New Horizons Through The Interplanetary Medium

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium
__________________________
by Larry Pontius
Larry Pontius
1060 South Sherbourne Drive, #208
Los Angeles, CA,
90035
512-659-9279
LPontius@gmail.com
www.LPontius.com
Characters
Devika Kewalramani
Jordan
Meg
Waitress
Doctor Tennant
Carl Sagan
Doctor Tomasini
Doctor Yang
Tony
Ellen Lewis
Father
Brihaspati
Tycho Brahe
Hypathia
Kyle
God of Death
Charon
An Old Couple
Shiva
Time
2006 to 2015
Locations
Various
The Cosmos is also within us

We're made of star stuff
---Carl Sagan
EARTH/MOON
DR. DEVIKA KEWALRAMANI, 30, South
Asian-American, is a NASA
Scientist. SHE stands in an
eerie yellowish Pluto light with
a thousands stars behind her and
the great depths of space. She
speaks with authority, because
she is one.
DEVIKA
Pluto. The ninth planet in our solar system. For most of
its orbit it is the farthest planet from the Sun. It is
smaller than our moon and its atmosphere is most likely
nitrogen and carbon monoxide. At its furthest point from the
Sun-the nitrogen is frozen and most likely falls to the
ground, as Pluto approaches the Sun, it thaws and becomes
gaseous.
Long predicted, Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde W.
Tombaugh and named by an 11 year old girl from England named
Venetia Burney, now Venetia Phair. She suggested the God of
the Underworld, now associated with Darkness and Evil, but
originally, Pluto and his Greek counter part, Hades, was
associated with the cycle of Summer and Winter, Harvest and
Death. Pluto. Hades... kidnapped Persephone and took her
below. Her mother, the Goddess of the Earth, was grief
stricken, and would not allow anything to be grown.
Eventually, a deal was made with the God of the Underworld,
for half the year Persephone would live with him, and the
other half, she would return home...and the Goddess of the
Earth would be so thrilled that Spring and Summer would
occur.
In 1978, it was discovered that Pluto had a moon, Charon.
And then, in 2005, two more were discovered.
Pluto is a distant planet. It takes almost 250 years for
Pluto to make one orbit of the Sun. You or I will never live
to see it make it all the way around. For all that we seem
to know, there is so much more to learn, so many more
questions, and not enough answers.
Lights change. Behind DEVIKA, it becomes
daylight, a sky scattered with thick puffy
clouds. And, as she continues to speak, a
miniature launch gantry moves besides her. In
the distance, we hear a countdown. We are now
at Cape Kennedy, on the day of a launch.
New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius
2.
DEVIKA (CONT'D)
Today, January 19, 2006, NASA is launching a deep space probe
called New Horizons which will be the first spacecraft to fly
by Pluto. In 2015. The primary mission of New Horizons is
to characterize the global geology and morphology of both
Pluto and Charon, it will begin observations six months
before reaching the planet.
DEVIKA's cell phone rings. SHE takes it out

of her pocket and continues to speak.
It will also map the chemical compositions of the surfaces of
Pluto and Charon.
She pauses. Looks at the phone.
deciding. It rings. It rings.
She is
Excuse me.
She answers the phone.
Dr. Devika Kewalramani.
Yes. Dad. I know it's you. I have caller I.D. It shows
your phone number. And your name. Yes. Well. I'm busy.
It's a launch day. Launch day. I'm in Florida. New
Horizons is...Listen. I can't talk.
The countdown is getting close. The launch
gantry is next to her. She has become a
rocket.
Dad. I need to go. I don't-Listen. I'm standing in front
of people. Well. I was talking about Pluto. They asked me
nicely. Because I thought it would be a nice thing to do.
Covering the phone.
I'm so sorry.
To her father.
Listen, can I call you back? Because, I'm standing....
have to go. It's going to take off any moment. No, it
cannot wait.
I'll call you later.
I will.
I promise.
Good bye.
The countdown is at twenty or so.
Sorry about that. Where was I? Yes. New Horizons.
map the geology of the planet, the chemical
compositions...um...
It will
3.
10, 9
It will photograph the planet in detail.
8, 7
For the first time in history, we will truly see Pluto.
6, 5
New Horizons will spend 10 years in space
4, 3
And then....
2, 1
Pluto.
Liftoff. We hear the roar of the rocket, a
deep bass that reverberates in your chest,
DEVIKA looks up towards the sky.
January 2006, New Horizons leaves the Earth at 36,000 miles
per hour. Venetia Phair, the little girl who named Pluto, is
now 87 years old. Ten years isn't a long time. Maybe she'll
get to see the pictures of her little planet. My little
planet.
The lights begin to dim as DEVIKA leaves the
Earth. Finally, only a dim light is on her
face, and then...blackness.
4.
Late at night, Lowell

Observatory, winter. Mars Hill.
DEVIKA comes in, wearing a thick
winter coat, holding a thermos.
JORDAN sits at the desk, staring
at the monitors. HE looks right
at DEVIKA.
JORDAN
Hey.
DEVIKA
Jordan?
JORDAN
Meg wanted to switch. How was Florida?
Yeah.
Good, great.
DEVIKA
She didn't tell me.
JORDAN
Oh?
DEVIKA
Not that it's a problem.
JORDAN
Good.
Good.
She sets her thermos on the desk, takes off
her coat.
DEVIKA
Cold outside.
JORDAN
Yeah.
DEVIKA
Didn't think it could get this cold.
some?
Brought soup.
You want
JORDAN
Yeah.
Yeah.
What kind?
DEVIKA
Chicken noodle.
JORDAN
Great.
Good.
5.
DEVIKA
Do you have...a bowl?
JORDAN thinks, looks around. Grabs his coffee
cup, drains the remainder. He hands it to
Devika. She frowns.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Gross.
JORDAN
It's fine.
DEVIKA pours some soup.
herself. She sits.
She pours some for
DEVIKA
So?
Processing data.
Perfect.
JORDAN
The spectrographs should be ready soon.
DEVIKA
It's a great night for it.
JORDAN
Should get some great data.
DEVIKA nods.
JORDAN (CONTD)
Do you want to go on a date with me?
DEVIKA
Excuse me?
JORDAN
Nevermind, nevermind.
DEVIKA
Did you just-?
JORDAN
NoDEVIKA
You didJORDAN
Does that meanDEVIKA
I don't know.
6.
Silence.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
I'm really flatteredJORDAN
But.
DEVIKA
But. You know...we're colleagues. Colleagues.
together. And that...you know it's just-
We work
JORDAN
Meg's dating Michael.
DEVIKA
Yes.
JORDAN
So...it's me?
DEVIKA
It's not you. It's not. I just. Meg's Meg, right...she's
extraordinary. Me? It's. Listen. If we were to see each
other, it would be...complicated.
JORDAN
Complicated.
DEVIKA
Yes.
JORDAN
You're an astronomer, you deal with astro-physics and the
geology of other planets.
DEVIKA
Yes?
JORDAN
Devika...
Silence.
Whirring of the computer.
JORDAN (CONTD)
The data should be ready soon and we'll be able to move on.
DEVIKA
Jordan.
JORDAN
Hey. It was just. It's okay. No big deal.
just a movie. Or coffee.
It would been
7.
DEVIKA
Colleagues.
JORDAN
Colleagues.
LIGHTS.
Devika at the Doctor's office.
Devika sits in front of the
doctor's desk. She shifts
around. Not sure what to do.
DOCTOR TOMASINI followed by his
intern, DOCTOR YANG enter.
DOCTOR TOMASINI
Sorry to keep you waiting Ms. KewalramaniDEVIKA
DoctorDOCTOR TOMASINI
Yes?
DEVIKA
It's Doctor Kewalramani.
DOCTOR looks at his paperwork. The Intern
points. The Doctor nods, irritated.
Yes, yes.
Sorry.
DOCTOR TOMASINI
Doctor.
DEVIKA
Doctor.
DOCTOR YANG
Doctor.
DEVIKA
Doctor.
DOCTOR TOMASINI
That done.
He stares at the Intern.
Devika share a smile.
The Intern and
The Doctor goes and sits.

DOCTOR TOMASINI (CONTD)
Miss...excuse, Doctor KewalramaniNew Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius
8.
DOCTOR YANG
Did you know the PhD came before the MD?
They look at him.
DOCTOR YANG (CONTD)
It's true. I mean, this is centuries ago...but the Doctor of
Philosophy is much older than the MD. In certain circles
it's a much more prestigious degree.
DOCTOR TOMASINI
Are you done?
DOCTOR YANG
I just thoughtDOCTOR TOMASINI
You're here to learn, observeDOCTOR YANG
Well, sureDOCTOR TOMASINI
Doctor Yang, we will discuss this later.
DOCTOR YANG
Right.
DOCTOR TOMASINI
Forgive, Doctor Yang, he's excitable.
DEVIKA
That's alright.
DOCTOR TOMASINI
We got your tests back. And quite frankly, they were exactly
as we expected. The blood tests are quite clear, the
abnormal high count of white blood cells...
DEVIKA
Oh.
DOCTOR YANG
I'm very sorry.
DEVIKA
Yes.
Thank you.
DOCTOR TOMASINI
We have caught this early... are you alright?
DEVIKA nods, but says nothing.
9.

Do you want a glass of water? Doctor Yang.
DOCTOR YANG goes.
DEVIKA
That's good.
Of course.
Right?
DOCTOR TOMASINI
It's very good. It's very, very good.
DEVIKA
But?
DOCTOR TOMASINI
Never the less it doesn't lessen the riskDOCTOR YANG returns with a plastic cup of
water. DEVIKA takes it, drinks it all in one
gulp. She hands him back the cup. He isn't
sure what to do next.
Cancer is cancer, Doctor. Yes, we've caught it early, but,
there is much work to be done.
DEVIKA
What are my chances?
DOCTOR TOMASINI
Very good.
DEVIKA
What are the numbers?
Numbers?
DOCTOR TOMASINI
I would hate to speculate.
DOCTOR YANG
We can't really be certain.
DEVIKA
Just...try...with the available data.
DOCTOR YANG and DOCTOR look at each other.
DOCTOR TOMASINI
Devika, we can't put a finite number on it. It's just too
impossible. Listen. It will be alright. We've caught it
early enough. We still have options.
She is silent. She takes a deep breath and
lets it out slowly. She looks at the DOCTOR.
10.
DEVIKA
What are the options?
A pause.
HE looks at her.
Nods.
BLACKOUT.
A caf. A table. MEG, 30's,

sits across from DEVIKA.
MEG
Michael wants to get a dog. A dog. A yapping, drooling,
pooping dog. Three weeks after he's moved in, he thinks that
getting a dog would be the best thing for our relationship.
I don't know how I have ended up dating such an idiot. By
all appearances he's a smart guy. He lectures at BRILLIANT
universities. He's published everywhere. But a dog?
I think his baby clock is ticking.
Dogs make poor analogues for babies.
A waitress, young, very Earth Mother, delivers
two mugs.
WAITRESS
Chai?
MEG raises her hand.
WAITRESS (CONTD)
And the mug of death of you.
DEVIKA looks up.
WAITRESS (CONTD)
Caffeine kills.
DEVIKA
Right.
Thanks.
WAITRESS
It is just another chemical. Right?
Sure.
DEVIKA
I'll think about that as I drink it.
WAITRESS
Right on.
Anything else?
MEG looks at DEVIKA, DEVIKA shakes her head.
11.
MEG
Give us a minute.
WAITRESS nods, goes.
MEG (CONTD)
What the hell was she on about? Mug of death?
fist of doom right here.
MEG laughs.
I got her
DEVIKA is silent.
MEG (CONTD)
Hey.
DEVIKA
Hm?
MEG
Where are you?
In the far distance...a million miles
away...New Horizons floats through space.
DEVIKA
Here.
Silent.
Alone.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
How's Michael?
MEG looks at her.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
What?
MEG
I was telling you about the dog.
DEVIKA
Yes.
Yes.
Sorry.
The Waitress returns.

WAITRESS
Hey.
I'm sorry.
MEG
Excuse me?
WAITRESS
For what I said earlier. I know I shouldn't like...you
know...jump down your throat for the choices that you make.
You know. It's like.
12.
WAITRESS (CONT'D)
It's like we all gotta live with the choices that we make and
no one should tell anyone like how to live, we gotta respect
each other. You know?
MEG and DEVIKA look at her.
WAITRESS (CONTD)
A blueberry muffin on me?
MEG
UmLow fat, gluten free.
WAITRESS
Great for regularity.
MEG
Sure.
WAITRESS
Awesome.
She goes.
DEVIKA
Are we getting a muffin that has no gluten?
MEG
What does gluten do?
DEVIKA shrugs.
MEG (CONTD)
What's going on?
DEVIKA
(perhaps to sharply)
Nothing.
MEG
Didn't Jordan...
Oh.
Jordan.
Silence.
Yeah.
DEVIKA
Jordan. He's nice.
I just don't think.
MEG nods.
MEG
Alright.
DEVIKA
He works with me.
13.
MEG
I said ok.
DEVIKA
I just don't thinkMEG
I said ok.
DEVIKA
We can't all be you and Michael.
MEG
What's that mean?
DEVIKA
Meg, it'sWAITRESS returns, muffin on a plate.
Just baked today.
She nods.
Leaves.
Devika.
It's.
WAITRESS
The muffin.
Looks to both of them.
I.
Nods again.
MEG
Listen. I want you to be happy.
DEVIKA
I'm happy.
MEG
You just work.
DEVIKA
Work makes me happy.
MEG
Don't you miss, you know...
DEVIKA
What?
MEG
Companionship?
DEVIKA is silent.
MEG (CONTD)
Michael has made me happier than I have ever been. Except
for the dog thing. That's a whole other-he has made me
happier than I thought possible. And, it's something that I
thinkNew Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius
14.
DEVIKA
It's kind of gross. The two of you. The way you make googly
eyes at each other, pass little notes during morning
meetings. Giggle. It's unprofessional.
MEG
DevikaDEVIKA
No, Meg, no. It's childish they way you two carry on. We're
there to do work. Important work. We're there to discover
how the Universe works. And that takes time. Energy. And
focus. A boyfriend is a distraction from the work at hand.
So, please, no more talk of this, alright?
Pause.
MEG
Alright.
LIGHTS CHANGE.
15.
MARS
Devika under the reddish glow of
Mars.
DEVIKA
In September 1877, Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli,
used a 22 centimeter telescope to produce the first detailed
map of Mars. These maps notably contained features he called
canali, which were later shown to be an optical illusion.
These canali were supposedly long straight lines on the
surface of Mars to which he gave names of famous rivers on
Earth. His term was popularly mistranslated as canals.
Visible by the naked eye, the planet had been a part of the
mythology of many cultures.
To the Eyptians it was Horus the Red.
The Hebrews named the planet Ma'adim, "the one who blushes."
For the Hindus, Mangala, the celibate god of war, son of
Shiva and Bhumi.
The Babylonians named it after their deity of fire, war and
destruction: Nergal.
The Greeks followed suit and called it the planet Ares.
To the Romans it was stella Martis.
The Star of Mars.
Mars' average distance from the Sun is roughly 230 million

kilometers and its orbital period is 687 days. A day on Mars
is slightly longer than an Earth day: 24 hours, 39 minutes,
and 35.244 seconds. A Martian year is equal to 1 year, 320
days, and 18.2 hours. Mars has two tiny natural moons,
Phobos and Deimos, which orbit very close to the planet and
are thought to be captured asteroids.
Olympus Mons, or Mount Olympus, is the highest known mountain
in the solar system. At a height of 26 kilometers it is
three times the height of Mount Everest.
The large canyon,
Valles Marineris, has a length of 4000 kilometers, nearly 7
km deep. By comparison, the Grand Canyon on Earth is only
446 km long and nearly 2 km deep.
The Mars Global Surveyor, launched in 1996, made complete,
extremely detailed maps of the surface. These maps are now
available online.
April 7th, 2006: the New Horizons Spacecraft passes the orbit
of Mars.
LIGHTS CHANGE.
16.
The office that Devika and Meg

share. The desk is piled with
papers, books, files, etc.
DEVIKA bursts into the room.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
That mother fucker, that fucking fucker. Fuck, fuck,
fuck.MEG comes in and closes the door.
MEG
Slow down, slow down, Devika.
DEVIKA starts to pile things on her desk.
MEG (CONTD)
You're not seriously quitting.
Of course I am.
DEVIKA
Why the fuck notMEG
Ok, ok, ok.

DEVIKA
I am sick and tired of THAT MAN dictating to us what we can
do when.
MEG
He's a bit old school.
DEVIKA
Old school?
MEG
Hey, I don't want to see you make a rash decision.
DEVIKA
I've been thinking about this. I don't need to take his
shit. I can find another position.
MEG
Because of all the need for planetary astronomers in the
country?
DEVIKA
That's not funny.
I was making a point.
MEG
Ironically.
DEVIKA
Are you on my side?
17.
MEG
Of course I'm on your side.
DEVIKA
You don't sound like you're on my side.
MEG
There's not really a side.
DEVIKA
His or mine.
MEG
I'm somewhere in the middle.
DEVIKA
You think he's RIGHT?
MEG
DevikaDEVIKA
It was your idea to trade time with otherMEG
I didn't say he was rightDEVIKA
So you can't now side with him.
MEG
I'M NOT ON HIS SIDE.
DOCTOR TENNANT walks into the room.
DEVIKA become quiet.
MEG and
DOCTOR TENNANT
Doctor Kewalramani, your behavior at the meeting as just
unacceptable.
DEVIKA
And what about yours?
DOCTOR TENNANT
As director of this facilityDEVIKA snorts.
DOCTOR TENNANT (CONTD)
You do understand you are not the only personDEVIKA
Yes, of course, but you have to understand-
18.
DOCTOR TENNANT
I don't have to understand anything. We all have to share
the facility, each project gets time with the equipment as it
needs require. And it seems that your project has taken more
of its share of time.
DEVIKA
It's not like I'm stealing the time, I've just traded other
projectsDOCTOR TENNANT
We cannot allowDEVIKA
They have been perfectly fine with the trades.
DOCTOR TENNANT
Dr. Kewalramani, this is unacceptable.
DEVIKA
Its bullshit is what it is.
MEG
Devika!
DEVIKA
Well it is.
DOCTOR TENNANT
Never the less, this is how this facility is run, the
administration decides who and whenDEVIKA
But we are still sharingDOCTOR TENNANT
I will not be over ruled in thisDEVIKA
But it's fucking stupid!
DOCTOR TENNANT
Be that as it may. You have a choice. You can either play
by the rules or you can leave.
DEVIKA
You are an ass.
DOCTOR TENNANT
Is that your resignation?
DEVIKA gives him the finger.
19.

Ridiculous.
DEVIKA
You pompousMEG
DEVIKA, STOP IT.
DEVIKA turns and plops into her chair.
MEG (CONTD)
Doctor TennantDOCTOR TENNANT
I will not be spoken to in such a manner, by someone who is
so young, so self-important.
Absolutely.
MEG
I understand.
DOCTOR TENNANT
Perhaps you can explain it to your colleague here.
way out.
On her
MEG
Doctor, please.
DOCTOR TENNANT
I'm sick and tired of this behaviorYes.
Yes.
I know.
MEG
Please.
DOCTOR TENNANT
She has made her decision, she has to live with it.
DEVIKA pushes some papers off her desk.
Like a child.
HE turns to leave.
MEG stops him.
MEG
(pulling him aside)
If I can get her to apologize, will you...
DOCTOR TENNANT
Doctor-
20.
MEG
Jim. Please. Understand. This isn't like her. This isn't
her. She's. Please. I'm begging you. Don't let her go for
this. Don't let her hang herself.
DOCTOR TENNANT takes a breath, nods, then
leaves.
MEG (CONTD)
(picking up the papers)
Well, this is another fine mess...
DEVIKA
I don't want to hear it.
MEG
(dropping the pages on the
desk.)
What the hell is going on, Devika?
DEVIKA
Nothing is going on.
MEG
You've beenDEVIKA
I've been what?
MEG
Don't take it out on me.
DEVIKA
I've been what-you're about to call me something.
MEG
Listen, I just want to know what's going on.
DEVIKA thinks for a moment.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Well.
DEVIKA
I'm unemployed.
MEG
Stop that.
Deflecting.
DEVIKA refuses to look at MEG.

MEG (CONTD)
How's treatment going?
Treatment.
DEVIKA
Treatment is going fine.
21.
MEG
Just fine.
DEVIKA
I said its going fine, it's going just fine.
Alright?
MEG
You don't have to get pissed at me.
DEVIKA
I've just quit my job and you're asking about my cancer?
MEG
Yeah.
I am.
DEVIKA
It's fine.
MEG
That's all you can say?
DEVIKA
What more do you want?
MEG
Is it...
...searching for the words
MEG (CONTD)
...getting better.
Yes.
Maybe.
DEVIKA
They think so.
MEG
Think?
DEVIKA
It's fucking CANCER, Meg. They can only THINK they know.
They don't KNOW for certain.
MEG
But what are they telling youI HAVE CANCER.
cancer.
DEVIKA
I'm a thirty two year old woman with breast
MEG
Yes.
But what-
22.
DEVIKA
I shouldn't have cancer, there's no reason for me to have
cancer. I don't smoke, I barely drink, there's NO historyMEG
Hey, heyDEVIKA
WHY DO I HAVE CANCER?
MEG embraces DEVIKA, DEVIKA begins to cry.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
I don't want to have cancer, I don't want to have cancer.
MEG
And you won't. The doctors are doing their best, you're
going to make it.
Meg, Meg, Meg.
DEVIKA
I'm tumbling.
New Horizons...passes Mars, heading into

space.
MEG
It's ok, baby.
God.
Meg.
Keep going.
It's ok.
DEVIKA
What am I going to do?
MEG
Just keep going.
A knock at the door.

in.
Hey.
JORDAN sticks his head
JORDAN
I just heard about the meeting.
It was nothing.
What the hell-?
MEG
Just her time of the month.
JORDAN, looks at them, confused.

Don't listen to her.
DEVIKA
It's early menopause.
JORDAN
Huh?
MEG
IT'S NOT SENILITY?
23.
JORDAN
Who are you people?
JORDAN leaves.
DEVIKA
On a scale of 1 to 10, how big of an ass did I make of
myself?
MEG
About 100.
DEVIKA
Shit.
MEG
I don't think I have ever seen the finger used so elegantly.
DEVIKA
Oh, god.
What do I do?
Tell him.
Everything.
MEG
He'll understand.
DEVIKA
Yeah.
Yeah.
SHE takes MEG's hand.
takes a breath.
I know, I know.
It's ok.
It's just not fair, Meg.
SHE swallows hard,
MEG
You gotta keep going.
DEVIKA
It's just not fair.
MEG
Yeah.
LIGHTS CHANGE.
The couch at Jordan's house.
DEVIKA and JORDAN are watching a
horror film. JORDAN enjoys the
movie while, DEVIKA...
DEVIKA
Oh.
Oh.
SHE covers her eyes.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
What is this?
24.
JORDAN
It's a horror film.
DEVIKA
Why are you showing this to me?
JORDAN
You said you liked moviesDEVIKA
Movies, yes.
Wait.
JORDAN
This part is great.
DEVIKA uncovers her eyes. Screams, the sound
of flesh being burned away.
DEVIKA
That's horrible.
JORDAN
But, look how they rendered his eyes, the CGI looks so real.
DEVIKA
Can we turn it off?
JORDAN
But it's not over yet.
DEVIKA
I don't want to seeJORDAN
It gets goodDEVIKA
This isn't good?
JORDAN
Well, I meanScreams, running, things being smashed.
DEVIKA hides, using JORDAN.
Ok.
Alright.
JORDAN (CONTD)
You're missing out.
DEVIKA
I am not missing out.

JORDAN
It's a classic.
25.
HE turns the TV off.

each other.
They sit and look at
JORDAN (CONTD)
You want to...um...I got an X-Box.
Devika shakes her head.
JORDAN (CONTD)
Play Station?
Nintendo?
DEVIKA
I'm not interested.

JORDAN
Alright.
Pause.
Then.
I'm sorry if I've been.
DEVIKA
Difficult.
Lately.
JORDAN
You haven'tDEVIKA
I haveJORDAN
It's beenDEVIKA
Jordan.
JORDAN
Sorry.
DEVIKA
Please. Just. Let me finish. I've been.
some stuff going on-
It's.
There's
JORDAN
Stuff?
DEVIKA
It doesn't matterJORDAN
You can tell me.
DEVIKA
You.
It doesn't-
26.
JORDAN
You don't want to tell me?
DEVIKA
Jordan, I'm tryingJORDAN
Why can't you tell me?
DEVIKA
Because it doesn't matter.
JORDAN
If it doesn't matterDEVIKA
(getting up)
Ok.
You know-JORDAN
Are you leaving?

DEVIKA
Yes. Yes. I am. This. This wasn't a good idea. I just
thought, it would be great to spend some time with you.
Maybe. I was wrong. What I said...that maybe we could be
more than colleagues. But. No.
JORDAN
I don't understand.
I'm being impulsive.
DEVIKA
I shouldn't be impulsive.
JORDAN
This was a date?

...yeah.
DEVIKA
Didn't you think it was a date?
JORDAN
I wouldn't have shown you that movie if it was.
DEVIKA
I thoughtJORDAN
I just thought...
DEVIKA
I'm sorry. I. I thought. Maybe. We could be more
than...friends. But. There's stuff that I don't want...that
I dread telling you, right now. It's stupid. I know. But.
27.
DEVIKA (CONT'D)
But, I can't do anything about that. I just...there's stuff
that I don't want to tell you and I don't want you to ask.
JORDAN
Ok.
DEVIKA
Ok?
JORDAN
Yeah.
DEVIKA
I need a friend right now.
JORDAN
Yes.
DEVIKA
Just a friend.
JORDAN
Absolutely.
DEVIKA
I'm not watching that movie anymore.
JORDAN
I have lots of DVDs.
DEVIKA
How about a comedy?
JORDAN nods, stands, looking for a comedy.
LIGHTS.
Doctor's Office
The New Horizons spacecraft
speeds through space. But...to
our eye, it floats.
Doctor Yang enters.
DOCTOR YANG
Doctor Kewalramani, how are you?
The probe speaks with Devika's voice...from a
million miles away...it is a faint radio
broadcast.
I'm fine.
NEW HORIZONS
Where's Doctor Tomasini?
28.
DOCTOR YANG
Doctor Tomasini is with another patient. He said I could
give you the results. I think he's finally beginning to
trust me.
He wonders.
Do you think it's a race thing?
NEW HORIZONS
I don't know.
He decides.
DOCTOR YANG
No. No. It's not a race thing. That would be.
would be stupid.
Well, that
I think it's an age thing. He doesn't like young doctors.

He thinks we care too much. That we. That we spend so much
time getting to know the patient, care for the patient, we
aren't critical enough, that we become subjective in our
approach to treatment rather than objective.
Cold, I would say. We aren't mechanics. We have to treat
the human being in front of us, right? Am I right?
New Horizons doesn't answer.
Right.
So, you're feeling fine?

NEW HORIZONS
What about the test?

DOCTOR YANG
Right.
The test.
HE opens the folder.

New Horizons floats in spaces as...
LIGHTS FADE.
In front of a computer, DEVIKA
sits, flipping through fuzzy
photos of Pluto.
CARL SAGAN, the famous (dead)
astronomer, steps into the room.
HE holds a cup of coffee.
New photographs?
CARL SAGAN
Wonderful.
DEVIKA looks.
29.
CARL SAGAN (CONTD)

Humanity peering further and further out into the Universe.
DEVIKA
Carl Sagan?
CARL SAGAN
It makes one wonder. What did early man, when he first gazed
up into the heavens and saw billions upon billions of stars,
what did he think? What did he imagine those points of light
to mean?
I brought you coffee.
HE puts the coffee on her desk.
You're dead.
You died.
DEVIKA
You're.
CARL SAGAN
True. But with some current thinking, all that I am, all
that I was, may still exist, if there was only a way to pluck
the information, recover it from the very fabric of the
Universe. The idea of a holographic Universe is a very
intriguing idea. If it weren't for its voodoo qualities.
I didn't know if you wanted cream and sugar.
From his coat, cream and sugar.
It's the radiation.
DEVIKA
From the treatment.
CARL SAGAN
Or perhaps the long hours. Billions upon billons ofI'm hallucinating you.
DEVIKA
This is a hallucination.
CARL SAGAN
Or, perhaps, I am hallucinating you.
DEVIKA
That gives me a headache.
CARL SAGAN
Time travel?
DEVIKA
Lets stick with hallucination. You're dead.
CARL SAGAN
Indeed.
30.
DEVIKA
It's a little hard for me to get past. I don't dream of dead
people. I'm not prone to this sort...thing. I'm a fan. I
used to watch your show.
CARL SAGAN
Thank you.
DEVIKA
It's why I am who I am.
CARL SAGAN
I am a collection of water, calcium and organic molecules
called Carl Sagan. You are a collection of almost identical
molecules with a different collective name. But is that all?
Is there nothing here but molecules. I'm made up of Billions
uponDEVIKA
Can we stop with the Billions upon Billons stuff?
CARL SAGAN
In our business, accuracy is important.
DEVIKA
It is.
But...
He nods, agreeing.
How are you feeling?
talk about it.
Then...
CARL SAGAN
I would understand if you dont want to
DEVIKA
I cant believe you would be interested in it.
CARL SAGAN
Why wouldnt I be? We are all made of the same stuff.
Matter forged in the explosions of stars billions upon...
Years ago. You and I, we are made of star stuff. Unique,
but the same. Of course I want to know.
DEVIKA doesn't say anything.
Finally.
DEVIKA
Im dying.
CARL takes her hand.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
I have--
31.
CARL SAGAN
I know what you have. But it doesnt mean its the end.
Many people survive. And with research, the rate of survival
climbs.
DEVIKA
What if thats not me? What if Im not one of the lucky
ones? What if in a year Im dead?
CARL SAGAN
And what if in a year, youre not? What then? Think about
the next year? Spend every year, every moment thinking about
the end?
Devika looks at him.
DEVIKA
Its not like that.
CARL SAGAN
It isnt? The evidence seems clear. How you are treating
your friends, your work? As scientists, we ask questions, we
look at the evidence, we form theories.
CARL looks at his watch.
CARL SAGAN (CONTD)
Look at the time...a blip in the Cosmos...but...precious
minutes to you and me.
HE begins to go.
Wait.
Is that it?
DEVIKA
How am I doing?
A lecture?
CARL puts a hand on her shoulder.

Youre not alone, Devika.
as if you are.
CARL SAGAN
Not alone.
You dont have to act
HE turns to go, again.

DEVIKA
Whats it like?
Death?
HE thinks, then.
CARL SAGAN
Extraordinary.
DEVIKA
Thats not very accurate.
32.
He is gone.
Devika thinks for a moment, then picks up her
cell phone. She dials. Then she hangs up.
Shes still. She doesnt want to cry.
She puts the cell phone down, and turns back
to her work.
The cell starts to ring, she looks at it.
answering.
Not
LIGHTS.
33.
THE ASTEROID BELT/CERES

A dusty light.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
The Asteroid Belt, the region of irregular shaped objects
between Mars and Jupiter, was discovered in the early 19th
Century.
Based on earlier observations...and quite frankly, shaky
theory, many astronomers believed there was an undiscovered
planet between Mars and Jupiter.
On Janurary 1st, 1801, Giuseppe Piazzi, of the University of
Palermo, found a tiny moving object moving in the position
predicted. He named the object: Ceres, the Roman goddess of
the harvest, brother of Pluto.
She shrugs. These are Gods, what are you
going to do?
As more and more objects were discovered, and the telescope
technology at the time couldn't resolve the images further
than points of light, the astronomers needed to classify
these new heavenly bodies. In 1802, William Herschel
suggested Asteroids, after the Greek asteroeides...meaning
'star-like.'
Thought to be left over matter from the creation of the solar
system, hundreds of thousands of asteroids are known to
exist. Even though they are spread out over a large volume
of space, collisions are possible. They occur frequently.
On the astronomical time scale. They are expected to occur
once every 10 million years.
The Empire Strikes Back it is not.
From May until October of 2006, New Horizons passes through
the asteroid belt, with a fly by of 132524 APL on June 13th,
2006.
LIGHTS CHANGE
Outside of a community center.

DEVIKA looks through her purse
for keys.
TONY, 50s, African American walks
up.
TONY
Hey, um.
34.
DEVIKA
(surprised)
Oh, hi.
Hey.
TONY
Sorry, I didn't mean to-
Sorry.
DEVIKA
You're from the group.
TONY
Tony.
DEVIKA
Devika.
TONY
Right.
Silence.
I just wanted to check:
TONY (CONTD)
are you alright?
DEVIKA
Everyone keeps askingTONY

The first timeDEVIKA
You meantTONY
The cancer circle.
Pause.
Light laughter.
TONY (CONTD)
It's my little nickname for it. Cancer Circle.
Bitch. Whatever.
It was fine.
Sit 'n
DEVIKA
The meeting. It.
TONY
Not what you were expecting?
DEVIKA
Exactly what I was expecting.
TONY
You mean Nancy. Yeah. Nancy and her skin cancer.
sort of whines about it.
She just
35.
Devika smiles, laughs.

TONY (CONTD)
It's true. Everything is a problem for her. Meantime,
Betty, dying of lung cancer, barely able to walk, nicest
human being on the planet.
DEVIKA
Yeah.
TONY
Would you like to get a drink?
DEVIKA
I have work in the morning.
TONY
So?
DEVIKA
I have to wake up early.
We're grown ups.
TONY
We can go out on a school night.
DEVIKA
You don't take no for an answer, do you?
LIGHTS.
TONY and DEVIKA at a bar. Its
busy, lots of chatting, the beat
of music.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
An astronaut.
Really?
TONY
Retired.
That's amazing.
remember you.
DEVIKA
I feel bad for saying this:
TONY
Don't. I flew on the Space Shuttle.
Unless something happens.
I don't
No one remembers us.
DEVIKA
Does that upset you?
No.
No, it doesnt.
TONY
At first, I thought it would.
But.
36.
The Earth Mother Waitress comes in.

Right.
So.
WAITRESS
You two need anything more?
TONY
Another round?
DEVIKA nods.
TONY (CONTD)
Two more.
WAITRESS
Up in a sec.
TONY
I see her everywhere. Anyway. I realized, I was there to do
a job. Fly a really expensive piece of equipment into one of
the most dangerous places on EarthDEVIKA
Above the EarthTONY
Above the Earth and then bring everyone back down.
DEVIKA
They don't even show the launches on TV anymore.
TONY
(shrugging)
But let me tell you, it still impresses an 8 year old.
DEVIKA laughs.
TONY (CONTD)
I'm serious.
DEVIKA
I know you are. Eight year olds are terribly impressed by
astronomers too.
TONY
(laughing)
Maybe eight year olds are impressed by everything.
DEVIKA
I think so.
Waitress returns with a couple of drinks.
goes.
She
37.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
I can't imagine what it's like in space.
TONY thinks for a moment.
TONY
Weightlessness is fun. Until you puke or have to go to the
bathroom. Space walks are hard work. Lift off...it's
a...treat. But the best part is the view. The Earth. How
it curves. Mountains. The way a river moves across the
land. Seeing the edge of the atmosphere, where the air ends
and space begins...
DEVIKA
Wow.
TONY
Yeah.
Wow.
LIGHTS.
Parking lot.
TONY (CONTD)
This was nice.

DEVIKA kisses him.
HE returns the kiss.
They part.
DEVIKA
Wow.
TONY
Wow.
DEVIKA
Take me home.
TONY
Your place?
Yeah.
DEVIKA
I've had a little too much to drive.
TONY nods.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
But not to do anything else.
TONY
What about work in the morning?
38.
DEVIKA kisses him again.

LIGHTS.
DEVIKA and MEG'S office.
The desk, piled with papers.
MEG sits behind it, looking at
the pile.
JORDAN stands on the other side
looking at MEG, looking at the
pile.
JORDAN
Why don't you...you know...organize.
It IS organized.
glance.
MEG
Just not in a way that one can see at first
JORDAN
You have a system.

MEG
I have a system.
JORDAN
But you can't findMEG
It's a complicated system. Sometimes, it takes a little
longer to find what I am looking for.
DEVIKA enters.
Sunglasses, cup of coffee.
JORDAN and MEG turn, look.

DEVIKA
What?
JORDAN
What happened to you?
Nothing.
DEVIKA
Nothing happened, why do you thinkMEG
You had sex.

Devika says nothing.
But, yes, she did.
39.
MEG (CONTD)
You did, you did.
JORDAN
What?
You scored at your group.
MEG
Way to go!
DEVIKA
No.
No.
JORDAN looks at DEVIKA.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
No.
MEG
Why the sunglasses?
DEVIKA
It's bright.
No one really believes this answer.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
We talked.
That's it.
MEG
Huh.
DEVIKA
BesidesMEG
Ah.
Here.
MEG finds the article she was looking for and
hands it to Jordan. He takes it and goes.
DEVIKA
Dammit.
MEG
What?
DEVIKA
Jordan.
MEG
So.
Whose the guy?

LIGHTS.
40.
Outside of the city.

TONY brings out a blanket, sets
down a smaller cooler. HE
unfolds the blanket.
TONY
Are coming?
Yes.
It's.
Just.
DEVIKA
(off stage)
I'm coming.
TONY
Did you have to bringDEVIKA

(off stage)
Stop asking.
DEVIKA enters with a rather heavy telescope.
TONY
Do you want me to carryDEVIKA
Nobody touches this but me.
TONY
It's a telescope.
DEVIKA
It's MY telescope.
TONY opens a beer, lays down.
DEVIKA begins to set up and focus the
telescope.
TONY
When I suggested looking at the stars, I thought it would be
just, you know, us staring up.
DEVIKA
You would think in such simple terms.
TONY
Simple?
DEVIKA
You're just a fly boy.
TONY
I do have a doctorate in aeronauticalNew Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius
41.
DEVIKA
I was making a joke.
TONY
Oh.
DEVIKA
It was just a joke.
TONY
Yeah.
DEVIKA
I don't think you're stupid.
TONY
I heard you.
DEVIKA
What's the matter?
TONY
Nothing. Really. Nothing. I know.
misunderstood. Ok.
Oh.
I just.
DEVIKA
Because I know what it takes to beTONY
Right.
I know.
Uncomfortable pause.
Then some laughter.

TONY (CONTD)
Is that ready yet?

DEVIKA
Almost.
TONY
I wish the moon was out.
DEVIKA
Oh.
No.
You don't.
TONY
I don't?
DEVIKA
It's bright.
TONY
Uh-huh.
42.
DEVIKA
It'll causeTONY
Light pollution. Harder to see the stars.
astronaut, remember?
I was an
HE comes up behind her.

TONY (CONTD)
I just thought it would be more romantic.
HE nibbles at her neck.
away.
SHE gently pushes him
DEVIKA
Not yet, not yet.
TONY
Don't worry about the telescope.
DEVIKA
I want to show you the stars.
TONY
I've seen the stars.
Yes, yes, I know.
fucking medal?
DEVIKA
You were an astronaut.
Do you want a
TONY moves away, back down onto the blanket.

DEVIKA (CONTD)
I'm sorry.
TONY
I want to spend time with youDEVIKA
I know.
TONY
It's important.
DEVIKA
I know.
You don't.
TONY
Or you wouldn't be setting up that thing.
DEVIKA
Thing?
43.
TONY
I'm right here, right here. Flesh and blood, muscle and
bone.
DEVIKA
This is just going to take a second.
You're here.
TONY
In front of me. Right now.
DEVIKA
I want to show you the stars. How I see them.
TONY
I don't care about the stars anymore.
millions and millions of miles away.
I don't.
They are
DEVIKA
But I do.
I do care.
TONY
Its just a fucking telescope!
Beat.
DEVIKA
(turning back to the
telescope)
DEVIKA (CONTD)
I want to go home. Take me home. I'm sorry.
just want to go home. I have a headache-
I just.
TONY
A headache-?
DEVIKA
Does it matter-?
TONY
Don't walk awayDEVIKA
I want to go home, take me home.
Now.
TONY
Fine.
HE quickly starts to gather the blanket,
cooler.
DEVIKA
Are you mad?
44.
How stupid are you?
TONY
Of course I'm mad.
HE exits.
LIGHTS.
The sound of a phone ringing.

The New Horizons spacecraft
passing by an asteroid.
The voicemail picks up.
TONY (CONTD)
This is Tony, at the Beep...leave a message.
Beep.
DEVIKA
Tony. It's me. I just. I'm sorry.
I just. Yeah. Well. Call me.
About the other night.
Beep.
It's me again. Are you there? Of course, you're not there,
I'm leaving a message. On voice mail.
You can't hear it.
Stupid voice mail. Look. Give me a call.
Beep.
Alright you know what? I should have expected this. Fine.
Fine. Whatever. It doesn't matter. Maybe I'll see you at
the next meeting. If not, have a great life.
Beep.
LIGHTS.
After work, Tony waits outside by
Devika's car. He's drinking a
cup of coffee, and holding
another one.
Devika enters.
stops.
Seeing Tony, she
TONY
Hey.
He offers her a cup of coffee.
it.
DEVIKA takes
45.
TONY (CONTD)
I'm the one that should apologize. I shouldn't. I shouldn't
have said what I said. It was stupid. I got...I got stupid.
Sometimes I am just a fly boy.
DEVIKA
Thanks.
MEG enters.
comes over.
She sees DEVIKA and TONY, she

MEG
Is this him?
DEVIKA
Tony, Meg.
Meg, Tony.
TONY
I was just apologizing to Devika.
MEG
As well you should.
MEG looks at DEVIKA, DEVIKA nods, MEG leaves.
TONY
Tough crowd.
DEVIKA
Protective.
TONY
Do you want...dinner?
LIGHTS.
DEVIKA's apartment.
TONY and DEVIKA plummet onto her
couch, furiously making love.
Kissing, clawing at their
clothes.
DEVIKA
You smell like pizza.
So do you.
TONY
God, I missed you.
DEVIKA
Shut up.
She bites at his neck.
She comes up for air.
46.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
It was only a week.
TONY
Only?
DEVIKA
A blip in the cosmic scale of things.
TONY
I don't live at a cosmic scale, Dr. Kewalramani.
DEVIKA
Maybe you should try.
She moves back down.
HE stops her.
TONY
I ain't got the time.

She stops.
TONY (CONTD)
Neither of us do.
She pushes away from him.
It's true.
TONY (CONTD)
Sooner or later. For us sooner than later.
DEVIKA
That's cruel.
TONY
It's the truth.
DEVIKA
I am notTONY
Sooner or laterDEVIKA
We're not going to die tomorrowWe just might.
TONY
We just might.
A meteor could just-
DEVIKA
The chances of that areTONY
Astronomical, yeah, you and I both know-
47.
DEVIKA
Then what are youTONY
I thought you of all people would understandDEVIKA
UnderstandTONY
But obviouslyDEVIKA
TonyTONY
I'm qualified to fly some of the fastest planes on the
planet, I have flown into space, I have held the life of me
and my crew in my hands. I was the guardian between life and
death, between a life ending accident and survival. Me. And
now I'm dying, dying and there's nothing I can do.
DEVIKA
You're notTONY
STOP IT. Just stop it. This is what I get for dating
someone twenty years youngerDEVIKA
Not this again.
TONY
You just don't have the perspective that I doDEVIKA
I have plenty of perspectiveTONY
You dying and you don't even know it.
DEVIKA
I am notTONY
You're so stupid.
DEVIKA
You've given up.
TONY
Even the stars will fall out of the sky.
48.
DEVIKA
That doesn't mean we stop looking.
TONY
It all means nothing, all of it.
DEVIKA
Get out.
TONY
We only haveDEVIKA
I SAID GET OUT.
TONY
Don't do thisGet out.
Don't call me.
You'll be alone.
DEVIKA
I don't want to see-
TONY
You'll be all alone when you die.
DEVIKA pushes him.

He begins to cry.
HE falls to the ground.
TONY (CONTD)
(to himself)
You'll be all alone when you die, you'll be all alone when
you die, you'll be all alone when you die...
HE repeats as...
LIGHTS BEGIN TO
FADE.
49.
JUPITER
DEVIKA stands beneath this great
planet.
DEVIKA
Jupiter. King of the Gods. A gas giant. The largest planet
in our solar system, having a diameter of 142,984 kilometers
at its equator. 318 times the mass of the Earth
Jupiter is perpetually covered with clouds composed of
ammonia crystals and possibly ammonium hydrosulfide. The
interactions of conflicting circulation patterns cause storms
and turbulence.
Jupiter's most famous feature is the Great Red Spot. It is a
persistent anticyclonic vortex on the south border of the
South Equatorial belt. It appears to be a remarkably stable
feature, and most sources concur that it has been
continuously observed for 300 years.
Jupiter has 63 named natural satellites. Of these, 47 are
less than 10 kilometers in diameter and have only been
discovered since 1975. The four largest moons are Io, Europa,
Ganymede and Callisto. Discovered in 1610 by Galileo
Galilei, with a simple telescope.
Visible to the naked eye in the night sky, the planet is
linked to many different cultures. For the Babylonians, it
was Marduk. The Romans, Jupiter. For the Hindu astrologers,
it was Brihaspati, the teacher of the Gods, often called
Guru, which literally means the "Heavy One."
Jupiter is associated with the principles of growth,
expansion, prosperity and good fortune; and a person's inner
sense of justice and morality and their ideals and higher
goals. It is also associated with the urge for freedom and
exploration, humanitarian and protecting roles.
February 28, 2007, at a distance of 2,304,505 kilometers, New
Horizons makes its closet approach to Jupiter for a gravity
assist. Leaving nothing to waste, it's on board camera's
measure the plasma output from volcanoes on Io and studies
all four Galilean moons in detail, as well as making longdistance observations of the outer moons Himalia and Elara.
50.
Devika sits on the couch of a

home office.
ELLEN LEWIS, 70s, comes in, using
a cane, gripping two mugs in one
hand.
DEVIKA leaps up to help.
ELLEN
Sit, sit, sit, I got it.
DEVIKA sits.
ELLEN steps to DEVIKA. DEVIKA takes a mug.
ELLEN goes and flops on her favorite chair.
ELLEN (CONTD)
It's good to see you.
DEVIKA
I wouldn't miss this for the world.
ELLEN
You look like shit.
DEVIKA
Im in remission, actually.
ELLEN
Oh.
Sorry.
DEVIKA
Its alright, Dr. Lewis.

Ellen.
Please.
ELLEN
It's been long enough.
My boyfriend-
DEVIKA
Fiance.
ELLEN
(rolling her eyes)
Fiance, if you must, has been pestering me to clean up my
office. Says its not good enough for guests.
DEVIKA
I think its just fine.
ELLEN
You were always my brightest student.
51.
DEVIKA
Its good to be in remission. Starting to feel myself again.
ELLEN takes note.
Now. This wedding...
happening?
DEVIKA (CONTD)
What is going ON? Why is this
ELLEN moans.
It was his idea.
His.
ELLEN
Not mine.
DEVIKA
His?
ELLEN
Oh, Devika, it's going to be a big drop of sugary candy is
what it's going to be. One big dollop of diabetes. Who
wants to watch two dried up prunes make googly eyes at each
other? Bleh.
DEVIKA
Then why?
ELLEN tapes her wooden cane on the floor,
thinking, remembering.
ELLEN
He's been after me to settle down for...thirty years.
thought it would cease my philandering ways.
He
Devika is surprised.
I used to sleep around.
ELLEN (CONTD)
You didn't know?
DEVIKA
With who?
ELLEN
Other professors mostly. I would never sleep with students,
especially graduate and post-docs...they were just so...
needy. No. I preferred the professors. And. Well, the
occasional dean. And, alright, I would meet a few business
people.
DEVIKA
Ellen.
52.
ELLEN
It was like I was a completely different person with each
one. Sometimes I was the naughty one, then I was the
submissive, no, no, no, yes, yes, yes, I was devious, hot,
cold, untouchable, I ravished and I was ravishing. In other
words, I felt sexy.
Am I making you uncomfortable?
Pause.
DEVIKA
Yes.
ELLEN shrugs.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Why did Stanley stay with you all this time?
ELLEN
He's an idiot.
She begins to smile.
ELLEN (CONTD)
He says, and this is why I think he's an idiot, Stanley
believes that he loves me and that I'm a good person.
DEVIKA
Do you love him?
ELLEN
But of course. I adore him. I didn't marry him all this
time because I didn't want to hurt him.
DEVIKA
And now?
ELLEN
Now I really want to hurt him.
ELLEN laughs, Devika crosses her arms.
Im joking, darling.
ELLEN (CONTD)
Joking.
DEVIKA
Is this whole thing a joke? Youre not going senile, are
you?
ELLEN
I am so very glad that you could come for the wedding.
DEVIKA
You and Stanley have been together for thirty years without
marriage, why now?
53.
ELLEN
Devika, darling, he asked me in a moment of weakness.
DEVIKA
You?
Weak?
ELLEN
My mother passed away last year.
95.
DEVIKA
95?
ELLEN
Had to happen sooner or later.
Well.
Yes.
Of course.
DEVIKA
95 years, it's a long time.
ELLEN
Not for my mother. She was pissed, I think.
get enough of it. Life.
She couldn't
DEVIKA
I'm sorry.
Hm?
Yes.
Yes.
ELLEN
She was...
ELLEN thinks for a moment.

ELLEN (CONTD)
Amazing. After the funeral. On the way home. Stanley asked
me. He really asked me. He turned away from the road and
asked.
DEVIKA
What made you say yes?
ELLEN
Oh. Devika. I wish I had an easy answer.
Maybe Im just being foolish.
But.
I dont.
DEVIKA
Maybe you are.
Ellen looks at her.
ELLEN
And what do you mean by that?
DEVIKA
Nothing.
54.
ELLEN
Let's cut through the bullshit, Devika. I'm old, I'm getting
married and my knee hurts, so I have a lot of my plate. What
do you mean?
I just.
Now.
DEVIKA
Now, youre going to get married?
ELLEN
Why be foolish, you mean?

DEVIKA
Yes.
Ellen chuckles.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
You could be doing something useful. Writing your memoirs.
ELLEN
Who would want to read about an aging astronomer who never
won any major awards? I wouldnt. And I AM an aging
astronomer who never won any major awards.
DEVIKA
It was an example.
ELLEN
A piss poor example.
DEVIKA
Ellen, I just dont understand-ELLEN
Your cancer, its in remission.
DEVIKA
Yes.
Thats right.
ELLEN
Chemo?
DEVIKA
Radiation.
55.
ELLEN
MM. Stanley had a bit of chemo about ten years ago.
Prostate. Nasty stuff. He didn't like it.
DEVIKA
It worked.
ELLEN
And so youre back to work?
DEVIKA
Yes. For the first time in... years, Im trying to lead my
life normally. For the first time, I dont feel lost. I can
make plans again. I can go to a conference, I can plan
research. I dont have to wait around for my body anymore.
ELLEN
Back to work.
DEVIKA
You make it sound like its such a bad thing.
ELLEN
No, no, work can be important. Its not a foolish thing.
DEVIKA
Thats right its not.
ELLEN
You dont like the foolish?
DEVIKA
I dont understand your point.
ELLEN
Im old, dont I have a right to be foolish?
I dont know.
Its a luxury.
trying to say.
Well.
DEVIKA
But, I dont have the luxury.
ELLEN
I see. Im getting a sense of what youre
You dont approve of my marriage.
DEVIKA
With your track record...
56.
ELLEN
It would be foolish of me to commit to one man.
DEVIKA
Yes.
ELLEN
Have you thought about religion?
A pause.
DEVIKA laughs.
ELLEN smiles.
DEVIKA
Im sorry?
ELLEN
I'm not trying to convert you.
DEVIKA
I would be surprised as hell if you did.
ELLEN
I've been thinking about it recently.
DEVIKA
Religion?
ELLEN
My mother was a religious woman. Episcopalian. Well. She
was as a child and then...she dropped out for a while.
Didn't go. And then...for the last twenty or so years of her
life she went back to church.
DEVIKA
Did she say why?
ELLEN
It's a mystery.
DEVIKA
She didn't explain?
ELLEN
That's what she said, "it's a mystery." Back then, I thought
she was being cheeky. But, now, now I think she was talking
about life.
DEVIKA
(smiling)
The mystery of life?
57.
ELLEN
Ah, you scoff. But, what did you and I do with our lives but
plumb the depths of the mystery of the Universe. Why do
stars form? How does gravity work? What is Dark Matter?
And then there is the mystery. And it's more profound than:
why are we here? The mystery isn't something than can be
spelled out on a bumper sticker. It's...the mystery.
Something that we've forgotten. We are always so desperate
for answers we forget how important the hanging question is.
Can I ask you a question?
DEVIKA
I think you should.
ELLEN
What are you afraid of?
DEVIKA
Afraid of?
ELLEN
Yes.
DEVIKA
I'm not twelve.
ELLEN
And I don't expect that you're afraid of the dark. Fear
doesn't go away just because you're older. What are you
afraid of? Right now?
DEVIKA moves to a window and looks out.
DEVIKA
It's stupid.
Youre a cancer survivor.
ELLEN
Who cares?
Finally.
DEVIKA
Dying before Ive done everything that I want to do.
ELLEN laughs.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Whats so funny?
58.
ELLEN
That fucking bucket list crap. Jesus. Were all afraid of
death. I fucked physicists all across this country because I
was terrified of dying. But this bucket list... doing
everything before you die... like you can make a list of the
important things you want to happen to you...
DEVIKA
Im not going to die tomorrow, but, you know, it shook me-ELLEN
And it should-DEVIKA
I am throwing myself into my work.
I am going to--
ELLEN
Why?
Pause.
DEVIKA
Im sorry?
ELLEN
Why are you throwing yourself into your career?
DEVIKA
Because its important to me.
ELLEN stands slowly and makes her way to
DEVIKA. For the first time we see how fragile
ELLEN might be.
ELLEN
I'm almost 70 years old. I have a heart flutter. I have a
restricted diet. I get winded on the stairs. And I take
pills to help me shit. But god help me, Im going to marry
the man that I love.
DEVIKA turns away.
ELLEN (CONTD)
Dont let life pass you by as you grip your plans by the
balls.
DEVIKA
Im not-New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius
59.
ELLEN
Devika.
DEVIKA
What do you want from me?
ELLEN
To live a long and happy life. Without regret. Dont just
follow the road you have mapped out for yourself. Nothing
fantastic will come from that. And life is meant to be
fantastic.
Ellen is breathing fast.
She sits.
DEVIKA
You dont look...
ELLEN
Our work isn't just about what we see. What we see is so
often...misleading. Seeing should be the beginning of the
investigation. Next come questions. Then perhaps we can
have understanding.
I was wondering if you could do me a favor.
maid of honor?
Would you be my
DEVIKA
Me?
ELLEN
Yes. Well. This old broad didn't make too many girl friends
over her almost 70 years. Philandering doesn't encourage
tight female companionship. And so, I seem to be missing a
component of the wedding.
DEVIKA
Surely, there has to be someone else.
ELLEN
I know only old people. And I don't want to start the next
phase of my life with a bunch of old people.
DEVIKA
I don't know...what am I going to wear?
ELLEN
What ever you want. The whole thing is a little loosey
goosey anyhow. Well?
60.
DEVIKA
Yes.
I'm honored.
ELLEN
I am.
Pause.
ELLEN (CONTD)
Devika. Live a foolish life. Youll be the happier for it.
That said, lets go shopping... find you something scandalous
to wear.
Ellen smiles, Devika laughs.
Ellen makes her way out of the office, as
Devika sits, thinking.
LIGHTS CHANGE.
LIGHTS.
Devika sits in the middle of a
row of three airline seats. At
the window, a woman sleeps. The
seat next to Devika is empty.
DEVIKA reads.
Upstage, at the Flight Attendants
area, stands a flight attendant
with yellow skin...this is
Brihaspati. He speaks with a
lush voice. On his lapel is a
lotus.
BRIHASPATI
Good evening, ladies and gentleman, my apologies for
disturbing you. I just want to point out that on the left
side of the air craft you can see the moon Io and it's
beautiful volcanic eruptions.
DEVIKA strains to look.
BRIHASPATI (CONTD)
Io is the most volcanically active object in our solar system
and a sight NOT to be missed. For those of you on the right
side of the plane...my apologies. There will be a meal
service in about twenty minutes. In the mean time, don't
forget to take a look through our air mall catalog for
anything that might catch your eye. Thanks for flying New
Horizon Air.
He goes.
61.
TYCHO BRAHE, the 17th Century Astronomer,

enters and sits in the seat next to DEVIKA. A
part of his nose is missing, and replaced with
a silver prosthetic.
TYCHO
The line still hasn't moved.
DEVIKA turns a page.
TYCHO (CONTD)
Four bathrooms in coach and all of them occupied. What are
the chances? I have to urinate. I have to urinate rather
badly. I really need to urinate.
DEVIKA looks at him.
DEVIKA
Excuse me?
TYCHO
I need to piss.
You look familiar.
DEVIKA
Are you famous?
TYCHO pushes the call button.
Ding.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Are you on TV?
TYCHO
No.
No, I am not.
DEVIKA
I know you.
BRIHASPATI walks down the aisle.
BRIHASPATI
Yes?
TYCHO
I need to use the facilities. I need to uriate.
BRIHASPATI thinks for a moment.
BRIHASPATI
There are several-TYCHO
And all of them are taken.
62.
BRIHASPATI
Mr. Brahe, I'm not sureTYCHO
I am called Tycho.
Tycho Brahe...yes.
DEVIKA
Of course.
TYCHO looks at DEVIKA, he could care less

about being recognized.
BRIHASPATI
Mr. Brahe.
TYCHO
It's Tycho.
BRIHASPATI
I appreciate your needTYCHO
DO YOU?
BRIHASPATI
But we only have so many bathrooms-TYCHO
What about First Class?
BRIHASPATI says nothing.
TYCHO (CONTD)
I could go to the bathroom in First Class.
BRIHASPATI
I'm afraid that isn't possible.
TYCHO
I'm supposed to have a first class ticket. I was supposed to
be flying first class. There was a mix up.
BRIHASPATI
Yes, sir.
TYCHO
I should be allowed to go into First class andBRIHASPATI
I'm afraid that just isn't going to happen.
lines will open up very shortly.
I'm sure the
63.
TYCHO
But I really need to piss!
Sir, I understand.
BRIHASPATI
And you will have to wait in line.
TYCHO
I have waited over four hundred years!
BRIHASPATI
My apologies for the long line, but there's nothing I can do.
HE goes.
TYCHO REALLY needs to go to the bathroom.
DEVIKA
Are you alright?
TYCHO doesn't reply.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Do you want toTYCHO
If it doesn't involve urination, I don't want to do it.
Silence.
DEVIKA
I'm an astronomer too.
TYCHO rocks back and forth, rolling his eyes.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
I have to admit, I'm surprised to be seeing you on this
flight.
TYCHO closes his eyes.
dance.
I'm having a dream.
His legs do a little
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Aren't I?
TYCHO
Well aren't you just the smartest scientist in the plane?
DEVIKA
Excuse me?
TYCHO
Oh, wait that's ME. I'm the smartest in the plane.
HEAVENS...Isn't it completely obvious?
God in
64.
TYCHO (CONT'D)
You're in a plane traveling around IO with the BRILLIANT
Tycho, who has been dead for a few hundred years!
It wasn't enough to distract him.

has to piss.
OH!
Mercy.
He still
TYCHO (CONTD)
What is taking these people so long!
DEVIKA
You don't have toTYCHO

But of course I do! Look what you are doing right now,
sitting in a plane on your way home, dreaming of ME! Of
course, I do take that as a compliment. But what a WASTE of
your time!
DEVIKA
What would you rather me do?
TYCHO
You know how I became the greatest mathematical genius in the
UniverseDEVIKA
The Universe?
TYCHO
The Universe! I didn't get this nose hacked off in a duel
because I was the greatest painter or poet! I did something
important! My work describes the Universe!
DEVIKA
The solar system.
TYCHO
Dont nitpick.
DEVIKA
And you kept insisting on a Geo-Centric model of the solar
system.
Pause.
TYCHO
And your point?
DEVIKA
Well.
You were wrong.

HE pushes the call button.
Ding.
65.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
It's clearly not a geo-centric solar systemTYCHO
RegardlessDEVIKA
It is a pretty big mistake.
Do I KNOW you?
TYCHO
Have I ever heard of you?
DEVIKA
I've been published.

TYCHO
Oooo. Published. I have places on the MOON named after me.
THE MOON. Where is the steward!?
DEVIKA
I've had several papers published, I've lecturedTYCHO
Places on the moon. Right here. Me. You know how I did
that? I fucking worked my ass off. I spent night after
night, over the course of decades, staring up into the sky
and charting heavenly body after heavenly body, I created the
most accurate table of the heavens to that time. Me. I did
that.
BRIHASPATI comes down the aisle.
BRIHASPATI
Yes, sir?
TYCHO
Have you built more bathrooms?
BRIHASPATI
(smiling)
I'm afraid not. Unfortanutely, it seems, well...the previous
meal service...well...we served something that seems to have
disagreed with those in coach. It's really awful. Always
have the veg plate, I'm telling you both now, always have the
veg plate.
This is a real emergency.
TYCHO
I think I could die from this.
BRIHASPATI
(smiling)
I'm sure that won't happen.
66.
TYCHO
I am going to consult a lawyer!
BRIHASPATI
I'll get you a soda.
BRIHASPATI goes.
DEVIKA
How did you do it?
TYCHO
What?
What?
DEVIKA
How did you do it?

TYCHO
You do prattle on...It WHAT?
DEVIKA
Your work.
TYCHO
I simply did it.
DEVIKA
Your work, the star charts that you created, helped KeplerTYCHO
(bitterly)
Kepler.
DEVIKA
He was able to describe the shape of the solar system.
spent years creating those charts.
I wanted to know.
Universe.
You
TYCHO
I wanted to unlock the secrets of the
DEVIKA
You didn't even have a telescope.
skies. Night after night.
You just watched the
TYCHO
If that's what it took, yes. What are you looking for?
DEVIKA
Inspiration.
I guess.
TYCHO
I could say things like: it was easy to stare up into the
night sky, it's a wonderful beauty, a job made simple. OR.
67.
TYCHO (CONT'D)
If I could unlock the mystery of the universe, I could be one
step closer to God. OR if I figured it out before all the
others, then I would become a legend. If you hadn't noticed,
I'm a bit of an egotist. But, really when it comes down to
it: Ne frustra vixisse videar!, Let me not seem to have lived
in vain. I don't want to leave this Earth without having
done something with my time. Time is short and death is a
good motivator.
DEVIKA
Yes, see. Thats what I was trying to tell a good friend of
mine. A professor, actually, she thought-Oh.
Shit.
TYCHO
I think I finally pissed myself.
Ding.
LIGHTS.
68.
SATURN
A ghostly yellow light.
DEVIKA
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second
largest planet in the Solar System.
The planet is composed of hydrogen, with small proportions of
helium and trace elements. The interior consists of a small
core of rock and ice, surrounded by a thick layer of metallic
hydrogen and a gaseous outer layer. Wind speeds on Saturn
can reach 1800 kilometers per hour, significantly faster than
those on Jupiter.
Saturn is probably best known for its system of planetary
rings, which makes it the most visually remarkable object in
the solar system. The rings were first observed by Galileo
Galilei in 1610 with his telescope.
In ancient times, it was the most distant of the five known
planets in the solar system and thus a major character in
various mythologies. In ancient Roman mythology, the god
Saturnus, from which the planet takes its name, was the god
of the agricultural and harvest sector. In Greece, he was
Cronus, who devoured his own children out of fear of over
throw.
In Hindu astrology, there are nine astrological objects,
known as Navagrahas. Saturn, one of them, is known as
"Shani," the Judge among all the planets.
He is depicted dark in color, clothed in black; holding a
sword, arrows and two daggers and variously mounted on a
black vulture or a raven.
He is the cousin of Yama, the Hindu God of death.
Shani is considered to be the strongest malefic and a stern
teacher who represents patience, effort, endeavor, and
endurance; and who brings restrictions and misfortunes.
June 8, 2008, New Horizons passes the orbit of Saturn.
LIGHTS CHANGE
69.
The Coffee shop.

FATHER and DEVIKA sit at a small
table. SHE has a cup of coffee
in front of her. HE is finishing
a sandwich.
The Earth Mother Waitress enters,
she hands him a mug.
WAITRESS
And a chai.
FATHER
It's very good chai.
WAITRESS
Thank you.
FATHER
Very traditional.
WAITRESS
Oh?
Oh, yes. It's very good.
complimented.
It's from...a package.
FATHER
Who ever made it, they should be
WAITRESS
We just. Heat it up.
Silence.
FATHER
I see.
It's kind of a bummer.
make it right.
WAITRESS
But. You know.
It's like hard to
FATHER
A good cup of chai, yes.
WAITRESS
When I was in IndiaFATHER
You were in India?
WAITRESS
Yeah, yeah, it was-
70.
FATHER
Where?
DEVIKA sighs.
Noticeably.
WAITRESS looks at DEVIKA, realizing, but,

then...
Oh.
Um.
Mumbai.
The Taj Mahal!
Delhi.
WAITRESS
Agra. Of course.
FATHER
And what did you think-?
DEVIKA
She thought it was beautiful, poppa.
It's the Taj Mahal.
Yeah.
It was.
Everyone always does.
WAITRESS
Beautiful.
FATHER
It's a national treasure!

WAITRESS
We went and saw it in the morning.
FATHER
It was built as a symbol of love.
WAITRESS
It's very romantic.
DEVIKA
Could I get some more coffee?
WAITRESS
Oh.
Yes.
FATHER
How long were you in India?
WAITRESS
(trying to get away)
Just about a month.
DEVIKA
And a muffin.
Blueberry.
FATHER
You went off the...beaten path? You didn't just do the
tourist things.
71.
WAITRESS
Oh.
No.
FATHER
So you saw the real India.
Yes.
WAITRESS
Excuse me, let me get that muffin.
DEVIKA
And coffee.
WAITRESS goes.
FATHER
I wanted to hear about her trip to India.
DEVIKA
It's going to be like every other person's trip to India. It
was great, the people are great, it's just so beautiful. And
it's, wow, like a spiritual place.
FATHER
She could take a few minutesDEVIKA
Poppa.
HE stops.
FATHER
You're looking well.
DEVIKA
Thank you.
Are you eating enough?
FATHER
You're looking a little thin.
DEVIKA
Yes.
I am.
FATHER says nothing.
Just nods.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
I'm glad you were able to come for the weekend.
summer school?
No more
FATHER
We finally found someone to take those classes.
How was the school year?
DEVIKA
How are the students?
72.
FATHER
Getting dumber every year, I swear.
DEVIKA
They can't be that bad.
FATHER
I don't know what this country does to their children, but by
the time they reach me they are dumb. Unable to learn.
Unwilling to even try.
DEVIKA laughs.
FATHER (CONTD)
I'm not making a joke.
DEVIKA
I didn't think you were.
FATHER
It's very discouraging.
DEVIKA
I know.
FATHER
Then why are you laughing?
DEVIKA
Because I'm very certain you said the same thing when I was
your student.
FATHER
Not about you.
DEVIKA
About my fellow students.
Well.
FATHER
Your fellow students were dumb.
DEVIKA laughs.
bit.
FATHER does as well, a little

DEVIKA
It's so good to see you.

FATHER shrugs.
WAITRESS brings coffee and the muffin, and
departs quickly.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
How are you?
73.
FATHER
Fine.
DEVIKA
Fine?
FATHER
Yes.
Silence.
Then.
DEVIKA
I have an appointment to see my oncologist.
Oh?
FATHER
I thought everything was fine.
DEVIKA
Its a check up.
But.
Pause.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Do you want to ask any questions?
FATHER
You're telling me about it.
DEVIKA
I know, its just-FATHER
When I do, I'll ask.
DEVIKA
You've never asked. When I was undergoing treatment, you
never asked, and now...
FATHER is silent.
NEW HORIZONS tumbles through space.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Why don't you ask?
FATHER
This isn't the placeDEVIKA
Don't.
FATHER
This isn't something we talk about-
74.
DEVIKA
I want to.
FATHER
I wish to go.
I'm tired.
DEVIKA
Youre not tired.

FATHER
Why do you insist about talking about these things in public.
You know how I feel-DEVIKA
Actually, I dont.
FATHER
I will not be dragged into this conversation now. Not here.
Somethings are meant to be private, kept within the family.
DEVIKA
This is within the family-FATHER
I have driven many hours to see you and I am tired, I would
like to go to your apartment and sleep.
He stands and puts money down on the table.
DEVIKA
No.
Let me.
DEVIKA digs through her bag.
FATHER
I can pay.
DEVIKA
You don't have to.
FATHER
I will pay and that's final.
HE goes.
DEVIKA closes her eyes.

LIGHTS.
Office.
MEG searches for a file.
DEVIKA stands in the middle of
the room.
75.
DEVIKA
Where did you last see it?
MEG
If I knew that, then I would know where I left it.
DEVIKA
Just think.
MEG
I can't think, I'm looking. Shouldn't you be with your
father?
He's napping at my place.
DEVIKA
Just take a moment.
MEG
Devika.
Meg.
Take a moment.
MEG stops.
through.
DEVIKA
Think it through.
She sarcastically thinks it

DEVIKA (CONTD)
Well?
MEG
I don't remember.
DEVIKA
You're not trying hard enough.
MEG
I knew I should've made copies of those notes. I knew they
would disappear into the black hole that is this office.
DEVIKA
I've been trying to get you to clean up our officeMEG
Now is not the time for a lecture.
Oh, god.
DEVIKA
I sounded like my father.
I'm sure you did.
MEG
Can you look for the file?
DEVIKA
If you would just retrace your steps, think-
76.
MEG
You do sound like your father.
DEVIKA
Dammit. He just. When ever he's around...it's like, I get
so consumed by his personality. He just takes over.
MEG
(closing her eyes)
If I was a file, where would I be.
DEVIKA
You're not doing it right.
MEG
Shush you.
MEG wanders the room with her eyes closed.
DEVIKA
He's just so...it's clich.
MEG
What?
DEVIKA
Reserved.
No, he's not.
talk talk.
MEG
When I met him...he wouldn't shut up.
Talk
DEVIKA
Emotionally.
MEG
Oh.
MEG reaches out. She touches something. She
opens her eyes. No. It's not the file she's
looking for.
She closes her eyes again.
It's.
Very.
DEVIKA
It's a typical Indian man.
MEG
(opening her eyes)
Really?
Yeah.
DEVIKA
It's the ego thing. Indian men.
77.
MEG
I've never heard you talk like that before.
DEVIKA
Oh.
MEG
It's kind of...weird.
DEVIKA
What?
MEG
I mean. Cause, it's not like racist for you to stereotype
Indian menDEVIKA
It's also trueMEG
So, it's weird. You don't normally...talk like...
Where the FUCK is that file?!
DEVIKA
I was hoping...
MEG
What?
My father.
DEVIKA
I was hoping I could.
I think I can get to him.
MEG
Get to him?
DEVIKA
Get him to open up. He was always...but when mom died... I
think I can get him to open up. I think. I need him to open
up, I need him to expressFUCK FUCK.
The notes.
MEG
FUCKITY FUCK FUCK. It's gone. Shit.
FUCK. I should've just. Dammit.
It's gone.
DEVIKA
It's alright.
MEG
It's not alright. I should've typed them up right away.
But. Mike wanted to...dammit. It wasn't even a good fucking
movie.
DEVIKA
Just calm down.
78.
MEG
Dammit.
It'll be alright.
Dammit.
DEVIKA
You just have to do them again.
MEG
It's going to take hours, I got a fucking meetingDEVIKA
Explain what happenedMEG

I'm going to look stupid, like I'm in high school.
DEVIKA
It'll be fine.
MEG
No, it won't, Devika, no, it won't.
unprofessional. That's what it is.
You're upset.
It's going to be
DEVIKA
Just...take a deep breath.
MEG
Deep breaths and rational thinking isn't going to bring my
notes back.
DEVIKA
It's going to make you feel better.
MEG
I have work to do.
MEG storms out of the office.
LIGHTS CHANGE
Home.
FATHER sits on the couch,
newspaper in lap, TV on. DEVIKA
stands nearby. THEY are arguing.
FATHER
You must not rememberDEVIKA
I think I would remember something like this.
FATHER
I distinctly remember telling you.
79.
DEVIKA
That you're retiring.
FATHER
Yes.
DEVIKA
That's something I would have remembered.
FATHER
Then maybe I didn't tell you.
DEVIKA
Yes.
FATHER
Are you sure-?
DEVIKA
Quite.
FATHER
Well.
I'm retiring.
DEVIKA
When exactly?
FATHER
This upcoming school year will be my last.
DEVIKA
And then what?
FATHER
I retire.
DEVIKA
What are you going to do?
FATHER
Do?
DEVIKA
With your time?
Pause.
FATHER
I thought I would move back to India.
Silence.
DEVIKA
Back?
80.
FATHER
Yes.
DEVIKA
You haven't lived there for thirty years.
FATHER
So?
DEVIKA
It's a rather strange place to retire to.
FATHER
I still have family thereDEVIKA
CousinsFATHER
It's my home.
DEVIKA
Why didn't you tell me this?
FATHER
I thought I didDEVIKA
You didn't.
FATHER
Don't get upset.
DEVIKA
I'm not upset.
FATHER
You soundDEVIKA
You're moving awayFATHER
Not for another year.
DEVIKA
You didn't ask me.
FATHER
I didn't know I needed your permission.
DEVIKA
Yes.
But-
81.
FATHER
It's my life.
DEVIKA
You're going to be on the other side of the planet.
FATHER
Yes.
DEVIKA
I will barely see you.
FATHER
You barely see me as it is.
That's not my fault.
But it is.
DEVIKA
You're the one-
FATHER
It is, Devika. You're the one that left-
DEVIKA
I was going to school, I was pursuing my career, something
which you encouraged.
FATHER
I wanted you to succeed. It kept you very busy.
have what you wanted. So what is the problem?
And you
DEVIKA takes a moment.

DEVIKA
The problem is...I want to know what's going on in your life.
FATHER
And I'm telling you.
DEVIKA
But.
FATHER
But what?
DEVIKA
Nothing.
I'm sorry.
FATHER
For what?
DEVIKA shakes her head.
it's the end.
FATHER frowns.
But
Pause.
82.
DEVIKA
I thought we could go to a temple tonight.
be some-
There's going to
FATHER
A temple?
DEVIKA
Yes. It would be nice. There's going to be some classical
Indian dance. AfterwardsFATHER
I would rather not. A temple, it just...I think it would be
better to stay at home. We could catch up.
DEVIKA
Oh.
Alright.
FATHER raises the newspaper, covering himself,
going back to reading.
DEVIKA is unsure what happens next.
LIGHTS CHANGE.
Night.
At work.
As NEW HORIZONS flies through

space, DEVIKA sits before a
screen, which shows the planets.
She adjusts some buttons, knobs,
the screen moves. She's doing
the work of an astronomer.
It's quiet. Still. She
scribbles in a notebook.
JORDAN comes in, handing her a
cup of coffee. He looks at the
screens for a moment. He turns.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Hey, Jordan.
JORDAN stops.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Work?
JORDAN
Of course.
83.
DEVIKA
Um.
Hey.
NEW HORIZONS and SATURN.
Rings.
Moons.
JORDAN
Huh?
DEVIKA
Um. I was. What ever happened between us? You know? What.
I mean, I know what happened, but. I was just. I miss what
we were. And I was wondering...
JORDAN
Wondering what?
DEVIKA
I'm sorry. I guess that's what I should say.
was...when we tried to-
I'm sorry.
It
JORDAN
Listen, I have some results I need to look at.
DEVIKA
Just hear me out.
Really, I can't.
JORDAN
I need to go.
DEVIKA
Jordan.
He goes.
DEVIKA picks up the cup of coffee, holding it
with both hands. SHE looks deeply into the
cup. SHE touches the surface of the coffee
with a finger. She watches the ripples. And
again. And again.
LIGHTS CHANGE.
DEVIKA and MEG's office.
FATHER leans against the desk.
MEG stands at the door, files in
hand.
FATHER
Tell me.
MEG
It's a little technical.
84.
FATHER
I'm a chemistry teacher.
Oh. Sure.
it to you.
MEG
Right. But, maybe you should have Devika explain
She would like that.
FATHER
I'm asking you.

MEG
She'll be right here.
FATHER
While we're waiting, please, tell me about your work.
MEG
It has to do with the atmosphere of Pluto, the chemical
composition, we can only tell so much from the ground here,
the equipment, but, well, with New Horizons, that's going to
answer a lot of questions, but it's goingDEVIKA enters.
MEG (CONTD)
Oh.
Hey.
DEVIKA
Sorry, I got caught in the hallwayFATHER
Um...Meg, she was just telling me about her work.
MEG
Our work.
FATHER
Yes.
Um.
Please, Meg, go on.

Actually.
MEG
I have some work to attend to.
Oh. Yes. Of course.

another time.
So.
Um.
FATHER
We will continue to the conversation
MEG
I would like that Mr. Kewalramani.
DEVIKA
Doctor.
MEG
Right.
Dr. K.
85.
FATHER
It was a pleasure.
MEG goes.
A chill.
FATHER (CONTD)
Devika.
DEVIKA
Poppa.
FATHER
Meg is a very bright woman.
DEVIKA
Yes.
She is.
FATHER
Well. I should go. No sense in waiting any longer.
quite the weekend I had wanted.
Not
DEVIKA
What kind of weekend did you want?
FATHER
Don't get smart with me.
DEVIKA
I'm asking you a question.
FATHER
You're my daughter, I wanted to see you.
DEVIKA
You sound like it's an obligation.
FATHER
You're family.
DEVIKA
Yes.
Your daughter.
FATHER
You keep saying that!

Pause.
I think its back.
DEVIKA
My cancer.
FATHER
Why do you think that?

86.
DEVIKA
I havent been feeling well, I just...
again. Its--
Ive been tired
FATHER
This is all in your mind.
DEVIKA
No.
Its not.
FATHER
Youre seeing your doctor?
DEVIKA
I told you, I have an appointment.
FATHER
He will put your mind at ease.
DEVIKA
Poppa...
FATHER
What do you want from me?
You're my father!
DEVIKA
Be a father. Be here for me.
FATHER
I have always been thereDEVIKA

I'm scared.
Are you?
FATHER
Of course.
DEVIKA
Say it.
FATHER
I don't knowDEVIKA
Your daughter has cancer and she might die.
it.
FATHER
Why do you say things like that?
you must-
Its okay to say
You must think positively,
DEVIKA
Say it.
87.
FATHER
I won't.
DEVIKA
Please.
FATHER
Devika, I will never understand why you insist...You're
smarter than that, you've got a good brain in you, I've
always been jealous of your brain.
DEVIKA
I don't care about my brain!
FATHER
I don't know what else to do. This is going nowhere. I will
call you when I get home and you can tell me what the doctor
has told you.
DEVIKA
Why is it so hard for you to just tell me how you're feeling?
FATHER
I don't understand the question.
Don't lie to me.
DEVIKA
Even when mother passed away-
FATHER
Leave your mother out of this. Don't you dare bring her into
this. She has nothing to do with it.
Silence.
FATHER (CONTD)
I need to go. I'm sorry for what you are going through,
truly I am. But only you can go through it. It is your
experience. I will pray for you.
HE goes to the door.
DEVIKA
Don't go back to India.
He stops.
FATHER
Devika, it's already been decided.
set in motion.
Plans have already been
DEVIKA
But what about me?
88.
FATHER
I really don't know what you mean.
He does his best to smile.
FATHER (CONTD)
You really need to lighten up. And not think
so...dramatically. A positive spirit and not thinking about
your troubles, you'll feel much better. I will call you when
I get home.
HE quickly kisses her on the cheek and then
turns and goes.
DEVIKA takes a breath and closes her eyes.
LIGHTS.
DEVIKA lies in a reclining chair.
SHE'S getting her chemo. SHE
reads from a magazine. It's
boring. She flips through pages.
She closes it. She tosses it
aside. Nothing. Just nothing to
do.
DOCTOR TOMASINI enters.
DEVIKA
(with a smile)
Doctor.
Doctor.
DOCTOR TOMASINI
(without one)
How are you feeling today?
The usual.
Yes.
DEVIKA
You know, cancer and all.
Quite.
DOCTOR TOMASINI
Any symptoms?
DEVIKA
Besides the cancer returning?
Nothing.
Where's Doctor Yang?
DEVIKA (CONTD)
He's got a sense of humor.
A breath.
89.
DOCTOR TOMASINI
Doctor Yang. He. Well. I don't know how to say this
without...I'm sorry no one told you...He was...There was an
accident. A car accident. And he's...
HE stops.
a breath.
HE's afraid of going on.

Then.
HE takes

He really was very good doctor. Excuse me.
The DOCTOR leaves DEVIKA alone.
cry.
She begins to
Lights begin to fade...in the darkness we see

NEW HORIZONS...heading deeper into space.
90.
URANUS
Cape York Peninsula, Austraila
A cloudless sky. A field of
telescopes, all aimed towards the
sun.
DEVIKA enters. She wears loose
clothing, and a hat over her head
scarf.
DEVIKA
Uranus. Seventh planet from the Sun. Named
Greek personification of the Sky...father of
grandfather to Jupiter. The ancients had no
planet existed. It is to far away, to small
for the Ancient

Saturn,
idea Uranus the
to be seen.
Sir William Herschel first observed the planet March 13th,

1781, initially reporting it as a comet.
After further observations by other scientists throughout
Europe, it was soon accepted not as a comet, but a new
planet, expanding the known boundaries of the solar
system...for the first time. Ever.
Uranus besides being VERY far away, has another particularly
interesting quality...it spins on its side. One hemisphere
always turned to the sun, the other remaining in perpetual
darkness.
The planet breaks convention...
New Horizons passes the orbit of Uranus March 18, 2011.
DR. TENNANT walks in...he's wearing what could
only describe as a hideous Hawaiian Shirt. On
top of his head is a big straw hat. HE seems
to have gained a few pounds since we last saw
him...and a nice red tan.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Dr. Tennant?
TENNANT
Dr. Kewalramani?
DEVIKA
What are you doing in Australia?
TENNANT looks around, then.
TENNANT
What are YOU doing here?
91.
DEVIKA
I guess I'm here for the solar eclipse.
TENNANT cheers and gives her a big hug.
immediately pulls away.
HE
TENNANT
I'm sorry, I shouldn't, I didn't even think, I was so excitedDEVIKA
It's alright.
TENNANT
Are you...?
I'm wonderful.
DEVIKA
(truthfully)
It's a beautiful day.
TENNANT
Just right for an eclipse.
DEVIKA
Have you found a spot yet?
I was here early.
TENNANT
Before all the others.
CARL SAGAN and TYCHO enter, they move to a

telescope, they begin to adjust it. They
perhaps even bicker a little silently.
TENNANT (CONTD)
They say you need to arrive early before all the good spots
are taken. I was up with the sun.
DEVIKA
I thought would've, could have gotten, I don't know, the VIP
spot?
TENNANT
VIP spot?
Do we have those?
DEVIKA
This is my first total eclipse in person.
TENNANT
I'm a civilian now.

DEVIKA
What?
TENNANT
I retired, Dr. Kewalramani.
92.
DEVIKA
Oh.
TENNANT
About a year after you left.
DEVIKA
I see.
TENNANT
And what a weight off my shoulders.
DEVIKA
And onto your stomach it seems.
TENNANT
(laughing)
Oh, yes! Yes! I have put on a few pounds, added to the
waist line just a bit. I've become my own astronomical
object!
DEVIKA
Stop it!
Oh, yes.
TENNANT
My wife thinks of me as a singularity.
DEVIKA
Ah, astronomy humor.

TENNANT
I thought you would get it.
DEVIKA
How is your wife?
TENNANT
Lovely.
DEVIKA
I never met her.
You didn't?
It's true.
TENNANT
That's absurd.
DEVIKA
I don't think she was at any of the parties.
TYCHO
You're doing it wrong.

CARL SAGAN
I am not, this is how we need to adjust the telescope for
optimal viewing of the event.
93.
TYCHO
You're doing it wrong.
Tycho.
doing.
CARL SAGAN
Please let me do this. Believe me, I know what I'm
TYCHO
I was just telling you in advance of your failure, so that
when the time comes you can turn to me and I can help you.
CARL SAGAN
Thank you.
TENNANT
That's right, I didn't bring her to any of the parties...she
never seemed interested.
DEVIKA
And you wanted to keep business and pleasure separate.
TENNANT
I'm afraid that was true. Yes. It did very much become a
business for me. I hated that. I really did. I didn't want
to become...the principal in charge of the high school.
DEVIKA
We weren't high school students.
TENNANT
No? All of you making demands, all of your fighting over the
same time with the equipmentDEVIKA
We were eager!
TENNANT
And I had to be the traffic cop.
DEVIKA
We were eager to learn, to seeTENNANT
Eager to drive me into the grave. But, Doctor, yes, you're
right, you're absolutely right. You don't have to excuse
yourself, or your co-workers. I used to be one of you, years
ago. And I forgot that when I became...well, my apologies
for who I was back then.
HYPATHIA, a woman from Roman Eygpt, enters,
moving to TYCHO and CARL SAGAN.
DEVIKA
It seems like a long time ago now, doesn't it?
94.
TENNANT
Oh, yes.
DEVIKA
Can I call you...James?
TENNANT
Jim, actually.
DEVIKA
Devika.
TENNANT
Of course.
DEVIKA
Where is your wife...um...?
TENNANT
Rose. She's back in the States. She doesn't like to travel
by plane. And international flights are just...too much for
her.
DEVIKA
I'm sorry she couldn't be here.
TENNANT
I am to take pictures and get her a t-shirt.
DEVIKA laughs.
TENNANT (CONTD)
What have you been doing?
Traveling.
Mostly.
DEVIKA
When Im well enough.
TENNANT
That sounds wonderful.

DEVIKA
My passport is full and I havent thought once about...
papers, computers, or anything...
I see.
TENNANT
So you dont miss it?
DEVIKA
Not the work. But... I've been thinking about New Horizons.
It's almost there. Almost. Just a few more years.
TENNANT
Isn't it amazing...so long, so far...just to see a planet.
95.
DEVIKA
Dwarf planet.
TENNANT
Stupid decision.
HE gestures to his telescope, they walk over.
HYPATHIA
Gentlemen, if you please...let me.
HYPATHIA adjusts the telescope.
TYCHO
The nerve.
CARL SAGAN
Thank you, Hypathia.
Thank you, Carl.
HYPATHIA
For inviting me.
TYCHO
You invited HER?

CARL SAGAN
I thought it would be nice.
TYCHO
A WOMAN?
HYPATHIA
And an astronomer to boot. Hypathia.
SHE offers her hand.
TYCHO
I've never heard of her.
CARL SAGAN
She was much before your time.
TYCHO
I've heard of EVERYONE.
CARL SAGAN
Much of her work was destroyed. She died defending the
library in Alexandria.
TYCHO
Really?
HYPATHIA
Oh, yes.
96.
Extraordinary.
TYCHO
(shaking her hand)
Did you do anything note worthy?
CARL SAGAN
Tycho, you don't have to always compete.
TYCHO
Who is competing, I'm merely checking her credentials.
HYPATHIA
Carl, it's no problem, men were difficult even in my
enlightened time.
TYCHO
Wah?
JORDAN and MEG enter together, JORDAN has a
sack on his chest, a sack of baby.
It's right here, Meg.
JORDAN
Right where I placed it.
MEG
It's a very expensive piece of equipment.
JORDAN
Surrounded by more expensive equipment. We are in a sea of
expensive telescopic equipment, each manned by a nerdMEG
HeyJORDAN
A nerd who cares deeply about expensive telescopic equipment,
and so, it's like, we have a field of securityMEG
You've made your point, Jordan.
JORDAN
Hey, baby girl, momma's getting cranky.
MEG
Jordan.
JORDAN
We said we would never lie to her.
MEG
Stop that.
JORDAN
I'm just saying.
97.
Alright.
Fine.
MEG
Let me have her.
JORDAN
I'm fine.
MEG
Let meJORDAN
I'm fine.
MEG
Alright. Is baby ready for her first eclipse?
are, yes, you are ready.
Oh, yes, you
JORDAN
Are you really going to talk to her like that?
She likes it.
MEG
She likes the noises that I make.
JORDAN
I think she's mocking you.
MEG
Stop it.
Are you mocking mommy?
JORDAN
Are you?
MEG
Lay her down so we can get everything ready.
JORDAN does, they begin to ready their
equipment.
HYPATHIA
It shouldn't be long now.
TYCHO and CARL SAGAN look up at the sky.
TENNANT offers DEVIKA a bottle of water from a
cooler, which she takes.
DEVIKA
The doctors have come up with all of these regimes and
chemicals and all sorts of things.
TENNANT
Are you getting better?
Devika take a drink from the water.
98.
DEVIKA
No.
No, Im not.
A breath.
TENNANT
Im so sorry.
DEVIKA
Dont be.
Dont be.
Its just.
TENNANT
I dont know what to day.
DEVIKA
We dont like to talk about dying.
Beat.
No.
We dont.
I dont.
For a dying woman.
TENNANT
Not at all.
You look good.
DEVIKA
Im tired most days.
But, I keep going.
TENNANT
Thats remarkable.
DEVIKA
Im stubborn. I want to see the data from New Horizons.
Until then, I guess Ill just wander the Earth.
Light laughter.
TENNANT
After I retired, I didn't know what to do with my time. I
didn't have any real hobbies. I didn't like taking care of
the garden or the lawn. I really started to annoy my wife.
Pause.
DEVIKA
I love your shirt.
Me, too.
TENNANT
I picked it out myself.
My wife hates it.
They smile.
FATHER and DR. YANG come in, going to a
telescope. FATHER begins to adjust it as DR.
YANG opens a cooler, puts down a blanket, etc.
99.
JORDAN
We got really lucky the weather cleared up.
have hated to miss this.
I would totally
MEG unbuttons her shirt.

JORDAN (CONTD)
Woah, woah...what are you doing?
MEG
She's hungry.
JORDAN
You're going to...here?!
MEG
Yes.
JORDAN
You can't breast feed here.
MEG
You are such a prude.
JORDAN
There are people all around us.
MEG
They aren't looking.
JORDAN
But if they DO.
MEG
So what?
JORDAN
It's very disconcerting.
MEG
Excuse me?
JORDAN
We're guests here in this country.
MEG
The car is so far away.
JORDAN
I think it would make everyone more comfortable.
MEG pauses. Then begins to breast feed the
baby. JORDAN looks around to see if anyone is
watching.
100.
TENNANT
I had given Chris, my son, a telescope when he was eight of
so. A very simple one. It was a way for me to show him what
daddy did. We'd take it out to the backyard on a clear
night...
A year after I retired I brought it out of the basement and
on the first clear night took it outside. It was hot. I
pointed it at the first thing and gazed.
DEVIKA
What was it?
TENNANT
(laughing)
The moon!
DEVIKA
That's what you looked at?
TENNANT
It was there. Hard not to look at. Oh, boy, though, it me
back to when I was a kid. And I used father's old army
binoculars.
THEY remember.
CARL SAGAN and HYPATHA talk.
something else.
TYCHO looks at
CARL SAGAN
The evidence is quite extraordinary.
HYPATHIA
On Mars.
CARL SAGAN
On Mars. Life. Perhaps only the remnants of anaerobic
organisms, nevertheless life. It's fascinating how life can
spring out in the most surprising locations. Even here on
Earth, dead in the ocean, life... Tycho? Are you listening?
TYCHO
(pointing)
I believe there's a woman breast feeding over there.
CARL SAGAN, HYPATHIA and TYCHO look.
TONY enters, he goes to his telescope and
looks up.
JORDAN
Someone's pointing.
101.
MEG
Let them point.
JORDAN
ButMEG
Point back.
JORDAN
What?
Really?
MEG
Yes.
JORDAN points back.
He's pointing at me!
TYCHO
I think I have a fan!
TYCHO waves.
DEVIKA
There's the moon.
TENNANT looks up at the sky.
else.
As does everyone
TENNANT
It's going to start.
DEVIKA and TENNANT pull out paper sunglasses-a
little like those for 3-D movies. Everyone
does the same.
TENNANT (CONTD)
I feel like a kid again.
DEVIKA
Yeah.
Me too.
The sky darkens. The moon eclipses the sun.
Everyone takes a breath. A hush. Finally.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
(to us)
Because of tidal acceleration, the orbit of the Moon changes
ever so slightly...each year the Moon is another 4
centimeters away. Meaning eventually, it will be to far away
for a total Solar eclipse. In 600 million years, or so.
Nothing last forever, not even in the heavens.
LIGHTS CHANGE
102.
NEPTUNE
DEVIKA, under a sea blue glow,
now with a cap on, a cap that
says: Beach Bum. She's very
happy right now. It's almost
like she's stoned. Because she
is.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Neptune.
She isn't sure what to say.
Neptune.
She licks her lips.
Well. It was...I'd say discovered, but that's not...true, I
mean, the planet, Nep...Tune, it was always there...It was
found.
She giggles.
Found.
Great word.
The Earth Mother Waitress steps in, she's

holding a joint.
WAITRESS
Woah, Devika, you got to focus.
DEVIKA
Hm?
WAITRESS
Focus.
DEVIKA
Right.
On what?
WAITRESS
(taking a toke)
On Neptune.
DEVIKA
NEPTUNE.
Right.
WAITRESS
The planet.
DEVIKA
Yes!
Neptune.
(To us.)
It's really...far. Out there.
103.
They laugh.
WAITRESS
Like FAR out.
DEVIKA
(taking the joint)
This is really good.
WAITRESS
Humboldt county.
DEVIKA
Ok. Ok. Focus. Neptune is far...no. Let's not do that
part again. Neptune is the last planet...it is...it wasn't
always.
WAITRESS
They totally should never have redefined planet.
DEVIKA
I know, right? Focus. Neptune was discovered in 1846
because of irregularitiesLaughter escapes from the waitress.
Then.
WAITRESS
You saidShush. This is science.
of...ur-anus...
DEVIKA
Ok. So.
The predicted orbit
Giggle.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Ok. Ur-a-nus...the orbit, it wasn't what it should be...it
was irregular.
Laughter again explodes. The waitress shakes
her head, she's not sure why she's laughing.
Devika goes on.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Something was affecting the orbit, they...the
scientists...decided...and through mathe...mathey...math...it
was predicted...pre DICK ted.
DEVIKA and the WAITRESS giggle.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Neptune was FOUND within 1 degree of it's...pre DICK ted
spot.
104.
Giggle.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Science had triumphed!
WAITRESS
Hooray!
DEVIKA
Hooray! And Neptune was the last...well, it will be...well,
wait...it is going to have been...
She totally loses her train of thought.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
(To the waitress.)
What?
WAITRESS
Humboldt county.
DEVIKA
What are you talking about?
WAITRESS
What are you talking about?
DEVIKA
Voyager 2.
There was a sequel?
WAITRESS
I didn't even see the first one.
DEVIKA
It was a probe.
WAITRESS laughs.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
When Voyager 2 went to Neptune, it became the fartherest
thing ever explored by man. Until.
WAITRESS
New Horizons?
DEVIKA
New Horizons. Which...today, 2014, it crosses the orbit of
Neptune! Hooray!
WAITRESS
Hooray!
They cheer. And then calm down.
sort of look at each other.
Now they
105.
DEVIKA
Am I at your house or mine?
They look around.
moment. Then.
They aren't sure for a
WAITRESS
I recognize the posters.
Mine.
DEVIKA
Nice.
Pause.
They look at the poster.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
I've always liked your name. Doris.
WAITRESS
You do?
Doris?
DEVIKA
Doris. The D and the OR...It's just...it's a great name.
Just so. Great. There's something so motherlyDoorbell
WAITRESS
Pizza!
She scurries off. DEVIKA looks around.
WAITRESS comes back on with the PIZZA GUY.
He's carrying a stack of pizza boxes. He's in
his pizza man uniform, but he's a very good
looking guy.
WAITRESS (CONTD)
This is my friend Kyle.
DEVIKA
Hi, Kyle.
KYLE
Hey.
DEVIKA
I'm Devika.
Devika's a scientist.
WAITRESS
She used to work at the observatory.
KYLE
The what?
106.
WAITRESS
The thing on the mountain.
KYLE
Right.
How are you?
Pause.
KYLE (CONTD)
I brought pizza.
DEVIKA
I can see that.
KYLE
Huh.
That's funny.
WAITRESS
What?
KYLE
She made an observation.
WAITRESS
I'm not high enough to find that funny.
KYLE
Do you want some pizza?
WAITRESS
Do you want some weed?
KYLE
Oh, yeah.
DEVIKA
Aren't you working?
WAITRESS and KYLE look at DEVIKA, confused.
I mean...you're working.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
Should you really get...high?
KYLE
I deliver pizza...it's not rocket science.
WAITRESS
That's funny.
DEVIKA
I am a rocket scientist.
KYLE
I really need to smoke.
107.
WAITRESS
Right.
SHE goes.
KYLE
You don't look so good.
DEVIKA
I'm dying.
KYLE
What?
Like right now?

DEVIKA
Um.
Yeah.
KYLE
What the fuck, we nee to get you to the hospital.
DEVIKA
No, no, noKYLE
Like right nowIt's ok.
fine.
Like.
It's ok.
DEVIKA
It's.
It doesn't matter.
I'm
KYLE
But.
You're dying.
DEVIKA
Kyle.
We're all dying.

KYLE
Woah.
DORIS comes out with a new joint.
it from her.
KYLE takes
KYLE (CONTD)
Did you know we're all dying?
DORIS
(to Devika)
What did you tell him?
DEVIKA shrugs.
DORIS (CONTD)
Devika has cancer.
108.
DEVIKA
Did you have to tell him?
DORIS
You told him we're all dying.
DEVIKA
We are.
KYLE
Can we stop with like the death talk?
style.
It's cramping my
DEVIKA
Right.
KYLE lights up. He passes it on to DORIS.
She takes a hit. She passes it on to DEVIKA.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
I haven't felt this good in a long time.
KYLE
Humboldt.
DEVIKA
I've heard.
DORIS
Chemo is shit.
DORIS opens a pizza box.
eating from it.
They all start
Maybe they sit in a circle around the pizza.

KYLE
The cancer thing is real?
DEVIKA
Yes.
KYLE
Woah.
DEVIKA
Yes.
KYLE
Woah.
DEVIKA
Yeah.
109.
I mean.
Like really.
KYLE
Like. Woah.
DORIS
Kyle?
My aunt had cancer.
KYLE
It totally sucked.
DEVIKA
I know, Kyle.
Wow. Like.
It's tough.
I know.
KYLE
I only just met you, and like...woah.
Cancer.
Silence.
You know?
DORIS turns to DEVIKA.
DORIS
I like him because he's pretty.
Not his brains.
DEVIKA smiles, laughs.

DORIS (CONTD)
Can we move on from the cancer?
I don't know.
KYLE
It just sort of hangs in the room.
Pause.
Yeah.
DEVIKA
It's why I don't bring it up at parties.
She starts laughing. So does Doris.
a little lost. He follows along.
Kyle is
DORIS
I love your sense of humor.
Thanks.
DEVIKA
I used to not have one.
DORIS
Yeah.
DEVIKA
I was a serious person.
DORIS
Yeah, see-DEVIKA
See?
110.
DORIS
Like you're...you know...finding...like...your love of
living.
DEVIKA
Well...I've always loved living.
Right.
But.
You know.
DORIS
You weren't living.
KYLE
She wasn't alive?

DORIS
Kyle.
Smoke your pot.

Kyle does.
DEVIKA
I was living.
DORIS
But. You're not getting me. You weren't like. LIVING. You
were just going about...the mundane thing of existence...
DEVIKA
Now, I'm lost.
DORIS
But, you're not, that's what I'm saying. You've found what
life is all about. And you're going to spend the rest of the
time you have left like REALLY living.
DEVIKA
The time I have left?
DORIS
Yeah.
DEVIKA
It's not a countdown.
No.
No.
It's not.
DORIS
That's notKYLE
Snot.
DORIS
That's not what I meant. Never mind that, never mind that.
What I'm saying: do you want to go bungee jumping with me on
Monday? Off a bridge?
111.
KYLE
Woah.
No.
DEVIKA
That sounds dangerous. I could get killed.
Sure.
But.
That's.
DORIS
You know.
The point.
KYLE
It's just an illusion anyway. Those things are pretty safe.
So, it's just the illusion that you might get killed, and
perhaps that's what's providing the thrill. Do you mind if I
turn on some tunes?
DORIS
Go ahead.
(to Devika)
You have cancer, right? So, what else do you have to lose?
DEVIKA
My life.
KYLE turns on some music...it's some easy R &
B, or something groovy, he starts to dance,
moving his hips, he's enjoying the feeling of
movement and the piece of pizza in his hand.
DORIS
But, I thought you had discovered how to live.
DEVIKA
Live?
DORIS
You know. Just fully taking advantage of what life has to
offer...feeling ALIVE.
DEVIKA
Every time I puke my guts out, I feel alive.
DORIS
But loving LIFE.
DEVIKA
Doris. I don't think I have the words to express how much I
love life, now that I'm finding that my life is coming to an
end. And how much more I want to go on living than I ever
had before.
Right.
DORIS
Right, and that's what I'm getting at.
112.
DEVIKA
No.
I don't think it is.

DORIS
I think it is.
DEVIKA
Right now, I'm really enjoying this.
dance.
Watching that man
DORIS
It's the weed.
DEVIKA stands and moves towards the dancing
KYLE.
No. It's.
exciting.
DEVIKA
(dancing)
That simple. I'm breathing.
And that's super
DORIS
No, no, no. Well. Yes. Breathing great. But...I'm talking
about ...living unconventionally, doing things your own
way... like taking life by the balls. Ok. I don't mean such
a patriarchal image.
But what I'm getting at: why aren't you out there climbing a
mountain? Or, like, I don't know...becoming a painter and
exploring your, your, um...or maybe, maybe, I know what you
should do, you shouldDEVIKA
You're right...he is very good looking.
KYLE
I like to dance. Some girls have told me that Im pretty
good at it. Its not like I studied or anything. I just,
you know, hear the music and then I just move with it.
Right? Just gotta move. Its all instinct. This. What Im
doing... I started dancing young. Like, I dont even
remember not dancing. There was this girl, from school, we
danced one night, outside, under the moon, car radio playing
music, and she whispered in my ear, a hot wet whisper...
Youre doing crazy things to me... And I was. Man, I was.
Its a gift.
DORIS
You should go streaking down Main Street!
the day you were born!
Fresh and naked as
DEVIKA gasps. She stops moving. She closes

her eyes. A hand around her mouth. She falls
back...into Kyle's arms.
113.
Kyle holds her gently. The room begins to

fade away. Devika looks up into Kyle's eyes.
DEVIKA
I like how you dance.
Kyle smiles He kisses her on both
cheeks...and lays her down...onto a hospital
bed.
LIGHTS CHANGE
114.
PLUTO
A MAN enters. HE has red skin
and red clothes. HE is not the
Devil, rather...The Lord of
Death. He stands in the hospital
room of Devika.
GOD OF DEATH
July 14, 2015. New Horizons reaches Pluto and it's moon
brother Charon...it conducts a fly by...taking pictures,
collecting data...it takes over five hours from the
information to reach the planet Earth from the space
craft...and it is priceless.
DEVIKA
Pluto?
And Hades.
And Anubis.
GOD OF DEATH
And Yama. And many others.
DEVIKA
You look good in red.

GOD OF DEATH
It's not flashy?
Not at all.
DEVIKA
It's takes a brave deity to wear all red.
GOD OF DEATH
That's the kindness thing I have heard in millennia.
DEVIKA
So.
GOD OF DEATH
So.
Finally.
Hades.
DEVIKA
Ive waited a long time to meet you, Pluto.
Anubis.
Yama.
GOD OF DEATH
All your life.
Yes.
DEVIKA
Definitely not what I was expecting.
I never am.
GOD OF DEATH
Did you hear about New Horizons?
DEVIKA
Meg told me about it. The reports.
all, I loved the pictures.
The data.
But most of
115.
GOD OF DEATH
Even though my atmosphere hadnt thawed out?
little... lumpy.
And I was a
DEVIKA
Youre worried we didnt capture your best side?
The God Of Death shrugs.
Yes, hes worried.
DEVIKA (CONTD)
I didnt realize you had a complex.
Its my debut.
GOD OF DEATH
Everyone is concerned with how they look.
DEVIKA
You never looked more beautiful.
GOD OF DEATH
Do you think?
DEVIKA
Yes.
The God of Death smiles.
GOD OF DEATH
Thats very nice of you.
DEVIKA
So now what?
The smiles fades.
GOD OF DEATH
Devika...
DEVIKA
Its time.
GOD OF DEATH
Are you sure?
DEVIKA
I don't think I want to live like this anymore.
The God of Death steps closer.
GOD OF DEATH
Is there anyone you need to say good bye to?
DEVIKA
I've said all of my good byes. Is there a...flash of
light...or...what exactly happens?
116.
CHARON appears. A man with snake like hair,

blue clothes and the ferryman's staff.
GOD OF DEATH
He will ferry you across.
DEVIKA
I don't have any money.
GOD OF DEATH
You don't?
DEVIKA
Not on me.
You know what?
GOD OF DEATH
Just this once. It's on me.
GOD OF DEATH takes out a silver coin and

presses it into the hand of CHARON.
CHARON moves forward and steps up onto the
hospital bed.
He begins to row.
GOD OF DEATH (CONTD)
Finishing it's fly by...New Horizons will continue out.
First reaching the Kuiper Belt...
As the hospital bed flows...
It passes by a very ancient couple, sitting
under a tree, dressed in white, drinking tea,
sitting under the eerie yellowish light of
Pluto.
The bed goes on.
2029...the space craft will leave the solar system...passing
through the Heliopause, where the solar winds cease and the
Interstellar Medium begins...this place is called the
Termination Shock...an area of turbulence...
SHIVA...dancing.
And the FERRYMAN keeps moving.
With a cylindrical radioisotope thermoelectric generator, New
Horizons should be able to broadcast for decades to come...as
it passes into interstellar space...heading into a great
unknown.
117.
The FERRYMAN stops.

The WHEEL OF BECOMING...the cycle of birth,
life, and death, ignites. It's bright, it's
beautiful, like our Sun.
BLACKOUT.
END OF PLAY.

New Horizons Through The Interplanetary Medium

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New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium

The Cosmos is also within us

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

DEVIKA's cell phone rings. SHE takes it out

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

Late at night, Lowell

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

She pours some for

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

Whirring of the computer.

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

The Intern and

The Doctor goes and sits.

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

DOCTOR TOMASINI (CONTD)

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

A caf. A table. MEG, 30's,

MEG looks at DEVIKA, DEVIKA shakes her head.

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

The Waitress returns.

I just don't think.

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

Looks to both of them.

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

The Star of Mars.

Mars' average distance from the Sun is roughly 230 million

The office that Devika and Meg

Ok, ok, ok.

Are you on my side?

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

DOCTOR TENNANT (CONTD)

MEG stops him.

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

DEVIKA refuses to look at MEG.

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

New Horizons...passes Mars, heading into

A knock at the door.

JORDAN sticks his head

What the hell-?

JORDAN, looks at them, confused.

It's just not fair, Meg.

SHE swallows hard,

I am not missing out.

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

HE turns the TV off.

They sit and look at

I'm not interested.

I'm sorry if I've been.

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

Are you leaving?

This was a date?

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius

I think it's an age thing. He doesn't like young doctors.

So, you're feeling fine?

What about the test?

HE opens the folder.

CARL SAGAN (CONTD)

New Horizons Through the Interplanetary Medium (D2)- Larry Pontius