Fragmentos del guión

— Okay. Um... When did you possess Edward? 

— Doesn't work that way. Can't just possess someone. We need a series of yesses. 

— So you're saying it's a process? 

— Of course it's a process. 

— How does it work? 

— It's complicated.

— Try me. I'm smarter than you think. 

— Oh, you're smarter than I think. 

— Okay, James. We offer up a series of temptations gradually increasing in terms of duration and intensity. Degree of moral inequity. Absence of baptism in this case allows us to begin work long before the age of reason. At three, age of five, maybe, a theft of a toy car can do a great deal. Then we move on to bigger and better things. At eight, grandmother's gift of a Ouija board gives immediate access to his decision-making. So, we began steering them, without him bothering, calling into question exactly who was doing the steering. Enough yesses and a few enough noes gives increasing rights over the victim's physical and mental processes. Did that... Did that track, James? It seems random. 

— Almost, um, unfocused. 

— Well, that's what we want you to think. We have a level of focus beyond your comprehension. As a matter of fact, everybody around him, friends, family, they didn't even notice the changes. It happened so incrementally, police thought it was Eddie being Eddie. We know exactly what we're doing, when, where, and how he's giving consent, and the exact moment that we achieved each new degree of control. 

— "Degree"? 

— Control of the host body comes in degrees. There's stages, each with its own name and characteristics. 

— And those are? 

— From top to bottom, extreme temptation, obsession, infestation, finally possession, subjugation. 

— And Edward Wayne Brady... 

— Fully subjugated. 

***

— Are you... Are you threatening me? 

— Yes. 

— What are you gonna do? 

— Well, if I'm just a man like you think I am, not much. But if I am who I say I am... 

— Well, that would probably be very intimidating if, um... If I weren't an atheist. 

— You ignorant sack of meat. You think your atheism will protect you? "Oh, I don't believe in angels or demons, "heaven or hell. "So you can't hurt me." Hell is full of pathetic trash. who thought exactly like you do. Boldly proclaiming their ideas on how they feel the universe operates. Never once contemplating the possibility that they could be wrong. And you should see them now, James. 

***

— (ELECTRICITY BUZZING) 

— (LIGHT BULB EXPLODES) (GLASS SHATTERS ON FLOOR) Probably just a coincidence, Jimmy. 

— (BUZZER BUZZES) -(CELL DOOR OPENS) No! Nobody wants you here, priest! Nobody needs you! 

— On the contrary. I invited him here. 

— Thank you for coming. Father Louis. 

— I'm fine with just Louis... -(BUZZER BUZZES) ...or Lou. 

— Dr. James Martin. 

— Have you, um... -Have you met with him before? 

— (CELL DOOR CLOSES) 

— No. I tried. He's always refused spiritual counseling. 

— NEFARIOUS: What do you want with me, Son of God? Come here to t*rture me before the appointed time? 

— He claims he's a demon. 

— Carpenter send you to gloat? Unfortunately for you, I'm not one that could be cast out so easily though, am I? 

— Insanity always has been an issue here, hasn't it? 

— Hmm. 

— Sadly, movies and  TV have filled our heads with images that are largely metaphorical. Not meant to be taken literally. 

— I'm not here to hurt you, Edward. I'm here to help you. To put you at your ease. Make sure you're comfortable. 

— Personally, I've never met a demon. I've never been part of an exorcism, nor do I expect to be. Many of the things that bother us are just our own fears and disordered thoughts. 

— So... You... You don't consider demonic possession to be a possibility? 

— Our understanding has evolved beyond that. 

— Huh. Well, I appreciate you telling me that. I feel... I feel much better. And, Lou, I was wrong about you. I should've had you come and visit sooner. But I'm glad that you did. (STUTTERS) I am glad that we're all getting along. 

— Would you like me to stay? 

— No, we're done. 

— (FATHER LOUIS GRUNTS) Well, if you... If you need me... I'll be available. 

— (GASPS) You'll be available, Lou? Right up until the time you are... Right up until what, Lou? Right up until the sizzle? 

— God bless you, son. 

— (SHOUTS) Will you be available until the sizzle? Lou! -(BUZZER BUZZES) -When, Lou? When, Lou? (BUZZER BUZZES) (CELL DOOR CLOSES) 

— Now you understand that, uh, Father Lou has confirmed that demons aren't really a thing. 

— Did you really think that poser could help you? I'm still here, James. I'm not going anywhere. You still have to deal with me. 

***

— You're being irrational. 

— I am the most rational being you will ever meet. Then give me something to make me believe you. 

***

— Well, then explain it to me. Use your diabolical intelligence to distill it down to something my mortal brain can understand. 

— Pearls before swine, Jimmy. 

— But you want me to write your book, right? 

— Indeed. 

— -Well, then convince me you know what you're talking about. 

— I see what you're doing. You want me to keep talking, going further and further down the rabbit hole, in hopes that you can find a single thread, and which if you tug at it, James, everything just unravels, isn't that right? 

— Yeah, but if you're telling me the truth, there should be no thread to find. Right? 

— I'll use small words. Try and keep up. In the first moment of creation, our creation, long before what you call the "universe" existed, we contemplated ourselves, our own being. Our... ourselves meaning, what, the angels? 

— That would be the most correct term, though I despise it, but yes. Beings of pure spirit, spirited out with will. We soon became aware of another will, an immensely powerful will. One we came to realize as our origin. 

***

— (HESITATES) It's her body. She can do what she wants. 

— "Do what thou wilt "that shall be the whole of the Law." 

— You arrogant son of a... Who... Who are you to judge me? This is my life. I... I can live it the way I want. (BANGS ON TABLE) 

— Yes, James! I couldn't have said it better myself. But it's still murder. 

— Says who? Says all of creation, James. The creator creates, and we destroy, and we do all of it through you. We always have. Did you forget your history, Jimmy? Even in ancient times, the arch-demon Moloch was celebrated by tossing infants into flaming bonfires, accompanied, of course, by the beating of drums to drown out the screaming. Later on, they erected a giant bronze statue with outstretched arms kindling fires beneath the palms, and when they toss a little infant into those open palms, they'd flinch at the red-hot metal, but then they'd willingly roll themselves off into the flames. 

— What does any of that have to do with me? 

— Oh, nothing, James! Especially since the priests now wear surgical scrubs. The k*lling takes place in the womb. So there's no screaming to be heard anyway, and the remains are tossed into gas-fired crematoriums. No, James, no. No, no, no. There's no parallel whatsoever to you. Can you imagine the agony the carpenter feels when we rip a child to pieces inside its own mother's womb? Because that's what we do, James, you and us. We do that together. 

— You're sick. 

***

— (SNIGGERING) "My name is Legion, for we are many." See, James, it's not just about you or Edward, for that matter. It's about everyone. The entire human race. All of us against all of you. 

— Hmm. Well, you know, if that's the case, your side's not doing too well. 

— Do you really believe that, James? 

— Yeah. 

— We've never been freer. Literacy is at an all-time high. We're working to eliminate racism. 

— (CHUCKLING) 

— Intolerance. Gender inequality. People can... People can love who they want. Be who they want, do what they want. Diversity is no longer a dream. Hate speech is no longer tolerated, and politically, we're reclaiming the moral high ground. 

— (SOFTLY) James. (IN NORMAL VOICE) I think I love you. Literacy, James. James, the average high school graduate reads at a sixth-grade level. You have basketball players making $30 million a year decrying racism. All while wearing sneakers made from slave labor. Now, here's something for you. Right now, your world currently has 40 million slaves. More than the Romans had at the height of their empire. And you want to know the best part, though? Half of those, half are sex slaves, James. As for hate speech, well, you want to hear some irony? We didn't even come up with that one. You did it all by yourself. (CHUCKLING) Sometimes you amaze even us. 

— I fail to see the humor. 

   (NEFARIOUS LAUGHING) 

— Bottom line is you're done. It's over. That's it. And we did it all right to your face, James. And now there's evil everywhere. And no one even cares. 

— Yeah, I don't agree. 

— Proving that we achieved our goal. Slowly with your movies, and your  TV, and your media, we desensitized you, redirected your worldview to the point that you can't even recognize even when it's right in front of your face. More to the point, James, you can't even feel it when you're doing it. And as for winners and losers... Whoa, whoa, whoa. Like, it's decided at the time of death. The exact numbers are a closely guarded secret, but there are more of you ending up in my master's house than with the enemy. (WHISPERS) A lot more, Jimmy.