The Old Man

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

Hush! No quick moves. Move back. Move back.

(He spots The Old Man watching 

them on the rim of The Ravine)

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

Call off Your Dogs.

The Old Man :

They ain't My Dogs. 

The Old Man :

Hey. Huh. What are you doing here? 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

I think you're supposed to tell me. 

The winnebago? 

The Old Man :

They left it for you to have a look. 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

What did you do with the bodies? 

The Old Man :

Well, they were tended to 

and sent to their family. 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

And the explanation was? 

The Old Man :

Did you happen to catch the may 1997 

"Morbidity and mortality weekly report"? 

It indicates that injuries from dog attacks 

increased 37% in the last decade. 

4.7 million people in the U.S. 

were bitten by dogs in 1994. 

About a million needed medical care, 

compared to half a million in 1986. 

It's my job to keep an eye on information l

ike that as "The Day" nears. 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

Is that what you do for The Millennium? 

The Old Man :

The Group or The Event? 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

The photographs, my name in your journal, 

the gravestones in the ravine. 

The Old Man :

What makes you think 

they're gravestones? 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

The Snake, The Ouroboros... 

It was used as a secret symbol 

in early christian graves. 

The markers, rough obelisks. 

The Old Man :

So you've been looking into The Group. 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

Apparently not enough. 

The Old Man :

Apparently. 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

Were those the graves of past members? 

The Old Man :

Do you know the significance 

of The Ouroboros? 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

The snake is symbolic of divine life. 

It embraces cyclical systems... 

Unity, multiplicity, evolution, 

involution, birth, death. 

The Old Man :

Hmm. That's all you need to know for now, 

Frank, about The Millennium Group. 

The reason you're here is to 

learn about The Event. 

"When I looked for good, 

then evil came unto me. 

When I waited for the light, 

then came darkness." 

The Circle is about as good 

as it's gonna get. 

No beginning, no end, no boundaries, 

yet nothing but what lies 

inside the circle and 

what lies outside. 

Go stand by that rock. 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

(afraid of The Dogs) No, no, no, no. 

The Old Man :

Serial killers, spree killers, mass murderers... 

It's all just societal, genetic. 

Inevitability. 

You have no idea about true evil. 

Now go stand by that rock. 

(Frank approaches The Boundary Stones)

The Old Man :

No. One more step. 

(The Dogs back down, retreat and leave)

The Old Man :

Well, you passed. 

This is like matter itself, Frank. 

Neither good nor evil can be destroyed, 

and both will always be here. 

It's meant to be. 

"The Lord hath made all things for himself. 

Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil." 

Our role is to achieve equilibrium. 

And as we do that, we must respect evil, 

and we must make evil respect us. 

But... At times such as now, events indicate 

that we're losing balance, 

and time is running out. 

Well, it's good to meet ya. 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

The Dogs... That's why 

they're coming into town, because 

Michael Beebee built His House 

in an area that upset The Balance. 

The townspeople don't have 

any idea of this, do they? 

The Old Man :

It's over their damn heads, Frank. 

Their fear shrinks the world 

to the size of nothing 

but their own lives. 

It blinds them to anything 

beyond their own houses. 

All they think is, 

"Why me? Please, just leave me alone."

 All they hope is, it'll go away, 

but it won't go away. 

That's why people like you are sent here. 

You have a gift, Frank. 

But, unlike a bad tie at christmas, 

your gift is unreturnable. 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

I don't have the gift anymore. 

The images, things I see... 

My personal life... 

Has upset the balance. 

The Old Man :

It'll come back. And when it does, 

you'll think it's diminished, but, actually, 

it'll be greater than before. 

You're moving to a 

new plane, Franklin. 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

They'll kill Michael. 

The Old Man :

Surprised it ain't happened already. 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

How can I respect that? 

The Old Man :

Well, I can't respect him. 

My neighbour did nothing to help his, 

or our, situation but run away. 

And from crime, of all things. 

Crime is not evil. 

Any of us would steal if we were hungry, 

and any of us might even kill 

if we were without hope. 

So we confront evil. 

There isn't much time, and we can't 

waste time on one ignorant man. 

Frank Black, The Sheriff :

You could teach him. Hmph. 

The Old Man :

Well, then I haven't taught you. 

Frank Black, The Sheriff : 

(walks off, annoyed) 

My Name is not "Franklin".