Clockwork Angels: Comic Script by Kevin J. Anderson Read Free Book Online Page A

pocketwatch, which he studies, while the Dalmatian sits primly at his master’s side.
    WATCHMAKER
    Of course it is. All is for the best.
    CAPTIONS (FOUR SINGLE WORDS, SCATTERED AROUND PANEL)
    Tick.
    Tock
    Tick.
    Tock.
    PAGE 18
    PANEL 1
    Owen goes down to the Crown City port, where the river empties into the ocean. Docks, ships, another zeppelin up in the sky. Owen looks at a big cargo steamer that is just coming up to the dock; deckhands throwing down big hawser ropes.
    OWEN
    From Barrel Arbor, I never thought the world was so big … and these ships come from even farther away!
    PANEL 2
    Owen stands on the dock, looking up at the workers. Using winches and cranes, with chugging steam-engines, the porters lift big crates out of the cargo hold. Uniformed men mark off inventory on clipboards. Each crate is marked with a bold alchemical symbol. Owen shouts up at one of the workers.
    OWEN
    Where did you sail from?
    SAILOR
    We brought a cargo of rare elements out Poseidon City—taken from the alchemy mines in Atlantis!
    PANEL 3
    Small panel. Seagulls flying around, wheeling above the ships.
    PANEL 4
    Owen looks at a big burn scar on the side of the steamer’s hull. He is shocked.
    OWEN
    Your ship is damaged! What happened?
    SAILOR
    Just a tussle with the Wreckers, but we got away. We carry precious gems and powders for the Watchmaker, so we’re a target.
    PANEL 5
    Owen stands on the gangplank as porters bustle past him. The conversational sailor and several of his comrades are up on deck, working hard, lifting boxes. They look at each other and laugh, unable to believe Owen’s question.
    OWEN
    Can I help?
    SAILOR
    Ha! Be my guest, lad!
    PANEL 6
    Owen smiles, his porkpie cap askew, as he carries a crate down the gangplank toward a steam-engine-powered cart. A man with a clipboard checks it off.
    OWEN (TO HIMSELF)
    I never thought I’d see and do so much in just a few days … and I haven’t even seen the Clockwork Angels yet!
    PAGE 19
    PANEL 1
    Strolling down a street, Owen looks at an interesting museum-like building with an open door. The sign above says THE UNIVERSE (WATCHMAKER APPROVED) with the honeybee symbol.
    CAPTION (OWEN)
    I wonder if they’ve missed me yet back home in Barrel Arbor … my father, Lavinia, all the people in town.
    CAPTION (OWEN)
    There’ll be work to do in the apple orchard, the cider house. Fellowship at the Tick Tock Tavern, daily newsgraph reports …
    CAPTION (OWEN)
    But I’ve still got so much to see here! Such as …
    PANEL 2
    Inside, looking up at the domed ceiling: it’s painted black with stars like a planetarium, but dangling down and filling most of the area overhead is a giant orrery, a mechanical contraption with the sun in the center and planets on arms extending out from the sun, some of which have moons connected to them. It’s both fantastic and Rube-Goldberg. A wizened, bald old man comes up to stand next to Owen. They are the only ones in the room. He is the ASTRONOMER-DOCENT. [This could be two panels, if you have the room.]
    OWEN
    It’s the whole universe!
    ASTRONOMER-DOCENT
    This is the Watchmaker’s official orrery. The worlds and stars the way they should be, according to design—without any pesky retrograde orbits or elliptical deviations.
    PANEL 3
    Owen and Astronomer-Docent two-shot. The Astronomer-Docent gestures toward a steam-engine generator machine against the wall, which has a prominent coin slot.
    OWEN
    How does it work?
    ASTRONOMER-DOCENT
    The functionality of the planets and moons is available … for a nominal fee.
    PANEL 4
    Owen holds out his hand with just a few coins in the palm. The Astronomer-Docent snatches them.
    OWEN
    These are all the coins I have left …
    ASTRONOMER-DOCENT
    That will be nominal enough.
    PANEL 5
    Looking down from above, through the contraption which is now spinning and whirring, we see the small figures of Owen and the Astronomer-Docent looking up.
    OWEN
    I used to look up at the stars back home. I was brought up to