HARRY
Thought I'd check in. How was your afternoon?
JEREMY
I imagine you know a bit about it. You've spoken to the girls,
I take it?
HARRY
Yes, yes I have. (Brief pause) Jeremy, I don't want to...
direct your interviews, but...
JEREMY
Are they really that upset?
HARRY
You have to understand their perspective. How would you feel if
something that was traumatically equivalent to rape had happened
to you and nobody believed you?
JEREMY
Put yourself in my position, Harry. Don't you think I have a responsibility
here? If I don't question I'm not reporting, I'm taking dictation.
Did I expect them to be so defensive? No, of course not, and maybe
I could have been a bit more sensitive to that. But how can I
take such outlandish assertions at face value?
HARRY
You don't have to. But listen to what they say and reason it out.
JEREMY
Reason? If you want me to approach this logically we're worse
off than before.
HARRY
Not at all! You spoke to three people today who, prior to coming
here, had never met, are from different parts of the country and
different social backgrounds, and who describe virtually the same
experience from beginning to end. That alone should have you wondering.
JEREMY
What I wonder about is more prosaic explanations.
HARRY
Like what?
JEREMY
I don't know! (Pulls out notepad) You want logic! Here's
logic. Wendy described a ship that looked like the stealth bomber.
Mary described one that was round. Rita's was an oval. Do the
aliens really have three different spacecrafts? All three of them
described a ship that was brilliantly lit, and yet, of course,
nobody but them could see it. Tell me, what is the point of lights
on an invisible space ship? Is it so that they don't get into
midair collisions with other invisible space ships? Maybe there's
a chance the round one will run into the oval one when they get
their abduction schedules mixed up!
HARRY
You're nitpicking.
JEREMY
I'm not finished yet. Let's see, all of them had a similar examination,
including the extraction of an egg, and yet the equipment the
aliens used is different every time. And why exactly do they need
to be brought on board in the first place? If the aliens have
the technology to beam themselves through walls why can't they
just beam the eggs up directly? Or hold their physical examination
from afar and save themselves and their victims the trouble? And
let's look at that examination for a second. None of them were
told that an egg was being extracted. In fact the aliens are all
but silent on the details of the examination. But all of them
said essentially the same thing. The said they "just knew"
what was being done to them and why. If I put you on a table and
start poking you without telling you why, do you think you're
going to have any idea why I'm doing it without any input from
me? You could guess, but if I do it to a half-dozen people I should
get a half-dozen guesses. Instead, these three have the same guess.
Does this mean they're being communicated to on some subconscious
level? Or is it more like in a dream, when we can accurately posit
what's happening beyond our senses because we're the ones pulling
the strings?
HARRY
You can't possibly be implying these three had the exact same
dream! Do you have any idea how many abductions there have been
in the U.S. alone?
JEREMY
I'm aware of the statistics. You're asking for logic and I'm giving
it to you. Logic-- science-- takes a set of observations and proposes
theories to explain those observations. There are other
possibilities than the alien paradigm. All I'm doing is pointing
them out.
HARRY
And you don't think I've considered other possibilities? I'm well
aware of the scientific approach to this and I have applied it.
I've been studying this for a lot longer than you have, Jeremy,
and there is no other theory that explains everything.
JEREMY
But your theory doesn't explain "everything" either.
That's exactly my point. The possibility of a shared psychosis
of some sort is at least within the realm of science.
HARRY
It's completely absurd! You're talking about thousands of people
imagining an identical trauma.
JEREMY
And you're talking about thousands of people being kidnaped
by little naked grey men in invisible space ships. I don't see
either of them as being plausible.
HARRY
You need to talk to more abductees. I think you'll find the similarities
in the stories far outweigh the differences.
JEREMY
I suppose.
HARRY
And I really don't think the fact that their descriptions don't
match up perfectly is a big issue. Memory is an imperfect thing.
If someone ran in and out of this room right now and we were both
asked to describe him we would probably come up with very different
details. We notice what we consider important.
JEREMY
Now you're making my argument for me.
HARRY
Not at all. I may say he had a blue shirt, and you might say it
was green, but we would both agree that a man ran through the
room. The general truth remains intact.
JEREMY
True.
(Pause)
HARRY
Look, dinner's in a few minutes. You're welcome to come down and
eat with us. I promise nobody will attack you.
JEREMY
Thanks.
(HARRY starts to exit)
JEREMY
You know what I'm just realizing, Harry?
HARRY
What?
JEREMY
I really want to believe. I thought I had managed to keep myself
pretty neutral, but... I want to believe in something this wonderful.
HARRY
It's not wonderful. It's horrible. But remarkable. Come to dinner.
Relax a bit. Don't bring the tape recorder.
JEREMY
Right.
(Lights out on JEREMY,
up on the chapel. Same scene as before, but ADELE and MME HELOISE
have been dismissed. REYNAUD has just finished closing the door.)
SCENE SIX
REYNAUD
Tomas, kindly do not go about declaring miracles without discussing
it with me.
TOMAS
But you heard!
REYAUD
I heard a young girl telling a story. The validity of that tale
is very much in question right now. I hardly think a validation
of tithing is sufficient evidence.
TOMAS
Her description...
REYNAUD
...was thoroughly unremarkable. Have you ever been to the chapel
in Clermont? I can tell you for a fact that Adele has. They have
this marvelous stained glass window. Much more ornate than anything
we at St. Michel could ever afford. Above the image of Christ
on the cross is none other than the Madonna herself, dressed in
glowing white raiments, her arms at her side and her palms out.
TOMAS
And so of course when Mary did appear to Adele, she would be familiar
with her image.
REYNAUD Familiar with an artistic rendition. Do you recall a physical
description of the mother of God in the bible? I do not.
TOMAS
Very well. Why would Adele tell such a tale?
REYNAUD
Do you recall who Adele claimed was with her that day?
TOMAS
Ehh, yes it was Marie Clefort and... Jean LeMay. Why?
REYNAUD
Because after Matins a fortnight ago I was met by Marie Clefort
in the confessional. Unless I granted absolution to an imposter,
I doubt Marie could have been running about with Adele that afternoon.
Now if we suppose that Adele was in fact on the hillside that
afternoon, and only Jean LeMay was there with her, that alters
the image considerably, I should think.
TOMAS
You're not suggesting...
REYNAUD
Of course. I took a vow of chastity, not of blindness. Adele and
young Monsieur LeMay have been eying one another for some time.
Now I am not suggesting Adele is consciously telling lies, mind.
She may believe her tale rather strongly. But consider. She hies
away on the Sabbath to a spot in the woods with her prospective
amour. Perhaps she dallies a bit more... extensively... than she
had on previous excursions. Then her conscience betters her, and
she curtails Monsieur LeMay's rash advances. She runs from him,
her mind churning with a mixture of guilt and desire. And who
does she come across? The Virgin Mother, who berates her for her
lack of chastity.
TOMAS
These are assumptions.
REYNAUD
This is experience. I know my flock, Father Tomas. Don't let your
desire for a miracle cloud your judgement of the mundane.
(Pause)
TOMAS
Perhaps you are right, Pastor. And perhaps we will know soon enough.
REYNAUD
What, when Adele turns up with child?
TOMAS
She warned of disaster. And so disaster perhaps will validate
her tale.
REYNAUD
Perhaps. But I sincerely hope that day does not come.