EXT. QUIET SUBURBAN STREET - LATE AFTERNOON
A peaceful neighborhood. Birds chirp. Children ride bicycles. Someone waters their roses. On the porch of a modest house sits MILDRED TATTLESWORTH-WHISPER, 66. Floral dress. Oversized glasses. Perfectly arranged gray curls. A cup of tea rests beside her. So does a notebook labeled:
NEIGHBORHOOD OBSERVATIONS - CONFIDENTIAL
There are fourteen volumes. Mildred watches a young couple carry groceries into their house.
MILDRED: “Interesting.”
Her neighbor, DORIS, 65, sits beside her.
DORIS: “What's interesting?”
MILDRED: “The Hendersons bought two cartons of milk.”
DORIS: “So?”
MILDRED: “There are only two of them.”
DORIS: “Maybe they like milk.”
Mildred lowers her glasses.
MILDRED: “That's exactly what they want us to think.”
Doris sighs.
DORIS: “Mildred, please.”
MILDRED: “I'm not accusing anyone. I'm simply asking why two adults need that much calcium.”
She writes something in her notebook.
DORIS: “What are you writing?”
MILDRED: “Possible dairy-related conspiracy.”
A delivery driver stops outside the house across the street.
Mildred gasps.
MILDRED: “Doris! Look!”
DORIS: “What?”
MILDRED: “Mrs. Patterson ordered another package.”
DORIS: “People order packages.”
MILDRED: “Three this week.”
DORIS: “And?”
MILDRED: “At this rate, she'll own the entire internet by Christmas.”
Suddenly, the streetlights flicker.
A tall figure appears beneath an old oak tree. Crimson robes. An ancient golden mask. A massive, weathered Ledger rests in his hands. THE KARMA BROKER.
Mildred leans forward.
MILDRED: “Doris.”
DORIS: “What now?”
MILDRED: “There's a man dressed like a medieval curtain standing under the tree.”
DORIS: “Maybe it's a costume party.”
MILDRED: “At four in the afternoon? Suspicious.”
The Broker approaches.
KARMA BROKER: “Mildred Tattlesworth-Whisper.”
Mildred stands.
MILDRED: “Depends. Who told you my name?”
KARMA BROKER: “I am a merchant of karma.”
Mildred freezes.
A beat.
Then smiles.
MILDRED: “Oh! You're the new neighbor!”
KARMA BROKER: “No.”
MILDRED: “Visiting relatives?”
KARMA BROKER: “No.”
MILDRED: “Divorced?”
KARMA BROKER: “What?”
MILDRED: “It's the robe. Men don't dress like that unless something's happened.”
The Broker opens his Ledger.
KARMA BROKER: “I have come to discuss the consequences of your actions.”
Mildred gasps.
MILDRED: “Doris! He's from the homeowners' association!”
DORIS: “I don't think he is.”
MILDRED: “Then why does he have a clipboard?”
KARMA BROKER: “This is a Ledger.”
MILDRED: “Oh, an accountant. Even worse.”
The Broker turns a page.
KARMA BROKER: “You have spread seventy-three false rumors.”
Mildred frowns.
MILDRED: “Seventy-four.”
The Broker pauses.
KARMA BROKER: “What?”
MILDRED: “You missed Tuesday.”
Doris slowly covers her face.
KARMA BROKER: “You falsely accused Mr. Henderson of having an affair.”
MILDRED: “I never accused him.”
KARMA BROKER: “You told eleven neighbors he was meeting a mysterious woman.”
MILDRED: “He was.”
KARMA BROKER: “She was his dentist.”
MILDRED: “Exactly. Very intimate profession.”
KARMA BROKER: “He was having a root canal.”
MILDRED: “That's what they call it now?”
DORIS: “MILDRED!”
The Broker turns another page.
KARMA BROKER: “You told the neighborhood that Mrs. Patterson was hiding stolen property.”
MILDRED: “She receives suspicious packages.”
KARMA BROKER: “They contain knitting supplies.”
MILDRED: “That's what the labels say.”
KARMA BROKER: “She knits blankets for premature babies.”
Mildred pauses.
MILDRED: “Well, that's lovely.”
A beat.
MILDRED: “But why so many blankets? How many babies does she know?”
Doris stands.
DORIS: “I'm getting more tea.”
MILDRED: “Bring biscuits! We have a visitor!”
The Broker closes his Ledger.
KARMA BROKER: “Your words have caused suffering.”
MILDRED: “I provide information.”
KARMA BROKER: “You invent information.”
MILDRED: “I connect the dots.”
KARMA BROKER: “There are no dots.”
MILDRED: “Then why are people acting so suspicious?”
A long silence.
KARMA BROKER: “You damaged a young woman's reputation.”
MILDRED: “I simply said she was pregnant.”
KARMA BROKER: “She was not.”
MILDRED: “Well, not yet.”
KARMA BROKER: “You have no evidence.”
MILDRED: “I have intuition.”
KARMA BROKER: “Intuition is not evidence.”
Mildred smiles.
MILDRED: “That's exactly what someone hiding evidence would say.”
The Broker becomes very still. Doris returns with tea.
DORIS: “Everything all right?”
MILDRED: “Wonderful. Our visitor is conducting a secret investigation.”
KARMA BROKER: “I am not conducting an investigation.”
MILDRED: “Of course you aren't.”
She winks at Doris.
MILDRED: “Undercover.”
The Broker opens his Ledger again.
KARMA BROKER: “I can offer you a bargain.”
Mildred's eyes widen.
MILDRED: “A bargain?”
KARMA BROKER: “Stop spreading rumors. Correct the lies you have told. Accept responsibility for the harm you caused.”
Mildred considers this.
MILDRED: “And what do I get?”
KARMA BROKER: “An opportunity to repair what you have damaged.”
MILDRED: “That sounds like unpaid work.”
KARMA BROKER: “It is responsibility.”
MILDRED: “Do you offer a pension?”
KARMA BROKER: “No.”
MILDRED: “Then I decline.”
The Broker studies her.
KARMA BROKER: “You would rather continue hurting people?”
MILDRED: “I would rather keep the neighborhood informed.”
KARMA BROKER: “Informed of what?”
MILDRED: “Whatever happens next.”
The Broker closes the Ledger.
KARMA BROKER: “Then our business is concluded.”
He turns to leave. Mildred suddenly grabs his sleeve.
MILDRED: “Wait!”
The Broker stops.
KARMA BROKER: “What?”
MILDRED: “Hey hey heyy. Before you go, I have a few questions.”
KARMA BROKER: “Speak.”
MILDRED: “How old are you?”
Mildred frowns, her brow creasing.
KARMA BROKER: “That is irrelevant.”
MILDRED: “Married?”
KARMA BROKER: “No.”
MILDRED: “Children?”
KARMA BROKER: “No.”
MILDRED: “Occupation?”
KARMA BROKER: “I have told you.”
MILDRED: “Yes, but what do you actually do?”
KARMA BROKER: “I deal in karma.”
Mildred gasps.
MILDRED: “Doris! He's unemployed!”
KARMA BROKER: “I am not unemployed.”
MILDRED: “Then why won't you tell us who pays you?”
KARMA BROKER: “No one pays me.”
Mildred slowly turns to Doris.
MILDRED: “I KNEW IT!”
DORIS: “What?.”
MILDRED: “A mysterious man. No employer. No family. Wandering around in a robe.”
She lowers her voice.
MILDRED: “He's either a cult leader or a freelance consultant.”
KARMA BROKER: “I am neither.”
MILDRED: “That's what both would say.”
The Broker steps backward.
The streetlights dim.
KARMA BROKER: “Farewell, Mildred.”
He vanishes.
Silence…
Doris drops her teacup.
(BRAK)
Mildred stares at the empty street. For the first time all afternoon, she says nothing.
Then….
MILDRED: “DORIS!.”
DORIS: “No!!.”
MILDRED: “DORISS!”
DORIS: “PLEASE DON’T”
MILDRED: “HE DISAPPEARED!”
DORIS: “I SAW IT!”
Mildred grabs her notebook quickly.
MILDRED: “Write this down. Mysterious unemployed man disappears after refusing to disclose marital status.”
DORIS: “That's not what happened!”
MILDRED: “Well, we don't know what happened. That's why it's news.”
Doris stares at her.
DORIS: “Mildred, you cannot publish that.”
Mildred pulls out her phone.
MILDRED: “HAHAHA…TOO LATE.”
DORIS: “What do you do?”
MILDRED: “Posted it in the neighborhood group.”
Her phone begins buzzing.
Teet..teet.
DORIS: “What do you write?”
Mildred reads aloud.
MILDRED: “BREAKING NEWS: SUSPICIOUS GOLD-FACED MAN SEEN DISAPPEARING NEAR OAK STREET. POSSIBLE TAX EVASION. RESIDENTS ADVISED TO CHECK THEIR HUSBANDS.”
DORIS: “WHY THEIR HUSBANDS??”
MILDRED: “You can never be too careful.”
DORIS: “…”
CUT TO BLACK.
INT. UNKNOWN CHAMBER DIGITAL CORE - UNKNOWN TIME
The Karma Broker opens his Ledger.
A new entry appears.
KARMIC LEDGER // TERMINAL: DECLINE
CLIENT: Mrs MILDRED TATTLESWORTH-WHISPER
[ RECORD ACCESS GRANTED ]
TRANSACTION STATUS: DECLINED
REASON: CLIENT REFUSED TO STOP SPREADING FALSE RUMORS.
ADDITIONAL NOTE:
CLIENT HAS REPORTED THE MERCHANT TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH.
[ RECORD CLOSED ]
The Broker stares at the final line.
Another entry appears.
[ NEW RUMOR DETECTED: KARMA BROKER SECRETLY MARRIED TO THREE WOMEN ]
The Broker slowly closes his Ledger.
KARMA BROKER: “I have never been married.”
A beat.
KARMA BROKER: “How did she find three?”
CUT TO BLACK.
SAMSARAVERSE WHERE KARMA BECOMES CODE
