TITLE: The Lords of New Kerbin - ON BLACK, Gets brighter and glowing, expands to fade to white
1 EXT. OCEAN COAST - Late Afternoon
In the distance a small sailing ship slowly leaves an enticing bay surrounded by emerald hills, the beautiful blue coastal waters undulate calmly beneath it.
2 INT. Independance - Sailing Ship
In the Wheelhouse, Jebediah Kerman and Bill Kerman stand behind the ships wheel, staring across the bow at the ocean as Wernher von Kerman and Bob Kerman enter the wheelhouse.
WERNHER
Captain...
JEBEDIAH
Ah Doctor Kerman,Welcome aboard? I was looking forward to meeting you. I have never known a scientist to travel anywhere before. I bet it is an interesting story. This is my first mate Bill.
WERNHER
I am well, Good afternoon Bill
BILL
Doctor
WERNHER
Gentlekerbs this is my associate Bob. As to travelling, I can assure you Captain I have never entertained the thought of taking a dangerous sea journey before. However in my current studies of ancient civilisations I have developed some disquieting theories and I think the answers lie in a very hard to get to place.
JEBEDIAH
Pleased to meet you Bob, where are you headed?
BOB
Likewise Captain, I too have a certain amount of trepidation about the trip, we are heading into the Eastern Wastelands.
JEBEDIAH
Wow that is some extreme adventuring, you won't have much time in there before you hibernate. Are you certain this is necessary?
WERNHER
I sincerely hope it is not Captain, but we must be sure, it is too important a question to remain unanswered.
JEBEDIAH
So, end of the world type stuff?
WERNHER
Indeed Captain, indeed.
3 EXT. Independance
The ship continues sailing into the coming evening - fade to black
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4 EXT. Kankun harbour - Sunrise
A desert coastline, brown hills like waves leading to the horizon. Independance is entering a very shallow bay, it's shadow visible below it - three men are on the deck of the Independance
5 EXT. Independance - Sunrise
JEBEDIAH
Remember Doc, I'll be back in three months, I leave three days after that, don't be late
WERNHER
Bob and I will be there, don't worry, the trip inland is two weeks in and two weeks back, that should give us plenty of time at the temple of Tut-Un Jeb-Ahn, OK Bob, lets get our things"
Wernher and Bob proceed below decks to pack.
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6 EXT. Wasteland hills - daytime
Fly in from a distance and rotate around to see Wernher and Bob trudging across barren dunes that stretch out forever
BOB
Do you really think we will find out what happened to the last civilisation Doctor
WERNHER
If what I have been told is true Bob, there are many inscriptions on the inside of the temple, possibly pictographs, that we can translate. For the first time we may be able to read the real story of the ancients. Old tales tell of Kerbalkind walking out of this barrenness when it was just ash and dust, hopefully they have recorded what happened before they left.
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7 EXT. Wasteland hills - Afternoon
Camera approach from behind as Wernher and Bob crest a ridge to see a temple perched midway up the ridge on the other side of the valley.
WERNHER
Tut-Un Jeb-Ahn
BOB
Wow, that's quite a view
WERNHER
It certainly is Bob, imagine! Our whole civilisation might have started here
BOB
I wonder if they have snacks?
CUT TO:
8 INT. Tut-Un Jeb-Ahn
Interior of dimly lit Temple. Wernher is studying pictographs on the wall and Bob is taking notes
WERNHER
That's it Bob, read me back the whole translation
BOB
In the 854th year of Plato Kerman the wise, a terrible tragedy was visited upon the heavenly valley, strange green lights danced among the clouds and then the sun grew until it filled the sky. The tops of the mountains to the east started to smoke and then the trees started to burn. All the Kerbals outside perished that day as the Heavenly Valley was burned from existence. Only the devout inside the temple were spared. After many days coughing from the smoke and hiding from the heat outside the fires stopped and the air cleared, they ventured forth across the hot ground, but they could see nothing except ash for days in any direction. They wrote of what they had seen, gathered their last food and water, closed the temple and left
WERNHER
How could the sun devastate such a huge area, it took us weeks to cross it
BOB
Maybe the sun came down from the sky?
WERNHER
I don't know if that can happen, but I know Kerbs who do, I have answered the questions I wished to answer here, I now know that past civilisations were likely destroyed by something similar, but the scars have been erased as they are slowly being erased here as well
BOB
So what now?
WERNHER
We pack up our stuff and head back to meet Jebediah, we must talk to anyone who has done a study of the heavens and devise some new theories and experiments to verify this data.
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9 INT. Kerbin Science Society
Nestled comfortably in a small pleasant valley in a small building the Kerbin Science Society sits for a presentation by Wernher von Kerman on his latest studies and his trip to Tut-Un Jeb-Ahn. Several Kerbals are gathered in a room lit by candles. Wernher stands in front of them.
WERNHER
After coming across a monolith one day I wondered who had put it there and why. I knew of course, as do we all, of several mysterious artefacts. I pondered the artifacts and studied old tales which me to believe they had been left by a civilisation preceding ours, as we could not at this height of our age replicate them. I pondered that and thought 'why?'" Kerbalkind are not warlike, or industrial, our food is plentiful, the weather clement and we breed but slowly, what pressure could destroy these civilisations? As you know I asked all of you for any knowledge of the artefacts and collated all that knowledge. I still didn't have any idea of an answer, except tales of our emergence from the wasteland. I heard about an adventurer who had returned from across the sea and they say he had entered the barrenness and found an ancient temple. After hearing about the temple Bob and I travelled to Kankun by Sailing Vessel. We then trekked across the barrens to the temple of Tut-Un Jeb-Ahn. Here are drawings of the temple and the valley.
Wernher hands a few peices of parchment around the circle
WERNHER
We translated the pictographs, there were so many it was quite trivial, here are some example rubbings
Again he handed out parchments
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10 INT. Kerbin Science Society - corridor
Camera shot behind Bob running down a corridor
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11 INT. Kerbin Science Society
The lecture.
NIKOLA KERMAN
And what did they tell you?
WERNHER
They documented the history of the temple people who lived in the 'Heavenly Valley' in what is now the wastelands for around 900 years
MARIE KERMAN
Goodness, but that place is barren, surely there is no heavenly valley, what happened to it?"
WERNHER
They described a great burning, the sun seemed to visit them on the ground. It destroyed the valley and I believe caused the whole barrens
ISAAC KERMAN
It is impossible for the sun to come visit Kerbin, as you and I have discussed already, I assume you have new theories to account for this?
WERNHER
I do, after I visited each of you and learned all you knew of astronomy and cosmology, I built a 'viewing glass' with Nicolaus Kerman, what he is calling a 'Telescope', but bigger than ever before and took measurements of the Kerbol System this last year. In that time we discovered one new planet and several moons, the planet we named Moho, it is the closest to Kerbol. Of the new moons we found, Eve's was called Gilly, and Duna's, Ike, we found two new moons of Jool, Laythe and Tylo, and suspect there are more.
ALBERT KERMAN
Go on get to the good bit, already!
WERNHER
Of course, with Alberts help we used the measurements to create theories about what could have caused the catastrophe. Ladies and gentlemen, we have an answer and even caught the culprit in action!
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12 INT. Kerbin Science Society - corridor
Another shot behind Bob running down the corridor
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13 INT. Kerbin Science Society
The lecture.
There were startled glances around the room, and smirks from Nicolous and Albert. Wernher caught the concerned looks and hurried to explain.
WERNHER
Be calm, we witnessed the cause, but in a much smaller fashion and not aimed at Kerbin. We are calling the phenomenon a Flare, it is what happens when Kerbol explodes some of it's surface out into the rest of the system, it is a natural phenomenon of Kerbol and is not directed by any agency.
Wernher turned and paced the length of the room
WERNHER
Once we had established what it was most likely to be, we endeavoured to discover how likely it is and what the future most likely has in store
Wernher turns to his audience
WERNHER
What we found was surprising and alarming, gentle kerbs....we found that Kerbol is too small! If we are correct, Kerbol is rapidly becoming a type of star we are calling a Red Dwarf and will soon grow to engulf Kerbin. Before that happens though, more gigantic flares will ravage the surface of Kerbin and Kerbalkind will be destroyed forever. The ancient civilisations were also destroyed by such flares but this will be the last time, Kerbol is growing rapidly and will not stop.
Just as he is finished his presentation Bob bursts into the room
BOB
Doctor, doctor, come quickly, we just had word over the wireless, it has happened just as predicted, in Afrika!
Wernher exchanges a glance with Albert and Nikola and he and Bob hurry out of the room
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14 EXT: Independance sailing
Wernher rounds up Jeb whom he has asked to visit for the presentation and they along with Bob and Bill start voyaging towards Afrika
After several days at sea Jebediah spots a storm on the horizon
JEBEDIAH
Bill, shorten the top sails, and get everything tied down, Doctor, you and Bob had better get below, make sure all your belongings are fastened down and stay in your bunks.
WERNHER
Is there anything we can do to help?
JEBEDIAH
I only want experienced hands up here, I have only ever seen one storm before and it did not look anything like this one
Just as they are about to head below they hear an exclamation from the crew and look outside to see the sky suddenly being invaded by whispy green filaments that danced and vanished and reappeared.
BOB
Wow, Just like the pictographs in the temple described Doctor.
WERNHER - shouts through the growing wind
Captain..the lights, they appeared before the last flare!
JEBEDIAH - nods
Get below, it is almost upon us.
Wernher and Bob hurry below as the crew move quickly around the deck fastening covers and putting away ropes.
Jebediah and the crew prepare the ship
Storm reaches them and the ship is lashed by the wind and spray, the rigging screaming, tossed and turned
Wernher and Bob are thrown around in their cabin as the ship lurches forcefully
The gyrations of the ship eventually lead to it on its side, some crew in the water below
Jebediah and Bill save crew from water as storm diminishes
With Wernher and Bob's help they get the ship righted again and carry on their journey
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15 EXT: Independance
They reach the coast of Afrika, blanketed by smoke, ash is in the water and the coast is just ash as far as the eye can see.
WERNHER
Turn back, i have seen enough, it is past time to start the great project
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16 EXT: Outside the Kerbal Science Society
A crowd has gathered and a Kerbal on a stand is reading from a parchment
THOMAS KERMAN
It has been decided by the high council that in order to save Kerbalkind we must devote the resources of all Kerbals to leave Kerbin and find a new home. We will be actively recruiting scientists, engineers and adventurers to undertake creating new technolgies to take us to the stars. The rest of us will be directed as necessary in building our resources and creating the infrastructure we will need to survive the coming years and in building a new home. Go and spread the word, find every able bodied Kerbal and ask them to join us in the major towns so they can become part of a work group. Our days lazing in the sun are over, now is our time to work hard and change the fate of our race!
Fade to black