Lights Out

Scene 8

Outside a creepy-looking shack on the outskirts of town. A huge telescope is pointing out of the top, and everything looks ramshackle. Everyone is short of breath.

Enter all. 

August: See! I told you a run up the hill wouldn't be too bad! 

Luke: I'm going to be sick.

Olivia: Wait your turn.

Ivy: Why exactly did you bring us here, August?

Hailey: Yeah, I better not have run up this hill for nothing. 

August: Prepare, children, to see a very different side of your science teacher. 

August opens the door to the building, and Mr. Fitzpatrick is standing inside, looking through the massive telescope with intense concentration. 

Ivy: Mr. Fitzpatrick!

Mr. Fitzpatrick: (startling and turning around) Ivy? August?! 

August: That's right, Leonard. How about you explain to your students what you've been doing up here?

Mr. Fitzpatrick: (defensively) How did you find this place?

August: In college, a person learns many things. Some turn out to be more useful than others.

Pushing past August, Ivy enters the building, quickly followed by the rest of the seventh graders and August. There are seven cylinders of light lining a wall. One corner of the room is blackened, with glass shards everywhere. Oven mitts are sitting on a table by Mr. Fitzpatrick. 

Ivy: Mr. Fitzpatrick, what have you been doing up here?

Sylvie: (reaching out to a cylinder) What's this?

Mr. Fitzpatrick: Don't touch that, Sylvie! That could kill you!

David: What is it?

Luke: Yeah, what is it? Tell us. 

The seventh graders adopt accusatory poses, and after assessing them and August, Mr. Fitzpatrick finally gives in. 

Mr. Fitzpatrick: Well, I haven't been the most honest with you kids, or anybody, and it seems as August here has finally seen through me. I applaud that, young man. You have the makings of a great scientist. 

August: Move it along, Leonard. 

Mr. Fitzpatrick: Right, right. 

Putting on the oven mitts, Mr. Fitzpatrick delicately lifts one of the cylinders. 

Mr. Fitzpatrick: This is a star. I've found a way to condense it into its very essence, and by doing so I've discovered the best source of electricity humanity has ever seen. It wasn't easy, not by a long shot, and I lost many great stars in the process. But, this cylinder can power the Earth for millions of years, and so far I have seven. Singlehandedly, I've solved the world's energy crisis. 

Ivy: We lost the Big Dipper! 

Mr: Fitzpatrick: The Big Dipper can survive without two stars. You can still recognize it, can't you? Plus, would you rather have a constellation, a set of stars based entirely on human perception, or the guaranteed continuation of life on this planet?

Hailey: But you said yourself that stars can't disappear! Why did you lie to us?

Olivia: Yeah, Mr. Fitzpatrick, you lied! We're never supposed to lie, and you just broke one of your own rules by doing that. 

August: He lied so he can open a big corporation and sell this power for as long as he can. Once he powers the world, there's not much farther to go until he's in complete control. Don't let him fool you. This isn't about science at all. It's about a power complex. 

Mr. Fitzpatrick: Now, August, that's just silly. I wouldn't be doing this unless I really wanted to save the world. 

David and Luke exchange glances, and they both nod.

David: Well, we can test that. 

Mr. Fitzpatrick: What?

Luke: Mr. Fitzpatrick, can I hold it? Can I hold the star?

Mr. Fitzpatrick: No, of course you can't, Luke! Do you have any idea how expensive this cylinder is? Also, given the way you act in class, I wouldn't trust you with a cotton ball!

The girls laugh. 

David: See? Money was the first thing you thought of. 

Luke: (grinning) Isn't science great?

August: (stepping closer to Mr. Fitzpatrick as he speaks) They're right. You can't harness the power of stars just for personal gain. Do you know how dangerous of an act you've just done?

Mr. Fitzpatrick: No! Get away from me! I'm holding a star! I'm holding a-

A loud explosion resounds around the room, throwing it into darkness, as the cylinder shatters and the star obliterates Mr. Fitzpatrick. When the darkness finally fades, another black spot and glass shards have appeared on the floor. Only a pair of battered shoes are left. The remaining people are breathing heavily, and they are clearly distressed. 

Sylvie: Did I just watch a star die?

Hailey: I'm pretty sure you watched more than a star die. 

August: Everyone stand up slowly and grab a star. Let's let these go outside. 

Everyone takes the remaining six cylinders, and Ivy is the only person without one. 

Exit all. 

End scene.