Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2014 18:23:15 GMT -5
(Dirt and flakes of blood coat the fingernails of large coarse hands. They are scratched and weathered. They plow relentlessly and powerfully into hard rocky land and continue to dig a hole as wide and deep as the average computer monitor. The laborer rests a while. He groans in anguish as heavy tears drop into the soil. A comforting hand appears on his shoulder.)
(Digging fervently is 'The Vine' Brent Alpine. He is on his knees, covered in mud and scratches and carries a tortured demeanor. Standing over him is his Sequitus teammate and friend, Caliban. Caliban looks on in a mixture of sympathy and puzzlement.)
Caliban: That's deep enough. It's time.
(Alpine exhales in dread. He crawls to the side of the hole. There on the grass is the dead body of the miniature pig that became known as Percy Micro. Just below his collar is a wound that stretches across his back and round into part of his belly. Purple dried blood surrounds it. With tears in his eyes and his face in shocked stillness, Alpine reaches for the corpse of the animal he grew to love.)
Caliban: Whoa, wait. Put these on.
(Caliban passes Alpine some white sanitary gloves. Brent puts them on slowly and then picks up the dead pig. He pulls the body into his chest and embraces it sorrowfully. He holds his breath in emotional restraint but the moist devastation in his eyes betrays him. He then lowers the pig down into the freshly dug grave and gazes at him helplessly. He picks up a mound of earth ready to start filling the land back over his dead companion... but he just can't do it. The dirt trickles through his limp fingers past the edge of the hole. His attention diverts to the machinery on Percy's collar. The light on the camera and microphone device is, for once, not glowing red.)
Caliban: Are you really going to bury him with that thing on?
Brent Alpine: Remember what the tech guy told us. If we tamper with the gadgetry, it's designed to secrete some sort of lethal toxin.
Caliban: I thought you didn't believe that? Where Percy is concerned, we've been fed a lot of lies. That's just another one.
Brent Alpine: Do you think I want to bury him in this crap? No, I want him to go in dignity, but we just can't take the risk.
Caliban: Here, let me.
(Caliban reaches towards the collar and attempts to remove it. Alpine grabs him by the wrist.)
Brent Alpine: DON'T! NO!
(As Caliban is about to tear off the collar, they both tense up and wince in possible disaster. But then... nothing. No bomb goes off, no anthrax shoots out, no Armageddon, not a thing. They relax. Caliban throws the collar to the side of the grave and it sits pathetically atop the mud pile.)
Brent Alpine: Can you give me a minute please, mate?
Caliban: Of course.
(Caliban walks off at pace. Alpine waits until he is well into the horizon before turning to the dead pig and speaking.)
Brent Alpine: I don't know what to call you. Are you Percy? Or is that HIM? I have to be honest with you... sometimes I merged you and he into one. I heard his voice and saw your face there in front of me. Even though you would be wheezing and sniffing and doing what animals do, I found it hard to separate you from the erudite but dagger-like words that came from your speaker.
But there you were all along. An innocent creature. Living, breathing. You slept on my lap. You peed on me more than I'd like to count. You made such a mess. In fact, you were a pain in the ass most of the time. But damn, seeing you cold and lifeless, I would do anything to have you pee on me just one more time.
(His voice warbles and trembles in grief.)
Brent Alpine: Whoever HE is, he used you to disarm me fully. I let my defenses down for you. I am 6 foot 6, 227 pounds and have had more than my fair share of battles and sufferings. But I still was soft enough to succumb to the love of a pet.
You opened me up to HIM. The man who slayed you. The man who has been stalking me and psychologically violating me for months. Through you, I opened my doors to him. I let him inside my life, inside my heart, mind and soul. You really fucked me over!!!
(Suddenly incensed, Alpine begins tossing dirt over the micro pig. After a couple of seconds, he stops, appears to calm down and wipes the mud off the body.)
Brent Alpine: I'm sorry. It's not your fault. It's HIM. You were just an innocent vessel that housed a psychopath. And now you're gone. I will really miss you, Percy.
(Brent sheds more tears but more gently this time and without making a sound. He leans forward in despair. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices something and freezes in terror. The red light on Percy Micro's discarded collar turns menacingly on. Alpine grits his teeth in great disdain.)
Percy Macro: Sociopath actually.
Brent Alpine: What?
Percy Macro: You just called me a psychopath. The correct description is sociopath.
Brent Alpine: What's the difference?
Percy Macro: Think of a psychopath as a wild beast. It kills and ravages with reckless abandon. People see it, get scared and run. But, eventually one realises that the beast lacks a certain sophistication. Its blood lust will ultimately be its undoing. While it is in a frenzy, a cool head always prevails and can put them down with a simple shot. Take Oblivion for example. He is truly a psychopath, a fearsome monster, a savage. Most people quiver even at the mention of his name. But I trained you to realise your power last night... in our final match together. The real Brent Alpine would've been overwhelmed by his evil and capitulated on the spot. Oblivion would have mauled you and will probably will maul you in the future now that you are without me. But the Brent Alpine I mentored knew exactly how to tame the dragon.
As I showed you, psychopaths are really rather rudimentary. Oh yes, it's sociopaths you really have to be scared of.
Brent Alpine: Whether you're a psychopath, or a sociopath, or whatever the fuck you are, you can GO TO HELL!
Percy Macro: Hell?! Hell is a mythical place from the imaginations of fearful victims to comfort them that people like me will one day face retribution. I'm afraid things won't turn out so neatly and safely, Mr. Alpine. Especially not for you.
As a sociopath, I am far more dangerous than a psychopath. I can hide in plain sight. As this pig proved, I can charm anyone and masquerade under a benign persona. Like psychopaths, sociopaths have no moral compass but we can convince society that we are the most sympathetic and emotionally intelligent creatures on the planet. We are seductive, cunning and extremely highly functional. We are attractive, yet within us lurks a chilling malice. We have black hearts and every single thought is of what we can get and who we can deceive in the process. It's so much fun being me.
Brent Alpine: Who are you?
Percy Macro: For now, you may call me Percy Macro. You are speaking directly to the source now. I have terminated the services of all my employees. I killed Percy Micro and he lies before you. I am the genius behind this entire operation.
Brent Alpine: Genius? You're a pussy. Quit the proxies. Come here and face me, man to man. We'll see how much of a genius you are then when I snap your neck!
Percy Macro: Oh Mr. Alpine, SO IMPATIENT. It's always about instant gratification with you, isn't it? I can assure you that the game is soon coming to an end but I still have a few hands left to deal. I have trumped you with every card so far and I still have my aces left in the pack.
You will soon see who I am. On my terms.
Brent Alpine: Tell me one thing - are you currently on the WCF roster?
Percy Macro: Yes.
Brent Alpine: Do I know you well?
Percy Macro: You might think you do... but remember, I am a sociopath, Mr. Alpine. You are an open book so I, most certainly know you. In fact, I have some shameful secrets to share about you... starting this coming Sunday on Slam!
(Alpine gulps. He wipes perspiration from his brow. Eventually, he manages to snap out of it. His normally handsome face crunches up like a bulldog chewing a wasp.)
Brent Alpine: You will not say a word. I will hunt you down and rip you to pieces. If I have to go through everyone in that locker room, I will.
Percy Macro: Oh, I don't doubt that. You have never lacked determination, Mr. Alpine. But it'll be too late. The wheels are already too far set in motion. I can predict every single move you will make. I am so many steps ahead of you that I could have said 'checkmate' and wiped you off the board long ago. It is only my amusement that is dragging this out. By the time you think you have found me, I will have crushed your spirits and destroyed your reputation so much that you will not have any strength to obtain the vengeance you are so desperate for.
So I will indulge you on your manhunt. You will be like a dog tied to a post, barking and gnashing at me. You will be so close yet will never be able to reach me. Meanwhile, I will be clawing chunks out of you and destroying you in every possible manner.
(Alpine gets to his feet and stands over the collar's electronic equipment that his unknown tormentor is speaking through.)
Brent Alpine: Why me?! Why are you doing this?
Percy Macro: I saw you when you first signed for the WCF and joined developmental. You were a curios...
(Before Percy Macro can finish answering, Alpine stamps on the collar with his full body weight. The camera and mic are crushed and the red light switches off.)
Brent Alpine: In fact, I'm not going to talk to you anymore. The next time I speak to you, you will be unmasked and down on the ground, seconds before I kick your head in.
(With a faint expression of satisfaction, Brent Alpine strides away. All of a sudden, the red light on the shattered device turns back on. A sludgy, slurred version of the voice passes through the damaged speaker.)
Percy Macro: Mr. Alpine... Mr. Alpine!
(Brent turns back to the collar and sighs in exasperation.)
Percy Macro: Aren't you going to bury the pig? Or can't you stomach it? What delicious irony because I am going to delight... in BURYING YOU.
(We fade to black with a close up on Brent's drained and haunted face.)
(Digging fervently is 'The Vine' Brent Alpine. He is on his knees, covered in mud and scratches and carries a tortured demeanor. Standing over him is his Sequitus teammate and friend, Caliban. Caliban looks on in a mixture of sympathy and puzzlement.)
Caliban: That's deep enough. It's time.
(Alpine exhales in dread. He crawls to the side of the hole. There on the grass is the dead body of the miniature pig that became known as Percy Micro. Just below his collar is a wound that stretches across his back and round into part of his belly. Purple dried blood surrounds it. With tears in his eyes and his face in shocked stillness, Alpine reaches for the corpse of the animal he grew to love.)
Caliban: Whoa, wait. Put these on.
(Caliban passes Alpine some white sanitary gloves. Brent puts them on slowly and then picks up the dead pig. He pulls the body into his chest and embraces it sorrowfully. He holds his breath in emotional restraint but the moist devastation in his eyes betrays him. He then lowers the pig down into the freshly dug grave and gazes at him helplessly. He picks up a mound of earth ready to start filling the land back over his dead companion... but he just can't do it. The dirt trickles through his limp fingers past the edge of the hole. His attention diverts to the machinery on Percy's collar. The light on the camera and microphone device is, for once, not glowing red.)
Caliban: Are you really going to bury him with that thing on?
Brent Alpine: Remember what the tech guy told us. If we tamper with the gadgetry, it's designed to secrete some sort of lethal toxin.
Caliban: I thought you didn't believe that? Where Percy is concerned, we've been fed a lot of lies. That's just another one.
Brent Alpine: Do you think I want to bury him in this crap? No, I want him to go in dignity, but we just can't take the risk.
Caliban: Here, let me.
(Caliban reaches towards the collar and attempts to remove it. Alpine grabs him by the wrist.)
Brent Alpine: DON'T! NO!
(As Caliban is about to tear off the collar, they both tense up and wince in possible disaster. But then... nothing. No bomb goes off, no anthrax shoots out, no Armageddon, not a thing. They relax. Caliban throws the collar to the side of the grave and it sits pathetically atop the mud pile.)
Brent Alpine: Can you give me a minute please, mate?
Caliban: Of course.
(Caliban walks off at pace. Alpine waits until he is well into the horizon before turning to the dead pig and speaking.)
Brent Alpine: I don't know what to call you. Are you Percy? Or is that HIM? I have to be honest with you... sometimes I merged you and he into one. I heard his voice and saw your face there in front of me. Even though you would be wheezing and sniffing and doing what animals do, I found it hard to separate you from the erudite but dagger-like words that came from your speaker.
But there you were all along. An innocent creature. Living, breathing. You slept on my lap. You peed on me more than I'd like to count. You made such a mess. In fact, you were a pain in the ass most of the time. But damn, seeing you cold and lifeless, I would do anything to have you pee on me just one more time.
(His voice warbles and trembles in grief.)
Brent Alpine: Whoever HE is, he used you to disarm me fully. I let my defenses down for you. I am 6 foot 6, 227 pounds and have had more than my fair share of battles and sufferings. But I still was soft enough to succumb to the love of a pet.
You opened me up to HIM. The man who slayed you. The man who has been stalking me and psychologically violating me for months. Through you, I opened my doors to him. I let him inside my life, inside my heart, mind and soul. You really fucked me over!!!
(Suddenly incensed, Alpine begins tossing dirt over the micro pig. After a couple of seconds, he stops, appears to calm down and wipes the mud off the body.)
Brent Alpine: I'm sorry. It's not your fault. It's HIM. You were just an innocent vessel that housed a psychopath. And now you're gone. I will really miss you, Percy.
(Brent sheds more tears but more gently this time and without making a sound. He leans forward in despair. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices something and freezes in terror. The red light on Percy Micro's discarded collar turns menacingly on. Alpine grits his teeth in great disdain.)
Percy Macro: Sociopath actually.
Brent Alpine: What?
Percy Macro: You just called me a psychopath. The correct description is sociopath.
Brent Alpine: What's the difference?
Percy Macro: Think of a psychopath as a wild beast. It kills and ravages with reckless abandon. People see it, get scared and run. But, eventually one realises that the beast lacks a certain sophistication. Its blood lust will ultimately be its undoing. While it is in a frenzy, a cool head always prevails and can put them down with a simple shot. Take Oblivion for example. He is truly a psychopath, a fearsome monster, a savage. Most people quiver even at the mention of his name. But I trained you to realise your power last night... in our final match together. The real Brent Alpine would've been overwhelmed by his evil and capitulated on the spot. Oblivion would have mauled you and will probably will maul you in the future now that you are without me. But the Brent Alpine I mentored knew exactly how to tame the dragon.
As I showed you, psychopaths are really rather rudimentary. Oh yes, it's sociopaths you really have to be scared of.
Brent Alpine: Whether you're a psychopath, or a sociopath, or whatever the fuck you are, you can GO TO HELL!
Percy Macro: Hell?! Hell is a mythical place from the imaginations of fearful victims to comfort them that people like me will one day face retribution. I'm afraid things won't turn out so neatly and safely, Mr. Alpine. Especially not for you.
As a sociopath, I am far more dangerous than a psychopath. I can hide in plain sight. As this pig proved, I can charm anyone and masquerade under a benign persona. Like psychopaths, sociopaths have no moral compass but we can convince society that we are the most sympathetic and emotionally intelligent creatures on the planet. We are seductive, cunning and extremely highly functional. We are attractive, yet within us lurks a chilling malice. We have black hearts and every single thought is of what we can get and who we can deceive in the process. It's so much fun being me.
Brent Alpine: Who are you?
Percy Macro: For now, you may call me Percy Macro. You are speaking directly to the source now. I have terminated the services of all my employees. I killed Percy Micro and he lies before you. I am the genius behind this entire operation.
Brent Alpine: Genius? You're a pussy. Quit the proxies. Come here and face me, man to man. We'll see how much of a genius you are then when I snap your neck!
Percy Macro: Oh Mr. Alpine, SO IMPATIENT. It's always about instant gratification with you, isn't it? I can assure you that the game is soon coming to an end but I still have a few hands left to deal. I have trumped you with every card so far and I still have my aces left in the pack.
You will soon see who I am. On my terms.
Brent Alpine: Tell me one thing - are you currently on the WCF roster?
Percy Macro: Yes.
Brent Alpine: Do I know you well?
Percy Macro: You might think you do... but remember, I am a sociopath, Mr. Alpine. You are an open book so I, most certainly know you. In fact, I have some shameful secrets to share about you... starting this coming Sunday on Slam!
(Alpine gulps. He wipes perspiration from his brow. Eventually, he manages to snap out of it. His normally handsome face crunches up like a bulldog chewing a wasp.)
Brent Alpine: You will not say a word. I will hunt you down and rip you to pieces. If I have to go through everyone in that locker room, I will.
Percy Macro: Oh, I don't doubt that. You have never lacked determination, Mr. Alpine. But it'll be too late. The wheels are already too far set in motion. I can predict every single move you will make. I am so many steps ahead of you that I could have said 'checkmate' and wiped you off the board long ago. It is only my amusement that is dragging this out. By the time you think you have found me, I will have crushed your spirits and destroyed your reputation so much that you will not have any strength to obtain the vengeance you are so desperate for.
So I will indulge you on your manhunt. You will be like a dog tied to a post, barking and gnashing at me. You will be so close yet will never be able to reach me. Meanwhile, I will be clawing chunks out of you and destroying you in every possible manner.
(Alpine gets to his feet and stands over the collar's electronic equipment that his unknown tormentor is speaking through.)
Brent Alpine: Why me?! Why are you doing this?
Percy Macro: I saw you when you first signed for the WCF and joined developmental. You were a curios...
(Before Percy Macro can finish answering, Alpine stamps on the collar with his full body weight. The camera and mic are crushed and the red light switches off.)
Brent Alpine: In fact, I'm not going to talk to you anymore. The next time I speak to you, you will be unmasked and down on the ground, seconds before I kick your head in.
(With a faint expression of satisfaction, Brent Alpine strides away. All of a sudden, the red light on the shattered device turns back on. A sludgy, slurred version of the voice passes through the damaged speaker.)
Percy Macro: Mr. Alpine... Mr. Alpine!
(Brent turns back to the collar and sighs in exasperation.)
Percy Macro: Aren't you going to bury the pig? Or can't you stomach it? What delicious irony because I am going to delight... in BURYING YOU.
(We fade to black with a close up on Brent's drained and haunted face.)
