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Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

Plato Says

  1. FADE IN


  2. Act 1


  3. EXT. ESTATE PARK - DAY


  4. Mild sunshine. PETER is taking out Tai Gow, the family pet turtle, from a turtle box.


  5. PETER: Fly...


  6. Peter then puts Tai Gow on the ground.


  7. PETER (V.O.): We haven't come out for days. There're frost warnings.


  8. We see Tai Gow surveying the environment.


  9. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): At home, he's at a restful state. The cold temperature has slowed him down.


  10. Pausing.


  11. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Having done my 4th jab, I've also slowed down.


  12. We see Tai Gow beginning to claw in one direction.


  13. Act 2


  14. EXT. ESTATE PARK - CONTINUOUS


  15. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I first heard of "The Turtles" in the late 1960s. They're a rock band.

  16. Watching Tai Gow.


  17. PETER (V.O.): I still love their hit songs "Happy Together", "She'd Rather Be With Me" and "You Showed Me."


  18. Recalling.


  19. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I began studying speculative cosmology in the mid 1970s, I heard about "Turtles all the way down".


  20. Watching Tai Gow.


  21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):The saying suggests that Earth is supported by an infinite stack of increasing large turtles.


  22. Pausing.


  23. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The suggestion leads to infinite regress.


  24. We see Tai Gow going in another direction.


  25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Among the philosophical topics, I loved Epistemology the most.


  26. Recalling.


  27. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then, I was studying Philosophy all by myself, wanting to get an external degree from Lond U.


  28. Watching.


  29. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Among the Greek philosophers, I loved Plato the most.


  30. Recalling.


  31. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In Sophist, Plato says that no one who can make constant progress should be discouraged, even though it be slow.


  32. Watching.


  33. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd: I had to study 5 years before I could take my degree exams.


  34. Recalling.


  35. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I got my honours degree at one go. I still take pride in that.


  36. We see Tai Gow arriving at a grass edging.


  37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Speed doesn't matter. Forward is forward.


  38. We see Tai Gow attempting to climb over it.


  39. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Is he a climber?


  40. We see Tai Gow standing up, trying to get his right footing on the edging.


  41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It seems that he has good capacity.


  42. We then see Tai Gow falling on his back.


  43. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh dear!


  44. Peter hesitates to help the upside-down Tai Gow.


  45. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me first see if he can right himself.


  46. We see Tai Gow sticking his head out on one side, shifting his body slightly. He then uses a foot to push against the ground, getting enough lift to flip back.


  47. PETER: Smart!


  48. We see Tai Gow resting. Then, he climbs, falls on his back and flips over again.


  49. PETER (V.O.): Are you determined to try, try again!


  50. Act 3


  51. EXT. ESTATE PARK - CONTINUOUS


  52. On his 3rd attempt, we see Tai Gow succeeding.


  53. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He is as determined as me.


  54. Thinking.


  55. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When a turtle sticks its neck out, it can do many things, including righting its upside-down position.


  56. Pausing.


  57. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Having had my 4th jab for 48 hours, I feel like an old turtle - at ease in my own shell.


  58. Hearing Peter saying "Fly...", we see Tai Gow being put back inside the turtle box.


  59. THE END


  60. FADE OUT














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