DEN (Denver International)

DEN (DENVER INTERNATIONAL)

Written By John S. Badger

SEAN: I’m so relieved I got to sit next to you. Some people are no fun on a plane so long. You’re going to love Keystone. There’s a bakery there I love any time I’m in town. Blue Moon something. Make sure you go there before you hit the slopes.

AMBER: I’ll definitely have to swing by there.

PILOT: Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking again. Local time for Denver International Airport is 5:48, and we should be at our gate in about 20 minutes. The temperature is currently 31 degrees. We know you have many choices in airlines, so we would like to thank you for choosing Trans American Airlines.

SEAN: Oh, say! I forgot to ask you what YOU do. I’ve gone on about my extension cord sales this whole time, and I don’t even know what it is that you do.

AMBER: That’s alright. I don’t really talk a lot, except to myself. I’m a chemical engineer.

SFX: seatbelt “bing”

SEAN: That sounds fun. How long have you been doing that?

AMBER: I graduated two years ago, and have been doing it ever since. I made it my mission to find alternative means of fuel, and make more efficient means with lower emissions. This jet for instance, is far less efficient than it should be. The fuel it will have taken to get us from JFK to Denver will be 256 kilograms of CO2, which equates to about 560 pounds. My goal is to reduce that, and we’re pretty well on our way to accomplishing that. But, how to mass-produce this alternative, without negating- (pause. Change subject) I’m sure I’m boring you. I apologize.

SEAN: Not at all! That is fascinating! I had no idea I was sitting next to the person who will be responsible for saving humanity one molecule at a time.

AMBER: Not hardly. There’s a bunch of us. We won the Energy and Sustainability Award together. As a team.

SCENE

SFX: Crowd walking through corridor, suitcases, luggage. Crowd gets louder as they approach and enter the terminal.

SEAN: It was so good to meet you AMBER. When you get the Nobel prize, remember us little folk. (getting more distant)

AMBER: Of course. Thanks. Bye, SEAN.

SFX: Phone rings. “Accept” button.

AMBER: Chuck! Perfect timing. I just got off the plane. I should be at the- (pause) okay? (pause) Uh huh (pause) No. That's fine. I’m not in a hurry. (pause) yeah, no. Do you know when you’d be able to make- (pause) okay. Yeah. I’ll see you in 45. I was hungry anyway. I’ll just swing by for a long lunch somewhere. I think all the food places are in the other concourse anyway. I’ll see you in 45 minutes. Drive safe.

PASSERBY 1: The underground tunnels have got to be the coolest of all of the stories.

PASSERBY 2: Did you see the airport when we were landing? It’s like a swastika. Hey mom. The map says that shop is at the OTHER side of the airport.

AMBER: (perusing map) Baggage claim… baggage claim… Oh! Perfect. Not too far.

GARGOYLE: Welcome to Illuminati Headquarters - er- I mean Denver International Airport.

AMBER: What’s this?

GARGOYLE: Yes. You in the blue shoes. And, my what blue shoes. Welcome!

AMBER: That is weird.

GARGOYLE: What? Me? What’s weird about speaking to a gargoyle?

AMBER: Oh! You’re really talking to me.

GARGOYLE: Of course I am, silly. Where are you headed?

AMBER: I’m headed to baggage claim.

GARGOYLE: Good luck. You’ll have to pass the nazis.

AMBER: (dismissive) I’ll take that into consideration. Thanks. (walking away) Weird.

SFX: Train departure jingle and “closing doors” announcement. (Specific Denver jingle)

SCENE

BYSTANDER 1: Why does that man have a gun and a sword?

BYSTANDER 2: I bet it’s a world war 2 thing? Really weird for an airport to have these wall pictures. Look over there. Are those people dead?

BYSTANDER 1: Are we even still in America anymore?

AMBER: I’m so confused. What is this place?

JULIAN: I see you found my favorite spot of the airport!

AMBER: Your ‘favorite’? This?

JULIAN: Yeah! Most people see these and think violence, when it really is about peace. Leo Tanguma was the painter. I’m JULIAN, by the way. Look over there on the other wall. That one has all the people joining together from all countries. See the flags? The rainbow is cool too.

AMBER: And the dead German on the ground they killed?

JULIAN: No no no. You’re looking at the negative. They didn’t kill a man. They killed the idea of war. He represented war, and now WAR is dead. That’s why they’re holding a peace sign. Some people look at these murals in the wrong order.

AMBER: I feel that leaves too much faith in the viewer walking in the right direction.

JULIAN: Fair. But, to appreciate a picture, one must also see it in its entirety. Right?

AMBER: I guess. Where did you just fly in from?

JULIAN: Oh. I’m not traveling. I work here. In the (mockingly spooky voice) underground tunnels

AMBER: Am I supposed to know what that is?

JULIAN: You don’t travel to Colorado too often, huh?

AMBER: First time. I only ever skied the east coast. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. The mountains here are so…

JULIAN: Huge, right? I’m more a snowboarder myself. Yeah. But anyway… Denver International is known internationally for our underground tunnels.

AMBER: I have some time to kill. Want to show me?

JULIAN: Oh. They’re not real. It’s a conspiracy theory. One of many. Tell you what… If you do actually have some time on your hands, I am overdue for my 15 minute break, and you seem chill. Want to go on a tour?

AMBER: If you’re sure you want to spend it this way, sure. That sounds fun.

JULIAN: Wonderful. Please keep your hands and feet in the car at all times, and please, no feeding the illuminati. Speaking of the illuminati… Here’s the inscription. Read that.

AMBER: March 19, 1994.

JULIAN: No. Below that.

AMBER: New World Airport Commission Contributors.

JULIAN: Right?

AMBER: Right, what?

JULIAN: New World Airport, New World Order?

AMBER: Ohhhhh… Conspiracy theory stuff.

JULIAN: Not to mention the Freemason insignia there, above it.

AMBER: Why WOULD they put both on the same tablet? That is weird.

JULIAN: Yeah. They have a meeting every week in the secret tunnels.

AMBER: I don’t know enough to be creeped out by whatever it is you’re implying right now.

JULIAN: Unconvinced… Okay. Tell you what… Let’s go this way.

SFX: keypad beeping. Door opens.

JULIAN: Don’t mind the “authorized personnel” sign. I’m authorizing you. Come along. In an official capacity, you were never here though. Okay? Okay.

SFX: Door opens. Crowd chatter

JULIAN: You weren’t taken aback as hoped. SO, I present to you… The ruins of a post-apocalyptic world. There. Look over the rail.

AMBER: This airport is so strange. Why would they put all this stuff in the same airport. But, a display of dying plants and a broken railroad track is far from what I would consider “crazy”.

JULIAN: And the mural, and the illuminati, and the freemasons, and the post-apocalyptic scene? Not by the look on your face. Okay… Bluecifer. Have you seen our devil horse when you drove in?

AMBER: I didn’t drive. I am waiting on my ride to make it.

JULIAN: Oh! My bad. You’re staying to ski. Which area are you skiing?

AMBER: At a resort in Keystone.

JULIAN: Beautiful place. You’ll love it. Right! Our buddy Mustang the devil horse up front. I’m not allowed a phone on the clock. Would you grab your phone? Look up the horse of Denver Airport.

AMBER: Okay..? Ummmm… This blue one?

JULIAN: That’s the one. This pic does no justice to his presence. He’s massive. 32, 33 feet high. And his eyes glow red in the dark. When making it, the head fell off onto the sculptor Luis Jiminez, and it killed him.

AMBER: Well, now you’re just making stuff up.

JULIAN: No kidding! Look it up! Oh, hey… My 15 minutes is up. I gotta get my nose back to the grindstone. If you ever want a subterranean ride to NORAD, you just let me know.

AMBER: I get a feeling that’s a reference to something too?

JULIAN: I keep forgetting how new you are to Denver. Yeah. The same NORAD that tracked Santa in December, is the same one that you can access via tunnel. You know… the ones that don’t exist that I didn’t tell you about earlier? Wink wink. Oh! Anyway, I do have to get going. It was a pleasure to meet (prodding) youuu…

AMBER: AMBER

JULIAN: AMBER. Right. AMBER. Pleasure meeting you, AMBER.

AMBER: Oh. Here’s my card. (flirtatious) You know… In case you are up to skiing later this week.

JULIAN: (off-guard) Uh, thanks.

AMBER: Text is best.

JULIAN: (walking away) I’ll keep that in mind. Have a great trip, AMBER.

AMBER: Shoot… What was his name again..? (pause) Oh! Hey!

SFX: Hard card flip

AMBER: You dropped your card! (pushing past people) Excuse- excuse me. Pardon me.

PASSERBY 3: Hey!

AMBER: Sorry. You dropped your… key card. Dangit. JULIAN! That’s his name. Lucky it’s on your card.

SFX: light door knocking. Harder knocking. Card swipe and beep. Door opens.

AMBER: (whispering) Anybody in here? I tried knocking. JULIAN? (regular voice- SFX: hollow) Is there anybody in this hall… of doors..? where COULD you have gone? (pause) I guess I’ll try… this one.

SFX: Tug. Door doesn’t open.

AMBER: Okay, NOT that one… oh. How about…

SFX: card swipe. Beep. Door opens.

AMBER: Don’t mind if I do. (whisper) JULIAN. (whisper yelling) JULIAN!

SFX: Elevator ding. Doors open

AMBER: 3, 2, 1, G, U1, U2.., U8. Underground EIGHT?

SFX: Button pressed. Doors close. Elevator goes down.

AMBER: (beginning to become fascinated) What IS this place?

SFX: Ding. Doors open (pause) doors close. Distant dripping. Slow walking.

COMMERCIAL

Narrator 1: Tired of your job as a cab driver? Are your clients’ expectations too high?

Narrator 2: I am! And I do!

Narrator 1: Well why not try being a pilot for Trans-American Airlines?

Narrator 2: I haven’t flown since the war.

Narrator 1: No problem! At Trans-American Airlines, we’ll hire just about anyone. Are you a basketball player? No problem! Have relationship problems? Do you have a drinking problem? There aren’t problems with us at Trans-American Airlines.

Narrator 2: would I be permitted to play saxophone en route?

Narrator 1: That’s encouraged! Whenever you’re needing a little break from the helm, feel free to use the autopilot. You simply press the button, and presto! An inflatable pilot will take the wheel.

Narrator 2: that sounds terrific! How do I sign up?

Narrator 1: sign up? Just buy a ticket, and you’ll be a pilot for Trans-American Airlines in no time.

Narrator 2: Surely it can’t be that simple.

Narrator 1: It certainly can be! But please, don’t call me Shirley.

COMMERCIAL END

JULIAN: (whisper yell) AMBER! You can’t be in here!

AMBER: I was trying to return your card. Where are we? I thought you said these tunnels didn’t exist.

JULIAN: Officially.., they don’t. We’re not supposed to be in here. YOU’RE DEFINITELY not supposed to be in here. Let’s go back. You’re on video, so we have to touch base with Command 3 now.

AMBER: Not until you tell me what is going on. Why are there tunnels here?

JULIAN: No ma’am. I can’t do that.

AMBER: (black-mailing) I want my business card back, and then we can leave.

JULIAN: I swear to god… if you tell ANY one about this, it could ruin my clearance, and I would likely get sent to Leavenworth. Or worse. 51.

AMBER: Stop being so melodramatic.

JULIAN: Fine. But don’t. talk. to. anyone. (pause, and then matter-of-factly) Presently, you are in level 8- the global elite level. Currently, we have nobody here, as we are not in threat of any worldwide disaster. They only come around when there’s reason to be concerned. Like Obama was here in September, 2011 when the comet Elenin was likely to hit earth. His arrival wasn’t a coincidence. There were plenty of others, but he’s the one the media found out about that time. We had Kim Jong-il, Abdullah, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, I always get his pronunciation wrong, Angela Merkel, and a bunch of others. This is kind of the boring level. Let’s go up a level. 7 and 6. This is my favorite level.

SFX: Going upstairs

JULIAN: Originally built supposedly for a totally automated baggage claim, 2 billion dollars over-budget, I present to you…

SFX: Door opens. Distant intercom voices. Distant beeping

AMBER: (dumbfounded) Whoa

JULIAN: No kidding. I have been here my entire adult life, and this place still astounds me. This is no longer baggage claim. It lasted all of a year, and “malfunctions” required this place to be “filled in with dirt,” when it really was repurposed as a launchpad. For spaceships. AMBER?

AMBER: (still speechless) Whoa.

JULIAN: That word doesn’t get old down here. It is truly the definition of awesome. 5 spaceships. All identical, and all in working order, designed after alien designs, left with the Navajos. They only go vertical, but are being tweaked for side-to-side space flight. The launchpad is an electro-magnet that catapults the ships by the single press of a button. In 2007, somebody accidentally tested the magnet, which broke more than a few jet windshields. Before you ask- no. It wasn’t me. I wouldn’t be here to tell you about it if I had. Mistakes like that are not taken… lightly. AMBER? AMBER…

AMBER: Oh… Yeah?

JULIAN: Are you still with me?

AMBER: I’m sorry. Aliens?

JULIAN: Yes. Extra-terrestrials. Or “greys,” as we refer to them down here.

AMBER: They’re not real.

JULIAN: Until 5 minutes ago, HERE wasn’t real. Not to you, anyway. Aliens are very much real. We first realized this when the excavators found a tunnel in 1989 with ancient Navajo inscriptions that were later translated to mathematical equations. Those inscriptions, mathematicians learned, were instructions to building a ship, just like theirs. Some tweaks were made to adjust for the fact that they have other means of fuel that we haven’t quite figured out, or we just don’t have the elements.

NINA: Welcome!

AMBER: ...Thanks..?

JULIAN: Not yet, NINA.

AMBER: Hm?

JULIAN: So, THIS is why the original budget of 1.7 billion dollars shot to about 4.3. Huge difference. Area 51’s budget got cut to invest in this scientist’s playground. So, technically, this airport is FAR far more than what the average taxpayer believes it to be… I have no idea if you’re listening anymore. (resigned to her fascination) Okay. So, that ship’s name is Leibniz U-4. And that one is Artazar XLB-2. Don’t ask me why they’re named that, since I’m not the one who names them. Each of the ships can carry and sustain 420 people. Area 51 has sent prototypes of these ships into space, and… AMBER. I’m sure you have questions.

AMBER: (still awed) Yeah. So many. I have no idea where to begin. How many levels are there?

JULIAN: 8. But technically this had been 6 and 7. We’re on 6-

AMBER: Is there a tunnel to NORAD?

JULIAN: Several. But, there’s one from Denver International from level 5.

AMBER: Why are there space ships?

JULIAN: I think I touched on that a little, but it’s in case of a global emergency. Think Noah’s ark. Or 2012. Or something similar. Elenin, like I mentioned.

AMBER: What do the Freemasons have to do with anything?

JULIAN: It gets a little fuzzy as to who is who, in regards to this facility. Essentially, the Freemasons are the ones who facilitated the bunker slash launchpad. The Illuminati- as referred to by the general public- is the one who made this process possible, and determines who will be given tickets to the new world.

PASSERBY 5: Welcome aboard.

AMBER: Thanks..?

JULIAN: (dismissive) No.

AMBER: (whispering) What are people welcoming us for?

JULIAN: They think you’re… someone else. I need to get you out of here. If you whisper a word of any of this, nobody- 1 - will believe you, and 2, you’d be in grave danger. That is not a joke. This place is beyond Top Secret.

AMBER: What ISN’T true about all the conspiracy theories?

JULIAN: I can’t think of anything. Hmm... Oh! There’s no FEMA concentration camp. That’s a myth.

AMBER: Are chemtrails real?

JULIAN: Technically, yes. Chemtrails are real. But, they’re not harmful. Yet. If we stopped seeding, THAT, that would be harmful. There are supposed to be 6 tanks for fuel here at Denver International, each with 2.7 million gallons. But, only 4 are actually fuel, and the remaining 2, are for the chemical compound, which is made with iodide, potassium iodide, dry ice, and barium. We have been seeding the weather with the sole purpose to keep the environment, but like weed killer, we have to keep concentrating the chemicals more and more every year to maintain, otherwise the ozone would just deteriorate, which would. be. bad, to say the least.

AMBER: Barium?

JULIAN: Ah. Getting into my territory. I knew we were kindred spirits when I heard you were a chemical engineer. Yes. Barium is to keep the human population from… growing out of control. Technically, we are kind of a virus to the planet, and shouldn’t be producing as many children as we have been. We feed on the resources, and give very little back to the planet. Without getting too technical and boring, we’ve been growing at an unprecedented rate, and the world cannot sustain us at the exponential course. So.., we’ve slowed it down.

AMBER: Who are you to decide who gets to populate the earth, or not? Hey… (suspicious) I don’t remember telling you I was a chemical engineer.

JULIAN: (three takes on first sentence) You definitely did, though. But you see, we’re NOT deciding who gets to populate the earth or not. We’re all breathing the same air. We’re by no means sterilizing the entire species- that would be disastrous to mankind. We’re eliminating disaster by letting the strong survive, without impeding the remainder of our natural lives. The New World Order is about maintaining that which is sustainable.

PASSERBY 6: It’s good to have you.

AMBER: Why do you guys keep welcoming me?

PASSERBY 6: I’m sorry ma’am. I thought you were someone else. Annuit Coeptis.

JULIAN: Annuit Coeptis.

AMBER: This isn’t accidental. Not after that many mistakes.

JULIAN: We have to go. NOW.

SCENE

JULIAN: You need to meet these guys before you can go back. It’ll be real quick.

SFX: Door opens

MORRIS: Welcome, AMBER. Please. Take a seat. Can we get you some water?

AMBER: (apologetic, concerned) Please. I was just trying to give JULIAN his card back.

MORRIS: It’s alright. I understand your concern. You needn’t fear us. My apologies. I’m Morris Bilderberg. I’m the head of this outfit. On your right, we have Jordan, Stacy Rothschild, and Raymond. Please. Take a seat. You too, JULIAN.

JULIAN: It’s okay. Do you want something to drink?

AMBER: No. I’m good. Thank you.

MORRIS: We have long been anticipating your arrival at ground zero. After many attempts, we finally have you here to see it for yourself. We appreciate your curiosity miss Amber. If one isn’t curious, we don’t even give them the time of day.

AMBER: What are you talking about?

MORRIS: Your performance at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was superb. I very much enjoyed how professor Humphrey gave you an A minus for your public decimation of him with your display of superior knowledge in regards to redox reactions. Classic. He’s a very prideful man. For the record; that was rectified by Jordan here before your graduation.

AMBER: Am I being held here-

MORRIS: (Interrupting) If I can go on. Your resume is impressive, and your mastery of sciences in fuel is enviable. Long story short, miss McDowell… We needed to know that you’d be a viable candidate to work with us, here in Denver.

AMBER: I’m here for pleasure. I live in Philadelphia.

MORRIS: I don’t think you understand, miss Amber. Your salary is what… 120 a year?

AMBER: That doesn’t sound like a question.

MORRIS: We would triple that. We would like your help with space technology, on the chemical composition side of things. And, in case of a very unlikely catastrophic event in your lifetime, you would have a ticket to the next civilization. With limitations, of course.

JULIAN: In my opinion, I-

AMBER: I don’t want your opinion, JULIAN. Morris, is it? (pause) I am late to meet my friend-

MORRIS: Charles? Yes. He is aware of our meeting.

AMBER: (realization) Oh Chuuuuuck…

MORRIS: Yes. Your rendezvous was more than just serendipitous. You are welcome to think about it. But, I do guarantee you this, Amber.., this facility will be kept 100 percent secret. You have been given access to the second best-kept secret in our nation’s history.

AMBER: Not much of a secret, now is it?

MORRIS: Where better to keep a secret, than right where people suspect it to be. Miss McDowell… Please, while skiing, don’t break a limb in Keystone. I expect we’ll see you on Friday then.

BACKGROUND LAUNCHPAD

INTERCOM: All mission 2 personnel, report to briefing deck 4. All mission 2 personnel, report to briefing deck 4.

INTERCOM: Opal Star Maintenance Technician, required at launchpad 3. Opal Star Maintenance Technician, required at launchpad 3.

INTERCOM: Mercury 7-MXT personnel- belay that request. Disregard.

INTERCOM: Security levels 5 and below, are required to vacate sector 3 within the next 5 minutes. Security levels 5 and below, are required to vacate sector 3 within the next 5 minutes.