Spellbinder

Paul:
What do you want?

Ashka:
Your cooperation.

Paul:
Drop dead, Ashka.

Ashka:
I just want the power suit finished. Then I'll take it back to my world and you'll never see me again.

Paul:
What about Riana?

Ashka:
She's quite safe. Whether she remains that way depends on you. The same goes for you father and your sister. Don't cross me again.

Riana:
I was lucky to get back here alive. I nearly got eaten by a car.

Ashka:
A car?

Riana:
They're wild animals. They live in car-parks. Sometimes they escape and run people down. I nearly got gored by a car horn.

Ashka:
You're lying. I saw a car on Paul's camera. They're not animals.

[Paul is hitching a ride back to the train station]

Nun:
What are you doing way out here?

Paul:
I've been at the school camp and got left behind. Could you give me a lift to the railway station?

Nun:
But the school camp had been empty for a week. Now, if you're going to tell me a story, young man, you'd better be a bit more inventive. The last two kids I picked up, they said they were rescuing a friend who was trapped in parallel world. Now that's what I call a story.

[Brian laughs at a newspaper article]

Paul:
What's so funny?

Brian:
"On Saturday, a young farmer from Mt. Lara claims that he was abducted by a beautiful alien wearing an electrically-charged spacesuit." [Paul looks concerned] What's wrong?

Paul:
Nothing. Keep reading.

Brian:
"Yesterday, a woman apparently wearing a similar outfit caused thousands of dollars of damage in an electrical retail store." Aliens on the front page, must be a slow news day. [Doorbell rings] That'll be for me. [Brian leaves and Paul grabs the paper]

Christine:
What's the matter?

Paul:
I think Ashka's here.

[Paul, Alex and Katrina are hiding outside Ashka's house]

Alex:
There's three of us. There's only one of her.

Katrina:
What if she has a guard dog or a gun or the power suit?

Alex:
Good point.

Katrina:
Ashka's not from this world. She doesn't even know how this world works. She can't even read.

Alex:
Yeah, so?

Katrina:
So, all we have to do is think of a way to trick her into letting one of us in.

Alex:
Who's gonna do that?

Paul:
You. You're the only one of us Ashka doesn't know.

Alex:
Good morning, madam, I'm from the gas company. We've had a report of a leak in your area, so I'm here to check the pipes.

Ashka:
I'm busy. Go away.

Alex:
Madam, if there is a leak, your whole house could fill up with gas and explode.

Ashka:
Come back tomorrow.

Alex:
No, I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to do it right away. Read this. [holds up a video store membership card] This is my authorization. [Ashka reluctantly lets Alex in]

[the phone in Ashka's hotel room rings and she picks up the receiver]

Ashka:
Yes?

Paul:
Ashka, this is Paul.

Ashka:
How did you know I was here?

Paul:
This is my world, remember?

[Paul discovers that Katrina was unwittingly helping Ashka]

Paul:
Why didn't you tell me about her, Katrina?

Katrina:
You were too busy following her around with those stupid detectors. At least I found her.

Paul:
Well sure. You found her and she sucked you right in. You think you're so clever. Now she's gone and she can do anything.

Alex:
Paul!

Paul:
Stay out of this, Alex. [to Katrina] This is all your fault!

Katrina:
My fault? You were the one who got us into this mess in the first place! All I've been doing is trying to help. [runs out in tears]

Alex:
I think you went a bit far, buddy.

Paul:
It is her fault.

Alex:
Yeah? Look, if it wasn't for Katrina, you'd still be stuck in Spellbinder world. Think about that.

[Gryvon has found an old Spellbinder text]

Gryvon:
It shows how to build power suits and flying ships.

Ashka:
I'll take this back to Paul's world. Their scientists will be able to improve these designs with their computers. When I come back, no one will be able to stand against me. I'll rule the Spellbinders!

Paul:
How can you be one of the world's top scientists and not be able to follow a simple recipe?

Brian:
I don't do things the way they're supposed to be done. That's why I'm so successful.

Paul:
And such a lousy cook.

[Alex and Katrina are making audio tapes of their fictional relationship, with notes from Alex's brother, Nick]

Alex:
[reading, stiltedly] "Dearest Katrina, I miss you so much. I miss your tender kisses."

Katrina:
[reading, woodenly] "I just want to rest my head against your strong, manly chest." [Nick passes them another note] "I wish we could be together forever and ever."

Alex:
"We will, my darling, as soon as-" [turns over the paper] "I've killed your parents." [Nick laughs] Nick!

Ashka:
Paul, you could show your gratitude by helping us destroy the Marauders.

Paul:
They're peaceful!

Ashka:
Only you and I and Gryvon know that.

Gryvon:
[smugly] And I'm not telling.

Paul Reynolds:
I've never seen so many stars. There's the Southern Cross. Wait a minute, you can't see that in the northern hemisphere. I must still be in Australia. And the eclipse yesterday. I must still be in the same year. I haven't gone back in time.

Riana:
Now I really don't understand.

Paul Reynolds:
Neither do I, but somehow I'm in the same place, and at the same time, but everything's different.

Riana:
I know enough to live my life. Why would I want to know anything else?

Paul Reynolds:
Because... because if you don't learn, you can't understand how the world works. You can't control your life.

Riana:
The Spellbinders control my life.

Paul Reynolds:
And don't you care about that?

Riana:
Why should I? I'm happy.

Paul Reynolds:
If I've gone back in time, how come that Spellbinders have got flying machines? What makes them fly?

Riana:
Magic.

Paul Reynolds:
There's no such thing as magic.

Paul Reynolds:
What's that smell?

Riana:
I'm curing rabbit skins.

Paul Reynolds:
I don't think the cure is working.

Correon:
[to Riana] You've cause me a great deal of trouble.

Paul:
Correon...

Correon:
Quiet, Paul. Riana, you've continually disobeyed and contradicted me. Argued and been disrespectful and you're always asking questions that are none of your concern. You're just the kind of person I want as my apprentice.

Paul:
If people in my world learn about the doorway and start coming here, who knows what will happen?

Riana:
We'll have TV.

Paul:
And developers. They'll turn your world into a theme park. Yours of the castle, rides in the flying ships. Spellbinderland. Then you won't be able to afford to live here anymore.

Riana:
He's right regent. His world will take over ours. His people are too clever.

Correon:
We must make out people clever. We have to share the Spellbinders' knowledge.

Ashka:
Don't be a fool, Correon. The Spellbinders will lose their power.

Correon:
Things have to change.

Ashka:
Your husband is an enemy of the Spellbinders.

Maran:
He's a good man.

Ashka:
Tell me where he is. Tell me, or I'll burn your cottage!

Maran:
I don't know where he is, and I wouldn't tell you if I did!

[Ashka fires a power bolt at the cottage, setting the roof ablaze]

Ashka:
This whole village shows disrespect to the Spellbinders! If Bron is not caught within the week, all of Clayhill will be burned to the ground!

Brian:
[on the phone] My son has undergone a harrowing ordeal. He is in no condition to talk to anyone. [pause] No, he was not abducted by aliens! [hangs up]

Bron:
Did you see that? My nephew drove off the marauders. Isn't he a marvel?

Gryvon:
Using magic is forbidden.

Riana:
It wasn't magic, it's science.

[Riana comes to wake up Paul, who has been sleeping in the barn]

Riana:
Paul.

Paul:
I'm tired, dad, let me go back to sleep.

Riana:
Paul, it's Riana. It's time for work.

Paul:
I'm not old enough to go to work.

Riana:
Everyone who eats must work. It's the law.

Paul:
Riana, it's still dark.

Riana:
By the time you dress and have breakfast, it won't be.

Katrina:
I know I'm gonna sound crazy, but I think Paul is in another dimension. You know how things disappear in the Bermuda Triangle? [Alex nods] I think the same thing happened to Paul.

Alex:
Hey, you're right.

Katrina:
You believe me!

Alex:
No, you do sound crazy.

Paul:
Why don't these Spellbinders let you have anything new? In my world, nearly all farming is done with machines.

Riana:
What is "machines"?

Paul:
You're complicated tools that make life easier. Like in my world, we don't have to walk everywhere. We have cars. They're like a chair with wheels and you sit in the chair and it takes you where you want to go.

Riana:
Could this chair take me to Rivertown?

Paul:
No, because you don't have any roads.

Riana:
Could it take me up the river?

Paul:
No.

Riana:
Could it take me across the fields?

Paul:
Not without destroying your crops, but...

Riana:
These chairs would be of no use in our world.

[Paul observes the Spellbinders' flying ship casting a "spell" over a blighted field]

Paul:
They're crop-dusting.

Riana:
Come back.

Paul:
They're spraying the field with chemicals; poisons to kill the blight. The Spellbinders aren't magicians, they use science, just like in my world.

Paul Reynolds:
That's Sydney. Big, isn't it?

Riana:
How many other people live in there?

Katrina Muggleton:
Millions.

Riana:
How many is that?

Paul Reynolds:
More than you've ever dreamed of. I wish Correon could've seen this.

Maran:
Where have you been?

Arla:
I went home to get the magic stones, but the Spellbinder was there. She said Paul took Riana to his world. The Spellbinder wants Paul's camera. She told the Summoner to find us.

Alex:
We could make mega-bucks out of this. We can sell the story to the newspapers. "Lost Girls from the Land of the Spellbinders". Hey Riana, you'll be on the front page. I bet you look great in the swimsuit.

Katrina Muggleton:
Alex!

Paul Reynolds:
They don't have any schools in Riana's world, either.

Alex:
Sounds good to me.

Katrina Muggleton:
How do you learn new things?

Riana:
We don't. The Spellbinders tell us that new thoughts are dangerous.

Alex:
Well, if the Spellbinders won't let you come up with any new ideas, how does the young entrepreneur make any money?

Paul Reynolds:
Get ready for a shock, Alex. They don't have any money, either.

Alex:
No money... that's sick.

Tim:
I love Saturday mornings.

Sandra:
You think we'll be able to enjoy them as much once we have children?

[Josie, Riana and Ben charge through their house, exiting through the back door]

Josie:
Sorry.

[the two punks chasing them burst into the house]

Tim:
Look here, chaps, this just won't do!

Bazza:
Where are they, mate?

[Tim points after the trio and the punks continue the chase]

Sandra:
I don't think I want to have children after all.

Gryvon:
The Spellbinders are still looking for you. If they catch you, you're banished.

Ashka:
That's why I'm going to Paul's world. I know how to do it, but I need your help.

Gryvon:
No, I'm in enough trouble as it is.

Ashka:
Are you going to let those ignorant villagers treat you like a servant for the rest of your life? You're better than them.

Gryvon:
Yes, but Correon said there was a chance I could be an apprentice again.

Ashka:
Forget Correon. There is power in Paul's world that will make me invincible. When I get back, I will have knowledge that will make the Spellbinders my servants. You can't lose, Gryvon. If I succeed, you'll rule beside me. And if I don't, no one will know what you've done.

Ashka:
Tell me everything you know about Paul's world.

Riana:
I didn't see much. I wasn't there long.

Ashka:
But you told Correon that everything is faster and more powerful. That's right, I've been following you ever since you arrived.

Riana:
Paul's world is huge. I hardly saw any of it.

Ashka:
What about these thinking computers, how do they work?

Riana:
It depends on what software you have.

Ashka:
I don't understand. What do they look like. Do they have to be fed?

Riana:
They're not alive.

Ashka:
Could I carry one?

Riana:
You can't go to Paul's world. [Riana makes a break for it, but Ashka catches her] You're not going to stop me this time, girl.

[the two punks had Josie, Riana and Ben cornered in the harbor warehouse]

Josie:
Wrack off, you creeps!

Tommo:
You freaks wrecked my car and made me look like an idiot and now you're gonna pay.

[Alex enters to create a diversion]

Alex:
Excuse me. Hi, I'm from the Young Friendly Society and we've just opened a new activity center for young, homeless youth. Would you guys be interested in joining?

Bazza:
Take a hike, snot features.

Alex:
Well, we have a ping-pong table and three chess sets.

Tommo:
Got any punching bags? How's you like to become one? [grabs Alex]

Alex:
Paul!

[Paul enters, wearing the power suit]

Paul:
Leave him alone!

Bazza:
And who do you think you are, RoboFlop?

Alex:
Oh, you guys are in trouble now.

Tommo:
Oh, really?

Paul:
Really! [fires several power bolts to drive them away] Want some more?

Bron:
Where have you been?

Riana:
To the summoning tower. Paul wanted me to find his tape, but I couldn't. They don't believe him.

Maran:
You must forget Paul.

Riana:
But he saved our village.

Maran:
He broke the law.

Riana:
Then the law is unfair.

Katrina Muggleton:
Come over to my place after school; I've got a whole lot more stuff to show you.

Alex Katsonis:
No way.

Katrina Muggleton:
Well, if you don't, I'll tell everyone what you and I were doing in the toilet.

Alex Katsonis:
We weren't doing anything.

Katrina Muggleton:
We know that, but nobody else does.

Riana:
What did you think of Paul's music.

Bron:
It sounded like, uh, tortured souls of the dead. But it had good rhythm.

[Paul notices a large lodestone in the center of the flying ship]

Paul:
That's like the magnetic stone I saw outside of the mine. That's what powers this thing, right?

Ashka:
We are Spellbinders. Our powers are beyond your comprehension.

Paul:
Come on, you're not dealing with some dumb hick here. This is a scam, just like in "The Wizard of Oz". You want everyone to think you're magicians, but you're not. You're scientists.

Katrina Muggleton:
In Scotland, two hundred years ago, a woman was struck by lightning and disappeared. A lot of people saw it. One year later, she was found in Paris.

Alex Katsonis:
So, what are you saying? Paul's in Paris?

Correon:
Impossible. The fools. It was the Spellbinders themselves who caused the Darkness, not the Marauders!

Paul Reynolds:
What?

Correon:
The old Spellbinders were trying to increase their powers, but something went wrong. Listen. "Moments after the experiment began, the earth convulsed. Cracks appeared in the ground and mountains of fire arose."

Paul Reynolds:
Earthquakes and volcanoes. That's why your world is so different from mine. Go on.

Correon:
"The sky was black with clouds and the sun disappeared. The trees began to die."

Paul Reynolds:
It sounds like a nuclear winter. In my world, people learned how to turn fireworks into bombs. One bomb can destroy a whole castle. And nuclear bombs a million times more powerful.

Correon:
[whispers] Madness.

Paul Reynolds:
If enough of these went off, they would blow so much dust into the atmosphere that it would block out the sun. It would cause a winter that would last for years and all the animals and trees would die. That's what the old Spellbinders must've done.

Correon:
They were arrogant fools. Like Ashka!

Paul Reynolds:
And Ashka already knows how to turn fireworks into bombs.

Correon:
Then she must not be allowed to learn the secret of making gunpowder. We must find a way of sending you home.

[Correon is using his Eyestone]

Correon:
Marna, Lukan, this is Correon. I found the boy.

Lukan:
Good. Bring him back to the castle.

Correon:
No. I am sending him back to his world. His knowledge is too dangerous for us. When you see what I have found, you will understand why.

Lukan:
Why are there so many of these factories?

Paul Reynolds:
There are a lot of people in my world. And they all want stuff. Cars, washing machines, TVs...

Marna:
What is TVs?

Paul Reynolds:
They're like this camera, but without the tape. And everyone has one in their house.

Marna:
Why?

Paul Reynolds:
So they can watch whatever is happening in the world.

Correon:
So everybody in your world knows what is happening everywhere else?

Paul Reynolds:
Yes.

Marna:
Do you have power suits and eyestones in your world?

Paul Reynolds:
No. But we have lasers and missles and computers. They're machines that think a billion times faster than a person.

Marna:
We have flying ships.

Paul Reynolds:
And we have rockets that have flown men to the moon.

Lukan:
That's impossible. The moon is too small to stand on. It's only as big as an apple.

Paul Reynolds:
Don't give me that. Correon had a model of the solar system in his room. I mean, you guys know all about the moon and the planets.

Lukan:
[to Correon] Why did you let him see it?

Paul Reynolds:
Why is it such a secret? Everyone in my world knows that stuff from primary school.

Marna:
The Spellbinders decide what people should know. It's for their own good.

Paul Reynolds:
It's for your own good! You get all the power and the knowledge and they get treated like slaves!

Lukan:
I've heard enough! No matter where the boy came from, he broke the law!

Marna:
But his knowledge could be useful. Perhaps he could help us repair our flying ships.

Lukan:
No! He already knows too much about us!

Katrina:
Paul's father is a scientist. He'll look at my research calmly and rationally.

[smash cut to Dr. Reynolds throwing Katrina's folder down on the table]

Brian:
This is nonsense! There's no scientific basis to any of this!

Paul Reynolds:
What did Marna mean about repairing the flying ships?

Correon:
They were built before the Darkness, when the Spellbinders had great knowledge. Now we don't even understand how they fly. If one breaks, we can't repair it. We only have six left that work. We have the same problem with our power suits. All my studies are an attempt to regain our lost knowledge. Perhaps you can help.

Paul Reynolds:
Well, I don't know much about physics, but I can try.

[Brian finds Christine sitting in Paul's closet]

Brian:
What are you doing in there?

Christine:
Paul's not coming back, is he?

Brian:
[sits down next to her] Of course he is. Paul's just got himself lost in the bush. He wouldn't want to think we'd given up on him.

Christine:
[sobs] I just want him back.

Brian:
So do I, sweetheart. So do I.

[Ashka shows Paul a map that looks very much like Australia, with a few geographical and topological differences]

Ashka:
This is a map of the Spellbinders' land. This is the castle and the tower near Clayhill where you arrived.

Paul Reynolds:
[indicating symbols on the map] And are all these towers like this one?

Gryvon:
They power the flying ships and the eyestones.

Paul Reynolds:
And where does the power come from?

Gryvon:
Down from the...

Ashka:
[quickly] That's no concern of yours.

Paul Reynolds:
[points to the western coast] And is this the sea here?

Ashka:
No... the Wastelands, where the Marauders come from. When the Darkness came, everything but our land was destroyed.

Gryvon:
Only the power of Spellbinders saved us.

Paul Reynolds:
But what caused this Darkness?

Ashka:
The Marauders.

Paul Reynolds:
No, the news is real. It shows all the bad things that happened that day. Like wars and famines and murders.

Riana:
I don't think I'd like it in your world.

Paul Reynolds:
Well, at least we don't have Spellbinders.

[after failing to find any other way to the mountains]

Katrina:
This is hopeless. We'll never get up to the cave in time.

Alex:
Well, there's always the last resort of modern youth...

Katrina:
What?

Alex:
Public transport. We'll catch a train.

Ms. Gibson:
The Ancient Chinese believed that eclipses were caused by a dragon eating the sun. They'd bang gongs and drums to chase the dragon away.

Alex:
They must have been idiots.

Ms. Gibson:
It always worked.

Correon:
You opened my eyes to the world, Paul. I hope you find a way to return to yours.

Paul Reynolds:
Take this. [gives Correon his radio] As long as the batteries last, you'll be able to hear everything the Spellbinders say. Goodbye, Spellbinder.

Correon:
Goodbye... Apprentice.

[Paul has polished Correon's power suit before his duel with Ashka]

Paul Reynolds:
What do you think?

Correon:
It looks wonderful. Wenza, my last apprentice, used to do that. He died of the fever eleven years ago and after that, I never took another apprentice.

Bron:
Just a short time ago, Riana was a happy girl without a care in the world. Then you arrived and everything changed! You brought great pain to this family.

Paul Reynolds:
I'm sorry, Bron. I really am. I didn't mean for any of this to happen.

Bron:
I believe you, but I wish you had never come to my village.

[Ashka is standing between Paul and the dimensional gateway]

Paul Reynolds:
I won't let you stop me, Ashka! [primes his power suit]

Ashka:
[laughs] You think you can defeat a Spellbinder? [Ashka quickly duels and defeats Paul] You're never going home, Paul, ever!

Paul Reynolds:
The video camera's on its way to the Regents, Ashka. When they see the tape, you're finished!

Ashka:
[looks back at the gateway] If I'm finished in this world, I'll go to yours.

Ashka:
[speaking into an eyestone] Summoner, I will be in Clayhill shortly. If the boy escapes, I will burn your village.

Spellbinder:
You can't do that!

Ashka:
That's none of your concern.

[Paul finds Riana in his bedroom closet]

Paul:
What are you doing here?

Riana:
Ashka's in your world.

Paul:
I know. She's harmless. We destroyed her power suit two days ago.

Riana:
But she's got the old Spellbinder book. She's going to use the science of your world to build a stronger power suit. Then she'll go back and defeat the spellbinders. You have to help me stop her.

Brian:
This is our main research laboratory.

Ashka:
It's very impressive.

Anna:
Hello, I'm Anna.

[Ashka ignores Anna to examine the power suit 2.0]

Ashka:
You must have been up all night, Mr. Reynolds.

Brian:
Thanks for everything, Anna. That'll be all for now. [Anna leaves] It's Brian Reynolds.

Ashka:
What?

Brian:
You can call me Brian.

Ashka:
Oh, of course, you have two names. Yan can call me... Anna. Yes, I have the same name as your servant.

Brian:
I wouldn't call her that while she's around.

[after tests where the power suit has attracted metal tools and repelled bar magnets]

Brian:
If we can build a suit that can generate enough power, it could repel the Earth's magnetic field. The suit would be able to fly.

Brian:
Paul, this is Anna Harley.

[the office chair turn around to reveal... ]

Ashka:
Hello, Paul.

[Ashka has gone to Brian's lab with power suit blueprints]

Ashka:
My name is Harley. My husband was a... person who dug under the ground for old things. I am from Iceland, I don't your world for this.

Brian:
Archaeologist.

Ashka:
Ah yes, archaeologist. On our last digging, under an old castle, we found this. [shows him the Spellbinder book] My husband was very excited by the discovery, but very soon after we found the book, he came down with a fever and died.

Brian:
I'm sorry to hear that. But why did you bring the book to me?

Ashka:
My husband believed the book to contain powerful and ancient secrets. He said we would need a clever scientist to decipher them.

Brian:
[looking through the book] What language is this?

Ashka:
From Iceland, but very old. I can read it, but I don't understand science.

Brian:
This looks like the wiring diagram for a voltage amplifier. How old is this book.

Ashka:
At least two hundred years.

Brian:
That's ridiculous. They didn't possess that kind of circuitry then.

Ashka:
We also found this. The book calls it a power stone. It is the energy source for this: the power suit.

[Brian tests the power stone with a voltmeter and it shorts out]

Brian:
Never seen a battery this small so powerful.

Ashka:
If we work together, I'm sure we can unlock its secret. Will you help me?

Paul:
Have you seen this? [shows Alex the paper]

Alex:
"Alien Beauty Wreaks Havoc"! Wow! She must have come for my body.

Paul Reynolds:
Christine, that's Riana.

Christine Reynolds:
The girl from the Spellbinder world. Oh, I knew you weren't crazy.

[looking at the Spellbinder castle]

Zander:
I hate this place.

Arla:
It's beautiful.

Correon:
And dangerous.

Paul Reynolds:
Christine, that was brilliant! Have I ever told you that I love you?

Christine Reynolds:
No. Better not start.

Ashka:
It is forbidden to build new things!

[Paul has been captured by Riana]

Paul:
If I've trespassed on your land, I'm sorry. I got lost last night. I'm from the school camp. If you take me back there, they'll tell you who I am. My father is an important scientist. If you bring me back, I'll make sure he gives you a reward. You could buy yourself some new clothes. [pulls sharply on the ropes binding his wrists] Listen, you stupid girl! Kidnapping's illegal! If you don't let me go right now, you're in big trouble!

[the solar eclipse begins]

Riana:
The Darkness. You have brought the Darkness! Please, Marauder, bring back the sun.

Paul:
It's just an eclipse. Don't you go to school? It's just the moon passing in front of the sun. [Riana looks at the eclipse] No, don't look at it!

Riana:
Please don't destroy the world. I'm sorry for hurting you. Bring back the sun. Please, bring it back.

Paul:
You'll have to untie me. [Riana complies] Good, now take me to the school camp.

Riana:
When will you bring back the sun?

Paul:
Any second now. [waits for the eclipse to end] Let there be light.

Ashka:
Today the Marauders tried again to bring an end to our world. But we Spellbinders cast a powerful spell and brought back the sun.

Paul:
[to himself] Get real.

Gryvon:
Praise the Spellbinders!

Crowd:
Praise the Spellbinder!

[Paul catches up to Riana at the market]

Riana:
Go away!

Paul:
What year is this?

Riana:
Why do you keep asking these questions?

Paul:
Because I think I worked out what's happened to me. I've gone back in time.