INT. LAB OFFICE - MORNING
Dan paces. He can’t work, can’t think.
DAN
Leave me … all … the hell … ALONE!
He pounds on the corkboard that holds pictures of the reactor. The board falls off the wall and Dan stares at it, bends to put it back, fiddles with tacks, pictures. There are diagrams of donut shapes (toruses), within the Klein bottle; he pins one up, then,
MEDIUM on Dan, tossing a tack in one hand, lost in thought. Sudden resolve: he goes to the phone, punches in a number.
DAN (CONT’D)
I’d like to speak with Janine … with Dr. Kalb, please.
END OF ACT ONE
ACT TWO
INT. OFFICE SUPPLY SUPERSTORE - AFTERNOON
Dan is shopping for calculators, examining scientific models with graphing capability, opening instruction manuals, as a young CLERK stands nearby, hoping he won’t ask any questions.
CUT TO:
INT. THE GLORIA P. DUNHAM CLINIC - MORNING
We drop into the middle of a conversation. Dan and Janine walk past the front desk. Janine is carrying files and a clipboard and appears very busy. Dan is carrying a package—the calculator—and tags along, eager for the answer to a question we haven’t heard.
JANINE
I should have known commitment is hard for you.
DAN
I said I’d like to try again … What do I have to do?
She stops and confronts him.
JANINE
You have to care!
Dan pulls back.
DAN
I care.
JANINE
You have to care a lot.
Dan squeezes his temples with one hand.
DAN
I had a dream about Trevor last night.
Janine is not impressed. Her face takes on a funny, pained expression. There’s a conflict inside her.
JANINE
(With growing intensity)
I have dreams about Trevor every night. Nightmares. He dies, alone, because this is a very small town and if I don’t help him, who will? Who will care?
(Beat, pulls herself together)
You joked that maybe Trevor was my dysfunctional child. I have a number of them … But Trevor just breaks my heart.
More manipulation, but it’s very effective.
DAN
I’d like to try again.
Janine gives him a very hard, examining look.
DAN (CONT’D)
He gets under your skin.
Janine sighs, gives in.
JANINE
(Ironic)
Oh, he’s a charmer all right.
She marches him back to the desk.
JANINE (CONT’D)
Sign in. Trevor’s in hydrotherapy, but he’ll be back in his room in ten minutes. What about your work? I thought you were extremely busy.
Dan is caught between being defensive and being honest.
DAN
I am my own master. I work when brilliance strikes, and not before.
JANINE
No new ideas?
DAN
Dead in the water.
JANINE
(Lightly—or not?)
Maybe Trevor can help.
OFF DAN’S REACTION, he’s dubious, we
CUT TO:
INT. TREVOR’S ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Janine and Dan enter the room. Trevor is in a swimsuit, squirming and fighting as Michael, the male nurse, very gently towels him down.
JANINE
Pat him lightly, Michael. Don’t rub.
Michael nods and finishes, folds the towel, and raises an eyebrow at Janine as he leaves. Trevor retreats to his corner, still in his swimsuit, and assumes his crouch.
Dan lays his package on the table. He looks up at Janine, pleading for a little help this time, and she stands with her back against the padded door, watching.
A beat or two. Trevor gets to his feet, shivering. Dan watches. As if they are not there, the boy goes to a stack of paper and pulls one off the top, then slaps it on the table, an angry gesture, though his face is blank, and he never looks at Dan or Janine. Back to his corner. Dan picks up the paper, reads the extensive equations written on it. He’s pleased.
DAN
You’ve been thinking about this, haven’t you? I brought something to help.
He TAPS the package. Trevor does not react. Dan peels open the paper and pulls out a beautiful new scientific calculator with a big display.
DAN (CONT’D)
Real fancy. Wish I’d had one when I was your age. Algebraic, reverse Polish notation, graphing functions, hundred stack memory, math library, differentials, integrals.
JANINE
What did that cost?
Dan brushes this off, HOLDS UP THE CALCULATOR and Trevor turns slowly, tracking this MARVEL with his eyes, but when Dan brings the calculator IN LINE WITH HIS FACE, Trevor TURNS AWAY abruptly.
Dan opens the manual and reads from it.
DAN
“Congratulations! As the proud owner of a programmable DC Industries DC-2000 graphing scientific calculator, you now have the power to explore the infinite worlds of mathematics.” Who writes this stuff, huh?
Trevor LOOKS at the calculator again. Dan lays it on the table. Trevor’s eyes FOLLOW. No games. Dan backs away and stands beside Janine, arms folded. It’s like waiting for a wild animal. Trevor WANTS THE CALCULATOR, but it might be too much to go for … with people in the room. But he REALLY WANTS IT.
TREVOR
(To the wall, voice flat)
I want to know …
ON JANINE. Painful hope. PAN to Dan, shocked that this is working.
DAN
Yes?
TREVOR
I can’t talk with you. It hurts. But I want to know.
Janine is very pleased.
Trevor side-steps to the table and grabs the calculator, then flees back to the corner.
TREVOR (CONT’D)
(Agitated)
Come back later. Show me how it works.
DAN
Thank you, Trevor. You set the pace.
This is too much of an effort, and Trevor starts to tremble. Janine TOUCHES Dan’s shoulder, and they leave, closing the door behind.
INT. THE CORRIDOR OUTSIDE
Intense, excited. Dan and Janine try to figure out what has just happened.
JANINE
My instincts weren’t wrong!
DAN
I got through to him, didn’t I?
They break into excited laughter and hug. Then … They break, Janine is embarrassed, has to keep her dignity.
JANINE
He’ll be ready tomorrow. You do have the time?
Dan is amazed that she’s touched him, and that he’s done something right for a change.
DAN
I’ll make time.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. TREVOR’S ROOM - THE NEXT DAY
Dan DROPS a stack of cards on Trevor’s table. Trevor sits facing away from Dan, fists near his face, opening and closing. He touches his cheek occasionally, looks up at a corner, looks back … at nothing.
DAN
Let’s see what you’re most interested in, Trevor. Algebra, logic, analysis, and of course geometry … All ripe for a brilliant young mind, no? Dr. Kalb tells me you’ve read all your books over and over … What do you understand?
Trevor moves closer to the table.
DAN (CONT’D)
Set theory. Godel’s theorem.
(Pronounced gerr-del.)
Non-Euclidean geometries. The Riemann hypothesis.
Trevor raises his hand to the top of his head
and pats it swiftly, almost painfully. Dan tries to interpret this.
DAN (CONT’D)
Which was it? Riemann, Non-Euclidean—
Trevor pats his head once more and leans to one side, then returns to opening and closing his fists.
DAN (CONT’D)
Okay. I’m sure you know all about Euclid. Let’s talk about Hilbert and Riemann and the rest of the gang. I’ll flash these cards at you—basic learning tools for the subject you’ve chosen.
He riffles through the cards and pulls out a banded set, slips off the rubber band.
DAN (CONT’D)
Shall we?
With a flourish, Dan shuffles the flash cards and deals them out on the table.
DISSOLVE TO:
MONTAGE OF VARIOUS SETTINGS IN THE CLINIC- THREE DAYS
Dan working with Trevor, with flash cards, the calculator, the books:
IN TREVOR’S ROOM
AROUND THE SMALL INDOOR POOL
IN THE LUNCH ROOM OVER SANDWICHES
Janine watches with a serious expression, then smiling approval, but it’s usually just Dan and Trevor and perhaps Michael passing by.
We see Trevor becoming more and more responsive, stopping his fist behavior, sitting closer to Dan. The cards and books and equations flash by, Trevor works intently with his calculator and his crayon, he is absorbing, growing, emerging from his shell.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE POOL ROOM - MORNING
Dan, as our MONTAGE ENDS, is in the pool swimming around Trevor as Michael watches from the side. Dan splashes Trevor, who takes it stoically, and even grins, though still not making eye contact. In the middle of the splashing, Trevor SHOUTS:
TREVOR
I want to know!
Dan stops splashing. Janine walks into the pool room with a robe for Trevor. It’s time to get out, but Trevor walks to the side of the pool, avoiding her.
DAN
What do you want to know?
TREVOR
(Still loud, flat)
I want to know, is a donut the same everywhere.
(Beat)
The same as a cup with a handle.
Janine is puzzled. Dan is not.
DAN
A donut, a cup with a handle … they’re the same. You can mold one into the other without making a cut or a second hole. That’s the study of the properties of shapes in space, basic topology.
TREVOR
(Impatient, even a little rude)
I know that. But are a cup and a donut the same everywhere.
Trevor points, then waves his finger around the room, without looking at Dan or Janine.
DAN
It’s worth thinking about.
Janine gives them both a cautious smile.
JANINE
Time to get out, Trevor. You’ll be all pruny.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. FUSION REACTOR LAB - MORNING
Dan walks past the Double Pulse Reactor Vessel in the main lab, carrying books and rolls of blueprints. Cindy and John are working around the neck of the vessel and the QUARTZ BOX. Conduits, wire harnesses, and other equipment litter their workbench, and the two post-docs are grimy and sweaty.
ON THE WORK BENCH: the QUANTUM TUNNEL, stacked donuts supported by three steel braces … as in Trevor’s sketch.
Cindy WIPES HER FOREHEAD, looks up, and sees Dan heading out the exit.
CINDY
Dr. Shaeffer … Can we talk?
DAN
I’m late.
CINDY
Cat’s away, Dr. Shaeffer.
DAN
What?
CINDY
We have two days to get this right. You aren’t around much.
Dan approaches, trying for a little authority, but also to mollify.
DAN
You’re re-lining the quantum tunnel, right?
CINDY
That’s finished.
She taps the quantum tunnel lightly with a finger.
CINDY (CONT’D)
Now we’re balancing and aiming the internal laser. The donut and the cup, Dr. Shaeffer.
Dan is taken aback.
DAN
I beg your pardon?
CINDY
(Fast and clear)
We need you to give us a proper angle for the injection beam. When we inject the laser through the quantum tunnel, basically, it takes a detour in another dimension through the skin of the torus, never touches it—and comes out inside, doubling the plasma density. Boom! Extra energy. That’s how it works, right? Basic 4D geometry.
DAN
Yes. So?
CINDY
(Tartly, irritation growing)
So is the plasma really a torus, a donut, or is it a cup, or is it a bottle with two holes in it? That should all affect beam angle. I’m just trying to jump-start some answers here, Dr. Shaeffer, because we all think you’re kind of slowing down on us.
Andrea joins the group, carrying a small bottle of pills, and with arms folded, they all stare at him. They are so young, with pierced nostrils and short hair and radical clothes, and so smart. And very accusing.
DAN
The beam angle is critical, of course.
The vessel looms over them, shiny and ominous. Dan looks at the assembly they’ve removed from the quartz box, picks up a beautiful, jewel-like red rod mounted in a steel gimbal, and twists the rod back and forth experimentally.
DAN (CONT’D)
Funny you should ask about a donut and a cup.
He hands the assembly to John, then departs, and shouts over his shoulder,
DAN (CONT’D)
I’m on it! 24 hours a day.
He leaves. The post-docs regard each other with severe doubt. Andrea holds out a bottle of Tylenol, the object of her errand, and pours two apiece into Cindy’s and John’s OUTSTRETCHED HANDS. They swallow the pills, swig from a runner’s bottle of water, then get back to work.
CINDY
Smell that?
ANDREA
What?
CINDY
The stink of a good mind going to waste.
ANDREA
His, or ours?
JOHN
How long does flu last?
CINDY
In hell, forever.
CUT TO:
INT. TREVOR’S ROOM - EVENING
Trevor is in his corner, humming to himself and rocking. He clutches the calculator as if it is a soothing Teddy bear. He looks incredibly vulnerable.
We HEAR A SOUND in the room, papers SHUFFLING. Trevor LOOKS OUT OF THE CORNER. The papers are arranging themselves on his table. A crayon is MOVING, SCRIBBLING, gripped by an isolated curl of shadow with a faint, pearly gleam. Suddenly, the crayon FLIES OFF THE PAPER toward Trevor’s face, where it HANGS SUSPENDED.
Trevor FLINCHES, but he is not in the least surprised. He reaches up, takes the crayon, and the curl of shadow VANISHES. The boy walks to the desk, SIGHS, this is dull but familiar, and goes to work. He crudely sketches stacked donuts supported by three braces—we recognize the QUANTUM TUNNEL.
Janine looks in on him. Trevor pauses in his work until she leaves then LOOKS BEYOND THE CAMERA, with his own kind of PATIENCE and COURAGE.
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
INT. THE GLORIA P. DUNHAM CLINIC - AFTERNOON
Dan is checking out blunt scissors from the desk. Michael signs them out.
MICHAEL
Don’t leave them in the room.
Dan walks down the hall. Janine comes out of her office and hurries to catch up with him.
JANINE
Wait up! How are the lessons?
DAN
Fine. I hope we’re no
t going too fast.
JANINE
It’s up to Trevor.
They’re at the door.
JANINE (CONT’D)
I think it’s time to tell you more about Trevor.
(Glances at her watch)
I’m busy all afternoon. Dinner tonight?
Janine unlocks, Dan smiles tentatively at her. An overture?
JANINE
Professional … dinner.
DAN
Ah. Of course. I need to be back at the lab by eight.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. TREVOR’S ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Dan has cut a long strip of paper. Trevor sits halfway between the table and his corner, glancing now and then at what Dan is doing. Trevor clutches the calculator.
DAN
I’m sure you know about a Moebius strip. My favorite trick. Let’s say you’re a little two dimensional insect, right?
Dan takes a shiny ANT ON A STICKER and places it on the strip of paper. Trevor sniffs.
TREVOR
Ant.
Dan takes the strip, gives it a half-twist, daubs one end with glue, and sticks the ends together. He holds it up, then lays it on the table. Trevor takes the paper in his hands.
DAN
The ant walks around the paper.
Trevor traces his finger all the way around the strip of paper, starting with the ant, ending with the ant—and no edge.
TREVOR
He can see his own butt.
DAN
(Laughs)
You do know this, don’t you? It’s now a one-sided piece of paper. The ant can walk all the way around, over and over again, and never cross an edge. It’s like a closed, two-dimensional universe. A loop.
TREVOR
The ant shines a flashlight. It goes all the way around and lights up his butt.
DAN
Exactly right. Big round of applause!
He claps his hands. Trevor can’t take this. He shreds the Moebius strip and retreats into the corner.
TREVOR
Sorry.
Trevor shakes his head, hides his face.
DAN
Should I go now?
Trevor shakes his head vigorously.
TREVOR
Don’t go.
DAN
What should we do, Trevor?
TREVOR
Stay with me.
DAN
I’m staying.
He folds his arms and waits. A couple of beats, silence in the room.
TREVOR
No more simple stuff.
Trevor makes large circles with his free hand.
TREVOR (CONT’D)