“Okay, everybody, we get one chance at
this... and only one,” a voice announces as a bright
spotlight is shining down. “Heart rate within acceptable
limits, doctor,” a female voice replies, as we see that
we are in some sort of medical facility. “Respiration
stable,” another male voice calls out. Some vital signs
are showing on a monitor, and there are a variety of surgical
instruments and gloves on a table nearby. “Good, then
let’s get to it, and whatever happens... let’s not
disappoint Dr. Arcane.” As the light shines down, the
voice calls for a scalpel, and a rubber gloved hand reaches
for one from a tray...
Shortly after, Graham’s seated at a desk in the
laboratory, working at a small console. Beside him, on the
desk, is a strange glass globe full of liquid and electrodes.
Just then, the elevator doors open, and Arcane hurries in,
another man behind him, carrying a large metal container.
“Come along... quickly!” Arcane says with no small
degree of tension in his voice, “careful!” he seems
to be taking a lot of precautions as he goes behind the desk
with Graham and turns to the other assistant behind him.
“Well, put it down!” he says irritably to the man,
who immediately places it on the desk before Arcane, as the
scientist dons a pair of heavy duty, black rubber gauntlets.
“Where on earth did you find this moron, Graham!?”
Arcane asks with a sardonic grin as he watches the man leave.
Barely able to contain his excitement, he opens the lid of
the box and he and Graham peer inside... at a human brain.
Anton always loved
opening
Graham's
Christmas prsents first
“Look at it!... Ten billion nerve cells comprising the supreme triumph of man’s evolution!” Arcane’s voice announces proudly as he views the brain, sitting in it’s ice filled container. “... The human brain!!” he says, picking it up carefully and holding it up for view, almost salivating over the thing. “It’s, er, very nice, Sir,” Graham mumbles, lacking any of Arcane’s excited enthusiasm.
"Take better
care of it next time, Graham!
If you lose it again, you won't get another!!"
“Nice!... “ he turns to his assistant; “... This isn’t just any brain, Graham--” he turns back to his trophy, “-- This is the memory bank of the most brilliant and prolific scientist genius since Einstein!--” he gently puts it down again as Graham looks on; “-- My teacher and mentor... Carl Mirador!” he speaks the name reverently as he places the brain into a vat of clear fluid and vapour, which he then picks up and holds to his eager, appraising eyes; “... And I mean to make it... mine!”
Anton Arcane always
took things far
too seriously... even his home brewing
“It’s got the synaptic responses of a new-born baby,” Arcane says happily, as he watches the brain, now residing in the glass globe seen earlier, wired up to the electrodes and bubbling away. He turns and fiddles with some dials on a console behind him; “Cortex storage...” he twists the dials and turns back to examine the brain; “... perfect condition,” he looks downwards, satisfied; “Analogue to digital,” he taps in some instructions before turning his attention back to the brain, tapping on the glass globe; “Don’t worry, Doctor, I won’t allow a lifetime of advanced thinking to turn to dust,” he talks to it reassuringly.
"I'm not
interested in your theories of the
evolution of matter... I just want next
week's winning lottery numbers, okay!?"
A voice, computerised and metallic, answers back, directly from the brain itself, through the computerised enhancements Arcane’s made; “The mistake Waldheim made--” its voice corresponds to some LEDs on a console; “-- was to look for the integer solutions to the equation X to the fourth power, plus.....” “Dr. Arcane!--” Graham arrives to interrupt; “-- the transfer is working!” Carrying his little clipboard, Graham looks astounded.
"er, it looks
great, Sir... So, er,when do I get
to put the Seahorses and the Guppies in?"
“Of course it’s working, Graham; Listen to the symphony of knowledge!” he turns briefly to Graham before returning his attention to his project; “He found a solution to the Waldheim conundrum...” “... When he could have found the answer quite simply by taking the same denominator, Y, and cubing it...” the brain continues to chatter on from within it’s globe, as Arcane seems to become dissatisfied with something; “The transfer’s taking too long,” he mutters, absorbed totally in his work. “Like they say, Sir, Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Graham adds his two cents worth of reassurance with a remark that causes an Arcane even in this preoccupied state to look up and stare, giving Graham a look that suggests that any remark to that comment would be beneath him. Instead, he just grabs the man with both hands and shoves him aside, pushing past him and out into the lab; “Take over the controls... I’ve got preparations to make!” “Preparations, Sir?” Graham asks in a puzzled little voice, as Arcane begins dragging a leather armchair over to the bench where the globe is, which he positions directly in front of it. “I’m going to upload his memory... into mine!--” Arcane emphasises by pointing to his head; “-- Directly!” Graham doesn’t like the sound of this; “But Dr. Arcane... are you sure that’s wise?” he asks concernedly. “Not only wise, but essential, Graham!” Arcane says with determination. “but, er...” Graham begins to mumble some words of protestation, which gets Arcane furious; “I SAID ESSENTIAL!” he insists, staring at Graham. “You only had marginal success with lab animals last year!” Graham tries to dissuade him. “That’s irrelevant now--” the angry tone has disappeared from Arcane’s voice, and there’s an element of nervousness there; “the fact is, in two hours, cell degeneration sets in,” he looks at the brain; “Mirador’s brain is simply too valuable to lose!... It’s a repository of *everything* he ever thought about.. remembered.. intellectualised...” he seems desperate to justify what he’s about to do, as he moves to get in the chair. “We’ve had no time to test the procedures!” Graham tries again to be the voice of reason, emphasising the dangers to his mentor; “Changing the electronic balance of the brain could be disastrous, mentally or physically...” But Arcane’s paying little attention as he seats himself in the chair and begins preparing some contacts for the electrodes. “Stop acting like a mental pygmy, Graham!!” Arcane snarls, placing two contacts on his temples, and turning back to the unhappy assistant; “No one has ever synthesised cortex memory from the deceased, let alone vocalised it!!” Arcane’s far too hyped up to listen to common sense; “This moment will go down in history!... Now *help me*... *quickly*!!” he’s already smiling in triumph and anticipation as he prepares himself. Seated on a stool, and looking less than confident, Graham tries again; “What about Dana Mirador, Doctor? She’ll be here soon, and her... her spinal fluid will keep the brain alive!” he’s clutching at straws. Arcane’s having none of it; “If she’s a genetic match... if she arrives immediately! No time... let’s go!” with a hurried voice and shake of his head, Arcane’s made his decision. Reluctantly, Graham gets off the stool and grabs another two contacts, which Arcane prepares himself for, sitting forward and lifting his hair for Graham to attach them to the back of his head. “Come to me, Doctor!--” with an eager grin, Arcane settles back and makes himself comfortable in the chair; “-- Student to teacher... genius to genius, we *will* have and do everything!” “Wha... what do I do when she gets here?” Graham enquires. “Have her stand by... with force if necessary. If anything does go wrong, and I don’t survive--” Graham looks tense at this statement; “-- I want you to save Mirador’s brain.” Graham looks up at it warily; “Don’t worry, Graham. I’ve taught you everything you need to know...” he settles down again, full of anticipation; “Now... energise!”
"Why do we
always have to go through this
ritual, Sir... Why can't you listen to your
Abba collection like a normal person?"
As Graham starts the reaction, the computer console LEDs flash, and the brain bubbles. “Yes!” Arcane gasps, as mumbled electronic words can be heard in the background, from the brain; “It’s coming in!” he’s exultant. “Laurent’s transformation thesis!... Yes!... YES!!” he’s looking for all the world as though he’s having an orgasm at this point, as the knowledge floods into his brain and he shudders at the pleasure and the revelations...
Graham always
dreaded the effect that
three choruses of "Dancing Queen" and
"When I kissed the teacher" had on Dr. Arcane.
A taxi arrives outside the Houma Inn, and a young lady steps out, carrying some suitcases and looking round, as though unsure of the area. The taxi drives off, and she’s left on her own. She’s gazes around, as though waiting for someone, and at the same time, over by a table reading a newspaper, Graham spots her. Folding the paper up and putting it down on the table, he hurriedly gets up and goes to her, just as she turns towards the hotel. “Miss Mirador?” Graham approaches and greets her with a friendly smile. “Yes!” she confirms, with a happy, enthusiastic tone as she turns to him with a big, trusting smile.
"Hi, I'm
Graham! Can I kidnap you for your spinal fluids?"
"Most original chat up line I've heard in years...
okay."
“I’m Graham, Dr. Arcane’s
assistant--” he introduces himself, “-- He would
have been here to meet you himself, but he was unexpectedly
called out of town on an emergency,” he lies.
“Oh!--” Her face registers some degree of
disappointment at this as she looks downwards and sweeps her
hair from her eyes; “-- I’ve been so looking
forward to this.” “He’s as disappointed as you
are, Miss Mirador,--” Graham puts on a good act;
“-- but he won’t be long...” he pauses, a
slight desperate edge added to his voice, probably
deliberately; “... but he asks that you wait for him
here in Houma... just for a day or two, as his guest-- he
would really like to see you,” his voice is soft and
trustworthy, and slightly pleading, to convey the importance
to her in an innocent way. She doesn’t sound too
convinced though; “I... don’t think I can do
that,” she shakes her head reluctantly, but Graham, the
master manipulator isn’t about to give up so easily;
“I know he told you on the phone how much he respected
Dr. Mirador,” Graham appeals to her love for her
grandfather, and she contemplates wistfully; “Yes, I
was... very touched,” she smiles. “Then you can
understand how much Dr. Arcane looks forward to sharing with
you his personal reminiscences, as well as some of your
grandfather’s writings?...” In one fluid sentence,
Graham not only appeals to her love for her grandfather, but
offers her the chance to share that with one of his admirers.
She contemplates for a moment, seemingly considering it;
“Okay,” she eventually agrees... just! Meanwhile,
standing over by a rack of tour brochures, somebody is
listening in to their conversation with disturbed interest...
it’s Will. “Just sign for anything you need,”
he hears Graham’s voice tell her, as he glances over
worriedly. “You’ve been very kind, Graham,--”
he hears her reply as he replaces a swamp tour brochure, and
looks to see Graham and Dana shaking hands; “--
I’ll wait to hear,” they give each other a smile,
and Graham leaves her.
Back on her own again, she gives a little sigh and
anticipatory expression as she takes another look round,
clasping her hands and looking like a stranger in a strange
place. By chance, she chooses to stroll over to the
attraction brochure rack to see what there is to do in the
area, and picks out a random one and begins to read, not
looking terribly enthralled by it. “Need help?”
Will’s voice offers from beside her. She looks up;
“Oh? Thanks...” she replies, replacing the brochure
and giving a humorous sigh; “... it all looks pretty
dull,” and she begins to walk away. Will’s not
giving up, though; “Live dangerously!--” he calls
after her, retrieving the brochure he originally put back and
hurrying after her. She stops and turns, taking the brochure
he’s offering, although still looking more than cynical;
“-- in this one!”
"Psst...Wanna
see a swamp tour brochure?"
"Beat it, bub... the last offer I had was better!"
She looks at the title and brochure, then at
him with a bemused expression; “Swamp tours!? I
don’t think so,” she hands it back to him.
“Well don’t knock it till you try it!” He
smiles, remaining persistent. “What’s not dull
about a swamp?” she says in a candid, though friendly
manner. Will pauses for a second for effect; “Well, for
one thing, th’ tour guide... Me!” he flashes her a
winning smile and she reciprocates with a smile of her own.
“Name’s Will Kipp,” he proffers his hand and
introduces himself, and they seem to warm to each other.
“Dana Mirador,” she reciprocates, and they smile
cheerfully at each other... a new friendship possibly
blooming.
“Schrodinger’s wave equation only showed
deficiencies in the bore Sommerfield, “ Arcane’s
voice can be heard reciting Mirador’s knowledge as we
see the brain bubbling in its glass globe. Suddenly, Arcane
sits bolt upright, perspiring heavily and with a terrified
and shocked expression on his face; “Who are you!!??
You’re not Mirador!!” he cries out; “I’m
warning you... You don’t know who you’re dealing
with!!!... I want you to stop it NOW!!”
Graham always liked
playing practical jokes
on the Doctor, and sneaking a Spice Girls
CD into the stereo never failed to amuse!
He’s ranting now, unstable. Behind him,
Graham watches silently, hands in pockets and unable to
interfere or help, and looking gloomy and concerned (and
reproachful?) Arcane slumps back into the chair, continuing
to spout knowledge equations, gibberish... “.... The
bore Sommerfield, as I said, before Schrodinger, many
difficulties involving the angular momentum could be traced
to the quantum number K...” he writhes in the chair as
though having a seizure, the information overloading his
brain.
“I had such a great time this afternoon, Will--” in
complete contrast, the scene changes to a lazy, peaceful
scene over still, clear waters in the natural beauty of the
swamp, as Dana’s voice lazily thanks Will, “-- You
were right...” they’re walking together; “...
I never realised... how beautiful a swamp can be” He
gives it a bit of thought as they continue their stroll;
“Hmmm...” he nods; “... you just seemed like
you were someplace very far away.” “Mmm...”
she contemplates wistfully, fiddling with a piece of grass in
her hands; “...it wasn’t a place... a
memory--” she looks at him with a fond smile before
turning away again; “-- somebody I loved very
much.” “Loved?” Will enquires, looking
puzzled. “My grandfather died several weeks ago... I
haven’t really grown used to it yet,” she confides.
He turns to her; “I had someone very close to me pass
away not too long ago--” they stop and turn to face each
other, and Will seems to consider his words carefully, the
painful memories clearly creeping back in as his words begin
to falter slightly; “Her name’s.. Abigail, and I..
I found that by... by talking about it... getting it out,
y’ know... reliving all of the... happiest memories that
we had together... Kinda helped me... get a new perspective,
you know.. to.. to.. ease the pain,” he gives a sad
little smile and puts a hand on her shoulder, and they press
on.
“My parents were divorced when I was very young,”
she explains as they’re sitting by the water’s edge
together, enjoying the sun; “My father was never
around... but my grandpa...” she’s still fiddling
with the grass and looking reticent, yet trusting and able to
confide; “... he was always there,” Will gives a
warm smile as he listens; “I remember when I was six. It
was Christmas eve and my mom wasn’t around... oh! You
know what that *did* to me!? She exclaims with a roll of her
eyes as Will continues to listen fondly, and with infinite
interest and patience; “You know how kids act on
Christmas?” Will gives a little knowing chuckle;
“... I was feeling so sorry for myself... I was all
alone, with a sitter or something... and suddenly... later
that night, *He* comes down, in a Santa Claus suit... with
the boots on, and the whiskers...” she’s smiling
broadly now, lost in happy memories, animated and enthusing,
and Will’s happy; “... and, I mean the whole
shebang! Okay? And he’s ‘Ho ho ho-ing with this big
old bag of toys...” She stops and pauses, becoming more
wistful again, before looking back up; “That’s how
he was, Will...” she looks up; “... he always set
aside the important things... for me” They just look at
each other in understanding, taking in what she’s just
said and contemplating each other.
Meanwhile, at the lab in the complex, Arcane’s in
animated form. He’s standing over by a blackboard,
furiously scribbling equations like his life depended on it,
vocalising his thoughts to himself; “Discreet emissions
from the molecular ions C.. H.. O....” he utters,
jotting down a hydrocarbon molecule symbol on the board;
“... and N, with the ions CH+...”
“ANTON!” A booming voice calls out, and he turns in
surprise.
Funny... but when
he'd first got the idea, he hadn't
thought that coming up with a scientific formula explaining
his mother's Matzoh balls would be quite this difficult!
He’s looking haggard and drained, the eyes sunken and the face pale. Seeing nothing, he turns back to the equation, and immediately the voice calls out again; “ANTON, I’M SPEAKING TO YOU!” He turns, looking confused and worried, and sees something to his right, which he walks over to, mouth open in incredulity. It’s a mirror, where he sees his own sorry reflection, and also that of an old man, who’s staring at him sternly.
The extreme way to
get a second opinion
“Mirador!?” Arcane gasps in shock, standing before it; “My God... what happened to you?” he sounds genuinely horrified. “I’m dead! What does it look like!? The old man retorts sardonically, as though the answer should be obvious to anyone. He gives a wry, evil smile; “... the question is... what’s happened to you?” Arcane continues to look the image up an down in disbelief; “This isn’t real... This is an hallucination!...” but the old man is smiling; “... GRAHAM!?” Arcane turns and screams desperately for his assistant, but the old man just laughs evilly, and Arcane turns back, still overwhelmed by it all. “If only it were that simple...” Mirador taunts him, shaking his head. Arcane looks at himself; “My God... what’s happening to me?” he whispers softly, in confusion and terror. . As the viewpoint moves in, we see both of them solely through the reflection in the mirror now; “Oh!... nothing that a little science fiction folly by a misguided scientist can’t explain...” Mirador smiles a gloating smile at Arcane, before his demeanour becomes deadly serious; “WHO THE HELL GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO STEAL OUR BRAIN!--” He admonishes, as Arcane cringes a little at its ferocity and develops the sorry look of a schoolboy being told off; “-- OUR GENIUS!?” Mirador continues his tirade as Arcane becomes somewhat panicky, carefully noting the wording old man uses; “What are you talking about; ‘our brain’!?” he shouts at Mirador, half angry, half confused and worried. As the scene closes in nearer to the images in the mirror, the old man raises an eyebrow; “The two of us, Anton... both sides of the great Mirador --” he gives a wry, quick smile as Arcane grows more unnerved, staring in mute horror and mounting apprehension; “-- You see... you took us together: The light... and the dark --” Arcane’s eyes grow a little wider as terrified comprehension begins to dawn on him; “-- The great... and the far less than great --” a broad smile crosses Mirador’s face, to be instantly swept away by a sombre glare; “-- we were very disturbed. The doctors all called it --” Arcane’s already starting to shake his head slightly in futile denial, knowing with that sick, certain feeling what Mirador’s going to say; “ -- Schizophrenia!” Mirador chuckles in wicked relish.
Just as Anton
thought life couldn't get more
horribly complicated, Mirador confided that he
also used to be a cross-dressing parascender!
Hearing it doesn’t lessen the blow, and
Arcane bites on his knuckle in fear and horror;
“No!” he gives a pathetic, scared cry as he backs
away from the mirror, hand still at his mouth. Mirador
watches with glee, savouring the situation... gloating.
“It’s quid pro quo... a brain for a brain!” he
announces, as Arcane backs against the wall in terror;
“NO!” Arcane cries again. “WE’RE YOURS
FOR AS LONG AS YOU LIVE!!” Mirador cries in triumph,
breaking into long, loud malicious laughter as Arcane cowers
in the background, screaming; “NOOOO... MY GOD NO!!!
AAAAHHHH!!!” He clutches his head in terror as Dark
Mirador roars his evil, triumphant laugh at finding a new
host.
“Your grandfather sounds like a really great guy
--” Will’s words are heard over Mirador’s and
Arcane’s respectively victorious and terrified cries.
It’s night, and he and Dana are seated at a cafe table
together, having a drink; “-- that’s why
it’s... it’s...” he gives a little laugh;
“...it’s so odd that he would be friends with
someone like Arcane,” he grimaces a little as he
mentions the dreaded name. “*Why* don’t you like
him?” Dana seems puzzled by Will’s attitude. Will
contemplates what answer to give, and decides to go for
cryptic; “That’s a long story --” he begins to
move and get up from the table; “-- Let’s just say
that we don’t exchange Christmas cards!” he quips.
He gets up from the table and moves round to the back of her
chair, which he gallantly offers to pull back for he so she
can stand up. With a shrug, she gets up too, and they both
leave... watched closely by Alec, who’s practising his
favourite hobby by lurking in the a shrubbed terrace above
them. “Mirador!” he intones solemnly, as though
suspecting something.
Shortly after, Will arrives back at the Houma inn in his
Jeep, Dana beside him. “I think the bar’s still
open... can I buy you a night-cap?” Leaning back in a
relaxed fashion, Dana makes the offer with a smile as Will
parks the Jeep. He considers and nods; “That sounds
nice,” he replies, and he opens the car door and begins
to get out.
“WILL!” Alec’s voice shouts in his head. He
pauses, and Dana looks at him, wondering why he’s just
frozen still; “Something wrong?” she asks with a
smile. He turns to her and feigns ignorance; “Nah,
it’s just the wind,” he gets out, ignoring Alec and
walking round to the back of the jeep. “I HAVE TO TALK
TO YOU!” Alec’s voice shouts out again, persistent,
and with no small degree of urgency to its tone. Will pauses
again, and slapping the spare wheel at the back of the car,
moves round to Dana’s side. “Dana... erm, I just
remembered something that I gotta go do--” he stands by
her car door looking uncomfortable and excusing himself;
“ -- D’you mind if I take a rain check on that
drink?” he says apologetically. She gives a long sigh;
“Of course not, --” she replies, though she sounds
pretty disappointed; “ -- but...” “Great,
great... look.. I’ll.. I’ll call you tomorrow,
okay?” he says hurriedly before she has chance to say
anything, opening the door for her to get out. As she does
so, he quickly climbs in through her side and over to the
driver’s seat; “... this is important, Alec!”
he mutters softly to himself in irritation as he starts the
car, watched by Dana, who’s standing a few metres away,
arms folded. He sets off, after wishing her good night, and
she watches him go before walking back to the hotel.
Shortly after, Will arrives in the swamp and parks the jeep,
getting out, and approaching Alec, who’s waiting for
him. “Alec... what’s wrong?” he asks with
concern, facing his friend. “I believe Dana
Mirador’s in danger,” comes the candid reply.
“It’s Arcane, isn’t it?” it doesn’t
take even Will more than a second to figure that one out;
“I *knew* it!” he snarls. “Last night he took
delivery of a secret shipment in an organ transplant
container;” Alec explains, obviously having done his
spying quota for the week successfully; “I wondered why,
until I remembered, as a student, he was obsessed with the
human brain and its capacity to store knowledge... His
doctoral thesis even boasted that one day he would transfer
the cortical storage from one to another.” Will looks
confused (for a change); “Meaning what? You lost
me,” he shrugs. “I’m convinced he has Dr.
Mirador’s brain,” Alec explains. Will gives that
‘you have got to be kidding’ type of look;
“*What*!?!?” his voice rises in exclamation;
“That’s crazy!!” he adds, in total shock.
“Yes... it is,” Alec’s not arguing that point;
“Arcane theorised that an infusion of cerebral spinal
fluid from a person with matching genetics could keep a brain
functioning almost indefinitely,” he tells Will, who
thinks on this, gradually figuring out the obvious; “You
don’t think he’s planning to use Dana Mirador for
one of his twisted experiments, do you?” he asks
concernedly. “Worse than that;” comes Alec’s
grim reply; “The only reason he’d bring her here,
Will, is to drain the fluids from her brain;”
Will’s looking worried now. “Go to her! --”
Alec commands; “ -- and *don’t* leave her
side!” Will doesn’t need telling twice, and hurries
off, watched by Alec.
Back at the hotel, Dana’s sitting outside, by the
fountain, running her hands through the still water. The
viewpoint changes, and we approach her from behind, as though
someone’s sneaking up on her. She’s too deep in
thought to notice, and remains oblivious to the danger.
Suddenly, a man wearing an Arcane Industries uniform and
black gloves grabs her, putting his hands over her mouth so
that her screams of protest are no more than muffled squeaks.
But deep in the swamp, Alec hears them, and turns swiftly,
hurrying to the rescue.
Back in the lab, Mirador’s brain is still in its globe,
but the place looks quiet. “I did do my homework
--” the silence is broken by a sorry, pathetic, whining
little schoolboy voice; “ -- and it was correct...”
as the scene pans down, the place is a pigsty, with reams of
papers strewn all over the floor, with Arcane sitting in the
middle of it, on the floor, hunched over and rocking
backwards and forwards; “ -- It was *you* who
didn’t understand it... nobody understands it...”
suddenly, he lifts his head as insight flows into his brain;
and his voice becomes more confident again;
“Vertigon’s equation! -- ” He exclaims,
looking up; “-- on the origin of matter loss!”
Suddenly, the insight becomes too much, and he grasps his
head, shrieking in pain; “AAAHHHH... OHHHH... MIRADOR!!
--” the image of the old man appears in the mirror
again, watching inscrutably as Arcane begins to fall over in
agony -- he looks almost satisfied; “MIRADOR... WHEREVER
YOU ARE... MY BRAIN’S EXPLODING....uuunnhhh!!”
Scientific genius
and master criminal though he was, even
Arcane wasn't immune to the stresses of filling in his tax
returns.
Arcane cries out, rolling to his side on the floor and holding his head in clawed hands, in terrible pain. Suddenly, he sits bolt upright, the pain apparently gone as another insight of knowledge takes over; “Vertigon’s equation... was incorrect! --” he announces, hurriedly scrabbling to get to his feet and dashing to the blackboard, where he furiously erases all the previous equations and begins scribbling new material with gusto; “-- Speaking of what he called ‘the pudding of the matter’ --” Mirador’s calmly watching him from the mirror; “ -- ... was totally wrong --” he continues to rant insanely and almost unintelligibly as he continues to scribble gibberish on the blackboard; “-- If he’d taken Oregano, and cubed it to the fourth power, he’d have a bicycle with four wheels! Doncha see!?!?” He suddenly stops writing and straightens himself rigid, before falling backwards to the floor; “AAAAHHH!!” he cries out, before landing on his back with a dull thud. “MIRADOR! --” He cries out, lying on his back and clutching his head; “ -- WHEREVER YOU ARE --” he rolls over, towards us; “ -- MY HEAD’S ON FIRE!!!” He gives a drawn out scream, showing his face properly for the first time. It’s distorted, the brain expanded so much as to leave its imprint extruding from his forehead, like a toned down human hybrid from ‘Mars Attacks’. “And well it should be, Anton,” Mirador lectures from the mirror as Arcane gives another cry of pain and clutches his head; “Who knows how much evil one brain can hold? You’ve forged new scientific ground. Through a total innovative process, you’ve got *all* of us... in your corrupt little noodle --” he gloats.
Anton got the
feeling it was going to take a lot more than
a couple of Advil and a blow-wave to put this one right!
Arcane continues to hold his head and stare silently; “ -- You. Me... and my late, great better half.” Arcane looks up in disgust, tears of blood streaming from his eyes; “Where’s the Mirador I knew!?” through his tears, he demands to know. “He killed himself!” comes the stern reply from the mirror. “WHAT!?” Arcane gasps in incredulity. “Yes. That was the one thing left out of the newspapers --” Mirador tells Arcane, as he backs off; “ -- You see, he had to do that to escape from me.” Arcane swallows in fear as he gazes up at Mirador’s image in shock. The old man begins to gloat again, his voice turning into a sneering laugh; “His last years were really fun for me, you know... raging bouts of depression --” Arcane’s crawling backwards across the lab, shaking his head in scared denial; “ -- he had to hide from the world. His doctor tried to control me with drugs... but that only worked for a little while. Eventually, even they were *no* match for me...” his mouth agape in terror, Arcane’s backed up as far as he can go and is leaning back against a bench; “So... Death was Mirador’s perverse solution! And he succeeded... until *you* brought us both back to life!” he exclaims joyfully, as Arcane shakes his head again, this time in mounting rage, until he gives a furious, if futile scream at the image in the mirror, which just laughs victoriously over Arcane’s anger.
After just five
minutes with the "Talkie Toaster" Graham
had bought for his birthday, Arcane had had enough!
Now on his feet and going berserk, Arcane
begins smashing up the lab, first holding a piece of metal
apparatus over his head before dashing it to the ground. He
then begins sweeping glass and equipment from the benches,
sending them shattering to the floor. All the while, Mirador
is watching and laughing; “Like my late, great better
half, you could get rid of me, you know! --” he tells
Arcane with glee, with a look implying that he knows he
won’t. Arcane’s still wrecking the lab and looking
round for something; “ -- but I don’t think you
have the courage to do that --” he continues, as Arcane
pauses and spots something ahead of him; “ -- if courage
is the word --” his face forms a malevolent smile again;
“ -- Desperation might be better!!” his voice
reaches a crescendo of mirth and he renews the maniacal
laughter as Arcane grabs a heavy retort stand and thrusts it
into the mirror, smashing it in his anger. Although the
laughter remains, Mirador’s image is gone now, as Arcane
stares at himself in the mirror, only know noticing what he
looks like. He puts his hands to his forehead and immediately
grabs his fedora and trenchcoat from a nearby hat stand. He
has an air of determination about him. Putting them on, he
swings round dramatically to stare in the direction of the
mirror, his eyes wide in glee; “Now I’ve got you,
*Anton*!” he announces in overly melodramatic fashion,
looking and sounding like a reject from ‘Phantom of the
Opera’. He adjusts the hat and gives a loud, maniacal
laugh, before running towards the elevator.
Meanwhile, Alec approaches the complex and sees guards
patrolling. Nearby, the glaring headlights of a van are
approaching the main gate barrier. Alec sees it, and watches
patiently. As it gets near, Alec raises his hands and
concentrates. Inside the van, the driver suddenly puts his
foot down on the accelerator and the thing looks like
it’s going to crash the barrier. The guard at the booth
stands in front, waving his arms and frantically yelling at
the driver to stop. When it’s obvious that it isn’t
going to, he leaps to the side for safety as the van crashes
through the barrier and into a pile of boxes, where it comes
to rest. Alec puts his hand up, in a gesture indicating that
he’s halted the thing.
Klaxons are sounding all over the complex now, and three men
hurry out from the van. We now see that the driver was
Graham. An enormous wind has struck up, and both Graham and
the two guards with him (both armed with SMGs) are blown
backwards against the metal wall of the complex building.
Graham’s powerless to move. Meanwhile, Alec picks up the
struggling Dana Mirador from the back of the van and holds
her in his arms. He takes a look at the helpless Graham,
pinioned against the wall by the force of the wind. Graham
can only stare back at him as Alec makes his escape with the
woman, who’s still struggling against Alec.
Meanwhile, at another part of the complex, the place is still
in commotion with guards running past, but a familiar figure
in hat and coat is also running in an ungainly fashion
towards the open perimeter fencing; “I say!... yes...
you! Young man!” He calls out as he sees someone ahead,
to his left. He dashes out of the gate and meets up with a
guard running his way. “Out for a jog? --” Arcane
asks the guard pleasantly, who just stares in mute surprise;
“ -- Jolly good show!... Give me your weapon!”
Arcane exclaims, grabbing the man’s assault rifle, which
he readies with a satisfied sigh, running forward with it.
“Yes!” he says in delight, holding it up and firing
several bursts into the air. The guard just looks at him in
terror as Arcane continues to fire the gun, roaring with
insane laughter as he does so.
*I've only been here
a week... I don't want to be
the one to tell him the safety catch is still on!*
Elsewhere in the complex, guards are running,
and Arcane’s aware of the commotion around him.
“You said I didn’t have the courage! --” he
cries out, clearly Arcane again, and not Mirador... for now.
“-- Oh but I do!” he utters with a determination
born of desperation and insanity; “-- Yes! Indeed I
do!... It’s just the way you go about it!...” his
dementia’s come up with a plan, and clutching the gun,
he sets off.
Meanwhile, at the Police station, Will has just arrived and
entered. He goes up to the desk where an officer is getting
ready to pack up for the night. “Deputy Jensen...
where’s Sheriff Andrews? I need to speak to him.”
Jensen turns to regard Will. “He had t’go down to
the state capital,” he replies, filing a wad of papers,
“Looks like you’re stuck with me, Kipp,” he
approaches Will. “I just dropped a young lady off at the
hotel around the corner... ‘bout six o’clock
--” Will begins to explain almost frantically, clearly
worried, although Jensen just looks downwards and giving a
silent sigh, not taking it too seriously, “-- Her name
is Dana Mirador. Now I..I go back there... and she’s
disappeared!” Will’s getting more hyper and very
anxious, but Jensen merely give a little laugh; “You
expect me to work up a sweat about a story like that?”
he tells Will, picking up his lunch pack and keys, and
preparing to leave the office; “Hah! I’d advise you
to keep a closer eye on your girlfriends, Kipp,” he
jokes, leaving the office and walking past Will to the
station door, and patting him good naturedly on the arm on
his way past. “Suppose I tell you that Arcane is
involved up to his forehead?” Will tells him as he
follows Jensen to the door; “Well, then I’d suggest
that you take it up with him --” Jensen replies after a
moment’s thought. He holds up his keys; “Now look,
I gotta lock up, Kipp...” Just then, the nearby sound of
several bursts of machine gun fire can be heard, causing both
Will and Jensen to turn and look. “What’s that all
about!?” Jensen says with concern, hurrying out of the
door to investigate, Will in close pursuit.
The centre of Houma is in chaos. Arcane’s standing in
the door of a restaurant, looking round expectantly and
holding a waitress hostage; his hand round her throat and the
other holding the gun. Police lights are flashing around him,
and the sounds of loudspeakers can be heard. Crowds of people
are backing off in terror. “ALL I’M ASKING IS FOR
ONE OF YOU WHINING TOADIES TO BUMP ME OFF!!! --” he
calls out in a demented voice, grinning insanely and holding
his terrified hostage close, struggling a little with her.
“ -- THAT’S NOT TOO MUCH TO ASK, IS IT!?!... AFTER
ALL, THAT’S ALL ANY OF YOU WANT!! --” the crowd
back off further; “ -- TO SEE ME SIX FEET UNDER!!”
Arcane yells at them. “COME ON!!” He goads them,
taunting, as he fires a few more bursts from the gun into the
air with relish. Screams are heard from the crowd.
I didn't want to do
it guys, but you've made me. Now here are my
terms! Five minutes of Shakespeare per episode, no more silly
prostheses, and a deep and meaningful relationship with
Grhaham, OK!?"
Watching him, from a police car in the
street, along with two other onlookers, are Will and Jensen,
who’s lost patience. “Aah... he’s finally
snapped!!” Jensen says, throwing his arms up in
frustration before reaching into the car; “I don’t
believe this...” he continues to mutter, sounding
thoroughly pissed off of the whole affair. Will just stares,
shaking his head.
Arcane fires again; “SOMEBODY END IT FOR ME!!” He
cries out, almost gleefully. Back at the car, we see that
it’s a radio that Jensen’s retrieved, and he’s
now talking into it; “Er, this Deputy Sheriff Jensen
down in Houma... We got a hostage situation down here
--” he continues to report, as Arcane continues to
laugh, holding the terrified woman close to him; “ --
and we needing a SWAT team *right* away!” Arcane just
carries on laughing and terrorising
Tensions were
running high as Jensen called for necessary backup.
"You got that... 5 deep pan, 1 with olives, 1 with
anchovies, oh, and a side
of
donuts, and... Hey, Arcane!.. was
yours the one with the mushrooms?"
Meanwhile, in the swamp, Alec is carrying the still struggling Dana to safety. He eventually puts her down by a tree, and she instantly back up against it in fear, staring at him; “Stay away from me!” she orders, in a scared voice. Alec just stands there, watching her silently, as she gazes at him in shock; “Wh... what are you!?” she gasps. Alec just shakes his head; “It would take too long to explain... but you must believe I’m your friend.” She still looks uneasy; “Don’t come any closer!” she tells him nervously. Just then, they both hear the machine gun fire from Houma, and turn towards it. “Do you hear that?” Alec asks her rhetorically as she listens; “That’s Dr. Arcane. He’s invited you here for an evil purpose, Dana.” “I.. I’ll take my chances, thank you,” she replies in an uncertain voice. “You don’t know him,” Alec tries to reason with her. “I don’t know you either!” she cries back, grimacing a little (and let’s face it, he doesn’t look like the type of person to readily accept at first glance!) “He’s a horrible monster of a man... more than you can imagine,” he continues to try and get through to her, but she just stares at Alec in amazement; “I can’t believe I’m standing here talking to someone like you about this..” she tries to make a run for it, but Alec holds her back; “Dana, please! --” he holds her, “ -- Somehow, Arcane arranged to steal your grandfather’s brain when he died.” She looks horrified; “Nobody would *ever* do that!” she cries. “Arcane would!... and has the insanity to try, --” Alec tells her bluntly. He pauses and gestures to himself; “ -- he did this to *me*. Would you have believed this possible until now!? She does seem to consider this. “But *why*!?... Why would he do this to my grandpa!?” she asks him desperately. “He had the idea that he could absorb Carl Mirador’s genius. I believe he’s already tried, but for some reason it’s now destroying him --” she looks down, considering this, as Alec continues explaining; “Dana, everything you most loved and remembered about your grandfather is now locked in Arcane’s head.” she ponders with grim realisation; “You’re talking about his *SOUL*!” she utters in horror. “I know,” Alec nods in agreement. With a desperate gasp, she runs back to town, but looking determined to do something, rather than just escaping in fear. Seemingly satisfied, Alec watches her go.
Half an hour
later... no delivery, the radio
dead and no celphone... Jensen and Will
were beginning to get desperate!
“ARCANE... THIS IS DEPUTY JENSEN --” A voice calls through a hailer as Arcane continues to hold the waitress hostage with a grim determination etched onto his face, “ -- NOW I WANT YOU TO BE A GOOD FELLA AND THROW DOWN YOUR GUN...” Jensen gives it a few moments, but it’s obvious Arcane has no intention of ending this still alive. Jensen gives up and puts down the hailer with a shake of his head. Beside him, Will’s looking concerned. Arcane’s calmed down a little and is just watching the crowd, when suddenly, Dana Mirador comes rushing forward. Stopping her from rushing straight for Arcane, Will grabs her in his arms, blocking her way; “Da.. Dana... Wha... what happened!?” he tries to ask the struggling woman. “I’LL EXPLAIN LATER!” she shouts, breaking free and rushing forward to where Arcane’s waiting. Will rushes to follow.
"Goin' to
rescue your granddaddy. That's brave!"
"Are you kidding??... That's *my* pizza the bastard's
got!"
Seeing her, Arcane immediately reacts by
levelling the gun at them, and they immediately stop, Will
directly behind her, holding her by the shoulders.
“Don’t come any closer, young lady!” Arcane
warns her, although his mode of speech implies that
Mirador’s more in control now. “GRANDPA!” she
calls out to him, and Will gives her an odd look;
“Listen to me! --” she says in a slow, methodical,
and infinitely patient voice. Arcane continues to just watch;
“ -- It’s Dana... are you all right?” her
voice is scared, but soft... building trust in
Arcane/Mirador. Meanwhile, Alec’s sneaking up in the
street behind them, approaching some power cables.
“Grandpa... I know you must be very confused...”
she continues her calming talk, and Arcane/Mirador certainly
does look calmer now; “... but everything’s going
to be okay. I’m here!!” she continues, and
Arcane/Mirador looks up, and the glimmer of recognition
enters his eyes; “Dana??” he says softly to her,
and she looks back at him; “... my dear...”
there’s tenderness to his voice now, and she smiles. He
seems to have calmed down and things are going to work out.
Suddenly, the waitress tries to take advantage of the moment
and break free, which forces Arcane back to the fore again,
and with a furious cry of denial, drags the unfortunate woman
back before she can get away, and then levels the gun at Dana
and Will again. “Think of... how strong you were for me
--” Dana tenaciously tries again, forcing the love to
come into her voice. Will’s still offering silent moral
support from the back (i.e. hiding behind her.) Arcane calms
down again, and maybe Mirador’s back, as Dana continues;
“ -- You were the best thing in my life... That’s
how I want to remember you...” she’s pleading now;
“... Not like this!! Meanwhile, out of sight, Alec pulls
back his arm and prepares to strike out at something...
Arcane or the power cables? “If Arcane dies --” He
hears Dana’s voice call out to her grandfather, and he
pauses (suggesting he might just have been about to kill
Arcane); “ -- You’re going to be trapped
forever...” she pleads, as Mirador watches her through
Arcane’s eyes; “... DON’T YOU SEE!!...
YOU’LL NEVER HAVE ANY PEACE!... I can’t bear
that!!” she entreats as Arcane raises the gun.
Meanwhile, instead of whatever his original plan was,
Alec’s now reaching for the cable box, where he pulls
out the wires and cables, causing a shower of sparks and a
blackout.
In the darkness there’s chaos and commotion. People run
everywhere. The waitress manages to break free as Arcane
turns his attention away from her to see what’s
happened. Will and Dana run back to the police car for
safety, and the crowd is crying out in panic. A shadowy
figure towers behind Arcane’s form, putting a hand to
his neck. A tiny snapping sound is heard and Arcane slumps
into Alec’s arms and is dragged away.
Alec always hated
Houma's Friday night first aid classes.
Why did they always insist on pairing him with Arcane for
cardiac stimulation and mouth to mouth resuscitation
practice!?
Once away from the town (looks like it’s
outside the Langford house), Alec gently lays Arcane’s
still form on the ground and kneels beside him. “It
would be no great loss if you died, Arcane --” he says
to his old enemy, who cannot hear him. Clearly, the neck
pinch was merely a pressure point to render Arcane
unconscious; “ -- but you’ll live... so that a
greater soul than yours can be liberated. Alec straightens
up, still kneeling though; “Let yourself out, Dr.
Mirador. The same electronic energy that brought you here in
the lab is here to help you now...” he continues to talk
to Mirador’s soul, as Arcane lies motionless on the
ground; “... The way is open... Go in peace!” he
looks up, and a green glow appears... the same energy that
transports souls back from the dead to the living is
transporting the living to the dead... a resurrection in
reverse. On the ground, bathed in the glow, Arcane shudders
and convulses slightly, as Alec continues to concentrate,
surrounded by the glow. Suddenly, there’s a flash of
light, and the distortion of Arcane’s cranium is gone...
he’s back to normal now, although still barely
conscious. The glow fades away. “Goodbye, Doctor
Mirador,” Alec’s thoughts travel with the departed
soul, as Alec leaves.
Back on the ground, Arcane is now coming round, blinking and
licking his lips, and looking like he’s been through the
wringer. He looks tired, shocked... and very, very lucky.
Next day, at the Houma Inn, Will’s helping Dana down the
steps, carrying her luggage to the taxi. She’s wearing
his ‘Kipp Boat Rentals’ baseball cap, which
he’s obviously given to her. “I’m sorry I
didn’t tell you the truth about my grandpa’s death
from the beginning, Will...” she says, as they approach
the taxi, where a man is putting a case into an open trunk,
before closing it again and moving to the front of the car;
“... but... his suicide was very painful to me.”
“Listen,” Will reassures her, leaning against the
car; “That’s your secret. Don’t ever feel like
you have to tell anyone.” she turns to him and nods,
then turns away again, wistfully contemplating; “In
spite of everything... I only have happy memories of
him,” she gets into the back seat of the car and Will
hands her the bag he’s carrying, before shutting the
door behind her and leaning close to the open window to say a
few final words; “Try and keep a few good memories about
Houma,” he says, slapping the car roof gently. She
smiles and nods; “Okay... I still don’t know how it
all happened, but I know that... I’ve got you, and your
friend to thank. I’ll never forget that... bye
Will,” she says softly, and he reciprocates with a
gentle good bye of his own.
"Try and Keep a
few good memories about Houma"
"Like lured here by a psychotic, schizophrenic
scientist, kidnapped
by goons, dragged off by botanic mutants, had a gun pointed
at me by my dead grandpa... and all I get is this lousy
cap!?!?"
He give the taxi a pat, to indicate to the
driver that she’s ready, and the car pulls away. As he
watches her go, he smiles broadly, waving to her as she
disappears into the distance.