Wednesday 20 July 2011

Juicy scene. No context. First draft.



SEAN: What sort of comfort is that for me? What good is that to me? Simon: I'm going to die. Your scientific predictions about the planet are no use to me, because I'm not going to be on it.
THE MASTER: I'm sorry, but the world doesn't care about that.
SEAN: But I care. Everything I have is being taken away from me. Faces, one by one. The people I knew. The work I've done.
THE MASTER: That's the only kind of immortality I can offer you. Your work will live on.
SEAN: Yeah. In a paper with his name on it!
ANDREW: Sean... I acknowledged your contribution.
SEAN takes a piece of paper out of his pocket. This is your paper. It's garnered over a thousand citations. It might yet be the best thing you do. Here's the first equation. It's mine. Here's the derivation. All this is mine. I wrote it down for you after our conversation in the pub at Newmarket. You thanked me in a footnote.
THE MASTER: You are saying things you can't go back on.
ANDREW: Sean. You're tired and you're not thinking straight.
SEAN: Because I haven't got the calculus of forces right? Because I'm going to be off the scene soon, so why should it matter? You stole my work.
ANDREW: You need to forget about this.
JACOB: Dad...
SARAH: Shut up.
SEAN: No.
You stole something from me.
JACOB: Dad, did you...
SARAH: Jacob: be quiet.
Andrew becomes aware of Jacob's presence.
ANDREW: Newmarket, was it, Sean?
Long pause.
Well, you stole something from me.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

oooh! scientific egos duking it out on publication recognition? NOT science fiction! i like it!

M L Jassy said...

Excellent! Did Sean cut in on Andrew's girl/boy-friend?

Anonymous said...

I'm enthralled. Would love to read more of this. Sean's character is very well drawn, as I can hear the intensity of his voice. Well done.

davidhughjones said...

Thank you all :-) positive feedback is great.