The Amersham Chronicles

THE AMERSHAM CHRONICLES

PATRICIA KEILLER

THE AMERSHAM CHRONICLES by Patricia Keiller

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CHARACTERS

NEWSREADER The man who initially breaks the news of strange sightings in the town of Amersham, and the subsequent transmissions charting the progress of the alien invasions, the panic felt by the fleeing population of London, and the eventual defeat of the aliens.

JACK KOWALSKI Roving reporter sent to Amersham to cover the story.

MARK LEWISHAM Man of about forty. Local to the area, and a scientist. Sends his wife and children to stay with her mother in Wimbledon when the problems begin, but soon realises they may be in just as much danger there as in Amersham. Soon he and JACK KOWALSKI set off on a mission to London to rescue their families.

SARAH LEWISHAM MARK'S wife. She is very reluctant to leave, and does so grudgingly.

DANIEL LEWISHAM MARK and SARAH'S twelve year old son.

KATE LEWISHAM Their fourteen year old daughter.

SERGEANT PETE MATTHEWS Tough army sergeant. With his help MARK LEWISHAM and JACK KOWALSKI are able to formulate a plan that will lead to the eventual downfall of the aliens.

PRIME MINISTER FANSHAW A man on the brink of total defeat and disaster. Rather doubtful of the theory amd plan put forward by MARK LEWISHAM,JACK KOWALSKI and SERGEANT MATTHEWS, he nevertheless listens, and decides to try out their plan as a last resort.

COMMANDER IN CHIEF SIR HENTY DRAYTON Top army commander, and someone with whom SERGEANT MATTHEWS gets on well, as they are very much cut out of the same cloth.

POLICE OFFICER Stationed outside 10 Downing Street.

GUARD Stationed outside the Cabinet War Rooms

SETTING

Initially the small town of Amersham, situated north west of London in Buckinghamshire, then London itself.

FADE IN:

NEWSREADER Reports have been coming in of strange lights being seen over the town of Amersham in Buckinghamshire. The bright, white light has been clearly visible in the sky above the town for a couple of nights. We go over now to our reporter on the scene, Jack Kowalski.

JACK KOWALSKI I am here in Amersham with local scientist, Professor Mark Lewisham. Professor, there has been much speculation about the strange lights seen in the nightly sky above the town as being a UFO, but you yourself believe that the lights have a perfectly simple explanation.

MARK LEWISHAM Yes, I believe that the bright, white lights seen over Amersham are nothing other than a rather extreme manifestation of the Aurora Borealis.

JACK KOWALSKI Thank you Professor Lewisham. This is Jack Kowalski reporting from Amersham.

NEWSREADER The Prime Minister is due to announce a cabinet reshuffle this afternoon......

(GRAMS)

(IT IS LATE AFTERNOON, AND THE WHOLE LEWISHAM FAMILY ARE AT HOME.KATE AND DANIEL WHO HAVE JUST RETURNED HOME FROM SCHOOL, ADDRESS THEIR FATHER.)

KATE LEWISHAM Abosulute chaos has broken out in the town centre, Dad. All the traffic has come to a complete standstill...

DANIEL LEWISHAM A man's just been killed by that UFO, Dad!

MARK LEWISHAM I told you before, Daniel, it's no such thing. It's the Aurora Borealis.

DANIEL LEWISHAM If you don't believe me, ask Kate.

KATE LEWISHAM It's true. This man approached the wooded area where the bright, white light seems to be coming from, there was this ear splitting noise, the man fell to the ground dead, and when the police tried to recover his body, they found that it had been incinerated. All that was left of him was a pile of dust, and the shadow of where his body had once stood.

MARK LEWISHAM I don't believe a word of all this, I'm going out to check up on the children's story.

SARAH LEWISHAM What if the children are right? What if those strange lights are something sinister after all?

MARK LEWISHAM Oh, come on, Sarah! You don't believe in all this extraterrestrial nonsense, do you?

(GRAMS)

(MARK LEWISHAM HAS MADE HIS WAY TO A HILLTOP FROM WHICH A WOODED AREA BELOW CAN BE SEEN. A SMALL CROWD HAS CONGREGATED ON THE HILLTOP. THE JOURNALIST, JACK KOWALSKI IS AMONG THE CROWD. MARK SPOTS HIM, AND GOES OVER TO HIM).

MARK LEWISHAM I see quite a crowd has gathered here, I suppose you've got quite a good view of those trees from this spot. Anyway I guessed this was where you would be. You journalists are never ones to miss a good story, are you? I hear a man was killed down by the trees earlier, supposedly by the bright light everyone been going on about these last few days.

JACK KOWALSKI I shall ignore that rather snide comment about journalists. The man was killed by that white light you said was caused by the Aurora Borealis. I saw it happen, and I can tell you that it was no atmospheric phenomenon.

MARK LEWISHAM What happened exactly?

JACK KOWALSKI The poor man approached the trees, there was a flash of intense white light, a bit like the flash of a camera going off, but on a much bigger scale. There was a whirring noise, and something metallic could be seen hovering above the treetops.

MARK LEWISHAM You mean like a machine of some sort?

JACK KOWALSKI Yes, I guess.

MARK LEWISHAM I'm going to see if I can borrow that man's binoculars, and move a bit closer to get a better view.(PAUSE) Excuse me, can I borrow your binoculars for a few minutes.

MAN Yes, of course.

JACK KOWALSKI Hey, wait a minute Professor Lewisham. Do you mind if I come with you?

MARK LEWISHAM It's a free world. I can't stop you coming with me, I suppose.

JACK KOWALSKI You don't like journalists much, do you? I'd just like to say I take my job very seriously. I don't do exploitative journalism. I'm here to report the truth.

MARK LEWISHAM I'm sorry. You're right. I don't like journalists much as a breed, and I haven't really given you a fair chance.

JACK KOWALSKI Apology accepted. Now let's get a closer look at what's going on.

(THE SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS ON GRASS)

MARK LEWISHAM (WHISPERING) My god, it's huge! It's made from some sort of metal.I've never seen anything like it. There don't appear to be any windows, portals, or doors, but it's definately a craft of some kind.

JACK KOWALSKI Let me have a look.(PAUSES AS HE TAKES THE BINOCULARS) It's amazing. It's some sort of alien craft, isn't it. I never thought I'd see anything like this.

MARK LEWISHAM It may not be alien.

JACK KOWALSKI Is there any country in the world capable of such advanced technology?

MARK LEWISHAM No, I don't think so.

JACK KOWALSKI And judging by the death of that man, they don't seem very friendly either.

MARK LEWISHAM Let's not jump to any conclusions. Perhaps the death of that man was an accident.

JACK KOWALSKI Do you really think it could have been an accident?

MARK LEWISHAM I think it's possible, yes.

(THEIR CONVERSATION IS INTERRUPTED BY LOUD SHOUTS, AND THE SOUND OF SOMEONE RUNNING PAST THEM).

JACK KOWALSKI Ahh! That light! It's so intense.

MARK LEWISHAM My eyes! It's like staring into the sun.

JACK KOWALSKI The light is acting like a laser beam now. It's focusing on that man.

MARK LEWISHAM He's d..dead, dissolved in front of our eyes to a pile of dust.

JACK KOWALSKI There's another laser beam there. It's aiming for that building.

MARK LEWISHAM The....the building. It's...it's been turned into a heap of rubble.

JACK KOWALSKI Do you still think all of this could be an accident?

MARK LEWISHAM No...no, I don't.

(GRAMS)

(MARK LEWISHAM IS AT HOME WITH HIS FAMILY. IT IS LATE EVENING).

MARK LEWISHAM Sarah, I'd like you and the kids to go and stay with your mother in Wimbledon for now. There's something very strange going on here in Amersham. I don't think it's safe for you and the children to remain here.

SARAH LEWISHAM You've changed your tune somewhat since this morning.

MARK LEWISHAM That was before I saw what had happened to those two men who were killed.

DANIEL LEWISHAM So you think it might be aliens then?

MARK LEWISHAM I wouldn't go so far as to say I think it's aliens for sure, but there is something extremely odd, and sinister going on, and I would rather all of you were somewhere a bit safer.

SARAH LEWISHAM Well, if you're staying, I'm staying too.

MARK LEWISHAM I'm staying because I think I should. We can't all just abandon the town to whatever it is that's threatening it.

KATE LEWISHAM I don't want to go to Wimbledon. All my friends are here in Amersham.

DANIEL LEWISHAM I do. Going to Wimbledon might be fun, a bit like an adventure. I think it'll be cool.

KATE LEWISHAM You little squirt. You wouldn't recognize cool even if you fell over it.

DANIEL LEWISHAM You just want to stay here because of your crummy boyfriend.

MARK LEWISHAM Shut up, the pair of you. You are both going to go to Wimbledon with your mother. It's not safe here. Most people will leave the town if they've got any sense.

(GRAMS)

NEWSREADER Unconfirmed reports from Amersham indicate that a number of people have now been killed by the bright, white light which appears to be emanating from a large metallic object, which is believed to be some sort of spacecraft. In Amersham, and nearby towns and villages, people are leaving in droves, heading south or north, anywhere to escape from the area. The Government is bringing in troops to the town, in the hope that the spacecraft can be quickly disarmed, and rendered safe. We go over to our reporter in Amersham, Jack Kowalski.

JACK KOWALSKI This once quiet and peaceful small town has been turned into a war zone. Buildings lay damaged, burnt and ruined. At least twenty people have now been killed by the laser beam emitted by the spacecraft, and the town of Amersham is slowly starting to resemble a ghost town as more and more people leave. The army is due to arrive shortly, and it is hoped that they will be able to bring an end to this alien attack on the town.

NEWSREADER Reports have also been coming in of panic spreading to other parts of the UK, and even other countries.

JACK KOWALSKI Yes, the next twenty four hours will be crucial if we are to avoid an alien invasion, and widespread panic and terror taking over our cities and towns.

(GRAMS)

(MARK LEWISHAM IS BIDDING FAREWELL TO HIS FAMILY BEFORE THEY LEAVE FOR WIMBLEDON)

MARK LEWISHAM I want you two children to promise not to argue with each other. Your mother's got a lot on her plate, and she doesn't need you to be fighting all the time.

SARAH LEWISHAM Are you sure this is what you really want us to do, Mark? I still think we should be staying together at a time like this.

MARK LEWISHAM You and the kids must leave, Sarah. Can you see how dangerous it's become here? I have to stay, at least for now. I'll join you as soon as I can.

KATE LEWISHAM Oh,Dad!

(THE SOUND OF SOBBING, FOOTSTEPS, A CAR DOOR OPENING, THEN CLOSING, AND FINALLY DRIVING OFF.)

(GRAMS)

NEWSREADER The last twenty four hours has seen the almost total destruction of this once quaint Buckinghamshire town. Buildings lie in ruins, and the streets are deserted of cars or people. Even the army with its tanks and armoury seem helpless in the face of such a foe. The Government, in a statement issued this afternoon, urged the public not to panic, and refused to state categorically whether the strange craft now attacking Amersham with such ferocity, is indeed of extraterrestrial origin. Sources close to Prime Minister Fanshaw reveal that he has already ruled out a terrorist attack, or an attack from a hostile nation. Despite the Government's reassurances, there has been increased looting in many city centres and a general breakdown in law and order. In many cities such as London people have taken to the streets and have started demonstrating, and large numbers of panic stricken people have started fleeing London....

(THERE IS THE SOUND OF A SWITCH AS THE RADIO IS TURNED OFF. THEN THE SOUND OF A KNOCK AT THE DOOR.)

MARK LEWISHAM Come in!

JACK KOWALSKI Professor Lewisham, I was hoping to find you here.

MARK LEWISHAM I was just listening to your colleague on the radio. The situation is looking pretty dire, isn't it?

JACK KOWALSKI I think the situation is about as dire as it could get.

MARK LEWISHAM What the hell are the army doing?

JACK KOWALSKI They've been rendered as defenceless as the rest of us confronted with such a technologically superior enemy. Whenever the army has tried to bombard the spacecraft, the laser beam it emits has simply turned all the tanks, and guns into a mound of disintegrated junk.

MARK LEWISHAM We're all done for, aren't we Mr Kowalski?

JACK KOWALSKI Call me Jack.

MARK LEWISHAM Only if you stop calling me Professor Lewisham, you make me feel like a school teacher adddressing a pupil. My name's Mark.

JACK KOWALSKI Okay, Mark it is. Listen, I came here to tell you that I reckon the spacecraft is on the move.

MARK LEWISHAM Are you sure, Jack?

JACK KOWALSKI It's moving very slowly at the moment, but yes, it is definately moving.

MARK LEWISHAM Let's check out which way it's heading.(PAUSE) Just hang on a sec, Jack while I grab my coat.(PAUSE) Come on let's go!

(GRAMS)

(MARK LEWISHAM AND JACK KOWALSKI ARE STANDING A FAIR DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE SPACECRAFT).

JACK KOWALSKI We're far away enough from here to see the spacecraft in its entirety.

MARK LEWISHAM Our first impression was correct, it is absolutely enormous.

JACK KOWALSKI It's like a huge, seamless, metal disk. The way it moves reminds me of a stingray.

MARK LEWISHAM I think it's building up speed.