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        'THE COLD EQUATIONS'
A teleplay written by Brandon Mau
  Based on the short story by Tom Godwin

OPEN ON:

BLACKNESS.

MUSIC RISES and the CREDITS start to 
ROLL as we hear a motor starting and 
a plane taking off.

CUT TO:

EXT. OUTER SPACE_YEAR 2178

We see a panoramic view of Outer 
Space as a large ship passes by. It 
is covered with metallic gray paint. 
It zooms by planets as it makes its 
way through the never-ending world of 
stars.

INT. SHIP_(CONT.)

As we pan around the ship, we see 
that it is actually very small. A 
captain's quarters is seen clearly. 
Behind it lies a door, along with two 
windows and an airlock leading out to 
space. 

We pull to the captain's quarters to 
see EDS PILOT BROCK DYLAN. He is 
young, and along with his boyish good 
looks is a smart man just waiting to 
get out. He wears headphones and pays 
attention to the direction he is 
flying.

Voices can be heard from a small 
radio.

	BERNIE
(from radio)
Brock. Come in, Brock. Over.

Brock reaches for a small microphone 
and speaks into it softly. Almost a 
whisper.

	BROCK
This is Brock, Bernie. Over.

	BERNIE
We need you to hurry it up. Most of 
the people here are getting colder 
and hungrier by the minute. We need 
that vaccine right away.

	BROCK
I'm going as fast as I can, Sir. 
Estimated time for arrival is two 
hours.

	BERNIE
All right, Brock. We'll be expecting 
you. Over.

	BROCK
Over and out.
Brock sets down the microphone and 
continues to drive. He looks at an 
electronic map of the ship and 
notices a red light blinking in the 
spot where he sits, and a light 
blinking back in the storage room.

He reaches to the control board and 
hits a button marked, AUTOPILOT. He 
stands up and slowly makes his way to 
the storage room. Noises are heard 
coming from it. He turns his head to 
see a shiny metallic gun sitting on a 
large wooden box and picks it up. It 
is nothing like the guns we have.

Brock presses a red button and the 
door to the storage room swings open. 
He steps back and holds the gun in 
place.

	BROCK
All right! Come out now! I'm in no 
mood for games!

Nothing. He comes closer to the door.

	BROCK
Now!

SUDDENLY,

A young girl of about eighteen steps 
out with her hands up. She is very 
beautiful. Her name is MARILYN 'LEE' 
CROSS; a sweet girl with innocent 
looking eyes. She smiles, revealing 
her clear white teeth.

	MARILYN
All right, all right. You caught me. 
Now what?

CLOSE ON:

BROCK.

He slowly sets down his gun as we

FADE TO BLACK.

FADE IN:

ON BROCK,

as he still has his mouth WIDE-OPEN. 
Marilyn just stands there, still 
smiling.

	MARILYN
Okay, don't just stand there. Are you 
gonna arrest me or what?

	BROCK
I...Um...

Marilyn walks past him and toward the 
captain's quarters. She stares at all 
of the buttons and levers.

	
	MARILYN
Are all EDS ships look like this, or 
is it just this one?

	BROCK
All of them. Most of the time. This 
one isn't quite high-tech as the 
others. Most of them-

He cuts off. He remembers. He 
remembers reading the rules and 
regulations of an EDS Pilot. But one 
simple rule stands in his mind...

	BROCK
You might want to sit down. This is 
quite shocking.

Marilyn's smile FADES. She finds a 
wooden box and sits down. 

	BROCK
I-well...(sternly) what were you 
doing on this ship, anyway? Don't you 
pay any attention to the rules of an 
EDS Ship? Why did you hide on here?

	MARILYN
I wanted to see my brother. He's with 
the government survey crew on Woden 
and I haven't seen him for ten years, 
not since he left Earth to go into 
government survey work.

	BROCK
What was your destination on the 
Stardust?

	MARILYN
Mimir. I have a position waiting 
for me there. My brother has been 
sending money home all the time to 
us-my father and mother and I – and 
he paid for a special course in 
linguistics I was taking. I 
graduated sooner than expected and 
I was offered this job on Mimir. I 
knew it would be almost a year 
before Gerry's job was done on 
Woden so he could come on to Mimir 
and that's why I hid in the closet, 
there. There was plenty of room for 
me and I was willing to pay the 
fine. There were only the two of us 
kids – Gerry and I – and I haven't 
seen him for so long, and I didn't 
want to wait another year when I 
could see him now, even though I 
knew I would be breaking some kind 
of a regulation when I did it.

	BROCK
Does your brother know that you took passage 
on the Stardust for Mimir?

	MARILYN
Oh, yes. I sent him a spacegram 
telling him about my graduation and 
about going to Mimir on the 
Stardust a month before I left 
Earth. I already knew Mimir was 
where he would be stationed in a 
little over a year. He gets a 
promotion then, and he'll be based 
on Mimir and not have to stay out a 
year at a time on field trips, like 
he does now.

Brock stands.

	BROCK
What is his name?

	MARILYN
Cross-Gerry Cross. He's in Group 
Two-that was the way his address 
read. Do you know him?

	BROCK
No, I've never met him.

Brock walks over to the control pad 
and presses a few buttons.

	MARILYN
We're going faster now, aren't we? 
Why are we going faster? 

	BROCK
To save fuel. Only for a little 
while.

	MARILYN
What are you saying? That we don't 
have very much?

	VOICE
(from radio)
Stardust. Identify yourself and proceed.

Brock brings the microphone up to 
his mouth and speaks into it.

	BROCK
(into mic)
Brock, EDS 34G11. Emergency. Give 
me Commander Delhart.

Marilyn stares at him. Her eyes in 
total confusion...

	MARILYN
Are you going to tell them to take 
me away?

	VOICE
Commander, the EDS requests-

	MARILYN
I asked you a question! Will I get 
to see my brother or not?

A blunt, gruff voice of COMMANDER 
DELHART comes from the radio.

	DELHART
(from radio)
What's this about an Emergency?

	BROCK
A stowaway.

	DELHART
A stowaway?

There is a slight confusion in the 
Commander's voice.

	DELHART
(CONT.)
That's rather unusual- but why the 
'emergency' call? You discovered 
him in time so there should be no 
appreciable danger and I presume 
you've informed Ship's Records so 
his nearest relatives can be 
notified.

	BROCK
The stowaway is um...is a girl.

	DELHART
What?

	BROCK
She wanted to see her brother. 
She's only a kid and she didn't 
know what she was really doing.

	DELHART
I'm sorry – I can do nothing. This 
cruiser must maintain its 
schedule; the life of not one 
person but the lives of many 
depend on it. I know how you feel 
but I'm powerless to help you. 
You'll have to go through with it. 
I'll have you connected with 
Ship's Records.

The radio fades and Brock turns to 
Marilyn, who looks terrified and 
frightened.

	MARILYN
What did he mean, go through with 
it? To jettison me... to go 
through with it – what did he 
mean? Not the way it sounded… he 
couldn't have. What did he mean… 
what did he really mean?

	BROCK
I'm sorry. He meant it the way it 
sounded.

	MARILYN
(loudly)
No! No!

Brock walks to the control pad and 
closes his eyes with total and 
uncontrollable guilt.

	MARILYN
(quietly; sadly)
I will have to die...

FADE TO BLACK.

FADE IN:

ON MARILYN,
as the same, petrified glance 
still locks onto her face.

Brock walks over to her. Comforts 
her, but-

	MARILYN
No...You're joking! You're insane! 
You can't mean it!

	BROCK
I'm sorry. I should have told you 
before. I should have, but I had 
to call the Stardust. You heard 
what the commander said.

	MARILYN
But, if you make me leave the 
ship, I'll die...

	BROCK
I know.

Marilyn starts to cry. In a matter 
of hours, she will be dead.

	MARILYN
You...you know?

	BROCK
I know. It has to be like that.

	MARILYN
You really mean it.

She sags back against the wall, 
small and limp like a little rag 
doll with all the protesting and 
disbelief gone.

	MARILYN
You're going to do it? You're 
going to make me die?

	BROCK
I don't want to, but I must. 
People on Woden are dying, and if 
I don't deliver the medicine to 
help them soon-

He cuts off.

	BROCK
They'll all be...gone. Dead.

	MARILYN
I would hate to cause the life of 
another human being. But I did 
nothing to die for...

Brock looks down at the floor and 
bites his lip.

	MARILYN
...I did nothing.

	VOICE
(from radio)
EDS. This is Ship's Records. Give 
us all information on subject's 
identification disk.
	BROCK
I need your identification disk.

Brock holds out his hand. Marilyn 
reaches into her pocket and hands 
Brock a small, black disk.

He walks over to the control pad 
and speaks into the microphone.

	BROCK
Here's your data, Records: 
Identification Number T837 –

	VOICE
One moment. This is to be filled 
on the gray card, of course?

	BROCK
Yes.

	VOICE
Time of execution?

	BROCK
I will have to tell you later.

	VOICE
Later? This is highly irregular. 
The time of subject's death is 
required before-

	BROCK
Then we'll do it in a highly 
irregular manner – you'll hear 
the disk read, first. The 
subject is a girl and she's 
listening to everything that's 
said. Are you capable of 
understanding that?

Silence.

	VOICE
I'm sorry. Continue.

	BROCK
Number T8374 dash Y54. Name: 
Marilyn Lee Cross. Sex: Female. 
Born: July 7, 2160. She was only 
eighteen. Height: 5-3. Weight: 
110. Such a slight weight, yet 
enough to add fatally to the mass 
of the shell-thin bubble that was 
an EDS. Hair: Brown. Eyes: Blue. 
Complexion: Light. Blood Type: O. 
Irrelevant data. Destination: Port 
City, Mimir. Invalid data-

There is a tone in his voice. He 
is slowing down.

	BROCK
I'll call you later.

He turns to Marilyn, who is 
huddled back against the wall, 
watching him with a look of numb 
and wondering fascination.

	
	MARILYN
There isn't anything you can do?

	BROCK
I'm sorry. If we both stay on, 
we'll both die.

Marilyn looks down.

	MARILYN
But suppose. If someone could save 
me or help me, would they?

Brock takes a moment of silence.

	BROCK
Yes.

	MARILYN
Isn't there another ship nearby 
that can help me? There has to be 
something! Anything!

	BROCK
There are no other cruisers within 
forty light-years; there is 
nothing I can do.

Marilyn stays silent and covers 
herself; warm herself.

FADE TO:

INT. SHIP_LATER

Marilyn can be seen lying in the 
back corner with a large blanket 
covering her from the cold. Her 
eyes are wide open.

	MARILYN
I'm gonna miss Gerry.

Brock, who sits next to her, feels 
the agony and pain to what he must 
do to this poor girl.

	MARILYN
I keep remembering the things they 
did for me, and it's the little 
things they did that seem to be 
the most important to me, now. 
Like Gerry – he sent me a bracelet 
of fire-rubies on my sixteenth 
birthday. It was beautiful – it 
must have cost him a month's pay. 
Yet, I remember him more for what 
he did the night my kitten got run 
over in the street. I was only six 
years old and he held me in his 
arms and wiped away my tears and 
told me not to cry, that Flossy 
was gone for just a little while, 
for just long enough to get 
herself a new fur coat and she 
would be on the foot of my bed the 
very next morning. I believed him 
and quit crying and went to sleep 
dreaming about my kitten coming 
back. When I woke up the next 
morning there was Flossy on the 
floor of my bed in a brand-new 
white fur coat, just like he said 
she would be. 
It wasn't until a long time later 
that Mama told me Gerry had got 
the pet-shop owner out of bed at 
four in the morning and, when the 
man got mad about it, Gerry told 
him he was either going to go down 
and well him the white kitten 
right then or he'd break his neck.

	BROCK
It's always the little things you 
remember people by; all the little 
things they did because they 
wanted to do them for you. You've 
done the same for Gerry and your 
father and mother; all kinds of 
things that you've forgotten about 
but that they will never forget.

	MARILYN
I hope I have. I would like them 
to remember me like that.

	BROCK
They will.

	MARILYN
I wish... The way I'll die – I 
wish they wouldn't ever think of 
that. I've read how people look 
who die in space – their insides 
all ruptured and exploded and 
their lungs out between their 
teeth and then, a few seconds 
later, they're all dry and 
shapeless and horribly ugly. I 
don't want them to ever think of 
me as something dead and horrible, 
like that.

	BROCK
You're their own, their child and 
their sister. They could never 
think of you other than the way 
you would want them to; the way 
you looked the last time they saw 
you.

	MARILYN
I'm still afraid. I can't help it.

BROCK
Would you like for me to try and 
get hold of Gerry? In the 
meantime, you can write letters to 
your parents.

	MARILYN
You'd do that?

	BROCK
Yes I would. And I'll make sure 
that they are mailed immediately.

Marilyn SMILES. This is a warm 
moment.

INT. SHIP_MINUTES LATER
Marilyn sits, writing on pieces of 
paper. Suddenly, loud beeping is 
heard from the radio.

	MARILYN
It's Gerry! It's Gerry!

Brock speaks into the microphone, 
Marilyn standing right next to 
him, excited, yet still very 
terrified.

	BROCK
Is this Gerry? Gerry Cross?

	GERRY
(from radio)
Yes, this is he. What is it?

Marilyn talks into the microphone.

	MARILYN
Hello, Gerry. It's me, Marilyn. I 
wanted to see you-

There is only a faint quaver in 
her voice.

	GERRY
Marilyn? What are you doing on an 
EDS ship?

	MARILYN
I wanted to see you. So, I...I his 
on it.

	GERRY
You hid on it?

	MARILYN
I only wanted to see you. I didn't 
know what would happen if-

	GERRY
Marilyn!

Gerry yells. Tears start to roll 
down Marilyn's cheeks. Not from 
the yelling, but from the 
loneliness.

	GERRY
What have you done?

	MARILYN
Don't, Gerry – I only wanted to 
see you; I didn't intend to hurt 
you. Please, Gerry, don't feel 
like that-

Brock helps Marilyn into a chair.

	GERRY
Don't cry, Sis-you mustn't do 
that. It's all right, Honey-
everything is all right.

	MARILYN
I just wanted to say goodbye 
because I don't have very much 
time.
SUDDENLY,

CRACK-SNAP!

	BROCK
He's going out of range. He'll be 
gone in a second.

	MARILYN
You're fading out, Gerry. You're 
going out of range. I wanted to 
tell you – but I can't, now. We 
must say good-by so soon – but 
maybe I'll see you again. Maybe 
I'll come to you in your dreams 
with my hair in braids and crying 
because the kitten in my arms is 
dead; maybe I'll be the touch of a 
breeze that whispers to you as it 
goes by; maybe I'll be one of 
those gold-winged larks you told 
me about, singing my silly head 
off to you; maybe, at times, I'll 
be nothing you can see but you 
will know I'm there beside you. 
Think of me like that, Gerry; 
always like that and not – the 
other way.

	GERRY
Always. Never anything else.

	MARILYN
My time is up, Gerry. I just 
wanted to say goodbye.

Silence.

	GERRY
Goodbye, little sister.

Gerry fades out. Brock stands 
Marilyn up and walks with her to 
the air lock of the ship; the 
doors slid open fully. She steps 
into the airlock and looks into 
space, cherishing the last and 
final moments of her life.

The doors slide shut. And Brock 
walks over to a small red lever.

	MARILYN
(sighs)
I'm ready.

Brock lifts up the lever. There is 
a slight waver to the ship as the 
air gushes from the lock, a 
vibration to the wall as though 
something has bumped the outer 
door in passing, then there is 
nothing and the ship is dropping 
true and steady again.
Brock walks over to the control 
pad, sits down in a chair, and 
closes his eyes. He will never 
forget this girl.

FADE TO BLACK
			THE END

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