Brave New Pacifica
An Earth 2 Episode Summary
by Ariadne[June 9, 1995]
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Screenplay by: Carol Flint
Directed by: Joe Napolitano
- Previously
- The communications dish is launched from the advance ship. Adair tells the
group that if they can average 20 km a day, they can make it to New Pacifica in
9 months. She doesn't understand this new world, but she knows New Pacifica is
there, and they will be all right there.
(Up to Table of Contents)
- Teaser
- Inside a cavern, a Grendler opens a container and searches through the empty
vials within. A second Grendler carrying a basket of fruit enters, sets down
the basket, and starts looking through the vials as well. They find a full
vial, and both rapturously drink out of it; there are no more full vials.
Grendler 1 hands the basket of fruit to Grendler 2 and pounds the container,
which says Eden project, Perishable. As Grendler 2 leaves, we see the container
also says Human Blood.
(Up to Table of Contents)
- Act I
- Grendler 2 carries the basket of fruit through the snow near the dome. A spider
crawls on the fruit.
Inside the dome, the group is having a loud discussion and listening to a plan
Alonzo and Danziger are presenting. Adair says she did not say it was a bad
idea; she just wants to know why they didn't tell them about this sooner.
Danziger says if they had come to her without working out all the details, she
would have just shot it down. Several shout out their disapproval of the idea.
Alonzo and Danziger outline their plan: by scouting ahead, the two of them
ought to be able to cover 12 km a day. As they reach the limits of their gear,
they'll construct protective beacons, setting up a long-range communications
network behind them. It could save them a lot of time once they get the
vehicles running again.
Julia asks how far ahead they're going to go. Danziger says that packing
nutritional supplements, they should be good for 2 months; Bess has agreed to
look after True. Morgan is concerned that going so far ahead would be
dangerous. Danziger says New Pacifica's not getting any closer while they sit
there. Julia doesn't want them to let cabin fever get the best of them - so far
they've survived by sticking together. Adair says that traveling by foot,
they'll run into snow that's impassible. The guys have thought of this and used
specs in Yale's database to build snowshoes. They offer to demonstrate them to
the group.
Grendler 2 is rummaging through the med tent. A spider crawls from the fruit
onto it.
Julia walks to the med tent; Alonzo runs to catch up with her and says, Doc,
don't you want to come to see the show? She says she wants to get some meds;
these things look like an invitation to fracture. He says he told Danziger no
way the first time he asked about going on a long-range scout. She's worried
they're making a rash decision because they're feeling cooped up, but he feels
it's their best shot for getting to New Pacifica. She says she knows how eager
he is to get there and hitch a ride back to the stations. He's been thinking
about that; maybe he won't head back right away, unless she does. She thinks
she'll be needed when the hospital ship arrives. He also thought New Pacifica
might be a nice place to hang out for awhile. She smiles and says they have
some time to figure it out; she'll catch up with him for the demonstration.
Grendler 2 is still searching through the med tent. It finds a photo of Julia.
The spider bites it, and it drops to its knees. Julia enters and the Grendler
stares at her, rubbing its ear. It grabs flowers from the basket and offers
them to her.
(Up to Table of Contents)
- Act II
- In the dome, Julia is running a scanner over the fruit. Uly picks up a piece;
Yale says it's similar to a tropical fruit back on earth. Adair asks where it
came from in the middle of winter. Julia says the Grendler wouldn't take
anything in exchange for it; the only way she got rid of it was to ask it for
more, which sent it running. Bess wonders if the Grendler can run to where this
stuff grows; Morgan says if it can, they sure camped in the wrong place.
Danziger finds a maintenance camera in the fruit basket; Yale puts it in his
holoarm. It shows the communications dish by an ocean; is it at New Pacifica?
They speculate that the Grendler went to New Pacifica and came back before this
fruit could spoil. True doesn't understand; what does it all mean? Adair says
that just possibly, New Pacifica is closer that they thought it was. Alonzo and
Danziger decide to follow the Grendler's tracks.
In the Grendler home, Grendler 1 is angry with Grendler 2 and shakes the empty
basket at it. They fight and argue. There is a bright flash of light.
Danziger and Alonzo walk in their snowshoes, following the Grendler's tracks.
They spot a cave entrance; when they hear sounds inside, they take cover.
Adair and Julia come out of the cave and tell them they won't believe what they
found in there. Alonzo asks how they beat them there. Adair says they walked
along the ridge; they could see the tracks from up above.
Grendlers have been in the cave. Julia thinks they were interested in a
container of blood vials. Alonzo calls the others over to an entrance to
another part of the caverns.
It's a tunnel filled with webs and spiders. Suddenly, there's a rumbling and a
bright light. Danziger says it was traveling like lightening; it seemed like
some kind of energy field. Alonzo asks if they felt its pull - it seemed like a
strong vacuum. Julia says it may be an absolute vacuum; her scanner couldn't
track it. She records an electromagnetic pull; it gets stronger, and she and
Alonzo duck just in time to miss a bright blue energy wave. Danziger thinks
they found the planet's rapid transit system. Julia suggests the passageway may
be time-space fold. Danziger is skeptical; earlier that day their scout was
thought a wild idea. Julia reminds them this planet is a living organism with a
very strong metaphysical plane. Adair suggests it's this planet's circulatory
system, a means to transport things. Alonzo says in that case, they've been on
a slow boat to New Pacifica. Julia detects a strong charge in the webs and
spiders. Adair cannot get used to the insects on the planet. Danziger finds a
Eden Project bag filled with highly saline water - sea water? How far is the
nearest coast?
Later, in the dome, Danziger and Adair are packing up supplies. She says if
this is a space-fold, they can travel hundreds, even thousands, of km a day.
They plan to watch the cave's entrance to see how the Grendlers come and go.
Danziger is in a hurry to relieve Julia and Alonzo. Adair doesn't think they
have to worry about those two being alone; she wonders why he had to ask Alonzo
on a long-range scout. Danziger says he was the most logical choice. She says
it bothers him that every man in the group is not the loner he is. Danziger
says she's the only loner in this group.
Julia and Alonzo are sitting in the cave. He says it looks like a pretty wild
ride; he's tempted to jump in and see where the current takes them. She asks
if that's the flyboy approach; he guesses jumping in goes against all her
chromosomes. She says if you just jump into an absolute vacuum, you'd better
hope it released you pretty quickly, because after 6 seconds, biologically you'd
just explode. He asks if she's flirting with him. He notices she's cold, then
goes off to start a fire.
Julia sees another wave go through the tunnel and goes to look. Grendler 1
stands behind her, shaking her knapsack at her. She says there's no blood in
there; is it upset about the fruit? The Grendler backs her up; she trips over
a rock, knocking herself out. The Grendler grabs her by the coat and drags her
into the tunnel, leaving her scarf behind.
(Up to Table of Contents)
- Act III
- Alonzo, holding Julia's scarf, tells those at the dome that she went into the
time-fold. Both Adair and Danziger rush to join him. Yale warns Alonzo not to
do anything until they get there. He stands at the edge of the tunnel.
Julia awakens in the Grendler home. She removes her coat and starts to collect
the scattered contents of her knapsack. Grendler 1 rolls open the door to the
home and enters, closing the door behind it. She asks it why it brought her
here; what does it want from her? It angrily hands her a vial, then her
diaglove. She agrees she's a doctor, but she needs a whole synth lab to make
blood; it's a good thing it doesn't know where blood comes from. The Grendler
is angry, and as it moves closer to her, it sees a spider and is frightened by
it; it brushes it from the rock. It shakes the vial at Julia again; she says
she'll make it a batch of blood, but she needs sea water. The Grendler
excitedly rushes out to get the water. Alone, Julia looks for the spider.
In the cave, Adair calls for Alonzo and Julia over gear; both are now missing.
Danziger wants to go in after them, but Adair says they may have lost two of
their crew members already. Alonzo comes rushing through the entrance of the
tunnel without his coat. He says the vacuum takes you so far; it's like
everything's dead, then you're thrown through an empty hole. It ripped his gear
off his head; he takes Adair's to contact Julia. Adair and Danziger decide to
join him on his trip back through the tunnel. Danziger, passing the webs, gets
a spider on him. The three stand in the tunnel, holding each other's upper
arms; the blue light envelops them and takes them away.
The Grendler has brought the water to Julia. She pours it into a vial, then
stalls the Grendler. She ducks down behind a rock and transfers the spider from
another vial into the one with water. She hands this to the very excited
Grendler, who drinks it. The spider bites it on the inside of it's lip. It
yells in pain, then passes out.
Adair has been dumped against the rocks on a beach. She gets up and walks to
the ocean. Alonzo sees her and they embrace in greeting. Both are amazed at
the beach; it's the Sea of Antaeus and New Pacifica. They realize Danziger
isn't there and that Adair is holding his coat.
Danziger is in a narrow tunnel that is coated with spider webs. As he crawls
through it, he calls for Adair and Alonzo to help him.
(Up to Table of Contents)
- Act IV
- Adair stands on the beach, calling for Danziger. Alonzo has been able to get
through to Julia on gear. The signal from her beacon is coming from 100 m out
to sea - an underground tunnel? They decide to go back to the tunnel Alonzo
came out in. They grab the coats; one has a spider crawling on it.
As Julia climbs the rocks to escape the Grendler, she dislodges a rock, and it
lands on the Grendler, awakening it. It pulls her down from the rocks. There
is blood coming out of a cut on her arm; she tries to escape the Grendler. It
is very angry and violent and rough with her. Grendler 2 comes in, sees this,
and head butts Grendler 1. As they fight, Julia escapes.
Danziger fights his way through his tunnel. He can hear Adair and Alonzo
talking. Alonzo can no longer get in touch with Julia and is worried. Adair
reassures him; she's looking for Danziger. Alonzo says Danziger can take care
of himself. She says, yeah, Mr. Stubborn; he just had to come along. She
doesn't know what's wrong with the man; he has to disagree with everything she
says, even if it's only to upset her. She says even if they did find their comm
dish here, went back, got all the others, and brought them here one by one, if
they actually made it, but lost someone ... it just wouldn't be New Pacifica
without John. She hates to admit how much she's come to depend on that man,
maybe even more than that. Alonzo says it'll be OK. Danziger shouts that it'd
be OK if someone would give him a hand. Adair and Alonzo rush to free him from
the tunnel. She asks why he let go; he says she pulled his jacket off. He got
stuck in a dead end and had to make it back to the current. Adair tells him she
thinks they made it to New Pacifica.
Julia is in tunnels, trying to avoid the Grendler and find a way out. As it
approaches, she ducks behind some rocks. She sees a way out and emerges on the
beach. She sees the others, and runs to them. Alonzo swings her around; she
then embraces Adair and Danziger.
Later that afternoon, all four are walking on the beach; Alonzo and Julia hold
hands. They still haven't seen the comm dish, but since they've gone 10 km,
they decide to turn around, go back to camp, and start again tomorrow. Danziger
looks at the sun and says New Pacifica's on the west coast, right? The sun's
going the wrong way; they have space-folded themselves 6000 km backwards to the
east coast. They walk back rather disappointed.
They arrive back at the tunnels; Alonzo's hint for the return trip is to just
hope and pray. He puts on Danziger's jacket; as he stows his gear in the
pocket, a spider bites him. Adair is the first to reach him, and he stares at
her before he passes out. She tells the others she thinks it was a spider bite.
Julia says the Grendler was only out for a few minutes; hopefully, humans
tolerate the toxins as well. As the spider crawls into the web, the vacuum
stops; there's no current in there at all. They are stuck there.
(Up to Table of Contents)
- Act V
- Alonzo is still out. Danziger asks Julia if there could be two different kinds
of spiders on the web. These webs are at both entrances to the tunnel, and both
give off a strong electromagnetic charge. What if the webs caused the current
or set up a force field? Alonzo awakens, says Devon, then says getting bitten
by the spider was worth it. He doesn't want to go back to the camp; he wants
to be with Adair. Danziger smiles and tells Julia that Alonzo's groggy. Alonzo
says he almost died, but something pulled him back in; it was Adair. Julia
goes to get water; maybe a dousing will cool him off. Adair joins her; Alonzo
wants to follow Adair, but a very amused Danziger pulls him back.
On the beach, Adair tells Julia it's obviously just a part of the toxic
reaction. If she didn't know Julia was skewed against it, she'd say she was
having an emotionally charged reaction.
Alonzo tells Danziger it's not crazy - one look and everything changes.
Danziger asks about Julia. Alonzo says it's like he saw Adair for the first
time.
Adair asks about the Grendler Julia tricked; did it respond this way? Julia
says no, it was the complete opposite.
Alonzo tells a no-longer amused Danziger that there's another part of Adair that
she tries to keep hidden; she's a woman who's all loving and giving. Danziger
asks him to give it a rest. Alonzo says she should be held and caressed; she's
passionate and fiery. He just wants to reach her. Danziger, fed up, punches
him.
When Adair and Julia return, Danziger tells them Alonzo had a relapse. Adair is
shocked that he hit him. Alonzo comes to and asks Julia if she's ok. Danziger
guesses they found the antidote to a spider bite. Adair says a punch can't
revert a toxic reaction. Julia says unless it's not a chemical poison. What if
it's a toxin that affects force fields, attractions and repulsions; what if
it's a force that affects affects personal and emotional attractions? This
planet's strong metaphysical plane suggests a possible connection. She thinks
there are two spiders in the web. They're polar opposites; that's why the
bites caused such extreme reactions. Their opposing biology creates these webs
with strong oppositional fields. They may have brought a spider through the
tunnel with them; the positive and negative meeting each other neutralized the
current. How do they find the foreign spider? Alonzo, still sore from the
punch, says he'd volunteer to be bitten again, but he doesn't think he could
take it. Julia has an idea.
She goes to the Grendler tunnels, calling for the Grendler; she has a spider
that wants to meet it. Grendler 2 comes out; she leads it back to the other
tunnel.
She has it sit by the web; because it's already been bitten, it does whatever
she wants. They wait for spiders to bite. The first two don't have the right
effect; those spiders belong here. The third does; the Grendler stares
adoringly at Julia. As they gather up that spider, Danziger can hear their
train coming.
Before they go back, Adair wants to stand on the beach again; Danziger goes to
stand beside her. She really thought they made it. Danziger's glad New
Pacifica's on the coast line. She says they still have a very long way to go,
but he says it won't be so bad getting there.
Alonzo and Julia arrive back at the original cave first; the rest of the crew
are there waiting for them. Adair and Danziger arrive, and Uly asks her if they
found New Pacifica. They're all glad to be back and have decide to stay
together, even if it means a long winter here. Alonzo looks at the vial in his
hand and goes back to the tunnel; Julia follows.
He puts the spider back on the web where it belongs. Julia can't help but
feeling sorry for it. So much attraction reaching across such a distance to
find its opposite; it's hard to imagine. He says, no, it's not. They smile
and kiss.
(Up to Table of Contents)
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