No Trades On the Seventh
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
Act 1
INT. LIVING ROOM - 10:45
Natural lighting. PETER holds a smartphone and checks stock prices on Yahoo Finance.
PETER (V.O.): System down?
Peter restarts his phone and checks again.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It seems the market data is the same.
Peter goes to play the piano. And a little while later, his younger SON appears in the corridor.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He's should have gone to work...a day off probably...
EXT. SILVERSTRAND BAY - 12:45
WOMEN scream. Portable speakers play. A GROUP set up a tent near the tide line.
PETER (V.O.): Where's the peace?
He pulls out his phone. Types: Is April 7, 2026 a Hong Kong public holiday?
Act 2
EXT. ROADS - 18:45
Peter is driving his numeric blue SMART city coupe.
PETER (V.O.): I work in retirement...no new assignments.
Driving.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My April trip. Booked for the 9th. Price for April 7, same as April 8. Same as April 9.
Stopping before traffic lights.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): US set April 7 the deadline...bombing Iran back to the stone age in four hours...unimaginable horror...
Peter sighs.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): War crimes. Day in. Day out.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Humanity has returned to a state of nature. Hobbes was right.
Peter sighs again.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What can I do?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The instinct to do something in the face of atrocitieis is a kind of trade - effort or relief.
Peter sighs further.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I can't stop them. No one can stop them. Not even India, Russia or China.
He clenches his jaw.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The warmongers have missiles. They've narratives.
Driving.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But China stands out for its exceptional effectiveness and efficiency in building superstructures.
Accelerating.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): This China speed stems from strong coordination, innovative modular techniques, and massive resources mobilization.
Accelerating.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): China can turn ambitious rebuilding visions into reality far faster than conventional approaches elsewhere.
INT. LIVING ROOM - 18:45
Peter and his WIFE are watching world news on TV.
PETER: I sympathize with people in war zones.
Watching.
PETER (Cont'd): I adore people who are prepared to sacrifice themselves.
WIFE: The warmongers deserve the barbaric punishment...
Peter sighs.
PETER: Sitting here feels like consent.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.): I can't stop the bombing of Iran. I can't punish barbaric warmongers. I can't even remember a public holiday.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I restarted my phone because the stock market was silent. I wish I could restart the world for the same reason.
Act 3
INT. LIVING ROOM - 22:00
Peter uploads an image to a draft on his laptop. It shows a diagonal line of seven round marks across the surface of a paper on top of very thin Chinese pancakes.
PETER (V.O.): Even when humanity returns to a state of nature: rebuild; even then: refuse to become barbarians.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): No trades on the seventh - where markets end and conscience begin.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Conscience isn't a transaction. It's a chair. Sit down.
The END
FADE OUT
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