Lara – Page 78

MAX

You loved him.

LARA

Yes, he was precious to me. We spent twenty years together. (Pausing hesitantly) Are you preparing to end my life in the same manner you terminated the young android down below?

MAX

In the face of death, some waver, and I nudge them. There are those courageous enough to fall alone and utter their final words before they perish. And then there are those who lack dignity, and for them, I ensure a cruel elimination.

Silence settles. As if in a dream, Lara gazes toward the dark sky and the sinking orange sun beneath the somber sea of heavy clouds.

LARA (groaning)

For the living know that they will die,

but the dead know nothing,

they have no further reward,

and even their name is forgotten.

Their love, their hate

and their jealousy have long since vanished,

never again will they have a part

in anything that happens under the sun.

Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.

Ecclesiastes 9

Lara maintains complete silence, persisting in her motionless posture, aware that her end is imminent. Max, sharing in this rare display of emotions that bares her soul, is astounded by the depth of her feelings. A prolonged silence ensues. Lara and Max sit motionless for an extended hour, exhibiting no indication of the impending end. Somewhere below, the ocean of clouds becomes filled with lightning, and distant thunder reverberates in their ears.