Transcript created: 19th November 2025

Last updated: 25th November 2025

​

SHOW NOTES

​​

'You did it'

Transcript: https://www.tincanaudio.co.uk/thetower/tower-summit-transcript

Get the whole series on Bandcamp: https://tincanaudio.bandcamp.com/

Support The Tower on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/tincanaudio

Starring:

Katrina Allen as Kiri

David Pellow as Chris

Mark Gallie as Ike

Karim Kronfli as Professor Lawrie

and

Sarah Golding as Bea, Kiri's Mum

Directed by Ella Watts

Script editing and production management by Ross McFarlane

Written, scored and edited by Amber Devereux

Artwork by Sarah Grant

tincanaudio.co.uk

 

PART TWO - FAREWELL

 

PRELUDE II

 

SOUND: Whistling wind, occasional distant howls and moans of the weather

 

MUSICAL: A beautiful, dream-like high-pitched drone on a synth, humming for 20 seconds before a faster version of the same tripping, looping melody that sounds almost like a dial tone comes in from before. It’s hopeful and major key. More instruments come in, making the music feel almost like an anthem or a marching song, they’re mid-range and insistent. A low repeating melody comes in, urgent like a heartbeat or an emergency siren. Then the music focuses back on the trilling high melody. The marching parts come back in, urgently after another 20 seconds or so, and then everything rushes towards a dramatic and sudden stop.

 

SOUND: The high beep of an answerphone

 

KIRI'S MUM:

(Self-conscious) Um, hi. Hello, if anyone is out there. 

 

I don't...I don't quite know what I'm doing. I've been having strange dreams recently and, it's brought up some old memories, old feelings, and...and this seemed to be the right thing to do. [Huffs]

 

My name is Bea, and I...well that's the problem, I don't think I know how to finish that sentence.

 

MUSIC: A low melody comes in, repeating the same back and forth tune, like it’s a ticking clock waiting for something

 

KIRI’S MUM:

There was a time when I had plans, ideas, a time when my existence opened up in front of me. 

 

MUSIC: Over the next paragraph, the key of the melody changes, going up

 

KIRI’S MUM:

Have you ever felt like you were just carrying your body around? Like you wanted to tear yourself out of it, out of everything? What if it's all you're used to feeling? What if it feels normal? Do you stop feeling? Do you notice? 

 

There was this one point where I thought I knew what to do. It was a bold, foolish thing. I kept looking at the tower, that impossible thing that I lived under the shadow of, and I wanted to climb it, something was pulling me towards it, something in me trying to get out and go there. 

MUSIC: The music gets higher and higher, more and more threads joining the melody

 

KIRI’S MUM:

It all seemed so clear, so obvious, so simple. I looked out and saw it, it was like it had been there the whole time and I hadn't looked at it before, like something in me wouldn't let me look directly at it. My daughter once told me that our brains are designed to keep us alive, not to keep us happy...I turned away, I talked myself out of it. The easiest thing in the world is to not do something. I stayed on the path, stayed under the shadow, in the shade, safe.0

 

I couldn't look at the tower after that, but I felt it…looming. 

 

I started having dreams, dreams where I made a different decision. I went to the tower, I climbed it, I even...I even made it to the top!

 

I moved away not long after my daughter was old enough to, to move on out. Moved somewhere far away from the tower. It was still there, still there, a small dot on the horizon. I blocked out any window that looked towards it. I can't seem to escape it, but the dreams eventually faded, that was something.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am very happy with my life and my choices. I have a life, and a family, a beautiful daughter, and friends, and hobbies! [Catches her breath] I didn't think I'd ever be a person with hobbies. 

 

The dreams have started again. Dreams where I am on the tower. And they feel so real. I opened the curtains of one of the windows I've never looked out over. It's still there, silent, imposing. But I can look at it now.

 

It's hard not to wonder sometimes, what secrets are being hidden from us, what we hide from ourselves.

 

Maybe it's why I climb hills, I keep thinking the answer might be at the top.

 

Anyway, thank you, whoever you are, for, for listening to this.

 

MUSIC: The music rises then falls, narrowing back down to one low, slow, gentle melody on one instrument.

 

(beat)

 

KIRI’S MUM:

And, Kiri, if you're there. Be safe.

 

MUSIC: We hear three more notes on the piano, then silence.

 

SCENE 05: CHRIS & IKE

 

SOUND: The dial tone of a phone ringing - it rings three times

 

CHRIS

Kiri?

 

IKE:

You've heard from her?

 

CHRIS

[Audibly frustrated] Ike? No, no I haven't

 

IKE:

Do you know where she is?

 

CHRIS

[Worried] You mean you don't know?

 

IKE:

I can't find her on the tower, I don't know where she is, where is she?

 

CHRIS

I don't know, I'm stuck down here!

 

IKE:

How long has it been since you last heard from her?

 

SOUND: We switch perspectives, moving into Chris’ flat. Now we can hear traffic, and the echo of the room he’s in. Ike is coming through the phone.

 

CHRIS

Two days, something happened while she was on the phone, it sounded like a blizzard?

 

IKE:

[Strangely intense] We've not reset, she must still be up there, there's still a chance.

 

CHRIS

[Fed up] I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

IKE:

We've not reset, she's not at the bottom again, she's not failed

 

CHRIS

Failed? Failed what?

 

IKE:

Maybe that means...

 

CHRIS

[Raising his voice, annoyed] Hello? Ike? What are you talking about?

 

IKE:

She called you?

 

CHRIS

Yes from the top.

 

IKE:

(as if opening a door that wasn't there before)

...I think I know where she might be

 

CHRIS

Where?

 

SOUND: Ike hangs up

 

CHRIS:

[Raising his voice, so frustrated] Hello? Hello? Ike? Oh come on!

 

SOUND: Chris furiously tapping his phone to redial, followed by an error tone repeating

 

CHRIS:

[indignant, raising his voice] What do you mean number not recognised?

 

SOUND: Phone buzzes

 

CHRIS

[Urgent] Hello?

 

KIRI'S MUM:

Hi, Chris?

 

CHRIS

[Audibly scrambling, voice breaking] Hi, Bea, Kiri's mum right?

 

KIRI'S MUM:

Yes! Yes I hope you don't mind me calling..

 

CHRIS

[Letting out a big breath, trying to be breezy] That's okay, that's okay. What's up?

 

KIRI'S MUM:

Ah I was wondering if you've spoken to Kiri recently? I've not heard from her for a while, so...

 

CHRIS

[Lying, badly] It's been a few days, she's… been away on a trip that's been keeping her busy.

 

KIRI'S MUM:

Yes she said, she's been on a lot of trips lately.

 

CHRIS

Yeah, she's been really in it you know? But hey, always good to travel right?

 

KIRI'S MUM:

Right (awkward beat)

 

CHRIS

(awkward beat) Well if I hear from her I'll tell her you called

 

KIRI'S MUM:

Oh, oh that's okay, I don't want her worrying.

 

CHRIS

[Gentle] It's no problem

 

KIRI'S MUM:

I know, I know but...it's okay.

 

CHRIS

Okay (beat, a decision)...if she gets in touch with you looking for me…

 

KIRI'S MUM:

Yes?

 

SOUND: Chris picking up his coat, the tinkle of keys

 

CHRIS

Can you let her know I'm going away for a bit, but I'll definitely see her soon.

 

SCENE 06: THE LINE

 

SOUND: Whistling, bitter wind. Loud fragmented static

 

KIRI:

Hello?

 

IKE:

(Echoing, distant) My name is Ike, and I run the phones on the Tower

 

IKE:

(Clearer, closer) KIRI!

 

IKE:

(Echoing, distant) I mean, I don’t run the phones. I test them to make sure they’re still working

 

KIRI:

IKE! What’s happening? (Kiri’s voice echoes)

 

KIRI:

(Quietly, far away) Why do you need to test the phones?

 

SOUND: The static roaring up like a storm, Ike’s line is barely audible

 

IKE:

In case someone…like yourself….?

 

IKE:

KIRI!

 

SOUND: A load groan of a metal structure in strong winds, almost like a siren. Then silence. When Kiri speaks, her voice echoes a little, as if she’s in a small, bare room.

 

KIRI

Ike?

 

SOUND: For once, Ike’s voice doesn’t sound like he’s coming through a phone

 

IKE:

(Nervous) Hi

 

KIRI

(overwhelmed, crying, breathless)

Huh...I...uh

 

SOUND: they hug - we hear them breathing, crying, their clothes rustling

 

MUSIC: A crystalline, gentle melody begins

 

IKE:

(Speaking into the hug, emotional) You did it

 

SOUND: Kiri cries into Ike’s arms as he holds her

 

KIRI:

I-I- I can't, I can’t believe it's you! (She catches her breath)

 

IKE:

Well, mostly. When I came here my consciousness was spread across The Tower. Turns out there wasn't an office after all.

 

KIRI

Where are we?

 

SOUND: Ike and Kiri’s voices become a little distorted, as if crunched through lo-fi speakers

 

IKE:

(glitching slightly)

Well, technically, nowhere

 

KIRI

(glitching slightly)

I don't understand

 

SOUND: There’s a hissing static that moves from left to right and back again, like it’s looping in circles

 

IKE:

(glitching into phone voice)

We're in the phones Kiri. Turns out we needed them.

 

SOUND: The distorted, distant groan of the Tower

 

KIRI

(phone sound)

We?

 

SOUND: Phone sounds, glitch cut to outside forest sounds. The sounds are ever so slightly tinny and artificial, like watching a film at 480p

 

IKE:

Tea?

 

SOUND: Ike pouring tea, Kiri drinks. Wind chimes gently repeat the same looping melody we’ve heard throughout the finale, this time from within the scene

 

KIRI

Oh that's good tea (sighs)

 

IKE:

I'm glad you like it

 

KIRI

It didn't come out of a thermos or a camping kettle. Good. Tea.

 

SOUND: There’s a moment of peace, with the birdsong and the windchimes, and Kiri breathing softly

 

IKE:

Have you ever thought about trees? Building themselves up over hundreds of years, creating a living link between us and the sky? That's what we tried to build.

 

KIRI

Who?

 

SOUND: Again, the distorted sound of the groan of the Tower, almost as if the sound is being dragged across something, accompanied by the same hissing looping static. The wind chime stops, the forest fades away. In its place, distant, repeated voices of a crowd working come through in glassy, glitching pieces. Kiri and Ike sound further away from us as they speak.

 

IKE:

Us. The builders. The people who made the tower.

 

KIRI

For your father?

 

IKE:

...yes.

 

KIRI

I thought you were exiled after he died? That the people wanted to keep on building even after you ordered them to stop?

 

IKE:

Many years later I came back, I disguised myself as a builder.

 

KIRI

Why?

 

MUSIC: The wind chimes come back, repeating the same looping melody

 

IKE:

Are you really asking me that question? (beat) I felt the pull of the tower, the same as you.

 

SOUND: The crowd of workers fades away, replaced by the glassy glitching with growing volume

 

KIRI

And what did you find?

 

SOUND: Another glitching, jagged groan of the Tower as the scene transitions. We hear Ike’s footsteps on stone, inside a massive stone chamber. We can hear a bonfire, and a squeaking high pitched pulley system. When Ike speaks, he sounds like he’s back in the real world, his voice no longer distorted.

 

IKE:

(Raising his voice a little into the space)

Hope. A  future. A new world.

 

MUSIC: The score comes back - a low, building melody progressing steadily forward

 

IKE:

I was here when we reached the sky. It was… hell. The sun never set, it blinded several of us, all they could do was stay and wait for us to finish, no-one was heading back down, not now, not after everything, not after we'd come so far. We gave up shift rotations, we gave up sleep, we even gave up tools and started building with our hands.

 

What we found was a place that was… undisturbed, unmoulded, a new world. We are builders, we built palaces and cathedrals and entire cities and now we could create our own reality.

 

SOUND: When Kiri speaks, she sounds like she’s in reality with Ike in the tomb

 

KIRI

How is that possible?

 

IKE:

We built the old world for a king, of course we could build a new one for ourselves. But we realised that, for our own safety, we had to sever our connection with the world below. We must be allowed to exist on our own terms, without landlords wearing crowns and empty promises of duty and unity.

 

KIRI

(A little angry, accusatory) You speak as though you weren't a prince

 

SOUND: Quietly, the hissing static returns

 

IKE:

Not here. Not anymore.

 

SOUND: The Tower groans as we leave this place

 

MUSIC: The music stops

 

SOUND: An old-fashioned phone ringing. Ike’s voice is once again distorted. Very quietly, and gradually, the wind comes back, howling round the outside of the Tower

 

IKE:

Only one person has ever left. It nearly killed them. 

 

SOUND: The phone rings again

 

IKE:

But a piece of them stayed here, a part of this new world

 

SOUND: The phone rings again

 

IKE:

A part of the Tower.

 

SOUND: The phone rings again

 

IKE:

We have been waiting for you to return, Kiri

 

SOUND: The phone rings again

 

IKE:

 We have failed so many times to bring you back to us.

 

SOUND: The phone stops ringing, in its place we hear the quiet whistling of the wind

 

KIRI

(processing)

So, I was here?

 

IKE:

A version of you was. Sometimes the face, the body, the person changes, (tenderly) but it is always you. The manual goes back hundreds of years.

 

KIRI

(Getting upset) And you knew about this the whole time?

 

IKE:

(Defensive, but firm, certain) No, no I didn't. I only remembered after I read the manual. You… paint over something enough times the original image starts to fade, I… opened the manual, and… it was like unlocking an old door that had been rusted shut by time. Lifetimes worth of memories and losses, all at once. 

 

MUSIC: A gentle, tender melody comes in, slow and soft

 

IKE:

(Beat, then, wryly) It was… a lot.

 

KIRI

(Frustrated, urgent) Why you, Ike? Why were you the one who came to...bring me back?

 

IKE:

(Tenderly) I volunteered

 

KIRI

Why?

 

IKE:

(With an old, quiet grief) Someday… you may remember.

 

KIRI

W-What happens now?

 

SOUND: The hissing static, interrupting sharply. Ike’s voice is distorted again, coming through the phone. Kiri’s voice is also, subtly distorted.

 

IKE:

(phone audio)

You have to make a decision.

 

MUSIC: The same gentle, slow melody continues

 

KIRI

(phone audio)

To go with you

 

IKE:

(Ike takes a long, deep breath and lets it out before he speaks, gently) Or to go back down 

 

KIRI

What happens if I leave?

 

SOUND: As Ike speaks his voice gets a little more distorted

 

IKE:

Then… we will have failed… again. We will have ultimately failed. The timeline won't reset again. The Tower will slowly fade into the background noise of the old world.

 

KIRI

What happens if I stay?

 

IKE:

Then you'll come with me to the new world we are building for ourselves. It's not perfect, but nothing made by people ever is. (Long beat, then, gently) You'll never be able to return to your old life. It nearly killed you before, I don't think you’lll be able to do it again.

 

KIRI

(Voice thick with emotion) Why did I leave, Ike?

 

IKE:

(A hoarse whisper) Why did you come back?

 

MUSIC:The music stops, and there’s a moment of silence.

 

SOUND: There’s no ambience now, just an echo, as if it’s only Kiri and Ike alone together

 

KIRI

(Urgently) What do you think I should do?

 

IKE:

(Restrained, firm) This is not about what I want

 

KIRI

(Frustrated) Yes it is! You brought me here, to this place! You tell me about some amazing new world and that I'm from here and that this is where I'm supposed to be but you won't say why and now you're telling me it doesn't matter what you want?

 

You've been with me since the beginning of all this. I-I know you're different now and so am I but, if I was speaking to the Ike I climbed with. The Ike who was surprised to hear someone at the other end of the phone, (Kiri gets emotional, and nearly starts to cry) the Ike who connected me to my mum at the moment I needed it most. (Kiri stops, then speaks again, firm and demanding) What would he say I should do?

 

SOUND: The wind chimes and the bird song return, Ike’s voice is almost entirely without distortion

 

IKE:

I… think you came here looking for an escape. But, I've listened to the way you talk about your life, about the people who matter to you. (Ike’s voice wobbles) I'm not sure I could leave that behind. (He regains focus) Sure the world down there isn't perfect, but it was built by people. 

 

MUSIC: As Ike speaks, a hopeful, distant synth melody comes in

 

IKE:

(With faux grandeur) We thought we could fix the world with The Tower! (Coming back down to earth) And.. we failed. Of course we failed, we were trying to build a Tower into the sky, but… look at what we built! It is imperfect, but everything we build is imperfect, everything we are is imperfect, and is there not a beauty in that?

 

I didn't understand that before, but I do now.

 

The world you left to climb the tower has been hollowed out by greed and hate, but everyone down there is still alive, trying to live, trying to build something with what's left. (Softly, earnestly) That's important.

 

(beat)

 

SOUND: A bubbling, digital sound almost like an exotic bird or a ufo, wobbling and high pitched, trilling up and down a scale of notes. 

 

KIRI

(Emotional) I don't know what to do

 

SOUND: A humming buzz like a bee. Hissing static.

KIRI

Ike!

 

SOUND: The bubbling digital sound comes back, swinging from left to right

 

KIRI

(Frustrated) God, what is that?

 

SOUND: The strange sounds clarify into the dial tone of a phone, ringing twice before someone picks up 

 

CHRIS:

Hello?

 

SOUND: When Chris  speaks, his voice echoes around the space

 

KIRI

(Softly) Chris!

 

SCENE 06: THE BASE OF THE TOWER

 

CHRIS:

[Various ungraceful effort sounds - groans and grunts]

 

SOUND: The rattle of a chain-link fence as Chris heaves himself up, onto and over it, stumbling on the other side. Distant seagulls and traffic.

 

CHRIS:

(Quietly) Oooow

 

SOUND: Chris brushing off his clothes and walking forward across gravel

 

SOUND: Chris’ phone buzzes

 

CHRIS

Hello?

 

KIRI

Chris!

 

CHRIS

(awash with relief)

OH! Oh, I was so worried about you

 

KIRI

I'm okay (beat) where are you right now?

 

SOUND: Distant construction, traffic

 

CHRIS

I'm at the base of the Tower

 

KIRI

What? What are you doing?

 

CHRIS

I'm coming to get you

 

KIRI

No you're not

 

CHRIS

I can't leave you!

KIRI

You haven't left me!

 

CHRIS

I let you go!

KIRI

No you didn't! You wouldn't be there if you did! You picked up the phone, every time I called. You didn't leave me

 

CHRIS

I'm coming to get you

 

KIRI

Chris…

 

CHRIS:

(Raising his voice, frustrated and defiant) I can't have a life without you in it Kiri! I can't. I've tried to be strong and brave and all the things you are and all the things I want to be but I can't not have you call in the middle of the night. I can't not start and end my days with your voice. (Pause, then, soft and desperate) Kiri you are the light that runs through my dreams. I can't let go of you, I don't know how to, I don't want to.

 

KIRI

Chris…

 

CHRIS

(So small) If you go, where am I going to go Kiri? What am I going to do?

 

KIRI

I couldn't have done this without you Chris. I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't have been here to climb the tower.

 

(Kiri pauses, swallows, her breath hitches)

 

I used to think, back when things were bad, when they were really bad, that one day I could be a version of myself that could be the kind of friend you deserved.

 

CHRIS

All you ever had to do was pick up the phone Kiri, that's all I’ve ever wanted, that's all I'll ever want. I should've stopped you, I should've told you it was a bad idea

 

KIRI

(Kindly) You did!

 

CHRIS

I should've tried harder!

 

MUSIC: A very quiet, high pitched melody comes in

 

KIRI

You can't climb the Tower Chris, it's not how it works.

 

(Kiri lets out a breath, then takes in another, a little shakily) 

 

I'm starting to remember things, different things. Timelines have been overlapping and blurring together the closer I've been getting to the top.

 

CHRIS

(Half-heartedly) That doesn't make any sense

 

MUSIC: Another instrument joins the first melody, letting it build

 

KIRI

The book, the one you've been reading about the Tower, the one you've been adding to, who wrote it?

 

CHRIS

What? I don't know.

 

MUSIC: Several more parts join the music, including something that sounds like a choir, giving a sense of building to epiphany

 

KIRI

Where did you get it?

 

CHRIS

I...I don't...what does that matter?

 

KIRI

Think Chris

 

SOUND:  The distant groan of the Tower

 

CHRIS

(Stunned) I wrote it.

 

KIRI

It's your book Chris. You wrote it. It's always been us, it's always been the two of us, building the Tower together.

 

MUSIC: The choral part sings to a stop as the music fades back down to the one, simple melody

 

SOUND: Swirling snow and bitter, whistling wind comes in, wrapping around us

 

MICRO-SCENE 01 - The One That Actually Happened

 

SOUND: Throughout the following scenes, Kiri and Chris’ voices are echoing and distant, as if we’re watching them from far away

 

KIRI

Okay, here I go! I got it from here I think.

 

CHRIS

Okay. Last chance to change your mind.

 

KIRI

No, this is what I want to do.

 

CHRIS

Okay

 

KIRI

Come on, don't look at me like that

 

CHRIS

Like what?

 

KIRI

(Playfully) Like you're never going to see me again

 

MICRO-SCENE 02 - The One Where Chris Did It Instead

 

CHRIS

Come on, almost there

 

KIRI

I still don't get what this is Chris

 

CHRIS

It's the Tower! An ancient monument! The ancient monument!

 

KIRI

No I get that, I don't get why you want to climb it

 

CHRIS

I don't know, I just had a feeling

 

MICRO-SCENE 03 - The One Where They Both Went

 

KIRI

You got everything?

 

CHRIS

Yep, I have the food and the stove, you have the tent? Shall we do this thing?

 

MICRO-SCENE 04 - Bring Your Parent To Your Impossible Climb Day

 

KIRI

Thank you for coming with me

 

KIRI'S MUM:

Oh, I wouldn't have missed it for the world, Kiri. Is, um, is Chris coming?

 

KIRI

He… couldn't make it but I left him a voice note

 

MICRO-SCENE 05 - The One Where Everyone Is Angry

 

KIRI

Chris I told you I'm going

 

CHRIS

And I'm going to keep telling you it's a bad idea

 

KIRI

I don't care, this is what I have to do

 

CHRIS

Explain it to me then

 

KIRI

I have. I'm done explaining

 

SOUND: After this is a montage of Chris and Kiri saying the same things in several different ways, as if taken from multiple different timelines and points in their relationship

 

KIRI

(Sincerely) I'm…gonna miss you Chris

 

MUSIC: The music gets bigger, all the other parts coming in to join the simple melody that threaded the previous micro-scenes together, swelling outwards now in triumph

 

KIRI

(Playful, coy, shy) I’m…gonna miss you, Chris

 

CHRIS

(Sincerely) I'm gonna miss you Kiri

 

CHRIS

(Lightly) I’m gonna miss you Kiri

 

CHRIS

(Neutral) I’m gonna miss you Kiri

 

KIRI

(Sincere) I love you

 

KIRI:

(Playful) I love you!

 

KIRI

(Eyeroll) Love you

 

CHRIS

(Sincere) I love you

 

KIRI

(Warm) I love you

 

CHRIS

(Soft) I love you

 

KIRI

(Lightly) We will see each other again!

 

KIRI

(Reassuring) We will see each other again 

 

KIRI

(Ominous) We will see each other again

 

KIRI

(Certain) We will see each other again

 

CHRIS

(Promising) I will…wait for you

 

CHRIS

I’ll wait for you

 

CHRIS

(Certain) I will wait for you

 

SOUND: The distant groan of the Tower

 

KIRI

We saved each other. We always saved each other, no matter what. Whenever I faltered, you waited for me.

 

MUSIC: The music narrows back down to the simple melody

 

CHRIS

(Beginning to understand) We can only help each other

 

KIRI

It's time to close the book Chris.

 

CHRIS

No!

 

MUSIC: The music swells back outwards again, the chorus comes back in as Kiri speaks

 

KIRI

(Kiri starts out tired and gets more and more emotional as she speaks) How many times have we done this and failed? But this time, we did it. I don't know what happens next and I'm still scared, but this is why I had to climb the tower, (almost crying) it's why you let me, (determined, triumphant) and it's why I made it this time! (pause) I'm so tired Chris

 

SOUND: The wind picks up, getting dangerously strong

 

CHRIS

Then come back to me, or I'll come back to you, (raising his voice over the wind) I'll carry you if I have to!

 

CHRIS:

[Fighting the wind with all his strength]

 

KIRI

You can't climb the Tower Chris, it won't let you. (Kiri’s voice echoes, suddenly massive and distant and mighty) I won't let you

 

CHRIS

(Still trying to fight the storm) I don't care. It didn't want you to climb it either but you still  kept going. Aaaargh!

 

KIRI

(Quiet, clear) I love you Chris

 

SOUND: A build, then the wind punches Chris back, he flies back, lands in the snow. Chris lies in the snow, panting. 

 

SCENE 07: CHRIS'S FLAT

 

SOUND:  A phone dialing. Chris picks it up. Both he and Professor Lawrie are heard coming through the phone at the start of the scene.

 

CHRIS

Hello?

 

LAWRIE

Chris? Hi! It's Professor Lawrie

 

CHRIS

(Trying to muster some enthusiasm) Professor, hi!

 

LAWRIE

How are you doing?

 

CHRIS

Um...yeah, okay I guess. Still here.

 

LAWRIE

That's good to hear. This isn't a bad time is it?

 

CHRIS

Not at all, what can I do for you?

 

LAWRIE

(Delighted) Well, I am putting together a research expedition. We've managed to cobble some funding together at long last.

 

CHRIS

(Trying to sound supportive) That's fantastic news

 

LAWRIE

Yes, it seems the world is curious again. Anyway I wanted to ask and see if you would be interested in joining the expedition?

 

CHRIS

(Mixed, negative feelings)...oh

 

LAWRIE

I realise this is a big, slightly sudden thing to spring on you...

 

SOUND: We transition to Chris’ flat - moving out of the phones and into the real world as Chris paces around his living room

 

CHRIS

That's okay, thank you. (pause) Um, that's a very kind offer but I don't think I can climb the Tower.

 

LAWRIE

Are you sure? You've got time to think about it.

 

CHRIS

I appreciate that but...um...I don't think it'll let me

 

LAWRIE

Hmm. Well...uh, okay then. I was also calling to say I got all the notes you sent over. It's very thorough notes and research. There's definitely enough to start putting a book together.

 

CHRIS

Yes, I'm happy to donate it to your department and I'm excited to work with you all. (beat) It'll be good to finally get it finished

 

SOUND: Chris moving papers on a desk

 

LAWRIE

Absolutely! Well if you change your mind about the expedition you let me know?

 

CHRIS

I will, thank you Professor. Good luck on the climb.

 

LAWRIE

(chuckling)

It’ll be so much easier now we have your notes. Take care

 

CHRIS

Be well.

 

SOUND: Chris hangs up, takes a deep breath and sighs. There’s a knock on the door. Chris opens the door, and we hear the outside, the wind.

 

KIRI:

[Intake of breath]

 

THE END