The Glass Pyramid Part I

The Glass Pyramid
By
Gregory Margolis


Act 1

2007 - On the helicopter, Lynne is looking at the photo of herself and Michael. Harry is piloting the helicopter, with John looking on. Harry is looking at a piece of notebook paper.
John: What's that?
Harry: Cheat sheet Jensen drew for me.
John: You don't know where’s your landing field?
Harry: I know where it is.
The helicopter begins flying into heavy gray clouds.
John: Why are you flying directly into the storm?
Harry: Why don't you just sit back and let me do my job, huh?
John turns to look at Lynne, who is still looking at the photograph.
John: Is that Mike?
Lynne: Yes.

The helicopter experiences turbulence. There's a lightning strike.
Harry: Damn it!
Harry struggles to keep the chopper steady.
Harry: Hold on!
Lynne looks around, gripping the seat.
________________________________________

1993 - Suddenly, he's gripping a bed. His hair is cut short, and he's in a military barrack.
SERGEANT: ON YOUR SODDING FEET! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!
Michael opens his eyes. It takes him a few moments to realize where he is.
SERGEANT: What are you waiting for, Norman?
Michael rockets out of his bed and gets into line.
SERGEANT: What's the matter, Norman? Did you not hear me?
Michael: I'm sorry, sir. I was...I was having a dream, sir.
SERGEANT: Having a dream, were you? And what were you dreaming about, that it took you SO SODDING LONG TO GET TO YOUR MARK?
Michael: I was in a helicopter, sir. And there was a storm, sir. And I don't remember the rest, sir.
SERGEANT: Well, at least it was a bloody military dream. Right! All of ya! In the yard, four minutes. And you can thank Private Norman for having to do it in double time. Move!
________________________________________
A group of 15 soldiers are in the mud and rain, doing pushups.
SOLDIER 1: One, two, three!
REST: Four!
SOLDIER 1: One, two, three!
REST: Five!
SGT: One hundred crunches! Go, go, go, go, go!
SOLDIER 1: One, two three, four...
John: I hope your dream was worth it, mate.
Michael: Sorry brother. It's just that, I've never had a dream so vivid. It was like I was actually there.
SEARGANT: Have you got something to say, Norman?
Michael remains silent.
SERGEANT: I asked you a question, soldier!
________________________________________

2007
Lynne is extremely disturbed.
Harry: We're almost through it. I see daylight!
Lynne begins to unbuckle herself
John: What are you doing? Lynne! Are you alright?
Lynne: Who are you? How do you know my name?!

Act 2

1993
At the campus of Oxford University, Professor Arthur Jensen and his wife, Maggie are drinking their fourth cup of black coffee. Arthur tries again to phone the chopper via satellite. Galethea stands nearby.
The Traveler: Alright. They took off a day ago. Why haven't we heard from them?
Maggie: I'm going to tell you again, as I've been telling you all night. I don't know! You heard the same thing as I did when we called the helicopter. What makes you think I know anything?
Galethea: Because you're not worried.
Maggie: Excuse me?
Galethea: Your Channel Tunnel is 30 miles long, it should have taken them what? 20 minutes to get there? So why aren't you worried?
Maggie: Should I join my hands together and whisper a prayer on their behalf?
Arthur: Hey, hey, hey, c'mon. Maybe we should just…just tell them.
Traveler: Tell us what?
Maggie: Honey, let's not confuse anyone.
Galethea: Well, Professor, maybe if you talk real slow, we'll be able to follow.
Arthur: Your perception of how long your friends have been gone, it's not necessarily how long they've actually been gone.
Traveler: What does that mean?
Maggie: This is a mistake.
Arthur: It'll be fine, it'll be fine. As long as Harry flew on the bearings I gave him. If he stayed on it, it'll be fine.
Traveler: And what if he didn't?
Arthur: Then there might be side-effects.
________________________________________

On the copter.
John: We're at two thousand feet, sit down!
Lynne: What am I doing here?!
Harry: What the hell's going on?!
John: Something's wrong with Lynne!
Lynne: How do you know my name?!
Harry: Hold her there, John!
John: I'm trying!
Lynne: Let go of me!
Harry: We'll be there in two minutes!
The helicopter digresses down, and comes close to the french coast. John lets Lynne go. She notices the photo clenched in his hand. The helicopter lands. As Wes and Eric run over to meet the passengers, John arms himself.
Wes: What are you doing back?
Eric: Who are they?!
Harry: Members of the Council.
Wes: You shouldn't have brought them here, what the hell were you thinking?!
Lynne: Alright, where am I? who are you people?
Eric: Calm down.
Lynne: What am I doing here?
John: My friend is disoriented!
Lynne: I'm not your friend! I don't know you!
Wes: When did she start doing this?
Harry: She was fine when we took off. When we hit some weather... Hey, Jensen told me as long as I stayed on the vector…
Wesley motions for him to stay quiet. He and Eric step toward Lynne but are blocked by John.
Wes: What's your name, my friend?
John: John.
Wes: Okay, John. Look, we're going to take your friend to the nearest hospital.
John: I'm going with you.
Wes: Let a doctor look at her first, then you can come down. You got my word on that.
John, after some time, nods. Wesley and Eric approach Lynne.
Eric: All right.
Lynne: Listen, listen. This is a mistake.
Eric: Settle down.
Lynne: I don't know these people.
Eric: I understand.
Lynne: No, this is wrong! I'm not supposed to be...
________________________________________

1993- Michael is standing up while the rest of his regiment is doing crunches.
Michael: …here!
SOLDIER 1: Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three...
SERGEANT: Here? Here what? What the hell are you doing on your feet? Are you finished with your crunches, because you want to RUN?! Right! Squad, on your feet! Right face! Ten kilometers, GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!
________________________________________

Evening. The soldiers loading a truck.
John: What the hell's the matter with you, Mike?
Michael: If I told you, you'd think I was crazy.
John: I already know you're crazy.
Michael: This morning, when I was in the yard doing crunches, I left.
John: What do you mean you left?
Michael: I was on the french beach. And then I was back here...right where I started.
John: Mike, if you're trying to get tossed out of service...
Michael: John, I'm telling you the truth, man.
John: Who else was on this...beach? Anyone you recognized?
Michael: Lynne. There was a photo. I was in the photo.
Michael gets up and walks away.
John: where are you going?
Michael walks over to a phone booth. As he steps up, another soldier comes out, bumping him and knocking the change out of his hand.
SOLDIER 3: Thanks for this morning, Norman.
Michael bends down to pick up the coins.
________________________________________

2007
Lynne almost falls over.
Wes: Watch your step. Take it easy.
Lynne: I'm not here. This...this isn't happening.
Wes: You are here. And, this is happening. Look, we're going to take care of you.
They enter an SUV.
Lynne: Who are you people?
Wes: Well, my name is Wesley and this is Eric. I'm from Vegas and he's from Florida, but as for where we are, I…
Eric: The last portal was Paris. So at least we know we're still in France.

Act 3

John is on the beach. It’s hot. It reminds him of how he felt on his Solo Navigation Drill in the army, all those years back.
John: What's happening to Lynne? Your friends know what's wrong with her.
Harry: Well if they do, they're not sharing it with me.
John: Then perhaps you'll share how we have flown for 20 minutes, took off at dusk and landed in the middle of the day.
Harry: Listen. I don't know what's happening to your buddy, alright? But you gotta trust me when I tell you this. I AM trying to help you.
John: You want to help me? Give me your Satellite Phone. Let me call my people.
Harry: You give me that gun and I'll give you this phone.
They trade.
Harry: Be quick. And don't go trying to call The Ashtar Command, those phones can only call each other.
On campus, the phone rings.
Arthur: Hello?
John: Arthur, it's John. I'm on the french coast.
Arthur: Are you okay? Where have you been?
John: Something happened during the flight, and now Lynne's in the hospital.
Arthur: Hold on. You're on speaker.
John: On the helicopter, something happened to Lynne. She doesn't appear to recognize me or know where she is.
The Traveler to the Professor: Side-effects?
Arthur: Wait, your friend, Lynne? Has she recently been exposed to high levels of radiation or electromagnetism?
Galethea looks up at The Traveler. Their eyes meet.
Arthur: Okay, look. Uh, we don't know why, but going to and coming from the The Channel Tunnel, some people can get a little... Forgetful. No, it’s not Amnesia. We’re talking about a temporary lapse of memory.
________________________________________

1993 –
Michael is in the rain at the military camp, picking up his coins. Going into the phone booth, he inserts them and dials the number.
Lynne: Hello?
Michael: Lynne, it’s me.
Lynne: What do you want, Michael?
Michael: Uh, Lynne, listen. I'm in trouble, and I think something's happening to me. I'm confused, and I need to see you.
Lynne: You broke up with me and joined the army. Now you call with the expectation that I still care about you? Yeah, I’d say you are confused, Michael.
Michael: No, no, I'm not. It's... look, I've got a weekend off starting this Thursday at 06:00. Can I...can I come and see you?
Lynne: No. No, and don't you go showing up at the apartment, either, 'cause I moved.
Michael: Moved? Where?
Lynne: That doesn't matter. Michael, I'm going to hang up. Please, don't call me again.
Flat Lined.
________________________________________

Lynne in in a hospital bed. Sedated.

Another Complete Blank

Space and time all fall behind
Strange machines to soothe my mind

Resting this sensory sleep keeps me confined
Recalling a memory undefined

Repressive sedative restraint
The image of myself erased

Distant voices cry out
Kaleidoscopic halo of myriad rainbows

Following
Into this spiral descent, it is pulling me in
Salvation
Lies on the other side
Sedation
Whispering unfocused unaware memories
Stays with me
Singing its powerful sedative song to me

Silent witness set aside
Let all beauty pass me by

This solid liquid live display
Surrounds me everywhere


Dr Ray Davis: Did you just experience something, Lynne?
John and Harry come in.
Dr. Davis: What the hell, Harry? You're not supposed to be down here, and definitely not with him.
Harry: Sorry, doc, but I've got Jensen calling from Oxford, he needs to talk to Lynne.
Dr Davis: No, Jensen's not talking to my patient. Get out of here.
John: She's not your patient!
John slams the doctor to the nearest wall.
Dr. Davis: Hey!
John: Give Lynne the phone.
Dr. Davis, knowing the hospital as well as his palm after 25 years of medical experience as The Head of Internal Brain Injury Department, quickly – not as quick as he was at his twenties, but quick enough – sounds the emergency alarm.
John: Give her the phone now!
Lynne takes the phone. John closes the door.

Witnesses –

1. John Morrison
2. Harry Lombardi
3. Ray Davis

In Room 117 of The Hôpital Saint-Antoine,
The following conversation is taking place:

Lynne: Hello?
Professor Jensen: Lynne! Lynne, my name is Arthur Jensen. We met yesterday before you took off. But I'm guessing you don't remember that. Am I right?
Lynne: You are.
Arthur: Lynne, we don't have long to talk, so I need you to tell me what year you think it is.
Lynne: What do you mean, what year do I think it…it's 2007!
Arthur: Alright, Lynne, look. You got to tell me... where are you?
Lynne: Um...I'm in some kind of hospital room.
Arthur: No, no… Not right now, Lynne. Where are you supposed to be? Where are you in 2007?
Lynne: Uh. Sandringham Gardens, Norfolk, England. The Royal Queen’s Guard Training Facility.

Maggie: Maybe we should…
Arthur: No, no, no. I'm thinking, I'm thinking. Lynne, Listen. When it happens again, Lynne, I need you to get on a train. Get on a train and go to Oxford. Oxford University, Physics Department. Alright?
Lynne: What, why?
Arthur: Because I need you to find ME.
Professor Arthur Jensen searches his office.
Arthur: Where is it?
Maggie: What?
Arthur: The Glass Pyramid. I need the Pyramid or I won't believe her.
Maggie: What are you talking about? What Pyramid?
Arthur: It’s an experimental project I was working on for the last month.
Maggie (Surprised): You never told ME about any new projects.
Arthur: I’m Sorry, Honey.
The Traveler: Why does she think she’s in 2007?
Arthur: I don't know, I don't know. It's unpredictable, it's a random effect. Sometimes it takes hours, sometimes years.
The Traveler: Wait, wait. This has happened before?
Arthur: Once.
The Professor finds The Glass Pyramid.
Arthur: [Into the phone] Lynne, you still there?
John is blocking the door, behind which there is yelling.
John: Talk to him! I can't hold them for long.
Lynne [To Arthur]: Of course. Where else would I be?
Arthur: Okay, Lynne, listen. When you find me at Oxford, I need you to tell me to set the device to 12.045
Lynne: 12.045 got it.
Arthur: And that it must be oscillating at 884 hertz. You got it, Lynne?
Lynne: And oscillating at 884 Hz, yes.
Arthur: One last thing, Lynne. If the numbers won’t convince me, I need you to tell me that you know about The Compass.________________________________________

Act 5

Thursday, October 7th, 1993. 07:30

Michael is on the train. On his way to his parents’ house. The house he grew up in. London, England, The United Kingdom. Reflecting on his broken relationship with Lynne Daniels.

What was I thinking. Of course she reacted like that on the phone. I haven’t been in any kind of contact for over 3 months. She lied, she hasn’t moved. I’ll bet money on that.

But she asked you. Don’t call her again. It’s over, Mike. You know it is. Go home, take a shower, sleep, wake up tommorow and you know what? Go visit your brother at oxford. A lawyer in the family. My folks are so proud of him.

After graduating high school and working at a Textile Factory for 3 years, Michael chose, unexpectedly, a military career. Why? Because of Lynne’s father, Anthony. A wealthy man. The kind of man HIS father never was and the kind of man, he, Michael, wanted to be.
So in order to prove himself worthy of Mr. Daniels’ daughter, he joined The Queen’s Guard.
His one and only meeting with Mr. Daniels was 4 months ago. When Michael was 21 years of age.
He remembered that meeting as if it happened five minutes ago and he will NEVER forget it.

May 28th, 1993 12:05

Mr. Anthony Daniels: Lynne didn't tell me you are a factory worker, Michael. Hard work, If I could say so myself. Impressive.
Micheal Norman: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Daniels: What about academy? Thinking of applying for University?
Michael: I am not a man of means, sir. I hope to be, one day. University costs a lot now days. I had to look after my 2 sisters after my father came into financial straits.
Mr. Daniels: Any military experience?
Michael: No, sir (Noticing a work of art on the wall. A Ship in the Ocean). She's beautiful. Your Ship.
Mr. Daniels: Thank you kindly, Michael. Call me Anthony.
Michael Smiled.
Anthony: Well, Michael, I'm going to see to it that you have a position in our administrative department. Not the most glamorous duty but it's a start. I'll speak to human resources.
Michael: With all due respect, Anthony, I haven't come here to interview for a position in your company.
Anthony: You haven't?
Michael: No, sir. I came here to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage. We've been together for 2 years. Lynne's moving in. I love her very much. Your permission would mean the world to me.
Anthony: A very noble gesture.
Anthony gets 2 glasses and a bottle of Cognac.
Anthony: This is Anderson Cognac. Named after David Anderson, an esteemed General from the Royal Navy. He retired with more medals than any man before or since -- moved to the highlands to see out his remaining years. General Anderson is a great man, Mike. This is his crowning achievement.
Anthony pours some into both of the glasses and serves one to Michael.
Anthony: Cheers.
Michael: This swallow is worth more than my father made in one MONTH in his prime. To share it with you, Sir, would be an honour.

Friday, October 8th, 1993 14:30

He walks down a hall, and sees an elderly man talking to a young individual.
He assumes he just witnessed an academy faculty professor having a conversation with one of his students. Neither he, nor any of his immidiate family has ever been on a college campus, let alone university. Up until six years ago, when his brother Liam was accepted to the Justice Department at Oxford University. Law school.
Professor Arthur Jensen: ...not a single piece of original thinking. You do understand the concept of original, the opposite of repetative? Now I'm the one you need to impress, Mr. Hollister, and I'm not impressed. So go. Go try again.
Michael: Um, sorry. Are you a professor?
Arthur: Professor Arthur Jensen, Physics Department. And you are...?

SHOCKING TRUTH
CLIMATE CHANGE
FLOODS AND FIRES
HURRICANES

Michael: Um...sorry, I'm Michael Norman, and um...I was told I could find you here. I think I've ... just been to the future.
Arthur: ...the future?
Michael: Yes. Uh, I spoke to you there, you told me to come here, to Oxford, to find you.
Arthur: Why didn't I just help you there, in the future?
Michael: Sorry?
Arthur: Why would I put you through the headache of time travel? You know what I mean, it just seems a little... unnecessary. And don't you think that my colleagues could have come up with something just a little more believable, huh? What kind of a prank is that? Huh, paradox. So uninspiring.
Michael: Set your device to um... 12.045 and make sure it oscillates at 884 Hz.
Arthur: Okay, now you, you're going to tell me who told you those numbers.
Michael: You did.
Arthur: No, this is — this is ridiculous.
Michael: I know about The Compass.

Act 6

Arthur takes Michael into his laboratory.
Michael: where are we?
Arthur: This is where I conduct my experiments. Alright, this, this future version of me... uh, he referenced this meeting, right? Obviously, so, so I would remember you coming to Oxford, right? I would remember this, here, right now.
Michael: So this, this is changing the future?
Arthur: You can't change the future because it hasn’t happened yet.
Arthur puts on some kind of protective suit. Much like the Atomic/Chemical/Biological Unit that’s training back at the Base, Michael thought.
Michael: What's that for?
Arthur: Radiation.
Michael: Do I get one?
Arthur: You don't need one. It’s for prolonged exposure, I do this 20 times a day.
Arthur flicks some switches and then reaches over, taking out a 3 by 3 foot piece of machinery.
Arthur: And this… is The Glass Pyramid.
Michael: What does it do?
Arthur: This, if the numbers you gave me are correct, will Astral Project your consciousness through the Space-Time Continuum.
Arthur presses a button.

2001
SUICIDE
INNOCENT DIE

Michael: What just happened?
Arthur: Nothing.
Michael: What?
Arthur: The machine, for some reason, hasn’t worked.
________________________________________

To be continued...

Greg