“AT THE WORLD’S END”Excerpt from a Screen Adaptation of

James DeMille’s“A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder” (1888)

Written byRobert W. Lebling

"AT THE WORLD’S END"

FADE IN:

EXT. ANTARCTIC - SEASIDE CLIFF – DAY

All around is Antarctic ice. Our attention is drawn to a volcanic region, an ancient lava field strewn with black rock and pumice, noxious smoke and occasional gouts of flame. There is no ice or snow here. The lava field ends abruptly at the sea.

A human figure, in a heavy gray hooded cloak, approaches the edge of the cliff, and looks down at the sea below. The figure's face is hidden, its gender unclear. A copper canister emerges from beneath the cloak. The figure tosses the canister over the edge, and it tumbles, end over end, down to the waves below.

As the figure turns slowly and walks away from the cliff edge, a panorama of the Antarctic landscape appears and opening credits roll.

EXT. ATLANTIC OCEAN - A SAILING YACHT - MIDDAY

It is 1850. A large two-masted yacht, the Falcon, lies becalmed off the Canaries. The volcanic peak of Tenerife can be seen in the distance.

The crew are scattered, some dozing, some playing cards. Ennui permeates all. Two middle-aged English gentlemen, in summer sporting clothes, sit in chairs on the stern deck, sipping gin and occasionally chatting. A third man, in his early 60s, with a voluminous gray mustache, lies in an Indian hammock, strung between the two masts, smoking a cigar and pretending to read a novel. A fourth gentleman, about 30, sits near the mainmast, folding paper into boat shapes.

The man in the hammock is LORD FEATHERSTONE, owner of the vessel. A aristocrat, he has fled the tedium of British

society to cruise the southern seas in his yacht. The paper-(MORE) (Cont'd)

boat folder is OTTO MELICK, young, dark-haired, clean-shaven, a talented London essayist. The two on the stern deck are: NOEL OXENDEN, reed-thin and balding, a Cambridge scholar and FEATHERSTONE's closest confidant; and DR. CONGREVE, heavyset, bespectacled, a man of wide scientific interests who is both friend and medical attendant to FEATHERSTONE.

FEATHERSTONE cranes his neck out of the hammock and speaks to Melick.

FEATHERSTONEI say, Melick, you're the most energetic fellow I ever saw! You're the only one aboard who's busy. What the devil are you doing?

MELICK(businesslike)

Paper boats, m’lord…

FEATHERSTONEPaper boats?? Whatever for?

MELICKI'm going to hold a regatta. Anything to kill time.

FEATHERSTONE(raising himself up)

A regatta! What a splendid idea! I say, Oxenden, did you hear that?

OXENDEN(lazily)

What do you mean by a regatta?

MELICKI mean a race with these paper

boats. We can bet on them, you know.

(MORE) (CONT'D)

FEATHERSTONE

(sitting up and swinging his legs out of the hammock)

Betting! Melick, you're a genius! A regatta! And we can bet on the best boat!

OXENDENBut there isn't any wind!

MELICK(solemnly, as he folds a boat)

Well, you know, that's the fun of it. If there was a wind, we'd be moving ourselves, and we couldn't have a regatta. As it is, the water is just right. You pick your boat, and bet that she'll reach a given point.

OXENDENWhat point?

MELICKAnything in the water will do -- a bubble, a patch of seaweed -- or we can pitch out a piece of wood.

FEATHERSTONE climbs out of the hammock and kneels down to examine the boats. There are four of them, in different colors -- red, green, yellow and white. OXENDEN and CONGREVE join them.

Before long, the four move to the side of the yacht.

MELICKAll right now, I'll set them in the water, and then we can lay our bets on them as we choose.

(MORE) (Cont'd)

We need a finish line.

OXENDEN(pointing west)

There's a black speck out there.

About a hundred yards out, a dark, circular object bobs in the calm sea.

FEATHERSTONESo there is. That'll do. I wonder what it is....

MELICKOh, a bit of timber. Probably the spar of some ship.

CONGREVEIt doesn't look like a spar. It's only a round spot, like the float of some net.

MELICKOh, it's a spar. It's one end of it, the rest is under water.

MELICK leans over the starboard gunwale and sets the paper boats gently in the water. The ocean is perfectly still and there is no perceptible wind. But the boats begin moving, due to draughts of air caused by the rise and fall of the yacht. The green boat drifts astern, the yellow one stays under the yacht. But the red and white boats, in tandem, drift out slowly toward the dark spot.

FEATHERSTONETwo to one on the red!

MELICKDone!

Other bets are placed, and the excitement rises. FEATHERSTONE orders out the rowboat.

EXT. ATLANTIC OCEAN - ROWBOAT - MIDDAY

Soon the four gentlemen are rowing out towards the finish line.

When they reach the area of the dark spot, they find the two paper boats stuck together, saturated with water and floating limp on the surface. They begin arguing over their bets. FEATHERSTONE is studying the dark object.

FEATHERSTONEWhat an odd-looking thing! It doesn't look like a spar. Pull it up, lads, let's see what it is.

MELICKIt's not a spar.

From the bow, MELICK lunges for the object and after a few miscues manages to lift it into the rowboat. It is a slime- and barnacle-covered metal cylinder about 18 inches long and eight inches wide, soldered tight and evidently containing something.

CONGREVEIt looks like a can of preserved meat. Perhaps something good -- like Yorkshire game pie. They pot all sorts of things now.

OXENDENIf it's game, it'll be rather high by this time. Man alive! Look at those weeds and shells.

It must have been floating for ages.

MELICKMeat cans are never so large as that.

CONGREVEOh, I don't know about that. They make up pretty large pemmicans for those arctic expeditions...

MELICK(scraping barnacles from the can with a pen knife)

They never pack up pemmican in copper cylinders.

OXENDENCopper! Is it copper?

A coppery glint shows where the knife cleared away shells and slime.

FEATHERSTONELet's get it back to the yacht and open it.

EXT. ATLANTIC OCEAN - SAILING YACHT - MIDDAY

The four are gathered in the stern, around the cylinder. FEATHERSTONE tries to break open the canister with a sturdy utility knife, but fails. MELICK hurries off and returns with a small axe. A few blows, and the canister breaks open. He draws out two packages wrapped tightly in felt and bound with cord.

FEATHERSTONE, using the utility knife, cuts the cord on the smaller of the two packages, opens it and unfolds the contents -- three sheets of vegetable paper.

CONGREVEIt looks like Egyptian papyrus.

FEATHERSTONE(examining the pages)

It's a letter -- the same letter written on all three sheets, in English … French and German.

He reads the English version aloud. FEATHERSTONE's voice merges with that of the letter writer.

FEATHERSTONE"To the finder --

"Sir, I am an Englishman, and have been carried by a series of incredible events to a land from which escape is impossible as the grave. I have written this and committed it to the sea, in the hope that the ocean currents may bear it within the reach of civilized man.

"I entreat you to let this message be made known to my father, Henry More, Keswick, Cumberland, England, so that he may learn of the fate of his son. The manuscript accompanying this contains an account of my adventures, which I should like to have forwarded to him.

"Do this for the sake of that mercy which you may one day wish to have shown to yourself.

ADAM MORE"

FEATHERSTONE looks up at his friends, then at the larger package.

FEATHERSTONEThis is simply amazing!

MELICK opens his pen knife, and cuts the cords of the remaining package. He holds up the manuscript and unfolds it -- a great collection of papyrus sheets, covered with writing.

FEATHERSTONERead it, Melick. You've got the most energy. When you're tired, the rest of us will take turns.

MELICK(shaking his head)

It'll take a month to read this!

FEATHERSTONEAll the better. This calm will probably last that long, and we have nothing else to do.

They pull deck chairs in a circle. MELICK clears his throat and begins reading. As with the letter, his voice becomes that of the author.

MELICK/MOREMy name is Adam More. I was mate of the ship Trevelyan, under Captain Bennett, a vessel chartered by the British Government to convey convicts to Australia....

EXT. SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN - THE TREVELYAN - MIDDAY

The ship is anchored off the Antarctic coast. The sun is shining brightly, with a cloud line to the north. Whales and grampuses plow the seas. In the distance to the south is a low coastline, and an icy promontory, rising easily a thousand feet, whose foothills are dotted with thousands of seals.

MORE is on deck talking with CAPTAIN BENNETT. Beside them is AGNEW, the second mate. The captain shakes his head and walks away.

MORE(narrating)

... It was mid-December 1843. We had landed our cargo of convicts in Hobart Town, and then set sail for home. We headed south and west, avoiding a scattering of small islands, and found ourselves about 1,500 miles from the South Pole. One day we spotted a coastline, covered with fur seals. I proposed to Agnew, the second mate, that we go ashore, shoot some seals and bring back fresh meat. The captain didn't like the idea, but he was old and cautious, and we were young and venturesome, so we laughed away his scruples and set forth...

EXT. SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN - A SHORELINE - AFTERNOON

AGNEW and MORE approach the shore in a longboat. They beach on an ice sheet at the tip of the promontory, disembark and begin trudging inland. They carry rifles.

MORE(pointing east)

I think they're beyond that bend.

Soon they reach an ice-covered beach. Fur seals, as far as the eye can see, bask in the afternoon sun. The animals ignore the newcomers, who are still a hundred yards away.

AGNEWMy God! Thousands of them. They're sitting ducks.

MORE laughs and takes the first shot. AGNEW takes aim and fires. The seals panic and rush headlong for the safety of the sea.

The men approach their kills.

The weather has begun to change. MORE feels a snowflake on his cheek, and looks up at the sky. A leaden gray is replacing the brilliant blue of earlier.

MORE(sensing a storm)

We'd better get back to the ship.

MORE and AGNEW each seizes a dead seal by the tail flippers and begins dragging it across the ice, back toward the longboat.

When they reach the boat, they haul the seals in, retrieve the grapple, and push out to sea.

EXT. SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN - THE LONGBOAT - LATE AFTERNOON

As they row back toward the ship, the wind picks up, and the sea grows steadily rougher. Snow is swirling around them. They row in silence.

The Trevelyan seems to be getting farther away as they row. They hear a signal gun from the ship.

AGNEWThey're signaling us!

As night descends, the signal shots continue. At each report, they turn the boat toward the sound. The wind reaches gale force. They row for their lives.

Hours pass. The gun reports become fainter and rarer. AGNEW drops his oar and begins bailing out the longboat, now about a third full of water. After a while, MORE takes over bailing, and AGNEW rows. In this way they pass the night.

Morning comes at last. The wind has eased, but the snow is so thick they can only see a short distance. The Trevelyan is nowhere to be seen. The signal gun has long since ceased.

They row all day, resting when exhausted. The cold is too intense to allow rest for long. They have no thought of food. They row to keep from perishing, sometimes dropping off to sleep at the oars but always awakening with a start, and rowing on, benumbed, without hope.

Another morning comes. The snow has stopped. They look around eagerly for signs of their ship, but they see nothing but empty ocean -- except to the east, where a dark peak rises. They turn their prow toward the peak and row.

They reach the coast and see vast ice fields.

MOREWe're back where we started, Agnew. The wind has driven us backwards.

AGNEWDamn! (He reflects for a moment in silence.) Let's land on the ice. We can make a fire and cook some of that meat.

EXT. SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN - AN ICY COASTLINE - MORNING

When they reach the coast, they beach the longboat, and make a fire, breaking up an empty box from the longboat for firewood. They cut strips of meat from a seal and lay it on the flames.

The meat is barely singed, but they are starving, and eat ravenously. For water, they chew ice and snow.

MORE(looking grimly at AGNEW)

I think we're done for, friend.

AGNEW(snorting)

You don't mean that, More.

MOREI do. Chances are, we won't find the ship. Any ship....

AGNEWLook, mate, I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to pack it in. I've got a long life ahead of me. I've got a wife and kids back in Bournemouth. I'm going to find the ship. You're not married, are you?

MORENo.

AGNEWGot a sweetheart back home?

MORE(a pause)

Not really… She's not cut out to be a sailor's woman.

AGNEWEver think of settling down? Taking a land job?

MORENo… I'm not ready for that.

AGNEW(smiling)

There you go! See? You've still got some spirit in you! Adventures yet to be lived! So stop thinking the worst. Someone will find us...

MORE(shaking his head)

You’re an incorrigible optimist, Agnew…

They pack up the remains of the cooked meat and set to sea again.

EXT. SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN - IN THE LONGBOAT - DAY

They row until they reach a strong current, which begins to carry the longboat away.

MOREWe can't fight this current. We'll have to let it carry us where it will.

AGNEWI think it's taking us north.

MOREI'm sure we're going south.

AGNEWThere's no use rowing any more. If it runs south, we can't resist it. It's too strong. But there’s a bright side. I believe it runs north.

MORE(narrating)

And so we passed several days, living off our cache of seal meat and drinking water from the ice and snow. It got no colder. Agnew took this for a sign we were moving north. But he was wrong. It got no warmer either.

EXT. SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN - THE LONGBOAT - NIGHT

AGNEW rouses MORE and points toward the horizon. There is a deep red glow, a tremendous conflagration.

MOREIt's the Trevelyan! Our ship is on fire!

AGNEW(squinting)

No, it can't be. It's too big. It's probably a forest burning. That means we're near land!

They drift closer to the conflagration. It soon becomes clear that they are witnessing the eruption of twin volcanoes.

MORE(despairingly)

I know where we are now.

AGNEWWhere?

MOREThat ... is the Antarctic continent.

AGNEW(skeptically)

Ha! More likely it's some volcanic island in the South Sea. There's a tremendous volcano in the Sandwich Islands, and these are something like it.

MOREI believe these are the very volcanoes that Sir James Ross discovered last year...

AGNEWNonsense! We're thousands of miles from that point.

MOREDon't count on it. (He nods toward the volcanoes.) At any rate, the current is taking us toward them.

EXT. THE COASTLINE - A CHANNEL BETWEEN THE VOLCANOES - DAWN

At sunrise, AGNEW and MORE awaken. Their longboat has drifted into a wide channel that runs between the two volcanoes. The shores are black and forbidding. In the distance is a mountain range, covered with ice and snow.

AGNEW cries out and points toward one of the shorelines.

AGNEWLook! -- do you see? People!

Human figures move on the distant beach.

AGNEW(staring at the figures)

Shall we land?

MOREDon't be hasty. They could be dangerous.

AGNEW makes no reply. They watch the figures come down to the water's edge. They resemble living mummies -- small, dark, thin, shriveled, with long matted hair and hideous faces. They carry long spears, and gesticulate toward the longboat.

The longboat drifts on, leaving the people behind. The channel narrows. The sloping shores grow steeper, until about a mile ahead, they transform to towering cliffs. The channel runs between them, and becomes lost to view completely, as if swallowed up by the earth.

AGNEWWe can't go any farther. This stream must pass under the mountains. To go on is certain death. We'll have to stop here.

MOREAnd the natives?

AGNEWI don't think they're dangerous. Look how small they are!I'm sure they're harmless.

MOREI suppose we have no choice.

They take the oars and begin to make for shore.

EXT. THE COASTLINE - THE BEACH - DAY

The ragged band on the beach silently await the longboat. The closer the boat comes, the more repulsive the people look. Their bony frames are emaciated, their toes and fingers like bird claws, their eyes dull and weak, sunken in cavernous hollows. They make no hostile moves. They hold their spears loosely in their hands.

MORE(taking his gun)

I don't like the looks of them. I'll fire off a round.

AGNEWWhy? For God's sake, man, don't hurt any of them!

MORE fires in the air. The report echoes off the mountains. Looking to shore, they see that the people have seated themselves calmly on the beach, with their hands in their laps, showing no fear or surprise.

They beach the longboat, and secure it with the grappling iron. The people get to their feet and crowd around AGNEW and MORE. Some bow low, others prostrate themselves. They are not hostile. MORE remains repulsed by them, but AGNEW bows, smiles, and shakes hands with half a dozen in succession. The custom is strange to them, but they comply. They offer their lances to AGNEW and MORE, but the sailors decline them.

The people gesture for AGNEW and MORE to follow them, and they all begin walking inland.

AGNEW(cheerfully)

My dear More, they're not a bad lot. They mean well. They can't help how they look! You're too suspicious. Let's make friends with them, and get them to help us.

MORE(doubtfully)

I don’t know about this....

EXT. INLAND - A VALLEY - NEAR SUNSET

After half a mile, they come to a valley. A fire, apparently made with local coal, burns brightly before a cave entrance. They enter the cave.

INT. INLAND - A CAVE - NEAR SUNSET

The fire outside illuminates the cave's near interior. Women and children eye the sailors without fear or undue curiosity. Some of the people spread birdskin cushions for AGNEW and MORE to sit on. They offer the sailors gifts -- large, beautiful feathers and handcrafted trinkets. AGNEW responds energetically to their hospitality, and soon becomes the center of attention. MORE, his suspicions unallayed, languishes in comparative neglect.

Soon cooked food is brought from the fire on a huge platter; the centerpiece is a large, roasted turkeylike bird. AGNEW and MORE eat with great relish.

When the meal is done, the sailors rest, sated. AGNEW continues to communicate fairly successfully with the locals, using hand signals and gestures. He turns to MORE.

AGNEWMore, old fellow, these good people give me to understand there's another place better than this. They want me to go with them. Will you come?

MORE(apprehensive)

Don't go! Please! We're close to the boat here, and if anything happens, we can get to it easily.

AGNEW(laughing)

Why, you're not still suspicious, are you, after that dinner? Why would they have feasted us like that if they'd wanted to harm us? Nonsense! Come with us!

MORE shakes his head obstinately.

AGNEWWell, if I thought there was any reason to worry, I'd stay with you. But I'm sure these people mean us nothing but kindness, and I'm going to see this place.

MOREYou'll be back?

AGNEWOf course. We'll both stay the night here.

With that, AGNEW sets off, leaving the cave with most of the tribesmen. MORE remains behind with the women, children and about a dozen men. These men busy themselves working on bird skins, the women with feathers. They take no notice of MORE, who quietly reloads one of the chambers of his rifle. He notices that AGNEW has left his rifle behind.

A very old woman, her dark face a maze of deep wrinkles, brings MORE a roasted fowl about the size of a woodcock. He is puzzled by the attention, and waves her off as politely as he can. She sets down the fowl and hobbles off.

Soon MORE looks out at the mouth of the cave, where the fire still blazes brightly.

EXT. INLAND - MOUTH OF THE CAVE - NIGHT

Four men arrive at the fire, carrying what looks like a sick or wounded companion. They set the tribesman down; the stiffness of the body indicates a corpse. The old woman who brought the roast fowl to MORE arrives beside the body, holding a sharp knife high.

INT. INLAND - THE CAVE - NIGHT

MORE's eyes widen as he watches the old woman. His face is stricken with horror.

MORE(whispering to himself)

My God.... my God....

EXT. INLAND - MOUTH OF THE CAVE - NIGHT

By firelight, the old woman's wrinkled face is expressionless

as she works. The sound of a joint popping. She lifts a detached human arm into the night air, and thrusts it into the fire, in the same place where the sailors' dinner had been cooked.

MORE gasps. He rises slowly, rifle in hand, and staggers out of the cave. No one tries to stop him or follow him. He passes the old woman and the four men, who are at work on the corpse. At this point, some of the locals notice MORE. Men and women approach him, gesticulating and speaking quickly in their strange language. He warns them off angrily. They stand nearby, watching him. He looks around for AGNEW, but the second mate is nowhere to be seen.

MORE looks off at the horizon. The twin volcanoes blaze, and the northern sky is red with a lurid light. Higher up, the aurora australis, a glorious curtain across the sky, illuminates the night with unusual brightness.

A gunshot splits the night. MORE realizes that AGNEW is in danger. He bursts through the crowd of men and women and heads in the direction of the gunshot. He hears a loud cry, then another report. MORE runs on.

MORE(shouting)

Agnew! Where are you?? Agnew!

He still cannot see AGNEW, but is drawing closer. Suddenly he hears AGNEW's voice.

AGNEW(in pain and terror)

More! Run! Get back to the boat! Save yourself!

MORE(looking around frantically)

Where are you?

AGNEWYou can't save me! I'm lost! Run

for your life!

MORE knows AGNEW is close, but he still cannot see him in the darkness. A group of men are following MORE. They are unarmed, but appear set to leap at him and restrain him. He turns and waves them back with his rifle. They ignore his gesture, and move closer. MORE runs on; he is faster, and the men cannot catch him.

Suddenly, in the light of the aurora, he sees AGNEW, lying on the ground, surrounded on three sides by a group of locals. The handle of a large knife extends from AGNEW's mouth. Clearly he is dead.

MORE stops. His chest heaves. There is despair in his eyes. He looks around. The tribesmen are closing in from behind. MORE fires his rifle into the crowd; one man falls but the others keep coming, unfazed. MORE cuts to the left and begins running a gazelle, heading back to the boat.

EXT. THE COAST - THE LONGBOAT - NIGHT

Close to exhaustion, MORE reaches the longboat. He turns back toward his pursuers and discharges his pistol into their midst. Then he hurls the grapple into the boat and pushes off into the water. He falls into the boat as it drifts into the channel. The tribesmen gather on the beach, and watch the boat move into the strong current.

Rocky cliffs sweep by. The channel narrows relentlessly, pulling the boat toward a great black mass, a mountain set against the starlit sky. To the left is a great volcano, its crater burning redly in the night. The channel appears to run under the mountain. MORE gets to his knees. He peers through the gloom, holding tight to the seat. A roar of churning water builds steady. The mountain draws closer.

In moments, the boat is sucked under the mountain, through a chasm in the rock. Total blackness engulfs him, and the roar of the water drones on, deep and terrible, unchanging. The boat seems to slow, so MORE, desperate to see anything, takes out a match and strikes it on the gunwale. But the movement

of the air keeps the match from lighting. He picks up his rifle and fires a shot in the air. The flash of powder lights his surroundings for a second. He has entered a subterranean sea. He loads his empty barrel and waits.

Soon he hears a new sound, a quick, heavy gasping, followed by a wild splashing of waves and a spray of water. A living creature. Something large rises up in the water before his boat. Another gasp. MORE fires both barrels at the approaching bulk. In the blaze from his gun, he sees a great sea creature: its head held high on a long neck joined to an enormous body, the beast snaps its long teeth, writhes and then dives beneath the surface. It vanishes. MORE falls back, stunned by what he has seen. Alive or dead, the beast is gone. Worn down by fatigue and fear, MORE sinks to the bottom of the boat and sleeps.

EXT. AN INLAND SEA – THE LONGBOAT - MORNING

MORE awakens to a brilliant blaze of light. He gets to his knees and views a new world with awe. He has passed through the subterranean channel under the mountains and into a vast basin-shaped world, with a mammoth inland sea at its center, surrounded by a lush green land that gives way to snow- and ice-capped mountains on all sides. A deep blue sunlit vault of sky covers all, meeting the high horizon at the peaks.

There is human life here. MORE sees the outlines of populous cities and busy towns and hamlets set amid the green vegetation at the base of the mountains. Roads wind far away along the plain and up the mountainsides. He spots impressive works of industry: massive structures, terraced slopes, arched aqueducts, brooding pyramids and great walls.

At sea, ships and boats ply the blue-green waters. Some are fishing boats, some freighters under sail, others look like ancient square-rigged Mediterranean galleys propelled by a hundred oars.

The crews look Levantine, many of them bearded. They wear belted tunics and broad-brimmed hats. They squint, as if unaccustomed to the sunlight.

MORE hails a galley, and a small rowboat is lowered. Some sailors row to the longboat, and take MORE aboard.

MORE(climbing into the rowboat)

Thank you! Thank you! You don't know how glad I am to see you!

The sailors are friendly, but they don't speak MORE's language. They row back to the galley, and MORE is lifted aboard. The vessel is about 150 feet long; two-thirds of its length is open and filled with seats where rowers sit. The oarsmen are small in stature and slender, with mild, gentle expressions on their faces. The rowers wear coarse tunics; the officers wear tunics of fine cloth, with mantles richly embroidered and edged in down. All wear broad-brimmed hats, to shield their eyes from the bright sky.

An elderly man, who appears to be a CHIEF, and who wears a richly furred cloak over his tunic, approaches MORE, studies him briefly briefly, then beckons to him to follow him to the cabin in the stern.

INT. INLAND SEA - GALLEY CABIN - LATE MORNING

The cabin has no windows, and it is dark inside. The CHIEF leads MORE to a large table. Food is brought -- a platter of roast fowls -- and MORE eats voraciously.

When he is finished, a sailor brings a water bowl and sponge and washes MORE's face and hands.

The CHIEF then stands, removes his elegant cloak and hands it to MORE. At first inclined to refuse, MORE accepts, wishing not to give offense. The CHIEF drapes it around MORE’s shoulders. The other sailors look enviously at the CHIEF.

They bring MORE various drinks in goblets. He chooses one, and offers a toast to their health and expresses his gratitude. Strangely, the CHIEF and sailors seem offended.

EXT. INLAND SEA - A PORT CITY - LATE MORNING

The galley docks alongside a major stone quay. The CHIEF and MORE disembark and walk some distance along a road with stone walls on either side. Behind the walls giant ferns spread broad fanlike leaves. After about a hundred yards, they arrive at a crossroads.

MORE is taken aback by the sight of three huge flightless birds, with short stocky legs and short necks -- about the size of oxen -- that wait at the crossroads, harnessed to carts, with drivers. The CHIEF motions for MORE to enter one of the carts, and he does so, taking a seat behind the driver. The CHIEF joins him, and the bird and cart set off, at the pace of trotting horse.

They pass through the city, set on the slope of a mountain. On either side stand impressive buildings, some topped with pyramids. Few people are about; those that can be seen walk in the shadows of the walls and giant ferns, shielding their eyes when they step into sunlight.

The cart moves up the mountain, climbing along stone terraces. They pass an immense truncated pyramid, flat on top, with three sides sloping and one perpendicular. A stone staircase climbs one of the sloping faces to the expansive area atop the structure.

Soon they reach a series of huge portals that lead into mountain caverns. When they reach the largest, central portal, the cart stops. The CHIEF and MORE climb out of the cart. The CHIEF strides into the cavern, and MORE follows behind, amazed at all he sees.

As they walk, Lord Featherstone's voice can be heard.

FEATHERSTONE(voice over)

I don't know what to make of it. Really! It's the oddest damned

thing I've ever heard.

EXT. ATLANTIC OCEAN - SAILING YACHT - AFTERNOON

The copper cylinder, now dry, gleams in the afternoon sun. FEATHERSTONE and his companions are seated on deck around MELICK, who has been reading from the manuscript.

FEATHERSTONE People living at the South Pole? A warm climate?? What a bizarre document!

MELICK(smiling)

Well, it isn't that difficult to figure.

CONGREVEWhat do you mean?

MELICKWhy, anyone can see that it's a hoax -- a transparent hoax. You don't actually take it seriously, do you?

CONGREVE(tapping the manuscript)

Do you know what kind of material this account is written on?

MELICKNo, I don't.

CONGREVEWell, I do. It's papyrus. Actual papyrus! Nowadays you see it only in museums! The ancient Egyptians made paper like this. The art has been lost for centuries...

OXENDENRemarkable!

MELICKI still think it's fiction. More and his south polar world remind me of Sindbad the Sailor.

CONGREVEI'm inclined to take More's statements as fact.

FEATHERSTONEWell, doctor, if that's the case, then I suggest you take up the reading of the manuscript. Let's see what else Mr. More has to say....

CONGREVEWith pleasure....

(he begins to read)The cavern into which the chief led me was very spacious, but had no light except that which entered through the portal....

INT. THE CAVERN - NIGHT

The CHIEF leads MORE deep into the cavern. People pass them in the semi-darkness.

MORE(continuing the narration)

Many people moved about, like pedestrians on the streets of our own cities. Soon we reached a major road, lit dimly with a few twinkling lamps. The feeble light served these people well. The sunlight outside had seemed almost painful to them, but here

in the gloom, they were at home...

They stop at a stone doorway, covered by a heavy mat. The CHIEF moves aside the mat, and light blazes forth from within. The CHIEF shields his eyes and ushers MORE inside.

INT. THE CAVERNS – A LARGE GROTTO – NIGHT

The chamber is a large grotto with an arched roof, from which hangs an enormous golden lamp. Rich hangings adorn the walls, and many lamps decorate the chamber. There are couches, divans, and luxurious carpets.

The CHIEF walks to another doorway, covered with a mat like the first. He pulls back the mat, and leads MORE into another room, smaller but just as sumptuously decorated and brightly lit. A strikingly beautiful young WOMAN stands there; she and MORE face each other.

She is not like the others MORE has seen here: she is taller, lighter skinned, and her eyes have no trouble with the bright glow of the lamps. She wears a long tunic, floor-length, secured at the waist with a golden belt. A golden headband encircles her dark hair.

The CHIEF, still pained by the glare of light, says a few hasty words to the WOMAN and hurries away. She studies MORE with what seems to be sad, even mournful, interest. She approaches MORE and speaks to him.

WOMANSalonla umarahabin, yo sadi.

MORE(with a slight bow)

I’m sorry, my lady, I don’t understand a bloody word you’re saying.

Somewhat hesitantly, he stretches forth his hand. She looks

at it with surprise. MORE impulsively takes her hand, and presses it gently to his lips. She smiles and nods, then points at his holstered gun. MORE removes the pistol and sets it on an inlaid table. The WOMAN gestures toward a couch, and they sit down. They study each other in mutual wonder.

Language is clearly a problem. MORE points at the WOMAN and gestures inquisitively, trying to learn her name. She suddenly realizes what he is doing.

WOMAN(pointing at herself)

Almah! Almah!

MOREPleased to meet you, Almah.

(pointing at himself)Adam More.

ALMAH(smiling)

Atamor!

MOREClose enough…

Her smile fades to sadness. She repeats his name over and over again, with what seems like mournful foreboding.

ALMAHAtamor … Atamor … Atamor …

MORE(trying to bring back her smile)

Look, my dear Almah, the only way I’m going survive here is to learn the language. It sounds a bit like Arabic. I know some of that language, thanks to my

travels. I’d like you to teach me a few words.

(pointing at the couch)What is this?

ALMAH(touching the couch and smiling)

Misad!

He pulls a small, worn leather-bound notebook and a stubby pencil from his pocket, and writes the word.

MOREMisad…

(pointing to an endtable)And that?

ALMAHTula!

And so they continue for hours, exchanging words and meanings. Servants bring food, and they eat, continuing their lessons.

Finally, ALMAH stands and indicates that she must leave. He rises with her, saddened that the encounter is over.

ALMAH(with a sincere smile)

Salonla!

MORE(with a slight bow)

Salonla, Almah…

INT. CAVERNS – ANOTHER CHAMBER. NIGHT.Servants take him to his own chamber. Fatigued, still dressed, he throws himself on a soft bed of down, and sleeps.

Many hours later he awakens, refreshed. He wanders into an adjoining room. A table is spread with a sumptuous meal. ALMAH is not there, but servants beckon him to eat. MORE declines, and stands waiting for ALMAH to arrive.

Soon the CHIEF enters, shading his eyes from the painful light of the lamps.

CHIEF(bowing low)

Salonla!

MORESalonla!

The CHIEF is pleased that MORE has learned a local greeting. He touches his chest.

CHIEFKohen.

MOREKohen? You are Kohen?

(touching his own chest)Adam More!

The CHIEF laughs and awkwardly repeats MORE’s name. But it is clear he is in discomfort, from the bright light, and soon, with a bow, he departs.

ALMAH soon arrives. MORE rushes toward her and takes her hands. She smiles, free from the melancholy that had gripped her the previous evening. They sit at the long table and begin their breakfast.

(TO BE CONTINUED)