Imago

(April 2008)

i.

Ill. 1 Dark scene. Imago reaching out to an alarm clock (face turned toward the reader, time "00:00:00:o") with his left hand, fingers dripping with a glowing blue goo; his face is highlighted by the same coating, a pensive look spread over his features.

CAPTION: "Do you ever wake up with the feeling that even a box of mints and a bottle of mouth wash aren't going to get your breath feeling clean?"

IMAGO: "Huuuuuuuuu."

Imago goes...
UNDERCOVER!

Ill. 2 Dark scene. Imago sitting up, poking a finger against the shell of the cocoon he has just re-emerged from.

IMAGO: "Your name is Imago. That much is clear."
IMAGO: "Why it is clear, less so."

Ill. 3 Dark scene, lighting from outside the room. Imago holds his right hand up to cover his eyes from a sudden bright, almost blinding light pouring into the scene from an opened door.

SHADOW (from light source, off-panel): "Your name is Imago, and you have an assignment to complete."

Ill. 4 Dark scene, lighting from outside the room. Imago looking down at the fine black suit, shirt, and tie (all plastic wrapped) that has been thrown on the floor near him; he runs two fingers along his lower lip, still finding the taste in his mouth unpleasant. Three long shadows of tall men in suits are cast on the wall behind him.

SHADOW (from light source, off-panel): "Get cleaned up and dressed. We'll be waiting in the lobby for you."
IMAGO: "Sleeper agent, huh?"
IMAGO: "Yeah, I guess you should've seen that one coming."

ii.

Ill. 1 Three extremely tall men in dark suits and white gloves, all wearing full-faced black masks with an "X" (white, bold-face) on the forehead, sit around a circular, glass-topped table with an umbrella sticking up the center, one chair left unused. Left to right, they will be labelled X1 through X3.

Before X1 is a plate with head of lettuce on it, before X2 is a butcher block with hunk of blue cheese, before X3 is a wine glass containing a single red apple.

X1: "We are all agreed: this one will complete the assignment."
X2: "Reluctantly."
X3: "With difficulty."
X1: "So it is. We pledge ourselves anew."

Ill. 2 The Xs' extended right arms, three white-gloved fists touching together.

Xs (in unison, from off-panel): "Again to the silver future!"

Ill. 3 Low angle up to X3, running a finger around the rim of the wine glass.

X3: "This one has fallen into its role very quickly. It is most curious -- as if there has been a total displacement of what was with what has been desired by us."
X3: "Is this held to be encouraging?"

Ill. 4 X2 and X1, both looking square on the unseen source of the words directed at the trio.

IMAGO (off-panel): "Gentlemen, I apologise if I've kept you waiting."

Ill. 5 Imago standing casually, checking his watch. He dressed to the nines in his straight black tuxedo suit, tie with gold clip, white shirt with cuff links, kerchief in pocket, and hot gold watch; his hair is slicked back, making himself out to be a very Bondian sort of spy-hero.

IMAGO: "I do hope we're not running late on my account."

iii.

Ill. 1 One of the Xs (as they are all the same in appearance, we will not distinguish at this time) walking beside Imago, gesturing with his left hand. Imago maintains the super-slick demeanour, standing straight, expression cool and even indifferent.

X: "Your infiltration into their number must be absolute, your thoughts impenetrable. These are true society rogues."
IMAGO: "Indeed."
X: "We appreciate the fullness of your assistance in this matter."

Ill. 2 X holds up a microchip between two fingers. The chip is a flat square with rounded corners, a silver blot in the middle, the circuits running out from it to the edges.

X: "This is our radiance transduction chip. You will need to place it into the central processing core of their computation forge. That is the priority objective of your mission."
X: "Can you do it, Imago?"

Ill. 3 Imago, half-smirk on his lips and that exaggerated confidence brimming over, holding out his wrist to show the face of his gold watch popped open, a slot inside sized to fit the microchip.

IMAGO: "You needed the best, you called the best."

Ill. 4 X thumbing the chip downward into the watch slot, bowing his head reverently -- giving focus to the X on his forehead.

X: "We maintain confidence in the success of this mission, and faith that the fruits of your efforts will be tremendous for all."
X: "Your driver will be waiting in the lot below with further instructions. Our pledges go with you, Imago."

Ill. 5 Straight ahead on Imago, standing to the center of an elevator car, legs parted just so, hands behind his back.

IMAGO: "Once more into the fray."

iv.

Ill. 1 Wind-shield back view of the interior of a town car, the Driver -- a shapely blonde woman, round black sunglasses, chauffeur (jacket, pants) suit, white gloves, hair pinned back -- in front at the wheel, Imago in the back, relaxed on the leather. Imago leans back in his seat, swirling a glass of some fizzing liquid in his left hand, two large tablets dropped in the bottom of the glass.

DRIVER: "If all goes as we think, you'll be invited to the party at the weekend house where the forge is kept."
DRIVER: "Has your memory cleared at all, Monsieur Imago?"
IMAGO: "No, not entirely. One day, snap, and you're on an assignment. Such is the way of this business, no?"

Ill. 2 The Driver standing near the open door of the town car, Imago stepping out. A Bellbot -- red coat and felt cap on a four-armed hovering torso -- has already pulled one black suitcase from the open back-trunk of the car, and uses the remaining three hands to gesture the way to Imago.

IMAGO "I may need you later."
DRIVER: "Of course, Monsieur Imago."
BELLBOT: "I'll escort you to the suite directly, sir. Your check-in has been pre-confirmed: Suite 32, one of our finest!"

Ill. 3 Imago sitting on the edge of the suite's king-sized bed, his back to us, shoulders slumped, fingers rubbing his temples. The suitcase sits on the bed behind him and to the left.

IMAGO: "No one defines themselves in a vacuum."
IMAGO: "You play the role even if you're unable to know out the origins of it, Imago."

Ill. 4 Imago's fingers running over the lines of the objects in the opened suitcase: two guns (one short with silencer, one beam ray), several banded stacks of currency (details later), one white shoe box, one tuxedo in plastic, one ivory-shaded note on top of the tuxedo.

IMAGO (from above, op): "Wool, silk, flat, pique. Comfortable but formal, no tails."
IMAGO (from above, op): "Drawn bills means cocktails and faro, or something equally sophisti-archaic."

Ill. 5 Imago, back in the over-confident expression, holds the note between two fingers, flipped to reveal the engraved black letters on the face of it: "A FORMAL INVITATION IS EXTENDED TO M. Imago - GRAND BALL ROOM, PALATIAL SUITES - SFDWSP."

IMAGO: "High stakes. I'll have to skip the entrée and go straight for the main course, won't I?"

v.

Sequence of five smaller, circular panels and the final, larger bubble set against a simple hypnotic swirl pattern background -- spy chic at its finest.

Ill. 1 Imago, now down in his full tuxedo and complete spy look, checking his watch.

IMAGO: "Action."

Ill. 2 Imago laying a series of five round playing cards down: three with parrots (one wearing two-prong crowned, one wearing bishop mitre, one showing a set of jewelled teeth), one with a slug wearing a bowler hat, one with a walrus with one broken tusk.

IMAGO: "Gentlemen, I am clear."

Ill. 3 Imago clinking tall glasses with Society Stooge, a bony white old man with stringy grey hair and reddened eyes.

STOOGE: "A young man of your calibre will go far with us."

Ill. 4 Imago laying a pad of bills down on a black metal bar counter, a rose floral arrangement to one side, all the oddly labelled bottles you would expect behind the bar itself ("Twain's Twice Washed Whisky," "Genie Gin," "Norman's Cay Rum," so on, so forth).

IMAGO: "Blue Recharger. Shaken, no ice."

Ill. 5 Imago entangled in a spinning calypso move with Marie, a slim brunette in a silky red dress.

MARIE: "Divine!"

Ill. 6 Imago beside the Society Stooge, both at the head of a table with a group of four others -- Marie, a Red Alien (per Spaceboy: Criminal!) look-alike in a grey suit, a bald man (dark suit, Raybans sunglasses), a dark haired young man (green suit, blue floral patterned shirt, yellow tie) -- all parties holding up champagne glasses.

STOOGE: "A toast! To old friends, to new, and to our Society, long may it serve!"
GROUP (in unison): "Long may it serve!"

vi.

Ill. 1 Side angle, shaded, Imago's lips, speaking into an old-style rotary phone mouthpiece.

IMAGO: "Yes, we will be escorting a member. Five o'clock."
IMAGO: "Make sure things are comfortable for her."

Ill. 2 Marie leaned down, kissing Imago's cheek, her hand on the back of the leather chair that Imago is leaned back in.

MARIE: "Are you sure you won't join me for breakfast?"
IMAGO: "Regretfully, no. I have some calls to make."
MARIE: "Mm. I will meet you in the lobby, Monsieur Imago."

Ill. 3 Imago, hunched forward, pulling the silenced gun from under the chair.

IMAGO: "Things are going unusually smoothly. Time feels condensed, almost slippery."
IMAGO: "This must be a set up."

Ill. 4 Imago looking down the silencer muzzle, a long shadow cast across him from behind.

VOICE (off-panel): "Maybe they're just incompetent; but, yes, of course they can't trust you. You can't even trust yourself, Imago."
IMAGO: "I never caught your name."

Ill. 5 Cavendish (last page's dark haired young man in green suit) standing over the unconscious body of Imago, a taser-looking weapon in hand, smoke rising off a blast mark on Imago's back.

CAVENDISH: "I, Cavendish?"
CAVENDISH: "Tch. Rival agents, so cliché I know, but we just cannot have you walking in on our hostile takeover."

vii.

Ill. 1 Imago, face wet and bruised, tied to a metal chair, illuminated heavily by a bright light shining down on him from an overhanging lamp connected to the left arm of the chair. His body is limp, head hanging -- the perfect possum.

STOOGE (off-panel): "You have done well bringing him to us, Cavendish. We had our... suspicions."
STOOGE (off-panel): "What a neck."

Ill. 2 Neck up of Cavendish up beside the Stooge, levelling a blaster against the Stooge's temple. The Stooge's eyes burn, his yellowed canine teeth showing.

CAVENDISH: "Yes, he's made an excellent bait for silly old men. You'll surrender the command keys to the forge, I think."
STOOGE: "Treachery!"
CAVENDISH: "It does verily abound, does it not? And now: the keys!"

Ill. 3 The Stooge crumpling to ground in a blast of intense phosphorus light; Cavendish spinning to the source of the light, blaster pointing.

CAVENDISH: "NO!"

Ill. 4 Red Alien, legs crossed and floating, like the Buddha in hover-mode, pointing two blasters at Cavendish, Cavendish pointing his right back at Red Alien.

RED ALIEN: "I've better aim than you."
CAVENDISH: "You idiot! Now the forge is useless!"
RED ALIEN: "Only to inferior minds. N shall find a way."

Ill. 5 Imago performing an underarm body throw on Cavendish, sending him flying at Red Alien; Cavendish loses his grip on his gun as he is thrown.

IMAGO: "You should return that knots merit badge!"
CAVENDISH: "IMAGO!"

viii.

Ill. 1 Bald man in Raybans gets knocked hard by the interrogation cell door being kicked off the hinges by our hero, Imago, who fires his blaster (held in his bloody right hand for the rest of the page) straight ahead... at the reader!?

BALD MAN: "ARG!"
IMAGO: "Let's just get this over with."

Ill. 2 Marie hunched over on the ground, clutching her hand, her blaster smouldering and smoking beside her. Imago drops his gold watch in front of her as he walks past.

IMAGO: "Something to remember me by, Marie. I'm getting the feeling that I won't remember you."

Ill. 3 Imago pushing open a door with one hand, holding his blaster up with the other, three long shadows falling down over him from the room he is entering.

IMAGO: "Now we come to the end, you three. Let me see if I don't follow your plan: you allow outsiders to infiltrate your society, they kill your rival, turn on each other."
IMAGO: "How does our story conclude now that I'm not wearing your chip?"

Ill. 4 Imago facing down X2, who holds up an orange in the left hand, and X3, who holds a slender tobacco pipe in the right hand.

X3: "How did you know?"
IMAGO: "I seem to have a knack for paranoia."
X2: "You'll go back to sleep and forget all about this. Your natural cycle will just take longer."

Ill. 5 Imago kicking X3 in the chest while he blasts X2 and X1 in a quick fire sequence.

IMAGO: "Better do this now then!"

Ill. 6 Shadow image of Imago standing over X3, blaster aimed square at their forehead. (Black, white, red hand.)

X3: "You couldn't be this man. You were a nobody, a patsy--"
X3: "I can give you anything you want!"
IMAGO: "Maybe next time I'll wake up as someone more pragmatic."