RASEN: The comic adaptation Story by Sakura Mizuki / Based upon the novel by Suzuki Koji This manuscript is intended for informational purposes only, and is a fair usage of copyrighted material. Rasen (Novel) (c) 1995 Kadokawa Shoten Rasen (Manga) (c) 1999 Kadokawa Shoten Adapted/Translated by J Lopez www.theringworld.com >For simplicity's sake, this document has been rendered in a >screenplay-like fashion, but please note that it is NOT >representative of the script for the Rasen movie. Also, all scene >descriptions are original, in that I wrote them. >Wherever the "*" mark is used, I have inserted material from the >novel that I felt relevant to the story, but was cut from the >comic adaptation. >The ">" mark is obviously used to notate editorial comments such as >these. --- Limbs thrashing frantically, uselessly. A single eye wide in horror. A mouth open in scream, the sound of it half-choked by the relentless sledgehammering of the waves. VOICE (ANDO) Takanori! INT. ANDO'S APARTMENT - DAY There is a framed photograph of a young boy. Next to the photograph, a left hand holds a BLANK CARD. The card is open, and inside are several strands of black hair held in place by a single strip of CELLOPHANE TAPE. At the wrist of the hand lies the shining metal of a STRAIGHT RAZOR. CLOSEUP on a set of dark, flatly reflective eyes. CUT back to the straight razor, its keen edge poised ready to slice. Just then, the TELEPHONE RINGS. There is a an audible SIGH as both card and razor are placed on a nearby table. The left hand moves, pulls the receiver from its cradle. ANDO Hello? Hello? PULL BACK to show the layout of the room. It's a modern, cramped Tokyo apartment, all right angles and wooden paneling. ANDO MITSUO, a sullen- looking man in his mid-thirties, sits on the edge of his rumpled futon. ANDO Yeah. I got it. CUT to a slow CLOSEUP of a DESK in one corner of the room. A torn ENVELOPE lies atop it. Ando speaks without hearing his own words: the sound of his thoughts echoes dully, drowning them out. ANDO (VO) Not even doing this... It doesn't matter. It won't bring my son back to me. Back on the desk, we see that a printed LETTER sits under the envelope. Much of its wording is hidden, but the title pokes out clearly in 14-point bold type: DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE ANDO Yeah, I'll do whatever you want. I just want you to forget this and move on with your life. FLASHBACK INT. TOKYO APARTMENT - DUSK Two MEN sit facing each other across a small, square table. One of the men is Ando, who is staring intently at something on the table before him. The other fellow, leaning back in his chair and looking overly pleased with himself, is TAKAYAMA RYUJI. RYUJI What do you say, Ando? Ready to give in? ANDO Give me a minute! I'm almost there... CLOSEUP on Ando. He is gnawing on his left finger in intense concentration. ANDO Got it! It's a key--a code sequence. RYUJI And the answer? CLOSEUP on Ando's right hand. He is holding a PENCIL, and scratching out a sequence of letters onto a NOTEPAD. Slowly the letters come to spell out: DEAD END THE PRESENT INT. OFFICE - DAY CLOSEUP on Ando's face. His brow is furrowed, worried. He is looking down at a slim FILE, inside of which are a few sheets of paper and two or three SNAPSHOTS. The paper Ando is reading bears the title DEATH CERTIFICATE. Written in the first line is the name TAKAYAMA RYUJI. ANDO Ryuji... INT. MORGUE - DAY The body of Takayama Ryuji, his naked skin pale and waxen, lies atop a metal pathologist's table. Ando looks down on the body of his friend, his expression hidden behind a surgical cap and mask. He begins his preliminary autopsy. ANDO Takayama Ryuji, male, age 32. No external injuries, no sign of blood congestion. Nothing to indicate strangulation. Ando takes a few carefully measured steps, examines the body intently. ANDO (To self) "Sudden Death Syndrome"? CLOSEUP on a gloved hand holding the gleaming, sterilized precision of a surgical scalpel. A JUNIOR DOCTOR stands to one side, snapping off photos. By now, Ando has opened up the entire frontal region of Ryuji's midsection, exposing the pulpy mass of the inner organs. ANDO Cause of death would appear to be heart attack brought about by blockage of the left coronary artery. A few more slices, and Ando removes Ryuji's HEART, which he holds gingerly in both hands. He places the heart onto a nearby SCALE. ANDO Heart... 312 grams. ASSISTANT Doctor! His neck... Startled, Ando lowers his surgical mask and peers intently at the region in question. ANDO Looks like some sort of tumor. Let's go ahead and get a tissue sample. Time passes. By now, Ryuji's midsection has been sewn shut. Ando takes a final look at his handiwork. ANDO (Thinking) You've lost weight, haven't you? Ryuji... Ando turns to walk away. He takes only a single step when an ominous sound somewhere between a bleat and a rasp stops him in his tracks. ANDO Huh? Ando turns and looks back over his shoulder, just in time to see a human HAND burst through Ryuji's chest, rending flesh and wire asunder. Ando takes a blind step backward, throwing his right hand before his horrified eyes. ANDO Augh! Ando's hand strikes the surgical table loudly, causing the other doctors to turn and stare. JUNIOR DOCTOR Doctor? Ando shoots a panicked glance at the junior doctor, returns his gaze to the surgical table. The body atop the table is perfectly still, its stitchings intact... but there is something else, a small OBJECT poking through one of the stitchings that Ando hadn't noticed before. ANDO What--? He reaches out his hand, plucks the tiny object with his right thumb and forefinger. ANDO (Thinking) It looks like... newspaper. In his stomach?! Ando pulls the tiny scrap of paper to his eyes. On it are two numbers: 178 136 ANDO (Thinking, incredulous) It can't be... He returns his gaze to the body. ANDO (Thinking) More code-play, Ryuji? Even now? INT. HALLWAY - DAY A tired-looking Ando, still in his doctor's gown, is speaking with MAEKAWA, a red-faced, slightly pudgy man in his mid-forties. MAEKAWA Dr. Ando? I'm Asst. Inspector Maekawa. Pleased to meet you. ANDO Likewise. MAEKAWA So doctor, what's your ruling on the cause of death? Turn up anything suspicious? ANDO While we're on the subject, Mr. Maekawa, the time of death that you provided was incredibly accurate. How did you...? MAEKAWA Ah. A funny thing, that. ANDO Funny? MAEKAWA Well, why not ask the person who found the body for yourself? Her name is Takano Mai. She's a university student, and it looks like she was deeply in love with the late professor. Guess it's fair to say that the two were lovers... Maekawa leads Ando down the hall to the waiting room. The lobby is practically empty. A young GIRL sits in the second row, her back to the two men. MAEKAWA Ms. Takano? At her name, TAKANO MAI, a beautiful girl of around twenty, stands to meet them. She has hair reaching just to the nape of her neck, and wears boots and a black skirt. MAEKAWA Takano Mai, meet Dr. Ando Mitsuo, the pathologist in charge of this case. Mai folds her hands in front of her waist and bows slightly by way of greeting. She says nothing. After a few moments of silence, Ando picks up the slack. ANDO My name is Ando. I was friend of Ryuji's at the university. MAI I know who you are, Mr. Ando. ANDO I'm sorry? MAI Professor Takayama mentioned you on occasion, about the code games you two would play when you were students. He said you were the only one who could ever break his codes. ANDO (Embarrassed) Well, it was just luck, really. Maekawa cuts in, getting right to the point. MAEKAWA Ms. Takano, would you describe for us again the events leading up to your discovery of the body? Mai takes a small breath, readies herself. MAI I think it was a little after 9:30 when the phone rang. It's a habit of mine--if I check the clock, I can usually tell who's calling me by the time that they call. FLASHBACK Mai holds the receiver, her eyes wide. From the phone comes a single, agonized cry. VOICE (RYUJI) Aaaarrgh!! CUT back to the present. MAI At first, I thought it was just a prank call. But then it occurred to me that the voice sounded a lot like Professor Takayama's. The more I thought about it, the more it started to bother me. I tried calling the Professor at home, but no matter how many times I called it was always busy. So I decided to go to his apartment and check on him myself. ANDO The door wasn't locked? MAI ...I have a spare. FLASHBACK Mai opens the door to Ryuji's apartment. She calls out once, tentatively. MAI Professor? Mai opens the door wider. Ryuji's phone is off the hook, dangling off one side of the table. MAI (Concerned) Professor? At the foot of the table lies Ryuji himself, arms splayed, mouth open. He is quite dead. CUT back to the present. Mai, temporarily overcome, buries her face in her hands. Ando gingerly voices his next question. ANDO And the 911 call was made by you? Mai uncovers her face, nods once. ANDO Did Ryuji ever mention to you any problems with his health? Chest pains, loss of energy? Mai shakes her head vigorously, "No." ANDO Aah... INT. ANDO'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Ando sits at his workdesk, the tiny scrap of paper recovered from Ryuji's stomach before him. He regards it a moment, recalling the days when Ryuji would try and stump him with his elaborately coded messages. ANDO It can't be... Ando picks up a pen and copies the numbers from the paper onto a nearby notepad. 178 136 He stops a moment, thinking. ANDO (VO) If A is zero, assigning a letter to each number would get: 178 BHI 136 BDE ANDO (VO) What if we separate these into one- and two-digit values? None of the values can be higher than 26, the number of letters in the alphabet, so... Ando scratches out several different combinations onto the memo pad. 17 8 1 3 6 R I B D G 1 7 8 13 6 B H I N G 17 8 13 6 R I N G ANDO Ring? In English it can mean circle, or as a verb, to call or to sound. Ando exhales loudly, leans far back into his chair. ANDO Aah, this is ridiculous. He looks up at the ceiling as if seeking an answer. ANDO Ryuji? What are you trying to tell me? INT. UNIVERSITY - HALLWAY - DAY A series of faculty offices run down the length of the hallway. Outside one hangs a SIGN reading "DEPT. OF PATHOLOGY." ANDO (VO) Miyashita, have you gotten anything back on the tissue sample we took from Ryuji? INT. PATHOLOGY OFFICE - DAY Ando is speaking with MIYASHITA, one of his colleagues from the department. Miyashita is deeply absorbed in a BOOK he is trying to read. When he responds, the book is lowered just enough to reveal his eyes and nose. He wears a pair of thick, boxy GLASSES. MIYASHITA That Ryuji. He was an odd one, right up to the way he died. ANDO (Frowning) Meaning? MIYASHITA You know Professor Seki, don't you? That old man says some mighty strange things sometimes. He took one look at the tumor we pulled from Ryuji's pharynx, and you know what the old buzzard said? ANDO Just tell me already. Miyashita finally puts his book down. He faces Ando dramatically. MIYASHITA He said it looked like smallpox. ANDO Smallpox? That can't be right. MIYASHITA Probably not. Still, even if it isn't smallpox, if the tumor is viral in origin, it would mean that others have been infected, too. ANDO That is a possibility... If you can spare the time, I think I'd like you to check with some of the other universities, see if they've turned up anything. MIYASHITA I'm on it. It'd probably be a good idea to begin by looking for other corpses exhibiting the same symptoms. Miyashita folds his hands, looks academic. MIYASHITA Here's hoping this thing doesn't turn into a full-blown epidemic. EXT. CAFE - DAY The small cafe is prim, boxy. Glass display windows hold neat rows of plastic REPLICAS of the shop's specialty drinks. The awning reads COFFEE ALASKA. INT. CAFE - DAY Ando is already seated at one of the tables. Takano Mai, who has obviously just arrived, stands before the table, arms folded in front of her and bowing slightly. MAI I'm sorry to have called you so suddenly... ANDO Please, don't think anything of it. Mai takes a seat at the table, sitting opposite Ando. ANDO So, what is it you have to tell me? MAI It's about Professor Takayama... the way that he died. There's something that's been bothering me. The night of his wake, there was a phone call from one of his friends from high school. He said his name was Asakawa. FLASHBACK INT. MAI'S APARTMENT - DAY She opens the door, revealing a frantic-looking ASAKAWA KAZUYUKI. The scene is completely silent, the only sound coming from Mai's voiceover. MAI (VO) When I told him that the Professor had died, it was like he was in shock. He told me that he'd be right over, and a few minutes later he showed up looking all frantic. He was almost shouting at me, going-- For the next line, Mai's voice overlaps with Asakawa's yelling. MAI/ASAKAWA Are you SURE that Ryuji didn't say anything to you? About a videotape, for example? CUT back to present. ANDO A videotape? MAI I thought it was strange, too. I don't know why he'd be asking me about something like that. I know that he and the Professor were working together on something--maybe it had something to do with the videotape he was asking about. A single, piercing THOUGHT runs though Mai's head. MAI (VO) Professor... the look on your face as you lay dead... ANDO Do you know how I could get in touch with this Asakawa? Mai quickly composes herself. She shakes her head, "No." MAI I'm afraid the only thing I can tell you is his name-- Asakawa Kazuyuki. ANDO (Repeating) Asakawa Kazuyuki. MAI Doctor, what I wanted to ask you was: do you think that this videotape could have killed the Professor? That something on it was so shocking that he could have died of fright? Ando smiles in spite of himself. ANDO Die of fright? Ryuji? Mai smiles in return. MAI You're right. ANDO Ms. Takano, do you think we could meet again sometime? That way, I could give you more information as we have it, about Ryuji. EXT. OCEAN - DAY Ando and his son TAKANORI, a boy of around 8, are riding together in a small, motor-powered boat. They are both smiling, enjoying the fine weather. Suddenly a huge WAVE appears, toppling the boat. Father and son are flung into the water, and Takanori, his mouth open in a silent scream, is pulled under by the waves. Ando splashes frantically after him, hands clawing for a hold. CUT for just a split-second to a shot of Ando's WIFE standing on the shore, hands to her head, screaming wildly. CUT back to Ando, his hand just grazing the top of his son's head. He gropes for a handhold, but yields only a few strands of hair as the current sucks his son under and into the deep. CUT now to the surface of the ocean. All is still save for the soft, rhythmical lapping of the waves. Suddenly Ando breaks through the surface, sputtering, arms flapping. He pulls himself closer to shore, movements wild and clumsy. Sobbing, he halts, bends over at the waist. He holds his hands outward, palms up. These hands that allowed his own son to die. CLOSEUP on his left hand, where several strands of HAIR have snagged and are held fast by the wedding band. The scene DISSOLVES. The hand no longer holds the strands of hair, the ringfinger is naked and unadorned. Slowly, the harsh light of day is replaced by the filtered light of predawn. DISSOLVE to: INT. ANDO'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM Ando sits awake in bed, body covered in sweat. As his waking mind sheds the last fragments of his dream, he covers his face with his hands. ANDO Shit. INT. UNIVERSITY - MIYASHITA'S OFFICE - DAY. Ando walks up to find Miyashita again seated at his desk, face-deep in a book. The cover reads, "Your Horoscope." Ando is agitated, his voice strained. ANDO You said you've made some progress on the Ryuji case. What, did you find a virus after all? Miyashita looks over at him, lowers his book. He flashes an oddly jubilant smile. MIYASHITA First, you have got to calm yourself. You ready? He plows ahead without waiting for an answer. MIYASHITA Six more bodies have turned up, all exhibiting the same symptoms as our friend the Professor. ANDO Six?! Miyashita puts his book down, reaches for a thick FILE to his left. He hands the file over to Ando. MIYASHITA Two at S university, another at T, three at the University of Yokohama. The pathologists were as surprised as we were--they all thought they were the only ones turning up these kinds of symptoms. Ando opens up the file. The first page is a list of the victims so far, seven in total, beginning with Takayama Ryuji. MIYASHITA There's more. It looks like four of the victims died at almost the exact same time, and all of them from obstruction of the coronary artery. Hmph. Jesus... Ando is still glancing down at the list. With a start, he realizes that the last two names, Shizuka and Yoko, share a surname with which he is already familiar: Asakawa. >While in Ring the movie Asakawa was a divorcee with a young son, >the Asakawa of the novel was a married man with a young daughter. Brief FLASHBACK as Ando recalls his conversation with Mai. MAI ...He and the Professor were working together on something... CUT back to the present. Ando continues to stare at the list, dumbfounded. ANDO It can't be... MIYASHITA (Suddenly concerned) What is it? Miyashita says nothing, returns his attention to the file. He flips a page to find a NEWSPAPER CLIPPING, which reads as follows: Tokyo: On October 21st, at around noon, a large, commercial truck collided with a passenger car on Capital Gulf Expressway, just before the Oi exit. The driver, Asakawa Kazuyuki, sustained serious injuries. His wife Shizuka and daughter Yoko did not survive. Ando looks up at Miyashita. ANDO Why is this autopsy being handled judicially? MIYASHITA At first they thought the deaths were a result of the collision, but a preliminary investigation found none of the injuries to either the wife or daughter to be the cause of death. A more detailed examination was carried out, and you know what they found? All injuries were sustained post-mortem. Looks like it's your domain from here on out. Ando begins pacing. ANDO So what you're saying is that the wife and child were already dead, and Asakawa was driving around with two bodies in the back seat? Pause. ANDO And where is he now? MIYASHITA Still hospitalized. ANDO Is it serious? MIYASHITA His injuries aren't life-threatening, no, but he's suffered a tremendous shock. They tell me he's been pretty much out of it since the accident. ANDO There's something else: Asakawa Kazuyuki was a close friend of Takayama Ryuji. Miyashita sits bolt upright in his chair. MIYASHITA What?! ANDO Looks like our little virus theory just stopped being a theory. Ando closes the file, places it on Miyashita's desk. He suddenly recalls Mai's face, smiling and beautiful. Will I be helpless to save her, too? ANDO (VO) I'm sorry... EXT. RYUJI'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Simple exterior shot. INT. RYUJI'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Inside, Ryuji is seated at his work desk, surrounded by a clutter of TEXTS and LOOSELEAF PAPERS. A PHONE/FAX combo rests at the head of the desk. Ryuji's body suddenly stiffens, his hand flying to his throat as if choking. He stumbles out of his chair, doubling over as a series of violent coughs racks his entire body. He shoots a glance at the TV next to the desk, regards it balefully. RYUJI Why?! Ryuji stumbles back to the desk, tears the receiver out of its cradle and begins punching buttons wildly. Already most of the strength has sapped from his body. On the other end, the phone rings once, twice. A woman's voice answers. MAI Hello? Ryuji, swooning now, is powerless to speak. His eyes fall to the MIRROR set on the desk just behind the fax machine. In it he sees himself... and something ELSE, something half-hidden that burns with manic, feverish heat, that grins diseasedly at him through rheumy and bloodshot eyes. Ryuji's body stiffens as he draws the last of his breath and lets out a wail of pure, agonized terror. RYUJI aaAAAARGHHH!!!! Time passes. A doorbell rings. Silence. The sound of jingling, and a sudden loud CLACK as the door is unlocked. Takano Mai stands on the other side of the door, which she opens slowly, tentatively. MAI Professor Takayama? She takes a few cautious steps forward. MAI Professor?... Mai takes one more step. Ryuji's body, limbs splayed out unnaturally, a look of sheer terror on his face, comes into view. She takes a few more steps forward, her face is blank, expressionless. She shuts her eyes tightly... and when she opens them, his body is no longer there. Her clothes are different. Mai leans back against the door, sighing heavily. MAI Why, Professor? Why did you have to die? With an effort, Mai frees herself from the memory of when she found the Professor's body that night, and returns herself to the present. She walks toward the desk, sees the notes that Ryuji had been working on. His thesis. Unbidden, her gaze falls onto the TV and VCR to one side of the desk. She recalls the night that Asakawa, frantic, came to call on her. ASAKAWA (VO) Are you SURE that Ryuji didn't say anything to you? About a videotape, for example? MAI (To herself) Videotape... Hand trembling with a combination of fear and excitement, Mai reaches out and presses the eject button on the VCR. There is a click and a soft whirring as the video pops out. EXT. TAKANO MAI'S APT. BUILDING - NIGHT Simple exterior shot. INT. TAKANO MAI'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Mai stands before her TV, the video from Ryuji's apartment in her hand. She steps forward, slides the tape into her VCR, and has a seat. Static fills the screen, replaced a moment later by a series of disjointed images: -An old woman -The character Sada, meaning "chastity" -A man whose face is twisted in anger -A single, unblinking eye -A mass of angry, shouting faces -A wash of unintelligible writing -Several snarling faces, their mouths open and teeth gnashed -A cryptic message, almost unintelligible: If you keep [something], the [something] will come >These images differ slightly from those described in the book, and >drastically from those that appear in the movie. Like the movie, however, >parts of the videotape are in a dialect not readily understandable, hence >the [something] tags above. And there is a woman, half-hidden. She wears a kimono, and her long hair obscures all but a single, burning eye. The screen suddenly goes black. A string of characters, drawn in white, spiky handwriting, fades into view. This is what they spell out: You who have watched this video will die in one week. If you wish to live, here is what you must do-- The screen suddenly cuts. There is a moment of static, replaced a split- second later by a popular young singer appearing on a commercial for insect repellent. >In the Ring novel, the "cursed" videotape featured the written message at >its climax, as above. When Tomoko (the girl who died at the beginning of >Ring the movie) and her friends found the tape at the rental cottages, >however, they thought the video was a hoax, and so decided, as a prank, to >erase the part of the message that read, "Copy this videotape and show it to >someone else." They then stuck the videotape into the guest ledger, with a >note saying something like, "Watch this if you dare!" When the manager >of the rental cottages found the tape, he took it from the ledger and >stuck it absently on the video rental shelf, where it would later be found >by Asakawa. The second the video has ended, Mai feels a shudder run through her body. She's suddenly nauseous. Hand over her mouth, she runs into the bathroom. INT. MAI'S BATHROOM - NIGHT Mai just manages to make it to the sink and twist the faucet on before the contents of her stomach come up in a harsh, acid bile. She retches violently several times before her stomach finally settles. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and glances up at the mirror--and sees a face that is not her own. The face is a grinning spectre with sallow skin and bloodshot eyes that glitter maniacally. She continues to stare at that face right up until she loses consciousness, falling to the bathroom floor. INT. MIYASHITA'S OFFICE - DAY The sign to Miyashita's office reads "Forensic Medicine." Miyashita himself is seated at his desk, arms folded. He stares half-interestedly at Ando, who is standing before the desk with a telephone receiver in his hand. The SOUND of the phone ringing on the other end can be faintly heard. There is a click, and then the sound of Mai's voice as her ANSWERING MACHINE picks up. MAI (VO) Hi, this is Takano Mai. I'm not in right now, so please leave a message after the beep. Ando, sighing, replaces the receiver. Miyashita notes his reaction. MIYASHITA You certainly are anxious to get hold of someone. A woman? ANDO ...Yeah. MIYASHITA Well, well. The phone suddenly rings. Ando snatches it up before the first ring has even finished. ANDO Hello?! The person on the other end is a man, whose voice Ando doesn't recognize. YOSHINO (O.S.) Yes, hello. I'm looking for an instructor in the Department of Forensic Medicine, last name "Ando." ANDO Speaking. INT. LECTURE HALL - DAY Ando is seated in one of several empty chairs. Next to him stands YOSHINO, a newspaper reporter in his late forties. He wears pants and a sport coat, but no tie. A beaten leather SATCHEL hangs over one shoulder. YOSHINO Yoshino, M Newspaper. Thanks for meeting with me. Yoshino hands Ando his business card. It reads, "Yoshino Kenzo, M Newspaper, Yokosuka Branch." Ando takes the card, his expression showing that he still isn't clear what this is about. ANDO What can I help you with? YOSHINO Well Mr. Ando, I'm going to come right to the point. I'd like to get your opinion on a series of recent deaths. ANDO (Frowning) A series of...? YOSHINO The chain that includes Takayama Ryuji, Oishi Tomoko, Tsuji Yoko, Iwata Shuichi, Nomi Takehiko, and leads to... the wife and daughter of Asakawa Kazuyuki. Pause. YOSHINO Asakawa was my understudy. ANDO He was? Yoshino nods once, briefly. YOSHINO Asakawa and Ryuji were working on something together. Now Ryuji, Asakawa's wife, and his daughter are all dead. When I heard that you'd been put in charge of Ryuji's autopsy, I thought there was something that you should see. Yoshino opens the satchel and withdraws a thick BUNDLE of looseleaf papers. He passes it wordlessly over to Ando. ANDO What's this? YOSHINO The printout of a file saved on Asakawa's word processor. It's a complete record of what he and Ryuji were working on. Ando regards the printout without reaching for it. The top page is a coversheet, blank save for two words printed in thick bold font: THE RING Ando's eyes widen as he sees the title, recalling the coded message culled from Ryuji's stomach. He remains motionless. YOSHINO Please, take it. Ando finally reaches out and does so. YOSHINO The contents of the report are... fantastical to say the least, but what it has to say is worth the read. I'd be very interested in your opinion of it, coming from a scientific background as you do. It concerns a videotape--a cursed videotape that seven days later kills anyone who's watched it. Ando's expression turns incredulous. ANDO You can't possibly believe that. Silence. ANDO Asakawa himself watched the tape, and he's still alive. Am I correct? YOSHINO I've got my own suspicions about that. I went to go see Asakawa in the hospital, to try to get more information "from the source," as it were. CUT to a scene of Asakawa in a HOSPITAL BED, motionless in wide-eyed shock. YOSHINO (VO) Let's just say that his present condition has left him less than talkative. CUT back to Ando and Yoshino in the auditorium. ANDO Have you seen the tape as well, Mr. Yoshino? YOSHINO (Sneering) What, are you kidding? If I had, you'd probably have autopsied on -me- by now. Besides, Asakawa had the tape in the car with him at the time of the accident. It and the VCR were both totaled in the wreck. It looks like Asakawa was coming back from his wife's hometown... Speaking of, did you know that both his wife's parents committed suicide recently? Ando shakes his head, "No." YOSHINO They left a note behind. It said, "Don't worry about the videotape. I've taken care of everything." More than a little strange, wouldn't you say? INT. ANDO'S APARTMENT - NIGHT. Ando sits alone at his work desk, Asakawa's Ring report before him. He picks it up and begins reading, making mental notes to himself as he does so: ANDO (VO) September 5th, 1990. Asakawa begins investigating the sudden heart attack deaths of four teenagers, that occurred simultaneously in both Tokyo and Yokohama. It occurs to Asakawa that the deaths could be the result of some sort of virus, in which case it's possible that all four victims were infected at a common location. His search reveals that location to be Southern Hakone; specifically, cabin B-4 of a series of rental cottages in the Pacific Land region, where all four had spent the evening together just one week previous. Ando begins visualizing the scenes. INT. PACIFIC LAND - MANAGER'S OFFICE - NIGHT Asakawa stands before the manager's desk, pointing at a large SHELF stuffed with rental videos. ANDO (VO) While in the manager's office, Asakawa spies a plain, unmarked videotape. He takes the tape, enters cabin B-4 and plays it on the cabin's VCR. INT. PACIFIC LAND - CABIN B-4 Asakawa sits on the floor before the TV, watching the mad rush of images from the video. The images suddenly cease, and the following message appears onscreen: You who have watched this video will die in one week. If you wish to live, this is what you must do-- The tape ends, filling the screen with static. ANDO (VO) Unfortunately, the method for escaping the video's curse had already been erased, probably by one of the four friends. Asakawa ejects the tape and leaves, taking the tape with him. Asakawa runs shakily out the door. INT. ASAKAWA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Asakawa and Ryuji are having a heated discussion. ANDO (VO) When he returns to Tokyo, Asakawa contacts his friend Takayama Ryuji, bringing him up to speed on the events so far. RYUJI The first thing you've gotta do is let me see this tape for myself. ANDO (VO) After watching the tape, Ryuji instructs Asakawa to make him a copy so that Ryuji can study it further on his own. The simple fact that the video exists is proof that someone must have made it. With this conclusion in mind, the two set out to determine where the videotape originated. Their investigation finds that none of the persons named in Pacific Land's guest ledger brought the tape with them, nor is any evidence found to indicate illegal tampering with local television signals. INT. ASAKAWA'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - DAY Asakawa opens the door, finds his wife SHIZUKA and young daughter YOKO crouched in front of the television. The last shot of the "cursed" video has just finished, and static fills the screen. Asakawa screams piteously. ASAKAWA Nooooo! He runs toward his wife, confronts her angrily. ASAKAWA Why?! Why did you watch that video? SHIZUKA (Defensive) What are you so angry about? ASAKAWA Did Yoko watch it too?! All of it? SHIZUKA Well, yes, but... It's not like she could understand it. Short pause as Shizuka takes in the genuine fear in her husband's eyes. SHIZUKA You're not saying this thing is true! ANDO (VO) Now it wasn't just his own life he had to worry about: Asakawa had to fight to save the lives of his wife and daughter as well. INT. RYUJI'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Asakawa watches as Ryuji puts on the video. ANDO (VO) It was at that time that Ryuji voiced his startling discovery: RYUJI What I've done is separate the images on the tape into two categories, Abstract and Concrete, with Concrete being like what someone would see in real life. Doing this, I noticed that it's only in the Concrete scenes that the screen goes dark, just for a second, at regular intervals. Ryuji removes his eyeglasses dramatically. RYUJI Asakawa: I think that momentary blackness is somebody -blinking-. ANDO (VO) Based on this, the two concluded that the images on the videotape were the product of nensha--the focusing of will on film or other medium to produce a psychic image--by some as-yet unidentified individual. The two recall the old woman from the videotape and her strange proclamation: Shoumon bakkari, boukon ga kuru zo. ANDO (VO) "Shoumon": Playing in the water. "Boukon": monster. The dialect was identified as belonging to the Sashikiji region of Oshima Island, located in Izu Prefecture. Thus, the two concentrated their search on that region, finally turning up the name "Yamamura Shizuko," an Oshima native whose psychic prowess had at one time given her a measure of notoriety. The two set out immediately for Oshima, intent on learning more about this mysterious Shizuko. They learn that Shizuko had actually participated in a psychic demonstration at the behest of one Ikuma Heihachiro, Assistant Professor of Psychology at T University. When the audience, a group of respected scholars, declared the demonstration to be a sham, the press turned on Shizuko, destroying her credibility. As a result, Ikuma was drummed out of academia. As for Shizuko... Asakawa and Ryuji examine a faded newspaper clipping, the headline for which reads: YAMAMURA SHIZUKO COMMITS SUICIDE ANDO (VO) But Shizuko was survived by the daughter she had borne with Professor Ikuma. Her name: Yamamura Sadako. Sadako possessed powers far and above those of her mother. She remained on Oshima Island until graduating from high school, after which she moved to Tokyo and joined the Hisho Acting Troupe. Shortly thereafter, however, Sadako left the troupe, at which point she simply vanished without a trace. Ryuji and Asakawa's investigation had hit a dead end. INT. NONDESCRIPT ROOM - DAY (?) Asakawa and Ryuji slouch defeatedly and stare off into space, saying nothing. ANDO (VO) It was, predictably, the keenly analytical Ryuji for whom inspiration suddenly struck. RYUJI Wait a minute. Why are we wasting time trying to put together Sadako's past, when what we ought to be concentrating on is the transmission? The images first showed up in Izu, at the rental cabins. Why? That's what we should be investigating--the history behind that area. ANDO (VO) As it turns out, the cabins stood on the site of the old Sanatorium of Southern Hakone. Asakawa and Ryuji decided to investigate further by enlisting the help of one Nagao Jotaro, currently a pediatrician, who was employed at the Sanatorium from the years of 1962 to 1967. INT. DR. NAGAO'S CLINIC - LOBBY - DAY Asakawa and Ryuji stand in the lobby awaiting Dr. Nagao. When he arrives, both men look stunned. ANDO (VO) With a shock, both Ryuji and Asakawa realize that they know this man-- his was the face that appeared on the videotape. At first proclaiming ignorance, Nagao finally buckles under Ryuji's questioning. The doctor relates how he encountered Sadako at the Sanatorium, where he was being treated for a smallpox infection. Desire for her consumed him, until at last one day he forced himself upon her, raping her. It wasn't until afterward that Nagao realized her anomalous physical makeup--due to a condition known as Testicular Feminization Syndrome, Sadako possessed both male and female genitalia. Furthermore, though outwardly appearing entirely female, Sadako's XY chromosomal makeup in fact classified her as male. She would have been unable to bear children. After raping her, Nagao strangled Sadako and tossed her body into a nearby well. EXT. SOUTHERN HAKONE - THE WELL - NIGHT Ryuji and Asakawa stand beside a well covered with a massive stone LID. Working together, the two pry the lid off and toss it onto the ground. Asakawa looks down into the well's impenetrable gloom. ASAKAWA Sadako must still be down there... ANDO (VO) If the curse of the videotape was in fact true, Asakawa had until 10 p.m.--the time he viewed the videotape exactly one week previous-- to find the answer to its lethal riddle. INT. INSIDE THE WELL - NIGHT Asakawa, arms outstretched, groping, fumbles about in the brackish water. ASAKAWA (Pleading) Where are you? Please! Come out... Asakawa's fingers finally snag something. He pulls the object up and through the surface of the fetid water: it is a human skull, its empty sockets partially hidden by long, oily-looking hair. Ryuji's voice suddenly booms from above. RYUJI Asakawa! It's 10 minutes past 10:00! We did it! ANDO (VO) The one-week time limit had passed, and Asakawa remained unharmed. The two concluded that they had in fact broken the video's curse. EXT. SOUTHERN HAKONE - NIGHT Asakawa and Ryuji stand, preparing to part ways. RYUJI You get some rest. I still have a deadline to make; my thesis is due tomorrow. INT. RYUJI'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Inside, Ryuji is seated at his work desk, surrounded by a clutter of TEXTS and LOOSELEAF PAPERS. A PHONE/FAX combo rests at the head of the desk. ANDO (VO) However... Ryuji's body suddenly stiffens, his hand flying to his throat as if choking. He stumbles out of his chair, doubling over as a series of violent coughs racks his entire body. He shoots a glance at the TV next to the desk, regards it balefully. RYUJI Why?! A flurry of images: Mai's concerned face. Asakawa yelling. ASAKAWA Are you SURE that Ryuji didn't say anything to you? About a videotape, for example? CUT suddenly to Ando performing his autopsy. ANDO No sign of external injuries... Sudden Death Syndrome? Everything goes blank. ANDO (VO) By the following day, Takayama Ryuji was already dead. CUT back to Ando sitting at his desk reading the Ring report. His eyes look over the last line: September 21. Monday. Special characteristic of the virus: Replication. The cure: Make a duplicate copy of the tape. ANDO (To self) A duplicate copy... Ando pops his Zippo open, lights a cigarette. He places the report on the desk in front of him and exhales deeply. He continues his inner dialogue. ANDO (VO) But Asakawa hadn't cracked the riddle of the videotape after all; he lived, but Takayama Ryuji died. Because he did something that Ryuji didn't--he copied the tape and showed it to someone else. Ando's gaze falls back to the Ring report, one word in particular catching his eye: Replication Ando gets up, walks to the screen door. He slides it open and steps out onto the balcony. EXT. ANDO'S APARTMENT - BALCONY - NIGHT Ando leans against the railing, taking deep pulls off his cigarette. He begins thinking to himself again. ANDO (VO) Asakawa must've been in a panic. He had to help his wife and daughter. He loads up a VCR and heads for his wife's hometown. Why? To show the tape to her parents? INT. ANDO'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Ando punches in a phone number, waits for a response. A few rings later, there is a slight pause before an answering machine begins playing its pre-recorded message. MAI (VO) Hi, this is Takano Mai. I'm not in right now, so please leave a message after the beep. Ando hangs up without leaving a message. EXT. TAKANO MAI'S APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY Slow CLOSEUP onto the building. We can hear Ando speaking to the LANDLORD. ANDO (VO) Hello. My name is Ando. I spoke with you yesterday on the phone... LANDLORD Aah, yes. Ms. Takano's friend. Please, wait just a moment. INT. TAKANO MAI'S APARTMENT - DAY The door opens from the outside. The landlord stands there holding a set of keys, Ando lurking hesitantly behind him. The landlord gestures for him to enter. LANDLORD Please. The two cross the threshold into the apartment. Ando stops, looks back at the landlord apologetically. ANDO If you don't mind, there are some things that I'd like to check for myself. Would it be possible for me to borrow a spare key? The landlord struggles internally for a moment and finally, reluctantly, begins removing a key from the ring. LANDLORD (Somewhat gruffly) Just be sure to please return it to the office when you're finished. He hands the key over to Ando and wordlessly excuses himself from the apartment. Ando sighs once, begins letting his eyes wander. He walks forward into the living room. Nothing out of place there. He walks out of the room. INT. TAKANO MAI'S APARTMENT - BATHROOM - DAY Ando opens the accordion door to the bathroom and walks in. His eyes roam intently. He pulls aside the shower curtain. Nothing here either. He walks out of the bathroom and back into the living room. INT. TAKANO MAI'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - DAY Ando opens a sliding door, letting in some fresh air. The curtains dance crazily in the breeze. ANDO (To himself) Nothing seems out of place... He spins around to look behind him as a thought suddenly crosses his mind: directly behind him, a small wood and glass cabinet holds a VCR and modest- sized TV. Ando makes for the cabinet, picks up the REMOTE set next to the TV. He pushes a button and the TV flicks on. It's one of those early morning news shows where everyone is insanely happy. TV ANNOUNCER And now for the weather, let's go to our very own Morning Girl. Oh, Morning Girl?! MORNING GIRL Hello, and good morning! Can you guess where I am today? I'm so excited I could just DIE! I'm standing here next to-- Ando flips through some more channels. Cartoons. Sports. More cartoons. He turns the TV off, puts the remote back on the cabinet, and stands, motionless, in front of the blank screen. ANDO (To self) Am I making too much out of this? INT. MIYASHITA'S OFFICE - DAY Ando tosses the thick sheaf of papers comprising the Ring report onto Miyashita's desk. The loud slap of it gets Miyashita's attention instantly. ANDO Miyashita, would you do me a favor? There's something I'd like you to read. MIYASHITA What's this? Something you wrote? ANDO Just read it, would you? I'd like to get your opinion on it. Miyashita gathers up the bundle of papers in one hand, glances dubiously at the cover page. MIYASHITA Looks pretty long... Ando grins slightly. ANDO (Echoing Yoshino's words) It's fantastical to say the least, but what it has to say is worth the read. It's an in-depth report on a series of recent events--written by Asakawa Kazuyuki. MIYASHITA Asakawa? The Asakawa whose wife and kid... ANDO The same. Ando grows serious. ANDO I'm counting on you, Miyashita. Read it, and let me know what you think. Pause. ANDO Takano Mai's gone missing. MIYASHITA Takano Mai... You mean Takayama Ryuji's lover? The one who found his body? ANDO I've called the University, even got in touch with some people from her hometown. Nothing. And I went out to her apartment yesterday. She's got days' worth of mail just piled up in her box. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this. Miyashita says nothing for a moment. MIYASHITA Ando, why don't we go grab a drink? It's been a while since we've done anything. INT. BAR - NIGHT Ando and Miyashita sit at the counter of a small bar. Miyashita stares down at his garishly colored cocktail. MIYASHITA I read your report. ANDO And? What did you think? Miyashita grabs his drink, drains half of it in one swig. MIYASHITA Well, I'll tell you, it definitely threw me for a loop. ANDO But do you believe it? MIYASHITA Regardless of whether I do or not, it certainly is thorough. All names and times of death in the report are consistent with the facts we have at hand. But what about you, Ando? We've both seen the coroner's reports, heard their conclusions on the cause of death. Are -you- willing to take Asakawa's report at face value? ANDO (Scowling) It's not like I don't have my doubts... but you have to admit that not even modern science can provide a fundamental explanation for -all- of life's mysteries. MIYASHITA The black and white argument, eh? The beginnings of life on our planet are either a string of random occurrences or the product of some divine plan? Well let me tell you, whenever you try observing the world at the subatomic, you're gonna find that something starts skewing your objectivity. It's the mind. You got that? The mind. Trust me, one way or another, it'll end up affecting the results. Miyashita, who has probably already had too much to drink, picks up his glass and does some more damage to his cocktail. MIYASHITA I don't surprise easily, though. I reckon I could handle just about anything the world has up its sleeve. Ando smiles. ANDO I think you're taking whatever argument you're trying to make to extremes. MIYASHITA Bah! I might not have ever told you this, Ando, but I'm something of an idealist. ANDO All right then, Mr. Idealist, let's get back to the question. Is there anything in that report to make you think it's not on the level? MIYASHITA Yes. The death of Asakawa's wife and kid. ANDO Aah. You too, huh? I can't get my head around it. If copying the tape and showing it to someone else is really what broke the curse, then why did Asakawa's wife and kid still die? The three of them went back to his wife's hometown and showed the video to her parents, right? That should have saved them, but it didn't. The autopsy said they were dead -before- the accident. Something doesn't add up. Short pause. MIYASHITA A bit of a dilemma, wouldn't you say? ANDO What's that? MIYASHITA If the video does exist, I'd definitely want to see it... but if I watch it, there's no guarantee I wouldn't end up dead myself. Sigh. MIYASHITA It's a dilemma, all right. A week's not enough time to figure this thing out and save yourself. But I can't stop thinking about it, Ando. I'd love to get my hands on that tape. Miyashita takes a sidelong glance at his friend. MIYASHITA How about you? Would you watch it? Ando smiles wryly. ANDO No thanks. I'd rather not make the same mistake Ryuji did. INT. ANDO'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - NIGHT Ando lies on his side, fast asleep. His eyes move rapidly, and in his mind he sees: EXT. SHADED PATH - DAY The path leads to an old stone well with a chunk missing out of one side. A GIRL in a WHITE DRESS walks slowly up to the well, peering down into it. Suddenly, a MAN rushes up behind her, knocking her violently to the ground. The girl's face comes into view, and we can see that it is Sadako. The man tears at her clothes, ripping off her undergarments. CUT to the man standing upright, Sadako's limp body in his arms. He walks to the edge of the well and tosses her in, her body hitting the water with a heavy splash. CUT to Sadako inside the well, as she plunges into the water and begins to sink. Her eyes suddenly fly open. Slowly, tremblingly, she raises her arms toward the surface of the water... and makes contact with something. She pulls that something toward her, bringing it to her lips. It is Ando's face. CUT to a scene of Ando and Sadako together within the well, which is Now almost completely drained. Ando lies on his back on the moist bottom,and Sadako lies atop, straddling him. She pushes her lips close to his... INT. ANDO'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - NIGHT Ando's eyes fly open. His expression is at first slightly panicked, but begins to settle as he becomes more awake. He stares up at the ceiling, and for just an instant the circular light fixture looks oddly like a well. An old well with a chunk missing out of one side. Ando sits up in bed, his face in his hands. He's starting to look confused again. ANDO Was I dreaming? EXT. MAI'S APARTMENT - ROOFTOP - DAY A small contingent of POLICEMEN and helmeted RESCUE WORKERS are crowded around a large VENTING DUCT. The rescue workers have rigged up a MINI CRANE that leads down into the duct. CUT to a scene inside the duct itself. A helmeted worker has wrapped a length of ROPE, attached to the crane, around a large, blanketed OBJECT. The size and bulk of the object indicate its contents to be a human BODY. WORKER OK, I got it! Slowly... Slowly... CUT back to the grim-faced policemen standing on the rooftop, as they watch the body being hoisted up and out of the venting duct. INT. UNIVERSITY - PATHOLOGY DEPT. - RECEVING AREA - DAY Three DETECTIVES in their uniform gray suits are bringing Ando up to speed. Ando wears a white doctor's coat. DETECTIVE #1 We've brought in the Jane Doe, doctor. ANDO Gentlemen. The body was discovered on a rooftop, is that correct? DETECTIVE #2 That's right. So far, we haven't ruled out either murder or suicide, though no will has yet been found. DETECTIVE #1 They found the body tossed into a venting duct on top of the roof. The duct was about three meters deep. DETECTIVE #3 Girl's probably around twenty years old. Woulda been a real looker. Ando walks past the detectives toward the body bag. ANDO Excuse me. Ando kneels, undoes the bag's heavy ZIPPER. He peers into the bag, and immediately a look of shock crosses his face. He loses his balance, falling backwards and smacking into the wall behind him. Immediately, Ando is surrounded by concerned faces. DETECTIVE #2 Doctor?! Are you alright? DETECTIVE #1 What is it, doctor? Is it someone that you know? ANDO I... I only met her twice. Her name was Takano Mai. CLOSEUP on Mai's pale, waxen face inside the bodybag. DETECTIVE #1 (O.S.) You're sure it's her? CUT back to Ando, still slumped against the wall. His voice sounds tired, defeated. ANDO Pay special attention to the pulmonary artery, and be sure to get a tissue sample. Ando looks down at Mai's face again, his mind still half-rebelling against what his eyes are telling him: Takano Mai is dead. ANDO If you'll excuse me. INT. UNIVERSITY - MIYASHITA'S OFFICE - DAY Miyashita stands before a worn SOFA, reading from a medical FILE. Ando sits on the sofa, his head in his hands. MIYASHITA Takano Mai's death, as it turns out, was NOT the result of a heart attack. We won't know more till we get the results of the tissue sample back, but a preliminary investigation revealed no abnormalities in the pulmonary artery. External injuries are limited to a broken right ankle and lacerations on both knees, possibly the result of falling into the venting duct. Preliminary diagnosis is, uh... severely weakened bodily condition leading to death from exposure. There's more. It looks like Mai was pregnant. Ando looks up, his eyes wide. MIYASHITA They found evidence indicating that she had given birth. ANDO (Incredulous) Given birth... Are you sure? MIYASHITA Perfectly. Have you not looked at the coroner's report? Silence. ANDO If she gave birth, then what happened to the child? Any news on that? MIYASHITA No, it would appear not. Police are doing a search of the nearby area, but so far, nothing. * CUT to various DISSOLVE SHOTS showing the passage of time. Ando * remains in the office, but Miyashita is long gone. The phone rings * suddenly. Ando walks over to the desk and answers it. * ANDO * Hello? * VOICE (O.S.) * Yes, I'm looking for a Dr. Ando. * ANDO * Speaking. * VOICE (O.S.) * Dr. Ando, I'm calling from Shuwa University Hospital, regarding a * patient we had transferred to us from, uh, Shinagawa Saisei. The * patient's name is Asakawa Kazuyuki. * ANDO * Has there been some change in his condition? * VOICE (O.S.) * ...I'm afraid that Mr. Asakawa has passed away due to * complications. * Ando sits down heavily on the side of the desk. He says nothing. * VOICE (O.S.) * He was transferred over to us because the people at Shinagawa * were unable to stop his condition from deteriorating. His body just * became more and more infirm, until finally he ceased breathing. There * was nothing we could do. * Ando slowly gathers his thoughts. * ANDO * So Asakawa never exhibited any symptoms of viral infection? * VOICE (O.S.) * Viral? No... Is there something we should know about, Dr. Ando? * ANDO * Thank you. * Ando hangs up the phone, an unreadable expression on his face. EXT. MAI'S APARTMENT - ROOFTOP - NIGHT Ando walks slowly toward the venting duct where Mai's body was found. He leans over slightly, looking down into it and thinking to himself. ANDO (VO) Takano Mai came to this spot. But why? To do what? And if she gave birth, what happened to the baby? Ando closes his eyes in concentration. ANDO (VO) Mai... help me to understand... INT. MAI'S APARTMENT - HALLWAY - NIGHT Ando stands, waiting, in front of the elevators. The elevator arrives and the doors open with a loud DING. Ando begins walking forward but stops dead in his tracks; standing in the otherwise empty elevator is a beautiful GIRL of around twenty. She wears a long black dress and PUMPS with the kind of lace that wraps around the ankles. She wears a pair of dark SUNGLASSES, and holds a BOUQUET of flowers in both hands. Ando is mesmerized. The girl walks slowly out of the elevator, holding the bouquet before her face as if smelling it. Ando's eyes linger on her until he notices the elevator doors about to close. Ando dives in, turning around to catch a final glimpse of the girl. The last thing he sees before the doors shut is the girl looking back at him, smiling. INT. UNIVERSITY - LAB - DAY Ando sits before a bank of electronic EQUIPMENT. His attention is currently focused on a large SCREEN displaying the slide from an ELECTRON MICROSCOPE that sits to the left of the screen. Miyashita stands just behind Ando. * ANDO * And where was this sample taken from? * MIYASHITA * Takayama Ryuji. Miyashita leans forward, peers at the screen. MIYASHITA Raise the magnification a bit more. Take it to X21,000. Good. Stop. The screen is filled with tiny, squiggling masses that look like bean sprouts with the ends crossed over to form tiny loops. ANDO Jesus. It's -squirming-. MIYASHITA What it is, is a virus the likes of which we've never seen. One thing in our favor, at least, is that communicability appears extremely limited... for the moment. You've gotta hand it to old Seki, though-- he was the first to make the connection to smallpox. I ran this thing through the DNA sequencer, and came up with an analysis of its base arrangement. Genetically speaking, it is very similar to smallpox. ANDO But not the same? MIYASHITA Well, about 70% the same. ANDO Then what about the other 30? MIYASHITA You ready for this? Its base arrangement is an exact match for the kind of gene that encodes -enzymes-. ANODU Enzymes? For what type of organism? Miyashita looks directly at Ando. MIYASHITA Humans. ANDO What?! MIYASHITA I don't blame you for being skeptical. But this thing, it clearly contains protein genes. It's a hybrid of human and smallpox genetic material. Pause. MIYASHITA Ando, doesn't this remind you of the Ring report? You remember how Sadako died, right, and what happened before she died? Ando nods, seeing in his mind's eye a manic, sweat-covered face... and he makes the connection. ANDO Nagao Jotaro was the last-known patient in Japan to be treated for smallpox. Miyashita nods once, looks back at the screen. MIYASHITA What do you think of the name, "Ring Virus?" ANDO Ring... MIYASHITA Let me tell you how I think our friend the Ring Virus here works. First, somebody watches the video. This starts a chain reaction within the victim's heart, causing the body's own DNA to be altered in such a way that it actually mutates into the Ring Virus. The virus then surrounds the heart, causing a cancerous growth to form in the victim's pulmonary artery. In exactly one week, the growth has become large enough to completely block the artery, halting blood flow and causing the heart to cease pumping. The victim dies. Miyashita walks toward the screen, his arms folded in concentration. MIYASHITA But because the virus's primary function is to incorporate itself into the DNA of the tunica media of the pulmonary artery and metastasize on a cellular level, communicability is almost nil. ANDO Yes, but how do you explain Takano Mai? She didn't die of a heart attack. MIYASHITA Aah. Now, take a look at this. Miyashita reaches forward, brings up a new screen. ANDO It's the Ring Virus. No, wait. There's something different... MIYASHITA Exactly. It's mutated. By way of connection, this sample was taken from Takano Mai. Mai was infected by the virus, yes, but it was neither the tape nor the virus itself that killed her. This means that we now have two people whose deaths were not directly attributable to the virus: Takano Mai, and Asakawa Kazuyuki. These two must have something in common. If we can find what that something is, we might be able to pinpoint what caused the virus to mutate. EXT. ANDO'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Simple exterior shot. INT. ANDO'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Ando sits at his desk, smoking. In one hand he holds snapshots of the Ring Virus, which he ponders furiously. ANDO (VO) Why was Mai's heart free of the cancer that targeted the other victims? This virus... it reminds me of something. Ando slaps the photos down on the desk, leans back in his chair and stares at the ceiling. ANDO Something... Ando recalls one of his discussions with Miyashita: It looks like she was pregnant. They found evidence indicating that she had given birth. Ando suddenly sits bolt upright in his chair, his eyes wide. ANDO Oh my God... In his mind's eye, Ando recalls a single line from Asakawa's Ring report: Special characteristic of the virus: Replication. ANDO (VO) The virus! Could IT have somehow impregnated her? Mai gives birth to the virus's "child," thus contributing to its replication. Pause. ANDO (VO) But what about Asakawa? He's a guy, for God's sake. Ando stands, walking over to the sliding glass door facing the balcony. He looks out over the maze of neon signs and drab-colored buildings, thinking. ANDO (VO) Sadako... What are you after? EXT. A TOKYO ROAD - INSIDE MIYASHITA'S CAR - DAY Miyashita and Ando sit in the car, waiting for the stoplight to change. MIYASHITA Sorry again to call you up on your day off. ANDO You're doing me a favor. I don't usually have a chance to get together with anyone like this. Where did you say you wanted to go? The light changes, and Miyashita steps on the gas. MIYASHITA First, I wanted to run something by you real quick, about that virus we saw yesterday. Did you happen to think that maybe it... looked like something you'd seen before? Ando nods once. ANDO The way it moved around, I thought it looked like spermatozoa. MIYASHITA I thought the same thing. ANDO And with that in mind I thought about why, in all the other patients except for Mai, we found evidence of cancer. I thought about the first day we met and remembered thinking that she didn't look well, which at the time I attributed to shock from Ryuji's death. But there was another reason for her not feeling well. MIYASHITA The menstrual cycle. ANDO Right. The day that Mai watched the video happened to be the very day that she was ovulating. And because of that, the goal of the virus changed from attacking the pulmonary artery to an all-out assault on the ova, the result being the birth of something as-yet unidentified. Judging from the estimated time of death, whatever it was that the virus spawned inside her was only there for a week. MIYASHITA And what about Asakawa? ANDO Well, what if the virus mutated inside him like it did with Mai, but because Asakawa was a man, the virus had to seek some other form of exit? MIYASHITA "Some other form"? ANDO So that the virus could thrive. So that it could spread. Silence. MIYASHITA It's up to us to solve this thing, isn't it? ANDO It is. MIYASHITA Ando... Did you do anything during the summer vacation? ANDO No, not really. MIYASHITA I hope you'll forgive me for talking about this, what with what you've been through and all, but on my vacation I took a trip with the family, to one of those little, out of the way places they don't write about in the guidebooks. You wanna know why I chose such a rural place to go to on vacation? It's 'cause of this novel I really like, that takes place in a little fishing village. Just once, I thought, I'd like to see something like that for myself, you know, see what it's like. The book said that if you look out at the horizon from that fishing village, you'd see this killer mirage. And I believed it. But when I got there, I didn't see any mirage... Ando remains quiet, wondering where this is going. MIYASHITA You ever visit the setting of a novel? ANDO A couple times... MIYASHITA And what did you think? ANDO Well, it was kind of like, "This is it?" MIYASHITA Different from what you'd imagined, then? ANDO More like I'd been lied to, you know? MIYASHITA What you're saying, then, is that the reality of a scenery is different from the impression you get when you read about it in a novel? ANDO I'd say it'd be pretty unusual if you could find two that were a perfect match. Short pause. MIYASHITA You remember the "Ring" report pretty well? ANDO Of course. MIYASHITA I read that report just once. Skimmed through it, really. ANDO And? MIYASHITA And yet, even though I didn't even read it that closely, I can still picture the scenes clearly in my head. No, not even picture, it's like they're burned into my memory. I even dream of them: the well; the Sanatorium at Hakone; Professor Heihachiro; Yamamura Shizuko; Nagao Jotaro. Yamamura Sadako. The same dreams over and over, like images looped on a videotape. And I can visualize everything so clearly, right down to the chunk missing out of one side of the well. ANDO (Startled) What?! MIYASHITA Weird, huh? The report didn't mention anything about that, but... ANDO I've had the same dream. There is a long silence as both men weigh the significance of this discovery. MIYASHITA Let's check this place out for ourselves, Ando. And if what we see matches what both you and I have imagined... ANDO This'll be your first time out to Hakone Pacific Land, right? MIYASHITA Of course. You? ANDO I'd never even heard of it before Asakawa's report. EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Miyashita's car drives past a wooden, hand-painted sign reading: SOUTHERN HAKONE PACIFIC LAND. EXT. PARKING LOT - PACIFIC LAND - DAY Miyashita's car stops. The two men get out. They begin walking past the rental cottages, both of them turning their heads and drinking in the surroundings. MIYASHITA You getting a sense of deja vu, Ando? ANDO I was about to ask the same thing. MIYASHITA I'll tell you the truth: I'm stunned. ANDO It's exactly how I'd pictured it. Jesus... MIYASHITA I'm about to say something pretty crazy here, Ando. ANDO Go ahead. MIYASHITA What if just reading that report was enough to get us infected? Both men stop suddenly, stunned into silence. The old stone well they stand before has a chunk missing out of one side. There is a long pause as neither man says anything. MIYASHITA Ando, would you say I've got a pretty wife? ANDO Yeah. MIYASHITA And a cute kid? ANDO Uh-huh. MIYASHITA And that I'm just an ordinary-looking guy with glasses? ANDO You -are- an ordinary-looking guy with glasses. MIYASHITA So, I'd have to be pretty lucky to have such a beautiful wife who's also a great person. ANDO I'd say so, yeah. Miyashita falls to his knees. His face is hidden, but his voice says that he is near tears. MIYASHITA Shit. Jesus, man, I don't wanna die! Miyashita looks up, wipes a stray bit of moisture from his right eye. MIYASHITA I guess I was being too much the optimist, huh? Thinking I could just sit on the sidelines like some sort of observer. Miyashita voices a single, ironic laugh. MIYASHITA I was even sorta looking forward to seeing how things were gonna turn out. ANDO Yeah. Me, too. Miyashita slowly rises to his feet. MIYASHITA I think, next chance we get, you and I should get a complete blood work done. Even if we do have the virus, we're not dead yet. We need to look for a way out of this. EXT. STATION - NIGHT Miyashita's car pulls up to the curb. Ando steps out of the car, and Miyashita rolls the window down, calling after him. MIYASHITA Are you sure you want me to drop you off here? I don't mind taking you back to your apartment. ANDO But then you'd have to come all the way back to get to your place. I'm fine taking the train. Ando smiles slightly. ANDO You should get back before your family starts worrying about you. MIYASHITA Yeah... I'll call you, OK? ANDO 'K. INT. PASSENGER TRAIN - NIGHT Though a few scattered seats remain empty, Ando prefers to stand, alone with his thoughts. He stares distractedly at his own reflection in the window. ANDO (VO) If Miyashita's guess is correct--if blood work does reveal that the virus is already inside us--that would make the Ring report the virus's latest tool for self-propagation. The train comes to a halt. The doors open... and standing directly in the doorway is the girl that Ando encountered in the elevator at Mai's apartment. Her dress is different, but she is again wearing the same sunglasses. ANDO (VO) That girl! Just then a wave of passengers rushes by, obscuring the girl from view. Ando runs forward, leaps through the doors just as they close shut. The train departs, and Ando turns his head left and right in search of the girl. He catches a glimpse of her as she heads for the ticket gates. He tries to follow, but is pushed back by the current of the crowd. ANDO Wait! EXT. OUTSIDE THE TRAIN STATION - NIGHT. Ando comes tearing out of the stairwell, panting. He looks around for the girl in the sunglasses, but she has already disappeared in the crowd. ANDO Lost her... INT. ANDO'S APARTMENT BUILDING - HALLWAY - NIGHT Ando stands before the elevator, waiting for it to arrive. The doors open, and before Ando's uncomprehending eyes stands the very girl he had chased in the station. He stares at her a long moment before finally entering the elevator. The two stand parallel, arms at their sides, saying nothing. Slowly, the girl reaches out her hand, takes Ando's in hers. She gives a slight tug, and Ando is in her arms, kissing her passionately. Snapping to, Ando tries to push her away, but she locks her fingers behind his neck and pulls her again into her embrace. Soon they are leaning against the elevator wall, writhing, the girl straddling Ando's leg. INT. ANDO'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - NIGHT It is completely dark, but the sounds of the two's fevered lovemaking is easily heard. INT. ANDO'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - DAY Ando opens his eyes. The girl from last night has already dressed. She is standing perfectly still and watching Ando as he lay in bed. GIRL Good morning. Ando sits up in bed. He's starting to look nervous. ANDO I can't believe I didn't even ask your name... The girl sits on the bed next to Ando, looks at him warmly. GIRL (MASAKO) Do you want to go see a movie? I'd like to go see a movie. She grins, and her smile is so breathtaking that Ando smiles in spite of himself. INT. MOVIE THEATER - DAY Ando and Masako sit side by side in the movie theater. There are few other MOVIEGOERS present, so there are lots of empty chairs around them. The movie they are watching is French, with Japanese subtitles. Ando sneaks a look at the girl sitting to his side, and notices that she is mumbling something. He looks closer, tries to make out what she's saying, but her lips suddenly stop moving, as if she had felt him looking at her. She breaks into a wide, slightly enigmatic smile. INT. ANDO'S HOUSE - SHOWER - DAY We catch a glimpse of Masako showering. INT. ANDO'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY Ando is seated at his workdesk. His phone/FAX combo rings suddenly, and Ando answers it. ANDO Hello? It's Miyashita on the other end, and he doesn't sound pleased. MIYASHITA (O.S.) Ando! Where the hell've you been all morning? I've been trying to reach you for hours. ANDO Yeah, I was... at the movies. MIYASHITA (O.S.) What?! You went to go see a movie?! ANDO Three, actually. MIYASHITA (O.S.) Well, I'm glad to see you're taking things in stride, Mr. I-Don't- Have-A-Care-In-The-World. Anyway, I've got some info. for you. You know where I've been today? No reply. MIYASHITA To the theater. ANDO The theater? And you say -I- don't have a care in the-- MIYASHITA Don't get ahead of yourself there, punchy. Unlike you, I was out doing some legwork, checking up on something pretty important, actually: Yamamura Sadako. To be more specific, trying to find out what she looks like. ANDO What she looks like? You do realize she's dead, don't you? How could you possibly "check up on"... Her photo! MIYASHITA Bingo. When Sadako joined the acting troupe, they put a photo of her along with all the other information in her file. That was something we never thought to question, eh, what Sadako looked like. But when I saw that picture of her from the acting troupe... ANDO What? You saw it, right? And? MIYASHITA ...It was different. ANDO What do you mean, "different"? MIYASHITA I mean, yes, it was a pretty girl like you and I both saw from reading the report, but... the person in the photograph didn't match the image of her I got from the report. Short pause. ANDO What does that mean? MIYASHITA I didn't get it at first either. But then I remembered something a friend of mine said, a guy who's an excellent sketch artist. I asked him once what kind of face was the hardest for him to draw. He told me that since each face has its own distinctive qualities, reproducing any face is easy... but if pressed for an answer, he'd have to say his -own- face gave him the most problems. Apparently, the stronger a self-image an artist has of himself, the less likely he is to draw what he really looks like. ANDO Yes, but what does it mean? MIYASHITA It means I'm starting to wonder if Asakawa wrote that report at all. ANDO What? MIYASHITA What if it wasn't Asakawa, but the will of Sadako -inside him- that wrote that report? If that were the case, what we get from reading the report is imagery as clear as if it were shot on video, but the picture we get of Sadako, the main character of the story, is skewed because she's viewing herself through her own eyes. Ando thinks a moment. ANDO That's it! I think I've got the connection! MIYASHITA What? ANDO If what you're saying is right--if the virus itself caused the Ring report to be written, and simply reading that report would cause the reader to contract the virus--then the role of spreading the virus falls to Asakawa, the virus's carrier. MIYASHITA So even though Asakawa was a guy and couldn't give birth like Mai, he could still contribute to the spread of the virus by writing the report! ANDO That could be it. And if bloodwork picks up the virus inside us as well... MIYASHITA Look, let's just worry about one thing at a time. For now, I'll go ahead and FAX Sadako's photo over to you. ANDO OK. I'm hanging up now. Ando hangs up. A few seconds later the phone rings, and Ando pushes the button to enable the FAX. The paper, upside down, begins spooling out with a soft mechanical humming. Once it's finished printing, Ando tears the FAX off and pulls it toward his face. ANDO My God. It can't be... Just then, the girl steps into the living room. Her hair, having just been towel dried, is slightly damp. She looks at Ando, who is still staring at the FAX in disbelief, and flashes him a wide smile. Ando turns to look at her. ANDO Yamamura Sadako! CLOSEUP on the FAX as Ando lets it fall to the floor. Sure enough, the black and white photo from the FAX matches perfectly the face of the young girl standing before him. The two stare at each other silently, as Ando recalls what he has read about her and fills in the remaining pieces of the puzzle. ANDO (VO) Sadako... With her female and male anatomy, she could produce both sperm and egg and incite fertilization within her own body. Bringing the fertilized egg to fruition, however, would require removing the DNA from within the egg and replacing it with that of some outside source. >Without this outside DNA, Sadako would be able to create only >offspring of herself (using her own male/female DNA). She cannot >create "from scratch." ANDO (VO) The egg, its nucleus having been replaced, is returned to Sadako's womb, where the growth process begins. Memory for the fertilized egg is somehow drawn from the genetic information encoded within the DNA itself--a complete record of events up until the time of death for the donor of the source DNA. In a single week, the organism has matured to birthing. The organism crawls of Sadako's womb, where in another week it reaches the exact age of the DNA donor. FLASH FORWARD INT. A DARKENED ROOM - NIGHT Ando and Miyashita exchange words, their tone one of defeat. MIYASHITA Are you alright with this? ANDO Yeah... MIYASHITA What have we been doing this whole time? ANDO We were being used. CUT back to THE PRESENT ANDO Yamamura Sadako! It can't be! GIRL (SADAKO) It is. I -am- Sadako. ANDO No! Sadako is dead! SADAKO Yet here I stand. ANDO Where... Where did you come from? SADAKO From Takano Mai. ANDO My God! The child Mai gave birth to... It was you?! SADAKO I don't completely understand it myself... but have been able to put most of it together from the books and reports you so thoughtfully stock your apartment with, which I have read while you were sleeping. Would it be so outside the realm of your scientific mind to consider that using my gift of nensha, which some call psychography, I was able to burn my genetic information onto videotape, and that when Takano Mai viewed this tape, she was impregnated by that information? ANDO But, why did Mai have to die? SADAKO My awareness as Yamamura Sadako was begun before birth, so that even as I grew within Takano Mai's womb, so too did my awareness of self, until I came to have complete control over her body. Think of Mai merely as a chrysalis, a single stage for the sole purpose of my birth. After that birth, her body was little more than an empty shell... and I disposed of it as such. ANDO You... you monster! The air around Sadako suddenly changes, begins rippling with energy. Simultaneously, Ando falls to the floor, clutching his chest at a sudden stab of pain. Sadako's voice changes, becomes distorted. SADAKO AND I AM INSIDE -YOU- AS WELL. CAN YOU NOT FEEL IT? Ando tightens his grip over his heart. ANDO (VO) The virus! ANDO (cont.) Sadako... why are you doing this? What the hell do you want? SADAKO WHAT DO I WANT? SHALL I ALONE KNOW WHAT IT IS TO BE CAST TO THE DEPTHS, LEFT ALONE TO ROT, UNKNOWN AND IN OBSCURITY? NO... I WANT ALL OF EXISTENCE TO KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE, TO BE YAMAMURA SADAKO. The floor of the apartment begins to ripple, becoming translucent like water. Sadako's feet sink to their ankles, then rise up again to rest on the water's surface. She holds her hands outstretched, palms upward, as the curtains billow behind her. CUT to: INT. TAKANO MAI'S APARTMENT - DAY Ando stands before Mai's television, flipping through channels. Cartoons. Sports. More cartoons. He turns the TV off, puts the remote back on the cabinet, and stands, motionless, in front of the blank screen. ANDO (To self) Am I making too much out of this? A sudden loud CLICK from behind Ando. He spins around, and comes face to face with... Takano Mai. She's looking more than a bit upset. MAI Mr. Ando! What are you doing in my house?! ANDO Ms. Takano? I, uh, how can I even begin to explain? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. It's just that it'd been such a long time without any word from you, and I became worried. MAI I just talked to the landlord downstairs. He said that someone named "Ando" had come by, and... ANDO I, I really am sorry. Look, I'm gonna go. MAI No, wait. I guess you wouldn't have come if you didn't have something you wanted to talk about. You're already here, so why don't you have a seat? I can make some tea or something. I'm sorry for not having stayed in touch recently. CUT to Ando and Mai sitting across from each other at the table. Each has a cup of English tea in front of them. ANDO So far, six bodies have turned up exhibiting the same symptoms as Ryuji. And there's something else... Ando's voice trails off as he realizes that there is a SOUND in the background, one that continues to slowly grow in volume. He slams both palms on the coffee table, standing suddenly amidst the rattling of china. ANDO I'm sorry, I...! Ando runs from the room, searching for the source of the sound. INT. MAI'S APARTMENT - BATHROOM - DAY Ando flings open the accordion door to the bathroom. He soon spots the source of the sound: the faucet in the sink has been running at almost full blast. Ando looks at the faucet, gnaws nervously on one finger. The water. It reminds him of something... Suddenly, a MALE VOICE calls tauntingly out to him from behind. VOICE (O.S.) What's the matter, Ando? Ando spins around. The voice came from behind the shower curtain. Ando grabs the curtain and tears it aside. What he sees causes him to draw in his breath in sheer terror; for there, lying in the bathtub amidst a brackish mixture of water stained with the coagulation of his own blood,is Takayama Ryuji, body split open from neck to groin, organs exposed and glistening wetly. His expression is one of manic glee. Slowly, her turnshis blood-splattered face to look directly at Ando. RYUJI Not feeling quite yourself, eh? Ando finally finds the voice to scream. ANDO AARGH!! Ando backs up, smacking loudly into the accordion door of the bathroom. When he does this, he hears the slightest of CHUCKLES from over to his left. He turns to look in that direction, and sees Takano Mai standing in the corner, the back of her hand over her mouth to stifle the sound of her merriment. Her body begins to shake with the effort of containing it, however, and soon harsh, loud peals of laughter rip from out of her. As she laughs, the color of her eyes begins to change; yellow at first, finally settling on a rheumy, uniformly bloodshot hue. Her body begins to shrivel, shedding pound after pound until the clothes hang loosely on her skeletal frame. The ceiling of the bathroom begins to shimmer, taking on an indistinct quality. Suddenly a HEAD pokes through, begins to slowly lower toward the floor; the face belongs to none other than Takanori, Ando's deceased son. The body continues to descend, and when it hits the floor, it begins to pass through that as well, slowly disappearing. Ando breaks his paralysis and runs toward his son, hands outstretched. ANDO Takanori! In an instant, Ando finds himself underwater, limbs kicking wildly against the pull of the currents. He reaches a hand up toward the surface of the water. CUT now to the surface of the ocean. All is still save for the soft, rhythmical lapping of the waves. Suddenly Ando breaks through the surface, sputtering, arms flapping. He pulls himself closer to shore, movements wild and clumsy. Sobbing, he halts, bends over at the waist. He holds his hands outward, palms up. These hands that allowed his own son to die. CLOSEUP on his left hand, where several strands of hair have snagged and are held fast by the wedding band. Suddenly a SECOND HAND reaches out, gingerly takes hold of his. PULL BACK to show that hand belonging to Yamamura Sadako. She kneels down, leans forward to look the sobbing Ando directly in the face. The bathroom has long since faded away. The two now crouch on the shore of an expansive beach. SADAKO I could do it, Ando. With my body. I could give you what you want. ANDO And what is it that I want? Sadako looks him right in the eyes, smiles. SADAKO Takayama Ryuji, for one. ANDO What? SADAKO If not for him, I would have been unable to return. Did you not ever think why, in those last moments, Ryuji called not Asakawa but Takano Mai? He had to, or she would not have come to his apartment, where she would find his thesis... and view the videotape. He has become quite indispensable to me. Ando tries to focus but his mind has already processed too much, is seeking to slip from reality into blissful unconsciousness. The shadows continue to grow, and from deep within one of those shadows Ando fancies that, just for a moment, he can see the spectacled, goateed image of his friend... ANDO (Weakly) Ryuji? Are you there? Everything goes black. CUT to: EXT. BEACH - DAY Ando sits on the shore, the smile of perfect contentment on his face. His eyes follow the figure of a YOUNG BOY running up and down the shore. A SHADOW suddenly falls across the seated Ando, and a voice calls jovially out to him from behind. * VOICE (O.S.) * Hey, stranger. Ando continues staring straight ahead at the sea, saying nothing. * VOICE (O.S.) * It's not very nice to just disappear and not tell anyone where * you're going. Ando sighs. * ANDO * How did you find me? Ando finally turns around, coming face to face with Takayama Ryuji. * VOICE (RYUJI) * I heard from your pal Miyashita that today was the anniversary of * your son's death. Wasn't too hard to figure out where you'd be. As if on cue, Takanori comes running by again. RYUJI Cute kid. Try and take better care of him this time. After all, he is my brother, in a manner of speaking. >In that both were cloned and birthed from the womb of Yamamura >Sadako. * Ryuji digs a hand into his jacket pocket, pulls something out. * RYUJI * Got something for you. * He tosses the object casually over to Ando. It's a small glass * VIAL filled with a colorless liquid. * RYUJI * It's a vaccine manufactured from the Ring virus. Whoever takes * that will never have to worry about infection. * Ando looks icily back at Ryuji, wondering exactly when it was * that Ryuji and Sadako became partners. ANDO I suppose you've gotten everything out of this arrangement that you wanted? RYUJI And you haven't? You've got your son back, thanks to Sadako. It's a miracle that you kept those strands of hair like you did. Silence. RYUJI Looks like Asakawa's report is set to be published as a novel. Ando laughs once, bitterly. ANDO So people're gonna think they're just reading a novel, when in fact they're helping to spread the Ring Virus throughout the entire world. Jesus... * RYUJI * There's more. A film version's already in the works, did you know * that? * ANDO * A film? Of "The Ring"? * RYUJI * Yup. They've already held open auditions for the part of Yamamura * Sadako. Can you guess who landed the role? * ANDO (Too tired to guess) * Who? * RYUJI * Here's a hint, Einstein: it's someone you know. * ANDO * Sadako... herself? She got the role? Ryuji nods. RYUJI Countless Sadakos will be spawned... We stand, you and I, as witnesses to the dawn of a new era in human evolution. ANDO Are you insane? If all DNA is replaced with Sadako's, we're not talking about the evolution of mankind--we're talking about its extinction! You know what happens if a species void of diversification shares a common, fatal flaw? The entire species is wiped out. RYUJI Let me tell you what -I- think, my friend. I think that mankind brought this on itself; that all along, it was unconsciously praying for its own destruction. ANDO There's not a species alive that wishes for its own destruction! RYUJI I wonder... Ryuji pauses dramatically, lights a cigarette. Just then Takanori comes running up, panting breathlessly. TAKANORI Daddy! Ryuji looks down at the young boy, flicks some of the ash off his cigarette. RYUJI There's a whole new future awaiting that boy. He turns to walk away. ANDO C'mon, son. Let's go. TAKANORI 'K. Ando looks down at his son, smiling. ANDO Your mom is gonna be real surprised when she sees you. The two walk off down the beach. THE END ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES ON THE MANGA AND THIS TRANSLATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The RASEN manga is a pretty straightforward adaptation of the novel up until Sadako's rebirth, at which point things get changed around for no other reason I can think of than artistic creativity. There is a lot more to Ando and Sadako's interplay (for example, as stated in the TIMELINE, the Sadako of the novel originally introduces herself as Masako, Mai's older sister--there was none of the "one night stand" feel of the manga), and a major change to the story comes when Ando receives the FAX identifying "Masako" as the deceased Yamamura Sadako. In the novel, Ando gets the FAX and immediately faints dead away. When he awakens he runs out of the apartment and hooks up with Miyashita, who gives the sound advice that he can't avoid his own apartment forever, so why not go back and face Sadako once and for all? The two decide to go together, but when they get to the apartment all they find is a thick handwritten note, signed "Sadako." The note explains how even Sadako herself is unsure of exactly how she came to be reborn, but has been able to piece alot of it together thanks to the medical textbooks lying around Ando's apartment. The tone of the note is far from malefic: it's curiously devoid of emotion, more along the lines of "this is the way it has to be" than "I'm doing this to get back at those who wronged me." The surreal scene wherein Ando returns to Mai's apartment to find a positively malefic Ryuji and Mai was also unique to the manga adaptation. Finally, a smidge of creative license was taken in the scene where Ando receives the phone call informing of Asakawa's death. The novel mentions the death very offhandedly, and the telephone exchange shown here did not actually take place; instead, it was reconstructed from Ando's own thoughts as he looked back on theconversation. Thanks again for reading. I welcome any and all feedback. contact_ringworld@hotmail.com j. admin, the ringworld