Dr B.
story synopsis, v1.2
In a bright sunny spot of a busy urban environment, a tattered old man with a graying St
Bernard at his side, sits with his back against the warm sidewalk wall. Folds of grimy leather envelop
him, crowned by a wrinkled old hat atop a massive thicket of white hair. Just out of plain view, the
rim of his hat hides a pair of gleaming eyes. Gems that have lost none of the potency of youth. Gems
that sparkle with focus and intent. Behind the "need money for plutonium" sign that's slung over his
lap, he's scribbling a series of complex formulas in a small notebook. The myriad of people around
him pass by in a blurred time lapse - the old man's internal clock seemingly revolves around a much
slower gear than that of the people around him, and the pace of the camera follows that of the old
man. The odd person come into focus as they pass by. A big tip. An inspiring pair of legs. A genuine
smile, meant for his furry companion. A disgusted grimace of recognition, meant for him.
As the sun eventually takes its geometry elsewhere, the old man gets up, grabs his full cup of
change, bows to the flickering shadows of the surging crowd, rounds a corner into a dank, tight and
inwards leaning alleyway of seemingly abandoned buildings. The last lit windows before the alley
turns dark is a gadget shop w/ gaudily lit display windows. Leaving the dog waiting outside, Dr B
heads inside and returns with a shopping cart filled to the brim with strange looking tech-gadgets.
Heading further down the deepening alley, he leaves the city noise behind and arrives at a
naked lamp-lit wall of walled-up windows, where a large rusty hook is protruded. Donning a pair of
previously pocketed glasses, he eyes the hook. Then, nonchalantly, and with grace, he shoos the dog,
takes off his bulky, slightly stylish, bum-coat and hangs it on the hook. The wall-segment promptly
revolves 180 degrees, and the suddenly lonesome, frailer and gentler old man finds himself high in
the far corner of a large underground laboratory, where a massive object sits half draped, half
surrounded by various ladders and platforms. Eying the room's central object, he reaches out to the
wall. As an elevator powering up is heard, he descends to the lab floor at speeds that challenge the
stability of the trolley contents, as well as his moustache's horizontality.
Directly next to the elevator's resting place hangs a well-worn, out-of-fashion, firmly ironed
and almost white, lab coat. This is donned with precision and the name-tag on it polished with the
humidity of exhaled breath. A couple of buttons aren't the coat's originals, but the old man's attitude
reveals that he's now nonetheless ready for the grand ball. He proceeds to walk towards the central
structure, turning on the odd light, inspecting temperature meters and checking dusty monitors
while mumbling under his breath. Finally, he climbs the ladders & platforms of the central object
until he reaches an open compartment that can be nothing other than a cockpit.
It is during the lab walk revealed through flashbacks and/or pictures on the wall that Dr B.
was a hotshot in one of mega-corporation NOZONE's heavily funded departments. In short:
- 2000s: The talented young rocket scientist becomes the fall guy for a spectacularly failed moon
launch. He is ridiculed publicly, including tabloid pictures of his childhood diapers, and loses any
chance of ever working with rockets again. Soon after being fired, he is living on the streets. During
these flashbacks, Dr. B's lab-assistant is also seen, posing together with him in the laboratory, at
science award ceremonies, etc.
- 2010s: After over a decade of living on the fringe of society, Dr B is on the brink of total collapse. On
a rainy night, he considers ending it all above the city's dark river. However, he finds solace in another
homeless creature, the orphaned St. Bernard puppy Fluffy. In an abandoned bunker under the local
junkyard he begins building a makeshift rocket engine, using superglue and modified plumbing
equipment as a base. An oath is sworn to the moon!
- 2020s: The rocket ship is just about done. The local gas stations have been siphoned for fuel and the
city's electricity grid hotwired to the ignition. Another pair of the new plutonium-charged mobile
phone batteries, and the remote module should have all the power needed for a permanent vacation
to the moon. Lifetime supply of sardines, tea and Rational Demographic magazine. Check.
During his last week as a beggar, the lab assistant from NOZONE suddenly drifts into Dr B's
time-bubble, seemingly frazzling to a mental-stop right in front of his cup [parallel composition to
award ceremony shot seen earlier]. The ex-colleague's briefcase falls open, and seemingly endless
amounts of paper fly into the face of Dr B, nearly burying him. After he catches his feet, Dr. B sees his
old friend to the nearest bus-stop, and goes back to his begging post. He gets the last remaining
components from the gadget shop, and hurries to the lab.
As the countdown sequence is begun and the doctor is on his way to climb the cockpit, his
path is blocked by the large, sad and incredibly convincing eyes of Fluffy. The dog is shooed out of
the rotating lab door, but the good doctor is obviously horribly perturbed by the event. Regardless,
he glides on a wire from the top of the elevator, directly into the cockpit, closes the glass resolutely
and waits for the countdown to finish [countdown done in other language than English]. 10... 9... 8...
7... (is that doubt on his face?) 6... 5... 4... (panic?) 3... 2... 1... (suddenly flailing at the controls to stop
the countdown!)
Cut to remote shot of the strange craft lifting off, the abandoned block resting securely atop
its hull; As the camera pans to the side, Fluffy's wagging tail comes into view. Dr B standing firmly
next to him, arm around his shoulder, scratching his ear. Camera focus changes from the spaceship
to that of the two old friends watching the launch. Then a cockpit interior shot, showing the frenzied
joy of the NOZONE ex-colleague, who's evidently rediscovered the joy of living, and all at once.
Finally, Fluffy sends a series of barks at the sky, as the rocket-ship flies into the cloudy layers above.