Translated and arranged by ZJC (2026)
after the film by Mario Bava (1965)

Riceviamo un segnale modulato… sembra una richiesta di soccorso.

(We are receiving a modulated signal… it looks like a distress call.)

ACT 1: THE DESCENT

CHARACTERS:
COMMANDER MARK MARKARY: Stoic, driven by duty and ‘Volontà.’
SANYA: The ship’s navigator; sensitive to the planet’s psychic shifts.
WES: A junior officer, prone to the physical effects of the environment.
THE CREW: Various voices represented as a frantic chorus over the intercom.

SETTING:
The interior of the spaceship ARGOS. The lighting is expressionistic—deep crimsons and acidic greens. The ‘stage’ should feel claustrophobic. Outside the viewports, the planet AURA is a swirling mass of toxic mist.

MARKARY
(Into the comms, voice steady)
Attenzione, qui parla il Comandante della Argos. Stiamo entrando nell’orbita del pianeta ignoto.
(Attention. This is the Commander of the Argos. We are entering the orbit of the Unknown Planet.)

SANYA
(Leaning over a glowing radar screen)
Segnale di soccorso captato, Comandante. Proviene dalla Galliott. Ma è frammentario… sembra quasi un’eco dal passato.
(Distress signal intercepted, Commander. It comes from the Galliott. But it is fragmentary… it feels almost like an echo from the past.)

MARKARY
Tentate di stabilire un contatto diretto. Aumentare la schermatura antiradiazioni.
(Attempt to establish direct contact. Increase the anti-radiation shielding.)

CREW VOICE (OFFSTAGE)
(Over the speakers, rising in pitch)
Pressione esterna in aumento… 4.0… 5.0… la struttura non regge! Comandante, la nave sta gridando!
(External pressure increasing… 4.0… 5.0… the structure won’t hold! Commander, the ship is screaming!)

WES
(Clutching his head, stumbling)
Sento… un ronzio. Non è nei motori. È qui dentro. Come se qualcuno stesse graffiando il vetro della mia mente.
(I hear… a humming. It’s not in the engines. It’s in here. As if someone were scratching at the glass of my mind.)

MARKARY
(Grabbing Wes by the shoulder)
Resisti, Wes! È la pressione atmosferica che gioca con i tuoi nervi. Restate ai vostri posti!
(Resist, Wes! It is the atmospheric pressure playing with your nerves. Stay at your stations!)

SANYA
(Gasps, staring at the viewport)
Guardate… la nebbia si apre. Ma non è un pianeta, Markary. È un abisso che ci guarda.
(Look… the fog is opening. But it is not a planet, Markary. It is an abyss that is looking back at us.)

CREW VOICE (OFFSTAGE)
(Now screaming)
Non voglio morire così! Lasciatemi uscire! Devo uscire!
(I don’t want to die like this! Let me out! I must get out!)

MARKARY
(To Sanya)
Inizia la manovra di atterraggio forzato. Non possiamo abbandonare la Galliott nel vuoto. Se loro sono scesi, noi li seguiremo… fino all’inferno, se necessario.
(Begin the forced landing maneuver. We cannot abandon the Galliott in the void. If they descended, we will follow them… to hell, if necessary.)

STAGE DIRECTION: The lights on the bridge begin to strobe violently. A deafening roar of rushing wind and groaning metal fills the theater. The crew collapses into a heap as the ship pitches forward into the darkness.

)(*)(

ACT 1, SCENE 2: THE FEVER OF AURA

SETTING:
The bridge is in total disarray. Red emergency lights pulse slowly, like a heartbeat. The sound of the engines has been replaced by a heavy, rhythmic thrumming from the planet outside. The crew members are scattered on the floor, slowly rising.

MARKARY
(Coughing, pulling himself up by the command chair)
Rapporto… Sanya? Wes? Qualcuno mi risponda.
(Report… Sanya? Wes? Someone answer me.)

WES
(Rising slowly, his eyes wide and fixed on nothing)
Perché c’è così tanto silenzio? Il silenzio fa male. È come se… mi stesse mangiando.
(Why is there so much silence? The silence hurts. It is as if… it were eating me.)

SANYA
(In a trance, staring at her hands)
Il rosso… vedo solo il rosso. È il colore del sangue, Comandante. Il sangue che scorre sotto la crosta di questo mondo.
(The red… I see only red. It is the color of blood, Commander. The blood that flows beneath the crust of this world.)

MARKARY
Sanya, riprenditi! Dobbiamo controllare i motori. Se siamo atterrati, dobbiamo sapere se possiamo ripartire.
(Sanya, snap out of it! We must check the engines. If we have landed, we must know if we can leave.)

WES
(Suddenly turning toward Markary, his voice harsh)
Ripartire? Tu vuoi andartene perché hai paura di me. Ti vedo, Markary. Vedo quello che pensi. Vuoi chiudermi fuori!
(Leave? You want to go because you are afraid of me. I see you, Markary. I see what you are thinking. You want to lock me out!)

MARKARY
Wes, calmati. È l’atmosfera. Respira profondamente.
(Wes, calm down. It’s the atmosphere. Breathe deeply.)

WES
(Lunging at Markary, hands clawing at his throat)
Bugiardo! Sei un invasore! Questo posto mi dice la verità su di te! Muori! Muori prima che mi uccidi tu!
(Liar! You are an invader! This place tells me the truth about you! Die! Die before you kill me!)

STAGE DIRECTION: A chaotic struggle breaks out. It is not a choreographed fight, but a desperate, animalistic brawl. Other crew members (OFFSTAGE) can be heard screaming and fighting in the corridors. The sound is a cacophony of metal hitting metal and human snarls.

SANYA
(Screaming, not at the fight, but at the air)
Basta! Lasciateci stare! Non siamo noi! Qualcosa ci sta usando!
(Enough! Leave us alone! It isn’t us! Something is using us!)

MARKARY
(Pinning Wes to the floor, breathing hard)
Wes… guardami… sono Markary. Non lasciarti vincere… la tua volontà… usa la tua volontà!
(Wes… look at me… it’s Markary. Don’t let it win… your will… use your will!)

STAGE DIRECTION: Suddenly, as if a switch has been flipped, the rhythmic thrumming outside stops. Wes goes limp. The screaming in the corridors ceases instantly. An oppressive, heavy silence returns.

WES
(Blinking, his voice trembling)
Comandante? Cosa… cosa ho fatto? Le mie mani… perché sono sporche?
(Commander? What… what have I done? My hands… why are they dirty?)

MARKARY
(Helping him up, looking shaken)
Non eri tu, Wes. Era Aura. Il pianeta ha cercato di spezzarci non appena abbiamo toccato il suolo.
(It wasn’t you, Wes. It was Aura. The planet tried to break us the moment we touched the ground.)

SANYA
(Looking at the viewports, where the mist is thick and swirling)
Non ha cercato di spezzarci, Markary. Ci ha provato. Ci ha testato. E ora sa… quanto siamo fragili.
(It didn’t try to break us, Markary. It tested us. And now it knows… how fragile we are.)

WES

Guardate fuori… il fumo… la nebbia… non si vede nulla.

(Look outside… the smoke… the fog… you can’t see anything.)

MARKARY

Dobbiamo trovare la Galliott. Se hanno subito quello che abbiamo subito noi…

(We must find the Galliott. If they suffered what we suffered…)

)(*)(

ACT 1, SCENE 3: THE EXHUMATION OF SILENCE

CHARACTERS:
MARKARY: Carrying a heavy flashlight and a sensor.
SANYA: Her movements are hesitant, her eyes darting to the mist.
WES: Armed with a laser-pistol, appearing jumpy.

SETTING:
The surface of AURA. The stage is buried in thick, rolling fog (the famous Bava ‘nebbia’). Jagged, obsidian-colored rock formations loom out of the mist like broken teeth. The sky is a bruised purple. In the distance, the skeletal silhouette of the GALLIOTT is barely visible.

SANYA

Il silenzio… è assoluto. Non c’è vento, eppure la nebbia si muove.

(The silence… it is absolute. There is no wind, yet the fog moves.)

WES

Comandante! Là… tra le rocce. È la sagoma della Galliott!

(Commander! There… among the rocks. It’s the silhouette of the Galliott!)

MARKARY
(His voice muffled by his helmet)
Rimanete vicini. Se la nebbia si chiude, ci perderemo in un istante. I rilevatori sono quasi inutili qui… c’è troppo ferro nell’aria.
(Stay close. If the fog closes in, we will be lost in an instant. The detectors are almost useless here… there is too much iron in the air.)

WES
(Aimed his weapon at a shadow)
Chi è là? Ho visto qualcosa muoversi tra quelle rocce!
(Who’s there? I saw something move among those rocks!)

SANYA
È solo la nebbia, Wes. Si muove come se avesse una sua volontà. Guarda come si avvolge intorno ai nostri passi… sembra che ci stia assaggiando.
(It’s only the fog, Wes. It moves as if it had a will of its own. Look how it wraps itself around our footsteps… it seems as if it is tasting us.)

MARKARY
(Pointing his light upward)
Eccola. La Galliott. È atterrata quasi intatta, ma non vedo luci. Non vedo segni di vita.
(There it is. The Galliott. It landed almost intact, but I see no lights. I see no signs of life.)

WES
Perché non hanno risposto ai nostri segnali? Se sono vivi, perché restano al buio?
(Why didn’t they answer our signals? If they are alive, why do they stay in the dark?)

MARKARY
Forse non possono accendere le luci. Sembra… morta.
(Perhaps they cannot turn on the lights. It seems… dead.)

SANYA
(Stopping suddenly, touching a rock)
Questa pietra… vibra. Ma non è un suono. È un pensiero. Un grido congelato nel tempo. Markary, non dovremmo entrare là dentro.
(This stone… it vibrates. But it isn’t a sound. It’s a thought. A scream frozen in time. Markary, we shouldn’t go in there.)

MARKARY
Dobbiamo farlo. Se c’è una risposta a quello che ci è successo sul ponte, è dentro quella nave. Sanya, Wes… pronti a tutto.
(We must. If there is an answer to what happened to us on the bridge, it is inside that ship. Sanya, Wes… be ready for anything.)

STAGE DIRECTION: They reach the airlock of the Galliott. The door is slightly ajar, hanging off its hinges as if forced from the inside. A low, sickly green light emanates from within. As they step inside, the sound of the wind outside vanishes, replaced by a rhythmic dripping sound.

SANYA
(Whispering)
L’odore… è come di ozono bruciato. E qualcosa… di dolciastro.

(The smell… it’s like burnt ozone. And something decaying… sickly sweet.)

WES

Mio Dio… guardate là. Capitano Markary… è l’equipaggio!

(My God… look there. Captain Markary… it’s the crew!)

MARKARY
(Shining his light on the floor)
Sangue. Ma è secco. E guardate le pareti… ci sono segni di lotta ovunque. Non è stato un atterraggio, è stato un massacro.
(Blood. But it’s dry. And look at the walls… there are signs of struggle everywhere. It wasn’t a landing; it was a massacre.)

)(*)(

ACT 1, SCENE 4: THE GALLERY OF THE DAMNED

CHARACTERS:
MARKARY: Methodical, checking pulses with a gloved hand.
SANYA: Trembling, her back against the cold metal hull.
WES: Keeping watch at the portal, his shadow elongated and distorted.

SETTING:
The interior of the GALLIOTT. The geometry of the ship seems skewed, shadowed by Bava’s signature ‘Deep Space’ lighting—violent purples and sickly yellows. The air is thick with a shimmering haze. Bodies are slumped over consoles, but they are not merely dead; they are positioned like macabre statues.

WES
(A choked whisper)
Dio mio… guardateli. Sono come pietrificati nel momento del loro ultimo terrore.
(My God… look at them. They are like petrified in the moment of their final terror.)

SANYA
(Shining her light on a body slumped over a radar)
È Kier. Era il mio migliore amico. Ma guardate il suo viso… non sembra più lui. È una maschera di odio.
(It’s Kier. He was my best friend. But look at his face… it doesn’t look like him anymore. It is a mask of hate.)

MARKARY
(Examining a wound on a corpse)
Nessun colpo di arma da fuoco. Si sono uccisi con le mani… con i denti. Si sono sbranati l’un l’altro come bestie in una gabbia troppo stretta.
(No gunshot wounds. They killed each other with their hands… with their teeth. They tore each other apart like beasts in a cage that was too small.)

WES
Perché? Perché loro si sono distrutti e noi no? Siamo uomini anche noi… abbiamo lo stesso sangue.
(Why? Why did they destroy themselves and we didn’t? We are men too… we have the same blood.)

MARKARY
(Standing up, looking into the darkness of the corridor)
Forse la loro volontà era più debole. O forse… il pianeta voleva così. Ma guardate bene… c’è qualcosa che non torna.
(Perhaps their will was weaker. Or perhaps… the planet wanted it this way. But look closely… something doesn’t add up.)

WES
Cosa volete dire, Comandante?
(What do you mean, Commander?)

MARKARY
Le ferite… non sanguinano. È come se il corpo avesse smesso di essere biologico nel momento della morte. La carne è… cristallizzata.
(The wounds… they aren’t bleeding. It is as if the body ceased to be biological at the moment of death. The flesh is… crystallized.)

SANYA
(Pointing to a shadow in the corner)
Markary! Là! Un’ombra si è mossa!
(Markary! There! A shadow moved!)

WES
(Firing his laser into the dark—a burst of red light)
Vieni fuori! Mostrati!
(Come out! Show yourself!)

MARKARY
(Grabbing Wes’s arm)
Fermi! Non c’è nessuno. È solo il riflesso della nostra paura. Ma dobbiamo andarcene. Questa nave non è più un rifugio… è un sarcofago. E sento che il coperchio si sta chiudendo.
(Stop! There is no one. It is only the reflection of our fear. But we must leave. This ship is no longer a refuge… it is a sarcophagus. And I feel the lid is closing.)

STAGE DIRECTION: As they turn to leave, the heavy metal door of the bridge begins to groan and slide shut on its own. The rhythmic thrumming of the planet rises in volume, vibrating the very floorboards under their feet.

)(*)(

ACT 2, SCENE 1: THE CYCLOPEAN RELIC

CHARACTERS:
MARKARY: Leading with a sense of grim fascination.
SANYA: Hypnotized by the sheer scale of the ruins.
WES: Nervous, checking the perimeter of the alien hull.

SETTING:
A different part of the planet Aura. The fog is thinner here, but the air glows with a pulsing, rhythmic amber light. In the center of the stage stands the ‘Relic’—a structure that is clearly not of human design. It is organic, ribbed like a ribcage, and vast. The entrance is a jagged hole that looks like a mouth.

WES
(Staring up at the structure, his voice echoing)
Non è una costruzione umana. Guardate le dimensioni… è ciclopica.

(It’s not a human construction. Look at the dimensions… it is eldritch.)

SANYA
(Touching the exterior, which pulses with light)
Sento… sento il tempo che preme contro queste pareti. Centinaia, migliaia di anni di solitudine.
(I feel… I feel time pressing against these walls. Hundreds, thousands of years of solitude.)

MARKARY
(Pointing his light into the dark entrance)
Dobbiamo entrare. Se vogliamo capire cosa è successo alla Galliott, dobbiamo capire chi è atterrato qui prima di noi.

(We must enter. If we want to understand what happened to the Galliott, we must understand who landed here before us.)

WES
E se sono ancora dentro? Se ci stanno aspettando?
(And if they are still inside? If they are waiting for us?)

MARKARY
Se fossero vivi, ci avrebbero già ucciso. Su Aura, il silenzio è il segno del vincitore.
(If they were alive, they would have killed us already. On Aura, silence is the sign of the victor.)

STAGE DIRECTION: They step through the jagged entrance. The interior is vast and vaulted. The lighting shifts to deep, bruised blues. In the center of the chamber, two massive, calcified skeletons—three times the size of a man—are slumped in what look like pilot chairs.

SANYA
I giganti… on sembrano morte per un incidente. Guardate la posizione dei corpi.
(The giants… they don’t seem to have died by accident. Look at the position of the bodies.)

MARKARY
(Approaching the skeletons, his light scanning their remains)
Guardate i crani. Non ci sono fori di proiettili, né segni di lame. Ma le loro ossa… sono state spezzate dall’interno.
(Look at the skulls. No bullet holes, no blade marks. But their bones… they were broken from the inside.)

WES

(Gasps, falling to her knees)

Forse sono rimasti intrappolati, come noi. Hanno lottato contro la stessa forza.

(Perhaps they remained trapped, like us. They fought against the same force.)

MARKARY

No. Guardate il metallo. È corroso dall’interno, non dall’atmosfera. È come se la nave stessa fosse stata… digerita.

(No. Look at the metal. It is corroded from the inside, not by the atmosphere. It’s as if the ship itself had been… digested.)

SANYA

Comandante, sento una proiezione… un’eco mentale. È una registrazione del loro passato.

(Commander, I feel a projection… a mental echo. It is a recording of their past.)

MARKARY

Cosa dicono? Riesci a decifrare il senso?

(What are they saying? Can you decipher the meaning?)

SANYA

Dicono… ‘Non fuggite. Non c’è spazio dove fuggire. Il vuoto è dentro di noi’.

(They say… ‘Do not flee. There is no space where to flee. The void is within us’.)

MARKARY
È una sostituzione. Noi siamo solo gli ultimi arrivati a questo banchetto di ombre.
(It is a substitution. We are only the latest arrivals at this banquet of shadows.)

)(*)(

ACT 2, SCENE 2: THE REAWAKENING OF THE SHELLS

CHARACTERS:
MARKARY: Holding a flare, his face pale behind his visor.
SANYA: Paralyzed with a mix of scientific curiosity and pure dread.
WES: Panic-stricken, his hands shaking on his pulse-rifle.

SETTING:
The ‘Graveyard’ outside the GALLIOTT. The crew of the Argos has buried their comrades in shallow graves, covered in transparent plastic sheeting. The fog is thick, pulsing with a rhythmic, heartbeat-like thrumming.

MARKARY

Sanya, registra l’ora. Iniziamo l’inumazione dei resti dell’equipaggio della Galliott.

(Sanya, record the time. We are beginning the burial of the remains of the Galliott’s crew.)

SANYA

Comandante… sento di nuovo quella vibrazione. Come un battito… sotto i piedi.

(Commander… I feel that vibration again. Like a heartbeat… beneath our feet.)

WES

Guardate le tombe! La terra… si muove!

(Look at the graves! The earth… it’s moving!)

STAGE DIRECTION: Slowly, the bodies of the dead crew—Tieri, Kier, and others—rise from the ground. They are still wrapped in their translucent plastic shrouds, which cling to them like second skins.

MARKARY

Perché non parlano? Perché ci fissano così?

(Why don’t they speak? Why do they stare at us like that?)

SANYA
(A whisper of disbelief)
Non è possibile. I parametri vitali erano a zero. Erano freddi… erano cenere.
(It’s not possible. The vital parameters were at zero. They were cold… they were ashes.)

MARKARY
(Stepping forward, flare held high)
Indietro! State lontani dalle lastre! Sanya, guarda… non si muovono come esseri viventi. Come se un unico nervo li stesse tirando su.
(Back! Stay away from the slabs! Sanya, look… they don’t move like living beings. As if a single nerve were pulling them up.)

WES
Kier… è Kier! Ma era morto… lo abbiamo visto!
(Kier… it’s Kier! But he was dead… we saw him!)

IL RISORTO (THE RISEN KIER)
(A voice that sounds like grinding stone, echoing in their headsets)
Noi… siamo… voi. Abbiamo bisogno… di voi.
(We… are… you. We need… you.)

SANYA
Markary, il pianeta sta indossando i loro cadaveri come se fossero dei guanti!
(Markary, the planet is wearing their corpses as if they were gloves!)

WES
Vogliono la nave! Vogliono la Argos per andarsene da qui!
(They want the ship! They want the Argos to get out of here!)

MARKARY
Non avrete nulla! Fuoco! Distruggete i simulacri!
(You shall have nothing! Fire! Destroy the simulacra!)

STAGE DIRECTION: Bright bursts of red laser fire illuminate the fog. The Risen do not flinch or fall; they simply absorb the light, their plastic shrouds shimmering. They begin to walk toward the living with a slow, rhythmic gait.

SANYA

I colpi… non li hanno fermati. Li hanno solo… illuminati.

(The shots… they didn’t stop them. They only… illuminated them.)

MARKARY

Dobbiamo decollare. Subito. Se restiamo qui, diventeremo come loro.

(We must take off. Now. If we stay here, we will become like them.)

)(*)(

ACT 2, SCENE 3: THE DISSOLUTION OF WES

CHARACTERS

WES: Isolated, spiraling into total sensory overload.
SANYA: (Via Radio / Offstage) The voice of cold, terrifying data.
MARKARY: (Via Radio / then Onstage) The commander trying to hold onto a dying reality.

SETTING:
A ‘liminal’ space on the surface of Aura. The fog here is thick and yellowish, smelling of sulfur. The lighting is low and monochromatic. The sound of the wind has been replaced by a low, dissonant hum that seems to vibrate Wes’s very bones.

WES
(Stumbling through the mist, his breathing heavy and ragged in his helmet)
Markary? Sanya? La nebbia… è diventata solida. Non sento più i miei passi. Rispondete!
(Markary? Sanya? The fog… it has become solid. I can no longer hear my own footsteps. Answer me!)

STAGE DIRECTION: Figures begin to emerge from the yellow haze. They are the corpses of the Galliott crew, but they move with a fluid, unnatural grace. They do not walk; they glide. Their eyes glow with a faint, internal light.

WES

C’è qualcuno? Kier? Sei tu? Rispondi… la tua tuta è lacerata, come fai a respirare?

(Is someone there? Kier? Is it you? Answer me… your suit is torn, how are you breathing?)

SANYA

(via Radio): Wes! Torna indietro! I rilevatori segnano un picco di energia biologica vicino a te!

(Wes! Come back! The detectors are showing a peak of biological energy near you!)

WES

Mi stanno fissando… non hanno occhi, hanno solo… ombra.

(They are staring at me… they have no eyes, they only have… shadow.)

STAGE DIRECTION: The figures of the dead touch him gently, almost lovingly, then melt back into the fog.

WES

Ah! Mi toccano… brucia! Brucia come ghiaccio!

(Ah! They are touching me… it burns! It burns like ice!)

MARKARY

(via Radio): Wes, resisti! Stiamo arrivando! Usa il laser!

(Wes, hold on! We are coming! Use the laser!)

WES

(Urlando): Non è la carne… stanno entrando nei miei pensieri! Mi stanno cancellando!

(It’s not the flesh… they are entering my thoughts! They are erasing me!)

STAGE DIRECTION: Wes collapses as Markary and Sanya burst onto the stage. Wes is lying face down, his suit strangely collapsed, as if there is no longer a body inside it.

SANYA

(Kneeling beside him, then recoiling in horror)

È… è completamente svuotato. Guardate la pelle.

(He is… he is completely emptied. Look at the skin.)

MARKARY

(Stopping her from touching the body)

Non toccatelo. Il processo è ancora in corso. La sua struttura molecolare sta cambiando. Aura lo sta riassemblando.

(Don’t touch him. The process is still ongoing. His molecular structure is changing. Aura is reassembling him.)

)(*)(

ACT 3, SCENE 1: THE PARANOIA OF THE CARRIERS

CHARACTERS:
MARKARY: Armed, pacing like a caged animal.
SANYA: Working feverishly at a computer terminal, her face pale.

SETTING:
The interior of the ARGOS. The ship is under ‘Blackout’ conditions—dim, blue auxiliary lights cast long, nervous shadows. The sound of welding and sparks comes from the lower decks. The air is thick with the smell of scorched metal and ozone.

SANYA
(Whispering, her voice cracking)
L’hanno portata dentro. La sento. È nelle pareti… è nel sistema di ricircolo dell’aria. Il pianeta sta respirando insieme a noi.
(They brought it inside. I feel it. It’s in the walls… it’s in the air circulation system. The planet is breathing along with us.)

MARKARY
Basta, Sanya! Abbiamo sigillato i portelli. La nave è a tenuta stagna. Siamo ancora noi.
(Enough, Sanya! We’ve sealed the hatches. The ship is airtight. We are still ourselves.)

SANYA
Siamo sicuri, Markary? Kier ha detto che siamo ‘continuità’. Cosa succede se il contagio non ha bisogno di un morso? Cosa succede se basta la… vicinanza?
(Are we sure, Markary? Kier said we are ‘continuity.’ What happens if the contagion doesn’t need a bite? What happens if… proximity is enough?)

MARKARY
State suggerendo che uno di noi è già cambiato? Che siamo dei traditori del nostro stesso sangue?Perché non hai risposto quando ti ho chiamata, Sanya? Cosa stavi facendo nel buio?
(Are you suggesting that one of us has already changed? That we are traitors to our own blood? Why didn’t you answer when I called you, Sanya? What were you doing in the dark?)

SANYA
(Turning slowly, her expression eerily calm)
Cercavo di sentire il silenzio, Markary. È l’unica cosa vera su questo mondo. Tutto il resto… è solo rumore.
(I was trying to hear the silence, Markary. It is the only true thing on this world. Everything else… is just noise.)

MARKARY
(Drawing his weapon, but looking conflicted)
Sanya… Dimmi qualcosa che solo Sanya saprebbe.
(Sanya… Tell me something that only Sanya would know.)

SANYA
(A cold smile)
Il dolore è umano, Markary. E io non sento più dolore. Sento solo… una grande espansione. Come se la mia mente stesse finalmente uscendo da questa piccola scatola di osso.
(Pain is human, Markary. And I no longer feel pain. I feel only… a great expansion. As if my mind were finally stepping out of this little box of bone.)

MARKARY
(Stepping back, aiming at the ship’s reactor core)
Se non possiamo fidarci della nostra carne, allora non possiamo lasciare questo pianeta. Se Aura vuole la nostra nave, avrà solo un sole di fuoco.
(If we cannot trust our own flesh, then we cannot leave this planet. If Aura wants our ship, it will have only a sun of fire.)

)(*)(

ACT 3, SCENE 2: THE ARRIVAL AT THE THIRD PLANET

CHARACTERS:
MARKARY: Sitting in the command chair, his posture rigid, his eyes unnervingly still.
SANYA: Standing beside him, looking out at the stars with a faint, distant smile.

SETTING:
The bridge of the ARGOS. The ship is silent now, moving through the deep velvet of space. The violent reds and greens of Aura have been replaced by a soft, ethereal blue light emanating from a planet on the viewscreen. The ‘stage’ feels peaceful, but it is the peace of a tomb.

SANYA
(Her voice melodic and hollow)
Guarda… la nebbia è sparita. Il cielo è così limpido. È quasi… irreale.
(Look… the fog is gone. The sky is so clear. It is almost… unreal.)

MARKARY
In fondo…
(Ultimately…)

SANYA

… abbiamo solo bisogno di un po’ di spazio per vivere.

(… we only need a little space to live.)

MARKARY
(Touching the viewport glass)
Credi che ci accetteranno?
(Do you believe they will accept us?)

SANYA

(Without turning her head)

Abbiamo un aspetto così… diverso da loro.

(We look so… different from them.)

MARKARY
Sì. È il mondo che cercavamo. Il terzo pianeta di questo sistema.
(Yes. It is the world we were looking for. The third planet of this system.

SANYA
È piccolo, ma basterà per tutti noi.
(It is small, but it will be enough for all of us.)

MARKARY
Non ci vedranno nemmeno. Abiteremo i loro sogni finché non diventeranno i nostri.
(They won’t even see us. We will inhabit their dreams until they become ours.)

SANYA

(Leaning forward as the planet grows larger on the screen)
Miliardi di menti che gridano nel buio.
(Billions of minds screaming in the dark.)

STAGE DIRECTION: The blue light of the planet (Earth) floods the stage, washing out the faces of Markary and Sanya until they are nothing but silhouettes. The sound of a heartbeat—the same rhythmic thrumming from Aura—begins to play, growing louder and louder until it fills the theater. The screen fades to black.

Note:

This is actually the stage directions for a libretto I wrote. Since it is impossible to duplicate the formatting that I used, at least here, you can read entire project on Internet Archive for free. Cheers!