01x03 - Chapter Three: A Bag of Gravel

[bunniefuu]

Until Ebenezer Scrooge repents,

your soul will never have
everlasting peace.

Humbug, I will say.
"Repent what?" I will say.

I am, without doubt,
stuck here forever.

-Lottie.
-Our father

made my brother stay here at Christmas.

I see ye, boy.
Now what did ye say?

One of my children is very sick.
And his treatment costs money.

Mrs. Cratchit, please, take ten now

and come to my apartment
on Christmas Day at 4:00p.m.

This is not a game, Ebenezer...

Scrooge.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Spare a penny for the poor, madam,
on this fine Christmas day.

And so it came to pass
that on this Christmas day

seven years ago...

Why do I feel the cold?

Why do I feel the cold if I am only here
in spirit and not here in body?

The cold that you are feeling
comes from within,

from inside your soul.

Before this moment,
you couldn't feel it,

but now you can.

Then if I am to become a compassionate
and tender person,

I will need thicker socks.

When real feeling returns,
pins and needles will begin.

Needles in your heart.

Pins to hold up pictures
from your past.

Come. Follow poor Mary to her destiny
and witness what you did.

And remember, this is not about you,
Ebenezer Scrooge,

it is about her.

Merry Christmas to you, madam.

Dear God, forgive me.

Dear, dear Bob, forgive me.

Children, forgive me.

Jesus, turn your head.

Come in.

I do not need to witness this.

I do not need to be here.

-Drink?
-No. Please...

Let's get this thing done.

I said I'd be back for...

For what?

For the pouring of the brandy
on the pudding.

A perfect Christmas tradition.

Pour perfectly good brandy to an already
cooked pudding and set fire to it.

Thus burning the pudding
and wasting the brandy.

To the moment.

And what is the moment?
I need to be clear.

Our arrangement.

I need to be clear.

You will...

give me money if...

I allow you

to do what you want.

And what

do I want?

-I need to be clear.
-I have to say it out loud?

Yes.

I imagine...

intercourse.

To be clear--

you are willing
to have intercourse with me

in return for the £20 cash
I have put on the fireplace,

along with the ten I put down
as a deposit on your virtue.

In the name of God.

-You would do it in the name of God?
-For my son.

-As you know...
-Yes. Yes, I know.

Please.

My family are all waiting.

I do this only for the life
of my child.

In truth, your reason for needing
the money is not part of my experiment,

and therefore not of interest to me.

Everyone has their own reasons
for wanting and needing money.

That is not the issue.

My experiment is about currency.

It is about finding out the extent
of the things a good person will do

in return for money

and how much
each bad thing would cost.

Thereby establishing a kind of exchange
rate, a human exchange rate.

Similar to the exchange rate
on the commodity market.

Except now...

it is your virtue.

Your virtue up for auction.

And with it, any doubt in my mind
about human nature.

Going...

...going...

...gone.

I have no interest in you,
Mary Cratchit.

Nor in anyone in this way anymore.

The intercourse I sought
was purely of the intellectual kind.

You are a devoted wife,

a loving mother,
and yet, on Christmas Day,

you are prepared to run
across town in the snow

and break every solemn vow
and commandment

in return for money.

Take it.

You've already given me what I want.

Proof.

Merry Christmas.

Never speak of this.

I will never tell your husband.

But if he should ever tell you he is
thinking of leaving my employment,

the truth might slip.

I count on you to urge caution to him
as he considers his future career.

I value your husband very highly.

Now go and burn your figgy pudding.

I will.

And I will say a prayer.

That someday...

some power of justice

will grab you by the throat

and drag you

to a true, bright mirror

that you might see the truth
in your reflection.

And that the truth
will be known to the world.

I am a woman,

and I have the power
to summon such spirits.

And I f*cking will.

Humbug.

Is it true?

Was it Mary Cratchit who summoned you
to take me by the throat?

Behold.

Even yet.

No pins, mm?

No needles.

Oh, f*ck.

-What care I about another?
-Just-just remember.

The-the money
I gave to Mary Cratchit

was used to save her son's life,
and-and Tim lives still.

So if you view virtue purely through
the consequence of action

rather than the motivation
for the said action,

we have just witnessed
my former self doing a good thing.

Bravo.

You are a rock.

A pile of rubble.

A heart lost, never to be found.

The sun measures my allocation.

My time with you is done.

-So-so I am forgiven?
-How many times must you be told?!

It's not about your forgiveness!

Well, what is it, then?

How am I supposed to find
what I'm meant to find,

or feel what you want me to feel
if-if I don't know what it is?

It is now midday. The second spirit will
come when the clock strikes midnight.

The second spirit will search
the blizzard for your heart.

And if it only finds rocks and ice,

-Ebenezer Scrooge be damned!
-Wait. Wait.

Wait, tell me what to expect.
No, tell me what is expected of me.

My-my thoughts are my own,
but my soul is beyond my control.

Spirit, tell me how to change it!

Spirit. Is there hope?

Has he changed? Spirit, speak.

Please tell me the work you've done
has managed to change him.

I can't stay here for eternity.

They're sending you.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas, one and all.

Many benefits. Prosper.

I mean you prosper, not me.

Seasons tidings,
et cetera, et cet...

Merry Christmas, one and all.

And on and on it goes.
Empty, false and forced.

Year upon year, endlessly.

Ebby.

Spirit?

Spirit?

Ebby, go wait outside.

Our father has left us.

At last.

Lottie.

You paid for my funeral,
yet here I am.

The ghost of Christmas present.

A present unknown to you.

Unknown to almost everyone
till they're made to look.

Come.

-Come on.
-Lottie.

If I'd known what you did for me years
ago I would've shown more understanding.

I will show and you will learn.

And hopefully...
you will soon begin to feel.

So you need to wrap up.

You may recall that when I was alive,
I was quite the scientist.

Well, I still am. What I will show you
is in the name of science.

You like experiments, don't you?

Any scientific study of human
society will illustrate

the success of that society is dependent
upon the function of the collective.

And the function of the collective is
dependent on various discrete factors.

You know, Lottie, I once remarked that
you were the brightest person I knew.

Later, I remarked that you were also
a bit of a show-off about it.

Now just pay attention.

Our first case study.

It is Christmas morning.

Not past, not future,
but here and now.

Not an easy time for Bob and Mary.

Not much surplus
for gifts for the children.

Bob has taken Belinda's old ice skates
and he's mending them

so that she can skate on the pond
on Christmas day, as she loves to do.

Mary's writing out a story that
she was told as a child. From memory.

She has an excellent memory.

The story of Icarus.

She's illustrating it for Tim
so that she can give it to him.

And they have no money for books.

Tim will value this book
more than any bought in a shop.

And if you're worried about the ink, Bob
offered to steal some from your supply,

but she refused.

She didn't want anything in the house
that was touched by Ebenezer Scrooge.

-It's Christmas!
-Ho-ho, Merry Christmas.

-Merry Christmas.
-Merry Christmas.

-You sleep all right?
-Merry Christmas.

Is this an experiment to see
if you can wring blood from my heart?

No. No, I show you this scene
to comfort you.

-Did you sleep?
-Yeah.

Did you? No?

They have no money.
But listen.

That's for you, Belinda. This is
for you. That one's for you too, Tim.

What they lack in money
they make up for with love.

-Fruit and nuts. Yes!
-To share, Belinda.

-Don't you see the science of it?
-Biscuits. Thank you.

Love makes them mend
and draw and write, make do.

My ice skates. Good as new.

Without love, they would demand more
money for new skates and real books.

Every Bob Cratchit in England
survives half on money...

...and half on love.

-You gonna go out on them today?
-Yes.

This book is beautiful.

-Be careful, it might be a bit wet.
-Okay.

-Thank you so much for these.
-You are welcome.

Ebenezer.

It is I.

Your dad was up all night.

So it is love.

Love that saves the system
from revolution.

A scientific and economic reason
for you to embrace it, Ebenezer.

-See the value of it.
-You're mocking me.

You mock yourself, putting a value
to things that have no price.

How many candles are there
under the tree?

And bells. How many bells?

And presents for the children--
how many were there?

You didn't count.

You stared for a long time
but you didn't count.

Before, you counted everything.
This time, you looked.

Is that a good thing?
Is that... progress?

You tell me.

I thought you were supposed
to know it all.

Do you smell that, Ebby? The day passes
quickly. Already it's dinnertime.

Mm, and there's goose.

Mary. As a lonely widow,
I had a dozen invitations to dinner,

and I'm mightily glad
that I chose to accept yours.

-Never a finer goose was seen.
-And so cheap.

It had a broken leg or a leg shorter
than the other or something.

-Bob, you carve.
-After dinner, I'm going skating.

-I want to come.
-You can't hardly walk. How you skate?

-Belinda, please.
-I will skate someday.

You will. But if you read my book,
you will learn how to fly.

-Will we have figgy pudding this year?
-Eat your dinner first, Belinda.

Of course we'll have figgy pudding.
It's already in the copper.

And will we pour brandy on it
and set light to it?

Yes, but you'll have the bit
without the brandy.

Wasn't there a year where Mum had to go
out and missed the brandy being poured?

-When was that?
-Really? That's a shame.

-Come on, Dad, I'm starving.
-Yeah, me, too.

-Tim.
-Thank you.

-Mm, would you look at that.
-Did you help Belinda, Tim?

I plucked the goose.

The absence of money
a family can survive.

The absence of truthfulness
they cannot.

-Mary.
-I'm fine. Please go and carve.

-We discuss the source of the money...
-How? How?

It's as though the whole issue
is somehow with us in this house.

I need to tell you, Bob.

I want to tell you the truth.
No, I can't stand...

Mum, Martha's trying to carve
and she's making...

Go, Belinda.

-Hurry up.
-Come on, Dad. Come on, Mom.

I want to tell you...

where I got the money
for Tim's operation.

It's as if she can see me.

Sometimes, in high emotions,
they can see spirits.

Mary, if you want to tell me the truth
here and now, please go ahead and do it.

And before the goose goes cold.

The truth is...

...there is no rich cousin
in America.

I made him up.

That Christmas day, I...

I...

I went...

to Margaret Henderson.
Lady Henderson.

You remember her.
The one who lost her mind.

I remembered when I worked for her,

she had so many diamonds
that she never wore.

I asked if I could have
a pair of her earrings.

-Why is she lying?
-To spare the day.

-What?
-To spare her loving husband.

She was old
and she was confused, and...

For all she knew, I might as well
have been asking for a ginger biscuit.

She said, "Yes, take them."

I took the diamonds
from her jewelry box and I sold them.

So, there.

Here I stand before you,

your wife the jewelry thief.

That is how I got the money.

Sweetheart, this moment of truth is the
best Christmas present I've ever had.

I have something to tell you.
All of you.

Come.

Everyone, I have some news.

Cratchit tribe, one and all...

-Your father has something to tell you.
-Bob, let's eat first.

-The news will help with our digestions.
-What news?

-Can we eat while we listen?
-Hush, Belinda.

I, uh...

I wish to announce
I've made a decision.

About my career.

I've decided that, uh,

Monday morning,
December 26-- that's tomorrow--

I'm gonna go into the office,
I'm gonna hand in my resignation notice

to that old skinflint
Ebenezer Scrooge.

-Yes!
-Mary, don't be alarmed.

I've received an alternative offer
by Mr. Thwaites of Thwaites and Langley.

He was disgusted by some of the things
Scrooge said to him on the street.

He sent me an offer.

And, uh, the best part is, uh,

my, uh, my Christmas gift
to the whole family.

In my new position, I will be receiving
two extra shillings every week.

-Two shillings?
-So, next year there will be

brand-new ice skates for you, Belinda,
there will be real wings for you, Tim.

Dad, thank you!

-Thank you, Dad.
-You're welcome.

-Bob, congratulations. Well done.
-Thank you. Thank you.

Mary.

You of all people hate Scrooge.

And when I leave
we'll be free of him.

We will never be free of him.

-What do you mean?
-Enough.

We will get Christmas done, Bob.

-Then we must speak again.
-Mary...

We will get Christmas done!

There.

A happy family
silenced by your experiment.

I want her to know
that if Bob Cratchit resigns,

I will say nothing about what happened.
I-I want to tell her that right now.

She already feels your presence.
We need to leave.

Get out of my house.

Get out of my house.

Get out of my house!

And behold, Ebenezer,

the bruised and broken body
of Christmas Day.

Seen with your own eyes.

Now listen.

This very Christmas morning...

...in a valley far away...

...they are singing.

Where are we?

A Christmas Day memorial service

for those who lost their lives
in your great Trechloddfa pit disaster.

What do you see?

-What am I meant to see?
-No tears. Nor self-pity.

You see men and women
and children united.

-They harbor no hatred?
-There's some hatred.

That boy.

He takes a train to London
every Christmas Eve

to pay his respects
at Jacob Marley's grave.

He lost his father andtwo brothers
to your economies.

My goodness.

The feelings you instill
are terribly strong.

Given my time again, I would not
reduce expenditure on timber.

Given the time again,
I would not be myself.

There.

The first pin.

The first needle.

"Erected in memory
of the 17 brave ponies

"who perished in the earth
one Christmas Day in the morning."

Do you remember Flash?

The black horse I rode to school
before I was sent away.

Yes.

And then when I went away,
Father sold him.

Just as when I was a boy...

...he sold me.

Ebenezer,
my time with you is almost done.

Please speak of it.

I just...

I am feeling regret.

It comes to me like a... like a...

like a lump in my throat.
A lump of rock in my throat.

Regret.

That is a start, isn't it?

I should have thanked you...

...for taking me out of that school,

where I now know I was part of a bargain

done between a schoolmaster
and our father.

My father.

My own father.

There.

Said out loud.

If saying it conquered it,
I would shout it.

It doesn't.

Lottie, I sh... I should have
loved you.

But I want you, in all the world,
to understand...

it was too late.

You came with your carriage
and your g*n

too late.

That is what I will say
as my defense.

Ebenezer...

...when the next spirit comes...

...please don't offer him excuses.

He is the terrible one.

The unknown one.

And the one who decides.

He has no interest in the past.

-Lottie...
-Only what lies ahead.

-Go back inside. He'll be waiting.
-Lottie...

Goodbye, dear brother.

I couldn't love you.

So...

this is the future.

Spirit?

When the bell tolls,
the spirit comes. Yes, I understand.

And I am ready.

I understand you are the spirit
of Christmas future,

and because we can never know the
future, you are not allowed to speak.

Yes. I do have a heart.

I am ready for whatever
you wish to show me.

My office.

Goodness, look at all the coal.

I must be out of town.

Still looks... looks the same.

It's not too far in the future.
What year is this?

"Dear Mr. Scrooge,
this letter is to inform you

that I am as of this day
offering my resignation."

S-So he's doing it, he's resigning.

"Before I leave, I wanted you to know

"that you are the most unpleasant,
devious, inhuman..."

Dad. Come. It's Tim.
There's been an accident.

-When? How?
-He went-he went to the pond.

He borrowed my ice skates,
but he didn't tell anyone.

Nobody was with him.

All right, come on.
Come on.

Wait.

My sister said
it is you who decides.

Are you deciding now? Is it in your
power to change things? If it is....

Me?
I can change things? How?

You mean if I had my time again.
We-Well, then, give it to me.

I know I don't deserve a second chance,
but I understand what it is I must...

Tim, you'll catch your death.

Or is it death that has caught you?

Is he dead?

Between life and death.

Tim. Tim!

If you can hear me, you must live!

You must stay away, Tim,
for your mother!

We're here, little man.
Stay with us.

I don't care about the rules.

We're here, little man.

No, no, no, no.

Don't... don't leave us, Tim.
Tim, no...

My... self.

What year is this?
What year do I die?

But it is Christmas.

No mourners, just worldly goods.

Well, actually, Spirit, I don't care.

I don't care what will become of me.

I only care about one thing.

Bravo.

Bravo.

I know my fate.

And you know my question.

What happened to Tim Cratchit?

No matter what, nothing sinks them.

Not even death.

Nothing makes them question
because they have...

Spirit,

I need to know why.

What was the reason for all of this?

Why did you spirits come to me?

Why did you show me all of this?

What purpose?

I'm not sure what the reason is,
Ebenezer, but I know the purpose.

It's all to do with redemption

and our joint liability.

All three spirits have done their work.

I asked them
to let me have a final try.

We were so, so wrong.

Admit that, at least.

No.

No, I refuse.

I refuse to change.

All their efforts were for nothing,
because I refuse redemption.

What in God's name, Ebenezer, why?

This fate--

this piss-covered, second-class grave
is exactly what I deserve.

And if redemption were to result
in some kind of forgiveness,

I do not want it.

Because I would
find a way to justify

everything I have done
according to the consequence.

'Cause that's who I am.

The only thing...

The only thing
I want the spirits to do,

the only change
I want them to make...

...is to spare the life of him.

Oh, you poor man. You all right?

I am more than all right.

I can feel.

And I can feel that I can feel.

-Feel what?
-At the moment, a pain in my ass.

Ouch. Yes.

I was meaning to sprinkle this
on the ice earlier.

What with it being Christmas,
I forgot.

Yes. Yes.

Everything in life is a lesson
if you care to learn.

The sprinkling of gravel on ice

is an action taken by a person
for the benefit of others

without expectation
of any reward of any kind.

A whole new philosophy
on human nature

encapsulated in a handful of gravel.

Did you hit your head?

Forgive me.

-Merry Christmas, sir.
-It is. It is, yes.

-Merry Christmas, sir.
-Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you.
Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

This I will do.

This I will gladly do.

No one will skate here
this Christmas!

Mary. As a lonely widow,
I had a dozen invitations to dinner

and I'm mighty glad
that I chose to accept yours.

-Never a finer goose was seen.
-And so cheap.

It had a broken leg or a leg shorter
than the other or something.

Bob, you carve.

-I'm going skating.
-I want to come.

-You can't hardly walk. How you skate?
-Belinda, please.

I want to skate someday.

-Expecting company, Martha?
-I wouldn't presume.

-Good God.
-Yes, I know.

-Unwanted presumption. But on this day--
-What are you doing here?

But this day, this I must do.
I have three things I need to say.

-Get out of my house.
-One, two, three, and then I will go.

-Item number one...
-I said leave.

I know you're planning
to hand in your resignation tomorrow.

-Bob, what's he talking about?
-Know that you leave with my blessing.

Yes, blessing.

How'd you know I'm planning on handing
in my resignation?

I just know. And you are retiring
at a very appropriate time

because, tomorrow morning,
I am closing the company down.

-You need to leave my house.
-Scrooge and Marley

will trade no more in this world,

and as a gesture of good will, my final
item of company business is to...

-You need to leave my house.
-...is to draw up a check for £500.

Made payable to you,
by way of thanks for your service.

So, new ice skates for you, Belinda,
and more books for you, Tim.

Mum, how's he know
about my ice skates?

I know these things because
I've been shown them by spirits.

This is item number two, by the way.
I have been visited by spirits

who were summoned by someone
to grab me by the throat

and drag me to a bright mirror
so that I might see the truth.

-Mr. Scrooge, have you been drinking?
-Not yet, but later I will.

I will drink a toast. Indeed.
To fathers and mothers

and children and whoever you are.

At home, together for Christmas.

Item number three, regarding children.
Item three.

Belinda, the pond where you love
to go skating is no longer in use.

It has been rendered unusable.
Tim, you will not go skating.

You will stay at home,
you will read your book,

and you will learn to fly instead.

Is this what happens
when someone drinks laudanum?

No. No, this is what happens
when someone finally understands...

...is made to understand...

...what it is to be human.

That is all.

Thank you.
The check will be delivered by hand.

Merry Christmas.

-Merry Christmas.
-I'll show you out.

-Mary.
-It's fine.

I do not know what's happened to you,

and I don't care.

Your £500 will be welcome,

but it will not buy forgiveness.

Nor shall forgiveness ever be earned
or expected or wanted.

My business now is the future.
I will just be the best I can be.

For the spirits and the bright light

and the mirror,

I thank you.

Sleep well, Jacob.

What I don't understand is why
there would be camels in the snow.

-Merry Christmas!
-Merry Christmas!

Teach us to do that.

Spirits.

Past, present and future.

There is still much to do.