SCENE 1

AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

PHOEBE Professor?

MARCUS Mmm?

PHOEBE What do you think this is?

MARCUS What what is?

PHOEBE This reading. I’ve never seen anything like it before.

MARCUS Can it wait?

PHOEBE (SIGHS) No, Professor. I need your opinion to decide what to do about it.

MARCUS Alright.

HE GETS UP, WALKS OVER.

What is it?

PHOEBE I don’t know. We’re getting an odd reading. There...

MARCUS Odd, yes. Very.

PHOEBE So what is it?

MARCUS New one on me. Metallic, obviously.

PHOEBE Yes, probably impure ferrous, from the readings. But what is it?

MARCUS Could be 20th Century contamination...

PHOEBE Not a chance. We’ve see nothing modern since the surface.

MARCUS An ore seam?

PHOEBE I’ve never seen one like this – it looks like almost pure metal, albeit a strange mix. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anything like this. Anyway, it’s still part of the impact crater.

MARCUS Could be the meteor, then.

PHOEBE That would make sense. But if it is, it’s a scary-big meteor.

MARCUS Tswaing is a big crater.

PHOEBE Still – I didn’t think meteors were so big. This is metres long!