THE ALPHA CENTAURI PROJECT SCRIPT by Marco Santini Page B

the hatch. While he
is opening it, the others take aim.
    A volley of fire hits the Security front line.
    The soldiers react with a barrage of fire, but soon
their resistance weakens. The invaders burst into.
    For a few minutes there are flashes and CRACKLING OF
WEAPONS. Then dead silence.
    The followers make their way among pierced bodies and
detached limbs, with dazed looks.
    From the end of the corridor, comes A MOAN.
    Nihil runs towards the barricades, disappears behind
a heap of rubble; three shots in a row.
    He reappears with a triumphant smile, waving his
group to set off.
    INTERCUT BETWEEN FLAGSHIP BRIDGE AND CORRIDOR
    C573Y reaches the command armchair and sits down.
    A hologram appears in the middle of the room:
AUTOMATED DEFENSE PROCUDERE ACTIVATED. A list materializes. The
program looks through the items, selects some of them.
    The floor trembles, it opens. A stainless case
surfaces, its cover glides sideways.
    Inside are thousands of marbles. They start BUZZING,
take off, gathering into a black swarm. The main door opens; the
spheres leave at full speed.
    Nihil is placing some explosive on a lock. When the
hatch bursts open, he throws himself to the floor rolling beyond
the threshold, the nearest ones with him.
    The others catch just a glimpse of a dark cloud in
the distance.
    An instant later, BANGS, flashes and smoke. The
spheres return from the end giving the final blow to the
survivors.
    Next to the door, is a red button, the emergency
closing. Now the marbles are halfway, they will reach him within a
minute.
    The button is few steps away, but the way is covered
with bodies. He may waste precious moments.
    Nihil jumps to his feet, hurls himself against the
wall. A BANG. The switch breaks into pieces. The door closes with
violence, flinging the bodies aside.
    He crashes to the ground, his arm aching. The spheres
have not reached him! Nihil counts the survivors, a dozen in
total.
    NIHIL
    We are enough to win!
    They stand up and reach an impressive titanium
door.
    The bridge is a few meters farther, full of floating
spheres.
    C573Y and the small group of Security soldiers have
withdrawn into a corner.
    He doesn't feel easy. From the screens, he inspects
the attackers, concentrates on Nihil.
    C573Y
    What's that rucksack?
    addressing the computer
    Activate the radar.
    The image of the content appears in the main screen.
An invisible eye magnifies its surface and examines it.
    It stops in front of the identification code. The
answer is in very large letters: ATOMIC BOMB MODEL AB1521-X.
    C573Y
    What's the power?
    computer
    Enough to trigger the explosion of helium 3, the
nuclear fuel.
    C573Y
    What about the other spaceships?
    COMPUTER
    Would be annihilated in the thermonuclear
explosion.
    C573Y
    Move them away!
    COMPUTER
    They will reach the safe distance in ten minutes.
    C573Y
    Too late. When will the android program be
accessible?
    COMPUTER
    Impossible to forecast.
    Meanwhile Nihil is inspecting the surface of the
armored door, looking for weak points. He checks his fellows.
    All lined up, aiming their guns, ready to pour a hail
of fire onto the enemy lines.
    Nihil dips his hand into his pocket, extracts some
plastic.
    With care, he starts placing it along the opening
mechanism. His eyes are sparkling.
    He stops for a moment, leaning against the door. Now
he can move his arm hardly. It gets blocked, his sight become
blurred.
    He sends a message appearing in his visual field:
REQUEST... REQUEST IMMEDIATE TRANSFER TO... ALPHACITY HIDEOUT.
    Black.
    EXT. alphacity skyscraper -- DAY
    A blinding brightness. Nihil shields his eyes with a
hand and looks around.
    He has ended up on a terrace, beyond there is nothing
but the sky. The highest skyscraper in the town.
    Leaning against the security rail, Nihil looks
spellbound at three skyscrapers standing against the light like
black giants.
    On the opposite side, others reflect the flaming red
of the sunset in their windows.
    A few kilometers below, wide streets and