3.05 Street Sodium
EXT. STREET - EVENING #5#
Director(s)
Synopsis
Walking the street, Graham teaches Will the rules, starting with touch, then demonstrates a jump.
Action
Length
| Page length | 3.2 |
|---|
Cutaway / coverage notes
Notes
Script print
Shutters half down; shop lights dying. The bike lane runs pale under sodium pools. Will and Graham walk the curb, unhurried. Will’s hands are empty now. Their footsteps carry in the quiet. Graham scans ahead.
Let's start with the basics. Number one is touching.
Do we have to?
Because you held on to me when I travelled the first time, you went when I went. Take a look around.
Will looks around at the street. Then Graham grabs Will's arm and two are instantly transported to the start of their walk: the same street but earlier, like someone pressed 'rewind' on a tape.
Oh, I don't like that.
It's hard to control the exact place and time, but you learn as you go. Even with the same intentions...
He grabs Will's arms again and they're transported yet again: same walk, but now they're ahead in the street.
You get slightly different results. Now, I have good news and bad news. When you held on to me, I turned you into a time traveller.
So what's the bad news?
I don't get it.
Remember how I told you the Will of this exact time and place is having a blackout?
(Will nods)
So you're currently possessing yourself. Borrowing the body.
Isn't it my body?
Of course. But you're still just a visitor.
Unless I decide to stay.
Well, you do that, and you're no longer a time traveller, are you? You have to choose.
What are the other rules?
You can't visit any place where you're not alive. Nothing before your birth, nothing after your death.
So I can go visit my childhood? Old age?
Childhood, yes. But not past what you've already lived.
Wait a second. How old are you?
Graham gives him a mysterious smile. Then he keeps walking. Will catches up.
You're not going to like what I'm about to tell you.
What is it?
Going back and changing things isn't a good idea.
Why not?
The Will I'm talking to will always experience time moving forward. You're immune to changes now. Do you understand what this means?
(he looks at Will)
That means the more you try to change, the less real your world becomes.
He grabs Will by the arm again. They reset to the start of the street and stop.
This is important. Changing your life won't change who you are. Because you'll always remember. You don't want to be a stranger to your own life. Do you understand?
Then what do I do?
You watch. You have the power to observe the world in ways people can't even comprehend. And you hold this awesome power and you choose not to act on it. It's the only way to stay true to yourself.
Graham pauses for a moment, wondering if his lesson has really landed. Then:
It's about emotion and intent. Your consciousness is the vehicle, your memory's the engine. Times and places you can recall with clarity are the easiest to travel to.
(pauses)
Will. If you choose to do this, I may have no way to follow.
I want to try.
Then close your eyes.
On Will, preparing.
Visualise where you want to go. Think of the light, the colours, the texture of things. The smell in the air. Somebody's voice. Step inside that memory. Take the-