As usual, my commentary is in italics, except for dialogue.
Act 2
We cut to Johnny's bedroom back in present day. Lily attempts to talk with Rosalene, but is interrupted by the third doctor, telling her that they need to concentrate and so shouldn't be disturbed. Then we cut to Johnny's first memory, where the doctors ask Johnny about his wish. We catch him towards the end of his account.
John:...And that's all this old fool knows, heh. Sorry I can't be of more help.
Dr. Rosalene: Then that'll have to be enough.
Dr. Watts: Aye, all that's left to do is linking your registered desire to go to the moon to your early memories.
Dr. Watts: Then we'll pull the switch, and voila! You'll be on the moon in no time.
- Rosalene moves towards Watts to initiate the procedure, but Johnny interrupts them.
John:...I have a question.
- Both doctors look towards him.
John: If you could make Lily disappear, that means you can alter this world.
- A moment of silence passes.
John: Then... can you not simply make things happen, and fulfill my wish here and now?
Dr. Watts: (turning towards Johnny) That would work, if this were your one true set of memories.
John: What do you mean?
John: What is this, then? What am I?
Dr. Watts: This is just a copy... A canvas for us to work with, if you will.
Dr. Watts: As for you... You are merely an algorithm traced from Johnny.
Dr. Watts: Enough to reflect his likeness, but far from complete.
- Johnny ponders Watts' words. He continues after a pause.
Dr. Watts: All we can do is prepare this canvas in a logically consistent way.
Dr. Watts: And then, when we transfer your registered desire to your childhood,
Dr. Watts: The machine will generate your new life, one where the desire dictates your behavior.
Dr. Watts: The result of that, would then be written to the real John.
- A moment of silence passes.
Dr. Watts: So you see, even if we satisfy you, you are merely a "read-only" program.
Dr. Watts: I mean, we could reset you over and over again, and--
Dr. Rosalene: (turning towards Watts) That's enough.
Dr. Watts: (looking at Rosalene) Oh, don't be so sensitive. He's not real, you know.
Dr. Rosalene: If you truly believed that, why did you even care to explain?
- A moment of silence passes. Rosalene looks away.
Dr. Rosalene: I'm just trying to save time.
Dr. Rosalene: (looking at Watts) Let's go.
- Rosalene warps out. Watts stares for a few moments, then walks to her position and prepares to warp. He is interrupted by Johnny.
John: Doctor.
- Watts looks at Johnny.
John: Is that... what I truly am?
- Watts silently looks on for some moments, then warps. The screen fills with light, then fades. The scene shifts to a strange kaleidoscopic room, filled with Johnnys and momentos. Rosalene waits for Watts, who warps in.
Dr. Watts: Ah, all of our night's work.
- The scene pans through the various Johnnys, before shifting back to the doctors. Watts now looks like a tadpole. Rosalene looks at him and is surprised.
Dr. Rosalene: (exclaiming) What the--
- Watts turns towards Rosalene.
Dr. Rosalene:...At least give me a warning first.
Dr. Watts: What can I say? I like being a head.
Dr. Rosalene: I'd ask if that's a pun, but I'm afraid you'd say yes.
- Rosalene herself turns into a tadpole.
Dr. Rosalene: Let's do this fast... I feel silly enough in this form as it is.
Dr. Rosalene: All we need to do is to pass his desire from the latest memory to the earliest.
Phew, pretty long sequence. Neil explains a bit more about how the wish granting procedure works; essentially, the doctors have to tap into their patient's mind and create a logically sound sequence of events, which the patient finds believable. This then leads to a new set of memories being generated and replacing the old ones.
Now, if you will recall, the doctors questioned Johnny about the motive driving his wish back in the fourth entry . This is why they did this. If you were paying attention, you would notice that none of Johnny's accessible memories ever hint at any solid motivation for going to the moon, nor does he seem to be able to recall one in their latest visit to him. So despite what the doctors say here, their procedure is unlikely to succeed. Guess how long it takes for them to figure this out.
The doctors fiddle with Johnny's mementos a bit to connect them together. Watts cracks a joke, but Rosalene brushes it off. Once that's done, the scene cuts to show all the Johnnys play a few notes in succession, and the doctors speak.
Dr. Watts: Ding! That's about all of the ones we can work with.
Dr. Rosalene: Ready to pull the switch?
Dr. Watts: (turning towards Rosalene) You know me. Always ready.
- The doctors pass on a signal. The scene fills with light, then fades back to normal.
Dr. Watts: (excitedly) Alright, let's go check out what souvenirs he brought back from the moon!
Dr. Rosalene: Ladies first?
Dr. Watts: (turning towards Rosalene) Not this time, hun'.
We can't enter Johnny's teenage memories, because the doctors think that's too early. We can enter his other memories though, excluding his childhood ones of course. Entering his pre marital memories:
Dr. Watts:...Huh, I guess this part is the same.
- Rosalene looks around a bit.
Dr. Rosalene: Let's check somewhere else.
Entering his middle aged memories:
Pretty much all of them except the eldest Johnny show a specific scene in sepia tone.
Dr. Watts: Sheesh, the same thing here as well?
Dr. Watts: Usually, there's at least some change...
Dr. Rosalene:...Something isn't right.
Dr. Rosalene: These memories... they feel more than just having happened again.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning forward) They are exactly the same.
Dr. Watts: That's impossible. The desire was transferred, was it not?
Dr. Rosalene: (turning away from Neil) It was...
Entering his old aged memories:
Dr. Watts: (angrily exclaiming) Okay, this isn't right!
Dr. Watts: (angrily exclaiming) How could everything be the same?!
- Rosalene ponders the matter for a while.
Dr. Rosalene:...Let's confirm it.
Dr. Rosalene: We need his last accessible memory.
Entering his eldest aged memories:
Dr. Rosalene: This is the same setting as his real last accessible memory...
Dr. Watts: I'm not too crazy about where this is going.
The doctors move on ahead to meet Johnny and Lily. They greet him curiously.
Dr. Rosalene: Johnny?
- Lily makes way for Johnny, who gets up from his bench to see them.
John: What a pleasant surprise... We don't get many visitors around here.
Dr. Watts: (looking at Rosalene) Deja vu, again...
Dr. Rosalene: My name is Dr. Eva Rosalene, and this is--...
- Rosalene turns to Neil, who looks at her in response.
Dr. Watts:...What? I'm not saying it twice.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning back to Johnny)...Dr. Neil Watts.
Dr. Rosalene: Are you familiar with the Sigmund Agency of Life Generation?
John: Oh, are you two from the agency?
- The doctors are stunned by his response. He walks towards them.
John: How convenient; I've just been thinking of calling you.
- The doctors turn to look at him.
John: Lily, get us some tea please.
- Lily does not respond. Johnny gets curious.
John:...Lily?
- Watts makes Lily disappear. Johnny is shocked, and tries to back away.
Dr. Rosalene: Freeze him too.
- Watts freezes Johnny in place. The doctors turn towards each other.
Dr. Watts:...Well?
- The doctors look at Johnny, then back at each other.
Dr. Rosalene: Wait here, I'll go send the desire signal again.
Dr. Rosalene: See if there are any changes.
- Rosalene warps out, then back again. Watts looks at her.
Dr. Rosalene: It transferred successfully for sure.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning towards Watts) Any changes?
Dr. Watts: Not even a hair.
- Rosalene is stunned to hear this. Both doctors turns back to Johnny.
Dr. Watts: How could this be? Even if his desire doesn't work alone, why is there no change at all?
Dr. Rosalene: (turning towards Watts) Perhaps... perhaps it just needs some provoking to activate.
Dr. Watts: (looking at Rosalene) From his early memories?
Dr. Rosalene: The earliest we can get to.|
Dr. Rosalene:...Let's go.
- Rosalene warps out. Watts stays back, looking at Johnny. The scene fades out.
Mostly an illustration of what I talked about, the doctors fail and fail hard at granting his wish. Unfortunately, they still don't realize why, despite them questioning Johnny about his wish twice by now. Instead, they get the idea that perhaps his desire needs to be provoked from his teenage memories, which contradicts what they said they would do.
Incidentally, it's optional to visit any of the memories except the eldest aged one. You can visit them in any order, and the doctors will have the same increasing exasperation for every memory they visit.
The scene cuts to Johnny and River meeting outside the cinema hall. Rosalene warps in and thinks.
Dr. Rosalene: (thinking) Johnny's desire to go to the moon might need some stimulation to be brought up, huh...
Dr. Rosalene:...Well then.
- Rosalene modifies the cinema hall's outer wall to depict posters of the moon. Johnny notices and is curious.
Johnny: (curiously) What the... This wasn't what they said was playing!
Johnny:... Oh well.
Johnny: (turning to River) Do you mind, River?
- River quickly looks at Johnny, then at the posters.
River:...No, I like this one.
Johnny: (exclaiming) Alright, let's go then!
- The couple head inside the hall. Rosalene thinks.
Dr. Rosalene: (thinking) Hopefully that's enough for an ignition.
Dr. Rosalene: (curiously thinking)...Wait, where is Neil?
Rosalene heads into the theater, and warps out, commenting briefly on how bad her made up movie was.
For example, Rosalene here muddled with Johnny's memory to make up a movie about going to the moon. Not only is this not the same as constructing a logical series of events, it also simply would not make any sense. Buying tickets for one movie and having another play in the theatre is just absurd, and would not mesh with Johnny's prior memories.
Rosalene checks back on Johnny in his eldest aged memory, but nothing changes. She travels to his high school memories next. Everything seems to be the same until a silhouetted student runs towards Johnny and Nicolas.
Silhouetted student: What're you guys doing here?!
- Nicolas turns to look at them.
Silhouetted student: It's starting! Let's go get a good spot!
- Johnny and Nicolas rush down the hallway. Rosalene is stunned.
Dr. Rosalene: (thinking) Wait... I don't remember that happening...
Dr. Rosalene: (excitedly thinking) Something must've changed!!
Rosalene heads down the hallway, and sees many students headed for the inner courtyard. She enters it and finds a big crowd gathered there.
Dr. Rosalene: (curiously thinking) Wait a minute...
Dr. Rosalene: (turning away from the crowd) This isn't a real change... This is--
Dr. Watts: (loudly exclaiming) MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!
- The scene shifts to Neil, who's on a raised part of the courtyard.
Dr. Watts: As you know, I am a representative sent from NASA in all its glory.
Dr. Watts: And I'm here... to tell you all about it!
Dr. Watts: (posing boldly) HIT IT, TIMMY!!
- The silhouetted person to the left plays some notes on the piano very poorly.
Dr. Watts: Wow, that was terrible.
Dr. Watts: (annoyedly) But I digress!
- Rosalene facepalms at Watts' performance.
Dr. Watts: Anyways, I know that many of you are wondering...
Dr. Watts: (gesturing upwards) What chances do I have of doing something as awesome as adventuring in another realm?!
Dr. Watts: (gesturing with stretched out arms) To inhale the sweetness of Venus, to swim counter-clockwise through the rings of Saturn...
Dr. Watts: (gesturing upwards)...Or perhaps, just chillin' at the backside of the MOON?!
Dr. Watts: (folding arms) Well here at NASA, we believe that with enough will, everyone has the potential!
- Watts heads towards the crowd
Dr. Watts: It could be you.
- Watts moves to someone on the right.
Dr. Watts: Or you!
Dr. Watts: (turning left) Or. perhaps...
- Watts runs forward and jumps, landing in front of Johnny.
Dr. Watts:...YOU!!
John: But I don't want to go to the moon.
Dr. Watts: (gesturing boldly) Then you're in luc--
Dr. Watts: Wait, what? Why not?
John: Why should I?
John: I'm happy here on earth as it is.
Dr. Watts: (folding arms) Well... don't you wanna go there even a little bit?
John: No. Why?
Dr. Watts: Not even a tiny bit?
John: Um... No?
- The two stare at each other silently. Watts walks towards Johnny, then talks.
Dr. Watts: Well, as an official NASA recruiter, I shall go over some facts about the moon!
- Johnny and Nicolas are surprised by this. Neil runs back to the raised part of the courtyard.
Dr. Watts: (gesturing upwards) To start off, the moon is 4.5 billion years old...
- The scene fades clockwise to some time later.
Dr. Watts: (folding arms)...And did you know that its surface is about as big as Africa?!
Dr. Watts: *gesturing upwards* It's true! In fact, if you try to bike around the moon...
- The scene fades clockwise to some time later.
Dr. Watts: (folding arms) Also, it takes 1.5247 seconds for light to travel to the moon from here.
Dr. Watts: (looking to the right, gesturing upwards) And if you drive a flying car, it takes 130 days!
Random Person: I knew that.
- The scene fades clockwise to some time later.
Dr. Watts: (exclaiming) And last but not least, people who go to the moon get rich and famous!
Dr. Watts: And we all know that rich plus famous equals groupies.
Dr. Watts: Soo... that concludes my presentation.
Dr. Watts: (gesturing upwards) Remember: NASA welcomes any of you! Especially if you're a brunette.
- The scene fades out, we hear many people heading out. It fades back in to the doctors meeting in the courtyard.
Dr. Watts: Well? What did you think?
Dr. Rosalene: NASA probably wouldn't hire you, but I suppose it was blatant enough for this.
Dr. Watts: (folding arms) Hm, I do try pretty hard.
Dr. Rosalene: Are you gonna go see if that worked?
Dr. Watts: Of course. Be right back.
- Watts warps out, then back in.
Dr. Watts: Back.
Dr. Rosalene: Report.
Dr. Watts: Utter failure.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning away from Watts, facepalming)...Deuce.
Dr. Watts: (annoyedly gesturing with a raised arm) Hey, don't get discouraged!
Dr. Watts: I'm sure there are still things to be done.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning back to Watts) Such as?
Dr. Watts: (folding arms) Well...
- The scene fades out.
Watts at least put some effort into making the act believable, but it's still not what the doctors were supposed to do, and still stretches suspension of disbelief hard. Wouldn't Johnny have been informed of a NASA presentation beforehand? Wouldn't it have involved more school staff? Why wouldn't River have come, given her characterization in this memory as a knowledgeable and curious student? Not to mention, the presentation itself is mostly a dull rundown of facts about the Moon, and little about WHY anyone should become an astronaut. And why does Watts think it's okay to talk about groupies in a presentation shown to high schoolers?
The doctors end up attempting to spark the wish in other memories, with little success.
This entire sequence is rather frustrating to watch, but it does have some genuinely funny moments, mostly on account of sheer absurdity.
Eventually, they decide to give up in one of Johnny's middle aged memories.
Dr. Rosalene: (exclaiming) What the cucumber...?!
- Rosalene warps in Watts into the room. He turns to face her.
Dr. Watts: Whew.
Dr. Watts: You know what, this just isn't working.
Dr. Rosalene: (facepalming) It's more than just not working. It's ridiculous.
Dr. Rosalene: (exclaiming angrily) We're freaking professionals! I didn't sign up for the job to run around yelling at him like an idiot.
Dr. Watts: You didn't?
Dr. Watts:...Look, maybe this lack of sleep's getting to us.
Dr. Watts: Had I known that we'd be an all-nighter, I would've brought coffee.
Dr. Rosalene: (facepalming) I agree. You should've seen the movie I constructed earlier...
Dr. Watts: (looking at Rosalene) What movie?
Dr. Rosalene:...Exactly.
Dr. Rosalene: Anyway... As valuable as time is here, this just isn't going anywhere like this.
Dr. Rosalene: (Looking away from Watts) Let's take a break 'til morning... Hopefully Johnny can hang on 'til then.
- Watts ponders for a moment, then speaks.
Dr. Watts:...I do have some calls to make.
- The scene fades out.
So yeah, they tried to trigger a desire for a lunar trip in the most absurd and least believable ways possible, rather than attempt to do their job, or understand why their efforts failed. It's especially frustrating when the doctors themselves acknowledge that the procedure requires understanding the patient's motivation, which they clearly do not. And the only reason they do this is so the author could insert some slapstick humor. There's a reason I keep complaining about them, especially when the author is willing to sidetrack their story THIS hard to include them.
We hear the sounds of a machine powering down. This is soon followed by the crashing of waves, and a cut to Rosalene sitting at the cliff overlooking the lighthouse. The scene fades out again, only to close up on Rosalene's face.
Rosalene: It doesn't make sense... ...Why did the machine have no effect?- A bunch of moments from Johnny's life fly across the screen as she monologues.Rosalene: Johnny's registered wish to go to the moon was successfully transferred, yet...
Rosalene:...There wasn't even a trace of him wanting to go to the moon after the transfer.
Rosalene: Unless... unless a secondary condition for the desire was changed in the process.
Rosalene:... Only then, would the same desire produce two different outcomes at two different points in time.
Rosalene: There's no denying that River played an important role through it all...
Rosalene: If there's anything that could've caused the core to change, she would be the top suspect.
Rosalene:...But out of all things, what exactly caused it?
Rosalene: River...
Rosalene:...Just what exactly did you do?
- The scene fades to black, then we hear the sounds of birds flying.
Rosalene: Ah... The sun's rising.
- The scene slowly fades into the cliffs at dawn. Rosalene gets off the bench.
Dr. Rosalene: (thinking) We don't have much time left.
- Rosalene looks around a bit.
Dr. Rosalene:...I wonder if Neil came up with anything.
The story slightly makes up for the sheer absurd sequence here: this is actually a pretty good monologue! It has Rosalene ponder relevant information about her case and come up with a sensible hypothesis worth testing. It also fits well with her established personality, as pointed out in the sixth entry : being calm and collected, with a focus on her task and visible facts. A shame Watts hasn't got a similar expansion of his character yet, thanks to being used as a punching bag and a joker character.
Next time, the doctors ponder the case some more, and try figuring out a solution to the pesky broken childhood memory problem. Find out how that goes next time!
Next: In Which Nauseous Substances are Involved.
We cut to Johnny's bedroom back in present day. Lily attempts to talk with Rosalene, but is interrupted by the third doctor, telling her that they need to concentrate and so shouldn't be disturbed. Then we cut to Johnny's first memory, where the doctors ask Johnny about his wish. We catch him towards the end of his account.
John:...And that's all this old fool knows, heh. Sorry I can't be of more help.
Dr. Rosalene: Then that'll have to be enough.
Dr. Watts: Aye, all that's left to do is linking your registered desire to go to the moon to your early memories.
Dr. Watts: Then we'll pull the switch, and voila! You'll be on the moon in no time.
- Rosalene moves towards Watts to initiate the procedure, but Johnny interrupts them.
John:...I have a question.
- Both doctors look towards him.
John: If you could make Lily disappear, that means you can alter this world.
- A moment of silence passes.
John: Then... can you not simply make things happen, and fulfill my wish here and now?
Dr. Watts: (turning towards Johnny) That would work, if this were your one true set of memories.
John: What do you mean?
John: What is this, then? What am I?
Dr. Watts: This is just a copy... A canvas for us to work with, if you will.
Dr. Watts: As for you... You are merely an algorithm traced from Johnny.
Dr. Watts: Enough to reflect his likeness, but far from complete.
- Johnny ponders Watts' words. He continues after a pause.
Dr. Watts: All we can do is prepare this canvas in a logically consistent way.
Dr. Watts: And then, when we transfer your registered desire to your childhood,
Dr. Watts: The machine will generate your new life, one where the desire dictates your behavior.
Dr. Watts: The result of that, would then be written to the real John.
- A moment of silence passes.
Dr. Watts: So you see, even if we satisfy you, you are merely a "read-only" program.
Dr. Watts: I mean, we could reset you over and over again, and--
Dr. Rosalene: (turning towards Watts) That's enough.
Dr. Watts: (looking at Rosalene) Oh, don't be so sensitive. He's not real, you know.
Dr. Rosalene: If you truly believed that, why did you even care to explain?
- A moment of silence passes. Rosalene looks away.
Dr. Rosalene: I'm just trying to save time.
Dr. Rosalene: (looking at Watts) Let's go.
- Rosalene warps out. Watts stares for a few moments, then walks to her position and prepares to warp. He is interrupted by Johnny.
John: Doctor.
- Watts looks at Johnny.
John: Is that... what I truly am?
- Watts silently looks on for some moments, then warps. The screen fills with light, then fades. The scene shifts to a strange kaleidoscopic room, filled with Johnnys and momentos. Rosalene waits for Watts, who warps in.
John:...And that's all this old fool knows, heh. Sorry I can't be of more help.
Dr. Rosalene: Then that'll have to be enough.
Dr. Watts: Aye, all that's left to do is linking your registered desire to go to the moon to your early memories.
Dr. Watts: Then we'll pull the switch, and voila! You'll be on the moon in no time.
- Rosalene moves towards Watts to initiate the procedure, but Johnny interrupts them.
John:...I have a question.
- Both doctors look towards him.
John: If you could make Lily disappear, that means you can alter this world.
- A moment of silence passes.
John: Then... can you not simply make things happen, and fulfill my wish here and now?
Dr. Watts: (turning towards Johnny) That would work, if this were your one true set of memories.
John: What do you mean?
John: What is this, then? What am I?
Dr. Watts: This is just a copy... A canvas for us to work with, if you will.
Dr. Watts: As for you... You are merely an algorithm traced from Johnny.
Dr. Watts: Enough to reflect his likeness, but far from complete.
- Johnny ponders Watts' words. He continues after a pause.
Dr. Watts: All we can do is prepare this canvas in a logically consistent way.
Dr. Watts: And then, when we transfer your registered desire to your childhood,
Dr. Watts: The machine will generate your new life, one where the desire dictates your behavior.
Dr. Watts: The result of that, would then be written to the real John.
- A moment of silence passes.
Dr. Watts: So you see, even if we satisfy you, you are merely a "read-only" program.
Dr. Watts: I mean, we could reset you over and over again, and--
Dr. Rosalene: (turning towards Watts) That's enough.
Dr. Watts: (looking at Rosalene) Oh, don't be so sensitive. He's not real, you know.
Dr. Rosalene: If you truly believed that, why did you even care to explain?
- A moment of silence passes. Rosalene looks away.
Dr. Rosalene: I'm just trying to save time.
Dr. Rosalene: (looking at Watts) Let's go.
- Rosalene warps out. Watts stares for a few moments, then walks to her position and prepares to warp. He is interrupted by Johnny.
John: Doctor.
- Watts looks at Johnny.
John: Is that... what I truly am?
- Watts silently looks on for some moments, then warps. The screen fills with light, then fades. The scene shifts to a strange kaleidoscopic room, filled with Johnnys and momentos. Rosalene waits for Watts, who warps in.
Dr. Watts: Ah, all of our night's work.
- The scene pans through the various Johnnys, before shifting back to the doctors. Watts now looks like a tadpole. Rosalene looks at him and is surprised.
Dr. Rosalene: (exclaiming) What the--
- Watts turns towards Rosalene.
Dr. Rosalene:...At least give me a warning first.
Dr. Watts: What can I say? I like being a head.
Dr. Rosalene: I'd ask if that's a pun, but I'm afraid you'd say yes.
- Rosalene herself turns into a tadpole.
Dr. Rosalene: Let's do this fast... I feel silly enough in this form as it is.
Dr. Rosalene: All we need to do is to pass his desire from the latest memory to the earliest.
Phew, pretty long sequence. Neil explains a bit more about how the wish granting procedure works; essentially, the doctors have to tap into their patient's mind and create a logically sound sequence of events, which the patient finds believable. This then leads to a new set of memories being generated and replacing the old ones.
Now, if you will recall, the doctors questioned Johnny about the motive driving his wish back in the fourth entry . This is why they did this. If you were paying attention, you would notice that none of Johnny's accessible memories ever hint at any solid motivation for going to the moon, nor does he seem to be able to recall one in their latest visit to him. So despite what the doctors say here, their procedure is unlikely to succeed. Guess how long it takes for them to figure this out.
- The scene pans through the various Johnnys, before shifting back to the doctors. Watts now looks like a tadpole. Rosalene looks at him and is surprised.
Dr. Rosalene: (exclaiming) What the--
- Watts turns towards Rosalene.
Dr. Rosalene:...At least give me a warning first.
Dr. Watts: What can I say? I like being a head.
Dr. Rosalene: I'd ask if that's a pun, but I'm afraid you'd say yes.
- Rosalene herself turns into a tadpole.
Dr. Rosalene: Let's do this fast... I feel silly enough in this form as it is.
Dr. Rosalene: All we need to do is to pass his desire from the latest memory to the earliest.
Phew, pretty long sequence. Neil explains a bit more about how the wish granting procedure works; essentially, the doctors have to tap into their patient's mind and create a logically sound sequence of events, which the patient finds believable. This then leads to a new set of memories being generated and replacing the old ones.
Now, if you will recall, the doctors questioned Johnny about the motive driving his wish back in the fourth entry . This is why they did this. If you were paying attention, you would notice that none of Johnny's accessible memories ever hint at any solid motivation for going to the moon, nor does he seem to be able to recall one in their latest visit to him. So despite what the doctors say here, their procedure is unlikely to succeed. Guess how long it takes for them to figure this out.
The doctors fiddle with Johnny's mementos a bit to connect them together. Watts cracks a joke, but Rosalene brushes it off. Once that's done, the scene cuts to show all the Johnnys play a few notes in succession, and the doctors speak.
Dr. Watts: Ding! That's about all of the ones we can work with.
Dr. Rosalene: Ready to pull the switch?
Dr. Watts: (turning towards Rosalene) You know me. Always ready.
- The doctors pass on a signal. The scene fills with light, then fades back to normal.
Dr. Watts: (excitedly) Alright, let's go check out what souvenirs he brought back from the moon!
Dr. Rosalene: Ladies first?
Dr. Watts: (turning towards Rosalene) Not this time, hun'.
We can't enter Johnny's teenage memories, because the doctors think that's too early. We can enter his other memories though, excluding his childhood ones of course. Entering his pre marital memories:
Dr. Watts: Ding! That's about all of the ones we can work with.
Dr. Rosalene: Ready to pull the switch?
Dr. Watts: (turning towards Rosalene) You know me. Always ready.
- The doctors pass on a signal. The scene fills with light, then fades back to normal.
Dr. Watts: (excitedly) Alright, let's go check out what souvenirs he brought back from the moon!
Dr. Rosalene: Ladies first?
Dr. Watts: (turning towards Rosalene) Not this time, hun'.
We can't enter Johnny's teenage memories, because the doctors think that's too early. We can enter his other memories though, excluding his childhood ones of course. Entering his pre marital memories:
Dr. Watts:...Huh, I guess this part is the same.
- Rosalene looks around a bit.
Dr. Rosalene: Let's check somewhere else.
- Rosalene looks around a bit.
Dr. Rosalene: Let's check somewhere else.
Entering his middle aged memories:
Pretty much all of them except the eldest Johnny show a specific scene in sepia tone.
Dr. Watts: Sheesh, the same thing here as well?
Dr. Watts: Usually, there's at least some change...
Dr. Rosalene:...Something isn't right.
Dr. Rosalene: These memories... they feel more than just having happened again.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning forward) They are exactly the same.
Dr. Watts: That's impossible. The desire was transferred, was it not?
Dr. Rosalene: (turning away from Neil) It was...
Entering his old aged memories:
Dr. Watts: (angrily exclaiming) Okay, this isn't right!
Dr. Watts: (angrily exclaiming) How could everything be the same?!
- Rosalene ponders the matter for a while.
Dr. Rosalene:...Let's confirm it.
Dr. Rosalene: We need his last accessible memory.
Entering his eldest aged memories:
Dr. Rosalene: This is the same setting as his real last accessible memory...
Dr. Watts: I'm not too crazy about where this is going.
The doctors move on ahead to meet Johnny and Lily. They greet him curiously.
Pretty much all of them except the eldest Johnny show a specific scene in sepia tone.
Dr. Watts: Sheesh, the same thing here as well?
Dr. Watts: Usually, there's at least some change...
Dr. Rosalene:...Something isn't right.
Dr. Rosalene: These memories... they feel more than just having happened again.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning forward) They are exactly the same.
Dr. Watts: That's impossible. The desire was transferred, was it not?
Dr. Rosalene: (turning away from Neil) It was...
Entering his old aged memories:
Dr. Watts: (angrily exclaiming) Okay, this isn't right!
Dr. Watts: (angrily exclaiming) How could everything be the same?!
- Rosalene ponders the matter for a while.
Dr. Rosalene:...Let's confirm it.
Dr. Rosalene: We need his last accessible memory.
Entering his eldest aged memories:
Dr. Rosalene: This is the same setting as his real last accessible memory...
Dr. Watts: I'm not too crazy about where this is going.
The doctors move on ahead to meet Johnny and Lily. They greet him curiously.
Dr. Rosalene: Johnny?
- Lily makes way for Johnny, who gets up from his bench to see them.
John: What a pleasant surprise... We don't get many visitors around here.
Dr. Watts: (looking at Rosalene) Deja vu, again...
Dr. Rosalene: My name is Dr. Eva Rosalene, and this is--...
- Rosalene turns to Neil, who looks at her in response.
Dr. Watts:...What? I'm not saying it twice.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning back to Johnny)...Dr. Neil Watts.
Dr. Rosalene: Are you familiar with the Sigmund Agency of Life Generation?
John: Oh, are you two from the agency?
- The doctors are stunned by his response. He walks towards them.
John: How convenient; I've just been thinking of calling you.
- The doctors turn to look at him.
John: Lily, get us some tea please.
- Lily does not respond. Johnny gets curious.
John:...Lily?
- Watts makes Lily disappear. Johnny is shocked, and tries to back away.
Dr. Rosalene: Freeze him too.
- Watts freezes Johnny in place. The doctors turn towards each other.
Dr. Watts:...Well?
- The doctors look at Johnny, then back at each other.
Dr. Rosalene: Wait here, I'll go send the desire signal again.
Dr. Rosalene: See if there are any changes.
- Rosalene warps out, then back again. Watts looks at her.
Dr. Rosalene: It transferred successfully for sure.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning towards Watts) Any changes?
Dr. Watts: Not even a hair.
- Rosalene is stunned to hear this. Both doctors turns back to Johnny.
Dr. Watts: How could this be? Even if his desire doesn't work alone, why is there no change at all?
Dr. Rosalene: (turning towards Watts) Perhaps... perhaps it just needs some provoking to activate.
Dr. Watts: (looking at Rosalene) From his early memories?
Dr. Rosalene: The earliest we can get to.|
Dr. Rosalene:...Let's go.
- Rosalene warps out. Watts stays back, looking at Johnny. The scene fades out.
Mostly an illustration of what I talked about, the doctors fail and fail hard at granting his wish. Unfortunately, they still don't realize why, despite them questioning Johnny about his wish twice by now. Instead, they get the idea that perhaps his desire needs to be provoked from his teenage memories, which contradicts what they said they would do.
- Lily makes way for Johnny, who gets up from his bench to see them.
John: What a pleasant surprise... We don't get many visitors around here.
Dr. Watts: (looking at Rosalene) Deja vu, again...
Dr. Rosalene: My name is Dr. Eva Rosalene, and this is--...
- Rosalene turns to Neil, who looks at her in response.
Dr. Watts:...What? I'm not saying it twice.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning back to Johnny)...Dr. Neil Watts.
Dr. Rosalene: Are you familiar with the Sigmund Agency of Life Generation?
John: Oh, are you two from the agency?
- The doctors are stunned by his response. He walks towards them.
John: How convenient; I've just been thinking of calling you.
- The doctors turn to look at him.
John: Lily, get us some tea please.
- Lily does not respond. Johnny gets curious.
John:...Lily?
- Watts makes Lily disappear. Johnny is shocked, and tries to back away.
Dr. Rosalene: Freeze him too.
- Watts freezes Johnny in place. The doctors turn towards each other.
Dr. Watts:...Well?
- The doctors look at Johnny, then back at each other.
Dr. Rosalene: Wait here, I'll go send the desire signal again.
Dr. Rosalene: See if there are any changes.
- Rosalene warps out, then back again. Watts looks at her.
Dr. Rosalene: It transferred successfully for sure.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning towards Watts) Any changes?
Dr. Watts: Not even a hair.
- Rosalene is stunned to hear this. Both doctors turns back to Johnny.
Dr. Watts: How could this be? Even if his desire doesn't work alone, why is there no change at all?
Dr. Rosalene: (turning towards Watts) Perhaps... perhaps it just needs some provoking to activate.
Dr. Watts: (looking at Rosalene) From his early memories?
Dr. Rosalene: The earliest we can get to.|
Dr. Rosalene:...Let's go.
- Rosalene warps out. Watts stays back, looking at Johnny. The scene fades out.
Mostly an illustration of what I talked about, the doctors fail and fail hard at granting his wish. Unfortunately, they still don't realize why, despite them questioning Johnny about his wish twice by now. Instead, they get the idea that perhaps his desire needs to be provoked from his teenage memories, which contradicts what they said they would do.
Incidentally, it's optional to visit any of the memories except the eldest aged one. You can visit them in any order, and the doctors will have the same increasing exasperation for every memory they visit.
The scene cuts to Johnny and River meeting outside the cinema hall. Rosalene warps in and thinks.
Dr. Rosalene: (thinking) Johnny's desire to go to the moon might need some stimulation to be brought up, huh...
Dr. Rosalene:...Well then.
- Rosalene modifies the cinema hall's outer wall to depict posters of the moon. Johnny notices and is curious.
Johnny: (curiously) What the... This wasn't what they said was playing!
Johnny:... Oh well.
Johnny: (turning to River) Do you mind, River?
- River quickly looks at Johnny, then at the posters.
River:...No, I like this one.
Johnny: (exclaiming) Alright, let's go then!
- The couple head inside the hall. Rosalene thinks.
Dr. Rosalene: (thinking) Hopefully that's enough for an ignition.
Dr. Rosalene: (curiously thinking)...Wait, where is Neil?
Rosalene heads into the theater, and warps out, commenting briefly on how bad her made up movie was.
For example, Rosalene here muddled with Johnny's memory to make up a movie about going to the moon. Not only is this not the same as constructing a logical series of events, it also simply would not make any sense. Buying tickets for one movie and having another play in the theatre is just absurd, and would not mesh with Johnny's prior memories.
Dr. Rosalene: (thinking) Johnny's desire to go to the moon might need some stimulation to be brought up, huh...
Dr. Rosalene:...Well then.
- Rosalene modifies the cinema hall's outer wall to depict posters of the moon. Johnny notices and is curious.
Johnny: (curiously) What the... This wasn't what they said was playing!
Johnny:... Oh well.
Johnny: (turning to River) Do you mind, River?
- River quickly looks at Johnny, then at the posters.
River:...No, I like this one.
Johnny: (exclaiming) Alright, let's go then!
- The couple head inside the hall. Rosalene thinks.
Dr. Rosalene: (thinking) Hopefully that's enough for an ignition.
Dr. Rosalene: (curiously thinking)...Wait, where is Neil?
Rosalene heads into the theater, and warps out, commenting briefly on how bad her made up movie was.
For example, Rosalene here muddled with Johnny's memory to make up a movie about going to the moon. Not only is this not the same as constructing a logical series of events, it also simply would not make any sense. Buying tickets for one movie and having another play in the theatre is just absurd, and would not mesh with Johnny's prior memories.
Rosalene checks back on Johnny in his eldest aged memory, but nothing changes. She travels to his high school memories next. Everything seems to be the same until a silhouetted student runs towards Johnny and Nicolas.
Silhouetted student: What're you guys doing here?!
- Nicolas turns to look at them.
Silhouetted student: It's starting! Let's go get a good spot!
- Johnny and Nicolas rush down the hallway. Rosalene is stunned.
Dr. Rosalene: (thinking) Wait... I don't remember that happening...
Dr. Rosalene: (excitedly thinking) Something must've changed!!
Rosalene heads down the hallway, and sees many students headed for the inner courtyard. She enters it and finds a big crowd gathered there.
Dr. Rosalene: (curiously thinking) Wait a minute...
Dr. Rosalene: (turning away from the crowd) This isn't a real change... This is--
Dr. Watts: (loudly exclaiming) MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!
- The scene shifts to Neil, who's on a raised part of the courtyard.
Silhouetted student: What're you guys doing here?!
- Nicolas turns to look at them.
Silhouetted student: It's starting! Let's go get a good spot!
- Johnny and Nicolas rush down the hallway. Rosalene is stunned.
Dr. Rosalene: (thinking) Wait... I don't remember that happening...
Dr. Rosalene: (excitedly thinking) Something must've changed!!
Rosalene heads down the hallway, and sees many students headed for the inner courtyard. She enters it and finds a big crowd gathered there.
Dr. Rosalene: (curiously thinking) Wait a minute...
Dr. Rosalene: (turning away from the crowd) This isn't a real change... This is--
Dr. Watts: (loudly exclaiming) MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!
- The scene shifts to Neil, who's on a raised part of the courtyard.
Dr. Watts: As you know, I am a representative sent from NASA in all its glory.
Dr. Watts: And I'm here... to tell you all about it!
Dr. Watts: (posing boldly) HIT IT, TIMMY!!
- The silhouetted person to the left plays some notes on the piano very poorly.
Dr. Watts: Wow, that was terrible.
Dr. Watts: (annoyedly) But I digress!
- Rosalene facepalms at Watts' performance.
Dr. Watts: Anyways, I know that many of you are wondering...
Dr. Watts: (gesturing upwards) What chances do I have of doing something as awesome as adventuring in another realm?!
Dr. Watts: (gesturing with stretched out arms) To inhale the sweetness of Venus, to swim counter-clockwise through the rings of Saturn...
Dr. Watts: (gesturing upwards)...Or perhaps, just chillin' at the backside of the MOON?!
Dr. Watts: (folding arms) Well here at NASA, we believe that with enough will, everyone has the potential!
- Watts heads towards the crowd
Dr. Watts: It could be you.
- Watts moves to someone on the right.
Dr. Watts: Or you!
Dr. Watts: (turning left) Or. perhaps...
- Watts runs forward and jumps, landing in front of Johnny.
Dr. Watts:...YOU!!
John: But I don't want to go to the moon.
Dr. Watts: (gesturing boldly) Then you're in luc--
Dr. Watts: Wait, what? Why not?
John: Why should I?
John: I'm happy here on earth as it is.
Dr. Watts: (folding arms) Well... don't you wanna go there even a little bit?
John: No. Why?
Dr. Watts: Not even a tiny bit?
John: Um... No?
- The two stare at each other silently. Watts walks towards Johnny, then talks.
Dr. Watts: Well, as an official NASA recruiter, I shall go over some facts about the moon!
- Johnny and Nicolas are surprised by this. Neil runs back to the raised part of the courtyard.
Dr. Watts: (gesturing upwards) To start off, the moon is 4.5 billion years old...
- The scene fades clockwise to some time later.
Dr. Watts: (folding arms)...And did you know that its surface is about as big as Africa?!
Dr. Watts: *gesturing upwards* It's true! In fact, if you try to bike around the moon...
- The scene fades clockwise to some time later.
Dr. Watts: (folding arms) Also, it takes 1.5247 seconds for light to travel to the moon from here.
Dr. Watts: (looking to the right, gesturing upwards) And if you drive a flying car, it takes 130 days!
Random Person: I knew that.
- The scene fades clockwise to some time later.
Dr. Watts: (exclaiming) And last but not least, people who go to the moon get rich and famous!
Dr. Watts: And we all know that rich plus famous equals groupies.
Dr. Watts: Soo... that concludes my presentation.
Dr. Watts: (gesturing upwards) Remember: NASA welcomes any of you! Especially if you're a brunette.
- The scene fades out, we hear many people heading out. It fades back in to the doctors meeting in the courtyard.
Dr. Watts: Well? What did you think?
Dr. Rosalene: NASA probably wouldn't hire you, but I suppose it was blatant enough for this.
Dr. Watts: (folding arms) Hm, I do try pretty hard.
Dr. Rosalene: Are you gonna go see if that worked?
Dr. Watts: Of course. Be right back.
- Watts warps out, then back in.
Dr. Watts: Back.
Dr. Rosalene: Report.
Dr. Watts: Utter failure.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning away from Watts, facepalming)...Deuce.
Dr. Watts: (annoyedly gesturing with a raised arm) Hey, don't get discouraged!
Dr. Watts: I'm sure there are still things to be done.
Dr. Rosalene: (turning back to Watts) Such as?
Dr. Watts: (folding arms) Well...
- The scene fades out.
Watts at least put some effort into making the act believable, but it's still not what the doctors were supposed to do, and still stretches suspension of disbelief hard. Wouldn't Johnny have been informed of a NASA presentation beforehand? Wouldn't it have involved more school staff? Why wouldn't River have come, given her characterization in this memory as a knowledgeable and curious student? Not to mention, the presentation itself is mostly a dull rundown of facts about the Moon, and little about WHY anyone should become an astronaut. And why does Watts think it's okay to talk about groupies in a presentation shown to high schoolers?
The doctors end up attempting to spark the wish in other memories, with little success.
This entire sequence is rather frustrating to watch, but it does have some genuinely funny moments, mostly on account of sheer absurdity.
Eventually, they decide to give up in one of Johnny's middle aged memories.
Dr. Rosalene: (exclaiming) What the cucumber...?!
- Rosalene warps in Watts into the room. He turns to face her.
Dr. Watts: Whew.
Dr. Watts: You know what, this just isn't working.
Dr. Rosalene: (facepalming) It's more than just not working. It's ridiculous.
Dr. Rosalene: (exclaiming angrily) We're freaking professionals! I didn't sign up for the job to run around yelling at him like an idiot.
Dr. Watts: You didn't?
Dr. Watts:...Look, maybe this lack of sleep's getting to us.
Dr. Watts: Had I known that we'd be an all-nighter, I would've brought coffee.
Dr. Rosalene: (facepalming) I agree. You should've seen the movie I constructed earlier...
Dr. Watts: (looking at Rosalene) What movie?
Dr. Rosalene:...Exactly.
Dr. Rosalene: Anyway... As valuable as time is here, this just isn't going anywhere like this.
Dr. Rosalene: (Looking away from Watts) Let's take a break 'til morning... Hopefully Johnny can hang on 'til then.
- Watts ponders for a moment, then speaks.
Dr. Watts:...I do have some calls to make.
- The scene fades out.
So yeah, they tried to trigger a desire for a lunar trip in the most absurd and least believable ways possible, rather than attempt to do their job, or understand why their efforts failed. It's especially frustrating when the doctors themselves acknowledge that the procedure requires understanding the patient's motivation, which they clearly do not. And the only reason they do this is so the author could insert some slapstick humor. There's a reason I keep complaining about them, especially when the author is willing to sidetrack their story THIS hard to include them.
Eventually, they decide to give up in one of Johnny's middle aged memories.
Dr. Rosalene: (exclaiming) What the cucumber...?!
- Rosalene warps in Watts into the room. He turns to face her.
Dr. Watts: Whew.
Dr. Watts: You know what, this just isn't working.
Dr. Rosalene: (facepalming) It's more than just not working. It's ridiculous.
Dr. Rosalene: (exclaiming angrily) We're freaking professionals! I didn't sign up for the job to run around yelling at him like an idiot.
Dr. Watts: You didn't?
Dr. Watts:...Look, maybe this lack of sleep's getting to us.
Dr. Watts: Had I known that we'd be an all-nighter, I would've brought coffee.
Dr. Rosalene: (facepalming) I agree. You should've seen the movie I constructed earlier...
Dr. Watts: (looking at Rosalene) What movie?
Dr. Rosalene:...Exactly.
Dr. Rosalene: Anyway... As valuable as time is here, this just isn't going anywhere like this.
Dr. Rosalene: (Looking away from Watts) Let's take a break 'til morning... Hopefully Johnny can hang on 'til then.
- Watts ponders for a moment, then speaks.
Dr. Watts:...I do have some calls to make.
- The scene fades out.
So yeah, they tried to trigger a desire for a lunar trip in the most absurd and least believable ways possible, rather than attempt to do their job, or understand why their efforts failed. It's especially frustrating when the doctors themselves acknowledge that the procedure requires understanding the patient's motivation, which they clearly do not. And the only reason they do this is so the author could insert some slapstick humor. There's a reason I keep complaining about them, especially when the author is willing to sidetrack their story THIS hard to include them.
We hear the sounds of a machine powering down. This is soon followed by the crashing of waves, and a cut to Rosalene sitting at the cliff overlooking the lighthouse. The scene fades out again, only to close up on Rosalene's face.
Rosalene: It doesn't make sense... ...Why did the machine have no effect?
- A bunch of moments from Johnny's life fly across the screen as she monologues.
Rosalene: Johnny's registered wish to go to the moon was successfully transferred, yet...
Rosalene:...There wasn't even a trace of him wanting to go to the moon after the transfer.
Rosalene: Unless... unless a secondary condition for the desire was changed in the process.
Rosalene:... Only then, would the same desire produce two different outcomes at two different points in time.
Rosalene: There's no denying that River played an important role through it all...
Rosalene: If there's anything that could've caused the core to change, she would be the top suspect.
Rosalene:...But out of all things, what exactly caused it?
Rosalene: River...
Rosalene:...Just what exactly did you do?
- The scene fades to black, then we hear the sounds of birds flying.
Rosalene: Ah... The sun's rising.
- The scene slowly fades into the cliffs at dawn. Rosalene gets off the bench.
Dr. Rosalene: (thinking) We don't have much time left.
- Rosalene looks around a bit.
Dr. Rosalene:...I wonder if Neil came up with anything.
The story slightly makes up for the sheer absurd sequence here: this is actually a pretty good monologue! It has Rosalene ponder relevant information about her case and come up with a sensible hypothesis worth testing. It also fits well with her established personality, as pointed out in the sixth entry : being calm and collected, with a focus on her task and visible facts. A shame Watts hasn't got a similar expansion of his character yet, thanks to being used as a punching bag and a joker character.
Rosalene:...There wasn't even a trace of him wanting to go to the moon after the transfer.
Rosalene: Unless... unless a secondary condition for the desire was changed in the process.
Rosalene:... Only then, would the same desire produce two different outcomes at two different points in time.
Rosalene: There's no denying that River played an important role through it all...
Rosalene: If there's anything that could've caused the core to change, she would be the top suspect.
Rosalene:...But out of all things, what exactly caused it?
Rosalene: River...
Rosalene:...Just what exactly did you do?
- The scene fades to black, then we hear the sounds of birds flying.
Rosalene: Ah... The sun's rising.
- The scene slowly fades into the cliffs at dawn. Rosalene gets off the bench.
Dr. Rosalene: (thinking) We don't have much time left.
- Rosalene looks around a bit.
Dr. Rosalene:...I wonder if Neil came up with anything.
The story slightly makes up for the sheer absurd sequence here: this is actually a pretty good monologue! It has Rosalene ponder relevant information about her case and come up with a sensible hypothesis worth testing. It also fits well with her established personality, as pointed out in the sixth entry : being calm and collected, with a focus on her task and visible facts. A shame Watts hasn't got a similar expansion of his character yet, thanks to being used as a punching bag and a joker character.
Next time, the doctors ponder the case some more, and try figuring out a solution to the pesky broken childhood memory problem. Find out how that goes next time!
Next: In Which Nauseous Substances are Involved.
Next: In Which Nauseous Substances are Involved.
Comments
Post a Comment