Ahriman©

A screenplay by and property of
Gordon Hayes

Genre: Science Fiction; Action/Adventure.

This is a story of Loyalty, and Belief in One's Self, as well as of Truth, Peace, Justice, and also includes some intense violence. The ending is bittersweet, but satisfying. A combination of a real ``guy's flick'' and a ``chick flick'', if you will.

This story is about Ahriman, a young prophet of a strangely religious, but violent desert planet called Beulah. Ahriman believes in passivism and in helping the poor. These parallels to Jesus however, only go so far. Ahriman and his Uncle, (called: Ormazd ) are very close. Ormazd also rules the planet. He ignores Ahriman's charitable ways, even though politically, it costs him a great deal.

The story opens with Lawrence of Arabia-type long, imagistic shots of heat and grandiose beauty, all on an alien desert planet. The shot sequence eventually settles on a caravan being lead by a blind ascetic. These people have strange religious ceremonies of weighing a grain of sand located before the caravan, in order to safely divine their way. There are many in the caravan (the superstitious and ignorant) who fear these priests, and many (the outnumbered mercenaries and non-believers), who simply hate the priests and the superstitious and ignorant ones. This is in many ways a kind of desert-oriented nazi culture, though this is mostly implied, in an attempt to avoid delving too deeply into this paradigm.

The opening scenes then turn to night, a campfire in the desert, and a man telling a boy a story about the prophet, Ahriman (who quickly walks away from the campfire). This quickly transforms at one point, into a vivid computer enhanced nightmare and we realize that the man that had been telling the story is really a scientist studying Virtual Reality (VR)-style social models research, located on Earth. His VR lab is tied into two other labs at the research facility (Teleportation and InterDimensional Research). These three labs are using a new type of computer and the three-way tie in between the labs ends in great problems for all concerned, and the Earth in general. A glitch occurs and Ahriman is whisked into the Teleportation lab. All along, the VR lab has been studying what they think is a computer generated world, but is really just them experiencing another planet, synthesized through the computer, and modeled after it for the scientist's psychic immersions.

The Virtual Reality/TelePortation/Interdimensional glitch happens while Ahriman is handing out clothing to the fearful poor in the local market. The market is located below his Uncle's castle's observation window. While under the Uncle's scrutiny, Ahriman is attacked by his Ormazd's enemies. During a dusty, windswept, and terribly murderous scramble, Ahriman disappears into thin air. This is not taken well by the fearful enemies of Ormazd.

Back at the Earth Teleportation lab, the Earth scientists suddenly find themselves looking at Ahriman, who arrived through the link to Beulah that had been inadvertently initiated. Eventually, this link will allow Ormazd's murderers to send their forces through in an attempt to take over what they see as their new territory.

Ahriman is quickly taken away for study, and ends up escaping. From there on through much of the movie, we don't see him, except for a time on tv, when he makes an announcement to the world. It was discovered that Ahriman has persuasive powers, that are accentuated with a television signal pushing his image out to the world. He tells everyone to end violence (shots include people reacting around the world watching Ahriman's image and speech). This happens just before the planet is invaded by the usurpers, Ahriman's own people.

Earth (the U.S.) puts its forces at the lab to stop the invasion (after all, not everyone was watching the tv when Ahriman gave his speech of passivity to the world). Eventually, Ahriman helps to defeat his own people; the planet is saved; the link is destroyed; Ahriman is locked on Earth forever, but has earned an entire planet's gratitude and devotion; but he is lonely for his own people and even more so, his uncle (because he realizes, for the invasion to have occurred, his Uncle would have to have been murdered).

The movie ends with Ahriman using an incomplete VR computer simulation of his home planet, not as good as the one displayed in the beginning as the computer has been damaged and no one wants to take a chance at reinitiating the link. Ahriman has lost everything and has become a kind of outcast. The ending is emotional and bittersweet.

OTHER ELEMENTS: The ubiquitous Men-in-Black-Suits (Aliens, or Government?) lurking and attacking; Beulah's strange weapons made of muscle tissues that store power like Star Trek phasers, their helmets are also made of a variant of these same living, churning materials that draw life from pure energies; strange creatures that live beneath the surface on Beulah (not sand worms); a semi-main female character that is related romantically to the main scientist and dies near the end, which acts as a catalyst to Ahriman, initiating him finally to react fully and decisively against his ``own people'', thus saving the Earth.

One interesting element of this screenplay is that Ahriman is rarely seen until most of the way through the story. However, as he is spoken about so much and as he is so relevant to the storyline, the contention is that when asking people after viewing the film, I submit that they will believe they saw him more than they actually did. I think that Orson Wells would have appreciated what is being attempted in this screenplay.

BACKGROUND NOTES:

AHRIMAN: The evil spirit in Zoroastrianism, understood by some as the arch rival of Ormazd. Persian: ahriman, from Middle Persian: Ahraman, from Avestan angro mainiius, the evil spirit: angro (evil) + Mainiius (spirit). [Although this appears not to be the Ahriman in the story, this is who it appears to be to the majority of his home planet, except for his family and the poor.

ORMAZD (also: Ahura Mazda - The Wise Lord, perhaps Ahura Mazda is more appropriate than Ormazd, but not as short and concise a sounding name): The chief deity of Zoroastrianism. Means: Wise Lord. The supreme Deity and creator of the world, or spirit of good. The source of light and the embodiment of good. Opposite of Ahriman. Although Ormazd in the story is evil, to all of his planet's people (except for his enemies, people like Simenclar and Ahriman), he is a true Beulah-type ruler.

SIMENCLAR: Ahriman's Uncle. A man much like Ahriman. In actuality, he has a tough facade that allows him to rule, while in reality he is much more like Ahriman than anyone (except Ahriman) realizes. He is torn however, between wanting Ahriman to do what he does, and realizing that Ahriman could be his and his planet's downfall.]

BEULAH: The land of Israel in the Old Testament. The land of peace described in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.

ZOROASTRIANISM (ZOROASTER): The religious system founded in Persia by Zoroaster and set forth in the Zend-Avesta, teaching the worship of Ormazd in the context of a universal struggle between the forces of light and of darkness. Perhaps a precursor to many of our modern day religions.

ZOROASTER: The Sixth Century BCE Persian prophet who founded Zoroastrianism. Little is known about his life. No one knows from where he originally and suddenly sprang into being.