Post by Pez on Jul 2, 2009 18:57:57 GMT -6
Outline:
Philip Murdoch, a history-loving recluse of a college student, is celebrating his junior year at Gustavus Adolphus university in Saint Peter, Minnesota. Study habits have habitually thrown him away from the spotlight, causing him to be socially awkward and removed from the “party” scene. He finds solace in a lifelong friend, Maria Vazquez, who he is deeply in love with. Maria is not interested in Philip in any way, yet Philip sees this rejection as her playing “hard to get”.
When a new student transfers in at the beginning of the spring semester, Philip feels threatened. Anthony Hayner, the transfer student, is a breath of fresh air in Maria’s previously dismal existence as Philip’s support system. Maria and Anthony begin dating. Philip finds out, which causes him to seclude himself from the rest of the world. He focuses only on his studies.
One night, as continual sleep deprivation and cram sessions twist his mind, Philip notices something strange about his textbook. A passage previously detailing William Wallace’s war conquests now speaks of a fictional Phillipe Merdeaux, a warrior whose life was taken by a man who had been having an affair with Phillipe’s wife. Philip, dumbfounded, rereads this paragraph again, unable to comprehend where it came from or why it had replaced the previous paragraph. He chalks it up to sleep deprivation and goes to bed.
The following weeks, Philip sees Anthony and Maria conversing more and more. This takes a toll on Philip’s psyche, introducing a lot of stress into his life. His textbook becomes his escape, as the more he reads the more history seems to be changing. Minor discrepancies from the battles begin to twist into whole tales, creating new chapters in his book. Philip’s condition deteriorates at a rapid pace until his time is spent only either in class, or in his apartment with the textbook in his hands.
The textbook begins to portray Philip’s life not in the past, but in the present. Upon picking it up, the book at begins to describe exactly what happens in Philip’s life—as it happens. “Philip picked up his textbook, confused to find a paragraph in its contents which detailed present events. He raised a hand to scratch his head, noticed the book predicted this would happen, and instead turned the page.”
One night, after seeing Maria and Anthony kiss from his apartment’s window, Philip experiences a nervous breakdown. He looks to his history textbook for guidance, and finds that it has given up both telling the past and the present, and is now predicting the future. It begins with small, simple events. Somebody knocks on Philip’s door, but they mistook his room for someone else’s. Rain suddenly pours outside. The power goes out. Other events continue to occur, and Philip’s view of the book has gone from idle reader to fervent worshipper.
Fast forward ten years (Year: 2026)
Philip’s delving into the history books has paid off—he is now a history professor at (where else) Gustavus Adolphus. The job, previously held by a Dr. Parshall, opened up after Dr. Parshall lost his mind. He committed suicide by leaping from the roof of the library, plummeting to the sidewalk below. Not the greatest pretense for a job opening, but it was convenient for Philip. His students describe Philip as an eccentric man, but a great teacher with an open mind for history’s interpretations.
Philip is taken aback when he discovers he has new neighbors in his apartment building: Anthony and Maria. The two had been married for three years, and moved back to Saint Peter for its charm (and memories). Philip’s world comes crashing down around him, as he has lost Maria for good. Maria, a devout Catholic, has always said she would not marry unless she loved, and she believed strongly in the phrase “Til Death do us Part”.
Philip pulls out a messenger bag that contains an object he hasn’t touched in five years—the textbook. He blows the dust off its cover and opens it up, only to be immediately greeted with a section titled “Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Hayner”. He snaps it shut, appalled. He opens it again, flipping towards more recent history. (Note: the day in which he learns of their wedding is September 11th) He reaches the section on 9/11, and upon reaching the chapter, all of the pages have been replaced by pictures. Sections detailing the reconstruction of the Freedom Tower, the inspiration struck into the hearts of Americans, and the gentle recollection of the day’s events have been replaced with eleven high-resolution full-page pictures of Ground Zero. There are mangled body parts, dead bodies under debris, and pictures of people jumping out of the building prematurely. He snaps the book shut again, this time for the night.
He begins to read the textbook, nightly, from cover to cover. He absorbs every iota of information, both true and fabricated. Stories begin to predict future events farther down the road. Then, something happens.
Philip is spying on Anthony and Maria as they go out for a nice walk around the area. While watching the couple, Anthony makes eye contact with Philip and shakes his head in a warning fashion. Philip is terrified at being found out, causing him to run home. He sleeps with his book in his arms.
He wakes up in the morning to find his book on his desk, with a page torn out.
Philip immediately breaks down. The loss of a page is a loss in valuable information of the future. He suspects Anthony has done it as some form of revenge for spying. Philip’s contempt for Anthony begins to twist into hatred. On several more occasions, Philip follows the couple. Sometimes he is caught; sometimes he is not. After every time he spies, however, a page is torn from his book.
One night, Philip decides to talk with Maria about the missing pages. He feels as if Anthony’s careless tearing of his book has gone far enough. The door to Maria’s apartment has been left ajar, so he steps in. Nobody’s home, so he begins to wander through the house when he hears muffled noises and sounds of a struggle from the bedroom. He opens the door to find Anthony and Maria having sex. Philip screams and runs out of the room.
When he wakes up in the morning, he discovers two things. One: He has been asleep for thirty six hours. Two: His textbook is ruined.
Utterly ruined. Every single page has been ripped out, leaving it looking like a child’s three-ring school binder. Every remaining inch has been covered in sharpie. Written in several different languages, handwritings, and colors is one date repeated over and over again.
“August 9th, 2027.” The date at this time is March 13th, 2027.
At this point, Philip snaps entirely. No ounce of sanity is left in him. He looks for an explanation of not only why his book was tarnished, but also who could possibly have been rewriting the book over and over again. He finds answers in an author whom his dementia has labeled as a history writer—Orson Scott Card. He begins to place the blame on aliens. Philip decides that aliens had been rewriting history in an attempt to warn him of the impending end of his world—on August 9th, 2027. He grows suspicious of the people around him. He reads up on everything alien—from Animporphs to Xenomorphs—in an attempt to learn more about the race that is either helping him save the world, or threatening to take away all he’s ever loved.
Maria and Anthony end contact with Philip, but Philip still follows the couple. He no longer does it out of longing. He follows the couple because he is suspicious of Anthony. Philip begins to think that Anthony is an alien in disguise, sent to spy on him and report if he gets too close to discovering the secret to saving the world from its impending doom.
As Philip watches over Anthony and Maria’s apartment, he sees Anthony sneak out one night. Philip follows Anthony to the airport, where Anthony is taking a redeye flight to Los Angeles. Philip manages to snag one last seat on the flight, and follows Anthony to Los Angeles. Here, Philip follows Anthony to a rather large stadium. Anthony disappears into a bathroom momentarily, and comes out in Alien regalia: green skin, body armor, blades, laser weapons, and a gliding mechanism on his back. Philip sees this and, in a moment of both panic and victorious glee, he savagely hits Anthony on the back of the head. Philip stuffs Anthony in the back of Anthony’s rental SUV and drives away.
Anthony wakes up some time later, bound to a chair in an empty warehouse. Philip is sitting across from him in a chair of his own, and a twisted grin is plastered on his face. Philip hassles Anthony, interrogating him, trying to get answers on how to fight the aliens. Anthony, confused and terrified, begins to demean Philip’s behavior. Philip brandishes a blade, one taken from Anthony’s armor. After a short monologue, Philip’s anger overwhelms him and he brutally stabs Anthony to death.
Philip flees L.A., back to Gustavus Adolphus. He lives life normally for a few days before news of Anthony’s death come back to Maria. Philip sleeps for nine days, and wakes up to discover a .450 revolver sitting on his pillow. He pockets the weapon, thinking it is a gift from whatever benevolent source is attempting to talk with him.
In the nine days he had been sleeping, Maria seems to not have noticed Philip’s absence. She even claims that she has used him as a support system to grieve over Anthony’s death.
FBI agents talk with Maria while Philip sits nearby. They express their worries that the killer might have fled California, which has caused the investigation to become a national ordeal. When they list off their prime suspect, she gasps. They are looking for a Philip Murdoch.
Philip immediately grabs his weapon and shoots one of the two agents in the face, point-blank, with his revolver. He turns to aim at the other, but Maria pushes his arm, causing the revolver to point at the agent’s shoulder instead. Philip brains Maria with the butt of his handgun, stuffs her into his car, and drives out of town ASAP.
He drives to Chicago, Illinois, and makes Maria comply with his every command. He boards a flight to Mt. McKinley in Alaska, where he believes he has the ability to fight the alien invasion head-on. As he forces Maria up the slope of Mt. McKinley, the FBI surrounds his position. He immediately grabs Maria, turning the standoff into a hostage situation. He begins to slowly back up the mountain, making demands to the aliens that surround him. He demands that the invasion be called off. He demands that the aliens go away, never to return to Earth. Finally, he commands that they never attempt an invasion of any planet again. As he makes these claims, his foot slips on a slick portion of snow. He loses his balance. He loses his grip. His finger slips. Blood sprays across the snow, and he looks in terror as he sees portions of Maria’s skull flecked on the ground. The gun slips down the slope, out of his reach. His last conscious thought before the shock overcomes him was the sight of two full-blown aliens reaching down and grabbing him. This was on July 23rd, 2027
Time blurs by in the next few weeks. Philip is being held on board an alien spaceship. He finally snaps into full consciousness over two weeks after being captured. He looks out the window of his padded cell to see the deep reaches of outer space looming back at him. He sees a collection of stars, much like that of the night sky he used to know. He turns around and sees a clock above a small door. It shines in red LEDs “4:28”. He struggles to get a grasp for what time it is, but cannot do so.
Maria is in a hospital. The bullet from the .450 revolver severely damaged her skull and put her in a coma, but she managed to survive. She’s still in a comatose state, but she’s doing alright. A nurse watches over her in the night, and on the morning of August 9th, 2027, a nurse is standing by to keep an eye on things.
Philip begins to wander around his cell. He sits in a corner, the strait-jacket he wears cutting into his arms, when he notices something peculiar happen with the clock. At 4:33, the LEDs turn blue. The clock then begins to count downwards, 4:33 becoming four minutes and thirty three seconds. Philip is confused at first, then the realization comes to him: It’s August 9th. He begins to shake his head in fear as the clock ticks ever downwards.
Maria shifts uneasily in her hospital bed. The nurse is astounded by this movement, and she leans closer. Maria’s eyes open momentarily, and the nurse practically yelps with glee. She turns to call for the doctors when the EKG machine begins beeping erratically. The nurse turns again, and the machine flatlines. Maria slumps in her bed. The nurse slams her hand on a button on the wall and screams “CODE BLUE! CODE BLUE!”
Philip’s eyes drag to the blue LEDs over his door. They blink down ever faster. 00:48, 00:47, 00:46. Philip begins to scream in rage and terror, his inability to stop the impending doom tearing at his soul. As the clock counts down the final few seconds, he puts his face to the thick glass window and yells with all his might. Then, everything goes white.
Both Philip and Maria die at 4:38 a.m. on August 9th, 2027
The epilogue is a collection of notes from a doctor’s internet-based journal. The doctor in question was presiding in a mental institution in downtown Los Angeles. They’re notes on Philip, who had quite obviously imagined the whole alien debacle. He comments that, through a week or so of examinations, it was clear that Philip had developed a multiple personality disorder in which one of his personalities was not only self-destructive and sadistic, but it also knew of the other personality. It described its love for clever and ornate schemes that would ultimately harm the “other” personality. Philip’s majority personality, the one he used most often, was entirely unaware of this other personality’s existence. In fact, the majority personality believed the doctor to be an alien. The sadistic personality recalled previous schemes, including ripping pages from an old textbook and even purchasing a revolver for the majority personality to “use”. The notes ultimately end on August 8th, 2027
Epilogue part deux is a news broadcast playing in a TV at the student lounge in Gustavus Adolphus University.
“Just three hours after consecutive nuclear attacks on Los Angeles, Washington D.C, and New York City, the United States has initiated a full-scale nuclear backlash on the countries of Iran and North Korea, who have taken join responsibility for the attacks. More news on this story as it develops later on this evening…in other news, the ravings of madman Philip Murdoch have earned him the title of ‘Messiah’ by a group of conspiracy theorists who have reason to believe that aliens are responsible for the nuclear attacks on the United States. Widespread pandemonium has torn through much of the United States as people rally behind Philip’s ideas of xenocide and extraterrestrial research. It seems silly, don’t you think? Aliens working against the United States specifically? Simply preposterous…”
Philip Murdoch, a history-loving recluse of a college student, is celebrating his junior year at Gustavus Adolphus university in Saint Peter, Minnesota. Study habits have habitually thrown him away from the spotlight, causing him to be socially awkward and removed from the “party” scene. He finds solace in a lifelong friend, Maria Vazquez, who he is deeply in love with. Maria is not interested in Philip in any way, yet Philip sees this rejection as her playing “hard to get”.
When a new student transfers in at the beginning of the spring semester, Philip feels threatened. Anthony Hayner, the transfer student, is a breath of fresh air in Maria’s previously dismal existence as Philip’s support system. Maria and Anthony begin dating. Philip finds out, which causes him to seclude himself from the rest of the world. He focuses only on his studies.
One night, as continual sleep deprivation and cram sessions twist his mind, Philip notices something strange about his textbook. A passage previously detailing William Wallace’s war conquests now speaks of a fictional Phillipe Merdeaux, a warrior whose life was taken by a man who had been having an affair with Phillipe’s wife. Philip, dumbfounded, rereads this paragraph again, unable to comprehend where it came from or why it had replaced the previous paragraph. He chalks it up to sleep deprivation and goes to bed.
The following weeks, Philip sees Anthony and Maria conversing more and more. This takes a toll on Philip’s psyche, introducing a lot of stress into his life. His textbook becomes his escape, as the more he reads the more history seems to be changing. Minor discrepancies from the battles begin to twist into whole tales, creating new chapters in his book. Philip’s condition deteriorates at a rapid pace until his time is spent only either in class, or in his apartment with the textbook in his hands.
The textbook begins to portray Philip’s life not in the past, but in the present. Upon picking it up, the book at begins to describe exactly what happens in Philip’s life—as it happens. “Philip picked up his textbook, confused to find a paragraph in its contents which detailed present events. He raised a hand to scratch his head, noticed the book predicted this would happen, and instead turned the page.”
One night, after seeing Maria and Anthony kiss from his apartment’s window, Philip experiences a nervous breakdown. He looks to his history textbook for guidance, and finds that it has given up both telling the past and the present, and is now predicting the future. It begins with small, simple events. Somebody knocks on Philip’s door, but they mistook his room for someone else’s. Rain suddenly pours outside. The power goes out. Other events continue to occur, and Philip’s view of the book has gone from idle reader to fervent worshipper.
Fast forward ten years (Year: 2026)
Philip’s delving into the history books has paid off—he is now a history professor at (where else) Gustavus Adolphus. The job, previously held by a Dr. Parshall, opened up after Dr. Parshall lost his mind. He committed suicide by leaping from the roof of the library, plummeting to the sidewalk below. Not the greatest pretense for a job opening, but it was convenient for Philip. His students describe Philip as an eccentric man, but a great teacher with an open mind for history’s interpretations.
Philip is taken aback when he discovers he has new neighbors in his apartment building: Anthony and Maria. The two had been married for three years, and moved back to Saint Peter for its charm (and memories). Philip’s world comes crashing down around him, as he has lost Maria for good. Maria, a devout Catholic, has always said she would not marry unless she loved, and she believed strongly in the phrase “Til Death do us Part”.
Philip pulls out a messenger bag that contains an object he hasn’t touched in five years—the textbook. He blows the dust off its cover and opens it up, only to be immediately greeted with a section titled “Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Hayner”. He snaps it shut, appalled. He opens it again, flipping towards more recent history. (Note: the day in which he learns of their wedding is September 11th) He reaches the section on 9/11, and upon reaching the chapter, all of the pages have been replaced by pictures. Sections detailing the reconstruction of the Freedom Tower, the inspiration struck into the hearts of Americans, and the gentle recollection of the day’s events have been replaced with eleven high-resolution full-page pictures of Ground Zero. There are mangled body parts, dead bodies under debris, and pictures of people jumping out of the building prematurely. He snaps the book shut again, this time for the night.
He begins to read the textbook, nightly, from cover to cover. He absorbs every iota of information, both true and fabricated. Stories begin to predict future events farther down the road. Then, something happens.
Philip is spying on Anthony and Maria as they go out for a nice walk around the area. While watching the couple, Anthony makes eye contact with Philip and shakes his head in a warning fashion. Philip is terrified at being found out, causing him to run home. He sleeps with his book in his arms.
He wakes up in the morning to find his book on his desk, with a page torn out.
Philip immediately breaks down. The loss of a page is a loss in valuable information of the future. He suspects Anthony has done it as some form of revenge for spying. Philip’s contempt for Anthony begins to twist into hatred. On several more occasions, Philip follows the couple. Sometimes he is caught; sometimes he is not. After every time he spies, however, a page is torn from his book.
One night, Philip decides to talk with Maria about the missing pages. He feels as if Anthony’s careless tearing of his book has gone far enough. The door to Maria’s apartment has been left ajar, so he steps in. Nobody’s home, so he begins to wander through the house when he hears muffled noises and sounds of a struggle from the bedroom. He opens the door to find Anthony and Maria having sex. Philip screams and runs out of the room.
When he wakes up in the morning, he discovers two things. One: He has been asleep for thirty six hours. Two: His textbook is ruined.
Utterly ruined. Every single page has been ripped out, leaving it looking like a child’s three-ring school binder. Every remaining inch has been covered in sharpie. Written in several different languages, handwritings, and colors is one date repeated over and over again.
“August 9th, 2027.” The date at this time is March 13th, 2027.
At this point, Philip snaps entirely. No ounce of sanity is left in him. He looks for an explanation of not only why his book was tarnished, but also who could possibly have been rewriting the book over and over again. He finds answers in an author whom his dementia has labeled as a history writer—Orson Scott Card. He begins to place the blame on aliens. Philip decides that aliens had been rewriting history in an attempt to warn him of the impending end of his world—on August 9th, 2027. He grows suspicious of the people around him. He reads up on everything alien—from Animporphs to Xenomorphs—in an attempt to learn more about the race that is either helping him save the world, or threatening to take away all he’s ever loved.
Maria and Anthony end contact with Philip, but Philip still follows the couple. He no longer does it out of longing. He follows the couple because he is suspicious of Anthony. Philip begins to think that Anthony is an alien in disguise, sent to spy on him and report if he gets too close to discovering the secret to saving the world from its impending doom.
As Philip watches over Anthony and Maria’s apartment, he sees Anthony sneak out one night. Philip follows Anthony to the airport, where Anthony is taking a redeye flight to Los Angeles. Philip manages to snag one last seat on the flight, and follows Anthony to Los Angeles. Here, Philip follows Anthony to a rather large stadium. Anthony disappears into a bathroom momentarily, and comes out in Alien regalia: green skin, body armor, blades, laser weapons, and a gliding mechanism on his back. Philip sees this and, in a moment of both panic and victorious glee, he savagely hits Anthony on the back of the head. Philip stuffs Anthony in the back of Anthony’s rental SUV and drives away.
Anthony wakes up some time later, bound to a chair in an empty warehouse. Philip is sitting across from him in a chair of his own, and a twisted grin is plastered on his face. Philip hassles Anthony, interrogating him, trying to get answers on how to fight the aliens. Anthony, confused and terrified, begins to demean Philip’s behavior. Philip brandishes a blade, one taken from Anthony’s armor. After a short monologue, Philip’s anger overwhelms him and he brutally stabs Anthony to death.
Philip flees L.A., back to Gustavus Adolphus. He lives life normally for a few days before news of Anthony’s death come back to Maria. Philip sleeps for nine days, and wakes up to discover a .450 revolver sitting on his pillow. He pockets the weapon, thinking it is a gift from whatever benevolent source is attempting to talk with him.
In the nine days he had been sleeping, Maria seems to not have noticed Philip’s absence. She even claims that she has used him as a support system to grieve over Anthony’s death.
FBI agents talk with Maria while Philip sits nearby. They express their worries that the killer might have fled California, which has caused the investigation to become a national ordeal. When they list off their prime suspect, she gasps. They are looking for a Philip Murdoch.
Philip immediately grabs his weapon and shoots one of the two agents in the face, point-blank, with his revolver. He turns to aim at the other, but Maria pushes his arm, causing the revolver to point at the agent’s shoulder instead. Philip brains Maria with the butt of his handgun, stuffs her into his car, and drives out of town ASAP.
He drives to Chicago, Illinois, and makes Maria comply with his every command. He boards a flight to Mt. McKinley in Alaska, where he believes he has the ability to fight the alien invasion head-on. As he forces Maria up the slope of Mt. McKinley, the FBI surrounds his position. He immediately grabs Maria, turning the standoff into a hostage situation. He begins to slowly back up the mountain, making demands to the aliens that surround him. He demands that the invasion be called off. He demands that the aliens go away, never to return to Earth. Finally, he commands that they never attempt an invasion of any planet again. As he makes these claims, his foot slips on a slick portion of snow. He loses his balance. He loses his grip. His finger slips. Blood sprays across the snow, and he looks in terror as he sees portions of Maria’s skull flecked on the ground. The gun slips down the slope, out of his reach. His last conscious thought before the shock overcomes him was the sight of two full-blown aliens reaching down and grabbing him. This was on July 23rd, 2027
Time blurs by in the next few weeks. Philip is being held on board an alien spaceship. He finally snaps into full consciousness over two weeks after being captured. He looks out the window of his padded cell to see the deep reaches of outer space looming back at him. He sees a collection of stars, much like that of the night sky he used to know. He turns around and sees a clock above a small door. It shines in red LEDs “4:28”. He struggles to get a grasp for what time it is, but cannot do so.
Maria is in a hospital. The bullet from the .450 revolver severely damaged her skull and put her in a coma, but she managed to survive. She’s still in a comatose state, but she’s doing alright. A nurse watches over her in the night, and on the morning of August 9th, 2027, a nurse is standing by to keep an eye on things.
Philip begins to wander around his cell. He sits in a corner, the strait-jacket he wears cutting into his arms, when he notices something peculiar happen with the clock. At 4:33, the LEDs turn blue. The clock then begins to count downwards, 4:33 becoming four minutes and thirty three seconds. Philip is confused at first, then the realization comes to him: It’s August 9th. He begins to shake his head in fear as the clock ticks ever downwards.
Maria shifts uneasily in her hospital bed. The nurse is astounded by this movement, and she leans closer. Maria’s eyes open momentarily, and the nurse practically yelps with glee. She turns to call for the doctors when the EKG machine begins beeping erratically. The nurse turns again, and the machine flatlines. Maria slumps in her bed. The nurse slams her hand on a button on the wall and screams “CODE BLUE! CODE BLUE!”
Philip’s eyes drag to the blue LEDs over his door. They blink down ever faster. 00:48, 00:47, 00:46. Philip begins to scream in rage and terror, his inability to stop the impending doom tearing at his soul. As the clock counts down the final few seconds, he puts his face to the thick glass window and yells with all his might. Then, everything goes white.
Both Philip and Maria die at 4:38 a.m. on August 9th, 2027
The epilogue is a collection of notes from a doctor’s internet-based journal. The doctor in question was presiding in a mental institution in downtown Los Angeles. They’re notes on Philip, who had quite obviously imagined the whole alien debacle. He comments that, through a week or so of examinations, it was clear that Philip had developed a multiple personality disorder in which one of his personalities was not only self-destructive and sadistic, but it also knew of the other personality. It described its love for clever and ornate schemes that would ultimately harm the “other” personality. Philip’s majority personality, the one he used most often, was entirely unaware of this other personality’s existence. In fact, the majority personality believed the doctor to be an alien. The sadistic personality recalled previous schemes, including ripping pages from an old textbook and even purchasing a revolver for the majority personality to “use”. The notes ultimately end on August 8th, 2027
Epilogue part deux is a news broadcast playing in a TV at the student lounge in Gustavus Adolphus University.
“Just three hours after consecutive nuclear attacks on Los Angeles, Washington D.C, and New York City, the United States has initiated a full-scale nuclear backlash on the countries of Iran and North Korea, who have taken join responsibility for the attacks. More news on this story as it develops later on this evening…in other news, the ravings of madman Philip Murdoch have earned him the title of ‘Messiah’ by a group of conspiracy theorists who have reason to believe that aliens are responsible for the nuclear attacks on the United States. Widespread pandemonium has torn through much of the United States as people rally behind Philip’s ideas of xenocide and extraterrestrial research. It seems silly, don’t you think? Aliens working against the United States specifically? Simply preposterous…”