John Burhop - Rise of The Kek Screenplay

trip down. We've kept in touch over the

past few years.

JEREMY

My brother paid for your trip to Florida?

TARA

Yeah. He told me that you moved here. I

hope you don't mind that he told me how

to find you.

JEREMY

Not at all. It's good to see you. Have a

seat.

She plops down in the sand next to him.

TARA

Steve told me that he got some article

published in a national magazine.

JEREMY

Good for him.

TARA

When I couldn't get hold of Kristin, I

gave him a call. He mentioned that you

were in Florida and thought you might

like to see a familiar face. One thing

led to another and here I am.

JEREMY

How long are you in town?

TARA

I'm flying out tomorrow.

JEREMY

My apartment's right across the street.

Do you want to come up for some lunch?

TARA

Sounds great.

INT. JEREMY'S APARTMENT - DAY

Empty plates sit on the kitchen table.

Jeremy and Tara are having sex on the living room floor.

In B.G., news on TV.

FLORIDA NEWSCASTER

A group of local hunters have killed the

so-called Super Spider in Southern

Wisconsin. We take you live to the scene.

The TV displays five hunters posing above a dead Kek.

A military helicopter is fast approaching from behind them.

A vehicle can be heard slamming on its brakes.

A hand covers the lens.

The video feed ends abruptly.

FLORIDA NEWSCASTER (CONT’D)

Apparently, we've lost the transmission.

Pretty scary stuff. More large webs, such

as the one the creature inhabited, have

been reported as far south as Illinois.

Neither Jeremy nor Tara notice the report.

After sex, they get dressed as if nothing happened.

TARA

I was thinking about applying for the

Ozone Repair Project. I have a lot of

experience in environmental assessment

and I think it would be fun.

JEREMY

You should go for it.

TARA

Interviews are tomorrow afternoon but my

flight leaves in the morning.

JEREMY

You can stay here for a few days.

TARA

That's very generous, Jeremy. But even if

I apply tomorrow, it could be weeks

before they get back to me.

JEREMY

I'm willing to take that chance. Tell you

what, go there and apply tomorrow

afternoon. We'll give it a week, see what

happens.

TARA

I really do hate my job at the health

food store.

JEREMY

There you go. You're due for a change.

She kisses him. It leads to more sex.

INT. JEREMY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Jeremy is watching TV.

Tara enters with a bag of groceries.

TARA

Thanks again for letting me move in.

JEREMY

You're paying half the bills. Works for

me. How's the job going?

TARA

I love it. We're using controlled

explosions to generate ozone over

Antarctica and I get to monitor it. How

are things at the library?

JEREMY

Smooth. I enjoy the exactness of the

Dewey Decimal System. I actually spend

most of my time studying spacecraft

environmental systems.

TARA

Sounds like a perfect fit.

Tara finishes putting away the groceries, then moves into her bedroom and closes the door.

CUT TO:

Jeremy is sitting at a computer in the living room.

The clock reads 4:57 a.m.

A FIERCE THUNDERSTORM can be heard approaching.

A list of fifteen space agencies appears on the screen.

He clicks on NASA.

A lengthy registration form appears.

He fills out three quarters of the form before growing visibly frustrated.

He returns to the list. Then clicks on Microcore.

He selects "Propulsive Research and Design" from a list on the Microcore website.

He opens the file containing the engineering schematics from his previous scan of the crystal.

He Copies one of the equations into a search field on the Microcore website.

The search results indicate an error. He tries again with the same result before closing the website.

INSIDE JEREMY'S APARTMENT - DUSK

Tara is cleaning up after dinner.

Several RAPID KNOCKS on the front door.

Jeremy opens it.

A formally dressed WOMAN stands in the hallway.

TWO MEN are on either side of her.

She holds up a government ID. It boldly displays the words "NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY."

WOMAN

Jeremy Ash?

JEREMY

Yes.

Tara is standing stiffly in the kitchen archway, holding a half finished plate of lasagna.

WOMAN

The federal government of the United

States of America hereby requests your

presence at a briefing to be held in

Conference Room G, South Wing, at the

U.S. Pentagon, Washington, D.C., on

Sunday, 28 August, 2022. Round trip

airfare will be provided. Hotel

accommodations will not be necessary

since you will be returning that evening.

She hands Jeremy two airline tickets and a business card with a raised NSA seal, then walks away.

The two men follow.

Jeremy moves out to the balcony.

EXT. BALCONY - JEREMY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

HIGH ANGLE on limousine parked below.

The three NSA agents climb into the car.

When the car pulls out of the space, a large handicapped symbol is revealed on the pavement.

The car moves slowly onto the street and through a red light.

Tara comes out on the balcony.

Jeremy looks at the card in his hand.

JEREMY

The federal government of the United

States of America hereby requests,

etcetera, etcetera, on Sunday, 28 August,

2022.

(looking at one of the tickets)

My flight leaves at six in the morning.

They know about the crystal.

TARA

Who is Crystal?

Jeremy goes back into the house.

Tara follows.

TARA (CONT’D)

Who is Crystal?

INT. U.S. PENTAGON - DAY

A U.S. MARINE escorts Jeremy to a door marked Conference Room G.

He knocks, then cracks it open.

Jeremy enters cautiously.

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM G - U.S PENTAGON - DAY

Photos of space and spacecraft hang on the walls.

A long oak table, littered with laptops and file folders, centers the room.

Nine people are seated around it. The NSA woman is among them.

A Four-Star General is seated at the far end. A ridiculous number of ribbons and medals adorn his uniform. He is GENERAL HAYES.

HAYES

Jeremy Jonathan Ash?

JEREMY

Yes.

HAYES

I'm General Hayes. Please, have a seat.

Jeremy takes the unoccupied chair at the near end of the table.

The lights dim.

An image of the moon appears on the back wall.

The NSA woman approaches the image.

The others at the table carefully assess Jeremy.

WOMAN

Let's get right down to business. The

large crater in the foreground is

Aristarchus.

The crater magnifies in short bursts until a small section of it is boxed off and digitally enhanced to fill the screen.

Machinery is clearly visible.

WOMAN (CONT’D)

What do you see, Mr. Ash?

JEREMY

Looks like a NASA mining operation.

WOMAN

Not NASA. Microcore. They refer to it as

SITE M-X. Although they tell us that it's

a mining operation, we believe the site

is much more than that. It appears

they're building a permanent base of

operations.

JEREMY

My name is Jeremy Ash but I think you've

got me mixed up with someone else.

Hayes flips open a file.

The woman returns to her seat.

HAYES

Are you the Jeremy Ash who logged nearly

eight hours in an Apollo simulator

located at the Kennedy Space Center?

JEREMY

Yeah. So what?