FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. SITTING ROOM - DAY
PETER is relaxing on a sofa, as his pet, KAJI, cleans his face.
PETER (V.O.): Her love for us is unconditional.
Peter checks his phone casually.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Here's a hypothetical answer request from a Quoran. I don't usually answer such questions as there're too many unknowns, and my answers may not have predictive power.
We read on the screen: If you could choose 10 people (doctor, biologist, engineer, etc) to have alongside you during a nuclear fallout, who would you pick?
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): The hypothetical is actually about how a human unit can survive during and after a nuclear fallout.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): But what's the point of surviving without my family? My family is my life.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So, 10 people would mean: my wife and me; and my four children and their partners.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Do we have the skill sets to survive during a nuclear fallout?
FLASHBACK
INT. CINEMA - DAY (1964)
Peter (10) and his FRIEND (11) are watching the film Robinson Crusoe. The HERO in the film is shipwrecked in a storm. Using tools salvaged and stuff he makes, the hero survives...
PETER (V.O.): Yes, I believe I can be Robinson Crusoe too.
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): And my children and their partners can procreate.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I wouldn't leave other loving beings behind. Kaji will follow us around, and I'll take care of our two pet tortoises.
After inserting an image of Kaji to a draft, Peter types his answer on the phone.
Act 2
INT. SITTING ROOM - DAY
Peter checks a link from a chat group.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My law classmates sent me this link: The Coming War On China.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): War since the WWII has been outlawed under international law. But small-scale wars are still fought here and there.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Trade war against China aside, US and UK etc have been encroaching China in technology, trade etc.
Peter taps on the video link.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's about US' military built up all over the world; and China is US' perfect enemy.
Peter is thoughts as he continues to watch the film.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As tension between US and China has been building up, the possibility of a nuclear war by design or accident can't be ruled out at all.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): However, there's the possibility that some humans could survive if their cities weren't the hardest hit.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Has Hong Kong, China, be aimed at? It seems that the big US Consulate hasn't vacated yet.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But the aftermath of a nuclear war could involve a nuclear winter and widespread radiation sickness...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So the hypothetical posed to me isn't that hypothetical after all.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's quite a wake-up call.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've been too complacent with peacetime and its abundance.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Just one crazy guy in authority can destroy the planet.
Peter looks out of the window.
Act 3
INT. SITTING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Peter watches TV news.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The US Secretary of State is visiting UK...
Peter surfs the web and we hear from his phone: I was a CIA director. We lied. We cheated. We stole... the glory of the American experiment.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That's how he'd direct. If lying, cheating and stealing won't make America great again, will they be preparing for a war against China?
'
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Fortunately, US' nuclear monopoly has long gone. Otherwise, nuclear bombing under the pretext of national security won't be improbable.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But the phenomenon allows for more low-intensity conflicts like what has been happening regarding Hong Kong, China.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the age of chaos, civilised institutions like logic, knowledge, morality, and law have all become irrelevant. Power politics trumps all.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): From the hypothetical, I've got a spiritual enlightenment.
Kaji jumps up to the sofa to keep Peter company.
THE END
FADE OUT.

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