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Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

The Alarm

  1. FADE IN.


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. BEDROOM/STUDY - 05:30


  4. PETER gets out of bed.


  5. PETER (V.O.): If I still try to sleep now, there's the risk I might not wake up at 7am.


  6. Walking towards his study, Peter hears Beep! Beep! Beep!....


  7. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): From my radio clock there?


  8. Arriving, Peter stops the alarm.

  9. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I might have set the alarm inadvertently.


  10. Recalling.


  11. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I did push the buttons recently, wanting to turn on or off the radio.


  12. Pausing.


  13. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I don't want to interfere with others' dreams.


  14. Act 2


  15. EXT. SHEUNG SHUI - 13.00


  16. Peter walks here and there near the railway station.


  17. PETER (V.O.): In the 1970s, I knew the district inside out. Now...

  18. Pausing.


  19. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Months ago, I had delicious fried noodles with vegetable deluxe in a restaurant in a mall. Where's it?


  20. Peter taps Googles Maps on his smartphone screen.


  21. INT. RESTAURANT - 13:10


  22. Peter does his orders.


  23. PETER (V.O.): After a hectic morning in court, now's time to re-energize myself.


  24. As a plate of friend noodles is put on the table, Peter can't wait to sample it.


  25. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Oh, it isn't as good as before.


  26. Then, sweet potato and ginger soup is served.


  27. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): This is better than expected.


  28. Soon, he finishes the soup.


  29. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): It soothes my throat particularly during pandemic times.


  30. Peter checks his entrepreneurship fund on his smartphone screen.


  31. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Oh, my biggest loss ever in a day. Something alarming is happening in Ukraine.


  32. Pausing.


  33. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): About a week ago, I heard the Ukraine president remarking on TV that the only language Russia understood was might.


  34. Pausing.


  35. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): His tone was that Ukraine, with support from its NATO friends, could overpower Russia.


  36. Pausing.


  37. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): If I were President Putin wanting to rewrite history, how could I rest assured?


  38. Pausing.


  39. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Diplomacy is the art of discreetly letting someone else have their way.


  40. Pausing.


  41. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): All armed conflicts reflect failures of diplomacy.


  42. INT. SITTING ROOM - 18:30


  43. Peter is watching BBC world news.


  44. PETER (V.O.): President Putin's special military operation aims at the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine.


  45. We see and hear a journalist on screen asking:...anti-nazi...anti-Putin...Then a man on screen replying: Our NATO allies are the strongest in history.


  46. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, I've reckoned international law is not law, but just power politics.


  47. Pausing.


  48. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): It was a joke on me that I got two LLM degrees on international law.


  49. Act 3


  50. INT. STUDY/STUDY - 22:00


  51. Peter is watching CNN breaking news.


  52. PETER (V.O.): Life seems normal in Ukraine, in the midst of international power competition.


  53. Then, we see on screen tanks rolling on highways.


  54. Pausing.


  55. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I just hope that we aren't one button away from nuclear mass destruction.


  56. Pausing.


  57. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): The meaning of every human's life is to serve humanity, not to do a disservice to it.


  58. Pausing.


  59. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I don't have to set any alarm for tomorrow.


  60. FADE OUT


  61. THE END






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