BONDS
Dr. Hasslein, when you asked the
Male Ape where he came from, he
answered: 'From your future'.
Do you believe that?
HASSLEIN
Absolutely. It is the only
explanation.
BONDS
But the-explanation itself needs
explaining. Doctor, you've written
learned dissertations on the Nature
of Time. Could you explain, in
terms that will be understood by
less knowledgeable viewers, how a
person or persons could travel from
Time Future to Time Past -- or,
indeed, vice versa?
HASSLEIN
Time can only fully be understood
by an observer with the godlike gift
of infinite regression.
BONDS
(wincing)
Could you please explain infinite
regression?
48 INT. CONTROL ROOM
DIRECTOR
(to Technician)
Roll the film.
CUT TO:
49 TIGHT SHOT - A LANDSCAPE PAINTING
We shall later see that it is only the central part of
a much larger painting, as we PULL BACK (when
indicated), during:
HASSLEIN'S VOICE
(O. S.)
Here is the painting of a landscape.
But the artist who painted it says,
- Something is missing. What is it?
It is I myself who was a part of the
landscape I painted.' So he mentally
takes a step backward -- or
'regresses' -- and paints...
(PULL BACK)
...a picture of the artist painting
a picture of the landscape. And
still something is missing. And that
something is still his real self
painting the second picture. So he
'regresses' further and paints a
third...
(PULL BACK)
...a picture of the artist painting a
picture of the artist painting the
landscape. And because something is
still missing, he paints a fourth and
fifth picture...
(BIG, SLOW, PULL BACK)
...until he has painted a picture of
the artist painting a picture of the
artist painting a picture of the
artist painting a picture of the
artist painting the landscape.
CUT BACK TO:
50 MASTER SCENE
BONDS
(blinking)
It's enough to drive you mad.
HASSLEIN
(very seriously)
Yes.
BONDS
So infinite regression is--
HASSLEIN
--The moment when our artist,
having regressed to the point of
infinity, himself becomes a part
of the picture he has painted and
is both the Observer and the observed.
Even Bonds has begun to sweat.
BONDS
What, in that peculiar condition,
would he observe if he were observing
Time?
HASSLEIN
He would perceive that Time is like
a freeway with an infinite number of
'lanes' -- all leading from the past
into the future. But not into the
same future. A driver in Lane 'A'
may crash, while a driver in Lane 'B'
survives. It follows that a driver,
by changing lanes, can change his
future.
Dr. Hasslein, when you asked the
Male Ape where he came from, he
answered: 'From your future'.
Do you believe that?
HASSLEIN
Absolutely. It is the only
explanation.
BONDS
But the-explanation itself needs
explaining. Doctor, you've written
learned dissertations on the Nature
of Time. Could you explain, in
terms that will be understood by
less knowledgeable viewers, how a
person or persons could travel from
Time Future to Time Past -- or,
indeed, vice versa?
HASSLEIN
Time can only fully be understood
by an observer with the godlike gift
of infinite regression.
BONDS
(wincing)
Could you please explain infinite
regression?
48 INT. CONTROL ROOM
DIRECTOR
(to Technician)
Roll the film.
CUT TO:
49 TIGHT SHOT - A LANDSCAPE PAINTING
We shall later see that it is only the central part of
a much larger painting, as we PULL BACK (when
indicated), during:
HASSLEIN'S VOICE
(O. S.)
Here is the painting of a landscape.
But the artist who painted it says,
- Something is missing. What is it?
It is I myself who was a part of the
landscape I painted.' So he mentally
takes a step backward -- or
'regresses' -- and paints...
(PULL BACK)
...a picture of the artist painting
a picture of the landscape. And
still something is missing. And that
something is still his real self
painting the second picture. So he
'regresses' further and paints a
third...
(PULL BACK)
...a picture of the artist painting a
picture of the artist painting the
landscape. And because something is
still missing, he paints a fourth and
fifth picture...
(BIG, SLOW, PULL BACK)
...until he has painted a picture of
the artist painting a picture of the
artist painting a picture of the
artist painting a picture of the
artist painting the landscape.
CUT BACK TO:
50 MASTER SCENE
BONDS
(blinking)
It's enough to drive you mad.
HASSLEIN
(very seriously)
Yes.
BONDS
So infinite regression is--
HASSLEIN
--The moment when our artist,
having regressed to the point of
infinity, himself becomes a part
of the picture he has painted and
is both the Observer and the observed.
Even Bonds has begun to sweat.
BONDS
What, in that peculiar condition,
would he observe if he were observing
Time?
HASSLEIN
He would perceive that Time is like
a freeway with an infinite number of
'lanes' -- all leading from the past
into the future. But not into the
same future. A driver in Lane 'A'
may crash, while a driver in Lane 'B'
survives. It follows that a driver,
by changing lanes, can change his
future.