Voice: Earth - the initial frontier. Somewhere in the depths of space, on a
remote planet you know as Earth, came up a relatively unique phenomenon:
Civilization. What it means is that intelligent,
[ A text on the screen with a beep - (?) ]
Voice: conscious
[ A text on the screen with the same beep - (?) ]
Voice: Stop it!
[ A text on the screen with a different beep - (!) ]
Voice: Like I said, intelligent, conscious people formed cities and countries,
with a technology that became more and more advanced in time.
+++: In this motion picture, we will take a typical city of this civilization
in its beginning, and examine its dominant elements.
[While that, the Earth comes to focus somewhere around Palestine and the
Eastern Jordan Side]
[ An Altar is shown with a priest standing near by and several people
around him bringing goats, sheep, etc. ]
The Priest: Next, next, who's next?
Man: I am.
The Priest: Hey Joseph! You've been here last... two weeks ago, right?
Joseph: right!
The Priest: OK. Tell me what you've been up to until then?
Joseph: Well, I did a lot of good deeds: I helped my friends, taught my
children a few things... the works.
The Priest: Excellent. Did you do anything that could have appeased any of the
Gods?
Joseph: Well, I lied.
The Priest: What for?
Joseph: To protect a friend.
The Priest: Well, the god of Honesty is mad at you and the god of friendship
likes you. They will sort it out between the two of them.
Joseph: I also broke a pot my wife prepared. A very nice pot, by the way.
The Priest: That's not good - you have made both the goddess of pottery and
the goddess of marriage a little angry. You did not do it on purpose?
Joseph: No.
The Priest: OK. I'd say we could take two legs of the sheep you brought
each for the gods. And we'll take the rest for the rest of the Gods and for
eating. By the way, [Loudly] everyone should know that four days from now,
I'm going to hold the festival of all the minor Gods that no-one ever
remembers. I'm going to read the list of all the 2100 of them as the
central event of it.
The Crowd: "No, forget it!" "No Way I'm going to attend that!", etc.
The Priest: OK. I can have 10 people each read 210 entries.
A person from the crowd: How about 20?
The Priest: Super. Like I said, 20 people will each read 105 entries, so be
there.
[ A typical Semitic market with lots of commotion. Eventually the
camera focuses on a salesman trying to sell a very large fish, for the
price of two Shekels. [ this is too much money - we need a more
reasonable price]
Eventually, there comes a loud sound of drumming and percussion instruments,
and a singer appears in the clearance, and starts singing, while waving a
medium-sized fish: ]
Performer: Buy the fish,
Buy the fish,
Who wants to buy the fish?
Buy the fish,
Buy the fish,
Buy the fish now.
+++: Buy the fish,
Buy the fish,
Who wants to buy the fish?
Buy the fish,
Buy the fish,
Buy the fish now.
Shouts from the crowd: "3 Shekels", "4 Shekels".
[He continues:]
[ Cut to the original fishmonger, he looks amazed ]
Performer: If you want prepare a dish,
you have got to buy the fish,
so everybody, save your keesh,
Everybody - buy the fish!
Shouts from the crowd: "5 Shekels", "6 Shekels".
The Singer says: "Sold for 6 Shekels."
[ Eventually the commotion clears up, and the fishmonger with the large fish,
starts to shout again:]
Fishmonger: One large fish! Two Shekels! One large fish! Two Shekels!
One large fish! Two Shekels!
[ The Well is shown. Several women are standing nearby with large pots near
them. They are chatting. Three men approach. ]
Woman #3: So I was saying to Berta: look, we can't possibly make this
any harder.
Woman #2: I understand what you mean.
[ Woman #1 looks straight at the camera. she moves towards it, and eventually
looks very close at it. ]
Vered: Nah...
Vered: Hey you know, I always have the feeling that someone is watching us
and recording everything we do with a device, that allows a playback of it.
Woman #2: Vered, we always get this feeling. Now, basically what I was saying:
Vered: But of course it is impossible with our current technological state.
But what if someone built a time machine... Herrrgh, Maybe I'm just paranoid.
Woman #3: Vered, why do you have to talk about philosophy all the time? Why
can't you gossip and talk about non-sense.
Vered: I hate gossip, and I hate non-sense.
[The Men Arrive.]
Woman #1: It is about time you arrived.
Woman #2: Yeah. It takes 3 of you to move this stone but at least 6 of us.
Man #1: Well, that's life.
Man #2: Yeah, who is John Galt?
Woman #1: I never understood this expression. Oh well, who is John Galt?
Man #1: OK. Let's move it.
Man #2: You know, I heard of a guy called Moses who could move a stone like
this all by himself.
The Inventor's Voice from outside the frame: That's because he was using the
Mosesiom 3000!
Man #3: I beg your pardon?
[ The Inventor enters the frame with his invention that looks suspiciously
like a lever. ]
The Inventor: With this ingenious invention one man can move this stone
all by himself. Wanna try?
Man #1: OK. I'll try.
The Inventor: OK. First we tie the stone to the ropes here.
[ He ties the stone]
The Inventor: Now lift the other hand.
Man #1: [after lifting the stone] Wow, it's so easy, look I can move the
stone here [moves it to the left], and here [ moves it to the right].
The Inventor: No! No! Don't abuse it.
[The stone falls down on the well, splits into two pieces which both fall down
the well. The men are amazed. ]
The Inventor: Don't worry, I can get down and tie the ropes to each stone and
we can lift it up in a flash...
Man #1: I'll get the ropes.
Man #2: I'll get the horses.
[ They leave the frame ]
The Inventor: This is not my day.
Woman #1: Who is John Galt?
[ Long shot of the wall with its wall-side houses. ]
Tour Guide: Everybody come here, come here.
[ A group of tourists enter the frame ]
Tour Guide: We are now on the wall. The wall is one of the most important
parts of the city. A city cannot exist without a wall. Therefore, it can
be said that "The Wall Exists".
Tourist #1: I beg your pardon?
Tour Guide: Yes.
Tourist #1: Does the wall exist in the same way that "Existence Exists"?
Tour Guide: No. The Wall Exists, therefore Existence Exists.
Tourist #1: Ah. OK.
[To be continued...]
[A shot of the gate fades into the screen. Two guards are standing there. ]
Guard #1: You know. Almost nothing ever happens around here. Most of the
day nothing happens. And occasionally a merchant or a traveler comes and
wishes to enter the city. So we charge him from money, and he enters the town.
And we hardly ever remember him.
Guard #2: Well, it's a dirty job and somebody's got to do it. Hey! Here comes
a merchant.
Merchant: Hi! I'd like to enter this city and remain here for a day or two.
Guard #1: Fine by me. That would be one Shekel, please.
Merchant: One Shekel! You must be mad. What possible things could this town
have anyway?
Guard #1: Well, it has a Cathedral, a Bazaar, a couple of wells, a Wall, this
Gate - the works.
Merchant: I have a feeling that I'll regret ever entering this town, but
whatever.
Guard #1: As the son of Gileg, I guarantee that you won't be disappointed.
Merchant: Do you mean that you are the son of Gileg that pitiful son of Ham?
Guard #1: Gileg is not the son of Ham; he is the son of Shem. And you are the son of whom, by any chance?
Merchant: The son of Emor, why?
Guard: You are a son of Emor, who was Ham's child, therefore I hate
your guts.
Merchant: No, you are a son of Gileg, who was Ham's child, therefore I hate
your guts.
[They start to fight. Only unclear verbal violence ]
Guard: [raises his hand] Tell you what, let's settle it by saying that I hate
you and you hate me?
Merchant: But we are cool, right?
Guard: Sure!
[An Egyptian Merchant comes by.]
Egyptian Merchant: I could not help but hear your conversation. If I
had accepted this Semite family tree, I would have to say that Ham was the
most noble son of Noah.
[The other two look puzzled]
Merchant: So you hate both of us and both of us hate you?
Egyptian: That's right!
Merchant: But we're cool?
Egyptian: We're cool.
Guard #2: OK, let's cut this family matters fight. You, please pay him a
Shekel. And you, _the proud son of Ham_ please state your affairs at this
town.
[ Fade out...]
[ Long shot of a street, two neighbours are talking. One of them is Gideon. ]
Gideon: Blah blah.
[ .. Conversation goes on. While in it a young man walks down the street
three times. In the third time, Gideon asks him.
]
Gideon: Excuse me: I noticed you are constantly walking down that street. Can
I ask why?
Young man: Really? It's just that I'm from a different neighbourhood and I
just thought that if I turn left all the time I'll scan the whole
neighbourhood?
Gideon: No, this won't work. You see if you turn left here [shows with his
hand], go along the street, and then turn left here, [the young man turns his
head around], and then left here [again, he twists his head], and here, you'll
be in the same place where you started.
Young man: Of course! But wait a second - I remember an ingenius algorithm
by my cousin Daniel...
Gideon: You mean the crazy inventor whose invention clogged up our well today?
Young man: Yeah! Anyway he said that you just have to put your hand on the
wall, like this [ puts his hand on the right wall relative to the camera ] and
then by keeping it on the same wall you'll go throughout the entire maze. I'll
do it, thanks! [he starts to walk]
Gideon: Hold on! It won't work.
Young man: Why?
Gideon: Because this block is surrounded by four streets, and you'll end up
going around it again and again.
Young man: [thinks about it for a moment] You're right. Daniel said something
about it, and he said he had an improved algorithm, that did not have this
limitation...
Gideon: Wanna here about my algorithm?
Young man: Yes.
Gideon: Ask.
Young man: [thinks for a moment] That could work. Do you know where Yossef
Ben-Dov lives?
Gideon: Sure! Right here [ points to a nearby house. ]
Young man: Super! Thanks. [walks there]
[ Gideon and his neighbour continue to talk]
City Head: OK. Here we are for our monthly town council. Is anything on
the agenda?
[The Inventor raises his hand]
City Head: Yes?
The Inventor: Life sucks.
City Head: Can you elaborate on the subject?
The Inventor: I just invented the lever, 300 years before Archimedes, and
no-one seemed to have noticed. It seems like we're not going anywhere. There's
absolutely no advancement.
[ Other people of the city start shouting at him ]
Person No. 1: Well, if you care so much about your invention you can try
and show it in the capital.
Person No. 2: We live our life very fine, thank you, without any of your
inventions!
[ The crowd starts to deteriorate into one big mess of a fight ]
The Prophet: [shouting] Hold on!
[ The crowd shuts up ]
City Head: Who are you?
The Prophet: I am the Prophet. I can take you to the 21st century!
Person No. 3: Really? When is it going to be?
The Prophet: About 2,500 years from now.
[ The crowd rumbles for a while ]
City Head: You know what: we'll give it a shot.
The Prophet: OK.
[ He raises his hand, everybody suddenly re-appear in a modern 21st century
city with tall buildings, lots of cars. They are wearing modern clothes. ]
The Inventor: Wow! Tall buildings.
Person No. 2: Automatic Vehicles.
Person No. 1: Mass Production!
The Inventor: We would have never got this far in 2500 years.
The Prophet: Yes, but the beauty of all this is that some things remained
the same. For instance, do you see this building?
[ Cut to a view of a stock exchange agency]
The Prophet: This is a cathedral. And do you see this screen over there?
[ Cut to a big T.V. Screen ]
The Inventor: The one with the moving pictures. What about it?
The Prophet: This is a bazaar.
[ The town folks all get excited. ]
Town Folks: Wow! Tell us more! What's the equivalent of the gate around here?
What is this?
The Prophet: This is some combination of a gate and a well...
[ A hip modern music is starting to sound and the screen fades into black]
[ Rehearse of part of the "Buy the Fish" scene, only in 2-D and with better
music. Eventually, the camera zooms out to view the MTV logo on a T.V. Screen
just in time to catch the fishmonger with the large fish. Then it says on
the screen:
The Performer earned double platinum for his album "Songs of the Bazaar"
with the mega-hit single "Buy the Fish". ]
[ The Priest wrote an international best-seller titled the
"Altar-native way of investing in the stock exchange." ]
[ The inventor remained an inventor. He invented the "Supremium 6000",
the "Chuck-Chuckium 6000" and the "Semitici-tici-tacky 6000". All those
inventions made him a millionaire. ]
[ Gideon became the chief human-machine interaction engineer of IBM. ]
[Cut.]
[ The three well women are watching a shop's window sipping a soft-drink ]
Woman #1: You know, 21st century rocks.
Woman #2: Yeah, I can never go back.
John Galt Woman: Of course. But, you know - who is John Galt?
[ They walk away ]