End of the Line

By: Universitas Indonesia

00:00/14:20
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End of the Line

Director and Writer: Alyssa S.

Cast and Characters:

Kurnia C. Putra as Chris and the Infomercial Guy. Ajeng S. as Julie and the Singer.

Afiq S. as Sam and Officer A. Claudia as Eve

Nariswari Tria E. as Sian.

Alyssa S. as News Announcer.

Institution: Universitas Indonesia

Scene 1

Int. of a Rover (some kind of a 4wd vehicle for extraterrestrial zones). Near the front of a very
long line of Rovers in front of a massive building a gigantic door that admits them one by one.

5 people inside the Rover, Sian (19 yo), Sam (20 yo), Eve (15 yo), on the back. Julie (45 yo)

on the passenger seat in the front and Chris (42 yo) on the wheel.

The Radio (they call it the ‘airwaves’ these days) is on. Chris is switching between

programs rapidly.

Radio: (a guitar and a dramatic soprano singing voice) Once the earth was peaceful and
happy—(news announcer)— have been made by the representatives of all Terran districts. This
treaty will affect all citizens left on Earth until the departure of the next Pathfinder Mission—(an
infomercial)—this stylish spacesuit right now you'll get one free oxygen tank for two! So call
now: 555—(the voice continues in the background, returning to the song).

Sam: Jeez, turn it off. Nobody listens to this garbage anymore. Julie: Darling, stop abusing the
receiver.

Chris: It’s too quiet, honey. Hey, don’t you guys think it’s too quiet?

Sian: We’re almost at the front of the line, Chris. You’ve ruined the complete six hours of silence
we’ve had. It was very peaceful.

Eve: I wouldn’t call the silence peaceful. For example, I’d find that at night, the
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streets are very silent, but a lot of things are happening inside people’s house units. And right
now, a lot of things are happening inside our heads. None of them are necessarily peaceful.

Chris: Thank you very much, Eve. That was an excellent use of simile.

Eve: You’re welcome, Dad.

Chris: Now that Eve has explained the problem—

Sian: I don’t see any problem.

Chris: --we can now discuss it. Namely: why is nobody talking to each other? Sam: Uhh,
because we hate each other?

Sian: Well, mystery solved. Now let’s move on with our lives.

Julie: No, Chris is right. We need to solve this right now.

Sian: Mother, there will be no problem if we can just stop talking right now.

Julie: Okay, I know the last 5 months has been very confusing for the three of you—

Sam: Yeah, you see right through me right there, ma’am.

Julie: I just want all of you to promise that you will take care of each other when we arrived at
the colonies, okay?

Sian: What? There’s no way I’m going to spend another minute with dumb and

dumber after we got there!

Sam: Well, that’s rich coming from you Missus Dollface and Nothing Else.

Sian: I won’t be insulted by an Army reject like you, Samuel!

Sam: They didn’t reject me, I refused to join. I happen to think the journey to the second Alpha
Centauri star is a waste of time.

Sian: That’s because you’re a dim-witted, little-minded—

Chris: Enough of that, please. Your mother has something to tell you. Julie: (pause) Chris…

Chris: Oh fine. You guys know why Julie and I entered the citizen partnership

grant five months ago, right?

Eve: You said she was very beautiful// like the morning sun before it turned into a giant red ball
that will// swallow us all into oblivion.

Sam: Oh great, not this// again. We’ve had tons of this lovesick nonsense already.//
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Sian: Arrgh, I don’t want// to hear another word about your—your courtship!

Wooing! Flirting!//

Momentary silence.

Julie: You told them I look like a giant ball of gas? Chris: It used to be romantic, you know.

Sian: Yeah, the popular romance of last millennia, maybe. That was also the time when parents
feed their children fairytales to hide the bitter truth, Chris. Like your very convincing story of
being actually in love with my mother!

Julie: Sian, that’s enough. You’re too old for this childish tantrum of yours.

Sian: Mother, I am entitled to my opinion of archaic personalities.

Sam: Hold on a second, your snottyness, archaic? Take a good hard look at your own elitist
attitude and you’ll find that it’s dated billions of years old.

Sian: (ignoring Sam) I accepted them because being in a partnership gets us to

be prioritized for evacuation lottery and I realised the importance of them saving our lives, but
Mother, once we’re off-planet, there’s no obligation for us to stay together. We can even apply
for different residence numbers. We’ve tried for the last 5 months, and this happy family thing
will never be a reality.

Eve: I think you’re not that bad. You’re not exactly my favorite person, but

living with you has been an okay experience.

Sian: (not amused) What I’m saying is, Eve, wouldn’t you and Sam be happier together without
me and my mother? We can finally get back to our old lives.

Sam: I hate to say this, but I agree with her. Dad, we don’t buy your stupid romance story. The
two of you doesn’t even try to act the part of a loving couple, so why exactly do we need to
continue this charade after we got there?

Chris: (pause) Sam, just because we’re not acting like newlyweds, doesn’t mean

that we don’t care// about each other.

Sam: No, that’s just another crappy excuse coming out of your mouth!

Julie: Samuel!

Chris: Julie, it’s okay. I understand why you’re angry, Sam. I’ve done some things, some…
absurd, impulsive, stupid things. Remember when I tried to modify the government drone that
crash-landed on our backyard?

Eve: You spent 5 nights in jail for suspected espionage.

Chris: And all I was trying to do was to turn it into a sprinkler for the potato field!
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Well, the point is, your mother was the brain of the family, and I was trying to fill her shoes
when, you know… I failed to realise that you guys need your father too. (pause) Uuh, this, me
and Julie, started as one of those attempts of me trying to be responsible.

Julie: Which, as we know it, your father is completely hopeless at doing.

Chris: Right! The thing is… We did agree to marry because of the three of you.

And I know, Sam, Eve, that you resent me for that because you love me very much and you
want me to be happy for myself. Right? (trying to coax Sam and Eve into responding) Right?
Aww, c’mon. Evie, baby, you do love me right? Sam? Sammo? Some love for the old man?

Eve: Yes, daddy. Sam: Dad. Please.

Chris: Come here you little critters. (rustling sound and protests from Eve and Sam

as Chris pulls them into a bear hug)

Sam: Okayokayokay enough, dad!

Eve: (muffled) this vehicle is too small for hugging purposes!

Sam and Eve let out a relieved breath when Chris finally let them go.

Sam: The fact that I let you do that even though I’m now a 20 year old adult

speaks a lot about my feelings for you, dad.

Chris laughs for a while. The laughter ended up sounding sad at the end.

Julie: Sam, Eve, Sian… We need to tell you something.

Silence.

Julie: Guys. The citizen partnership grant. It’s not for us.

Sian: (beat) What does that mean?

Julie: They’re not giving me and Chris the permit.

Sam, Eve, and Sian are talking all at once.

Sam: What are you talking about? That’s insane!

Eve: Why? That does not make any sense.

Sian: Mother, that’s impossible. There has to be a mistake!

Julie: (stern voice) Quiet. (pause) The registration process was very long. The first two months
were only the vetting period. We had to fill in endless paperwork about personal details. There
were interviews where it felt like

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they actually want to take our brains apart and look for any single reason that could make us
bad role models for our children. They asked about the books we’ve read, things we’ve
watched, we’ve listened. They made sure that we’re just appropriate enough to raise ‘compliant’
children. And then, after 5 months.... After 5 months, they just had to change the rules. They
said there’s no place left in the colonies. In the colonies, if you’re older than 40, you can’t be
productive. No point sending you if you can’t adapt to the atmosphere like the young ones do.
(pause) But 5 months was more than enough.

Chris: Enough for what, Jules? What are you saying?

Julie: There was a lot that you can learn from each other in 5 months. Just enough to make
you care. Just enough to, maybe, hope for a better future together.

Chris: (pause) It’s okay, honey. We’re going to be okay.

Nobody makes a sound.

An archived recording.

Scene 2

Officer A: Archive number 4506 dash Z. A family of five—3 children: 2 daughters, 1

son; 2 heterosexual parents, registered for the partnership grant list 5 months ago. This file
contains partial recording of some members of the family, taken the day they passed through
the gate, created for the purpose of Colonial Citizen Board review. For full version, please
contact Terran HQ.

A buzzing sound.

Officer A: (from a distance) You and your wife’s permit is only for 3 earth-day cycle, correct?

Chris: Yes, sir.

Officer A: Are your children okay with this? Chris: We’ve… We’ve talked about it, yes.

Officer A: (pause) You just recently met your partner, yes? Chris: Right.

Officer A: How did that happen?

Chris: Well… When you meet the right person, I suppose… Anything could

happen.

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Officer A: No, I mean, how did you two decide to be together at all? Was it only because of the
grant?

Chris: I’ve answered this question before, during the registration.

Officer A: Humour me.

Chris: (beat) Our last partners died two years ago. There was a heat wave in our district.
Apparently, the power plant hotwired, and some of the house units caught fire. Including mine. I
got home from work to find my son and my daughter freaking out, yelling about their mother who
was trapped in our bedroom. She died in the fire. Alone. Julie’s house was two blocks away.
Her husband died one week after the fire. He was hurt really bad from saving Eve. Me and Julie
met at therapy. We just decided that… well, we don’t want to die alone.

A buzzing sound.

Officer A: (from the distance) What do you want to do in the future when you’ve

settled in the colonies?

Sam: I want to join the Pathfinder Army. I want to find a new habitable planet in Alpha Centauri
with a more suitable atmosphere for human, and maybe… be the next colonial leader.

Officer A: Really? That’s big. It’s great to hear you’re still holding onto your

childhood dream.

Sam: No, it’s a recent dream. Actually, I decided it just now.

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 EREHWON?
By: Bukit Mertajam High School

00:00/14:31
Click the play button
PRINCE SAPHIUS:

You may be worn from all the years of serving, Yet you’re too precious to be put away. Mirror,
mirror show me anything,

Please me with what you have today.

MIRROR:

Good day, your highness. You seem to be blue today. How can I serve you?

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

I am the only prince of Willowshire and I’m the heir of this kingdom. I have everything.

Gold, diamonds, horses and men serving me. Name it and I have it. But what am I

lacking of?

MIRROR:

Well, man is a fool. You’re poor despite everything you have. You are blinded with the luxury
around you! But you are still missing something that you can’t buy.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

How can I change my fate?

The mirror displayed an image of the prince in dirty clothes and messy hair but with a wide smile
on his face.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Is that my future? That’s impossible.

MIRROR:

You self-centered fool! You don’t even know how mud feels like.

This is a story about aspiration in life. It focuses on Prince Saphius’ journey on finding his
happiness. We present you, “EREHWON”.

Once upon a time, there lived a lonely prince who goes by the name, Saphius. Feeling offended
with what the mirror had said, he felt the urge to step out of the castle.
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PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Mother, I want to know what’s out there.

MOTHER:

No! Goodness gracious. Do you know how unsafe the outside world is?

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

No, Mother! I have to go.

Immediately after that, the prince took his horse and rode into the jungle. He rode passed a sign
that says ‘EREHWON’. “What a funny name!” After a long ride, he realised that he kept on
coming back to the same spot.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

I’ve been circulating this area for hours! Where am I?

…..(rustling sound)…..

Out of the blue, a talking tree came to life and spoke to the prince. He is the hoarder of the
jungle, also known as Mr. Grandeur.

MR. GRANDEUR:

Your stubbornness has brought you here. What your mother did was to protect you and help
you. Now, it is YOU who have to help someone else in order to repay for your mistake. DO
WHAT IS RIGHT!

Upon hearing the last sentence from Mr. Grandeur, he took a right and continued on until he
sees a small cottage.

*knocks on the door*

The prince gasped. In front of him stood an ugly looking creature staring back at him with only a
golden eye. He noticed that the other eye was covered with a patch.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Good day, Mister. I am Prince Saphius of Willowshire.

DOCTOR RUBERT:

Hello, Princey. Me am Doctor Rubert. What brings Princey here?

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

I am lost and don’t know the way out. Perhaps you can help me?

DOCTOR RUBERT:
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Princey lost? Me can help you. But Princey must help me first. Me was a human just like

Princey. Me was a doctor. Me was cursed by an evil witch.

PRINCE SAPHIUS: What should I do? DOCTOR RUBERT:

Princey can help me break the evil witch’s spell by looking for three special ingredients. Me
make a potion to break the spell. But me cannot tell you the special ingredients.

PRINCE SAPHIUS: Then who can? DOCTOR RUBERT:

Only the talking tree, Mr. Grandeur knows. Mr. Grandeur will tell Princey three riddles for
Princey to find the ingredients. Princey find ingredients, me show you the way out of the jungle.
Deal?

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Okay, I’ll make sure that you get all the ingredients needed.

At once, the prince left to look for Mr. Grandeur.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Mr. Grandeur! Mr. Grandeur!

….. (rustling sound)…..

MR. GRANDEUR:

You are a troublesome one, ay?

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

I need your help. Doctor Rubert asked me to look for you!

MR. GRANDEUR:

Young man,

It sparkles under the sunlight, Plunge into it and you’ll find out.

What you’re finding for may be in your sight, But it belongs to someone wandering about.
Remember; do not be fooled by its beauty.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

What? I need your help. Doctor Rubert asked me to look for you!!!

The favor was not returned. Mr. Grandeur just stood still.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

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Wait, was that a clue? It sparkles under the sunlight….OH I KNOW! It’s jewellery.

The prince looked high and low for the jewellery but in vain.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

How am I supposed to find jewellery in a place like this? Hmm. I’ll just take a short rest

here.

As he was leaning against Mr. Grandeur, something shiny caught his attention.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Ohh… So that’s what sparkles under the sunlight.

He realised that Mr. Grandeur was talking about the stream. He dived into it and looked around
for a clue. He saw a waterfall at the end of the stream and swam pass through it.

To his surprise, he saw a mermaid sitting on a rock playing with her hair.

As his gaze met hers, he was mesmerized and thought “oh my, what a beautiful creature

she is.”

MERMAID:

Oh hello there. Sorry, I don’t get visitors very often. So, what brings you here, little

prince charming?

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Wait, how did you know I was a prince?

MERMAID:

Hahaha..aww you sweet funny little thing. I am Queen Izanami of the Underworld. I smell

and I breathe BEAUTY. Why wouldn’t I know such simple thing?

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Ohh….

MERMAID:

So, here’s an idea. Why don’t you drag your man feet here and sit next to me?

The prince stared at the mermaid, still mesmerized by her beauty.

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MERMAID:

Well, come on. Don’t you want to be with me forever and ever and ever? Aww don’t be shy, little
prince charming. I won’t bite.

The prince took one step after another towards the mermaid. As each time he did, the smirk on
her face just grew wider.

MERMAID:

Yeah, yeah. That’s it, little prince. Come, come a little closer to me.

“Remember; do not be fooled by its beauty”

And that was when the prince snapped out of the trance.

“Do not be fooled by its beauty.” “Do not be fooled by its beauty.” “Do not be fooled by its
beauty.” He said to himself.

MERMAID:

Yes, yes, yes. Come on!

Little did the mermaid know, the prince ran up to her just like she yearned for but instead took
something that was so dear to her, the ancient necklace.

MERMAID:

No, no, no! What are you doing? You can’t take that. You men are food! Nothing more.

Give that back!

The prince dived into the water and swam as fast as he could away from Queen Izanami.

MERMAID:

Oh, no. I’m all alone again. All men are the same.

Prince Saphius took the necklace and rushed to Doctor Rubert’s place.

DOCTOR RUBERT:

Oh! Princey is back! Which ingredient have Princey brought?

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

I’ve brought you the necklace from Queen Izanami.

DOCTOR RUBERT:

Me don’t need the necklace. Me only need the pearl inside the necklace.

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The prince removed the necklace and took out the pearl inside it without him being aware of the
carving, ‘EREHWON’ on it. He handed the necklace and the pearl over to Doctor Rubert.

DOCTOR RUBERT:

Princey just keep the necklace. Now off Princey go looking for the next ingredient.

Prince Saphius started looking for Mr. Grandeur.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Mr. Grandeur! Mr. Grandeur! I’m here for the next clue!

….. (rustling sound)…..

MR. GRANDEUR:

I’m surprised that you have come this far. Anyway,

They move in a number, And stay to help one another.

They are easily convinced with what you have to offer, A tear or two would be the answer.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Riiight.

Prince Saphius decided to try his luck by heading wherever his horse takes him. While he was
on his way, he saw a herd of elephants. There was a calf crying in pain and its mother
trumpeted in frustration. It clicked and finally everything makes sense. He made his way
towards the elephants and saw the reason to why the calf was crying. The calf’s leg was pricked
by a thorn and none of them could get it out.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

I can help you. I just need your tears in return.

….. (elephants trumpeted in agreement)…..

Prince Saphius looked around for something to hold the tears. His eyes landed on a coconut
shell lying on the ground and thought to himself, “This is perfect.” After pulling out the thorn from
the calf’s leg, Prince Saphius collected its tears with the coconut shell.

….. (elephants trumpeted with gratitude)…..

Feeling contented, Prince Saphius returned to Doctor Rubert’s cottage and handed him the
elephant tears.

DOCTOR RUBERT:

What have Princey brought this time? Oh, elephant’s tears! Well done, Princey! One more
ingredient and Princey is out of the jungle.
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PRINCE SAPHIUS:

I’ve come this far. I’m not giving up now.

Prince Saphius felt determined to find the last ingredient as he was a step closer to freedom. He
went looking for Mr. Grandeur again.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Mr. Grandeur! Mr. Grandeur! I’m here for the last clue.

MR. GRANDEUR:

Your determination amazes me. Here you go:

Last but definitely not least, This is the trickiest of them all,

It is definitely something you’ve missed,

It is placed at somewhere tall,

It is your goal to escape as a whole, Look for gold around the coal.

I wish you the best.

He stared blankly at the tree trying to figure what it meant. It was getting late, and he thought he
might as well figure out the clue the next day. To the cottage he went.

*knocks on the door*

PRINCE SAPHIUS: Can I stay over tonight? DOCTOR RUBERT: Hmm…okay!

The prince couldn’t get any sleep that night because he felt unaccomplished. So, he

accompanied Doctor Rubert throughout the night around the campfire.

While listening to Doctor Rubert’s tales and stories…

DOCTOR RUBERT:

(mumbling)

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Gold around the coal…Gold around the coal…

AAHA!!! I got it!

*music starts*

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As soon as, Prince Saphius looked into Doctor Rubert’s golden eye, he saw an image of Mr.

Grandeur. He immediately got up, hop onto his horse, and rushed to look for Mr.

Grandeur.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Mr. Grandeur! Mr. Grandeur! You are the next CLUE!

*music slows down*

Mr. Grandeur?

Mr. Grandeur did not respond. This made Prince Saphius disappointed. As he looked around
impatiently, he spotted a golden leaf from one of the trees.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

There you are, Mr. Grandeur!

Prince Saphius made his way towards Mr. Grandeur and plucked the golden leaf. He handed
the last ingredient to Doctor Rubert.

DOCTOR RUBERT:

Yes! The last ingredient! Now me can start making the potion and turn into a human like

Princey.

(starts making potion)

(drinks the potion and the spell breaks)

My! What an ugly creature I was! Your kind deed changed my life, your highness. I will be
forever grateful and indebted to you. I’m so overwhelmed and speechless that all I can manage
to say right this minute is thank you, thank you and thank you.

Now, as promised, I’ll tell you the way out of the jungle. Go straight until you find a tree with a
yellow trunk, turn left three times and turn right nine times, you’ll find a stone that is hexagon in
shape. Take it and throw it as far as you can and you’ll be back in the castle in no time.

Prince Saphius left the cottage feeling accomplished. He looked dirty and messy but he was
happy.

*flashback*

The mirror displayed an image of the prince in dirty clothes and messy hair but with a wide smile
on his face.

He finally understood what the mirror meant. After he found the stone, he did exactly as what
was instructed by Doctor Rubert and he teleported back to the castle, safe and sound.
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After a few days…

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

Mirror, mirror show me how is Doctor Rubert doing.

Nothing appeared on the mirror but his own reflection.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

(clears his throat)

Mirror, mirror show me how is Doctor Rubert doing.

Again, nothing appeared and he only saw himself. That is when he noticed the carvings on the
necklace spelled backwards.

PRINCE SAPHIUS:

EREHWON….NO WHERE?

-THE END-

CHARACTERS:

Previnah D/O Loganathan as the Narrator

Liveernieesh S/O Ramakrishnan as Prince Saphius of Willowshire

Mohanaa D/O Ananthan as Doctor Rubert

Cheah Jo-Inn as Mr. Grandeur (The Talking Tree)

Rupphasree D/O Vijayan as Queen Izanami of the Underworld (Mermaid)

Ng Jeling as the Mirror and Queen of Willowshire

INSTITUTION:

High School Bukit Mertajam,

77, Jalan Seri Bukit,

14000 Bukit Mertajam, Penang, Malaysia.

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