Buck Rogers in the 26th Century Episode 207x "The Invasion of Noyas" Written by: Erin Weinstock I don't hold any of the copyrights in this story, and this story was made without profit. Teaser: int: The Generational Mass: On a planet named Noyas, on the outskirts of a town, Buck is shown entrapped in a shelter called by its creators the Generational Mass. He looks to be floating in mid-air when truthfully he's caught in a congealed mass of past generations and a few living of an alien species named Proto Number Seven. It looks like semi-dirty pink jello. Buck's eyes are closed. V.O. Buck: "How did I get into this?" He opens his eyes slightly. V.O. Cont: "I'm inside a living jello mold. I would have never guessed in a million years truly -." V.O. Old One: "Where your home?" V.O. Buck: "What, where'd that come from?" He turns to look to both sides of him. V.O. Cont: "I must be losing my mind in here." The screen flashes and we Cut to: int: Huer's Office: Huer is just beginning to stand up from behind his desk while saying this next line to Buck standing before him. Huer: "According to the database on Noyas provided by the Computer Council, it's a peaceful planet that gave up trade a few years ago to rebuild and upgrade its resources. They are at war with no one and that's why I've asked you here, Buck." Buck: "If there is no threat why ask me here?" Huer, who's right up to Buck's face: "They have claimed their enemy, "the Proto Number Seven", have detonated a bomb in their ammunitions storage complex. They want us to destroy them instead of lifting a finger themselves." Buck: "If this bombing took place within their own ammunitions storage building, maybe the explosion was a mistake." Huer turning away from Buck: "That could be. That was my first thought in fact about this whole thing. But they aren't letting go of this whole threat from Proto Number Seven." Huer now looking at Buck again, Cont: "I want you to investigate this, find out what's really going on. Buck, the council has no record of any species named Proto Number Seven." The screen flashes and we Cut to: int: The Generational Mass: The camera is watching a snaking in movement vine of the jelly move towards Buck. It stops moving when it reaches to just a foot before Buck's face. A ball inside the vine moves up through the vine till it's reached its end. The ball inside the vine puffs out like a flower to reveal what looks like a nerve end. Buck stares at it. The nerve starts pulsing tiny lights at Buck on its thin tips. The screen flashes and we Cut to: int: Cafeteria: The camera is focused on a material banner sign that says "Fly with Force: United States Air Force (smaller type) Sign up today ". Then the camera moves down from it to a recruiting booth below the sign. Two men wearing Air Force uniforms sit in chairs behind the booth. Papers for sign-up sit before them along with leaflets that give information and show photos of the job they're in. A few teenage boys and one girl of the same age stand in front of this setup, talking with the men from the Air Force. The teenagers are dressed in clothes that tell us when this scene is taking place, in the mid or late 80's. The camera pans through the busy cafeteria which soon becomes clear by books, folders, papers and backpacks at the tables with the kids, it's in a high school. The camera settles on Buck and Ben who are teenagers as well as the other kids in the scene. Ben is in the foreground with Buck standing behind him with a tray of eaten food and an empty milk carton. Ben is halfway inside a large trashcan trying to reach something. Buck: "Give it up, it's a bad idea." Ben: "No no, I'm not going to fill out those papers again." Buck: "They won't take you, [ beat ] doing that doesn't give them a good impression of you." Ben lifts himself out of the trash can holding most of the papers we last saw at the Air Force recruitment booth. Ben: "I don't need to impress those guys, Buck. The government will take anybody." Buck moves Ben aside as he dumps the contents of his tray into the trash can. Ben picks his tray up off the floor where he set it earlier. Buck: "It won't work, Ben. Maybe in the past with guys like Neil Armstrong and John Glenn, but not now." As both boys are walking towards an exit to the cafeteria, to a place meant to take their empty trays, Ben: "Air Force then NASA, Buck. That's how it's been [ beat ] that's how it's always going to be. They want people who can think well under pressure." Buck: "What about Christa McAuliffe?" Ben: "She was a passenger, trained but still a passenger." Buck and Ben set down their trays. Buck: "The ship blew up; you couldn't get me up there." Ben: "But I could get you to change your mind." Buck: "About what? Joining the Air Force?" Ben: "Ya." Buck: "No." Ben: "If you say they're really so picky about who they'll take in, sign up." Ben looks Buck up and down smiling. Cont: "I say they won't take you." Buck grabs Ben's hand in a ball of a stake, Buck: "You're on." Buck heads back into the cafeteria towards the recruitment booth. The screen flashes. End Teaser Pre-Credits: Beginning of Act One: The screen flashes. int: The Generational Mass: Buck is where we last saw him and the nerve vine; after a beat of looking at Buck: V.O. Old One: "Why here?" V.O. Buck: "Where?" The vine pops back into itself the nerve that was shining lights at Buck. Quickly it snakes away off into the distance to some unseen place. V.O. Cont: "Where did, [ beat ] was it speaking to me, [ beat ] with no mouth? But they have mouths." V.O. Old One: "Different." Below Buck two large tendrils form in the jelly and snake upwards towards Buck's legs. Buck: "What's different? Who's there? [ beat ] Is this all in my mind?" The tendrils take sharp hold around Buck's ankles and immediately Buck starts trying to fight their grip on him by kicking around. The screen flashes and we Cut to. ext: Shuttle Park: This is a very private looking shuttle park as compared to others we've seen in earlier episodes, this one looks like it's only large enough to hold four small ships. The Defense Directorate shuttle Buck has just landed here and is currently walking away from is taking up more than a fair share of space on it. As this scene begins besides Buck walking away from the shuttle a "Firza", an alien native to this planet, is walking towards Buck from a building behind him. The Firza has a horn-like extension covered in flesh that heads up and over the forehead like a tower; under this horn-like extension is something almost beak-like that moves down over the mouth some to a point, to either side of the horn-like extension are its eyes which almost slant completely vertically instead of horizontally like normal eyes. Firza One: "I'm sorry we're not open today due to repairs being made. Please return to us when we're ready for public view." Buck: "I'm not here to buy weapons?" Firza One: "But you're here from Earth's Defense Directorate, I recognize your clothes and ship." Buck: "I thought your planet had given up trade?" Firza One: "We have to an official note, but that doesn't mean we still don't welcome it. Tell me why you've come here if not for that?" Buck: "You reported to us you were bombed by an enemy you have named the "Proto Number Seven" ?" Firza One looks to Buck's ship. Cont: "Is something wrong?" Firza One: "Only one man, you cannot defeat them with just one man. Surely you have brought others here as well with you?" Buck: "I came here by myself under the orders of Doctor Huer." Firza One in a snap turns to Buck. Firza One: "That won't do. We need them exterminated, you'll need help." Buck: "This bombing, can you tell me how it took place?" Firza One: "I'll do one better than that. I'll show you where it happened too." Firza One motions for Buck to follow him into the building, which doesn't use Phasoft-doors. Cut to: int: Ammunitions Storage Complex: In here all the weapons have been moved to one side of the room Buck and Firza One have just entered. Mainly these weapons are bombs of massive size and blasters that look like they could take out a whole ship in one shot. On the opposite wall blast damage can be seen, being repaired by a device that looks like a gun of some sort, but what it's shooting is a beam that is repairing the wall. How it's doing this is the beam makes a sparkling square in the air inside a damaged area. Then a person sitting at the gun at its base presses controls at it that make the gun form a thin layer of gray, replacing the sparkling square. This layering act is repeated over and over till the patch in the damaged area looks like the undamaged wall and with each new layer the person at the repair gun's controls is making adjustments. Firza One points to the damaged wall, turning Buck to see it. Firza One: "See, look what they did!" Buck then looks at the weapons before turning his gaze to Firza One. Buck: "Are you sure one of your own weapons didn't do this? The Defense Directorate has no record of the ones you say did this." Firza One: "They're real and they're a real threat to us. You must get the rest of the Defense Directorate here to destroy them." Buck takes notice of a trash can near the weapons and goes over to it. Then Buck lifts a broken shell of a bomb out of it. He then matches it to one of the bombs seen on a top shelf of the storage. Firza One takes notice of this. Firza One: "They did this!" Buck: "We're not attacking anyone, not without just cause." Buck throws the bomb shell inside the trash can. Firza One: "They need to be destroyed, please you can't go!" As that last line is said Buck is heading for the door. Buck without turning his head to look back: "How dumb do you think I am?" Firza One: "However you'd like me to answer that to get your help?" As Buck leaves the building, Firza One runs after him. Cut to: ext: Shuttle Park: Just in the nick of time Firza One catches Buck ready to enter the shuttle. Cont: "Meet them, encounter the Proto, you'll see how awful they are. What they're doing to this world, how they're destroying it." Buck: "Are you sure it isn't destruction you're doing? LIKE THE BOMB?" Firza One: "Meet them, they're real I swear it!" Buck takes his hand away from the access panel for entering the ship. The screen flashes and we Cut to. int: The Generational Mass: The scene here picks up from where it last left off only now Buck is being dragged down into the depths of this place. He continues to fight the tendrils pulling him down as he passes more of the vines with nerve ending glittering around him, popping in and out of view to look at him as if loaded with caffeine. V.O. Buck: "Please if you can hear me, if you're real, help!" The camera's POV cuts to being Buck's as he watches the nerves pop in and out of view on their vines, sparkling at him. The screen flashes and we Cut to. ext: Sky over an Ocean: The camera is watching a fighter jet high up in the air shooting forward. V.O. Buck: "Please that doesn't help, I can do this!" Cut to: int: Jet Cockpit: Buck is sitting in the pilot's seat holding the steering grips, which are wavering a little. Buck, who looks like he's in his early twenties, looks very concerned with his gaze fixed on the view outside his window. Buck: "The engines aren't powering down, I think it's this switch!" Buck flips a switch far off to one side of his steering grips. V.O. Larson: "Which switch Rogers! Which switch did you just flip?! This could be a matter of life and death!" Buck: "The small one just to the far right of my grips." V.O. Larson: "Christ Rogers, that switch controls your fog lights!" Buck: "Whoops." V.O. Larson: "This isn't a funny matter!" Buck: "I know it isn't General, it's just when there aren't many choices left what else can you do?" V.O. Larson: "Full power or not you're coming into us, prepare to land!" Buck: "But I might crash or go right past the flight deck!" Cut to: ext: Sky over an ocean: The camera is behind Buck's fighter jet as we see ahead of it at some distance is an aircraft carrier with the name Highstone painted near its bow. V.O. Larson: "When there aren't many choices left what else can you do? You said it, Rogers, not me." V.O. Buck: "What if I wanted a second choice!" V.O. Larson: "I'm not the one in the sky, and over months of training meant to prepare you for this you still don't know fully how to fly that bird. I'm ordering you to land, if you crash we'll deal with that." V.O. Buck: "My death means nothing to you!" Cut to: ext: Highstone Flight Deck: Men are moving all about clearing everything as far away from the runway as possible as Larson unmoving talks into a walkie-talkie looking up in the air towards where Buck is coming in from. Larson: "And obviously the training I gave you means nothing to you." V.O. Buck begins murmuring like he's cursing after Larson has given a click on his walkie- talkie. He looks around at the now cleared flight deck before returning his attention to the sky and giving the walkie-talkie a click. Larson: "We're ready for you down here, General Larson out." He turns off the walkie-talkie. The camera cuts to the stern of the ship and we can see Buck's jet coming in fast for a landing. Cutting the camera back to the flight deck, Larson watches Buck's jet ready to land on the deck off camera. Larson backs away from the camera by a few feet. In a flash Buck's jet zooms by at close up. After watching that action Larson turns towards where Buck just went off to, and into the walkie-talkie after clicking it into the right setting, we hear his voice booming now. Cont: "Attention all available officers - ." Cut to: int: Highstone / Hallway: The commotion of people moving around has come to a halt as... V.O. Cont: "You're needed on deck for a Code Splash." End of Act One: Beginning of Act Two: ext: Sky: Two large helicopters are coming into camera view with between the two of them, four heavy cables with oversized hooks on them dangling downwards. Cut to: ext: Ocean: Buck, soaking wet, is wearing a life-preserver looking up in the air blinking as the overhead but off-camera helicopters create massive wind around him. Under Buck, coming up from the depths, bubbles are rising up around him. With Buck's gaze fixed on the helicopters he doesn't notice the harness on a rope thrown to him until it hits him. Buck: "Hey!" V.O Larson: "Put it on, we need you pulled up before the jet!" Buck does as he's told. The screen flashes and we Cut to: int: The Generational Mass / Pocket: The slimy pink jello is moving off of Buck who's coughing up the alien gook out of him. He's in a pocket dome of air with the Generational Mass surrounding him. He starts picking himself up and off the floor, rubbing the slime off his face before trying his best to get it off the rest of him. Buck turning around in a 360 while saying this line: "Please let me out, I'm sure you can work out some kind of deal with the Firza and the Harno." He waits for an answer then from all over the sides of the pocket, it ripples. Cont: "You two don't have to be enemies. Think what they've given you, surely you could do a favor for them in return, [ beat ] on another world?" The rippling jelly outside the pocket has the vines with nerve ending come into view off in the distance and immediately they sparkle towards the pocket. The screen flashes and we Cut to: ext: Beyond Town: Firza One is pulling Buck along to follow him as they reach a slope, and the Firza with his free hand not holding Buck, points downwards. Firza One: "The Proto Number Seven, see they're real!" The camera pans back to give us a better view of this scene. When doing so we see a massive pool of dirty pink jello littered in holes of different sizes in an almost Swiss cheese look, filling a gorge which size matches what's filling it. Buck and Firza One are standing almost on the edge of this. Buck: "This is it? [ beat ] Pink jello?" Firza One: "Will you get the Defense Directorate to destroy it?" Buck: "First of all I don't even know what it is, so no way am I going to do anything with it till that's settled. Second let go of me, you've made your point of it's really here." Firza One lets go of Buck's hand then steps back a foot. Firza One: "They were on Licode, a living one-celled organism that had no thought, only reflexes, made electric energy. We brought them to this planet -." Firza One takes another step away from Buck. Cont: "To power our homes, factories, businesses. But they -" Firza One moves even further away looking at Buck and the Generational Mass. Cont: "Evolved, our guess was due to having no natural predators on this planet. They began creating so much of their electrical energy, they began shorting out the devices they were being contained in -." Then Firza One moves even further away, still looking at Buck and the Generational Mass. He looks like he wants to head back to town. Cont: "Then began thinking; with each generation of evolving they've been getting smarter and smarter." Buck: "With how you're backing away from this place I'm guessing they really ARE dangerous?" Firza One still backing away: "We can't fight them. I'm leaving this up to you alone now!" Firza One runs out of camera view back towards town. Buck gives him an ugly look before returning his view to the Generational Mass. Being not sure how to act towards the faceless mass, Buck: "Hello?" The Mass gives no sign it's aware of Buck's presence. Buck unholsters a blaster and starts to move down towards it. Within a yard of the Generational Mass it, pushes aside itself to create an entranceway then later a hall for Buck to walk down as he goes further inside. Buck starts to move into the area now being hollowed out for him. But just as soon as he's completely within the entrance, it seals up behind him. Buck taking notice of the last action performed by the Mass, Cont: "Not again." An evolved Proto Number Seven comes out of the jello from within the thicker mass. It has a smooth non-descript looking body of dark pink, nearly the same color as the mass that surrounds it. Its expressionless face with black eyes with no white, has vines near the surface which look purple. We cannot tell by any means if it's male or female. Buck gawks at the evolved form, Cont: "Proto Number Seven?" A tentacle whips out from the Generational Mass and takes Buck's blaster away from him, pulling it into itself. Cont: "That's not very friendly, I needed that." Evolved Proto Number Seven One: "You are not very friendly." Buck: "You can talk." Evolved Proto Number Seven: "Your weapon presented a threat, not as great as the Harno Number Six, but it was still unfriendly to present it to here." Buck: "If you'd said something earlier I might not have had it drawn." The Evolved Proto Number Seven moves around Buck looking at him. Evolved Proto Number Seven: "You are not Firza." Buck: "You're right, I'm another species named Human." Evolved Proto Number Seven: "Did the Firza bring you here?" Buck: "They brought me here; they want me to destroy you." Evolved Proto Number Seven: "Do you want to destroy my, our -," The Evolved Proto Number Seven moves its head around to indicate what's surrounding them. Cont: "Generational Mass?" Buck: "Generational Mass?" Evolved Proto Number Seven: "We grow and die here, evolve here, we live in here with those gone to us and coming into being. [ beat ] How could -?" The Evolved Proto Number Seven gives Buck a close up look. Cont: "I should, I should, we -." Another Evolved Proto Number Seven emerges from deep within the Mass. Both Evolved Proto Number Sevens at the same time: "What is Human? What is the purpose of Human and planet of origin?" Buck: "We - we have no purpose, we invent our own. [ beat ] We're from Earth." Evolved Proto Number Seven: "Your weapon has been destroyed, Human." Buck: "I was told you were dangerous. [ beat ] You destroying my blaster, that wasn't too friendly either but understandable. [ beat ] Tell me what you're doing to the Firza they find dangerous." A path further into the Generational Mass creates itself as the jelly pulls back into itself. Evolved Proto Number Seven: "We are growing, expanding, come see." Buck moves forward but quickly finds the two Evolved Proto Number Sevens won't move with him. Buck: "Guys you do want me to see what's back there?" Evolved Proto Number Seven One: "Then move forward." Buck gives them a look like he's not sure this is right then pushes past and through them. After that action the Evolved Proto Number Seven reform themselves where Buck has disrupted their bodies. And they turn to face where Buck is now headed to by shifting their whole bodies backwards in a total reforming. Soon almost real looking walls form out before the trio and tentatively Buck touches a door with even a knob on it. Buck: "Good impression." Evolved Proto Number Seven One: "We can impersonate all objects created by the Firza, including the Firza, but the Harno Number Six we still have issues with." Buck looking to be in deep thought turns his back to the wall and leans against it. Buck: "Harno Number Six? What is that, they, it?" He looks to both of them. Both Evolved Proto Number Seven at once: "Origin on Licode, our memory of them is faint but still present. They are a predator that has killed billions of us." Buck: "But you don't have to worry about them here, this isn't Licode, you have no natural predators here." Both Evolved Proto Number Sevens at once: "The Firza have brought them here." Buck: "[ beat ] So what the Firza are calling a threat from you towards them is truthfully a threat towards these other aliens, the Harno." Evolved Proto Number Seven: "The Firza feel threatened by our presence inclining on theirs, that's why they brought the Harno Number Six to this planet, to destroy us." Buck: "Then just keep your distance from the Harno and you'll be fine." Evolved Proto Number Seven One: "We have evolved since our last encounter with the Harno Number Six but we must not fight, destroy them yet. We still need to become more than what we are before then." Both Evolved Proto Number Seven at once: "The Firza must never bring the Harno Number Seven to this planet after. We will make sure it will never take place again." Buck waving his arms to them: "Wait guys now that does sound like a bit of a threat. Can't you just leave them be?" Evolved Proto Number Seven: "The Harno Number Six must be destroyed, they are a threat to the Generational Mass, we must expand, grow, but we can't do it with them on this planet." Buck moves towards them from the wall, Buck: "Guys something must be done about this and I'm not sure what the Defense Directorate will do, will be in your favor." Evolved Proto Number Seven One: "You are with the Defense Directorate?" Buck: "I'm a fighter for the Defense Directorate." As the door behind Buck is opening without him noticing, both Evolved Proto Number Seven at once: "The Defense Directorate might take action not on our favor, that is a threat, you are a threat, you must be destroyed." Buck: "Hey wait guys." They advance on Buck who doesn't notice what he's about to back into: a mass of tentacles coming on from the open doorway. Cont: "I like to help people, this isn't necessary." The tentacles grab Buck and pull him into the Mass. The camera follows Buck through the Generational Mass as Buck is hurled through it a good distance till he stops moving. The camera cuts in on Buck's face and we see his eyes are closed. End of Act Two: Beginning of Act Three: The screen flashes. Cut to: int: The Generational Mass / Pocket: Cont: "What is this? What are you doing to me here? [ beat ] Is - is this some kind of stomach?" V.O. Old One: "Studying you." Buck: "Show yourself, I need to know I'm not going mad." The screen flashes and we Cut to: int: Office: Buck in his early twenties is sitting in an uncomfortable chair made of mainly plastic, with metal for its frame and legs. He looks like he could care less about where he is and frankly would like to be any place else. Sitting before him at a neatly organized desk is a man who looks to be a few years older than Buck, wearing a decorated uniform that says he's done a good amount of service to the Air Force despite his young age. This man does care that he's in this room. Commander Dilliway: "Cadet Rogers, how much do you want to be here today?" Buck slumps his head to one side. Buck: "As much as I bet you want to be here, sir." Commander Dilliway: "Cadet, I love my job here as much as I love this country. But you on the other hand, [ beat ] do you love this country?" Buck lifts his head up, Buck: "I love this country, however there are a few things I could say about -." Commander Dilliway quickly cutting in: "The Air Force, we know you don't fit in here, Rogers. We wish you were more like your brother about this." Buck: "Sir -." Commander Dilliway: "Commander Dilliway." Buck: "Commander Dilliway, my brother isn't in this to stay." Commander Dilliway: "He made that clear from the first day he entered this base. However you don't have many choices right now where you can stay." Buck: "Am I being assigned to another base or being kicked out?" Commander Dilliway: "Cadet, have you ever considered working for another branch of the U.S. military?" Buck: "No." Leaning forward on his desk, putting his hands together, Commander Dilliway: "You haven't earned enough credit here for a full college scholarship. [ beat ] The officers on board the Highstone, well they have some pity for you after what you did [ beat ] off their flight deck." Commander Dilliway gives Buck a look asking if he's listening, which in turn... Buck: "I'm listening." Commander Dilliway: "The NAVY wants you." Buck leans back in his chair and looks downwards. Cont: "They are willing to take you under their wing and give you personal training aside from the rest of their cadets." In a low voice, Buck: "I don't need special training." Commander Dilliway: "Then you'll listen to your commander and follow orders like everyone else." Buck looking up but still speaking soft: "I haven't agreed to anything." Commander Dilliway: "I want you to think over what I've just told you and give me an answer before 21 hundred hours tomorrow, is that understood?" Still speaking softly, Buck: "Understood." Commander Dilliway: "You may leave now, Cadet." Buck gets up from his chair and leaves the office. Cut to: int: Hallway outside Dilliway's Office: It's a very plain looking place with light blue walls, wooden trim surrounding the door to Dilliway's office and floor and tiles on the floor that all look the same. Buck has just come out into this area from Dilliway's office when suddenly he notices a young Jenny near his age in a fast walk down the hall past him. She's wearing an Air Force uniform that looks brand new. Buck's attention is still fully caught by her even with her past camera's view now and... The screen flashes and we Cut to: int: The Generational Mass / Pocket: Buck is sitting on the ground staring at one of the jelly coated vines with sparkling nerve ends. Buck: "[ beat ] I have no clue who you are, what you are, but staring at this is getting really boring, really fast." V.O. Old One: "98 percent determined, almost done." Buck: "With what? Studying me?" V.O. Old One: "Studying you." Buck: "You're trying to figure out if I'm a threat like how the Proto Number Seven see me?" V.O. Old One: "I am Proto Number Seven." That fact catches Buck off guard and he starts looking around himself. The screen flashes and we Cut to: ext: Ocean: In the middle of this scene against a clear sky, the U.S.S. Rockyshark is pushing its way forward through the water. V.O. Buck: "Enemy aircraft, please identify yourself." Cut to: int: Rockyshark / Radar Room: In a crowded dimly lit area, Buck rounding thirty in age is standing over a man with a radar screen in front of him. On the radar screen a green dot can be seen moving into its center. Buck listens to this from a headset linked into the radar's station, stretching over to one side of the man in front of Buck. V.O. Jenny: "If it were anyone else asking me this question." Buck smiling: "You'll be shot down if you don't comply with my order." V.O. Jenny: "Try to shoot me down when I'm about to land on your deck." Buck: "Are you sure "deck" is the right word for that?" The man in front of Buck turns to him. Man: "Captain!" Buck bringing himself under better control: "Sorry." V.O. Jenny: "I'm landing now." Buck: "And I'm greeting you with a firing squad." Buck takes off the headset and hands it to the Man in front of him. Then Buck heads off camera. Cut to: ext: Rockyshark / Flight deck: Jennifer's jet is shown sitting on the deck and the camera is following behind her as she throws her helmet against her side, heading towards the entrance to the interior of the ship. Buck comes into view from the entrance which she's headed for. Jenny: "Where's the warm greeting?" The camera cuts to where a few seconds have elapsed and Buck and Jenny are now going into each other's arms. Buck: "Right here." Jenny: "You destroyed my bird, I might have to stay here for a long time." Buck laughs. The screen flashes and we Cut to: int: The Generational Mass / Pocket: Buck is standing in front of an area of the wall where it's been pushed out into a plate-like surface. Near his feet the vine with sparkling nerve endings is slinking back into the full goo of the Mass. Buck: "How could you be Proto Number Seven?" V.O. Old One: "100 percent determined." Buck: "How could you be Proto Number Seven!?" V.O. Old One: "I am what they once were, I am less than they are, almost dead." Buck: "You're dieing?" V.O. Old One: "I am of generations ago, I am less than they are but am kept alive by the nourishment they feed me." Buck: "You are a less evolved form of Proto Number Seven?" V.O. Old One: "I am." Buck: "How is it that you are speaking to me." V.O. Old One: "My mind is inside yours." Buck: "You are a telepath, but I can hear, think your thoughts?" V.O. Old One: "I am." Buck: "Tell me, what were you studying about me? What were those weird things looking at me?" Why were those weird things looking at me?" V.O. Old One: "My feelers, they were probing you." Buck: "To find out what?" V.O. Old One: "Who you are." Buck: "If you asked me I could have told you who I am. Could have saved you a whole lot of time there." V.O. Old One: "I needed to go in your mind, to truly know who you are." Buck: "What did you find out about me? What purpose did it serve to do that to me, to find out who I fully am?" V.O. Old One: "Your actions in the past, what has made you who you are. If you are really a threat to the Proto Number Seven." Buck pauses for a couple beats to take in what he's just been told. Buck: "[ beat ] And what have you determined about me from your findings? Am I good or bad? Do I live or do I die?" End of Act Three: Beginning of Act Four: int: The Generational Mass / Pocket: The scene here picks up right where we last left it at the end of Act Three. The camera is close up on Buck. Cont softly: "Which is it?" V.O. Old One: "I could not care less if you lived or if you died. I only care if you could help the Mass." The camera then slowly pulls away from Buck. Buck: "I won't help you kill the Harno, to my knowledge they've done nothing to you here." V.O. Old One: "The Harno Number Six are a threat I do not wish to meet or my descendants to meet." Buck: "Is that what you want me to take care of? Making sure you never encounter the Harno?" V.O. Old One: "Going home." Buck: "What do you mean by that? What's going home?" V.O. Old One: "My descendants are more powerful than the Harno Number Six, they will become more powerful but so will the Harno Number Six, we must retreat to a safer place." Buck: "And where's that?" V.O. Old One: "Home." After a beat of thought, Buck: "Licode?" V.O. Old One: "The Mass must return home." Buck acting to note he's making a point: "The Harno are there too." V.O. Old One: "Not evolved, not greater, threat but not great." Buck: "I think I see -." He walks around a little. Cont: "They've evolved here too like you have." V.O. Old One: "Need to go home, no threat there." Buck: "How can I get you there when your descendants want me dead?" Cut to: ext: The Generational Mass / Slope: Forty or fifty of the Evolved Proto Number Seven are standing near the gully that contains The Generational Mass. All of them are staring into it at its surface, boiling up the goo to form up structure as it cools hitting the air. They make no sound, no movement until... In a non-defined mass rising eight or nine feet into the air from the center of the Generational Mass, the old one appears. The Evolved Proto Number Seven's only reaction to this is blinking, taking in the sight. V.O. Old One: "Listen to us." All Evolved Proto Number Seven at once: "You are gone, what is us?" As the Old One says it's next line, it's commanding the Mass to push aside itself and make an opening to push up Buck from. V.O. Old One: "Not gone but still here by little, you must listen to us." All Evolved Proto Number Seven at once: "The Human is a threat to the Generational Mass, it must be destroyed." Buck takes in his surroundings, Buck: "Your ancestor and I want to help you." All Evolved Proto Number Seven at once: "You will use weapons on us." A little of the boiling goo then hits Buck and he makes a sharp small noise of pain at it. Buck: "I will take you back to Licode." All Evolved Proto Number Seven at once: "You are a threat to the Generational Mass; we will not face the Harno Number Six yet." Buck: "Facing them here could be even more dangerous than facing them on your home planet! They have no enemies here but you, and as long as you stay out of contact with them here, as you evolve into higher beings they too might evolve! The Firza don't want you here any more, they might try in the future to use greater force than trying to call upon the Defense Directorate for it! Later you might have to face not only an evolved form of the Harno but the Firza as well!" All Evolved Proto Number Seven at once: "We have no means of returning to Licode, you have no means of returning us to Licode." V.O. Old One: "The Human, [ beat ] Captain William Buck Rogers, has the means." All Evolved Proto Number Seven at once: "Explain." Buck: "I came here in a small transport shuttle. We have larger ones back at the Defense Directorate, I could call them to be brought here, they can take you back to Licode." All Evolved Proto Number Seven: "Then what of the Harno Number Six on Licode?" Buck: "It is always easier to face one enemy than two. They might be no match for you on Licode; you could live in peace and far from them." All Evolved Proto Number Seven: "But we must expand to grow." Buck: "But do you need an entire planet to do so?" Everything becomes silent, even the boiling Generational Mass calms down to a simmer of movement. Cont: "Do you really need an entire planet?" All Evolved Proto Number Seven at once: "Licode is a large planet." The camera starts pulling back from the scene and continues through the next two lines. V.O. Old One: "We can live in peace far from them." All Evolved Proto Number Seven at once: "We will live in peace far from them." End Of Act Four. The End. Roll Credits.