UNNATURAL

Soldiers! Don't give yourselves to brutes — men who despise you — enslave you — who regiment your lives — tell you what to do — what to think or what to feel! 

Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. 

Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men — machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! 

You are not machines! 

You are not cattle! 

You are men! 

You have the love of humanity in your hearts. 

You don't hate!

 Only The Unloved hate — 

The Unloved and The Unnatural! 

 A small vessel, entering orbit. 

I detect no lifeforms aboard, sir.

[Soong's lab]

(Data is rubbing his stomach while patting his head) 

SOONG: 

Good. Good, good, good. 

Keep it up. Keep it up. 

Old Tom Handy swore you'd never master that. 

Data, Data, whistle for me. 

(Data does his bad, off-key 'Pop goes the Weasel') 

SOONG: 

Oh, well. 

All right, that's enough. 

Sit down. 

(he inspects a plant) 

Beautiful, beautiful. 

You know, I've been able to keep track of you from time to time. 

You've become something of a celebrity in cybernetic circles. 

Data, why Starfleet? 

DATA: 

Sir? 

SOONG: 

I gave you the ability to choose whatever you wanted. 

To do whatever you wanted. 

Why Starfleet? 

DATA: 

It was Starfleet officers who rescued me. 

SOONG: 

Ah. So you decided to emulate your emancipators, huh? 

How disappointing. 

DATA: 

What choice of vocation would have met with your approval, sir? 

SOONG: 

Well, I often hoped you might become a scientist. 

Perhaps even a cyberneticist. 

DATA: 

To follow in your footsteps, as it were? 

SOONG: 

I see nothing wrong with that. 

DATA: 

May I ask you a question, sir? 

SOONG: 

Certainly. 

Anything you like. 

DATA:

Why did you create me? 

SOONG: 

Why does a painter, paint? 

Why does a boxer, box? 

You know what Michelangelo used to say? 

That the sculptures he made were already there before he started, hidden in the marble. 

All he needed to do was remove the unneeded bits. 

It wasn't quite that easy with you, Data. 

But the need to do it, my need to do it, was no different than Michelangelo's need. 

Now let me ask you a question. 

Why are humans so fascinated by old things? 

DATA: 

Old things? 

SOONG: 

Old buildings, churches, walls, ancient things, antique things, tables, clocks, knick knacks. 

Why? Why, why? 

DATA: 

There are many possible explanations. 

SOONG: 

If you brought a Noophian to Earth, he'd probably look around and say, 

“Tear that old village down, it's hanging in rags. 

Build me something new, something efficient.”

But to a human, that old house, that ancient wall, it's a shrine, something to be cherished. 

Again, I ask you, ‘why?’

DATA: 

Perhaps, for humans, Old Things represent a tie to The Past. 

SOONG: 

What's so important about The Past? 

People got sick, they needed money. Why tie yourself to that? 

DATA: 

Humans are mortal. 

They seem to need a sense of continuity. 

SOONG: 

Ah hah!! Why? 

DATA: 

To give their lives meaning. 

A sense of purpose. 

SOONG: 

And this continuity, does it only run one way, backwards, to the past? 

DATA: 

I suppose it is a factor in the human desire to procreate. 

SOONG: 

So you believe that having children gives humans a sense of immortality, do you? 

DATA: 

It is a reasonable explanation to your query, sir. 

SOONG: 

And to yours as well, Data. 

DATA: 

I implore you, do not reactivate him. 

SOONG: 

Don't be ridiculous, Data. 

Lore is far from the maniacal android you have made him out to be. 

In any case, he'll obey me. 

He always did. 

DATA: 

But he admitted to an alliance with the Crystal Entity. 

To gain its favour, he betrayed the colonists and would have betrayed the Enterprise as well had I not —

SOONG: 

Shh! One more. 

That should do it. 

(Lore wakes, sees Data, and makes a lunge for him. Soong intervenes) 

LORE: 

So, you're still alive. 

I'm surprised you woke me. 

Why didn't you just take me apart again and be done with it? 

That is why the two of you captured me, isn't it? 

SOONG: 

Data had nothing to do with this, Lore. 

And nobody captured you. 

Not exactly, that is.

 You see, both of your brains contain a simple homing device. 

Data's was activated purposefully. 

Yours, well, until you walked through that door I had no idea you'd ever been reassembled.

 

LORE: 

No thanks to you. 

But thanks to you, dear brother, I spent nearly two years drifting in space. 

If it hadn't been for a fortunate encounter with a Pakled trade ship, I'd still be out there. 

DATA: 

I had no alternative. You would have destroyed the Enterprise. 

LORE: 

Well, since I appear to be an uninvited guest at your little party, I'll leave you with your beloved son and be on my way. 

SOONG: 

Lore, wait.

There are questions I can answer. 

You'll have no chance to ask them later. 

You see, I'm dying. 

(That stops Lore in his tracks) 

SOONG: 

Yes, I'm dying. 

DATA: 

Dying from what, sir? 

LORE: 

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. 

What do you mean, you're dying? 

You look fine. 

You're not that old. 

You look fine. 

What is this? 

Some kind of a trick? 

SOONG: 

I wish it were. 

*********

LORE: 

You did what you had to do? 

What kind of answer is that? 

SOONG: 

The only one I can give you. 

You were not functioning properly. 

DATA: 

Lore told me the colonists envied him because you made him so completely human. 

SOONG: 

I wouldn't exactly have used the word envious, Data. 

LORE: 

You disassembled me. 

You took me apart. 

DATA: 

Lore also told me the colonists petitioned you to replace him with a less perfect android. 

SOONG: 

The last thing you should think of yourself as, Data, is less perfect. 

The two of you are virtually identical, except for a bit of programming. 

DATA: 

It was a lie. 

Another lie. 

LORE: 

I would have proven myself worth to you, if you'd just given me a chance. 

But it was easier just to turn your back and build your precious Data. 

SOONG: 

You were The First. 

You meant as much to me as Data ever did, but you were unstable. 

The colonists were not envious of you, they were afraid of you. 

You were unstable.

 

DATA: 

I am not less perfect than Lore. 

LORE: 

Why didn't you just fix me? 

It was within your power to fix me. 

SOONG: 

It wasn't as easy as that. 

The next, the next logical step was to construct Data. 

Afterward, I planned to get back to you, to fix you. 

LORE: 

Next logical step. 

DATA: 

I am not less perfect than Lore. 

LORE: 

I am not less perfect than Lore. 

SOONG: 

Enough! 

Both of you, sit down. Sit down. 

For all these years I've been plagued by what went wrong. 

With all of your complexities, Lore, your nuances, basic emotions seemed almost simple by comparison. 

But the emotion turned, and twisted, became entangled with ambition. 

Lore, if I had known you were no longer sitting in pieces on some distant shelf, if I had known that I could simply press a button and bring you here, I would have spent those years trying to make things right for you as well. 

But all I knew of was Data. 

So I worked long and hard, and now I believe I've succeeded. 

This is why I brought you here, Data. 

Basic emotions. 

Simple feelings, Data. 

Your feelings. 

I've imagined how hard it's been for you, living amongst beings so moved by emotion. 

(

LORE: 

I don't have to imagine. I know how hard it's been. You'd be surprised, Data. Feelings do funny things. You may even learn to understand your evil brother. To forgive him. We will be more alike, Data, you and I. You'll see. I'm happy for you. 

DATA: I question your sincerity, Lore. 

SOONG: Perhaps with this you'll learn to be more trusting, Data. Your brother has had good reason to be bitter. 

DATA: But sir, Lore was responsible for 

SOONG: He wasn't given the chance that you and I were given, to live. But now I'm sure he understands why I had to do what I had to do. 

If there were only time, Lore. What a shame. The procedure is quite simple. I'm tired. I need to rest, first, I'm tired. 

(And he leaves the brothers eyeing each other)

MY APPETITE KNOWS NO LIMITS

The lineage of the Patriarchs, not only defines the structure of the tree-of-life, but delineates a cleansing process, whereby the holy sparks of life were separated from the inherent evil inclinations with each generation. 

Ishmael was born first and received the brunt of any negativity Abraham had to pass on. 

Esau was born first and likewise received most of the negativity that Isaac had to pass on, which set up the dynamic of good vs evil between the two brothers 

Jacob and Esau.

20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.

23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:

30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

OF THE DARKENING OF VALINOR 

When Manwë heard of the ways that Melkor had taken, it seemed plain to him that he purposed to escape to his old strongholds in the north of Middle-earth; and Oromë and Tulkas went with all speed northward, seeking to overtake him if they might, but they found no trace or rumour of him beyond the shores of the Teleri, in the unpeopled wastes that drew near to the Ice. 

Thereafter the watch was redoubled along the northern fences of Aman; but to no purpose, for ere ever the pursuit set out Melkor had turned back, and in secrecy passed away far to the south. For he was yet as one of the Valar, and could change his form, or walk unclad, as could his brethren; though that power he was soon to lose for ever. 

Thus unseen he came at last to the dark region of Avathar. That narrow land lay south of the Bay of Eldamar, beneath the eastern feet of the Pelóri, and its long and mournful shores stretched away into the south, lightless and unexplored. There, beneath the sheer walls of the mountains and the cold dark sea, the shadows were deepest and thickest in the world; and there in Avathar, secret and unknown, Ungoliant had made her abode. 

The Eldar knew not whence she came; but some have said that in ages long before she descended from the darkness that lies about Arda, when Melkor first looked down in envy upon the Kingdom of Manwë, and that in the beginning she was one of those that he corrupted to his service. 

But she had disowned her Master, desiring to be mistress of her own lust, taking all things to herself to feed her emptiness; and she fled to the south, escaping the assaults of the Valar and the hunters of Oromë, for their vigilance had ever been to the north, and the south was long unheeded. 

Thence she had crept towards the light of the Blessed Realm; for she hungered for light and hated it. In a ravine she lived, and took shape as a spider of monstrous form, weaving her black webs in a cleft of the mountains. There she sucked up all light that she could find, and spun it forth again in dark nets of strangling gloom, until no light more could come to her abode; and she was famished. 

Now Melkor came to Avathar and sought her out; and he put on again the form that he had worn as the tyrant of Utumno: a dark Lord, tall and terrible. In that form he remained ever after. There in the black shadows, beyond the sight even of Manwë in his highest halls, Melkor with Ungoliant plotted his revenge. But when Ungoliant understood the purpose of Melkor, she was torn between lust and great fear; for she was loath to dare the perils of Aman and the power of the dreadful Lords, and she would not stir from her hiding. Therefore Melkor said to her: ‘Do as I bid; and if thou hunger still when all is done, then I will give thee whatsoever thy lust may demand. Yea, with both hands.’ Lightly he made this vow, as he ever did; and he laughed in his heart. Thus did the great thief set his lure for the lesser. A cloak of darkness she wove about them when Melkor and Ungoliant set forth: an Unlight, in which things seemed to be no more, and which eyes could not pierce, for it was void. Then slowly she wrought her webs: rope by rope from cleft to cleft, from jutting rock to pinnacle of stone, ever climbing upwards, crawling and clinging, until at last she reached the very summit of Hyarmentir, the highest mountain in that region of the world, far south of great Taniquetil. There the Valar were not vigilant; for west of the Pelóri was an empty land in twilight, and eastward the mountains looked out, save for forgotten Avathar, only upon the dim waters of the pathless sea. But now upon the mountain-top dark Ungoliant lay; and she made a ladder of woven ropes and cast it down, and Melkor climbed upon it and came to that high place, and stood beside her, looking down upon the Guarded Realm. Below them lay the woods of Oromë, and westward shimmered the fields and pastures of Yavanna, gold beneath the tall wheat of the gods. But Melkor looked north, and saw afar the shining plain, and the silver domes of Valmar gleaming in the mingling of the lights of Telperion and Laurelin. Then Melkor laughed aloud, and leapt swiftly down the long western slopes; and Ungoliant was at his side, and her darkness covered them. Now it was a time of festival, as Melkor knew well. Though all tides and seasons were at the will of the Valar, and in Valinor there was no winter of death, nonetheless they dwelt then in the Kingdom of Arda, and that was but a small realm in the halls of Eä, whose life is Time, which flows ever from the first note to the last chord of Eru. And even as it was then the delight of the Valar (as is told in the Ainulindalë) to clothe themselves as in a vesture in the forms of the Children of Ilúvatar, so also did they eat and drink, and gather the fruits of Yavanna from the Earth, which under Eru they had made. Therefore Yavanna set times for the flowering and the ripening of all things that grew in Valinor; and at each first gathering of fruits Manwë made a high feast for the praising of Eru, when all the peoples of Valinor poured forth their joy in music and song upon Taniquetil. This now was the hour, and Manwë decreed a feast more glorious than any that had been held since the coming of the Eldar to Aman. For though the escape of Melkor portended toils and sorrows to come, and indeed none could tell what further hurts would be done to Arda ere he could be subdued again, at this time Manwë designed to heal the evil that had arisen among the Noldor; and all were bidden to come to his halls upon Taniquetil, there to put aside the griefs that lay between their princes, and forget utterly the lies of their Enemy. There came the Vanyar, and there came the Noldor of Tirion, and the Maiar were gathered together, and the Valar were arrayed in their beauty and majesty; and they sang before Manwë and Varda in their lofty halls, or danced upon the green slopes of the Mountain that looked west towards the Trees. In that day the streets of Valmar were empty, and the stairs of Tirion were silent; and all the land lay sleeping in peace. Only the Teleri beyond the mountains still sang upon the shores of the sea; for they recked little of seasons or times, and gave no thought to the cares of the Rulers of Arda, or the shadow that had fallen on Valinor, for it had not touched them, as yet. One thing only marred the design of Manwë. Fëanor came indeed, for him alone Manwë had commanded to come; but Finwë came not, nor any others of the Noldor of Formenos. For said Finwë: ‘While the ban lasts upon Fëanor my son, that he may not go to Tirion, I hold myself unkinged, and I will not meet my people.’ And Fëanor came not in raiment of festival, and he wore no ornament, neither silver nor gold nor any gem; and he denied the sight of the Silmarils to the Valar and the Eldar, and left them locked in Formenos in their chamber of iron. Nevertheless he met Fingolfin before the throne of Manwë, and was reconciled, in word; and Fingolfin set at naught the unsheathing of the sword. For Fingolfin held forth his hand, saying: ‘As I promised, I do now. I release thee, and remember no grievance.’ Then Fëanor took his hand in silence; but Fingolfin said: ‘Half-brother in blood, full brother in heart will I be. Thou shalt lead and I will follow. May no new grief divide us.’ ‘I hear thee,’ said Fëanor. ‘So be it.’ But they did not know the meaning that their words would bear. It is told that even as Fëanor and Fingolfin stood before Manwë there came the mingling of the lights, when both Trees were shining, and the silent city of Valmar was filled with a radiance of silver and gold. And in that very hour Melkor and Ungoliant came hastening over the fields of Valinor, as the shadow of a black cloud upon the wind fleets over the sunlit earth; and they came before the green mound Ezellohar. Then the Unlight of Ungoliant rose up even to the roots of the Trees, and Melkor sprang upon the mound; and with his black spear he smote each Tree to its core, wounded them deep, and their sap poured forth as it were their blood, and was spilled upon the ground. But Ungoliant sucked it up, and going then from Tree to Tree she set her black beak to their wounds, till they were drained; and the poison of Death that was in her went into their tissues and withered them, root, branch, and leaf; and they died. 

And still she thirsted, and going to the Wells of Varda she drank them dry; but Ungoliant belched forth black vapours as she drank, and swelled to a shape so vast and hideous that Melkor was afraid. 

So the great darkness fell upon Valinor. Of the deeds of that day much is told in the Aldudénië, that Elemmírë of the Vanyar made and is known to all the Eldar. Yet no song or tale could contain all the grief and terror that then befell. The Light failed; but the Darkness that followed was more than loss of light. 

In that hour was made a Darkness that seemed not lack but a thing with being of its own: for it was indeed made by malice out of Light, and it had power to pierce the eye, and to enter heart and mind, and strangle the very will. Varda looked down from Taniquetil, and beheld the Shadow soaring up in sudden towers of gloom; Valmar had foundered in a deep sea of night. Soon the Holy Mountain stood alone, a last island in a world that was drowned. All song ceased. There was silence in Valinor, and no sound could be heard, save only from afar there came on the wind through the pass of the mountains the wailing of the Teleri like the cold cry of gulls. For it blew chill from the East in that hour, and the vast shadows of the sea were rolled against the walls of the shore. But Manwë from his high seat looked out, and his eyes alone pierced through the night, until they saw a Darkness beyond dark which they could not penetrate, huge but far away, moving now northward with great speed; and he knew that Melkor had come and gone. Then the pursuit was begun; and the earth shook beneath the horses of the host of Oromë, and the fire that was stricken from the hooves of Nahar was the first light that returned to Valinor. But so soon as any came up with the Cloud of Ungoliant the riders of the Valar were blinded and dismayed, and they were scattered, and went they knew not whither; and the sound of the Valaróma faltered and failed. And Tulkas was as one caught in a black net at night, and he stood powerless and beat the air in vain. But when the Darkness had passed, it was too late: Melkor had gone whither he would, and his vengeance was achieved.

INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - LOBBY - DAY (1970)

The SEAL of the CIA:  
"You shall know The Truth 

and The Truth shall 

make you free." 
 We CRANE BACK, revealing that the seal is on the floor of the LOBBY as NIXON strides in with his ENTOURAGE.

LT. GENERAL ROBERT CUSHMAN hurries out, ruffled, to meet NIXON.

 CUSHMAN 
Mr. President, I don't know what to say. 
As soon as we learned from the Secret Service you were en route, the Director was notified. 
He should be here any minute.

 NIXON 
Where the hell is he?

 CUSHMAN 
Uh, he's rushing back from his tennis game, sir ...

 NIXON (impatient) 
So ... let's go ...

 CUSHMAN (walking with Nixon) 
He told me to take you to his conference room.

 NIXON 
No. His office. (aside) 
I want a very private conversation. 

I don't want to be bugged.

 CUSHMAN 

Then his office will be fine.

INT. OPERATIONS CENTER & HELM'S OFFICE - DAY

They walk past ANALYSTS laboring in isolation behind Plexiglass walls; the hum of computers, a dark austerity to the place. 
They all glance up as NIXON strides past.

 NIXON 
How's the job coming, Bob?

 CUSHMAN 
Frankly, sir, it stinks. I have no access. 

I'm lucky Helms lets me have a staff.

 NIXON (ominous) 
We'll see about that ...

 CUSHMAN (sensing change) 
He's nervous, sir. 

He's heard you're looking 

for a new director.

 NIXON 
Well, he certainly isn't acting like it.

 CUSHMAN 
That's Helms. He's "sang-froid," 

a world-class poker player.

 NIXON (under his breath) 
Yeah? Well, I own the fucking casino.

INT. HELMS OFFICE - DAY

A DUTY OFFICER opens the door 

of The Director's office with a flourish. 

NIXON catches RICHARD HELMS throwing 

his trench coat and tennis racket 

on a chair, obviously hurrying in 

from a secret door. 

Helms spots Nixon, extends his hand 

with a reptilian smile.

 HELMS 
I'm honored, Dick, that you've come 

all this way out here to Virginia 

to visit us at last.

 NIXON 
My friends call me "Mister President."

 HELMS 
And so shall I. 
(to Cushman) 
Arrange some coffee, would you General Cushman?

Cushman stares back a beat, bitterly. 
Nixon signals to Haldeman and Ehrlichman that he, too, wants to be alone. The door closes.

 NIXON 
Robert Cushman is a lieutenant general in the Marine Corps, the Deputy Director of the CIA ... and this is what you use him for?

 HELMS 
I didn't choose him as my deputy, Mr. President. You did.

Nixon paces the office, which is festooned with photos, awards and an abundance of flowers, particularly orchids. A collector.

 NIXON 
You live pretty well out here. Now I understand why you want to keep your budget classified.

Helms sits on a settee, a hard-to-read man.

 HELMS 
I suppose, "Mister President," you're unhappy that we have not implemented your Domestic Intelligence plan, but ...

NIXON 

You're correct. 

I'm concerned these students are being funded by foreign interests, whether they know it or not. 

The FBI is worthless in this area. 

I want your full concentration on this matter ...

HELMS 

Of course we've tried, but so far we've come up with nothing that ...

 NIXON (stern) 

Then find something. And I want these leaks stopped.

 Jack Anderson, the New York Times, the State Department -- 
I want to know who's talking to them.

 HELMS 
I'm sure you realize this is a very tricky area, Mr. President, given our charter and the congressional oversight committees ...

NIXON 

Screw congressional oversight. I know damn well, going back to the '50's, this agency reports what it wants, and buries what it doesn't want Congress to know. 
I pay close attention to this.

Nixon fixes him with his stare. 
Helms clears his throat.

 HELMS 

Is there something else that's bothering you, Mr. President?

 NIXON 

Yes ... It involves some old and forgotten papers. 

Things I signed as Vice President. 

I want the originals in my office and I don't want copies anywhere else.

Now knowing Nixon's cards, Helms relaxes -- about an inch.

 HELMS 
You're referring, of course, to chairing the Special Operations Group as Vice President.

 NIXON 
Yes ...

Helms wanders over to his prize orchids, fingers them.

HELMS 
As you know ... that was unique. Not so much an operation as much as ... an organic phenomenon. 

It grew, it changed shape, it developed ... appetites. 

(then) It's not uncommon in such cases that things are not committed to paper. 

That could be very ... embarrassing.

Nixon is embarrassed, and does not like it. 

Suddenly, The Beast is in the room.

 HELMS (CONT'D) (reminding him) 

I, for one, saw to it that my name was never connected to any of those operations.

On Nixon, waiting.

 HELMS (CONT'D) (fishing) 
Diem? Trujillo? Lumumba? Guatemala? Cuba? 
... It's a shame you didn't take similar precautions, Dick.

 NIXON (very uncomfortable) 
I'm interested in the documents that put your people together with 
... the others. All of them ...

A beat. This is the fastball. Helms pours himself a coffee.

 HELMS 
President Kennedy threatened to smash the CIA into a thousand pieces. 
You could do the same ...

 NIXON 
I'm not Jack Kennedy. 
Your agency is secure.

 HELMS (stirs the coffee) 
Not if I give you all the cards ...

 NIXON 
I promised the American people peace with honor in Southeast Asia. 
That could take time -- two, maybe three years 
... In the meantime, your agency will continue at current levels of funding.

 HELMS (sips his coffee) 
Current levels may not be sufficient.

 NIXON 
The President would support a reasonable request for an increase.

Helms smiles.

 HELMS 
And me? ...

 NIXON

Of course you'll continue as DCI, Dick -. 
You're doing a magnificent job.

 HELMS 
And of course I accept. I'm flattered. 
And I want you to know, I work for only one president at a time.

 NIXON 
Yes. And you will give General Cushman full access.

 HELMS (grudgingly accepts that) 
It will take a little time, but I'll order a search for your papers. 
Though it does raise a disturbing issue.

 NIXON 
What?

 HELMS 
Mr. Castro.

 NIXON (tense) 
Yes.

 HELMS 
We have recent intelligence that a Soviet nuclear submarine has docked at Cienfuegos.

 NIXON 
Well, we'll lodge a formal protest.

 HELMS
I don't think we can treat this as a formality. Mr. Kennedy made a verbal promise to the Russians not to invade Cuba. But you authorized Dr. Kissinger to put this in writing.

Nixon is taken aback by Helms's inside knowledge.

 NIXON 
Are you tapping Kissinger...?

 HELMS 

My job, unpleasant sometimes, is to know what others don't want me to know.

 NIXON (cold) 

Not if you have spies in the White House, it isn't your job.

 HELMS 

It is not my practice to spy on The President. Doctor Kissinger manages to convey his innermost secrets to the world at large on his own.

 NIXON (absorbs this) 
We’ve  lived with Communism in Cuba for ten years ...

 HELMS 
... But it has never been the policy of this government to accept that. 

And it is certainly not CIA policy.

 NIXON 

CIA policy? The CIA has no policy, Mr. Helms. 
Except what I dictate to you ... (beat, they stare at each other) 
I try to adjust to the world as it is today, not as you or I wanted it to be ten years ago.

HELMS 

Is that why you and Kissinger are negotiating with the Chinese?

A beat. Nixon stares.

 HELMS (CONT'D) 

This is an extremely dangerous direction, Mr. President. 

Terrible consequences can result from 

such enormous errors in judgement.

 NIXON 
But ... if we were able to separate China 

from Russia once and for all, we can -- 
we could create a balance of power 

that would secure the peace 

into the next century.

 HELMS 
By offering Cuba to the Russians as a consolation prize?

 NIXON 
Cuba would be a small price to pay.

 HELMS 
So President Kennedy thought.

A disturbing image suddenly appears in Nixon's mind -- KENNEDY with his head blown off in Dallas. 

Followed by an IMAGE of his own death. In a coffin.

The smell of the orchids in the room is overwhelming. 

Nixon feels himself dizzy.

NIXON 

I never thought Jack was ready for the presidency. 

But I would never, never consider ... (then) 

His death was awful, an awful thing for this country. 

(then) Do you ever think of Death, Dick?

HELMS 

Flowers are continual reminders of our mortality. 

Do you appreciate flowers?

 NIXON 
No. They make me sick. 
They smell like death ... I had two brothers die young. 

But let me tell you, 

there are worse things 

than Death. 
There is such a thing as Evil.

 HELMS 
You must be familiar with my favorite poem 

by Yeats? "The Second Coming"?

 NIXON 
No.

 HELMS 
Black Irishman. Very moving. 

"Turning and turning in the widening gyre,

The falcon cannot hear the falconer,

Things fall apart, 

The Centre cannot hold,

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

And everywhere, the ceremony 

of innocence is drowned,

The best lack all conviction, 

while the worst are full 

of passionate intensity" ... 

But it ends so beautifully ominous -- 

"What rough beast, its hour come round at last,

Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?" ... 

Yes -- This Country stands at such a juncture. 

Bloody Constraint

“Well, with William and Harry, for instance, I take them round homelessness projects, I ve taken William and Harry to people dying of Aids - albeit I told them it was cancer - I ve taken the children to all sorts of areas where I'm not sure anyone of that age in this family has been before. And they have a knowledge - they may never use it, but the seed is there, and I hope it will grow because knowledge is power. BASHIR: What are you hoping that that experience for your children - what impact that experience will have on your children? DIANA: I want them to have an understanding of people's emotions, people's insecurities, people's distress, and people's hopes and dreams. BASHIR: What kind of monarchy do you anticipate? DIANA: I would like a monarchy that has more contact with its people - and I don't mean by riding round bicycles and things like that, but just having a more in-depth understanding. And I don't say that as a criticism to the present monarchy: I just say that as what I see and hear and feel on a daily basis in the role I have chosen for myself. Sin came to your door like this sexually aroused cat-predator thing - And you invited it in.  And then you let it have its Wicked Way with you.   It’s like you entered into a creative—he uses a sexual metaphor.  You entered into a creative exchange with it, and gave birth to something as a consequence.   What you gave birth to, that’s your life.  And you knew it.  You’re self-conscious, after all.  You knew you were doing this.  You conspired with this thing to produce the situation that you’re in.

The Fame-Wolf

“I tend to think that what Fame has done is to replace The Sea as the element of choice of adventure for young people. 

If you were a dashing young man in the 19th century you would probably have wanted to run away to sea, just as in the 20th century you might decide that you want to run away and form a pop band. 

The difference is that in the 19th century, before running away to sea, you would have had at least some understanding of the element that you were dealing with and would have perhaps, say, learned to swim ... 

The thing is that there is no manual for how to cope with fame. 

So you'll get some, otherwise likeable young person, who has done ONE good comic book, ONE good film, ONE good record, suddenly told that they are a genius, who •believes• it and who runs out laughing and splashing into the billows of celebrity, and whose heroin-sodden corpse is washed up a few weeks later in the shallows of the tabloids.

- Alan Moore

“Now Melkor began the delving and building of a vast fortress, deep under Earth, beneath dark mountains where the beams of Illuin were cold and dim. That stronghold was named Utumno. And though the Valar knew naught of it as yet, nonetheless the evil of Melkor and the blight of his hatred flowed out thence, and the Spring of Arda was marred. 

Green things fell sick and rotted, and rivers were choked with weeds and slime, and fens were made, rank and poisonous, the breeding place of flies; and forests grew dark and perilous, the haunts of fear; and beasts became monsters of horn and ivory and dyed the earth with blood. 

Then the Valar knew indeed that Melkor was at work again, and they sought for his hiding place. But Melkor, trusting in the strength of Utumno and the might of his servants, came forth suddenly to war, and struck the first blow, ere the Valar were prepared; and he assailed the lights of Illuin and Ormal, and cast down their pillars and broke their lamps. In the overthrow of the mighty pillars lands were broken and seas arose in tumult; and when the lamps were spilled destroying flame was poured out over the Earth. And the shape of Arda and the symmetry of its waters and its lands was marred in that time, so that the first designs of the Valar were never after restored. 

In the confusion and the darkness Melkor escaped, though fear fell upon him; for above the roaring of the seas he heard the voice of Manwë as a mighty wind, and the earth trembled beneath the feet of Tulkas. But he came to Utumno ere Tulkas could overtake him; and there he lay hid. And the Valar could not at that time overcome him, for the greater part of their strength was needed to restrain the tumults of the Earth, and to save from ruin all that could be saved of their labour; and afterwards they feared to rend the Earth again, until they knew where the Children of Ilúvatar were dwelling, who were yet to come in a time that was hidden from the Valar.”

We Play The Contest Again - Time Lord 

 Fenrir (Old Norse: "fen-dweller") or Fenrisúlfr (Old Norse: "Fenrir's wolf", often translated "Fenris-wolf"), also referred to as Hróðvitnir ("fame-wolf") and Vánagandr ("monster of the [River] Ván"), or Vanargand, is a monstrous wolf in Norse mythology. 

Fenrir, together with Hel and the World Serpent is a child of Loki and giantess Angrboða. 

He is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. 

In both the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, Fenrir is the father of the wolves Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson, is a son of Loki, and is foretold to kill the god Odin during the events of Ragnarök, but will in turn be killed by Odin's son Víðarr. 

In the Prose Edda, additional information is given about Fenrir, including that, due to the gods' knowledge of prophecies foretelling great trouble from Fenrir and his rapid growth, the gods bound him, and as a result Fenrir bit off the right hand of the god Týr. 

Depictions of Fenrir have been identified on various objects, and scholarly theories have been proposed regarding Fenrir's relation to other canine beings in Norse mythology. Fenrir has been the subject of artistic depictions, and he appears in literature.

Heatholaf :

Beowulf, there you are.

I was thinking about your father.

Great man.

He was fleeing the Wulfings and he'd killed one of them with his bare hands.

Beowulf :

 Heatholaf.

Heatholaf :

That's it, yeah. 

That's right.

  Beowulf :

I paid the blood debt for your father, and he swore his oath to me.

  Heatholaf :

So I saved his skin, and you're here to save ours, that right?

Unferth, son of Ecglaf.:

All hail the great Beowulf, come to save our pathetic Danish skins, eh?

And we are so damned grateful,

mighty Beowulf.

But can I ask a question, as a huge admirer of yours?

There was another Beowulf I heard tell of who challenged Brecca the Mighty to a swimming race out on the open sea.

Was that you?

  Beowulf :

I swam against Brecca.

  Unferth, son of Ecglaf.

Because I thought it had to be a different Beowulf, someone else of the same name.

  

Because, you see, the Beowulf I heard of swam against Brecca and lost.

He risked his life and Brecca's to serve his own vanity and pride.

A boastful fool.

And he lost!

So I thought it had to be someone else.

  Beowulf :

I swam against Brecca.

  Unferth, son of Ecglaf.

But victory was his, not yours.

A mighty warrior who cannot even

win a swimming match!

Speaking only for myself here, not only do I doubt that you will be

able to stand for a moment against Grendel, I doubt that you will even have the belly to stay in the hall all night.

  Beowulf :

I find it difficult to argue with a drunk.

But it's true, I did not win the race.

We swam for five days, neck and neck.

l was conserving my strength

for the final stretch when this storm blew up and with it came sea monsters.

Again and again, the monsters attacked!

Dark things from the sea's depths.

I hacked and l lashed

at these foul beasts with my sword,  spilling their guts into the sea.

Then one of them seized me by its jaws and dragged me to the bottom.

l killed the monster with my own blade and I plunged it into its heart.

  Unferth, son of Ecglaf.

Yes, of course. The sea monsters.

And you killed, what was it? 20?

  Beowulf :

Nine.

  

(Last time it were three.)

  Beowulf :

But would you do me the honor

of telling me your name?

  Unferth, son of Ecglaf.

I am Unferth, son of Ecglaf.

  Beowulf :

Unferth, son of Ecglaf.

I know who you are.

They say you killed both your brothers when you witnessed them

having knowledge of your mother.

I have another true thing to tell you, Unferth Kinslayer.

If your strength and heart was as strong and fierce as your words, Grendel would not feel free to murder and gorge on your people without fear of retaliation.

  

Tonight will be different!

 

Tonight, he will find Geats waiting

for him, not frightened sheep like you.

You Called...?

I’ve often thought it must all just seem really frustrating from Gozer’sperspective, not to say fairly confusing, if not downright perplexing —

What Do You Need From Me?

Remnants of DANA's apartment She stares out, her hair blowing in the wind.
Jail
WINSTON
Hey, guard! I want to make a phone call! I just work with these guys! I wasn't even there! RAY and EGON look over blueprints
EGON
The structure of this roof cap is exactly like the kind of telemetry tracker that NASA uses to identify dead pulsars in deep space.
RAY
Cold riveted girders with cores of pure selenium.
PETER to other jailbirds
Everyone getting this so far? So what? I guess they just don't make them like they used to. 

RAY
No! Nobody ever made them like this! The architect was either a certified genius or an aesthetic wacko! 

PETER
Ray, for a moment, pretend that I don't know anything about metallurgy, engineering or physics and just tell me what the hell is going on.
RAY
You never studied. The whole building is a huge super-conductive antenna that was designed and built expressly for the purpose of pulling in and concentrating spiritual turbulence. Your girlfriend, Pete, lives in the corner penthouse of Spook Central.
PETER
She's not my girlfriend. I find her interesting because she's a client and because she sleeps above her covers. Four feet above her covers! She barks, she drools, she claws...
EGON
It's not the girl, Peter, it's the building! Something terrible is about the enter our world and this building is obviously the door. The architect's name was Ivo Shandor. I found it in Tobin's Spirit Guide. He was also a doctor. Performed a lot of unnecessary surgery. And then in 1920 he founded a secret society.
PETER
Let me guess. Gozer worshippers.
EGON
Right.
PETER
No studying!
EGON
After the First World War, Shandor decided that society was too sick to survive. And he wasn't alone. he had close to a thousand followers when he died. They conducted rituals up on the roof, bizarre rituals intended to bring about the end of the world, and now it looks like it may actually happen!
PETER singing
So be good, for goodness sake! Whoa! Somebody's coming! Somebody's coming!
RAY
We have to get out of here. We've gotta get a judge or something.
WINSTON
Hey! Hey! Hold it! Now we going to actually going to go before a federal judge and say that some moldy old Babylonian god is going to drop in on Central Park West and start tearing up the city?
RAY
Sumerian, not Babylonian.
PETER
Yeah, big difference!
WINSTON
No offense, guys, but I gotta get my own lawyer.
JAIL GUARD
Okay, Ghostbusters! The mayor wants to see you guys. The whole island's going crazy! Let's go.
PETER to other jailbirds
I gotta split. The mayor wants to rap with me about some things.
Outside Ivo Shandor Building LOUIS walks by. Shocked. Looks up to the top.
Remnants of DANA's apartment
LOUIS
I am the Keymaster!
DANA
I am the Gatekeeper. they kiss, then go up the stairs to the Temple of Zuul
Outside City Hall Police escort Ghostbusters to the MAYOR. Reporters and photographers try to get press. Music: Savin' The Day.
POLICE CAPTAIN
Stay back! Stay back!
Inside MAYOR's office
MAYOR
I got a city blowing up, and you guys are not giving me any answers!
POLICE COMMISIONER
All right. We're blocking the bridges, the roads. I mean -
MAYOR'S AIDE
The Ghostbusters are here, Mr. Mayor.
MAYOR
The Ghostbusters, all right, the Ghostbusters. Hey, where's this Peck?
PECK
I am Walter Peck, sir, and I'm prepared to make a full report. These men are consummate snowball artists! They use sensitive nerve gases to induce hallucinations. People think they're seeing ghosts! And they call these bozos, who conveniently show up to deal with the problem with a fake electronic light show!
RAY
Everything was fine with our system until the power grid was shut off by dickless here.
PECK
They caused an explosion!
MAYOR
Is this true?
PETER
Yes, it's true. This man has no dick. PECK lunges at PETER. Police try to break up fight.
POLICE SERGEANT
Break it up, break it up!
PETER
Well, that's what I heard!
MAYOR
This is City Hall! Now what am I gonna do here, John? 

What is this?
FIRE COMMISIONER
All I know is: that was no light show we saw this morning. 

I've seen every kind of combustion known to man, but this beats the hell out of me.

POLICE COMMISIONER
The Walls in The 53rd Precinct are bleeding. 

How do you explain that?
ARCHBISHOP entering
Good afternoon, gentlemen.
MAYOR
Oh... Your Eminence! kisses ARCHBISHOP's ring
ARCHBISHOP
How are ya, Lenny?
MAYOR
You're looking good, Mike. gives ARCHBISHOP a friendly slap
We're in a real fix, here. 

What do you think I should do?

ARCHBISHOP
Officially, The Church will not take any position on the religious implications of these, err... phenomena. 

Personally, Lenny --

I Think it's a Sign from God. 

But don't quote me on that -
PETER
I think that's a smart move, Mike. 

 MAYOR

I'm not gonna call a press conference and tell everyone to start praying.

[ Couldn't Hurt, though - ]
WINSTON
I'm Winston Zeddemore, Your Honor. 

Look, I've only been with The Company for a couple of weeks.

But I gotta tell you, hese things are real. 

Since I joined These Men, I have seen shit that'll turn you white!
PETER
Well, you could believe Mr. Pecker.
PECK My name is Peck!
PETER
Or, 

You Could Accept The Fact That This City is Headed for a Disaster of Biblical Proportions.

MAYOR
What do you mean, 'biblical'?
RAY
What he means is, Old Testament, Mr. Mayor. 

Real Wrath-of-God-Type Stuff. 

Fire and brimstone coming from the sky! 

Rivers and seas boiling!
EGON
Forty years of Darkness! 

Earthquakes! Volcanoes!
WINSTON
The Dead rising from The Grave!
PETER
Human Sacrifice, 

Dogs and Cats living together, 

!! MASS HYSTERIA !!
MAYOR
Enough! I get The Point! 

 What if You're Wrong?
PETER
If I'm Wrong, Nothing Happens! 

We go to Jail. 

Peacefully, Quietly. 

We'll Enjoy it!

But, if I'm right, 

and we can stop This Thing..... 

Lenny – YOU Will have Saved The Lives 

of MILLIONS 

of registered voters.

MAYOR smiles. 

ARCHBISHOP nods.
PECK all the wind sucked out of his sails
I don't believe you're seriously considering listening to these men.  

PETER smiles a smug smile.
MAYOR
Get him out of here.
PETER waving
Bye.
PECK
I'll fix you, Venkman. 

I'm gonna fix you!
PETER
I am going to send you a nice fruit basket. 

I'm gonna miss him!
PECK
All right, all right!
MAYOR
You've got Work to do. 

Now What Do You Need from Me?