"EVENT HORIZON" Screenplay by Philip Eisner SHOOTING DRAFT EXT. NEPTUNE - MODEL INTERPLANETARY SPACE A vast field of stars. The gas giant Neptune slowly spins into view. Brilliant and blue and cold against the void. EXT. NEPTUNE - MODEL A BLACK SILHOUETTE stands out against the planet, tiny against Neptune's scale. EXT. NEPTUNE - MODEL DRIFT CLOSER to discern the hard angles of a man-made craft. A ship. No longer dwarfed by the planet, the scale of the vessel emerges: a vast labyrinth of steel. Its shadow swallows all in darkness. DISSOLVE TO: INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY Shafts of Neptune's blue light enter through windows, illuminate debris suspended in the zero-gravity environment: shards of metal and glass. MOVE from the Corridor into: INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE A cockpit for three. Neptune's blue light fills the chamber, reflects off immobile particles in the air. Thick quartz windows look down at Neptune. The cockpit lights are dark but for one blinking red light. An emergency beacon. Under-floor lights go on. The strobe of the red light reveals a man floating at the helm, slowly spinning. He is dead, perfectly preserved in the cold vacuum of space. His eyes are empty black pits and his mouth hangs open in a scream: DR. WILLIAM WEIR. CUT TO: INT. STUDIO APARTMENT Weir opens his eyes, waking from dream. Sweat beads his ascetic, etched face. Many years a scientist. He turns on the bedside lamp, revealing a couple's apartment. Decorated by a woman, but Weir is alone, unless you count photographs. His nightstand looks like a shrine to a beautiful woman. Weir reaches to the stand. Picks up... RECENT, UNFRAMED PHOTO The woman appears thin and haggard and wears a small brave smile. Weir lies back on the bed. Looks at the photo. Presses it to his forehead and closes his eyes. Trying to be with her, just one more time. WEIR (whisper) I miss you. INT. STUDIO APARTMENT - LATER Weir stands in front of the bathroom mirror, shaving with a straight-razor. The mirror reveals the bathtub just behind him. DRIP, DRIP, DRIP... Weir turns to stare at the bathtub. Water wells up at the mouth of the tub's faucet, grows impossibly large, falls... DRIP. Weir turns back to his shaving. INT. STUDIO APARTMENT - LATER Weir stands in the kitchenette, staring at the microwave as it cooks his breakfast. INT. STUDIO APARTMENT - LATER Weir stands before his window, chewing his oatmeal mechanically, forcing himself to swallow. He reaches out to open the blinds... INT. STUDIO APARTMENT REVERSE ANGLE as the blinds pull aside, revealing Weir, upside-down. ROTATE AND PULL BACK... EXT. DAYLIGHT STATION - MODEL TO REVEAL DAYLIGHT STATION Weir's window is just one of many in a space station, a delicate combination of cylindrical habitats and solar panels. The structure hangs above the Earth in low orbit. TITLE CARD: DAYLIGHT SPACE STATION 08.23.2046 INT. STUDIO APARTMENT (BLINDS OPEN) A videophone RINGS OS... WEIR (V.O.) This is Weir. LYLE (V.O.) (tinny) Dr. Weir, Admiral Hollis would like to see you as soon as possible. CUT TO: INT. DAYLIGHT - OFFICE A military office, United States Aerospace Command seal blazoned on the door. Views of the Earth. Admiral HOLLIS sits behind his desk, a gruff career officer and a good man. Weir enters, escorted by Hollis' adjutant, LYLE. WEIR You wanted to see me, Admiral? HOLLIS I apologize for the short notice, Bill, but we've had something come up that requires your immediate attention. Lyle? INT. HOLOGRAPHIC DISPLAY OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM Lyle activates a holographic display of the solar system. A box magnifies the eighth planet, Neptune, revealing a flashing red dot in its orbit. INT. DAYLIGHT OFFICE LYLE At oh-three-hundred this morning, TDRSS picked up an automated navigation beacon broadcasting at two minute intervals in Neptune orbit. Lyle hands Weir a stack of hardcopy data. Weir reads the data with growing excitement. WEIR Incredible... These are the same coordinates before the ship disappeared... this, this happened? This isn't some kind of hoax? HOLLIS I wouldn't bring you here on a hoax. Houston confirms the telemetry and I.D. codes. WEIR (excited) It's the Event Horizon. She's come back. Hollis answers drily. HOLLIS That ship was lost in deep space, seven years ago. If the Titanic sailed into New York harbor, I'd find it more plausible. (beat) Houston wants Aerospace to send out a search and rescue team, investigate the source of the transmission. If it really is the Event Horizon, they'll attempt a salvage. (beat) We need you to prepare a detailed briefing on the ship's systems for the salvage crew... WEIR A written briefing can't possibly anticipate the variables on a mission like this. I have to go with them. Lyle looks at Weir, stunned by the request. LYLE Dr. Weir, you have no experience with salvage procedures. WEIR I designed the ship's propulsion system. I am the only person capable of evaluating the performance of the gravity drive. You can't send a Search and Rescue team out there alone and expect them to succeed. That would be like... like sending an auto- mechanic to work on the shuttle. LYLE I can understand your desire to redeem your reputation, Dr. Weir, but it doesn't factor into this. WEIR This is not about my reputation! This is not about me at all! (beat, passionate) The Event Horizon was created for one reason: to go faster than light. Imagine mankind exploring new solar systems, colonizing new worlds. Seven years ago, we didn't just lose the ship and the crew. We lost the dream. (beat, quiet and relentless) I have to go. HOLLIS It's not that simple. (off of Weir's expression) Lyle, play the recording for Dr. Weir. LYLE Navigation Control tried to hail the vessel. This was the only response. Lyle presses a button on Hollis' desk. An unholy GARBLE rips from office speakers: STATIC and NOISE and INHUMAN VOICES. Alone, each sound would raise the hair on your neck. Together, they are unbearable. The sound mercifully cuts off to STATIC. Lyle stops the tape. Weir sits there, stunned. LYLE Since the initial transmission, there's been no further contact. Just the beacon, every two minutes. WEIR The crew? Could they still be alive? LYLE The ship had life support systems for eighteen months. They're been gone seven years. WEIR Someone sent that message. Admiral, you have to put me on that ship. Hollis stares at Weir, judging the man with his eyes. HOLLIS It's against my better judgement, but I'll run this by the Man downstairs. You'll know my decision by the end of the day. WEIR Thank you. HOLLIS Don't thank me, Bill. I'm not doing you any favors. Weir leaves. The door closes behind him. LYLE You're not seriously considering sending him? HOLLIS You don't just dismiss Bill Weir. The man held Oppenheimer's chair at Princeton. If the Event Horizon had worked, he would have gone down in history as the greatest mind in physics since Einstein. LYLE The official inquiry blamed Weir's design for the ship's loss. HOLLIS That doesn't mean a damn thing. They were looking for a scapegoat and Weir fit the bill. But he's not responsible for what happened to the ship. LYLE Does he know that? HOLLIS What's on your mind? LYLE He doesn't belong on this mission. Responsible or not, he blames himself. He's too close to it. (beat) And then there's his wife. HOLLIS It's been two years since she died. He's over it. LYLE Some things you don't get over. Beat. HOLLIS I want our best people on this. Where's Miller? LYLE The Lewis and Clark just returned from patrol in the asteroid belt, she's docked in bay four. CUT TO: EXT. DAYLIGHT STATION/EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK The Lewis and Clark pulls away from Daylight station, turns towards the depths of space. It is a tough-looking spacecraft, all engine. Sequence omitted from original script. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE MOVE IN on thick quartz windows near the ship's nose: the bridge... Split level. Above: avionics, navigation, flight control. STARCK (female, Navigator, sharp mind, sharp tongue) checks the navigation data on her screen as SMITH (male, Pilot, wrapped too tight) punches in the course. SMITH I can't believe this, I haven't gotten more than my hand in six weeks and now this shit. Why not Mars, Cap, Mars has women... STARCK Smith's right. Neptune? There's nothing out there. If something happens, we'll be on our own. The captain's chair drops from above, swivels to reveal MILLER (male, Captain, intense). MILLER I don't like it either, but you know the rules: we get the call, we go. Is the course locked in? SMITH Locked and cocked. STARCK We're past the outer marker, we can engage the ion drive whenever you're ready. MILLER Justin? Below: the bridge's "war-room" -- ship's systems and mission stations. JUSTIN (male, Engineer, young hot-shot). JUSTIN Everything green on my boards, Skipper. MILLER Start the countdown. STARCK Ion drive will engage in... T-minus ten minutes. MILLER Let's go. Miller slides down a ladder into the war-room. The others follow into... INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY Bulky EVA (extra-vehicular activity) suits line the walls. MUSIC blares from a JAMBOX, built into a storage locker. An Emergency Tech stows safety lines: COOPER -- male, the resident pain-in-the-ass. He SINGS along with the music. MILLER (not breaking stride) Kill it. Cooper reaches up, turns off the box. COOPER Time to play Spam in the can. MILLER Don't start with me, Cooper. Cooper falls in as the crew continues into... INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - QUARTERS Evidence of long term habitation. Personalized lockers. Fold- down bunks, chairs, tables; currently stowed for docking. A modular galley. PETERS (female, Emergency Technician, the crew's denmother) and DJ (male, Doctor, a cold perfectionist) load CO2 scrubbers into a bin in the floor. Weir stands to the side like a fifth wheel. WEIR Captain Miller, I just want to say... MILLER The clock is running, Dr. Weir. If you'll follow the rest of the crew, they'll show you to the gravity tanks. Weir hesitates, then follows the crew into Medical. Miller hangs back. MILLER What's the hold up? PETERS Just loading the last of the CO2 scrubbers. (to Miller, accusatory) Good for four months. MILLER I put in for a replacement for you but no one... PETERS No, no, its alright. I talked to my ex, he'll keep Denny over Christmas and I'll get him this summer. (beat) Goddam it, Skipper... I haven't seen him in two months. MILLER I am sorry. But now we have to go to work. CUT TO: INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MEDICAL A high tech operating room. Modular equipment. Vertical tanks line the walls, each large enough to hold a human being: gravity couches. The crew stands before the gravity couches, almost nude, no room for modesty. Starck catches Cooper looking at her ass as she strips to her undergarments. Cooper grins. She flips him off, not bothering to turn around. COOPER Is that an offer? STARCK It is not. Miller disrobes. Two service tags hang around his neck. He does not remove them. Weir approaches him. WEIR Captain Miller, I appreciate this opportunity... MILLER Doctor Weir, my crew is not going on your mission because we want to. We were pulled off a well deserved leave, to be sent out to the middle of nowhere, and no one's even told us why. WEIR I've been authorized to brief you and the crew once we reach Neptune space. MILLER Until then, do what you're told and stay out of my way. Weir nods, moves to an empty couch bearing his name, written on a piece of tape. Peters watches him. PETERS First time in a grav couch? WEIR Yes. She checks Weir's couch, helps him climb in. Weir keeps one eye on Miller. PETERS (Off of Weir's glance) Don't worry about it. He's hard, but he's fair. You're lucky to be shipping out with him. He's one of the few Captains in the service with experience in the Outer Reach. WEIR He's been past Mars? PETERS He served on the Goliath. WEIR Wasn't that ship destroyed? PETERS (nods) They attempted to rescue a supply shuttle bound for Titan. The shuttle's oh-two tanks ruptured during the rescue, flooded both ships with pure oxygen. There was a spark and both ships were incinerated. The Skipper and three others just made it to a lifeboat. Captain Miller was able... DJ (interrupting) He doesn't like to talk about it. DJ swathes one of Weir's arms with alcohol. DJ You didn't eat anything in the past twelve hours? Weir shakes his head. DJ When the Ion drive fires, we'll be taking about 30 gees. Without a tank, the force would liquefy your skeleton. DJ injects Weir. The scientist winces. WEIR I've seen the effect on mice. The overhead lights change to red. MILLER Five minutes. DJ hands him the breathing mask. DJ Put this on. Weir does. DJ checks the fit. PETERS You'll be fine. You'll wake up and we'll be there. Watch your fingers. DJ closes the tank. It begins to fill with green gel. Weir's eyes grow large with fear and then the anaesthesia hits. His eyes close. His body draws into a fetal position. DJ (checking the monitor) Heart-rate decreasing... body temp dropping to 80... 70... 60... 50... 40 degrees Fahrenheit. He's in stasis. CUT TO: EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL THE ION ENGINE at the aft of the ship begins to glow a deep red. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MEDICAL The crew hang inert in the gravity couches. EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL SILENCE. The engine flares white hot. The Lewis and Clark lances forward. CUT TO: EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - INTERPLANETARY SPACE - MODEL The Lewis and Clark races SILENTLY past. The engine at its aft holds a sustained fusion reaction like the sun. GRAPHIC: U.S.S. Lewis and Clark. 56 days out. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MEDICAL CLOSE ON WEIR immobile in the grav tank. He might be sleeping. He might be dead. A distant SOUND echoes though the ship, the unholy garble of human and inhuman voices -- it is the Event Horizon, calling to him -- the sound refines into a WOMAN'S VOICE, no more than a WHISPER: VOICE Billy... Weir opens his eyes. VOICE I'm so cold... Weir's grav tank opens. WIDER TO REVEAL the seven bodies of the crew, suspended inert in the gel. A sound: DRIP... DRIP... DRIP... Weir slowly walks to the Bridge. VOICE I'm so cold... INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE A naked WOMAN sits at the helm, her back to us. Completely still. Her skin is very pale. Water pools around her chair. Weir stands behind her. WEIR (tentative) Claire? She does not answer. She does not move. Weir reaches out to touch her shoulder, then pulls his hand back, afraid. WEIR Claire? I'm sorry. Claire? He reaches out again. He touches her hair. She doesn't move. Weir catches her reflection in the computer monitors. Something wrong with her face... He starts to spin her around. CLAIRE I'm so cold... CUT TO: INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MEDICAL Weir awakes with a jolt, in his grav couch. His mask has slipped. His tank has filled with blood. He is drowning. CUT TO: INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MEDICAL Reality. Weir's eyes open. He presses against the glass of the tank, trying to force it open, panicked. The others are already stepping from open tanks. Weir's tank opens with a HISS. He tumbles to the floor, gasping, fluid streaming from his mouth. Peters rushes to him. WEIR (gasping) Claire... PETERS DJ! (to Weir) It's okay. You're okay. Just breathe. Weir catches his breath. He looks up. The crew surrounds him, concerned. WEIR I'm alright now. I'm alright... DJ helps him to his feet. DJ Move slowly. You've been in stasis for fifty-six days. You're going to experience a little disorientation. Weir nods. COOPER Damn, Dr. Weir, don't scare us like that. Coffee? WEIR What? COOPER Coffee. WEIR No, thank you. Cooper, still butt-naked and proud of it, grabs a metal cylinder from the wall and pours a mug for himself. COOPER Hey, Starck. You wanna dry my back? Starck gives him a cool once over. STARCK Maybe when you finish puberty. Miller zips up. MILLER Starck, why aren't you on the bridge? STARCK I just finished drying... MILLER Then what are you doing here? Come on, people, let's go! (to Cooper) And Cooper... Put some pants on. CUT TO: EXT. INTERPLANETARY SPACE - LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL SILENCE. The Lewis and Clark drifts towards Neptune. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - QUARTERS The crew has secured the quarters from flight status. Bunks have been folded down, each alcove personalized with photographs and pin-ups. DJ moves around the cabin, checking the crew's radiation badges. Cooper and Justin sit on their bunks, tossing a handball across the cabin. Peters holds a "Watchman" video unit, watching a "video letter"... EXT. PETERS HOME - GARDEN (DENNY'S PARTY) ...from DENNY, her four-year-old son, a paraplegic, grinning widely in his new wheelchair: DENNY (video) Play horsey, Mommy, play horsey... IN THE VIDEO, Peters enters shot, scoops her child from the chair. PETERS (video) Want to play horsey, do you... (etc.) INT. LEWIS AND CLARKE - QUARTERS Weir sits huddled in a blanket. Miller takes a seat next to him. Starck and Smith enter. Starck sits next to Miller. SMITH 30 hours to Neptune orbit. STARCK All boards are green, everything's five by five. MILLER That's good to know. Justin, you wanna stow that? Justin catches the ball, holds onto it. MILLER Okay, listen up. As you all know by now, we have an addition to our crew. Dr. Weir, this is: Starck, navigation; Smith, pilot, Justin, ship's engineer -- COOPER You can call him Baby-bear, he loves that... MILLER This is Cooper, what the hell do you do on this ship, anyway? JUSTIN Ballast. COOPER (to Weir) I am your best friend. I am a lifesaver and a heartbreaker... MILLER He's a rescue technician. Peters, medical technician. DJ... DJ Trauma. MILLER And this is mission specialist Dr. William Weir. We all know where we're going. Dr. Weir is going to tell us why. Miller and the crew look at Weir, waiting. Weir clears his throat. WEIR What I am about to tell you is considered code-black by the NSA. The crew look at each other: they haven't heard that in a mission briefing before. JUSTIN That means top-secret, Cooper. COOPER I heard it. WEIR The USAC intercepted a radio transmission from a decaying orbit around Neptune. The source has been identified as the Event Horizon. STUNNED SILENCE. Then everyone talks at once: STARCK That's impossible! She was lost with all hands, what, seven... JUSTIN Seven years ago, the reactor blew... PETERS How can we salvage...? SMITH Let the dead rest, man... COOPER ...cancel our leave and send us out on some bullshit mission...! MILLER EVERYBODY SHUT UP! Let the man speak. In the quiet that follows: WEIR What was made public about the Event Horizon, that she was a deep space research vessel, that its reactor went critical, that the ship blew up... None of that is true. (beat) The Event Horizon was the culmination of a secret government project to create a spacecraft capable of faster- than-light flight. The crew stares at Weir: he has just dropped another bomb on them. SMITH You can't do that. STARCK The law of relativity prohibits faster- than-light travel... WEIR Relativity, yes. We can't break the law of relativity, but we can go around it. The ship doesn't really move faster than the speed of light; it creates a dimensional gateway that allows the ship to instantaneously "jump" from one point in the universe to another, light years away. STARCK How? WEIR Well, in layman's terms, you use a rotating magnetic field to focus a narrow beam of gravitons; these in turn fold space-time consistent with Weyl tensor dynamics until the space- time curvature becomes infinitely large and you have a singularity... COOPER Laymen's terms. Weir thinks of another way to explain it. He rips a pin-up from Smith's locker. SMITH Hey... WEIR Say this paper represents space-time, and you want to get from "point A" here... (marks it on the photo with a pen) ...to "point B," here. (marks point B) Now: what's the shortest distance between two points? The crew stares at him. Starck decides to play. STARCK A straight line. WEIR Wrong. The shortest distance between two points... Weir folds the paper, lining up point A over point B... then THRUSTING his pen through both, skewering the pin-up. WEIR ...is zero. That's what the singularity does: it folds space, so that point A and point B coexist in the same space and time. After the ship passes through this gateway, space returns to normal. (hands the ruined pin- up back to Smith) It's called a gravity drive. JUSTIN How do you know all this? WEIR I built it. Even Cooper is impressed. COOPER I can see why they sent you along. JUSTIN So if the ship didn't blow up, what happened? WEIR It was the ship's maiden voyage, to test the drive. The Event Horizon moved to safe distance using ion thrusters. They received the go-ahead to activate the gravity drive. (beat) And the ship vanished from all our scopes. No radar contact, no enhanced optical, no radio contact of any kind. They disappeared without a trace. (beat) Until now. MILLER Where has it been for the last seven years? WEIR That's what we're here to find out. CUT TO: EXT. INTERPLANETARY SPACE - MODEL The Lewis and Clark flashes silently past, heading deeper and deeper into space. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE The crew assembled. WEIR We haven't been able to confirm any live contact, but TDRSS did receive a single transmission from the Event Horizon. Weir punches a button on a console. The transmission BLARES from the bridge's speakers, STATIC and NOISE and, underneath all, INHUMAN VOICES. The crew listen, look at one another. The recording ends abruptly. SMITH What the hell is that? PETERS It doesn't sound like anything human. WEIR Houston has passed the recording through several filters and isolated what appears to be a human voice. He activates a different file. The resulting WAIL is more human but no less terrifying, a cry of despair. The last message from a drowning man... SMITH Jesus... MILLER What is that? DJ It sounds like Latin. COOPER Latin? Who the fuck speaks Latin? STARCK No one. It's a dead language. DJ Mostly dead. MILLER What does it say? WEIR NSA encryption specialists have deciphered some of the message... Weir plays the HELLISH INCANTATION for a third time. WEIR There: "...liberatis me..." They haven't been able to translate the rest, it's too distorted. DJ "Liberatis me." "Save me." COOPER From what? MILLER (to Weir) You're convinced the crew could still be alive? After seven years? WEIR The Event Horizon only had life support for eighteen months. It seems impossible, but in light of the transmission... I have to think that someone has managed to endure until now. COOPER Skipper, do we get hazard pay for this? MILLER You heard the tape, Smith. We're looking for survivors. CUT TO: EXT. NEPTUNE - LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL The Lewis and Clark closes in on the blue planet. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE The flight crew assembled. Data flashes across the main monitors on the bridge. STARCK Crossing the horizon. Optimum approach angle is fourteen degrees. MILLER Come around to three-three-four... SMITH (echoing) Heading three-three-four... MILLER (continuing) ...Make your approach vector negative fourteen degrees... SMITH One-four degrees... EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - NEPTUNE ORBIT - MODEL RCS thrusters pivot and fire as the ship enters Neptune orbit, dropping lower and lower into the dense blue clouds... INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE The ship begins to rock as it encounters atmosphere, a growing vibration. GRAPHICS flash across the main window's HUD. Neptune's dark shadow fills the screen. SMITH We have a lock on the Event Horizon's navigation beacon. It's in the upper ionosphere, we're in for some chop. MILLER Bring us in tight. Starck, get on the horn, see if anyone's listening... STARCK (into radio) This is U.S. Aerospace Command vessel Lewis and Clark, hailing Event Horizon, Event Horizon, do you read...? This is the Lewis and Clark, hailing... (she continues B.G.) SMITH (over Starck) Matching speed... now. Range to target ten thousand meters and closing... Skipper, I got a bad feeling about this... MILLER We're all on edge, Smith. We're a long way out... SMITH That's not it. That ship was built to go faster than light... That's just wrong, it goes against everything we know... MILLER What are you trying to say? "If God had intended Man to fly, he would have given us wings?" SMITH Something like that, yeah. Miller grins grimly. MILLER I guess we're about to find out. Keep us slow and steady. SMITH Yes, sir. MILLER Dr. Weir...! Weir sticks his head into the bridge. MILLER I think you want to see this. Weir climbs up the ladder to the flight deck. WEIR Where is she? SMITH Dead ahead, 5000 meters. Suddenly, the ship SHUDDERS VIOLENTLY. Weir braces himself in the doorway, staring out the forward window into the roiling azure clouds. Smith grimaces, his knuckles white at the controls. SMITH We've got some weather. MILLER I noticed. Starck, anybody home? STARCK If they are, they're screening their calls. SMITH Range 3000 meters and closing. WEIR I can't see anything... Only turbid clouds of methane ice whirl past the Lewis and Clark's windows. SMITH 1500 meters. We're getting too close... MILLER Where is it? STARCK (checking her console) The scope is lit, it's right in front of us... SMITH 1000 meters... A red warning light begins to flash in time with a shrill BEEP. SMITH Proximity warning! 900, 800 meters, 700... we're right on top of it, we're gonna hit! MILLER Starck... STARCK It should be right there... She looks up, trails off... STARCK My God. EXT. EVENT HORIZON - AGAINST NEPTUNE - MODEL STARCK'S POV ...the clouds break, revealing... THE EVENT HORIZON, right in front of them. A black labyrinthine blasphemy against Neptune's arctic blue. Cloud banks encircle the ship as if it were the eye of a hurricane. INT. LEWIS AND CLARKE - BRIDGE MILLER Reverse thrusters full! EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - DWARFED BY EVENT HORIZON - MODEL The Event Horizon looms enormous as the Lewis and Clark hangs off the port stern, dwarfed by the giant ship. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE The turbulence subsides. The bridge crew stares at the massive craft. The only sound, the PROXIMITY WARNING. Finally: SMITH Jesus, that is one big ugly fat fucker... WEIR She's not ugly. Miller reaches over Smith's shoulder, turns off the proximity warning. Smith snaps back to business. SMITH Range 500 meters and holding. Turbulence is dropping off... STARCK Picking up magnetic interference. MILLER Put it through TACS. Smith, you up for a flyby? SMITH (he is not) Love to. EXT. NEPTUNE - LEWIS AND CLARK - EVENT HORIZON - MODEL The Lewis and Clark maneuvers in close to the Event Horizon, dwarfed by the dark ship. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE Smith keeps a tight hand on the controls. The crew stare out the viewport at the abandoned craft. STARCK Look at the size of that thing. Weir explains the view out the cockpit window. WEIR Foredecks. Crew quarters, bridge, medical and science labs, hydroponics, what have you. That central section connects the forward decks to the Engineering containment area. Can we move in closer? SMITH Shit, Doc, any closer and we're gonna need a rubber... MILLER Do it. Smith grimaces. His hands move carefully over the controls. EXT. NEPTUNE - LEWIS AND CLARK - EVENT HORIZON - MODEL The Lewis and Clark moves even closer. Vanishing into the shadow of the Event Horizon. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE The crew stares at the ship rushing past the viewport. A huge spherical structure looms eerily ahead. WEIR That's the engineering containment. And there's the main airlock. We can dock there. MILLER Smith, use the arm and lock us onto that antennae cluster. WEIR Be careful. It's not a load bearing structure... EXT. EVENT HORIZON - LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL The Lewis and Clark carefully maneuvers in close to the Event Horizon's airlock. A mechanical boom-arm extends from the smaller ship to latch onto the Event Horizon. Its clawed hand grabs the antennae cluster. The cluster buckles under the stress. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE SMITH (to Weir) It is now. (to Miller) We're locked in. MILLER Starck, give me a read. A scan of the Event Horizon appears across Starck's screen. STARCK The reactor's still hot. We've got several small radiation sources, leaks probably. Nothing serious. WEIR Do they have pressure? STARCK Affirmative. The hull's intact... but there's no gravity and the thermal units are off line. I'm showing deep cold. The crew couldn't survive unless they were in stasis. MILLER Find 'em, Starck. Starck frowns at her display. STARCK Something's wrong with the bio-scan. MILLER Radiation interference? STARCK There's not enough radiation to throw off the scan. I'm picking up trace life forms, but I can't get a lock on the location. WEIR Could it be the crew? If they were in suspended animation, wouldn't that effect the scan? STARCK If they were in stasis, I'd get a location, but these readings, they're all over the ship. It doesn't make any sense. MILLER Okay. We do it the hard way. Deck by deck, room by room. Starck, deploy the umbilicus. I believe you're up for a walk, Mr. Justin. Go get your bonnet on. JUSTIN Yes, sir! Weir starts to follow Justin from the bridge. MILLER Dr. Weir, I need you on the bridge. WEIR Captain, I didn't come out here to sit on your bridge, I need to be on that ship... MILLER Once the ship is secured, we'll bring you on board -- WEIR (interrupting) That is not acceptable -- MILLER (overlapping) -- once we've secured the ship, that's the way it is! (beat) I need you to guide us from the comm station. This is where I need you. Help us to do our job. Weir exhales. WEIR Very well. CUT TO: EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - EVENT HORIZON - MODEL The docking collar umbilicus extends to the Event Horizon's airlock. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY Miller, Peters, Justin and Cooper in EVA; Cooper and Justin, without headgear. COOPER ...come on, Skipper, I already put my shoes on... MILLER (muffled) You've had plenty EVA, Coop, it's Justin's turn. Stay on station. If anything happens... COOPER I'll be all over it. Miller nods to Peters. PETERS (muffled) Opening inner airlock door. The inner airlock door opens: CH-THUNK. Miller, Peters and Justin enter the airlock. Justin attaches his safety line. Miller and Peters do not. COOPER You still need the rope? I thought you were one a those spacemen with ice in ya veins. JUSTIN I'd rather be on the rope and not need it than need it and not have it. Now step aside, old man. Cooper puts Justin's helmet on. It seals tight. COOPER (serious now) You just keep your nose clean, Baby Bear. Clear the door. Cooper backs out, allowing the inner airlock door to shut, ECHOING through the ship. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - UMBILICUS Miller, Peters and Justin float down the brightly lit umbilicus into the Event Horizon, all in EVA suits. Justin's safety line trails out behind him. The OUTER AIRLOCK DOOR of the Event Horizon waits for them. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE Weir has taken over Justin's station. He watches the POV monitors like a kid watching Christmas. Smith and Starck keep tabs over his shoulder. WEIR You've reached the outer airlock door. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - UMBILICUS Peters attaches a thumper -- a device using sound waves to measure pressure -- to the inner airlock door. PETERS We've got pressure. MILLER Clear and open on my mark. Three... two... one... mark. Peters inserts a zero-G drill into the panel beside the door. The door slowly opens... CUT TO: INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - WITH AIRLOCKS The immense corridor stretches away into darkness in both directions. Distantly spaced windows manifest as remote pools of blue light amidst endless black, adding to the vast sense of scale. The light from their dual spotlights on the team's helmets reflects off tiny ice crystals of frozen atmosphere. They are ants in a tomb built for giants. PETERS Jesus its huge. MILLER Ice crystals everywhere. This place is a deep freeze. WEIR (O.S.) (radio) You're in the central corridor. It connects the personnel areas to Engineering. MILLER Peters and I will search the forward decks. Justin, take Engineering. No hot-dogging, not on this one, alright? JUSTIN Not a chance, sir. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS The group separates. Justin kicks off from the wall, shoots down the corridor at immense speed. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - WITH AIRLOCKS Miller and Peters move in the opposite direction. They use magnetic plates on their boots and gloves to cling to the walls as they slowly make their way down the dark shaft. Their journey seems endless. The darkness almost seems a living thing as it surrounds them. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS Miller spots something at a coupling, where two sections of the corridor join... MILLER Dr. Weir, what's this? Miller indicates a box nestled against the coupling. The universal symbol for explosives is on the cover. PETERS (ahead at the next coupling) Here's another one. They're all over the place. WEIR (O.S.) (radio) They're explosive charges. MILLER I can see that, what're they for? INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE WEIR In an emergency, the charges detonate in series, destroying the central section and separating the personnel areas from the rest of the ship. That way, if the gravity drive malfunctions, the crew could use the foredecks as a lifeboat. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS Peters and Miller keep moving. PETERS That means they didn't abandon ship. MILLER So where are they? Starck, any luck with the bio-scan? INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE STARCK I'm running diagnostics now, Skipper... Nothing's wrong with the sensor pack, I'm still getting trace life readings, all over the ship. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS Miller and Peters unconsciously look around. Sweat beads their faces. PETERS There's no one in the corridor but us. STARCK (O.S.) (radio) Not according to the computer. MILLER Peters is right, no one's here. PETERS I don't know, this place is really dark, I can't see a thing... She starts to wave her searchlight around wildly. MILLER (calming her down) Easy, Peters, we're okay, we're okay. Let's finish the sweep. WEIR (O.S.) (radio) Captain Miller, the foredecks are just ahead. PETERS I can see the hatch. MILLER Starck, you still showing those readings? STARCK (O.S.) (radio) That's an affirmative. MILLER (to Peters) Keep your eyes open. She nods as he reaches for the hatch... INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY The hatch opens, allowing Peters and Miller entrance into the forward decks. These areas were intended for human habitation, and seem similar in design to the Lewis and Clark, only larger. Gravity couches line both walls, eighteen in all. Empty. PETERS We found the gravity couches. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE Weir peers eagerly at the monitors. WEIR Any survivors? MILLER (O.S.) (radio) Negative. Hope drains from Weir's face. WEIR No one? INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY MILLER They're empty, Dr. Weir. Moving forward. Miller and Peters split up, each taking a separate exit from the chamber. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE Weir looks at Justin's POV screen: a grainy image of the First Containment Seal. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR (BY FIRST SEAL) Justin stands before a thick pressure door. Justin checks the door with his thumper, his boots are now on. WEIR (O.S.) (radio) You've reached the First Containment Seal. The engineering decks are on the other side. JUSTIN We still have pressure. The radiation count's steady at 7 millirads an hour. WEIR (O.S.) (radio) Background radiation. Perfectly safe. Justin touches a panel beside the door. It opens. He enters... INT. EVENT HORIZON - FIRST CONTAINMENT ...a long corridor shaped like a tube. It rotates like a turbine, causing vertigo. Justin's BREATH echoes in his helmet as he moves forward... INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY Cooper stares at Justin's safety line in the airlock. THE SAFETY LINE counts off silently, passing 150 meters... INT. EVENT HORIZON - CORRIDOR TO BRIDGE The corridor ends at a pressure door. PETERS Dr. Weir, what's this the door to? WEIR (O.S.) (radio) You're at the Bridge, Ms. Peters. You still haven't seen any crew? INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE Miller, moving through a deserted lab. Empty operating tables. Stainless steel surgical instruments float in zero-G. A glove floats up behind him, brushes his shoulder. He wheels... the glove is empty. It spins away. MILLER If we saw any crew, Doctor, you'd know about it. (looking around) I'm in Medical. No casualties, it looks like this place has never been used. He finds a computer console. INT. EVENT HORIZON - CORRIDOR TO BRIDGE Peters opens the door. INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE ANTECHAMBER Peters enters. Looks around: a small antechamber for crew briefings, with chairs and a display table. Red crystals float in a crimson mist around her. PETERS I found something. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE Weir peers at the monitors, trying to make out the red haze. WEIR Yes, we can see some kind of mist. What is that? PETERS (O.S.) (radio) Blood. Looks like arterial spray. WEIR (nervous) Can you see a body? INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE ANTECHAMBER PETERS (confused) There's no one here. MILLER (O.S.) (radio) The blood came from somewhere, Peters... PETERS There's no one here, Skipper. Peters takes a sample container from her belt. Carefully tries to capture a suspended crystal... PETERS Come on... CLOSE UP OF THE BLOOD CRYSTAL and the Container; Peters' brow furrowed with concentration. WIDER AS A FLASH OF BLUE LIGHTNING ILLUMINATES THE ROOM, REVEALING... ...THE WALL BEHIND PETERS, CASED IN A FROZEN EXPLOSION OF BLOOD AND TISSUE. Someone died here in a violent and terrible way. Peters starts to look up but the flash dies away. She never saw the horror behind her. Peters turns her attention back to her tiny crystal. She traps the it, returns the container to her belt. She moves from the antechamber into... INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE Her helmet lights sweep the room. Every surface a control panel. PETERS Okay. I'm on the bridge. MILLER (O.S.) (radio) What you got, Peters? Peters examines the other consoles -- most are dark but for a few dim lights. PETERS Everything's been shut down. Conserving power, I guess. Green light on the hull, it's intact. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE MILLER The science workstation has power, I'll see if I can find the crew from here. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE Weir stares at Peters' monitor. WEIR Ms. Peters, turn back and to your left, please. On her monitor, Peters' POV shifts as she complies. STARCK What is it? WEIR Ship's log. PETERS (O.S.) (radio) I see it. INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE Peters reaches towards a small video deck. Touches the eject button. Nothing happens. PETERS It's stuck. INT. EVENT HORIZON - FIRST CONTAINMENT Justin's light bounces off an even larger pressure door, built like a bank vault. The Second Seal. JUSTIN I've reached another containment door. This thing's huge... WEIR (O.S.) (radio) That's the Second Containment Seal. Beyond that, engineering. JUSTIN I'm going in. Justin opens the seal. It releases SLOWLY, inching open. Justin squeezes through. INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE Peters takes a small probe from her belt, inserts it into the video deck. A small laser disc emerges partway from the deck. Peters pulls on it. It doesn't move. PETERS It's really jammed in there. A shadow crosses the window behind her. Someone -- something -- is in there with her... Peters pulls harder. Nothing. Another effort. The disc pulls free. Peters spins in the zero-gravity, spinning into... ...A BODY floating at the helm, the face illuminated by Peters' helmet lights. His swollen tongue clogs his gaping, screaming mouth. His cracked and crystallized skin is crossed by a network of bloated veins. He has no eyes. Just like Weir's dream. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE Peters' monitor shows the CORPSE'S face, its mouth open in mute agony. Weir GASPS. INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE Peters pushes free of the body. PETERS (professional) I found one. MILLER (O.S.) (radio) Alive? PETERS Frozen. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE The dead man's face leers from Peters' monitor. STARCK What happened to his eyes? SMITH Explosive decompression. STARCK Decompression wouldn't do that. Weir just stares at the ruined face, rapt. Starck notices. STARCK You okay? Weir nods, not taking his eyes from the screen. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY Cooper, on station. He keys his radio. COOPER Hey, Baby Bear, Mama Bear got a corpsicle for ya... No reply. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE Miller looks up from the workstation, concerned. COOPER (O.S.) (radio) Baby Bear, you copy? INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY Cooper stares out at Justin's safety line slowly counting off past 175 meters. COOPER Justin, do you copy? INT. EVENT HORIZON - FIRST CONTAINMENT The Second Seal is open. Justin's safety line snakes into darkness. FOLLOW the safety line into the dark... INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT An alcove, opening into a vast chamber. Once pristine, all the surfaces have been coated in a dark gray slick. Globules of fluid hang motionless, sticking to Justin's suit, leeching away his light and swallowing him in darkness. COOPER (O.S.) (radio) ...do you copy? JUSTIN (quiet) Uh, yeah Coop, I'm still here. COOPER (O.S.) (radio) Shit! Do not do that! Where the fuck are you? JUSTIN I'm in the Second Containment area. It's pitch black in here. There must have been a coolant leak. Man, this shit is everywhere. I can't see a damn thing. A lighted console blocks Justin's view of the chamber beyond. He drifts over to it, wipes the console clear of coolant, revealing dim lights: the station has power. JUSTIN The reactor's still hot. Coolant level is on reserve, but still in the green. TIGHT ON JUSTIN'S FACE AS THE LIGHTS COME ON JUSTIN (triumph) I got it... His expressions changes as he looks past the console and sees... something. JUSTIN (trailing off in awe) Holy shit... COOPER Justin? JUSTIN I think I found something... JUSTIN'S POV - THE CORE A massive sphere, 10 meters in diameter, dominates the center of the second containment. Intricate machinery surrounds the sphere but the globe itself is featureless, smooth; a enigmatic monolith. Black ice encrusts it, giving it the seeming of a living thing. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE They stare at Justin's monitor. SMITH What the hell is that? WEIR That's the Core: the gravity drive. The heart of the ship. INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT MILLER (O.S.) (radio) Justin, check the containment for radiation leaks. Peters... INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE MILLER (O.S.) (radio) ...how's the client? PETERS Crystallized. INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT Justin examines the outer wall of the Core, looking for any cracks or ruptured seams. MILLER (O.S.) (radio) Justin, finish your sweep. JUSTIN Almost done, I just gotta check one thing... Justin turns to the Core... INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE Justin's monitor fills with static. STARCK Justin, hold on a sec, you're breaking up... INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT STARCK (O.S.) (radio) Justin...? (static obscure her voice) Justin reaches towards the Core with his pressure sensor. His helmet light flickers. He hesitates... INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE Miller's helmet light flickers... INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE Peter's helmet light winks out... INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE STARCK Justin, come in... Suddenly, the bio-scan lights up, from green to red as signals race across the display. WEIR What is it? STARCK I don't know. The life readings just went off the scale. SMITH Something's wrong... INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT Justin places the pressure sensor against the Core. Touching it. The Core turns deepest black. A darkness that light cannot penetrate. For a second, Justin's white suit is captured against the hungry void... INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT (TANK) THEN THE VOID SUCKS HIM IN AND JUSTIN IS GONE... INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY Cooper stares in shock as Justin's safety line as it reels out at an incredible rate -- 250 meters, 300 meters... INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT A WAVE surges out of the Core, bending light like a ripple on a pond, pushing coolant and debris before it... INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS The gravity wave surges forward, blowing out emergency lights as it comes, flotsam and jetsam swirling in its wake... INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE Data floods Miller's workstation, flashing across the screen too fast for comprehension... INT. BLACKNESS OF CORE FOLLOWED BY A FACE -- JUSTIN... INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE MILLER What the hell... A DEEP ROAR fills the ship. Miller rises to investigate... The door BLOWS APART as THE WAVE HITS, ripples through the Medical Bay towards Miller... MILLER Oh shit...! Debris swirls around him... the wave sweeps him up... SLAMS him into a bulkhead... INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE JUSTIN'S POV SCREEN the briefest suggestion of a SCREAMING FACE, obscured by STATIC and ROLL before the screen CUTS to static entirely. The rest of the crew's POV screens go dead as... ...the wave hits them, threatening to tear the Lewis and Clark apart. The ship shudders violently. Consoles EXPLODE with sparks. Weir and the others hold on for dear life. STARCK Miller, do you read me, Peters -- SMITH Get them back -- STARCK I'm trying, goddammit -- An equipment rack IGNITES. Smith grabs an extinguisher, fights the blaze... INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY Cooper and DJ, bracing against the bulkhead. Cooper hits the intercom. COOPER What's happening? STARCK (O.S.) (intercom) I don't know, the screens are dead...! Cooper peers out the airlock window. JUSTIN'S SAFETY LINE passes 350 meters and accelerating... COOPER 350 meters... 400 meters... DJ He's in trouble. Go! COOPER I'm gone! Cooper grabs his helmet. DJ helps him lock the helmet into place with a HISS. The inner airlock door opens. As Cooper enters the airlock, Justin's safety reel stops, the line jerking taut at 500 meters. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE Miller tries to get his bearings in the dark. MILLER Boarding party, sound off... Peters, do you read me... . Peters... INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE Peters' light, too, remains dark, but Neptune's blue light fills the Bridge. The frozen corpse floats before her. No longer a man. A young boy, maybe five years old. His legs are withered, useless things. The skin remains a crystallized surface, but the eyes look straight at her, alive. PETERS Denny... Peters reaches out to touch the body. It falls away from her. No longer her son, but the body of the astronaut. It hits the door and shatters. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE MILLER (growing desperation) ...Peters, do you read me... A MAN'S VOICE, in agony, CRACKLES over Miller's radio: VOICE (radio) Don't leave me... MILLER Justin? Justin, sound off... Justin...! Miller trails off as RED LIGHT flickers across his visor. He turns... INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE (BURNING MAN) POV MILLER A BURNING MAN stands in Medical/Science, a human body wreathed in flame. The eyes are like sunspots. As the Burning Man moves, bones and black flesh poke through the fire. He raises one hand to point at Miller in accusation... INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE Miller's BREATH stops in his throat. His mouth works but nothing comes out. He BLINKS... ...and the VISION is gone. Miller is alone, BREATHING hard. INT. EVENT HORIZON - FIRST CONTAINMENT Cooper enters at full speed, shooting through in a controlled fall... COOPER Hold on, Baby Bear... INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT ...into the Second Containment. He catches himself at the console. Cooper sees Justin's safety line, cut off abruptly by the darkness of the Core. COOPER Oh my God... The darkness of the Core ripples... Justin suddenly emerges from the darkness, a white figure riding a wave of impenetrable blackness. Cooper catches him, holds him tight as the wave carries them towards the wall. Cooper sees a control rod -- a long metal spike -- coming at them. He twists his body so that they miss -- barely -- before slamming into the wall. COOPER Justin, do you read me? Justin... . Cooper pulls Justin close. Justin's head lolls to one side. Unconscious. COOPER Baby Bear, don't do this. Don't do this... INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE Weir, Starck and Smith continue to hold on tightly as the vibration builds... and builds... STARCK Here comes another one! Hold on! The second wave hits. Sparks fly as consoles EXPLODE. Deep in the ship metal SCREAMS, followed by the SHRIEK of escaping atmosphere. An emergency klaxon RINGS out: PRESSURE WARNING. Starck checks Justin's station: STARCK We lost the starboard baffle! The hull's been breached! The Bridge pressure door begins to close...and then stop. SMITH The safety circuit's failed! WEIR We're losing atmosphere... STARCK There are pressure suits in the Airlock. Go! Starck pushes Weir ahead of her, Smith follows hard as they run the length of the ship for the airlock bay. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE The vibration subsides. MILLER Can anybody hear me... PETERS (O.S.) (radio) Skipper... MILLER Peters... INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE MILLER (O.S.) (radio) ...you okay? PETERS Yeah. I'm -- I'm okay. Her voice cracks as she says it. She looks anything but. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE The reports come, one on the other... COOPER (O.S.) (radio) We have a man down... MILLER Coop, where are you... COOPER (O.S.) (radio) The containment, Second Containment... MILLER Hold on, Coop... SMITH (O.S.) (radio) Captain Miller... MILLER Smith, where the hell have you been?! SMITH We have a situation here... INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY Starck and Smith already in suits. DJ assists Weir. Smith has already locked his helmet into place. SMITH (continuing) We lost the starboard baffle and the hull cracked. Our safety seals didn't close, the circuit's fried -- INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE Miller moves down the central corridor towards his wounded ship. MILLER Do we have enough time for a weld? SMITH (O.S.) (radio) We don't have time to fart. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY SMITH We're losing pressure at 280 liters a second and our oxygen tanks are cracked. In three minutes, our atmosphere will be gone. We are fucking dead. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE MILLER No one's dying on my watch, Smith! What about the reserve tanks? SMITH (O.S.) (radio) They're gone. Beat. Miller closes his eyes, desperately trying to think of a solution. INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY PAN across the faces of the astronauts. No hope. Except for Weir: WEIR The Event Horizon. The others turn to stare at Weir. SMITH What? WEIR It still has air and reserve power, we can activate gravity and life support. STARCK What if the air has gone bad? We can't wear these suits forever. SMITH I don't think this is a good idea, we don't even know what happened on that ship... WEIR It beats dying, Mister Smith. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE MILLER Dr. Weir's right. Get on board the Event Horizon. I'll meet you at the airlock. SMITH (O.S.) (radio) But... MILLER You heard me, Smith. Peters, are you with me? INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE Peters at the life support console. PETERS I'm ahead of you. Bringing the thermal units on line... Peters flips a series of circuit-breakers. Reaches for the final switch. PETERS Hold tight and prep for gees. Everything floating in the bridge CRASHES to the floor. INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT Justin and Cooper collapse to the deck, coolant splashing down all around them... CUT TO: INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - WITH AIRLOCKS Miller meets the crew as they evacuate the Lewis and Clark. Weir leads the way, eager; Smith hangs back. MILLER Everybody okay? STARCK We're all here. MILLER Okay. Let's find out how much time we just bought. Miller reaches for the catch on his own helmet. DJ We haven't tested the air yet. It could be contaminated... MILLER No time. We need whatever's left in our suits to repair the Clark. Like it or not, this is the only oxygen for three billion kilometers. Miller pulls his helmet off with a HISS. He breathes deep. Starck does the same, coughs. STARCK It tastes bad. MILLER But you can breathe it. CUT TO: EXT. NEPTUNE ORBIT - LEWIS AND CLARK - EVENT HORIZON The Lewis and Clark and the Event Horizon, locked together in Neptune orbit. Lights shine from the Horizon as power is restored. No longer cloaked in darkness, it is revealed in all its hideous glory, a nightmare etched in steel. INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE Weir moves from station to station, restoring power to each. Starck sits at the communications workstation. Miller watches over her shoulder. STARCK The antennae array's completely fried, we've got no radio, no laser, no highgain... No one's going to be coming to help us. MILLER How much oh-two do we have? STARCK Oxygen is not the problem. MILLER Carbon dioxide? STARCK (nods) It's building up with every breath we take. And the CO2 filters on the Event Horizon are shot. MILLER We can take the filters from the Clark... STARCK I thought of that, with the filters from the Clark, we've got enough breathable air for twenty hours. After that, we'd better be on our way home. MILLER What about the life readings you picked up? STARCK The Event Horizon sensors show the same thing: "Bio-readings of indeterminate origin." Right before that wave hit the Clark, there was some kind of surge, right off the scale, but now it's back to its previous levels. MILLER What's causing the readings? STARCK I don't know, but whatever it is, it's not the crew. MILLER So where is the rest of the crew? We've been over every inch of this ship and all we've found is blood. Dr. Weir? Any suggestions? Weir just stares at the bloodstained wall. MILLER What happened here? Miller follows Weir's gaze to the wall: a Rorschach test in blood... CUT TO: EXT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE WINDOW PULL BACK from the bridge windows TO REVEAL... EXT. EVENT HORIZON - LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL ...the Event Horizon in all its horrific glory, hanging skew in the center of the hurricane like a mote in God's eye. The Lewis and Clark clings to the giant craft, as insignificant as a tick. An even smaller figure clings to the hull of the Lewis and Clark... EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - HULL SECTION It's Smith, EVA in full protective gear. His magnetic boots hold him to the Lewis and Clark's hull. He kneels over a hole in the hull, where the metal has buckled and torn. Vapor still leaks from the hole into space. SMITH Captain Miller, you copy? MILLER (O.S.) (radio) I'm here, Smith, how's the Clark? SMITH I've found a six inch fracture in the outer hull. We should be able to repair it and re-pressurize, it's gonna take some time. MILLER (O.S.) (radio) We don't have time, Smith. In twenty hours we run out of air. SMITH Understood. Smith uses a foam applicator to fill the hole. The gel freezes in place. Smith reaches to his belt, pulls out a ZERO-G NAILGUN. Presses it to the patch and begins to rivet it into place. CUT TO: INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE Justin lies unmoving on a table. His eyes are open, staring at a smear of blood on the ceiling. A needle slides into the skin below his eye. He doesn't respond. DJ removes the needle. It glistens with blood. He looks up at Miller and Peters. MILLER How is he? DJ His vitals are stable, but he's unresponsive to stimuli. He might wake up in fifteen minutes. He might not wake up at all. PETERS What happened to him? DJ shakes his head. Miller eyes the bloodstain above them. MILLER DJ, take samples from these stains, compare them to medical records, I want to know whose blood this is. CUT TO: INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE Gravity has scattered debris and freeze-dried blood about the room. The crew (Justin and Smith excepted) tries to relax on the chairs of dead men. Their faces are wan and haggard. Weir relaxes at the table. Unlike the others, he seems almost at ease. DJ remains forever stoic; Starck, animated and nervous. Cooper bounces the handball on the floor, a reflex action. Miller stares at a video monitor, watching Smith repair the Lewis and Clark. He turns from the window. MILLER Okay, people, there's been a change in the mission. In less than eighteen hours, we will run out of breathable air. Our primary objective is now survival. That means we focus on repairing the Lewis and Clark and salvaging whatever will buy us more time. (pause) Our secondary objective is finding out what happened to this ship and its crew. Two months from now, I fully intend to be standing in front of the good Admiral giving my report, and I'd like to have more than my dick in my hands. Grim smiles all around. MILLER Peters, I want you to go through the ship's log, see if we can't find some answers. PETERS I can use the station in Medical, keep an eye on Justin... MILLER Fine. Starck, I want you to repeat the bio-scan... STARCK What's the point? I'll just get the same thing... MILLER Not acceptable. I want to know what's causing those readings. If the crew is dead, I want the bodies, I want the crew found. STARCK I can reconfigure the scan for C-12, amylase proteins. MILLER Do it. Dr. Weir... WEIR Yes. MILLER One of my men is down. I want to know what happened to him. COOPER I told you. He was inside the Core... Weir starts shaking his head. COOPER It was like... nothing was there... and then Justin appeared and the Core... became metal... WEIR (cutting him off) No, he didn't. COOPER You weren't there. I saw it. WEIR Saw what, Mr. Cooper? What did you really see, because what you're describing is not physically possible... Cooper throws the ball at him, hard. Weir ducks. It bounces wildly around the room. Miller catches it. MILLER Cooper! Enough! Cooper sits down. MILLER (turning on Weir) Dr. Weir, Justin may die. Whatever happened to him could happen to all of us. Beat. WEIR I don't know what happened to Justin. COOPER I'm telling you, I saw it... WEIR What you saw could have been an optical effect caused by gravitational distortion. COOPER (turning on Weir) I know what I saw and it wasn't a fucking "optical effect!" MILLER Hold on, what's this "gravitational distortion?" WEIR It's possible that a burst of gravity waves escaped from the Core, distorting space-time. They could be what hit the Lewis and Clark. MILLER What could cause them? (Weir doesn't answer) What's in the Core? WEIR It's complicated... MILLER How much time do you need? We have seventeen hours and forty-two minutes. Now: what is in the Core? Beat. Here comes another bomb... WEIR A black hole. The crew stares at him, stunned. CUT TO: INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT Miller, Starck and Weir stand before the Core. Dark ominous structures loom around them, glistening with coolant. The PULSE of the ship is loud here, a deep THRUM that steals their breath. Weir's voice is a reverent WHISPER: WEIR That's how the gravity drive works, you see: it focuses the black hole's immense gravitational power to create the gateway. That's how the Event Horizon travels faster than light. STARCK I can't believe we built this. MILLER It's insane. WEIR "Insane?" The finest astronauts fought to be posted to this ship. It would take the Lewis and Clark a thousand years to reach our closest star. The Event Horizon could be there in a day... MILLER If it worked. WEIR If it worked, yes. INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT - 3RD SEAL They stare at the Core, the surrounding machinery moving in a slow giant's dance. A trick of the eye, or does the Core stare back at them? INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT MILLER I want this room sealed. The Second Containment is off limits. WEIR There's no danger. The black hole is contained behind three magnetic fields, it's under control. MILLER Your black hole damn near ripped my ship apart. It may have killed one of my men. (beat) No one goes near that thing. MOVE IN ON THE CORE until its darkness fills the screen... CUT TO: INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE Peters sits before the computer workstation, running the ship's log, forwarding through hours of boring footage. Rubs her eyes. The lights flicker. Peters hears something RUSTLING behind her. She turns... PETERS Justin...? Justin lies unmoving on the nearest examination table. Comatose. Peters reaches out and picks up a scalpel. Peters hears the sound again, FINGERNAILS ON PLASTIC. She moves past Justin... ...past several empty tables, covered with clear plastic... ...to the last table. She stares in shock. THERE'S SOMETHING UNDERNEATH THE PLASTIC COVER She slowly reaches out. Lifts the cover. Her son DENNY looks at her and GIGGLES. She GASPS. The scalpel drops to the floor at her feet. Denny reaches up to her, to be picked up... DENNY Mommy... ...but the plastic that still covers his withered legs squirms like a bag full of snakes... Peters drops the plastic and backs away. DJ (O.S.) Peters? She turns. DJ stands in the doorway, holding blood samples. Peters turns back, but her son is gone. DJ reads her expression. DJ What's wrong? PETERS Nothing. It's nothing. CUT TO: INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK NO. 2 The Airlock light turns red -- a warning. The Inner Airlock door control flashes: "LOCKED." The Outer Airlock door opens. Smith enters. He closes the Outer Airlock door. Atmosphere HISSES into the chamber. The Inner Airlock door flashes: "PRESSURIZED." INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK BAY NO. 2 Cooper in EVA, getting ready to go outside. The Inner Airlock door opens. Smith enters. Takes off his helmet. COOPER You been out there a long time. Trying to break my record? SMITH I'd rather spend the next twelve hours Outside than another five minutes in this can. This ship is bad. It watches you. COOPER What? SMITH You heard me. This ship, it's crazy: trying to go faster'n light, that's like the Tower of Babel. COOPER Shit, Smith, you're going Biblical on me. SMITH You know what happened to the Tower of Babel, don't you? It fell down. COOPER You're sucking too much nitrogen in your mix. CUT TO: INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE Starck programs the sensor workstation. She glances over at Weir: sitting at a computer terminal, his face rapt as data flashes by. His lips move, muttering to himself. STARCK Why Dr. Weir, I think you're in love. WEIR Hmmm. Claire used to tell me I loved the Event Horizon more than I loved her. I told her that wasn't true, I just knew the Event Horizon better, that's all. STARCK Claire is your wife? WEIR Yes. STARCK It must be hard, being so far away from her. WEIR Yes. I miss her. She died. Two years now. STARCK I'm sorry. Weir keeps his attention focused on the screen. WEIR These things happen. (reacting to something on the screen) Wait a minute, that's not right... He fingers fly across the keyboard, double-checking the data. Miller leans over Weir's shoulder. MILLER You have something, Dr. Weir? WEIR The date. MILLER What about it? WEIR The Event Horizon's computer think's it's 2034. MILLER It's 2041... WEIR Exactly. The ship's internal clock is off by seven years. STARCK Maybe a power interruption crashed the system... WEIR No, there's no evidence of a surge or spike of any kind. It's as if time just... stopped for seven years. MILLER Explanation? WEIR Intense gravitational fields effect the passage of time, it's possible... (beat) Black holes make sense on paper, it's all math, you see, but as to what really happened... (he shakes his head) The Event Horizon has passed beyond our plane of reality, and like Lazarus, returned from the dead. The INTERCOM interrupts them: PETERS (O.S.) (intercom) Captain Miller, Dr. Weir? I found the final log entry. CUT TO: INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE Peters sits at the workstation. Miller, DJ and Weir stand behind her, watching. A VIDEO SCREEN INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY (FOR VIDEO) A jumpy, handheld camera view of: Gravity couch bay. Two crewmen checking electronics modules. The ship is well-lit, clean, no sign of debris. The narrator's voice is excited and nervous. KILPACK (O.S.) We have reached safe distance and are preparing to engage the gravity drive and open the gateway... INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE PETERS The speaker is the mission commander... WEIR (quiet) John Kilpack. INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT (FOR VIDEO) Second Containment. A lone engineer finishes his check of the Core. He turns to the camera and gives a self-conscious "thumbs-up." KILPACK (O.S.) When you get this message, God willing, we will reach the solar system of Proxima Centauri... INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE MILLER I wonder if they ever made it. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR (FOR VIDEO) Corridor. The entire original crew assembled, playing catch with the stuffed dog KILPACK I just want to say how proud I am of my crew. I'd like to name my station heads Chris Chambers, Janice Rubin, Dick Smith, Tom Fender and Stacie Collins. And to Bill Weir and all the scientists that got us here. INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE (FOR VIDEO) Bridge. KILPACK addresses the camera. His face is flushed with excitement. KILPACK I... uh, I had something historic to say, and I wrote it down but I... I can't find it. Ave, atque, vale. Hail and farewell. INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE A BURST of static... ...followed by an inhuman HOWL of FEEDBACK, like screaming hyaenas, almost alive. Through the swirl of static, the suggestion of movement. Miller freezes the frame. He squints at the screen... POV MILLER Obscured by static, the image is blurred beyond comprehension. MILLER What the hell is that? Dr. Weir? WEIR I don't know. PETERS I can run the image through a series of filters, try to clean it up. MILLER Do it. Suddenly, the lights fade out. Dim emergency lighting snaps on... PETERS What's happening...? DJ A power drain -- MILLER We barely have enough power for life support as it is, if we can't stop the drain, we're not gonna make it. WEIR The Core...! Weir heads for the door. MILLER Wait! But Weir has vanished into the corridor. MILLER The rest of you, stay here, I don't want anyone else going near that thing. Miller follows after Weir. CUT TO: INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT The Second Containment Seal opens. Weir is about to enter when Miller stops him. He checks a Geiger counter. It is silent. MILLER No radiation. What's causing the drain? Weir crosses to a console. Frowns. WEIR (shakes his head) The magnetic fields are holding. Maybe a short in the fail-safe circuit. I'll check it out. Miller assists Weir in removing bolts from an access panel. The panel falls away, revealing a cramped duct leading into the ship's circuitry. Weir climbs into the duct. Miller hands him a flashlight and a toolkit. MILLER We don't get the power back, our air's gonna go bad. WEIR Check the Core for radiation. Carbon dioxide may be the least of our worries. Weir begins to crawl into the depths of the ship. INT. EVENT HORIZON - WEIR'S DUCT Weir's breath ECHOES in the cramped shaft. He counts off circuit panels as he goes: WEIR E-three... E-five... E-seven... where are you... INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT Miller slogs through the coolant to the Core. Stares at it. It remains metallic, mundane. He pulls out a Geiger counter and crosses to the reactor shell. Examines a gleaming weld. The Geiger counter CLICKS slowly: no leak. INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE A yellow light starts flashing on the engineering board. Starck's eyes widen: the engineering sections flash yellow...and green... STARCK What the hell... STARCK'S POV as the bio-scan goes wild. STARCK (into intercom) Skipper, the bio-scan just went off the scale... INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE Justin shakes on the bed in an epileptic fit. DJ rushes to him. DJ Justin! Can you hear me? Justin! Justin's eyes remain unfocused, unseeing as he tries to speak. DJ leans in close, trying to hear him speak... Justin arches in agony and the words come in a strangled, tortured voice: JUSTIN THE DARK IS COMING... INT. EVENT HORIZON - WEIR'S DUCT Weir stops before module E-12. Hears a faint HISSING and POPPING.