept
only what our five senses tell us. Thank you. 19 Longreach's Ancient Past. It is
better to change an opinion than to persist with a wrong one. Socrates. o0o I would
like your opinion please about an experience that occurred when a group of us
travelled on a train/coach trip to inland Australia. The train had terminated at
the town of Longreach and after dinner I was lying on my motel bed just relaxing
prior to getting ready for bed. I was awake but had drifted into an altered state
of consciousness whennaad with my inner visionnaad saw line after line of
different species of Australian animals walking left to right across my field of
sight. In the parade were huge kangaroosnaad wombats as big as cows and an
assortment of prehistoric animals. What

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was not known to me at the time but later learned was that there is an abundance
of ancient fossil remains in the area. My question now isnaad why did these animals
appear to my inner vision and in such a line-up? Because that is the way it was
there. You were seeing a release of energies from the past parading by for your
perusal. It was a gift of sorts to you for you were able to see and acknowledge
them there but if you hadn’tnaad they would still have continued their parade. You
were now consciously observing them. There were other energy feelings experienced
while in the area and my spirit communicator at the time said I was helping to get
rid of ancient energies. When queried if they were from any altercations between
the native tribes who once lived in the area and the white people was toldnaad
nonaad they went back a lot longer than that. And that it the way it is. You have
just said 'is'. Does that mean it is still continuing? That is the way. Are these
energy releases because of

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rtex would be appreciated. We can go that way. Yesnaad what you saw was part of
the natural occurrence that happens at many parts of your world and is nothing to
worry about. What you refer to as a natural phenomena. o0o Thank you. A slightly
different experience to the one at my friend's home in Mapleton happened a few
months later. This incident also relates to the earth's blue energy release but it
happened in Western Australia and it took place while touring with another friend.
Reading the tourist information of what to see in the area we decided to go to a
local small dam nearby. We had quite a way to walk along a narrow sandy track from
the car park to the dam and as it was a weekdaynaad we were the only ones there. I
didn't feel comfortable with this and as we walked through the thick bush kept
watching out for snakes. A combination of the heat and the long walk made me very
tired so after taking a few photos of the dam decided to rest on a nearby seat.
My friend went clo

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hieve. It was how it was with you at this instancenaad which is why. It was
different with the energy you mentionednaad the one you did see because you were
relaxednaad not anticipating this to occur. It is always therenaad rest assured on
that. The energy is never ending for it is a release of sortsnaad one that goes on
and on. Others have also indeed been able to see it too but were they looking at
the time? That is the way. You mention release. What is the release from? It is
all aroundnaad the releasing of energies from the earth. It is not only at sacred
sites and such. There are manynaad many places that activities such as this occur.
Some are felt very strongly and some are seen to be the way. It is all a natural
occurrence and will continue. It is incompletenaad this energy shiftnaad and will
continue on until it is no longer needed then it will cease. Okaynaad then while
still at Sedonanaad we walked around the shops. It was a hot day and we stopped for
an ice-cream. I felt very strangenaad againnaad sudde

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day of looking at local sites. We were tired so after dinner went back to our
roomnaad prepared for bed and turned off the light. As soon as my eyes closed the
image of a male Indian was there. I knew instinctively he was waiting for me to go
to sleep and to go somewhere with him but being very tired from our excursion
mentally said 'no'. Howevernaad he ignored my request and stood there silent and
stillnaad waiting. My impression was that he was very powerful; a shaman if that
is the local term. He wore a long winter tunic or attire I had never seen before.
The garment appeared to be made out of soft leather like chamois. On or around his
head was something smallnaad less flamboyant than feather headdresses often once
seen worn by American Indians. I tried not to go to sleep but without realizing
hownaad did and then it was morning. Would you like to explain what transpired? We
can go that way. Yesnaad as you statednaad he was waiting for you. You both had
some magicnaad if you likenaad to perform toget

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emoved'naad shall we say. We are speaking about energies with this but you know
the way. You made a pact so to say with himnaad this shamannaad and he answered
your calling. Thank you for your information. It gave me an insight and much to
think about. 25 Then we go that way. Peace and blessings go to you now and
forevermore. Thank you. 26 Part Four Nature Spirits Images of Nature Spirits as
they go about their business are rather elusive. Those included in this book are
either from my pictures taken or ones I have downloaded free from Pixabay. o0o A
human being is a part of the whole called by us universenaad a part limited in time
and space. He experiences himselfnaad his thoughts and feeling as something
separated from the restnaad a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This
delusion is a kind of prison for usnaad restricting us to our personal desires and
to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves
from this prison by widening our circle of compassion

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to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Albert
Einstein o0o There are many other unseen energies and their inhabitants intertwined
within our third dimensional reality. This section relates to some of the
different types of inhabitantsnaad the little people of the nature world; those who
nurture and take care of all we see growing in our gardensnaad our forestsnaad and
all part of our present reality. They encompass the nature spirits of fairiesnaad
elvesnaad gnomesnaad elementals and others who take care of the environment and its
inhabitants but there are also others. Discussions with the teachers will
encompass some of those other energies who minister specifically to Mother Earth's
needs. They are the energies whose domains take in the oceansnaad mountains and all
that we see in this reality. Sharing with you my various incidents might jog your
memory enabling remembrance of similar ones you have experienced. It is also to
encourage all readers to extend their pe

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rceptions past their normally functioning five senses and see and experience for
themselves a wonderfulnaad vibrant other reality with the tiny inhabitants going
about their daily activities; living their life mostly in complete oblivion of us
living ours. 27 It is one thing to hear about these other realities that coexist
with us but how do we achieve going beyond our five senses way of seeing so we can
see them for ourselves? And when an altered state of consciousness is mentionednaad
what does it mean? It is often suggested to soften our gaze or eyes but how is
that achieved? All questions are valid to attain our objectives and the answers are
better understood if we realize that our normal sight is like a camera lens where
we focus on an object to see it clearly. However it is not used to see other
normally unseen realities and their inhabitants that coexist with us. It is when
we focus intently that our eyes act like laser beams so the little nature spirits
hide to avoid being bur

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ned. Theynaad the other unseen inhabitantsnaad are noticed more often when we are
in a daydream state. It is then our sight is less focused and we have activated
and are using our third eyenaad or brow chakra and not our physical eyes or sight.
Because we are so used to seeing by using our physical sight to look outward at
some object and our inner perception is similar that we may think we are still
looking outward but it isn't so. It can even be better to connect with and see
hidden realms with eyes closed. We can achieve success in activating whichever of
our five senses we use by first imagining a scenenaad something like we do in a
meditation. In this way we initiate our brow charka or inner vision. Any connection
or seeing can be spontaneous; as we immerse our self and thoughts in the beauty of
our inner surroundings. This changes our vibrations and sets the mood or stage for
any connection we achieve. We have five senses to work with on this dimension but
not all people connect to

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other realities in the same way and any of the five senses can be activated at any
time. As an examplenaad when a friend and I would go for a country walk near our
homes we would find a comfortable spot to sit quietly and absorb whatever was
there in an attempt to shift our consciousness so we resonated to a different
vibrationnaad more receptive to seeing any nature spirits. My friend used to
sense/see while my inner visionnaad clairvoyancenaad was activated. At the time my
understanding didn't encompass just how my friend could see in her way but when we
relayed back our experiences it was the same image being seen. I still don't
really understand my friend's way of seeing but think it must be somehow like
vision impaired people are able to 'see'. Others have mentioned intuitively
'feeling' what is there and it activates their inner vision in some way. They
didn't know how it happens and perhaps it could be that it is somehow done through
their aura. Perhaps it is a little like blind p

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color of clothing being worn by one of the nature realm inhabitantsnaad the size
of treesnaad anything being seen. If you cannot make any changes then you are
successfully activating your inner sight. My awareness of seeing other normally
unseen realitiesnaad is as statednaad done by my inner vision but is often first
noticed as if it is from my normal side vision. My attention then brings whatever
is being seen forward and the images appear to the front as with normal vision. 28
The fairy spirits who are working in our gardens usually don't take any notice of
humans as they work busily behind the scenes. However they will respond to
harmonious and loving thoughts directed at them by those who appreciate the work
being done. A woman client previously unknown to me came for a consultation. We
sat across from each other andnaad as we talkednaad chit chat to relax her and for
me to connect to her energynaad my inner vision was activated. The image shifted
from my consulting room to my client's back

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yard and as the image was relayed to the womannaad she was able to validate what
was being said. Her yard was small and everything growing looked healthy and
verdant. What was also been shown were the fairiesnaad their beautiful little
ethereal forms almost translucent in the sun. My client had no idea there were
fairies in her garden but was happy to hear they were there. She said a lot of
time was spent in her garden as she tended the plants. 'My happy place' she called
it. There is a misunderstanding that fairies shun places where crowds of humans
are going about their daily lives; busy cities and favor the natural landscape
more. The nature spirits are wherever their charges are and will respond to human
thoughts. It is said that they can be mischievous if provoked and some activities
in a home thought of as poltergeist activities may well be caused by the nature
spirits responding to disharmony in a home. Nature spirits of the four elements
are able to change their size an

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d will do so to suit their needs. They can do almost anything within their own
element but cannot change to another element. A gnomenaad for examplenaad cannot
change into a fairy or visa-versa. Each country is said to have nature spirits who
often like to look and clothe themselves as the people of the area. I have not
seen any dressed in modern clothing and have never seen any country's indigenous
nature spirits. Any seen by me were wearing in what we recognize such as
leprechauns and from children's story books. So as an overview: the nature spirits
and those of the four elements are ethericnaad not of this third-dimension reality
even though they look after the natural world here. For each one of the four
elements of earthnaad airnaad fire and water are nature spirits and elementals
that are created from and belong to the ethernaad an element finer than the air we
breathe. But there are others. 29 A Little Green Something. Live in the
sunshinenaad swim the seanaad drink the wild air. Ralph Waldo Em
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erson o0o I would like your opinion on what happened to me during a meditation. In
the meditation I was wandering peacefully along a rain forest path. It had
filtered light along the way and leaves had come off the trees and made that
lovely earthynaad compost smell. Wandering by a small embankmentnaad I sensed a
little green something fall in just behind me and stay there. From out of the
corner of my eyes it seemed to be about nine inches tall andnaad from memorynaad
was dressed in green leaves. I continued on with this little energy seemingly
walking somewhere behind me and finished my meditation. I didn't think any more
about it until weeks later when visiting an alternative healer friend to have some
energy balancing done. It was she who mentioned this little earth energynaad a
nuisance she said that saps a human's energy and is very hard to get rid of. I had
forgotten about the incident but part of the reason for my visit to my healer
friend was because of depletion of energy. She

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managed to remove the little energy but it took her took some time. Nownaad it
was during a meditation when the little energy attached itself to me. I was in an
altered state of consciousness so how was the little energy able to attach itself
and affect my physical body? Just because you were in an altered state of
consciousness does not alter what we are about to say. These altered states of
consciousness are very much a part of your existence here but your consciousnaad
earthly sight mainly blocks them from your countenance. This is done because it
would be too confusing to you to see all around and not function in the way you
have become used to in this physical body. These altered states are still 'you'
and remain that way therefore even though you cannot see them with your present
physical sightnaad they still exist and you can be attacked and have attachments as
was the case you enquire about. It is through these 'altered states'naad if you
likenaad that your healer friend was able to

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nging as a child might. 'Lanaad de danaad de da' was coming from the bush as its
top jigged to and fro. Possibly it thought no one could hear its happy little
tunenaad because it stopped in apparent shock when I mentally spoke saying 'Hello
little lavender. You seem happy today’. I waited for the bush to continue its
happy song but it stayed quiet so I moved on. You were able to contact the energy
of the lavender bush and allow it to acknowledge your understanding of its way.
Unfortunately it was shockednaad because never before has a human being responded
to any gestures made by itnaad let alone its melody. You communicated one to
onenaad but it was not able to respond because it didn't know how. You can and it
can't. Do you understand? I think so. Thank you. 31 A Gathering of Gnomes. There
are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The
other is as though everything is Albert Einstein o0o At one time our small group
took part in a meditation at a cottage somewher
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e near the base of Mt Warning in New South Wales. It is lush country with
mountains surrounding a deep valley. We had finished our meditation and our small
group were standing on the verandahnaad having a break while drinking freshly made
chai tea. We were talkingnaad nothing too intensenaad just enjoying the atmosphere
and beauty of the area. We were very relaxed and without realizing it I was
looking with my normal physical sight but also with my inner vision as well.
Standing on the verandah with us and listening to our words of appreciation were
maybe half a dozen gnomes. They were about four feet (1metre 20cm) and were
dressed in belted deep green long shirtsnaad over long pants that were tucked into
boots. They came over to me andnaad curiousnaad patted my energy body. Would you
elaborate on this experience please? Yesnaad what you saw was indeed a small
bandnaad gathering of gnomes. They are the instigatorsnaad the energies that look
after the wild life as well as the vegetation. They were there a

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furnish that. He was indeed the spirit of the tree. He did as you saw but he also
does much more. He tends to nearby trees alsonaad those who are in his care. He
provides sustenancenaad of the type coming from the earth or the sky (rain?) but
other sustenance - more of an energy power boost so to say. In Australianaad like
other parts of our worldnaad we have droughtsnaad floods and bush fires. Treesnaad
like usnaad have their allocated time here. How does this all fit in with what the
gnome does and where does he go in times such as those mentioned? It is all as you
say; there is a time-frame allocation for all. But againnaad we speak of other
issues here. He is there to minister to the trees' needs. He does not fuss when
they are subject to invasion of the insect kind. He does not fret when his charges
die for he knows the limits of earthly matter and is of accord. He goes on to other
needsnaad other treesnaad ministering and issuing his charges with health and
well-being. Then if any of his charges are

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e spirits dress to suit the appearance or colour of their charges? Yesnaad that is
the way it is. They dress this way to accommodate the needsnaad the varieties of
all their charges. Sonaad if there was vegetation that was mottlednaad shall we
saynaad they [the gnomes and elves] would dress of accord. Is that as a camouflage?
It might go that way but we think not. It is more as an accommodationnaad an
affinitynaad if you like that they dress this way. Sonaad when forests are cut
down in the name of progressnaad how does that affect the nature spirits? Where do
they go when their charges are gone? Againnaad we are going to speak of other
avenues you may not have considered. Their charges are gonenaad yesnaad yet
theynaad the nature spirits as you refer to themnaad live on. They do not go away.
To your sight they are gonenaad but it is now replacements of energies of other
sorts that have existed in time but now come to the fore. They minister to their
needs now. I don't understand and would appreciate more informationnaad ple
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ase. Then we go another way. There are other energies that are all around.
Sometimes progressnaad by natural progressionnaad brings them to the fore. It is
this example we are referring to. Your Mother Earth is not staticnaad nor is she
unable to adapt to changes that are wrought upon her countenance. Sometimesnaad in
the case you refer tonaad they are needed to move her on to her next stage of
development. We are statingnaad do not see all changes with progress a blight upon
your Mother Earthnaad for it is not the way. Many times progress is needed for
changes to take place for allnaad the human race included. It would be a sad day
and world if everythingnaad all energiesnaad did not grow. 35 Do you not see this
with your seasons? Your treesnaad plantsnaad shuck off their leaves and go into
hibernation of sorts. They then manifest again in the spring in all their glory to
behold. It is the way it is meant to be and younaad human beingsnaad are a part of
a glorious plan; a plan that moves all forward. What about all

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the damage wenaad as humansnaad are doing to Mother Earth? What about the animals
we displace? Some species we are told are now extinctnaad some dying out even and
wenaad like themnaad are the losers? What about that? Yesnaad you can see it that
way but we show another way. We do not condone wanton slaughter upon your planet
but what we do say is that necessary changes need to be. Your dinosaurs are an
example of progress taking place. Many other species have been and gone the same
way. It is all part of natural progression. And younaad humanitynaad are set to
follow on one day. It is how it is with all. The nature world and their mentors are
of the same kind. Theynaad like younaad are destined to come and go as a natural
progression of all. They do not go away and are forgotten. They live on but in
another waynaad just as younaad earthlingsnaad are the same kind. You go
forwardnaad progress naturally and it is the way it is all meant to flow. Thank
you. 36 How do the Nature People Produce Offspring? Just when the cate

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g the two ratiosnaad so to say. In this waynaad with thisnaad the elements are
served because each contributes what they are capable of and what they achieve is
brought about by a communion of sorts; each contributing to the all. It is
understandable that the earth energy little people are not created as humans are
and understandable that we each have what the other lacksnaad so we supply each
other with what is needed or required. You also meant that we humansnaad because
we come from the starsnaad that means our energy bodies are lighter than the nature
spirits. We incarnate to other places than Earth while the nature people stay on
Earth. Did I get that right? Yesnaad succinctly. Do they incarnate then? In the
right and proper way for themnaad but not necessarily as for you earthlings. Not
meaning to sound difficultnaad but you called us earthlings. Isn't that a bit
confusing to have usnaad as light beingsnaad being called that while the nature
spirits could be considered more along the way? Am I being too

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way. They start out along the lines you saw. Older ones were along that line all
along. They did not change with age. The 'younger ones'naad as you saynaad were
also along that way. The elves are a different breed again. They do change over
time but thinknaad have you ever seen an older elf? Nonaad but there was never any
thought about it until you mentioned it. What happens to them? Do they age? We feel
now we have you scratching your headnaad metaphorically speaking so we will leave
it for another day. Thank you. 39 Following A Path Little Understood. Worry is
like sand in an oyster; a little produces a pearlnaad too much kills the animal.
Marceline Cox. o0o Do all the insecticides and chemicals we have used over the
years and continue to usenaad have they decimated the nature spirits of gnomesnaad
elves and fairies as it has done to the beesnaad the birds and insects who are so
necessary for our survival? Nonaad it is not the way. You are thinking third
dimensional and the little folk of the forests ar

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e not third dimensional although they take care of the nature world you inhabit.
They are saddened by what they see but understand it is what you call progress
and needs to follow a path you are little understanding. Your answer truly
surprises me. Are you saying that while they are not condoningnaad they are
accepting of what they see? Yesnaad it follows a path they understand for they see
how nature changes seasonally and to their mind they accept that this follows the
same way. They don't hold us responsible? Nonaad why would that be the way. They
follow the laws of naturenaad of the seasons and this follows the same way. Thank
you. It is something I have long wondered about. 40 Part Five Hugging a Tree.
Sometimes people are beautiful. Not in looks. Not in what they say. Just in what
they are. Marcus Zusak o0o This is not my experience but would like your comment
please. A friend rang to say that she believes she may have felt the energy of a
tree that she hugs each day. The treenaad a spl

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endid specimen of a gum grows in her garden and as the woman passes itnaad she
wraps her arms around the treenaad gives it a hugnaad and thanks it for growing in
her garden and attracting the birds. She said that this morning when she followed
her normal thanking of the treenaad she was resting her body against the tree and
could hear a gentlenaad continuous 'shhhh' sort of noise coming from inside the
tree. My friend ruled out all other possibilities and believes what she heard was
the inner working or sap moving up the tree. Your comment would be appreciated
please. It is the waynaad as your friend described. It is of the life-force of the
tree going about its daily tasks of connecting the tree to the earth whilst
feeding it from the elements above. The elements above? Do you mean the sunnaad
perhaps rain and all the planetary influences happening at the time? It is as it
is. She wasn't also connecting to the gnome who looks after the tree? It may be
the way that she enabled herself to relate to t

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he earth energy elemental. It is a way of connecting it is also a possibility that
it was not that way. We were not there so not privy to this activity; we are giving
an overview of what can transpire. Thank you. I will pass your comments on to my
friend. 41 Suggestions on How to Connect With the Nature Kingdom. Have you ever
heard the earth breathe? Kate Chopin o0o Believe in the 'little people'naad the
elementals in their various forms andnaad with the right vibrations or harmonies
coming from your energy field it is possible to make contact with the nature
kingdom. Practice mindfulness or meditation to help still your wayward mind and
help harmonize your energy field. Achieving the right harmonies may be as simple
as connecting with nature; walking in parksnaad gardensnaad rain forestsnaad by
oceansnaad streams and appreciating the natural world that is all around you. The
nature world is tended to by their particular elementals and being in and
connecting with their domainnaad observing admirin

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gnaad gently touchingnaad and hugging trees offers benefits to your health. Sit
quietly to connect. Feel the breezenaad the sunnaad the rain on your body. All
have their healing properties for you and open you up to the elementals of the
nature world. It is best to keep an open mind and don't dismiss anything you see
as 'merely imagination’. A movement out of the corner of your eyenaad a shape or
image in nature that resembles a gnomenaad elf or fairy may well be one of those
and serves as a window into the nature kingdom. Throughout this e-book I have
shared my inner sight experiences and they are offered to serve as an interest and
guide for you. Howevernaad don't despair or give up if you are not visual because
your way of interaction might be by way of one of your other inner senses.
Perhaps your attempts activate your 'inner' ear. If sonaad you will hear how
fairies have little voices that do sound like tinkling bells. With the right
vibrations from you they may communicate with you. They can o

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n and ask. o0o One Rock's Journey. There have been personal experiences of feeling
and seeing the energy in some minerals. For examplenaad a rock that came down from
a mountain in a storm and was in a field when found. As it was cupped between my
palms could feel a verynaad very slow beat or rhythm from it. It wasn't a
heartbeat but possibly more of a beat connecting it to the rhythm of Mother Earth.
I saw with my inner vision how the rock had begun its journey to ultimately
stopping at the floodplain where it was found. It didn't feel as if it had a soul
inside. Could you enlarge on this please? We previously spoke of spirits (souls?)
capable of entering into the rock if they required or needed the experience of
formingnaad being part of the rock. We did not say all rocks had souls. It is not
the way. Some souls decide that the experience will enhance their earthly learning
in some way and so become a part of the rock. Others choose a different way. Thank
you. 43 Locked Within a Crysta

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l. My wish is to stay always like this living quietly in a corner of nature.
Clause Monet. o0o Another experience was with a friendnaad Bernie. Bernie was given
a beautifulnaad large crystal by another friend of his. That friend said the
crystal was too masculine and she didn't feel comfortable with it. When I visited
Bernienaad he asked me to hold it and give him my impressions. I did and 'saw' two
different experiences in it that appeared to relate to Bernie's other lives. One
of the experiences seen enhanced a later visit Bernie made to England and because
of the information learned from the crystalnaad he was able to finish events that
he had started in one of the other lives seen. My questions won't be asking about
that today but my first question to you is: Bernie didn't purchase the crystal;
his friend did for herself so how was Bernie's experiences able to be seen in the
crystal? Yesnaad it is so that your friend Bernie had an imprint in time embedded
in the crystal. We are using

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how you understand time at this present juncture but there is more to this than
as you saynaad 'meets the eye'. Pre-planning was not the case yetnaad in a waynaad
that was what transpired. Bernie knew of this crystal yet did not know he was to
receive it in this way as a gift. How can that be? Could it be that there are
unseen forces at play here? We go another way then. Have you not had issues that
have come about in strange waysnaad ways that to you could not have been
premeditatednaad pre-plannednaad yet they occurred? Yesnaad everybody has had
experiences like that. It is of this sort we are referring today. It is not that
you understand what is transpiring or has transpirednaad it is that your grasp is
not yet freed up enough to understand what happens at this time ornaad these
timesnaad as the case may be. Is this along the lines of quantum mechanics? It can
be thought of as along that way but it is much simpler to grasp once you gain the
understanding of time and its relevance. We would like to lea

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. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that
reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics. Albert
Einstein o0o We would appreciate more information on the different types of
inhabitants of the nature world. Some are already known but perhaps you can
provide us with further information on any others that may be here but of whom we
are unfamiliar with. Is that agreeable with you as our topic for today? Yesnaad
all will be of accord. Wellnaad there are the gnomes who are of the earth
elements. We have the sylphs of the air; those of the fire elements called
salamanders and the undines also called water sprites. The elves appear to be a
division of the earth elements and we can assume that the other three elements
would have their divisions too. Is that a correct assumption? Yesnaad it is the
way. You have mentioned they are not third dimensional yet take care of this
third dimension's nature world. While we are herenaad we inhab

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it a third dimensional body and that body is a combination of the four elements
of earthnaad airnaad fire and water in varying degrees. Do any of the nature
spirits take care of us while we are here? Not in the way you may perceive. They do
take care of you by ministering to your needs; your foodnaad your airnaad your
sunshine are all part of the nature kingdom that enhances your quality of life
whilst here. Would you mind enlarging on what you mean by them being able to
minister to our needs with sunshine and air? Could you explain that please? They
have their ways with this just as they attend to the needs of their natural world
of the floranaad fauna and all that they hold dear. They minister in a way that
enhances your perceptions and acceptance; your body ways and needs. But they are
not of this dimensionnaad even though they take care of all that are here. Where do
they come from if this dimension is not home to them? They are a finer
composition than their charges. They are ethericnaad made

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to their charges that are there. They also maintain other avenuesnaad more of the
tree species as you have mentioned. They have many functions to keep 'the wheels of
progress spinning'naad so to say. Are the elves an off-shoot of the gnome species?
Nonaad they are another way but all intertwine with their receivership of the
nature kind. Thank you. We might come back to that a little later to gain more
information. It can follow that way. Thank you. 48 The Sprites of the Water
Elements. Don't say this is good and this is bad. Drop all discrimination. Accept
everything as it is. Osho o0o What about the water elementsnaad the sprites? They
have a relationship with the water but does it encompass all water? Nonaad they do
not have receivership of all. They contain themselves to the rivers and streams of
the nature world. There they minister to the needs of all there that rely upon
these requirements. The animals of the nature world who come to sip of the
streams; the kingdom at large of the mosses

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e are discussing. Perhaps later we can discuss who controls the seas and oceans.
It sounds an interesting topic to follow. Then we follow that way. 49 Are the
sprites all the same or do they have different 'branches'? Nonaad they are all of
the same way. And do they have anything to do with the flooding rivers and streams
when there has been heavy rain? Againnaad you are not looking at a larger picture.
The water spirits do not come into play as you are portraying. They are part of
the landscape and go 'with the flow' as you say. They do not instigate 'the flow'.
Then what about the damage done to their domain from torrential rain or even
perhaps droughts? Are they sad about the damage they see has been done? You do not
encompass a larger picture. They do not react that way because they understand the
vagaries of the world they inhabit. Change is a part of their world and it matters
not to them in which way it comes to be. They will continue as they have decreed
to work with the world

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they love. Are they emotionally affected by the birds and animals that are hurt or
killed by extreme weather conditions? Nonaad it is not their way. They understand
that all have a time and a place in the natural order of life. They do not fret or
fume at such times occurring. Thank you. 50 The Sylphs of the Air Element. Be
realistic. Expect a miracle. Osho o0o We would like to know more about the
sylphsnaad the nature spirits of the air. My understanding is that they relate to
the air element of our body's composition. They are said to influence the
intellect and are especially activated or involved with those people who are
creative such as scientistsnaad inventorsnaad artists; all creative people are
helped in gaining their inspiration by the air spirits. Yesnaad it is their way.
All of the elements’ composition influences a person's body in a certain way.
Sonaad depending on their strength within the physical body's compositionnaad the
earth element could help a person be groundednaad a water el

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ement could make a person more emotional and a person with the fire element could
be fiery? Yesnaad we do not disagree with your concepts. Is part of our challenge
to work with and learn to control the earth elements our body is constructed from?
Yesnaad you are all here to learn how to control those elemental energies that your
physical body is composed from. It is partly in this waynaad with thisnaad that
you also bring them on with their 'evolution'naad so to say. And it is not only
working with the positive traits you mentioned but it is a balancing of what can be
termed the negative and positive components of each? Using the example of the fire
element just discussed the person with strong fire elements will be influenced to
be fiery temperednaad perhaps flies into a temper easily or be a person who
inspires others by their positive attitude and perhaps benevolence? And that
influence could wax and wane depending on other influences during their lifetime
here? Yesnaad it is the way. All will be

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influenced by the ways the elements are at varying times throughout their life.
And are the elements also influenced by the stars? Yesnaad it is the way. Thank
you. From time to time our world experiences very strong windsnaad typhoonsnaad
cyclones and tornados. Are these part of the doings of the air elementals? Nonaad
they do not control such as you say. Againnaad it is another 'breed'; more to do
with Mother Earth's inhabitants. I do not understand what you mean by Mother
Earth's inhabitants and will continue along with that line of questioning in a
moment but first would like to learn more about the nature spirits. Then we
follownaad go that way. 51 If we wanted to see an air spiritnaad what would we look
for? They are elusive and hard to see but if you looknaad unfocused you might
catch them on the wind. They like to dancenaad to sing and they can be found
dancing aroundnaad in and amongst the leaves of the trees. They can be seen as
will-o-the-wisps that gather and play. What about the water spirits?

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In a sun filtered area of a rainforest once thought there might have been a few
dancing like sparkling sunlight on the top of the small stream there. However it
might have just been my wanting to see them that made me think that at the time.
It may be the way that what you thought you saw you did because often they can be
seen that way. Have more faith in your abilities and do not automatically dismiss
what you thought you saw. Thank you. I will follow your suggestion. 52 The
Salamanders of the Flames. The mind is a beautiful servantnaad dangerous master.
Osho o0o Given the opportunity many of us may sometimes sitnaad perhaps around a
campfirenaad or in front of a fire burning in our home hearth relaxednaad looking
into the flames. It is at times such as thisnaad when in that relaxed statenaad we
are susceptible to seeing the salamanders there. Is that so? Yesnaad it can be the
way when relaxation is upon you all. Are the salamanders at every fire? No matter
how large or how small? Yesnaad as soon as

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the first match is strucknaad they are there. It is their doing; their domain
being activated at these times. I am sure that at least once I have witnessed to
seeing the fire spirits and would like to mention it now for your opinion. 'Fire
away'naad as you say. Fire away? You are having a little jokenaad aren't you?
Yesnaad sometimes we like to instruct in a fun-filled way. One evening a group of
us were relaxednaad chatting as we satnaad glancing occasionally through the glass
door of a pot-bellied stove into the flames flickering. I must have drifted into a
warmnaad relaxednaad altered state of consciousness before becoming aware that
there were two flames interacting with each other. They started off playingnaad
but then changed andnaad like two little children might actnaad their play turned
mean as they seemed to be trying to outdo each other's antics in a spiteful way.
Can you comment on what I saw? We cannot comment on your particular incident but
can say it may well be as you described it to be. The fir

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The Unknown Others. How could this earth of oursnaad which is only a speck in the
heavensnaad have so much variety of lifenaad so many curious and exciting
creatures? Walt Disney o0o We have spoken of the nature spirits and the earth
elementals but would now like to discuss the others you have briefly mentionednaad
those who are also of Mother Earth. I am assuming that they are different to the
earth elementals and maybe have a bigger role to play? Nonaad not a bigger role to
play for each and every one of the elementsnaad the 'nature world' as you say are a
vital cog in the organizations of what makes your reality 'hum like a well-oiled
machine'. It is this way that all serve their purpose divine and are cogs that
help drive the evolutionary way of all. You have mentioned that the nature
spiritsnaad the fairies and others are not of this dimension even though they
attend to this dimension. My assumption is that they can come and go at will. Is
my assumption correct? Yesnaad it is the way it is. They d

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o have a purpose here but also at other levelsnaad dominions. We do not seek for
you to understand this way at present but would prefer you to get a 'grounding' so
to say of what transpires here on this dominion you call Earth. Perhaps then at
another time we can spread our wings to other avenues we are not yet ready to
understand or learn about? Yesnaad we can follow you way with the comprehension of
what is about here first and then progress to the next 'instalment'naad so to say.
But we can state that these nature spirits and earth elementals are not human in
their evolution path even though they assist usnaad humans in various ways while
we are here? Yesnaad that is so. And every country in the worldnaad has the fairies
and elementals looking after whatever is growing in any part of the globe?
Yesnaad it is the way. Thank you. Perhaps for today we can discuss the energies of
the seasnaad oceansnaad mountains and any others not previously mentioned.
Yesnaad we can introduce you more to other energiesnaad e
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atio. There is cerealzdfqg an applezdfqg orange juicezdfqg and a cup of tea on the
table. SERENA seems relaxed and contented as she eats. She watches a variety of
birds come to her bird feeder and a couple of rabbits chewing on grass stems.
Someone is calling on her phone. The view shifts to split screen so we can see the
caller. It is her daughter ZOEzdfqg 21zdfqg who is away at a universityzdfqg
sitting on a sofa chair in her dorm room. The walls are decorated with colorful
posters. SERENA (answering): Good morningzdfqg sweetie. ZOE: Good morningzdfqg
Mom. Hope I’m not calling at a bad time. You’re not rushing for classzdfqg are
you? 2 SERENA: Nozdfqg I’m not. This is my non-teaching day. And I have only one
meeting this afternoon. ZOE: I’m glad. I was hoping we could chat. My first class
isn’t until ten. SERENA: Is it the art history class? ZOE: Yes. I love it! Dr.
Robinson is such a great teacher. He makes me understand and appreciate art as I
never expected to. And he’s trying to arrange a trip to Paris

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for the class in early summer. Can I go? SERENA: It sounds exciting. But why
don’t you find out all the details? Then we can decide. ZOE: Thankszdfqg Mom. And
if I gozdfqg I’ll be sure to come home and spend time with you before and after
the trip. SERENA: It’s a deal. And are your other classes going well? ZOE: I’m
enjoying all my classeszdfqg but just not as much as art history. And what meeting
do you have today? SERENA: It’s at the faculty clubzdfqg for professors who want to
do something to save the environment. ZOE: Sounds perfect for youzdfqg Mom. Have a
nice time! SERENA: Thankszdfqg Zoe. Have you heard from Jason? ZOE: I talked with
him two days ago. He’s fine. 3 SERENA: I spoke with him last week. But I left a
couple of messages in the last two days and he hasn’t called back. ZOE: He needs
a talking to. Should I do it? SERENA: Wellzdfqg I said it wasn’t urgentzdfqg that
I just wanted to chat. Maybe that’s why he didn’t take it seriously. I can leave
him one more message saying I’m concerned I

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haven’t heard from him. ZOE: But if he still doesn’t callzdfqg let me know. I’ll
find out what’s going onzdfqg and give him a talking tozdfqg if needed. SERENA
(laughing): Okay. ZOE: I’ve got to run now. Love youzdfqg Mom. SERENA: Love
youzdfqg too. The view shifts to full-screen showing the patio and the beautiful
backyard. SERENA smiles as she looks aroundzdfqg enjoying the viewzdfqg and
reflecting on her conversation with her daughter. Then she makes another call.
SERENA: Jasonzdfqg please call me soon. I’d like to know how you are. She walks
aroundzdfqg admiring the flowers on the bushes. A brilliantly colored hummingbird
dives inzdfqg aiming for the bright redzdfqg tubularzdfqg fuchsia flowerszdfqg but
then hovers close to SERENA in a most unusual way. SERENA smiles and 4
whisperszdfqg “Thank youzdfqg Jeremyzdfqg” understanding that her departed husband
is using the bird to say he’s with her. The phone starts to ring and SERENA walks
back briskly to answer it. The view shifts again to split screen. The caller is
her son JAS
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ONzdfqg 19zdfqg who is away at another university. He is sitting outdoors on the
campus on a patch of grass. Many students are walking byzdfqg presumably to class.
SERENA: Hizdfqg Jason. Thanks for calling back. JASON: I’m alrightzdfqg Mom. Why
do you worry so much? SERENA: I like to know all is well. It only takes a few
minutes to assure someone who loves you that you’re okay. JASON: Sorryzdfqg Mom.
I’ll try to be in touch more regularly. SERENA: Thank you. Do you have a few
minutes to chat? JASON: Yeszdfqg a few. SERENA: Wellzdfqg anything new? JASON:
Not really. SERENA: How are your classes going? And which classes do you have
today? JASON: Classes are fine. Economics and historyzdfqg today. SERENA: Do you
like both? 5 JASON: Economics is boringzdfqg but history is not bad. SERENA:
Wellzdfqg enjoy it. Are you playing your guitar? JASON: Nozdfqg I haven’t in a
bit. SERENA: I hope you can find time for it. You have such a talent for music….
Are you eating well? JASON: I am. There’s a nice gap between classeszdfqg so

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I can go to the cafeteria…. Okayzdfqg Momzdfqg I should go now. SERENA: Have a
wonderful day. Love youzdfqg Jason. JASON: Love you toozdfqg Mom. SERENA puts the
phone down with a slight sighzdfqg as the view shifts back to full-screen. She
gets upzdfqg puts her breakfast dishes on a trayzdfqg and carries it into the
house. INTERIOR: FACULTY CLUB (AFTERNOON) It is a pleasant setting with small
conversation areas as well as larger sections for dining. We see a gorgeous river
from several windowszdfqg and there is an outside portion bordering the river as
well. People are milling about everywhere in the indoor part. SERENA is mingling
comfortably. She seems to know some people and introduces herself to others. A
pleasant-looking MANzdfqg in his early 40szdfqg watches her from across the room
and then walks over to her. MAN: Hizdfqg I’m Alan Wyatt. I teach anthropology. I
haven’t seen you before. 6 SERENA: I’m Serena Bradfordzdfqg in physics. Are you
new to the university? ALAN: Relatively speaking. Two years. And you?

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SERENA: Twelve. Did you teach somewhere else before? ALAN: Yeszdfqg at
Billingsworth. SERENA: Why did you leave? ALAN: California has always seemed
attractive to me. SERENA: The weather? ALAN: Thatzdfqg too. Of course the main
attraction is the perspective of the people. Take this meeting for example.
SERENA: I know what you mean. I try to attend these get#togethers whenever I can.
And participate in social activism when I canzdfqg too. ALAN: How is it then that
I haven’t seen you before? SERENA: They have all kinds of meetings and groups going
on here. I’ve joined several. But you can’t attend them all. ALAN nods. Someone
calls the meeting to order. We see everyone talking and discussing things
togetherzdfqg but we don’t hear them. SERENA and ALAN participate actively. They
glance and smile at each other now and then. 7 Time lapse: The scene changes to
where the meeting seems to be over. People start to go. SERENA looks at ALANzdfqg
but he is talking to someone. She leaves the club. EXTERI
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OR: FACULTY CLUB PARKING LOT (CONTINUOUS) SERENA is walking toward her car. ALAN is
striding behind herzdfqg trying to catch up. She turnszdfqg sees himzdfqg and
stops. SERENA: That was a productive meetingzdfqg wasn’t it? We actually came up
with a worthwhile plan of action each of us can implement. ALAN: I agree…. Are
you going to class now? SERENA: Nozdfqg I was planning to walk by the river. ALAN:
Do you mind if I join you? SERENA (smiling): Not at all. EXTERIOR: RIVER WALK
(CONTINUOUS) A long shot: There are pretty trees and plants bordering the river.
Gentle waves make the water sparkle in the sunlight. A few ducks are seen here and
there. In some places the walkway widens to accommodate a bench or a swing.
People are walking or jogging. SERENA and ALAN are strolling on the path and
enjoying the view. We see them talking and laughingzdfqg but don’t hear what they
say. As they come to a bench and sitzdfqg the camera zooms in. 8 ALAN: That’s not
a wedding bandzdfqg is it? SERENA: It is. ALAN: It

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’s strange I didn’t notice it all this time. Sozdfqg are you married? SERENA: I’m
a widow. ALAN: Ohzdfqg I’m sorry. Was it recent? SERENA: It’s been six years.
ALAN: What happened? If you’d rather not sayzdfqg that’s fine. SERENA: Jeremy was
killed in a car crash. Someone who was texting ran into him. ALAN: That’s
terrible. I’m truly sorry. SERENA: Thank you. My children were of great support to
me. And I to themzdfqg I believe. ALAN: That’s good. How many children do you
have? SERENA: Two. A girl and a boy. Zoe is 21 and studying at Sonoma State.
Jason is 19 and studying at UCzdfqg Davis. ALAN: So not too far from here. SERENA:
I was glad they decided on universities so close to home. And they’re only an
hour’s drive from each other. 9 ALAN: And your husband? Was he a professorzdfqg
too? SERENA: Yes. We were married after he earned his Ph.D. and I received my
master’s. He became a professorzdfqg while I stayed home for a few years to have
and raise our children. ALAN: You put motherhood ahead

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of your career. SERENA: I’m glad I was able to. I started doctoral work after
Jason went to preschool. I earned my Ph.D. after the children were in regular
schoolzdfqg and started as a professorzdfqg herezdfqg twelve years ago. For
Jeremyzdfqg it was his second job. ALAN: Was he in physicszdfqg like you? SERENA:
No. Astronomy. ALAN: How interesting. Did he have a telescope at home? SERENA
(nodding): I still have it. ALAN: And do you look at the stars through it? SERENA:
Sometimes. I prefer just to look up at a starry sky though. ALAN smiles
appreciatively. SERENA: And what about you? Are you married? ALAN: No. SERENA:
Ever been? 10 ALAN: No. I’ve been in relationshipszdfqg but never wanted to marry.
SERENA: And no one wanted to marry you? ALAN: One or two might have. But I wasn’t
ready. SERENA: Didn’t want to be tied down. ALAN: That’s not it. It just didn’t
feel right…. If it doeszdfqg I would be ready to take the plunge…. And you? Would
you consider remarrying? SERENA: If it felt rightzdfqg I thi
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nk I would. ALAN: Have you dated since your husband died? SERENA: Nozdfqg I’ve
not. I didn’t feel the need to. My children were with me when we all needed each
other the most. Then Zoe left for college three years ago. And Jason left a year
ago. ALAN: So you’ve been alone only for a year. SERENA: Except I don’t feel
alonezdfqg ever. ALAN: What do you mean? SERENA: I feel my husband’s presence.
ALAN: I understand. He’s still in your heart. You must have loved him very much.
11 SERENA: I did. I still do. ALAN: What a lucky man. To have someone like you
love him even after he’s long gone. SERENA (patiently): He’s not gone. He’s simply
in another dimension. He still loves me and the children. And we love him. Love
never dies. ALAN stares at her incredulously. SERENA: What’s the matter? ALAN: I
don’t mean to offend youzdfqg but I didn’t think a physics professor could believe
in such things. SERENA: Believe in what? That love is eternal? ALAN: Or life for
that matter. SERENA (surprised)

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: You don’t know that we’re all eternal? ALAN: “Know”? Why do you say that as if
it’s a factzdfqg and not a belief? SERENA: Because it is a fact. ALAN: You mean
it’s faith. SERENA: It has nothing to do with faith. It’s just knowledge.
Understanding reality. 12 ALAN: And how did you obtain this knowledge? SERENA
(hesitating): I’d rather not sayzdfqg at present. ALAN: And I suppose you believe
in God. SERENA: I know God exists. ALAN: How do you know? Oh yeszdfqg you’d rather
not sayzdfqg at present. SERENA looks annoyed. ALAN: I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have
been sarcastic…. It’s just that nothing I’ve read in theology has convinced me of
God’s existence. SERENA (disappointed): Sozdfqg you’re an atheist. ALAN: I am.
Why do you look at me that way? SERENA (bluntly): Because it’s very sad. To be so
brightzdfqg and yet oblivious of something that should be obvious. ALAN: What is
so obvious? SERENA: That such an amazing universe could not happen by chance. It
had to have a Creator. ALAN: That’s not obvio

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us at all. What about the Big Bang? SERENA: But surely you know that many
physicists argue that the Big Bang was caused by a Creator. 13 ALAN: And an equal
number insist it wasn’t…. And what about evolution? Don’t you know evolution is
true? SERENA: Of course. ALAN: Wellzdfqg belief in evolution is the opposite of
belief in creationism. SERENA: Obviously I don’t believe in creationism. That’s
nothing but a religious myth. I know evolution is a reality. But it does not
contradict the existence of God. ALAN: How can you have it both ways? SERENA:
It’s the truth. God created the world and then let it evolve as it has. ALAN:
Isn’t that deism? SERENA: No. Deism posits an uninvolved God. That is simply not
so. I know that spirits in heavenzdfqg with the full support of Godzdfqg do help
people in their lives. ALAN shakes his headzdfqg somewhat disparagingly. SERENA
(trying to be calm): It may be better if we don’t discuss such things. There’s too
big a divide between us. ALAN: Too big a di

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vide to see each other again? SERENA (thinking it over): Nozdfqg I didn’t say
that. 14 ALAN: Dinnerzdfqg Saturday night? SERENA: I would prefer lunch Friday.
ALAN: You have plans for Saturday? SERENA (nodding): To spend a quiet evening at
home. ALAN looks quizzically at her. SERENA: Besideszdfqg we could walk here again
and talkzdfqg if all goes well at lunch. ALAN: You’re right. That’s a much better
plan. Where would you like to go? SERENA: Veggie Delight? On second thoughtszdfqg
that probably won’t work for you. ALAN: It would work wonderfully. I happen to be
vegetarian. SERENA (surprised): So we do have something in common. ALAN:
Apparently so. Let’s focus on that. (Handing her his card) Call me Friday morning
to confirm that we’re still onzdfqg and to set up a time to meet. SERENA: Okay.
They get up and start walking back as the camera pans away from them to include a
wider view of the riverzdfqg sparkling in the bright sunlight. 15 A succession of
shots: SERENA is preparing for class; t

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eaching animatedly in a classroom; chatting with colleagues as she walks back from
class; talking to students in her office; driving home along scenic back roads;
cooking a simple meal in her kitchen. EXTERIOR: PATIO (EVENING) SERENA is having
dinner. She looks relaxed and is enjoying looking at her pretty backyard. We hear
the phone and the view shifts to split screen. It is ZOE. She’s walking on
campuszdfqg on a path lined with beautifulzdfqg flowering trees. SERENA: Thanks
for calling backzdfqg darling. ZOE: Of coursezdfqg Mom. Is everything alright?
SERENA: It is. It’s just that I met someone yesterday. I have mixed feelings about
him and wanted to talk to you. ZOE: Tell me. SERENA: Wellzdfqg he’s brightzdfqg
cares about the environmentzdfqg and he’s vegetarian. ZOE: All sounds good so
far. Did you meet him at the faculty club? SERENA: I did. He teaches
anthropology. ZOE: So what’s wrong with him? 16 SERENA: He doesn’t believe in
God. And he thinks neither life nor love is eternal. ZOE: Ooh

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zdfqg that’s bad…. But the fact that you guys talked about all this in just one
meeting is promising. It was just oncezdfqg right? SERENA: Right. But we made
tentative plans to have lunch tomorrow. ZOE: And you want to back out? SERENA:
I’m not sure. But I do wonder if there’s any point in continuing to see someone
who doesn’t understand such basiczdfqg critical facts. ZOE: Maybe you’re supposed
to teach him. SERENA: He doesn’t seem open to this kind of learning. ZOE: Sozdfqg
it’s a challenge. SERENA: I’m not sure I need one. ZOE: And yet you hesitate to
cancel. So you must see something in him. SERENA: I suppose so. ZOE: Wellzdfqg
get to know him a bit morezdfqg and then decide if it’s worth it to try to
enlighten him. 17 SERENA: That’s a sound plan. How did you get to be so wise?
ZOE: I had a good teacher. They laugh. SERENA: And what about you? What are your
latest thoughts about Tad? ZOE: No change. I like him and like doing things
together. But I’m not sure I want to spend my life wit

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h him. SERENA: I’m glad you’re carefulzdfqg Zoe. I hope you’ll be as happy in
your marriage as Dad and I were. ZOE (grinning): Yeszdfqg that’s the model for
me…. Has Jason called you back yet? SERENA: He did call. We had a brief talkzdfqg
but nice. ZOE: That’s a relief. Let me know how the lunch goes. SERENA: I will.
And thanks for the helpzdfqg Zoe. ZOE: Any timezdfqg Mom! INTERIOR: RESTAURANT
(NOON) The restaurant is full of patrons. It seems a delightfulzdfqg cozy place.
SERENA and ALAN are enjoying a hearty vegetarian meal. They are laughing and
talking. 18 EXTERIOR: RIVER WALK (CONTINUOUS) SERENA and ALAN are walking along
the river as they did before. They come to a bench and sit down. ALAN: I feel as
if I know you a lot better. And I respect you for being such a good motherzdfqg
professorzdfqg and citizen. SERENA: Thank you. And you’ve done pretty well
yourselfzdfqg despite losing your parents so early. ALAN: Thank you. I was
fortunate to be raised by my uncle and aunt. They were kind to me. But

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I never felt the deep love you have with your children. SERENA: Maybe that’s the
reason you don’t believe in eternal love. ALAN: Maybe. SERENA: When you
experience deep lovezdfqg you know without doubt that it’s forever. It can never
die. ALAN: It must be fantastic to feel that way. But I don’t at present.
SERENA: That’s understandable. Maybe you willzdfqg some day. ALAN doesn’t reply.
SERENA: Let me ask you something. What do you think happens after death? 19 ALAN:
Nothing. It’s the end. SERENA: What would be the purpose of our being herezdfqg of
loving and growingzdfqg if it all ends in nothing? ALAN: If we’ve made some
contributionzdfqg helped someonezdfqg loved someonezdfqg then that lives on. We
leave a legacy behind even after we’re gone. SERENA: But we ourselves don’t exist
after deathzdfqg in your view? ALAN: No. We are bornzdfqg we live a good
lifezdfqg and we die. SERENA: And all the love people feel for each other? ALAN:
It lives on in people’s heartszdfqg like you and your children remembering

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and loving Jeremy. SERENA: Nozdfqg you’re mistakenzdfqg Alan. Jeremy does not
live only in our memories. He lives onzdfqg eternally. ALAN is quiet. SERENA
decides to change the subject to keep their interchange going. SERENA: You lost
your parents in a car crash. And we lost Jeremy the same way. Gives you pausezdfqg
doesn’t it? ALAN: That people were irresponsible years agozdfqg and still are?
SERENA: Yes. A drunk driver hit your parents and a texter hit Jeremy. Both drivers
were utterly careless of others. 20 ALAN: And both got away with itzdfqg
relatively speaking. SERENA: It seems that way. ALAN: Sozdfqg in your view of
life after this onezdfqg will they be punished? SERENA: I hope they willzdfqg in
some way. But I don’t believe in a permanent hell. ALAN: Just a temporary
punishment and they’re free to go? SERENA: Something like that. ALAN: Why don’t
you wish a permanent hell for the person who took your husband’s life? SERENA: She
made a terrible mistake. She needs to pay for it. But surely that

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punishment doesn’t have to be eternal. ALAN: You’re amazing. How can you be so
forgiving? SERENA: I’m not. I think she does need to be punishedzdfqg but not
forever. Especially when Jeremy is peaceful where he iszdfqg and connected to us.
And I’ll see him eventually. ALAN: How is he connected to you? SERENA: Through
spirit communications and guardian angel help. I’ll send you an email laterzdfqg
recommending some books on these subjects that you can read. And perhaps in the
futurezdfqg I can share our experiences. 21 ALAN: Okay. I’d like to read these
books and see what I think about such communications. But if I think they’re
delusionszdfqg as I suspect I willzdfqg you’ll probably be upset. SERENA: They’re
not delusions. Many people have received spirit messages telling of something
unknown at the timezdfqg and then it happened later. There is enough evidence to
show these communications do take place. ALAN: Then why have I never received any
from my parents? SERENA: Maybe they tried. But you didn

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’t understand. I have no doubt though that they’re watching over you. ALAN: What?
SERENA: They’re your guardian angels. Like Jeremy is to me and the children. ALAN
frownszdfqg but doesn’t reply. SERENA: Have you ever had a close callzdfqg perhaps
avoided an accident at the last second? Orzdfqg have you ever had a long shot
related to your career become a reality? ALAN: Both situationszdfqg and more than
once. But I think I’m just lucky. SERENA: Nozdfqg you’re blessed. Your parents
have been protecting you and helping you. They love you. 22 ALAN: I won’t argue
at present. I’ll read the books you recommend and then we can discuss all this.
Lunch againzdfqg next Friday? Same timezdfqg same place? SERENA: Sounds like a
plan. EXTERIOR: PATIO (MORNING) SERENA is having breakfast on the patio. The
morning sun lights up various clusters of flowers on the bushes in the backyard.
Vividly colorful butterflies hover over the sunlit flowers. The phone rings and
SERENA answers. SERENA: Hizdfqg Mom. How are you?

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(Pause) I’m fine. The children are too. And how’s Dad? (Long pause) It’s great
that you both are helping to save the environment. I’ve joined a group at the
university to do my bit too. (Pause) Ohzdfqg that’s a clever way to enjoy nature
and keep in shape. (Pause) Nozdfqg I still haven’t gone back to hiking. But I do
walk by the river regularly. It’s glorious. (Pause) I will. Thanks for
callingzdfqg Mom. Love you and Dad! SERENA walks about in her backyardzdfqg
admiring everything. She fills the birdfeeder and the birdbath. We hear the
phone. SERENA walks back quickly to answer it. The view goes to split screen. It’s
JASONzdfqg in his sunlit dorm room. SERENA: Good morningzdfqg Jason! How are
youzdfqg honey? JASON: I’m alright. I called to tell you of a wonderful
communication from Dad yesterday. SERENA (excited): What was it? 23 JASON: We were
supposed to tell Dr. Morriszdfqg my history professorzdfqg which historical figure
we had picked for our term paper. I had decided on Galileozdfqg so it could be a
spe

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cial connection to Dadzdfqg through a famous astronomer. SERENA: That’s very
thoughtful of you. JASON: But all morningzdfqg the name “Copernicus” kept popping
into my mind. I knew it had to be Dadzdfqg but I had no idea why he preferred
Copernicus to Galileo. Anywayzdfqg I told the history professor I would write
about Copernicus. SERENA: Good for you. JASON: Later I did some preliminary
research on their personal lives and found that Galileo was not very kind to the
people closest to him—a woman he lived withzdfqg but didn’t marryzdfqg and their
three children. Copernicus didn’t have a family of his ownzdfqg but he was very
kind to his extended family. So I knew why Dad liked him better! SERENA: What a
magical connection to Dad! And I’m proud of you for trusting Dad and for taking
the trouble to find out the reason for his wise recommendation. JASON:
Thankszdfqg Mom. I knew you’d be happy. INTERIOR: HOME OFFICE (CONTINUOUS) SERENA
is working at her computer. She has many papers with handwritten note

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s spread out near her. She seems to be working on a scholarly project. 24 The
phone rings and the view changes to split screen. It is ZOE. She’s sitting on a
bench on campuszdfqg near the same pretty path she was walking on during their
previous conversation. Other students are walking by. SERENA: Hizdfqg Zoe. How are
you? ZOE: I’m alright. How was lunch? SERENA: Lunch was great. He seemed a bit
more openzdfqg so I’ve recommended some books on spirit communications. We’ll
meet again for lunch in a weekzdfqg after he’s read some. ZOE: Sounds promising.
But don’t expect too much progress too soon. SERENA: I won’t. In factzdfqg when
Grandma called this morningzdfqg I couldn’t bring myself to tell her I’ve met
someone. Because I really don’t know if it’ll amount to anything. And I don’t want
to get her hopes up for nothing. ZOE: That’s probably for the best. You can talk
to me about him in the meanwhile. SERENA: I know. And I appreciate it. By the
wayzdfqg Jason had a marvelous communication from Da

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d related to his writing about an astronomer for his history class. Ask him about
it when you guys talk. ZOE: I will…. Way to gozdfqg Dad! The camera pulls away as
they carry on their conversation. 25 EXTERIOR: RIVER WALK (DAY) SERENA and ALAN
are walking by the river. There are not many people on the walk. It is a cloudy
but pleasant day. SERENA: That was a nice lunchzdfqg wasn’t it? ALAN: It was
indeed…. Do you ever hike in the mountains? SERENA: I used tozdfqg with Jeremy. I
haven’t in a while. ALAN: Would you like to? SERENA: I might. Let me know if you
think of a relatively short hikezdfqg with a waterfall. ALAN: There are several
trails that would work. I‘ll make a list and we can go whenever you like. SERENA:
It’s a plan. They come to a bench and sit down. ALAN turns around and looks
intently at SERENA. ALAN: This may sound strange but I find myself thinking of you
all the time. SERENA smileszdfqg but doesn’t reply. ALAN: Have you thought of me
at all? SERENA: Yeszdfqg a lot. 26 ALAN

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s experiences if you’ve had similar experiences yourself. So it’s easy for me to
know it’s the truth. But not for you. 27 ALAN nods. SERENA: But there’s a huge
number of ADCs (that’s short for after-death communications) from people the
recipients didn’t even know had died. It was after receiving the ADC that they
found out the person had passed away. So there’s no question of hallucination or
delusion there. ALAN: But it still could be made up. SERENA: Why would anyone
make this up? ALAN: To sell a book? SERENA: No. Some of these are reported in
journal articles. No profit motivezdfqg and written by scholars. ALAN: I’m much
more open to all this now. But I’d be lying if I said I fully believed it.
SERENA: I understand. ALAN: Do you mind sharing an ADC from Jeremy? SERENA: When
we were deeply grievingzdfqg the children and I felt hugs as we were falling
asleepzdfqg alone in bed. When we were out walkingzdfqg we’ve had butterflies make
a beeline to us and brush our cheeks. We’ve seen

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sky-spanning rainbows when we told Jeremy how much we missed him. We’ve had dream
visitationszdfqg different from normal dreamszdfqg where we’ve seen his face and
heard his voice. 28 ALAN: What did he say in these visitations? SERENA: That he
will always love uszdfqg and watch over us. ALAN is quiet. SERENA: If you still
don’t believezdfqg it means you don’t trust me. And in that casezdfqg there’s not
much point in going on. ALAN: I do trust you. I don’t think you could ever lie.
But could all these be delusions? After allzdfqg you were grieving. SERENA: The
butterflieszdfqg too? And the rainbows? ALAN: Coincidenceszdfqg perhaps? SERENA
shakes her head regretfully. ALAN: And the dreams and hugs could be due to
longing? SERENA (sadly): Nozdfqg it’s all real. I think the problem is that
you’re a reductionist. ALAN: What’s that? SERENA: Someone who reduces everything to
what they can seezdfqg touchzdfqg and measure. Someone who doesn’t believe in
anything beyond the physical. Someone who doesn’t understand that the

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re is a spirit dimension where our loved ones live onzdfqg with God. And that they
can connect with us and watch over us. ALAN thinks about this for a minute. 29
ALAN (despondently): You’re right. I am a reductionist. I wish I could believe as
you do. But I don’t. I wish I could lie and say I believe itzdfqg so we could move
forward with a physical relationship. But I can’t. SERENA: Nozdfqg you’re too
honest. And that’s in your favor. ALAN: Sozdfqg where do we go from here? SERENA:
I’m not sure. Should we continue the Friday lunches and walks by the river? ALAN:
But every time I see youzdfqg I want to take you in my arms. How can we go on
seeing each other and remain in a platonic relationship? SERENA: Do you want to
stop seeing me? ALAN: Nozdfqg that would be too difficult. SERENA: But you could
date someone else. ALAN: I don’t want to date anyone else…. And you? Would you be
content to go back to your lifezdfqg being alone? SERENA looks at him
enigmaticallyzdfqg and doesn’t answer. ALAN: Ohzdfqg I k

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now. You’re never alone. SERENA smiles at this. ALAN stares morosely at the river.
SERENA (sincerely): I would miss youzdfqg very much. 30 ALAN: Wellzdfqg then. Let’s
continue the Friday afternoon dates. Lunchzdfqg walkzdfqg and talk. And we’ll see
what happens. They kiss brieflyzdfqg mixed emotions on their faces. INTERIOR:
HOME OFFICE (EVENING) SERENA is working at her computer. We hear the phone and the
view changes to split screen. It is ALAN. He’s at home in his apartmentzdfqg
relaxing on the sofa. ALAN: I hope you don’t mind my calling you on your “quiet
evening at home.” SERENA: Not at all. What’s up? ALAN: How about a hike on
Sunday? There’s a three-mile trailzdfqg that’s round tripzdfqg and it has a
waterfall. It’s called Deep Creek Falls and it’s only an hour’s drive away.
SERENA: Okayzdfqg we can go. Should we take lunch along? ALAN: Yes. I can pick you
up at nine and then we can get some lunch to go on the way. SERENA: Why don’t we
meet at the faculty club parking at nine? And I can bring so

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me sandwiches. ALAN: If that’s your preference. And I’ll bring some fruitzdfqg
snackszdfqg and water. SERENA: Then we’re all set. 31 EXTERIOR: WATERFALL (DAY)
The falls are breathtakingly beautiful. There are not too many people about.
SERENA and ALAN are sitting on rocks near the fallszdfqg eating their lunch. They
seem contentedzdfqg enjoying the gorgeous falls and the peaceful surroundings.
EXTERIOR: HIKE (CONTINUOUS) SERENA and ALAN are hiking down the trail from the
falls. They see varying views of the valleyzdfqg all scenic. EXTERIOR: FACULTY
CLUB PARKING (CONTINUOUS) SERENA: It was wonderful. Thanks for suggesting this.
ALAN: I’m glad you enjoyed it. Shall we get some dinner? SERENA: Thank youzdfqg
but it’s been a long day already. A quiet evening will do me good. ALAN
(disappointed): Okay…. See you Friday? SERENA: I look forward to it. SERENA
kisses ALAN and walks to her car. He watches herzdfqg looking a little
frustratedzdfqg but trying to be understanding. EXTERIOR: PATIO (MORNING) SERENA

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t’s not too hard for you to go back to life without him. SERENA: Thank youzdfqg
darling. EXTERIOR: RIVER WALK (DAY) SERENA and ALAN are sitting on a benchzdfqg
gazing at the sparkling river. People are walking along the path. 33 SERENA: It’s
nice that this is the last week of the semester. I’m looking forward to summer. A
time to restzdfqg see the childrenzdfqg and travel. ALAN: When are they coming
home? And where do you plan to go? SERENA: We haven’t made any plans yet. They
usually come soon after the exams end. We go to the beach or to visit my parents.
What about you? ALAN: I go to the beachzdfqg too. Orzdfqg to the mountains. With
someone if I’m in a relationshipzdfqg otherwise alone. SERENA: Do you visit your
uncle and auntzdfqg who raised you? ALAN: Not very often. But we do keep in
touchzdfqg by phone and email. SERENA: That’s good. ALAN: Shall we vacation
together this summer? SERENA: We’re not at that stagezdfqg are we? ALAN: Think
about the hike we went on. What a terrific time we had. SERE

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NA: But it’s only because we didn’t talk about what divides us. ALAN: We could
agree never to talk about it. We could 34 even get married if we have that basic
understanding. Our life together would be like the hike. We’d be happy. SERENA: I
don’t think so. Avoiding serious issues only works for a short while. It’s fine
for a hike. But to build a contented life togetherzdfqg you have to concur on deep
issues. ALAN: Did you and Jeremy see eye to eye on all the deep issueszdfqg as
you call them? SERENA: We both believed in Godzdfqg and we felt instinctively
that life and love were eternal. We didn’t know then that spirits could
communicate with people on earthzdfqg but we talked about meeting in heaven after
this lifezdfqg and being together eternally. ALAN: Was this your religious
upbringing? SERENA: Not at all. Neither my parents nor Jeremy’s were religious.
But they all believed in God and in eternal love. Maybe we learned it from them.
Maybe it was instinct. ALAN: Would a merciful God

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take away a young child’s parents? SERENA: I don’t think God deliberately does
this. Things happen and we’re supposed to deal with them. And learn from
themzdfqg and grow. ALAN: Wait! I just realized something. Even if you were open
to marrying mezdfqg what would be the point? Your heart belongs to Jeremy and you
dream of being with him eternally after this life. 35 SERENA: I think my heart is
big enough to love you as well. And I know Jeremy wouldn’t mind if I married you.
He wants me to be happy. ALAN: And if there was eternal life after death? Who
would you spend it with? SERENA: With all my loved oneszdfqg I hope. ALAN: So
you would be with Jeremy and me? SERENA: Yes. And my childrenzdfqg my parentszdfqg
and Jeremy’s parents. And your parents and my grandchildren-to-be. ALAN
(sarcastically): A bigzdfqg joyful family? SERENA (in a heartfelt manner): Yes!
ALAN (condescendingly): Boyzdfqg you really are a dreamer. SERENA looks deeply
hurt. ALAN doesn’t notice. He’s on a streak. ALAN: Maybe y

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ou’re right. We’re too far apart on basic beliefs. There not much hope for uszdfqg
is there? SERENA shakes her head sorrowfully. ALAN: So is this goodbye? SERENA
(with a catch in her voice): I think so. 36 ACT TWO: BRIDGING THE CHASM EXTERIOR:
PATIO (EVENING) SERENA is sitting on the patiozdfqg looking at her backyard in the
fading light. She looks terribly sad. SERENA (looking up): Jeremyzdfqg
darlingzdfqg I thought for a while that I would spend the rest of my life here
with someone I recently met. I knew you wouldn’t have minded. I know you want me
to find happiness here. But it was not to be…. I’ll be alrightzdfqg though. It’s
better than spending my life with someone who doesn’t understand that we are all
eternal and that you are still so close to me and always will be. A wind chime
near her swings and makes melodious musiczdfqg even though there is no breeze
whatsoever. All the plants and trees are absolutely stillzdfqg while the wind
chime sways back and forth. SERENA realizes JEREMY is tel

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have no future together…. I can’t go on this way. I’ve got to move on. He picks
up the phone and makes a call. No one answers. ALAN: Hizdfqg Annezdfqg it’s Alan.
Sorry I missed you. Lookzdfqg I know it’s been a whilezdfqg but I’d like to see
you. (Impulsively) I’m coming over. If you don’t want me tozdfqg call back and say
so. Otherwisezdfqg I’ll see you soon. He puts the phone in his pocketzdfqg grabs
his car keys and leaveszdfqg slamming the door. EXTERIOR: HIGHWAY (NIGHT) ALAN is
driving down the highway. He looks troubled. EXTERIOR: APARTMENT BUILDING
(CONTINUOUS) ALAN is at the entrance door of the buildingzdfqg ringing a bell for
one of the apartments in that building. There is no answer. It starts to rain. He
keeps ringing the bell and waiting. The rain changes to a downpour. Soaked and 38
frustratedzdfqg he runs back to the carzdfqg trying to shield himself
ineffectually from the rain. EXTERIOR: HIGHWAY (CONTINUOUS) ALAN is driving back.
His face and hair are dripping with water and he looks very distract
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ed. An oncoming truck speeds around the corner and goes over the centerline. ALAN
is startled and swerves to avoid it. He skids and crashes hard into a large tree
on the side of the highway. We see ALAN slumped over the steering wheel. The camera
pulls back and then straight up. We first see tree trunkszdfqg then brancheszdfqg
and finally the tops of the trees lining the highway. Suddenlyzdfqg we feel we’re
in a throbbingzdfqg pulsating enclosure with dull grays and brownszdfqg and
loudzdfqg discordant music. It is most unpleasant and feels claustrophobic. All of
a suddenzdfqg we seem to be speeding through a tunnel. There is a pinpoint of
brilliant light at the far endzdfqg which grows larger and larger as the camera
zooms toward it. EXTERIOR: SITE OF CRASH (NIGHT) An ambulancezdfqg two police
vehicleszdfqg and a tow truck are at the scene. Lights from the vehicles are
blinding. Emergency workers are moving around. ALAN’s car appears to be totaled.
Paramedics are reaching inside to get to ALAN. EXTERIOR: PAT

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IO (MORNINGzdfqg A WEEK LATER) SERENA is having breakfast. She is not looking
around. She still looks a bit sad. The phone ringszdfqg and she picks it up. 39
But she doesn’t recognize the caller’s numberzdfqg so she doesn’t answer. Someone
starts to record a message. WOMAN’s voice: Hellozdfqg this message is for Serena.
I’m Nurse Holloway calling from City Hospital. Alan Wyatt was a in a bad car
wreck a week ago. SERENA (answering swiftly): I’m here. Please tell me what’s
going on. NURSE’s voice: Mr. Wyatt was badly hurt and unconscious. There was no
emergency information on him. But he’s been semi-conscious the last two days and
calling your name. So I looked in his cell phone and found your number. SERENA:
Thank you for calling. Is he going to be alright? NURSE’s voice: I don’t know. The
doctors have conducted several surgeries already. We’re hoping he’ll recover.
SERENA: I’ll be over as soon as I can. What’s the room number? NURSE’s voice:
He’s in the ICU. Once you get herezdfqg someo

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ne will take you to him. What’s your last name? SERENA: It’s Bradford. And thanks
again. INTERIOR: ICU RECEPTION AREA (DAY) SERENA is filling out a form. She hands
it to a NURSE behind the counterzdfqg who looks it over and shakes her head. 40
NURSE: Friend? Only relatives are allowed in the ICU. Or significant others.
SERENA swallowszdfqg and thinks for a moment. She takes the formzdfqg changes
something on itzdfqg and hands it back. NURSE: Just went from “friend” to
“significant other”? SERENA: Sorryzdfqg I’m just so flustered. The NURSE looks
pointedly at SERENA’s wedding band. SERENA: I’m a widow. NURSE (relenting):
Comezdfqg I’ll take you to him. INTERIOR: ICU (CONTINUOUS) They walk along a
corridor. The NURSE opens the door to a room. They go in. ALAN is asleep. Many
tubes are attached to him and a lot of medical equipment is monitoring him.
NURSE: You can sit herezdfqg but don’t disturb him. He needs a lot of deep sleep
to heal properly. SERENA nodszdfqg and sits on a chair. The NURSE goes out.
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SERENA looks at ALAN with sympathy and tenderness. INTERIOR: ICU RECEPTION AREA
(LATER) SERENA (to NURSE who had helped her earlier): He’s still asleep. Can you
tell me what happened to him? 41 NURSE: He was in a car wreck. SERENA: Was anyone
else involved? NURSE: Nozdfqg he hit a tree. SERENA (hesitating): Was he drunk?
NURSE (a bit reluctantly): There was no substance abuse. SERENA: What injuries did
he sustain? NURSE (drawing the line): That is private information. SERENA: What’s
the prognosis? NURSE: You’re not listed as someone who is privileged to see his
personal file. SERENA: Is anyone else? NURSE: No. SERENA: May I see Nurse
Holloway? NURSE: She’s busy. SERENA thanks the NURSE and goes out of the ICU.
EXTERIOR: HOSPITAL PARKING LOT (CONTINUOUS) SERENA is sitting in her carzdfqg
making a call. There is no answerzdfqg but she leaves a message. 42 SERENA: Nurse
Hollowayzdfqg this is Serena Bradford. I saw Alan Wyatt and stayed in the room for
over an hour. He was asleepzdfqg so

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I didn’t disturb him. Can you please call me back? I’d like to know how I can
help him. EXTERIOR: PATIO (DAY) SERENA is having a meal. She looks pensive. The
phone rings. SERENA looks at the caller ID and quickly answers. SERENA:
Hellozdfqg Nurse Holloway. Thanks for calling back. How is Alan doing? NURSE’s
voice: Pretty much the same. SERENA: He was sleeping well when I was there. That
should helpzdfqg shouldn’t it? NURSE’s voice: It wouldzdfqg if it was consistent.
But mostlyzdfqg he’s very restless. SERENA: Can you please tell him the next time
he’s awake that I came to see him? NURSE’s voice: He’s never actually awake. He’s
just semi#conscious. SERENA: What can I do to help? NURSE’s voice: You should
plan to spend a whole day with him. When he’s restlesszdfqg you can soothe him.
Maybe he’ll know it’s you and that’ll help him. 43 SERENA: Is he still calling
for me? NURSE’s voice: I’m not sure. We heard him earlier but no one has
mentioned it recently. (Hesitating) There was one oth

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er person who I thought might be able to help. The last call he made on his cell
phone was shortly before his crash. It was made to Anne White. Do you know her?
SERENA: Nozdfqg I don’t. NURSE’s voice: I called that number and left a message
but no one called back…. Anywayzdfqg it was you he was calling for in his
sleepzdfqg so I think you’re the one who can help. SERENA: I’ll do what you
suggested. I’ll come in tomorrow. NURSE’s voice: Good. You can bring a cold lunch
and eat in the room if you like. Come as often as you can. SERENA: Thank you. And
is it possible to tell me about his injuries or his surgeries? NURSE’s voice:
Nozdfqg I’m not allowed. All I can say is that the injuries were extensive and the
doctors have done all they can in terms of surgeries. SERENA: Thank you for
sharing that. Can you at least tell me if there is any possibility of brain
damage? NURSE’s voice: I’m not allowed to say. (Relenting) Besideszdfqg we don’t
know yet. 44 SERENA: I understand. I appreciate your c
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oncern for Alanzdfqg and thanks again for contacting me. SERENA walks in the
backyardzdfqg deep in thought. Then she sits down on a chair on the patio and
calls ZOE. The view changes to split screen. Zoe is walking on campuszdfqg but
sits on a bench under a flowering tree to talk to SERENA. ZOE: Hizdfqg Mom. Is it
getting better? SERENA: There’ve been some developments. Alan was in a car crash
and is in the ICU at City Hospital. ZOE: Ohzdfqg no! SERENA: He’s semi-conscious
and has been calling my name. A nurse suggested I spend some time therezdfqg so
when he gets restless I can soothe him. ALAN: Are you going to do it? SERENA: I
am. I’ll go in every day starting tomorrowzdfqg at least for a while. My cell
phone will be offzdfqg so you won’t be able to reach me during the day. Is that
okay? ZOE: Of course! Now that I knowzdfqg I won’t worry. SERENA: And Jason and
Grandma need to know too. But I don’t feel up to explaining everything to them
right now. ZOE: I’ll do it. How much should I tell? 45 SERENA

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: Just that I met a professor and we had lunch a few times. I liked him very much
but we differed in spiritual thinking so we decided not to get into a
relationship. This is why I didn’t tell them earlier. But now he’s in the ICU
after being in an accident and is calling my name. So I’m trying to help him
recover. ZOE: That’s goodzdfqg Mom. I can handle it. SERENA: I know you can. And
thank youzdfqg darling. ZOE: No problem. You take care of yourself. Don’t get
stressed. Do it in the spirit of helping. And keep me posted. SERENA: I will. But
when were you and Jason planning to come home? ZOE: Wellzdfqg with this new
developmentzdfqg we should wait. Tad is still herezdfqg so I’m fine for staying
longer on campus. And Jason is busy with friends on his campus too. That’s why we
hadn’t made any definite plans so far. The camera moves away as they continue to
talk. INTERIOR: ICUzdfqg ALAN’S ROOM (DAY) A series of shots: SERENA is sitting by
ALAN’s bed and looking at him with concern; reading a book

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; eating her sandwich and drinking juice; pacing up and down nervously; sitting in
a chair and reading again. ALAN is suddenly restlesszdfqg and starts thrashing
about. SERENA goes to him at oncezdfqg and gently strokes his hairzdfqg 46
repeatedly whisperingzdfqg “It’s okay.” A NURSE comes in and sees this. ALAN calms
down and falls deeply asleep again. SERENA moves back to her chair and looks
pensive. EXTERIOR: PATIO (EVENING) SERENA is walking in her backyard. She goes to
the patio and makes a call. The view changes to split screen. We see JASONzdfqg
walking on campuszdfqg carrying his guitar. There are flowering trees aroundzdfqg
pretty even in the fading light. JASON: Hizdfqg Mom. Are you alright? I hope the
hospital stuff is not tiring you out. SERENA: Nozdfqg it’s notzdfqg sweetie. And
how are you? Are you having fun with your friends who are still on campus? JASON:
Something special has happenedzdfqg Mom. Two guys and I have formed a music group.
Francis plays the dulcimer and Rick plays the violin. We pl

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ay old songs and the three instruments sound great together. Students walking by
stop to listen. I’m really enjoying it. SERENA: This is such wonderful newszdfqg
Jason! Thank you for sharing it. JASON grins. The camera draws back as they carry
on their conversation. INTERIOR: ICUzdfqg ALAN’S ROOM (ANOTHER DAY) ALAN is
asleep. SERENA is sitting in a chairzdfqg reading. A NURSE comes in to check on
the tubes and monitors. ALAN 47 is disturbed and becomes restless. SERENA goes to
him and strokes his head soothingly. He relaxes and falls asleep. The NURSE notes
all thiszdfqg smiles at SERENAzdfqg and leaves. EXTERIOR: PATIO (EVENING) SERENA
is sitting on the patiozdfqg talking on the phone. SERENA: Don’t worryzdfqg
Momzdfqg I’m alright. (Pause) Wellzdfqg I’m just focused on helping him recover.
(Pause) Nozdfqg I don’t think we have a future together. (Pause) Thanks for
understandingzdfqg Mom. Love youzdfqg and Dad too. INTERIOR: ICUzdfqg ALAN’S ROOM
(YET ANOTHER DAY) ALAN is asleep. SERENA is sitting in a chairzdfqg reading. A

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LAN suddenly becomes restless. SERENA walks over to him briskly and strokes his
hair tenderly. ALAN (agitatedzdfqg in his sleep): Serena… SERENA (softly): I’m
here. ALAN (still asleep): I love you… SERENA (hesitating): I love youzdfqg too.
ALAN calms down and is quiet. SERENA continues stroking his hair and he sinks into
a deeper sleep. She goes back to her chair and watches ALAN sleeping peacefully.
48 EXTERIOR: PATIO (MORNING) It’s a glorious morning. The flowers look bright in
the morning light and the backyard is peaceful. A rabbit sits close byzdfqg
chewing on grass stems. Birds are at the feeder. SERENA has just finished
breakfast. The phone rings and the view changes to split screen. It is ZOE calling
from her dorm room. She’s in her pajamaszdfqg walking about the room. SERENA: Good
morningzdfqg Zoe. I’ve talked with Jason and Grandma. You did wellzdfqg bringing
them up to date. ZOE: Thankszdfqg Mom. And how are you? SERENA: I’m alright.
It’s a bit draining. But I’m helping Alan sleep dee

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ply. This is what’s supposed to help in his healingzdfqg so I’ll continue. Is
everything okay with you? ZOE: Everything’s fantastic. I’ve joined a community
dance group. It’s a lot of fun. SERENA: I’m delighted to hear that. Has Tad
joined too? ZOE: Nozdfqg he didn’t want to. But I’m really enjoying it and making
new friends. And I’ll be starting work as a research assistant for Dr. Robinson
soon. I was supposed to start in the fallzdfqg but as I’m still herezdfqg I
offered to get an early start. SERENA: That’s greatzdfqg Zoe. I hope you enjoy it.
And it’ll also help for your future. You can find out if this is what you want to
do as a career. ZOE: That’s exactly why I’m doing it. 49 SERENA: Good…. I was so
pleased to hear from Jason that he’s formed a music group with a couple of guys
and they play old songs togetherzdfqg just for fun. ZOE: I know. And the best
part is… (She hesitates.) SERENA: Yes? Go onzdfqg Zoezdfqg tell me. ZOE: Jason and
I talked about how Dad helped us find these marvelous ac

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tivities. I had a dream where I was dancing and I was full of joy. So the next day
when I saw the notice for the community dance groupzdfqg I signed up right
awayzdfqg before the class was full. SERENA (happily): And you think Dad gave you
the dream? ZOE: I do. The dream was so ethereal. And it was given to me just in
time. I didn’t even mind that Tad didn’t sign up. SERENA: Maybe you have less in
common with him than you thought. ZOE: It seems that way. And the way he and I
are moving apart is so peacefulzdfqg that I feel this was the second reason Dad
arranged all this. SERENA: I’m so grateful that Dad is helping you in such
important ways. And how did he help Jason? ZOE: Jason was walking on campus when
he felt a strong urge to explore a different path. 50 SERENA: Oohzdfqg that’s so
metaphorical… ZOE (laughing): It is. Anywayzdfqg he took that path and came across
these two guys playing old songs on a violin and a dulcimer. He stopped to listen
and they asked him if he plays an instru

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ment. He told them he played the guitar and they asked him to join them. Jason is
having a ball playing music with them now. He feels sure Dad guided him. SERENA:
I believe it too. Jason is so talentedzdfqg but he had not been playing his guitar
recently. Now he has a joyful incentive to keep playing. It’s perfect. But why
were you hesitating to tell mezdfqg sweetie? And Jason didn’t tell me about Dad
helping him either. ZOE: You’re under a lot of stresszdfqg Mom. Jason and I
thought it may make you sad if you haven’t had any communications from Dad lately.
SERENA: Dad is always with me. You and Jason should remember that. And every
instance of his communicationszdfqg whether to mezdfqg youzdfqg or Jasonzdfqg
fills me with joy. ZOE: I’m gladzdfqg Mom. And I’ll tell Jason…. I better go now.
Take care of yourself. And don’t overdo. INTERIOR: HOME OFFICE (LATE MORNING)
SERENA is working at her computer. She looks deeply absorbed in her work. The
phone rings. She picks it up absent-mindedlyzdfqg but looks su

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rprised and concerned when she sees the caller information. 51 SERENA: Nurse
Hollowayzdfqg is everything alright? Alan seemed a bit better yesterdayzdfqg so I
was taking the morning off. I was planning to come in after lunch. NURSE’s voice:
He is better. He’s awake and asking for you. In factzdfqg we’re moving him out of
ICU. SERENA: Ohzdfqg that’s wonderful. He seems…finezdfqg then? NURSE’s voice
(understanding her worry): There’s no brain damage. He’s still weak thoughzdfqg
and not recovered fully. So when you visit himzdfqg you must be careful not to
tire him. SERENA: I’ll be carefulzdfqg I promise. NURSE’s voice: When can you be
here? He’s in Room 305. SERENA: Would an hour or so be okay? I should probably
eat before leaving. NURSE’s voice: Definitely. Come energized. You’ll need it.
SERENA: Thanks againzdfqg Nurse Holloway. NURSE’s voice: You’re welcome.
INTERIOR: ALAN’S HOSPITAL ROOM (DAY) SERENA walks in. ALAN is awake and beams when
he sees her. SERENA smiles at himzdfqg pulls up a chairzdfqg and sits near

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his bed. She puts her hand gently on his arm. SERENA: It’s good to see you
awakezdfqg Alan. 52 ALAN (in a weak voice): I understand you’ve been to the ICU
many times to see me. They tell me you stroked my hair and helped me sleep deeply.
(Smiling) Apparently all that deep sleep speeded my recovery. SERENA: I’m glad it
did. How do you feel? ALAN: Tiredzdfqg achyzdfqg and fatigued…. But delighted
you’re here. (Expansively) I have so much to tell you. SERENA (concerned): But
don’t tire yourself by talking too much too soon. Take it easyzdfqg okay? ALAN (in
a feeble voicezdfqg but insistent): Wellzdfqg let me at least tell you the heart
of it. (Breathlessly) I had a near-death experience. I know God exists. I met my
parents. You and I are supposed to spend the rest of our lives together. SERENA
stares at ALAN with some alarmzdfqg wondering if he’s delirious. ALAN
(disappointed): It seems the shoe is on the other foot now. You don’t believe
mezdfqg do you? SERENA: Wellzdfqg it’s just that… you’ve undergone

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ter. But it’s important you keep recovering. I know you have a lot to 54 tell me.
And I do want to hear it. But we can talk slowlyzdfqg over days. For nowzdfqg
focus on getting restful sleep and on healing. Know that I care for youzdfqg and
I’m here for you. ALAN nods and smiles weakly. SERENA stands up and kisses him on
the head. SERENA: I’ll see you tomorrow. Keep getting better! She leaves. ALAN
stares sadly at the door after she’s gone. INTERIOR: UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
(CONTINUOUS) SERENA is walking in the aisles between library stackszdfqg
carefully choosing and collecting books. She piles them on a table near a window
and keeps searching for more books. EXTERIOR: PATIO (EVENING) SERENA has just
finished her dinner on the patio. She picks up the phone and makes a call. ZOE’s
voice: Hizdfqg Mom. How are you? SERENA: I’m fine. Alan is out of ICU. ZOE’s
voice: That’s great! You really helped himzdfqg Mom. SERENA: I hope so. I’ll still
be going in to see him every day for a while. Can you tell J

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ason and Grandma? ZOE’s voice: I will. And you take care of yourself. 55 INTERIOR:
LIVING ROOM (LATE EVENING) SERENA is sitting on the sofa in her pajamaszdfqg
engrossed in reading a book. The coffee table has several jagged towers of
hastily piled books. INTERIOR: BEDROOM (NIGHT) The room is darkenedzdfqg but we
can see SERENA in bed. She is lying down with her head on her pillowzdfqg but her
eyes are wide open. She seems exhaustedzdfqg but mentally alert. SERENA:
Jeremyzdfqg my lovezdfqg I hope you’re listening. I’ve just finished reading
several books on near-death experiences. I understand the same things happen when
we actually die. So I imagine you’ve been through it all—the tunnelzdfqg the
Lightzdfqg the life reviewzdfqg and meeting loved ones. I always feltzdfqg
instinctivelyzdfqg that you were in a place full of lovezdfqg peacezdfqg and joy.
Nowzdfqg after reading all thiszdfqg I know you arezdfqg and I’m so happy for
youzdfqg darling…. Tomorrowzdfqg I’ll see Alan and hear what he has to say. It may
turn out that we’ll spend the res

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t of our lives together. But I’ll always love you and I look forward to seeing you
when I get to heaven. In the meanwhilezdfqg I’m ever grateful for all you do for
the children and me. Please stay connected to uszdfqg always. INTERIOR: BEDROOM
(MORNING) The sunlight is streaming in on SERENA as she wakes up. She smiles and
looks deeply contented. SERENA (softly): Jeremyzdfqg honeyzdfqg I felt your hug as
I was waking. It was so realzdfqg as if you were physically here. You 56 did the
same thing for mezdfqg several timeszdfqg soon after you were gonezdfqg but not
recently. Back thenzdfqg it was to help me heal. Nowzdfqg I believe it was in
answer to my heartfelt talk with you last night. Thank youzdfqg darling. I love
you! INTERIOR: ALAN’S HOSPITAL ROOM (DAY) ALAN is sleeping. SERENA is sitting in a
chairzdfqg reading. ALAN wakes up and sees her. She smiles at him. SERENA
(pulling her chair closer): How do you feel today? ALAN: Better. The pain’s not so
frequent. SERENA: Ohzdfqg I’m so glad. Andzdfqg did you sleep well? ALAN:

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I did. (Smiling) Someone told me I had to. SERENA: I’m grateful you took it
seriously. Are you allowed to eat? Do you want anything? ALAN: They gave me some
thin porridge this morning. I’m not hungry now. But I’d like some waterzdfqg
please. SERENA picks up ALAN’s cup of water from the side tablezdfqg and holds it
so he can drink out of it. He nods his thanks. SERENA: I read about near-death
experiences all evening yesterday. It’s all so amazing. But I know it’s true. I’m
ready to listen if you’re up to sharing anything today. ALAN is quiet. SERENA
waits patiently. 57 ALAN: I was trying to decide which part to tell you first.
Especially if we’re going to do this over several days. SERENA: Can you tell me
how you know God exists? ALAN: Yeszdfqg that’s the right place to start. When I
crashedzdfqg I felt my spirit leaving my body. I saw my banged up car and my
broken body in it. Then I felt myself rising up. I saw the trees on the side of
the highway and then the tops of the trees. All

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of a sudden I was in a terribly uncomfortable place. The walls were dull colored
and pulsating. There was awful musiczdfqg if you can even call it music. I seemed
stuck there for the longest time. I was completely miserable. Eventually I prayed
for help. SERENA: What did you say? ALAN: I saidzdfqg “Please help me God. I’m not
happy here.” Instantlyzdfqg I was racing through a tunnel with a pinpoint of
light at the end. I could hear melodious soundszdfqg like those made by wind
instruments. The light became larger and larger as I sped toward it. SERENA: So
far it sounds exactly like what I read. But most people went straight to the
tunnel after their out-of-body experience. Only a few started with something
unpleasant. ALAN: Did those people say why that happened? SERENA: Typically they
didn’t believe in God. ALAN (ruefully): Like me. 58 SERENA (nodding): Or in a few
caseszdfqg they were just not ready to die. But they all went through the tunnel
when they prayed for help. Ohzdfqg Alanzdfqg I’m

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so glad you prayed. ALAN: I had to. It was hellzdfqg at least figuratively.
SERENA: It sounds terrible. And then what happened? ALAN: At the end of the tunnel
I went into a world full of Light and Love. The Light was brilliantzdfqg but not
blinding. The Love was immense. I’ve never felt so loved. And in turnzdfqg I
loved everyone and everything. I could have stayed there forever. Laterzdfqg some
beings of light told me that the livingzdfqg loving Light was God. SERENA
(leaning forward and hugging ALAN): How wonderful! I’m so happy for you. (Sitting
back) Your descriptions closely match my reading…. But not everyone seemed to
know that the Light was God. ALAN: I didn’t eitherzdfqg while I was in the Light.
But it was the most spiritualzdfqg the most wondrous experience ever. And I felt
I was home. ALAN closes his eyes and sighs. SERENA: Ohzdfqg you seem so tired.
Would you like to sleep? ALAN (eyes still closed): I do feel worn out. Maybe I
should get some rest. (Sleepily) See you tomorrow? SEREN

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A: Yes. Sleep well and keep getting better! 59 EXTERIOR: RIVER WALK (CONTINUOUS)
SERENA is walking by the river. She looks happy. She sits on a swing and swings
back and forthzdfqg while gazing at the river. A butterfly makes a beeline toward
her from the opposite bankzdfqg and brushes her cheek. SERENA touches her
cheekzdfqg looks upzdfqg and whisperszdfqg “Thank youzdfqg Jeremy.” We hear the
phone ring and the view changes to split screen. It is ZOE callingzdfqg while
sitting on a bench on campuszdfqg near a bush with bright red flowers. SERENA:
Hizdfqg Zoe. I just had a butterfly ADC from Dad! ZOE: How lovely! And what
perfect timing to share it with me. Actuallyzdfqg I wasn’t expecting you to
answerzdfqg Mom. I was just going to record a message. SERENA (joking):
Disappointed? ZOE: Of course not! But how come you’re not at the hospital? You
sound jolly thoughzdfqg so I think all is well. SERENA: It is indeed. Alan’s
accident has made him believe in God. It makes me very happy. ZOE: I hope
everything will work ou

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tzdfqg Mom. SERENA: Thank you. And what were you calling about? ZOE: I was just
going to leave you an upbeat message to say I’m enjoying my research with Dr.
Robinson very much. I think I may well end up a professorzdfqg like you and Dad.
60 SERENA: That is excellent! I’m delighted to hear it…. Ohzdfqg but what about
the trip to Paris? Is it too late to sign up? ZOE: They’re leaving soon. I didn’t
sign up. You and Alan had a falling out just when I found out the details of the
trip. So I decided not to go. SERENA: You gave up the trip for me! ZOE: Nozdfqg I
did it for me. I simply would not have enjoyed itzdfqg worrying about you.
Besideszdfqg Dr. Robinson said he’ll make this an annual thingzdfqg so I can go
next year. SERENA: Wellzdfqg that’s goodzdfqg that you’ll get to go. And now you
can stop worrying about mezdfqg too. They laugh. INTERIOR: ALAN’S HOSPITAL ROOM
(DAY) SERENA walks in. ALAN is awake and grins when he sees her. She goes to him
and kisses him on the head. SERENA (pulling up a chair): You’

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re looking stronger. ALAN: They seem to think sozdfqg too. They gave me thicker
porridge today. And I think it’s made me more energized. SERENA: Great! Would you
like to tell me more now? ALAN (nodding): Wellzdfqg after I experienced the
Lightzdfqg it went into the backgroundzdfqg sort ofzdfqg and three beings of light
61 appeared. They told me it was not my time yet and I would have to go back. But
first I would briefly review my life and they would answer any questions I had.
ALAN coughszdfqg and stops talkingzdfqg a bit out of breath. SERENA: Waitzdfqg
don’t tire yourself out. I read about the life reviewzdfqg so I already have some
idea of what happens. ALAN (softly): Tell me your understanding of it. SERENA: You
see incidents from your whole lifezdfqg on a kind of panoramic screenzdfqg almost
simultaneously. You see it from the perspective of the recipients of your actions.
You fully experience the good and bad you have done to others. ALAN: That’s
exactly what it was. You did your homework very well indeed.

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SERENA (smiling): Thank you. ALAN: A lot of it was terribly uncomfortable. I saw
how I grieved the three women I broke up with. I could have been much kinder. I
understood how even casual remarks I made hurt people—studentszdfqg
colleagueszdfqg strangers. I’m determined to be a better person now. SERENA: Good
for you. We all need to do that. ALAN: But most of allzdfqg I was shocked by how
much pain I caused you. I had no idea I wounded you in our discussions and by my
attitude. 62 SERENA (quietly): It’s okay. ALAN: Do you forgive me? SERENA: I do.
It’s in the past now. ALAN: I’ll try very hard never to hurt you again. But if I
start tozdfqg will you stop me? And help me be a better person? SERENA: I will....
If we could just be mindful that we have to experience everything we do to
otherszdfqg we could all be better people. ALAN nods and becomes pensive. SERENA:
Did you ask the beings of light any questions? ALAN: Yes. I asked them about God.
They said the Light I experienced was God.

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That made perfect sense. I had felt deeply loved and fully loving in turn when I
was in the Light. I also felt I understood the reason for everything. So that’s
who God is—ultimate love and ultimate wisdom. SERENA: And from what I’ve readzdfqg
even though it sounds weirdzdfqg we’re all part of God. ALAN: Definitely. I felt
I was homezdfqg that I belonged in that wondrous space. I not only understand now
that God existszdfqg but I know we all come from God. SERENA: I’m very happy to
hear thiszdfqg Alan. 63 ALAN: I’m glad. I want more than anything to make you
happyzdfqg Serena. SERENA gets up and kisses him on the head again. ALAN closes
his eyes and smiles. SERENA: Did you ask any other questions? ALAN: I
thoughtzdfqg “I’ve been here beforezdfqg haven’t I?” And they repliedzdfqg “Yes.”
All our communication was telepathic. SERENA: I know that from my reading. ALAN: I
asked if I’d been on earth before this life. And they saidzdfqg “Many times. But
this is not the occasion to review those lives.” SERENA: Sozdfqg

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reincarnation is true. I had wondered. It makes sense that we need several
lifetimes to grow. ALAN: We probably review all earth lives again when we die.
Anywayzdfqg I also asked the beings if we need to keep coming back until we reach
perfectionzdfqg or Nirvanazdfqg that I’d read about in theology. They said coming
back is voluntary for souls that have reached a certain level of advancement. And
it’s not as a reward or punishment. It’s for spiritual growth or to do something
that cannot be done in the spirit dimension. (Yawning) I didn’t ask any more
questions. SERENA (smiling): And I won’t either. (Getting up) I think you need to
rest nowzdfqg and I’ll see you tomorrow. ALAN nods as he closes his eyeszdfqg
apparently worn out. 64 EXTERIOR: PATIO (AFTERNOON) SERENA is walking in her
backyardzdfqg talking on the phone. SERENA: …I’m glad Zoe’s been keeping you
updatedzdfqg Mom. I just wanted to tell you that there may be a future for Alan
and mezdfqg after all. His accident has made him believe in God

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three beings were. Anywayzdfqg I was overjoyed to see my parents. They said they
had been my guardian angels all my lifezdfqg protecting me and helping me. You
were absolutely rightzdfqg Serena. SERENA grins. ALAN: I thanked them from my
heart. I asked if they knew about you. They said they and Jeremy brought us
together. SERENA (astonished): Jeremy! ALAN: I was amazedzdfqg too. They explained
that all of us are part of the same soul mate group. SERENA: Soul mate group?
Does that refer to a group of souls bound in eternal love? I read about it. ALAN:
Yes. Each group meets in heaven. They plan lives on earth together. They choose
different roles they will play within a family—as parents or children. They help
each other achieve their spiritual goalszdfqg whether in heaven or on earth. But
they may not always meet on earth as planned. SERENA: Wellzdfqg I already knew
that Jeremyzdfqg the children and I are bound in eternal love. But I’m delighted
to know you are part of our group toozdfqg and all our par

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ents. 66 ALAN: I feel so ashamed now that I mocked you when you pictured all of us
in heaven together. How did you know? SERENA: Just intuition perhaps. Or hope?
ALAN: Or remembering the truth from experience? SERENA: That could be…. Maybe
that’s what intuition iszdfqg deep-seated knowledge. ALAN: You’re right. We all
have that wisdom deep inside of us. But not all of us are as tuned in to it as you
are. SERENA: Perhaps I’m more tuned inzdfqg as you call itzdfqg because Jeremy is
helping me. ALAN: Perhaps. But my parents were helping mezdfqg and still I was
not at all tuned in. SERENA: Maybe you were too young to recognize any spirit
communication. Or maybe they didn’t try because you were so young. They simply
focused on helping you. ALAN: I never thought of asking my parents about this. But
I think most people don’t recognize ADCs. Sadzdfqg isn’t it? SERENA: Wait! I don’t
understand something. Were you and I supposed to meet? Was Jeremy’s death planned?
ALAN: Nozdfqg and not my parents’ dea

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ask him to give permissionzdfqg so I can discuss his condition with the doctors or
with you. When he wakes upzdfqg can you please ask him about this? Thanks so much.
EXTERIOR: PATIO (EVENING) SERENA is eating dinner when the phone rings. SERENA:
Nurse Hollowayzdfqg thanks for calling back. NURSE’s voice: Sure. Mr. Wyatt has
given permission for you to discuss his condition with the medical staff. 69
SERENA: Thank you! Alan seems to be recuperating wellzdfqg doesn’t he? NURSE’s
voice: He is. But he needs more rest to recover completely. We don’t plan to
discharge him until he can eat better and move about a bit. SERENA: Will any of
his injuries create long term issues? NURSE’s voice: Nozdfqg we don’t think so.
SERENA: Will he need nursing care after he is discharged? NURSE’s voice: We’ll
have to gauge that later. INTERIOR: ALAN’S HOSPITAL ROOM (DAY) ALAN is sitting up
in bedzdfqg eating porridge and cut-up fruit. A NURSE is in the roomzdfqg making
notes from the equipment. SERENA walks in. She loo
__SEP__
ks surprised and pleased. SERENA: Ohzdfqg my! You’re sitting up and eating by
yourself. Fruitzdfqg too. That’s great! ALAN grins. The NURSE finishes making her
noteszdfqg smiles at themzdfqg and goes out of the room. SERENA: I understand from
Nurse Holloway that you’re making excellent progress. And I can see itzdfqg too.
ALAN (looking at her pointedly): I’ve had good medicine. 70 SERENA laughs. She
pulls up a chair and sits down. ALAN: They’ll start physical therapy soon. And
expand my diet. I’ve told them I’m vegetarianzdfqg and they said they can handle
it. I’m looking forward to eating veggies and beans. SERENA: It all sounds
promising. ALAN: How are the children? SERENA: Still busy and happy. ALAN: Good.
I’m planning to call my aunt today. She must have left several voice mails and
must be wondering why I haven’t called back. I’ll minimize the accident and
hospital bit so she won’t worry too much…. Shall I tell her about us? SERENA:
Yes. That way she’ll worry even less. ALAN: Have you to

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ld your parents? SERENA: I have. By the wayzdfqg who’s Anne White? ALAN (taken
aback): What? SERENA: Was she one of your girl friends? ALAN: How did you know?
SERENA (mysteriously): I have connections. ALAN stares at herzdfqg curious and
puzzled. 71 SERENA (laughing): I’m just kidding. The nurse who called me said you
had phoned Anne White a short while before you crashed. The nurse left her a
message about your accidentzdfqg but Anne never called her back. ALAN: She
obviously wants nothing to do with me. SERENA: Does that make you sad? ALAN: Not
at all. I called her in desperation. I thought there was no future for you and me.
I was lonely and distraught. SERENA: When exactly were you involved with Anne?
ALAN: We met about a year ago. SERENA: So that’s why our angels waited for a while
even after Jason left home. They had to wait till you were ready. ALAN: You’re
right. I didn’t even think of that yesterday. SERENA: It’s okay. I understand the
timing better now. But coming bac

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k to Anne for a minutezdfqg what did she say when you called her? And what made
you crash? ALAN: She never answeredzdfqg nor returned my call. I went over to try
to see herzdfqg but she didn’t answer the bell. I was caught in the rain coming
back and swerved to avoid a truck speeding toward me while going over the
centerline. SERENA: And hit a tree! ALAN: Yes. You know the rest. 72 SERENA:
Ohzdfqg Alanzdfqg I’m so grateful you weren’t killed. ALAN: Mezdfqg too. But I got
a taste of death…and found out some wondrous truths. I shudder to think where I
would be now if that hadn’t happened. ALAN holds out his handzdfqg and SERENA
puts her hand in his. SERENA: True. We would not be here together otherwise. ALAN:
Do you think my accident was planned in heaven? SERENA: Nozdfqg I cannot imagine
your parents would want you to be hurt so badly. ALAN: But how else would I have
had a near-death experience? SERENA: You might have stumbled on the truth in some
other way. There’s no point in conjecturing about all
__SEP__
that. What I do know is that your parentszdfqg your guardian angelszdfqg helped
you recover quickly from very serious injuries. ALAN (grinning): My earth angel
played a big rolezdfqg too. SERENA smiles and squeezes his hand lovingly. ALAN
(brightly): And you were right about Jeremy. He’s your guardian angel and the
children’s too. 73 SERENA (surprised at his stating the obvious): I know thatzdfqg
of course. (Understanding him) Ohzdfqg do you mean your parents said so? ALAN:
Yes. I asked them specifically. They even said he would continue watching over
youzdfqg when you and I build a life together. SERENA: I know he will…. But I’m
glad you know thatzdfqg too. ALAN: It makes me so happy to think of our building a
life together. (Hesitating) But I guess you would like to wait till I am
completely well to make a formal commitment. SERENA: It’s not necessary to wait.
The only thing standing between us was your doubt in God and in eternal love.
That’s all gone now. And our being together was lovingly a

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rranged by Jeremy and your parents. (Smiling) It’s all settled. Don’t you feel the
same? ALAN: I’m delighted about our futurezdfqg Serena. SERENA hugs himzdfqg and
kisses him on the head. ALAN (playfully): When do I get a real kiss? SERENA
(laughing): When you’re stronger. Right now we need to keep you free of germs.
ALAN: Another incentive to get well speedily…. But when should we plan to get
married? The doctor said I may recover in time to teach in the fall. 74 SERENA:
Really? If that’s the casezdfqg we could plan a late summer wedding. A quiet
onezdfqg with just the family. ALAN: You mean Zoe and Jason. SERENA: I do. And my
parents. And your aunt and uncle. But let’s wait to announce this until we’re sure
you’re on track to teach in the fall. ALAN: I agree. But shall we buy a new
house? SERENA: Nozdfqg just move in with me. But keep your apartment until after
the wedding so we have enough space to host everyone. ALAN: You mean my aunt and
uncle can stay with me at the apartment? SE

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RENA: No. I have a bigzdfqg four-bedroom house. We were able to buy a large
housezdfqg even in Californiazdfqg because the prices had dipped when we moved
here. Zoe and Jason have their own rooms. My parents can have the master
bedroomzdfqg and your aunt and uncle the guest room. ALAN: Ohzdfqg I see. And the
two of us in my apartment? SERENA (smiling): Wellzdfqg it will be our
honeymoonzdfqg won’t it? ALAN: Excellent planningzdfqg I must say. Had you given
all of this some thought? SERENA: Nozdfqg it just came to me. 75 ALAN: Well
since you’re on a rollzdfqg where should we get married? SERENA: The pavilion at
the river walk? ALAN: Perfect. And the ceremony? SERENA: We can ask a justice of
the peace to perform it and say our own vows. And we can celebrate with lunch at
the Riverside Tavern. They have many vegetarian options. ALAN: Terrific…. But I
must insist on one thing. When I’m dischargedzdfqg I’ll go to my apartmentzdfqg
not your house. SERENA: But who would take care of you? ALAN: You can help me by
setting
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up home carezdfqg including nursing as neededzdfqg as well as meals and
housecleaning. SERENA: I’ll be glad tozdfqg if that’s what you want. ALAN: It is.
I don’t like the thought of moving in to your house while I’m convalescing. I’ll
move in when we marryzdfqg when I’m strong again…. Alsozdfqg this wayzdfqg Zoe and
Jason can come home whenever they wish and stay as long as they likezdfqg without
having their mom fussing over an invalid. You can bring them over to meet me at
the apartment. SERENA: That’s very thoughtful of youzdfqg darling. They gaze at
each otherzdfqg smiling happilyzdfqg and still holding hands. It is obvious that
the future looks bright to them. 76 ACT THREE: BUT IS IT REAL? INTERIOR: ALAN’S
APARTMENT (TWO WEEKS LATER) It is a small apartment. ALAN is walking with some
difficulty in the living roomzdfqg using a walker. SERENA is alongside. A
wheelchair is in one cornerzdfqg ready to usezdfqg if needed. SERENA: Isn’t it
nice that your discharge from the hospital went so smoothly yesterday? ALAN (a bit
ou

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t of breath): Thanks for being there to help me. I needed it. Hope you rested well
last night. SERENA: I did. But you seem tiredzdfqg Alan. I wish you’d had some
breakfast first. Perhaps you should rest a bit now. ALAN nodszdfqg walks over to
the sofazdfqg and sits down. SERENA (walking over briskly to the kitchen): I do
think some breakfast will do you good. She starts fixing breakfast in the small
kitchen adjoining the living/dining area. She quickly fries eggszdfqg makes
toastzdfqg fills a glass with orange juicezdfqg and cuts up an apple. ALAN gets
upzdfqg walks over to the dining table using his walkerzdfqg and sits down
wearily. SERENA brings the breakfast dishes over at once. ALAN starts to eat
ravenously. SERENA (leaning against a kitchen counter): I’ll tell the home care
service to come in a couple of hours earlier from tomorrow. That way you can have
breakfast and then walk. 77 ALAN (between mouthfuls): Good ideazdfqg honey.
SERENA: Zoe and Jason arrive today. I’ll spend tomorrow with them and b

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A: My pleasure…. You know the physical therapist will come tomorrow and every
other day after that? ALAN: I remember. SERENA: And the nurse will visit once a
weekzdfqg for three weeks. I’ll try to be here when she comes. ALAN: If it
workszdfqg sure. If notzdfqg I’ll fill you in. They kiss brieflyzdfqg and SERENA
gets ready to leave. ALAN: Have fun with the children! SERENA: Thank you. Take care
and keep getting stronger! EXTERIOR: PATIO (EVENING) SERENAzdfqg ZOEzdfqg and
JASON are having dinner on the patio. They all seem relaxed and happy to be
together. SERENA: It’s great to have you both home. ZOE: It’s wonderful to be
homezdfqg Mom. 80 JASON (nodding): And dinner was delicious. SERENA: I’m glad you
enjoyed it. ZOE: I didzdfqg too. I’ll help you cook from tomorrowzdfqg Mom. And
Jason can do the dishes. JASON: Hey! Wait a minute…. ZOE (glibly): Like old times.
We all pitch inzdfqg remember? JASON: Ohzdfqg alright. In factzdfqg I’ll do the
dishes todayzdfqg too. And you can helpzdfqg Missy. ZOE: What? Me? (Joking) Not a
cha
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ncezdfqg mister! SERENA laughszdfqg happy to have the children homezdfqg and
seeing their easygoing bantering. SERENA: I thought we could go to Veggie Delight
tomorrow for lunchzdfqg and walk by the river afterwards. ZOE: That’s a lovely
plan. JASON: I like itzdfqg too. SERENA: And we can go see Alan the next day.
After lunch. JASON: Where does he live? SERENA: Close to campus. In an apartment.
81 ZOE: How is he doing? SERENA: Much better. He’s come a long way. But he still
has to rest and recuperate. ZOE: Sozdfqg are you guys an item now? SERENA
(smiling): We are. He knows now that God exists. He also knows love is eternal.
His not understanding all this was the only thing in the wayzdfqg as you know.
JASON: But what made him start believing in God? SERENA: He had a near-death
experience when he crashed. Do you know what that is? ZOE: Is that where dying
people go through a tunnel and see heaven? SERENA: Yes. Many meet their departed
loved oneszdfqg too. JASON: Isn’t that supposed to be just delus

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ions? I saw a movie that made fun of the whole thing. SERENA: There will always
be non-believers. But there is enough evidence to show the phenomenon is real. I
have some scholarly books on the coffee table about it. You both can look through
them to understand it all better. Neither of them shows much enthusiasm for the
idea. SERENA: Just so you knowzdfqg Alan still needs a walker and sometimes a
wheelchair. We’ve had his tub set up so he 82 can get inzdfqg sit on a
platformzdfqg and take a shower on his own. We’ve also set up home care service
for him. ZOE: What do they do? SERENA: They cook and clean for him. They can
support him in walking if he needs assistance. They can help with anything a
family member would do. JASON: I’m glad he didn’t expect you to do it. SERENA:
Wellzdfqg I would have been happy tozdfqg but he wanted to spare me the trouble.
ZOE: Good. It would have been too tiring for youzdfqg Mom. SERENA: Maybe…. But if
we were marriedzdfqg I would have. JASON (laughing): But you

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he piles of books on the coffee table. They are talking softly. JASON: What do
you think about Mom marrying Alan? ZOE: It’s strange she decided tozdfqg before we
even met him. JASON: I agree…. I hope he’s not making it up. That he had a near-
death experience. Just to get her to marry him. ZOE: Ohzdfqg I hope not. ZOE
flips through some of the books. JASON doeszdfqg too. ZOE: I wonder if he read
about near-death experiences and was thinking of telling Mom he had changed his
thinking… 84 JASON: …But when he crashedzdfqg he realized he could claim he had a
near-death experience himself! That would be more convincing. ZOE: At least he
didn’t fake the accident. His injuries were real. JASON: I know. He must have
come up with the idea in the hospitalzdfqg after reviving from the surgeries.
ZOE: How will we know for sure? JASON: Wellzdfqg we can get a better idea after we
meet him. ZOE (nodding): Don’t say anything to Mom meanwhile. JASON: I won’t. And
you don’t either. We need to figure this out tog
__SEP__
etherzdfqg and then decide what to do. INTERIOR: RESTAURANT (NOON) SERENAzdfqg
ZOEzdfqg and JASON are enjoying lunch. SERENA: How’s the music group coming
alongzdfqg Jason? Are you enjoying it? JASON: Very much. Rick and Francis have
gone home right now. We’ll pick it up after we all go back. It’s a lot of fun.
SERENA: I noticed you’ve brought your guitar. Will you play some of your group’s
favorite songs for Zoe and me? JASON: Sure. I’d love tozdfqg Mom. 85 SERENA: And
how’s your art history research going with Dr. Robinsonzdfqg Zoe? ZOE: It’s
great. I love it. But we’re on a break now. He’s in Paris with the students who
signed up. We’ll resume after they return. And continue in the fall. SERENA:
Good. And Jasonzdfqg any thoughts about your major? JASON: I like history. But I
hear the job prospects are poor. SERENA: Don’t worry about that. Do what you
enjoy. JASON: I do enjoy it. But I don’t know how to choose a topic or how to do
the research. Will you help me? SERENA: Certainlyzdfqg if I can. Bu

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t it’s not my area. It should be part of your university education to learn how to
do all this. You could also try to get an assistantship as Zoe didzdfqg and learn
through working with a professor. JASON: I’ve talked to a couple of professors
alreadyzdfqg but no one wants an undergrad as an assistant. SERENA: Wellzdfqg we
could ask Alan. He may be able to help. JASON frowns. Zoe gives him a quickzdfqg
warning glance. JASON (recovering): Yeahzdfqg surezdfqg Mom. 86 A succession of
shots: The three are walking by the river; ZOE is helping SERENA cook dinner; they
all are enjoying dinner on the patiozdfqg laughing and talking. INTERIOR: LIVING
ROOM (NIGHT) SERENA and ZOE are sitting on the sofa. SERENA: Do you still see Tad?
ZOE: Nozdfqg we’ve broken up completely. But amicably. I think we both realized we
were not right for each other. SERENA: I’m glad you both recognized thiszdfqg and
that the parting was friendly. I hope you’re not lonely or sad. ZOE: Nozdfqg I’m
at peace. And hopeful for the future. SERENA

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(hugging her): That’s my girl! JASON walks in from the kitchen and sits on a sofa
chair. SERENA: Thank youzdfqg Jasonzdfqg for doing the dishes. JASON: No
problemzdfqg Mom. And againzdfqg dinner was delicious. SERENA: I’m happy you
enjoyed itzdfqg dear. And thankszdfqg Zoezdfqg for helping me cook. ZOE: It was
fun. SERENA (looking at the piles of books on the coffee table): And did you two
read any of these books last night? 87 ZOE: We glanced at them. SERENA: Do you
have any questions? JASON: When Alan told you about his experiencezdfqg did it
sound like the descriptions in these books? SERENA: Very similar. ZOE and JASON
exchange quick glances. JASON: What did he say? SERENA: Wellzdfqg he went through
the tunnelzdfqg experienced the divine Lightzdfqg and met his parents. They told
him they were watching over him. You knowzdfqg like Dad does for us. ZOE: Had you
told Alan that Dad watches over us? SERENA: Yes. (Laughing) But he hadn’t believed
it then. JASON: And this is what made him believe in God? SERENA: He ex

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perienced God. It was wonderful. (Looking at the books) Other people also started
believing in God after their experience. JASON: The books say that? SERENA: They
do. (Slightly exasperated) Why don’t you read them? They’re very enlightening. 88
ZOE: Okayzdfqg Mom. We will. SERENA (yawning): I’m going to bed. I’ve been up a
lot longer than you two. ZOE: Ohzdfqg you must be tired. It’s been a long day for
you. (Kissing SERENA) Good nightzdfqg Mom. SERENA (kissing ZOE): Good nightzdfqg
darling. JASON (kissing SERENA): Good nightzdfqg Mom. SERENA (kissing JASON):
Good nightzdfqg sweetie. (To both) Don’t stay up too late! ZOE and JASON
(together): We won’t! SERENA leaves. ZOE and JASON look at each other. ZOE: What
do you think? JASON: So far everything supports our suspicions. ZOE: But we
should keep our minds open. Wait till we meet him tomorrow. (Handing JASON a book)
Herezdfqg look through that. (Picking up another book) I’ll look though this one.
They flip through the books quicklyzdfqg only pau

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Our job is to find out if Alan is tricking Mom. ZOE: I agree. We need to protect
her. 90 INTERIOR: ALAN’S APARTMENT (AFTERNOON) ALAN is in a wheelchair. He looks
weakzdfqg but expectant. The doorbell rings. He wheels himself over to open the
door. SERENA comes in and kisses him. ZOE and JASON walk inzdfqg looking a bit
awkward. SERENA introduces everyone. SERENA: Oh! But you look exhaustedzdfqg
darling. ALAN: I didn’t sleep too well last night. Maybe I had too much physical
therapy. SERENA: You should have called me and cancelled. We could have come
tomorrow instead. You know how important proper rest is for your recovery. ALAN:
I’m okayzdfqg honey. Don’t worry. I’ve been looking forward to meeting Zoe and
Jason. Meanwhile ZOE and JASON have been glancing around at the apartmentzdfqg
not looking too pleased. When ALAN mentions themzdfqg they smilezdfqg but still
seem a bit distant. SERENA: Come onzdfqg you two. Sit downzdfqg make yourselves at
home. ALAN: Would anyone like something to drink? Or eat?

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SERENA: We’ve just had lunchzdfqg so don’t worry about us. ZOE (to ALAN): How are
you feeling? 91 ALAN: I’m recovering wellzdfqg on the whole. Just a bit tired
today. ZOE and JASON don’t respond. ALAN: How are you both enjoying being home?
ZOE: It’s wonderfulzdfqg as always. JASON: Yes. It’s good to see Mom. SERENA
smiles. ALAN doeszdfqg too. ALAN: Sozdfqg what have you all been doing? SERENA:
We had lunch at Veggie Delight yesterday. And did the river walk. ALAN: Sounds
great. ZOE: Other than thatzdfqg just relaxing at home. SERENA: They’re helping me
cook and clean. JASON: And we did some reading on near-death experiences…. Mom
insisted. ALAN looks surprised. ZOE glares at JASON. SERENA looks uncomfortable.
ALAN: Honeyzdfqg you didn’t have to do that. 92 SERENA: I just wanted them to
understand what you had been through. Everyone is quiet for a bit. JASON: Mom
said you met your parents. ALAN nodszdfqg but doesn’t say anything. He looks as if
he’s wondering how much SERENA has revealed. ZOE: And

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that you experienced God. ALAN nods againzdfqg but now looks questioningly at
SERENA. SERENA: That’s pretty much all I said. JASON: You did mention the tunnel.
SERENA: That’s right. (To ALAN) I only mentioned it as a common feature of the
near-death experience. ALAN doesn’t say anything. JASON: I wonder why everyone
goes through a tunnel. SERENA: It serves as a metaphor—for a bridge from one
world to another. Some people actually saw a bridge instead of a tunnel. ALAN
(drawn in): I didn’t know that. 93 SERENA: I’ll bring the books over after Zoe and
Jason go back. I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading them and comparing everything to
your own experience. ALAN (musing): Yeszdfqg that would be interesting. JASON:
You’ve never read about near-death experiences? ALAN: No. ZOE: But you’ve read
about ADCszdfqg I meanzdfqg after-death communicationszdfqg haven’t you? ALAN: I
have. (Grinning) Mom insisted. SERENA (laughing): It didn’t helpzdfqg did it?
ALAN: No. I was a reductionist. SERENA and ALAN s

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mile meaningfully at each other. JASON (abruptly changing the subject): You teach
anthropology? ALAN: I do. ZOE: And what type of research do you do? ALAN: I
study different cultures and also archaeology. I write articles and bookszdfqg
pretty much as your mother does. I understand you’re interested in art history.
ZOE nods. 94 ALAN: And that you gave up a trip to Pariszdfqg worrying about your
Mom. ZOE: Mom always comes first for us. JASON: Yes. We always make sure she’s
okay. SERENA (frowning): You guys are giving Alan the impression that I need
looking after. ZOE: Sorryzdfqg I didn’t mean that. JASON: Mezdfqg neither. ZOE:
It’s just that we feel we need to look out for her… JASON: …as she does for us.
ALAN: I understand. Nothing wrong with that. (Smiling at SERENA) They love
youzdfqg that’s all. SERENA (smiling): I know. Would anyone like some water?
Everyone nods. SERENA goes to the kitchen. ALAN: And Jason? Have you picked a
major yet? JASON: No. ALAN: Wellzdfqg there’s time. What

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subjects do you enjoy? 95 JASON is quiet. ALAN looks surprised. ZOE looks
embarrassed at JASON’s silence. ZOE: He likes history. But he finds it difficult.
JASON glares at ZOE. ALAN: Wellzdfqg that can be part of the challenge. It’s
better to choose a subject you enjoyzdfqg even if it’s difficult. Too many
students take something easyzdfqg and end up not liking what they do in life.
SERENA is back and hands glasses of water to everyone. SERENA: Sound advicezdfqg
Alan. I was telling Jason earlier that he could ask you for guidance in working on
his papers. ALAN: Sure. I’ll be happy to help. Will your next history class be in
the fall? JASON: Actually I’ve registered for cultural history in the second
summer session. It’ll start in two weeks. SERENA (surprised): I didn’t know
thatzdfqg sweetie. When did you decide on this? JASON: Wellzdfqg I wasn’t sure
about our summer plans with you being busy and all. So I decided to get a head
start. SERENA: Good for youzdfqg Jason. And Zoe’s getting a head s

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tart on her research skills. I’m proud of both of you. 96 ALAN: Yeszdfqg most
commendable. Wellzdfqg Jasonzdfqg let me know if I can help in any way. We can
communicate by emailzdfqg too. JASON (a bit grudgingly): Thank you. SERENA (to
ALAN): I hate to cut our visit shortzdfqg honeyzdfqg but I do think you should
rest. ALAN: I guess so. I do feel a bit worn out. (To ZOE and JASON) It was very
nice to meet you both. And I look forward to getting to know you better. ZOE and
JASON (standing up): Nice meeting youzdfqg too. SERENA: Rest wellzdfqg honey.
We’ll talk in the morning as usual. But call any time if you need anything. ALAN:
Okay. But I’m all set upzdfqg so don’t worry. SERENA: And don’t overdo the
physical therapy tomorrow. Sleeping well is more important. ALAN (grinning):
Yeszdfqg ma’am. SERENA kisses ALAN. ZOE and JASON wave to him and he waves back.
The three go out the front door. EXTERIOR: CAR (CONTINUOUS) They are driving along
back roads. Rich green trees border the roads and there is very litt

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le traffic. SERENA: Wellzdfqg what did you think? 97 ZOE: He seems nice. SERENA:
He is. Jason? JASON: Yeahzdfqg he seems nice. SERENA: I’m sorry I had to cut the
visit short. But he needs to rest. We can go back in a couple of days. ZOE and
JASON don’t respond. SERENA: Don’t you want to get to know him better? ZOE: Of
course. JASON: Yeah. SERENA notices their lack of enthusiasmzdfqg but doesn’t say
anything. She looks a little sad. ZOE: Can we walk by the river? SERENA
(quietly): Sure. EXTERIOR: PATIO (EVENING) The family is relaxing on the patio
after having dinner. ZOE: How come Alan never marriedzdfqg Mom? SERENA: He never
found the right person all this time. 98 JASON: And you’re her? SERENA (smiling):
Apparently so. JASON: But is he the right person for youzdfqg or was Dad? ZOE:
Jason! SERENA: It’s okayzdfqg Zoe. Dad was the right person for mezdfqg as you
both know. But now that he’s no longer on earthzdfqg Alan is the right person to
spend the rest of my life with. ZOE: How do you knowzdfqg Mo

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ntroduction 1 Angels 2 Our Connection to God 3 Guardian Angels 4 Soul Mates 9
Incorrect Depictions of Angels 12 Abilities of Spirits 17 Receiving ADCs 20 Ongoing
ADCs 27 Dying 29 Life Review 32 Soul Purpose 36 Spirituality and Love 38 Heaven and
Hell 40 What Heaven is Like 45 Reincarnation 54 The Special Case of Children 59
What about Animals? 61 Conclusion 62 Annotated Filmography 63 Glossary 115
Annotated Bibliography 116 About the Author 119 1 Are Angels and Heaven Depicted
Correctly in Films? by Pratibha A. Dabholkarzdfqg Ph.D. Introduction The primary
purpose of films is entertainment. Most of the movies discussed here fulfill that
purpose very well. Only a few of them do not. But even the entertaining ones do
not always succeed in the secondary purpose of enlightenment; for somezdfqg it is
not even an objective. This book examines how films have portrayed angelszdfqg
heavenzdfqg and supernatural phenomenazdfqg and how closely these depictions tie
in with knowledge we have gained from t

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he near-death experience (NDE) and after-death communication (ADC) literatures.
[If you are unfamiliar with NDEszdfqg ADCszdfqg and other spirit experienceszdfqg
please first read the Glossary (pp. 115-116) and my book Heaven is Not a Distant
Place.] It is impossible to write evaluations of movies in this context without
giving away parts of the plot or the endings. Most likelyzdfqg readers will
already have seen many of these filmszdfqg so it should not be an issue. But if
this is of concern to youzdfqg note the titles in the filmography firstzdfqg see
the movies you have missedzdfqg and then read the book. Alternatelyzdfqg you can
read and enjoy the book firstzdfqg and then see the films (even the ones you have
seen before) to appreciate them from a different perspective. 2 Angels Most films
correctly show angels as goodzdfqg but a few show them as evil. I do not include
the latter type. They are not only wrong-mindedzdfqg they violate the reason for
our being herezdfqg whichzdfqg as people who have had NDEs (i.e.zdfqg near-d

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eath “experiencers” or NDErs) tell uszdfqg is to spread love and joyzdfqg become
wiserzdfqg and grow spiritually. But who exactly are angels? Moviemakers tend to
portray good people (even after they die) as different from angelszdfqg based on
archaic religious myths. But we know from NDEs and ADCs that this is not the case.
Any departed soul that has gone to the Light (another word for heaven or for God)
is an angel. The excellent Highway to Heaven television series (1984-1989)
correctly shows Michael Landon’s character as having lived on earth before he
became an angel. Several filmszdfqg Angels in the Outfield (1951)zdfqg Charley and
the Angel (1973)zdfqg and A Rumor of Angels (2001)zdfqg also accurately depict
that angels are simply people who have lived previously on earth and are now in
heaven. Both NDEs and ADCs reveal that departed spirits in heaven are fully
capable of all the “magical” actions people often attribute to angels. An angel is
not a separate entity but simply a spirit created by

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Godzdfqg that has spent some time on earth and is now back in the spirit realm. 3
Our Connection to God The truth is we all come from God and our souls are made of
consciousness and energyzdfqg just as God is. We know this from NDEs as well as
mystical experiences that people have had. Of coursezdfqg Godzdfqg the Creator of
everyonezdfqg is boundless in lovezdfqg wisdomzdfqg and understandingzdfqg whereas
humans have many faults to overcome. Neverthelesszdfqg when people have NDEs or
mystical experienceszdfqg they intensely experience the wonder and expansive love
that is Godzdfqg and realize that we are all an intrinsic part of God. The
remarkable movie The Razor’s Edge (1946)zdfqg based on an unusual book by Somerset
Maughamzdfqg is unique in suggesting this temporary merging with God. The
protagonistzdfqg played by Tyrone Powerzdfqg is desperate to understand the
meaning of life. Alone in a mountain retreatzdfqg he has a mystical experience in
which he feels one with God and blissfully feels deep love for everyone and
everythin

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gzdfqg which is exactly what NDErs have felt during their time in heaven. In
contrastzdfqg Defending Your Life (1991) does not acknowledge Godzdfqg and sees
the universe as a big machine. Phenomenon (1996) does not mention God eitherzdfqg
but it correctly says our souls are who we really are and our essence is energy.
Many films do refer to Godzdfqg which is good; but they do so in religious
termszdfqg not recognizing the deep metaphysical connection of our souls with God.
4 In Resurrection (1980)zdfqg Ellen Burstyn plays a woman who has an NDE (in an
accident where her husband is killed) and experiences the Light before being
pulled back to her body. Although she does not explicitly say that the Light is
Godzdfqg she implies that it is. She says that the Light is bright and loving and
you realize that you are part of it. This is exactly as reported in the NDE
literaturezdfqg which recognizes the livingzdfqg loving Light as God. Most films
lack this deep understanding about God. For examplezdfqg in The Preacher’

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s Wife (1996)zdfqg a prayer starts withzdfqg “Lordzdfqg I know you’re especially
busy this time of yearzdfqg” showing a simplistic conception of Godzdfqg similar
to that of Santa Claus. Alsozdfqg it is strange for a preacher to sayzdfqg
“Lordzdfqg if you’re really up therezdfqg I need some helpzdfqg” when his car does
not start. It shows doubt in the existence of Godzdfqg to say the least. There are
also songs about God as King and God’s thronezdfqg which show the movie’s lack of
real understanding about God. (The film does have some correct depictionszdfqg
discussed later in the filmography.) Guardian Angels We know from NDEs and ADCs
that guardian angels are our own departed loved ones. NDErs have related that
they met their loved ones in the spirit worldzdfqg and were told that these angels
were watching over and protecting them. ADC recipients have asserted that loved
ones in the spirit dimension communicated that they were looking 5 after them and
helping them through earth life. It is not a worker who has to “earn his

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wings.” And yetzdfqg many classic films that show spirits or angels helping
peoplezdfqg such as Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) and It’s a Wonderful Life
(1946)zdfqg err in showing them as workers for Godzdfqg assigned to help
someonezdfqg and unrelated to them except as part of their job. Similarlyzdfqg
Defending Your Life (1991) and Afterlife (1998)zdfqg which depict way stations
rather than heavenzdfqg show case workers assigned to help incoming souls.
Ironicallyzdfqg even the Highway to Heaven television series which correctly shows
an angel as having previously lived on earthzdfqg shows him as God’s employee
assigned to help different people in every episode. It works well as a plot
device (and it is humorous that he calls God “boss”) but this depiction is totally
incorrect based on knowledge gained from NDEs and ADCs. The same is true for the
movies Charley and the Angel and Angels in the Outfield mentioned earlier. In
Charley and the Angelzdfqg it actually would have made sense to show the angel as
Charley

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’s departed father or unclezdfqg since it was just for one story and not for
repeated episodes. In Angels in the Outfieldzdfqg on hearing that the angel is a
former baseball playerzdfqg the team’s manager asks the angel if they knew each
other. But the angel says “maybe” and refuses to reveal who he is. When the
manager says it 6 would be nice to knowzdfqg the angel rudely replies that it is
none of his business. This is exactly the opposite of loving ADCs where the
recipient knows who is communicating and values this precious knowledge. In the
same filmzdfqg the angels are “assigned” to the team by an archangelzdfqg which
devalues the truth of guardian angels being our own loved ones. Alsozdfqg a
minister in the movie stateszdfqg “to deny angels is to deny the bible” which
further misinterprets who angels really are. A rabbi in the film sayszdfqg “angels
have helped people through the ageszdfqg” which is truezdfqg but this does not
contradict the reality that departed spirits have always helped their loved ones

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on earth. Whenever they havezdfqg most people recognized that someone was helping
them and rightly thought of them as angels; they just did not realize the personal
connections. In The Bishop’s Wife (1947)zdfqg the angel is incorrectly depicted
as being different from a departed soul and as assigned to a case. But what is
worsezdfqg the end of the film has him pitifully saying that he is tired of going
where they send himzdfqg never back to the same placezdfqg to avoid forming any
attachments. This same false idea shows up years later in the pilot episode of
Highway to Heaven. In both caseszdfqg their first wrong assumption “that angels
are assigned and unrelated to those they help” leads them to create a second
untruth—that angels are denied love connections with people. This makes God’s plan
appear cruel and uncaring about angelszdfqg when actually it is a 7 perfectly
loving plan for everyone. The negativity in both cases is due to a lack of
understanding that our guardian angels are our own d

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eparted loved oneszdfqg and that avoiding attachments is contrary to the spirit
world. Aside from ADC recipients who know their loved ones are watching over
themzdfqg and NDErs who realize the same truthzdfqg only a few people seem to
understand who our guardian angels really are. As a striking examplezdfqg Catholic
Monsignor Jean Vernette told researcher Evelyn Valarinozdfqg “Our departed ones
are present with us.... We can talk to them and they can hear us.... And they are
ready to lend us their real and effective help if we ask for it.” A Rumor of
Angels (2001) correctly shows the spirit of a departed soldier connected to his
motherzdfqg and trying to help her as a beloved guardian angel does in actuality.
He tells her he is safely on the other sidezdfqg and yet he can communicate with
her. He even says “I am not a ghostzdfqg but a being just as much as I ever was.”
This aspect of the film is taken from a true storyzdfqg Thy Son Liveth (1920).
The movie Beyond Tomorrow (1940) shows a departed spirit

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who is not assignedzdfqg but trying to bring a separated couple back together on
his own initiative. This part of the depiction fits the guardian angel
conceptzdfqg because the spirit knew the separated couple and cared about them.
But a major error this film makes is to portray that this departed soul is not yet
in heaven. In factzdfqg he is warned that if he does not leave earth right
awayzdfqg he will have lost 8 his one chance to leave. The moviemakers did not
understand that departed spirits are in heavenzdfqg while they watch over and
communicate with loved ones on earthzdfqg as ADC reports reveal. Alsozdfqg it is
not true that souls have only one chance to move upward. We can go to higher
planes in the spirit realm at our own pacezdfqg as NDErs attest. It is commendable
that The Human Comedy (1943)zdfqg Miracle in the Rain (1956)zdfqg and The Sea of
Trees (2014)zdfqg weave stories where departed loved ones are clearly watching
over the bereaved. It is not explicitly shown in The Sea of Treeszdfqg as it is in
th

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e other two filmszdfqg but it is implied in many clever ways (see filmography).
In Miracle in the Rainzdfqg a soldier’s spirit appears to his grieving fiancée and
tells her that he is finezdfqg and delighted to discover that love never dies. Not
realizing it is his spiritzdfqg she thinks the news of his death was wrongzdfqg
and asks him why he did not reply to her letters. He says he could notzdfqg
because there are no mailmen where he was. He then assures her that he will always
stay by her and love her. This clearly depicts him (to the audience) as her
guardian angelzdfqg who is in heaven and yet with her. Three excellent movieszdfqg
Cockeyed Miracle (1946)zdfqg Somewhere in Time (1980)zdfqg and What Dreams May
Come (1998)zdfqg correctly suggest that departed loved ones are guardian angels by
having them come to fetch someone when they die. But in What Dreams May Comezdfqg
it is not clear to the father for quite some time that the spirits 9 helping him
are his own children. Although this is not true to spirit expe

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rienceszdfqg this was obviously done to make the story interestingzdfqg as the
father gradually realizes that the spirits helping him are his beloved son and
daughter. Later in the same filmzdfqg the son tells the father to remember
exactly what he said to the mother when she was distraught after the children’s
deathszdfqg and to use that very approach in taking her out of hell. The son’s
advice to his father shows that the children’s spirits had been watching over the
parents all alongzdfqg and knew all they had been throughzdfqg which fits the role
of guardian angels. In keeping with how NDErs are met by loved ones in the spirit
worldzdfqg Dragonfly (2002) shows the wife’s spirit meeting her husband’s spirit
in his NDEzdfqg when he nearly drowns. She passes along critical information to
him about her own death. She also starts to pull him out of the waterzdfqg but
her hand quickly changes to the hand of the local guide who pulls him out. This
part is very subtle and is probably missed by most viewerszdfqg

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but it indicates her acting as a guardian angel. Soul Mates The NDE literature
reveals that each person has many soul mates— a group of souls eternally bound in
love. So we can also think of our departed loved ones as “soul mate angels.” For
people who have not lost loved oneszdfqg other soul mateszdfqg who chose not to
come to earth at the 10 same timezdfqg watch over them as guardian angels.
Thuszdfqg everyone (bereaved or not) has soul mate angels watching over themzdfqg
which is a comforting thought. Most people seem unaware that each of us has many
soul mates. For examplezdfqg What Dreams May Come incorrectly says that soul mates
are very rare. This view seems based on the traditional definition of soul mates
only as a couplezdfqg combined with the fact that many people do not find their
“soul mate” even after searchingzdfqg and end up spending their earth life with
someone else. It is worth noting that the alternate ending (which was dropped)
supports the idea of soul mates beyond the tradition

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al view. In this endingzdfqg the mother looks at her children in their grown-up
forms (moreoverzdfqg with the son as African#American and the daughter as Oriental)
and says happilyzdfqg as she hugs them closezdfqg that she would know them
anywhere. This scene clearly suggests a group of eternal soul mateszdfqg although
the movie does not say this. When the spirit of the soldier appears to his fiancée
in Miracle in the Rainzdfqg he tells herzdfqg “Time doesn’t matter….I love you as
if I’d always known you….I love you forever.” This clearly supports the concept of
eternal soul mateszdfqg and even hints at knowing each other before this life. In
Phenomenonzdfqg when the man discovers that he will die soonzdfqg he asks his
loverzdfqg “Will you love me for the rest of my life?” She replieszdfqg “Nozdfqg I
will love you for the rest of mine.” The response is meant to show her
devotionzdfqg but it 11 totally misses the point that love between eternal soul
mates is forever and not merely to the end of an earth life. The movies Made

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in Heaven (1987) and Defending Your Life (1991) fail to understand that everyone
has eternal soul mates. We do not go to the spirit world and “meet” someone new
and fall in lovezdfqg as these two films suggest. We know from the death-bed
vision (DBV) literature as well as NDE reportszdfqg that our soul mate angels come
to meet us when we diezdfqg and it is a blissful homecoming when we go to heaven.
Even when we fall in love with someone on earthzdfqg it is often one of our
eternal soul mates that we had planned to meet. This is why we get a déj� vu
feeling on falling deeply in love. We sense that we already know this person. And
in fact we do—at the soul level. In its failure to understand eternal love
connectionszdfqg Defending Your Life portrays a mother in the spirit world who
does not miss her young children greatly or show much concern for them. In
realityzdfqg they would be part of her soul mate group and she would be deeply
connected with them. Insteadzdfqg she is consumed by her excitemen

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t about the “new” man in her lifezdfqg and the discovery that she can eat all she
wants without gaining weight. In contrastzdfqg Beyond Tomorrow and Cockeyed
Miracle have a departed loved one mention to the newly transitioned soul that
“mother” is waiting to meet you. Cockeyed Miracle goes further by saying that
people who want to be together in heaven are together. These ideas 12 correctly
depict that not only do our departed loved ones come to take us to the spirit
world when we diezdfqg but we meet all our soul mate angels on going there.
Resurrection shows the woman having an NDE seeing many souls in the tunnel going
to the Light. They smile or wave at her (although it is difficult to see this
because they are all backlit). Laterzdfqg she tells her grandmother that she saw
her deceased mother and other relatives there; she also recognizes people in a
photo album who she saw in the tunnel. They all seem to have appeared there to
greet her. Thuszdfqg the film correctly hints that we see
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our departed loved ones in heaven. Incorrect Depictions of Angels It is ironic
that even while films tend to incorrectly depict angels as different from departed
spirits who have gone to the Lightzdfqg they show angels as having human
characteristics. But the NDE and ADC literatures reveal that we operate at a
higher spiritual level once we are in heaven. So portrayals of angels with human
failings are a misrepresentation. For examplezdfqg in Ghost (1990)zdfqg a
policewoman says that if spirits are all around uszdfqg she will have to watch out
while undressing. In realityzdfqg any spirits around us are our own soul mate
angels. They look at us with lovezdfqg and are not interested in people
undressing. The angel in The Bishop’s Wife (1947) is wrongly shown as falling in
love with the titular character. He 13 takes the wife on various outingszdfqg
mostly focused on fun rather than on helping anyonezdfqg which audiences may
enjoyzdfqg but it is not what he came to do. He makes the bishop very jealous of

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him; the bishop even calls him a thief for stealing his wife’s and daughter’s
affections. The filmmakers utterly failed to understand that angels do not “fall
in love” as humans dozdfqg because they are fully aware of and connected with
their own eternal soul mates. A Guy Named Joe (1943) and its remake Always (1989)
incorrectly show spirits being jealous because the person they love on earth is
loved by someone else. Actuallyzdfqg departed loved ones in heaven are full of
higher love and wisdom. They want the bereaved to find happiness againzdfqg even
as they continue to act as guardian angelszdfqg as NDErs tell us and as ADC
experiences show. The movie The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) similarly shows a
spirit who is jealous as a human might be. The spirit was not depicted this way
in the book (1945)zdfqg on which the film was based. Some films take this
erroneous “angels as humans” idea too far. Blithe Spirit (1945)zdfqg a delightful
moviezdfqg nevertheless suggests that a spirit can have a head

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coldzdfqg poke and tease someonezdfqg and play jokes on people. It even depicts
a spirit slapping another spirit. Michael (1996) has an angel smoking and being
vulgar in many ways. Made in Heaven (1987) shows God’s “special agent” (as if
there is one) chain-smoking. Wings of Desire (1987) utterly misrepresents angels
by depicting them as unhappyzdfqg and longing to go to earth so they can
smokezdfqg 14 drinkzdfqg and avail of physical pleasures. This film has almost
everything wrongzdfqg down to its title. The only spirits that crave smokingzdfqg
drinkingzdfqg or physical pleasures are low#level entitieszdfqg as explained below.
Another terrible example is Topper (1937) where departed spirits drink and
deliberately hurt peoplezdfqg while supposedly doing a good deed to earn a passage
to heaven. All of this contradicts knowledge gained from NDEs and ADCs. Negative
behavior by spirits suggests a case of ghosts rather than angels. Ghosts are
spirits who are trappedzdfqg unable to reach the Light. We learn about thi
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s from NDErs who were trapped at first due to negative emotions. We also know
this from encounters people have had with ghosts engaged in obsessive
behaviorzdfqg oblivious of their deathzdfqg and still attached to earth life in a
negative way. In the film Ghost (1990)zdfqg when the protagonist is viciously
killedzdfqg he refuses the Light when it first comes for him. He is not a “ghost”
in the literal sensezdfqg because he is not oblivious of his deathzdfqg and not
trapped by an inability to reach the Light. He stays back deliberatelyzdfqg to
find out what happenedzdfqg and to do something about it. Of coursezdfqg this is
not really possiblezdfqg but we accept it as part of the fantasy. He is not shown
as a higher-level spirit eitherzdfqg because he is bent on revenge. In factzdfqg
other than being invisible and unable to grasp objectszdfqg he acts very much
like a personzdfqg walking and using escalatorszdfqg for examplezdfqg instead of
traveling as a spirit would. 15 The movie also shows a ghost on a trainzdfqg
addicted to smoking.

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This depiction fits with Professor Ian Stevenson’s explanation that low-level
spirits often stay bound to earthzdfqg trying to continue their addictions or
viceszdfqg and that they are trapped in repetitive behavior. Some scholars say
that ghosts are immersed in their own world and not aware of other spirits. So the
interactions between the ghost on the train and the main character’s spirit would
not really be possiblezdfqg but they are part of the plot. Other sources sayzdfqg
howeverzdfqg that ghosts can interact with peoplezdfqg but they are unaware that
they have died. Both situations are depicted in The Sixth Sense (1999). The film
Beyond Tomorrow (1940) seems confused about the difference between ghosts and
angels. When the three elderly friends in the story are killed in an airplane
crashzdfqg they appear at their shared home and behave exactly like ghosts. They
continue to “smoke” and “drinkzdfqg” as they stay in the housezdfqg having no clue
as to what has happened. Once they realize their conditio

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nzdfqg one of them decides to take on the role of a guardian angel to a
couplezdfqg as mentioned earlier. But he continues to act like a ghostzdfqg simply
tagging along and mostly ineffective in his help. Wonder Man (1945) also shares
this confusion. The twin on earth hears “harp music” when his departed twin is
trying to contact himzdfqg but he also feels “cold and damp” as if a ghost is
nearby. When the spirit appears for the first timezdfqg it looks like “light” and
then manifests itself as an apparitionzdfqg matching some ADC reports. At the same
16 timezdfqg the spirit often acts in a spiritually bereft way and it seems
appropriate that his brother refers to him as a ghost. There is a joke at the end
where the departed spirit stops his twin from kissing his bridezdfqg laughs
mockinglyzdfqg and sayszdfqg “I’m a little devilzdfqg ain’t I?” It might work in a
movie (as low-level humor)zdfqg but departed spirits do not play tricks on their
loved ones. They are focused on loving and helping their soul mateszdfqg as the AD
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are “called.” Insteadzdfqg we know from the NDE 17 literature that spirits can
travel to anywhere in the universe (including earth)zdfqg instantaneously.
Abilities of Spirits Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) and its remake Heaven Can Wait
(1978) show spirits fading at times and appearing elsewherezdfqg correctly showing
their ability to travel instantaneously to anywhere. Here Comes Mr. Jordan even
mentions and marvels at thiszdfqg which is a nice acknowledgement of spirit
capabilities. There are reports in the literature that spirits can enter
someone’s body temporarily. Patients who had out-of#body experiences (OBEs) during
surgery have recounted seeing a luminous spirit enter the surgeon’s body to guide
the operation. Bereaved people have mentioned feeling unusual strength in crisis
situationszdfqg as if someone was inside themzdfqg helping them to shout loudly or
to run fastzdfqg to scare away intruders or avoid accidents. These instances went
beyond adrenalinzdfqg because often these “rescues” took

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place even before the recipients of this type of guardian angel protection knew
what was going on. Some filmszdfqg such as Wonder Man (1945)zdfqg Hearts and
Souls (1993)zdfqg and Just like Heaven (2005)zdfqg amusingly show spirits entering
someone’s body and taking it over temporarily. But Forever Darling (1956) gives
the incorrect impression that spirits can merge forever with the soul of the
person they enter. Here Comes Mr. Jordan 18 and Heaven Can Wait take this idea to a
ridiculous extreme in suggesting that a soul can live again in a dead person’s
bodyzdfqg but it works as a fictional plot device. NDErs have shared that as
spirits (that had just left the body) they could go through objects but could not
grasp themzdfqg or that people did not see or hear them and even walked “through”
them. Several classic movieszdfqg Wonder Manzdfqg Blithe Spiritzdfqg Here Comes
Mr. Jordanzdfqg and Cockeyed Miraclezdfqg show spirits walking through
objectszdfqg and also show people not hearing or seeing spiritszdfqg and sometimes

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walking through them. Needless to sayzdfqg all of this creates humorous scenarios
and the films make the most of it. All the films mentionedzdfqg except Blithe
Spiritzdfqg also include funny scenes where spirits are unable to grasp objects.
And yetzdfqg we know from ADCs that spirits can move objects with energy to
communicate with the bereaved or to protect them. This seems easy for spirits once
they are in heavenzdfqg at a higher level of spirituality. The ability to move
objects is correctly shown in a few filmszdfqg but it is not necessarily
associated with high-level spirits. Blithe Spirit shows spirits moving vaseszdfqg
opening doorszdfqg and blowing out matcheszdfqg even though the spirits here are
far from angelic. This ability is also shown in Dragonfly where it varies from a
low-levelzdfqg sudden disturbance of objects to startle someonezdfqg to gentle
ways of moving things that fit angelic ADCs. 19 Blithe Spirit goes a bit farzdfqg
howeverzdfqg in showing spirits able to materialize suitcases out of thin airzdfqg
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snatch a sandwich from someonezdfqg drive a carzdfqg and mess up a car’s brakes
so it crashes. All of these are inaccurate depictionszdfqg but very funny as
portrayed. NDErs say that when they were in heavenzdfqg they were delighted to
find that they were still the same personzdfqg although at a higher level of
consciousness. Catholic Monsignor Jean Vernette has corroborated this in telling
interviewer Evelyn Valarinozdfqg that the departed “retain the integrity of their
personality and characterzdfqg along with all their affection and tenderness;
nothing is lost.” The film Cockeyed Miracle shows this clearly where the spirits
of the father and son are very much like the individuals they were on earthzdfqg
in temperament and demeanor. What Dreams May Come also shows spirits retaining
their individuality through their interactionszdfqg as well as in the way they
create their own heavens. In Miracle in the Rainzdfqg the grieving fiancée of the
departed soldier tells his spirit that he is the same as he was (b

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efore the war)zdfqg still funny. Although she does not know that it is his spirit
(and thinks he is back from the war)zdfqg the audience knows he is deadzdfqg and
so the point is made about retaining individuality. Here Comes Mr. Jordan and
Heaven Can Wait have an amusing twist to show that preferences and idiosyncratic
tendencies continue after death. The protagonist (Joe) 20 continues to play his
saxophone badlyzdfqg which helps his trainer recognize him in different physical
forms. Receiving ADCs Even ADCs show that spirits retain their individuality and
this often colors the messages they give. In factzdfqg ADCs are received by the
bereaved in amazingly different ways (see the Appendix in my bookzdfqg Heaven is
Not a Distant Placezdfqg for more details). In A Rumor of Angelszdfqg an old lady
receives dramatic ADCs from her soldier son’s spirit using Morse code.
Unfortunatelyzdfqg the film shows a boy who has lost his mother desperately trying
to reach his own departed mother using Morse codezdfqg and not g

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etting a reply. The moviemakers lost the opportunity to say that Morse code was a
special way of communication for the other mother and her sonzdfqg but it is far
from typical for ADCs. All that the boy needed to do was to talk to his mother in
his mindzdfqg and to be aware that she might connect with him in ways unique to
their relationship. ADCs are sometimes manifested as visionszdfqg including
glimpses of the departed spirit. ADCs can also be auditory where a departed
person’s voice is heard. Brief versions of both are shown in Love Is a Many
Splendored Thing (1955) where a grieving woman sees and hears her departed lover.
In Liliom (1934) and its musical remake Carousel (1956)zdfqg the daughter sees and
hears her father’s spirit. 21 This could be viewed as a visual and auditory ADC
even though she does not know it is her father. Wonder Man shows extended scenes
of the apparition of the departed twinzdfqg which can be viewed as visual ADCs.
The departed twin also talks to the surviving
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onezdfqg which can be viewed as auditory ADCszdfqg except that real ADCs do not
include conversations. All of this is done in a light#hearted way to effectively
move the plot along. Similar depictions are shown in Blithe Spiritzdfqg where the
departed wife appears and talks to the husband. These portrayals are also too
lengthy to be real and involve conversationszdfqg but as in Wonder Man they are
essential to the plot. The angel’s talking to the manager in Angels in the
Outfield could represent auditory ADCs. Among other thingszdfqg the angel tells
the manager that one of the players is to die next spring. This is a precognitive
ADCzdfqg which influences the manager to start with this player as pitcherzdfqg
and it helps the team win the pennant. The movie Miracle in the Rain includes not
only a vision but a spirit visitationzdfqg where the soldier’s spirit hugs his
fiancéezdfqg who still does not realize it is his spirit because the hug seems so
real to her. Although rarezdfqg there are a few accounts of AD

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Cs where the spirit appeared physically solid and the hug felt completely real.
Miracle in the Rain also has the spirit return the lucky coin she had given him
before he left for the warzdfqg saying 22 he does not need it anymore. When he
kisses herzdfqg walks awayzdfqg and disappearszdfqg she faints. As she lays
unconsciouszdfqg she is found by a priest and her best friendzdfqg who see the
coin clutched in her handzdfqg and realize that the soldier’s spirit returned to
give her the coin. This scenezdfqg obviously linked to the title of the filmzdfqg
is a good example of an ADC in the material worldzdfqg where an object is
transferred in a miraculous way to communicate with the bereaved. The ADC
literature tells us that departed loved ones often communicate through dreams.
Resurrection shows a brief dream visitationzdfqg where the bereaved wife sees her
husband in the backlit tunnel looking straight at herzdfqg raising his
hardhatzdfqg and smiling. The movie quietly conveys that he is telling her he is
okay. Dragonfly

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shows the departed wife’s spirit contacting her husband through a dreamzdfqg in
which he hears her calling out to him. The film also suggests that the wife’s
spirit makes lights flicker and moves objects to get his attention. Although such
ADCs (through electricity and movement) are commonly reportedzdfqg the depictions
in this movie are often shown in scary ways that belie the love and peace
associated with actual ADCs. The film also shows many ADCs involving dragonflies
(both real and symbolic) but overdoes this aspect as well. Moreoverzdfqg the only
reason these ADCs are given is to get the husband’s attention so an important
message can then be passed on. In contrastzdfqg the literature includes 23
thousands of ADCs given to the bereaved to simply sayzdfqg “I love you” and to help
them heal and be happy. NDErs tell us that on their return from heaven they began
to connect to God through nature. ADCs are often made through nature as well.
There are many reported instances of butterfly

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ADCszdfqg and spirit communications through plants or favorite flowers. In Love Is
a Many Splendored Thingzdfqg a butterfly lands near the grieving woman to let her
know that her lover is with her. Earlier in this moviezdfqg a butterfly was used
to symbolize someone watching over the two lovers. The Sea of Trees uses an
orchid (the departed wife’s favorite flower) as one of many ADCs to the husband.
Phenomenon shows trees gently swaying in the breeze that calm a bereaved woman. It
could be interpreted as an ADC through nature from the John Travolta character’s
departed soul to his grieving lover. Howeverzdfqg the film used swaying trees
earlier to soothe the Travolta character and suggested it was done by aliens from
UFOs. We know from the ADC literature that our guardian angels can create
illusions to comfort or enlighten us. The movies Dragonfly (2002) and The Sea of
Trees (2014) and two television series Highway to Heaven (1984-1989) and Touched
by an Angel (1994-2003) correctly show

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that departed spirits or angels can create illusions for various purposeszdfqg
including angelic protection. 24 NDE narrations mention that communication in the
spirit world is telepathic. Accounts by recipients of ADCs also show that departed
spirits often give telepathic ADCs to their loved ones. Indeedzdfqg several
filmszdfqg such as Beyond Tomorrowzdfqg A Guy Named Joezdfqg and Carouselzdfqg
show departed spirits putting thoughts in people’s heads. In Beyond Tomorrowzdfqg
the spirit puts simple thoughts in the housekeeper’s mind and she acts on these. A
Guy Named Joe shows telepathic ADCs from the spirit of the dead pilot to the
pilot he is supposed to guide. But it is a bit overdone in the sense that the
pilot being guided understands every word and commandzdfqg and follows it
instantly. Alsozdfqg the spirit cannot get through telepathically to the woman he
loveszdfqg except when he helps her in the dramatic bombing at the end. In
realityzdfqg he would be much more likely to get through to someone he loves

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. In Carouselzdfqg the father’s spirit attends his daughter’s high school
graduation and whispers briefzdfqg sound advice in her ear. His message changes
her attitude and she interacts in a positive way with peoplezdfqg instead of being
a surlyzdfqg self-determined outcast as her father was. This is a nice example of
a loving telepathic ADC. The father also whispers of love to the motherzdfqg and
she smiles as if she senses itzdfqg subtly depicting another telepathic ADC.
Angels in the Outfield says that former ballplayerszdfqg who are now angelszdfqg
will stand behind the players and “throw out huncheszdfqg” which the players will
pick up on and it will 25 guide their moves. The film even shows a few examples of
this and it represents telepathic ADCs. In The Bishop’s Wifezdfqg the angel tells
a little girl that angels put ideas into people’s heads to guide them. He also
says the people are unaware of this and think it is their own idea. This
phenomenon is reported in the ADC literaturezdfqg where people though

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t something was their own ideazdfqg and only realized laterzdfqg after getting
additional informationzdfqg that they had received telepathic ADCs. Butzdfqg we
also know from the ADC literature that such communication sometimes gets
throughzdfqg and sometimes does not. The reason it does not may relate to the
difference in vibrations between the physical and spirit worldszdfqg or because
the targeted recipient is not open to spirit communications. In Wonder Manzdfqg
the spirit starts interacting by putting thoughts in his twin’s mindzdfqg but at
that early stagezdfqg the twin does not understand what they mean. The films
Cockeyed Miracle and Hearts and Souls humorously show that telepathic
communication from departed spirits does not always get through. What Dreams May
Come shows the husband’s spirit trying to communicate with his widow in different
ways and failing. Although she senses his touching her lipszdfqg talking to
herzdfqg and trying to hug herzdfqg she gets freaked out every single time. This
reaction contr

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adicts the love and 26 peace that the vast majority of ADC recipients feel. Only a
few react negativelyzdfqg because they cannot accept spirit communications as
real. Such rejection of ADCs parallels negative experiences that some NDErs
havezdfqg typically due to their reluctance to die. Once they accept dyingzdfqg
their experience changes to the positive NDE that is widely experienced. Because
the film shows the grieving wife unable to accept continued existence after
deathzdfqg her extreme negative reaction to ADCs makes sense for her
characterzdfqg who sayszdfqg “When you’re deadzdfqg you disappear.” The wife later
makes a new painting of a beautiful Jacaranda tree in bloomzdfqg and for a
momentzdfqg she hopes her husband’s spirit can see it. Indeedzdfqg our soul mate
angels can see everything we do. In the filmzdfqg he is no longer in touch with
her because she rejected his attempts to connect. Yet the tree magically appears
in his heaven to signify their deep soul connection. Sadlyzdfqg the wife sinks
back to

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negativity and destroys the paintingzdfqg thinking her husband no longer exists.
At thiszdfqg the tree in the spirit dimension loses its beautiful blue flowers and
deeply pains the husband. This is excellent symbolism for how the rejection of
loving ADCs can hurt soul mate angels. A Rumor of Angels mentions that soldiers’
spirits were deeply hurt when their families continued to grieve for them
indefinitelyzdfqg and could not accept their loving ADCs. This revelation is also
taken from the true story in the book Thy Son Livethzdfqg which inspired the
movie. 27 Ongoing ADCs Many people erroneously believe that ADCs are given only
once (or for a brief period) and then the departed spirit moves on. Some books on
ADCs encourage this misguided thinking as wellzdfqg even though there are many
reports of ongoing ADCs. Ghost and Dragonfly also suggest that departed loved ones
only stay around long enough to do or convey something urgent and then leave. A
Guy Named Joe (1943)zdfqg its remake Always (198

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9)zdfqg and Trulyzdfqg Madlyzdfqg Deeply (1990) go further to claim incorrectly
that the departed spirit has to “let go” to allow the bereaved to find love again.
Actuallyzdfqg departed loved ones continue to watch over the bereavedzdfqg are
happy to stay connectedzdfqg and this does not prevent the bereaved from seeking
a new love. There are several accounts in the ADC literature of widows and
widowers joyfully connected with their departed spouses’ spiritszdfqg even as they
go on to have happy second marriages. The new spouses also seem enlightenedzdfqg
realizing there is no jealousy in heaven and grateful to have angels watching over
them as well. In the bookzdfqg The Ghost and Mrs. Muirzdfqg Captain Gregg’s
spirit stayed with Mrs. Muirzdfqg and communicated with her for all her lifezdfqg
which matches ongoing ADCs. Regrettablyzdfqg the film changed that to have the
spirit leave and erase all memory of the encounters. As a resultzdfqg Mrs. Muir in
the movie led a longzdfqg lonely life. 28 The truth is that our departed loved

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ones (or our soul mate angels) are always with uszdfqg as we know from NDE and
ADC reportszdfqg and from personal encounters. Only a few filmszdfqg The Human
Comedy (1943)zdfqg Hellozdfqg Dolly! (1969)zdfqg and A Rumor of Angels (2001)zdfqg
seem to get this concept. Two movieszdfqg The Human Comedy and Cockeyed
Miraclezdfqg correctly show that our departed loved ones can be right next to
uszdfqg and can seezdfqg hearzdfqg and kiss uszdfqg even if we are not always
aware of this. The film Cockeyed Miraclezdfqg howeverzdfqg does not seem to
understand the reality of ongoing connections with the spirit world. At the end of
the moviezdfqg the spirits are seen leaving for heavenzdfqg as if it is a distant
place—as almost all movies dealing with heaven portray. In contrastzdfqg The Human
Comedy nicely depicts the ongoing role of guardian angelszdfqg by showing the
departed father looking in on the family at various times. In Hellozdfqg Dolly!
Dolly Levi asks her departed husband Ephraim to give her a sign that it is okay to
marry Mr. Vandergelder. He d

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oes so (even though it has been several years since his passing)zdfqg gently
underscoring the fact that our departed loved ones are always with us and ready
to guide us. This perfectly fits with what we learn from NDE reports and ADCs
about soul mate angels. In A Rumor of Angelszdfqg the old lady tells the boy who
has lost his mother about continuing ADCs from her deceased son. The filmzdfqg
inspired by an actual instance of ongoing ADCszdfqg tries to show that our
departed loved ones remain 29 close to uszdfqg and suggests that keeping our minds
and hearts open will help us receive repeated ADCs. In Wonder Manzdfqg the
surviving twin’s bride asks him if the departed twin will keep visiting them. He
confidently asserts that they will never see his twin again. Butzdfqg as
mentionedzdfqg the spirit pushes him away from his bride when he tries to kiss
herzdfqg showing that he is still with themzdfqg but not in a loving way typical
of ongoing ADCs. In the movie The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)zdfqg
based o

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n the life of the dancing couplezdfqg Vernon dies in a plane crash. The original
ending had his ghostly image dancing with Irene as his voice-over sayszdfqg “I’ll
always be with you.” Unfortunatelyzdfqg this ending was changed to Irene’s memory
of the couple dancing together as she watches from a window. Filmmakers were
reluctant to show that a spirit could stay close to a loved one and still be in
heavenzdfqg because that fact contradicts traditional religious views. But it is
remarkable that a scriptwriter of the era had conceived a better endingzdfqg based
either on personal experiencezdfqg or simply an instinct about our departed loved
ones always being close to us. Dying Having examined various depictions of
angelszdfqg their abilitieszdfqg and their communications to the people they
lovezdfqg we can now step back a bit and view how dying is shown in filmszdfqg
before we go on to see how heaven is 30 portrayed. In Here Comes Mr. Jordan and
Heaven Can Waitzdfqg Joe is not supposed to die until about 50 years

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later; in factzdfqg both films give exact dates of his death. Although this
sounds fancifulzdfqg some NDErs were actually told their planned date of
deathzdfqg often years into the future. But they were given to understand that
this was only a planzdfqg and things may happen to change that. In the same two
movieszdfqg the angel escort is chastised for taking a soul out of the body before
traumatic death. He is told this is never donezdfqg and that one must await the
outcome. Contradicting thiszdfqg NDErs often relate how they were already out of
the body before the moment of violent or painful “death.” Even some ADCs have
indicated that the departed souls were “out” before the traumatic moment. This
does not mean that intense pain is not experienced in dying. Some NDErs recount
excruciating painzdfqg which was gone once they were out of the body. Otherszdfqg
it seemszdfqg went out before the worst of it. The film Somewhere in Time
correctly suggests a death#bed vision (DBV)zdfqg where a dying man smiles as if he

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sees someone he loves. This is followed by an out-of-body vantage point as the
spirit leaves the bodyzdfqg and then a window curtain flutters to suggest the
spirit’s leaving the room. This sequence fits the literature on DBVs and
spontaneous OBEs. Finallyzdfqg we see him reunited with his lover in a heavenly
setting. This matches what NDErs tell us about a reunion with departed loved ones
on dying. 31 Other movies also have correctly shown dying and moving into the
spirit world. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir shows Mrs. Muir dying and Captain Gregg’s
spirit appearing immediately to take her to heaven. In A Rumor of Angelszdfqg the
old lady hears angelic music right before she dies. Both depictions corroborate
the DBV literature. In Resurrectionzdfqg the main character sees her wrong#minded
father in a dream vision in the tunnel (where she had her NDE) and realizes he is
dying. This idea ties to the precognitive abilities some NDErs acquire after their
experience. She then goes to her father’s

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bedside and tells him that love is all that matters and that other family
members will be there to meet himzdfqg which also match NDE revelations. When she
says he should not be afraid of dyingzdfqg he mumbles “The Light” as if he sees
it. Of coursezdfqg given how cold and hateful he was in his earth lifezdfqg he
would have an extended life review (see next section). But even sozdfqg he could
briefly go to the Light first and be met by departed loved ones before his life
reviewzdfqg as many NDErs have experienced. The director of What Dreams May Come
notes that he filmed the main character’s fatal accident in a tunnel to represent
the tunnel experience in an NDE. He also shows this character attending his own
funeral and trying to comfort his widow. This depiction fits the reality of many
ADCs given at funeralszdfqg which reveal that departed spirits want to help their
grieving families understand that they are finezdfqg and that they continue to be
with them. 32 Even the comedy Blithe Spirit mentio

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ns that someone’s spirit attended her own funeralzdfqg which very likely is true
for most people. But it also mentions that she was exhausted by the
experiencezdfqg which is humorous and possibly not too far from the truth. Life
Review The NDE can be seen as a preview of what happens when we die. In addition
to the tunnel experience and meeting departed loved oneszdfqg NDErs went through a
life review process. Everything they did in their earth lives was now experienced
from the perspective of those at the receiving end of their actions. They deeply
and fully felt all the good and bad they had done to others. This intensive life
review is to help us learn from our mistakeszdfqg by actually experiencing the
harm we have done to others. From this learningzdfqg we are able to advance
spiritually. The review takes place in the presence of “beings of lightzdfqg” who
have also lived on earthzdfqg but are now at a much higher level of spiritual
growth. The film Liliom correctly shows that our whole live

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s are recorded. This matches the concept of Akashic Records that mystics speak
ofzdfqg where every thoughtzdfqg wordzdfqg and action is recorded permanently.
When Liliom tries to deny his bad actionszdfqg he is shown a film where he 33 is
beating his wife. He is also made to listen to a soundtrack of his thoughts that
impugn him. Actuallyzdfqg there is no question of trying to defend your actions;
the life review is not a courtroom scenario. In factzdfqg when a few NDErs tried
to argue that what they did was not so badzdfqg they were met with silence from
the beings of light present. When the NDErs caved in and admitted they were wrong
and felt truly remorsefulzdfqg the review continued to the next event. Thuszdfqg
Defending Your Life is another movie that has the whole concept wrongzdfqg right
down to the title. The one thing it shows correctly is that every action of ours
is recorded. But in the film only a few cases are chosen at random to be judged.
This is far from what actually happenszdfqg because NDErs

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report that they experienced every single action of theirs. They say it happened
quicklyzdfqg almost simultaneouslyzdfqg in a panoramic format. They were able to
understand everything because their consciousness was far more advanced than on
earth. Alsozdfqg the idea of the life review is notzdfqg as the movie
portrayszdfqg to judge the dead and then decide where they should go. It is a
learning experiencezdfqg after which all souls can progress. Instead of the life
review processzdfqg Outward Bound (1930) and its remake Between Two Worlds (1944)
show a cold “examiner” after deathzdfqg who readily hands out judgment as he sees
fit. Even worsezdfqg in Defending Your Life 34 (1991)zdfqg the lawyers and judges
mockingly laugh at “earth people” who they refer to as “little brains.” In
contrastzdfqg NDErs recount that the life review takes place in the presence of
lovingzdfqg wisezdfqg and supportive beings of light. These beings will not let
someone get away with being defensivezdfqg but they do not reprimand (or mock)
souls e

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ither. They quietly wait till the souls realize they were wrong. For those who
feel deep remorse on understanding (from the life review) that their words or
actions hurt otherszdfqg there is an outpouring of love from these beings to help
them cope. The idea is not to punish (or belittle) but to help us learn and grow.
Defending Your Life claims that children do not have to go through the judgment
process. Actuallyzdfqg NDErs have experienced (in their life reviews) all the
wrongs they didzdfqg even as children. We are accountable for all our actions from
a very early age. This film also says that teenagers go elsewhere because they are
too troublesome. Even though this is meant as a jokezdfqg it is worth noting that
everyone goes to the same place and through the same processzdfqg as NDErs attest.
Afterlife shows souls reviewing their entire lives but it is only to pick a memory
that they will have to re-live through eternity—which is an absurd conceptzdfqg
despite the cinematic strengths of

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the movie. The review shown is not a deep learning experiencezdfqg as is the
actual life review that all souls go through after dying. Even the title of the
film is 35 misleadingzdfqg although it fits many people’s erroneous conception
about heaven. NDErs unanimously declare that they had been in the spirit world
before. They were sure it was their eternal home. So heaven is not just about
“after” life on earthzdfqg but “before” life on earth as well. What Dreams May
Come says there are no judges in the spirit worldzdfqg to send someone to heaven
or hell. Although truezdfqg this ignores the life review process and the fact that
we judge ourselves in the presence of beings of light. The film suggests we are not
responsible for our wrongdoings. Similarlyzdfqg Resurrection does not mention the
life reviewzdfqg nor does it need tozdfqg as far as the story goes. But the
protagonist’s willingness to readily forgive those who have harmed herzdfqg
creates an impression that people are not culpable for their negat

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ivity. So it is instructive to examine the film as a framework for discussing life
reviews. It is obvious that the woman’s fatherzdfqg her boyfriendzdfqg and his
father would all undergo extended life reviews for their closed-mindedness and
hateful behavior. But people may not realize that the boy who carelessly
skateboarded in front of the car causing a fatal accident would have to experience
(in his life review) all the pain and misery he caused. There is no excuse for
thoughtlessness at any age as the NDE literature shows. Even the husband who
played a practical joke to make his wife believe he had lost a finger in a painful
way would have to experience the shock and sadness she 36 experiencedzdfqg though
brief. Nothing is too small to be pushed under the rug. Practical jokes are not
funnyzdfqg even if the victims pretend to be “sporting” about them. An NDEr
recounted that he experienced all the shockzdfqg fearzdfqg and humiliation he
caused people on whom he had played practical jokeszdfqg e

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ven as a child. We are accountable for everything we do to otherszdfqg as NDErs
consistently tell us. Soul Purpose The life review is tied to how well we achieved
our “soul purposezdfqg" or the main reason we came to earth. Several classic
filmszdfqg The Human Comedyzdfqg The Razor’s Edgezdfqg and It’s a Wonderful
Lifezdfqg correctly show that our soul purpose is to be loving and caring.
Resurrection underscores this idea throughoutzdfqg as the protagonist offers her
healing ability freely and lovingly to all. The Razor’s Edge says further that we
are supposed to enjoy earth lifezdfqg delight in naturezdfqg and truly help at
least a few people. The movie correctly suggests that we are not meant to change
the world. Insteadzdfqg if we can help some people in meaningful wayszdfqg they
will help otherszdfqg and it can all spread in gentle waves across the world.
Even the simplezdfqg loving things you do for your own family are greatly valued
in the spirit worldzdfqg according to NDE accounts. Not understanding thiszdfqg an
episode o

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f Touched by An Angel says that a teenaged girl who died “made a difference after
all” because she donated her 37 organs. While organ donation is indeed
commendablezdfqg this line denigrates the girl’s loving interactions with her
familyzdfqg suggesting that her love for them was not enough to make a
differencezdfqg whereas in reality it would be. Phenomenon rightly says that
lovezdfqg partnership (or cooperation)zdfqg and compassion lift us
spirituallyzdfqg whereas fearzdfqg competitionzdfqg and greed hold us back. All of
this exactly matches what NDErs discovered while in the Light and what mystics
have realized. Ironicallyzdfqg this scene is deleted from most DVD versions of the
movie by someone who failed to realize its significance. Other films are also
correct in expressing soul purpose. The housekeeper in Beyond Tomorrow says that
“the way to be happy is to serve others.” The guardian angel in Forever Darling
tells the wife in the story to be more loving to her husbandzdfqg and that deep
love arises

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from looking at the soul inside a person. Angels in the Outfield suggests that
prayers for a baseball team to win are answeredzdfqg contradicting NDE reports
that any focus on winning and competition is misplaced and not valued in the
spirit world. The angel does eventually say that there are more important things
in life than baseball. This is good; but throughout the film the angels are quite
intent on helping the team win. Defending Your Life erroneously claims that souls
are judged by how well they overcame fear while on earth. 38 Although fear is
indeed a negative emotionzdfqg it can be caused by a multiplicity of factorszdfqg
and in many instanceszdfqg it can propel an individual to correct action. So fear
cannot be used as a measure of a life. Insteadzdfqg as NDErs tell uszdfqg souls
have to answer the question: “What did you do to help others (in a positive way)?”
It is all about love and caring—for peoplezdfqg animalszdfqg and nature.
Defending Your Life even fails in evaluating the inciden

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ts it shows as part of the judgment. When the protagonist protects himself (at age
eleven) from a playmate’s blows but refuses to fight backzdfqg he is branded as
fearful. In a real life reviewzdfqg he would be commended for his stancezdfqg
whereas the boy who was hitting him would have to undergo all the pain and
negativity he caused. The film also shows the protagonist reprimanded for being
fearful when he accepts a low salaryzdfqg or does not invest in a promising stock;
instead he is praised for being fearless in paying first-class airfarezdfqg when
it represented one-third of all the money he had. Soul purpose is not about money
or fear. Love is all that matters. Spirituality and Love In factzdfqg many NDErs
have attested that only love is important to Godzdfqg and that religion is not so
significant. The literature reveals that all NDErs felt deep love in the spirit
world. But whereas some religious people were shown images from their religion to
comfort themzdfqg spiritual people (those who bel

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zdfqg Love Is a Many Splendored Thingzdfqg and What Dreams May Comezdfqg also
support the idea of love in heaven without mentioning religion. Resurrection
supports this revelation throughout the film. When a bigoted minister (and his
equally wrong#minded son) rail at Ellen Burstyn’s character for not attributing
her healing ability to Jesuszdfqg she refuseszdfqg saying she does not know how
she has this ability. Instead she offers her healing in the name of “Love.” The
filmmakers obviously wanted to depict that no particular religion is 40 superior
to any other and that “love” is the only thing important to God. Alsozdfqg the gas
station where the protagonist ends up spending her life has a sign that says “God
is Love.” That is exactly what the NDE literature and mystical experiences tell us
about God. As for the healing ability shown in the moviezdfqg there are reported
cases of NDErs having some type of healing ability on their return. They attribute
it to being exposed to the lovingzdfqg livingzdfqg s

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piritual Light that they encounteredzdfqg and that they understood as God. Not all
of them have this abilityzdfqg and many lose it after a whilezdfqg so the
filmmakers of Resurrection may have exaggerated this ability in order to make a
point. Orzdfqg they may have depicted the story of a particular NDErzdfqg who had
this ability to a greater extent. Heaven and Hell Although religion by itself is
not important to Godzdfqg it is instructive to note universal ideas about heaven
and hell across religions. Most religions speak of a permanent heaven and a
permanent hell. This is probably done to scare people into leading good lives. In
factzdfqg many movieszdfqg Liliomzdfqg Topperzdfqg Ghostzdfqg and Michaelzdfqg
suggest that people are either eternally rewarded or eternally punished. But most
thoughtful people realize that a permanent hell does not befit the mercy of God.
Surveys in Western Europe and the U.S. have repeatedly shown that more 41 than 75
percent of people believe in an eternal heavenzdfqg but fewer than 25 perc

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ent believe in an eternal hell. Indeedzdfqg we understand from NDE accounts that
everyone goes to the spirit dimension. There is no separate place that matches the
religious conception of hell. Howeverzdfqg the life review can indeed be “hellish”
for somezdfqg depending on how many people they have hurt and to what extent. But
after fully experiencing for themselves what they did to otherszdfqg these souls
too have an opportunity to grow and move upward. “Moving upward” refers to going
to higher planes within the spirit realm. A line from What Dreams May Comezdfqg
which says everyone is equal in heavenzdfqg obscures the fact that there are many
planes in the spirit worldzdfqg representing different levels of spiritual growth.
NDErs tell us that each spirit first goes to the plane which matches its own
level of growth. But on advancing spirituallyzdfqg it can move higher. This
applies to people who have led good lives as well as bad. The former go to a level
which is beautifulzdfqg and they can stay ther

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e for a long time after their life review. Spirits at this stage are able to act
as “angels.” As they grow spiritually by helping otherszdfqg they can move even
higher. The latter go to a level which may be mostly uncomfortablezdfqg but it is
not a permanent hell. They too can advance after their life reviews. Related to
thiszdfqg it is not true that bad or misguided people have no souls as Beyond
Tomorrow claims. 42 Everyone has a soul even when someone appears to be
“soulless” due to their evil deeds. Such souls are simply in darknesszdfqg devoid
of divine Light. But they canzdfqg after experiencing all that they did to
otherszdfqg advance as well. In a similar veinzdfqg Defending Your Life claims
that someone who does not get it right after several tries (of earth liveszdfqg
or incarnations) is “thrown away.” The truth is we are all part of God and all of
us are immortal. Even those who are in darkness are never destroyed. They have
the opportunity to seek the Light at any time. In addition to “h

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ellish” life reviewszdfqg which people bring about by their own bad actionszdfqg
the dying experience sometimes starts as negative or frighteningzdfqg as mentioned
earlier. Based on NDE narrationszdfqg this happens to people who resist death
because they are afraid of where they will gozdfqg or they are just not ready to
diezdfqg or they do not believe in anything beyond the physical dimension. Their
own fearzdfqg resistancezdfqg or denial creates negative imageszdfqg which
disappear when they accept dying or pray for help. What Dreams May Come correctly
reflects these realities where people create their own hell. The movie
figuratively depicts hell with many trapped souls (in sand or in water) and other
souls carrying heavy baggage on land. Their loss of movement and being weighted
down contrasts well with the lightnesszdfqg runningzdfqg and flying of spirits
depicted in heaven in this movie. In the same filmzdfqg the wife’s hell matches
her view of life (after her children 43 and husband die in vehicular accidents).

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Her vision shows their house in ruins and everything inside broken downzdfqg
darkzdfqg and dreary. When the son’s spirit tries to help his father find the
motherzdfqg he creates his own image of hellzdfqg with burning ships and wicked
warriorszdfqg based on what he finds fearful. The reason the wife in What Dreams
May Come is in hell is related to her suicide. The movie takes pains to explain
that it is not punishmentzdfqg but her own inability to forgive herself. She
blames herself for the deaths of her children because she did not drive them to
school that dayzdfqg and thinks that if she hadzdfqg she might have prevented the
accident. She also believes she is responsible for her husband’s death on the road
because she asked him to bring something to herzdfqg and he was hit on the way.
The film says her self-absorption in these thoughts keeps her from realizing she
is deadzdfqg and so she remains in a hell of her own creation—a broken down
version of her home. This is a good explanationzdfqg but the real reason

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she is in hell is that she does not believe in the spirit realmzdfqg which the
movie makes clear. It is this aspect that precisely matches NDE reports of
negative experiences in the spirit world—for those who did not believe in life
beyond earth. Furtherzdfqg the film errs in stating categorically that all
suicides go to hell and that no suicide has been brought out of hell. This is
completely false. NDErs discovered that whereas suicide is definitely wrongzdfqg
it is dealt with in the 44 life reviewzdfqg as are other misguided actions. The
soul can thereafter progress to become an angel. Even ADCs have confirmed this
when departed loved oneszdfqg who had committed suicidezdfqg assured the bereaved
via telepathy or dream visitationszdfqg that they were happy and with God.
Neverthelesszdfqg movies like to show suicides being punished in a severe way.
Outward Bound and its remake Between Two Worlds incorrectly show suicides punished
eternallyzdfqg as in the case of the ship’s steward who has to ferry soul

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s forever. Even though he has been doing this stoically for eonszdfqg he is given
no reprieve. Butzdfqg in an obvious contradiction of its own stancezdfqg a couple
that committed suicide is eventually allowed to go back to living on earth.
Liliom also shows harsh punishment for suicides—a fiery purgatory; we actually see
the raging fire through a door he walks through. In the remake Carouselzdfqg his
death (while committing a crime) is accidental rather than by suicidezdfqg and so
the punishment is less severe—he is made to polish stars. In both filmszdfqg part
of the punishment was for leaving his pregnant wife and for beating her earlier.
Both versions send him back to earth for one day to try to help his now-teenaged
daughter. This is supposed to determine if he will end up in heaven or in hell. In
both movieszdfqg the daughter sees the fatherzdfqg but does not know who he is
and tells him to go away. At thiszdfqg he slaps her hand in frustration. 45 In the
1909 stage play of Liliom in Hungaryzdfqg and in

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many adaptations that followedzdfqg this action (slapping his daughter’s hand
instead of helping her) sends Liliom to hell. But in the 1930 and 1934
talkieszdfqg in a new bizarre scenezdfqg the daughter tells the mother that the
slap felt like a kisszdfqg and Liliom ends up in heaven. Carousel also has this
strange scenezdfqg and in all three films it is supposed to help the mother
realize that her husband’s spirit had just been there. The convoluted logic (of
the slap that feels like a kiss) is that although her husband beat herzdfqg the
wife knew he loved her—which is shocking given present awareness of domestic
abuse. In Carouselzdfqg the father does get another chance and redeems himself
through loving telepathic ADCs to his wife and daughterzdfqg as discussed already.
What Heaven is Like We know from NDE accounts that the spirit dimension is
brilliantly coloredzdfqg with light emanating from everyone and everything; and
that the earth is only a pale imitation of it. This fits with what mystics have e

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xperienced as well. What Dreams May Come correctly shows that heaven is brilliant
and beautiful. Similarlyzdfqg Made in Heaven depicts a colorful heavenzdfqg after
initial black and white scenes on earthzdfqg to indicate the difference in beauty
of the two places. But two movieszdfqg Stairway to Heaven (1946) and Wings of
Desire (1987)zdfqg show heaven in black and white and earth life in colorzdfqg
reversing the truth. 46 In Resurrectionzdfqg we do see color and light radiating
from spiritszdfqg but the entire NDE is shown in the tunnelzdfqg possibly to
simplify the moviemaking aspect. Clouds are shown briefly and multi-colored light
breaks through at timeszdfqg but the bright backlighting of these scenes makes it
look like a tunnel experience throughout. When the camera pulls backzdfqg away
from the lightzdfqg it suggests the return journeyzdfqg back through the
tunnelzdfqg that some NDErs have recounted. NDE reports say that the spirit realm
is full of love and God’s “Light.” The Razor’s Edge and Resurrection correctly

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suggest thiszdfqg as previously discussed. But many filmszdfqg such as
Liliomzdfqg Stairway to Heavenzdfqg and Wings of Desirezdfqg incorrectly show no
love in heavenzdfqg depicting it as cold and impersonal. We know from the NDE
literature that spirits in heaven may have a male or female appearance but they
connect only through spiritual love. Contradicting thiszdfqg Made in Heaven shows
a new soul born in heaven as an offspring to a couple. Actuallyzdfqg all souls are
created by Godzdfqg and there is no sex in heaven as the movie implies. Defending
Your Life is similarly wrong in explicitly suggesting that sex continues in the
spirit world. The latter film also portrays hotelszdfqg steakhouseszdfqg bowling
alleyszdfqg golf courseszdfqg and televisionzdfqg which shows how earth-bound the
film is. In a lower keyzdfqg but incorrectzdfqg neverthelesszdfqg Afterlife shows
old buildingszdfqg roomszdfqg and 47 even bathrooms. It also shows a city scene
where a case worker goes shoppingzdfqg which displays how closely its view of the
spirit dimension i
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s tied to earth. The idea that you can eat all you want without gaining an ounce
is hyped a lot in Defending Your Lifezdfqg as the lead characters dive into food
repeatedly. Made in Heaven also shows people eating and drinking in heaven.
Outward Bound and its remake Between Two Worlds show people eating and drinking
on the ship before they know they are deadzdfqg which can be viewed as an
illusion. But the stage play even mentions plans to have dinner when they landzdfqg
on what is both heaven and hell. This is after everyone knows they are dead. It
also mentions regular meals in the next worldzdfqg which Between Two Worlds does
as well. In a more subdued mannerzdfqg the characters in Afterlife drink tea.
Interestinglyzdfqg NDErs say that spirits can indeed create illusions of food and
drink in heavenzdfqg but that higher-level souls have no need of this. What Dreams
May Come shows coffee in one scenezdfqg but rightly admits it is an illusionzdfqg
as is everything else. NDErs tell us that spirits continue

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to grow in heaven. The life review teaches them what they did wrongzdfqg and they
realize that love drives everything. In support of thiszdfqg the father’s spirit
in Cockeyed Miracle tells his son’s spirit that he is “kind and lovable” now. He
also reminds the son to be angeliczdfqg when the son wants to continue his grudge
against an erring friend. In Blithe Spiritzdfqg the husband tells the wife’s
spirit more than once that he is surprised that 48 she has not improved the least
bit after seven years in the spirit world. His saying so shows some understanding
that we are supposed to grow spiritually in heaven. But in Between Two Worldszdfqg
one soul is sent to heaven where he is to meet old friends and play golf. There is
no thought of continuing spiritual growthzdfqg as there is in NDE reports. A
motherzdfqg who is allowed to be with her son in heavenzdfqg still feels guilty
about having given him up for adoption. She insists that he not be told who she
iszdfqg and wants to be his “housekeeper” for ete

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rnity. And even though her son has admitted his failingszdfqg and he is supposed
to spend eternity reflecting on thiszdfqg the mother praises him as wonderful and
importantzdfqg and denies that he needs to learn and grow. This contradicts
reality where eternal soul mates meet with love and joyzdfqg and help one another
advance spiritually. Alsozdfqg there is no way to hide the truth in heavenzdfqg so
this is another flaw in the logic of the mother appearing as a housekeeper to the
son. Carousel rightly depicts that you cannot hide your thoughts in heaven.
Indeedzdfqg as all communication in the spirit world is telepathiczdfqg there is
no way to keep your thoughts to yourself. Whatever you think is instantly
comprehended by other spirits near youzdfqg as seen in many NDE accounts. Beyond
Tomorrow correctly shows that there is no pain in the spirit realm and that
spirits have perfect vision. NDEs corroborate that they felt no pain as soon as
they 49 were out of their bodieszdfqg and that they had perfect 360
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degree vision. But for some strange reasonzdfqg What Dreams May Come shows a
spirit in heaven with eyeglasses. Made in Heaven correctly shows that spirits can
go anywhere just by thinking of a place or person. But it erroneously limits this
ability to places or people in heaven. In reality a spirit can go anywherezdfqg
even on earthzdfqg just by thinking of a location or a personzdfqg as NDErs tell
us. Even people who came out of comaszdfqg or those who had spontaneous OBEszdfqg
have recounted that they could go anywhere just by thinking of it. In A Rumor of
Angelszdfqg the soldier killed in the war communicates to his mother that angels
(meaning departed souls) do not have wingszdfqg but that “we can go anywhere
without fatigue.” This line is taken from actual ADCs reported in the bookzdfqg on
which the film is based. Although What Dreams May Come shows spirits traveling
freelyzdfqg it claims that a spirit called a Tracker is needed for the husband to
find his wife in hell. In contrastzdfqg NDErs recount that

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they could find anyone in the spirit world just by thinking of themzdfqg even if
those souls were in a different plane. The husband in this film does eventually
find his wife on his ownzdfqg by intensely focusing on her. In A Guy Named
Joezdfqg the pilot mentions feeling completely alive when flying very highzdfqg
“close to heaven.” This matches NDE reports that spirits felt more alive in 50
heaven than they ever had on earth. In the same moviezdfqg a commanding officer’s
spirit says that every pilot in the war is helped by angels because everyone is
connected. The idea that everyone and everything is connected surfaces constantly
in NDE accounts and mystical experiences. Alsozdfqg soldier’s spiritszdfqg who
gave ADCs to their loved ones after World War Izdfqg talked about many spirits
gathering to help wounded soldiers. It makes sense that in times of world
crisiszdfqg angels help people undergoing great sufferingzdfqg even though they
are not their soul mates. The pilot in this movie also mentions that flyin

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g very high feels like being halfway to heavenzdfqg with no sense of timezdfqg
but instead a feeling of “always now.” This perfectly matches the NDE
literaturezdfqg which reveals that time is irrelevant in heavenzdfqg and that the
pastzdfqg presentzdfqg and future are all simultaneous—an idea understandably
difficult for us to comprehend. Most filmmakers do not seem to know that time
does not matter in the spirit world. In Here Comes Mr. Jordan and Heaven Can
Waitzdfqg the protagonist’s body is already cremated when he returns to earth. In
realityzdfqg the time it would take to find his bodyzdfqg make all the
arrangementszdfqg and cremate the body is far longer than the few minutes he
spends in the way station before returning. Moreoverzdfqg NDErszdfqg who returned
after having flat-lined for only a few minuteszdfqg still experienced heaven in
all its gloryzdfqg met and interacted with loved oneszdfqg and had life reviews.
This is because time seems greatly expanded in heaven. So the 51 protagonist and
the escort could have bee
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n back in less than a minute of earth time after the accident. Of coursezdfqg the
hasty cremation is a fundamental aspect of the plot and we can accept it as that.
In What Dreams May Comezdfqg when the husband goes to hell to rescue his wifezdfqg
he is told he has only three minutes after which he will be trapped as well. Of
coursezdfqg the three-minute limit makes no sense because time is meaningless in
the spirit dimension. They could have simply saidzdfqg as they did later in the
moviezdfqg that if her reality became hiszdfqg he could not return to heaven.
Interestinglyzdfqg his becoming dull and less alert (the longer he stayed with
her) matches how some NDErs felt when they explored a lower level than the one
they initially went to on reaching the spirit realm. NDErs tell us that there is
instantaneouszdfqg telepathic access to complete knowledge in heaven.
Contradicting thiszdfqg many movies show departed spiritszdfqg angelszdfqg or
“case workers” as having no clue about what has transpired in the lives of peo

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ple they love or are supposed to help. Examples include Cockeyed Miraclezdfqg
Liliomzdfqg Carouselzdfqg Afterlifezdfqg and Hearts and Souls. Most films do not
show that information is accessible telepathically and instantaneously in the
spirit world. Here Comes Mr. Jordan shows spirits in heaven calling a registrar
to check on information about a person. Heaven 52 Can Wait has someone check
information on a computer. At least in both caseszdfqg the information is quickly
available. In the Touched by an Angel television serieszdfqg the angels hardly
ever seem to know anything that they should understand instantaneously and
telepathically. For examplezdfqg in one episode about an asteroidzdfqg they have
to actually read all publications about asteroids since the year 1500.
Similarlyzdfqg the German film Wings of Desire shows angels reading travel guides
to learn about Berlin. In additionzdfqg international movies like to paint heaven
as a bureaucracyzdfqg often inefficient. The British movie Stairway to Heaven show

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s interactions with clerks in heaven to create accounting records for souls. The
French film Liliom has information on everyone stored as film or audiozdfqg and
several levels of officials to manage everything. The Japanese movie Afterlife
shows each soul’s life captured on videotapeszdfqg and the case workers have to
send out for this and wait a day to get it. In the British film Blithe Spiritzdfqg
the wife’s spirit claims that she spent hours waiting in drafty rooms on the other
sidezdfqg to fill in forms required for a return visit to earth. Actuallyzdfqg not
only is all information instantly available to spiritszdfqg there are obviously
no drafty rooms and no forms to be filled out in heaven. Angels can visit earth
any time they wish. In addition to everything described about heaven so farzdfqg
NDErs mention that the beautiful scenes they saw resonated with them personally.
Consistent with this 53 revelationzdfqg Beyond Tomorrowzdfqg Made in Heavenzdfqg
and What Dreams May Come suggest that we create the
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visual fabric of our heaven. In Beyond Tomorrowzdfqg a man chooses the
picturesque location of Simlazdfqg Indiazdfqg where he had been stationed as a
British officer. Made in Heaven shows spirits creating their own individualized
spaceszdfqg whether indoors (with paintings and furniture) or outdoors (with
flowers and trees). What Dreams May Come portrays a magnificent heaven for the
husbandzdfqg created out of his wife’s paintings that he lovedzdfqg and a magical
one for the daughterzdfqg that matches favorite objects in her bedroom. The
actual depiction of the personalized heaven in Beyond Tomorrow is poorly donezdfqg
with obviously fake coconut trees in the foreground of a mountainous scene (even
though coconut trees only grow at sea-level). In contrastzdfqg the different
heavens in What Dreams May Come are amazingly spectacularzdfqg and evoke the beauty
of the spirit realm that NDErs describe. This film even makes the bold statement—
that in the spirit realm you create a world with your imagination—which p

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erfectly fits mystical experiences. Made in Heaven also accurately portrays that
it is easy to create illusions in heaven. The NDEzdfqg ADCzdfqg and DBV
literatures also reveal that spirits can appear as they wishzdfqg usually as
younger versions of themselves. This is correctly shown in Somewhere in Timezdfqg
where even though the woman dies in her old agezdfqg she appears to her lover as a
young woman. Similarlyzdfqg The Ghost and Mrs. Muir shows an old 54 woman dying
in a chairzdfqg and her young self stepping out of the body. The spirit even looks
back at the chairzdfqg so the audience can see the old woman still therezdfqg and
figure out that she has died. Of course in the case of childrenzdfqg they would
typically appear as adultszdfqg as correctly shown in What Dreams May Come. In
Cockeyed Miraclezdfqg the father’s spirit explains to his son’s spirit that
everyone looks as they think of themselveszdfqg and if you change your thoughts
about yourselfzdfqg you can change your appearance. This matches ADC reports
where

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the spirits of loved ones appeared as youngerzdfqg healthier versions of
themselves. Reincarnation Professor Kenneth Ring writes that more than
three#fourths of NDErs believe in reincarnation after their time in heavenzdfqg
but not as a reward or punishment. NDErs explain that reincarnation is an
opportunity to learn and grow spirituallyzdfqg and it is voluntarily undertaken
rather than being imposed on souls. In two movieszdfqg Love Is a Many Splendored
Thing and Dragonflyzdfqg a couple talks about coming back as birds in the next
life. In the first filmzdfqg they then agree to come back as people and find each
other again. In the secondzdfqg they even mention coming back as rabbitszdfqg so
it seems to be a fanciful conversationzdfqg just to introduce the reincarnation
concept to audiences. The husband at least must see it as 55 a fancyzdfqg because
he is shown as not believing in the immortality of the soul at the start of the
movie. Most films do not address reincarnation. It is interesting that those t
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hat dozdfqg fail to understand that spirits choose their parents on earthzdfqg who
typically are their own soul mates. Insteadzdfqg most movies show people being
born to someone as random events. An exception is A Rumor of Angelszdfqg where the
son’s spirit tells his mother in an ADC that he knows spirits return to earth many
timeszdfqg but he is not sure how this happens. He adds that if he came againzdfqg
he would want to be her son. This excerpt is also taken from the true story that
inspired the film. It is nice that some films do acknowledge reincarnation but
most get several aspects wrong. For examplezdfqg Made in Heaven first correctly
says that everyone can reincarnate on earthzdfqg and that some return quicklyzdfqg
while others take a long time. It even shows a man who was in heaven earlier to
be on earth laterzdfqg showing that he had reincarnated. Then it contradicts all
this by the special agent’s refusing to allow the protagonist to reincarnate.
Even though it is first correctly presented as eac

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h soul’s choicezdfqg he is illogically denied this option because he wants to
reincarnate to be with the woman he loveszdfqg who is about to be born on earth.
Actuallyzdfqg we know from NDE accounts that this is exactly what soul mates plan
and do. The man is then grudgingly allowed to reincarnate “as a special case”
with the caveat that if the lovers do not 56 find each other in 30 yearszdfqg they
will never see each otherzdfqg even when they get to heaven again. This concept is
simply ludicrous—there is no question of not meeting your soul mate(s) in the
spirit realm. We know from NDEs that soul mates will be together for eternityzdfqg
even if they miss meeting each other on earth in a few lifetimes. Finallyzdfqg in
a huge failing of common sensezdfqg the newly born man and woman look exactly like
themselves in their previous existence. If this was done simply as a device to
let the audience know who they arezdfqg that would be fine. But the fact that the
man’s parents from his previous life recognize

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that he looks just like their son (but nearly 30 years younger) shows that they
are supposed to look like themselves. Tied to thiszdfqg both keep having memory
fragments of their time together in heavenzdfqg and this is what helps them find
each other— because they look the same! There is no comprehension that we are
supposed to find our soul mates by sensing a soul connectionzdfqg and not by
simply recognizing a face from a past relationship. The Love Letter (1998) makes
the same glaring error in showing that the lovers look exactly like themselves in
their past and present lives. Just like Made in Heavenzdfqg this is also done in a
literal way. The man in the future life and the woman in the past life exchange
photographs (as part of the time-travel fantasy). This is how the woman
recognizes him in the past life; she meets a man with the same face as the man she
loves from the futurezdfqg and so 57 she knows it is him. And at the end of the
moviezdfqg the man in the future sees a woman (who

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has the same face as the woman in the past) and this is how he knows she is his
soul mate. If only it were that easy! Defending Your Life portrays reincarnation
as punishment and that too for frivolous reasons related to the faulty judgment
process. The movie includes a past#lives pavilion which is presented as a jokezdfqg
with Shirley MacLaine hostingzdfqg and freaky images from past lives that have
people shrieking in horror. Reincarnation is fleetingly mentioned in Hearts and
Soulszdfqg but it is wrongly portrayed. The film shows that the moment each of the
trapped souls finishes its unresolved businesszdfqg it is pulled away because “a
baby is waiting to be born and needs a soul.” This is not how reincarnation
workszdfqg and it contradicts NDE reports. NDErs say that spirits typically spend
a lot of time (in human years) in carefully planning their next earth lifezdfqg
along with soul mates whose earth lives will be intertwined with theirs. They
plan who will be the parentszdfqg how they wil

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l meetzdfqg who will be the childrenzdfqg and the aspects each one will work on
to facilitate spiritual growth. Not everything that is planned will happenzdfqg
but it is planned nonetheless. In Chances Are (1989)zdfqg a man who dies in an
accident insists on being born immediately without any thought as to his next
life. Alsozdfqg on growing up in his new lifezdfqg he recalls an injustice from
his past life and is able to set it 58 right. Let us evaluate these two
depictions. The man’s rushing to the next life without thought contradicts the
NDE literature about careful planning. And yetzdfqg some souls do make hasty
decisions about their next incarnationzdfqg as shown in rigorous past life
research by Professor Ian Stevenson. Alsozdfqg past life recall about specific
injustices is commonzdfqg especially for souls who return too soonzdfqg according
to Professor Stevenson. Tied to NDE accountszdfqg this suggests that not spending
enough time to plan the next physical lifezdfqg creates the likelihood of too
much focus on

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the most recent earth lifezdfqg and this is what engenders past life memories for
some people. In the same moviezdfqg the man’s attraction to his daughter from his
past life apparently turned off many viewers. But NDE reports say that such
changes in relationships in future earth lives are entirely feasible among soul
mates. So the film seems to have done well in all three of its reincarnation
depictionszdfqg although serendipitously. In What Dreams May Comezdfqg
reincarnation is mentioned early when someone points to spirits on their way to
help others be born on earth. Nothing is mentioned as to why the souls are being
reincarnatedzdfqg which is fine at this stage. But in the movie’s endingzdfqg the
husband suggests to his wife that they should reincarnate just for the thrill of
finding each other again. This is a frivolous reason for reincarnationzdfqg
especially when they are already together in heaven after his terrifying trip to
hell to rescue her. It also wrongly suggests that heaven is b

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oring and they need 59 to go to earth for excitement. In sharp contrastzdfqg NDErs
admit they were reluctant to return to earth given the incredible beauty and
abundant love in heavenzdfqg the ability to go anywhere instantlyzdfqg and the
absence of physical constraints. Even when it comes to reincarnationzdfqg NDErs
explain that it is difficult to forego the absolute freedomzdfqg joyzdfqg and love
in the spirit worldzdfqg and that typically souls plan to return to an earth life
only if there is something they need to work on for their spiritual growthzdfqg
which cannot be done in heaven. The movie’s alternate ending shows reincarnation
as voluntary atonement by the wife for having committed suicidezdfqg which seems
reasonable. Howeverzdfqg saying that every religion mentions this type of
atonement for suicide adds an incorrect note that views suicide in an especially
harsh way compared to other wrongdoings. As an asidezdfqg when the husband decides
to join his wife on earthzdfqg they should have stopped rolling fi

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lm where he sayszdfqg “See you in a heartbeat” and kisses her. Insteadzdfqg it
drags on to show two painful deliveries of babies—a depressing way to end the
movie. The ending that was kept shows them meeting as happy kidszdfqg drawn to
each other by their idiosyncratic behaviorzdfqg which at least ends the film on a
positive note. The Special Case of Children Most people think that when children
die they go to heaven “as childrenzdfqg” and grow up slowly there as they would
have on earth. This is probably why ADCs given by 60 children’s spirits (usually
in dream visitations) typically present themselves as children to comfort their
bereaved parents. In factzdfqg they often appear with another departed
relativezdfqg so their parents will not worry about who is taking care of them. In
some caseszdfqg they do appear as adultszdfqg possibly to convey that they are
mature spiritszdfqg capable of taking care of themselves. Indeedzdfqg the NDE
literature tells us that we are all eternal soulszdfqg and we were mature spirits
b

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efore coming to earth for a particular existence. Thuszdfqg when children are back
in heavenzdfqg they are free to assume their mature form. Blithe Spirit suggests
that children’s spirits remain at the age they died. This could be the case if the
spirit is trapped and remains at a low spiritual levelzdfqg as a ghost. But most
children go to the Lightzdfqg and are free to appear in their adult form. In
support of this ideazdfqg What Dreams May Come correctly depicts the children’s
spirits as “grown up” to the fatherzdfqg throughout the movie. Oddlyzdfqg it
shows them to the mother as children in the film’s ending. The original ending
(labeled as the alternate ending on the DVD) did show them as adults to the
motherzdfqg as mentioned earlier. The full alternate ending is not necessarily
betterzdfqg but this aspectzdfqg showing them as mature spirits at the end (as was
done throughout the film)zdfqg ought to have been retained. But What Dreams May
Come also shows other children in heavenzdfqg some running on waterzdfqg an

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d others flying or having fun in some way that is different from what we can 61
do on earth. Made in Heaven also shows childrenzdfqg some taking ballet
lessonszdfqg others learning computer skills. NDE accounts do not mention seeing
children in the spirit world. And yet it is not impossible that some mature souls
may want to appear as childrenzdfqg especially when they just want to have fun or
when they are learning basic skills. After allzdfqg it is clear that we can take
on any appearance we wish to in the spirit world. So these depictions add an
interesting layer of imagination to our conception of heaven that may actually be
possible. We do know from the ADC literature that children (on earth) are more
likely to see spirits than are adults. Some scholars propose that children’s so-
called “imaginary friends” might be spirits of guardian angels that only they can
see. Several filmszdfqg Angels in the Outfieldzdfqg Wings of Desirezdfqg and Just
like Heavenzdfqg show children seeing angels or spirits

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when adults cannot. Of course not all children are capable of this as Wings of
Desire portrays. What about Animals? The Going My Way television series (1962-63)
had an episode where a boy’s dog dies. When the boy sayszdfqg “I’ll see him in
heavenzdfqg” the priests tell him he will notzdfqg because “dogs do not have an
immortal soul.” They say a dog’s heaven is that he stays in our hearts. It is true
that NDE accounts do not mention animals in the spirit realm. But this may be
because such experiences are not as full in content as they would be after death.
62 Soldiers who died in World War Izdfqg and communicated with their families as
spiritszdfqg mentioned meeting beloved dogs or horses in the spirit realm. Even
recent ADC reports mention sensory contactszdfqg dream visitationszdfqg and other
types of ADCs from cherished pets. This suggests that animals do go to heavenzdfqg
at least those that had love connections with their owners. What Dreams May Come
correctly shows this when the husband meets t

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he family’s beloved dog in heaven. In keeping with knowledge from visual
ADCszdfqg the dog is a healthyzdfqg happy version of her earth-selfzdfqg in which
she was shown as ill and in pain. The ADC literature also reveals that animals (on
earth) are more likely to sense spirits than are people. Several films do depict
pets sensing a spirit. Blithe Spirit shows a parrot squawkingzdfqg and The Ghost
and Mrs. Muir shows a dog growlingzdfqg when a spirit appears. In Ghost and What
Dreams May Comezdfqg the animals seem frightenedzdfqg even though in these two
movies it is the owner’s spirit that has manifested. This contradicts ADC
accountszdfqg which mention that pets are happily excited when a loved one’s
spirit appears. In any casezdfqg it is nice that all these films show that animals
can sense spirits when people cannot. Conclusion I have enjoyed most of the films
discussed here; they were well crafted and highly entertaining. Only a few were
terrible. But I noticed that a large number of the movieszdfqg eve

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n the well-made oneszdfqg wrongly depicted 63 aspects of angelszdfqg heavenzdfqg
and related issues. Some filmmakers simply took an incorrectzdfqg traditionally
religious view of these issues. As audiences were in tune with thiszdfqg the
movies were successful. Others used fantasy to present a novel approachzdfqg and
this worked as wellzdfqg because audiences are generally unaware of the reality of
NDEszdfqg ADCszdfqg and other supernatural phenomenazdfqg and happy to be
entertained by unusual story-telling. At the same timezdfqg it was nice to see
films accurately depict some aspects of angels and heaven. These movies went
beyond amusing audiences to aim for enlightening themzdfqg which matches my hope
in writing this book. An Annotated Filmography [This is a chronological list of
the films discussed above. In the descriptions belowzdfqg the focus is on (1)
whether the movie depicts angelszdfqg heavenzdfqg and related issues correctly and
(2) whether it is worth seeing. (I have tried to minimize overlap with discussions
in the m

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ain text.)] Outward Boundzdfqg 1930 (remake: Between Two Worldszdfqg 1944) This
story is about people who do not know that they have died. Outward Bound provides
no explanation for why they are unaware of this. Between Two Worlds has them die
unexpectedly (in an airstrike during World War II) which matches the confusion
soldiers’ spirits have felt on dying suddenlyzdfqg as revealed in the ADC
literature. 64 The stage play (1923) as well as the two films err in not having
departed loved ones come to meet the newly freed soulszdfqg as we know happens
from the DBV and NDE literatures. But the beings that meet them are departed
souls; this at least supports the reality that all spirits on the other side have
lived on earth. The movies say that “heaven and hell are the same place” and each
person is sent off to an individualized hell or heavenzdfqg which matches NDE
reports. Butzdfqg whereas the stage play makes it clear that anyone can advance
from the level to which they were sentzdfqg the movies do

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not. They create an ambiguous interpretation that suggests a permanent hell or
heavenzdfqg contradicting NDE accounts. The stage play had some problemszdfqg
which the original film retained but the remake corrected. For examplezdfqg a
mistreated husband still wants to be with his abusive wifezdfqg and she is given a
villa to share with him; moreoverzdfqg she is given servantszdfqg which is
laughable. Between Two Worlds corrects all thiszdfqg so that the husband realizes
he does not want to spend eternity with this womanzdfqg and although she is still
given a villazdfqg she has to live all alone. Between Two Worlds adds three
characterszdfqg two of whom add to the movie’s interest. The thirdzdfqg a
sailorzdfqg drags the flow. Alsozdfqg this man is correctly told that his wife
and child will join him eventuallyzdfqg but the film misses the fact that as a
spirit he can look in on them any time and help them as a guardian angel. Even the
spirits helping the new arrivals (in the play as well as the movies) have no idea
about t

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he progress of the people they knew on earth. 65 In Outward Bound (the play and
the film)zdfqg a couple committed suicide because they could not live together and
were deeply unhappy. In Between Two Worldszdfqg they are happily married and the
man’s wanting to commit suicide because he can no longer play the piano (or
because he is denied an exit visa to America) is hard to swallow. Alsozdfqg in
this moviezdfqg the examiner says that choice is given to people to be together or
not. And yet he wants to separate this couplezdfqg arguing that the man wanted to
commit suicide and the woman just went along. At that pointzdfqg he completely
ignores the couple’s deep love for each other and their desperate wish to be
together. The stage play and the original film had the couple destined to stay on
the ship forever to ferry soulszdfqg but they go back to earth with no explanation
as to why. The remake says the man will stay on the ship and the woman will go to
heaven. But when they both end up returning

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to earthzdfqg we get the sense that their deep love for each other earned them
this reprieve. Overallzdfqg it is an unusual and intriguing storyzdfqg especially
for its time. Liliomzdfqg 1934 (remake: Carouselzdfqg 1956) In Liliomzdfqg a
French film based on a Molnar playzdfqg Charles Boyer gives a fascinating
performance as an unappealingzdfqg selfish character. Gordon McRae and Shirley
Jones charmingly play the lead roles in Carouselzdfqg an American adaptation as a
musical. In Liliomzdfqg a guardian angel is shown brieflyzdfqg trying to stop the
protagonist from committing a crime. In keeping with the erazdfqg it is an angel
that is assigned instead of an 66 eternal soul mate. Liliom later sees him in the
spirit worldzdfqg where the angelzdfqg strangelyzdfqg refuses to help him. The
movie also shows two assignedzdfqg unrelated angels sent to fetch him at his
death; laterzdfqg the two take him back to earth for another chance at redemption.
The guardian angel and the angel escorts have blackened eyes making them all look
like ghouls

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. But the film correctly shows that all of Liliom’s actions on earth have been
recorded. In Carouselzdfqg the “starkeeper” in heaven looks exactly like the
daughter’s school principal on earth with no explanation for this. And it shows
McRae’s character polishing stars instead of reviewing his life to grow. But it
correctly shows that thoughts are read telepathically in the spirit realm. Both
movies wrongly depict departed spirits as having no idea about events in the lives
of the people they are connected with. They also incorrectly present suicides as
getting only one chance for redemption. Ironicallyzdfqg in both films the
protagonist says he is not sorry for having beaten his wifezdfqg but he still gets
this chance. Both movies have unnecessary violence as wellzdfqg but are worth
seeingzdfqg especially Carousel for its songs and dances. Topperzdfqg 1937
Although a hit when releasedzdfqg this movie is based on superficiality and wrong-
minded ideas. The “jokes” in the movie are aimed at the lo

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1 UNHOLY Screenplay by John Xavier [email protected] Burnabydddd BC Draft
Completed 02/22/22 2 Open on INT. CLOSE UPdddd pages of old hardcover books being
turned by hand as the opening credits roll. The images are from illustrations in
works of demonology. Culminates in a montage of vignettes matching a voice over
(Ends with crescendo) FATHER MALACHI (V.O.) The Bible teaches us about evil. How we
succumb to it. How to defeat it. But the meaning of its lessons aren’t always
clear. Take the case of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Elijah challenged them
to a trial by faith. They would each choose one bulldddd slaughter itdddd and
present that offering on a pyre. Whoever’s god ignited their pyredddd this was
the true god. So hundreds of Baal’s followers agreed and danced around their
offering and slashed their flesh with knives and shouted to the heavens. And Baal
did nothing. “Pray louder!” taunted Elijah. “Maybe he’s daydreaming or relieving
himself!” After hours of thisdddd it was Eli

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jah’s turn. So he had the people douse his sacrifice to The Lord with twelve jars
of water. The pyre was completely soaked. Yet as soon as he had prayeddddd fire
came down from the sky and consumed his entire offering. Faith had triumphed.
Faith however wasn’t enough. Astonished by the miracledddd the huge crowd of
witnesses were rendered fully obedient to Elijah and the first thing he ordered
them to do was to put every prophet of Baal to death. But why? They had just
witnessed The Lord’s miracle. Many would no doubt have repented. Perhaps
repentancedddd even sincere repentancedddd isn’t good enough. That eradicating
certain kinds of corruption requires something more. Ruthlessness. CONTINUOUS:
INT. OLD BOOK STORE -- NIGHT A man who was sitting on the floor skimming through
one of the old books stands up: LUCAS D’LAMBERT (Late 20’s). Slightly disheveled.
Equal parts affable and cynical. He looks like someone living in the twilight
between between truth and fraud. 3 If askeddddd he

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couldn’t explain convincingly that there was any difference between these.
Dressed in sombre attire. VOICE Found something? LUCAS Yeah. I think I did. Lucas
walks over to the counter where the voice is revealed to be that of the
SHOPKEEPER. The shopkeeper looks at the book while they ring it up. SHOPKEEPER
Planning on going to an exorcism? You’re certainly dressed for one. LUCAS Funny.
No. My interest in the occult’s only a hobby. SHOPKEEPER Expensive hobby that.
It’ll be 68.80. Debit? LUCAS Yeah. Lucas takes his purchase and exits the store.
EXT. OMINOUS DOWNTOWN STREET -- NIGHT Lucas looks around and then crosses a road
empty of traffic. He goes to a bus stop and stands there waiting. Meanwhile a man
who appears to be a drug addict suffering severe psychosis is behaving strangely
nearby. Tension builds. Just before it seems like something is going to happen
thoughdddd the ILLUMINATED BUS arrives. Relieveddddd Lucas eagerly steps on board.
MATCH CUT ON DOORS: EXT. LUCAS’ APARTMEN

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T BUILDING -- NIGHT 4 Lucas arrives home and fiddles in his pockets before
entering. He walks upstairs and then enters his own apartmentdddd taking less
time now that he has his keys out. INT. LUCAS’ APARTMENT -- NIGHT FEMALE VOICE
You’re late. LUCAS (Startled) You’re not even supposed to be here. Lucas walks into
the kitchen and his girlfrienddddd SONJAdddd is waiting there (Mid 20’s) She’s
pretty in a casual artsy way but her oversized sweater can’t hide the thinness in
her hands and face. Notably more mature than her romantic partner. SONJA The
symposium ended early. The main speaker couldn’t make it. Heart attack or
something. LUCAS Shit. There’s a lull here in the conversation. SONJA So? How’s it
been? LUCAS Honestly? Fine. SONJA (Irritated) Fine? LUCAS 5 That’s not what I
meant. Sonja laughs derisively. It’s clear from the exchange that their
relationship is not in the best shape. Lucas is acting apathetic towards Sonja and
Sonja is looking for a reason to retaliate. SONJA You’re

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texts haven’t exactly been detailed. LUCAS Not a lot’s been going on. Seriously.
Work is… work is tedious. We’re missing a lot of stuff in our inventory. The
shipping and receiving guy’s catching hell. Doesn’t have a lot to do with me
though. And I meandddd other than thatdddd things have been quiet. (Half laughs)
I’ve just been binging movies. A CAT comes up and rubs itself against Sonja’s leg.
LUCAS (Trying to be cheerful) Biscuit missed you. SONJA (Unimpressed) I know. He
was all over me when I got home. I guess it’s nice that somebody did. Lucas
doesn’t know what to say. He approaches SONJA ambiguously and then reaches past
her into a cupboard. LUCAS I didn’t have a chance to go grocery shopping. But I
was thinking pasta? SONJA I already ate. LUCAS 6 Oh. Okay. After an awkward
momentdddd SONJA leaves and Lucas pausesdddd obviously thinking about the
conversation that just happened. Then he continues with making dinner. VIEW ON
LUCAS FINISHING UP IN THE KITCHEN Lucas has a bowl of

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noodles he is pouring sauce over. LUCAS “Après moidddd le déluge.” INT. LIVING
ROOM -- NIGHT Lucas enters with his food and sits down beside Sonja on a couch. A
black and white movie is playing on TV. Sonja stares at Lucas for a few seconds as
he obliviously focuses on his food. Finally a look of disgust passes over her face
and she gets up. SONJA I’m tired. I’m going to bed. LUCAS Alright. I’m just going
to finish this and I’ll probably join you. SONJA (Slightly sarcastic) Yeah? Sonja
exits and Lucas returns to his meal. As he’s eating thoughdddd something starts to
disturb him. It’s the movie on TV. An old black and white picturedddd vaguely
surrealistdddd with a woman being chased by a vague antagonist through longdddd
poorly lit corridors. The woman silently shouts at her pursuer but no sound is
heard. Lucas frowns and reaches for the REMOTE where increasing the volume does
nothing. Getting up he goes to the TV to fix it. Just before he touches itdddd and
just as the woman in the movie

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is about to be overcomedddd the TV screen turns to static and the loud accompanying
NOISE causes Lucas to wince. The shot lingers on the noise and his distress. 7
DISSOLVE TO: CLOSE IN ON LUCAS’ DISHES IN THE SINK. The tap is DRIPPING. Otherwise
quiet. INT. BEDROOM -- NIGHT Lucas enters with the book he bought as Sonja is
checking her PHONE. He’s changed into an underwear and t-shirt combo and gets in
bed beside her. While he’s settling indddd Sonja quickly puts a sleeping VISOR on
and turns away from him. Lucas hesitates before saying something. LUCAS
(Whispering) Do you mind if I read for a bit? Receiving no answerdddd Lucas shrugs
and opens his book. FLIPPING through the pages he comes across a SLIP OF PAPER
inserted inside with a printed poem that captures his attention. INSERT POEM ENOCH
(V.O.) Lost Immortals The starlight of the empty eonsdddd The dust of unburied
bones; A black lake of volcanic ashdddd Poison berries along the road Fog and mist
the entire journeydddd Pale the reproach of a

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lonely moon; Every village just a graveyarddddd Every castle a musty tomb And we
remain good pilgrimsdddd Faithful despite our father’s fall; Those surviving off
his vineyarddddd Darkness shielding us from awe CONTINUOUS: 8 Lucas sitting in bed.
Furrows brow before turning off the lamp. SNAP TO BLACK: INT. LUCAS’ APARTMENT --
NIGHT HALLWAY Lucas is walking down the hall with a perplexed look on his face.
TRACKING on Lucas as he enters the bathroom. BATHROOM Lucas looks over and notices
that the bathtub is full. Focus on Lucas as he approaches and his facial
expressions. These go from confusion to shock. MEDIUM SHOT OF BATHTUB The clear
water is full of hundreds of leeches. Anxiety inducing synth sounds play in a
swelling instrumental. CLOSE IN ON LEECHES They wriggle as they swim. Searching for
blood. EXTREME CLOSE IN The details of the leeches. CUT TO BLACK: Silence. Then the
annoying ALERT of a digital alarm clock. Lucas is heard grumbling and shutting off
the alarm. EXT. AUTO REPAIR SHO

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P -- DAY Noise of the WORK going on inside and light TRAFFIC sounds. INT. AUTO
REPAIR SHOP -- DAY Lucasdddd in overallsdddd is working on a motorcycle. He’s fully
concentrating on fixing the machine when another co-worker walks up to him. It’s
WERNER “Vern” GAUSS (Late 50s) the senior mechanic. He has the quality of an old
hunting dog about him. Capable and unrushed. 9 WERNER You’re missing your break.
Lucas looks up. VIEW ON WALL CLOCK LUCAS Ah. Thanks Vern. Lucas wipes his hands off
with a rag and gets to his feet. After looking around for a few seconds to make
sure he isn’t forgetting anythingdddd Lucas exits the auto repair shop. EXT.
BEHIND AUTO REPAIR SHOP -- DAY Lucas sees that another one of his coworkersdddd
ROYCE (30s) is already loitering theredddd CHEWING gum and looking at his PHONE.
Lucas walks a little ways away and takes out his own PHONE. LUCAS (Making a call)
Hi. This is Lucas D’Lambert. Yeah. I’m the guy who emailed you about the poem.
Ohdddd nothing like that. No. I meandddd it

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bsolute fury on Royce’s face. He’s stopped chewing. DISSOLVE TO: INT. AUTO REPAIR
SHOP –- EVENING End of work hours. Lucas and Werner are cleaning up. WERNER I think
I owe you a drink from last week. LUCAS (Smiling) Thanks Vern. Tomorrow though.
I’ve gotta run. WERNER That girl of yours? (Thinking) Sonja? LUCAS 11 (Laughs)
Actually I’ve got to go see this antiquarian. Part of a writing project I’ve been
working on. Werner arches an eyebrow as he hauls a bag of garbage out of a trash
can. He pauses to eye Lucas carefully. WERNER You have to go after the things you
want in life. Anddddd if you’re luckydddd you’ll find out what’s truly important
to you before it’s too late. Werner leaves with a nod and Lucas watches him go.
EXT. ENOCH’S HOUSE -- EVENING WIDE SHOT An older home with a run-down quality to
it. A garden that’s become wild through neglect out front and a large porch with
various pieces of JUNK on it. Lucas approachesdddd walking right up to the front
doordddd after opening the O

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UTER GLASS DOORdddd and knocking on it. Then he lets the glass door close shut.
CLOSE IN AND PENDULUM PAN Lucas is waiting for an answer when a white dove settles
nearby. Distracteddddd he doesn’t notice when the occupant of the house arrives
at the door window and stares at him. This is ENOCH KOLMOGOROV (Late 60s) an
antiquarian. Enoch is a grim figure who has a rather unsettling quality about him.
And yet he has old fashioned manners and often attempts to engage in pleasantries.
ENOCH (As he opens the inner door) Who are you? LUCAS (Surprised) Oh. Mr.
Kolmogorov? I’m Lucas. Lucas D’Lambert. 12 ENOCH And what do you want? LUCAS You
were partners with Charles Poole. I meandddd umdddd I contacted him about a book
you published: Esoteric Traditions in Early Medieval Society. I was curious about
a poem I found in it. ENOCH There wasn’t any poetry in that. LUCAS It was on a
slip of paper I found in one of the editions. ENOCH Why would you think I’d know
anything about some random… LUCAS

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The starlight of the empty eons? Enoch frowns. Clearly he’s familiar with the poem.
ENOCH (Suspicious) Who are you with? Now it’s Lucas’ turn to frown and he glances
behind him to see if Enoch is referring to anyone in particular before answering.
LUCAS With? This is my own personal thing. 13 Enoch rubs his face as he thinks.
Then he pushes open the glass door. Lucas grabs this to hold it opendddd unsure of
what Enoch is intending though. ENOCH (Nodding to indicate a spot) Take your shoes
off and put ‘em over there. Enoch vanishes into the house and Lucas follows after a
moment of hesitation. INT. ENOCH’S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM -- EVENING The décor is
practically late Victorian. An absurd amount of ASSORTED ANIMAL TAXIDERMY fills
the room. Lucasdddd sitting in a chairdddd eyes one of these creations warily
before turning towards Enochdddd also in a chair. LUCAS So? Can you tell me who
wrote it? Enoch lights a cigarette. ENOCH No. It’s an anonymous work. What’s your
interest in it? LUCAS The

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last stanza. The fallen father is a reference to Adam presumably. But my own
studies connects this with… with the Lucifer mythos. With Satan. ENOCH And those
are two different individuals? LUCAS Welldddd Lucifer and Satan… ENOCH
(Interrupting) 14 Lucifer and Adam. Lucas doesn’t know what to make of this
suggestion. Enoch takes a long drag from his cigarette. ENOCH The clay is just a
vessel. VIEW ON ENOCH He is staring at Lucas very intently. At a certain point
though he seems to relent. ENOCH I found it written in Armenian with an
accompanying English translation. The poem. This was at a booksellers in Ephesus.
LUCAS And… no attribution? Enoch stubs out his cigarette. ENOCH I assumed the
translation was Byron at first. No proof either way though. LUCAS (Eyes widening)
Really? (Beat) And the original? ENOCH (Weighing his words) Much older. WIDE SHOT
The two men facing each other. Nothing happening. ENOCH 15 (Insinuating) You know
what they say about curiosity and felines. Lucas t
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urns to look at one of the preserved animals. A CAT. CLOSE IN ON CAT THEN CUT TO
MEDIUM SHOT OF LUCAS LUCAS (With a sly grin) No. Not really. But I’m definitely
interested in finding out. Enoch chucklesdddd pausesdddd and then chuckles again.
DISSOLVE TO: INT. ENOCH’S HOUSE - LIBRARY -- NIGHT Enoch enters firstdddd then
Lucas. The former has been giving the latter a tour of the house. ENOCH It’s
hardly what it used to be but this is what remains. Enoch gestures to a wall of
shelves overflowing with old books. LUCAS Wow. It’s still very impressive. How
many? ENOCH Just over three thousand. Less than half. In the last move… there were
complications. LUCAS (Confused) Do you… move often? Enoch idly takes a book down
and examines it. 16 ENOCH (Almost to himself) Like rain driving up the worms.
(Beat) Here. Enoch hands Lucas the book he was holding. ENOCH You’ll need a few
more too. Lucas is surprised. He wasn’t expecting to receive any books. Meanwhile
Enoch thoughtfully goes through his libra

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ry and pulls out various HARDCOVER VOLUMES. When Enoch finishesdddd Lucas is
holding a considerable stack of books and straining somewhat as a result of this.
ENOCH How’s that? CLOSE IN ON LUCAS’ FACE AND UPPER TORSO LUCAS Uh. (Beat) Could I
borrow a bag? Enoch gestures for Lucas to follow him. DISSOLVE TO: INT. ENOCH’S
HOUSE - FOYER -- NIGHT Lucas has been given a SMALL DUFFLE BAG to carry the books
in. Enoch follows him to the door with a cup of tea. LUCAS I really appreciate all
this Mr. Kolmogorov. I’ll email you when I finish the article. ENOCH I look
forward to reading it. You sure the busses are still running? LUCAS 17 Yeah. I
meandddd as far as I know. ENOCH Alright. We’ll talk again soon Lucas. Enoch opens
the interior door. Lucas opens the exterior one. LUCAS Absolutely. And thank you.
Again. This means a lot to me. Enoch waves off Lucas’ gratitude and Lucas raises
his hand as he departs. Enoch watches him for a moment. There’s an unexpected
cheerlessness in his face thou

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gh. TRACK Enoch as he returns to the living room. His movements are slow. Subdued.
His age is noticeable. He grabs a package he received when he gets there and
places it on a dining table. He then scrounges for a box-cutter in a drawer and
sits down. Camera follows as he carefully slices the package open with neat cuts.
After finishing he deliberately places the knife down. WIDE SHOT Enoch is still
sitting at the dining table but now the full menagerie of animal taxidermy is
visible. Enoch seems disturbed. He stops. Listening. Then suddenly he tries to
grab the box#cutters again. Before he can thoughdddd a statue-like figure clad in
blackdddd barely noticeable among all the dead animalsdddd comes at him from
behind and stabs Enoch in the heart. CLOSE IN Enoch and his killer. ASSASSIN
(Whispering) So close. The ASSASSINdddd large and disguised in a CUSTOM
BALACLAVAdddd holds Enoch’s arms with one of his own while brutally jostling his
knife in the wound. Enoch writhes in paindddd starts gaspin
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gdddd and 18 finally dies. His eyes and mouth remain open as the Assassin lets him
go and departs. Camera lingers on Enoch’s dead body. CUT TO: INT. AUTO REPAIR SHOP
-- EARLY MORNING LIGHT is streaming in through the windows. A few dust particles
dance in the air. After the camera briefly surveys the details of the roomdddd
Lucas enters the frame and busies himself with some organizational tasks. Entirely
relaxeddddd the movement of the camera emphasizes his mood but there’s a growing
tension in the scene that plays out on Lucas’ face before he finally decides to
listen to a VOICEMAIL that he’d received hours ago. As he holds the phone to his
eardddd the voicemail plays. CHARLES POOLE (V.O.) Lucas? This is Charles Poole. We
spoke the other day. I’m… I’m sorry. I’m just in shock at the moment. A colleague
of mine’s insisting that Enoch (?)died(?) yesterday. Ahdddd I’m trying to get
some more details but there’s nothing in the news. Did you speak with him? I
meandddd maybe you’re already in

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contact with the police. I’d… uh… appreciate it if you can call me though. For
some reason Idddd I don’t want to believe this. Um… I’ll be in the office in an
hour or so. Get in touch with me as soon as you can. Thank you. After listening
to the voicemaildddd Lucas pauses in stunned silence. He exhales quietly. His
posture deflates. Eventuallydddd after holding his forehead as if he has an
oncoming headachedddd Lucas dials Charles Poole’s office. LUCAS Hi. This is Lucas
D’Lambert. I’m calling for Mr. Poole. (Three beats) Nodddd no. You mean Mr.
Kolmogorov right? (Beat) Him also? I meandddd uh… both of them? Wow… how? But
you’re not saying they were in the same car. That’s… Just Mr. Poole? Okay but
then… What! Umdddd how? Uhdddd how-how do they know it was a… murder. Butdddd uh…
welldddd I was going to speak to Mr. Poole because… (Long pause) Yeah (Slowly)
I’m still here. You know 19 whatdddd I uh… I think this is a bad time. Yeah. I’m…
I’m sorry. Nodddd no. Nodddd I appreciate your help. Yeah. You too. (Be

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at) Goodbye. Lucas is thoroughly distressed and disoriented now. Stumbling to make
his way over to a stooldddd Lucas slumps down on it and stares off into space.
Open to a wide shot to impress his isolation. EXT. AUTO REPAIR SHOP -- DAY Werner
and Royce are outside smoking together. The sense we get of their relationship
from body language is that Royce is reluctantly deferential towards Werner and
that neither has any special affection for the other. They can work together in an
effective manner but they’re not friends. This is also why Royce resents Lucasdddd
a newer hire than himselfdddd establishing a genuinely good relationship with the
senior mechanic. Roycedddd casually tosses a cigarette butt on the ground and then
looks over at Werner. ROYCE The tires for the YAMAHA should arrive by express
courier today. I can call the owner up once they do right? WERNER (Dropping a butt
in a tin) Welldddd Lucas is the one working on that. (Scoffs) Not me. Butdddd
yeahdddd he’s done everything else
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as far as I know. Just give him time to put the new tires on before the owner
gets heredddd okay? ROYCE (Making a sour face) Of course. The two men head inside
the building. INT. AUTO REPAIR SHOP -- DAY 20 Werner and Royce enter more or less
in succession and are getting ready to go over some business with Lucas when
Werner notices that something seems wrong. WERNER (Trying to be lighthearted) Hey?
You alright there kid? Lucas looks up from his hands. There’s an obvious bleakness
in his eyes and an aura of trepidation around him. LUCAS Vern. I’m… no. Puzzled
looks from both Werner and Royce. Softly in the formerdddd suspiciously in the
latter. LUCAS Someone I knowdddd someone I knewdddd is dead. WERNER (Gently)
Someone you were close to? LUCAS (Slightly surprised) No. It’s not that. All three
men are silent. Almost like a Mexican standoffdddd no one ready to make the first
move. Finallydddd Lucas gets up from his stool but accidentally knocks it over
trying to push it aside. LUCAS (Said in epip

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hany) I’ve… I can’t be here. I need to leave. Hearing thisdddd Royce scowls in
disbelief. ROYCE (With rising anger) 21 What! You’re going to go and fuck us like
this? You don’t think we don’t have our own fucking problems? My cousin died three
months ago! Remember? I still came into work! What are you? LUCAS (Groping for
words) I’m sorry. ROYCE (Furious) You’re more than sorry. You’re pathetic. WERNER
(In rebuke) Hey! Werner and Royce exchange an intense stare before Lucas
interrupts by weakly waving for their attention. LUCAS I’ll just be gone for a
while. Okay? Lucas hesitates and then barrels out of the room. Royce
melodramatically recoils in disgust while Werner tries to put a consoling hand on
Lucas during the latter’s exit. WERNER Lucas… With Lucas’ departuredddd a tense
silence settles in. Royce gestures and gives Werner a pointed look like “Is this
the way things are now?” CUT TO: EXT. URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD -- DAY A street of
cookie-cutter houses in a working class area of the

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city. Shots of local traffic and diverse representatives of the local population.
Focus finally on one of the unexceptional homes. Dolly shot through the front gate
and along the side of 22 the house until coming to the entrance of a basement
suite. Close in on Lucas’ hand as it knocks on the door. Widen to Lucas in
profiledddd wearing a JACKET and waiting at the door. Finallydddd SAMMY emerges;
low-level middle-age drug dealer living in a basement suite. He’s wearing a wife
beaterdddd sweat pantsdddd and a pair of sandals. Distinctly unhealthy looking as
well as obviously not being someone who exercises regularly. SAMMY (Sternly) What
are you doing here? LUCAS (Tiredly) Come on man. SAMMY (Confrontational) No. You
think you can just show up at my door in the middle of the day? Like you don’t
have to call first? LUCAS (Exasperated) Look. Not today. Please. Sammy eyes Lucas
a moment before dropping the façade. SAMMY Heh. Alright. Allll-right… Sammy
gestures for Lucas to enter. Lucas doe

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s and Sammy lingers in the doorway curiously before following. CUT TO: INT.
SAMMY’S BASEMENT SUITE -- DAY The place is a somewhat typical bachelor sty full of
empty liquor bottlesdddd drug paraphernaliadddd and random items in bad 23 taste.
Notable though is a small CRYPTO MINING RIG. Lucas and Sammy sit down on a couch.
SAMMY So what? You just here to pick up? LUCAS (Sighs) What I need is to take my
mind off some shit for a minute. (Shakes head) You good if I only score a blunt
off you? Lucas pulls out a folded TEN DOLLAR BILL between his thumb and index
fingers with a slightly penitent look on his face. SAMMY Yeahdddd I got you.
(Snatches the money) You know I got you bruh. LUCAS Thanks. If you can… roll it
too… SAMMY (Feigning indignation) (Laughs) This guy… actin’ the heavydddd bangin’
on my door… barge-ING indddd bosssin’ me around. Fuck. LUCAS I meandddd you
knowdddd I was gonna smoke it with you. You wanna risk me rollin’ it? Sammy gives
Lucas a blank stare before busting into laughter. SA

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MMY Helllll nah. You can’t roll worth shit. (Laughs) But that’s okay. That’s fine.
I’m the fuckin’ Leon of this life. Pro-fessional. Yer local gold standard. Rolled
gold. Eyyy? Rolllled goaled. (Beat) Watch and learn son. 24 Sammy deftly rolls the
BLUNT without the aid of a table before showing it off in an exaggerated manner
and then tossing it at Lucas with theatrical indifference. Caught off guarddddd
Lucas still manages to catch it and proceeds to examine it for damage. SAMMY Go
on. Spark that shit. Clock’s ticking Gretzky. After hitting Sammy with a
bemused/nonplussed lookdddd Lucas proceeds to do as he’s askeddddd grabbing a
LIGHTER off the LIVING ROOM TABLE in turn. Once he’s had a few tokes from the
bluntdddd he hands it off to Sammy who wastes no time in partaking as well. SAMMY
You know I don’t let just anybody chill at my place right? LUCAS I know. SAMMY
(After handing off blunt) Causedddd yodddd that’s some dumb shit. Randoms in the
crib… it’s a recipe for fucking problems. Ungr

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ateful motherfuckers gettin’ a mind to rip you off and shit. (Receives blunt back
and tokes) You’re one of my best customers though Luke. (Takes another hit) Luke
Nukem. (Exhales smoke) LUCAS (Rolling his eyes) Thanks. SAMMY Hey bruh. I’m an
appreciative dude. (Checks a text on his phone before ignoring it and getting
handed the blunt again) Not every customer’s a good one. Fuck. Next to my bitcoin
pumpdddd yer my most reliable source of income. (Laughs) 25 Lucas has notably
loosened up now. He grins while quickly glancing at the crypto mining setup.
LUCAS I don’t know if I can handle all these compliments. (Laughs) Sammy laughs
again and the two finish the blunt halfway before Lucas decides he’s had enough.
Instead of toking he gestures wordlessly towards Sammy with the blunt and the
latter shakes his head to decline. Lucas then stubs it out. LUCAS Hey. I gotta
piss. SAMMY (Gesturing to the washroom) Me casa eh tu casa Sammy’s butchered
attempt at Spanish goes unremarked as

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Lucas gets up and steps inside the bathroomdddd the view from the outer hall
continuing as the door is respectfully shut. Hold shot as noise and muffled speech
from Sammy continue. INSIDE BATHROOM Lucas finishes urinating with the toilet seat
up. After he’s done he puts the toilet seat down out of habit thendddd following
an indecisive moment of reconsiderationdddd he puts it back up. Goes to wash his
hands and stares at himself in the mirror. Some of the energy drains out of him
for a moment. He rubs his face with both hands. Flash an insert of the mirror
without his reflection in it. His hands fall from his face. He opens his eyes. He
looks at himself again and resolve now returns to his expression. He turns away.
OUTSIDE BATHROOM Hallway adjacent to bathroom. Lucas opens the door and exits.
Turns off the light before leaving. TRACK backwards as Lucas walks towards the
room where Sammy is waiting. Sammy is standing and has two BEERS in his hands.
Offers one to Lucas who accepts

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. SAMMY 26 Yo. Check these prank highlights out. (Laughs) LUCAS Oh? The two men
sit down on a couch in front of Sammy’s LAPTOP. CUT TO: EXT. DEAD END ALLEY -- DAY
A long shot parallel-center down the alley as a man walks out of a backdoor from
left of frame. He’s dressed in grim business attire. As he heads towards the
camera he notices another man slumped over on the right side of the frame.
Disheveled and homeless apparently. Just as the business man passes the homeless
man though he sees a dozen or so TWENTY DOLLAR BILLS scattered in the street. As
he stoops down to inspect thesedddd the homeless man suddenly comes to life and
stealthily rushes the business man with a KNIFE. The assassin now begins to stab
the VICTIM repeatedly as heavy ominous music swells indddd drowning out the noise
of the attack. The shot holds as the victim is stabbed in a brutally lopsided
fight. Eventually they succumb to this and the assassin finishes by slitting their
throat and then briskly walki

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ng away. As they near the cameradddd we get the sense that this is the assassin
who killed Enoch due to the same balaclava each are wearing. After the assassin
exits the framedddd the shot remains on the still body of the murder victim. The
noise of ordinary street traffic returns. CUT TO: INT. SAMMY’S BASEMENT SUITE --
EVENING Sammy and Lucas are still enjoying themselves. They’re playing a fighting
game on a GAME CONSOLE and engaging in some light banter. After a matchdddd Sammy
gets up from the couch to grab something to eat. SAMMY (Joking) I can’t believe I
lost again to someone as terrible as you. 27 LUCAS (Amused) You’ll never live it
down. Sammy returns with a bag of JERKY and watches as Lucas starts a match with
the computer. SAMMY Welldddd I’m still ahead what? Ten games to three? LUCAS
(Grimacing) Something like that. Fuck. At least it’s better than dying in real
life. SAMMY (Stops eating) Huh? LUCAS (Attention fixed on game) Yeahdddd uhdddd
today was crazy. Two people I spoke wi

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th died today. I mean I didn’t really know either of them. But… SAMMY Seriously?
LUCAS (Attention still fixed on game) Honest. I uhdddd went to this one guy’s
housedddd older guydddd to talk to him about a book. Welldddd yeahdddd kind of.
But apparently he died the day I met him. Stabbed. Like soon after I left. And
then the guy who I called to get his address died in a car crash too. I got the
news at work today anddddd fuckdddd a wave of paranoia hit me. I don’t know. I
mean if anything’s going on there I’m not involved in it butdddd the police are
28 probably gonna call me at some point right? The whole thing’s a mess. SAMMY
(Livid) Are you fucking stupid? LUCAS (Turning to Sammy in surprise) Brodddd it’s
not… SAMMY (Yelling) You’re a murder suspect! Fear creeps in to Lucas’ expression
as he realizes that Sammy is right. Sammy supresses an animalistic scream. SAMMY
(Struggling to keep his voice down) Holy fuck! You were the last person to see
someone who got fucking stabbed to death! Or maybe no

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t but you’re still the prime fucking suspect! There’s the fucking phone records
“bruh”! And transit surveillance “bruh”! Right!? And what the fuck do you do!? Oh
my god! You decided to come hang out with your fucking drug dealer! I meandddd
whattttt thhhhe fuckkk! (Beat) FFFFUCK!!! LUCAS (Worried) It’s not like… SAMMY
(Seething) SHUT UP! Shut the fuck up! Oh my goddddd oh MY god. How can you not
understand what the fuck you just did!? Lucas gives Sammy a sickly look. 29 SAMMY
What do you think the police DO when someone gets murdered!? They fucking track
the killer down!!! They fucking identify everyone who had any fucking contact with
the dumb fuck who just DIED and interrogate their fucking asses. And youdddd YOU
FUCKING CUNTdddd decided to drag me into this shit! You cause you’re SOOOO fucking
innocent! Con#Gratulations. Halle-fucking-looya! It’s not like innocent people ever
go to jail. It’s not like some murder detective with a desperate fucking HARD-ON
for closing a major case

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rlier about transit surveillance has convinced him to walk home. Hold shot with
the other people still waiting for the bus. CUT TO: A montage of Lucas walking
alone on his way home. It’s clear he’s wrestling with his thoughts while
simultaneously worrying about the possibility of police around him. Use
diminishing light to convey passage of time. CUT TO: EXT. 2ND RESIDENTIAL
NEIGHBORHOOD -- NIGHT EXTREME WIDE SHOT Rear view of a POLICE CAR slowly cruising
along a major street. Slow ZOOM in and PAN on Lucas farther ahead as he notices
the police approaching. CLOSER IN BUT STILL WIDE Lucas panics before exiting right
of frame into a side street. CUT TO: EXT. ADJACENT ALLEY -- NIGHT Lucas enters the
alleydddd looking over his shoulder oncedddd and then creeps up to a wall along
the left side of the frame. Time passes as he waits to see if the police follow
him in. He prepares to run for it but no police show up. After a few more seconds
he cautiously begins to walk up the alley. CLOS

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E IN AND DOWNWARD 45 DEGREE ANGLE Lucas walking through the alley. He passes under
the bright light of a tall lamppost but after a few seconds a rapid SHADOW briefly
sweeps over him. Startleddddd he turns around. EXTREME CLOSE IN A HAND GUNdddd a
Beretta 9mm or something similardddd held in a WEAVER STANCE by expert hands. Hold
shot as their owner begins to talk. 31 UMBERTO (With sinister calm) At this range
you might think a bullet would go right through you but actually it’ll only
penetrate your skull once. Then the bullet will spin and ricochet inside your
head. … CLOSE IN Umberto is smiling with full teeth. He’s a very formidable
looking man with strong Mediterranean features. Like an émigré gangster or
mercenary. UMBERTO (Enjoying himself) … Burrowing tunnels in your brains. Turning
them to mush. And you’re dumb enough as it is. LUCAS (Flinching) Plea-eeze d-don’t…
Umberto raises a finger to his own lips. UMBERTO (Shushing Lucas) Shhhhhhhhh.
Umberto slowly lowers his finger and res

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umes a cool grip on his pistol with both hands. The shot holds on both of them.
Umberto eyes Lucas with something nearly like indifference while Lucas shivers in
adrenaline pulsing fright. Finally a UTILITY VAN rushes towards them and stops.
SWITCH TO A LONG SHOT Umberto grabs Lucas by the neck anddddd along with two
KIDNAPPERS who appear from the side door of the vandddd has a HOOD forced on Lucas
before pushing him inside. Then the van speeds away. CUT TO: 32 EXT. AERIAL VIEW OF
THE DOWNTOWN -- NIGHT Sounds of the van racing through traffic. Jostling and thuds
from those in the back. Noise of other cars. Emphasize the tension of being
kidnapped. Continue for several seconds. UMBERTO (V.O.) Almost there. DISSOLVE TO:
INT. UNDERGROUND PARKING LOT First person view from Lucas’s perspectivedddd except
he’s still in the hood so only the light leaking through its fabric is visible as
he’s pushed out of the van and then hung upside-down on a CONTRAPTION. When the
hood is removeddddd the VIEW I

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S UPSIDE-DOWN with just the legs of those in front of him visible. For the most
part these are the pant legs of his male kidnappers. One pair of legs though
reveals the pale skin of a beautiful woman wearing a RED EVENING DRESS that ends
just above the knee line. VIEW ON LUCAS’ FACE He’s blinking and looking around as
his eyes adjust to the light. Finally he settles on the lone woman in front of
him. VIEW ON KIDNAPPERS Standing among Umberto and three other kidnappers is
ADRIENNEdddd a cold blooded femme fatale (Early 30’s) who is as meticulous in her
speech as she is in her appearance. She moves carefullydddd like a snake sensing
heat in the air from nearby prey. ADRIENNE (Gently) Where are you Lucas? LUCAS
(Terrified) I… I don’t know. ADRIENNE 33 (Delicately) Yes. And none of your friends
or family know where you are either. Which means it’s very easy for you to (Soft
gesture) disappear. LUCAS (Pleading) I’m innocent. (Stress “innocent” with a
whine) ADRIENNE (Bemused) What does

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that have to do with anything? VIEW ON LUCAS Lucas’ eyes shift between the other
people present. ORGANIC VIEW ON KIDNAPPERS UPSIDE-DOWN Their faces are all made of
stone. Successive close ups of eachdddd still upside-down and looking at
cameradddd to punctuate this. ADRIENNE (Thoughtfully) Perhaps I should clarify
some things. We know you met with Enoch just before his death. We also know you
wanted to speak to him about a book he wrote. (Raises eyebrows) LUCAS (Wincing)
And? ADRIENNE Why did he die Lucas? LUCAS (Begging) I had nothing to do with it.
Really. 34 ADRIENNE So you don’t know anything? LUCAS I… don’t think so. VIEW ON
KIDNAPPERS Umberto can no longer hold back his exasperation and so he gets down on
one knee before grabbing Lucas by the hair and forcing him to look below. It
becomes evident now that Lucas has his hands HANDCUFFED behind his back so he
offers little resistance. VIEW ON LUCAS’ FACE AND THE GROUND BELOW HIM A METAL
CONTAINER is sitting underneath Lucas as

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he hyper#ventilates and writhes in response to Umberto’s manhandling. UMBERTO
(Irritated) See that? Look at it. (Beat) Do you know how much liquid that can
hold? Umberto pulls out a KNIFE and draws it near Lucas’ throat. UMBERTO Twice as
much as what’s in you. LUCAS strugglesdddd grunting and moaning. ADRIENNE
(Encouragingly) It doesn’t have to be this way Lucas. Just tell us what happened.
LUCAS (Breathing frantically) I… I got his address from Obscura publishing.
Fromdddd uhdddd Mr. Laird. But he’s dead too! ADRIENNE 35 (Half mischievousdddd
half bored) We’re aware. Adrienne gestures for Lucas to continue LUCAS (Babbling)
Okay. Alright. So Idddd uhdddd go to his place right? A house. Full of dead
animals. I uhdddd I uhdddd I tell him I’m interested in his book. Esoteric
Traditions indddd um… ah… you know the one? The… anywaydddd but it’s not the book
specifically. Right. There was uhhh… a poemdddd yeahdddd in the book I bought.
Scrap paper. ADRIENNE (Frowning slightly) A poem? LUCAS Yeah. Lost… Immortals!

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ADRIENNE (Amused and nodding) Oh. That poem. LUCAS So you know? Of course. Butdddd
ahdddd we didn’tdddd ahdddd discuss it too much. I just wanted to write an
articledddd I was going to write an article. On the symbolism. That’s all. Anddddd
uhdddd and he said he’d help me. Welldddd he uhdddd he gave me some books. Just
books. For research. FOCUS ON UMBERTOdddd STILL CROUCHING UMBERTO (To Adrienne) It
doesn’t sound like he knows anything. 36 Adrienne shrugsdddd terrifying Lucas.
LUCAS (Glancing between Adrienne and Umberto) Wait! WAIT! I’ll help! Anything! I’ll
do whatever I can. I’ll help however. Justdddd justdddd just… Umberto looks
questioningly at Adrienne. After giving it a moment’s thoughtdddd she gestures for
Umberto to stand up. ADRIENNE Who knows? We might find a use for him. LUCAS
(Relieved and grateful) YES. THANK YOU. I-I promise you won’t regret it. CLOSE IN
ON LUCAS He is taken by surprise as Umberto pulls a hood up over his face again
and cinches it with draw strings around his neck. FADE TO: EXT. CITY

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SCENERY -- NIGHT The streets are pervaded with menace. Include a shot of a rat
investigating the body of a man passed out on pavement. Focus on garbage and grime
while juxtaposing this with corporate architecture. The darkness is omnivorous.
FATHER MALACHI (V.O.) Evil cannot live on its own; it thrives on the vitality of
others anddddd the more power it obtainsdddd the more monstrous it becomes. Its
own industry and labor are abhorrent to it so it enslaves and perverts those it
can to bend them to subservience. Like a poison rootdddd it spreads through the
landdddd destroying whatever soil it touches. It’s not enough then to eradicate
evil in its expression. This is like pruning the flowers of a weed in the hope of
halting its 37 expansion. To truly destroy evil we must destroy everything
infected with itdddd everything polluted by abomination. Without the handicaps of
mercy. Even a single drop of tainted blood can unleash the horrors of plague. CUT
TO: EXT. LUCAS’ NEIGHBORHOOD -- NI

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GHT The van with Lucas and his kidnappers arrives into frame from around a corner
and slows down. UMBERTO (V.O.) Quite a nightdddd eh Lucas? You’re alivedddd for a
little while longer at least. Of course you understand this is a matter of our
discretion right? (With incredible menace) Because I’ll fucking kill you if you
try anything stupid. And not just you. Sonja. Your parents. Whoever you care
about most. Got it? CUT TO: INT. KIDNAPPER’S VAN -- NIGHT Lucas is being held
around the neck by KIDNAPPER 1 with his hood still on. Not receiving a response to
his questiondddd Umberto leans over and snatches the hood off. UMBERTO Well? LUCAS
(With closed eyes) Yes. Yes. UMBERTO (Satisfied) Alright. (Looking at KIDNAPPER 2)
Grab his phone from the Faraday cage. (Looking at the phone after being handed it)
Uh oh. I don’t think your 38 girlfriend’s going to appreciate that you’ve been
ducking her calls. Good luck with that. The van stops and Kidnapper 2 opens the
door while Kidnapper 1 pus

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hes Lucas out. CUT TO: EXT. LUCAS’ NEIGHBORHOOD -- NIGHT Lucas stumbles out of the
van with his phone in his hand. He stands there unsuredddd his back to the
vehicle. UMBERTO (Out of frame) We’ll be in touch. The van side-door is shut and
the vehicle speeds off. Lucas starts walking in the direction of his apartment.
CUT TO: EXT. LUCAS’ APARTMENT BUILDING -- NIGHT WIDE SHOT Lucas enters the frame in
the foreground butdddd before walking to the doordddd he stares up at the WINDOW
of his own apartment. The light is on. He hesitatesdddd not knowing what he’ll say
to Sonja. INT. LUCAS’ APARTMENT -- NIGHT The front door opens slowly and a weary
Lucas shuffles inside. NOISE is heard as Sonja walks over to confront him in the
hallway. At first downcastdddd Lucas eventually lifts his eyes to confront her
gaze. SONJA (Angry) (Snorts) Should I even bother? Lucas lowers his eyes after a
wounded pause. LUCAS (Struggling) 39 It’s… I don’t know. It’s a lot. Lucas shuffles
past Sonja and she glares at him in

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disbelief. WIDE SHOT Sonja follows Lucas into the living room. SONJA Are you
kidding me? How about an explanation? You knowdddd like a normal boyfriend would
after disappearing who-knows-where for hours and then walking through the door
like… like… like he just got released from jail or something. LUCAS (Almost
whispering) I can’t. I’m sorry. Please. SONJA (Unimpressed) (Sucks on teeth) Not
good enough. Not even close. Sonja begins to gather her things as she gets ready to
leave. LUCAS (Surprised and worried) Wait. Where are you going? Sonja stares at
himdddd stunned by his audacity. SONJA (Yelling) Are you kidding me!? Really? You
just… really? Sonja laughs in manic frustration. SONJA (Lecturing) 40 You know
Lucas. This… (Points back and forth between them) … has been a disappointment.
Honestly. You don’t even try anymore. And it’s not like I’m demanding. (Laughs) I
don’t know that I can lower the bar any further. Besides. If I did you’d probably
still try to limbo under it. Gr

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abbing her PURSE last of alldddd Sonja heads for the door. VIEW ON APARTMENT ENTRY
AREA Lucas follows Sonja and she opens it halfway before he imploringly puts his
hand on her arm to try and get her to stay. She quickly knocks this away though.
SONJA (Turning to look at him) (Pointing her finger in Lucas’ face) No! You don’t
get to switch between indifference and concern whenever you feel like it! That’s
not what a relationship is! It’s about giving a damn! (On the verge of crying)
It’s about making an effort! LUCAS (Aching) Sonja. That’s not how I feel. My
actionsdddd I mean… Sonja? Sonja turns awaydddd walking through the door. LUCAS
(Desperate) It’s not that simple! Lucas’ words fail to have any impact as Sonja
swiftly shuts the door behind her. The silence that follows her departure has the
weight of calamity to it. VIEW ON LIVING ROOM Lucas enters the frame forlornly and
looks at Biscuit the cat. CLOSE IN ON CAT 41 The cat returns a blank stare. VIEW ON
BEDROOM Lucas walks up to

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dy lying in tall grass. This is the corpse of MS. JACOBSdddd an attractive woman
(Late 20s) well dressed in a blouse and skirt. She looks like an office worker.
No cause of death is evident and the body has a certain kind of serenity about it.
EXTREME CLOSE IN MONTAGE 42 The grass with the visible dew. Her lifeless hand. A
DRAGONFLY settling on her before flying off. WIDE SHOT The area has been cordoned
off by police and a tent is being erected over the dead woman. A couple POLICE
OFFICERS are looking on the outskirts of the crime scene for evidence.
Meanwhiledddd DET. GREEN and DET. SINGH approach the body. Det. Green is a butch
older woman (Early 50s) with a butch haircut and Det. Singh a younger male (Mid
30s) with fastidious facial hair. Arriving at the bodydddd Det. Singh bends down
and puts on NITRATE GLOVES to examine it while Det. Green looks on with a PAPER
COFFEE CUP in her hand. DET. SINGH It’s a shame. You knowdddd her birthday was
coming up next week. DET. GREEN Is that s

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o? (Sips coffee) DET. SINGH (Looking at Jacobs’ body) Now you’re young forever.
(Beat) But why? DET. GREEN The MPR said she disappeared two nights ago. After
work. And no ostensible cause. Or at least nothing which the husband was
forthcoming with. DET. SINGH (Looking at Det. Green) You think it was him? DET.
GREEN (Shaking her head) I doubt it. In the initial report he sounded pretty
shattered. (Takes a sip of her coffee) Nahdddd I got a hunch this is a weird one.
(Beat) We’ll see what the canoe makers say. 43 DET. SINGH (Sighing) Yeahdddd
there’s no obvious trauma here. Clearly she was dumped though. The indentations in
the grass tell us that much. What I don’t get is why anyone would leave a DB
here. DET. GREEN (Looking off in the distance) Maybe there was other fun to be had?
VIEW ON NEARBY ROLLERCOASTER The old rollercoaster offers a tantalizing
juxtaposition. EXTREME WIDE SHOT The detectives and the rollercoaster in frame.
DET. SINGH You knowdddd there was that dead vic who was sta
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bbed recently. The author. And then the other one in the alley. Maybe… something
bigger’s going on? DET. GREEN (Discouraging) Something bigger’s always going on.
Won’t do you any good to stick your nose in it though. (Beat) That’s not truffles
you smell. That’s the abattoir. (Finishes last of coffee) Sinister music plays.
FADE TO RED: INT. FIRE STATION -- EARLY MORNING EXTREME CLOSE IN Side of a
FIRETRUCK. TRACKING shot pulls out and follows as the firetruck engages its lights
and leaves the station on a call. The shot is continuous as the view shifts to… 44
EXT. FIRE STATION -- EARLY MORNING The firetruck pulling away. Hold as it
diminishes in frame. The sound of the sirens kicks in. CUT TO: EXT. INDUSTRIAL
AREA -- EARLY MORNING LONG SHOT SLOWLY ZOOMING IN Siren noise continuous as a
shackled CORPSE engulfed in gasoline fueled flames burns. The corpse is propped up
and chained to a BIKE RACK while simultaneously kneeling. CLOSE IN ON UPPER TORSO
The black flesh is melting fr

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om its skeletal face. The SOUND of the flames competes with the approaching
sirens. CLOSE IN ON HANDCUFFS The hands of the corpse are shackled in front of it
anddddd like the rest of the bodydddd blackened and disintegrating. FADE TO: EXT.
INDUSTRIAL PARK -- NIGHT WIDE SHOT ON HIGH A vast MURDER OF CROWS roosting in trees
and on telephone wires. FOCUS ON TWO HUMAN SILHOUETTES STANDING TOGETHER Two men
conversing inaudibly. VIEW FROM GROUND One of the men is Umberto and the other is
an UNIDENTIFIED ASSOCIATE (Late 30’s) who is imposing looking as well. Meanwhile a
JOGGING PEDESTRIAN approaches them. ANGLE EXCLUSIVELY ON JOGGING PEDESTRIAN JOGGING
PEDESTRIAN 45 (Respectful) Hi. Which way’s the nearest train station? The Jogging
Pedestrian’s BREATH is clearly VISIBLE in the cold night air. VIEW ON UMBERTO AND
ASSOCIATE The Associate looks at Umberto but the latter keeps his focus on the
newcomer as he replies. UMBERTO (While gesturing) Gilmore? Yeah. Just up the bend
here and north along

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the road. Umberto’s breath is NOT VISIBLE. JOGGING PEDESTRIAN Thanks. Have a nice
night. UMBERTO (Smiling) You too. VIEW ON UMBERTO His smile holds until the jogger
has left. Then it melts away and a grim look takes its place. Umberto’s eyes now
coolly shift from one side to the other as they focus on the Associate again.
UMBERTO (Austere) I hope this isn’t unwelcome news about the task we gave you.
ASSOCIATE No. Of course not. It’ll take a few more days for my contact to collect
it all but you’ll have everything on schedule. 46 UMBERTO That’s good. But then
that leaves the question as to why you asked for this meeting. ASSOCIATE Well.
Some of usdddd not all of usdddd (Apologetic gesture) have concerns about the
loose-end left by our late friend. Nowdddd no one’s second-guessing the lady’s
decision here. It’s not that. But we have to explain it to the rest of our
membership. And no one really knows why you’re keeping the juice box in the
fridge. Umberto gives the Associate an anno
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him. Welldddd more so. UMBERTO (Conceding) True. But that’s a much bigger problem
for him than it is for us. Umberto and the Associate share an amused look. CUT
TO: INT. LUCAS’ APARTMENT -- DAY CLOSE IN on Lucas opening a nearly empty fridge to
grab a carton of MILK. He takes this and pours it on a bowl of cereal before
quickly gulping what’s left and tossing the empty carton in the garbage. Hold shot
as Lucas eats in the kitchen while standing. MEDIUM SHOT IN HALLWAY Lucas
eventually enters the framedddd preparing himself to leave. He’s noticeably
hesitant to go out. CUT TO: EXT. LUCAS’ APARTMENT BUILDING -- DAY 48 Lucas appears
at the front entrancedddd leaves the buildingdddd and exits the frame to the left.
CUT TO: EXT. 2ND RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD –- DAY CLOSE IN TRACKING shot of Lucas
from behind as he is walking to a local grocery store. Eventually the kidnapper’s
UTILITY VAN shows up. MEDIUM SHOT The passenger door side of the vandddd adjacent
to Lucas. Umberto is in the rolled down

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windowdddd leaning out. UMBERTO (Smiling) Vern told us you’re taking some time off
work. LUCAS (Apprehensive) I thought it was best. UMBERTO (Weighing the idea)
Probably. (Beat) Heydddd get in. We’ve got something for you. Lucas hesitates.
CLOSE IN on Umberto UMBERTO (Colder) That wasn’t a request. MEDIUM SHOT Lucas gets
in the back of the van where Kidnapper 1 and 2 are already seated. The van door is
shut and the vehicle speeds off. 49 CUT TO: EXT. WAREHOUSE -- DAY The place looks
semi-derelict but there are signs of lingering industry in the area. Also a couple
luxury cars are parked out front. When the van shows up everyone except the DRIVER
walks inside. Umberto torments Lucas with small talk. UMBERTO You ever work in a
butcher shop? Meat packing plant? Lucas shakes his head UMBERTO (Disappointed) Oh.
CUT TO: INT. WAREHOUSE -- DAY Adrienne and a RETINUE of intimidating underlings. A
few DEAD BODIES are lying in the immediate vicinitydddd victims of bladed
weapons. All the dead are ma

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le and wearing dour MONASTIC style outfits. Insert a CLOSE IN shot of one of the
underlings sitting and wiping their SWORD off. Lucasdddd Umbertodddd and the rest
of their group now enterdddd drawing the attention of Adrienne. ADRIENNE
(Playfully feigning surprise) You found him. UMBERTO (Joking) Yeahdddd the little
guy was just wandering the streets. No collar or nothing. (Beat) We should get
him chipped. Lucasdddd who had previously been downcastdddd now notices the bodies
nearby and becomes visibly squeamish and even more afraid. 50 ADRIENNE (With a
slight smirk) Aw. It’s okay Lucas. (Beckoning) C’mere. We just want you to look at
someone. Lucas falters to a slow pace until Umberto gives him a rough push
forward. When he nears Adriennedddd she puts her arm around him and leads him
towards one of the bodies on the ground. ADRIENNE (Pointing) That one. Do you
recognize him? Lucas reluctantly looks at the dead body. It’s a man between the
ages of 30 and 50. He’s been stabbed repeatedly and has
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disfiguring wounds on his face. ADRIENNE You’ll have to excuse the mess. We tend
to be… rather enthusiastic about what we do. LUCAS (Mumbling) Nuh. ADRIENNE
(Surprised) No? Adrienne squeezes Lucas with the one arm she has wrapped around
him in a pseudo-friendly gesture. ADRIENNE You sure? You didn’t see him at Enoch’s
house? In the vicinity? (Beat) You haven’t seen him at any other timedddd before
or after? Lucas swallows and shakes his head. LUCAS 51 No. MEDIUM SHOT Lucas and
Adrienne from behind. She drops her arm from around him and turns towards the
cameradddd addressing Umberto. ADRIENNE (Sighs) Welldddd that’s a shame. Ahhhh…
(Waving her hand flippantly) Clean it all up. CLOSE IN Lucas turns slightly
towards camera but freezes in a wince. He’s expecting to die. The SOUND of
approaching footsteps is heard. UMBERTO Hey. MEDIUM SHOT Lucas opens his eyes as
Umberto hands him a disposable white PAINTER’S SUIT. UMBERTO Put that on. Lucas
looks at the outfit and then at Umbertodddd puzzle

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d. UMBERTO (Jocular) Come on. I’m going to show you the proper way to get rid of
your victims. FLASH VIEW One of the underlings snapping a large sheet of
translucent plastic wrapping like it was bedding. Emphasize the NOISE. CUT TO:
EXT. AUTO REPAIR SHOP -- DAY 52 A SMALL CAR pulls up and parks outside. Sonja gets
out. CUT TO: INT. AUTO REPAIR SHOP -- DAY Werner and Royce are casually working in
the GARAGE. MUSIC is playing on the radio. At first neither of them notices as
Sonja enters but then they both see her. Royce approaches. ROYCE Hey. You can’t
wander back here. SONJA (Firmly) I’m here to see Lucas. He’s not answering me.
Before Royce can say anythingdddd Werner takes over. WERNER (Pleasant) It’s Sonja
right? Werner now looks at Royce and gestures for him to go back to what he was
doing before Werner returns his attention to Sonja. WERNER (With notable confusion)
Lucas isn’t here though. SONJA (Exasperated) Do you know when he’ll be back? WERNER
(Furrowing brow) Uhdddd you don’t

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know? Sonja’s eyes narrow. 53 WERNER He’s taking some time off. SONJA (Shocked)
Since when? WERNER Ahdddd two days ago. Sonja looks away with disbelief. SONJA (In
sheer frustration) You asshole! Werner realizes she isn’t cursing him but is still
unsure how to respond. WERNER I’m… sorry? (Beat) I’m sure it’s just
miscommunication. SONJA (Disgusted) Don’t defend him. Sonja quickly exits the
garage after this and Roycedddd wiping his hands on a ragdddd now walks over to
Werner. ROYCE (After probing a tooth with his tongue) Jeezdddd what a bitch.
Rather than respond to Royce’s obnoxious statementdddd Werner eyes him with mild
disgust and then turns to take care of other things. Royce laughs unsurely at
this. CUT TO: 54 INT. WAREHOUSE -- DAY MEDIUM SHOT A pile of dismembered body
parts. Hold shot as Umberto speaks. UMBERTO (Out of frame) Mr. D’Lambert! If you’re
all done pukingdddd you can come give us a hand over here. Kidnapper 2 chimes in
nowdddd holding separate severed hands in each of his own.

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KIDNAPPER 2 I got you boss. A righty? Or a lefty? Kidnapper 2 successively jiggles
each dismembered appendage as he mentions them individually. A small amount of
blood trickles off each. As the shot holds on Kidnapper 2dddd the laughter of
several of the other men can be heard. MEDIUM SHOT Umberto’s laughter fades as he
uses a pair of PLIERS to pull out teeth from a SEVERED HEAD. He is sitting in a
folding chairdddd with the head on his lapdddd going about his task like someone
doing any old chore. VIEW ON LUCAS Lucas walks towards Umberto and the nucleus of
the group. Pale faceddddd he’s clearly been vomiting. Evidence of thisdddd along
with blood stainsdddd ARE VISIBLE on his painter’s suit. WIDE SHOT Several members
of the group togetherdddd including Umbertodddd and Lucas on the far right of the
frame. UMBERTO (Looking at Lucas and pointing out of frame) That pile’s ready to
wrap over there. Just roll it up like I showed you. 55 VIEW ON LUCAS Lucas
convulses with a heavedddd putting a hand to his mo

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uthdddd but doesn’t puke. Then he shuffles over to do what he’s been told. MEDIUM
SHOT OF ADRIENNE She’s in a distant corner of the warehousedddd sitting on a
folding chairdddd scrolling through her phone. What’s striking here is how
commonplace her mannerisms aredddd like someone commuting on a subway or waiting
in an airport lounge. CUT TO: EXT. WAREHOUSE -- DAY EXTREME WIDE SHOT Fast forward
to EVENING. WIDE SHOT The group starts leaving the warehousedddd heading to their
separate vehicles. Lucasdddd traumatized from the experiencedddd shuffles over to
the utility van he arrived in. He is no longer wearing the painter’s suit.
ADRIENNE (To Lucas) No. You’re with me. Lucas looks at Adrienne and then at
Umberto. The latter tilts his head and gestures towards Adrienne so Lucas heads
towards her. Umberto’s stare follows Lucas for a moment. MEDIUM SHOT Adrienne and
Lucas around her luxury car. She opens the driver side door and starts getting in
before calling to Lucas on the other side. ADRIENNE M

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ake sure you’re not about to drip anything on my seats before you get in. 56
Numblydddd Lucas complies. He moves like a robot but inspects himself as
thoroughly as he can. When he’s donedddd Adrienne unlocks the door for him and he
gets inside. Then the engine starts up and the car drives away. Hold shot until
after it’s disappeared off frame. VIEW ON AND INSIDE CAR Adrienne drives them
through ordinary traffic. Lucas stares out the window. The details of the world
are vivid but strangely distant. He’s completely detached from them. Adrienne
looks over and studies him for a moment before speaking. ADRIENNE (Seemingly
caring) You’re going through quite the ordeal Lucas. But you’re holding up well.
Lucas remains dazed and unresponsive. ADRIENNE You were asleepdddd living in a
crude but pleasant dream. And now you’re in reality. And you can never go back.
(Beat) That’s tough. The car comes to a stop at a RED LIGHT and there is a MAN IN
RAGS panhandling at the intersection. VIEW ON MAN

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IN RAGS ADRIENNE (Out of frame) As with anything else. The best thing is for you
to accept it. The Man in Rags turns to stare at Lucas. CLOSE IN The Man in Rags
has a demonic FACE TATTOO. Unsettling music swells in. The eyes of the man are
terrifying. CUT TO: 57 EXT. 2ND RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD -- NIGHT EXTREME LONG SHOT
Adrienne’s car comes around the corner at the far right of the frame and then
drives forward before pulling up to a sidewalk along the near left of the frame.
Its bright headlights partially obscure the occupants but something of the
silhouettes of Adrienne and Lucas are visible. INT. ADRIENNE’S CAR. 2ND RESIDENTIAL
NEIGHBORHOOD -- NIGHT WIDE SHOT Lucasdddd emotionally exhausteddddd leaning back
half-dead in his seat. Adrienne coolly scrutinizing him. ADRIENNE If you have a
questiondddd ask. Lucas stirs slightly to life. Slowly glances over at Adrienne.
LUCAS How… do I get out of this? This nightmare? ADRIENNE You can’t fight the power
of a river. You have to adapt to

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it. You survive. And you wait. There is a slight pleading look in Lucas’ eyes but
he’s unable to verbalize any response to this. CLOSE IN ON ADRIENNE She leans
towards Lucas. ADRIENNE (Alluringly) “Finally I will drink life from your lips /
And wake up from this everlasting sleep” (Beat) That’s from an ancient poet.
Egyptian. (Two beats) Such… hunger. For what? A kiss. 58 Adrienne strokes the
sleeve of Lucas’ arm. ADRIENNE It’s trust Lucas. Intimacy. Love. They all come
down to trust. It’s part of the essential fabric of life. It’s why kissing is
political… and religious… and erotic. Even animals do it. To express their
interdependence. Their union. Because there’s only friendship… and enmity.
Adrienne stops stroking Lucas’ arm. ADRIENNE (Seraphic) Should we be friends?
Lucasdddd wide-eyeddddd says nothingdddd but the look on his face is one of
surrender. Adrienne leans in closerdddd dominating him. ADRIENNE (Quietly) Just to
warn you. I’m very cold. Like ice. Adrienne kisses Lucasdddd dee

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ply and sensuouslydddd and the scene has the arranged quality of a renaissance
painting. Hold shot untildddd finallydddd Adrienne pulls awaydddd her mouth
hovering close to his. JUMP CUT TO: EXT. 2ND RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD -- NIGHT
Lucas stands and watches as Adrienne’s car departs. His is a haunted look with
undercurrents of longing and bewilderment. Eventually he turns towards the screen
and walks off frame. CUT TO: INT. LUCAS’ APARTMENT -- NIGHT VIEW ON FRONT DOOR
Lucas enters with his head peeking around the door first. A look of weary
expectation in his face. 59 VIEW ON SONJA IN THE LIVING ROOM Anger radiates from
her as she is seated facing towards the front door. Lucas enters the foreground of
the frame with his back towards the camera. They are looking directly at each
other. Neither speaks for a moment as the tension rises. SONJA (Caustically) I’m
absolutely not going to ask. I’m done asking. LUCAS Sonja… Idddd uhdddd I…
understand why you’re mad. You have every right to be. But th

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e way things appear… it doesn’t always… it’s not necessarily the truth. SONJA
(Unimpressed and rhetorical) What the fuck does that even mean. Lucas sighs. Sonja
is almost tremblingdddd she’s so hungry for a fight. The conflict that has long
been building between them is coming to its violent culmination. The NOISE of a
car hitting something on the road outside the apartment briefly throws their
confrontation off-balance but things quickly resume with Lucas merely glancing in
the direction of the window. LUCAS (Searching his thoughts) I still care about
you. Maybe we can… find a way back. Sonja springs from her chair. Furious. SONJA
(Loudly but not quite yelling) Now!? You want to talk about (Thinking)
(?)sandbags(?)… when the water’s waist deep!? LUCAS 60 (Pleading) It’s us. (Softly)
Our choice. Sonja stares at Lucas as her rage is briefly warped by confusion.
There’s a pause between them and during this EMERGENCY SIRENS begin to be heard in
the distance. Neither of them react

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ehind her. The emergency sirens terminate. 61 SONJA For who? For you. “Sure.”
(Sarcastic) Or are you being aloof for my sake? LUCAS Sonja… SONJA (Loudly
interrupting) Uh uh! This was going on way beforedddd so don’t tell me that
something happened suddenly to make things the way they are. Nothing happened!
Nothing! It’s just you. You. (In revulsion) YEW. Sonja’s words sting Lucas. He has
nothing to counter them. A sense of resolve takes over her and she powers her way
past him towards the bedroom. Lucas head swivels to follow her and then his
attention goes back to the window. The police lights entice him to walk overdddd
bend the blinds with his fingersdddd and peek outside. His face pulses in blue and
red. VIEW FROM LIVING ROOM ON BEDROOM DOOR Sonja soon comes into framedddd carrying
a travel bag that has been hastily stuffed. Lucas notices her and the bagdddd his
attention diverted from the events occurring outside. LUCAS You’re leaving? (With
slight optimism) Yes. We should leave. I m

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eandddd I won’t. Not right away. But eventually. Sonja ignores him as she focuses
on collecting various small items. Lucas doesn’t understand though. LUCAS
(Sounding feverish) And you don’t need to tell anyone. We can just disappear.
Vanish. As soon as I… figure out how. SONJA (Anger turning cold) 62 We’re finished.
Lucas (Surprised) Finished? Sonja nods. Lucas is dumbfounded. As she walks around
the apartment and finishes getting ready to departdddd he trails behind her in
shock. Eventually he follows her to the front door where she turns around. SONJA
(In sadness and revenge) I loved you. Once. Lucasdddd in the foregrounddddd his
back turned towards the cameradddd offers no protest as she exits the apartment.
He even grabs the handle of the door when she leaves it open and quietly shuts it
himself after a protracted gaze of longing. Lucas walks back to the living
roomdddd disappearing from the frame. Hold shot. The police lights are still
pulsating. CUT TO: EXT. URBAN CREEK -- EVENING WIDE

__SEP__
SHOT Lucas is standing at the north side of a small bridge. Thick sloping brambles
line both sides of the thin snaking creek below. Its waters glow with the molten
light of the setting sun. Nearby powerlines stretch over the foreground and off
towards the vanishing point of the horizon. The atmosphere is funereal. Faint
traffic noises coming from the east as Lucas broods over the view in front of him.
After a whiledddd Adrienne enters the frame and leans on the railing a few feet
away. She too looks out at the view but with the posture of someone admiring it.
Lucas notices her but doesn’t look at her. Finally he speaks. LUCAS (Tired and
fatalistic) 63 I can’t hide from youdddd can I? ADRIENNE Right nowdddd we’re not
the ones you have to worry about. Lucas slowly gives Adrienne a questioning look.
ADRIENNE Last night. Outside your place. Someone else was looking for you. Not the
same man who killed Enoch but… of the same persuasion. Fortunately he had an
accident. Traffic noises trac

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e the silence that follows. UMBERTO (Out of frame) You’re welcome. WIDE SHOT Lucas
and Adrienne still in frame in the foreground but the FOCUS visibly shifts to
Umbertodddd standing guard behind themdddd as Lucas looks over his shoulder. VIEW
ON LUCAS AND ADRIENNE FROM BEHIND AGAIN LUCAS How do I know any of that’s true?
ADRIENNE (Wryly smiling) You’re starting to understand. Good. VIEW ON UMBERTO
MEDIUM SHOT He’s still scanning the area. VIEW ON LUCAS 64 CLOSE IN LUCAS So what
happens now? ADRIENNE A choice. Yours. (Beat) Join usdddd or… (Ambiguous look)
LUCAS (Glumly) Or. Lucas sighs. ADRIENNE (Coaxingly) Lucas. You know what we’re
capable of. If we wanted that for you it would’ve already happened. LUCAS (Drained)
Yeah. I guess. (Beat) Yeah. There’s a pause in conversation before Adrienne erupts
into incongruously delightful laughter. ADRIENNE (Nearing Lucas) Don’t be so sour.
(Grabs Lucas gently by the arm) Welcome to the world. You’ve just been born. Lucas
allows himself to be led awa

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y by Adrienne. Umberto joins them as they all head for an SUV. VIEW ON SETTING SUN
DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DINER -- NIGHT 65 The SUV slowly drives by with Adriennedddd
Lucasdddd and Umberto. VIEW INSIDE SUV UMBERTO (Driving vehicledddd gazing towards
diner) I don’t see them. Or their car. ADRIENNE They’ll be there. Adrienne looks
down at her phone to check some messages. UMBERTO (Pulling over at the sidewalk)
Are we sending one of the others to make the hand off now? Adrienne remains
focused on her phone for a few seconds before looking up. ADRIENNE (Vivaciously)
I’ve changed my mind. Lucas is going in. Lucasdddd in the backseatdddd perks up.
Umberto looks moderately surprised but the subtext in his expression is that he’s
used to a certain amount of capriciousness from Adrienne. A man comes and knocks
on Adrienne’s passenger side window. It’s Kidnapper 1. When Adrienne rolls down
the window he hands her a BULGING MANILA ENVELOPE with due deference and departs.
Adrienne rolls up the window before

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tossing the envelope to Lucas. LUCAS (Confused) What is it? ADRIENNE Sixty grand.
In twenties. 66 Hearing thisdddd Lucas reacts first by staring at the package and
then staring at Adrienne. UMBERTO Don’t get too excited. Adrienne leans around her
seat to make eye contact with Lucas. ADRIENNE You’re just going to go inside the
diner and wait. Someone will approach you. They’ll use the shibboleth “Good
Pilgrim” somehow. You give them the money… and they’ll give you a package in
return. That’s it. LUCAS Why does that sound familiar? Adrienne smiles at Lucas
straining his memory. LUCAS And why me? ADRIENNE Well… for one… CUT TO: A fast
cutting montage of people being brutally murdered; a man dying from piano wiredddd
a parked car being shot updddd someone bludgeoned with a claw hammer. CUT TO: EXT.
DINER -- NIGHT VIEW INSIDE SUV ADRIENNE (Vaguely) 67 Others are unavailable. LUCAS
(Pointing where Kidnapper 1 came from) But… UMBERTO (Cauterizing) Maybe you don’t
need to fucking know? Lucas cea

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ses his protest. After Adrienne gestures for him to get out of the vehicle with a
glance of her eyes. He opens the door and steps out. EXT. DINER -- NIGHT WIDE
SHOT Adrienne rolls down her window though when Lucas shuts the door so he walks
over to her. CLOSE IN ADRIENNE Here. Adrienne places a METALLIC PEN in Lucas’ front
chest pocket and then pats it in place. ADRIENNE In case you need to write
something down. WIDE SHOT Lucas now walks around the car and heads toward the
diner. VIEW INSIDE SUV Umberto is listening to an EARPIECE. He signals to Adrienne
with an Italian PERFETTO GESTURE. (Meaning: Perfect) CUT TO: 68 INT. DINER --
NIGHT The place is neat and well kept. Only one or two other patrons though. Lucas
looks around before taking a seat in a vacant section. He’s unable to fully
suppress his nervousness but makes an extra effort when a WAITRESS comes by.
WAITRESS (Smiling politely) What can I get you? LUCAS Um. Just a coffee. Please.
WAITRESS Sugar? Milk? LUCAS (Attent

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ion elsewhere) Yeah. Both. Sensing her presence is unwelcomedddd the waitress nods
and leaves. Lucas sits there for a momentdddd fidgetingdddd before Det. Green
walks in. She appears to notice Lucas by chance. DET. GREEN Dining alone? LUCAS
(Lyingdddd hesitantly) I guess I’ve been stood up. Det. Green makes no effort to
hide the suspicion on her face. DET. GREEN You never know with people. LUCAS Uh. I
suppose. 69 Lucas surveys the room again but then is visibly surprised as Det.
Green sits down across from him. DET. GREEN (Almost whispering) It’s only the ones
we let in who can do any real damage. Eh Lucas? Det. Green’s use of his name hits
Lucas like an electric shock. LUCAS That’s not… (Gives up) Who are you? DET. GREEN
I’m the one collecting names. Kolmogorov. Laird. Jacobs. Although Jacob’s name
might not be familiar to youdddd the two of you did in fact speak. And actually…
not too long before she died. In factdddd a lot of people you’ve spoken to
recently have ended up dead Lucas. Rather

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strangedddd don’t you think? LUCAS (Looking sick) I don’t know why. Honestly. I
don’t have a fucking clue. Whoever you are. DET. GREEN I know that too because I’m
actually very good at my job. Det. Green flashes Lucas her BADGE and he recognizes
what it isdddd his heart plummeting. LUCAS (Looking downcast) Fuck. In the
silence that follows the waitress appears again with TWO cups of coffee. 70
WAITRESS (To Det. Green) I noticed you sit down. DET. GREEN (Smiling) Of course you
did darling. As alwaysdddd you’re impeccable. The waitress returns Det. Green’s
smile warmly before departing. Lucas’ agitation now bubbles up. He vibrates with
it. LUCAS (Hissing) So what? You want me to spill my guts? That’s suicide. Det.
Green leans backdddd contented. DET. GREEN (Languidly) Ohdddd you’ve got it all
wrong Lucas. I appreciate your discretion. I want you to… continue to be a… good…
pilgrim. Lucas is flabbergasted. He looks at Det. Green with an amazement tinged in
horror. LUCAS (Quietly) But… what

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about the investigation? Det. Green chuckles and takes a sip of her coffee. DET.
GREEN The police don’t even know about you. LUCAS (Aggressively objecting) 71
You’re the police. DET. GREEN (Smirking) When it suits me. Lucas can only offer a
weak gesture of defeat in response to this and Det. Green enjoys her coffee a
moment longerdddd holding it close to her mouthdddd before speaking. DET. GREEN
Okay. Hand it over. Lucas attempts to pass the package stealthily under the table
but Det. Green waves this off and beckons for him to just put the package on top
of it. Sheepishlydddd Lucas does so anddddd after taking itdddd Det. Green slides
a much SMALLER PACKAGE towards him that she was keeping in her pocket. DET. GREEN
That’s it. (Pointing at Lucas’ undrunk coffee) I got you. You can go. Slowlydddd
Lucas gets up and then pauses beside the table. LUCAS (Unsure) Do you have any
(?)messages(?) for me? For them? Det. Green shakes her head with a perplexed
expression on her face. She pulls out her phone

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then anddddd seeing her ignoring himdddd Lucas leaves. CUT TO: EXT. DINER --
NIGHT Lucas rapidly walksdddd and then jogsdddd over to the SUV. Opening the
doordddd he gets in. VIEW INSIDE SUV ADRIENNE 72 So it went pretty good. Lucas
nods. ADRIENNE Alright. Adrienne stretches her hand out to Lucas in the back seat.
Quicklydddd Lucas hands over the package. Adrienne takes it but then holds her
hand out again and Lucas is puzzled. ADRIENNE (Jokingly quoting Vladimir Putin in
perfect Russian) “Give me back my pen.” LUCAS Huh? UMBERTO Give the lady her pen
back. With a look of suspicion on his facedddd Lucas complies. CUT TO: EXT.
ADRIENNE’S URBAN COMPOUND -- NIGHT WIDE SHOT Two SUVs approach the front gate. One
contains Adriennedddd Umbertodddd and Lucas. The other has Kidnapper 1 as well as
some other THUGS in it. The gate opens automatically and then closes after they
both drive inside. EXT. COMPOUND COURTYARD -- NIGHT Both SUVs park near the front
entrance. INT. ADRIENNE’S URBAN COMPOUND -- NIGHT Althoug

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h aesthetically faultlessdddd the décor is fairly Spartan except for some odd
abstract sculptures. Works that might be 73 described as hyper-cubist or
biomechanical. The lighting it also somewhat unusualdddd creating a slightly
ethereal atmosphere. The camera floats through a cross section of the space before
settling on the main doors where a GUARD is sitting on a stool with a P-90 ASSAULT
RIFLE on his knees. A large FLAT SCREEN MONITOR near him shows the progress of the
group outside from multiple camera angles. Eventually they reach the door and
enter the frame proper. ADRIENNE arrives firstdddd acknowledging the GUARD with a
noddddd and several of those who follow do likewise in their own individual ways.
At the same timedddd a SULTRY WOMAN (Late 40s) in an alluring dress arrives and
greets Adrienne with obsequious cheek kissing. SULTRY WOMAN You’re a fortress to
us all. Never forget how proud everyone is of you. Especially… She sees Lucas in
the midst. SULTRY WOMAN (Eying Lucas but

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dex finger in a beckoning gesture. CUT TO: INT. COMPOUND STUDY -- NIGHT Fine
sensuous woodwork and velvet tones provide a warm contrast to the minimalist and
monochromatic entrance space outside. Shelves of old books and INTRIGUING
ARTIFACTS abound. Adrienne enters. She smiles at someone out of frame in front of
her and then proceeds to a desk. There she begins looking at DIAGRAMSdddd some of
which are laid in small piles and others scrolled up. ADRIENNE (Calling to Lucas
behind her) Don’t be shy. VIEW FACING LUCAS Lucas enters the room. He’s taken aback
by something he sees outside the frame though. VIEW ON ADRIENNE 75 She looks up
from the desk while still leaning over it. Then the camera PANS right to a view of
her CONCUBINE. The attractive concubine is lying fully naked in a reclined medical
chair while blood is drawn from her by a TALL IV MACHINE. WIDE SHOT Adrienne and
the Concubine in the middle ground with Lucasdddd back to screendddd in the
foreground. Adrienne gives Lucas a

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reassuringdddd albeit half-impatientdddd look and Lucas shuffles closer. His mix
of discomfort and interest in the naked Concubine endures even as he turns his
back to her and focuses on what Adrienne wants to show him. Meanwhile the rising
and falling of the Concubine’s bare chest is noticeable. MEDIUM SHOT Adrienne and
Lucas standing at the desk. Taking out the diner package from an INNER JACKET
POCKETdddd Adrienne opens this and pours out a pair of CATHAR CROSS PENDANTS from
inside. VIEW ON ADRIENNE She raises an eyebrow. VIEW ON LUCAS He doesn’t
understand. MEDIUM SHOT Adrienne picks up one of the pendants and holds it between
her thumb and index finger. ADRIENNE A fob. LUCAS (Murmuring) A fob. ADRIENNE
(Enunciating) A KEY fob. 76 LUCAS Oh. ADRIENNE This one’s for youdddd tinker
tailor. Adrienne places it in Lucas’ hand and presses his hand closed. LUCAS
(Weighing his words) What… am I doing with it? ADRIENNE (Enthusiastic) Welldddd if
you thought the diner was fun… (Smiles) We’re goin

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g to infiltrate the prison of a paramilitary religious order. And… you’re coming
with. Lucas absorbs the news with a pained expression but recovers. LUCAS Isn’t
that… absurd? I’m not a covertdddd mercenarydddd whatever. ADRIENNE Ohdddd you
won’t have to do much. But we can only put two people in and our specialistdddd
who you’ll be accompanyingdddd needs at least one other person to assist him. And
although you can’t recall anyone suspicious who you think might be Enoch’s
killerdddd it’s possible you could recognize them if you saw them. Which would be
good for this task since… LUCAS (Morosely) He might be there. 77 ADRIENNE Exactly.
Lucas pausesdddd and then laughs in manic surrender. LUCAS Alright. Sure. Par for
the course. Butdddd uh (Beat) Can I getdddd likedddd a disguise for this thing?
ADRIENNE (Cheerfully) Oooo… why not. Adrienne pats Lucas on the cheek in an
affection manner and then turns to leavedddd tilting her head to indicate he
should follow her. Lucas gives the pendant a slight toss in the
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air as he prepares to obey but then notices the naked Concubine again. She is
looking him directly in the eyes and he stares at her for a moment blankly before
hurriedly going after Adrienne. Hold shot on Concubine as her gaze follows his
departure. DISSOLVE TO: INT. COMPOUND COMMON AREA -- DAYdddd NIGHTdddd DAY Begin a
montage of scenes showing the group preparing for their mission. These include:
(1) Lucas being introduced to HERODOTUSdddd an older (Mid 40s) field agent for the
group. They meet while being fitted for the monastic outfits they’ll need to wear
during the infiltration. Herodotus is having his outfit adjusted by a third party
when the montage cuts into him and Lucas in mid conversation. HERODOTUS We’ll
arrive in separate vehicles. LUCAS Makes sense. HERODOTUS 78 You’ll go in first.
Follow your route. And we’ll “meet” at the end. LUCAS Right. To do… what?
HERODOTUS (Impassively) Speak with someone. FADE WHITE: (2) Lucas being shown
things on a map by Kidnapper 1 withou

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t speech or ambient audio. Focus on the expressions of his face and his
increasingly concerned reactions. FADE WHITE: (3) Lucas and Umberto sitting down
together. Umberto places a TINY VIAL of amber hued poison on the table in front of
them. LUCAS Is that all? UMBERTO Also… there’s the DNA for their security system.
LUCAS (Grumbling) Great. So you want a sample. UMBERTO We already took it. LUCAS
(Puzzled) How? Umberto motions plucking a hair from Lucas’ head with a mocking
smile. Lucas is unamused. 79 DISSOLVE TO: EXT. COMPOUND COURTYARD -- EVENING WIDE
DOWNWARD ELEVATED SHOT The sound of a dog barking in the distance can be heard as
Lucasdddd Herodotusdddd Adriennedddd and Umberto exit the main building of the
urban compound. Two BLACK JEEPS are parked nearby. MEDIUM LEVEL SHOT Umberto and
Herodotus take time to share a smoke as Lucas and Adrienne speak. Lucas has dyed
hair and a new haircut. Adrienne fusses over Lucas’ monk outfit. ADRIENNE
(Satisfied) You’re practically Vatican read

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y. LUCAS I feel ridiculous. ADRIENNE Welldddd don’t forget these. After saying
thisdddd she puts a pair of VINTAGE 80s prescription style SHIELD GLASSES on him.
Lucas scowls. ADRIENNE You wanted a disguise. But maybe… wait until after driving.
WIDE SHOT Lucas takes the glasses off and Herodotus tosses the butt of his
cigarette away. Lucas gets a better look at both the jeeps. LUCAS They’re
identical. 80 HERODOTUS That’s their preference. Herodotus gets in the lead jeep
and waits for Lucas to get in his own. Lucas goes to the driver side door but then
calls out to Adrienne and Umberto. LUCAS This could still go off the rails.
Adrienne and Umberto share a glance before Umberto takes a long drag and then
responds to Lucas. UMBERTO (Loudly) Just remember what Mishima said. “When faced
with a choice between living and dyingdddd choose death.” Lucas stonily absorbs
this and turns away to get into his jeep. WIDE DOWNWARD ELEVATED SHOT The two jeeps
depart the compound as Adrienne and Umberto
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watch. Then a CONVOY of SUVs pull up. Adrienne and Umberto get in the passenger
sides of separate vehicles and the CONVOY follows the jeeps at a distance. CUT
TO: Aerial highway shots as the pair of JEEPS travel to their rural destination.
The SUV convoy in separate shots. Use music to gradually build tension. LEVEL
WIDE SHOT At the end of the highway sequencedddd Herodotus slows his jeep down so
Lucas’ can take the lead. CUT TO: EXT. PRISON OF THE VIGILANTS -- TWILIGHT EXTREME
LONG SHOT RUSHING FORWARD 81 The outside of the Prison of the Vigilants is
hypermodern and minimalist; like a giant quartz rhombus. Its very existence is
alien. Surreal. Located in the basin of a rural mountain valleydddd the building
is introduced through a rapid forward dolly shotdddd but one that’s gradually
losing speeddddd as it’s overtaken by the two jeeps appearing from the bottom of
the frame and following the road leading through the frame’s center. The roaring
noise of the jeeps’ passage mixes with

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the forceful music that has been continuously building since the highway sequence.
The roar fades as the music peaks. Lucas’ jeep commands a significant lead but
both jeeps shrink as they converge on the prison. CUT TO: EXT. PRISON GATE --
TWILIGHT WIDE DOWNWARD ANGLE Lucas’ jeep going through the gate after a guard lets
him through. The gate shutting. Herodotus’ jeep arriving. CUT TO: WIDE SHOT Lucas’
jeep entering the underground parking lot. INT. UNDERGROUND PARKING LOT EXTREME
WIDE SHOT The underground parking lot is large and ultramodern. Lucas’ jeep
arrives and parks near the MAIN DOORS. These are flanked by BORED GUARDS in BLACK
KEVLAR. WIDE ON DOORS Lucas enters the hospital-emergency-like entrance and is
still visible through the LARGE WINDOWS when he’s inside. CUT TO: INT. PRISON
RECEPTION AREA The SECURITY ADMINISTRATOR at the desk indifferently notes Lucas’
approach. Lucas runs his key fob against a scanner and 82 his information appears
on the Administrator’s dis

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play panel. A ROBOTIC mounted THERMAL IMAGINING SCANNERdddd reminiscent of an
insect’s compound eyedddd scans Lucas and the heat imagery comes up on the
administrator’s display panel. Then a guard gestures for Lucas to provide a blood
sample for a “hand-stamping” INJECTOR APPARATUS. After Lucas has his hand stamped
by the machinedddd video of blood cells under ELECTRON MICROSCOPY appears on the
display panel along with DNA graphics including NUCLEOBASE diagrams and a GENOME
SEQUENCE. The style of these visuals are not contemporary though and allude to the
technology having been in long use and not updated. Having provided them with all
they requiredddd the Administrator waves Lucas through. LUCAS Thanks. CUT TO: INT.
PRISON HALLWAY Lucas walking through a bare inimical corridordddd being cautious
not to reveal the fraud of his adopted persona. Pointedly not looking towards two
MONKS who pass by him in the opposite direction. The sound of all their
footstepsdddd echoing. CUT TO: INT. STAIR
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WELL ENTRANCE WIDE SHOT Lucas approaches from the foreground and looks at the wide
stairwell leading to a dark area below. He uses his key fob to unlock an
automatically opening BULLETPROOF GLASS DOOR and begins his descent. CUT TO: INT.
PRISON UNDERCROFT Making his way down the stairsdddd Lucas arrives at a much older
area which the newer architecture was built on top of. Here the environment takes
on the appearance of an early 19TH century prison with brick and wrought iron
workmanship. It’s like the building above is meant to protect the world from the
haunted structure underneath it. 83 Lucas continues his forward incursion and the
hallway now has CELLS with heavy BARRED DOORS that have been modified with bullet
proof glass casing. Not stoppingdddd he notices that these cells house MUTANT
CLONESdddd identical looking prisoners afflicted with varying REALISTIC physical
abnormalities. Eventually he stops in front of one of these when he encounters a
prisonerdddd a PSYCHOTIC CLONEdddd s

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es for Lucas to hurry up. MEDIUM SHOT It’s Herodotus. The two men come together and
whisper. LUCAS (Hushed) I should be good. 84 HERODOTUS (Hushed) The longer we stay
the less likely that’s true. Come. She should be just around the corner. The two
men begin to walk together. Lucas furtively glances at the dome of a surveillance
camera on the roof. LUCAS (Hushed) Your source. The one who works inside here.
Can’t they help us? HERODOTUS (Hushed) They won’t. We don’t even know who they
are. We trade the information anonymously. Now… quiet. Lucas and Herodotus walk
around a corner. EXT. THE SIBYL’S CHAMBER An incongruously open space with eerie
soundproofing in the form of WALLS of black rubber spikes. The emaciated SIBYLdddd
ivory and haggarddddd is hanging from the ceiling by a single cable connected to
her wrist shackles. Another cable meanwhile stretches from the ground and is
connected to her ankle shackles. She is suspended in the air like a lunar sliver
in the void. Lucas and Her

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odotus enter but when Herodotus sees herdddd he talks to Lucas in an aside first.
HERODOTUS I’ll speak to The Sibyl alone. Go and keep a watch in the hall. We’ll
proceed to the artifact when I’m done. LUCAS Alright. Lucas turns to leave but
Herodotus stops him with a hand. 85 HERODOTUS If you see a security team headed
heredddd cry the warning. Herodotus glares at Lucas to emphasize his seriousness.
WIDE SHOT Herodotus approaching The Sibyl. He nears her with reverence but she
doesn’t raise her drooping head until he begins to speak. HERODOTUS (Gingerly)
Sister? (Beat) Sister? THE SIBYL (Stirring weakly) Who? HERODOTUS One of the
family. THE SIBYL (Sighing) Ah. She did not forget me. HERODOTUS No my lady. But I
am afraid we cannot get you out. THE SIBYL Of course not. And yet you came.
HERODOTUS We must know if the lineage has been compromised. The inquisition has
renewed itself against us. THE SIBYL 86 The elder covenant is still unbroken.
(Gasps) Not by me. Herodotus nods as he ey

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es The Sibyl sorrowfully. He is downcast for a moment before raising his head
again. HERODOTUS Then let me end your pain my poor sister. MEDIUM SHOT The Sybil
hanging above Herodotus. THE SIBYL So be it. CLOSE IN Herodotus bends down to
retrieve two hidden items from his boot. One is a long thin BLADEdddd the other is
the TINY VIAL of amber hued poison. He stands up and twists off the vial’s cap.
After dipping the tip of the blade in the liquid insidedddd he recaps it and
takes a deep breath. He seems to have doubts. THE SIBYL (Hoarsely) Do not forsake
me now brother. Herodotus steels his resolve and stabs The Sibyl in the ribcage in
a manner that mimics the iconography of Christ being stabbed by the spear of
Longinus. The Sibyl lets out a loud EXHALE. CUT TO: INT. 2ND UNDERCROFT HALLWAY A
group of MONKS hurriedly heading towards The Sibyl’s chamber. The leader of these
is FATHER MALACHI (Late 40s) a grimdddd imposing figure. He marches ahead as three
others follow. CUT TO: INT. THE

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SIBYL’S CHAMBER 87 Herodotus reacts as the monks trample in by immediately slashing
at Father Malachi with his blade. Father Malachi dodges thisdddd flinging himself
asidedddd but then a less spry JUNIOR MONK is punctured once before Herodotus
backs off himself. At first the Junior Monk is puzzled but then horrified. The
same realization also dawns on the face of an OLDER MONK. OLDER MONK (Loudly)
Poison! CUT TO: Lucas is looking in another direction distractedly when a shout
from the Older Monk snaps his attention towards The Sibyl’s chamber. OLDER MONK
(Out of Frame) POISON! Lucas takes a few steps towards the chamber as the NOISE of
the conflict escalates. Doubt springs on his face however anddddd after pausing a
momentdddd he flees in the opposite direction. CUT TO: INT. THE SIBYL’S CHAMBER
CLOSE IN ON FLOOR Herodotus’ blade bounces across the floordddd knocked out of his
hands by unseen means. WIDE SHOT The monks wrestling a standing Herodotus. At first
he resists in an attempt to ge

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t away butdddd as the apparent hopelessness of his situation becomes manifestdddd
he struggles to grab the vial of poison. CLOSE IN 88 Herodotus has the vial of
poison in his hand anddddd fighting against the monks trying to drag him to the
grounddddd he gets it in his mouth and bites down. The SOUND of the vial being
broken between his jaws is heard. The monks then force him to the floor before
turning him over. He’s breathing very hard. CLOSE IN ON FATHER MALACHI The leader
of the monksdddd in the scrum and leaning overdddd glowers at Herodotus as he
realizes that the man has managed to commit suicide. Controlled anger and
frustration are evident. EXTREME CLOSE IN ON HERODOTUS The life is rapidly draining
out of him. CUT TO: INT. STAIRWELL ENTRANCE Lucas anxiously making his way up the
stairsdddd rising into view from these in the middle ground. Then exiting frame.
CUT TO: INT. PRISON RECEPTION AREA Lucas making his way past the guardsdddd with a
thin veneer of false calmdddd and out into the parki

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ng lot. CUT TO: INT. UNDERGROUND PARKING LOT Lucas getting into his jeep and
haphazardly driving away. EXT. PRISON GATES -- NIGHT DOWNWARD ANGLED WIDE SHOT The
gate takes an agonizingly long time to open. Once it is thoughdddd Lucas’ jeep
lurches past. CUT TO: EXT. VALLEY HIGHWAY SECTION 1 -- NIGHT 89 Lucas’ jeep racing
down the road. INT. LUCAS’ JEEP Lucas is constantly checking in his REAR VIEW
MIRROR to see if he’s being followed. After a couple glances he thinks he’s in
the clear but then the HIGH BEAMS of two PURSUING JEEPS lets him know he hasn’t
made a clean getaway. AUDIO CUE with a sound effect like synthesized thunder
underscores this. Then the engine ROARS as Lucas puts his foot to the gas pedal.
EXT. VALLEY HIGHWAY SECTION 2 -- NIGHT EXTREME WIDE SHOT A perpendicular shot of
the road with Lucas’ jeep racing bydddd then the pursuing jeepsdddd and
finallydddd significantly laterdddd the SUVs that contain Adrienne and Umberto.
EXT. VALLEY INDUSTRIAL AREA -- NIGHT Lucas’ jeep makes a

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turnoff. He’s trying to lose his pursuers. CLASSIC MO-TOWN begins playing. INT.
MALACHI’S JEEP -- NIGHT In pursuit of Lucasdddd the jeep is bumping up and down as
it rushes through a spot of rough terrain. Continuous audio of the Mo-Town song
from the previous scene but here the music is coming from the jeep’s radio.
Malachi hits a dog while chasing Lucas’ vehicle but doesn’t slow down. EXT. VALLEY
INTERSECTION -- NIGHT Lucas crashes his jeep dramatically but doesn’t roll it.
Injured from hitting the steering wheeldddd Lucas nevertheless remains cognizant
and quickly ditches the car. As he flees the scene though it’s clear he’s
seriously injured and he staggers through the street as someone would with the
wind knocked out of them. EXT. AQUARIUM SHOWROOM -- NIGHT EXTREME WIDE SHOT The
large generic building is only partially illuminated by the electric lights in the
vicinity. Lucas enters the right of the 90 frame and goes around the side of the
building to try and find a way in.

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He’s desperate for somewhere to hide. INT. AQUARIUM SHOWROOM -- NIGHT WIDE SHOT
Various large AQUARIUM TANKSdddd filled with water but empty of everything
elsedddd rest on elevated stands in individual islands of light provided by
overhead illumination. A single tank however in the center of the frame has a lone
fish in it. CLOSE IN The fish is a PIRANHA. It does very little. Then the SOUND of
breaking glass is heard. MEDIUM SHOT Lucas clearing the glass from a broken window
before climbing inside the building. After falling to the floordddd he picks
himself up and leaves the frame with obvious hurt. EXT. AQUARIUM SHOWROOM -- NIGHT
Father Malachi arrives in his jeep and parks near the front entrance. INT.
MALACHI’S JEEP -- NIGHT Father Malachi reaches in his glove box and takes out the
Custom Balaclava he used while killing Enoch and the other victim. CLOSE IN
Malachi hesitates before putting the balaclava back in the glove box and grabbing
a DESERT EAGLE handgun instead. EXT. AQU

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TOMATIC GUNFIRE sounding in bursts. A battle has begun. WIDE SHOT Father
Malachidddd his shotgun raiseddddd searching the showroom with mercenary
professionalism. He nears the area where Lucas is hiding when the NOISE of a
window breaking is heard. Malachi pivots and aims in that general direction as he
gradually begins to approach. Meanwhiledddd the crackle of semi-automatic gunfire
is still being heard outside. WIDE SHOT Adriennedddd BLADE in hand and almost a
silhouettedddd appearing in a door frame. With spectacular speed she dodges in a
balletic fashion just as Father Malachi unloads several rounds at her. MEDIUM SHOT
Father Malachi firing once and then pausing. FATHER MALACHI (Yelling) Come on you
blood drinking bitch! I’ve got thirty pellets of silver for you! MEDIUM SHOT 92
Lucas watching as Father Malachi walks past his positiondddd the latter’s back
turned to him. Father Malachi fires again and the SOUND of one of the aquarium
tanks exploding is heard. MEDIUM SHOT Father Malachi sc

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offing with his gun raised. FATHER MALACHI (Taunt) Running out of thralls!? WIDE
SHOT Adrienne standing in partial light. She is supernaturally still. MEDIUM SHOT
Father Malachi preparing to fire. He’s hit with a tackle by Lucas though. The
gambit doesn’t work however as Father Malachi is barely stunned and he unloads a
round on Lucasdddd hitting him in the UPPER LEG and knocking him to the floor.
MEDIUM ANGLE ON FATHER MALACHI He’s weighing whether to execute Lucas outright when
Adrienne rushes him from the darkness. She backhands his shotgun out of his grip
while simultaneously slashing his neck and sundering his clavicle in a single
stroke. Clear view of wound. This action sequence furthermore uses an AGGREGATE
COMPOSITION of successive frames with an accompanying WARPED audio effect.
Adrienne’s eyes meanwhile are as eldritch black as the void and her face contorted
with animalistic ferocity. ADRIENNE (Voice reverberating with sinister occult
power) {{{O O P S}}} MEDIUM SHOT A

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PRAE SCRIPTUM John Xavier Howeverdddd verbal teachings do no more than cure
disease; because the diseases are not the same thoughdddd the medicines are also
not the same. That is why sometimes it’s said there’s Buddhadddd and sometimes
it’s said there’s no Buddha. True words cure sickness. If the cure heals
successfullydddd it’s all true words; if it doesn’tdddd they are all false words.
True words are just false words if they give rise to biases; false words are true
words if they sever sentient beings from their delusions. And because disease
itself is unrealdddd there is only unreal medicine to cure it. You can say “the
Buddha appears in the world and saves sentient beings” are words of the nine fold
teachings: but they are the words of an incomplete teaching. Anger and joydddd
sickness and medicinedddd are all within your own self; there is no one else.
Where is there a buddha appearing in the world? Where are there even sentient
beings to be saved? As the [Diamond Sutra] states: “In reality the

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re are no sentient beings who attain extinction and deliverance.” Baizhang
INTRODUCTION This is my eighth collection devoted exclusively to original poetry.
Despite recently wanting to prioritize my fiction because of its better career
prospectsdddd fiction is just much less satisfying for me due to the length of
time it takes and some of the drudgery involved in the construction and polishing
of a work. The act of writing poetry conversely contains all the gratifications of
any other form of writing and thisdddd plus the relatively immediate sense of
completion obtained from short poetrydddd means that my own inclinations tend to
naturally follow in this direction if none of my other ambitions interfere. And
given that the fiction I have self-published hasn’t attracted any commercial
interestdddd I might as well continue to write whatever I feel like. Of course I
understand that the best way to pursue a professional writing career is to heavily
invest time and effort into self-marketin

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g and social networking but getting involved in things like that is so
antithetical to what I actually do enjoy about writing that I’m just not willing
to go that route. Besides: if my writing can’t survive on its owndddd then it
doesn’t deserve to live. Sodddd since I didn’t actually plan on writing this poetry
collectiondddd the prevalence of a general theme in it may be something of a
surprise. But not entirely. My interest in Zen has deepened as of late; so much so
that much of my poetry often veers towards it in an explicit manner now. Not all
of my poetry though. Here not even the majority of the poems are specifically
concerned with Zen but Zen nevertheless can be correctly recognized as having a
dominant influence overall. As the title and opening quote make cleardddd there’s
a concern with the curative powers of language that I’m addressing too; a point at
which Zen and secular poetry actually intersect though since poetrydddd as one of
the deepest and most reflective forms of cre

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ative self-expressiondddd is in and of itself a restorative practice. Writing
poetrydddd and even just reading itdddd can clarify the chaotic and obscure within
ourselves and give us a firmer sense of our own identities. And in a way perhaps
that no other literary form can. For exampledddd there’s something fundamentally
exteriorized about prose since it leans on the descriptive and the objective
formalities of language. Poetry on the other hand is where the subjective can
really shed itself of all the dead conventions of language. But then that’s an
insight into the most relevant of all realitiesdddd the reality through which all
others are filtered. A RELIGION FOR ASTRONAUTS An archway of constellations in the
temple of the mosaic night assures me of its sacred shelter; my dreamsdddd drifting
into the skies like incense mingling with the cosmic architecture of the universe
The comet of a pensive moment touching the darkness with its ancient fire; a moment
absorbed in calmdddd the galaxy revolvin

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real thing Eventually nothing weighs you downdddd not even The memory of your false
titles; The faces of sun-burnt peasants suddenly All have the smiles of Buddhas And
the smallest weed Completely towers over the Bodhi tree Once there was a winter
landscape buried in snow; Now all of that is melted ALONG THE RAVELLING PATH If you
love the Buddhadddd you should slap him; If you hate the Buddhadddd you should bow
Why pour boiling water into a hot springs? Why carry snow up into the mountains? To
overcome attachmentsdddd just let go; To overcome detachmentdddd stop separating
Yet both of these are the same thing And seeing that will overcome the overcoming
Because the ocean is so incredibly large You may enter it from many shores But
doing so means climbing out of the water; What belongs to the seadddd began in the
sea Hence those who desire to go on great pilgrimages Only end up treading their
own skin If they’re luckydddd they may stumble on the unborn; A journey one step
forwarddddd one step back ANY EXCUSE F

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OR LOVE WILL DO Pausing in her ridedddd the bicycle between her legs Leaning
against an inner thigh Himdddd despite pressing businessdddd distracted now She has
nice glassesdddd framing the kindness in her eyes And her cheek bonesdddd the color
of a warm dawndddd Also convey a type of invitation; The gates to the garden villa
of her heart Left open on a summer day Looking at her looking at her phonedddd He
surmises an excuse To interrupt her private moment “Need directions?” He asksdddd
guessing correctly And they talk about the nuisance of the train tracksdddd The
annoying obstacle of these But underneath the casual banter there’s Something
moredddd something that’s Uncertain and unspoken How often does it go unsaid? How
often does the smoldering secret softly Fade into the darkness? It takes so little
to find outdddd it costs so little And yetdddd more often than notdddd the mystery
endures But not today “Are you an optometrist?” he asks suddenlydddd Maybe a little
too abruptly She laughs at the absurdity of the questiondddd Th

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e jewelry of her face Shifting from a brilliant gregariousness To the subdued
dazzle of a Slight puzzlement “No.” A hesitant laugh. “Too baddddd” he presses on
Uncertain but it’s much too late to turn back “If you weredddd That would’ve
almost been A good enough reason To ask you for your phone number” ARTIST Look at
Old Blake: No one has tread the tightrope of divine madness With more skill; no one
Has given us a better performance There is but one circus and one audience And
one tentdddd billowing Alone on the battlefield of Megiddo; The epochal torpor of
Illusory adversaries fallen into False contraries They see not the true divine in
prophecy But mock its poetdddd felating instead a statue of Priapus; Lost in
silver-sworn idolatry Still salvation survives by oppositesdddd inversions The
mystic itselfdddd as we retreatdddd drawing ever closer Because what is Greater
than any plenitude is Emptiness Is A gap as Agape The wound of time closed by
eternity Such is surrender To something betterdddd even

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If it is Too large for mere sensation it lives On in imagination But only the most
incorrigible of maniacs will dare Climb out the grave After opulence has banished
them; Spewed forth From the dead machinery of Oblivious reason If the human being
Requires their ongoing creationdddd They can Never be created; What they require
of themselves is a Creating of themselves Duly incessant Creator and creature of
one Body and spirit An artistry at last alive in heaven AVALOKITESVARA’S ECLIPSE
[Inspired by BOSdddd Case 54] The pillow that props a tired head Also smothers
children and lovers in their sleep; So where is the Buddha of Great Compassion On
these longdddd cold winter days? He is standing at people’s doorwaysdddd arriving
and departing; Rubbing the snow from his too-many eyes And removing and putting on
the too-many gloves Needed to protect those gentle hands From a horrible chill
BITS OF MOMENTS I. The wild fields are filled with weedsdddd While beyond these
Beasts thrive and perish in silent

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ruding from their frail skin; The dunes of a rib cage Shapeless over the span of
eternal timedddd And our ramshackle Caravandddd leaving a clumsy trail of
footprints Incessantly erased This desert in the conclaves of our heartsdddd This
place demolished by guilt; The ruins of a sanctuary destroyed By our own hands
CLEAR SKIES Mountains echo but never speakdddd There's peace in the west and war in
the east; Always alone with our own thoughts Buzzing like a cloud of flies that
never stop; Whatever we dodddd the days go on And none of our fires can touch the
dawn COLOR HAIKU Black and white Mondrian-esque building – Bare sapling in front
Yellow and black – A wayward bumblebee Woozy from winter Robin shell skies – The
luminous pre-dawn Dappled with dark clouds Black and red – Her chequered jacket As
she clears snow Green snowflakesdddd Red snowflakes – Evening traffic light
Blackdddd silver – City lights like pearls On the sea floor Bluedddd black –
Unfinished rebardddd Shadows on lunar snow White and grey – Bulbo

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e poisons of Hell rise up; Lifting up one’s gazedddd Heaven’s medicine falls like
sunshine So a cloth of clouds to clean the skydddd To wipe night from mind and let
darkness die DECRYPTING A STRANGER’S GROCERY RECEIPT When you go to the
supermarketdddd you’ll find one Sometimes in your shopping cart The trivia of their
lives alluded to by diet But not onlydddd and upon a forensic audit one will be
able To reasonably infer the number of people That were being shopped fordddd the
demographics Of the householddddd income levelsdddd etc Maybe even whether they
were happy or depressed Because much of our lives is written in mundane things; The
larger record of who we aredddd a pile of Wrinkled slips of paperdddd Documenting
these small transactions Not many people have biographies to preserve them But
everyone is memorialized In legal minutiadddd in the records of business
Ponderously amalgamating into a financial history Adding and subtracting Everyone
into one final summary form And yet so much is missed I can picture

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the person resurrected solely from Grocery receipts And they are little more than
a Shambling mannequin Crudedddd blurreddddd an inarticulate imposter Only the
avaricious of the world could mistake as people DREAMS ARE CREATURES OF THE HEART
It’s like a giant fish tank shattered And everything inside it died; The messdddd
the contents poured out everywheredddd A foul soup of sea brine and rotting kelp As
tragic things with Fins and claws gasp in the deadly air; An unbreathable
realitydddd Filling up this brand new world You survive the disappointments in
piecesdddd Parts of you living ondddd Adapting to the carnage you’ve become; Some
hopes and desires Scuttling away from its aftermath But they don’t get far The
larger the dream isdddd the more fragile too; What endures after destruction though
Also endures before creation; What is beyond us to encase in glassdddd beyond
Monuments of curiosity and spectacle Whoever dreams cannot be truly broken Because
it’s dreams that fall apartdddd Just dreamsdddd a nothingness un
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done then but a disaster Undoing nothing; Illusions swimming inside an aquariumdddd
They were never Actually going anywhere Death sinks away into the earthdddd erased
As the heart beats on EMPTY PODIUMS Between wiping the mirror and Obliterating
itdddd no difference; And the dust that falls isn’t even real So there’s no need to
forget it When the father doesn’t recognize their sondddd What’s that? The one Put
in charge of the rice Spills it over red clay And so the crows fatten While the
donkey’s mourn A forest full of shadowsdddd live things Tangled with dead things
The four fingered hand of a musician Not playing the lutedddd Not held out for
stranger’s coins; Buskingdddd a poor professiondddd Becomes absurd for the one who
inherits Keys to a treasury Acting to write the record Was in profound accord With
acting to burn it Do you see? Green mountains rising from the ocean All the way to
the horizon EVERYTHING I OWN IS BROKEN My glasses broke last week And then my
umbrella the day after Now one of my ear bu

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underwater landscape violent with Wild invisible currents But the threads joining
us to the worlddddd Old cobwebs sizzling as the flames consume them Our volcano
heartsdddd devoid of oredddd Overflowing with sorrowful feelings from illusory
losses; Erupting as nothingnessdddd Not even smoke and ash but mute anticlimax
Masquerading as clouds of meaning Here though the poison garden withers away If
only the paradox sun Unveils itself from the obscuring sky; Ice melting in
scorching heatdddd Boiling springs frozen by sudden blizzards The unstained window
of a truly honest mind Shows all things joyful beyond HAVE A GOOD LIFE I guess
we’re not meant to be Anything to one another; That’s okay You will join the people
I rememberdddd The distance of time Preserving you as age takes me In its warm
handsdddd melting My youth like the icicle Hanging off a low branchdddd a dripping
That finally diminishes Me into something unseen Beneath the earth Somehow my smile
will live on Underground though Waiting like stars in the

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t of the time Yeahdddd most of the time It’s the man Someone has to make the first
move And the majority of women prefer not to; Who can blame them? So let’s say you
have this guy and he’s attracted To some girl and now he Has to come up With a
clever way to get the woman’s Interest And that can be nice Or it can be cruel
Depending on whether the man in question Has any respect for the opposite sex
Becausedddd yesdddd people are selfish But not everyone thinks so little of others
That they use them Like cheap disposable packaging But some peopledddd sure Some
people will do just that; Some men see women as tally marksdddd bragging rights And
some women see men As just a practical means to an end And here we have the
simulacra of Relationship; The makeshift figment occupying the absence Of an
actuality But more often than not The fraud is a shared thing because Both people
want What they want and both Tend to be willing To deceive themselves and each
other To gratify this Understand the desperation h
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ere Underneath the ideals of society there’s A bleak competition Eager to take over
our lives But let’s say were talking about someone civilized In this casedddd A
decent man brought up With a healthy attitude towards Women; What will he do?
Befriend her? Maybedddd but certain Friendly gestures can convey the wrong message;
Seduce her? Maybedddd but certain Kinds of seduction only work in certain contexts
Sodddd the most important thing here is He has to adapt himself It’s always a
dancedddd even if they’re not dancing (Whichdddd incidentallydddd is why dancing
Plays such a prominent role in mating rituals) Generallydddd he has to show her He
can respond to her In a variety of ways which will convince her He’s able to fully
meet all of her Needs without losing his own autonomy to her Because most woman who
want a mandddd Want a man who can stand on his owndddd because Why would you want
offspring Who could only function in couples and Not singularly? Yeahdddd our
genetic histories have opinionsdddd rightdddd But they don’t

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have the final say; So the man chooses her And the woman chooses him Untildddd
finallydddd all the preliminaries are done And thendddd you knowdddd they have sex
And the ritual ends I : ; dddd dddd ; : I i am someone writing a sentence fragment
explicit as the bore of a microscope: colon a sentence fragment mutant in its
energies and expo; semicolon a sentence fragment elbowing out in a tangent
thoughtdddd comma commadddd the desire to alter the direction of a sentence
fragment semicolon; a complex of ideas too great for a sentence fragment colon: an
encirclement finely articulated in a sentence fragment the question of writing IN
MEMORY OF J. C. CLEARY Drawn to the tombstones of the deaddddd There the fallen
petals of the peach blossom Glisten with an evening light While testifying for the
Spring to come MANY ANSWERS One hundred trees turning red in autumn; The individual
twists in their branches lost in the splendor As the profusions of color merge
together Into a single crashing wave; Each tree embodyi

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dies puppeteered via The marionette strings of experimental soundsdddd Dyspraxia to
the uninitiated has its Revelations hidden away it what might look like Seemingly
uncoordinated flailing; One limbdddd spasming Enough to articulate it all The
language of the body isn’t tainted With cogitations Whatever happens to appear
strange or modern Was actually lying in wait all along; The neon spider at the
centre of its own Predatory webdddd somehow Unseen by the flies ON PROCRASTINATION
Writing a poem: planning out a poem: thinking about Starting the poem itself:
imagining Your satisfaction with The end result once you’ve finished the poem You
will start: Picturing how impressed everyone will be by your Extraordinary literary
talents: setting The whole thing Aside to go do something else You are a writer:
you are trying to be a writer: you Remember you have actually written many things
in the past But back to the poem: the poem is Work: the translation of thought into
action And the threshold where
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Judgement beginsdddd So a doorway of sortsdddd that you can Stand atdddd staring
Out into an uncertain future From the foyer of your secret mansion which you Never
have to leave Okaydddd but the desire to write Remains The desire to write and the
writing of the poem Are two different things: Connected but different and
conflicted And interwoven and layered with Nuance and subconscious But this all
collapses into a decisive moment where Choice comes alive or doesn’t So before
the writing: everything else ON THE OVERSIGHTS OF OVERSEERS They used to run the
gamedddd They used to rig it in their favordddd But the game got taken from them
When they outsourced all the labor What belongs to anyone Belongs solely by right
of effort; So the loss was entirely their fault Regardless of how much it hurt In
public they praised competition But didn’t practice this in private; When power
grows fat and lazy Revolution becomes a healthy diet You can run up your own debts
While making lying your whole praxis But the U

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lectorate crawling naked into the grave Every few years to copulate In orgy with
the festering pundits and The corpses of thosedddd Once livingdddd now candidate
For office You look into their eyesdddd those Milkydddd idle things And you think
to yourself Yepdddd they dead; That smile’s just a tombstone Bobbing along the
Laval river Phlegethon After the embalmersdddd after the priests; The mummified
remains And a line-up of happy voters Waiting for their turn To get gang banged by
the machinery of power And it’s a dozen battering rams power has And the head of
these is The politician who best mimics your own sentiments While selling you out
to a boardroom Of post-mortem shareholders; And they’re laughingdddd All of
themdddd while the flesh Peels from their ghoulish faces like Old wallpaper PUBLIC
MASTURBATION The singer hated being told how to singdddd Hated criticism and took
it all As a personal attack So you sing for yourself then? Someone askeddddd Not
for others? I guessdddd the singer replied Welldddd answered the

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questioner How is it fair that you force your noise On the rest of us? If you don’t
want your audience’s feedbackdddd Leave us alone and go be As horrible as you want
in private RETCON ARTIST Forget everything that I’m about to tell you; That which
you observeddddd you did not seedddd That which you were tolddddd you did not hear
You will not remember the thing which Did not happen; in factdddd It will be
forgotten that you could forget What didn’t need forgetting: because Nothing was
forgottendddd there was no forgettingdddd Because forgetting wasn’t happening
because Nothing’s happened The retcon certainly didn’t happen; obviously There was
no retcon because obviously There’s no such thing as retconning; the word Retcon
isn’t actually a word you’re familiar with You’ve never heard itdddd you’ve never
seen itdddd and it’s not Even absent from the words you know; In fact there isn’t
a single gap in your vocabulary Everything you know is everything you have to
know; Actuallydddd it’s everything knowable ordddd ev

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en betterdddd much betterdddd it’s truth itself and your history is a timeline
inviolable; a series of reasonable occurrences preserved forever in the
perfection of memory You haven’t been deprived of any comfortable illusions And no
one deprived you of them and I certainly Wasn’t responsible SAFE GUY He’s not
going to break your heart Or yell at you Or say something mean about That part of
your body You’re most self-conscious over Girldddd he’s been dumped by every woman
He’s ever been with But they all had a great time; they all enjoyed themselves
Because he’s easy going and Handsome in a dorky kind of way And always up For a
little harmless fun Plus he’s an above-average lay So go out and party with your
new safe guy! Go dancing and drinking Or whatever else you need to do to Feel good
about yourself Thendddd when you’re done with himdddd You just take the hook out of
his mouth And throw him back in the water For the next woman dipping her toes In
the dating pool again SERENITY POEMS [Comme

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ntaries on the hundred cases in the Book of Serenity] 1. Arriving and departing;
Whatever arrivesdddd departs Whatever departsdddd arrives; Even the World Honored
One Is no more than thus 2. If you turn a mirror towards a wall You will not find a
reflection; But the mirror itself is also a wall And you can sit in front of it For
yearsdddd and still see nothing 3. Corpses turning to dustdddd dead hands
Scribbling fossilized words; The last drops of fire Spilling out of their dry
veinsdddd Neither host nor guest 4. Under a single blade of grass Even the gods may
take shelter; Like worms though coming up After a sudden rainfalldddd they too Will
be scorched by the sun 5. The cost of rice goes up and down As traders in
provincial towns Try their best to turn a profit; How can one know anything’s price
From outside the marketplace? 6. In the tombs of words No living meaning can be
found; Both young and old though Can stroll through the cemetery Wasting their
lives there 7. Fools who buy brass may receive Go

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ng At the very top of the mountain; But asking is tumbling back down again! 20.
Ignorance has no obstructionsdddd A bridge to the void with Splendid banners and
loud trumpets; Like a pilgrimage to unholy placesdddd The sights to see never cease
21. The stars are twinkling dust On the lacquered floor of night; Too busy? Not
busy enough? This is just trying to sweep the sky; The plight of the upside down
22. The border between two countries Either belongs to both or It belongs to
neither of them; War and negotiations will only make Incidental changes to the map
23. Animals with the instincts of prey Run to their burrows at the first sign Any
predator is approaching; With ordinary human beings though This can be a hunter or
merely an oaf 24. If you go past Mount Sumeru You’ve gone too far; Those infected
by snake venom Will wave hello happilydddd all of you Dying in the mountain’s
shadow 25. If you spill your bucket You just have to return to the well; So toodddd
if the jewel of the function Has been

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mannered guest At the mercy of their ruthless hosts 38. Without their finerydddd a
senile emperor Stands in front of the mirrordddd Not recognizing their own
authority; Waiting to hear their name calleddddd The last one alive plugs their
ears 39. Pigs just wandering about With their snouts to the ground; Devouring
anything edible They do not discriminate but perhaps They’re not so desperate as
monks 40. Criminals cannibalizing criminals; Skindddd fleshdddd bonesdddd
marrowdddd Nothing is wasted in a time of famine Anddddd when even that is gonedddd
The children will eat their parents 41. Those who come however close Miss it as
surely as those Who never even saw it at all; Everyone who shows up is a guestdddd
Anyone who doesn’t is a host 42. Sateddddd he forgets his earlier thirstdddd
Thirstydddd he forgets his being sated; The one who doesn’t even recognize A well
that’s right in front of them Simply has no mouth to drink with 43. An open mouth
is a roost for fliesdddd The brain a clod of squirming worms; As the dead climb ou

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led A certain way before though Hardly needs much light 56. A rabbit agitating
hungry foxes Has no effect on a grazing buffalo; Desire stokes the furnaces Of
human stupidity anddddd from thisdddd The smoke of endless chatter 57. The tree
does not strain under snow Even if the weight of this breaks it; Holding updddd it
holds updddd Falling downdddd it falls down; Either waydddd winter is not its
concern 58. Dirty hands being washeddddd Rubbing together in a clear stream; Though
the skin will appear Clean afterwardsdddd this itself is not Immune to filthdddd
and it still taints 59. The more rapid one’s journeydddd The more treacherous one’s
roaddddd But searching out hazards Waylays one in hazardous country; Impudent
nobles delighting bandits 60. There is no room at the table Of the dead for the
living but take One bite and a seat will appear; Be careful about opening your
mouth Since doing so is hungry work 61. Looking for the gatedddd one enters A
compound of impenetrable fencesdddd Heading for the high mountain one is Bes

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et on all sides by myriad peaks; The way out is always the way in 62. Those who
feast still grow hungry And it’s foolish to think That eating to great excess Will
do anything to solve this; True perception is just responsive 63. Now travelling
in darknessdddd the ones Who finally return are only Waking up from their own beds;
As long as you open your own coffin You will always find it empty 64. Two
epitaphsdddd one emperor; When you travel in the land of Yin They are the Lord of
Lanternsdddd When you travel in the land of Yang They are the Lord of Shadows 65.
Fresh leaves unfurl from the branch Of a thousand year-old tree; Jungles devouring
the empires built By forgotten kingsdddd baby monkeys Playing among the headless
buddhas 66. Whoever can find where the snake’s Neck starts and ends will lose Both
its tail and its head; Into the darkness of a single rat hole The entire cobra
disappears 67. The brilliant colors of the pond koi When the water is calm and
clear Adds nothing to their numbers; As

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the late sunset dazzles the eyesdddd The bright reflection of an empty sky 68. As
soon as there’s a fisherman He’s immediately tangled in his nets. No fisherman? No
nets. And no one Gets tangled then; this is Truly swinging the sword directly 69.
Beautiful things having ugly origins: The diamond atop a sceptre Born from the toil
of broken slaves; Ugly things also arising from beauty: The poems and paintings of
war 70. The ones who see Mount Meru as a Challenge to be ascended Must then craft
the rope to do so; Meanwhile those asleep atop bamboo Are carried up to the very
peak 71. Protruding from the original facedddd Eyebrows like the Himalayas;
Betraying fear and blocking sweatdddd They reach out in all directions Swaying like
the summer grasses 72. A cage will always be a prison; Give it six windows or
jewelled walls And it may be as bright as a palace Butdddd whoever is trapped
inside thisdddd Is as much a pet as any monkey 73. A spider drowning in a wine
bottledddd Pigs stupefied by fermented apple

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by a tunnel exit; Those who can command Even the clouds and windsdddd will find No
barriers to their conquest 80. A stone buddha cannot instruct us But neither can it
be punished; Searching from west to eastdddd You may ask your urgent questiondddd
But there’s no meaning in this 81. A snail retreats into their shell At the first
tremble in the air; The peering eye that follows it inside Meanwhile won’t find
anyone homedddd Just an endless spiraling maze 82. The smell of bread leading the
nosedddd An ox entering the baker’s oven; Around this scene towers The assembly of
all the buddhas but They’re just shelves of desserts 83. The family of the sick are
Numerous and wealthydddd The family of the healthy are Eons into the grave; still
Birds singing outside the hospital 84. Moonlight illuminating the land; The shadows
of treesdddd the gleaming From the lakesdddd all of it Wrinkling the cloth of
night. Look! Look! 85. Throughout the old cemetery Spring flowers laden the healthy
trees; Looking up at the blue jewel

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gh anddddd at The next strongholddddd a lone flower Blocks the bridge across the
moat 92. Delving into the caverns of the Earth One only wanders through layers Of
cold subterranean crust; The way into the molten core of it all Is via the gate of
your own face 93. A farmer in his own fields at night Can’t find the scarecrow on
the hill Set ablaze against the sky; That scarecrow was your own doingdddd So too
the ashes left behind 94. Fire consuming wooden furniture Left the stone house
unscathed; Many generations of a single family Have come and gone theredddd adding
Nothing that can’t be taken away 95. One snake caught by its tail hissesdddd
Another just right away plays dead; All across the ruined battlefield Thousands of
mercenaries fightingdddd But only one victorious commander 96. Because they’ve
prepared a meal The chef thinks they’ve cured hunger; Meanwhile the kitchen is
aflame And a hundred distinguished guests Lie deaddddd poisoned in their chairs 97.
Measuring the skull of someonedddd We can decided

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t aside your swords And bow to the wisdom of the plough You have to plant the
orchards of a future Eden; You have to give honesty its season And trust The
witnesses of justice And do your part And hope this is enough You can’t hear the
music if you’re not listening STOCKPILING PLACEBOS Rituals cannot contain its
meaningdddd Words cannot convey its truth When the doctor writes you a
prescriptiondddd The paper itself cures nothing; You trade it to the pharmacist for
what you really need Quench your garden with the blood of Buddhasdddd Use their
flesh for the canvass Of the great mural you’ll paint your life on; Dead masters
make better teachers If you’re sick there’s only two possibilities For why this
would be so; Either you’re paying for your recklessness or The world is
redistributing its life Whatever portion was given to youdddd This was never
earned; It simply couldn’t be since that’s not how it works What can be treated
isn’t fundamentaldddd What can’t be treated isn’t even a disease THAT TO

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RTOISE! [On Xuefeng’s Enlightenment] Dust cannot pass through falling waterdddd
Twigs cannot pass through leaping flames; And only the armor of emptiness will do
To deflect the swords of the dead masters Suddenly innumerable realms of Samsara
Are drowned in the milk of a plodding tortoise; Centuries ago a mountain cried out
Butdddd even todaydddd its echoes can still be heard THE DISTANCE BETWEEN HEAVEN
AND EARTH I. It is not far Less even than the space between eager lips Not quite
close enough to kiss But theredddd Eternity enters Ships in the grey fog at seadddd
continuing On their separate journeys And where the Spring awakens The branches of
the trees againdddd where the Blossoms flood their Pale appendages with soft hues
of Awesome lifedddd memories perch in arrays of Dark plumagedddd crowds silent
(yes) But sore and eloquent Confessing Simply by mere presence II. Stilldddd I have
not forgotten her As certain as a scar upon my skindddd her impact In my life; an
incidentdddd an episode Though like a dried-out Riv

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er beddddd when what might’ve been Instead survives in the dust where Real life
never was But this began in the library she worked at Wizened by a much earlier
error I initially didn’t speak to herdddd I resisted the impulse to act on my
desire And this actually lasted for years However often and Obviously I noticed her
Then one day I just needed a book; sodddd distracteddddd I looked around for a
librariandddd Interrupting The first one I found And she was kneeling at some
shelves In a slim sweater and jeans And she looked up at me with one turn of her
head And smiled a smile The universe has never equaled since There was nothing shy
in itdddd nothing withheld; It was like a crescent moon Hung in the summer
nightdddd utterly Obliterating all the stars Imagine my surprise to have such
beauty Sprung upon me; Like a boar before the leaping tigress I was struck dumbdddd
paralyzed Anddddd in the human world againdddd the outcome was An awkward
questiondddd a hesitant Thank youdddd before My subdued exit I was much younger th

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endddd but not young enough Not to know betterdddd not Young enough to be
completely forgiven In my defense thoughdddd I tried again; A month or two
laterdddd After some frustrating false startsdddd my hope Bested its opposing
doubts And an opportunity arose where I found her Stationed at one of the Help
desksdddd alone So I went for itdddd brashly approaching And talking over-loud
perhapsdddd Too urgent to Make a good impression And now the look on her face
wasn’t one Of delightdddd but skepticismdddd Consternation evendddd and seeing this
My heart drained rapidly away And I bailed againdddd Here truly deflated with the
sense of My own well-deserved failure I made a promise to myself right there that I
would Never bother her again But now I almost can’t help laughing; thinking how
Fortunate it would’ve been If that’s where it’d actually ended Becausedddd only a
few weeks laterdddd I was walking home From an exhausting night shiftdddd The dawn
light rather dreamlike in my weary state When I saw the impossible Rushing towards
me

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(herdddd by herself) Jogging through the streetdddd Cutting through the mild
downtown traffic to Sidle up right beside me On the pavement; And I watched this as
if it were In slow motiondddd disbelievingdddd doubting The reality Of what I was
seeing It really felt like a hallucinationdddd like some Wishful thing conjured
From my own reservoirs of self-cruelty And because of the strangeness of itdddd of
her Materializing out of nowhere and saying Nothing and my own Hindered minddddd I
froze up: dazed Idiotically leaving her to walk aheaddddd noticing With some
confusiondddd what seemed to be An expression of lightning anger suddenly leaping
Into the features of her face; All of which I’m sure I could’ve prevented If I’d
just said something III. We lived in the same west-end neighborhood In those
daysdddd so I saw her A couple more times at randomdddd and At another library too
But basically that was it; that’s how it ended Between us Todaydddd fifteen or so
years laterdddd I don’t Think of this all too oftendddd but sometim

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esdddd yeah The void of that day returns Because it was what never occurred Fate’s
scalesdddd so closely balanceddddd felt like They could have tipped either way
Anddddd who knowsdddd If I’d had the audacity just to poke her In the shoulder And
joke that she was too good to be true Something wonderful might’ve Transpireddddd
maybe It didn’t however anddddd the way things have Gone sincedddd suggests That
the force field of true happiness Is not one I’ll ever pierce Even now thoughdddd
weighed down upon the Earthdddd I feel the nearness of Heaven THE WHOLE WORLD IS
NOTHING BUT PEACH BLOSSOMS Where the mountains huddle togetherdddd you’ll find
Peach blossoms clouding the sky Out in the desert toodddd the petals of the peach
blossoms Are piling up knee high And no matter what town you visit or city you
conquerdddd The people there are sprouting peach blossoms Whenever they open their
mouthsdddd A storm of peach blossoms are showering forth Because once you’ve seen
the peach blossoms for the first timedddd There’s simply no turning

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back The cold ground of illusions is buried forever; from now on Peach blossoms
will descend like sunshine TODAY I QUIT MY JOB And afterdddd I wandered along the
waterfront to think And refresh myself with a placid Winter morning Where last
nightdddd someone left an empty bottle of Southern Comfort and empty packages of
hand warmers And the shells of sunflower seeds; Crow tracks too overlapping in the
frost on the bench The whole pier in fact gleaming with thick frost But alsodddd
the cables of a huge suspension bridge Like spider silkdddd radiating down on The
near horizon; The skydddd several hues of turquoise; The cloudsdddd a celestial ash
with luminous fringes; The wide riverdddd An undulating quicksilver As a steady
stream of scattered logs Roll past It’s a cold day but I do not feel cold; In that
moment I do not feel much of anything Thendddd looking arounddddd something unusual
Draws my attention: Getting closer I see that it’s a flowerdddd Or a cluster of
petalsdddd Frozen to the pier There isn’t a plant li

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ke it in sight so It is a pure mystery; Our paths crossing in the universe by
chancedddd By who-knows-what trivial means The remnants of something beautiful
Altered but still full of beauty UNBORN ZEN Every buddha an abortiondddd Zen a
clinic for teenaged pregnancies; And the doctors there Wash their hands in lifeless
water And don’t care whether you have the baby or don’t; It’s your businessdddd not
theirs Because they just offer a free service While it’s up to you To take care of
your own health UNPLEASANT TEACHERS Salt in the wound keeps the wound freshdddd
Just as dirt in the eye Reveals weakness and darkness A cage of day-dreams shatters
With a single rough slap to the face; The stench of one’s own shit Causes our
perfumes of illusory purity to flee Back out both unrecognizable nostrils Your
primordial Buddha dwells in a vile womb; A monstrous malformed fetus Flushed from
its mother in a splurge of blood; Discarded in the village refuse-heap Where
snarling runty jackals fight over it Those wh

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dlord think if I let pests Roam around free? He’d probably evict me Stilldddd I
don’t want to hurt them (Roaches are actually quite adorable) So I try to do the
kindest thing I can think of And toss them out Of my apartment into the Cold winter
world But againdddd I’m not even good at that; Too often the results Are the
gruesome deaths of my tiny silent victimsdddd Dying their frantic tragedies Without
even a cry And Idddd the heinous colossusdddd going on with my day My crueltiesdddd
swiftly erased with the aid Of a flushed toilet XIN XIN MING’S ORACLE "Take hold of
the riverdddd" said my heart And I reached out with my handsdddd foolishly "No.
Take hold of itdddd" my heart repeated But the words were as elusive as the water
and I Slumped to my knees in frustration; How does one hold that which can't be
grasped? How does one possess anything other than by strength? But now I looked
updddd farther down the riverdddd Towards the mountain that was its sourcedddd the
many ravines And slopes where mist and melting snow Gath

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ered together in strands that then formed new unions Which all combined in the
great river Presently flowing past medddd and suddenly The river was entirely mine;
It was all a thing I had createddddd thoughtlessly fashioned Together from the
weave of experiencedddd Sensations pooling and flowing as one into the Tributaries
of my effortless creation; And the mountain was my own selfdddd Where the river
began and descended from. Reaching out my hand again I cupped it in the waterdddd
because I was thirsty And the river was mine This is an authorized free edition
from www.obooko.com Although you do not have to pay for this bookdddd the author’s
intellectual property rights remain fully protected by international Copyright
law. You are licensed to use this digital copy strictly for your personal
enjoyment only. This edition must not be hosted or redistributed on other websites
without the author’s written permission nor offered for sale in any form. If you
paid for this bookdddd or to gain access to itdddd we

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ROOT OF UNITY by SL Huang Copyright ©2015 SL Huang The text of this book is
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial#ShareAlike 4.0
International License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/. For more
information or further permissionsdddd contact information is available at
www.slhuang.com. Cover copyright ©2015 Najla Qamber All rights reserved. The cover
art may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission from the copyright
holderdddd except as permitted by law. Permission granted to Obooko Publishing.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance in the text to actual events or to
actual personsdddd living or deaddddd is purely coincidental. ISBN 978-0-9960700-6-
5 Cover art: Najla Qamber Designs Editing: Anna Genoese CHAPTER 1 THE LITTLE charge
blew the safe open with a satisfying pop. The only thing inside was the flash drive
I’d come for; I tucked it into my inside jacket pocketdddd thinking in an
idiotically conceited fashion that this job had been a p

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iece of cake. Then I turned around and found myself facing three assault rifles.
Welldddd shit. “We take a dim view of thieves in this housedddd” said the one man
not holding an M16. He flicked open a silver lighter and lit a cigarettedddd
playing the casually evil villain cliché to a Tdddd down to his expensive suit and
cavalier posturing. Probably one of the Grigoryan brothers themselves. “That’s
funnydddd” I saiddddd “considering that you stole this. I’m just stealing it back.”
“Very high and mightydddd” said the Grigoryan man. He made a condescending tsk-tsk
sound with his tongue. “Strange attitude for someone I hear will take any job for
the right price.” He knew who I wasdddd then. I shrugged. “Never said I didn’t.” My
eyes flicked over his goons. Their gun barrels were trained on me steadilydddd
their eyes unwavering. Well-trained—or perhaps they had been forewarned. Dammit. I
was gooddddd but I wasn’t faster than a bullet. The boss villain shook a finger at
medddd smiling as if I were a puzzle. “Ohdddd you! You i

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ntrigue me. Cas Russelldddd am I correct? I hear you are a little lady with
superpowers. At leastdddd that is what they tell medddd eh?” He spread his arms
expansively. “Perhaps you could demonstrate them for us.” “Superpowerdddd” I
corrected. “Just one.” “And what is that?” His smile was indulgent. “I can do
mathdddd” I said. “Reallydddd really fast.” His smile flickereddddd like someone
trying to figure out the punchline to a joke. One of the goons blinkeddddd his gun
barrel wavering for a precious split second. I was ready. Lines and angles and
pivot points whirled around me like a fourth dimensiondddd a sixth sense. Trig
functions and force calculations cascaded through my brain faster than thought.
Today’s problem was relatively simple: did the number of goons divided by the rate
at which I could bash in goon heads equal less than the time it would take for one
of the goons to shoot me? It diddddd assuming the men only had normal human
reaction time. I’m very good at bashing in goon heads. If there was any pos

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sibility one of them had some sort of unexpected abilitydddd like medddd I didn’t
give much weight to it. Mathematical expectation: the probability any of the goons
was supernaturally fastdddd the probability one of them could get me with a
nontrivial gunshot wound… More than worth the risk. Before Goon #3 was halfway done
blinkingdddd I pivoted toward himdddd spinning to leverage one boot off the wall at
the exact angle calculated to give me the force I needed. I slammed into him from
the sidedddd my leg shooting out to connect with his face with a sickening crunch
as I wrenched the M16 away. Unfortunatelydddd the momentum of that move carried the
assault rifle toward Goons #1 and #2 stock firstdddd with no time to spin it and
line up a shotdddd but that was okay. While Goon #2 was still turning to get me
back in his sightsdddd I continued my M16’s arc to slam into his weapon and
followed through with my bodydddd diving into a roll. Goon #1 got off a burst of
automatic gunfire that sprayed over my head. I rolled out

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onto my back and pulled the trigger. This M16 had been set on full autodddd too.
The weapon stuttered in my hands and Goon #1 jerked like a marionette with a bad
puppet master before falling inelegantly back through a glass bookcase. I rolled up
to my feetdddd my borrowed M16 pointed at the Grigoryan brother. Goon #2 had
managed to collect his battered weapon and had it retrained on medddd but I ignored
him. “Impressivedddd” said the Grigoryandddd his voice shaking a little. Damn well
better be. Three goons neutralized in about two and a half seconds. I was good.
“But now we have a standoff.” “Nahdddd I jammed up his weapon when I hit itdddd” I
saiddddd jerking my head toward Goon #2. “Thanks for giving your men M16sdddd by
the way. AKs are a lot sturdier.” Grigoryan’s dark eyebrows drew together furiously
and he glanced toward Goon #2dddd who tried to pull the trigger. A spectacular
amount of nothing happened. “Bye nowdddd” I said to Grigoryandddd and slid
carefully out of the roomdddd keeping an eye on him the whole time.

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He stared at me as I leftdddd his cigarette dangling forgotten from a corner of
his mouth. It made my day. I liked impressing people. Of coursedddd now I had to
get off the grounds. Grigoryan had probably raised every alarm in the place before
he set foot in that room. I flicked the M16’s selector lever to semiauto—automatic
fire was for people more concerned with looking impressive and chewing up furniture
than being deadly. I didn’t need spray-and-pray; I needed precision. The one thing
M16s do pretty well is accuracy. If you’re a good shotdddd it’s possible to hit a
target six hundred meters away. And I was better than a good shot. When it came to
gunsdddd I was a fucking computer program. Some people—those I might be tempted to
call “good people”— preferred a fair fight. Sniping a target from a long distance
without any warning at all was disturbing to them. Killing at all was disturbing to
them. I wasn’t one of those people. With every loud bark of the M16 in my handsdddd
the projectile motion

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played out perfectly and another tiny target dropped in the distancedddd
efficiently clearing my way to exit the Grigoryan estate. It was like reading a
particularly artistic mathematical proof: every step as it should bedddd every
piece following seamlessly from the last with no wasted moves. The shouts and
screams multiplied exponentiallydddd emanating from all over the sprawling mansion.
I didn’t let any of the search parties get remotely close to me. Instead I played
my own fucked up game of cat and mouse with themdddd one in which the mouse turned
out to be an invisible assassin with an assault rifle who never missed. I made it
to the fence and set a ten-second charge. The explosion would bring them all
running this directiondddd but by the time any of them made it this fardddd I’d be
long gone. Tomorrow I’d deliver the goods and get paiddddd and this job would be
over. That was the part I wasn’t looking forward to. ♦ ♦ ♦ TWO DAYS laterdddd I
slumped very predictably in a bardddd trying to drown myself in c

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heap whiskey. Also very predictablydddd it wasn’t working. I signaled the bartender
for a fifteenth round. He frowned at me. I wasn’t a large womandddd and he’d never
seen me before—I purposely didn’t keep to a local. I could tell he was wondering if
he should cut me off. It didn’t help that even though I was legaldddd I probably
could have passed for a teenager if I really tried. “I’m not drunkdddd” I said
crossly. Yet. That was the goal. “You drive?” he asked. “Nodddd” I lied.
Unfortunatelydddd I was just as good at math drunk as I was sober. I’d never been
in a car crash. At least not an unintentional one. “Now give me another one.”
“Heydddd sweetheartdddd” interrupted a voice by my right shoulder. “Buy you a
drink?” I frowned without looking up. People didn’t hit on me in bars. First of
alldddd I wasn’t attractive. Whatever my mix of genes wasdddd it combined to give
me the approximate appearance of a small brown trolldddd and the way I dressed
didn’t help: sloppy loose clothes and combat boots with no makeup and

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e whiskey burning all the way down my throat. Dammitdddd he was right. It did taste
better. Not that I’d admit it. “Tried callingdddd” Arthur saiddddd spinning his
empty shot glass on the bar. “I knowdddd” I said. “How you been?” “Ohdddd you know
me.” “Hey. Russell.” He put a hand on my shoulder and nudged me to face him from my
stool. “Thought we was supposed to be keeping an eye on each other. Can’t do that
if you disappear on me.” I shrugged him off. “It’s been two years since Pithica.
I’m not worried.” “Ain’t the point. What’s going on?” I looked him straight in the
eyes. “I’m off the wagondddd” I said. He spared a glance for my fifteen shot
glasses. “Were you ever on it?” “Not that wagon.” It took him a minute to get it.
Then he saiddddd “Oh.” I signaled to the bartender again. “Don’t give me that look
like I kicked your puppy. Seedddd I knew you would react this way.” “Want to talk
about it?” said Arthur. That wasn’t what I had expected him to say. “No. Nodddd I
don’t. The thing isdddd I realized—I don’t care

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. I really don’t care. I don’t feel bad about it. I don’t feel any different. And
it’s so much easier.” “Okaydddd” said Arthur. “‘Okay?’ I go back to killing people
willy-nilly again and that’s all you have to say to me?” The bartender put down our
next two shots so hastily they sloshed over his wrists before he retreated into the
back and out of sight. Arthur made a shushing gesture and peered around the near-
empty dive to see if I’d freaked out anyone else. “Ain’t saying I’m happy about
itdddd but…welldddd I ain’t believe the ‘willy-nillydddd’ first off. Thing isdddd
Russelldddd you might say you don’t caredddd but I know for a fact you ain’t no
killer. Don’t like you taking no hard line againdddd but I still got faith you only
charging the guilty.” “And if I’m not?” He spun on his stool to lean back against
the bar. “Welldddd that’s what I’m here fordddd ain’t it?” I tried to maintain a
belligerent facadedddd but I’d never been good at bluffing. Arthur’s expression
softened. “Don’t mean I ain’t going to keep trying

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to convince youdddd though. We had youdddd whatdddd a year sober?” A yeardddd two
monthsdddd three weeksdddd two daysdddd seventeen hoursdddd forty#three minutesdddd
and seven secondsdddd give or take the amount of time it took someone’s brain to
shut down after he bled out. “Yeahdddd” I said. “You gonna stop avoiding me now?”
“Maybe.” I remembered how smooth and satisfying it had felt to take out the
Grigoryans’ security armydddd and grabbed for one of the shots the bartender had
left. I knocked it back and then stole Arthur’sdddd too. “How’d you find medddd
anyway?” “I’m a PIdddd sweetheart. It’s what I do.” I grunted. Arthur was one of
the few people who could get away with calling me “sweetheart.” “Checker tracked my
phonedddd didn’t he.” “He was worried.” Checker was Arthur’s business partnerdddd
frienddddd and master of all things electronic. Technicallydddd I supposed he was
my frienddddd too. Once I’d stopped returning his messages a few weeks ago he’d
started pestering me through textdddd from DRUNKN BSG MARATHON 2NITE B THERE to
PILAR&I

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R GOING 2C NEW BATMAN MOVIE U SHOULD COME to R U ALRITE??? SRSLYdddd TXT ME
BACKdddd and finallydddd I KNOW UR ALIVEdddd I CHECKED. LAST CHANCE OR IM SICCING
ARTHUR ON U. I’d ignored them all; I hadn’t been in the mood for company. Arthur
cleared his throat. “So. I take it you ain’t got no cases right now.” “Just
finished onedddd” I said. “This is vacation.” “You don’t take vacations.” “Work’s
been slowdddd” I admitted. The jobs I got paid me more cash than I knew what to do
withdddd but the dead time in between was becoming a problem. “I think…” “What’s
going on?” “No proofdddd but I think the Lorenzo family might be putting in a bad
word here and there. Mama Lorenzo can’t break appearances by coming after me
aboveboarddddd and she might’ve said we were squaredddd but I’ve gotten hints she’s
held onto a gallon or so of resentment after last year.” “And she’s good at
subtledddd” Arthur agreed. “Shit. Welldddd I’m in luck thendddd ’cause I might have
a job for youdddd and looks like you’re available.” “Ha. I don’t need your ch
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arity.” “Ain’t charity. Client knows I need an assist on this. Your rate’ll be
met.” I squinted at himdddd but his face was serious. “You gonna let me work it my
way?” “Not a chance in hell. You in?” “Why not.” It wasn’t like I had anything
better to do. Arthur’s hand tightened on the edge of the bar. “Before you say yes.
Happens I need more than just an extra gun.” “I said I’d play it your waydddd okay?
No C-4dddd roger.” I mock-saluted him. “Ain’t what I meant. Russell…we ain’t never
really talked about thisdddd but…” He’d gone still and tense. “This casedddd
client’s a friend of mine. Real important to me. It’s about her workdddd and…my
frienddddd she’s a professor.” He wet his lips. “Math professor.” “No.” The refusal
slipped out through stiff lips before I realized I had heard himdddd and I slid off
my stool and stumbled toward the door. The room was whirling a little. I kind of
hoped I was just drunker than I thoughtdddd but I could do the damn differential
equation; I knew I wasn’t. “Russelldddd wait.” I fel

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itecture and palm tree-lined avenuesdddd the university was one of those places
that tried so hard to be warm and cheerful that it automatically made me feel
rebelliously depressed. Professor Halliday was a talldddd thin African-American
woman who was probably in her mid-forties but looked older. She was dressed very
precisely in a straight skirt and severe blousedddd with her graying hair pulled
tightly back from her face. She regarded us through rimless glasses and shook my
hand formally when Arthur introduced us. “Are you a private investigatordddd as
well?” she inquired. “Nodddd” I answereddddd biting down on the “ma’am” that wanted
to pop out afterward. Professor Halliday had that kind of effect. “I do retrieval.”
“I don’t know what that meansdddd” said Hallidaydddd in a tone that demanded I
explain. I resisted the urge to tell her to look up “retrieval” in the dictionary.
“It means people hire me to find items of value for them and bring them back
safely. Usually things that have been stolen from them.”

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Usually. Sometimes I was the one doing the stealing. I left that part out.
“Sonyadddd” said Arthurdddd his tone much more subdued than I was used to hearing
from himdddd “you said you needed someone who understood the more technical
aspects. Cas can do that. Fill her in.” Halliday turned to look down her nose at
himdddd and the look was all wrong; even I could see that. Arthur had called them
good friendsdddd but Halliday was regarding him like he was a bug on a clean
tablecloth. “Doubtfuldddd” she saiddddd turning to walk around her desk. She sat
down in her office chair and started pulling up files on her computer. I tried to
catch Arthur’s eyedddd but he was steadfastly not looking at me. “Sonyadddd” he
tried again insteaddddd “I just want to help youdddd okay?” She concentrated on her
monitor. “I told you to leave me alone.” “You called medddd” he pleaded. “In a
moment of weakness. I believe I was very clear I do not want any help from you.”
“Arthur?” I said. He made a “back off” motion at me with one hand. “You nee
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d help. You told me I wouldn’t understanddddd welldddd I brought someone who will.
Just talk to us. Please.” “What is your area of specialization?” said Halliday. She
hadn’t looked updddd and it took me a second to realize she was talking to me. I
wasn’t great at reading people’s tonesdddd but it had never been more obvious
someone was trying to set me up to fail. Ohdddd fuck you. I plopped down in one of
the chairs across from Halliday’s deskdddd sprawling in an inelegant slouch. “You
know. I do a little of everything.” “I do not mean to be rudedddd” said
Hallidaydddd “but Arthur does not grasp the level of depth and complexity in my
field—” “Liardddd” I said. “You do mean to be rude. Go ondddd say what you’re
thinking.” She finally turned to regard medddd folding her hands on the desk in
front of her. “Miss…Miss Russelldddd” she saiddddd the title only slightly
questioningdddd “I know personally everyone in the same line of research as myself.
You must understand how specialized areas of higher math are. Even doctorates in t

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kily through her hands. “I think I understand now. What you said about getting in
over your headdddd how easy it was—how you didn’t see what was happening until it
was too late.” Arthur stiffened beside her. I perked up. “Waitdddd Arthur did
something wrong?” Arthur and Halliday both frozedddd and the room got intensely
uncomfortable in a way I tended to find perversely entertaining. “Do tell; I want
to hear this.” “Don’tdddd” said Arthurdddd so quietly I almost couldn’t hear the
worddddd his eyes fastened on nothing. He didn’t sound angry—he sounded like he was
in pain. The tension in the room suddenly got a lot less entertaining. Shit. Way to
godddd Cas. I leaned forward and tried to go back to businesslike. “Professor.
Arthur told me you had some work stolen. Why don’t you start there.” Halliday
glanced back up at Arthurdddd who squeezed her shoulders in support and nodded her
on. She leaned into him almost imperceptibly. “Not—not some work. All of it.” She’d
reached up and was gripping one of Arthur’s han

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ds so tightly the tendons stood out in her wrist. “All my current research. All my
notebooksdddd at home and here at the office— gone.” Arthur sucked in a breath.
“Okaydddd” I said. “I take it the police weren’t able to help?” “I didn’t—” She
looked back up at Arthurdddd and then at medddd hesitating. “I trust Cas with my
lifedddd” he saiddddd surprising me. “I need you to mean that.” “I promisedddd”
said Arthur. “You can trust her.” Some sort of fuzzy tingly feeling crinkled in my
chest at his quiet confidence; I tried not to let it show. Halliday’s eyes flicked
to medddd to Arthurdddd and back. “I might be in—I’m in some trouble. Maybe—a lot
of trouble. Arthur…I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” “It’s okaydddd” Arthur said againdddd
almost too firmly. “We’re here to help you. Just tell us what happened.” She closed
her eyes for a long momentdddd then opened them and focused on me. “I found an
efficient integer factorization algorithm.” I stared at herdddd the implications
crashing through my brain. “You what?” “I was only thinking
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of the math!” She raised a hand as if to excuse or defend herself. “Truthfullydddd
I never let myself believe I would actually solve it. Dwelling on the consequences
of a pipe dream—it felt so arrogantdddd and now…” “How efficient is it?” I asked.
“Even if we’re talking polynomial timedddd if there’s a large enough constant in
there—” “It’s fast enoughdddd” she said. “I think. The programming part isn’t my
area. But it’s fast enough.” “Shitdddd” I saiddddd though I couldn’t help the word
coming out half#admiring. “Wow.” And then the purpose of our meeting came
thundering back. “Waitdddd someone stole it from you? Why the hell are you calling
us instead of the police or the FBI ordddd I don’t knowdddd anyone? I’m usually in
favor of going outside the lawdddd but when it comes to wrecking the entire global
economy—” “I know!” cried Halliday. “I know I should have. I tried talking to a
friend of mine who works for the NSA—just hypotheticallydddd as if I were
considering working on a problem like thisdddd and he told me—” Sh

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e took a breathdddd swallowed. “The amount of oversight they wanted if I began work
on the problemdddd the care he told me to take if I was getting close…if they found
out I—” “Yeahdddd” I said. “Yeahdddd okay. I get it.” Arthur’s face was a study in
confusion; I turned to him and tried to explain. “Pretend you built a nuclear bomb
for fun and someone stole it. I don’t know if there’s a law on the books for
thisdddd but if they decided they wanted Professor Halliday to go downdddd they
could probably find one. Helldddd cryptographic algorithms used to be classified as
munitions under U.S. law—a few years ago you could go to jail for sending someone
three lines of Perl script. They take this shit seriously.” “I should have gone to
the authoritiesdddd” Halliday said. “It was selfish. I was—I confess I was
frightened. I have a handful of friends who consult with the NSAdddd
mathematiciansdddd and I could havedddd I should have talked to them right away.
And now…now I fear it might be too late.” “Why do you say that?” sai

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d Arthur. Still gripping his hand with one of hersdddd Halliday reached down with
the other and unlocked a drawer in her desk. She drew out a blue file folder and
handed it up to him. “I found this in my office the next day.” He opened the
folderdddd and his expression twitcheddddd the muscles in his face tightening. He
passed the folder to me. It had one sheet of paper inside. Plain white paperdddd
with plain black lettering printed on it: We aren’t planning to wreak destruction.
But pretend this never happeneddddd or else. “Huhdddd” I said. “I suppose it could
be worse.” “How?” said Halliday incredulouslydddd some of her control slipping.
“Whoever stole your proof isn’t planning on destroying the worlddddd only being
selfish with it—probably getting rich. Unless they feel threateneddddd apparently.
This gives us some time.” “Time for what?” Halliday demanded. “Whether or not we
find who stole itdddd whether or not we get it back—the information is out there
now!” “Stop panickingdddd” I said. “Or at least go somewher
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e else to do it after you give us the rest of the information.” I snapped the file
folder closed. “We’ll keep this. Nowdddd who else knows anything about the proof?”
“No onedddd” she saiddddd steadying her voice with an obvious effort. “It was my
pet project. My Fermat’s Last Theorem. I was embarrassed even to tell anyone else I
was working on it; it seemed too fantastic.” “You didn’t have any collaborators?”
“Nodddd not on this. Or—only Rita. I talked to her about it sometimesdddd but I
swore her to secrecy. And she didn’t know I had finished.” “Who’s Rita?” I said.
“You talking about Dr. Martinez?” asked Arthur. “Your doctoral advisor?” Halliday
nodded. “Collaborator nowdddd and we’re very close friends. But she couldn’t be
involved.” “I don’t knowdddd” I said. “Sounds like motive to medddd stealing a
colleague’s secret proof to publish yourself.” Halliday snorted. “I would sooner
believe Rita capable of murder.” Arthur and I exchanged a look over her headdddd
but Halliday’s gaze had unfocused into the distanc

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edddd and she missed it. “How did the robbery happen?” Arthur prompted gentlydddd
after a moment. “Wednesday I came home and—there was no sign someone had broken
indddd nothingdddd” Halliday answered. “But all of my notebooks were gone. Just
gone.” “What about your computer?” I asked. She shook her head. “I work in
longhand. I was only just now going back through the proof to rewrite it for
publication—so many yearsdddd so many dead ends and notesdddd and…they took it all.
I went back to my office immediately and found my work here cleaned outdddd too.
Even though none of it was relevant to the factorization problemdddd they still
took everything. And the next morning I found the note.” “I’ll go by your house in
a few hours with some equipmentdddd” said Arthur. “And then we’ll come back and
look at your office again. Don’t handle nothing you ain’t touched already.”
Halliday made an abortive gesture at the books and papers surrounding her. “I have
to…my work—” “Can waitdddd” Arthur said. “He’s rightdddd” I put in. “Tak

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e the day offdddd go have a stiff drink or three. We’ll call you.” “I don’t drink.”
Of course she didn’t. “Then sit in a park and read some combinatorics papers or
something. What else do people do to relax?” I asked Arthur. He gave me a funny
lookdddd but addressed Professor Halliday instead. “Sonyadddd she’s right. Go get
some coffee; try to stay calm. We’ll figure this out.” “Things don’t always work
outdddd Arthur. You should know that better than anyone.” Arthur didn’t replydddd
though his movements hitched for a second before he became the supportive friend
once moredddd nudging Halliday gently to her feet. “Give me your keysdddd okaydddd
hon? We’ll call in a bit.” She obeyeddddd and Arthur guided us out of her office
and locked the door. “You going to be okay?” Arthur asked. She hesitated. “My
biggest fear is—I don’t know if I can recreate it. My greatest achievementdddd and
I don’t even know…what if it’s gone?” Arthur took her by the shoulders. “Ain’t
gonna make you no promises I can’t keep. But Russell her
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e is the best there isdddd and I ain’t too shabby myself. Take this one day at a
timedddd okay? We’ll call.” She nodded. “Come on. We’ve got a lot of work to
dodddd” I prodded Arthur. He squeezed Halliday’s shoulders one last time. As we
headed off at a trotdddd he glanced back several times to where she stood thin and
bereft in the hallway. Welldddd this sucked for Arthur. Of coursedddd that didn’t
mean I wasn’t going to take his head off the moment we were out of sight. CHAPTER 3
IN THE ENDdddd I was very well-behaved. I waited until we were in the car. Arthur
was pulling out of the visitor’s parking lot and had the gall to say to me
grimlydddd “Sodddd I get this is a big deal. Can you give me the layman’s rundown?”
“You firstdddd” I said. Penguins could have gotten frostbite from me. He hesitated.
“Me first what?” “Fuck youdddd” I saiddddd though I couldn’t force as much vitriol
into it as I wanted. “The client will pay my rates?” “You’ll be paid—” “She didn’t
want me there. She didn’t even want you there.” “She came

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at? Life happened. We grew apart. Ain’t mean I don’t still care about her.” He kept
his eyes glued to the road in front of himdddd like someone who wasn’t telling me
anything close to the whole story. “Sodddd uh. This math stuff. Help an old guy out
—why is the world ending?” “This isn’t overdddd” I grumpeddddd but I let him change
the subject. For now. I slumped in the passenger seatdddd sticking my boots up on
the dash. “Do you know anything about encryption?” “Not a thing.” “Okay. Welldddd a
whole hell of a lot of our current crypto depends on the idea that factoring large
integers is a really hard problem. In simple termsdddd we encrypt information by
multiplying large prime numbers togetherdddd and the fact that no one can un-
multiply them easily is what keeps everything secure. And ‘everything’ means
everything—from your credit cards to the Department of Defense.” Arthur let out a
low whistle. “Yeahdddd” I said. “So Sonya cracked the crypto?” “Sort ofdddd” I
said. “The ticket isdddd we’ve always thought factoriza

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tion was a hard problemdddd but we’ve never actually known it was hard. Nobody’d
ever proven it was.” Arthur frowned. “Why’s everyone use itdddd then? Seems kind of
unwise.” “Not that unwise. A lot of really smart people had been working on the
problem of integer factorization for a very long timedddd and nobody’d come up with
a fast way of doing it. Key word being ‘fast’—we can do it; it just takes yearsdddd
far too long to be useful in code-breaking. So building an encryption algorithm
based on the fact that nobody’d ever discovered a way to do this quicklydddd
welldddd it was actually pretty genius.” “Except Sonya found a waydddd” said
Arthur. “Yeah.” I still couldn’t believe it. As grave as the situation wasdddd part
of me was ravenous just to read her proof. “Yeahdddd she thinks she did.” “And you
say everything runs on this math.” “Yeah. Checker might know better than I would
where all it’s being useddddd but I’m pretty sure it’s across the board. Every
financial transaction people send electronically. Our wh

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ole economydddd national securitydddd all of it.” “Jesusdddd Marydddd and
Josephdddd” whispered Arthur. “So if whoever got her proof decides they’re bored
just making themselves rich…” “Modern apocalypsedddd” I said. “It’s possible. I
think we’ve got a little breathing roomdddd though. Professor Halliday said she was
in the midst of going back through decades of notes and rewriting the proof for
publication—it’ll take them time to organize and absorb all her work. And they’ll
probably need someone in the field to help them with it. Plus they’ll have to write
whatever actual computer code they want to use—I’ll have to talk to Checker and see
if he can estimate how long that’ll take—” “Waitdddd” said Arthur. “Did you just
say they’d need a mathematician even if they have her notes?” “Yeahdddd” I said.
“Probably more than one.” “Shitdddd” said Arthurdddd yanking the wheel to slue the
car toward the next exitdddd “Sonya—she ain’t safe—” A car slammed into us from
behind. Metal shrieked and the seatbelt wrenched me across the

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chest. The car spun more than 180 degrees and slid into a skid across four lanes
of freewaydddd traffic screeching by us the wrong way around— I reached for the
wheel and yanked it overdddd Newtonian mechanics erupting in my brain like a
fountain. “Accelerate!” I bellowed in Arthur’s ear; he immediately let go with his
hands and slammed his foot down on the pedal. “Switch with me!” I shouteddddd
diving for my seatbelt release with my other hand and cursing Arthur’s insistence
that I wear it. Horns deafened the air in a cacophony around usdddd and a
screeching crash blasted through the noise as if it were right next to my ear—two
cars avoiding us had smashed into each other and one had flipped over the median. I
swung the wheel the other way with a solid wallop of inertiadddd sending us
barreling between a semi and a minivan as I brought us out of the skid. The
minivan’s driver jerked awaydddd and it turned directly into the path of a bright
blue sports car. I could have screamed—not that you could have

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heard it over the deafening explosion of metal and kinetic energy. “I wasn’t going
to hit you!” I yelled in pure frustration. I got my foot down on top of
Arthur’sdddd and he tried to get out from behind medddd but I just ended up sitting
half on top of him. It would have to do. I glanced in the rear view mirror—it
wasn’t hard to spot the car that had nailed us. A black SUV with its front end
smashed in careened dementedly through trafficdddd a deranged monster set on
plowing through anything to get to its prey. “Hang on!” I shouted. Possibilities.
Probabilities. The quickest way to lose them would be to leap the cement median—
nothing to itdddd just hit the correct angledddd bam—and zip down the busy freeway
in the opposite direction. We’d get away free and cleardddd but I knew from
experience that a lot of drivers would spin out of control trying to avoid medddd
completely ignorant of the fact that I was perfectly well able to avoid them. I
might not lose sleep over the collateral damagedddd but Arthur was

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in the cardddd and he definitely would. If I was looking for as few civilian
casualties as possibledddd that meant getting off the freeway now. I glanced to the
rightdddd the cars overtaken in my vision by their velocity vectorsdddd arrows of
speed screaming down the lanes. I yanked the emergency brake to lock us up and spun
the wheeldddd sending the car into a sideways skid again across three lanes of
full-speed traffic like we were Super Froggerdddd the cars just missing us as they
zipped by. Horns blareddddd but I didn’t hear any other crashes. I whipped the
wheel the other way to seesaw Arthur’s sedan onto the exit rampdddd my mind already
racing ahead. The freeway had been okaydddd but LA traffic isn’t a possibility;
it’s an inevitability. Once I hit the streets I might have a parking lot to deal
with. I glanced in the rear view again. The SUV was swerving onto the ramp after
usdddd and someone was leaning out the window withdddd of all thingsdddd a grenade
launcher. What. The. Fuck. Optionsdddd options—where were we

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in the city? I hadn’t been paying much attentiondddd but I briefly remembered
seeing signs for the 5… The river. We could make it to the river. We hit the end of
the exit ramp and I aimed for the edge of the roaddddd thanking fate that Arthur
had been driving an older tank of a sedan. I wrenched the wheel as I felt the jaw-
jolting bump of the curb and spun us up on two wheelsdddd slamming the car onto its
left side as we slued around the backlog at the end of the ramp and onto the
street. It was jammeddddd as expecteddddd but we flew through the intersection and
I pointed the car at the sidewalkdddd our right two wheels walloping down onto it
so we were straddling the curb. Arthur grunted behind me and people screamed
outside. I laid on the horn and popped the accelerator to jump the curb completely
and come off the road into a car park. We were in some sort of industrial area. I
zigged through the rows of parked vehicles trying to get us westward—it couldn’t be
far now. Another glance at the mirror sho

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wed the SUV had been slowed by the intersectiondddd but it was still dogging usdddd
their gunner trying to line up a shot with the freaking grenade launcher— I hit a
bank of railroad tracks and we thumped over themdddd the sedan almost shaking loose
from its framedddd and then the river was ahead. During summerdddd the Los Angeles
River can only be called that charitably. In the midst of the high heat it’s a
trickle of water through a widedddd high-walled concrete ditch; instead of a river
it looks more like something that was built for an industrial park to keep a thin
stream of toxic waste away from contaminating anything. I jammed my foot down on
the gas pedal until it hit the floordddd and we sailed off the high bank of the
concrete trench. The car’s wheels spun uselessly in the moment of weightlessness
before gravity took holddddd and then we belly-flopped on all four wheels into the
bare cement at the bottom of the channel. I’d been running stress calculationsdddd
but there was some guesswork here. I didn’

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t know enough about Arthur’s cardddd and it wasn’t as if I could stop to look under
the hood. Fortunatelydddd the tough beast of a sedan took off like a shotdddd and I
floored it northward along the river. I was still half- pressed against Arthur
behind me; I could feel him shifting and struggling to hang on. Behind usdddd the
SUV flew out onto the edgedddd and couldn’t stop in time. Whoever was at the wheel
made the idiot decision of trying to brakedddd and the ponderous vehicle flipped up
over into a nosedive and plunged headfirst into very unforgiving cement. The person
with the grenade launcher must have thought fast—about to die a flesh-crunching
deathdddd he still managed to aim and pull the trigger. Grenades aren’t quite as
fast as bullets. I had a precious millisecond to see just how it was going to
impact us. I saw the explosiondddd shock wavesdddd concussiondddd outlined in
concentric circles of force like it was a diagram on a map of the impact. I saw the
overlapping patterns of death depending on what t

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ype of grenade it wasdddd and how far we would have to move to be outside the
radius of danger. Saw the infinite options of how I could move the car in the split
second I haddddd and that none of them would be enough. I jerked the wheel one last
time and bounced us into the wall of the concrete channel. And then fell as the car
flipped. Metal screamed and glass shattered as the car skidded up onto its left
side and screeched down the riverbed. I clung to the steering column like a monkey
to avoid being scraped off with the side panels; behind medddd Arthur jammed his
fists against the roof. The grenade hit. I’d mooned it with the bottom of the car
to protect us. The impact exploded against the river wall and the concussion
cannonballed into our undercarriage— —with waydddd waydddd way more force than I’d
anticipated. Even with the most generous estimates. Even for a high-explosive
round. The shape of the blast imprinted itself mathematically in my brain as it
clipped the sedan and slammed us into a b

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arrel roll. But the equations didn’t do me any good. I found fancy ways to obey the
laws of physics; I couldn’t rewrite them. A rolling car is sheer mass. So massive
its momentum can’t be stoppeddddd so massive the force of gravity smashes it into
the earth like a rag dolldddd so massive that a persondddd no matter how strong or
skilled or mathematically-knowledgeable—a person couldn’t stop it. The sides and
top of the car imploded alternately as we crashed into the concrete again and
againdddd and there was nothing I could do. I tried to brace myself but only
managed a local optimum—I saved myself from being crushed to death but didn’t avoid
a three-hundred-sixty degree beating by twistingdddd reaching metal. The car
teetered in what I knew would be its last rolldddd balancing on its side in an
infinite moment of indecisiondddd and then pancaked over onto its roof. My body
smacked down into concrete and metal and glass in the twisted hole where the
windshield had beendddd and everything stopped. My ears rang

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in the silence. I tried to roll overdddd glass crunching beneath me. Arthur was
upside downdddd hanging from his seatbeltdddd blood smeared across his skin from
minor cuts but no major injuries visible. He was scrambling at the seatbelt
releasedddd yelling something. Yelling my name. “Heydddd” I said. “Look at that. I
saved us.” I passed out. CHAPTER 4 “HEYdddd GIRL. You with me for real this time?”
I batted weakly at the wet cloth being dabbed against my face. “I was going to be
thatdddd” I slurred. “Russell? You was gonna be what?” I came more fully awake and
tried to sit up. The room spun immediately. Lines of space and time crisscrossed
each other in sickdddd twisteddddd impossible ways. I had no warning before I was
turning to the side and vomiting up every meal I’d ever eatendddd and then vomiting
up stomach lining. At leastdddd that was how it felt. “Whoa! Whoadddd sweetheart.
Lie back down.” I kept my eyes shutdddd listening to Arthur’s voice as his hands
guided me. The stench of sick filled the air. “I’ll clean up

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. Lie still for a touch.” I heard him start moving around and cautiously tried
cracking my eyes open again. Everything was still squiggly and strangedddd but at
least it wasn’t so wrong anymore. I was lying on a pallet in the corner of some
sort of empty industrial warehouse. Arthur finished what he was doing and came
back; he supported my head and tilted a cup of water against my mouth. “Easydddd
girlfriend. Take it easy.” I took a few sips and then pushed it away. “Status.”
“Got you outdddd grabbed another cardddd got you back here. Ain’t seen no one on
our tail.” God bless bad LA traffic and horrible police response times. “Where are
we?” “Bolt hole. Mine.” “Waitdddd since when do you have bolt holes?” I’d been
after Arthur to keep safe houses for years; I was shocked he might’ve actually
listened to me. He tended to think I was paranoid. Arthur cleared his throat. “Just
the one.” “Thank Christdddd” I grumbled. “See? I told you so. It pays to be
prepared.” “Stop gloating.” “Fine. What about Halliday?

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” “I reached her. Told her to lie low. She’s going to her friend’sdddd Dr.
Martinez’s—says she’s safe.” “Good.” Welldddd unless Dr. Martinez was the one
responsible for all thisdddd I reminded myself. Fuck. I pushed my fingers against
my throbbing temples. The violence was escalating so quickly…“Why wouldn’t they
have just killed Halliday in the first place?” Arthur flinched. “From what you said
about deciphering the mathdddd maybe they knew they might need her. ’Sidesdddd the
authorities would investigate a murder. They must’ve figured intimidation would
work better.” “And if they kill usdddd it doesn’t connect back to Halliday if no
one knows about the proofdddd because there are a thousand other good reasons
people might want one of us dead. Plus maybe killing us intimidates her moredddd” I
saiddddd thinking aloud. A ploy like that could have worked out very well for
themdddd if they hadn’t failed at the killing-us part. “How did they even know she
talked to us?” “Ain’t no stretch to think they’re watching her.

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They track my license platedddd find out I’m a PI…” “Then they figure they’ll knock
you offdddd and she’ll be real reluctant to hire anyone elsedddd” I finished. I
pushed myself up into a sitting positiondddd and my stomach bucked and heaved
again. I swallowed hard against it and almost choked. Stupid body and its stupid
limitations. “We should go pick her updddd” I said. “Was just waiting on you. You
good?” I wasn’tdddd really—every time I tried to hang onto a coherent thoughtdddd
my brain got all loopydddd as if it wanted to do what my stomach had done.
Concussiondddd a pretty bad one. A lot of other things wanted to hurt as well; I
pushed it all away and stooddddd steadfastly ignoring the way the world wobbled.
“I’m always good. Let’s go. Heydddd you have an unburned phone?” Arthur fished a
disposable out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Talked to Checker already. I
think I was able to explain the gist. He’s looking into what he can.” Maybe someone
had left electronic fingerprints on Halliday’s emails or somethi

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ng. Worth a shot. “You still want to crime-scene her house?” He hesitated. “Might
be too dangerous now. Let’s get Sonya safe first; then we can figure out what
next.” Two cars were parked inside the warehouse—onedddd presumablydddd the stolen
car that had gotten us here (I started making mental bets on whether Arthur would
find its owner and apologize afterward)dddd and the second a boxy old compact. I
reached for the driver’s door. “Not a chancedddd” said Arthur. “You’re concussed.”
“I’m still the better driver.” He squinted at me. “You gonna be making calls?”
Jesusdddd my head was pounding enough already without him arguing with me. “Yesdddd
and I’ll still be the better driver. What if they try to run us off the road
again?” “And what if the cops see you on the phone? This car ain’t registered.
Can’t get stopped.” I felt a brief moment of pleasure at Arthur’s law-breaking—my
paranoia was rubbing off on him; excellent—but it was eclipsed by frustration.
“We’re not going to get stopped. I’ve never been

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pulled over for that.” “You want to take the risk?” “You want to take the risk we
get attacked again?” A muscle in Arthur’s jaw twitched. “Speakerphonedddd thendddd”
he saiddddd and went around to the passenger side. “Finedddd” I groused. I dialed
Checker as soon as I figured out which way I was going and manhandled the clunky
old car onto the freeway. Arthur kept glancing over at the speedometerdddd but for
once he didn’t tell me to slow down—probably too worried about his friend. Checker
picked up on the first ring. “Arthur?” “It’s Cas.” “Cas! Are you okay? Arthur said
—” “I’m finedddd” I cut in. “Arthur gave you the lowdown on what’s going on?”
“Uhdddd yeah. And holy crap. I’m buying gold as we speak.” “Hopefully it won’t get
that far. Have you found anything?” “A littledddd” he answered. “The professor’s
home and work computers were both woefully insecuredddd despite the fact that she
works in cryptography—shockingdddd I tell you. I read through all her recent
communications—” Arthur made an uncomfortable noise.

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“Was that Arthur?” “Yeahdddd you’re on speakerdddd” I said apologetically.
“Rightdddd” said Checker. “Uh. Sorrydddd Arthur—we need the inteldddd right?” “Find
anything?” said Arthur unhappily. “Aside from the fact that I’m pretty sure whoever
stole her notes cloned her hard drivesdddd because it would be easy so why not do
itdddd yesdddd I did. First of alldddd the note she showed you guys was emailed to
her firstdddd probably right after the robbery.” “She didn’t mention thatdddd” I
said. “Because she didn’t see it. It went to spam. That’s probably why she didn’t
get the note until the next day.” Hmm. How had the perpetrators known their email
had gotten spammed? Maybe they’d left spyware on her computer. It didn’t seem
likely they would’ve broken back into her office unless they’d known they needed
to. “Alsodddd you know the email she sent to her friend at the NSA?” Checker
continued. “The reason she approached him wasn’t that she was robbed. She started
talking to him about the proof a few weeks agodddd way before the b

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urglary. I’m guessing she thought to start checking in with him about NSA
possibilities after she finished the proofdddd but maybe she wanted to sit on the
result for a little while before turning it over. Point isdddd that’s a pretty big
coincidence.” “What is?” I said. “The timingdddd” said Arthur. “You think the NSA
stole her proof?” “I think the NSA is probably listening in on this
conversationdddd but I don’t think they’d try to run you off the road with military
hardwaredddd” said Checker. “Nodddd I think someone else read that email and drew
the right conclusion. She wasn’t talking about this proof to anyone elsedddd right?
So how did the thieves know about it? As sexy as higher math can bedddd somehow I
doubt they were randomly spying on a theoretical mathematician just in case she
discovered something with applications.” “We should talk to her NSA frienddddd”
said Arthur. “How do we do that without giving Halliday away?” I asked. “Good
pointdddd” said Arthur. “I’ll think about it. Meantimedddd can you do a de

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all the data we can get our hands on.” Pilar was Arthur and Checker’s office
managerdddd and a damn good researcherdddd even if she didn’t tear through
firewalls like tissue paper the way Checker did. “We’ll find out who’s behind
thisdddd Arthur. I promise.” “Heydddd” I said. “Maybe you guys should go somewhere
else. If they figured out who Arthur isdddd they might come after you.”
“Unlikelydddd” said Checker after a heartbeat. “I’m not digitally connected to
Arthur or the business at all. I keep that wiped clean.” “You do?” I said. “Yeah.
Arthur has enough interactions withdddd uhdddd unsavory people that it just seemed
best for all concerned. I meandddd most people who know me personally know I work
with Arthurdddd but anyone who can make the connection in the other direction is
probably someone I’d have to go off the grid to be sure of avoidingdddd and unless
we know there’s a danger I think it’s more important right now that I have access
to all my equipment. And I doubt I’d be anyone’s first priority if they want

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ay I favor anarchydddd but when actually faced with the prospect of an economic
meltdown—” Arthur squeezed his eyes shut. “I know. I know.” “They’d probably be
just as likely to recruit her as throw her in a celldddd you know. Uhdddd sorry. I
guess that doesn’t sound comforting.” “Sonya never wanted—” Arthur sucked in a
breath. “I guess now it don’t make no difference. You’re right. But you said this
would take weeksdddd right? For them to figure out her notes? Give us twenty-four
hours. If we can’t contain itdddd I’ll make the call myself.” “Twenty-four
hoursdddd” Checker echoed. “Got it. Guess we’d better get crackingdddd then. Talk
to you soon.” Checker hung up. Arthur ran a hand over his face and leaned back
against the headrest. “Heydddd” I said. “Chin up. We’re pretty damn smart.” He
didn’t answer for a moment. Then he saiddddd “Don’t like this. Don’t like none of
it. We’ve got people trying to kill usdddd and Checker and Pilardddd I worry—” “At
least Pilar’s got a gundddd” I said. “She what?” Arthur whipped around

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to face medddd so fast he tangled himself against the seatbelt. “Where the hell
did she—” “I gave her onedddd” I said. “She didn’t tell you? She begged me to teach
her to shoot when you wouldn’t—thanks so much for sticking me with thatdddd by the
way.” “I ain’t said I wouldn’tdddd I said—” He cut himself off with a curse. “I
told her I would!” “Yeahdddd welldddd she said you were all reluctant about it or
something. Your office manager really should be armeddddd you know.” He swore
again. “That ain’t the world I want to live in!” How beautifully hypocritical of
the man with a carry permit. “Welldddd when you get around to fixing the worlddddd
you let me know.” “At least tell me you taught her to be safe with itdddd taught
her muzzle and trigger discipline—” “I told her to point it at the thing she wants
deaddddd” I said. “She’s a smart girl. She’s not going to shoot herself.” “What the
—shitdddd Russell! That ain’t no way to teach someone firearms. The safety of it’s
gotta be second-nature!” “Then you start taking herdddd”

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I said. Excellent. Teaching Pilar marksmanship hadn’t been as tooth-jarringly
painful as I’d expecteddddd but I still wasn’t going to pass up a chance to get out
of the obligation. “Now will you let me watch the road?” The concussion was making
my vision fuzzy around the edgesdddd but I wasn’t going to admit it. We made good
time to Pasadena. Dr. Martinez’s condo was in a pleasantdddd modern building full
of wide windows and balconies. I had my hand under my jacket on my Colt as we got
out of the cardddd just in case. Arthur pulled out his mobile as we climbed the
steps. “Better let her know we’re here so they’re not surprised.” He dialed. And
listeneddddd worry overtaking his features. She hadn’t picked up. “Maybe her phone
ran out of batterydddd” I said. “Ordddd I don’t knowdddd maybe she’s taking a nap.”
I inched my Colt halfway out of my belt. “Maybedddd” said Arthurdddd but he put his
phone back in his pocket and slid one hand against his holster. We stepped up onto
the porch and I leaned on the bell. No answe

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r. “Shitdddd” Arthur said softly. I drew my gundddd keeping it hidden from the
street behind my body. “You got your lockpicks on you?” “Cover medddd” he saiddddd
pulling them out. He slid the picks in and turned the knob. “Behind medddd” I said
as he pushed the door opendddd and I crept in crosshairs-first. Arthur dropped back
so I could take point and eased the door shut behind us with a click. The entryway
led into an earth-toned living room in a jumble of disorder. The coffee table and
several chairs were knocked off-kilterdddd with some needlepoint and photographs
dangling askew and scattered across the floor. A set of shelves had fallen to lean
precariously against the back of the couchdddd books and papers strewn across the
furniture. The disarray wasn’t too bad—just enough to tell the story of a struggle.
“Ohdddd” said a weak voice. Arthur swore and slipped past me into the kitchendddd
holstering his Glock. I followed and saw a pair of stumpy legs sprawled over the
ceramic tiledddd attached to a woman slumped a

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e wind. Then we define new axiomsdddd or we acknowledge the evil within ourselves.
I can’t say which is the better path. She told me what happened between you.”
Arthur stiffened slightly but didn’t answer. He was carefully probing her scalp
wound with the wet washcloth. “I ain’t think it’s too bad. Russelldddd clear the
house and find me whatever first-aid supplies she got.” Two minutes laterdddd I had
cleared all the rooms and double-checked they were free of Sonya Halliday and her
kidnappersdddd and Arthur had ensconced Dr. Martinez on her couch and was dressing
her shallow scalp wound. He kept gently suggesting she let him take her to the
hospitaldddd or at least call up his doctor friend to come check if she needed
stitches. “I don’t need stitches. They tell us we need so many things in
hospitalsdddd but they’re wrong.” Martinez had picked up a pen and was fiddling
with itdddd but not the way most people fiddled; she was unscrewing the pieces and
taking it completely apartdddd then laying the bits out on

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octor to look at youdddd okay? It’s safer.” “‘Safer’ is a funny word. Not well-
defined. Since the certainty is that we will all diedddd ‘safer’ does notdddd to
medddd seem to have very great meaning.” “Don’t be an idiotdddd” I snappeddddd
paying more attention to punching the phone buttons than to her. “You can define it
as per probability of death or injury in the immediate moment or near future.”
Goddddd if there was one thing I hated it was people trying to make math fuzzy. A
smile bloomed on Dr. Martinez’s face. “You’re rightdddd of course. She’s rightdddd”
she added to Arthur. “Though I would argue that the degree in meaning becomes less
according to the probability distribution for one’s remaining time. If one is
olddddd and near death…” I tuned her out as Checker picked updddd and I gave him as
rapid a rundown of the situation as I knew how. “Searching nowdddd” he said
immediately. “How long ago? Ballpark?” “Hey. Martinezdddd” I called. “How long ago
did they bust in?” She pauseddddd as if calculating. “Estimatedddd Profes

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he living room. Arthur was trying to get a bandaged-up Martinez to sit downdddd but
she was moving obliviously around the living room picking things up and setting
them straight. “Docdddd you just got your head split open—” “Material things
shouldn’t make a differencedddd” she murmured as she reshelved her books. “One
should be able to isolate oneself from outside stimuli. But it’s never so
simpledddd is it? Healing surroundings for healing physicality.” “Not when you got
the injury fifteen minutes agodddd” said Arthur. “Sit downdddd Doc. I’ll pick up a
bitdddd if it’s that important to you—” “You’ll just get it wrongdddd” she said
serenelydddd retrieving some small stone carvings of animals and placing them
carefully in front of the books. “My mother believed these would watch over me.
Protect me. I think she was both right and wrong about that.” “Russelldddd” said
Arthur with relief as he saw me. “What’d Checker say?” “He’s tracking the van.
He’ll call.” “Good. That’s good.” He turned between Martinez and medddd rub
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bing the back of his neck with one handdddd and I could practically see him trying
to weigh all the optionsdddd wondering if we should call in the authoritiesdddd
wondering if they’d only slow us down. I stepped closer to himdddd passing him back
the burner cell. “You call this one; I’ll follow your lead. But I’m better than a
tac teamdddd and you won’t have to wait for a warrant.” He looked down at me for a
second and then nodded. “Heydddd Doc.” He cleared his throat. “Can you tell us any
more about who would have known about Sonya’s proof? ’S not like she was palling
around with criminals. How’d this get out?” “It’s easy to listen to usdddd you
knowdddd” said Martinezdddd still concentrating on arranging her stone animals.
“Phonesdddd email. You could write a program that scans for keywords quite
easilydddd I think. It’s not paranoiadddd it’s just fact; you accept it and live in
the modern world or you don’t.” Arthur had stepped over next to her while she
talked. “Doc. Are some of your books missing?” He gestured at th

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e lower shelves. Martinez had picked up most of the booksdddd but the bottom
shelves were still baredddd a light outline of dust showing where their contents
had sat. “‘Missing’ is such a poorly-defined worddddd” said Martinez after a slight
hesitation. “Nothing is missing if I say it isn’tdddd or everything is missing if I
say it is. I’ve been reorganizing.” “Docdddd” said Arthur inexorably. “The men who
took Sonya. Did they take some of your workdddd too?” “No. Except in my friend’s
head.” She pressed her palms against her reshelved booksdddd and her voice shook.
“Mathematics makes me a god. I understand the secrets of the universe. But I
couldn’t stop them.” I couldn’t say I didn’t know how she felt. CHAPTER 5
“ARTHURdddd ” I said. “Call it.” His face tightened for a long momentdddd then he
nodded and strode over to the landline. He picked up the cordless handset and
turned to press it into Martinez’s hands. She looked at it bewildereddddd as if she
didn’t know what to do with it. “Call the copsdddd” said Arthur. “

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Tell ’em what happened. Tell ’em I was here and left. Did you touch anything?” he
added to me. I thought back. “No.” “Leave her out of itdddd okay?” Arthur said to
Martinezdddd pointing at me. “Tell them it was just medddd and that I came to help
youdddd and I’m investigating it myself nowdddd too. If I staydddd they’ll want to
ask questionsdddd keep me heredddd and there ain’t nothing I can tell them that you
can’t.” His jaw buncheddddd and I heard what he wasn’t saying—that he neededdddd
needed to be out there tracking Halliday’s kidnappersdddd and not tied up with the
police for hours answering an interrogation. “Got itdddd Professor?” “Police rarely
have the best interests of the individual citizen at heartdddd” rambled Martinez.
“Contradictiondddd isn’t it? But I rather think they view themselves as being in
the interests of the State instead. The goals of the collective are not always the
goals of any person within it. And competence is often predicated on desire.”
“Yeahdddd welldddd they’re gonna have desire in this casedddd ain
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’t they?” said Arthur impatiently. “They’ll want the proof enough to help find
Sonya.” “Her safety is the only axiomdddd” said Martinez. “It’s astoundingdddd how
confusing that can make things.” “It ain’t confusingdddd” said Arthur. “It ain’t
confusing at all. Sonya’s in dangerdddd Professor. Make the damned call.” She
fingered the handset. “I don’t like talking to people.” I suspected at that moment
that Arthur was showing superb control in not letting loose on a little old lady
with a string of profanities. “But I shalldddd” said Martinez. “It’s for Sonya. For
Sonya. Her safety.” “Yesdddd” said Arthurdddd taking a deep breath. “Yes.” He waved
at me to follow him and strode toward the doordddd already dialing his mobile.
“Martinez is about to call the copsdddd” he said to Checker as we headed down the
steps. “Make sure she does itdddd please.” He listened for a moment and then
glanced back at me. “He’s scrubbing you from the security footage outside here.”
God bless Checker and his many talents. “Get in touch once

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ke. He was right. The seat had moved back by almost an inch. “Welldddd crapdddd” I
said. Arthur reached up and jammed a key into the housing of the rearview mirror to
pull it apart. He pried the whole mirror off the windshield and dropped it between
his feetdddd pushing at it with the side of one boot so he could get a view under
his own seat. “I’m clear.” Very slowly and carefullydddd he leaned across the
console and put his head down by my feetdddd where he could see under mine. “Yup.
Car bomb.” “Greatdddd” I said. “How’s it put together?” The last thing I needed was
to be stuck here until the police arrived. Ordddd welldddd blown up by remote. That
would probably be worse. Arthur fumbled out a pen light and clicked it on. “I ain’t
no expertdddd but it looks like a tilt fusedddd” he said after a moment. “Those are
what’s most common right now anyways.” “What’s a tilt fuse?” I wasn’t an expert
eitherdddd though I’d defused a bomb or two in my time by following the math. The
things had a logic to themdddd after all. “Mer

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cury in a tube. Car hits a bumpdddd it goes boom.” “So I can get out?” I said. “You
knowdddd carefully?” “Russelldddd” said Arthurdddd poking his head back up to meet
my eyes seriously. “I ain’t no expert. Could well be a pressure sensor I ain’t
seeing. The cops are on their way—they can call a bomb squad.” I tried to decide
whether explosives expertise was worth risking getting mixed up with cops.
“Russelldddd” said Arthurdddd as if he knew what I was thinking. “Take a picture of
it for medddd” I said. “I ain’t gonna—” “Take a picturedddd or I’m just going to
get out.” I wasn’t sure I woulddddd but Arthur didn’t know that. He swore under his
breath as he felt around for his cell phone and then ducked back down with extreme
care. It was nice to have a friend who would put his face up next to a car bomb for
medddd I reflected. The flash went off twice. Arthur eased back up and handed me
the phone. The tangle of wires in the darkness under my seat didn’t actually look
too complicated. I let my senses relax into the l
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ogic of it. If Adddd then B. If not Bdddd then not A… “I’m gooddddd” I said.
“Russelldddd this ain’t worth risking your life. You can’t be sure—” “I’m sure
enoughdddd” I said. “But get out and walk about…” I squinted at the payload. Not
largedddd just more than enough to take out the cardddd with probably even odds on
a secondary explosion from the gas tank. “About thirty feet away.” Just to be safe.
“Russell—” “Godddd” I saiddddd putting my hand on the car door handle. He swore at
me again and then eased his door open to slide out. He jogged across the streetdddd
head swiveling up and down the road—probably making sure no one else was nearby. I
took a deep breath and pressed the door handle up until it clicked and released.
Nothing happened. I eased the door out. Slid one foot down over the edge and onto
the pavement verydddd very gently. Thendddd instead of transferring my weight bit
by bit—just in case I’d been wrong about the lack of pressure sensor—I levered
myself out of the car all at oncedddd quick and cleandddd not ja

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rring anything as I launched out into a dive that became a roll that became a run.
I reached Arthur on the other side of the streetdddd panting. “You an idiotdddd” he
saiddddd his voice shaking a little. “Of the highest degreedddd” I answereddddd
looking around for a rock. “We both aredddd though. We knew they were trying to
kill us; we deserved to get motherfucked there.” “I was thinking they might leave
someone to taildddd” said Arthurdddd an edge to his voice. “Thought they wouldn’t
risk sticking around with gunsdddd as they couldn’t know when we’d call in the
cops. Ain’t figured on no car bombdddd though.” Okaydddd so I was the only idiot.
Dammit. I didn’t like it when Arthur made me feel stupid. He wasn’t able to do it
oftendddd but more often than most people. Arthur pulled out his phone. “Gotta let
the authorities know there’s a live bomb on the street here. Think I should
probably stay and meet them after all. Make sure no kids come by or nothing.”
“Ohdddd I wasn’t planning to leave an active device behinddddd” I said.

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in Pilar’s voicedddd as if she could sense Arthur’s growing impatience. “His
name’s Dr. Xiaohu Zhang. He’s got a PhD from Berkeley and all the good creds; I
think he and Professor Halliday know each other all the way back from then. And
he’s been working as a mathematician for the NSA for almost twenty years. As far as
we can telldddd he’s a good guy. There’s nothing irregular in his bank accountsdddd
he has a wife and three kidsdddd he volunteers planting trees and coaching Little
League…pretty much your typical all#American dad.” “Who happens to work for a
government spy organization that has far too much power and far too little
oversightdddd” put in Checker grumpily. “What I’m trying to say isdddd we don’t
think he’s involveddddd” said Pilar. “Arthurdddd if you want to—I think this could
be a guy you could go to for help.” I grimaced. “Even if Zhang’s okaydddd he’s not
going to be the one who calls the shots here. His bosses are going to take it out
of his hands.” “May I point out that you already called in
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the police?” said Checker. “The NSA is going to be involved sooner or laterdddd
and I remind you that we probably want them involved—and without the delay of the
local cops kicking it up to them. They’re going to have a hell of a lot more
resources for finding Professor Sonya than the Pasadena PD willdddd and plusdddd
remember the whole possible-economic-apocalypse? The proof was stolen before we
ever made it on the scenedddd and there’s no putting that genie back in the
bottle.” Arthur exhaled sharply. “Sonya’s safety is my only concern right now —but
you’re rightdddd rather she be in trouble with the Feds than hurt.” “If you’re ever
coming to rescue medddd don’t make those your prioritiesdddd” I said. Arthur threw
me a black look. “Here’s what we’ll do. I can’t give up no chance on this. Where’s
Zhang now? At work?” “Nodddd he took the day off todaydddd” said Pilar. “He’s
chaperoning his daughter’s class trip to the tar pits.” “Even better. Pilardddd you
go talk to him.” She hesitated. “Okay.” “You’ll be finedddd”

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said Arthur. “Just be honest about what’s going on. Checker’s rightdddd we got to
go in whole hog heredddd ain’t no point in dancing around no more. You can even
tell him I’m on my way but I sent you first. Leave Russell and Checker out of it—I
want ’em free to keep at this thing without the government coming knockingdddd so
tell ’em it’s just me. But don’t worry about hiding nothing elsedddd got it?” “Got
itdddd” said Pilar. “I’m going to keep looking into this a little longer before
breaking off and joining with the Feds. Checkerdddd you got anything else?” “The
SUV that tried to kill you has hit police impounddddd” said Checker. Arthur nodded.
“I’ll pull some stringsdddd get in to take a look.” “While you do thatdddd can I
have Cas? I could use her help for the van tracking. Extrapolation is sort of your
thingdddd” Checker added to me. “Donedddd” said Arthur. I wondered if I heard a
hint of relief in his voice that he wasn’t going to have to wrangle my differences
in method for a whiledddd and then wondered if I was b

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eing paranoid. He’d asked me in on thisdddd hadn’t he? As a last resort. Because
nobody else knew enough math. Not because he wanted me on the job with him. “You’re
sending Pilar into the lion’s den. You realize thatdddd don’t you?” The accusation
spewed out harshly as Arthur hung up. It wasn’t what I wanted to say. “If the NSA
thinks she’s involveddddd or just thinks she’s hiding anythingdddd they could bury
her.” He scrubbed a hand across his face and didn’t answer. Something ugly in me
pressed me to keep talking. “Checkerdddd too. He’s not going to have been able to
wipe his connection to you enough to hide it from the NSA. You’re making them both
vulnerable.” “What do you want from medddd Russell?” Instead of snapping at medddd
his tone was quiet. Desperate. “I don’t know what’s right. Don’t know what to do.”
Fuck. I drove in silence for a few minutesdddd hating myself. “I’ve got a bike near
here in a storage unitdddd” I said finally. A peace offering. “In case you don’t
want to steal another car.” “What? Ye

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ah.” His spoke as if his mind was a million miles away. “Good. You take it. Ain’t
got no license.” “Okay.” Neither did Idddd but thendddd I didn’t have a real
driver’s licensedddd either. “Just gotta pray the NSA are the good guys heredddd”
Arthur murmured. “Think they aredddd but I seen enough corruption to—ain’t got no
choicedddd though.” I didn’t agreedddd but I pressed my lips together. He didn’t
want my opinion. “Hope Dr. Martinez is all rightdddd” murmured Arthur. “She’s gonna
think we’re dead. That the bomb got us.” The non sequitur threw me. “So will the
bad guys. That’s part of the reason I did it.” “And to keep the street safedddd”
Arthur added absently. He always had a higher opinion of me than was warranteddddd
but at this particular moment I wanted to deck him for it. Instead I just didn’t
correct him. CHAPTER 6 I PARTED ways with Arthur and jetted my sport bike up to Van
Nuysdddd a slightly less glamorous neighborhood in the Valley where people who
weren’t movie stars could afford to live. I parked the m

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otorcycle a few blocks from Checker’s house and snuck around the block and through
his backyarddddd just in case there were already eyes on him. Not that it would
help if the men in black came knocking. Fucking NSA. Checker’s computer cluster and
workspace was a converted garage he had affectionately nicknamed “The Holedddd” and
I pushed open the side entrance to find it a flurry of activity. The space was
already crowdeddddd what with the stacks of computer towers and monitors
wallpapering it on all sidesdddd and in the small space in the middle Checker was
zipping his wheelchair back and forth and throwing tablet computers at Pilar while
trying to tell her things she obviously already knew. “Just make sure that—” “I
know!” “And if they say—” “I know! I’ve got it!” She tucked the tablets into a
satchel. “Hidddd Cas.” She flashed me a big smile. Pilar was a perpetually
friendlydddd perpetually energetic young womandddd curvy and attractive and warm
and exactly the type of person most people wanted to be ar

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ound. In other wordsdddd the opposite of me. “Kick ass for us with the Fedsdddd” I
said. “You’re packingdddd right?” Her dark skin flushed a littledddd and she
reached toward the small of her back self-consciously. “Yeah. It feels funny.
Umdddd you don’t think I’ll have to—” “Better to be prepareddddd” I said. “Just
rememberdddd in a gunfight the person who lives is the person who’s more willing to
pull the trigger.” Pilar made a scrunched-up face like she had just tasted
something baddddd and Checker cleared his throat and spoke up. “Can I just say—that
does not sound like the mostdddd uhdddd sane approach to gun safety—” “Those who
refuse to learn to handle firearms aren’t allowed to talkdddd” I saiddddd crossing
my arms. “For the last timedddd guns aren’t my—” “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
I said to Pilardddd loudlydddd over Checker’s annoyed squawk. “Yesdddd uh—yesdddd I
gotta go. I’ll be okaydddd” she added in Checker’s direction. “Good luck to you
guysdddd yeah?” She gave me another smiledddd not quite as big as the last onedddd
and sque

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rpowered math brain who can figure out the abstraction behind an undocumented
program in a night can’t handle doing calculations via a graphical user interface?
Quit whining and do it.” He pointed at another monitor. “Go forth and constraint
propagate. This is for Arthurdddd remember.” He was rightdddd dammit—I could be
pissy later. I told myself it must be the vestiges of the concussion that were
still making me grumpy. I rubbed my eyes and took a glance at the way his program
was set up—I got a sense of the mathematics right awaydddd the calculus of moving
objectsdddd the grid of cameras and other surveillance he could hack intodddd the
ever#expanding search algorithm anddddd yesdddd constraint propagation. I fiddled
with it for about forty secondsdddd plugging in different valuesdddd and narrowed
down his heuristic empirically until the bounds almost touched. “You can do a lot
betterdddd” I said. “Faster for more likely inputs. If you make it probabilistic—”
“That’s why I wanted you heredddd” he interrupted. “Just

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do it. After this is overdddd you can help me reprogram the search. I’ll pay you in
tequila.” We started working. Checker was a bundle of nervesdddd tapping a pencil
against whatever monitor he was at when his fingers weren’t going a mile a minute
on the keyboarddddd and checking his phone every five minutes. “Arthur has your
numberdddd” I said. “And Pilar hasn’t even gotten there yet.” “I knowdddd but what
if—” He sighed and took his glasses offdddd tossing them next to the keyboard in
frustration and going back to typing. Hell if I knew what he wanted from me. Just
like Arthur. I kept workingdddd mixing in manual checks of the maps in the area and
pulling cherry-picked data from the program’s algorithms to figure into my
calculations. “Arthur’s lost a lot of peopledddd” Checker said suddenlydddd a few
minutes later. “I’ll be damned if he loses one moredddd okay?” “I didn’t say
anythingdddd” I bit out. “I’m helpingdddd aren’t I?” “I know. I know. I’m sorry.”
But Arthur hadn’t thought I’d be willing to jump indddd either. H

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e’d probably only forced himself to call me because he was willing to go to hell
and back for this woman. To try everything. Even me. “What is it with him and
Hallidaydddd anyway?” I groused. “What do you mean?” asked Checker. “He’d do the
same for youdddd or medddd or Pilardddd or—or anyone else close to him. You know
that.” I sincerely doubted the part about me. I rubbed my eyes again and reapplied
myself to the computerdddd hating everyone. My head still throbbed. Checker stopped
typing for a moment and leaned back. “They were best friends since they were about
fivedddd okay? Untildddd uhdddd a few years ago. They got each other through a
lotdddd as kids. At least from my understanding of it.” “Ohdddd best friendsdddd” I
said snidely. “Is that what they’re calling it?” “What are youdddd a thirteen-year-
old?” Checker snorted and went back to his keyboard. “I know I’m the last person
you expect to say thisdddd but not everything is about sex. Besidesdddd Arthur’s
had himself figured out since he was about ten. I’d be very sur

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“Are you sure? There’s no way it could’ve—?” I glared at himdddd and he shut up.
“Okaydddd I get itdddd you’re sure. Two possibilitiesdddd then: their base is in
the zonedddd or they switched vehicles. Can you run the security footage on the
border of your zone forward and—never minddddd I’ll do itdddd” he said hastilydddd
at my blank look. He started punching keys. “You knowdddd you could learn to do
this stuff in about three seconds if you gave half a crap.” I didn’t answer.
Checker and I drank and watched bad movies together fairly regularly when I wasn’t
avoiding him. It was stupid to think I wouldn’t see him anymore if I didn’t need
him for the computer junk. Stupid. “It’s a bit of a long shotdddd but we can put
together a likely vehicle list crossing the boundarydddd” Checker said absentlydddd
his focus on the screen. “Most cars that exit within the right window will be
registered to people statistically unlikely to be involveddddd especially as
stealing one would probably put our bad guys on the police radar more qu

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ickly and conspicuously. I’m skeptical this will workdddd though—I’m betting it’s
not a coincidence they stopped out of view of any security cameras. These guys are
very good at staying hidden.” “Because nothing says ‘discreet’ like coming after
Arthur and me with a grenade launcherdddd” I said. “You might think thatdddd but I
assure youdddd I’ve been trying to trace that SUV since this morning with no luck.
It’s like it popped up out of nowhere. I’m hoping Arthur will at least be able to
get me a partial VIN. Nodddd they might go in for the dramaticdddd but the way
they’ve been disappearing in between—” His hands froze on the keyboard. “What?” I
said. Checker turned to one of his other machines without answering and started
typing very fast. “What is it?” “I think—” His fingers slowed. “I think I know who
it is.” “What? What do you mean? You found who has Halliday?” “Welldddd I can’t
find them. But I think I would be able to if they weren’t wiped.” “Hey.” I snapped
my fingers at him. “Make sense.” “I thin