Will Orr Will Orr

Light of the World
© W. G. Orr
3013 NW 69th St
Oklahoma City, OK 73116
E-mail: setialpha@home.com.


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Copyright © 2001
M. S. Thirumalai

CHRISTIAN LITERATURE TODAY

Was blind, but now I see.

1 : 3 January 2002


LIGHT OF THE WORLD

An Original Screenplay by

W. G. Orr

Based On
Chapter 9 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
According to the Book of John


CAST

RIK (a blind man who is later healed)
MÄRTA
JESUS CHRIST, the Savior
JOHN (A DISCIPLE)
PETER (A DISCIPLE)
PHILIP (A DISCIPLE)
THOMAS (A DISCIPLE)
RIK'S MOTHER
RIK'S FATHER
OTHER DISCIPLES (IF NEEDED)
RIK'S HEARING AND TRIAL
CAIAPHAS
PHARISEE #1
PHARISEE #2
PHARISEE #3
PHARISEE #4

NICODEMUS (A PHARISEE)

SAUL OF TARSUS (A PHARISEE)

TWO GUARDS
AT THE BUS STATION

MAN #1 (LATER CALLED LARRY)
MAN #2
WOMAN #1
WOMAN #2
CHILD #1
CHILD #2

OTHERS
MARKETPLACE
PHARISEE #5 (Plus one other)
SHOPPERS

A HIGHWAY PATROLMAN
OTHERS AS NEEDED

SETS

INTERIOR
BOARD ROOM
SYNAGOGUE SANCTUARY
ADJUNCT OFFICE TO THE SYNAGOGUE
RIK'S PARENTS' HOME
KITCHEN
DINNER TABLE
LIVING ROOM
RILEY'S BEDROOM
SHOPPING MALL
A LOCKED UPPER ROOM
EXTERIOR
BUS STATION
BEHIND BUS STATION
POOL OF SILOAM
HIGHWAY UNDERPASS
SYNAGOGUE
LAKE
RIK'S PARENTS' HOME
BACK PORCH
BACK YARD
SIDE OF THE HOUSE (FENCE GATE)
THE HIGHWAY
STRIP MALL
MOUNTAIN TOP
A TWO-STORY HOUSE (DURING A RAINSTORM)

DIFFERENT SHOTS AS NEEDED
ESTABLISHING AND TRANSITIONAL SHOTS
DUSK
CLOCK
HIGHWAY UNDERPASS (WITH STREET PEOPLE)

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

FADE IN:

EXT. CITYSCAPE

We are treated to an ESTABLISHING SERIES OF SHOTS of the modern city wherein the action of our story takes place.

Modern electronica music PLAYS OVER the main titles and story setup. This music can be in the vein of Depeche Mode or Moby; or something "farther out there," like Cosmonaut or Micronaut.

As the ESTABLISHING SERIES OF SHOTS near their end, mingled in with them should be:

EXT. DOWNTOWN - NEAR BUS STATION - DAY

RIK makes his way along the sidewalk toward a bus station. His appearance is that of a raggedy man, poor and filthy in poor and filthy rags. He's also blind and all his actions should be those of a blind man making his way in the world, one step at a time.

CLOSE SHOT: RIK'S FACE

Rik continues making his way toward the bus station. Despite his blindness, his gait is nearly steady, and determined.

EXT. BUS STATION

CAMERA FOLLOWS BEHIND AND TO THE SIDE OF Rik as he heads in the direction of the bus station. Past him, we see a GROUP OF PEOPLE [i.e., LOITERERS] milling around outside.

TWO OR THREE of them turn, watching him as he nears. They SNICKER and MURMUR among themselves about him, gesturing [perhaps obscenely] at him. [Except as noted, the actors largely improvise this scene.]

RIK continues his unseeing march toward the bus station. He cocks his head as he HEARS:

MAN #1
(mocking)
What is it?

WOMAN #1
Looks like a stupid blind man
come to beg some money, Larry.

CHILD #1
Stupid old blind man.

INSERT: JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES

CAMERA FINDS JESUS leading his DISCIPLES down the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. He stops when he spots the scene at the bus station.

JESUS' DISCIPLES stop too, staring at the same scene as he.

CAMERA BACK: OUTSIDE THE BUS STATION

Some of the group loitering outside the bus station bunch round Rik, including Man #1 [from this point forward referred to as LARRY]. They scoff, prod and push Rik.

Rik is patient as he's shoved. He's endured such taunts as this from people since he was born.

CHILD #2
(sings improv)
Stupid old blind man, stupid
old blind man, stupid old...
(repeats improv song)

LARRY
(disgusted)
Useless blind beggar, eh?

INSERT: YOUNG WOMAN [MÄRTA]

Standing among the group jeering at Rik is a YOUNG WOMAN named MÄRTA. But she isn't jeering; she's mildly amused by the fracas, especially given the fact Rik seems to accept the way the others are shoving him and ridiculing him.

CAMERA BACK: OUTSIDE THE FRONT OF THE BUS STATION

WOMAN #2
Why don't you get a job, huh?
The government has all kinds
of programs for your sad bunch.

MAN #2
Yeah, the disadvantaged and
the disenfranchised.

LARRY
Hey, I'll tell ya, I'm
suffering from a disadvantage.

WOMAN #1
That right?

LARRY
Yeah -- a hangover!

The group gathered around Rik LAUGHS at the bad joke.

RIK has at last had enough. He pushes his way through them.

LARRY, however, trips him up. Rik sprawls to the ground.

RIK lays there for a minute, trying to clutch the ground, trying to clutch his pride back into himself.

JESUS looks on from across the street.

RIK finally starts to his feet...

JESUS continues looking on across the street from the bus station as Rik makes it all the way to his feet.

THE CROWD taunt and jeer Rik even more now.

RIK in his own blind way starts down the street.

LARRY this time rushes up behind Rik and shoves him - HARD.

RIK stumbles and nearly falls. But he doesn't fall. Without a word and without turning on his attacker, Rik slowly keeps going, disappearing around the nearest corner.

THE CROWD behind him LAUGHS and go back about their business.

JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES step into the street. Oncoming traffic stops dead as Jesus and his men cross to the other side of the street.

EXT. REAR OF BUS STATION - DAY

Rik stops near a dumpster, leans against it. His blind eyes raise toward Heaven... only to turn toward the ground. He begins to weep.

JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES round the corner. Jesus pauses, studies Rik silently, compassionately. JOHN, one of Jesus' disciples, steps up beside his teacher.

JOHN
Rabbi, I know this man.

RIK HEARS John's VOICE and hurriedly brushes aside the tears from his eyes, straightening himself as if he were caught doing something he shouldn't have.

JOHN (CONT'D)
Rabbi, I'm confused.

RIK
Who are you? What do you want?
Come to laugh some more at the
blind man, huh?

JOHN
Rabbi, tell me, who sinned?
This man or his parents, that
he should have been born
blind so?

JESUS
John, of course this man didn't
sin. And neither did his
parents.

PETER steps up beside Jesus.

PETER
He's just a blind beggar.
Master, why do we concern
ourselves with this? We've
been summoned to Bethany.
Your friend Lazarus is dying.

JESUS
Peter, it is already late.
But this man... this man is
here, now. He was born blind
so that the work of God might
be displayed in his life.

Jesus steps closer toward Rik, to study his face more intently. Even blind, Rik seems conscious of being scrutinized.

JOHN
(still perplexed)
Master?

JESUS
(slightly impatient)
So long as it is day, John, we
must be about the work of him
who sent me. Night is coming,
my friends. Then, no one will
be able to work.
(pause)
While I am still in the world,
I am its light.
(looks down)

AT JESUS' AND RIK'S FEET, there is mud and there are puddles all around the dumpster area.

JESUS bends down and scoops up a fistful of wet earth. He spits into it and begins trowelling the spit into it, softening up its texture even more.

JOHN looks on, bewildered.

JOHN
What's he doing?

PETER shrugs, equally puzzled, but stays looking on.

JESUS pulls Rik to the ground beside him. Rik falls on his rump with a YELP. Jesus begins caking the mud into Rik's eyes. As he does so, Rik pushes back, caught off guard.

JESUS
All right, my friend. Take
it easy. I'm not here to hurt
you. I'm here to heal you.

RIK
H-heal? Me? Can you heal
someone born blind? How can
you make me see - now?

JESUS
Trust me.

RIK
I don't even know you. Are
you some kind of magician?
A healer then?

JESUS
(wags his fingers)
It's all in the touch.

INSERT: MÄRTA

Unseen by Jesus or the other disciples, Märta inches around the corner of the rear of the bus station and stares on as Jesus applies the mud to Rik's eyes...

CAMERA BACK: REAR OF THE BUS STATION

Jesus finishes caking the mud onto Rik's eyes.

RIK
That's, that's it? Now what?

JESUS
Now? Go to the pool in Siloam
[pronounced sye-LOH-ahm].

RIK
Yeah? And?

JESUS
Wash your eyes there.

Rik hesitates. He touches the mud caked on his eyes.

JESUS (CONT'D)
(gently repeats command)
The pool. In Siloam.

RIK
And this is supposed to work?
This?
(indicates the mud
caked on his eyes)

JESUS
You don't trust me when I say
I can do what I say I can do?

RIK
Hey, I allowed you to put this
gunk on my eyes, didn't I?

Jesus does not respond. Nor do the disciples say anything, opting to let Jesus take the lead in dealing with Rik.

RIK (CONT'D)
Hey? Hello? Still there?

JESUS
As are you.
(pause)
The pool.

RIK
The pool. At Siloam.

JESUS
The very same.

RIK
Right. Okay. Fine. Here
goes.
(pause; sighs)

Rik stands; Jesus a beat behind him. Jesus points Rik in the general direction of the Pool at Siloam and gives him a gentle push. PETER AND JOHN step up beside Jesus and together they watch Rik walk off.

MÄRTA pauses; then, turning, disappears back toward the front of the bus station where we first encountered her.

EXT. STREET MONTAGE - DAY

We begin to hear MUSIC OVER Rik's march to the Pool of Siloam, perhaps the beginning of "In the Lap of the Gods" by The Alan Parsons Project. The closer to the pool Rik gets, the music builds moves toward its crescendo.

EXT. POOL OF SILOAM - DAY

Rik stumbles his way toward the pool. We progress nearer the end of The Alan Parsons Project's "In the Lap of the Gods." Rik stumbles his way toward the pool, past the crowd gathered there about it. Rik keeps walking, and then falls into the pool!

THE CROWD reacts appropriately, watching on.

UNDERWATER SHOT: THE POOL OF SILOAM

Rik twists, turns and spins in the water, unfamiliar with it. Ceasing his thrashing at last, Rik begins washing the mud that remains from his eyes. Finally, this done, he opens his eyes. Looking upwards, he kicks toward the pool's surface.

EXT. POOL OF SILOAM - DIFFERENT ANGLES

Rik breaks the surface of the pool. He stares wide-eyed and wild-eyed around himself. We are in full crescendo of The Alan Parsons Project's "In the Lap of the Gods."

ANGLE UP: RIK, FROM SURFACE OF THE WATER

He flings his arms out wide in triumph and lifts his face toward Heaven. He LAUGHS and then he CRIES OUT in pure joy! CAMERA DOLLIES a 180-degree circle round and round and round him as he continues rejoicing in the miraculous healing he's experienced!

EXT. SERIES OF SHOTS - DAY

Rik walks fast down the street, staring at everything but moving too fast to let anything really soak in.

EXT. RIK'S HOUSE - DAY

ESTABLISHING SHOT. Rik rushes toward the front door of his parents' home.

INT. RIK'S HOUSE - DAY

Rik storms inside.

RIK
Mama! Dad!

Rik rushes through the house, CONTINUES SHOUTING for his parents. He finds his MOTHER in the kitchen, cooking a meal. She stares at him, as if not recognizing him. He grins at her.

RIK'S MOTHER
Rik?

Rik LAUGHS.

RIK'S MOTHER (CONT'D)
Is that you? Rik?

Rik's FATHER ENTERS, looking from his wife to his son, also acting as if he hardly recognizes him.

RIK'S FATHER
Son?

RIK
Dad. Yeah, it's me.

RIK'S FATHER
Son, you're different.

RIK'S MOTHER
What happened? Rik, what's
happened to you?

There's something about the tone in their voices that squelches the joy and the excitement Rik felt when he first rushed into the house.

EXT. BUS STATION - NEXT DAY

Rik marches up to the front of the bus station.

THE SAME CROWD which was there the previous day -- who mocked and ridiculed him -- are there today.

MÄRTA sits in her car parked by the curb farther up the street. She studies the scene unfolding at the bus station from here.

THE CROWD is busy carrying on and making nuisances of themselves. They don't pay him much mind... until he stops and stares at them, grinning stupidly. They don't say anything at first. He leans against a wall, folds his arms, watching them... and waiting.

LARRY
What're you grinning at,
Chuckles?

Rik shrugs, barely able to contain the wonder he's still feeling at having the ability to see.

LARRY (CONT'D)
That's an awfully stupid grin
you've got on your face, man.

RIK
Is it? I wasn't aware.
(laughs)

MAN #2
Well, what the - ?

WOMAN #1
Say - ain't this the guy who
was here yesterday, begging?

MAN #2
I don't remember nobody.
Except maybe that blind dude.

WOMAN #1
Yeah... Yeah, that's him.

Larry looks Rik up and down, doubtful.

WOMAN #2
Nah. It only looks like him.

WOMAN #1
I'm tellin' ya, it's him.

Their faces - even Larry's - takes on a surprised look.

LARRY
You wuz puttin' on a act then.

Rik shakes his head adamantly.

MAN #2
Yeah you were, man. You had
to have been putting on some
kind o' act.

RIK
I was born blind. The man
they're calling Jesus made
some mud, see, and he put it
on my eyes.

LARRY
What are you talking about?
Mud?!

RIK
He put it on my eyes and told
me to go to the pool at Siloam
and to wash the mud off there.

WOMAN #1
And you did this thing?

RIK
I know it sounds silly.

Rik studies the hesitant and questioning looks he's getting from this crowd.

RIK (CONT'D)
Look, I'm standing here,
aren't I? I did what he said.
I went to the pool at Siloam.
I washed the mud from my eyes.
When I opened them, I could
see. Plain as day. I can't,
I just can't explain it.
(wags fingers in
front of his face)
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

LARRY
(laughs nervously)
Go on.

RIK
No; really. I --

LARRY
Go on! Get out of here, I
said. Enough with the lies
about some jug-headed miracle
worker nonsense, I say. So ya
got a better angle than the
rest of us. It's still just
an angle. Get out o' here!

The others aren't so sure and we can see this in the sullen expressions on their faces. They say nothing; simply mill about the front of the bus station, shiftless in the looks they pass amongst themselves.

Rik becomes subdued himself in the face of their reactions of the fantastic story he's trying to tell. Finally, however, he moves on.

M#RTA watches him go from her vantage point in her car. She starts the car's engine, and...

WE WATCH AS THE CAR pulls away from the curb and rolls down the street and past the bus station.

EXT. DUSK

ESTABLISHING SHOT of the sun hitting the horizon, as a POINT OF TRANSITION in our story...

INT. BOARD ROOM - NIGHT

CAIAPHAS and his group of PHARISEES are gathered in an informal meeting, scattered throughout the room. They study RIK for a long silence. Among the Pharisees are NICODEMUS and SAUL OF TARSUS.

Rik stands at the head of the big meeting table, no longer in rags but now well-groomed, dressed in a suit and a tie.

TWO GUARDS stand at the doors to the board room, huge and dressed in black immaculate suits themselves.

CAIAPHAS
One more time. From the
beginning. If you don't mind.

RIK
I've already told you. Twice.

SAUL OF TARSUS
Then one more time won't hurt
you any, will it?

RIK
(pause; sighs)
He put mud on my eyes. I
washed them. Now I can see.
That's my story. Okay? Can
I go now?

CAIAPHAS
You're mocking us.

RIK
hey, I'm just tired and I want
to go home.

SAUL OF TARSUS
As do we all.

PHARISEE #1
This man - this Jesus - who
put mud in your eyes.

RIK
On. On my eyes. Not in them.
On them. What about him?

PHARISEE #1
Whether on your eyes or in
them, he is not from God.
Surely you see this.

Rik shrugs, noncommittally. Nicodemus leans forward in his seat.

NICODEMUS
Can a sinner do such... such
miraculous signs?

CAIAPHAS
Brother Nicodemus - please -
we're trying to solve this;
not complicate it anymore
than it already is.

SAUL OF TARSUS
He's like a puzzle, this
Jesus; a mystery. And I hate
mysteries.

PHARISEE #1
Besides, yesterday when he
performed this... this alleged
miracle... it was the Sabbath.
Who but a sinner would perform
such a thing except a sinner.
And on the Sabbath? It's a
sign of his very own sins
against God.

CAIAPHAS
Rik - may I be permitted to
call you Rik? What do you
have to say about him? After all, it was your eyes he,
that is to say, that he opened.

RIK
(hesitates)
I think...

CAIAPHAS
Yes?

RIK
(gains courage)
I think he's who he says he
is.

PHARISEE #1
(explodes)
Preposterous!

RIK
(returns the outburst)
At the very least he's a
prophet like Elijah from the
days of old!

The group of Pharisees quietly assess Rik's words.

CAIAPHAS
Take him away.
(to the others)
Find his parents. We'll have
to talk to them after all.

There are several nods throughout the room as the two guards remove Rik from their presence.

TRANSITION SHOT: A CLOCK

We see a clock [maybe even a digital one] informing us that is 3:00 A.M.

INT. BOARD ROOM - 3:00 A.M.

This scene is much like the one where Rik gave his testimony.

SEVERAL PHARISEES have shuffled around the room, loosened their ties or rolled up their sleeves.

NICODEMUS stands contemplatively staring out a window at the dark morning.

RIK'S PARENTS are present now. They occupy the spot at the head of the table where Rik stood before. They are very nervous, fidgeting.

CAIAPHAS
You've had a chance to see the
accused. Is this your son?

RIK'S FATHER
(eagerly)
He is indeed he is that yessir.

SAUL OF TARSUS
Was he in fact born blind
then, as he claims?

RIK'S MOTHER
Very much so, yessir.

PHARISEE #1
(erupts, angry)
Then how is it that he now can
see?!

RIK'S FATHER
We... we know he is our son,
Sir, and we know he was born
blind. How he came to gain
his sight, we don't have any
idea, or who might have
performed such a miracle.

SAUL OF TARSUS
Miracle? Seems the world is
filled with too many miracles
these days.

NICODEMUS
(turns from window)
Miracles happen every day,
Saul. We're in the miracle
trade, don't you know?

SAUL OF TARSUS
But miracles, Brother
Nicodemus. On the Sabbath,
no less. You know the Law.

Nicodemus turns back to the window, saying not another word.

Caiaphas waves a hand. The doors to the board room open. The two guards return and escort Rik's parents out. Nicodemus leaves the window and finds a seat nearby.

SAUL OF TARSUS (CONT'D)
They're lying. All of them.

NICODEMUS
(snaps fingers)
Just like that, they're all
lying.

PHARISEE #1
It's the only possibility.

NICODEMUS
No... no. There are always
possibilities. Have no doubts
on that score, my friend.

CAIAPHAS
Yes. Well. What if you're
wrong, Brother Nicodemus?
What if possibilities come one
to a shopper?

SAUL OF TARSUS
In that case, we all know what
happens to those who concede
that this Jesus is the Christ.

NICODEMUS
Thrown out of the synagogue.
Considered as one dead. That
is the current rat-eaten
penalty.

INT. SHOPPING MALL - DAY - SERIES OF SHOTS

RIK walks THRU DIFFERENT PARTS of a shopping mall.

CUSTOMERS are everywhere.

RIK checks out the latest mens' fashions, assesses the WOMEN shopping, etc. He gathers with a FEW CUSTOMERS at a video store and watches a MOVIE on the TV screens, and then moves on.

MÄRTA is found BY THE CAMERA following Rik on his shopping expedition, at a supposed discrete distance.

RIK pauses in front of a bookstore, staring at the books on display. He goes inside.

INT. BOOKSTORE - SHOPPING MALL - DAY

CAMERA DOLLIES with Rik as he browses the bookstore. [Be careful to avoid any SHOTS of the Religious and Bible sections.] Scene is broken into a SERIES OF SHOTS as we see Rik leafing through different books, in different sections of the store. [E.g., "Les Miserables" by Hugo, or John Le Carré or Faulkner, Joseph Conrad, Dickens, Louis L'Amour, the science fiction and fantasy section, etc.]

MÄRTA peeks over the top of a book gondola. We see just the top of her head and her eyes. [Perhaps the actress might have a distinctive hair style. This could be played for comic effect.]

RIK browses the magazine section... and then he EXITS the bookstore... followed soon after by Märta.

INT. SHOPPING MALL (OUTSIDE BOOKSTORE) - DAY

CAMERA ON Märta as she leaves the bookstore, stepping into the mall itself. Abruptly, she runs face-to-face into Rik. He's standing right there, leaning against a wall. Märta is speechless; caught.

RIK
What do you want?

Märta's groping for something to say. But it's obvious she's used to getting caught.

MÄRTA
What? You talking to me?

RIK
You've been following me.

MÄRTA
I - I have?

RIK
For three days you've been
following me. I've noticed.
I picked you out of a crowd on
Monday night. So stop trying
to deny it, babe, okay?

Märta's eyes telegraph her search for something to say. But finally...

MÄRTA
You're the blind man.

RIK
World's full of 'em.

MÄRTA
Not with ones who've been
miraculously healed, it isn't.
Unless there's a secret colony
of 'em somewhere Tom Brokaw
or Peter Jennings hasn't told
anybody about.

RIK
Come on, smart aleck.

INT. EATING AREA - SHOPPING MALL - MOMENTS LATER

Rik and Märta just finished eating. Märta sucks on her Coke's straw.

MÄRTA
It was the most awesome thing
I ever saw!

RIK
I'll take your word for it.

MÄRTA
Believe me. It was - well,
"incredible," "awesome?" They
just don't even come close to
describing it.

There is a long, drawn-out pause between the two.

MÄRTA
Who do you think he is? The
man who healed you, I mean.

RIK
Dunno. A healer, no question.
Maybe a rabbi, too.

MÄRTA
A rabbi?!

RIK
(shrugs)
Maybe.

MÄRTA
You believe all that stuff?

RIK
What stuff?

MÄRTA
Some are saying he's the Messiah
we've been waiting for.

RIK
That's what people are saying,
huh?

MÄRTA
He could be too, y'know.
(pause)
I'd follow him, I think.

RIK
You would?

MÄRTA
I think so, yeah. Look. What
he did? It wasn't just the
right thing to do. Healing a
blind man isn't wrong, is what
I'm saying. But what he did
by healing you was... it was...
good. Demons can do a lot of
right things, y'know? But
they can't do anything good.
That's what I'm saying. Not
good like that they can't.

RIK
You keep thinking that and you
know what happens next, right?

MÄRTA
What?

RIK
You start wearing animal skins
and living in the desert.
Eating grasshoppers and worms.

MÄRTA
Then you don't believe any of
that. What I've been saying.

RIK
(very long pause)
I don't know.

EXT. HIGHWAY UNDERPASS - NEAR DAWN

ESTABLISHING SHOT. A dark morning. STREET SHOT with a highway overpass OVERHEAD.

A GROUP OF STREET PEOPLE huddle together for warmth and protection. Among them, Jesus and his Disciples. FIRES burn in SEVERAL TRASH CANS.

CLOSER ANGLE - EXT. HIGHWAY UNDERPASS - NEAR DAWN

SHOT IN SILHOUETTE. [If any features of our primary actors are seen, it is only vaguely.] Jesus stands IN FRAME, a FIRE blazing in one of the trash cans in the B.G. PHILIP approaches, carrying a SACK OF FOOD.

PHILIP
Rabbi...

JESUS
Hm? Yes - Phillip.

PHILIP
I brought food for you.

Philip offers Jesus the bag but Jesus shrugs it away.

PHILIP (CONT'D)
You need to eat something.

JESUS
I'm fine, Philip.

PHILIP
(hesitant)
Rabbi - some of us - we were
thinking...

JESUS
Yes?

PHILIP
We were wondering about -
where we go from here?

JESUS
To Bethany. To see Lazarus.
Then perhaps on to Jerusalem.

PHILIP
Rabbi. The miracles you
perform. Like the one the
other day. Healing the blind
man. With mud on his eyes.

JESUS
The miracles I perform speak
for me. And of my Father's
Kingdom. You'll understand
everything. By and by.

Pause. The scene continues, still SHOT IN SILHOUETTE [mostly, probably].

JESUS (CONT'D)
You brought me something to
eat, you said?

Philip hands him the bag and Jesus peers inside.

PHILIP
McDonald's. All we could
afford. Judas said.

JESUS
A sausage and a biscuit.

PHILIP
I forgot the gravy.

JESUS
You brought me a sausage and
a biscuit? And no gravy?
Philip, what am I going to do
with you?

Jesus smiles. He takes a bit of the sausage and biscuit. Philip grins in return. HOLD ON SCENE for several BEATS...

INT. ADJUNCT OFFICE - SYNAGOGUE - DAY

Caiaphas and Nicodemus are alone. Both are haggard from a long night of interrogations. A moment of SILENCE as we study these two men.

Suddenly, Saul of Tarsus BURSTS INSIDE. He SLAMS the door angrily. Caiaphas and Nicodemus study him as he strides about the room, unspeaking.

CAIAPHAS
You prowl like a lion, my dear
Saul.

SAUL OF TARSUS
It's his fault!

NICODEMUS
Whose fault? The blind man's?

Saul halts his pacing and glares at Nicodemus.

SAUL OF TARSUS
Oh but he isn't such the blind
man anymore! Is he, brother?

NICODEMUS
No. I don't imagine he is.

A BEAT. Nicodemus and Saul hold glares. Abruptly Saul resumes his heated pacing.

CAIAPHAS
That's just what we were
discussing.

SAUL OF TARSUS
No doubt. We all have. What
are your thoughts?

NICODEMUS
A puzzle.

CAIAPHAS
A pickle.

SAUL OF TARSUS
A predicament. And he's
dangerous.

NICODEMUS
This beggar, you mean.

SAUL OF TARSUS
No.
(stops)
I mean the rabbi who healed
him.

CAIAPHAS
I've had my concerns in that
area, myself. Speak on,
Brother Saul.

DIFFERENT ANGLES: INT. ADJUNCT OFFICE - SYNAGOGUE - DAY

Saul no longer paces. His motions from here to the end of the scene are jerky, full of stops, starts; fast action.

There is a desk in the room. Caiaphas is seated at it. Nicodemus stands on one side of it, near a window. [Wherever and whenever he appears, Nicodemus' attention always seems to wander elsewhere from the central action.]

Saul of Tarsus remains separate from them though Caiaphas sits framed in the SHOT more in Saul's part of the room than Nicodemus'.

SAUL OF TARSUS
I'm speaking of the lunatic,
the ingrate, the fool.

CAIAPHAS
Who do you mean?!

SAUL OF TARSUS
The prophet from Bethlehem
and Nazareth.

NICODEMUS
He heals -

SAUL OF TARSUS
He's dangerous!

CAIAPHAS
Nothing good comes from
Nazareth, Saul. We've heard
it said all our lives.

SAUL OF TARSUS
He isn't dangerous simply by
his healing, my lord Caiaphas.
By forgiving them their sins,
he places himself on the same
throne as God.

CAIAPHAS
Who does he forgive?

Saul draws slowly toward Caiaphas, seated at the desk.

SAUL OF TARSUS
All of them! The damned,
the sinners: the evil-doers,
the criminals, the highwaymen,
thieves, rapists, murderers,
the scoundrels, the villains
and the prostitutes! The
outlaws, the tax collectors!
Wretches. All of the dirty
people who walk out there and
forsake our Laws. He heals
them. And then he forgives
them!

By the end of his speech is leans on Caiaphas' desk with his elbows, perhaps even clutching the high Pharisee's arm.

CAIAPHAS
Then you believe he must be
stopped.

SAUL OF TARSUS
It is that which I speak of.

CAIAPHAS
Your argument is sound and the
more you say, the more I'm
convinced.

NICODEMUS
The reports I've heard, Lord
Caiaphas, is that this man is
a peace monger.

SAUL OF TARSUS
He builds foundations of hope
where there was none before,
Lord Caiaphas. Hope can build
fortresses. It's built
armies. We've seen it in our
history. From Joseph, to
Moses, to Joshua. To David.

Silence.

CAIAPHAS
Saul, my brother, everything
you've said has occurred to me
as well.

NICODEMUS
(hurriedly)
But at the moment, Caiaphas,
we've yet to make a decision
concerning the previous topic
of our conversation - the
beggar who once was blind.

Saul lunges away from the desk, GROWLING. Nicodemus turns back to the window.

EXT. SYNAGOGUE - VERY EARLY MORNING

ESTABLISHING SHOT.

INT. HEARING CHAMBERS - SYNAGOGUE - VERY EARLY MORNING

THE PHARISEES are gathered together in formal attire.

RIK ENTERS, escorted by the two guards.

THOSE GATHERED in the room are silent.

RIK comes to a stop directly in front of the Pharisees.

NICODEMUS is present as well; he isn't pleased by what he knows is coming.

CAIAPHAS
This is a formal hearing.

PHARISEE #1
Give glory to God, sir. We
know this man Jesus who healed
you. He is a sinner.

NICODEMUS
We're making a wild and bold
assumption, based on nothing
more than our own conclusions.

PHARISEE #1
Brother Nicodemus, you should
learn the difference between
empiricism and stubbornness.

NICODEMUS
Genuinely? Perhaps you can
give me a lesson then.
(tightly)
My brother.

SAUL OF TARSUS
(unflinching; to Rik)
Now you will give glory to
God.

RIK
Or what, milord? I am a Jew.
I believe in the Promise to
come.

Nicodemus is visibly satisfied at that remark.

There are OTHERS - notably Saul of Tarsus - with whom this does not set well.

DIFFERENT ANGLES: INT. HEARING CHAMBERS - SYNAGOGUE

RIK (CONT'D)
(boldly)
I was blind, gentlemen. It
cannot be stated enough. And
I was healed. Undeniably.
Unquestionably.
(pause)
And I see things very clearly.

SAUL OF TARSUS
What did he do to you?

RIK
I've already answered your
questions. A dozen times.

CAIAPHAS
You'll answer them a hundred
time more before this tribunal
until we're convinced by your
story.

PHARISEE #1
And keep a civil tone in your
head. Remember who we are.

SAUL OF TARSUS
Besides, perhaps you'll
remember something you did not
remember before. Something
that will explain the exact
nature of your healing. As
well as this shelter you seem
bent to give this man.

NICODEMUS
Not unnatural, really, given
what has transpired between
them, Brother Saul.

RIK
(to Saul)
I don't know you, Sir, nearly
as well as does the God of
Abraham.

This causes ANGRY GRUMBLING from the Pharisees, twitching uncomfortably in their seats.

NICODEMUS grins at Rik's boldness.

DIFFERENT ANGLES: INT. HEARING CHAMBERS - SYNAGOGUE

SAUL OF TARSUS
(heatedly)
You've been asked a question.
We demand a reply, not your
childish nattering.

PHARISEE #1
I say again - respect the
power this office wields.

RIK
For what purpose?

CAIAPHAS
Come again?

RIK
You ask pointed questions of
me. To which I've responded
at every turn, to the best of
my ability. I can't help but
wonder to myself, what purpose
all this questioning has. Does
it have a purpose?

There is a nervous pervasiveness about the silence from most of the Pharisees.

NICODEMUS
What does your sight tell you?
To what purpose is all this?

RIK
There can be only one reason:
You are afraid.

DIFFERENT ANGLES: INT. HEARING CHAMBERS - SYNAGOGUE

CAIAPHAS
Afraid?

RIK
You hesitate because of your
fear. You fear you may become
this man's disciples.

The Pharisees ERUPT in angry SHOUTS, DERISION, etc.

Except Nicodemus.

Accusations and taunts come at Rik in a WALL OF SOUND.

SAUL OF TARSUS
That's enough!

DIFFERENT ANGLES: INT. HEARING CHAMBERS - SYNAGOGUE

The SHOUTING subsides somewhat but it continues UNDER:

RIK
(shouts)
Or perhaps you're afraid you
will be supplanted in the
peoples' minds by this man
and what he offers!

PHARISEE #2
This man continues to mock us!

PHARISEE #1
You are this man's disciple!

PHARISEE #3
We have the power to strangle
the life from the prophet,
just as we can from you!

SAUL OF TARSUS
We are disciples of true
prophets - not charlatans!

PHARISEE #4
We know God spoke to Moses.
We know next to nothing about
this fool who communes with
tax agents and prostitutes.

PHARISEE #5
Or his affiliations, except
those of the devil.

At those words, the hateful SHOUTS and TAUNTS subside. There is a long pause as everyone in the room takes seem to come to their senses as one.

DIFFERENT ANGLES: INT. HEARING CHAMBERS - SYNAGOGUE

PHARISEE #2
(at last)
Are you in league with the
devil as well, my friend?

CAIAPHAS
Is that it, then? Is he
Beelzebub himself?

RIK
He opened my eyes. It's all I
can say with any certain
knowledge.

PHARISEE #1
You're beginning to sound like
a broken record.

PHARISEE #2
Perhaps if we were to give him
a good whack, he might skip to
the next point on his wearying,
monotonous litany.

RIK
Have you ever heard before of
anybody - anybody - opening
the eyes of a blind man? Did
Moses? What of Elijah? Or
Elisha? Or Nathan? Hosea?
What of John the Baptist?
I've heard of no one who does
what this man has done for me.

PHARISEE #1
You are a liar, sir! And a
dog!

SAUL OF TARSUS
Like the dog, you keep
returning to our own vomit.

DIFFERENT ANGLES: INT. HEARING CHAMBERS - SYNAGOGUE

CAIAPHAS
Enough of this. We've keep
coming around to the same
subjects.

PHARISEE #1
He keeps bringing us here!

PHARISEE #2
With his story that never
changes.

PHARISEE #3
Well trained.

PHARISEE #4
That's what he is all right.

CAIAPHAS
(to Rik)
You were aware, were you not,
that this was not a simple
hearing?

RIK
It was nothing less than the
trial of innocence.

Caiaphas is obviously struggling to keep his composure with Rik's insolence.

CAMERA BEGINS A SLOW DOLLY PUSH IN on Caiaphas...

CAIAPHAS
(tightly; slowly)
And you know the penalty for
blasphemy, not to mention the
repeated manner in which you've
spoken to this tribunal?

Caiaphas motions. The two guards come forward. With a guard on either side of him, Rik turns - and slowly, at the pace of a slow recitation of his sentence, he is led from the room by the guards:

CAIAPHAS (CONT'D)
You are no longer welcome in
this or any other synagogue.
As far as we of the faith of
our Father In Heaven are
concerned, you are like the
lepers who sit in the gates
begging for money, or the
those who die in the Hour of
the Sabbath. Sentence is to
be carried out immediately.
You are dead. Dead. Dead.

EXT. SYNAGOGUE - SOON THEREAFTER

Rik descends the steps of the synagogue, slowly. In deep thought. CAMERA HOLDS ON him a few BEATS more as he walks away from the synagogue...

INT. RIK'S HOME - LATE AFTERNOON

Rik sits at the dinner table with his parents. There is an awkward silence between them as they eat. This scene should be drawn-out, and we should be equally uncomfortable watching inaction and silence as the trio seem to be.

EXT. BACK PORCH - RIK'S HOME - AFTER DINNER

Rik steps outside the house. He sits down somewhere on the porch, alone.

INT. LIVING ROOM - RIK'S HOME - NIGHT

The TV set is on. Anything can be showing. [Perhaps even The Ten Commandments?]

Rik and his parents sit for a long, uncomfortable length of time in the scene, as in the previous one.

RIK
I'm going to bed.

RIK'S MOTHER
Good night, son.

RIK'S FATHER
G'night, Rik.

Rik stands to his feet and EXITS to the back of the house.

Rik's mother and father turn to give each other a look. One that mirrors their thoughts, their apprehensions as to what to do with this "mockery" their son has become.

INT. RIK'S BEDROOM - MINUTES LATER

Rik sits on his bed, lost in thought. Another, drawn-out, uncomfortable scene. Finally, he gets under the covers. Almost like a forgotten action, he reaches over... and turns out the lamp on the nightstand beside the bed.

EXT. BACKYARD - RIK'S HOME - DAY

Rik sits staring up, into the sky. At the wind in the boughs of trees, at birds. And then, he shuts his eyes.

CLOSER SHOT of Rik as he listens to the sounds around him.

Overwhelmed, he can't help alternately smiling, grinning and LAUGHING.

Suddenly, we hear the BLARE of a CAR HORN. It keeps BLARING.

Rik opens his eyes, looks around as if the car's in his backyard.

INT. KITCHEN - RIK'S HOME - SAME INSTANT

Rik's parents sit at the kitchen table, peeling potatoes. THRU THE WINDOW, IN THE B.G., we see Rik outside, looking around like he was in the previous scene.

RIK'S FATHER
What is that?

RIK'S MOTHER
Sounds like the Tyler's across
the street. I've told them
about their friends coming by
and laying on their horns.

RIK'S FATHER
Yeah, I know. I oughtta turn
'em in. Have 'em flogged or
at the very least shot by a
firing squad. Make you happy?

Rik's mother's only response is to sip a cup of coffee. She peers through the kitchen window and sees Rik get up from his seat. Her gaze follows him as he walks around to the side of the house.

EXT. SIDE OF THE HOUSE

Rik steps through the fence gate. Closing it behind him, he heads toward the front yard.

EXT. FRONT YARD - RIK'S HOME

Märta grins at him from behind the wheel of her car.

MÄRTA
I just realized something.

RIK
And what would that be?

MÄRTA
Nobody's shown you the sights.

RIK
The sights?

The sweep of Märta's hands is intended to take in the entire city.

MÄRTA
Yeah, it's a toddlin' town,
don't'cha know!

RIK
(gets in)
Do I really want to be doing
this?

MÄRTA
Some things you just don't
want to ask, y'know what I
mean?

By Rik's expression, we know he sort of has an idea precisely what she means, but chooses not to say anything.

Märta backs out of the driveway as we begin hearing the opening phrases of "More Than This" by Roxy Music.

INSERT: RIK'S PARENTS

The pair gather just inside the front door. They stare as Märta's car with Rik beside its driver backs into the street and heads off into the distance.

RIK AND MÄRTA - DIFFERENT SHOTS

HEARD OVER the sequence of scenes is the Roxy Music song "More Than This."

We see Rik and Märta spending the day together:

  1. Driving through a large part of the city...
  2. Driving through some of the countryside...
  3. Some of the scenes are happy ones...
  4. Some sad...
  5. Some pastoral, etc.
  6. The specific scene SHOTS should be left up to the director and the producer to decide on.

One SHOT in particular is of Märta's car speeding down the highway, its top down.

RIK is standing up in his seat, wind whipping his hair. He's LAUGHING, SHOUTING with excitement. His arms are spread wide open. It's obvious he's enjoying himself.

And so is Märta. Until...

A HIGHWAY PATROL CAR APPEARS in her rearview mirror, bubbles FLASHING and siren WAILING...

Roxy Music's "More Than This" FADES OUT.

EXT. HIGHWAY - MINUTES LATER

On the shoulder of the road, a HIGHWAY PATROLMAN writes Märta a ticket. She takes it from him, grimaces.

The patrolman returns to his patrol car, not saying a word.

EXT. LAKE - LATE AFTERNOON

The music that COMES UP and is played UNDER the dialogue is now "T-Shirt" by Yuko Yamaguchi.

Rik and Märta walk by the lake shore.

HEALTH NUTS are everywhere, passing them by. The late afternoon has a warm glow as the sun lowers toward the horizon.

RIK
Y'know. It's funny.

MÄRTA
What is?

RIK
(shrugs)
The world, I guess. As
melodramatic as that sounds.
All the time I was blind, I
kept praying to see. Now that
I can see...
(trails off;
pause)
It's like... being blind had
it's advantages, y'know?

He falls silent and there is a pause. She throws two or three quick looks at him and, finally, Märta grips one of his hands inside both of hers.

MÄRTA
What are you thinking?

RIK
I had a world and it was safe.
Limited, but relatively safe.
I knew it from childhood. It
was familiar. I didn't have to
look at everything that was
going on around me. I heard it
but being blind meant I didn't
have to actually participate in
any of it.

MÄRTA
And that's an advantage?

RIK
I used to think so.

MÄRTA
And now you're having your
doubts. That's it, isn't it?

RIK
I feel... like... I owe him
something.

MÄRTA
I don't know, Rik. From what
I know about the man, I don't
think he did it on a cash-on-
the-barrelhead basis. I think
he's expecting something else
from you. From us now. Less
tangible, but no less real.

RIK
I think that's what I'm
talking about, Märta.

Märta smiles. Nervously, the two turn and stare across the water at the lowering sun.

MÄRTA
Welcome to the rest of our
lives, Rik.

EXT. CAFÉ PATIO - NIGHT

Yuko Yamaguchi's "T-Shirt" starts fading out as the scene begins.

Rik and Märta sip at their glasses of wine throughout the scene. Perhaps the sunset is in the B.G. throughout too.

RIK
(nervous,
without warning)
I love you, Märta.

MÄRTA
(grins)
I like that.
(long pause)
I love you too, Rik.

They sip their wine. Rik takes Märta's hand...

EXT. SYNAGOGUE - DAY

ESTABLISHING SHOT. It's raining.

INT. BOARD ROOM - DAY

Perhaps the curtains are pulled and we can see the rain spattering the windows. Only Caiaphas [standing, pacing], Nicodemus, Saul of Tarsus and one or two other Pharisees are present. Everyone looks haggard.

CAIAPHAS
I know one thing.
(beat)
We've established that the
young man was born blind.

SAUL OF TARSUS
And that he was healed -

CAIAPHAS
(interrupts Saul)
And that this rabbi, Jesus,
healed him.

SAUL OF TARSUS
On the Sabbath.

CAIAPHAS
(nods,
agrees slowly)
Yes...
(paces, slow)
Never saw the light of day.
Not til this Jesus, this rabbi
or whatever he is, healed him.
I've never heard that done
before either. Further, there
is something else that's been
bothering me about the
entire... transaction...
between these two men.

SAUL OF TARSUS
What is that, Lord Caiaphas?

CAIAPHAS
I've discussed the matter with
several leading scientists in
the world.

NICODEMUS
Matter? What matter, Lord
Caiaphas? And which
scientists?

CAIAPHAS
Scientists, Brother Nicodemus.
Who should know about such
things. And medical physicians
as well. It seems that Rik
shouldn't have been able to
process concepts like light or
dark, let alone differentiate
colors, forms, animals, faces.
People.

NICODEMUS
I'm not sure I follow.

CAIAPHAS
Unless the power was
supernatural -

SAUL OF TARSUS
(interrupts)
It was, I assure you.

CAIAPHAS
Then that would explain how
Rik - who's never seen color
or seen a synagogue in his
life, or anything else for
that matter - it explains how
his brain could know, could
recognize, could categorize a
tree from a cat from the color
blue and the number twelve.
(beat)
I would think he would have
gone mad from his brain's
trying to assimilate such a
volume of information so fast.
And all at once.

Caiaphas looks from one man to the next.

CAIAPHAS (CONT'D)
Wouldn't you think that's all
rather... interesting?

SAUL OF TARSUS
(stands; pause)
I'd call it... precarious.

He stares at Caiaphas, eyes wide, blazing... mad. Then at Nicodemus and back to Caiaphas. Silence across the room.

EXT. MARKETPLACE - DAY

A LOT OF PEOPLE decorate the scene.

Rik is doing some absentminded window shopping.

OTHERS are shopping all around him.

TWO PHARISEES from Rik's trial happen to be there. They're headed in his general direction, and also happen to be shopping.

SHOPPERS are TALKING and LAUGHING and generally carrying-on, going about their business.

JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES APPEAR. He and his disciples do a little haphazard looking at the merchandise. Then Jesus' eyes fall on Rik. Jesus makes his way slowly but doggedly toward -

RIK, who's oblivious to everything around him. He happens to look up in Jesus' direction... and stops. He's puzzled at first, then stunned. There's something about Jesus that Rik recognizes and we see it on his face.

JESUS makes his way through the crowd toward Rik. Jesus steps up beside Rik.

RIK, for his part, just stands there, staring at Jesus, mute.

THE PHARISEES finally take notice of Rik. One of them points Rik's presence out to the other one.

JESUS folds his arms and leans against a wall [or post; something].

JESUS
Do you believe in the Son of
Man?

RIK
Sir, I don't know who you're
talking about. Show me who he
is, if you know, so - so -

Rik feels himself getting dizzy, starting to reel. Then -

ABRUPT CUT: EXT. MOUNTAIN TOP - SAME INSTANT

Suddenly Rik finds himself atop a mountain, staring down on a BEAUTIFUL PANORAMIC VISTA!

JESUS stands beside him.

JESUS
You have seen him, Rik.

RIK
(stares
at vista)
I have, huh?

JESUS
In fact, you're looking at
him!

Rik turns from the beauty of the vista. In fact, he is somewhat stunned as well as nervous at the sight before him.

Turning to Jesus, he stares at his healer for a long few BEATS, working his mouth. His nerves begin to calm and he finally manages:

RIK
I. Believe. You.

JESUS
For judgment have I come into
this world, so that the blind
will see and that those who
already see will be blinded.

RIK
Now wait a minute. What's -

ABRUPT 2nd CUT: BACK TO MARKETPLACE

Rik finds himself and Jesus back at the strip mall. The shoppers are all still there, only now the Pharisees are standing beside he and Jesus. [From Rik's perspective, he and Jesus were on the mountain top, but to everyone else's, they had never budges from the marketplace.]

RIK
(finishes statement
from previous scene)
- that supposed to mean?

PHARISEE Ä6
What? Are we supposed to be
as blind as this idiot was?

JESUS turns to the LAUGHING Pharisees and suddenly -

BOTH PHARISEES clutch at their eyes. They've suddenly been struck quite blind! In their astonishment, they cannot speak as well.

JESUS
If you were blind, you
wouldn't be guilty of sin.
Only those with perfect vision
are guilty of sin.

Without another word, Jesus pushes away from the Pharisees and Rik. He is joined by his Disciples as they make their way through the marketplace and its shoppers.

RIK steps away from the shoppers and the suddenly-struck-deaf-and-dumb Pharisees... until ONLY RIK AND JESUS AND THE TWELVE DISCIPLES SHARE THE FRAME.

After a few BEATS, Rik turns and walks away.

FADE OUT:

FADE IN:

EXT. HOUSE - EARLY EVENING

ESTABLISHING SHOT. A home on a dark and stormy evening. Raining.

INT. A LOCKED ROOM - HOUSE - SAME MOMENT

The room is dark but light FILTERS in from somewhere. The disciples who remain are there, and SEVERAL OTHERS, plus Nicodemus and Rik. Their demeanor is one of mourning.

PETER
He's dead.

THOMAS
Can you believe it?

PHILIP
Dead.

RIK
Can... can God die? Can the
truth?

NICODEMUS
I remember.

PHILIP
Eh? What was that? What did
you say?

NICODEMUS
I was saying I remember. I
went to him one night. In
secret.
(pause, shrugs)
I was frightened. My
reputation, you see. I...
had to protect it. I thought.
He said, "Light has come into
the world."

RIK
He was the light.

PETER
He was the Son of God. He was
the Son of Man.

PHILIP
And living water. Remember
that one. He said it.

THOMAS
What's to become of us?
He's dead.

NICODEMUS
He's alive, I tell you.
Alive.
(quoting)
"For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have
life. Eternal life. For God
did not send his Son into the
world to condemn it, but to
save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is
not condemned."

Slowly, light fills the room, spreading through the room, falling on each individual, each man, woman, child in the room.

THE LIGHT falls on Rik. Surprise - and then delighted surprise - crosses his face.

THRUOUT THE ROOM, others react. Peter, Philip, John and Thomas get to their feet at different speeds. [I'd like to think Peter is the first and he jumps up immediately.]

PETER
Lord!

JESUS
Peace be with you.

At varying speeds, everyone else in the room gather closer now around Jesus. The room is filled with light.

RIK, tears filling his eyes, reaches past the others, toward Jesus.

Reaches... reaches...

JESUS sees him and, smiling, reaches for Rik. Probably the scene can be shot so that we are reminded of Michelangelo's panel in the Sistine Chapel, of God reaching out his hand to touch Adam's hand.

Jesus' and Rik's fingers touch. Reach. Begin to lock. Barely. Reach farther still. Hold. CAMERA HOLDS on the two hands barely locked together. CAMERA FREEZES on this picture.

As the CREDITS BEGIN ROLLING, we hear the opening phrases of either Eric Clapton's "My Father's Eyes"; or perhaps Martina McBride's "Love is the House."

And we...

FADE TO BLACK:

THE END


To the thousands killed in the attack on the Twin Trade Towers in NYC,
Sept. 11, 2001.
The struggle against "the powers of this dark world" continues...


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