FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. SLEEPING ROOM - DAY
PETER is reading a mail on his phone.
PETER (V.O.): Yes, the coronavirus scare has turned people's lives upside down. Many things, including knowledge transfer, is now primarily online rather than offline.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In Hong Kong 2019, the scare was caused by some Hongkongers, now, it's the non-discriminatory COVID-19.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As an HKUST Council Member, I have witnessed how University administration, faculty, and staff undertaking all that with decency and humility.
Peter reads on.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And now, Harvard has to do the same. Some endorsement and encouragement from the University President to all is necessary. This is an aspect of leadership.
Pondering.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The President says that to save one life is equivalent to saving the entire world. Is that right?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's a quote from Talmud. What's Talmud?
Act 2
INT. SLEEPING ROOM - CONTINOUS
Peter surfs the web.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, Talmud is the primary source of Jewish theology...The President must be a Jew.
Peter types on his phone to search.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, his mother was the only member of her family to survive Auschwitz. His father was also a Jewish immigrant to the US.
Peter reads on.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The President is three years older than me and has degrees from MIT, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Kennedy School.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My dream in the 1970s was to get admitted to HKU only...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And then in the 1980s to London...to Strasbourg...and to Hague...
Remembering.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And in 1996 to Tsinghua.
Remembering.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And only in the 2000s did I have spells at Harvard Kennedy School...and speaking opportunities at Harvard Asia Business Conference in Harvard Business School...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Those were the best I could do.
Peter reads on.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, he was chosen as President out of 700 candidates...So competitive!
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Since retirement from civil service, I've been doing some university governance work too...
Peter reads on.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, he's an avid runner - done several marathons.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I swim a lot too. But all the swimming pools are still closed. And I won't go to the beach until weeks later.
Act 3
EXT. PARK - DAY
Track. Peter is jogging.
PETER (V.O.): In lieu of swimming, I've been jogging for a few weeks now. And I feel good.
Open space. Peter is practising some Tango, Waltz and Jive and cha-cha-cha footworks.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It seems that I still have some muscle memories.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm fortunate that I've been reasonably healthy.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For anyone who dies because of human evil or the COVID-19, the entire world doesn't matter to him or her anymore.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): No one can live more than once.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So in that sense, what Talmud says isn't wrong - to save one life is equivalent to saving the entire world. One life isn't just a number.
Checking his phone screen again.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Talmud also says: A person will be called to account on Judgment Day for every permissible thing he might have enjoyed but did not.
INT. SLEEPING ROOM - DAY
Coming out of the bathroom, Peter returns to bed.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So treasure the present as a present and keep my sleeping wife good company.
FADE OUT.
THE END
Comments