The Golden Shot: A film script

[This story is intended for a mature audience. It contains adult themes and strong language.]

Scene 1. Int. Early morning. Bedroom

A couple in bed are making love. Their bodies are hidden by the dark blue duvet. The man, Daniel, Scottish, in his early 30’s with dark moppish hair, is on top and about to come. The woman, Danielle, German, with short blonde hair, also in her early 30’s, has her eyes closed. She is tensely concentrated but has her head turned away from Daniel. Daniel comes and collapses beside Danielle, who, eyes still shut, begins to silently cry. We see a close-up of Daniel’s tense and worried face, eyes still open.

Fade to black.

Scene 2. Int. Later in the morning. Bedroom.

It’s an hour later. Light is coming through chinks in the curtain. Daniel’s drinking tea and Danielle’s cuddled in beside him. They talk in low voices.

Daniella: Ange and Severn’ve taken it. They’re gone, free. Free from it all.

Daniel: You canna be sure though. I mean, I’d love us to, but you canna be sure.

Danielle: “You canna be sure” of anything Dan, you know that. At least this is trying something. I’m just saying we should take a look.

Daniel: I dunno, but … Screen

A vivid blue rectangular screen appears, suspended in the air at the foot of the bed. Matrix-like, Daniel and Daniella enter the screen.

Scene 3. Int. Virtual afternoon. Virtual mall

Daniel and Danielle stand transformed into beautiful shiny people inside a virtual shopping mall. Around them perfect people, angels, avatars of mythical creatures walk, smiling, happy. Daniel and Danielle pass an open-surgery shop where people are being painlessly fitted with bizarre body attachments – conical heads, third arms, body fins. The doctors operate in clear view of the mall. Small groups watch and applaud appreciatively a particularly skilful cut or imaginatively stylish body addition. The patients, awake, acknowledge the applause and ask for even deeper cuts and extra appendages from the obliging doctors. Everyone is smiling and happy. Daniel and Danielle look each other in the eyes, smile, and move on hand-in-hand.

They pass a virtual church again wide open to the mall. A loose group of ecstatic people float a few centimetres above the ground and congregate around a medium-priest. The medium-priest rises suddenly above them and dances and twirls in the air acrobatically, singing and shouting out as he dances

Medium-priest: YOU’RE … LOVED … LOVED … LOVED … ONES … ARE SAFE. THEY ARE WELL. THEY ARE GOOD. THEY LOVE YOU. THEY WAIT FOR YOU. THEY ARE IN THE PURE LAND. THEY WAIT FOR YOU. THEY LOVE YOU … LOVE … LOVE … LOVE … [POINTING] … YOU … YOU … YOU.

The crowd purr and coo, stroke each other and murmur ecstatically.

Congregation: Yes, yes, yes, yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

The congregation begin to glow and emit a collective red light. A credit card counter clicks faster and faster as they glow brighter and brighter. Daniel and Danielle watch appreciatively and again smile at each other and walk on, hand-in-hand. Everything is fine and warm and safe.

They arrive at ‘One Shot, Home of the Golden Shot’ and with evident pleasure, enter, hand-in-hand. A beautiful smiling naked sales girl approach, perfect features, blonde and fully mature. Yet she seems about 12.

Salesgirl: We have something special, just for you, today.

The girl unzips Daniel’s fly and gently takes hold of his cock. With a smile to Danielle, who smiles in return and still holds Daniel’s hand, she gently leads Daniel by his cock towards luxuriant chairs, floating a few centimetres above the floor. A gentle breeze blows across Daniel and Danielle as they relax audibly in to the comfortable chairs. The scene changes around them and they find themselves floating above cliffs with the ocean stretching out in front of them. An exotic seabird with the head of a 1950’s archetype slick American salesman appears besides them and starts to speak.

Salesbird: Six realms, one shot, where do you belong? Six realms, heaven’s gate, where do you belong? Life after life of searching. Your journey is over. You have arrived. You are home. And we take you there.

The bird takes Daniela and Danielle on a tour of all the benefits of the one shot, culminating in front of a pair of golden doors which slowly swing open to reveal, The Golden Shot, a single golden syringe sitting in a luxurious red silk lined bejewelled box.

Salesbird: Habibe, habite, mon cheries amour, friends, lovers, you know why you’re here. You know what this does for you. You know where you are going. The golden shot – rebirth in the pure land, the Buddha fields, nirvana, heaven, all is yours for the taking. As with every shot, no death just rebirth. Take the shot. You know you want to.

Daniel and Danielle look into each other’s eyes and smile.

Fade to black.

Scene 4. Int. Early evening. Kitchen

Daniel and Danielle seat around a small circular table in a squalid kitchen space. They are finishing a meal of baked beans. Beans are in a saucepan on the stove and spilt across the floor. Mugs of tea are on the table. The light from the single bare bulb is dim and the atmosphere oppressive. Daniel is wearing shabby jogging pants and a loose dirty black top. Danielle wears a man’s old bathrobe. They are quietly arguing.

Daniel: If, and I’m only saying ‘if’, how do we know we’d be together.

Danielle: If my grandfather were alive he wouldn’t be dead. Look, they’ve done their research. They know what they’re doing. Ange and Severn were always getting it right – I loved their place and so did you. I mean, they know what they’re doing, everyone knows that’s so.

Daniel: … and the money, honey, where d’we get the money, honey? Ange’s dad’s a cleric – loaded you know that, and he’s the reason they got that place too.

Danielle: We could do two silvers … what d’you think?

[Daniel looks long at Danielle.]

Daniel: How could we do two silvers when the gold is there …?

Danielle: We could do the gold in the next lifetime

Daniel: Uhn, hadn’t thought of that … Wouldn’t you miss things, people?

Danielle: Miss things?

[Daniel and Danielle look slowly around and then look at each other.]

Danielle: [nodding slowly] There’s nothing to lose.

Fade to black.

Scene 5. Int. Early morning. Bedroom.

Daniel and Danielle are again in bed making love. It is a repeat of scene one, only Danielle is on top eyes open, and Daniel has his face turned away, eyes closed. After a short time she comes. Daniel, still with his eyes closed begins to cry. Close up of Danielle’s worried face.

Fade to black.

Scene 6. Int. Morning. Kitchen

Daniel and Danielle eat their breakfast of baked beans. They wear the same dishevelled clothes as yesterday.

Daniel: Screen. Banko.

Again, matrix-like Daniel and Danielle enter the screen

Scene 7. Int. Virtual afternoon. Virtual bank.

Daniel and Danielle are transformed, shining and happy in the mall. Before them, wide open and welcoming is ‘Banko – your bank’. Daniel and Danielle are welcomed in by a young black aboriginal in footman livery – a servant like the ones from the lawns of southern gentlemen. A red carpet silently unrolls before them. There is polite appreciative applause and loving looks from the twenty or so employees arranged around the ballroom-like room that Daniel and Danielle are passing through. Daniel and Danielle smile at each other. They follow the unfurling carpet through the room and glide up marble stairs, their feet a few centimetres above the steps. A deep bell sounds and before them a double doorway with the words, ‘The Manager’, swings slowly open to reveal a sumptuous gold and red office. The red carpet ends it’s unrolling inside the office in front of three thrones floating a few centimetres off the floor. The manager, a black dragon, is floating, smoking softly by the door and glides towards them smiling and welcoming.

Bank manager: Welcome, welcome my dear friends, my beloved ones. Please take your seats. Mi casa es su casa, baby beautifuls.

Daniel and Danielle sit down as the bank manager sits in his slightly larger throne and places a rich bejewelled crown on his head.

Bank Manager: How may I help you, my dear and loyal, loyal friends?

Danielle: [hesitantly] We’ve come to see how much is in the box

Bank Manager: Of course, the box. The box, the box, the box … I had thought … maybe … something else? … [The bank manager eyes Daneielle speculatively. A serpents tongue escapes his mouth and slowly licks his lips as a puff of smoke comes out from his scales.] But no, the box it is. Of course, the box.

Danielle: We’ve been giving creds every week. We’re on a ‘beanz meanz’ only diet. We’ve both not missed a deposit at the blood bank and Daniel’s is A++. We both took the rave3 virus all through the summer and gave skin samples. We’ve both given sleep and breath. Daniel’s been giving sperm at medihosp.

Bank Manager: [Crazily] Yes, yes, yes! Of course! Let’s see what’s in the box.

The bank manager closes his eyes and concentrates. He reaches up a wing and a paw and manipulates a large diamond jewel on the left side of his crown. There’s a moment of puzzlement in his expression and then his normal smile returns.

Bank Manager: Ah yes, you’ve been living in 1-7 3-8 7-9 1 3 8-7-2 7-6 3 sector 19? Yes, of course, premium sub-7 screen scrips, you cool the apartment I take it – sector 17 is heat 4, no? Not cheap. Last year you were offered a limb donation to the medicarte of your choice – but you refused, yes? Block 38 had a damaged elevator shaft last January – and no-one took self-confession, I see … I see … The BOX IS EMPTY.

Daniel: It can’t, can’t be …

Bank Manager: Yes, the box is empty. This cohort is terminated.

The thrones and carpet dissolve and disappear. Daniel and Danielle find themselves outside the banko, which is now fully barred and locked. They look at each other, look slowly and puzzlingly down at their hands, which they still hold together and bemused, innocently and lost, walk away from the banko.

Scene 8. Int. Evening. Bedroom

Daniel and Danielle are in bed, under the duvet. Daniel is staring despondently at the ceiling. Danielle slips under the duvet and starts sucking Daniel’s cock. Daniel comes without changing his expression. Danielle’s head appears above the duvet. She spits spunk into a dirty glass by the side of the bed. The glass already contains spunk.

Daniel: No point in sending that, it ain’t worth the beans.

Danielle is silent, thinking.

Danielle: You’re right, not even a feed of beans … You know, I could give a child.

Daniel: What child?

Danielle: The child within, a child’s worth a lot you know, two silvers – two silver shots. Think of that.

Daniel: I canna … never … we’d never do that? You know, some people say they make the golden from baby parts …y ou heard that?

Danielle: … No, don’t talk daft. That’s not so. That’s not so.

Fade to black

Fade in and out of scenes: Daniel and Danielle arguing loudly in the kitchen – Daniel is opposed to selling the child … Daniel and Danielle both watching, wrapt, advertisements for the silver shot offering the lethal high, the way out, the way forward, the legal solution … making love, both with eyes closed, in the bed … a pregnant Danielle and Daniel in the kitchen silently eating beans making no eye contact … Daniel finding and talking with a buyer on the black market ….

Scene 9. Int. Morning. Bedroom

It’s nine months later. Danielle is having the baby. A baby boy is born, also called Daniel, and Daniel wants to keep the boy. At first Danielle agrees but one evening she disappears with Dan Jr and does not return. She has sold the boy and instead of returning to Daniel to take two silver shots has chosen to spend all the credits and take the golden shot, the shot that promises rebirth in an exalted higher land, the land where you belong. She is, of course, dead, as both the silver and golden shots are lethal.

Daniel goes looking for the re-born Danielle in temples and churches, in holy places and in corporate towers. Returning home he is drawn to a stray kitten that is following him in the street. He takes the kitten home, naming it Danielle. Once home he gives the kitten milk and caresses it. At the end of the day he takes the kitten into his bed and strangles it.

Fade to black.

Credits roll…