30 Sketches in 30 Days--#6 "Critical Moment"

INT. THE PENTAGON WAR ROOM

PRESIDENT DAVIS sits around a table with Secretary of
Defense, COL. MCMANUS, VICE PRESIDENT MCDONALD, his Chief of
Staff RICHARD WATSON and lead NASA Scientist DR. FITZGERALD.
They are discussing a dire emergency facing the nation and
tensions are incredibly high.

PRESIDENT DAVIS
So how much longer until the meteor
enters our atmosphere, doctor?

DR. FITZGERALD
Four hours and 29 minutes, Mr.
President

COL. MCMANUS
Mr. President, the time is now. We
have to launch the nuclear warheads
at the meteor.

DR. FITZGERALD
Mr. President, with all due
respect, if we hit it with a nuke
we are more likely to turn one
meteor into a thousand meteors. It
will be like a shotgun blast
instead of a single bullet.

VICE PRESIDENT MCDONALD
I know this is a difficult
decision, Mr. President, but I
think we need to trust the
scientits on this one.

President Davies stands up and walks away from the table,
deep in thought for a few moments. The entire table goes
silent until Richard stands up and walks towards the
President.

RICHARD WATSON
Mr. President. Our window is
closing. We need to make a
decision.

President Davies takes a deep breath and stares off into
space.

PRESIDENT DAVIS
When Linda was on her death bed, do
you know what her last words were
to me?

RICHARD WATSON
Mr. President, I'm not sure where
you're going with this.

PRESIDENT DAVIS
She turned to me and said "Blow 'em
away, Nick." I think she was
trying to tell me what to do.

RICHARD WATSON
Mr. President, you have to go with
your heart. And trust me I know
something about having heart.

This time Richard disengages from the conversation and stares
off into space.

RICHARD WATSON (CONT'D)
It was four years ago today that I
got that heart transplant from my
own son. He died from that car
crash but he lives on inside of me.

Richard stands stoically and a single tear runs down his
cheek. Dr. Fitzgerald stands up from the table, a little
annoyed by the fact that these men are taking time to talk
about their personal issues rather than deal with the task at
hand.

DR. FITZGERALD
Listen, I know we all have family
issues but right now we need to
figure out how to deal with this
meteor that's flying towards our
planet.

PRESIDENT DAVIS
You're right Dr. Fitzgerald. Let's
blast this rock.

The President and Richard sit back down at the table and get
back to work.

COL. MCMANUS
Where do we think the meteor is
going to hit, Doctor?

DR. FITZGERALD
Right now we're projecting that it
is going to hit just outside of
Seattle, Washington. Anyone within
50 miles of Seattle will likely die
from the initial impact.

VICE PRESIDENT MCDONALD
Seattle? My son is in Seattle.

Vice President McDonald gets up and walks away from the
table, his eyes glassing over as he goes deep into thought
just like the President and his chief of staff did a moment
before.

DR. FITZGERALD
Where is he going?

VICE PRESIDENT MCDONALD
I haven't seen him since he
publicly supported our opponent in
the last election.

DR. FITZGERALD
Last election? What the--why are
we talking about this? The blast
is going to cause enough dirt to go
up into the atmosphere that we
won't see the sun for half a
decade! We're all going to die
unless we sit down and figure out
what to do about this meteor!

Vice President McDonald gathers himself and turns back
towards the table and sits back down.

VICE PRESIDENT MCDONALD
You're right. Let's blast this
rock.

DR. FITZGERALD
(Pointing at the
President)
He already said that. You know
what? Never mind. Let's just get
back to work.

Col. McManus stands up and starts staring off into space like
the previous three.

COL. MCMANUS
Back to work, huh? My wife and I
used to fight about when she should
go back to work after she had our
twins.

Dr. Fitzgerald can't believe this is happening again. He
rolls his eyes and spins around in his chair.

DR. FITZGERALD
Are you shitting me? You're going
to get nostalgic about an argument
you had with your wife? There is a
rock the size of New York City
going five times the speed of a
bullet that is heading towards our
planet that could kill half the
people on this planet with in ten
years and all you guys are worried
about your personal problems?!

Everyone stops to look at Dr. Fitzgerald who is practically
frothing at the mouth in anger. There is an awkward silence
among all of them.

PRESIDENT DAVIS
I met my wife in New York City

END