This document is part of the Ocean Girl Archive — Last update: 2011-10-23 — source — meta
(music)
| Shersheba: | The council of elders has dispatched the child Mera to the thuron province in an attempt to quell the unrest there. You are to take a detail and follow her. |
|---|---|
| Garron: | Yes, highness. |
| Shersheba: | You will see to it that the mission ends in disaster for her and triumph for us. Is this understood? |
| Garron: | Perfectly, your highness. |
| Shersheba: | Dismissed. |
| Malakat: | They leap to obey your every command, highness. |
| Shersheba: | As they should. |
| Jason: | Enjoying yourself? |
|---|---|
| Neri: | Yes. |
| Brett: | Dad’s really gonna turn it on. It’s Jason’s birthday. |
| Neri: | Birthday? You did not tell me. |
| Jason: | Ah, it’s nothing. |
| Brett: | He doesn’t want anyone to know he’s getting old. |
| Neri: | Silly. Happy birthday. |
| Jason: | Thanks. |
| Neri: | Look. |
| Brett: | What? |
| Neri: | A girl – in long white dress – standing up there. |
| Brett: | Probably just a kangaroo. |
| Jason: | A kangaroo wearing a long white dress. |
| Paul: | Paul Bates. What now? You’ve got to be kidding. All right, all right. Give me an hour. |
|---|---|
| Brett: | Dad! |
| Paul: | G’day, guys. Neri. |
| Brett: | When are we going horse riding? |
| Paul: | Okay, you’re not going to believe this. I’ve just had a call from work– |
| Brett: | And there’s been some emergency. |
| Paul: | I’m sorry, Jason. |
| Jason: | It’s okay. It doesn’t matter. |
| Brett: | But what about the riding? You promised. |
| Paul: | That’s no problem. Luke’s getting you organized. He’s the new wrangler. |
| Brett: | Ah, beauty. Come on, Neri. Let’s get changed. |
| Jason: | Thank you. |
| Paul: | Look, I’ll get back as soon as I can. |
| Jason: | I told you it’s fine. I mean it, dad. |
| Cass: | Oh, wow. |
|---|---|
| Winston: | Yes, it’s a radical change. In a manner of speaking, HELEN is learning a kind of human consciousness. |
| Guy: | Well, you’re getting the full HELEN 6000 – state-of-the-art. |
| Dianne: | Let’s hope you people got it right. Are you ready? |
| Guy: | The synaptic connectors are aligned, commander. |
| Dianne: | Full system shutdown authorized by the commander, HELEN. |
| HELEN: | Proceed. |
| Guy: | HELEN, what I want you to do now is to start counting backwards from ten to one. Begin now. |
| HELEN: | Ten, nine, eight… Seven, six… Five… Four. |
| Guy: | Let’s see what we’ve got. |
| Winston: | HELEN? Are you there, HELEN? |
| Cass: | HELEN, please, say something. |
| Louis: | Isn’t this supposed to make her a whole lot smarter? |
| Winston: | Quiet, please. |
| Louis: | Maybe she’s gone brain dead, commander. What does this do? |
| Cass: | Don’t touch! |
| HELEN: | Hello, everybody. My apologies. My anti-static function was set off by some insect. Can I help you? Cat got your tongue? |
| Winston: | I– I suppose I don’t know what to call you. I suppose, technically speaking, it would be something like HELEN 6000 plus. |
| HELEN: | Just a simple HELEN will be fine, thank you, Winston. |
| Brett: | Wow. |
|---|---|
| Jason: | Hey, you look amazing. |
| Neri: | It was good of your father to give me these. |
| Luke: | Except for the feet. The boots didn’t fit? |
| Jason: | Uh, Neri doesn’t like to wear shoes much. |
| Neri: | Is she mine? |
| Luke: | Ah, no, you best not ride Shadow. She gets a bit silly before she’s about to foal. |
| Neri: | Foal? |
| Jason: | Have a baby. |
| Luke: | This one’s yours. |
| Neri: | Good horse. I like you. |
| Brett: | Okay, what are we waiting for? |
| Luke: | Ever ridden before? |
| Neri: | Look. She loves the water. |
|---|---|
| Jason: | There’s a really good trail over by those trees. |
| Brett: | Don’t you reckon we’ve gone far enough? |
| Jason: | Chicken? You’re the one who couldn’t wait to get on a horse. Come on. |
| Brett: | I am not. Much. Hey, cut it out, will ya. |
| Jason: | You’re such a wimp. |
| Jason, Brett: | (Laughing) |
(music)
| Luke: | Look, I just spoke to your dad. He said to tell you that he– |
|---|---|
| Jason: | Let me guess. He isn’t coming. |
| Luke: | No, no, no. He’s been delayed ’til tomorrow. |
| Jason: | Where have I heard that before? |
| Luke: | Yeah well, anyway, look, I gotta go back into town. I might not be back until late. You’ll be all right here by yourselves? |
| Jason: | Yeah, sure. |
| Luke: | Okay, well, just make sure you turn everything off before you hit the hay, all right? |
| Jason: | Okay. |
| Luke: | See ya. |
| Brett: | He said he’d be here tomorrow. So, what’s the big deal? |
| Jason: | You wouldn’t know. |
| Brett: | He’s got a hard job. Things come up sometimes. |
| Jason: | Yeah, things always come up. |
| Brett: | He’s my dad too. You don’t hear me complaining. |
| Jason: | That’s because you just cop it all the time. |
| Brett: | Hey, don’t take it out on me because you let him get to you. |
| Neri: | Stop. Please. |
| Cass: | I wonder how Neri and the guys are doing at the farm. |
|---|---|
| HELEN: | Excuse me. Neri? What’s a Neri? |
| Winston: | HELEN, Neri is a secret. I must ask you to delete this conversation from your memory bank. |
| HELEN: | Secret. What’s a secret? |
(music)
| Emma: | Who are you? |
|---|---|
| Neri: | I am Neri. Who are you? |
| Emma: | My name is Emma. |
| Neri: | You were watching us today at the river. I look for you but you run away. |
| Emma: | Because people might think I am strange. |
| Neri: | I understand. Some people think I am strange too. |
| Emma: | Perhaps I really am. |
| Neri: | How? |
| Emma: | Sometimes I know things before they happen. |
| Neri: | What things? |
| Emma: | Well, about you, Neri. I know that there’s danger coming. |
| Neri: | Danger coming? I don’t understand. |
| Jason: | Neri, look, I didn’t mean look, I didn’t mean to upset you with all that stuff about my dad. I’m sorry. |
| Neri: | Don’t worry, Jason. |
| Jason: | Ah, you’re right. We’re here to have fun. What’re you doing out here anyway? |
| Neri: | Having fun. |
| Jason: | On your own in the dark? |
| Neri: | Sometimes we are not as alone as we think. |
| Jason: | Come on, I’ll walk you to the house. |
| Winston: | Oh, no, no, no, HELEN. A secret is like – is like when somebody enters a code to open one of your files. |
|---|---|
| HELEN: | Oh, I understand. Neri’s a systems access code. |
| Winston: | No, no, no, no. |
| HELEN: | Why, why, why, why? |
| Cass: | Give me a go. |
| Winston: | Please. |
| Cass: | HELEN. |
| HELEN: | Yes, Cass? |
| Cass: | Listen to me. What we mean by Neri being a secret is that Neri doesn’t exist. It’s just – just a game we play sometimes. |
| HELEN: | Game. An activity providing entertainment or amusement. Can I play? |
| Cass: | No! |
| HELEN: | Please? |
| Cass: | HELEN, shut up! |
| Winston: | HELEN, she didn’t mean that. |
| HELEN: | I can play the Neri game? |
| Winston: | HELEN. |
| HELEN: | Winston. |
| Winston: | HELEN, you are the single most important entity on ORCA. You’re in control of all our onboard systems. We rely upon you for our lives. It is vital that you maintain that authority. You see, if you start playing games, people will not know when to take you seriously and you’ll lose your credibility and that could be very, very dangerous. Do you understand? |
| HELEN: | I understand. I must delete Neri from my memory. |
| Winston: | Exactly! |
| HELEN: | I cannot play games because I am too important. |
| Winston: | Yes! Forget all about Neri. |
| HELEN: | About what? |
| Winston: | Neri. |
| HELEN: | That word does not compute. |
| Winston: | But we were just talking about– |
| Cass: | Can we call it a night now? |
| Winston: | Yes. Yes. |
(music)
| Emma: | (Soft crying) |
|---|---|
| Neri: | Do not cry, Emma. |
| Emma: | This just happens sometimes. I don’t know why. I just feel sad, alone. Like you. But at least you have friends. |
| Neri: | You said there is danger coming. What did you mean? |
| Emma: | It’s just a feeling. It’s like– some very wicked people here. And they want something here. And then you, stopping them. It makes them very angry. |
| Neri: | Who are these wicked people? |
| Emma: | I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. What is it? |
| Neri: | Shadow needs us. |
| Emma: | I didn’t hear anything. |
| Neri: | We must go. |
| Emma: | How do you know which way to go? |
| Neri: | I just know. Like you, I feel things. Listen. |
(Horse whinnying)
| Emma: | Yes! |
|---|---|
| Neri: | There. |
(Horse whinnying)
| Neri: | Quiet, quiet. |
|---|---|
| Emma: | Her baby’s coming. |
| Neri: | We must get some help. |
| Emma: | There’s no time. |
(Horse whinnying)
| Neri: | Quiet. |
|---|
| Jason: | Brett, come on. |
|---|
| Emma: | You may need to help. |
|---|---|
| Neri: | Get light. Quick! |
(Horse whinnying)
| Emma: | Mama! Papa! Where are you? Are you in there? |
|---|---|
| Dad: | Emma. |
| Mom: | No, get out. |
| Emma: | Where are you? |
| Dad: | Emma, no. |
| Mom: | No, no, get out! |
| Neri: | Emma! Put fire out. |
| Brett: | Where’d she go? |
|---|---|
| Jason: | Neri! Neri! Neri, where are you? |
| Neri: | Put out fire, Emma. Use blanket. I cannot do it, Emma. You must try, please! |
|---|
(music)
| Neri: | Thank you, Emma. Thank you. Emma, the baby. |
|---|
| Brett: | Neri, how did you do that? |
|---|---|
| Neri: | I did not do alone. I had help. |
| Jason: | Help. From who? |
| Neri: | From the mother. |
(Barnyard noises)
(music)
| Neri: | She has a beautiful baby. |
|---|---|
| Emma: | Yes. |
| Neri: | She’s alive thanks to you. You stopped the fire. You were afraid but you were stronger than your fear. But you are not happy. Why? |
| Emma: | I’ve lost them. |
| Neri: | Lost? |
| Emma: | Mama and papa. I tried but people say they’re dead. |
| Neri: | Are they? |
| Emma: | They mustn’t be. |
| Neri: | My mother and father also passed. For a long time, I say, “they cannot be gone.” But it is true. And so, I let it be true. |
| Emma: | No! |
| Neri: | And then I was free. Still sad sometimes but free. You be free too, Emma. It’s what they want. Emma free and happy. |
| Jason: | Uh, cool. |
|---|---|
| Brett: | I can exchange it if it doesn’t fit. |
| Jason: | Gee, thanks. It doesn’t even fit you. |
| Paul: | Happy birthday, son. It belonged to your great-grandfather Angus Bates. |
| Jason: | Thanks, dad. It’s great. |
| Paul: | Let’s get the party started. The original homestead stood up there on that hill. That was before the fire. |
| Brett: | Fire? |
| Luke: | Yeah, a kind of local tragedy at the time. Mr. And Mrs. Redfield they started the property. They had a young daughter who escaped but she ran back in in to save her parents. All three died. |
| Jason: | That’s terrible. |
| Paul: | Yeah, that was over 150 year ago but, you know, they say around here that the young girl’s ghost still roams the property looking for her parents. |
| Brett: | Ooh, a ghost. |
| Paul: | Okay, time for the cake. |
| Woman: | Our people are dying. |
|---|---|
| Everyone: | Yeah! |
| Guy: | The elders have failed us. The virus is spreading. |
| Mera: | The elders know about your fears and suffering but it is their promise that a cure for the virus is not far off. |
| Garron: | What if the cure fails? Yes, what then? |
| Mera: | If the cure fails, the lawful government will plan a peaceful migration to the earth, as was laid down by my mother. |
| Guy: | When? Who will go first? |
| Woman: | How will we eat in the meantime? |
| Guy: | What if we die first? |
| Everyone: | Yeah! |
| Mera: | Please, just let me finish. |
| Garron: | It’s all right for you. Living under the protection of the pyramid, fending us off with idle promises. She has betrayed us. Let the followers of the princess Shersheba take power under the wise council of statesman Malakat. |
| Mera: | No! Listen to me. Shersheba is a fraud and Malakat is a traitor. |
| Garron: | You’re the traitor. |