FADE IN
EXT. ROBERT TALMAN’S OFFICE, RADLEY COLLEGE - DAY
A distinguished-looking man in his late 50s with a mane of wavy but tidy
gray hair, Professor of Astrophysics, ROBERT TALMAN is sitting at his desk,
talking on the phone.
Talman’s office is tidy and uncluttered.
Rows of books, including several by the professor himself, line
the shelves built into two of the walls.
A laptop computer with a blank screen sits on a small table in one corner.
TALMAN
(Blushing)
Yes, it is a great honor, sir.
And I never expected it. With
so many distinguished scientists to choose from. And I think I can speak on
behalf of the college and the faculty.
They really should share in this, too.
I look forward to meeting you soon.
No, I don’t know Swedish, but my wife taught me a few words.
She studied at Lund University, you know. Can’t wait to tell
her. Yes, that’s right, sir.
I’ll speak to you soon.
And thank you again.
Goddag!
Talman leans back in his chair and exhales, his eyes gleaming.
He smiles broadly as a small tear trickles down one cheek.
He wipes it away.
There is a knock on the door and a second later a student bursts
in.
NERD
I’m sorry, Professor Talman. Somehow the call came to my extension by mistake.
(His eyes widen)
Was that what I thought it was?
Talman beams at him.
TALMAN
It was indeed.
NERD
Does that mean you’ve …
TALMAN
(Winks)
Know any fun things to do in Stockholm, Xavier?
NERD laughs, his pride and admiration apparent
.
NERD
Congratulations, Professor Talman.
That is awesome!
Talman moves from behind his desk and gives the nerd a gentle pat on the
back.
TALMAN
Thanks. It’s been a long struggle
son, but I’ve made it and so can you … one day.
So don’t give up on those all night research sessions yet,
okay?
NERD
(Laughs)
Just as long as Johnny’s Pizza stays open all night!
Still smiling, Talman puts one arm around the nerd’s shoulders and ushers
him to the door.
TALMAN
Now as my best teaching assistant, Xavier - yes, that’s you - I want you
to spread the word as quickly as you please, but not so fast that Margery
hears it from the mail carrier before she hears it from me.
It’ll be on the news by tomorrow I should think.
Talman pulls a ten-dollar bill from his pocket.
TALMAN
Have some lunch to calm your nerves first, okay?
Exit NERD, still a little breathless.
Talman dials his wife.
TALMAN
Margery, it’s me. Oh, that’s
good. Listen darling - I just
got a call from something they call the Nobel Prize Committee.
He pauses as a squeal of delight is heard from the other end of the phone
line.
TALMAN
Yes, that’s right, it looks like we’ll be going to Stockholm.
Yes, it’s wonderful.
I’m still pinching myself.
Let’s celebrate all week if you want!
Love you too, honey.
I’ll be home as soon as my car can fly me.
Warp speed. That’s right.
Bye, darling.
Talman pulls his jacket off the chair.
As he leaves his office a small mob of students greets him, shaking
his hand, shouting congratulations at him. Talman smiles graciously at them
and dashes to his silver Mercedes.
EXT. TALMAN’S HOUSE - DAY
Talman’s house, a multi-turreted Victorian mansion on the outskirts of the
Radley College campus. As the
scene opens, Margery, an attractive, impeccably groomed woman about 15 years
Talman’s junior, opens the door just as the professor sticks his key in the
lock.
INT. HALLWAY
Door barely closed, Margery throws her arms about her husband.
MARGERY
Congratulations, darling.
Margery kissed her husband eagerly but chastely on the lips. Talman pulls
her gently away and strokes her hair.
TALMAN
Now we can finally write our own ticket, Margery.
He pulls her close again, but stiffens as he sees a young man seated in
the far end of his living room.
MARGERY
Jon came over to congratulate you personally.
Wasn’t that sweet of him?
TALMAN
Jon! How nice of you to come over like this. Hope you’re staying for dinner?
He pulls off his coat and hands it to Margery, trying very hard to look
pleased. He eases himself into an armchair facing a serious-looking young
man, JON WELK.
JON
I wanted to congratulate you, Bob.
Diane told me all about it.
TALMAN
Glad to hear you’re still seeing Diane.
JON
(Sighs)
Just wish Dad were here to share this with you.
Talman’s smile is replaced by an expression of sadness.
TALMAN
So do I, son. Victor and I went
back a long time. Ever since our
undergraduate days. Your Dad
was a genius and everyone at Radley knew it.
JON
Did they really? Oh, sorry,
I didn’t mean it. It’s just that-
TALMAN
You don’t have to explain it.
It’s been a month since Victor passed away, hasn’t it?
What wouldn’t I give to share this moment with him.
Jon looks at him intently, his lips tight, eyes slightly glazed.
TALMAN
Are you okay?
JON
We need to
talk, Bob.
TALMAN
What about?
`
JON
About you
and Dad.
Margery places a gin and tonic in front of her husband
.
MARGERY
Today we’re having filet mignon, boys, so prepare yourselves for a feast.
What would you like to drink, Jon?
JON
Uh, just some
whiskey on the rocks, please.
Talman sips his tonic and looks intently at Jon.
TALMAN
So - please
tell me what’s on your mind.
JON
No. We need
to talk privately.
Talman’s body stiffens against his comfortable armchair.
He pauses and scratches his head.
Margery returns with Jon’s drink.
TALMAN
My study okay?
Jon nods.
TALMAN
Margery, Jon and I will be adjourning to the study.
MARGERY
Oh?
TALMAN
Just boy talk,
darling. We’ll be right back.
Talman and Jon Welk walk into
the study. The professor takes care to close the door behind him.
INT. STUDY
Jon takes a swig from his glass, nearly emptying it in one gulp.
JON
I went though Dad’s office at the observatory this weekend.
All his files.
It was hard at first, being reminded of everything that had meant so much
to him … and to me, but I suppose you know that.
Talman nods as both men sit down in office chairs.
JON
Fascinating stuff all that about wormholes and time warps.
I used to think that was only things you’d find on Star Trek.
All those amazing computations you and Dad did, how closely
you worked together all those years.
And then that string theory equation that made people call you
the American Hawking.
Talman shrugs, his expression a bit distant now as his mind floods with
memories. He taps one finger
against the arm of the chair.
JON
(Laughs)
You and Dad were like the Crick and Watson of astrophysics.
I loved you both.
Saw more of you than I ever did of my uncles.
Jon gulps the last drop of whiskey. Talman plunks his nearly empty glass
down on the desk beside him.
TALMAN
All right, Jon, something’s bothering you.
It hardly takes a Ph.D. to see that.
Come on now, tell me.
Jon’s face is pale even in the amber light of the study.
He stares at the professor, the anger of betrayal glowing
in his eyes. As he speaks, his
lips tremble.
JON
How could you do it, Bob? That
equation relating to celestial matter was Dad’s idea, not yours.
Those notes of his were made ten years ago, when both of you
were still working together, long before you published that God-damned bestseller
of yours!
Talman’s normally affable expression has stiffened into one of fear, but
only for a moment. He tips
his head a little.
TALMAN
Jon, Jon -
what’s this you’re talking about?
JON
You know damn well what I’m talking about!
Jon springs from the chair and walks to the end of the study, facing a wall
covered with Talman’s awards of merit and honorary degrees.
JON
Dad was every bit as smart as you, Bob, he just didn’t have your talent
for self-promotion. And that’s
why he, not you, should’ve gotten that Nobel Prize.
Jon turns to face him accusingly.
JON
I found Dad’s notebook. He kept it at the observatory.
TALMAN:
So?
JON
It’s the notebook with the stellar velocity computations, the one where
Dad also expanded on Einstein’s relativity theory and came up with a coherent
equation describing the properties of the universe’s missing mass.
TALMAN
You know we were both working on that ten years ago.
And being a physicist yourself, you know that most of that
was little more than groundwork for what I was working on later.
JON
Groundwork my foot! The equations
were the same ones in your book, the prized book that had the scientific world
buzzing about this new genius that challenged and went beyond Einstein himself.
And I know you must have seen them a long time ago.
Jon pulls one hand through his hair and takes a deep breath.
JON
Damn it, why did you have to steal Dad’s work without so much as a footnote
in your book? Dad loved you like
a brother and this is how you repaid him.
TALMAN
There, there now. I’m sure it’s
not as bad as you think it is.
Sure, Victor may have been the first one with the germ of the idea, but
you know how often we scientists build upon the work of others without always
specifying the source of our ideas.
Damn it, sometimes we absentminded types don’t even remember. And
if you recall, I did give your father a nice acknowledgment in that God-damn
book of mine you mention. Remember that!
JON
Yeah. But it said nothing about
Dad’s contribution to your research.
Not one stinking word-
Jon bangs his hand against Talman’s chair and leans over him, his breath
hot against the top of his head.
TALMAN
Shhhh.
Let’s not upset Margery, okay?
JON
I don’t give a hoot who’s upset.
I’m not accepting what you’ve done to Dad.
And I’d like to know what you’re going to do about this.
I think the Nobel Committee would take a rather dim view of
your plagiarizing, don’t you?
Talman’s mask of calm at last crumbling, he bangs his hand against the armrest.
TALMAN
It isn’t plagiarizing!
Jon smiles as he circles Talman like a vulture circling its prey.
JON
“Was”, Bob, it was the plagiarizing that you did, in the past tense, before
you became the venerable and principled scientist you are now.
Jon laughs.
JON
You know that you wouldn’t have come upon that key equation without Dad.
Oh yes, I see you realize that now.
Talman takes a deep breath.
TALMAN
So what you’re doing is threatening me?
Is that what this is?
Jon leans down so that Talman can smell the whiskey on his breath.
Only now does he realize that Jon has already had a few drinks
before coming there. Talman winces
and turns his head away.
JON
It’s whatever you want it to be.
What I want is an admission from you.
Jon places his empty glass on the desk.
JON
To set the record straight, I mean.
Maybe the Nobel Prize Committee will feel sorry enough for you
to give you an honorary prize.
Or maybe they’ll even let you share the prize with Dad.
Hey, it’s not so bad.
Jon pats Talman contemptuously on the cheek.
TALMAN
It’s really a shame, Jon. A
shame you’re forgetting about those little peccadilloes of yours and who
helped you with them. Professor
Jon Welk, scientist, drunk driver and womanizer.
Who was it that bailed you out last month when you nearly
killed yourself in that accident?
Good thing the Dean didn’t find out about that little … incident-
JON
(Turning away)That’s not important anymore. And don’t try to change the
subject, okay? It doesn’t change
what you did.
TALMAN:
Okay.
Talman raises himself from the chair and walks over to the younger man.
TALMAN
You know I’ve always looked at you as the son I never had.
When have I ever tried to hurt you, Jon?
I mean, aren’t the years I helped you and fought for you at
Radley worth a little something in return?
He places his arm about Jon’s shoulders.
JON
Not Dad’s
honor and reputation it isn’t!
TALMAN
I know that. But I was just
thinking about you and your mother.
I know Victor didn’t leave you a whole lot.
Nancy told me about the mortgage just last week and the
debts he left behind. It’ll take
the two of you a whole lot of years to pay them, won’t it?
JON
What are you
driving at?
TALMAN
I have been thinking of helping you and Nancy out a little.
Margery and I have all we need - financially that is - and
we have been thinking …
JON
Are you trying
to blackmail me?
TALMAN
Oh Jon, why must you make everything I say sound so sordid?
No, I just thought I’d bring this up now, just to show you
that I’m not the enemy.
Jon shrugs.
JON
How very convenient.
TALMAN
Victor wasn’t much of a businessman.
He was a visionary, the most dedicated and brilliant one I knew-
(His voice breaks a little.)And as for his reputation, I plan on making a
little speech in Stockholm when the time comes.
He squeezes Jon’s shoulder.
TALMAN
Let’s just say I’d like you and Nancy to be there, in the audience.
And expect to be pleasantly surprised.
Jon looks up at him, his features softening.
JON
You’d do that?
TALMAN
Of course I would. And there’s
more to come, Jon, for you and Nancy. (He chuckles softly.)Do you know that
I had a little crush on your Mom before she married Victor?
The prettiest gals always went for your Dad.
Jon smiles in spite of himself.
TALMAN
Maybe it was that British accent of his.
Anyway, son, I think we need to talk about this some other time.
Are you going to be at the observatory this Wednesday?
Jon nods.
JON
I still have to go through Dad’s files.
Clean out the dupes and stuff.
TALMAN
Fine. I’ll be over at about
seven and we can talk about Victor and ways I can help out.
Will that be all right?
There is a soft knock at the door as Margery’s voice is heard from the other
side.
MARGERY
The feast
is ready and waiting, boys.
TALMAN
We’ll be right there, honey. (Turns to Jon)Still angry?
Jon doesn’t answer him, but there is still a hurtful look on his face.
TALMAN
Try pulling yourself together.
We’ll get through this, okay?
Jon nods absently as Talman opens the door to his study.
EXT. RADLEY OBSERVATORY HILL - NIGHT
It is a clear and starry Wednesday night.
The observatory is located on a hill on the outskirts of
the Radley campus.
Talman walks up the hill. There is no sound except that of dried leaves
and twigs snapping under the professor’s feet.
When he reaches the door of the observatory, he unlocks it and opens the
door, gently tapping his gloved fingers against it.
Before him, in the center of the large, circular room the dark form of a
huge telescope looms, cast into relief by the starlight emanating from the
opened dome above him.
A small arc of artificial light falls from the partially opened door of
the observation room, which Talman enters.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM
Jon Welk is hunched over a metal file cabinet when he turns to find Talman
standing behind him.
TALMAN
Jon.
Jon turns his back to him.
JON
How was the
party?
TALMAN
Just fine. Cake, champagne,
flowers, confetti, and the most over-the-top card you’ve ever seen.
The whole bit.
Can’t deny I was touched by it.
Left quite a mess for the custodians to clean up, though.
JON
Oh.
TALMAN
Bit of a disappointment not seeing you there, son.
Jon shrugs and sits down in an office chair facing three computer monitors.
JON
All things considered, you can hardly blame me.
TALMAN
Doesn’t matter. The cake was
much too sweet anyway. (Pauses)Can we talk now?
JON
Sure, we’ll talk.
Jon swings his chair around.Talman walks over to the file cabinet and looks
at the color coded files.
TALMAN
That’s where
Victor kept his notes?
JON
Sure, but
you know that.
TALMAN
I’ve been
thinking about you and your mother.
JON
How very touching!
TALMAN
Give me a
break.
JON
(Coldly)
Wish you gave
Dad one.
TALMAN
Okay. I suppose I had that coming.
Anyway, I talked to Nancy about ways I could help you both financially
in Victor’s honor.
JON
Well, well, you never mentioned money before yesterday.
TALMAN
So now I have.
Is that so bad?
JON
And in return?
TALMAN
In return all I ask is that you let me handle this … this misunderstanding
in my own way, Jon. And that you
let me help you out.
JON
So I give you Dad’s notes, is that it?
Or perhaps surrender them would be putting it even better?
He shoots Talman a cold glance.
TALMAN
At least let me have a look at them.
You can hardly expect me to believe you without seeing them for
myself, can you?
JON
Fair enough.
I have a copy in my office.
TALMAN
In your office?
JON
Yes, the original’s still here.
Pretty stupid not to make a copy, considering it’s value.
It is worth quite a lot, wouldn’t you say, Bob?
TALMAN
Of course. (He pauses in search of the right words.)
So, the original and the one copy.
JON
