Brazil

Sam looks both ways and heads for the stairs.

INT. BUTTLE'S STAIRCASE – DAY

Sam runs up the stairs to the floor above and finds himself in –

EXT. SIMILAR CORRIDOR – DAY

He runs along the corridor but has omitted to count the doors downstairs and now doesn't know which door to knock at. He hesitates. He rings the bell on what he hopes is the right door. The bell doesn't work. He bangs on the door. The door opens a crack. A malevolent eye looks at him.

SAM

Girl... fair hair...

The door shuts firmly. Sam rushes to the next door.

INT. JILL'S FLAT – DAY

Sam bursts into Jill's flat. He sees the hole in the floor. The place looks derelict. He hears an explosion and looks out of a window to see his car in flames. Jill is apparently retreating from it across the forecourt. She is carrying a suitcase and bundles.

INT. STAIRCASE – DAY

Sam rushes down the stairs.

EXT. BLOCK OF FLATS – DAY

Sam charges out into the open air. Jill has disappeared. The Messerchmidt, however, is in flames. Sam doesn't know which way to turn. Spotting an old mattress lying by the building he grabs it and throws it over the car in an attempt to smother the flames. The group of CHILDREN watch him silently. Suddenly with a great roar, Jill's lorry comes round the corner at speed. Sam sees that Jill is at the wheel. Sam runs after the lorry.

SAM

(shouting)

Wait! It was nothing to do with me!

The lorry roars away. Sam dashes back to his smoldering three-wheeler. He flings himself into it and starts it up. He also roars away, except that he doesn't move... all three wheels have been removed. He turns round in despair and sees the group of children regarding him expressionlessly.

They include the little Girl Buttle.

Defeated, he slumps down against his charred vehicle. A shadow passes across his face. Looking up he sees Girl Buttle standing over him.

SAM

Go away.

GIRL BUTTLE

Her name is Jill.

SAM

What?... Jill? Jill who? Jill who?

GIRL BUTTLE

Layton.

SAM

Jill Layton...

(getting up)

You're a very good little girl. What are you doing here?

GIRL BUTTLE

I'm waiting for my daddy.

SAM

(uncomprehending)

He will be pleased when he comes home.

Girl Buttle doesn't answer and Sam starts to walk away. After a few yards, the thought strikes him: he turns back to look at the little Girl Buttle who stands alone patiently in the vandalised wilderness.

INT. RECORD CLERKS POOL – DAY

It is the end of the work day. The Clerks are busily getting their coats and leaving the office. As the last one goes Mr. Kurtzman comes out of his private office with his hat and coat on. He turns out the office light. He sees Sam isolated in the empty room, still working at his computer console. Totally absorbed in what he is doing.

KURTZMAN

Oh... Sam. I've had the transport pool onto me... You don't know anything about a personnel transporter gone missing do you?

Sam doesn't seem to hear him. On the computer screen is a front and side view picture of Jill. Her name and code number is at the top of the screen. Sam is punching up personal dossier information like "age", "height", "weight", "colour of hair", "colour of eyes", "distinguishing marks" etc.

SAM

(preoccupied)

A "personnel" transporter? They've got it wrong. I had a personal transporter. I'll do the paperwork tomorrow –

Sam punches up a few more categories for Jill's dossier.

KURTZMAN

Is it all right about Mrs. Buttle's cheque?

SAM

I delivered it.

KURTZMAN

Can I forget it?

SAM

Yes.

Sam punches a few more buttons on the computer.

KURTZMAN

What a relief!

(on reflection)

I shall probably have nightmares.

At this point the word "Classified" superimposes itself over most of the screen and "IRQ/3" starts agitating at the bottom

SAM

Damn! Blast!

KURTZMAN

What's the matter?

SAM

You don't happen to know how I can get around an IRQ/3 do you?

KURTZMAN

All information on 3rd Level Suspects is classified.

SAM

I know that.

KURTZMAN

All enquiries to Information Retrieval. Which is hopeless, of course. They never tell you anything. But come the time they want something from us...

Throughout this verbal wallpaper Sam has been punching keys cancelling the CLASSIFIED overprint. He then punches in the code for a hard-copy print-out. Jill's two-view computer portrait rolls out as Sam ponders his options.

SAM

(cutting off Kurtzman)

I've go to accept that promotion to get behind this, haven't I?

KURTZMAN

Yes.

(realising what he's suggesting)

NO! You can't! You've only just turned it down!

(thinking Sam is joking)

SAM

I never signed the form.

KURTZMAN

I did it for you.

SAM

What! Shit!

KURTZMAN

It's what you wanted isn't it?

SAM

Yes... No... I don't, know.

Kurtzman picks up Jill's print-out and glances at it. He grimaces and drops it back on the desk with a shudder.

KURTZMAN

Come on, before they turn the lights out.

Sam nods. He turns off the machine. He stands up and follows Kurtzman towards the door. The door is some distance away, and before they get there all the lights go out. Kurtzman bumps into a desk and curses.

INT. TRANSPORT CAGE – EVENING

Packed tightly between other passengers Sam is busy drawing long flowing hair with a pencil on the computer print-out of Jill turning her into the Dream Girl. The transport cage rattles through its elevated tube towards a tower block.

INT. SAM'S CORRIDOR – EVENING

The transport cage arrives at the platform forming the end of Sam's corridor. Passengers disembark and head for various doors along the corridor. Sam almost fails to get off in time – so concentrated on Jill's picture is he. Looking as if he's trying to make up his mind about something he heads for his own front door.

INT. SAM'S FLAT – EVENING

Sam enters. The place is in a state of turmoil. Servicing panels are off the walls. Conduit, ducting, pipes, unknown mechanical horrors spew from the wall as if the place was disemboweled. Spoor stands in the middle of it all trying to direct two other WORKMEN who are poring over wiring plans which seem to make little sense to them. Dowser is not visible but there is a great deal of clunking and banging going on somewhere behind the wall.

SAM

What the – ? How did you – ?

SPOOR

Emergency procedures.

DOWSER (O.S.)

(muffled)

... ergency procedures.

SAM

(angrily)

I haven't got an emergency. Get out of here.

For reply Spoor whips a small tape-recorder out of his bag and plays back Sam's original phone call to Central Services, claiming "an emergency". Spoor shuts off his machine, puts back into his bag and comes out with what looks like a quite thin phone hook with carbon paper between each page. Spoor indicates the bottom of page 1.

SPOOR

Sign here please.

SAM

What is it?

SPOOR

(surprised)

It's a 27B/6, what did you think it was?

Sam takes out Kurtzman's old-fashioned fountain pen from his pocket, signs where indicated. Spoor registers that Sam's signature has hardly penetrated through he first carbon let alone the other 43.

SPOOR

(sourly)

Haven't you got a ballpoint?

Sam resignedly starts signing all the other pages one by one. Spoor realises that Dowser's echo has gone missing.

SPOOR

Now where's he got to?

(shouts)

Dowser!

Dowser bursts through a panel in the wall. This is the panel which Tuttle had removed and replaced. A few of the flat's intestines have come out with Dowser. Dowser has made a find – Tuttle's spare part.

SPOOR

What have you got there?

DOWSER

(highly excited)

Got there!

Dowser points to Tuttle's spare part which is hanging out of the wall attached to rubber tube. Spoor examines this closely. Sam watches alarmed. The two men go into a mumbling huddle.

SPOOR

Mumble... mumble... mumble... Tuttle

DOWSER

Mumble... Tuttle...

SPOOR

Tuttle!... mumble!

(to Sam)

You've had that scab Tuttle here, haven't you?

DOWSER

... aren't you?

SAM

What?

SPOOR

Who fixed your ducts?

DOWSER

... your ducts?

SAM

I fixed it myself.

SPOOR

Oh yeh? Where'd you get this from eh...

(he holds up Tuttle's spare part)

... out yer nostril?

DOWSER

... Yer nostril?

SPOOR

Central Services don't take kindly to sabotage!

DOWSER

... sabotage!

Spoor and Dowser and the other workmen gather up their tools – put them in the bag, grab everything else that belongs to them and are leaving. Spoor grabs the form-book out of Sam's hands, rips out the last page, thrusts that page at Sam, shoves the book into his bag. The workmen begin leaving the flat.

SAM

Hang on! Wait a minute! You can't just go and leave it like this!

SPOOR

(mock innocent)

Why not? All you've got to do is blow yer nose and fix it, haven't you?

DOWSER

... ven't you?

SPOOR

(leaving)

You're putting your talents to very odd use Mr. Lowry – yes, odd use – to pit wits against Central Services –

DOWSER

... sod you, stupid twit.

They go, slamming the door behind hem, leaving Sam in the ruins of his flat.

Sam stands in the maimed sitting-room. Wall panels are off. Tubes, ducting wires etc. spill out into the room like greasy intestines. Sam more or less collapses onto a couch. He stares at the ceiling. The room is gently hiccoughing and belching around him. He stares at the print-out of Jill's face. Slowly it dissolves into the Dream Girl.

EXT. CONDUIT FOREST– NIGHT

Dream Girl's face fills screen. The camera pulls back to reveal that she is separated from us by a tangled forest of conduit/ducting-like vines. Sam is struggling through the vines, which grab at him, entwine and entangle him. Finally bursting free he reaches out for the Girl hovering before him, But as he embraces her she dissolves in smoke and he plummet into a void beneath his feet.

EXT. CLOUDS – NIGHT

CUT TO Sam plummeting down through dense clouds, his cape twisting around him. Somehow he manages to wrestle it clear of his body. Gripping the corners he whips the cape up and over his head. The wind catches it and fills it out until it acts as a parachute slowing Sam's descent. Suddenly the clouds thin out and Sam can see below him.

EXT. STRANGE LANDSCAPE ANTI – DAY