scripts/Arrival.txt

                                                               1.



                                                        FADE IN:


1   EXT. LAKE HOUSE - SUNSET                                        1

    The sky is a shimmering expanse of stars, packed together.

                      LOUISE (V.O.)
            Memory is a strange thing.


2   EXT. LAKE HOUSE - SUNSET                                        2

    A modern home built on the shore with a large deck. The
    skin of the lake is a cloudy mirror.

    LOUISE BANKS stares up at the sky, leaning against the
    deck's railing. Merlot glass in one hand.

    Louise has a clean, timeless look about her; the kind of
    woman who ages gracefully. Short hair.

                      LOUISE (V.O.)
            It doesn't work like I thought it
            did. We are so bound by time; by
            its order.

    She steps back inside, a little tipsy, smiling.


3   A2 INT. LAKE HOUSE - CONTINUOUS                                 3

    Stacks of books on shelves and tables. A telescope against
    a glass wall. And dry-erase boards, marked with foreign
    languages. Different colors for different dialects.

                      LOUISE (V.O.)
            Maybe there's a higher order.

    Mingled here are also dinner plates. Candlelight.

                      LOUISE
            Darling, is there any more wine?

    She pauses when a deck light winks on outside. Her eyes
    sparkle when she sees something:

    A question, written on the glass, lit from outdoors.

    "Do you want to make a baby?"
                                                               2.


                      LOUISE (V.O.)
            I used to think this was the
            beginning of your story.

    Louise goes right to the glass, wanting to touch the
    question with her finger to make sure it's real.

    CLOSE ON HER FACE: From outside looking in, a curious
    circular shadow is thrown from the deck light. But her eyes
    start to water.

    In the background, the bedroom door hangs open and the
    silhouette of a MAN leans against the frame, watching her.

    Louise turns around, smiling again. We know her answer.


4   INT. MERCY HILL GENERAL HOSPITAL - MORNING                      4

    Louise cradles a NEWBORN GIRL in her arms. Her name:
    HANNAH.

    Hannah reaches up.

    Crooks her tiny hand around Louise's finger.

    LATER

    A NURSE starts to take baby Hannah to give Louise some
    rest. Hannah BLEATS and reaches for her mother.

    Louise smiles through the exhaustion and pulls her back.

                      LOUISE
            Okay, come back, come back to me --


5   EXT. LAKE HOUSE YARD - AFTERNOON                                5

    Four-year-old HANNAH dressed as a cowgirl.

    On a toy riding horse with wheels for hooves.

    Giggling like she can't stop.

                      LOUISE (V.O.)
            I remember moments in the middle.

    She pulls both finger-guns, aimed at us.

                      HANNAH
            Stick 'em up!
                                                             3.


6   INT. HANNAH'S ROOM - NIGHT                                    6

    Eight-year-old Hannah is tucked in bed.

    Said to us as a prayer:

                      HANNAH
            I love you.


7   INT. LAKE HOUSE - NIGHT                                       7

    Twelve-year-old Hannah glowers at us:

                      HANNAH
            I hate you!

    -- and storms into her room.


8   INT. MERCY HILL GENERAL HOSPITAL - MORNING                    8

    Twelve-year-old daughter HANNAH lies, eyes closed.

    Hannah is pale. Her head has been shaved in the last month.

                      LOUISE (V.O.)
            And this was the end.

    Louise holds her daughter's hand in hers.

    Her thumb traces Hannah's knuckles.

    A life monitor beeps as Hannah's heart stops.

    Hannah's eyes roll up and she sighs her final breath.

    Louise's grip on her daughter tightens. Trembling.

    A Nurse starts to pull Louise away, but she hangs on -- now
    it's mother trying to return to her baby girl --

                      LOUISE
            Come back -- come back to me, baby
            --

    Louise is unaware she's crying. Hannah remains motionless.

                      LOUISE (V.O.)
                                                                4.


             But now I'm not so sure I believe
             in beginnings and endings. There
             are days that define your story
             beyond your life.

                                                     CUT TO BLACK.

                       LOUISE (V.O.)
             Like the day they arrived.


9    EXT. SKY - DAY                                                  9

     Storybook blue, patched with cumulous clouds.

     Drifting down to find a tree line in motion.

     Looking into a car on a road.


10   EXT. PARKING GARAGE - DAY                                       10

     Louise parks her car end steps out. Her hair is longer
     here, and there's no wedding band on her finger.

     She carries herself like someone who's learned how to be
     alone, handling her briefcase, coffee, keys, etc.

     It's oddly quiet in the garage around her.


11   EXT. UNIVERSITY CAMPUS - DAY                                    11

     Louise crosses campus. Absorbed in her thoughts.

     Overhead, a pair of F-22 fighters slice across the sky.


12   EXT. STUDENT CENTER - MOMENTS LATER                             12

     Louise passes the campus center.

     A crowd of STUDENTS are huddled around the glass outside
     the student center, looking in at a large TV. The crowd is
     too dense for Louise to see what is on the TV.

     Louise frowns, but keeps going.

     Overhead, a second pair of fighter jets rocket past.

     Louise looks up at the sky. Apprehensive.
                                                                5.


13   INT. UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM - DAY                                 13

     Louise enters a classroom, leaving the door open behind
     her. Out in the hall, a couple of STUDENTS run by, but it's
     unclear if they're late for class or it's something worse.

     Louise steps to her desk to unload her briefcase and
     thermos.

     The course name is written on the blackboard behind the
     desk: "Advanced Linguistics" and "Dr. Louise Banks."

                       LOUISE
             Good morning, everyone.

     No response. Louise finally looks to the class to discover:

     Only FOUR STUDENTS seated in an otherwise empty classroom.

                       LOUISE
             Where is everyone?

     The Grad Students in the room shrug» These are the hardcore
     learners, with their laptops out and textbooks open»

     The class session BELL chimes over the PA. Louise looks
     back at the door, silently considering something, then
     decides:

                       LOUISE
             Well, let's get started. Today
             we're talking about Portuguese, and
             why it sounds so different from the
             other Romance languages.

     Louise walks to a MAP of western Europe on a rolling easel,
     parked next to a TV.

                       LOUISE
             The story of Portuguese begins with
             the Kingdom of Galicia, in the
             middle ages, where the language was
             seen as an expression of art. The
             way it was written and spoken was
             rooted in aesthetics.

     One Grad Student's phone CHIMES with an alert. Louise
     pauses, thinking what the other Students are thinking --

                       LOUISE
             Any news you want to share?

     The Student reading his phone frowns, suddenly nervous.
                                                           6.


                  GRAD STUDENT WITH SMARTPHONE
        Uhh, Doctor Banks? Can you turn on
        the TV to a news channel?

Louise grabs her TV remote and turns the set to CNN, to
reveal AERIAL FOOTAGE from a helicopter, also live, as a
REPORTER narrates in a near panic:

                  REPORTER IN HELI (V.O.)
        Are you seeing this!? Oh dear god
        what is that noise -- WHAT IS IT --
        should we be this close to it?!

FOOTAGE shows wilderness, where a STRANGE, OBLONG OBJECT
hovers over the tree line. It absorbs sunlight and its
dimensions are difficult to grasp -- at times it appears
almost concave, poised as if to dig into the planet's
crust.

Another helicopter edges into view, and suddenly the scale
of the object is clear: It's the size of a massive
skyscraper.

Bumper text at the bottom of the screen reads: "STRANGE
CRAFT IN MONTANA"

Amid the WHUFF of the helicopter, a reporter on location is
shouting in a voice on verge of a nervous breakdown:

The audio cuts out and an ANCHORWOMAN takes over. Cutting
to the studio where she pulls her attention to the camera:

                  ANCHORWOMAN
        The object, uh, apparently touched
        down forty minutes ago just north
        of I-94, we're, we're waiting to
        hear if this is perhaps an
        experimental vessel or --

She looks for help off-camera and they cut to:

MORE FOOTAGE, closer to the ground. The oblong ship is
immense. And seemingly without creases or windows.

                  ANCHORWOMAN (V.O.)
        Hold on, it -- I'm learning that
        more objects like this have landed
        in as many as eight other locations
        around the world. We're waiting for
        confirmation -- yes? Can we--? Okay
        --
                                                                 7.


     New footage: a live feed in Japan. An identical CONCAVE
     SHIP is parked above a stadium lot.

                       ANCHORWOMAN (V.O.)
             This is from a site in Hokkaido!

     The Grad Students all stare in silent horror at the
     footage.

     One of them stands up and gathers his stuff, ready to
     leave. But he only gets as far as standing up. Unsure what
     to do next; where to run to.

                       ANCHORMAN (V.O.)
                  (panicked)
             This is worldwide, it is happening
             right now! We don't-- do we know
             where they came from?

     A campus SIREN spins up; the kind used for tornado
     warnings.

     The STUDENTS now start to get their materials together, to
     leave. Louise snaps out of her shock, and with authority:

                       LOUISE
             Okay, yes, let's go. Class over.


14   EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS - MOMENTS LATER                              14

     Louise joins a FLOCK of people on campus hurrying to the
     parking structures. Nearly everyone keeps looking up from
     time to time. The SIREN is louder here.

     Anothe pair of FIGHTER JETS fly overhead.


15   EXT. UNIVERSITY PARKING STRUCTURE - DAY                          15

     Louise gets to her sedan, climbs inside, windows down. Her
     satellite radio plays as she powers the car --

                       PRESS SECRETARY (V.O.)
             But for now we're simply asking for
             cooperation while authorities
             assess the object. Until further
             notice, the site is a no-fly zone.

     From the street: Sounds of a car accident. It startles her.

                       REPORTER (V.O.)
                                                                8.


             So you're saying it's not ours? Do
             you know if it's even from Earth?

     Louise opens her door and steps out again, to look down at:

     The wreck below. The aftermath. The two DRIVERS panicked
     and on edge but uninjured.

                       PRESS SECRETARY (V.O.)
             We're still collecting information,
             coordinating with other nations.
             We're not the only ones with one of
             these in our back yard.

     Louise returns to her car and straps herself in.

                       REPORTER (V.O.)
             If this is some sort of peaceful
             first contact, why send twelve? Why
             not just one?

     She backs out, tires yelping at her quick getaway.


16   EXT. LAKE HOUSE - EVENING                                       16

     Her sedan pulls up at the lake house from the opener.


17   INT. LAKE HOUSE - FRONT ENTRY - EVENING                         17

     Louise enters with her cell phone to her ear, carrying her
     valise.

                       LOUISE
                  (into phone)
             I don't know, Mom, I'm listening to
             the same news coverage.
                  (beat)
             Don't -- Mom, don't bother with
             that channel, how many times do I
             have to tell you not to pay
             attention to those idiots?
                  (beat)
             All right then.


18   INT. LAKE HOUSE - CONTINUOUS                                    18

     Traversing a hallway to bedrooms. Louise pulls her shoes
     off by the heel, switching hands with the phone as she
     goes.
                                                                 9.


                       LOUISE
             Do I sound worried? Exactly.

     Louise pauses at an open bedroom door halfway down the
     hall.

                       LOUISE
             Me? Oh, you know. The same.

     There's a tiredness in her answer. Like she's been down
     this road with her mother before.


19   INT. SPARE BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS                                  19

     An empty room, save for a couple of stray book boxes and a
     neglected stationary bike in the corner.

     Louise surveys the room from the door.

                       LOUISE
             I'm fine, Mom.
                  (not really)
             Okay, call me later.

     She disconnects the call and leans against the door frame.

     Staring into the empty room with a quiet sadness.

     Finally, having come to some decision, she pushes off
     again.


20   INT. LIVING ROOM - LATER                                         20

     Louise, alone, on the couch. Half a bottle of wine left.

     The place is furnished nicely, but there are telltale signs
     of a single occupant in a larger space. No family photos.

     A recliner by the couch has become a surrogate bookshelf.

     TV is on. More coverage of the alien landing.

                       CNN REPORTER (V.O.)
             -- and at around eight hours after
             landing, there are still no signs
             of what might be called 'first
             contact.' The objects measure at
             least fifteen hundred feet tall --
                                                               10.


     Changing channel. Footage changes to a snowy tundra where
     another UFO has landed and flattened a section of fence
     line.

     This is a foreign channel. Louise gets international
     stations. The anchor speaks in Russian.

     New channel: Another SHIP, hovering over the ocean.

     AERIAL COVERAGE: Fleets from three different nations
     threaten each other for possession of the massive UFO.

                       NETWORK REPORTER (V.O.)
             -- none of whom can claim because
             this 'object' as it's being called
             is actually hovering over
             international waters. One Iranian
             cruiser has fired across the bow of
             the Indian fleet --

     Louise changes the channel.

     Finding: The press room in the west wing of the White
     House.

                       PRESS SECRETARY
             We have to entertain the idea that,
             if it is a kind of vessel, it may
             be unmanned. Regardless, we have a
             protocol for scenarios like this --

     The word "protocol" instantly sours Louise to the news. She
     mutes the TV and shuffles off to her bedroom --


21   INT. LOUISE'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS                              21

     -- picks up a remote off a nightstand and turns on a TV
     facing her bed. More news, the volume low.


22   INT. LOUISE'S BEDROOM - MORNING                                 22

     Louise is asleep in bed. The covers are a mess. She's
     spooning extra pillows as if they were a bedfellow.

     Louise wakes with a start, as if from a dream.


23   EXT. UNIVERSITY CAMPUS - MORNING                                23

     Louise returns to work.
                                                               11.


     The campus is empty. Two STUDENTS hurry between buildings.

     Louise passes the student center.

     It's too quiet.


24   INT. UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM - MORNING                             24

     Louise enters her classroom. No one has showed up.


25   INT. LOUISE'S OFFICE - DAY                                      25

     A cramped office with a window looking out on the city.
     Sirens wail in the distance.

     Louise has barely decorated the place. It's the sign of
     someone untethered from the world. Closed off. She sits at
     her desk, grading papers. Streaming video news coverage
     plays on her computer.

                       ANCHORWOMAN (V.O.)
             Forty-eight hours later, and still
             no further developments from the
             sites of the twelve UFOs. Borders
             are closed and flights --

                       COLONEL WEBER (O.S.)
             Two days and already the public
             expects us to know the answers.

     Louise turns to see the source of the voice at her office
     door. COLONEL WEBER (50s) wears civilian clothing but his
     body language screams career military. Callused hands,
     sharp eyes, rigid posture.

     He steps in and reaches to her computer, powering off the
     speakers. Behind him, two large MEN stand guard in the
     hall.

                       LOUISE
             Who are you?

     Weber has his I.D. ready; shows it to her.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             I'm Colonel G.T. Weber. You and I
             never formally met but two years
             ago you did some Farsi translation
             for Army Intelligence.

                       LOUISE
                                                          12.


        I remember. Alan Boudreau hired me.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        Alan works for me. You made quick
        work of those insurgent videos.

Louise crosses her arms. He's touched a nerve.

                  LOUISE
        You made quick work of those
        insurgents.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        You have another two years on your
        SSBI so you still have top secret
        clearance. That's why I'm in your
        office, and not at Berkeley.

                  LOUISE
        Okay --

                  COLONEL WEBER
        I need you to translate something
        for me.

As one of the men guarding the door shuts it, giving them
total privacy, Colonel Weber places a pocket-sized digital
recorder on Louise's desk.

He hits PLAY. White noise, shuffling. Then murmured talk,
and:

                  MAN'S VOICE
             (on recorder)
        Why are you here?

In response: A SERIES OF SOUNDS that have no Earthly
comparison. An audio mixture of organic clicks, rushing
water, whispers, and low-octave moaning.

                  MAN'S VOICE
             (on recorder)
        Can you understand us?

Almost immediately, the SOUNDS return, this time slightly
different. The bass tone is lower. The whispers raspy.

Louise listens, rapt. As if she's waking up from a long
sleep. She leans in.

Weber studies her face while she listens.

                  MAN'S VOICE
                                                        13.


             (on recorder)
        Where did you come from?

Before an answer is heard, Weber stops playback and takes
back the recorder.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        Well? What do you make of it?

                  LOUISE
        Is that --

                    COLONEL WEBER
        Yes.

The weight of his answer settles on Louise. Beat.

                    LOUISE
        How many?

                  COLONEL WEBER
        How many what?

                  LOUISE
        How many of them were speaking?

Weber raises an eyebrow at her but answers.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        Two. Assume they were not speaking
        at the same time.

                  LOUISE
        Are you sure? Do they have mouths?

                  COLONEL WEBER
        Keep your focus on the sounds.

Weber replays a portion of the recording. The alien VOICE
sounds even stranger a second time.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        What would be your approach to
        translating this? Does any of it
        sound like words to you? Phrases?

                  LOUISE
        I don't know.

                  COLONEL WEBER
             (said not as a question)
        What can you tell me.
                                              14.


                  LOUISE
        I can tell you it's impossible to
        translate this from an audio file.
        To do this right, I need to be
        there. Interacting with them.

Weber bristles at this.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        You didn't need that for the Farsi
        translations.

                  LOUISE
        It was Burushaski, not Farsi, and I
        didn't need it because I already
        knew the language. This --
             (points at recorder)
        This is a whole new ball game.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        I know what you're doing.

                  LOUISE
        Tell me what I'm doing.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        I'm not taking you to Montana. It's
        all I can do to keep it from
        becoming a tourist site for anyone
        with TS clearance.

                  LOUISE
        I'm just telling you what it will
        take to do this job.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        We will set up a safe room at a
        facility here in town where you can
        observe video of the conversations
        in real-time. I'll put you on the
        line with our team at the site.

                  LOUISE
        No.

                  COLONEL WEBER
             (beat)
        What do you mean, 'no'?

                  LOUISE
        It won't work that way.

                  COLONEL WEBER
                                                            15.


             You'll make it work.

     Her patience wears thin.

                       LOUISE
             Have they spoken to us in English?

                         COLONEL WEBER
             No.

                       LOUISE
             Have they played back any of our
             media, or given you any indication
             they understand us?

     Weber doesn't have a reply for this. His eyes shift.

                       LOUISE
             So in order for this to work, I
             might have to teach them English.
             The basics. Nouns, verbs. I can't
             do that remotely. I have to be in
             the room with them.

     Weber and Louise stare down.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             There is one opportunity here, and
             that is to study them remotely. If
             I leave here, your chance is gone.

     Weber turns to leave.

                       LOUISE
             Colonel -- You mentioned Berkeley.
             You going to ask Danvers next?

     Weber pauses at the door.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Maybe, why?

                       LOUISE
             Before you commit to him, ask him
             the Sanskrit word for "war" and its
             translation.

     She grins at him.

     Weber exits. After he leaves, her grin fades.


26   INT. LOUISE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                                26
                                                                16.


     Louise is asleep in her bed. Again with the formation of
     pillows around her.

     She wakes to a rhythmic thumping. Low; dull. Her hand goes
     to her heart. It's not her heart.

     From her bedroom window: A distant flying object vaguely
     like a helicopter. One thing is clear: it's on fast
     approach. As it gets closer, treetops bend and leaves
     scatter.


27   INT. LOUISE'S LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER                        27

     Dressed in a bathrobe, Louise crosses to the front windows
     looking out on her wide, flat front yard.

     SPOTLIGHTS shine into her house, STROBES pop. We are so
     used to how a helicopter sounds, but this is different. The
     engine noises, the rotors -- it's more muscular;
     threatening.

     The lights finally dim to reveal: A Sikorsky UH-60
     Blackhawk has touched down on the lawn. The passenger door
     is open, slid back to reveal someone riding in the rear
     compartment.

     Her doorbell rings. Louise answers it.

     Weber stands at the door, now in military uniform.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Good morning.

                        LOUISE
             Colonel?

                        COLONEL WEBER
             Gavisti.

                       LOUISE
             That's the word. But what did
             Danvers say it means in Sanskrit?

                       COLONEL WEBER
             He said it means an argument. What
             does it really mean?

                       LOUISE
             "A desire for more cows."

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Pack your bags.
                                                                17.


     It hits Louise: She got the job.

                       LOUISE
             All right. Give me twenty minutes.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             You have ten.

     Louise glares at Weber for just a moment, then dashes off
     to her bedroom.


28   EXT. LAKE HOUSE - PRE-DAWN                                       28

     Louise (now dressed and carrying an overnight bag) hurries
     for the Blackhawk. The rotor blades flatten the grass on
     her lawn and pull at Louise's coat.

     Weber helps Louise inside and then shuts the door.

     The helicopter rises immediately.


29   INT. BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER - PRE-DAWN                             29

     Louise drops into a bench seat still holding her bag. As
     she buckles in:

                       IAN (O.S.)
             Language is the foundation of
             civilization.

     Across from her: IAN DONNELLY (late 30s), Oxford shirt,
     wild hair, fierce eyes, and a smile in the corner of his
     mouth that makes it hard to tell what he's thinking.

     Ian holds a book. He's reading from it.

                       LOUISE
             Pardon?

                       IAN
             "It is the glue that holds a people
             together, and it is the first
             weapon drawn in a conflict."

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Louise, this is Ian Donnelly.

     Neither Louise nor Ian offer to shake hands. They study one
     another as they talk.
                                                        18.


                  LOUISE
        That's quite a greeting.

                  IAN
        You wrote it.

                  LOUISE
        It's the kind of thing you write as
        a preface. Dazzle them with basics.

                  IAN
        It's good. Even if it's wrong.

                  LOUISE
        Wrong?

                  IAN
        The cornerstone of civilization
        isn't language. It's science.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        Ian is a theoretical physicist from
        Los Alamos. He is the man with the
        questions. You will be reporting to
        me but you'11 be working with him
        when you're in the shell.

                  LOUISE
        The shell?

                  IAN
        That's what they're calling the
        UFO.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        Priority one: What do they want,
        where are they from?

Weber speaks them as orders. Ian thinks it's a
conversation.

                  IAN
        Yes, but beyond that: How did they
        get here? Are they capable of
        faster-than-light travel?

Ian pulls a Moleskine notebook from his pocket, excited to
share from it --

                  IAN
        I've prepared a list of questions,
        starting with some "handshake"
        binary sequences --
                                                               19.


                       LOUISE
             How about we just talk to them
             first? Before we start throwing
             math problems at them.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Thus is why you're both here.

     Ian nods as he puts his notebook up, but it's clear he's
     anxious to get past the small talk and on to the big ideas.


30   EXT. MONTANA LANDING SITE - DAWN                                30

     Wide angle on approach. A mile out. Roads and highways are
     crowded with traffic, up against military blockades.

     In the distance: The ALIEN SHIP, in silhouette behind the
     rising egg-yolk sun.

     The ship dwarfs the wilderness around it and stands out
     like a massive, strange edifice that would seem ancient
     were it not hovering over the ground.

     At this distance, a low TONE starts to resonate in
     everyone's sternum. The Blackhawk lances over the treeline.


31   INT. BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER - MORNING                             31

     LOUISE'S POV: The alien ship towers over the field. It
     seems impossibly balanced, as if it could tip over and
     crush everyone at any time.

     A mile away, a series of tents have been erected. Up close
     the ship looks majestic; ominous.


32   INT. BLACKHAWK - CONTINUOUS                                     32

     Louise and Ian stare out the side window at the ship.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Every thirteen hours a sort of door
             opens up, at the base. That's where
             we go in.

                       LOUISE
             How many of us are here?

                       COLONEL WEBER
                                                              20.


             You're the only scientists going
             in. But you both have a team here -
             -

                       LOUISE
             A team? What kind of team?

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Mostly NSA. Cryptanalysts, a couple
             of signal processing experts --

     A phone handset's cradle lights up by Weber. He answers it.

                       LOUISE
                  (sotto, to Ian)
             When's the next meeting?

     Ian shrugs -- he just got here. He's busy making a SKETCH
     of the ship in his notebook. His notebook is a tiny library
     of all his thoughts and ideas.

     Weber hangs up.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             We'll need to hurry you through.


33   EXT. HELIPAD - MOMENTS LATER                                   33

     Colonel Weber, Ian, and Louise are escorted out of the
     helicopter and into base camp. The camp is divided into two
     clusters of tents/buildings: OPERATIONS and SCIENCE.

     CAPTAIN MARKS (barely 30, disciplined; a man of rules)
     meets Weber and updates him as they walk:

                       CAPTAIN MARKS
             Materials team called in with some
             early analysis.

                        COLONEL WEBER
             Tell me.

                       CAPTAIN MARKS
             Normally you find three or four
             elements in base material. Humans
             have eleven. That thing is made of
             every single element known to us
             plus a dozen we've never seen.

     Weber frowns, worried. But Ian has the opposite reaction:
     His face lights up in wonderment, and a hundred questions
     pile up in his mind but then --
                                                              21.


                       COLONEL WEBER
             All right. Take these two to
             Kettler.

                       CAPTAIN MARKS
             Yessir.

                       COLONEL WEBER
                  (to Ian and Louise)
             You will follow this man to
             medical. The procedure should take
             just a few minutes.

     Louise and Ian keep up with the Captain's brisk march.

     A Medevac helicopter powers up on a pad nearby. Someone is
     strapped to a gurney inside, flanked by two Paramedics.

     Ian notices. So does Louise. They exchange looks.


34   EXT. TENT COMPLEX - MOMENTS LATER                              34

     Captain Marks leads them to a large tent.

     Louise looks back at the ship for a moment. Nervous.

     Behind her, Ian looks back at it too. Curious.


35   INT. MEDICAL TENT - MOMENTS LATER                              35

     A staff of military medical personnel are busy testing new
     diagnostic equipment.

     Captain Marks opens a flap into a room where we find a man
     in scrubs with a tray of hypodermics. This is DR. KETTLER;
     professorial, even-toned voice, but a predator's eyes.

                       DR. KETTLER
             Louise Banks and Ian Donnelly?

     Louise nods. Kettler gestures to two plastic chairs. They
     sit, while he prepares a syringe with a vial attached.

                       DR. KETTLER
             When is the last time either of you
             have eaten?

                       LOUISE
             Last night.
                                                              22.


                       IAN
             Same.

                       DR. KETTLER
             When is the last time you did
             something stressful?

                       IAN
             Does right now count?

                       LOUISE
             Who was being carted off on the
             medevac?

                       DR. KETTLER
             Not everyone is wired for what
             you're about to do. Our brains
             aren't always able to process
             experiences like this.
                  (then)
             I'm going to get some blood from
             you, and give you an immunization
             dose that covers a battery of
             bacterial threats. Roll up your
             sleeves, please.

     Ian begins rolling up his Oxford shirt sleeve. Louise
     notices Ian is complying, then follows suit.

     Kettler moves his tray over and wraps a band around
     Louise's arm, just above her elbow. As he draws blood:

                       DR. KETTLER
             The booster is a kick to your
             system, so you might feel some side
             effects. Nausea. Dizziness.
             Headaches. A ringing in your ear
             like you have Tinnitus.

     Louise looks over at Ian to share a look of: Do you believe
     what Kettler just said?

     But Ian is staring out a window at the big ship.


36   INT. OPERATIONS TENT - INTEL ROOM - MOMENTS LATER              36

     Ian and Louise enter this tent that serves as the nerve
     center of base camp. The room is fitted with dozens of
     flatscreens, each one monitoring activity of a landing site
     in some other part of the world.

                       AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST (O.S.)
                                                         23.


        Honestly they've been mostly quiet
        so far. And by the time we start to
        make any real progress, it's over,
        and we're out the door again.

Weber is waiting for them, now in full uniform. Behind him:
a large white board.

                  AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST (O.S.)
        We're trying to reduce our setup
        time, maybe limit the diagnostic
        gear so we can focus more on our
        friends across the glass.

                  AGENT HALPERN (O.S.)
        How long are your sessions?

On the white board: Twelve columns, with labels of
countries. CHINA / GREENLAND /RUSSIA 1 (SIBERIA) / RUSSIA 2
(BLACK SEA) / JAPAN / UNITED STATES / SUDAN / VENEZUELA /
SIERRA LEONE / WALES / PAKISTAN / INDIAN OCEAN.

Information is written under the columns, and spy satellite
plus location photos are peppered throughout. It shows what
every country is doing at their separate sites.

Standing at a MONITOR is a MAN in a suit and tie. Arms
crossed over his chest. This is AGENT HALPERN: All
business. His job is international relations.

On the monitor is an AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST talking via VTC.

                  AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST
        The barometer readings don't
        change, but like clockwork, after
        forty-six minutes and two seconds
        the gravity slowly shifts to slide
        us out of the room. Like we're
        insects on a piece of paper and
        they're easing us out of the house.

                  AGENT HALPERN
        Is there a scientific explanation
        for it? Like, is it for them?

                  AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST
        We think it's for us. The air
        doesn't seem to circulate in the
        chamber, so after about an hour
        we'd run out of oxygen.

                  AGENT HALPERN
                                                             24.


             But it doesn't take thirteen hours
             to pump fresh air into that room.

                       IAN (O.S.)
             Atmosphere.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             Excuse me?

                       IAN
             If their atmosphere is different
             from Earth, it could take them
             hours to re-balance the oh-two
             content and pressure for us every
             time they open their door.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             So, you're saying they could
             suffocate us if they wanted.

     Weber guides Ian away from Halpern and the monitors, back
     toward the way out of the tent.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Remember: We need answers as soon
             as possible. Why they are here.
             What they want, what they will give
             us. This is the priority.

                       IAN
             Have they responded to anything?
             Numbers? Shapes? Fibonnacci?

                       COLONEL WEBER
             We can't tell what they're saying
             when they respond to "hello." So
             don't get ahead of yourselves.

     Louise frowns as a new question occurs to her.

                       LOUISE
             What have you figured out?


37   INT. SCIENCE TENT - MOMENTS LATER                             37

     On the other side of basecamp: Communications. Weber pulls
     back the flap and Louise enters, Ian trailing behind her.
                                                                25.


     Inside: A dozen MEN AND WOMEN   work at computer stations
     with large monitors and at an   oversized white board. The
     monitors all display the same   kind of data: audio
     recordings, visually bouncing   and fluctuating as the alien
     VOICES speak.

     Some of the members approach to shake Louise's hand, and AD
     LIB their greetings before returning to analysis work.

     A few of them remain at their stations, headphones on.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             We're just getting started.

     Stepping back, Louise asks Weber:

                       LOUISE
             Why not send them in?

                       COLONEL WEBER
                  (beat)
             Honestly, they all prefer to stay
             out here.

     Suddenly, a low, deep bass TONE vibrates the tent. A pen
     falls off a desk. A TECH grabs his coffee mug. The tent-
     ties CLATTER against the support poles. It's terrifying.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             That's our ten-minute warning.


38   INT. "CLEAN ROOM" - DAY                                          38

     A miniature Silkwood. Contained showers. Dressing areas.

     Full HAZMAT suits hang on a wall.

     Captain Marks brings Ian and Louise in. They each have
     cotton swabs taped to their elbows now.

                       CAPTAIN MARKS
             Climb into these. I'll help you
             with the helmet seals.

                       IAN
             What kind of radiation exposure are
             we walking into?

                       CAPTAIN MARKS
             Nominal. These are just for safety.

                       LOUISE
                                                               26.


             Is there physical contact with the,
             the -- am I the only one who has
             trouble saying "aliens"?

                       IAN
             No.

                       CAPTAIN MARKS
             There's a wall. Like a glass wall.
             You can't get to them.

                       IAN
             What do they look like?

     A flashing light winks over the exit door.

     Captain Marks claps his hands: Let's go.

     On Louise, wanting to get off this ride, but she follows --


39   EXT. BASE CAMP - DAY                                            39

     The Shell looms in the distance, at the other end of a
     mile-long "road" formed in the grass from all the back-and-
     forth.

     A dusty PICKUP TRUCK waits for them, its tailgate down, a
     step ladder planted at its lip.

     A second TRUCK is already on the road, its bed loaded with
     gear and two SCIENCE TECHS in similar moonsuits.

     Nearby, two DRONE OPERATORS launch a surveillance drone
     into the air, which then flies ahead of the trucks, toward
     the shell. Leading the way.

     Louise and Ian are led into their pickup truck. Bench
     seating has been set up, but it all feels a bit cobbled
     together.

     Weber (in his suit and mask) nods at a LIEUTENANT who locks
     the tailgate into place for them and slaps the truck:
     They're good to go.

     The truck starts for the Shell.

     Louise stares at it with wide eyes. Soon, the sun eclipses
     the ship and the whole truck succumbs to shadow.

     HIGH ANGLE: From a perch above the Shell: the two tiny
     trucks slow as they arrive underneath it.
                                                                27.


40   EXT. "THE SHELL" - MOMENTS LATER                                 40

     The craft is even more intimidating close-up. Its surface
     on the undercarriage portion seems to absorb light.

     It's also floating twenty or so feet overhead.

     Louise and Ian join a small contingent of MILITARY
     PERSONNEL also in HAZMAT suits, all attending crates of
     specialty gear. One of them gestures at:

     A SCISSOR LIFT parked directly under the Shell. Nearby, a
     second "backup" scissor lift sits parked.

     She follows Weber, Marks, and two other Science Techs (a
     total of 6). Her breath is loud in her helmet. She's
     shaking.

     They step onto the Scissor Lift.

     Captain Marks pounds a button and they start to elevate.

     A safety CHAIN hooked to the guard rail on the lift RATTLES
     incessantly. Louise notices it. Looks up again.

                       LOUISE
             It's just hovering --

                       IAN
             They probably traveled millions of
             light years, they couldn't go an
             extra twenty feet?

     Said with a grin, but no one laughs.

     The lift is now so close overhead, they can reach up and
     touch it. The two TECHS do just that — feeling the surface
     for some purchase or change. But it's so dark, there's no
     real sense of dimension here.

     Ian tries, too. And suddenly they're all reaching, feeling.

     IAN'S GLOVED HAND curls into something. An edge. A hole
     that can't be seen on the surface.

     It widens, as marked by his hand. Opening like a mouth to
     accept the lift inside.


41   INT. TUNNEL - CONTINUOUS                                         41
                                                           28.


Looking down from within the tunnel: Flashlights clack ON
among the team, pointed up, seeking a sense of destination.

                  LOUISE
        Is this how it always goes?

                    COLONEL WEBER
        Yes.
             (beat)
        This is the easy part. Our job was
        recon. Now it's your job.

This does nothing to comfort Louise.

Above: A distant, indiscernible light.

Ian studies the surface of the tunnel as they ascend,
moving his flashlight beam over it. In the light's edge, it
seems perfectly smooth, but in the full beam there's a
texture.

The lift stops. One of the Techs cracks a GLOWSTICK and
throws it straight up.

Louise watches it arc up then veer to one wall, bounce and
then it settles AGAINST THE WALL. Without falling.

                  CAPTAIN MARKS
        Here's where it starts to get
        strange.

                    IAN
        "Starts?"

Everyone in the lift rises maybe an inch, like balloons.
Several of them immediately grab hold of the railing.

Louise looks down at her HAZ-MAT boots. Noticing the lower
gravity here. How easy it would be to float away.

That's just what TECH 1 and TECH 2 do -- they grab their
gear, bend at the knees, and then launch upward in a
floaty, slow-motion leap --

Ian lets out a spontaneous little LAUGH as he sees them go,
slowly righting themselves to the shift in gravity until
they're both standing next to the glowstick.

Captain Marks follows, like it's nothing; like it's a
commute to a job.
                                                                29.


     Ian looks to Louise, as if they're both at the top of a
     ride in a theme park and he's looking to see if she goes
     first.

     She's terrified. So he jumps.

     Ian lands gently, maybe twenty feet up. He looks down at
     them, opens his mouth to say something, can't figure out an
     answer, so instead he turns to face the "top" of the
     tunnel.

     And he slowly walks after the Techs. The light-and-dark in
     the tunnel casts eerie reflections on his mask.

     All that's left is Louise and Weber. He can hear her
     breathing shallow inside her suit.

                       LOUISE
             This. I don't. I don't know if.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             All right. It's okay.

     He holds onto her. Firm. Calm. Wise.

     And then he launches them both.

     Louise looks up, wide-eyed, fearful she's breaking the laws
     of physics, but tucked in next to Weber --

     They "swim" toward the others, leaving the lift behind --

     And then they come to rest on the wall/floor of the tunnel.

     Louise finds her footing. And her breath. And they walk.


42   INT. INTERVIEW CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS                              42

     The chamber has no hard corners or edges. Vaguely
     rectangular.

     The room is bisected by a semi-transparent wall. The wall
     can be seen through, but it renders the other side milky
     and foggy -- it's uncertain if the atmosphere on that side
     is some sort of gas, or if the barrier just makes it seem
     so.

     The TECHS with Weber and Marks quickly set up an arsenal of
     video, audio, and other recording equipment to face this
     glass-like partition. Chemical sniffers. IR and UV cameras.
     Barometers. And most disturbingly, an old-tech detection
     tool among the high-tech: A CANARY IN A CAGE.
                                                          30.


On the other side, the room seems empty.

Louise and Ian are speechless. Their breathing is loud in
their ears. Colonel Weber steps up to them.

                  LOUISE
        What happens now?

                  COLONEL WEBER
        They arrive.

                  LOUISE
        And you've always worn this gear?

                  COLONEL WEBER
        The suits? Yes.

                  LOUISE
        So they haven't really seen what we
        look like.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        What are you getting at?

                   LOUISE
        Context.

Comparative data streams on the Techs' small monitors. They
speak quietly into their headset mics behind the group:

                  ENVIRONMENTAL TECH 1
        Barometric down two point one.

                  ENVIRONMENTAL TECH 2
        No change in temperature.

A sound from the other end of the room quiets everyone.
They look to the wall, squinting into the haze --

TWO ALIEN FIGURES enter the room, and cause a breathtaking
silence.

They move in a foggy silhouette, making it impossible to
see much detail. They appear quadropedal with several
appendages along the torso that serve as arms. The arms are
spread equally around their bodies like spokes of a wheel.

One seems a bit shorter and stouter than the other.
Otherwise, their forms in the blurry mist are the same.
                                                           31.


As they approach their podium, the forms undulate in ways
that make them seem like deep-water fish. There is no hint
of cavitation around them, yet the aliens move in a way
best described as "swimming."

The silhouettes settle behind the raised podium.

Louise and Ian stare in awe of the creatures. Louise
tenses, realizing she's leading the session. Ian is the
only one in the group smiling and nodding to himself,
coolly confident. This is right where he's supposed to be.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        You're up, Doctor Banks.

Louise tries to control her breathing.

Shrouded in the mist beyond the glass, the aliens stare
back.

                  ENVIRONMENTAL TECH 1
             (quietly)
        Oxygen level dipping, point three.

                  ENVIRONMENTAL TECH 2
             (quietly)
        Gravity stable inside the chamber.

Ian squints his eyes and leans in.

                  IAN
        Seven? Seven arms?
             (to Louise)
        Are those arms?

Louise steps forward. Hesitant. Close to the boundary.

                  LOUISE
        Hello.

Beat. No reaction. The vague alien forms stand and wait.
They are a good head taller than Louise.

She clears her throat. Still on the verge of an overload of
shock and stress.

                  LOUISE
        Hello.

The blurry shapes seem to undulate, but it's unclear if
they are moving or if there is some distortion in the
partition between their space and Louise's.
                                                                32.


     Louise gestures at them, looking for some possible gesture
     in response:

                       LOUISE
             Hello. Can you hear me?
                  (then)
             Can you hear --

     She's interrupted by a sudden LOW NOISE from the other
     side. Followed by a strange endcap: Flutter-tone.

     Ian and Louise both jump at the sounds, startled.

                       LOUISE
                  (to Weber)
             Is this what they do?

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Sometimes.
                  (beat)
             What does it mean?

     Louise looks to Ian, terrified at her own answer:

                       LOUISE
             I don't know.

     The alien forms wait. Two "arms" on one of them flex and
     relax again, seemingly random.

                       LOUISE
             If we can just -- establish a
             common form of communication, maybe
             speech isn't the—

     She gestures at them again. No reaction.

                       ENVIRONMENTAL TECH 1
                  (sotto)
             Thirty-two minutes remaining.

     TIGHT ON Louise, trying to figure her next move, with
     everyone waiting on her. Panic rising.

                       COLONEL WEBER (O.S.)
             Doctor Banks --


43   INT. "CLEAN ROOM" - DAY                                          43

     Louise takes off her suit's mask and gulps in air. Her eyes
     are red from nervous tears. She looks physically drained.
                                                                33.


     She pulls off a glove and notices tremors in her hand.

     Ian strides in and begins shedding his suit. She watches
     him. Hears him softly laughing to himself.

                       LOUISE
             Ian --

     Ian faces her, his hair wild and his eyes wilder.

                       IAN
             Can you believe it? It's just --

     He shakes his head and laughs again, but Louise detects
     manic in his voice now.

     Ian moves suddenly for the bathroom stall behind a divider.
     Louise hears him vomit into the toilet.

     Colonel Weber steps in, pulling off his helmet. Oxygen
     escapes with a soft hiss. He and Louise make eye contact.

                       LOUISE
             So. Am I fired?

     Weber sits down opposite Louise.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             You did better than the last guy.

                       LOUISE
             That doesn't make me feel better.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Well, you got until 1900 hours to
             figure something out.

                       LOUISE
             What happens then?

                       COLONEL WEBER
             You go back in.

     Weber stands up to peel out of his suit.

     STAYING ON Louise, looking like she just escaped a fire and
     was told to run back into it --


44   EXT. MONTANA LANDING SITE - EVENING                              44
                                                               34.


     The sun sinks behind the sphere, casting long shadows over
     the encampment.


45   INT. OPERATIONS TENT - INTEL ROOM - EVENING                     45

     Agent Halpern stands at the communications array, talking
     to the Australian Scientist on the monitor, at the NZ site:

                       AGENT HALPERN
             We're up in fifteen. Got any new
             intel? Anything working?

                       AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST
             We've been playing back some of
             their sounds.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             Where does that get you?

                       AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST
             They play back audio at us, from
             some unseen source.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             Audio of what?

                       AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST
             Just bits of us talking in the
             room. Random clips of dialog.
                  (beat)
             So, really, we've got nothing.


46   EXT. "CLEAN ROOM" - YELLOW TUNNEL - EVENING                     46

     Colonel Weber stands with Ian by the door. Both men are
     back in the full HAZ-MAT suits. Waiting.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             How long has she been in there.

                       IAN
                  (calling through door)
             Doctor Banks? -- Louise?


47   INT. "CLEAN ROOM"                                               47

     Louise sits on the bench, still in her clothes. The HAZ-MAT
     suit hangs across from her.
                                                               35.


     Her leg bounces nervously. She's not ready to go back in.
     She can hear Weber outside:

                       COLONEL WEBER (O.S.)
             Did you two get any bright ideas on
             how to talk to them this time?

                       IAN (O.S.)
             I'm really not that good at talking
             to other humans.

     It's all on Louise. She sits up and looks away from the
     door, afraid to step out.

     And her attention lands on something. On the wall.

     A SMALL WHITEBOARD. Used for recording the HAZ-MAT suit
     cleaning schedule. Names and shifts in dry-erase markers.

     Louise sees it and is seized by an idea.


48   EXT. BASE CAMP - YELLOW TUNNEL - MOMENTS LATER                  48

     Louise emerges in her HAZ-MAT suit, cradling the whiteboard
     and a dry-erase marker.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             What's that for?

                       LOUISE
             A visual aid.

                         COLONEL WEBER
             For what?

                       LOUISE
             I'm never going to be able to speak
             their words, if they are talking,
             but they might have some form of
             written language. Or a basis for
             visual communication.

                         COLONEL WEBER
             Okay.
                  (then)
             Where do you start?


49   INT. INTERVIEW CHAMBER - EVENING                                49

     CLOSE ON the whiteboard. Louise has written the word
     "HUMAN" in large block letters.
                                                           36.


She stands by the whiteboard, marker in her trembling hand.
Ian is with her, along with the team of TECHS behind them.

THE VAGUE ALIEN FIGURES are back, on the other side. Quiet.

Louise speaks, and points to the word as she does;

                  LOUISE
        Human.

She points to herself. Then to others on her side of the
room, including Weber.

                  LOUISE
        Human.

She points at one of the aliens.

                  LOUISE
        What are you?

Beat. The aliens seem unresponsive, until --

They both RETREAT from the screen, deeper into the mist on
their side of the room.

For a moment, all is quiet. Louise looks to Ian, Ian looks
to the Colonel.

CLOSE ON A NEEDLE-GAUGE: Dead, registering no frequencies.
And then it SPIKES to the other side --

Before anyone can speak, THE CANARY SQUAWKS in its cage.
Its wings flutter frantically.

INK GLOBULES float from the mist. Like oil in glycerine.
Thousands of drops; horizontal black rain, but intelligent
--

They all start to form something against the partition:

A brilliant LOGOGRAM. An inkblot coffee-cup stain with
mesmerizing fractal embellishments.

The taller, slimmer alien steps forward and says something:
Click-flutter-tone.

Louise smiles. Nearly laughs. Wants to cry. She just had
her first real exchange with an alien.

                  LOUISE
             (sotto)
                                                                37.


             Are you getting this?

     Ian has taken control of a static video camera and holds it
     at an angle that better captures the detail on the barrier.

                       IAN
             Absolutely. It's all downloading
             back at basecamp.

     One of the aliens "speaks" again. Flutter-tone, flutter-
     tone.

     THE LOGOGRAM MORPHS into another form, replacing the
     previous one. This one more intricate.

                       LOUISE
             Whoa whoa, too fast, fellas.

     She lifts her marker to make a note. For the first time,
     her hand isn't trembling.


50   INT. "CLEAN ROOM" - NIGHT                                        50

     Louise drops the whiteboard by the door.

     She doesn't get more than her helmet/mask off before
     Colonel Weber steps in and confronts her.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             I said talk to them, not teach them
             how to read. Do you understand what
             this could mean?

                       LOUISE
             It means if I play my cards right,
             they'll take some Shakespeare home
             with them.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Only now you've made it twice as
             hard, trying to learn how to speak
             and read. That takes longer.

                       LOUISE
             Wrong. It's faster.

     Louise starts marching past him. Weber keeps up with her.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             I'm not saying no, I'm asking why.

                       LOUISE
                                                   38.


        It's the only way this will work.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        Hey. Everything you do in there I
        have to explain to a room full of
        men whose first and last question
        is, 'How can this be used against
        us?' So give me something.

Louise gestures at the whiteboard.

                    LOUISE
        Kangaroo.

                    COLONEL WEBER
        What?

                  LOUISE
        In 1770, Captain James Cook's ship
        ran aground on the coast of
        Australia. He led a party into the
        country and met the aboriginal
        people.

                  LOUISE
        One of his sailors pointed to the
        animals that hopped around with
        their young in pouches, and asked
        what they were called. The
        aborigine replied "Kanguru."

                  COLONEL WEBER
        What's your point?

                  LOUISE
        It wasn't until later that they
        learned "Kanguru" means "I don't
        understand."
             (re: whiteboard)
        I need this to make sure we don't
        misinterpret in there. Otherwise
        this will take ten times as long.

Time wasted is the key phrase to convince Weber.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        All right. I can sell that for now.
        But submit your vocabulary before
        the next session.
             (beat)
        And remember what happened to the
        aborigines. A more advanced race
        nearly wiped them out.
                                                                39.


     Weber walks off with Captain Marks.

     Ian steps up, watching them go. Grinning at Louise:

                       IAN
             Is that true? The kangaroo story?

                       LOUISE
             No. But it made my point.

     Louise starts walking out the clean room, leaving Ian to
     shake his head in admiration.


51   INT. SCIENCE TENT - CRYPTO ROOM - NIGHT                          51

     The team of NSA cryptographers works diligently on one
     thing: That alien logogram. As if it were the codes from an
     Enigma machine and the key to winning a war. Louise steps
     in, sees the frenetic action, and backs out.


52   INT. OPERATIONS TENT - SKYPE ROOM - NIGHT                        52

     Through the busy activity at the various flatscreen monitor
     stations, Halpern stands at one monitor, talking to a man
     from the Wales Science Team at their landing site.

                       BRITISH SCIENTIST
             Spent most of the time just trying
             to establish a proper greeting.
             We're analyzing the playback now,
             to see if there is a pattern. I'm
             doing a Zipf law analysis. But I'm
             worried they aren't really talking,
             it's just how they breathe.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             Like the time I got bronchitis. OK,
             let me know if you figure that out.


53   INT. SCIENCE TENT - LOUISE'S DESK - LATER                        53

     Louise studies at her desk.

     CELLO MUSIC distracts Louise, and she looks up.

     On a screen, the Japanese site is performing 'Canon in D'
     with a cellist in their interview chamber.

     Louise reviews the logograms from the session printed on
     large photo paper. The one on top is labeled "EARTH."
                                                                40.


     She's circled pieces of the logogram in red pen, making
     notes like "curling ascender = proper noun?"

     With a straight edge, Louise divides the circular logogram
     into twelve slices, isolating the different graphical
     elements in the alien symbol. She labels them 1 to 12.

     Louise blinks and takes a breath. Rubs the bridge of her
     nose and works a kink in her neck. Then leans back in,
     momentarily renewed with focus.

     A high-pitched RINGING creeps into her ears. She winces --


54   EXT. LAKE HOUSE - DAY - FLASHBACK                                54

     Four-year-old HANNAH giggles as she runs from us --


55   INT. SCIENCE TENT - LOUISE'S DESK - BACK TO SCENE                55

     Louise sits up at her desk as if yanked from the memory.

     She takes a breath, rubs her forehead, confused by that
     little moment. She stares at the logogram on her desk.


56   INT. BARRACKS - MORNING                                          56

     ON A LAPTOP SCREEN: Aerial footage of the Shell appears.

     Back from a safe distance. The Shell looks, as always,
     intimidating.

     But now with the footage is a SINISTER SCORE added by
     shock­jock radio host RICHARD RILEY, who emphasizes words -
     -

                       RICHARD RILEY
             This is aliens we're talking about.
             The most important time in our
             history as a people is right now,
             first contact with whoever is
             inside this thing, and who do we
             have running the show? The
             government. The same government
             that ruined our health care and
             bankrupted our military.

     An image of the cluster of tents around the Montana site
     appears, obviously shot with a long zoom lens.

                       RICHARD RILEY
                                                                41.


             Look at these people! Most of them
             don't even have guns. We could be
             facing a full-scale invasion and
             our president is ready to roll over
             and let them take our country --

     REVEAL the LAPTOP is in:

     The military barracks. And PRIVATE LASKY listens intently
     to it. Nodding. Glancing out the open flaps of the barracks
     tent toward the giant Shell in the distance.

     Three bunks over, a group of SCIENTISTS watch a news
     program on a separate TV, following riots somewhere. Could
     be Prague, could be Detroit. One SCIENTIST shakes his head
     in disgust. Outside, Louise walks past the barracks, on her
     way to --


57   INT. OPERATIONS TENT - SKYPE ROOM - MOMENTS LATER                57

     Louise enters the tent to find Ian and Weber already here,
     with other team members.

     Ian has a sketchbook, he's busy with an art pencil,
     listening and nodding to the British Scientist on his
     monitor.

                       BRITISH SCIENTIST
             We think we were able to reproduce
             some prime-number sequences back at
             them, so that's something.

                       IAN
             Congrats. You're a parrot.

                       BRITISH SCIENTIST
             It's more than that, you cheeky
             bastard. Don't you see? They can't
             seem to follow our algebra system,
             but complex behaviors? That clicks.

     Beyond Ian: Weber stands with Halpern, watching Middle
     Eastern news coverage of an armored division mobilizing.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             Problem is, that shell dropped at
             the border, so when Pakistan rolled
             out their army to secure the site
             from locals, India got all fussy,
             amassing two armored divisions at
             the border.
                                                          42.


                  LOUISE
        We can't get them to stand down?

                  AGENT HALPERN
        And tell them what exactly?

                  COLONEL WEBER
        Louise, Ian, this is Agent David
        Halpern with the CIA.

Weber guides Louise and Ian away from the bank of monitors.
It's clear he doesn't like dealing with Halpern.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        We need to gain ground today. You
        have your vocabulary list for me?

                    LOUISE
        I do.

                  COLONEL WEBER
             (examines her list)
        You're going to teach them your
        name? And Ian's?

                  LOUISE
        It's so I can learn their names. If
        they have names. And so I can
        introduce pronouns later.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        These are all grade-school words.
        Eat. Walk. Tool. We need to get
        more specific.

                  LOUISE
        Do you know what a Pulaski is?

                     COLONEL WEBER
                (beat)
        No.

                  LOUISE
        It's a tool. Used by firefighters.
        We can't start specific.

Weber makes a noncommittal noise and reviews the words.

Ian reveals to Louise his sketch of an ALIEN.

                  IAN
        Heptapod. Seven limbs.
             (gesturing at Louise)
                                                          43.


        She's right -- it's useless until
        we can demonstrate some basics
        first.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        We have one question: What is their
        purpose here on Earth? It isn't
        complicated.
             (softening)
        Help me understand.

Louise goes to a larger whiteboard stationed nearby and
writes the question "What is your purpose on Earth?"

                  LOUISE
        Okay, so this is where we want to
        get. Right? This question.
             (off Weber's nod)
        To get there, we have to make sure
        they understand what a question is,
        and the nature of a request for
        information along with the
        response. Then there is clarifying
        the difference between a specific
        "you" from a collective "you." We
        don't want to know why Joe Alien is
        here, we want to know why all of
        them landed.

She writes frantically over the words in columns, marking
relations with arrows. As she speaks, her voice gets louder
and more confident. This is her area of expertise.

                  LOUISE
        Purpose requires an understanding
        of intent. Which means we have to
        find out if they make conscious
        choices or if their motivation is
        so instinctive they don't
        understand a "why" question, and
        biggest of all, we need to have
        enough of a vocabulary with them so
        we understand their answer.

Colonel Weber nods and surrenders to her. Behind Weber, Ian
grins devilishly at Louise, even winks at her.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        All right, all right, I get it.
        Stick to your list. Just --

Then: That low, bone-trembling BASS TONE echoing out from
the Shell, rattling the equipment.
                                                               44.


     Weber scraps what he was going to say, opting instead for:

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Good luck.


58   INT. "CLEAN ROOM" - MORNING                                     58

     Louise and Ian suit up again. Louise notices the tremors in
     her hands have returned.


59   INT. INTERVIEW CHAMBER - MORNING                                59

     Louise faces the semi-transparent wall, holding a dry-erase
     marker in one hand. Ian stands near the whiteboard.
     Everyone is in full HAZMAT suits again. Weber isn't here
     this time.

     The heptapods watch Louise with a strange curiosity.

     Louise points at herself.

                       LOUISE
             Louise.

     The whiteboard displays her name in large letters.

     Beat. One heptapod speaks. Whisper-flutter-click.

     Inky drops float to the glass and a beautiful LOGOGRAM
     forms.

                       IAN
             Well, that's progress.

                       LOUISE
             No. That's the symbol for "human"
             again. But with a little curl at
             the end of that leg. Probably to
             indicate a question.

                       IAN
             They're getting confused.

                       LOUISE
             You know what -- I can't do it like
             this. I just --

     Louise looks over at something behind the Environmental
     Techs: THE CANARY.
                                                           45.


The little bird flaps its wings and crooks its head at her.
It's alive and well.

Louise makes a decision. She takes her HAZMAT mask off.

                  IAN
        Whoa whoa hey --

Weber's voice pipes in via intercom, from the ops tent:

                  COLONEL WEBER (V.O.)
        You're risking contamination.

                  LOUISE
        They need to see me.

Louise shirks out of the rest of her suit. She's wearing
her civilian clothes underneath.

She takes a breath. It doesn't kill her. Louise moves a
step toward the glass barrier --

The heptapods advance closer to the barrier. Curious. For
the first time, we can see a bit more detail; more focus.

Their skin is more mottled than a uniform color. Their
torsos move slightly, not from breath but as a jellyfish.
And the tips of one heptapod's "feet" are dark with ink.

Everyone holds their breath a beat. Slowly, Louise puts a
hand on her heart and repeats:

                  LOUISE
        My name is Louise.

She takes the whiteboard and writes furiously. Flips it
around and shows: She's drawn their symbol for -"human"
next to the English word "HUMAN" and then a greater-than
symbol leading to her name.

The two heptapods are unresponsive.

                  LOUISE
        Ian, introduce yourself.

Ian noisily shirks off his HAZMAT suit. Louise looks on.
Weber gets more uneasy by the minute.

                  IAN
        Made me look like a beekeeper.

Ian erases Louise's name on the board and writes his.
                                                        46.


                  IAN
        My name is Ian.

A magical thing happens next: The shorter, rounder heptapod
steps forward. Click-tone. A small logogram appears on the
boundary in front of him.

Then the taller one ambles close. Flutter-swallow. A
different symbol appears in front of him.

                  LOUISE
        They have names.

                  IAN
        Yeah -- So what do we call them?
        Because if I try to make sounds
        like them, I will end up insulting
        their mothers.

                  LOUISE
        Slim and Stout?

                  IAN
        I was thinking Abbott and Costello.

                  LOUISE
             (grins)
        I like it.

Cautious, yet mystified, Louise takes another bold action:
She steps for the boundary. The light from that mist on the
other side of the glass illuminates her face, showing her
wonderment.

                  LOUISE
             (quieter)
        You have names -- You're
        individuals. Aren't you.

Ian and Captain Marks watch. Marks doesn't like it.

                  CAPTAIN MARKS
        Doctor Banks --

Louise then puts her HAND on the barrier. Leaves it there.

The shorter one (ABBOTT), drifts close, too.

And through the vague cloud, something specific: It raises
a limb and puts a SEVEN-FINGERED 'HAND' on its side.

Near Louise's hand.
                                                              47.


     She smiles, still partly terrified but also reassured.

                       LOUISE
             Now that's a proper introduction.


60   INT. INFIRMARY - DAY                                           60

     Colonel Weber, Agent Halpern, and Doctor Kettler step to
     one of Kettler's work tables in a private conference, as if
     they just arrived in a hurry.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Tell me. Are they a contamination
             risk without the suits?

                       DR. KETTLER
             No radiation. Nothing else we can
             detect, either. But I'd give them a
             strong cocktail, regardless.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Any other sites working like this?

                       AGENT HALPERN
             No. But no one else has made this
             kind of progress. You saw it.

     Weber doesn't like this decision, but he concedes:

                       COLONEL WEBER
             All right, no suits for those two.
             But watch them closely for any
             signs.

                       DR. KETTLER
                  (as they leave)
             Signs of what?

     SERIES OF SHOTS:


61   INT. INTERVIEW CHAMBER - DAY                                   61

     Louise shows the word "WALK" and Ian demonstrates. Neither
     of them wear their HAZMAT suits now.

                       LOUISE (V.O.)
             Session three. We're into verbs.
             Slow and steady wins this race.


62   INT. INTERVIEW CHAMBER - MOMENTS LATER                         62
                                                                48.


     Costello saunters along his side of the wall and a heptapod
     logogram appears. It's simple yet complex, like a fractal
     in line art.


63   INT. INTERVIEW CHAMBER - NIGHT                                   63

     Ian draws a Feynman diagram, next to a set of SCIENCE
     CARDS.

                       IAN (V.O.)
             Session six. Had some trouble with
             basics, but they understand complex
             interactions right away. Not that
             it's a race, but I'm totally ahead
             now.


64   INT. SCIENCE TENT - CRYPTO ROOM - DAY                            64

     Louise debates some element of a logogram with members of
     her cryptography team in their tent, pointing at a
     magnified piece of one circular symbol.

                       LOUISE (V.O.)
             Session eight was a failure. But
             it's clear their logograms are made
             of twelve compartments.


65   INT. INTERVIEW CHAMBER - DAY                                     65

     Louise works with a spectrograph as Ian charts a basic
     geometric curve. The heptapods are unresponsive in their
     misty chamber.

                       IAN (V.O.)
             Session eleven. How can they stare
             at me when I use simple math?


66   INT. INTERVIEW CHAMBER - MOMENTS LATER                           66

     A graphic on the glass animates, showing our solar system,
     highlighting "EARTH."


67   INT. LOUISE'S OFFICE TENT - NIGHT                                67

     Louise practices drawing her own logograms, trying to mimic
     the inkblot style. Nearby, the whiteboard with the goal:
     "WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE ON EARTH?" Several words leading to
     the question have been marked -- she's taught them those.
                                                                49.


                       LOUISE (V.O.)
             Session fifteen. Back on track.

     She smirks at a frustrated Ian. Their attention is drawn
     to:

     THE BANK OF MONITORS

     Footage on screens of anxious crowds massing around other
     sites. Protesters, fanatics, the hopeful and the hopeless.
     Ian and Louise watching the footage, disturbed by the
     effect on the public of the ships' mere presence.


68   EXT. BASE CAMP - MORNING                                         68

     High angle above the camp at sunrise.


69   INT. "CLEAN ROOM" - YELLOW TUNNEL - MORNING                      69

     Weber gives Louise a notecard before they step out.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             When Ian is done with his math
             portion, include this word on
             today's vocabulary.

     Louise frowns and hands it back.

                       LOUISE
             No way.

     Ian leans over, takes the card and nods at Weber—

                       IAN
             Yeah, we can manage that.

     Louise, now unsure whom she needs to convince first --

                       LOUISE
             It's dangerous. We could come
             across as hostile.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Yes. But I trust you to choose your
             demonstrations carefully.


70   EXT. "CLEAN ROOM" - YELLOW TUNNEL - DAY                          70
                                                               50.


     Ian and Louise approach the pickup truck. Louise takes this
     moment to speak quietly at Ian, through her teeth:

                       LOUISE
             What the hell was that?

                       IAN
             I know you're the language expert,
             but I know how to talk to these
             guys. You don't say 'no' to them.
             You say 'yes' and then find a way
             to control the situation.

                       LOUISE
             So you have them all figured out?

     Ian smiles sweetly at her. He's not fighting with her.

                       IAN
             It wasn't that hard.


71   INT. INTERVIEW CHAMBER - DAY                                    71

     Captain Marks remains in the room in full HAZMAT suit,
     monitoring the equipment with another TECH.

     Ian looks on at Louise, worried. Louise holds a HUNTING
     KNIFE in her hands, the notecard tucked in one palm.

     On the semi-transparent wall facing her, the heptapods have
     written a terse, angular symbol next to the word Louise has
     written: "WEAPON."

                       LOUISE
             There's your word, Colonel.

                       COLONEL WEBER (V.O.)
                  (through speakers)
             Let's ask the big question now.

                       LOUISE
             Hold on. We need to distinguish a
             weapon from other devices or else
             they'll think everything is a
             weapon.

     Costello whisper-clicks at Abbott, then turns to leave. A
     doorway irises open on the far wall.

     Abbott wipes the podium and the logogram vanishes. The two
     aliens begin to glide away from their stations --
                                                        51.


Louise realizes they are leaving and calls out --

                  LOUISE
        Wait. Wait!

She steps to the boundary and puts her hand on it.

                  LOUISE
        Why are you here?

Abbott crooks his head.

Louise, desperate, looks back at the printer attached to
the still camera capturing everything written by the
heptapods. She riffles through the pages, looking for the
words.

                  IAN
        What can I do?

Louise gives him two print-outs.

                  LOUISE
        Hold these up.

Abbott looks back at the door where Costello left. Then at
Louise and Ian.

Louise finishes drawing. Shows the board to Abbott. Puts it
against the boundary. She's attempted freehand drawing
their gorgeous logograms, and she's actually done a great
job.

It's not quite the phrasing; she hasn't taught them "why"
but instead uses "heptapods purpose Earth" with a curl on
the logogram for Earth.

Abbott stares a beat. And writes on the podium.

As the logogram glows on the divider, Louise steps back in
shock. She's translated it already.

                  IAN
        What does it say?

                  LOUISE
        "Offer weapon."

The phrase sends a tense hush through the team.
                                                                52.


     The unidentifiable light source in the interview chamber
     dims and the transparent wall clouds until it's fully
     opaque.

     Louise, Ian, Captain Marks, and the other in-room Techs
     face each other as if they've just learned a terrible
     secret.


72   INT. OPERATIONS TENT - WAR ROOM - DAY                            72

     An eruption of sound and chaos, joining in mid-debate with
     several people talking at once. Halpern is among them.

                       CAPTAIN MARKS
             But you saw what they wrote --

                       LOUISE
             -- using a word they don't
             fully understand!

                       IAN
             It could just be a request --

                       AGENT HALPERN
             or a warning --

     Over the din of everyone talking and no one truly listening
     comes the booming voice of Weber in his best stern father:

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Enough.
                  (as room quiets down)
             I can't agree with any of you when
             you're all talking at once. Now: I
             want to hear theories. Louise?

                       LOUISE
             We don't know if they understand
             the difference between a weapon and
             a tool. Our language, like our
             culture, is messy. In many cases
             one thing can be both.

                       IAN
             In addition, it's possible they are
             wanting us to offer them something,
             not the other way around. Like the
             first part of a trade.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             How do we clarify their intention
             beyond those two words?
                                                       53.


                  LOUISE
        I go back in there. In thirteen
        hours, we go in and clear this up.

                  AGENT HALPERN
        It's more complicated than that.

                  LOUISE
        How is that complicated?

                  AGENT HALPERN
        Set aside our own reaction to the
        message, we have to consider the
        other nations and how they will
        interpret this.
             (pointing at monitor)
        Like China. Have you met General
        Shang? How about a little round of
        "meet the scary-powerful men."

Halpern points at a profile photo of a distinguished
Chinese man in dress uniform: GENERAL SHANG.

                  AGENT HALPERN
        The call-sign for him is Big
        Domino. Because he's a tastemaker.
        Whatever Shang does, at least four
        other nations will follow.

                  LOUISE
        We're on good terms with Shang.

                  AGENT HALPERN
        But we can't say the same for other
        nations where these ships have
        landed. And Russia has control of
        two sites. Twice the data.

                  LOUISE
        How is that relevant to this?

A LIEUTENANT enters to address Weber:

                  LIEUTENANT
        Colonel, the Secretary of Defense
        is on the line for you.

Weber reluctantly steps out. Halpern takes over:

                  AGENT HALPERN
                                                          54.


        We need to sit on this information
        until we know what it means. So we
        aren't sharing with our enemies. We
        have to consider the idea that our
        'visitors' are prodding us to fight
        among ourselves until only one
        faction prevails.

                  LOUISE
        There's no evidence of that.

                  AGENT HALPERN
        Sure there is. Just grab a history
        book. The British with India. The
        Germans with Rwanda. They even got
        a name for it in Hungary.

Halpern's cell phone rings, and before he takes the call—

                  AGENT HALPERN
        We are a world with no single
        leader. It's impossible to deal
        with just one of us. And with the
        word "weapon" now --

Louise pales. Feeling like she just broke something. She
looks for someone to talk to and finds Ian deep in thought,
keeping his eyes on the twelve monitors.

                  LOUISE
        That was my doing. I taught them
        that. So, if we just go back in
        tonight, go in and, and --

Frenzied activity at the monitoring station draws their
attention in time to see:

AN EXPLOSION at one landing site, the plume of the
firecloud lighting up the urban-located Shell --

Communications Team Members stand up now, talking into
their headsets in four different languages --

ON THE CHINESE VIDEO STREAM, a Scientist is forcibly pulled
away by a Chinese Intelligence Officer who yanks at a cable
and then the video feed BLACKS OUT.

A moment later, a panicked Russian Officer does the same to
their feed. Two more black screens. Siberia and Black Sea.

Weber gets off the phone, focused on the feeds.

                  COLONEL WEBER
                                                        55.


        What's going on? What was that
        explosion at Site Four?

Halpern keeps his ear to his phone, but answers:

                  AGENT HALPERN
        China and Russia are off the grid.
        They aren't speaking to anyone.
        Whatever they learned in their last
        session has them spooked --
             (into phone)
        Yes sir.
             (to Weber)
        We have orders to do the same.

                  LOUISE
        What? These people are our allies!
        Ian, tell him.

                  AGENT HALPERN
        Until we figure out what the
        message means --

                  IAN
        That is a bad idea. It sends a
        clear signal of hostility. If we
        start this --

A fourth monitor goes dark: Indian Ocean.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        It's already started.

Halpern leans in at one station and orders a Team Member:

                  AGENT HALPERN
        Put us on radio silence.

ON ONE SCREEN: It's their own tent, the camera pointed at
Louise and Ian. Louise rushes to the mic—

                  LOUISE
        Listen, we got a message from the
        heptapods, "offer weapon--"

But as she says "offer" the U.S. SCREEN BLACKS OUT, leaving
the other countries hanging.

                  AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST
        What is happening? U.S. Team,
        please respond.

Louise whirls on Halpern --
                                                                56.


                       LOUISE
             Dammit, Halpern! We should be
             talking to each other.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             You want to talk to them, find out
             what this means. Please. I will
             sleep better if you do.

     He holds up the printout with the words "OFFER WEAPON."

     Louise grabs the page from him and storms off to her desk.

     Ian (quietly boiling) passes by Halpern and hisses:

                       IAN
             By then it will be too late.

     ON THE MONITORS: four of the twelve now blacked out, with
     the rest talking over each other, panicked -- And then a
     FIFTH monitor goes dark.


73   INT. SCIENCE TENT - LOUISE'S DESK - NIGHT                        73

     Louise wears a set of noise-cancelling headphones at her
     desk, listening to the spoken heptapod language and trying
     to shut out the world beyond.

     She stares at one of the logograms as she listens to the
     audio. It's a circular piece full of whorls and curls.

     Writing notes to herself as she does:

     "They have landed? Earth? Planet?"

     Louise underlines that last word, she hears a new voice:

                       HANNAH (V.O.)
                  (pre-lap)
             What's this word?

     Louise hears Hannah's voice and closes her eyes --


74   EXT. LAKE HOUSE - DAY - FLASHBACK                                74

     Louise and Hannah (age 8) sit on the picnic blanket, under
     the shade of a stately oak tree. They share a story book.

     Hannah points at a page.
                                                        57.


                  LOUISE
        "Planet." Like Earth is a planet.

                  HANNAH
        Mmmm -- what's that word?

                  LOUISE
        How many words are you trying to
        learn today?

                  HANNAH
        All of them.

Louise smiles and kisses Hannah on the forehead.

                  HANNAH
        Want to see my project for Mrs.
        Garriott's class?

                  LOUISE
        All right little-nose, whatcha got?

Hannah digs into her backpack and pulls out a sketch.

                  HANNAH
        Supposed to draw what my Saturday
        morning cartoon would look like if
        I had one.

                  LOUISE
        What is this place?

THE DRAWING depicts a Man and Woman (stick-figures) holding
up a really fat bird-like shape.

                  HANNAH
        That's supposed to be a book.

                  LOUISE
        Who are these two people?

                  HANNAH
        You and Daddy. The show is called
        "Mommy and Daddy Save the World."

Louise's smile sinks. She looks pained.

                  LOUISE
        Well. That sounds lovely.
             (beat)
        You know, it's okay to be upset
        that your daddy and I --
                                                                58.


     Little Hannah breathes through her nose.

                       HANNAH
             I know. I'm not.

     Louise brushes Hannah's hair out of her eyes.

                       LOUISE
             We both love you, very much.

                       HANNAH
             I know.
                  (then)
             It's just a cartoon. It's not real.

     That same high-pitched WHINE escalates and --


75   INT. SCIENCE TENT - LOUISE'S DESK - BACK TO SCENE                75

     Louise flings off her headphones and tries to get up, but
     she's dizzy. Ian gets up from his station to help her --

                       IAN
             Louise? You okay?

     Louise recovers from a sudden vertigo. She focuses on Ian.

                       LOUISE
             I -- Yeah, fine.

     She bends over and takes a moment to refocus. When she
     stands upright she faces a suspicious Weber, who's come
     over.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             When was your last check-up with
             Kettler?

     Louise lets out a breath and passes him by, for the exit.

     Ian considers going with her. Weber gestures: Stay back.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             How about you?

                       IAN
             Me? I'm fine.

     Weber brings Ian close to Louise's desk and surveys the
     heptapod writing scattered over it. He takes a moment and
     chooses his words carefully.
                                                                59.


                       COLONEL WEBER
             A lot of work for one person.

                       IAN
             She's not alone. We're making good
             progress. We're teaching each other
             physics and language.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Good. Learn as much as you can. In
             case we need to bench Doctor Banks.

                       IAN
             No -- you can't do that.
                  (recovers)
             I'm saying, it won't come to that.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             But if it does --

     Weber leaves Ian to consider this scenario.

                       DR. KETTLER (V.O.)
                  (pre-lap)
             How do you feel?


76   INT. MEDICAL TENT - DR. KETTLER'S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER         76

     A pen light shines in Louise's left eye.

                       LOUISE
             Overworked.

     Kettler tries to be casual but comes off awkward:

                       DR. KETTLER
             That makes two of us. I hear you
             collapsed in the ops tent.

                       LOUISE
             Probably just lack of sleep.

     Kettler readies a syringe.

                       DR. KETTLER
             Well, you're not getting radiation
             poisoning.

                       DR. KETTLER
                                                                60.


             We'll see how your blood tests
             look, but for now I'm going to give
             you another boost. Try and sleep
             this one off, okay?

     He sinks the needle into her arm. Louise tries not to
     flinch.


77   EXT. BASE CAMP OVERLOOK - EVENING                                77

     Armed SOLDIERS are stationed at regular intervals around a
     tight perimeter. Disturbing, as the base camp previously
     did not seem military-led. Their presence is slowly
     increasing.

     Private Lasky stands guard, and looks back at the mammoth
     Shell above him. He's joined by Private COMBS, who gives
     the ship a similar look of aggression. They notice each
     other glaring at the ship, and share a wordless nod of
     solidarity. Two soldiers who both spotted the enemy.


78   EXT. HILLSIDE NEAR BASE CAMP - DUSK                              78

     Ian sits atop a sleeping bag, staring out at the massive
     ship with a look just the opposite of Lasky's glare.

     He has a sketchbook open, filled with mechanical drawings,
     advanced equations, and notes to himself.

     Louise ascends the hill toward him.

                       LOUISE
             Weber is looking for you.

     Ian smiles at her.

                       IAN
             Why do you think I'm hiding out
             here? Come, join me.

     She considers it a moment, then sits down next to him as he
     makes room for her on his sleeping bag.

     Louise looks down at the camp, her concern all wrapped up
     in the military population, while Ian keeps staring out at
     the massive shell a quarter-mile away.

                       IAN
             How are you so good at talking to
             something so unlike us?
                                                             61.


     Louise notices the focus of his gaze and shrugs.

                       LOUISE
             There's precedent.


79   EXT. RANCH - DAY - FLASHBACK                                  79

     Louise with Hannah at a RANCH with a horse. The horse's
     nostrils flaring, standing eighteen hands tall, a gigantic
     creature to the scared little 8-year-old Hannah.

     But Louise puts her hands on the horse. Speaks to it.

                       LOUISE (O.S.)
             Shh, shh. It's okay --

     The horse's ears spin like radar dishes --


80   EXT. HILLSIDE NEAR BASE CAMP - BACK TO SCENE                  80

     Back with Ian and Louise on the hill.

                       IAN
             You know, you approach language
             like a mathematician.

                       LOUISE
             I'll take that as a compliment.

                       IAN
             You should! You steer us around
             communication traps I didn't know
             existed. Which probably explains
             why I'm single.

     Louise studies Ian's face to see if he's being sarcastic.
     He's not. This is honesty.

                       LOUISE
             My father worked for a big energy
             company. They'd relocate him every
             year to some new country, and I
             went with him. He used to say
             learning all those foreign tongues
             would make me the center of every
             party. But you know what people say
             when you're sixteen and fluent in
             seven languages? "You're smart."

                       IAN
             Oh no. "Smart" is bad.
                                                        62.


                  LOUISE
        People are so afraid of smart.

Ian stares at the sky.

                  IAN
        When I was six, my parents bought
        me a globe. One of those big ones
        on an iron floor stand. This was
        the same year I dressed up as a
        wilderness explorer for Halloween.
        My room was papered with hand-drawn
        maps of my neighborhood.
             (beat)
        I studied every inch of that globe,
        and it was the saddest moment of my
        childhood. Everything had already
        been explored.
             (beat)
        Next Halloween, I was an astronaut.

                  LOUISE
        "To boldly go--"

                  IAN
        I've spent the last thirty years
        staring at the sky. Trying to find
        a way out there. Now it's here, and
        I don't know how I feel about it.

                  LOUISE
        Because you might finally get to
        explore the galaxy?

                  IAN
        Because they've already explored
        it.

Louise shivers; it's getting cold up here.

Ian drapes a blanket over her shoulders and shares it with
her. The two huddle close together, under the massive
spherical Shell lit by drifting spotlights.

                  LOUISE
        I feel like everything here comes
        down to the two of us.

                  IAN
        That's a good thing. Have you seen
        the jokers around us?

                  LOUISE
                                                               63.


             Promise me. We'll do this together?

     Ian's smile falters, as he recalls his talk with Weber.

                       IAN
             Yeah.


81   EXT. BASE CAMP - NIGHT                                          81

     Aerial view. The compound has doubled in size.


82   INT. “CLIIAN ROOM" - NIGHT                                      82

     Ian and Louise prep for another session. Ian vigorously
     applies antibacterial soap to his hands and arms, like a
     surgeon prepping for the O.R. Louise still refuses to don a
     HAZMAT suit, but she ties her hair back in a ponytail.

     Captain Marks enters, carrying a pair of respirators with
     small oxygen tanks attached.

                       CAPTAIN MARKS
             New policy. Carry these on you when
             you're in the Shell.

                       IAN
             You're worried we'll run out of air
             inside? Why?

                       CAPTAIN MARKS
             Before the blackout, the Swedish
             site reported their last session
             ran long by about twenty minutes.

                       LOUISE
             But they were fine at the end of
             it, weren't they?

                       CAPTAIN MARKS
             They still wear full HAZMAT suits,
             doctor. Like the rest of the world.

     Ian and Louise trade looks.

     Dr. Kettler enters, with his medical bag.

                       DR. KETTLER
             Let's roll up those sleeves --


83   INT. INTERVIEW CHAMBER - NIGHT                                  83
                                                           64.


Louise leads the team.

On the other side of the barrier, Abbott and Costello are
waiting. Costello stands at the podium. Abbott is closer to
the glass barrier. The glass-like surface is still milky,
so no one can get a good look at them.

                  LOUISE
             (to Ian)
        They're already here.

Captain Marks stands at the back. Watchful.

                  CAPTAIN MARKS
        Show them the question.

Louise takes a breath and holds up her whiteboard while the
Techs set up the video equipment behind her.

It reads, in subtitled logogram: "OFFER WEAPON?"

Abbott and Costello make little movement. No answer.

                  IAN
        This isn't working.

Louise speaks directly to Abbott, stepping a bit closer:

                  LOUISE
        Are you offering us something?

She holds up the whiteboard again.

Another quiet conference between Abbott and Costello.

More ink floats to the barrier to form a complex LOGOGRAM,
followed by the translation in subtitles.

"MUST LEARN MORE FROM IAN LOUISE"

                  IAN
        They don't have enough of our
        language to share it yet.

                  LOUISE
        Let's fix that.

Captain Marks checks the flatscreen monitors and tablet
interfaces behind them -- one for Louise, one for Ian.

                  CAPTAIN MARKS
        You're good to go.
                                                                65.


     On one monitor, the library of new learned logograms is
     currently blank. Like a spreadsheet waiting to be filled.


84   INT. INTERVIEW CHAMBER - LATER                                   84

     The sentence on Louise's flatscreen reads: "Ian gives
     Louise an apple because tomorrow she will be hungry."

     On the monitor behind her: the library is FULL of
     logograms.

     Abbott replies. The written logogram is displayed: A
     gorgeous interwoven circle of loops, whorls, and splotches.

                       IAN
             What is that?

                        LOUISE
             I think it's what we wrote.
                   (pointing)
             Look. This is the word for "apple"
             but it's conjoined with their names
             -- I can't tell where it starts or
             ends.

                       IAN
             No front or back. Like their
             bodies. And the ship.

                       LOUISE
             How do you begin to craft a complex
             statement like this? The relation
             each symbol has to another --
                  (then)
             You know what? We've never seen
             them write. Only the result. Let's
             see them in the act of writing.

     Louise returns to the tablet. Erases the sentence on her
     screen. And then, instead of preparing words and displaying
     the result, she triggers the "live sketching" option that
     shows her writing the letters and words in real-time.

     She writes the sentence: "Louise writes so heptapods can
     see her writing."

     Abbott and Costello crook their heads.

     Then Abbott approaches the transparent boundary, which
     becomes clearer than ever before.

     Captain Marks notices. Tenses.
                                                           66.


                  CAPTAIN MARKS
             (into mic)
        One is approaching the boundary
        with two, uh, limbs raised.

Abbott reaches the boundary, holding up two of his seven
"hands." He places them at two points on the transparent
wall and begins to draw. Ink issues from his hands as he
does.

Abbott writes a heptapod sentence in real-time. With two
hands simultaneously.

It is poetry in motion. A dance of ink. He begins at
opposite ends, and then writes phrases and symbols in a
perfect pair of arcs so that they connect as a circle at
the end.

                  LOUISE
        Oh my god. Nonlinear orthography.

Ian catches up to what she's saying.

                  IAN
        They'd have to actually think
        nonlinearly, then.

Louise grabs a tablet synced to the large flatscreen and
draws in heptapod logograms. She does it one-handed, but
she's quite good at it.

                  COLONEL WEBER (V.O.)
             (via intercom)
        Explain.

As she draws her logogram, she walks him through it;

                  LOUISE
        Imagine trying to write a long
        sentence with two hands, starting
        at either end. To do that, you'd
        have to know every single word
        you're going to write, and the
        space all of it occupies.

Ian struggles to find reference to her logogram.

                  IAN
        What is -- what are you writing?

She completes the ornate symbol.

                  LOUISE
                                                           67.


        I asked about predictability. If
        "before" and "after" mean anything
        to them. Or if they don't know what
        that means.

Ian shuffles through notes on his tablet.

                  IAN
        When did we teach them any of this?

Abbott answers in heptapod with another elegant logogram.

Louise smiles and nods at Abbott.

                  IAN
             (astonished)
        You can read that?

                  COLONEL WEBER (V.O.)
             (over intercom)
        Get back to the weapon.

Louise sighs and uses her keyboard to type as she asks
aloud:

                  LOUISE
        Give weapon now?

Abbott draws a simple logogram. The translation: "SOLVE"

                  LOUISE
        Solve what?

The transparent boundary clears itself of all its writing.

Abbott then draws two lines that meet in the middle to form
one long, contiguous line.

Abbott gestures at the timeline and speaks: Click-click.

                  LOUISE
        That's their spoken word for time.

                  IAN
        How do you know?

                  LOUISE
        I remember how it sounds.

Then, Abbott draws a logogram on the far end of the line.
Louise translates:
                                                               68.


                       LOUISE
             Humanity. That's us.

                         IAN
             So I see.

                       LOUISE
             At the end of our timeline.

     The logogram from earlier forms again: "SOLVE."

                       IAN
             Son of a bitch. He's giving us
             homework.


85   EXT. BASE CAMP - NIGHT                                          85

     Louise and Ian leave the trucks for the science tent,
     escorted by men on either side. Weber walks with them.
     Louise looks pale and slightly ill.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             What is the answer?

                       IAN
             I don't know yet. I have to dig
             into it, figure out what they're
             even asking.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             This is your new priority. No more
             language lessons until you crack
             it.

     His voice fades as the group marches on toward the tents,
     unaware that Louise has stopped walking.

     She puts her hands on her thighs, suddenly nauseated.

     Nearby is a PUDDLE of rainwater. The moon is visible in
     reflection, as is the silhouette of the Shell.

     Louise stares at the puddle as a ringing swells in her ear
     --

     QUICK POPS:


86   INT. LAKE HOUSE - NIGHT - FLASHBACK                             86

     The moonlit lake on the other side of a bedroom window.
                                                                69.


87   INT. LAKE HOUSE - DAY - FLASHBACK                                87

     Four-year-old Hannah's feet curl, inside pajama footies.


88   EXT. BASE CAMP - BACK TO SCENE                                   88

     Louise stands upright again. Takes a breath, a little
     unnerved. And continues on to the cluster of tents, alone.

     One soldier has remained behind as escort. Watching her
     with a growing suspicion. Private Lasky. With his rifle.


89   INT. MESS TENT - NIGHT                                           89

     Louise sits alone, rubbing her temples. Her plate:
     untouched.

     Ian enters, looking worse for wear. He grabs a pre-made
     meal and joins Louise at her table. His eyes are bloodshot.

                       LOUISE
             Didn't expect to see you out.

                       IAN
             I'm hiding from Weber.

                       LOUISE
             How goes the riddle?

                       IAN
             It's a timeline. I don't know what
             they're asking me to solve. Is it
             about population dynamics?

                       LOUISE
             Why do you go there?

     Ian grabs a salt shaker from the end of the table.

                       IAN
             Let me tell you a story about
             probability.

     He pours a dollop of salt on the table between them. A few
     quick shakes.

                       IAN
                                                           70.


        The current world population is
        hovering close to eight billion,
        but we started out as just a
        trickle, right? Things got really
        populated in the last couple of
        centuries, so here's humanity:

He then shakes out a salt line for a bit until he unscrews
the cap and dumps a heap at the end.

                  IAN
        This line represents the population
        of the whole history of humanity.
        Estimated at just over 100 billion.
        What that means is: About eight
        percent of every human who ever
        lived is alive right now. And that
        puts us at this pileup at the end.

                   LOUISE
        The end?

                  IAN
        Well, some people call this an
        "extinction burst." I don't,
        because I think it's junk science.

                  LOUISE
        How can you be so sure?

                  IAN
        People have been predicting the end
        of civilization for ages. But
        someone always comes along and
        kicks us further down the timeline.

Ian spreads out the salt like sand, and runs his finger
through it in a line, punctuating one end. The timeline.

                  LOUISE
        Maybe it doesn't happen this time.
        They're warning us. We're running
        out of time.

                  IAN
        I can't tell that to Weber.

                  LOUISE
        Weber? The CIA guy is who worries
        me. Halpern.

Louise suddenly winces and rubs her temples.
                                                               71.


                       IAN
             How are you holding up?

                       LOUISE
             Headaches.
                  (beat)
             My brain is scrambled.

                       IAN
             I hear they have the prefabs up
             finally. We get private housing.

                       LOUISE
                  (distant)
             Yeah --

                       IAN
             Hey.

     He reaches across the table and takes her hand in his.

     Louise looks at Ian. Then at their hands.

                       IAN
             We'll get through. It's all right.

     She pulls her hands from him, suddenly shy.

                       LOUISE
             I'm sorry, I just -- I'm feeling
             raw and unstable and --

     Colonel Weber enters the mess tent and sets his sights on
     Ian. Calls out from the door:

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Ian. You're needed in operations.

     Ian keeps his focus on Louise.

                       IAN
             I'll see you later.
                  (once more)
             We'll get a win soon.

     Ian leaves. When he's gone, Louise's headache returns.


90   INT. PEDIATRICIAN'S OFFICE - DAY - FLASHBACK                    90

     Hannah and Louise hold hands on the exam bed. Louise is
     fighting back tears.
                                                              72.


91   INT. LAKE HOUSE - DAY - FLASHBACK                              91

     Louise stares at a shelf full of Hannah's awards. Photos of
     Hannah in sports, at band concerts, in a theme park.


92   INT. LAKE HOUSE - NIGHT - FLASHBACK                            92

     Louise is bent over in her bathroom, ill.


93   EXT. MESS TENT - NIGHT                                         93

     Louise is bent over a trash can as if she just vomited. She
     coughs, looks around like she's lost.

     She notices tears in her eyes. Wipes them.

     It disturbs her. She fights back the intense emotional
     impact of these memories.

     It takes a few breaths for her to compose herself.

                       REPORTER (V.O.)
                  (pre-lap)
             And why do you want to see the
             ships destroyed?


94   EXT. TV COVERAGE - SOME LANDING SITE - NIGHT                   94

     Handheld camera interviewing a MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN holding a
     sign in a protest line outside a barricade. She's been
     crying; her eyes are red with tears. And she speaks
     English.

     Ticker at bottom of screen: "UFO 'TRUTHER' MOVEMENT GROWS"

                       MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN
             Because! It's not right. We are the
             only ones in this universe. This
             whole thing is a hoax. Why d'you
             think they haven't shown an alien
             up close? It's all a conspiracy!

     The sound of a KNOCKING wrenches from the news clip to --


95   INT. HOUSING PRE-FAB - BEDROOM - NIGHT                         95

     Louise wakes suddenly in bed. She's fallen asleep atop the
     covers, still in her clothes. Clutching a pillow as if it
     were a child.
                                                               73.


     The loud KNOCKING comes again. And she gets up.


96   INT. HOUSING PRE-FAB - FRONT DOOR - MOMENTS LATER               96

     Louise opens the door to find Weber and Ian standing
     outside, their breath pluming in the cold air.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             May we come in?

     Louise frowns.


97   INT. HOUSING PRE-FAB - LIVING AREA - MOMENTS LATER              97

     Louise, Weber, and Ian sit in this hotel-room-sized space.

                       IAN
             How are you feeling?

     Louise tries to read the situation. Something is wrong.

     Ian looks concerned. Weber looks suspicious.

                       LOUISE
             I just need sleep. I'm fine.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             You want to tell me what's going
             on?

                       LOUISE
             I don't -- what, what happened?

                       COLONEL WEBER
             You used seven words in the last
             session you never used before. And
             you wrote all of them in heptapod.

                       LOUISE
             What? What words?

                       COLONEL WEBER
             You had three different exchanges
             no one on our side of the glass
             could follow.

                       LOUISE
             Show me. I'll tell you what I
             wrote.
                                                           74.


                  COLONEL WEBER
        That's not the problem here!

Weber's getting more frustrated. Ian steps in to defuse:

                  IAN
        All this focus on alien language.
        Look, I did some research and
        there's this idea that immersing
        yourself in a foreign language can
        rewire your brain --

                  LOUISE
        The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, yes.
        The theory that the language you
        speak determines how you think.

                  IAN
        Are you dreaming in this language?

Louise looks from Ian to Weber. Guarded.

                  LOUISE
        What does that--? I've had a few
        dreams. That doesn't make me unfit
        for the job.

Weber shows her a paper document signed at the bottom.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        This might.

                  LOUISE
        That's just a prescription for my
        headaches, Kettler--

Then she notices something.

THE SIGNATURE FORM, revealing Louise has signed her name in
a circle. Like a cursive logogram.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        Kettler tells me you signed it with
        your left hand. You're right
        handed.

                  LOUISE
        Well. I. I mean --

                  COLONEL WEBER
        It was one thing when no one could
        understand them. It's another when
        no one but you can.
                                                        75.


             (directed at Ian)
        You think you can manage in the
        room on your own now?

                  LOUISE
        What?

Louise focuses on Ian now, her eyes pleading.

Ian sees her, this woman on verge of a breakdown, suddenly
quite fragile. It pains him, but he believes it --

                  IAN
        If I had to. Yes.

                  LOUISE
        Ian. Come on. Wait, just --

                  COLONEL WEBER
             (stands)
        I'm pulling you out.

Louise and Ian follow. Louise intercepts Weber at the door:

                  LOUISE
        I need to be in there. This is all
        I do. Take it away and I'm just a,
        what, a prisoner.

                  IAN
        Louise, you just need to recover --

                  LOUISE
             (snaps at Ian)
        Shut up!
             (to Weber)
        This won't work without me. I'm the
        only one they really talk to.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        Which is why I can't afford to lose
        you! Do you get it now?

Suddenly frustrated by his confession, Weber steps back out
into the cold. But Ian pauses outside her door. Turns
around to face Louise again.

Louise looks devastated; untethered.

                  IAN
        I'm sorry. I got worried --

But she shuts the door on him.
                                                                76.


98   EXT. MONTANA LANDING SITE - MORNING                              98

     The Shell gleams in the rising sun, casting a shadow over a
     slice of the science camp site the shape of a tombstone.


99   EXT. "THE SHELL" - MORNING                                       99

     Privates Lasky and Combs set heavy A/V boxes at a staging
     area by the scissor lift.


100 INT. SCIENCE TENT - IAN'S AREA - MORNING                          100

     VIDEO of Abbott and Costello plays on a screen. The last
     session in the room. Fast-forwarding to the appearance of
     the timeline. Pause.

     Ian studies it on the monitor at his desk. His team of
     SCIENCE EXPERTS argue and gesture at one another in the
     background, around a large table.

     Behind him: A glass screen displays the timeline riddle,
     big as life.

     Ian rubs his face. Downs his coffee. Goes at it again.


101 EXT. HOUSING PRE-FAB - MORNING                                    101

     Weber knocks on Louise's door.

     Beat. Louise opens the door just a few inches. Her eyes are
     bloodshot. She's wearing yesterday's clothes.

                         LOUISE
             What.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Did you sleep?

                         LOUISE
             A little.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             I need your brain.

                       LOUISE
             You're putting me back in?

                          COLONEL WEBER
                     (evading)
                                                               77.


             Do you know Mandarin?


102 INT. OPERATIONS TENT - SPY ROOM - MORNING                        102

    The two push through the tent flap, and Louise is startled—

    EVERY SINGLE TV SCREEN is filled with footage of violence.
    Gunfire at the grounds of another alien site. Riots at
    another. Naval maneuvers on the Indian Ocean.

    Weber hands Louise a set of headphones, and replays a
    video.

    ON SCREEN: Spy footage of two CHINESE MEN meeting at a camp
    not unlike the Montana site. Muddled voices in Mandarin.
    Louise translates:

                       LOUISE
             He's saying each of the twelve is
             offering advanced technology.
                  (beat)
             Spies report India and Sudan have
             already received theirs. Like sets.
             Sets? I don't know what he means --
                  (beat)
             Something about an advantage. With
             suits, honor, and flowers?

    The clip ends abruptly. Weber takes the headphones back.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             We don't know what it means,
             either. But an hour ago China
             scrambled fighters at airfields in
             four different bases, and Sudan is
             following suit. "Big Domino" is
             about to start something.

                       LOUISE
             Following suit --
                  (realizing)
             Suits, honor, and flowers. Colonel,
             those are tile sets in Mahjong. Oh
             god, have they been using a game to
             converse with their heptapods?

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Maybe. Probably easier than trying
             to teach Mandarin. Why?

                       LOUISE
                                                              78.


             Say I taught them chess instead of
             English. Every conversation is a
             game, every idea expressed through
             opposition -- victory and defeat.
             You see the problem? If all I ever
             give you is a hammer --

    Weber looks back at the monitors, suddenly getting it.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             -- Everything's a nail.

    Halpern enters, riled up. Steps up to Weber.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             May I have a word, Colonel?

    Weber nods to Louise: Dismissed.


103 INT. SCIENCE TENT - MOMENTS LATER                               103

    Louise enters, distraught. Goes to her desk.

    ANGLE ON IAN, engrossed in his study of previous sessions,
    until he hears Louise gathering papers at her desk.

    He sees her through the timeline screen bisecting their
    workspace. It's like the glass barrier in the chamber.
    After a beat, he decides to approach her.

                       IAN
             Hey.

                       LOUISE
             Hey.

                       IAN
             How are you doing?

    She keeps gathering printouts of logograms. Shoving
    material into folders.

                       LOUISE
             Why do you want to know?

                       IAN
             Why? Because I -- because you were
             starting to scare me.
                  (steps closer)
             You would have done the same for
             me, if you were in my shoes.
                                                           79.


Louise turns to him now. Vulnerable, and mad about it. But
refusing to cry in front of him.

                  LOUISE
        Oh, so I should see things from
        your perspective, but did you ever
        see it from mine? Just once?
             (re: Timeline)
        You got the symbol for 'humanity'
        wrong. Doesn't that say it all.

She walks around to the other side of the screen and makes
adjustments by touch.

Ian watches from Louise's desk on the other side -- and he
nearly gasps in surprise.

From his POV, the timeline is reversed. And the logogram
that means 'humanity' now looks the same from either side.

                  IAN
        Louise -- their word is an
        ambigram. It reads the same front
        or back.

                  LOUISE
        It is? Oh -- You're right.

He marvels at this mirror image of the timeline problem.

                  IAN
        On your side, the human race is at
        the end of its time. But here -- to
        the heptapods -- we're just getting
        started.

The low BASS TONE reverberates through the tents.

                  CAPTAIN MARKS (О.S.)
        Ten minutes to session. Ian --
        you're up.

Louise leans in to Ian to keep him focused on the problem
in front of him.

                  LOUISE
        How does that help us?

Ian frowns, thinking then, in a sudden Eureka moment, he
gets it. Claps his hands --

                  IAN
                                                             80.


             My god. It's not a problem at all,
             it's a choice.

    He charges off, right out of the tent.

                       LOUISE
             Ian? Ian, wait --


104 EXT. BASE CAMP - CONTINUOUS                                    104

    Louise trails after Ian, who's headed right for the pickup.

                       LOUISE
             What choice?

                       IAN
             That's what they're saying. It's
             like a warning label on a power
             tool. Whatever they're offering us,
             we can use it to flourish for
             millions of years, or we can do
             something stupid and end it all
             right now.

    Halpern steps out of the Ops Tent with Weber and zeroes in
    on Ian leading Louise for the Shell door.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             Doctor Banks!

    Ian grabs Louise by the hand. He's not going in alone.

                        IAN
             Come on.

    Louise hurries after Ian.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             No one authorized you back inside -
             -

    But the two pile into a pickup and Ian peels out.

    Halpern moves for the second truck, where two HAZMAT-suited
    TECHS arrive looking confused -- the rest of Ian's team.


105 EXT. "THE SHELL" - DAY                                         105

    Ian slides the pickup to a stop close to the scissor lift.
    Louise hurries out on one side, Ian following. Neither of
    them in suits or with respirators.
                                                               81.


    In the distance, the other truck is on approach, leaving a
    rooster tail of dust behind it.

    Ahead, the scissor lift DESCENDS from its high perch at the
    surface, revealing Lasky and Combs in full suits.

    Ian and Louise climb in as they step out. Louise makes eye
    contact with Lasky.

                       PRIVATE LASKY
             You can't go in there.

                       IAN
             She's with me.

    Ian punches the 'up' button on the lift.

    Louise checks to see how close the other truck is, but then
    her attention drifts back to Lasky and Combs, below.

    They both just stand and watch them, clutching their
    rifles.


106 INT. INTERVIEW CHAMBER - MOMENTS LATER                           106

    Louise and Ian arrive to find Abbott already here,
    advancing for the glass barrier. Abbott's movement suggests
    an urgency.

                       LOUISE
             Abbott?

    The timeline draws itself on the glass. And beneath it a
    symbol appears. Louise points to it:

                       LOUISE
             "Solve." It's all on you now.

                       IAN
             Is there a symbol for "choice?"
             Both timelines are possible, it all
             depends upon what we choose to do
             with their offer.

    Louise nods.

    But then the tablet powers down; shorts out on its own.

                       LOUISE
             Wait, what just—
                                                           82.


Abbott writes on the barrier. Adding to the previous:

                  LOUISE
        "Solve here." He wants me to write
        on the glass.

                   IAN
        Can you?

                  LOUISE
        It's a complicated sentence. I'm
        trying to figure it out.

Louise approaches the boundary, opposite Abbott.

The wall becomes more and more transparent, revealing
Abbott more intimately than ever before.

The alien gestures at her.

Louise tentatively puts up two hands, then lowers one.

                   IAN
        What?

                  LOUISE
        I can't. I can't draw both ends at
        the same time.

She holds her right hand up against the glass. It reacts by
forming ink on Abbott's side.

As she does, Abbott holds up one hand against the glass on
his end, to the left of her position.

Louise regards him curiously. Then she takes a breath, and
begins to draw one end of this elegant, complicated circle.

As she does, Abbott draws on his end. Working in the
opposite arc toward Louise's starting point.

                  IAN
        What is he doing?

Louise's eyes widen as she realizes --

                  LOUISE
        He's being my other arm. He's
        finishing my sentence.

The two co-authors finish simultaneously, connecting the
arcs of their logograms into a circle.
                                                              83.


    REVEAL an angle showing Abbott's hand perfectly aligned
    with Louise's, only the transparent wall between them.

    QUICK POP:


107 INT. LAKE HOUSE - HANNAH'S ROOM - DAY - FLASHBACK               107

    Baby Hannah reaches up from her cradle, her little infant
    hand outstretched like Abbott's. Louise reaching down to
    let Hannah grip mom's pointer finger.


108 INT. INTERVIEW CHAMBER - BACK TO SCENE                          108

    Louise snaps out of that quick vision. She takes a step
    back.

                       LOUISE
             That's -- That's it.

    Looking at it head-on, the logogram is complete.

    Then: A tapestry of heptapod logograms begin flowing across
    the entire transparent wall, like wallpaper patterns.

    They appear with dozens of GEOMETRIC EQUATIONS. Circles.
    Angular shapes. Equations in heptapod with Arabic numerals
    around them like liner notes. A waterfall of data. It pours
    down the screen.

    PRESSING IN on Ian, who smiles broadly.

                       IAN
             This is it.
                  (into headset)
             This is the gift!

                       COLONEL WEBER (V.O.)
                  (over headset)
             We got it over here.
                  (to Tech)
             Christ, how much is this --
                  (back to Ian)
             It's two terabytes of data.

    Abbott begins miming the "walk" action they taught earlier.
    Simultaneously, a new set of logograms form from ink
    splattered harshly against the glass --

                       IAN
             What is he saying?
                                                               84.


    Louise approaches the barrier, frowning.

    Meanwhile, a faint BEEPING begins quickening somewhere in
    the interview chamber.

                       LOUISE
             Those are our names --
                  (translating)
             Must leave?
                  (to Abbott)
             You're asking us to go?

    She gets close now --

    Ian approaches a DUFFEL BAG toppled by the glass barrier on
    the floor, getting closer to the sound --

    Pulling it away to reveal: A set of wired C4 CHARGES stuck
    against the glass --

                       IAN
             Louise!

    Ian runs to grab Louise --

    Louise looks back at Abbott -- he's warning them --

    Suddenly the gravity shifts in the chamber -- Louise and
    Ian find themselves sliding AWAY from the barrier, right
    back into the tunnel --

    Louise looks one last time at Abbott and sees:

    He's pressing his seven-fingered hand to the glass once
    more. The way he did when she first shared her name.

    This image shrinks as gravity takes Louise away from the
    chamber and then with a cacophonous BOOM --

    The interview chamber is ENGULFED IN A FIREBALL, with an
    impact so hard Louise sees it SHATTER THE BARRIER --

    Ian and Louise stop sliding, but then the firecloud rolls
    toward them out the chamber and into the tunnel --

    BLACK. NO SOUND.

    A beat. Then:


109 INT. LAKE HOUSE - HANNAH'S ROOM - MORNING - FLASHBACK            109
                                                             85.


    Louise and 4-year-old Hannah are on the bed. Louise has
    fallen asleep with a storybook on her lap. Hannah leans in
    and WHISPERS into Louise's ear --

    Louise's eyes SNAP OPEN --


110 INT. MEDICAL TENT - INFIRMARY - DAY                            110

    TIGHT on Louise waking with a start.

    A bandage has been taped to her forehead.

    She sits up, and instantly regrets it. Her head hurts.

    Kettler approaches.

                       DR. KETTLER
             Careful. You suffered a concussion.

                       LOUISE
             Ian -- Is he --

                       DR. KETTLER
             Three broken ribs and a sprained
             ankle, but otherwise he's fine.

                       LOUISE
             How long was I out?

                       DR. KETTLER
             About two hours. Been strangely
             quiet ever since.

    Kettler tends to her, examines her pulse and temperature.

                       LOUISE
             Who--?

                       DR. KETTLER
             It was a couple of soldiers. They'd
             been watching too much TV, afraid
             the gift was going to kill us all.

                       LOUISE
             We don't need help from another
             race to do that.

                                                        81-82A.

                       LOUISE
                  (then)
                                                              86.


             What happened to them? The
             soldiers.

                       DR. KETTLER
             The agency man, Halpern, he shot
             them, but it was too late.

    Outside: The entire camp is mobilized. One tent one the
    edge of camp is in the process of being collapsed.

    Even more sobering: A truck parks nearby, towing the
    SCISSOR LIFT used to get up into the Shell.

                       LOUISE
             What's going on now?

                       DR. KETTLER
             Preparing to evacuate.

    Louise tenses. She looks around -- Ian isn't in the tent.

                       LOUISE
             Where is Ian?

                       DR. KETTLER
             Weber came and got him, maybe ten
             minutes ago. He wouldn't leave
             until he knew you were okay. But
             your whole tent is on the clock to
             figure out whatever it is you were
             given up there. Because we're
             pulling up stakes.

    Louise immediately gets up, past Kettler, and goes for the
    tent exit.

                       DR. KETTLER
             Medevac is on the way!


111 INT. SCIENCE TENT - CRYPTO ROOM - THAT MOMENT                   111

    The alien data spreads across all the flatscreens.

    Weber watches it, arms crossed.

    Ian stands at one computer, cycling through some subset of
    the data. His button-down shirt is loose, showing the tight
    bandage wrap around his ribs underneath.

                       IAN
             Is this all of it? The feed wasn't
             cut before the explosion?
                                                  87.


                  COLONEL WEBER
        Not as far as we can tell.

Ian is visibly relieved.

                  IAN
        We should combine my team with
        Louise's and get them all working
        on this.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        What is it?

                  IAN
        I don't know yet. But they're
        finally speaking my language.

Louise enters the tent, shoving the flap aside.

Weber sees her coming.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        Doctor Banks --

                  LOUISE
        We are not leaving.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        Glad to see you're awake.

                  LOUISE
             (rolling through it)
        We need to get back in there, talk
        to them, explain what happened, it
        wasn't our fault --

                  COLONEL WEBER
        You're not going back inside.

                  LOUISE
        We have to.

                  COLONEL WEBER
        What happened in there was an
        attack. We can hope for the best,
        but I have orders to prepare for a
        retaliation. So we're leaving in
        twenty-four hours.

                  LOUISE
        That's the wrong move. As long as
        they stay, we have to stay. We have
        to keep talking.
                                                            88.


    A low, STRANGE TONE reverberates through the tent.

    This one is not the tone they've heard before.

    And it's accompanied by a RUMBLE.


112 EXT. SCIENCE TENT - DAY                                       112

    Louise, Ian and Weber emerge from the tent to see:

    The Shell lifts higher into the sky.

    It rises, vibrating everyone's rib cages, the air beneath
    it undulating as if reflected on water.

    Then, several hundred feet up -- it stops.

    And hovers. Parked there. Staring down.

                       LOUISE
             Well. They're not leaving.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Why does this feel worse.


113 EXT. SCIENCE TENT - NIGHT                                     113

    Outside, the canopy of stars above is staggering.

    The Shell remains in the sky, partially eclipsing the moon.

    Tilting down to find the Ops Tent, bustling with activity.


114 INT. SCIENCE TENT - NIGHT                                     114

    Close in: the data playing out on a large flatscreen. The
    twelve landing site MONITORS are all black.

    Ian and Louise sit together, down from their early high of
    receiving the gift. Now they face a mountain of material.

                       IAN
             I don't get it.

                       LOUISE
             We've only been at this an hour.

                       IAN
             No, I mean -- what is it?
                                                            89.


                       LOUISE
             I recognize maybe one in every
             twenty logograms. It will take some
             time to unpack the rest.

                       IAN
             But look at their math. This is
             their code; their building blocks.
             But I don't know where anything
             starts or ends1 It may as well be
             random.

    Strange RORSCHARCH-LIKE DIAGRAMS animate on screen.

                       LOUISE
             It can't be random.

                        IAN
             I know.

    Ian gets up and starts pacing. Stares at the dark monitors.

                       IAN
             I wonder how the Brits are doing.

    He kicks at the back of his chair and storms off.

    Louise is too tired to get up and go after him. Her eyes
    are heavy and she's still wounded from the explosion. She
    rakes her fingers through her long hair and stares at the
    screens.

                       HANNAH (O.S.)
             What's this term here?


115 INT. LAKE HOUSE - LOUISE'S STUDY - NIGHT - FLASHBACK          115

    Louise reads papers at her desk. She runs her fingers
    through her short hair, like she just did.

    Her study is walled with books, and her desk allows her a
    view through the open door all the way down the hall.

    Hannah (age 12) steps to the threshold. Leans against it.

                        HANNAH
             Mom.

                        LOUISE
             Sweetie.

                        HANNAH
                                                               90.


             What's the term for that thing,
             like a technical term, where we
             make like a deal, and we both get
             something out of it?

                       LOUISE
             A compromise?

                         HANNAH
             No.

                       LOUISE
             You remember what it sounds like?

                       HANNAH
             Like it's a competition but both
             sides end up happy.

                       LOUISE
             Like a win-win?

                       HANNAH
             More science-у than that.

                       LOUISE
             You want science, call your father.

    Louise returns to her papers. Hannah frowns.

                       HANNAH
             You always do that. You and Dad.
             Put in just a little effort and
             then kick me to the other parent.

                       LOUISE
             Hannah, that's not fair.

                       HANNAH
             It really isn't!

    She storms off down the hall. Louise watches her go. Tries
    to think of what to say.

                         IAN (V.O.)
             Louise --


116 INT. SCIENCE TENT - LOUISE'S DESK - DAY                          116

    Louise snaps her head up, having drifted off to sleep at
    her work table surrounded by computers .

                         IAN
                                                        91.


        Sorry.

                  LOUISE
        No. I'm up.
             (then)
        What time is it?

                  IAN
        That question is irrelevant, if
        you're a heptapod.

He smiles at her. Eager.

                  LOUISE
        You cracked something. Didn't you.

Ian nods. He grabs a bottle of HAND SANITIZER stowed atop a
comms shelf and his pen-sized laser pointer.

                  IAN
        I found something that demonstrated
        Fermat's Principle of Least Time.

Ian shines the laser at the sanitizer and oddly, we can SEE
THE BEAM cutting through the bottle. Ian moves the pointer
as he talks, demonstrating:

                  IAN
             (beat)
        Light always knows the shortest
        route to a point in terms of time,
        even if it has to change course.
        For a long time we thought it was
        cheating. Like how does it know the
        shortest path is this curve?

                  LOUISE
        The heptapods know?

                  IAN
        More than that.

He triggers an animation sequence of data that looks like a
three-dimensional network of nodes. Then one strand GLOWS
inside the network, linking two disparate parts.

                  IAN
        It's how they see everything. How
        they travel. Except the shortest
        path is outside space and time.
        With this, we could build a space
        shipwith no rockets. We'd just --
             (snaps fingers)
                                                               92.


             -- and we're there.

    Louise catches her breath.

                       LOUISE
             It's not a weapon.

                       IAN
             Yeah. Well -- Nobel thought the
             same of dynamite --

    Nonetheless, Louise is visibly relieved.

                       IAN
             There's something else. At the tail
             end of the code.

    Ian makes a few keystrokes on a monitor and brings up an
    image on a large flat-screen.

    THE SCREEN shows a series of intertwined logograms. Like a
    Persian rug of alien data.

    Ian magnifies one corner revealing:

    "1 / 12" -- followed by an elegant little symbol.

                       IAN
             They used Arabic numerals. "One of
             twelve."

                       LOUISE
                  (a-ha moment)
             Do you know what this means?


117 INT. OPERATIONS TENT - "WAR ROOM" - DAY                          117

    Connected to the Operations tent, but made private, walled
    off from the screens and the noise. Mainly it's just a
    conference table, some comms gear, and a world map.

    Louise, flanked by Ian, confronts Colonel Weber at the
    conference table with Agent Halpern.

    She holds up the printout.

                       LOUISE
             This is just one piece of it. What
             they're telling us, right here, is
             that ours is one of twelve. We're
             part of a larger whole.
                                                           93.


                  AGENT HALPERN
        Or we're one of twelve contestants
        for the prize.

                  LOUISE
             (to Weber)
        Why do I have to talk to him?

                  COLONEL WEBER
        You did your job, now he gets to
        run the show.

                  LOUISE
             (to Halpern)
        We need to talk to the other sites
        and help them with whatever they've
        gotten from the other heptapods.

                  AGENT HALPERN
        In case you don't remember, we're
        blacked out. So are the other
        nations. We're on our own.

                  LOUISE
        This is telling us the pieces go
        together.

                  AGENT HALPERN
        And I'm telling you no one else
        believes that.

Halpern swivels his laptop around and shows a recording:

                  AGENT HALPERN
        Two hours ago we pulled this audio
        off a secure channel in Russia.
        Someone on the science team there
        was broadcasting wide.

He clicks playback, and we see a screen go black with
English translation appearing as the recording plays over
the sound of pounding on the door --

                  RUSSIAN SCIENTIST (V.O.)
        Their final words translate to,
        "There is no time, many become
        one." I fear we have all been given
        weapons because we answered the
        timeline wrong, please, if you --

With the CRACK of a gunshot the recording abruptly ends.

Louise begins to fray at the edges. Staving off panic:
                                                           94.


                  LOUISE
        Well, I mean, there are ways to
        interpret what he said --

                  AGENT HALPERN
        I don't need an interpreter to know
        what this means. Russia just
        executed one of their own experts
        to keep their secrets.

He clicks through to show on his monitor:

Every Shell now hovers over their site. From Hokkaido to
Wales, the massive spheres hang in the air. Waiting.

                  LOUISE
        "Many become one" could just be
        their way of saying "some assembly
        required -- "

                  AGENT HALPERN
        Why hand it out to us in pieces?
        Why not just give it all over?

                  LOUISE
        What better way to force us all to
        work together, for once?

Halpern looks to the other people in the room. Weber
studies him carefully. Ian nods, in support of Louise.

                  AGENT HALPERN
        Even if I did believe you, how in
        the world are you going to get
        anyone else to play along and give
        up their data?

Ian jumps on this one:

                  IAN
        We offer our own in return.

Halpern looks to Weber. Is he serious?

                   AGENT HALPERN
        A trade.

                  IAN
        So it's a non-zero-sum game.

Louise hears this and it dawns on her --
                                                               95.


118 INT. LAKE HOUSE - LOUISE'S STUDY - NIGHT - FLASHBACK             118

    Hannah storms down the hall. Picking up right where we left
    her from the previous flashback.

    Louise sits forward, with that same look of realization:

                       LOUISE
             A non-zero-sum game!

    Hannah stops. Turns back around.

                       HANNAH
             That's it! Yes! Thank you, Mom.

    Hannah shuffles back into her room.

    Louise slowly touches her face, an even deeper question now
    creeping into her mind: Did I just alter my own past?

                       COLONEL WEBER (V.O.)
                  (pre-lap)
             What did you just do?

    Louise seems to hear the voice beside her and look --


119 INT. OPERATIONS TENT - "WAR ROOM" - BACK TO SCENE                119

    Weber stands at her side. Behind him, by a set of comms
    stations, Halpern and his team are on phones.

                       LOUISE
             I'm -- I'm sorry?

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Nobody locks horns with the CIA
             like that. What motivated you?

    Louise is still a bit lost, reeling from the effect she
    just had on her own memory.

                       LOUISE
             Family.

    Weber is surprised and confused by this answer.

    They're interrupted by Halpern, who steps up with:

                       AGENT HALPERN
                                                              96.


             Nine of the landing sites have gone
             total comms blackout. Only way to
             reach them is to physically drive
             there and yell at the border guard.
             Which we're doing, but it won't be
             fast enough.

                       LOUISE
             There's gotta be some way to get a
             message to them.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             To our allies, maybe, but at this
             stage it's too little too late.
             What we need is to get all the
             nations online before one starts
             global war, and there's no way for
             us to reach them.

    It's a living nightmare for Louise; all that needs to
    happen is for people to talk to each other, but no one
    will. Then:

                       IAN (O.S.)
             Yes there is.

    All eyes on Ian.

                       IAN
             It's right over our heads.

    He taps a screen displaying the Shell hovering outside.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Maybe you see how that's
             problematic for us now.

    PRESSING ON LOUISE, as the others discuss options:

                       AGENT HALPERN (O.S.)
             And if their intent is global war?

                       IAN (O.S.)
             Then at least we know.

    QUICK POP:


120 INT. CYLINDER CHAMBER - DAY                                     120

    Louise is in a dark space of unknown dimension, lit from a
    bright light on one side, wearing a breathing mask, her
    hair dancing weightlessly around her face—
                                                            97.


121 INT. OPERATIONS TENT - "WAR ROOM" - BACK TO SCENE             121

    She snaps out of the vision, looks around:

    The men are still arguing.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             I'm not having our decisions
             outsourced to the enemy --

                       IAN
             They aren't the enemy, when have
             they made any act of aggression
             toward us?

                       AGENT HALPERN
             Maybe this is their way of being
             aggressive!

                       COLONEL WEBER
             That isn't the question.

                       IAN
             Then what is?

                       COLONEL WEBER
             How do we get you back in the room
             when it's half a mile straight up?

                       IAN
             I'm sure Louise would --

    They all look to where Louise was standing.

    She's gone now.


122 EXT. OPERATIONS TENT - DAY                                    122

    It's raining when Ian, Halpern, and Weber step out. Halpern
    is first to point out:

                       AGENT HALPERN
             Vehicle's missing.

    Another low BASS TONE emanates from the ship -- and it
    seems to PUSH THE CLOUDS around it like a ripple on water.


123 INT. "THE SHELL" - CONTINUOUS                                 123
                                                               98.


    FROM BLACK, a circle of BLACK separates and shrinks. It
    takes us a moment to realize we're inside the ship, looking
    straight down as a cylinder descends to the ground.


124 EXT. OPERATIONS TENT - CONTINUOUS                                124

    Ian grabs a pair of binoculars from an OFFICER and looks
    out in the direction of where the Shell had been.

    BINOCULARS POV:

    Through magnification he sees the cylinder descend.

    And where it lands is close to where LOUISE now waits for
    it.

    Both of them are tiny, almost silhouettes at this range.

    But it looks like Louise has a breathing mask in her hand.

                       AGENT HALPERN (O.S.)
             What the hell is she doing?

    She steps into the cylinder.

                       IAN
             What you hired her to do.


125 INT. CYLINDER CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS                               125

    Plain, dimly-lit from below, cramped.

    Louise puts her fingers on the inside wall, feeling it --

    -- and then the cylinder seals her up inside, in darkness.


126 EXT. LANDING SITE - CONTINUOUS                                   126

    The cylinder elevator lifts off. Noiselessly.


127 INT. CYLINDER CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS                               127

    Louise can feel the acceleration in her stomach, and in the
    pitch of the low tone reverberating inside.

    She looks around for anything else in the chamber with her.
    No windows. No views outside.
                                                               99.


    Outside the walls of the chamber, another metallic ROAR.
    Followed by a distant HIGH PITCH.

    Louise waits for a portal to open. None do. She's trapped
    inside this space.

                         LOUISE
             -- Hello?

    At her feet, light sets the floor aglow.

    And then a luminous GAS seeps in and begins to rise around
    her. Filling the cylinder.

                       LOUISE
             Oh god - oh god oh god --

    Louise puts on the oxygen mask as the barrier rises up to
    her shoulders, then her neck and finally up over her head -
    -

    UNDERNEATH, the world is bright and mostly clear, and yet -
    -

    Louise's hair drifts up around her face as if she were
    underwater. Louise breathes through the mask. Looks around.

    A portal opens up opposite her. Light shines on her face.


128 INT. "THE SHELL" - CONTINUOUS                                    128

    Louise steps out to a dimensionless sea of bright mist.

    No walls or ceiling.

    She looks up to see what might be a heptapod drifting into
    the white void far above her.

    Her breath is shallow. She is in a truly alien place now.

    There is no reference for this experience.

    Something dark and enormous "swims" through the mist,
    passing by her, always just far enough to make it
    impossible to see clearly -- it could be a swarm of small
    things, or something the size of a blue whale.

    And then a heptapod approaches from behind her. Louise
    spins around in time to see it as its seven limbs advance
    to her.
                                                          100.


Beat. She finally controls her breathing.

                    LOUISE
        Costello?

Costello stands with limbs poised before her --

Then the mist clears a bit, revealing more of his heptapod
body. The limbs and torso? What seemed to be the entire
form of the alien? Not so. It is more like the fingers and
hand of a much larger being.

Costello towers over her. She looks up, in awe.

And then it writes on the invisible floor beneath them.
With two fingers. Ink sluicing out from them into a
logogram.

SUBTITLES: "Louise."

Louise takes a breath.

                  LOUISE
        Where is Abbott?

Costello moves the ink around with one appendage and a new
logogram forms.

SUBTITLES: "Abbott is dead."

Louise holds her stomach, she's hit so hard by this.

                  LOUISE
        I'm sorry. We are sorry.

The logogram ink shifts again. Louise looks down to read
it.

SUBTITLES: "Abbott chooses to save Louise and Ian."

Another ink-shift for a second logogram:

SUBTITLES: "Louise has question?"

Louise remembers her mission. Her reason for making the
trip.

                  LOUISE
        I need -- need you to send a
        message. To the other sites.

Costello replies by modifying the first logogram.
                                                         101.


SUBTITLES: "Message here. Louise has weapon."

                  LOUISE
        That's just it, I --
             (directly)
        What is your purpose here?

Costello stares down at her.

Inky globules drift in from the mist, showering not
randomly but into patterns. Circles. A hundred logograms. A
thousand.

Click-click , flutter-whisper-tone. SUBTITLES: "The story
of our people. A span of two point nine billion years."

Louise marvels at it.

A chain of them light up at her feet, shifting for her to
see. Louise reads it aloud:

                  LOUISE
        "Three thousand years from this
        point, humanity helps us. We help
        humanity now. Returning the favor."
             (to Costello)
        You know both your past and your
        future -- How?

A podium screen rises between Louise and Costello. The
timeline riddle appears. Up close, more details are
visible.

It's more artful than a simple line segment with a large
bulbous flourish at one end. There are little stems and
curls along the line. And then that familiar logogram --

SUBTITLES: "Solve."

                  LOUISE
        Did we answer wrong?

A NEW SERIES OF SYMBOLS: "Many answers given. Many become
one. Only one matters."

The message the Russian Scientist translated, in part.
Louise looks back at the timeline.

                  LOUISE
        But I don't understand, it's time -
        -
             (then)
                                                             102.


             Time. Wait. Is it? What's the
             logogram for time --

    Louise is seized with a realization. She reaches out and
    touches the timeline on the screen. Nudges it. It moves.

    From both ends, she wraps the line into its own circle an
    exact representation of the logogram. It pulses when she
    completes the action.

                       LOUISE
             Time --

    Then, a few more inky shapes bleed into the symbol for a
    crucial sentence.

    The awareness causes a memory attack --

    QUICK POPS:


129 EXT. LAKE HOUSE - DAY - FLASHBACK                               129

    Hannah age 8, skipping stones in the lake.


130 EXT. MONTANA LANDING SITE - DAY - FLASHBACK                     130

    The Shell landing in Montana.


131 INT. LAKE HOUSE - LOUISE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT - FLASHBACK          131

    Louise at home alone.


132 INT. "THE SHELL" - BACK TO SCENE                                132

    Louise sucks in a breath, mentally returning to present day
    in a panic. Even more confused and frightened.

    Costello retreats from her, as she translates the sentence
    --

                       LOUISE
             "There is no linear time"--
                  (then)
             Wait! What is happening to me? What
             do I do?

    The ship shudders. The THRUM returns as the cylinder
    descends, to seal Louise inside once more.
                                                              103.


    Costello turns to her, some of his arms float in the air
    like the strands of Louise's hair. Despite his unearthly
    figure, he seems to look upon her with tenderness. A final
    logogram forms on the floor between them:

    SUBTITLES: "You already have. You choose life."

    The THRUM increases in urgency. That same cylinder rises
    around her feet to encase her once again.

                       LOUISE
             I don't understand -- WAIT --

    With a ROAR, the cylinder seals her up, into darkness.


133 EXT. BASE CAMP - DAY                                             133

    From the top of the hill, the massive Shell begins to TURN
    on itself. Rotating, yet remaining in place. Like spinning
    a billiard ball on its axis.

    The ovoid craft reverses its hemispheres until finally it's
    sitting upside-down from its previous position.

    Louise emerges from behind the hill, running toward us. Her
    hair is damp from the exposure to the alien atmosphere.

    Three pickup trucks rush toward her. SIX MEN in full HAZMAT
    suits grab LOUISE, as the spaceship starts to leave the
    ground with an ASTONISHING SOUND.

    Ian is among the men. He calls her name but it's drowned
    out by the sound of the ship overhead.

    The spaceship then disappears in the clouds.

    Everyone outside base camp stares up at the sky, every face
    fretting and worried about what it means.

    Weber is among the six. He steps close to Louise, grim.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             You got everyone's attention with
             your little field trip.

                       IAN
             I hope you got good news, too.

    Captain Marks rushes to Weber:

                      CAPTAIN MARKS
                                                           104.


             Sir! We're getting the order from
             command to evacuate immediately.

                         COLONEL WEBER
             What for?

                       CAPTAIN MARKS
             Big Domino.

    Captain Marks and Weber move for the War Room tent.

    Louise gives Ian a pained look. Like she's lost and afraid.

                       LOUISE
             Ian -- I don't know what it means.

    Louise wobbles a step. Ian holds onto her.

                       IAN
             Whoa now. I got you.

    Louise looks down at her boots --

    They're covered in mud from the slog across the field --


134 EXT. LAKE HOUSE - DAY - FLASHBACK                             134

    Louise stands on the back patio, one hand on a deck post.
    Her boots are covered in mud. She looks around. It's
    raining.

    A 7-year-old Hannah comes in from the rain and sits down on
    the bench at the patio.

    Louise reaches up and feels the length of her hair. Looks
    at her hands. Notes her wedding ring -- she's still wearing
    it.

                       HANNAH (O.S.)
             Help me, mommy.

    Hannah struggles to get her muddy shoes off.

    Louise bends down and starts to work the laces.

                       LOUISE
             Baby? What day is it, do you know?

                       HANNAH
             Sunday.
                  (then)
                                                       105.


        Are you gonna leave me like Daddy
        did?

Louise snaps back to full attention on her daughter.

                  LOUISE
        Hannah, honey, your father didn't
        leave you. You'll spend time with
        him this weekend.

                  HANNAH
        He doesn't look at me the same way
        anymore.

Louise touches Hannah's hair. She has so much love for her
daughter.

                  LOUISE
        Oh, god. I'm -- That was my fault.
        I told him something he wasn't
        ready to hear.

                    HANNAH
        What?

                  LOUISE
        Believe it or not, I know something
        that's going to happen. I can't
        explain how I know, I just do. When
        I shared it with Daddy, he got real
        mad. Said I made the wrong choice.

                  HANNAH
        Why? What's going to happen?

                  LOUISE
        It has to do with a very rare
        disease. And it can't be stopped.
        Kind of like how you are when you
        get focused on swimming, or poetry,
        or any of the amazing things you
        share with the world.

                  HANNAH
        I'm unstoppable.

Said like a little mad scientist. Louise brings Hannah in
close, to hide the fact that she's trying not to cry.

Louise breathes in the smell of Hannah's hair.

                     LOUISE
                (to herself)
                                                           106.


             Hold onto this moment --


135 EXT. BASE CAMP - BACK TO SCENE                                135

    Ian holds onto Louise.

                       LOUISE (V.O.)
             Hold onto this moment.

    She realizes she's back. Sucks in a breath. She's crying.

                       IAN
             What just happened?

                       LOUISE
             I remembered something.

                       IAN
             What was it?

    Louise looks into his eyes. Then pulls him in for a hug.

                       LOUISE
             Why my husband left me.

    Ian didn't expect that answer.

                       IAN
             You were married?

    Louise wipes her eyes and struggles to find her game face.


136 INT. SCIENCE TENT - MOMENTS LATER                             136

    The translators, scientists, and techs are gone here. ARMED
    SOLDIERS now populate the place, tearing down all non-
    essential material as fast as possible. Halpern supervises.

    Louise rushes in and gets to a keyboard at her hutch. She
    calls up the heptapod data on the screens. Spreads it to
    every available screen. Loops and whorls of logograms, all
    strung together like DNA strands. Geometric formulae
    animate around the cursive writing. A wall of alien
    graffiti.

    Ian hurries in behind Louise.

                       IAN
                                                             107.


             It's too late for this. We've only
             cracked maybe one percent of it,
             it'll take weeks --

    Louise puts up her hand, silencing Ian. She closes her
    eyes.


137 INT. LAKE HOUSE - LOUISE'S STUDY - DAY - FLASHBACK              137

    Louise pulls a hardback book from a box of advance copies.
    Its cover: "The Universal Language" by Dr. Louise Banks.


138 INT. LAKE HOUSE - LOUISE'S STUDY - DAY - FLASHBACK              138

    The table of contents show twelve chapters.


139 INT. LAKE HOUSE - LOUISE'S STUDY - DAY - FLASHBACK              139

    Hannah's drawing is now framed.

                       HANNAH (V.O.)
             That's supposed to be a book.

    The girl's handwriting: "Mommy and Daddy save the world."


140 INT. SCIENCE TENT - BACK TO SCENE                               140

    Louise's eyes snap open, and she takes in the sight of all
    the alien symbols once more.

    She lets out a ragged breath, in awe of it.

                       LOUISE
             I can read it --
                  (then)
             Ian, I know what it is.

    A new SIREN now begins to wail around the campsite. Louise
    and Ian look up, unsure what to do.

    Colonel Weber enters and marches for them with Captain
    Marks behind him --

                       COLONEL WEBER
             You two: We're evacuating you right
             now. Come on.

                       IAN
                                                             108.


             What's happening?

                       COLONEL WEBER
             War, that's what.

    Weber grabs onto them both and wills them into motion.

                       LOUISE
             Wait -- I figured out the gift!

                       COLONEL WEBER
             Good for you.

    He ushers them outside --


141 EXT. BASE CAMP - HELIPAD - CONTINUOUS                           141

    -- and they keep marching for the helipad, despite Louise
    trying to slow things down.

                       LOUISE
             It's their language. They gave it
             all to us. It's in twelve parts
             because I separated their first
             symbol into twelve segments -- and
             they knew I would. Understand?

                       COLONEL WEBER
             So we can learn heptapod if we
             survive. Not much of a gift.

                       LOUISE
                  (emphatic)
             When you learn it, truly learn it,
             you perceive time the way they do.
             It's nonlinear.

    Weber stops as they're two dozen feet from the chopper. He
    has to shout over the sound of the rotors and the siren.

                       COLONEL WEBER
             I see we are out of time. We did
             our best, but it wasn't enough. The
             dominoes are falling now.

    Weber gestures at Ian to suggest: Get her on the chopper.
    Then he turns and hurries back for the ops tent.

    Louise stands, rigid with tension. Ian tugs at her:

                        IAN
             Come on!
                                                            109.


    Louise whirls around to face Ian but when she does --


142 INT. BALLROOM - NIGHT                                          142

    -- she is dressed in a RESPLENDENT RED EVENING GOWN. Her
    hair is done up. She looks stunning.

    All around her is a cocktail party in full swing. Classical
    music plays from a live band nearby.

    Louise looks around and takes in the ambiance. A dozen
    national FLAGS hang on the walls as a symbol of unity. On a
    stage (currently unoccupied), that heptapod logogram for
    "time" is on prominent display.

    The crowd of PARTYGOERS is international and dressed up.

    One of them sets their sights on Louise and advances: A
    distinguished Chinese man (65) in a tailored tuxedo. She
    has seen him before, on monitors. GENERAL SHANG.

                       GENERAL SHANG
             Doctor Banks, what a delight.

                       LOUISE
             General Shang. The pleasure is
             certainly mine.

    They shake hands, but Louise offers a slight bow.

                       GENERAL SHANG
             Your President said he was honored
             to host me at the celebration, but
             I confess I am only here because I
             wanted to meet you in person.

                       LOUISE
             Me? Well. I'm flattered.

                       GENERAL SHANG
             Eighteen months ago, you did
             something -- remarkable. Something
             not even my superior has done.

                       LOUISE
             What was that?

                       GENERAL SHANG
             You changed my mind. In a way, you
             are the reason for the unification.
             All because you reached out to me
             on my private number.
                                                             110.


                       LOUISE
             Your private number? General, I
             don't know what, uh --

    Shang shows her his sleek SMARTPHONE. It's open to an ID
    screen with a number. She accepts it, staring at the
    screen.

                       GENERAL SHANG
             Now you do. I do not claim to know
             how your brain works, but I believe
             it's important you see that.

                       LOUISE
                  (beat)
             Wait. I called you, didn't I --

                       GENERAL SHANG
             You did. And you spoke to me. I
             will never forget what you said.

                       LOUISE
             General, you must forgive me. I've
             had a bit to drink tonight. I might
             need a reminder.

                       GENERAL SHANG
             Yes. You warned me of this as well.

    He looks over his shoulder, to make sure no one is
    eavesdropping. Then he leans close to her.

    She turns her head so he can speak into her ear.

    The classical MUSIC plays and the other Partygoers chat,
    providing a drone of noise.

    Louise's eyes widen. She puts her hand over her mouth.

    Above the music and chatter, that high RINGING TONE builds
    up again, overtaking it all --

    Louise blinks and --


143 EXT. MONTANA LANDING SITE - DAY                                 143

    She's right back where she was a moment ago. Ian tugs at
    her to get into the helicopter.

    Louise sucks in a breath like she was just pulled from cold
    water. The memory of the future leaves her shaking.
                                                              111.


                        IAN
             Come on!

    But she doesn't follow him. She turns and runs for the
    tents. Ian runs after her.

                        IAN
             Louise!


144 INT. NEW OPERATION TENT                                          144

    Halpern watches a monitor as others around him pack up for
    evacuation. One of the SYSTEMS OPERATORS seated near him
    frowns and gets Halpern's attention.

                       SYSTEMS OPERATOR
             Sir! A sat line here is dialing
             China.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             Here? What do you mean "here"?

                       SYSTEMS OPERATOR
             Base Camp, sir.


145 INT. CORRIDOR                                                    145

    Louise hurries down the corridor. Sat phone to her ear.
    Waiting for an answer on the other end of the line.

                       LOUISE
             C'mon, c'mon --

    A voice on theother end answers. It's Shang. Louise gets a
    jolt of hope.


146 INT. NEW OPERATION TENT                                          146

    Halpern is now leaning over the Systems Op, focused on his
    screen.

                       AGENT HALPERN
             Whose phone is it?

                       SYSTEMS OPERATOR
             Sir, it's your phone.

    Shocked and alarmed, Halpern looks to the table for his
    phone. It's not there. Now Halpern is on the move, as he
    goes:
                                                             112.


                       AGENT HALPERN
                  (to CIA)
             Search the base now!


147 INT. CLEAN ROOM                                                 147

    Louise enters the clean room, speaking urgently with Shang.

                       LOUISE
                  (in Mandarin)
             General, I'm calling from the
             American site.


148 INT. CORRIDOR                                                   148

    CIA and Soldiers search the base.


149 INT. CLEAN ROOM                                                 149

    Louise speaks with Shang as two soldiers arrive in the
    clean room.

    Louise locks herself in the chamber, still talking to
    Shang.

                       LOUISE
                  (in Mandarin)
             Your wife spoke to me in a dream,
             she said you'd help save the world
             by being braver than everyone else
             --

                       SOLDIER #1
                  (in headset, to Systems
                  op)
             We found the source of the call,
             waiting for instructions.

    Tan arrives from Yellow Tunnel, opens the door of the
    chamber.

                       IAN
             Louise! What are you doing?

                       LOUISE
             Changing someone's mind -- give me
             20 seconds.

    Ian gets in the chamber and locks the door.
                                                             113.


    Halpern arrives from Yellow Tunnel and draws a gun. The two
    soldiers raise their rifles on the other side of the
    chamber.

    Ian locks the second door and puts himself between the
    soldiers' guns and her.

                       HALPERN
             Drop the phone now or we shoot!

    Ian protects Louise from both sides with his body.

                       IAN
             You can't stop this now.

                       LOUISE
                  (in Mandarin)
             War doesn't make winners, only
             widows.

    She listens briefly and then drops the phone.

                       LOUISE
             I already did.


150 EXT. HELICOPTER FIELDS                                          150

    Weber, talking to officers, is interrupted by another
    officer.

                       OFFICER
             Colonel, urgent message from the
             Pentagon.


151 INT. CLEAN ROOM                                                 151

    On the walkies: "China is standing down!!!"

    Halpern, hearing the news, lowers his weapon.

                       IAN
             What did you do?

                       LOUISE
             I repeated what hiswife told him
             before she passed away --

                       IAN
             How did you know that?
                                                              114.


                        LOUISE
             He told me.
                  (ALT)
             He will tell me.


152 INT. SKYPE ROOM                                                  152

    Weber and Halpern enter into the Skype room followed by
    Louise and Ian.

    One of the monitors at another nation's site comes to life.
    CHINA. On screen is GENERAL SHANG. He looks shaken to his
    core. In articulate English, he announces.

                       GENERAL SHANG
             China is standing down. Instead, we
             offer the information we received
             at our site -- the "gift."
                  (beat)
             It is one of twelve.

    A second monitor awakens.

                       BRITISH SCIENTIST
             We won't be upstaged by you blokes.
             Uploading our data.

    Then a third monitor returns to life. Australia.

    Everyone in the room starts to breathe again.


153 EXT. BASE CAMP - MOMENTS LATER                                   153

    Louise steps out with Ian close behind.

                       IAN
                  (amazed yet scared)
             Are you all right?

    Louise is simply overcome by the emotion of what she just
    experienced. She looks at Ian in an entirely new way. It's
    a moment where she wants to tell him everything, and
    doesn't know where to start.

    And there's a tsunami of joy, sorrow, pain, and hope
    hitting her as she realizes where she is again.

    Finally, she nods at Ian, wiping her face. Tenderly:

                       LOUISE
                                                           115.


             Ian -- If you could suddenly see
             your whole life, start to finish --
             Would you change things?

                       IAN
             I don't say what I mean enough. And
             I'm changing that right now.

    Ian is just as tender with her.

                       IAN
             I've been tilting my head to the
             stars for as long as I can
             remember, and you know what's
             surprised me the most? It's not
             meeting them. It's meeting you.

    That's all it takes for Louise. She puts her arms around
    Ian, and kisses him on the mouth.

    As the kiss intensifies, that high pitch returns. And when
    Ian shifts from a kiss to a tight hug, when Louise hugs
    back --


154 INT. HANNAH'S ROOM - NIGHT - FLASHBACK                        154

    Louise hugs Hannah (age 4, tucked in bed) goodnight. Louise
    goes to click off the light by Hannah's bed.

                       HANNAH
             Mommy?

                       LOUISE
             Yes, little-nose?

                       HANNAH
             Why is my name Hannah?

                       LOUISE
             Don't you like it?

                       HANNAH
             I don't know yet. Where did it come
             from?

                       LOUISE
             Oh, so this is another episode of
             your series, "Why is it this way?"

                       HANNAH
             You make me curious about
             everything.
                                                           116.


    Louise smiles sweetly at her daughter. She then gestures at
    a wooden NAME PLAQUE spelling out HANNAH on the wall.

                       LOUISE
             Your name is special. It's a
             palindrome. That means you can read
             it both forwards and backwards, and
             it's still the same.

    Hannah gets it right away.

                       HANNAH
             I've decided. I like my name.

                       LOUISE
             I love you, Hannah.

    Hannah smiles at her mother.

                       IAN (O.S.)
             Well, I love you both.

    Louise looks back at --

    IAN, standing in the doorway. Smiling.

    Ian is Louise's husband. And Hannah's father.

                       HANNAH (O.S.)
             Daddy!

    Ian steps in and scoops Hannah and Louise into a bear hug.

    A rush of noise again, and --


155 EXT. BASE CAMP - BACK TO SCENE                                155

    Louise is still hugging Ian. Her face half-buried in his
    shoulder, she says quietly:

                       LOUISE
             I forgot how good it feels to be
             held by you.


156 EXT. LAKE - DAY                                               156

    A black sedan pulls up to the driveway of Louise's house.


157 INT. BLACK SEDAN                                              157
                                                           117.


    Louise and Weber both sit in the back seat. It feels like *
    they've been riding in silence for some time.

                       WEBER
             I'm not going to pretend to
             understand what you did up there.

                       LOUISE
             I'm not going to try to explain it.

                       WEBER
             I took a lot of risk when I chose
             you. But it was clearly the best
             decision I've ever made.

                       LOUISE
             Thank you for believing in me.

                       WEBER
             Goodbye Louise.

                        LOUISE
             Goodbye.

    Louise steps out and walks towards the house.

                       LOUISE (V.O.)
             So that is your story, dear Hannah.


158 INT. LAKE HOUSE - DAY                                         158

    Louise stands in the empty room that we know is Hannah's.


159 INT. LAKE HOUSE - DAY - FLASHBACK                             159

    QUICK POP: The artwork of Hannah's, with the stick figures.


160 INT. UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM - DAY - FLASH FORWARD               160

    QUICK POP: Louise teaching a group about logograms. On her
    right hand is a sparkly ENGAGEMENT RING.

                       LOUISE (V.O.)
             It's also the ongoing story of our
             people. I can see moments as we
             prepare for the future. Ian was
             right: It's about choice.


161 INT. LOUISE'S FOYER - EVENING                                 161
                                                              118.


    The front door opens: It's IAN. Dressed up as nicely as he
    can be. Bottle of wine in hand.

    Louise is dressed beautifully. With a new haircut: short.

    Just like the flashbacks.

                       IAN
             Wow. You look amazing.
                  (re: hair)
             The change fits you well.


162 INT. LAKE HOUSE - NIGHT                                          162

    Louise steps in, carrying her wine glass.

                       LOUISE (V.O.)
             I'm about to make a choice, too.
             One that I will have to live with
             forever.

    This is the same scene as the first. Shot for shot.

    She finds the message written on glass: "Do you want to
    make a baby?"

    Beat. The twinkle in her eye, the thoughtful moment. It all
    breathes here.

                       LOUISE (V.O.)
             In some ways this choice saves the
             world, but I'm not thinking about
             that, Hannah. I never am.

    FINAL SERIES OF SHOTS:


163 INT. LAKE HOUSE - HANNAH'S ROOM - DAY - FLASHBACK                163

    Louise cradles NEWBORN HANNAH in her arms. Hannah crooks
    her tiny hand around Louise's finger.


164 EXT. LAKE HOUSE - DAY - FLASHBACK                                164

    Four-year-old HANNAH dressed as a cowgirl.

                       HANNAH
             Stick 'em up!
                                                             119.


165 INT. LAKE HOUSE - DAY - FLASHBACK                               165

    Hannah, age 12, getting grounded:

                        HANNAH
              When do I get to live my own life?


166 INT. MERCY HILL GENERAL HOSPITAL - DAY - FLASHBACK              166

    Louise standing with DR. J. BYDWELL in a hospital hall.
    She's hiding her face in her hands. Bydwell reaches out and
    puts a consoling hand on her shoulder. Her body shifts from
    a sob.


167 INT. HOSPITAL - PATIENT ROOM - NIGHT - FLASHBACK                167

    Hannah, on her death bed in the hospital. Holding Louise's
    hand. The two clinging to each other.

                        LOUISE (V.O.)
              I'm just thinking about you.


168 EXT. LAKE HOUSE BALCONY - NIGHT                                 168

    Louise touches the glass where the question is written "Do
    you want to make a baby?"

    IAN steps into view, with a wine glass in his hand, too.

                        IAN
              Well? Do you?

    She smiles broadly at him and replies:

                       LOUISE
              Yes.

    And now we stay here a moment longer than the opening
    scene, and see that while Louise is smiling, a tear slips
    down her cheek. She is both the happiest and the saddest
    right now. Because she knows what happens next.

                                                   FADE TO BLACK.

    THE END