FADE IN.
Act 1
EXT. ROADS - 12:30
Driving a red coupe, Peter turns on the car radio.
PETER (V.O.): I feel boring driving in silence.
Later, as the radio reception turns poor, Peter turns it off and switches on the cassette player instead.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My coupe was manufactured in 1989, there wasn't any car CD player yet.
Seeing fast cars behind his coupe, Peter cuts from the fast lane to the slow lane.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I drive with reasonable consideration for other persons using the road. I don't want to get a speeding ticket either.
The car behind Peter's coupe accelerates further.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The driver doesn't get my message as a competent and careful driver should.
Act 2
INT. PETER'S NT HOME - 14:45
Classical music from RTHK Radio 4. Peter is reading some old photocopied materials.
PETER (V.O.): When I first read Rawls' Theory of Justice in the early 1980s, I dismissed it as hypothetical.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Having been practising law, Rawls' thesis interfacing "ought" and "is" makes good practical sense now.
Hearing Ding!, Peter checks his smartphone.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A lawyer friend asks me to join a Seminar on United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sales of Goods (CISG)?
Reading.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): The Sales of Goods (United Nations Convention) Ordinance implementing CISG was enacted on Sept 29, 2021?
FLASHBACK
INT. LECTURER'S ROOM - DAY (1984)
Lecturer DALLY (30s) is discussing with Peter (30).
DALLY: You want to write a dissertation on CISG? Why?
PETER: The CISG 1980 facilitates international trade by providing uniform rules governing sales of goods contracts.
DALLY: Has CISG been effective yet?
PETER: No. There're very few ratifications.
DALLY: So the prospect of its extension to Hong Kong is dim.
PETER: Yes.
DALLY: So why do you choose to research in this area then?
PETER: It's academic and could be futuristic.
DALLY: Okay, it's your choice.
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I did write a dissertation on it. I passed alright.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Apart from Mr Dally and me, nobody read my dissertation.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It has taken over 30 years before CISG's uniform rules impact on Hong Kong, China's international trade!
Then, we hear Dr YIP speaking from the radio.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Dr Yip?
FLASHBACK
INT. CAR REPAIRER - DAY (1977)
A MAN (50s) instructs a MECHANIC (50s) and an APPREENTICE (20s) to repair a Pontiac in the presence of Dr Yip (40s) and Peter (23).
PETER (to Dr Yip): I don't know much about music. But my girlfriend is about to graduate from the Music Department of CUHK.
Dr YIP: Is that right?
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Before 1981, CUHK was the only university that offered about a dozen undergraduate places each year.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):That was my only encounter with Dr Yip. He should be around 90 years old now.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The man was my senior colleague who coached me how to maintain my cars. We've lost contact since the late 1970s.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I hope he's still around.
Act 3
EXT. ESTATE STREETS - 20:00
Peter stops his coupe at a pedestrian crossing. Then, he sees PEDESTRIANS#1 turning his head to see the coupe's pop-up headlights and him again.
PETER (V.O.): He might have never seen a coupe with retractable headlights before. He absorbs much more than what he has seen.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For me, I absorb everything from the radio and the memories associated with the non-interactive broadcast.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Unspoken communications are richer than words actually.
THE END.
FADE OUT
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