Muya Cleverman

HE GRUNTS

HE GROANS

# Take the head and the body will follow

# Take the head

# Take the head and the body will follow

# Take the head

# Take me home

# Take me home. #

Wait!

I can't keep up this pace.

Wait.

What are you doing?

I can walk.

All right? I'll walk.

GRUNTING

SCREAMING

I've never seen one like this before.

No.

And I'm sure it's not a random attack.

No police.

Of course.

Whatever happens, she mustn't be taken to a hospital,

subjected to a barrage of tests.

I understand.

Street surveillance cameras would have found them.

Won't take me long to track them down.

And get that footage off the CA system.

We don't want them anywhere near this.

Consider it done.

I'm pregnant! Please don't hurt me!

Please, I need...

I need food and water.

I'm worried about my baby.

Do you speak English?

-We'll get you some water.

-Oh, thank God.

Please, please let me go.

I don't understand. Why have you brought me here?

Perhaps I can help. I'm a doctor.

I looked after your people in the city.

I wish your people no harm.

Please.

Please don't go!

Don't leave me here with him!

Oh, God.

Oh, God.

-TV:

-In other headline news today,

the search continues for the subhumans

that escaped the Containment Authority's prison convoy.

Numbers at the Inclusion Clinic,

led by the Department of Human Safety's newly appointed Waruu West,

are lower than expected. In...

Have you got a minute?

How can I help?

Anything you'd like to report?

The other creature.

The thing with the blue light.

You were going to investigate and get back to me.

He didn't kill any of those men, did he?

No. They appear to have been stunned only.

Are you suggesting it's not dangerous?

Not at all.

I'm just gathering as much information as I can.

If you can't tell me what it is,

what it wants, how we can deter it?

Trust me, Minister, I will find a way to stop him.

Let me know if there's any developments.

Been worried about you.

Waruu tried to kill me.

That prick's trying to wipe us off the face of the earth.

He's pumping Hairies full of chemicals.

Makes them lose their hair, their strength.

All you've got to do is volunteer, play nice.

Eventually, no CA.

No containment.

No DNA testing.

He can't do that.

-He's doing it.

-Well, then, we need to stop him.

Its scales would shimmer under the water like jewels.

And that fish was so big, so big

that, whenever it moved its fin,

huge waves would crash against the shore.

You telling her lies too?

I'll finish it later.

Don't do this here.

You killed my parents.

Stoned off your head.

Driving a car with your own son in the back.

What kind of person...

..mother...does that?

Did you plan it?

Huh?

Deliberately set the whole thing up?

Answer me.

Koen...

..I'm so sorry.

That's it?

"Sorry"?

-What the hell was that?

-I don't even know you.

Just listen to me. Koen, listen.

She's sick.

Uncle Jimmy!

Unc!

Uncle!

Uncle Jimmy!

How many more people knew about the accident?

Huh?

You knew.

Waruu knew.

So, was it everybody except me?

You all lied to me.

My whole life.

I grew up in bullshit!

Tell me you've found them.

Cameras tracked them all the way through the city,

but then we lost them after they left Sector 534.

Lost them?

They've travelled west out of the city some hours ago.

No cameras.

Moving surprisingly fast.

Highway patrols?

They weren't using roads.

But she's still alive.

West could mean mountains.

What can you show me?

How do I find her in there?

You'd need an army.

No-one's seen Latani?

No.

Maybe she found a way out.

We need to believe that.

After Djukura...

our boy...

I have to go.

Boondee...

..I understand why you gave up hope...

-..came here.

-No.

They forced me.

I never would have chosen this.

-Waruu.

-Minister.

-A word?

-Of course.

The polling results are in.

We've dropped several points on the rolling average.

Granted, there's a drop in competence across the board, but...

responses to your specific appointment and performance -

well...

it's not good. You're not invoking faith in the electorate.

They see you as an ineffectual poster boy.

Takes time.

As a black man, I'll always be seen as a poster boy.

Opinion will change once we start getting results through.

We don't have time. You need to change people's perception of you.

Convince me to trust you.

If you have seen these subhumans or Hairy sympathisers,

contact your local CA branch immediately.

If you have seen these subhumans or Hairy sympathisers,

contact your local CA branch immediately.

Hurry!

You have entered a prohibited area.

Run! Run!

Run. Go!

-No.

-Come on, Alinta!

Go!

Drop the weapon.

-I will shoot.

-I said, "Drop the weapon!"

Mum!

Go! Run!

-Stop!

-Step back.

You're under arrest.

SHE WAILS

Latani!

Latani!

Latani!

SOBBING

You've been with Jimmy.

Yeah.

The old bastard showed you the accident, didn't he?

You have every reason to hate me.

Yeah, I do.

He showed me something else, too.

What's that?

Muya.

Anyone who gets caught in the blue blast, their muya gets trapped.

Anyone?

Yeah, anyone.

Oh, if the cancer takes me right now...

..there's no reunion for me with the ancestors.

Yep.

-CA are scum.

-I'll take that as a compliment, darling.

Thank you, boys.

We'll take it from here.

I'm sorry.

We've gotta let 'em go.

-What's your problem?

-Let 'em go.

Stand down, Dolan.

-They're just kids.

-She'll be all right.

-Subbies aren't kids.

-They're animals.

-Hey?

-What the hell is wrong with you?

Are you OK? Are you sure?

The woman.

She's the one I told you about.

-You're doing her mum?

-Mm-hm.

HE LAUGHS

You're doing her mum?

Oh.

Well, I never would have expected that.

Turn around. Face the car.

Turn around.

These subbies are ripping out people's hearts,

and you're supposed to be stopping them.

Get in the car.

What are you going to do with me?

You know they'll be looking for me.

Where are you going?

Wait!

Why are we stopping?

Why are we stopping?!

Dolan. Dolan!

Come here.

You can have your woman. Go on, take her.

Get out of here. But just the mum.

You can't separate them.

You are in no position to negotiate.

-It'll be all right.

-What about the girls?

-I'll take them in for processing.

-Oh, man, you can't do that!

Listen, sunshine.

Take the deal or I'll report you.

Your call.

Wise man.

-Let her go!

-Come on, you're coming with me.

-Let her go!

-Come on.

-Mum!

You're going with me. In the van.

Get in the van.

-Shh! Watch your head.

-Quiet down, darling.

-Watch your head.

-Mum! Mum!

Where are they taking them?

Processing, all right? We have got to go.

You can't separate us.

You being locked up won't help, all right?!

Alinta, I'll come for you.

I am so sorry, Jarrod.

This is... This is terrible.

It's an outrage. You...

..must be beside yourself.

Have you heard anything from them? Any sort of demands?

Nothing.

Well, the Containment Authority should handle this.

We really don't need news of it getting out.

This footage has already been edited into a package for broadcast.

Look, I understand this is your wife,

but this is also a terrorism issue, national security.

On that basis, it would be a criminal offence, indeed treason,

for you to disseminate the footage.

Wouldn't you say the public has a right to know

the serious danger it faces?

I would say the public has a need to feel assured they are safe

and protected from terrorism by the government.

But they're not.

Do not broadcast that footage.

The last sighting of that Hairy and my wife was in sector 532,

which would suggest they're headed for the mountains.

How do you know which sector?

I want full clearance for Steve McIntyre.

You're blackmailing me.

I'd like to think of it more as a strategic alliance.

The government and Slade Industries have worked together before.

-We can do it again.

-That's just not possible.

Well, perhaps this might persuade you

that we all want the same thing, Minister.

GRUNTING

That's from one of your CA surveillance cameras.

But this is classified information.

Vigilante.

Some sort of superpower,

roaming the streets.

A new kind of Hairy.

The government hushes it up.

Give full access to Steve McIntyre.

And I want whoever gave that footage to Slade,

and I don't care what rules you have to bend or break.

Waruu West.

He's the first place you should look.

BUZZING

BEEP

-How you doing?

-Good.

My partner, he took the two young females for processing.

-The human and the Hairy?

-Yeah.

Female human, yes, but she was processed alone.

There's no Hairy prisoner recorded.

OK, no worries, he must still have her.

Can I have a quick word with the young girl?

-I've got to follow something up.

-Sorry, she's being interviewed.

I'd say she won't be going anywhere tonight.

Right.

Give me a call when she's done.

-Dolan, 249.

-Right.

Uncle Jimmy.

Did he mention a way to get my muya back?

I think the muya can only be re-entered if someone's dead.

I have to wait.

You should kill me.

I don't know if I can bring you back.

Why would you want to, after what I did?

That's not it.

-Something's broken.

-What do you mean?

I can't heal right any more.

This is Waruu, isn't it?

I messed both you boys up.

I thought cancer was my punishment,

but I should have realised it was bigger than that.

I'm condemned to live alone...for eternity.

Aunty. It's all right, boy.

I don't expect anything from you.

Things are as they should be.

I guess we've got nothing to lose if we give it a try, then.

Your friend, Tim Dolan, gave you to me.

That was nice of him, wasn't it?

You're the worst kind of subbie.

You know that?

Not sticking with your own kind.

Preying on weak, innocent humans.

Selling them your sob story.

I'm not afraid of you.

Good.

Well, we're going to have a little fun, then.

Don't touch me.

Not if you were the last thing on earth, darling.

You're probably crawling with lice.

So, how fast are you, subbie?

I want to see you run.

I'm sorry...

what's that?

What's that?

You're casting a spell or something?

You're going to need a lot more than that.

Are you ready?

One...

..two...

..three...

HIGH PITCHED RINGING

FAINT VOICES

Come on, come on, come on, come on.

Shh, shh, shh.

You all right?

That calls for a smoke.

SHE LAUGHS

Jarli...

I know your people.

I've worked for them, I've helped them.

Please.

-You will stay here.

-What?

-How long?

-As long as it takes.

No, I need to be in a hospital.

I need a doctor.

Please!

I can walk by myself.

I can walk by myself.

Thanks.

Been searching for your girl?

Yeah.

One day, you won't come back.

You know that.

Until I know she's...

I've got to keep trying.

Sometimes, you've got to learn to live without them.

I already lost two to the CA.

They're not getting them all.

I'll die before I let that happen.

You probably will,

looking like that.

She'll never even know you tried.

I've got none left.

And look at me.

First day I walked without fear...

..was the day I walked out of that clinic.

GRUNTING

I think I have something you might be interested in.

Been looking for your man, the creature.

And?

Nothing on his movements.

Got another lead, about to follow up.

Elaborate.

I think I know someone who can help.

And who is that?

That animal has Charlotte.

-What?

-Took her, out the front of the house.

Know where she is?

No.

Same clan as our initiative man, Boondee.

Bilamunju.

You should have told me you had this.

Of course, without the Cleverman, it's just a stick.

All this is useless.

It has a pulse.

One drop of Koen's blood activated it.

Now, nothing can damage it.

Nothing.

Except this.

But I don't know how yet.

May I?

It's organic.

Once plant material and now, through petrification, stone.

It's amazing.

But it was liquid when I took it.

Is that so?

Strange.

PHONE VIBRATES

Waruu West.

Don't do anything until I get there.

Got to go.

We're working together now, aren't we?

I'll bring it back.

We'll lose valuable time.

Turn it back into its original form.

It'll be my pleasure.

-Where's my daughter?

-Alinta West was found in the company of a Hairy.

That's a serious offence.

That offence needs to disappear.

Your daughter's details are not in the system.

It's as if she never existed.

Can you explain that?

Then how do you know the girl you have is my daughter?

She told us...after some argument.

If you've hurt her in any way...

She's unharmed. Don't worry.

And all of her details now,

-including her crime, are in the system.

-I am the system.

Release her to me under house arrest, put a security tag on her.

I'll deal with the charges later.

Now, where is she?

I'll take you.

Thank God you're all right.

How stupid are you?

Nice to see you too, Dad.

Does your mother know what you've been up to?

-Where is she?

-I don't know.

-Tell me.

-I have no idea.

We all got split up when we were arrested.

I need to find Latani.

-You're coming home with me.

-No way.

I'm not losing you again.

You didn't lose me.

They're going to fit you with a security tag.

I'll take you home.

You're sick.

You want this back?

It's yours.

You're in a good mood.

Are you coming?

Keep this warm for us.

I reckon.

Maybe you're not such a prick.

That's a crap apology.

Who's apologising?

Whatever you said to Linda worked.

Good one.

Getting any better?

No.

Any news on Nerida and the girls?

Mustn't have been easy, what you did.

Just a bit of deep breathing, that's all.

Nah, not that bit.

You forgave the unforgiveable.

Why'd you do it?

I was crazy with grief.

Jealousy.

I loved your father.

Too much.

I just drove straight at them.

And I could see your mother had gone into labour.

I grabbed her arm and I pulled...

I pulled her from the wreckage.

There was...so much blood...

..and you were coming.

I could see that.

Weren't nothing going to stop you popping out right there,

in the glass, and blood and metal.

I didn't have to do much.

I always thought it was my fault that she died.

This has got nothing to do with you, boy.

I brought all this on.

I guess we're even, then.

Enough yapping.

We've got to get you out of them clothes.

You're a leader, boy. You've got to start looking like one.

Like Uncle Jimmy,

mad hair and no shoes.

THEY LAUGH

Do you like it?

Don't I get to choose any of my own stuff?

Step outside, the alarm gets activated at CA.

Damage or break the security tag, same thing.

I'll make us some dinner.