FADE IN:
INT. CLUB HOUSE - DAY
PETER brows a paper-back feature.
PETER (V.O.)
Oh, Leonardo da Vinci's
literary, artistic and
scientific works...And the
Chateau at Amboise?
I was there - in 1990!
FLASHBACK
INT. OFFICE - DAY (1990)
Peter (36) reads a communication from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
PETER (V.O.)
WIPO is holding a
symposium on Industrial
Designs. I've been asked
to reform the Hong
Kong law. I should seize
the opportunity to
broaden and deepen my
perspectives.
He reads on.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
At Amboise in France?
Well, if I could go, I'd
better hire a car and
drive there from Paris.
INT. CHATEAU DU CLOSE LUCE - DAY (1990)
Peter is among dozens of European PARTICIPANTS.
PETER (V.O.)
A nice French town for
me to learn anything
about industrial designs
But why here?
INT. MUSEUM, AMBOISE - DAY (1990)
Surrounded by green grass on the outside. Alone, Peter examines extracts of notebooks and working models on display.
PETER (V.O.)
Well, these scientific notes
and models were done by
by Leonardo da Vinci?
I thought he was an artistic
painter. He was really good
at many different things.
Peter looks at some drawings.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Wow, the concept of
a helicopter? Well, he
was centuries ahead of
his time!
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
But why his design stuff
is exhibited here, in this
small museum?
Then he reads something striking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Oh, he actually lived here
until his death!
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
I was that ignorant then!
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
At Amboise, I also met up for the first time an
Examiner from the
China Patent Office.
FLASHBACK
INT. CHATEAU DU CLOSE LUCE - DAY
PARTICIPANTS have lunch at a round table. Sitting next to Peter is the EXAMINER (50s). They exchange Chinese character notes with each other. A GENTLEMAN (40s) opens a small talk with the examiner but he doesn't get it.
EXAMINER
Can you speak in English?
GENTLEMAN
I'm speaking English!
Their conversation ends.
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.)
I learned from his notes
that he studied for a
year in Oregon.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
I didn't speak Mandarin
then. When people praise
my fluency in Mandarin,
I'd remember this scene
which motivated me to
learn.
Peter remembers something.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
There was a Gala dinner in
a castle. As a Yugoslavian
designer and I stayed at
Novotel, he wouldn't drive
but would take a lift of my
hired car to and from the
castle.
FLASHBACK
INT - CHATEAU ROYAL D'AMBOISE - NIGHT
Grand and prestigious. A few small dinner tables on upper floors. Sitting opposite Peter are the DESIGNER (30s) and a WOMAN (30s) who are engaging in conversations.
PETER (V.O.)
I can tell the Yugoslavians
are talking something very
serious, but I don't know
what. The French dinner
in the Castle is long and
boring, but I can't leave
early.
EXT - MOTOR WAY - DAY
Holding a map in his left hand, Peter drives a left-hand-drive car alone. A strong wind blows away his map.
PETER (V.O.)
Oh! Without it, I've to
rely on signs to take
me back to Paris de
Gaulle Airport!
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
The designer posted me
a Yugoslavian calendar
near year end. I heard no
more of him, but the
Yugoslav wars from the
media.
A beat.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
When I make my first
duty visit to the China
Patent Office in 1992,
the examiner sent me
a telex asking me to
do something I consider
inappropriate. I declined
his request.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Upon retirement in 2014,
my younger son and I
joined a package tour
to Europe. When I saw
the crowd trying to take
photos of Mona Lisa at
the Louvre, I recall my
good times at Amboise.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
If I drive to Amboise again,
there's GPS now. It's
reasonable that the
Renaissance Man couldn't
foresee that even when
he died around this time
500 years ago!
FADE OUT. The End