Invest in Peace
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Feb 16, 2022
- 2 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. SITTING ROOM - NIGHT (Yesterday)
PETER chats with his WIFE.
PETER: Today's stock market has closed lower again. Have you bought low?
WIFE: No.
PETER: Why not?
WIFE: The market won't bounce back for a while.
PETER: Due to the rumour that Russia will invade Ukraine tomorrow?
PETER (Cont'd): On TV, I heard the Ukrainian authority wanted to show to Russia their power...
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): If I were them, I'd opt for neutrality.
Act 2
INT. STUDY - DAY
Smartphone in hand, Peter is reading answer request on Quora.
PETER (V.O.): How do we make a comprehensive war on waste a vital part of day-to-day living?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Waste is an issue due to abundance. Waste couldn't be an issue during wartime.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): We don't want or support war. But it's hard to make people change, even with sanctions.
Typing on screen.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): A soft option could be mass hypnosis, if there's such a powerful hypnotist.
Then, Peter grabs a book to read.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): The author got scholarships to study in Hong Kong and in UK. That's our similarity.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): The difference was that he got his first degree just before the the start of WWII.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbour, Japan also attacked Hong Kong without declaring war against the British Empire.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Many people in Hong Kong then didn't foresee that.
INT. DINING ROOM - AFTERNOON
Peter and his wife are having noodles and tea.
PETER: The stock market has bounced back today. I may be out of the red again.
WIFE: Russia withdrew their troops after the military exercise.
PETER (V.O): Give peace a chance! All countries or territories need stability and prosperity.
INT. STUDY - LATE AFTERNOON
Having worked behind a computer, Peter relaxes on a sofa, checking a Quora answer request: What is the importance of Futurism?
PETER (V.O.): What is it?
Peter surfs the web.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Futurism was an Italian artistic and social movement in the early 20th Century.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): People then knew they were entering into a machine age and they had to think and act progressively.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Futurism also championed speed, technology, science, youth and violence.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): And these have become a significant component of Western culture.
As Peter types on screen, the TV breaks news that the author of "Give War a Chance" has died today.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Violence is a disease. No one should spread it.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): War doesn't determine what's right. It brings unnecessary deaths and suffering, among others.
Act 3
INT. SITTING ROOM - NIGHT
Smartphone in hand, Peter shows his wife the performance of his entrepreneurship fund.
PETER: My day's gain and total gain have become green again.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.): I now know I'm investing in peacetime.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): During wartime. the market value of portfolios can drop over 50%.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): What is important is that those in authority anywhere should invest in peace. It's absolutely the right thing to do.
FADE OUT
THE END
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