In the Aftermath (1988)

'I was nine years old
'and they said I was ready
for travel and experience.
'And I wondered,
when I rendezvoused with my brother,
'of all the places he'd seen
'and whether
he'd ever carried an egg.
'Because my brother... oh, my brother,
he had plenty of advice for me.
'And I didn't want to hear it.'
I won't do it.
Why did you call me here?
I want to go swim in the clouds.
Because, Angel, it is time
for you to run.
Run through the many rooms
of this constellation you're standing in.
What?
Find and save a group of special creatures
and the land that they live in.
What if they have sharp fangs
and want to bite me?
I'm just a little angel,
I don't know if I should be doing this.
But it is the duty of all angels
to be angels.
Angel, we do fly
in the face of all peril.
- But I'm not ready yet.
- Oh, you are.
You'll need to judge who needs your help
and who shouldn't have it.
Remember, the devil lurks.
So go nurture your egg
and when the time comes,
save only those creatures
who will blossom from your energy.
How will I be able to know
who's deserving?
Wouldn't it be better
if you did this?
I don't want to mess things up.
Because the force that makes the starts
shine and the planets spin around
will send your heart
on the proper course.
Hey, Frank, look at this.
It looks clean.
Do you think it's from an eagle?
Not unless the eagle
has a gas mask.
Come on, Tonto, let's find some air.
I was strolling
on the Earth one day
In the merry merry month
of September...
October.
No way, mate.
October is in a couple of weeks.
Hey, Goose, I'm sorry to inform you,
but today is October 12th.
What makes you so sure?
Well, my girlfriend's birthday
used to be on the 14th.
- What girl?
- Daisy.
- From where?
- Daisy from Groesbeck, Texas.
Come on, let's keep going.
Oh, that Daisy.
She was a nice bird.
Well, what the hell.
I was strolling
on the Earth one day
In the merry merry month
of October
A roguish pair of eyes,
they took me by surprise
In a moment my poor heart
she stole away
- Hey, Goose.
- Yeah, Frank?
I think we found it.
Found what?
Water.
- Oh!
- Ow!
Goose?
Goose, you read me?
Can you hear me, Goose?
Ahoy!
Matey! Hahaha!
You scared the piss out of me!
I see HQ on the other side.
Goose, get your arse down here.
I know I didn't scare
the piss out of you.
Yeah?
What makes you so sure?
Cos I haven't pissed for days.
Have you?
Nope. Haven't got much
to do with the old boy.
Yeah? Well, it's a good thing
Dave is not here.
Shut up, Goose.
What's with the John Wayne?
Just follow me, soldier.
Check over there.
Nice tune, soldier.
What can I do for you?
We're running out of charcoal filters
for our air pack.
How long have you got left?
About six days.
Six days...
Six days of pure oxygen?
Where did you get
the air-purifier unit?
It came with the recon unit.
God... I could kill for six days
of pure oxygen.
Well, I gotta move.
Where are you going, buddy?
I didn't mean anything personal.
- Hey, don't worry.
- It's just a figure of speech.
It's just a figure of speech.
I said, "Nothing personal."
Hey, buddy,
I didn't take it personally.
Why did you do that, buddy?
Come on!
I was strolling
on the Earth one day
In the merry merry month
of May
A roguish pair of eyes,
they took me by surprise...
Hey, Frank.
I found another empty.
I'm good at finding empties.
Did you have any luck?
I said, "Did you have any luck?"
Who are you?
Give me your backpack.
- Identify yourself.
- Give me your backpack.
Bloody typical.
'There weren't many creatures
left with breath,
'and this one looked dangerous,
'and fiendish
and beastly strong to me.
'I was still a little angel,
'more suited to find some gentle creature
to save with my power.
'But then he showed me a sparkle
I had not yet seen in men.'
Goose!
'He was the only one left of his gang
so I ventured to him with timid hope.
'But I was too afraid.
'This creature staggered
with dizzy thoughts.
'I'm sorry he had to drag
his bones after me
'but I didn't know what to do.
'I held everything he desired
'but I was wary
of evil grabbing hold of it
'and I didn't know if this was a man
who could sing harmony with us angels.
'I tested him with a sign
and he fell from confusion.
'I needed advice
and wasn't about to ask the creature.
'I didn't know what to do.
'My parcel trembled at the idea
of wicked hands taking hold of it.
'It told me to run.
'And the faster I ran,
the more I saw the grey world.
'I think my crafty brother
planned it that way.
'It was though
I stepped through a tiny door
'and on the other side
was a vast galaxy of grey.
'And somehow
I had to make use of it.
'I felt I was the only one present
at a carnival of ghosts.
'It was filled with everything
but vastly empty.
'So I attended to my duty
as custodian of the egg.
'But then I thought,
as I sat in this carnival of shadows,
'that he too might be lost,
bewildered in his world.
'And that if he would seek me
with his heart
'I would seek and save him
with mine.'
'My brother... I had something
most important to tell him.'
Jonathan!
I have something for you.
It's over here.
Hello.
How are you feeling?
Who are you?
I'm Doctor Sarah Fallsburg.
You're at Green Acres
Memorial Hospital.
I found you about a hundred yards
from here.
I thought you were dead.
Why did you lock me
in the operating room?
The reason the door is closed is because
this is the only room in the hospital
that has a constant supply
of clean air.
Those supply oxygen tubes are connected
to air-purifiers in the basement.
Contamination level is very high.
Did you find anybody else?
No.
Why?
Who else is here?
Just you.
Here. Drink this.
I'm fine.
The reason you're fine
is because you've been hooked up to this.
Now, you've got a slight infection.
Now, here. Drink this.
'What a big question
this constellation was,
'and I was to show my brother
that step by step,
'I was untwisting its mysteries.
'I, all by my little self,
had discovered a grand something.
'But those same young years
hadn't yet realised
'that my brother
had been here before,
'as had all other angels.'
Angel, have you heard
the Tale of Tessaria?
Once there was a great traveller
who knew many planets.
He talked of them
wherever he went.
And people were eager
to hear his stories.
Was Tessaria one of these planets?
- It was his name.
- Did you know him?
I met him once,
and he told me this story.
There was a most unusual planet
and on this planet,
fish flew in the air,
and performed dazzling feats
of acrobatics.
They used clouds for trampolines
and they were as big as whales.
These fish were never seen
anywhere else.
In the meantime, people begged
the planetary traveller to take them there.
But he discovered that some
who wanted to go had evil motives.
He couldn't decide whom to trust
so he took no one.
One day a man pretending to be his friend
got him drunk and stole his chart.
The chart of all the places
he had been.
The evil man rushed to the planet.
With his ropes and hooks
he pulled all the fish off the planet.
And where can I find
this planet?
If you put your ear
to the heavens
and listen to the sound
of a man crying,
that is Tessaria sitting alone
on a planet with no fish.
Now I have something else
to show you.
Does Tessaria sound like this man?
'And from that sign of hopelessness
I turned to see a sign of hope.
'A beautiful sign.
'But my brother cautioned
that it could mean anything.
'He's a doodler, perhaps.
'Or maybe the devil
sketching a scheme.
'I truly hoped he wasn't.
"'But if you're wrong", he cautioned,
"this could happen."
Cheers.
Who's the girl?
I thought I saw her running around
in San Pedro.
Er...
She was carrying a giant egg
in her hand.
I know it sounds crazy.
A giant egg?
Never mind.
There's no way I can go back out there
and risk finding her.
Right?
No, I don't think so, Frank.
Here, I've got something for you.
What are you doing?
Just hold on a sec.
Where are you going?
You'll see.
What's the matter?
Didn't you like it?
You were great.
I just felt a bit dizzy,
that's all.
That was a very beautiful tune.
We can't stay in this room forever.
How much longer do we have?
Hey, we're gonna be all right.
'Well, this was the beginning
of a tragic part of my life.
'When sleep had crept up
and mugged me.
'It was my fault.
I allowed it.
'My brother had warned me
that angels don't sleep.
'So when I awoke
I was frightened.
'I had to ask myself,
"What am I?"
'And later I found out
something much worse.
'Not only was I derelict,
'but I was asleep
after their music had called for me.
'It was a velvet sleep,
'more pleasant
than looking wide-eyed at galactic forces.
'But the slumber
was stupid and dangerous.
'Had my brother not carried me to safety,
I might have drowned.
'And if I knew what was to follow
I very well might have chosen drowning.
'But that would have been
a colossal mistake.'
'When I awoke I felt inside me
the flames burning of a thousand stars.
'The egg was nowhere.
'Yet I had a very ignorant dream
of finding it
'and little me was dreaming
that I'd find it safe.'
'All the fears I once had
of the hurricanes and floods,
'of wild animals and flying fish,
'that I should have been most fearful
of my own sleep.
'And I vowed
that I would never be negligent again.
'And my insides
felt like they'd been battered by a flood.
'What remained of me
had to face my brother.
'Oh, my brother... he was lenient.
'He should have spanked me
with asteroids.'
Jonathan, I have a little problem.
You are without the egg.
'Damn it.
He knew everything.'
Angel, you are the fairy
of second chances and you failed.
But don't despair for I am
a fairy of second chances too.
'I waited vigilantly
'but I did wonder if anybody on that planet
would ever give an appropriate sign.
'And if I didn't use the egg for good there
I would have taken it somewhere else.
'Perhaps a galaxy
far, far away.
'But then the man approached
deservingly.
'He believed that I was a frail little girl
and he ventured out to rescue me.'
I've been looking all over
for you.
You're a hard one to catch.
Would you like some oxygen?
Frank, I've come to assist you
with something important.
This world is not the true Earth.
Where did you come from?
I came from far away
to bring you this from another world.
I don't know how to explain.
You wouldn't believe me anyway.
Hey, if I can believe this mess
I can believe anything.
But my words won't convince you.
What use are words? Words
didn't prevent the ruined nation.
Words won't convince you of my power.
Look at me, Frank.
I am glowing
while everything else withers.
Don't wander, take this.
It's your chance to shine again.
Take care, Frank.
Frank? Frank?
'Oh, they would be all right.
'In time they would find out
the egg's power.
'Those humans
didn't know what they had
'and now it was my turn
for a revelation.'
Angel, I will say goodbye to you now.
You have no need for me
to be handing you eggs any longer.
Go and grow.
Take flight.
'And on some shore
of the wide universe,
'my brother stands alone
and watches time in the planets race by.'